Slache Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 We just go at whatever pace each child needs. For instance, dd7 is almost finished with 2nd grade math, is halfway through 1st grade spelling, and is also in 3rd grade Language. We school year-round and just do the next thing in each subject.Do you track it on paper? Do you plan on making it all "clean" at some point? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 (edited) So glad to see my friend Teresa is still loved on the thread. :001_tt1: Don't make unnecessary journeys! Been gone all day, friends. Washed my hair, and now I'm down for the count. :lol: Edited May 22, 2016 by texasmama 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Do you track it on paper? Do you plan on making it all "clean" at some point? At some point I realized that I would want a written record of what the children did each year so I wrote it down in a Word document, printed it out, and put it with a sampling of their work from that year. I tore off the front covers of consumable workbooks like Singapore math, handwriting, science notebooking journals, etc. and three hole punched them. Each child has a very disorganized bunch of work for each year shoved into a three ring binder. I have done this as much for them as anything. No one will ever ask me for it. If I'm lucky, they might look through it once. My mother kept some of my schoolwork and it was kind of fun to look back on it. (I was public schooled.) So I figure I will do the same for my kids. Now that my boys are in high school, I am keeping ISBN numbers of textbooks just in case. I do not, nor have I ever, tracked numbers of hours or days. I do work on a 36 week schedule just because it's how we started out since the SL Cores were organized that way. I have Word document schedules that I've printed for our use during the year, and I keep these in their records. All of the past schoolwork is scattered in various places throughout the house, including upstairs in a closet and in the kids' rooms. It's a terribly organized system I have. :lol: 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 And by "wrote it down in a Word document", I mean like this, a list of curriculum: Singapore math 4A and b A Reason for Handwriting Cursive Writing Tales 2 SL Core D etc That's the extent of my notes. The rest is just samples, schedules, and torn off front covers. It's really awesome. :lol: 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Is it OK if I don't have a start and stop to the school year, I don't keep track of the hours, I don't care how long a book takes, and I don't do formal grading until Jr. High? I always see all of these posts covering these topics and it makes me wonder. I will provide a rigorous academic experience and my children will be well educated, but I don't care if 3rd grade math takes 45 minutes. That's okay, right? I mean, I'm the mom. I'll know when they've got something down and when they'll need more time. Do I have to plan it all out so we finish every book at the same time and call it a school year? Perfectly ok. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 (edited) Do you track it on paper? Do you plan on making it all "clean" at some point? I have my kids take a standardized test every year for the grade level that they are mostly in. As they get closer to 9th grade when I have to keep a transcript, I try to even things out a bit. For instance, I am starting to push dd11 a little bit in her weaker subjects so that she will be ready when the grades count. Other than that, I really don't keep records. Although, if I had to I could write down a list of textbooks retroactively, because dd5 is doing almost the exact same work that all of the others have done. I really haven't changed curriculum much through the years. ETA: I don't keep record for elementary and middle school grades. I am creating a Word document for each high school class that includes a list of resources used for that class. Ds15 and dd13 are the guinea pigs to find out what works. Edited January 23, 2016 by Junie 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikslo Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 At some point I realized that I would want a written record of what the children did each year so I wrote it down in a Word document, printed it out, and put it with a sampling of their work from that year. I tore off the front covers of consumable workbooks like Singapore math, handwriting, science notebooking journals, etc. and three hole punched them. Each child has a very disorganized bunch of work for each year shoved into a three ring binder. I have done this as much for them as anything. No one will ever ask me for it. If I'm lucky, they might look through it once. My mother kept some of my schoolwork and it was kind of fun to look back on it. (I was public schooled.) So I figure I will do the same for my kids. Now that my boys are in high school, I am keeping ISBN numbers of textbooks just in case. I do not, nor have I ever, tracked numbers of hours or days. I do work on a 36 week schedule just because it's how we started out since the SL Cores were organized that way. I have Word document schedules that I've printed for our use during the year, and I keep these in their records. All of the past schoolwork is scattered in various places throughout the house, including upstairs in a closet and in the kids' rooms. It's a terribly organized system I have. :lol: I have ISBN numbers of almost every book we've ever read. Is that not normal? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slache Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 I have ISBN numbers of almost every book we've ever read. Is that not normal?No. It's not normal. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikslo Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 I have ISBN numbers of almost every book we've ever read. Is that not normal?With the date read! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikslo Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Omg, I think I am ocd.... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slache Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 With the date read!This doesn't really help the normal factor. At all. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikslo Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 This doesn't really help the normal factor. At all.i'm not normal. I document call numbers, too, And have a running list since he was 5. Fun to look back on.., 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slache Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 John is reading Wilmington's Guide to the Bible to Mary. He's doing remarkably well. I love that he's not afraid to make mistakes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 I have ISBN numbers of almost every book we've ever read. Is that not normal? With the date read! I wish I were that organized!! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 That was awesome. She's right up there with "Ain't Nobody Got Time for That." :lol: 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 I have ISBN numbers of almost every book we've ever read. Is that not normal? :blink: No, dear. That is not normal. Admirable, but not normal. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renai Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 I thought it would be a great idea to do Jillian Michaels when my family left the house a few minutes ago. I found out that it wasn't when my tooth began throbbing. it didn't hurt but I could feel my veins pulsing in my mouth. so I stopped. It's bike and Bible time. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renai Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 I have ISBN numbers of almost every book we've ever read. Is that not normal? I have many recorded because of different software or online programs I've used. Not all, because Sonlight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Is it OK if I don't have a start and stop to the school year, I don't keep track of the hours, I don't care how long a book takes, and I don't do formal grading until Jr. High? I always see all of these posts covering these topics and it makes me wonder. I will provide a rigorous academic experience and my children will be well educated, but I don't care if 3rd grade math takes 45 minutes. That's okay, right? I mean, I'm the mom. I'll know when they've got something down and when they'll need more time. Do I have to plan it all out so we finish every book at the same time and call it a school year? Those kinds of comments make me crazy. There are 365 days in a year. It begins January 1 and ends December 31. To keep other people's heads from exploding, personally, I knew what the cut-off date was in my state, and which year my dc would have entered first grade, and I kept those labels on the little darlings. It made conversations with grandparents and Sunday school teachers much easier. "What grade is your little precious?" "Second." "Then she'll go in the second grade Sunday school class." There's no point in holding forth about how your children are different "grades" in different subjects. Most people can't figure out how to ask *how old* your children are; they can only relate to grade levels. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Understatement of the year: The Weather Channel is telling me to "expect occasional snow to continue for the next several hours." :lol: 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikslo Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 I wish I were that organized!! I only have one. Count. 1. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 I only have one. Count. 1. Speaking of your One, is he feeling better? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 I only have one. Count. 1. This is partly why I only keep track of what the high schoolers read. Two is do-able. When we get ready to return library books, they bring them to me on 3 piles -- didn't read; read some; read all. Then I write it on my list for the appropriate class. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikslo Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Speaking of your One, is he feeling better?yes, sort of. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikslo Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 I know what we read when . I'm abnormal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 yes, sort of. I guess yes, sort of is better than no. I hope that you don't need to take him back to the doctor. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 I just found freshly-baked gf chocolate chip cookies in the kitchen. Dd11 and dd9 love me! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 You are not normal, ikslo. Lol. But whatever give you kicks, I say! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Openhearted Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 I'm not normal. I aspire to be not normal. I am succeeding. :lol: 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Openhearted Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 We have about 3 inches of snow. Not much. I like snow. We did not have school today. Dd16's school was cancelled. As it has been for the last three days. So I do not feel badly. We had school 4 out of 5 days. Good enough. I have been rereading books I have already read. Wow! That's a hard sentence to read. :D So they don't even count as reading anything. So basically I have done nothing. :D I did cook supper: baked chicken, roasted carrots and potatoes and buttered noodles. It was good. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 (edited) We have about 3 inches of snow. Not much. I like snow. We did not have school today. Dd16's school was cancelled. As it has been for the last three days. So I do not feel badly. We had school 4 out of 5 days. Good enough. I have been rereading books I have already read. Wow! That's a hard sentence to read. :D So they don't even count as reading anything. So basically I have done nothing. :D I did cook supper: baked chicken, roasted carrots and potatoes and buttered noodles. It was good. Ohhh. Buttered noodles. ETA: :drool5: Edited January 23, 2016 by Junie 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 So, tomorrow Jann and I are doing workshops at our little bitty conference. Maybe we can get a picture of us together and share it here. :hat: 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 So, tomorrow Jann and I are doing workshops at our little bitty conference. Maybe we can get a picture of us together and share it here. :hat:Give Jann a hug from me, please. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lots of little ducklings Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Oh fine. I suppose. Sigh. Do I see a poodle on the gray towel? Hmmm.. . I think it's a bird. I am too lazy to get up and see so I'm squinting at the thumbnail instead. Pretty sure it's not a poodle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 I made pierogis for dinner tonight. For the first time. I must say, they were amazing. I love it when a new recipe turns out to be a keeper. I've never even had pierogis before. I just thought they sounded neat and were ethnic, so when I found an interesting recipe, I decided to try it. They we're supposed to get up to half an inch of rain tonight. I just went outside to shake out the tablecloth. I saw stars. Hmph! 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 I made pierogis for dinner tonight. For the first time. I must say, they were amazing. I love it when a new recipe turns out to be a keeper. I've never even had pierogis before. I just thought they sounded neat and were ethnic, so when I found an interesting recipe, I decided to try it. They we're supposed to get up to half an inch of rain tonight. I just went outside to shake out the tablecloth. I saw stars. Hmph! The pierogis sound yummy! No visible stars here on the East Coast. Several inches of snow and I keep hearing what I think is sleet hitting the roof. :glare: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slache Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 La de da de doop de do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another Lynn Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 I know what we read when . I'm abnormal. It's good to know what you read and when. Keeping the ISBNs was a little overachieving. Good for you! :D 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another Lynn Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Good Saturday Morning! The news is saying we got about a foot of snow here. Parts of I-75 have been shut down for 12 hours or more with about 3000 people stranded because of wrecks. Yikes! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another Lynn Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 As far as keeping records go, I was an accountant before I homeschooled, so I do. I keep work by school year (July/Aug to May), but it goes in the file no matter what level of work it was. Like Ellie, I call them the grade level they would be by age and local cut-off regardless of work level completed. The only exception to that is one son who has an August birthday - he beats the cut-off, but we have always called him the lower grade because a) if he'd been in a classroom environment that's what I would have done and 2) it's easier to promote than demote later if we choose to. Also, as far as record keeping goes, I use excel to make weekly assignment sheets every week for each child (except 14yo ds in Challenge - he makes his own planner which I keep each year) - so I have those if I want them. (That said, until around 3rd grade, there's not a lot of detail on the assignment sheet - for my 7yo dd, the reading assignment is blank and I let her choose what she wants to read each day - Usborne Greek Myths? Elson Book 2? something else? For math, it says 20-30 minutes.) And at the end of the year (at some point) I do what Tex said - make a list of what we read and completed. One year I tried to keep a "records notebook" of all their chess tournaments (their rating before and after each tournament, and how they placed), their piano pieces memorized and performed, etc, but I did not keep up with it. I usually try to keep a reading log for each child and a list of scores on math tests. (And of course, more than that for highschool.) Lastly, I would say our school year became more defined the more we got into extracurricular activities. Summer swim team starts June 1st and dramatically changes our schedule, so we've never done a lot of school from June to Mid July. Participating in summer swim gives us a very distinct end to one year and beginning of the next. The other factor is the psychological boost of new and shiny as we start up again. A few times I've tried starting something in the spring thinking we would finish it the following fall. I have found that after summer break it very rarely worked to go back to what we were doing before. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Good Morning!! Thank the Lord, we made it through the night and retained power!! 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 I just spent the last 15 minutes teaching dd5 math. Even and odd numbers and the hundreds' place. On a Saturday. Before 9 a.m. What is wrong with my child? :) 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Good morning. :-) Getting ready to go tell inquirers about how to homeschool in Texas. Then for the next half hour, we'll just chat. :hat: 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Good Morning! Everything has been cancelled today (and likely tomorrow) except the Cub Scout caving trip. Dh and ds11 will be leaving this afternoon to go camping in a cave, but they are going south from here and I think the roads are generally clear. As for scheduling and record keeping, I have found that high school tutorial and community college (dual enrollment) classes have nudged us toward a more traditional school year. Our umbrella program requires that we list all classes and materials used for each student and we have to report the number of days of school each semester and grades given (below HS, these can be the old fashioned E(xcellent), S(atisfactory), or N(eeds improvement). I don't think the umbrella school cares when we have school or if we cram 180 days of school into 4 months - we just need to report in July and January. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 (edited) For those with snow, don't make unnecessary journeys or take risks on treacherous roads!!! Stay safe! I slept badly again. :confused1: Oh well, I am not a zombie. I just don't see the rhyme or reason. I do what I always did. Maybe there is none. Edited May 22, 2016 by texasmama 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 I dont know 'bout that - Texas has had quite a bit of bad weather, just not the frozen kind! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Openhearted Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 (edited) Junie, I'm glad you have power. I hope it stays as well. I seen on the news about the I-75 stand still. Praying for them as well. How terrible! They are getting some out of the vehicles and taking them to shelters. The year the twins were born, 2008, we came home from the hospital in an ice storm. But that was a bad winter here. In January or February we had a terrible storm: ice, sleet, about a foot or more of snow. We are very rural, and when the power goes out, it's usually out for days. So here I am with newborn twins and the worst winter storm I had ever seen. So I prayed that the power would stay on. I prayed hourly, sometimes more. The electric flashed on and off so many times our furnace quit. (We are total electric, by the way.) We had two electric heaters we could plug into the wall outlets. So we shut all bedroom doors, and used the kitchen, living room, and master bedroom/bathroom. We kept warm. I am still amazed thinking of it. BOOYA!!! Edited January 23, 2016 by Openhearted 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 I dont know 'bout that - Texas has had quite a bit of bad weather, just not the frozen kind! I know, right??? It's the frozen kind we can't handle. The rest feels pretty "business as usual", which is odd considering that means tornadoes and flash flooding. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Good morning. My mother is 91 years old today. And with that announcement, I'm going back to bed. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Happy Birthday to Jean's Mommy! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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