Here in NY we have to put in 180 days and 900 hours. Does that mean 180 English lesson etc etc. Or does that mean just 180 days of schooling?? Field trips and other things. Is there a certian amount of the curriculumn that has to be completed? I was looking at things today and we finished 3 English lessons and so on and so forth. I found it a little overwhelming to think about 197 more and field trips and mental health days. I work outside the home too!!!! Yikes.
I'm not in NY, but usually 180 days means just that. OR 900 hours! That's not hard to add up! Don't forget that field trips days are counted, and that watching educational videos can be counted too (history channel, science channel, discovery channel, discovery health, national geographic channel, nat geo Wild, planet green, travel channel, as well as PBS) because they're educational. If you find a Masterpiece Theatre on, it could be literature (movie about a book), or old movies on TCM, AMC, FOX Movie channel, could be fine arts, or literature (a lot of old movies were made from novels) or history (depending on what period of history it's depicting). Any pleasure reading could be counted if you want to (keep a list if you have to document what they're actually reading). Any letters written and mailed, journaling time, even emailing if your children are allowed. Any arts/crafts time. Watching the news (if you let your kids watch the news!) or reading the newspaper (or magazines like Time for Kids) is Current Events . Reading NatGeoWorld is science or social studies. If you practice math facts with math games, that counts. Housework/gardening/cooking is Home Ec or Life Skills. A bike ride around the block is PE. If I'm any judge, I think you'll find your 900 hours accounted for in No Time Flat!
It actually varies from state to state. I was thinking that Ohio has a requirement of 900 hours, but no specific number of "days". Other states require "days", and goes to specify how many hours you need to do school to count it as a "day". So if you get up, spend a half-hour doing math and nothing else, you can't count it as a "day". Whatever!!!
I am assuming that if we are talking about days only, then it means 180 school days of whatever is covered.
My state (GA) is 180 days with 4.5 hours being a day. I'm required to teach 5 subjects, but I don't do 5 subjects daily, plus I do non-state-required subjects as well. Reading is one of the subjects I HAVE to teach by law, so anytime I read ANY book to him-it counts. If he plays outside-I call it PE (cub scouts too) If he helps me cook dinner or makes himself a sandwich I call it home ec or life skills If he plays with math manipulatives, I call it math If he watches Meerkat Manor, I call it science. Unschooling is legal in all 50 states, so no, it does not have to be just 'textbook' learning. You learn a little educationalese and everything counts! LOL Google 'unschooling and NY' and you should get some helpful sites.
It is 900 hours of whatever you choose those 900 hours to be as long as you deem it educational. If you look on pg 8 of the document from my district that I pm'ed you it explains it well: In determining the amount of time spent in education, one may consider all such legitimate learning activities such as: church activities (i.e. choir), field trips, exploratory learning, additional reading, informal learning, living skills, lessons (i.e. music, swimming, etc.), spontaneous learning situations, and other varied life activities which are educational in nature. Hopefully that helps.
Free at last! That is what came to mind. When I realized that learning doesn't have to come from a textbook or any book---WOW what a freeing moment. I am glad I live in a state that doesn't require any certain # of days/hours. We learn constantly-just look at what they do everyday (weekends, vacations also) and see how it can fit in the learning process and write it down. You will probably find that you have WAY over the required amount.
My state, Missouri is specific in that you have to have 1000 hours, not amount of days though. Of the 1000 hours, 600 have to be in core subjects (english, math, reading, science, social studies) and the other 400 can be in whatever. That's 600 total hours, not in each subject. No specifications on which subjects have to have how many in hours. I went to HSLDA.org to read up on NY's laws. Here's a direct link to your laws. It does say 180 days, 900 hours grades 1-6, 990 hours grades 7-12. It does specify some subjects you should cover but not how many hours in each.
I guess I am reading into it too much. With ps they were not nice and there was always a little loop hole they would find. I guess I just have a fear of that happening and not getting everything done that we need. But, I did submit a IHIP and I am waiting for the school to approve it. All I can do is the best I know how and if they give me grief I will deal with it from there. I am a member of HSDLA so I guess I will call them on Monday and see what they have to say about it.
No. Can't say for sure about NY, but in most states they do not APPROVE anything! You are TELLING THEM what you ARE going to do. Unless there's something big and glaringly wrong, they DO NOT have the authority to deny you.
I was just reading up on NY's laws. Unless I am mistaken, all you have to do is submit the curriculum you are going to use or the plan you are going by along with their name and such, your name and the dates you will send in reports. It doesn't say it has to be approved by anyone. As far as covering all the subjects, it could be overwhelming: grades 1 through 6): arithmetic, reading, spelling, writing, English, geography, United States history, science, health, music, visual arts, and physical education; This is just part of the required list I found. But WAIT: you don't need to get overwhelmed. Think of it like this: the schools do NOT teach all this everyday. Some of these things can be easily combined. English--is this not reading, writing, and spelling. It seems silly that they list those twice. Of course they may be referring to grammar. These things can be done in little increments. Say you want them to write a sentence about their dog. They write it. Then you see if they have misspelled a word. Then you can tell them to make sure they have a period or exclamation point at the end of it. Then you can introduce them to the fact that the dog is the subject of the sentence. DON'T feel the need to have them do a grammar worksheet, if they are very young. Then you can have them read a little. History and geography--use maps when you study history and voila! science and health--a big connection here. You can talk about what is healthy for the body. You can watch videos and discuss. If you talk about why they are good for the body and what body parts they help with--isn't that science? music: listen to different kinds of music and discuss the composers. This is elementary school, do they want musical geniuses? Maybe you can introduce an instrument if you have the money and they want to. visual arts: look at art, read about artist (you read aloud or the kids read themselves) PE: when they move, call it PE. Most kids have no problem there. Remember, remember, remember: IF you compare yourself to ps, you will most likely be surprised that they don't spend a lot of time on some of these subjects. There is a lot of wasted time, think class parties, and early release days.
The Superintendent does have the right to ask for more informtation on the curriculum choices but as long as you are covering the basic subjects you are fine. As Cabsmom40 states you do not need to touch on all these subjects every day or even every quarter, although I would suggest the basic reading writing and math every quarter. Cherry don't bother to call HSLDA call your LEAH Chapter leader. They should be able to answer all your questions or even hook you up with a mentor mom (our chapter does that occassionally). That is what your LEAH chapter is for, support. You can order a LEAH handbook on line (or maybe even get one from your chapter leader) that will answer most of your questions and even has sample forms. http://www.leah.org/resources/regulatory-manual I know it can seem overwhelming and you do not want to miss anything but it really is pretty simple. Homeschooling is not like dealing with getting an iep done. Do you want to see copies of what I turn in? Would that be helpful for you?
