New Homeschooler Please help!

[StephanieU]

There are some great options out there for "extra" learning. Here are some my kids enough:
Videos:
Salsa Spanish (free online)
Magic Schoolbus (on Netflix,warning some have evolution)
Liberty Kids ($5 dvd available many places)
Mister Roger's Neighborhood (on Amazon Prime Instant Video)

Apps:
Stack the States
Bible App for Kids (from YouVersion)
Blokus
XtraMath (we actually just use the website)

My kids have also learned to play amazingly well together without me since I have basically had to require it. I work from home a few hours a day, and they are great at playing together. Yes, some times I do have to resort to things on the above list, but it isn't very common at all! We go days without watching TV and without screen time outside of XTRAmath.

[Nealewill]

My kids love to play games. Do yours? I don't think I mentioned here but I work around 30-40 hours some weeks. My kids must entertain themselves while I work. So they play a lot of games. Now that all of them can read, they like to read in the afternoons. But playdoh is popular here. Coloring and crafting is popular. We have way too many legos!

When my kids were a little bit younger, I did let them watch some TV. They could have up to 2 hours a day. PBS was my BFF. Lots of Wild Krats, Sid the Science kid, I have let them watch Liberty Kids. My kids did watch Where in the World is Carmen Sandiago but there are several places in it that they mention for thousands of years. That never really bothered me too much because we all just laugh about it. And when the kids were younger I did have a subscription to jumpstart. There were lots of education games on there and the kids really liked that. Now that my kids are older, they entertain themselves very well without media. But before, I did use more.

[MiraDaniells]

Mine do love games but want me involved in the whole experience which is great when I'm not studying. I just have 6 months left and I'm all theirs. I would love to let them do playdoh but it would have to be an outdoor thing. Their dad would go bananas if he came home and found playdoh ground into the floor which I'm sure would happen the second I turn my back. I made the tragic mistake of buying them gak one time when he went on a business trip. I can still green goo in the carpet to this day. They love PBS and the like but would be awesome if HOD had some recommended resources and apps like that which could be paired with their curriculum. Maybe they do and I just haven't come across it.

Wow, had to eat crow a little just now. Just looked at her bio on the HOD site and it looks like it was written in the 2000s. Sorry! Well, either way I'm super excited to get into it!

[Nealewill]

Ha ha. Yes, the company is new. I don't know if you realized this as well but they actually are still writing 2 levels. They will be coming out with their American History (with government study) (11th or 12th grade equivalent) guide this coming fall and they will be preparing a final high school guide American History with Econ/Finance focus the following year. So yes, they are still a newer company.

[MiraDaniells]

Ok, so unfortunately I ran out of time today to purchase the curriculum (had to take my oldest to the Dr. for a strep test). Was doing a last minute search to be sure I left no stone unturned and I c am across a blog from a staunch Charlotte Mason mom who mentioned something about HOD using "textbooks as their spines". I love what I have learned of Charlotte Mason so far and I'm aware that she is pro living book and non textbook but I still don't know everything there is to know. Can anyone tell me what that quote means?

[Nealewill]

Chralotte Mason believes that student should not learn from text books because they are dry and boring. And when Charlotte Mason was alive, they were dry and boring. If HOD schedules text books, especially for MTMM and under, it is because that text is very living in nature. For CTC, HOD uses Land Animals of the Six Day. That is a text books but that books is also extremely narrative. In R2R, they schedule Mystery of History. Again, that is a text book but it is extremely narrative. In Bigger, they scheduled the Eggleston books and those also would be considered a textbook. But those books are like short stories and extremely narrative. So yes, HOD does scheduled a few textbooks but the ones selecting were written with a very living approach and are very interesting. My kids have loved any textbook HOD has scheduled that they have encountered just as much as the living books. Once you get to high school though, the academic rigor of the classes makes it difficult to only select living books for every subject. However, they do have tons of living books in their levels and all textbooks selected do have a living narrative flow about them. They were selected because they were interesting and because of the areas of study needed for that particular subject.

There are a couple of other differences too - CM also believes that kids should not learn to spell with spelling lists nor should formal grammar be taught until kids are older. For spelling, kids study word lists to learn a few of the most commonly spelled words so before starting formal dictation around the age of 8. This helps to train kids to visualize the word in their mind to prepare them for dictation. As for grammar, HOD uses R&S so kids do start early in learning it but it is done gently. HOD does this (and I am SO glad) because it helps kids in the writing process.

Before selecting HOD (and even after) I have managed to read all of the postings in "The Reasons behind HOD choices" forum. It was SO helpful. It talks a lot about several of these areas. So while HOD does deviate from CM in a few areas, I do find them as a whole to subscribe to the philosophy of CM and they utilize her teaching methods to educate kids (for example - studied dictation, kids read their text books around the age of 9, use mainly living books or living style of books, lots of copywork, diversity in the areas studied, lots of notebooking, etc.)
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[MiraDaniells]

Ok, thank you so much for explaining. While I did want to be a purist when it comes to Charlotte Mason, they will, at some point in their lives, have to become familiar with textbooks especially when they start their college career.