Homeschool Chat

[DawnM]

I haven't used the SL LA for the past couple of years. Another issue I have is that I have one son who has Asperger's, so SL's open endedness just doesn't work well for him.

This is why he LOVES workbooks too. He can see the lesson from beginning to end. He knows exactly what is expected for each lesson.

I do realize SL is separated into lessons, but it wasn't as clear as a workbook is.

Dawn

LOL Dawn, I know what you mean about the reality of boys and books. My 9 yo is now getting into books at almost ten but my visions of everyone cudled up on the couch reading by the fire for hours on end have gone by the wayside.

Have you used Sonlight in the last couple of years? I was just wondering because I know that all of their LA have been redone fairly recently.

 

[lori1043]

We changed up our school room again. I think we've got it now. School days have been going smooth lately & his stuff looks organized.

We are using an adaptation of the Workbox system to help keep us organized & DS on task. It took a lot of tweeking, but I think we are moving in a better direction. (Thought about putting him back in school last month.)

hey south Louisiana girl, I love it!

I am a born and raise south Louisiana girl(not deep south though)- I grew up in River Ridge then lived in Metairie(yucko)- spent the last 10.5 years in Covington(LOVED it, that is HOME) and now we are in Orlando. We've been here 4 days. Yesterday i met some Disneyschoolers, one who is on here that intored me to the group.

keep up the good work- you look VERY organized! I am certainly not, but plan on it soon as we 're in a house. Right now we are in temp housing(get this) less than 5 miles from DD and around the corner from SeaWorld.
Our home we close on is in Clermont, which is about 15 miles from the Mouse.

Homeschooling here is much different, but we will gradually get there!

Lori

 

[gerberdaisy1234]

Don't know if anyone else did the Homeschool Days through the Y.E.S. program but we got back on Friday from the best ten days EVER!

The Engineering the Magic was great. As a matter of fact, we are making air cannons today.

If anyone would like Sarah's (the cm that helped so many through the process especially those getting longer tickets) manager's or the operations manager's, names and emails so we can let them know how much we appreciated the classes, Y.E.S. programs, the fact they offered extended day tickets (we had ten day hoppers), and the wonderful way Sarah helped us all through the process- PM me. The more positive comments they receive the better!

Learning at Disney

 

[disneymom3]

I haven't used the SL LA for the past couple of years. Another issue I have is that I have one son who has Asperger's, so SL's open endedness just doesn't work well for him.

This is why he LOVES workbooks too. He can see the lesson from beginning to end. He knows exactly what is expected for each lesson.
I do realize SL is separated into lessons, but it wasn't as clear as a workbook is.

Dawn

Oh my goodness! My middle one has some very strong Asp. like tendencies and I never realized that this was connected! That makes so much sense to me now. Clarifies why Math U See was such a disaster and why Teaching Textbooks is such a relief for him! Amongst other things of course, but that one really jumps out.

We just got back from our homeschool days trip. Didn't end up participating in any classes because all of them we registered for got cancelled and when I talked to my kids about the Engineering the Magic session they looked like they would all rather eat live worms so we skipped that too. Had a good but long trip. My one big piece of advice is never ever switch from a DVC two bedroom to a Value after a week. That room looks REALLY small at that point.

 

[disneymom3]

We changed up our school room again. I think we've got it now. School days have been going smooth lately & his stuff looks organized.

We are using an adaptation of the Workbox system to help keep us organized & DS on task. It took a lot of tweeking, but I think we are moving in a better direction. (Thought about putting him back in school last month.)

What is the numbered schedule you have used for? I liked the idea of the workbox approach, but with three kids there is no way I have room for that much stuff. Plus DD is in 8th grade and really doesn't need her stuff organized that way. I went to a checklist instead...was feeling just before Christmas like I wasn't getting anything accomplished at ALL and needed some more organization.

I would guess that many of us have strongly contemplated sending our kids off to school. Some days it feels like that HAS to be a better option. What grade is your son in? As I said, I have three and I have recently decided that second grade is hell on earth. I hate it, they hate it...don't know if I am doing something wrong or what, but holy cow, I am glad I am on my last second grader!!

 

[gerberdaisy1234]

We just got back from our homeschool days trip. Didn't end up participating in any classes because all of them we registered for got cancelled and when I talked to my kids about the Engineering the Magic session they looked like they would all rather eat live worms so we skipped that too.

I am sorry you missed the session. My son was worried at first that it was going to be all day. But it was truly a magical part of our trip and I think he enjoyed it more than all of us.

It was fun talking about some of the things we learned about different rides while waiting in line to ride them. We learned that the computer at Space Mountain weighs the vehicles and if one is over a certain weight they hold it for a couple seconds because it will move faster. We were learning about potential energy and kinetic energy. So when our vehicle paused before take off, we all laughed and decided we had had to many Butterfinger cupcakes. Or looking for the magnetic system that creates the electircal energy to launch rockin' roller coaster.

Or talking to the engineers that design, create, research...the Disney magic. They took time after to talk to students individually and answer questions. They taught my son how the make the trash can size air cannon and the hover mobile chair contraption.

My husband had said he was going to use that time to call his dad but it was so good he stayed the whole time. So it must have been good.

I hope Disney continues to offer opportunites like this to families.

 

[littlepeppers]

hey south Louisiana girl, I love it!

I am a born and raise south Louisiana girl(not deep south though)- I grew up in River Ridge then lived in Metairie(yucko)- spent the last 10.5 years in Covington(LOVED it, that is HOME) and now we are in Orlando. We've been here 4 days. Yesterday i met some Disneyschoolers, one who is on here that intored me to the group.

keep up the good work- you look VERY organized! I am certainly not, but plan on it soon as we 're in a house. Right now we are in temp housing(get this) less than 5 miles from DD and around the corner from SeaWorld.
Our home we close on is in Clermont, which is about 15 miles from the Mouse.

Homeschooling here is much different, but we will gradually get there!

Lori

We are in Raceland. 50 miles south of New Orleans. Living in the WHO DAT NATION!!!!(From the Katrina footage you wouldn't think there is anything south of New Orleans)

DH's job just built new main office in Covington. He said his office there is nice, but it is their "back up" control center. Yeah right, one day it will be the real control center. Probably after the next hurricane.

You are killing me being so close to Disney. DH just turned me down the other day for a March trip. Good luck w/ the rest of your move.

 

[littlepeppers]

What is the numbered schedule you have used for? I liked the idea of the workbox approach, but with three kids there is no way I have room for that much stuff. Plus DD is in 8th grade and really doesn't need her stuff organized that way. I went to a checklist instead...was feeling just before Christmas like I wasn't getting anything accomplished at ALL and needed some more organization.

I would guess that many of us have strongly contemplated sending our kids off to school. Some days it feels like that HAS to be a better option. What grade is your son in? As I said, I have three and I have recently decided that second grade is hell on earth. I hate it, they hate it...don't know if I am doing something wrong or what, but holy cow, I am glad I am on my last second grader!!

DS is in 2nd grade. Maybe that is why I wanted to quit homeschooling. It is hard. I just think that the reading focus is all wrong, but we have to keep up w/ the wonderful state curr. I think they should reach a higher fluency level before we worry about comparing/contrasting, main ides, topics, supporting details, point of views, summarizing strategies, generalizations...... & other crazy stuff that we had to do so far. 65 days left of 2nd grade!!!!!!

The number schedule holds his clips. I put them on the boxes & he moves them to the chart as he finished them. It is just a visual goal. I like how the workboxes keep me organized & keep him moving (getting them & bringing them back to his room). Boys can be such kinestetic learners.

 

[SGMCO]

Anyone putting their teen into online High School?
This is a big step for us since he has never done this before
but wants to do it. Hoping the transition will go OK.
I Have been doing research and applying already for next school year.
There are quiet a few to choose from but I have to stick with
the onlines Schools that are in our county for him to qualify for
a good county Tech school that offers some courses that
will count as HS credit and some for College credits.

 

[P.I. Squirrel]

I spy Mardi Gras beads!!!! Have some king cake for us.

 

[wvdislover]

I am feeling SO frustrated right now! DD8 was privileged to receive a part in the touring Broadway production of Wizard of Oz as one of the munchkins (they use 12 local kids for this). I took the school excuse form in to her principal this morning and was told that this would not be counted as an educational absence. I then found out that her absence she'll have later that same week to perform with her ballet company for a school performance will also not be counted as an educational absence, either. The principal informed me that each student is allowed 5 personal days for absences (called I5 days), and we used those up when we went to Disney for 8 days back in September. Then, I was told that the 2 days she missed for swine flu were counted as unexcused b/c I didn't bring in a doctor's note (we didn't take her in...they just called in Tamiflu). Now, if she misses more than a couple more days of school, the school board will start charging us $100 a day for her absences (some kind of fine), unless we bring in a doctor's note, so even if it's just a bad cold, we'll have to pay $25 to go to the doctor and get a note

We homeschool her older sister, our DD12, and were planning on starting to homeschool DD8 when she got to middle school, but I'm wondering if we need to rethink that, and start next year, instead. I hate to do that to her, because she loves school, and is in the gifted program with all of her friends. She loves her teachers and her friends, too. She knows that she's going to homeschool in middle school, and is fine with that, but I'm pretty sure she'd be disappointed if she had to start earlier. I would like her to stay with her friends in school, too, b/c she loves her friends and is getting a lot of great opportunities that she may not get if she doesn't get to stay in the gifted program. I asked at her IEP meeting if she could stay in the gifted program if she started homeschooling during elementary school, but they couldn't guarantee it.

Anyways, I'm just not sure if I can deal anymore with the school board telling us how to live our lives and deciding if/when our daughter can miss school. She is making all A's and one B (she messed up on a couple of weekly reading tests, and her teacher only gave 10-12 grades for the whole 9 weeks, so messing up one or 2 assignments drops your grade significantly), and always makes up her work quickly when she does miss school. Taking our vacations during school breaks isn't possible for us, due to DH's job and the fact that DD12 has mild autism issues, and doesn't function well in crowds...badly, in fact...whole other issue, though. I think that as long as she's keeping up in school, and doing well in her advanced studies program, her absences shouldn't be an issue. Unfortunately, the principal is a very "by the books" type of person, and says that doesn't matter...it's just the rule.

Sorry this is so long, but I needed a place to vent my frustrations/ anger/sadness over the whole situation, and I have a feeling that DH is going to side with the school board on this. Don't want him to put a stop to our yearly family vacations, which he may decide is the best thing, but I feel like we need that time, since our lives are so busy all the time. Thanks for listening...

 

[jennz]

WOW!! That is ridiculous!!! I thought our school was awful - they drop the child's grade by 2% per day for an unexcused, which is anything except a dr's note, but a fine??!!! How can that even be legal?

I agree with you about the school board - way too much power there! Our dd is like yours, gifted program, all A's, but they want to drop it if she misses. Last year my mom passed away - we knew she had 2 weeks left and I took dd and flew to FL to be with her. The school actually called my dh and told him he'd have to withdraw her! DH is usually pretty mild, but this issue pushed him. We left her in, she made up all her work no problem and they didn't drop her grade.

We have family coming over in October from Scotland and of course they want to go to Orlando, not come here to Indy. lol And the rest of my family is in Orlando as well. We are going to spend a week with them, and I've been thinking about home schooling dd anyway. So if we leave her in, but then go to Orlando - her grades will have an automatic 10% deduction. Crazy.

 

[wvdislover]

WOW!! That is ridiculous!!! I thought our school was awful - they drop the child's grade by 2% per day for an unexcused, which is anything except a dr's note, but a fine??!!! How can that even be legal?

I agree with you about the school board - way too much power there! Our dd is like yours, gifted program, all A's, but they want to drop it if she misses. Last year my mom passed away - we knew she had 2 weeks left and I took dd and flew to FL to be with her. The school actually called my dh and told him he'd have to withdraw her! DH is usually pretty mild, but this issue pushed him. We left her in, she made up all her work no problem and they didn't drop her grade.

We have family coming over in October from Scotland and of course they want to go to Orlando, not come here to Indy. lol And the rest of my family is in Orlando as well. We are going to spend a week with them, and I've been thinking about home schooling dd anyway. So if we leave her in, but then go to Orlando - her grades will have an automatic 10% deduction. Crazy.

Now, I would think that it would be illegal to deduct your child's grade b/c she missed school. I think there should be no repercussions if your child is able to stay caught up and maintain his/her grades. My DD8 just received her report card last week. I was surprised when I checked her grades online to see that she only received 9 grades in math for the whole 9 week period. How much teaching is she missing when I go out of town, if only a few grades are given in such a long time period? All her other classes only had a few more grades than that (I think one only had 7 grades for the entire 9 weeks)

 

[Ellester]

It's crazy stuff like attendance issues that makes me so glad we homeschool. When I was in high school (way, way back in the 80's!) my dad wanted to take us on a ski trip in February to Lake Tahoe (we lived in South Florida). The policy then was if you had "unexcused" absences over a certain number (it was a low number, like 3 or 4 for the year) you had to make up 1/2 the time you missed in after school detention. I was an honor student, all AP and advanced classes. But, because of this policy I was going to have to sit in detention for 18+ hours! My dad ended up sending me to a Psychologist friend of his who wrote me a note saying my days off were needed for family therapy or some such rubbish. Since I had a Dr.'s note, I was excused and didn't have to go to detention. I cannot believe that a SCHOOL performance would be an unexcused absence, that is just ludicrous! I'm sorry you have to deal with all that. I know it's all about the money in many of these attendance issues, but really, it is crazy!

 

[littlepeppers]

I spy Mardi Gras beads!!!! Have some king cake for us.

I think that King Cake is a good thing to give up for Lent. I think I've had my share & your share for the year, but I'm sure I will have more before the season ends.

Hope you like Cream Cheese filling.

 

[P.I. Squirrel]

Hope you like Cream Cheese filling.

Cream cheese will be just fine. Yummy!

I took the school excuse form in to her principal this morning and was told that this would not be counted as an educational absence. Now, if she misses more than a couple more days of school, the school board will start charging us $100 a day for her absences (some kind of fine) Unfortunately, the principal is a very "by the books" type of person, and says that doesn't matter...it's just the rule.

A lot of people have asked why we HS. I always say it's not one reason alone, but the entirety of small decisions just like your principal's. They have no business telling you what is or is not educational for your child. How would any child actor/dancer in Hollywood be where they are today, if they had a school board like this telling them that the only 'qualified' education is the one they have pre-determined for your child. I hate the situation you are caught up in, because if it were me, the child would be HS'ing tomorrow. But, you now are faced with fines or disappointing your child. Some education that leads to, huh?

WOW!! That is ridiculous!!! I thought our school was awful - they drop the child's grade by 2% per day for an unexcused, which is anything except a dr's note, but a fine??!!! How can that even be legal?

I highly doubt it is legal also, since the school board IMO does not have the authority to tax (which this 'fine' amounts to) without a vote of the citizens. I have heard of people fighting fines like this in court, and winning, having the entire fine process declared unconstitutional.

It's crazy stuff like attendance issues that makes me so glad we homeschool.

I totally agree with your post. Too many times, teachers and administrators enforce 'black and white' policies without looking at the 'gray'. They simply justify their decision by saying 'It's in the handbook, sorry.' They either are unallowed or unwilling to look at individual issues, but must decide for the group as a whole. That thought is what catches folks like us in situations where we must decide between our children's schooling, or (as in a previous post) attending a family member's funeral. Just senseless.

 

[MiniGirl]

I'm with ya'll on the attendance policies. My oldest dd's last year in public school was tough. We went on a cruise in Sept. After that though, dd was sick a lot -- colds, sore throat. We didn't go to the doctor for all of these things and so she had a lot of unexcused absences. I was told if she missed any more school w/o a doc's note, she would be held back a year. She was having no problem academically and was performing at the top of her class. Crazy!!!

I would not say this is THE reason we homeschool, but not dealing with the school has been a major plus.

wvdislover, I'm sorry you are being put in this position. Our school used to have students that would go attend for just the gifted program or just music or art or something like that. Have you called the district office to ask exactly what the policy is with regardings to homeschooling and remaining in the gifted program? Might be worth looking into.

 

[wvdislover]

I'm with ya'll on the attendance policies. My oldest dd's last year in public school was tough. We went on a cruise in Sept. After that though, dd was sick a lot -- colds, sore throat. We didn't go to the doctor for all of these things and so she had a lot of unexcused absences. I was told if she missed any more school w/o a doc's note, she would be held back a year. She was having no problem academically and was performing at the top of her class. Crazy!!!

I would not say this is THE reason we homeschool, but not dealing with the school has been a major plus.

wvdislover, I'm sorry you are being put in this position. Our school used to have students that would go attend for just the gifted program or just music or art or something like that. Have you called the district office to ask exactly what the policy is with regardings to homeschooling and remaining in the gifted program? Might be worth looking into.

I did ask last year at her IEP meeting if she would still be able to participate in the gifted program if we decided to homeschool her. They said there was no guarantee that she would be able to participate, that it depended on the teacher, how much space was left in the program, etc. I may talk to her gifted teacher and get her opinion on the matter, though.

Thanks, everybody, for the support. I really appreciate it. Still haven't been able to discuss it with DH. I'll keep you guys informed

 

[Pooki]

Hi all I am seriously considering HSing my 1st and 3rd graders, and I've been non-stop reading trying to learn as much as I can before we seriously make the dive. I've read up to page 40-something on this thread and have learned SO much so far! Love you guys!

I just wanted to know how you handle teaching the same subject for multiple children? My kids are 2 years apart, and I'd like to group things like history and science together, but I am not sure how others handle it. I know that I could make the work or writing assignments easier/harder, but how do I know what to cover? If I follow something like "What Your ____ Needs To Know," would I begin with the earlier age and work up? Is there a good resource I could use that shows how others handle lessons this way?

Also, is anyone here by chance a military family overseas? I've read on the HSLDA site regarding people in my situation, but I was just wondering if I'd still have to follow the guidelines of my resident state. All HSLDA really mentioned was the attendance policy. I'm sure there are more resources out there I could look into, I just thought I'd tag that along with this post

If we decide to HS I'll probably end up starting perhaps around spring break, so I'm sure I'll have several more questions for you veterans in the meantime Thanks in advance!

 

[Ellester]

Hi all I am seriously considering HSing my 1st and 3rd graders, and I've been non-stop reading trying to learn as much as I can before we seriously make the dive. I've read up to page 40-something on this thread and have learned SO much so far! Love you guys!

I just wanted to know how you handle teaching the same subject for multiple children? My kids are 2 years apart, and I'd like to group things like history and science together, but I am not sure how others handle it. I know that I could make the work or writing assignments easier/harder, but how do I know what to cover? If I follow something like "What Your ____ Needs To Know," would I begin with the earlier age and work up? Is there a good resource I could use that shows how others handle lessons this way?

Also, is anyone here by chance a military family overseas? I've read on the HSLDA site regarding people in my situation, but I was just wondering if I'd still have to follow the guidelines of my resident state. All HSLDA really mentioned was the attendance policy. I'm sure there are more resources out there I could look into, I just thought I'd tag that along with this post

If we decide to HS I'll probably end up starting perhaps around spring break, so I'm sure I'll have several more questions for you veterans in the meantime Thanks in advance!

I combine my 11 & 8 year old dd's for history, social studies, and science. My 11yo obviously picks up more than the 8yo (and WAY more than my 5yo son who sometimes listens in), but I'm not expecting them to be history or science experts at this point. I would highly suggest checking out www.sonlight.com. Sonlight has lots of info on combining kids and their message boards are FULL of overseas folks, military and missionaries mostly. They will be happy to send you a free catalog. Even if you don't go with Sonlight, I'm sure you can get lots of oversea's info from their boards. I have a friend HS'ing in Italy right now (Army). I don't remember if there is anyone on this board overseas, but there might be. There might be HS group on your post, I know ALOT of military families here (we're near Ft. Benning) homeschool. Actually, I now see you are in Japan. One of the ladies on another board I am on is in the process of moving from Okinawa to Japan. She may be coming your way, she has homeschooled for years. If you can PM me your info, I can see if she is near you. She is very helpful on the board I am on, so I would imagine she would be willing to help.