kwickimom Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 I am using HOD Preparing and it is starting to gear the student towards independence. Science is all independent. I am not sure I like that. :) Its nice that my dd can do things on her own because I have a K'er. I just don't think I like turning Science solely over to her. I do look over her work and we discuss it and I still try and help with her with her experiment, but I don't feel involved in Science much. I know she needs to learn to be independent but I like to be involved and more teacher intensive. I was just wondering what everyone's take on this is. Whne do you move towards independence and why?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesmileofGod Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 I have been wondering the same thing only I've been thinking when oh when can I stop hand holding?:001_huh::lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 :) The why is because you probably won't being going to college with them. And eventually they do become more independent in everything else and will push back on being led through lessons like first grader. Really, it happens. My older dd has started taking more responsibility for her work. She actually does most of it without prompting. My role is changing. Now I grade her work, help her find solutions to problems, collaborate with her on her projects, and discuss ideas with her. I work hard to have read all of her content subject books before her so that I can discuss her history and science intelligently with her. I am not getting her to be more independent so that I can be more hands-off or less involved. I spend about the same amount of time with her as I always have, but instead of sitting beside her to keep her on task for every single math problem, I check her work, discuss what she's learning and make sure that she has the conceptual understanding. Instead of reading her history to her, I read her summary and discuss what she's read and how that fits with the other things she's already learned. I'm still on my first cuppa coffee so hopefully I'm making sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 (edited) Well said :) Like the OP, I wouldn't want Science to be handed over to ds completely - I'm learning alongside him, and I have always enjoyed Science (until it became heavily mathy, but I'm working on that too lol). I sometimes need things done independently, as I have three children of different ages whose needs often clash. I have an infant at the moment, which is why sometimes ds needs to do a few things on his own. That said, I like to be involved, and my work feels more rewarding and enjoyable when I do (which is most of the time). :) The why is because you probably won't being going to college with them. And eventually they do become more independent in everything else and will push back on being led through lessons like first grader. Really, it happens. My older dd has started taking more responsibility for her work. She actually does most of it without prompting. My role is changing. Now I grade her work, help her find solutions to problems, collaborate with her on her projects, and discuss ideas with her. I work hard to have read all of her content subject books before her so that I can discuss her history and science intelligently with her. I am not getting her to be more independent so that I can be more hands-off or less involved. I spend about the same amount of time with her as I always have, but instead of sitting beside her to keep her on task for every single math problem, I check her work, discuss what she's learning and make sure that she has the conceptual understanding. Instead of reading her history to her, I read her summary and discuss what she's read and how that fits with the other things she's already learned. I'm still on my first cuppa coffee so hopefully I'm making sense. Edited October 14, 2011 by sagira Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 I don't have my kids do anything totally independently. Even in high school. I am either involved, or I farm it out to a real person (for example, Derek Owens for math). What I like to do is have a together piece. Much of the time that consists of me reading aloud and us discussing the material. We do science activities together. And we watch Teaching Company lectures together. That sort of thing. My high schooler does the output part (math problems, lab write ups, history and literature essays) on his own. He also has reading he has to complete on his own, though I read a lot aloud too. My younger son is 9. I follow the same model with him--lessons together, output mostly independent (output consists of math problems, essay writing, Latin translations, science questions, grammar exercises). He also has independent reading to do for history, science, and literature. My older son has dyslexia and ADHD so he was not independent at all until age 12 or so. The younger one did writing independently last year and this year we've added the rest. I personally believe that it is important to have that together piece for all subjects. I hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 The only things my kids do independently at this point are ETC, cursive practice for dd9, and some daily math review. I do check all these things. In 3rd grade, I would not hand science completely over to the child. I just can't see how a child would learn enough science without instruction and discussion. Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwickimom Posted October 13, 2011 Author Share Posted October 13, 2011 I don't have my kids do anything totally independently. Even in high school. I am either involved, or I farm it out to a real person (for example, Derek Owens for math). What I like to do is have a together piece. Much of the time that consists of me reading aloud and us discussing the material. We do science activities together. And we watch Teaching Company lectures together. That sort of thing. My high schooler does the output part (math problems, lab write ups, history and literature essays) on his own. He also has reading he has to complete on his own, though I read a lot aloud too. My younger son is 9. I follow the same model with him--lessons together, output mostly independent (output consists of math problems, essay writing, Latin translations, science questions, grammar exercises). He also has independent reading to do for history, science, and literature. My older son has dyslexia and ADHD so he was not independent at all until age 12 or so. The younger one did writing independently last year and this year we've added the rest. I personally believe that it is important to have that together piece for all subjects. I hope this helps. ETA: noticed I had dd in 3rd grade in my siggy and shes in 4th :-) I do like how you worded this and this is what I was thinking. I like that the "input" is together and the "output" is independent. I don't want to hold my kids hands and not have them be able to do things on their own, but I didn't want to leave the "teaching" part up to them to do on their own. I like that dd CAN do MM or parts of HOD on her own, but I do not like that I am not involved then. I thoroughly enjoy reading and learning with her, I just know with 3 kids its not always going to be possible. I may restructure our days to do "teaching blocks" and then let her do her independent "output" blocks. My dd has major troubles following directions and a lot of times she has to redo things, even after I explain the directions and tell her to read them carefully. She HAS to learn to do this on her own and so we need to work on that. I think I may be satisfied with teaching everything but not holding her hand when it comes to her doing the work part. I need to find a balance with that. I know that some people strive towards independence in their homeschool and I can see the benefits of that also because your child will be trained to be a self learner, I am just struggling with if I want to do that and when. I don't want to set her up to depend on me for everything, but I don't want to set her up to be schooling herself either. I guess its about a balance. thanks for this reply!!! Got me thinking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VBoulden Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Someone recently recommended to me Jessie Wise Bauer's audio lecture called "Teaching Students to Work Independently." You can download it for only a few dollars from Peace Hill Press. I listened to the version for the early years and found it very helpful. I believe there is a version for parents with middle and high school students as well. You may want to listen to the early and middle versions if your child is in between those stages. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwickimom Posted October 14, 2011 Author Share Posted October 14, 2011 Someone recently recommended to me Jessie Wise Bauer's audio lecture called "Teaching Students to Work Independently." You can download it for only a few dollars from Peace Hill Press. I listened to the version for the early years and found it very helpful. I believe there is a version for parents with middle and high school students as well. You may want to listen to the early and middle versions if your child is in between those stages. :001_smile: Thank you I will check that out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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