SOS and more

It's been about 3 weeks now since my son started doing the SOS English and History programs. It's going well for the most part. I've been checking over his work either before I go to bed or when I get up in the morning. He's doing well in all his subjects. His problem seems to be the projects and essays. I did not set up a term so there are no due dates on any of the lessons. He has skipped over the essays in English and some of the Projects/Experiments in Chemistry. I told him he is to have the essays done by the end of this coming week, or I will go back in and set up a term. Then he WILL have due dates. He's been doing two or more lessons/quizzes a day which is good. So I'm happy about that. I just wish he'd do the essays/projects/experiments a little faster.

He is suppose to be doing Wordly Wise too. I get frustrated with him because he doesn't tell me he's completed something and then give me the paperwork. He says he puts it on the cabinet, but how am I suppose to know unless he tells me? I guess I'm going to have to redo my assignment calendar so that he will do the other work that I want him to do. I still want him to do some of the worksheets I printed out for History. We are watching a video on English grammar from Standard Deviants that I hope will help him to understand grammar better. We have other videos to watch also.

I've thought about finding a tutor to work with him on his writing/composition. Maybe that's why he's been putting off the essays in English? He has some problems with writing complete sentences that actually make sense. I think he writes the way he talks sometimes. I should have made him write more when he was younger. That's mostly my fault. My own reading disability caused me to shy away from having to try and understand what he had written. I should have had someone else (like my husband) do that for me. So now we have to buckle down and work extra hard on that.

I am concerned about my son's social life or rather lack of it. He is more interested in playing his online video games than anything else. If he didn't have bowling, judo and now teen court to do, he'd never go anywhere. He likes being around other kids his age and always has a great time whenever there is some sort of activity going on. Unfortunately, there aren't that many kids his age to hang out with, and the ones there are, don't live close by. Everyone else is so busy, that I can't even get the teen group I started to do anything. I've tried to plan a couple of events but only got a couple of responses so ended up canceling the event. I'm getting real discouraged and have thought about doing away with the teen group. I could always keep in touch with those people in the group if I wanted to have a get-together.

I remember when I was in high school. I had a core group of friends that I always hung around with. Unfortunately, I am no longer in touch with them. My daughter has a few people she knew in public school that she still talks to, and there are some from the youth organization she was involved in she still sees. Who will my son have to talk to from his childhood? That really makes me sad. When we left a couple of homeschool groups that just weren't fitting our needs anymore, the few teens that were in those groups have never gotten in touch with him. I have since found out that they are all buddy-buddy with each other. It makes me wonder then, what's wrong with my son? Did he do or say something to the other teens to make them mad? I don't think he did. I'd like to think it's one of those "out of sight, out of mind" type things. I guess I just worry so much about him. It took a long time for him to come out of his shell. I'd hate to see him go back into it. It would be nice if he found someone his own age to be his "best friend" rather than only want to hang around mom and dad (although it's nice he likes to be around us, but he needs more than us). I will continue to do what I can for him to see that he has other teens to be with. He should be out there just hanging out and talking on the phone or perhaps going on a date, doing something besides sitting at home all the time.

Changes

I have been having a difficult time going over my son's English and History work. I find that I have a hard time comprehending what it is that he's doing. For some reason I just don't focus as well as I use to on what I am reading. I've always had a problem with comprehension but in the last couple of years it's gotten much worse. I think it's a result of the medications I am on, coupled with the fact that I have Hypothyroidism (which is being treated). Unless his answers are a straight yes/no, true/false or multiple choice, I sometimes am not able to make heads or tails of his answers. When I read the answer that is in the book to my son, he says that's what he has written. Either I'm just not "seeing" it or he is lying to me, and I don't think that's what it is. lol! So to make things a little easier for me and him, I have decided to use Alpha Omega's SOS for English and History (we already use the Geometry and Chemistry).

My reasoning was this: he is assigned a lesson/project/quiz/test and it grades it automatically for him. He gets instant feedback. The only time I have to grade a problem is when he has to give a written answer or it's a project. It's not that the work is easier, it's the end result that is easier. I can spend more time on other things and not so much on reading and grading papers (no wonder the public school teachers complain about that all the time).

My son likes to know exactly what he has to do and when. SOS can provide that. It will let him know exactly what his lesson is and even when it's due. He does tend to put his projects off until right before they are due. In the past he never really got in trouble for not getting his work done on time but that will change this year. If he doesn't get it done on time, he will have his computer time taken away from him. The only time he won't be punished for it is when he has a good excuse such as these last few days when he's been sick with the flu.

I tried so hard to keep up with him on his U.S. History. I had this big idea that we could just sort of wing it this year. I printed out handouts of information, time lines, tests, work sheets and an outline of each period that he would be studying. I wrote up each lesson outline and put the correct handouts with each one. I put each lesson in the folders I'd made up for each unit. I posted what pages he was suppose to be reading each day in my planner and what unit he was to be working on. I had good intentions, but not enough know-how I guess. I still plan on using some of the handouts I printed out. I'm not going to waste the time and money I spent printing those out. And he will be watching the videos I have. I may not make him do some of the lessons that I printed out for those videos but we will definitely go over the discussion questions. Depending on what the lessons want will be the deciding factor. He'll also be reading some historical books and biographies. I want him to continue to read "A Patriot's History of the United States". I think it will give him the facts and not someone else's view points which is what almost all of the public school textbooks do. That will be discussed more later. I may just go through the book and have him read sections of it.

The English really wasn't all that hard. I just never got around to correcting his work. Between the lessons in the book, to the pre/middle/post tests he had to do, then the vocabulary tests and the Wordly Wise lessons, I was overloaded with paperwork. When I looked at the English for SOS, I saw that it covered exactly what we were covering, except for the fact that it requires him to read "The Old Man in the Sea", which he has already read. We will skip over that section. No sense in making him suffer through it again. I have novels and stories that I want him to read this year. Those he will continue to read. I told my son that I wanted him to read more this year. In the past, he only read maybe one or two books. He needs a variety and hopefully I've done that with the books he is reading.

I'm real happy with the SOS program. We've used it in the past. My only issue with it, is that it comes with a Christian perspective. My son does not mind if religion is mentioned when it is presented as part of what he is studying. His problem comes from when it says things like "What you want to remember is that God has uniquely created you with the capacity to think and reason." My son has already stated that he does not believe in God. That is his choice. If God gave us freewill like everyone says, then my son is using his freewill to choose not to believe. I have told him that he has the right to believe whatever he wants but that others may not agree with that belief. So to avoid confrontations and any problems in the future, I have told him to be tolerant of religious people even if they are not tolerant of him. We've already discussed the religious issues. If there is a problem that is religious and it has nothing to do with his subject, then he is to skip it and I will go back later and grade it so that his total grade will not be affected.

Now I am waiting on the new cd's to arrive so that I can install them. Then I'll have to go in and see if there are any parts that he can skip over. That should be fun. We will work on the schedule later, when he feels better.

Unschoolers, transcripts and books

A new friend of mine is an unschooler. Now I'm not real sure what exactly an unschooler is and apparently unschoolers have different opinions of what it means too. The way I perceive it is that they have no set of curriculum, no schedules, no real structure and they just kind of learn as they go. Now I'm no unschooler, but I'm not as regimental as some homeschoolers I know. I do like some structure, a plan and most times a curriculum. I like having most things laid out for me. BUT I'm not stuck with a schedule. I do plan a schedule for him to follow as to what he is suppose to do each day but if we have other plans for that day, then he just does those lessons the next day or whenever he can. My son also likes knowing what he is suppose to be studying that day. I think it helps him to stay on track. I'm not set on any one type of curriculum. I do use textbooks, workbooks, computer courses, and worksheets but I also use videos, movies, websites, field trips, outside classes, etc. as a supplement for those courses. I'm always looking for something that will help my son to better understand what he is suppose to be learning.

A few of us homeschoolers got together a while back and we asked this unschooler about grades and doing a transcript. When we met up with her yesterday, she gave us each a copy of the transcript she made up for her daughter. It was very simply done but it had all of the information that a college really needs, that she met the requirements for a high school education and what subjects were taught. There were no grades listed, just a statement saying "We do not 'label' or 'grade' students. Subjects are studied until material is integrated and mastered." This is exactly what I have been trying to get through to some other homeschoolers I've talked to. You don't need grades for a transcript, and colleges could care less if you made straight A's in high school. They only care if you get them in college! I loved the way this transcript was done. It's similar to the one I have written up for my son except mine has a description of the courses. I think I'll go back and redo his transcript. I realized that I don't need to put the description down for the courses unless they are so off the wall that they need further explanation. After all, colleges teach English, Math, History and Science too. I think they know what those are.

Another homeschooler made a very good point when it comes to English and History. The student is taught the same thing over and over all through school. In elementary school we were taught about grammar and sentence structure and that continued all the way through high school. The same thing with history. We learned about the presidents, constitution, Civil War, all the way through the present time, and that continued through high school. The only thing that changed with them was the reading level of the books. We didn't learn anything new about how to conjugate a sentence or how the Civil War ended, it was all just a repeat of what we had learned earlier in our education. Math is a little different only because we go from the basic math skills to Algebra and Trigonometry. The public schools even touch on Algebra in elementary grades! But nothing changes with math. The only subject that changes is science. New concepts and discoveries are happening all around us, so the child leans something new every time they turn around. If a child reads and is able to comprehend what they are reading, then they will be able to learn anything they need to know about any subject they want. So why must we constantly teach them English and History each and every year? If a child does not read well, then they cannot learn. So why don't the public schools focus more on teaching a child to read and less on spelling tests (the child would learn how to spell correctly if they could read the words)? My own son has missed out on so much because he was not a good reader when he was in public school. It wasn't until we took him out of public school and started homeschooling him that his reading got better. He's still not big on reading but he's a lot better than he would be if he was still in public school! I wish I had made my kids read more when they were younger and not just fiction either. They could have been learning so much more. So I have decided that with these last two remaining years that I have to teach my son, we will focus more on reading all sorts of books and a little less on busy work. Hopefully it will open up a whole new world for him.

It's getting closer!

The new school year is getting closer. My son finally picked up one of the novels he was suppose to have already read, and has started reading it. He still has to read "Antony & Cleopatra" and do the book study on "Hans Brinker". All this I want done by Aug. 1st. Think we'll make it? I'll make sure of it, even if it means cutting him off from the computer. He seems to think that I'll just let him carry over his work from this last year into his next year just because "we homeschool". He's got another "think" coming! Bwahahaha! lol!

I filled in and faxed the letter to the publisher of the biology book I wanted. I only ordered the teachers edition because my son is suppose to be able to access the book online at their website. I'll get the code when I get the book. That not only saved us money but I don't have to worry about having another book on my bookshelf. He'll be able to read his assignment online, then do whatever activities and tests he is required to do. If the internet is down for some reason, he can always use the teachers edition for that day. If the TE is like the others I have, the text will be the same but the answers will be in a different section.

I have already changed my mind on one of the books I had planned to use. After looking through the student workbook, I realized that I did not have the answers to the worksheets. I could probably figure out what is right or wrong, but just in case, I don't want to have him think it is correct (plus I don't want all that extra work!). Since I decided to discard that book, I decided to not do any of the lessons suggested in the teachers book I have too. It's not really necessary for me to use these books. He will already be doing a writing program that covers what was in these other two books. I'll have to throw in some vocabulary and maybe some grammar, but that's no big deal. I'll probably just go into that when he writes out his lessons or posts things to his journal/blog.

My next project is getting his assignments written up and all the other paperwork done. Since we have decided to go with a weekly assignment chart for each individual subject, I have to figure out what I want him to do when. That's not really that big of a deal. I did it when I had all of the subjects on the same chart. My problem is, he has two algebra books and he suggested that he do both at the same time. I'm a little concerned that he'll be going over the same topic at the same time and get bored, but then again having him go over the same thing might be a good idea since he had such a hard time last year with algebra. I just have to figure out how to assign these two books so that he doesn't go into overload. I'm thinking of doing it "2 on 2". Do two days out of one book, then the next two out of the other then just start over again. What I have to do is figure out how many pages/chapters he'll have to do each day. Then I'll have to divide up his schedule so that he does each book on different days.

I'm kind of trying to go by a regular 6 week, 2 semester schedule. I don't want my son to be in the middle of a chapter or lesson, then have the next week or two off and have to come back to what he was doing. That would mean reviewing what he had been doing which would take time away from his new stuff. That's part of my problem in this scheduling. I want to try and stay on this type of schedule because I want him to get use to it so that when he goes to college, it won't be that new to him. But we are also flexible and as long as he gets what I want him to get done before the "next semester", then I'll be okay with it. My schedule though is a little bit weird. I have him on a 6 week, then one week off type thing. I decided to put a week break in there just to have a kind of "vacation". He won't actually be on vacation. It will be for him to work on other stuff, catch up on work he hasn't completed, watch instructional videos, etc. It'll be time for me to have him do projects that don't actually follow what he's suppose to be learning this year. But it will be more relaxed (as if we aren't already relaxed!).

I am going to make myself be more involved this year. Last year I was kind of ho-hum in my involvement (slacker was more like it). I started off the year by checking his work and making sure it was correct but after a while I quit doing it. It just became too much work and I just didn't have the energy to do it. I'm sure that his answers were not what they were suppose to be on his lessons but hopefully he actually learned something. If not, then I'm in trouble! EEK! I'll especially have to be on top of things when it comes to his writing. I'm suppose to go over his writing and make sure he's doing what the lesson says he's suppose to do. That will be hard for me because I have such a hard time comprehending anything and I'm finding that things are just not clicking as fast as they use to. I'm going to have to rely on my husband to check some of these things. Thank goodness for the internet. I can type in my sons writing and email it to my husband to read. He can give me his opinions and suggestions. A homeschool friend is doing the literature class using "Movies as Literature" so I won't have to worry about anything there. I may have to help him format his reports or essays or whatever he decides to do but she'll be the main person to help him with all that.

Most of his work now is just reading the information and then telling others in some format that he knows what he just read. He's pretty smart about some things but it's his mechanics that need work. He has a hard time articulating what he has to say. That he will be working on this next year not only in that literature class but also in his theater and chorus class. He's also going to be doing Y.A.G. which is "Youth and Government" through the YMCA. He'll have to get up and speak in front of other people and that will help him in that area.

I'm also looking at some type of grading system. I'm not really keen on grades but I think he needs some type of good/bad, pass/fail type of thing. I may look at percentages. This will not only let him know what he's doing wrong, but will help me to know where he needs help. I'm not so interested in the grades for his transcripts though. I've already covered transcripts in another post so I won't go into that here. It will be just another little helper for me to gauge where he's at and what he needs to do.

Oh did I mention that my son took the exit exam for the Texas TAKS test? He passed all of them except the math which was no big surprise. I was really proud of him (am proud of him!). That told me that he was on track with the public schools. Now we are just filling in the blanks where his schooling is concerned.

It will be a busy year but I think it will be one of the best.

Behind again but catching up!

I was really hoping that my son would be through with his school work by this time but he still has a few things left to do. He has three books to read. I have downloaded book studies for two of these books that I wanted him to do with them. Now I'm thinking that I will just have him read the books and have him write up his thoughts on the books. Now that's an idea. Have him read the books then write his thoughts on them into his blog. I can kill two birds with one stone so to speak. I've been wanting him to write stuff on his blog but didn't know what. What a great idea! I knew that if I starting writing about something, I'd come up with something else. I know that doesn't make sense. What is something? My old 11th grade English teacher used to get on to me about using the word "thing". She always asked what was that "thing". I still do the same "thing". lol!

But back to the school year. He has completed most of his school work. He's still working on the computer lessons but that isn't any big deal. Mostly it's the books. I am trying to get him to read more. I wasn't into reading at his age either. It wasn't until I got older that I started reading. Now that I am older still, I find that I can't keep my mind on my reading and end up losing interest in it. I have so many new books that I really want to read and finish but I just can't get into them like I use to. That makes me sad. But I'm getting off subject again.

We will beginning our new school year in a few weeks (Aug. 1st). I would really like to get these books read before then. I guess it's not a big deal except it will mean that he has extra work to do. Instead of concentrating on his new school year, he will have both years to do. I don't think he will care if reading these books will overlap into the new school year. He's pretty flexible about it. I guess I should ask him. I know he'll say to just let him skip reading the books (and before I have discarded some of the lessons) but I really want him to read them. I think it's important for him to read these books not just because they will improve his literary knowledge but it will help him in his reading ability.

It's partly my fault. I didn't make sure that he was on task. I got sidetracked again by other people in our lives when I shouldn't have. I should have been concentrating on him and his school and I didn't. Now I'm paying for that mistake.

I've been working on all the preparations for next year. I'm getting all the forms I'll need printed and filled out. Now I've got to sit down and start working on lesson plans. We both decided on a chart that is for each individual subject but covers the whole week. He'll have individual binders for each subject, so all he'll have to do is open that binder, and there's his chart showing what is to be done for that week. Each chart will cover 6-weeks so it will be easy to keep track of when the next break/grading period is. I really think this will be easier for him and me too. I will only have to just take the binder I need to look at and will be able to go right to the work that needs to be checked. Before I had to look through several pages in order to find what I was looking for. Plus the chart has lots of room for me to write his assignments. Most of the pages have separate columns for the books or materials we will be using, so I will be able to write in exactly what he is to do from just that book. He said last years assignment sheet was just too small. There wasn't enough room for me to write assignments in that didn't make it hard for him to read. I'm going to type in his assignments this year but I'm sure there will be times when I have to handwrite something in.

I've got all of his curriculum except Biology. I am planning on contacting the publisher of the textbook I want to use to find out info about accessing the website. The book itself looks pretty good but there is stuff for him to do on their "classroom" website that I want him to be able to do also. If that is only accessible to public school students, then I will have to find another book which I don't look forward to doing. He's not into science but I want this year to be more interesting than previously. He did mention that he'd rather be doing chemistry but I don't want to get into that until his 11th grade. I'm trying to stay along the same lines as the public schools when it comes to what they study when. I know last year I ventured away from that when he took Earth Science but it was one of the suggestions from another place. He is also doing Algebra I over again. Not because he "failed" it but because he didn't quite grasp it. I just feel that he needs more practice. If he zips through the Algebra and finally understands it, then we will move on to Geometry. He will have a lot to do this coming year but I don't think he'll mind too much. He won't be bored that's for sure! He will have several books to read along with doing the literature study called Movies as Literature. I think he'll like that class even if he doesn't care for some of the movies. Maybe after watching the movies, he'll want to read the book to find out what they left out! His history is just a continuation of the book we used last year. He said he didn't mind this book. We will add some other supplements to the course. Then there's Geography. I've got the Ultimate Geography and Timeline Guide that I have been really trying to use since I first got it a couple of years ago. I am going to use the country study that's in it for this year. Then in 11th grade, I will use the history section to study U.S. history. I don't plan on buying an actual textbook for that. He's already learned so much U.S. history over the years that anything he does now is just a refresher. We can delve into a topic that piques his interest at anytime. I know he has an interest in wars...Civil War, WWI & II, Vietnam and quite possibly some that he has heard of but can't remember. But I'm getting ahead of myself. The UGTG has got a good country study section. He doesn't know the location of most countries (and I can't tell you the names of some of them since they have changed since I was in school). He will also be learning about manners and etiquette. He is kind of rude at times (what teenager isn't?) but he also needs to learn how to act in different situations so that mom isn't embarrassed! lol! He'll continue with his theater and chorus at Arts Fifth Avenue. He was so wonderful in the play he did and he has come so far in his socialization skills. I'm so proud of him. A friend is suppose to be starting a Y.A.G. group for our area and I think he'll really enjoy that too since he has mentioned becoming a lawyer (what happened to being a writer?). Y.A.G. is "Youth and Government" and it's sponsored by the YMCA. He'll be learning about all aspects of government and will get to use the house and senate at the state capital! Woohoo! He has also stated that he'd like to learn Italian now. What happened to Japanese? He said that Japanese is too hard although he still wants to learn it. Italian is fine by me. Maybe my friend Judy can help him with that. I'm not too good with learning a new language but having lived in Italy for 2 1/2 years, I can kind of understand some of the words. Once we get logged in to Rosette Stone through our library, he can study any language he wants. Just so he sticks with a language for longer than a few months. It would be more useful if he learned Spanish, but not necessary. He is also going to learning more about the computer. His dad brought home a CD on Visual Basic. I want him to also learn more about html and designing web pages. In this day and age almost everyone can make their own web page. I showed him how and where to past codes into his MySpace. He picked it up pretty easy but then it is pretty easy to post stuff to your MySpace. Designing a web page is different unless you use a premade page. So we will look into those two things. The Visual Basic may be something that he and his dad can do on the weekends. Only if his dad lets him do it instead of making him sit there and watch which is what he normally does (how did his dad ever become an instructor for the military??? lol!).

Well my computer keeps bringing up this pop-up window wanting me to restart my computer so the updates can go into affect. It's really starting to bug me so I guess I'll let it do it. I'll write more later on my progress with pre-school year preparations.

Update on my son

My son seems to be feeling better. He still gets tired though which is to be expected. We haven't done much in the way of school work though. He went to his theater and chorus class yesterday and did fine. They sit mostly anyway so he didn't overdo it. Today he has a history class but it's just watching a video and he can either sit or lie on the floor to watch it. Tomorrow we are going to the zoo. I plan on getting a wheelchair for him. I don't want him to get too worn out. I figure by sitting in a wheelchair and having your mom push you around would give him a laugh. After all mom hasn't pushed him in a "stroller" since he was little. lol!

Found out about this driving program coming up in May. The kids learn about driving safety, drunk driving, what to look for in a used car, automobile safety tips and get the opportunity to learn and practice handling a car in emergency situations. They practice controlled skids and maneuvering out of a skid and hydroplaning. The class is taught by actual race car drivers. Now how cool is that? They do require the kids have either their driver's license or a valid learner's permit by the time of the class. So we will have to get him the driver's handbook so he can study for and take the test to get his permit. When I told my hubby about this class, he said he wanted to do it too. Too bad it's for 21 and younger. lol! I guess I should get over to the site and sign up for it before it's too late. We have about 2 1/2 mths to study for this, so that should be long enough for him to memorize the manual and pass the test. Don't you think? ha!

I found another algebra book. This one is called "Illustrated Effortless Algebra". I skimmed through the book and it seems to be very helpful. There are loads of illustrations that help explain the different formulas and equations. I think that I could even learn algebra from this book! I just hope it helps my son better understand what he is doing.

We are going to Scarborough Faire during school days. We will meet up with some other homeschoolers. We've been a few times in the past on regular days and really enjoyed ourselves. There aren't as many vendors during school days, but that's okay. The kids get a free coupon so we can come back again with hubby. I think it'll be fun for the kids. Someone suggested the teens dress up. I think that would be fun. If they do, I'll post pics here with the new digital camcorder/camera my hubby got me.

Next week it's back to work for my son. I didn't push him to do any school work this week. I figured he needed to just rest and relax. It was kind of like an early spring break for him even if we normally don't do spring break. I'm going to have to fix our school schedule since he'll be going past the time I had set for school to be over. Oh well, it's not like we haven't gone past our deadline before!

Decisions, decisions, decisions

I have been trying to work out a daily schedule for my son for next year. I can't remember what time of day they say is the best for learning things. I seem to remember that early morning was good for math but can't remember the rest. I'm sure I'll figure out something though.

Another thing too is his Algebra. The book is for beginning and intermediate algebra. I'm not sure if most people do the whole book in one year or not. I'm doing it in two years. My only problem is that I am not sure where to stop at the end of the first year and then pick up for the second year. And do I skip a year to do Geometry then go back to the Algebra or what? I'm really confused. I'm thinking of just picking up in 10th grade where we left off in 9th with Algebra, then do Geometry in 11th. It realy doesn't matter since we homeschool and we are free to teach whatever we want, when we want as long as it includes the subjects that the state requires. But I don't want him to get around other kids who have already taken the subject. I don't want him to feel out of place. Although most homeschool people are more forgiving and understanding than public school people. I've already figured out where we are going to stop in the book, I just don't know when I'm going to teach him the rest of it.

I'm almost finished with my planning notes for my son's courses. I still have to do Algebra and Computer. I'm also coordinating the pages in the "humanities" book with his history lessons. I've already gone through and written down all the pages that have some type of "art" on them and put them next to the section of the history book they coincide with. Now I just need to write down some notes about what the picture/drawing is about and how it relates to that particular period in time. I don't want to get into too much detail from this book as I want to use it as a humanities book later on in 12th grade. Hubby used it in his college class, but I think I can use it for my son. Hubby has the workbook to go along with the book, I just have to adjust the lessons to my sons age level.

I'm really looking forward to next year. I don't know why though. I think it's because my son is older and I will be able to relate more to him than in the past. He's better able to make more knowledgeable statements I guess is why. I haven't been real involved in his lessons in the past. I plan on being involved this next year. Not so much with the writing part but with the reading and discussions. Because he doesn't like to read books, I will have to stay on top of him to read. Maybe we'll read the books out loud? That sounds kind of little kidish. But it may be the only way I'll know for sure that he is reading something. There will be other things he can do on his own though. Some of his courses are on the computer. He can do those and all I have to do is go back and look at what he did. I will have to keep a record though of what scores/grades he got on the different things though. I want to keep good transcripts of his courses and the grades he got. I will also keep some of his written work in case some "proof" is ever needed. Although some of the text books I have gotten are for older grade levels, I don't think there will be a problem. They are mostly just reading material anyway. The only one that new concepts are introduced is the Algebra. That one will be hard for me. I will pretty much be useless to him un less I can really understand what is going on. I'm hoping he will be able to pick it up on his own or can find an answer at the textbooks website or some other website. I hope we don't end up getting a tutor.

I find that I am having a hard time concentrating myself. I really have to force myself to read something and not just skip over most of it. I hope that's not an early sign of something worse. I want to stay focused and alert so that I can help my son with his school work. I want to be more involved in his learning process and help him through the times when he isn't able to understand something. Hopefully by my being more involved, it will help me with my concentration too. Maybe I should see a doctor about Adult ADD?

And now Algebra

The Beginning & Intermediate Algebra book by Lial finally arrived. I was surprised though because it is the Teacher's Edition. I tried to locate the Student Edition on the LIAL website, but the only thing it had was the Student's Solution book. I don't know if that is the correct book or not. I can still use the teacher's book. No biggie. I just have to figure out how to keep my son from seeing the answers. I figure that on the exercises, reviews, quizzes, and tests I'll have to either copy them or retype them so that I can print them out for him to do. I did download the InterActMath plugin so that now he (we) can go to the website and get some help with any problems that may arise. It looked pretty good considering I know nothing about Algebra.

Another book

Received the Teachers Edition of the Earth Science book yesterday. I like it better than the one for history. It has more helps in it and I understand it a little better. There was a sticker on the outside of the book that stated it was for 11th/12th grade. Oh well, guess my son will be doing that grade level next year. Still working on some forms. I'm trying to keep ahead of schedule this year. I've got a couple of forms I need to redo, and I had to download the correct calendar. Now I'm waiting to get the math book. No biggie, it'll get here soon enough...I have time. More later after I've returned from my shopping excursion.

Organization

I received the student Earth Science book by McDougall/Littell the other day from the Amazon.com seller. I'm very excited about using this book except for one thing. I don't have the lab sheets I need that go with a few of the lab activities. I checked the website and I didn't see anything there, so I'm not too sure what these are. Maybe I'll find out more when I get the Teacher's Edition. I got an email from the person sending me the algebra book by Lial. They "found" it just sitting somewhere and realized that they had forgotten to mail it to me. So they are going to refund me my shipping cost. I was surprised. The website said it could take from 4 to 14 days, so I wasn't worried about it. I guess I'll have to write a note to the seller and thank them. That was nice of them to do. Guess if you want peoples business, you'll be nice to them and refund their S&H for forgetting to mail out their order even if that person didn't know it was late!

So, I've been working on some of my paper work for next year. I've got several forms that I've downloaded from the internet that helps with getting things ready for next year. I've used some of the goal charts, curriculum planners, and transcript planners. I don't know how useful these forms will be during the next year, but I feel like I'm doing something useful, so I figure why not. I will at least have a record of what we wanted to cover and what we actually covered when it comes time to fill in that transcript form. Plus when I get rid of the books we used for those years, I'll have a record of what books we used and what they covered. Not that I really need a record of what I teach. I'm in Texas, I don't have to show proof of my curriculum. Mostly I decided I needed a record of what my son is learning because of the problem I had when I made up my daughters transcript. She was trying to join the Air Force and they needed a copy of her transcript. Since she went to public school for 9th & 10th, I kind of figured out what she took those years by going to the schools website and scanning through the courses for the years she was there. I did manage to find some old report cards for those years too, which helped to straighten out some confusion on some of the classes we thought she had taken. When I went to get the records for her homeschooling classes that she took from School of Tomorrow, I could not find them. Luckily I still had the books she had been using and was able to record the subjects and grades from that. It wasn't until a few days ago that I found the actual report card/progress report for both kids stuck in the back of a folder in a filing cabinet. I was really relieved to find those reports. I knew I had them but just didn't know where. With all the moving around we did a few years back, I'm surprised I can find anything!

My son has fallen behind even more in his school work. I asked him why he hadn't done any work in some of his subjects. His answer was that he was stuck. I asked him what he should do when he is stuck, and his answer was "Ask you?" I couldn't believe it. I could understand not wanting to "raise your hand" in public school when you have a question, but at home? He got in trouble for that. I asked him if he wanted to be grounded from the computer? Of course I got a no from him. lol! We will be working on those subjects more intensely. There's no excuse for him to not do the work. I think he was just too lazy and was way more interested in playing his computer games (even though he's not allowed to do that until 4 p.m.).

I think I'll have to limit his online playing some more. He normally can't get on until 4 p.m. and has to quit at 10 p.m. I know that's a long time but you've got to understand that he doesn't have any "real" friends. The kids that are around us are either too young or too old. We have never met the family to the north of us. The one son that is close to my sons age is a real snot. He threw a diaper (whether it was soiled or not I don't know) at my son one time when he and another boy (who just happened to be a friend of this kid) came up their drive-way with their water guns. This kid told my son to get off his property. Nice neighbors huh? The boy who is friends with this kid (I guess he still is, I don't see them hanging out too much) is several years younger than my son. They really don't get along too well. When we first moved here, they played together but the boy doesn't "play" very well and broke some of my sons toys. My son is real particular about his toys and takes good care of them. They would play video games, but my son is better than this boy and he would get upset with my son because he beat him all the time. Needless to say, they don't hang out together. The kids across the street from us are a lot younger than my son. I've only talked to the parents a couple of times. We only have 7 families on our street and two of those only have adult children. Nobody associates with anyone. The one family (kid with the diaper) have a problem with one of the families across from us. I know the older boys would get into a shouting match every once in a while. The "diaper" family I don't think rides the school bus anymore. Maybe they were banned? Wouldn't surprised me. Their house is up for sale, so hopefully someone will buy it soon. It would be nice to actually get some people in that my son could hang out with. Kind of hard to make friends in the country with everyone spread out so much. I have tried to find other outlets where he can interact with other kids close to his age. He is on a bowling league throughout the school year. We did 4H but will probably quit that or find another club to join. Not real happy in the one we were in. We have been doing outtings with a Yahoo homeschool group. They are from the local area and try to have activities for the "tweens" to do. I'm thinking about getting a group going that maybe does his online game or even Anime. He likes that and I found out a lot of kids do too.

Planning for next year

I have been gradually planning the curriculum we will be using next year. I think I am done. I just received the Earth Science student book in the mail today and it looks like it will be a good one. There is a website to use with the book that the publisher set up. It looks like it has a lot of interesting stuff on it. I am still waiting for the teachers edition to the science book along with the algebra book I ordered. It also has a website to use with the book. Thank goodness because I know nothing about algebra. This should be an interesting year.

I changed my profile to read that we are Eclectic homeschoolers. We use some textbooks (a lot really) but I intersperse other books and supplements with the textbooks. I have several educational videos that I have taped as well as print-outs I downloaded from several internet sites.

I still want to use a time schedule with my son, but it will be flexible. Mostly it's to give him a general idea of how long he should spend on a subject. I'm thinking of just using a weekly planner (as opposed to a daily assignment schedule) and listing what I want him to cover for the week. Maybe that will work. He can do as little as he wants or as much as he wants each day just so he gets that particular assignment completed during that week. That kind of blows the time schedule out the window though doesn't it? Hmmm, I'll have to think on this a bit.

I picked up some software at the bookfair a week or so ago. Some of it is very useful and some I will just be using as a reference. I did manage to find a Japanese language program. He's been wanting to learn Japanese and hopefully this program will help. It's not as intensive as a regular language class, but it will give him the basic tools he needs to speak the language. If he is really interested in learning the language, there is a place I have heard about that I can take him to. We'll see. There was also a computer lesson in the one software package I bought. It's pretty simple and he probably knows most of what is covered on the program, but it will satisfy his technology requirement. I have been writing down what is covered on all of the software programs so that I can write down the goals for next year. I'll write more about them as I get to them.

I haven't been very involved in his homeschooling except to work out his schedule. Mostly he does his work on his own without my help. He mentioned earlier about some problems with his geography lessons and I asked him why he didn't tell me. He said he did, but I don't remember him saying anything. He normally doesn't come to me with his problems. I only notice that he's having a problem when I get around to grading his work. I'm pretty lazy in case you haven't noticed. I know he's learning because I can tell in the way he talks about different things. I just don't know if he's retaining the stuff he's learning. Hubby sent me an Exit Level English, Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies and Science TAKS test from last year that I guess he must have downloaded. I guess he wants me to administer it to our son. I don't put much "faith" in these standardized tests. Some people can't pass tests. Some people just don't do well on tests. Hubby should know that, he did lousy when it came time to test for his next stripe in the Air Force. He's a really smart person but really sucks on test taking. I'm not much better. I do terrible on tests. I get all stressed out and nervous. Anyway, I may just give my son the TAKS test just for the heck of it. I guess hubby is a little worried that his son might not be learning. Of course he's wrong...he's got a very smart son.