Test Results

No, I'm not going to post the kids test results exactly here...but I am struggling in the interpretation of them.

For example, JM took the 4th grade test as he is officially in 4th grade. He was 10 years 3 months (hey...wait a minute, the form says 10 years 4 months....), and then it gives us number possible, number correct, scaled score, national PR-S,and AACS PR-S (that's the American Association of Christian Schools) and then Grade equivalent. I understand THOSE things...it's the numbers associated and how to "understand" them in regards to my child.

For example, I have a Number possible of 114, number correct of 99...scaled score of 675. With national PR-S of 86-7 and AACS PR-S of 78-7 (Huh? what's that -7 mean? 78-87? or something else?). Then grade equivalent of 8.3. I *think* that means that he scored as well as an 8th grader in their 3rd month on taking the 4th grade test. Right? Maybe?

then we have Samuel. He's in K and I had him take the 1st grade test. He scored fairly well for taking the 1st grade test a year early. :) But what does that MEAN to his scores? Do I take the scores of grade equivalent of 1.9 to mean he's doing the work he should be doing?

Regardless, it' s a good gauge for us to see where we need to work more on...no surprises there. LOL

Word Study Skills
Language Expression
Spelling
Language

yeah. Did I mention before that they are total science and math "geeks" yet? Glad to have the test results, and I've "filed" them away for comparison with later years (and looked back over JM's results from previous years...he's doing rather well). I can tell, for example, that our hard work in Math this year paid off. I can tell that he make great strides in grammar and word study skills as well.

Onward to next year...which starts June 1st. Poor kids have to start school back on June 1st. But then again they've been "out" since early May, and being "out of routine" is really starting to show.

2009-2010 School Year Curriculum

It's coming up, and I have finally...FINALLY ordered our curriculum. Samuel will be 1st grade and JM will be 5th grade.

Are you ready? It's...well...quite interesting.

Both boys are going to do Horizons Math - Samuel will finish up grade 1b and then complete 2a and 2b. JM will finish up 5b and complete 6a and 6b.

Samuel and JM are both using Abeka Language Arts this year. We need help with word skills and grammar, and I'm hoping this will work. I've heard good things. Samuel will be in Language 2 and JM will be in Language 6.

Samuel will have Abeka Spelling 2nd grade as well. I ordered the Abeka Spelling 6th grade for JM but it is going to be too hard for him, so we'll go back to Spelling Power for him. I'll have to figure out which level he is though.

JM will be doing Abeka's 6th grade handwriting. Samuel will be doing A Reason for Handwriting Transition.

Samuel will be doing the Bible lessons from Sonlight Core1 - Leading Little Ones to God. JM will...errmmmm....I'm not really sure. Oops! I'll head to Lifeway and browse for something for him.

Both boys will be doing Apologia's Astronomy (at least through Christmas). I'm personally VERY excited about this one.

Samuel will be doing Sonlight Core1+2 with Regular Readers for History and reading. I think the readers are "below" his level, but I'm trying to boost his comprehension skills. If, by Christmas, he's WAY beyond them, then I'll purchase him some extra books off the Intermediate and Advanced list from Sonlight.

JM is doing Abeka 4th grade History - History of the United States. He's not gotten a full curriculum of this yet, and I felt this was a good year to do so. We are supplementing with 10 books off of the Sonlight Core 3 and Core 4 lists. I chose them based on JM's interests. He'll have to write book reports on them as well.

They will continue the city league sports and Karate to fill in for their PE.

"I could never homeschool my kids!"

Why do I find this question, well, frankly abhorrent?

I'm not doing anything grand, which the "I could never homeschool my kids" sounds like. Nor am I some kind of weirdo (the other way it could be taken). Nor am I hero. I'm just a Mom. Doing what she feels is best for HER kids. To me, it's much like being praised for adopting Katie, I didn't do anything special.

If it's because the person says they don't have the patience. Well, if you've known me at all, you KNOW I'm not a patient person. Not ONE single bit. In fact it's a trait I'm working on, and working on, and working on, and working....

If it's because the person is not sure they could teach their children (and said children are oh 4 and 6), then I have to wonder if they can read. ;) Well, not really, but teaching your own children for the early Elementary is VASTLY different than teaching a roomful of kids for early Elementary grades. It's more an extension of what you are doing already as a parent. Now, if their children are older and you are getting into some of that complicated math, or hitting the part of science where you are having to dissect things, or you are in the part of language arts where you having to oh..."dissect" a sentence (what was that called again?). Yeah, I worry about that too. But honestly, every single place I'm worried about being "deficient" there is another family in our cover school who has that covered in a BIG way.

If it's because the person is not sure they could stand being around their kids all the time. I will probably look at them a little funny. It's an honest answer, but if their kids are considered mostly normal...it's also a little sad if you really think about what they are saying. But trust me, the "no break from the kids" is one of the negatives I list.

If it's because the parent is not organized, then yeah...they probably could not homeschool very well in a state that requires LOTS of records. I struggle with that aspect a lot.

How we fell into homeschooling...

When I was pg with JM, way back over a decade ago, I had never heard of homeschooling...but well, really I had. See there were 2 kids who were "taught by Mom at home" during my high school years. But, they were kind of "weird." Then, right after JM was born, someone on the parenting forum I was on mentioned homeschooling.

I looked into it, and thought it sounded interesting. I mentioned it to Dh, and he thought it was weird. I shelved the idea for 3 years, but I would read anything that I came across online when I stumbled upon it. When JM was finally ready for pre-school, I mentioned it to Dh again because I could see that JM was not going to exactly thrive in a traditional school environment. Dh had a "compromise" for me.

I enroll JM in a 3 day a week Mother's Day out preschool program (or did I do the two day a week?), and I "homeschooled" the other days. The catch was that I had to homeschool a Kindergarten curriculum because I would need to keep him 1 year ahead in case we sent him back to a public school, so he'd have a year to "acclimate" without having to learn new subjects. He THRIVED with the academics, didn't do so well with the preschool program due to the things I was worried about (he didn't want to sit still at all).

So, we took the leap for Kindergarten, and I picked up a 1st grade curriculum (he was there academically). It was Sonlight Core1 with Singapore Math and A Reason for Writing. I think that was all I did that year. Anyway, we liked it okay and continued with the same plan for his 1st grade year (except everything was for 2nd grade level). We were really enjoying homeschooling, and JM took his first standardized test. I had noticed something...but I attempted to play it off because I loved Singapore Math so well due to my background in Math.

But it showed in testing. While JM KNEW the mental math from Singapore Math and he could figure out how to arrive at an answer, he did NOT know the facts at all. He was struggling with things in math because he'd learn something for the time it was shown in Singapore Math, then it would not be touched on again for quite awhile (like months)...and we'd struggle to re-learn something I knew he'd known previously. It was frustrating to us both, and caused many tears on both our parts.

I loved Singapore Math, and it was so hard to admit that it was NOT working for JM. Not at all. I did some more research, and thought we should try Horizons Math. I was appalled at where JM tested on their preliminary tests. While he was okay in some areas, he was behind in others. It was a struggle for us, but we chose to go with a 3rd grade curriculum for the next year and we did LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of Math catchup work.

I also found out about a lack of knowledge in Language Arts, the Sonlight curriculum was just not working for us in their Language arts. That one was probably more my doing than the math as I had not concentrated as hard on making him learn phonics rules, grammar rules, and I did not make him write 8 sentences a day as a 1st grader!

It was so hard playing this "catch-up" for his 2nd grade year. But the test scores showed our hard work had paid off. Luckily. We were moving on to 3rd grade for JM and Samuel was entering Pre-K.

JM got a 4th grade curriculum, with supplemental stuff here and there...it was all through Alpha Omega and some we liked and some we didn't like. Samuel we picked up Alpha Omega's Horizon's program for Kindergarten. It was more "workbook" than I had done with JM, but I was more distracted too with Katie's referral, traveling to China and then settling in....we finished that year somehow...and made the decision for this year.

JM was using 5th grade curriculum for LA, science, Bible, and History. Math was Horizons 4b/5a (we have still been plagued by the Singapore Math non-cyclical learning pattern and have had to work very hard on a few things), and Handwriting was 4th grade.

Samuel used the Horizon's 1st grade curriculum this year.

Both have done fairly well. JM has struggled here and there with things, and we are finally seeing his writing skills catch up to where we would like them to be. His math is improving greatly...and Samuel, well, he is definitely ready for that 2nd grade curriculum.

Next year...I think we're returning to Sonlight. I've just missed the history too much. Bible for JM will be the same curriculum he is using now. Bible for Samuel will be from Sonlight. LA for both will continue with what we are using now. Math will continue with what we are using now (JM will be 5b/6a while Samuel will be 2a/2b). The only thing I'm trying to figure out is Science. Samuel might do Sonlight while JM does his current curriculum but for 6th grade.

Over the next couple of weeks though I will re-explore all the possibilities available to us for curriculum. I will research and see if there is anything that might possibly be a better fit for our kids.

How are you going to teach Calculus?!

This one is always laughable to me. Especially because I was asked this question when my oldest was being homeschooled for Kindergarten.

I ask you WHEN would Calculus be taught? So, think about that one for a moment. I was teaching Kindergarten. I had such a smart aleck response too, especially as I could teach calculus in a school if I really wanted to.

But I know that in reality they were actually asking about how I was going to handle homeschooling in the later years when the subjects were not so easy to teach. When, perhaps I didn't know about that subject. I knew that I needed to answer this in the way they need answered.

When I get to the point, IF I get to the point, where the kids are taking a subject I know NOTHING about. Then, yes, then I will seek out classes for them. Through the local community college, through tutoring centers, and yes, through classes through our cover school! Classes such as marine biology, or introduction to early British literature, or even a class solely on the study of Shakespeare.

But sometimes, oh sometimes you will run into this really "bright bulb" and you'll get the question while you are teaching early Elementary about how can you TEACH those grades!!! I honestly do not think that they are implying you are an idiot, but yes, sometimes I wonder if people think I'm qualified to teach colors, or simple addition, or even read history to my children.

Tomorrow's post is on photoshop, specifically how to "move" or "add" something to a photo that needs help. ;) I took the kids to the gardens last week to look at evidence that spring was actually here. It's not the EASIEST lesson, but it's one I do the most of, and one that I think others will want to know as well.


It's not heavy on photos of the boys, actually it's just Katie...and while it's lots of photos, it's lots of screen shots of me working on ONE photo. So, be on the lookout in future posts for photos of the boys, kids, and Katie from our trip to the gardens.

What about SOCIALIZATION?!

I guarantee it, EVERY SINGLE PERSON has that question when they find out I homeschool. EVERY SINGLE ONE. You think that dealing with Adoption questions get old? Try homeschooling as well. Fun times.

So, socilization, by defition means "a continuing process whereby an individual acquires a personal identity and learns the norms, values, behavior, and social skills appropriate to his or her social position."

What I think people actually mean is how am I going to "socialize" my child. Socialize means "–verb (used with object)
1. to make social; make fit for life in companionship with others.
2. to make socialistic; establish or regulate according to the theories of socialism.
3. Education. to treat as a group activity: to socialize spelling quizzes.
–verb (used without object)
4. to associate or mingle sociably with others: to socialize with one's fellow workers. "

I always try to lead them to their own answers in this situation. I ask them, if their husband is the same age and from the same grade as they are? Most of the time they say no. I ask them if all their friends that they socialize with are the same age and graduated from high school the same year they did. I am always told NO. I ask them if everyone they work with are the same age? Or everyone they go to church with are the same age? Or everyone they meet out in the "real world" are the same age? I always get No (with a really dumb look that is saying "duh lady....how stupid are you?").

So, I ask them, what kind of socializing does a traditional school setting TEACH if they are always around same age peers? Is that normal socialization? Sitting at desks in rows, being around the same age children all day long, etc. I've heard that where someone spends the majority of the time is where they will start getting their "ideas" of what is right and wrong. Yes, parents have influence, but what influence do the kids at school have? Peer pressure. It's part of the "socialization" of a school environment. Is it good? Or is it bad? I guess that depends on what the peer pressure is working toward (in Katie's case it might be good to force her into potty training).

One thing that I can NOT teach my children is to rely on other adults, and to learn that other adults are trustworthy and capable of handling their problems. My kids HAVE had other teachers, but I'm not sure of the extent that they have had to "trust" them to take care of an issue or problem. This is a step toward independence and maturity that JM is ready to take, and summer camp will hopefully do that for him. This is NOT to say that my kids have not learned to respect other adults in leadership roles, they have.

Where do children learn how to act in a grocery store? Does the school teach them that? Where do they learn how to act at church? Most of the time they figure out that learning how to act in a the big bad world comes during those first 5 years of life, and it comes from what the parents teach.

Or, are the people concerned about "socialization" actually meaning how will my children spend time with other children. They worry about my children sitting at home all the time or something. But you know, by not spending time around other children so much, my kids do not know what things are "trendy" and quite frankly do not care. My kids play happily with children of all ages. My 6 year old will happily play with a 4 year old instead of whining about how they are a "baby" like some friend's children do. My kids make friends everywhere they go, and so far are not concerned about going to a new place where they won't know anyone.

We also do not just sit at home. I think I have one day during the week where we are "at home" and that is when I try to get all our cleaning done as well. It's a constant juggling act.

But just in case they actually mean whether or not my children know how to act in a classroom, we've taught those skills. I must say that asking homeschoolers to "line up" at the door is something we have to teach. We have had to teach them to raise their hands to make comments and ask questions while out on field trips. We've also had to teach them to ask permission to go to the restroom. Yes, my kids do know how to do all that as well now.

The "cool" thing

I'm talking about Home's Cool...errr Homeschool. It's that time of year that we are making the decision on whether or not to homeschool next year or send the kids off into the big bad world.

That's a joke people.

I have been feeling lately that people around me turn to homeschooling as the "cool" new thing to do. I've fielded a LOT of questions from Moms at church, Moms at ball practice, Moms at the grocery store, and even Moms at the therpist's office. I'm quite frankly getting tired of the same questions.

"What about SOCILIZATION?!"

"How are you going to teach CALCULUS?!"

"I could never do that!" *gasp*

"I would kill my kids if I had to be around them that long. How do you handle it?"

and oh so many others. I have smart aleck responses for each and every one of them. I have honest and truthful answers for each and every one of them. But you know, lately, I have found that unless someone brings UP homeschooling I just sit quietly.

It's become the "cool" thing here though. I fear that many of these parents will hit the hardships of teaching their own children, and then their failures will reflect badly on those of us who succeed. I don't want them to fail, and more than for my own benefit...but honestly, when homeschooling fails many times that child ends up in a school setting where the teachers roll their eyes and "teach that subject" and then...oh then...I get the JOY of sitting next to those teachers at a ballgame. I hear, first hand, from them how awful homeschooling is when that teacher sitting next me at the ballgame has NO clue I homeschool.

Or I'm at church and I overhear some people talking negatively about homeschoolers (and yes it has been church staff as well as members). I hear how they perceive a homeschooled child as being out of control and unruly (when in reality that child was just being a child). Or how it is not fair that a homeschooled child gets to be on a city travel ball team that is zoned by schools. Or I hear about how those awful homeschooling mothers are sheltering their kids and not letting them experience the big bad world. The people I overhear are talking about how those children never get taught how to socialize. Many times this is said in front of me because they have NO CLUE I homeschool my children, and yes they know my children.

I have had church members teaching my children tell us that I should not make my child do schoolwork on a school holiday while my child was standing there. I've been told that I should allow my child to have a summer break without school work, because the public and private schools are "out" for the summer. I've had my children questioned in front of their peers WHERE they go to school, and the teachers not accepting "home" as the correct answer until I explain that yes indeed I DO homeschool.

I wonder how the new homeschooling families will handle those situations, and if they are truly prepared to defend what they are doing. Then there are the situations of how will these new homeschooling families deal with the "quizzing" that seems to happen everywhere we go.

My child has learned to say the name of the cover school instead of "homeschooled" in certain situations. Why? Because other children have said that they must be weird because they are homeschooled. My child has been quizzed by everyone they meet, just to see if they are learning enough at home.

They've asked my Kindergartner what 4x3 is then gotten upset when he did not know. They have asked my child how to read a sign (when they were in K or 1st grade) and the sign was one of the statement kind of signs at the bank or grocery store. I've had another patron in a grocery store, standing in front of me, quiz my child about each of the colors and all the letters they could find in my cart until they were satisfied my Kindergartener was not just watching television all day while I ate bons bons or something. I've had one ask my child about capitals of the different states, and then got upset when they did not know the capital of Iowa (we're from the Southeast). He was 7. Strangers have asked my children to spell things, and not all words that are age appropriate...like giraffe for my Kindergartener.

ALL of these questions were asked AFTER they found out I homeschool. Usually it follows the questions of "Oh are you in school?" Yes. "Well what grade?" I usually give them the age grade. "Where do they go to school?" I answer their cover school. "Where is that? I've never heard of it." I tell them, and then it usually comes out that it is a homeschool cover school.

I cringe when those questions are asked because I know what is likely to follow. I know that had I answered they went to a public school, or a traditional school the person asking the question would go on to ask if they LIKED school, or what their favorite subject was. It would be assumed that my child would know what they needed to know.

Homeschooling is not for the fainthearted. It's not for everyone. It's HARD. It doesn't mean you sleep in and have these idyllic days with your children exploring the universe and seeing when they learn new and exciting things. Sure, those things happen sometimes...but most likely your day will be filled with more frustrations of trying to balance family life and homeschooling. Balance the cooking, cleaning, tending to younger children, running errands, answering the phone, and then teaching.

But homeschooling DOES allow you to go to Disney World in February, count a Saturday family trip to the Zoo as a school day, and yes, while I school "year round" my kids get multiple 2 week breaks throughout the year. The flexibility it gives us is amazing. We hardly ever have "homework" to do in the evenings, so our evenings are for family time. We almost never have work to do over the weekends either. Sure we have projects that have to get done, but I can schedule them for when it's best for our family (like I made sure a project was not due right after we got back from Disney World).

Like all things in life, there are good and bad things about homeschooling.

1st 6 weeks of school

I remember, as a child, that every 6 weeks we'd get a report card. The end of a 6 week term was big huge deal to me, and I loved getting the report card. Possibly because I was bribed by my parents to get A's. $1 for every A earned, and $20 for straight A's. So, it was with shock that I realized that we've completed 30 days of school since June 1st. 30 days. 6 weeks. The boys should get a report card I think, except our local schools do 9 week terms, and as such, I will be filling out their report card for 9 weeks.

I was thinking though, how is this year going? I'm more relaxed this year, possibly because I know how it will go after 3 years of homeschooling on the record, and 2 years prior to that (we don't have to officially report to the state until the child is in 1st grade). I'm not going to go into what all the kids have learned (or not learned), nor how much they've resisted doing school work (it's been the summer...what do you expect?!). But rather, how am I doing?

I'm more confident telling others that I homeschool. I say it much less timidly, and I do not keep quiet. I've grown into a homeschooling mom. I know that what we are doing IS working well for our family. I have to watch that I don't become one of those pushy moms though that pushes for others to start homeschooling. I want to encourage them to look into the possibility if the only thing holding them back is fear. Homeschooling has been much easier than I thought it would be. It's been harder in some respects too, and I am sure to tell others that as well.

What I'm personally struggling with is a kind of weird thing to struggle with. I am not sure if I should be happy or upset when I get a certain comment. I know the intent, and I know the thoughts behind it. However, I'm just not sure how I should react. It's sort of like some of the adoption comments. What is it?

"Wow! You homeschool?! I never would have guessed because your boys get along so well and interact so well with all the other kids."

1. I'm thrilled that the boys are getting along with other kids, and are behaving well.

2. They think homeschooled kids act weird?

3. Do they think homeschooling your kids keeps them socially deprived so that they do not know how to act around other people?

See what I mean? Do I take it good or bad? Good I guess for my kids, bad I guess for homeschooling's viewpoint in society. It's been my experience that most homeschoolers are not the kind who stay in their homes 24/7 and never leave. I see them out, involved in activities, and honestly, acting like all the other kids and families I see. :)

Homeschooling update for June

Do you really want to know how incredibly difficult it is to get 2 boys to do learning work during the summer? It's hard. Incredibly hard. Between camps, swimming lessons, vacations, and what not, it seems they would rather NOT do school work.

We've managed to get a couple of school weeks in so far, through pure force of parental will. Well, that and the deal is no "electronics" until school work is done so they have good motivation! Both boys are doing well so far. Samuel is reading but refuses to perform so we can't tell for certain exactly how well. However, he has no problems reading Katie's board books to her. JM is eagerly devouring his books, and doing his work. Katie? Well, Katie is loving her books lately and sits and "pretends" to read all the time now. It's really too cute.

I still need to order their history and geography books, but so far JM is doing a state history as well. My plan is seeming to work out pretty good so far!

Why Homeschooling? Part 3

Homeschooling is a lifestyle. Along with that comes many things that are both GOOD and BAD. Many things that I try to explain to people who are not homeschooling, and these things are the reasons why I will never say that someone else should homeschool. It's very much something each family must decide for themselves. I do, however, tell people that it's not that hard or difficult. :)

Things I LOVE:

*We can vacation during any month of the year. Especially nice in planning Disney vacations.

*Exposure to less germs. It doesn't mean we don't get sick (just read the archives of 2008 where we spent so many weeks with someone sick in the house). But it means that we are less likely to catch every strep throat, cold, and stomach bug going around.

*We can choose which weeks/months are best for schooling and which we want to take off. Like for our family, we start during the summer months when it is HOT. We then, because December is so busy, take most of December off. Works nice for our family.

*We can tailor the curriculum to meet each child's needs. We can go at their pace. We know, pretty much immediately, when a child doesn't understand or needs more help. In the same regard, we can follow an interest easily such as when the boys were obsessed with all things Pirates. We turned it into a unit study where we learned geography, history, study of "fact vs. fiction," tall tales, science, and math.

*We can do lots of hand on activities related to school work.

*We can do some activities during the day, like karate, speech therapy, occupational therapy, piano lessons, etc. Which then leaves our evenings for other things like sports, family time, dinner at the table, and church activities.

*We have the ability to introduce only those aspects of science we are comfortable introducing the kids to at this point (we're teaching them creationism, and later, when we feel that their religious beliefs are solid enough we'll talk about Darwinism).

*We can sort of keep them from learning about things too early, things we would rather them not know at this point. Of course, as we learned this year, the kids at church can and do teach them a lot.

*We can teach them a more in depth look at certain subjects - like the Civil War and all the reasons it was fought. We can look at the history books written from the point of view of those who lost a war (it's often VERY enlightening). We can choose curriculum that has a biblical point of view. We were able to study China while waiting for Travel Approval to get Katie. The boys, as a result, have a deep love and respect for China and it's people.

*I am able to choose whether or not we want JM's work to be on a computer, how much he must write out, and can work with him on things he struggles with. We can build therapy into any curriculum choice as well.

The Bad

*I get zero break from the kids. They are always around. The house is always messy. I must take them everywhere with me.

*They are invited to less birthday parties than my friends with kids in traditional school environments.

*If they have not learned something, it is solely on myself. No one to blame but ourselves.

*Constantly second guessing ourselves over every decision.

*It's expensive to make sure they are involved in enough to stimulate their abilities, their friendships, and such.

*Lots of time spent sitting and waiting on them to finish a class or an activity on a field trip. Lots of time.

*Having to make sure that when they are out in public during a school day, that we are circumspect. While homeschooling is accepted here, you never know when someone will say something.

*Constantly feeling like you have to defend your choices.

*Did I mention the TIME involved? It's a huge commitment.

*We have to make decisions on curriculum, therapy, and other things with only the guidance of internet and therapists. We recognize we do not have the schooling in teaching to correct certain disabilities. Luckily, our cover school has a special ed instructor to help parents evaluate their choices and help them out.

Yes, we could have many of these things from both good and bad list if they were in traditional school environments. But one thing was clear very early on, JM is an active learner. He loves to move. I have vivid memories of him rolling around on the floor while I was reading a book to him. I thought he was not listening, but he was.

There are quite a few other things, and if you have a specific question please ask. Also know that I completely understand WHY some choose not to homeschool. I honestly believe it's not for everyone. I believe it is what is currently best for our family at this point in time. Will it be best for our family later? I don't know. We evaluate every year for the next year. If the kids at some point ASK to go to school, we will investigate that with them and let them go. So far, JM has talked to his friends and seen enough of school to think that he's currently happy where he is!

There are good things about public schools and private schools. For our family and situation we looked at the options and chose what we felt was best for our kids.

Why Homeschooling? Part 2

So, what were the questions and answers?

1. What about socialization? This was truly scary for me as I am not a great person to seek out others and do the playgroup thing. We had JM in sports, church activities, and the cover school had a "co-op" class one day a week. In talking with other homeschooling families, I learned that there were lots of opportunities available. I also read online about socialization and how it occurs in traditional schools. I had to adjust my thinking slightly as I was thinking "socialization = friendships and playing" and not the "socialization = how to function in a classroom and society." Both are needed, and homeschooling families can teach both. I still agree with my friends who are teachers that children DO socialize with other kids in school, but I also agree with the homeschooling world that says that socialization in schools is not "real world" socialization and that children who are homeschooled learn how to operate in the world and learn how to interact with people of all ages. Read the definition of socialization. My goal, as a parent, is to train my child how to act in the world and in society. Now, I'm not going to say which way is better, but do sit and think about the training your child(ren) get in how to act in society. Where does that happen? Dh and I realized that mainly how JM was learning to act came from us, from church, and from experiencing life as we took him places. Yes, he could learn some of that from school. Yes, it's easier to make friends at school - same age friends. Yes, traditional school environments do teach children skill as well, but I believe we could teach those as well (and through activities like classes at a museum, classes at cover school, etc.).

4-5 years later, I sort of laugh about this fear of ours now. Everyone we meet is surprised that JM is homeschooled, and does not realize it until we say something. However, I do get quite a few comments from people that tell me that he is very well behaved. Dh, who teaches a church class with boys that are JM's age, has mentioned that he does seem a little more naive in some regards. JM doesn't know all the curse words, nor does he care about certain clothing styles or hair styles. He doesn't know the latest and greatest fad. We have both observed that he plays happily with children who are older and younger than him.

2. What about friends? Where would JM make friends? Well, Dh and I both wanted him to make his best friends from those at church. Our church, however, had few kids going to the elementary school we were zoned for. JM, is fairly outgoing, and talks to just about anyone. We figured that going to church, playing sports, and participating in "Friday Classes" would fuel enough "friendship possiblities" for him. We also realized that we are limiting his pool of friends to those with similar values and family structures as ourselves. This, we recognized, had both pros and cons to it. The pros were mainly for early elementary ages where we knew he would not be introduced to things we didn't approve of early on. Cons were that we would have to seek out opportunities for him to develop relationships with families that are different from us. We also realized that if we controlled his friends, then it was entirely possible he'd never have to learn how to deal with teasing, or bullies, or confrontational people, or that sometimes you just don't plain like another person.

Excuse me while I laugh for a few minutes. This one was totally unfounded, and honestly, JM has dealt with all of the above and more. He seems to make friends easily. We have noticed, however, that there is a certain awkwardness to his social skills that is not present even in our homeschool friends' kids. It's more of a "not reading body language clues" kind of awkward. I do think, if he were in a traditional school environment that he would be teased more and have less friends.

3. How will he learn "classroom behaviors" and other things you learn in school that are considered "general knowledge" type of things? This was a little hard for me to understand WHY this would be important. But, honestly, he does need to know that you raise your hand to ask a question or make a comment. He needs to learn that you can't go to the bathroom just whenever you feel like it. He also needed to learn that sometimes he does have to wait for others to finish their own projects before the class can move on. All sorts of things he needed to learn! Well, we addressed this through the science museum classes, Sunday School, and co-op classes.

No issues here. :) It was much easier to teach than I thought.

4. How do we make sure he learns all he is supposed to learn? This is probably the one that keeps me up the most at night. I worry he's not learning enough, or I'm forgetting something important. But, as I learned more about curriculum I learned that he WILL learn quite a bit. I also learned that we have to have him tested to make sure he is on level with other kids in our state. Teaching a child to read, in my opinion, is the greatest responsibility. The most frightening thing I have ever undertaken.

Let's just say achievement tests keep us honest and tell us quite clearly what he does and does NOT know. ;) I still stay up at night worried about this, but I'm dealing with it better and better. I'm not so worried about Samuel though as I have seen how well JM has done with things.


5. But what about the separation of Mommy and Teacher, and the fact that struggles will ensue in trying to get him to do the work? Much like parenting, I have a million theories that will help this, none have worked yet. However, we do fight less than I thought we would. He understands that this is "learning work" and he must do it. If he does not, then he would be in school and having to do this in school. He knows that we have tests and oversight making sure he IS learning what he is supposed to be learning.

Some days it's a good thing Dh can come home and take over in the evening. Samuel and I are at odds more than JM and I ever were. Doing schoolwork at night is NOT outside the realm of possibilities either.

6. But what about CALCULUS? Seriously, this was a question I was asked when I mentioned I was homeschooling JM for Kindergarten! I told everyone then, and tell them now when I get that question. I have a BS degree in Math. I love calculus. I have no qualms teaching that to him, but other subjects? Well, that is why I will seek out other classes for people who love that subject to teach him. However, that is WAY down the road, and we're not even sure if we will be homeschooling through high school or not.

I fear teaching the kids biology/dissection, physics, and English composition/grammar/essay writing...oh and finding the meanings in classic literature. Math? Math should be easy to teach for me. This next year, JM is taking a class called "Young Authors" where he will learn about writing a book and be required to write, illustrate, and "publish" a book. I'm hoping this will help him learn and remember his grammar better. If not, then we will send him to one of the many homeschool classes on "grammar and English" enrichment taught at the local community college.

7. Well, what about high school? If we choose to homeschool through high school, then we will have to work closely with the cover school. JM will take any classes from others that I can not teach him, or find a good curriculum for him. There are homeschool leagues for all sports. Homeschoolers participate in all academic team competitions, they have orchestra, they have drama teams, they have yearbooks, senior trips, newspapers, student councils, and yes...even Prom. ;)

This is all still true, and Dh has now come to realize how much is readily out there for homeschoolers now.

If you have ANY question you would like me to address, please ask. :) I will be happy to try and answer, or try and find the answer.

Why Homeschooling? Part 1

Both Dh and I grew up going to public schools, and yes we both got good educations from them. There are "lapses" in certain things, but that might have been more in part to our not learning something rather it not being presented. However, we both noticed that we were not challenged (okay I think I was, but Dh says he was not) enough to learn how to study and not struggle in college. We also saw, through my younger brother, how things were changing in the school systems as well.

When we had JM, I had never even heard of homeschooling. I had no idea such a thing existed, and Dh and I were discussing private schooling and how to afford it. We also both knew that not all private schools are equal. Someone on an internet forum mentioned homeschooling, and I questioned them and started learning. All while JM was a baby! We had years to go, but I knew then that wanted to be an "at home" Mom to the kids if possible, and I knew we had to figure something out for schooling. I mentioned it to Dh, and he brushed it off thinking it was something "weird" people did.

I, meanwhile, am finally home with JM and researching more and more about this strange phenomenon called homeschooling. JM is 3, and I'm doing quite a bit of teaching him already. We learn about dinosaurs, space, trains, and anything that catches his eye. Like Bob the Builder, which spurred a long obsession with tractors. Dh still thinks private school is best and wants to do that for school and I want to at least try homeschooling, so we compromise on preschool. I "homeschool" 3 days a week, and send JM to preschool 2 days a week. At the beginning of preschool JM knew all his letters, and was working on sounds the letters make. His preschool class was working on learning the names of letters. JM was doing basic addition, his class was working on numbers. We also saw, that JM wass emotionally not mature enough for school. I developed a good relationship with his teacher, and have a good friend who is a Kindergarten teacher herself. I learned, and told Dh, what academics are covered in Kindergarten where we live. I also learned more about the public school and private school options we could explore. I networked with anyone I could talk to to find homeschooling Moms to find out about which coverschools would be a good option for us!

In February of JM's preschool year (ummm, that would be 2003? 2004?), his teacher asked me what my plans were for the next year. I told her I was considering homeschooling, and she sighed a HUGE sigh of relief. See, she was a special ed teacher prior to becoming a SAHM who worked at the preschool 2 mornings a week. She told me that JM was academically ready for Kindergarten (well, actually he was ready for 1st grade), but that maturity wise he would really struggle. She was concerned because in a traditional classroom environment he would be punished quite a bit for his hyperactivity and would come to hate going to school. As it was, she had already tried to stay at his level academically and was struggling to teach to him AND a class. JM was already telling me he disliked going to preschool because he was always in trouble for talking to his friends in class. The teacher confirmed that he just breezed through everything she gave him, and being bored and done with work would disrupt things in the classroom. She said he was a good kid, but he was going to need to be really challenged in a classroom. She knew which school we were zoned for, and knew it was already overcrowded and did not recommend that direction.

As Dh and I knew we could not afford private school, and the public school where we were was not really all that great (decent, just a little overcrowded) we finally had a good discussion about homeschooling. Dh had his questions about it, had his concerns, and was ready to listen to me. He asked that I find a cover school that we would use, and then find out everything I could that I think he would want to know.

I did. I started at this one site - A to Z Home's Cool website. It is truly a wealth of information, possibly too much. I had also found a great cover school that I knew Dh would like. In addition to this, I investigated a "hybrid" school that has private school 3 days a week and homeschooling 2 days a week (we didn't choose it because they stressed Kindergarten kids sitting at desks and that was NOT a good fit for JM). I talked to people I knew and trusted who had children going to the public school we would be sending JM to. I also talked to people who had kids going to the private Kindergarten at the preschool we were sending JM (we could afford the Kindergarten there). I also knew I had Samuel at home, and he was still really little. After I finally found some homeschooling Moms to talk with, I started looking at curriculum and tried NOT to become overwhelmed.

I literally spent hours online researching things.

Homeschooling update...

You did know we homeschool didn't you? Yeah, I know, we're a little weird like that. I'll post one day about the struggle to decide to homeschool, why we chose this lifestyle, what I love about it, what I dislike about it, and what our future plans are (hint, it's one year at a time). But for now, here's our update:

It's at the end of another school year for us, and we're deciding on what to do for next year. We did decide to homeschool next year with JM officially 4th grade and Samuel officially Kindergarten. We will start with curriculum and our "summer schedule" on June 1st. I think we have curriculum narrowed down, and it's not quite easy to follow. It's not streamlined, but I think it's what is going to work out best for us. I might be over-estimating my abilities though! LOL

JM is going to do 5th grade Switched on Schoolhouse for Bible, Science, and Language Arts. He'll do 4th grade Horizons Penmanship. For Math, we're going to start with Horizons Math 4 book 2 (skim through to make sure he learned all he was supposed to this year), then we'll do Horizons Math 5. We're also going to have him do Switched on Schoolhouse State History. :)

Samuel is going to do Horizons Math 1, finish up Horizons Language Arts K and start Horizons Language Arts 1. He'll also do Horizons Penmanship 1, Horizons Spelling 1. Science will be taken care of with our science museum, watching Magic Schoolbus, and participating in science experiments here with JM. Bible will be done using Sonlight's Core 1 Bible suggestion (we used it with JM at the same age).

Notice what is missing from both? History and Geography. This is where I might be a little crazy. We're going to do Sonlight Core 1+2 for both boys. JM will have the most advanced set of books that go with it to read alone, and I already have all the books for Samuel to read alone(from when JM did Core 1). Yes, JM did Core 1 already, but it was a few years ago and I think he'll benefit from going back over that early History.

Okay, why Sonlight Core 1+2? Isn't that 1st and 2nd grade level? JM is in 4th? Well, yes, it's sort of 1st and 2nd grade level. But Sonlight is not tied strictly to grade levels. 4th grade is the "top end" of students using Sonlight Core 1+2, as Kindergarten is bottom end. This means, Samuel is going to need a little "help" understanding, and JM will need a little "extra work" to make it a full curriculum (see above...I think he'll get plenty).

Basically, this means, that every day Dh or I will be reading a nice literary book to the boys that pertains to history or geography. They will then read their own books that relate to that time frame as well. We'll learn LOTS of geography this year - all states in US, provinces in Canada, over 200 countries, all continents, oceans, and planets. :) Samuel will need help writing (he probably won't be). JM will be doing it fully.

What about 4th grade being "Intro to American History?" The beauty of homeschooling is that we can pick and choose which part of history we're going to cover in each year. JM has already been introduced to some early American History, and with our vacation to DC this year (and Williamsburg as well), he'll get a little more. But the plan is, if we homeschool the following year, he'll do a more in-depth American History study. We might even do Core 3 for both boys that year...carrying on into Core 4....and so forth. :) Depends on how it goes.

I can always change my mind part way through the year and start him on American History if I feel like I should. I have a set of books to start it if I want to.

confusing? perhaps a little?

OH, and of course we'll continue with the following "daytime" activities during the week:

Karate - it's a homeschooling class during the day (LOVE Sensei)
Friday Classes - offered through our cover school, Samuel will go to Kindergarten and JM will have his plethora of classes including Spanish 2.
Homeschool Science Classes at the science museum (at least I hope they offer these again)
Piano lessons - going to see if I can add Samuel in

I've considered other music classes as it's almost time for JM to choose an instrument to play in an orchestra/band if he would like to. I think 5th grade is when it would start. Samuel might take the chorus class. I don't know though. I would love an art class for both. I might talk to a friend about those.

The confusing apostrophe

In school work JM has been learning about possessives. In particular, he is learning about single possessive and plural possessive. I know it can be confusing as I've run into people online who are confused by it as well. Today JM was studying for his spelling test, which admittedly was full of easy words. Words such as boy's and boys'. He knew the words, but I could see a potential train wreck approaching. I cautioned him to really study where that apostrophe was placed and know why it was placed there as it could be confusing during a spelling test. Being the almost 9 year old that he is, he assured me that he knew where it went.

Since we are now in a portion of schooling where we are expecting JM to take more of the initiative in learning what he needs to learn, and learn to study, we let him "falter" some. This was one of those times. We did not just leave him to study alone, we did some reviewing of it together, we talked about it, but we didn't force him to practice the words over and over and over and over.

He did get confused on the placement of that apostrophe. He did spell the words correctly, but placing that apostrophe got him in the end.

Did he learn a lesson? I have no idea, I hope so. He will be studying the words again, learning about the placement of apostrophes during single possessive and plural possessive...again. He will also take a 2nd spelling test on these words. I am thinking he will do much better on the 2nd test.

One thing is for certain, spelling and grammar are not his strongest subjects.

Science experiments

A few years ago I approached science fair with JM with excitement. I loved science fairs as a child, and I was eager to share that with JM. We discussed various experiments, and came up with doing one I was sure I knew what the outcome would be. The experiment was to take 2 plants and tear all but 1 leaf off of one plant and leave the other alone. Take care of them and observe them for 2 weeks, then report on what you saw. After 2 weeks both were still thriving. After 4 weeks the one with all it's leaves was starting to droop and look a little sick. At 6 weeks I finally had to admit that the one with all it's leaves still attached was dead while the one with just 1 leaf was thriving. I still maintain that the results we found are not what what we were supposed to find.

Today Dh and JM are measuring how far JM can hear a clock ticking. First of all, we have 1 clock that actually ticks. I knew it was quite loud, but it's something we all tune out easily. JM could hardly hear it with hands over his ears on the other side of the room. Listening to it to measure distance with ear uncovered did not go so well. JM could still hear it outside the back door. You could hear it across the room with the TV on. Dh finally got that part figured out with turning the TV on to a certain volume, redid the version with the hands over the ears, and went on to the final "test" which was to listen for the ticks with a paper "funnel" to the ear. That went over well. He could still hear it outdoors with the TV on, so I told Dh to call that done as JM understood what the funnel to the ear did!

To think that Dh wonders why I do not want to do the experiments with JM?! LOL Give me the projects where JM has to write a haiku poem anyday! I do love and enjoy science, but science experiments for elementary kids just never seem to work out how I expect them to.