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Home Learning Year by Year: How to Design a Homeschool Curriculum from Preschool Through High School Paperback – November 14, 2000
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The integral subjects to be covered within each grade
Standards for knowledge that should be acquired by your child at each level
Recommended books to use as texts for every subject
Guidelines for the importance of each topic: which knowledge is essential and which is best for more expansive study based on your child's personal interests
Suggestions for how to sensitively approach less academic subjects, such as sex education and physical fitness
- Print length432 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Dimensions5.2 x 0.9 x 8 inches
- PublisherThree Rivers Press
- Publication dateNovember 14, 2000
- ISBN-109780609805855
- ISBN-13978-0609805855
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The integral subjects to be covered within each grade
Standards for knowledge that should be acquired by your child at each level
Recommended books to use as texts for every subject
Guidelines for the importance of each topic: which knowledge is essential and which is best for more expansive study based on your child's personal interests
Suggestions for how to sensitively approach less academic subjects, such as sex education and physical fitness
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
"-- Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Kids, as any parent knows, are determinedly individual. Interests, learning styles, attention spans, growth rates, developmental progress, and food preferences vary wildly from child to child. One learns to read at five, another at seven, a third at ten. One is a natural athlete; another falls flat while walking across a room. One is fascinated by rockets, a second by insects, a third by Greek mythology. One thinks math is cool; another loathes the very sight of a number. So where do standardized curricula fit in here? What course of study can possibly fit all?
The answer is a resounding none. There is no effective one-size-fits-all mode of education. The public school system, which has to cope with some fifty million school-age children annually, does the best it can to meet the needs of the many, targeting its content and goals at a hypothetical average child. On a large scale, it's unfeasible, inefficient, and downright impossible to create curricula tailored to meet the needs of fifty million idiosyncratic individuals. In large-scale education, therefore, kids have to adapt to the decreed norm.
One of the primary advantages of homeschooling is the ability to bypass the decreed norm. Homeschoolers can design their own curricula, assembling resources and using approaches that best suit their own children's needs. Your child is enthralled by marine biology? Invent a curriculum that builds upon this interest. Read books, fiction and nonfiction, about the oceans; play ocean-related games; collect seashells; conduct experiments on water pressure, temperature, and salinity; visit an aquarium; adopt a whale. Your child is fascinated by ancient Egypt? Read ancient Egyptian myths; build a model pyramid; experiment with hieroglyphics; locate Egypt on the map; visit a museum to view ancient Egyptian artifacts. Find out how to make a mummy; read a biography of archaeologist Howard Carter; learn about the Rosetta stone.
When it comes to curricula, kids should always come first. It's not what teachers teach that's important; it's what children learn--and what children learn best is what interests them, what they want and need to know. This, in a nutshell, is the prime source of discord among teachers, children, and standardized curricula. The curriculum says Johnny should be studying long division; Johnny doesn't want to. Now what?
Homeschoolers, given this situation, have a wide range of options. No curriculum is written in stone. Perhaps an alternative math program will do the trick--or math games and manipulatives rather than workbooks; a computer software program; or real-world math exercises involving cooking, carpentry, and other hands-on projects. Perhaps the best course is to drop math altogether for the time being and concentrate on something that sparks Johnny's interest--say, space travel, rock collecting, or raising tropical fish--all of which, willy-nilly, eventually involve math. Our long experience in homeschooling has shown, time and again, that an intense interest in anything inevitably leads everywhere.
On the other hand, almost all homeschoolers, at some point or another, run into the puzzling question of sequence. Where do we start? How do we assure that our kids have an adequate grounding in the basics? What are the basics? What comes first? What should we tackle next? While public school curricula vary somewhat from state to state, all have similarities in that they attempt to present an appropriate developmental sequence of skills. Kids learn the letters of the alphabet first, then letter sounds, then the art of blending letter sounds into whole words. Addition and subtraction precede multiplication and division; studies of holidays and famous people prepare beginners for more structured studies of world and American history. Invented spelling precedes conventional spelling and grammar; basic algebra is a prerequisite for chemistry and physics.
Many states require that homeschoolers keep step with the public school curricula and demand proof--in the form of written assessments or tests--to ensure that they are indeed doing so. Colleges, though increasingly enthusiastic about accepting homeschooled students, often require a specific battery of high school background courses. For all of these reasons, it's to homeschoolers' advantage to be familiar with the general course of the standardized educational curriculum. The basic curriculum, however, should be used as a reference point and a guideline rather than a set of predetermined assignments. In many cases, there are equivalents and alternatives to the courses described here; and parents should adjust and adapt to best meet the needs of their own children.
Finally, no parent should view the standardized curriculum as cause for worry. Children vary, and homeschoolers inevitably will find that their more-or-less first-grader isn't quite standard. He or she may be reading at an advanced level but lagging in such essentials as arithmetic, time-telling, and the competent tying of shoes. Or, alternatively, he or she may have whizzed confidently ahead in math but be struggling with the awful process of grouping letters into words. As needed, move forward or back in the curriculum for lists of concepts and suggestions. The standardized curriculum can indicate academic areas in which kids need extra help and support--or creative substitutes and alternatives, or stress-reducing periods of being left alone. Variation, though, is normal, and our many individual differences are what make the world the interesting place it is. Kids are natural learners, and each will find his or her own best way to learn. There are many roads to an educational Rome.
Product details
- ASIN : 0609805851
- Publisher : Three Rivers Press; First Edition (November 14, 2000)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 432 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9780609805855
- ISBN-13 : 978-0609805855
- Reading age : 3 - 8 years, from customers
- Item Weight : 12 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.2 x 0.9 x 8 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #780,134 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,056 in Homeschooling (Books)
- #7,387 in Parenting (Books)
- #62,765 in Reference (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
Rebecca Rupp has written nonfiction articles for many national magazines on topics ranging from the history of blue jeans to the science of ice cream. She is also the author of THE DRAGON OF LONELY ISLAND, THE WATERSTONE, and several nonfiction books, both for children and adults. Of THE RETURN OF THE DRAGON, she says, 'I hope all of you enjoy the return of Fafnyr's cave - and hearing from Aunt Mehitabel again - as much as I have. Much as I love the three-headed dragon, I also love Aunt Mehitabel. I plan to be just like her when I turn eighty-five.' Rebecca Rupp lives in Vermont with her husband, three sons, three cats, and a tarantula named Immanuel Kant.
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Customers find the book provides a good overview of knowledge and provides great resources for each subject. It breaks down each grade level by subject and what students should learn, providing learning suggestions for each grade. Many readers consider it a great product that offers good value for money. The book contains lists of games, books, manipulatives, websites, magazines, and other materials. Customers appreciate the welcoming attitude and how concepts are presented.
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Customers find the book provides a good overview of knowledge and provides useful resources for homeschooling. It breaks down each subject for what each grade should know, along with links for obtaining more information. They use it to help prepare their curriculum each year and keep on track throughout. The book is thorough and helpful for new moms.
"...It is well written, complete and easy to follow. It gives a good outline of knowledge and provides some resources and textbook recommendations to..." Read more
"...subject it has specific things for your child to learn and tells you the hows and whys. Thumbing through it can be a bit overwhelming because there..." Read more
"...I like how Rupp's book suggests topics and resources, without feeling bossy...." Read more
"...It gives good explanations of what subjects to work on and breaks them down into different subcategories with little explanations to help guide...." Read more
Customers find the book helpful for homeschooling. It provides suggestions for each grade and subject, with book recommendations. The chapters are organized by traditional grade level, and the book helps them create their own curriculum.
"...Overall, this is a clear, comprehensive and secular overview of the public school curriculum in the United States, written for home educators to use..." Read more
"...She's given us short, pithy and well-organized chapters -- just flip to a grade level chapter to see brief items listed under traditional subject..." Read more
"...The chapter is broken down into subjects (language arts, math, science, ...) and for each subject it has specific things for your child to learn and..." Read more
"...The book is divided into grade levels, and within each grade level chapter are subdivisions for the various school subjects...." Read more
Customers find the book a good value. It's small yet packed with useful information.
"...So small, yet so chock-full of goodies! I reach for it often. Rupp's welcoming attitude is very appealing...." Read more
"...then go for it I highly recommend this book and the cost of the book is extremely resonable (im surprised it isnt at least $30)" Read more
"...Anyway, this book is a bargain and if you don't want to buy a $1000 curriculum, this is the way to go!..." Read more
"...It is fantastic!..." Read more
Customers appreciate the book's content. They find the list of games, books, manipulatives, and websites helpful. The book includes several out-of-print books and websites as well as ideas for books, magazines, and web sites.
"...There are several out of print books that are recommended as well as websites that are not available...." Read more
"...out what topics to cover for each subject and has great resources, books, and websites listed for many of the topics. Amazing resource!!" Read more
"...It is one reference vs multiple books. It has an overview of the grade with helpful references under each subject objective listed...." Read more
"...I love the list of games, books, manipulatives, and websites to use." Read more
Customers find the book's approach appealing. They say it presents concepts in a practical and illuminating way. The book covers education, music, math, and art for grades K-12.
"...I reach for it often. Rupp's welcoming attitude is very appealing...." Read more
"...teachers in science, history, physical education, music, math, art in grades K-12." Read more
"...Practical and illuminating...." Read more
"...Lots of resource ideas and concepts as they are typicaly presented. What should your third grader know about math?? It's in this book...." Read more
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- Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2010When we first started educating my son at home, we used a "school-in-a-box" complete religious-based curriculum, which included DVD lessons, texts, workbooks, tests and teacher's editions for all the core subjects. While academically rigorous, this did not seem to be the best option for our son's learning style.
So I went searching for resources to help design a curriculum that would better suit our family's needs. One of the resources I found was Rebecca Rupp's "Home Learning Year by Year", which is a comprehensive outline of the public school curriculum in a surprisingly concise book. The curriculum that Dr. Rupp has put together is a "synthesis of the public school curricula of all fifty states, as well as from proposals from private sources and innovative educators".
Dr. Rupp is well known in homeschool circles for educating her three sons at home for more than ten years, and for authoring several books, both fiction and non-fiction, including several that are related to homeschooling. She also writes a monthly column for Home Education Magazine.
"Home Learning Year by Year" covers all of the core subjects and many elective subjects that are taught in the public school system. Notably missing are references to Bible study and courses in religion, so readers seeking a strong Christian basis for their curriculum will not find it in this book, though may find it a useful reference for non-religious parts of their educational program. And non-Christians who may want to deviate significantly from the public school system are not likely to find this a very helpful resource, either, since it is a synthesis from the public schools' curricula.
But for those home educators who want to generally follow the same material and progression as the public school system in the United States, this is an excellent resource for curriculum design. It is well written, complete and easy to follow. It gives a good outline of knowledge and provides some resources and textbook recommendations to aid in teaching the material. I would suggest, though, that this book is better viewed as one of a set, paired with Rebecca Rupp's other invaluable resource "The Complete Home Learning Source Book: The Essential Resource Guide for Homeschoolers, Parents and Educators Covering Every Subject from Arithmetic to Zoology" (Rebecca Rupp, 1998, New York: Three Rivers Press). This volume has much more in depth resources which complement her curriculum outline nicely.
Overall, this is a clear, comprehensive and secular overview of the public school curriculum in the United States, written for home educators to use in their own curriculum design. It does what it sets out to do, and I highly recommend it.
- Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2005Despite the word "curriculum" on the front cover, this book is the one resource I most often recommend to unschoolers, eclectic learners and out-of-the-box families alike. Our well-thumbed copy was the single best "home-school" purchase I've made. So small, yet so chock-full of goodies! I reach for it often.
Rupp's welcoming attitude is very appealing. She makes it clear that there's room for every style in homeschooling. But even for folks who like it laid out for them in black and white, she demystifies the notion of hallowed, pedestal-bound curricula, explaining "There is No Such Thing as a First Grader" (subtitle of her forward). She wins my heart by quoting Douglas Adams from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: "Don't panic."
The beauty of Rupp's book lies in its balance between brevity and detail. She's given us short, pithy and well-organized chapters -- just flip to a grade level chapter to see brief items listed under traditional subject headings. On the other hand, each item is actually specific enough to be useful.
As an example, one entry under Grade Four Mathematics, Number Theory reads "Know numbers through the millions; be able to write these in both numerals and words." Rupp then lists four different resources beneath. We might decide to borrow or purchase or visit the resources she describes, but most ordinary days in our family life will also offer opportunities to tackle the concept of millions. At least having the item in my mental list ensures that will happen. Maybe we'll read Cosmos by Carl Sagan today . . . .
Yes, an updated edition would be wonderful. But if I were Rebecca Rupp, I'd find it hard to avoid the temptation of cramming in too many new web pages, books, games, and other resources. That would just clutter up a nifty handbook. Consider it condensed soup. Fits well on our crowded shelf.
- Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2014I purchased this book because I plan on starting homeschool in January for my soon to be 3 year old. From the title I assumed that there would at least be some gentle guidance on how to prepare your child for kindergarten but there really isn't any at all. There isn't anything listed that your preschooler should know (ie nursery rhymes, alphabet, a few numbers, how to share, parents names...) So if you're looking to start homeschooling your soon to be preschooler this is not the book you want to investin just yet. I gave the book 4 stars because of that issue, but I looked ahead at the kindergarten chapter to see if the book would be of any use to me in the future and it is jam packed of things for your child to learn, book suggestions, websites for learning materials (though a couple are no longer in use), etc. The chapter is broken down into subjects (language arts, math, science, ...) and for each subject it has specific things for your child to learn and tells you the hows and whys. Thumbing through it can be a bit overwhelming because there is A LOT to the curriculum but if you think about your child learning it step by step over the course a year then it makes it a little less intimidating. Since ive already purchased the book I plan on looking at what the a child needs to learn at the kindergarten level and backtracking from there to prepare him for what is to come. Long story short, dnt buy it if you plan on using it as a guide for preschool, if using it for k-12 then go for it I highly recommend this book and the cost of the book is extremely resonable (im surprised it isnt at least $30)
Top reviews from other countries
- Lora LinaresReviewed in Mexico on February 17, 2019
1.0 out of 5 stars Lacking
Very disappointed, not much for the younger years, a lot of links are out of date and no illustrations or visuals.
- BookwormReviewed in the United Kingdom on December 17, 2015
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommend
Really useful book. Many homeschooling books talk in general about life as a homeschooling family but this one sets out what children should be learning and gives helpful resources. With each year it shows how what they should be learning is an expansion of what they were learning before. Its very useful for parents who want a little more structure and to know roughly what to be helping their child learn at what stage.
- RenosirisReviewed in Canada on March 12, 2010
5.0 out of 5 stars Great purchase
This book was suggested to me by a home school group and I'm so glad I bought it. It is worded simply (unlike the official curriculum books of my province), and it breaks what you need to achieve with your children. It is direct, simple and to the point. No grey area. I liked the fact that there are even suggestions of appropriate books, websites etc to look at to aid their understanding on that topic.
The only thing that could make it better was if there was a Canadian version. I know that our curriculum is a little different here, and our expectations are different for each grade as well. However, I have the Canadian Curriculum workbooks from Popular Books, which should help fill in those blanks.
- R. FairheadReviewed in Canada on June 5, 2012
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Guide and Resource!
I LOVE this book! It just gives someone like me who is new to homeschooling a great guide to what your child should be learning at his/her grade level. You definitely do not have to do everything but can pick and choose what works for your family. Its just gives helpful ideas and great resources like websites and books to check out. This is such a help for me as i try to plan out first grade and have no idea where to start.
- DreaReviewed in the United Kingdom on April 18, 2012
5.0 out of 5 stars A good read
The author makes it sound very familiar.
Lots of information and ideas, websites and books. It provides year by year Curriculum information and requirements.