Homeschool Chat

[wondermomamy]

I have sold a couple of things on the Well-Trained Mind forums with success. I've also sold on amazon.

Good luck!

 

[anabelle]

Hi all! Where do you sell your old homeschool curriculum? I'm trying to find some alternatives to Ebay, because their fees are high and last time I used them the seller backed out after the auction closed.

Thank you!!

Check for Homeschool Fairs in your area. They often have used book sales that let you sell on consignment or for a nominal participation fee.

 

[gerberdaisy1234]

I just want to do the best for my kid and I'm not sure what that is. Any input will be appreciated.

HI, In response to a couple of your post...

If your daughter loves DISNEY...If you homeschool you can do the Disney Homeschool Days. We loved our class with the Disney Engineers..."Engineering Behind the Magic" in January.

We live in Baltimore County. In our neighborhood Jewish families are the majority (we are in the minority). We find most homeschool groups we are involved in are a variety of religious, culture, ethnic, economic, and racial backgrounds. I feel that the more we understand each other, the more we know who we are. That is the great thing about homeschooling children who might not be friends in conventional school, are best friends. Because it is okay to ask questions, to learn, to respect, to understand. If something inappropriate is said it can be addressed immediately in a kind way to enlighten.

There is such a variety of curriculum you can choose from. If organization is not your thing. You can do online or other computer based that keeps track of all scores, etc. Or a program like Calvert School where you send in all the test and papers to be graded, or grade yourself, or virtual classrooms.

Social activities...trust me it is enough. My children on a regular basis do basketball, karate, piano, choir, ice skating and alternate with other activities like drama, horseback riding, tennis, football, swimming, etc. Because you are getting to know the parents of the children in the classes, they develop real friendships as the families do other activities together. Field trips to theater, museums, hiking, etc.

If your daughter has a passion you can adjust her learning opportunities to include that passion.

While every day is not always a picnic...I am thankful for every day that we are blessed to be together. I am thankful for every time that I get the see the light bulb go on when they finally get something. I am thankful for every teachable moment when we ALL learned something new. I am blessed when I hear my children playing together (DD11 and DS7) and using their imaginations. (I taught for 10 years and it is amazing how many children don't know how to use their imaginations.) There are days when I think I am not doing a good job but then I tell someone like you about homeschool and it renews me.

Thank you for the letting me share my passion. I LOVE HOMEschool.

 

[gerberdaisy1234]

If you were writing a brief job description for a resume, for Homeschool Teacher, what would you write?

It would be easier to write a ten page job description.

 

[dwaddict]

We are considering taking our son out of public school to homeschool him. Our state has no guidlines to follow, so I am a little lost. School has gotten so bad that he is now pulling his hair out.
Any ideas, lesson plans you have used would be super helpful as we debate this decision. It will change all our lives, as I will have to give up my management job to start this adventure. You can email me @ s.lydia@rocketmail.com
Thanks for all your help!!
Lydia

 

[SCHBR'smom]

We are considering taking our son out of public school to homeschool him. Our state has no guidlines to follow, so I am a little lost. School has gotten so bad that he is now pulling his hair out.
Any ideas, lesson plans you have used would be super helpful as we debate this decision. It will change all our lives, as I will have to give up my management job to start this adventure. You can email me @ s.lydia@rocketmail.com
Thanks for all your help!!
Lydia

What state are you in?

 

[gerberdaisy1234]

What state are you in?

And what age and/or grade level is DS?

 

[dwaddict]

We are in Mississippi. He is 11 and in 5th grade.

 

[littlepeppers]

We are trying Time Tales for DS multiplication facts.

We are reading story #1 & 2 this week. 2x2=4 and 2x3=6

 

[Incredimom3]

Hi, I've homeschooled for 6 years now. My girls are in 5th, 7th and 9th grade. I suggest you start with a book on homeschooling. Our library had some books on homeschooling in its education section. Cathy Duffy has a book which I have loaned out (so I don't recall the exact title). It's something like - Cathy Duffy's Top 100 Choices for Homeschool Curriculum. I purchased it at a large book retailer in a mall, but I'm sure Amazon would have it. Anyway, she begins by helping you discover your child's learning style. Then, she rates various curriculum based upon learning styles. For example, if your child is unsuccessful with a typical textbook-driven math curriculum (such as those used in most schools), he may be better suited to something more hands on, such as, MathUSee, which is heavy in manipulatives. But Cathy's book gives you a starting point. If you just use the same stuff that he was using in school, you may end up frustrating yourself and him. Until you decide what to use, you might just work on math facts and have him read library books for social studies, english, etc... Also, I'd check to see if your state has a homeschool association. For example, Georgia has GHEA. On their home page they have links to home school support groups by zip code. As a new home schooler, it would help you to find others in your area who could give you ideas and information about how they go about homeschooling. Typically, our schooling includes Language Arts, Math, Social Studies and Science.

Good luck. It's the most challenging, but rewarding adventure I've ever been on.

 

[kangaand2roos]

HI, In response to a couple of your post...

If your daughter loves DISNEY...If you homeschool you can do the Disney Homeschool Days. We loved our class with the Disney Engineers..."Engineering Behind the Magic" in January.

We live in Baltimore County. In our neighborhood Jewish families are the majority (we are in the minority). We find most homeschool groups we are involved in are a variety of religious, culture, ethnic, economic, and racial backgrounds. I feel that the more we understand each other, the more we know who we are. That is the great thing about homeschooling children who might not be friends in conventional school, are best friends. Because it is okay to ask questions, to learn, to respect, to understand. If something inappropriate is said it can be addressed immediately in a kind way to enlighten.

There is such a variety of curriculum you can choose from. If organization is not your thing. You can do online or other computer based that keeps track of all scores, etc. Or a program like Calvert School where you send in all the test and papers to be graded, or grade yourself, or virtual classrooms.

Social activities...trust me it is enough. My children on a regular basis do basketball, karate, piano, choir, ice skating and alternate with other activities like drama, horseback riding, tennis, football, swimming, etc. Because you are getting to know the parents of the children in the classes, they develop real friendships as the families do other activities together. Field trips to theater, museums, hiking, etc.

If your daughter has a passion you can adjust her learning opportunities to include that passion.

While every day is not always a picnic...I am thankful for every day that we are blessed to be together. I am thankful for every time that I get the see the light bulb go on when they finally get something. I am thankful for every teachable moment when we ALL learned something new. I am blessed when I hear my children playing together (DD11 and DS7) and using their imaginations. (I taught for 10 years and it is amazing how many children don't know how to use their imaginations.) There are days when I think I am not doing a good job but then I tell someone like you about homeschool and it renews me.

Thank you for the letting me share my passion. I LOVE HOMEschool.

Where in Baltimore County are you? I owned a pet store in the Valley Center in Owings Mills for 8 years, from 1991-1999.

I know that in certain parts of the county you would be a minority if not Jewish. growing up here, it was total culture shock for me when I lived down there.

I hope I didn't come off as if I had anything against Christians or anyone else for that matter. I LOVE the idea of my kids being exposed to and learning about people of other religions, cultures, ethnicities, etc. That was not my concern, but rather that a homeschooling group of people who pulled their kids for religious reasons would focus on religious education and that is not our focus. Being a minority per se isn't a problem or issue as they will be a minority in or out of school.

Regardless, all of you have done a lot to alleviate my concerns. I'm still not sure I'd be up to the job, but I am going to explore my options. I am meeting with a friend tomorrow who just pulled her older kids from the district.

I had a brief chat with DD this morning to get her opinion on the whole matter. I just told her it was something I was considering for later in her education and what would she think of it. She thought it was an awesome idea, even when I told her it would likely be harder than school was now, but hopefully more interesting! So, the concerns are just mine and my DH's!

Oh, and Disney homeschool days sounds awesome!!

Thanks for the input!

 

[Denine]

I started a post about Williamsburg Homeschool days. If any of you want more information just PM me.

 

[danjoealexis3006]

I need some advice. I am homeschooling my DS11(has ADD) and it has been a challenging week! He cannot maintain focus at all on his work (more than usual). I keep having to redirect him and sit right next to him at all times!! He gets up to get a drink,bathroom, pencil, ect! He does not want to do his work and will argue with me. My patients are shot, I really try not to get on to him, but there is no reason it should take 5 1/2 hours to his work (the work is not above him) everyday. I am looking for suggestions!
I allow him to stand while doing his work, a break between subjects, pick the subject he wants to do and then check it off a list.
Anyone?

 

[mariezp]

danjoealexis3006, I can certainly sympathize with you as I have one of those wigglers myself. I wish I had some great advise but I don't. My DD-9 has not been diagnosed as ADD but I do wonder. I do know that I do not want to put her on medication so I have tried to adjust my expectations for now. I just try to keep our lessons short. The more I demand of her the more frustrated she and I both become so for now I have decided to back off a bit and let her go at a slower pace. I feel pretty sure in time she will focus better, things will click and we will make up for lost time then. One of the benefits of homeschooling is that you can take the time to find out what works in your situation without having to keep up with anyone else. Hang in there!

Can't wait to hear from some others who do have some sage advice.

 

[disneymom3]

My thought is along the lines of Marie. Are you sure that the work you are having him do is necessary? Keep in mind that a large part of the repetetive work in a traditional classroom is to make sure that all of the kids get it. If he is already getting the concepts then he may not be needed to do all the work.

For my little dude with sitting and focus issues, I do several things. First off, we do a LOT of our work with a physical component to it. Math facts, he does sitting on a balance ball, spelling he has to choose a way to move himself physically from one room to the other, I give him the word and he goes out to the other room, gets the letter tiles to make the word and brings them back to me.

What curriculum are you using for math? Both of my older two use Teaching Textbooks and it has made a huge difference with how their attention goes.

I just find, that esp my son learns so much better when I am not trying to work against his issues but around them. It doesn't look at all like school to most people but he is making progress.

 

[danjoealexis3006]

You all maybe onto something. I have started with REWARDS (for his dyslexia 2x a week), we tried Barton Reading and Spelling and I had the same reaction.After stopping he seemed to be more cooperative with me. Before adding REWARDS we were doing:
Teaching Textbooks (This is the only thing he doesn't give me a hard time with)
Winter Promise History ( I have to read all the books to him everyday)
All About Spelling-15 mins
Apoligia Science/Solar System 2x a week
Handwriting-I just have him practice 5 sentances a day in cursive.
Multiplication Facts (everyday-we play War using facts he has learned)
Easy Grammar 4 (1 page a day)
I have him do some creative writing 2x a week.
Reading-everyday he picks the book (right now we are reading Risby)-10 mins
Reading Detective-2x a week
Maybe it is the REWARDS-He needs the remediation, maybe I should back off.
This is my first year homeschooling so I guess I had this great expectation that he would automatically start to love to learn but NOTHING had peaked his intrest.
I don't know where to go from here...

 

[gerberdaisy1234]

I need some advice. I am homeschooling my DS11(has ADD) and it has been a challenging week! QUOTE]

Don't forget change in weather effects us all (or is it affect)

 

[Zoma]

Danjoalexis 3006.....

We have been homeschooling our DD14 since preschool. There have been tough times but, the rewards far outweigh any struggles we have encountered.

She is also an antsy child, has always had a hard time focusing and completing her work in a timely manner. Some things that have helped are taking frequent breaks and listening to music. Recess is very important, even at home. If she is struggling we take a walk, go for a quick trip to a store she enjoys, we have even headed to Starbucks She comes back to her work feeling refreshed and ready for more.

In the past year we finally figured out that having music on while she is doing math, grammar, vocabulary, etc....(not during reading time) makes her work not only faster but, she "gets" the concepts better Wish I had listened to that advice years ago!

Always remember that understanding exactly what your child's needs are will take time and a great deal of patience. Keep your eyes open for new methods and books(even when you feel like you've find the one!). Find yourself a support group, it will help you not feel alone and you'll see that we all struggle sometimes.

Lastly.....enjoy the process, even on the challenging days

 

[DreadpiratK]

I need some advice. I am homeschooling my DS11(has ADD) and it has been a challenging week! He cannot maintain focus at all on his work (more than usual). I keep having to redirect him and sit right next to him at all times!! He gets up to get a drink,bathroom, pencil, ect! He does not want to do his work and will argue with me. My patients are shot, I really try not to get on to him, but there is no reason it should take 5 1/2 hours to his work (the work is not above him) everyday. I am looking for suggestions!
I allow him to stand while doing his work, a break between subjects, pick the subject he wants to do and then check it off a list.
Anyone?

This may not be what you are looking for, but we have home schooled all of our children from K on, our oldest is now 19 and a Junior at RIT (4.0 average! (had to brag)) Anyway our 4th child dd5 is very hyper, so much worse than her older siblings we were almost in despair of homeschooling her, or even controlling her, until we discovered almost by accident that she is allergic to artificial colors. Now she's on a strict diet of non-colored foods, and she's a different person, still high energy, but she can focus for long periods of time and is sooo enthusiastic about school. The other day we ate out at Red Robin, and she sat there until her food was almost cold doing the word search on the place mat. The level of concentration was so cool to watch.

The funny thing is if at any point she does eat colors, like if she gets a snack in Sunday School of something, we all know immediately without having to ask, her behavior changes that radically in just a few minutes.

This may not be the problem but we've told our story to several families that tried it out, just eliminated artificial colors from their kids foods as a trial, and found that their ADD like symptoms disappeared, or greatly improved. I have a feeling that this may be far more common than many people think.

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

dreadpiratK...Just curious what foods (or just a few examples) or brands do you avoid? I have to watch the MSGs for me, or I get Migraines...some days I get one & know it's weather-related,other days I wonder if it's something I have eaten, but can't put my finger on it.