Homeschool Chat

[graygables]

Oh, I totally agree. I'm sure I'll count most of next week as school. I think a day at Epcot or AK should count as a WEEK of school based on all the learning opportunities.

Are you going to be at AK next Thursday? (2/12) That's the day we're planning for that park. We'll try to look for you if you're there.

I'm on the schedule, but that may change. In case you may be interested, they are supposed to be doing a tiger annual physical at Rafiki's Planet Watch on Monday from 930-1030. I'm planning on sending my girls to see how they brush a tiger's teeth and trim its nails!

 

[tictac]

Hello everyone, I just wanted post and encourage everyone here for the great things you are all doing. The thread is very long, but I can see you are doing this for the benefit of your children (off season at disney is not a bad thing either) We personally have no kids due to my illness. Although, in the future if we ever adopt we have already decided homeschool is the way to go.
Have an educational day and may cheers to all of you

 

[dvcbnd]

Hello everyone, I just wanted post and encourage everyone here for the great things you are all doing. The thread is very long, but I can see you are doing this for the benefit of your children (off season at disney is not a bad thing either) We personally have no kids due to my illness. Although, in the future if we ever adopt we have already decided homeschool is the way to go.
Have an educational day and may cheers to all of you

Thank you!!

 

[Belle & Ariel]

We have used A Beka each year also, K4 - now. My oldest DD is in 8th grade now. What made you switch curriculums for math and science in high school? DD is doing the video academy this year because I thought we would do that for high school. I wanted a practice year to make sure she liked it. So far, so good.............

We had a hard time with Abeka algebra. I have a friend who teaces h.s math and she said they did not explain things well and we did not feel it gave a good foundation for upper level math. Teaching textbooks has cd's that give the lesson, another one that works every problem, and one that works every problem on tests. They teach so well that we have never needed to use them, but it has been an incredible security!
We do use Abeka for 9th grade physical science and 10th grade biology. We use Apologia for 11th grade Chemistry and 12th grade we love the Marine Biology they offer.

 

[Belle & Ariel]

Well, we did it today. We pulled our DS out of 5th grade. We are now officially a homeschool family! It was quite a process (are we making the right decision? What about x, y, & Z) but now, it's just a huge relief!

Thanks for the support (that you may not have even known you have given).

K

Congrats on your decision! I have heard middle school is the toughest socially on kids.
We are originally from the St. Louis area, so if you are near there, they have a great homeschool support group. PM me if you want details.

 

[Belle & Ariel]

Just a little vent here. I am so tired of hearing misinformed, preconceived biases about homeschooled children. I hear the same one all the time--in fact, it was brought up in a thread about the Duggars here on the CB board the other day. It went something like this--"all of those kids are homeschooled, I wonder how their social skills are with non-family?" This has to be my LEAST favorite stereotype about homeschoolers. My son is probably the most social little boy I have ever met. He LOVES people, he loves talking, he's not shy in the least. In fact, he's much more outgoing than I am, and I went to public school, so I should be a regular social butterfly, right? The funny thing is, I can remember kids from my school who were so painfully shy, that it was difficult for them to even answer a question when called upon! I would love for some of these people who are so worried about homeschooled kids' social skills, to come along on one of our cub scout meetings, field trips, PE classes, get-togethers, or activities, so they can see how "anti-social" all of these kids are.

What "homeschool stereotype" really gets under your skin?

I have a great story about your pet peeve. We went on a cruise a couple years ago to Bermuda. We were on a 25 minute ferry from one part of the island to another and seated across from the director of the teen club on the ship.
She talked to my 19 year old daughter who had been a cabin counselor at a camp the summer before. After a few minutes of talking, she told my daughter she would be great in the kids' club and offered her a job on the ship. She was very persistent and told how she could be flexible and work a week here and there on college breaks, etc.
Then the worker proceeded to tell me how much she was enjoying my son. She told me he was so funny and had made up a story that he was homeschooled. She said everyone knew he was joking because he was one of the most outgoing and popular kids that week and "I have had homeschool kids before and they are soooo nerdy".
Well, the look on her face was priceless when I told her both my daughter and him had never been to school but were indeed homeschooled their whole lives.
It's really sad that so many trained to work with kids have such narrow minds and prejudge our kids.

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

I have a great story about your pet peeve. We went on a cruise a couple years ago to Bermuda. We were on a 25 minute ferry from one part of the island to another and seated across from the director of the teen club on the ship.
She talked to my 19 year old daughter who had been a cabin counselor at a camp the summer before. After a few minutes of talking, she told my daughter she would be great in the kids' club and offered her a job on the ship. She was very persistent and told how she could be flexible and work a week here and there on college breaks, etc.
Then the worker proceeded to tell me how much she was enjoying my son. She told me he was so funny and had made up a story that he was homeschooled. She said everyone knew he was joking because he was one of the most outgoing and popular kids that week and "I have had homeschool kids before and they are soooo nerdy".
Well, the look on her face was priceless when I told her both my daughter and him had never been to school but were indeed homeschooled their whole lives.
It's really sad that so many trained to work with kids have such narrow minds and prejudge our kids.

Oh my!!!! Even if she thought that...HOW RUDE!!! What is wrong with people? I mean if we act like that about people concerning religion, or race or whatever, they are sooo quick to retaliate. But when it comes to our children, they feel the right to say whatever they like---no matter how rude, and right in front of them too! Geesh.

 

[sl_underwood]

Has anyone had any experiences with Real Science 4 Kids? I am looking at it for my dd (5th grade) and kindergartener.
Lora

 

[Denine]

Hello everyone. We are back from our week in WDW.

I am bummed that we won't be able to go to homeschool days in Williamsburg. It just isn't in the financial cards after our Disney trip. I also don't want to leave our sick cat again so soon.

For fun learning: Jumpstart World. It is a computer game that is amazingly fun for DD. We just downloaded 2nd grade for her right before vacation. They also have a 1st grade version. This is not the regular jumpstart, but one that is more interactive.

 

[disneytriplets]

I am new to homeschooling and I would appreciate some help from all you experienced homeschoolers. I have triplets who will be starting Kindergarten in September and I am trying to figure out how all this works and if I should homeschool or send them to public school. I’ve checked out my state’s laws and know I don’t need to report anything until they are eight. I found out there is a local organization we can join and they will do the required testing for the kids along with provide transcripts and a diploma. There is a “curriculum fair” (I guess that’s what it’s called) near us in June so I plan on going there to learn more because I don’t know anything about the curriculums. I have a few questions…

1. What is included in the curriculums? I currently do a preschool program (Mother Goose Time) and it comes with all the art/craft and worksheet supplies for each day. You have to supply some things, but overall everything is included.

2. I’ve heard of Abeka, Sonlight and Alpha Omega. Can you tell me anything about these or other Kindergarten curriculums? Is there one that is way above the rest?

3. What do you do with younger children during school time? My little guy (who is two) is not very good with keeping himself busy. I plan to do school time during his nap, but I’m not sure he’ll be asleep the entire time.

4. How many hours do you spend for Kindergarten? I know I don’t need to report anything to the state yet, but I want to make sure the kids are keeping up with their public schooled peers. Public school Kindergarten around here is half days but I don’t know what they do during their school time or how much time they spend doing actual school work vs. play time.

Thank you so much for your help!

Denise

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Good Morning Denise~ And welcome aboard!!!!!
Well, first let me say congrats on your decision (or consideration) to homeschool!!! It's such a blessing! There are days when you think-I have totally lost my mind, why am I doing this again??? But, then you will look at those sweet little faces and it will all be worth it!! I have a daughter in Kindergarten this year and I am schooling her differently than I did my younger son when he started Kindergarten. I did ABeka with him(the dvd's)-he learned from it, but it was rather long & he got tired before it was over. I still did his letters with him when 'class' was over, and helped with math, so I thought--I should have just done this myself-without the videos!!! This time, I switched to Explode the Code for phonics. Both are great, but ABeka is just a bit more rigid and more time consuming. I def. like the Christian aspect behind the curriculums, but in K, it's not going to make that much difference! Just get some good books that have morals/Bible lessons/verses and that's all they need. Actually, for her Bible lesson/character values, we are reading a book from Rod & Staff with a color book that coincides with each lesson. I highly recommend R & S,as well!! I didn't realize they had K stuff until after we ordered and began our ETC. Def., go to the book fair and look at all of it-sometimes just looking through a book will give enough 'feel' to decide if it's right for your family or not. Until then, look up homeschooling curriculums on line--there are tons of sites. Also, go to Christian Book Distributers..they actually have sample pages you can look through-& if you are really confused, you can call and they will put you with a hs person who has answers. R&S is just rodandstaffbooks.com.

Kindergarten doesn't really need to be all day--it's an intro of things to come and a great time to learn basics. Following rules, learning your letters, numbers, shapes. For math, we are using Horizons--again, great company,good curriculum-moves about as fast as ABeka, but not sooooo much work!! If you are really thinking you like the idea of all your work scheduled at this point in your life, and everything in a set, ABeka pre-k and K are awesome!! Just be aware they are loaded with lots do to!!! Feel free to cut out some things and don't feel like EVERYTHING has to be done! I did do pre-k with my daughter using it--by K we were ready for something new!!

Another thing I have done with all three is Five in a Row. It's an awesome study using great childrens books.(It sometimes referred to as FIAR) and they have message boards and phone #s. It uses a book per week & you read it 5 days in a row. One day is math, then lang., then art, and so on. We really enjoy this curr.

As for your little guy, just let him sit along and color or play. Try to get things done when he's napping, or what ever is easier for you as a family. If he feels included & not shoved away because you 3 are busy, he will do better. I know, that's what worked when mine youngest was that age!!!

 

[Denine]

Welcome Denise! We used Calvert for PK and K. The K is the equivalent of all day K, but it only took 1-1/2 to 2 hours to complete per day. It was fun and DD loved it. We are now using Calvert for 1st. We use Horizons for math.

 

[herodrx1]

Hello everyone. Although I am not new to the DISboards, I will be new to homeschooling. We are planning on going the homeschool route after this year completes.
I have a 13 y/o going into 8th grade and a 9y/o going into 4th grade. We are all a bit nervous about the transition. We all agree that this is what we want to do but are still unsure of ourselves.

I look forward to getting to know you guys better and will thank you in advance for the support that I know I'll find here.

 

[Praise2Him]

Hello everyone. Although I am not new to the DISboards, I will be new to homeschooling. We are planning on going the homeschool route after this year completes.
I have a 13 y/o going into 8th grade and a 9y/o going into 4th grade. We are all a bit nervous about the transition. We all agree that this is what we want to do but are still unsure of ourselves.

I look forward to getting to know you guys better and will thank you in advance for the support that I know I'll find here.

Congratulations on your decision to homeschool! I started HSing my DD when she was going into the 8th grade also. Now she's a Senior and will be graduating in a few months. These 5 years have flown by, and I wouldn't trade them for anything!

 

[herodrx1]

Thanks for the encouragement, Lisa. Some of my fear was that I had waited to late to do this. You know, that they had got so used to traditional school that they would have a hard time switching over.
There just seems to be so much wasted time at school. My son is a bright student and I think that he is getting bored at school. He keeps complaining about other kids bugging him and teachers getting upset with him. It just seems like a good time to take control of his education.
My daughter has vision issues and I think now is a good time to start giving her more one-on-one teaching. I don't want her to start to fall behind b/c she can't keep up with the reading.

 

[Belle & Ariel]

Denise,
Welcome to the boards. We used Abeka for Kindergarten. I will say that the phonics program is wonderful. I have two in college now and they got perfect/near perfect scores on the reading/language sections and I attribute it to the great foundation they got from Abeka.
They also sell a little box of about 66 books, more like leaflets. Each is a separate story using and building on a phonics rule. My kids loved them and it developed a love for reading.

 

[3princesses+aprince]

I just wanted to say hello. I actually posted on this thread a few months ago. I have been wanting to take my dd out of school to homeschool, but everytime I feel I am ready to go, I feel like I shouldn't be doing this. Why do I feel this way? My dh is all for it too, so I have back up. I actually submitted a letter to the school dept. already, and everything was all set to go.
I have 2 younger dds in school. one in preschool, the other in 1st. they are doing good in school right now, so to start off it would only be dd9.
I think if it were all three of them it would be an easier decision for me. But I would have to homeschool, and get the other 2 back and forth to school. Then I figured after a while the other 2 would want to stay home as well. and that would be what i would want also, but I don't know if it would be the best thing for them. I don't know I'm so confused. This is alot more emotional than I thought it would be when i first started thinking about it.
Sorry just felt better letting it all out here.

 

[Praise2Him]

Thanks for the encouragement, Lisa. Some of my fear was that I had waited to late to do this. You know, that they had got so used to traditional school that they would have a hard time switching over.
There just seems to be so much wasted time at school. My son is a bright student and I think that he is getting bored at school. He keeps complaining about other kids bugging him and teachers getting upset with him. It just seems like a good time to take control of his education.
My daughter has vision issues and I think now is a good time to start giving her more one-on-one teaching. I don't want her to start to fall behind b/c she can't keep up with the reading.

It's never too late! When I started HSing DD, DS was in 10th grade and loved going to public school, so I didn't even expect him to HS. Believe it or not, the next fall he decided for himself that after marching season (he was in the band) he wanted to withdraw and come home to school. So the week before Thanksgiving in 11th grade he started HSing! He graduated and is now about to graduate from college in June.
You are right - there is a lot of wasted time at school. DS was able to have a job during his senior year to save money for college. Also, they can spend more time focusing on the subjects they really love.

Denise,
Welcome to the boards. We used Abeka for Kindergarten. I will say that the phonics program is wonderful. I have two in college now and they got perfect/near perfect scores on the reading/language sections and I attribute it to the great foundation they got from Abeka.
They also sell a little box of about 66 books, more like leaflets. Each is a separate story using and building on a phonics rule. My kids loved them and it developed a love for reading.

I taught Kindergarten in a Christian school using ABeka. It is an excellent phonics program and I highly recommend it for teaching Reading.
It is very worksheet intensive, especially the Math. I would definitely feel free to skip over a lot of the worksheets.

I just wanted to say hello. I actually posted on this thread a few months ago. I have been wanting to take my dd out of school to homeschool, but everytime I feel I am ready to go, I feel like I shouldn't be doing this. Why do I feel this way? My dh is all for it too, so I have back up. I actually submitted a letter to the school dept. already, and everything was all set to go.
I have 2 younger dds in school. one in preschool, the other in 1st. they are doing good in school right now, so to start off it would only be dd9.
I think if it were all three of them it would be an easier decision for me. But I would have to homeschool, and get the other 2 back and forth to school. Then I figured after a while the other 2 would want to stay home as well. and that would be what i would want also, but I don't know if it would be the best thing for them. I don't know I'm so confused. This is alot more emotional than I thought it would be when i first started thinking about it.
Sorry just felt better letting it all out here.

Hi! I don't have any advice for you, but just want to give you some encouragement Don't be afraid to get your feet wet. Just take it one small step at a time. If you look at the big picture it is overwhelming, so it helps to just start and not look at the future. The great thing about life is that we can always change, so if you were to decide that HSing isn't for you, you can always go back to regular school. It's not a permanent decision! (sorry, I guess that was advice after all!)
Only you and your DH know what is best for your family, so I know you'll make the right decision for you!

 

[Denine]

Welcome to the new people. It must be hard to make the decision to pull the kids out of school. Luckily, we started with PK, so DD has never gone to school. Good luck on your decisions!

I ordered a practice test for the CAT today. I need to give the school system test scores for next year. It is either test scores or a written evaluation from a teacher.

 

[Princess_Michelle]

I just wanted to say hello. I actually posted on this thread a few months ago. I have been wanting to take my dd out of school to homeschool, but everytime I feel I am ready to go, I feel like I shouldn't be doing this. Why do I feel this way? My dh is all for it too, so I have back up. I actually submitted a letter to the school dept. already, and everything was all set to go.
I have 2 younger dds in school. one in preschool, the other in 1st. they are doing good in school right now, so to start off it would only be dd9.
I think if it were all three of them it would be an easier decision for me. But I would have to homeschool, and get the other 2 back and forth to school. Then I figured after a while the other 2 would want to stay home as well. and that would be what i would want also, but I don't know if it would be the best thing for them. I don't know I'm so confused. This is alot more emotional than I thought it would be when i first started thinking about it.
Sorry just felt better letting it all out here.

Our DS will start a Homeschool Co-op this fall and we are SO excited! I have had moments in the past when I wonder if I am doing the best thing for him. But now, we feel like NOT doing this would be a disservice to him.

Kinda funny, but kinda not... when I read all the threads on this board from people who are having problems/issues with public schools, it just reinforces the fact that he will be better off without it! When I read about the bullying, the incompetence, the WEAPONS, the fights, etc. etc. etc. and add that to what I remember from school, (and I went to 11 different schools growing up, all over the country) it just makes our decision seem that much better!

My suggestion is to find a good Co-op or other support group to utlilize. Ours hire tutors that come in and teach the kids 2 days a week. They make up the lesson plans and teach them most of the material, then we just follow the lesson plan for the other 3 days of the week and there are regular field trips, etc. It rocks! He can't wait.