Home-Schooling (Reformed Materials) ?

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Originally posted by LadyFlynt
Thought you might! :lol:

If you have any advice for me, being that I'm a total newbie to homeschooling and starting with Pre-K and Kindergarten at the same time ..... I'm all ears!
 
Be cool

Be fun

Don't push

if you are only schooling these two then you WILL have FUN...this is the FUN STAGE!

Don't expect them to meet the typical "school expectations"...some want to speed through, others need to spend more time.

They will learn in "spurts and stops"...there will be times where they absorb everything (YAY!) and other times where a break is needed.

Lot's of outside time at this age (we school spring through fall because of the winter cabin fever syndrome...shouldn't be a prob for you Florida ppl though).

Take sidewalk chalk and do phonics on the patio...no kidding!!! You can't do learning time and addition this way too.

Children learn in several ways...seeing, listening, and doing. If they are only listening they will only retain a portion. If they are only seeing (reading) and listening they will retain a bit more. Try to "DO" when you can. A child who sees, listens, and DOES will retain 80-99%. (The reason for my sidewalk chalk above...it's fun!)

READ, READ, READ...(AVOID CAT IN THE HAT!!!)
 
Originally posted by LadyFlynt
Be cool

Be fun

Don't push

if you are only schooling these two then you WILL have FUN...this is the FUN STAGE!

Don't expect them to meet the typical "school expectations"...some want to speed through, others need to spend more time.

They will learn in "spurts and stops"...there will be times where they absorb everything (YAY!) and other times where a break is needed.

Lot's of outside time at this age (we school spring through fall because of the winter cabin fever syndrome...shouldn't be a prob for you Florida ppl though).

Take sidewalk chalk and do phonics on the patio...no kidding!!! You can't do learning time and addition this way too.

Children learn in several ways...seeing, listening, and doing. If they are only listening they will only retain a portion. If they are only seeing (reading) and listening they will retain a bit more. Try to "DO" when you can. A child who sees, listens, and DOES will retain 80-99%. (The reason for my sidewalk chalk above...it's fun!)

READ, READ, READ...(AVOID CAT IN THE HAT!!!)

Thank you so much. I will remember this. Although, he have already been corrupted by The Cat In The Hat. :chained:
 
ok...the concept of homeschooling is completely new to me, so could someone just help me with some stuff.

1. What is the 'focus' so to speak, of homeschool? Is the focus religious as in teaching them from the scriptures, or more secular in the sense of maths, science etc

2. What is the end goal? How long do you homeschool, as in to what age?
Is there a point were the children rejoin secular school?

3. Do you aim at having the children eventually enter secular university?


help is much appreciated!
 
The focus is educating our children in a Christ-centered manner with materials that are not offensive to our beliefs.

The end goal...a well educated child with an understanding of scripture.

Our children will be homeschooled from infancy to 12th grade.

Ultimately the child chooses the school (as we will not be able to pay for their school. I hope my children do not choose a secular university.
 
What is the goal of education?

Dear Satz,
you have hit the nail right on the head! What is the goal of education? RC Sproul Jr. has a book written on that question. Basically he boils it down to this question:

Is the goal of education the pursuit of personal peace and affluence?

In a secular world view essentially, the answer to that question is YES!

Christians would answer that question differently.

Once you start homeschooling -- raising and educating your kids with Godly wisdom -- would it make sense to transplant them from a Biblical environment into a athiestic, God-denying environment?

The goal of home education might or might not include higher education. Children who have been home schooled are prepared to compete in higher education. There are a few hoops to jump through to get a high school equivalency -- but basically, if a kid feels lead to pursue higher education after home education he can do it.

The essential question you have to answer is what is the goal of education? Is it the pursuit of personal peace and affluence?

Regards,

:detective:Reed
 
Plus, we look at the institutions of family, church and state. It is the responsibility of the FAMILY to educate children and raise them in the ways of the Lord.
 
Originally posted by MissSolaFide
Plus, we look at the institutions of family, church and state. It is the responsibility of the FAMILY to educate children and raise them in the ways of the Lord.

Well said! :amen:
 
Originally posted by ANT
I received all of the books and materials in the mail today. I'm so excited! I'm going to stay up late tonight looking and reading them over. Hopefully I will be able to get started with them tomorrow.

Just curious as to your experience with CH so far? We've recently ordered it (Kindergarten) for our children, but not received it yet. How is your 5 year old doing with K? We skipped the Pre-K so I'm hopeful that my 4 and 5 year olds will be able to do okay with it.

Thanks!
 
We use Veritas Press

We love this curriculum and I believe it is put out by Presbyterians. I might not be correct on that. This is actually where our Reformed leanings began to grow. We absolutely love the curriculum and I will do my best to answer any questions anyone might have on it.
 
My two cents on this (we homeschool ours as well and have been doing so for several years now):

When should you start teaching them how to read? When they're ready.

It sounds rather 'unschooling'-ish (we're not by any stretch of the word) but we don't push with our kids and though our six year old girl is probably not reading at her level yet, she just recently got interested in it and it has really taken off with it. We could have started when she was four, pushed her the whole time, been rather frustrated, and been somewhere around where we are right now. Our 9 year old has never been pushed with reading and her language arts score was almost 11th grade on the last Iowa test of basic skills. Both Esther and Joseph read a few hours a day, without prompting or persuasion. We don't have a TV so it's what they do when they're not working or playing outside.

Strong discipline and making it fun are both essential.

We use Sonlight Curriculum, by the way, and Saxon as well as Singapore math. We read EVERYTHING though, before the kids get their hands on it. For example, "In His Steps" is slated for reading for the kids in the next couple of years and that won't be handed over to them. We go through things with a fine toothed comb first.
 
We love this curriculum and I believe it is put out by Presbyterians. I might not be correct on that. This is actually where our Reformed leanings began to grow. We absolutely love the curriculum and I will do my best to answer any questions anyone might have on it.
We've Switched to VP also...however, I am considering going back to My Father's World, like we did last year. Or maybe use the two in conjunction with eachother.
 
A Good but in expenpsive curriculum

Hello, all. We started with Covenant Home, but found it to expensive. So I was searching the net one day trying to find a different option that was Reformed based and found Christian Liberty Press. They also have the option to enroll your children in Christian Liberty Academy School System. I was amazed at just how reasonable their pricing is. I got my son's entire first grade curriculum for, at that time, $115. I couldn't believe it, and it is good quality material, some of the same publishers you get from Covenant Home. The bible curriculum from Christian Liberty Press is based on the Westminster Catechism. From what I understand they have been around for many years as well, so you do not need to fear them going away all of a sudden.

Blessings in Christ,
Terry W. West

http://ebiz.netopia.com/clpress/
http://www.homeschools.org/
 
we are actually going to be using Christian Liberty CLASS program next year for our highschoolers, there is more accountability that way, which our oldest child desperately needs!

I know that VP is rather expensive but it is such good curriculum and I find it is really cost effective especially if you have alot of children to take through the program, you only have to purchase the materials once.
 
BJU HomeSat is worth looking into, especially if you are just starting out and you plan to have lots of kiddos. It is kind of expensive up front but you can record the broadcasts for future use. It is nice having the video lessons when you are trying to teach four or five at once. If you only have one or two you may not want to spend so much up front. (Also, you might have to filter out some Dispensational stuff once in a while) :2cents:
 
Hello, all. We started with Covenant Home, but found it to expensive. So I was searching the net one day trying to find a different option that was Reformed based and found Christian Liberty Press. They also have the option to enroll your children in Christian Liberty Academy School System. I was amazed at just how reasonable their pricing is. I got my son's entire first grade curriculum for, at that time, $115. I couldn't believe it, and it is good quality material, some of the same publishers you get from Covenant Home. The bible curriculum from Christian Liberty Press is based on the Westminster Catechism. From what I understand they have been around for many years as well, so you do not need to fear them going away all of a sudden.

Blessings in Christ,
Terry W. West

http://ebiz.netopia.com/clpress/
http://www.homeschools.org/

Our first homeschool graduate (our oldest son) graduated with a diploma from C.L.A. We even had the option to go to the graduation, but opted not to. We liked it. Our son was in 10th grade when we began to homeschool...
 
Hello, all. We started with Covenant Home, but found it to expensive. So I was searching the net one day trying to find a different option that was Reformed based and found Christian Liberty Press. They also have the option to enroll your children in Christian Liberty Academy School System. I was amazed at just how reasonable their pricing is. I got my son's entire first grade curriculum for, at that time, $115. I couldn't believe it, and it is good quality material, some of the same publishers you get from Covenant Home. The bible curriculum from Christian Liberty Press is based on the Westminster Catechism. From what I understand they have been around for many years as well, so you do not need to fear them going away all of a sudden.

Blessings in Christ,
Terry W. West

http://ebiz.netopia.com/clpress/
http://www.homeschools.org/

Thanks for the info Terry. This looks really good. I was considering CH but CL looks really good. Especially considering they use some Abeka books and that is what my kids are doing now. I am still deciding. I think they will do alright without the videos. It would sure save alot of money that we could use for Wed. School at New Albion. :up: :up:
 
Hey LadyFlynt.. I think I know you from another board b4 the chaos that happened there (cmomb)..is that you?
 
Singapore Math

Is anyone using or has used Singapore Math? It looks very good and interesting. We've always used Saxon, but Singapore looks to be very advanced. Coming from Sicily where we were very much ahead of the American school system,(my observation upon beginning school here in '71) I think I'd like to give it a try. Any thoughts?
 
I started homeschooling my children back in 1988, after their Christian school closed down. I HSed them for about 10 years, right through high school. All three of them then went on to higher education. My oldest is a computer programmer, my second is a registered nurse, and my third is a computer networking specialist. They excelled in college, and were always on the dean's honor roll, so academically, they had no trouble with their studies. I used A.C.E. (Acclerated Christian Education) as our core curriculum since the workbook style worked well for my kid's personalities and for me. I also supplemented every day with a dozen more things to practically implement what they were learning in their workbooks, so we had the best of both worlds. I do not believe that the actual curriculum you choose is nearly as important as your involvement, as a parent, in the education process, and ensuring your student is actually absorbing what they are reading and studying, and not just filling in the blanks. Mostly you need to find a curriculum that you are comfortable with. Unit studies work for some, workbooks work for others, so, there is no such thing as the "perfect curriculum".

But one thing I learned in hindsight, was the importance of finding a curriculum that adequately prepares them for, and is recognized by, colleges or universities, if you want to avoid them having to upgrade prior to their college admission. I know the U.S.'s higher institutions have made greater strides in that area than here in Canada, so it may not be as much as a concern for the majority of you. But here it can cost your child a year of upgrading to get the specific marks, from the specific government recognized state institution before the college will accept them into the program of their choice, regardless of how well they did in their HSing. There are ways to avoid this, so it is good to do your homework before you select your high school curriculum.

But putting curriculum aside, it is still the Bible, and the Christian teaching of our students that is the most important part of our HSing. Preparing them to be faithful godly men and women is what will have the lasting, eternal value. We had Bible reading, prayer, catechism memorization, and church history studies everyday as part of our HSing.

But we have to be careful not to allow a priority in one area, to allow us to be slack in another. I have been a part of many HSing support groups (not specifically reformed ones), and have observed many other HSers, and one thing that puts up red flags in my mind is when parents opt to not make their kids take the high school sciences, or maths, using the excuse that they themselves never needed them, and they doubt their kids will, either. One thing I always kept in my mind was that regardless of what career my child chose, one day my child could be a parent, who most likely would homeschool their children, so I needed to prepare them for all that that could entail. I asked myself whether I would be penalizing my grandchildren by shortchanging their parent's education. Now that I have grandchildren, I am so glad that I made my kids excel in all these areas, so regardless of the careers my grandchildren choose, I believe their parents (my kids) have the tools to teach them all that they will need. I believe that if we do not have high standards for our children, then we will be "dumbing down" all the subsequent generations. This has complications not only in the home and society, but also in the church. How would our children ever be able to read and understand our subordinate standards, the Puritan writings, the reformers from the 1600s, if we expected only the minimum standard of education from them? How would they ever be able to attain to study for the eldership, or the pastorate, if these tomes of the past are beyond their understanding?

I am sure there are none on this list that would fall into that category, as you all seem so zealous in the work you are doing, in the curriculums you are choosing, and the research you are putting into it. But I felt it was important to mention to those who are just beginning, as no doubt, you will run into people who hold that mindset somewhere along the way. We have an opportunity to educate the most brilliant minds in the nation, because the public schools certainly are not doing it. With that in mind, we need to always strive for excellence. This not only adequately prepares them for the future, but is also honoring first and foremost to our Heavenly Father.

WCF Shorter Catechism #1 What is the chief end of man?
Answer: Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever.

Deut 6:4-9 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
 
Grace, we use Singpore math and it is, in a word, thorough. There's lots of practice work in there and it is advanced by American standards (sorry, by American public school standards).
 
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