Survey Says

We asked other Alabama Homeschoolers some of our most FAQ, and here is what they said:

Question: What is your favorite Curriculum?  Why?

• Shurley Grammar is one of the few true "Skill Building" grammar curricula. Whatever grade level you choose, it starts at the foundation and builds on it. A seven year old can easily diagram colorful sentences within weeks. A highschool student who has struggled with grammar can fill in the holes and have a strong foundation within a year. The kids love it and if you simply do as the book says, your children will learn grammar, no matter how 'bad' you are at it. Shurley Grammar teaches an internal dialogue that your children will use to deconstruct any sentence. It gives them confidence in their ability and takes the stress out of parts of speech. It also teaches editing skills, which is greatly needed in higher education, as well as vocabulary, literary terms and excellent writing skills.
• The Well-Trained Mind and other material written by them - It's easy to use, focused, and plays to my "less-is- more" philosophy.
• Teaching Textbooks - I'm not real strong in math and as my kids grow in their math skills this is a program that they can do pretty much on their own. It is a book and a CD. If the child needs more instruction than the book offers then they can use the CD which will teach the lesson, and will even work each problem in the book if they need help with working the problems.
• Switched on Schoolhouse - For my older children who can be given direction and allowed to go at their own pace with just followup and review....it allows me more time to spend with my special needs kiddos.  The tutor on the program is very thorough and my kids like it.  It is very portable when we are in Dr's offices and etc. Headphones and you are set.
• The Story of the World:  History for the Classical Child - I can get my son to read it, and I don't mind reading it either. We only have the text "Volume 2: The Middle Ages - From the Fall of Rome to the Rise of the Renaissance," but I've been looking at buying the accompanying activity book and test book. This book covers history that is left out of public schools - and it is interesting and easy to read. I've found that materials that interject humor and adventure to be a much better choice than the much drier, traditional texts. This book begins with:  "What if you owned a magic carpet? You could fly around the world--and back in time..."  Andab then proceeds to "fly" all over Europe and Asia during different times in the middle ages to see what can be seen. It includes literature (e.g. an abridged version of Beowulf), legends, folklore, etc., and, as a result, is very engaging.  I'm going to check into all of Susan Wise Bauer's "classical child" materials.
• Story of the World - Amazing history resource (especially the activity books) using real literature and real books as a basis for teaching. Projects lend to the overall understanding and comprehension of topics. Love using this in connection with The Well-Trained Mind.

• ABeCeDarian by Michael Bend - It teaches beginning writing, reading, and spelling all in one workbook. No extra papers needed. Super simple approach that children who have trouble reading and/or seeing can use with ease. You must go to the ABeCeDarian website to get it. The website has sample pages.

Question:  What is your least favorite curriculum and why?

• Saxon Math - Too much drill and review work.  However, it may work well for someone else whose children need repetition and review.
• Saxon Math - We tried that the first year and my son, who is great with math cried and begged not to do it.  It has LOTS of problems to work which can be overwhelming to one of my kids, but when tmy son, who is really good with math broke down I knew it was just too much.  They use a spiral approach which I know is good for some kids, but for us is was VERY boring, confusing at times, and very overwhelming at others.
• Latin's Not So Tough - It took me some research but, I had it confirmed that there are no context clues. Not only that but there is only ONE right answer listed in the answer key even if there are several possibly right answers.
• All of them - Most of my children are ADD and no matter how much time we spend on workbooks nothing sticks and frustration ensues. For me, avoiding headaches and burnout means avoiding curriculum.
• ABEKA  (hock pooey) - DULL!   Too much busy work and too heavy of a work load for the average student.  This to me would be like "Advanced/Gifted classes"
• Abeka - Abeka uses too many books for one subject.  An example for history there is the student & teacher book, a map book & key, a test book & key.
• Switched on Schoolhouse -It starts great.  The novelty of having your curriculum all in one place, on the computer, to be graded by a little guy inside your PC, is wonderful.  This wonderful feeling lasts about a week and a half.  That's when you realize that your child is stuck on a question in every subject because aforementioned little checker guy doesn't understand that just because there is an extra space in the answer, the answer is still correct.  Or maybe your student accidentally capitalized "Spring" or perhaps they typed a fraction as "two-thirds" instead of 2 / 3 with all the spaces in the correct spot.  Or, even worse, maybe they've found one of the one thousand trick questions that AOP decided to use.  I loathe curriculum that tries to make my child feel ignorant.  What is the upside of a child trying and trying to find the answer, only to walk away feeling dumb?  If that isn't bad enough, the material is painfully boring.   I've tried to read aloud the material in order to spark some interest and I find myself irritated and falling asleep.  Nothing about this fosters a love of learning.  Top all this off with a ridiculous price tag and Switched On Schoolhouse gets a failing grade.
• Switched on Schoolhouse - SOS is easy because it does the planning and most of the grading for you, but the material can be difficult and we found errors.  Sometimes the answer key matched what they typed in but still counted it wrong a few times there would be a wrong answer.

Question: What one website can you just not do without? 

• www.freerice.com - This one got the most votes. 
• http://librivox.org/
• http://www.kbears.com/
• http://www.livemocha.com/
• www.starfall.com - This was one of my faves when Dae was little. 
• http://discoveryeducation.com/
• http://quizlet.com/
• http://www.earobics.com/gamegoo/gooeyhome.html
• http://www.teachervision.fen.com/
• www.enchantedlearning.com

Question:  What one piece of advice would you give to new homeschoolers?

• Don't read everything or buy anything the first month you begin homeschooling.  It's too overwhelming.  Instead, get a feel for what your child needs, arm yourself with the knowledge you need to seek out those resources, and then shop.  
• Homeschooling gives you the freedom to do what works for your children and family, so there is no wrong or right way--do what fits!
• My advice to new homeschoolers?  Relax.  Bundle up with some really good books and a great math curriculum.  Get to know how your children learn and let them get to know you as a teacher.  It's a marathon, not a sprint!
• Enjoy the days!  Smile at your kids even when you don't feel like it, and read to them or with them every chance you get.
• You need support, find a good support group for you and your kids.  It will help you through the tough times that you will have at times.
• Relax, this is a journey but it's not a race. If you are not careful to shed the "school mentality" you'll  "should" yourself and your kids to death. 
• Each child is different....each family is different and what works in your family for 1 child may not work for the other.   Be ready for fruit-basket turnover and you will be able to handle it.
• If you are scared you don't know the material to be covered, study it for yourself. Find a friend to encourage and/or help in your weak areas, and don't be afraid to join together to cover some subjects.
• Don't give up.  It does get better the second year.  
• Don't expect to get a curriculum and not have to do some "fine-tuning".  I haven't found one yet that I didn't have to add something to it to make it work for my kids.

Question:  What do you know now that you wished you had known when you started homeschooling?

• 1. No two days will ever look the same!

2. Your kids are learning even when you feel like you're failing.

3. As long as everyone gets through the day alive and relatively happy, it's a good day.

4. Kids really don't need all the fluff of public school to be well-educated.  Actually, they're better off without it.

• Relax, can't emphasize that enough.  You will not mess your kids up or ruin their lives. Nothing will go as you plan 100%.  Your kids are learning and much more than you could ever imagine.  One day you will be listening to them talk about something and wonder how they learned that, especially since you know nothing about that.  I know that from experience.  Don't let others that don't believe in homeschool discourage you, instead surround yourself with people that support you in your decision.  Your kids will not excel at everything and they may even really struggle at some things, but that is life.  
• The first year is the hardest. Deschooling is very helpful to shedding the "school" mind set.
• There is so much available-Don't get overwhelmed.
• You don't need to push so hard.  They will learn if you provide them with the tools.
• You don't have to use text books.  Find what your child loves and let them discover the wonder of the library.  If older there are basics that have to be covered but use their electives to study what they are interested in.  Also I would have never put mine in public school if I had know how much we would have enjoyed homeschooling.
• It does not have to be bogged down with massive amounts of paperwork with lesson plans for each day, each subject and each child.   It is "FREEDOM" of education.

Question:  What is your favorite book about homeschooling and why?

• "Homeschooling: One Family's Journey" by Greg Millman - This book provides a real-life, practical view of homeschooling from an everyday, average income, unschooling family's perspective.  Even if the reader doesn't share the same preferences or principles as the authors, there is inspiration galore.  The format is engaging., the layout makes sense, but the copy is not dry and clinic like that found in many "how-to" books.  Highly recommend.
• "The Well Trained Mind" -  It presents a way of schooling that is orderly, logical, and rigorous.  I feel like by following it, my children's education will not be haphazard.  It fits our family's personality.  It is also flexible enough to adapt to my children's individual needs.
• "The Well Trained Mind" - The book was extremely useful in helping me gather my thoughts around a philosophy of home-education.  It also lines out what your child should learn, when he should learn it, and where to get the resources.
• "The Well-Trained Mind" - This resource gives you a 12-year plan that allows you to be the teacher and not rely on preset everything.  Will give your child the equivalent of a private school education for a fraction of the cost.
• "POC4U" - This one resource made our homeschooling so much better because it matches, level, best learning styles and more to the suggested curriculum for the student. Plus it costs less than $15.00.