School almost over

Well we are on our 35th week of our school year and we are almost done. And here I am starting to figure our what are the things we will use again and the things we will get rid of. I always believe that if a curriculum works well, it doesn't matter if it's unpopular for others what matters is that it works for you. I always get tempted to try something else based on popularity demand. For example, we have used Saxon Math from the very beginning but I have heard and read so much about Teaching Textbook ,so I switched. Well, Teaching Textbook is a very good program but it wasn't for us. So we ended up going back to Saxon again. But I still have 2 boys following my eldest so we might be able to use it when their time comes.

When it comes to grammar curriculum, I am hands down to Rod and Staff Grammar. It is very thorough and has a lot of practice and review. My son loves it and really learning it. I don't think I will ever look into another grammar curriculum ever again.

The only subjects that I frequently change is science. We have used a lot of curriculum because I think there is nothing out there yet that will fit our science appetite. I love science and my son loves it too. But instead of choosing a curriculum with 10 different topics in it or a curriculum with one topic in it, we chose to do Science per semester. That means that the first half of the year we do one topic and the second semester is also a different topic. We do this because we don't want to get bored studying the same thing the whole year but give us enough time to learn it and enjoy it. This year we have done Botany and Earth Science. And my kids have learn so much this year.
History, we have done Story of the World. I will never change this too. My son loves to read this book. And have learned so much from it that sometimes I think he knows more than me. This curriculum had brought my children the love of history. And that I am glad and thankful. I have never heard them say...history is boring. Because this book is really a good history read book.
Though I am mostly sure of what we are going to use this coming school year, I am hoping that I will have the courage to stand by my decision and not to be persuaded to try something else.
All in all, this year has been good. I guess 3 years of doing homeschooling , we finally found our stride and I am just hoping that this will continue. I will just have to think of more ideas to make our homeschooling more fun.

Start of a New Year!!!

Everytime school starts, I think of it as new year. It's the start of a new level and planning how else can I possibly help my children embrace the love for learning. For the last 2 years that we have been homeschooling, Math and Reading have always been my priorities in my school. My son, Jhoshua who is 8 yrs. old is doing Teaching Textbook 6 this year. So far, I like the way that this math curriculum is laid out for us. The cds are a blessing for me. It elliminates frustrations in my part when repetitive explanations is needed. Teaching to an 8 yr old seems easy but I think when you're an adult and a topic seems easy for you, it doesn't always mean that your children can see it the way you see it. It's hard to go to their level somedays that somehow you can't figure out the best way to explain things. That is how I came to like Teaching Textbook very much. It's like having a tutor in your house anytime. My son doesn't like math very much. He is smart and math gifted though but doesn't like doing it. You can show him how to do it and picks up easily but doesn't like doing the drills. I needed something that will give him his independence and as well as for me to be able to check his work. TT had done those things for us. This is the second math curriculum we have used so far. We've always done Horizon Math and personally I love it. My son won't admit that it made him a better math student but I think Horizon is really a good and solid math curriculum there is out there for elementary.
So far, I haven't heard any complaints about Teaching Textbook. That's GOOD!!! I never have to force him to do it. And the BEST part of it. He does it on his own and does it before anything else.I only have to ask him about the lesson each time he finished it, to check if he really understood and that's all I do. He won't tell me that he loves it but if he's advancing and can actually do it on his own (without me saying.."pls. do it now") then I know I've hit a jackpot with this one. I am glad I tried this program. And looking through it, I see that it is well laid out, not too much exercises just enough for a student not to get bogged down. It also has reviews for the past lessons so they don't forget what they have learned. The explanation/ lecture per lesson is very clear, I think if you let them watch the cd and follow up on it it will serve your child really well.
The only downside I see with most families that uses it is that they leave their children by themselves and rely on the cd on its own and expect the child to get all of it. Remember that it is a well explained lecture but a child can not ask a question to the cd so you do have to watch the lesson yourself in case he has some questions about it. We are slowly teaching our children to teach themselves but math I think is a very different subject. It always needs more time and more guidance and more patience.
Well, I just want to share our experience with Teaching Textbook. I hope that the coming level of this program will run as smoothly as it is right now.