Narrative Assessments for Ohio Homeschoolers

 For the 2015-2016 School year: I am still accepting portfolios.  I am happy to review your portfolios and send you the form you need for your district.    Thank you!  Becky ohiohomeschool@gmail.com

I complete narrative assessments for Ohio homeschoolers for $30.  The Assessments are portfolio reviews by myself, a certified teacher, that fulfill the Ohio Home Education requirement for 3301-34-04 Academic Assessment Report Option #2.  

If you would like to begin the process start by downloading the forms for the Freestyle Assessment for unschoolers, the Self Reflection Assessment for K-8th grade, or the Self Reflection Assessment for High School for those who follow a subject curriculum. You fill out the forms, prepare the documentation, and sign them.  Please send copies as I do not return documents. Please email me for an instruction sheet ohiohomeschool@gmail.com that tells you where to mail them and answers some other questions. If you have trouble with the downloads, please email ohiohomeschool@gmail.com and I will email them to you.  Below are links  in Google Documents.   I am happy to help you so please contact me with any questions.

Thanks,
Becky Boerner

Freestyle Assessment in Google Documents
Self Reflection for K-8 in Google Documents
Self Reflection for High School in Google Documents.

Once you get there you need to do the following. 
If you click on the arrow button on the left hand side of the page you can download the file.
If you click on the print button you can print it out.

PS: If you can not access these files, try the links above in the document.  If you still can not access the documents, please email me and I will send you the files.  I am happy to do that! 

I also accept PayPal, Check, or Money Orders (Contact me for more information.  Many families send me checks or money orders through the mail. ) 

My portfolio pricing for 2017  is (1 portfolio) $35; (2 portfolios) 65; (3 portfolios) 95;  (4 portfolios ) $120; (5 or more portfolios) $150.

Click on the arrow for pricing for 2 or more reviews.

Portfolio Review

1 Portfolio Review $35.00 USD 2 Portfolio Reviews $65.00 USD 3 Portfolio Reviews $95.00 USD 4 Portfolio Reviews $120.00 USD 5 or more Portfolio Reviews $150.00 USD

Looking at Schedules and Making Changes.

Somehow it is the end of September.  I have been home educating for the last seven weeks at this point.  I tend to need to take a deep breath by this time and rejoice that we have survived the beginning of the year.  We have begun to get all of our supplies in order, set a schedule, and are trying to get into a rhythm for chores and work.  For me this is a great time to review my schedule and see what is working well and what could be improved upon.  I have been thinking about that this week and what changes I can make.  

1.  I am going to start working with my second grader immediately after breakfast.  She fades fast and has the ability to slip away.

2.  Some of the kids have asked for me to set things out for them the night before.  They want to get their work done first thing.  (Not what I would choose to do, but I'm glad it works for them.)

3.  I continue with my notebook for my High School and Junior High students.  Having all of their syllabuses in the notebook and using the trusty highlighter that confirms completion is a good thing.  

4.  This year I did a staggered start time.  I got my high school and junior high students started one week, then another week elementary and preschool.  The best thing I ever did!  I believe I spread things out over 3 weeks. This made for a much less stressful beginning of the year.  I am going to keep that for next year.

The other thing I did this year was have my high school students make up their own schedule.  They did an amazing job and I am posting pictures below.  It actually made me cry with joy since they both created them.  One of them is better with Excel than the other, and I did hear the latter say to the former: "Hey, don't you owe me a birthday present?"  Then he helped her create one.  (Click on them to make them large enough to read.)

So what changes are you making?  What awesome scheduling tips do you have? I would love to hear them.  

Math Manipulatives I Actually Use

When you first start home educating you are tempted to buy it all.  Especially in math.  I looked through what I had, and figured out what I used the most.

We use the Ones, Tens, and Hundred foam pieces all the time!  I bought this when I was teaching, but found a similar one at Amazon.

These are items I think you should have to teach math: protractor, ruler, dice, calculator, tape measure, and a big die.

I love these fraction tiles.  You can buy them as magnets, plastic pieces, or in a tray.  This is a great resource and we pull it out daily while working on fractions.  (I have pieces missing... get one with all the pieces.)  I found another set with decimals as well.

For learning math facts we have used the Flashmaster for years.  In a world of high tech iPads, laptops, and tablets, I like that the only thing you can do on the Flashmaster is math facts.  No one "accidentally" does anything else.  (I'm sure this doesn't happen at your house, but just in case.)  It is a bit pricey, but I have many children and it has been helpful.  We start each math lesson with it when a student is learning their facts.

The other math fact learning program I have used through the years is The Quarter Mile.  It is a good program that simply reviews the facts.  If you click on this link from the Homeschool Buyers Co-op, there is a video and more information.

Another great resource is linking cubes.  Love these for counting, addition, patterns, and subtraction.

I have used my time manipulatives such as a clock with movable hands, my clock stamp, and an elapsed time board.

These are my elementary go-to math manipulatives.  Which ones have you used the most?

Reading Topic: Concepts of Print

I get many questions every year from families about reading.  How to know if their child is ready to read, how to help their child read, and tips for struggling readers.  My Masters is in Reading, and I am currently taking a reading class to keep my teaching certificate current.  I am hoping these posts will be helpful for families.   If you have a question you would like answered in a post please write it in the comments.    

Concepts Of Print (COP) or Concepts About Print (CAP) can be defined is a set of understandings about how print works.  A child acquires CAP before they are able to read.  Children who have CAP know which way to hold a book, know text has meaning, know words are made of letters, that text is read from left to right, and that there is punctuation at the end of sentences.

Students who grow up in print rich environments and are read-aloud to will usually pick these skills up naturally.  Below is a short video that is directed to parents explaining CAP.

This video is done by a teacher assessing if a child has CAP. You can teach these to your child each time you read a book to them.  Ask them different questions each time.  "Where is the title?  Where is the first page? Where do you start?"  The video will show you more.

If you want to check if your younger student has CAP here is a checklist assessment that will help you determine that.  You ask your student some basic questions and check them off on your paper.

Here are some apps that are helpful for building CAP.

The following are based on the Bob Books.  Bob Books Reading Magic Lite which is free at , iTunes.  Bob Books Reading Magic #1 Reading Magic is 2.99 to 3.99 at  iTunes.


The popular online program Starfall has a free app at Google, Amazon, and iTunes.

 Let me know what you think, and any reading questions that you have!
~Becky