I'm often asked by other homeschooling parents how I learn about all the various homeschooling activities in which we are involved. Many of these parents have been at this longer than I have, so I must know something others don't, which mostly involves liberal use of the internet and telephone. While many of these programs are unique to Huntsville, Alabama, I suspect similar programming exists in towns throughout the country, so I'll share what I know:
- YMCA: Our local YMCA runs a physical education program for homeschooled students that includes team sports, games, and the Presidential Physical Fitness program. The program runs twice a week from 12-1 at the very economical cost of $25 a month. I'm sure many other YMCA centers have similar programs or would be willing to start them.
- Science: Homeschool Science is scheduled once per month at our local children's science museum. These programs run one hour for elementary age and two hours for middle school age with hands-on experiments and projects. Another program, which I don't participate in, is a life science program run at the Botanical Garden. Our science museum here in Huntsville is not the most elaborate out there, so similar opportunities may be present at a science center, botanical garden, or arboretum near you.
- Social Studies: Monthly 1-2 hour social science activities take place at various historical and children's museums in town. Some fabulous experiences that we have signed up for have included such activities as re-enacting an underground railroad experience, food preservation of the past, textile making, and others. Many museums and historical have programs in place for scouts of school field trips, and if they are aware of a level of interest in the homeschooling community, will gladly run such programs on slower days, which makes for a great intimate experience for smaller groups of homeschoolers.
- Visual and Performing Arts: Local arts centers, museums, dance studios, theater companies, and music schools that offer afternoon and evening lessons and classes are often slower during the morning and early afternoon hours. Homeschool classes are offered during these hours in order to profit from those time slots, and if there is sufficient interest, these classes can be a fantastic opportunity for your homeschooled student to benefit from fine and performing art exploration in a small class size.
- Travel: Keep an eye open for fantastic off-season educational travel opportunities geared towards families who homeschool. Walt Disney World features "Home School Days" in January and October, with discounted rates and educational programming. Homeschool cruises are advertised, and many homeschool groups organize great educational trips and programs at bargain prices.
- Homeschool Groups: Perhaps the single most component in finding information about these activities is to connect with other homeschooling families. If your state requires affiliation with a cover school or district homeschool program, this may be self-evident. Internet groups are also a great way to connect with local homeschoolers, such as Meetup.com or Yahoo Groups. Many of these groups are organized by philosophy as well such as by religious ideology or teaching style. Members can inform each other of local offerings or work together to organize group field trips and educational activities.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Phonics Program Review
If you visit the ClickNKids web site, it looks campy. The cartoon characters Click N. Kid and Cosmo Cat dance hyper-actively across the screen in a new 3-D advertising video encouraging parents to sign up for their service.
I originally signed up for ClickNKids as a temporary measure. I began homeschooling my first grader sooner than I had anticipated, and lacking any formal phonics program, this one seemed adequate, accessible, and affordable after a trial run on one of their free lessons.
I have since relied on ClickNKids as the sole curriculum for spelling and phonics for my first grader, and have begun using it with my preschooler as well, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. One caveat is that the program is strictly fundamentals for new and early readers; this is not an appropriate program for children who already possess proficient or advanced reading skills. This program is also best suited for a child who is willing to work independently.
The instructor in this program is clear and patient, with an encouraging tone and very tonally distinct in the pronunciation of various phonetic sounds, sound combinations, words, and sentences. In the phonics program, children will get experience in phonics, sight words, oral fluency, spelling, and dictation. Certain language concepts are also discussed, such as prefixes, suffixes, and homonyms.
The earliest lessons are appropriately short (5-10 minutes) for the preschooler or kindergartner with a shorter attention span. These have been tested and met with the approval of my very stubborn 4-year-old. The youngest students will probably require some parental follow-up, until the child develops enough confidence and proficiency to fully engage with the program. Slowly the lessons work up in duration, and the most advanced lessons, which have been tested quite thoroughly by my 7-year-old, extend up to 30-45 minutes and include all aspects of reading. Parts of the lesson are timed, others are self-paced, and a lesson report at the end allows the parent to review the lesson with the student if desired.
The spelling program is significantly more challenging than the phonics program, and should probably not be used until a child has basic reading proficiency. Spelling words and exams are included, and the spelling program likely has more longevity than the phonics program.
The most excellent feature of this program, I believe, is the ability for children to learn independently age such a young age.
The program is designed for use for grades K-3, though the typical homeschooler will probably complete the program by the end of first or second grade.
I have since relied on ClickNKids as the sole curriculum for spelling and phonics for my first grader, and have begun using it with my preschooler as well, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. One caveat is that the program is strictly fundamentals for new and early readers; this is not an appropriate program for children who already possess proficient or advanced reading skills. This program is also best suited for a child who is willing to work independently.
The instructor in this program is clear and patient, with an encouraging tone and very tonally distinct in the pronunciation of various phonetic sounds, sound combinations, words, and sentences. In the phonics program, children will get experience in phonics, sight words, oral fluency, spelling, and dictation. Certain language concepts are also discussed, such as prefixes, suffixes, and homonyms.
The earliest lessons are appropriately short (5-10 minutes) for the preschooler or kindergartner with a shorter attention span. These have been tested and met with the approval of my very stubborn 4-year-old. The youngest students will probably require some parental follow-up, until the child develops enough confidence and proficiency to fully engage with the program. Slowly the lessons work up in duration, and the most advanced lessons, which have been tested quite thoroughly by my 7-year-old, extend up to 30-45 minutes and include all aspects of reading. Parts of the lesson are timed, others are self-paced, and a lesson report at the end allows the parent to review the lesson with the student if desired.
The spelling program is significantly more challenging than the phonics program, and should probably not be used until a child has basic reading proficiency. Spelling words and exams are included, and the spelling program likely has more longevity than the phonics program.
The most excellent feature of this program, I believe, is the ability for children to learn independently age such a young age.
The program is designed for use for grades K-3, though the typical homeschooler will probably complete the program by the end of first or second grade.
Friday, February 5, 2010
The Pattern and Structure of Early Math
This week, after several weeks of studying geometry, clock-reading, and measurement, our excellent math curriculum shifted back to a review of addition and subtraction in order to prepare my 7-year-old for the math topics to come; two-digit addition and subtraction.
During these review exercises, I found I was not at all satisfied with my daughter's level of proficiency with the basic addition and subtraction math facts; she was still using her fingers. This finger-counting is a product, I believe, of her experience in the public school system.
Our local school is lauded for it's high API (Academic Performance Index), yet in our state (Alabama), benchmark testing for kindergarten and first grade is restricted to reading proficiency. The unintended consequence of this emphasis on reading is that math is neglected in some cases. Teachers at these youngest grades will be held accountable for poor reading performance, but not poor math performance. My daughter was routinely handed one-digit addition worksheets, with random problems. From what I can glean, this involved minimal, if any, formal instruction, and after several months, subtraction never even made it on the menu. So meanwhile, with our excellent place value units since homeschooling, my daughter can add 6+40 without a moment's hesitation. But 6+2? Finger time.
Finger-counting isn't all bad; counting objects is the foundation of addition. But at this point in the game, a child should be able to add 2+4 without that crutch. Similarly there are criticisms of much of an emphasis on memorization. How can you be assured of comprehension if the child is just parroting back the "right answer"?
To answer this question I hit the almighty YouTube where Maria Miller, author of my math curriculum of choice, "Math Mammoth", very directly explains a happy medium. Memorization born of structure and pattern that children can visually observe in "fact families". Consider all the possibilities for a sum of 6:
Brilliant! So why was my daughter being thrown random addition worksheets for three months, using an expensive curriculum? Why isn't this method used in our public schools? Why isn't this math curriculum, sold for a whopping $30 for a year, something a public school can consider in an age of tight education budgets?
Miller explains to me that the requirements vary so much from state to state, and even district to district, that it is impossible for a small-time educator such as she to accommodate the various demands. Only big brand curriculum, like Saxon Math, can morph at will to mesh in with the bizarre and ever-changing requisites of government-run education. This flexibility comes with a major price tag.
Meanwhile, she says, many teachers are purchasing her curriculum for classroom use in any case, deviating from the norm in the interest of giving children a quality education in mathematics.
I remember my mother, a teacher of twenty years, telling me the state of California had a "phonics/whole language pendulum". Occasionally the pendulum would find a sweet spot in the middle, but sooner or later, the pendulum would inevitably swing too far one way or the other, to the point of banning the use of phonics or whole language instruction in the classroom. In either case, teachers of merit would have to smuggle materials utilizing the unfavored method like academic contraband.
How ridiculous.
During these review exercises, I found I was not at all satisfied with my daughter's level of proficiency with the basic addition and subtraction math facts; she was still using her fingers. This finger-counting is a product, I believe, of her experience in the public school system.
Our local school is lauded for it's high API (Academic Performance Index), yet in our state (Alabama), benchmark testing for kindergarten and first grade is restricted to reading proficiency. The unintended consequence of this emphasis on reading is that math is neglected in some cases. Teachers at these youngest grades will be held accountable for poor reading performance, but not poor math performance. My daughter was routinely handed one-digit addition worksheets, with random problems. From what I can glean, this involved minimal, if any, formal instruction, and after several months, subtraction never even made it on the menu. So meanwhile, with our excellent place value units since homeschooling, my daughter can add 6+40 without a moment's hesitation. But 6+2? Finger time.
Finger-counting isn't all bad; counting objects is the foundation of addition. But at this point in the game, a child should be able to add 2+4 without that crutch. Similarly there are criticisms of much of an emphasis on memorization. How can you be assured of comprehension if the child is just parroting back the "right answer"?
To answer this question I hit the almighty YouTube where Maria Miller, author of my math curriculum of choice, "Math Mammoth", very directly explains a happy medium. Memorization born of structure and pattern that children can visually observe in "fact families". Consider all the possibilities for a sum of 6:
Brilliant! So why was my daughter being thrown random addition worksheets for three months, using an expensive curriculum? Why isn't this method used in our public schools? Why isn't this math curriculum, sold for a whopping $30 for a year, something a public school can consider in an age of tight education budgets?
Miller explains to me that the requirements vary so much from state to state, and even district to district, that it is impossible for a small-time educator such as she to accommodate the various demands. Only big brand curriculum, like Saxon Math, can morph at will to mesh in with the bizarre and ever-changing requisites of government-run education. This flexibility comes with a major price tag.
Meanwhile, she says, many teachers are purchasing her curriculum for classroom use in any case, deviating from the norm in the interest of giving children a quality education in mathematics.
I remember my mother, a teacher of twenty years, telling me the state of California had a "phonics/whole language pendulum". Occasionally the pendulum would find a sweet spot in the middle, but sooner or later, the pendulum would inevitably swing too far one way or the other, to the point of banning the use of phonics or whole language instruction in the classroom. In either case, teachers of merit would have to smuggle materials utilizing the unfavored method like academic contraband.
How ridiculous.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
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