Home-schooling resource help
Ok, I am convinced I need to home-school my children. My daughters teacher said to me yesterday, "I am no doctor and can not diagnose children, but your daughter (8 yrs old) shows signs of ADD."
Now, my daughter is one of a kind, granted--but I believe ADD/ADHD is a FALSE label put on children who are not easily manipulated to blend into a corrupt system.
I have decided to get her out.
My question to anyone who can help is this..
Every child learns different and there are hundreds of different home-school curriculum packages out there. Is there a "test" of sorts to help me narrow down her best "learning style" so that I get her on a program that's right for her?
For instance, she has an artistic mind, a dreamer and her creative abilities are amazing. She gets these wild hairs to build or create something and dives into it with passion that's almost compulsive (not much different then her mother :) so I'm thinking she might benefit from a Montessori technique.
I know there are thousands of aptitude and personality tests available, but is there one that could help me narrow down the search for a home-school program that she would most benefit from?
I appreciate any help that you can offer. I am overwhelmed but devoted to this and I don't want to waste money investing in a program that would work against us and have to buy another. I am just scrapping by and can not afford that kind of waste.
Thanks.
I used ACE, Accelerated Christian Education
quite a few years back. It is a workbook program for the basics. All my kids did well when going into traditional schooling in their later high school years scholastically.
The good think about it is that it doesn't take a lot of time out of your day, or your child's day to get the work done. This should work well for a short attention span, and then you can supplement other subjects to conform to the child's interests.
We discussed homeschooling on this forum yesterday:
http://www.dailypaul.com/node/41185
Here is a page for learning styles
http://www.angelfire.com/mo/sasschool/styles.html
It looks like it may help. Also, since you are a Paul supporter, may I recommend a book on Austrian economics, that I am sure he would approve of, written for children. It is called "Whatever Happened to Penny Candy?" It isn't just for kids, as it is interesting enough for us adults. All my children have read it and liked it.
Check the homeschool legal defense fund web site for
homeschool requirements for your state.
I have always used Seton (Catholic). They provide everything and the staff (teachers & counselors) are available via phone and/or email 6 days a week. It is also one of the least costly of what I looked at. I have used it for 9 years now. From kindergarten through 8th grade. They have high school also.
Not sure what you're looking for, but that is a place to check out. They even have a special education needs department.
HSLDA will be rolling in $$$
Legislation has been introduced in TN that will mandate that all home schoolers, Private, and church related schools be subject to state testing and we will not be able to select our own curriculum.
I'm moving most likely, because reguardless of all the protest, this will pass. This is just like Germany. They took a young lady out of her home just recently. The court "basically" said HS was causing an alternate culture in society. We must ALL be on the same track right?
HSLDA revealed it's self when they endorsed Huck. Just another organization saying one thing, doing another, while taking $$ out of your pockets.
This is yet another reason we sincerely need Dr. Paul. He would have us out of the UN/UNESCO and support home schoolers. They are determined to control every thing in our lives.
I'm watching HSLDA closely
If they hesitate to release any positive news that comes out of the California debacle, I'm starting my own company to sell homeschooling legal defense insurance that undercuts them. I figure it would cost maybe a couple dollars to fully insure someone from a more free homeschooling state without all the scare tactics.
Defend Liberty!
WOW!
Why do we need any "insurance"? The NEA & HSLDA are partners now from my point of view.
New CA ruling - illegal to homeschool?
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=5...
Parents of 166,000 students could face criminal charges
'Breathtaking' decision on homeschooling now moving to California Supreme Court
Posted: March 05, 2008
By Bob Unruh
© 2008 WorldNetDaily
Excerpt:
Justice H. Walt Croskey, whose opinion was joined by two other judges, then ordered: "Parents who fail to [comply with school enrollment laws] may be subject to a criminal complaint against them, found guilty of an infraction and subject to imposition of fines or an order to complete a parent education and counseling program."
The determination reversed a decision from Superior Court Judge Stephen Marpet, who ruled "parents have a constitutional right to school their children in their own home."
From what I read yesterday,
From what I read yesterday, This action is being repealed to the the massive mis(dis)information the judges had. Let us hope that this awful judgment is quickly repealed!
They are missing out on alot of $$
With so many using alternitave methods, numbers are down and they get no $$. They don't care about your child anymore than Hillary does. If kids don't show up, schools don't get federal money!!
www.k12.com
Depending on what state you live in, you may have access to this curriculum as your school of choice. Children are schooled at home, but provided all of the curriculum and teacher resources. It's a virtual school.
Hooray! Another one freed from the matrix!
Personally I found it mysteriously difficult to even think on the subject of how best to teach a kid. I had to "unlearn" heaps before I figured out what to do with my son. I put it down to the fact that I myself was a typical product of our current system which just dishes out facts facts facts, day in, day out, year after year, in effect preventing the student from thinking for himself. I suspect the end result is supposed to be someone who knows just enough to keep the wheels of industry turning; a "good" citizen. (baah baaaah) Fortunately for me, there are such people as Ron Paul.
From experience and various sources I've been researching, I've come to believe the important points are these:
1) A student's right to think for him/herself can't be violated unless you're training a slave. For this reason, "Compulsory education" is a contradiction of terms, because the moment any information is forcefully delivered, before the student personally reaches for it, it becomes much the same as brainwashing and of no future value to the student.
2) Any subject to be taught must first be presented with a purpose which is understandable and desirable to the student (within his own frame of reference). An educator's job is not to coerce the student into learning something just because someone says it's important. If the student can't be enlightened as to the necessity of it, then it probably shouldn't be taught at that time. Kids are very eager to learn when THEY discover the usefulness of something.
3) Allowing them the right to think doesn't mean let them do whatever they please. They do better with an orderly schedule and clear rules. They need to be encouraged, challenged and helped.
4) There are four R's, not three: Reading, 'Riting, 'Rithmetic and Research. The ability to gather and quickly correlate information is crucial in this day and age. There's not much to teaching research, but they do need to start doing it and discovering they don't need to depend on you for answers to everything.
5) Things such as manners and morals are best taught by setting a good example yourself.
Thanks for starting this thread. It's great to see all the other stories here!
http://kidsresourcecenter.org
Fun, educational projects to inspire young minds...
AS AN ARTIST. . .
I'm SURE I would have been diagnosed as ADHD or some "disorder"!!!! ha ha ha!!!! I have a short attention span, so I am diverse in my projects. I have BIG HUGE projects, and I have little projects going all at the same time to keep me feeling like I am accomplishing things ALL THE TIME. Accomplishment is a huge stimulator to keep one going, child OR adult. I teach now, and you can't believe HOW HUNGRY ADULTS ARE FOR CREATIVE OUTLETS. They take away our recess, our arts, our music from schools - and wonder why kids are upset or uneasy or "don't fit in."
This whole subject gets me going!!!! I have been turned down by more than one banker for loans to follow creative pursuits, but then they say, "But MY GOD, DON'T EVER QUIT!!!" Of course I want to knock them on their asses at that point, but I have found that for me, staying away from business types (who are probably the same bean counters that want you children to FIT IN) and spending more time with MY PEOPLE, the creative types gives me more peace of mind. I always have a PLAN. I always have creative projects on my agenda. As a mom, encourage your kids. Deepak Chopra (a great name to get familiar with) says to encourage your children to seek out their mission or passion or reason for being here in this life - don't encourage them to just keep going to school. (of course these are not his exact words). Look for your own purpose - even children have enthusiasm for their own interests - and keep going after it. I just recently left another attempt to "fit in" to the business world, I closed down a store in a highly visable area - the bankers wouldn't allow me the money to operate, thought I could do it my way - but I was trying to fit into their world - I just got out, have been detoxing for the past 6 months and am now finding so many opportunities for my creativity!!! People and jobs are coming to me, without even a listing in the phone book or a major sign in the yard.
One thing that is important here, for all of us, is to keep pushing the energy. Sitting on your kiester will get you nowhere. Be grateful for what you have, and keep pursuing what you want to do. People and situations WILL come to you. HAVE FAITH IN YOURSELF. You and your children are here for a reason, don't doubt - it's a waste of time and leads to depression - just face each day with hope and keep going. when you get frustrated, feel grateful for what you have, take a moment, then go back at it. THIS STRATEGY REALLY WORKS. You have already found a huge huge resource here on this blog forum, and you will find more, I'm proud of you for stepping out of line and starting the journey to CREATE your own line!
http://www.oneilstudios.com
An excellent curriculum
to start with would be "A Thomas Jefferson Education" and the companion book, "A Thomas Jefferson Education Home Companion".
My brother and his wife, along with several other coupes, started a faith based private school, utilizing other home schoolers in the system. So they could share their talents and the kids could also. These kids graduate at 14 and 15 with much more knowledge that public educated kids.
Public school are like baby sitters - not much of the day teaching classics and challenging the students. Their school is three half days a week, and they get the same thing accomplished much sooner. They do have reading assignments outside the classes too.
So, contact others who are doing this and share the duties and the rewards!
Another home schooler
friend of mine has identified his daughter, at age 5, had a basic understanding of politics and history, as she watched some old communist propaganda films with him. He explained (as she was into Cinderella) that Hitler was like a bad king. He was very surprised at how well she understood.
Therefore, he has dedicated himself to a project of continuing to gather information and history and write a book about politics and history, and gear it to a 6 year old.
I told him I wanted several copies as many adults have no knowledge like this and I'd like to spread the word!
WONDERFUL :)
You know your child better than ANYONE. Once a child is labeled, the road gets tougher if she remains in public schools. She is TOO smart for them!!
Don't forget your public library as a resource for materials. Most have
teaching materials onhand, or you may request them to order it. The fees are usually small.
Also secondhand book stores, consignment shops, flea markets yard sales,goodwill stores can be a good source of inexpensive materials. You know what interests your daughter. When she picks them, she values them. And it's so much fun to come out of that store with an arm load of books at such cheap prices!!!
There are tons of sites online to help as well. Some have a small fee, but after you check them out, I'm sure you'll agree they are worth the $20.00!! You have access to worksheets galore to suppliment any subject.
www.abcteach.com
www.donnayoung.org
www.enchantedlearning.com
www.gardenofpraise.com
Hope these work but a quick search is easy. God bless you and don't get discouraged!! <><
Ps: Ebay can also be a good source ..........HAVE FUN :)
Oh wow
this sounds sooooo familiar!! haha
Both of my sons were in public school until this year...my youngest was in Kindergarten last year, and because he didn't fit neatly into one of their little labeled boxes, I was told repeatedly that he probably had Aupsberger's....funny, my pediatrician never told me any such thing!
My decision to homeschool was based on that, plus the fact that my oldest son WAS left behind in school...I volunteered a lot in the classrooms, and saw that the kids working at or above grade level were basically ignored, so the teachers could focus on the "slower" kids...(here we go with the labels gain....sigh....)
The notion that all kids are the same and all must learn the same way has been refuted time and time again, and yet....
I have a book called "How to Learn Anything Quickly"--it evaluates your learning style and tells you how best to learn things in that style. I gave both of my kids the tests within, and lo and behold, they were night and day....(the book is by Ricki Linksman)...Once I unlocked their learning styles, they absolutely soared---they are both working a full grade level ahead of where they are "supposed" to be... go figure... ;)
Also--look into the Core Knowledge series by E.D. Hirsch...it's a very useful supplement to any curriculum you choose.
I am also on a tight budget, and the used bookstore has become my new best friend!! You'll be surprised what gems you can find in there with just a little digging...you'll save GOBS of money!!
:D
It's amazing
how the conventional wisdom is that, if you don't fit in and are struggling or even suffering in your current circumstances, you should just tough it out. That's what so many parents of kids who struggle in the schools are made to feel is the best choice. If their kid is different, they should waste their childhood learning good and well how bad it is to be different.
I've also heard some school districts let you borrow through their old textbooks. This may be a good option if you're pulling the child out mid-year and need something to pick up where the child left off until you figure out how you want to proceed. Actually, tons of people who pull out mid-year do so under stressful circumstances in which case, try googling "deschooling." (If you're in Arkansas, be careful about pulling out mid-year. Thanks to some of Huckabee's tinkering, you come under extra scrutiny. If I were HSLDA, I'd endorse him, too. There's nothing like homeschool oppression to drive up your membership numbers.)
District textbooks may be more trouble than it's worth, though. You have to constantly monitor them for accuracy. Kids at my martial arts school would do their homework in the waiting room and sometimes ask for help and I was shocked at some of the innacuracies. I'm not just talking about false indoctrination - there were tons of just lazy mistakes. The most common were instructions that were impossible to interpret.
Defend Liberty!
You can't do any worse than "schools"
John Gatto (highly recommended) believes that the 3R basics can be taught in 100 hours.
Then, how can we have our children in "schools" for 12-16 years and still have them functionally illiterate for reading, writing, and arithmetic?
But they sure have been indoctrinated!
I did Abeka in the fifth grade
and then went to public school. I just spaced out for years after that. The only time I came across new material was later in high school when subjects started to become more specific.
Defend Liberty!
Well, it takes a lot longer to
teach them to be politically correct, and to dumb them down.
EXACTLY!
Because little children are bright and logical. It takes YEARS of pounding illogical garbage into them to get them to finally give up and say "This doesn't make sense, but everyone else says it's true so I guess I'll just give up trying to understand it and accept it". That explains why so many people are blinded by the empty words of Barack Obama. Anyone that does the slightest bit of research and is open to truth can see right through it.
*
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get ready for the ride of
get ready for the ride of your life! We have homeschooled for 14 years. You will love it; you will hate it; you will cry; you will laugh;you will want to throw in the towel; but you will succeed when you carry through, and there will be days when you feel that you haven't accomplished anything. But remember,life is more than learning from books. Don't get me wrong, our kids have for the most part scored above average, but the life lessons they have learned are priceless. Our youngest boy who is 13 can tell you more about Ron Paul's ideas, and has a good grasp of our rights as imbedded in the constitution; much more than his public schooled friends can. But the best part of all is that more often than not, your relationships with your kids will be pretty good. They may not be the best academically, but you can teach them more about successful and right living, firsthand. God bless you in your journey and never be afraid to ask for help. There is a whole network of us out there willing to lend a hand and encourage.
________________________________
the lesser of two evils is still evil
Amen!
Yes, your children will be more ready for the real world, because they have so much more time, and are at home, learning to do dishes, clean house, garden, learn their own interests, etc. We have a wood cookstove for heat , and of course cook on it in the winter while it is running, and my preteens all learned to cook on it. They know how to start seeds and garden, can, make jerky, butcher a deer, use the computer for just about anything, know how much money we have gained on the silver we bought, (they did this just for fun) and because it was done just for fun, they decided to put their money towards silver, instead of junk food (which they do because I won't buy them any). Sigh, sometimes things actually seem like we're making progress!
Don't buy a program yet!
The best advice that anyone ever gave me was to take out 6 months to de-school my children. Of course I didn't listen and struggled for a year with various curriculum's and methods. It was a nightmare at first. My daughter would cry and my son would rebel. I finally realized that not only did my children need to be de-schooled, but I did as well. So I took the original advice offered to me and decided that I would take all the pressures and expectations off myself and my kids and begin finding our own way to learn. It took us a year to really get on track (mainly because of the failed efforts). There is no magical curriculum or personality test that will help you. All you need to do is teach you child how to learn. Once they master that, they will be half the way to getting an education.
The public schools like to throw truckloads of facts at kids. This is not the way. They also like to put incredible pressure on them to retain these facts and tend to shut their brains down. It will be your task to open her brain back up. Don't start any heavy curriculum until this happens. You will know it when it does.
Here is some examples:
Spend as much time at the library as she wants. Let her pull a book off the shelf and read it.
Take turns reading to each other. Increase the time you read a little bit each day.
Go to a discovery center and spend time doing the various experiments and learning activities there. No pressure.
Take nature walks and talk about what you see and hear. Eventually take a field guide to identify some plants and animals.
Visit monuments, museums and historic places. Don't go there with a mission to learn. Just walk around and talk about what you see and read.
When you find something during these activities that peaks her interest, make a note of it and tell her that we can go to the library and find a book on it to learn more. When she asks a question you don't know the answer to, tell her good question, lets look it up.
If you don't put pressure on yourselves, the results will be astounding.
After you see her mind open, then and only then will she be ready for any heavy studies. Don't forget that she is 8 yrs old and the most important thing you can do at this point is improve her reading, writing and vocabulary. If she becomes a strong reader, then later you can cover so many subjects with the books you give her to read.
At first you might fear that you are not keeping up with the public school system. But believe me you will make up for it later and surpass any expectations.
I was public schooled, but most of what I remember to this day I learned from just spending time and talking with my parents as a child.
Good luck and congratulations.
I would agree with you
It took me a year to deprogram my first two children when pullled out of the public school. I had to teach them to think, as the public school wants them to swallow every thing they say. Also, for the mom, don't think home school should be like public school, EVER. If you try to make it like public school, you won't have time to clean house, cook meals, etc, etc, and it will frustrate you. Remember that public school is a teacher teaching 25 or more students, and it takes longer as she is going down to the level of the most needy student. Just be committed, so on the bad days you won't quit, it will get better, and you will be glad you did this. Your child will also have more respect for you, as she will see you are intelligent, and not just the teachers in public school.
I have been homeschooling since 1984
Although we are all different, and would prefer different curriculums for the various subjects, since you are a Ron Paul supporter, I would suggest looking into Sonlight Curriculum at least for their Basic Curriculum, which is different than most basic, as it covers History as its center and includes readers which go along with the period you are studying. They integrate the language arts with these books, but that is optional, if you find another which is better. The teacher's manual is the heart of it, and just incredible, as not only do they outline everything for the teacher on a daily basis (saving the mom hours), but the writer of the curriculum also comments on the history books (which all history books are not NEUTRAL), and biased, and he has done plenty of research, and I am sure he is in line with Dr. Paul. For instance, when studying American History and Andrew Jackson, he tells all about the bank thing with him and even Davy Crocket in Congress. The writer of the curriculum, John Holzmann is very educated on the stuff you learn about here, and puts it in a way easy for children to understand. Also, the books chosen for kids are wonderful, and everyone in our family can't wait to read the next grade's books, mom and dad included. I like Saxon math, but some others don't.
Sorry here's a link for Sonlight
Here's a link to some info, which will tell you if you would like it or not:
http://www.sonlight.com/aboutus.html
Hurray for you !!!!
Congratulations... You are about to embark on a really special journey. Sometimes you will think you just made a huge mistake and will wonder if you really know what you are doing or what you got yourself in to. I'll tell you that you just got yourself in to one of the most wonderful things you can do to have a truly great and lasting relationship with your child. I spent years listening to them tell me mine needed meds, needed this program, that program, this is the answer, that is the answer, and I had ENOUGH!! I got sick of them telling me what I was going to do and finally told them what they can do. I will never look back. My children would never "conform" and are all quite intelligent (the youngest on a genius level). Since leaving public school, he is less stressed and almost a different person. Because of my interest in what's going on in the world and dedication to preserving our freedom, he has a renewed interest in history and many other things that he had just about thrown away completely. I would send him to school with the truth, and they would tell him that they aren't teaching that here. So I told them if they can't teach him what's true, then they have nothing to teach him. Our personal relationship is getting better by the day and he is more willing to see that there are things that he needs to learn whether he wants to or not. The world is more open to him now. I still have some trouble getting him to do some of those things he isn't to interested in doing, but he is working like mad to accomplish them. Especially since I bribed him with his first new rifle. heh heh heh. We are somewhat new to this ourselves, but have made huge strides in both de-schooling ourselves, and approaching his education on a level that we can both handle comfortably. Prior to this decision, I was concerned that he was headed down the path to apathy for everything and would end up making poor choices that would find him in the "system" with not such a bright future. It sure is a great feeling when you know you have turned that around. There are great avenues for you to discover out there and home schoolers have a huge network of support in just about every area I did research on. Believe me when I say, I was scared silly to try and take this on and it is turning out to be one of the best decisions I have ever made. I am personally very happy with the Global Student Network for a basic curriculum and we add and subtract as I see fit. Hurray for you !!!!
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I love my country
I am appalled by my government
Do your homework, too...
lynnopoly,
Listen, I am an educator in an art department of a large school district in the south. I am very aware of the problems you are discussing here and I am equally disgusted with the false hope given to parents when they are told to dope their kids. The truth is ADD / ADHD are largely constructed by the pharmaceutical companies to sell product to the masses. Very disturbing and morally bankrupt.
Do some research on a guy called Gardner who developed (and is still working on) the theory of multiple intelligences. This is very exiting newer research that should be balanced with older (but solid) constructivist and behaviorist theories postulated by guys like Vigotsky and Skinner. Look them up and buy a few books. Some are dry but there are always great pieces of really usable methods to implement.
Make no mistake here, if you are going to take on the responsibility you are talking about, you have to study some things beyond the material you will be teaching her. You must have a solid theoretical basis of how the brain develops and works in order to design and engineer lessons that will be effective for content delivery.
The thing is, there are no tests which will effectively measure your child's ability to learn (you should just know that she can already - because she can) or give you a blueprint for how to design lessons. You have to have a meaningful relationship with a person to assess those things. Luckily, you are in a unique position to do that. Engage her on a personal level and gain access to her in this way and she will tell you how to do it herself! Back this up with a good understanding of the theory, pepper in the actual content (the math, science, art, etc..) and you will have your blueprint. And remember, to love her is to teach her.
Best wishes,
danimal