New Here...unique situation with questions

Sara - posted on 01/07/2010

I would look into an online curriculum like Switched on Schoolhouse. it is a very interactive online program that has bright colors and activities.

I would also recommend joining a Children's Museum or Discovery Center that is local to your "home" that will allow your family to visit other associated museums. That way as you travel you can visit other fun places w/o the associated cost. We paid $75 to join our local Children's Museum and are able to visit hundreds of other museums throughout the country. So when we travel we can enjoy those w/o an added expense. The Association of Science Technology Centers(ASTC) is who are museum is associated with. So we can enjoy other museums associated with them for free as well! Same thing with zoos. I know our local Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo membership will allow us access to many zoos across the country. That way you can get out of the "house" and learn something new! These museums often have curriculum for home schoolers so you may be able to tie it in w/ what you are learning.

Paulette - posted on 12/31/2009

Read her interesting books! You can read to her while you are nursing Addie. While the 3R's are necessary as the tools to learning her little mind is active and wanting to know so much more than she can read about herself yet. I used Abeka for awhile, now I pick and choose my own curriculum. You don't need to make her complete every page, nor do everything perfectly. If you push too hard, she will resist. Recognise that your goal is to raise a bright, happy child. Learning to read, write and figure sums are all only a part of the picture for a well rounded education. Spend a little time every day on these basic skills, but don't overdo it. Try to work at her pace. What is she interested in? Get some books from the library, visit parks, museums, etc - you should have some wonderful opportunites for learning "outside the classroom" with your travelling. Read to her (and the baby), be interested and excited at learning new things yourself, and your daughters will develop a love of learning, which can be squashed by too much early "bookwork". Remember that most text books are written with schools in mind, and a lot of it is just "busywork" and not really learning. For more ideas you might like to look at my website www.familygleanings.com
Blessings
Paulette

Tonya - posted on 09/28/2009

I too am new to home schooling. My son who is 9 and in 3rd grade has used a beka in school since 1st grade. We tried public school this year because we had just moved to the area, but have now decided to try the DVD's that A Beka offers. He has ADHD and I too was nervous about ME being the teacher. I know the program is great and hope you have good luck with it. I am waiting on my first shipment to come in.

Rachel - posted on 08/31/2009

check out www.abcjesuslovesme.com for some fun activities. Also, www.starfall.com has some fun reading games and stuff that might interest her.

Shawna - posted on 03/30/2009

I have a 12 year old who is home for the first time this year. We are going through Odyssey Charter School, we also use Abeka, this program is actually through the school district & is also paid through them so it is free to us. I live in Las Vegas,NV but I know they are in different states. I would try looking at their web site to find out if they are in the area where u actually reside in. He has a teacher that comes once a week for an hour to assign his work and to help with any problems cause after awhile it starts to get hard but I know the Abeka book really helps but most is done on the computer. There are also web sites through there that they can play games, looks and acts like a video game but teaches them also. Try mathgames.com & my son says it has other web sites to go to on there. I don't know your exact situation but with Odyssey if you can not make a teaching session you can do an email session. But look into those, I hope I have helped some what but even our tacher says that the Abeka books are the best!