Hello fellow homeschoolers! I can't believe its already August, feel like I just got my garden in. Why does time go so fast? Am wondering how everyone else is doing, are you ready for the new school year? Are the kids? Are your books ordered? I know, really, the educating never actually starts and stops, but does at least for us, get more relaxed or formal, depending on the time of year. I am so hopeful we really learn and enjoy each other this year! Has anyone used The Noah Plan - the Principle Approach? From the Foundation For American Christian Education? Have been trying to locate homeschoolers who have or are using this. Would love to hear from you all, hope you have a great year teaching and learning! God Bless! Wendy

-- Wendy@GraceAcres (wjl7@hotmail.com), August 02, 2000

Answers

Hi, we've been schooling for the past 8 or 9 weeks and will actually be on hiatus, for harvesting and canning, when most are heading back. But I still have to sit down and write/send in our formal declaratoin (state law). Still putting together our Science and Social Studies. we are going eclectic so I need to get my sources pulled together. We started sign language and that has been so much fun and not to hard.

-- Novina in ND (lamb@stellarnet.com), August 02, 2000.

Hi Wendy! This will be my first year homeschooling.Needless to say,I'm a little nervous:I'm not exactly the most organized person in the world. My little girl is only 4 yet,but she is exceptionally bright(not a mother's overstatement)and loves to learn.We will be working on learning to read,beginning math(with cuissenaire(sp)rods),and thinking skills.She already prints fairly well for her age,but we'll probably work on that a bit too.I'd like to start subscribing soon to Creation magazine.Hope to get everything ordered soon. Bye everyone&God Bless you Wendy! In His love, ~~~Tracy~~~

-- Tracy Jo Neff (tntneff@ifriendly.com), August 02, 2000.

Hi Wendy! We are homeschooling for the first time this year. My children are in the third and eight grade. I must be out of my mind is what I am thinking right about now. Just finished our second day. Algebra!!! ???!!! What ever happened to math? I had enough trouble with that. I am wishing I had paid a lot more attention in school.We are useing Abeka for the third grader ( A friend had used material and I only had to buy workbooks) and the eigth grader is useing Christian Liberty press.I really like the Abeka but could never afford it if I had to pay for all of it. It tells me what to do every day. CLP is good too. You just have to sit down and figure out how much to do every day and be done in the alotted time. I hope after I have done it a while I will better know what we really need to do. I have friends who have schooled their kids for years and they don't even buy curriculim kits. Wish I felt more comfortable with doing that.I am so overwhelmed with this whole thing. Fortunately for them and me, they are fairly smart of their own accord and pick up on things pretty easy. Much quicker than me. How long have you homeschooled? How old are your children? If you have any hints or helpful suggestions I would be very thankful.

-- Bonnie (josabo1@juno.com), August 02, 2000.

We are big fans of the Saxon math books. They are the best. Our son just completed Algebra 1 and will be starting the Algebra 2 book soon. His standardized math test scores are excellent as a result of the superior instruction/review found in the Saxon math books.

-- Liz Rhein (merhein@shentel.net), August 02, 2000.

Hi Wendy, et al... We do homeschool the year 'round, under a less formal, interest-based curriculum. Been enjoying my kids' company now since day one and am not willing to give them up to the $$$/corporate based "education" system. I started out the 1st year with a workbook curriculum, and in the 2nd year, amidst tears/hollering, decided to stop fighting and let him learn. Now, my eldest is nine, a caring, interested human being, and his brother, 5, is constantly the little scientist. We found that learning happens when you allow their own timing and interests to develop, and ignore what the "system" says. Remember, the public school system was developed 150 years ago (or so) to train people to work uncomplaining in the factories, doing mindless tasks 12 hours a day - so they had to train them early on to become little droids. It did actually teach people very well, to be well- read, etc., however, the system has been dumbed-down constantly (quite a bit in the last 35 years). So what was 8th grade reading back in the late 1800's is now 1st 0r 2nd year in college...

Sorry, went off on a tangent. Back again.

We do plan field trips for the "traditional" school year with a group of other homeschooling families, as well as planning other get togethers and support meetings. I also take advantage of any sales that occur shortly after the public school starts. Enjoy your children - we only have them for such a short time...

Judi in CT

-- Judi (ddecaro@snet.net), August 02, 2000.

My daughter started this week, as she homeschools both of my grandsons--she started early--as she is expecting in Feb & wanted to take a few days off then---maybe Grandma can help out then! Sonda in Ks.

-- Sonda (sgbruce@birch.net), August 02, 2000.

Hi Wendy,

This our first year homeschooling. Kindergarten and 9th grade! We are going with Saxon math (glad to see someone recommended it) and we are working on Soc studies and science, think we'll go with Bob Jones. We have around 20 or more homeschool families at our church so I am thankful for all the support. It's also nice to have the advise of the good folks on this forum. God Bless. <><

Kathy

-- Kathy (jubilant@ncweb.com), August 03, 2000.

Can't say enough good things about Saxon math. When my kids ventured into high school or the local junior college, they were well prepared for math courses - one even scored in the 99th percentile in the math section of the ACT. I've still got two at home - 9th and 10th grades. We're adding Latin and German this year which means work for me :( Everything else is Abeka, which we've used for 9 out of the last 10 years. I've about memorized most of those books after 4 or 5 times through, which is why the languages will be so hard for me - I've been coasting for quite a while now. Anyone know a good German curriculum?

-- glynnis in KY (gabbycab@msn.com), August 03, 2000.

It is so neat to hear how everyone deals with home education! I get inspired by the success of others doing it! I really appreciate what Judi said about "real" education, makes a LOT of sense! Sometimes it is hard to get past "establishment" education! So many first year homeschoolers, Praise God!! We are pretty new too! Kids are still fairly young, 7, 5 and 3, so still feel like a "newbie"! Tracy Jo Neff, that is great! That is one of the best parts of homeschooling, you pace your child at their level, be it reading at 4,5 or even 7 or 8 if that is the case. Much of what I have read, indicates a lot of times boys do much better at certain things, like reading, if started at a later age. Then, boom, they are at or beyond thier level. I tend to agree, as those of the male persuasion seem to excell at those things that require "handiwork"- ie - building things, tearing things down and apart, (just to see how they work, he- he). Sonda, you must be a real blessing to your grandchildren and children!! To be so supportive is AWESOME! Thank You from all of us, we can use all the encouragment we can get! Wow, Saxon Math seems to be working really well, I need to think about that! Am so glad to hear from you all, I wish you the best!! Wendy

-- Wendy@GraceAcres (wjl7@hotmail.com), August 03, 2000.

Saxon math sounds really neat!How does it compare with Miquon math? Just curious. Wendy,I'm sure glad you mentioned that bit about boys.It is so true in the case of my little guy(almost 2).He's bright but in such a different way than my Annie.He is such a boy!I know that I've got several years to go before I teach him to read butI'm wondering how I'll teach him.He seems to learn best in action.Sorry everyone, I'm borrowing trouble again(worry,worry ,worry!).Our Lord is worthy of our trust! God's richest blessings,(Isn't it great to serve Him!) ~Tracy Jo~

-- Tracy Jo Neff (tntneff@ifriendly.com), August 03, 2000.

Hi, we are new to homeschooling also. We have a girl in seventh and a boy in second. We have been going now for about 4 weeks. It's going great. We use a mix of products but Saxon math is the math we use. I love it's approach (even if she hates Algebra). Does anyone have children these ages that would like to have e-mail pals, mine are looking for other homeschooled kids to have as pen pals. We started a little early so we could take a week off for our state fair and go on a learning trip to it. Can't wait. We have alot of children around who are homeschooled and that is nice. We are all going to the Muny Opera to watch Singing in the Rain next week. Good luck to all in this school year. Love to hear from you. Connie

-- Connie Nash (cresent@misn.com), August 04, 2000.

Hi everyone. We have been homeschooling my 8th grade son for 5 years now, and wouldn't dream of doing it any other way now. We also have a 3 yr old son & an almost 2 year old daughter. We have school year round, but maintain a 4 day week part of the year. The best advice I could think of to give to new homeschoolers would be to "relax." Your children will be learning even when you don't realize they are learning. My son knows more about history right now than I do. He watches the "History Channel" and we provide him with as many good books as we can afford, and the library helps fill in the gap. I don't even try to teach him history anymore. He loves it. I do use Saxon Math, and Easy Grammar, both of which I like very much. They require practically no pre-planning by the parent. With 2 little one's at home, I need to have my son able to teach himself and work independently a lot. I try not to bog him down with too many workbooks though. After all, we are "homeschooling" which is different from "doing school @ home." We take many trips to the library, and even borrow videos from them for free. They often have great tapes on science, insects, volcanoes, weather, etc., that we would have a hard time purchasing on our own. The Library is a valuable resource for all homeschooling families. We are also starting a casual support group for homeschoolers to meet at the local library.

-- Jamie Shelton (idlewild@multipro.com), August 05, 2000.

Hi Wendy. It was great to hear all the other homeschooling families out there. I know that there are a lot but sometimes I feel that I am all alone in this area. We have a great homeschool support group in our area and I publish our area Homeschool Newsletter. If anyone has anything they would think that would be helpful for other homeschooling families to know or share with them feel free to e-mail me at maewag@hotmail.com. I am open to all suggestions and help. My husband wanted me to give up the newsletter this year (I had only did it for one year so far)but I love it and the other Mom's didn't want me to give it up. He feels that all the families should take turns at doing something for the group each year which is a great idea but everyone has different interests and talents. I do enjoy writing it but some months I don't feel that I put enough into it. I need more resources to find different interesting topics to help keep our area homeschoolers informed and up to date. If anyone has any please let me know. Well sorry for getting of the path. I didn't mean to promote our area newsletter. I do at times feel like quiting and giving up on homeschooling. This will be our 4th year. I did put my 2 oldest sons back into public school for the second half of the school year a year ago. My youngest was in Kindergarten then and my oldest was in 6th grade. I found out quick that the Junior High School here is terrible. My children will never be going there again. I didn't like it when I was in school and it has only gotten worse. I didn't think that I was doing a good enough job at home so that is why I put them back in. Well we were using the Christian Liberty Press curriculum and we weren't quite half way through our books when I put them back in at mid-term. When they finished with public school there were still not even half way through our books at home. That made me feel a lot better because if we finish our books or even just get through half way then they are getting what they would get in public school here and even more. We still have a tough time. My kids think that I am too demanding on their school work. I guess in a way I am. I want them to finish their books because they need to know all what is in them but they don't like that idea. By having them in the public schools they still think the way they do their. They are always telling me that the public schools do this or that so why can't we do it that way but I tell them that we are not the public schools and I am looking out for their best interest. I stress that education is very important for them and they should go after their interests as much as possible. I want to give the advantages that I never had when I was in school. So I guess that was my two cents worth if they were worth anything. I would love to hear from all other homeschoolers. We need to stick together. I know that even if I don't feel that I do a good job just talking to others and hearing about their struggles it helps me. It makes me realize that we are not alone in this and that it does work. My children have learned things that I didn't think that they would. My youngest just turned 5 on Friday and by the age of 3 he already knew all the names of my husband's tools and what they are used for. He is my husband's little helper. They can't get that type of education in public school. I have 3 boys, 13, 7 and 5. I teach them how to cook and they all want to learn how to sew and crochet. I never got around to doing that last year but this year we will. My 7 year old wants to learn sign language. We started a little last year but this year we will get more into it. My oldest wants to learn piano and he is really into military things. There are so many areas that my boys like and I know that in school they wouldn't get to get really involved in those areas like they can at home. Yes they do get on my nerves a lot but they are boys and they like to fight and wrestle in the house but boys will be boys. They are very smart and I don't want to squash that. Well I better be running, I need to go check out some educational movies. We are renting a novel "Cenntenial" which has 12 parts and it is based on history facts. I love history and I try to buy or rent anything that is educational. We love to go garage saleing as a family and we found a great board game on the United States government. We have played it a few times and it is so much fun. You can find some really good educational games, books, movies, etc. at sales, auctions, public library sales and other places. My house is full of books. I am an avid reader and I love books. I am sad to say that my children are not but I hope that they will some day. I think that my youngest 2 will be but my oldest isn't. If it has work involved with it then he doesn't like it unless it has to do with military then he would. He is a good kid, his only problem is that I gave him every bad habit I had when I was a child other than loving to read. I'm not perfect I guess. Take care and God bless you. Love in Christ Londa

-- Londa (maewag@hotmail.com), August 07, 2000.

Hi Londa! Thanks for your post! I am sorry to hear of your experience with the public school system. I wont comment on that too much, my thoughts regarding our government schools could be a whole other thread! Hang in there!!! You are not alone, even when it "feels" like it! I am in an area that seems to be comprised of mostly people employed by the local school district, head start, etc.. At church we have one other family that homeschools. Our Sunday School class has teachers, administators, office workers of the local school district. We are out of the norm, with very little support for what we are trying to do. But, we wouldnt change it for anything! We do feel lead to homeschool. I know what you mean, tho, about how hard it can be. I just have little ones and it is a struggle. I will be SO HAPPY when everyone is reading! I would like to offer a word of encouragment regarding "schooling" that was mentioned above. Life is learning, we do not have to pattern our schools after the pubilc school system. There are so many ways to learn and books comprise only a small part of it. Maybe you are being too hard on yourself? Character, work ethic, real life skills - these are all important parts of education. Keep your eye on the goal, those days that nothing seems to go right! I know I sure struggle at times, but then there are those times when you see the light of understanding in their eyes and it becomes ALL worthwhile! Remember we are all out here and take courage! Wendy

-- Wendy@GraceAcres (wjl7@hotmail.com), August 07, 2000.

This will be our first full year of homeschooling, I took my son out in April last year when I found out he was being emotionally abused. So, I have a "taste" of it, I'm excited but a little nervous, I don't feel qualified & yet I know I can do a better job than our public school. I was so overwhelmed with all the curriculum, after reading this post I'll be sure to try saxon math next year. For this year we're doing Math U See, has anyone used it? It was expensive but I thought it would help my son as he is a "hands on" learner. Is there anyone that can share their experience of homeschooling an only child? Thanks

-- Lenore (archambo@winco.net), August 07, 2000.

Hi everyone,

my friend Lenore told me to come here so here I am ... :). This is our first year homeschooling also with a 3rd and 4th grader. I am looking forward to this a lot.. I am with Lenore when she says we can do better then the public school. They will not instill in our children the Godly values we want for our children.

I am looking forward to sharing with all throughout the school year... as a "rookie" I am sure there will questions along the way.

Everyone have a wonderful day....jenean.

-- Jenean Miller (1Wrangler1@excite.com), August 08, 2000.

Hi jenean, This forum is sure a great place to go when you need advice. I've been visiting it for around 2 months now,and I'd say it's probably my favorite site. You mentioned that public schools will not instill Godly values in our children.That's one of the reasons I also plan to home-school. I want my children to get a Good education in more ways than one! Someone mentioned that their son was being abused at the public school.That sort of thing was another consideration for me in deciding to school my children at home.[I graduated in 1989 from a small, country school.There were no gangs even heard of around the area, no weapons brought,drugs generally frowned upon.However,it was in this same school that I was s.assaulted. How could I put my daughter into such a situation?]Besides all this,I just don't want to give my precious gifts from God up to be raised and taught by anyone else-especially not the public school system.God Bless, In His Love,~~~Tracy~~~

-- Tracy Jo Neff (tntneff@ifriendly.com), August 08, 2000.

Jenean, I am so glad you found the forum, thanks Lenore! Yes, the people here are a wealth of information! And so willing to share! Blessings, Blessings and more blessings on your decisions to educate your own!!! You WILL do better than the gov't can, all it takes is love & commitment - and most parents come equipped with these! God will honor your obedience and faith, we are not in this alone! Keep your eye on Him, especially during the "hard" days! I, too, would like to keep "in touch" with all the other homeschoolers on this forum throughout the year. What do you say guys? Post your success's, things that dont work, great curriculum, field trip ideas, etc... All the vetetern home educators could really bless us "newbies" with your wisdom and experiences! I know there are many homeschooling sites available, but few that connect with the homesteading lifestyle like those found here. I think most of us here put alot of emphasis on "real life knowledge" and work, as well as "thinking" (discernment) skills, as opposed to just knowledge. Anyway, I will stop "pleading" now, LOL and say Thanks to everyone! God Bless! Wendy

-- Wendy@GraceAcres (wjl7@hotmail.com), August 12, 2000.