Do you have a web page that you
would like to share? http://www.beckers.addr.com How
long have you hsed? This is our 3rd year.
How many children do you homeschool?
one beautiful dd, Samantha, who is 9.
What state do yo ulive in? VA
Why do you homeschool? To meet
my daughter's educational needs. She was extremely bored in public school and I've since learned that her learning style
is very hands-on and she thrives better in a one-on-one environment. She learns best when she can ask questions and
take her learning in new directions herself.
What curriculum do you use?
In the past we have used packaged curriculum - AO's Lifepacs and AO's Switched on Schoolhouse - but neither fit well with
Samantha's learning style. Now I write my own Unit Studies and this is working well so far. (We've always supplemented
her learning with unit studies, so switching to unit studies only wasn't a huge leap.)
What is your homeschooling style?
Why? Hmmmm, not sure how to answer this question. I guess the closest would be Beechick/Charlotte Mason.
We focus on one theme at a time, learning in all areas (math, LA, science, history, art, etc.) within that theme.
Do you follow a schedule? Would
you share it? As for a daily schedule, not really. Every day is different. However, when it comes to broader
scheduling, we're just starting a new schedule that I think will work really well. But I hate to endorse it too heavily
before we've given it time. It's 5 weeks on one unit, 5 weeks on a second unit, then 2 weeks off for planning, relaxing,
vacation, etc.. We will do this year round instead of taking the summer off.
Have your children ever attended
public school or will they in the future? Yes, she attended PS for K, 1st and most of 2nd.
Do you belong to a support group?
Why or why not? Not currently. I would like to find one around here that is not a co-op, but all of the ones I've
found are co-ops. I'm not really interested in help with teaching my dd (even the "fun" stuff like art & PE.)
What I REALLY want is a group made up of homeschooling moms and dads where the purpose is to chat and
exchange info and support.
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Please share any of your favorite
links to answer the following:
Where do I start? http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/ http://homeschooling.about.com/cs/gettingstarted/a/homeschool101.htm
Favorite curriculum links: http://theswap.com/ http://www.unitstudy.com/
Learning style links: http://www.homeschoolzone.com/unit-study/ http://www.geocities.com/Athens/8259/unitstud.html http://www.loveathome.com/homeschool/frugal.htm http://www.nhen.org/newhser/default.asp?id=285
State laws (other than HSLDA) links:
http://www.vhea.org/guide.html http://learninfreedom.org/sidlifVAhmsc.html
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We recently finished up a unit
on Ancient Egypt and are now doing two small units simotaneously. One is on computers and how they work and the other
is on fire-bellied toads (spawned by the recent purchase of two of these lovely creatures who seem to be mating, yay!)
In our Ancient Egypt Unit, Samantha learned about pyramids, pharoahs, desert conditions, the Nile
River, hyroglyphics, the Egyptian view on afterlife/religion and
the role that Egypt played in the Bible. Some of our activities included
writing in hyroglyphics (this was SOOOO much fun) and cooking Egyptian food (this did not go over as well, lol.)
For our computers unit, Samantha
has researched the different parts to a computer; learned about what different types of software can be used for; is keeping
a log of internet sites she's visited including what she did there, what she enjoyed about the site and what she didn't enjoy.
She also spent a day at her Daddy's work looking at the equipment he uses daily and learning what it's all for. Some
other things we're going to do with this unit over the next 3 weeks are: learn vocabulary and spelling words, discover
how math is used in computer-oriented careers, keep a book of correspondence with an e-mail pal, write a story about how computers
help people, read about the care and upkeep of your computer.
For our fire-bellied toad (FBT)
unit that has just started this week, so far Samantha has researched online how to tell the difference between male and female
FBTs, how often they mate, how many eggs they will lay, what the incubation period of those eggs is, what FBTs will eat besides
crickets (which is what ours have been eating since they joined our family 6 weeks ago), where FBTs orginated and what their
coloring means. Some other things we will do over the next few weeks in this unit are: learn vocabulary and spelling
words associated with FBTs, measure their jumps and estimate how much further one or the other can jump based on physical
characteristics, experiment with different types of food for our FBTs, and potentially breed them!
