Homeschool Chat

[Disney Mommy 3]

I was just looking through one of the books on Truthquest's website and it seems like a lot(which is better than not enough)

For those who have used this, do you finish it within the "schoolyear"?
And how many times a week do you do History?

I know you don't HAVE to finish everything, they don't in public school, but I don't want to waste any material that we could have learned about, I would like enough time to get to everything. Like I said this upcoming school year will be my first year, so maybe i'm expecting too much. Please tell me if I am or not? I don't want to drive the kids and especially myself NUTS!!!
Thank You!!!

Okay, my older son did Ren. & Reform. this year and we finished it. My middle on is in AHYS 1--we got about 3/4 way through. We are going to do some over the summer and (just a bit) finish it next semster. (Fall of 09)....
You can do what you feel is important to learn--some of the people that are brought up are minors in History---people that I don't EVER remember hearing about in ps.!!! so, if you can't find a book about them, check the encyclopdia, or Wikipedia and don't sweat it. People like Ben Franklin, Eric the Red, Leif the Lucky, George Washington, we take longer with. the books by Genevieve Foster are large, but they are touching on all aspects of the world at the time of the person you are studying, so you get a larger view than you would at a regular history class. She is one of the authors you can choose from in the TQ guide. I do like her books----also, books read on cd make a long impression as well. We just finished Johnny Tremain----History on the way to the store is a great burden off of me. Another good author in the TQ that I absolutely love is the D'Aulaires. They are incredible, I did purchase all the books by them. In fact I had a few already!!!!! I haven't seen a need to do worksheets, or test. I do ask them ?s to make sure they are understanding what's going on...especially with different ways of speech some of the older books are written in. Every once in a while, if I can find a good coloring sheet to go with a story, that's a nice break too! They seem to retain a lot more just from it being in story form/literature than memorizing dates. My 9 yo I don't push dates yet, just that he knows what things in History go together is enough for now. My 13 yo is old enough to start putting dates with happening.

I just ordered Truthquest's Ancient Egypt and Greece for us to use next year! Very excited about it! Now, I have to figure out which Apologia to use with DD11 (she'll be in 7th grade). I am looking forward to attending the NC Homeschool Conference later this month, so I can look at the books and make a better decision. Anyone else going to this?

My son was 7th grade this year -starting the year he was 12.We did Gen. Sci. They urge you to do Math & Science together. for example, Gen Sci, is supposed to be done the year you have pre-algebra, or Alg I... Next year he is supposed to go into Algebra I, but he loved the Astronomy series so much last year he asked to do it again next year! I may do it with him over the summer. I will tell you the G. Sci. has LOTS of info. We did it every day of the week and it took all year. We just did small portions each day. That was better than lots of reading 3 days a week--it's just a lot to retain. but I did love it and thought it was awesome.This is the only Science we will ever use! since she's just 11, you may want to look into the Science listed as elementary. We have done Astronomy, Botony, and Flying Birds of the 5th day.

 

[wvdislover]

My son was 7th grade this year -starting the year he was 12.We did Gen. Sci. They urge you to do Math & Science together. for example, Gen Sci, is supposed to be done the year you have pre-algebra, or Alg I... Next year he is supposed to go into Algebra I, but he loved the Astronomy series so much last year he asked to do it again next year! I may do it with him over the summer. I will tell you the G. Sci. has LOTS of info. We did it every day of the week and it took all year. We just did small portions each day. That was better than lots of reading 3 days a week--it's just a lot to retain. but I did love it and thought it was awesome.This is the only Science we will ever use! since she's just 11, you may want to look into the Science listed as elementary. We have done Astronomy, Botony, and Flying Birds of the 5th day.

Thanks for the advice Shawna. I am planning on putting her in pre-alg. this year (we'll do some work in Math 7 over the summer...we use TT for math). I was thinking the elementary science might be better to start her with, since we haven't done Apologia before (we're just now finishing up our first full year of homeschooling), and she has some learning issues. I've shown her the elementary books online, and told her to think about which she thinks she'd like to learn about in science next year. I'm hoping she'll be more excited about it, if she has had a hand in picking what we're doing. Maybe we'll do science in the afternoons, after DD7 has gotten home from school (unless we decide to homeschool her, too).

 

[3princesses+aprince]

Thank you for the advice DisneyMommy3, I'm ready to begin now Well, after our Disney trip anyway!! I want to say, my kids will probably be ready to start earlier than September, i'm assuming we'll end up starting out in August. Even if it's not everything, cause we have a street full of neighbors who will be out of school still, plus my stepson that is here alot in the summer. So we'll probably start out with small things in August, this way they'll get the "hang" of what it will be like. Although, we'll be doing alot over the summer anyway, my 7 yr old has developmental delays and is reading so well right now, we don't want her to loose any of that.
Speaking of my 7 yr old. Does anyone here have a special needs child? my dd7 has mild to moderate developmental delays. I know I can teach her one on one better than they can teach her in a group at school. She has alot of trouble keeping concentration during a lesson to the whole class, and that's the main reason of why i'm happy to homeschool her next fall. In second grade i'm sure there is alot more sit at your desk and listen to this lesson
I am starting to get a little nervous though, does anyone ever wonder if they are doing enough for their special needs child. I know with HSing you wonder that even with regular ed. kids, but i'm worried with her especially! I just hope I have enough knowledge to figure out how she learns best and the best way for me to explain difficult things. I know right now even just with homework sometimes it's so hard for me to explain certain things to her.

I guess i'll be fine, i'm trying not to even think about it, i'm just telling myself, "just wait and see how it goes" I'm sure I'll be just fine!
I do have an excellent homeschool group in my area as well, so i'm sure I can get help and advice from them when needed also.

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Thanks for the advice Shawna. I am planning on putting her in pre-alg. this year (we'll do some work in Math 7 over the summer...we use TT for math). I was thinking the elementary science might be better to start her with, since we haven't done Apologia before (we're just now finishing up our first full year of homeschooling), and she has some learning issues.

We love TT here!!! It's awesome isn't it? I think especially with learning issues, you should get one of the Elem Sciences. You can always order the Gen Sci (which is recommended for 7th) later. This way you can both see how they approach things, and how long you want to spend on Science each week. Like I said earlier, we do a little bit every day. Maybe just get one and start reading it over the summer--keep it to a page or so every couple of days, just to keep your hand in, and have something interesting to do over those hot summer days!!

Thank you for the advice DisneyMommy3, I'm ready to begin now Well, after our Disney trip anyway!! I want to say, my kids will probably be ready to start earlier than September, i'm assuming we'll end up starting out in August. Even if it's not everything, cause we have a street full of neighbors who will be out of school still, plus my stepson that is here alot in the summer. So we'll probably start out with small things in August, this way they'll get the "hang" of what it will be like. Although, we'll be doing alot over the summer anyway, my 7 yr old has developmental delays and is reading so well right now, we don't want her to loose any of that.
Speaking of my 7 yr old. Does anyone here have a special needs child? my dd7 has mild to moderate developmental delays. I know I can teach her one on one better than they can teach her in a group at school. She has alot of trouble keeping concentration during a lesson to the whole class, and that's the main reason of why i'm happy to homeschool her next fall. In second grade i'm sure there is alot more sit at your desk and listen to this lesson

Don't Be Nervous!!! You are going to be fine I don't know personally about a special needs child, but I would think home would be the best place for her! This way on good days you can really get through a lot and accomplish what needs to be done, and a little more if possible. On days when she has trouble, slack off and take more breaks. I agree that keeping her reading over the summer is the best thing for both of you. Hit that library girl!! Get her some Dr. Suess, or whatever she is good at reading and load up! Maybe you could do your own reading program over the summer with her. We do it along with our library sometimes. They read the required 10 or 20 for the library, but then we keep it going at home. Each level, another 5 or another 10, gets another reward. Keep a list....you'll be amazed how fast they want to read and it gets hard to remember how many you've done.

Reading( in my opinion-for what it's worth) is the best education you can give a kid! there is sooooo much to learn in books-you can imagine people however you want them to look, travel to places you can never actually go, learn about all kinds of life in different parts of the world. All while increasing reading speed, learning correct grammar, vocabulary, spelling, even History!!!!

We start early here too. It's just so hot in Texas, that some days really are dangerous to be out hanging around in 110 with a heat index of 120. so, we start History, or Science reading then, and sort of phase everything else in by the first of Aug. This way when T-day & Christmas come, we can take off a few weeks. We have our 18 week semester over at Thanksgiving!!! So, if you have to keep hours for your state, count all those library trips and reading days as school.

 

[3princesses+aprince]

Thanks again Disneymommy3 we'll definitely be at the library all summer, my girls love going to the libraray And we'll be signed up for their summer programs!

I was thinking about doing a couple of little "projects" over the summer too. Basically on whatever they pick, like seashells or fish. Then we'll do some research on the computer, print out some pictures, go to the library and check out some books that go along with it, and then go to the beach for seashells and/or the aquarium to check out the fish. I now I have to keep my dd9 writing a lot, that's where her troubles lie. So these fun projects will help with that. And they'll all go along with stuff that the girls love to do all summer anyway, like going to the beach, the aquarium, the zoos and parks! It will be a nice summer, I can't wait for this school year to end

 

[3princesses+aprince]

I'm back with another question that I forgot about.
Ok, i'm using abeka for Language arts! The Language 2 book looks great, as well as the spelling book.
Now what about the cursive writing, I do not feel that my dd7 is ready for cursive.
#1: Do they have to write in cursive in the spelling and language 2 book( from the examples it didn't appear that way)
#2: Should I buy something besides abeka for writing( that is not in cursive) or would that make things trickier with the Abeka products that we'll have.

I think she definitely needs another year of writing before starting cursive. If the language books require cursive then I may have to look into something different for her language arts.

Thanks in advance for your help!!!!!
I wish their was an option to do cursive like they offer for K.

 

[wvdislover]

A lot of people, including myself, find that their children can actually write better in cursive than print. My DD11 also has some dev. delays, and her cursive writing (she started in 3rd grade) is MUCH prettier than her printing. The curves and curls are easier for kids to form than the straight lines they have to use when printing. For handwriting help, check into Handwriting Without Tears.

 

[3princesses+aprince]

A lot of people, including myself, find that their children can actually write better in cursive than print. My DD11 also has some dev. delays, and her cursive writing (she started in 3rd grade) is MUCH prettier than her printing. The curves and curls are easier for kids to form than the straight lines they have to use when printing. For handwriting help, check into Handwriting Without Tears.

Ok, thanks alot, i'll look into Handwriting without tears, and maybe give the cursive a try!! She does have pretty neat handwriting, so maybe it will be easy for her.

 

[3princesses+aprince]

Just wanted to say Happy Cinco de Mayo!!! There is an awesome video on the History Channels website all about how it started with the Frenchman invading Mexico. It's really neat. It's the section called "The History of the Holidays" There is a video/story for every Holiday, all about how they got started!!!

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

A friend of mine uses Hand. w/out Tears and loves it. We use A Reason for Handwriting. Used to do ABeka, and then we found this---used it for the last 2 years... you can start her on any level, the first few are print, the next ones are cursive. they even have a transition book. It pretty much just depends on which book you like best, they are both great!

 

[Tink561]

Do any of you use Abeka in the early years? I just ordered the K4 for my daughter to start this summer. I know they now teach cursive writing first which I was initially against and then intrigued by it. I ordered the cursive kit so we'll see how it goes. I love their phonics program. My oldest son, now 19, used it in a private school in K and did well. My younger sons struggle more with reading in what was used with them in school.

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

I used it with my 2 boys,, the younger one has really pretty handwriting. I did it differently with my daughter-starting her with print, but I will probably let her start some cursive this year!

 

[Temair]

Wow this school year has gone quickly. Only a month till we take our summer vacation. We plan on doing educational things, but taking a break from the curriculum. My DD is finishing up MUS Delta this week, we will go ahead and start Epsilon next week. DD has become so much more independent and mature this year.
I now have the problem that I have time on my hands and I'm not sure what to do. Any suggestions on maybe a work from home job that I could do? Or maybe some sort of project i could get involved in. I wouln't mind to make a few extra $$ to help towards our financial goals. That way I can get back to Disney faster.

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

We just finished up our year! It's summer break! I don't know who's more excited, me or the kids!

Sometimes I just NEED a break from all of it.

 

[3princesses+aprince]

Thanks for all of the handwriting tips!! I still need to think about what I want to do. She has neat handwriting, but I need her to concentrate on what she is learning and doing and not having all the concentration going on writing out each word. Does that make sense? Ugh, every time I figure something out, something else comes up that has me baffled. I'm not stressing out about it or anything, I have plenty of time, but I am doing some research on it. I'm not going to start buying curriculum until we come back from our Disney trip anyway! Then i'll start purchasing what I know i'll be using for sure! There are Abeka displays going on close by in June, July, and August, so I'll start there. I know for dd9, It's all abeka besides History and Science. I'm actually going to go check out A Reason for Handwriting, and Handwriting without tears right now!

Also, seeing how alot of you are nearing the end of your school year, what do you do during the day, do you still have them doing a lot of reading? I'm afraid of ending the school year and having the kids just run around the house like madwomen!!!!! What does everyone do?

 

[3princesses+aprince]

Oooo, I really like the looks for Handwriting without tears, that looks like the best way to start off with dd7. I would feel more comfortable giving her 1 more year without cursive. I may even use that one for dd9 and dd5 too.

We had a frustrating night with homework tonight I can't wait until this school year is over!
We went out to the Disney store tonight to buy the girl's bathing suits for Disney, and we got home and they had to do homework, but they were just so over excited that it was choas. I just can't wait to have more freedom than having to do that at night!

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Also, seeing how alot of you are nearing the end of your school year, what do you do during the day, do you still have them doing a lot of reading? I'm afraid of ending the school year and having the kids just run around the house like madwomen!!!!! What does everyone do?

I let them run around the house like madpeople Ha!! We do have just some crazy days! But, we are still in baseball, ballet & gymnastics, so I have to kind of keep their days a little regimented.

We let them get in the pool this afternoon for a bit, by the end of the week it should be perfect-we are already in the 80s. So, that' ll take a lot of the energy out of 'em!! My older son will be finished with Science Friday, but other than that last Friday was our last day!!! We are looking forward to 12 weeks of LAZY!!!! I need it!!!

 

[Crisgw]

I'm not a homeschooler but I am a Director at an Educational Consulting Firm and one of our clients is a homeschooling network called Fusefly. It's like Facebook (but really safe with places for parents/etc...) but exclusively for homeschoolers. It's free and it's pretty neat
http://www.fusefly.com/

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Crisgw,,,thank you!

 

[wvdislover]

Thanks crisgw! Looks pretty cool!