Why is the chat board so much more active than the other forums?

[frogger]

3 minutes ago, Roadrunner said:

Yes and yes and yes. Add to that “your child is reading at this and that grade level.” Never understood it. I call a child is reading when he can read what interests them. In K it was frog and toad and whatever mouse was in motorcycle. And oh Shel  Sylverstein poetry (over and over and over again). Can’t remember. In third grade it was entire Lord of the Rings. Isn’t reading level more of an interest level?

Well, sort of. One jumped into Howard Pyle in 3rd or 4th grade but one boy is in high school and the only thing he will willingly read is the Specialzed and Salsa websites and the RC Car manual for part numbers so....I guess he is reading to grade(interest) level? 😂😂😂

Edited October 13, 2020 by frogger

[HS Mom in NC]

18 hours ago, Not_a_Number said:

I've noticed that, although these forums are much better on average. Do you know why people are less interested? 

Because "the filter" is gone, so we have very different kinds of people in the community now. The filter was homeschooling being socially unacceptable. Now that we're on the other side of the school choice era, we get people in who would never have homeschooled before because they need social approval .  The people before the filter had ideas about why institutional school wasn't ideal for kids in general or their kids in particular (depending on their educational philosophy) and we had to make a more substantial social payment to make homeschooling happen.  We went to homeschool workshops lead by people who homeschooled before it was legal, fought to make it legal, and wrote their own curriculum, so the culture of the community was different then.

When we started here weren't nearly as many curriculum options, so any supplements or materials we developed on our own required far more thought than a homeschooler who buys something ready made thinks about. Most of the Gen X and older veterans were raised before children were special, so our whole childhoods involved doing things for ourselves because our Silent Gen and very oldest Baby Boomer parents were very hands off with most of us.  We're just a different kind of animal.  Sure, there are younger versions of those types around today, but most are not. Most want something that teaches their children for them. It's not bad, it's different.

It all boils down to coming from a producer vs. consumer mindset. Producers aren't always as interested in dealing with consumers.  Consumers want to shop options and have someone teach their kids for them.  Not that it's bad.  I started consuming in the last couple of years because I'm burned out myself now that I'm at 20 years of homeschooling.  I have 2 more years to go. My kids are 24, 22, and 15. I'm tired, I'm peri-menopausal, and I've had a very difficult child and I've been through some very difficult life situations. 

[cintinative]

Dear @FuzzyCatz are you offering to provide guidance counseling services?  Asking for a friend . . . 

[Jean in Newcastle]

My kids were neither round pegs that fit into the round holes of public school or square pegs that fit the most typical homeschooling square holes. They were hexagonal. 😉. I got comfortable doing our own thing quietly. I give general advice but tend to shy away from specifics. 

[HS Mom in NC]

Oh, interesting anecdote on newbies.  When I joined the Co-op 2 years ago I offered my free services for teaching homeschooler workshops to the director: Planning with 36 Hanging File Folders, Designing a Unit Study, and Homeschooler Orientation that covers an overview of educational philosophies, mindsets, articulating your educational philosophy, getting started in the early years.   Last fall she asked me to get the Homeschooler Orientation and Hanging File Folders workshops ready because they would cover many things she was hearing members ask her questions about when they're struggling.  When it was offered no one signed up as interested and didn't make any date suggestions asked for.  It appears newer homeschoolers are more reactive than pro-active when it comes to homeschooling, especially here where I live outside Raleigh.

I also volunteered to start a question of the week at the FB page.  No one wants to discuss homeschooling. And weirdly, at the park days, there isn't general chatter about homeschooling as conversation.

I noticed this trend growing when I lived outside PHX, but it's definitely the dominant culture here.  I don't know why. In PHX just before I moved in 2018 I gave a workshop and dozens were so interested they asked me to please do it twice because of the days suggested, it was an almost even split between who could attend when. So I did it both days to a full house each time.

[catz]

11 minutes ago, cintinative said:

Dear @FuzzyCatz are you offering to provide guidance counseling services?  Asking for a friend . . . 

If I could chat about one thing right now, I'd love to muse poetic about record keeping, transcripts, college prep.  I have done a few sessions on these topics and have shared resources with folks who ask.  I'd be happy to chat about it!  🙂  

I have thought a little about trying to figure out how to wrap it up into a way to make a little money because someday I will go out and get a real job again other than the contract work I do at times.  But I'm a bit from being that organized and I feel like I'm still gaining knowledge.  

[Rosie_0801]

42 minutes ago, Ordinary Shoes said:

One of the big changes in this forum in the last 5 or so years is that there are less people claiming to do multiple programs. There was a time on this forum when people would claim to do 2 math programs and 2 Latin programs, etc. I'm exaggerating a little bit but surely others remember those days too. I used to think of it what people said they did was almost untruthful. Not to say that people wouldn't actually use two math curricula. 

 

Um. We used two full maths curricula, most of another, plus supplements.

I called it the 'Dyscalculia: throw it all at the wall and see what sticks' method. 

[kbutton]

I ended up on here because every time I search the internet for curriculum reviews, a million threads from this forum showed up, and they were so much more informative than the reviews (though I like Cathy Duffy's reviews as a starting point too).

Academically, I hang out more on the LC board, but my kids are older and shaking out to be somewhat consistent in their learning now, and we have a LOT of intervention under our belts that led to that. Those topics are somewhat limited to the LC board.

I suspect I'll be more involved in the High School boards when my younger one is in high school. My older one has had a very, very customized high school experience as a 2e student with a lot of issues that were hard to pin down. My younger one is likely to be a more traditional student with some quirks.

[kbutton]

1 minute ago, Rosie_0801 said:

Um. We used two full maths curricula, most of another, plus supplements.

I called it the 'Dyscalculia: throw it all at the wall and see what sticks' method. 

Yes, not uncommon with kids who have exceptionalities. Sometimes though, I am using one and consulting the others. 🙂 I have four full Algebra I options, at least one major side resource, and some very pricey manipulatives that were crucial for a breakthrough but weren't used much past that, lol! So far, all but one curriculum have been used for significant portions of time. 

[theelfqueen]

3 minutes ago, Rosie_0801 said:

Um. We used two full maths curricula, most of another, plus supplements.

I called it the 'Dyscalculia: throw it all at the wall and see what sticks' method. 

When did you sleep??? 

My Middle Son and Youngest are both atypical in their own ways and we have had plenty of schooling struggles .... Middle is bright but incredibly difficult and defiant. We pulled him to homeschool in grade 9. I regret wasted years but I do not think i would have survived actually homeschooling that kid another week, let alone additional years. He was/is a keeping my head above water kind of parenting experience.

Youngest tested as highly/profoundly gifted in a number of areas but he has his own challenges ... we muddle on and y'all help me stay on the general course and throw book suggestions my way and I love it... there is a breadth of experience here that helps me on a variety of levels. 

I'm a high school teacher by background and other than record keeping, and getting some people to back off on whether or not I'm "qualified" to school my kids, it has honestly been worth VERY LITTLE when confronted with the everyday reality of homeschooling my own kids. 

[Not_a_Number]

1 hour ago, frogger said:

I think this is the key Number.  You are just excited to learn with your daughter and explore etc. But there are many who homeschool so their kids can be "smart". They are competitive.

I'm a competitive person 😉 . I can't pretend otherwise. But I also really value who my kids are as people and would never compete in ways that damaged them. At least, I hope not.  

But I've always been competitive. Hence the math contests, you know? 😉  

 

1 hour ago, frogger said:

When people said their children were already reading I always wondered what that meant. Bob books? Shakespeare? The Cat in the Hat?  The Theory of Moral Sentiments? Did they understand what they were reading?

Hahahahah, good questions, all! The summer she turned 4, DD8 was reading Ramona and understanding the plot, if not the intricacies of the emotional relationships... it's safe to say that everything she read at 4, she's gotten a lot more out of as she's reread it, but she also loved reading it at that age, got a lot of out of it, and had a new tool that allowed her to stay out of our hair 😉 . Plus she was then motivated to teach herself to write, which was fun and totally self-motivated. 

DD4 is reading a mix of picture books, very simple chapter books, and things like Cat in the Hat. They both used Bob books for a tiny bit while they were getting their fluency up, but got bored of them relatively quickly. (Although they still come out very occasionally for DD4.) 

I tend to view my job as giving them the skill of reading and then I let them do whatever they want with it. So far, they've both used it in interesting ways. DD4 is my drama queen and currently sometimes enjoys reading things like Cat in the Hat out loud to practice her enunciation 😄 . Mostly she reads in her head, though. She's much weaker in phonics than DD8 (who's currently teaching herself to read in Russian with very mild input from me -- she asks me letters, I tell her, she remembers them 😛.)

I value reading comprehension more than I value anything else, so I would have absolutely stopped reading lessons with a kid who couldn't understand what they were reading. 100 EZ Lessons incorporates that into the lessons, anyway, which I think is very wise. 

[Not_a_Number]

1 hour ago, Roadrunner said:

Yes and yes and yes. Add to that “your child is reading at this and that grade level.” Never understood it. I call a child is reading when he can read what interests them. In K it was frog and toad and whatever mouse was in motorcycle. And oh Shel  Sylverstein poetry (over and over and over again). Can’t remember. In third grade it was entire Lord of the Rings. Isn’t reading level more of an interest level?

Those are all awesome, though! Frog and Toad is the best. The only problem with Frog and Toad is that we read it so much to the kids before they can read that they can recite it without actually sounding a thing out, lol. 

[Not_a_Number]

15 minutes ago, kbutton said:

I ended up on here because every time I search the internet for curriculum reviews, a million threads from this forum showed up, and they were so much more informative than the reviews (though I like Cathy Duffy's reviews as a starting point too).

Yes, same! I'd Google things, and there'd be all these threads, and I'd read them. So I joined 🙂 

[Rosie_0801]

5 minutes ago, theelfqueen said:

When did you sleep??? 

I only had one kid and she was as compliant as one can reasonably expect of mortal child. She *liked* maths. 

[theelfqueen]

Sometime around the time he was 7 or 8 my youngest was tested by the school as "reading on a college level" .... like yeah. He could understand a complex text but we weren't settling down with Dante or Crime and Punishment or something.  This is not a meaningful distinction. 

Edited October 13, 2020 by theelfqueen

[Not_a_Number]

1 hour ago, FuzzyCatz said:

The competitive vibe just doesn't work for me.  I've taught/tutored many groups of GT kids over the years and some parents are fairly blind about their own kids weaknesses and seem a bit over invested about the numbers on their kids curriculum.

See, I don't get that. I absolutely do want to capitalize on my kids' strengths. But I'm genuinely just as interested in raising them as adulthood as functional, empathetic, well-rounded people. 

DD8 is MUCH stronger academically than she is socially. (She's fine socially. But she has some of the typical rigidities of a gifted and nerdy kid. Nothing diagnosable.) We spend plenty of time talking about both of those skills, and we make it clear to her they both matter, and they both take practice. 

In general, we try to focus on a "growth mindset," although I don't love that phrase. If you practice, you'll probably get better. And you have to know yourself and work with what you've got. 

Edited October 13, 2020 by Not_a_Number

[frogger]

31 minutes ago, Rosie_0801 said:

Um. We used two full maths curricula, most of another, plus supplements.

I called it the 'Dyscalculia: throw it all at the wall and see what sticks' method. 

Yes. I do this a lot too and I suppose it could be taken as we actually finished the curriculum that year but we were usually taking longer than the average student or only using the parts and pieces from one curriculum to augment another. 

[Shoeless]

5 hours ago, Ordinary Shoes said:

I keep doing the same thing! 

I'm a huge SWB stan even though I'm not using any of her curricula now. I also love Julie Bogart but dislike every BW product I've ever purchased. 

I wanted to clarify that despite writing upthread that there isn't anything stopping us from engaging in good conversations about educational philosophies again, I don't feel like I do it myself. I want other people to do the heavy lifting while I follow along and get ideas. I'm lazy like that. 🙂 

It takes a lot of effort to think and write about these things. I rarely have the mental bandwidth to do it these days. I have spurts of time and energy but that's it and a good discussion requires more than that. 

Plus I don't mean to gripe but what do you get out of those discussions in return for all of the thought you put into it? I expect to either get the crap beat out of me or be ignored. Neither option is very rewarding. I'm sure other people expect the same kind of reactions. I know I've treated people that way too. 

 

This also factors in to why I do not participate in a lot of education threads. It often feels like I am walking into a dissertation defense. I'm not a scholar of Sandra Dodd, John Holt, SWB, or anyone really.  I'm just a parent that has read several of their books and has some opinions on what they've written based on how it fits into my life.  But good luck to me if I post that opinion and am not prepared to cite specific works to defend that position. 

I want to have a conversation, not participate in a scholarly defense.  Maybe that makes me shallow by WTM standards. 

[HS Mom in NC]

31 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:

Those are all awesome, though! Frog and Toad is the best. The only problem with Frog and Toad is that we read it so much to the kids before they can read that they can recite it without actually sounding a thing out, lol. 

On Sunday I bought the Frog and Toad collection as part of my 5 year old niece's birthday gift. It will arrive at her house on Thursday.

My mother supervised her during virtual weekly kindy classes and was appalled at the twaddle the teacher was reading to the kids.  "No wonder she's not interested in reading." she said.  Never fear, Auntie Lisa is on it. Granted she might not be ready, but crap books aren't going to help either way, so I sent some of the good stuff.

[Not_a_Number]

8 minutes ago, MissLemon said:

This also factors in to why I do not participate in a lot of education threads. It often feels like I am walking into a dissertation defense. I'm not a scholar of Sandra Dodd, John Holt, SWB, or anyone really.  I'm just a parent that has read several of their books and has some opinions on what they've written based on how it fits into my life.  But good luck to me if I post that opinion and am not prepared to cite specific works to defend that position. 

I want to have a conversation, not participate in a scholarly defense.  Maybe that makes me shallow by WTM standards. 

Hah, yes, I also want to have a conversation. And frankly, as someone with a Ph.D (although in math, not in the humanities)... no one is really acting like a scholar of those books. Citing people's words is not being a scholar of the work. Critical interpretations of people's work are absolutely acceptable scholarship. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

As far as discussions go:  I am good on general educational philosophy.  And I'm good on the Humanities.  I have definite opinions on teaching a second language (as someone who's taught both English and Japanese to non-native learners).  I can contribute to elementary STEM discussions.  But I'm a follower on the upper level STEM stuff.  Both my kids did very well in STEM in high school and my eldest is doing great in a STEM field at university.  But I think that they did well just because they had a good foundation and figured things out on their own by the time high school came around.  And even the other stuff, as opinionated as I am, a lot of it seems to be luck.  😉  (This is because it seemed at the time that I was doing a lot of things just by the seat of my pants.) 

[Amy Gen]

Before kids, I taught teachers who were getting certified in gifted education. For the most part, they had no idea what gifted ness actually looks like. They preferred to teach academically abled students, so they tended to call those kids gifted when they absolutely were not. 
 

I would have them draw a bell-shaped curve, and then cut it out and tape the 2 narrow ends together to for a ring. The academically abled kids were in the middle of the curve. The learning disabled and the truly gifted were on either end with plenty of overlap and shared characteristics. 
 

I became a homeschooler because I have kids whose strong areas and weak areas were so far apart, I couldn’t expect any teacher to meet their needs in a class of 30. 
 

My oldest has Autism. The last time she was tested, the psychologist said, ”I would never call her high-functioning.” Without any instruction, she was reading Cat in the Hat type books when she was 2. The week she turned 5, she tested into a private school where she would be doing 1st grade work. They said she tested higher than any kid in the history of the school. They finally gave her the teacher’s manual to read and she had no problems with that either. 
 

But here is the thing, when she was 8, she still couldn’t sit in a chair without falling out of it. 
 

Inspired by those early read aloud books,  she went on to read Homer in the original Greek and win the undergraduate thesis prize at her highly ranked university, but she has nightmares about having to find things at the grocery store. 
 

This is where I find the mommy competitions so silly. One area does not tell the whole story and what I thought was important when my oldest kid was 5 is a whole world away from what I think is important when my oldest kid is 26. 
 

I’m just not sure that the younger moms really want to hear that message. 

[wintermom]

7 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:

Hah, yes, I also want to have a conversation. And frankly, as someone with a Ph.D (although in math, not in the humanities)... no one is really acting like a scholar of those books. Citing people's words is not being a scholar of the work. Critical interpretations of people's work are absolutely acceptable scholarship. 

I just noticed this thread. I don't mean to jump into this particular post, but wanted you to notice my post.

I'm currently doing graduate studies in quantitative methods in Education, with a focus on math education. I've been homeschooling my 4 dc for 16 years, and math was a particular focus. I live in Canada, so my experiences may vary from others on this board. 

I'd love to have discussions about math education, cite some research and critically examine them along with our own personal beliefs and experiences. I don't go to any other threads than chat anymore, though, but let me know when you are starting something and where, and I'll come over.

Edited October 13, 2020 by wintermom

[Not_a_Number]

2 minutes ago, Amy Gen said:

Inspired by those early read aloud books,  she went on to read Homer in the original Greek and win the undergraduate thesis prize at her highly ranked university, but she has nightmares about having to find things at the grocery store. 

I hope you don't mind me asking, but how is she doing now? Does she manage to live independently or no? 

 

3 minutes ago, Amy Gen said:

Before kids, I taught teachers who were getting certified in gifted education. For the most part, they had no idea what gifted ness actually looks like. They preferred to teach academically abled students, so they tended to call those kids gifted when they absolutely were not. 

I have to say, I've seen the opposite issue, too. DD8 is almost certainly gifted, at least as far as I can tell by comparing how easily academics come to her with other kids. However, she's not a particularly antisocial or weird child, and I've found that sometimes gets her intelligence discounted by people who aren't paying attention. 

[TravelingChris]

I have been on these boards since 1999/  My youngest, who was homeschooled through high school, graduated from college 2 springs ago.   Friendship and interesting conversations plus sometimes being able to help somebody is why I keep coming back to the Chat board.  I haven't visited any of the Gen Ed boards except the college one in many years now. 

[Not_a_Number]

2 minutes ago, wintermom said:

I just noticed this thread. I don't mean to jump into this particular post, but wanted you to notice my post.

I'm currently doing graduate studies in quantitative methods in Education, with a focus on math education. I've been homeschooling my 4 dc for 16 years, and math was a particular focus. I live in Canada, so my experiences may vary from others on this board. 

I'd love to have discussions about math education, cite some research and critically examine them along with our own personal beliefs and experiences. I don't go to any other threads than chat anymore, though, but let me know when you are starting something and where, and I'll come over.

I'd love to have a discussion! I've read a smattering of research, although I haven't been super systematic about it. So I'll have much more to report about my own experiences than the research, I think. 

Where in Canada are you? 🙂 I grew up in Toronto. 

[wintermom]

2 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:

I'd love to have a discussion! I've read a smattering of research, although I haven't been super systematic about it. So I'll have much more to report about my own experiences than the research, I think. 

Where in Canada are you? 🙂 I grew up in Toronto. 

I'm in the National Capital region of ON, but I grew up in Alberta. I'm a radical in the fac of ed, that's for sure, but it's pretty good in the math ed area, I have to fly below the radar of some profs, I've learned, and not bring up certain topics. Bring on your radical ideas, and maybe we'll be the same or completely different. 😀

[Not_a_Number]

Just now, wintermom said:

I'm in the National Capital region of ON, but I grew up in Alberta. I'm a radical in the fac of ed, that's for sure, but it's pretty good in the math ed area, I have to fly below the radar of some profs, I've learned, and not bring up certain topics. Bring on your radical ideas, and maybe we'll be the same or completely different. 😀

I think the chance of two radicals agreeing is... low 😉 . But it'll be interesting! Not this week, though... I'm swamped. 

[wintermom]

4 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:

I think the chance of two radicals agreeing is... low 😉 . But it'll be interesting! Not this week, though... I'm swamped. 

I'm in the throws of finishing a paper on math ed now, so next week would be good. 

By the way, I missed what your PhD is in.

Edited October 13, 2020 by wintermom

[Not_a_Number]

11 minutes ago, wintermom said:

I'm in the throws of finishing a paper on math ed now, so next week would be good. 

By the way, I missed what your PhD is in.

Math! 😄 Not education of any sort, just pure math. 

ETA: if you mean more specifically, probability. 

Edited October 13, 2020 by Not_a_Number

[wintermom]

4 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:

Math! 😄 Not education of any sort, just pure math. 

ETA: if you mean more specifically, probability. 

That's awesome!! My dh is a math geek and stats are his love. The probability that we have a lot in common is getting stronger. 😉

[stephanier.1765]

15 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

I came to the boards about 18 years ago. My children are adults now.

Me too. It's been 18 years. My kids are grown and one even has a family of his own but it's still here that has the most interesting conversations, it's here where folks feel like friends, and this is the first place I think of when I want to share something. You guys are my go-to when I need help figuring out an life type of situation. So here is where I hang out.

[Amy Gen]

25 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:

30 minutes ago, Amy Gen said:

 

I hope you don't mind me asking, but how is she doing now? Does she manage to live independently or no? 

She is doing great. She has been really good at finding allies wherever she goes. In May she will earn her Masters in Library Science from one of the best programs in the US. After that, she is taking a gap year to work on PhD applications. She is applying to teach at community colleges during her gap year so she will know if she likes teaching or if she wants to focus just on research. 
 

One of the schools where she is applying is where she attended and was in their very first scholarship cohort. This tickles me, because I once overheard one of her professors introducing her. He said, “This is M. We are all going to be working for her one day.” A passerby said, “Only if she decides to hire you!” I would love for her to work with some of those professors who believed in her when no one else did. 

 

 

[Shoeless]

 

1 hour ago, Not_a_Number said:

Hah, yes, I also want to have a conversation. And frankly, as someone with a Ph.D (although in math, not in the humanities)... no one is really acting like a scholar of those books. Citing people's words is not being a scholar of the work. Critical interpretations of people's work are absolutely acceptable scholarship. 

So what would you call it then? I find some of those threads exhausting because there can be an element of "gotcha!" to them.  I could write "Here's my opinion on XYZ after reading this book by Peter Gray", and there will be someone ready to pounce with "Well, what about this? And this?! AND THIS!! DID YOU EVEN BOTHER TO CONSIDER THE IMPLICATIONS OF XYZ ON ABC?!?!".  Well, no, I hadn't considered that.  I didn't realize I had to?  Maybe I'm shallow because I do not deeply analyze every angle of an education philosophy book before stating my opinion on it.  

ETA: Or maybe I'm just at a point in life where I'm tired of arguing, lol. "You think my opinion is garbage and my writing lacks style? Alright, well you have a nice day, then" is where I'm at these days.         

Edited October 13, 2020 by MissLemon

[Not_a_Number]

4 minutes ago, MissLemon said:

So what would you call it then? I find some of those threads exhausting because there can be an element of "gotcha!" to them.  I could write "Here's my opinion on XYZ after reading this book by Peter Gray", and there will be someone ready to pounce with "Well, what about this? And this?! AND THIS!! DID YOU EVEN BOTHER TO CONSIDER THE IMPLICATIONS OF XYZ ON ABC?!?!".  Well, no, I hadn't considered that.  I didn't realize I had to?  Maybe I'm shallow because I do not deeply analyze every angle of an education philosophy book before stating my opinion on it.  

Well, I don't know the specifics, but sometimes a lot of the pushback seems to be because people are loyal to the authors. 

[Shoeless]

@Not_a_Number No specifics in mind.  Peter Gray is just an example I threw out there. 

Like, I could put out there "I like eggs" and share an egg recipe, and there is probably someone who has really strong opinions about whether liking eggs is a good or bad thing, and have I considered the impact of industrial egg production and how it intersects with the needs of inner city school lunch programs and what about the kids with high cholesterol, huh?!  

And no, I haven't considered any of that. I just thought I'd share a recipe about eggs and maybe other egg enthusiasts could share their recipes for egg dishes? 

 

(This is the part where someone chimes in that my egg analogy doesn't exactly work because "Reasons" and I say "Ok, well, you have a nice day then..."). 

[Not_a_Number]

4 minutes ago, MissLemon said:

@Not_a_Number No specifics in mind.  Peter Gray is just an example I threw out there. 

Like, I could put out there "I like eggs" and share an egg recipe, and there is probably someone who has really strong opinions about whether liking eggs is a good or bad thing, and have I considered the impact of industrial egg production and how it intersects with the needs of inner city school lunch programs and what about the kids with high cholesterol, huh?!  

And no, I haven't considered any of that. I just thought I'd share a recipe about eggs and maybe other egg enthusiasts could share their recipes for egg dishes? 

 

(This is the part where someone chimes in that my egg analogy doesn't exactly work because "Reasons" and I say "Ok, well, you have a nice day then..."). 

Hahahaha, well, I don't know if I'm one of the people nitpicking you to death, but I suppose I do tend to offer "controversial" opinions fairly often. But then I like vigorous debate 😄 . 

I guess when I enter an "educational philosophy" type of thread, I expect a variety of points of view to be acceptable, as long as everyone is respectful 🙂 . (And I do put a high value on civility.) 

[Shoeless]

Just now, Not_a_Number said:

Hahahaha, well, I don't know if I'm one of the people nitpicking you to death, but I suppose I do tend to offer "controversial" opinions fairly often. But then I like vigorous debate 😄 . 

I guess when I enter an "educational philosophy" type of thread, I expect a variety of points of view to be acceptable, as long as everyone is respectful 🙂 . (And I do put a high value on civility.) 

Ha, no, I don't feel nitpicked by you. Even if you are nitpicking me, I don't take it personally.  I feel like I "know" you well enough now that we'd probably be friends in real life if we were closer.  It's all good. It's more of a general vibe. 

 

[Not_a_Number]

5 minutes ago, MissLemon said:

Ha, no, I don't feel nitpicked by you. Even if you are nitpicking me, I don't take it personally.  I feel like I "know" you well enough now that we'd probably be friends in real life if we were closer.  It's all good. It's more of a general vibe. 

Yeah, I know what you mean. 

[Junie]

2 hours ago, Not_a_Number said:

Those are all awesome, though! Frog and Toad is the best. The only problem with Frog and Toad is that we read it so much to the kids before they can read that they can recite it without actually sounding a thing out, lol. 

Yes! (I love Frog and Toad.)

I actually kept several books in reserve for my beginning readers.  These books were never to be read aloud in the house (unless the current beginning reader was reading to me).  This really helped to avoid the problem of memorizing the books.

I was also very careful in my language.  If a child who was not yet reading was saying words while looking at a book, I did not call it reading.  I called it telling a story.  I know that most people don't make that distinction, but it was important to me not to call something less than reading as "reading".

[Not_a_Number]

3 minutes ago, Junie said:

Yes! (I love Frog and Toad.)

I actually kept several books in reserve for my beginning readers.  These books were never to be read aloud in the house (unless the current beginning reader was reading to me).  This really helped to avoid the problem of memorizing the books.

We have a LOT of books, so somehow we've always managed without putting any on reserve. But with both my kids, we'd get to the early reader stage and I'd go "Aw, shucks, they've memorized this lovely Frog and Toad collection already!" 

We have others, though! And they are less good, so they wouldn't be memorized yet 😉 . 

 

Quote

I was also very careful in my language.  If a child who was not yet reading was saying words while looking at a book, I did not call it reading.  I called it telling a story.  I know that most people don't make that distinction, but it was important to me not to call something less than reading as "reading".

Yeah, I try to be careful about that!! DD4 has kind of tested me on that, though, lol, because she's SO good at backfilling via context. She's somewhat weak on phonics but excels on filling in via "sounding right," so it turned out to be absolutely impossible to figure out which words she can actually read without doing nonsense words. Like, literally, DH was running through 100 Easy Lessons with her and didn't notice that she couldn't tell b's and d's apart. And I mean, at all. Without context, her hit rate was precisely 50%. 

I've been doing a LOT of nonsense words for her ever since. They are essential for her. 

Edited October 13, 2020 by Not_a_Number

[Rosie_0801]

1 hour ago, Amy Gen said:

I’m just not sure that the younger moms really want to hear that message. 

Oh, I did. The high school boards were a great comfort to me when my people were small. It taught me that it didn't matter how quirky my kids turned out to be, there'd be someone who'd btdt with quirkiness beyond my imagination.

[Amy Gen]

1 minute ago, Rosie_0801 said:

Oh, I did. The high school boards were a great comfort to me when my people were small. I knew that it didn't matter how quirky my kids turned out to be, there'd be someone who'd btdt with quirkiness beyond my imagination.

I did too. 
 

Upon further introspection, I think I’m projecting. 
 

What I should have said is that my younger self wasn’t ready for that message. 
 

 

[Rosie_0801]

Just now, Amy Gen said:

What I should have said is that my younger self wasn’t ready for that message. 

Thank goodness we're allowed to grow up, eh? 😂

[Not_a_Number]

Just now, Ordinary Shoes said:

For example, I go back and forth in my own mind about how to teach grammar and I sometimes consider starting a thread to talk about it. But I know that's a BTDT topic for so many people here. 

Yeah, but then again, it's not for other people who are still figuring it out 🙂 . I'd like to read that thread, and I'm sure I'd contribute in my inimitable "We've never done grammar, but hey, I have an opinion anyway!" way 😉 

[Lady Florida.]

2 hours ago, TravelingChris said:

I have been on these boards since 1999/  My youngest, who was homeschooled through high school, graduated from college 2 springs ago.   Friendship and interesting conversations plus sometimes being able to help somebody is why I keep coming back to the Chat board.  I haven't visited any of the Gen Ed boards except the college one in many years now. 

I came along not long after you - sometime in the early 2000s. At that time it was common to create your own curriculum. Though most of us used math programs, it was normal to put together your own history, literature, even reading program. The veterans on the education boards were so helpful and I thought that someday I'd be one of those veterans helping new homeschoolers. But then homeschooling changed and the advice I'd have given in say 2009, isn't relevant in 2020. It wasn't even relevant in 2015. I gradually left the ed boards once I no longer needed the help and couldn't offer help of my own, and started just hanging out on the chat board. In the beginning I spent most of my time on the ed boards with only an occasional visit here. Now this is the only board I read and post in. 

[Shoeless]

6 minutes ago, Ordinary Shoes said:

I think I know what you mean about the "gotcha!" element. It's happened to me and I know I've done it to other people. I think for me, I just feel on edge on those forums. Is my question stupid? Is my point stupid? KWIM? I feel defensive and I'm sure that I'm not the only one. I think that defensiveness leads to the "gotchas!" 

Honestly, I think the education boards here are pretty welcoming now compared to what they were like when I joined about 6 years ago. I had a few people smack me down hard when I was brand new here. 

I also sometimes feel like anything I might ask has already been asked 10 times before so it's a waste of everyone's time. For example, I go back and forth in my own mind about how to teach grammar and I sometimes consider starting a thread to talk about it. But I know that's a BTDT topic for so many people here. 

 

 

It's not a waste for the people that are newer, though.  If the veterans feel very "been there, done that" on a topic they can simply not participate. I do find it off-putting when veteran homeschoolers say "That's been covered so many times; use the search feature".  I think that shuts down conversation. 

[Not_a_Number]

2 minutes ago, Lady Florida. said:

But then homeschooling changed and the advice I'd have given in say 2009, isn't relevant in 2020.

How come? 

[Not_a_Number]

Just now, MissLemon said:

It's not a waste for the people that are newer, though.  If the veterans feel very "been there, done that" on a topic they can simply not participate. I do find it off-putting when veteran homeschoolers say "That's been covered so many times; use the search feature".  I think that shuts down conversation. 

Yeah, I'm sorry, but while I've read a LOT of old threads, I like talking to people who I "know" well online and whose kids' circumstances I remember. Plus, this is a social outlet. 

[Shoeless]

2 minutes ago, Lady Florida. said:

I came along not long after you - sometime in the early 2000s. At that time it was common to create your own curriculum. Though most of us used math programs, it was normal to put together your own history, literature, even reading program. The veterans on the education boards were so helpful and I thought that someday I'd be one of those veterans helping new homeschoolers. But then homeschooling changed and the advice I'd have given in say 2009, isn't relevant in 2020. It wasn't even relevant in 2015. I gradually left the ed boards once I no longer needed the help and couldn't offer help of my own, and started just hanging out on the chat board. In the beginning I spent most of my time on the ed boards with only an occasional visit here. Now this is the only board I read and post in. 

What do you think has changed since 2009 that would make your advice no longer relevant?