Today, I was in the middle of helping my son learn to spell "independence," and he broke down in frustration. He said, "I can't do it!" and literally flipped out.
He's been very frustrated with his brother lately. His brother has developmental delays, medical issues and special needs. He sometimes has trouble expressing what is on his mind, so he will scream in frustration. He loves taunting my homeschooled son, calling him names he doesn't understand. I send him to his room. My homeschooled son simmers with fury.
So today we talked about emotions and choices under the heading of "Life Skills." I bought him a binder and instructed him to decorate it any way he wishes. The name of the binder will be something like, "My feelings and choices book." His job is to learn to identify his feelings, give them a name, and stop and think about the choices available to him.
We talked about applied behavioral analysis as it applies to his brother. We discussed the things that motivate his behavior, and how he will do just about anything for attention, even negative attention. The way to motivate him is to pay attention. Paying attention to unwanted behavior simply reinforces it. He's starting to catch on.
Somewhere online another mother described a tool that she uses to keep track of her child's schooling. I found a columnar pad with five numbered vertical columns and 40 lines per page. I used 17 lines for entries of areas that I think he should study. It's a lot of areas of study, and we can't possibly cover them all every day. They are:
voice
acting practice
math
science
grammar
vocabulary
spelling
reading comprehension
geography
social studies
life skills
foreign language
music theory
guitar
spirituality
With a little effort, I'm sure we could come up with a lot more. For example, history.
Some of these topics could be addressed in minutes per day. Ten minutes on little bites of grammar, a quick twenty minutes with Sequential Spelling. It only takes 10 minutes a day to fill five rice bowls doing vocabulary words.
Today, apart from helping my son learn to identify and manage his feelings, I'm taking a "staff development day," where I'm working on an itinerary of a road trip to see the historical sites in our state. Should be fun!
(edited to omit the extra science entry on the list.)
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Nevada Virtual Academy
Edit to the original post: I talked to some moms who homeschool using NVA, and they say that they are quite flexible, and they just have to have clear guidelines because "some parents will take a mile." So, it's under consideration again.
Our state offers a scholarship that is only awarded to students who graduate from an accredited public or private high school in our state. Additionally they must attend accredited state high schools for two years. There are additional requirements for credits earned and grade point average.
Every bit helps, so I decided to look into one of the online charter schools to find out how a state funded charter school for homeschooling might work for us. The school I contacted is Nevada Virtual Academy.
Here are is a description of the program for middle school children:
All materials, curricula and tuition are provided and paid for by our state. Middle school aged children may be issued a computer for home use if they need one, but it must be returned at the end of the year. The total amount of time spent doing schoolwork is about 25 to 30 hours per school week. About thirty percent of the work is performed online, connected to the school. Out of that time spent online, three one-hour sessions are scheduled with a teacher. These live sessions are called Class Connect. The other 70% of time is spent working with workbooks, manipulatives and textbooks which are sent in the mail.
Students may access their schoolwork online 7 days per week, 24 hours per day, so there is some flexibility for scheduling online work. They are required to at least log in each school day. However, attendance at the three weekly scheduled live Class Connect sessions is required. Occasionally if a child must miss a Class Connect session, they can arrange to view a recorded session, however live participation is preferred.
In order to get the scholarship, graduation and attendance at an accredited Nevada school is most important for high school, so I asked about that. It's the same except they require 5 live scheduled Class Connect sessions each week instead of three, and they issue laptops to the kids instead of computers, so they can log in anywhere that there is an internet connection.
It sounds like a great program. The only disadvantages I can think of are:
1. Students are required to participate on the same schedule as 9-month students in other schools. Apparently this is a legal issue. This may not be an problem for some people, but for us one of the refreshing things about homeschooling is that we can decide when we want to take a vacation or some spontaneous down time, and we can also work through traditional school holidays if we prefer. For example, typically during month of November the kids are out on holiday for Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving, day after Thanksgiving and extra days they add for staff development. It starts to feel like they are out of school more than in, and for what? I prefer it when I can schedule my own staff development days, when I want to take them!
2. We don't get to choose the curriculum. If it bores him, if we prefer something else, it's too bad. Choice is a wonderful thing, especially in the world of homeschool curriculum.
3. Right now we love having total weekly scheduling freedom. The three weekly scheduled live sessions would be tough to fit in, especially considering how busy I am with his brother.
When he is older and working more independently, this program might work for him.
Our state offers a scholarship that is only awarded to students who graduate from an accredited public or private high school in our state. Additionally they must attend accredited state high schools for two years. There are additional requirements for credits earned and grade point average.
Every bit helps, so I decided to look into one of the online charter schools to find out how a state funded charter school for homeschooling might work for us. The school I contacted is Nevada Virtual Academy.
Here are is a description of the program for middle school children:
All materials, curricula and tuition are provided and paid for by our state. Middle school aged children may be issued a computer for home use if they need one, but it must be returned at the end of the year. The total amount of time spent doing schoolwork is about 25 to 30 hours per school week. About thirty percent of the work is performed online, connected to the school. Out of that time spent online, three one-hour sessions are scheduled with a teacher. These live sessions are called Class Connect. The other 70% of time is spent working with workbooks, manipulatives and textbooks which are sent in the mail.
Students may access their schoolwork online 7 days per week, 24 hours per day, so there is some flexibility for scheduling online work. They are required to at least log in each school day. However, attendance at the three weekly scheduled live Class Connect sessions is required. Occasionally if a child must miss a Class Connect session, they can arrange to view a recorded session, however live participation is preferred.
In order to get the scholarship, graduation and attendance at an accredited Nevada school is most important for high school, so I asked about that. It's the same except they require 5 live scheduled Class Connect sessions each week instead of three, and they issue laptops to the kids instead of computers, so they can log in anywhere that there is an internet connection.
It sounds like a great program. The only disadvantages I can think of are:
1. Students are required to participate on the same schedule as 9-month students in other schools. Apparently this is a legal issue. This may not be an problem for some people, but for us one of the refreshing things about homeschooling is that we can decide when we want to take a vacation or some spontaneous down time, and we can also work through traditional school holidays if we prefer. For example, typically during month of November the kids are out on holiday for Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving, day after Thanksgiving and extra days they add for staff development. It starts to feel like they are out of school more than in, and for what? I prefer it when I can schedule my own staff development days, when I want to take them!
2. We don't get to choose the curriculum. If it bores him, if we prefer something else, it's too bad. Choice is a wonderful thing, especially in the world of homeschool curriculum.
3. Right now we love having total weekly scheduling freedom. The three weekly scheduled live sessions would be tough to fit in, especially considering how busy I am with his brother.
When he is older and working more independently, this program might work for him.
Friday, June 8, 2012
Gantt Chart
Last night we watched the documentary The War On Kids on Netflix. It has been criticized as irresponsible, showing only the worst of the public school system and not the best of it, and failing to offer any hope or solutions. I'm sure the filmmakers would say that they did exactly what they set out to do. My answer to the critics is if you don't believe that this is a real problem, spend a day volunteering in one of the schools that serve stressed populations. I have, and all I could think of was what these children's parents might do if they could see what was really going on in their child's school. And if you don't care because your child is in one of the better schools, consider that your offspring will one day be one of the adults who will have to deal with the problems left behind by our generation. One thing I did learn about was the direct link between mass shootings at schools and drugs prescribed for conditions like depression and ADD. Additionally, increased security in schools does absolutely nothing but make the parents feel better. I did not know that. Anyway, I highly recommend watching the documentary and forming your own opinion. There are ways to get involved, such as organizations to join for youth rights.
My son was public schooled until 11 1/2 years old, and since taking him out of school, he comes downstairs nearly every morning, sits down next to me at the computer where I am checking emails and reading the news, and waits for me to begin teaching him.
One of my goals is to help him learn to set his own goals and manage his own time. We started by writing daily "to do" lists. From there we found different schedule templates for him to try, where he decides what he will work on and when. He's had some success with that, so today we tried something a bit more advanced. I showed him this Gantt chart, and then we created a simplified model of the chart in the illustration. The timeline across the top was in 1/2 hour increments instead of weeks. The summary elements were chores, schoolwork, and self care. The project name is, "A Successful Day."
I told him that one day I hope to see him write out his own ten-year plan. Where does he want to be in ten years? Five years? What does he need to accomplish year by year to get there? Where does he need to be one year from now? What does he need to get done this month, this week?
I said, "When you write out your daily schedule, how do you figure out what to write down?"
He replies, "You tell me what to write down."
"What if there was no one to tell you what to write down?"
(silence)
I said, "You'll be twenty two years of age in ten years, where do you want to be?" He says, "In ten years, I want to be working at Disneyland."
"Okay, so when you are done with your exercises, let's take a look at what Disneyland looks for in their employees."
It's a process.
My son was public schooled until 11 1/2 years old, and since taking him out of school, he comes downstairs nearly every morning, sits down next to me at the computer where I am checking emails and reading the news, and waits for me to begin teaching him.
One of my goals is to help him learn to set his own goals and manage his own time. We started by writing daily "to do" lists. From there we found different schedule templates for him to try, where he decides what he will work on and when. He's had some success with that, so today we tried something a bit more advanced. I showed him this Gantt chart, and then we created a simplified model of the chart in the illustration. The timeline across the top was in 1/2 hour increments instead of weeks. The summary elements were chores, schoolwork, and self care. The project name is, "A Successful Day."
I told him that one day I hope to see him write out his own ten-year plan. Where does he want to be in ten years? Five years? What does he need to accomplish year by year to get there? Where does he need to be one year from now? What does he need to get done this month, this week?
I said, "When you write out your daily schedule, how do you figure out what to write down?"
He replies, "You tell me what to write down."
"What if there was no one to tell you what to write down?"
(silence)
I said, "You'll be twenty two years of age in ten years, where do you want to be?" He says, "In ten years, I want to be working at Disneyland."
"Okay, so when you are done with your exercises, let's take a look at what Disneyland looks for in their employees."
It's a process.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
History At Our House
Last Friday we attended a picnic with my non-homeschooled son's class. My husband and I just made some pretty major dietary changes, but one of our agreements is that we can eat whatever is being served whenever we are invited anywhere. So, I ate a hamburger and then tried to be a helpful parent in 104 degrees for two hours. Even thought I drank a lot of water, I got sick anyway, and spent the rest of the day with a bad blinding headache with nausea. At one point I couldn't see - everything had a gray film over it. It was probably mild case of heat exhaustion. I'm perfectly fine now. We haven't done much homeschooling since that day, and it's been almost a week. I think I needed a break anyway.
Over the weekend we were busy, so we made some half-hearted attempts at staying with the homeschool program, but we mostly failed. This week I've been focused on other areas in our life, so we took Monday and Tuesday off. On Monday, my son and I prepared a gourmet feast together, so I guess that was sort of an educational experience. Yesterday, Wednesday, we got into the core subjects but not with our usual enthusiasm. Today was a bit better. It's the last day of the school year for our public-schooled son, and the excitement has taken over our day. But it's all good. We do not have to work five days each week, we do not have to work seven days. We do not have to take the summer off. We do not have to start on time in the fall. We can stop to rest whenever we need to. It's a mantra I keep repeating - there is no such thing as "you are doing it wrong." We are coasting for now, but we'll get back into it again.
Today we checked out History At Our House.
It might be a way to make sure we take care of history lessons. Classes start in the fall and it's definitely under consideration.
Khan Academy continues to work well for math. Sequential Spelling is working well, and so are the Comprehensive Curriculum and Scholastic workbooks.
We still use Time's Light Box each week for a current events/social studies exercise. They offer a weekly slideshow that show much of what is going on in the world. We sit at the computer with a globe, finding the locations where the photos are taken.
Science remains a bit sticky. I haven't done a thing to develop the unit studies that I'd like to, (science, state history and government, and art,) and often we watch a documentary for science. I know that isn't enough. At some point he's going to need to hit the books and do labs and experiments.
Art is on hold for now too. Tuesday we went to an art exhibit - it was all of the artwork done by the kids who took the classes offered by the library during spring break. My son had a piece hanging on the wall. I may take him to some other art exhibits, but first he needs to learn how to appreciate art.
Sometimes seems like for every amazing, terrific, triumphant day of homeschooling we have one terrible day and a bunch of okay days. I'm sure I'm exaggerating but regardless of what it is, that one terrific day makes the rest worth it. It is getting easier.
Over the weekend we were busy, so we made some half-hearted attempts at staying with the homeschool program, but we mostly failed. This week I've been focused on other areas in our life, so we took Monday and Tuesday off. On Monday, my son and I prepared a gourmet feast together, so I guess that was sort of an educational experience. Yesterday, Wednesday, we got into the core subjects but not with our usual enthusiasm. Today was a bit better. It's the last day of the school year for our public-schooled son, and the excitement has taken over our day. But it's all good. We do not have to work five days each week, we do not have to work seven days. We do not have to take the summer off. We do not have to start on time in the fall. We can stop to rest whenever we need to. It's a mantra I keep repeating - there is no such thing as "you are doing it wrong." We are coasting for now, but we'll get back into it again.
Today we checked out History At Our House.
It might be a way to make sure we take care of history lessons. Classes start in the fall and it's definitely under consideration.
Khan Academy continues to work well for math. Sequential Spelling is working well, and so are the Comprehensive Curriculum and Scholastic workbooks.
We still use Time's Light Box each week for a current events/social studies exercise. They offer a weekly slideshow that show much of what is going on in the world. We sit at the computer with a globe, finding the locations where the photos are taken.
Science remains a bit sticky. I haven't done a thing to develop the unit studies that I'd like to, (science, state history and government, and art,) and often we watch a documentary for science. I know that isn't enough. At some point he's going to need to hit the books and do labs and experiments.
Art is on hold for now too. Tuesday we went to an art exhibit - it was all of the artwork done by the kids who took the classes offered by the library during spring break. My son had a piece hanging on the wall. I may take him to some other art exhibits, but first he needs to learn how to appreciate art.
Sometimes seems like for every amazing, terrific, triumphant day of homeschooling we have one terrible day and a bunch of okay days. I'm sure I'm exaggerating but regardless of what it is, that one terrific day makes the rest worth it. It is getting easier.
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