*** Homeschool List ***

[Sparkie]

tnmomof4Hi!

We are new to homeschool too. Although my daughter is older, I read your comment about schedule. I wouldnt think it necessary to do every subject, every day. It may be just because my daughter is high school but she has chosen certain days to work on certain subjects and our school day doesnt start until mid to late morning. Also right now she is schooling 4 days a week give or take.

On the Saxon math- my youngest (who is in middle school now and didnt want to homeschool- for now anyway) did Saxon math at her elementary school- now maybe this works for some children but I found it very confusing and so did she and we were ulitmately reteaching math at home. Just like when our public school thought you could teach children to read without phonics- "sight reading" I think is what they called it- so we again retaught at home with phonics. Currently my 6th grader in public school has not had the benefit of a certified math teacher all year. Her teacher went out on family medical leave 3weeks into the year and we have had substitute after substitute. So I am teaching her math at home using the public school textbook and after much teethpulling a copy of the course of study from the board of education.

You know I thought I was a "new" homeschool parent- after typing this - I think I have been doing some form of home school for years.

Maybe I'll be ok after all.

 

[Sparkie]

We are using ABeka. "Physics The Foundational Science" by Ed Rickard.
Thanks for the suggestion. I'll check it out.

 

[Ellester]

Hi, maybe someone out there can help me. My DH and I have finally decided - we're going to start hs'ing our 2 youngest beginning in Sept (2nd and 4th gr). They are currently in a private catholic school. My oldest will be graduating in June from the 8th grade (he's been in the same school for the past 10 yrs. since pre-k) and will continue onto a catholic hs. He wants to try it for a year and then reconsider hs'ing. We can no longer afford a private education for all 3 of our children and public school is not an option.
Anyway, my problem is this - my mother. She is already starting with the negative comments about hs'ing and I know that she thinks we're crazy. She's not happy about us writing a letter to our principal stating that we're not going to reregister them for next year and that we are planning to hs them. I think that she was hoping a miracle would happen and that we would be able to afford keeping all 3 of them in catholic school. Is there anyone out there who has experienced a similar situation? I'm sure that this is just the beginning and the negativity will increase when more family/friends find out, especially since we live in the nyc area. It doesn't seem to be the "norm" here. I think that she's embarrassed and is worried about what other people will say and think. She's missing the whole point and I don't know what to do. Thanks in advance for any help!

Well, to go at it from a Catholic perspective, this is directly from the Catechism:

2221 The fecundity of conjugal love cannot be reduced solely to the procreation of children, but must extend to their moral education and their spiritual formation. "The role of parents in education is of such importance that it is almost impossible to provide an adequate substitute."[29] The right and the duty of parents to educate their children are primordial and inalienable.

And here are some other references: http://www.catholichomeschoolpa.org/Home_edu.html

I would suggest finding a local HS group, I'm sure there are more than you suspect in NYC. You will need some local moral support. You may just have to develop a tough skin until your family sees the "fruits". And you can always come here to vent!

 

[TNKBELL]

Well, to go at it from a Catholic perspective, this is directly from the Catechism:

2221 The fecundity of conjugal love cannot be reduced solely to the procreation of children, but must extend to their moral education and their spiritual formation. "The role of parents in education is of such importance that it is almost impossible to provide an adequate substitute."[29] The right and the duty of parents to educate their children are primordial and inalienable.

And here are some other references: http://www.catholichomeschoolpa.org/Home_edu.html

I would suggest finding a local HS group, I'm sure there are more than you suspect in NYC. You will need some local moral support. You may just have to develop a tough skin until your family sees the "fruits". And you can always come here to vent!

Wow!! That's great!! That is what keeps me going!!! I couldn't remember the exact quote!! Thanks for posting!!

 

[dvcbnd]

Thanks Ellester for sharing such a wonderful quote. I appreciate your advice, too! The layers of skin are starting to form and I haven't even begun yet. LOL

 

[tnmomof4]

Thanks for posting that quote. It is great!!! I had never heard it before.
After reading your replies about schedule, I think that I might be stressing over it too much.

I have talked to some mom's that homeschool their kids, and they talked about how important it was to have a strict schedule. They would tell me how their kids were up at 7 am getting dressed and doing chores and then school started at 8:00 sharp.

I even saw the TV special about the family (I can't remember their name), but they have 10-12 kids and they are all home-schooled. I mean if she can teach all her kids then it should be easy for me since I only have 4.

I am glad to see that it is okay if you don't start early in the morning.

Thanks Sparkie for what you said. My kids went to a private Christian school. This school is one of the top christian schools in TN. They make the work hard because other christian schools are measured against them as far as test scores and that kind of thing, and they have a "reputation" to keep up.

The classes in all grades cater to the A students. If your child struggles then that's just too bad. My son's teacher told me that your son has been a C student in the past then just expect him to become a D student. I went in time after time to get him and me help, but they just won't do it. I felt that every night I was reteaching him every subject. I would have him bring every book home just so I could try to help him keep up. The teacher would say he just wasn't trying. I would say no he is trying. We stay up til 10:00 every night just studying and doing homework. I could go on and on, but it was just frustrating. When it came down to it, the teacher's just didn't really care about us. I guess we weren't in the "in" group either.

Even in past years it was basically the same thing from the teachers. If a C is the best my son can do than that is great, but I knew he had more ability than what they were saying about him. I am glad to say that he is getting A's in most of his subjects. I don't give him the A's, he is learning and getting them on his own. The subjects he is struggling with are the ones that the teacher's didn't care if they left him behind.

I am glad to have found a place to come and get help and support. I hope that in the future I can help someone who is in the place I am now.

 

[Cinderellabride]

I would be interested. We don't homeschool yet. It's a little ways off until it will time to make that decision. I'm still pregnant with our first, but we are considering the option of homeschool when the time comes.

 

[graygables]

I have talked to some mom's that homeschool their kids, and they talked about how important it was to have a strict schedule. They would tell me how their kids were up at 7 am getting dressed and doing chores and then school started at 8:00 sharp.

there are some people who function best on a strict schedule, we're not one of them. We use a computer program that has the days of attendance programmed in and it assigns DDs their work for the day. I make out a rough schedule of our activities for the week (plus any work that *I* have due for my Master's program) and we build from that. I also take into account that my DDs and I are night owls and do our best work later in afternoon/evening. 7am, unless it involves a departure for WDW, simply doesn't happen.

I even saw the TV special about the family (I can't remember their name), but they have 10-12 kids and they are all home-schooled. I mean if she can teach all her kids then it should be easy for me since I only have 4.

If you are talking about the Duggar's PLEASE don't think it's as easy as the TV makes it look. She hands off the responsibilities of rearing each child to another child "buddy". The older children do the majority of the teaching (including bathing, toothbrushing, feeding, clothing, washing) of the younger ones. I shudder when I hear of anyone who thinks "If Michelle can do it, so can I." I recently saw the oldest son's website and was aghast at how poorly written it was, down to simple spelling and grammatical errors. His teaching younger siblings is a scary thought.

I had 4 at home, but only 2 were homeschooled at a time (age gap) and it was not easy, but definitely doable and rewarding. The thing is to ease up and try to find cross-grade subjects, so you can teach history and science at the same time to everyone, then break out for the language arts and math aspects.

 

[disneymom3]

I have talked to some mom's that homeschool their kids, and they talked about how important it was to have a strict schedule. They would tell me how their kids were up at 7 am getting dressed and doing chores and then school started at 8:00 sharp.


I am glad to have found a place to come and get help and support. I hope that in the future I can help someone who is in the place I am now.

I am sure you will be helping someone in the near future!!

As for the strict schedules I think they are lying! Here is how our day went today. We finished breakfast at about 9:30. While I made phone calls that had to happen today, the boys created a Lego Museum in their rooms. Then they sold tickets to their stuffed animals. While they did this, DD worked on a wooden yo yo she is trying to make out of balsa wood which is not working very well. Then we read some books together. We had lunch, they watched Arthur, we went to the bank and paid a bill at Target. Then we went to Toys R Us and the kids did their "table work" in the car so I guess today was car work. After they were done, we listened to the book on CD we currently have in the car. (It's Rowan Hood btw and is a really good book. We all sat in the car for awhile when we got home because we wanted to find out what happened next.) Then we came in, they had snack and I got to DIS. Oh yeah, way scheduled days we have around here.

For those of you hoping to have a homeschooling subforum here on the DIS, PM the moderators. I assume they are sick of hearing from a few of us!

 

[GreatLakes5]

I was going to add the Duggar comment as well - I'm sure they are fine, fine people - but those older children most certainly are doing a lot of the work. Granted, I left this morning to have blood work done while leaving my younger two with my older and as I drove away thought that this was a luxury. (Only a homeschooling mom would see blood work as a luxury )

So the older kids certainly are helping that mom stay "on schedule".

We attempt to start in the early morning - work through to 10:30ish - they get half an hour (or more correctly, I get 1/2 an hour) then we're back until lunchtime. Our afternoons are usually spent with me reading aloud and we do any project-type stuff.

BUT I think the beauty of homeschooling is the fact that we are home. I fight the desire anal me has to be too scheduled. I'm not trying to re-create school at home. We're home and just happen to do our learning here.

Do what works fo you and your children! You will all be blessed for it.

Leah

 

[dizcrazee]

We have a very relaxed schedule also. This is my first year to homeschool, and when I was planning, I envisioned a strict schedule, and even went so far as to make out a schedule that went something like 7:30 - breakfast, 8:00 - Bible study, 8:30 - math, 9:15 - language arts, and yadda yadda. Ha! That lasted about a week, but it was so stressful that it was counter-productive to what I am really trying to achieve, which is a pleasant, rich, meaningful, and stimulating learning experience for my child. When I tossed the schedule is when I really started to make progress in this endeavor. Now our days are something like this:

DD gets up around 8:00, eats breakfast, and watches recorded Magic School Bus. Then she prepares for the day, makes up her bed and tidies her room and bathroom. While all of that is going on, I'm doing my own chores. When we are done and meet in the "school room" (the old spare bedroom), we have our Bible study. When we are finished, she can decide what to do next - it may be work on her grammar CD-ROM program, use her flashmaster, read, work on her history timeline, etc. I let her have a lot of input as far as the sequence of activities. I also now understand what "works" with her and what doesn't. That has made a huge difference in her attitude and level of interest. Trying to force her (and myself) to follow a strict schedule was a mistake because it took all the joy out of learning and exploring. We are having fun now, and she is learning a ton of great stuff, in a way that is suited to her own learning style and preferences.

 

[dutch_girl_scout]

For those of you hoping to have a homeschooling subforum here on the DIS, PM the moderators. I assume they are sick of hearing from a few of us!

Did there used to be a homeschool thread on the DIS? I thought there was when I first joined but maybe not.

We have no schedule either, although we have a routine. We try to be working somewhere around 8:30. DD goes to the ps everyday from 11:45-12:30 for band or choir then back home again. Lunch is routinely at 11:00 when baby is taking his morning nap. Besides that, DD picks what she wants to do depending on her mood. If anyone else has a tween, you can imagine that we never have the same day twice. Sometimes she hauls the math out and looks at the first couple problems and shelves it until later.

Before we started this year (our first year) I had all the lesson plans entered in Homeschool Tracker for the whole 1st semster. I think we were off "schedule" the second day. Now I enter them at the end of the week.

Great quotes about it being our job to teach our children. I loved the thread the other day on responses to relatives who question homeschooling. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1696134 I had seen the list of 25 responses somewhere else but hadn't saved it. This time I printed it off so I can pull it out when I need a good laugh.

tnmomof4--When in November will you be at WDW? We'll be there the 18th-22nd, before hopping on the Magic.

 

[Ellester]

Another one here with a pretty relaxed schedule. I also started out thinking a strict schedule was the best way. I bought "Managers of the Home" and plotted out some schedules. Boy, that didn't get real far. I've found that my oldest needs more autonomy than I originally thought. My morning schedule is pretty strict, but that's really only for me because it gets my whole day off on the right note. I wake up at 6:30, work out, do a few chores, and hop in the shower by 8. Usually I try to rouse the kids by 8 if they are not already moving. Breakfast and coffee by 8:30 or 9 and then the day gets going. I print a sheet for my oldest each week outlining what needs to get done. Some things are every day or several times a week. Spelling, math, read alouds for example. Other things she tends to do all at once; six pages of phonics, geography, art. Some days she'll get motivated and be done with most of her work before I make her breakfast! Other days, she's asking me to give her spelling (Sequential Spelling) at 4pm. As long as she gets the sheet done by Friday afternoon, I'm happy. I do have to remind her from time to time that she's pushing things off, but usually she jumps right in on Monday morning so she has most of Friday free. I usually try to get my 1st grader going around breakfast time. If she's in the right mood she can also belt out some work in a hurry. I also put on the sheet any extra-curricular activities, sports, playdates, etc. so they know what's coming up and can plan accordingly. I've found our homeschooling experience goes much smoother if I'm not so uptight about our schedule. All three kids wanted to learn to sew yesterday while I was mending a few stuffed animals, so I thought "what the heck" and they all learned a simple stitch. The girls want to make pillows next week, so maybe we'll do a small Home Ec unit study. I love, love, love having that flexibility.


Glad the quotes were helpful. It's always nice to get affirmation from an outside source even when you know in your heart you are doing the right thing.

 

[Ellester]

Hey Dutch_girl_scout,

Are you in Pella? My oldest was born in Ames, we lived there for 5 1/2 years. My DH got his Masters at ISU while I worked in Ft. Dodge and then in West Des Moines. We loved Iowa, just too far from the rest of our family. It's a joke in our family that we have to return to the Midwest to spawn! (I was born in Chicago, DH in Omaha, DD in Ames)

 

[tnmomof4]

Yes, the family I saw on TV was the Duggars. I couldn't remember the name until I saw it.

tnmomof4--When in November will you be at WDW? We'll be there the 18th-22nd, before hopping on the Magic.

We are going Nov. 9-21st. This is the longest vacation we have ever taken.
We are really excited.

Ellester - I love how you print out a schedule of what has to be done each week. I am going to start doing this. There is a lot that my kids could do on their own if they knew ahead of time. It would be so nice if I knew what needed to be done each week too. I usually just look at the teacher's curriculum the day before I teach it.

 

[dutch_girl_scout]

Hey Dutch_girl_scout,

Are you in Pella? My oldest was born in Ames, we lived there for 5 1/2 years. My DH got his Masters at ISU while I worked in Ft. Dodge and then in West Des Moines. We loved Iowa, just too far from the rest of our family. It's a joke in our family that we have to return to the Midwest to spawn! (I was born in Chicago, DH in Omaha, DD in Ames)

It's a small world after all, it's a small world after all.

Yes, we're in Pella. My DH and I were born and raised here, never lived anywhere else. Sometimes that's good, sometimes not so good. We weren't the best teenagers (who is?) and a lot of people remember that. There is always the constant feeling of being under a microscope.

There is no doubt that the Midwest makes good babies. We have dreams of escaping Iowa some day and moving to Florida.

 

[DawnM]

I think you are referring to the Duggar's? They have 15 kids now!

Our church has a school and from what I have seen, 2 of my kids would fit in great, one of my boys would struggle daily! But all 3 would most likely be bored to tears. Sit, shut up, and do a lot of busy work. Then go home and do more busy work homework!

Are you thinking about hsing?

We have NO strict schedule at all! It actually makes me cringe to think about it. The reason I am hsing is not to create an institutional school at home, it is to create an environment that will allow my boys to love learning and to enjoy the process of learning.

We use Tapestry of Grace for most History, reading and writing. I also have them read independently for a min. of 30 min. per day, whatever book they choose. We do Singapore math, AIG science and they play golf with dad for PE. We have a children's bible we read one story per day out of. There are other things we do here and there, but the above are staples.

Dawn

Thanks for posting that quote. It is great!!! I had never heard it before.
After reading your replies about schedule, I think that I might be stressing over it too much.

I have talked to some mom's that homeschool their kids, and they talked about how important it was to have a strict schedule. They would tell me how their kids were up at 7 am getting dressed and doing chores and then school started at 8:00 sharp.

I even saw the TV special about the family (I can't remember their name), but they have 10-12 kids and they are all home-schooled. I mean if she can teach all her kids then it should be easy for me since I only have 4.

I am glad to see that it is okay if you don't start early in the morning.

Thanks Sparkie for what you said. My kids went to a private Christian school. This school is one of the top christian schools in TN. They make the work hard because other christian schools are measured against them as far as test scores and that kind of thing, and they have a "reputation" to keep up.

The classes in all grades cater to the A students. If your child struggles then that's just too bad. My son's teacher told me that your son has been a C student in the past then just expect him to become a D student. I went in time after time to get him and me help, but they just won't do it. I felt that every night I was reteaching him every subject. I would have him bring every book home just so I could try to help him keep up. The teacher would say he just wasn't trying. I would say no he is trying. We stay up til 10:00 every night just studying and doing homework. I could go on and on, but it was just frustrating. When it came down to it, the teacher's just didn't really care about us. I guess we weren't in the "in" group either.

Even in past years it was basically the same thing from the teachers. If a C is the best my son can do than that is great, but I knew he had more ability than what they were saying about him. I am glad to say that he is getting A's in most of his subjects. I don't give him the A's, he is learning and getting them on his own. The subjects he is struggling with are the ones that the teacher's didn't care if they left him behind.

I am glad to have found a place to come and get help and support. I hope that in the future I can help someone who is in the place I am now.

 

[Ellester]

I figured with your screen name that Pella was a safe bet! Love those dancing brooms in the Tulip Time parade! I have never seen such beautiful flowers, I had no idea tulips came in so many sizes and colors. We have also toured the Pella window factory, my dad loves factory tours and lined it up when they came out for a visit. A great field trip if you haven't done it.

I grew up in Florida, I think Iowa is a MUCH better place to raise kids. When we go back to Florida to visit my dad I do enjoy it, but the sheer amount of people is somewhat overwhelming. I've grown to like life in a smaller town (even though I know Columbus is much larger then quaint little Pella!). Although you are right, there is not alot of anonymity.

 

[DawnM]

Ok, back from Disney.

We had a BLAST! We got the 5 day hoppers and 4 vouchers for DisneyQuest and Typhoon Lagoon for $141 each.

The boys loved the water park and DisneyQuest, but they all agreed that if it ended up being more than the $9 I paid for the 4 vouchers, they could leave it out.

We stayed at Orbit One for $179/7 nights and then did one night for $45 at a hotel through Priceline.

We didn't wait in line more than 20 min. for anything. We got on everything we wanted several times. The last day, Friday, was the start of MLK weekend and that was the day we ended up not sticking around long because it got crowded.

I already want to go back!

Dawn

 

[Ellester]

We have NO strict schedule at all! It actually makes me cringe to think about it. The reason I am hsing is not to create an institional school at home, it is to create an environment that will allow my boys to love learning and to enjoy the process of learning.

Totally agree! We are definitely not "school at home" homeschoolers! I know that works for some folks and I'm not knocking it, but for us the flexibility is one of the best of many benefits!