*** Homeschool List ***

[firsttimer2007]

I would love to join this board.

I have been HSing for 4 years. I just had my son tested so he could go to the virtual school. He is 9 1/2 in the 4th grade he scored 93% in math and 100 in language. They want to place him in 6th grade.

HS works--don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Now what do I do??? Keep him in HS or put him in virtual school? Since he is doing well in HS.

I would LOVE to save money and virtual school is free. But I do not want to fail my kids.

 

[sha_lyn]

I agree with you - I highly doubt he is actually a teacher, at all. You know, I visited that thread and the bullying thread and now I need to go take a shower to rinse off the hatefulness of both threads

ITA...he just reeks of the attitude in an article(letter to an editor?) that was going around a couple of yrs ago. The author went on about his years of experience working in the"blank" public school, how uneducated and unsocialized home-schoolers were etc. Turned out that this seasoned veteran of the public school system was a high school drop out that worked as a janitor in a school.

 

[teacups]

ITA...he just reeks of the attitude in an article(letter to an editor?) that was going around a couple of yrs ago. The author went on about his years of experience working in the"blank" public school, how uneducated and unsocialized home-schoolers were etc. Turned out that this seasoned veteran of the public school system was a high school drop out that worked as a janitor in a school.

I suspect it's a terrible insecurity either as an educator or parent. Either way, we make him feel Inadequate about his abilities or his devotion to kids in some way. Heck, all he'd have to do is ASK and we'd give him all the advice he'd need to get up to speed and feel better about himself and the young people in his life.

 

[MiniGirl]

I would love to join this board.

I have been HSing for 4 years. I just had my son tested so he could go to the virtual school. He is 9 1/2 in the 4th grade he scored 93% in math and 100 in language. They want to place him in 6th grade.

HS works--don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Now what do I do??? Keep him in HS or put him in virtual school? Since he is doing well in HS.

I would LOVE to save money and virtual school is free. But I do not want to fail my kids.

What great news. Congratulations to both of you.

Since I do not hs YET, take what I have to say with a grain of salt. I am planning to hs my oldest next year, so I've been looking at all the different options available to me. One of those was a virtual school, and I have decided against that route. The main reason was that it didn't seem to offer the flexibility I am looking for. We would still, pretty much, have to follow the public school schedule, and my children would still have to do all the standardized testing and such. Also, because they would be enrolled in a "cyber" school district, they would not be eligible for things like speech and later on athletics. Also, the day just seemed too long. Another thing is that our cyber public schools will not accept a student who isn't currently enrolled in the public school system.

Of course, things may be different where you are. I'm sure ya'll will do fine whichever route you take.

 

[Snow_White]

I feel slimey after reading some of the filth against homeschooling in the bully thread and on the budget board so I just wanted to step in here to take a cold shower My son is only 2 months old but my husband and I are seriously considering homeschooling him so I've been spying on your threads lately! So, HI

 

[Princess_Michelle]

........

 

[sha_lyn]

There are a couple of co-op in the area that sound similar to what you have described. However most are more "laid back" and offer various classes that one can pick and chose from . The classes offered are usually arts based, chess clubs, lego robotics etc.

 

[DawnM]

Oh, good. Did you see Pat's post with our pictures?

Dawn

Dawn..I just wanted to say, I'm enjoying that link a lot..Thanks

 

[DawnM]

I know. And I just read the OPer saying she was abused as a child. That makes me sad and I think I can understand more of her anger at the rest of the world. I wish she could find a way to deal with it though.

Dawn

I feel slimey after reading some of the filth against homeschooling in the bully thread and on the budget board so I just wanted to step in here to take a cold shower My son is only 2 months old but my husband and I are seriously considering homeschooling him so I've been spying on your threads lately! So, HI

 

[bonzarella]

Hi everyone I am new to HS, we had to pull our kids out about three weeks ago due to bullying. The school is a private Christian Education center. I was the secretary, sat on both the school board & scholarship committee, this situation has caused great distress for our home. I have just located this thread and feel confident I will find great advise.
I am following the state guidelines and using the workbooks from school. It has been rough, as both our boys are high achievers and very social. They crave the interaction with their peers.
Nice to meet you!

 

[DawnM]

Oh man, I am sorry to hear that. You will most likely very soon find other avenues of social times for your kids. But it was a private Christian school? That makes me sad.

How old are your kids???

Dawn

Hi everyone I am new to HS, we had to pull our kids out about three weeks ago due to bullying. The school is a private Christian Education center. I was the secretary, sat on both the school board & scholarship committee, this situation has caused great distress for our home. I have just located this thread and feel confident I will find great advise.
I am following the state guidelines and using the workbooks from school. It has been rough, as both our boys are high achievers and very social. They crave the interaction with their peers.
Nice to meet you!

 

[bonzarella]

Thanks Dawn Ours boys are 7 & 8, 1st and 2nd grade due to summer birthdays. They were both leaders in the school, academically & socially. We have been blessed The bullying has been going on for over 18 months and I had to file two police reports within seven days.
Yes, we went to a private Lutheran school.

 

[DawnM]

Oooooohhhhhh, LUTHERAN! Just kidding! I like to tease my Lutheran friends.

Still sorry to hear what happened. I think though, that as time goes on, you will love homeschooling.

Dawn

Thanks Dawn Ours boys are 7 & 8, 1st and 2nd grade due to summer birthdays. They were both leaders in the school, academically & socially. We have been blessed The bullying has been going on for over 18 months and I had to file two police reports within seven days.
Yes, we went to a private Lutheran school.

 

[mickeyjen]

Hi ladies.....I have a bunch of ideas running thorugh my head, just wanted to see if anyone has experiences with any of it

(1) I have been wanting to home-school for a few years now. My son will be 4 this summer. Public School was never an option for us. Our main reason is b/c of the NCLB junk, along with the amount of homework little kids are given and the amount of time it takes up, and just all the bureaucratic crap in general.

(2) I think our area is just an awesome place to homeschool. We have all the Smithsonian's, National Monuments, etc. of DC at our disposal; not to mention the many museums and such in Baltimore. We have Civil War sites and Historical areas galore here; Williamsburg, Jamestown and Gettysburg included. We also have a Chinese school (once a week) in the area, and seeing as how DH and I are both Chinese linguists, this is a biggie for us. I just feel like, why should DS be stuck in a classroom reading about stuff, when I can take him to experience all that and more. You Know??

(3) HOWEVER, I recently discovered this really AWESOME Classical Christian School near us that I just . When I read about it, I wanted to send DS there SO BAD. They have incredibly small classes, it's a Classical education, they start latin in third grade, have a "Black Tie Club" that attends Operas, Plays, the Symphony, etc. After the end of their Junior year, they take a two week trip to Greece and Italy. It's everything I want for DS and more......

...but, I was torn b/c I wanted to home-school, YET, even though I want DS to receive a Classical Education, I have no idea what that consists of...and that school is sooooo awesome. SO...

We decided that I would home-school until third grade, which is when DS would start Latin. I was pretty happy with that....but today......

I found out that there is a Classical Christian Home-School Cooperative, in the next town over!!

SO, I (we) are now thinking that we will use this Co-op for elementary school (all they offer) and then put him in the super-duper-awesome school!!

This Co-op is two days a week from 8:30 am to 1:00 pm. They bring in tutors that specialize in Classical Education to teach each learning level. They have to wear uniform style clothes, ie. polos with no logos...so it's kinda like school...but not really. You don't "get into trouble" for missing days due to vacation, etc. They organize field trips and do all kinds of stuff. Sounds like a great way to get him used to the structure of school, and still get all the benefits of home school....

Is this a typical Co-Op? Or Not????

I have looked around and REALLY like Sonlight Curriculum, and I think it would fit really well within the Classical Education methods. I also just ordered Hooked on Phonics b/c DS has been walking around spelling things out, CONSTANTLY, so I take it that he's ready to start learning how to read...

I think that we are going to go ahead and start with school b/c I just feel like he's ready, and I'm so excited, so I see no reason why we should wait, you know??

Anyways, I'm rambling b/c I'm excited and I have tons of ideas running through my head, sorry if I sound confusing.

Anyone, at all, have remotely similar ideas/experiences/advice????

I don't have any co-op advice but wanted to say that yes, your DS sounds ready to start reading and we LOVE hooked on phonics! If he already knows his letter sounds, etc. I recommend starting with the kindergarten workbook (yellow). My kids learned the sounds and everything from the Letter Factory videos and had great success with HOP. My 4 year old will finish the first of two second grade workbooks tomorrow and my six year old (kindy) is in the middle of their master reader program. GREAT program!!

Thanks Dawn Ours boys are 7 & 8, 1st and 2nd grade due to summer birthdays. They were both leaders in the school, academically & socially. We have been blessed The bullying has been going on for over 18 months and I had to file two police reports within seven days.
Yes, we went to a private Lutheran school.

I'm so sorry to hear that you've gone through all that. I hope things start to calm down for you now as you settle into your new routine!

 

[tnmomof4]

Hi everyone I am new to HS, we had to pull our kids out about three weeks ago due to bullying. The school is a private Christian Education center. I was the secretary, sat on both the school board & scholarship committee, this situation has caused great distress for our home. I have just located this thread and feel confident I will find great advise.
I am following the state guidelines and using the workbooks from school. It has been rough, as both our boys are high achievers and very social. They crave the interaction with their peers.
Nice to meet you!

Nice to have you here!! I am really sorry to hear about what happened to you and your kids. It sounds awful. I have to admit that I don't know much about bullying.

I think you will find lots of great advice here. This is my first year homeschooling, and I have learned a lot from the others here. They are all really helpful and very supportive.

I had to take my kids out of a private Christian school. Not for bullying, but for a lot of other reasons.

I am glad my boys have each other. They are each others best friends. They also play sports through the whole year.

 

[Princess_Michelle]

......

 

[lori1043]

Thanks for the replies and glad i could help a bit. i do not have time tonight to go get over the the bully thread, but AM curious and will have the courage!!

Anyway, it is late, my kids are at my MIL's and I have to work tomorrow. yuck.

Anyway-waving hello!!!!!Welcoming the newbies. This thread simply cannot be beat- HS'ers who love Disney!!! Nuthin's better!!

Lori

 

[AuroraBeauty]

Hi everyone I am new to HS, we had to pull our kids out about three weeks ago due to bullying.

Just when you thought you were alone.........

What's with all this bullying behavior? DD5 is now out of private school b/c of bullying. They're 4 and 5 years old! What is wrong? DD was threatened, not once but by two different little boys, that they would kill her. OMG!!! And the school tried to put it back on DD saying she was just too sensitive. I tried to be open and think, we'll they're probably just repeating what they saw on TV,etc. etc. But it doesn't stop.

Last straw was DD crying uncontrollably one day when I picked her up and the teacher telling me she's been crying for hours. She's pulling on her ear so being the non-doctor that I am I thought 'hmmmm, wonder if her ear hurts'. Come to find out, kids were throwing sand -- and had been for weeks -- and the teachers didn't stop it even though DD told them. And when she went back to play a group of boys started pelting her and covering her in sand. It was everywhere!

So, rush to pediatrician -- calling on the way to avoid the extra drop in fee -- and his exact comment was 'WOW, how'd you get an entire beach in that ear?. Seriously, DD had so much sand in her inner ear and ear canal that when they irrigated it you could pick it up and fill the palm of your hand. And DD had a scratched Eustacean (sp?) tube and had a hard time hearing. After 2 rounds of antibiotics, high fever, lots of pain, ear and hearing specialists and more crying than I could imagine DD never went back to that school. I couldn't do that to her.

I had always intended on HSing her but DMIL kept telling DD that she'll learn all kinds of stuff (reading, writing, blah, blah, blah) when she goes to school so DD begged to go to school. Big Mistake!!!

I could probably put up with the fact that they don't really learn anything and would have let her go the entire year b/c we were afterschooling, but not with the bullying and the don't care attitude. Can't tell you how many times I heard the phrase 'boys will be boys'. Well, let me just say,when they stand before a judge that's not really the best defense! No wonder there is so much family violence and spousal abuse -- some kids learn early on that it's ok.

Anyway, enough of my rant. I'm so glad DD is home with me. She has accomplished more in just a few months of relaxed de-schooling than in the 5+ months of private school. And I was paying for that? Grrrrr!

From this thread I've learned so much. But the most important thing is that I'm not alone in homeschooling. There are so many great parents out there who willingly share what works and doesn't work with their kids so that those of us with younger kids can learn how to be great homeschooling parents too.

Let's all just keep homeschooling and not give too much attention to all the negativity. There is just too much fun to have instead!

Thank you for listening and for helping me to know that I did make the best decision.

 

[mommyof2princesses]

Welcome to all our new posters! We have loved homeschooling this year and I am glad dh thought we should try it. He was weary at first and now is so proud of his girls.

He wants to do something for them to kind of reward them for their first year of homeschooling. Any ideas? Nothing too expensive as we are already going to disney in dec and a mountain trip in may!

 

[teacups]

He wants to do something for them to kind of reward them for their first year of homeschooling. Any ideas? Nothing too expensive as we are already going to disney in dec and a mountain trip in may!

We started HSing last week. We had planned a DL trip (13 days to go!) so we simply started calling it a "Kick off to HS trip!" The kids are loving it!