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
Sunday, January 24, 2010
The Public Library
One resource for homeschooling that I have really come to appreciate is the public library. At least here in Madison County, Alabama, the county library system is incredibly underutilized by the public. I have to confess, I didn't use it much either prior to homeschooling. I occasionally attended the story hour for preschoolers and toddlers when my kids were younger, and have on occasion taken advantage of library events for kids. These events are fairly well-attended, but I hadn't used the library much to check out actual books for a while. I've always in theory favored the idea of public libraries, but I must admit I had come to consider the library to be something that I had outgrown. With the advent of the internet, seldom would I actually need to drive all the way to a library to research anything minor, and between gifts, used bookstores, and simply being an adult with enough income to purchase my own reading material. Of course the library holds a bit of antiquated magic and I would take my children there for a token trip once in a while, but ultimately I remained unconvinced that the responsibility of returning books downtown was worth it for children's books that are read in a fifteen minute session.
Once I began homeschooling, I began to look at the expense involved in providing my early reader with ample and diverse reading material. This expense is magnified by my decision to embrace literature-based education for early social studies and science. I could hardly justify the purchase of so many books when they could be borrowed for free.
I quickly learned that the library no longer requires me to look through a dusty card catalog or even wait my turn to use a public computer. Not only does the public library have an online catalog with details and pictures to rival that of Amazon (ok, not quite, but more than you might expect), but I can put a hold on any available item in the entire county library system, and apparently magical book elves (also known as underutilized library workers) will locate them and transport them to any branch of my choosing for pick-up. They even call me when the material is available - usually no more than a few days. I can't get that kind of service at Border's.
Last fall, I took my Girl Scout Troop to the library for a tour. There is a very bright-eyed youth librarian who was extraordinarily helpful. I wonder if she'd accommodate some homeschool book discussion groups?
Once I began homeschooling, I began to look at the expense involved in providing my early reader with ample and diverse reading material. This expense is magnified by my decision to embrace literature-based education for early social studies and science. I could hardly justify the purchase of so many books when they could be borrowed for free.
I quickly learned that the library no longer requires me to look through a dusty card catalog or even wait my turn to use a public computer. Not only does the public library have an online catalog with details and pictures to rival that of Amazon (ok, not quite, but more than you might expect), but I can put a hold on any available item in the entire county library system, and apparently magical book elves (also known as underutilized library workers) will locate them and transport them to any branch of my choosing for pick-up. They even call me when the material is available - usually no more than a few days. I can't get that kind of service at Border's.
Last fall, I took my Girl Scout Troop to the library for a tour. There is a very bright-eyed youth librarian who was extraordinarily helpful. I wonder if she'd accommodate some homeschool book discussion groups?
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Math Rant
Anyone who has made the mistake of expressing interest in the details of our homeschooling has probably already been subjected to my math rant. But for posterity, I shall repeat it here, and warn that this is largely an editorial about the early math curriculum used by Huntsville City Schools in Huntsville, Alabama.
When I first pulled my first grader out of school in November, it occurred to me that in spite of daily math homework for nearly four months, I had never seen my daughter bring anything home but a single-digit addition worksheet. I am somewhat embarrassed to admit that prior to withdrawing her from school, I had never noticed this. She was so inundated with reading, reading, reading, that repetitive nature of her mathematics assignments had escaped my notice.
I grant that repetition is a necessary part of learning math at all levels. But four months of single-digit addition, with virtually no variation, is beyond necessary repetition. To make matters worse, when I began to evaluate my daughter's math skills, I found that she had virtually no addition facts memorized, still stumbled over 12, 13, 14, and 15 when asked to count from 1-20, and still wasn't positive whether 30 or 50 comes after 29, even though according to her report card she had mastered these skills. In spite of this daily repetition of addition, she could not easily answer calculate 20+1. If it wasn't able to be counted on her fingers, forget it.
It then occurred to me that in early elementary in Alabama, testing focuses around DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills), and to my knowledge at these early grades, mathematics is only minimally included in assessments, and thus in the classroom. In particular our school (Hampton Cove Elementary School) prides itself on its statistical superiority, and it is my theory that at least some teachers emphasize reading at the expense of other subjects. My own daughter's teacher even mandated that all her students participate in the extracurricular "Accelerated Reader" program.
Many educational experts will point out, correctly, that reading is the foundation for academic learning in school. But to diminish the importance of mathematics at this early age is a tremendous error. It is clear that the enthusiasm and emphasis placed on reading is not similarly placed on mathematics, as the sentiment is echoed by the majority of students all the way through high school and even college, where many liberal arts programs are devoid of any mathematics requirements.
Huntsville City Schools uses Saxon Math, a curriculum that has its advocates among public school educators and homeschoolers alike. I am not certain this curriculum was being used effectively at my daughter's school, but judging by what was brought home and her resulting lack of understanding, I can only conclude it is ineffectual for first grade, at least in my daughter's case. Doing more thorough research on the curriculum, it uses a "spiraling" approach that my husband (a physicist and engineer) had long criticized in California that unnecessarily delays learning. Common teaching methods in the United States "spiral" far longer than in other countries, and we continue to lag behind in math and science.
The curriculum is not cheap either. Our school, for its lack of funds, also hit up parents for $15 each to help offset the cost of this curriculum.
For $15, I purchased an entire semester's curriculum from Mammoth Math. The web site isn't as polished, but it is a solid curriculum, developed by an educator with a Master's degree in Mathematics from Finland. Within weeks of using this affordable, downloadable curriculum, my daughter obtained an understanding of place value and number patterns that she was then able to apply to addition and subtraction, expanding her mastery to something based on comprehension rather than repetition.
Again, repetition has its place, but devoid of comprehension, repetitive exercises are are a waste of time.
When I first pulled my first grader out of school in November, it occurred to me that in spite of daily math homework for nearly four months, I had never seen my daughter bring anything home but a single-digit addition worksheet. I am somewhat embarrassed to admit that prior to withdrawing her from school, I had never noticed this. She was so inundated with reading, reading, reading, that repetitive nature of her mathematics assignments had escaped my notice.
I grant that repetition is a necessary part of learning math at all levels. But four months of single-digit addition, with virtually no variation, is beyond necessary repetition. To make matters worse, when I began to evaluate my daughter's math skills, I found that she had virtually no addition facts memorized, still stumbled over 12, 13, 14, and 15 when asked to count from 1-20, and still wasn't positive whether 30 or 50 comes after 29, even though according to her report card she had mastered these skills. In spite of this daily repetition of addition, she could not easily answer calculate 20+1. If it wasn't able to be counted on her fingers, forget it.
It then occurred to me that in early elementary in Alabama, testing focuses around DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills), and to my knowledge at these early grades, mathematics is only minimally included in assessments, and thus in the classroom. In particular our school (Hampton Cove Elementary School) prides itself on its statistical superiority, and it is my theory that at least some teachers emphasize reading at the expense of other subjects. My own daughter's teacher even mandated that all her students participate in the extracurricular "Accelerated Reader" program.
Many educational experts will point out, correctly, that reading is the foundation for academic learning in school. But to diminish the importance of mathematics at this early age is a tremendous error. It is clear that the enthusiasm and emphasis placed on reading is not similarly placed on mathematics, as the sentiment is echoed by the majority of students all the way through high school and even college, where many liberal arts programs are devoid of any mathematics requirements.
Huntsville City Schools uses Saxon Math, a curriculum that has its advocates among public school educators and homeschoolers alike. I am not certain this curriculum was being used effectively at my daughter's school, but judging by what was brought home and her resulting lack of understanding, I can only conclude it is ineffectual for first grade, at least in my daughter's case. Doing more thorough research on the curriculum, it uses a "spiraling" approach that my husband (a physicist and engineer) had long criticized in California that unnecessarily delays learning. Common teaching methods in the United States "spiral" far longer than in other countries, and we continue to lag behind in math and science.
The curriculum is not cheap either. Our school, for its lack of funds, also hit up parents for $15 each to help offset the cost of this curriculum.
For $15, I purchased an entire semester's curriculum from Mammoth Math. The web site isn't as polished, but it is a solid curriculum, developed by an educator with a Master's degree in Mathematics from Finland. Within weeks of using this affordable, downloadable curriculum, my daughter obtained an understanding of place value and number patterns that she was then able to apply to addition and subtraction, expanding her mastery to something based on comprehension rather than repetition.
Again, repetition has its place, but devoid of comprehension, repetitive exercises are are a waste of time.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
The Fabric of Literature
To my daughter, this project was nothing short of sheer whimsy and magic. Cinderella - a story so familiar and beloved - existing in mysterious and distant places and times. Some of these stories were even believed to carry elements of truth, of simple and honest people who came to be identified as special and worthy of royal attention. It is not surprising that such tales have been so easily told and retold, even if embellished with fairy godmothers, talking fish bones, and magic shoes.
It was not my goal to merely entertain my child with reading practice using a favorite, familiar story, but rather to inspire her to understand - in her own way - the fabric of literature itself. To encourage her to conclude on her own that stories are told and retold, that plot and characters and imagery are digested, blended, and recycled, to form new stories. This is the legacy of storytelling and the foundation of literature at its most basic level.
This weekend, we hosted a Multicultural Feast for our Girl Scout Troop in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday. To culminate our Cinderella experience, I encouraged my daughter to paste together a great display board of the stories she had read. I printed out images from the stories, which she cut and arranged.
I had assumed she would arrange the images by nation - these from Korea's story, those from Ireland's. What she did instead made me truly smile. "These are all the shoes" she said "all together, for each story had a shoe" - "and these are the magic helpers, for each hero had someone magical to help him or her."
We've taken it further this week, a bit. A friend recommended Percy Jackson and the Olympians as a series of books we might read for fun, for they have a complex enough storyline to entertain my story-hungry child, but lack the kind of content that causes nightmares. I thought it would be a good idea to give her a head's up on who the Olympians are, and yesterday we pursued the internet looking for pictures of the Olympians, their names (Greek and Roman), and their domains of mythological influence.
Primed by our Cinderella experience, my daughter was afire with connections. Jupiter is called Jupiter because it is the biggest planet, and Zeus (the Greek equivelent of Jupiter) is the king of the gods. Nike shoes are named after the Goddess of Victory because runners like to win races. King Triton's appearance in The Little Mermaid, she realized, is not true Disney innovation, but a resurrection of Poseiden.
What a wonderful epiphany for her to have at seven years old as she is just embarking on a lifelong quest of reading.
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