As I clicked "Publish" on my previous post, I noticed that sidebar over on the right that purports to list all of the curricula and materials we're using this year. And I realized it's wrong. And then I realized it might be worth discussing why it's wrong, and also why my approach to gathering and planning homeschool curricula means I don't stress out about this kind of thing.
The information is wrong, because we've already made a change.
Until just a couple of weeks ago, we assumed that my son would continue with a second year of Spanish as his foreign language. So, the sidebar says that he's doing this:
Spanish II:- Destinos text and video lessons
- Usborne Easy Spanish
- Teach Yourself Spanish Grammar
- Extra reading: ¡Horton escucha a quién!
And for the first three weeks of this year, he was on that path. However, in the back of my mind, I've known for some time that it wasn't really working out for him. My son has a long history of trying various approaches for foreign language, none of which have really been successful for him. Over the years, he's tried three different languages using at least five different curricula, and I'm not convinced he could speak or write a sentence in anything other than English.
Since everything else is has been going reasonably well, I had decided to let this one go. Not every course, I told myself, will knock the socks off a student. Not every subject has to be a passion. He needs to study a foreign language because we believe it is part of a well-rounded education and because most colleges want to see two years of that study on an applicant's transcript. But, I assured myself, it's not the end of the world if this one subject amounts to checking off the box.
And then . . . and then . . . out of the blue, my son told me one afternoon that he hated Spanish, that it made him feel badly that he didn't seem to be able to learn it, that he was desperate enough for a change that he was willing to ignore the first year of foreign language study and start over with something different.
After I caught my breath, I told him I'd think about it and talk with his dad. I explained that we don't have much of a budget to replace curricula and that, whatever we did, it would have to be very inexpensive. I asked him to think carefully about what it is he wasn't liking about Spanish and the curricula we had tried, and to come up with a wish list of languages he'd prefer to study and characteristics of the curriculum he would like. He thought, and we talked. I posted questions (okay, maybe frantic pleas for help) on the homeschool message boards. He said he wanted something that allowed him to read words while he heard them. I went back over any notes I had ever made for myself about foreign language curricula . . .
I remembered noticing that our county library has some foreign language materials available online for free. I pulled up each program, played with it for a while, decided which one I thought came closest to what my son said he wanted. I dragged him over to my computer and showed him what I'd found. Together, we played with the first lesson of seven or eight different languages. Eventually, he decided:
1. He liked the online program.
2. He wanted to study Italian.
Looking over the online lessons, I saw that the approach is much more conversational than a traditional school-based language study would be. There wasn't much emphasis on grammar, for example. So, I repeated a few of the steps from my usual brainstorming process, poking around on Google looking for ideas of what is usually covered in first-year high school language course, what texts and supplements are popular, etc. I made a list of materials I thought might be helpful, and I popped over to BookMooch and PaperbackSwap and requested a few items. And, finally, because we were in a hurry to make the transition, I took my son to the local Barnes and Noble and had him choose a self-teaching guide off the shelf.
All told, I spent about $20 to acquire these new materials. And, because I didn't have a tremendous amount of money invested in the Spanish curricula and I'm not spending a lot on Italian, there's no pressure or panic when we need to make this kind of adjustment. If I had spent $300 on a packaged foreign language curriculum (as I did once for my daughter, big mistake), this might have prompted all kinds of hand-wringing and resentment and trauma. But, as it is, we just made the change and got back on our feet, with no muss and very little fuss.
And now, I should probably go change that sidebar.
Friday, October 5, 2012
The First Part of Planning: Brainstorming (part 1)
Most homeschooling parents I know have a general idea of each student's educational path for the next few years. Sometimes, this is not much more than a sense that the student will just keep going with the same curricula or series of texts. Sometimes, the more organized among us actually have curricula mapped out all the way through high school.
(Note: I am not one of those people.)
Our process is a little different, since the curricula and materials for any given year depend largely on what comes my way at a reasonable price. Here's how it usually works for me.
By about the middle of the current school year, I'm thinking about what we'll do next. I watch how things are going at the moment, what my student likes and doesn't, what approaches are working and not, etc. Since my student is doing high school, I compare the credits he's already completed against the master list I made a few years ago, checking to see what he still needs to fill out his transcript. And I start making notes. I create a document called something like "Ideas" and save it in the folder for the academic year I'm planning.
I come up with a list of the subjects I want to cover. For example, the original list for 2012 - 2013 included:
Math - algebra II? More problem solving?
History - American, post Civil War
Spanish - II, continue Destinos? Grammar supplement?
Science - chemistry? Need to choose kit, T&K?
English - Need grammar, puctuation review. Dystopian lit?
American Government - Election year, so good time.
Elective - creative writing - NaNoWriMo?
Elective - computer programming, MIT OCW course or other?
Elective - food chemistry, MIT OCW or other?
Art/Music - on-hand and freebies
As you can see, it's all very precise.
Once I have those brief thoughts in place, I start researching.
My first step is usually my own bookcases. I love bookstores -- big chain retailers, small independents, little holes in the wall that sell used books and closeouts. So, over the years, I've accumulated a good number of titles on many, many subjects. I rarely get rid of a book, either, which means I have shelves pretty well stuffed with reference books and bargain table encyclopedias and whatever else I thought "might come in handy some day."
I wander the house, scanning shelves and putting into a big pile any materials I have on hand that have anything at all to do with the subjects I plan to teach the following year. I add those to my ideas document and make mental notes of which subjects need the most attention.
Next, I hit Google. I search for " 'high school' syllabus " and the subject in which I'm interested. I read over anything I find, taking more notes about the subjects covered, materials used, assignments and grading rubrics and all of that good stuff. Anything especially interesting I save into a separate document.
For example, in researching before planning our American history course, I found a syllabus that listed a Glencoe textbook and the following units of study for the year:
After searching the boards and poking around on the internet, I found a book called American History on the Screen: Film and Video Resource, written by Wendy O. Wilson and Gerald H. Herman. I put the book on my wishlists on www.bookmooch.com and www.paperbackswap.com and waited a few months.
Meanwhile, I read over the table of contents I could view on www.bn.com and started checking whether the films would be readily available through Netflix or the library. And then I got to thinking of a bunch of other films I thought my son should see, and I started making that list, too. Several of the films on the list are based on books, and I checked our shelves again to see if I hadany of those on hand. I did (The Great Gatby, The Grapes of Wrath), and I added those to the stack of other materials I'd culled from our home library. I scooted back to BookMooch and PaperbackSwap and looked for the other titles I would need. I requested copies of anything already available and put the others on my wish lists.
Since I had started this process months in advance, I now had the luxury of waiting to see what fruit all of my requests would bear. Over the following weeks, I recevied copies of all of the history-related books on my wishlists, with the exception of the film resource book. When it was time to start planning in earnest, at the beginning of the summer, I went ahead and ordered a used copy through Amazon.
During this time, I also perused homeschooling message boards and read any notes I had made for myself to find additional resources. Specifically, what I really wanted for this class was a "spine," an organizing frameork.
More on what I found and how I put it all together (and how much it all cost) in my next post. See you then!
(Note: I am not one of those people.)
Our process is a little different, since the curricula and materials for any given year depend largely on what comes my way at a reasonable price. Here's how it usually works for me.
By about the middle of the current school year, I'm thinking about what we'll do next. I watch how things are going at the moment, what my student likes and doesn't, what approaches are working and not, etc. Since my student is doing high school, I compare the credits he's already completed against the master list I made a few years ago, checking to see what he still needs to fill out his transcript. And I start making notes. I create a document called something like "Ideas" and save it in the folder for the academic year I'm planning.
I come up with a list of the subjects I want to cover. For example, the original list for 2012 - 2013 included:
Math - algebra II? More problem solving?
History - American, post Civil War
Spanish - II, continue Destinos? Grammar supplement?
Science - chemistry? Need to choose kit, T&K?
English - Need grammar, puctuation review. Dystopian lit?
American Government - Election year, so good time.
Elective - creative writing - NaNoWriMo?
Elective - computer programming, MIT OCW course or other?
Elective - food chemistry, MIT OCW or other?
Art/Music - on-hand and freebies
As you can see, it's all very precise.
Once I have those brief thoughts in place, I start researching.
My first step is usually my own bookcases. I love bookstores -- big chain retailers, small independents, little holes in the wall that sell used books and closeouts. So, over the years, I've accumulated a good number of titles on many, many subjects. I rarely get rid of a book, either, which means I have shelves pretty well stuffed with reference books and bargain table encyclopedias and whatever else I thought "might come in handy some day."
I wander the house, scanning shelves and putting into a big pile any materials I have on hand that have anything at all to do with the subjects I plan to teach the following year. I add those to my ideas document and make mental notes of which subjects need the most attention.
Next, I hit Google. I search for " 'high school' syllabus " and the subject in which I'm interested. I read over anything I find, taking more notes about the subjects covered, materials used, assignments and grading rubrics and all of that good stuff. Anything especially interesting I save into a separate document.
For example, in researching before planning our American history course, I found a syllabus that listed a Glencoe textbook and the following units of study for the year:
- United States Geography
- Creating a Nation (1754-1816)
- The Young Republic (1789-1850
- The Crisis of the Union (1848-1877)
- The Birth of Modern America (1865-1900)
- Imperialism, Progressivism and WWI (1890-1919)
- Boom and Bust (1920-1941)
- Global Struggles (1931-1960)
- A Time of Upheaval (1954-1980)
- A Changing Society (1968-present)
After searching the boards and poking around on the internet, I found a book called American History on the Screen: Film and Video Resource, written by Wendy O. Wilson and Gerald H. Herman. I put the book on my wishlists on www.bookmooch.com and www.paperbackswap.com and waited a few months.
Meanwhile, I read over the table of contents I could view on www.bn.com and started checking whether the films would be readily available through Netflix or the library. And then I got to thinking of a bunch of other films I thought my son should see, and I started making that list, too. Several of the films on the list are based on books, and I checked our shelves again to see if I hadany of those on hand. I did (The Great Gatby, The Grapes of Wrath), and I added those to the stack of other materials I'd culled from our home library. I scooted back to BookMooch and PaperbackSwap and looked for the other titles I would need. I requested copies of anything already available and put the others on my wish lists.
Since I had started this process months in advance, I now had the luxury of waiting to see what fruit all of my requests would bear. Over the following weeks, I recevied copies of all of the history-related books on my wishlists, with the exception of the film resource book. When it was time to start planning in earnest, at the beginning of the summer, I went ahead and ordered a used copy through Amazon.
During this time, I also perused homeschooling message boards and read any notes I had made for myself to find additional resources. Specifically, what I really wanted for this class was a "spine," an organizing frameork.
More on what I found and how I put it all together (and how much it all cost) in my next post. See you then!
Friday, September 14, 2012
The Basic Strategies and Being Brave
In my experience, there are six basic strategies that help me to give my kids a great education on a very reasonable budget:
For example, there was the woman who posted on an online message board in a panic, because she had planned baked potatoes for that night’s dinner, but she was out of aluminum foil. She truly didn’t know that wrapping the potatoes was not a necessary part of the process. I honestly can’t imagine growing all the way into adulthood and not knowing this simple fact. But the thing that bemuses me almost more is the idea that she was so scared to just try baking those potatoes without the foil. She, apparently, didn’t know how to “be brave.”
- Be Brave
- Plan Ahead
- Be Flexible
- Use What You Have (and What You Can Find Online)
- Use Your Local Library
- Put It Together
It’s very popular in both healthy eating and frugal living
circles these days to advocate buying “ingredients,” rather than packages of
food-type products. Personally, I believe the same approach applies to homeschooling.
Think of all those expensive, planned-for-you curricula as
boxes of macaroni and cheese. Now, they may be lovely, all-natural, organic
macaroni and cheese and might be worth it if your family is really in a rush
for dinner now and then. But I’m pretty sure we all know you can make truly
great mac ‘n cheese with some simple ingredients. Most of us think it tastes at
least as good as the boxed stuff (maybe better), and it costs a fraction of the
price.
If, like me, you grew up on the stuff in the blue box,
buying ingredients instead of that shiny, familiar package can be very
intimidating. Using the box provides consistent, if not exciting, results. And
it doesn’t require much from us. We can be pretty sure of getting it right
every time of we just follow the directions printed on the back.
I’m sure most of us who are parents understand that our
children’s education is something extremely valuable and important. And there
is certainly a sense of security in being able to rely on someone else to tell
us how to do it correctly. In other words, since most of us probably went to
brick-and-mortar schools for our own educations, the idea that education is
something defined by an outside authority offers just as much ease and security
as that store-bought pasta side dish.
Personally, I think that explains the appeal of the huge
variety of all-in-one curriculum packages available to homeschoolers. I’ve
certainly felt the pull myself, now and then. It seems so comforting, so easy
to let someone else tell me just what my children need to learn, when and how
they need to learn it, especially if they are accommodating enough to sell me
all the supplies in one, neat box.
I never know whether I feel amused or saddened when I hear
of people who don’t seem to know how to do anything without a product to help
them.For example, there was the woman who posted on an online message board in a panic, because she had planned baked potatoes for that night’s dinner, but she was out of aluminum foil. She truly didn’t know that wrapping the potatoes was not a necessary part of the process. I honestly can’t imagine growing all the way into adulthood and not knowing this simple fact. But the thing that bemuses me almost more is the idea that she was so scared to just try baking those potatoes without the foil. She, apparently, didn’t know how to “be brave.”
And just like there are many ways to cook a potato, I don’t
believe there is any one “right” way to educate your children. The "best" curricula or educational method or philosophy for your kids is the one that works for you and for them. You have to be comfortable teaching, and they have to be able to learn and, we hope, enjoy the learning.
I believe that designing your own curricula, using materials that won't make you panic or stress about your budget, can make those things happen for your family. And I hope that I can be helpful with advice about how to do it.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
A Mission Statement of Sorts?
I've tried blogging before, but I never really had a lot to say. And, after a couple of years, my poor blog just languished.
People keep telling me, though, that I should write about how we do this homeschool thing. They seem especially interested in two things:
1. How I Plan
2. How I Save Money on Materials
So, I'm going to give blogging another try. And I'm going to focus on those two aspects of our homeschooling journey. I hope to publish a post at least once a week, although posts may be more frequent in the beginning, since I'd like to write about each subject and our plans for this year.
Feel free to ask questions, if something I write doesn't make sense or if you just want more information about a post. I love a good conversation!
People keep telling me, though, that I should write about how we do this homeschool thing. They seem especially interested in two things:
1. How I Plan
2. How I Save Money on Materials
So, I'm going to give blogging another try. And I'm going to focus on those two aspects of our homeschooling journey. I hope to publish a post at least once a week, although posts may be more frequent in the beginning, since I'd like to write about each subject and our plans for this year.
Feel free to ask questions, if something I write doesn't make sense or if you just want more information about a post. I love a good conversation!
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