Homeschool Chat

[gerberdaisy1234]

Happy Easter!

Thank you.

It is a beautiful day. The birds are singing. Hope everyone is having a wonderful day.

Blessings to all.

 

[Denine]

This was one of the most beautiful Easter's we have had in a LONG time!

 

[gerberdaisy1234]

This was one of the most beautiful Easter's we have had in a LONG time!

It was so BEAUTIFUL I got a sunburn! But it beats the snowflurries last year!

 

[adisneymama]

Hi can I join in? We just started homeschooling DD. We are using the k12.com program for the most part. I'm also mixing in a few things extra. Any tips you can give in regards to scheduling breaks etc?
Any help for a newbie is appreciated!

 

[DianneMcLean]

This one is on the west coast and is under contract with the Disneyland Resort:
www.notbacktoschooldays.com

Dates: Sept. 8-11, 2010
Official 4th Annual NOT Back to School Days Rally and Home Education Conference
Great rates (for registered attendees only) on Disney's Grand Californian Hotel, group park hoppers (they come WITH up to 2 Y.E.S. classes or upgrade to 2 Disney Performing Arts workshops), conference workshops and all the rally activities and events for the whole week! Discounts on food too at the group concession areas.

Not a travel agent

 

[Nicolepa]

Hi can I join in? We just started homeschooling DD. We are using the k12.com program for the most part. I'm also mixing in a few things extra. Any tips you can give in regards to scheduling breaks etc?
Any help for a newbie is appreciated!

What grade is your DD in? We have been using K12 since September. My son finished 2nd grade a week ago and we are starting 3rd today. My 3rd is very different (in setup) than 2nd! I'm having some transition issues today!

I found that block scheduling works best for my child. We do math & LA every day and then History one day, Science another, Art Another. Friday is a catchup day and we finish up any history, science or art he didn't finish on the assigned day.

 

[sillyjodes]

Hi everyone! It looks like I'll be homeschooling our oldest daughter starting this fall. She's currently in K in a Christian school that we dearly love. However, we are having to move because of hubby's job, so we've decided to commit to homeschooling.
I must admit that I'm overwhelmed by all the options of curriculum and the regulations in the state we will be moving to (MA). I'd like to keep her in A Beka reading, because she does great with it. Besides that, I'm not sure and open to suggestions. I'd rather not do a video based program, but a more hands-on approach.
We are expecting our third dd this summer and have a soon-to-be 3yo dd. I think scheduling will be difficult, but doable.
Thanks so much for any help,
Jodie

 

[adisneymama]

What grade is your DD in? We have been using K12 since September. My son finished 2nd grade a week ago and we are starting 3rd today. My 3rd is very different (in setup) than 2nd! I'm having some transition issues today!

I found that block scheduling works best for my child. We do math & LA every day and then History one day, Science another, Art Another. Friday is a catchup day and we finish up any history, science or art he didn't finish on the assigned day.

DD is in 2nd grade. We pulled her out of school due to issues with administration. I am noticing that she has a few things to catch up on with the k12 curriculum from public school, but I think it is workable. She is ahead on some things as well. Right now I'm working on the catch up stuff and trying to make my way thru the curriculum to the "new" stuff. That to me is very time consuming! I am going to work her thru the summer and am thinking we will be ready for k12's 3rd grade this fall. I'm having the hardest time with scheduling but I think it is because I'm not using every lesson. I wish it would have started us in semester 2 LOL.

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Just wanted to pop in & say I hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend!! I am looking at 2 full weeks of school then we are finished for our summer break!!!!!! WOOO HOOOO!!!! Of course, we will crank back up the first of July again---but the end is near!!! How much longer do ya'll have?

 

[graygables]

Just wanted to pop in & say I hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend!! I am looking at 2 full weeks of school then we are finished for our summer break!!!!!! WOOO HOOOO!!!! Of course, we will crank back up the first of July again---but the end is near!!! How much longer do ya'll have?

We school year round, so no summer break for us. I work year round, so think it's important for the kiddos to understand that part of daily life. They get time off around my days off and any vacation I take. Even when I was a school teacher, I was never a fan of summer breaks. Blasphemy, I know.

 

[Nicolepa]

DD is in 2nd grade. We pulled her out of school due to issues with administration. I am noticing that she has a few things to catch up on with the k12 curriculum from public school, but I think it is workable. She is ahead on some things as well. Right now I'm working on the catch up stuff and trying to make my way thru the curriculum to the "new" stuff. That to me is very time consuming! I am going to work her thru the summer and am thinking we will be ready for k12's 3rd grade this fall. I'm having the hardest time with scheduling but I think it is because I'm not using every lesson. I wish it would have started us in semester 2 LOL.

That was one of the reasons I pulled my son out of school. The other was that his learning style is not condusive to the B&M school model. He is a stair step learner being that he stays at the bottom until he's sure he's mastered something and then makes HUGE leaps. He started behind in 1st grade and was put in some remedial classes. Even though he got 100% on his mid and final report card for those classes they said he needed to stay in them another year. I "thought" he was so behind I almost put him in 1st grade for K12 but I'm glad he started in 2nd. He flew thru the material and there was very little he didn't already know. Which just made me more sure of my decision to pull him out. I accelerated him so he could get the 3rd grade materials (we are in a VA) and have work to do this summer. I plan to school him year around (going lighter in the summer).

It took us awhile to get into a groove. It was at least a full month before he realized he that he still had to do work every day. Then we would struggle w/the transitions between subjects. I would literally lose him when I went to get the next subject ready. It would take me 15 minutes to track him down! That is when I went to block scheduling. He thinks he's doing less work because there are less subjects taught each day, but he was actually doing more work because we were able to skip the review questions and such. He was also able to understand things better because he could get the bigger picture (like for science).

Also, if you think she has mastered a lesson, give her the assessment first. If she passes it move on. If she doesn't then go back and teach it. That is what I have done with math. So far he has known most of the material so I just assess him. I have him spend 30 minutes or 1 lesson whichever is longer. Usually we are able to get thru 2-4 lessons in 30 minutes. We are 50% thur 3rd grade math and we are just starting to hit areas that he doesn't have a solid grasp on so we are starting to slow down to 1 lesson a day.

Hope that helps some!

 

[lori1043]

We are in 25.4 miles from the Mouse and we do school year round b/c it gets HOT in the south. We just moved 2 month ago from New Orleans, la so we schooled year round there too. We like having days off on milder days and in December. This year it will be for going home!

Plus, I plan on buying seasonal weekday passes and about 2 months in summer is blocked for us to go- so heck, we may as well do school.

Right now it smells amazingly SPRINGY down here- we think it is the orange blossoms and it just smells amazing when you walk outside- esp at night and in the morning.

Lori

 

[figment3258]

Hi everyone! It looks like I'll be homeschooling our oldest daughter starting this fall. She's currently in K in a Christian school that we dearly love. However, we are having to move because of hubby's job, so we've decided to commit to homeschooling.
I must admit that I'm overwhelmed by all the options of curriculum and the regulations in the state we will be moving to (MA). I'd like to keep her in A Beka reading, because she does great with it. Besides that, I'm not sure and open to suggestions. I'd rather not do a video based program, but a more hands-on approach.
We are expecting our third dd this summer and have a soon-to-be 3yo dd. I think scheduling will be difficult, but doable.
Thanks so much for any help,
Jodie

Hey Jodie! I live in central ma, where are you moving too? The regulations are not as bad as they seem. I have been doing this legally this is my second year daughters ages 7 and 3. We have never had a problem with our town. We use a whole lot of curriculum right now but are switching to abeka for second grade. I would love to chat with you. PM me with any questions you have.

Jessica

 

[Denine]

Nice to see some activity!

I am hoping to finish 2nd grade before we go to WDW on the 24th. We will finish 3rd grade math at the same time.

We have used Calvert for 4 years (PK-2nd) and Horizons math. It has been a great program, but is not customizable. We will be switching to Sonlight for
3rd grade. We love Horizons math, so we will continue it with 4th grade, I already have it ready to go. I may throw in some other stuff like stories of the saints.

 

[bellebud]

I'd love to hear other peoples schedules... whether unschooling or doing school at home, or somewhere in the middle. i'm always looking for ideas.

We have no curriculum (just a national standards book for each grade we use as a reference - currently 5th and 3rd grades). we school year round, and try to do the 3 r's every day (which of course doesn't always happen). The kids recently started Rosetta Stone spanish too (a couple times a week for now). Once a week they take classes w/ other hsers (art, mad science and shakespeare). We've been doing history in big chunks - studied williamsburg for a few months, then went there for a week. Living history books (on cd in the car) have been our main form of learning history - supplemented with movies, discussions, etc.

We do about 2 field trips a month - usually pertaining to either history, science or art.

We travel a lot (about 10 days every 3 months or so). we're actually going to disney next week , and squeezing in universal and a couple of beach days for fishing. Anyway, some trips are more educational than others, but there's always learning going on in one way or another.

So can anyone share what their schedule is like? I really go back and forth as to whether I feel like we're "doing" enough, knim??? It's hard to get out of the 'schooling' mindset, whereas if you don't have a workbook completed, you didn't learn anything. so silly, I know. But love to hear what others days/weeks are like.

 

[emh1129]

We school year round, so no summer break for us. I work year round, so think it's important for the kiddos to understand that part of daily life. They get time off around my days off and any vacation I take. Even when I was a school teacher, I was never a fan of summer breaks. Blasphemy, I know.

We do year-round, too. We like that it gives us the flexibility to vacation or take day-trips throughout the year.
In the summer we really try to get it all done early in the day so that we can have the afternoon to hit the beach

 

[emh1129]

I'd love to hear other peoples schedules... whether unschooling or doing school at home, or somewhere in the middle. i'm always looking for ideas...

So can anyone share what their schedule is like? I really go back and forth as to whether I feel like we're "doing" enough, knim??? It's hard to get out of the 'schooling' mindset, whereas if you don't have a workbook completed, you didn't learn anything. so silly, I know. But love to hear what others days/weeks are like.

We school year-round, too.
I'm jealous that your family travels so much! That's great! We do a weekend trip every 3-4 months or so and then one 'big' trip (8-10 nights) once a year.

Our schooling style is still in transition, but right now ds (8, Asperger's) works for about three hours a day (5-6 days a week). He is capable of getting it done in about two hours, but that rarely happens. He needs to take small breaks and often will need to go run around for ten minutes between activities. Some days are better than others. He has improved, but I'm hoping we can extend our lessons gradually over time.

Each day he has reading, writing, math, science, social studies. We do some unit studies, depending on his interests that week
We are incorporating some Spanish into his studies now, too, but just basic vocabulary.
I sit down on Sunday evenings and review what he did the last week and plan out the following week's plans.. sometimes I have him repeat/review a certain topic if I feel that he rushed through it and didn't grasp it completely.
DH and I split the HS duties, so we usually go over the plan for a few minutes when I'm done writing it up.
We use some Math-U-See and supplement with time4learning.com and lots of other resources.
For us, flexibility is key.
This was our first year homeschooling and it's taken me this long to really figure out *how* ds learns. He has a lot of little quirks (some might be Aspie tendencies and some might just be 'Colin-isms,' as we like to call them ) and it's so important that this is a positive experience for him. He is so much happier schooling at home and I'm so happy to have my happy little guy back.

As for field-trips--
We have a membership to the local aquarium and children's museum, so we go there sometimes. And sometimes I will write up a scavenger hunt or questionnaire thing. And other times we'll just go and play.
In the past, we've gone to museums, shows, etc.

He does a baseball league with other homeschoolers that will be starting up soon and I think we are going to sign up for a Marine Biology class, too, but that hasn't started yet.

We are a bit limited on what HS activities we can do right now, since we have my own classes/clinicals to work around. But I graduate in December and we'll be able to do a lot more after that.

 

[TSRE]

I'd love to hear other peoples schedules... whether unschooling or doing school at home, or somewhere in the middle. i'm always looking for ideas.

We have no curriculum (just a national standards book for each grade we use as a reference - currently 5th and 3rd grades). we school year round, and try to do the 3 r's every day (which of course doesn't always happen). The kids recently started Rosetta Stone spanish too (a couple times a week for now). Once a week they take classes w/ other hsers (art, mad science and shakespeare). We've been doing history in big chunks - studied williamsburg for a few months, then went there for a week. Living history books (on cd in the car) have been our main form of learning history - supplemented with movies, discussions, etc.

We do about 2 field trips a month - usually pertaining to either history, science or art.

We travel a lot (about 10 days every 3 months or so). we're actually going to disney next week , and squeezing in universal and a couple of beach days for fishing. Anyway, some trips are more educational than others, but there's always learning going on in one way or another.

So can anyone share what their schedule is like? I really go back and forth as to whether I feel like we're "doing" enough, knim??? It's hard to get out of the 'schooling' mindset, whereas if you don't have a workbook completed, you didn't learn anything. so silly, I know. But love to hear what others days/weeks are like.

I would love to hear this from other people, too. We are starting homeschooling for the first time next year (3rd & 5th grade), and after that decision was made, I found out I am pregnant and due in November! My plan is to do something very similar to what is mentioned above, but I am a little worried about not doing "enough" as well. Glad to hear others school year-round - this seems easier, and will give us time for a break when the baby is born and around Christmas. The kids are excited - I am scared!

Please tell me what you do with your days!

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

I would love to hear this from other people, too. We are starting homeschooling for the first time next year (3rd & 5th grade), and after that decision was made, I found out I am pregnant and due in November! My plan is to do something very similar to what is mentioned above, but I am a little worried about not doing "enough" as well. Glad to hear others school year-round - this seems easier, and will give us time for a break when the baby is born and around Christmas. The kids are excited - I am scared!

Please tell me what you do with your days!

Not sure what your state requirements are--forgot to look at what state you are in----but just a little hint for when that new baby comes......READ A LOT!!!! After that just fit in what you can...great classic books and favorite family stories add so much by way of vocabulary and learning how grammar should sound. this actually makes the learning of grammar easier later...when you have heard it read correctly for so long, it's easy to put it on paper!!!! And that's just my little 2 cents worth!!!

 

[TSRE]

Not sure what your state requirements are--forgot to look at what state you are in----but just a little hint for when that new baby comes......READ A LOT!!!! After that just fit in what you can...great classic books and favorite family stories add so much by way of vocabulary and learning how grammar should sound. this actually makes the learning of grammar easier later...when you have heard it read correctly for so long, it's easy to put it on paper!!!! And that's just my little 2 cents worth!!!

Thanks... good advice. Luckily (and I don't say this about much else here!), we are in California and if what I have read is correct, can file as a charter school and be fairly free of restrictions on how we teach.