*** Homeschool List ***

[disneymom3]

Yeah Tara!!!

You are sooo going to love the freedom homeschooling offers you!


I have a funny story to share with all of you. We are having a garage sale at my house this week for our homeschooling group of 5 families. We have 18 kids between us all and we live across the street from a park which we can clearly see from my driveway so the kids have been over there playing quite a bit. (As an aside, these kids NEVER fight, or argue with each other to the point that they need a mom's interference. It is an awesome group. They may disagree, but they always work it out.) Anyway, my 6 yo was over there and he met a little boy who is also 6. I was watching him and the 10 yos were over there too. Then the littler one got hurt so I ran over to help him and stayed and chatted with the mom of this little boy. She says after a bit, "So, your son says you homeschool?" Yes we do. She asks how long I tell her I have a DD going into 5th grade and we have homeschooled since she was in first. She does the usual, "oh you must be so disciplined" to which I have perfected my answer of "Well, some days, more so than others" Then she says, "I guess a lot of people are doing that nowadays. I always wonder though what you would do about socialization." Oh brother This woman has just been telling me what a NICE SWEET OUTGOING little boy I have!!! Yeah, he is being so damaged by homeschooling. We never come out of the house you know! MY response was "Well, they are socialized in different ways. DDs best friends range in age from 12 to 6. She thought that was weird at first until I pointed out that I am 35 and my best friends are 41 and 27. People don't have to just be friends with people their own age. And as you can see, C. doesn't have any trouble meeting new people." "Yeah, that is for sure," she says, "He is really a nice boy."

It just cracked me up that first she expressed what a nice little boy he was and THEN she is wondering about socialization. Hello??? Children who are not "socialized" don't make friends with everyone they meet! Silly silly silly!

 

[SaintsdoDisney]

Hello everyone! This last year was my first year of homeschooling - loved it! My oldest ds will be 10 on Sunday. First we had him in a small Christian school, then 1 year in public, finally to bring him home. I can not imagine NOT homeschooling now. My youngest ds is 3 and I plan on homeschooling from pre-k on with him. I am happy I stumbled accross this thread as homeschooling and Disney are my passions!!

Wee all, it's official for us. As of 12:00 today(the time DD9 gets out of school) she will be a fifth grade home-schooled student. Of course we won't be doing any school for awhile, but it just feels good to be done with her school. It's a little sad b/c she's been with veryone there since 1st grade, but I think she wants to stay in her girl scout troop so she can still see them every other week. I'm so happy. Her dance recital is this weekend too and then it's time to relax for awhile. I made a pledge that I was not going to take off my pajamas for the entire month of July, then I remembered there's a Raven concert at Six Flags so there goes that. Oh well, I will be getting some rest even if I can't stay in my pajamas.

Hello, congratulations on becoming an official homeschool family! My ds is entering 5th grade, too.
Um, I wanted to ask, is that a Raven concert - as in Raven from the Disney Channel??? If it is we might have to drive up there for that!!

Erica

 

[mello]

Welcome to a whole new lifestyle! It sounds like you're ready to enjoy it.

Our ds' will be 5th grade and 7th grade next year. One of them does boy scouts and one plays hockey, and we find that that is just the right amount of "socialization" for them.

Have a lovely, relaxing summer!

 

[THESCHULTZFIVE]

Thanks ladies, Julie that's a funny story. I guess I should start to get my "why we homeschool" script ready, huh?

Erica, Yes it's Raven from That's so Raven. The concert is July 9th at Six Flags Great Adventure. We were supposed to go to 2 of her concerts last year, one in Virginia, one here in Jersey and we didn't make either b/c of rain. We are hoping for good weather this year. If you decide to go , let me know. Maybe we can meet up for a quick hello. We spend our whole late spring/summer/early fall at Great Adventure. Dh and I are Coaster Enthusiasts and DD9 is becoming one at her own pace. You know I think I could probably get away with wearing my pajamas there. After seeing some of the outfits girls/women wear there it probably wouldn't get a second look.

 

[disnutt]

Tara-Congratulations on reaching your great milestone. I have 1 more week until my DDs are out of school and I can say they're going to be homeschooled.

I have 1 more month until I get to quit my job. My 10 yo is only disappointed that we won't make it to the Raven concert here in September because we're moving. You'll have to post a review!

Dizneydiva2005,nuzmom and Disneymom3-thanks for the information. I have ordered the PA guide and have bookmarked the links.

 

[RockyMtnMaria]

Hi everyone! I have NOT read all 66 pages, but wanted to introduce myself to you all.

I am the mother of 3 boys and a girl, ages 10-3. We are beginning our sixth year of homeschooling, all of them with Sonlight. We also use Math-U-See.

I am active on the SL forums, and my user name over there relates to the Sound of Music. I am sure you can find me. And anyone who has been around for a while will recognise my user name here.

 

[Ellester]

Hi everyone! In light of the unfortunate homeschooling thread that is now thankfully locked, I wanted to post this link.

http://www.raisingsmallsouls.com/wp-content/themes/179/aschool.html

It appeared on my homeschooling loop and I thought it was very touching. I can not vouch for the tips you can sign up for at the end, I didn't give them my e-mail.

RockyMtnMaria: We are finishing up our first year with Sonlight, I do visit their forums from time to time. I also planning on starting MUS this summer with my 8yo dd. I'm thinking of starting with Alpha since the blocks will be new to her and fly through it. Any suggestions?

 

[jaycns]

WOO HOO!! My Rainbow Resources catalog just arrived in the mail! WOO HOO!! Thanks to all of you for keeping this thread so positive!

I will soon be posting pirate lesson plans. I have been researching that topic in my never ending quest to come up with educational lessons/lists/etc that go along with visiting WDW...our most FAVORITE place on earth!!

 

[jaycns]

I said I would work on a Walt Disney unit study...and although it took longer than I thought (but I had more fun than I thought in gathering it all together too) I am finally done!! It turned out to be more of a list of suggested activities...but hey, it's not like anyone is grading me, right?

Books:

1. From the Childhood of Famous Americans series, Walt Disney: Young Movie Maker by Marie Hammontree. The card catalog describes the book as "A biography concentrating on the boyhood of the cartoonist and film maker who created Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck." AGES 9-12 are the reccomended ages. However, both my 6 yr. old ds and 5 yr. old ds love hearing it read aloud to them. My 9 yr. old ds loved reading it to himself.

2. Discovering Walt by Jean-Pierre Isbouts. The suggested reading level for this book is grade 4-8. My 9 yr. old ds enjoyed this book. My younger two ds's didn't have near as much interest. Although many photographs/pictures are included it is more biography than a story and thus not as riveting for the younger ages. THIS IS A GREAT BOOK!!

3. The Story of Walt Disney: Maker of Magical Worlds by Bernice Selden. Another biography about Walt Disney...this one has the suggested reading level of grades 4-7. We have yet to read this book but my eldest ds will be starting soon.

4. The Man behind the Magic : The Story of Walt Disney This book is rec. for grades 5 and up.

5. From the "I Like Biographies" collection: Read about Walt Disney by Stephen Feinstein. This book is suggested for grades 4-8.

6. From the "Community Builders" series: Walt Disney: Creator of Magicial Worlds by Charnan Simon. Suggested for grades 4-8.

7. Walt Disney: His Life in Pictures by Russell Schroeder. Suggested for grades 4-6.

Although all of those books are suggested for my 9 yr. old ds's age group I have found that reading them to my younger ds's works well.

A great site on the internet is: http://disney.go.com/disneyatoz/familymuseum/collection/childrensguide.html

Those are all of the biography books.

Ideas for study/discussion/writing projects:
-animation (tons of good how to draw character books out there...also lots of good history of animation books)
-imagination
-business (how Walt worked his way from the poor house into the "Castle")
-following your dreams
-create your own cartoon character
-write out movie story boards and then act out your characters adventures
-food for thought: What do you think Disney would like most about WDW today? What do you think he would like least? What would he be most proud of?
-design your own theme park layout
-design your own theme park ride (build a model)
-Why do you admire Walt Disney?
-make a Sculpey clay model of your very own cartoon character

Okay, not so much on the organization front...but that's my jumbled folder of ideas/finds.

Of course this all ties in with "Walt Disney: One Man's Dream" at MGM and also would work well with The Magic of Disney Animation.

Enjoy all of your Disney days!!

Just wanted to repost this so it didn't get "lost" in the thread. Hope it helps someone else out a tiny bit!

 

[disneymom3]

Ellester--that made me cry AND laugh. I am going to be forwarding it to my homeschool co-op. Thanks for sharing it.

jaycns--I have some pirate stuff. I will see what I can find and list it for you.

 

[jaycns]

Ellester...


That was neat! Thanks for sharing!

 

[2 princes 1 princess]

Ellester- That site is awesome!! Thank you so much for sharing it. We havent fully decided to homeschool yet but we had so many problems with first grade that we can see why parents choose to do it. Our son is special and just doesn't learn and think the way most of his classmates did this year and he suffered so much because of his individuality. My husband and I loved reading the Animal School story! Thanks again!

 

[jaycns]

So far the very best pirate resoure (at a children's level) that I have found is this REALLY neat complete activity guide from the Pirate Soul Museum in Key West.

I am so excited about the site that we will be making time to explore their museum on on Key West day on our Disney cruise!!

Here is the link:
http://www.piratesoul.com/downloads/Pirate_Soul_Educators_Guide.pdf

It really is worth a look!!

And after finding it...I think I am happy as a clam!

Also, if you are in FL or will be in Key West on vacation...call them in advance...you can do the "school trip" tour as a homeschool family and still do the "treasure hunt" part of it (really a scavenger hunt for facts through the musuem) with your home school!

Two really good books I found are:
How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long. It's a good picture book that makes all of my boys giggle and say ARRGGHHHH!

What's Inside? A Pirate Ship It's published by Back Pack Books and illustrated by Brian Lee. It's an interesting book full of cut away pages. It's written for an elementary school crowd (or should I say drawn).

Treasure Island would be a great book to listen to on tape or assign to an older child to read or to do as a read aloud for the entire family. This is one of my 9 year olds top books of all times. Also...this is DISNEY...so follow it up by watching Treasure Planet and then doing an adaptation of the story your own way!! That was fun for us!!


DisneyMom3, I would love more info!! Thanks!!

I think the next topic I get into may be Aladdin (can you tell I am obsessing over Adventureland now??). How fun...genies, deserts, camels, Ali Baba, hmmm...I could even tie this in with Morroco and hit two areas at once...WOO HOO!! Can you tell I am getting a little into this teach your kids using Disney? This sure is making for one fun and educational summer for us though!! We are loving it!!

 

[Brier Rose]

jaycns-

WOW..what an awesome Pirate site! I can't wait to print out all the pages and get started!

I really wish we could go down to Key West too, I'm jealous!

I guess we'll have to settle for our Pirates weekend at WDW. We're going down on July 6th, so that we can be there for the ride and movie opening.
I really hope they'll be doing some extra special stuff too, but if not I think we might have fun anyway!

I want to put together some treat bags or something with a pirate theme for the kids. (well, not exactly kids..mine are 7, and 14, and my "little" brother is 16)

Anybody have any ideas?

So far all I have are....treasure chest boxes to put the stuff in, cellophane bags with skulls and crossbones printed on them, that I filled with the new Dead Man's Chest M&M's, and I'm printing copies of our itinerary on treasure maps.

I had seen Pirates of the Caribbean fruit snacks at one time, but haven't seen those again. Maybe gummy sharks?

Anyway, if you have any ideas, please send them my way!

TIA

 

[disneycamelbackids]

This is my first year homeschooling DS12.

 

[disneymom3]

brier rose--have you looked at Oriental trading? I haven't but I bet they have some stuff. Pirate themes are pretty big in birthdays right now too so maybe your local party store would have some fun stuff. I think for sure the kids all need eye patches!

jaycns--that look inside book is on the good deals shelves at our Barnes and Nobles right now. I almost bought it the other day! It is really cool and was around $7 as I recall. DH and I really want to get to Key West someday. When we do, we will check out that museum for sure!

 

[Ellester]

I'm glad you guys liked the "Animal School" link. I thought it was neat.

I'm sure Pirates stuff is about to hit the stores like crazy. I'm beginning to see Capt. Jack's face everywhere! My kids are more the age for Capt. Feathersword though! My dd2 is watching him "quack, quack, quack, cockle doodle do" right now!

 

[OceanAnnie]

Hi Everyone,

I have a quick question for those that are members of a co-op. Does your co-op have an age cut off (same as school) for their K classes? I was looking into a co-op and was surprised that's how they do it! I thought they'd go by readiness/ability --- something quantifiable. Portfolio or something.

TIA!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Ours sets age ranges for classes. Not enough kids to say only one grade. They also have secondary qualifications.

So if your child doesn't meet the recommended age cutoff--if they could handle the work, then an exception could be made.

We don't have enough kids in the same grade to warrant a strict grade cut off policy--and kids may have different "school years"--some go year round, some just start at different times of the year.

 

[emh1129]

Hi everyone!
I think DH and I have finally decided that we are going to be homeschooling our children. Our oldest is 4 years old and has one more year of preschool that we will let him finish out (we LOVE his teacher and it's a very caring, fun environment for him) but after preschool we will start our HS adventure! So even though I have another year, I'm going to try to learn all that I can and start to prepare now.

We have our 4 year old ds and a 19 month old dd and we are ttc#3, so I think I will have my hands full, but I know I can learn a lot from you all!