Why We Home School: Part VI

Why We Home School:  Foundations

What are the most important things for children to learn?

The answer differs from one family to another.  Reading, writing, and arithmetic?  Science?  History?  Maybe the arts?   

Author and Education Correspondent on the PBS NewsHour, John Merrow, suggests in his Huff Post article, "In Education, Back to Basics", four educational "basics":  reading & writing, numeracy (math), creativity (the arts), and health & nutrition (I imagine physical fitness would fall under this category as well).

Merrow says, "We read to gain information, and we write to convey it.... Numeracy is also a basic skill.... Health and nutrition are [also] basic components of a balanced education.  Larger classes with increasing numbers of children who are undernourished or otherwise in poor health are not a prescription for a vibrant future...."

In regards to creativity, Merrow sends us in the direction of Sir Ken Robinson, an internationally recognized leader in the development of creativity, innovation and human resources in education and in business.  I think Sir Robinson's TED talk of 2006 sums it up quite nicely.

 

 As parents, what matters most to us for our sons' education is not what grade they earn on a test.  It's not how they perform on standardized state tests.  Those tests are irrelevant to our sons' futures and to who they will become as men.  

As Sir Robinson wrote, "One of the deep problems of the standards and testing movement is that it promotes a very narrow view of ability in schools and a culture of conformity. The fact is that all students are different. Like you and me, they all have different talents, different interests and different ways of learning. Individual achievement is not marked by so much conformity as by diversity. People with ‘learning differences’ may well have other strengths and talents that standardized education completely overlooks. Discovering our real abilities is at the heart of creating our best lives."

If we were to choose measurable building blocks, or foundations, of what we want our sons to learn in life, the four mentioned by John Merrow, especially creativity, as discussed by Sir Robinson, would be at the top of our list.  But none of them are first on the list.

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you. Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, Lord.  ~Psalm 89:14-15

For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.  ~1 Corinthians 3:11

...to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.  ~1 Timothy 6:18-19

The most important things we want our boys to learn, the foundations of their education, are not things they will learn in a public school classroom.  In fact, the God of the Christian faith has been all but banned from public education.  But what matters most for our boys is to build their lives on the foundation of Jesus Christ.  

That can't be measured by a standardized, norm-referenced test.  But it can be measured.  We can gauge our sons' spirits by the fruit of THE Spirit they display in their lives.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.  ~Galatians 5:22-23

If our boys never learned another math fact or the meaning of one more word or to memorize one more historical fact or play one more note on the piano, but they grew up to be Godly men - men who display the fruit of the Spirit in their daily lives, then I would be one happy momma!

Do I want them to master the foundations of education that public schools recognize?  Yes.  Will I do my best to teach them to be the best readers, writers, mathematicians, historians, scientists, musicians, and artists they can possibly be?  Of course.  Will I spur them on to great heights of creativity?  Definitely!

But what I will teach them first and foremost are the foundations of Godly living.  They will be good men - men of strong moral character who follow Christ and seek to show His love to others through the way they live their own lives - before they ever ace a standardized state test.

Coming up... Why We Home School: Facts

Previous post... Why We Home School: Focus

Quarterly Reports: New York State

You've submitted your LOI and received your packet from your school district.  You've penned your IHIP and sent it in.  Now what?

After they receive your IHIP, your school district must send you notice within 10 days that your IHIP either meets the State's requirements or is deficient.  (Don't worry!  If you follow the example I've given, you don't have to worry about being deficient.)  They'll probably send you a packet of forms they want you to use for your Quarterly Reports and Annual Report, but you can toss those.  You are not obligated to use them.

Once you receive the school's notice, CONGRATULATIONS!  Home school away!

But don't forget about your Quarterly Reports!  On each of the dates you indicated in your IHIP, you must submit to your school district a written summary of that quarter.  This is another area where I err on the side of caution and provide much more information than the State regulations require.  To me, the extra work is worth not having a run-in with the school district down the road.  Plus, it helps me realize just how much we've done in such a short amount of time.

All that New York State requires in your Quarterly Report is the number of hours of instruction completed in the quarter, a listing of the material covered in each subject, either a grade (number or letter) or a written narrative evaluating your child's progress that quarter, and, if you covered less than 80% of the material you expected to cover during that quarter, an explanation of why must be included.  But, since you are the decider of what constitutes 80%, that shouldn't be an issue.

If you think you'd prefer a shorter version of the Quarterly Report to base your own on, take a look at the sample shown on Cityschooling, a blog by a New York City seasoned home schooling mom.  However, if you're like me and want to cover all your bases to satisfy your paranoia, you can follow my example, shown below:

QUARTERLY REPORT

Date:  November 15, 2012

Student’s name:  Jonnie A. Doe

Quarter beginning and ending dates:  8/15/12 – 11/15/12

Hours of instruction this quarter:  300+

Description of materials covered in each subject area:  (See attached form for grades assessed).

ARITHMETIC:  Place value to the 100 billions; number forms; comparing and ordering whole numbers; decimals; place value through thousandths; comparing and ordering decimals; rounding whole numbers and decimals; properties; multiplying whole numbers; multiplying decimals; variables and expressions; rules and patterns; solving equations.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE (including reading, writing, and spelling):  Jonnie has read several fiction books, and he has completed several reading assignments in various other subjects.  He has written several stories and short essay assignments.  He has studied capitalization and punctuation, grammar skills, dictionary skills, sentence types (imperative, declarative, interrogative, and exclamatory), subjects and predicates, and independent and dependent clauses.  Jonnie’s spelling and vocabulary words are taken from each subject we study, and he is tested weekly on those words.  He practices cursive penmanship weekly.

SOCIAL STUDIES (including U.S. history, and geography):  Jonnie has studied early explorers, early settlements, colonies, Ben Franklin, War of Independence, Revolutionary War, democracy, and the Pledge of Allegiance.  He participated in a field trip to the Genesee Country Village & Museum in Mumford, NY to supplement his study of colonial life.

SCIENCE:  Jonnie has studied cells, unicellular organisms, cell growth and reproduction, classifying living things and plants, seed-bearing plants, flowering plants, cone-bearing plants, spore-bearing plants, invertebrates, protists, egg-laying invertebrates, vertebrates, and egg-laying vertebrates.  He also took part in field trip to the NASA Glenn Space Center and Science Museum in Cleveland, Ohio and the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, NY.

HEALTH/SAFETY:   The habit of wellness – health and the whole person, health basics, building fitness.  Jonnie also studied dental hygiene and the reasons for tooth decay in preparation for having a tooth pulled.

MUSIC:  Jonnie began weekly piano lessons this quarter.  He is learning finger placement, keys, notes, chords, and beginning simple melodies.  He practices his lessons daily.

VISUAL ARTS:  Focus on pen and pencil sketching, specifically, contour line drawing.  Completed several art projects, including a still life continuous line contour drawing.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION:  Daily outdoor play, seasonal activities (swimming, biking, hiking, etc.), instruction in aerobic activity and the importance of health and fitness.  Jonnie participated in a week-long basketball camp this quarter.

BIBLE:  Believers in God, life of Abraham, life of David, servants of God, life of Paul.

SPANISH:  Jonnie has been learning beginning Spanish, with a focus on vocabulary and word recognition.

As mentioned at the beginning of this sample report, I also attach a "report card".  I use Homeschool Tracker Plus, which is record-keeping software where I input grades the boys earn in each subject and can generate a report of their grade averages quarterly.  I simply print off that report for each boy and attach it to the Quarterly Report. 

Really, you can make your Quarterly Reports as long or as short as you'd like, and if you don't hear a peep from your school district after submitting them, then you know you're doing it right.  They'll only contact you if they feel you are deficient in some area.

If you have any questions about this, please feel free to leave them in the comments.

Coming up... Annual Assessments

Previous post... Individualized Home Instruction Plan

Individualized Home Instruction Plan: New York State

After you submit your LOI and receive your packet from your school district, you need to prepare and submit your Individualized Home Instruction Plan (IHIP) within 4 weeks, or no later than August 15th. 

This step freaked me out the most my first time around, but a thorough reading of the New York State Dept. of Education home instruction regulations coupled with some samples I found on the internet helped me figure it out.  Even so, I erred on the side of caution, and my IHIPs are much more detailed than they need to be to meet the State's requirements.

Really all you need to include is your child's name, age, grade level, a list of the main resources you plan to use in each subject (a list of required subjects can also be found in the regulations), the dates you'll be submitting your quarterly reports, and the names of who will be teaching your child (i.e., you).

But, since I didn't want to run into any problems with the school district down the road, I went a little further than that.  I included a paragraph describing our approach to education and some of the resources we'll pull from, as well as a brief summary of the topics to be covered in each subject.

Below is the IHIP form I submit to our Superintendent:

INTRODUCTION:

We are creating an integrated, interest-based curriculum using a hands-on approach to learning.  As such, materials and activities listed in one subject area may also apply to other subject areas.  In addition, we believe that one of the great strengths of homeschooling is the flexibility to individualize the child’s learning experience so that skills and knowledge are learned at the time the child is most ready and motivated.  In keeping with that belief, the materials we will use may include, but not be limited to, the following list as well as the resources listed under each subject heading below:  reference materials (including atlases, dictionaries, maps, encyclopedias, non-fiction books, videos, DVDs, CDs, magazines, newspapers, and internet resources), classic and contemporary literature, workbooks, worksheets, journal/narrative/poetry writing, creative thinking, fact gathering, music, hands-on activities, experiments, projects, field trips, group activities, art supplies, free play, conversations, Christian Service Brigade (similar to Boy Scouts), and real life.  We provide a rich and varied educational environment at home for Brandt and also take advantage of the many library, community, and internet resources available.

ARITHMETIC:  Place value, adding, and subtracting; multiplying whole numbers and decimals; dividing with one- and two-digit divisors; data, graphs, and probability; geometry; fraction concepts; fraction operations; measurement; measuring solids; ratio, proportion, and percent; introduction to algebra.

Primary Resource:  Scott Foresman – Addison Wesley Mathematics for grade 5.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE (including reading, writing, and spelling):  Penmanship (Zaner-Bloser cursive writing), vocabulary, grammar, spelling, listening skills, telephone skills, creative writing, written and oral book reports, dictionary skills, silent and oral reading, poetry, and short stories.

Primary Resources:  Alpha Omega Horizons Penmanship Curriculum for Grade 5; Scott Foresman’s Reading Street for grade 5

SOCIAL STUDIES (including U.S. history and geography):  Exploring the New World; Colonial American life; 13 Colonies; new lands; the U.S. becomes a world leader; transportation and communication; the U.S. – one nation, many regions; our Southern neighbors; Canada.

Primary Resources:  Alpha Omega Monarch curriculum for Grade 5; Geography through Art, by Sharon Jeffus and Jamie Aramini.

SCIENCE:  Cells; plant life cycle; animal life cycle; balance in nature; transformation of energy; flood; fossils; geology; cycles in nature.

Primary Resources:  Alpha Omega Monarch curriculum for Grade 5.

HEALTH/SAFETY:  Building healthy habits, taking care of your lungs (effects of drug, alcohol and tobacco misuse); relationships; adolescent changes; being part of a family; emergency first aid; food and nutrients; patriotism and citizenship; highway safety; fire safety.

Primary Resources:  Alpha Omega Horizons Health Curriculum for Grade 5; How We Learn, How We Grow, How Our Bodies Work, and How We Learn, by Joe Kaufman.

MUSIC:  Study of different types of musical instruments, both modern and historical.  Jonnie will also begin piano lessons this year.

Primary Resource:  Music, by Eyewitness Books.

VISUAL ARTS:  Introduction to various genres and artists will occur in numerous other subject areas and through genre-specific art lessons and projects.

Primary Resources:  Geography through Art, by Sharon Jeffus and Jamie Aramini; Kids’ Art Works!, by Sandi Henry.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION:  Daily outdoor play, seasonal activities (swimming, biking, hiking, snow sports), sports camp, little league, and fitness education.

Primary Resource:  Ultimate Homeschool Physical Education Game Book, by Guy Bailey.

BIBLE (NOT REQUIRED):  Living for God; Angels; the presence of God; Bible methods and structure; proving what we believe; authority and law.   

Primary Resources:  Alpha Omega Lifepac Bible curriculum for Grade 5; Holy Bible, New International Version.

SPANISH (NOT REQUIRED):  Elementary Spanish.           

Primary Resource:  Alpha Omega Monarch curriculum.

Primary instruction to Jonnie will be provided by Jane Doe and John Doe, his parents.  Supplemental instruction will be provided by others, as necessary.

Jane A. Doe

Again, you don't need to go into as much detail as I do in order to meet the State's requirements, but if you tend toward paranoia, like I do, you might find it reassuring.

My school district sends us a form to fill out for the dates on which we'll submit our quarterly reports.  I just use their form, because it's straightforward, and doesn't infringe on any of our home schooling rights (something that is important to me).  You can choose any 4 dates you desire, but I find it simpler to use the dates suggested by the State (November 15th, January 30th, April 15th, and June 30th).

They also send a form for the entire contents of the IHIP, but, if your school does the same, you are NOT obligated to use it.

If you have any questions about this, please feel free to leave them in the comments. 

Coming up... Quarterly Reports

Previous post... Letter of Intent to Home School

Letter of Intent to Home School: New York State

After we decided to give home schooling a shot, I spent the majority of time researching the ins and outs, dos and don'ts, rules and regulations for home schooling in New York state.  I'm paranoid of not covering all my bases and having to battle with our local school Superintendent over something little that I forgot to turn in.

I gleaned a lot of information from four main sources:  Cityschooling, a blog by a New York City home schooling mom who's been at it for many years; The Journey Mom, the website of another seasoned home schooling mom; the Home School Legal Defense Association; and the New York State Dept. of Education home education regulations, found online.

Many other internet resources assisted my research, too, but those are the main treasure troves of information that I found most beneficial.

Since this blog is about my family's home schooling journey, I thought I would include samples of the documents New York State requires home schoolers submit, beginning with the Letter of Intent to Home School (LOI).

In New York State, home schooling parents must notify the school, in writing, of their intent to home school their children no later than July 1st of each year.  Yes, it must be done each year.  But, don't worry.  It's super simple. Below is the letter I submit to our Superintendent: 

        John and Jane Doe
             123 Linwood Ave.

             Schoolville, NY  12345

June 25, 2012

Maxine Delevan, Superintendent
Schoolville Central School
12 West Main St.

Schoolville, NY  12345


Dear Ms. Delevan,

We are sending this letter of intent to home school as required in Section 100.10 of the Regulations of the New York State Commissioner of Education.

We intend to home school our son, Jonnie A. Doe, who will be entering grade 5, for the 2012-2013 school year.

Sincerely,

Jane Doe

 

Within 10 days of receiving your LOI, your school district must send you a copy of the State home instruction regulations and a form on which to submit your Individualized Home Instruction Plan (IHIP), which sounds scary, but if you know the regulations and do your homework, it can be simple.  I'll talk more about the IHIP in a separate post.

So there you have it.  The LOI.  Easy peasy.

If you have any questions about this, please feel free to leave them in the comments.

Coming up... Individualized Home Instruction Plan (IHIP): New York State
 

Reading: learning to love it

I didn't read to my boys much over the years.  When they were small, between birth and maybe 3 years of age, my husband and I would read to them.  They had favorite books that they requested be read over and over and over again.  I don't remember when it ended, though.  I remember feeling, "I'm just too tired tonight."  And "I'm just too tired tonight" became a habit, unfortunately.  I regret that.

Some of my favorite memories of my own childhood center around curling up with my mom or dad on the couch while they read my favorite stories to me.  The Poky Little Puppy.  The Monster at the End of this Book.  Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes.  And many more whose stories I can picture in my head but no longer remember the titles of.  I believe the time my parents spent reading stories to me as a child helped instill a love of reading in my as I grew up.

So, I'm sad that I didn't spend that kind of time with my own boys.  Now that they are 8 and almost 11, neither of them likes reading.  You'd think we submitted them to some sort of mafia torture, like chopping off fingers or holding their heads under water until they nearly drown whenever we suggest they read a book.

My oldest asked me why in the world I like reading.  I tried to explain how delving into a good book carries my mind off into another world.  It sparks my imagination and makes my brain jump into action.  A really good book can break me of a bad mood and launch my creative spirit.  To me, the feeling is similar to receiving accolades from a person who I love and respect.  I feel good about myself.  Reassured that I can do anything I put my mind to.  Because, after reading a good book, I want to create.  Whether it's writing, or drawing, or photography, or even baking, an engaging story makes me want to show my own creativity and ability to others.  Kind of like paying it forward.

He didn't understand that.  He just said, "But reading is boring!"

Maybe it's too late now.  Maybe my boys will never know the kind of love of reading I know.  It's a gift I neglected to give them.  

Have you helped your kids learn to love reading?  What's your secret?  Share your suggestions in the comments.