Our homeschooling adventure.

[specsaregood]

specs, you may have mentioned this before but how do you decide the curriculum and how do you teach the choices. Surely you don't know about all the subjects.

We pick them together for the most part.

"Surely you don't know about all the subjects."
--well it is 5th grade, not rocket science. I'm not an expert, but I know enough to find resources and I can learn right beside him. eg: we are both learning piano, and ASL together. He/We chose a curriculum for history (medieval) this year and we are learning that together. The math program he is using is awesome and does most of the teaching/practice work.

I know enough to know what he needs to learn and direct him towards good subjects. And a lot of it is taking his own interests and expanding on them. eg: note-taking that we do every day is him watching a documentary that he chooses (with some guidance) and taking notes. So the subject matter for that changes every day.

 

[hammerhead]

We pick them together for the most part.

"Surely you don't know about all the subjects."
--well it is 5th grade, not rocket science. I'm not an expert, but I know enough to find resources and I can learn right beside him. eg: we are both learning piano, and ASL together. He/We chose a curriculum for history (medieval) this year and we are learning that together. The math program he is using is awesome and does most of the teaching/practice work.

I know enough to know what he needs to learn and direct him towards good subjects. And a lot of it is taking his own interests and expanding on them. eg: note-taking that we do every day is him watching a documentary that he chooses (with some guidance) and taking notes. So the subject matter for that changes every day.

One thing I picked up while taking the construction supervisors classes was that I didn't need to know everything, I only needed to know where to find the answers.

 

[Goldhedge]

because their states/schools DON'T have mask mandates.

but do they wear masks at home school?

skip adding another language for now.

I'd slip in a word as they're learning sign... ex. 'bag', 'bolso' or 'bolsa' (masculine/feminine) in Spanish and whatever 'sign' that is.

You'd be amazed how easy it is for a kid to absorb all that at once.

 

[Goldhedge]

One thing I picked up while taking the construction supervisors classes was that I didn't need to know everything, I only needed to know where to find the answers.

Believe it or not, that's exactly what 4 years of college taught me. Knowing how to do research is the key. If you never went to college and researched and wrote papers on a subject, using a library is sort of a mystery. Not all high schools teach that. College did for me in spades.

These days it's all online and if wikipedia says that G. Edward Griffin is a conspiracy theorist because he exposes how our monetary system was created... it must be factual... never mind that wikipedia is an EDITABLE source.

 

[Fiat Metaler]

There are a lot of pre-packaged curriculum guides that you can get to homeschool. Knowledge of the subject matter should not be a limiting factor. You can learn about these from home school conferences (trade shows with vendors and speakers), message boards and forums, or local support groups and co-ops. Co-ops are more populuar in the middle school years.

As for language instruction, the earlier one starts the better. It can be very advantageous for high school AP credit, college, and a business career. Spanish is a natural choice, but Chinese and Russian are great choices as well, espeicially if you start early enough.

 

[Fiat Metaler]

One I found interesting about homeschooling is that I assumed everyone did it for the same reasons my wife and I did; that could not be further from the truth.

We were part of a Christian homeschooling support group. There were a few families doing it to better emphasize Christian education. Several who could not afford private school. Some did it because the wife wanted somethign to do other than get a job. One family, the husband was a homebuilder, they had built a nice home in an up and coming area of the city only to realize it was zoned for the "wrong" elementary school, and they were homeschooling so their kids wouldn't have to go to school with Mexicans. Some do it because they realize their kid has a learning disability. Not making any of this up. If you go to the home school conferences, you meet an even broader group of people, including a lot of people who are semi-Amish and make their own clothes, etc. I say semi-Amish to mean the level of intensity to which they have dropped out of mainstream society.

Another odd experience we had is Wiccans. Our son was interested in chess and there was a home school co-op in the next county over (in the more rural direction). My wife made friends with many of the parents and she liked the fact that several of them raised their own livestock and had real milk and grass fed beef and butter to sell/barter. Later she found out that most of them practiced Wicca.

 

[specsaregood]

You know your kid is growing up libertarian when you assign him a creative writing project about halloween and in the first paragraph your kid mentions having to pay taxes.

 

[hammerhead]

You know your kid is growing up libertarian when you assign him a creative writing project about halloween and in the first paragraph your kid mentions having to pay taxes.

Teeky should get out of bed and get a job.

 

[specsaregood]

Teeky should get out of bed and get a job.

Hah, that is in the next paragraphs. :)

 

[Fiat Metaler]

You know your kid is growing up libertarian when you assign him a creative writing project about halloween and in the first paragraph your kid mentions having to pay taxes.

Proverbs 22:6

 

[specsaregood]

As I think I've mentioned, one good thing about mask mandates is that its getting an increasing number of people homeschooling.
Where no homeschool group existed just last year, this year is now a group with over 100 families in our general area.
Got a mask-free playtime meetup to attend tomorrow full of homeschoolers.

 

[Fiat Metaler]

I heard someone say the number of homeschoolers has doubled to 5 million

 

[specsaregood]

Kid finished "The neverending story" and proceeded to make an obvious dad joke about it ending. We watched the movie afterwards and he said, "the book was better." It always is. He learned about Hemingway a couple weeks back and has asked to read "The Old Man and the Sea" next, so that should be interesting.

Starting watching an "Art History" class on youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUx6ByGW00PwEXwJqqkYv77PtDrEijebL

And ordered up a bunch of broken pieces to make a mosaic in the style of Byzantine art. Gonna make one myself while we are at it.

 

[Avalon]

Kid finished "The neverending story" and proceeded to make an obvious dad joke about it ending. We watched the movie afterwards and he said, "the book was better." It always is. He learned about Hemingway a couple weeks back and has asked to read "The Old Man and the Sea" next, so that should be interesting.

Starting watching an "Art History" class on youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUx6ByGW00PwEXwJqqkYv77PtDrEijebL

And ordered up a bunch of broken pieces to make a mosaic in the style of Byzantine art. Gonna make one myself while we are at it.

Specs can you suggest a good homeschool system? We will be pulling the granddaughter is things go farther with requiring the vax. She is in fourth grade and up to par except on math. She is a full grade behind in math.

 

[specsaregood]

Specs can you suggest a good homeschool system? We will be pulling the granddaughter is things go farther with requiring the vax. She is in fourth grade and up to par except on math. She is a full grade behind in math.

I make it up as I go mostly.
The only 2 things I have used that were a set curriculum are:
Math:

Beast Academy | Advanced Math Curriculum for Elementary School

Beast Academy is advanced math curriculum for your child at home. Choose books, online, or both to advance gifted kids in grades 1 to 5.

beastacademy.com

And it is hard, but awesome.

And for history this year we are going through medieval history of curiosity chronicles.

Medieval History | Curiosity Chronicles

www.curiositychronicles.org

But there are a lot of complete sets of curriculum out there, I just don't know much about them as I like being flexible and tailoring it to my kid. Also the requirements in our state are the loosest in the nation, so I don't need to jump through the hoops homeschoolers in other states have to.

 

[Avalon]

I make it up as I go mostly.
The only 2 things I have used that were a set curriculum are:
Math:

Beast Academy | Advanced Math Curriculum for Elementary School

Beast Academy is advanced math curriculum for your child at home. Choose books, online, or both to advance gifted kids in grades 1 to 5.

beastacademy.com

And it is hard, but awesome.

And for history this year we are going through medieval history of curiosity chronicles.

Medieval History | Curiosity Chronicles

www.curiositychronicles.org

But there are a lot of complete sets of curriculum out there, I just don't know much about them as I like being flexible and tailoring it to my kid. Also the requirements in our state are the loosest in the nation, so I don't need to jump through the hoops homeschoolers in other states have to.

My worry is when parents start to mass withdraw their kids form public school our Troll of a governor will come after home schoolers. There has been thousands of kids taken out of Wake County schools already over critical race theory and masks. When vaccine requirements start it will be a mass exodus. I'm sure the government will feel the need to punish homeschoolers. Once again you are giving your child a wonderful gift . The garbage in the school system is increasing every year.

 

[specsaregood]

Our swim club had a stargazing party this past weekend, with a couple members bringing some really nice big telescopes.
It was a proud experience to listen from afar as my kid took what the knowledgeable adults with the telescopes were saying and then expounded on it with his own set of facts, thoughts, and curiosities to the other kids/adults. A few parents came up to me, wowed by him. I was happy to inform them, that it is all self-taught, I know almost nothing about space and its objects except what he has taught me.

 

[Avalon]

Our swim club had a stargazing party this past weekend, with a couple members bringing some really nice big telescopes.
It was a proud experience to listen from afar as my kid took what the knowledgeable adults with the telescopes were saying and then expounded on it with his own set of facts, thoughts, and curiosities to the other kids/adults. A few parents came up to me, wowed by him. I was happy to inform them, that it is all self-taught, I know almost nothing about space and its objects except what he has taught me.

Its sounds like you a gift for being an educator. I'm hoping when we start looking for home school pods we can find other parents like you.

 

[specsaregood]

My worry is when parents start to mass withdraw their kids form public school our Troll of a governor will come after home schoolers. There has been thousands of kids taken out of Wake County schools already over critical race theory and masks. When vaccine requirements start it will be a mass exodus. I'm sure the government will feel the need to punish homeschoolers. Once again you are giving your child a wonderful gift . The garbage in the school system is increasing every year.

yeah, same worries here and I guarantee you that the Teahers Union in our state is even more powerful/corrupt than yours. homeschoolers here have flown under the radar in the past because they were such a small %. But a lot of parents upset about the masking are claiming that the schools get paid based on the census on Oct. 15th and are pulling their kids with the intention of hurting the budgets based on that date alone. Dunno if it is true, but if they are successful, we are going to see some fireworks.

 

[Avalon]

yeah, same worries here and I guarantee you that the Teahers Union in our state is even more powerful/corrupt than yours. homeschoolers here have flown under the radar in the past because they were such a small %. But a lot of parents upset about the masking are claiming that the schools get paid based on the census on Oct. 15th and are pulling their kids with the intention of hurting the budgets based on that date alone. Dunno if it is true, but if they are successful, we are going to see some fireworks.

its so corrupt it can make you just cry. Yes, they get the funding money if you pull your kid after that date. Did you see my article where School Boards are begging Biden to enact domestic terrorist charges on parent protesting school board meetings? The corruption runs so deep on these school boards. The clean up need to start on a local level with them. Just wait till the vaccine crap starts!!

 

[specsaregood]

its so corrupt it can make you just cry. Yes, they get the funding money if you pull your kid after that date. Did you see my article where School Boards are begging Biden to enact domestic terrorist charges on parent protesting school board meetings? The corruption runs so deep on these school boards. The clean up need to start on a local level with them. Just wait till the vaccine crap starts!!

I did, I think a lot of board members are going to be losing their seats this election. Nobody ever really campaigns for those seats, but the anti-mask people are definitely doing so this year.

 

[Avalon]

I did, I think a lot of board members are going to be losing their seats this election. Nobody ever really campaigns for those seats, but the anti-mask people are definitely doing so this year.

I don't know ? Our school board is trying to have their time extended without election. So many elections are just rigged these days. Are we still pretending we are a democracy. How long till the pretense is dropped?

 

[specsaregood]

I don't know ? Our school board is trying to have their time extended without election. So many elections are just rigged these days. Are we still pretending we are a democracy. How long till the pretense is dropped?

fair enough. I think it is still harder for them to fix small local elections like those though. The big fixes are in the statewide where they can dump illegal ballots in at a few locations.

 

[Fiat Metaler]

If you are worried about your state, consider supporting the Home School Legal Defense fund. Its a legit organization and they publish guides and updates of the various states' laws.

 

[specsaregood]

Kid went on a field trip for home schoolers at a local wildlife refuge this week. A dozen kids his age, outside, mask-free, socializing, learning, and being normal. Compared to the public schoolers on the same day sitting in chairs, muffled, masked, and socially distanced....

Now, which kids are going to grow up better adjusted?

 

[Goldhedge]

Homeschooling with the Trivium​

Christian Classical Homeschooling with a Practical Focus – Resources for Homeschoolers who use the Classical Approach

Homeschooling with the Trivium

 

[Goldhedge]

the schools get paid based on the census on Oct. 15th

I used to work in the schools. It was my impression that 'schooling' really didn't get rolling until after that date.

Ice cream socials and movies were had on the census date to encourage kids to attend.

 

[specsaregood]

Came across this business recently. It seems some guys started a business teaching things that boys used to learn in scouting or similar back in the pre-90s eras.

Might be a business/side-gig idea for some of the old farts around GIM.

Grizzly & Co. – Grizzly & Co. Business Website

At Grizzly & Co., we provide safe, supervised opportunity for adventure. With our years of experience teaching outdoor skills, wilderness survival, axe throwing, and team building activities, we are able to offer a wide array of activities. Students of Grizzly & Co. may practice nature observation one day, fire building another, and team building exercises on yet another day. Each class is based around the needs and interests of our students, with personal growth in mind. Each activity is presented in such a way as to encourage practice, patience, focus, and eventual success! Some of our broader categories include:

Outdoor Skills- This includes such things as shelter building, plant identification, animal tracking, fire building, rope making, lashing and knot-tying, basic wood tools, water purification, first aid, and a host of others.

Throwing Skills- One of our specialties, Grizzly & Co. originally began as a mobile axe throwing range! With ten years of axe throwing experience, older students (11yrs and older) can expect to become skilled at axe throwing, knife throwing, spear throwing, and atlatl use. Younger students will practice rock throwing and stick throwing on our rock range! Finally a safe place to have some rowdy fun!

Team Building- Students will be constantly exposed to challenging situations requiring critical thinking and problem solving skills. While riddles and puzzles will be constant companions, students will also spend time facing our team building elements and rustic group challenges.

Frontier Games- While most of our time will be spent engaging in active learning, plenty of opportunities for students to unwind will be made available. Learn to handle a lasso, roll a log, play a few rounds of "cat and mouse", or challenge each together to a skillet toss. Kick back at a picnic table with some checkers, balance some river rocks, play some story dice, or a round of nine men's Morris.

 

[Fiat Metaler]

What happened to the Boy Scouts is a shame. Sure, I learned fire making and knot tying in the Scouts, and those things are good to know, but the real value was not just learning those skills, but teaching them to others and leading and planning meetings and trips. Responsibility and leadership.

 

[specsaregood]

Kid took part a cool little event this weekend, hosted by the people that do a renaissance festival.

It was "Knight Boot Camp"
The kids had to pass 12 trials to be knighted. Included agility, teamwork, loyalty, archery, spear throwing, axe throwing, sword fighting, spear fighting, even an event to simulate dragging their wounded compatriots off the battlefield.

So of course we are taking that experience and turning into history and creative writing projects today at homeschool.

 

[hammerhead]

Now that's different, and cool.

 

[specsaregood]

Now that's different, and cool.

yeah, it was their first year doing it. It was short notice this year, but we will probably round up some of his friends for next years boot camp. Wish they had such a thing when I was a kid.

 

[Fiat Metaler]

Good time to read Ivanhoe.

There is a great series of abridged classics for younger readers:

After that, maybe The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. Those were some of the first "long" books that I read on my own for pleasure. I can remember tracking them down at the library after reading the Hobbit in the 8th grade.

 

[specsaregood]

You know your kid is growing up libertarian when you assign him a creative writing project about halloween and in the first paragraph your kid mentions having to pay taxes.

And you know your kid might have a future in writing, when the assignment deadline hits and he turns in a 10pg single-spaced novel to put in the Halloween cards. I have some review/editing to do now...

 

[specsaregood]

Vocabulary word of the day: collate

collating, sorting, organizing, aligning, stapling, stuffing, making mailing labels in word. all good real world skills worthy of practice.
Halloween cards/books on their way.

 

[Goldhedge]

Learning IS fun in the right environment!

 

[specsaregood]

The look you give your old coaches after you change teams partly because they put you on their silver squad; then you return for the next meet and crush all their gold squad members, securing 1st.

 

[Fiat Metaler]

stone cold

 

[specsaregood]

It seems to me, that this school district needs to work on their sales pitch.

 

[Someone_else]

"Your children is learning good. With our help, they can do gooder."