Well thank you! That means a lot to me. I really don't understand our laws. I think it was a half-effort designed to hush some critics at some point. I have to cover 1,000 hours each calendar year. At least 600 have to be in the core classes (reading, la, history, science, and math), but I don't HAVE to cover the core classes. I could do 600 hours of science and that's within the legal mandate!
I hope you are able find ways to catch up your hours. This does make me glad to be in AZ. We have only to register as homeschoolers with the Superintendent of Schools and when we do that we sign an affidavit that we will teach the core classes (Reading, Grammar, Social Studies, Math, Science). That's it. No logging hours, no attendance requirement, nothing.
It's kind of crazy and random. They probably set up a system to quiet the naysayers. This kind of stuff happens in schools also. I don't know why students who can do well with the work and tests are punished if they miss too many days of school. Oh wait, I think I do know-the school loses money!!! Then there are the standardized tests, which only show who is good at test taking and who isn't. It doesn't measure overall intelligence. In fact, they can discourage kids who are smart by making them think they are not smart. Another thing to make sure kids are "learning" that really does not show anything. So, I guess if they can say, "Well, we know the homeschoolers are learning because they have to spend so much time learning," they can pat themselves on the back and feel happy.
How about the Math for Children, Real People Real Math, and the Math for Students DVD series? They may be available at your local library or through Netflix. What core subjects are you looking at? Here is a huge list of elementary physics videos that you can watch online. Other science topics are available there too.
Whoops, I see you answered my question already. Are you able to count typing toward language arts? If so, I would look at the Dance Mat Typing program online. My boys have loved it. There are also Sequential Spelling word lists available at Spelling City that he can use. How about starting pen pal correspondence and use that towards writing time? For handwriting (if it needs work) I would do some fine motor activities to strengthen the muscles like playing with Play Doh or stringing beads. Also, maze books and dot to dot books are excellent practice.
I'm sorry you have such regulations to homeschool in your state. We do over 1000 hours a year, but we don't have 600 total in those subjects.
When the public school's get in twenty solid minutes of real instructional time during an instructional period of 55 minutes, they still call it an hour! I just didn't want you to be shorting yourself! I agree that playdoh, dot-to-dots etc., and arts/crafts ought to be countable - especially at their young ages. Making puppets (paper ones drawn, colored, cut out and mounted on popsicle sticks or sock puppets, or paper bag puppets) and then using them to act out something from a read-aloud or a reading lesson story or a history lesson, maybe?
found out! http://kids.discovery.com/home http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/?source=NavKidsHome
I would do like some auto garages do with their mechanics. Jobs are rated based on how much time it should take the mechanic to complete. If the book says that it takes four hours to replace the thing-a-ma-bob (not all cars have those, just the ones that belong to mecahinically illiterate people), then that is the time they are paid for whether it takes 2 hours or 5 hours. I logged hours for my neice last year for the diploma program she's in. She had the opposite problem. She took way too long to complete her work, so I only credited her for the time that it should have taken her.
It's funny you say this because this is exactly what our teacher in K12 last year said to do. So if one lesson in math was supposed to take 1hr, you count it as an hour no matter if it took 15 minutes. Everyone else already said some great suggestions. The only thing we have to send in GA is an attendance form every month. It's really easy. I keep a personal record on my computer, but no one will ever see it.
/not moving to Missouri lol Sounds like you've gotten some great feedback. And you've made some people feel better abt their homeschooling restrictions. <3
In truth, it's really not bad at all. I mean, NO ONE ever sees this stuff. We don't have to do testing, we don't have evaluations, the school district doesn't even know our children exist (no letter of intent)! The only way it could get better would be for us to move to Texas. lol. The ONLY person who can request a copy of our records is a judge, which only happens when a prosecuting attorney has sufficient evidence of neglect charges... which means we'd have to be in trouble for something else entirely (e.g. abuse) bad enough that we're already on trial. At that point, homeschool records are the least of our worries.
There is an interesting twist to this. In high school they can take college classes and get dual credit. They can also CLEP out of a college class and get college and high school credit. This may be with very few hours of studying or many more hours than expected depending on the subject and how much the student knows already. I know this does not pertain to your situation, I just think it is interesting. I would just be on the lookout for anything that is learning or doing and count it accordingly.
How about PE. You can spend a couple hours in one day playing soccer or something. Ooops... I should read before posting. Also how about breaking out a nice read a loud book. This way you are adding a bit more time daily and enjoying a great book? How about stretching math out a bit, after the regular lesson do a math game, living math, online activity or something.
Also what about adding in that site teaching with movies. (for some reason I keep thinking I heard of it from you...gosh I hope I have not lost my mind)
