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JennGM
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| Posted: March 07 2007 at 11:44am | IP Logged
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Maybe that's not a good subject line for my question, but that's what comes to mind. One of my sisters said something the other day that put me in a panic. This is a basic question....
I've done a lot of reading, still lots more to go, and am convinced that I want to have our home learning less boxed curriculum and more "real learning". That wasn't hard to make that step. I'm piecing together in my mind how our approaches shall be, but I'm wondering how do you present to others (like dh, State, etc.) that it truly is learning? Using boxed curriculum does give that reassurance, guidelines, and fallback with tests, report cards, etc.
So how does one do this when you're putting it together? I'm now wondering if I can't show hard facts, on paper, etc. to my dh, I won't be able to do as much freedom as I wish.
Any advice, pointers, hand-holding, step-by-step instructions would be greatly appreciated.
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to  & ds1  '03 & ds2  '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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guitarnan
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| Posted: March 07 2007 at 11:57am | IP Logged
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Jenn,
One good way to show progress is to keep a daily log of books read, science observations, etc., and to keep a portfolio of work in each subject area for the year. The portfolio could include narrations, science notebook pages, some sample math pages, photos of projects...stuff like that. We have now homeschooled in two different states and they both allow portfolios as an accepted method of demonstrating progress. In fact, Maryland demands a portfolio. For my son's high school time, we have to keep daily logs that include how much time he spends on each subject. A lot of moms I know keep a file folder for each subject and build the portfolio as the year goes along, so it's easier to pull together each semester or year.
Happily, the CM method is more portfolio-oriented than the boxed curriculum method. Narrations are easy to keep, and notebooks, timelines, etc. are, too.
I don't keep my records on the computer; I handwrite them onto weekly sheets (I modified one I found on the Internet and adapt them each year to each child's studies). I log field trips, books read, everything, onto these sheets. Then it's easy to keep them in order and to transfer the time info for my son onto monthly sheets for the state.
Also, keep in mind that many schools use excellent/satisfactory/unsatisfactory grading in the primary grades, so perhaps you can use that system as you get started.
I hope this helps start this discussion...it's a good question and there are many, many ways to document academic progress without resorting to daily quizzes for kindergarteners.
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: March 07 2007 at 12:04pm | IP Logged
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Jenn, you've got some time. I would start discussing educational philosphy with your dh NOW, so that you have time to win him over if need be. Your dh may just need time to ponder it, like you have already done.
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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JennGM
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| Posted: March 07 2007 at 12:11pm | IP Logged
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lapazfarm wrote:
| Jenn, you've got some time. I would start discussing educational philosphy with your dh NOW, so that you have time to win him over if need be. Your dh may just need time to ponder it, like you have already done. |
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Yes, but I need to give him the annotated version or synopsis.
And he's a CPA. He requires a lot of checked boxes and filled columns and proof. 
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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Theresa
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| Posted: March 07 2007 at 1:03pm | IP Logged
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Well, we are making the switch from more of a boxy type of curriculum to more CM and I've found that I fell back too much on the boxy stuff. I relied on it and counted on it and didn't invest a lot of extra time because I thought they were getting everything they needed. I also thought to myself that I didn't have the "time" available to put together more of a CM style of education. I was wrong. In putting together our Science this quarter and our study on the Passover I've found that I become more excited and interested in the material I'm presenting rather than following someone elses timeline. This carries over to my kids' interest as well.
Kids learn more when they own their work. When they touch it, research it, read it, smell it, play with it, narrate it (orally, written, picture). My kids retain this type of learning so much better than just a "read and test" type of curriculum.
I've been looking for articles similar to what you are asking too so I will be watching this thread.
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Theresa
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mellyrose
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| Posted: March 07 2007 at 3:11pm | IP Logged
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This was one thing that worried me at the beginning of this year (first year of "formal" homeschooling).
At first, I started writing down a plan for each day, but I've evolved into writing down what we actually do each day after the fact. It includes all things I consider learning - from flashcards to card games to lego building to math worksheets (which my oldest loves). I also keep track of books we read each week.
I use 4 columns - one column for work both boys did (ie. building with legos, writing in nature journals, copy work, museum visits); then a separate column for each boy (Colin may do 4 math pages and a spelling page, while Nate may play with pattern blocks and work on an ABC puzzle) and the 4th column lists books I read out loud. Any books Colin reads on his own go into his column.
I take many pictures, and keep the "best" work in a binder to look through. For instance, I'll keep only 1 or 2 copy work pages for a month, even though they may do copy work 3 or 4 days/week. I take pictures of all the big art projects and many of their buildings.
I was keeping a blog with our daily progress, but when I first got pregnant this fall it was too much for me to keep up with and I haven't got back to it. I started the blog in part to keep DH on track with what we were doing, as well as my parents (who aren't too sure about our choice to homeschool).
During the last year, we had many extremely minimal weeks, but Colin learned to read just fine and finished his K math workbook and moved into 1st grade. Nate finally showed an interest and recently started his K math workbook and has made the leap to consistently recognizing his letters. DH can see their progress, although I admit he worried quite a bit the first few months when I was barely functioning. He's feeling much better about it now, as he sees that Colin has progressed easily from K to 1st grade work.
I'd advise to keep it as simple as you can -- it's nice to flip back through my lesson plan book and see what we've done -- but I can also see how I've gotten much simpler about how I record things. I can still see the progress, though!
Good Luck!
Melanie
Mom to Colin(6), Nathaniel(4) and baby girl on the way
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Rachel May
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| Posted: March 07 2007 at 3:34pm | IP Logged
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Last year the portfolio helped Bill see what the kids were learning, but what he liked better was helping me develop a list of goals to be covered during each semester. That alone made him see what exactly the kids would be learning even though he never went back and checked at the end of the semester to see if we'd covered it all. I found that system worked well for me too. It gave me goals to shoot for, but presentation of material was up to me.
However, in the end what will really convince Bill the most will be the standardized tests (which we were discussing with enthusiasm this morning). Standardized testing will show him if our kids are "normal" academically. Even if we hadn't moved to VA this year, we would have started testing because it is important to him. And because to make them true tests, I am going to try very hard not to look at the tests and then teach to them. I think if the tests were only for the state I might be inclined to help them "pass". Do you know what I mean?
Let's pretend for a moment that my kids ace the tests this year. I still don't think Bill will be fully convinced about this whole homeschool experiment because to him homeschooled kids aren't normal. And they aren't, just in a good way, imho. 
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Rachel
Thomas and Anthony (10), Maria (8), Charles (6), Cecilia (5), James (3), and Joseph (1)
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Leonie
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| Posted: March 07 2007 at 6:51pm | IP Logged
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We do put together a simple portfolio each year. And I keep a log or journal and refer to our state's educational foundation statements( curriculum guidelines or scope and sequence). This is enough "checking of the boxes" for the state and could easily be tangible proof of learning for a dh who likes columns and check boxes - hey, the curriculum documents even have check boxes on them. 
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Leonie in Sydney
Living Without School
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teachingmom
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| Posted: March 07 2007 at 11:32pm | IP Logged
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JennGM wrote:
| And he's a CPA. He requires a lot of checked boxes and filled columns and proof. |
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One thought: Maybe if you used a "curriculum" for math (instead of a no-textbook, living book math approach), he would at least see visible progress in that one area. (Heck, he's the CPA. Let him grade the math! )
Seriously, he just might be more open to a CM, living books approach to some of the other areas of study, like history, science, and language arts.
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~Irene (Mom to 6 girls, ages 7-19)
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Mare
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| Posted: March 08 2007 at 1:28pm | IP Logged
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Jenn,
I know what you are going through. My dh likes to see the proof as well. 
Dh is very supportive of our homeschooling and likes to participate when he can with field trips, teaching math or science, etc. We keep track of our work each week with portfolios. However, that isn't enough for my dh.
I have a scope and sequence that I use to make sure that I am on track with what our children are expected to learn for that school year. In order for me to continue to homeschool our children, I have to prove that they are understanding what they are expected to know in that grade. Starting in first grade, we do the CAT5 testing. If they pass, then I can continue to homeschool the next year. If not, then they'll go to a brick and mortar school.
HTH,
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Angel
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| Posted: March 08 2007 at 4:34pm | IP Logged
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When we first decided to homeschool, my oldest was about 4 years old and dh took some convincing. I started keeping a journal of what we were doing every day, just for practice. (We lived in MO at the time and were not required to keep a log until age 7.)
As we've gone forward, though, two things have helped my dh feel better about homeschooling. (He hasn't exactly needed all the boxes checked, but since he isn't here all day to see exactly what we do, I think he does worry at times.) One thing he likes is the quarterly reports and the IHIP we are required to provide to the school district. The IHIP is basically a curriculum for the year. We don't always hold to it, but dh likes to see the general direction in which we are heading. The quarterly reports I write -- with lists of books read, etc -- make him feel better because then he has a summary of what we've done that quarter, and he feels that we've made progress.
The second thing that has made him feel better about homeschooling -- really made him decide that we are going to do through this high school -- is talking to other dads whose kids are in school, or who deal with public schools. Apparently these stories are exactly what he needed to hear to think that no matter what we do, the kids are better off at home.
To be honest, though, it's just this year that he's started taking a real interest in curriculum decisions, philosophy, etc. I don't mean that he wasn't involved before -- he's always read to the kids, had them read to him, quizzed them on spelling words and math facts, done Daddy things with them inside and outside -- but he's always left the curriculum and philosophy decisions up to me. This year, however, he's taken more of an interest in the day-to-day, and in hashing things out together, it looks like he would like us to take a more classical direction. That's fine with me; we use a few more textbooks, but it's a pretty eclectic mix still. I actually feel better now that I know what *he* would like, because I don't feel as if all the decisions are entirely on my shoulders.
--Angela
Three Plus Two
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almamater
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| Posted: March 10 2007 at 11:40pm | IP Logged
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My preference has always been to note what we did each day rather than plans for the week. However, often when I am typing the work each child did, I will write comments of activities that I would like to work on in the next days or weeks.
I also will note if a child was affected by being extra tired, not feeling well, distracted by excitement about upcoming activities and how they responded to new work, etc.
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~jennifer in tx
mommy of ds(11),dd(8),dd(6), dd(3),& ds (6/08)
Soul of the Home
Soulful Learning
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Willa
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| Posted: March 11 2007 at 10:43am | IP Logged
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almamater wrote:
My preference has always been to note what we did each day rather than plans for the week. However, often when I am typing the work each child did, I will write comments of activities that I would like to work on in the next days or weeks.
I also will note if a child was affected by being extra tired, not feeling well, distracted by excitement about upcoming activities and how they responded to new work, etc. |
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Jenn, maybe looking at some of the learning notes blogs would help you get ideas of how to record "real learning" in a way that makes sense to husbands and relatives.
I personally find the specifics of how people do their daily things really helpful. EG In the past I've done very little project-based learning because I couldn't "see" how it would work in the day, so looking at the step by step details has given me a way to visualize this.
I find that the children generally do pretty well on the traditional evaluations if they are using a "real learning" approach, unless they have some learning difficulties, which is a diffferent topic altogether. We don't do evaluations all the time, just sometimes. If there turns out to be a weak area I will brainstorm how to address it and if I'm not sure what to do, I ask my husband for advice. He is different from your husband in that he's more unschooly than I am and doesn't really have much reliance on traditional modes of education but he does have high standards for the kids in the big picture so I keep that in mind when I plan how we are doing things.
Day to day accountability helps ME keep the big picture in mind.
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AMDG
Willa
hsing boys ages 11, 14, almost 18 (+ 4 homeschool grads ages 20 to 27)
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: Accountability
