Homeschooling on a strict budget?

[mommydama]

This was shared in the Orthodox classical homeschoolers yahoo group: http://oldfashionededucation.com/index.html

It looks like an excellent resource. Very organized and clear curriculum and even daily lesson plans. Almost all of it free and available online. Amazing. Not exactly classical, but it looks like a very literature based curriculum like Ambleside. The fact that a mom put this together and then shared it with the rest of us is so neat. The organization alone makes me really tempted to just use it next year. I'm already totally overwhelmed trying to figure out how to do kindergarten with Zoe and start Mari in the "meat" of a classical education next year. I got The Well Trained Mind from my mom for Christmas. I've only skimmed it before. And it is making me cringe at the enormity of picking and choosing my own curriculum and trying to budget for it. Ugh.

Comments

[altarflame.livejournal.com]

I will definitely check that out.

I don't know if you're interested, but this is what we've done so far for simultaneous 1st grade and K -

-"Comprehensive Curriculum" workbooks in K and 2nd gr, for math, phonics, reading, etc. These were $25 each at Barnes and Noble and came with the glowing reccomendation of an occupational therapist I spoke to about Aaron. The two of them can sit at the table with me together, doing their stuff. They are very fat workbooks with cut and paste activities here and there amidst more traditional stuff, split up by section.
-Reading aloud from "What Your First Grader Needs to Know", for art, history, literature, "culteral literacy" stuff, etc - I got a used book off of ebay for less than $2 and we LOVE it. I read to both of them from it, stopping often to ask questions and sometimes doing reccomended activities, usually on the couch.
-I got a teacher's guide to science journals for elementary students, and assigned each of them a 3 ring binder full of notebook and blank white paper. Ananda is to the middle of hers since we started last year, Aaron is further behind. It includes things like explaining the scientific method, figuring out how they best like to learn science, drawing themself as some time of scientist after discussing all the different kinds, making a list of similarities and differences between themself and another creature or person, and so on.

Those are sort of full time things, regular things - the workbooks are daily, and some days we supplement with the readings, some days the science, and some days both. But then we also...

-Made a times table and flash cards ourselves, and have been reciting them as well (Annie and I only, because she wanted to do it). She's up to 4s.
-Have a 1st grade math book that we use for review.
-Bought a bunch of those "Step Into Reading" books and everyday she reads me something.
-And then the recorder, for her and Aaron both. Though he is still at the 15 minutes once a week phase she was last year, while she is doing 30+ minutes 2 or more times a week now (largely due to her own enthusiasm).
-There is before bed reading of fiction or poetry
-Around twice a month Aaron and I use Handwriting Without Tears manipulatives, but mostly just for fun
-Lastly I suppose, we do go to Mass most Sundays, pray at dinner and before bed each night, and I read to them from the bible instead of whatever else on Sundays and around "Religious holidays".

I find that at this age, I can still do most of the "sit down at the table and concetrate" stuff during the hour to hour and a half of napping that the babies give us, but we're having 3 sessions a day of some type of school - reading from the bible or What Your First Grader Needs to Know in the morning sometime, sit down work in the afternoon, and then recorder practice or time table stuff or her reading to me or whatever, with just Ananda, in the evening when Grant is around to help distract the others.

Anyway I don't know if that's way too much of a hodge podge to make sense to other people, but I think it's worked out really well. PATH has added a great dimension to our schooling as well, because we end up doing a big project board on a country and bringing food from it, to the Culture Fair, and we're doing a big science experiment for the Science Fair and Annie really wants to compete for Physical Fitness Awards next month like public school kids do. I've been thrilled with the group; from her actually performing on stage, to them all just being around the same big group of kids outside playing for a couple of hours once a week.

[mommydama.livejournal.com]

All three girls got recorders from an aunt and uncle for Christmas!! I'm so excited to start teaching Mari and Zoe. We'll see how it goes.

I have What your First Grader Needs to know, but had been holding off on it since I really want to do a more classical approach to history and language arts. I need to find a copy of the Story of the world to see if it is what I want.

I'm really missing a good homeschool group. I just found it impossible to go to their stuff. It always conflicted with preschool and gymnastics! Arg! Maybe next year I'll be able to do without preschool. And the Mari and Zoe will both be too old for daytime dance or gymnastics. It will all be in the evening and on weekends. I don't know about preschool though. That time with Mari alone has been wonderful. And I think it has been REALLY good for Luci and even better for Zoe. I've seen her come out of her shell more than ever before. And the break from Luci intensity has been good for me too. I was sort of looking forward to it again next year. She has matured so much in the last few months, perhaps I'll be ready to take it on again "full time" next year. who knows.