Homeschooling help

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Michigan Teachers Chatboard

Homeschooling help

by A.

Apr 5, 2012

After months of agonizing and staring at the same school web sites for hours I am finally coming to accept that I will probably be home-schooling my daughter for kindergarten. This is NOT something I feel up for or something I wanted to do. But I don't see her thriving in full day kindergarten and we are not religious, so sending her to the local parochial schools is out. I just haven't found anything closer than 45 minutes away that I thought looked promising-- and that's just too far.

Long story short, I am looking into the option of having a retired or out of work lower elem. teacher (or even an elem. ed. sophomore or senior in college) help us as we work through the next school year. I need to educate myself on what the school curriculum is for kindergarten, what expectations are for students entering first grade (because I do NOT plan to home school beyond this coming school year!), best teaching practices, and what's developmentally normal for a child my daughter's age....See More

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mom Here are some ideas that might help. My son has been home schooled most of the elementary and middle school years. I am a public school teacher.

1. Try to find the Yahoo group in your area for home schoolers. Do a search for your town and home schoolers. On that group site you can buy used materials, link up with other families doing the s...See MoreHere are some ideas that might help. My son has been home schooled most of the elementary and middle school years. I am a public school teacher.

1. Try to find the Yahoo group in your area for home schoolers. Do a search for your town and home schoolers. On that group site you can buy used materials, link up with other families doing the same thing, and find tons of information about things like field trips, etc. You might think about joining together with another family that home schools. Find the Cooperatives in your area. They offer classes there.

2. Try not to think of home schooling as recreating public school in your kitchen. Get a book like, "The Well Trained Mind, by Bauer" and explore what a good education for a kindergartener should encompass.

3. Different people have different philosophies about young children and what/how they should be learning. For example, I strongly disagree with the worksheet mentality of schools with the pre-school aged student. Certainly, the case could easily be made that a child who is taken to museums once a week, learns to read with mom every day, participates in theater, does imaginative play with costumes and puppets is learning more at the age of five than a child that does worksheets all day.

4. When I homeschooled my son for kinder I created a year on a calendar based on unit topics. In Science we learned all about weather, the seasons, the moon, plants, etc. In Social Studies we went through the early settlers arriving on the Mayflower all the way through the covered wagons of westward expansion. Each month we studied about a different system of the body. We went to library and checked out zillions of books. I took him to live theater and we watched learning videos and talked about the ideas. When he went to a private school for first grade, he didn't "write" as well as the worksheet students did, but he was ahead in math. His teachers couldn't believe the way that he could express himself and his expansive vocabulary. I believe that language acquisition is very, very important at that age, so I think that I gave him the kind of kindergarten that all children should have, at home in our little classroom! Just relax and follow your ideals about education. You can do it!

I am a public school teacher who has watched home educated students transfer back to public school from time to time. My son also joined into my school for one year so that he could rotate through my classroom. When home schoolers join back in to a public school, they have a small adjustment time where it sometimes appears that they are a wee bit behind, but most not only catch up, but they end up excelling once they become familiar with all of the nuances of the system.

I hope this helps you. I wish you the very best. I loved home schooling my son in kinder and hope you have a great experience too!

On 4/05/12, A. wrote: > After months of agonizing and staring at the same school web > sites for hours I am finally coming to accept that I will > probably be home-schooling my daughter for kindergarten. > This is NOT something I feel up for or something I wanted to > do. But I don't see her thriving in full day kindergarten > and we are not religious, so sending her to the local > parochial schools is out. I just haven't found anything > closer than 45 minutes away that I thought looked > promising-- and that's just too far. > > Long story short, I am looking into the option of having a > retired or out of work lower elem. teacher (or even an elem. > ed. sophomore or senior in college) help us as we work > through the next school year. I need to educate myself on > what the school curriculum is for kindergarten, what > expectations are for students entering first grade (because > I do NOT plan to home school beyond this coming school > year!), best teaching practices, and what's developmentally > normal for a child my daughter's age. Talk about > intimidating! I'd like to have some hand-holding as I > navigate these waters. > > Can anyone advise me on how to go about finding some help? > > Thanks, > > Mom to a Pre-K student

Apr 5, 2012

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A. Thanks for the great tips. :)

Apr 7, 2012

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John Pfeifer I am confident that I can help you with the phonics/spelling (more phonics) part of your concerns. Check out the site [link removed]

On 4/05/12, A. wrote: > After months of agonizing and staring at the same school web > sites for hours I am finally coming to accept that I will > probably be home-schooling my daughter for kindergar...See More

Apr 28, 2012

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Shelley Hoover Not sure where you live but I am starting a tutoring business for the same reason you might homeschool your child that is going into K. If you live near the Battle Creek area I would love to help your child. I am a certified Handwriting Without Tears specialist - I will be doing the math/language/ their handwriting program with my son Noah in the F...See MoreNot sure where you live but I am starting a tutoring business for the same reason you might homeschool your child that is going into K. If you live near the Battle Creek area I would love to help your child. I am a certified Handwriting Without Tears specialist - I will be doing the math/language/ their handwriting program with my son Noah in the Fall. I am looking for a couple children to join him so he will not be learning alone. I have a space set up in my parents home that will be offering mini day camps starting in on June 11. I would like to continue these mini camps in the fall also.

Let me know if you would like any further information. [email removed]

On 4/05/12, mom wrote: > Here are some ideas that might help. My son has been home > schooled most of the elementary and middle school years. > I am a public school teacher. > > 1. Try to find the Yahoo group in your area for home > schoolers. Do a search for your town and home schoolers. On > that group site you can buy used materials, link up with other > families doing the same thing, and find tons of information > about things like field trips, etc. You might think about > joining together with another family that home schools. Find > the Cooperatives in your area. They offer classes there. > > 2. Try not to think of home schooling as recreating public > school in your kitchen. Get a book like, "The Well Trained > Mind, by Bauer" and explore what a good education for a > kindergartener should encompass. > > 3. Different people have different philosophies about young > children and what/how they should be learning. For example, I > strongly disagree with the worksheet mentality of schools with > the pre-school aged student. Certainly, the case could easily > be made that a child who is taken to museums once a week, > learns to read with mom every day, participates in theater, > does imaginative play with costumes and puppets is learning > more at the age of five than a child that does worksheets all > day. > > 4. When I homeschooled my son for kinder I created a year on > a calendar based on unit topics. In Science we learned all > about weather, the seasons, the moon, plants, etc. In Social > Studies we went through the early settlers arriving on the > Mayflower all the way through the covered wagons of westward > expansion. Each month we studied about a different system of > the body. We went to library and checked out zillions of > books. I took him to live theater and we watched learning > videos and talked about the ideas. When he went to a private > school for first grade, he didn't "write" as well as the > worksheet students did, but he was ahead in math. His > teachers couldn't believe the way that he could express > himself and his expansive vocabulary. I believe that language > acquisition is very, very important at that age, so I think > that I gave him the kind of kindergarten that all children > should have, at home in our little classroom! Just relax and > follow your ideals about education. You can do it! > > I am a public school teacher who has watched home educated > students transfer back to public school from time to time. My > son also joined into my school for one year so that he could > rotate through my classroom. When home schoolers join back in > to a public school, they have a small adjustment time where it > sometimes appears that they are a wee bit behind, but most not > only catch up, but they end up excelling once they become > familiar with all of the nuances of the system. > > I hope this helps you. I wish you the very best. I loved > home schooling my son in kinder and hope you have a great > experience too! > > > > > > > > > On 4/05/12, A. wrote: >> After months of agonizing and staring at the same school web >> sites for hours I am finally coming to accept that I will >> probably be home-schooling my daughter for kindergarten. >> This is NOT something I feel up for or something I wanted to >> do. But I don't see her thriving in full day kindergarten >> and we are not religious, so sending her to the local >> parochial schools is out. I just haven't found anything >> closer than 45 minutes away that I thought looked >> promising-- and that's just too far. >> >> Long story short, I am looking into the option of having a >> retired or out of work lower elem. teacher (or even an elem. >> ed. sophomore or senior in college) help us as we work >> through the next school year. I need to educate myself on >> what the school curriculum is for kindergarten, what >> expectations are for students entering first grade (because >> I do NOT plan to home school beyond this coming school >> year!), best teaching practices, and what's developmentally >> normal for a child my daughter's age. Talk about >> intimidating! I'd like to have some hand-holding as I >> navigate these waters. >> >> Can anyone advise me on how to go about finding some help? >> >> Thanks, >> >> Mom to a Pre-K student

May 17, 2012

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Marta I have an MA in Early Childhood Education from U of D Mercy. If you are anywhere near Commerce Township, I would love to tutor your daughter.

Marta [email removed]

On 4/28/12, John Pfeifer wrote: > I am confident that I can help you with the phonics/spelling > (more phonics) part of your concerns. Check out the site > [l...See More

Feb 14, 2013

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