what other options are there?

[fenni]

besides textbooks?

 

ETA: but what do kids do if they don't do activities and notebooking? Write answers to questions? just read and narrate?

 

I love HOD; however, I am not sure it is the right fit for my eldest son. I don't know if I should forge ahead because it is a character issue or if I should change something to make it more his style.

 

He will be 10 in July. He is mostly an obedient child, who wants to please, and is a hard-worker. He dawdles. I'm tired of nagging and we've tried other ways of stopping the dawdling. He doesn't like seatwork. Doesn't want to do the activities and pages that seem pointless. "What do I even do this for? just to throw it in the trash?" (well, no, we put it in a binder!) He likes reading and math. He loves history. Just doesn't seem to be an activities/notebooking kid. But the notebooking teaches important skills, right? I just don't know where to come down on this stuff. I kind of feel like what is the bare minimum we have to do to get him well-educated? Hate feeling like that, but can't imagine trying to stuff him in a desk for the next 8 years.

Edited April 11, 2011 by fenni

[Mommy to monkeys]

I LOVE the books for HOD. . .I mean LOVE them. But all those handsy onsy activities are not for me. And my kids are more "lets get this done"

 

If ds like history, how about Story of the World? Read the chapter, do the narration question and a little mapping, maybe read another book. .. and DONE.

 

Other suggestions. . .

Sonlight- this is reading. . .but its always looked like a LOT

Simply Charlotte Mason- Modules follow biblical history. . .mostly reading and narrating

Mystery of History

 

Hope this helps :grouphug:

[boscopup]

Since this lecture isn't on the website yet, I'll mention something SWB talked about in her lecture on homeschooling the real child. She said that some kids need a reason to do something, and sometimes you might need to be creative at coming up with a reason. Or if there isn't a good reason, something could be dropped. She used the example of Latin.... The reason could be "so you can score better on the SAT". She even said it was ok to drop Latin if there wasn't a good enough reason to do it.

 

Now that doesn't mean you'd drop math, writing, and other skill areas, but that you help the child understand that there is a purpose to what they're doing, even if it's "You'll need to know this unless you want to work the french fryer at Mcdonalds."

 

Is the work he's doing too easy? Is he ready for the next step of the process? Is there anything that really isn't necessary for him?

[Snowfall]

I would drop the activities and the notebooking. Putting something in a binder isn't a good reason to do it, and if a kid doesn't like projects, why do them?

[fenni]

I would drop the activities and the notebooking. Putting something in a binder isn't a good reason to do it, and if a kid doesn't like projects, why do them?

 

but what do kids do if they don't do activities and notebooking? Write answers to questions? just narrate? I'm not opposed to dropping this, I just don't know what is necessary. just read?

[fenni]

hoping for some more input.

[leeannpal]

Does he like computers and technology? He could make power point presentations, narrate a video or create his own blog with information about the day's lessons.

[Mandy in TN]

Explain to him that at 9yo there needs to be something tangible in the way of a portfolio to provide proof of progress (if that is ever necessary) and to move him towards the output required of high school level coursework.

 

If he detests notebooking, I would do other things. Get 144 (4 days/ week for a 36 week school year) 4x6 index cards and have him write either a science or history paragraph 4 days a week. Although they could be short paragraphs, they would document that work was completed and move him toward high school output. They may also have more of a guy feel than a notebook page.

 

You could spend two days letting him do additional research on something at least tangently related to what he is studying in science one day and what he is studying in history the other and then do one of index card for science and history and spend. This would build research and writing skills at it moves him toward greater output. SO, if his curriculum mentions the Eiffel Tower he could read an article about it say out of Worldbook Kids on Monday and then on Tuesday write a paragraph on an index card.

 

If index cards do not float his boat, maybe he could do the research and publish blog posts on the topics.

 

HTH-

Mandy

[mom@shiloh]

My boys (10, 12 and 13) aren't real into the notebooking thing either. We do science two days a week, and history two days a week. One day they read, then give an oral narration, the next day they read, then give a written narration. Sometimes they draw maps. That doesn't give us too much "stuff" to keep. Some of it is kept for a portfolio, some is tossed out. I think they're learning enough.

[mo2]

Explain to him that at 9yo there needs to be something tangible in the way of a portfolio to provide proof of progress (if that is ever necessary) and to move him towards the output required of high school level coursework.

 

 

:iagree:

 

My 9yo knows that we are required by law to keep some record of what she has done and samples of her work to show the progress being made. Of course, that hasn't stopped all her whining, but at least she knows the reason why we do some things. (For examples, many times I will let her do her spelling words on the white board or even orally, but once in awhile I make her put them on paper so I can keep them in the binder.)