A Homeschoolers Experience with the Public School

I’ve had an interesting time with the Homeschooled Young Man during a volunteering opportunity. We spent 2 days with around 140 kids ages 8 ½-11 years old. These public schooled kids took part in engaging and hands on activities over the course of two school days. The presenters were upbeat and kid friendly. The kids were well behaved and quiet...too quiet actually for my liking.

Over the course of 8+ hours I spent with these adorable 8 ½-11 year olds, I did not hear the usual giggles from the girls that I am use to hearing, nor small talk amongst boys that I am use to hearing. I saw emotionless faces, frowns and blank stares from these children. But, I saw a hunger in the children for attention from the presenters, when those men and women engaged one on one with these children. Each boy and girl was eager to talk with and spend time with these adults. But after each session they became like little robots. Back to frowns and staring at the floor while being told to line up against the wall, "1-2-3 eyes on me" by their public school teacher. I know that public school teachers will say that this is a must to keep order. But it makes me think of when we had 4,000 adults and children for a homeschool meeting at the state capitol a few years ago. There had to be order and quiet voices with almost 2,000+ kids involved, there were no robot children in the group nor forced lining up against the wall, yet there was no chaos.

At 14 years old The Homeschooled Young Man was a group leader of about 25 children and 2 public school teachers. He held the door open for the group on 11 different occasions and was told “Thank you.” only 3 times over the course of 2 days each lasting 8+ hours.

I was pushed and shoved numerous times throughout the days without so much as an excuse me, sorry or anything by these students.

Then after awhile I had opportunity to sit back in a chair in the back of the room and sort of take it all in. It was then that I noticed the clothes that the teachers were wearing. Skin tight workout pants that stop at the calf, that showed panty lines and a bold written word across their backside, another one wore a similar pair of pants that were way too small and every time she bent over her pants came down and her shirt went up to expose her bare backside (she looked like a plumber, KWIM?). Yes, these were public school teachers of 8 ½-11 year olds.

I guess I could look past that, but the thing that really struck me was the manners that the teachers displayed, yes these are the people that are entrusted with most American children for 7+ hours each day, 30+ hours each week, 5 days per week, 180 days per year and nearly 1,300 hours per school year. I saw teachers not sitting properly in chairs (ya know one of the things that drives us parents crazy at the dinner table is when our kids don’t sit properly, slouching down in the chair with the rear on the edge of the seat and their neck on the back of the chair), teachers talking to each other during the presentations (ya, know it drives us crazy when our kids do this), teachers yawning like roaring lions (ya know how many times you have been trying to teach your child to yawn with their hand over their mouths?). I saw so many kids being grabbed by the arm and yanked around like dogs on a leash and teachers yelling in the face of the kids and the blank looks on the children’s faces while they have an adult standing over them yelling. This must go on often because the other teachers never even looked over to see what was going on. Think about where your kids bad habits are coming from, those things that drive you crazy when your kids do them.

The icing on the cake was the way that the teachers spoke to the children. Every time there was an instruction of “Throw your trash away, PLEASE & THANK YOU!” I thought to my self that “PLEASE & THANK YOU!” really comes out sounding snide and rude no matter how you say it. That phrase seems to be up and coming. We were eating out about a month ago and the waitress said that to us when she gave us our check. The Homeschooled Young Man commented how rude that sounded, even though he knew she was not meaning for it to be rude. 

Now mind you this is NOT a representation of all public school teachers, I happen to know some fine teachers. But this was a peek into the system and I do think this was a typical day in many school systems.

As we drove home I was thinking about all this and here was my take away. Hey Homeschool Momma, are there things that you are doing during your homeschool day that might be negatively effecting your children? Are there things that you are unknowingly passing on to your children?

This brought to light a few things I need to work on in my homeschool. Take some time to assess things that you think of and then improve your homeschool for you and your children.

Ideas for Homeschooling High School

There are lots of brand new homeschooler starting high school this year.

What worked for you and what did not work? How do you make a push for independence? How do  you set up school work accountability? Will you work in dual credits? AP classes (where did will your kids take these tests? Did you get your material approved for AP?), will you do dual enrollment? College classes? Online classes? Any non textbook things you plan to use?
Oh, the list seems endless!

Upcoming review of SpellingCity.com

I've been given a Homeschool Membership to VocabularySpellingCity.com for a candid, personal, online review. Can't wait to share it with you all!

VocabularySpellingCity helps students study word lists using 25 different learning activities such as Unscramble, Hangman, WordFind, and Crossword Puzzle. Parents can create their own spelling lists, find published lists already available on the site, or use any of the prepared lists. Try a sample game. on topics such as Multiple Meaning Words and Possessive Nouns . Be sure to come back in three weeks to read about my experience.

Cool Flashcard Ideas

I came across this really cool website while the homeschooled young man was listing to a podcast on the Leah4Sci.com blog, she had this cool post about flashcards.

I'm always looking for something fun and interesting to do in our homeschool. I tended to think of flashcards as a way to learn math facts (addition, multiplication) and not as just another way to study. Well Leah has opened up my eyes to a whole new world!

Head on over to her blog and see what she has to offer.

Moe

Free Kindle Book:Getting Better Grades: A Strategic Approach for Inside and Outside the Classroom

Click here to get a free copy of Getting Better Grades: A Strategic Approach for Inside and Outside the Classroom.  FREE Kindle Book

I have not read it yet, but it looks good! Let me know what you think of it.

Thanks,
Moe

Changes To One Of My Favorite Homeschooling Websites...

Khan Academy has some new updates and a new dashboard! Sign up today and check them out.
Khan Academy has TONS of subject areas, videos, worktext problems, solutions and much more! I do know that the science is NOT Bible based, but there is still some decent info that can be gleaned from Khan Academy.

Sal is an AWESOME teacher and I just love how he goes about teaching, he is also very funny. I have to laugh he sounds exactly like a guy that I use to DJ with back in the 80's. One of those weird kinda things that when you close your eyes you can picture that person....lol. I do that every time I hear Sal's voice.

Our Homeschool young man enjoyed watching the medical video's that are on Khan Academy. Lots of pretty cool stuff on there. I remember back in the first years of Khan Academy, there were just lists of videos to watch. With the NEW and improved Khan Academy there are parent/student accounts, a dashboard, a reminder system, points system and suggestions of materials to look at and learn.

Check them out!

Does this make your heart ache?

My little Powder Monkey on the left, at a Civil War Re-Enactment.

I got this from a friend this week, made my heart ache.

"A note from Mrs.______, my son's new teacher in honor of next Monday, the first day of school :

'Twas the night before school started,
When all through the town,
The parents were cheering,
It was a riotous sound!
By eight, kids were washed
And tucked into bed...
When memories of homework
Filled them with dread.

New pencils, new folders, new notebooks, too!
New teachers, new friends...
Their anxiety grew!
The parents just giggled when
They learned of this fright
And shouted upstairs-
"Go to bed! It's a school night!"

I've heard a few of my son's friends complaining about the new teachers that they are going to have for school this year. I ask my son if he told his friends "Look at me, I've had the same teacher for 7 years! LOL." He just smiled and told me "NO!" The kids have teased him about starting back to school in July, but what those kids miss out on is our AWESOME fall break that we take to attend fall festivals, shopping trips to the Amish lands, Civil War Re-Enactment weekend, and our exciting time of going to see Dr. Ben Carson speak. Our classroom does not have 4 walls, our classroom is our God given world.

What excites you about this new year of homeschooling?

Back to school funny & our homeschool tradition

So glad that we homeschool and don't have to spend much on supplies. We just use the same stuff from last year. No one breaks our Crayons or steals our pencils in homeschool...lol
We have a tradition of buy something fun and new for the school year though. For me I usually pick out a cute pack of sticky notes (you know I have a passion for STICKY NOTES!) I blogged about my overstock of sticky notes. This year I got some Post-It Notes with a cute Pug dog on the front.
The teenager decided on a folder/notebook with a Pug on the front.

You would think that we have a thing for Pugs at our house  :O)

Moe

Memoria Press Review

As reviewers for The Old Schoolhouse Magazines Review Crew we were fortunate to receive the Geogoraphy I set set from Memoria Press. My son was very excited when the box arrived, geography is his thing! Here is what we got in our box.
Geography I: Middle East, North Africa, and Europe $14.95
Geography I: Middle East, North Africa, and Europe Student Workbook $11.95
Geography I: Middle East, North Africa, and Europe Teacher Guide $12.95
United States Student Workbook $5.00
United States Teacher Key, Quizzes, and Tests $7.95
You can purchase these as a set for just $48.00.
Here are some sample pages from the Geography I lesson materials that are geared towards 4th-8th grade students.

What this homeschool Momma liked about the Memoria Press Geography I.

1. I like the full size maps to write on for easy labeling of counties, states, capitals, and other areas.
2. Nice thick workbook pages, these are great for boys that have to erase a lot...lol...keeps paper from tearing.
3. Nice sturdy book covers that don't seem to rip easily.
4. Nice large spaces to write information in, boys don't much like to try to write answers on short lines.
5. Material was VERY easy to move through.
6.The teacher answer key was VERY easy to read, no small print and the maps were easy to read too. With homeschool Momma eyes (you tend to get these after your first few years in home education...lol) I like to be able to see just exactly where that dot is on the map for Brussels while making sure that my student is not pointing towards Antwerp or the Scheide River...lol.
7. Love how the student pages remind the student to practice good spelling habits. Sometimes it's hard to get it across to our children that spelling is one of those subjects that needs to be worked on across the entire curriculum and not just in "spelling class."
8. I like how the United States & Capitals Review teaches the states by regions, it makes a lot of sense to teach them this way. I have seen other curriculum teach states in alphabetical order.

What this homeschool Momma did not like about the Memoria Press Geography I.

1. I did not see a daily guide and I like things totally laid out for me, but it does say in the teacher information section that you will do 2-3 countries each week as you study each section for 8 weeks at a time.
2. I also did not see a grading scale for quizzes or tests. I like to know what each is worth for giving grades.
3. The books do not have colored pages in them, I like my textbooks/workbooks to have color and flair. If I had just picked up the Geography I set at a curriculum fair or convention table and just flipped through it, I probably would have put it back since I did not see color in the book. I will note that on the Memoria Press Geography I set webpage there are links to click on that show the color pictures that are in the student textbook. I don't think I would want to rabbit trail over to the computer to find color pictures each day.

What this homeschool student liked about the Memoria Press Geography I.

1. I like how it gave the meanings of the flags for each country.
2. I really like the Fast Facts, history and geography are my two favorite subjects.
3. I liked how you got to color in the flags with the outline instead of drawing them. I don't much care to draw unless it's Star Wars or something ;-)
4. I liked how the states and capitals were a review to go along with the geography.
5. I liked how it reminds me to watch for spelling, it's easy to forget this when you are not in "spelling class."
6. I liked how the activities built on each other such as match the states and capitals, then identifying them.

What this homeschool student did not like about the Memoria Press Geography I.

1. Wished that I did not have to go to the website to see the pictures in color.

This was a fun review to do since it was my students favorite subject. Memoria Press also offers subject matter in the following areas they are not just about geography. They also offer Latin, Classical Studies, Christian Studies, Logic & Rhetoric, Phonics & Early Reading, Penmanship, Literature & Poetry, American & Modern Studies, Writing & English Grammar, Science, Greek, Modern Languages, Educational Resources, eBooks, and Special-Needs links on their website.



Teacher FREEBIE!!

http://hip2save.com/2012/09/07/free-mastermind-board-game-for-teachers/

 

 

While supplies last. Since we are home educators we are considered teachers. You will need a school name to request this freebie, so come up with one if you have not already.

Let me know if you get your game in the mail. A thank you to our blog ready Cathy for this FREEBIE!!

 

Moe