Homeschool Chat Part III

[chicagoshannon]

Okay, tryyyyying not to freak out here. I just read through 16 pages of this thread & couldn't stand it any longer! I had to jump over to the Sonlight website & order a catalog. Then, I looked at their newcomer curriculums. 2nd grade was $891 & 5th grade was $1040. I realize several of you mentioned buying things on ebay & only spending $200 for the whole yr, but HOW??? I also understand how you can pick & choose, kind of like "a la carte" but how are you only paying 1/4 or 1/5 of that cost and getting everything they need for the year? Thanks Angela

I don't order the newcomer package. I order the core and then decide on my own about math, language arts, science ect. I think it's cheaper that way. I think there are a lot of 2nd hand places to get things but I haven't used any of them.

Price out the Core and then decide. A great place to look for the other subjects is Rainbow Resources. It's cheaper then a lot of other places (they don't sell sonlight but they sell a lot of other homeschool curriculum)

Another thing you could possible think about doing is combining the 2 of them into 1 core. Then you just choose different math and language art for them to do separately. Take a look at the sonlight forums. There are people there that will have suggestions I'm sure.

 

[weHEARTmickey]

Thank you so much bellebud & chicagoshannon!!!! That makes me feel much better. I'm just so excited!!!

I have a question about "deschooling." Do we do that in the summer? Or do I wait and do that in August? I would hate to deschool in August, which means we may not even start work until Dec or Jan. (Or is that b/c ps has programmed me that way?)

 

[graygables]

I have a question about "deschooling." Do we do that in the summer? Or do I wait and do that in August? I would hate to deschool in August, which means we may not even start work until Dec or Jan. (Or is that b/c ps has programmed me that way?)

Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated. Oh. Wait. NO YOU WON'T!

There is no pre-programmed way to decompress and it's different for every child. When my older DDs were transitioning from PS to HS, we noticed that we had some "landmarks" like the first day of PS and school breaks that we had to get past in a different way. I know someone who has a "Neener Neener Day" which is when they do something totally fun that PS kids can't do on the first day of the PS calendar. We prefer to call it our "Back to Unschool Day". You may find the need to go ahead and "deschool" after school starts, if you are not pulling him early, as summer will still seem like the norm. Only when the differences start to show can the true deprogramming begin and even then, it may take awhile.

Even during a "deschooling" phase, learning can be abundant! There are games to play, things to build (look into Snap Circuits), experiments to conduct, interests to explore. PLENTY to do. I look at it like removing a cast from a limb that has been immobilized for a few months. It's sore. It's floppy. It's pale. It's not sure what to do when you move it past where it's been confined. It takes some time and effort to bring it back to its original flexibility and strength, but it can be done once it's freed from the confines.

 

[weHEARTmickey]

Thank you graygables Let me ask you this: Say we start "deschooling" when ps starts...do we go ahead & "register" for homeschooling? Let me explain my self (in a completely selfish & ridiculously embarassing way.)

My pc computer is about to crash, so I'm purchasing a MAC. I found out the BEST time to buy a MAC is during the tax-free weekend & when Apple is offering a free iPod. Another discount I WILL qualify for is the educator discount, since I'll be a homeschool teacher. How can I qualify as a homeschool teacher (in Apples eyes) if I am not yet homeschooling? Clear as mud?

 

[bumbershoot]

Okay, tryyyyying not to freak out here. I just read through 16 pages of this thread & couldn't stand it any longer! I had to jump over to the Sonlight website & order a catalog. Then, I looked at their newcomer curriculums. 2nd grade was $891 & 5th grade was $1040. I realize several of you mentioned buying things on ebay & only spending $200 for the whole yr, but HOW??? I also understand how you can pick & choose, kind of like "a la carte" but how are you only paying 1/4 or 1/5 of that cost and getting everything they need for the year? Thanks Angela

Sonlight is pretty cool because they show you every single book they use for each age level. They are entirely open about it. So you can go through the list for your kids' age levels, find out if your library has those books, then just order the books your library does not have. You can order them from Sonlight, get them from amazon, half.com, wherever you choose. And then just buy the other textbooks etc you need for teaching them from Sonlight.

I really love that they are so transparent in that way!

I read all these posts about doing what they want, just read books, go on field trips & that all sounds great but how do you report that to your school system? It can't be that all of you have no requirements to reporting. In my district I had the option of dated work samples or standardized testing. I chose dated work samples.

I'm sorry MA has such requirements. I hope some other Massachusetts parents will be able to help!

(for us, once he's declared to the school district (which doesn't have to be until he is 8) it's either testing each year or being evaluated each year by an educator currently working in education)

 

[MomofSixinSC]

I'm sorry MA has such requirements. I hope some other Massachusetts parents will be able to help!

(for us, once he's declared to the school district (which doesn't have to be until he is 8) it's either testing each year or being evaluated each year by an educator currently working in education)

In SC, you have the option of belonging to an association of homeschoolers with more than 50 member families. The association administrator reports to the state that the have XX member families and XX homeschooled students. I am required to teach certain subjects a certain number of days per year, to keep attendance records, samples of their work, and bi-annual progress reports. I do not have to show these to anyone, just have them on file. That is it.

 

[bumbershoot]

I do not have to show these to anyone, just have them on file. That is it.

Which reminds me there's an addendum to WA reqs. The results of the evaluation (and maybe the testing? not sure) are just kept by me, never to be seen. Unless, I imagine, something weird happens and I need to prove myself to the state. Don't think that will happen, though.


Am I the only one who checks out things like homeschool requirements when thinking about moving to a different state? We think about moving, and the first thing I check when the thoughts come up is homeschool laws.... To be more regulated would bug me too much! Which is why I chose to not do K-12 through the WA Virtual Academy, or Calvert (or their a la carte offerings) through Columbia Virtual Academy. Too much oversight for no good reason IMO. Even though it would have been free....

 

[weHEARTmickey]

Sonlight is pretty cool because they show you every single book they use for each age level. They are entirely open about it. So you can go through the list for your kids' age levels, find out if your library has those books, then just order the books your library does not have. You can order them from Sonlight, get them from amazon, half.com, wherever you choose. And then just buy the other textbooks etc you need for teaching them from Sonlight.

I really love that they are so transparent in that way!

I'm sorry MA has such requirements. I hope some other Massachusetts parents will be able to help!

(for us, once he's declared to the school district (which doesn't have to be until he is 8) it's either testing each year or being evaluated each year by an educator currently working in education)

I noticed that about Sonlight! I thought that was really cool too I fell sorry for the MA mom also. What I CANNOT GET OVER about TX is that they are uber psycho CRAZY about the kids passing the TAKS, then they have NO requirements for homeschooling? It's 2 different extremes. I honestly wouldn't mind a yearly evaluation for my kids, just to see how they are progressing, but that's just me.

 

[bellebud]

I have a question about "deschooling." Do we do that in the summer? Or do I wait and do that in August? I would hate to deschool in August, which means we may not even start work until Dec or Jan. (Or is that b/c ps has programmed me that way?)

as graygables said, there's no one way to deschool. (Gray - I still have to have my dd email yours... she's going to ).

Your kids are young enough to just 'let them go' for a few months. The 'standard' of deschooling is one month "off" for every year they've been in school (including preK's), so for your dd, if she did 3yo and 4yo preK's, that's 7 months to deschool. I know - at first you feel like "I couldn't possibly do that!" But there's no set amount of time really, but you do want them to be able to 'find themselves' again, and they can do that by just being bored and finding things to do for themselves. You'll all probably feel funny in the beginning, w/out 'schedules'... but you can make fun schedules too. You can have 1 or 2 days a week as library days. One day can be 'cooking' day - measuring is good math work! One day can be 'study a new country' together day. One day can be 'go to the park (or the backyard) and do nature study' day. Bird watch. Collect rocks. Grow a garden.

Get out of the house for local field trips. There's something to go see everywhere - supermarkets will give you tours, local firehouses... google your area as if you were visiting there, and you'll find places to go.

Don't worry about them "learning" for this times period... they absolutely WILL be learning, but just not on paper w/ a grade on top.

For proving you're a hser to a store, some places will accept an 'accepted' letter of intent from your school district (I get back a letter from my district saying something like "we received your letter of intent to homeschool your child, blah, blah, blah". Or there are a few websites you can download an ID card saying you're a home educator... here's one site I'm a member of

http://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/homeschool-id/

and I've bought through them as well over the past 2 years.

Have fun!! I always get so excited for new homeschoolers, because it's such a wonderful journey with your kids!

 

[weHEARTmickey]

I love all of these ideas! Thank you I'm really excited about all of the "field trips" just because we've always loved to go & do. There are SOOO many opportunities in our area for educational trips. There is a Christian camp near that offers "day school" 1 or 2 days per week. Does anyone have any experience with something like this?

bellebud--Thank you for that link! Could you please explain to me where you use this type of card? Have you (or anyone else) ever used it to get the educator discount with Apple/MAC? What other purpose might it serve? Do you get the cards for your kids & DH? How do I prove to this site that I'm a homeschool educator?

TIA b/c you gals have been so sweet to answer my 5 million questions I am VERY unprepared to say the least. Keep in mind, I've known for years that this is what I'm called to do. DH wasn't on board with it, so I've never really looked into it. Now that he's had a change of heart, I'm staying up till all hours of the night & researching anything I can get my hands on to prepare myself for this! I feel like I'm on a "Disney High."

 

[bellebud]

Could you please explain to me where you use this type of card? Have you (or anyone else) ever used it to get the educator discount with Apple/MAC? What other purpose might it serve? Do you get the cards for your kids & DH? How do I prove to this site that I'm a homeschool educator?

AC Moore has an educators discount (I have to still fill out my app)... Staples does, and that's all I know about for now. and I haven't used them yet, do I don't know if they're just on certain days, or all the time.

I don't remember having to prove anything to that buying site... I don't think someone who's not homeschooling would really use it. Just sign up I think.

 

[Nicolepa]

AC Moore has an educators discount (I have to still fill out my app)... Staples does, and that's all I know about for now. and I haven't used them yet, do I don't know if they're just on certain days, or all the time.

I don't remember having to prove anything to that buying site... I don't think someone who's not homeschooling would really use it. Just sign up I think.

What did you have to do for the Staples? I asked last fall and they said they didn't have a home educator discount? I have on at Borders, and I know Barnes and Noble give one.

 

[Nicolepa]

Okay, tryyyyying not to freak out here. I just read through 16 pages of this thread & couldn't stand it any longer! I had to jump over to the Sonlight website & order a catalog. Then, I looked at their newcomer curriculums. 2nd grade was $891 & 5th grade was $1040. I realize several of you mentioned buying things on ebay & only spending $200 for the whole yr, but HOW??? I also understand how you can pick & choose, kind of like "a la carte" but how are you only paying 1/4 or 1/5 of that cost and getting everything they need for the year? Thanks Angela

OK, calm down. Sonlight is a great curriculum but it is expensive. I use SL for my preschooler but I use something else for my 3rd grader. Keep in mind most of the cost of SL is books, actual reading books. You can get them at the library, used book sales, ebay, or even Borders w/your educator discount (25% off anything used for school purposes). I have a homeschool resale shop near me and I just bought the SL P4/5 teacher guide for $15. I have purchased some of the books on ebay and will slowly gather the books I need for him. Order the SL catalog, its free, it will tell you which semester each book is used.

The cirriculum I use for my 3rd grader is $100 new and includes everything needed except a few literature books and math. I found the cirriculm at the resale shop for $50. I got my math textbook & answer book for free on paperback swap. I paid $20 for the test book. My grammar books I got for $10, but they ended up being free. Most of the Literature books needed I got on paperbackswap for free.

Some of my friends order straight from SL, some use the library, most are inbetween. You just have to decide how much your time is worth.

 

[bumbershoot]

What I CANNOT GET OVER about TX is that they are uber psycho CRAZY about the kids passing the TAKS, then they have NO requirements for homeschooling? It's 2 different extremes.

They are probably stressy about it b/c it gets more funding when the kids do well. They don't get the funding based on homeschooled kids, so they don't worry about it with them.

That's what I figure, at least.


I get nervous that DS isn't learning too. But then I remember how much he learned by just soaking up the universe until he was 3 (and insisted that he be sent to school (which he'd heard about on Dora and Blue's Clues) or that we give him worksheets so he could feel like he was actually learning), and even now, when we're behind, this has been the time that reading is finally kicking in for him, and each time we do math he's better than the time before (even if it's a week or so between), etc etc. Just watching him calms me down about it.

 

[bellebud]

What did you have to do for the Staples? I asked last fall and they said they didn't have a home educator discount? I have on at Borders, and I know Barnes and Noble give one.

I haven't done it, but another hs mom goes in during their 'teacher appreciation days' where the have tons of discounts... maybe that's the only time they do it. I'm not sure what she uses to 'prove' she's an educator - whether she's signed up or just shows an ID card she made. I'll ask her (I'll also look on Staples website when I get a chance).

 

[Mouseketeer67]

Any homeschoolers here from Louisiana?

 

[weHEARTmickey]

I spoke with DS & DD principals today about our decision to homeschool, and they were so understanding and encouraging DD principal mentioned we may want to withdraw them after spring break--like go on break & not come back. Would April & May be a good time to "unschool/deschool"? Or should we finish out this school year? TIA

 

[Nicolepa]

I spoke with DS & DD principals today about our decision to homeschool, and they were so understanding and encouraging DD principal mentioned we may want to withdraw them after spring break--like go on break & not come back. Would April & May be a good time to "unschool/deschool"? Or should we finish out this school year? TIA

I think the better question is do you need time to mentally prepare for the change? In the grand scheme of things it's not going to matter whether you deschool in April or June or September. If you are ready, mentally, to pull them out then pull them out. If you need time to prepare for the change then wait. The beauty of deschooling is it can happen any time and any way you see fit.

I decided to homeschool my son in November of 1st grade. I wanted to pull him out the 1st of the year. (So go on winter break and not return.) My husband wanted me to wait until the following fall. Not a big deal either way, but now, knowing how miserable he was, and how his migraines were caused by school I wish I hadn't waited.

 

[chicagoshannon]

If anyone uses alpha omega materials they're having 20% off for today only. Use the code get20

I just ordered our Horizons math and phonics for next year(will probably start the phonics as soon as it comes though)

 

[bellebud]

I spoke with DS & DD principals today about our decision to homeschool, and they were so understanding and encouraging DD principal mentioned we may want to withdraw them after spring break--like go on break & not come back. Would April & May be a good time to "unschool/deschool"? Or should we finish out this school year? TIA

I'm thrilled for you that the principal was encouraging... I remember feeling like I was going to "get in trouble" from our school district when we first decided to pull the kids. It's funny now, but I was nervous!

I personally wouldn't finish out the school year, but I know a lot of hser's who did. I just wanted the kids out. What do the kids think about when?

It's fine to even pull them now, and let them 'deschool' for the rest of the year and the summer, then 'start' your official hsing in the fall. I can't remember what state you're in, so what your reporting has to be. Just keep that in mind for when you decide to pull. But you saying your principal was encouraging... they'll tell you just what they need.

If you pull them now, you can do lots of field trips, library trips, and read a lot together. Almost every field trip we take is science or history, so our field trips are absolutely counted in our 'school time' we report.

Let us know what you decide to do.