AnaShoo
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Posts posted by AnaShoo
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Department of Defense??
Yes, Department of Defense school. But there are also international schools wherever there is a large concentration of expats. I had a friend in Germany who was sent there with another government agency whose son went to a school like that. They tend to be smaller and give the kids a good exposure to the culture they are living in. The big field trip for last year for my then-Kindergartener was a flight to another island where they got to go to a local zoo (among other things) that was nothing like an American zoo. He ended up being able to dance with flamingos, the national bird here. It was so amazing! We couldn't have provided that opportunity for him by homeschooling here.
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I have long wondered myself why the big emphasis on Latin. I'm an English major that has never studied it, but has always scored well on tests (the SAT included), so I just haven't seen the use for it. :confused:
I do, however, care a lot about foreign languages. My kids are young, and I very much want them to learn Spanish, as that is also their heritage (my great grandparents emigrated from Spain in the early 1900s). Plus, since it is a language still spoken today, I want them to get a lot of exposure to how it sounds when they have the best chance of developing a good accent.
So, if we ever did Latin, it would definitely be after a good Spanish foundation.
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Okay, jumping in here again, but I would also highly recommend checking out the options for schooling there. My oldest is actually going to school here - he's in a mixed K-1 classroom of only 5 kids total. It's a totally different situation than in the States. We are going to homeschool mostly because we're returning to the States this summer - but if we go overseas again (hopefully in four years!), I will most likely send them to the DOD school if there is one.
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Thank you, Sarah. That is a very good perspective, and I will give that some thought. I do believe, though, that France has pretty strict guidelines for those homeschooling in their Country. I would have to make sure that I covered all the subjects covered by their school system, I think? :(
Definitely look into whose jurisdiction you will fall under. I don't know how it would be for a civilian expat, but for us, we only have to worry about what the military thinks. The U.S. military has guidelines for homeschooling, and it's basically a hands-off approach, which I appreciate. This is true whether we live on base or off. As Americans, you may or may not have to deal with the French school system (I would hazard to guess you don't).
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We are overseas atm, with no library of any language available. We have a Sony reader and an account with the Philadelphia free online library (my dh is active duty military, so we get it free, but it isn't that expensive). Ebooks are kind of weak in libraries, but if you combine that with your home library (talk to them, but when we moved, they let us keep using the downloadable stuff for our ereader), you may be able to get a fair amount of things to supplement. I have an FPO address, which is helpful because I can order from Amazon, so we buy used books from them a lot.
Mostly, it's absolutely doable, and I'd second the person who said a boxed curriculum isn't so necessary if you are overseas - this is an awesome time to get them out and learning about new cultures!
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I'm going to give it a try as a stand-alone curriculum (well, okay, not completely as we've got some math games to supplement, and I plan on looking for extra problems if they have trouble). I'm not super mathy in that my background is sketchy, but when I've had to do math, I've been able to get through it. The thing that has always tripped me up in the past has been my insatiable need to know WHY something works the way it does. None of my math classes have ever addressed this. So, I want something else for my kids.
I was actually going to use Right Start before I stumbled across LOF, but ultimately the price put me off. No one seems to be selling it, either, so getting it used seems not to be happening, so LOF is going to be our experiment.
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I've got Peggy Kaye's Games for Math book on my Amazon list atm. I bought the writing one a few months ago in an attempt to find a better method of introducing writing to my four year old, and I absolutely love it. I'm going to pick up the math one to use this summer when we start homeschooling for real. I've found games to be a really great way to teach things, so I intend to use them as much as possible during our school work.
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I am curious how you all were able to buy anything of of it? I got lost at check out because it started asking about what school, etc.
ETA" Nvm, I am confusing this with another sale on the Scholastic Teacher site.
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I'm sure someone will jump in and correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the main things to worry about when considering going back to public school ARE the 3 R's, which you said you've been keeping up on. Every school seems a little different when it comes to history and science topics, so I'd think anything you want to cover would be fine in that regard. As long as their reading, writing, and math skills are up to par, I don't think there will be any real issues.
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Ah, okay! Tyvm.
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I keep seeing people refer to their kids as a "rising ___ grader". What does this mean? That they are advanced for their age, or about to go into that grade? :confused:
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Hi Jason! I see that Marie has already answered your question, but I also wanted to let you know about my homeschool abbreviations list, which I update regularly based on feedback from the hive: Homeschool Abbreviations
I was just about to write up a new thread about how confused I am with all the abbreviations people throw around. As a new homeschooler, this list is awesome! :hurray:
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This is definitely me! I'm homeschooling for the first time this coming year, and I'm finding it very hard to settle on what to use. Especially when it comes to math, my weakest subject. I've spent hours looking at so many programs, and I'm freaked out about which will be "best".
I actually have a list , which I think will be more or less what we use, but I'm afraid to pull the trigger and buy any of it. Especially the rather pricey stuff like AAS. What if we hate it and are stuck with it?
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Okay, I should have clicked through all the stuff linked - the Salsa Episodes look exactly like the stories I linked, but are free! I'm definitely going to consider using those, too.
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Oh, I'm excited you started this thread! I'm in the middle of trying to decide how to go about teaching my kids (4 and 7) Spanish this coming school year. I've got a refresher course for me do do this Spring (I minored in Spanish in college, but haven't spoken it much since, so lost a ton of it), but finding stuff for kids has proven to be so painful!
Anyway, to add to the list, I've been looking at a lot of Ana Lomba's stuff, as she is a preschool/early childhood language teacher, and she has something called, "Spanish for Kids", that is basically a retelling of classic fairy tales in Spanish. It's subscription based, though, which I don't love, but it's only $7 for a month, and there are only 7 stories right now, so I'm thinking a month or two of work before moving on to something else. I wish she sold them outright, though...
I do love the story concept, though, so if anyone has found anything else like this, I'd love to know. I am also looking for some computer games that will get them to use Spanish. We found a few on OnlineFreeSpanish.com, but I'm not loving that site at all. I know there's got to be better stuff...
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Thank you everyone for chiming in! I appreciate it greatly. I have looked at MEP online, and really liked what I saw for Reception, but just could not figure out how well I'd be able to handle teaching it farther on, especially since a lot of it talks about classroom type responses, etc. that I know I'd have to either skip or change for my kids. I can do that with any reading/phonics/writing program with ease because I have a good sense of what I want them to know and where to go with that, but math, no way.
So, RightStart sounds like it will probably be far better to start with. Maybe I'll supplement with MEP if it seems like we need something else to go along with it. Despite my freak out about choosing the right program, I'm actually looking forward to teaching math. I feel kind of like I missed out on something in that department, so it will be nice to relearn it all myself.
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I am going to be homeschooling my two kids, one in K and one in 2nd (he's been in public school) this coming school year. I've figured out a basic curriculum for them, but math is stumping me hardcore.
As some background, I'm fairly weak in math. I was homeschooled, and when I was about 12 or 13, my mother pretty much just brought home books and things, then left me to my own devices. I stopped doing math at that point because it overwhelmed me and English is definitely my thing. As a result, I had to take a remedial course in college before I could enroll in Math 101. I got As in both classes, and liked them well enough, but had to have a roommate who was good in math tutor me quite a bit in Math 101. So, I'm shaky and worried about having to teach it, but I'm also very adamant that my kids do not have to struggle to learn it after the fact like I did.
I've been looking at Rightstart because my boys love games, and we use games to teach a lot of other things informally at home. They absolutely work. I also like the concept of the the program. I really don't want something heavy on worksheets because I am concerned they will learn to dislike math doing it that way, and so will I.
I've been looking more at MEP lately, though, and am intrigued by it. The biggest issue is that I don't feel as if I have the background to adequately understand either program and if it will work out for us.
Anyone have experience using both, or know whether or not the teaching will be terrible for me with MEP because of my weaker background in math?
If you were moving overseas...
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
Ah, okay, I wondered about that. A boxed curriculum from the States is probably not a great plan, then.