<p>I have four children, two of whom are already at boarding school. I have two kids left at home, a boy and a girl in 5th and 6th grade.
We currently attend an extremely progressive pk-8th private elementary school (and our 2 older graduated from this school as well) - and generally speaking we are happy. The school provides a fantastic, creative environment - lots of options and self directed learning. No grades. They farm, they camp, they cook, they tie dye - etc. You get the picture - very kum-ba-ya. A wonderful place to be a child. </p>
<p>But.... (there's always a but)</p>
<p>I feel like I need to supplement their education. My Son #1 (upper at Exeter) is doing fine having come out of this environment, and was always ridiculously motivated and academically competitive. He gave himself a couple of hours of homework each night while a student at this school - because generally speaking none was assigned or he had completed in quiet work time at school. Still, Exeter was a shock a couple years ago, and he has been honest with us where the gaps were educationally. Daughter #2 (All girls school) is having a very difficult time adjusting to the homework load. I cannot help but feel very guilty. I feel we set her up for - if not failure by any means - but a really hard time. Trying not to make the same mistake with kids #3 and #4.
So here is the million dollar question for all you home schoolers out there - I am looking for a program where I can purchase individual courses and assign my own homework. I think that an hour or so is not unreasonable for a 5th and 6th grade student. Right now they have none. My two older kids say that this alone would have made a huge difference during their high school transition. I don't need an entire curriculum - I am looking for supplemental math (pre-algebra) and critical reading/ reading comprehension/ analysis. I would also not be at all interested in a company that has any religious elements to their science coursework. The company that seems to be popping up (and advertising heavily) is the K12 Independent Study Program. Right now none of my homeschool friends use this program. I am hoping some of the parents on CC have some familiarity with this company, or advice that may take me in a different direction altogether.<br>
Both my 5th and 6th grade children are very bright (aren't they all on CC?), and seem to be looking for more structured, challenging work.</p>
<p>Great thread, liddyb4, our children are in a similar school. Can you say what curriculum your home school friends are using currently? I also look forward to what CC parents have to say on this topic. I never heard of K12 Independent Study Program, fwiw.</p>
<p>K-12 is well known and seems to have a solid program. A new option for gifted homeschoolers which is catching on very quickly is Online G3. Then there’s Stanford EPGY, University of Missouri online (middle school and high school courses available) which have both received positive reviews.</p>
<p>Libby- I had three years of work with K-12, and LOVED it. My d loved it also. I was able to tailor it to fit my d’s needs and interest. I used the program for my d from 6th-8th grade. Is is perfect, nope but it worked for us and I was able to take my d out of a middle school environment that I didnt care for; bullying, social pressue.</p>
<p>The one thing that people always asked me was “what about her socializing with other kids?” I have to admit, many kids at my d’s public school were kids that I didnt want my d to socialize with. She spent about 15-20 hours per weeks dancing, working with small children, learning Japanese and reading. she socialized with those that had similiar interest.</p>
<p>I homeschooled k-8, based on The Well Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer. It’s an overwhelming book if you try to do the whole thing, but full of great resources and recommendations. The Well Trained Mind discussion boards are an even better resource–post your questions there and/or search the boards, and you’ll get oodles of recommendations, including reviews of k-12, EPGY, etc… There’s an afterschooling board there that would be just right for you–but search the other boards as well. </p>
<p>Specific 5-8 recommendations: I highly recommend an off-shoot of WTM–a self-paced, self-study program called History Odyssey, which is world history, writing, and literature all rolled into one. You’d want level 2. </p>
<p>As far as math goes, if I could do it again, knowing my son would be at Exeter in 9th grade, I’d have kept him in Singapore Mathematics, supplementing with their word problem books. I have no science recommendations–the fundamentalist, creationist slant thing is really, really a problem–I ended up sending him to ps in junior high after cobbling things together badly for years.</p>
<p>All I can say is it becomes a sort of obsessive lifestyle. Loved the time with my kids–but my kindergartener is in public school, at least for now. I’m not sure I’ve got it in me to start again. </p>
<p>That said, 5-8 is easier to manage, time-wise, if you pick the right curricula. My kids worked independently for the most part, and those time management skills have really come in handy for my bs kid this year. PM me if you want the nitty gritty.</p>
<p>I second what C-mama says about singapore math and exeter. I still pull them out for my daughter every once in a while and even though my youngest is in school now, we continue to use it for its strong concept focus and ridiculously hard word problems. If you have a strong math student, use a level lower for Singapore. To supplement individual math concepts like fractions or percents, use Key Curriculum Press. And then there is ALEKS for math. It’s great for generating problem after problem and generates great reports.</p>
<p>C-mama and I used very similar “curriculums” while homeschooling. I think I was a little more of an unschooler than her in that if I wanted my kids to read a particular poem or discuss a certain work of art, I would just leave the book open on the kitchen table and let them find it. </p>
<p>Writing Strands is a good self paced program that will require little from you. My kids enjoyed it. </p>
<p>All of these resources can be found at Sonlight.com. I’ve always found them to have the best prices and reviews, etc. </p>
<p>I never bothered with a “homeschool” science program for the same reasons as c-mama, but I did urge my kids to read JPII’s encyclical on faith and reason. (and how science and Christian thought don’t have to clash) Most of the science that mine did at that age revolved around those discover kids magazine and a book called blood and guts.</p>
<p>My son almost brought his “Story of the World” books with him to Exeter but instead, made me promise that I would make sure his little brother read them.</p>
<p>One thing that I wish I would have taught my kids that I didn’t is how to summarize. If you want to assign homework, give them a history or science article and teach them to outline it. My son would be having a much easier time if he had this skill. You could give them one of those big index cards every day and have them write down what was covered that day in school, or create their own text book.</p>
<p>Be creative. We had lots of fun homeschooling and I really miss it. By the way, 5th and 6th grade are my absolute favorite ages to teach kids.</p>
<p>Ditto neato’s post–though Writing Strands never took here–don’t know why. History Odyssey teaches outlining and summarizing in a consistent, systematic way, moving by eighth grade to structured analysis and essay writing. Outlining and summarizing are second nature to my kid after all those years of history–and neato’s right, that skill has been a big help to him at Exeter and made his work load in humanities and science MUCH easier to handle. </p>
<p>While I was probably more structured than neato, one of the best homeschooling tricks I think we both played on our kids was the “book box,” kept filled with a variety of library and used books, from art to history to fiction to science, usually related in some way to what we were studying. My kids were required to read for at least an hour a day from the book box–my older son generally devoured all the books in the box, reading for hours each day, until about seventh grade, when he got pickier about what he was reading.</p>
<p>If you did nothing else as a homeschooler or afterschooler but maintain a book box and require that your kids choose books from it and read every day, they’d probably benefit more than from any other more structured/expensive course.</p>
<p>C’mama and Neato, That’s amazing what you could do. I’ll be reaching out to you over time about HS as we never looked into it. I hope you waive the consulting fee. jk jk.</p>
<p>How is Singapore math different from what is taught in our schools? Do you teach both regular school math and supplement it with SM?</p>
<p>Thank you so much - it is times like these that I am reminded why I even bother with this board. Such smart and helpful people!</p>
<p>I will take neatos and CMamas advice seriously. I agree re: the Singapore Math - I will absolutely get that program to ready them for Exeter if they choose that path. I will also do the Aleks -they really only do manipulatives (even for pre algebra) in their current math program and I think some abstraction and drills may be useful for a future of standardized testing. The History Odyssey is also on my radar, as well as some art/architecture history. He (6th grader) watched the Nova 2 nights ago -“Building the Great Cathedrals” and was glued to the set. Math +Art +Laser Beams = Love for my son. Who knew Gothic structural engineering studies would be his calling
To both Neato and CMama- have a wonderful parents weekend! Have back up plans for lunch and dinner - when the campus doubles in size it gets hairy at times. I wish for our paths to cross on campus sometime, it is probably not in the cards this weekend, however. </p>
<p>@sunrise - My friend primarily unschooled and then did a correspondence course for high school. No teacher check -in - just state standardized tests with a diploma at the end. They are pretty far off the grid, and that worked for them. When she needed material she used the Oakmeadow website, a company based in Vermont. My other friends have done religiously based curriculums and I did not seek their advice.</p>
<p>My daughter was homeschooled right up through her eighth grade. Everything Neato and Classicalmama says goes for me. I used K12 for a year and found it difficult to tailor. It was a while ago, so things could have changed. If I were supplementing a school math program for a 5-8 grader, I would go with the Key Curriculum Press books. Cheap, user-friendly. Singapore is great, and what I used through grade six, but I didn’t like their after sixth grade stuff as much. And do check out Sonlight. Ignore the missionary slant and take their advice on historical fiction. Great reads.</p>
Loved the time with my kids–but my kindergartener is in public school, at least for now. I’m not sure I’ve got it in me to start again. </p>