Homeschool Chat

[Nicolepa]

Question:
Does anyone know of a good website with worksheets or games for counting money. This is one area we are working on and I can't seem to find anything that isn't too far advanced. We are having to start at practically scratch. Thanks!

No websites for you but when we were learning $$ I bought a money kit. Then when he was doing the problems he could use the money as manipulatives. You could also use it to play store. This item cost $3.15, can you count out $3.15. Or If I give you $5 what is my change?

The kit I got is Melissa & Doug and it has a really nice wood case. I think it was like $20, but it has tons of bills and coins even .50 pieces which a lot of them didn't have.

 

[littlepeppers]

We mailed our 2010-2011 HS application renewal today.

Year 1 of HS almost down. WE DID IT!!!!!

We are on break until tomorrow & are heading to TN Monday. We should still finish at the end of May.

YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!! We survived w/ everyone in one piece.

 

[adisneymama]

We mailed our 2010-2011 HS application renewal today.

Year 1 of HS almost down. WE DID IT!!!!!

We are on break until tomorrow & are heading to TN Monday. We should still finish at the end of May.

YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!! We survived w/ everyone in one piece.

Congrats!

 

[Denine]

I know what you mean! My boys finished last week..dd this week, she was sick last week so she's gotta finish up now. But, I have been going through cabinets/drawers...taking out all winter clothes, throwing away old papers and junk that just accumulates through out the year... What a chore that has been!!! In the course of that, I have stirred up a lot of dust (did closets too)...now I have a sinus infection! Feel like crud! I didn't sleep hardly at all last night!! So..it's gonna take me a few more days to get this house like I want it!!
I hope to order some stuff by the end of the week, or next week for sure. A few things I am still riding the fence on!! But isn't it nice to be done with school!!!! Have a blast on your vacation!!! Can't wait to hear all about it!!! Are you going to do a Trip Report?

Sorry to hear you aren't feeling well. Get better soon! I haven't done a trip report in a very long time. I just can't wait for today to be done so I can start fresh tomorrow. I am actually looking foward to cleaning went we get back. How sad is that?

 

[Denine]

We mailed our 2010-2011 HS application renewal today.

Year 1 of HS almost down. WE DID IT!!!!!

We are on break until tomorrow & are heading to TN Monday. We should still finish at the end of May.

YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!! We survived w/ everyone in one piece.

Congratulations!

 

[Denine]

Now if only today would go faster!

DD has a math lesson and final test and it is taking forever!

Then she has 1 final review lesson for Calvert and the final test.

Then we are finished with 2nd grade and 3rd grade math!

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Little Peppers...yay for you!!!!! Glad you made it--now that the first year is over, you are officially a hs vet!!!!
Denine~ I know...I look forward to cleaning/organizing too!! Well...I am feeling a bit better today...started my meds yesterday...this stuff just always hangs on forever....I have coughed soooo much my stomach/sides are hurting...feels like I have been lifting weights. Well...maybe it'll tighten up some stomach muscles!!
Hope ya'll all have great trips and a wonderful start to your summer!!! I am gonna start working on planning my park days for our next trip...then i get to start ordering school stuff~!!!

 

[littlepeppers]

Now if only today would go faster!

DD has a math lesson and final test and it is taking forever!

Then she has 1 final review lesson for Calvert and the final test.

Then we are finished with 2nd grade and 3rd grade math!

We are fudging the last 3 2nd gd Calvert lessons into one. Our 180days is up & they are just reviews anyway.

Yeahhhhhhh for you all!!!!!!!!

 

[Denine]

We are fudging the last 3 2nd gd Calvert lessons into one. Our 180days is up & they are just reviews anyway.

Yeahhhhhhh for you all!!!!!!!!

That is what we did. I combined lessons.

 

[gerberdaisy1234]

Question:
Does anyone know of a good website with worksheets or games for counting money. This is one area we are working on and I can't seem to find anything that isn't too far advanced. We are having to start at practically scratch. Thanks!

Our favorite was always the real thing. Took daddy's change can, counted, stacked and rolled. It becomes a chant- "25, 50, 75, a dollar" lol

Trading coins for others- How many ways can you trade for a quarter?

Pennies, dimes, and dollars come in handy when doing three digit addition.

Nothing motivates my kids like a pile of money!

They really liked the lesson when I went to the bank and got a stack of ones, some fives and tens, a few twenties, and a hundred.

I do have some old computer games that have money skills. If you are interested, pm me and I will drop in the mail.

 

[adisneymama]

Just sent you a PM! Thanks!

 

[Ike&Jakesmom]

I have been thinking about homeschooling, I have two boys aged 8 and 4. I feel very frustrated with the school system, their main goal is good standardized test scores, not if the kids actually LEARN the material. I have read a couple of books from the library and have done some searching on the internet. I am having a difficult time with curriculums, the price of curriculums, how to plan a school year and how to even begin! I am a Rn and I work three 12 hr shifts a week, my in-laws (SUPER PEOPLE!!) are my sitters. I know they would not mind to help the days they have the boys, but I do not want them to have to be their teachers. I also have a super, wonderful husband who is great in helping our oldest with homework, but he's not so sure about our abilities to homeschool. He feels that the boys will want to play instead of do their work and it will be WWIII in our house ! I just want to do what is best for my kids, we don't get to have a lot of family time together now that DS8 is in school all day , then homework, dinner, baths and bedtime. So much involved, so much thinking and deciding to do. Sorry this is so long, just don't know anyone that homeschools. THANKS!

 

[wvdislover]

Sorry to hear that things are so frustrating at school for you. It is dumb that schools only teach to the standardized tests now. Your boys are at a great age to start homeschooling! Not sure what the laws are in KY, but here in WV, it's not difficult at all. The first thing I would probably do, if you haven't already, is try to google a homeschool organization in your area. They would be able to guide you in getting started. As for curriculum, I'm sure you're discovering there are a million things to choose from. Maybe to start, you should go with a "box curriculum" that has all the subjects, esp. since you don't know any other homeschoolers to glean info from. Popular ones are A Beka, Sonlight, Horizons, BJU, etc. Unfortunately, you just missed the Midwest Homeschool Conference, held in Cincinnatti. However, the NC Homeschool conference will be held Memorial Day wknd. Those are great places to be able to look at different curricula and talk to people about them. To find out about the NC Conference, you can go to nche.com and click on conference. Maybe there's one closer to you, though? I know it's overwhelming trying to figure this all out at first. I know it was for me when I started a couple of years ago. Good luck on your decisions! BTW, it should make your family time more flexible!

 

[Denine]

I would look into boxed curriculums to start, there are plenty out there; Calvert, Abeka, Sonlight and others.
We have used Calvert for 4 years. It is a strong, secular, education. They do NOT teach to the test and I wouldn't do it anyway. But, that being said, I evaluate DD with the California Achievement Test so I can send the scores to the school board. She received a 98th percentile last year and a 97th percentile this year. I thought the tests were very easy considering what she learned.
We are going to be switching to Sonlight for 3rd grade because I feel we both need a change. It is more customizable than Calvert. The only thing I can customize with Calvert is Math and I use Horizons for that.
I am also an RN, but I only work a couple times a month.

Good luck with you decision!

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

I have been thinking about homeschooling, I have two boys aged 8 and 4. I feel very frustrated with the school system, their main goal is good standardized test scores, not if the kids actually LEARN the material. I have read a couple of books from the library and have done some searching on the internet. I am having a difficult time with curriculums, the price of curriculums, how to plan a school year and how to even begin! I am a Rn and I work three 12 hr shifts a week, my in-laws (SUPER PEOPLE!!) are my sitters. I know they would not mind to help the days they have the boys, but I do not want them to have to be their teachers. I also have a super, wonderful husband who is great in helping our oldest with homework, but he's not so sure about our abilities to homeschool. He feels that the boys will want to play instead of do their work and it will be WWIII in our house ! I just want to do what is best for my kids, we don't get to have a lot of family time together now that DS8 is in school all day , then homework, dinner, baths and bedtime. So much involved, so much thinking and deciding to do. Sorry this is so long, just don't know anyone that homeschools. THANKS!

Well, doing some starting research is a great place to start! I didn't really know anything about it either when I started..my kids were going into 3rd and K that year...so to get a feel and figure out what was going on I started with A Beka. It's a great program, especially at that level, but after elementary they realllllly pile it on! By then, you will know if you love it or hate it, and will know more about what you like. I use Christianbookdistributers.com to order almost all of my curriculum....only thing that I can't get on there is Rod & Staff...they are also a complete curriculum. I have used them over the last few years for English/Math/Bible...I love their stuff! They are not as repetitious as ABeka, but very solid. Go to the websites and check them out,all have sample pages you can view.
I too wasn't happy with our school system for many reasons..the main one being the testing issue, same as you! It's just ridiculous...but I have been hsing for 6 years now, and have 3 kids...wouldn't change a minute of it--except that my oldest would have been hsed all the way! It's a great family bonding time!
One more thing that I am a firm believer in is family reading. Read a lot to your kids and let them get friendly with your local library! And read good classic literature to them...at this age they will still love the classic Pooh stories, Beatrix Potter, anything like that. Don't be afraid of reading books that might seem for older kids:Robin Hood, Peter Pan...any of the classics. They retain more than you think and it's a great way to learn correct grammar, sentence structure and increase their vocabulary. Even if they can't read...they can listen!! Best wishes and go for it!

 

[Denine]

Speaking of reading, I just read Peter Rabbit to DD, 7. She was in a funk cause her excema was hurting. They have Golden Treasury of Children's Classics. DD has Peter Pan, Robin Hood, Treasure Island, The Secret Garden and I forget what else. She LOVEs to read those books.

I am looking foward to using Sonlight because I will be reading out loud to her as well as reading assignments for DD.

I told DD that when we get back from vacation, we will have time to go to the library. She was quite excited!

We leave for WDW in the morning!

 

[sillyjodes]

I'm trying to get a curriculum figured out for the first time too. There are so many options. Although the boxed studies are tempting, the price tag is scaring me away. I would suggest that you check out as many homeschooling books as your local library and library loan program have available. I think I've read 6 and am just starting to get an idea of how I want this to proceed. You should be able to find your states curriculum/learning goals, grouped by grade level, on the internet. That will give you an idea of what you "should" cover, and you can adjust to you/your kids preference. My dd is going to be in first grade next year and I have a rough outline for what I want to cover and then asked her if there was anything she wanted to learn about. She surprised me with a few ideas: pirates, penguins (why are they birds, but don't fly?), and weather.
Hope that helps!
Jodie

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Speaking of reading, I just read Peter Rabbit to DD, 7. She was in a funk cause her excema was hurting. They have Golden Treasury of Children's Classics. DD has Peter Pan, Robin Hood, Treasure Island, The Secret Garden and I forget what else. She LOVEs to read those books.

I am looking foward to using Sonlight because I will be reading out loud to her as well as reading assignments for DD.

I told DD that when we get back from vacation, we will have time to go to the library. She was quite excited!

We leave for WDW in the morning![/QUOTE]

Have a wonderful trip!!! Say hi to Minnie & Mary Poppins for me!!! don't you love reading to your kids from those good books! We look forward to our reading time every day.

 

[AprilRenee]

I was homeschooled from pre-K thru High School (and I turned out quite normal, thank you very much :-D). We used Sonlight for 5th thru 12th and I LOVED it! I am a reader anyway so it was great for me! (it is a LOT of reading if you child isn't a fast reader or doesn't enjoy reading) I learned so much just from reading the novels and classic literature they assigned.
On the cost issue, Sonlight was great because I was able to get a LOT of the books from our local library. My mom only had to buy the ones we couldn't get. Which...if you live in a smaller town or even just a suburb, join both your library and the closest city library district. A lot of times our (very large suburb) library wouldn't have the book but the city library had several copies.

 

[nono]

but he's not so sure about our abilities to homeschool. He feels that the boys will want to play instead of do their work and it will be WWIII in our house ! I just want to do what is best for my kids, we don't get to have a lot of family time together now that DS8 is in school all day , then homework, dinner, baths and bedtime. So much involved, so much thinking and deciding to do. Sorry this is so long, just don't know anyone that homeschools. THANKS!

Reasonable concerns from your husband, but really, as the parents, you can set the tone. I am a classically leaning homeschooler, so that puts me at the more "rigorous" end of the spectrum. But that doesn't mean that we can't/don't have fun while learning. At our home, there's no demerits for being funny or having fun. In fact, when I notice us getting bogged down, it's because we're not joking while learning. I'll lighten up the mood, and before you know it, we're done all our seatwork ahead of schedule.

My husband travels frequently for work. Homeschooling really fits our lifestyle. I schedule lighter workloads when my dh is home, and heavier ones when he's away. But even a heavy week doesn't take as many hours as traditional public school does. So, you may get some of your family time back! (And, your kids will have plenty of time to play. )

Good luck with your decision.