I work 20 hrs a week doing sales for the cable company. I do 5:30pm to 9:30pm with Tues and Fri off. The hours are perfect for homeschooling and they coordinate well with all our activities. I love it so much and the money is incredible.

We are very unschooly/child-led/delight-driven and use whatever looks good at the time. :001_smile: My kids mainly prefer a relaxed Charlotte Mason approach, using a hodge-podge of various resources. They love narrations, copywork, nature study, timelines, living books, short lessons, & dictation exercises, so we include those. We're not very good with scheduled curricula, so we create our own schedules based on what we enjoy doing. We were using AmblesideOnline with ds, but he started losing interest after a while (I loved it). I know my kids learn best when they are interested in what's going on. The best thing that works for us (and has been amazingly effective for 5 years) is using the worldbook course of study as a guideline or checklist of what to cover each year. We use textbooks, workbooks, websites, CD Roms, literature, classic literature, field trips, science experiments, homeschool group classes, projects, crafts, maps, and journals, and we try to do everything we can to foster the kids' interests. Hmm, not very classical. I hope I'm still welcome here, lol. :001_unsure:

I never thought I would homeschool. My oldest (dd -16 now) had always been in school, had great teachers, and enjoyed it a lot. My middle child (dd-13 now) was as precocious as they get. She did EVERYTHING super early, from walking to potty training to reading. She was bored in preschool, bored in Kindergarten, and really bored in 1st grade. Her teacher didn't "get" her and she was in trouble a LOT. She was the only one in her school to test into a prestigious gifted school in the area. She was bored there, too. She was (is) extremely bubbly and social and the teachers expected a quiet bookworm type (like all the other kids were). Several teachers thought she had ADHD, then ADD-inattentive. Soon, school was drudgery for her and she became completely indifferent to learning altogether. I'd researched homeschooling since her horrendous 1st grade year, but figured the gifted school might be the answer for her. By the middle of 3rd grade, both of us had enough and I gave her the option to homeschool. She sat on that for 2 weeks and finally said, "I'm ready". After about 1/2 a year, I got my bubbly, enthusiastic, eager-to-learn child back. Five years later she's still amazes me and is ready for her new challenge: she'll be attending the real Fame high school of performing arts in September. Ds (newly 9) went to 2 years of preschool (ages 3 and 4) and started homeschooling in Kindergarten. It was working so well with dd, that I gave him that option, too. He loves it. So, we chose homeschooling because dd was turning into an unhappy, robotic drone in school, but we love it for so many more reasons now (freedom being number 1).

Thanks Doodle. I'm still in disbelief.

Dd (13) has a dance competition this weekend. It's local, so no heavy travelling. Her solo and duet (modern) are Saturday, and she's in 5 group numbers on Sunday (1 contemporary, 1 tap, 1 hip hop, and 2 jazz). We'll be there from like 10am to 7pm both days. Today I go through all the costumes, shoes, and accessories. Dd is getting a mani-pedi and eyebrows done and I need to pick up some bobby pins and hair spray.

Another vote for the Costco Gummy Vites. We get the Calcium and Omega-3s in that brand, also.

The Color Purple does it to me every time.

New York City!

Yes. My ds loved it (8y/o).

We all have to remember to keep UNCHOOLING and RADICAL UNSCHOOLING separate. Radical unschoolers take the relaxed, child-led education principle and incorporate it into every aspect of their lives - some sort of "consensual living" thing. They really are 2 different things. Don't mix them up. :D

Hmm. Nothing in this whole statement shows that you know anything about what unschooling really is. Following what a child is interested in take a helluva lot more effort than any other method. It's all about being so in-tune with your child and providing them with every resource and opportunity to grow. Kids aren't acting as adults. There's plenty of guidance and parental oversight and leadership. Unschoolers just don't have to force their kids to do "work" - the kids gladly do tons. You really should read some unschooler blogs and articles before you jump to conclusions and make very incorrect assumptions. :glare:

My philosophy has always centered around unschooling, we just happen to use a curriculum. Let me explain... I believe unschooling is allowing your child to learn how they like, what they like, and when they like. It sounds crazy when said like that, but kids are natural-born learners. They come out curious and when allowed to forge their own educational path, that curiosity (and determination, eagerness, and enthusiasm) doesn't go away. What kills a child's love of learning is coersion and demands. This usually starts taking it's toll in school at around 2nd-3rd grade. We spent several years without any curriculum. I suggested to the kids one day to write down everything they love to do. The lists were awesome (they were 9 and 4 at the time). They included things like: gardening, going to the playground, readalouds, math workbooks, (educational) online quizzes, (educational) CD Roms, dancing, putting on plays, drawing, going to museums and the science center, science experiments, making dioramas, etc. Then I said we could do lots of those things every week, so maybe we can put some on a list for each day of the week. They loved the idea of a schedule, so they created their own. We did reading, math, science, and art almost every day. We went on tons of field trips and did science experiments a couple times a week. They loved nature walks and I came to realize that the only books dd really liked and "got into" were classics. I didn't coax them into choosing academic things, they just did. It was amazing. I'd always had a bunch of fun learning materials around the house and the kids always gravitated toward them. They looked forward to "doing work" every day, because they were in control of their schedules. It didn't matter that things weren't structurally cohesive, the kids minds made them so. They made so many connections that everything they were learning just went together beautifully. It reminded me of the time I gave each of my young dds $5 at the supermarket and told them to get anything (no really, anything) they wanted without going over. Oh what a fun game! Would you believe, instead of candy, chips, and garbage, they came back with fruit, crackers, cans of ravioli, yogurt, and dried fruit snacks? This is the foundation of what unschoolers believe. Have the trust that your kids really do know what they're doing. Parents complain that their kids would never make smart choices if left to their own - they'd be in front of the tv or video game all day. No they wouldn't. They do that now as a form of downtime and to relieve stress. Their brains need to be off for a while (especially kids who go to school). New unschoolers need to allow that downtime. It's called "deschooling". After a week or 2 (or maybe longer), kids regulate and start learning how to be themselves, think for themselves, and creativity and enthusiasm slowly creep back in. (this mainly applies to the child older than 7). By the time dd was almost 12, she asked me to make a better schedule for her. She started feeling a bit aimless and wanted more structure. I told her I could try, but maybe we could look at some already-made schedules (i.e. different curricula) that might catch her eye. The one we stopped on was AmblesideOnline. It incorporated everything she loved and things she'd love to try. It had readalouds, nature study, classic books, and poetry. She loved the idea of copywork, poetry, narrations, dictation, artists & composers, and a book of centuries. She thought it was so fun. You see, unschooling is not about the tools you use. You can use no books or a full curriculum of textbooks and still be unschooling. It's all about what the child wants to learn and how they want to go about it. So, we tried it. Ds (7 at the time) was all for it as well. He wanted to try it too. And this brings us to today. Dd tweaked the heck out of AO, but still holds tight to the Charlotte Mason method. Ds took to AO like a duck to water and we're currently half way through Year 2 and going strong. The kids enjoy the schedules and know they have the choice to change things whenever they want. This hasn't happened much, though. We're done with the schedule in about 2 hours. The whole afternoon is spent being a kid, having fun, and playing. Maybe we'll do a field trip or homeschool group class, maybe we'll watch a movie or documentary, or maybe dd will get out her sewing machine and ds will create a new claymation movie. It's all good. Learning is everywhere. They're both advanced, have lots of friends and fun, and are having the best childhoods they could possibly have, so this was definitely the right choice for us. Oh, and dd (13 now) was just accepted to one of NYC's specialized high schools (academically rigorous and known as the best performing arts high school in the country). Allowing her the freedom the choose her own path, has created a child who can choose wisely, think for herself, budget her time, and be independent and self-sufficient, not to mention incredibly happy. I suggest you try it out. Remember to trust, encourage, have fun, be creative, and live in joy. He'll certainly be learning and I think you'll be amazed at the difference in him :)

Wow. So glad everyone's ok. I know it was not a coincidence they were found by a cop and an EMT. I believe angels were watching that night. Big hugs to you.

Thank you. I'm nervous as all hell, but she can't wait. The open house is in 2 days, so we finally get to see everything. :)

Dd13 was accepted to LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts - for dance. It's on the Upper West Side of Manhattan right next to Juilliard and Lincoln Center. It's the school the movie(s) "Fame" was based on. 10,000 audition and maybe 6% are accepted. So excited and proud. :party:

That just means that people are scrolling through blogger blogs using the "next blog" link at the top left. Your sitemeter's "referrals" section tells you where your visitor came from and what link they used to get to you. Don't worry. :)

I read about that in Fit for Life years ago. The theory is that you shouldn't eat fruit AFTER other foods. Supposedly since other foods (complex carbs and protein) take a long time to digest - up to 12 hours, they say - the fruit would sit on top and ferment. And this is why we get that bloated, belchy, heartburny feeling sometimes. The book says fruit is best eaten alone (since it digests within minutes, as it's mostly water) or before other foods (preferably an hour before). I don't know if it's true or not, but I'm not one to overanalyze what and how I eat. :tongue_smilie:

Love the stoneware and the garlic press. We use them CONSTANTLY and they're still in perfect shape.

This is what we currently use and love: Ambleside Year 2 (living books for history, science, literature, biography, poetry, and geography. Narrations, timeline, nature study, artist study, composer study, French, and Spanish. Full CM approach). Teaching Textbooks Math 5 HoP Master Reader program Spectrum 3rd Grade Reading (comprehension, grammar, vocabulary, etc.) Lots of field trip classes The only thing I would change is to be more consistant and regular. I'm still trying to figure out how to do 2-3 field trips a week while fitting in everything academic we've planned. :tongue_smilie:

I agree that the method is not for everyone. But for being practically free (I spent less than $150 on all the books), it's definitely rich, thorough, effective, and fun. We're on our second year of AO and the difference in my son is unbelievable. He seems to have retained almost everything we've read. He loves the history readings (the Viking battles, and bloody English wars are favorites). He even enjoys Shakespeare. He even protested when I tried to give away his Year 1 books (most of them, anyway). We try to follow the method as closely as we can and it's working. I think the key is to try and incorporate the whole method, not just bits and pieces. Narrations, poetry, copywork, nature study, dictation, waiting til their 9 or 10 before they read the selections on their own or do written narrations, reading books slowly, getting in as many of the free readings as possible (no narration with these), keeping lessons short (10-20 minutes), free afternoons, keeping a history timeline, etc., all go together. We spend less than 2 hours a day on the AO schedule. We try to get outside every day and we do tons of outside classes and trips throughout the month. While we incorporate the whole method, we do leave some AO books out. The religious stuff we don't use at all (Trial and Triumph, Parables of Nature, Pilgrim's Progress). The only Year 1 book he didn't like was the Burgess Bird Book, but he LOVES the Burgess Animal book (Year 2). he likes everything this year so far. I've notice these reading are hard, but he's getting it and giving great narrations. Even if he only remembers a couple of main points, that's fine. I know he's listening and he's always making connections. Another appeal for me is the gentleness of it. That turns a lot of people off since their used to more rigor and physical proof of learning. One awesome thing about homeschooling is that we don't have a one-size-fits-all way of teaching our kids like the public schools do. So much choice out there for us. I would write down what you love, what your kids love, what you know works, and what you'd like to try. You're sure to find (or create) something perfect for you. :)

I just use their first initials. I also tend not to show pictures of their faces (or any of their friends faces). Sometimes if it's at an angle where you wouldn't really be able to recognize them in person, I'll show some face. Also remember that if you're going somewhere, blog about it AFTER you already go. It sucks to be paranoid, but better safe than sorry.

Here are the Yahoo groups you can join: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/QueensHomeschoolers/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DREAM4KIDS/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LIGHTmail/ And definitely join this one. It's support only, but so helpful: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NYHEN-Support/ I know many homeschooling teens in Nassau. Your kids will have plenty of company. :D

I agree that NY regs aren't so bad. Do them once and you become a pro, lol. We live in Queens and belong to the Nassau hs groups. Check out DREAM and LIGHT. Two very active secular groups comprised of all different hs methods and really nice people. If you don't mind the 20-minute drive to Queens, we have a great group here as well. As far as paperwork, you don't really have to keep attendance. If your district happens to ask, you send them a blank calendar and state that all absences are marked with an X. Ridiculous if you ask me. I don't have advice on college credit. You'll probably just have to correspond with the individual colleges to see what they policies are. Congrats on your move and good luck with everything!

Thanks for the well-wishes. It's funny how she's not even giving any of this a second thought. I'm the one that's a wreck. It's so hard being calm. :tongue_smilie:

My 8th grade dd has applied to 3 performing arts high schools here in NYC. She's a dancer. One school does just an audition - 78-million dollar, brand new building, beautiful school, great neighborhood, the newest of all PA schools, founded by Tony Bennett. One does an audition and if your lucky you get a callback (Adrian Brody, Jennifer Aniston, Al Pacino, and Liza Minelli went here, among hundreds of others). This is the FAME school. The third does an audition, mails you a letter a month later if you made it to callbacks, and then if your really lucky - you make it to the interview stage (Alicia Keys, Brittany Spears, Claire Danes, and Taylor Momsen went there). Dd went all the way with all the schools. I can't stop thinking about this. One month left before we know. This is big. Say a prayer. :willy_nilly: