[New England- Roll Call Whose out there]

New Hampshire, here, too! On the MA line.

[Graciously discussing your child with others]

Taking notes here from all of you wise mamas . . . I have (first grandkids) early reader twins, and we hear a LOT of this.

 

Some great ideas in this thread!

 

I usually reply that Tad (from LeapFrog videos) taught my girls how to read early! LOL

[Former teachers now homeschooling...]

I have a M. Ed. in English Education (taught high school English in a private Christian high school and one year in public school) and am homeschooling 2 kindergarteners (and a 3yo who is fully persuaded he is in K-5 too, LOL).

 

I'm sure I do things more "structured" than many, but - that's also my personality. I am comfortable with some of the "trappings" of a school-ish mentality, but finding a pretty good groove with the flexibility of hs'ing too (I know that K-5 is often not considered "real" HS'ing).

 

One of our primary reasons for hs'ing is the freedom of educational style afforded only by home schooling (we have identical twins and this is critical for us).

 

The truth is that in a classroom setting, the teaching is indeed taught to the middle - the bright ones are bored (not being given the opportunity to reach full potential) and the ones who need more careful one-on-one guidance don't receive it (also not being given the opportunity to reach full potential).

 

*Of course there are other reasons we home school, but educational "concerns" certainly make hs'ing the BEST choice for US.

[Help, please! Planning a trip to Washington DC and surrounding area]

Library of Congress and Folger Shakespeare Library (a MUST!). They are right behind the Capitol and directly down the street from the train station, which has an AWESOME (and affordable!) multi-cultural eatery in the basement.

 

When I used to take field trips of high school kids to the Folger, the docents there (mostly retired English teachers) would tailor the "speech" to EXACTLY what I wanted my students to take away. FIRST RATE! (And very user-friendly / intriguing for all, not just Bard-o-philes.)

 

I also recommend the Spy Museum - not a "free" one like the Smithsonians, but WORTH EVERY PENNY!

[Why do we have to learn grammar?]

1. To gain the brain exercise of analyzing and classifying.

 

2. To understand the structure of the English language well enough to conjugate in a foreign language (many English-speaking kids learn more about ENGLISH grammar by learning FOREIGN grammar).

 

3. To be able to write proficiently enough to express one's opinion and be understood by one's peers.

 

4. To understand a writer's intent (for example - a panda who eats, shoots, and leaves is quite a different animal than one who eats shoots and leave. :wink: )

 

:)

[Could we talk about first grade plans again?]

Wow, my twins are going to be in first grade, and after reading this whole thread I feel VERY behind in my planning!

 

I'm new to these forums, so I hope I can come back and edit later . . . for now, we have

 

Galloping the Globe

Saxon Math

 

We do belong to a co-op, too.

 

Um. Looks like I have some work ahead of me, eh?