What do you "count" as homeschooling?

[annettemarie]

OK, we don't have to keep official records yet, but I have been keeping track of stuff just to get in the habit. I was wondering, what sort of things do you count as homeschooling?

On another list I am on (not a hs list), someone was shocked that a homeschooling mom counted going to the library. I thought, well, duh, they do go to the library in school, why not in homeschool.

Here are some of the questionable things I've counted so far
- a Sunday church program where they learned about Advent customs around the world and did a ton of crafts

- children's choir practice once a week, half-hour

- cello lessons (not questionable in my mind) and practicing cello (?)

- I counted the 10 minutes he spent running laps around the sofa as phys ed

- Sometimes I count cooking projects

Annette

[joesmom]

I count yahtzee as math. Actually I count everything! He is learning all day long. Right now he is in Art class (play doh & digi draw.) His Art class is usually about 8 hours long!

[teachinmaof3]

*Library

*Homeschool CoOp (2x a month and they take 3 classes each time)

*Homeschool activities (Keepers at Home, field trips)

*Daily household stuff I count sometimes too. Guess you could say "Home Economics". LOL

*Some tv shows they watch (i.e. Zoobamofoo..however you spell it..lol = Science, CyberChase = Math)

*Family outings/field trips

*Coloring, making things = art

Basically, HS'ing for us goes hand in hand with daily life. It's not just "school" for us. Most of what we do around the house counts, in my mind, as Homeschooling.

[UnschoolnMa]

We unschool so everything counts for us. And I do mean everything. We think that every part of life is part of our education so whether it is riding your bike, watching TV, going to the library, making hot cocoa, laughing with friends, or doing division it's all just as important as the next thing. We keep no records but if we did I would have novels of all the learning that "counts" around here

[reeseccup]

there is a lesson to be had in everything we do, but for record keeping, i count the day as "schooled" when we've and/or they've spent minimum of 2 hours out of the day doing formal study topics (math, social studies,english/reading, science, and health).

course this can be done by playing games, helping me cook/bake (or doing it on their own supervised of course), field trips, library time, watching educational videos/shows, using computer educational cd's or online educational game/lessons, writting, reading, family discussions, experiments, playing outside/going to park, creative dance...the list goes on and on.

[SagMom]

Have you checked your state laws to see what is required? Some states as specific as to what subjects are to be covered, so you could use that as a guide as to what to put in your "official" records.

Imo, everything counts, but school systems often don't agree with me. :LOL

[Linda KS]

well, I was just going to say what Joan said. We've never lived where we had to keep records. My sister does and she has to track time spent on core subjects taught at home seperately from her total homeschooling hours, which includes things like music lessons, co-op, etc.

I'm with the unschoolers -- everything counts! My kids learn so much from normal life. I think the library is the very most important thing we do every week, but then again, we love good books.

[eilonwy]

I count all kinds of stuff, and I just write it down as I think it fits best. I'm not an unschooler, but I have been known to count unschooly things in our "school time." For example: My niece spent 30 minutes doing activites from "Slow & Steady Get Me Ready" with BooBah the other day. I counted this as music on this particular day, but on other days I have called it phys ed, or reading, or logic.

Just today, my niece said "I love running errands with you, everywhere we go is like a field trip!" We went to a natural foods store, a glass store, and a craft store. Didn't buy a thing, but they were definately learning experiences, to say nothing of singing with her cousins and listening to books on tape in the car. Did I count it as school, even though she didn't crack a book all day? You'd better believe it! :LOL

The state may disagree with you, but even here in PA (where they ask an awful lot) they are not allowed to ask for details. If you say that you did school work for so many hours on xday, that's all that they're allowed to ask for. They do ask for an outline at the begining of the year, which can be extremely vague: i.e. "Math-- explore mathematical concepts and apply them to real life." Well, we did that at the consignment store a few weeks ago. Done! In other words, even if I was a much less structured homeschooler than I am (and I am very structured-- we're doing TWTM) I could find ways to make it all work out.

Family activites are easily labled as school in my opinion, and the hard part is making something just one or two subjects. For example, lighting Channukah candles: is it math (8 nights, 9 candles, etc) or science (why do some candles disappear entirely when burned while others leave a trail of wax? how do the oil ones work?) or history (the story of the Maccabees) or religion? Perhaps it's foreign language (saying the blessings) or logic (where can we put the channukiah so it will be seen, but the kids can't get to it?) or social studies (why doesn't everyone celebrate Channukah?) I could go on and on here, but you get the idea. I just count it as extra school time, and write it down as such and move on. Sometimes, I write down what we did (reading, language arts, history, etc) but mostly I just write down times and count hours at the end of the week, because that's all that the state is allowed to ask for.

[annettemarie]

Thanks, Mamas. I'm really sort of just curious at this point. We do Waldorf-inspired homeschooling, and I find myself thinking, hey, he fingerknitted for a half hour- that's school! They searched for pine cones in the backyard for twenty minutes. School! They matched socks- definitely school! I was wondering if other hs-ers thought this way as well (and apparently they do!)
Annette

[boysrus]

wy do you have to"count" anything? The only thing I have ever heard for record keeping is daily attendance, and make sure you learn certain subjects, not 10 minutes of math everyday, etc

[annettemarie]

As I said, I don't have to count anything- I was just curious what different people considered to be schooling.
Annette

[phathui5]

I count:

* any reading that happens, whether I read to ds or he reads to me

* library storytime

* the zoo

* science center

* counting

* the math questions ds asks in the car

* bedtime stories with Daddy

* not normal sunday school, but other church stuff like Wednesday night classes or topic specific stuff

* any art; painting, drawing, going to the museum

* measuring food ingredients

I could go on and on...

[mom2threenurslings]

I'm so glad I don't have to keep records! :LOL

I'd count just about everything, as we are all learning all day long. I'll take yesterday for example:

-making breakfast (measuring, pouring, etc. - math and coordination skills)

-playing with our new kitten - learning about kittens, how to take care of them, responsibility (feeding, litter box, etc.), etc.

-getting ready to go to Nanna's house (their great-grandmother) - choosing weather-appropriate clothing, matching clothing (or not! ), using creativity (to choose outfits, and to play the game our 4 year old invented on the spur of the moment ... getting dressed standing only one leg and using only one arm), etc.

-going to Nanna's house (we discussed the Nutcracker, which they had been to with their grandparents the day before, horses (on farms/at stables/in the wild ... what they do on farms/etc. ... what they eat, etc, sang Christmas music, discussed what Christmas celebrations were like in the past)

-playing with cousins at Nanna's house...cooperative games, made up games, showed pictures of our trip to PA and told stories about our trip

-went to see alpacas at a local alpaca farm ... saw a 2 hour old baby alpaca, saw an alpaca nursing, fed and petted alpacas, explored the little shop where they had lots of things made from alpaca wool (and learned the differences between the wools, as there are different types of alpacas with different types of wool), learned where alpacas are from, what they eat, etc.

-went out for pizza ... used math skills to figure out how many slices each person could have if pizza was divided evenly between everyone there ... used our manners (or tried to!), learned that spilling water is no big deal, and that people think it's funny when 3 out of 5 kids and 1 out of 3 adults at the same table all spill their water at some point during the meal!

-ride home- discussed human bodies, digestion, the need for rest, what rest does for our bodies, etc.

-at home... looked at the globe to find South America, where alpacas are from. Did a bit more research through books and the internet and learned more about alpacas, South America, and other topics discussed during the day.

- talked about the story of the first Christmas and moved Mary and Joseph another step closer to Bethlehem on our (Storyteller) Advent Calendar

- talked about what is going to happen in Gramma and Papa's kitchen when it gets remodeled this week...the entire process from taking down the cabinets and ripping up the floor to painting, to installing the floor, cabinets, counters, etc.

-worked on binding a few of the books we're giving people for Christmas

-had a simple dinner of fruit and veggies because we ate lunch so late... discussed the fact that we weren't very hungry and decided what would be best to eat

-dicussed our plans for the week, what the kids would like to add to or remove from our schedule, what it would be like for Alex to get his cast off on Monday, what dinners they would like to help make during the week

-reading together time and reading alone time before bed

I'm sure we had more conversations than that during which learning took place...and that the kids learned a lot as they played throughout the day, too! We covered history, geography, culture, math, science, ecology, manners, socialization, home ec, phys. ed., anatomy and physiology, pet care, religion, arts and crafts, health, and more!

[reeseccup]

I don't have to count minute by subject, just mark off the day if I feel we did enough "work" to suit the State. I'm greatful I'm in a State that isn't heavily restricted and insists on lots of documentation when it comes to hsing.

[eilonwy]

Originally Posted by boysrus

wy do you have to"count" anything? The only thing I have ever heard for record keeping is daily attendance, and make sure you learn certain subjects, not 10 minutes of math everyday, etc

In PA, you can count either days or hours. I'm counting hours, because we'll definately "finish" (as if we'll stop!) enough hours sooner than enough days. Technically, I could just put a checkmark on a calendar, but looking at how the days and the hours are stacking up, we'll be finished with the hours much much sooner than we will the days.

[heldt123]

It does depend upon the state. I think you have to count subject areas more when you get into the higher grades...like high school. I know in Minnesota you have to have so many credits in several different areas. Some states require you to take periodic tests of different skills. Those tests are not to hard as long as you are covering the basics. Some states require you to cover state history as well.

I think you are smart to start keeping records. It is always good "just in case."

[Linda KS]

Originally Posted by heldt123

It is always good "just in case."

Just in case of what?

[eilonwy]

Originally Posted by Linda KS

Just in case of what?

Just in case your school board/neighbors/mother/crazy old man upstairs decide that you're not taking care of your children or whatever. It's not that I care what they think, but having records that say I did x,y, and z could save me a lot of hassle in the future, with all sorts of people.

That, and my niece is being homeschooled because her mother is in the midst of a legal battle with the local school district; the last thing we need is more legal issues in our lives, so I'm covering all the bases.

I'm also really tense and I like lists and details. I'm weird like that. :

[UnschoolnMa]

Here in Oregon we have to keep no records (thankfully) and we only have tests in certain grade years so it's a non-issue. Even if we did have to keep them, our records would be a snap since we think everything is education. You just have to translate it into edu-speak for the educrats lol.

[Linda KS]

Everyone's situation is different. If we were required by law to keep records, we would. They make lot of sense if parents are divorced or have other legal issues.

It would be a complete waste of my time to write down what my kids are doing and learning. It would take a ton of time because my kids spend so much of their time learning and no one would ever want to look at it.

Our school board does not have the legal right to question what we are doing any more than they could question what a private school is doing (this depends on state laws)

I don't worry about the neighbors. Although some of them think we are a little odd, but you only have to talk to my kids for about 30 sec to realize they are pretty well educated for their ages. It is so obvious that my kids are learning just by walking into our house. There are maps on the walls, piles of books everywhere, a solar system hanging from the ceiling, etc.

My mother would weep if I put my kids in school.

Everyone's situation is different and some people really do need to cover their A**, but most homeschool moms don't need to. Record keeping is a time consuming and can be draining. Most homeschooling moms would be better off taking the time for themselves and taking a hot bath