Homeschool Chat

[MiniGirl]

Oh, and I wanted to mention..... I was at Jo-Ann's Fabrics yesterday and my dd and I saw some really cute charms in the jewelry making section. They had charms that represented several different countries as well as different continents. I think we are going to stick with MFW next year and do their Exploring Countries and Cultures, and I thought these would be cute on some lapbook pages. Also all jewelry making supplies are on sale 40% off and you can use your teacher discount there for an additional 15% off. I just bought the Australia set (my dd's current interest and our VBS theme), but I think I'm going to go back and get one of each set they have and save them for next year.

 

[3princesses+aprince]

Two days of school before we leave for WDW! Today and tomorrow. It is tough to get through for both of us.

Oh WOW, you must be so excited!!!! I am excited at 20 days out, I can't even imagine how I will NOT be able to function at 2 days out!!!!!! If I don't get to tell you before you leave, I hope you have a wonderful trip!!!! How many nights are going for, and where are you staying?

 

[desparatelydisney]

A friend and I want to start a local homeschooling group as the nearest ones to us are 45 minutes away. Has anyone here done this? If so, do you have any advice?

TIA!
MMM

 

[Denine]

Oh WOW, you must be so excited!!!! I am excited at 20 days out, I can't even imagine how I will NOT be able to function at 2 days out!!!!!! If I don't get to tell you before you leave, I hope you have a wonderful trip!!!! How many nights are going for, and where are you staying?

We are all very excited. We are leaving on Saturday (my birthday). We are flying down and starting on Sunday we will be at Old Key West. We are coming home on May 6th. Saturday night we are staying off property since it was an add on day.

!0 days in the sunny, warm weather with no school or work!

 

[3princesses+aprince]

We are all very excited. We are leaving on Saturday (my birthday). We are flying down and starting on Sunday we will be at Old Key West. We are coming home on May 6th. Saturday night we are staying off property since it was an add on day.

!0 days in the sunny, warm weather with no school or work!

Oooo Old Key West, that sounds nice! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! I can't wait for my sunny days too!

 

[Denine]

Oooo Old Key West, that sounds nice! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! I can't wait for my sunny days too!

Thanks!

Today is the last day!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Pixie Dust for Me!]

Hello. I wanted to come on and maybe get some opinions from others that know honest answers on home schooling and not just heresay. My daughter's bday is at the end of August and the cut off for Kindergarten here is September 1st. I decided to hold her back an extra year because of the Kindergarten she would be put in and because she was still a little shy. During her extra year of Pre-K I started looking into home schooling and thought this could be another option for us. The K teacher she would have is the same one I did my field work with in college, I cannot see her thriving in an environment where kids don't come first. Just my opinion but this teacher should not be teaching and it scares me that she would be teaching my child! So I have come up with some options, the charter school in the area or just putting her into first grade. Now I am seriously considering homeschooling. My close friends are worried that socially she will hurt and that I could never teach her as much as the school can. How and where did you start? I find info here and there on the web and this forum is great too,but I just can't get a grasp as to where to start or what I may need to start. Any opinions would be so greatly appreciated!

Thank you for reading this long post!

Well, as a newbie to homeschooling, let me tell you that I completely understand! I removed my DS (he'll be 11 next week) from private school in January and WOW....what a difference! He loves school (always has) but now he talks about what he's learning and he is so confident in his skills.

As for socialization, it's not a problem. We do so much more now that our schedule isn't driven by school! Think of it this way...do you (or does your hubby) only socialize at work? Well, kids don't only socialize at school!

As far as where to start, we didn't start with a "canned" curriculum and I'm not sure that I would ever use one. Find a "teacher's store" in your area and go look at the resources that are there. I'm sure you know your child far better than a teacher ever will and you'll get a feel for where to begin. Also, check your state's Dept. of Education website. Chances are they will give you "curriculum mapping" information that shows what is "grade level appropriate" and then you can work to ensure she achieves that (and so much more!).

Karen

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

A friend and I want to start a local homeschooling group as the nearest ones to us are 45 minutes away. Has anyone here done this? If so, do you have any advice?

I started my own homeschool group and it has grown to a fairly large group now! It takes some time and consistency, but if you build it, they will come!

When I moved to this area, there wasn't a group (rural area) so I made a yahoogroup and I knew of 2 other families at the time that I invited. We picked Thursday's for our playgroup and met religiously every Thursday to play at a park. We switched up the parks, went swimming in the summer, etc. and slowly the group began to grow. 4 years later we have probably about 20 families and well over 30 kids! We have seasonal parties, field trips, and still have that weekly playgroup.

I think the consistency of having a weekly date to meet helped people and the yahoogroup email list is a GREAT way to communicate. You can put out flyers at your local library and grocery store and before you know it, you'll have a group!

You'll also want to decide if your group is exclusive or all inclusive. We made a group that includes ANYONE who homeschools and we love it that way. Lots of diversity.

 

[3princesses+aprince]

I just went to check out the yahoo homeschool groups, i've heard of them but never checked it out before. I found one in my state, but there was no activity on it since last month , but there were so many, so i'm sure i'll find a nice one!

 

[lori1043]

I forgot about something I wanted to share and was reminded by seeing some newbies to homeschooling on here or people thinking about it.
I have been homeschooling 5 years and although I have seen this book, I have never bought it or even looked in it.

It is Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum...

http://www.cathyduffyreviews.com/books-for-sale/100-top-picks-homeschool.htm

It has this "quiz" type thingy in the beginning that helps you find out what type of homeschooler you tend/would tend to be. It was VERY helpful to me. I came out to be a Classical/Charlotte Mason/unit study homeschooler(in that order and I was pleasantly surprised). While obvious in my approach, I never had a name for it and curriculum was all over the place for me. It truly has helped me to narrow down curriculum choices. I feel blessed that some friends had a meeting (Preparing the Way Home-a friend wrote this and I admit I have never read it, but she has meetings every other week to help newbies and direct vets too) that introduced this to me. I wish I had this info 4 years ago!

Lori

 

[desparatelydisney]

I started my own homeschool group and it has grown to a fairly large group now! It takes some time and consistency, but if you build it, they will come!

When I moved to this area, there wasn't a group (rural area) so I made a yahoogroup and I knew of 2 other families at the time that I invited. We picked Thursday's for our playgroup and met religiously every Thursday to play at a park. We switched up the parks, went swimming in the summer, etc. and slowly the group began to grow. 4 years later we have probably about 20 families and well over 30 kids! We have seasonal parties, field trips, and still have that weekly playgroup.

I think the consistency of having a weekly date to meet helped people and the yahoogroup email list is a GREAT way to communicate. You can put out flyers at your local library and grocery store and before you know it, you'll have a group!

You'll also want to decide if your group is exclusive or all inclusive. We made a group that includes ANYONE who homeschools and we love it that way. Lots of diversity.

Thanks for the suggestions

 

[lori1043]

Happy Tuesday gals!

For those going on vacations-have fun!!

We head to Destin the minute Stanford testing is done-next Wednesday!

Lori

 

[3princesses+aprince]

desperatelydisney, I see that you're leaving for Disney soon, we are too. We have 14 days to go. We'll be staying at All Star Movies for 7 nights We may run into each other and never even know it!!!

 

[carissanboys]

Hello homeschoolers!

I have a question and am hoping all of you may be able to help me.

We homeschooled our oldest for kindergarten and first grade. Then he and our middle son attended public school for the past two years. We are getting ready to move at the end of May down to Virginia Beach (husband is Navy) and have decided to homeschool next year (for many reasons).

The last day of school at their current school is June 10th. So, if we took them out at the end of May they'd miss the last 10 days. VA Beach's school year ends June 18th. I've already spoken with the VA Beach homeschool liaison person and she said if we put in a letter of intent to homeschool when we move down for those final three weeks, we'll still need to show achievement (which is usually testing) for the year (I don't really want to do this and think it's silly for only 3 weeks). I am not sure yet if the boys' current school will promote them if they miss the final ten days of school.

I'm not sure what to do. If we just pull them out at the end of May and do not register as homeschoolers down in VA Beach until the summer for the following school year, could we run into any issues?? At this point we plan to homeschool through highschool, but who knows what the future holds?

Also, are there any homeschooling families on here from the Hampton Roads area??

Thanks for the help!

 

[02AggieGirl]

Hi, I'm new to this thread! I'm gonna start home schooling my oldest dd in the fall--she will be starting K. I've kind of read thru some of this, but it's a lot of info (which is good!) I was hoping some of you that have used Abeka and sonlight might be able to give me the good and bad of it. I'm not sure if I want to do that or just pull together the curriculum from different resources....thanks!

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Hi Aggiegirl!
I have used ABeka. I would avoid buying the entire K kit. She really just needs the phonics program. It's good and solid. Also the numbers (math) book would be great. If she's an artsy kid and enjoys crafts and coloring, the K art book is fun. You can just read lots of good books that you already have,and make friends with your local library. I have not used Sonlight--the History program we do uses some of the same books tho---it just seems too much for me. I bought the kits from ABeka my first year, and it was too overwhelming for me. That's just my 2 cents, but with my daughter doing K this year, we scaled wayyyy back. She still needs lots of play time--don't rush them just because they are 5 and the 'state' says thats time to learn. They pick up a lot just from being at home. Hope this was helpful!!

 

[SCHBR'smom]

I haven't read thru all of this yet. I plan on it as soon as I get the time. We've been talking about homeschooling since before oldest DD went to kinder. She's now in 4th. We debate it all the time, I just worry about being able to do it. I'm sure it is a huge responsibility. DH suggested I try it over the summer to see how it would actually be. I wish we had thought of that sooner! So, where should I start? I'll have a 1st grader and a 5th grader. DD4 would be in preschool. Thanks for any help!

 

[Eeyore's Girl]

I haven't read thru all of this yet. I plan on it as soon as I get the time. We've been talking about homeschooling since before oldest DD went to kinder. She's now in 4th. We debate it all the time, I just worry about being able to do it. I'm sure it is a huge responsibility. DH suggested I try it over the summer to see how it would actually be. I wish we had thought of that sooner! So, where should I start? I'll have a 1st grader and a 5th grader. DD4 would be in preschool. Thanks for any help!

You're right - it IS a huge responsibility and requires a commitment. How are you at organizing your time? I would assume you've got it under control, considering you have 4 kiddos and you're even considering hsing. HSing becomes a lifestyle - you can't fit it in around your schedule. In general, it helps to consider schooling as your "job" that you work at for a particular span of time each day. Those who unschool typically don't feel this way, but for me, any time I tried to squeeze the school work into my day, it seemed to fall apart. Of course, just as with traditional school, there will be days of exception due to illness, field trips, dr. appts., etc.

I think your DH idea of a trial run during the summer is a fabulous idea, if you're seriously considering hsing. You would get a head start on the new school year, which the rest of us won't start until Aug. or Sept., giving you some extra days to build up and use later. I recommend using extra days in December. Remember - you'll still have Christmas (or whatever holiday you observe) shopping, decorating, cooking to do even if you're hsing. I know a couple of families that start school a month early so they can take the entire month of December off. Not a bad idea.

I didn't read any previous posts, so forgive me if I am restating anything. I will say the absolute best resource I found while reading various hsing books/info was "The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling". The author is Deborah Bell. Although it's obvious she's a homeschooling parent, she doesn't gloss it over - the good, the bad, and the ugly are all included in her book.

Good luck!!

 

[02AggieGirl]

Hi Aggiegirl!
I have used ABeka. I would avoid buying the entire K kit. She really just needs the phonics program. It's good and solid. Also the numbers (math) book would be great. If she's an artsy kid and enjoys crafts and coloring, the K art book is fun. You can just read lots of good books that you already have,and make friends with your local library. I have not used Sonlight--the History program we do uses some of the same books tho---it just seems too much for me. I bought the kits from ABeka my first year, and it was too overwhelming for me. That's just my 2 cents, but with my daughter doing K this year, we scaled wayyyy back. She still needs lots of play time--don't rush them just because they are 5 and the 'state' says thats time to learn. They pick up a lot just from being at home. Hope this was helpful!!

Thanks that's the kind of info I was looking for!

 

[yanni2]

Hi, I'm new to this thread! I'm gonna start home schooling my oldest dd in the fall--she will be starting K. I've kind of read thru some of this, but it's a lot of info (which is good!) I was hoping some of you that have used Abeka and sonlight might be able to give me the good and bad of it. I'm not sure if I want to do that or just pull together the curriculum from different resources....thanks!

I am using Sonlight for the first time this year. I have a 5th grader and a 3rd grader and we are doing Core 3. I have enjoyed the curriculum. I am not completely impressed with the Language Arts so we are using something else for that. The books are wonderful and we have enjoyed almost all we have read so far. I do feel it is A LOT of reading and am planning on picking and choosing which books we use next year. My children are not enthusiastic readers, and it can be a lot at times. I am planning on focusing more on covering the time periods a little more generally for now, and then more in-depth as they get older.

I am not sure if that helps much. Basically we are enjoying it but it is a lot. I am not sure how the lower grades are in terms of amount of work since this is my first year using it.