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Web-Based Summer School June 26th, 2008

Summer Learning - I heard a mother comment recently:

Well, we’re all homeschoolers in the summer.  I have my kids in public school during the week for 9 months in the year but in the summer and on weekends, I’m a homeschooler.

I was very struck by that vision and I’m still not sure what to make of it. But it did remind that all parents have a common opportunity (challenge? problem?), what to with the kids during the summer.  I personally, am a big believer in summer camps that focus on sports, sports, and more sports.  That allow NO electronics. And recreation consists of reading or card games (comic books are fine. But no gambling for more than pennies and nickels).

As you may have I guessed, I went to camps in the summer and loved it.

 For those of you who are trying to build an eclectic summer program, here’s some thoughts quoted about a web-based summer program….

 

Your child works hard during the school year and needs a summer vacation, in order to come back refreshed. Yet, you know that it would be foolish to waste those summer months since a long summer vacation with no summer course of study can result in backsliding.

Many children fall behind in a subject during the school year and need to do some remedial work in the summer. Time4Learning is an excellent method to review a year’s work during the summer.

Are your kids excited by the idea of summer school, summer courses, or summer study?
Mine certainly aren’t. One way to work through this is to try a different approach to learning during the summer .

Have you noticed how much your child enjoys using the computer? Maybe the answer this summer vacation is to use the computer for a fun convenient summer school.

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Remediation & a Head Start for Next Year? Many kids need both….Parents can select the grade level for each subject. Many children are performing in different subjects at different grade levels. For instance, one parent had a student who found her 2nd grade math program too easy but was still struggling to learn to read and effectively at a first grade level. Her mom put her on the first grade Time4Learning program which built her phonics foundation and developed her vocabulary and listening comprehension.

After a few months, Jordan’s reading skills were visibly improved. On the math side her mom gave her some advanced math materials which revealed that while she was strong in math, she had actually missed some concepts but had been to proud to ask for help. Working privately on her own, she developed a more rounded math foundation and became more confident and active in school.

 

Umbrella Schools June 13th, 2008

In some states,  many homeschoolers decide to use cover or umbrella schools

What is an umbrella school? There is no universal definition for an umbrella (or cover) school because home education laws vary from state to state. In Alabama, for instance, the only way to homeschool is to either have your own teaching certificate or affiliate with a cover school. In Florida, homeschooling through an umbrella school is a convenience but there are other legal approach for folks to homeschool who do not have a teaching certificate. The best way to explain what an umbrella school is is to define what it does.

There is a fair amount of confusion about these cover schools evidenced by the discussions on the forum about umbrella schools.
What does an umbrella school do? In some states, homeschoolers can get some level of support and legal protection for their home education program. Umbrella schools provide a variety of services. Some allow you to choose from among services offered. Most provide you with a set curriculum. Others may allow you to use some or all of your own curriculum, but do grading and review themselves. They also keep records, such as a cumulative record.

SpellingCity.com New Games May 26th, 2008

I will try to promise that this is my last post about SpellingCity.com.  But, they just keep delivering great spelling games. How about this list of games/activities that you can use on your or any spelling list….

 Game Name Description Sample Lists Printable? Requirements
 HangMouse

HangMouse

Similar to Hangman, the object is to guess the word in a set number of tries.  Baseball

French Origin

 No  1 or more words
 WordSearch

Word Search

The object is to locate and outline all of the words within the matrix. 6th Grade  Yes  4 or more words
 Unscramble

UnScramble

The object is to put the word back together from a scrambled set of letters.  Baseball  Not Yet  2 or more words
 Word Match

Audio
Word Match

The object is to pair cards based on the words and sounds.  Numbers  No  8 or more words
 WhichWord?

WhichWord?

The object is to find which word correctly completes the sentence. 2nd Grade
 Not Yet  1 or more words
 Missing Letter

Missing Letter

The object is to find the missing letter in the word. 4th Grade
 Not Yet  1 or more words
 Sentence Unscramble

Sentence Unscramble

Try to place the words in the correct order to form the completed sentence  SAT Prep  Not Yet  1 or more words