Starting This Summer in VA!

[chicamarun]

Hi everyone!

Just to introduce myself - we live on a farm in Purcellville, VA (Loudoun County) with 2 children DD 7 & DS 10.

I will be starting to HS them this summer allowing them both to finish out the school year while I prepare myself and complete my research etc.

Both kids seem excited about it - especially since I told them about some "PE" classes that are at the local rec center that seem to focus on HS'ing kids. My son is already set and ready to take basketball and my daughter wants to be a fish in the pool.

I'm planning on starting out with designastudy.com stuff to plan units and work from there. I also found some LifePac workbooks used that are for the 4th grade to use as review and to see if we like the set up. I'm still searching for math workbooks for my daughter and son since they both love workbooks I think this would be a good way to go on at least math.

HS'ing has always been in the back of my mind - but I think it was me who wasn't ready for it. My husband says I'm growing up :roll: But personally I think it's just time - my son is supposed to be going into 5th grade and honestly with this "No kid gets left behind" thing I don't think he should be... at least not for them as his test taking skills are lacking in a big way so his grades are awful - but he knows this stuff if I ask him to talk about it.

The thought of doing this is getting easier each day as I read and research.

Ok - that's it :) That's me :)

- Dana

[KrisRV]

Dana, welcome to hs spot. Sounds like you have all your ducks in a row and getting it ready to go. I am so excited for you and your family.
My name is Kris I have been hsing my girls for 6 years and love it. They are 12 and 14.
Jump right in and join us.

[Hoosier Mama]

Hi Dana....I am Leslie and I am hsing my ds12 and dd10. We are in our 2nd year. It is challenging, but so worth it. These ladies here are a grea tsupport system and give great advice and encouragement.

speaking of "No Child Left Behind", I was just talking to one of my close friends who has a dd in ps. She is in 5th grade. She said she is looking for an assessment test to give her dd becuase she just doesn't think that her dd is actually at the "place" that the school is saying she is. Meaning...the teacher is giving poor grades on daily work, but is passing her with flying colors on report cards. She doesn't think her dd is "getting it" at all and the teacher is just putting her through anyway. She is pretty frustrated.

Anyway...just thought that was interesting!

Welcome to the HS Spot and hope you enjoy it here!

[QueenGeek]

Hi Dana!

Wow! What a small world. I live in Manassas, VA, and we work with a church in Purcellville. What brings you our way?

[chicamarun]

I try NEVER to go to Manassas - LOL - I grew up over in Fairfax and I'm against the traffic at this point in my life - lliving on 30 acres where I can actually see stars makes a difference. Funny how small this world is huh?

Which church do you work with?

My step-sister and her family live over that way though - in some golf community I think they are still building if I remember correctly.

Found this site by browsing for forums on HS'ing :) I'm on my never-ending search for ideas for these kids...

[momothem]

Welcome!
Glad you are here. Everyone here is very friendly and helpful.
We are in our 3rd year hs'ing-3dd's 12,10,9.
I'm your neighbor a bit south--Raleigh area.

[QueenGeek]

I try NEVER to go to Manassas - LOL - I grew up over in Fairfax and I'm against the traffic at this point in my life - lliving on 30 acres where I can actually see stars makes a difference. Funny how small this world is huh?

Which church do you work with?
When we moved to Manassas, there was little here. We've been in this house almost 15 years, and in Manassas for over 20 years. Now... it's a mess, I'll tell you that.

And as if we can't get enough of sitting on the roads around here... we drive all the way to Purcellville just to work with the church of Christ there. That congregation was just started a few years ago, so it is still small. We're up to around 60, with about half kids, so it is young and vibrant. The people there are warm and friendly. I do love the mountainous scenery out there. Some church friends have tried to get us to move out that way. We looked, but the property is SO expensive there. The church presently meets in the office building next to the McDonalds (just down the hall from Olympus Gym). We're trying to build a permanent building. I've been shocked at the cost quotes we are getting. It's a good thing we bought the land several years ago. I'm not sure we could afford to purchase it now.

Our youth group is pretty active. We have montly activities for grades 3 and up and holiday parties for the younger kids. We've gone skating, snow tubing, and to play laser tag. We do a one-day VBS every June. I write our VBS materials, organize the activities, and teach. [I don't homeschool, but I look to places like this to get motivational ideas, etc... for my Bible classes and materials. The ladies here are wonderful for that!] This year's theme is "The Great Physician". Last year we did Christian Olympics (http://www.purcellvillecoc.org/vbs/2006/index.html), and the previous year was Bible Boot Camp (http://www.purcellvillecoc.org/vbs/2005/index.html). We are also planning a day camp (3 days) probably for July. We did this last year and the kids had a blast. We're having a pizza party for grades 3 and up tomorrow after worship and class. You are welcome to join us any time you like. I can send you more info if you like. Just PM me.

BTW. My real name is Laura. Welcome to the forums. :)

[chicamarun]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome...

I know about this "no child gets left behind" thing - personally it drives me nuts and I am seeing the same thing happen a lot that you mentioned. Kids don't "get" what they are being taught. I don't think it's the teachers faults either (at least not all of them) - my son has an excellent teacher - but she also has 21 other kids to attend to.. it's difficult.

Laura - I know what you mean - growing up in Fairfax off 123 I completely understand - blew my mind when they made it a 4-lane highway! My mother just sold her house about 1 1/2 years ago that we all lived in for 30 years. Prices here in Purcellville are high - but I have been watching them drop also. We fell into our property mainly because of the amount of work it still needs and it was very outdated on the inside (think 70's decorations - gotta love orange/yellow & green). The church group looks great :) My kids have enjoyed bible camps when they've gone. Most though seem to be about the same time frame we are getting ready for the 4-H fair so it's tough as he works almost all year getting ready for these animals.

Best wishes - Dana

[QueenGeek]

Ah 4-H. Now there's a name I haven't heard in forever. They do that here in Virginia??? I'm originally from TN, and it's pretty big down there.

My boys are in a private Christian school, and there's a reason for that... The eldest has 10 or 11 kids in his class. The youngest has 16 or 17. And just think: Fairfax schools are much better that PWC schools. I don't blame you at all for wanting to home school. I've never thought we could home school due to the loss of my income (plus I'm a bit intimidated by the idea), but if our only choice had been PWC schools, I would have found a way to make it work.

[chicamarun]

Well Loudoun county schools are very good - statistic-wise. They level out well with Fairfax in my personal opinion from growing up in the FFX school system.

Living on a farm - the farm is my income - while my husband does have a full-time job. And I do stuff at home on occassion - haven't since we moved on the farm - but a few web design things here and there.

I've actually found most of the Loudoun County schools to be equivilant to most of the private schools in the area - especially since we are close to a new school (Mountain View) which by being new and shiny <G> attracted a lot of attention and a lot of the better and even younger teachers. A lot of them live in Clarke County and even in WV making a commute an issue to most of the schools - but not so much here in Purcellville.

[P.H.]

'Glad to have another farm family represented here! And, Laura, I couldn't believe you said you were intimidated by the idea of homeschooling! Anyway, welcome to the Spot, Dana!

[QueenGeek]

Yeah. It's odd. All my life I was going to be a teacher, and I even started out in teacher education in college. I've taught Sunday School since I was 17. You'd think I'd have no fear at all. I can't tell you how much respect I have for all you ladies here.

[P.H.]

'Not that homeschooling can't be intimidating! It's just that you seem to have so many talents! Maybe visiting with the rest of us will give you courage? It can be so rewarding!

[QueenGeek]

I think if I could do it all over again, I would strongly consider homeschooling and just learn to get over the fear factor. This group is great. I wish you had been around when my kids were little. I didn't have any idea where to get support. Now, my eldest is starting high school in the fall. He wants to be with other kids, not at home. My youngest would probably go for it though. He really doesn't fit in and is somewhat of a special needs child. He'll be in 7th grade in the fall. Both are in the highest reading groups and all the advanced classes. I just don't feel qualified or equipped to teach subjects like AP biology at home (not to mention that I hated biology!) Sigh. I just hate feeling inadequate.

Does anyone here homeschool high school kids?

[Deena]

Hi and WELCOME Dana! This is our 9th year of homeschooling, and we love it! It's not all fun and games, but the rewards are definitely worth it! And I am so pleased to be spending time with my children---they grow up so fast! Our kids are dd10, ds13, and ds15.


Yes, Laura, some of us homeschool highschool kids! Next year I'll have a 9th grader and a 12th grader! This year the 11th grader is doing LifePac stuff, and likes it okay. We're doing other extra stuff with him too.

Next month Alpha Omega will have sales on their stuff, so I need to figure out what we're doing next year with two different highschool grades! ;) It IS more of a challenge, but then again, they work a lot on their own, and most curriculums these days have people you can call and/or e-mail with questions.

There are others here also that have highschoolers, and some that will have them next year.

[chicamarun]

I agree that the rewards are worth it - even with just the little stuff.

I sense my kids are excited about not rushing, especially sleeping until 7 or so! And of course since all the work is at home - they won't have "homework" so besides normal chores and things we have to get done around here, they can enjoy the afternoon. They were so bummed yesterday afterschool when it was 80 they had to do homework first and pretty much lost 1 hour of "play-time" then it's almost dinner. Then bed since they start so early. I'd pull them out if it was still the beginning of the year - but with only 1 more quarter left they can do that.

[P.H.]

Does anyone here homeschool high school kids?

At this point, it looks like all four of ours will graduate from homeschool highschool. (The older two already have, though there was some ps and christian schooling interspersed.) Biology, BTW, was one our most fun subjects, because we got to do all sorts of neat stuff with our support group, like dissect pig eyes, beef hearts, worms, starfish, crayfish, frogs, etc. And we had the neatest leader for the human-body workshops! Basically, all we had to do at home was read the text and answer questions. Actually, I enjoyed this more than our children. Being farmers, our sons had already "studied" the digestive systems on larger animals and could hardly glean anything new from the almost micro-scopic livers and hearts of the mini-animals. :)

I really think you should give it a try! I think you'd do great!

[chicamarun]

With the resources now that even I am just finding (and many of you have probably had them for years) I can see how it can be easier than you think.

Trust me! I was scared outta my MIND just a couple of weeks ago - when I decided this will be best for next year but start in the summer! Personally I dislike history lessons A LOT.... but I can get through the reading part and my son loves history - so he may be able to tell me more than I think of. I am also finding (especially in this area) that free info abounds :)

Biology was one of my favorite subjects as a kid in 7th grade... there are so many things out there that will get the job done without you doing a ton of work. Even the online curriculums for it - Switched on School house - just for that subject... or something like that.

If I can do it - I think most others can if they are able to be there for their kids. I haven't done it yet - but I can actually see it happening which is a very cool feeling.

- Dana

[missinseattle]

We're in the Hampton Roads/ Peninsula area of VA and the homeschooling community in the Hampton area is HUGE. Several co-ops, groups that meet, art classes, ect. Our county hardly does anything but I'm glad something is somewhat close.
We pulled our daughter right before Christmas from ps kindergarten. I wish I'd been more confident before school started because we never would have put her in ps to begin with, but homeschooling never crossed my mind then. Our county curriculum runs a good 6 months behind other counties and that caused huge problems for dd - bored out of her mind.
So glad we are doing this, it's better for her and us. And I don't have to fight the school district anymore!

[OrHmschlMom]

Welcome! You will get a lot of help and information here!