Homeschooling

[bless7ings]

sorry about the spelling and grammatical errors, I am typing with a baby in my arms. I noticed one that bothered me the most. witch instead of which.

 

[Tink561]

One of my sons is a natural speller and never needed anything. My two younger sons are not. One had success with Phonetic Zoo,http://writing-edu.com/spelling. My younger son didn't do well with that but he is doing well with Sequential Spelling.

 

[ohiominnie]

We had Spelling Workout for awhile. Then tried Natural Speller (which I didn't get at all)
Now we use K12 and the spelling curriculum is included. I'm not so fond of the worksheets that come with it b/c sometimes they have nothing to do with the list and to me that is just busy work.

My dh found a program on the internet called I Spell Well. You do have to create your own lists (I get age appropriate lists off of the internet for dd, I use the K12 lists for ds) They kids have done really well with it and enjoy doing it. There are some minor issues with it (sometimes the pronounciation is a bit off, but it's not a huge issue for us) We've really enjoyed customizing it with our own family photos for backgrounds. I want to say it cost us about $20, but that was probably 2 yrs ago. Don't know if it's gone up. The website is www.ispellwell.com

My dad is not a great speller, but his logic is "Only an ignorant man can spell a word one way!" What a rascal!

 

[disneymom3]

Okay, here is my BIG homeschooling question. I am fine with the education part, the socialization, would even be interested in it, but I swear to you, I am afraid if I homeschooled my oldest daughter I just might strangle her. When we do homework together, it is all I can do to be patient with her. She is a great kid, but whines and whines with her work. "It's too much. I'm too tired. I don't know how. It's too hard." Every excuse she can think of. She does not do this with her teacher, she is a model student at school with great grades, so obviously it is just me. Have any of you had to deal with this? She is very well disciplined in every other area at home...but there is just a certain dynamic between us when we start to do schoolwork, that is just too much to deal with.

Well, I don't know what is wrong with your child. My kids are perfect in every way and NEVER whine about school work. Okay, back to reality!!! Darn! There are definitely times that my kids fight me about school. The oldest (at 10, not so much though math lately is another story.) This morning, DS 6.5 was a nightmare. I do alter the way I expect him to do things at times if he seems overwhelmed, I try to keep things active and physical for him but sadly, there are times when I just have to make him do the work. I am sorry but for us the reality is you HAVE to do your writing practice each day. Now, sometimes you can do it with play dough, sometimes you can write in dry oatmeal, sometimes shaving cream, but once in awhile it has to be in the book. Yes, I am a mean mommy. That is what DS thinks anyway!

I do find though that since so much of what we do is having all of us involved in things and hands on projects and discussions that they fight me way less. For instance, a couple of weeks ago, we were learning about how the postal service worked in colonial times. So, we wrote letters and addressed them to each others spots in the house which had to be described visually as our current address system was not in place then. This involved a lot of writing practice as well as reading what others had written and there was not a single objection about it. DS ended up writing two letters each to me, his brother, his sister and one to his dad. This is WAY more writing than his writing assignment for the day, but he loved it. He also figured out all of his own spelling as he wanted his letters to be secret until they arrived. (We also ended up throwing in a little science figuring out which birthday candles we tried melted best for sealing wax--the red ones, btw.)

As for keeping it all together, house clean, meals madel, wonderful creative lessons everyday, I admit I don't do it! I try my best at all of it and try to accept that I am limited in my abilities and am not strong in all areas.

 

[disneymom3]

That spelling program above--Sequential Spelling looks interesting. I too have been looking for something new. We have used Spelling Power for three years now but DD is now on the 11th grade level and the trouble is that she doesn't know what the words mean. I am going to look into that one a bit more. Thanks!

 

[bless7ings]

MOUSE MATTERS:
FIELD GUIDE: MAGIC KINGDOM

Pediacast: A Pediatric Podcast for Parents


I clicked on your link, it was an interesting article. Is this something that can be emailed?

 

[ohiominnie]

MOUSE MATTERS:
FIELD GUIDE: MAGIC KINGDOM

Pediacast: A Pediatric Podcast for Parents


I clicked on your link, it was an interesting article. Is this something that can be emailed?

You could copy and paste the article into an email window or just email the link. The link in my siggy has change though to this weeks current topic (Adventureland). If you really want the Magic Kingdom one or any of the other Mouse Matters articles, click on the link and then at the bottom of the Mouse Matters page should be the archives. I think there are 29 of them now! (btw, my dh writes these)

As for Pediacast....you can just email the link www.pediacast.org
Tell all of your friends!!!

 

[dana1003]

After receiving several nasty PM's about my last post, I need to explain my dd's problem with our school district. We do not live in a an affluent district that has money for all sorts of special programs. My daughter is gifted. She tested gifted her kdg year. She was doing multiplication problems in her head in kindergarten. She was reading at a 3rd grade level in kindergarten. She was placed in the gifted program....which amounted to being pulled out of class for ONE HOUR every TWO weeks. Woo-hoo!!!

She would come home from school every day and explain how boring school was. She would come home with stories such as this: "today was boring. We spent the entire morning talking about what could live in a river and what couldn't live in a river." Then she would add "Jeremy said a bunny could live in a river. Victoria said a raccoon could live in a river. They can't live in a river, they are mammals and have to breathe air."

So, yes, for her it was mind-numbing. It was a waste of her time. She wasn't learning anything. The teachers were teaching to the middle of the class and weren't addressing her needs. I am not saying every school district is like that. I am not belittling the public school system as a whole. I am simply saying that MY daughter in OUR school system was not being given what she needed. I know there are lots of great systems out there that can accomodate special needs kids. Typically they have a lot more money coming into them than our little bumpkin school district does.

If any of you that PM'd me had to go to a conference for 4 hours a day for 9 months a year to hear things you already knew, would that not be mind-numbing for you too????

wow-your daughter sounds just like my brother-mind you he is 30 now and an engineer but the same thing happened to him in school..my mom got called into by the kindergarten teacher to tell her my brother was slow and needed to go into remedial classes, that he didnt speak,blah blah ,blah. my mom couldnt believe it becuz at home he was very smart...so my mom goes ahead puts him in remedial and of course he outshines all the kids...my mom gets called back in again and they tell her hes ahead of his class. my mom finally asks my brother why didnt you speak in so and so's class and he tells her ' he was bored and the kids in his class were dumb". thankfully, that school did have what they call peak classes which were all day classses in allsubjects at higher levels. its too bad your school didnt have the resources...im only a mom of 3 year old twins but i think if it happened w/ my daughters i'd do the same thing. kudos to you and dont let anyone make you feel small or less intellegent for doing what you did.

 

[momto2girls]

As for keeping it all together, house clean, meals madel, wonderful creative lessons everyday, I admit I don't do it! I try my best at all of it and try to accept that I am limited in my abilities and am not strong in all areas.

So true! I admit that I have a cleaning lady and we sometimes eat out more often than I'd like. I readily admit that I can't do *everything*.

 

[tjmw2727]

So true! I admit that I have a cleaning lady and we sometimes eat out more often than I'd like. I readily admit that I can't do *everything*.

Ha - I do that and don't homeschool ... yet.

Seriously though I do work part time from home with my own hours as an accountant. Except for tax season there are no "urgent issues". This is my biggest hold back to homeschooling right now as we do need my income.

My dd's are 10 and 12 and pulling A's no sweat in a "superior" PS. I want to homeschool due to PS issues as well as to challenge all of us to do more and make the learning more interesting and exciting.

My oldest is totally self motivated and will do well on her own but my younger dd would need more 1-1 interaction. On paper the 4-5 hours of schooling would coincide well with me getting say 1-2 hours work done when the girls work independantly and another say 1-2 in an evening with catch up on the weekends while DH gets some 1-1 time with the girls So on paper it works well but I wonder about the reality.

FWIW I am really enjoyihng this thread - including the posters who advocate traditional shool. Its is making me really think about the pros and cons and my own steryotypes on Homeschool, Public School and Private School.

TJ

 

[jaycns]

So true! I admit that I have a cleaning lady and we sometimes eat out more often than I'd like. I readily admit that I can't do *everything*.

So very true!! Life is not always easy. In fact it usually is not. I am always two steps behind in cleaning, laundry, errands, etc.

I do manage to barely keep up...but I can tell you exactly what gets cut out (simply put, I am not capable of doing it all in one 24 hour period) and it is my "me" time. I rarely have the time to do something that is just for me. For my "me" time I DIS. After I get the boys their lunch I grab and apple and a turkey sandwich and flip the laptop open during our lunch break. I take bites between clicks. After about 1/2 hour I realize I was supposed to have been doing "productive" things during the break and I scurry around throwing laundry in the dryer, cleaning up any crumbs left over from lunch and making sure the boys have taken the dogs out.

My boys learned quickly that when I say it's our lunch break that I really do mean break. And unless something is broken, blood is spurting or the house is on fire that you better eat up, clean up after yourself and then find something to do with the rest of your lunch hour.

Another thing is I have a great support network of other like minded home school moms. We meet twice a month. The first Thursday of the month (WOO HOO TOMORROW NIGHT) we head out for dinner somewhere...no kids. The second Thursday of the month we meet and play Bunco and chat the night away. It's a load of fun.

I also try and make time to scrapbook once every other month with some ladies from church (they meet monthly, but I cannot find those extra hours every month).

Lastly, dh and I make it a priority to have date nights as often as we can.

Without those sanity saving times just for me...life would be .

I have also had to learn to deal with dust on the baseboards, closets not in perfect order, nooks and crannies full of piles...basically I know my house won't be passing the white glove test anytime soon. But you know what??!! I am actually okay with that now. Took me a few years to get here...but now that I have made it over to the "dirty side"... AND I LIKE IT!

One day I will have time for perfectly manicured lawns and nails. I will have time for routinely dusting the baseboards, organizing my closets and keeping my house up to snuff....but you know what, I bet just when I sit back and sigh with relief at my clean, orderly home I will wish that I had my somewhat disheveled child filled home back.

 

[Ellester]

One day I will have time for perfectly manicured lawns and nails. I will have time for routinely dusting the baseboards, organizing my closets and keeping my house up to snuff....but you know what, I bet just when I sit back and sigh with relief at my clean, orderly home I will wish (if only briefly) that I had my somewhat disheveled child filled home back.

I totally agree. I look around and imagine how much less mess there would be if we had no kids and then I think how empty I would be without them. Before I know it they will grown and gone and I'll have plenty of time to clean out the laundry room.

 

[disneymom3]

I have also had to learn to deal with dust on the baseboards, closets not in perfect order, nooks and crannies full of piles...basically I know my house won't be passing the white glove test anytime soon. But you know what??!! I am actually okay with that now. Took me a few years to get here...but now that I have made it over to the "dirty side"... AND I LIKE IT!

One day I will have time for perfectly manicured lawns and nails. I will have time for routinely dusting the baseboards, organizing my closets and keeping my house up to snuff....but you know what, I bet just when I sit back and sigh with relief at my clean, orderly home I will wish (if only briefly) that I had my somewhat disheveled child filled home back.

The big question is though, how did you get your DH to be okay with it. I have an awesome very supportive DH who would never in a million years complain about the house, or anything else for that matter! But I know that he really would like it if there was quite a bit more order in our home. It is just not my strong point and with homeschooling on top of it, the piles of papers really add up!

 

[aes74]

Thanks for all the thoughts I've read in answer to my stress question!

So how many hours a day do you spend on schoowork?

 

[ohiominnie]

Thanks for all the thoughts I've read in answer to my stress question!

So how many hours a day do you spend on schoowork?

Dd is in 7th grade. On a day when we get every subject done she probably works for 5 hours. I'd say 75% of the time that is independent work. She comes to me to explain things or to help her through a problem if she has tried and still can't understand something. She has been homeschooling since mid-kdg year so she knows what needs to be done.

My ds in in 4th grade and he too probably spends 5 hours a day (on those days we get everything done) but we work a LOT more one on one. He is not as fluent of a reader as my dd was at this age and so it really is necessary for me to help him out there. He does work pretty independantly on math as it comes very easy for him.

Of course, this is the 4th and 7th grade level. When they were younger we spent a lot less time on "formal" school work and a lot more time playing when they didn't realize they were learning--i.e. playing store they'd have to make change, or painting and they were mixing colors, or watching a butterfly emerge from its chyrsallis (sp?)

 

[sahwifeandmommy]

My ds would be in the first grade in a traditional school and we spend about 2 hours on formal work and the rest of the time he is reading on his own from books of his choice,playing games like jr. scrabble and of course we love the magic school bus and Between the Lions. Also a very cheap resource that we love is Scholastic News. I think the subscription is about $10 for the year and you get the student edition of 4 weekly papers and the teacher's edition. It comes once a month and also comes with posters and extra worksheets. They also have extra activities online that go along with the theme of the week. I think you can request a free sample to see what grade level would work for you-they have some as young as pre-school.

 

[sahwifeandmommy]

I almost forgot-this may be old news for some-but you can also have the scholastic book club forms sent to your house and as long as you place a $20 order you end up getting free stuff. I have collected orders and usually even with sharing some of the free stuff end up with about $15-$20 worth of free books a month. Their prices are also really good-I was able to get 2 Jigsaw Jones books with CDs for less than $8. We find those really helpful for long car rides

 

[jaycns]

My ten year old spends about 4 hours a day doing school work. About half of that time is spent with him working alone. Another fourth of the time we are usually working on some sort of project as group (which includes his brothers and myself) and the last fourth of the time (so about an hour a day) he is working with me one on one on various new concepts or asking questions.

My seven year old spends about 3 hours a day doing school work. About one quarter of that time is spent with him working alone. Another half of the time is spent with me working directly with him on new concepts or questions (in his case, I spend about 1.5 hours a day one on one with him). His remaining time is spent doing the group projects as I listed above.

My five year old spends about 2 hours a day working on school work. About 2/3 of his time is spent doing one on one work with me (about 1.5 hours a day). His remaining time is spent doing those same group projects. He also spends a short time each day working alone (on stuff like handwriting and computer programs).



During any lulls in the school day where you have free time my boys have six standing choices:

1.Playdough
2.Legos, Blocks, Magnetix
3.coloring or making whatever craft I have set out
4.reading
5.watching educational videos that I have specifically said are okay or
6.playing educational computer



Outside of "school time" they all read and/or are read to a lot. We go the library. They watch educational videos. Play educational computer and board games. Go on even more field trips.

We follow the above schedule from about October-April. From May-August we "school" about 2-3 hours a day. The occasional "long day" gets thrown in if it's too hot to play outside or I have a big topic I want to get done in one sitting. September is usually when we take off for an entire month (I get some sort of perverse pleasure in taking it easy just as everyone else is gearing up). We also take off about 2 weeks around Christmas.


For us going year round gives us the freedom to take off whenever a break is most needed. I have found no way to predict it...but every so often I just wake up feeling like I need a break or the kids start acting like they need a break and we take anywhere for a day to a week off. It gets us all back in a better frame of mind.

Also, it really is hard to predict when those balmy early spring days will give you reason to want to spend the day playing outside or when a 60* day will pop up in January. I love having the freedom to look at my boys and tell them to just go out and play when we have an unexpectedly nice day. I also love not having to review at the start of every year. Since we only scale back instead of stopping in the summer the boys don't "lose" anything.

We get way more hours(over 300 more hours on average) in then required by law in our state. However we don't feel tied down to the school calender or even our own arbitrary calender.

Being flexible works well for our family. However, I have friends that would go nuts doing school like this and think I have lost my mind to continue through the summer. They want to pack up the school books in May and not see them again until late August. I have other friends who cannot imagine taking off a month in September...it's just too hard wired into them that school starts then. But...that is the beauty of homeschooling. Setting your own schedule and finding the rhythm that works best for your family!

 

[jaycns]

Yesterday I asked a question about spelling programs and got a ton of great suggestions. Although I am not in need of suggestions for our main math curriculum (we are using Saxon Math and it is working very well) I thought it might be helpful for all of us in general if we shared suggestions. So...I will go ahead and throw out math.

For math my family using is using Saxon. The incremental development works out very well for my kids. I like the use of manipulatives in the younger grades. I like the repetition (to a point...some of it gets to be overkill if you ask me). I would say the pros to the program are that it is well laid out and my boys are excelling using this program. The cons are I don't like teaching it. In fact, I dislike it so much that I stopped teaching with it when my oldest was in 1st grade (we had done Saxon K). I switched to another math program (Singapore Math) and my son didn't respond to it half as well. So...although I don't like it (ssshh...don't tell my kids) I use it because it works well for my boys and they seem to learn quickly using the methods that the Saxon program employs. So...as boring or repetitious as I find the program and as dry as it seems to me...my boys love it and they are why I am doing this in the first place. So...for our family, Saxon Math it is!

How about you? What do you use?

 

[Brier Rose]

MATH

All I have to say is..Teaching Textbooks!

LOVE..LOVE..LOVE this program!

Makes things so easy to understand, and my DD who HATES math actually changed her tune once she started using it!

Check it out here..www.TeachingTextbooks.com