Homeschooling - SUPPORT GROUP

[kajira]

Yeah, that's true, but that's the benefit of homeschooling. We can do it all if we choose

Printing, cursive, typing, signing.

We teach Spanish, Sign language, piano, I don't bother with cursive. My kids hate writing as it is, my oldest can read it. I do teach them to READ cursive, but forcing them to spend extra time printing... I basically teach them to sign their name, and then print neatly, once they can read/write and spell okay, we switch to a lot of computer based work, which focus's on typing skills.

Most college classes these days, are all printed/online submissions. Very few classes want hand-written papers anymore.

 

[chicken pickin]

My kids all learned cursive in public school. My oldest started homeschool last year which was 8th grade and I had her practice cursive once a week. This year 9th grade we arent doing cursive for her.

Even my 4th and 5th grade public school kids will practice cursive at home on occasion on their own.

I know its not neccessary but I want my kids to be able to read and write it.

 

[saulsx]

We teach Spanish, Sign language, piano, I don't bother with cursive. My kids hate writing as it is, my oldest can read it. I do teach them to READ cursive, but forcing them to spend extra time printing... I basically teach them to sign their name, and then print neatly, once they can read/write and spell okay, we switch to a lot of computer based work, which focus's on typing skills.

Most college classes these days, are all printed/online submissions. Very few classes want hand-written papers anymore.

I was just saying that we have the option to teach it if we want. If the kids are interested, awesome, & we don't have to fuss over whether or not schools teach certain things. Our kids are 7 & 10, not thinking about college at the moment

We let the kids partly lead & learn based on their interests. My son has expressed an interest in trying cursive again, so we're going to give it another shot.

I'm the same way in not wanting to force things, but they do have to work on the basics & develop skills where necessary. They do writing & typing daily, usually self-directed. If they acted like they hated writing, that would be a whole other thing. It could be one of those various conditions that start with dys- or a vision problem, but a struggle might mean there's an issue with the methodology or timing of it.

You said your kids hate writing. That just stuck out to me. Is there a genuine difficulty with writing, or is it just like a reluctance or dis-interest? Is it the particular assignment(s) they're being given? Have they been sitting a while already, getting hungry, something else like that? I would give it some time. Give them the option, if they're capable, of discovering some things on their own and/or self-directing to an extent, figuring out their interests in the process.

Change it up. Practice spelling with their fingers in a tray of rice, or with a stick in the dirt, or laying out words with rocks, sticks, leaves. Make games out of it. Take a break & do some gorilla crawls around the house, or go outside & kick a ball or try some knitting or something then come back to it. Start a nature journal, make cards to send to the grandparents, get into doing postcards. Have you checked out Postcrossing? We've been doing it for about 5-6 years. It's cool to be able to correspond with people all around the world. Kids really enjoy it, & they get especially excited when they get a postcard & see that the address is from Germany or South Africa, or some other "exotic" place. Most of the cards we've received have had some kind of story, like the sender's interests or a little about their life.

We've done some very basic Spanish. Debating over pursuing that more, or possibly getting into French since we started a family tree a while back & traced some of our ancestors back to there. I really want to get more into music also.

Oh, & I remember learning cursive in school. I enjoyed it, but my overall experience with school, which I hated, did have a big impact on our choice to homeschool.

 

[kajira]

I was just saying that we have the option to teach it if we want. If the kids are interested, awesome, & we don't have to fuss over whether or not schools teach certain things. Our kids are 7 & 10, not thinking about college at the moment

We let the kids partly lead & learn based on their interests. My son has expressed an interest in trying cursive again, so we're going to give it another shot.

I'm the same way in not wanting to force things, but they do have to work on the basics & develop skills where necessary. They do writing & typing daily, usually self-directed. If they acted like they hated writing, that would be a whole other thing. It could be one of those various conditions that start with dys- or a vision problem, but a struggle might mean there's an issue with the methodology or timing of it.

You said your kids hate writing. That just stuck out to me. Is there a genuine difficulty with writing, or is it just like a reluctance or dis-interest? Is it the particular assignment(s) they're being given? Have they been sitting a while already, getting hungry, something else like that? I would give it some time. Give them the option, if they're capable, of discovering some things on their own and/or self-directing to an extent, figuring out their interests in the process.

Change it up. Practice spelling with their fingers in a tray of rice, or with a stick in the dirt, or laying out words with rocks, sticks, leaves. Make games out of it. Take a break & do some gorilla crawls around the house, or go outside & kick a ball or try some knitting or something then come back to it. Start a nature journal, make cards to send to the grandparents, get into doing postcards. Have you checked out Postcrossing? We've been doing it for about 5-6 years. It's cool to be able to correspond with people all around the world. Kids really enjoy it, & they get especially excited when they get a postcard & see that the address is from Germany or South Africa, or some other "exotic" place. Most of the cards we've received have had some kind of story, like the sender's interests or a little about their life.

We've done some very basic Spanish. Debating over pursuing that more, or possibly getting into French since we started a family tree a while back & traced some of our ancestors back to there. I really want to get more into music also.

Oh, & I remember learning cursive in school. I enjoyed it, but my overall experience with school, which I hated, did have a big impact on our choice to homeschool.

My oldest is special needs, with low muscle tone in his hands. It physically hurts his hand to write for any length of time. It's'n ot the assignment, it's the actual writing. my 5 year old CAN write, but she's high energy and sitting still is hard for her. so we do 1 tracing/practice writing page per day (takes 10 minutes), and then the rest is done online, on reading/typing games to give her a break. She likes computer stuff.

We live in a mostly Spanish speaking area, so my kids HAVE to learn Spanish as many people locally don't speak good English. I don't speak much Spanish, but my husband is fluent enough to teach them.

My oldest is almost in high school in just a short couple of years, and he wants to get his GED and find a trade skill that appeals to him, but his special needs may mean he needs a mentor-type relationship with someone who can accommodate his needs, rather then a school based program

my almost 6 year old, wants to be a vet when she grows up, and has wanted to be a vet for 2-3 years now and hasnt' lost interest. We are thinking ahead for her, because that schooling is extremely expensive, and she needs a lot of 4h and volunteer work to get into the best programs.

She just signed up for 4h this year, and will be showing goats/chickens.

Edited to add : We do child-led learning, as long as they meet the three R's (reading, writing arithmetic) on a weekly basis too. they are part of a co-op,and church groups, as well.

I'm thinking ahead for college, because we are going to be having a large family, we currently have 4 children and want 3-4 more... so I have to think ahead for that kind of stuff.

If they choose not to go, that's fine too. I'll support whatever path they choose to take as adults.

 

[kajira]

I should add- I'm also a "lazy" homeschooler. They get maybe 1- 1 1/2 hours per day of book work, school work that's "real" school work. The rest of the day they are doing chores, watching TV, playing games, and doing whatever they want. I'm a firm believer that kids should be kids.

We actually got into chickens, because of my daughters obsession with wanting birds.

They've grown on all of us! LOL (I grew up with chickens, and I fondly remembered getting eggs as a kid, so I was open to them having that experience.)

My daughter also trains/works with horses, and has her own pony that she works with about an hour per day. So between the goats, chickens, garden and other stuff, she's really busy 90% of the day working outside.

My oldest is sort of anti anything animals, anything hard work... he's the kid who wants to play video games and read all day. LOL

Then, my toddler is a monster who loves getting into everything, he's not as interested in the horses, but he loves the chickens, goats, and I think once we have ducks, he'll be in heaven, because what's better than WATER... and "water chickens" LOL (ducks, but he calls them water chickens.)

the baby is too young to really have a "preference" yet, but she's being raised around all of them and she's shown a lot of interest in the animals too.

I really am not a fan of book work, at all. I only make my kids do it, because they need to be able to do basic math, reading/writing and grammar. I'd rather they learn about the real world by just living it.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I was just saying that we have the option to teach it if we want. If the kids are interested, awesome, & we don't have to fuss over whether or not schools teach certain things. Our kids are 7 & 10, not thinking about college at the moment

We let the kids partly lead & learn based on their interests. My son has expressed an interest in trying cursive again, so we're going to give it another shot.

I'm the same way in not wanting to force things, but they do have to work on the basics & develop skills where necessary. They do writing & typing daily, usually self-directed. If they acted like they hated writing, that would be a whole other thing. It could be one of those various conditions that start with dys- or a vision problem, but a struggle might mean there's an issue with the methodology or timing of it.

You said your kids hate writing. That just stuck out to me. Is there a genuine difficulty with writing, or is it just like a reluctance or dis-interest? Is it the particular assignment(s) they're being given? Have they been sitting a while already, getting hungry, something else like that? I would give it some time. Give them the option, if they're capable, of discovering some things on their own and/or self-directing to an extent, figuring out their interests in the process.

Change it up. Practice spelling with their fingers in a tray of rice, or with a stick in the dirt, or laying out words with rocks, sticks, leaves. Make games out of it. Take a break & do some gorilla crawls around the house, or go outside & kick a ball or try some knitting or something then come back to it. Start a nature journal, make cards to send to the grandparents, get into doing postcards. Have you checked out Postcrossing? We've been doing it for about 5-6 years. It's cool to be able to correspond with people all around the world. Kids really enjoy it, & they get especially excited when they get a postcard & see that the address is from Germany or South Africa, or some other "exotic" place. Most of the cards we've received have had some kind of story, like the sender's interests or a little about their life.

We've done some very basic Spanish. Debating over pursuing that more, or possibly getting into French since we started a family tree a while back & traced some of our ancestors back to there. I really want to get more into music also.

Oh, & I remember learning cursive in school. I enjoyed it, but my overall experience with school, which I hated, did have a big impact on our choice to homeschool.

My son hates writing too... but it is great when you can find activities to help with lessons. We are working on multiplication. We started at the end of last school year, and that's where we picked up at the start of this year and we have incorporated so many games that it doesn't feel like a chore. We do multiplication donimoes, roll em multiplication, I created a couple boardgame sheets, made a multiplication Jenga game from the mini jenga games we bought at the dollar store, (we have a Parts of Speech Jenga as well). The other day we got out in the yard and did a type of "mother may I multiplication".

Computer programs are another big draw for us. He seems to retain more when it comes in the form of computer lessons/games then instruction and worksheets.

 

[kajira]

My son hates writing too... but it is great when you can find activities to help with lessons. We are working on multiplication. We started at the end of last school year, and that's where we picked up at the start of this year and we have incorporated so many games that it doesn't feel like a chore. We do multiplication donimoes, roll em multiplication, I created a couple boardgame sheets, made a multiplication Jenga game from the mini jenga games we bought at the dollar store, (we have a Parts of Speech Jenga as well). The other day we got out in the yard and did a type of "mother may I multiplication".

Computer programs are another big draw for us. He seems to retain more when it comes in the form of computer lessons/games then instruction and worksheets.

This is what works best for my kids too. I make them do some work sheets in books, for "proof of work" in case I ever need to show that I am in fact, teaching them stuff. While in texas I legally don't have too - I started in WA state, where state testing and tracking work was mandatory.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

This is what works best for my kids too. I make them do some work sheets in books, for "proof of work" in case I ever need to show that I am in fact, teaching them stuff. While in texas I legally don't have too - I started in WA state, where state testing and tracking work was mandatory.

Texas is one of the 22 no/low requirement states for homeschooling. NY is one of the top 5 high requirements for homeschooling. I think a certain amount of checks and balances are good because it holds parents to a certain amount of responsibility, but states like NY I feel take it too far. I always say I want to move to Texas. Between getting away from snow and rigid homeschool requirements it looks like a fairy tale...lol We are held to 180 days of school (which I don't mind having a set amount of days) the equivelant to 5 hours of "instruction" a day, (this is one of the problems I do have with NYstate I have one child. I could do every subject every day in 5 hours) We have standardized testing requirements, (another thing I oppose), we have LOI, Ihips to fill out before we are granted permission then we have quarterlies and end of year reports. (I actually don't mind the LOIs, quarterlies and end of year assessment in written evaluation form.) On top of it we have to teach their list of subjects and eventually account for credits of each subject, (which is the other thing I don't like.) If we didn't have standardized testings, IHIPS and a list of required subjects I'd be happy.

We do a mix of paperwork and computer/hands on/games/bookwork-reading. I am getting ready to add a computer "class" to work on typing and word projects. I just want to make sure everything is balanced with the bookwork, reading and writing, because that and math skills are the most important things to me. Those are the skills that are going to advance you or hold you back in life, and the last thing I want to do is be responsible for "holding my child back" or not giving him enough motivation or "push" to excell. I find it hard to be assured that I am doing enough without doing too much, cause on the flip side of wanting him to do well, I also want him to be child while he can, because I strongly feel that children are made to grow up too fast and are expected to become "little adults" before their time or are pushed to be "superior" and "advanced" when it's just not in them.

 

[kajira]

Texas is one of the 22 no/low requirement states for homeschooling. NY is one of the top 5 high requirements for homeschooling. I think a certain amount of checks and balances are good because it holds parents to a certain amount of responsibility, but states like NY I feel take it too far. I always say I want to move to Texas. Between getting away from snow and rigid homeschool requirements it looks like a fairy tale...lol We are held to 180 days of school (which I don't mind having a set amount of days) the equivelant to 5 hours of "instruction" a day, (this is one of the problems I do have with NYstate I have one child. I could do every subject every day in 5 hours) We have standardized testing requirements, (another thing I oppose), we have LOI, Ihips to fill out before we are granted permission then we have quarterlies and end of year reports. (I actually don't mind the LOIs, quarterlies and end of year assessment in written evaluation form.) On top of it we have to teach their list of subjects and eventually account for credits of each subject, (which is the other thing I don't like.) If we didn't have standardized testings, IHIPS and a list of required subjects I'd be happy.

We do a mix of paperwork and computer/hands on/games/bookwork-reading. I am getting ready to add a computer "class" to work on typing and word projects. I just want to make sure everything is balanced with the bookwork, reading and writing, because that and math skills are the most important things to me. Those are the skills that are going to advance you or hold you back in life, and the last thing I want to do is be responsible for "holding my child back" or not giving him enough motivation or "push" to excell. I find it hard to be assured that I am doing enough without doing too much, cause on the flip side of wanting him to do well, I also want him to be child while he can, because I strongly feel that children are made to grow up too fast and are expected to become "little adults" before their time or are pushed to be "superior" and "advanced" when it's just not in them.

When we homeschooled in Nevada, we just had to keep the books from the year before, to prove work done. My kids hate work books, but i've been in such a habit of using it to prove their moving forward since the books are easy to fill out and as long as they get 90% of the answers right for their grade, it proves they are learning enough to pass the grade.

I don't believe in no child left behind, or mandated testing, I also don't believe in testing to test... My oldest can pass a test, but can't apply anything... what good is it, if you can do a math problem on paper, but can't figure out how much to substitute in the kitchen, or how to keep a mental tally of math going in your head when grocery shopping?

One of the fun things we do for math, is the kids help with household projects. When we go to the feed store, they have to figure out what we need, and how much it's going to cost with sales tax by the end of the shopping trip. Person who guesses closest, gets a prize. LOL Dad usually wins. but it's good practice for trying to keep a mental math going to keep in your budget if you have one while shopping.

We do hands on stuff like that, to really help make sure they know how to "apply" stuff.

My 5 year old is the one who measures the amount of feet for all her chicken fencing, then tells dad how many feet of fencing we need, how many poles, etc. She's out there right now, digging holes and carrying buckets of pea gravel to help put the fences in so her EE batch can have a free-range area.

They've helped remodel houses, do plumbing basic electricity stuff, do painting, molding, they've done it all (we've remodeled 2 houses since we've moved to texas.)

So, for them, hands on learning has been far more beneficial. I know my daughter will be able to do basic house repairs as an adult with out "relying on a man around" to do it for her... you know?

 

[saulsx]

My oldest is special needs, with low muscle tone in his hands. It physically hurts his hand to write for any length of time. It's'n ot the assignment, it's the actual writing. my 5 year old CAN write, but she's high energy and sitting still is hard for her. so we do 1 tracing/practice writing page per day (takes 10 minutes), and then the rest is done online, on reading/typing games to give her a break. She likes computer stuff.

My oldest is almost in high school in just a short couple of years, and he wants to get his GED and find a trade skill that appeals to him, but his special needs may mean he needs a mentor-type relationship with someone who can accommodate his needs, rather then a school based program

my almost 6 year old, wants to be a vet when she grows up, and has wanted to be a vet for 2-3 years now and hasnt' lost interest. We are thinking ahead for her, because that schooling is extremely expensive, and she needs a lot of 4h and volunteer work to get into the best programs.

She just signed up for 4h this year, and will be showing goats/chickens.

Oh, ok. Well, special needs is a bit different.

Our 7-year-old daughter doesn't like to sit still all that much, either, & tends to fidget a lot. So, we do a lot of the things I mentioned in my previous post with her, along with supplementing with a workbook & things like that. She loves writing letters & leaving notes for us.

Our son does a workbook a few days a week to supplement, & the occasional book-report type project if it's on a book that he chose to read, but he usually gets into some writing-related project on his own. Like, he'll spend 2-3 days re-creating a comic book, cutting & binding the paper, drawing each panel, copying the text. He wants to get into video game design & programming, so we're letting him run with that so long as things balance out & he's not just staring at a screen all day.

We have attendance requirements in SC & we're supposed to keep records, but we don't have to do testing with the 3rd option. We keep work/records, which usually ends up just going into a storage bin, & submit an end-of-year report to our association.

Looks like vet school is pretty expensive. We've done a little bit of volunteering at a local shelter, & did a farm club for a while. I wish the 4H club here had more going on.