I'm about 60 hours behind where I should be at this point in the year. Academically, the boys are right on where I had planned for them to be, it just isn't taking near long enough for them to get through their work most days. ha! But, since the state of Missouri seems to equate hours with quality education, I do have to meet the requirements. We've actually been a bit behind all year and I keep thinking we'll catch up a little at time here and there, but it isn't happening. And believe me, we're counting everything (we had a Jeff Corwin marathon last weekend... logged 12 hours of Science. lol). Any ideas on big hour boosts? I can count a bit more on the elective side of things (cleaning/cooking, church, etc) but I'm nearly out of allowable elective hours. I really need more core. And it really doesn't matter what it is. I'm already planning several trips to the zoo when the weather clears (which may be next week), but my odd-ball children actually dislike the zoo. :roll: I don't want this to be punishment, since it's not their fault they're "behind" (well, actually, it's a good thing that they are, since it means they are working efficiently). I'm also going to take them to the science center a couple of times, but I can only handle so much of that. It's just too open and twisty and my 5yo is a runner. It's stressful for me to keep them under control. It's not like the zoo where if they run ahead, I can see them.
How about listening to books on CD or watching movies related to books read? Watch documentaries related to what you are studying too.
We've been watching tons of documentaries (related and unrelated). I hadn't thought of books on CD, though. Good idea!
Do they go to the grocery store with you.. there is math, economics, civics... and yeah it takes me well over an hour to grocery shop if the kids are with me..lol Do they play? Most play is some form of learning... legos? math, physics, etc. action figures? social skills, fine motor skills Do they color/draw? art! Have you heard them singing at. all. music.. oh and do you listen to music at home or in the car? there is more music! You can do it. I really think hours would be way too easy for me to write off..lol I see every single thing we do as educational..... even just talking to each other
go to the library and pick out some good audio books. Then you can count car time as LA. Have them research different historical people. Let them play at discovery.com, biography.com, history.com, etc.
I tend to use the grocery store as my only tidbit of non-kid sanity in an otherwise crazy week. lol Most of the playing they do is beating on each other. ha! I could count that as wrestling, I guess. lol. I really can't allot more than another 15-20 hours to electives. We have to have a total of 1,000 hours but only up to 400 can be in electives. I count church, music, music lessons, coloring/drawing/painting, etc. I can usually count Scouts for H&G or Science. I do count a lot of stuff. I guess I could hand them playdough and animal books and tell them to get sculpting. I think they'd like that!
Is there material there for young ones? My oldest is 8. (Ok, technically he's the only one for whom I track hours since mandatory attendence doesn't start until 7, but I like to do as much as I can with him and my 6yo together).
I have turned watching a non-educational movie (a random Disney movie) into LA by discussing characters, setting, problem, and solution. Then, you could even take it further by having them fold a paper into quarters and draw a picture for each component, or have them draw just the characters. Or, discuss the sequence of events or story retelling.
Ds has spent hours yesterday and today building with a box of toothpicks and a bag of mini marshmallows. He is creating shapes (square, cube, triangle, pyramid,etc.), and turning the shapes into creations.
For scouts I know the pinecar derby is coming up, when they build the car count it for science as Physics...Also maybe get a set of sea monkeys and let them watch them grow, again science. let them build a castle out of boxes and play knights...history. Give them a large white bedsheet to paint a scene on and then act out a play maybe medieval style and again count it for history? Also what about acting out a story that you read to them, it's Language Arts/Literature. For math get them in the kitchen making something and count it for math and chemistry...math for measuring, chemistry for how the ingredients work together. Make goop, call it chemistry. Make a volcano call it history (I'm thinking Pompeii) and Science (chemical reaction)
Drive past the PS and call it socialization. (Ok, that was just soooooooooooo wrong! Sorry! :lol I like the books on CD idea. Can you double-credit that one for reading AND whatever the subject matter is? (Like history or science?) Also look at reading "math" library books (like the Sir Cumference series). Would that count as both math and reading hours? Are you allowed to double-credit things?
Side note - I was just whinning to myself about my weekly reporting. I have to write down what I've done, and make sure at the end of the year I have something to put into each learning objective. I think I'll stop whinning now! I would hate counting hours. Bless you Missouri Mom's - may your creative juices flow!
We can't double credit. It's literal hours that are counted, so an hour spent is an hour spent. It's honestly not that bad. This is my own fault. I haven't been counting every little thing that I could since the start of the year, so now I have to play catch up. This is our only requirement, and it truly doesn't matter what the hours are in or how we get them (except that at least 500 have to be at our "regular homeschool location", so no field trips every single day and calling it good). I don't have to keep lesson plans or have "learning objectives" or anything. Just a sample work portfolio and my hours log (there aren't even requirements about how I have to log things; like weekly or monthly or daily... doesn't matter at all). Some moms count each lesson as an hour no matter how long it actually takes. I think that's dishonest and not within the law, but there is a pretty even split in the HS community between those who are literal and those who aren't. The crazies part of this whole thing is that no one will ever see my records. I don't have to turn them in, I don't have to have them checked or approved... nothing. The school district doesn't even know my children exist. The ONLY way anyone can every ask to see my records is if a state prosecutor requests and receives a warrant from a judge. Since the state is really homeschool friendly, that prosecutor has to have some pretty compelling evidence. Needless to say, that very, very rarely happens. lol.
If you have a family conversation over politics, states, current events, historical events, crazy things about different parts of the world- whatever- count that as social studies or history. If you are cooking and you find a way to speak about the vitamins and nutrition--count it as health. Or, if you are measuring things and they help--math. Or if you are discussing how baking soda helps bread rise (how does it anyway?)- science. If you find your family speaking about different animals-science. I think conversations are a very good way to learn and share. My favorite teachers would let the class interact and discuss what we were learning.
Actress Dancer, You are a woman of integrity. You are striving to do what is right-even when no one is checking on you. I have seen this in different posts. I am SO glad I live in Texas. I don't have to count hours/days or anything. I do have to teach English, math, spelling and good citizenship. I believe that is all. I do more than that. It doesn't even state how much we have to teach and it doesn't say we have to do those every year.
Amie, I don't think it's cheating if you count 50-55 minutes of class time as "an hour". Psychiatrists do it all the time!!! and charge you for it! In public school, they're supposed to do (for example) 180 minutes per day of Language Arts, but they spend part of the time taking roll, sharpening pencils, finding homework, getting everybody on the right page, getting out notebooks or workbooks, listening to why I don't have my homework stories, settling petty disputes, etc., before they get started, and then they have at least ten minutes at the end "to write down your homework" and "to get started on homework" and nobody does... And that's for reading, English, spelling, AND handwriting - within the 180 minute block, never mind the interruptions for school-wide announcements, somebody's parent comes to get them, walking time if the class goes to the school library, etc. But they count all the wasted time as "ELA instructional time".
Oh, to be clear (and fair), what these moms do are things like: a ten minute Bible study is counted as 1 hour because it's one activity. Or a spelling quiz that takes 10ish minutes still gets counted as an hour. I DO round up a bit. I tend to count quarter hours. And I round up to the nearest one. I don't log 48 minutes, that's 1 hour. But 10 minutes is not an hour to me... it's 1/4. I also don't "stop the timer" when he goes to the bathroom or gets a drink or whatever. I just observe the start/end times and log it. I'm not uber rigid or anything, I just think there is a line between rounding and lying.
