Creating yoru own curriculum

Discussion in 'Home Schooling' started by ladybirdhawk, Mar 11, 2006.

  1. ladybirdhawk

    ladybirdhawk Member

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    If you could create your own curriculum...what would you want to include?
     
  2. mamaboogie

    mamaboogie anarchist

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    my children create their own curriculum. Right now, it's all about horses and ponies for the older child, and puppies and butterflies for the younger kid, with a bit of gardening and cooking thrown in there because that's what mama does and thinks about every day anyway. You can turn anything you do, every single day, into a learning experience for your children. You don't have to purchase boxed curricula or workbooks.
     
  3. Nina123

    Nina123 Member

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    what about math and vocabulary?
     
  4. mamaboogie

    mamaboogie anarchist

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    what about math and vocabulary?

    cooking teaches all kinds of math, fractions, addition, subtraction, multiplication. Vocabulary comes from all the books we read, every time my kids come across a new word, they ask me what it means. We go to the library at least once a month and get new books. We have an entire bookshelf dedicated to kids' books. I have a child who isn't yet five who can already read, add, subtract, multiply and divide. She knows simple fractions and percentages. She knows what the words prehensile [tail] and regeneration mean from when we were learning about seahorses. We have never used any sort of boxed curriculum or workbooks. Everything we do every day can be used as a learning experience. Even watching the Supercross race last night (she's a big Ricky Carmichael fan), we practiced all kinds of math and other skills necessary for survival in the real world. And we had lots of fun pointing out grammatical errors in the commentary, too. Unschooling really works. It doesn't have to be about sitting around playing computer games all day long. Just one trip to the grocery store teaches my kids more than most children years older than they are learn from sitting in a classroom all day long. And it puts what they learn into perspective, how it applies to real life situations, not just how to put the right answer on the test papers or how to fill in the right circle.
     
  5. hippiejessica

    hippiejessica Member

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    That's imressive, MamaBoogie! And to think, I didn't learn multiplication until 3rd grade and division and fractions until fourth grade!
     
  6. mamaboogie

    mamaboogie anarchist

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    to be honest, DD1 is exceptionally bright to begin with, has never been your "normal" child in some ways. She was speaking in complete sentences before she could walk. But I do think that the way I answer her questions and encourage her to keep asking all kinds of questions does factor into how much she has learned with our unschooling approach.
     
  7. tuatara

    tuatara Lifetime Supporter Lifetime Supporter

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    unfortunately here ,if you home school you have to follow the same curriculum as the schools because at the end of the year they are tested ........also the parents have to be approved for the home schooling too .........needless to say i know of no homeschool parents with a grade 3 education ..lol...i have seen a lot of home schooling and with some good and some bad results ..has a lot to do with the parents ....like some schools .has a lot to do with the teachers and staff
     
  8. Nina123

    Nina123 Member

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    Wow impressive mammaboogie :D
    I have a question if u homeschool ur kids do u have to let them got to highschool for their Senior year to graduate?
     
  9. mamaboogie

    mamaboogie anarchist

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    different states have different laws. TN is a mandatory testing state (not every year, but like every three years). The state standards are set so low, I'm not really worried about that at all.
     
  10. dilligaf

    dilligaf Banned

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    same as here mamaboogie,,,, i need to ask these silly folks here if the every three years is an actual three years or three school years,,,,;) they only require english math science n history,,,, so by there methods n school years the Penguin will be atleast two years to their one,,,, then again if i wait three actual years she will have long finished her schooling here at home,,,,,
     
  11. MikeE

    MikeE Hip Forums Supporter HipForums Supporter

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    Mammaboogie, great job.

    I notice though that your kids aren't choosing their curriculum. You have decided that they will learn math and english, etc. You are reacting to their choice of "lesson plan", by relating those subjects to their interests. Your attention shows a lot of care and dedication to your kids and their education.
     
  12. Megara

    Megara Banned

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    music/theater(probably hard to do on your own..but i'm sure its feasible)
    language(greek/latin/english)
    math
    science
    philosophy(heavy greek)
    history
    public speaking(rhetoric)

    I think that will give the kid as strong a foundation.
     
  13. mamaboogie

    mamaboogie anarchist

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    I know some people who go ahead and take the 9th grade test earlier (like fifth or sixth grade age), just so they don't have to go through all the required testing. As long as they get a certain percentage right by the time they are a certain age (and there's no lower limit to the age they can take each test) the government is satisfied.
     
  14. hippiejessica

    hippiejessica Member

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    I like that you're giving them real life situations and are having them apply their knowledge to everyday life. That's what I hate about school (I love learning, I just don't like the way schools are run). A lot of things they ask are hypothetical and have no relation to what I'm going to do when I graduate and go off to college.

    Another thing I didn't like in elementary and middle school was that in the math classes, there was no creativity. They'd explain a process one way, and even if I got the answer right, they'd make me do it over and over again to make sure I did the right steps.
     
  15. MattInVegas

    MattInVegas John Denver Mega-Fan

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    Sticking to education, I think it takes research.
    Ask the child what he/she wants to be later on.
    Make your curriculum related to that field.
    and find out what the requirement are. Also, include the basics. R,W,A.
    (NOT R,R,R)!
     
  16. sweetdreadlover

    sweetdreadlover TattooedRainbowGurl

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    i was homeschooled from 5th grade on and my mom used her own curriculum. my sister and i read more phillosophy books than anyone i know anywhere near my age. i think it was the most awesome thing in the world to learn some real mind growing stuff rather than the crap they teach u in public schools these days.
     
  17. Megara

    Megara Banned

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    what type of philo if you dont mind me asking?
     
  18. mamaboogie

    mamaboogie anarchist

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    my degree is in philosophy, so yeah, we touch on that too, but not like learning what certain dead rich white men had to say about things, just more along the lines of learning how to think and use logic.... but my kids are still young. :)
    I plan to start by reading Siddhartha to them in a few years, maybe some Plato. I heard somewhere there's some kid's books based on some of Plato's dialogues, need to find them!! I think The Cave would make a great kid's book...


    and about the curriculum - we also learn a lot about marine biology because my kids love going to the aquarium (we have a membership and unlimited visits) and my oldest is really into animals of all kinds. We work on music appreciation, my oldest was teaching herself to play the piano by ear but now it's all about ballet, and she'll be taking dance lessons soon, they even have a homeschool class during school hours. I recently got Peter and the Wolf from Netflix, and my kids absolutely loved it just as much as I did when I was a kid. We make art every day, all different kinds of media. I have a really good book called "Child's Work" (now out of print, but you can find used copies) that explains how play is important, and that children learn no matter what you do, you don't have to sit them down and do school at home. Anything by John Holt is supposed to be really good if you are agreeable to the idea of unschooling, haven't read his books myself, except for excerpts and articles by the same person. Lots of it sounded to me much like the parts in Plato's Republic where he talks about the role of institutionalized schools and the education of children.
     
  19. sweetdreadlover

    sweetdreadlover TattooedRainbowGurl

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    naw philosophy of course yahno what that is..but also my mom was big on like ghandis philosophies and so forth and so on..alot of mind growing and medatation and stuff. i think i get alot of who i am today from the schooling part my mom gave me.
     
  20. sweetdreadlover

    sweetdreadlover TattooedRainbowGurl

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    my mom never did the standerdized testing ..she didnt want the government telling her how her children should be taught ...she never let anyone tell her what to do when it came to our schooling.
     

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