new - lurking for more information
alisonslp
Hi all... While I plan to lurk for a while, to gather more
informaiton, I figured I'd introduce myself, incase I have questions
in the near future. I'm Alison and my dh and I have three children: 6
(b) 6(g) and 3(b). We "officially" began HSing last year (kindergarten
year), using a classical approach and continued it this year. But as
time goes on, it just doesn't seem to fit us. We're not having
problems per se. It just doesn't feel right. The kids are doing fine
with the approach and are independent learners for the most part, but
we rely on alot of traditional materials: rote math, basal reader,
language workbooks, spelling lists, etc. And the more involved we get,
the more it seems like "school" and less like the HS-ing I envisioned
when we began. When the twins were three, I read alot about
unschooling, particularly through Sandra Dodd's site and John Holt's
books and at the time, it worked well at the time but then dh and I
debated whether to send them to PS (dh wanted to, I didn't). We agreed
to take it one year at a time, so I felt that I needed to provide them
with a formal curriculum. Hence my problem (and it is mine - I know) -
everytime I decide to relax the workload, thoughts filter from the
back of my mind - but how will they keep up? What if we put them in
school at some point? If they haven't been learning systematically,
how will the gaps be perceived and how will they catch up? We're in NC
and next year we will need to administer yearly testing. So that
worries me as well. In reality, they will likely not go to PS for
several years but it still looms in the back of my head.
I imagine that there are others out there who have similar experiences
(started HS-ing using one approach and realizing it's not working). I
would love to hear how you went about transitioning to unschooling.
Was it immediate - just decided to stop all "school work" or did you
change gradually?
Anyway, thanks for reading and any input that you may be able to
offer. As I said, I will be lurking, just gathering more info for a
while. This group is full of great advice and experiences...
alison
informaiton, I figured I'd introduce myself, incase I have questions
in the near future. I'm Alison and my dh and I have three children: 6
(b) 6(g) and 3(b). We "officially" began HSing last year (kindergarten
year), using a classical approach and continued it this year. But as
time goes on, it just doesn't seem to fit us. We're not having
problems per se. It just doesn't feel right. The kids are doing fine
with the approach and are independent learners for the most part, but
we rely on alot of traditional materials: rote math, basal reader,
language workbooks, spelling lists, etc. And the more involved we get,
the more it seems like "school" and less like the HS-ing I envisioned
when we began. When the twins were three, I read alot about
unschooling, particularly through Sandra Dodd's site and John Holt's
books and at the time, it worked well at the time but then dh and I
debated whether to send them to PS (dh wanted to, I didn't). We agreed
to take it one year at a time, so I felt that I needed to provide them
with a formal curriculum. Hence my problem (and it is mine - I know) -
everytime I decide to relax the workload, thoughts filter from the
back of my mind - but how will they keep up? What if we put them in
school at some point? If they haven't been learning systematically,
how will the gaps be perceived and how will they catch up? We're in NC
and next year we will need to administer yearly testing. So that
worries me as well. In reality, they will likely not go to PS for
several years but it still looms in the back of my head.
I imagine that there are others out there who have similar experiences
(started HS-ing using one approach and realizing it's not working). I
would love to hear how you went about transitioning to unschooling.
Was it immediate - just decided to stop all "school work" or did you
change gradually?
Anyway, thanks for reading and any input that you may be able to
offer. As I said, I will be lurking, just gathering more info for a
while. This group is full of great advice and experiences...
alison
Pam Genant
> and next year we will need to administer yearly testing. So thatHi Alison,
> worries me as well. In reality, they will likely not go to PS for
> several years but it still looms in the back of my head.
> alison<<<<<<<<
Just wanted to make a quick comment about NC. Yes you have to test
yearly. There is no regulation regarding what test to use, who
administers it, or where, or what grade you test at. The law does say
that it must include certain subject areas, but no one has to see the
test. There is no pass or fail. You must keep it on file at your
homeschool for one year.
We do have an active unschooling group in NC and you can visit our web
page, http://www.ncunschoolers.com we also have a yahoo group,
NCUnschoolers, there is a link there from our web site.
Pam G
alisonslp
Thanks Pam. I'll check out the site. It will really help to have
families in our state to meet and answer questions!
alison
families in our state to meet and answer questions!
alison
Kelly Weyd
I don't know if anyone has replied to this or not. You might want to join the NCUnschoolers Yahoo group. Also, just curious, where are you in NC? I am just over the border from Charlotte, NC in SC. Anyway, I would read up on Unschooling as much as possible. Or you might want to take a more relaxed or eclectic approach. I myself just pulled my kids from public school a couple of months ago. I decided immediately that I was not going to recreate school at home. The thing that jumped out about your post and made me wonder is, what are you trying to keep up with and what gaps are you talking/and or worried about? The public school comes up with some specific method......all systematically, neatly laid out. But it's not how children really learn. And in 20 years will it really matter that Billy did not learn such and such, on exactly such and such date? I would not worry about imaginary gaps, or keeping up with anyone other than what your child wants. As for those
tests, someone on the NC unschoolers group was just talking about that. It does not say what test, how the test is to be administered, and you keep the test results on file in your home. So you could just order one of those standardized tests off the net, give it to your child, ignore the results, and put it in a file. But I'd check with the people on that group, since they actually live in NC and could help you better than I can. I might have some mis-information since I do live in SC, and our homeschooling law is different. I hope this helps.
Kelly
alisonslp <alisonslp@...> wrote:
Hi all... While I plan to lurk for a while, to gather more
informaiton, I figured I'd introduce myself, incase I have questions
in the near future. I'm Alison and my dh and I have three children: 6
(b) 6(g) and 3(b). We "officially" began HSing last year (kindergarten
year), using a classical approach and continued it this year. But as
time goes on, it just doesn't seem to fit us. We're not having
problems per se. It just doesn't feel right. The kids are doing fine
with the approach and are independent learners for the most part, but
we rely on alot of traditional materials: rote math, basal reader,
language workbooks, spelling lists, etc. And the more involved we get,
the more it seems like "school" and less like the HS-ing I envisioned
when we began. When the twins were three, I read alot about
unschooling, particularly through Sandra Dodd's site and John Holt's
books and at the time, it worked well at the time but then dh and I
debated whether to send them to PS (dh wanted to, I didn't). We agreed
to take it one year at a time, so I felt that I needed to provide them
with a formal curriculum. Hence my problem (and it is mine - I know) -
everytime I decide to relax the workload, thoughts filter from the
back of my mind - but how will they keep up? What if we put them in
school at some point? If they haven't been learning systematically,
how will the gaps be perceived and how will they catch up? We're in NC
and next year we will need to administer yearly testing. So that
worries me as well. In reality, they will likely not go to PS for
several years but it still looms in the back of my head.
I imagine that there are others out there who have similar experiences
(started HS-ing using one approach and realizing it's not working). I
would love to hear how you went about transitioning to unschooling.
Was it immediate - just decided to stop all "school work" or did you
change gradually?
Anyway, thanks for reading and any input that you may be able to
offer. As I said, I will be lurking, just gathering more info for a
while. This group is full of great advice and experiences...
alison
---------------------------------
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
tests, someone on the NC unschoolers group was just talking about that. It does not say what test, how the test is to be administered, and you keep the test results on file in your home. So you could just order one of those standardized tests off the net, give it to your child, ignore the results, and put it in a file. But I'd check with the people on that group, since they actually live in NC and could help you better than I can. I might have some mis-information since I do live in SC, and our homeschooling law is different. I hope this helps.
Kelly
alisonslp <alisonslp@...> wrote:
Hi all... While I plan to lurk for a while, to gather more
informaiton, I figured I'd introduce myself, incase I have questions
in the near future. I'm Alison and my dh and I have three children: 6
(b) 6(g) and 3(b). We "officially" began HSing last year (kindergarten
year), using a classical approach and continued it this year. But as
time goes on, it just doesn't seem to fit us. We're not having
problems per se. It just doesn't feel right. The kids are doing fine
with the approach and are independent learners for the most part, but
we rely on alot of traditional materials: rote math, basal reader,
language workbooks, spelling lists, etc. And the more involved we get,
the more it seems like "school" and less like the HS-ing I envisioned
when we began. When the twins were three, I read alot about
unschooling, particularly through Sandra Dodd's site and John Holt's
books and at the time, it worked well at the time but then dh and I
debated whether to send them to PS (dh wanted to, I didn't). We agreed
to take it one year at a time, so I felt that I needed to provide them
with a formal curriculum. Hence my problem (and it is mine - I know) -
everytime I decide to relax the workload, thoughts filter from the
back of my mind - but how will they keep up? What if we put them in
school at some point? If they haven't been learning systematically,
how will the gaps be perceived and how will they catch up? We're in NC
and next year we will need to administer yearly testing. So that
worries me as well. In reality, they will likely not go to PS for
several years but it still looms in the back of my head.
I imagine that there are others out there who have similar experiences
(started HS-ing using one approach and realizing it's not working). I
would love to hear how you went about transitioning to unschooling.
Was it immediate - just decided to stop all "school work" or did you
change gradually?
Anyway, thanks for reading and any input that you may be able to
offer. As I said, I will be lurking, just gathering more info for a
while. This group is full of great advice and experiences...
alison
---------------------------------
Access over 1 million songs - Yahoo! Music Unlimited.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
plaidpanties666
--- In [email protected], "alisonslp"
<alisonslp@...> wrote:
embracing unschooling. As long as school is still a possibility it
is still controlling your life - you will always have one eye out
for "what my kid needs to know for grade x". Once school is no
longer a possibility in your mind, you have the freedom to discover
what Real Learning looks like.
If it helps, try looking at "what my kid needs to know" from a
different angle: what kinds of skills do people need to be happy in
their lives? What adults do you, personally, know who are living
joyfully? Who are doing work that brings them satisfaction and lets
them feel good about themselves? How do they do it? What do they
know and how/where did they learn it?
Now look at your kids from the same angle - what brings them joy?
what lights a spark in their eyes and engages them? what makes them
feel good about themselves?
I'll tell you the biggest lie I was ever told: You can't make a
living coloring. Now I design my quilts with pencil and paper and a
brand-new box of 64 (ahhh the smell!). I charge for "design time" -
people pay me to color. Took me almost 20yrs to get here, b/c, well,
you can't make a living coloring.
---Meredith (Mo 5, dss Ray 13)
<alisonslp@...> wrote:
>> everytime I decide to relax the workload, thoughts filter from theThe "what if...school" question can be a gigantic hurdle to
> back of my mind - but how will they keep up? What if we put them in
> school at some point? If they haven't been learning systematically,
> how will the gaps be perceived and how will they catch up?
embracing unschooling. As long as school is still a possibility it
is still controlling your life - you will always have one eye out
for "what my kid needs to know for grade x". Once school is no
longer a possibility in your mind, you have the freedom to discover
what Real Learning looks like.
If it helps, try looking at "what my kid needs to know" from a
different angle: what kinds of skills do people need to be happy in
their lives? What adults do you, personally, know who are living
joyfully? Who are doing work that brings them satisfaction and lets
them feel good about themselves? How do they do it? What do they
know and how/where did they learn it?
Now look at your kids from the same angle - what brings them joy?
what lights a spark in their eyes and engages them? what makes them
feel good about themselves?
I'll tell you the biggest lie I was ever told: You can't make a
living coloring. Now I design my quilts with pencil and paper and a
brand-new box of 64 (ahhh the smell!). I charge for "design time" -
people pay me to color. Took me almost 20yrs to get here, b/c, well,
you can't make a living coloring.
---Meredith (Mo 5, dss Ray 13)
alisonslp
Thanks Kelly, Good to know there are fellow neighbors here. My
concern with gaps lied soley with if we ever put them back in PS. I
have gone through our county's curriuclum, since it's on line, and
they teach alot of (what I consider) useless information. BUT if my
kids end up back in PS and they don't know alot of it... if you
already know that your will never do PS but DH isn't completely sold
on HS, although he has a more positive view of it since he has become
more involved - He's home with them 3 days a week while I work.
However, I have been really pondering this over the past couple days
and basically have come to the conclusion that there really isn't all
that much that they would absolutely HAVE to learn to be successful in
a classroom: math facts, basic paper computation, some writing skills.
*IF* PS is in their future, we would have time to focus on those.
They are already very good readers and pick up on new concepts and
vocabulary easily so that wouldn't be an issue. I think I have been
worrying way too much about this - not really thinking about reality
of how little they need for school. The standardized testing is still
a problem as I know they ask for scores if the kids enroll in PS - or
they will do their own tests. But I guess I could easily just teach to
the test - if that time ever came... Again, I know I am getting way
ahead of myself, thinking of something that may never happen. But
that's the analytical side of me...
thanks again - just hearing from others helps me think better...
alison
concern with gaps lied soley with if we ever put them back in PS. I
have gone through our county's curriuclum, since it's on line, and
they teach alot of (what I consider) useless information. BUT if my
kids end up back in PS and they don't know alot of it... if you
already know that your will never do PS but DH isn't completely sold
on HS, although he has a more positive view of it since he has become
more involved - He's home with them 3 days a week while I work.
However, I have been really pondering this over the past couple days
and basically have come to the conclusion that there really isn't all
that much that they would absolutely HAVE to learn to be successful in
a classroom: math facts, basic paper computation, some writing skills.
*IF* PS is in their future, we would have time to focus on those.
They are already very good readers and pick up on new concepts and
vocabulary easily so that wouldn't be an issue. I think I have been
worrying way too much about this - not really thinking about reality
of how little they need for school. The standardized testing is still
a problem as I know they ask for scores if the kids enroll in PS - or
they will do their own tests. But I guess I could easily just teach to
the test - if that time ever came... Again, I know I am getting way
ahead of myself, thinking of something that may never happen. But
that's the analytical side of me...
thanks again - just hearing from others helps me think better...
alison
alisonslp
Thanks Meredith. You are so right about not embracing unschooling
with PS still being a possibility. I just wrote to Kelly about this -
how I realized that it isn't as daunting as I thought it was - how
little the kids really need to know to do OK in a school atmosphere.
It really put things in perspective and is helping me through this
process.
alison
with PS still being a possibility. I just wrote to Kelly about this -
how I realized that it isn't as daunting as I thought it was - how
little the kids really need to know to do OK in a school atmosphere.
It really put things in perspective and is helping me through this
process.
alison
Melynda Laurent
One thing to consider too- about the *gaps* - if if you were to be in school
and move, there would likely be those same gaps from school to school,
district to district and state to state- per se. My Sil just moved states
and is encountering this first hand and I as a child moved a lot and ended
up never learning to tell time on a standard clock b/c the school I left
hadn¹t taught it and the school I went to had LOL I managed to get a MEd in
spite of it. Also district curriculums change
My point is don¹t worry
HTH
MelynDA
and move, there would likely be those same gaps from school to school,
district to district and state to state- per se. My Sil just moved states
and is encountering this first hand and I as a child moved a lot and ended
up never learning to tell time on a standard clock b/c the school I left
hadn¹t taught it and the school I went to had LOL I managed to get a MEd in
spite of it. Also district curriculums change
My point is don¹t worry
HTH
MelynDA
On 11/29/06 3:52 PM, "alisonslp" <alisonslp@...> wrote:
>
>
>
>
> Thanks Kelly, Good to know there are fellow neighbors here. My
> concern with gaps lied soley with if we ever put them back in PS. I
> have gone through our county's curriuclum, since it's on line, and
> they teach alot of (what I consider) useless information. BUT if my
> kids end up back in PS and they don't know alot of it... if you
> already know that your will never do PS but DH isn't completely sold
> on HS, although he has a more positive view of it since he has become
> more involved - He's home with them 3 days a week while I work.
>
> However, I have been really pondering this over the past couple days
> and basically have come to the conclusion that there really isn't all
> that much that they would absolutely HAVE to learn to be successful in
> a classroom: math facts, basic paper computation, some writing skills.
> *IF* PS is in their future, we would have time to focus on those.
> They are already very good readers and pick up on new concepts and
> vocabulary easily so that wouldn't be an issue. I think I have been
> worrying way too much about this - not really thinking about reality
> of how little they need for school. The standardized testing is still
> a problem as I know they ask for scores if the kids enroll in PS - or
> they will do their own tests. But I guess I could easily just teach to
> the test - if that time ever came... Again, I know I am getting way
> ahead of myself, thinking of something that may never happen. But
> that's the analytical side of me...
>
> thanks again - just hearing from others helps me think better...
>
> alison
>
>
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]