*** Homeschool List ***

[Twende]

We are home schoolers also although our oldest has already graduated from college and the next two are presently in college.

Homeschooling was a blessing for us. Our family thrived!

We would love to join the list.

 

[Wishing upon a Star!]

Please add us to the homeschooling list. My son is starting 3rd grade this year and has never attended public school. We would have it no other way. It is a challenge though since I work full time. My dh is a full time daddy and house husband. We are always looking for new ideas and already appreciate some of the websites that have been posted.
Best Wishes to All,
Terri

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

" A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums" Dd3 proudly told Dh, A barrel of beagles a fuffle of bums" We got a good laugh, Hmmm, maybe she needs speech therapy!

That's how I'd say it! Maybe after an "adult" drink or two

 

[disneymom3]

I also have a 3 year old(4 in August) I know exactly what you mean, they want to do school too! I purchased some of the K-4 componants from A Beka , the Readiness Skills book and The Art book, these are so fun and simple and gorgeous illustrations and the Art book has adorable easy crafts that develop thier skills of drawing straight lines, coloring, cutting, pasting, painting and there are plenty of "Shape" activities in there as well. Dd really loves this and it's just enough school for her. I also have a 20 month old Ds who has to do school but he likes to color for about 5 seconds then he rips up the paper and colors on the highchair and himself. This is a challenge with homeschooling but I have noticed that my 2nd oldest Ds easily adjusted to homeschool after being around his older brother and they learn so much just from being exposed to the terminology. One funny thing, The boys are memorizing the poem, "The Flag Goes By" the second line is " A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums" Dd3 proudly told Dh, A barrel of beagles a fuffle of bums" We got a good laugh, Hmmm, maybe she needs speech therapy!

Thanks for the suggestion! I will have to check those out. Maybe they will have them at my bookstore outing tomorrow as they do carry some A Beka stuff in the store. I have to really spend some time planning focused activities for the little guy this year. I am taking David Hazel's advice and my intention is to do a quickie focused time with the youngest first and then send him off to play as I gear up for the older two. I am totally revamping this year so I have to really take a look at our daily schedule and figure out how to move things around.

 

[tigertam]

Lisa loves Pooh,

Here are a few places I like to buy from:

CBD - WWW.christianbook.com

www.vegsource.com/homeschool then hit items for sale or items wanted to buy. (You can list your own stuff here to for free!)

www.half.com(I like the last two much better than ebay, because they are instant and not waisting time bidding and checking all the time! Veg source feels more homey because your dealing with people like you and me)

www.alldirect.com ( I haven't ordered from here, but friends have. The prices are 35% off retail-free shipping over $99)


As far as preschoolers: I have found at our homeschool conferances Rod and Staff. There books are "cute", inexpensive and biblical. 606-522-4348 Each little booklet of 64 pages is only $2.80! They are for 4 & 5 year olds but can be used for some 2 & 3 year olds.(or at least portions) They also have a series for the 2 & 3 year olds too. I bought some of those, but couldn't resist the 4 & 5 year olds! These books are black & white and published from the Mennonites(?) They are so cute, very good and hard to beat prices! What you get could easily compare to double the price! Enjoy, Tammy

 

[copper0426]

Just wanted to bump this and tell everyone about our evening. Our homeschool group had a field trip tonight. We went to our local Nature center and learned about sea turles and then went to the beach to see them be released. My DS said wonder how long it will take them to get to the Australian Current. I guess Finding Nemo and Crush were on his mind. I just thought that was too funny.

Diane

 

[TNKBELL]

Just wanted to bump this and tell everyone about our evening. Our homeschool group had a field trip tonight. We went to our local Nature center and learned about sea turles and then went to the beach to see them be released. My DS said wonder how long it will take them to get to the Australian Current. I guess Finding Nemo and Crush were on his mind. I just thought that was too funny.

Diane

I've seen this advertised in the Vero Beach brochure, sounds really neat and a great homeschool activity, Florida is a mecca for homeschool learning!!! Thanks for sharing!!! Tooo Funny!!!!

 

[laceemouse]

Hey Pixiedust34 aka Kel in Md. You are pretty new to the dis, welcome! I was on here quite a while before going on SL. We are new to hsing. To Lisa, we are a Sonlight family, so I buy most of my stuff from them. I love the way it is all scheduled out for me and I am very attracted to the living book/Charlotte Mason style of it. However, I am reading a lot and plan to be flexible, make changes as needed. I have gotten quite a bit of supplemental stuff from Christianbooks, Rainbow Resource, and Sing and Learn as well as a few readers from Rod and Staff and Christian Liberty Press. My older 3 are crazy about reading, my youngest, age 7, is struggling. I did not feel that a workbook/ textbook type thing with grades and report cards and stuff would work for us. That's what is so great about hsing, we can each make our own decisions for our family!......Wish we could see baby turtles!!!

 

[mslil65]

My son will turn 4 in October. Sometimes I feel like I am missing out on opportunities for learning. Maybe I have pushed it too much with workbooks and such. He really isn't interested in those. (I have backed off a lot this Summer...so maybe there will be some renewed interest in a few months.) I found a few Kumon books that he enjoys...especially the cutting book...he loves using scissors! I guess my real question is...how do you begin homeschooling? I never thought of myself as an unschooler and I feel more comfortable with the thought of some sort of schedule or lesson plans...but it seems that right now, my child would prefer more of an unschooling approach! I try to "litter his path" with experiences and when he shows interest I try to provide even more experiences for him. At this age, I feel that playing and seeing the world may be the best way for him to learn. I read to him daily and try to incorporate crafts into his day...referencing the things that he is naturally drawn to (which is currently..bugs. Ugh...he LOVES finding bugs,dead or alive and can't help but pick them up and bring them to me.)
Please help me...am I just making the whole homeschooling thing much more difficult than it needs to be? Is there a way to get him more interested in letters and numbers or is that something that I should just wait on? He does know some of his letteres and recognizes his name from others on a paper, but really has no interest in learning to write letters.
Thanks!

 

[meandtheguys2]

mslil65, it sounds as though you are doing an awesome job with your son. There is no solid data that says a kid reading at 5 will do any better than a kid reading at 6 or 7. Most kids even out before they go ino the abstact thinking stage. Enjoy your little guy and keep spending time with him encouraging the natural curiosity that every kiddo has.

Michelle

 

[DreadpiratK]

My son will turn 4 in October. Sometimes I feel like I am missing out on opportunities for learning. Maybe I have pushed it too much with workbooks and such. He really isn't interested in those. (I have backed off a lot this Summer...so maybe there will be some renewed interest in a few months.) I found a few Kumon books that he enjoys...especially the cutting book...he loves using scissors! I guess my real question is...how do you begin homeschooling? I never thought of myself as an unschooler and I feel more comfortable with the thought of some sort of schedule or lesson plans...but it seems that right now, my child would prefer more of an unschooling approach! I try to "litter his path" with experiences and when he shows interest I try to provide even more experiences for him. At this age, I feel that playing and seeing the world may be the best way for him to learn. I read to him daily and try to incorporate crafts into his day...referencing the things that he is naturally drawn to (which is currently..bugs. Ugh...he LOVES finding bugs,dead or alive and can't help but pick them up and bring them to me.)
Please help me...am I just making the whole homeschooling thing much more difficult than it needs to be? Is there a way to get him more interested in letters and numbers or is that something that I should just wait on? He does know some of his letteres and recognizes his name from others on a paper, but really has no interest in learning to write letters.
Thanks!

You're on the right track. At that age, just see what he likes and encourage it. Read about bugs, count bugs, build bugs, write names for bugs...

Our oldest started with computers, he just loved computer games, even at 2 and 3, so we got him some math games, and he loved playing them, he learned his numbers, then wanted to go to the 'higher levels' so he learned addition and subtraction. Then he wanted to know what the computer was 'saying' so he decided he needed to learn how to read (At 3!) Bright little bugger. Anyway, he learned much of the basics, but it wasn't school, it was playing games for him.

Some kids have imaginary friends, Ben would go outside and play games with the imaginary 'computer guy'.

He's now 15 and taking college calculus, aiming to go to MIT.
If you get them to learn by doing what they love, homeschooling is much easier.

2nd and 3rd children are easy, they see thier siblings 'doing school' and want to join in.

 

[mslil65]

Thank you both for your encouragement!
There are days when I feel like I've done a great job and others where I wonder if I am doing a disservice to him...I guess it's just the life of being a mother! We'll just keep moving along. It's nice to have a sounding board here!

 

[OceanAnnie]

I'm just starting out too.

Here are some preschool links I have.

http://www.preschooleducation.com/breviewauthor.shtml

http://www.perpetualpreschool.com/

http://homeschoolinthewoods.com/WebLinks/weblinks-preschool.htm

One of the links I use the most is: www.chartjungle.com

I use it for keeping track of the meds I give and my grocery list. It also has a section for homeschooling charts. I'll probably use that section once I formally start homeschooling. (I just love this site!)

I'm "dabbling" in homeschooling now. Discovering my young child's learning style and my teaching style. I'm pretty sure I need to be structured. I have to have plenty of plans and documentation. That's my nature. I know I can be flexible. I just feel comfortable with loose plans and a large bag of tricks.

 

[nuzmom]

mslil65: Being that your son isn't even 4 yet, I'd say "relax and have fun" and you'll be amazed at how much learning is done. I think you're on the right track of backing off the workbooks at his age and doing the cutting/pasting type activities. I also have to say that I bet you'll see a big difference in another 1/2 year or so.

Here's my 2 cents worth - if you weren't homeschooling your son, he'd barely be in preschool with kindergarten a year or two away. What do most preschool teach? Learning through play and STARTING letters and numbers. Most kindergartens in our area have to cover letters and numbers again (because not every child goes to preschool) and then TOUCH on beginning reading.

My oldest son was so far ahead when he went to public kindergarten that it was EXTREMELY boring to him (and frustrating).

Well, having said all of that, I don't homeschool to keep my kids at public school "level" (don't flame me - I just believe in going at the child's pace, sometimes that's slower and sometimes faster). So here's my other 2 cents: You can have a "school schedule" for your son - only have it based on a 2 hour or so school day. Be sure to have story time, snack time, art time, music, letters/phonics, and numbers. You can add kitchen time (helping fix lunch or setting the table), free play, and puppet playing to your schedule, too. Whatever you'd like to do. Also, you can vary slightly from day to day, but the idea of having a schedule is to have consistency so I don't vary more than one thing per day. For instance, music on Mondays and Wednesdays, but puppet plays on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Here's another suggestion that works for my DS4 - I only "allow" him to do two workbook pages - his choice most of the time - he can do 2 letter pages, 2 math pages, or one of each. Then I say "boy, you did well at tracing those letters (or something like that), so if you'd LIKE to do one more page you can, but you don't have to." We also make a big deal of putting his finished work into his own school folder. Those two things combined helps get some workbook pages done, which makes me feel better.

I love the unit study type approach, which is basically what you're doing with "littering his path" with experiences and then further developing whatever he's interested in (like bugs!!!). You can incorporate that into learning letters and numbers. Like you said - counting bugs - that's math and is a GREAT way to teach. Want to incorporate letters - "bug starts with b", so learn the letter "B". Believe it or not, you could see how many bugs you could get on a paper (with the letter B printed on it, of course) at the same time - letters and numbers!!!! Or, put some sugar/honey in the shape of a "B" and see if you can "capture" some bugs.

All of that IS homeschooling for a 4 year old.

You are completely on the right track. Relax and go at his pace. Follow his lead on what he's interested in. Use a schedule if you'd like, but it can wait another year or two if you'd rather. Keep reading - the LOVE of books is one of THE BEST lessons you can ever teach!!!!

As far as wondering if you're doing the right thing - we all wonder that sometimes (it's a brief thought for some and linger for others, but we all have thought it). On those days, ask yourself "is there ANYONE who cares about my child more than I do? If he was in a class of 20 or more, do you think he would have had a better day? Is every day in public school a great learning day or do they have "down" days, too? Would he be better off at going at the pace decided by the classroom teacher or his mother?" Every day our kids are learning something - they're going to either learn it from others or from us.

Well, I'm sorry that this post got so long. Obviously, us homeschooling moms can get VERY passionate about what we do Take everything I've said with a grain of salt and do what's best for you and your son!!!!!

 

[Carrie Ellis]

Just found out today that my husband got a promotion and we are moving to Atlanta, GA! This will be my second year homeschooling my twin 8 year old boys.

Can anyone tell me about how Georgia is about homeschooling? All I know right now is that we will be living somewhere around Atlanta and I know each school district is different. Are there any really good support groups in the Atlanta area? It will be sad to leave this area in Virginia (Fredericksburg) because we have a wonderful group here called REACH. The lady who started it has probably an activity a day that you can sign up for if you really wanted too! We have done some really neat historic tours this year.

oh boy!!!

Thanks for any information!

 

[WeluvDisney2]

If anyone likes Usborne Books check out my website: www.ubah.com/N1466 you can order right online.

 

[Eeyore's Girl]

Carrie Ellis -
I'm 20 miles west of Atlanta! I absolutely love our homeschool group (Wisdom's Way Christian Home Educators). If you move to the north side of town, I have a dear friend who heads up a support group there.

Go to ghea.org for info in the area.

Let me know if I can help!

Just think - you'll be living HOURS closer to WDW!!

 

[Carrie Ellis]

Carrie Ellis -
I'm 20 miles west of Atlanta! I absolutely love our homeschool group (Wisdom's Way Christian Home Educators). If you move to the north side of town, I have a dear friend who heads up a support group there.

Go to ghea.org for info in the area.

Let me know if I can help!

Just think - you'll be living HOURS closer to WDW!!

Pretty scary huh! That is exactly what I thought about WDW!!! I think I need help!! ha!

I would like to stay South or West of Atlanta if possible. I am from Dallas and I would like to be able to jump on 20 West and head "home". My husband and I are both gov't people but I am only part time and out of the home. He will be working in the gov't building in Atlanta. I have never really been in Atlanta so this will be new! I hoping we can find a really nice home around 30 minutes South or West of Atlanta. I have been on Realtor.com for several hours today! He meets w/ the big wigs Tuesday and we should know when we will be moving then. I will be contacting you if we move into your area, if you do not mind!! And if we are North I would love to check out your friend's group. It is hard to start over when you move! We have been in VA for over 5 years now and it is just now starting to feel like I have been here forever!

Thank you so much!
Carrie

 

[mslil65]

Ocean Annie...thanks for the links...I will check them out!
Nuzmom...thanks for your kind words! I don't mind the passion! It makes me feel that much better that I'm on the right track.
Carrie...have fun with your move. The Atlanta area is just booming! Here's a link for state by state homeschooling info...I think it has GA's homeschooling laws: http://www.youcanhomeschool.org/starthere/info.asp

 

[Eeyore's Girl]

Carrie -
My DH is a government employee as well (GA DOT). We're also planning to make a move soon, but staying in the area. Seems there's lots in common, huh?! We'll be at WDW during the last week of September, how about you?

Sure, let me know if I can help! How could I say no to a homeschooling, Disney-addicted, soon-to-be neighbor (relatively speaking!), "coworker"?


Donna