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Kletterin

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Everything posted by Kletterin

  1. We are starting our K year and this is a bit of what we've been reading over the past few months (and years): A.A. Milne collection including the Winnie the Pooh stories (unabridged, for bedtime) Book of Norse Myths -D'Aulaires' - side benefit: very good for understanding where the names of the week come from Book of Greek Myths - D'Aulaires' Classic Golden Books (the best ones we've found so far have been with publication dates from the 1960s - and Eloise Wilkin books are usually great) Classic children's literature collections including unabridged fairy tales, excerpts from The Jungle Book, etc.) George Washington's Rules to Live by (there's an illustrated one sold at Mount Vernon which the children enjoy) The Golden Children's Bible and The Picture Bible Knights and Castles Stories of Dragons Book of Trolls (love just about everything from the D'Aulaires) D'Aulaires' George Washington Disney Princess stories in German (they're getting a lot of practice with German, French and now Latin) This is just a sampling, but some of these are on the read at least once every day - our little ones are 5 and 2.
  2. We moved to Northern Virginia several years ago for my husband's job. I'm originally from the Midwest, but grew up in California, and I love the history here and the seasons (although I really don't like the hot, muggy, buggy summers!) It's sort of a dream come true, living on George Washington's original patch, and Mount Vernon is a second home to the little ones. Pros: Weather in the cooler months History!!! Mount Vernon is amazing and one could spend all year going there for special events - they even have a Halloween evening for the little ones now! DC is very close and love the museums Lots of parades and things to do - many free or low cost People are kind and polite as a general rule Drivers are decent overall Great career opportunities Cons: Dreadful traffic Hard to get away from crowds Summers...long, hot, muggy, too many bugs Cost of Housing Safety could be better I miss nature... (Grew up in the mountains of CA, and lived for many years on the coast - miss that kind of natural beauty - and central coast's cool climate)
  3. I'd actually like to see the standards be lessened for all parents. Virtually all parents can be trusted to educate their children. And studies back up the efficacy of home schooling vs. public/private schooling. No one is going to be more concerned about the educational attainments of the children than their own parents. I understand arguments to the contrary, I just have seen so much in education and have been so disillusioned. I come from a long line of teachers, public and private, K-Ivy League. I'm just not convinced that children will do less well with their parents as their teachers and guides than a teacher in another setting, who, unless they channel Helen Keller's Anne Sullivan and have no other duties, won't be able to replace the unique contribution of a parent as educator. I'm new to homeschooling, by the way, and have been absolutely loving teaching my cherubs. Isn't it wonderful to be able to do so?! Thanks for your comments in this post. One doesn't often verbalize these things. Have a good weekend!
  4. For my part, I'd rather submit to that scenario than take away the rights of the RE parents. I understand how frustrating it is to have a double standard, though.
  5. I'm not sure... The overwhelming majority of parents care deeply about their children and would move the proverbial Heaven and Earth to protect them from harm. There are a lot of scary stories out there these days about over-zealous and above-the-law CPS staffers taking kids away and horrible things happening to them in state custody. I have relatives in social services and while there are some bad cases out there, overall, parents should be given the benefit of the doubt when nurturing their kids. This isn't the most popular view, perhaps, but I'd be very cautious before advocating for parents to have less say over the guidance and teaching of their children. I also spent several years teaching in the former East Germany, and many of my students had had reason to fear intrusion into parental rights during that period. That's not something I'll ever forget...
  6. You don't need a religious exemption to homeschool, just a letter of intent and a few misc things. Check out heav.org for more details.
  7. Hello, We are going to be officially starting homeschooling in the Fall 2015, but haven't been able to connect with any homeschoolers in our part of NOVA. We are currently in Alexandria, but are going to be moving to the Mclean/Great Falls/Reston area and are wondering if there are any WTM homeschoolers around there? My older daughter is 4, and will be starting kindergarten in the fall. We also have a 2-year-old.
  8. I love hearing the routine! :) Thank you so much for posting it. It has inspired me to add in the Pledge of Allegiance and Latin. This is what we do now on the days our 4-year-old is home in the morning: -Listen to/Watch songs in German or French on YouTube on my phone while finishing up breakfast -Do a lesson from the Ordinary Parents' Guide to Teaching Reading - I write out the info on an 8x11 sheet of paper with a couple of pictures as well. - I write the complete lesson info on a sheet of paper for the 4-year-old - I write just the letters and some pictures on a sheet of paper for the 2-year-old -After the lesson, I give the pages to the children with a blank sheet on top and have them trace out the info and then color in the drawings. (The older one does this very well and likes to keep it with her at nap time and as a practice later. We refer back to it several times over the rest of the next day or two.) -Followed by one of the following options: -math practice with manipulatives -geography practice coloring maps -coloring themed pages I've selected -listen to geography songs -listen to songs about the presidents -listen to history readings -more phonics practice Throughout the rest of the day, we add in more language practice, develop English vocabulary as well, do enrichment activities, cook, play, clean, and read the same kinds of stories your family does: Greek and Norse mythology, Bible stories, Classic Little Golden Books, Dr. Seuss, science, history, etc. Are you doing the Classical Conversations program? I think I saw it mentioned in another post. I've been looking into that as well and was wondering if you had any thoughts to share on it. I don't know anyone who has experience with it.
  9. I haven't started on Latin yet, but have been teaching my 4-year-old and 2-year-old French and German. I'm fluent in German (and Spanish, so the romance languages are somewhat famliar, too) and have some rudimentary French. We have a German playgroup and it's been really fun having them learn nursery rhymes, counting, greetings, Caillou in French, etc, in the languages. It's been sort of organic - I started them on these things before finding TWTM or homeschooling in any form. They really enjoy it and we'll move on to more formal learning later. I remember learning so much from watching German television and listening to the news. One of my students in college was Lebanese and spoke English without an accent: said he'd learned English from watching American TV. And most of my Swedish friends had massive exposure to English from American and British media. I love that YouTube makes these things so easy. And for the grown-ups, Duo-Lingo was a fun app for me. I'd been trained in the Berlitz method (taught that for several years) and wasn't too sure how to bring fluency without the advantage of a native speaker/teacher. I love the routine you have, starting with the pledge and doing the lessons in order. That would be a great set-up for our family, too, I think. We do a lesson from the OPG to teaching Reading about once a week. My 4-year-old is in preschool - we just discovered homeschooling a couple of months ago - and I'm matching it up with the letters she studies there each week. They love that lesson program. You've inspired me to add Latin to the mix. I don't think it's too much. They tend to order info very well. And there's a good history for multiple languages started early - Elizabeth I, with her childhood school group, learned many languages simulaneously.
  10. Hi Everyone, I'm a recent transplant to Northern Virginia from California and love being amidst this rich history! We're "officially" starting homeschooling in the fall, when my older daughter would be slated to start kindergarten, but we've been starting already and it's so amazing! I love this method! Sorry for the hyperbolic punctuation, but really, this is so wonderful in my world. I had thought there was no viable alternative to public (I come from a long line of public school teachers) or private school and nothing was looking good to me. Even with some of the "best" schools in the nation, as we are often told NOVA sports, I am wary at best, and usually quite disappointed. Granted, it's better than what we were forced to create in curriculum in CA, but it's still not real education in my mind. To make a long story short, I'm very grateful to have found The Well-Trained Mind, and Susan and Jessie's inspirational stories. Thank you for starting this and I'm looking forward to being an active member of these boards. If anyone is also in the Alexandria area of Virginia, I'd love to hear about it. I understand there are some HS groups around here, but I haven't had any luck yet making contact. Thanks again for starting this!
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