*** Homeschool List ***

[nuzmom]

I've got to also go to the superintendent's office next week for the paperwork I need to fill out. Wish me luck!

Good luck.

You may want to do a quick look at the law for your state before you go. As I mentioned, in Pennsylvannia you wouldn't have to do anything, including meeting with the superintendent or doing any paperwork. Also, be aware that superintendents aren't always very "friendly" to homeschooling.

Can anyone else shed some light on this. For a 4 year old, why would she need to meet with the superintendent?

Anyway, good luck.

 

[DreadpiratK]

Hello,
I'd be interested. Our oldest is 15 and we have been homeschooling him since he wanted to learn to read for his third birthday. He will be taking Pre-calculus at the local community college this fall. Our others are 13, 11, 1, and we are expecting in February. Remember, all you have to know is more than they do!! Brenda

 

[sweet maxine]

I live in Mississippi, and from what I've read on the HSLDA website, it looks like I've just got to file a "certificate of enrollment" by Sept. 15 to the school attendance officer. I thought I was supposed to go through the superintendents's office to do this. Is that right?

We're going to the beach this weekend, so maybe I can use some of the things we see to start our first unit with. I know he'll love playing in the sand, and hopefully we'll find some shells too!

 

[nuzmom]

Sweet maxine: I certainly don't want to steer you wrong, but it looks like you don't have to do anything until the child is age 6. IMHO, you should give HSLDA a call and ask the question or at least try to search out the answer BEFORE you go to the school.

Anyone else have an opinion????

 

[4girlsmom]

Like nuzmom, I will be using Saxon Math 54 for my 9 year old, as well as Apologia Botany. My 7 year old will also do Botany. I almost chose Astronomy, but the deciding factor was that we're going to Hawaii in Oct. & I figured perhaps we could tour a sugar cane plant or visit some gardens as a field trip.

This will be my 1st year homeschooling. I'm planning to start by Sept. 1. I would have liked to be ready sooner but didn't realize how long it would take me to choose curriculum.

My question is: What are some suggestions of how to keep a 3 year old happily entertained during teaching time? She will be 3 in Oct. and likes all kinds of arts & crafts. I'd love to hear what others have done.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I too would love to know how to keep a 3yo entertained. She liked playing with the same worksheet (doing it in her own special way). I've brought out the blocks and stuff for her to play with...but wonder if there is anything else to keep her entertained. We just started K--and not really interested in trying to see if my 2yo is ready for K yet. Would like to keep her un-homeschooled for a little bit.

 

[nuzmom]

4girlsmom: Well, I can tell you what I did last year. I had DS3 and DS8. First, I didn't spend 100% of time "over" DS8. During the subjects that came easy to him, I got him going and then focused on DS3 (playing, reading, whatever). I was available for questions from DS8, but most of the time, it wasn't an issue.

On the subjects that I needed to spend more time one on one with DS8, I would get DS3 "busy" with painting or playdoh. I also have to say, he thought that it was a special treat to get to watch TV, so when I really needed him 100% occupied - I'd let him watch Bob the Builder, or Dora the Explorer, or a video. Believe me, that 1/2 hour of TV time for him was GREAT time for DS8 and I. Hmmmm, now that I think about it, he always seemed to have a snack while we schooled. That bought us another 15 minutes or so.

Lastly, I involved him when we did Astronomy. He was allowed to color at the table with us and listen. Then when we did the "assignments" (more like hands on learning, FUN stuff), I would include him.

Oh, I also had books on tape for him, I would "allow" him to listen to one or two. Can you tell, I made a big deal out of "well, I guess you can do xx, since you've been so good"? Hey, it works.

I've also heard people say to have a "school only" box of toys for little one to play with during school time. Rotate the toy box every week or so. I didn't use this, but I've heard others having good luck with it.

 

[sweet maxine]

Nuzmom, that's the way I read it too. So does it in essence mean that if he's 5 and he has been enrolled in a public school system or if he's age 6 on or before September 1. I read that to mean that if I've already enrolled him in public school and would then withdraw him, and he's 5 yrs. old. I guess I'm kind of confusing everyone and myself now, but the way I read it in the first place, I understood that I would not really have to do anything until he is 6 yrs. old. I'll call the HSLDA in athe morning to make sure I understand correctly.

I agree about calling the school system. I might meet with a lot of negativity if I try that first.

 

[4girlsmom]

Thanks for those great ideas, nuzmom!

 

[disneymom3]

Sweet maxine: I certainly don't want to steer you wrong, but it looks like you don't have to do anything until the child is age 6. IMHO, you should give HSLDA a call and ask the question or at least try to search out the answer BEFORE you go to the school.

Anyone else have an opinion????

I 100% agree!!! I am not an antipublic school kind of a person, but I wholeheartedly ascribe to the idea of only do what you are required by law to do when it comes to reporting. And, I would also think that you could just call when you do have to register him and request whatever form your state requires.

 

[disneymom3]

For occupying three year olds....I have a three year old who wants to be at the table when we are doing lessons. When DD is doing math I have to stay at the table with her or #1 it will take her 3 hrs to do 4 pgs and #2 she will develop major anxiety that she "can't" do it. So, I am sitting there for awhile some days. Anway, one thing that my son has loved this last year is Lauri puzzles. He thinks the one with kids in different positions is the coolest thing ever. I also cannot say enough about Discovery Toys, and no, I do not sell them! However, they have some really awesome preschool learning hands on type activities. He has three favorites. One is Busy Bugs where you make various patterns and matches with the plastic bug things. He also loves playful Patterns which are sort of like tangrams. The other thing he really likes, DS5 likes too and that is their It's a Match game/books It has two different levels which is nice because they correspond to where both boys are at.

Some other things that would occupy 3yo for long periods. Gluing buttons (or pretty much gluing anything.) Right now, glue is on sale at Walmart for 10cents and I bought 10 bottles the other night. I am thinking about going back and getting more. Truly, he uses a ton of glue, but I don't care. He loves his creations and he stays very busy. He glues popsicle sticks, foam pieces, pom pom balls, paper letters, pasta, really anything that will stick to paper he is up for. In fact, I made some colored glue by adding powdered tempra to school glue and he just used that on paper.

Playdough and homemade glurch are good table time activities too. He likes to play with the unifix cubes too. He also plays games like dominoes (with pictures) Hungry Hounds, (the generic version of Hungry Hippos) and several other board games by himself. Etch a sketch is another good one as are View Masters. We also have used the Leap Pad and Power Touch to keep him busy.

Water color painting, paint with water books and any kind of painting where he can paint and then fold it over will also keep him busy for a long time. (You know like those butterfly things we did when we were little. Except he paints, folds, opens, paints some more, folds etc.)

I will probably think of more, but these should give you a starting point.

 

[4girlsmom]

I am loving these suggestions. Thanks disneymom3!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

My county homeschool e-mail group just sent me a link to an article....
she sited this particular quote which I thought would be of interest:

Regrettably, when groups clamor for "certified" teachers, today the phrase has become relatively meaningless. In fact, home-schooled students average 30 to 37 academic points higher than their counterparts in public schools on the same academic tests, even though less than 14 percent of homeschool "teachers" (i.e., moms) are certified. Similar results are seen in private schools, where the majority of teachers are not certified yet produce academic results well above their counterparts in public schools. Public school certification is no longer any assurance of quality.

This is a Christian Site--but this guy is talking about education in general. Found it very interesting for example--that Education mentions are one of the lowest averages on the SAT.

http://www.christianworldviewnetwork.com/ click on the article: 08/05/2005: How To Fix Our Public Schools: Part III of David Barton's Report on America's Educational System And in case you are as unsavvy on the computer as I am--once you get there....scroll down and you will see the article (for some reason it looked like an advertisment at first to me).

 

[Good Ol Gal]

Hi everyone! I don't know if this site has been posted yet, but it's one I use almost everyday for math worksheets for my kiddos.

http://superkids.com/aweb/tools/

 

[Good Ol Gal]

Here is another site. this is one I use to make time telling worksheets.

http://www.time-for-time.com/worksheets.htm

 

[Kerlynne]

http://www.lessonfactory.com/default.asp

 

[SSPrincessMom]

I just have to say, "I'm loving this!" You guys have such great ideas and resources to share! Here is a site I use with my preschooler. It has some pretty neat ideas.
http://www.preschoolexpress.com
Thanks again for all the great ideas!

 

[Good Ol Gal]

This is the site we use for reading and phonics. It is an interactive site and my kids FAVORITE!!

http://www.starfall.com

 

[TNKBELL]

Print off report cards, achievement awards, chore charts, ect..
www.chartjungle.com
Lots of worksheets,
www.schoolexpress.com
More worksheets(I only print the free ones)
www.enchantedlearning.com
Fun stuff
www.billybear4kids.com
Take book quizzes for prizes
www.bookadventure.com
Can't wait to check out all the other sites!!!

 

[TNKBELL]

I would love to see a complete curriculum based on worksheets printed free online!!! The only cost would be paper and ink! Talk about low cost homeschooling!!