Home Schooling and Raising Chickens

[karri25]

WE used Saxon math thi spast year. It does repeat a lot but that's good for retention and I only gav eGarrison half of the work to do. My big gripe with it is that it only gives 4-8 problems in each lesson for the newly learned skill. I need more than that to make sure thta my son understands what he just learned. Plus Garrison got bored because it is so sparse. We heard a lot of good thing sabout Horizon math by Alpha Omega so we are going to use that next year. You can go online and print off placement tests for Saxon and Horizons. I'm sure other math programs do the same thing! Good luck! I wish we were almost finished but we will have to go till at leats the end of May. We apparently took to many mini vacations thi spast schoolyear:0)

 

[karri25]

P.S. Does anyone live in Arkansas? This Friday and Saturday we are having our big Homeschool convention and I am so excited?!?!?!?!? This was my first year so it will be my first convention. I anticipate learning a ton of helpful info!!!!

 

[Chelly]

Seachick. We're moving to Thedford.

 

[hipmarye]

Quote:
We live in AR, but I'm not going.

Just too much $ and not enought time.

 

[Chelly]

How long is your "school day" for those homeschooling?

Do you HAVE to do a certain amount of time based on state law?

Do you school year round or follow the general school calendar? Or just take days off when it suits you?

What curriculum do you use? (I will probably need to buy some kind of curriculum, being new I'm not sure where to start!)

THANKS!

 

[karri25]

We live in AR, but I'm not going.

Just too much $ and not enought time.

So sorry, it looks like lots of fun. It's only $15.00 if you register at the door. I won't have any $$ for books which breaks my heart but I can't wait to hear all of the speakers! Especially the ones on writing. That's really the only area that scares me. It's so hard for me to organize my own thoughts that trying to teach Garrison to do just that is exasperating​

 

[hipmarye]

Quote:
We have homeschooled in Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana and now Arkansas. I think some states laws are VERY restrictive. We like to travel to see grandparents in MS and FL so we just carry our 'school' with us. We were out of state for 6 weeks over the holidays and managed to get some 'schooling' accomplished. Some days we finish early and some days we end up working late. It really just depends on what's going on. Like 4H, co-op, scouts, and violin lessons. In fact, this week our 4H group is going to the Memphis Zoo so we just work our schedule to suite that. I think learning takes place where ever we are. We have been using Sonlight science and history, but I don't like their language arts programs so I started using Bob Jones University with my 4th grader this year and I really like it. It focuses on writing and grammar which are her weakness. I went to the Sonlight website and had my daughter took a math placement test several years ago to figure out where she was. We use Singapore math. The kids like it and are doing well. Anyway, I'm rambling. Do look at www.christianbook.com for curriculum too they have good prices.

 

[AccidentalFarm]

Chelly-

We don't have a 'formal' school day schedule. My kids wake up, eat breakfast, feed and care for their pets, then sit down to school work. We use the School of Tomorrow curriculum, albeit loosely. We do not use EVERY workbook, just the ones that apply to our needs. I like the SOT curriculum because it is a 'self-taught' program, which challenges the kids to learn on their own, by reading and answering questions and doing activities. My kids rarely have to have extra help to master new concepts. This may not be a good choice for kids that have difficulties with reading and comprehension. My 14 year old son is working in the 10-12th grade levels in various subjects, and has an interest in computer programming. I picked up books at Barnes and Noble on these subjects and he is using them to fulfill computer science courses. He has, by reading on his own, learned enough programming in visual basic and C++ to have several games developed and playable. He began this project in February this year with no previous programming knowledge. He is now working on graphics editing, to fine tune the visual aspect. I allow him to work on this whenever he wants, so that when he does, it is enjoyable for him and not something he is forced to do. My 9 year old daughter is also allowed the freedom to work on school work when the mood hits, rather than being forced. My only requirement is that the core subjects get done on a daily basis.

We also don't have a 'formal' school year. We take a couple of months in the summer to just have a 'break' from the core subjects, but I find that they continue on with other subjects simply because it is enjoyable for them. We are very lucky, though, Texas allows home schoolers to basically do as we please. I do keep records of school work completed on a daily basis, projects completed and/or ongoing, and a synopsis of mastered subject material at the 'end' of the year mainly for my own peace of mind, but also in case I ever have to 'prove' my kids are being schooled. I hear other states are not so lenient.

I'd be hard-pressed to say what grade my kids are in, as they both work in different levels in different subjects. They are above state standards in every subject. Last year, my son (then 13) took the Stanford 10 Achievement Tests and scored in the top 1% of the nations high school senior students scores. My daughter also took achievement tests and tested at or above her age level in every subject. This tells me we are on the right track.

The choices on curriculum's vary widely. I am sure you would easily find one that suits your needs. Like us, many families use a hodge-podge of different ones that 'fit' us.
I would suggest googling your state with 'homeschool' or similar terms, maybe your state with 'board of education' to find what your state requirements are.

It is a daunting task when you begin homeschooling, but don't give up! It is not near as tough as it seems, and it is really worth every minute! Lately, we have been brainstorming at the dinner table, creating our own 'lesson plans' for our chicken hatching/raising project (the kids get to hatch a flock of their own). It has been fun planning, and the kids are learning even while doing this...they are thinking through the project, articulating their plans, projecting the outcome and possibilities, and best of all- the 'work' part wont be so 'bad' because they are helping to decide what exactly it will be.

 

[sloper74]

We've been homeschooling our 9 and 7 year old forever. Just today we figured out how many eggs we got on average last week. We keep spreadsheets and find out monthly and yearly averages as well. My 9 year old sells eggs to customers to save $ for college. To find out if we can take more customers, we need to know on average, how many eggs we get/month and how that varies by season (decreased production in winter)

We also have ducks, goats and are starting a raw milk business. This summer we're butchering broilers for our egg customers and others in our homeschool group.

We don't delve deep into any of limitless ways you can teach children with chickens, farmlife. We do notice that ducks are kinder than chickens; they don't pick on the weak ones and stay together as a herd. We have 60-some chickens, so only those truly deserving get named (usually a hen if she becomes a mom). We cried with "Jane" when predators killed most of her 16 chicks she had hatched out (she escaped with 3) or when neighbor dogs killed our laying hens.

Mostly we've learned how to work together as a family to get things done; my boys helped my husband dig our duck pond, build nesting boxes, etc. The boys are always out in the livestock pen, playing with baby goats, or building chicken forts out of scrap wood/metal.
I'm amazed at the many breeds the boys know of. My oldest has a McMurray catalog by his bedside for late night perusing...

nice thread!

 

[BirdBrain]

Chelly,
Check out www.amblesideonline.org for a curriculum that can be as low key as you want it and fairly inexpensive...lots of the texts are online. We have been using most of AO for 3+ years and loving it. We don't get to EVERYthing but it is a good "go by" and the kids get a lot out of it. They also have a great online community for support.

--Bird