Homeschool Chat Part III

[MommyBell08]

Hello everyone! My DH and I homeschool my DD Kelly, age 15. This is our second year of homeschooling. Just thought I'd pop in to say hello to all of the other homeschool parents

Welcome!

 

[graygables]

Hi there! We've been hsing for almost 2 years now. dd11 and ds9. We LOVE it! We own a retail business, and for Christmas season, dd11 decided she was going to work w/ dad - from 6am until 6pm, every day for a few weeks! People (relatives, etc) would ask her "so, what are you learning right now hsing?" Her reply was "well, I'm working right now, learning to wait on customers, I do the bills with mom (I can literally hand her an invoice and she writes the check, files the paperwork, etc... she even does the payroll!) She's learning how to run a business... pretty good 'learning'

We've found hsing fits our family so well, and it's so great to meet other hsers! I really want to do the disney hs days too. someday...

GOOD FOR HER!!! I started working in my parents' retail business at 12yo. By 16, I was left in charge of the whole shebang whenever my parents were out of town, so invoicing, payroll, daily operations, etc. I was in public school, but learned so much more in the "real" world. Those experiences taught me valuable leadership skills that have translated throughout my working life and I still refer to those lessons learned in my role here at WDW. Tell her to keep up the good work!

 

[GPA1015]

Hi all! I am a homeschooling mom to 4 boys- ok only schooling 3 right now. I have not been able to take the time to read the two threads that closed and now this new one so please forgive me, I am sure this question has been asked over and over. I am looking to make our trip as educational as I can. Does anyone have any links to any lesson plans or pre- prepared unit studies? My oldest is in 3rd grade so i am looking to keep it age appropriate. Thanks in advance.

Stacy

 

[robinsegg]

Hi all! I am a homeschooling mom to 4 boys- ok only schooling 3 right now. I have not been able to take the time to read the two threads that closed and now this new one so please forgive me, I am sure this question has been asked over and over. I am looking to make our trip as educational as I can. Does anyone have any links to any lesson plans or pre- prepared unit studies? My oldest is in 3rd grade so i am looking to keep it age appropriate. Thanks in advance.

Stacy

There are a couple of sites that do lapbooks and one that does an actual booklet for each park (I'm not sure 3rd grade and below would get much?).
Mine are 5th & 2nd (& 1yo ) and I mainly let them enjoy the experience (their first) and interjected certain information about each area we were in for the entire family. The main thing for us was that we knew to "look for the small things" that made the theming just exactly right for the area. We also used our trip to sharpen the kids' observation skills by looking for "hidden mickeys" and for helping them see certain details they may have otherwise missed. As far as the "little things" go . . . at WDW *everything* "walks the talk", down to the Regal Carousel having *actual* gold leaf on it (not paint) and at EPCOT the Morocco area having small imperfections because they believe only Allah can create something perfect.

Hope you find what you want!

 

[KibbyCat]

The following list is compiled by DIS users who want their own Homeschool forum. Please go to: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1889690 and sign the petition. It is located in the technical support section.

1. teacups
2. TLHB70
3. Lori1043
4. LittleBlue22
5. wvdislover
6. Disney Mommy 3
7. Nuzmom
8. NHWX
9. sha_lyn
10. Momvic5
11. heatherplus3
12. Grammynelliebelle
13. bear74
14. HomeschoolMama
15. karynnix
16. taz
17. GIOny
18. Temair
19. gottagodisney
20. Denine
21. Laurabora
22. Belle68
23. DisneyWalle
24. KibbyCat
25. Sorsha
26. truedisneyfan
27. GoofyWaterCoaster
28. dvcbnd
29. T1NK3RP00H!
30. OregonDisneyFanatic
31. Beach Bum
32. lpe_bratz
33.Onetreehill
34.jacensolo3
35. daddysgirl12
36. minnie squeaks
37. PrincessKelsz
38. Eeyorefan1
39. ::Snow_White::
40. JulielovesDisney
41. cra_z_dude_17
42. MuskratSusie
43. GRAYWIFE
44. Ellester
45. Baloo's Girl
46. cdhheidi[/quote]
47. 3princesses+aprince
48. disneytriplets
49. twoboysnmygirl
50. desparatelydisney
51. elmo2200
52. Bentleygirl22
53. Candy Apple

 

[chicagoshannon]

HI all.

I don't think I"ve posted on this new thread yet. We homeschooled a bit last year but this year we put DD into a montessori school. We just weren't sure she'd get the attention with a new baby. Anyway, it sounded wonderful. We thought she'd learn so much. She was supposed to be in a class with 3,4 and 5 year olds and learn from the older kids.

Just before school started we found out they were putting all of the 5 day a week kids in one class (all kindergarteners are required to be there 5 days a week) and all of the 3-4 day a weekers in another class. This meant that DD would be in a class entirely made up of 3 and 4 year olds. We should have asked for our money back then but thought we'd try it out cause she'd still be learning things that I didn't think I'd have time to work wither her on.

Turns out she's one of the oldest in the class and that a lot of the kids are VERY newly 3yrs old. Luckily the 2 girls she is friends with are her age and they work together but none of them are more advanced then she is. We don't feel like she's advanced much further then where she was at this time last year.

Combine that with her teacher not comunicating with us almost at all and we're so ready to not send her next year.

Our problem is her friends. She has 2 really nice friends there. They do not see each other outside of school at all at this point. I really hate to take that away from her. We've talked to her a little bit about it and she actually doesn't seem to care and says she'd prefer for me to be her teacher. I'm just not sure she completely understands that she won't be seeing these girls much if at all anymore (I'm hoping to talk with their parents to set up some play dates at some point but as of now have no contact info for them).

I know it sounds silly to think that the main reason we'd send her would be for her 2 little friends but that's where I am at this point. It's funny to think that I"m not worried about her education but more her friendships. She has no friends in the neighborhood cause most of them are a lot older then she is.

I think I just need reassurance that we're not going to scar her for life if we pull her away from her 2 school friends. Ok that sounds really silly now that I type it out.

 

[gerberdaisy1234]

HI all.

I don't think I"ve posted on this new thread yet. We homeschooled a bit last year but this year we put DD into a montessori school. We just weren't sure she'd get the attention with a new baby. Anyway, it sounded wonderful. We thought she'd learn so much. She was supposed to be in a class with 3,4 and 5 year olds and learn from the older kids.

Just before school started we found out they were putting all of the 5 day a week kids in one class (all kindergarteners are required to be there 5 days a week) and all of the 3-4 day a weekers in another class. This meant that DD would be in a class entirely made up of 3 and 4 year olds. We should have asked for our money back then but thought we'd try it out cause she'd still be learning things that I didn't think I'd have time to work wither her on.

Turns out she's one of the oldest in the class and that a lot of the kids are VERY newly 3yrs old. Luckily the 2 girls she is friends with are her age and they work together but none of them are more advanced then she is. We don't feel like she's advanced much further then where she was at this time last year.

Combine that with her teacher not comunicating with us almost at all and we're so ready to not send her next year.

Our problem is her friends. She has 2 really nice friends there. They do not see each other outside of school at all at this point. I really hate to take that away from her. We've talked to her a little bit about it and she actually doesn't seem to care and says she'd prefer for me to be her teacher. I'm just not sure she completely understands that she won't be seeing these girls much if at all anymore (I'm hoping to talk with their parents to set up some play dates at some point but as of now have no contact info for them).

I know it sounds silly to think that the main reason we'd send her would be for her 2 little friends but that's where I am at this point. It's funny to think that I"m not worried about her education but more her friendships. She has no friends in the neighborhood cause most of them are a lot older then she is.

I think I just need reassurance that we're not going to scar her for life if we pull her away from her 2 school friends. Ok that sounds really silly now that I type it out.

If your daughter has made true lifelong friendships, you will find a way for them to spend quality time together. And you never know, one or both of them could move or be placed in a different class. So you have to make your decision on what would be best for your DD.

My children have made many friends throughout the years. Some are good friends while they are at that class/group and others are ones they spend time with outside those times.

Those they meet and do things with outside of class/group time stay friends even if one of them stop taking the class. That is actually one of the many great things about HS. You can make lasting friendships. Usually parents get to know one another as well. (I am not saying that those in public/private school don't make lasting friendships)

My children have dear friends from church, homeschool groups/classes, karate class, and Y classes. Get ready for a full social calendar

 

[bellebud]

I think I just need reassurance that we're not going to scar her for life if we pull her away from her 2 school friends. that sounds really silly now that I type it out.

we started hsing 2 years ago, when kids were in 4th and 2nd. they don't have enough kids in our neighborhood near their age for me to be comfortable that they'd be ok socially - so I was worried at first too when I pulled them from school.

DD11 is still bff's w/ a friend she made in the school in pre-K. That girl actually left our school before we did, but the girls remained bff's anyway. She also kept in touch w/ a couple girls from school, but that mostly fizzled (except for one she sees occasionally). She has another bff from our homeschool group. This girl lives an hour away. They see each other at least once a week during our homeschool group classes, field trips, events, then for get-togethers (sleepovers, etc). She also has many other good friends in our homeschool group that live a bit closer. She's also 'friendly' w/ girls in her gymnastics class, and has one friend in our neighborhood that I'm friends w/ the mom - so we'll get together as families, or the kids alone once in a while.

After doing much research on homeschooling, I believe that it's not necessary (or even good) for kids to be w/ their peers 5 days a week, 8 hours a day. I think it's too much. I really like that dd now has friends from a few different places. Kids need to also be with their parents and have our influence - more than at dinner time and weekends (when they're not w/ their friends on the weekends).

DS9 has good friends in our homeschool group, not really a 'bff', but that's ok. Boys can be different like that anyway. He also sees his boy cousins a lot (a few different ages). And the boy in the family in our neighborhood we get together with. And he's 'friendly' w/ the boys in his gymnastics class. So he's got 'friends'. And he has his family, and he's doing great!

Your kids will make friends during all the homeschool activities you choose to do. Find a local group, or start one! Then all the classes you'll have them taking (sports, art, etc)... don't worry about it one bit!

 

[scrapbookingmanda]

Trying to get ds 6 to start silent reading and having no luck. He can read out loud just about anything you put in front of him, but ask him to read silently and he just stares at it. I'm not even sure he understands what I mean when I tell him to just read it in his brain without saying it, but it's not a skill that's easy to demonstrate. He loves to read out loud, so I don't think it's a "not wanting to do it" issue, as much as a "something isn't clicking" issue. Even when he's alone, like looking at a book in his bed at bedtime, he will read it to himself outloud.

 

[bellebud]

Trying to get ds 6 to start silent reading and having no luck. He can read out loud just about anything you put in front of him, but ask him to read silently and he just stares at it. I'm not even sure he understands what I mean when I tell him to just read it in his brain without saying it, but it's not a skill that's easy to demonstrate. He loves to read out loud, so I don't think it's a "not wanting to do it" issue, as much as a "something isn't clicking" issue. Even when he's alone, like looking at a book in his bed at bedtime, he will read it to himself outloud.

My kids didn't read quietly until older. They also weren't super readers at 6yo, so I didn't expect them to read quietly (and quite honestly, I didn't trust they were really reading... I wanted to hear what they were reading). They loved reading out loud to me at that age though, so that's what we always did. I wouldn't even bring it up, honestly. Let him read the way he's comfortable... quiet reading will come in it's own time.

 

[Nicolepa]

Trying to get ds 6 to start silent reading and having no luck. He can read out loud just about anything you put in front of him, but ask him to read silently and he just stares at it. I'm not even sure he understands what I mean when I tell him to just read it in his brain without saying it, but it's not a skill that's easy to demonstrate. He loves to read out loud, so I don't think it's a "not wanting to do it" issue, as much as a "something isn't clicking" issue. Even when he's alone, like looking at a book in his bed at bedtime, he will read it to himself outloud.

Honestly, I wouldn't try to fix it. As long as they are reading, does it really matter how they are reading? I think it's very common for them to read outloud for awhile. I have 3 kids, 10,8,2. My oldest was an early reader (3), my middle an average/late reader. They both read outloud for awhile. My son at least thru K, possibly 1st.

 

[Nicolepa]

How's everyone doing? Are you all back into the swing of things after the holiday? I have to say that I am surprised at how quickly my son got back into the groove. I was prepared for a hard week last week but we only had one bad day. It is amazing what a change in cirriculum can do. As you know we changed from K12 to Learning Adventures in October. He loves Learning Adventures (although we won't always admit it). Getting him to do his work is no longer a huge fight every day!

I am now researching ADD & Sensory Processing Disorder. I think he's got some of both of these going on, and his Dr. agrees. So I'm trying to learn how to help him learn/listen etc. I have a stack of books from the library. Now I just need to find time to read them!

 

[robinsegg]

Trying to get ds 6 to start silent reading and having no luck. He can read out loud just about anything you put in front of him, but ask him to read silently and he just stares at it. I'm not even sure he understands what I mean when I tell him to just read it in his brain without saying it, but it's not a skill that's easy to demonstrate. He loves to read out loud, so I don't think it's a "not wanting to do it" issue, as much as a "something isn't clicking" issue. Even when he's alone, like looking at a book in his bed at bedtime, he will read it to himself outloud.

Is DS an auditory learner? If so, trying to get him to read silently could actually negatively impact his comprehension. Is there a particular reason you *need* him to read silently, or is it simply one of the skills you want to make sure he masters at some point?

 

[graygables]

How's everyone doing? Are you all back into the swing of things after the holiday?

We are still in holiday mode at our house. Christmas isn't officially over until 1/6 for us, anyway, and my 22yo is in town until Thur, so we're still playing. We did spend some time today working on our "control journals" (for anyone familiar with the FlyLady system). I am trying to get DDs to develop better habits on their own and am hoping this is the way to get it started. Today's assignment was just to get the design of the covers done and start thinking about the AM/PM routines. This next week, we will work on finishing them and start using them in babysteps. I start my new full-time role next week, so we are hoping for a little more routine at that point. Once we are back, we're going to start US History unit studies.

 

[scrapbookingmanda]

I didn't think about the auditory thing. Really the only reason I am trying to work on it is that he is ready to start moving into the easy chapter books for his own reading. I was thinking it would be a hinderance to him enjoying reading, because reading that much outloud would make his voice tired. I know as an adult reading for pleasure I would give up a lot easier if I had to read everything outloud.

 

[bellebud]

Trying to get ds 6 to start silent reading and having no luck. He can read out loud just about anything you put in front of him, but ask him to read silently and he just stares at it. I'm not even sure he understands what I mean when I tell him to just read it in his brain without saying it, but it's not a skill that's easy to demonstrate. He loves to read out loud, so I don't think it's a "not wanting to do it" issue, as much as a "something isn't clicking" issue. Even when he's alone, like looking at a book in his bed at bedtime, he will read it to himself outloud.

I already answered about my kids... but I also thought about this today... I myself NEED to read something out loud to myself if I'm really trying to concentrate - like say directions to set up my printer, etc. A book or something for enjoyment, I can read silently. And I'm always even talking to myself when I'm doing work of some sort that I really need to concentrate on... my dh is forever saying "what??" to which I reply "I'm talking to myself". Like "OK, I connected the blue wire to the red wire", etc... if I only thought this in my head, it wouldn't sink into my brain.

So while your child is really "learning" to read, he may NEED to read out loud. Don't even worry about it.

 

[Mouseketeer67]

We are still in holiday mode at our house. Christmas isn't officially over until 1/6 for us, anyway, and my 22yo is in town until Thur, so we're still playing. We did spend some time today working on our "control journals" (for anyone familiar with the FlyLady system). I am trying to get DDs to develop better habits on their own and am hoping this is the way to get it started. Today's assignment was just to get the design of the covers done and start thinking about the AM/PM routines. This next week, we will work on finishing them and start using them in babysteps. I start my new full-time role next week, so we are hoping for a little more routine at that point. Once we are back, we're going to start US History unit studies.

What are "control journals"? I'm a veteran homeschooler and I have never heard of them.

I have been homeschooling since my oldest son was two. He is 18 now and about to graduate. I also have a 16 year old daughter who is a junior, and a 14 year old son who is a freshman.

How long have you been homeschooling Graygables?

 

[KibbyCat]

Homeschooling becoming more prevalent: http://www.onenewsnow.com/Education/Default.aspx?id=1271214

 

[graygables]

What are "control journals"? I'm a veteran homeschooler and I have never heard of them.

I have been homeschooling since my oldest son was two. He is 18 now and about to graduate. I also have a 16 year old daughter who is a junior, and a 14 year old son who is a freshman.

How long have you been homeschooling Graygables?

If you go to www.flylady.net, she has a whole site about life-organizing and her main tool is the "control journal". There is a student one on the right side of the page toward the bottom that we are adapting to homeschooling. I LOVE Flylady.

I've been homeschooling for 15 years now. My oldest 2 went back to PS in the 8th grade. Oldest (now 25) graduated from a PS, 2nd DD (now 22) did PS for a few years, hated it, went back to homeschooling and got her GED at 17. The younger 2 have always been and will always be homeschooled. They are 14 & 12 now. Technically, they would be 9th & 7th grades, but we don't go by that so much.

 

[momtoltl74]

Hi my name is Shonda and I have 3 kiddos Liberty 7, Teyla 5 and Landon 3. I have been homenschooling since my youngest was old enough to learn.

We use Bob Jones curriculum except for Math. We use the Saxon Math.

I am an avid Disney fan and was happy to see there was a homeschool group on here. I look forward to getting to know you all.