home schooling????
Terry & Lisa Yarbrough
we are thinking about home schooling ds
(we still have a few years) but everytime we tell
people about this they say things like "he wont have social skills like
schooled kids" or "home schooling is harder than you think" or "teachers
know more how to teach their kids than "we" do"
etc. does anyone here home school? if so, how is it working for you?
thanks
Lisa
mommy to Logan 7/22/01
wife to Terry
GI Trekker
(we still have a few years) but everytime we tell
people about this they say things like "he wont have social skills like
schooled kids" or "home schooling is harder than you think" or "teachers
know more how to teach their kids than "we" do"
etc. does anyone here home school? if so, how is it working for you?>>
ABSOLUTELY you should home school. The line "teachers know more how to teach
their kids than we do" is offensive in the extreme. They may be trained
professionals, but the public school system is rife with special-interest
influence, and you, as a parent, have little control over WHAT your children
are taught. The line about social skills is even more bogus, given the distinct
lack of discipline and tendencies towards "cliques" even in elementary schools,
to say nothing of bullies, drugs, gangs, etc.
My relatives partially home-school their children in cooperation with a program
at their church. It is NOT easy, but devoting the necessary time and attention
to raising and educating your children properly, making sure they gain good and
proper knowledge and skills, is well worth it.
Michelle J. Haines
jed...@bellsouth.net says...
> hi,
> we are thinking about home schooling ds
> (we still have a few years) but everytime we tell
> people about this they say things like "he wont have social skills like
> schooled kids" or "home schooling is harder than you think" or "teachers
> know more how to teach their kids than "we" do"
> etc. does anyone here home school? if so, how is it working for you?
Yep. Don't buy the social skills garbage. To start with, half the
"social skills" learned in public school aren't going to be needed in
other places -- barring a prison yard. And they can get plenty of
social interaction and Girl/Boy Scouts, 4-H, dance/music lessons,
YMCA sports, or whatever else is on your plate. There are also
social homeschooling groups that meet periodically, and it's always
pleasantly surprised me how in a homeschooling group, a 16 year old
is perfectly happy to hang with my eight year old nephew, while a ten
year old boy spends the entire time doting on my two year old son.
There's much less of those artificial age barriers among homeschooled
children.
As for how difficult. Well, there are many roads through
homeschooling, but there are also quite a few pre-packaged
curriculum, which don't require much skill from you at all. Just a
little lesson prep and reading the teacher's part.
One of the first things you should do is investigate the laws of your
state to see what's required of homeschooled kids.
Michelle
Flutist
--
I'll say it loud here by your grave,
those angels can't ever take my place
somewhere where the orchids grow,
I can't find those church bells
that played when you died, played Gloria,
talkin bout Hosanah,
don't judge me so harsh little girl
-- For Xander [9/22/98 - 2/23/99]
toypup
sees tend to be ahead of the class academically and behind socially. Of
course, those are the ones who's parents gave up homeschooling. One such
child entered her third grade class recently was academically ahead, but
still talked baby talk and didn't have any social skills.
Some other IL's homeschool their children and the children are behind
academically (one child is in third grade and cannot read), though no one in
the family thinks there are any learning disabilities, just that the parents
are not very good at homeschooling.
YMMV.
"Terry & Lisa Yarbrough" <jed...@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:m2l39.140762$Og3.31...@e3500-atl1.usenetserver.com...
Richard Steven Walz
GI Trekker <gitr...@aol.com> wrote:
><<we are thinking about home schooling ds
>(we still have a few years) but everytime we tell
>people about this they say things like "he wont have social skills like
>schooled kids" or "home schooling is harder than you think" or "teachers
>know more how to teach their kids than "we" do"
>etc. does anyone here home school? if so, how is it working for you?>>
>
>ABSOLUTELY you should home school. The line "teachers know more how to teach
>their kids than we do" is offensive in the extreme. They may be trained
>professionals, but the public school system is rife with special-interest
>influence, and you, as a parent, have little control over WHAT your children
>are taught.
Oh, yes, by ALL means teach them religious bigotry and ignorance instead of
REAL truth, so they won't know anything REAL when they go to get a job!
More for OUR kids!
>The line about social skills is even more bogus, given the distinct
>lack of discipline and tendencies towards "cliques" even in elementary schools,
>to say nothing of bullies, drugs, gangs, etc.
----------------------------
Oh, yes, by ALL means don't teach them how to get on in the real world with
those they'll find there, they will be like little potatoes, ready for the
picking, while OUR kids survive and flourish! More for OUR kids!
Steve
Just Me
"Terry & Lisa Yarbrough" <jed...@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:m2l39.140762$Og3.31...@e3500-atl1.usenetserver.com...
Homeschooling is becoming increasingly mainstream in the US rather than what
people who are living on the fringes do. We homeschool. DS has a number
of friends, is at a similar social skill development level to his age mates
who attend both public and parochial schools, and is working at or above
grade level in all areas.
Homeschooling requires an organized parent who is willing to spend time
learning about the different philosophies of how to homeschool [unschooling
be one], and committed to make sure their child[ren] have opportunities to
regularaly engage in play with other children. There are many excellent
resources available, both on the net and in printed form. Start by
researching your state's laws about homeschooling. This will help focus the
rest of what you do. There are some helpful homeschooling newsgroups as
well. You might care to subscribe to some of them for a while while you are
obtaining information.
Good luck. Home schooling is really fun!
-Aula
Clisby Williams
I have a first cousin who homeschooled all 3 of her children, and they've
turned out beautifully. The oldest got a full scholarship to college and is
now out; the second got a scholarship to an art school here in Atlanta and is
about to start; and the third is, I think, about 15, so he's still being
homeschooled.
Homeschooling does not particularly appeal to me, but I think the arguments
that homeschooled kids are behind academically or socially are bogus. It
depends on who's doing the homeschooling. After all, there are plenty of
children going to public or private schools who are lacking academically and
socially, but you don't hear people making these blanket assumptions about
them.
If you get seriously interested in this, check to see if there are
homeschooling associations or co-ops in your area. For example, my cousin
(whose undergraduate degree was in French) taught French to her own kids and
to several others. Another parent taught P.E. to several kids. It wasn't a
case where every homeschooling parent had to handle the entire load
individually. I know of several homeschooling families in my neighborhood,
and they get together to organize joint field trips for all their children.
There is also at least one church school around here that offers individual
classes to homeschoolers (I think this applies more to older kids). For
example, you might send your 13-year-old there to take algebra, while doing
the rest of the homeschooling yourself. I don't know if there's anything like
that in your area. I also have heard of several homeschooling families
getting together to hire a tutor to teach a particular subject. (Like maybe
nobody's very well equipped to teach a foreign language, so they hire somebody
to teach Spanish to a whole group of kids a few times a week.)
Clisby
Donna Metler
"Terry & Lisa Yarbrough" <jed...@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:m2l39.140762$Og3.31...@e3500-atl1.usenetserver.com...
This is from a teacher. If you feel confident that you can homeschool, cover
the academics thoroughly and well, provide social outlets such as little
league, scouting, church groups, etc, and have a game plan as to what to
do-either via a purchased curriculum or guide, a homeschooling network, or
the state curriculum guide (important because most states require that
homeschooling parents be able to show this-and this is the area where many
parents fall down unintentionally)-then go for it! There is nothing
inherently better about group schooling-and since many children learn best
one-on-one, often homeschooling has the advantage. There is little in the
elementary curriculum which any competent individual couldn't teach (the
possible exceptions being special subjects like music and art), and the
special skills teachers have tend to be in the group management and pacing
area, which doesn't apply to homeschooling.
If you're not confident about homeschooling, than start researching schools
and teachers now. Even within a public system, there are often more options
out there than you might think-and it pays to be informed. Most of the
things you'll see on choosing a daycare also apply to schools. Don't think
that your choices are "only the public school in my neighborhood, overpriced
private schools I can't afford, or homeschooling alone", because there are
usually more options than that, including homeschooling coops, low-priced
private schools, another school in the city, or a public school out-of
district.
Good Luck!
Footmaster 2040
> -------------------------
> Oh, yes, by ALL means teach them religious bigotry and ignorance instead of
> REAL truth, so they won't know anything REAL when they go to get a job!
> More for OUR kids!
> ----------------------------
> Oh, yes, by ALL means don't teach them how to get on in the real world with
> those they'll find there, they will be like little potatoes, ready for the
> picking, while OUR kids survive and flourish! More for OUR kids!
Steve, suppose that someone else posted that message, and that someone was
a liberal (like me) living in a politically conservative region who was
afraid of the conservative, pro-religious agenda of the local public
schools. (Like Kansas with its creationism.) Suppose also that the
intent of homeschooling was to teach liberal, humanism values, along
with accurate science, along with a little bit of tolerance and justice?
How can some Neo-Nazi Aryan 7'9" 450 pound bullying all-AmeriKKKan steroid-
fed jock with a vigintillion muscle cells and half a brain cell teach anyone
to "survive and flourish". By throwing pickup trucks at him? Fucking
high school bullies are child abusers, and like all child abusers are the
biggest traitors to the planet Earth and need to be used for land mine
clearing and medical experiments where they can at least do something good
for humanity.
After all, they're old enough to drive, drink, and vote. They need to have
some responsibility for their actions. Are you telling you you're siding
with abusing pieces of shit who are no morally different than antisexual
Christian parents? Maybe you are. After all, it's the dog-eat-dog real
world.
Then you would be singing a new tune. I myself was partly homeschooled
for precisely the above reasons. But not soon enough.
- F.M. -
Kari
pre-k that is offered (and Noah won't either) so I taught her at home basically
for the year and she began school knowing how to read, etc. She was ranked 1st
in her class in reading and 2nd in math skills (which honestly, I think is
ridiculous to be ranking 5 & 6 yr olds anyway) but socially, she was the one of
the only ones who hadn't gone to pre-K. She liked to "chit chat" a lot with her
peers and things like that. Her teacher said she was very advanced academically
but she had a few social skills to work on before first grade.
My husband and I both agreed that if any of our children were not thriving in
public schools for whatever reason we would homeschool them in a heartbeat. I
would love to, but unfortuanately my daughter is already counting the days
until school starts. She would rather be there than on summer break!!! Go
figure :P
Kari
mom to Kaylie (6) and Noah (3)
see our family at http://photos.yahoo.com/karidmbfan
Doulamom
Lisa Yarbrough at jed...@bellsouth.net wrote on 8/4/02 10:36 PM:
We home-school.
A quick search of the Net will give you quite a few articles on "the
socialization issue" and I'm sure that some homeschoolers here who have
more time than I do and are more eloquent than I will chime in. In short,
the socialization issue is unfounded. The image of homeschoolers as paranoid
wierdo's who hide in their basement with their survival supplies and guns is
totally outdated and WRONG.
Homeschooling is easier now than ever. Every state has support groups and
activities for homeschoolers. Museums, aquariums, zoos and other similar
venues are opening their doors to homeschoolers and running programs
specifically for them.
And yes, you can teach your child even without a teaching degree, or college
degree for that matter.
For the record this year I'll have, a 4th grader, 3rd grader, and
kindergartner.
All that said, homeschooling, while more supported than in the past, is
still a huge responsibility and undertaking. Not everyone is meant to
homeschool. Do a lot of reading, and I'd HIGHLY recommend looking into the
homeschooling situation in your state and get in touch with some of the
support groups. It is not at all unusual to get involved in the
homeschooling community years before a child is "school" age.
Karen
Marie
when I was little I would get in trouble for chatting with my classmates, as
I got older and decided not to get in trouble anymore I became more and more
shy until it just killed me to even look at anyone else I wasn't completely
comfortable with. It seems that being able to talk to your classsmates is a
good social skill.
Marie
"Kari" <jkknf...@cs.comfakeaddy> wrote in message
news:20020805085100...@mb-ff.news.cs.com...
Wendy Marsden
> MIL is a teacher's aid and she says that the homeschooled children who she
> sees tend to be ahead of the class academically and behind socially. Of
> course, those are the ones who's parents gave up homeschooling. One such
> child entered her third grade class recently was academically ahead, but
> still talked baby talk and didn't have any social skills.
My experience with home-schooled kids follows this track, too. But the
"social skills" they miss really are quite missable for the most part! My
best friend homeschooled her six children and the kids are delightfully
child-like. The grown ones ARE grown and doing quite well (one is in the
air force the other is a physics major) and the teen ones are STILL teens,
but the elementary aged children act like CHILDREN not like small Austin
Powers clones.
> Some other IL's homeschool their children and the children are behind
> academically (one child is in third grade and cannot read), though no one in
> the family thinks there are any learning disabilities, just that the parents
> are not very good at homeschooling.
Being good at homeschooling is a bit scary to me. I already have trouble
getting my kids to do everything they're supposed to do, from practicing
the piano to hanging out their bathing suits to dry to doing homework... I
don't want to be the "heavy" 100% of the time.
That said, I do "homeschool" bits and pieces to supplement what they're
[not] getting in school. But it is just the fun parts that I feel
comfortable teaching. We do science experiments all year, and in the
summer we do a big unit on something. (This year it's the Revolutionary
War and we're going to go walk the Freedom Trail in Boston.)
Honestly, I use school as daycare and as a safety net to catch the stuff I
didn't catch.
> YMMV.
And that's why we can't tell you that it would be a good OR a bad
idea. It depends too much on how you implement it, how your kids handle
it, how your kids learn, how good your interaction with the schools are,
etc. Too many factors and they might change from kid to kid or year to
year!
Wendy, Mummy to DD(11) DS(9) and DS(3)
Kari
>Chatting with her peers means she needs to work on her social skills?
Yeah, I know. Tell me about it. We were told that she had lack of self-control
because she couldn't sit quietly without talking. We later found out it was
because she was finishing all her work before anyone else and was bored.
> It seems that being able to talk to your classsmates is a
>good social skill.
I would think so too. She's very chatty. We never scolded her or told her it
was bad in any way - even if she got in trouble at school (which I dont know if
she ever got in trouble per say) But I told her it was ok to be talkative :)
silvasurfa
"Terry & Lisa Yarbrough" <jed...@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:m2l39.140762$Og3.31...@e3500-atl1.usenetserver.com...
that it was a brutal place.
But I know also that to equip a child for the world you need to give them a
body of experiences similar to their peers. As our family is unconventional
in some other ways, I elect to provide some of that "similar to their peers"
stuff by sending them to school etc with their peers.
But I'd pull a kid out in a hot minute if I felt they were being victimised
to an extent they could not learn how to handle.
Deod
Hi:
Homeschool the children and don't worry about either social skills or
academics. Having your children learn social skills at school is like teaching
a child to swim by throwing them in the river.
As far as academics I would suggest that's up to your philosophy and the
standards you set. Set out to have your children have an academic education
second to none and it will require discipline throughout the family. On the
other hand it can require very little effort. See "A River Runs Through It"
based on a short novel. This is an autobiography of a boy homeschooled by his
father. I saw the movie years ago but I recall homeschooling amounted to a
little writing in the morning, fishing, and "a whole lot of Montana sky" That
boy grew up to be a pulitzer prize winning writer.
Come visit <A HREF="http://www.zona-pellucida.com">Zona Pellucida</A>
A site seeking to inspire parenting through art, literature, and stories and to
place children at the center of our lives.
Cathy Kearns
"Kari" <jkknf...@cs.comfakeaddy> wrote in message
> Yeah, I know. Tell me about it. We were told that she had lack of
self-control
> because she couldn't sit quietly without talking. We later found out it
was
> because she was finishing all her work before anyone else and was bored.
It is a problem that she is bored, she could use more enrichment
material to use that extra time and learn a bit more. It's even a bigger
problem that her talking is interrupting other children, who need to
concentrate on their work. This is where homeschooling becomes
a big advantage, a homeschool child won't get bored as their work
will be tailored to their abilities. They won't finish before every
one else because there won't be anyone else to finish before. And
they will have lots of extra time to socialize, when it's to everyones
advantage.
> > It seems that being able to talk to your classsmates is a
> >good social skill.
I don't know. You've never run across that work colleague that
always shows up just as you are on a roll and starts talking about
stuff that, though interesting, is really not helping you meet your
deadlines? I'm betting they were the ones who had the
"Lacks self-control" box checked on their report card.
> I would think so too. She's very chatty. We never scolded her or told her
it
> was bad in any way - even if she got in trouble at school (which I dont
know if
> she ever got in trouble per say) But I told her it was ok to be talkative
:)
There are times for talkative, and times it's really inappropriate, such as
during a wedding or funeral, during movies at public theatres, during
ballets,
plays, or other performances, and during school when others are supposed
to be working. If I were going to keep her in the local school, I'd
start sending in books she can read when she's done, and discuss with
the teacher how to get her enrichment materials.
Madolyn
"Donna Metler" <nospam_...@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:cps39.124405$ND5.10...@e3500-atl2.usenetserver.com...
I haven't given homeschooling a whole lot of thought, but I've always
pictured it as being taught only by parents. But after reading Donna's post
and others that mentioned co-ops, I'm wondering, do some homeschooling
parents (or co-ops) hire private tutors?
As far as socialization, I do know that where I live, many of the sports
leagues are town-related -- IOW, regardless of whether my daughter goes to
public school, private school, or is homeschooled, she would play soccer for
our town's league (at least in the elementary school years).
-- Madolyn (mama of Amelia, 11/24/99)
ricky thompson
"Terry & Lisa Yarbrough" <jed...@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:m2l39.140762$Og3.31...@e3500-atl1.usenetserver.com...
they are doing and keep accurate records. this is for your families sake.
Be aware of all laws pertaining to home schooling and be aware that many CPS
caseworkers dislike homeschoolers{at least those of the Saver mentality}
Make your homeschooling as fun as possible increasing the childrens
interest. Enjoy the time spent with them.
H Schinske
>But after reading Donna's post
>and others that mentioned co-ops, I'm wondering, do some homeschooling
>parents (or co-ops) hire private tutors?
Don't know, but it certainly seems possible that one parent in a co-op might
end up helping other people's kids with their math, and one might end up
helping with the grammar lessons, and so on. I also know a lot of homeschoolers
who take some of their specialized courses (particularly math) by
correspondence, which I suppose would count as tutoring.
Our state allows homeschooled kids to attend school part time, so they could
participate in things like music and gym at school if they liked, or
after-school stuff like chess club.
--Helen
Donna Metler
"Madolyn" <madoly...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:aimn5a$2ik$1...@bob.news.rcn.net...
I believe that this would be an option-especially in a college town, where
there are lots of prospective teachers.
The way some of the Co-ops work here is that they maintain a list of
teachers who are willing to teach/tutor a specific area-I do saxophone,
clarinet and flute lessons, recorder class, orff music, and woodwind master
classes, for example. If there are, say, 5 parents who want a group music
class for their primary grade students, we will try to arrange a time and a
location, usually using one of the private church schools.
Most of the teachers are either public or private school teachers who teach
the same classes in their "day job". A few are parents who homeschool their
own children, but have special skills in an area (such as one lady who is a
former high school math teacher who now homeschools, and teaches classes
each semester in algebra, geometry, and trigonometry).
Some of the co-ops actually maintain records and transcripts as well, which
makes it nice for parents who want to homeschool through high school or who
want to be able to easily transfer to a more traditional school later.
Timothy Butler
toypup wrote:
>
> MIL is a teacher's aid and she says that the homeschooled children who she
> sees tend to be ahead of the class academically and behind socially. Of
> course, those are the ones who's parents gave up homeschooling. One such
> child entered her third grade class recently was academically ahead, but
> still talked baby talk and didn't have any social skills.
>
> Some other IL's homeschool their children and the children are behind
> academically (one child is in third grade and cannot read), though no one in
> the family thinks there are any learning disabilities, just that the parents
> are not very good at homeschooling.
>
> YMMV.
With all due respect to you MIL's experience, the present body of research,
including a fairly impressive longitudinal study out of the University of
Michigan, indicates that homeschooled kids are at least as well socialized
as their public school peers. In most cases, they are much better socialized.
On the experiential plane, socialization is one reason that we homeschool.
I definitely want my kids to act like the other homeschooled kids that I've
met versus the public schooled hooligans that live on my street.
--
Tim
-----------------
"Much can be learned of dead man by what he has on person. Mr. Smart,
please to search pockets."
"Comb. Handkerchief. Wallet. Keys to my apartment."
"Moment, please, Mr. Smart. Dead man has keys to your apartment?"
"Oh. You mean search HIS pockets."
"Amazing."
Clisby Williams
Cathy Kearns wrote:
> "Kari" <jkknf...@cs.comfakeaddy> wrote in message
> news:20020805121644...@mb-ff.news.cs.com...
> > Yeah, I know. Tell me about it. We were told that she had lack of
> self-control
> > because she couldn't sit quietly without talking. We later found out it
> was
> > because she was finishing all her work before anyone else and was bored.
>
> It is a problem that she is bored, she could use more enrichment
> material to use that extra time and learn a bit more. It's even a bigger
> problem that her talking is interrupting other children, who need to
> concentrate on their work. This is where homeschooling becomes
> a big advantage, a homeschool child won't get bored as their work
> will be tailored to their abilities. They won't finish before every
> one else because there won't be anyone else to finish before. And
> they will have lots of extra time to socialize, when it's to everyones
> advantage.
>
Yes, but you might be able to find a private school with the same advantages.
My daughter will be starting her 2nd year at a small private school in our
neighborhood. It's not a Montessori school, but the classes are multi-age as
they are in Montessori (K-2 in one class, 3-5 in another, etc.) There are
only 10 children in each class, and individualized instruction is the norm.
One parent told me he and his wife put their daughter there because it was the
closest thing they could find to homeschooling without actually doing the
homeschooling themselves.
Clisby
Just Me
"Kari" <jkknf...@cs.comfakeaddy> wrote in message
> >
> >Chatting with her peers means she needs to work on her social skills?
>
>
> Yeah, I know. Tell me about it. We were told that she had lack of
self-control
> because she couldn't sit quietly without talking. We later found out it
was
> because she was finishing all her work before anyone else and was bored.
>
> > It seems that being able to talk to your classsmates is a
> >good social skill.
>
> I would think so too. She's very chatty. We never scolded her or told her
it
> was bad in any way - even if she got in trouble at school (which I dont
know if
> she ever got in trouble per say) But I told her it was ok to be talkative
:)
It sounds to me more that the problem was that she had not been
indoctrinated with the "school acceptable behavior" by being in pre-K and
taught to be regimented by the teacher. If she was not having problems
getting along with her peers *and* she was interacting with them regularly
than it probably was not a social skill problem, but rather situational to
what the teacher expected of the students. Sounds like the teacher is very
used to usually receiving children who have been to pre-K and that she needs
to learn how to teach children how to follow the rules of the classroom.
-Aula
Just Me
>
> I haven't given homeschooling a whole lot of thought, but I've always
> pictured it as being taught only by parents. But after reading Donna's
post
> and others that mentioned co-ops, I'm wondering, do some homeschooling
> parents (or co-ops) hire private tutors?
>
That will depend on the State laws regarding homeschooling. In this area
you must be the homeschool teacher, as parent, but you could coop with other
parents for various areas of expertise [ie: chemistry] and engage a teacher
for something like music, art, gymnastics, just as a public schooled child's
parents could.
-Aula
Kari
>indoctrinated with the "school acceptable behavior" by being in pre-K and
>taught to be regimented by the teacher. If she was not having problems
>getting along with her peers *and* she was interacting with them regularly
>than it probably was not a social skill problem, but rather situational to
>what the teacher expected of the students. Sounds like the teacher is very
>used to usually receiving children who have been to pre-K and that she needs
>to learn how to teach children how to follow the rules of the classroom.
>
This was exactly the problem. Kaylie was quite popular. In fact, they did a
project in which the kids made 2 "special friend" ribbons and gave them to
their 2 favorite friends and Kaylie came home with 7 (she had 17 in her class)
She said "mommy, I had more than anyone! And some kids didn't have any so I
made extras to give to them" So I think she interacts very well with the other
kids.
No, she was not in pre-K, she has been taking ballet classes since she was 3
and she has never been a talker in there. I truly think she was just bored with
the work in school. She is such a fast worker, I bought her some 1st and 2nd
grade workbooks at BJ's and she'll whip through 4 or 5 pages in 5 minutes with
little or no errors.
Im hoping first grade is more of a challenge for her so she doesn't run into
the same problems as last year.
H Schinske
>No, she was not in pre-K, she has been taking ballet classes since she was 3
>and she has never been a talker in there. I truly think she was just bored
>with
>the work in school. She is such a fast worker, I bought her some 1st and 2nd
>grade workbooks at BJ's and she'll whip through 4 or 5 pages in 5 minutes
>with
>little or no errors.
>
>Im hoping first grade is more of a challenge for her so she doesn't run into
>the same problems as last year.
Doesn't sound likely, if she's already whipping through first and second-grade
material ... could they give her more challenging stuff? _Teaching Gifted Kids
in the Regular Classroom_, by Susan Winebrenner, is a great resource for
handling kids who are quite a bit ahead. There is a similar volume that focuses
specifically on younger children, too.
--Helen
Just Me
"Kari" <jkknf...@cs.comfakeaddy> wrote in message
> This was exactly the problem. Kaylie was quite popular. In fact, they did
a
> project in which the kids made 2 "special friend" ribbons and gave them to
> their 2 favorite friends and Kaylie came home with 7 (she had 17 in her
class)
> She said "mommy, I had more than anyone! And some kids didn't have any so
I
> made extras to give to them" So I think she interacts very well with the
other
> kids.
>
> No, she was not in pre-K, she has been taking ballet classes since she was
3
> and she has never been a talker in there. I truly think she was just bored
with
> the work in school. She is such a fast worker, I bought her some 1st and
2nd
> grade workbooks at BJ's and she'll whip through 4 or 5 pages in 5 minutes
with
> little or no errors.
>
> Im hoping first grade is more of a challenge for her so she doesn't run
into
> the same problems as last year.
A lot will depend on the teacher and her/his willingness to give her extra
or advanced work. You might be wise to enquire after gifted status and/or
raise the issue of possible advanced and/or extra work at the very beginning
of the school year. Teachers do seem to be more receptive, from what I've
heard, if the issue is raised by the parent prior to the child ever entering
the classroom. Then again, as they say, YMMV. Good luck!
-Aula
Caitriona Mac Fhiodhbhuidhe
Marsden) wrote:
>toypup (toy...@attbi.com) wrote:
<snipped>
>
>> Some other IL's homeschool their children and the children are behind
>> academically (one child is in third grade and cannot read), though no one in
>> the family thinks there are any learning disabilities, just that the parents
>> are not very good at homeschooling.
>
>Being good at homeschooling is a bit scary to me. I already have trouble
>getting my kids to do everything they're supposed to do, from practicing
>the piano to hanging out their bathing suits to dry to doing homework... I
>don't want to be the "heavy" 100% of the time.
>
>That said, I do "homeschool" bits and pieces to supplement what they're
>[not] getting in school. But it is just the fun parts that I feel
>comfortable teaching. We do science experiments all year, and in the
>summer we do a big unit on something. (This year it's the Revolutionary
>War and we're going to go walk the Freedom Trail in Boston.)
>
Who says school has to be hard? Or not fun?
We're middle-of-the-road in our hs'ing approach. I abhor strict
schedules. There are too many things that come up unexpectedly for us
to stick to a strict schedule. But we're not totally comfortable with
unschooling, either.
We take a relaxed approach to education. The kids have classes with
other teachers on Tuesday afternoons (2 hr art class), all day
Wednesday (co-op day), Thursday afternoons (30 min @ the library and 1
hr @ the rock shop), and Friday mornings (1 hr at choir). We provide
lots of books (more than we have shelves for). The kids choose what
they want to study.
This approach is working great for us. It gives me more time to deal,
one-on-one, with the more personal issues our kids have. They were in
ps for a few yrs (K-7 for OS, K-5 for YD, and pre-K-5 for YS). They
have a lot of garbage from those yrs that they're working through. In
addition, we're a blended family, so they have a lot of things to work
through WRT that. It was much harder to work through those things
when they were in ps all day and me at work all day.
>Honestly, I use school as daycare and as a safety net to catch the stuff I
>didn't catch.
>
My favorite way of catching things I don't know well enough is to let
someone who knows the subject talk to the kids abt it. My next
favorite way is to have the kids look it up themselves. Other hs'ing
families and I switch off on child care. Of course, that has only
been possible since we've organized the local co-op and discovered how
many hs'ing families are in the area.
>> YMMV.
>
>And that's why we can't tell you that it would be a good OR a bad
>idea. It depends too much on how you implement it, how your kids handle
>it, how your kids learn, how good your interaction with the schools are,
>etc. Too many factors and they might change from kid to kid or year to
>year!
Too true. Everything changes, constantly. What's working well today
won't always work tomorrow, but might be the right approach again in 2
weeks.
Kitten
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
You can always tell a Texan, but you can't tell him much. - Chris Wall
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Courage, Real courage, is no quick fix. It doesn't come in a bottle
or a pill, It comes from discipline. From taking everything life
hands you and being your best either because of it or in spite of it.
-- Ty Murray
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Caitriona Mac Fhiodhbhuidhe
<cli...@mindspring.com> wrote:
<snipped>
>I also have heard of several homeschooling families
>getting together to hire a tutor to teach a particular subject. (Like maybe
>nobody's very well equipped to teach a foreign language, so they hire somebody
>to teach Spanish to a whole group of kids a few times a week.)
>
This is what we did for art. A group of us wanted an art class, two
of us knew art teachers, I was able to get a bldg, one of the two
teachers we knew had time slots that coincided with those in our
group.
It's working beautifully. The kids love the class.
Caitriona Mac Fhiodhbhuidhe
wrote:
Along with what Sarajoyo posted, make sure that the advanced/extra
work doesn't come across as *more* work. It's very disheartening to
finish one's work, correctly, only to be "punished" by being given
even more work to do. Busy-work is a horrid, horrid thing.
Caitriona Mac Fhiodhbhuidhe
wrote:
>
One of the things I love abt TX is that hs's are private schools, with
all the rights and privileges to arrange for classes in whichever way
is most convenient for the school, student(s), and teacher(s). We
are free to make arrangements with anyone we wish to teach the classes
we don't teach ourselves. Our only *state* requirements are that we
teach reading, writing, grammar, math, and citizenship. Our personal
requirements are much higher.
Our co-op has arranged the Tuesday art class and the Friday choir
class, as well as our all-day-Wednesday schedule. This fall, our
co-op's schedule is as follows:
This fall, our Wednesday classes are as follows:
9:00-9:30 - Physical Activities (getting rid of a lot of energy before
starting seated classes)
9:30-10:45 - Latin, Beginning Science, and Sports
[all 3 of ours chose sports this fall]
10:45-12:00 - Cooking, Arts & Crafts, and Survey of History and Civics
[2 of ours chose cooking, 1 chose arts & crafts]
12:00-1:15 - Lunch (Meal cooked by the cooking class [3.00/plate or
1.50/half-plate] or what we've brought with us.)
1:15-2:30 - Advanced Science, Math Games, and Creative Writing
[2 of ours chose advanced science, one chose creative writing, I'm
teaching math games]
After-hours activities include the following:
2:45-3:45 - Chess Club (alternating with Game Days) [both boys],
Beginning Hand Quilting [YD], Cake Decorating, Military Science and
History [YS], General Cooking and Meal Planning, and Geometry/Algebra.
[I'm teaching the geometry/algebra class. My students are an 11yob
and a 12yog.]
3:45-5:00 - Newspaper (to be available in print and online) and Drama.
[This one's been a challenge. The kids on the newspaper are also in
drama. YD is on the newspaper. All 3 of ours are in drama.]
The families pay for art class on a weekly basis. Choir and co-op are
paid on a semester basis. Co-op fees are small - $20.00 per family to
help pay for copies and things like that during the semester.