Heidi <[email protected]>

Hi again...

Mrs.Find-A-New-Idea-And-Focus-On-It-To-The-Exclusion-Of-All-Else.
That's me.

This is what I want to do today: after our morning Bible time, which
we do together, I want to head downstairs and workout while the kids
clean their rooms. This needs doing, and I intend that they get it
done. Hopefully, the backhoe I'll be renting for the job won't cost
TOO much! L

After Richard Simmons and a shower, I want to get out the Crystal
Growing kit they've been hankering to mess around with, and get some
crystals started growing. This fits right in with the science lesson
set up for Robby for today. Then I want to do Katie's science lesson,
which she's been asking me to get on with, which I've been
putting off...you see, our mornings have been eaten up with "doing
Math" "finishing vocabulary" "working on phonics" and by lunchtime of
each day, I'm WIPED OUT and TIRED OF KIDS, because I've had to
continually remind them to "stay on task."

Oh, let me say...this year, I made the dread mistake of signing on
with K12. It might be perfect for some people, but it really isn't my
style, which I knew very near the beginning of the school year. Let
me also say, after I get done posting this, I'm going to be emailing
the K12 people and asking their advice "We've decided we won't be
continuing with K12 next year. Should we drop now, and send back the
curriculum materials, or should we continue in the curriculum,
choosing what looks good to us and ignoring the rest?" (In case you
didn't know, K12 sends TONS of very cool materials for science and
art, along with all the curriculum pages and books for Math, Language
Arts, Phonics, History, and Music)

If you know someone who is thinking K12, and they ask your advice...
well, *I'd* definitely advise against it, unless they are a very goal
oriented, task oriented family. Which we are not.

After we do some science experiments together, I'm going to bake
bread and...Katie will want to help with that. Abbie will want to sit
and peruse her Two Towers Pictorial guide or read another Xanth book.
Robby...computer game, for sure! LOL

In my thinking of the past few days, one thing that's surfaced: much
that I know, I either "got it" as an adult, or learned from reading
books as a child...reading with my head resting on my desk in school,
a book open in my lap, while the teacher "taught" whatever subject.
Reading from my dad's natural science library, in bed at night.
Reading in the front room completely oblivious to the world. Reading
itself, I was never taught...just picked it up from being read aloud
to and one day astonished my parents by reading to them from a
favorite book "In the City and On the Farm" when I was about 5.

So, the things that you people have been discussing here, and in the
readings I've found on other websites, such as letting the child pick
up reading by providing a book-rich environment...this happened to
me, it virtually happened with my daughter and my son (though they
did have reading lessons and picked it up fast)...

When I read things like "children will really know something that
they have pursued because of genuine interest" and realize this,
also, has happened in my life and my daughter's life...makes me stop
and think, for sure.

Okay, time to go.

thanks for providing a venue for my pondering!

blessings, Heidi

[email protected]

In a message dated 1/13/03 9:09:41 AM Eastern Standard Time,
bunsofaluminum60@... writes:

> This is what I want to do today: after our morning Bible time, which
> we do together, I want to head downstairs and workout while the kids
> clean their rooms. This needs doing, and I intend that they get it
> done. Hopefully, the backhoe I'll be renting for the job won't cost
> TOO much! L
>
> After Richard Simmons and a shower, I want to get out the Crystal
> Growing kit they've been hankering to mess around with, and get some
> crystals started growing. This fits right in with the science lesson
> set up for Robby for today. Then I want to do Katie's science lesson,
> which she's been asking me to get on with, which I've been
> putting off...you see, our mornings have been eaten up with "doing
> Math" "finishing vocabulary" "working on phonics" and by lunchtime of
> each day, I'm WIPED OUT and TIRED OF KIDS, because I've had to
> continually remind them to "stay on task."
>
> Oh, let me say...this year, I made the dread mistake of signing on
> with K12. It might be perfect for some people, but it really isn't my
> style, which I knew very near the beginning of the school year. Let
> me also say, after I get done posting this, I'm going to be emailing
> the K12 people and asking their advice "We've decided we won't be
> continuing with K12 next year. Should we drop now, and send back the
> curriculum materials, or should we continue in the curriculum,
> choosing what looks good to us and ignoring the rest?" (In case you
> didn't know, K12 sends TONS of very cool materials for science and
> art, along with all the curriculum pages and books for Math, Language
> Arts, Phonics, History, and Music)
>
> If you know someone who is thinking K12, and they ask your advice...
> well, *I'd* definitely advise against it, unless they are a very goal
> oriented, task oriented family. Which we are not.
>
>

Heidi,
Just wondering...are you an unschooler on this list? Or wanting to be an
unschooler?
Just wondering because your post doesn't really fit in with unschooling, so I
was curious?
Pam G.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Heidi <[email protected]>

No, I'm not doing unschooling. Just researching options at this
point.

thanks for asking

HEidi

-- In [email protected], genant2@a... wrote:
> In a message dated 1/13/03 9:09:41 AM Eastern Standard Time,
> bunsofaluminum60@h... writes:
>
> > This is what I want to do today: after our morning Bible time,
which
> > we do together, I want to head downstairs and workout while the
kids
> > clean their rooms. This needs doing, and I intend that they get
it
> > done. Hopefully, the backhoe I'll be renting for the job won't
cost
> > TOO much! L
> >
>
> Heidi,
> Just wondering...are you an unschooler on this list? Or wanting to
be an
> unschooler?
> Just wondering because your post doesn't really fit in with
unschooling, so I
> was curious?
> Pam G.
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

In a message dated 1/13/03 7:09:25 AM, bunsofaluminum60@... writes:

<< Should we drop now, and send back the
curriculum materials, or should we continue in the curriculum,
choosing what looks good to us and ignoring the rest?" >>

Why would you ask them? Are they giving you "credits" or something?
What if they say "NO, you canNOT pick and choose what seems good."

What authority do they have to tell you how to use their materials?

Sandra

kayb85 <[email protected]>

--- In [email protected], SandraDodd@a... wrote:
>
> In a message dated 1/13/03 7:09:25 AM, bunsofaluminum60@h... writes:
>
> << Should we drop now, and send back the
> curriculum materials, or should we continue in the curriculum,
> choosing what looks good to us and ignoring the rest?" >>
>
> Why would you ask them? Are they giving you "credits" or something?
> What if they say "NO, you canNOT pick and choose what seems good."
>
> What authority do they have to tell you how to use their materials?
>
> Sandra

I guess it would depend on whether she is legally a homeschooler or
if this allows her to be considered a private schooler or if it's a
public cyber charter school program.

If she's a homeschooler then of course she can pick and choose. If
she's getting around compulsory attendence laws by being with them,
depending on the laws of her state and what the penalties are for
truancy/educational neglect, then it might not be worth messing with.

Sheila

Heidi <[email protected]>

--- In [email protected], SandraDodd@a... wrote:
>
> In a message dated 1/13/03 7:09:25 AM, bunsofaluminum60@h... writes:
>
> << Should we drop now, and send back the
> curriculum materials, or should we continue in the curriculum,
> choosing what looks good to us and ignoring the rest?" >>
>
> Why would you ask them? Are they giving you "credits" or something?
> What if they say "NO, you canNOT pick and choose what seems good."
>
> What authority do they have to tell you how to use their materials?
>
> Sandra

Argh! This is whay my friend says, too! L No, they're not giving us
credits or anything, just "advancing" us if we complete a certain
percentage. (shudder. I can't EVEN believe I chose this) And, since
I'm not using K12 next year, it shouldn't matter whether we advance.
so, you have sort of answered the question...But I am still going to
inform them that we're dropping, so that we don't come to June 10
(when school ends) and have "failure" and here's why I don't want
that...

The public school mentality is rampant in this thing. It is a charter
school, and they do have paid, certified teachers to "help" us.
(Ugh!) and I think it would be bad to have a veteran homeschooling
family "not make it"...so, we need to let them know that it's a
decision we've made.

As for K12 and Idaho Virtual Academy telling me "no," they did when I
enrolled, and wanted Katie to do 1st grade work, even though she's
eight. No can do...but they did "allow" us to sign on with 1st grade
math and phonics, when I explained that she hadn't had any formal
education at all up to then, except she knew the sounds of her
letters, and how to write her numbers. Second Grade everything else.

anyway.

whew! my brain's frying. New ideas, different thoughts (though not
really SO different from my style of educating)

thanks
Heidi