I've decided to get much more structured about how we approach PE this year b/c I intend to give ds a credit on his transcript for PE 9. He'll do 9 or 10 different units, each on a different activity, and each lasting about a month or so. We're trying to focus on developing skills in those activities that would be considered "life-long" physical activities that he can hopefully continue to do for pleasure and fitness. For example, we started this summer with a unit on canoeing. (We happen to live near a lake.) We found a couple of books on it, and we alternated reading a chapter or so in the book with going out and putting into practice what we've read about. He keeps a log of the time he spends doing the activity (and the reading). I'm going to base his grade as follows: 50% - "participation" = putting in the time to practice the skills, dressing appropriately, being a good sport, effort, and so forth; 25% - written tests I made up; 25% - proficiency on a skills inventory I made up. We'll approach other units in a similar manner (tennis, cycling, weight training, basketball, swimming, volleyball). I also plan to work in some health and wellness topics. The Presidential fitness challenge is a great idea, too.

:iagree: Also, the quotes from his blog are very helpful. Thanks for posting!

Time management for me/fun for dd. At ages 3 and 4, dd attended the church preschool two mornings each week. This gave me some time to really focus on schoolwork with the older child, and dd had a blast. She had wonderful teachers, a good program, time with friends, and an excellent environment. It was convenient for dh to do most of the transportation, and it was free to us (sort of a job perk b/c he was on staff at the church). I wouldn't have sought it out, but the opportunity just presented itself to me, and I took it w/no regrets. With our first child, we didn't do preschool. I took him to story hours at the library, art classes through parks and rec, play dates at the playground - that sort of thing, and that was plenty.

Pottery - I took a small terra cotta flower pot and broke it into several pieces. If memory serves, I may have drawn some sort of design on it first w/ a black Sharpie marker to make it easier to match up the pieces once "discovered." Toy coin Old jewelry Can't remember the rest - it was 8 yrs ago. Maybe a bone or something that could have been used as some sort of tool.

http://www.bikenewyork.org/education/classes/images/bny_learn_to_ride.pdf Try this link for detailed instructions on getting them to balance first, how to remove and reinstall pedals, etc.

I was in a similar situation and ordered the adult-sized goggles for some 7th and 8th graders. They had an adjustable elastic strap and worked fine.

Both children have late August birthdays, so 10 years 0 months for 5th grade and 7 years 0 months for 2nd grade.

Sounds great - I'm always up for a trip to Wmsbg. My son will be in 9th grade this fall. (Cost and timing are always relevant factors . . .)

This is not a text, but you might be interested in knowing about these on-line seminars at http://www.lukeion.org/workshops.html. We tried one this summer ("Theater of War"), and ds13 enjoyed it. In addition to semester-long classes during the school year, Lukeion also offers shorter (4-session) seminars.

Yep - definitely inappropriate!

I have a ds 14, 9th grade, and we plan to do a lot with the early modern period this year in history. I decided to go with Janice Campbell's Excellence in Literature - Reading and Writing Through the Classics, Introduction to Literature. http://www.everyday-education.com/literature/index.shtml It's not an exact match in terms of all of the books he'll read corresponding to the early modern period of history. (Two or three do; I think the rest would fit in with 1850 - present.) But I liked it enough that I decided that didn't matter for us this year. And within the last week or so, I've seen a thread here about someone starting a wiki group for folks using that curriculum this year. http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=200798&highlight=wiki Hope that helps.

I just got the 13" laptop. The educator discount on that was $100. (I took my letter from the county school system that acknowledges my notice of intent to home school as proof.) I have a lot to learn about it, but so far I think the Mac is going to be more user-friendly and less frustrating. Someone else said the software struck them as "intuitive" - it felt that way to me, too. Good luck!

Yea!! I'm so happy for you - what an awesome feeling!

Welcome! :001_smile:

Perhaps I'm misunderstanding something. I was under the impression that most colleges are looking for some evidence of a student's achievement beyond a simple statement from the parent, thus the need for community college classes, ACT scores, et cetera to help "validate" the transcript. I see absolutely nothing wrong with that.

I've taught science co-op classes, too, but I resist giving grades - especially for courses that parents intend to list on transcripts. I can't vouch for a student's mastery of the material if he/she is taking the tests at home under conditions that are unknown to me. It's really the same reason why I don't blame public high schools for not recognizing credits for coursework students have completed at home. Some families are very particular about standards, test security, etc. Others just aren't.

I always start the day after Labor Day. I guess I've carried that habit over from my prior experiences as both a student and a teacher. It just feels right to me.

No, we're going to continue home schooling all the way through high school with ds. I prefer the flexibility and environment our home school allows.

:iagree:

We're going to use the Excellence in Lit this year (Intro) with ds 14. We might be interested, but I'm not sure. I'll have to check out this wiki thing. That's all completely new to me.

Yes, the teacher in me thinks the tests should not be so easily accessible. On the other hand, the parent in me knows my son and wouldn't be overly concerned that he would cheat. I frequently allow him to take tests while I'm busy doing something else, even while he's home alone. Only his conscience is there to stop him from looking up an answer. I've always stressed with him that the point of a test is to show us which parts of the material he has mastered and which parts he might not really grasp as well as he should. I guess every kid is different. In a school situation, where you might have every kind of kid, I think it would be more important to safe-guard the test-taking process. I'll even be more careful this year myself when the grades begin to really "count" - not because I'm worried ds will cheat, but because I want to be able to honestly vouch for him and what he's accomplished, not giving anyone the chance to suspect anything "fishy," kwim? Sort of that being-above-reproach idea.

When my kids were around 8 or 9, we did grammar 3 (somex 4) times per week.

I'm actually in VA, but very close to the state line. We're about 30 minutes north of Oxford. I'd love to get my ds involved in a debate team if I could find one. Any suggestions!

South central VA for us