*** Homeschool List ***

[OceanAnnie]

Has anyone used the, "Sing, spell, write, read" program? I've heard a lot of good things about it. I'm considering purchasing it.

I have a lot of materials though and I'm somewhat concerned that I'll be re-purchasing things I already have. Ugh. Decisions. Decisions.

 

[sha_lyn]

from http://www.bellaonline.com/ArticlesP/art17626.asp

Didn't even realize until I scrolled down to the bottom of the page that I know the author.

The HSLDA represents about 5% of the total homeschooling population, yet they state that they represent all homeschoolers. In truth the HSLDA is very picky about who they accept as members and who they will support. To obtain membership in the HSLDA your annual membership check isn’t enough. The HSLDA requires that parents state their level of education, their employment schedule and work location, their teaching schedule and the percentage of teaching the parent actually does. The HSLDA wants to know if your children are ever outside between the hours of 8:30am & 3pm without your supervision (and if the answer is yes they want to know exactly where your children are and what they are up to!) They ask about prior problems with school systems or court actions against you regarding homeschooling. The HSLDA will not become involved in custody and divorce cases, which is the primary legal issue when it comes to homeschooled children. When you send off your application you are agreeing to “[using] a clearly organized program of education to instruct our child” and “exercise diligence in teaching our children in a responsible way”. There are several reasons why a family may be denied membership in the HSLDA, including if your child is in an independent study program or attends a public or charter school for extra-curricular activities.

It is also my understanding that they will not represent you if you are not leading what they deem a Xtian lifestyle (they will not represent single parents, divorced parents, same sex couples etc).

They also spend a lot of money lobbying against equal rights for gays and women.

 

[disneymom3]

They will only help you if you are Christain, follow their HS "style" (basically traditional school at home during school hrs on school days) and your problem is something they deam would benifit the civil rights of other homeschoolers.

I am not sure about that. I have a friend who got assistance from HSLDA when she had not been a member previously. She does not run a "school at home" kind of a program at all. And if she is Christian it is not in the way of an all out Christian approach to hsing. I have met a few other people at various homeschooling conventions who have used their services as well and I really didn't get that impression from them either.

Not my personal experience, I'm just sayin'.....

 

[sha_lyn]

There is also some question as to if their service (beyond their lobbying) is legal in most states. I couldn't find the link last night. I will try to find it.

 

[sha_lyn]

http://www.homeschoolingislegal.info/

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=391367&highlight=HSLDA

 

[Denine]

I just wanted to report in that we have been doing Calvert pre-k since Monday and DD loves it!

She even calls me teacher when we are "in" school.

A lot of it has been review, so we have doubled up on a few lessons.

 

[THESCHULTZFIVE]

I just wanted to report in that we have been doing Calvert pre-k since Monday and DD loves it!

She even calls me teacher when we are "in" school.

A lot of it has been review, so we have doubled up on a few lessons.

we are doing calvert kindergarten and it's the same way. I don't want to double up b/c my DD10 is also doing calvert(5th grade) and I wanted to try to keep them on the same day. I just usually print out some worksheets from online and have her do those in addition to her calvert work. But she does really like it.

 

[DisneyBrat]

Hello everyone! Just wanted to get my name on the homeschool list. We are homeschooling this year Anyone use Alpha Omega Switched on School House? I have a 10th and 12th grader using this curriculum. Great idea to start this Tread

 

[mommyof3grlz]

My dd ages 13, 11, and 9 all use SOS for some subjects. We love it.

 

[disneyfanfamily]

I am not a homeschooler. I do not know if I have the patience to do it. Besides, my DH would not let me. He wants them to experience school - away from home...BUT...I want to say GOOD FOR YOU!!!! My sister homeschools her 3 boys and I have several friends homeschool their kids. I think it is great. I do not know if you all get "slack" from non homeschoolers, but ignore them. What you all are doing is wonderful. Keep it up!

 

[Lora]

I am not a homeschooler. I do not know if I have the patience to do it. Besides, my DH would not let me. He wants them to experience school - away from home...BUT...I want to say GOOD FOR YOU!!!! My sister homeschools her 3 boys and I have several friends homeschool their kids. I think it is great. I do not know if you all get "slack" from non homeschoolers, but ignore them. What you all are doing is wonderful. Keep it up!

That was very nice of you to take the time to post a word of encouragement from "the other side" . I very rarely get any negative reactions from people who find out we homeschool, but I know that many hsers do. If anyone gave me "slack", they'd get an earful.

I'LL BE IN WDW IN LESS THAN 2 WEEKS!!!!!!
(Sorry, just had to shout that out.)

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

from http://www.bellaonline.com/ArticlesP/art17626.asp

Didn't even realize until I scrolled down to the bottom of the page that I know the author.



It is also my understanding that they will not represent you if you are not leading what they deem a Xtian lifestyle (they will not represent single parents, divorced parents, same sex couples etc).

They also spend a lot of money lobbying against equal rights for gays and women.

It's been a while since I've seen the application--but I do not recall it going to that level of detail at all.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

There is also some question as to if their service (beyond their lobbying) is legal in most states. I couldn't find the link last night. I will try to find it.

They do not have lawyers licensed for the state of Florida--so for legal aid they are useless to us. I do like their website as a resource though. We have refrained from joining though when that was pointed out to us.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I am not a homeschooler. I do not know if I have the patience to do it. Besides, my DH would not let me. He wants them to experience school - away from home...BUT...I want to say GOOD FOR YOU!!!! My sister homeschools her 3 boys and I have several friends homeschool their kids. I think it is great. I do not know if you all get "slack" from non homeschoolers, but ignore them. What you all are doing is wonderful. Keep it up!

Two parents in DD's dance class are teachers. I was amazed and grateful when one who is a first grade teacher offered me some tips and a couple of extra supplies she had.

For the most part I do not get "slack" for it.

I do get irritated though when people I know begin as genuinely curious and ask questions--then they keep on going and it is like machine gun fire. It gets exhausting and I now keep myself from those scenarios. I don't drill them for their family choices in the same manner. They don't mean to debate--but the style of questioning doesn't match their intentions and it seems like they are trying to debate.


We begin week 4 on Monday and DD enjoys it. I am proud to say that despite a 2 week delay due to morning sickness and some very questionable icky-feeling days for me. She has completed all of her necessary course work. Some optional items have been delayed though. They require some outside fetching of resources from the library and craft store.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

They will only help you if you are Christain, follow their HS "style" (basically traditional school at home during school hrs on school days) and your problem is something they deam would benifit the civil rights of other homeschoolers.

These are the requirements from their website. While they ask if you school during traditional hours--I'm sure those families for legitimate cause to not teach at that time could explain and be okay. Different states have different rules for compulsory attendance documentation and knowing when you homeschool could be relevant to that.

Membership qualifications



Families who have had legal contact may be accepted into membership, depending on the circumstances. This is a determination that only the legal department can make upon review of an application. Such determination is made on a case-by-case basis. Threatened legal contact that has not yet taken place will not, in the majority of cases, hinder the acceptance of an application. However, in such cases, applications should be forwarded following our “priority” procedure before the threat becomes a reality.


HSLDA does not provide legal representation for domestic matters (divorce, child custody, etc.). In divorce situations, we can accept the applying family with the clear stipulation that representation will not be provided for domestic matters.


We require no specific level of education for membership, though some states do for certain levels of teaching.


Must be homeschooling or children not of compulsory school age. (If you desire to support homeschool freedom but do not fall into either of these two categories, learn how to join as a “Friend of Homeschooling” at http://www.homeschoolfoundation.org/funds/friends.asp.)


Generally, parents must provide 50% of the teaching.


Young children are provided adequate adult supervision whenever parents are out of the home.


Generally, the applicant must be the parent or court-appointed legal guardian of the children being homeschooled.

the agreements:

Membership Agreement


WE AGREE:



To exercise diligence in teaching our children in a responsible way.


To use a clearly organized program of education to instruct our children.


To keep records of each child’s educational progress.


To notify the Association promptly of any threatened or actual legal paper received by us related to our homeschool.


That all the information presented on this form, to the best of our knowledge, is true and accurate.

PLEASE NOTE:


Payment must be submitted with the application. No refund is available once membership is approved.


Membership fees are not tax deductible. HSLDA is not an insurance company.


Membership begins once your application is reviewed, approved, and entered into our membership database.


The approval process for applications usually takes two to four weeks (longer in the summer and fall) once we have received your application.


You will receive a membership packet after your application is approved. Membership is valid for 12 months from the date your application is approved.


Of your annual membership fee, $15.00 is the Home School Court Report subscription cost.


HSLDA reserves the right not to approve any membership application and the right to revoke membership if any information has been misrepresented. If your application cannot be approved, we will return your payment and send you a letter of explanation.


Any children enrolled in a public homeschool program, such as a charter school or independent study program, are not eligible for membership.


HSLDA does not provide legal representation for members in matters involving divorce, child custody, or related domestic affairs, except in third-party custody cases.


Because of HSLDA’s active involvement in preserving traditional marriage, persons involved in same-sex marriage, civil unions, or polygamy are not eligible for membership.


If you stop homeschooling all children, your membership automatically terminates.

So depending on state legal requirements--those unschooling in the truest sense of the term would be ineligible.

Nothing says that those who are divorced or single (what if the other parent died just as an example) or those who are not Christian could not apply.

In fact religion isn't even mentioned on the application.

 

[vhoffman]

i'm gearing up to start homeschooling ds in 2 weeks. He's currently enrolled in public school, and, to make a long story short, its just not working out, nor do I think it will. I've tried working with his school for years and it just seems to go nowhere.

I'm waiting until the first report card period is completed. I figure that's a good transition point, and I have some data to go on. Also, there's a logical breaking point if and when I decide to re-enroll him (cross that bridge when we come to it).

My problems with ps are many and I can't go into them all here. However, one of my pet peeves with ps is that is so "framgented". It seems the children spend so little time on the core subjects, like math, language arts, etc., before being whisked off to gym, music, art, recess, lunch, not to mention all the field trips, assemblies, parties, etc. Please, I'm not knocking all of the above, indeed, I can see it as part of a well-rounded package. It just seems like the time could be sliced up better. I fully intend to include gymnastics (hes' currently enrolled in gym 2x week now), and private music lessons (want to start piano). It just seems that ps is all about checking things off a list rather than actually teaching..............

Another peeve of mine is the "rewards" system ps seems to be so in love with. Do so much of an assignment, complete a worksheet, whatever, they get so many points, then can use the points to get some sort of prize (usually a cheap plastic trinket), or some privilege, such as read a book, whatever. They're teaching the kids its all about rewards, not about learning. I definitely will NOT give ds a reward for every little thing, he needs to learn how to learn, not chase after a trinket. It seems that ps has turned into one big party. They then send home work that, in my opinion, should have been done in school, like math facts, read a chapter, write a paragraph, seems whatever they didn't cover in school that day I get to teach him at night. Well, I have the time and willingness to do so, but if I'm doing the majority of the "core" teaching anyways what am I sending him to school for?

Besides, he's seriously behind in basic skills, such as reading, writing, math, and I fear that gap will continue to widen unless I step in and get him a firm foundation in the basics. Well, just a rant here............I'm getting some excellent suggetions here and am starting to pull together materials, develop a cirriculum, etc.

 

[disneyfanfamily]

I know I should not really be on this thread, seeing that I do not homeschool, but I agree with some of the things that have been said. My DS, 6th grade, has been doing 2-3 hours of homework every day. If I homeschooled him, he wouldn't have this 9 hour school day. (8:00 - 2:30 is school, then add homework.) My DS 4th grade begs my to homeschool because he hates it so much. He has lots of friends and likes lunch, gym, recess, etc., but hates everything else about it. It truly makes me sad watching him cry every Sunday night (which is routine for him after the weekend to be upset about going back to school).

Plus the perks for homeschool - vacations could be whenever! Creative learning (my friend takes her kids to the grocery store for math lessons. How many cereals can you buy with $20.00, etc.)

I respect all homeschoolers. Maybe I secretly would like to be one. DH would never have it unless one of my kids were falling behind...At least they are doing well in school....

 

[vhoffman]

The amount of time I spend doing homework could be spent doing homeschooling! Besides, it looks like they pass off the core teaching to me, anyways. My opinion is that school is one big party/warehouse environment, and we're in a highly rated school. Its so frustrating to have to do the "real" teaching, at the end of the day, when we're all tired and spent, anyways. he's worn out by the time I get him, then I have to back over what they've "taught" him to do the "real" teaching.

 

[emh1129]

My 4 yr old ds is in his second year of preschool right now. We've decided to homeschool starting next fall (he loves his preschool class right now and I really like his teacher, so I want to let him finish the program).
I'm so nervous about this! I know this is what is best for him (I think that if I let him attend public school they would push him to be tested for ADHD, etc).. I want him to truly love learning and I only see that happening if we HS.

I'm excited beyond belief, but so nervous.
How did you all handle making the decision? (if there was even a decision to be made! )

 

[Lora]

I'm excited beyond belief, but so nervous.
How did you all handle making the decision? (if there was even a decision to be made! )

I didn't have to really make a decision, it just seemed natural to me. I basically just read a bunch of books and catalogs to get started. My kids never went to pre-school, so we just continued the learning we had started at home. It's cool when learning letters turns into reading, which turns into writing and creating books. Numbers turn into addition, etc. and then before you know it, they're ready for Algebra. Homeschooling has been a joy for us. I'm not saying it isn't work or a struggle some days, but it has been a great path for us.

Dh was the one who really needed to "decide". I knew I couldn't do it without his support, and I was almost resigned to the fact that he was not going for it, when he turned around.

I think your goal of helping your son love learning is a great one! The boundaries between "school" and "life" are pretty blurry around here. We do have structure, but the learning seems to seep into all aspects of our lives.