Homeschool Chat

[KibbyCat]

oh where can we find info about this we will be their Sept. 14 -21

http://disneyyouthgroups.disney.go.com/wdyp/programs/programOverview?page=HSDProgramOverviewPage

 

[minnie1928]

So, I just ordered "Hooked on Chinese" from Amazon for DS (almost 4). Has anyone used this before? Or any "Hooked On..." for any language? Just wanting to see if anyone has any experience/advice for teaching English and another language at the same time! DH and I both have a working knowledge of Chinese (we learned in the Army) but are not really fluent anymore. I'm just hoping I don't screw him up on both langauges!!

We bought this last week at Borders for my DD4, she recently started watching a show called Ni Hao Kailan on tv...it's like Dora, but Chinese. Our best friends are Taiwanese and they also speak Chinese, so this has meaning to her in that she can speak to them in their first language. Anyway, we've used it for about 2 hours so far and really like it. She enjoyed it and so did I! We plan on doing some more tomorrow.

FWIW it has 2 levels in each kit. Each level contains books, workbook and flash cards.

 

[Princess_Michelle]

Wow, let me know how this works out. Our two big kids want to learn Chinese, and our two little kids are from China, and while dd has been here for almost 18 months and speaks English exclusively, ds might have retained some Chinese. He doesn't speak due to hearing and palate issues, but he might not have had the hearing problems for his entire life. We're not sure.

Right now, we're planning on using Rosetta Stone for Chinese. We bought it a few years ago. We use it for Spanish with oldest dd.

Julie

Julie, since your kids are of Chinese origin... have you considered enrolling them in a Chinese school? Do you know if there are any around you? We have a few near us, and plan on sending DS when he is a bit older. The ones near us are not that pricey...$150-$250 per semester, and it is 3 hours long on a Sunday afternoon. The teachers are all native speakers, and they also learn about the culture and traditions in addition to the language.

We bought this last week at Borders for my DD4, she recently started watching a show called Ni Hao Kailan on tv...it's like Dora, but Chinese. Our best friends are Taiwanese and they also speak Chinese, so this has meaning to her in that she can speak to them in their first language. Anyway, we've used it for about 2 hours so far and really like it. She enjoyed it and so did I! We plan on doing some more tomorrow.

FWIW it has 2 levels in each kit. Each level contains books, workbook and flash cards.

Awesome! I was hoping that someone would have it!! We watch Kai Lan as well. Like I said, DH and I know Chinese and I can tell you; knowing this language is garaunteed job security in our area, and there are a few other areas where it comes in handy as well. Mandarin is in HUGE demand as far as the government is concerned, and there will always be a job for those who know it, ESPECIALLY if you are clearable.

 

[Princess_Michelle]

I have another question

I am going to my first curriculum fair this weekend!! Will I be able to buy my curriculum there and leave with it in my hands? Or will I have to wait for it to be shipped?? I am wanting to get Sonlight curriculum.....

 

[mykidsintow]

I have another question

I am going to my first curriculum fair this weekend!! Will I be able to buy my curriculum there and leave with it in my hands? Or will I have to wait for it to be shipped?? I am wanting to get Sonlight curriculum.....

We couldn't buy sonlight at our fair because it is taylored to each student. However, I ordered from sonlight and we had box day within a week! It was fast and painless....

We love sonlight, even tho we are currently "detoured".....

 

[Lora]

I have another question

I am going to my first curriculum fair this weekend!! Will I be able to buy my curriculum there and leave with it in my hands? Or will I have to wait for it to be shipped?? I am wanting to get Sonlight curriculum.....

You will be able to see lots of the books and the Instructor's Guides there. I'm not sure how they do the order at the fairs. I've always ordered online. They ship pretty quickly and it's always FUN to unpack our SL box!! We're doing Core 4 now, but I added Core 100 recently for DD to do on her own. She's done 4 or 5 of the books already and we've only had it a week!

 

[bear74]

http://disneyyouthgroups.disney.go.com/wdyp/programs/programOverview?page=HSDProgramOverviewPage

thanks the page is not loading tonight, though will try again tomorrow

 

[belle22]

Anyone know of any sites that may have worksheets for Reading Comp for Kindergarten.. with answers after the story? What about for Following directions?

 

[tnmomof4]

That's because ABeka doesn't have a separate homeschool program. All homeschoolers get the same curriculum they write for Christian schools, so it is meant to be taught to a group of kids. Teach a lesson, do some guided practice, have them do some independent work. For homeschoolers, this is overload. That's why their DVD program is great, because the homeschooler feels like a part of the class, and can watch the lessons, then just do the independent work. But for a parent to teach the lessons, there is WAY too much. You could cut out half the lessons and still come out ahead.

Have you used the ABeka DVD's? I have been trying so hard to find someone who has used them to get some advice. I am using all ABeka, and I am considering using the DVD's for my older boys. I am getting so worried about next year because I will be teaching all 4 of my boys. The younger 2 will be in Kindergarten. It really takes us all day now to do my older boys who are in 4th and 5th. I mean it takes us a good 6 hours sometimes longer. How in the world will I fit in teaching my twins Kindergarten? At least with the DVDs the older boys can watch the lesson instead of me teaching it.

 

[Momvic5]

Have you used the ABeka DVD's? I have been trying so hard to find someone who has used them to get some advice. I am using all ABeka, and I am considering using the DVD's for my older boys. I am getting so worried about next year because I will be teaching all 4 of my boys. The younger 2 will be in Kindergarten. It really takes us all day now to do my older boys who are in 4th and 5th. I mean it takes us a good 6 hours sometimes longer. How in the world will I fit in teaching my twins Kindergarten? At least with the DVDs the older boys can watch the lesson instead of me teaching it.

I have never used the Abeka DVDs, but I have a friend who uses them. He has 4 boys(K - 5th) as well, and he highly recommended them at the beginning of the year, but here recently, he said his boys have grown tired of them and that they are not using them like they should. His thoughts were that their daily routine became too predictable and mundane for his very active boys. He still recommends them, but he said he is going to take a break from them for a while and maybe pick them back up when his boys are older. ~ Just thought I would share his experience.

I can relate to the overwhelming feeling of trying to get it all done with everyone. I have three children(1st, 3rd, and 6th grades), and it can take us 6-7 hours too. I currently use all Abeka with my 1st grade DS, and to be honest, I am beginning to hate it. The concepts they teach are great, but it is just too much busy work sometimes, and it seems like we are doing the same type work over and over. My older two use a variety of curriculums so I thought I would do the same with my youngest DS next year. We are both ready for a change and maybe mixing things up a bit might help ~ I am hoping anyways.

Don't worry about next year, somehow you will find the strength and the means to get it all done with everyone.

 

[mykidsintow]

My neighbor uses Abeka. There is no way I could get my son to it through all of it. Let alone use it with multiple kids. I think i would get so overwhelming.

I guess in the end that is what got us to look at sonlight. I have combine my children into 1 core which they do together. We then do math and LA individually. I couldn't imagine finishing all we do and then having to do the other kid. We typically finish our school work in appx 2 hrs each day. Sciece experiment days do tend to go longer, or we keep them to share with daddy on the weekend.

KUDOs to you for HSing you boys individually! I sure don't think I could!

 

[Laura.bora]

Laura,

I heard from another homeschool parent on here that there's going to be a special homeschol family days event at Animal Kingdom towards the middle of September (if memory serves right, I believe it was the 14th and 15th???). This would be awesome for your kids if you were able to alter the days you're going to be there. I've only been there once, and it was 8 years ago, so I'm sure there are a lot of new/different things since then, but it was very fascinating. There will be plenty for both of your kids to find enjoyable and for you to make educational.

This may sound crazy, but if you don't already have it, invest in Baby Einstein's Baby Noah DVD. It includes all the different habitats (ocean, savannah, etc.) and the animals who live there. My kids love this. In fact, my daughter's preschool teacher was amazed that, at age 4, my daughter told her she wanted to "visit the savannah". (She said she didn't think anyone at that age would even know what a savannah was!) Anyway, we love the Baby Einstein collection, and this particular DVD teaches kids about animals and their habitats in an age-appropriate manner. Maybe look for some reproducible color sheets to print off as reinforcement, and even your 2-year-old will be knowledgeable about animals/habitats!

Someone posted the website, and it said it was the 15th and 16th, so we'd only be there the 16th, but only 1/2 the day, so I don't know if it'd be worth it to go. I'm pretty sure that going to MK 1st would be what my kids would want (We're surprising them, so I can't be sure). MAybe they'll add more dates.
And thanks for the information on Baby Noah. We love Baby Einstein videos as well, but don't have Baby Noah - I'll have to look into that. My son does have "Animal Genius" for his L-Max and loves it - it also teaches about the habitats of the world, predators and prey, different animal facts etc. If you have an L-Max (or leapster) I'd recommend that game.
And can anyone reccomend some movies that coincide with the countries of Epcot and AK? I was going to have every Friday be movie day to wrap up the study of whatever country we were studing that week. I want something that is age appropriate (6 and 3) and that shows the land, the culture etc. I was thinking the Great PAnda Adventure for China, Duma for Africa, and that's as far as I got. We don't watch a lot of TV here, so I'm kinda clueless. The only one that's an obvious choice that I can think of for Morocco would be Alaadin, but I won't let my kids watch that yet. (Specifically the Disney version). Anyway, if anyone has ideas, I'd appreciate it! Thanks!

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

For those asking about the ABeka DVDs, we started out with those. We had the 3rd grade and the kindy ones. The kind. dvd teacher was Ms. Baer (sp?) and my little boy loved it! But, my 3rd grader hated it. We didn't even do half the year. As far as the overload for hsers-one of my hsing friends has a friend that teaches at a christian school using ABeka. They actually do less work than the hsers-their reason (ABeka's) for giving the hsers so much extra work at home is that if they are state tested, or go back into ps they (ABeka) do not want to be held accountable for the child not being on grade level.

I still will use the K level for my dd beginning K this year-in my opinion the phonics and lower level products can't be beat! But once they get up to around 2nd grade you can really be overwhelmed.

We are really into the Charlotte Mason type of learning, we have been shifting into this for the last 2 years-lots of living books and no (unless necessary)workbooks. This is definitely what works for us!!

 

[tnmomof4]

For those asking about the ABeka DVDs, we started out with those. We had the 3rd grade and the kindy ones. The kind. dvd teacher was Ms. Baer (sp?) and my little boy loved it! But, my 3rd grader hated it. We didn't even do half the year. As far as the overload for hsers-one of my hsing friends has a friend that teaches at a christian school using ABeka. They actually do less work than the hsers-their reason (ABeka's) for giving the hsers so much extra work at home is that if they are state tested, or go back into ps they (ABeka) do not want to be held accountable for the child not being on grade level.

I still will use the K level for my dd beginning K this year-in my opinion the phonics and lower level products can't be beat! But once they get up to around 2nd grade you can really be overwhelmed.

We are really into the Charlotte Mason type of learning, we have been shifting into this for the last 2 years-lots of living books and no (unless necessary)workbooks. This is definitely what works for us!!

Thanks for that info. I was the one asking about the DVDs. It sounds like the DVDs might not be that great.

I guess I can see the reasoning about making sure kids are on target for their grade level. My problem is, I don't know what to cut out to even make it less extra work.

I do know that I need to get my boys doing the same History and Science. That would help a lot.

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

I guess I can see the reasoning about making sure kids are on target for their grade level. My problem is, I don't know what to cut out to even make it less extra work.

I do know that I need to get my boys doing the same History and Science. That would help a lot.

It can be hard to know exactly what to cull and what to leave! As far as you combining Hist and Sci have you heard of Beautiful Feet Books? They have a website (under that name) and it's sets of books(the Childhoold of Famous American Series, and lots of Newberry award books) with a teachers guide that cover certain periods of History. This is what I am doing for my older son this year. Mystery of History is also an awesome book! We did Vol I and II so far and loved it!! There are several others out there that with a little tweaking to keep the younger ones interested can be used for both.

For Science, the Christian Kids Explore series, or Apologia books are awesome!! If you are more comfortable with a workbook approach for science, Bob Jones has great books!

 

[disneyelaine]

Belle,

Try looking at edhelper.com. I think they have what you are looking for.

 

[teacups]

Thought you all might like to do this. Try calling Monday, they are not open Sunday.

FREE Magic School Bus Book

You can get _The Magic School Bus Gets
Cleaned Up_ for free by calling the EPA's National
Service Center. Their phone number is 1-800-490-9198.
The item number for this book is 420K07001. Every
person can request a maximum of 5 copies of the book.

 

[skoi]

Julie, since your kids are of Chinese origin... have you considered enrolling them in a Chinese school? Do you know if there are any around you? We have a few near us, and plan on sending DS when he is a bit older. The ones near us are not that pricey...$150-$250 per semester, and it is 3 hours long on a Sunday afternoon. The teachers are all native speakers, and they also learn about the culture and traditions in addition to the language.

Unfortunately, though we live in a big city, there are only one or two schools, way out in the more distant suburbs. We have a large Chinese population, so I was surprised. Our older kids want to go too, though older ds is thinking he'd might want to learn Arabic.

Julie

 

[Laura.bora]

Thought you all might like to do this. Try calling Monday, they are not open Sunday.

FREE Magic School Bus Book

You can get _The Magic School Bus Gets
Cleaned Up_ for free by calling the EPA's National
Service Center. Their phone number is 1-800-490-9198.
The item number for this book is 420K07001. Every
person can request a maximum of 5 copies of the book.

Really?? Where did you find out about this?

 

[teacups]

Really?? Where did you find out about this?

From my local HS group.