*** Homeschool List ***

[jaycns]

If you decide to do this and expand to Animal Kingdom, I would love to take the Africa section. I will warn you that I have never made a lesson plan before, but research and information gathering I know! My family loves the Africa section and I would love to have "an excuse" to examine it more closely. It's always been a place I've wanted to go to(my best friend's family is from Ghana and she just took her first trip there this past Christmas), but I hate flying so a virtual trip will have to do for me. I'm going to get started so even if you guys decide not to include AK, I will still use it for my family. Great idea!!

Tara, that sounds GREAT! I say work on whatever is the most fun/interesting for you and by the time we are done we will have hopefully covered all sections/area of all parks! We can just post what we have available and keep on working on filling in with what we do not have or expanding what we do!!

I am thinking this idea may be just what is needed to quiet the guilt I was feeling over being so focused on Disney for the past two weeks...I will turn it into a "school thing" and then not only is it tolerable but actually benefical to my family! What a great way to explore Disney, teach my kids, help others, have fun and plan for vacation while all the while feeding my Disney obsession!.

 

[jaycns]

I think I will start with Walt Disney himself. The man behind the magic!! This will fit in perfectly with the exhibit/movie at MGM. Then I will move on and grab something else that's available. This will be so much fun for me...I really should have done this before, I just never thought about all of the possibilities for learning fun (heck, I may have even more fun than the kids and what a GREAT vacation we will have in September after having studied background topics, people and places in preparation for our trip! Zip--a--dee--doo--daaaaaa....Zip--a--dee--aaaaaaaaa...My oh my what a wonderful day!!!

I am so very excited!!

 

[bear74]

Can you all post the lesson plans on the family board so they don't get lost in this thread. I would love to see them.

 

[disneymom3]

What GREAT ideas!!
I would love to do some sort of lesson plan exchange with the board...maybe we could start at the MK and each of us interested could take a land and develop a lesson plan(or even just a list of activities to chose from with a suggested reading list/website list to go with it...then we could exchange them. Is anybody up for that? After doing MK we could start in on another park?! Just an idea...I think that the post you made would be a great starting point!

Thanks again for the great ideas!

I think it would be really awesome if you would start a new thread for this idea!! Then people who might not be willing to read the 60+ pages would be able to see it and people who don't necessarily homeschool could take advantage of it too. I think it is an awesome idea. I have to get DD to soccer, but will give it some thought as I would love ot participate too and post more later about what I come up with. Maybe something with physics and ride dynamics.....

 

[house_of_princesses]

I am not very techy minded, but perhaps there's a way to keep these unit study ideas in a database. Yahoo or something. We do this w/ a DIS Circle Journal I'm involved with. At least until the wonderful mods grant us permission for a sub-forum!

(Naturally it would be better to start this data thread here....oh magical mods!)

 

[THESCHULTZFIVE]

Do all of you belong to a homeschool support type group in your town/county? I've been searching for some in my area, I thought it would be good for the girls and I, was really looking forward to meeting some people. I can't find anything though.

 

[Lora]

Do all of you belong to a homeschool support type group in your town/county? I've been searching for some in my area, I thought it would be good for the girls and I, was really looking forward to meeting some people. I can't find anything though.

We're in a group that does park days, field trips, presentation days, mom's nights, etc. We get together with other hs'ers when we can, but try to not over do it. We also have done co-ops off and on. I usually teach music or drama and my girls get P.E. and art along with my classes.

Keep looking and do searches including your town, county, or state name and "homeschool". You can maybe find some links through the HSLDA.

I hope you find what you're looking for.

Tara - I just noticed you're planning a trip to SSR in Oct. What part of Oct. are you going to be there? We're going to be at the BWV from Oct. 7-18.

 

[THESCHULTZFIVE]

We're in a group that does park days, field trips, presentation days, mom's nights, etc. We get together with other hs'ers when we can, but try to not over do it. We also have done co-ops off and on. I usually teach music or drama and my girls get P.E. and art along with my classes.

Keep looking and do searches including your town, county, or state name and "homeschool". You can maybe find some links through the HSLDA.

I hope you find what you're looking for.

Tara - I just noticed you're planning a trip to SSR in Oct. What part of Oct. are you going to be there? We're going to be at the BWV from Oct. 7-18.

Lora,
Thanks for the info. I did find a group about 15 min away that I contacted, hopefully I will hear something back. We arrive on the 17th and will be there until the 25th. We're driving so we probably won't get there until the night of the 17th. In fact, I made an ADR for whispering canyon at 6:15 and then after 2 days of being so happy to be able to make ADR's(that means our trip IS getting closer after all) I thought "Wait a minute, we probably won't even get there until 7 or 8 o'clock. I have to remember to change that, but that's when we'll be there.

 

[Lora]

Lora,
Thanks for the info. I did find a group about 15 min away that I contacted, hopefully I will hear something back. We arrive on the 17th and will be there until the 25th. We're driving so we probably won't get there until the night of the 17th. In fact, I made an ADR for whispering canyon at 6:15 and then after 2 days of being so happy to be able to make ADR's(that means our trip IS getting closer after all) I thought "Wait a minute, we probably won't even get there until 7 or 8 o'clock. I have to remember to change that, but that's when we'll be there.

I made a mistake...we don't actually check out until the 20th. I do't know what I was thinking. Maybe we'll see you there. I have to memorize your pic. I haven't even thought of making ADR's. I am hopiny my sister and her family will join us, but it's a pretty slim chance. I'll just wait a while to see what happens with that. I've never been to Whispering Canyon. That's one I've heard a lot about. I'll have to look into it some more.

Glad you found a group - I hope it works out and you and your girls make some great friends.

 

[THESCHULTZFIVE]

Well on the 18th we'll be at the Magic Kingdom, and then on the 19th(that's DH's 30th bday) we'll either be going to Universal Studios or hmmm how can I explain this? We got the crazy idea of doing a thrill ride challenge at Disney. So Dh, DD9 and myself would be trying to go to all 4 parks and ride all the thrill rides there in one day. It's funny b/c I have another thread discussing this on here and some people are saying it's totally doable and are offering suggestions and some people are saying we're crazy(like I didn't already know that, duh!) I'm still working out our scheduling, but that's what we'll be doing so if you happen to be in MK on the 18th maybe we can meet for a quick hello!

 

[disneymom3]

Tara--I just wanted to give you some encouragement in finding a support group. We are ending our fourth year of homeschooling and for the first year to year and a half I felt like I was really struggling in the area of a support group. We were actually in two, neither of which I felt was a good fit for us. And while I LOVE the group we are in, I still have days when I wonder if it is right or "enough" as there are only two boys DDs age and no girls. (I have mentioned that on here before.) However, I do have my kids in homeschool gymnastics and DD in girl scouts so we are meeting that need there. Anyway, my point is that even if something doesn't feel totally right, give it a chance and just keep plugging away. You will eventually find the right fit. The other thing I see so much of is that my kids are all such good friends and so close that many times they really don't need anyone else. Afterall a strong family you will always have with you, but how many of us keep the same friends all of our lives?

 

[Brier Rose]

Hey everyone!

Sorry it's taking me so long to get something going on our Disney lesson plan idea. It's been crazy around here this week!

As we were sitting here having lunch, I was looking through the Disney Movie Club book that I just in the mail, and saw a couple Disney Classics that would go with some of the themes. I know these wouldn't exactly be for learning purposes, but I thought they might be fun to use in addition to whatever material I eventually come up with!

Toontown....Walt Disney's Vintage Mickey Featuring Steamboat Willie and Other Great Disney Classics

Fantasyland...The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and Dumbo of course!

Liberty Square..Walt Disney's Johnny Tremain, and one of my personal favorites...1776 the musical. Believe it or not DS and DD actually loved it!

Frontierland..Walt Disney's Davy Crockett, The Apple Dumpling Gang, and Disney's American Legends.

American Legends includes the stories of Paul Bunyan, John Henry, Johnny Appleseed, and The Brave Engineer, but along these same lines, I also really like the movie Tall Tale, which also includes Pecos Bill.

Adventureland....Disney's Blackbeards Ghost, Swiss Family Robinson, and of course Treasure Island! Also, don't know if it's just me, but I felt like The Three Caballeros, and Saludos Amigos kind of fit the theme too???

As far a Tomorrowland goes, there's a great Walt Disney Treasures DVD on Tomorrowland at Disneyland, but that's all I can think of right off hand.

Hmmm..as far as Main Street goes how about Pollyanna, or maybe Mary Poppins??? This isn't a Disney movie, but how about Meet Me In St. Louis, or The Music Man???

Can you tell we like movies??

Well,like I said, I know none of this exactly qualifies for learning as far as a curriculum standpoint goes, but it's still fun!

On the other side of things, while I haven't started formally putting together plans on Liberty Square, I have been doing some research.

Here are two interesting web sites I found that I thought I'd pass along...

Colonial Kids
and
Colonal America K12 Resources

 

[THESCHULTZFIVE]

Julie,

Thank You for the words of encouragement. All of you on here have given me the push to go ahead with homeschooling. I had it in the back of my mind for so long. It never felt right to me to send my DD away for what seemed like such a significant period of time. When I would look forward to summer and school breaks, it seemed like everyone else was the opposite. After last year(third grade) I noticed such a significant change in my DD9. She was the kind of girl that cared about everyone, stood up for kids being picked on, inquisitive and not afraid to ask anyone anything she thought might lead her to an answer and most of all she LOVED her sisters. She still is most of those things and she does still love her sisters, but now there's a hesitation is asking the questions, and she's started to make fun of people we saw on TV(not badly just about their clothes or something) and what I feel is the worst change is that she has started to treat her sisters as pests when she used to look at them as friends. It took me awhile before I realized what was going on. It wasn't until I went on a trip and heard the kids in the class saying how "stupid" and "annoying" their siblings were that I figured it out(and all of this at a Quaker school, if she were in public school I don't even want to think about what she would be saying). She's trying to fit in, and I don't blame her for that, but I know it's not her. Some of it, I'm sure is her getting older and her sisters getting older and they do "bother her" sometimes. But even after, say, a winter break, by the time she has spent some much time away from classmates and with our family and friends she's back to her old self. I don't know if I'm making any sense here or if I'm getting my feelings across, but I just know that this is the best situation for us, I thank all of you for telling your experiences and stories and I just wish I had made this decision sooner.

 

[disneymom3]

Tara--Oh, I totally know what you are saying! As you might recall from my posts on this thread back in Sept, DD went to a small charter school for two weeks in the fall. After the first week, she was condescending a rude to her brothers the vast majority of the time. By the beginning of the second week she was rude and disrespectful to me. I called her on it and asked who she thought she was and told her I was not impressed and she was going to have a major attitude change or else. She broke down and cried and told me she didn't know what to do. Everyone she was with at school all day talked like that and if she didn't they thought she was a baby, so she just didn't know how to act anymore. At the time I told her I was not buying that excuse--she has been in our family for 9 years and knew what was acceptable and what was not, but I do see how that could be so hard for her.

As for the school vacations--I have one friend who totally cracks me up--she is always groaning to me about Christmas break or how many weeks she has to fill up for the summer with activities for her kids. Helllooooo--you do realize that my children never go away, right? I just think it is funny and I don't get how you could NOT want your kids around.

 

[Brier Rose]

Tara-
I know exactly how you feel! I never understood how all of my friends dreaded the summers and their kids being at home all of the time.

Now every year when school starts, I just have this overwhelming sence of peace and satifaction. It was without a doubt the right choice for us.

You sound like you are very intuitive when it comes to you daughter, and that's fantastic!

I bet you will make a wonderful homeschooler, and I wish you all the best!

 

[THESCHULTZFIVE]

Thanks Guys-It's so nice to be able to speak with (or type with) people who do understand where I'm coming from. I actually had one of the girls in DD9 class, just this past Tuesday on a field trip, tell me that she thinks one of the boys in the class "wants to make out with her" . She didn't even say it with a second thought. She just put it out there like it was regular conversation. All I could say was "well you should tell him he'll have to wait about 20 years". I just want this school year to be over so we can get on with the summer and "deprogramming" and on with the rest of our lives.

 

[andijean]

I have been lurking on this thread since it began and am so interested in your views and conversations. I am so interested in homeschooling and the benefits for my children. I just have not been ready to jump into and really need some input from some of you on whether you struggled with these same inner conflicts of whether or not homeschooling was the right choice for you. I obviously know you chose it and believe it to be the right thing for your family, but did you struggle with whether it was and when did you finally feel that it was the 1000% right choice? I think my biggest concerns are: whether I can handle being around my children 100% of the time...my husband works 60hr a week and would not probably be involved in the schooling. My son is very high intensity and has a hard time occupying he definitely has some issues we are trying to pinpoint, but haven't been able to. He can require 100% of me all the time unless playing outside. As I am writing this I think that I might be the biggest obstacle to this choice. I don't know if I could handle it. I am worried about burnout and lack of support and social relationships for me. I am pretty social, but I know I cannot do this w/ out some outside relationships somewhere. My husband isn't the best about this and doesn't get the feeling of burnout since he is out of the home so much. One of my other concerns is the kids future and colleges. I used to work in college admissions and I worry about their ability to compete in the admissions process without a public school transcript. My other concern is I am the best one for my child and what if I screw them up? There is no one to pass the buck to. It is all me...pretty heavy burden. Finance are another big one. I work 20hrs a week right now with my toddlers and I like being able to buy them things and invest in their future thru books and resources. I think I would have to scale back on working and would not be able to further my income if I did this. How are you able to afford buying your homeshcool materials on a limited income. We are comfortable, but not a lot extra. I also want to have the income to invest in outside and extra homeschool materials b/c my one son does not learn traditionally and I need to be more creative and use a multi-sensory approach to learning. How do you deal with wanting to buy more materials when financially you can't? How much would it cost each year? Well, I think that is enough for now. Sorry it is so rambling. I would love to hear your feedback and more about your process. Also, what are some informative websites or forums for people in my position. I have read a lot of books about and by homeschoolers. Thanks for everything.

Andrea

 

[THESCHULTZFIVE]

Andrea,
As you can see from my post I haven't even started homeschooling my girls yet. We plan to start this September(well really over the summer we'll start a little bit). I definitely struggled with making the decision to "go for it". I had many of the same concerns you did. I'm sure you'll get better advice from the "veterans" on this board, but as another newbie I just thought I could tell you my reasoning for deciding to do it. First off, I have no plans to be around my kids 100% of the time. I stay at home with my 2 little ones now, but I am still not with them 100% of the time. I know that you said your DH works alot, but once he gets home, if the kids are still awake maybe he could just spend a little time with them going over their day while you do something for you. Whatever you like to do. Maybe it works out to be 95% of the time with the kids, but it will give you a chance to breathe. Also, you don't have to commit to it forever. I told myself that I'll do it as long as it works. If they're learning and happy and I'm happy and everyone feels it's best we'll continue, but if things don't work out after exhausting all options(different format, curriculum, etc.) then back to school they'll go. As for the expense, I am choosing a "packaged curriculum" to begin with, but that may change. It will cost us a couple of thousand dollars, however, DD9 school tuition now is 6,000 a year. If DD4 was going next year, like we originally planned, then we would be paying 12,000 tuition next year. So the 2,000 or so on the homeschooling curriculum is a huge savings for us. I know there are resources for free or low cost materials. Some school districts will loan books. The library can be used for books. If you get with a homeschool group, and someone has older children, they may be willing to give you their used materials or sell them at a lower cost than you would pay new. Like I said, I'm new to this too. The ladies on here(and maybe men too, but I don't think I've seen any) are extremely knowledgeable and helpful, and you will get great advice, guarenteed. Whatever you decide, good luck and if you decide to do it, we can start new and struggle together.

 

[Brier Rose]

Hi Andrea !

First of all...deep breath!

Cut yourself some slack, and realize that everything you are feeling, and all of the questions you have are completly reasonable. It does NOT mean that you can't or shouldn't do this!

I was totally against homeschooling in the beginning! My DH was the first one to bring it up. My DD was in Private school..K5. She was doing well, we liked the school, but DH was so intrigued by the idea I thought I'd do some research.

What I found was amazing! I never knew how many resorces there were out there! I started to get really excited about it.By the end of her K5 year, we thought we'd at least give it a try one year, so that we could make a comparison between traditional school and homeschool.
We never went back! It just felt sooo right!

From my experience only, I can tell you that without a doubt there will be times when you feel burnt out. There will be times when you will worry you made the right choice, and there may even be times you want to quit!

I've been there...lots of times, but it always passes! The good, and I'd even say GREAT days far out number the bad!

As far as time for myself goes....well, I take a lot of VERY loooong baths!

Hmmmm, I'd say I felt 1000% sure I was doing that right thing the first time DD or DS got a new concept! It has been amazing to be part of that! It's like seeing them take their first step, or say their first word. I love every minute of it. It just makes my heart so full.

Of course there are all the little things..not having to send them out in horrible weather. Not having to worry about keeping them home when they don't feel well.
No need to conform themselves to fit into their peer group. They are who they truly are, and not who they pretend to be so they "fit" in.

As far as support goes, there are wonderful homeschool groups out there! Of course there is always the Dis!
Though it's not exactly face to face, you might be surprised what a lift you can get just from cyber chatting with other homeschooling moms here!

If you're really that worried about having trascripts for college, there are lots of options out there that would provide you with traditional transcripts. This is actually the route we have taken with DD and DS, and with both of the programs we use,they have records kept on them, they receive report cards, and at any time we want to transfer them to a "real" school, or college,all we have to do is contact them, and they will forward their transcripts.

All of that is NOT necessary to get into college, but it's what we felt comfortable with. In know there are at least a few moms on here who have children in college that were homeschooled, so maybe someone else can explain that process.

To be honest, there have been times when I wasn't the best teacher for the job! DD was having trouble reading, and nothing I was doing was working. We got "outside" help with private tutoring, and within 2 months she was reading like crazy!

I think part of having a sucessful homeschooling experience is realizing your limitations, and doing whatever is needed. Just because you don't know how to teach something doesn't mean you shouldn't homeschool! Sometimes you just have to expand your horizons a bit!

To be honest, some of the curriculum can be expensive. I know all of the ones we have used have payment plan options. Don't know if that would help you or not. I'm sure there are lots of homeschoolers here that may be able to point you in the direction of some less expensive options.

I know I probably haven't answered all of your questions, but this is getting pretty looong!

I do have tend to ramble...especially when it comes to subjects I like to talk about!

Please ask all the questions you want!

 

[jaycns]

Hi Andrea !

First of all...deep breath!

I agree with everything she said!! Let me add I have had days at home with my kids where I almost throw in the towel (or more aptly the book), tell the kids to go play in the yard or turn on the tv or find something quiet to do because I need to "plan"...well, I am not planning. I am sitting there thinking, tomorrow I call the school board and enroll them. I would never actually do that, but we have days where I swear everything goes in one ear and out of the other before ever hitting the brain. I have days where I feel like I cannot work on one more problem with them because I just know that they are not catching on quickly enough because I cannot teach them well enough. I have days where I just know that I am either going to cry or laugh without stopping because I have miserably failed my children and they will be ruined as far as education goes for life.

BUT...those days pass quickly and the majority of the time (about 99.7%) I am taking the time to thank the Lord that I have my wonderful boys with me so much of the time. That I have the ability to see the lights click on when they learn something new, to foster their excitement over a new concept or to encourage their curiosity. It's such an awessome gift to be able to wake up every day knowing that we can spend it together.

I love it when September rolls around and we leave for vacation while everyone else is just getting back to cracking the books!! I love waking up and seeing snow on the ground (we live "down south" so snow is rare and almost always gone by late morning) and having a snow day that has nothing to do with not being able to safely get to school and everything to do with going out in playing in it for as long as it lasts (or until we are too cold to stay outside any longer) and then coming back into the house and learning all about snow in an afternoon long unit study. I love it that when the first warm days of spring hit we can just grab our books and head out to our deck or the yard with a blanket spread out and soak up the sun and do history (or most any other subject) at the same time. I love it when I give my son reading and he takes his book out to the hammock and swings away while reading about ancient history or geology or he reads a classic novel. I love being able to go out and see what we are studying in the "real world". We went to the Cumberland Gap, Fort Boonesborough and to an old Indian settlement when we studied Daniel Boone. We went to fossil beds, a natural history museum and a fossil store when we studied dinosaurs and fossils and geology (my son also found fossils in our own creek with his little rock pick and a LOT of determination). I love being able to make learning fun whenever it's possible (and I am inspired or my sons are very interested). When we learned about ancient history spent many a day making mummies out of stuffed animals. When we learned about the Vikings my son made his own Viking outfit by using a blue sheet as a wrap, painting blue Celtic symbols all over himself and he even made "metal wristlets" and a sword out of tin foil and cardboard. When we learned about the weather my sons photographed the sky to make their own cloud book with pictures of the different types of clouds. When my son learned his multiplication facts he invented a game called Skateboard Multiples...I won't get into all of what that was (cause frankly, I still don't understand it) but I would dare to venture that almost nobody has had as much fun memorizing their times tables as my son did out in our drive! I love being able to "stop and smell the roses" on our own time line instead of someone else's.

When we first starting homeschooling I thought of it as an experiment. My oldest son was "just" 5 and I told myself that even if it failed I could just enroll him in kindergarten the next year and he wouldn't be behind. Well, year one came and went and although I still didn't know if this was something we would always do, I figured it was going well enough to keep going at least another year...and then another and another. We are to the point now where (the Lord willing) we will always homeschool our boys. I used to think they would not be able to get into college (I still worry about where they will get in but I think ALL parents do no matter what sort of education their children are getting). However, I have seen homeschooled children get full rides to GREAT schools. I have seen them have the ability to do what kids sitting in a classroom at high school age could not. One family we know has a daughter who is an intern to a state congressman. Another family has a son who works at a primate rescue. Another has a daughter who started a charity when she was 15. All three of those kids are either currently enrolled in college or on their way shortly.

As far as the money aspect, I suspect one could go broke with all of the options out there (no matter what size paycheck their family is bringing home)!! I also know that ANYONE can afford to homeschool if they are willing to put in the time and effort to dig up the free resources that are out there and compile them into a working curriculum. I have my favorites. I know other homeschool families with brilliant children who use nothing I use and everything I have "discarded" over the years as useless, boring or too complicated. I know others who don't use any set curriculum and just develop their own way to do things. I have another friend who uses only computer CDs and another who does TWO full sets of curriculum for every grade every year. It's all up to you (and of course your budget will factor largely into that equation...along with the learning style and interests of your child).

As far as social stuff for you...some of the best friends I have I made through our homeschool co-op. More than the women in our neighborhood, the ones at church, the ones I used to work with or go to college with, these women get what I go through every single day. They understand that finding the right spelling program is of the utmost importance (and they listen to me go on and on about what doesn't work and offer up suggestions of what might). They offer to take my kids for a day every few months so that I can have an "inservice day". They were there when I got so sick I couldn't do anything more than hand my kids a remote and a stack of DVD's ensuring that my kids still got to the million and one activities they are signed up for.

And as far a social stuff for the kids? OH MY GOODNESS...the only problem my oldest son has is that he has too many things going on all at once. He plays on a select soccer team, does Bible drill at church, plays rec. league basketball, has been in plays, rides horses and has taken more classes then I can list. In the past year he has gone to so many birthday parties I have lost count and an almost equal number of homeschool support group events. I think the funniest thing is that tons of people refuse to believe he is homeschooled. They will ask where he goes to school and their jaws drop and they tell me "he is so normal and gets along so well with others" as if that would exclude homeschooling him! My other two boys are still young so not yet enrolled in quite so many things but even they can search out new friends in less than a minute flat in any park we enter!

Sorry for going on and on and on! I just remember when I was "just looking" and all of the questions and all of the doubts I had. I remember thinking "I must be the only one". It's good to know you are not!!

Find a local support group (you may go through more than one before you find a good fit). Post here. Find other online support groups. Gather information and then...just jump in if you are still interested in doing it! I know it is not for every family but for our family it has been the best choice!