Prioritizing My Kids Homeschool || Brainstorming about 2023/2024 School Year||Curriculum Chat

#homeschoolmom #biblicalwomanhood #largefamily
Prioritizing My Kids Homeschool || Brainstorming about 2023/2024 School Year||Curriculum Chat

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Hi girly, I’m Wendy and I am a homeschooling SAHM of 4. On this channel I post weekly videos to help bring peace in midst of your chaos through schedules, routines, resources and tips. Hope you’ll consider subscribing.

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[SevenInAll]

For me...being pregnant is much, much more difficult than having a baby...so I understand the reasoning of focusing more on school now that baby has safely arrived.

[SevenInAll]

I'd lean toward that idea of freestyle writing for the 4th grader for now--just write SOMETHING and build those writing muscles (and I do give feedback and ideas even on creative writing and build the muscle of being able to accept feedback)....vs. a formal writing curriculum.

[fabbailey]

For my than third grader now fourth grader, we used Evan Moor for writing. We used first Sentence and Paragraph Writing and then Real World Writing and 5 traits of writing. Another thing that help was Funschool Journal by Thinking Tree -Creative Writing for girls. She is no longer disliking writing.

[angel.wilder]

I love Masterbooks stepping stones as a very simple first curriculum for littles. There are tons of sensory based activities to supplement it.
It came out right as my third child was ready to begin some school activities and it was an awesome intro to school that made him feel included without overwhelming him.

[MysticWAFFLWZ]

all About Reading is an awesome program. We finished all 4 levels and I am so happy I picked it.

[learningwithboys]

That is great that you took time to talk to your son!! He will love the Engineering Science from MB. Also it would be fine for your daughter to just do some copy work this year- maybe some narration😉. I had learned it is ok to wait on formal writing. Like you said you want to keep the love of learning😉❤️

[kailynolson]

We are using master books applied engineering this year with the video component and it's been an AMAZING course and very independent :)

[ShakeysLife]

Helpful video and love the idea of having our kids write in a journal or something different, if they aren't enjoying the curriculum writing.

[kailynolson]

My 11 yr also struggles with loving learning, we plan to use shorman math, drive thru history, elements of faith from master books and IEW structure and style for 7th grade in the fall. Not adding too much extra either, keeping it simple so he can get it done and move on and have lots of free play time

[porschiahaleywade]

I would 100% encourage you to give the little guy a second year of kindergarten, he can do whatever grade work that is appropriate for him but the way I do it for my own kids is for “recording” he’d be a kindergartner because if he went to public he’d be in kindergarten

[AtHomeWithJill]

I’m feelin you mama! I’m excited to go big all through summer and feeling “caught up” so to speak. I want school to just be like second nature and just a part of our daily flow and not forced

[SimplyStacyL]

I can relate to so much of this! I just had baby #5 in December and my older 4 have been so patient with me since I got pregnant. I really miss the pre-pregnancy structure of our homeschool day and I crave that time of prioritizing the fun of learning. It has become such a checklist approach to not “getting behind” and my kids are reflecting that unfortunately.

I keep telling myself, though, that this is just a season. A hard season, a sweet season, a short season. A new sibling is a far greater gift than a picture perfect academic year!

[jordancanter]

I was going to suggest applied engineering so I’m glad you found it ! I’m in the same busy season I due in June and I have a 6, 5, 2 and 1 year old. I’ve been using masterbooks to keep my head above water. I prioritize that love of learning and a foundation built on God. I have used the tgtb and it has really helped my daughter to read, for the most part I sm using masterbooks and they have academy courses that I plan to utelize. For history we used their my story1 which my student really likes. For science we really love the let’s talk series. Everything is open and go and hardly any prep which is just the season I’m in right now. But I love how all my kids love school and and enjoy learning!! My husband comes from a family of engineers and he was in college to do engineering but the Lord changed his direction the year before he graduated, I love having his input on courses and he is able to teach lessons a different way! He does science with my two kiddos and has really enjoyed it ! Praying for your journey !

[faithfullyinfertile]

Just my two cents :)
I would make your oldest son as independent on curriculum as you can! I think it is so wise to sit down with our kids and hear their hearts/goals at this age even though it is likely to change. At that age, yes, there are many things they have to do even if they don’t like it but they can still have some interest led courses too!

For your younger son I would err on simple :) I am making these same decisions for my little ones after having gone through this process with the older ones. God has really laid it on my heart to not rush their education and err on the slow simple side. I started KMC with my 6 yr old this year and I love it. I stopped it in February because he just needs some time to mature. I’ll try again in the fall I think. Give your babies that structure and routine (I totally hear you on creating more chaos NOT educating the little ones vs giving them some instruction daily!) BUT don’t stress about it. Pick what is the easiest for YOU to be able to accomplish with them this year!

Have you looked into masterbooks language arts for your oldest daughter? It might be a good fit for her to help her with writing confidence and ability. I used levels 2 and 3 with my struggling daughter for 3rd and 4th and now in 5th we are doing IEW with success. She is also a reluctant writer. At third grade she wasn’t able to do much but after masterbooks and some time to mature and grow and develop her skills, she is 5th grade and doing her own writing now with IEW (I’m not having to transcribe for her.)

You have NOT let your kids down. You are very intentional with your schooling and you have had a lot of change with the move and a new baby and you will find your groove soon again!

[LearningPlantingGrowing]

The Funschool thinking tree books are amazing for helping with writing because they are choosing what they want to study. My kids have all enthusiastically written in their journals as long as they are choosing the subject material. They even had Minecraft journals for my son!!
Also my daughter took Applied Engineering this year and love LOVED it!!

[JoyfulNoiseLearning]

Love your thought process for your girl! We have lots of tears with writing here with my 2nd Grader as well 😭 Definitely need to build those writing muscles.

[JoyfulNoiseLearning]

Love that you chatted with Shawn. I have been doing that with Elynna as well and really want to involve her in some of my choices for next year as well 💜💜💜

[TheEMC]

According to my logic you are doing well mom. I have come to the conclusion that we as parents must make understanding and serving our children an art. We must do the same with our husbands and they with us. We don't all get cookie cutter kids. We get our own unique design, affected by nature but also our nurture. They may be similar in many ways but it's for us to learn the nuance of who they are with love and intentionality. You are doing that and pouring yourself out as an offering to God for the souls he's entrusted to your care. 💗💗💗 That's how I think of my ministry of motherhood and I see you doing that. God gives wisdom, liberally, to those who ask. He'll answer you. 😊

I'm pregnant now and the thing I wish I had done was to have online learning ready to go as a backup. My morning sickness and exhaustion has been debilitating. I took the advice of a mom of 6 youtuber who said to lean into things like Libby. Letting the audiobooks help. It has been great. And to use this time to focus on teaching your children life skills which will serve both you and them when the baby comes. She's right. My oldest is almost 7 and she helps change diapers (she always begged to help) with my twins in a pinch and also makes lunch for her siblings (usually her famous "peanut butter and jelly rollups") when I'm moving slowly. 😊

When I'm feeling well we do multiple lessons. I just use my energy to take care of my 4 babies the best I can. I also started Connoisseur Kids because I love a lot of advice from the Daily Connoisseur. She often reminds me of the importance of balance. Pioneer moms were strong women. They integrating learning but they didn't let it overshadow everything else in the home.
I need that reminder to remember that there are seasons and fluctuations in life. That's normal and natural and we have to embrace those.

We have 3 daughters and 1 son. Our son is a 2 year old and twin to our littlest girl. I noticed already with him that he's a typical man. He LOVES to tinker, examine and disassemble and reassemble things. He goes off alone, "away from the hens", as my MIL loves to say.😂 He sits down and gets lost in toys that he can manipulate. He flips over cars and inspects and manipulates the wheels. He examines whatever it is thoroughly. We started calling him the engineer. Maybe your young man has similar traits. 😊

I'm thinking your son is just coming to that age that boys come to where they want to transfer into the guidance of their fathers. That rite of passage time. The infamous Kevin Samuels used to tell single mothers at around at 11, 12 or so send their boys to their fathers. The mother phase of authority is over. All the men would agree. I found that so fascinating. But even in cultures all over the world this is the norm.

My older brother went through that. And he became somewhat antagonistic because our parents had divorced and he didn't have regular access to our dad. He was unbalanced for years and went to extremes until our dad returned more consistently to our lives in early adulthood. My brother has a high IQ and was both popular and extremely smart. He was expected by everyone to achieve some impressive white collar career. He tested so high on the military placement that he had the pick of positions. Unfortunately, that was short lived due to poor decisions and he was discharged after only a few months.

My dad, who was a master electrician, took my brother under his wing through apprenticeship. Something my brother was dying to have with him. I saw my brother transform into a dutiful and passionate son and electrician. They spent a decade in that relationship. And with no more than a high school diploma my brother climbed the ranks through what he learned by my father's side. Today, he's a superintendent/project manager. He has been that for the nation's most impressive construction and realty companies. Even building the massive Amazon warehouses we see all over the nation. Again, as an informally trained electrician (apprenticed) with a high school diploma, nothing more. A highly coveted position with earnings well into the 6 figures. My father is passed but he credits everything to the years he enjoyed working closely with our dad. He gets choked up often and talks about how much that time meant to him and made him the man he is today. A husband to a SAHM and father of 3. 😊🙏🏼

(Sorry to be so long-winded)

[JoyfulNoiseLearning]

The Masterbooks Engineer course looked great! I was thinking of using that for my 10 yo when he is older :)

[mckenziemason]

Night Zookeeper added with a writing program might help your daughter WANT to writ more!! It has made my 2nd grader want to start writing when she down right refused to do it prior to it.