# New at Home Schooling/ Curriculum?



## 1Travelingon (May 1, 2005)

I took my 10 year old son and 12 year old niece (have legal guardianship) out of the public school system. They go to 'enrichment classes' two days a week at a charter school but the rest is home school. I do not have any _particular_ curriculum (does this matter)? I was given grade appropriate books from the site coordinator and because there is a massive resource library I have chosen other subjects of interest. 
My first problem has been deciding how much time should be spent on any one subject per day? Should it be we cover one chapter a day or spend one hour on a chapter/subject a day? Any advice would help.


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## Cheryl in SD (Apr 22, 2005)

I would have a curriculum for Math & language arts, they you could use the resource library for the rest of your subjects. I divided the school books by the number of days we plan to school. They need to complete those pages each week.

A 10 & 12 yo can easily be combined for many subjects.


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## 1Travelingon (May 1, 2005)

My son had outstanding results on the STAR test in math, but when he and my niece were tested at the charter school the were below grade level. I was told it was because they were doing Saxxon Math in the public school. It was recommended they start Singapore Math at the 4th grade level (both of them). Now I feel like we have to work through holidays and summer just to get them caught up to their actual grades of 5th & 6th grade. I will divide the rest of the subject by number of days, that makes sense, thank you


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## halfpint (Jan 24, 2005)

Around here most people consider averaging about one hour per day per subject. Many will do science two or three days per week, and but will do somewhere between 2-3 hours per session. Often the same goes for History. This varies with us depending upon what we are studying, as some lessons (aka labs, projects, etc.) require more time.

All subjects can be done without textbooks/curriculum, but it is very difficult to get everything covered, especially in math and language arts as was pointed out by Cheryl. Many people work from a scope and sequence - either provided by a curriculum supplier or by your state schools. Many schools have these online, and several of my friends follow our local schools scope just in case they need to put their children back in school, although they don't use the same curriculum as the schools.

Andreozzi, there are mixed opinions on Saxon Math. The colleges around here don't like it, and just because my son was home schooled they wanted to put him in remedial math in college (even though he had scored high in math on the ACT) - thinking that he had used Saxon. I've heard great reviews of Singapore math, but haven't used it. We use ABeka math, but have the older versions which are not very self explanatory - but since I tutor in upper level math that hasn't been a problem for me. 
Dawn


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## cindy-e (Feb 14, 2008)

Andreozzi said:


> My son had outstanding results on the STAR test in math, but when he and my niece were tested at the charter school the were below grade level. I was told it was because they were doing Saxxon Math in the public school. It was recommended they start Singapore Math at the 4th grade level (both of them). Now I feel like we have to work through holidays and summer just to get them caught up to their actual grades of 5th & 6th grade. I will divide the rest of the subject by number of days, that makes sense, thank you


My kids were educated with Saxon and they compete on math competition teams, so I don't think the problem is the curriculum. There is some key concept that they are not getting. That's OK. And it's recoverable. If I had to make up time in math, I would use ALEKS. www.ALEKS.com. This is a CAT based, computer based math. But the beauty of it is that it will assess what the child needs and will work on what particular learning gaps the child has instead of having to go through an entire grade level curriculm. You may find that they already understand 70% of the 4th grade curriculum when you do the assessment. In that case, to start over at the beginning of a 4th grade book and do the whole thing would not really be what they need. Because of how the math curriculum spirals it would be completely reasonable that you could make up one to two grades in one year without having to kill yourself or them, or work through holidays. 

Check it out. I hope it helps. It is more expensive than Singapore. (20 dollars a month per kid I think.) But it would be the fastest way to get them back to grade level of which I am aware. 

Good luck to you! 

Cindyc.
ETA My son who competes on math teams hated math until 6th grade, because he likes conceptual maths not arithmetic. This is common with math gifted kids. You may find he moves really fast in math *after* 6th grade if he really has math aptitude. Also Normal. Also OK.


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## Tracy Rimmer (May 9, 2002)

Saxon is, IMHO, the best there is, so long as your child learns well from that format -- it's very much about the book-learning, butt-in-seat home educating when you're using Saxon. It's what we use, and my eldest is now doing college level math at 16. Singapore is great for more visual learners.

There is a fabulous book by Rebecca Rupp -- Home Learning Year by Year that might help you figure out what they ought to be doing and how to get them there.


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## offthegrid (Aug 11, 2009)

Singapore has an online placement test and the grade levels on the books do not correspond directly with grade levels in public school. So, don't assume they should start on book 4A, and don't worry if they do. :shrug:

Personally, one of the best things about homeschooling is that I *don't* have to set aside "one hour per subject per day" [whether they need it or not!] to educate my kids. That is just as arbitrary as having 30 kids work at the same pace in math class in the public schools.

Some days my kids might spend 2 hours on math and sometimes 15 minutes. It depends on the topic and what else we have going on that day. I try not to "school at home" with my kids at a desk for 5-6 hours. If I wanted that, I'd send them to school.

One nice thing about Singapore is the books are cheap. So you can try it for a while and see what you think; if you hate it you can ditch it and look for something else. 

I like Growing with Grammar and we also use Voyages in English for writing, but I wouldn't recommend buying the teacher's manuals because they are overly structured and confusing. I haven't opened mine since August and will not buy them again.

Start with a couple of subjects and add as you go along. You can always find more to do, but if your kids are frustrated and overworked you will ALL hate homeschooling.


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## 1Travelingon (May 1, 2005)

Thank you everyone for your suggestions, link and support. I do need to plan some other activities as well, there has already been too much "seat time." With the holidays and extra-curricular activities outside the home we haven't done any "fun" learning inside the home like projects or labs. Being organized has been a challenge as well.


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

I'm just going to be another who gives a plug for Saxon. 
I use it for homeschooling, but I also used it when I taught country school. K,1,2,3,4,6,pre-algebra. All were in Saxon, and I _still_ think their math was ahead of their peers in traditional texts. 

Our current district uses it for remediation. (And I keep asking why we don't use it for class use, as well!)


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## 1Travelingon (May 1, 2005)

I'm going to use the free trial for ALEKS, I'm impressed, and I believe my kids are going to prefer the virtual learning to the textbook. Thanks Cindy, I had no idea this was available!


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## 1Travelingon (May 1, 2005)

I really don't have anything against Saxxon- my 10 year old son says he loved it and isn't looking forward to trying the Singapore (a bit unadaptive). The site coordinator for the charter school we use (twice a week for enrichment purposes) told us the Saxxon math was actually a year behind. If a child is using a Grade 5 math book it is actually teaching the 4TH grade level. So, when in comparison to the STAR testing which is allegedly why so many kids are scoring low on STAR testing- if they are in the 5TH grade, STAR is math testing them at a 5TH grade level, but if the book they are using is only a 4TH grade level, that is the highest level they are going to score on the STAR because they have not really learned the 5TH grade level despite what the textbook states. This is only what I have heard.


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## Tracy Rimmer (May 9, 2002)

I suppose it's all in how you apply it. My kids work through texts at their own pace -- we don't pay much attention to grade level. 

In application, Saxon has levels, but your school may be applying them inappropriately. Saxon 1, 2, 3 are all obvious, but then you have Saxon 54.... which is the FOURTH grade text, not the fifth.... and Saxon 65 -- which is a FIFTH grade text.... but would be appropriate for STRUGGLING grade six students. If they're applying it as the 65 is for use in a sixth grade classroom, then yes, they will be teaching a year "behind" the standardized testing norms.


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## 1Travelingon (May 1, 2005)

Hi Tracy- I believe that is what was happening at our small public school. I pulled my kids out of the public school for many reasons- my son was being kept in on his breaks and lunches to correct any math problems he got wrong. He would also be withheld from Band or P.E. if he was out a day (due to illness) to get caught up. My son scores high on STAR and they want to keep it that way. It was not fair to him to go all day and only be given time to eat a quick lunch. My niece scored low on STAR (whom I am raising) and they didn't require her "to go the extra mile." I fought against it, it made no difference, they wanted their "STAR pupil" to remain that way at any cost. My son is so happy now that he is being home schooled, he still has his saxophone lessons (one-on-one) now, and my niece gets to have flute lessons (she wasn't allowed to play an instrument only because she hadn't played one the year before). They are both taking foreign languages as well (not an option in our public school), and so much more We just need to get organized... Thanks for sharing.


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## cindy-e (Feb 14, 2008)

Andreozzi said:


> I'm going to use the free trial for ALEKS, I'm impressed, and I believe my kids are going to prefer the virtual learning to the textbook. Thanks Cindy, I had no idea this was available!


You're welcome.  This is what the math coach for competition team suggested. It is a good option. It is especially good for remediation because it will focus on what the individual child needs to know after assessment. 

Having said that, it does sound like saxon was being misapplied in your school system. It is a very good program. Singapore is good too, though, for different reasons. If you decide to put them back in a regular curriculum once they are "caught up", you can't go wrong with either thing, I don't think. 

Have a great school year,

Cindyc.


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

Tracy Rimmer said:


> but then you have Saxon 54.... which is the FOURTH grade text, not the fifth.... and Saxon 65 -- which is a FIFTH grade text.... but would be appropriate for STRUGGLING grade six students. If they're applying it as the 65 is for use in a sixth grade classroom, then yes, they will be teaching a year "behind" the standardized testing norms.


I wonder if you're right... 

DS, for example, is currently working in the 54 text (homeschool ed.) It's very clearly marked on the box that it's targeted for fourth grade. 
Having taught in public elementary schools for a number of years, I know for a fact that what he is learning in his text is comparable to, or even _surpassing_, what is taught in other 4th grade math texts. 

Because of the spiral nature of the curriculum, he has a much better grasp of geometry and measurements, for example, not to mention decimals and algebraic concepts, than most of his peers who are taught with a traditional, chaptered text book.


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## 1Travelingon (May 1, 2005)

Hi Erin,

My son enjoyed Saxxon Math, I thought it was a good text also and he scores 'advanced' on STAR testing. However, in Singapore and on Aleks he didn't score very well. It is all very confusing.


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