tjreynoso
Hi,
I'm not sure if my first attempt went thru but here i go again....
I am new to this site. I have been homeschooling for the past ten
months. I am considering an unschooling approach. I live in
Florida, but how do those of you that live in states with stricter
guidelines manage to unschool and still satisfy state requirements?
I understand unschooling is a philosophy and not just an
instructional method. But how do you remain unstructured and still
comply with the states that require soem homeschoolers to keep pace
with the public schools or other such policies. Very interested in
knowing how you've managed.
Tanya
I'm not sure if my first attempt went thru but here i go again....
I am new to this site. I have been homeschooling for the past ten
months. I am considering an unschooling approach. I live in
Florida, but how do those of you that live in states with stricter
guidelines manage to unschool and still satisfy state requirements?
I understand unschooling is a philosophy and not just an
instructional method. But how do you remain unstructured and still
comply with the states that require soem homeschoolers to keep pace
with the public schools or other such policies. Very interested in
knowing how you've managed.
Tanya
Danielle E. Conger
Tanya, I don't know if Maryland is considered "stricter" or not. Certainly,
it's not as strict as PA, but I thought it was pretty darn strict when I
moved here from New Mexico!
My state guidelines require me to undergo a portfolio review no more than 3
times per year. In my county, this means that I meet with a certified
teacher twice a year, once at the end of each semester. They have a form
that I fill out regarding the curriculum I offer for each subject
area. This has been pretty easy, but my kids are still young--my oldest is
1st grade this year. There's not a whole lot of space under each heading,
so I usually list whatever books we have, topics we've talked about, movies
we've seen, trips we've taken that apply to whatever subject heading.
Sometimes I list the same thing for more than one subject if it applies in
school terms. I also take in a list of books we've taken out of the
library, bought and read. Many schools offer online versions of their
curriculum (mine do), so it's pretty easy to just parrot that back at them.
It's annoying to have to meet with someone twice a year, but all in all the
portfolio system isn't too bad. It occurs after the fact, which makes it
pretty easy to say what we've done. It presents examples of work done
rather than a total of work done, so I don't have to show that we do
anything every day (or even on a regular basis, for that matter). My
reviews also take place face to face, which allows me to explain and expand
on lots of our activities, so my reviewer knows that we do stuff even if I
don't have worksheets to prove it. No testing is key, I have to say. I'm
usually able to just ignore the whole review issue until about a week
before it actually happens; then, I just begin translating all the stuff
we've done into terms the schools would be comfortable with, you know? For
example, "mama built (greatly expanded a dinky little one that was here
when we moved in) a really cool pond in the backyard with neat fish, frogs
and turtles" will become "Designed, constructed and maintained an aquatic
ecosystem capable of supporting the life cycles of numerous species,
including fish, frogs and dragon flies."
I have a really great reviewer, which can make all the difference. I'm
probably going to continue reviewing with the county until they begin to
give me grief. Then, I have the option of joining an umbrella organization,
which still requires reviews but can have different and more relaxed
agendas, depending upon who they are. If they weren't so expensive, I might
join one sooner rather than later just to avoid the whole county review
process and the stress that goes along with it. Although I don't stress
too much over the whole thing, I do find myself thinking in more
traditional terms whenever the thoughts of review enter my head--something
I'd like to do away with entirely.
--danielle, who is curiously and a bit apprehensively watching for changes
in the process as her children get older
it's not as strict as PA, but I thought it was pretty darn strict when I
moved here from New Mexico!
My state guidelines require me to undergo a portfolio review no more than 3
times per year. In my county, this means that I meet with a certified
teacher twice a year, once at the end of each semester. They have a form
that I fill out regarding the curriculum I offer for each subject
area. This has been pretty easy, but my kids are still young--my oldest is
1st grade this year. There's not a whole lot of space under each heading,
so I usually list whatever books we have, topics we've talked about, movies
we've seen, trips we've taken that apply to whatever subject heading.
Sometimes I list the same thing for more than one subject if it applies in
school terms. I also take in a list of books we've taken out of the
library, bought and read. Many schools offer online versions of their
curriculum (mine do), so it's pretty easy to just parrot that back at them.
It's annoying to have to meet with someone twice a year, but all in all the
portfolio system isn't too bad. It occurs after the fact, which makes it
pretty easy to say what we've done. It presents examples of work done
rather than a total of work done, so I don't have to show that we do
anything every day (or even on a regular basis, for that matter). My
reviews also take place face to face, which allows me to explain and expand
on lots of our activities, so my reviewer knows that we do stuff even if I
don't have worksheets to prove it. No testing is key, I have to say. I'm
usually able to just ignore the whole review issue until about a week
before it actually happens; then, I just begin translating all the stuff
we've done into terms the schools would be comfortable with, you know? For
example, "mama built (greatly expanded a dinky little one that was here
when we moved in) a really cool pond in the backyard with neat fish, frogs
and turtles" will become "Designed, constructed and maintained an aquatic
ecosystem capable of supporting the life cycles of numerous species,
including fish, frogs and dragon flies."
I have a really great reviewer, which can make all the difference. I'm
probably going to continue reviewing with the county until they begin to
give me grief. Then, I have the option of joining an umbrella organization,
which still requires reviews but can have different and more relaxed
agendas, depending upon who they are. If they weren't so expensive, I might
join one sooner rather than later just to avoid the whole county review
process and the stress that goes along with it. Although I don't stress
too much over the whole thing, I do find myself thinking in more
traditional terms whenever the thoughts of review enter my head--something
I'd like to do away with entirely.
--danielle, who is curiously and a bit apprehensively watching for changes
in the process as her children get older
[email protected]
In a message dated 12/11/2003 9:13:41 PM Eastern Standard Time,
danielle.conger@... writes:
<<My state guidelines require me to undergo a portfolio review no more than 3
times per year. In my county, this means that I meet with a certified
teacher twice a year, once at the end of each semester.>>
I live in NY and always considered it a "strict" state, but I'm glad that I
don't have to meet with anyone.
The hard part in NY is that you have to submit a plan (IHIP) before the
school year starts. One way to do this while unschooling is to be rather vague and
state that you will be using library books. You can also say later in your
follow up reports that you decided to do something else if your child's
interests have changed. I do this all the time.
--Jacqueline
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
danielle.conger@... writes:
<<My state guidelines require me to undergo a portfolio review no more than 3
times per year. In my county, this means that I meet with a certified
teacher twice a year, once at the end of each semester.>>
I live in NY and always considered it a "strict" state, but I'm glad that I
don't have to meet with anyone.
The hard part in NY is that you have to submit a plan (IHIP) before the
school year starts. One way to do this while unschooling is to be rather vague and
state that you will be using library books. You can also say later in your
follow up reports that you decided to do something else if your child's
interests have changed. I do this all the time.
--Jacqueline
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Danielle E. Conger
At 09:43 PM 12/11/2003 -0500, ivorygrace7@... wrote:
requirement. I'd much rather do a retrospective than a proposal--ever so
much easier in my mind.
Doesn't Carol Narrigan have something like this plan online? I know I've
read about it and seen it a couple of times.
I will be doing my review on January 5th this year. I'll let everyone know
how it goes.
--danielle
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>The hard part in NY is that you have to submit a plan (IHIP) before theThat's why I'm glad about the portfolio, if one can be glad about any nasty
>school year starts. One way to do this while unschooling is to be rather
>vague and
>state that you will be using library books. You can also say later in your
>follow up reports that you decided to do something else if your child's
>interests have changed. I do this all the time.
>
>--Jacqueline
requirement. I'd much rather do a retrospective than a proposal--ever so
much easier in my mind.
Doesn't Carol Narrigan have something like this plan online? I know I've
read about it and seen it a couple of times.
I will be doing my review on January 5th this year. I'll let everyone know
how it goes.
--danielle
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
In a message dated 12/12/03 6:44:15 AM, danielle.conger@... writes:
<< Doesn't Carol Narrigan have something like this plan online? I know I've
read about it and seen it a couple of times.
It's one of Carol Narigon's particular ones (a real one she used one year, I
mean) but it's a good model!
Sandra
<< Doesn't Carol Narrigan have something like this plan online? I know I've
read about it and seen it a couple of times.
>>sandradodd.com/unschoolingcurriculum
It's one of Carol Narigon's particular ones (a real one she used one year, I
mean) but it's a good model!
Sandra