Homeschool Chat

[lori1043]

Dawn- I ahve been to California 2x- once to DL area and once to Santa Rosa/Napa/Sonoma/ Sebastopol/etc. We stayed in Santa Rosa, had a conference in Napa, drove through Sonoma. Visited PCH/Bodega bay via a road that brought us through Sebastopol. I can totally see why you miss California.
I had NO idea the mountains were so close to DL until I saw it out of our hotel window.
I would love to move to a little area I beleive is nearer the ocean than Sebastopol- it smelled of ocean and pine- it was simply the best smell I have ever smelled besides my babies slathered with Johnson and Johnsons lotion. I told my co-worker that I went to Napa with, "just drop me here and leave me" on the side of the road. I think this is why I love Soarin' so much- somehow they captured the smell very close to the scent I was so blessed to inhale. I want to bring it home. better yet, I would love my family to sit there with me. The kids have never been and my DH has never been to California outside the DL area.

Lori

 

[DawnM]

We lived 45 min. north of Disneyland, in Pasadena. Our home was at the foothills of the mountains there and I loved it. On a clear day (ok, well, there weren't many of those in Los Angeles!) I could actually see the ocean from the top of the mountain~!

I also miss my job and sometimes have tears when I think of it. Part of that is just a feeling of loss as I am not sure I would return to work right now even if we went back. I am committed to homeschooling for now, but I do plan to return to work at some point.

I know there are things to like here in NC as well, but it has never felt like "home" to me here.

Dawn

Dawn- I ahve been to California 2x- once to DL area and once to Santa Rosa/Napa/Sonoma/ Sebastopol/etc. We stayed in Santa Rosa, had a conference in Napa, drove through Sonoma. Visited PCH/Bodega bay via a road that brought us through Sebastopol. I can totally see why you miss California.
I had NO idea the mountains were so close to DL until I saw it out of our hotel window.
I would love to move to a little area I beleive is nearer the ocean than Sebastopol- it smelled of ocean and pine- it was simply the best smell I have ever smelled besides my babies slathered with Johnson and Johnsons lotion. I told my co-worker that I went to Napa with, "just drop me here and leave me" on the side of the road. I think this is why I love Soarin' so much- somehow they captured the smell very close to the scent I was so blessed to inhale. I want to bring it home. better yet, I would love my family to sit there with me. The kids have never been and my DH has never been to California outside the DL area.

Lori

 

[lori1043]

We lived 45 min. north of Disneyland, in Pasadena. Our home was at the foothills of the mountains there and I loved it. On a clear day (ok, well, there weren't many of those in Los Angeles!) I could actually see the ocean from the top of the mountain~!

I also miss my job and sometimes have tears when I think of it. Part of that is just a feeling of loss as I am not sure I would return to work right now even if we went back. I am committed to homeschooling for now, but I do plan to return to work at some point.

I know there are things to like here in NC as well, but it has never felt like "home" to me here.

Dawn

I am so sorry you are feeling like that. I am scared of that very thing with our move. The last time we moved, it was to Dallas and before we had kids. I had my first there though. We've been back home ever since, even if it is about 45 minutes away from our nearest relative, it is perfect for us.
The hardest thing for us to leave is our church family and homeschool association. It is gonna be a wonderful church that can beat what we have, but I do know that God has a plan for our lives and if you believe or not, it'll all work out. Somehow. I do not want to get into a religious conversation, as it has gone awry at times, but I just know He has a plan- I HAVE to beleive it. I WANT to beleive it.

haha- I feel the same way about the air here in La. It is a heavy air, but it is HARD for me to breathe if it is dry. Both Houston and Florida have my kinda air! Wet!

I plan on working again one day too, but right now, like you, I am commited to homeschooling. I love it and can't see our lives any other way.

Lori

 

[pixiemagic30]

Lori, good news...We're in Davenport, FL, and have 1/2 dozen or so Chase branches nearby. We actually bank with Chase and there are 2 specific branches within a 15 minute drive. We are also 15 minutes outside of Disney! We love it. Compared to Ohio, some things are higher in prices; others, not so much. Property taxes are comparable to what we were paying, so I can't help you there.

I would definitely rent first. This will give you a chance to visit various areas to see what you like. Also, in some areas, the prices are still falling...

As for homeschooling, laws here are quite flexible. You send in a letter to inform the county that you are homeschooling and then test scores or teacher evaluation before the new school year. At the end of your homeschooling of a child, or if you move to another district, you send in a termination letter.

Good luck in your decision!

 

[lori1043]

Lori, good news...We're in Davenport, FL, and have 1/2 dozen or so Chase branches nearby. We actually bank with Chase and there are 2 specific branches within a 15 minute drive. We are also 15 minutes outside of Disney! We love it. Compared to Ohio, some things are higher in prices; others, not so much. Property taxes are comparable to what we were paying, so I can't help you there.

I would definitely rent first. This will give you a chance to visit various areas to see what you like. Also, in some areas, the prices are still falling...

As for homeschooling, laws here are quite flexible. You send in a letter to inform the county that you are homeschooling and then test scores or teacher evaluation before the new school year. At the end of your homeschooling of a child, or if you move to another district, you send in a termination letter.

Good luck in your decision!

Cool, thank you. Umm, here's a question: we do test, we do Stanford. I have one kid that scores just fabulously(PHS) and 1 scores in the 50%tile range- are there guidlines that are required if they test below a certain score? This is something that I feel is personal and I do not need someone always looking over my shoulder b/c I have one that tests lower than the other. All we have to do in Louisiana is send in a letter of intent that states your schools name, amount of students and that you intend on schooling the mandatory 180 days. No evals, no testing required.

Lori

 

[pixiemagic30]

Cool, thank you. Umm, here's a question: we do test, we do Stanford. I have one kid that scores just fabulously(PHS) and 1 scores in the 50%tile range- are there guidlines that are required if they test below a certain score? This is something that I feel is personal and I do not need someone always looking over my shoulder b/c I have one that tests lower than the other. All we have to do in Louisiana is send in a letter of intent that states your schools name, amount of students and that you intend on schooling the mandatory 180 days. No evals, no testing required.

Lori

That's one question I don't know the answer to and we don't regularly test... This is what I have found about the FL laws and testing. I don't know if it will help or not.

“The school superintendent shall review and accept the results of the annual evaluation…. If the pupil does not demonstrate educational progress at a level commensurate with his ability, the superintendent shall notify the parent in writing....” The parent shall have one year to provide “remedial instruction” to the pupil. At the end of the “one year probationary period” the student shall be reevaluated to determine if he has progressed “commensurate with his ability.” Fla. Stat. Ann. § 1002.41(2).

 

[DawnM]

I am not in FL and am not currently making any plans to move, but this struck me as odd.

Ok, so what if I have (and I do) a special needs son who was never diagnosed and I don't want a diagnosis from the schools because I don't want them involved?

Do the school superintendents really get involved or is this just in writing in case someone wanted to step in?

Dawn

That's one question I don't know the answer to and we don't regularly test... This is what I have found about the FL laws and testing. I don't know if it will help or not.

“The school superintendent shall review and accept the results of the annual evaluation…. If the pupil does not demonstrate educational progress at a level commensurate with his ability, the superintendent shall notify the parent in writing....” The parent shall have one year to provide “remedial instruction” to the pupil. At the end of the “one year probationary period” the student shall be reevaluated to determine if he has progressed “commensurate with his ability.” Fla. Stat. Ann. § 1002.41(2).

 

[pixiemagic30]

I am not in FL and am not currently making any plans to move, but this struck me as odd.

Ok, so what if I have (and I do) a special needs son who was never diagnosed and I don't want a diagnosis from the schools because I don't want them involved?

Do the school superintendents really get involved or is this just in writing in case someone wanted to step in?

Dawn

When we homeschooled in Ohio, the laws were written about the same as this so this doesn't surprise me. I don't know anyone that has had the schools step in. But, I'm sure there has b/c I have read HSLDA recommending that if you're child's test scores are below xx% then, you should not submit those score in order to not raise any flags...

If you have a special needs child, I honestly don't know how that works. My daughter isn't special needs, but is a slower reader. We did test one year, but her scores were lower than we expected. So we took HSLDA's written advise and had a teacher evaluation completed. We were told that she was doing well...no worries.

I don't think that I really answered your question, but maybe there are other's here that have experience with this...

 

[lori1043]

That's one question I don't know the answer to and we don't regularly test... This is what I have found about the FL laws and testing. I don't know if it will help or not.

“The school superintendent shall review and accept the results of the annual evaluation…. If the pupil does not demonstrate educational progress at a level commensurate with his ability, the superintendent shall notify the parent in writing....” The parent shall have one year to provide “remedial instruction” to the pupil. At the end of the “one year probationary period” the student shall be reevaluated to determine if he has progressed “commensurate with his ability.” Fla. Stat. Ann. § 1002.41(2).

see .......I want to be treated as a private school, so maybe an umbrella program would be for us. She is not special needs, she just really is not interested and just wants to get it done- she also may not be a good test taker b/c she does fine at home when pushed a bit or I read it to her. I AM hoping for better test scores this year since we have bumped it up a bit. I do NOT want a letter like that if they think her 50% is not good enough-if that is what she gets. I am sorry, but I have one kid who is 12 who consistently gets PHS(post high school) across the board except in math, where she gets high school levels, so I KNOW it is personailty difference and not that one is getting more than the other. DD12 LOVES to read, DD10- not so much, and this is where the little one gets into trouble. She is my auditory learner and we listen to books and I read or have DD12 read to her what they can do together. We do all subjects together except math and language arts. BUT all this is NONE of the governments business.

I am not in FL and am not currently making any plans to move, but this struck me as odd.

Ok, so what if I have (and I do) a special needs son who was never diagnosed and I don't want a diagnosis from the schools because I don't want them involved?

Do the school superintendents really get involved or is this just in writing in case someone wanted to step in?

Dawn

I know Florida gives you the umbrella option too and from my research there are MANY- some more involved than others. I do think the umbrella schools are considered private, therefore have no govt input at all. The only problem I see with some that I read about was that there are requirements of certain subjects, but I have found one when looking in Palm Bay area(I have a friend who suggested that area) that required nothing and just asked you to send them days schooled. Another one asked for a sampling of work and days done either each semester or once a year. i would be interested in one like that.

I am involved in a co-op here, we do 1 field trip a month and I will be looking for horse back riding and gymnastics as thier PE- or a PE program.
Our co-op meets once a week for 10 weeks each semester.

But I especially have enjoyed having 2-3 families of like-aged kids get together once a week for science and history. The kids present something they have learned, use CC CD's for memory work, and we tie in some latin, art and music appreciation to our history(we use biblioplan). In science we use Apologia and tie in field trips and dissection/activity that Apologia recommends each week. There are 14 chapters in it and we just plug a long! I am hoping to fins this possibility where ever we live!

Thank you for all the info!!! I hope I didnt hijack a topic I missed out on.

If there is anything else that can help, i greatly appreciate it

Lori

 

[pixiemagic30]

Lori -- at 50% you should not receive a letter from the district. There are the umbrella schools and I believe you are correct, that the govt stays out. I agree that it's not any of the govt's business, that's why we do the teacher assessment which simply states that the student is working at their ability....

 

[gerberdaisy1234]

Just curious...does the teacher assessment have to come from a certified teacher in FL, can you do it if you are a degreed teacher, does the state have to recommend a teacher or can you find one on your own? Always curious about other states because you never know where life will take you.

 

[pixiemagic30]

Just curious...does the teacher assessment have to come from a certified teacher in FL, can you do it if you are a degreed teacher, does the state have to recommend a teacher or can you find one on your own? Always curious about other states because you never know where life will take you.

Yes, the teacher must be a certified teacher in Florida, however, you can find your own teacher!

 

[lori1043]

Lori -- at 50% you should not receive a letter from the district. There are the umbrella schools and I believe you are correct, that the govt stays out. I agree that it's not any of the govt's business, that's why we do the teacher assessment which simply states that the student is working at their ability....

gotcha- someone else was trying to explain to me this same point, NOW I got it. That is what they do, a teacher assessment. I guess coming form a state that requires nothing but a promise letter and possible going to a state that requires NOTHING(Texas), the whole Florida homeschooling law seems kinda scary and restrictive.

Do you belong to a homeschool organization that offers field trips/co-op, etc...???
Pixiemagic- thanks for the heads up on Davenport. I assume you feel very safe there. You can PM me if you like, or post, but without telling me your neighborhood/subdivision, can you name some safe ones? This is the link to my thread and anyone that can help, I would be soo grateful.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2349003

Just curious...does the teacher assessment have to come from a certified teacher in FL, can you do it if you are a degreed teacher, does the state have to recommend a teacher or can you find one on your own? Always curious about other states because you never know where life will take you.

I agree, you never know where you'll end up


Lori

PS- I'll let you know where I end up and know that my thread i started is for info, b/c I haven't mentioned the Houston/Orlando dilemma at all. Just wanting Orlando area info. IF we're gonna be there, I'd LIKE to be no more than 30 minutes from the Mouse.

 

[bentleygirl22]

We used to live in clermont fl. If we ever move back to orlando we will move back to clermont !! its very nice there...


I miss living there...

Anyone on here live in the Orlando or surrounding areas??

We are relocating- it was originally to Houston, and we got a phone call while househunting in Houston to see if we bought a house yet. We hadn't and my DH's boss offered him Florida!!! It is a probability, though. They seem to want us there and are willing to give the cost of living increase- but we'll see.

Anyway- I already know where we will live if it is Houston, but now researching Orlando areas.

Our home closes on 12/30 and we leased back for a month-thank goodness the buyers agreed withy all these changes. Our lives are in the air, we have no idea which state will be "home" next month!!!(see all the mixed emotions)- but it is alll in God's hands b/c I was going crazy last week trying to "pick the better place"- when there is really no answer for us. It's 50/50 right now.

Thanks- Lori

Oh, I am from Louisiana and grew up here. We homeschool- this is our 6th year. I ahve been on thie thread in the past, but it has been a while.

 

[bentleygirl22]

PS- I'll let you know where I end up and know that my thread i started is for info, b/c I haven't mentioned the Houston/Orlando dilemma at all. Just wanting Orlando area info. IF we're gonna be there, I'd LIKE to be no more than 30 minutes from the Mouse.

Clermont fl is within 15 mins from disney

 

[lori1043]

We are going to Florida!!! I will be looking into Clermont and Lakeland, which i know is further out but hubby seems to like the idea its halfway b/t Orlando and Tampa.

Thank you!

Lori

 

[-Hope-]

I actually came here to ask if any of you "unschool" or take the "relaxed home school" approach? Please chime in if you do or you have in the past!

.

Hello from another unschooler (a radical unschooler to boot ) I'm a former public school teacher who leaned into unschooling pretty quickly after pulling my kids out to homeschool. As a teacher I had already educated myself quite a bit about how children learn (on my own, this was NOT taught in a SINGLE college class I took in a nationally certified education program ). When I started reading unschooling literature it clicked with what I already knew about education in general and specifically with how my own kids thrived. It is a HUGE commitment to unschool and I have had to learn a lot of patience and flexibility.

For example; just the other night at about 8:30-9:00 pm I was deeply lost in the DISign boards (if any of you have ever wandered over there then I'm sure you know just how difficult it can be to tear yourself away!). DD9 and DS10 were watching Spongebob. Someone on the show mentioned the spleen. Ds has read a lot about human anatomy so he knew the term but dd did not. She came and asked me what a spleen is. I opened a new window and let her google it. The definition led us to look up diaphram and before we knew it we had a life size (traced around dd on butcher paper) model of the body complete with construction paper organs. In the past I would have just answered her question- "The spleen is an organ," and gone back to what I was doing. Now I asked her if she wanted to google it- if she'd said no I would have given her the short answer and that would have been the end of it. But she said yes and she kept asking more questions. I could have told her to wait but I knew from experience that her interest might wane if we waited so I let her lead the conversation to it's natural end which happened to be the large intestine at around 10:45.

I got back to the DISign boards the next morning.

btw, we are headed to the Unschooler's Winter Waterpark Gathering in Sandusky, OH in February. "World's largest" indoor waterpark and John Taylor Gatto as the keynote. Not exactly a trip to the World but we're looking forward to it.

 

[disneymom3]

I opened a new window and let her google it. The definition led us to look up diaphram and before we knew it we had a life size (traced around dd on butcher paper) model of the body complete with construction paper organs. :

I am assuming you mean a diagram. (giggle) Not trying to give you a hard time at all, that just struck me as quite funny. I love your description of unschooling. It is a big commitment! I do sort of that just in daily life which was a big change from when we didn't homeschool. I think it is a life style way of learning. SO much of what we learn as individuals does not come from books. However, I LOVE books too!!

 

[-Hope-]

I am assuming you mean a diagram. (giggle) Not trying to give you a hard time at all, that just struck me as quite funny. I love your description of unschooling. It is a big commitment! I do sort of that just in daily life which was a big change from when we didn't homeschool. I think it is a life style way of learning. SO much of what we learn as individuals does not come from books. However, I LOVE books too!!

Nope, I meant diaphragm (although I think I did leave out a letter, lol) as in the muscle that assists in breathing... but DH assumed I meant a completely different type when I relayed this story to him too.

And I books too! I couldn't imagine unschooling or just generally living without them!

 

[disneymom3]

Nope, I meant diaphragm (although I think I did leave out a letter, lol) as in the muscle that assists in breathing... but DH assumed I meant a completely different type when I relayed this story to him too.

And I books too! I couldn't imagine unschooling or just generally living without them!

OHHH! THAT kind of diaphragm. Guess this is what happens when we are on Christmas break. My mind just goes down all kinds of paths!