I wish I could homeschool :(

[Happiest mommy]

nchulka thank you wow you have got it together! you have given such good info as I know nothing of T4L but did the demos and looked beteween 2-3rd and yes huge difference DD tried it and LOVED it had her do some 3rd grade math it was very hard for her askes constantly can she go on it but I have not subscribed yet, is T4L your core curriculum and do you know is it taught differently accourding to the state?

 

[cobright]

Just wait it out. Dd16 was a very "spirited" child (always had to be doing something - very creative). Her first grade teacher was horrible (since she was my first I didn't know to request another teacher - never made that mistake again! I think her classes consist of kids who have no older siblings). She was boring, strict, soft voice, and wouldn't let the kids even get a book if they were done with their work.

Our DD is now in 3rd grade at a new school. Her 1st grade teacher was absolutely HORRIBLE. The woman wasn't mean but was sending 1 hour of homework a night home for FIRST GRADERS. In the new school (one of the highest ranked in the state) even in 3rd grade she has maybe 30-40 minutes at night. Her brother who is in 1st grade now has one page of math a night plus reading.

First grade homework:

Math homework: 1 page (double sided)
Spelling homework: writing each word three times and then writing sentences with them.
Social studies: 1 page of writing
Any work they didn't get done at school.

This didn't count the 30 minutes they were supposed to read and this was every single night. DD would come home crying or would cry not to go to school because it wasn't always possible to get the work done.

Stacy

 

[mom2jcg]

Our DD is now in 3rd grade at a new school. Her 1st grade teacher was absolutely HORRIBLE. The woman wasn't mean but was sending 1 hour of homework a night home for FIRST GRADERS. In the new school (one of the highest ranked in the state) even in 3rd grade she has maybe 30-40 minutes at night. Her brother who is in 1st grade now has one page of math a night plus reading.

First grade homework:

Math homework: 1 page (double sided)
Spelling homework: writing each word three times and then writing sentences with them.
Social studies: 1 page of writing
Any work they didn't get done at school.

This didn't count the 30 minutes they were supposed to read and this was every single night. DD would come home crying or would cry not to go to school because it wasn't always possible to get the work done.

Stacy

I'm so sorry! I can feel your pain!

My kids were in public school for awhile, but they were missing so many days because of asthma, we started homeschooling 4 years ago. This is one of those things that I didn't realize was causing so much stress. They'd been at school all day and I would have to get them off the bus and say, "hurry up and get your homework done because we have to eat and be out the door in x amount of time for baseball practice!". Seriously, what was I thinking??? What kind of life was that??? When people tell me they could never homeschool, I always tell them for us, it's way less stressful than public school.

 

[nchulka]

nchulka thank you wow you have got it together! you have given such good info as I know nothing of T4L but did the demos and looked beteween 2-3rd and yes huge difference DD tried it and LOVED it had her do some 3rd grade math it was very hard for her askes constantly can she go on it but I have not subscribed yet, is T4L your core curriculum and do you know is it taught differently accourding to the state?

It is our core curriculum this year, and I'm planning on using it again next year. After that I'm not sure. It is geared more for younger kids with the cartoon characters and such and as I said DS is already 9 in 3rd grade. My guess would be by 11 it will seem to babyish even thought the curriculum is solid. It is the same lessons state by state. I have no idea how strict NY is. I know in my state, Missouri, we have the most lax home school laws in the country. You don't have to report anything to anyone. They simply take your word for it that you are homeschooling. In fact there's not even anyone to tell. All you need to do is keep a personal log of 1000 hours per year. There is no one to even turn that into. It's just sort of your protection in case anyone should ever question if you have in fact taught your child.

This year I have found several times where DS in 3rd grade at home is studying the same things DD in 5th grade at public school is. It moves at a pretty good pace. The nice thing is that you can spend as long or as short of an amount of time as you want on something. If you child gets it they can breeze through the lessons, quizzes, and test in a couple of days. If they are having trouble you can spend longer going through the lessons, and you can re-take quizzes and test. They will give you new questions specified at what you had trouble with. For instance if you are learning about the early explorers and you take a test and you get the questions right about Columbus and DeSoto and others, but you struggle on questions about Ponce DeLeon, when you take the test again it will only be questions about DeLeon. I thought that was cool. You can easily see what areas you struggled in, go back and study those lessons, and retake the test.

They also word a lot of the questions to where the child has to use some critical thinking skills. I wondered how difficult the test could be since obviously being on a computer they are multiple choice. I have been pleased by the questions. It took a bit for DS to get used to, but I think it has been very helpful for his critical thinking. I'm not sure if 2nd grade has the same type of question or if they are more straightforward. An example for 3rd grade would be something like this. Instead of asking what year Columbus discovered America, they would word the question this way....If you were on the ship with Columbus when he discovered America what year could you have been born in A 1495 B 1427 C 1463 D 1511

 

[Happiest mommy]

nchulka In my state we have to submit a report, but I believe T4L helps with this i'm still learning, reading, researching thank you for all your information a lot to learn its a big step..

 

[ambiancetc]

LockShockBarrel thank you for your response, you are right the teacher is the issue I have spoken to the principle about it and she has the disposition of "
I don't know this teacher for being that way, she is just very strict" she had a wonderful teacher last year and my DD did very well I would not pull her out at this point but will consider if she will be going back during the summer, I wish I could change her from class but that is only 2nd grade class and they have closed so many schools in my area that my DD's school is filled to capacity and more coming in Sept since a few more schools are closing after June, we have to send a save-a-seat payment now my mind is racing with questions found a nice site today called Time4learning getting more info on that so much info out there its confusing...

I haven't read this whole thread but just wanted to give a shout out for Time4Learning It's two thumbs up! Our oldest has dyslexia and we tried all sorts of programs, a tutor etc and finally came across this program. We've used it for two years now and LOVE it! Both daughters enjoy the material and I really like that they can do different grade levels at the same time (our oldest while still struggling with reading, grade level for math, is ahead in history, social studies, science and art). Having all the reporting kept track of for me is also a major plus. DS is doing Pre-K using StarFall dot com and will do Time4Learning next year. It is worth a try for sure. No need for "teacher prep", it gives you what you need for each lesson, just print when an icon is there. 3rd grade science needs more involvment but they give you a list of what you need so you can get it all at once for the year.

My husband and I are both homeschool graduates (yep, our parents were the pioneers of the times!) and none of our parents were college grads. In fact, BOTH my parents were highschool drop outs. (My dad said it cost him money to stay in school when he could work instead ) Oh well, I can't fault him since he makes so much money now! Anyway, DH & I as well as all of our siblings have gone on to either college with good careers or to small business owners. So don't doubt your abilities!

On a side note, I'm going to ask my accountant if our expenses at Epcot and AK can be a educational tax deduction since it's a field trip to multiple countries and an awesome zoo

 

[Happiest mommy]

ambiancetc thank you sooo much for your response its great to hear that T4L has worked out so well for you I did'nt know they had the printables that you do along with the lesson thats nice to know, my DD did the demos and LOVED! it! so we will definetly be subscribing thank you

 

[vleeth]

Update?

 

[EnduringWone]

I only read a couple of responses but I want you to know you can do it. There are so many wonderful resources nowadays! We have a co-op called Classical Conversations. One day a week we meet up for class and the kids have a tutor. They get to do science and art/music projects during this time too and we have a recess and eat lunch together. We have field trips and playdates, it is really great.

The rest of the week we study a variety of subjects and many textbooks have it all set up for you. Our daughter is in third grade and we use Horizons math, Mystery of History and Sassafrass science, etc. We do all kinds of one on one projects together too. For example, we made giraffe saliva in science which was interesting. Never realized that giraffes eat some thorny leaves and thier saliva needs to be extra thick. We also went to our local zoo where the baby Kiko has been born. We carry with us a nature book and we discuss the classification of animals, etc. We take pictures, but she also draws the animals she sees and we borrow library books on various animals and such too. (We did zoology as our supplemental science) We may build a diorama in history, etc. We really love homeschooling! It has been such a blessing.

There are many types of co-ops and support groups for homeschooling and you can do it. As far as not being able to teach a subject in the higher grades. In our homeschool group, we have people with advanced degrees willing to teach. We have a woman with a masters in Physics that over sees our science.

It has come such a long way!

 

[EnduringWone]

I'm not sure of the laws in NY, but we began homeschooling mid year and have never looked back. My 7th grader is now doing HS Algebra! You have such flexibility when it comes to homeschooling. Most curriculum is written so that anyone can teach it, especially at the younger years. As they get older, there are co ops as others have mentioned, or you just may find yourself learning along with them. I know I do! A great resource is Cathy Duffy's book 100 Top picks for Homeschool Curriculum. It will tell you how much parent involvement is required and explain what is good about each one so you can tailor it to your child. Homeschooling is such a blessing to us, but I know it's not right for everyone. If you have the desire, I would try it. She can always go back to school if it doesn't work out!

Cathy Duffy also has a free website where she critiques various homeschool curriculum.