Ramblings...

I’ve mentioned before about my issues with so called “neutral” homeschooling science materials. While I was configuring the changes for our science learning I really tried to tell myself that I could handle the term “neutral” when it comes to Physical Science, Chemistry, and Physics. But I can’t. So what am I going to do? Well let me backtrack a bit about my plans and then I’ll tell you my solutions.

We currently do a Space/Earth/Biology combo when it comes to science. I’ve decided starting next year we will add in Chemistry and Physics/Physical Science. I also want to add in more structure *for myself as far as planning* to ensure that they get some core information. I really wanted something to use as a guide to ensure I hit important topics, and to also use as a fall back when I just can’t come up with some sort of activity for the topic at hand.

At first I considered using Real Science 4 Kids *Chemistry and Physics*, but the more I learned about the author the more disinterested in the product I became. So then I found myself in a tough situation, where would I turn to solve this problem in front of me? I decided to look at public school textbook sellers again, even though I wasn’t happy with the bundle I purchased at the start of the year, I figured looking again wouldn’t hurt.

So I searched around and came across THIS. It is Prentice Hall Science Explorer, one of the top middle school science programs in America. Yes I said middle school. I searched through the elementary programs and found them mediocre at best. I guess for students who have never been exposed to very much in the way of science the elementary programs are great, but in our home they would serve as mere paperweights.

So I will be using middle school textbooks as our guide in science. I personally feel we dumb down scientific education in America to start with, and we underestimate the abilities of children. Just take a look at the table of contents for the Prentice Hall Science Explorer books, a lot of it is very simple basic stuff. Especially, since we will be using it as a guide and adding in reading books to further teach the topics *so we can go in depth as needed for their level of maturity and attention span*.

I’ll be purchasing the Physical Science one to meet our Physics/Chemistry learning for next school year. I’m going to alternate years, starting next year will be the Physics/Chemistry year, then after that will be our Space/Earth/Life combo. Once we end our Elementary years I’ll purchase some high school level science books and we will spend a year on each topic *Space/Earth, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics*, from there they will be entering their high school years and should be ready for intro college level science.

Am I crazy for tackling our science this way? Possibly. But then again I’m probably crazy for home educating so this really isn’t a big departure from my overall craziness. I also have flipped through enough textbooks in my day to know that what a middle school science book has to offer is something an elementary student with time, support, and a library card can figure out and actually understand. Which I’m sure says something about the current state of Science in America.

But I’m sure I don’t really need to spell that something out for anyone reading here.

Well this was our first “normal” week, and it was pretty much a success! We stuck to our schedule fairly well for the most part. There were a couple of late days due to Child #2 sleeping in or both boys enjoying an extended quiet time *I think Child #2 may have a growth spurt coming*. Other than that for our first “normal” week I can’t complain.

Here is the breakdown of what we did by subject:

Language Arts: Language Warm-Up in Harcourt Language Grade One, this included making a book about our school.

Handwriting: Week One lessons in Writing with Ease

Phonics: We had originally planned to use Saxon Phonics levels 1 and 2 for teaching phonics, then I came across the Hooked on Phonics deal I wrote about here. So that is what we have been using instead. Child #1 enjoys it more than he did his phonics lessons last year, and Child #2 enjoys listening to the CD player with his brother or having his brother read to him. They are half way through HOP First Grade, after that is finished *possibly next week*, we will move on to HOP Second Grade, and then maybe another HOP product I have been thinking about purchasing.

Math: We started Saxon 2, the first lessons are more of a review/refresher and honestly Child #1 breezes right through them, which I kind of figured he would. So starting next week I’m going to just give him the assessments and once we reach a skill he hasn’t mastered we will start our lessons from there. This will more than likely put us finishing Saxon 2 sooner than originally planned, so I will have to formulate a game plan on how to handle that. The current ideas are either starting Saxon 3 once we finish Saxon 2 or just giving him practice work, so he is starting fresh on the Grade 3 work at the start of our 3rd year instead of a half now and half after our summer break deal that may make retaining the information more difficult.

Science: We did Unit 12 in R.E.A.L Science Earth and Space. It dealt with outer space and some of the things that can be found in outer space. We did a constellation activity where we plotted a few constellations, we also talked about what makes up some of the items we can find out in space.

History: First on the docket in our history learning was to learn about the people who make our understanding of history possible: archeologists. We have an activity still planned for this weekend that will allow the boys to be archeologists for a day, which should be tons of fun. I’ll have more on that once we complete it.

Social Studies: We skipped our social studies and virtue learning this week, since the student book for our social studies text is a CD-Rom I wanted to teach Child #1 how to navigate the CD-Rom before I started actively teaching our social studies work.

Art: We covered Lesson One in Artistic Pursuits, I still need to head to our local arts and crafts store so I can purchase a sketch pad for both boys to use as well as some other items I either don't have on hand or I do and don't want them to get destoryed *because they are for my own personal artwork and yes mommy needs some things to herself*.

Japanese Studies: For Japanese studies we headed off base to grocery shop and run errands. While out and about both boys had an opportunity to use Japanese and we acquired some new foods to try as well.

Child #2: Enjoyed playing with his toys, coloring, and even did some letter tracing *because he wanted to “do school” too*. Next week we will start using his learning poster again, and I’ll probably purchase him some preschool workbooks this weekend so he has more to do since he is eager to do work like his brother.

Overall it was a really great week and we are all looking forward to the rest of this school year.

**Disclaimer: All information on homeschooling methods will be just a generalized and very brief *if I can help it* overview of the method. Every family who uses these methods will of course work them to fit their needs. After each overview I will discuss some of the things I do and don’t like about the method in relation to our family. **

Structured or Traditional Homeschooling pretty much explains itself. This is a method that closely mimics the classroom setting but in the home, which is why it is often called the “school at home” method. Those who follow this method often *not always though* purchase a box curriculum that comes with everything they could possibly need to teach for a whole school year, some even goes as far as to include pencils and paper.

Boxed curriculums aren’t the only ways a family implements this method, they can also rely on textbooks/workbooks, and comprise their own curriculum and schedule. This method relies heavily on schedules, lesson plans, and documentation, like a traditional school. Some families who use this method even have a school room, where the bulk of their learning takes place and they have a wide variety of supplies just like a traditional school room would.

This method helps ensure that the child learns nearly the same material their peers are learning at school everyday *this depends greatly on the curriculum/textbooks that the parent uses*, and eases fears over gaps in a child’s education.

So to recap: This method is basically “school at home” using either a box curriculum or a combination of textbooks and workbooks. There are grades, test, and in some cases quarterly progress reports and end of the year report cards just like in traditional schools.

Now for us there are some amazing positives with this method, for starters the structured aspect of it. We thrive on structure, routine, schedules, and plans. When there isn’t something planned or a schedule in place we get very little done. That has pretty much encompassed our first full year of homeschooling. While we have accomplished a lot, the level of structure wasn’t were it needed to be.



We also ran into the problem of having to plan out the lessons and basically make our own curriculum with very little to go on aside from books we picked up at the library or found at the store. While the books would have been a great supplement, having a guideline *like a traditional textbook* would have made things a lot easier. I am actually finding as I plan our upcoming school year that having these books really makes planning go a lot smoother and a heck of a lot quicker as well.

We also worry greatly about ensuring our boys hit all the academic concepts that are required in the traditional school setting. This will allow them to transition into a high school setting if they make the choice to attend high school. On the other hand, if they opt out of high school they will be able to enter into a college right out of our home with little to no trouble. With the traditional method this adherence to meeting grade requirements is a great positive for us. It eliminates the fear of missing something, while allowing us to pick and choose the materials*textbooks/workbooks* we feel best ensure that the boys have a solid education.

This method is also *almost* completely secular unless the family buys a box curriculum or textbooks that are geared to their specific religious views. The problem with the box curriculums comes in when you hunt for them. Most sellers of these curriculums are religious and it can be difficult to find secular box curriculums, but it is possible. Even box curriculums sold through some religious companies can be secularized and as secular homeschoolers grow so too does the product market.

There are other negatives *aside from the box curriculum problem* to this method. First off, it can be overwhelming having all the materials in front of you to weed through before the start of your school year. For some families it can produce the same problems found in a traditional school, with the underlining feeling that everything must be covered. For us this isn’t a huge negative since we don’t plan to schedule a traditional school year. Instead our scheduling would mimic more of a year-round school schedule (with periodic breaks throughout the year instead of a large break during the summer).

The difference then in what we do and what a traditional year-round school would do, would be that our schooling during the summer months wouldn’t be as intense. So the pressure would be on hitting the “needed” topics during our intense school months, which would allow us to relax a bit during the summer months. This doesn’t seem difficult since we would have from the first week of September to first week of June to meet our educational goals for that given school year. From there we would carry the topics not covered into the summer months. Which would then naturally lead us into the following school year since those topics we covered lightly would be the ones that got intense *more in-depth* coverage over the next year.

Overall though this method seems to be something that would work very well with our family. The structure and scheduling are highly needed in our home. We homeschool for academic reasons first and foremost. So this method completely works with that, by allowing us to pick and choose the materials that we feel will meet those academic standards we have, while still working in the aspects of traditional school that we like.



For instance we already have a classroom in place, it gives us a place to go to actually focus on formal lessons. Our classroom eliminates the distractions that come from having the dishwasher, washing machine, and/or dryer going, or any other item that can pull us away from what we are suppose to be doing.

We don’t personally like box curriculums not really because they tend to be sold by religious companies, but because we have an idea of how we want certain subjects to flow and box curriculums don’t give that flow we are looking for. This means relying heavily on traditional textbooks, which can get very pricy.



So in order to maintain some part of this method over the long haul a lot of saving over the course of every year will need to take place. This is possible, especially if we time our book buying to coincide with sales that publishers have, but we are still going to have to be vigilant with adhering to our budget. Price is an issue with this method period, since some box curriculums start at over 1,000$ and then go up from there the cost adds up quickly, especially if you are homeschooling more than one child.

So are there things useful to us in this method, yes. Does it have its drawbacks, yes, but they can be overcome.
We are half way through our methods coverage and so far no method seems to be a perfect fit for our family.

We still have four more methods to cover though, next up: The Waldorf Homeschooling Method.

Upon digging into homeschooling I discovered that there are various ways in which to instruct your child/children. Every family, in fact every child, is different. Even if two families are using the same method it will still vary based on what best fit’s the needs of the family implementing it. That is the beauty of homeschooling, no need for a one size fits all approach, this also invites frustration in locating the method(s) that work best for your family. As we come to a close on our first full year of schooling, I’m still working out what method(s) we will use and what we won’t. So as I work my way through it all I will be posting one post a week for the next eight weeks that will give a brief overview of the featured method, a list of books or other resources that relate to that method, and a list of pros and cons of the method in relation to our family’s needs.