To all of the creative home school moms out there. In need of some help!!?

Question

I started home schooling my 7th grade daughter after Christmas break for safety reasons. She has always been a straight A student. I did the research, found a great homeschool book store, bought the curriculum but I am the most boring teacher alive. I cannot think of anything to keep her interest. I bought Saxon math and that is pretty self explanatory, but as far as Social Studies and Science I cannot find anything creative to do with her. She loves science and I do not want her to lose interest. I have multiple language arts and poetry workbooks that she seems to like.

If anyone could give me ideas I would appreciate it. I could use some ideas on how you schedule your days, and "field trips" you take and why. I have an 11 year old in public school, and a 3 year old at home so I have to factor that in as well. Thank you for any help!!

Answer 1

For science I recommend going to this site and seeing whats available:

http://www.hometrainingtools.com

There are a lot of wonderful science textbooks available.  Some of the best are Apologia, but they are christian and don't how you feel about that.  Glencoe has some comparable texts from a secular standpoint.  But regardless of what text you choose, you'll want to actually do some experiments if you don't want her to be board, the website above will give you resources for those experiments.  Apologia is available from

http://www.highschoolscience.com ,  Glencoe from http://www.glencoe.com/catalog

Social Studies tends to be something a person either enjoys or not... I don't really have any secular recommendations for that, but the ones I like best from Christian publishers are available from http://www.brightideaspress.com and http://www.abeka.com .  Glencoe probably has some good ones that are not Christian oriented.

In 7th grade there will be some things she has to do even if they are not thrilling, but you should include as much high interest stuff as you can.

Answer 2

The lady who recommended 'snap circuits' is right on line!  My son has that and loooves it!  When we got ours, we used a coupon for '40% off one item' at Hobby Lobby.  If you look at Rainbow Resource, you will find a lot of different science kits.

We also do Apologia science, which is written in a conversational format, so is easy to use.  Probably any science text you choose, if you go that way, will have experiments included.  It will greatly enhance your daughter's interest if you will do these, but you will have to plan ahead.

I will add here that my kids reached a point where they'd rather spend less time doing the 'interesting' things in school, and more time going places and doing things.  That is just something to keep in mind - does your daughter really want every subject to be done creatively?  When my 2 were  younger we played lots of games and such, but after a number of years they'd rather just get it over with.  My sister has 3 kids, and 2 want to get it over with and one wants to play review games and putter with science stuff.  Of the two kids I have, one wants to write everything out and the other wants to do math and logic.  So, part of hsing is teaching somewhat to your child's interests.  I say 'somewhat' because your child needs to be well-rounded, and because in the work world you don't necessarily get to do something...interesting...

As far as field trips, we try to do one a month as a family, plus take advantage of the ones offered by the local hs group.  We have been to every teeny tiny museum around!  It is fun.  When I was little I HATED museums, but my kids LOVE them.  We've been to so many of them at this point.

Scheduling our days - well, it would be hard to tell you what a 'typical' day entails, because we don't have many of them.  We go in cycles of getting a lot done and getting barely anything done, but we always finish a year's worth of work in one year.  In general I can say that we start about 8:30 or 9 and finish about lunchtime.  My kids are in grades 8 & 9.  We do year-round schooling, but take a lot of time off, and they spend a lot of time at summer camps.

Answer 3

First off, congratulations on protecting your daughter!

There is a basic rule for new homeschooling students: the vacation.  For each year your child has been in school, she needs approximately one month to decompress.  She has to get the "school mentality" out of her system.  

You need to find support in your area.  Use this website to locate homeschool groups in your community: http://www.midnightbeach.com/hs/

It is highly likely that there are many wonderful science opportunities within your area.  Just do a bit of web research, talk to local homeschoolers, and have fun.

You will also find many, many wonderful educational info on this site: http://www.homefires.com/

Answer 4

For history, I'll be starting my son on TRISMS this summer (starting 6th grade).  It's a literature based program that has the student build their own coursebook - a book containing all of their research.  The manual tells them what to study and when, and gives them suggested resources to pull from, but they get to study, research, and read according to their interests.  It covers history, geography, lit, poetry analysis, some language arts, writing, and more.

With it, the student can also do a semester- or year-long special interest project; for example, my son will be researching natural medicine throughout history (he's into both medicine and botany at the moment), and a friend of his will be studying different clothing styles in the civilizations she studies (she wants to be a fashion designer).  

If she likes that format, they have volumes that will carry her through high school.  It's a great program because it lets the student read and research at their own level while teaching them skills that they need for higher level work.

They also include historical science studies and experiments.

For science, I've found that my son - also a science nut - LOVES Apologia.  It's well written, very thorough, and very hands on.  It is written from a creationist standpoint, but does a very good job of explaining evolution as well.  It comes in textbook, CDRom, and MP3 formats.

As far as our days go, I have an assignment list for my son that he finishes each day; he gets to determine when he does what.  As long as he finishes the work to the best of his ability each day (without complaining), I'm happy.  Schools have to go by a schedule - math 1st hour, social studies 2nd hour, etc., because they've got hundreds or thousands of kids to schedule.  If you think about it though, college doesn't work like that - students go to their specific classes, but they determine their own work schedule.  I want my son to learn those skills early on so that college isn't a shock for him - it's just the next step.

For field trips, we generally take one every couple of weeks, though this is pretty flexible - some weeks we end up taking two or more.  His favorite places to go are the nature center and the zoo, though we also take trips to places that correspond with his studies - the aquarium (oceanography/marine biology), the animal shelter (a dog care/veterinary unit), the LifeFlight department at a local hospital (first aid and health), etc.

I would also look into lapbooks with her - these are visual organizers that she can get as creative as she wants with.  There are different companies that make pre-made lapbooks and units, and at her age, you could pretty much just hand it to her and let her go.  I'd suggest http://www.handsofachild.com/shop/Defaul... - the research, activities, and layout of the units are very easy to work with, and there are tons to choose from.  They're also having a sale right now, so it's a good time to pick some up :-)  You can download a freebie here http://www.handsofachild.com/shop/Quarte... on Amelia Earhart to see what it is.

Hope that helps!

edit - mystery wasn't ranting at you, she just thinks that all homeschool parents are selfish, ignorant fools who hate her.  Somehow, she holds the belief that she should be able to come here, rant at us and call us all sorts of names, and we should just flock to her way of thinking.

Do you see the *one* thumbs down that every person who has offered you constructive advice has?  $10 says it's from her.

Don't mind her.  We don't.

Answer 5

I wish you were my mom!   You will get better because you will not give up on your child.  May I suggest DVDs with teachers on them for whatever subject you need?  Abeka has some really interesting teachers, others that are mediocre, and some that are just doable.  Do the searching with your daughter, she will let you know what interests her and what she can stick with or not.

Answer 6

Let the paint and glue flow freely!  We almost always combine science and art.  For our first semester, this year, science was all about the solar system.  Each week spotlighted a different planet.  We thoroughly researched each planet and the kids made scrapbooks for which they used pictures, drawings, glitter, clip art, and who knows what else.  We also made a huge solar system mural on our kitchen wall.  We tried, somewhat, to make it to scale, but the sun would have been as tall as our house!  We used different materials and styles to make each planet.  Jupiter is 1.5 metres across and looks like something Degas would have painted!  We finished it by taking a late night field trip to a local observatory to try out a really big telescope.Our second term of science has been all about ocean animals.  As we have no more room on our kitchen walls, we chose to make an oversized diorama  of the ocean and add an animal to it each week.  By oversized, I mean that we used the box that our treadmill came in. At the end of it, we're going to go to Vancouver to have a look at the aquarium.  We'll likely go before the schools are out, so we can avoid the crowds.   I usually buy the math and L.A. programs and then wing it with science and social.  For social, this, year, we have spotlighted a country each month.  The kids pick the countries and we spend the month learning about it.  We usually try a recipe, visit a location that's related (a store, cultural day, etc), download music and try to meet someone from that country.  The kids like it so much, they've begged to continue it next year.  We've met some really neat people!  I hope this helps!

EDIT:  I just have to add...I'm sorry for what your kid went through.  I commend you on knowing what's best for your child and taking action to improve her circumstances.  Turn a deaf ear to the critics who only the have the stereotypical "social" issue to pick on.  They have no idea what they're talking about.  All the best.

EDIT:  To mystery:  If you dislike the forum, why come on it? Perhaps the only reason you are coming here is to criticize and inject negative opinion.  I didn't see anyone on here swearing at you.  So who's the snippy one?

Answer 7

I suggest going to your Library. They have some fantastic books on Science projects. Pick some projects that both your 3 year old as well as your 7th grade Daughter can do and then just have some that your Daughter can do. Most Science projects can be done right there in your kitchen.

have fun!!

Answer 8

When my oldest was in 7th and 8th grade we lived in a large city and the opportunities were tremendous!  (Now we are in a very small, rural area and don't have these options... but if you live in the right place, they may work for you.)

Check with your local libraries and see what type of classes are offered.  They often have writing workshops, music classes or guest lectures, etc...

Many larger homeschool groups will have co-op classes for some of the more challenging things to teach at home (science, art, etc...)

We also had a 1-day a week class offered by the city's recreation department, geared specifically to homeschoolers.  There was a fee for this, but it was nominal and gave my son lots of opportunities to play sports that just couldn't happen at home.



As for social studies, my son joined a Geography Bee study group that met weekly.  All the kids ended up having a great time, learning Geography/Social Studies and participated in the National Geography Bee.

Hmmm... those days were fun, busy days!

:-D

edited to add:

I almost forgot about 4-H!  That was such a great learning experience for my son.  He was the vice-president (leadership and public speaking skills) and pursued his interest in entomology.  He even placed in state with his bug collection!

We did all these things when I had a toddler at home.  It was great utilizing other peoples expertise to teach my son.

Answer 9

"Safety reasons?" Was she threatened in some way at school? I don't know the situation but make sure you're not overreacting to school situations which mirror many situations she will encounter later on in life anyway. Perhaps if it really is necessary for her to be homeschooled you could hire a professional tutor because boredom will stifle her learning process and she will lose educational ground.

EDIT: OK< I just asked for clarification no need to get snippy. This is why I dislike this forum, so many anti any different opinion people here; nine thumbs down because I asked for further clarification...such is the attitude on this forum. Tsk tsk tsk. Thank GOD I don't have to deal with any of you people in real life! I am truly blessed! You're all so d**n rude and touchy! CHILL!

EDIT: Thank you Amy, that was very kind of you. I find that in this forum out of all of them, the people are, for the most part, just inbelievably rude and intolerant and anyone who disagrees with the group, or rather, clique, gets run over. I find it depressing and horrible that people like these teach their kids at home and hope they do not teach their kids the same hate and intolerance they harbour themselves.

Answer 10

Perhaps you need different curricula.  You should match the curricula to not only your student's learning style, but also your teaching style.  That will help a lot.

For some great science projects go here:

http://www.krampf.com/news.html

or here:

http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/

For both Social Studies and Science, I highly recommend a subscription to Cosmeo.  It's $9.95/mo or $99/year.  You can do a free, one month trial.  You can also have four student accounts, and they have stuff for K-12, so it would benefit your other kids also.  The majority is videos on demand, but they also have Nutshell Math, games, clip art, scavenger hunts, and more.

http://www.cosmeo.com

Answer 11

For science, we bought an electronic circuit kit (designed for kids) for our daughter. She fiddles with it for hours and you can upgrade it once you've completed all the projects. It's called "snap circuits jnr" and there are more advanced ones available. I'd also get her a chemistry set. This way, she can teach herself without you having to worry about being inspiring.

We're lucky because we have a planetarium right nearby. They do lots of shows and she's really got into astronomy, researching stuff on the web.

We tend to take trips out, to museums, galleries, etc just to whatever takes her interest at the time. Sometimes loads of work comes out of it and sometimes she will come back to it later.

I tend to give her workbooks for the first couple of hours of the day and then she is free to do what she likes. She covers enough work alone in that hour or two for the rest of the day not to matter. But invariably what she does the rest of the day is educational. We have lots of craft materials available and she dips in and out of those. Friday is trip day. We try to go somewhere. Sometimes it's a museum and sometimes it's something more physical, like ice-skating.

I think we have loads of fun and I am sure she is learning more than at school. We have some other home schooled kids we meet too, so it might be worth trying to make contact with people because sometimes exciting things are put on by groups of homeschoolers.

Hope this helps.