Homeschool Chat

[Tracy041500]

Want another reason to be thankful...check out this post
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2286386
25 pages in 4 days! All over one question. It is not even worth responding to all the fighting going on over there.

PHEW!

Crazy. I know I left a word of advice. Homeschool.

 

[disneymom3]

Can anyone recommend some good books for a 10 yo, 5th grade girl who loves animals? We just started Stone Fox, but I'm not too sure where to go from here. I plan on covering Charlotte's Web even though it is below level for her simply because she didn't read it while in public school. It's such a wonderful book, I think she'll enjoy it. She also wants to read Black Beauty and Redwall. Where can I find recommendations for grade level reading and what we should cover every year? There is still so much that I need to learn about homeschooling! Thanks for any help!

A good place to start is What Your ....Grader Needs to Know. It's kind of a nice reassuring basis for what you might want to cover. The editor is E.D. Hirsch. As you go along homeschooling you will figure out what your kids are ready for and what they are not. For instance, what they say a fourth grader needs to know for math is NOT going to happen for my middle one, but in literature, my daughter was WAY beyond what they said she should know.

 

[Nicolepa]

How flexible is the Georgia Virtual Academy? Can you focus on certain areas and test through others?

We just started the Washington Virtual Academy (WAVA) this year and are loving it. You can totally test out of certain areas or focus on areas that they enjoy. School started on the 8th for us and my son is finishing up the first semester of math. We did 3 art lessons yesterday because he was enjoying them (and the baby was napping).

They tell you the % progress they expect you to make and it's up to you to figure out how you want to do it.

 

[gerberdaisy1234]

Can anyone recommend some good books for a 10 yo, 5th grade girl who loves animals? We just started Stone Fox, but I'm not too sure where to go from here. I plan on covering Charlotte's Web even though it is below level for her simply because she didn't read it while in public school. It's such a wonderful book, I think she'll enjoy it. She also wants to read Black Beauty and Redwall. Where can I find recommendations for grade level reading and what we should cover every year? There is still so much that I need to learn about homeschooling! Thanks for any help!

My DD (10) loves the Warriors and Seekers series. She loves animals and reading! They are written by Erin Hunter (really it is a team of 3 or 4 that write the books).

Warriors has been out longer and has more books. Seekers is newer. It is the series she started first. There are only 3 so far- she can not wait for the next one to come out in January. So she started reading Warriors. I asked her which she would recommend starting with and she said Seekers.

We just go online an reserve next couple in series at the library.

Another book that she really enjoyed this summer has Dragon Rider. After she read it, we checked it out on CD and all listened to it in the car.
I think that author's name is Cornelia Funke.

 

[LegoMom3]

A good place to start is What Your ....Grader Needs to Know. It's kind of a nice reassuring basis for what you might want to cover. The editor is E.D. Hirsch. As you go along homeschooling you will figure out what your kids are ready for and what they are not. For instance, what they say a fourth grader needs to know for math is NOT going to happen for my middle one, but in literature, my daughter was WAY beyond what they said she should know.

I like these, too. They are a good book to sort of walk you through any given year and have a wide variety of subjects and activities.

If you want more of an overview of all grades, I would suggest "Home Learning Year By Year." I don't remember off-hand who wrote it but you can find it by title. It covers all grades and what is "typically" learned year by year, as well as some suggested resources at the back of the book.

.

 

[sl_underwood]

Can anyone recommend some good books for a 10 yo, 5th grade girl who loves animals? We just started Stone Fox, but I'm not too sure where to go from here. I plan on covering Charlotte's Web even though it is below level for her simply because she didn't read it while in public school. It's such a wonderful book, I think she'll enjoy it. She also wants to read Black Beauty and Redwall. Where can I find recommendations for grade level reading and what we should cover every year? There is still so much that I need to learn about homeschooling! Thanks for any help!

My dd is 12 but also an animal lover. She suggests the Lion Boy trilogy by Zizou Corder. It is all about a kid who can talk to cats. She absolutely loved these books. Black Beauty and Charlottes Web are also some of her favorites. She also loves The Incredible Journey. Right now, she is reading it to her 6 yo brother.

 

[gerberdaisy1234]

Have not seen any new post in a few days so thought I would wish everyone a Happy Fall. This is a busy and exciting time for us. We had family visit last week and participated in the homeschool family activities at the zoo. Great time!

This week we are participating in a drama for missions week at church, my DD turns 11, we get to see the Disney Christmas Carol train on Friday and we have a mother/daughter trip this weekend. (My DH and DS will join us at the end) Oh, yeah, we are going to sneak a little school in there too.

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Have not seen any new post in a few days so thought I would wish everyone a Happy Fall. This is a busy and exciting time for us. We had family visit last week and participated in the homeschool family activities at the zoo. Great time!

This week we are participating in a drama for missions week at church, my DD turns 11, we get to see the Disney Christmas Carol train on Friday and we have a mother/daughter trip this weekend. (My DH and DS will join us at the end) Oh, yeah, we are going to sneak a little school in there too.

isn't it amazing how many activities you can do as a hser?!!!! Seems like the days are so busy!!! I really love our slooooow -at-home-lets-stay-in-p.j.s-days~!!!They seem so rare!!!!Yes...Happy Fall to you too!!!!!

 

[Lora]

Anyone want to share their experience at WDW Homeschool Days?

We went to only one HS Days program - The American Story. There were 10 of us in our group and we ended up with 18 people in our tour group. We had to get to the TTC at 7:00 to start the program. Instead of the monorail trip to the MK, for some reason they had to bus us over to the MK that morning. Before we left, our guide went over the rules and then talked about the parts of a story (character, setting, conflict). When we got the the MK, we started at the Hall of Presidents. I was very excited about going "back stage". They took 3 groups in at a time and the 3 guides talked about the first 18 presidents. We were quite close to the animatronic figures on the stage, with the curtain behind us. After a short intro. there, we went outside and stood in a circle learning more about the first 18 presidents. The guide had several laminated cards with pictures, etc. for the kids/parents to look at and use for the discussion.

Just before 9:00, we went over to the Splash Mt. area for a discussion about the characters there. fro We also talked about the gold rush since we were going to ride BTMRR also. Several kids got cards about a particular person from the gold rush and we talked about how successful they were in finding gold/making money. I thought that they would take the tour groups (there were several) on the rides before the park opened, but they made us wait at the entrance to the ride until 9:00. We did SM and BTMRR and then walked back to the Hall of Presidents. We were going to see the first show at 10 am. Since we had some extra time, we did a gold rush activity where we had several items and a list of the things we would need on our journey west. We had to barter with other travelers to find what we needed. It became clear pretty quickly that no one was going to be able to get all they needed. After we watched the Hall of Presidents, all of the groups sent a representative to the Liberty Bell and we had a little ceremony there and the reps each got to ring the bell one time.

Overall, it was a good program, but as my sister pointed out, we STOOD the whole time except for the 3 rides. It was rather hot and tiring, but since I'm used to that at WDW, I didn't really notice until she mentioned it.

 

[disneymom3]

Lora thanks for sharing about your experience. The info on the standing is good for me to know. I have MS and it sounds like that might be a good day to have a wheelchair. No way I can stand for three hours.

 

[gerberdaisy1234]

My children are playing street children tonight at our church's international market place for missions week. Last night at rehearsal my son sniffed his armpits and said, "Just right!" And then informed me that he had not was under his arms for a week so he could play this part. WHAT?!?

LOL- what could I say? HSers are creative!

 

[Navywifebreezy]

Never noticed this thread. We too homeschool and if your kids learn well with computers time4learning.com is great. My kids love it.
Someone asked about books for grade level, not sure if you know about it but www.bookadventure.com is a great site and spellingcity.com is really great too.
My kids learn way better from a computer than they do from a book.

 

[GCM]

gerberdaisy1234 said, "My children are playing street children tonight at our church's international market place for missions week. Last night at rehearsal my son sniffed his armpits and said, "Just right!" And then informed me that he had not was under his arms for a week so he could play this part. WHAT?!?"


That's too good!

 

[anabelle]

Anyone want to share their experience at WDW Homeschool Days?

.

We enjoyed the Lecture on Monday. It was at the pavillion at EPCOT which I thought would be oppressively hot, but wasn't that bad. Several CM's from the International program talked about their experience in the program and then they took questions. I was impressed with the questions the kids asked.

My kids took the Ocean Discoveries class. It was about protecting Sea Turtles. The Leadership class for my older boys was canceled due to lack of participation, so they were added to the Ocean class. They tought the class was a little childish. It was certainly geared toward 4th - 6th graders. My sophmores weren't that interested.

The January Homeschool days will be engineering oriented with much more Imagineer involvement. Honestly, my boys would have like that better.

We might do this again next year, but probably won't add any YES classes

 

[JAM3]

I am 99% sure I am going to homeschool DD. I have started a little with preschool this year. We are thinking about moving in the Spring so will therefore be purchasing a new house. I have been trying to think what the ideal homeschool environment might be. I would love to hear what all of you do! I anticipate much of our day will be on the move learning and using manipulative. However, I would like a place with minimal "other" distractions when we need it. I have thought of an area in the basement, if we can make it bright enough, a spare bedroom converted, an area of the living room? So I really have nothing narrowed down as you can tell! I would love any suggestions you have. btw, I was a public school teacher prior to DD so I am familiar with set up in this location; but this will not be the same (as you all know!) Thank you for your help!

 

[MiniGirl]

There is a thread in this section and the OP is asking for opinions of homeschool vs. cyberschool vs. private school. Anyway, this one post just really bothers me today. I have typed out several responses only to delete them instead of posting. I don't want to start a debate, but this woman is just plain wrong. Usually these posts just roll off me, but this one is sticking. I don't know why.

http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33835756&postcount=12

Like I said..... just venting a little, and I figure venting here (where ya'll understand) is better than venting on that thread and possibly starting a debate.

So, now that's out of my system. How is everyone doing? We are doing well. We've been having fun (maybe too much fun though), and are still trying to find a schedule that works well for us. We're getting there though. I'm not worried.

 

[Tink561]

I am 99% sure I am going to homeschool DD. I have started a little with preschool this year. We are thinking about moving in the Spring so will therefore be purchasing a new house. I have been trying to think what the ideal homeschool environment might be. I would love to hear what all of you do! I anticipate much of our day will be on the move learning and using manipulative. However, I would like a place with minimal "other" distractions when we need it. I have thought of an area in the basement, if we can make it bright enough, a spare bedroom converted, an area of the living room? So I really have nothing narrowed down as you can tell! I would love any suggestions you have. btw, I was a public school teacher prior to DD so I am familiar with set up in this location; but this will not be the same (as you all know!) Thank you for your help!

We set up a homeschool room in our previous house but we never seemed to stay there. We tend to take our books and sit at the table or bar when we need to use them. Other times my kids will lay in the living room to read, etc. We do have lots of bookshelves and supplies set up in our family room but don't have designated work areas. It just didn't work for us. Lors of people do use spare bedrooms, though.

 

[jacksmomma]

There is a thread in this section and the OP is asking for opinions of homeschool vs. cyberschool vs. private school. Anyway, this one post just really bothers me today. I have typed out several responses only to delete them instead of posting. I don't want to start a debate, but this woman is just plain wrong. Usually these posts just roll off me, but this one is sticking. I don't know why.

http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33835756&postcount=12

Like I said..... just venting a little, and I figure venting here (where ya'll understand) is better than venting on that thread and possibly starting a debate.

So, now that's out of my system. How is everyone doing? We are doing well. We've been having fun (maybe too much fun though), and are still trying to find a schedule that works well for us. We're getting there though. I'm not worried.

I saw that thread, but I did not even open it because I did not want to get sucked in! I am a teacher who taught in both public and private schools who is choosing to home school my son...what does that tell you about my opinion of most school environments. I get you wanting to respond, but quite honestly most people are so set in their ways that it will do no good. I completely understand though!

 

[SCHBR'smom]

Sorry if this has already been posted, I hadn't noticed it.

Sweden has essentially banned homeschooling.
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Education/Default.aspx?id=648486

 

[Tink561]

I didn't want to touch that other thread either.