Our Homeschool Adventure
A friend of mine just asked a couple of questions about Homeschooling and I thought I would share my answers. :)
Have you always Homeschooled?
No. J (11yrs. old/6th grade) went to public school for Preschool, K, 1st grade. I homeschooled him for 2nd grade because we lived in Florida for a year in between graduating Chiropractic school and coming to RVU. We moved 3 times that year (stayed with two sets of friends and then got an apt. after Chiro jobs fell through and T got a job at Disney World)
For 2nd grade, we: watched a lot of Bill Nye the Science Guy videos that we found at the library, read a LOT of books, did random workbooks that we found in the Dollar Spot at Target, used flash cards for math, went to Disney World about 30 times and made sure to take advantage of the educational opportunities there at EPCOT and Animal Kingdom. After the year was up we had a friend of ours from the Ward (who was also a school teacher) evaluate the boys for benchmarks and give me advice for the next year.
For 3rd grade J went to Red Hawk Ridge Elementary here in town and it was a pretty good year. He ended up testing into gifted classes and his teacher said it was because of his homeschool year! (yay)
For 4th grade he continued at RHR but due to depression and being bullied, his counselor asked us to pull him out and homeschool him. We used Time For Learning, an online curriculum that is about $20/month. It was ok. But since it was mostly online, he developed eye strain and headaches.
For 5th grade we gave RHR another shot. It was a terrible year. His teacher ended up being a bully and I pulled him out after state testing was completed. We spent the rest of the year doing Webelos Scouting and he ended up getting his Arrow of Light! (The highest award in Cub Scouting)
For 6th grade (this year) we started the year studying things that interested him. We watched a lot of science videos, read a lot of books, and worked in workbooks that we purchased at Beyond the Blackboard. He got pretty tired of doing worksheets all the time, so we switched it up and started working with www.allinonehomeschool.com It is a pretty great site created by a homeschool mom that is totally free to use and covers all subjects! We like it so far, but hope to find a perfect fit next year.
We also started attending, at the beginning of the year, a homeschool co-op group called Founders. It is modeled after the Thomas Jefferson Education model created by the DeMilles. It is incredible and I highly recommend it!
Tr (9yrs old/4th grade) went to 2 years of preschool because he was behind in a lot of areas (fine motor, vocal, social, etc) Both boys attending preschool as part of the Educational Opportunities for Children and Families program in Washington State. Also called Head Start. It is available for low income families in most states and is totally amazing! In fact, for the first year, Tr had a teacher that came to our home once a week and worked with him on a personal level. The second year, he attended the classroom.
For Kindergarten he was homeschooled in Florida.
For 1-2 grade he attended RHR and did SO well. During his 2nd grade year, he was evaluated and granted a 504 plan. It is a plan that outlines ways in which the classroom and learning environment (homework, tests, etc) needs to be modified in order for him to function normally. He was tested gifted in a lot of areas as well as being diagnosed with ADHD, sensory processing disorder, and auditory processing disorder, which basically puts him on the Autism spectrum. He started counseling (along with Julian) and started taking medication to manage his ADHD.
For 3rd grade he attended RHR and had a terrible year. His teacher wouldn't follow the 504 correctly and basically just let him do whatever he wanted without any accountability or consequences. He started to hate going to school and started to act out. He would yell, shake his desk, hide his school work, etc. We pulled him out at the same time we pulled Julian out of 5th grade and worked with him on Scouting as well.
For 4th grade we followed the same plan as outlined for J.
It has taken a while and a lot of patience, but J is off of medication, has graduated from counseling, and is loving learning. Tr is happier, on less medication, and loves school as well.
How do you stay on top of it?
I didn't in the beginning. It is hard to start something like this and be accountable. It is also hard when you are not certain you are doing what needs to be done and everyone that I have talked to goes through a period of terror when they feel like they are ruining their child! It is totally normal and you just need to get over the hump and trust your instincts. You are your children's best teacher!
Having a curriculum like Easy Peasy or any other scripted curriculum will help you stay on task better than anything if you struggle with that.
Where did you get your curriculum?
I already answered that for the most part...but let me say this. There are nearly endless curriculum out there and equally endless amounts of opinions on why the curriculum they use is the best. Be prayerful and you will find what works for you.
What technique do you use?
I am trying to use the technique of a combo of 'unschooling' and self guided learning. I try to be flexible and change it up when the boys need it. If they want to learn about black holes, we learn about black holes. I am not married to any particular curriculum or technique. I just do what feels right for my learners.
Could you walk me through a typical day?
So, a typical day for us is: wake up, breakfast, school, chores, play. School takes up 4 hours a day. If we finish lessons early, I supplement with www.xtramath.com or spelling practice. I also read to them A LOT. I also have them read silently either Non-fiction or fiction.
This has worked the best for us so far. Other times in our homeschool adventure I would just give them things to do like watch a film, or create something with their hands, or go outside on a bug hunt. That way they didn't feel like they were 'in school' but they were still learning. I like both ways, but with our current schedule, this works well.
I take time the day before to do through their lessons for the next day and write it down in my lesson plan book that I picked up from Beyond the Blackboard. It keeps me accountable, but it also helps me to know what they are learning and what the objectives are for the day so I can answer questions. I have to sit with Tristan to keep him on task, but Julian generally works well independently. I know it won't always work that well, that is why I am always willing to be flexible.
I considered www.k12.com or www.connectionsacademy.com but I found that there was not as much flexibility as I wanted to have and I don't do well with people telling me what to do. But if you like that, then those are good options.
Please feel free to ask any other questions!
No. J (11yrs. old/6th grade) went to public school for Preschool, K, 1st grade. I homeschooled him for 2nd grade because we lived in Florida for a year in between graduating Chiropractic school and coming to RVU. We moved 3 times that year (stayed with two sets of friends and then got an apt. after Chiro jobs fell through and T got a job at Disney World)
For 2nd grade, we: watched a lot of Bill Nye the Science Guy videos that we found at the library, read a LOT of books, did random workbooks that we found in the Dollar Spot at Target, used flash cards for math, went to Disney World about 30 times and made sure to take advantage of the educational opportunities there at EPCOT and Animal Kingdom. After the year was up we had a friend of ours from the Ward (who was also a school teacher) evaluate the boys for benchmarks and give me advice for the next year.
For 3rd grade J went to Red Hawk Ridge Elementary here in town and it was a pretty good year. He ended up testing into gifted classes and his teacher said it was because of his homeschool year! (yay)
For 4th grade he continued at RHR but due to depression and being bullied, his counselor asked us to pull him out and homeschool him. We used Time For Learning, an online curriculum that is about $20/month. It was ok. But since it was mostly online, he developed eye strain and headaches.
For 5th grade we gave RHR another shot. It was a terrible year. His teacher ended up being a bully and I pulled him out after state testing was completed. We spent the rest of the year doing Webelos Scouting and he ended up getting his Arrow of Light! (The highest award in Cub Scouting)
For 6th grade (this year) we started the year studying things that interested him. We watched a lot of science videos, read a lot of books, and worked in workbooks that we purchased at Beyond the Blackboard. He got pretty tired of doing worksheets all the time, so we switched it up and started working with www.allinonehomeschool.com It is a pretty great site created by a homeschool mom that is totally free to use and covers all subjects! We like it so far, but hope to find a perfect fit next year.
We also started attending, at the beginning of the year, a homeschool co-op group called Founders. It is modeled after the Thomas Jefferson Education model created by the DeMilles. It is incredible and I highly recommend it!
Tr (9yrs old/4th grade) went to 2 years of preschool because he was behind in a lot of areas (fine motor, vocal, social, etc) Both boys attending preschool as part of the Educational Opportunities for Children and Families program in Washington State. Also called Head Start. It is available for low income families in most states and is totally amazing! In fact, for the first year, Tr had a teacher that came to our home once a week and worked with him on a personal level. The second year, he attended the classroom.
For Kindergarten he was homeschooled in Florida.
For 1-2 grade he attended RHR and did SO well. During his 2nd grade year, he was evaluated and granted a 504 plan. It is a plan that outlines ways in which the classroom and learning environment (homework, tests, etc) needs to be modified in order for him to function normally. He was tested gifted in a lot of areas as well as being diagnosed with ADHD, sensory processing disorder, and auditory processing disorder, which basically puts him on the Autism spectrum. He started counseling (along with Julian) and started taking medication to manage his ADHD.
For 3rd grade he attended RHR and had a terrible year. His teacher wouldn't follow the 504 correctly and basically just let him do whatever he wanted without any accountability or consequences. He started to hate going to school and started to act out. He would yell, shake his desk, hide his school work, etc. We pulled him out at the same time we pulled Julian out of 5th grade and worked with him on Scouting as well.
For 4th grade we followed the same plan as outlined for J.
It has taken a while and a lot of patience, but J is off of medication, has graduated from counseling, and is loving learning. Tr is happier, on less medication, and loves school as well.
How do you stay on top of it?
I didn't in the beginning. It is hard to start something like this and be accountable. It is also hard when you are not certain you are doing what needs to be done and everyone that I have talked to goes through a period of terror when they feel like they are ruining their child! It is totally normal and you just need to get over the hump and trust your instincts. You are your children's best teacher!
Having a curriculum like Easy Peasy or any other scripted curriculum will help you stay on task better than anything if you struggle with that.
Where did you get your curriculum?
I already answered that for the most part...but let me say this. There are nearly endless curriculum out there and equally endless amounts of opinions on why the curriculum they use is the best. Be prayerful and you will find what works for you.
What technique do you use?
I am trying to use the technique of a combo of 'unschooling' and self guided learning. I try to be flexible and change it up when the boys need it. If they want to learn about black holes, we learn about black holes. I am not married to any particular curriculum or technique. I just do what feels right for my learners.
Could you walk me through a typical day?
So, a typical day for us is: wake up, breakfast, school, chores, play. School takes up 4 hours a day. If we finish lessons early, I supplement with www.xtramath.com or spelling practice. I also read to them A LOT. I also have them read silently either Non-fiction or fiction.
This has worked the best for us so far. Other times in our homeschool adventure I would just give them things to do like watch a film, or create something with their hands, or go outside on a bug hunt. That way they didn't feel like they were 'in school' but they were still learning. I like both ways, but with our current schedule, this works well.
I take time the day before to do through their lessons for the next day and write it down in my lesson plan book that I picked up from Beyond the Blackboard. It keeps me accountable, but it also helps me to know what they are learning and what the objectives are for the day so I can answer questions. I have to sit with Tristan to keep him on task, but Julian generally works well independently. I know it won't always work that well, that is why I am always willing to be flexible.
I considered www.k12.com or www.connectionsacademy.com but I found that there was not as much flexibility as I wanted to have and I don't do well with people telling me what to do. But if you like that, then those are good options.
Please feel free to ask any other questions!
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