homeschool ? Please help.

[LadyShiva]

Here's the link to the books I recommend for US History:

http://www.amazon.com/America-Narrative-History-6th-One/dp/0393924262

I have the 3rd Edition.

Brandie

 

[sha_lyn]

Arrggg....... Somehow I just lost a long post
I'll try to cover the basics in it quickly before I run

Crankyshank.... Sorry, I assumed you saw that I am in GA and made the assumption that I was speaking about Southern Baptist or local Independent Baptist.... thanks for the link and book recommendations.

Ladyshiva...Yes I would love to know the name of the set of books.

Conventions.... The biggest one here in GA is this weekend. I believe it is called The Georgia Home school Expo. We have gone before. The first few yrs there was a good mix between secular and religious vendors. The last time I attended, it seemed to be mostly religious vendors.

Next yr I do plan on attending if the one science vendor I have purchased from in the past will be there. Next yr we will cover biology in depth with DD, so I'll be shelling out the big $$ for dissection kits, models etc.

Oh and DD is starting 4th grade on Monday, but her hunger for science and history surpasses her reading level.

 

[LadyShiva]

Statements like that are what bothers me. I really haven't been indoctrinated. I have had to learn the ins and outs of my religion sure, but I have also needed to learn the ins and outs of other religions- both in HS and in college. Public schools that don't have testing aren't exactly beholden to anyone regarding if their facts are correct or not. For example, I can open pretty much any history text book for any school regardless of religious affiliation and point some pretty major errors and glossing over in it.

If anything, i would say my religious education has prepared me a lot more for my major than a public school education would have. Because a knowledge of religion is essential in knowing history.

The Reformation is a big part of my thesis

Do you think your education pointed you towards your subject matter? I know my personal emphasis on many cultures pointed me towards my emphasis in my history degree being anyone/anywhere BUT Europe and the Americas.

Brandie

 

[LadyShiva]

Ladyshiva...Yes I would love to know the name of the set of books.

Conventions.... The biggest one here in GA is this weekend. I believe it is called The Georgia Home school Expo. We have gone before. The first few yrs there was a good mix between secular and religious vendors. The last time I attended, it seemed to be mostly religious vendors.

Next yr I do plan on attending if the one science vendor I have purchased from in the past will be there. Next yr we will cover biology in depth with DD, so I'll be shelling out the big $$ for dissection kits, models etc.

Oh and DD is starting 4th grade on Monday, but her hunger for science and history surpasses her reading level.

Thanks for the pointers for the conventions.

My experiences with dissection were earthworms, squid, and pig brains. Soooo would have rathered software exploration of the pig brain. The worms were about a foot long, too. I completely ran from taking Anatomy and Physiology in high school; I did genetics and microbiology instead. Invertebrates and test tubes for me, please! I'll take the smell of Simmons Citrate agar fresh out of an autoclave over an autopsy any day!

I hope your DD enjoys the US History books I mentioned.

Have a lovely day!
Brandie

 

[Crankyshank]

Do you think your education pointed you towards your subject matter? I know my personal emphasis on many cultures pointed me towards my emphasis in my history degree being anyone/anywhere BUT Europe and the Americas.

Brandie

Absolutely. Well to a degree at least. My minor is in the classics, which is a direct result of my education. Specifically because of the amount of time spent on the Old Testament and greek myths.
I have a genetic predisposition towards historical geekness as DH likes to tell me. Most of my Dad's side of the family are history nerds. I can tell you my focus on European history is because I had better Euro teachers than American history teachers. They made it so exciting and interesting and we spent a lot more on it than public school kids because our requirements were stricter and didn't have to worry about budget cuts dictating class size and student grouping.
I had the standard American history program pretty much every kid around here has and it was unbelievably boring. If I decided to go with a graduate degree in US history, I would specialize in the colonial period, westward expansion or maritime history (Specifically the privateers and whalers). That would be because of personal interest developed outside of school.
Right now my focus is on Medieval History - particularly the plague, Reformation, and Hundred Year's War. The Reformation part is because of my Catholic education.

 

[LadyShiva]

Absolutely. Well to a degree at least. My minor is in the classics, which is a direct result of my education. Specifically because of the amount of time spent on the Old Testament and greek myths.
I have a genetic predisposition towards historical geekness as DH likes to tell me. Most of my Dad's side of the family are history nerds. I can tell you my focus on European history is because I had better Euro teachers than American history teachers. They made it so exciting and interesting and we spent a lot more on it than public school kids because our requirements were stricter and didn't have to worry about budget cuts dictating class size and student grouping.
I had the standard American history program pretty much every kid around here has and it was unbelievably boring. If I decided to go with a graduate degree in US history, I would specialize in the colonial period, westward expansion or maritime history (Specifically the privateers and whalers). That would be because of personal interest developed outside of school.
Right now my focus is on Medieval History - particularly the plague, Reformation, and Hundred Year's War. The Reformation part is because of my Catholic education.

The thought of that thesis makes me run to find something else to do. Every time I even casually think of the Plague, I think, "Two-thirds of the people DIED. Two-thirds!" I have to admit my next thought is Monty Python...

I'm a wuss about large numbers of dead people. I won't read about the Mayans or Aztecs, and the details of the genecide of WWII Germany left me sobbing for a good 4 days and nights.

But give me "Shogun" and I'm set for a week! *eyeroll at myself*

My major thesis for my senior year of my Bachelor's degree was "Female genital multilations in Egypt and South Africa and the cultural differences between the two societies." Real peppy paper, huh? The other thesis was "Sexual Harassment of US Women during WWII."

Tell you what... I'm just a bundle of joy. I need ice cream. *wave*
Brandie

 

[disneymom3]

Julie, I think you may have hit on my issue obliquely. You accept religious schools with more equanimity than I do. You linked religious tolerance with primary school, whereas I wouldn't. I would prefer secular education, and any and all education (yes, including the Amish and the cults in Utah, CO, et al) being forcibly required to provide a base education of a certain ability, up to 12th grade.

I don't see religion as a good force when it comes to education. That's why I completely disregarded the book curriculum from Bob Jones University, et al, that (I believe) sha_lyn posted and probed further on lab-based classes.

I think religious institutions take advantage of lesser requirements, and it freaks me out. I don't think I should go into specifics here, except to state that I believe we agreed earlier that religious institutions are exempted from requirements.

I see people partially homeschooling but having to turn to colleges, public schools, etc, to fulfill educational requirements, and that validates these feelings that religious-based homeschooling is lacking.

Does that make sense? I'm really not trying to bash, but I am trying to share my feelings with this post. I fundamentally believe relying on religious texts to teach is wrong. I believe they should be used for character development, but NOT academic development.

Brandie

I think I understand more clearly what you are saying now. Thanks for explaining it. You are right we are coming at this from different prespectives. I appreciate you continuing to clarify your points in this conversation. I am personally not aware of any religious schools in this area that are not very academically rigourous.

As for conferences, there are several in MN. The biggest one by far is done by MACHE which is a Christian organization. Unlike sha_lyn's experience though, there are hundreds of vendors and many many many of them are not religious based. It is an awesome and amazing opportunity to see all that is out there first hand. And yes, it tends to be quite overwhelming. (Would Math U See or Singapore or Moving With Math or.......be a better fit for my child? Makes your head spin!)

We have used SOTW and love that curriculum. Susan Wise Bauer does an awesome job of bringing ancient history to a child's level. We actually do this in co-op so it lends itself well to group projects. We have stopped for this year however as the author herself says that you should not use year 4 with kids under 4th grade and most of our kids are in the 2nd-3rd grade category. Two other moms and I are in the process of writing a US Cultural Geography curriculum which we are using this year. At this point, I know more about Maine, NY, CT and NH than I ever thought I would! PA is next on my list We will be doing two years of US Geography and then starting the classical cycle over again.

For US History, I also strongly recommend the Story of US by Joy Hakim. I don't think there is a religious overtone to it. If there is, it is very minor. Nice narrative and excellent illustrations and pictures. No projects though so that is a bummer.

 

[disneymom3]

).
Right now my focus is on Medieval History - particularly the plague, Reformation, and Hundred Year's War. The Reformation part is because of my Catholic education.

Oh, if I were to go back to college that is what I would study too. LOVE that time period!

...

I'm a wuss about large numbers of dead people. I won't read about the Mayans or Aztecs,
My major thesis for my senior year of my Bachelor's degree was "Female genital multilations in Egypt and South Africa and the cultural differences between the two societies." Real peppy paper, huh? The other thesis was "Sexual Harassment of US Women during WWII."

Tell you what... I'm just a bundle of joy. I need ice cream. *wave*
Brandie

EEEK. Yeah, keep those Mayans to yourself. Their games alone were enough to give me nightmares. Of course, Cortez was no picnic either. He's the one that borught me to tears.

As for your thesis, makes me glad I was a developmental psych major. My senior paper was on Methods of Communication with Children with Communication and Interaction Disorders." (I am dating myself--this is now called the Autism Spectrum.)

 

[JennyMominRI]

I

For US History, I also strongly recommend the Story of US by Joy Hakim. I don't think there is a religious overtone to it. If there is, it is very minor. Nice narrative and excellent illustrations and pictures. No projects though so that is a bummer.

I will admit that when I was a homeschooler I had a tough time finding good secular texts..yes, I am a religious Jew,but I did not want my kids having a religiouslly based education... We ended up using Saxon Math, Easy Grammar and a mixture of non- religious history texts...One of the main things I liked about homescholing was the fact that I was able to give my kids a less American and Eurocentric based history curriculum. I put more emphasis on the history of Aisa , South America Africa etc. then the public school and the religious based homeschooling curriculums did.
We also lived in a very diverse area in Ca where my kids were exposed to Muslims, Buddhists, Hindu's, Samoans, Vietnamese, Cambodians etc.
The ironic thing is they experience far less diversity now in public school, in a city that 90% white , Catholic and either Irish or Italian.
To the history buffs..I'm in the club too, although not through a university experience.. My favorite areas of study are British history, more specifically the Plantaganet era, Russian , Indian(India) Chinese and Japanese history.
My Jewish studdied have led me to learn a great deal about the Middle East and the Holocaust... US history just doesn't interest me much after the Colonial period

 

[pansmermaidzlagoon]

And if you publish in a journal, your articles will have the typos edited out of them by a professional editor, I presume?

Brandie

when I write in a forum like this, I write as I think - more stream of consciousness...I don't care about typos and such all that much....I am not writing in a journal or a dissertation...I know that bothers some, but that is what I choose to do..(I did VERY well in my writing classes, thank you very much! I know the difference in formality and can do very well when inclined!!)



******my points on teachers and teaching materials still stand!!!!*****(I notice you didn't address this - or address ANYTHING I wrote - but rather went for the easy put down! I DID say I didn't take/need CALCULUS for any of my degrees - having a hard time figuring what my typos have to do with anything?????)

I will say it again - I am having a hard time seeing how the OP could do worse than the school teachers or writer/editors of our childrens' learning materials you depend on when sending children to public school!!!!

 

[LadyShiva]

when I write in a forum like this, I write as I think - more stream of consciousness...I don't care about typos and such all that much....I am not writing in a journal or a dissertation...I know that bothers some, but that is what I choose to do..(I did very well in my writing classes, thank you very much! I know the difference in formality and can do very well when inclined!!)

my points on teachers and teaching materials still stand!!!!

*nod* I try to be more demonstrative when I'm on a forum than when writing professionally. But the typos are the first indication of your education level and age to strangers. You post in all caps or in IM-speak, I will refuse to acknowledge you.

Brandie

 

[LadyShiva]

******my points on teachers and teaching materials still stand!!!!*****(I notice you didn't address this - or address ANYTHING I wrote - but rather went for the easy put down! I DID say I didn't take/need CALCULUS for any of my degrees - having a hard time figuring what my typos have to do with anything?????)

I will say it again - I am having a hard time seeing how the OP could do worse than the school teachers or writer/editors of our childrens' learning materials you depend on when sending children to public school!!!!

You are selectively reading. I realize there are 15 pages now to keep track of, but I have posted my thoughts on the need for Calculus for college admittance.

Calm down.

Brandie

 

[pansmermaidzlagoon]

You are selectively reading. I realize there are 15 pages now to keep track of, but I have also posted my thoughts on the need for Calculus for college admittance.

Calm down.

Brandie

I am very calm, I assure you (but thanks for your concern!). I am not upset, but amused at the assumptions!..just don't see why you needed to address me at all - if you could not address the points I made - and your only comment was nothing more than a put down!

I am very educated and "ever so much more than twenty" and yet I often make typos on a forum - so there goes that theory!!!! I don't think that many people approach a forum as if they are writing a dissertation or the great American novel.......


back to the topic at hand:

I see typos, misspellings, bad grammar, etc ALL the time from teachers and in educational material...I don't see why that qualifies the OP as unable to home school her children - if it did we would have to let go an awful lot of teachers and educators in public schools, text book companies, etc.... It is a problem caused in large part: the public schools themselves....so I think it disingenuous to make it an issue when a parent wants to home school and comes on a forum looking for advice and all some detactors can come with is snide commentary on her spelling and grammar!

when it comes to scientific writing, or manual instructions, etc - the issue is: you have to ask do you want the tech writer to be an expert in the field first and foremost...or do you want a good writer....most companies want the expert...in a perfect world they would be proficient at both, I suppose.....but not very realistic expectation.....

 

[Crankyshank]

My paper isn't very plague-y. The focus is on the catalyst that led Medieval times to profoundly influence modern day Europe. The plague and the hundred year's war led to societal upheaval and clerical abuses that led to the Reformation which shaped politics (the abandonment of empires in favor of nation-states). Plus add in literacy and humanism for good measure. Not too gory. It does involve the Plantagenets, Jenny. Well the end of the line at least.

I've all but decided my master thesis is going to be something involving the Viking and Saxon influence of England in the Dark Ages. You guys can wake up now

disneymom3 - have you read anything by Bernard Cornwell? He is my favorite author and has written some great books on the time period. Particularly the Grail trilogy (The Archer's Tale, Vagabond, and Heretic)

 

[JennyMominRI]

I'd like to clarify that I have typing issues..I have a lot of pain in my arms especially the longer I type..I try to go back and correct tyos when I make them ,but honestly, If my hand is really hurting that's the way it's going to be.

 

[LadyShiva]

I am very calm, I assure you (but thanks for your concern!). I am not upset, but amused at the assumptions!..just don't see why you needed to address me at all - if you could not address the points I made - and your only comment was nothing more than a put down!

I am very educated and "ever so much more than twenty" and yet I often make typos on a forum - so there goes that theory!!!! I don't think that many people approach a forum as if they are writing a dissertation or the great American novel.......


back to the topic at hand:

I see typos, misspellings, bad grammar, etc ALL the time from teachers and in educational material...I don't see why that qualifies the OP as unable to home school her children - if it did we would have to let go an awful lot of teachers and educators in public schools, text book companies, etc.... It is a problem caused in large part: the public schools themselves....so I think it disingenuous to make it an issue when a parent wants to home school and comes on a forum looking for advice and all some detactors can come with is snide commentary on her spelling and grammar!

when it comes to scientific writing, or manual instructions, etc - the issue is: you have to ask do you want the tech writer to be an expert in the field first and foremost...or do you want a good writer....most companies want the expert...in a perfect world they would be proficient at both, I suppose.....but not very realistic expectation.....

What you see as a put-down was a pointed redirect to see if you acknowledge the fact that grammar is actually important in your "professional world."

I can point you to the "rules of etiquette" of an internet forum. Your posting "style" shows extreme agitation. You say you post with a James Joyce-style, which conveys an emotional quality to what you "say." Your posts are interpreted by your audience, and reacted to. If you don't like the reaction, change your style to more appropriately denote your emotional quality.

As I stated earlier, I appreciated the OP updating her post to fix her typos. It does make a difference when you fix your typos. I could continue to fuss about the single existing grammatical typo left in her first post, but really, come on! I appreciate her fixing the thread title.

You can interpret our valid criticism of her post as snide. I would like to point out you are irritated at your childrens' teachers spelling things wrong, so what is the difference between our feelings?

Brandie

 

[Taqwus]

*nod* I try to be more demonstrative when I'm on a forum than when writing professionally. But the typos are the first indication of your education level and age to strangers. You post in all caps or in IM-speak, I will refuse to acknowledge you.

Brandie

Is that not judging a book by the cover or stereotyping people
Your ability to spell has no direct correlation to your education level, imagine someone from a different language
Some people could be like me who can type fast, but not very accurate sometimes. Or they are us to using shorthand typing like in work. Where I use to work at had us typing in all capitols since it is easier to read things, that was a hard habit to break

But trluy it is azmanig waht the mnid can raed if jsut the fisrt and lsat lteters are corerct

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Where are the conventions held? Do you have a URL you can pass me?

Thanks in advance!
Brandie

Ours is held in Orlando. It is the biggie and put on by FPEA. You can check them out at www.fpea.com (I believe .com, but it may be .org).

A mom that I met through DD's piano instructor says there is a huge one in Atlanta. Some Southeast conference of some kind. I have no idea when or any information. Just that I think it costs $10 and seems to be not as crowded as our convention.

If you go to the www.hslda.com and putter around the states in there and find different groups. You may be able to find some groups that do a convention in your state.

We briefly considered a move to PA a month ago. The only convention I found was done by a Christian Homeschool Organization. While FPEA is secular, it does have many Christian Home Educator offerings since they seem to corner the market a bit. But there were several secular offerings as well for materials.


I am poor at quantitative guestimation--but it was an awful lot of square footage dedicated to just shopping. And then even more for seminars.

 

[LadyShiva]

I'd like to clarify that I have typing issues..I have a lot of pain in my arms especially the longer I type..I try to go back and correct tyos when I make them ,but honestly, If my hand is really hurting that's the way it's going to be.

Jenny, so long as you don't start typing in all caps, I will always "listen" to you and make the effort to decipher your posts. :duck

Honestly, I tend to not say squat about someone's grammar. It was the fact that the OP was talking about homeschooling their 9th grade child that triggered my saying anything. It seemed like the white elephant in the room.

Brandie

 

[Aisling]

You mean you were able to take the standardized testing required for graduate programs without Calc? Oh that makes me feel so much better! I haven't taken math of any sort in 15yrs so the GRE is stressing me out

No, you don't need calculus! So you're set!

My son just graduated from college, cum laude, and never took a calc course...didn't need it, didn't require it.
He's now preparing for grad school, and calc isn't an issue.