This Weeks' Link Up Topic on hsclassroom is "What curriculum or resource just didn't work for your family? When reading the topic I almost started laughing out hysterically. Why? Because I'm still trying to figure out what actually works for us !! Kindergarten came and went and was really neat to teach. Most of the Subjects came with unit studies where there was a booklet with worksheets, suggested activities related to the topic where it was so simple to just add whatever we felt like learning and however long we wanted to stick to that topic. We all enjoyed the time together, I loved getting to know my boys from another perspective, I started to really LOVE teaching, specially preparing fun lessons (which I had no idea I'd have within me) and it helped me big time to have more patience, tolerance with all my boys on a daily basis.
1st Grade was a bit different. No more unit studies just books and workbooks. First I thought there must be something missing. I did get used to doing a bit more (which also means all the freedom I wanted to teach HOW I wanted.. just that I first have to learn how to use that freedom .. and still working on that one. Anyway this is almost worth another post, later ..
The curriculum that did NOT work for us at all was "drumbeat" .... Houghton Mifflin Social Studies 1. The topics wouldn't be bad, it does have lots of pictures which is a positive but some Themes were just way to short and before I could even get into the topic, it'd already be over again. They jump from a "Meeting with Grandma" to "How a Corn" grows to "Traveling through Canada" back to "Transportation now and then" after half way through 1st grade I felt like burning the book and that's when I had my significant first Real Meltdown. Coming from Public School trying to Homeschool is tricky because until recently I was in the believe that this curriculum is given from a teacher it HAS to work... not realizing that there are uncountable ways to get to where we want to go. There's a saying in Switzerland that goes: There are many different ways leading to Rome *smile* I am working very hard to get over that "if it worked for 1000 of students it should work for us" thinking... Once I can get over the school stereo type thing I can get really creative and I am having fun teaching.. This is why I enjoy reading blogs. I sometimes need that "spark" to get creative.. I'm not sure how to put all this in words and I hope I'm not confusing you instead of explaining where my frustration lies.. but anyway this curriculum may work for someone who wants a day to day lesson, and not wanting to go in depth. (I recently also replaced the Houghton Mifflin Math with the Right Start Math). The solution I came up with now is to study what my Leap Creature and I want, we study until we get bored about a theme and MOST importantly we are having FUN doing so !!
Can't wait to read what everyone else has to say,
Myriam
Having fun is sooo important! :) I am finishing up Kindergarten here and moving to 1st grade probably this summer... This definitely has been a learning experience for me too, not just my kiddo :) Have a wonderful day!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHi Jenni, thank you for stopping by. I loved kindergarten with my now 1st Grader soon to be in 2nd. And mostly I was so fascinated how they take in what we teach them, how they enjoy learning and how beautiful it was for me to share this with him. This fall my boy #2, Cheetah Racer will start kindergarten and even though we're already doing this and that, in a few month it'll be official. I'm so excited :-) !!
DeleteWe are a little older - working in basically a sixth-grade framework - but as I mentioned in my own "what doesn't work" - I had to laugh, because when I withdrew my daughter earlier this year, I requested the school district's materials, just in case. I told myself, well, you know, they put a lot of work into this; it's already there; it's free to me, etc. etc. But they are NOT anything that is working for us! Let's think - if it was a wonderful curriculum, would I have taken my daughter out of that school? LOL. But I really had to work hard to let go of that exact idea, that people who "knew what they were doing" picked it!
ReplyDeleteHi Joan, I just smiled reading your post ! That's exactly how I feel and wouldn't it be nice if these "all in one books" just worked? lol, but as I'm leaving the structured world I grew up through public school, another path is beginning to open up. Becoming so much bigger through letting go and learning about what we could do instead.. and what else is out there as far as learning resources, fun ways of learning etc.
DeleteThank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts !