Hello from NC

Discussion in 'Homeschooling' started by vikki128, Jan 29, 2015.

  1. vikki128

    vikki128 New Member

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    Hi everyone,
    I am Victoria and I just started homeschooling my 3rd grade son...there are a TON of resources out there and I could use some advice please. I am no teacher but feel he would benefit from one on one learning and an un-traditional education where we can speed up or slow down as we see fit.

    I have purchased some items from Barnes and Noble but they dont seem fitting for him. I plan on doing the IOWA standardized test....any direction would be most appreciated.

    Thanks
    victoria!
     
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  3. mschickie

    mschickie Active Member

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    Welcome Victoria.

    Homeschooling is great for being able to customize the course work and take things at the child's pace. There are lots of different curriculums out there.

    Are you looking for a particular subject?
    Do you want secular or Christian, or does it matter?
    Are you looking for a more hands on (manipulatives, crafts...), workbook, literature/reading based, traditional textbook, unit study...


    I realize you might not be familiar with all the options but those are some questions that might help folks direct you to what you might be looking for. I have used a variety of different curriculums. Sometimes you try something and it just does not work. I really have not found much at places like Barnes and Noble but I know others have.

    Also do not worry about the testing when it comes to picking your curriculum. I believe in NC you are just supposed to show progress each year, not difficult to do. Pick the curriculum that teaches what you want and how you want to teach it, the test will take care of itself.
     
  4. Jackie

    Jackie Active Member

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    One of the biggest resources you can get is a catalog from Rainbow Resource. It has about 1400 pages (LITERALLY!!!), and is probably about the cheapest place to order materials new. It can help you see what is available, you can look up what other people suggest, and if you like to buy used, you can use the catalog to give you an idea of what it should cost. On more than one occasion, I've told a seller that I can buy new for the same price they are selling used, and the seller brought the price down!

    There really is a lot. Mschickie's questions are an excellent way to get an idea of what you want!

    www.rainbowresource.com
     
  5. vikki128

    vikki128 New Member

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    Wow thanks! Also, is there a specific time when they have to take the standardized test? How do you prepare them for it? NC says they want lesson plans, but I have been teaching via life lessons and worksheets etc. Do they just want summaries you think? Sorry for all the questions just want to make sure he excels properly
     
  6. vikki128

    vikki128 New Member

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    he is more hands on and not sure abt secular, traditional etc. I am looking for all subjects at this point to be honest. At his former school I know they only focused on the ELAS and math due to EOGS, but I want to teach him a well rounded education, more old school and go from there...

    I would think the test is at a facility?

    Thanks a ton!
     
  7. mschickie

    mschickie Active Member

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    Many folks do their testing at home. I know you said you were planning on doing the Iowa test but you might want to look at the PASS test which is designed for homeschoolers and recognized by NC. https://www.hewitthomeschooling.com/testing/tmain.aspx

    Another resource for questions specific to NC is the state homeschooling organization. There might even be a local group for you to hook up with. http://www.nche.com/testing


    Ok as for recommendations on curriculum, most of mine are Christian but some are secular:

    Math: 1-3rd grades Horizons (Christian, workbook) while for 4th and up I really like Saxon Homeschool (secular and you can often find it used to save money)

    Science: Apologia Young Explorers series (Christian, easy to follow, great activities, love the notebooking journals that go with the books), Sonlight Science (Christian but uses many secular books)

    History: Mystery Of History (Christian, lots of great hands on projects) or Sonlight (Christian, plans it all out for you with readers that go along with the history, also has a Language Arts and Bible components if you want to use them.)

    Writing: Institute for Excellence in Writing (Christian foundations but is also secular)

    Vocabulary: Wordly Wise 3000 (secular)

    Grammar: Easy Grammar (secular)

    Reading: We use many of the Sonlight recommended books. Also: Reading Detectives (secular), Progeny Press Literature Guides (Christian), Novel Units Literature Guides (secular)

    Handwritting: A Reason for Handwriting (Christian)

    Health: Health, Nutrition and P.E. by Steck-Vaughn (secular) or Abeka (Christian)

    I think I hit all the main topics. As Jackie mentioned Rainbow Resources is a great place for curriculum but it can be overwhelming. I also look at www.christianbook.com for books.

    I hope this helps
     
  8. Jackie

    Jackie Active Member

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    Also, I live in central Ohio, which means we have a BIG library system. There have been times the library has books I'm interested in using. I was able to check them out to see if they would work for me. There have been some excellent stuff that simply wasn't "right" for my family that I didn't have to find out the hard way (spending lots of money on something I didn't like!), and some that I really did like and went out and purchased (knowing it would work). It's always better if you can actually get your hands on a book first, even if it's looking at what a friend uses. I know that's not always possible, but do it when you can.
     
  9. Lindina

    Lindina Active Member

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    Since NC is a "must test" state, there are quite a few private testing services located there. From some, you can order tests to give at home and send back to get scored, others you go into their offices and test. It's usually about $35/$40 for the service, I think.

    If you want solid and traditional, I'd like to suggest Christian Light Education www.clp.org and Rod & Staff www.milestonebooks.com. We use a combination of these. They're Bible-based, and advanced compared to public schools. CLE is more workbook-based, while R&S is more textbook-based. CLE can be very independent for the student, while R&S is more teacher-directed.
     
  10. mschickie

    mschickie Active Member

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    I was looking at the NC homeschool laws and it does not say that you need to turn in lesson plans. Are you a member of HSLDA? If so you might want to contact them to see what is up.
     
  11. vikki128

    vikki128 New Member

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    Wow thanks a ton...I've been "playing"it by ear and loving it, but this is much better....met with his former teacher and picked up where she left off...

    I mentioned IOWA as a test as many others here use it, and nc mentioned it too, but looking out there, there are quite a few! But will definitely look at PASS.

    The curriculum you advised I too will look into! So excited!

    Sorry for the delay...was in hospital a little while, but good to go now.

    Big man didn't miss a beat either with school.

    I cant thank you enough!
     
  12. vikki128

    vikki128 New Member

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    Library is a good idea...for some reason home schooling is a hush hush not widely talked about or accepted thing here for some reason...so odd.

    That is why I ended up at BN, everything is scarce.....plus I hadn't the faintest clue of where to look!

    Thank you so much!
     
  13. vikki128

    vikki128 New Member

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    lesson plans etc

    On the nc website for homeschooling, it stated we need lesson plans on file, transcripts, attendance records, immunizations etc. They need to be kept for records as DNPE can do spontaneous checks to make sure you are doing what you need to be apparently. I found a website that shows you how to do it, I just need to organize what I have taught thus far then do future plans....right now im more worried about educating than organizing that. I will search for a template for transcripts later too....
     
  14. Gina

    Gina Member

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    I'm not sure if you've found anything yet, but if you're still looking, I thought I'd throw Khan Academy your way. We've just started using it for math, and my son loves it. It's adaptive, so it identifies areas where more practice is needed, and if he grasps a topic quickly, he can breeze right through it. I'm actually using it myself to help with the college math classes I'm taking.

    It's free of charge, so if it doesn't work out, you're not out anything (I'm all about the freebies!). If you're interested, here's the link:

    https://www.khanacademy.org/

    BTW, there's more on there than just math. :D
     
    Last edited: Feb 9, 2015
  15. mschickie

    mschickie Active Member

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