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HollyVanH

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Everything posted by HollyVanH

  1. HollyVanH
    I work with a lot of homeschoolers as a writing tutor and I wanted to post information about a successful way to do this http://www.knittedthoughts.com/2011/12/writing-tutoring-on-line-and-by-phone.html -- not as a way to advertise my services, but hopefully as a way to help others use this technology too. You may have a strong writer in the family that would be willing to work with your kids this way or know of a teacher you like, but that is too far away for face to face tutoring -- this may solve your problem! :)
  2. HollyVanH
    RootAnn -- you may already know about this, but we enjoy lots of free audiobooks from LibriVox.org too!
  3. HollyVanH
    Hi Canadianmumof4 -- I see your point, but I've also seen kids that do lots of grammar drills, but without the reading -- it doesn't "stick." I don't think you can do one without the other. They need to understand the rules of grammar, but also see them applied on a regular -- daily basis.
  4. HollyVanH
    I agree with all of you - a nice mix is best. Audio books are fantastic for learning disabilities and I think if you listen with the book in front of you -- you get the best of both worlds!!
  5. HollyVanH
    You'd be surprised Kleine Hexe -- I see it more than you'd think -- especially around ages 9-11.
  6. HollyVanH
    That's the thing Amy -- I find we have very little time for tv -- we don't even have cable. Audio books are my substitute for TV most of the time. And I agree, my kids love to be hearing an audio book and playing quietly or somehow doing something busy with their hands.
  7. HollyVanH
    I love Audio books, but too often homeschooling parents use these in place of reading. I've written a blog post about this: http://www.knittedthoughts.com/2011/11/reading-versus-audio-books.html because as a writing teacher who regularly tutors and works with homeschoolers in Writing Enrichment classes, I see this as a trend that can have some unfortunate consequences (especially when it comes to grammar, mechanics and spelling). A good balance between eye-on-the-page reading and audio books is what works best!
  8. HollyVanH
    I agree with you, Faithe. We recently listened to Sissy Spacek reading To Kill a Mockingbird and it was such a pleasure to hear her do it. And often when my older kids read Shakespeare I have them listening to an audio version as they follow along in the book. It makes it so much more understandable for them and they're still getting the visual "reading" experience.
  9. HollyVanH
    I'm curious -- do they give a list of all the books they read together in that Alice Ozma book? I'm guessing that would be nice one to have :)
  10. HollyVanH
    Thanks for the book recommendation, Kareni!
  11. HollyVanH
    Thank you Sparrow -- Read-alouds are such a wonderful way to encourage reading and family togetherness. I'm going to show your post to my husband and encourage him to be more involved in our nightly tradition. It's wonderful that your husband is so involved and supportive.
  12. HollyVanH
    I've written a post about the unexpected benefits of reading aloud to older kids and teens. I've found it such a wonderful way to talk about difficult issues with them: http://www.knittedthoughts.com/2011/11/reading-aloud-to-older-children.html
  13. HollyVanH
    Thanks so much Robin!
  14. HollyVanH
    I'm teaching a writing class to a group of homeschooled teens and I'm using blogs: http://www.knittedthoughts.com/2011/03/teaching-writing-with-blogs.html Come take a look if you'd like some ideas on how to do this with your teen. My goal here is to help increase student awareness of audience and encourage them to really engage with the issues their analyzing. The class is a work in progress and I'd love any feedback you might have or if you just want to share your experiences teaching writing to homeschoolers.
  15. HollyVanH
    kalphs -- even bullying over a blog post. I've had a hard time with this one for whatever reason. It surprises me how vicious people can be if they can hid behind "Anonymous" on the internet.
  16. HollyVanH
    Martha -- I do think this is unfortunately becoming more of a trend. I do think legitimate complaints should have a voice, but more and more I think students in schools are using this tactic simply to harass teachers unwilling to let them get away with nonsense, be it bullying, cheating or simply misbehaving.
  17. HollyVanH
    TeaTime - You make so many good points. I especially agree that "being socialized by adults to be adults is better." Well said! Certainly there are exceptions, but I also grow tired of being put on the defensive as a homeschooler about this issue. I've actually gotten hate mail regarding this post -- and I'm astonished that people have such harsh feelings about homeschooling. I also think you raise a really important point about cheating. It is rampant and it's frequently overlooked as no big deal by students, parents and teachers. As a writing professor, I'm astonished at how often students will put their name on things they didn't write themselves. And when called on, they're incredibly defensive about it. ....so frustrating. The more adults turn a blind eye to issues like cheating and bullying, the more we "socialize" young people to believe it's okay.
  18. HollyVanH
    Holly IN -- I'm so sorry to hear about your experiences (both in your previous homeschool group and now for you at work). I'm glad you've found a new homeschool group -- having the freedom to leave a bad situation makes all the difference. Isn't it sad though that bullying/mistreating happens in so many arenas. Children though are the most vulnerable because they're least equipped to cope and should be most protected.
  19. HollyVanH
    RaeAnn -- The nasty comment was mostly name-calling. The individual just really dislikes homeschooling and I'm sure has left similar comments on blogs having anything to do with homeschooling. I had to switch my settings to comment moderation and block Anonymous comments -- which I prefer not to do. I actually was so upset yesterday, I wrote a post about civil discourse on the internet: http://www.knittedthoughts.com/2011/02/civilized-discourse-on-internet.html I teach a class on blogging and argumentative writing to homeschooled teens at a local homeschool co-op learning center and will definitely be addressing this at our next class. I want to equip them to deal with the unfortunate reality of such people.
  20. HollyVanH
    "Mommymilkies" -- you're right. Certainly not all schooled kids are "normal" either. I taught at USC myself and I agree -- you really can easily tell the difference b/w schooled and homeschooled.
  21. HollyVanH
    Kalphs -- the graphic was one I found on google and just displays one version of the social pyramid of some high schools. Below Preps are various categories like rock stars, nerds, geeks, artists, druggies, etc. It's another unfortunate part of the school experience that kids are sometimes pigeonholed into groups like this.
  22. HollyVanH
    Michelle and "I love books" both make important points -- homeschoolers do raise kids who are "different" (define it as you will). I do so purposely and certainly I want one of those "differences" to be that they were guided through the more difficult parts of adolescence with parents who assisted them until they were mature enough to handle such things easily on their own. Obviously, homeschooling isn't the only way to do this. Still, it's the way that works best for me. I do though, view this sort of "difference" and many other "differences" as positive. Such differences allow societies to grow and change.
  23. HollyVanH
    Michelle -- I received a far more "thoughtful" comment from a Mom who raised the issue of Homeschool bullying that can sometimes happen and I placed my response in the comments. I basically said, that yes -- certainly it can occur, but there are 2 major differences between school and homeschool bullying. 1st, parents are there to help kids learn to negotiate relationships that are difficult and 2nd, there's always the option to leave if things are untenable. And yes, I deleted the obnoxious comment. I welcome thoughtful criticism, but Anonymous critics that choose to use such rude language are just cowards. I won't give them a voice on my blog.
  24. HollyVanH
    Wasn't that an obnoxious comment? I appreciate your support. It's always so hard to read nasty things like that when I make a post and I certainly wish the net were a bit more civilized when it comes to things like that. I did delete it and I don't usually, but if someone leaves a comment "anonymously" (coward) and begins it by calling me unnecessary names (rude) -- I don't feel obligated to let them have a voice on my blog. I really doubt they even read the whole article. It sounded more like they just had an ax to grind. Thanks again for YOUR support though :) Holly
  25. HollyVanH
    The NY Times ran an article yesterday documenting recent research on "bullying" among the popular cliques in middle and high schools and I've written a blog post outlining my take on this in the context of homeschooling: http://www.knittedthoughts.com/2011/02/homeschooling-and-socialization.html I'd love to hear what you think of it and what your experiences have been as homeschoolers when it comes to the "socialization" question. Thanks, Holly
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