Homeschool Confidential 4
Going on Year 7!
OMG! A Charter School?! 8/30/07
Yes. After moving to CA, paying for both rent on a place out here and our mortgage back in MI, plus the overall higher cost of living, we can't afford to do some of the things we really want to do with regards to the kids' education. So, this year, we are giving the local public charter a try. It has received rave reviews and we can't find a single person who has disliked it. There is a waiting list a mile long! We are still homeschooling, only we have to fill out some paper work for the school and meet with them about 6 times a year. Plus we have to do testing in the spring (for the school, not the kids specifically). In exchange for this, we get our books paid for; we get to still pick what curriculum we want, and they kids get to participate in a slew of extra-curriculars ( we think of them as necesities, not extras, so the fact we now have access to them is GREAT!
Choir has already begun, and so far so good. My littlest is in Choir, and she LOVES it. Hopefully the other two will enjoy their extras - art and soccer specifically. If this charter thing works well, we will definitely look at doing it again next year. If not, it will back to the old grind. I'm keeping my fingers crossed because, I will admit, the extra support is wonderful, especially as the kids get older and involved in more things. Let's keep our fingers crossed!
The Write Stuff! 7/12/07
When working on Merit badges, in addition to the hands on element, there is quite a bit of research and writing involved. Since we have a dog, we figured Dog Care would be a great merit badge to work on this summer. Aden has been researching and taking notes (real note taking, not just copying sentences from the source!) and then writing up the information into a report. TOday he had to write on the 7 different dog groups -- their similarities, what they "do," how they act, ect.
While we are still working on developing full paragraphs, I was still worried about the basics with him - run on sentences, using commas. As a college prof, I see students in comp 1 and 2 who still do this, and I am trying to get Aden into a writing well habit while young. However, this has not been as successful as I would like. He would write sentences that barely said anything, paragraphs only 2 sentences long, no commas, not periods, no capitals! And his handwriting itself still leaves much to be desired.
Today, however, he was typing his notes onto the computer, and I think I am more OK with the fact his handwriting stinks, because his paragraphs were AWESOME! He used commas in a series properly, identified run on sentences well and fixed them, and the page was well laid out and he used good, varied sentencing. Today, some of the connections in his brains finally put it together and he is writing well, espcially for age 10 -- and well on his to even better! While the paragraphs are still a bit short (we are still working on the never-ending development issue), what he does have reads well.
By the time he is done with this paper on dogs, it will be a 16 paragraph essay on the difference groups and types of dogs and their distinguishing features, plus a report about a trip to the vet and the importance of basic dog care and grooming. We are well on our way to becoming a writer. And if he needs to use a computer because he can't read his own writing, then so be it.