Homeschool Chat Part III

[graygables]

Kind of OT but curious about something. My son was playing with a boy the other day that he had just met. I asked him his name and what grade he was in and he told me he didn't know what grade he is in. Later I found out he was home schooled. Is this odd that he didn't know or is HS not really based on grade levels?

Mine never quite know what to say, either, as we don't do leveled work. They are learning what they are learning and it is at the maximum of their current potential. I usually give them a number to toss out to people who are still closely bound to "the system", but it annoys me. Youngest is a full year ahead (or more) than her age peers, the next one up is behind in some areas, ahead in others. Not a fan of "what grade are you in?"

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

I also have kids that have a hard time answering...mine all work on a grade level above for math and science for sure, but I try to make sure they know what grade they would be in because our church (and all that I know of) divides the kids by grade level... and it's easier for them to know what friends are around their age. It's easier for the younger two to have that reference point. But I did have a friend that her kids weren't too sure what their grade was and they could NEVER tell me what they were working on--any of the kids, at any point of a school year...it was a little disturbing because you never heard them or the mom say anything about school time during a particular day...

 

[mariezp]

My DD-11 also stammers a bit when she is asked what grade she is in. Truth is we just don't put a lot of emphasis on the grade level. She is up to level on everything but struggles with math so we just go with the level that covers the majority and have high hopes of catching the math up somewhere down the line.

 

[AmandaRG]

We just answer with whatever grade the girls would be in traditionally. Our oldest is in K, but in early spring will be doing 1st grade as she is flying through her K work. If she needs to slow down at some point, that's fine, too. I'm not sure how things will work with our second as she is seeing/listening to everything her big sister is doing and can do much of the same thing, even though she is not quite 4.

I want them to have as normal of a childhood as possible, so not separating them from their peers is important to me. The Classical Conversations group we are with goes by age, so they are usually with others within a year or so of their age even though some are ahead of their actual grade level work.

 

[MissNurse]

Does anybody have any experience with Timberdoodle? I am also in love with the workbox idea! I love that it will give my kids some independence in their daily work. I think they will do well with it. Any thoughts appreciated.

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Does anybody have any experience with Timberdoodle? I am also in love with the workbox idea! I love that it will give my kids some independence in their daily work. I think they will do well with it. Any thoughts appreciated.

I personally have not used the workboxes, but have a couple of friends who do--they are happy with it. It frees them up some during the school part of the day as they both have babies too...One friend linked us to a site (that I can't remember, but maybe you could google it) where a lady took cereal boxes and decorated them with scrapping paper and her kids were thrilled! I thought that was the cutest idea!

 

[C&G'sMama]

Kind of OT but curious about something. My son was playing with a boy the other day that he had just met. I asked him his name and what grade he was in and he told me he didn't know what grade he is in. Later I found out he was home schooled. Is this odd that he didn't know or is HS not really based on grade levels?

In New York you have to assign a grade to your kid for reporting purposes so most people use the age base. That's mainly because NY also has assessment requirements beginning in I think 5th grade so even if a kid is 8 an doing 5th grade work, there's no sense as reporting them as 5th grade and having them have to test. My DD just left 6th grade in school and we call he 6th grade for HS but since she is missing some basics she may be doing some 3rd and 4th grade at this time and may be doing higher grade work at others. Our son is still in school and is in 3rd grade but works at a 5th grade level and above but he's in 3rd.

Now DD is getting flack from friends saying she's not learning anything and she does nothing all day. Without missing a beat she says, "actually I'm working very hard and learning a lot". The sad thing is this is some carryover drama from a particular child that was in her class at school the last few years which is a small part of why we pulled her out. DD has said, I don't miss the drama.

On the other hand one of her best buddies desparately wants to be homeschooled and is bummed that DD is homeschooled now and she's not. Another one of their good friends is also homeschooled and has been for years.

 

[letsgoagainsoon]

Thanks for your replies that seems to make sense!

 

[dis-happy]

Does anybody have any experience with Timberdoodle? I am also in love with the workbox idea! I love that it will give my kids some independence in their daily work. I think they will do well with it. Any thoughts appreciated.

I've never read the official workbox book, but last year I read a bunch of blogs and instituted my own form of workboxes. What can I say, other than I LOVE it!!! It helps our homeschool day go so much smoothly. Even today, one ds had an ortho appt...I was able to tell him to grab one of the workbox assignments to bring with us and he was able to work on his history in the car--no wasted time.

What we use for one child: 3 sets of stacking drawers (3 drawers each, so 9 total) from Walmart. Each drawer is about 4 inches high and big enough to hold books and workbooks. I use a file card for the assignment in each drawer (ie. read pgs. 200-220, write the vocab definitions). The first drawer is for AWANA books---study a section each day. The last drawer is for French homework (we do French in a co-op so he does this on his own), in the middle are our curriculum assignments for the day, some change and some are daily (ie. spelling).

I usually have the workboxes filled for the next day by the end of our school day. I'll replenish as we go along (ie. the spelling worksheets are copied at the beginning of the week and when he finishes with one I'll put the next day's in the drawer ready to go). The rest takes me about 5-10 minutes to assemble and prepare. Those few minutes of pre-planning and pre-ordering makes such a difference in our day! Instead of scrambling to make a copy of something, or have the kids wait while I change a diaper or whatever, they just jump into the assignment and move along. Some things I have to write on the card: "read this chapter with me", so if I'm unavailable at that moment my student will just move on to the next drawer.

HTH and good luck!!!

 

[ckrentz]

I am very new to this forum, and excited to see a great group of homeschoolers! I am in our 12th year of homeschooling, have homeschooled all my kids from the beginning. I have 5 of the 6 in school now. I don't get on here much, but look forward to meeting others!

 

[Mouseketeer67]

I am very new to this forum, and excited to see a great group of homeschoolers! I am in our 12th year of homeschooling, have homeschooled all my kids from the beginning. I have 5 of the 6 in school now. I don't get on here much, but look forward to meeting others!

Welcome to the board!

 

[Scrap4me]

When is your next trip?

We are going in October.

I wouldn't mind meeting but I think we are from all over. I am in the Charlotte area.

Dawn

Ok Dawn...new on the boards..I am from Salisbury, NC!! Homeschool mom of 3. Graduated the oldest 3 years ago, next one grads next year (or sooner if I can convince her) and the other one in 2 years. My daughter, niece and I will also be at Disney in October! 21-24...when will you be there+++Maybe a get together is in order!!!!

 

[jacksmomma]

I have not read the workbox book either (I was hoping to find it at the library, but no luck!) but we sort of use a workbox system. DS is in KG, but what we do works well for us, and gives him a little more responsibility with his lessons. I found a plastic folder that is spiral bound and has about 6 pockets. I use one pocket for each type of assignment with the inside cover being for "fun work" and the back pocket holding his wipe off practice writing boards. I stock it the night before and stick it in the milk crate that holds all of his books and materials. Thus far it has worked great for us!

BTW, this is not my original idea, I stole it from a blog...unfortunately I do not remember the blog address.

 

[lovethattink]

When is your next trip?

We are going in October.

I wouldn't mind meeting but I think we are from all over. I am in the Charlotte area.

Dawn

We are going in Oct. Meeting up with a DIS friend who is on their MAW trip, and also from Charlotte, by the way. One of their dd is performing at the House of Blues on Oct 14th at 8pm!!

 

[MissNurse]

I have not read the workbox book either (I was hoping to find it at the library, but no luck!) but we sort of use a workbox system. DS is in KG, but what we do works well for us, and gives him a little more responsibility with his lessons. I found a plastic folder that is spiral bound and has about 6 pockets. I use one pocket for each type of assignment with the inside cover being for "fun work" and the back pocket holding his wipe off practice writing boards. I stock it the night before and stick it in the milk crate that holds all of his books and materials. Thus far it has worked great for us!

BTW, this is not my original idea, I stole it from a blog...unfortunately I do not remember the blog address.

Well, DH and I discussed it, and we decided to go ahead and pull them out now. Having just moved to this town, we thought they should go to school for a year to get to know people. It doesn't seem to be happening there. They are meeting more kids other places, like church and neighbors, and I am less than thrilled with the schools. Anyway, I am going to be trying the workbox idea. Please pray for us, as I am going to keep working full time (nurse on night shift) while we do this! I hope to quit someday soon, but I totally think it's manageable. Going to work on getting the paperwork submitted to the school district tomorrow!

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Well, DH and I discussed it, and we decided to go ahead and pull them out now. Having just moved to this town, we thought they should go to school for a year to get to know people. It doesn't seem to be happening there. They are meeting more kids other places, like church and neighbors, and I am less than thrilled with the schools. Anyway, I am going to be trying the workbox idea. Please pray for us, as I am going to keep working full time (nurse on night shift) while we do this! I hope to quit someday soon, but I totally think it's manageable. Going to work on getting the paperwork submitted to the school district tomorrow!

congrats on the decision....I think you will figure out what schedule works best for your family...

 

[MissNurse]

congrats on the decision....I think you will figure out what schedule works best for your family...

Thank you! We told the kids at dinner tonight, and they were excited!

 

[AmandaRG]

I have not read the workbox book either (I was hoping to find it at the library, but no luck!) but we sort of use a workbox system. DS is in KG, but what we do works well for us, and gives him a little more responsibility with his lessons. I found a plastic folder that is spiral bound and has about 6 pockets. I use one pocket for each type of assignment with the inside cover being for "fun work" and the back pocket holding his wipe off practice writing boards. I stock it the night before and stick it in the milk crate that holds all of his books and materials. Thus far it has worked great for us!

BTW, this is not my original idea, I stole it from a blog...unfortunately I do not remember the blog address.

Did you get it from Homeschool Creations? I use their workbox idea with the weekly grid rather than the boxes. It has helped us so much! http://homeschoolcreations.blogspot.com/

 

[graygables]

I've never read the official workbox book, but last year I read a bunch of blogs and instituted my own form of workboxes. What can I say, other than I LOVE it!!! It helps our homeschool day go so much smoothly.

Wish I'd known what to call it! Back when I was an English teacher in a public school, I set up files for each student so they could work at their own pace. Once a week, we had a general class time, but the other 4 days, we used the file system and each student got personal time from me as needed. Some kids just whizzed through on their own and were able to use the balance of class time for study hall while others needed that one-on-one. What was nice was that I was also able to have a single history student (the history teacher hated him and there wasn't another certified history teacher) and give him the attention he needed to succeed.

Along those same lines, I was (and still am) also adamant about my students using a 3 ring binder and keeping it organized. I attended a seminar once that demonstrated that students who could keep themselves organized with a binder did much better in school and on into life, leading to utilizing time management skills. We also love the Flylady system (www.flylady.net) and each DD has set up her own "control journal" in her binder. They tweak it as they learn what does and doesn't work for them, but Flylady has been a blessing to our home for MANY years.

I am all about having kids be self-reliant and self-motivated by natural consequences. That's how it works in the real world. If I miss my deadline, I could lose my job. If I don't go to work, I don't get paid. I don't have my boss watching over me to make sure I did my work for the day nor does he call me at home to remind me to come to work. I used to tell my students that school was their "job" and their paycheck came quarterly in the form of grades. They earned the grade, I did NOT give it to them. I don't know how many times I had to reiterate that to students and parents. "Why did you give Johnny a D???" "I didn't, Johnny EARNED a D"

 

[dis-happy]

Wish I'd known what to call it! Back when I was an English teacher in a public school, I set up files for each student so they could work at their own pace. Once a week, we had a general class time, but the other 4 days, we used the file system and each student got personal time from me as needed. Some kids just whizzed through on their own and were able to use the balance of class time for study hall while others needed that one-on-one. What was nice was that I was also able to have a single history student (the history teacher hated him and there wasn't another certified history teacher) and give him the attention he needed to succeed.

Along those same lines, I was (and still am) also adamant about my students using a 3 ring binder and keeping it organized. I attended a seminar once that demonstrated that students who could keep themselves organized with a binder did much better in school and on into life, leading to utilizing time management skills. We also love the Flylady system (www.flylady.net) and each DD has set up her own "control journal" in her binder. They tweak it as they learn what does and doesn't work for them, but Flylady has been a blessing to our home for MANY years.

I am all about having kids be self-reliant and self-motivated by natural consequences. That's how it works in the real world. If I miss my deadline, I could lose my job. If I don't go to work, I don't get paid. I don't have my boss watching over me to make sure I did my work for the day nor does he call me at home to remind me to come to work. I used to tell my students that school was their "job" and their paycheck came quarterly in the form of grades. They earned the grade, I did NOT give it to them. I don't know how many times I had to reiterate that to students and parents. "Why did you give Johnny a D???" "I didn't, Johnny EARNED a D"

You sound like such an awesome ps teacher!!! Talk about teaching "out of the box", lol. How often in school is one student bored to tears while another is trying to figure things out, and you solved the problem and helped all of your students in one step.