The Homeschool book I love to reread!

Why do I home school?  I think you can ask the question two ways.  There is the why do I homeschool question when you are wondering,  "What was I thinking when I thought this would be a  good idea, or "Where is the number for the yellow bus to come to my home?“ Another way to think of “ Why do I home school ?” is as a reflective question which shares your philosophy of life, the beauty of what we do every day,  the answer we give that celebrates our children and shares our heart for them.   It is the answer we give when things are going well, or the answer we need to hide in our heart when the above thoughts pop into our head.

One way for me to reflect on why I homeschool is to reread one of my favorite homeschooling books, Homeschooling: A Family’s Journey by Gregory and Martine Millman.  It is a fabulous read.  The Millman family has six children, and three of them are currently in college.  The books shares how they decided to homeschool and their journey after their decision. They talk about the sacrifices they made to homeschool and have one parent stay at home with their children.  It is very thoughtful book that will encourage you and make you smile as you read their stories.  It is the story of family that will touch your heart and remind you why homeschooling is a great choice for so many of us.

My favorite paragraph is the last one in the Acknowledgment section. 

Finally, we must acknowledge, though not by name, several teachers and bureaucrats who, by their determined refusal to understand, cooperate, innovate, or extend themselves in any way, vexed us so intolerably that we knew there had to be a better way.  If they had not held closed the doors, we might never have looked for a window.   Greg and Martine Millman  Homeschooling; A Family’s Journey

That paragraph made me smile and helped me remember another reason why I homeschool.  There are many great quotes in this book that I love to reread.

Lately I have been thinking about this book even more as I have been talking to my kids who have come home from college and are about to start college.  This book shaped our homeschooling and I am thankful I read it.  I hope you read it.  

The Kindle version is still available, and several used versions.  

Portfolio Assessment Q & A

Ohio homeschool law states "The parent(s) shall send to the superintendent an academic assessment report of the child for the previous school year at the time of supplying subsequent notification."  A parent in Ohio has three choices on what they may send a with their homeschool notification.  1). Results of a nationally normed, standardized achievement test.  2) A written narrative indicating that a portfolio of samples of the child’s work has been reviewed and that the child’s academic progress for the year is in accordance with the child’s abilities. (3) An alternative academic assessment of the child’s proficiency mutually agreed upon by the parent and the superintendent. (please note my understanding is that you would have needed to work this out with your superintendent)

A written narrative is an option for an assessment report.  You have a certified Ohio teacher review work samples of your student's work to determine if your child has made progress in accordance with his/her ability last year.  The assessor then signs a form verifying that your student has  made progress, and you send that form to your school's superintendent along with your intent to homeschool the coming  year.

I am a homeschool mom who is also a certified Ohio teacher.  I am able to review your child's work samples, send you some encouraging notes, and send you the forms you need to send to your school district with your intent to home educate.    I enjoy reviewing work samples and love getting a chance to see the many different ways people home educate their children.  The following are a few common questions I hear in regards to narratives.

What are your notes?  
For 2019 I am not writing these due to my son's cancer. 
I simply write some encouraging thoughts for you and your student about the main subjects.  You do not send these to your district.   My notes are optional, and  I will stop writing them after June 1, 2019 for this year.  I started this as a way to give feedback to families.  Some families love them, and others are fine either way.  You will not hurt my feelings if you say no to the notes.  :-)  I go much faster without notes if you need a quicker turnaround.

What if my student  is not reading?
You may send me a list of books you have read aloud  to your student, maybe the progress they have made in a phonics program,  and/or how many sight words that they know now as compared to the beginning of the year. How many letter sounds do they know now that they did not know before?  Please know that some students take longer to learn to read and we celebrate each step they make.   

What if I do not have physical samples that are easy to send to you?
You are welcome to take a picture,send me a link to a YouTube video, or write up what your student learned in that area.  I have enjoyed power point presentations, pictures of field trips and community gardens, and wonderfully written explanations about unit studies and cooking projects.  Scrap paper  If you have questions on how to communicate what your student accomplished, please contact me.  ohiohomeschool@gmail.com

What are you looking for?
I am looking for progress. I like to see that your student is completing  more complex math problems than he/she did at the  beginning of the year, I look at handwriting and writing samples to observe growth, and learn a great deal about your student from looking at the books they are reading now as compared to the ones they read in beginning of the year. I look at how your student has changed.   I do not look to see if you completely finished your history text book, made at least one salt relief map of a continent, and/or  if your bookshelves are organized by the Dewey Decimal system.  I am looking  for progress in your student by viewing his/her work samples.    (But, if your bookshelves are organized that way I would love to see a picture and know how you did it. )

 Would you rather I send you my material by email or postal mail?

It makes absolutely no difference to me.  Really. ☺  Do whatever is easiest for your family.  I am happy to accommodate you either way.   I also have an online system.  Write me for more details.

 What digital files can you read?

I am able to open PDF, Word, and JPEG files.  If you have a Macintosh computer your best bet is PDF.  I do have trouble when people send me zipped Mac files.  I also can NOT read Works files.

  How should I send digital files to you?

First, you should group them by subject.   I need all the math together, writing together, etc.  You can send them by email, you can upload them to Dropbox, you can share a Google file with me, and you can share a private FB album with me.    You can send me a disk with your files on it as well.  There are many options. I also have an online system you can upload your files to.

 Can you help me figure out how to home educate or fill out the Letter of Intent?

At this time I am not helping my families home educate or fill out Letters of Intent.  I only review portfolio assessments.  My blog is filled with helpful tips, and I have a post on filing out the Letter of Intent to Home Educate.

I want to support you on your  home education journey.  I greatly enjoy helping other homeschool families. Let me know if I can help you this year!  Click here for how to get started.

Becky Boerner
Mom to 7 home educated children,  M Ed. in Reading Education.
My Graduates. . .One received a job after graduating from a special needs work program, another  received a full honors scholarship to Cincinnati State, and another is attending MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) with scholarships.


Another  post  I have written dealt with standardized testing vs. a written narrative.  You may enjoy reading  if you are still pondering on what you would like to do for this year.

Unschooling Portfolio Assessments

I really enjoy reading the freestyle assessments I receive.  They are so interesting.   People often ask me for some ideas on what to write and send.  The following is what I have shared with them. Hopefully it will help you as well.

I have seen freestyle assessments written in many different ways.  The key thing is to show the progress your child has made from last July/August to now.  Ohio law says the child must make progress within their ability.  So when I do this for my kids I try to think through the following questions.  How have they changed? What can they do now that they could not do a few months ago, several months ago, and a year ago?   What do I have demonstrates this? (pictures, samples etc.)  Lastly, what can I share that communicates this?

As far as writing up the assessment, I have seen them set up by subject, by project, and just sharing progress. The following are some ideas to get you started.  I think once you get started you will be surprised at how much you have to share.

If you write by subject you might write about the following.  I am going to give many examples to choose from.  Please do not feel you need to use all of them.  These are to spur your thinking about your year.

Reading:  Share the books your child has read or you have read to them. Maybe share a series they are into like the Boxcar Children, Arthur, or Henry and Mudge.  What magazines do they enjoy reading?  Are there web sites they enjoy visiting and reading?  What  your child is reading now versus the beginning of the year communicates the progress they have made.

Writing/Handwriting If your child is writing tell me what they are writing. Tell me if they are making lists, writing their name, writing stories, labeling pictures, writing letters etc.  If they are older, tell me about their creative writing, poetry, or journaling.  Send me a sample.   Do they write a blog, email letters to Grandma, or maybe record in a nature journal?   Tell me about it, send me a link, send a sample, or take a picture of it.

Math: Share how your child is telling time, working with money, adding or subtracting, multiplying or dividing, using percents, and/or measuring.  Tell me about activities your child participates in like cooking, grocery shopping, or building with blocks or LEGOS ©.  Share games with me that you play that involve math.   If you happen to do any worksheets you can always send in one from the beginning of the year and the end.

Science/Social Studies/History/Art/ Music/PE: For younger kids you might share experiences to demonstrate progress.  You write  about the museums you have visited, zoo visits, park trips, neighborhood walks, nature walks, music lessons, and any sports your child may participate in.  Do you attend the YMCA to swim each week?  Do you attend an art class?  Tell me about books they have read or you have read together, if they have completed any projects, or art work your child has created.  This is a great place to include pictures.   For older students share what they have learned this year, a class they have taken, and/or a research project they have been working on.  Having your child write a summary of what they have learned is a fantastic way to demonstrate progress.

Another way share your student's progress is to write up your assessment by project.  For instance you worked on a community or family garden together.  You discuss how you pre-planned by getting books from the library and  reading about plants, your internet research, the garden store you visited,  how you measured the rows, how you prepared the soil, did you count the plants, if you sold them the skills you used,  and anything else that your child learned.  You might include pictures of your child working in the garden, some notes your child took while researching, and a list of books your child read.  You might share the 1-3 projects that your family used to facilitate learning for the year.  Then maybe you share about trips, nature walks, park visits, any type of lesson, and art you do.

You are trying to showcase what your child has accomplished this year.  Usually when I sit down and think about all we have  learned, I am excited about the progress my kids have made.   If you are working on learning most days you have made progress. This is your chance to celebrate by sharing it with me.

If I can help you in anyway let me know. Link to Freestyle Assessment 

I accept Portfolios year round, and will send you the form you need for your district.  

Becky
ohiohomeschool@gmail.com

photo credit: Learning is relevant ... via photopin (license)