An idea of a homeschool day

After breakfast, we start health and act out healthy ways of handling stress. Next, we move onto science with a virtual tour of a dairy farm and learn the differences between free stall vs tie stall and pasture vs feed lot. Then we begin history and discuss events during the civil rights movement such as the little rock nine. Along with activists from that time period like James Farmer co-founder of CORE and involved with NAACP. (People, events, and organizations I never heard of) After our lunch break, we dive into music by exploring the woodwind instrument family. By now it is time for ELA where X uses the dictionary to put his spelling list into alphabetical order and finds the definitions. Finishing with math making homemade detergent. Figuring out the unit price, measurements and how long it should last.

Secular curriculum

There are different styles of homeschooling. Unit studies, relaxed, unschooling, eclectic and of course secular. I'm going to list some sites I've come across for the core subjects. (Science, history, ELA and math)

Science: time4learning.com or discoveryk12.com (FREE)

History: khanacademy.org (FREE We've used for math but didn't work for us), discoveryk12.com or time4learning.com

ELA: freereadingprogram.com (FREE K-6 it does glitch sometimes), discoveryk12.com, time4learning.com or allaboutlearningpress.com (haven't used myself)

Math: discoveryk12.com, xtramath.org (FREE it times them for mastery), mobymax.com (FREE), khanacademy.org, prodigygame.com (FREE), time4learning.com

You could always make your own. Don't forget the library, documentaries, Netflix, amazon prime, Hulu even youtube.

Learning style

Three main learning styles are audio, visual and kinesthetic. You can find out your child's learning style here

Some ideas to incorporate into your curriculum for visual learners would be using maps, diagrams, taking notes, watching videos, timelines, graphs, charts, painting, sculptures, flashcards, color coding, demonstrations, lists, highlighters or underlining words because they learn in images.

Kinesthetic learners could role play, use manipulatives, build, puzzles, legos, toss a ball back and forth while reciting spelling words or math problems, cut and paste projects. Get them moving.

Great audio resources are songs, audiobooks, videos, podcasts, oral reports and reading out loud.

These suggestions are to help guide you in the right direction.

Annual assessment

Step 4: Per NY regulations a written narrative must be completed along with the 4th quarter report. Starting in 4th grade every other year a standardized test must be given. Then every year starting in 9th. The most common is the online untimed CAT test. These can be administered at home. You can use coupon code FIRSTCAT for $5 off https://www.academicexcellence.com/complete-online-california-achievement-test-not-timed/ Link is not affiliated

-Sample- Written narrative

6/30/17
                Annual Assessment for X 5th grade
School Year 2016-2017
X has satisfied the requirements for this year. He has made adequate academic progress for his ability in all subjects and has completed 900+ hours of instruction.
Highlights of the year include field trips to the Adirondack research room, Charles Dickert wildlife collection, Alice T. Miner museum along with many others. He also attended an art show, science fair and a planetarium show on ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­the sun's path. Another experience was X volunteering for ALERT, Autism Law Enforcement Response Training. We've even given ourselves a name and mascot for our school pride.
This summer X will attend weekly tutoring to continue improving his reading and math skills. He will also be participating in track and field. We are extremely proud of his achievements and look forward to another year of learning together.
See the previously submitted quarterly reports for more details.
X will begin 6th grade in September 2017.
This concludes X's reporting requirements for the 2016-2017 school year.

N
Address

_______________________________________________________________________________

I myself haven't submitted any test scores since this was our first year. I did hear that you may write the percentile rank and state a copy is available upon request.

The year is now complete. Now you would send a new year letter of intent.

Feel free to ask questions. I've tried to be as thorough as possible.

Link to NY regulations http://www.p12.nysed.gov/part100/pages/10010.html

Quarter reports

Step 3: Based on NYS. These are due roughly every 10 weeks. You may choose your own dates however they have to be spaced in even and logical segments. They suggest November 15th, January 30th, April 15th, and June 30th. Each quarter report will need the number of instructional hours, a description of what was covered in each subject, a grade or narrative for each area and a written explanation if less than 80% of the materials planned for that quarter have been covered in any subject. There are attendance requirements of 180 days with the cumulative hours of instruction for grades 1-6 with 900 hours per year. The cumulative hours of instructions for grades 7-12 with 990 hours per year. You are required to maintain attendance records which must be made available to the school district upon request. They'll let you know if something is wrong. 

I keep a notebook exclusively for homeschool purposes. For what the day covered and when the quarters end. It makes it much more simple when filling out the quarterly. 

-Sample- This was one of our quarter reports (Change yours accordingly) the 3rd quarter report is common to mention how you plan to do your testing.

 4/15/17
                3rd Quarter Report for X 5th grade
School Year 2016-2017        Quarter beginning and ending dates 1/31/17 - 4/15/17
X is progressing at a satisfactory level or above in all subject matter.
He has had instruction in all subjects listed in Section 100.10 of the Regulations of the New York State Commissioner of Education and as outlined in his IHIP.
Some materials covered this quarter have included:

-Arithmetic: Flashcards, budgeting, fractions, and baking
-English/ Language Arts: Read Highlights & Lego Club magazines, learned how to address an envelope in preparation for valentine day card exchange, worked on creative writing skills, printouts in spelling & grammar from treasures along with monthly visits to read to Ranger the therapy dog at the local library.
-Science: Animal facts on cows, rhinos & monkeys, visit to the wildlife refuge in Wilmington, documentary Koko the gorilla who talks and watched episodes of Bill Nye the science guy
-Social Studies: Located states on map in which we sent and received Valentines day cards, attack on pearl harbor, WWII, bill of rights, the civil rights movement and the process of becoming a US citizen where they take oath of allegiance at a naturalization ceremony
-Health & Safety: Attended survival skills workshop, understanding and responding to dementia-related behavior seminar and had a field trip to the fire department for a fire safety class
-Visual arts: Ancient Egyptian gods study, Decorated Valentine's day cards, textured slab mug, and clay pottery wheel classes
-PE: YMCA homeschool gym & swim, practiced good sportsmanship and went for nature walks
-Music: Used beat lab to create his own music, worked on scales, listened to Pandora radio and talked about different genres


He has had no absences from instruction this quarter and has exceeded the required hours of instruction (225).
We have covered at least 80% of the planned material for this quarter.


X's annual assessment will be submitted in a written format composed by N, his primary instructor, for the 2016-2017 school year.


N

Address

___________________________________________________________________________________________


Link to NY regulations http://www.p12.nysed.gov/part100/pages/10010.html


Coming up Step 4: Annual assessment

Individualized home instruction plan (IHIP)

Step 2: Again these are per NY requirements. Once the IHIP forms are obtained you have 4 weeks or by August 15th whichever is later to complete and submit the document. Within 10 business days, the school is supposed to notify you that the IHIP complies with the requirements or give written notice of any deficiency in the IHIP. If you must revise the IHIP you will have 15 days or by September 15th whichever is later to send it. The school will then inform you if it complies or not. If it does not meet the standards this time the district will send the date of the next regularly scheduled meeting of the board of education that will be held at least 10 days after the mailing of the notice, and shall indicate that if the parents wish to contest the determination of noncompliance, the parents must so notify the board of education at least 3 business days prior to such meeting. At such board meeting, the parents shall have the right to present proof of compliance, and the board of education shall make a final determination of compliance or noncompliance. IHIP needs to include the child's name, age, and grade level, a list of the syllabi, curriculum materials, textbooks, or plan of instruction to be used in each of the required subjects,  the dates you will submit your quarterly reports and the names of the individuals providing instruction. *Side note* Finding your child's learning style will help in choosing which curriculum to use. I will discuss these in a later post(s).

-Sample- This was X's 5th grade IHIP (You will need to customize yours)

 INDIVIDUALIZED HOME INSTRUCTION PLAN (IHIP)
Date 10/31/16          School Year 2016-2017
X    Age 10      DOB xx/xx/xx    Grade 5  
Dates for submittal of quarterly reports 1st 11/15/16 2nd 1/30/17 3rd 4/15/17 4th 6/30/17
X will be using various methods/tools for 5th-grade instruction in all the subjects specified in Section 100.10 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education. Materials and activities listed in one subject area may also apply to other subject areas. The resources may include and are not limited to, the following list as well as reference materials (including dictionaries, maps, non-fiction books, videos, DVDs, CDs, magazines, newspapers, and internet resources), hands-on activities, experiments, projects, field trips, group activities, art supplies, free play, conversations, and real life.  We also take advantage of the many library, community, and internet resources available.

Primary Resources:

-Arithmetic: khanacademy.org
-English/ Language Arts (including reading, writing, and spelling):  Primary Resources: McGraw-Hill  Treasures Workbooks at mhschool.com
-Science (Includes life sciences and physical science): Primary Resources: allinonehomeschool.com
-Social Studies: (Includes geography, NY state/US history, and constitution, patriotism, and citizenship) Primary Resources: allinonehomeschool.com
-Health: (Includes HIV/AIDS, alcohol/drug/tobacco abuse, arson prevention, fire/traffic/highway/bicycle safety education, child abuse) Primary resources: classroom.kidshealth.org
-Music: Primary resources: musiclessons.com
-Visual arts: Primary resources: artyfactory.com
-Physical education: Primary resources:  Indoor/outdoor play, seasonal activities (swimming, biking, etc) and fitness education.

Primary instruction to X will be provided by N and C his parents. Supplemental instruction will be provided by others, as necessary. Due to the nature of homeschooling, this plan is subject to change at any time.

N
Address

__________________________________________________________________________________


Always double check state regulations http://www.p12.nysed.gov/part100/pages/10010.html

Coming up Step 3: Quarter report

Letter of intent (LOI)

Step 1: You will need to notify the school in writing of your decision to homeschool. This is for NY state. (I believe NYC is a different set up) Due by July 1st of each school year. I make sure to send it by mail via return receipt. One must be done for each child separately. Parents who begin after the start of the school year must send their letter within 14 days. Within 10 business days of receiving the notice, the district will send a form to submit an individualized home instruction plan (IHIP) for each child of compulsory attendance age who is to be taught at home.

 -Sample-  Make sure to fill in the red to fit your details

DATE
Dear Superintendent,

We are sending this notice of intention to instruct at home as required of Section 100.10 of the Regulations of the New York State Commissioner of Education.
We intend to homeschool our son/daughter child name for the 20xx-20xx academic year. Child's name will be entering grade X.

Sincerely,
Your Name
Address
________________________________________________________________________________

This gives you some time to figure out your curriculum.

Coming up step 2: IHIP

Always make sure to check the state regs http://www.p12.nysed.gov/part100/pages/10010.html

It's a wrap!

2016/2017 school year is over! It was X's final year of elementary school. I've sent in the 4th quarter report, his annual assessment, and our letter of intent for next year. I will share samples in my next few posts.

Secular illusion

We can't afford all kinds of fancy curriculum or to buy something just to find out it doesn't fit our family. I've been using a free online program for science and history although it is christian based so I just skip all the bible talk. It makes me sick that this is actually being taught to many kids as fact. We are NOT one of those households. At least I tell my son what I believe is my opinion and allow him to ask questions.
I can't help to think anyone who finds out we homeschool that doesn't know my views thinks I have this outlook and I feel like its a stench I can't wash off. We have to travel an hour away for any co-op functions or group field trips because our local one is LEAH and they make you sign a statement of faith. Which I'm not ok with.
I made a mistake in this particular curriculums group for my state asking if anyone was in my county. I wanted someone to hang out with this summer. I have a hard time making friends. And now with homeschooling its just another obstacle I have to not relate with others. The only person to respond said they're in the next county over and immediately asked if I was interested in joining the Christian Fellowship Academy enrichment program on Fridays. (Really?! Can we not have anything else in common?)That they offer art, music, gym, character class, and biblical apologetics for the older students. They also help with quarterly reports and IHIPS. And that she could get me some info on putting in an application. I told her I'd keep it in mind. I feel like a fraud in the homeschool groups I've joined.
Since we are continuing our journey I will keep searching for secular history and science options. Unschooling comes to mind. Now that I've bared myself. I realized I don't implement any religious materials into my instruction so illusion does not apply.

Free science DVD's

https://www.hhmi.org/order-materials Includes shipping. No catch! I personally ordered these myself.

Sorry, these are no longer available.

3 subjects in 1

We covered 3 subjects with HIV/AIDS. Health with prevention (this included use of condoms GASP lol), history with a timeline from the CDC, and science with treatment. I love our open discussions.

Netflix can be educational

For science, we've watched Bill Nye saves the world, a documentary about Koko the gorilla, penguins spy in the huddle and pandas the journey home. I love our discussions that come up and how he is learning without it looking like school.  

Horseback riding as PE

X was willing to try horseback riding. He was very apprehensive at first but once he got the feel for it he really enjoyed himself. I told him he will be a pro in no time.

Science fair

We went to a science fair. My favorite experiments were the self-inflating balloon, the painless band-aid removal, the self-made lava lamp, and the laser demonstration. 

No looking back

Last month the local 5th graders went to the middle school for orientations. I asked X if he was interested in checking it out. He wasn't even interested in entertaining the idea lol. We are content.