Is this too good to be true? I sure hope not...

I am very happy to report that homeschooling is going remarkably well. We have had some ups and downs, but overall, things are going well.

So far, we have almost completed the second week according to the Sonlight curriculum. I was delighted to discover that many of the Sonlight books I needed I could get from Amazon or my local library. The books I couldn't get from Amazon or the library I purchased directly from Sonlight.

Unfortunately, after reviewing the Sonlight materials, I found that two of the books I had omitted because of the overt religious content I was going to need after all. But, at about the same time, I also decided that I would start my three-year-old on Sonlight's P3/4 curriculum. He loves to be read to and I figured he would be able to sit still long enough to reap some benefit from starting him now. So, I placed another order with Sonlight for the other books I needed plus the ones for the three-year-old. They should arrive in the next couple of days. I can't wait.

I am just blown away by Sonlight's curriculum and Singapore Math. I really wish I would have known about both when I homeschooled last summer.

We have deviated from Sonlight's plan a little though. Since both kids had had Charlotte's Web read to them, we decided to read E.B. White's The Trumpet of the Swan instead. It was a book I had purchased last year that none of us had ever read so we went with that instead. We also decided to delve into Greek mythology. My eight-year-old had been introduced to Greek mythology via a computer game that she had been playing online and she really loved the idea of learning more about it. So, I purchased D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths and started reading from that each night. The book has wonderful illustrations and is written in such a way as to hold both the eight and seven year olds' interest for an extended period of time. Most nights I find they are begging me to read "just a little bit more."

The history and geography woven into the Sonlight curriculum are ingenious. In fact, one of the books I had originally omitted, From Akebu to Zapotec, I decided I would add back in because the geography seemed invaluable. We are skipping A Beginner's Bible though. I don't mind introducing the kids to different religions, but I don't want to preach one as the absolute truth.

Singapore Math has been amazing, too. Both kids are catching on quickly and we are flying through the material. I had expected us to cover most information rather rapidly because much of it is review, but we have slowed down and taken our time when we have needed to. I am amazed at how well my eight-year-old is doing with computing numbers in her head. The Mental Math that Singapore teaches is incredible.

This time around I have also noticed that I have taken a much more laid back approach. If we don't get through everything we are supposed to on a given day, we don't sweat it. And, if the kids are excited about doing a particular subject first, we do it their way.

After the first day last week, I told my husband if things continue to go this well, we will probably continue in the fall. Of course, we have our days when the kids are whiny and grumpy about having to do school during the summer, but most of the time, they have been agreeable. My eight-year-old has also flatly refused to do any more French at this point. I haven't undertaken that battle just yet because she is doing so well in so many other areas.

I find myself looking ahead at the lessons coming up and thinking I don't think I will want to stop this in fall. I don't want them to miss out on the history, geography, math, and literature they would cover with Sonlight and Singapore Math. I hope things continue just like this! Certainly, if they do, it will make my decision in the fall that much easier.

I'm doing it again

I just took the plunge last night. I purchased the materials I'm going to need to homeschool both of my two older children again this summer. Like last summer, we're going to see how it goes and if it goes well, we may just keep on going right through fall.

It seems like every Fall I want to give the public school system the benefit of the doubt and try it out again. Then, each Spring (after I have come to my senses!), I realize that I was mistaken and that things are exactly as bad as I had thought they were the year before and I turn to homeschool as a viable option. Our homeschool experience was a good one overall last year.

Last summer, we used Saxon Math 1 and 3 to catch both kids up to the point at which I thought they should be. Saxon was just an "okay" fit for us. It probably worked better with my son than my daughter. It was simply too repetitive for her. If I were one of those people who could deviate from the lesson plan, there probably wouldn't have been a problen. But, if you put a lesson plan in front of me, I just have to follow it...to the letter. I can't seem to skip over things because I've afraid that the things I will skip over will wind up being the most crucial part. But, we did achieve our goal. They did get caught up and I felt really good about things after last summer.

But, now I'm feeling exactly as I did last spring. The only difference is now it is my daughter who has mostly fallen behind.

This year, after A LOT of research, I chose to use Singapore Math for both kids. Children who learn math using Singapore seem to consistently score well on achievement and aptitude tests. In fact, many children who switch to Singapore have to complete the course before the typical grade in which they should be enrolled because the program moves more quickly. For example, a child who just completed fourth grade would usually have to start with the 3B version of Singapore. But, they highly recommend that you test a child to see where s/he should start. I did this with both children. My son, who just finished first grade, tested in the 1B course which was exactly what I would have expected.

On the other hand, my daughter, who just completed third grade, tested into the 2B course. She is now a full year behind where Singapore would place her as a fourth grader. That was extremely disheartening to me particularly since she has always exceled in math. In fact, this past year at her public school, her teacher placed her in a group of students that received supplementary work in math because they were all doing so well in her class. Unfortunately, these students were "taught" by parent volunteers and didn't really receive any additional instruction from the teacher. But, I have to wonder how a child who does well in the classroom falls behind according to Singapore's standards. Could it be that the regular classroom work was brought down to such a "manageable" level that the students at the top just spun their wheels for a whole year? I have to think this might be the case. I believe a good, concrete reason for homeschool just dropped right into my lap.

We are also going to use the Sonlight Core 1 curriculum for reading, history, geography, and language arts. I have fallen in love with Sonlight. It is a literature-based curriculum without an "over-the-top" Christian spin. My plan is to have my son use the Sonlight 2 Regular Readers and my daughter the Sonlight 2 Advanced Readers. We're also going to work on phonics using Explode the Code and Plaid Phonics. I have purchased some of the readers from Amazon, but I plan to borrow most of them from our local library.

I've also signed them up for Time4learning to supplement what we are going to be officially doing. My daughter is also enrolled in Elementary French 1, Semester 2 through powerspeak12.

Of course, at this point, the children would rather clean the house every day than homeschool. They think I'm the meanest parent in the ENTIRE world to expect them to actually learn! I'm sure we will have some battles like we did last summer, but I find that once they accept the fact that we are going to do this, they settle down a little. Also, my three-year-old will be in daycare three days per week so we will have uninterrupted time to focus on school.

Right now, we are just waiting for the materials to arrive.