going out on my own...step.away.from.the k12...
 

:nails :nails :nails

i felt so confident a few months ago. now its time to tell k12 im not re-enrolling. its time to order stuff. im nervous.

i've decided to not enroll my 5 yr old for school next year. and to just casually keep working towards reading. and math-ish type stuffs. will do handwriting/ copywork out of ... :think something fabulous? for the sole purpose of practice

my older will be in the 6th grade.

i have a few things that will be sort of "cross over" subjects..that we can all do together:
like the: *Answers in Genesis history
the: * Apologia science
as well as,art study, music, nature, poerty all done for enjoyment :yes -
and 'A mid summer nights dream..' ( coloring pages and narration for the youngers.. report writing / narration for the older)

im going to repeat 5th grade math( with a different curric.) for older. he needs to :yes so,
for him..
* spelling wisdom
and * jr. analytical grammar? (in -put welcome on that )

im also buying my older a Kindle-
im concentrating on paper writing fo rhim. as in creative, narrative, etc..
he's very weak in that area..so i plan to concentrate there.


how does it sound?? :nails:nails i think it *sounds* good...does it sound thorough? i want to keep it interesting, enjoyable,andit has to be casual. im not a rigid person.

but i want them to learn and have fun. but i also need to keep my older busy. or he tries to pass his time bugging the littles :rolleyes

so,yeah..what do ya think?

Re: going out on my own...step.away.from.the k12...
 

It sounds great!!!!!!!! I personally would stay very lowkey with the copywork and writing for a 5 yr old unless they really enjoy it and are ready and focus more on the nonwritten mathy things and reading and only doing things like tracing letters with finger over written letters or in sand or beans or rice to start to prepare 5 yr old for writing.I dont pay much attention to grade level for math or any subject really - have used higher grade level texts sometimes and other way.My 7th grader and 12th grader both did Geometry this yr tho usually done in 8th grade and ended up using same thing for them because liked it and the "12th grade" geometry curric someone loaned me was virtually the same concepts but liked teaching method so much better in other one 7th grader used.

---------- Post added at 01:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:21 PM ----------

Also sounds like your older one is not much of a writer so would let him do things like fill-ins you can print off on computer and to keep writing to a minumum while he practices so he doesnt grow weary.......

Re: going out on my own...step.away.from.the k12...
 

I'm not a rigid person, either - I'm keeping things casual, too :yes. I do this by excessive amounts of pre-planning :shifty:giggle - that's the INTJ way ;):lol.

But probably not the ISFP way ;):hug.

But what I ended up with after all that planning - an idea of what I want to accomplish and when - is very useful for relaxed schooling :tu.

I know my overall goal, how I want to accomplish it in general, and have a variety of ideas and resources I can use to do it. And I use them as the whim takes me :giggle. It gives me tons of day to day flexibility :tu, while helping me know if I'm making progress, if I'm broadly on track, going where I want to go. So I don't end up a few years down the line, realizing that everything that I've done has gotten me nowhere close to where I wanted to be :doh.

I totally over thought all that :giggle, but that's how I do everything. It can be as simple or complicated a process as you want it to be :yes.

And now that you've decided that k12's approach isn't for you, doesn't match with your goals, that you want to craft your own approach :tu, I think it will help you a lot to spend a half day or so thinking about where you want your dc to be when they graduate, and the general trajectory to get you from where you are now to there in the years you've got. Then you have a way to measure if what you are doing is "enough" - because you know what "enough" looks like for *you*.

And it makes it easy to be flexible in your materials and approach - because you know what you want to accomplish, you can try anything and be able to tell if it is working - because you know what "working" looks like :yes.

Re: going out on my own...step.away.from.the k12...
 

so are you saying that it looks like i need to think some more? or were you specifically addressing the 'enough' issue :shifty

Re: going out on my own...step.away.from.the k12...
 

The first :hug. Because the thing with the enough issue is enough for *what*? What is your goal?

Equivalent to your local ps? Equivalent to a really good ps? Good enough to get into community college? Good enough to get into a good state university? Good enough to get into ivy league schools? Something else entirely? "Enough" looks different for each of those.

And it's kid-specific, too. Your math goals for a mathy kid might be higher than your goals for a non-mathy kid. And a kid with LDs is probably going to spend more time on the basics than a non-LD kid. "Enough" can look different for each kid, because the specific goals are different for each kid.

So I can tell you if that's enough by my standards for my kids, but that might not mean *anything* wrt your standards for your kids.

K12 had a defined goal for what "enough" looked like, a program to get you there, and standards to tell where you stood at any given moment in relation to their idea of "enough". That's the benefit of doing someone else's program - they've done the heavy lifting of defining goals and figuring out things to do to meet the goal and ways to measure progress toward the goal. And for parents who agree with the goal and the methods, whose dc are a good fit for the goal and the methods, it can be a good choice.

But since k12 isn't working for you - you have different methods in mind - you also need to set your own goals.

Then you can ask, "is this enough to get me to my goal?" which will get you more specific, meaningful, and helpful answers :tu.

Does that make sense? :hug

Re: going out on my own...step.away.from.the k12...
 

IMO It sounds you have figured out what is enough and the right things and amounts for now and you just need to be encouraged that yes it is enough and be flexible to tweak as you go along

Re: going out on my own...step.away.from.the k12...
 

yeah :)

my problem with ps is the 'hoop-jumping'

i guess i wanted to hear that it sounded 'well rounded' and enriching. not necessarily equvilent to ps. kwim?

Re: going out on my own...step.away.from.the k12...
 

It's certainly well within the range of normal, and I think it sounds like it could work well for your family :):hug.

So your goal is to have a relaxed approach that hits the basics with plenty of time and attention towards enriching content :tu.

Re: going out on my own...step.away.from.the k12...
 

It does sound well rounded and enriching and a good fit for your student

Re: going out on my own...step.away.from.the k12...
 

As far as the nerves, don't underestimate the support and help you can get right here. :)

Re: going out on my own...step.away.from.the k12...
 

thanks Leslie..and i was hoping you would tell me what you think about my line up..its CM inspired :giggle

Re: going out on my own...step.away.from.the k12...
 

:jump2:danced (<---- this is my "getting away from k12" happy dance. We've already informed them we won't be re-enrolling :D)

Re: going out on my own...step.away.from.the k12...
 

I'll have to look closer at the individual elements you listed. Off the top of my head, this is one I'm not familiar with: *Answers in Genesis history. I'm not sure I'd want to rely on religious/political organization with an agenda to be my only source for history, even if I agree with their agenda. A few years ago, everyone was raving about The Light and the Glory, a history book told from a Christian perspective, so I got the series (two books) for my kids. I read the first one, and I thought it was forced, blatantly biased, and not all that well-written, even though I like the idea of looking at history from a Christian perspective. And I've so wanted to love the AIG kids books about dinosaurs and such, but they're so badly written that I can't.

But it's been years since I've looked at their materials; maybe they've gotten better books since then.

Re: going out on my own...step.away.from.the k12...
 

:think well...shoot.

whats a good history for a 6th grader?

Re: going out on my own...step.away.from.the k12...
 

There are lots of history texts out there. What's his reading level, what era of history were you hoping to cover, and does he like history?

I personally really like the ones by H.E. Marshall and other books listed at mainlesson.com. They're interesting enough for me as an adult to enjoy reading. I read An Island Story with my kids, and I was shocked at how little I knew about basic English history before I read that book. I've also liked books by Eva March Tappan, Alfred Church, and Mary MacGregor. You can search the History Books they have listed here. The site is nce because you can read many of the books for free right from the website, or purchase paperback copies, or purchase them for Kindle.

For more modern history, I thought Susan Wise Bauer's Story of the World, volume 4, was okay. Some kids like it more than others. It bounces around quite a bit because she's trying to cover everything.

You might also look at the history books listed on Ambleside Online. And I hear Truthquest is very good. Really, there are so many good options, that I think history is the easiest part of planning a curriculum. The hard part is choosing just one or two from all the great books out there.

Answers in Genesis might be a great source for worldview -- discussion material that presents the different ways people think about evidence and events, and how a Christian can consider them without losing his faith.