Learning to fly

As with all teachers, I’m grateful for this week-long winter break--to regroup and to plan lessons. Our final year of middle school, and therefore homeschool, presents a growing challenge for me. I find my daughter’s insatiable quest for knowledge exhausting. According to age, Allegra is in grade 8, but in reality, she is working well beyond grade level in most subjects. She recently “shadowed” a student at a well-regarded local charter high school to see if she might like to attend next year and discovered that she is covering at home the same material as the school’s advanced 9th-grade math class. In English, we are working at a high school Advanced Placement level. In fact, I’ve given Allegra the same material I, in a previous life, assigned to college freshmen and sophomores. She’s not any more “exceptional” than other bright students with whom I’ve worked, just exceptionally motivated. I imagine many serious homeschool students are working ahead of their peers in public school because they can learn at their own pace, rather than in lockstep with an entire classroom of varied ability and motivational levels. For an excellent study on how the nation’s public schools may be holding back bright students, see http://www.nationdeceived.org/. The study suggests that the current egalitarian approach to education, with its fanatical emphasis on mastery of basic skills, is actually being unfair to high-ability students. When students are ready to fly, educators shouldn’t clip their wings, leaving them to wallow in a pool of mediocrity.

Can you spell that?

Some might argue that, with dictionaries and spell-check software, teaching spelling is unnecessary. By the same token, one could also argue that calculators render the teaching of math obsolete. Times have changed, but what hasn’t changed is what marks someone as literate. The ability to spell is one of those indictors.

I tend to agree that the old-fashioned spelling test often doesn’t accomplish much: words learned for the quiz are usually here today, gone tomorrow. Only reinforcement moves information from short-term to long-term memory. Context helps, too.

We’ve found a great resource, produced by Mark Twain Media, called Spelling Puzzles, which teaches not only spelling but also synonyms and antonyms, prefixes and suffixes, foreign words and more through the use of word scrambles, crossword puzzles and word searches. In the process of completing the puzzles, students will find they’re learning useful vocabulary: art terms such as “encaustic” and “caricature,” science terms such as “hypothesis” and “osmosis,” geography terms such as “isthmus” and “strait.” This book teaches spelling in an enjoyable, meaningful way.

Allegra's take: Spelling Puzzles is intended for grades 6 through 7, and many of the activities are a bit too simple for older students. However, the vocabulary it presents is advanced, making the book also suitable for 8th graders. These words can seem intimidating on a traditional spelling word list, and the puzzles provide an easier path to learning them. Students beyond the 6 through 7 grade level might feel a little awkward doing word searches and crosswords at first but will soon find that they are using difficult spelling words easily.

Theory vs. practice

One of the benefits of homeschooling is the ability to shift gears when the educational engine isn’t running smoothly. Case in point: French. Allegra isn’t really into French, which is the language she began studying in sixth grade at public school, but it’s the only foreign language I can teach. She wants to study Latin when she enters a brick-and-mortar high school next year. Meanwhile, we continue to study le français as I research online Latin courses.

I suggested we drop French entirely because it’s not a requirement, but Allegra believes she needs some foreign-language education. Our text, The Ultimate French Review and Practice with CD-ROM by David M. Stillman, Ph.D. and Ronni L. Gordon, Ph.D., is designed for advanced beginners, but its approach is too academic for this 13-year-old. On the other hand, Allegra finds the Easy French Reader by R. de Roussy de Sales completely accessible but not always interesting.

On a whim, I purchased three children’s picture books by Brigitte Weninger about an endearing young rabbit named Fenouil. These Allegra LOVES. Fortunately, the series consists of several books. And while they are children’s books, the vocabulary is quite challenging to anyone unfamiliar with French idiomatic expressions.

It’s worth remembering that, although middle schoolers may be capable of advanced academic work, they remain children in many ways. That’s why K-8 academic models tend to be more successful than middle-school models that mimic high school. So, for French studies, we continue to use The Ultimate French Review and Practice for grammatical exercises, but for reading comprehension, we use children’s books. Merci, Fenouil, for returning the magic to learning a foreign language.

Allegra's take: The adventures of the adorable Fenouil truly saved my interest in French. The stories are simple enough to avoid too much confusion in comprehension, and the advanced vocabulary offers valuable expressions not found in every textbook. While not directly contributing to the learning experience, the series illustrations by Ève Tharlet always serve to brighten up the day.

The Easy French Reader has both easy fiction and more difficult historical essays. In terms of entertainment, I enjoyed the fiction section, "Marc et Julie," more. Middle schoolers will enjoy following the “soap opera” of the two teens in France and learn basic vocabulary and grammar as they go. While they could be a bit dry, the historical pieces made an excellent link to our history studies last year.

Grade 8 curriculum

Here is our eighth-grade course of studies, based on the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks. The list of textbooks is included under each subject. This curriculum has been approved by our local public school district:

ARTS*
Dance: Jazz & Tap, Musical Theatre
Music: piano and music theory or voice
Theatre: Basic Acting and Improvisation, playwriting or other
Visual Arts: two-dimensional and three-dimensional art
Field trips: attend a theatrical performance, attend a concert and visit an art museum
*courses taken as available through local organizations

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
Word origins, vocabulary, spelling, grammar

Texts: The 100+ Series Grammar by Mark Dressel, Grades 7-8
Using the Standards: Building Grammar & Writing Skills, Grades 7-8
Spelling Puzzles, Grades 6-7

Composition
Autobiography, biography, process analysis, comparison/contrast, persuasion
Test essays
Researched report with proper documentation
Poems
Script (see ART above for playwriting)
(All composition instruction will include discussion of grammar, usage, mechanics, research, spelling and vocabulary.)

Texts: Notebook Writer’s Guide by American Educational Publishing
Using the Media: Fact, Fiction and Opinion, Milestone

Study skills
Developing strong study habits, taking notes and outlining

Text: Note Taking & Outlining, Grades 6-8

Reading
American authors, Colonial through Civil War
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Poetry
Short stories

Analysis of language styles in literary works using selections outlined in the Massachusetts English Language Arts Curriculum Framework, page 102

Discussion of genre

MATH
Number sense and operations
Patterns, relations and algebra
Data analysis, statistics and probability
Measurement
Geometry

Texts: The 100+ Series Standards-Based Math, Grades 7-8 by Harold Torrance
The 100+ Series Mixed Skills in Math, Grades 7-8, by Marge Lindskog
Spectrum Math, Grade 8
Math Twisters by Joseph A. Kunicki, Ph.D., Grade 8
Skill Builders Geometry, Grades 6-8
Skill Builders Algebra I, Grades 6-8
Algebra Made Simple by Theresa Kane McKell, High School

SCIENCE
Scientific Method (including experiments with lab reports)
Physical Science
Life Science
Earth and Space Science
Science and Technology
Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
History and Nature of Science

Texts: Spectrum Science, Grade 8
Science Up to Standards, Grades 5-8, by Pam Walker and Elaine Wood
Inexpensive Science Experiments, Grades 5-8, by Pam Walker and Elaine Wood
50 Terrific Science Experiments, Grades 5-8, by Pam Walker and Elaine Wood

SOCIAL STUDIES
World History, 1500 to present
American History, Colonial Era through Reconstruction

Texts: The Complete Book of World History, Grades 4-8, American Education Publishing
U.S. History People and Events, 1607-1865 by George Lee
Highlights in American History from its beginnings to 1850 by Grace Kachaturoff
Highlights in American History from 1850 to present by Grace Kachaturoff

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: FRENCH
Stage 2: Student uses sentences, strings of sentences and recombinations of learned words, phrases and expressions with frequency of errors proportionate to the complexity of the communicative task.

Texts: The Ultimate French Review and Practice with CD-ROM by David M. Stillman, Ph.D. and Ronni L. Gordon, Ph.D. (audio modules included)
Easy French Reader by R. de Roussy de Sales

HEALTH
Human life cycle and body functions
Genes and heredity
Diet and nutrition, nutrition labels, safe food handling, eating disorders
Sexual education
Sexual discrimination and harassment
Feelings and self-esteem
Peer pressure and relationships
Hygiene
CPR
Addictive behaviors
Environmental and ecological health
Public health and safety

Text: Instructional Fair’s Health and Safety Curriculum, Intermediate

PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Tennis, swimming, golf, dance or other instruction as available

Good to go

Does the school district check in periodically with homeschoolers during the academic year? No. Once you receive approval to homeschool, you are largely on your own. During the summer, we received a letter from our school district’s director of learning and teaching stating that we had met the requirements for the 2009-2010 school year and that our application to continue home education for the 2010-2011 school year had been approved. We are required to submit eighth-grade assessment information, including objective test results, by June 30, 2011. Any substantial changes to the educational plan we submitted last June require pre-approval by the school district, according to the letter. “It is the responsibility of the homeschooling parent/guardian to maintain a homeschooling program consistent with the application submitted and approved, including requesting approval for any substantial changes,” the letter states. The school district’s responsibility involves merely reviewing and approving the educational plan and the student’s end-of-year portfolio. The rest is up to you.

Summer slide

You’ve heard, no doubt, about summer “learning loss.” Summer slide is the reason every school year begins with review of skills mastered the year before. As a teacher, I don’t fret about so-called learning loss because if a student has truly mastered academic skills, he or she will recall them when book learning begins. For homeschoolers and others, summer presents the perfect opportunity to introduce academic subjects in a fun way. It’s a time for field trips, outdoor exploration and special projects. If your family has the money, you could invest in enrichment classes, but if you’re looking to cut back on spending, as I am, focus on freebies:

1) Check out programs at your local library. Public libraries often offer free reading programs, as well as other activities, in the summer.

2) Investigate volunteer opportunities. Community and cultural organizations often seek free help, and this provides an opportunity for your teen or pre-teen to do some service learning. Examples: a local hospital seeks teens to deliver mail and flowers to patients; an outdoor museum seeks “junior naturalists” to assist with children’s programs; a community theatre seeks help with ushering, putting up posters and creating sets; a local child-care center seeks volunteers to read and play with children.

3) Consider entering projects in your county fair. If you live in a rural area, check out the myriad opportunities to exhibit items at the county fair. Your state university extension service can provide more information. There’s no charge to enter items at our county fair, and for exhibiting, we gain free admission: a $30 savings. The county fair offers children the opportunity to exhibit in a variety of areas (and maybe even to win a ribbon!): from arts and crafts to science projects. We’ve seen some amazing work by youngsters over the years in the areas of quilting, floral arranging, baking, woodworking and more.

4) Focus on health. Summer is a great time to cover subjects in the health curriculum: skin cancer prevention, thunderstorm safety, water safety, bicycle safety, good nutrition, benefits of exercise and more.

5) Attend free concerts. Many communities offer free outdoor concerts in the summer. Check your local newspaper for listings. Allegra and I recently attended a free indoor piano concert and lecture on ragtime, blues and jazz. It was educational and fun.

6) Looking to get rid of unwanted possessions? Stage a yard sale and enlist your children to help. They will learn how to price items, keep an inventory, display merchandise, interact with the public and handle money. For a simple math lesson, teach them how to add up the cost of merchandise and to make change. Promise them a percentage of the profits and let them figure out how much that will be.

7) Get together with other homeschoolers or neighbors to stage a Great American Bake Sale to end hunger in America. Visit http://www.strength.org/. Baking is kitchen chemistry. It also teaches math (proportion and measurement). As with a yard sale, children will learn to interact with the public and to use everyday math skills. But they will also learn to help others in need.

8) Play board games that reinforce academic skills: card games that require math such as cribbage, word games such as Scrabble and history/geography games such as Great States. The whole family can join in the fun of learning.

End-of-year evaluation

At the end of the academic year, the local school district requires homeschoolers to present evidence of what they’ve accomplished during the academic year. Otherwise, there is no oversight: At no other time during the school year does the district request progress reports. For our end-of-year evaluation, we submitted a box containing folders of important work (essays, lab reports, tests, researched papers) from every class, as well as a large art portfolio containing special projects. Allegra took digital pictures of 3-D projects too cumbersome to transport, such as her small-scale models of a Roman aqueduct and a Greek temple. We also provided a separate folder with standardized test results. When I called the school district to ask about procedure for end-of-the-year evaluation, the secretary for the director of teaching and learning instructed us to “drop off” work samples at the office at our convenience. Once we arrived, she called out the director to meet with us. At a glance, the director of teaching and learning determined Allegra had met the district’s educational requirements. But, to her credit, she spent about 30 minutes talking with Allegra about her homeschooling experience. I sensed we submitted too much material when she advised us to bring only “showcase pieces” to next year’s evaluation. I left the evaluation feeling it would be too easy for homeschoolers to neglect their education.

Allegra's take: After my talk with the director of teaching and learning, I, too, felt that I could have presented her with nothing but a poster, an essay, and a test and she would have believed that I had been properly educated. Homeschoolers (or, in this case, half-schoolers or unschoolers) could easily do nothing throughout the year but create those “showcase pieces” and still be approved.

However, those homeschoolers who have been genuinely teaching and learning have to deal with the predjudices of those who have witnessed the Unschooled. Often, officials make assumptions; for example, our director of teaching and learning informed us that we should put emphasis on math and science and blend English/Language Arts with those subjects, when, in fact, we were already doing just that. One look through my math and science folders would have proved this.

The key for evaluations is to strike the right balance. If you specifically present several showcase pieces but also have a few folders on hand to show that you did actually work, your evaluation will be a complete success.

Reading for fun

Allegra writes: My sixth-grade English teacher made reading a strict and laborious affair: we were told to read what was “on the list” (even though this list did not necessarily correspond with the state and national requirements). If we were reading something not listed on this seemingly random collection of works, we were urged to either read it on our own time or not at all.

Reading in and out of school, or homeschool, in this case, shouldn’t have to be like this. When selecting books for the teacher/parent and student to read together, try to find books within the requirements that your child is interested in. For example, if your student likes wilderness adventure stories, choose something by Jack London to read together. If he or she is interested in the medieval world of knights and dames, pick up Howard Pyle’s The Story of King Arthur and His Knights.

For individualized reading (the student reading alone outside of “school”), let the student read what he or she likes. However, you should encourage your child to read a few things from the list provided in state curriculum frameworks.

A note to students: All of the dusty old classics listed in the state requirements may not appeal to you. That’s okay. Your parent/teacher will probably be familiar with some of them, so ask your mom or dad about books you might enjoy.

Outside of the classics, there’s plenty to read. Many contemporary, up-to-date retellings of myths, legends and fairy tales are available. Here are some of my favorites:

· Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine-- This is a retelling of “Cinderella” and is also a winner of the Newbury Medal.
· Fairest by Gail Carson Levine-- A complex and absorbing retelling of “Snow White” by the author of Ella Enchanted.
· The Thirteenth Princess by Diane Zahler-- A quick and fun retelling of the fairy tale “The Twelve Dancing Princesses.”
· The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale-- One of my all-time favorites, this is a retelling of the fairy tale by the same name.
· Rapunzel’s Revenge and Calamity Jack by Shannon Hale, Dean Hale, and Nathan Hale-- This pair of graphic novels tells the rewritten tale of Rapunzel and Jack of “Jack and the Beanstalk.”
· Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan-- A fast-paced and humorous collection of adventure stories based on Greek and Roman mythology.
· Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman-- This little yarn isn’t strictly a retelling of mythology, but it incorporates many characters and events from Norse legend.
· The Sword in the Stone by T. H. White--This book is an older but entertaining tale of the legendary King Arthur’s life before he was crowned.
· I am Morgan le Fay by Nancy Springer-- This retelling of Arthurian legend gives the villain’s side of the story.

Helpful sites

The two extremes of the homeschooling spectrum--with fundamentalist Christians on the right and the freewheeling Unschooled on the left--seem to be well represented online. But what if you, like Buddha, choose the Middle Way? It’s like the road not taken, to borrow from Frost.

The Home School Legal Defense Association website (http://www.hslda.org/) is loaded with useful information. A nonprofit advocacy organization established to protect the constitutional right of parents to direct the education of their children, HSLDA provides information about homeschooling laws, posts the latest homeschooling news and offers advice on how to get started. This is a great place to begin.

For those of you seeking homeschooling help for the upper grades (primarily 9 through 12), check out http://www.brightstorm.com/. Founder and CEO Jeff Marshall is a former math, English and Spanish teacher and a graduate of Brown’s MAT program. A classmate of mine, Jeff is a phenomenally bright, caring, innovative and dynamic teacher. After working for several years in public schools and then in business, Jeff launched Brightstorm in 2008. Through free online videos, Brightstorm offers registered users instruction in a variety of subjects, from algebra to US History. Full courses are available for purchase. Some subjects, like pre-algebra and Grammar Time, are appropriate for middle schoolers. It’s an exciting, accessible e-learning platform.

Middle school reading list

The dental hygienist looked doubtful when my daughter, then 12, informed her that she was studying fairy tales in home school: fairy tales at 12? Absolutely! Anyone who has read Bruno Bettelheim’s The Uses of Enchantment (1977) understands the importance of fairy tales to children, especially adolescents. They address subconscious anxieties about growing into adulthood. In fact, fairy tales are listed among the recommended reading selections for grades 5 through 8 in the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks.

Your state Department of Education likely provides a list of recommended reading according to grade level. Begin with your child’s interests before consulting the list. Last summer, Allegra expressed an interest in reading Edgar Allan Poe, Greek mythology, Homer’s Odyssey and the legend of King Arthur. These selections formed the basis of our 2010-2011 reading list, which includes many literary works suggested by the state curriculum frameworks:

Poetry:
A survey including the works of Anne Bradstreet, Gwendolyn Brooks, Lewis Carroll, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Sylvia Plath, Edgar Allan Poe, William Shakespeare, Phillis Wheatley, John Greenleaf Whittier

Short stories:
“The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” “The Story of the Bad Little Boy” and “A Fable” by Mark Twain
“The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe
“Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving

Plays:
“Electra” by Sophocles
Attended productions of “Once upon a Mattress” (comedic retelling of the “Princess and the Pea”) and “A Christmas Carol”

Other works:
Selected Grimm’s fairy tales and contemporary fairy-tale retellings:
“Cinderella” and Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
“Snow White” and Fairest by Gail Carson Levine
“The Goose Girl” and The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
“Maid Maleen” and Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
“The Princess and the Pea” by Hans Christian Andersen
Aesop’s fables
Greek, Roman and Norse myths; compared Greek myths to contemporary Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan
Homer’s Odyssey (Padraic Colum version)
Native American mythology: The Children of the Morning Light by Manitonquat (Wampanoag legends)
Fairy tales from around the world
Selections from Genesis
St. George and the Dragon
Beowulf
The Story of King Arthur and His Knights by Howard Pyle
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Freebies

In ordering some books for the next academic year, I noticed a “Free Ideas & Activities” tab on the Carson-Dellosa Publishing website (www.carsondellosa.com). By clicking on the tab, I found some fun materials, mostly for children at the elementary level, no subscription necessary. Colorful packets for Earth Day and for National Poetry Month (both April events) caught my attention as being suitable for middle schoolers.

--Laurie

One-room schoolhouse

You might say I have it easy, teaching just one child. And I probably do. However, I think it would be valuable to have other children in the home “classroom” for exchange of ideas. It is entirely possible to teach children of various ages at home by using the one-room schoolhouse approach. Early primary grades (1 through 3) can be grouped, as can later primary (4 through 6) and middle school (7 through 8 or even 9). The last grade in each group can easily be moved up to the next group. Age-related grades are arbitrary, in my view, and not particularly useful. In reality, children learn at different rates. For example, an 8-year-old might be able to read at a fifth-grade level but lag behind his peers in math. On the other hand, just because a student can read at a very early age does not indicate genius. Albert Einstein struggled with language development in his early years. Obviously, his mind was on other things! Developmental levels are far more important and should be respected. You’ll easily find online, at bookstores and at your local library inexpensive educational materials for kindergarten through grade 8. Finding materials for grades 9 through 12 is more challenging.

'She blinded me with science'

The fun of science lies in the experiments. At the middle school level, science should be about doing. Students need to learn the basics of scientific method, including how to write a lab report. The thought of replicating a science laboratory in the home can be daunting, but rest assured, many experiments at this level can be done easily within the home without specialized equipment.

In accordance with curriculum guidelines, we study concepts in physical science, life science, earth and space science, ecology and technology; then we test these concepts in the “laboratory”: the kitchen/dining area. We’re using the Spectrum Science series by Frank Schaffer Publications. It’s interesting to read, with brief articles on contemporary science topics, but it doesn’t excel at explaining science concepts. The series is aligned to national standards, so you know you’ll be covering curriculum requirements, but you’ll likely find yourself searching for supplementary material. Also by Frank Schaffer Publications, Science up to the Standards by Pam Walker and Elaine Wood offers experiments grouped according to branch of science, but some of the experiments call for specialized lab equipment, like a triple-beam scale. Walker and Wood’s 50 Terrific Science Experiments provides even more inexpensive experiments, easy to do at home without special equipment, but the activities are not grouped by branch of science.

Where can you find supplementary material? Reputable resources include your local library or bookstore and PBS, Discovery and National Geographic online.


Allegra's take: I don’t particularly like Spectrum Science. I find the “read the selection and answer the questions” format boring.

Science up to the Standards and 50 Terrific Science Experiments are much more engaging than the main text. They offer many experiments, though some of the instructions seem flawed: even when we followed the directions to the letter, some experiments were unsuccessful.

Other hands-on activities for science include field trips to locations of interest in the area. I especially enjoyed a trip to a state park to look for evidence of glacial activity.

About socialization

For most students, especially in the upper grades, school’s biggest attraction is the opportunity to socialize. Socialization remains a concern of parents who homeschool because homeschooling can be isolating. The saturated social interaction provided by schools doesn’t necessarily equate to positive interaction, however: witness schools’ increased attention to bullying--cyberbullying, in particular. Most parents would probably be willing to trade quantity for quality when it comes to their children’s social interactions.

Town/city recreation departments, the YMCA, 4-H groups and religious/cultural institutions often provide positive educational and social opportunities for children. To ensure that Allegra socializes with others her age, we enroll her in enrichment classes outside the home. On Wednesdays, she swims with her peers at the YMCA (physical education). She dances on Thursdays (physical education and arts). On Fridays, she takes an art class (fine art) at the local Conservatory. Last fall, she also participated in a youth theater class (language arts/performing arts). These classes serve two purposes: 1) they meet curriculum requirements and 2) they provide an opportunity to connect with other age-group peers.

Allegra's take: These enrichment programs cannot compare to the day-to-day socialization provided in a traditional school environment. On the more positive side, however, the enrichment programs are fun, and I thoroughly enjoy them. We also get much more done in them than we ever did in the public school classes.

Math is money

To borrow from Food Network celebrity Guy Fieri, math is money, as you'll discover when you calculate simple interest:

Interest = principal x rate x time or I = prt

If you haven’t already done so, now is a great time to open a savings account for your child. Use this to highlight studies of calculating interest. Compare interest accrued by keeping money in a regular savings account versus a certificate of deposit. As a result of this exercise, Allegra decided to move money from her passbook savings into a 48-month CD. The difference in interest earned at the end of four years is about $100 at current rates.

This is also a good time to explain how credit cards and loans work. You might develop some exercises demonstrating how much more something costs when interest is factored in. The 100+ Series Standards-Based Math book for grades 7-8 by Harold Torrance offers great exercises in calculating interest, along with other exercises related to national math content standards.
Our main math text is School Specialty Publishing’s Spectrum Math. This text offers brief explanations of mathematical concepts and provides problems for students to solve. Unit tests and answer keys are included. For a more in-depth explanation of math concepts and for historical background on, say, algebra or the Pythagorean theorem, consult Torrance’s 100+ Series Standards-Based Math. These texts will get you through middle school math.

I also love Sue O’Connell’s Math the Write Way, which asks students to verbalize math concepts. O’Connell provides fun exercises requiring students to think, talk and write about math: explaining how they arrive at their answers, justifying their thinking and describing math terms and processes. Good for any student, this approach is especially beneficial to students who believe they are stronger in Language Arts than in math.

Another great book is Creative Problem Solving: Multiple Strategies for the Same Answer by Cindy Barden. As a student, I often arrived at a solution via a different route than the teacher. Unfortunately, most of my teachers seemed to think only one way existed for arriving at a mathematical answer. Consequently, I hated math, even though my ability placed me in the top math classes. And now, déjà vu all over again, as Yogi Berra would say, my daughter began experiencing the same problem in public school. I chalk this up to teachers who don't fully grasp math concepts but who are adept at following formulae and problem-solving strategies outlined in teaching manuals. Fortunately, at our homeschool have the added benefit of tapping into the amazing mathematical abilities of my husband, the engineer, who can see every side of a problem. He enjoys Creative Problem Solving. With fun puzzles and brain teasers, this book demonstrates that while there may be only one answer to a problem, there are multiple ways to find it.

Allegra's take: I find our main math text, Spectrum Math, to be rather dull. Its lessons are almost invariably made up of bare-bones equations and conversions, with the occasional page of word problems thrown in. It usually provides only one formula for finding the answer.

I much prefer Creative Problem Solving: Multiple Strategies for the Same Answer. It has fun activities, often presented in “math story” format, that allow students to explore different strategies and find their own personal strengths. The brainteasers offer an entertaining challenge.

Math the Write Way is well thought out and gives a good opportunity to blend subjects. It is very challenging and really makes you think, a quality that most mainstream math texts lack.

Sun studies

Allegra writes: Last week, during the public school spring break, I attended a four-day science workshop on solar energy. This supplemented our home studies in Science & Technology and provided a much-needed break from in-home school.

This program innovatively blended science, art and humanities to create a very well-rounded experience. We discussed how the sun was formed and its importance to Earth, the mythology of the sun, and how we can use the sun in ways other than just collecting its energy through solar panels. We supplemented all of this with hands-on activities, including building and using a solar oven, making “photographs” with shadow-capture paper, and building a spectrograph that reveals the spectrum of colors when pointed at white light.

Workshops such as these can count as both science and art studies. If you take advantage of public school breaks by attending educational programs, you can make homeschooling easier and more meaningful, and maybe even shorten the school year.

Vacations

Christ Church, Oxford, UK

The ability to travel outside of school-vacation weeks is one of the benefits of homeschooling. Take advantage of off-peak travel deals, if you can. Then, during school holidays, consider enrolling your child in one of the many enrichment programs offered by local museums, libraries and other organizations. This week, for example, Allegra is attending a solar-energy workshop for middle-school students, while I am catching up on household chores (and enjoying long coffee breaks). In February, Allegra attended a marine science program. These programs not only enhance your child’s education, but also offer a much-needed change of pace for you and your child.

Allegra's take: We all need a break and a change of scenery once in a while, and vacations and enrichment programs are the perfect way to do it. The programs can also give a chance to see other students your age and end the isolation brought on by homeschooling.

Assessment: How is my child progressing?

Every homeschool parent wonders if his or her child is “keeping up” with peers in formal school settings. How do you know if your child is learning what society expects of children at a particular grade level? Many of the educational materials mentioned in previous posts are based on national standards and include tests with answer keys. These will provide you with some measure of your child’s progress. However, the only way to know how your child is stacking up against other students in your state is by administering the state’s standardized test. By law, homeschoolers cannot take these tests during regular test administration because the exams are supposed to serve as a measure of a public school’s performance, not the child’s performance. But, let’s face it, if the child fares well on the state’s standardized test, he or she has obviously mastered what needs to be learned for the grade level. In Massachusetts, copies of the previous year’s tests, along with answer keys, are available on the state Department of Education website. The state even provides copies of actual student-written test essays and shows how they were scored.

Allegra's take: Taking the standardized tests put my mind at ease when I was worrying that I wasn’t keeping up with those in public school. Taking the tests provided in books aligned to standards was handy too.

Learning styles

Visual, auditory, hands-on? What kind of learner is your child?

The types of educational materials you choose and the way in which you coach your child through the learning process will depend on his or her learning style. Is your child a visual (seeing), auditory (hearing) or tactile (touching) learner--or a combination? Ask your child to take a fun test to find out. For ’tweens and teens, I like the downloadable version at http://www.learnmoreindiana.org/. You’ll find it by clicking the “Need to Know” tab and then “Learning Styles.”

Most people are not auditory learners, yet many teachers in secondary education stand in front of the class and lecture, or do “chalk and talk.” With this approach, at least half the class is likely to tune out. Elementary classrooms are generally more successful because they are kinetic. Elementary teachers are adept at accommodating shorter attention spans.

Allegra's take: The “chalk and talk” approach is quite popular in middle schools. While attending public school last year, I would often drift off daydreaming as the teacher stood up and talked. Eventually, I learned to take notes and follow along in the textbook, as I am a visual/tactile learner.

I cannot stress enough how important it is to discover and use your own personal learning style. The quiz linked to earlier in this article was easy and fun, and helped me learn how to better absorb material both while homeschooling and in public schools. I highly recommend the test to all middle and high school students.

Finding materials

You can homeschool inexpensively, but probably not “absolutely free,” as some websites claim. The question arises: Do you want to spend most of your time searching for free stuff, or do you want to homeschool your child efficiently and effectively?

My goal has been to find basic, inexpensive teaching materials that adhere to national educational standards. I have found them online at School Specialty Publishing, which is now part of Carson-Dellosa. I supplement these materials with books from the local public library, online materials from reputable sources, inexpensive books and activity kits from Dover Publications, educational television programs and field trips. Dover is a great resource for inexpensive paperback classics--handy for highlighting and writing in the margins. Oriental Trading offers inexpensive visual aids (bulletin board displays) for teaching parts of speech and basic math and science concepts.

Allegra writes: You don’t need to buy hefty, official-looking textbooks to have an excellent homeschooling experience. All of the resources mentioned above are effective and, yes, even fun! We also keep an eye out for articles related to our studies in newspapers and magazines to keep things up to date.

Designing a curriculum

By far, the most daunting part of homeschooling is designing a course of studies based on your state’s curriculum frameworks. For those who don’t want to create their own, curricula are available for purchase online. Complete online education is also available. These options cost hundreds--or even thousands--of dollars. You can save money by devising your own curriculum.
Here is our middle school curriculum, based on the Massachusetts frameworks:

ARTS*
Dance: Jazz & Tap, Musical Theatre
Music: piano & music theory, World Music survey
Theatre: Basic Acting and Improvisation, playwriting or other
Visual Arts: two-dimensional and three-dimensional art
Field trips: attend a theatrical performance, attend a concert and visit an art museum
*courses taken as available through local organizations

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
Origins of Modern English
Etymology: Greek and Latin roots
Dictionary use
Grammar
Texts: Words on the Vine: Thirty-six Vocabulary Units on Root Words by Claudia Vurnakes
The 100+ Series Grammar by Mark Dressel, Grades 7-8
Using the Standards: Building Grammar & Writing Skills, Grades 7-8

Composition
Narrative, argument, comparison/contrast, process analysis (how to)
Test essays
Researched report with proper documentation
Poems
Script (see ART above for playwriting)
(All composition instruction will include discussion of grammar, usage, mechanics, research, spelling and vocabulary.)
Texts: Notebook Writer’s Guide by American Educational Publishing
Using the Media: Fact, Fiction and Opinion, Milestone

Study skills
Note-taking and outlining

Literature
Greek and Roman mythology, epic tales, drama; other myths, fables and fairy tales
Poetry
Short stories
Analysis of language styles in literary works using selections outlined in the Massachusetts English Language Arts Curriculum Framework, page 102
Discussion of genre
Texts: Bulfinch’s Greek and Roman Mythology (or other)
Story Elements for Middle School Students, Milestone

MATH
Number sense and operations
Patterns, relations and algebra
Geometry
Measurement
Data analysis, statistics and probability
Texts: The 100+ Series Standards-Based Math, Grades 7-8 by Harold Torrance
The 100+ Series Mixed Skills in Math, Grades 7-8, by Marge Lindskog
Spectrum Math, Grade 7
Spectrum Math, Grade 8
Is the Answer Reasonable?: the Test Connection, Grade 7
Math the Write Way: Thinking and Writing about Math, Grades 6-7
Creative Problem Solving: Multiple Strategies for the Same Answer, Grade 7, Milestone

SCIENCE
Scientific Method (including experiments with lab reports)
Physical Science
Life Science
Earth and Space Science
Science and Technology
Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
History and Nature of Science
Texts: Spectrum Science Grade 7
Spectrum Science Grade 8
Science Up to Standards, Grades 5-8, by Pam Walker and Elaine Wood
Inexpensive Science Experiments, Grades 5-8, by Pam Walker and Elaine Wood
50 Terrific Science Experiments, Grades 5-8, by Pam Walker and Elaine Wood

SOCIAL STUDIES
Geography
Early civilizations
Ancient and Classical Civilizations
Introduction to World History to 1500
Texts: Teaching the Five Themes of Geography by Bonnie Dill (teacher resource)
Art and Civilization Ancient Rome, McGraw-Hill
Art and Civilization Ancient Greece, McGraw-Hill
The Complete Book of World History, Grades 4-8, American Education Publishing
Children’s World Atlas, Igloo

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: FRENCH
Stage 1: simple communicative tasks, common phrases and expressions
Texts and tools: The Everything Kids’ Learning French Book, by Dawn-Michelle Baude, Ph.D.
The 100+ Series French: Middle/High School, Frank Schaffer Publications
Lingua Fun! French audio CD and cards
Mango Languages online

HEALTH
Human life cycle and body functions
Genes and heredity
Diet and nutrition, nutrition labels, safe food handling, eating disorders
Sexual education
Sexual discrimination and harassment
Feelings and self-esteem
Peer pressure and relationships
Hygiene
CPR
Addictive behaviors
Environmental and ecological health
Public health and safety
Text: Instructional Fair’s Health and Safety Curriculum, Intermediate

PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Tennis, swimming, golf, dance or other instruction as available

Writing the letter: informing the district

In most states, a parent needs notify the local public school district of the intention to homeschool, usually well before the academic year begins. In states with oversight, like Massachusetts, the local school district is responsible for overseeing the child’s independent studies. Before you write the letter, you might wish to call the district’s administration office to learn the requirements of your individual school district.

Our school district accepts homeschool requests in June. In the letter to the district, the homeschool parent is required to list the child’s name, age, birth date and last grade completed, as well as the number of instructional hours the parent intends to provide (plug in your state’s requirements), the curriculum to be followed and methods of assessing the child’s progress.

Here is a copy of our letter, made generic for your use:

[Your address]

[Date]

[Name]
Director of Learning and Teaching
[Name] School District
[Street address]
[City, State, Postal Code]

Dear Mr./Ms. [Name]:

This letter is to inform you of my intention to homeschool my child, [Name], beginning September 20XX. [Name of child] is XX years old. His/her birth date is XX/XX/XXXX. He/she has just completed [number] grade at [name of school]. It is my goal to provide his/her [kindergarten/elementary/middle/high school] instruction at home. I understand I must submit my homeschool application each year.

As a certified teacher, I will be responsible for day-to-day instruction. My husband, who is a licensed professional civil/environmental engineer, will contribute to instruction in math, science, engineering and technology.* We intend to follow the guidelines set forth by the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks, which we have in our possession.

We will provide 990 hours of instruction, as required by state law. Please refer to the enclosed packet. It contains a rough schedule of instruction, as well as a curriculum outline.

Regarding assessment, I plan to use a variety of methods, including written and oral reports, hands-on projects and objective tests. I intend to administer comprehensive assessment sample tests at the beginning and end of each academic year to ensure that [child’s name] is meeting state standards. At your suggestion, I will provide a portfolio of my child’s work at the end of the academic year. Please know that I am willing to comply with any progress evaluation set forth by the school district. My objective is to provide my child with the best possible education in an environment that meets his/her needs.


Sincerely,

[Your name]

*Unless you live in a state that requires this, you do not have to list credentials. You are simply required to name who will be primarily responsible for providing your child’s instruction.

If you would like to see our instructional schedule, please refer to our first blog post. Stay tuned for a curriculum outline.

Making the decision: some advice for students

Allegra writes: Homeschooling seems like a very appealing alternative to public school. You don’t have to deal with the teachers, the class bully or the school lunches. You’re being taught by a parent who knows you and your learning style. That’s all very well, but, as a student, before you opt for homeschooling, you need to stop and think.

Being homeschooled is no small undertaking. You need to be able to work alone and be self-motivated. There won’t be the daily social interaction you get with public school, so you need to be able to deal with the isolation. If you aren’t this type of person, homeschooling isn’t for you.

On the plus side, you can work at your own pace, and if you are particularly interested in a subject, you can really delve into it. You won’t have to worry about being called a “geek” or a “goody-goody” by classmates if you are really interested in a subject or turn in work that is beyond expectations. You can feel free to ask questions and answer them.

These are just some of the pros and cons to think about. This isn’t a decision to be rushed. Homeschooling can be a great experience, but it isn’t for everyone.

Laurie's take: I don’t know many teen-agers who want to spend THAT much time with their parents--and vice versa! We thought about this decision for eight months before filing the intention to homeschool.

Getting started

Your local school district may or may not be helpful in your efforts to teach your child at home. When we decided to homeschool, I received a form letter from our local district which appeared to be helpful per se but contained lists of websites that were no longer active. Being familiar with your state’s educational requirements and devising an educational plan fall squarely on your shoulders. By law, if you come up with a sound educational plan that meets curriculum requirements, your local school district must approve your request to homeschool. In most states, you do not need to be a certified teacher to homeschool your child.

First, obtain a copy of your state’s curriculum frameworks. These documents should be available online at your state’s Department of Education website. You may review the documents online or download them at no charge. For roughly $50, I purchased hard copies of the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks, which includes guidelines for all subjects, grades K through 12. I’m glad I did. I refer to these documents often.

My educational plan is based on the Massachusetts frameworks, some of the highest educational standards in the nation. If you follow the Massachusetts frameworks, you will provide your child with a solid education in the classical tradition.

Being familiar with your state’s curriculum frameworks makes you a better judge of an individual school’s curriculum. You might be surprised by how well or how poorly your child’s school adheres to the frameworks. In sixth grade, Allegra’s Language Arts class studied none of the literary classics outlined in the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks, opting instead to spend class time on four works by contemporary authors, two of whom aren’t even suggested by the frameworks. When she asked if she could read Howard Pyle’s The Story of King Arthur and His Knights for her individualized reading requirement, her teacher said it was not “on the list” and advised her to choose another work from the list, such as Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight. Pyle’s version of the King Arthur legend is, in fact, on the list provided in the state curriculum frameworks, so we are studying it this year.

Allegra's take: When I first saw the Massachussetts Curriculum Frameworks in September 2009, I was shocked at how little my former middle school had covered of the frameworks the previous year. My class had not done any of the required reading and had covered little of the mandatory history, geography and science concepts mentioned.

Taking inventory: our first year

Daily schedule, alternating weeks

As my 13-year-old daughter and I wrap up our first homeschool year, we are taking inventory of all we have accomplished vis-à-vis the state curriculum frameworks--and I am amazed. Starting last September, we comfortably met all the academic requirements by April 1. In December, Allegra passed a seventh-grade Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System test with only three incorrect responses. She’ll be taking another standardized test in June. Meanwhile, we have moved on to eighth-grade materials. We follow a schedule, but we don’t adhere to it strictly. The alternating two-week lineup is shown above.

The four-hour morning block is more fluid than it appears on the schedule: sometimes we spend more time on Language Arts, other times more on World History and often the two meld. The same applies to math and science. We’re flexible about taking field trips and attending programs of interest. Some homeschoolers eschew a schedule, but I find it keeps us organized and on task. The beauty of homeschooling is that your child can work at his or her own pace, while exploring his or her particular interests. The downside is lack of student interaction. Homeschooling can be isolating.

Allegra's take: It’s true that homeschooling is isolating; lack of interaction with peers is really the only major limitation homeschooling has. Although a few of my extracurricular activities are taken with other children my age, the fact remains that it is only my mother and I in the “classroom” all day.

The variety of the schedule is good and keeps things new: one week we have more English and history, the next week we focus more on math and science. As I have been in public school all of my life before this year, at the beginning of homeschooling I found the fact that we didn’t study all major subjects every day disconcerting. I have gradually become accustomed to the new way of doing things and am now quite content with it.

The schedule also gives us the chance to meld our classes into one. For example, when we were studying the ancient Greeks and Romans, we learned the history of the people, the literature of the time, and Greek and Latin root words all morning, combining English and history into one long class. On math and science days, we discussed contributions the Greeks and Romans made to the sciences and mathematics. This type of learning, which is often not available in public schools, prevents much confusion and puts concepts into context.