Our homeschooling adventure.

[mnmom]

The boy has been helping grandpa rebuild the back axel of his roll off truck. He just finished reassembling the differential and will be finishing up the project today. Real life learning is the best kind.

 

[Goldhedge]

He'll remember that for the rest of his life.....

 

[specsaregood]

Tomorrow we build a display box for his moms 7" record collection for Mother's Day. He already did all the measuring and planning on grid paper today.

Well, he built the box and it turned out nice. We didn't paint or stain it as his mom has plans to decopodge it or something.
He learned a lot in the process, he did all the work, just with dad doing the cutting and helping guide him.

 

[specsaregood]

Inspired/Parody of Subterranean Homesick Blues by Bob Dylan.
Deep Space Blues (Obi-wan, Big Bad Sith Killa)

This was a lot of work, writing, rhyming, audio recording/editing, video editing... We plan to shoot the music video in the next couple weeks.

 

[MrLucky]

Perhaps a naive question but does a home schooled kid get the summer off? I realize that home schooling has a wide definition, but since you are somewhat structured in your program, do you also add "a vacation time" allotment?

 

[specsaregood]

Perhaps a naive question but does a home schooled kid get the summer off? I realize that home schooling has a wide definition, but since you are somewhat structured in your program, do you also add "a vacation time" allotment?

Some people do, some don't. I've always had him to a little work most days during the summer anyways, even when he was in P.S.
He doesn't go to camp like a lot of kids around here (he does swim team instead) so he is home anyways and I have work to do. We usually shoot for about an hour of educational work everyday during the summer. Traditionally, I got a workbook for the grade he was entering and picked a page or 2. 2 summers ago we worked almost entirely on cursive.

 

[specsaregood]

Got the measurements for a new project yesterday, we are going to build a starting block for our pool. those things are damn expensive and everybody I know around my age grew up going off a plywood block with astroturf, you dont see those around anywhere nowadays.

 

[MrLucky]

I figured in "the home school" environment, teaching never stops. Many of us who were "normally" schooled worked in family businesses or had jobs during the summer, so we never stopped learning as well. I was just curious how the concept of "summer vacation" fits into the home school world. In my younger years was shipped of the the ymca day camp for the summer every year, while my mother worked. Hated it, but then mom didn't have to worry about me being on the streets. So I endured it and did learn a few things as well. thanks.

 

[Fiat Metaler]

I had hotel points that were expiring so we went to Paris for a week one summer when my son was 7. My son only speaks English. We went to some Paris playgrounds and he got invited to play soccer twice with some French boys.

We brought a Nerf football to throw around when he was getting rambunctious and needed to blow off some steam.

We went to the Louvre. Handed him the map. "We want to see the Mona Lisa. Take us there."

We bought week long subway passes. I told him we are here on the map, and need to get here. It involves a transfer. Show me how to do it. (I taught him how to figure it out - there are trains going in two directions at any stop, and the train has the name of the last destination on its front. etc. etc.

The hotel had an executive lounge (I was a gold member simply because I had the hotel's credit card) with free drinks. His mother never let him have soda in the U.S. but there it has normal sugar. So we let him indulge. He is extroverted and would work the room, made friends with people from all over the world.

Leaving France, I gave him all of my loose change that I hadn't spent and would not be able to spend in the U.S. He had a ball buying candy and gum in France that is unvailable here.

Other years we went to national parks, cities where relatives lived and visited musuems, went camping, beach, etc.

 

[Goldhedge]

Life is a lesson. Why take 3 months off from learning?

 

[Fiat Metaler]

There are different approaches to homeschooling. One approach is unschooling, where you just use everyday life to teach. That works well in the early years, and what I did in Paris is an example. People who are less confident in their teaching ability feel more secure with a set curriculum and books. That's fine. It does make sense to take short breaks from time to time, but 3 months means you lose all momentum and consistency. Routine and habits can be powerful.

 

[specsaregood]

Now that we are in summer mode, a lot of the homeschooling has become watching swim training videos and reviewing/taking notes and practicing. that and editing his stories to publish on amazon this summer.

Before practice with dad after reviewing training videos at the top. after practice at the bottom.
He has his sights set high for this season.

 

[TAEZZAR]

Specs, I noticed he is doing better without that "line" from his right ankle to the rocks.

 

[Goldbrix]

Specs, I noticed he is doing better without that "line" from his right ankle to the rocks.

He may become the next Johnnie Weissmuller :

 

[hammerhead]

He may become the next Johnnie Weissmuller :

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Until he reaches that status, call him Boy.

 

[Avalon]

He may become the next Johnnie Weissmuller :

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you realize most of these youngsters have no idea who he is

 

[TAEZZAR]

you realize most of these youngsters have no idea who he is

I was just going to ask , "who remembers TARZAN"?
AND who remembers Florence Chadwick ?

 

[specsaregood]

I was just going to ask , "who remembers TARZAN"?
AND who remembers Florence Chadwick ?

I remember tarzan, one of my favorites as a kid. But, i grew up with the tv series, so different actor.

 

[Goldbrix]

you realize most of these youngsters have no idea who he is

Most probably do not know Mark Spitz either. Might remember the photo:

For our female members' memory jog.

 

[specsaregood]

Specs, I noticed he is doing better without that "line" from his right ankle to the rocks.

the thing about the diving is this:
my kid swims year round and every summer he gets good at diving by my tutelage, then winter swim comes and every coach wants to change his dive— primarily pushing the track start. They have about 8 months to work with him on it and the shitshow in the first pic is the result every year before summer (4 years now).

every summer i change his start back to what works FOR HIM (grab start) and correct him in only a couple sessions. Then he goes on to be successful.

the photos are an allegory of sorts showing how the one size fits model doesnt always work and why some kids excel in homeschool.

 

[Goldbrix]

the thing about the diving is this:
my kid swims year round and every summer he gets good at diving by my tutelage, then winter swim comes and every coach wants to change his dive— primarily pushing the track start. They have about 8 months to work with him on it and the shitshow in the first pic is the result every year before summer (4 years now).

every summer i change his start back to what works FOR HIM (grab start) and correct him in only a couple sessions. Then he goes on to be successful.

the photos are an allegory of sorts showing how the one size fits model doesnt always work and why some kids excel in homeschool.

That will be an issue through secondary schooling and into college, COACHES, Coaching what they want or they think the team needs not regarding what is best for the student. Especially when going into college on Free Ride or even partial Athletic Scholarship. The coach has big say in how much financial assistance he gives his student-athletes. ( Been down that road).

 

[specsaregood]

well the kid has finally decided he wants to homeschool again next year. I left it completely up to him, with no input from me other than it being his decision. he got fair amount of pressure from DW and MIL to go to public school; but said, "homeschool is fun." so I guess I must be doing something right.

Anyways, something he edited and cleaned up yesterday. he decided he was "done" with this piece.

Hello! My name is Echo the cat! I am a cute little kitty cat in a nightmare house. At my house I must escape from scary scary dogs! Here are the dogs that harass me: a puppy named Delta and a poop monster named Blue (BooBoo). That poo monster is a nightmare, he pooped on me today, and I had to be washed in the most radioactive, disgusting, venomous, killer acid ever: Water. Here are the days so far in my Diary- “OH GOD IS THAT BOO BO AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!”

Day 1:

I was sleeping when a kid named Slime boy came in and hugged me. I scratched him until he YEETED himself out of the house. It was hilarious until Blue came in and ruined it by peeing in MY Litterbox! Why Boo boo WHY? WHY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You ruined by plan to poop in my litterbox in peace without stepping in dog pee!

Day 2:

I nearly died today! I was having a party, getting revenge on my owner’s mom -- for using the spray bottle on me to keep me off the kitchen counter -- by peeing on her laptop and spilling coffee onto her bed, it was amazing! Until a new puppy called DELTA ARRIVED AND DESTROYED ME. SHE COULD GET IN MY HIDING SPOTS! Then I learned to chase her. Spoiler alert: It was EXTREMELY bad.

Day 3:

You probably have an idea what happened: Blue got me by biting me on the tail and peeing on me. Bad dog! OH NO I SHOULD NOT HAVE SAID THAT NOW HE IS CHASING ME AND GOING TO EAT ME OH NO!

Yeah… 3 hours later I was finished with that bath, it was a relief! AND THEN THE SAME FREAKIN’ THING HAPPENED AGAIN! LIKE COME ON DOGGY POO POO STOP BECAUSE I HAD T- Ok Echo calm down. I FREAKIN’ HATE YOU BOO BOO YOU RUINED MY CHANCE AT GETTING FEESH FOR DINNER LAST NIGHT YOU STUPID IMBISIL!

Day 4:

I woke up and annoyed my favorite boy: D-Rex. I saw his dad was upset; so, I spilled some water on his laptop. The next thing he did is save his laptop and throw me in Blue’s Dog cage. I broke out and then Blue came to Mom’s room and Blue ruined the couch. I then annoyed D-Rex while he was sleeping by meowing in his ear again. Then Slime boy came again and made me face water in a bathtub. He said I need to face my fears. I was crying and then Delta came in. Delta hates baths but likes fighting with me. Now combine the 2 and we get a monster. Delta dunked me and I hopped and scratched Delta a bit. Then she bonked me 600 times on the tail. I scratched her and I hid because Blue got in. Delta screamed so loud. Blue stepped on me. I struggled to climb out of the bathtub, but the door was locked. Then the 2nd owner put me back into the tub and got rid of Blue but put a gate there, so I couldn’t get out. Delta and I played but I escaped, leaving Delta alone. Then, it was bedtime. I sat on D-Rex and slept and annoyed him a bit before sleeping. That was a crazy day.

Day 5:

D-Rex has been creating Models of the stuff inside this thing called the “Universe”. I wonder what that is? Is it A FREE FEESH GIVER? I hope so!

“Delta? Wanna pla- NO PLEASE NO! NOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” I spoke.

Delta jumped on me repeatedly.

Maybe I was wrong about this house. This family is loving and caring. Maybe I won't be bad so often. JUST KIDDING THEY ARE STILL NIGHTMARES IN MY HOME! But I won’t be bad (so I don’t get sprayed with water again!).

 

[Avalon]

well the kid has finally decided he wants to homeschool again next year. I left it completely up to him, with no input from me other than it being his decision. he got fair amount of pressure from DW and MIL to go to public school; but said, "homeschool is fun." so I guess I must be doing something right.

Anyways, something he edited and cleaned up yesterday. he decided he was "done" with this piece.

schools are like a land mind for kids today. We try and keep my 10 yr granddaughter as sheltered as possible but the outside world is invading.

 

[Goldbrix]

TV Tarzan Ron Ely:

 

[Avalon]

TV Tarzan Ron Ely:


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Nope, Johnny will always be Tarzan :)

 

[vichris]

schools are like a land mind for kids today.

.

Especially for boys. My daughter was a public school teacher in TX. Things were so bad for my grandson she pulled him from public school and home schooled him. Both she and her husband were there to help him throughout the whole process. He graduated last year and is doing great. Kids got his head on straight and is very self motivated.

.

 

[Goldhedge]

he got fair amount of pressure from DW and MIL to go to public school;

Might want to get a syllabus of what is being taught in public school for them to peruse. From what I've seen... CRT and how to put condoms on bananas are all the ticket these days. There's also Common Core nowledge to figure out...

 

[Avalon]

Might want to get a syllabus of what is being taught in public school for them to peruse. From what I've seen... CRT and how to put condoms on bananas are all the ticket these days. There's also Common Core nowledge to figure out...

yup CRT, common core and you son may come home and ask you if he is a pansexual.

 

[specsaregood]

Well the kid is less than half a second off qualifying for the summer champs in backstroke. so what is a dad to do? Install some backstroke flags to get some extra finish practicing in...

 

[specsaregood]

And we finally got his start consistently good for his favorite stroke (fly) back to where it was 2 years ago before everything got shutdown.
He is looking forward to defending his medal at champs.

 

[Goldbrix]

And we finally got his start consistently good for his favorite stroke (fly) back to where it was 2 years ago before everything got shutdown.
He is looking forward to defending his medal at champs.

Tell him to reach out further so as to not go down as deep into the water. There are mili-seconds there to save which may win by a touch. Looks good form from there. "Go KID!!!"

 

[specsaregood]

Tell him to reach out further so as to not go down as deep into the water. There are mili-seconds there to save which may win by a touch. Looks good form from there. "Go KID!!!"

Yeah. He is using the grab start which has a tendency to have you go a bit deeper; but staying in the air longer, its a huge improvement from where he started this summer. And fortunately he has a really good underwater game when he wants it. milliseconds... he knows all about those, missed out on gold by those last time around.

 

[specsaregood]

Well the kid crushed the qualifying time for fly in champs and is only a few tenths off the back qualifying time. he has one more shot at it this weekend. I told DW it was her turn since she was a backstroke champion and I was a fly champion. He is letting hitting the lane lines and going straight cost him time.... so I declare the specs' summer olympics training center complete with the addition of homemade line lines:

 

[Fiat Metaler]

My homeschooled son just passed another AP class. He'll enter a prestigious state university this fall with an academic scholarship and 25 college credits earned through AP and dual enrollment. He'll probably do summer school next year and will graduate college in 3 years.

Dual enrollment is the way to go if your state offers it. You attend college classes in lieu of high school. In my state, the credits are guaranteed to transfer, in some states it might depend where you do your DE. In my state its free, including books.

DE > AP because the classes are taught in college, you are guaranteed credit if you pass, the teachers are more chill. For example, my son got a passing grade on Art History, but his score was only a 3 and the college he is going to gives credit for art history for scores of 4 or 5. AP credit boils down to a single exam that is mostly essay. Only reason to take AP is if you are applying to Ivy League or similarly snooty schools who look down on taking classes that might have been taught at a community college.

He has a friend who is a rising junior in high school. That kid is going to do dual enrollment full time in lieu of high school. He'll take 4 courses per semester, so 8 his junior year and 8 senior year for a total of 16, or 48 college credits. Here you can do 5 courses max so theoretically he could do 60 credits and graduate high school as a college junior.

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[Goldhedge]

My homeschooled son just passed another AP class. He'll enter a prestigious state university this fall with an academic scholarship and 25 college credits earned through AP and dual enrollment.

Hopefully he's majoring in something better than 'gender studies'....

I'd hate to see the college turn him into a Marxist ideology after all the work you guys put in....

Have some (several) friends with a solid Christian background who sent their children to be 'educated' and they came back leftists....

 

[mtnman]

I have a friend who is home schooling his three kids. When he first told me that they were going to home school I told him "you can always tell the home schooled kids" he said "HOW, WHAT DO YOU SEE!" I said "they are always the polite, smart ones".

 

[Goldhedge]

I have a friend who is home schooling his three kids. When he first told me that they were going to home school I told him "you can always tell the home schooled kids" he said "HOW, WHAT DO YOU SEE!" I said "they are always the polite, smart ones".

Yep! My experience too. They're young adults...

 

[specsaregood]

My homeschooled son just passed another AP class. He'll enter a prestigious state university this fall with an academic scholarship and 25 college credits earned through AP and dual enrollment. He'll probably do summer school next year and will graduate college in 3 years.

Dual enrollment is the way to go if your state offers it. You attend college classes in lieu of high school. In my state, the credits are guaranteed to transfer, in some states it might depend where you do your DE. In my state its free, including books.

yep, i did duel enrollment in high school my junior and senior years. best decision I made, half days at the high school and had a bunch of college credits when I graduated. It is something we've been talking about even if off into the future quite a bit for us still.

 

[dozer99]

We home schooled our Son (now a senior in college) and are currently home schooling our 9 yo Daughter.

This last year we started a home school group of like minded parents and kids. We meet once a week so the kids can play and have some social time. It gives us the chance to exchange ideas and fine tune our chaotic home school lives. The wife came up with a summer reading contest for the kids, and we also have some field trips planned to help with science and nature learning.

 

[Fiat Metaler]

So my son is 18 and headed off to college. He'll major in business, get a degree as a backup plan but his future is owning his own business.

Hopefully I've instilled an interest in life-long learning. I've given him a few books to read, would appreaciate further suggestions.

Altucher, Choose Yourself.
Who Moved My Cheese
Cialdini, Influence
Voss, Never Split the Difference
Adams, How to Fail At Almost Everything and Still Win Big