Started home schooling

[Zzz]

Tests are used in schools because it is the only way that a teacher can keep up with what a whole classroom (or six or eight classrooms) of students are doing. It's really not needed with homeschooling. Don't let yourself fall into the trap of taking a system of education that is designed for working with whole classrooms full of children and trying to use it with one child.

Keeping a notebook of unfamiliar vocabulary words seems reasonable. Why not review that list with him each day and then pick a word together to "adopt" into your vocabulary? Make it almost a game to see how many excuses you can find to use that word over that day, or the next few days? Unless your state law requires you to do so, why give assignments that can be passed/failed at all? I'd suggest looking for ways to "improve" instead.

Obviously, he'll need to do some "formal" exercises. He'll need to be able to write well, for example. Perhaps he could practice this in non-traditional ways, though. Perhaps a blog where you review posts before he "publishes" them. This way he is also learning technology.

[creaker]

Don't forget there's hopefully a homeschooling community out there - interacting with peers who are successfully homeschooling can be a great motivator. Most kids seem to accept boundaries better when they see peers have them as well. And it adds a social component.

[Mrs-M]

Originally posted by Ihamo.
For science stuff, Bill Nye the Science Guy is great for young boys. Mythbusters also has a lot of science in it.

I second this along with CBC Radio (if you get it). On Monday nights, albeit late (midnight Mountain Standard time) a program comes on called Quirks & Quarks hosted by Bob McDonald. An incredibly interesting and educating hour to spend.

[loosechickens]

since "regular" school was an unhappy experience for him, I wouldn't hesitate to sit down with him and have a discussion about how the two of you are going to make this homeschooling a success, because it will take both of you making efforts on a daily basis, and if it doesn't work well, which would require him going back to "regular" school, after all HE is the one who will be there in the environment that didn't work well for him, not you. So, in the end, he has a LOT more "investment" in having this homeschooling work well. Make sure he understands that.

Kids are FAR more able to see what is, in the end, in their own best interest, and making sure that they carry some of the responsibility for achieving that, and showing them how their own actions will affect that goal, often works out well. JMHO

[catherine]

You said that he likes things that are structured. I'm not sure how you've structured the homeschooling time--you didn't say, but maybe that's a clue as to how to maximize the day.

Maybe if you tell him that he needs to focus on his schooling for a set time--like specific 2-3 hours in the morning (9-11am every day). No questions asked, no complaining allowed, etc. That's when some of this rote learning can take place. You would sit there with him, like a teacher (no showers, housework, etc.), and supervise those types of assignments.

The afternoon (or some afternoons) can be devoted to the more "fun" things like trips, videos, etc.

I know with my son, (who has ADD and whom I homeschooled in his high school years), he really needed external structure. He needed to know that "this is the time for ... "

I agree with others who talked about communication, expectations, decompression, but I'd only do that for a short time. Don't put yourself at a disadvantage because you're not a "real teacher." Make sure you exude "real teacher" energy so he doesn't take advantage of you.

But, I agree, you sound like you've got "the right stuff"! Good luck!

[Kathy WI]

As far as the structure...I've been doing the planned assignments in the morning, because that's when he's most focused. He's the kind of person who really likes tests, likes to be judged and graded, and can be a perfectionist (which can be good or bad depending on the situation). When he was weighing the pros and cons of homeschooling, one thing he said he'd miss was spelling tests! So I can understand why he wouldn't be into just looking through a book when he's not going to be tested on it and there's nothing specific he's told to do. Watching a science video was much better than reading a book about it.

This week I'm planning to combine drawing and geometry. Recently he asked me how to do shading in drawing. So I was thinking I'd teach him about geometric shapes, things like how to find the area, volume, etc., and also work on drawing shapes and shading. Sounds like fun to me, so hopefully he'll get into that. Some things that sound like fun to me, like analyzing grammar, are boring to other people. Imagine that.

[Gardenarian]

Hi Kathy -
I started homeschooling dd in 2nd grade and we went through almost a year of "de-schooling." We basically did no lessons at all for a while. I did a lot of reading aloud (although she was a fluent reader, it was a great tool for bringing us together.) Both dh and I took her on a lot of day trips (science museum, beach, zoo, etc.) We signed her up for a lot of "after school" programs - dance, music, swim team, theater. All of those recreation classes were a huge help in making the transition from school to home school.

Now she is 11, and she does lessons online (we use Time4learning, which she likes), spends A LOT of time reading, she is writing a novel, she takes a couple of dance classes, theater, gymnastics, spends a day per week doing wilderness studies, takes an art class and does a ton of drawing (and wants me to save it all ) and is in a band, choir, and guitar workshop. Busy kid!

For quite a while I found I had to keep changing my strategies - either she'd change, or just grow tired of it. It's a moving target. We seem to be in a good place now - but we're always tweaking things.

Best of luck on this new path!