Homeschool Chat

[Pooki]

Elle - thanks so much for your response! I was considering using Sonlight for some subjects, as I heard it is a good one to teach with multiple children, so thank you for the reassurance. And thanks for the info about the boards, too, been poking around to see what all I can find. We are stationed in Atsugi, so we are a bit far from Oki I'll PM you my info anyways, any help is wonderful since I'm brand new! Again, I really appreciate your input.

 

[graygables]

Hi all I just wanted to know how you handle teaching the same subject for multiple children?

One of the things we did for awhile was lapbooking (www.handsofachild.com). It was very easy for each child to add her own spin to the book, plus they really enjoyed it a lot.

 

[bigDISdaddy]

I have a friend who has recently started home schooling. We live in PA., and he asked me for help locating an evaluator, and recommending an evauation test for 3rd grade. I have no idea where to begin to look to help them.

Any suggestions from PA home schoolers would be great.
Thanks.

 

[KristyBDJ]

Help Me! I have been tossing the idea of homeshooling around for a while now and like the idea more and more every day. I have 4 kids(see my sig) and I feel that the education they do and will receive in public school isn't quite what I want for them if you know what I mean. Anyway...I have the legal end figured out as far as I can tell but I really need help figuring out the rest. I have absolutely no idea where to start with curriculum especially. I really need advice, it's all so overwhelming! I know everyone will have their favorites of course but a jumping off point would be helpful. Oh, and I'm not looking for anything that's really faith-based (if that exists)although I'm not totally opposed either. Religion and faith aren't my reasons for homeschooling so that isn't really important to me I guess. Also, if anyone lives near Appleton it would be great to have someone local to get advice from. TIA guys!

 

[Pooki]

I've pretty much decided that I will homeschool! Tonight I'm going to a gathering of sorts, and a woman will be there who homeschools her two girls, so I will talk to her tonight about it. Apparently HSing overseas for military families is fairly easy as there is no state or host nation regulations, but to make sure I'm not missing some sort of huge loop, I want to talk to this HSing mom. I am somewhat sad to take my children out of school because it really is a great school, but I'm afraid that DS6, who I'm very convinced has ADHD, will end up falling behind. He's smart, but because he loses focus so easily, and he has some issues with writing (he is a lefty and its hard for him), and I think a one-on-one approach would suit him best. DD8 is brilliant, and I'm nervous to take her out because of that, but I think I can also nurture that in ways she needs rather than staying on course with the rest of her class.

I've been reading nonstop regarding curriculums and classes, and I think I've decided to piece together the ones I like best rather than a package deal. I'm heavily leaning towards:

Learning Language Arts Through Literature: I like that you can work your own choices of literature
Great Science Adventures: We can pick and choose what area of science we are interested in, this series is geared towards many age groups, seems to involve creativity, and I'd like to supplement it with science activity books since my kids LOVE science
Saxon or Math-U-See: Haven't really decided
Mystery of History: Probably leaning towards this, as it does history chronologically, I can teach this to both of my kids at the same time, and apparently is very interesting for the kiddos
Rosetta Stone for language

I'm probably going to buy the Spongebob typing game for DD, she almost finished learning typing in school, but I'm sure she would love the extra practice (especially if its Spongebob) and DS can use it when he's a wee bit older. I haven't looked into any health/wellness type books yet, and I'm not concerned with PE as they are HEAVILY involved in activities, but I'm considering doing a "run club" similar to what the school does.

 

[Pooki]

Help Me! I have been tossing the idea of homeshooling around for a while now and like the idea more and more every day. I have 4 kids(see my sig) and I feel that the education they do and will receive in public school isn't quite what I want for them if you know what I mean. Anyway...I have the legal end figured out as far as I can tell but I really need help figuring out the rest. I have absolutely no idea where to start with curriculum especially. I really need advice, it's all so overwhelming! I know everyone will have their favorites of course but a jumping off point would be helpful. Oh, and I'm not looking for anything that's really faith-based (if that exists)although I'm not totally opposed either. Religion and faith aren't my reasons for homeschooling so that isn't really important to me I guess. Also, if anyone lives near Appleton it would be great to have someone local to get advice from. TIA guys!

Kristy, I've been doing a lot of research regarding HSing lately also, and I admit there is so much to learn!!

I would suggest borrowing a copy of 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum by Cathy Duffy. This book seems to be the ultimate field guide regarding the different curriculum out there, as well as why she likes it compared to others.

To be honest, I did not actually read this book, but as I learned about a different curriculum that intrigued me, I used the book as a reference and see what was said about it. I actually have been reading this forum for days on end, taking notes about almost everything I could (pros and cons, unique ideas, as well as recommended curriculum), and as a specific program or series was mentioned, I googled it, read reviews, priced it, and looked in the Duffy book. They have "packaged" sets you can use, such as Sonlight or A Beka, which has all of the courses you would want (or only pick and choose what you need), but I personally decided to pick and choose what I thought would appeal to my kids (you can read my post directly above regarding what I'm leaning towards if you are interested. Only Mystery of History leans towards Christian views that I'm aware, but that is ok with me).

Since I have still yet to start HSing, I am certainly no authority on any of this, but I just thought I'd share what I have been doing lately since we seem to be on similar boats at the moment It is a lot of work, but its also so rewarding being able to have a hand in your child's education and cater to their learning styles and interests! I can't wait!

 

[graygables]

I have absolutely no idea where to start with curriculum especially. I really need advice, it's all so overwhelming! I know everyone will have their favorites of course but a jumping off point would be helpful. Oh, and I'm not looking for anything that's really faith-based (if that exists)although I'm not totally opposed either. Religion and faith aren't my reasons for homeschooling so that isn't really important to me I guess. Also, if anyone lives near Appleton it would be great to have someone local to get advice from. TIA guys!

We have been using Oak Meadow for everything but math and I really like it. It is literature-based and not at all faith-biased. My Opinion: We are Christians and I feel that there is a place for that education for my children, but it's not in their grammar or science books.

For math, we just started using Teaching Textbooks. We were using Math U See, but without much success. Teaching Textbooks seems to be a much better program for my fidgety DDs.

 

[monkey30]

I am not a HSing mom, but envy those who are! Just wanted to pop in and say way to go! U have way more patience then I do.

I would like to because of the public system here is not the best (I miss the city!) and being a small community we have no where else to even send them. There is no private ones around here.
I will be catching up on the posts here over the next little while as I have time, who knows maybe I will do it, you never know!

 

[Denine]

When I read posts about attendence policies, it makes me so glad we don't have to deal with that!

We are going to Williamsburg on the 27th for a week for HS days there and in Yorktown and Jamestown. It should be a lot of fun and educational.

Second grade hasn't been too bad, but I really hate composition! Today DD had to take notes so she can write a biography over the next few days.

We will once again be doing the California Achievement Test next month so I can turn in the scores to the school for next year.

 

[StuckInKS]

Help Me! I have been tossing the idea of homeshooling around for a while now and like the idea more and more every day. I have 4 kids(see my sig) and I feel that the education they do and will receive in public school isn't quite what I want for them if you know what I mean. Anyway...I have the legal end figured out as far as I can tell but I really need help figuring out the rest. I have absolutely no idea where to start with curriculum especially. I really need advice, it's all so overwhelming! I know everyone will have their favorites of course but a jumping off point would be helpful. Oh, and I'm not looking for anything that's really faith-based (if that exists)although I'm not totally opposed either. Religion and faith aren't my reasons for homeschooling so that isn't really important to me I guess. Also, if anyone lives near Appleton it would be great to have someone local to get advice from. TIA guys!

Kristy,

I started HSing my DD last year for K. I didn't have a clue about what to get, so I had her do a bunch of BrainQuest books, etc. I found a program called K12 that seemed to be good (had all the subject, electives, etc) but cost about $5,000 per kid/yr for everything. BUT many public school systems throughout the country use their stuff for HSers and it is FREE since it is through the public school system. so, instead of paying $5,000 a kid, we get all of our books and misc learning materials (blocks, beads, scale, paint, clay, map, blow up globes, counters, individual books for Lang Arts, etc) free. It is the best thing we could have hoped for.

My DD is enrolled in the public school system, without going to public school (which means permanent records and transcripts when she needs them,) we have an 'education specialist' that lives close and calls bi-weekly to go over how DD is doing, any questions we have, etc., and she can move through the courses at her own pace. They do test for reading/math when you enroll and place her in a reading/math level based on those tests. My daughters tests placed her in K math at the beginning of the year, but by Oct we already had the 1st grade books and materials. We are now halfway through 1st grade math. We can also continue working through the summer, which we will likely do.

I looked for WI and there is a public school option in your state. It does not matter what district the school is in, as long as you are a resident of that state, you can attend. I would go to K12(dot)com and check it out. It works perfectly for us and I have had to spend $0 on her education this year. They literally give you everything you will need, except the pencils. For example, if you have a K or 1st grader, you will get the Phonics Works program, which comes with two binders full of letter/sound tiles, teachers book, student pages, three white boards, markers and eraser, sight words flash cards and step-readers. They sent us paint, clay and oil pastels for art, scales for science, globes, maps and history-related story books (like The Egyptian Cinderella) for history and a TON of manipulatives for math. We also received 10-15 individual books each for K and 1st Lang Arts, so we don't even have to hunt them own n the library. They also do the Handwriting without Tears, which I have seen other HSers on DIS mention.

Our district also gives each child a laptop computer to use while they are in the program. I don't know if your school would do this or not. It should be mentioned that ALL K12 students use the same materials, no matter if they are going through a public school or paying the full K12 tuition themselves. Your DD won't be using the same books that are used in your state's public schools. Although the books are made by major text book publishers, they are specifically for HSers (as an example, my DDs math book mentions 'your child' in several places, even though it looks like a book they would use in school.)

 

[KristyBDJ]

Kristy,

I started HSing my DD last year for K. I didn't have a clue about what to get, so I had her do a bunch of BrainQuest books, etc. I found a program called K12 that seemed to be good (had all the subject, electives, etc) but cost about $5,000 per kid/yr for everything. BUT many public school systems throughout the country use their stuff for HSers and it is FREE since it is through the public school system. so, instead of paying $5,000 a kid, we get all of our books and misc learning materials (blocks, beads, scale, paint, clay, map, blow up globes, counters, individual books for Lang Arts, etc) free. It is the best thing we could have hoped for.

My DD is enrolled in the public school system, without going to public school (which means permanent records and transcripts when she needs them,) we have an 'education specialist' that lives close and calls bi-weekly to go over how DD is doing, any questions we have, etc., and she can move through the courses at her own pace. They do test for reading/math when you enroll and place her in a reading/math level based on those tests. My daughters tests placed her in K math at the beginning of the year, but by Oct we already had the 1st grade books and materials. We are now halfway through 1st grade math. We can also continue working through the summer, which we will likely do.

I looked for WI and there is a public school option in your state. It does not matter what district the school is in, as long as you are a resident of that state, you can attend. I would go to K12(dot)com and check it out. It works perfectly for us and I have had to spend $0 on her education this year. They literally give you everything you will need, except the pencils. For example, if you have a K or 1st grader, you will get the Phonics Works program, which comes with two binders full of letter/sound tiles, teachers book, student pages, three white boards, markers and eraser, sight words flash cards and step-readers. They sent us paint, clay and oil pastels for art, scales for science, globes, maps and history-related story books (like The Egyptian Cinderella) for history and a TON of manipulatives for math. We also received 10-15 individual books each for K and 1st Lang Arts, so we don't even have to hunt them own n the library. They also do the Handwriting without Tears, which I have seen other HSers on DIS mention.

Our district also gives each child a laptop computer to use while they are in the program. I don't know if your school would do this or not. It should be mentioned that ALL K12 students use the same materials, no matter if they are going through a public school or paying the full K12 tuition themselves. Your DD won't be using the same books that are used in your state's public schools. Although the books are made by major text book publishers, they are specifically for HSers (as an example, my DDs math book mentions 'your child' in several places, even though it looks like a book they would use in school.)

I've looked into this kind of option as well through Connections Academy. I was concerned about flexibility though. One of the reasons I want to HS is to tech my kids how, when and what they want and works for them. Is the program flexible in that way or do you just follow along and nothing else? Also, WI does not require your children to take any sort of standardized tests of any kind when you do true HS'ing and I like that. With options like you are using testing and progress checks are required right? I would have to enroll my oldest in Connections by Feb 19 I think since that's the deadline for open enrollment in WI. Need to make my decisions FAST! Thanks for your help by the way!

 

[summerrluvv]

I haven't read the entire thread so I apologize if this has already been discussed, but does anyone homeschool their child(ren) with special needs? If so, how does that work with their therapies such as speech and OT? Do you take your DC to the school to receive those?

 

[StuckInKS]

I've looked into this kind of option as well through Connections Academy. I was concerned about flexibility though. One of the reasons I want to HS is to tech my kids how, when and what they want and works for them. Is the program flexible in that way or do you just follow along and nothing else? Also, WI does not require your children to take any sort of standardized tests of any kind when you do true HS'ing and I like that. With options like you are using testing and progress checks are required right? I would have to enroll my oldest in Connections by Feb 19 I think since that's the deadline for open enrollment in WI. Need to make my decisions FAST! Thanks for your help by the way!

As far as flexibility, we are in charge of every aspect of my DDs school days, such as where she starts, when she does her lessons, etc. We get the books and the 'school' isn't really involved at all. You can do your day like a reg school day and work 5 days a week for 9 months or not. We only work 2-3 hours a day and will do it year round, so that she doesn't fall behind her grade level. We also skip some chapters if she already knows the material or put aside chapters that she is having difficulty with, to come back to later in the 'year'. When we finish with a course level, we can get the next one, so she can move as fast as she wants. Although I am sure all Education Specialists are different (and your school may not assign them,) ours likes to talk once every two weeks to see if I have any questions and to administer any state-required testing. For example, my daughter must take the Diebls test 3 times a year, but the public and private schools in our area require it; it is not a K12 thing. Beyond that, she doesn't do anything else or interfere in any way. I have informed them that we are quitting history, science and art for now to focus on reading and math and will pick it back up over the summer. Both she and the school are fine with that, as that is what works for us. They don't keep track of where we are or what we have or have not done. What we do is mark off each lesson, unit or chapter as we complete it in the online learning center and once a course is 80% to 90% complete, we are automatically sent books for the next level.

As far as testing, K12 offers printable tests that parents can give their children and then use the results to determine which materials to buy. You can see all the tests and get the info on how to 'grade' them here https://eprcontent.k12.com/placement/placement/placement_langarts_2.html for Phonics/Lamg Arts/English and here https://eprcontent.k12.com/placement/placement/placement_math_2.html for math. We had to complete these for our school, so they could tell K12 which books to send us. They took us about 10 minutes each to complete. If I were buying my own stuff through K12, I could give these tests to my child myself so that I would know which books she needed; but since the school orders them, they needed to know what to order. For the other subjects, they will just send you material for whichever grade-level you are applying for.

All that said, your school could run differently then ours. K12 just provides the material and online learning center, everything else is up to the school. Your school may not be as lenient, or more so. For us, it works great as I really wanted to get K12 material for her, but didn't have the $5,000 for full enrollment (material for all subjects + online learning center for all subjects). This way we get it without out-of-pocket cost AND we still have full control over when, how and where my DD learns.

But remember, with this option your DD will be enrolled in the public school system. What ever testing is required, she will likely have to do, but it could be done from home. My DDs Diebls tests are done over the PC using Elluminate. I don't mind the testing and I like the fact that she will get a real diploma and have transcripts from a real school district when she needs them. If you don't want all of that, you could always purchase the material from K12 yourself (courses and even individual books, workbooks and 'add on' material are available a la carte) if you like the materials they offer. Full enrollment with 4-6 core courses + electives + access to the online learning center for all of those courses is pricey.

You could always enroll your DD and see what you think and simply remove her from the school if it is not for you.

 

[sl_underwood]

I homeschool my son who has special needs. He does not go to the schools for anything. He goes to private therapists for PT, OT, and Speech. His PT and OT are about 70 miles away and only twice a month. They primarily teach me what to do with him so I can work on it every day. His speech is nearby and twice a week. She also helps teach me so I can work with him daily. I was told that the PS have to provide it but as they werent doing much when he was in school I really dont trust them to do much now that he isnt. A great OT resource is the out of sync child has fun. And a great speech book is It takes two to talk- cant remember the authors names on these but both books are great resources. PM me if you have any other questions. I would be more than willing to share all that I have learned.

 

[Diskids Mom]

Please, please forgive me if I'm doing this wrong. I need all the help I can get, as this is my VERY FIRST POST on the Disboards! I haunted them for awhile a few years back when people were asking for a section for homeschoolers somewhere, anywhere on here. I guess now we have one! Hooray!! (should there be a dancing banana here? I'll put one just in case. )

I'm a homeschool mom from Texas. We're in our seventh year of homeschooling. We're eclectic, theme-based, etc. We use KONOS and Story of the World and lately we've begun doing themes centered around Walt Disney World. This is what inspired me to come back to the boards, hoping to network with other Disney-addicted homeschool families. Has anyone else done Disney based unit studies on here? (I read quite a bit of the thread, but not all!)

 

[bumbershoot]

Welcome, Diskids Mom!

I don't have answers for you, but since I was about to post right after your Very First Post, I wanted to say hi.


********

About K12 through the system...I went to an ice cream social held in my area, and the lady who ran it was so so useless. Her shining moment was when she said that I would be, and I quote, "like a TA" to my son.

Yeahhhh, that's NOT what I'm yearning to be, by homeschooling.

She gave no verbal info, clutched a bunch of folders in her hand and gave them to no one...I had to ask for one and she looked surprised about my interest. I guess she thought I was just there for the ice cream? Considering I had none (hate hate hate Cold Stone Creamery) and DH and DS shared one tiny scoop of chocolate (the only CSC ice cream you can have if you can't have corn syrup products), I don't think she was being very observant.

It was really sad, because I was very interested. It seems like a nice, non-religious curriculum, though of course you can't even crack open a book until you sign up or buy it. But she gave me nothing. And a very specific email asking specific questions came back replied with....check the website. Dude...how do you think I got your email address to write those specific questions?

Anyway, it was very disappointing.

 

[nono]

I am not a HSing mom, but envy those who are! Just wanted to pop in and say way to go! U have way more patience then I do.

Re: more patience, I doubt it!

I find this one of the most pervasive labels assigned to me as a hs Mom. I'm not particularly patient at all. And my kids know it. So, when I say it's time to start school, they start. When I say, "FOCUS and stop falling off your chair," they do.

Now, what you may be thinking is how to keep your kids "in control" past that. But, I find I don't need to do so. The materials available today are very engaging and interesting, so my kids are drawn into learning. All I have to do is gauge when they are getting overwhelmed or bored. If so, we take a break from the material for a few days and substitute other schoolwork. Or we pick up the pace and keep with the same material. Things you can't do in a classroom full of children.

So, I promise, lots of patience isn't required. Trust me.

 

[livie1205]

Hi huys! I just started my son in Florida Virtual School full time...he loves it.He was not doing well in reg school...he has some med problems and he kept falling behind and just not keeping up.He now does all his work in about 3 hours and is ahead on his assignments! I was very leary of taking him out of school but it seems we get more attention from the teachers this way and it is easy for me to know what he is doing.When he was in school (middle school) I could not ever find out what he was doing or what he wasnt doing.Its good to see they have a whole thread for this!

 

[graygables]

I've looked into this kind of option as well through Connections Academy. I was concerned about flexibility though. One of the reasons I want to HS is to tech my kids how, when and what they want and works for them. Is the program flexible in that way or do you just follow along and nothing else?

We did K12 in a virtual school setting (public school), so here's my EXPERIENCE/OPINION, your mileage may vary. It was a public school. At home. There are attendance requirements and progress requirements and teacher phone calls and face to face requirements, etc. Understandably, some of this will vary by state, but please do remember it is a PUBLIC school and you are your child's "facilitator", they have a teacher. While this works fabulously for some people, it did not work for our family. For starters, I travelled. a LOT. and I took the kids with me. They have been to every state east of the Mississippi except for (ironically) Mississippi. They have seen more of this country and its heritage through travel than most kids get in their whole lives. K12 had a problem with that. I was well within our times/days, but I was always getting calls or emails about attendance. Thanks, but no thanks. My now 13-yo has selective mutism and asperger's. She's not a chatty kid. Her teacher would get upset because she would call and DD refused to talk to her. IEP or no IEP, it became an issue.

The curriculum, while excellent, is rigorous. Code of Hammurabi in the 2nd grade. Yeah, it took me until my sophomore year in college and I was an history major! Some children revel in the challenge, mine were frustrated by it. In hindsight, I'm not sure it was the actual curriculum as much as it was the overwhelming amount of "stuff" they HAD to do (art and music were actual lessons in addition to what I already had them doing). I don't believe that all children, and most certainly not mine, are the most brilliant, darling, little geniuses, so I prefer they learn on their terms and how they learn best as opposed to more of the same programming from a traditional public school.

Children are naturally inquisitive and are wired to learn as long as grown ups don't burn it out of them. We unschooled for some time, using lapbooks and online resources frequently until this year when we've moved into Oak Meadow as DDs both seemed more stable and prepared for a curriculum again. In the meantime, 11yo can give Ace of Cakes a run for his money,can make a mean alfredo, and has already bookmarked a few culinary schools. She is also working on ways to help combat violence against seal pups and knows all about the various seal species, habitats, etc. These are not things that K12 or any rigid curriculum could have taught her.

 

[KristyBDJ]

Thanks for the advice on the K12 option everyone. I have looked into it as well as other similar options. I don't think its what I want. I agree that it's probably great for lots of families but to me it would be just like sending them to school but without the drive there. I want to teach them how, what and when I want so I'll go with "traditional" HS. I still would love more tips on curriculum though. Thanks for the ones you guys have given me so far! I really am excited to get started. I want to start right now! We're going to let them finish the school year though and have summer off as usual.