r/homeschool

Does anyone on here use Abeka Parent-Led curriculum and teach 4-6 kiddos? We have six kids but four are in school this year. They are in grades K-4, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. I do full parent led and have found the amount of time Abeka expects you to teach per grade doesn’t work when homeschooling multiple children.

I like to teach each child individually and not combine grade levels into one teaching session. I am wondering how other parents do it and if you just cut out some of the repetitive review in the different subjects or what people are doing to adapt to teaching multiple grade levels in a non time consuming manner.

I have other little kids to care for and then just the daily cooking and cleaning and household chores that I need time for and am not looking to spend 8+ hours combined to get everyone’s school done.

This daily discussion is to chat about anything that doesn't warrant its own post. I am not a mod and make these posts for building the homeschool community.

If you are new, please introduce yourself.

If you've been around here before or have been homeschooling for awhile, please share about your day.

Some ideas of what to share are: your homeschool plans for the day, lesson plans, words of encouragement, methods you are implementing to solve a problem, methods of organization, resource/curriculum you recently came across, curriculum sales, field trip planning, etc.

Although, I usually start with a question of the day to get the discussion going, feel free to ask your own questions. If your question does not get answered because it was posted late in the day, you can post the same question tomorrow to make sure it gets visibility.

Be mindful of the subreddit's rules and follow reddiquette. No ads, market/ thesis research, or self promotion. Thank you!

Hello everyone! I want to start by saying thank you to everyone that helped me with my kindergartener on my other post. I already decided on the curriculum and this year will be the first year homeschooling, hopefully it will be good.

Now that we decided for sure on homeschooling, my husband is a bit worried about socializing. There is available for us a 2hrs school from Monday to Thursday for religious studies, and I suggested him that we could put my oldest in that so he could still have daily socializing. ​His concern is that it is 4x a week and he said he feels like it goes against the reason why we are homeschooling, but my argument is that 2hrs a day isnt really that much...especially considering the classes are small and they are just literally learning about our religion in a school setting. This would start during the school year, in sept.

I also did find a homeschooling group here in my city, where they meet up weekly and have co-ops too, I am not entirely sure how it works as I haven't met up with them in person yet. My 5yo loves people and is very bubbly, I think once a week meet-up wouldn't be enough for him. He is also in extracurriculars (which we will have to review during the winter as we get pretty bad winter weather where we live).

What do you guys do for socializing? Do you feel like your weekly co-op groups/meet ups are enough? Do you send them do a non-traditional school (a few hours a week as opposed to the whole 8hrs)?

I am still trying to figure this all out and I am not sure who to ask exactly, as I am yet to meet the homeschooling moms from my city's group. TIA!

Hey everybody. Goat_dad here. I want to help my 9 and 11 year old kids develop a passion for electronics (ie, circuit construction) - but they are pretty lazy kids unless its sports related. I routinely work on Arduino projects in front of them hoping they'll get inspired - to no avail. Anything that has worked for ya'all to create that spark?

Hi! Are there any resources for a curriculum for preschool? Or maybe even what you began with in kindergarten? I know it’s probably a little silly but wanted to trial run homeschooling this year as a SAHM before we decide on public school. Thanks!

Tell me you thoughts and opinions?
I read this curriculum can be kind of gentle but that sounds like it would be great for my 8yr old who has adhd. I need to help build his conference and help him take his time learning concepts he has trouble with so he has a good foundation. While he did pass 2nd grade I was considering putting him in 2nd grade math with Master books. I can print extra resources and watch videos along with helping him where I can to focus more on things he struggles with.

Should I look at something else though?
I’m mainly concerned with a good curriculum for language arts & math. I feel comfortable finding a curriculum for science, history, etc,.. I’d love recommendations for those to though if you have one you love!! ❤️

Today was AP score release day, which I was as eagerly and nervously anticipating as my rising junior…both of us were pumped to see three 5’s (European History, Latin, and Chem) to add to last year’s 5 in Human Geography.

Why is this such a special win? Because we did all of these AP’s (minus Latin, which he did as an online course) at home. I taught Euro and Human Geography and my best friend taught Chem. She’s a nurse, I am ABD in an unrelated field (undergrad in history a million years ago).

I hear people being apprehensive about homeschooling HS (or assume they will have to farm out any advanced courses to DE or online programs), but it *is* possible to teach AP as a homeschooler! My state does not give grants for DE until 11th grade, and now my son is going into 11th with 4 college classes already (and will be taking 3 more AP’s next year and self-studying another). My rising 9th grader will take 2 and self study one as well. My friend may tap out after AP Calc and Stats, so we may end up in DE for math one day, but I love having an advanced option available before 11th.

A college course for the price of the AP exam ($99) is a bargain, but even better is getting to teach those classes (which are fascinating to learn) and help my students develop the study skills, close reading skills, and writing skills they will need to be successful in college.

So if you’re thinking about homeschooling HS with advanced students /want to work on college credit, you have a lot of options! Teach AP, self-study AP, take online AP courses, or do DE.

Is it js me or have y'all noticed that fewer and fewer ppl are learning cursive? I think it's such an amazing skill that's slowly being forgotten. It's honestly so sad bc cursive is a part of history, creativity, and self-expression.

I've literally been writing in cursive for 11 years, and I'm thinking abt starting a program where students can learn and practice cursive through fun lessons, worksheets, and activities.

Would anyone actually be interested in smth like this???

So I see a lot of homeschooling homes talk about slow mornings and morning routines.

We haven’t started yet , she’s only 4. But we learn all the time. Just no structured yet.

My thing though is , I’m a morning person and when running errands we get out of the house first thing in the morning. I’m an early riser and so is she. So leaving the house by 8-9am is no issue and I love it because there’s a lot less people out in the stores. Less traffic around as well. When I have left the house later like 11-12pm I hate it. I have a very big truck so parking is a lot harder , more people on the road and in stores.

I know it’s something I’ll have to work on but we’re out of the house most days of the week. Usually getting home 11-11:30 though. Unless we go to the park / play place then it’s later. Not really sure how to navigate this. Days we spend all day at home can be hard for me. I love being out and doing things. Staying home too many days in a row gets me antsy and almost in a depressed mood. Even if it’s just running up to a local store to get a few things. To be out of the house just for an hour or so is fine with me.

What is your favorite curriculum for your 4 year old?

I’m totally new to this - so all the information, tips , anything and everything would be awesome .

My child has a December birthday, which gives us a whole extra year (it feels like) to start preparing for school . I plan to homeschool for the first few years and want to know what’s best to get her prepared for preschool , what products you recommend having for learning and programs you might recommend. Thank you !

I’ve been a SAHM full time for 2.5-3 years. We have an almost 7, 4, and 2 year old. I recently (9 weeks ago) had my second back surgery and have been feeling extremely overwhelmed/burnt out and thinking about sending my oldest and middle child to public school. This completely goes against everything my husband and I have ever said we would do. But in this state of life I’m in, I’d love a break. I homeschooled our oldest through kindergarten and it was rough just because of the younger two being so needy.

My husband has made the comment that maybe in a couple years we can pull them out and homeschool them again but he knows it would be better for me right now.

I’m so torn and looking for advice and maybe encouraging words.

I really wanted to go with logic of English but it’s out of our budget right now. Maybe half way through the year .

Hat tip from Stephen C. Perks on Facebook.

I have so many "floppy" workbooks... I cannot find anything that will hold them upright enough to keep straight. Ideas?

My youngest is 15, and I’m trying to envision the next stage of life. Here’s my long backstory:
I started out as a sahm with my oldest, running the business and accounting side of my ex-husband’s landscape business from home. Due to abuse, I left when my child was two and returned to teaching at the classical school I had helped found before he was born. I then remarried, had a second child, and continued teaching. When new leadership at the school decided to switch from k-12 to k-8, i left, as i taught high school, and the high school followed me to my living room as a new homeschool co-op. I was also homeschooling my now 8 year old and had a babysitter for my 3 year old during my high school classes. My husband is an engineer who has always worked very long hours, and I had been a single mom when he met me, so all housework, cooking, etc fell to me as well.
I eventually switched to more part-time work as our church secretary and 5-10 hours a week of tutoring while continuing to homeschool both children. After my oldest graduated, I was asked to return to the classical school to teach a couple of classes, and as my youngest was 12 and my husband then worked from home, I agreed. It was incredibly draining under that headmaster, so I left and last year just homeschooled one child while tutoring 12-15 hours per week.
We live at least 6 hours away from any family, and I’ve tried to only ask friends for help with the kids in emergencies, like when I had surgery, so it’s been me with the kids all of the time. I double majored in biochemistry and humanities, and I’ve always taught a wide variety of subjects, so I’ve taught all of my children’s subjects except advanced foreign language and music. I’ve therefore continued to spend a good bit of time each day in teaching as we’re discussing the Iliad or working through geometry. Additionally, my husband enjoys me being at home as I prep his lunches for work, care for the dogs, handle appointments, clean, cook, grocery shop, etc. My daughter has celiac, so we rarely eat out.
My oldest has now graduated from college, and my youngest has completed placement tests to dual enroll at the local university. I don’t envision returning to the classroom as I’ve always taught in a classical school but don’t wish to return to the one in my city. We’ve also become so accustomed to me being at home for a large portion of the day, able to attend to everything here.
Therefore, I struggle to imagine what the next stage will entail and whether I should embark on a new career. The past week, as family visits and mission trips were done, I had time to sit and read Mansfield Park, and it was delightful but unsettling as I have usually struggled to make time for my own reading life and felt guilty for doing so. Advice?

Throughout all of high school, I was pretty average at math (lower 80-ish), but this junior year was sooo bad. I was very lucky to pass but most my grades are in 60-70, maybe lower 80 if I am lucky.

I really want to do better during senior year (I was even planning on doing a math AP) but atp, I'm not sure what to do.

Should I restudy everything?

Please please please, if you're good at math or studying in general, please give me some advice.

I even wanted to do AP Chemisty but I heard it was math heavy (plus I just recently got cooked by an AP).

This daily discussion is to chat about anything that doesn't warrant its own post. I am not a mod and make these posts for building the homeschool community.

If you are new, please introduce yourself.

If you've been around here before or have been homeschooling for awhile, please share about your day.

Some ideas of what to share are: your homeschool plans for the day, lesson plans, words of encouragement, methods you are implementing to solve a problem, methods of organization, resource/curriculum you recently came across, curriculum sales, field trip planning, etc.

Although, I usually start with a question of the day to get the discussion going, feel free to ask your own questions. If your question does not get answered because it was posted late in the day, you can post the same question tomorrow to make sure it gets visibility.

Be mindful of the subreddit's rules and follow reddiquette. No ads, market/ thesis research, or self promotion. Thank you!

I homeschool my 4 year old and I have her pre-k year all planned out. We do a daily bible lesson everyday during the week. We also attend church most Sundays. I have been getting comments from family members about me not putting her in the children's church. They tell me that she's old enough to go and that it would be good for the both of us. My argument is I feel like she can learn from us modeling proper church etiquette, manners, and worship when she sits in the congregation with us. My husband has started to say that we should maybe put her in children's church so she can be with kids and socialize.

Personally I feel that a church sermon isn't the place to be worrying about children's socialization. Am I wrong for thinking this way? Is my daughter missing out by me not putting her through the children's church?

What is your take and what do you personally do with your own family?

Thank you in advance for your insight!

My daughter is taking the 5th grade Stanford 10 online this upcoming week. I'm trying to figure out what is and isn't allowed and not finding the info I need, so if anyone here has experience please share!

1. Is it monitored, like over zoom or video? My child often needs me to read the questions out loud (she's a fantastic reader in general, like when reading books, but she's an audio learner) and often draws blanks when she has to read the question herself. Am I allowed to read the questions out loud to her?

2. Am I allowed to re-state them (without giving any hints) if the wording is confusing or will this disqualify us? We have been going over the practice work book and some of the questions are phrased in ways she finds hinderingly confusing. If I re-state it in a slightly clearer way she gets it and can solve them easily, but I am now becoming aware of the fact that her test question comprehension doesn't match her generally good understanding of the content.

I think I may have messed up along the way by always being available to explain a confusing question to her when we do our home lessons instead of making her figure it out on her own. Additionally, she is in 4th grade by age but we are working a year ahead, so even though she has mastered the content, her test-question reading comprehension is younger than a typical 5th grader taking this test.

Just having some anxiety and feeling like I have done her a disservice. She is super bright and understands everything she has learned easily, but definitely struggles with the wording when left to her own devices, and I'm afraid I've set her up to fail.

...

Edit: we have spent the last couple hours with her reading the questions to herself. She has shown some improvement but she gets caught on certain things.

Example question: "Jeremiah has a photograph that measures 5"x7". He wants to frame the photograph using a 3-inch mat. What size picture frame will Jeremiah need to accommodate the photograph and mat?"

She read it over and over and ended up in tears because she didn't understand what "mat" meant in this context, so I had to explain it was a border around a picture, but she still had no real-life context to compare it to so she had a ton of trouble visualizing it.

And then another question assumed life experience that again she didn't have--it asked if the goal lines on a football field were parallel, perpendicular, etc., but she's never seen a game of football in her life and didn't know what a goal line meant or looked like.

Or another question that was like "Maria has 48 acres and wants to place fencing around each quarter acre. How many sections will she need to purchase fencing for?" And she read it several times not understanding until I rephrased it as "Maria has 48 acres. Each acre is split into quarters for fencing. How many quarter acres does she need to purchase fencing for?" and suddenly it clicked, just with the slightest re-wording in a way she found a little more intuitive. Simple things like that which for some reason trip her up.