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Homeschool 101 and Tips from the CHOC Board by The CHOC Board This Q/A help page is intended to be a starting place for the most common "how-to" questions we've been asked over the years. We will continue to develop it with good links and hopefully helpful overview answers to your questions. We'll also point you to the many fine books on the market which discuss these issues more fully and, if you like, will do our best to help connect you with a neighborhood support group. If you have a question regarding homeschooling that you would like answered, but don't see here, feel free to Contact Us through the side bar tab and we will do our best to help you. WHY SHOULD I HOMESCHOOL? The schooling choice a parent makes for his/her children is an intensely personal one that should be reconciled between the parent, his/her spouse, and God alone. Here at the CHOC Board we recognize and respect this fact, and although we may disagree over the effectiveness or wisdom of some methods, we will always respect a parent's right to make this choice for their own children. We do believe, though, that homeschooling has unique qualities which recommend it over other methods and which should be prayerfully considered by every parent. To help with that consideration, we humbly post a CHOC Board article entitled "Lord Are You Calling Me to Homeschooling?". (You are welcome to download, print, or copy our articles as long as you copy them in their entirety including the CHOC Board "All Rights Reserved" and our website address.) HOW DO I START HOMESCHOOLING? There are a LOT of articles and information out there to help you begin homeschooling. Exodus Provisions is a local homeschool store that provides a "Getting Started" article with additional helpful links on its website as does OCEANetwork. There are getting started helps in our CHOC Board article "Lord Are You Calling Me to Homeschooling" which also has a list of suggested books to read. You can also find many homeshool helps at your local library by browsing their homeschool section. Further helpful websites for general ideas of beginning to homeschool are: Practical Homeschooling/Homeschool World. A homeschool help magazine that is edited by homeschool guru Mary Pride, author of the Big Books on getting started in homeschooling (which are very helpful...find them at the library). Scan the home page to read the articles posted online by top homeschooling experts.
Cathy Duffy's Reviews. Cathy Duffy is the author of the famous Christian Curriculum Guides for homeschooling that were extrememly helpful to the new and veteran homeschoolers over the years. As more and more curriculum came onto the market, Mrs. Duffy consolidated her favorites into a 100 Top Picks book. This is her website which is currently being constructed to include the reviews and articles from her earlier books. A VERY helpful site.
Debra Bell's Homeschool Resource Center. Debra is the author to the Ultimate Guide to Homeschool. This website contains a number of Debra's articles (hosted at Crosswalk.com) covering getting started, learning styles, co-opting, etc.
Barbara Shelton's site includes many homeschooling articles from "how to get started" to "how to keep from burn out." WHAT ARE OREGON'S LEGAL REQUIREMENTS FOR HOMESCHOOLERS? Our purpose here is not to philosophically debate the questionable practice of whether the State has a legitimate right to oversee the education of children. We seek to pass on what the current law is, not what it should be. Remember, any law can be one legislative session or ballot measure away from change. Informed and involved homeschoolers are an integral part of that change. OCEANetwork has a full summary of the Oregon Revised Statutes (which are enacted law) that cover homeschooling in Oregon as well as in depth details regarding many specific homeschooling matters. At OCEANetwork's site, you can sign up for an email alert which will notify you of any Oregon legislation which might impact homeschooling in Oregon. OCEANetwork is actively involved in promoting the cause of homeschool freedoms in Oregon. If you have legal concerns or challenges to your homeschool, you may contact the Oregon counsel for the Home School Legal Defense Association. HSLDA is a national organization for Christian homeschoolers. It provides homeschool legal supports and legislative watchdog services. Members (generally $85 to $100 per year) receive free legal counsel and aid on all homeschool legal matters, even if the matter goes to court. HSLDA also provides regular legislative alerts regarding national or state laws which could affect homeschooling as well as promotes homeschool freedoms at the national level. For an overview of the homeschooling requirements in Oregon, we offer the following gleaned from our experiences and understanding of the current Oregon law regarding homeschooling. However, please seek legal counsel for any concerns you may have for your specific homeschool. ESD Notification In Oregon, you are currently required by Oregon law to notify your local Educational Service District, or ESD, of your intent to homeschool (See OCEANetwork's chart of ESD offices in Oregon.) This is not a request to homeschool but a notification to them that you are going to homeschool, and the letter needs only to give the bare facts: your name, your child's name, date of birth, address, grade your child will be in, and the last school attended or your public school district--that's it! Currently you only need to notify the ESD once, per child, of your intent to homeschool (unless you stop and then start again or move to a different ESD area). This notification must be sent by September 1st for the upcoming school year for a child who is newly registering for school (ie. who has never registered before). Oregon law states the latest age a child can register for school is by the time he will turn 7 years of age by September 1st. If your child is already school age and has been registered in another ESD area or another state, your notification to ESD must be within 10 days of starting to homeschool in Oregon. Determining Your Child's Grade Level for the State This first ESD notification will set a child's grade level for the duration of the schooling years, if notifying for a child who has never been officially registered before. Think thoughtfully and prayerfully about your grade level choice. ESD has not been very compliant if you want to change grade levels later, either up or down. As stated, Oregon law requires that some form of formal schooling (either public, private, or homeschool) must begin by the time a child has turned 7 years of age by September 1st--which would put a child in the first grade at 7 years of age, second grade at 8 years, etc. Unless you specify differently (which you could opt to do, see discussion on that below), Oregon will assume, by administrative rule, that your 7 year old is in 1st grade. Some children mature more quickly than others and are eager for more formal lesson work sooner. Some children need longer to "blossom" before they are ready for formal lessons. A child who is ready for formal lessons learns more quickly than one who may have begun too early and then has to slowly struggle with concepts. It is common social practice and encouraged, even assumed, by many public school districts that a child will begin formal schooling when he or she turns 5 years of age by September 1st. (And there are many "early start" government programs that would like to push "formal" schooling down further--to 3 or 4 years of age). Currently, these 5 year old children enter into the kindergarten programs of public education. They will then enter first grade at 6 years of age. However, few parents understand (or are told) that formal kindergarten schooling is actually optional and that a child may delay entering into any "formal" schooling system until he/she is 7 years of age (by September 1st). Not all children are ready for the faster track. A bright 5 or 6 year old may do well in 1st grade material; however, will he/she be able to keep that pace in later grades? A child's maturity level is often very different from his academic level. Just because a child is bright and can handle the academics (such as learning to read at age 4) it does not guarantee that he/she will be able to handle the more mature subject matters and necessary reasoning skills of upper grades at a younger age. It has been said that summer babies and boys often benefit delaying their formal schooling start to allow more growth and maturity before formal schooling begins. Also realize, especially in the younger years, children learn a lot of things informally simply through interacting with their normal environment while being guided by a thoughtful parent (ie making cookies for grandma can teach a child a lot about math, nutrition, social skills, food safety, etc. Reading a book together offers discussion time about many different subjects, practice with ABC's, early reading skills, etc.). We've always found it amusing how much effort institutional schools use to make kindergarten look like informal learning--what if the children had merely stayed in their homes and learned informally naturally (and not at government expense)? Remember too the first required benchmark test does not come until ending 3rd grade. There is a lot of overlap and duplication in institutional school subjects during the primary (kindergarten through 3rd) grades to try to accommodate the different readiness of young children who've entered the public school system early. The main idea here is don't get hung up on the idea of grade level. It is an arbitrary measurement imposed by a government system that does not account for individual growth or readiness. Always work your child to the level he/she needs, per subject for mastery, but notify the state at a level you think reasonable for the child's overall maturity and development--realizing that unless you can provide medical or special education validation for further delay, the State of Oregon will expect your child to be in some form of "formal" schooling, either public, private, or homeschool, no later then when they turn 7 years of age by September 1st under Oregon's Compulsory Attendance laws. Testing Requirement By Oregon law, your child will need to take nationally-normed tests by the end of 3rd, 5th, 8th and 10th grades. Go to OCEANetwork's site for a full listing of the current testing law . A quick summary of this law is: All homeschooled children must take a nationally standardized test by ending grades 3rd, 5th, 8th and 10th. The end of the school year is considered no later than August 15th (thus that is the deadline for a testing year). There's an 18-month grace period for children who have been pulled from private or public institutions; Many homeschoolers test at the grade level the state thinks their child is, meaning they allowed the state to think their 7 year old was in 1st grade, though they may work the child in grade material above that; If you have a special needs child, you will need to file an Individual Educational Plan. Oregon law gives ESD's the option to request that these required benchmark test results be sent to them. Some ESD's will request these test scores, others will not. Each ESD decides individually, through internal policy, whether or not they want test scores sent in, and sometimes even individually by service center within larger districts. Whether or not an ESD requests test results sent to them can also change from year to year as ESD's change internal policies, however the requirement to test for these benchmark years (3rd, 5th, 8th, 10th) can only change through Oregon legislation as that testing requirement is from Oregon law rather than ESD internal policy. It is wise to check with your specific ESD center directly to know for certain what their requirements will be regarding sending in test results even though they should notify you of their intent (and usually do through official letter). For ESD contacts, go to OCEANetwork's chart of ESD offices. As of official notice dated 12/21/07, the Washington County Center for the Northwest Regional Educational Service District (the NWRESD covers Clatsup, Columbia, Tillamook and Washington counties) has stated they will no longer request test scores be sent in to them. As per that notice, go to the NWRESD website at http://www.nwresd.k12.or.us for a full listing of their current homeschool policy. Homeschoolers are given a choice of five state approved tests several of which cover only basic skills, ie: reading comprehension, English, and math. We recommend taking a basic skills test, such as the California Achievement Test of Basic Skills, rather than a full-battery test which includes multiple subjects to avoid having the timing of a lot of your schooling subjects determined by standardized test scopes (since to a certain degree you do end up teaching to the test, or at least checking to make sure you've covered the subjects that will be tested for that year). Please note that the benchmark assessment tests taken by Oregon public school children, the OSAT, can not be used for these ORS required benchmark tests for homeschoolers because the OSAT is not nationally normed. (So you can't simply go down to the local public school and take the assessment tests public school children are taking.) We also highly recommend getting test prep books. Our favorite, although a little expensive for both the student booklet and teacher key, is McGraw Hill's SRA Scoring High on the California Achievement Test. (The expensive teacher key is, honestly, helpful if you don't want to have to take the test yourself times your number of kids/grade levels to correct it). The Scoring High series provides grade specific focused practice that first reviews all the concepts in each subject category then culminates in a mock CAT test. Our kids found them very helpful and a good source of end of year review (we took about one week to go over this test prep book before taking the actual test.) Basic Skills also produces a simple mock test (but no skill review) called "Achieving Peak Performance" for each grade level. Doing test preparation before the actual test will help your child feel more comfortable taking the test and will also act as a quick skill review so that test day is not a "shock." Oregon's marcation line for homeschool children passing a standardized test is the 15th percentile, and most homeschooled children without learning disabilities who have been regularly doing any sort of schooling work prepared by reasonably-attentive parents pass them easily. (The National Home Education Research Institute and the Homeschool Legal Defense Association, see our Stores and Resources page for links, show through controlled studies that homeschooled children overall score in the 70th to 80th percentiles on these standardized tests while public school children score in the 40th to 50th percentiles. This homeschool testing performance carries over to the college board exams and continues throughout college academic success.) To see where to test your child, go to our "Stores and Resources" page (see sidebar tab) for a listing of approved testing services. If you have any problems, concerns or questions concerning your homeschool or an ESD's treatment of your testing requirements or homeschooling, you should contact OCEANetwork or the Oregon counsel for the Homeschool Legal Defense Association for specific advice or legal counsel as ESD's have been known to overstep their legal bounds and try to add unnecessary demands. HOW WILL I KNOW WHAT I SHOULD TEACH MY CHILD AND WHEN? As we've shown in the above section, Oregon law mandates that your homeschooled child pass a nationally normed achievement test at ending 3rd, 5th, 8th and 10th grades. Homeschoolers are given a choice of five state approved tests several of which cover only basic skills, ie: reading comprehension, English, and math (which is why we at the CHOC Board recommend that a basic skills test such as the California Achievement Test be taken rather than the full Iowa or Stanford batteries which include other subject areas, such as science and social studies, and can thus unnecessarily force their scoping sequence--the what/when--on a family for a multiple of subjects). "Academic content standards and curriculum goals have been developed by the
Department of Education and are available on the department’s website. These content
standards provide a framework for all content areas and are arranged as standards for
grades 3, 5, 8, and 10. The department’s website address is www.ode.state.or.us. Parents are not required to use the state content standards and may teach programs other than those taught in public school. (emphasis added)
So, technically then, only those skills necessary to pass a state-approved, nationally normed, basic skills test, at the required grade levels for Reading Comprehension, English (which includes writing composition skills and grammar), and Arithmetic (computation skills and math problem application) would be "necessary" to teach. The rest is up to the discretion of the parents and readiness of the child. While it is important to stress the basics first (as they are foundational to learning anything else), most homeschooling parents feel a child's educational instruction should include a broader range of subject areas other than enough readin', writin' and 'rithmetic to pass the state tests. Thus, most homeschoolers teach subjects such as history, science, arts, music, foreign language, government, geography, Bible, etc., to help prepare their child to be an intelligent citizen in our world and to be well versed in thought for our Creator. However, when and how you cover subject areas is not monitored by the State of Oregon and thus left entirely up to the parents' discretion (with the caveat that your child, as shown, will need to pass the necessary standardized tests when appropriate, and that college bound children will need to be at a certain level of subject coverage to pass the college board exams--See our "High School and College Helps" section on the sidebar for more on these.) The whole point though is plan your child's education utilizing all of his schooling years...you will focus on different areas at different times, as God guides, to continually develop your child into a well-rounded individual with unique talents. Some areas will go faster and easier than others; some will take more work depending upon each child's abilities. So how do you plan the overall course of your child's schooling for these 12 years? That's called the scope and sequence in the educational trade. Amazingly, if you were to look at different public school districts, especially those from different states, but even those within the State of Oregon (and even between schools within a single school district!) you would see a remarkable difference of what is considered acceptable scope (coverage depth) and sequence (order) and even between what subjects are covered during the course of k-12. (This has a lot to do with the fact that the state standards are written broadly to allow for district customization). Of all the subjects, only reading, writing, and arithmetic seem to have a fairly generalized agreement to what should be covered when, which is probably why these are the only subjects mandated on the state required tests for the basic skills (however--many faddish public school programs love to rearrange the traditionally accepted scoping even in the basic skills). Other subjects come and go on the academic benchmarks and scopes as states (and districts) love to adjust and spin curriculum, test matter, and acceptable passing levels to reflect popular political agendas or in order to look good for the latest federal dollars. (That's why the benchmark tests used in Oregon public schools, the OSAT, are not acceptable tests for homeschoolers--they are not nationally normed, ie. they are not formally compared to other states' educational testing standards but rather have been isolated and internalized to reflect a prior Oregon legislature's experiemental "outcomes based" CIM and CAM certificates, which by the way, are also not nationally normed or recognized and are thus falling out of favor with the current legislature as businesses and other states still request more traditional measurement). Still confused as to what you should teach and when? As you can see, so are a LOT of people (from professional educators to legislators)! Which, to us, confirms there is a lot of flexibility in what is "appropriate" to teach and when, and that scope and sequence is determined largely by the prevalent educational philosophy or the legislative mood of the day (or moment), so why not a loving parent's thoughtful discretion customized to their child's needs? A rule of thumb (and this is just that), kindergarten through 6th grade is getting down the basics (reading, writing, arithmetic) with exposing the child to a broad smattering of history, science, the fine arts, literature, etc.; 7th and 8th are somewhat transitional (often included in the elementary grades, although 8th can swing into the high school years if a child is ready); and high school is re-coverage of much of the subjects taught over the lower grades only at a deeper, more analytical level, and at a much faster pace, and then adds those interest skills that will be developed for the child's vocation/career needs. Many define these stages of educational growth with the classical stages of: grammar--facts/figures; dialetic--why/how; rhetorical--analytical/persuasive-debate. These stages mirror a child's maturity and capacity for more complex thinking as he grows older from grammar to dialetic to rhetorical abilities. Scope and sequence will thus stem from your educational/schooling philosophy and the fact that you love your child and want him/her to grow at his/her own pace developing his/her talents to his/her best ability. Summarized from their broadest roots, four of the most common schooling philosophies are: Traditional: The belief that there is a set, core base of knowledge, generally unchanging from age to age, that every child should know to be considered an educated person; School is about being taught or gaining this knowledge base. Knowledge is usually broken down into specific subjects, ie math, English, history, science, etc., and studied individually for focus. This philosophy, not surprisingly, is behind all those traditional standardized tests and why we have a textbook market (both secular and Christian). It also was the prevailing educational philoshopy in much of America's earlier years as a nation (Noah Webster's textbooks and dictionaries provided the foundation for America's academic standards from the late 1700's and onward for over 100 years). This approach works well with a "fact and detail" oriented child who needs clear incremental steps and logical organization to their subjects. Progressive: This philosophy (which became popular in the late 1800's) believes a child only needs to learn those practical skills which he can readily apply and which are considered useful for today's society. Subjects are integrated rather than broken apart from each other to emphasize what is relevant for actual "real world" application. Thus important knowledge is only that which is deemed useful for the application/project; what's useful varies from society to society, age to age (that's why it's called progressive--educational needs and "truths" progress with the ever changing evolution of society). This philosophy is why those standardized tests and our educational institutions are constantly tinkered with today. The positive aspects of this philosophy are seen in Unit Studies as this method teaches skills together for a practical purpose rather than disjointed and isolated without practical application (ie, building a birdhouse requires the application of math, reading, research, natural science, etc., integrating all those skills for a purpose). The Unit Method can be useful for a practical-minded child who is goal oriented, prefers a more open-ended approach, and needs to see concrete application to make his studies meaningful. Classical: This philosophy (which has been around since the Ancient Greeks) stresses education is about learning how to learn, and more importantly how to think; It stresses wisdom has been passed down through the ancients and previous sages of societies (the classics). Much emphasis is given to reading works by the classics to develop rigorous thinking skills and good communication to support your own arguments, as well as studying the arts, history, languages and mathematics of prior societies; much less emphasis--if any-- is placed on learning contemporary practical skills. Many of our founding fathers received a classical education, and it was the standard method in many of our early universities and private prep schools. This is a good method for a child who prefers more abstract thinking and likes to focus on and discuss the why and deeper meaning of subjects. Unschooling: This is a modern approach. It believes a child will learn what he needs to learn as he goes about his normal life relatively unhindered by outside expectations since a child will learn best when he feels the need to learn it or is interested in learning it. The assumption is made that the child will naturally have a broad spectrum of interests throughout his "school" life and will naturally desire to learn about them (and not fixate on computer games or avoid helpful subjects he dislikes). The "teacher" is merely a facilitator helping to provide materials in areas the child is interested in. Common sense dictates this approach would need to be carefully guided by a wise adult and not taken to the extreme of many popular secular unschoolers. We prefer the modified concept of "Delight Directed Education" as used by Greg Harris of enriching your child's studies by adding topics or interests that "delight" him (ie, he must learn how to read and he loves dogs, choose books about dogs to read; his love of stamp collecting can be used to teach him geography). Children who need lots of hands-on activity and "fun" subjects to keep their attention, or need a more personable approach to help learning come "alive," often benefit from a Delight-Directed style of education. Many homeschoolers blend several schooling philosophies (as there are some good points to be found in each philosophy) which then makes them "Eclectic" homeschoolers. Most families implement the approach (or blend of approaches) which best fits their overall family rather than trying to implement a style for each child. The family's educational approach should fit the overall temperament of the family and make sense and be reasonably usable by the parent-teacher. If it makes sense and fits the parent-teacher, then the parent-teacher in turn can always adapt it to a particular child's learning style or needs. Remember, however, true education is much more than facts, figures, rigorous thinking, or practical job skills but is rather a whole-life discipleship of a child that develops his mind, character and talents within the Truths of and for the Glory of God. Most marketed curriculum will stress their own scope and sequence based upon whatever their educational philosophy is. Generally, if you are following a more traditional curriculum (from publishers like Bob Jones or Abeka or Alpha Omega), you will cover what is generally considered standard for any given grade just by following their grade-level subject suggestions in their curriculum catalogs (keeping in mind that these companies cater largely to private schools which generally have a "stronger" and faster scope--subject coverage--than most public schools--Abeka is scoped about 2 years faster, Bob Jones about 6 months to 1 year faster, and Alpha Omega generally meets or exceeds the "average" public school scoping pace). Just looking online at these companies' curriculum suggestions and their curriculum scope and sequence for each subject at each grade level will give you a good "feel" for what is pretty traditional fair for each grade. You can also download or purchase their curriculum scopes which list in detail what each subject covers in each grade (which is one way to decide what to do when if you are a more "eclectic" traditional homeschooler--not rigidly following any one publisher's total curriculum scope but rather picking and choosing from various publishers--many homeschoolers like to pick and choose according to their family's vision and needs, especially as they gain more experience.) Classical homeschoolers generally follow the suggested scope and pacing presented in books such as the "Well Trained Mind" by Susan Wise Bauer. The Charlotte Mason approach shares the classical philosophy that "education is learning to learn" but desires to be more child friendly. For discussion of that approach, go to Ambleside Online or SimplyCharlotteMason's sites. Commonly the Charlotte Mason 6-volume series or Susan Schaeffer Macaulay's updated "For the Children's Sake" is used for scoping with the Charlotte Mason approach. Many classical programs are scoped very strongly and geared to a more "private/prep school" audience with strong emphasis on classical literature, languages, and critical thinking skills. (See Veritas Press Publishers, Greenleaf, and Tapestry of Grace). There are several companies who produce Unit Studies, integrating literature, writing composition, history and science into one cohesive thread (math and phonics are taught separately). Konos and the Weaver Company are well known for producing unit studies. Tapestry of Grace also uses a Unit Study approach, with a classical flavor. Several companies just integrate history, literature and writing composition (but do not cover science, math, and grammar)--Beautiful Feet and Notgrass History are examples of those types of programs. The links to all these publishers, and more, can be found on our "Stores and Resources" page on the sidebar, either listed individually or within Exodus Provision's site. If you are an unschooler/eclectic homeschooler, preferring to launch off your child's "delight directed" interests using "living books" (literary style/biography/story books), encylopedias, and reference guides, rather than traditional textbooks, but would still like to have a general idea about common grade level expectations, there are some helps available. Robin Scarlata's book "What Your Child Needs to Know When, An Evaluation Check List for Grades K-8" and E. D. Hirsch's series "What Your ### Grade Child Should Know (insert whatever grade #) are tools which give a good general overview of common expectations at each grade level (through 8th). Scarlata would follow a strong but pretty traditional path, E. D. Hirsch's books follow what would be considered a more aggressive "prep" school path. You could also simply google "scope and sequence" and follow some school district's or private school's suggestions. For ideas of scope and sequence in the high school years, go to our "High School and College Helps" page on the sidebar. More information about schooling approaches is given in the article links within "How Do I Choose Curriculum" below.
HOW DO I CHOOSE CURRICULUM? Oceanetwork has a good article entitled "How to Select Homeschool Curriculum" for the homeschool novice which includes schooling methods and curriculum publishers. (You will need Adobe Reader first). The local homeschool store, Exodus Provisions, also has a very helpful article on their site entitled "Approaches to Homeschooling" that discusses the various approaches and curriculums and also includes links to that curriculum which they carry in the store. Cathy Duffy's guides and Mary Pride's guides have sections which cover curriculum reviews, learning styles and schooling approaches. Cynthia Tobias has written a good book on learning styles entitled "The Way They Learn" which can be found at most libraries. Our quick summary for choosing curriculum would be: Simpler is often best. Ruth Beechik says in her books "All curriculum works, if the teacher does." We would add to that--use your commonsense to work smart! Overly complicated or labor intensive programs usually end up being discarded. Choose curriculum that makes sense to you as teacher and is reasonably easy to implement for the family. (Yes, all learning and teaching takes work--but you and your child should not dread it! ) Take time before purchasing any curriculum to see if its implementation makes sense to you. If you can't make "hide nor hair" out of it nor feel personally comfortable with it in a reasonably short amount of time, it's probably not the curriculum for you no matter how "good" it may be or how "awesome" other families find it. If it is a curriculum in which the publisher states you need to spend a substantial amount of time to learn how to use it, make sure there is an excellent refund policy if you cannot preview it adequately before purchasing. (However, we tended to shy away from that type of curriculum because it was usually unneccessarily complicated or poorly organized.) Amazingly, much of teaching and learning is simple commonsense and being diligent to do what is next. Really. (If in doubt, read Ruth Beechik's books). Creativity is fun, intense study can be exhilarating, but it is consistency that carries the days! Choose curriculum that you can be consistent with. After that, you can add things to spice it up or stretch your topics in areas needed. Also, observe your child closely. Children engage when they are learning! Children give lots of clues when they are processing information and storing it in their brain cells. Does he/she bubble along at the task or exhibit an intense resolve? If so, you can be assured the curriculum has "clicked" with them. Further watch for how your child interacts with their world. Kinesthetic/Hands-on learners will want to investigate with their hands and body movement. They'll want to become part of what they are learning. Visual learners will want to see what you are teaching them, draw it, read it over your shoulder. They may even close their eyes to visualize what you have just read when asked a question about it. Auditory learners will repeat it to themselves, sing it, talk out the problem to you. They will restate to you what they've learned in numerous different ways. Learn to read your child's body language. You will gain insight when curriculum is working for them as well as clue in to your child's learning style which will help you choose appropriate curriculum or adapt any curriculum to your child's learning needs. If you are just starting your schooling path with young children, focus on the basics first (reading, writing, and arithmetic). It doesn't take a lot of day or curriculum to do that. Short, sweet, consistent...and make a point to add in some fun! Comments from others can help in your curriculum search--to a point as each family will have a unique experience. Exodus Books has user feedback reviews on the curriculum they sell (Click on the title of an item in their catalog, a link to customer reviews will be at the bottom.) Also, Homeschool Reviews offers user feedback reviews on various curriculum on the market. A good curriculum choice will give a sense of enjoyment and regular accomplishment toward your goals for both parent and child.
HOW DO I SET MY SCHOOL YEAR?
It's pretty easy. Get a calendar. Decide how many days your family would like to school (the standard public school year and most text books assume 180 days--but Oregon has no set attendance requirement for homeschooling). Decide if you want to school year round with breaks (like college terms) or follow the standard school year (September through May/mid-June). Decide what days your family vacation will be, what holidays you will celebrate, when you will have other activities that will prevent schooling, etc. Count the days and adjust until you have your school calendar set. Now take your school unit plans and textbook pages and divide them appropriately over your school year (mark date goals on your unit plan or in your text book's margin or teacher manual). It's that simple.
CHOC Board Tip: We recommend allowing some "flex days" between units and around difficult chapters to prevent frustration if your child ends up needing a little more time on a topic or you discover your ambitions were unrealistic. Remember, too, education is about mastering the subject and developing your child's character, not checking off page numbers as completed. Some time can be saved for newer, "harder" topics, or a more in-depth look on favorite subjects, by not over-teaching topics your child already has mastered and not over-assigning every suggested work problem or activity. Most text books, especially math, include ample review of previously taught topics in case a child in an institutional setting missed it, and almost all texts include excessive exercises for "seat work" to keep the class busy while the teacher roams the room to help anyone struggling. Often the first few chapters of a textbook (like math) are review of last year's topics, and the last few chapters are a quick look ahead to next year (but will be covered in full next year). Skip those review chapters or look-ahead sections completely or only cover the topics in them which your child is fuzzy on or which is new material. Giving the chapter test as an assessment tool can help you figure out if your child has any gaps in material previously covered without having to re-teach the whole chapter...
DO I LEGALLY NEED TO KEEP RECORDS OF MY CHILD'S WORK? For complete disclosure of Oregon Laws regarding homeschooling, go to OCEANetwork's website. For an overview gleaned from our experiences and understanding, current Oregon Law makes no requirement on what records you keep. You are NOT required to (and should NOT) file with the ESD or the State of Oregon any curriculum plan, assignment schedule, or attendance record, so any file keeping of that nature is at your discretion. Oregon Law only specifically requires that your child pass his level of a nationally-normed achievement test (like the CAT, Iowa Basic, etc.) for grades ending 3rd, 5th, 8th, and 10th. (See our section above for testing requirements). As stated in our Oregon's Requirements for Homeschoolers section above, Oregon has given the educational service districts the option of requesting that test scores be sent to them should they desire to do so. (See that section above for a fuller overview). If your ESD requests test results sent in to them, you are required to do so. We recommend doing so through certified mail, return receipt, as ESD's have been known to lose a test score in the shuffle (and then you may get a nasty truancy letter). Obviously, we at the CHOC Board strongly recommend at the very minimum you keep records of the legally required benchmark tests and all correspondence with your ESD showing your compliance with Oregon law.
While not legally required, most high school homeschoolers create a high school diploma, transcript, and/or portfolio system (either personally or through a transcript/diploma service). This generally requires keeping a close record of their child's daily work, tests, and achievements through logs or grade reports, and keeping essential papers in a file folder system in order to validate a child's high school work to support the college admissions process. (See our High School and College Helps page for further discussion). Even during high school, but especially prior to high school, there is much flexibility in what and how much you keep. In high school, more record keeping rather than less is generally better.
CHOC Board TIP: From the early years our family has always preferred to keep some sort of organized paper trail so that we could have a sense of where we'd been (and as the teachers where we were going) and also to "justify" our homeschooling efforts if for some reason we were ever challenged by a public official (or nosy relative). Even in this relatively peaceful time for homeschooling, an ESD challenge could happen--and our friendly Oregon laws could change. Other states do require constant and often substantial record keeping, and it could happen here as passionate anti-homeschool lobbyists come and go each legislative session. So we decided to always have a paper trail to make any after-the-fact validation easier. While recognizing the limitations and questionable use of standardized testing, our family began homeschooling when annual testing was required in Oregon, and we continued to annually test even when the law changed as we found it an easy way "to silence" any critical relatives or nosy neighbors since we could always point out we were passing state-approved standardized testing annually--on a more positive note, annual testing kept our kids' testing skills fresh which helped on the college board exams!
HOW DO I KEEP SCHOOL RECORDS AND DO LESSON PLANNING? This could be as simple as an expandable folder with separated pockets for each subject that "catches" the school work during the year as it is completed. Or it could be a folder which holds a photocopy of the table of contents of each textbook used that year with a checkmark or note in the margin of what your child has completed (and even when, and possibly a grade), you might add to this a list of books read, and a copy of any unit plan completed. Many moms simply keep a daily journal in a diary fashion (especially for the early grades). Or you can type out a daily or weekly teacher planning sheet with what you desire to cover per subject to help you stay focused and then also use it to check off what each child has completed, when, and any grades given, thus turning it into a school record too. As children grow older and shoulder more of the regulating effort, they can be given a daily or weekly assignment sheet which has columns for checked completion and grades.
There are many organizers and planners on the market from the hand-entered type to the computer generated. We recommend using whatever best helps you keep a handle on your workflow and is the easiest for you to maintain faithfully. We also recommend being as streamlined and easy as possible in the younger years, especially during the kindergarten/elementary grades when less record keeping is needed. For the self-generated, paper-type planner, Donna Young has planning tips and free downloadable forms for record keeping. Diane Hopkins has good thoughts on teacher planning that captures the heart of homeschooling in her articles "Homeschool Teacher's Planner" and "The Balanced Child." You can see a CHOC Board article for further ideas of making your own planner in Notebook Planner For several descriptions of manual planner systems to purchase, go to the Exodus Provisions website; Homeschool Easy Records has a helpful article "Choosing A Record Keeping System" that discusses the different styles of planners and what is most important in record keeping especially for the high school years.
CHOC Board Tip: Be creative with your own planner style (especially if you have a computer and printer)! Until highschool grades, I used my own notebook method made up of my Word-generated daily teacher planning sheets (which I filled in one week ahead at a time). I also had a section in my notebook for each child with "This Year's Goals" that I wanted to accomplish ranging from the academic to character building. See the CHOC Board article above in "Notebook Planner" to read how I set my notebook up if you are interested. We also kept each child's paperwork in a banker type box labeled for that school year--this was more for our interest than anything for legal purpose as our kids loved seeing what they had accomplished--and it does become a momento--it also frequently helped me organize a new unit when I could look back at an older one. Often, your storage space size will decide how much stuff you want to keep.
HOW DO I HOMESCHOOL WITH DIFFERENT AGES? WITH YOUNG SIBLINGS TO CARE FOR? WITH HOUSEWORK TO DO? Christian Homeschool Fellowship has a good article by Tamara Eaton entitled "Multilevel Homeschooling" that is helpful regarding all these issues (follow the links within "Multilevel Homeschooing" for answers to the additional questions). Many new homeschoolers worry about the aspect of "juggling" all the lessons with general life when small children are in the household. However, talking with large homeschooling families will assure you that lessons do get done. The challenge is more often about spending the time to work out character development especially between siblings. But that's the positive too! (Remember true education is full-life discipleship). Because your children are at home, these personality issues come to the surface in your presence where you can deal with them and learn through them (as opposed to happening in the institutional classroom or playground far away from attentive and wise adult interaction). Your family grows stronger as you work through each challenge, and each child matures in character as well as their academics. HOW DO I TEACH AN ACTIVE CHILD (WHO DOESN'T LIKE TO SIT STILL?): If you are asking this question, chances are you have a kinesthetic/hands-on learner who will not be happy if they are taxed by oodles of workbook pages, heavy reading assignments, and long hours at a desk through a very traditional educational program (something of the square peg in a round hole syndrome--and your little square peg will dwaddle, bounce, fiddle, whine, get sidetracked, go off onto tangents to your and his exasperation). Most younger children (often up to age 9 or 10 as a generalization) fit this category to some degree (with predominately more boys figured into this category and for a longer time--no political incorrectness meant--just a common observation by most mothers of young boys!) We are not referring to blatant rebellion or laziness, which all children will at some time try to "pull" on a parent to avoid their lessons, but a true need to move and groove to burn off all that excess energy. Many programs--especially non-traditional "delight directed," "Charlotte Mason," "real books," and unit or theme style programs--take this into consideration particularly for the earlier grades (which is why so much of early learning looks like "play.") Most children do outgrow this stage eventually, and all should, to a certain degree, learn how to learn in a more "academic style" as they grow older, but we've discovered instead of fighting this bent it is better to channel that energy into a way that helps him grow and learn. A wise parent understands this and will help the child release that pent up energy constructively so his mind can focus. Thus, when schooling, be sensitive to your child's maturity and activity level when planning your day and choosing your curriculum. Over-fidgetiness often means an ambitious parent is rushing a young child too quickly or has planned their day poorly. Learn to slow down and let the child grow at his pace! Be sensitive to his energy levels and natural learning patterns. Balance academic (workbook or reading) time carefully with read aloud and fun craft or hands-on activities (some children will require a lot more hands-on time than others). When teaching, keep your lessons shorter with physical play breaks in between, your point simple and clear for each lesson, and learn to be creative with the presentation of concepts using as much hands-on/real world activities as possible. However, never feel you have to be a one-man circus show to appease your child or bribe him to learn, nor should you feel that you must let your child "run wild" throughout the day before he will settle down and obey you for a couple of lessons. Pray for God to reveal reasonable goals for your child at each learning stage, keep a sense of humor, set some clear limits for his behavior, then let the games begin. For ideas we did with our active learners please go to our article Early Learning Games. Also check out the wonderful educational coloring books by Rod and Staff. We got a lot of learning time done with our children's hands busy coloring on the topic we were discussing. In our Handy Links! page (see sidebar), we've listed curriclum publishers that carry hands-on materials--one of our favorites is Timberdoodle. (It is not our attempt here to diagnose or belittle children with true learning or behavioral problems. If you feel that your child is beyond reasonable childhood activity, even for the "normal" busy learner stage, or struggles with basic learning, please seek help from godly and wise counsel.) HOW DO I TEACH MY CHILD TO READ? This is one of those areas that many homeschoolers struggle with early in their homeschooling years. There are SO MANY programs out there! Which one and which way is the right one for your family...your child! How do you as a teacher teach phonics when you learned by sight? Ruth Beechick's books "The Language Wars" and "The 3 R's" were indespensible for us in removing the mystique about the art of teaching a child to read. For those looking for an overview of the methods used to teach reading, and to help sort out the confusion, please go to a CHOC Board article entitled "Learning to Read: A Comparison of Methods." Also, see our article "Reading Steps" which summarizes the common steps to learning to read (and spell). Most importantly, children learn to read by seeing the importance of reading in their lives. Read to them! Let them see you reading! Have fun with your books bringing them to life. Act out the characters as you read along, create the treats or crafts mentioned, or have your children make little paper puppet characters on craft sticks to re-tell the story. But don't think you have to over-work yourself...there's nothing like curling up next to each other for a quiet story time. HOW DO I TEACH WRITING COMPOSITION?:
There are many wonderful books and curriculum on this subject which we won't belabor here as each family is so unique. (See Cathy Duffy's writing curriculum reviews).
We at the CHOC Board think one of the most important things to remember is that a young writer (no matter what age), will need time, lots of patient encouragement, and ample opportunity to develop their skills. Do not be afraid to sit beside your child with his first writing efforts at each level and write the work with him. (It's not cheating when you are teaching!) Then have him begin to do more and more of the work by his own efforts until he is writing confidently on his own.
In a simplified overview, writing composition can be boiled down to several types and some simple steps. Writing encompasses two main types: creative writing (fiction/story/narrative writing) and expository writing (the non-fictional instructive, analytical, informative or persuasive writing). Good expository writing uses enough descriptive language to make it interesting. Good creative writing follows enough logical organization to make it understandable.
No matter which type, these elements are usually included: There should be a clear overall point (creative theme or expository thesis); it should use proper grammar and spelling (unless colloquial language is used purposefully for a character such as in Mark Twain's work), and it should have a logical beginning, middle, and end with connecting transitions in between that help the piece flow. Style and the writer's unique voice will develop in time as your child grows in his writing abilities.
Obviously children should be allowed ample time to enjoy writing a story for fun without undue criticism on their technique. Reading well written literature does much to help a developing writer begin to visualize good writing. Oral narration is an excellent way to begin the writing process (as Laura Ingall Wilder instructed--write it as if you were telling it to me). Have the child retell the story to you in their own words, and then, as they grow older, have them write it down.
For focused instruction of composition skills, generally it is best to teach the basics first, then add embellishments and variety to the basic styles. This means that for many children their assignment writing may be a bit short and dry especially if they are naturally logical and scientific-minded. For this kind of child, creativity and variety generally come in time as the child grows more accustomed to writing. Often it is the naturally creative child who easily writes with vivid description that struggles with expository composition as it is difficult for them to stay on point and organize their thoughts logically (since it's much funner to go off onto all their whimsical directions). Again be patient and encouraging as your child develops.
Finally, help your child be patient with himself and the writing process. Much of writer's block comes with the mistaken belief that every word on the page must be perfect and the piece brilliant from the first writing. Frustration also arises out of the false belief that good writers use little effort. Writers write and REWRITE! ("Natural" writers just don't seem to mind the effort as much as others). Teach your child how to get down their initial ideas (either in note form, outline form, on white board, or however it works best, see our Tip below); then flesh it out into a fuller picture; then rewrite for flow and errors, then do a final check and polish. This takes time and effort, but diligence will pay off in the end product (and yes, someday he/she will thank you for those valuable writing skills)!
CHOC Board Tip: When starting the basic concepts of expository composition, It is usually good to begin with sentence construction (understanding how the parts of a sentence work, first simple and then complex sentences, and also where to place modifiers--those words that describe a subject or describe the action). RHL School has free grammar and writing instruction worksheets. Write Guide has free skill sheets for more advanced but common errors in sentence construction and how to fix them. HyperGrammar is a free, online grammar course produced by the University of Ottowa that provides a pretty full set of grammar lessons with interactive review. Even better, English 101 provides pre-tests and a complete interactive grammar course aimed at middle through high school students for free (click on "home users" to access the lessons).
Next have your child work on doing a good paragraph (topic sentence, supporting sentences, conclusion). After he/she can write solid paragraphs (in the various types), then broaden their skills into tackling the multi-paragraph or 5-paragraph essay (intro/thesis paragraph, three supporting paragraphs, conclusion). Finally, they will be ready to tackle the major work (which amusingly follows the same pattern with just more)--opening intro section with thesis, supporting sections--which usually have developed subthemes, then conclusion. Creative writing, while not developed exactly along expository lines,will still utilize good sentence structure, then good descriptive paragraphs, then small story to larger work learning to develop theme, point of view, characters, setting, plot, developing action, climax, and anti-climax.
Many children benefit from a physically-manipulative method of putting a story together. A story board uses a white erase board with bubbles (drawn circles) where the main idea is in the main bubble and each supporting idea is in an attached bubble--like an octopus with legs holding bubbles. Some children prefer using notecards with the main idea on the first card, supporting ideas on subsequent cards, conclusion on the final card. Not to distract from the many fine writing curriculums on the market, as no curriculum is a best fit for every family, we do like to recommend "Format Writing" by Frode Jensen for expository writing and "Learn to Write the Novel Way" for creative writing, even if glanced through only as a teacher's reference, as these two programs especially seem to walk the reader through the whole writing process itself while giving a good overview of their types. Ruth Beechick's "You Can Teach Your Child Successfully, Grades 4-8" has excellent sections on developing writing skills.
HOW DO I GRADE MY CHILD'S WRITING COMPOSITIONS?:
This would be another most frequently asked question to us as support group leaders. As homeschoolers we are somewhat isolated from seeing the work of others, and as mothers we worry that our children's writing somehow is just not up to the level of other children at our child's age/level/grade. We are often tempted to see our child's work through adult eyes with expectations of adult writing (as the last time most of us were graded, we were in college or high school!). Even if we could compare our children's work to another's, this might be foolish as we need to let our child develop at his natural ability and pace. Focus on mastery of the skills, a step at a time, rather than fretting over your child's time table of development.
There are some helpful aids in learning how to grade a child's compositions. Ruth Beechick's "You Can Teach Your Child Successfully, Grades 4-8" has an excellent chapter on how to evalutate your child's writing skills at the various levels (and most librarires have a copy of it). "Format Writing" by Frode Jensen has good grading sheets at the back of his book which walk you through the assessment process. Do a google search on "writing evaluation sheets," and you generally get several examples (which are constantly changing as links go on and off, so we won't link any here). Go to a CHOC Board article entitled "Written Work Evaluation" to see our example of an evaluation sheet rubrics if you have trouble finding one. Remeber, though, not to get hung up on grades. Highlight what the child did right, then encouragingly work for mastery over time rather than a letter grade. (When appropriate, we told our children it doesn't matter if you got a 99%, the bridge still fell down. Let's do it all right. The goal was always mastery rather than a letter grade or percentage of "acceptability.")
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