April
18, 2005
Dear
Oklahoma Homeschool Subscribers,
I'm
sending this one out early because of the Curriculum Purchasing
Checklist form (see below). You may want to use it for the
curriculum fairs. Don't forget to come by and say hi!
Thanks
for sending in your surveys. They are helping a lot. If you
haven't sent yours yet, you can still send it in. I hope you
enjoy this issue of the Oklahoma Homeschool newsletter. Have
a wonderful New Year!
Cindy
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Oklahoma
Homeschool Newsletter, May 2005 (Oklahoma Edition)
Index:
______________________________________________________________________
What's
New on the Oklahoma Homeschool Website?
Special
Note: Cindy will be teaching at the following Homechool Book
Fairs and Conventions:
a.
Root & Branches: Building the Family Sanctuary Homeschool
Conference, May 19-21st, 2005, Tulsa ,OK. For detailed
information about Root & Branches: Building the Family
Sanctuary Homeschool Conference go to www.wisdomnknowledge.com and
click on Root & Branches. You will find information about
the speakers, vendors, workshops, etc. They will be
updating the site every week until the conference. I
will be teaching on Oklahoma History. If you have any questions
please contact Stacy at rootnbranches@sbcglobal.net Cost
to pre-register is $15 per family.
b.
Oklahoma Home Educators’ Convention is just
a few days away – April 29-30! Visit www.ochec.com
for details and online registration. I will be teaching on
Choosing Curriculum (Friday) and Oklahoma History (Sat). I
will also be selling The Checklist at 20% off plus no shipping!
Go to the CATink Booth (my publishing company).
c.
Apple Tree Summer Workshops. I will be teaching an
all-day workshop (9-3) called Homeschooling in the
New Millennium for parents who are "just looking"
into homeschooling or who are currently homeschooling but
looking for some new ideas. I will show you how to get started,
how to keep records, how to set your schedule and how to choose
curriculum based on your child's learning style, needs and
abilities. I will also demonstrate the writing of a simple
curriculum plan, how to integrate hands-on learning with textbooks,
and how to utilize the internet, the local library, and other
available resources. The cost is $25.00. Sign up at Apple
Tree. For more information, call 918.622.8733 (1.800.536.2753
toll free) or email
atree@swbell.net.
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Oklahoma
History Resources:
Here's
some new books I discovered for Oklahoma History. Check out
my website for more like this: http://www.oklahomahomeschool.com/teachOKH.html
I
Want to be a Cowboy by Firefly Books. A 24-page
picture book about cowboys with very simple text suitable
for young children. ISBN 1-55209-432-4 (PreK-2)
Uniquely
Oklahoma by Reuben Anderson. 48 pgs. Color illustrations.Covers
basic information about Oklahoma including geography, climate,
state symbols, a brief history, government, food, and much
more. ISBN: 1-4034-4727-6. (3-6)
Life
on the Trail (Life in the Old West series) by
Bobbie Kalman. 32 pages. Color illustrations. Covers the cattle
trails and life on the trail. ISBN: 0-7787-0104-2 (1-6)
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Teaching
Tips - Learning Styles, Recordkeeping, & Grades
1.
Learning Styles
Before
you choose curriculum, assess your own and your child's learning
style. You may see that you need to make an adjustment in
order to accommodate each of your learning styles. A Read/Write
parent will have difficulty teaching a Kinesthetic child,
etc. Use the results from your learning style assessment to
help you select curriculum.
You
don’t have to teach every subject according to your
child’s learning style, but use it as often as you can
- especially for subjects in which your child has difficult.
(Your child will need to learn to work in a read/write environment
eventually as most schools teach that way.)
Learning
Styles Assessment Resources:
I
prefer the VARK Learning style assessment because it’s
simple to use and understand. VARK: http://www.vark-learn.com/english/index.asp
(click on "using VARK", then "Printable VARK
Questionnaire for Younger People, pdf document) Take the learning
style assessment yourself, then go to “Using VARK”,
click on “Printable VARK questionnaire for younger people,”
and administer that test to your child. Compare the results
of your test to your child´s.
Multiple
Intelligence Survey from Family Education (http://familyeducation.com/topic/front/0,1156,21-12410,00.html?etv04107).
Learning
Styles: http://www.chaminade.org/inspire/learnstl.htm
Learning
Styles Online: http://www.learning-styles-online.com/inventory/
Hemispheric
Dominance Assessment: http://brain.web-us.com/brain/braindominance.htm
For
more information on learning styles, check out: http://www.oklahomahomeschool.com/learnS.html
2.
Recordkeeping
Keeping
good records is essential not only to comply with state law
but also to keep track of what your child has learned. Most
state laws requires that you keep tract of 180 days of school
in a log book. Some states require I also strongly recommend
that you keep a portfolio for each child. You may need any
or all of these records for college admissions, job applications,
and/or problems with Department of Human Services. Another
good reason to keep them is so that you can go back and see
that you actually have accomplished something!
It's
not necessary to keep all your child's papers. See "Portfolio"
for more information of what to keep. http://www.oklahomahomeschool.com/portfolio.html
For
help in putting together a transcript, check out: http://www.oklahomahomeschool.com/trans1.html
3.
Grades
Grades
are mainly a sorting mechanism for public schools. Some students
have to be at the top, some at the bottom, and the rest in
the middle. Grades do not necessarily give an accurate picture
of what a child has learned.
It
is, however, best to speak the same language on transcripts.
Use letter grades and the 4.00 grading system to avoid confusion.
Award A’s for subjects you feel your children have mastered
or completed as required. Tell college admissions what you
did. They are not as concerned with the grades your homeschool
child received as they are what he actually studied and how
he went about studing it. This is best demonstrated through
a portfolio.
The
most commonly used grading symbols used and recognized are
A, B, C, D, and F. Generally they are understood to mean the
following:
- A=
Excellent, Outstanding, Superior Achievement, Completed
assignment as required.
- B
= Commendable, Good Achievement
- C
= Acceptable, Adequate Achievement
- D=
Minimal, Poor Achievement
- F
= Failure, Unacceptable Achievement
Question
from a reader: "I still am very concerned that
I am not keeping accurate records and in fact only have the
paperwork that my child has completed. He does a lot of things
verbally or on the computer. Should a report card be filled
out and should I have testing records to show his progress?"
Answer:
If your child is in K-8th grade, there is no need to keep
a report card. As far as testing, there is no need to have
someone else do the testing in the early grades, but it's
good to give them practice in test taking at home. After they
have mastered "test taking," I would then give them
experience in a group for your own records. Just remember,
the first time or so, they may not test out accurately as
their first experience of being in a classroom situation can
be stressful. Don't put a lot of emphasis on the results or
that will also stress some kids. If you follow this routine
in the early grades, by the time they get in 8th grade, they
should be well adjusted to test taking and ready for PSAT's,
SAT's, ACT's etc. I would keep these annual testing records
in my portfolio for my own use. For more information on recordkeeping,
see (NOTE: This is sufficient for Oklahoma law. If you homeschool
in another state, you should check with your local support
group for your specific requirements.)
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FREE
Forms:
This
form is available free to Oklahoma Homeschool readers:
Curriculum
Purchasing Checklist: Use this form to help you when
purchasing curriculum. Available on the Homeschool Forms Page:
http://www.oklahomahomeschool.com/forms.html
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Internet
Resources for Health, Safety, Nutrition
Teaching
health, safety and nutrition is easy. You don't need a curriculum
unless you just like to have them. Simply take a couple of
days and read an on-level book about safety, health, and nutrition
topics together. Do some internet activities like the ones
below. Teach them first aid techniques, plan a nutritious
meal and then cook it, and practice fire, home, and weather
safety as hands-on activities. For older kids, have them do
a paper on the topic. Take pictures of your activities for
your portfolio. That's all there is to it!
1.
Find Articles - Here's a great resource for high school research
projects. Type in a subject and it will find articles
written on the subject. http://www.findarticles.com/
2.
Infection Detection Protection. This is a very fun
site for kids where they will learn about germs, infections,
microbes and more through stories and interactive games. http://www.amnh.org/nationalcenter/infection/
(1-6)
3.
Get it Straight: The Facts About Drugs from the Department
of Justice. This website presents information about
drug use. Excellent information and well worth teaching the
kids. http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/straight/toc.htm
(3-8)
4.
Food Safety Quiz from FDA: http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/kids/html/wash__hands.htm
(K-3)
5.
Food Safety Color Book from FDA: http://www.foodsafety.gov/~dms/cbook.html
(K-3)
6.
Health Finder for Kids. A database to links in a
variety of health & safety topics for kids: http://www.healthfinder.gov/kids/
(all ages)
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Please
feel free to forward this on to anyone who may be interested
in subscribing.
If
you'd like to be added to the Oklahoma Homeschool Newsletter
mailing list, please email back with "Subscribe"
in the subject line, along with your city and state or country
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Have
a great day!
Cindy
Downes
OKLAHOMA
HOMESCHOOL
Website: http:www.oklahomahomeschool.com
Email: cindy@oklahomahomeschool.com
Have
you seen The Checklist? It's a record keeper, a planning guide,
and a K-12 Scope and Sequence created for Christian Home Educators:
http://www.oklahomahomeschool.com/checklist.html
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