*** Homeschool List ***

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Thanks TNKBell for the kind words.

It is my fault for getting caught in the homeschooling debate. It is something we are interested in--and we have had academic success the past 4 weeks. She just really longs to be with other kids. I plan on supplementing her (something I thought was a rediculous notion--but it can work!). I did refuse to send her to PS--b/c personally..I like the Catholic School environment. I do not doubt the academic part--and not really the social part. We figure that Kindergarten is the best introduction to traditional school and we can always pull her out in higher grades. With hubby being gone and me training for a marathon...I am looking at it as a gift.

It does alter our future travel plans--but oh well. That's what my mom gets for opening her big mouth (We were to go to Hawaii next October--not certain how she expects us to do that if she's in school ha ha!!!--she said something inappropriate and this is just the funny irony of the situation).

Toodles all--I'll peak in every now and again .

 

[meandtheguys2]

Everyone needs to do what is best for their family, LLP! Good luck!

Michelle

 

[disneymom3]

Although my DD12 is a homeschooler, my DD5 (she turned 5 just yesterday) has started K5 this year. My reason for sending her to school is really not much more than the fact that she wants to be with other children ALL OF THE TIME. My thinking was - when she says she's ready to homeschool, then that's when we'll start with her.

In one sense, the situation couldn't be better - most of the teachers/staff at the school know her because they've watched her grow up from an infant because DD12 went to this school as well. Her teacher attends the same church where our family goes, and she knows several of the other children at the school. Problem is - she cries at school every day, and sometimes she cries at home, too. Her complaint is that the day is too long (which it is - 8am till 2:45). As I mentioned, she just turned 5 yesterday.

I don't want to wimp out and withdraw her because she cries - that sounds silly. My thought is to try to hang in there for a while to see if she'll adjust. I don't feel a need to keep her there academically, I just wanted her to have a chance to be with friends every day. On the other hand, I consider us a homeschool family and am not interested in her being miserable when I don't consider it necessary.

Ideally, there would be a half-day K5 program for her, but the only ones available are at private schools and we can't afford that right now. I've thought about the idea of sending her back to her preschool on a 5 day program (she went 3 days per week last year). Is this a reasonable option? Am I being too much of a mother-hen? She's only been at school for 7 days now, so how long should I expect for her to make the adjustments?

Thanks for any input - I need it!!

How long has school been in session? My mom was a k teacher for a very long time and she says crying the first week is no biggie, crying the second week those kids are borderline not ready, crying into the third week, they are just not mature enough and should be home until next year. And this was for half day K. I hate full day K--it's just too rough on those young 5s IMO.

 

[laceemouse]

Sheree, you should do fine hsing in Texas. We would love to move there! The hsing laws are EASY and there are many, many resources for support, ect. Search the hslda.com web site for info about your local groups. Eeyore's Girl, I understand why you put your little one in school, and I also agree that it doesn't have to be forever. I do think it would have been fine for her to do one more year of pre-school. We have moved a couple of times, and most people feel that for August birthdays waiting another year for kindergarten is a great idea. It is not just how smart they are, but if they are ready to be away all day and keep up with the pace of school. We pulled our youngest out in the middle of first grade, and she has an early November birthday. She loved the social aspect of school, but the push, push, push of the pace was making her miserable. Best wishes in your decision......when are we gonna get our own forum

 

[TNKBELL]

Sheree, you should do fine hsing in Texas. We would love to move there! The hsing laws are EASY and there are many, many resources for support, ect. Search the hslda.com web site for info about your local groups. Eeyore's Girl, I understand why you put your little one in school, and I also agree that it doesn't have to be forever. I do think it would have been fine for her to do one more year of pre-school. We have moved a couple of times, and most people feel that for August birthdays waiting another year for kindergarten is a great idea. It is not just how smart they are, but if they are ready to be away all day and keep up with the pace of school. We pulled our youngest out in the middle of first grade, and she has an early November birthday. She loved the social aspect of school, but the push, push, push of the pace was making her miserable. Best wishes in your decision......when are we gonna get our own forum

I wish I knew, I just emailed the webmaster last week and he said they were working on it, so I guess we'll see!

 

[Eeyore's Girl]

How long has school been in session? My mom was a k teacher for a very long time and she says crying the first week is no biggie, crying the second week those kids are borderline not ready, crying into the third week, they are just not mature enough and should be home until next year. And this was for half day K. I hate full day K--it's just too rough on those young 5s IMO.

Today was her eighth day of school. When I dropped her off, it was by far, the worst day yet. Each day she is progressively begging more and crying more for me not to leave her (Is she being dramatic or is she disturbed? - I don't know.). I even cried today. The teacher says she's fine during the day (in other words, not crying), but watches the clock constantly, waiting to go home. I'm with you, I think if this were a half day program, we would not be having this problem. Thanks so much for your help. I think your mom's opinion concerning the crying would be an appropriate guideline for us to follow.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Eeyore's Girl--so sorry to hear about your DD....I am at a loss and wish mine was somewhat like that--it would make the homeschooling decision easier.

Well the 3 words that DD thought were hard yesterday--I snuck them into her phonics game and she can read them and is up to 16 words. But she still asks about school. But darned if a 5yo isn't so easily distracted---I snuck school in and she didn't mention "real" school until a while after we were done.

I ran into a wall on Monday---so I've had intermittent headaches...the poor thing has been glued to the tv this afternoon . I don't know how much my headaches are caused by the bonk--and how much are over the stress of a decision. I need to sleep--so the tv was turned on.

I think she would have fun in Kindergarten---parochial would be the only way for me. Hubby joked that I took the hard road to get him to agree to parochial since he used to be in that population that "public school was good enough for me". He's so funny--okay, not.

I cannot get her in for her shots---her well child isn't for 2 weeks. But I'd have to fork over a heck of a lot of money to hold a slot.

However---we didn't begin school today until about noonish--I took out all the 'let's copy school stuff'--and we just did the meat of what we do and we were done in an hour--and she was tired. I just cannot imagine her in school all day from 8-3. A very long day indeed.

The school is at our church--so talk about weekly taunting of something that to her is very desireable.

Hubby likes the school route--but he also thinks that doing a sudden about face of what we have been doing is a bit extreme but will support either decision. I did tell my mom that our October trip next year would be off the table (we'd go during a school break instead). Ho hum!

 

[sweet maxine]

Bless your heart! You're really dealing with a lot! My mom calls it "monkey chatter", and I listen to it sometimes myself. I thought about the hs issue with my GS for a long time. I actually wanted to hs my 17 y/o twins when they were little, but I let that opportunity slip away from me. Now I feel as though I have that chance offered to me again with my GS. He doesn't ask about going to school---quite the opposite in fact--he had such a hard time in preschool, that he would beg me to stay home many days. It is soooo much better for me now, but again I'm just starting with all of this. This will actually be my first week to give it a try, and believe me, we've had a bad day already! But I know that he will not get the attention he needs if I send him to school. He works best one-on-one, and I realize that it will be a big sacrifice for me, but I'm hoping in the end it will all pay off for him. He needs the opportunity to visit with his mother who lives in another state, and I don't want to deal with the hassle of asking permission for him to miss any days from school. If he needs to spend a long weekend there, he will be able to now, and that will be a good thing for him and for his mother. The public school system is not really set up for those kinds of situations here, and I think it will work out so much better for all of us concerned if I don't have to retell my situation each time he needs to visit out-of-town for a few extra days.

I realize my situation is entirely different from yours, but the uncertainty and heartache are the same. I hope that maybe something will work out for you and your child and you might be led in the direction that will be best for both of you. I feel that I was led in the direction I am going, and I'm really not going to look back. I also realize that this will not be an easy journey, but that big smile he has on his face when I've told him he did a great job is absolutely priceless! I think in a room with almost 30 other children, it would be a totally different experience for him.

I still have some "monkey chatter" these past few days, but it's more along the lines of, "Am I choosing the right curriculum?, or Will he be able to hold a pencil better soon, I'm not sure I'm showing him the right way?". I'm guessing all first time hs'ers have those thoughts.

ETA: One of the other reasons, and a big one was about the time spent at school. I agree, 8 a.m. till 3 p.m. is a very long day for a young child!

 

[nuzmom]

I just wanted to say - don't beat yourself up if your child doesn't have a "perfect" school day (or no school day). Remember, not every day in public school is 100% "schooling". They ease into it the school year also - passing out books, learning the routine/rules, etc. They also have substitute teachers at times and may just get busy work those days.

It's ok if we feel under the weather (or stressed) to take some time to gather ourselves or to skip school for that day. It's MUCH better to do that than to force it and have a BAD school day.

The TV isn't always a BAD thing, either. Now, mind you, we are a very anti-TV family, BUT there are times that a good (educational) video is just what I need to supplement a topic (like Bill Nye the Science Guy). Also, letting my DS4 watch blue's clue's (or a LeapFrog Video - GREAT) can give my DS9 and I just the amount of alone time he needs to tackle a particularly difficult concept. I think the key is to limit the TV so that it's a treat and pick GOOD shows or videos. We have had good luck in finding good science videos and good biographies. Honestly, my kids don't know if it's "educational" or "just for fun" (hee hee).

Anyway, I think I got off the topic, but just wanted to say the above.

Lisa loves Pooh: you may have already said, but what does your daughter think school is going to be like? I'm just curious and, of course, you don't have to say if you don't want to, but you said that she keeps mentioning it and that it's at your church so it's "taunting" her. I think my curiosity is peaked because my DS4 was VERY excited to not go back to preschool this year (at our church) because he gets to do "real school" at home. My DS9 has admitted that he misses getting to see his friends everyday at PS, but then he goes over the long list of things he likes about HSing.

 

[sweet maxine]

Nuzmom, I saw those Leap Frog Videos at Wal Mart a while back and started to buy a couple of them. I think they were very cheap--about $5 or $6? Anyway, I'm curious. Are there any good titles for K5 or about that age group?

I agree about just giving up and trying something else for a "bad day". My GS had one of those on just our second day, and of course I thought, "Am I doing the right thing". We just went on to something else (played soccer at the park). Yesterday he built a car out of boxes we had around the house and had a blast doing that. (He calls it "Chitty Chitty - Bang Bang"). We did get in a couple of lessons, but I can already tell that he is a "hands-on" kind of learner. He's good for a workpage or two, then he's ready to really "do" something. Thank goodness I've got lots of arts and crafts supplies around here. I'm starting to save all kinds of things in case we need them for some kind of project (or is that just the pack rat in me ). I read about some ideas for lapbooking last night, and since I'm already a scrapbooker, I think we will have fun with that too. I ordered some Funtastic Frogs books I saw on special, and we're looking forward to working with those. I found a cute pkg. of frogs at the Dollar Tree the other day, so we'll use those too. He also loves putting things together. I found some cute wooden models at Dollar Tree, and he really has fun with those.

I don't know what today will bring, but I'm hoping it's a good one. I'm almost finished with my first week, and so far it looks like we'll do alright.

 

[nuzmom]

Sweet Maxine: We borrow the Leap Frog's "Talking Words Factory" dvd from our library. It goes over the sound that letters make and then "smoshes" the letter sounds together to form simple words. An example is the letter "C", it's cold and says "k, k, k" like it's shivering, the letter "A" is scared and says "ah", like something just scared it. The story line for this dvd is that Tad (the little frog) is trying to fill out a contest form on why his dad is the best dad.

Here's the link to the description that amazon has for it....
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...ext_1/103-4400763-9131849?v=glance&s=dvd&st=*
They say it's for 3 to 6 year olds.

I haven't tried what I think is the next one - the code word caper. Oh, I just realized that "the letter factory" is the first one is this trio. I'll have to check that one out.

I can also say that my DS4 has been sitting at our kitchen table for over an hour with his Leap Pad and the "Tad's day at the letter factory" book. This book is for the leap pad with writing system (ours has the microphone, too). It follows the same lines as the videos with how to learn the sounds of the letter. They can even use the pencil to trace the letters in the book (and other paths) over and over again, but I will say that it doesn't cover how to print the letters (like where to start).

Here's a link for that...
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...0763-9131849?v=glance&n=4072391&s=imaginarium

My DS4's main phonics curriculum is Modern Curriculum Press Plaid Phonics, level K, but these videos and leap pad books are great/fun to "play" with. (He thinks it's play, I think it's school )

Hope that helps.

 

[sm4987]

Thank you all for the link. Tonight is meet the teacher night. My kids are excited to go, but everyone they see they tell them I'm homeschooling them next year. It's funny because they love being around other kids, they just would rather do their work right here at home. I'm excited and I have the next year to plan. That will make it better because I won't be jumping in totally into the unknown with out having done some serious research first.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Lisa loves Pooh: you may have already said, but what does your daughter think school is going to be like? I'm just curious and, of course, you don't have to say if you don't want to, but you said that she keeps mentioning it and that it's at your church so it's "taunting" her. I think my curiosity is peaked because my DS4 was VERY excited to not go back to preschool this year (at our church) because he gets to do "real school" at home. My DS9 has admitted that he misses getting to see his friends everyday at PS, but then he goes over the long list of things he likes about HSing.

Well--we went to "church school" today--which is the mom's morning out---it is a childcare program type event and I was working. She saw the school building. She knows that her one particular friend doesn't go there and her mom works the childcare as well and she comes along. Her friend doesn't turn 5 until later.

I asked her what was special about "real" school......and she said, she could go to school with her friend (which she actually cannot), she can bring a lunchbox, a bookbag, and play on the playground. So I'm not going to harp on "real" school anymore. Frankly--that money can go elsewhere. I have signed myself up to take her to the playground daily--and bring a pack lunch. Homeroom (our co-op) begins next Friday with orientation---but when the classes actually start, she can bring along her backpack. I also rementioned that Hawaii trip she so longs to go on--it isn't until next October---but I'm sure, my well traveled daughter--will come to realize that we can take trips whenever we want.

It is tabled--though the option is open as the school holds open enrollment for transfer students until April. So if something happens and it doesn't really work out--I can transfer her in. But for now---it is a wonderful thing that distraction still works with a 5yo .

ETA: Another e-mail from the school principal--they will take her even though she can't get her shots for 2 weeks. Sometimes I think God just tosses opportunities my way like a poor hyperactive dog chasing a tennis ball. No go this way, no go that way, no try up, no try down!!!! I wish wishwashiness burnt a significant number of calories. I would never have to work out .

 

[nuzmom]

Lisa loves Pooh: Aren't kids funny? My kids also like to get a new lunchbox and backback each year (and folders and pencils, too). I also take a picture of them outside our front door on our first day of school with backpacks and lunchboxes if desired.

btw - when we play outside or go to the playground, sometimes I point out how I think it's great that we get to enjoy the beautiful day together and they aren't "stuck" in school. Sneaky, yes, but so true.

I know what you mean about God "testing us". Several posts back, I was in a panic over whether to try to go back to work parttime, even though I knew it would distract from my boys schooling. Well, after prayful consideration, I think God was just testing me to see if I was still willing to make sacrifices for our family to live according to his plan. After reaching my decision, I was much more "at peace" with the whole thing.

I've always felt that it would be much easier to "hear God" if there's a burning bush and a loud voice speaking to me!!!

 

[TNKBELL]

Lisa, I guess having 4 kids changes your perspective on things! Children don't know what is best for them, we as parents are given the authority by God to make these decisions. You are so kind and caring to be concerned with what your daughter wants but remember they are only wants and you know what is best for her. I am not saying that hs is what is best for your family but if you really feel is it, it's your job to make a decision. Children need to feel safe, therefore they need clear boundries. I know it's a tough decision to make, but for the best interest of your daughter you need to show her that you are the one that makes the decisions. I'm not trying to interfere but this is something I do myself and I constantly need to remind myself of my own duties! You sound like a great Mom who's very creative and intelligent, I know whatever you decide to do will be successful!! God Bless!

 

[disneymom3]

Lisa--I totally understand your struggle with this. I think we all so much want to be the perfect mom that we are afraid to make any mistakes. Don't know if you saw my post awhile back about my son in basically the same situation. He kept saying he wanted to "go" to kindergarten, not stay home. I finally asked why and his reasons are that he wants to eat lunch, not at home (I think he figures they get McDonalds or something) and he wants to learn more about shapes. So, the first week of public school, we are going out to meet daddy for lunch and I have gotten some hollow geometric shapes to fill with stuff and compare volume. Voila!

 

[disneymom3]

Hey, guys, I need some feedback. I am in a weekly co-op. Overall things are fine, but we are gettting some new members in (we have been pretty small--a total of 20 kids) and the dynamics of DD9s class are changing. As it stands, this next year, she will be in a class with 5 boys. That is it. They are 9 and 10 and I know three of them well and they are nice little boys. However, there are NO other girls. The other parents are acting like this is no big deal and I think it is a concern.

What do you think? How would your 9 or 10 year olds like to be in a class of all students of the opposite sex?

I am really seeking some input on how to handle this situation. Need to figure out our future with this group. Opinions???

 

[JMSMommy]

Hugs Lisa, my oldest did this to me recently. His reasoning was that if he went to "real school" then he could get a break from the hard learning work because he thinks the kids at school only play on the playground and eat lunch together.

I had to explain to him that if he went to school then he would have to just as hard of worksheets and math problems, and that he'd have to read books still, and listen to a teacher. I told him that while he would have recess each day, the school day would be more like his co-op day (4 hour day set up much like a traditional school day where they learn about 1 subject in depth a week). Then I explained that he would be required to be "quiet" and "respectful" at all times, even if the class was learning how to do addition and subtraction within 20 (he knows this already) and if the class had to read Green Eggs and Ham (he's reading 3rd grade readers easily). When he finished with his work he'd have to sit and wait (or draw pictures) NOT play freely in the classroom.

I told him that I had not signed him up for school this year, but next year if he still wanted to AFTER understanding what all they would be doing and learning (I will pull up the scope and sequence for 2nd grade at our schools) and he still wanted to go I would consider it. From past experiences, I know he'd rather be at home (as he tells me how much he loves doing his math and reading with me).

He did tell me after I explained school was more like his co-op classes that while he liked to go to co-op he was BORED there. He thought schools had a 2 hour recess. I quickly told him that NO it was more like his co-op recess time (which he thinks is too short).

 

[meandtheguys2]

I am really seeking some input on how to handle this situation. Need to figure out our future with this group. Opinions???

I can only say that until he was 9 my DS's friends were all girls. They were the most fun in the HS group we were in. It wasn't a problem, and they are still sweet girls, but he now pals around with abou 12 boys aged 8 - 14.

I guess I am thinking that if you truly like the group (we only have one group to choose from here) than I would no let it bother me. I suspect she would be treated like the princess she deserves to be!

If you are iffy about the group or have better options then pursue them.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

So DD and I did homeschool today--when we were done, I asked her what she liked best and she had two answers....making her own Bible..and EVERYTHING.

I broke out the handwriting workbook that looked too "schoolish" to me and told her that this was a "real" school worksheet book. Bawahahahahahaha---she did 10 f/b pages.

For reading--she gets frustrated with new words...so I think every other day is going to be a hard day. I am guessing we will spend 4 weeks on the scared sound of "a" (ahhh--like in cat).


What was the name of the Leap Frog video---that does the words (not just the letter sounds in Letter Factory)?

Thanks!

p.s. the principal of the school is so intimidating to me for some reason--feel like i got sent to the office and afraid to speak up. She's been so nice to create a seamless opportunity for DD to start Kindergarten on Monday and I need to think of something kind to write to say thanks, but we will stay on course for this year. I don't want to burn bridges for future reference--so I personally don't want to play up the homeschool bandwagon which I am confident is something that she doesn't support for academic, professional, and personal reasons. I just might need her in the future and don't want my kid being the black sheep of the school. KWIM?