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How much actually teaching do you do with your dc?


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I was wondering how much teaching do you do with your dc? Dh asked me the other day what ds did in science other than read. Ds had completed 99% of the labs in a lab class in the beginning of the year, so I don't require him to do the labs in the book, unless he wants to.

 

I normally go over the lesson in R&S grammar and if they need help in math, I am there. Other than that I don't "teach" anything else.

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Very little. I teach IEW and Bio with other kids and my ds participates in those classes. We go over schedule/weekly requirements on Fridays and I help him with whatever else during the week, but it is usually very, very little.

Edited to add that my ds also participates in a weekly Apologetics class that my dh teaches. We do a lot of discussion throughout the week about books, movies, Apologetics, but it's more dialogue and my asking him what he thinks, how he drew that conclusion than my actually explaining things. It's just a different focus.

Edited by laughing lioness
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A lot of the teaching I did was in history and lit--it was mostly discussion-based, because I chose Omnibus and Sonlight for 3 of the years. I also had to explain a lot of algebra and geometry concepts, as well as a little of the Apologia chem stuff (but just a little). Dad finally took over math.

 

I also tried really hard with Latin and French, but it was pretty much a wash with me--ds went on to use a more independent program (squeeeeezing by...).

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Not much.

 

My 9th grader starts off her schoolwork completely on her own. She only calls me in for Geometry when she can't figure out how to do something. I may spend 5-15 minutes/day with her on geometry. She needs me for Biology for maybe 5-15 minutes/week. I meet with my 9th and 11th graders together to go over Windows to the World using Jill Pike's lesson plans for 30-60 minutes 1x/week. So for her, I spend 5-15 minutes/day on top of another 30-75 minutes/week.

 

My 11th grader also starts off on her own. I go over what she misses in precalculus which takes anywhere from 5-30 minutes/day. Some days all she has is one problem that she didn't take far enough or didn't copy amounts correctly from. Other days there are several multi-step problems she got lost on. I go over the physics lesson with her each day which takes maybe 30-45 minutes. I also go over the problems that she missed or couldn't figure out which can take anywhere from 0-30 minutes. We have a Windows to the World meeting with the 9th grader 1x/week that lasts 30-60 minutes. This adds up to 35-105 minutes/day on top of 30-60 minutes/week.

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More for the younger one, much less for the older one. Right now, they are both doing an Earth science class with the first part is watching How the Earth Works from Teaching Company. We all three watch that together and I stop the DVD and ask questions or make comments or take their questions. We normally spend about 45 minutes to 50 minutes on the 30 minute lecture so it really counts as an hour class. But I am not doing that to add up time but rather to make sure they understand.

On the other hand, older dd is finishing another lecture course in history and I don't watch that with her since she needs no extra help from me on that.

 

I often go over both girls' math problems or give help as needed. I also teach a class in co-op for which my one daughter is a member so she gets that teaching too. Otherwise for my older, she mostly works alone and the younger has gotten much more independent too.

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The amount of instruction time has varied over the years, depending in part on CC or online courses. I suspect that you are referring to your 8th grader, so I'll address the amount of hands on time I did in that year.

 

My son is more successful in math if I teach him the lesson. Left on his own in math seems to lead to unnecessary frustration. So I gave my son a daily Algebra lesson in 8th grade.

 

My son also took Latin I in 8th. Again, I provided instruction and answered questions on the assignment.

 

We follow TWTM reading list and history guidelines. This is discussion based.

 

My son used one of the Stewart grammar books and Vocab from Classical Roots in 8th. I usually explained "the point" of the grammar lesson, then checked answers or provided guidance in both books as he did the work.

 

My son was doing some programming with my husband who developed the lessons.

 

Et cetera.

 

As you can see, we spent a great deal of time working with my son in 8th. I suspect that our curriculum choices may have lead to this, but also our educational philosophy. In order for students to make connections in the larger world, I believe that they need content beyond a text book. But perhaps we are just a chatty family??

 

Jane

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I teach dd14, a freshman, Spanish out of a text I used when I was teaching high school. Sometimes we will talk about history together, or I will look over her writing and give suggestions, but she pretty much does everything else on her own. I don't know Latin, my French isn't nearly as good as hers, and she is now surpassing me in math and science. I could teach her English grammar, and we may study that at some point, but it isn't as important to us as her having time to just read English and do some writing.

 

I know there's been some criticism here about parents like me who do minimal teaching, but I think it's working out okay for us. Every family is different, I guess.

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I teach my son Spanish since I'm completely fluent. We discuss many other topics, but I don't necessarily "teach" him any of them. For example, for literature, we read the same books separately, then come together for discussion. Same goes for history. I did the same thing with my 19yos.

 

I don't know how many of you know of Dr. Ruth Beechick. She was an educator who strongly supports homeschooling and wrote wonderfully inspiring and helpful books. She said that the fact that your children are spending their day with you and having discussions with you naturally elevates their thinking levels since we are adults and think like adults, at higher levels (well, most of us anyway ;-0). I think of that often as I work with my kids. I provide insight, comments and discuss issues as an adult.

 

Yolanda

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Almost none. Daughter, a junior taking cc classes, and I will discuss things she has read, but she is essentially independent. I go over my 8th-grade son's assignments, but he does them independently. We also discuss the books he is reading. I don't consider any of this real "teaching."

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I know there's been some criticism here about parents like me who do minimal teaching, but I think it's working out okay for us. Every family is different, I guess.

 

This bothers me as I believe one of the greater goals of homeschooling is to raise independent thinkers and doers. I certainly don't believe in plopping down a five-year-old with a boxed curriculum and saying "here ya' go," but for older kids, especially those headed to college, independence is key. To each his own, though.

Edited by Mejane
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This bothers me as I believe one of the greater goals of homeschooling is to raise independent thinkers and doers. I certainly don't believe in plopping down a five-year-old with a boxed curriculum and saying "here ya' go," but for older kids, especially those headed to college, independence is key. To each his own, though.

 

In principle, I agree with you. But as I have noted many times, my son benefits from instruction in mathematics. I am currently teaching him Calculus. Reading the book on his own and then attempting the problems leads to unnecessary frustration on his part. I had great mathematics instruction in high school and college and was never expected to figure it out on my own.

 

My Latin background allowed me to assist my son reasonably well through Latin III. Last year we tried an Intro Latin Literature course which led to a great deal of independent work. It has paid off. My son is currently enrolled in a virtual Vergil course (AP Latin) with near perfect grades. That said, he still relies on his instructor to help him with nuance. Furthermore, I don't think that he would be able to do this course on his own. The instructor has laid it out in guided, bite-sized pieces.

 

My son gained a great deal of knowledge outside of text books in his community college science classes (General Chem I & II, Microbiology). This came after he did AP Bio on his own. This does not mean that he was not working independently as it required in a college classroom. But having someone highlight certain things, connect the dots on others, is very helpful.

 

My son is now a senior. Much of his work is now independent (except for AP Latin and Calculus) but we continue to discuss literature and history as before and he has a mentor for his senior project. Personally, I enjoy this interaction and shall miss it greatly after he leaves since we all learn so much together.

 

Perhaps our definitions of "teaching" vary. For some the word may conjure up the image of the pedantic lecturer. I wear that hat well when I am teaching mathematics. But my role is quite different when discussing Moby Dick. I would never attempt to lecture on the novel--but I might bring up my own knowledge of whaling based on visits to museums or on other reading I have done. I might mention other American writers of the period or discuss philosophical/political issues of the time. My son does not know these things by osmosis. Teaching Company lectures often help integrate ideas. My son is an avid reader but still I do not expect him to self educate completely.

 

Micromanage the school day? No. Manage the big picture with lots of chatter along the way? Yes.

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Well, by the time they get to be more middle school age, especially (I think) if they've been using the same curriculum series for a while and know the drill, it seems to me that you don't need to do as much oral work with them as when they're little.

 

This year, sixth grade for my younger son, I lay out his written work, just announcing that he's doing the next page, exercise, etc. of each thing.

 

For math, I go over the textbook lesson in Singapore aloud, and usually the practice problems given within that. If they are more involved, then he may work them on paper (also does this for reviews, etc.). He then does the associated workbook exercise on his own. When he was working through some extra practice using the Key to.... series earlier in the year, he read and did those exercises on his own. If he asks for help, then I give it. He does all his algebra work alone, then asks his Father to check it for him and they go over any problem areas together.

 

For spelling, again, if he asks for help with words he does not know the meaning of, then I assist. Otherwise, he's doing it on his own. I give out his list words on Fridays for his test.

 

For grammar, I go over the text portion of the lesson aloud and then he does the exercises, or whatever portion of them I assign to him. Some exercises I have him just do orally.

 

He does his writing on his own. I read over things later and do corrections on multiple papers with him at one sitting. It's better for him to have some space between when he writes a thing and when I correct it. He tends to be less attached and hurt over it that way.... I introduce the topic we're doing for literary genre study and then he does some writing associated with that on his own.

 

Regarding most of our literature studies, though, I just read aloud from various genres of myth, folk lore, legends, etc. and we talk about the stories, compare stories from various civilizations, etc. I do still read aloud a lot for lit, history and science. I am transitioning him to read more of his own material next year (and my older son was already doing that when he was in sixth), but I've found that I just like the mix of him doing some on his own and some aloud better than all of one or the other.

 

I read the Bible lesson for the week aloud and go over various portions of the lesson aloud with him during the week. One day per week, he answers written questions associated with the lesson.

 

I do Logic aloud with him.

 

He does geograhy work on his own.

 

He, of course, has his own reading time each day. Most of this is still lit right now, although some history and science do get mixed in. That will increase next year.

 

He does Spanish and Latin on his own, using video tapes (and he also has a live Spanish instructor once weekly). He occasionally needs help with Latin, but not often.

 

And then as I mentioned above, I do still read aloud quite a bit for history and science so that we can discuss the topic together as I'm reading about it. I've found that I simply like this better for one on one teaching than just having them read alone and possibly misunderstand things that I don't catch along the way.

 

So I don't really do much "teaching" regarding the written subjects, or core subjects, but I am still more involved with reading aloud and discussion of history, lit, and science topics.

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9th Grade:

Algebra I -- Son does this on his own using TT. However, I am always keeping up on lessons (I do them by myself to better understand where son is at) and ready to review mistakes for better comprehension.

 

Biology w/Lab -- (Using ABEKA textbook as a spine -- and lots of electic stuff) I teach the lectures. LOL Love powerpoint (son hates it). Son does the readings on his own, tho'. We do labs together as he is squeamish on dissections.

 

English -- (Son struggles in this area with Dysgraphia and expressive writing disorder) I teach writing skills in a tutorial format. Did it more intensive in middle school -- but now in 9th grades, we brainstorm together w/a template, I supervise his first draft on the PC, basic editing suggestions, remind him about transitions, and then let him go for it on his own for final draft. I grade him with a tough rubric. Lit readings are done on his own but we discuss together basic lit analysis every couple of chapters and do comp questions out loud in discussions. He does WW3000 (vocab) on his own. He does grammar on his own -- occasionally I teach a grammar lesson if I see he stumbles on his own.

 

Spanish -- we do together as I am somewhat "bilingual" (Mexican-American) and like to speak Spanish out loud (immersion) rather than get him to read it and forget it via a textbook. LOL

 

World Geography -- I teach this using a WIDE variety of methods. I hate textbooks. LOL Now am incorporating next year's World History unit on Ancient Civilizations (review) with the last 3 continents to teach: Africa, Asia, and Europe. I love geography!

 

Music -- sons does his guitar practice on his own for 30 min a day. Lessons are one hour a week with tutor.

 

Drama -- son belongs to a local HS drama club. He works a lot of backdrops, music, and prep for our upcoming play. Very fun!

Edited by tex-mex
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In principle, I agree with you. But as I have noted many times, my son benefits from instruction in mathematics. I am currently teaching him Calculus. Reading the book on his own and then attempting the problems leads to unnecessary frustration on his part. I had great mathematics instruction in high school and college and was never expected to figure it out on my own.

 

My Latin background allowed me to assist my son reasonably well through Latin III. Last year we tried an Intro Latin Literature course which led to a great deal of independent work. It has paid off. My son is currently enrolled in a virtual Vergil course (AP Latin) with near perfect grades. That said, he still relies on his instructor to help him with nuance. Furthermore, I don't think that he would be able to do this course on his own. The instructor has laid it out in guided, bite-sized pieces.

 

My son gained a great deal of knowledge outside of text books in his community college science classes (General Chem I & II, Microbiology). This came after he did AP Bio on his own. This does not mean that he was not working independently as it required in a college classroom. But having someone highlight certain things, connect the dots on others, is very helpful.

 

My son is now a senior. Much of his work is now independent (except for AP Latin and Calculus) but we continue to discuss literature and history as before and he has a mentor for his senior project. Personally, I enjoy this interaction and shall miss it greatly after he leaves since we all learn so much together.

 

Perhaps our definitions of "teaching" vary. For some the word may conjure up the image of the pedantic lecturer. I wear that hat well when I am teaching mathematics. But my role is quite different when discussing Moby Dick. I would never attempt to lecture on the novel--but I might bring up my own knowledge of whaling based on visits to museums or on other reading I have done. I might mention other American writers of the period or discuss philosophical/political issues of the time. My son does not know these things by osmosis. Teaching Company lectures often help integrate ideas. My son is an avid reader but still I do not expect him to self educate completely.

 

Micromanage the school day? No. Manage the big picture with lots of chatter along the way? Yes.

 

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

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As you can see, we spent a great deal of time working with my son in 8th. I suspect that our curriculum choices may have lead to this, but also our educational philosophy. In order for students to make connections in the larger world, I believe that they need content beyond a text book. But perhaps we are just a chatty family??

 

Jane

 

Hi,

 

My approach has been similar to Jane's. My 8th grader does some independent work, like his math problems & writing assignments, but we do quite a bit together, including Latin, History, and English.

 

I think the best approach will depend a lot upon the child and the family situation. This child is very social and loves to discuss what he's learning. He's capable of reading his science book and could probably do the assignments with very little input, but we both enjoy the subject so much more if we discuss it as we go and do simple demos, etc. I can judge his comprehension immediately and adjust if necessary. He does have problems to work out that he does on his own, so I'm not there every step of the way.

 

We use a similar approach for math. We go over the lesson together, and then he does the problems on his own. If he were in school, he would get instruction in these subjects in high school and in college, so I don't think I'm doing a disservice handling things this way. He could learn directly from the book, but it's much more engaging for him to learn with me and discuss what he's learning.

 

I also used a similar approach with his older brother when he was in the 8th grade. As the brother got older and started doing on-line and outside courses, I did very little teaching and more cheerleading.

 

I guess now that the brother is out on his own in college and doing OK, I know our approach works and I feel less stressed about how I am working with the younger one. I'm just trying to cherish the last few years we have together as I now know how quickly that time will go.

 

Brenda

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We have an interactive piece for every subject.

 

English: We read the MCT books together and discuss. I read his K12 literature lessons aloud. He does his writing work for MCT and reading/writing for lit independently.

 

Algebra II: We watch the Math Without Borders lesson together and go over the written material together, including solving a few practice problems. He does the problem set independently.

 

Chemistry: We watch the DVD lecture together and he does questions/problems on his own.

 

Geography: I read the text aloud, we discuss, and he does the chapter projects (usually long writing assignments) on his own. He also reads supplemental books on his own.

 

And so forth.

 

I believe that education at its best is a dynamic social process. In fact, I have become acutely aware of this as I am in the process of getting a master's degree through an online program where there is no interaction beyond what goes on in my head. I realize that it is possible to learn from books independently and that it is an important skill to have. However, when I decided to homeschool my children, part of my purpose was to have an ongoing interaction with them about their studies. I wouldn't be able to have this if I didn't teach in some way. Also, when I have let my son "go independent", as I did with TT Geometry and Getting Started with Latin, what ends up happening is that over time I become less able to answer his questions if he has any trouble. I find it much better to keep up though teaching.

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Perhaps our definitions of "teaching" vary.

 

Micromanage the school day? No. Manage the big picture with lots of chatter along the way? Yes.

 

I think your first line is so true. To clarify, I have nothing against folks who teach in the traditional sense. It's the idea that some have said that unless you do, you are not teaching.

 

Your second line is exactly how we work around here. :)

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Hi,

 

My approach has been similar to Jane's. My 8th grader does some independent work, like his math problems & writing assignments, but we do quite a bit together, including Latin, History, and English.

 

I think the best approach will depend a lot upon the child and the family situation. This child is very social and loves to discuss what he's learning. He's capable of reading his science book and could probably do the assignments with very little input, but we both enjoy the subject so much more if we discuss it as we go and do simple demos, etc. I can judge his comprehension immediately and adjust if necessary. He does have problems to work out that he does on his own, so I'm not there every step of the way.

 

We use a similar approach for math. We go over the lesson together, and then he does the problems on his own. If he were in school, he would get instruction in these subjects in high school and in college, so I don't think I'm doing a disservice handling things this way. He could learn directly from the book, but it's much more engaging for him to learn with me and discuss what he's learning.

This is how I worked with my ds16 when he was in 8th & 9th. He LOVED the interaction with me, and I loved it too! We did his R&S English mostly orally--and actually had a blast! He used to hate English, but once we got R&S and started the oral lessons, he told me English was his favorite subject! We did a lot of "chatting" with his subjects, I was very involved with them through 9th grade. This year he is in a Christian school, in fact he's on a mission trip in England right now!

 

Now, my oldest only tolerated me helping him. He liked working on his own, in his own way. So there was much less interaction with his schooling. He liked me to quiz him on different subjects before he took a test, since it helped him see things from my viewpoint as well, which would expand on what he had learned on his own. I was available to help if needed, but he rarely called on me for it.

 

My youngest is in-between her two older brothers. She likes more interaction than the first, but not as much as the younger one. She has no problem asking me for help if needed, and we'll do English grammar on the white board together and have fun with that, like my younger son, but even with science, she likes to do most of it on her own. I sit through videos of things with her, ask her gquestions, grade her work, explain certain things, suggest ideas when she comes up blank, etc. She'll be in 9th next year. She hasn't done much logic, so I'll be going over that with her. I'll actually probably be more involved with her science next year, as it's Biology, not something she particularly cares for, and I found some vidoes and live books for her, and we decided to do a lot of it together. Once she has the idea of how things go, she likes working on it more independently, so she'll probably end up doing much of her History on her own---it's a lot of reading anyway, which she loves. She'll be taking Home Ec, so I'll help her with that, and we're doing Spanish pretty much together.....

 

So, actually, it looks like I may be MORE hands-on next year for 9th than I was this year! We'll see how it goes.

 

I just try to work it out for what the child feels most comfortable with. It's interesting that all 3 of mine are different in what works best for them! :001_smile:

 

ETA: I should mention that my dh is very involved as well. Once the kids get past my comfort level for me helping them, he pretty much takes over. They'll do their work during the day, and he helps, discusses, explains in the eveing after he gets home from work. He lnows the background, details, reasoning and why's of how things work as they do, and has a vast knowledge of history and geography. His help has been invaluable! I can give them the basics, as much as I can/know, then he can fill in the details to make it a rich learning experience for the kids. Even during supper they often discuss the details of their science, history and math. I know the kids have a much deeper knowledge of things than I ever knew, thanks to my dh!

Edited by Brindee
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A lot, we tend to believe that the instruction should be done through the dialogue whenever possible; obviously, not always the time permits it or the content is suitable for it, however, I do my best to stay an active part of the process, and we engage my husband a lot, and several other people occasionally. :)

 

Basically I rule the humanities, I'm less involved with science, where they're more independent. The typical scheme is that they have texts to work on and prepare, and then we meet 2-3 times a week, and a sitting is 3-4 hours long :D, to talk them through. From time to time I also make an actual lesson in which I teach something, the same way I taught at university, but that's mostly with regards to literature and classics. We have lots of informal talk along the way too.

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Mine is in 9th. His older brother was about the same in 9th. I spend/spent lots of time with them throughout high school. A friend did one of those computer-based, all-inclusive homeschooling programs with her daughter and the daughter wound up returning to high school. I'm not sure what really happened, but my son's comments on the situation gave me some guidelines about what would work best for him. He is very independent and likes to learn things on his own, so I was thinking that perhaps he would like less involvement with me during high school. His comments showed me that I was wrong, that he wants to be "taught". My style of teaching mostly consists of reading the book aloud and inserting comments and questions; it isn't really teaching. It provides interaction, though, and because I know what he is learning, I can connect things together and incorporate extra reading and projects. I think learning to learn on ones own is very important, but mine have needed to be taught the skills needed to do that. I wish wish wish I were a better teacher. A good teacher is a very efficient way to learn a subject, much more efficient than the mucking about we do. In many subjects, I have to fall back on teaching my son whatever skills I would need I would to teach myself the subject. (Think flashcards, dictionary use, ability to use grammar tables, internet search skills, knowing who to ask, looking first at a children's book, etc.) We are terribly inefficient. Sigh. But doing this, my son homeschools happily and we have lots of flexibility to learn what he wants to learn, when he wants to learn it, to set math aside for a few months and travel, to turn something that started out as just-satisfying-my-curiosity into do-a-bit-more-and-we-can-put-it-on-your-transcript, to do something a little bit at a time over a long time or all at once, to focus on a particular aspect of something, or to learn one thing while doing something else. Eventually, I hope my son will be able to do that more and more on his own, but for now, I am managing a lot of it by telling him, "We're going to do this now." I drive him nuts by discussing school with him when we are in the car, but that is when I do my planning and I like to have lots of input from him about how, what, and when he wants his education. After all, it is his education, not mine. I have things I want him to learn and he has things he wants to learn (or especially not learn LOL) and I cobble them together as best I can. If I were a really, really good and dedicated teacher, I would be able to do this in such a way that my son could work more independently, but I just am not. I am far from that. (More sighs, big ones.) It doesn't help that the target keeps moving and the goals keep shifting, not the greater goals and requirements, but the details. Are you going to learn to think logically doing logic (verbal method), geometry (visual method), or computer programming (detail oriented method?)? It is difficult.

 

This is how 9th grade works this year for different subjects:

 

I read the math book to him and work the example problems. He does the problems and checks the answers in the back of the book. I look at he ones he missed.

 

We read Latin together (just reading fairy tales this year). I try to explain how they are saying what they are saying. (My son always can tell what, just not always how, and I am trying to convince him that figuring out the how part will help him to get better at reading Latin and eventually move on to reading the Aeneid, which is his end goal.)

 

We do sight singing together. (Latin and sight singing are two things that we are learning together because I don't know them either. We each have our strengths and help each other.)

 

I read the language arts book with him, which is in French, we answer the questions with me checking the answers in the teacher's guide, and I send him off to write one or two of them and then copy out the book answer. History is the same thing (it is also in French). We discuss both in English because my French is poor, but he tries to answer the questions in French.

 

We read our great books aloud together and discuss it.

 

He does his natural history on his own but I tell him what to do for extras.

 

He makes up his own experiments and gives them to his father to check before he does them (hard to find time for this - we're going to continue it next year and try to get him doing more sophisticated experiments - they've been very, very simple ones so far).

 

He does technical projects of his own choosing, small electronics kits or whatever else he thinks up.

 

He works on piano totally on his own. He's been working on one improv piece this whole year. It has morphed itself from something by someone else into something mostly by my son. I am hoping this is an example of knowing when to step out of the picture and let him teach himself completely including setting his own goals, rather than an example of not providing enough guidance and structure to allow him to move forward to his own satisfaction and not hit a wall and get bored and quit. We'll see.

 

I have nothing to do with gymnastics other than to agree that he can choose how hard he wants to work at it each year.

 

I don't have much to do with the peacewalking, other than arranging it for however long he chooses, making the drop-off and pick-up arrangements, and making sure he has what he needs so he isn't a burden to the group.

 

This is a good thread. I love seeing how much others are involved.

 

-Nan

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Dh asked me the other day what ds did in science other than read.

 

When my ds1 was at home just for 9th grade, he did ALL correspondance or online classes for a couple reasons. But my husband got such a negative impression of this, saying that he was just sitting in his corner with his books, that I knew that if that happened again, my others would not be permitted to be at home. (It also made me think hard about what had occurred - I had wanted to make sure he would be accepted at the local international school and other reasons, and being a social type, he didn't like his experience either).

 

So now ds3 (16yo) only has 2 1/2 online courses (dd 12 yo has none) and I try to make sure to be fairly involved...

 

Teaching...brings to mind lesson plans and catchy introductions...generally I am doing that for history, art, and music but not at the same level that I did when teaching outside the home....my plans are sketchy and I don't always have a catchy beginning...and even then it is not like I know the subject inside and out. I learn almost as much as them due to the variety of books we use. I get the overall picture beforehand, then we learn the details together.

 

For other subjects we interact in various ways...at various levels.

 

Dc are trying to get their time with mom for lit analysis. Sometimes they are doing the same book and then it is a group class. I find invaluable the times when they disagree about an answer and have to support their positions. Then I'm the arbitrator. Seriously though, lit analysis provides this springboard for so many discussions about various life situations without them having to live through the difficult experience...and while they could read some of the answers to the questions, there are so many times when I can add some real-life experience or observation of my own that it is actually a time to pass on family info or hopefully some hard gotten wisdom. Some of the subjects just don't come up in daily life and normally in not such an elegant fashion as in how they are presented in some works of literature.

 

I must admit then when ds3 was in 8th grade, I was not yet doing this. I had a mind block or was too busy administrating or preparing for history or something. But now dd in 6th makes sure she gets her share of my time to discuss her books when they are reading different works and I see how ready she is...

 

For math, I wish I was able to teach like Jane. But now that we're in Trig and also for Alg II, it seems like I'm always behind my son. If there are topics that I think he might have trouble (generally where I have trouble) or might not have caught some little aspect that can make a big difference, then I'll ask him for help and see how he can explain the answer. (This is not completely without foundation as I believe it has been shown that children who explain things to others end up with a better understanding themselves). BUT I think he would benefit from lessons that are prepared and so plan to use DVD's for Pre-calc and hopefully an online course for Calculus. Hopefully for dd I'll remember enough and be able to teach her for Alg/Trig.

 

I do also want to make sure that he can get info from presentations instead of just from reading books since he will probably go to college. Some professors do add information that is not in the books and so he will need to be able to take notes from lectures...

 

I found that he got a bad habit from the TTC lectures by speeding them up since he could understand. I think it was because he did not have to take a test at the end. Even though he understood what was said, he wasn't taking notes and never restudied the material. Some of it stuck and some didn't.

 

So now for the video part of his physics course, I make sure he is taking notes and rewinding if he didn't get it and that he is taking tests. I am in the same room with him and can see the notes...I tend to look at my involvement there as making sure that he is learning the nuances of learning...that you have to pay attention to the things you don't understand at first pass....I think he would just skip on..but then his foundation becomes shakey....

 

He is better at focusing on aspects he didn't understand in math than in physics...

 

Some courses are better at getting the student to think than others....

 

Recently we found an old geography book for Geneva from 1950...it is fascinating looking at the old photos and having dd do map work and find the area on a current map. This old book has all kinds of info they thought important at the time but would no longer teach and is a springboard for understanding the area and people. But she probably would not gain nearly as much if we weren't discussing each page. Plus she would tend to be lazy and wouldn't think of trying to relate the info to life today.

 

For French, I wanted ds3 to practice orally rather than just read the answer because part of a language is the oral interaction. Even for German, there are group activities which do help him simulate real life requirements.

 

For grammar, my involvement helps them focus on their weaker points of understanding. They answer the first set orally and then we focus on questions with the part that was tricky for them, so it makes their learning more efficient.

 

Our experiences for anyone they can help,

Joan

Edited by Joan in Geneva
typos, etc.
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Quite a bit. She likes me to take the lead and wants instruction. In some things, like science, she prefers to be more exploratory and so we go with that. But she didn't like that approach in Math (I have to sneak in Miquon now with her extremely traditional textbook lessons), and we're definitely approaching phonics in an explicit instruction manner with which she is making steady progress.

 

Latin we're pretty much learning together, and other subjects are more "read and talk about it" than instruction, but I'm still very much giving her leading questions rather than her simply narrating something. I expect that will change as she grows.

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Dc are trying to get their time with mom for lit analysis. Sometimes they are doing the same book and then it is a group class. I find invaluable the times when they disagree about an answer and have to support their positions. Then I'm the arbitrator. Seriously though, lit analysis provides this springboard for so many discussions about various life situations without them having to live through them...and while they could read some of the answers to the questions, there are so many times when I can add some real-life experience or observation of my own that it is actually a time to pass on family info or hopefully some hard gotten wisdom. Some of the subjects just don't come up in daily life and normally in not such an elegant fashion as in how they are presented in some works of literature.

 

I must admit then when ds was in 8th grade, I was not yet doing this. I had a mind block or was too busy administrating or preparing for history or something. But now dd in 6th fights for her time to discuss her books when they are reading different works and I see how ready she is...

 

This resonates with me, Joan. Yesterday I told my son about this thread. He commented that he particularly needs input on writing. While he appreciates my input, he thinks that other sets of eyes offer different perspectives even if he does not agree with the assessments. He receives food for thought.

 

He also agrees that discussing literature is always beneficial. He tends to be a literal kid, so while he may roll his eyes attempts to understand symbolism or metaphor, I know that he is at least thinking about interpretation. Also, my son's knowledge base is quite esoteric. Continuing with Moby Dick as my example, my son knows a great deal about 19th century sailing vessels, shipboard life, etc. He is able to add context to a literary work by sharing his knowledge. This may inspire his father to make comments on New Bedford which was once of the richest cities in America, bringing home to our son personal history since one of his great-great aunts resided in this city during the heyday. This leads to a discussion of urban transformation and the modern problems New Bedford faces. Ethics then enters the discussion as the topic of cetaceans in captivity enters the discussion.

 

Who is teaching whom? We all own this project.

 

Jane

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My style of teaching mostly consists of reading the book aloud and inserting comments and questions; it isn't really teaching. It provides interaction, though, and because I know what he is learning, I can connect things together and incorporate extra reading and projects.

 

This is exactly how we do things here. You put it perfectly!

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Here's the link to another recent thread about this which could also be helpful to you.

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=155161&highlight=working+independently

 

Thanks for linking that. Nan and Creekland have an interesting exchange on this topic on pages 5 and 6 of that thread. Parents of middle school aged students would benefit from reading this.

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