I think I should write about home schooling every Monday. Why? Because if I'm going to home school, I need to get myself a leeetle bit more organized. I need a schedule! I need some structure! I need some accountability!
(What I REALLY need is just someone to do all this for me. Someone qualified. With a degree and stuff. Maybe even at a different location. They could call it "Shool".)
Okay, so on my very first official day of Home Schooling Max (and Gabe and Gray just for kicks) here are my goals:
Scratch that. I'm no good at goals.
Here are my ideas of things I'd like to do with Max:
*I'd like us to write books together!
One thing Max really needs to work on is his penmanship and spelling. So I thought we'd both pick a topic...something we'd like to learn more about, interview people, and write up the q's and a's. And then make them into books when we're done!
*I'd like to make a history time line...of music.
Okay, so this isn't totally relevant to...anything...but dang it, my kids need to appreciate everyone from Mozart to Frankie Valli to the Beatles and Bee Gees and Neil Diamond to Erasure to Aerosmith, Van Halen and U2 to Coldplay and (shudder) Lady Gaga. (Who will appear with a large red X over her face. Oh, did I mention it's a picture timeline? too.) Isn't this what home schooling is all about? Brain washing your kids with your own agenda*? Notice how absolutely no country music is represented? (BUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!)
*I'd like someone else to teach him math. Really really well. Kumon, perhaps?
*I'd like to do lots of art projects with him. I haven't been reading "Art Projects for Kids" for the last three years for nothin'! (I hope...)
Aaaaaaand....
That's it.
I'll let you know how it goes next Monday!!!
*Not only am I leaving Country out of the history of music, I'm not even going to teach him who Harvey Milk is! Take THAT California!!!!
don't know if you've heard of or read her blog, but this blog http://chocolateonmycranium.blogspot.com/ has a lot of homeschooling stuff on it. she has 9 kids. and homeschools, lives on a farm...anyway, she is a good resource. good luck with homeschooling!
ReplyDeleteFor writing your own books, Bare Books are pretty cool and very reasonably priced.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'll check it out!
ReplyDeleteI love your ideas; and hooray for a conservative non-country curriculum! :)
ReplyDeleteFor math, I'd recommend Khan Academy (http://www.khanacademy.org/). Create an account and go to "practice" to check it out - it's free, you earn badges as you move through it (so some kids actually want to keep practicing!), and you can have all your kids make accounts if you want and add you as their Coach so you can see how long they worked for, what they worked on, and how they're doing. It's good practice even for the kids getting math instruction elsewhere. The site should cover all the math you are looking to do and then some.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the non-country curriculum too.
ReplyDelete`I am a total fan of homeschooling and I just found out that private school I shell out a pretty penny for is basically going bankrupt. So I am going to probably homeschool next fall for 1st grade. Some great math is Saxon math. It's really easy to teach and you just do a lesson a day. The book gives you just what to say and everything. I also have been researching touch math. For learning to read there is the "writing road to reading". That is a great one. To learn grammar you can teach them using Shurley English. They learn all the rules through song and book. My daughter and I did a charter homeschool that used these curriculums but the administration was a shambles so we left to the private. In one month my daughter knew all the continents and oceans because of songs and pointing to them as she sang. She also learned a sentence song that taught her the parts of a sentence. My oldest has a bit of ADHD and is on the genius IQ scale. Public school would label her a problem child because she would be bored. I applaud you for taking it into your own hands!
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