What homeschooling curriculum do you use. What is your "schedule". I'm very apprehensive. I have 13 kids.

Question

i need a curriculum that has books and supplies for preschool-12 grade. and if my kids follow through the whole thing they will get every credit they need for high school. it's easy to teach, kids enjoy it, and it doesn't cost a million dollars. and also could any homeschool moms/dads tell me what their daily schedule is. i have 13 kids (12 of them i will be teaching) and we live on a farm, so they also have their chores. they are going into grades: preschool, kindergarten, 2 second graders, 3rd grade, 4th grade, 5th grade, 6th grade, 2 seventh graders, 9th grade, and 12 th grade. thanks for any info.

your criticism isn't answering my question.

Answer 1

Wow! You are incredibly blessed! What an opportunity you have with the beautiful gifts you have been given.

There is a great book I have been using for scheduling called "Managers of Their Homes." Check it out at www.titus2.com. It was a huge help to me, I only have my two girls but I babysit a few preschoolers as well that I try to teach preschool with regularly.

I wouldn't stick to just one curriculum, unless you find one that works for everyone. The older kids could help you do research and make decisions, that would probably be good for them!

God bless you richly!

Answer 2

Well, I do American School Of Correspondence. It costs $50 a month for one. You get all the books you need, they send you envelopes and first page exams. All you need to buy after that is stamps.
I love it. I can work at my own pace, complete as little or as much of a text book as I want, there are no deadlines. It starts at the beginning highschool year (grade 9 I think it's age 13 to them. but I'm not sure) and you have 4 years to complete it. But it can be done much sooner.

I'm not sure about the younger ones, though. You can always buy your own material and teach them that until they are old enough if you want to do American School.
The curriculum will be easy for them to find. Just shop around. You don't have to pay a lot for a text book. You can find used ones at thrift stores or book stores. You can even go online and search the ads or post ads for what books you want. You could also look around online and see if theres any printable curriculum.

Good luck!

P.S.
My uncles wife came from a family of 13 kids. They were homeschooled, too. I have 7 brothers and sisters. We are also homeschooled.

Answer 3

I agree with the previous answer - don't plan on using one curriculum. Each child is different and learns differently and you may find something that will work for 3 or 4, but not for all of them. For the time being (since they're just coming out of school), start gradually. Pick one subject to begin with and do just that for 2-3 weeks. Then add another subject every 2-3 weeks until you are at capacity (you'll know when that is).

For the older ones (junior high to high school), check out Grace Llewellyn's book, _The Teenage Liberation Handbook_. It's all about how to homeschool high school with no formal curriculum.

We would be toast without the library - for reading, history, science, even math! You don't need to use a formal curriculum (unless your state requires it). Get in touch with other homeschoolers in your area to see if you can borrow materials to try out before buying. Most homeschoolers have stuff they're not currently using (my boys are 5 years apart, so we have loads of stuff in boxes).

Best wishes! It's a tough job, but the rewards are great!

Answer 4

Honestly for a lg group of kids and varied grades I would recomend Bob Jones University for Core subjects except math. I would use Saxxon for math. I used to have 1 4 yrold, a Kindergartener, 2n grader, a 4th grader, and 2 5th graders. I had school from 9-12 for the younger ones and from 1-4 for the older ones. This gave everyone time for chores and gave us lunch together. The good thing about using textbooks is you can reuse them year after year. Just order the accompanying workbook and make copies to make packets for them so you can reuse them. Also once you teach the material you will become more and more familar and it will get easier every year. Of course I supplemented with educational videos, books and hands on activities to make it more interesting. Best of luck to you! It can be done with some good planning and scheduling. You can often find textbooks like these at used sections of bookstores and online.

Answer 5

Calvert School goes through 8th grade, and they have a nice daily syllabus that you can just follow without the need to plan anything. The older kids may need to self-teach, do you have computers? If so, there are good online courses, although they can be pricey with so many kids.....
Try www.christianbook.com and they have a huge selection of pre-packaged curriculums. They aren't all specifically Christian, so you should evaluate depending on if you want this aspect or not. Good luck, you are BRAVE and I would suggest finding a good support group and cooperative for sharing of the task using other moms.

And for your schedule: divide into three groups, elementary, middle, and high school. Mom should plan to spend two hours in each group with half hour breaks in between. While one group is in "mom session" another group is doing chores, for example. Also, use the older ones to help teach the younger ones and teach some topics together. For example, for literature, you could read a book aloud and have discussions, the older ones could write essays about it, the younger ones could put on a little play about it.

Answer 6

Ok, well, God bless you for even considering this undertaking. I only have 2 kids, but I know several large families at church. We all use a form of Classical Education as explained in the book the Well Trained Mind. To me this style of teaching because it would have everyone learning about the same literature, same type of science, and same period of history. You would have to get individual books at different levels for the kids, so I would think the first year would have you spending quite a bit, but from then on most of the books could be passed down.

As a general overview
Year one Studies the Ancients (5000 BC - 400 AD)
This is your History and you will read writings from this era in Language Arts. Science is the science of the times... Biology, the study of people and animals.

Year Two Studies Midieval to Early Renaissance (400-1600)
This is your History and you will read writings from this era in Language Arts. Science is the science of the times... Earth Science and Astronomy.

Year Three Studies Late Renaissance to Early Modern (1600-1850)
This is your History and you will read writings from this era in Language Arts. Science is the science of the times... Chemistry and learning the way the elements work together.

Year 4 Studies the Modern Era (1850-present)
This is your History and you will read writings from this era in Language Arts. Science is the science of the times... Physics, learning the laws that govern the universe..

I am sure you could look at the study of plants and animals in biology and see that that could extend from a preschooler learning the names of animals and their babies, maybe a little about where they live. The K would learn a little about habitat. What do they eat? What does their house look like? At these ages I would reduce the study of the human body to hygene and nutrition and then let them show you and interest if they hear something from an older kids lesson and have questions. For the 2nd - 5th graders I would go futher, talk about the different body systems and their functions, I would study the animals and their food, and the habitat they live in, but I would also look at animal classification, invertabrate or vertabrate, herbavore, omnivore, or carnivore. Characteristics of different kinds of animals like mammals, amphibians, reptiles, etc. 6th and up continue on, consider disections and really get into the human body and how it works.

This might be a tough approach with the older kids, but for me with the younger it should be easier on you. I mean as the older kids are studying the same thing, one could be reading to the younger kids from the literature while you help someone else with math.

Hope this is something that can be helpful. I wish you all the best with you and your family. Good Luck.

Answer 7

I was certain that I'd answered this question... (I must be losing it! lol)

Okay, in addition to what has been said, check out A Beka, Sonlight (provides a schedule; also can have more than one grade level together to cover science and history), Robinson Curriculum and A-Squared http://www.accelerated-achievement.com/ . These last two have low start-up costs, although you'd have to purchase some math texts for sure for the older two. You would have the cost of printing off the books/worksheets that are a part of the programs.

As for scheduling, check out Managers of their Homes http://www.titus2.com/BOOK.htm (known as MOTH). If I had more kids, I'd definitely need something that structured! I know the Duggar family (the one with 16 kids and one on the way) uses it and the mom swears by it.

Answer 8

Wow 13 children you are so luck, and you could have the older ones help the younger ones, like a buddy system.

Another way to go about it would be a virtual school at home program is Connections Academy. It is totally FREE to you, you get the books, computer, supplies, in some states they help pay for you Internet and you have a teacher to turn to if you have any problems or questions.

To see if they are right for you go to www.connectionsacademy.com

I can tell you it have been a great program for my two kids, (we are in Ohio)so far we have done grades K, 3 &4. And we are coming back next year. We spent about 2 hours doing Kindergarten and around 4 hours with the 4th grades ( also have a 4 year old and a 2 year old) My 4 year old would work on the kindergarten thing (I made copies of the pages and he is working on Hooked on Phonics too) also I got him work books at teacher supply stores and even wal-mart carry many of them. My 2 year old would color pictures or work puzzles play with blocks and such during school time.
Connections Academy uses some of the better curriculm suppliers: Calvert, McGraw-Hill, Zaner-Bloser, Prentice Hall, Glencoe, Hooked on Phonics, Jump Start, just to name a few.

They cover and the core classes, plus that are so many enrichment classes and clubs to join like, Book Cub, Lterary Magazine, Chess Club, Home Life (Home Ec/Shop) Quiz Bowl, Poetry Corner, Mythology, Art, Music, Spanish, French, German, Latin, Debate Club, Student Advisory Team, Science Fair, and many many more.
They have field trips, social events, dances, and prom, and a cap and gown graduation is being planned too.

For next year they will cover grades k-11 in Washington, Oregon, Calfornia, Idaho, Neveada, Arizona, Colorado, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri, Indiana, Mississippi, Ohio, Georgia, Flordia, Pennsylvania, & South Carolina

Answer 9

Calvert has one of the most comprehensive curriculums out there...everything is spelled out in the teacher's manual and included. However, it is basically a book based curriculum, so if you have kids that need more hands on learning it may not work. It also can be quite exspensive and only goes up to 8th grade.

The truth is, it may be really tough to find one curriculum that all of your kids will want to work with. The needs of the younger kids will differ greatly from the needs of the older kids. High school can be tough. Check with your local school system to see if there are any "state approved" curriculums. State approved curriculums generally mean the state accepts these curriculums as being equal to the school provided education...this can make it easier if there is any chance of the kids going back to school later. Also, you mention a 12th grader. Has this child been in traditional school up until now? Unless there are some issues you are not mentioning, I would more than likely let him finish his high school as is rather than homeschool him for just the final year. High school homeschooling (especially if you want a high school diploma and not a GED or certificate) can be exspensive...many families use online academies. Plus, the first year of homeschooling can be a time of major adjustment and a lot of trial and error. If your oldest can and wants to stay in school as is, leave it. As for the rest, look for homeschooling groups on your area. This can give you access to finding out about all sorts of curriculums and programs. The first year of homeschooling is all about figuring out what works,...for you, for your kids, for your family. Don't be afraid to send away for catalogs or any sample discs of curriculums...checking them out ahead of time can make it a lot easier to choose later.

Answer 10

Okay, you are going to have a real job on your hands, and I think the key here will be ORGANIZATION.

Now, obviously there is NOT going to be time enough in the day for you to teach each subject yourself to each grade level. You need to look at how you can combine age groups, and how you can have kids work on their own. The oldest 4 especially you need to find ways for them to work on their own. MathUSee is pretty good because the teacher's edition explains things really well and works out each problem, plus there is a DVD that has a lesson each week for the student to watch. I've tried a few different math programs, and my kids have needed the LEAST help with MathUSee.

One lady I've read about online who has a lot of kids recommends making an assignment book for each child, and the child works on his or her assignments, and sets aside things that he needs help on. Mom goes around the room helping each child in his turn. No one interrupts Mom because she will get to each child, and this helps things run more efficiently.

I did like one woman's suggestion of not trying to have school for everyone all at once - schedule different grades for different times. Also, even your third-grader can do things with the preschooler and the kindergartener.

Switched on Schoolhouse has gotten good reviews from a lot of people - it is not too expensive and is used on the computer, and can be used by multiple kids. I would not use anything like this for EVERY subject, but certainly maybe for a few subjects per child it would be okay.

BJUP has HomeSat, which is a satellite dish you put on your roof, then you pay $40/month [or thereabouts], and they broadcast classes on every subject for every grade, and you tape what you want and have your student watch it. This is another thing I would not recommend for every subject - your kid would be doing school all day long [plus you'd be taping classes constantly and would need about 10 tvs with vcr's...]. But I would definitely recommend it for the science and the history from about 4th grade up. [Below 4th grade, I found the classes to be beyond the kids' attention spans.]

You probably should group your kids for history, science, art, reading [from third grade on], Bible, etc.