Calder and I started homeschool today. Let me say, there was good and there was bad. As hard as I tried to banish any unrealistic and precious and disappointment-producing ideals about how homeschool should be this year, I'm still crawling away from this day discouraged, deflated--which is probably not a good time to sit down and blog. But here I am. What frustrates me so much is that he is a gem with other adults in a teaching position. Anyone have any experience with this, words of wisdom?
But I won't dwell any longer on the challenges. He really enjoyed his percentage lesson in math today as we pretended to shop a big sale on toys. We began his three-month weather unit with the hydrologic cycle, debuting with a horrible, horrible video on the subject from Netflix. He drew a beautiful drawing of a dogwood tree in our backyard. There was good today.
For those of you homeschooling, how is it going?
I should have posted these earlier than now, but here are a few Atlanta-area homeschool facilitators. Does anyone have experience with any of these organizations?
Lilburn Academic Classes
Heritage Academy
Dacula Classical Academy
TNT Academy
Heritage Classical Study Center
Artios Academies
Summit Academy
Master's Academy of Fine Arts
Knowledge Tree Center
Veritas Classical Schools
Moving Beyond the Page
Gifted Homeschoolers
I'm ready for a good night's sleep and a new day to start again!
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Hi Angela,
ReplyDeleteAh yes...the good days and the not so good days! Trust me, it gets better. What I have seen with my son is how much easier our schooling gets with each year as he matures. I know that sounds obvious, but when you are front and center everyday, it is hard to keep perspective. I hope that today is better for you. We start h/s on September 1.
Now, to answer your question about the homeschool facilitators. I have three different friends that have shared information about Heritage Academy, Summit Academy, and Moving Beyond the Page. The info. on Heritage and Summit Academies was very positive. My friend that used MBtP wasn't keen on continuing with it. I will contact her and see what she is doing now. Heritage Academy starts at 6th grade. Summit is for all ages.
Can anyone share what they are using for math and language arts curriculum? I'm looking at K12 (I've used it for two years...love the history and science), Teaching Textbooks (math) and Total Language Plus (Language Arts). I think I saw that someone mentioned ALEKS for math. My friend that used MBtP tried that and switched to K12. Any thoughts?
Leslie
Pierian Springs in Sandy Springs is great! It is for middle and high school, though. Also, for anyone willing to drive, LEO in Cumming has some stellar teachers. I have a friend who works at Artios and she is great but it is very religious which may or may not be what you are looking for.
ReplyDeleteTake it slow when you start. Not everything is going to work and that is okay. You are still doing better than public school!
I have heard great things about Teaching Textbooks but I have not used them. My daughter just started with K12 in sixth grade and I find it moderately challenging. I used Saxon Math but, frankly, the style was boring. As a supplement, I would recommend Ed Zacarro's books. If you don't mind doing the work, the 6 Traits of Writing system is very good along with a list of classics and some basic grammar curriculum (I liked Shurley English)--this can lead to a very creative and thorough language arts program. I am a big believer in classics. If you need some guidance choosing the books, try The Well Trained Mind or Thomas Jefferson Education. For more recent books, I also consult "Some of My Best Friends are Books" and any award lists.
Julie
I thought I would add to my original post after having talked to my friend about Moving Beyond the Page. She used it her first year of h/s and felt it appropriate for creative learners. With regard to math, they are using the Stanford EPGY elementary curriculum and give it high marks.
ReplyDeleteLeslie