mom2att
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Posts posted by mom2att
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Aw, I loved reading all of these! And I saw similarities to our journey in many.
-- What led you to homeschool?
All of the "pre-homeschooling" stuff I had done with dd at home paid off--she was an early reader/learner. It seemed counterproductive to send her to K to re-do the things we had already done, so I figured homeschooling for a little while couldn't hurt. I did not imagine I would homeschool through high school, but I kept at it because it really fit in well with dh's travel schedule--the kids got to see him a lot more than they would if they were in school, and because I found I really loved homeschooling.
-- How was your child homeschooled in the high school years? (Did you use WTM as a guide? Did your child take out of the home, online classes, or college classes?)
All of my kids have done a hybrid program that meets two days/week with paid tutors, with the other days at home, for the last 2 or 3 years of high school. They also dual enroll for junior/senior years, and we've used our state's virtual school as well. So a little bit of everything.
-- What did your child do after graduating? What is your child doing now?
Dd went straight to the state flagship, studied Linguistics, and graduated in 4 years cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa. She's been overseas for the past year teaching English at a university. She's coming home this summer to figure out where in the big, wide world she should go next.
My second graduate (ds) will be studying at the community college this fall, getting his AA and then transferring to the local uni to study English.
Two down, one to go!
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Customink.com
Very helpful people, easy website, can set it up for a group order and individuals can order/pay.
Also great selection, decent prices.
We have done orders with them for our homeschool group for years and have never been disappointed.
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Generally, college-level Spanish covers the equivalent of one year of high school Spanish in one college semester. It also tends to attract students who have already studied Spanish in high school, and take it to get an easy A, so the instructor may move quickly under the assumption that many are not actually beginners. My oldest took Spanish 1 and 2 DE, but only after she had taken Spanish 1 through our state's virtual school. She did well, but she did find that the DE class moved very quickly. Even though she had already studied Latin, she thought the DE class would have been tough without having first had a sort of intro to Spanish through the high school level class. However, the courses were solid enough to enable her to test into higher levels of Spanish once she got to the university, and she ended up minoring in Spanish.
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1 hour ago, Katy said:
If you decide to rent a house instead depending on how many days you'll be there you might look into getting an annual pass for one of the adults. You get free parking and the photo pass thing is free for anyone with the pass, and I think there's a 20% off discount on almost everything on site.
The 20% applies to merchandise and table service food places. CS food places usually don't offer the discount, but we always ask anyway because sometimes we are surprised.
Free parking is definitely a huge perk.
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A hotel room, even a suite, with 6 people would be a deal-breaker for me. I need space to get away from my people. A 3 BR condo at Windsor Hills can be rented for about what it costs for a room at the values onsite. For me it would be worth it to add in the cost of a rental car and parking just to have the additional room. Windsor Hills is about a 10-15 minute drive to the parks, with Animal Kingdom being the closest.
Driving to and from is no big deal. And walking to my own personal (rental) car at the end of a long day, dealing with only my own crabby kids and not everyone else's, is a huge perk, as is being able to drive right up to the front door of my condo.
Plus having a kitchen doesn't necessarily mean full-out cooking. A deli chicken, a frozen pizza, cereal in the morning--all of these things can save money from buying all of your food in the parks or resorts.
Those are the reasons we have chosen off-site over on-site. Once we got to the point of needing 2 rooms for the 5 of us (before they had the suites), we never stayed onsite again--it was cheaper (and more enjoyable) for us to stay in an offsite condo.
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Hey Cin--since you're in Cincy, and you mentioned the very familiar history/comp and lit/Bible "core," I'm pretty sure I know the program you are talking about. We have it here in FL, too.
My oldest graduated from this program and my middle was finishing Core E when my youngest, new to the program, did not do well on his assessment. They wanted him to go back a core for similar reasons that you were given. But since I was familiar with the program and knew my son's abilities, I convinced them to let him proceed and he's done fine.
Bottom line is they know their program and are mainly looking to make sure families/kids succeed. If you are comfortable with the program otherwise, I'd see the summer school option as a chance for him to shore up his skills and be ready for something new.
Feel free to PM me if you want more info.
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There are plenty of people who don't really get a kick out of reading for pleasure, as in they don't actually read for pleasure at all. My husband is one, my sister is another, and the jury is still out on my sons. Yes, this is difficult for a bibliophile to accept, as is the idea that listening to a book on audio can be a helpful and pleasurable book experience for many (I cannot stand listening to books. I don't like to be read to. Just give me the darn book and let me read it as fast as I can). But I've read aloud extensively to my sons. And I've accepted that audio books are helpful to them. I don't see myself ever sitting down to chat with them about a book once they are past my oversight as a homeschooler but that's ok. I don't sit down and chat about books with my husband, either, and he's a super smart guy. Fortunately for me, I have a daughter who loves books as much if not more than me.
My sister once asked me not long ago for book recommendations because she wanted to get in the habit of reading regularly. So I gave her some books that didn't require a huge commitment and were high interest (or at least I thought so). I think she gave it up after a couple of weeks. She'd rather be out riding her bike. And you know what--she's always been that way. We would come home from school and she'd go out with the neighborhood kids and play basketball, while I'd curl up somewhere with a book and read for hours.
Some people are book people, and some are not. And I think for many it's something you are, not something you become because your mother makes you read.
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I second Bryce Canyon and Sedona. We live at sea level and weren't bothered by the elevation change, but our hikes were usually 2 - 3 hours and not all day events.
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Regarding phone plans--T-Mobile is great. Calls cost, but everything else is free, including data and texting. We used this all over to text home and for maps/directions. For calls home, including video calls, we used Viber. Works great on wifi, so we would just call from the hotel. We ended up with only one $2.00 charge for a call during our 17-day trip, and that was for an emergency hotel booking. Everything else we could take care of with texting and wifi calls.
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On 3/17/2019 at 3:33 PM, soror said:
Does anyone know about the London Pass and Oyster Travel Card? We're trying to figure out if that is worthwhile.
Dd and I took a European trip last summer, and London was our first stop. We bought an Oyster card right away, using it to tube from Heathrow. It was so easy to use/reload. We also bought the London Pass, which highlights all of the major touristy stuff. We were there for the first time and hadn't seen any of the touristy stuff so it worked great for us. It included some of the things we knew we wanted to see (Tower of London, Churchill War Rooms, St. Pauls), plus stuff we probably wouldn't have done but were glad we did (Tower Bridge). It does not include the British Museum, but make time for that anyway.
We were only there for approximately 2 days, and there was so much we didn't get to see/do. But what we were able to do made me definitely want to go back!
One more thing--we also took a red eye, arriving around noon. Since it was a beautiful day and we weren't feeling too tired, we just dropped our stuff at the hotel and took off exploring London. We were able to check some things off our list by doing that, and though we were tired by the end of the day, it meant a good night's sleep and a quick adjustment to the 5 hour time difference--no jet lag issues. If you nap when you get there, it will be harder to adjust.
Have fun--best trip of my life!
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3 hours ago, Phryne said:
What I have found works least well, for anything, is, unfortunately, the standard advice in 2019: model good behavior and provide gentle reminders. I never talk with my mouth full or let my sleeve or hair dip into the spaghetti sauce, and I have been providing gentle reminders not to do these things for a long time. I am very tired of providing these reminders. The choices, then, are to give up and hope magic happens (like it did with the pants), or to try a harsher approach.She's 6.5. You have a lot of years of modeling good behavior and providing gentle reminders ahead of you. It's also helpful to make the process as easy as possible for her, as in, "Hey we're having spaghetti tonight, let's pull your hair back so you don't get sauce in it, and why don't you change into short sleeves, too?" Think of all of the things her little 6.5-year-old brain has to learn and remember, every day. The big picture is having acceptable adult table manners. Guiding her toward that while accepting where she is developmentally right now means plenty of reminders, as well as a double dose of patience and grace.
She surprised you one day with the getting dressed thing, and she'll likely do the same with table manners. But rest assured there will then be the next big thing, because there's always something. Eventually they get there, and you will look back and say, "Why was I so worried about that?"
It's a marathon, not a sprint. Unless she is having tea with the queen next week, consider her table manners (and so many other things that go into day-to-day parenting) a work in progress.
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I like Gold Bond. This one is good, but I also like their Healing lotion--it's thicker.
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This is what I did: submitted the neuropsych results which detailed specific accommodations, wrote up specific accommodations we had made in our homeschool to allow for more time, as well as detailing why accommodations were not needed in other situations (i.e. in the virtual classes he had taken, there was ample time given to take the tests, and I sat with him to keep his attention on task). I had a co-op teacher write a short letter discussing how she had made accommodations in her class. I also had him take the IOWA timed in a group situation without any accommodations. I submitted the report which showed that he completed only half of the questions in each section, answering most of them correctly. In my write-up I explained that his issues prevented him from completing more of the questions within the time limit, which clearly affected his score.
FTR ds's accommodations were granted based on autism/processing/attention rather than dyslexia/dysgraphia. Based on an earlier poster, it sounds like they are looking for more specific info for the latter diagnosis.
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I kinda went into it with the idea that I want my kids to know that in relationships, there's only one person whose actions you can control--your own. So I would ask them each, "Are YOU being kind?"
"But he . . ."
"But she . . ."
Didn't matter. How are YOU contributing? That generally at least gave them food for thought.
And some days, my mantra was "Since I can't seem to make anybody happy, I might as well make everybody miserable." And they all got in trouble for not getting along. But it didn't happen very often, and now they are all big kids who get along and like each other.
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I've only lived in one Florida city (Jacksonville) and have homeschooled here for nearly 20 years, but I know that Florida is a great place to homeschool and that there are vibrant homeschool communities all over the state.
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On 1/26/2019 at 9:52 PM, sbgrace said:
My kids are now 9th grade. A lot of my homeschooling friends have their kids pretty much independently learning by 9th grade it seems.
Maybe my goal really should be to get them to the point they can plan and carry out their own study.
This is an excellent goal to have because I'm sure it is also your goal that you will not be going off to college with them.
However, there's nothing that says you have magically arrived at this moment just because your students have hit 9th grade. High school is preparation for college or career. There are 4 years to get there.
You are still the homeschool parent and responsible for their education up until the time that you deem them graduated. Stay as involved as they need you to be, and enjoy it!
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We went to ThinkWave at our co-op. Not perfect, but it works, and is not a bad price.
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Book recommendation: https://www.amazon.com/Sensory-Sensitive-Child-Practical-Out-Bounds/dp/0060527188/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1546893874&sr=8-1&keywords=the+sensory+sensitive+child
I have a sensory-avoiding dc and a sensory-seeking niece. So I've seen both sides, and this book was helpful for each.
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I'd run far away from BJU if I were you. I find their materials way too rigid and dogmatic--and I'm an evangelical protestant. My son did an outsourced class using their Earth Science textbook in 8th grade. We made it through the first quarter before dropping the class, despite losing out on the almost $400 we had paid. I could not spend one more day in that textbook.
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17 hours ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:
We have a bunch of Tesla’s around. I like some of them, but there’s one that looks like it has a giant bum- hatchback and not a fan.
My current drool fest is over the new Lincoln Navigator. Not that I dislike my car or am complaining about it at all. I love my SUV. But that Navigator is all sorts of gorgeous. And most of the new trucks are stunning now too. It’s a good time for the auto industry. Hopefully they don’t ruin it as they’re occasionally known to do.....
Lots of Teslas here, too. Not my type.
But that new Navigator . . . we went to a car show recently and got to sit in one, all $92,000 of it. It was gorgeous. My Navi is a 2006 and I love it--we buy them 5 - 10 years used for a fraction of the new price. So I guess I'll be in the market for that 2019 Navi along about 2026, when I will be long past needing seating for 7! Saw a commercial for the new Expedition, too, and it sure was pretty.
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46 minutes ago, Katy said:
Since I switched to artificial decorations with LED lights, they're on 24/7 from the day after Thanksgiving until Epiphany.
Oh good, I thought I was the only one. Ours go on when we put the tree up and stay on until we take it down.
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I watched the whole thing. It was lovely from start to finish. And very intentional on themes like loyalty, and friendship, and hope--from the scriptures read to the various eulogies to the music. What a great tribute.
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I feel for you, Bakers Dozen! It is beyond frustrating to put so much into a class and to love teaching it, only to have the students and parents treat it as optional.
IME, a successful co-op with an academic focus at the high school level does one of two things: 1) Hire paid teachers so there is a financial commitment, or 2) Have a signed agreement where all families commit to taking the class seriously. Our co-op has been successful with the latter, but it takes commitment on the part of co-op leadership to set it up, keep a gradebook, and follow through on consequences. I was both teacher and administrator, so I could make sure this got done, but the role of teacher alone lacks the leverage and it's an exercise in frustration without the appropriate backing of the admin.
I'm sorry you are going through this. Those families certainly aren't doing their students any favors, and they are missing a golden opportunity for a great class. I hope some of your own kids are in the class, so that you have that benefit at least.
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Our cats have never bothered the tree, even as kittens. Basically, they see it as a nice place to nap underneath.
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4 yr old says he wants to learn to read...wwyd?
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
My oldest was like this. We did the above mentioned 100 Easy Lessons. Actually, for us it was only 50 Easy Lessons, since we took a break at that point and never got back to the book. She could read just about anything by then, at 4.5. By far my easiest kid to teach to read.