Homeschool Chat Part III

[bumbershoot]

Anybody else have any thoughts on hs and only children? (It doesn't seem as natural when it's just me and my daughter at home with no siblings.)

Thanks!!!

DS is, so far, an only, and it's awesome for homeschooling purposes.

We did join the Y for "PE" and for friends. We literally joined it for PE, because they have a Homeschool PE program! It became co-op (and not in a good way) after his first year in it, so we aren't a part of it anymore (I'm already his "everything"...I wanted to just hand him over to gymnastics/swim/etc EXPERTS and go work out by myself!), but for that year it was great. Except, and this is probably a good thing for most of you out there, most of the kids there were religious, and they all knew each other from church, and they weren't all that welcoming to the new kid that they didn't know from church already.

But he takes lots of activity classes and is meeting other kids, and it's most excellent.

DS and I learn in different ways...and I'm really glad that he's the only one I'm teaching right now, because it's HARD to figure out how best to approach him and approach subjects! If I had others to deal with or teach, I personally might lose my mind.

My cousin has been homeschooling her son, and they've had to send their 4 year old to a few hours of pre-K each day, to get the one-on-one time with him to teach him, because she was so disruptive, I guess. Which is too bad, and I don't think it was their plan, but this is how it's ended up.

So don't feel too bad about it just being the two of you at the learning-table.

 

[jacksmomma]

Anybody else have any thoughts on hs and only children? (It doesn't seem as natural when it's just me and my daughter at home with no siblings.)

Thanks!!!

I am homeschooling an only child here and it is great! It does not feel awkward at all. He gets undivided attention for most of his learning, which allows us to get school done pretty quickly. This allows both him and I to have time to devote to our hobbies. For group interaction we have field trips, pottery class, church classes, open gym...the list goes on and on. I really have no drawbacks for homeschooling onlys...in my opinion it makes your job a lot easier!

 

[AmandaRG]

I'm so glad I found you guys!

I have a 4 yo who will start some form of "school" next year. I am about 80-85% sure we're going with homeschool, but I'm TERRIFIED! Help! lol

We have been really impressed with the Classical Conversations communities in our area. Does anyone have experience with that program? I like the idea of my only child having a "class" and peers to interact with on a limited level, but still having the flexibility in education and learning style that homeschooling allows. Plus if I understand the program correctly it will take a lot of planning out of my hands.

Anybody else have any thoughts on hs and only children? (It doesn't seem as natural when it's just me and my daughter at home with no siblings.)

Thanks!!!

Hi ncbunnie! We are in TN, but we are a part of a CC community. We enjoy it, and it is good for our girls to learn somewhat of a classroom setting (although being in the Abecedarians, there isn't tons of structure just yet).

I'm happy to answer any questions you have, if you want to PM me.

As far as CC taking the planning out of your hands, that isn't the case. You have your own curriculums, there is mainly CC memory work that is done on a weekly basis.

Only teaching one should leave tons of time for playdates and other fun things! I have my kindergartener that I work with (and she does some independently), and my 3-year-old is doing some worksheets as well.

 

[Grammyof2]

Hi everybody!

Not much of a poster but read when I have the chance. I am home schooling my granddaughter and she is in 5th grade. I just wanted to let everyone know that CurrClick.com has lots of free and inexpensive programs that I use for extras. They have wonderful writing programs that I have bought for practically nothing as downloads. I get things printed fairly cheaply locally and she loves them.

They also have online classes and we have done a few that were awesome. They usually have a free class to see if you like it. Can't say enough good about them.

Hopefully someone else can find something helpful too.

I love HS and we have been able to accomplish so much more than I thought was possible and no stress!

 

[Mrs.Goofy]

Hi All, another homeschooler here.

I didn't read the whole thread but wanted to say hi.
I'm doing our first offical year, I have a 5yoDD, 3yoDD and a 16 month DS. My 5yo and 3yo do almost all their school time together. My 3yo is very bright and I plan to scoot her along with her sister doing K this year.

I do have 1 question, what is a normal age to learn how to read? My 5yo can sound out some works and knows a few sight words, but I always feel like she is behind when I hear people say their 3 or 4yo reads. I was a late reader so I'm always worried about it.

Oh and we are taking a road trip in 5 weeks to DL, should I even bother trying to pack their school work and do it during the trip or should we just take the week off?
BTW, we are doing Sonlight P4/5 with LA K, Reader K, and Horizons math K.

 

[Nicolepa]

I do have 1 question, what is a normal age to learn how to read? My 5yo can sound out some works and knows a few sight words, but I always feel like she is behind when I hear people say their 3 or 4yo reads. I was a late reader so I'm always worried about it.

.

3 is very, very, early, 4 is very early and 5 is early. I had one teach herself to read at 3 and was reading Magic Treehouse by 4. My other didn't really learn to read until 6 (1st grade). He had remedial help in 1st grade or it probably would have been longer. My 3rd is 3.5 and has no interest in any of it.

From my research and talking to my MIL (gifted teacher & counselor) and her teacher friends 5-7 is average, but a few kids aren't mentally able till they are 8.

 

[bumbershoot]

Hi All, another homeschooler here.

I didn't read the whole thread but wanted to say hi.
I'm doing our first offical year, I have a 5yoDD, 3yoDD and a 16 month DS. My 5yo and 3yo do almost all their school time together. My 3yo is very bright and I plan to scoot her along with her sister doing K this year.

I do have 1 question, what is a normal age to learn how to read? My 5yo can sound out some works and knows a few sight words, but I always feel like she is behind when I hear people say their 3 or 4yo reads. I was a late reader so I'm always worried about it.

Oh and we are taking a road trip in 5 weeks to DL, should I even bother trying to pack their school work and do it during the trip or should we just take the week off?
BTW, we are doing Sonlight P4/5 with LA K, Reader K, and Horizons math K.

There's a big range of normal for reading. Don't worry about it, especially since you yourself were a later reader.

I managed to learn to read just ridiculously early, and all it did for me was get me into inappropriate books too young because I was bored, and it got me into glasses younger than I might have been destined.

Mt husband took longer, and people finally flipped out on him when he was eight...however, it's probable that he has some sort of dyslexia type of problem, and making reading into a fight did not help!

Because of our pasts, we have tried to be relaxed with DS. DH is much better with this than I am...since I was never actually taught, I just figured it out, it's hard for me to understand that/why it doesn't just come to others. It's why I'm glad we use Oak Meadow, as it's Waldorf roots remind us that reading will come, and you don't want to rush it.

 

[southern_redhead]

Well, I made the "leap" last weekend. I have been stewing about DH's wishy-washy attitude toward homeschool. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that DH can be fairly wishy-washy in general. He isn't big on committing to something "new" and will procrasitnate all over the place......I began to realize that he would never actually say, "Yeah, let's do this." or "No, I don't think this is right." I realized that our kids could spend years falling through the cracks while he mulled it over. So.......I told him, "We are coming home at Christmas. Here is what I think needs to happen to get ducks in a row financially." I really hope it all works out, OTOH, it can't be worse than where we are now.

Now I can start planning. I kind of already have a light/fun unit study in mind for our first few weeks. I do want to settle on a plan for math. My uncle has a Doctorate in Education, he has recommended Kahn Academy over and over. I know we will check it out, but I'm not sure he meant it as a stand alone curriculum. I am torn between trying to find a used copy of Oak Meadow's 1st grade math to peruse, and jumping in to Math U See for the youngest. He will need SOME kind of manipulative, even if I add that on outside the curriculum.

I'm also checking into homeschool groups. I'm not really looking for co-op classes, just ones that do field trips and such. My kids are highly social little beings (unlike me LOL) and I know they will want to be around other kids besides their siblings. One thing I'm excited about is maybe having time for them to do things like swim class or gymnastics.....those are SO hard to fit in when you go to school all day, have hours of homework at night, and then try to fit in chores and bedtime/bathtime/suppertime as you can.

We have roughly 3 and a half weeks until our Thanksgiving vacation (9 days out), then we will be back for about 14 days, then it's Christmas vacation and Adios Public School, Hola Homeschool !!

 

[jacksmomma]

Well, I made the "leap" last weekend. I have been stewing about DH's wishy-washy attitude toward homeschool. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that DH can be fairly wishy-washy in general. He isn't big on committing to something "new" and will procrasitnate all over the place......I began to realize that he would never actually say, "Yeah, let's do this." or "No, I don't think this is right." I realized that our kids could spend years falling through the cracks while he mulled it over. So.......I told him, "We are coming home at Christmas. Here is what I think needs to happen to get ducks in a row financially." I really hope it all works out, OTOH, it can't be worse than where we are now.

Now I can start planning. I kind of already have a light/fun unit study in mind for our first few weeks. I do want to settle on a plan for math. My uncle has a Doctorate in Education, he has recommended Kahn Academy over and over. I know we will check it out, but I'm not sure he meant it as a stand alone curriculum. I am torn between trying to find a used copy of Oak Meadow's 1st grade math to peruse, and jumping in to Math U See for the youngest. He will need SOME kind of manipulative, even if I add that on outside the curriculum.

I'm also checking into homeschool groups. I'm not really looking for co-op classes, just ones that do field trips and such. My kids are highly social little beings (unlike me LOL) and I know they will want to be around other kids besides their siblings. One thing I'm excited about is maybe having time for them to do things like swim class or gymnastics.....those are SO hard to fit in when you go to school all day, have hours of homework at night, and then try to fit in chores and bedtime/bathtime/suppertime as you can.

We have roughly 3 and a half weeks until our Thanksgiving vacation (9 days out), then we will be back for about 14 days, then it's Christmas vacation and Adios Public School, Hola Homeschool !!

Congrats on your decision! I do not think you will regret it! People are always amazed that DS takes pottery classes, goes to an open gym, is taking piano classes, etc. We have the time to do such things and DS can explore what he is interested in. It is great! (Just try not to do all of those at once! )

I know nothing about Oak Meadow, but we have Math U See and love it. We are using it to supplement My Father's World and it is working great! DS loves "doing math" with the blocks instead of just seeing it.

 

[bumbershoot]

Congrats, southern!

I would be happy to photocopy the math stories in the first grade syllabus and send it to you. that way you can have a taste of it. Jus PM me your address if you would like that and I'll start on it.





This week's project involves making a mask with plaster. Who knew that the skills from making a belly cast over 7 years ago would come in handy? Nt just the skills, actually, but I had a whole roll of plaster stuff left, and we used that. Even better, now I am going to actually finish that belly cast!

So glad he has that project. Gotta get back to it...it's sanding and gesso'ing day.

 

[momimouse27]

Congrats, southern redhead! It can be scary to make the leap, but also exciting to be able to watch your kids learn.

 

[3pletprincesses]

I am glad I foudn this thread as I have been thinking about home schooling and i have a few questions that only people like you can help.

My triplet are in kindergarden and already have an average of 30 minutes of homework a day. Now the kicker is that the school and school board refuse to put them in the same class thereofr making harder for me in the evening. They all have different homeworks and of course projects that mommy has to do. Since they get home at 4, we are usuall ydone doing their homework by 6pm, then it's diner, baths and bed time. I was told to expect next year to see at least an hour of homework. Now I am looking at 3 hours of homework which would bring bed time to over 9pm. Am I insane to think that it's too late for 6yo to go to bed that late. The school answer was to find help for homework. They don't want to hear anything about puttin them in the same class because it would give them power over the teacher since there's 3 of them. I know where they are coming from but I find them inconsiderate. to top if off, the girls have already missed over 10 days of school since september because of high fevers, ear infections and what not. Now the school is wanting drs notes for it which BTW won't be hard to get but still. They have never been this sick since birth.

How hard is home schooling? I have lots of patience as I have a daycare and of course would have to close it to home school. How much preparation am I looking at? Do you get anything from school boards like exams or anything? Where do I start? How much time to you "teach" during a day

I think home schooling would be much better for us. For one thing the girls wouldn't be as sick and home workd loads would be easier IMO. I could make school way more interesting then school does, I think. Can someone help me?

 

[sahmoftwo]

I am glad I foudn this thread as I have been thinking about home schooling and i have a few questions that only people like you can help.

My triplet are in kindergarden and already have an average of 30 minutes of homework a day. Now the kicker is that the school and school board refuse to put them in the same class thereofr making harder for me in the evening. They all have different homeworks and of course projects that mommy has to do. Since they get home at 4, we are usuall ydone doing their homework by 6pm, then it's diner, baths and bed time. I was told to expect next year to see at least an hour of homework. Now I am looking at 3 hours of homework which would bring bed time to over 9pm. Am I insane to think that it's too late for 6yo to go to bed that late. The school answer was to find help for homework. They don't want to hear anything about puttin them in the same class because it would give them power over the teacher since there's 3 of them. I know where they are coming from but I find them inconsiderate. to top if off, the girls have already missed over 10 days of school since september because of high fevers, ear infections and what not. Now the school is wanting drs notes for it which BTW won't be hard to get but still. They have never been this sick since birth.

How hard is home schooling? I have lots of patience as I have a daycare and of course would have to close it to home school. How much preparation am I looking at? Do you get anything from school boards like exams or anything? Where do I start? How much time to you "teach" during a day

I think home schooling would be much better for us. For one thing the girls wouldn't be as sick and home workd loads would be easier IMO. I could make school way more interesting then school does, I think. Can someone help me?

That seems like a lot of homework for K to me. I have 2 kids, but am only homeschooling one so I'll not be a lot of help. First, every state/country has its own laws so I would suggest checking out HSDLA website b/c they have a lot of info for each states requirements. Here in TX we don't have to submit anything, but other states do require a bit of testing or a portfolio.

If you can handle triplets and an in-home daycare I am certain you can handle homeschooling. For my 1st grader our total academic school day is 1 hour...so basically the amount of time you spend on homework we get everything done.

As I tell everyone, you can try it for a semester or a year and if it doesn't work you can always change your mind...give it a try! Good luck with your decision.

 

[southern_redhead]

Bumbershoot,

Thank you, I will PM you

I am glad I foudn this thread as I have been thinking about home schooling and i have a few questions that only people like you can help.

My triplet are in kindergarden and already have an average of 30 minutes of homework a day. Now the kicker is that the school and school board refuse to put them in the same class thereofr making harder for me in the evening. They all have different homeworks and of course projects that mommy has to do. Since they get home at 4, we are usuall ydone doing their homework by 6pm, then it's diner, baths and bed time. I was told to expect next year to see at least an hour of homework. Now I am looking at 3 hours of homework which would bring bed time to over 9pm. Am I insane to think that it's too late for 6yo to go to bed that late. The school answer was to find help for homework. They don't want to hear anything about puttin them in the same class because it would give them power over the teacher since there's 3 of them. I know where they are coming from but I find them inconsiderate. to top if off, the girls have already missed over 10 days of school since september because of high fevers, ear infections and what not. Now the school is wanting drs notes for it which BTW won't be hard to get but still. They have never been this sick since birth.

How hard is home schooling? I have lots of patience as I have a daycare and of course would have to close it to home school. How much preparation am I looking at? Do you get anything from school boards like exams or anything? Where do I start? How much time to you "teach" during a day

I think home schooling would be much better for us. For one thing the girls wouldn't be as sick and home workd loads would be easier IMO. I could make school way more interesting then school does, I think. Can someone help me?

Bless your heart. The bolded is the dumbest thing I've ever heard, we have triplets at our school and they've always had the same teacher. I've never known them to "overrun" the teacher. I understand where you are coming from. I have 3 kids myself, although mine aren't triplets. Homework is a killer, and, yes, every year it takes us longer to slog through. One good thing about homeschooling (as I see it) will be that we do the "homework" during the day, they may review some on their own, but there won't be any staying up until 10 trying to get it all in. Evenings can be for "our" time.

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Southern Redhead...congrats on your decision!! You will be so glad you did it!! And it's not that far away!!!

 

[momimouse27]

Oh, do I know where you are coming from!

If you haven't read back a few pages, I have two daughters homeschooled(one in college, another 14 and still at home) and a son who is ASD in public school. They did have him in transition with reg ed. class and just pulled him full time into the ASD classroom. When he was in both, we had homework for BOTH classes. It took us sometimes 1 hour or more(he is in 3rd grade) to get homework done. I was putting him to bed at 9 and was told that's too late. But how in the world do you fit it all in in less than 5 hours?

And the absences...we get 5 unexused per year. I can't afford to take my child to the doctor for an excuse every time he gets a fever(we aren't allowed to bring them with a fever or for 24 hours after the fever breaks). They've pretty much tied the parents hands. It really gets under my skin how difficult they try to make things.

I am leaning very heavily towards trying him at home next year. I pray about it daily.

 

[BeccaGoofy]

Congrats on homeschooling! It is a tough decision. Especially if not everyone in the family is 100% on board with the decision. There are many curriculum to choose from for various subjects. You will need to find out what works best for your teaching style and for your type type of learner. Cathy Duffy has a great book that helps you review the different books. For example, we started using Singapore Math and it worked well. Someone turned us on to Right Start Math and we are supplementing with Khan Academy and several ipad math apps for drills.
For English we started using Hooked on Phonics, childrens books, comic books of classic children's lit and dolch sight words for K. We supplemented with online spelling tools such as the ones at homespellingwords dot com.
One alternative is to buy a complete package such as the one sold by Sonlight at sonlight dot com.

You might also want to sign up for the email or newsletters from all the homeschool groups in your area.

Enjoy the journey.

 

[3pletprincesses]

Thanks ladies! I guess my biggest fear is to try to homeschool and to fail miserably and the only people who will pay for my mistake is my babies. I have been reading tons in the past few weeks about it and am getting closer and closer to making my decision. I might not start this year as I am due in May with our 4th and have been having complication but next year is really achievable.

One of our girls has the mono and so far has missed over 15 days of school and I was told by the dr to not expect her back to school full time before x-mas. I had a phone conversation today with the principle and it's not acceptable to her. She is willing to give a month tops. Well a month is not enough according to my dr as it normally takes about a month before someone stops sleeping their day away and start to stay alert for more then an hour at a time. I just can't send her to school to simply have her miserable and not rested... it will simply make the process longer. They drive me nuts. Now god forbid one of the others get it... I'll get another interesting phone call yet again.

 

[jacksmomma]

Thanks ladies! I guess my biggest fear is to try to homeschool and to fail miserably and the only people who will pay for my mistake is my babies. I have been reading tons in the past few weeks about it and am getting closer and closer to making my decision. I might not start this year as I am due in May with our 4th and have been having complication but next year is really achievable.

One of our girls has the mono and so far has missed over 15 days of school and I was told by the dr to not expect her back to school full time before x-mas. I had a phone conversation today with the principle and it's not acceptable to her. She is willing to give a month tops. Well a month is not enough according to my dr as it normally takes about a month before someone stops sleeping their day away and start to stay alert for more then an hour at a time. I just can't send her to school to simply have her miserable and not rested... it will simply make the process longer. They drive me nuts. Now god forbid one of the others get it... I'll get another interesting phone call yet again.

I am one who shouts my dislike for schools creeping into family time loud and proud...and I used to be a school teacher. Practice homework is one thing, but hours of homework and excess projects for K and 1st graders is different! Everyone says, "But school is different and kids are different than when we were growing up." Yes, it is and they are, but that does not make it a good thing! It is called age compression and children's morals a values being influenced by the media and society, and not in a good way! One of my factors in deciding to homeschool DS was all the homework. It is insane! Someone else posted that her curriculum takes an hour, mine does too. Occasionally it is 1.5 hours, but that is rare. It is so nice to have time for interests, outside classes, and PLAY...remember that?!

To start I would look up what the requirements for homeschooling are in your state with HSLDA. Then beging looking at styles of homeschooling. Go to the library and see what they informational books they have available. If you do not feel like you could do it this year that is okay, use this time to research. Figure out what you have to do and then what you want to do. I would also try to attend a homeschooling conference in your area. You will get so much information and will feel so encouraged! Oh, and use us for questions! Some of us have not been at it that long, but everyone has been there at some point in time.

 

[kohlby]

I do have 1 question, what is a normal age to learn how to read? My 5yo can sound out some works and knows a few sight words, but I always feel like she is behind when I hear people say their 3 or 4yo reads. I was a late reader so I'm always worried about it.

What's their definition of their 3 or 4 year old reading? Most 3 year olds can't read. Of the ones who do, the majority can't read a lot - just simple sight words or sounding out. But really, it doesn't matter when others do it. What matters is that your child learns at a time that is ready for YOUR child. It does sound like your child is the norm - but I wouldn't worry about that. My oldest was not ready to do any basic reading until first grade, at 6. He struggled to read "Mat sat" at the start of first grade. By the end of the first grade, he was reading Harry Potter books, which are a 5th grade level. I compare it to learning to walk. The earlier walkers aren't better athletes. As long as your child is ready during the normal range, which I'd say is 3-8, then I wouldn't worry. (My older brother was reading at 2, but he is not the norm at all!) The later readers do easily catch up. Plus, you want a child to love to learn to read so pushing can easily backfire. My second child started reading at 4. She's now 5 and still a long ways off from handling Harry Potter or even chapter books.

If a child is a late reader in traditional school, it can cause problems because they have trouble keeping up. But with homeschooling, you can take your time and wait until a child is ready.