*** Homeschool List ***

[TNKBELL]

Hi all, Well our first few weeks of homeschool have gone wonderfully! My DS5 is coming along fast on his letters and sounds. I think he really just needed the one on one! He is a happier boy too - well, as long as we don't go over a couple of hours of school at a time! His attention span won't allow longer than that! Isn't two hours about right for kinder though? We get a lot done in those two hours, so I am pretty happy with our schedule for now. My DD6, special needs, non verbal - is doing great too! She is doing her switch work for me (activates toys and devices by switch) and LOVES hooking the switch up to the computer for stories and activities (Living Books are great!) I am so glad I brought them home!
And we are taking an early Christmas break as we are heading to Disney World this FRIDAY! YEAH! We are doing the Land/Sea package and it will be our first Cruise - we are so excited!! So far Disney has been wonderful helping with all the arrangements for handicapped accessible rooms, etc and I know the kids will have the BEST time! It will be our youngest DD2's first trip to the Disney - can't wait to introduce her to the princesses!!
Angela

I just wanted to recommend a Christmas gift idea if you don't already have it!
My Ds4 and Dd6 both love the Word Whammer by Leapfrog, it really has helped make my job of teaching reading sooo much easier. Also all the videos by Leapfrog are great too!! Congrats, sounds like you are doing great!!

 

[TNKBELL]

Can we get a headcount on the Disney homeschool days?

We are planning to GO!

Dawn

I just wanted to let you know that unfortunately we won't be able to make it this time, We really can't afford to go...yet, we would have to put the bulk of it on our credit card, and the uncertainty of driving so far(1300 miles) in January, if the roads were snowy or icy we would lose $ on our resort and maybe on our tix. I wish we could!! Please let us know all about homeschool days, I'm so glad you shared this with us!! I hope you have a great time!!

 

[earthfaries]

TNKBELL, sorry to hear you won't make it but you are going later next year right? It will feel much better going and not charging it and not stressing out about the weather, etc. Wow, that's a long drive. One way??? That's my total mileage there and back!!!

They will do HS days again. Hopefully next Sept. too. Maybe you can try for that.
We can post anything relating to future dates here on this thread that way we will always know as long as we keep the subscription since Disney doesn't advertise Homeschool Days

 

[homeschoolmomof4]

How many of you let your kids do every other math problem on a daily basis? DD9 is doing Saxon math and it has taken her an hour and a half to complete her work. She is frustrated and I am too b/c I LIKE this curriculum. One of our friends mentioned her doing every other problem and making sure she does well on tests-so long as she is doing well, then this may work out! It has been 3 days and she LOVES that she is doing every other math probelm! She finished ALL of her schooling yesterday in 2.5 hours!! I think she felt the world lifted off her shoulders. She has a test on Thursday, so we will see how it goes!

Lori

Lori, I think part of it depends on what year of Saxon you are doing. With the younger grades you can just do one side of work most days and be fine. IT's a little different with the older grades. Are you doing 5/4? We found that Saxon 5/4 was a bit much after coming off of Saxon 3. Unfortunately, doing every other *may* not hit it all adequately because of the way that they repeat content continuously from the beginning of the year. I would honestly take it problem by problem. I put a little pencil mark next to the problems my DD needed to do to make sure that the ones she needed to work on got covered.

 

[DawnM]

I have heard this a lot from homeschoolers.

My background is public high school teaching and I can tell you that we NEVER covered everything! It was impossible. So, I would pick and choose what I felt was very important to cover (I taught English and History) and we would focus on that.

Dawn

How many of you let your kids do every other math problem on a daily basis? DD9 is doing Saxon math and it has taken her an hour and a half to complete her work. She is frustrated and I am too b/c I LIKE this curriculum. One of our friends mentioned her doing every other problem and making sure she does well on tests-so long as she is doing well, then this may work out! It has been 3 days and she LOVES that she is doing every other math probelm! She finished ALL of her schooling yesterday in 2.5 hours!! I think she felt the world lifted off her shoulders. She has a test on Thursday, so we will see how it goes!

Lori

 

[homeschoolmomof4]

Hi all, Well our first few weeks of homeschool have gone wonderfully! My DS5 is coming along fast on his letters and sounds. I think he really just needed the one on one! He is a happier boy too - well, as long as we don't go over a couple of hours of school at a time! His attention span won't allow longer than that! Isn't two hours about right for kinder though? We get a lot done in those two hours, so I am pretty happy with our schedule for now. My DD6, special needs, non verbal - is doing great too! She is doing her switch work for me (activates toys and devices by switch) and LOVES hooking the switch up to the computer for stories and activities (Living Books are great!) I am so glad I brought them home!
And we are taking an early Christmas break as we are heading to Disney World this FRIDAY! YEAH! We are doing the Land/Sea package and it will be our first Cruise - we are so excited!! So far Disney has been wonderful helping with all the arrangements for handicapped accessible rooms, etc and I know the kids will have the BEST time! It will be our youngest DD2's first trip to the Disney - can't wait to introduce her to the princesses!!
Angela

I'm so glad things are working out with your homeschooling. It is wonderful to have them home isn't it? A couple of my little guys have some special issues as well and it's truly a blessing to have them home where I know that they are getting all the love and attention that they need to thrive.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[lori1043]

Lori, I think part of it depends on what year of Saxon you are doing. With the younger grades you can just do one side of work most days and be fine. IT's a little different with the older grades. Are you doing 5/4? We found that Saxon 5/4 was a bit much after coming off of Saxon 3. Unfortunately, doing every other *may* not hit it all adequately because of the way that they repeat content continuously from the beginning of the year. I would honestly take it problem by problem. I put a little pencil mark next to the problems my DD needed to do to make sure that the ones she needed to work on got covered.

I really like this idea. I will start this by marking off today what she needs to do tomorrow. Yes, It is Saxon 5/4 and we came from using Abeka, which she liked. I was looking for something like Saxon with the DIVE CD-rom b/c this is my least favorite subject and I get frustrated with it easily and I don't want to put that on her-you know how easily they pick up on that stuff! I am very pleased with the DIVE cd and listen to some of her lessons with her. I am answering any questions she has about any problems. She is doing well with day to day work as far as doing them correctly. She does seem to get the same type of problems wrong and I have been working on those with her correcting them.

THANK YOU!!!
Lori

 

[DawnM]

Darn! Well, I certainly understand. We were adopting a child last year and we actually haven't been to Disney for two years now. We haven't really had any extra until I went back to work (ok, so I only lasted 3 months and then at Thanksgiving I quit and brought my kids back home too!) But it did boost us a bit.

Dawn

I just wanted to let you know that unfortunately we won't be able to make it this time, We really can't afford to go...yet, we would have to put the bulk of it on our credit card, and the uncertainty of driving so far(1300 miles) in January, if the roads were snowy or icy we would lose $ on our resort and maybe on our tix. I wish we could!! Please let us know all about homeschool days, I'm so glad you shared this with us!! I hope you have a great time!!

 

[TNKBELL]

I have heard this a lot from homeschoolers.

My background is public high school teaching and I can tell you that we NEVER covered everything! It was impossible. So, I would pick and choose what I felt was very important to cover (I taught English and History) and we would focus on that.

Dawn

This makes me feel sooo much better!!! I can't ever get everything covered that I want too. I always feel soooo guilty about it.
Ds10 has been complaining about doing every single problem in Saxon, I actually just have him do every other lesson, and as long as he does well on tests(A) we move on. In the beginning this year, I let the boys "test out" on math and start on the lesson that they had trouble on. They ended up starting somewhere between lesson 20-30. Most of the beginning is just review from the previous level anyway.

 

[lori1043]

This makes me feel sooo much better!!! I can't ever get everything covered that I want too. I always feel soooo guilty about it.
Ds10 has been complaining about doing every single problem in Saxon, I actually just have him do every other lesson, and as long as he does well on tests(A) we move on. In the beginning this year, I let the boys "test out" on math and start on the lesson that they had trouble on. They ended up starting somewhere between lesson 20-30. Most of the beginning is just review from the previous level anyway.

That is good advice too! I may try that next year-"testing out" and starting there or every other lesson. Although, doing every other lesson makes me nervous that she will miss a concept or something. I am gonna' stick with picking out her problems , THEN do the above next year. Cool, here I was drilling her miserably in a "math-hitler-esque" manner!!!

Load is off!!! thanks-shewwww!

Lori

 

[disneymom3]

Let's see--lots of stuff.

Math--DD does not do every problem or even close. She is a quick learner and uses Teaching Textbooks. Some days we only do the book, some days we only do the computer but even then she doesnt' do all of the problems. She does all of the ones that are about the new lesson and the ones that were introduced or covered in the day's previous lessons and that is it. It makes her insane to have to keep reviewing stuff and I have learned from years past that if I bring up some problems using a concept she learned say, 3 months ago, she really does still know how to do it. So, that works for us. My boys don't do a lot of book work unless we are in the car. Then they each have a couple of little books they can use, I think they are by school zone and they pick a page or sometimes two to work on. Otherwise, we play games from a packet I bought at a homeschool conference and from Games for Math by Peggy Kaye.

Homeschool days--TNK we can't go in Jan for the same reason. Not enough time to save. We would have to dip farther into savings than I am comfortable with. If we stick with our plan of going in the fall, then I will have all the cushion we want to have there. We'll have to connect later next year to see if we can coordinate a group and maybe qualify for those tickets.

As for the K'er with two hours at the table, my boys don't even spend that much time on school so I am sure you are fine. I have unschooler leanings though so take that into account.

Regarding that unschooler mode/struggle--because that is what it is for me, a struggle. Right now my boys are going on an adventure. Of course it is inside because they were going to "go out to see the world" until I pointed out that it is darn could outside and they might want to wait to see the world until spring. At any rate, they packed their backpacks with supplies--bunnies(stuffed animals they take to bed) 1 blanket each, some snacks, a couple of toys and paper and pencils. They are planning out a hunt--I heard talk of buffalo and wooly mammoths so not sure what era we are in --and they are planning out a map of the adventure with information about what they saw. So, one side of my brain is saying "This is great learnign. They are being creative and using history and planning skills etc as well as mapping their route." The other side of my brain says "We are supposed to get our table work done or I am not doing a good job homeschooling them." I struggle with this on an almost daily basis. The boys are K and 2nc btw. Some days it is not as involved but they may be building with legos or playing with their castles or what have you. DD on the otherhand is way into crafts and reading and quiz books as well as piano. I just wonder at the balance and if I am doing it right.

Any thoughts on that?

And for covering it all--I always think about how much I remember of what I learned at any specific grade. For instance, in 11th grade almost my entire first semester of US History was spent watching Roots. I kid you not. Got assigned to the other US History teacher second semeseter and we all panicked when he announced there was going to be a test about what we "remembered." Ummmmm, nothing! Especially since I used to take a nap during Roots.

 

[sha_lyn]

So lately I'm trying to find a middle ground
We've done the highly structured school at home, follow the script sit at a desk for 4 hours thing. Didn't work for us at all.

I've tried to be relaxed borderlining on unschooling, and that just doesn't work for us either. DD needs some structure, and she actually likes gettting grades.

So the problem is I'm trying to find the middle ground, without driving both of us nuts.

I used to look over her work and instead of grading it, we would correct the work together. I found she was getting lazy and would just play around and not even attempt to do a good job.So I started grading, and there for a while it worked. However lately she just isn't trying to get things right or complete.
IE...... Tues grammar lesson was on compound nouns (subjects and direct objects). She knows the material. Did great with the examples we did together. However on her worksheet she was very sloppy and missed underlining several of the nouns. Her grade on the worksheet is 66. Typically I would have looked at the sheet, told her to go over it again, and then grade it.
However it has gotten to the point where I had to do that with every asignment, and it was taking all day to complete a couple of hours worth of work. Since no one really sees her grades, I've decided to let the 66 stand, since I've been harping on her for weeks to review her work before putting it on my desk. Now I feel terrible because I've recorded a 66 in my gradebook LOL

oh she's 10yr and 4th grade

 

[DawnM]

Is there any way to maybe incorporate a reward system? Get 90% or better on the page and then you can (do whatever it is she would like to do, for us it might be a board game or 90% correct for a week and a trip to McDonald's, or some such thing.) That has helped us.

Dawn

So lately I'm trying to find a middle ground
We've done the highly structured school at home, follow the script sit at a desk for 4 hours thing. Didn't work for us at all.

I've tried to be relaxed borderlining on unschooling, and that just doesn't work for us either. DD needs some structure, and she actually likes gettting grades.

So the problem is I'm trying to find the middle ground, without driving both of us nuts.

I used to look over her work and instead of grading it, we would correct the work together. I found she was getting lazy and would just play around and not even attempt to do a good job.So I started grading, and there for a while it worked. However lately she just isn't trying to get things right or complete.
IE...... Tues grammar lesson was on compound nouns (subjects and direct objects). She knows the material. Did great with the examples we did together. However on her worksheet she was very sloppy and missed underlining several of the nouns. Her grade on the worksheet is 66. Typically I would have looked at the sheet, told her to go over it again, and then grade it.
However it has gotten to the point where I had to do that with every asignment, and it was taking all day to complete a couple of hours worth of work. Since no one really sees her grades, I've decided to let the 66 stand, since I've been harping on her for weeks to review her work before putting it on my desk. Now I feel terrible because I've recorded a 66 in my gradebook LOL

oh she's 10yr and 4th grade

 

[lori1043]

I know this mat sound over the top for some, but since we have a Disney trip coming up, we reward grades with money for the trip. They get a dollar for and "A", 50 cents for a "B". I also give them 25 cents for good manners and choices-ones that they aren't doing FOR the money, but ones I catch off guard! This is thier spending money. I do not buy them anything with what I have. So they know that is it. It worked well when we did this for a Chicago trip in April 2006 for AG place and the field museum souvenirs. I only really grade them in spelling, math,and handwriting right now. Last year I graded my oldest in history, but since I know her comprehension skills are way above average, I just have her read it now. Probably next year we will do a more structured program in history and science. This year and the past 2 years I have incorporated history with AG books and KONOS. Science has been through KONOS or unit study, as has been for geography. I feel lacking in this this year, but we are kicking back for the holidays and I will probably do KONOS or a unit study with them here and there-they LOVED KONOS and look forward to it.

Anyway, since there is usually always something they want to save for, we continue this for trips and other things they want. My DH pays them for chores around the house too , but we don't give them the money for grades on an ongoing basis like allowance. I keep a tally of the money for thier grades in my planner and they get it right before the trip or time they want to buy what they saved for.

Just an idea. For Chicago, DD8 saved about $75 and DD9 saved about $82 over the course of the school year-they started in July and we went in April, so I was happy with that and so were they. We didn't shell out anything on souvies and they learned to budget thier money for what they wanted.

It was funny to watch how they shop with thier OWN money!!! DD9 still wanted as much as she could get , while DD7 knew exactly what she wanted, and focused on that only! And they still are the same way, except thankfully , DD9 is a bit pickier.

On another note, I am very proud of my DH, who brings the kids to the bank every Saturday(for the most part), gives them thier allowance($5 for DD9, $3 for DDjust turned 8)-DD9 saves $2 in her savings account, gives $1 to church or AWANA or whatever charity she chooses, and DD8 saves $1, gives $1 to church, AWANA or charity, and they can do what they want with the rest, which they usually wind up saving or buying gum with when I tell them "no" when grocery shopping. It feels good that they can do thier own spending and not everything comes out of my budget! Plus they are saving to buy each other a Christmas gift this year!!!

Good luck with that!!

Lori

 

[earthfaries]

So lately I'm trying to find a middle ground
We've done the highly structured school at home, follow the script sit at a desk for 4 hours thing. Didn't work for us at all.

I've tried to be relaxed borderlining on unschooling, and that just doesn't work for us either. DD needs some structure, and she actually likes gettting grades.

So the problem is I'm trying to find the middle ground, without driving both of us nuts.

I used to look over her work and instead of grading it, we would correct the work together. I found she was getting lazy and would just play around and not even attempt to do a good job.So I started grading, and there for a while it worked. However lately she just isn't trying to get things right or complete.
IE...... Tues grammar lesson was on compound nouns (subjects and direct objects). She knows the material. Did great with the examples we did together. However on her worksheet she was very sloppy and missed underlining several of the nouns. Her grade on the worksheet is 66. Typically I would have looked at the sheet, told her to go over it again, and then grade it.
However it has gotten to the point where I had to do that with every asignment, and it was taking all day to complete a couple of hours worth of work. Since no one really sees her grades, I've decided to let the 66 stand, since I've been harping on her for weeks to review her work before putting it on my desk. Now I feel terrible because I've recorded a 66 in my gradebook LOL

oh she's 10yr and 4th grade

Are you talking about my 11 year old son You could be describing him!!!
I have been through that, and still strugle with him almost daily! I have tried so many different ways of teaching him and have never found the right one! Some days he will take ALL DAY to do math!!! It drives me crazy. He is so smart , he could do it in 1 hour, but he doesn't want to! He is not motivated and I have tried so many ways to motivate him!!!

He loves a schedule, he def. does best with that. As long as it has fun interesting stuff in it He likes social studies a lot, he does NOT like writing. It's such a strugle, maybe one of these days I will feel satisfied with his daily work, but maybe not, maybe that is just what some homeschoolers are like.

I know everyone is different, it is just frustrating that my son is so smart and can do so much but doesn't want to . When it comes to schoolwork I could say he's lazy but it's not that, he just doesn't like it therefore is not motivated and doesn't do it without a fight.

Anyway, I'm still trying to find a system that works with him. Part of it is my fault as I don't have all day to sit and work with him because there are 4-6 children here throughout the day, but he doesn't like doing work by himself which is too bad because he needs to be able to . We love www.time4learning.com, he'll do that and that works great for us.

I just know that he is learning a lot, maybe not on paper as much as some, but he is smart and talented and mine I'll never send him to school and all I know is that he is getting more at home than he would at school. At least at home he is learning about life also

 

[TNKBELL]

Are you talking about my 11 year old son You could be describing him!!!
I have been through that, and still strugle with him almost daily! I have tried so many different ways of teaching him and have never found the right one! Some days he will take ALL DAY to do math!!! It drives me crazy. He is so smart , he could do it in 1 hour, but he doesn't want to! He is not motivated and I have tried so many ways to motivate him!!!

He loves a schedule, he def. does best with that. As long as it has fun interesting stuff in it He likes social studies a lot, he does NOT like writing. It's such a strugle, maybe one of these days I will feel satisfied with his daily work, but maybe not, maybe that is just what some homeschoolers are like.

I know everyone is different, it is just frustrating that my son is so smart and can do so much but doesn't want to . When it comes to schoolwork I could say he's lazy but it's not that, he just doesn't like it therefore is not motivated and doesn't do it without a fight.

Anyway, I'm still trying to find a system that works with him. Part of it is my fault as I don't have all day to sit and work with him because there are 4-6 children here throughout the day, but he doesn't like doing work by himself which is too bad because he needs to be able to . We love www.time4learning.com, he'll do that and that works great for us.

I just know that he is learning a lot, maybe not on paper as much as some, but he is smart and talented and mine I'll never send him to school and all I know is that he is getting more at home than he would at school. At least at home he is learning about life also

I think this is something we all struggle with!! Hey thanks for the link, I checked it out that looks so neat, even if we just use the demos!!!
How much is it to be a member?

 

[sha_lyn]

So today it's a really big drama.
I started grading yesterday's math lesson and when I turned the page I saw she had skipped the first 2 problems and didn't finish the other 2 (the page has 4 shapes on it and she is to name the right/90degree angles).
I told her she needed to finish. She argued and said it was finished. I showed her that she wasn't finished and she argued with me. So I graded the lesson and out of 14 possible answers she had only written 7. The 7 did were correct, so her grade is 50. It asked her if she wanted to finish the lesson now, or let the 50 stand. She said she would finish the lesson, but now she's crying saying it is finished. Oh she is so stuborn. She didn't write a single answer for the first 2 shapes, but insist she is finished.

 

[earthfaries]

I think this is something we all struggle with!! Hey thanks for the link, I checked it out that looks so neat, even if we just use the demos!!!
How much is it to be a member?

It is $19.95 a month and if you subscribe they give you two weeks to try it and if you don't like it you can cancel and get all your money back. If you do decide to try it please give my name as referring you. PM me if you subscribe and I'll give you my full name.
It's great, it's all he uses now. It's fun, really easy to follow and learn and you should just see the great lessons. I can't describe it just that it's the best $20. we spend a month

 

[homeschoolmomof4]

So today it's a really big drama.
I started grading yesterday's math lesson and when I turned the page I saw she had skipped the first 2 problems and didn't finish the other 2 (the page has 4 shapes on it and she is to name the right/90degree angles).
I told her she needed to finish. She argued and said it was finished. I showed her that she wasn't finished and she argued with me. So I graded the lesson and out of 14 possible answers she had only written 7. The 7 did were correct, so her grade is 50. It asked her if she wanted to finish the lesson now, or let the 50 stand. She said she would finish the lesson, but now she's crying saying it is finished. Oh she is so stuborn. She didn't write a single answer for the first 2 shapes, but insist she is finished.

First off (((HUGS))). I'm sorry you're having such a hard time with this. Have you tried setting up a reward system? When my kids do exceptional work or get something done that was particularly hard for them, we have a prize box full of small things like sparkly gel pens etc. that they can earn. Another thing we've done is let them earn Disney dollars. My kids are huge Disney fans and love to earn money for our trips to Disney or the Disney store. My oldest DS has dysgraphia so when he's worked really hard on something that involves handwriting and it's really evident that he has done so, we reward him. My kids have also earned gems to trade in to earn special time alone with just mom or dad doing something like mini golf, bowling or a movie. I've found that positive reinforcement works far better than negative reinforcement. Hang in there!

 

[earthfaries]

First off (((HUGS))). I'm sorry you're having such a hard time with this. Have you tried setting up a reward system? When my kids do exceptional work or get something done that was particularly hard for them, we have a prize box full of small things like sparkly gel pens etc. that they can earn. Another thing we've done is let them earn Disney dollars. My kids are huge Disney fans and love to earn money for our trips to Disney or the Disney store. My oldest DS has dysgraphia so when he's worked really hard on something that involves handwriting and it's really evident that he has done so, we reward him. My kids have also earned gems to trade in to earn special time alone with just mom or dad doing something like mini golf, bowling or a movie. I've found that positive reinforcement works far better than negative reinforcement. Hang in there!

Where can you get dd besides WDW? The disney store? We don't have one around here~ can you order them online somewhere??? Thanks, that sounds like a great idea and fun too. I think it would work better than regular dollars