*** Homeschool List ***

[antree]

QUOTE=belle22;20920549]Also you may want to look into zoophonics.com they link animals with sounds.

I would love a list of topics to teach my 5 year old. We have went over the 5 senses. What other topics do you teach your child?[/QUOTE]

I am new to this so I have been researching things that are of interest to my son. He wants to know about the stars, planets, dinosaurs, volcanos and animals.
I bought a guestion and answer book on Science and I am going to use it with information I find on the internet for each area he is interested in.

I am also going to start Fire Protection Awareness and the 4 Seasons.
I am going to start with the easy areas first then work up to the harder ones.
Monday we will do animals. I find a lot print outs on the internet and will use that.



I also bought a science experiment book for easy experiments. He is going to go crazy over that when I show it to him.

http://www.internet4classrooms.com/skills_k_science.htm

http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/de/kindergarten/fullscreenkindy/themed.html

Just search google or yahoo for what you need and you will come up with alot.

 

[disneymom3]

Forgot to mention that Happy Phonics is what got my very reluctant learner to start blending letter sounds. Prior to that anything having to do with letters made him just lose it but he would do those activities whenever I brought them out. Well worth the $50.

 

[Praise2Him]

I was homeschooled myself from fourth grade thru graduation and I always planned to homeschool my own child someday. Laren

I think that's wonderful! My DD16 asked to be homeschooled 3 years ago and we both love it so much. But I'm really excited that she plans to homeschool her children when she has them! To me that says so much.

 

[NHWX]

First off - I'm glad to have found this thread! Homeschooling and Disney - like chocolate and peanut butter! Yeah!

As far as the reluctant reader goes, I'd pick out something fairly interesting but not babyish that's clearly a beginning reader. It was a long time ago... Mr. Putter books? Oh! Gum on the Drum!!!! That is a great first reader. And then I'd say, "Let's read a book!" And I'd read the first bit or almost all of it, right up to a point where he'd really like to know what was going to happen, and then I'd have to get a cup of tea. Or I'd decide that I just wanted to kiss the top of his head or... you get the idea. Now, most good early readers also have the picture tell the story so the child gets it right and you share your happiness and everyone feels successful. Eventually, they are reading (all the phonics and letter sounds somehow get put together in their minds) and they realize that they can read. But having success early sometimes means a little trickiness.

NHWX

 

[islandmum]

I have to ask this as this subject fascinates me ....

Why do you do homeschool? I mean I understand if theres a physical/medical reason but why homeschool children of regular health/abilities?

We actually emigrated from the UK for the main reason that we didnt want our kids growing up in the UK and that public education system - so we moved overseas and now they have a great education.

I would never consider homeschool as to me part of education is the social aspect - learning to live amongst a diverse group, coping with different characters, making friends, time away from mum and dad, etc etc

I'd love to hear why you considered homeschool and also if there are any downsides you've experienced

 

[sha_lyn]

Islandmum...... you might want to check out
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1587543&page=6
and search for older similar topics. Several have also told their reasons in this thread already. Not to sound snarky or anything...This thread is our safe haven. I don't know about the others, but I would rather not see this thread turn into a debate.

 

[lori1043]

I agree ShaLyn, I am glad you answered that way. I may have gone down that road. Reading your post thankfully changed my mind. I don't like always having to defend it. It's just good for our family.

Lori

 

[disneymom3]

Thanks for addressing that sha_lyn. I don't want to sound at all snarky either but I would like this thread to stay on the topic of support that we have had here for a long time. No offense at all to islandmum and you are certainly more than welcome to hang out and ask questions in general, but this is a nice place for us to be and just about the only one we've got on the DIS where we don't have to defend our choice.

 

[islandmum]

Islandmum...... you might want to check out
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1587543&page=6
and search for older similar topics. Several have also told their reasons in this thread already. Not to sound snarky or anything...This thread is our safe haven. I don't know about the others, but I would rather not see this thread turn into a debate.

of course - totally respect that. and I totally respect the mothers who do homeschool, I think its an ability that very few parents have. did not mean to offend in any way so hope it want taken like that

 

[cemsanchez]

Wow!!! I am glad I found this thread !!!! I homeschool my oldest son, he is 8 and will start preschool work with my youngest who is 3 next year . I love to share ideas and get info from other homeschool families. We started off using Well Trained Mind, but now we are using Sonlight.

 

[Mason7AK]

Subscribing! and...
Help! I would like to take the homeschool plunge - I am about 90% there! I haven't read through all the 1800+ posts (yet) but plan to! I have a teen in high school that is doing fine and would stay where she is. But I also have three little ones that I am seriously considering home school for!
My question is if any of you are home schooling a severely disabled child? My DD6 is currently in a resource classroom in public school. She is severe CP, Epilepsy and is non-verbal and non-ambulatory. I know I can work with her as well as the public school system can, but worry that I will be questioned about her "not making progress"? Hope that makes sense! She is still working on making "yes-no" choices and uses switches to activate toys and still needs hand-over-hand help with art, music and other activities. I think honestly that she will always be at about this level of comprehension (we adopted her at 7 days of age and she has severe brain anomolies). I just feel that she would be happier at home with mom!
I also have a DS5 who is paraplegic with Spina Bifida and he just started Kinder in a regular classroom (very smart little guy) and I am not impressed with his curriculum so far. He is also already picking up some bad habits!
I would like to pull them both out and home-school, but it is such a hard decision! And I have a two year old with hearing impairment and developmental delays and I have already started working with her at home.
Any advice or encouragement? TIA
Angela

 

[SeeDisney]

Welcome to the disboards!!!, Sanchez ---- you'll love here so much, I'm addicted to the many different boards. I've just started to HS my third child a month ago and yes, I too lurk on these thread for encouragement and ideas.

 

[NATALIEBELLESmom]

Subscribing! and...
Help! I would like to take the homeschool plunge - I am about 90% there! I haven't read through all the 1800+ posts (yet) but plan to! I have a teen in high school that is doing fine and would stay where she is. But I also have three little ones that I am seriously considering home school for!
My question is if any of you are home schooling a severely disabled child? My DD6 is currently in a resource classroom in public school. She is severe CP, Epilepsy and is non-verbal and non-ambulatory. I know I can work with her as well as the public school system can, but worry that I will be questioned about her "not making progress"? Hope that makes sense! She is still working on making "yes-no" choices and uses switches to activate toys and still needs hand-over-hand help with art, music and other activities. I think honestly that she will always be at about this level of comprehension (we adopted her at 7 days of age and she has severe brain anomolies). I just feel that she would be happier at home with mom!
I also have a DS5 who is paraplegic with Spina Bifida and he just started Kinder in a regular classroom (very smart little guy) and I am not impressed with his curriculum so far. He is also already picking up some bad habits!
I would like to pull them both out and home-school, but it is such a hard decision! And I have a two year old with hearing impairment and developmental delays and I have already started working with her at home.
Any advice or encouragement? TIA
Angela

Hey,

I want to start off by saying that you are a wonderful person. I do not have any of the special children you stated above. But with that said if you as a mother believe that you can handle Homeschooling and you feel that you can give your children all the tools that they need to learn then I say go for it. We as mothers truley know whats best for our children and the peeps on this board are so wonderful and very helpful. I homeschool my 10 DD and would not trade it for the world and she did start out in a public school system but I went with my gut as my hubby would say and I believe in my heart I am doing the right thing. I wish you lots of luck with what ever choice you make and we are here to help you..

Theresa

 

[NATALIEBELLESmom]

I am posting here too much lately!! And in my above post I meant OUTSIDE my home-not in my home!

NatalieBelle's mom-I would suggest readers under her "level" that she enjoys reading. So it is not stressful-makes the reading not a "chore", but easy and interesting. Have her read a few of those(my DD7 reads the Biscuit books which is under level, but she likes them and it builds her confidence) increase her love of it, the work on fluency of the "school" readers. She also likes the silliness of Amelia Bedelia books, which she struggles a bit with some words but likes it anyway b/c it is goofy. She is my reluctant reader! She doesn't pick up the book unless I make her!

Lori

I would really like to thank you for your insight. She came up to me the other day after about 2 weeks of reading lower level books and asked if she could start reading chapter books with help. She is finally getting the courage she needed to move along in reading.

Thanks,

Theresa

 

[cemsanchez]

My oldest son had speech and auditory processing disabilities. Though they are not as severe as some others. There will be days when he takes his reading lesson a little each day and then just all of a sudden things will click and we fly to the next stage. You will see progress each day and you being there to encourage her will be the best approach to her progressing. Sometimes I am sitting with my son thinking okay I am really not sure if this is clicking, we take a break and come to find out he just needed time for the information to process, and other times I just need to use a different approach. Our days last year were filled with therapy appointments by the time I was home I was beat from driving and trying to keep his younger brother occupied during the sessions, now we have less therapy but he is doing better everyday. I hope this helps.

 

[lori1043]

I would really like to thank you for your insight. She came up to me the other day after about 2 weeks of reading lower level books and asked if she could start reading chapter books with help. She is finally getting the courage she needed to move along in reading.

Thanks,

Theresa

I am sooooooo happy for you and her!!! We experienced the same thing with DD7. It is amazing, sometimes all it takes is a good, funny, easy book/s to give that confidence boost!!! I am soo glad my advice worked for you!!
as long as they are reading,I am not sure I care what level it is!!

Lori

 

[homeschoolmomof4]

Subscribing! and...
Help! I would like to take the homeschool plunge - I am about 90% there! I haven't read through all the 1800+ posts (yet) but plan to! I have a teen in high school that is doing fine and would stay where she is. But I also have three little ones that I am seriously considering home school for!
My question is if any of you are home schooling a severely disabled child? My DD6 is currently in a resource classroom in public school. She is severe CP, Epilepsy and is non-verbal and non-ambulatory. I know I can work with her as well as the public school system can, but worry that I will be questioned about her "not making progress"? Hope that makes sense! She is still working on making "yes-no" choices and uses switches to activate toys and still needs hand-over-hand help with art, music and other activities. I think honestly that she will always be at about this level of comprehension (we adopted her at 7 days of age and she has severe brain anomolies). I just feel that she would be happier at home with mom!
I also have a DS5 who is paraplegic with Spina Bifida and he just started Kinder in a regular classroom (very smart little guy) and I am not impressed with his curriculum so far. He is also already picking up some bad habits!
I would like to pull them both out and home-school, but it is such a hard decision! And I have a two year old with hearing impairment and developmental delays and I have already started working with her at home.
Any advice or encouragement? TIA
Angela

Hey there Angela,

Have you contacted any of the homeschool groups in your area? I belong to a special needs homeschool support goup in VA. There's another one in NC that is huge and both groups have yahoo support loops. The group in NC even held a conference last spring for those of us who homeschool special needs children. I attended it and it was just amazing to be around other people who could relate to what you were experiencing. Even if you don't live in NC, you should consider joining the GIFTSNC group just for the support. Homeschooling your special needs children can be done. Here's the link to the GIFTSNC site. If you go to the section titled CONTACT US, there's a link to join the yahoo group. http://www.giftsnc.com/

Erika

 

[homeschoolmomof4]

Since I posted above I guess I should introduce myself. My name's Erika and I homeschool my 4 children. We've been homeschooling for about 9 years now. Several of my kids have LD issues. I'm a rather eclectic homeschooler in that I use curriculum that "fits" each child and that fits our situation. I love being home with my children and couldn't imagine it any other way.

The kids and I are huge Disney fans and are looking forward to our next Disney trip in January. 125 days!! DH, well, he just tolerates us and our Disney obsession!

 

[Mason7AK]

Thanks all for the replies and encouragement and the website information! I will be hanging out here getting ideas. I have decided that I am going to pull the kids out of public school right before Thanksgiving. I think its a good time as they will be having vacation days then anyway and the semester is about over. It also will give me time to prepare and get all the curriculum together that I need for DD6 and DS5. I am looking at the Five In A Row for my 5 year old. Looks like something he would do well with.
Homeschooling will also help us with scheduling therapies! Now we have conflicts with school hours and the school not wanting them pulled out for therapy, etc. Also the school will only work with them on OT and PT things if they consider it "education based" and usually they don't help at all with things like my son actually learning to WALK. Guess that's not "education based"?!
Thanks again! I may have more questions - hope you all don't get too tired of me!
Angela

 

[the5coops]

Mason7AK we homeschool in Texas too. The website below may help you when you pull your children from public school.

THSC.org (Texas Homeschool Coalition) They are very active protecting homeschoolers.

This website gives the laws and procedures for withdrawing your children to homeschool.