Homeschool Chat Part III

[chicagoshannon]

I would really appreciate it if anyone had suggestions for algebra.

I had a really awful time with algebra in high school. It wasn't just me though. The majority of the students who had this particular teacher failed. He had actually been hired on as a basketball coach for the girl's team. When so many students failed he was reviewed and found not qualified to teach algebra.

Just the thought of algebra makes my stomach turn. I get a headache even. I know it's just psychological but *shudders* I just can't get past it.

DS15, 10th grade, didn't get his algebra credit when he was in public school last year and it falls on me to teach it.

Ideally, I would like to find a course that is very interactive. As in if he has troubles he can email or message for help. I was thinking maybe an online course or a DVD course. I'm just not sure what's available or what is worth the money.

Speaking of money, that could be an issue. DH doesn't want to spend very much. He thinks $100 is too much but you get what you pay for and since I can't teach it and DS needs the credit, we're going to have to spend some money.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank-you!

have you looked at Teaching Textbooks?

 

[graygables]

We recently discovered Life with Fred for math. I have a terrible math phobia myself, so it's been a struggle, but Fred makes it funny and understandable. It's also not breaking the bank, so if we decide to do something different later, it's no biggie.
http://ztwistbooks.com/oscstore/index.php?cPath=21

 

[sl_underwood]

Thanks for the warm welcomes!



I live in Oklahoma. Homeschooling is very common here, and actually protected in our state's constitution. I'm excited to start! I'm thinking unit studies. I have a struggling 2nd grader and an advanced Pre-Ker right now.

We are in Oklahoma too, Enid, to be exact.

 

[sl_underwood]

have you looked at Teaching Textbooks?

I second teaching textbooks. We really like it. My oldest did saxon along with the dive cd and liked it but I think TT is better for kids who might struggle with math a bit and easy for parents who are worried about teaching it!

 

[kimmyann]

Ugh, what a week I've had. On Tuesday my oldest fell walking the dog and broke her wrist. Last week 2 of my kids woke up w/chickenpox like bumps. Turned out not to be CP but it took 4 days to get a correct diagnosis.

Well this has all put a damper in my school schedule. It really shouldn't as my daughter is not homeschooled and the bumps weren't an illness. But none the less, my son has refused to finish a day of school in 2 weeks. I am so frustrated, not to mention worn out.

I feel so bad for my daughter. She has been working on her pitching and at this point in time the only pitcher her softball team has. We purposly did not put her in the upper division so she'd have the opportunity to pitch more. I know she was a first round pick and was picked because she can pitch. Her coach is being a great sport about it and has made her an assistant coach and is going to have her give the other girls pitching tips. But I feel so bad for them all.

Thanks for letting me vent. It's been a long week. She goes in on Monday for the permanent cast. Until then we have no idea how long she will be in the cast or her recovery afterwards.

I totally know how your feeling (well not the broken wrist, but the rest) We have also had a bad couple of weeks and it's hard to try to stay on track. My son is homeschooled, DD PS, & other DD in college. Funny, my oldest DD played softball from 7 up and was usually the main pitcher for the team (never would have thought as clumsy as she was, that is why we made her play in the first place). She played slow pitch, never did like fast pitch when she got older. Lots of pressure. Hope she has a quick recovery!

 

[Belle0101]

have you looked at Teaching Textbooks?

We recently discovered Life with Fred for math. I have a terrible math phobia myself, so it's been a struggle, but Fred makes it funny and understandable. It's also not breaking the bank, so if we decide to do something different later, it's no biggie.
http://ztwistbooks.com/oscstore/index.php?cPath=21

I second teaching textbooks. We really like it. My oldest did saxon along with the dive cd and liked it but I think TT is better for kids who might struggle with math a bit and easy for parents who are worried about teaching it!

Thanks!

I didn't know about either of those. I will for sure give them a look.

 

[Belle0101]

One more question, and you can PM your responses if that's more comfortable. Are your homeschoolers going on to college?

DS15 has no interest in college, none at all. I think it's, in part, because he had such a difficult time in school. I'm not comfortable going into it all on a public forum but the culmination of everything is what led us to homeschool him. It just wasn't a positive situation for him.

College always comes up with other homeschool parents and I end up feeling like a leper. It's never actually been said straight out but the intimation is a question of why am I homeschooling if my child isn't going on to college.

Am I that much of an odd duck? I mean I already feel like an odd duck for homeschooling but I'm starting to feel even more odd for not grooming my son for college.

 

[chris31997]

PRAYER!!! I've been praying about this for a couple of years. God laid HS on my heart, so I knew it was just a matter of time before DH felt the calling also DH was talking to our music minister one day & actually got excited about it! (They HS their 3 boys.) He came home & said he felt God wanted us to do it. I was THRILLED & we pulled them out of PS about 1 month later! My point is, you really don't want to convince him. He might resent you once he sees the first negative occur during your HS'ing.

It's funny how all of this worked out. It was about 1 or 2 weeks after we'd made the "big announcement" to everyone that the state of TX came forward with UNBELIEVABLE budget cuts for our public education system. It's like God was just confirming to us that we'd made the right decision.

We are "unschooling" right now. They read their books while I do Bible study, & we won't really do anything structured for these 2 months of HSing. We're going to begin a more "normal" curriculum in August. I do want to add: we own plant nurseries & the kids help us with those. DD10 ran the cash register the other day, subtracting ALL of the change in her head. We probably had 30 people comment that they were "very impressed" & "probably couldn't do her job without a calculator." They are learning all about the different types of flowers (which take sun/shade, how to water each specific variety, etc..) So, the kids get math, science, economics, & social skills just being with us at work....whether we open a textbook or not!

Your kids are getting an excellant education. Not many people can run a busy these days.

Thankfully, we also homeschool. Our DD is very much into dance, ballet. She has had the opportunity to assist in teaching and working very close with her coach. It has been a blessing. DD has found her calling she wants to preform for a few years but than teach dance also. I can taylor her class schedule to work with her dance schedule. Can't beat that.

As for the orginal question, about convincing your hubby to homeschool. I second the need for prayer. I also think the two of you need to sit down and talk. He needs to lay it out as to why he is against it and you why you are for it. And really listen to each other. Both of you need to be on board.

Good luck.

 

[chris31997]

One more question, and you can PM your responses if that's more comfortable. Are your homeschoolers going on to college?

DS15 has no interest in college, none at all. I think it's, in part, because he had such a difficult time in school. I'm not comfortable going into it all on a public forum but the culmination of everything is what led us to homeschool him. It just wasn't a positive situation for him.

College always comes up with other homeschool parents and I end up feeling like a leper. It's never actually been said straight out but the intimation is a question of why am I homeschooling if my child isn't going on to college.

Am I that much of an odd duck? I mean I already feel like an odd duck for homeschooling but I'm starting to feel even more odd for not grooming my son for college.

Groom him for what he wants to do. If he wants to be a mechanic than find a good training program for that. Find the training in what he wants to do. If there is something he wants to do that requires a degree, look into online class through college. It is another option.

No I don't think you are an odd duck. Actually, if you think about we all are to a degree, we are bucking the system I claim it, people laugh with me. And then the questions roll

 

[Corjack]

This is our first semester of homeschool. I was wondering is it normal for the kids to start to kind of lose focus more toward the end of the year? We are in our last 27 days and my DD is really seeming just burnt out.

TIA!

Jackie

 

[fottafamily05]

Hi everyone! I am new to this thread! We are going to be doing our very first year of Homeschooling this year. We are very excited but also very nervous. We have 3 children, our son is 9, and daughters are 7 and 5.

Any recommendations or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you all so much

 

[robinsegg]

Hi everyone! I am new to this thread! We are going to be doing our very first year of Homeschooling this year. We are very excited but also very nervous. We have 3 children, our son is 9, and daughters are 7 and 5.

Any recommendations or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you all so much

Best advice: Do as much as you can all together (literature, science, social studies, etc.). That leaves time for individually-leveled stuff individually!

 

[graygables]

One more question, and you can PM your responses if that's more comfortable. Are your homeschoolers going on to college?

DS15 has no interest in college, none at all. I think it's, in part, because he had such a difficult time in school. I'm not comfortable going into it all on a public forum but the culmination of everything is what led us to homeschool him. It just wasn't a positive situation for him.

College always comes up with other homeschool parents and I end up feeling like a leper. It's never actually been said straight out but the intimation is a question of why am I homeschooling if my child isn't going on to college.

Am I that much of an odd duck? I mean I already feel like an odd duck for homeschooling but I'm starting to feel even more odd for not grooming my son for college.

I've made my opinions on college being the end-all clear, so I won't jump on the entire soapbox again. But....I get SO tired of people who think the only way to judge the success of their homeschooler is by their college/career choice. REALLY irritates me and is one of the few things that makes me want to smack someone.

Let me preface our experience so far with telling you that I just got my Master's last year. My dad is a professor in a Master's program. I used to be an English teacher. We VALUE education and even higher education in my family.

My oldest went to PS. She was HSed for a few years, but wound up back in (long story). She went to college for one year on a full scholarship and flunked out. She is 25yo and still has no degree nor any drive to get one. She is gainfully employed FT at WDW and seems to be content with that.

My 22yo was in PS for about 3 years, then pulled to HS. She returned to PS for 2 years, but came back to HS. My parents tried to push her back to PS, but she finally asked if she could just take the GED and "get it over with". She did. She went to community college for a semester to qualify for the Disney College Program which she did and parlayed that into a job there. BTW, she's worked since she was 15yo. She has worked 2 jobs for a few years now and is very happy. She recently announced that she is going back to school this summer. I don't personally think she's cut out for it, but I'm happy to see that she has the gumption to try. She is VERY smart and the professors will annoy her. It's just the way she is.

3rd DD is 15 next week and has absolutely no desire to go to college. She has a strong interest in photography, which I encourage as much as possible (she got an amazing camera for Christmas). She is more interested in gaining work-related skills so we are especially concerned with making sure that math makes sense in a real-world environment. She sees the diversity of jobs available at WDW and is looking to experiment around there and find her niche.

Youngest is 12 and already has photos of the CIA in New York in her daily binder. She has calculated how much she needs to save in the next 6 years, what her GPA needs to be, and what score she needs on the SAT to qualify for scholarships. She's already started asking me for SAT study guides. She has a chef coat/pants and has already started a nice collection of kitchen accouterments which she uses on a regular basis. She makes a lovely alfredo sauce!

Not every kid is cut out for college. I certainly had no interest and was pressured into it. I wound up dropping out to get married (which felt like my ONLY escape at the time and turned out to be a horrible, life-altering in too many ways mistake). I had to return to college later in life to support a family alone and was much more motivated to do well. In my opinion, the time each person is ready, if they ever are, is individual and depends on many factors. In today's college world, there is no such thing as a "non-traditional student" anymore (like I was). Help children find their passions and pursue them. Some kids actually LIKE the idea of mixing ice cream at Cold Stone and watching the kids faces light up at the first taste of the concoction. We can't all be rocket scientists.

And, one more thing...look at the number of people wandering around unemployment offices with degrees right now. It really is not the end-all.

 

[chris31997]

Hi everyone! I am new to this thread! We are going to be doing our very first year of Homeschooling this year. We are very excited but also very nervous. We have 3 children, our son is 9, and daughters are 7 and 5.

Any recommendations or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you all so much

Have fun and don't worry about blowing it

 

[disneymom3]

I ran across this site and thought that some of you who homeschool younger kids may find it helpful.

http://www.dadsworksheets.com/

Thanks! There is so much out there to find!!

I was wondering if someone was going to bring this up on here. I think the testing in public school is out of control. It seems the schools are rewarded for good test scores just like the children are rewarded for being there. My DD was just talking about how her teacher was bribing them with candy yesterday to get their work done. What are they dogs? Anyways, I think it bothered me because before that my DD was talking about how they had cupcakes in class AGAIN.... I really wish they would stop feeding her junk everyday, but if I were to say somethng then it would single her out. I'm hoping to homeschool her starting next year, I really like how it is going with her brother now. Which I think he will move on to the public high school, so I will flip flop them.

Gah. I just read through that thread a bit. The part that appalled me was that the girl had to sit there for an extra however many minutes "to preserve the testing environment." Seriously? How stupid is that? So if my husband finishes a job at work that takes less time than expected he should just sit there for the next 45 min?

Need help with an acronym for a homeschhol group and the word: class.

I have Creative Learning And ? ? I'm open to all ideas!

Ok, you know it has to include something about social stuff.

Come to the dark side. We have cookies.

(Which our children made with a large group of homeschooled friends after converting all measurements to metric and translating the recipe into foreign languages...)

A friend of mine and I just let our kids make cookies from a tub of premixed cookie dough. We were figuring we really should have made it a lesson but hey, the cookies were reallly yummy.

Howdy! I'm newish to the boards and going to start homeschooling this summer, as soon as school is out. I have no idea what I am doing yet and am attending a home schooling convention next month. Very excited, and absolutely terrified I'll mess something up!

You are going to do great. I think of the many lousy teachers I had growing up...really you aren't going to be THAT bad.

Thank-you both for your answers.

I'm just still shaking my head that I have to contact the local high school for a work permit when my son doesn't even go there. I guess there must be a reason but wow, talk about goofy laws!

We have to do that in MN too. I agree it's very very silly. We have a bill in the legislature right now that hopefully will get rid of that requirement.

One more question, and you can PM your responses if that's more comfortable. Are your homeschoolers going on to college?

DS15 has no interest in college, none at all. I think it's, in part, because he had such a difficult time in school. I'm not comfortable going into it all on a public forum but the culmination of everything is what led us to homeschool him. It just wasn't a positive situation for him.

College always comes up with other homeschool parents and I end up feeling like a leper. It's never actually been said straight out but the intimation is a question of why am I homeschooling if my child isn't going on to college.

Am I that much of an odd duck? I mean I already feel like an odd duck for homeschooling but I'm starting to feel even more odd for not grooming my son for college.

I seriously doubt my middle one is going to go to college. He might but I am pretty sure it will be more along the lines of techical college. The younger one I don't know yet.

However, there are tons of jobs in this world that we all depend on and there is not a darn thing wrong with doing them. They don't take a college degreee either. Mechanics, plumbers, tow truck drivers, mail carriers. Find something your child is interested in and has a pasion for. That is what life is all about.

BTW, I used to be very very strongly in the camp that everyone should go to college...before I had kids.

 

[Mama Who]

"Preserve the test environment" is School Speak for "so the teacher doesn't have to expend any extra effort."

Our supervising charter ticked me off last year when they required the homeschool kids to sit around until the end of the testing period... with parents sitting around in the lobby waiting for them... because it was "more work" to excuse the homeschool kids quietly than to make them sit around like the regular students.

DS sat for 30 minutes, 10 of which NOBODY was still testing but because the schoolers couldn't leave the homeschoolers couldn't either. To be "fair." Look, if I wanted my kid treated like a mindless drone we'd still be schooling, okay?

 

[SCHBR'smom]

I would love some spelling recommendations. We are using Learning Language Arts Through Literature which includes spelling, but I think we need more. I've been supplementing with workbooks, but I need to know more of what's out there. Thanks.

 

[sl_underwood]

We used spellwell with the girls and they liked it. It is in workbook format and each lesson is very short. It was great as a supplemental to our reg program.

 

[mariezp]

One more question, and you can PM your responses if that's more comfortable. Are your homeschoolers going on to college?

DS15 has no interest in college, none at all. I think it's, in part, because he had such a difficult time in school. I'm not comfortable going into it all on a public forum but the culmination of everything is what led us to homeschool him. It just wasn't a positive situation for him.

College always comes up with other homeschool parents and I end up feeling like a leper. It's never actually been said straight out but the intimation is a question of why am I homeschooling if my child isn't going on to college.

Am I that much of an odd duck? I mean I already feel like an odd duck for homeschooling but I'm starting to feel even more odd for not grooming my son for college.

Well if you are an odd duck then I am right there with you! (Hope this doesn't bring out the flame throwers but I do want you to know that you are NOT alone.) After my son graduated last year every time we went anywhere the first question anyone would ask him was where he was going to college. I know he was beyond annoyed with the question. Frankly, so was I. When he would say he WAS NOT going to college 99% of the time they would look at him like they were so puzzled that he would even think of not going to college. I know they probably didn't start out intending to be rude but THEIR responses very often were so.

My son has never really cared for bookwork so it never came as any surprise that he would not want to attend college. However, he is amazing, very smart and I am so proud of him. His goal is to open his own martial arts academy some day. I would love to see him obtain that goal and have a job doing something he excels at and absolutely loves. If for some unforeseen reason he changes his plan I will support him 100% in whatever he chooses on down the line... with or without college.

On a side note.... We are a Christian family. In all fairness, our opinion of college was forever tainted by the fact that my step daughter went to college believing in God and came back a self proclaimed agnostic. In our case, supporting the gain of a college education is just not worth the possible loss of ones Christian beliefs. Sure, we want our son to be successful but our main concerns for him extend far beyond a college education.

 

[ToTLaugher]

Hello everyone,

This is my first post on this thread. If it is in the wrong place, feel free to ignore it!

I just called the Swan and Dolphin reservations about the teaching discount and was told if I brought my letter from the school district "approving" my homeschool I can use the discount!

Has anyone here done this before? I haven't made my reservations yet, but I am afraid of getting down there and not having the letter be accepted.

Thanks for any help.