Nart
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Posts posted by Nart
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On 8/30/2019 at 2:56 PM, PeterPan said:
Why all the LA stuff on top of the spanish????????? Ditch all that, every drop. If this is the year for spanish, it's the year for spanish, not english. So you read spanish, speak, spanish, grammar spanish, write spanish. If they want to pleasure write, that's their business. Drop the english stuff entirely.
Two, why SOTW with those ages? Ditch all that and study the history of Spain or spanish speaking countries, hello. How did all these countries get to speaking spanish? Do reports on them weekly, read current events around them, cook them.
Yes, do math. Science, sure, get something on fish, something they can pursue with a mixture of self-driven projects (since they sound motivated) and reading (since they're excellent readers).
You didn't pull them out to recreate school or even recreate what other people are doing homeschooling, so stop diluting your vision. If your vision is spanish, go all the way baby.
I love this quote. I am going to have to keep saying it myself when I start panicking we aren't doing enough in English. The reason for SOTW Modern History is that my oldest son loves Modern History. He really wants to learn about WW1, WW2, the Cold War, Korean War, Vietnam, etc. He is not interested at all in Spanish/Latin American History unless it is current like the Venezuelan crisis. To really understand the situation, it is helpful to know about the Cold War.
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Thanks everyone who responded. The problem is that my boys are no where near fluent enough to be able to learn History, Math, or English in Spanish.
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20 hours ago, Jackie said:
We’ve used Homeschool Spanish Academy for a few years, and I see us continuing to use them. Popular teachers can definitely be difficult to schedule with. When we first started, I had my daughter try several teachers to find ones she really likes. We’ve ended up with one very popular teacher, and if I don’t schedule six months in advance with her, we won’t get her at all. The other two teachers she likes have much more accommodating schedules, and I have little trouble finding times that work with them, as long as I schedule at least 2-3 weeks in advance. I would never expect to be able to scheduled within a few days and get one of the teachers she likes, though. I treat it like signing up for any other online class - in spring or summer, I sit down and schedule out for the following year, at the same time that I’m signing up for any other online classes for that next academic year.
Thanks. My boys both tried the Homeschool Spanish Academy free class and really enjoyed it. I just signed them up for classes.
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I am trying to decide between Middlebury Spanish Online (https://shop.middleburyinteractive.com/?_ga=2.228027293.1468267202.1567053052-1498658565.1567053052) vs. Homeschool Spanish Academy (https://www.spanish.academy/) for my 5th grader. Has anyone used both and can compare? Or used only one of them and has a review or opinion. I read some previous posts that had concerns about being able to schedule Homeschool Spanish and perhaps they were overextending themselves a bit.
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For various reasons, I am concentrating on having my kids (5th and 7th grade) learn Spanish this year. Right now they are doing between 16 and 18 hours a week of Spanish. I am trying to fit in language arts, math, science, and history but there just isn't enough time to fit it all in. If you spend 3 to 4 hours a day on one subject, how do you manage to fit in everything?
After Spanish my goal is for them to improve their writing and learn grammar. My oldest has always done really well in writing in public school, but I don't think the standards are very high. This is our first year homeschooling, so I really want them to enjoy the year.
So the 7th grader is doing:
IEW Intensive Level B, Fix-It Grammar, Writing with Skills I, Outsiders Novel Study, and I ordered Caesar's English and Vocabulary from Classical Roots but those books haven't arrived. I am thinking if I am concentrating on having him learn a substantial amount of Spanish vocabulary this year maybe I should just skip English Vocabulary?
Math- He could be doing Foerster Algebra, but when he goes back to a brick and mortar school he is going to have to do Common Core Integrated Math 1, which is a combination of Algebra and Geometry). Our district does not really allow kids to accelerate. Kids in the accelerated math path do Honors Common Core Math 7 then Honors Common Core Math 8 with CPM. It would be easier just to have him do MUS Algebra 1 first semester and see how it goes. Right now he is working in a program called Illustrative Math that has some interesting word problems. It is more teacher intensive than I would like.
We haven't been getting to Story of the World 4 because I am still waiting for the Activity book and questions for SotW. My oldest loves Modern History and enjoys reading historical fiction. He is reading Band of Brothers right now for pleasure. I keep flip/flopping on science. I think I am just going to do interest led - they both want to study fish.
Oh, and we may be able to borrow a Mindstorm EV3 robot to use the first semester. My son enjoyed using it at school in a gifted enrichment after school class but was frustrated that the groups were really big and he was always stuck with at least one kid who wouldn't cooperate and would take parts the team needed to build or kids who goofed off.
Any advice on how to fit in everything or prioritize would be appreciated.
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Thanks for all the answers. I dont know very much about Boy Scouts/Cub Scouts so I don't know what AOL is? Is that a requirement you have to do before joining Boy Scouts? Does my 12 year old need to do it too? Is the commitment the same for Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts? We just started homeschooling after years of afterschooling, so if there is something they need to work on maybe we can fit it in.
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My 5th grade son will turn 11 this winter. A friend invited him to go to his Cub Scout meeting next week to see if he is interested in joining. Meanwhile, my 12 year old might be joining Boy Scouts. My 10 year old would enjoy being with his brother in Boy Scouts, but I looked and I think you have to be 11 to join. He also would enjoy being with his friend in Cub Scouts, but doesn't enjoy hanging around younger kids. Do most Cub Scouts wait until they finish fifth grade to move over to Boy Scouts or move over when they turn 11?
So my question to the hive is: would it be better for my 10 year old to join Cub Scouts now or wait until this winter to join Boy Scouts?
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I have been on this board for some time as I was trying to "afterschool my kids. I am finally going to start homeschooling my kids who will be in 5th and 7th grade. I think public schools usually do at least an adequate job of teaching math, science, and reading. I really don't think most public schools teach writing, vocabulary, grammar, or history well.
So coming out of public school, picking a math curriculum shouldn't be too hard. What math curriculum was your son doing (ex. My math, envision, engage NY)? What math path/track was he on? And if he is going back to public high school will they allow him to accelate without a fight? My son was in the honors track but in our school district no one is allowed to take algebra before 9th grade. Instead students take accelerated 8th grade math then in 9th grade Integrated Math I Honors (a combination of alg. 1 and geometry). So I could have had my son take Alg. 1 this fall but might slow down things so he can spend more time on grammar, writing, vocabulary, Spanish, and history.
I would quickly pick a math curriculum, then start learning about grammar and writing options.
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My two boys will be starting 5th and 7th grades in a month. They are both interested in learning how to build battle bots (they like watching the show). When I asked my 5th grader if he was interested in first getting something like snap circuits, he said absolutely not because it looked like something for little kids. My son took an after school robotics class as part of a gifted program at his public school a couple of years ago and didn't like it. He said the groups were really big and nothing really was ever built. Then last school year he had a quarter length robotics class using EV3's. He disliked that class because he always got stuck in a group with a kid who would take parts and make things that had nothing to do with the project they were doing so it was hard to complete the tasks.
I am finally able to homeschool them this year through a charter school that provides instructional funds, so I can purchase the lego EV3. I know nothing about robotics, so I am not sure if that would be the best thing to buy. I have heard something called Arduino? or raspberry pi? If their goal is to eventually learn to build something like a battle bot, where do they start?
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16 minutes ago, mamakelly said:
What part of So Cal? There are tons of city specific groups on FB. I already have access to my kids funds and can place orders, and they are new this year. I just registered my son 1.5 weeks ago. If you want to go with Inspire, enroll right away. They are changing rules and will no longer be allowing orders for season passes after July 31. After Aug 1 you can only use funds for tickets, no passes.
Thanks! I am not sure what kind of season passes you mean. Like a season pass to a zoo or aquarium?
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10 hours ago, mamakelly said:
We’ve been with Inspire before, and I’m moving my kids back there for the upcoming school year. They are pretty easy to deal with. I have a friend with Sage Oak, and from what she says they are a little bit tighter with what you can purchase with funds. I’ve heard great things about iLead. I don’t think you can go wrong with any of those 3.
Thanks for this info. Today I spent a long time looking at the Inspire and Sage Oak websites. Do you know when you can start accessing funds once you enroll in Inspire? Do you have to wait until the first day of school, August 20th, to start ordering? It seems like the material wouldn't come until a month after school starts.
On 7/14/2019 at 6:16 PM, daijobu said:This might be a question directed to your local homeschooling group. I homeschooled in California, using a charter part of the time, but not one of the ones you listed (Ocean Grove). You'll get a better sense of the pros and cons by finding locals who are enrolled. (Another good question to ask: how much money are you allocated for each student?) There's a FB group called "CA Homeschool College Seekers" which is dominated by charter school parents. Good luck!
Since I haven't homeschooled I don't know anyone local who currently homeschools. I haven't even gotten as far as finding a local homeschool group. have met several homeschooling families in the past whose kids have been in the same activities as my kids but I didn't keep in contact with them. I will check out the Facebook group.
53 minutes ago, Jackie said:Are you in SoCal, by any chance? I recognize all but one of those charters from living in that area. If so, there’s a Facebook group called something like So Cal Homeschool Charter School Info Group that has the information you are seeking.
I am in SoCal. I will try to find that group.
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I am trying to decide what public school charter to use for my kids who will be in 5th and 7th grade. There are so many choices available and not all the information I need to make a decision is readily available by looking online at the website of each school. I am going through and making a chart detailing how much money in instructional funds are given each semester, if there is a curriculum library available, is a chrome book given out, feedback on EF, etc. Is there an advantage with going to the one that is closest to the house for testing purposes? The ones I am looking at are:
iLead
Inspire
Golden Valley
Sage Oak
Compass
Is there a website or previous post that has current information on charters? I tried searching but just found bits and pieces of info and not all the info is current.
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Thanks for all the replies. They will be in 5th and 7th grades next year. My older one is 12 now and will be turning 13 in the fall. They both have to get up between 6 and 6:30 to get ready to be out the door at 7:20 on school days. I feel like they are chronically sleep deprived. It would be fantastic if they could sleep in until 9 every day.
The oldest one is really good about getting work done independently. The younger one is not but can be motivated if he knows he can do something fun and interesting if he completes work and won't be allowed to if he doesn't. Both really want to be homeschooled so I think knowing if they don't do independent they will be enrolled back in school will be motivating for them. The younger one gets interested in a topic and is motivated to learn more.
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Does anyone leave their kids alone part of the day while homeschooling? I am trying to figure out a way to homeschool next school year or at least part of next year. I don't work summers or holidays and am off Fridays. I just counted how many days there are from the start of school until winter break at the school where my kids attend now and it is 64 days. If we start homeschooling on July 1st I will be off 54 of those days not counting any Saturdays or Sundays. If we take Mondays and Tuesdays off or do partial days and add in some Saturdays and Sundays there is plenty of academic time. I am trying to arrange to have a Spanish tutor come from 10-12 in the morning Mondays through Thursdays. My mom can probably come most days from 12 to 3. And my husband and I can get home between 3:45 and 4. So I can teach them in the afternoons/evenings and have them do independent math work, read independently, etc. when I am not home. I work 160 out of 365 days a year, but can take 4 days for personal days, get 4 paid days if a family member is sick, and I get sick leave. So most days I end up working 150 days a year.
Do you think I can make homeschooling work?
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Since they do an individual activity I would sign them up for a team sport involving a ball to gain hand eye/foot coordination. I have my boys -9 and 11 play various sports through the year. One does club/travel soccer but in the winter he plays basketball and in the spring some years he plays baseball. My younger one is also going to start another season of basketball then will play baseball in the spring and he occasionally takes archery and rock climbing classes.
if I had one recommendation for you (I am assuming you live in Belgium?) I would pick basketball. It truly is a global sport, it can be played indoor in winter, and it is easy to go practice on your own or with a couple of friends. There isn't a lot of standing around so kids are getting a lot of exercise and it is 5 players vs. 5 players so all the kids are involved.
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We just got a new puppy too.
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I really this is a petty compliant but I just need to vent about having sand everywhere throughout my house. My kids just finished a three week junior lifeguard camp. They were at the beach at least 5 hours a day and a couple of days they were there 7 to 8 hours. The first day is an initiation day were they go roll in the surf and pour sand all over themselves and rub it in their hair (at least that was one kid's excuse why there was sand falling out of his hair after having showered). Every morning I walked over a big sand dune to set up a small beach tent so they were out of the sun at least during lunch so I also was tracking in sand. Even though the lunch cooler, wetsuits, shirts, sweatshirts, sun straw hats, boogie boards, surfboard and bags were supposed to stay in garage or in backyard so much sand got inside -on floors, couch, bed, etc.
Ok - done ranting and raving.
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My kids have been out of school for just over three weeks and today was the first chance to summerschool. I thought I could have them do some work in the evenings after they finished doing junior lifeguards at the beach from 9 to 2 (and some field trip days they didn't get home until 5) but they were exhausted when they came home. Add to that waking up early to watch World Cup Matches and nothing got done.
So today at least we did some spelling and math. And then they begged to go to the beach. Ugh, after three weeks of sweeping up sand I was hoping for a week off from the beach.
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47 minutes ago, Roadrunner said:
I do think APs are great as a nationally normed courses. Hopefully this benefits kids in some of the less fortunate districts. While I am also not fan of College Board taking over schools, if it forces some districts to up the challenge level for interested kids, I am for AP. So private schools snubbing the nose because they can do better? Of course they can.
Cynically, I wonder if these private schools aren't interested in nationally normed courses. These aren't run of the mill private schools- they are incredibly expensive and elite schools. If their students no longer take AP exams it becomes harder to compare these private school students to students in less fortunate districts who are forced to take 10 AP classes to be competitive.
Tuition at some of these schools
St. Albans - $45,752 (plus new student non-refundable fee of $1850
Sidwell Friends- $40, 840 (plus $500 to $700 for books)
Potomac - $41,100
Landon -$42,110
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I absolutely loved the audiobook. It is one of my favorite. I have listened to it three different times in that last two years.
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UPDATE:
The bad news is that my son became interested in racing his bicycle around the block with his brother and making a small ramp as part of the finish line. A couple of weeks ago he was racing with his brother down our street which is on a hill and he crashed and broke his right arm (he is right handed). He had just finished 100 lessons of Apples and Pears spelling and his teacher had commented on his dramatic improvement in his spelling and writing since the beginning of the year. Additionally, he had just passed all the timed multiplication tests and was about to take the final 100 problem test in 5 minutes to finish and get a prize in class.
The good news is that he was supposed to take the test for GATE program at his school this month. I was going to call to cancel even before the broken arm because he was already complaining about having to take the test because his older brother told him while he was taking the test the kids not taking the test got free time. I was worried he wouldn't try and I would rather him not take the test than have him not try and have a low score on his record. I asked the psychologist who administered the individual IQ test how she thought he would do on a group test, and she said most likely not nearly as well because needed to be redirected and needed breaks between subtests. He also asked questions about some test questions or things in her office during the test. So I called the GATE office to cancel his testing and explained he was recently assessed, what the psychologist said, and that he had a broken arm and couldn't take the test anyway. She had me send in the report from outside testing and they used the outside testing to qualify him for GATE. At least now he will be eligible for some after school project based classes like robotics and if he stays in public school he will automatically be tracked into honors/gate classes in middle school.
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I must be missing something. A 4th grade girl is social and has friends (plenty of other girls want to play with her after school), is in a chaotic classroom where the teacher encourages the students to motivate each other to behave by imposing class wide consequences and rewards, and the school promotes this culture of behavior management.
So the 4th grade girl prompts others in the class to behave so she won't be punished and the class won't be punished and in the hopes they can get a reward. Misbehaving kids are annoyed and make faces at her and are mean to her.
Since she is a girl she must be "bossy" , "annoying", and/or "nagging others", and so needs help with her social skills.
If she were a boy she would be "assertive" and be "showing leadership skills".
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It really, really depends on what is going on in the class. If the teacher has poor classroom management and/or a really difficult class to handle, then it isn't that your daughter has a problem, it is a classroom issue. It is really frustrating for well behaved kids to be in a chaotic environment with kids who don't want to learn especially when teachers enforce group punishments in order to try and have the better behaved kids try and convince the kids not behaving to improve. So if the teacher is saying to the class , "Everyone needs to listen and be quiet or you ALL will miss 5 minutes of recess or you ALL will have to do extra work" then it makes sense she is getting upset. My older son who is well-behaved sometimes gets seated next to kids who need "a positive peer model", which is really annoying to him when the kids talk, copy off his paper, and misbehave.
However, if the class is a typical class where the teacher has control of the classroom, then your daughter needs help coping.
Is this a high performing charter school? Was it easy to enroll in this charter? Does it have a waiting list? If it was easy to enroll with no waiting list, often times Charter Schools like this attract students who had behavior issues at another school. Either the parents are mad at the local public school because there child was reprimanded and don't believe their child can do wrong so they go in search of another school OR the local school encourages the families of harder to educate students to enroll in another school. Newer charter schools also sometimes attract new teachers who are looking for their first job.
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I think it's a personality thing. The same gregarious, charismatic people who tend towards team sports would tend to be good networkers and successful in business.
I have noticed the same thing as Crimson Wife. Many higher ups in corporate life played team sports and are still are good athletes. I am not sure what happens first- you are gregarious and are drawn to team sports OR you are really good at team sports and it helps you become popular - particularly if you are a boy. If you go to an elementary school, most likely you will find the most athletic boys to be the most popular boys. It isn't always the case, and there are probably popular boys who are funny, really smart, or have other talents, but usually this is the way it works.
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Ignore this thread!
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
I love having a dog. Instead of spending countless hours searching for one missing sock when my trying to put away my boys' laundry, now there are barely any socks to match. The dog finds the socks and goes and buries them outside, chews them up, or puts them in her crate. My boys now wear flip-flops. I just finished putting away their laundry in record time!