I have a homeschool question to ask other parents please?

Question

ok, I need some advice from other homeschool parents out there.

This is the 3rd year were homeschooling, & I had some ideas for things to teach him for this next year, but I wanted to get some opioions from other homeschooling parents please.

My son is 11 & soon to be in the 6th grade. I was curious if he's too young to learn photography, he "LOVES" taking pictures, & I might add he's REALLY talented too!

And the other thing Im curious about is havign him make a ham radio in science, but is there any place I can get them (besides, Radio Shack), & that they have work books with them to answer questions about, to make it a Unit study.

Any help would be so appreciated.

I know its summer time, but during the summer is when I think up studies for him the followin year, & I try to get it while Im thinking of it. I tend to forget if I let it go.

Thanks moms & dads out there.

Answer 1

Yes, he's old enough to do both.  My 10.5yo son is starting 6th grade and is looking at doing those as well this year.

I suggest you look into Boy Scout merit badge materials - even if he's not a Boy Scout, the materials are fabulous.  I build a lot of my son's units around them.  You can also get info online at http://meritbadge.com/.

You can also get radio kits and supplies from BSA, I don't believe he has to be a Scout for you to order them.  They're both challenging and age appropriate.

Hope that helps!

Answer 2

Check to see if there is a ham radio operators group in your area. Lots of times they furnish backup to the emergency services, so the police or fire company might know if there's a group even if your chamber of commerce or librarian doesn't.

They will know what's available -- and usually they are so excited to have anyone ask that they will gush with information.!

Linda

http://www.you-can-teach-writing.com

Answer 3

In my opinion, a child is old enough for photography when they are old enough to be interested. It's not like he needs to prepare for a career in it, by learning all the tricks of the trade. Let him play! He'll figure out ways to take better photos by himself, and probably enjoy looking at what professionals do. Picture study could help him train his eye even more.

If he gets bored of it, it doesn't matter. He's had fun and learned something new.

Desperate pleading is usually a good sign that the child is ready to learn whatever it is. :)

Answer 4

Eleven is certainly old enough to learn photography.  Even a first grader can learn a little bit about it, if interested enough; he can learn a lot about the science of photography as well as the art of photography and perhaps find a hobby he enjoys or even a career interest.

For the Ham Radio, I'd do a search for a Ham Radio group, such as we have an "American Radio Relay League Fieldday" event that's put on by a local amateur ham radio operators later this month.  If you find a group, they can help you find the best way to buy one, get materials on them, etc.  Years ago, I knew an elderly woman who joined a radio hobby group to learn about Ham Radio as a hobby.  She told me that there were different levels of licenses to earn as a part of using one, and working on various levels of licenses could make a great unit study in and of itself.  She found that the radio hobby group she joined had a lot of members in it who loved to help share their love of it and were willing to help her learn what she needed to know.  Anyway, that's where I'd start, were I you....

Good luck.

Answer 5

Eleven is definitely old enough to learn photography.

You can order ham radio kits online for something like $30-$50.  Try www.allspectrum.com .

Answer 6

My son is 7 and has enjoyed doing photography (taking pictures, trying black and white vs. sepia, close, far, etc.) for a couple of years. You're never too young or too old to have an interest and to take steps in it. Your son is ALREADY learning photography, is he not?

Can't help you on the ham radio, sorry. But both sound like great activities to do whenever--even during the summer! All year-long can be learning time, even if it's not school time. :)

Answer 7

I have to back up the answerers who have said that you can never be too young or too old to learn anything. If he's interested, then it will be perfect for him. Don't push a lot of theory on him first though, that would be like making a baby read books and answer questions before they can walk! Let him experiment, figure out what works, and then talk about the whys and hows when you go through the pictures.

On science, the kits at Radio Shack are pretty good, most have instructions with the hows and whys (why does he need a workbook to answer questions? Teachers have to do that because they have too many students to talk with individually, but if you can talk with your son, you'll know without the workbook if he understands) If you would like more information, try the public library! We do that often with most topics that my children are interested in.

You could look at Mardels, they have good science sets as well, but cost a little more.

I would also like to suggest that if he's interested in ham radios or photography, to let him do it NOW. Just because it's not a school year, doesn't mean he can't learn and that it doesn't count towards the school year. I would be so disappointed if my husband, for example, bought something for me that I would LOVE, and then put it on a shelf and said I should wait until September to use it.

Answer 8

What do you mean by "learn photography"? My dd is 4 and has her own camera. I haven't tried to explain about how to compose a photo or focal lengths or anything like that, she's just learning by doing and loves it too.

Answer 9

He is definately old enough to be learning photography. We have a Co-Op that teaches it to kids as young as 8. My nephew took it last year and loved it.

Have you looked on line for the radio kit? I don't know that you can find a workbook to go with it but I'm sure you can find them for how they work and radio waves.

Edit: About Linda's answer. When communications went down in New Orleans after hurricane Katrina it was ham radio operators that where used to communicate. That was how 90%  of the news came out of the city and surrounding parishes.