Homeschooling: Hey. It’s kind of working.
Tuesday, May 19th, 2009I pulled Daniel out of school after his classes were over on April 27th. April 28th was his first day home. We did nothing. Virtually nothing. He started a school break at that point, because everything I read on the Internet told me that if you have a reluctant kid, nay, a very argumentative not-gonna-do-it kid, then you will have exactly that kind of kid when you start homeschooling.
Do not want.
Since we now do everything the Internet tells us to do, ever since the pool incident, we went with the Internet.
Except that we didn’t…exactly. Because I have to be contrary, too. Boy got it from somewhere, right? The Internet told us that a child needs one month off for every year in school. For Daniel, that would be NINE MONTHS. I could have a whole new kid by that amount of time!
I couldn’t do it, it was probably the right thing and I know he would have caught up academically, but it caused me pain to think of him waiting nine months. I’m a t.e.a.c.h.e.r, I can’t handle the breaks! I made my sister play school when she thought I was the biggest eight year old asshole on the planet and was so not interested in playing school. I MADE HER.
PLAY SCHOOL, DAMMIT! DO IT. ARrrrrrghh, why don’t you do anything I tell you!!
Why yes, I was a ball of super fun!
So, Daniel did not take a nine month break, but a two-ish week one. Here’s the bookstuffs we’re using:
Math: Math-U-See
I’m starting him on very low level math so he can build confidence and relearn some really missing key concepts. Like multiplication. But in two days, he’s on week four, so he’s moving quickly and getting the concepts down more concretely. This program uses manipulatives that look like Legos.
Communication Arts: Easy Grammar, Grade 9
So far, it’s fine. It assumes you know things, though. But I do know these things, so we work them out together when he has any issues. And it’s only a page a day, with multiple concepts on one page. Very do-able for a kid who hates this stuff.
Earth and Space Science:Some shitty science workbook found at Barnes and Noble…I’m still looking.
A workbook is fine, but not all that interesting for him. Did you know that any book geared toward homeschooling science has got a 98% chance of teaching Evangelical Christian creationism. I’m fine with teaching creationism, in a Philosophy class, where we teach every body else’s creationism, too. In a science class, what a ridiculous idea.
Reading: Painless Reading Comprehension and something he wants to read, right now he’s reading, “The Last Olympian.”
Social Studies: Painless American History.
It’s easy to read, covers a broad amount of material without ignoring Native American Indian history or African American history. So far, he is actually enjoying it and this was his most hated class.
Japanese: Read and Speak Japanese for Beginners
He likes this one a lot, he chose to do this class and he’s way into it. We’re moving very slowly through the workbook, and using some exercises as tests. He’s also made flashcards and is using some of the terms. This, for me, is far more about him enjoying something and being successful than it is about him nailing the grammar of Japanese. We’ll get there.
These are his core classes, he’s also doing Tech Education, Home Ec, and Art throughout the week, and P.E. every day in some form of physical activity. Yesterday, swimming with his friends, today mowing the lawn.
But he’s doing the work, he’s not knocking it, he’s not fighting with me too much. I don’t know if in two months we’ll love the materials we’re using, but it’s a start.