Ideas on How to Homeschool Mulit Ages (14, 11, 8, 6 and 3) - Roundup,MT

As an educator I would advise against it, unless you have a degree in education and have a comprehensive knowledge of child development. As well, as it is crucial that information is delivered in a way the offers the learner to approach the information in a variety of ways.

These are my favorite curricula:
Sonlight http://www.sonlight.com/

Teaching Textbooks Math - the very best math ever http://www.teachingtextbooks.com/ The kids can be very independent with this curriculum, but it is still easy for parents to keep track of how well their child is learning.

Apologia Science for older kids - http://www.apologia.com/store/ And amazing science for elementary and early middle school age is http://www.jeanniefulbright.com/home.html This science is great for teaching multiple kids at the same time.

Beautiful Feet Books http://www.bfbooks.com/ Such a wonderful curriculum.

We always work household chores in the morning as part of our daily to-do list before we jump into school work. We have our BIG 5 list that everyone just does first thing. Big 5 is: 1. Morning Prayers 2. Shower and dress 3. Make bed and straighten room 4. Eat breakfast and help with clean-up 5. Daily chore (this covers any of our usual household cleaning, or taking care of animals or things like that.)

We have a goal to be done with our BIG 5 by 9:00 am so we can start school. (Yes, we are early risers - Dad likes to have prayers with all of us before he leaves for work at 6:30. It actually has worked out really well for us.) You could, of course, adjust your goal starting time to fit the needs of your family. We give our kids an incentive to be ready for school on time. Sometimes it's a little treat (like a single StarBurst candy or a piece of gum), but at other times we have had a reward system where they earn points for a reward down the road when they have accumulated enough points. Being ready to start school on time is one way to earn a point. (We also earn points for being happy and cooperative, doing their best work, things like that.)

Check Craigslist.org for used curriculum, or ebay or Amazon.com (they sell used books) or half.com. I have found a ton of material using these resources. Also, join (or start) a homeschool organization in your area. There are many groups that have used curriculum sales or swap meets to help keep curriculum costs down. It can be a challenge to homeschool on a tight budget, but it can be done. The internet is the most amazing resource. I use it all the time. I don't know how people homeschooled before the internet!

Well, I hope some of this has helped. I wish you much success and happiness. It can be a wonderful, joyful thing to be a homeschooling mom. (If you ignore the occasional day when you want to scream, pull your hair out, and put them all back in school!! Fortunately, these days are usually followed by an awesome day!))

Hi T.,
I have 4 kids- 7, 5, 2 and 5 months. We use Sonlight curriculum and love it! They also have a VERY supportive and instructive forum where you can read and glean any amount of info that you would like (not just about HS'g either). That's my big plug.

Socially, you can also be a part of co-op's in your area, just look for them.

I definitely don't think you have to be well off. We utilized the library extensively this year. It takes some research time on your part, but it can be done inexpensively.

My husband gives me breaks when he can. My younger two take a nap at the same time in the afternoon. I can use that time for myself or for school time.

You can do it!

I'm part of a group of Alumni at a University and we hand out 50-60 scholarships per year to deserving students. We read 100+ applications to winnow down to the deserving few. One of the applications this year broke my heart, it was from a kid who had completed their first year in college and was struggling.

"I am also thankful for where I am today; it has been a long journey for me. My parents decided to homeschool me and my siblings from preschool through high school. For that reason, the only education I received up until the age of 17 was basic math and writing skills. I was not required to balance fun and school, multiple classes, or even exams; I just read books all day. I started HS when I was 17, and since then, I have had to make continuous adjustments to my learning style because I'm not used to formal education."

There is another good book "20 chickens for a saddle" about a girl who was homeschooled in Africa by two very bright parents. I would only say, think very long and hard about how you approach studies, your reasons for homeschooling and what you want for your childrens' future. I won't say homeschooling is bad, there can be a lot of good reasons for doing so. But be very aware of how it's approached. GL.

There is a program online for your kids. Connections Academy has the program, the curriculem, teachers, support team, the works. KIDS don't have to follow a set schedule everyday so they can take turns on the computer. Its very seasonable maybe even free.

Hi T.,

My mom homeschooled me and my siblings for a number of years. There were 6 of us as well and like your children we are not all school aged at the same time. For the curriculum she would find books that had the curriculum in them (alot of the time if you get the books from the same publisher the curriculum are similar for the different grades but the work is different). Field Trips are a must, my mom would usually let us decide what we wanted to do for our field trips and we did anything from museums, to the library, to shopping around Christmas time for families who had little or nothing. Also for social activities and field trips you can see if your area has a homschool community, one of the areas we lived in didn't really have one, the other one had a great one. If your community has a homeschool community you will want to check them out alot of the time they will do group field trips and activities that let your kids socialize and learn. For breaks my mom usually went out and did things on her own, at night of course, she would either go out with my dad and have us babysit or she would go do something by herself. She is really into arts and crafts so she would see if there is a craft fair or something like that going on and usually just go wander it. Though there are days when you will most likely feel like you are going crazy.
Hope this helps.

It can be done! I just started homeschooling my 3 kids (10, 7, and 3) and am learning just how possible it all is. I am writing about our jouney at: http://www.examiner.com/x-5559-Denver-Homeschooling-Newbi... if you want to peek into our transition from public school to homeschool.

Hugs. You can do this.
M.

Hi T.,
I can't give you the exacts because I am only schooling 2 but my sister has 12 so I will share a couple of ideas. I believe they have mostly used Bill Gothard's, "Institute In Basic Life Principle". I do know you shouldn't get way wrapped up in a ton of curriculum or fret and stew over it. If you relax and give some thought to how much you can teach your kids through everyday life you'll discover a world of education at your fingertips. One of the best ways you can do social events with the kids is through the home school network, your church or community events or even your county 4-H program. Trust me on this, don't let people ever convince you that your kids aren't getting enough socialization. Remember you're not trying to teach and train your kids to be kids, that comes natural. You're training them up to be mature responsible adults. If you haven't trained your kids to be helping with most of the household chores you need to start. It's vital that they are giving you a hand in this area, that includes cooking as well. It may not all get done exactly the way you'd like it to but each kid should have their own set of chores. You should only need to be checking the work and correcting as necessary. You may need to insitute some proper housework skills as part of your school curriculum. Since I have two little ones (3 and 5) I am dependent on my husband to give me a "day off". We too own a construction business and a peach orchard so occasionally when his work is slow he is able to give me a reprieve. My sister on the other hand uses her older children to help teach and train the younger ones so she has more flexibility with her schedule. Income level isn't a factor in home schooling. We have friends who seem to be well to do and friends who seem to just scratch by. There should never be a financial status set on the education of your children. On a final note be sure and check out the Montana State Home School laws so you are in line with the proper requirements. The Home School Legal Defense Assc. web site will be able to help you with that. I know this is long but hopefully helpful. If you have more questions or would like to contact me please feel free to do so. God's best to you as you run the race. L.

You have a couple of options one would be using individualized programs such as Sycamore Tree where your 6 year old would either be doing K or 1st grade work depending on when his or her birthday falls, 8 year old doing 2nd or 3rd and so on. Sycamoretree.com
You could also use a multi age group curriculum such as Sonlight though I would do the following with the ages of your children. 3 yr old either hold off a year (pick up a few workbooks-Office Depot has some wonderful ones that you can use either a crayon or reusable marker (not dry erase though) and just wipe off with a klenex that do shapes,letters, and numbers) or use the P3/4 complete program (great stories to read and no set schedule) For the 6 and 8 yr old I personally would use Core 1 Introduction to World History, Part 1 and use the appropriate readers, language arts, science, etc as needed.
The 11 year old and 14 year old I would use Core 6 World History, Part 1 again using the appropriate readers, language arts, science, etc as needed. While the core 6 is recommended for ages 11-13 it would be a good foundation for your 14 year old as well.
You could also do unit studies where you study a topic such as Christmas, horses, pioneers and most of your subjects relate to that topic. http://www.unitstudy.com/

I will say that I have a good friend of mine who pulled her kids out of school a number of years ago when they were in 1st and 4th grade. Her kids were so far behind that she went back to using a combination of sonlight prek (they just recently split it to a 3/4 and a 4/5 core so I have seen some of the books used in the 3/4 program and all of the current 4/5 program-as I am using it with my oldest who will be 5 in late Jan)and sycamore tree k and 1. (her kids were special needs and her older child had spent 4.5 years being stuffed in a room and not taught do to the nature of the disability. In the past 3 years they have gone up to working at a 5th and 8th grade level which means they are actually ahead of where they should be if they had stayed in public school.
You need to look at not only how your children learn, but your goals as well along with your style. For example if your not someone who enjoys making full scale maps of entire countries out of clay than a program that has you doing that is going to frustrate you.

T.

I homeschooled 3 of my children. Part of me would do it all over again in a heartbeat and the other would not. First off evaluate your kids. Are they self starters or take a lot of work to get them to do something? Because that will be the way it is with school. Is your husband supportive or are you doing this on your own? The 14 year old is almost ready for high school. Do you want him/her to graduate. Then the curriculum has to be accredited. That is a whole new ballgame. The youger ones are easier but teaching a child to read takes a lot of time unless that child is gifted. It is hard. All of it takes a lot of time. If you don't get lessons already done then your time is spent making lessons, teaching and grading papers. I see that you work. You will not have much time if any to yourself. I am not trying to be negative. People jump into home schooling not realizing the amount of time that it takes on your part, not the students! The upside is that I know my kids forward and backward. I know just what they can and cannot do and why. I know exactly where their struggles are in school. I put my last one back in public school in 9th grade so he could graduate. But I am a very active parent. I pay close attention to all subjects and when they say he can't do something I really know if that is true or not. I know where to help him and where to let him figure it out. We talk all the time and there is a bond there that many other parents do not have. Socially it is a must. In our state even if you home school they have a right to do sports. In our small towns they almost beg the home schooled to come and play. Most people don't know you can do partial home school and partial public school. There are online schools. K12 has a great program. Will provide the computer/s and help you get hooked up. Their program is growing by leaps and bounds! Many of these are now accredited. There are so many options that weren't there when I did it. I found old books and made my own lessons. There are things everywhere now. Good luck and God Bless you!

T., if you don't get a million good responses to this (which I can't imagine), please contact me and I can put you in touch (by e-mail) with a lot of long-time homeschooling moms who can give you lots of input. I just don't know that they're part of this network!

T.,
I have home schooled my children for 17 years. My oldest is 24 and my youngest is 12. I have used many programs through the years. The one thing that I do for all the high school children is American School. You can request the information for free by calling 1-866-260-7221. I like this program for many reasons,
1. low cost.. $50 a month
2. easy to do dual enrollment
3. accredited school
The #1 math program to me is Saxton Math. I have used it all years and am very pleased with it.I never did the kindergarten, just started the kids out in 1st grade and took it slow.
I have always done home school on a budget and have had great success. We have a lot of articles on our web site...loveathome.com about homeschooling.
Good luck,
C.

T.,

Check out www.tjedonline.com It's my favorte phylosophy and methodology for homeschooling.