West Virginia questions
[email protected]
One of our very new members would like input on West Virginia as an
unschooling state. I've recommended unschooling.com and google to her but lso said I'd
put the question to the group. The kids are young (not yet old enough for
compulsory school to kick in) and they're willing to move to another state.
Where online are there good West Virginia bits?
Have any of you who were looking at moving seen a dream-state in that part of
the country?
Thanks!
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
unschooling state. I've recommended unschooling.com and google to her but lso said I'd
put the question to the group. The kids are young (not yet old enough for
compulsory school to kick in) and they're willing to move to another state.
Where online are there good West Virginia bits?
Have any of you who were looking at moving seen a dream-state in that part of
the country?
Thanks!
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Brian and Kathy Stamp
Well we are in NC. It is pretty easy to homeschool here. The only requirement is that you have to test once a year, BUT you can give the test yourself (even though they reccommend that someone else gives it, you don't have to) and you can test at any grade level you want. So you could actually test a 13 year old on a grade one test if you really wanted to. I have an online computer test that I give that is like a game and it meets the requirements because it gives the percentiles etc. in the score.
Kathy
Kathy
----- Original Message -----
From: SandraDodd@...
To: [email protected]
Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2004 11:06 PM
Subject: [UnschoolingDiscussion] West Virginia questions
One of our very new members would like input on West Virginia as an
unschooling state. I've recommended unschooling.com and google to her but lso said I'd
put the question to the group. The kids are young (not yet old enough for
compulsory school to kick in) and they're willing to move to another state.
Where online are there good West Virginia bits?
Have any of you who were looking at moving seen a dream-state in that part of
the country?
Thanks!
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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Susan Gallien
Where did you find the online computer test?
Sue Gallien
The Winona Farm, Minnesota
http://thewinonafarm.com
Sue Gallien
The Winona Farm, Minnesota
http://thewinonafarm.com
----- Original Message -----
From: Brian and Kathy Stamp
To: [email protected]
Sent: Friday, March 12, 2004 6:14 AM
Subject: Re: [UnschoolingDiscussion] West Virginia questions
Well we are in NC. It is pretty easy to homeschool here. The only requirement is that you have to test once a year, BUT you can give the test yourself (even though they reccommend that someone else gives it, you don't have to) and you can test at any grade level you want. So you could actually test a 13 year old on a grade one test if you really wanted to. I have an online computer test that I give that is like a game and it meets the requirements because it gives the percentiles etc. in the score.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
bkocheesh
--- In [email protected], SandraDodd@a... wrote:
homeschooled here in WV fairly happily for years now.
For the plan of instruction that we have to submit, I adapted Carol
Narigon's curriculum (I think there's a link to this from the
unschooling list, or at least from Sandra Dodd's site) this year and
my county BOE people had no comments.
You have to assess annually in WV and send the results to the BOE
but there are 4 options. We've always tested thru WVHEA because that
has seemed the least invasive to me, and my boys don't mind them and
do reasonably well on the tests. You can also test in the ps for
certain grades, but my bet is no unschoolers do this. Many
unschoolers here assess via portfolio evaluation, meaning the family
assembles a selection of the child's work, selecting items to
include that will show progress in the 5 subject areas the law
mentions and indicate what the child has been doing throughout the
year (include brochures from places visited, listing of videos
watched, websites visited, etc). (We just printed an article on
portfolios in the latest WVHEA newsletter, but haven't got it up on
the website yet.) The portfolio is evaluated by a certified teacher.
Selecting the teacher is very important, as you can imagine.
Personally I know of only one teacher, a homeschool consultant, who
does evaluations and is unschooler friendly, but I have heard of a
few others who understand unschooling. If I ever decide to do a
portfolio (we might this year for my younger son), I will use her;
she's become a friend. The 4th assessment option is alternative
assessment; you and your county BOE agree on a way to evaluate your
children. I don't know of any unschoolers who have used this.
That pretty much covers the legal bits that might seem like hurdles
to any new hser, unschooler or not. I'm not sure what area you're
in, but I do see an ad for meer.net on 79 so i'm guessing you might
be in the Fairmont area. We live SW of Clarksburg, but we found a
group of relaxed unschoolers in the Fairmont area so that's where
we go once a week. The kids' ages range from 13 (almost 14) to
infant. There's usually a balance of organized/planned activities
with unstructured stuff. The site isn't the best but they're working
on finding a better spot. If you are in the area and are curious to
meet other homeschoolers/unschoolers, please let me know and I'll
give directions. If you're closer to Morgantown, there is a really
great group up there, Monongalia Area Homeschoolers Assn. People
from Fairmont, Preston County and even we have gone to some of their
activities. You should check out the support group listings at
www.wvhea.org. This also has info about the law and a bit about how
to deal with it.
I should add that I wish I had considered NC more carefully before
we moved here from VA a few years ago. I understand that in NC while
you have to test annually, you don't report the scores. That's what
my friend in NC (met her after we moved) told me anyway. So whatever
legal threat testing might pose to a NC unschooler seems to be
without teeth. RE: other states in the area: I am told that WV's law
was pretty much copied from OH's. PA's law is burdensome but I have
heard that there are unschoolers living quite happily there (well,
as happy as anyone can be with PA's hsing laws). I found VA fairly
easy to hs in; there are plenty of unschoolers there. The MD
unschoolers I know use an umbrella school. I'm afraid I don't know
much of anything about Kentucky. NHEN (www.nhen.org) should have
info about its regs and ways to find other hsers there. Also, Ann
Zeise's site is good for comparing regs in the various states.
Betsy
> Where online are there good West Virginia bits?that part of
> Have any of you who were looking at moving seen a dream-state in
> the country?I know a number of (what I consider to be) unschoolers who have
homeschooled here in WV fairly happily for years now.
For the plan of instruction that we have to submit, I adapted Carol
Narigon's curriculum (I think there's a link to this from the
unschooling list, or at least from Sandra Dodd's site) this year and
my county BOE people had no comments.
You have to assess annually in WV and send the results to the BOE
but there are 4 options. We've always tested thru WVHEA because that
has seemed the least invasive to me, and my boys don't mind them and
do reasonably well on the tests. You can also test in the ps for
certain grades, but my bet is no unschoolers do this. Many
unschoolers here assess via portfolio evaluation, meaning the family
assembles a selection of the child's work, selecting items to
include that will show progress in the 5 subject areas the law
mentions and indicate what the child has been doing throughout the
year (include brochures from places visited, listing of videos
watched, websites visited, etc). (We just printed an article on
portfolios in the latest WVHEA newsletter, but haven't got it up on
the website yet.) The portfolio is evaluated by a certified teacher.
Selecting the teacher is very important, as you can imagine.
Personally I know of only one teacher, a homeschool consultant, who
does evaluations and is unschooler friendly, but I have heard of a
few others who understand unschooling. If I ever decide to do a
portfolio (we might this year for my younger son), I will use her;
she's become a friend. The 4th assessment option is alternative
assessment; you and your county BOE agree on a way to evaluate your
children. I don't know of any unschoolers who have used this.
That pretty much covers the legal bits that might seem like hurdles
to any new hser, unschooler or not. I'm not sure what area you're
in, but I do see an ad for meer.net on 79 so i'm guessing you might
be in the Fairmont area. We live SW of Clarksburg, but we found a
group of relaxed unschoolers in the Fairmont area so that's where
we go once a week. The kids' ages range from 13 (almost 14) to
infant. There's usually a balance of organized/planned activities
with unstructured stuff. The site isn't the best but they're working
on finding a better spot. If you are in the area and are curious to
meet other homeschoolers/unschoolers, please let me know and I'll
give directions. If you're closer to Morgantown, there is a really
great group up there, Monongalia Area Homeschoolers Assn. People
from Fairmont, Preston County and even we have gone to some of their
activities. You should check out the support group listings at
www.wvhea.org. This also has info about the law and a bit about how
to deal with it.
I should add that I wish I had considered NC more carefully before
we moved here from VA a few years ago. I understand that in NC while
you have to test annually, you don't report the scores. That's what
my friend in NC (met her after we moved) told me anyway. So whatever
legal threat testing might pose to a NC unschooler seems to be
without teeth. RE: other states in the area: I am told that WV's law
was pretty much copied from OH's. PA's law is burdensome but I have
heard that there are unschoolers living quite happily there (well,
as happy as anyone can be with PA's hsing laws). I found VA fairly
easy to hs in; there are plenty of unschoolers there. The MD
unschoolers I know use an umbrella school. I'm afraid I don't know
much of anything about Kentucky. NHEN (www.nhen.org) should have
info about its regs and ways to find other hsers there. Also, Ann
Zeise's site is good for comparing regs in the various states.
Betsy
[email protected]
In a message dated 3/13/04 9:24:41 AM, bkocsis@... writes:
<< For the plan of instruction that we have to submit, I adapted Carol
Narigon's curriculum (I think there's a link to this from the
unschooling list, or at least from Sandra Dodd's site) >>
http://sandradodd.com/unschoolingcurriculum
It's something Carol Narigon used one year in Ohio.
Sandra
<< For the plan of instruction that we have to submit, I adapted Carol
Narigon's curriculum (I think there's a link to this from the
unschooling list, or at least from Sandra Dodd's site) >>
http://sandradodd.com/unschoolingcurriculum
It's something Carol Narigon used one year in Ohio.
Sandra
pam sorooshian
On Mar 13, 2004, at 8:23 AM, bkocheesh wrote:
Carol's unschooling curriculum and expanded it using the California
state educational standards' language so it is a little more likely to
meet with approval, if someone has to submit something to a school
official. You could also use it as a "suggestion list" to stick
different activities under educationeze-sounding headings - for
after-the-fact recordkeeping if you have to turn something in, like a
portfolio. It is in the files area of the list and called "ACME Academy
Course of Study...." Here is the link:
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UnschoolingDiscussion/files/>.
National Home Education Network
<www.NHEN.org>
Serving the entire homeschooling community since 1999
through information, networking and public relations.
> For the plan of instruction that we have to submit, I adapted CarolAlso there is a plan for elementary and another for secondary that took
> Narigon's curriculum (I think there's a link to this from the
> unschooling list, or at least from Sandra Dodd's site) this year and
> my county BOE people had no comments.
Carol's unschooling curriculum and expanded it using the California
state educational standards' language so it is a little more likely to
meet with approval, if someone has to submit something to a school
official. You could also use it as a "suggestion list" to stick
different activities under educationeze-sounding headings - for
after-the-fact recordkeeping if you have to turn something in, like a
portfolio. It is in the files area of the list and called "ACME Academy
Course of Study...." Here is the link:
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UnschoolingDiscussion/files/>.
National Home Education Network
<www.NHEN.org>
Serving the entire homeschooling community since 1999
through information, networking and public relations.
[email protected]
In a message dated 3/13/2004 11:24:56 AM Eastern Standard Time,
bkocsis@... writes:
assembles a selection of the child's work, selecting items to
include that will show progress in the 5 subject areas the law
mentions and indicate what the child has been doing throughout the
year (include brochures from places visited, listing of videos
watched, websites visited, etc). <<
********************************************************************
Sorry it took me forever to reply to this, I know it's an older message, but
we're in the throes (throws?) of lambing season with 4 orphans I'm bottle
feeding.
I just wanted to say that homeschooling/unschooling in WV is not too bad.
It really varies from county to county. Elkins (Randolph) allows children to
come part time to school, and if the child enters high school partway through
they will give credit for homeschooling done. Other counties (like Upshur,
Lewis, etc) won't let children attend sport or music programs, and will give no
credit for any schooling done at home. Also, in WV if you are not in school
(or officially homeschooling) you cannot get your driver's license until you are
18. So, it's not an option to quit the evaluations when the child reaches
16, or their driver's license will not be renewable.
We have always done the portfolio evaluations, and it's something the kids
actually enjoy doing....putting together almost a scrapbook of all the stuff
they've done all year. We know of 2 licensed teachers who are very friendly to
homeschoolers/unschoolers and the evaluations are not problem, no pressure.
One portfolio evaluator we used was licensed in the states of Louisiana and
Ohio, and was working on getting her WV certificate. Our school board had no
problem but another county's superintendant had a problem with another evaluation
done by her. It just depends a lot on where you live.
It IS a WONDERFUL place to live, and unschool, especially if nature and the
outdoors is a big part of your life. Sort of harder if you're the symphony,
museum, theater type of family. Not a whole lot of those here in Central WV.
But if you love appalachian culture, music, folklore, dance, and life, it's
heaven.
Nancy B. in WV
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
bkocsis@... writes:
>>Manyunschoolers here assess via portfolio evaluation, meaning the family
assembles a selection of the child's work, selecting items to
include that will show progress in the 5 subject areas the law
mentions and indicate what the child has been doing throughout the
year (include brochures from places visited, listing of videos
watched, websites visited, etc). <<
********************************************************************
Sorry it took me forever to reply to this, I know it's an older message, but
we're in the throes (throws?) of lambing season with 4 orphans I'm bottle
feeding.
I just wanted to say that homeschooling/unschooling in WV is not too bad.
It really varies from county to county. Elkins (Randolph) allows children to
come part time to school, and if the child enters high school partway through
they will give credit for homeschooling done. Other counties (like Upshur,
Lewis, etc) won't let children attend sport or music programs, and will give no
credit for any schooling done at home. Also, in WV if you are not in school
(or officially homeschooling) you cannot get your driver's license until you are
18. So, it's not an option to quit the evaluations when the child reaches
16, or their driver's license will not be renewable.
We have always done the portfolio evaluations, and it's something the kids
actually enjoy doing....putting together almost a scrapbook of all the stuff
they've done all year. We know of 2 licensed teachers who are very friendly to
homeschoolers/unschoolers and the evaluations are not problem, no pressure.
One portfolio evaluator we used was licensed in the states of Louisiana and
Ohio, and was working on getting her WV certificate. Our school board had no
problem but another county's superintendant had a problem with another evaluation
done by her. It just depends a lot on where you live.
It IS a WONDERFUL place to live, and unschool, especially if nature and the
outdoors is a big part of your life. Sort of harder if you're the symphony,
museum, theater type of family. Not a whole lot of those here in Central WV.
But if you love appalachian culture, music, folklore, dance, and life, it's
heaven.
Nancy B. in WV
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]