Homeschool Chat

[lisalonglash]

Wow, that's some great feedback and information, ladies! Thank you! We're currently booked Sept. 12-19, but we're willing to move our dates to later in September if it means that our boys can experience a couple of the homeschooling or YES program courses kwim?

I wonder if we should just make change our dates for FD from Sept. 12-19 to Sept. 12-26? We'll still end up going for only 7 or 8 nights, but that way, whichever dates work, we'll already be booked, right?

As we're Canadian, I wonder if it's even allowed for us to "join in" with an American homeschooling group? Like if an American homeschooling group signs up for X number of YES courses or whatever courses are offered during Homeschooling Week, can Canadians join the group?

 

[anabelle]

Wow, that's some great feedback and information, ladies! Thank you! We're currently booked Sept. 12-19, but we're willing to move our dates to later in September if it means that our boys can experience a couple of the homeschooling or YES program courses kwim?

I wonder if we should just make change our dates for FD from Sept. 12-19 to Sept. 12-26? We'll still end up going for only 7 or 8 nights, but that way, whichever dates work, we'll already be booked, right?

As we're Canadian, I wonder if it's even allowed for us to "join in" with an American homeschooling group? Like if an American homeschooling group signs up for X number of YES courses or whatever courses are offered during Homeschooling Week, can Canadians join the group?

I don't think that Disney cares about what country you are from. You will have to register for the event in order to get the discount tickets. They ask basic things about you and your children. The form is not up yet, so I can't verify what is on the registration.

 

[anabelle]

Sorry double post

 

[disneymom3]

Wow, that's some great feedback and information, ladies! Thank you! We're currently booked Sept. 12-19, but we're willing to move our dates to later in September if it means that our boys can experience a couple of the homeschooling or YES program courses kwim?

I wonder if we should just make change our dates for FD from Sept. 12-19 to Sept. 12-26? We'll still end up going for only 7 or 8 nights, but that way, whichever dates work, we'll already be booked, right?

As we're Canadian, I wonder if it's even allowed for us to "join in" with an American homeschooling group? Like if an American homeschooling group signs up for X number of YES courses or whatever courses are offered during Homeschooling Week, can Canadians join the group?

When you go during homeschool days your family is considered your homeschool group and you no longer have to meet the minimum numbers. You can just sign your kids up for the workshops that are offerred during the homeschool days. In the past they have had extra classes for an extra fee in addition to what was offerred on a general basis.

If you find a group to join in with for other times of the year, Disney does not care where you are located geographically. You can for instance be an online support group to qualify as a homeschool group.

 

[wvdislover]

The Carolina group is offering a 8 day premium pass for $200. If you add the one day you get from the free dining with all the plusses you could have a great vacation pretty cheap. They are going Labor day week.

Wow, that is a great deal. I don't know if my DH would want to change our dates or not, though. Definitely something to think about. I already have my free dining booked for Sept 17-27, though. Wonder if there'll still be availability at BC after Monday? DH doesn't want to stay anywhere else. What is there website, so we can check it out? I wish WDW would hurry up and post their HS days info (location, classes, etc)!

 

[wvdislover]

Has anyone here used TruthQuest History? I'm looking at starting DD11 in it for 7th grade this fall, using the Ancient Egypt/Greece book to start. Would love to hear your thoughts on it. TIA!

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

We use TQ! We really like it. I have an older one in Ren & Ref. and a younger one in AHYS1. I love that you pace it as you need it and you can pick which spines you will use. Have a few books that we've read that are really great! Older will finish R & R and move into Age of Rev. 1 and the younger one is going to be in this book for 2 years. We are about to get into George Washington and I reallllly want to take our time with key people like this. We have found lots of the books are available at the library in the town right south of us. Some of the books, such as the D'Aulaire books or ones by Genevieve Foster have been very good and the kids enjoy them.Any thing I can help you with referring to TQ, let me know!!!

 

[wvdislover]

We use TQ! We really like it. I have an older one in Ren & Ref. and a younger one in AHYS1. I love that you pace it as you need it and you can pick which spines you will use. Have a few books that we've read that are really great! Older will finish R & R and move into Age of Rev. 1 and the younger one is going to be in this book for 2 years. We are about to get into George Washington and I reallllly want to take our time with key people like this. We have found lots of the books are available at the library in the town right south of us. Some of the books, such as the D'Aulaire books or ones by Genevieve Foster have been very good and the kids enjoy them.Any thing I can help you with referring to TQ, let me know!!!

Thanks! I'm getting really excited about it! I'll let you know if I have any questions. Has anybody else used TruthQuest History?

 

[3princesses+aprince]

Ok, so I posted a few pages back about starting to homeschool and how i've been thinking about it for a while.

Well we're going to do it after we finish this school year in June. My dd9 is of course happy and I asked my dd7 if she would like to do this as well and she was very excited about it too. Which surprised me because she is so social and loves her friends at school! I am glad though because she has developmental delays and next year for second grade they move over to a different school(where my dd9 is now, for 2nd-5th grade) and as soon as my dd9 got there her extra help stopped, and she struggled even more. Now my dd7 has an IEP, so she would of course still get assistance, but it's minimal at that school, and dd7 loves to learn, I think I can do so much with her. My youngest dd who just turned 5 says she wants to go to school. I'm not taking them out if they want to be at school, I would feel too wrong. But I do think that she will change her mind over the summer as the other two will be getting their books ready and talking about it. Right now my dd5 is in preschool, so it is all fun and games anyway, who wouldn't want to do that. But I figured even if she sticks with wanting to go to school, after K she'll most likely be ready to be homeschooled, we'll see. It would just be so much easier and nicer if they were all home. I have a local homeschool group that does alot. They have field trips and field days in the fall, they get groups together for science projects and baking. But this group is about a half hour away, so with dd5 in half day K, unfortunatley i'm going to miss out on alot of those things, because i'll have to be back to pick her up

Well, I guess we'll see how it goes. Now...I also know that little children can be persuaded so easily. But is it wrong for me to do that? Because I know I can "talk" her into it, but I don't want to make the decision for her and than she's mad at me later for doing it. What do you think?

 

[graygables]

Well, I guess we'll see how it goes. Now...I also know that little children can be persuaded so easily. But is it wrong for me to do that? Because I know I can "talk" her into it, but I don't want to make the decision for her and than she's mad at me later for doing it. What do you think?

I've said it before and I'll say it again...a child's education isn't one of the things they get to make decisions about, that is the parents' job.

 

[anabelle]

I've said it before and I'll say it again...a child's education isn't one of the things they get to make decisions about, that is the parents' job.

Agreed !!!

We started homeschooling in Middle school. So we got the "this isn't fair" plea too many times to count. It is hard when it comes to you from their grandparents, aunt and uncles as well. We stood firm. They warmed up to it. They have made incredible friends and even won their State Homeschool basketball championships.

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Well, I guess we'll see how it goes. Now...I also know that little children can be persuaded so easily. But is it wrong for me to do that? Because I know I can "talk" her into it, but I don't want to make the decision for her and than she's mad at me later for doing it. What do you think?

I think she's 5 and you are her mom and you know what's best for her! If you feel she needs to be home, she needs to be home. She is 5...not 18! You shouldn't be ugly or put the 'because I am the boss' attitude out there,just say that it's something you are doing that's best for the family and next year is going to be different.

If you are thinking about doing hs activities with your older girls, and that's going to be hampered by picking the little one up from school, realize now that it's going to cause friction. AND stress for you!! One thing I love about hs, is that our morning are so calm and easy. It's going to be hard on you, to get one out of 3 up and out the door every day, when the other 2 don't have to. You may want to play that point up to your littlest one!! That always sounds good---how is she going to do about it come fall, if the 2 older sisters are in bed and she's having to rush around and leave for school. Also, I think she will eventually feel left out-ya'll are going to have some awesome days just being together! And, you are going to miss her! so, no, it's not wrong. Why would it be? You are changing something in your family for their betterment(her included) you need to make the decision. She's just too young. I think you would regret it more if you didn't keep her home than if you did. Homeschooling has been such a blessing for us, I wouldn't want any of my kids to miss out!

 

[anabelle]

We use TQ! We really like it. I have an older one in Ren & Ref. and a younger one in AHYS1. I love that you pace it as you need it and you can pick which spines you will use. Have a few books that we've read that are really great! Older will finish R & R and move into Age of Rev. 1 and the younger one is going to be in this book for 2 years. We are about to get into George Washington and I reallllly want to take our time with key people like this. We have found lots of the books are available at the library in the town right south of us. Some of the books, such as the D'Aulaire books or ones by Genevieve Foster have been very good and the kids enjoy them.Any thing I can help you with referring to TQ, let me know!!!

We love the Genevieve Foster books as well. It gives such great opportunities for time lines ..

 

[3princesses+aprince]

I've said it before and I'll say it again...a child's education isn't one of the things they get to make decisions about, that is the parents' job.

I agree with this as well

Agreed !!!

We started homeschooling in Middle school. So we got the "this isn't fair" plea too many times to count. It is hard when it comes to you from their grandparents, aunt and uncles as well. We stood firm. They warmed up to it. They have made incredible friends and even won their State Homeschool basketball championships.

My side of the family is all fine with it, dh's side of the family is all fine with it, except for his parents. So listening to the stupidity from them is annoying. But we are not very close to them, they are not very loving grandparents, so I ignore them well, but they will say things around the kids, I just now it. But my kids will know not to listen to them.

I think she's 5 and you are her mom and you know what's best for her! If you feel she needs to be home, she needs to be home. She is 5...not 18! You shouldn't be ugly or put the 'because I am the boss' attitude out there,just say that it's something you are doing that's best for the family and next year is going to be different.

If you are thinking about doing hs activities with your older girls, and that's going to be hampered by picking the little one up from school, realize now that it's going to cause friction. AND stress for you!! One thing I love about hs, is that our morning are so calm and easy. It's going to be hard on you, to get one out of 3 up and out the door every day, when the other 2 don't have to. You may want to play that point up to your littlest one!! That always sounds good---how is she going to do about it come fall, if the 2 older sisters are in bed and she's having to rush around and leave for school. Also, I think she will eventually feel left out-ya'll are going to have some awesome days just being together! And, you are going to miss her! so, no, it's not wrong. Why would it be? You are changing something in your family for their betterment(her included) you need to make the decision. She's just too young. I think you would regret it more if you didn't keep her home than if you did. Homeschooling has been such a blessing for us, I wouldn't want any of my kids to miss out!

Yes, I kind of figured if I didn't start with her right away, half way through the school year she would want to stay home as well. And , yes I would have to miss out on alot of homeschool activities because of pick up time. I think my dd5 is too young to really explain homeschooling too, so I guess once we start, she'll figure it out, and she'll really enjoy the activities that we do with the group and the work we do at home.

I would like to sign all of them up for girl scouts this fall as well. My dd9 would be fine being a hermit in the house for the rest of her life, that's just how she is. My my dd7 and dd5 are very social, so I want them to get as much interaction as possible. I would like my dd9 to get it as well, I already told them we're doing girlscouts!

Thanks for the replys!!!!

 

[LeeLee2U]

I just found this thread and am so excited!! I just started homeschooling my DS9 this past month. he had been on HomeBound from the school due to medical issues and as I've been tossing @ the idea of HS for 2 years i decided to go ahead and do it as it would make our life easier with all of our appt. and issues right now. It is a trial and error period to see how well it works for us (Really to prove to myself if I CAN do it or not!!) and if we will continue. I had always planned to start by the time he reached 6th grade so this is just a few years early for us!!
I am currently using Horizons Math and Penmanship as Math is what he lost a lot of while he was in the hospital and they also started learning cursive while he was out. We are mainly focusing on those areas right now.
i pulled up the National Spelling Bee list and he knew ALL the third grade words and we are going through the 4th grade list. He knows most of them as well so far so I'm not stressed about his spelling.
I am using a lot of my own stuff right now for History and my sister who has homeschooled her DD for the past 3 yrs is sharing her science with my son. I am really enjoying it and have noticed a HUGE improvement in my sons attitude and work! He's always been an A/B student but now he's taking pride in it.
I plan to go to a homeschool conference in June and love to hear about other curriculems people are using so I can try to decide what we will use next year.
I can't wait to read more on here as I know it will be a big help!

 

[Denine]

I agree with the other's. HS your 5yo is not her choice, but yours. My DD is 6 and has always been schooled at home, even pre-school. She is now in
1st grade , but 2nd grade for math.

Welcome to the new one's!

 

[disneymom3]

I have been doing this for 7 years now. Not as long as many but long enough to know that kids are going to say they hate being homeschooled and don't want to do it. One thing that helped me early on was knowing that all those other kids going to public school didn't want to do it either. My response to my kids has always been, "Sorry. This is the choice Daddy adn I feel is best for our family."

Also, as to her being happy right now. I think we often underestimate how much our children need to be around us as they are growing up. If you look back at history, or throughout much of hte world, children are not sent off somewhere else for 7 or 8 hours a day. Family is the foundation of it all and kids have a need for that safety and stability that honestly only mom or dad can offer. I know it's a crazy old fashioned view of the world, but calling me old fashioned is something I will smile at.

 

[DisneyMom5]

I just found this thread and am so excited!! I just started homeschooling my DS9 this past month. he had been on HomeBound from the school due to medical issues and as I've been tossing @ the idea of HS for 2 years i decided to go ahead and do it as it would make our life easier with all of our appt. and issues right now. It is a trial and error period to see how well it works for us (Really to prove to myself if I CAN do it or not!!) and if we will continue. I had always planned to start by the time he reached 6th grade so this is just a few years early for us!!
I am currently using Horizons Math and Penmanship as Math is what he lost a lot of while he was in the hospital and they also started learning cursive while he was out. We are mainly focusing on those areas right now.
i pulled up the National Spelling Bee list and he knew ALL the third grade words and we are going through the 4th grade list. He knows most of them as well so far so I'm not stressed about his spelling.
I am using a lot of my own stuff right now for History and my sister who has homeschooled her DD for the past 3 yrs is sharing her science with my son. I am really enjoying it and have noticed a HUGE improvement in my sons attitude and work! He's always been an A/B student but now he's taking pride in it.
I plan to go to a homeschool conference in June and love to hear about other curriculems people are using so I can try to decide what we will use next year.
I can't wait to read more on here as I know it will be a big help!

Hi LeeLee2U! I remember talking with you a while ago.

Welcome to the wonderful world of homeschooling!
Sounds like you are doing a GREAT job already!

 

[DisneyMom5]

Well, I just ordered the IOWA test for my dd15, for the first time since I was certified to administer it.
We haven't done testing in years (not required here,) and previously we used the CAT.
Is there much difference?

Now I'm waiting for them to finish verifying that we are homeschoolers so I can receive it and administer it.

 

[3princesses+aprince]

I agree with the other's. HS your 5yo is not her choice, but yours. My DD is 6 and has always been schooled at home, even pre-school. She is now in
1st grade , but 2nd grade for math.

Welcome to the new one's!

Thanks, I believe that she will be fine with homeschooling once we start, I just think right now because she does not know any different and watched her big sisters go to school, that that's what she wants to do. So I think she will be Ok. She'll be in plenty of other activities and programs with our homeschool group for friends.

I have been doing this for 7 years now. Not as long as many but long enough to know that kids are going to say they hate being homeschooled and don't want to do it. One thing that helped me early on was knowing that all those other kids going to public school didn't want to do it either. My response to my kids has always been, "Sorry. This is the choice Daddy adn I feel is best for our family."

Also, as to her being happy right now. I think we often underestimate how much our children need to be around us as they are growing up. If you look back at history, or throughout much of hte world, children are not sent off somewhere else for 7 or 8 hours a day. Family is the foundation of it all and kids have a need for that safety and stability that honestly only mom or dad can offer. I know it's a crazy old fashioned view of the world, but calling me old fashioned is something I will smile at.

That is true, when I think about it, we send our kids away for 6 hours a day. I think that's been killing me lately because I work nights 4 nights a week. So when they are getting off the bus at 3:30, I am leaving for work to be there for 4pm, and I don't get home until midnight. I do that wed - sat. So when we homeschool, I will have much more time with my kids, and won't feel guilty for working. That....I have to do!