For dd11, the issue has been other students. She's been horribly bullied, and lack of concern by the teachers over the years. For dd6, it's been neglect in grade 1, ignored as a whole by the teacher, or encouraged to stay home due to a runny nose(she has allergies). Now dd13, has a great group of kids in her class. I know MOST of them. They are great kids. Sure, a little sarcasm, etc, but a good group. But to have teachers screaming at them, scolding them non stop over something that shouldn't be an issue. Is a case of teachers being bullies. And to think we considered sending the younger 2, one evil to the next. Yet in other schools, they can have incredible teachers, but horrible classmates. So.... I'm tired of rolling the dice. Enough is enough.

We are new to homeschooling. And I thought it would be awkward. We had to pull our 2 younger due do a serious incident at the school. Everyone that we've told has said essentially the same thing. We are so lucky to be in a position to able to homeschool. Many of the girls friends are jealous that they get to homeschool. DD11 best friend, mom, dad, step dad and step mom are all teachers. The only negative we have heard was the fact that we weren't being permitted to transfer, and they felt we should fight the system on it. I told them it wasn't worth the fight, and they both said, our girls are so bright, that they'll excel at home, and if we need any help with anything ask. The dad actually is completely frustrated with the school system, and is considering a new career. Mom actually is on mat leave, and won't be returning to teaching. She owns a private preschool, and is opening an after school care, so she has no need to teach, she has 2 businesses. So that tells me ALOT about our school system. We are the 'main stream' family, with the exception of being the family 'with all those kids':001_huh:, living in an area that having 2 is considered a big family..lol. But other than that, we are the hockey mom and dad, the team manager, the volunteer. I am the go to mom when something needs doing, or a child needs watching...... We have gotten a couple families considering homeschooling now as well. Now the MIL and FIL aren't all that supportive. There are some big concerns. But I am not her generation, I graduated from school high school AND went to college. I can read and write in 2 languages, and I have learned a third as well. She is old school, where teacher knows best and there is no way a parent is capable of teaching their child. But... in their eyes, their son married a revolutionary..lol. A SAHM and breast-feeding mom. Home cooking, baking, canning, researching diva, that insisted all her kids learn a second language. I'm told I'm too progressive for the red neck family! And there will always be people who look down on home schooling. And that isn't due to anything more than fear. Fear brought on by ignorance of what homeschooling really is or can be, and the news clips that incite outrage by always showing the worst case scenario in homeschooling!

What would you recommend for a new to homeschool kiddo that is 13? She will be coming home in the fall, so there is time to explore. I know Sonlight has been recommended, and I like the concept, but being Canadian, the History component being American History(grade 9), isn't a good fit. She will learn American History, as I did, but not the main focus. So I don't see it being a good fit for us. The 7/8 with World History may be ok. But overall, I think I'll be doing something other than Sonlight. Just when things start settling..lol a wee bit, we decide to bring her home as well. :D Good thing mom likes researching.

:D DD13 has asked if she can homeschool in the fall! Dh said absolutely, if that is what she wants to do! He is tired of dealing with bullies. There are student bullies and teacher bullies. She has a teacher that doesn't teach.... she assigns a student to teach every day. :confused: She has teachers that do nothing but scream at them and yell at them..... she's been complaining all year. So it is passed time.... So we told her, she doesn't need to decide now, but in the summer we'll sit down and have a real conversation about it. If it is still what she wants, I'll do the paperwork and we begin her adventure in homeschooling as well.:lol: Her biggest concern is can she still play basketball. We'll find a league, I guess, to accommodate that, not a big deal at all. For a man who said 10 years ago, "No way, no how, absolutely NOT!" He's done a complete 180º turn on the issue. Now to figure out how to set a new home routine. My poor house!!!!

:D DD13 has asked if she can homeschool in the fall! Dh said absolutely, if that is what she wants to do! He is tired of dealing with bullies. There are student bullies and teacher bullies. She has a teacher that doesn't teach.... she assigns a student to teach every day. :confused: So we told her, she doesn't need to decide now, but in the summer we'll sit down and have a real conversation about it. If it is still what she wants, I'll do the paperwork and we begin her adventure in homeschooling as well.:lol: For a man who said 10 years ago, "No way, no how, absolutely NOT!" He's done a complete 180º turn on the issue. Now to figure out how to set a new home routine. My poor house!!!!

Thanks everyone! In snooping through all of this thread and looking at the various curriculums, I've come to realize that our school curriculum here, in the schools, is 1/2 to 1 grade behind most of the curriculum suggested. And that would be why I am banging my head against a wall. I spoke to my older daughter, and what I was concerned about for dd11, is stuff she didn't learn until the 6th grade. SO... This is what I have done. I purchased the grade 4 curriculum for dd11. There is quite a bit of review in it, but lots of new stuff to cover. I am starting from the beginning with dd6, as to be sure she has a solid foundation. I got the grade 1 curriculum, I'm sure we will zip through some of it, skip some altogether, but I want a solid foundation. I opted to go with the math mammoth, I liked the set up and it was a download, so if she has done something, we needn't print it and she won't feel compelled to do the worksheet cause it's in the book, and may still get the MUS as well, but for now, we'll go with the Math Mammoth. I think the school board has Singapore and/or Saxon there to borrow(6mo at a time), so i may go grab that to give it a thorough once over. I will evaluate more over the next couple months as to the path for next year, as dh just confirmed that we will continue next year! (YAY!)

I am looking for math curriculum for my grade 1 and grade 5, new to homeschool, kidlets. I was interested in Math-U-See but haven't heard much about it. I borrowed the Horizon Math from the school board, and I'm not all that fond of it, but we are just starting and i'm still learning too. What is your recommendation?

We are new to homeschooling, though I began researching 10 years ago. I would say dh is helpful in choosing curricula, in the sense that he simply lets me research and decide. If I am stuck, then he will talk it through with me. In terms of homeschooling, that is up to me to do. But he always, always asks the girls how their day is going. What are they working on. When dd6 runs up to show what stickers she received, he is always proud of her and does a review of the page with her. When dd11 has a problem with something, he's willing to sit with her and troubleshoot and help HER come up with the answer. I wish I had his touch there..lol. If we are having behavior issues, he will back me up. If I have had a bad day, and we didn't get as much done as planned, he's ok with it, and will sometimes pull out some worksheets and sit with one of the girls and get them going. They think it is pretty cool to work with dad. But the day to day decisions and planning are left to me. As with the day to day of the house, the groceries, etc. If help is needed and asked for, it is provided.

We use the online catalog extensively, research books, and most times only one of us(I have pre and teens) runs in with all the cards and signs them all out. There is a ton of good books out there, but they are harder to find among all the other books out there. Make a list of books, and have the kids look them up at a book website, and decide if they want to read them. Then start putting books on hold. Each week, for our kids, is like a treasure hunt, and they never know what they'll get when we go!

The more I work with my girls, the more I realize, they haven't learn anything this year. I have NO idea what this school did for the last 7 month. DD6 is still where she was at in Kindergarten (she had a fab teacher), and what I had taught her. They didn't build her vocabulary at all in french, so I am working on that. She doesn't know her math facts to 10 never mind to 20, doesn't know how to measure with a ruler, doesn't know units for measurements at all. Her phonics are very basic, I have simply started over that. The only ready she was doing was sight reading, since coming home she has started doing some sounding out. I'm debating just starting her as a new grade one to make sure she has all her building blocks. DD11 doesn't know her math facts, doesn't know how to seek answers from text, leading me to think her reading comprehension is low. Yet she was a straight A student. So I have no clue where to start with her. According to the report card she is excelling, but there are so many holes from what I think she should know(based on the provincial guidelines).... and what she does know. That or she simply doesn't want to try.... I have a feeling this school isn't shutting down for summer, that will work through it and get these kids up to standard. At a grade 5 level, should she not be able to divide 345/15 or something like that? She can't divide by single digits. Or am I off on where she should be? I have based everything on their report cards that they are doing well.... but now, I'm really second guessing everything.

It would on one page.. i think there are 7 total. I am not in the total mindset yet. At school, there is an exact answer being sought after... I don't think this has an exact answer. What do you think... Electricity - powers our lights is lighting during a storm is a spark when you drag your feet causes clothes to cling sends signals from your body to your brain and back is able to cool our food is able to heat our houses can be a renewable resource. does that answer the question? or am i not seeing it right :lol: who'd have thought grade 5 science could be SO complex

DD11, decided she wanted to complete studying electricity, as she had just started at school before we pulled her. So I purchased and downloaded a lapbook for her. She was all excited. But... big but..lol. She is stubborn and when she gets that way, I am sometimes at loss how to help her. She has one part, a mini book to do, it's is electrical outlets almost the same as actual. And the question to answer on these pages is this: Define Electricity. I think the scope of it is too broad, I can't answer it, there isn't much room on the pages. What would you tell her to get her going? What ideas would you suggest? I am going to need to learn how to help her when she is like this. This is her nature. I know she simply wants the answer. And I won't give it to her(even if I knew it :lol:). HELP!

I don't think we are doing too much. I do worry about not enough. Other than the french hour a couple times a week, we are doing in about 1.5 hours. This might be all at once, or broken up over the day. Today, daddy was home, so she did 1/2 hour this morning, and then went out to lunch. We worked about 20 minutes this afternoon and then did crafts for the balance..lol.

We are settling nicely into a routine, dd6 has been home for 2 full weeks of home schooling now :hurray:. Since bringing her home, i have found out that she hasn't progressed in grade 1. She is essentially at the same level she left in Kindergarten. She had an amazing teacher in K who truly had a calling, she was doing very well, some reading, language coming along well. But it stopped there. She had tests in her bag, she only passed a couple :glare: and I was never informed. Had i not pulled her, I may have never known. What puzzles me is she had an "at grade level" report card. It didn't make sense, from what she has told me, she simply didn't have time to finish, or it was oral, and she is very shy, plus there are 4 special needs children and no teachers aide :( So she was left to her own devices. So, here is what we are doing for the balance of the school year. We do some copy work, with various punctuations, to work on printing, and recognizing that sentence structures vary. Not just a capital and a period. Her printing is coming along. We do math, she still isn't overly fluent with her facts to 20.. she struggles quite a bit as it goes over 10. She understands various other math concepts that are in our provincial curriculum, but she needs to master addition and subtraction with confidence, she's a little more confident every day. She was in french immersion at school, so we are continuing to read in french, but I decided to approach it differently than it was at school. It makes no sense to me to have her read in french, when even if she manages to sound it out, she doesn't know what it means. So I read it to her, she is curious and asking what things are. Then i do a translation of the book or passage. Then we read it in french again, and I get her to repeat after me, so that if becomes comfortable with the slightly different sounds. Any new words, I try to use around her. We have a french hour where all the girls(dd11, dd6 and myself) speak french. We have some flash cards of words as well that she has learned. So for the next months, lots of french reading, and getting her vocab up. Next fall, I want to re-introduce french reading. The school hadn't yet started English language arts! So we are starting reading now, with almost a clear slate(this will be a blessing, her being untainted). We are using Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching reading. She is loving the rhyming verses to learn the 'rules'. Even I have learned things about reading. Since her comprehension is high, even though her ability to read is not, we are also reading novels out loud in English, and I have her answering some questions. She has a pretty keen memory and does very well. We do a craft every day and she has a few education sites that she plays on as well. (would love more ideas for craft!). We go outside to play every day, if it's too cold(North Western Canada), her and her sister play Wii Fit, or dance dance for awhile to get them moving. I want to start SOTW soon as she loves to hear the 'stories' about 'a long long time ago'. She is such a joy to work with. And most days, needs little to no motivation. Just knowing that when we are done, she has an art project waiting, makes her very into it. Plus those little stickers for a job well done, be it getting it all right, doing it without prompting, or making a good effort, really builds her up. I have never seen a child with out stickers in their school work until her! None of her school books had a sticker, or a hand drawn happy face. Poor little one. She is really looking forward to working with me. I have to coax her to eat breakfast, as she wants to work right away when she gets up! And the little stinker as brought me the Parent Guide to teaching reading as a bed time story! She knows exactly what it is. I don't want to rush through it though....so if she is insistent, we'll review a couple lessons. Do I need to consider anything else? I know next year we'll need to have a more involved plan. I do plan to continue learning to read over the summer, so we don't lose any more time where the school failed. And hints, tips or suggestions to consider as we plan the next year will be really appreciated! Or anything for now......

Years ago I wanted to keep the kids home and homeschool. Dh was against it. So it never came to be. Fast forward 10 years, we had a serious incident at the school, and we decided to remove the 2 youngest from the school. We decided to homeschool. He is on board, and supportive! He figures it's a good thing, as dd11 needs the healing, and the little one, isn't ready to be away from us. ANd I don't want that. Now his mother hasn't been supportive. It doesn't surprise me. We've had our moments. But dd13 spoke up and told her that the teachers don't teach, they hadn't out assignments. They are left to their own devices, and you're lucky if you get any help. So MIL said nothing more. I have been cleaning out the 2's school bags, taking out what we can use, tossing the rest. DD6 hasn't been passing her tests. Her report card didn't reflect it. The teacher surely didn't express any concern about her. So the school system was failing yet another child. Today, Dh brought dd6 and dd11 to have lunch with MIL. She started in on him again. How long will you do this to the girls? They are going to be so far behind, they won't be able to keep up, we're harming them horribly. What about their friends? They won't know how to interact with other children. So Dh had enough. He told her that they have been learning way more at home in the last 3 weeks than they had in school. that if learning how to interact meant learning how to be a bully, then YES, they won't know how to interact. :lol: He went from his stubborn, not my kids. To YES, my kids are homeschooled, until we decide otherwise....lol

Oh, here while it is perfectly legal to homeschool, however it is mandatory we be with a school board or deal with charges of truancy. I have no concerns on the progress end of things, she has worksheets, etc, that we've been working on. I only mentioned it because it was suggested we simply give her some time off, that would lead to issues in a couple months. I have chosen a board that is really hands off in terms of how and what we teach, as long as there is progress. I simply can't just take the time off. What I am looking for is something to engage her, and get her into something so she is involved. The lapbook seems to fit the bill on that. Looking at creating for one on reptiles..... her passion is her gecko right now, so I thought that would be fun place to start.

Here is a computer game that can work for the multiplication facts, if that kind of thing works for you. You can find it at http://www.bigbrainz.com and it's the Timez Attack. My dd was struggling with the multiplication facts, and a fellow homeschooler recommended it. It has vastly improved over a short time. There is a free version, does all the facts, you just don't get all the 'worlds' in the free version.

I love this idea! We used to read chapter books until she go to the age where she read well on her own, and I do with dd6 now. But I think the cuddle time will be fantastic for dd11. After all that went on at the school, she needs it. She tries so hard to be tough.... now she needs to just relax and be the little girl she really is, and was until a few weeks ago.

I know, she needs to have some down time. But the school board requires we show progress! So that is why I ask. She is also a child, if she's bored, she's crying! I want her to have something to do beyond her work sheets. As I said I'm new. SO it's a learning curve. I would like a project, something she can work on for days/weeks however it turns out for a period of time daily. Something she can incorporate many things into. I have powerpoint, we have craft supplies, we have a huge library system. I just don't know how to do present it to her so she can go with it. Next year we get funding, so I don't want to invest a whole lot, although I have already spent a good amount just getting workbooks, dictionaries, crafting supplies, storage space. It is adding up! So the large investments I want to keep for the fall, so I can get reimbursed for it. I can borrow some from the board, so I'm taking the recommendations and going to see them next week. I am pretty sure we will spend more than our allotted funds..lol. :lol: as it isn't a cheap undertaking, but I never thought it would be. I want pizzazz yessss! That is what she needs. As to math curriculum, what are the favorites?

Hi there! I am new to here, and to new homeschooling. In March, we pulled our 10yo(now 11) and our 6yo out of school, due to issues with bullying that the school couldn't keep under control. I have slipped very easily into a routine with dd6. We cover math, reading, writing in English, building a french vocabulary and french reading, right now. I'm waiting for my SOTW yet. I am using library resources for her right now and it is working really well. Still looking at science ideas for her. As to the older girl, i have a couple workbooks, a few math games, reading in both english and french. But it's just not forming a routine yet. She is very good about doing the work. But, i'm not happy with the workbook itself, but it was all i could find short notice like it was. It's the end of the year, and we're just starting and I'm feeling lost! Any suggestions of what we can do? Using library resources and internet, for now, until I'm able to investigate the different curriculums. She was schooled for 6 years, so she is used to more structure. The little one is just loving the free flow of things. She knows if she focuses, there's some kind of little reward. Craft, activity, or something..... She is going fantastic!

A great man once said: Never memorize what you can look up in books. - Albert Einstein. It is said he didn't even know his phone number. Why? Because he could look it up in the phone book :lol: I wouldn't worry about quizzing the details of history. If the kids have a good comprehension of what they are studying, then they will know how to look it up with the general facts about the subject, be able to discuss it with you, perhaps minus some minute details, but have a good general understanding. And that is a skill SO many people lack. And it it my understanding that homeschool-ers excel in research, as they have done it for the love of learning. *Disclaimer* I'm new to homeschooling, very new. However, I do see how quizzing can stress a child out. I have looked through the school stuff the kids brought home, and my youngest was failing most of it, yet when I reviewed with her, she did know the content, it was either she didn't finish in time, or do it the exact way the teacher wanted, or...who knows... maybe the teacher didn't like her. The end result was her failing the tests. It's a test, it's stressful. I get stressed over waiting for blood test results :tongue_smilie: and there is nothing I can do about the outcome. If you want to use the questions, can you incorporate it into the study of the unit somehow, just orally? And just tell them how they did later?

Really? I didn't know there was a cartoon, mind you I grew up with rabbit ears and 3 channels on a clear day. I did see the French film with that as well. I went with Mémère to watch it.

I clearly remember a book, it would be for a child about 10-12, depending. The title was Les malheurs de Sophie. It was about a mischievous girl. IT was part of a reading series, there were about 40 books in. But I can't remember any more.