Narrative Portfolio Assessments Q & A

I am still completing assessments!  For the 2017-2018 school year I will be happy to  review your student's work and send you the signature page that you need for your district.  I will not be able to write notes this year due to our son's  Stage 4 Ewing Sarcoma(cancer) diagnosis. We are going through treatment currently.  Thank you for your patience and support during this time.  Please know I am happy to work with your family.  

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 last year when you sent in your homeschool notification.)

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, 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 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.

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.  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.

 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 with me on Google Plus privately (so only I can read it).   If you have a link to a Facebook group of pictures with samples that will work as well.   You can send me a disk or thumb drive with your files on it as well.  There are many options.

 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 the 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.


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.

Repost: Montessori # 2 Pictures!

I had so many little ones when I wrote this post!  I can't believe I made it!  I no longer have the garage room, but I still have the shelves, now they are filled with bigger kid books.   I had so much fun at this point in life.          


 I am not a Montessori teacher nor do I play one on TV, but I really enjoy integrating Montessori ideas into my homeschool.  I wanted to  share a few pictures with you of our Montessori area in my "garage room" as my kids like to call it. (The garage room is our garage that has been converted into a room since our 12 passenger van would not fit into our garage.)  I bought the big shelves at IKEA and the smaller ones are Closet-maid shelves  from Target.   I try to switch the activities around weekly.   Some weeks go better than others.  I try to do actual Montessori activities and some other activities that practice skills or ideas we are working on.  The kids set out their mats and work on them.  All parts to the activity must be kept on the mat, and you may not walk on anyone's mat.   

This side if my long shelf pictures below has Language Arts and Social Studies activities.  I have a short vowel exercise from Montessori for Everyone; I have sight words with alphabet letters underneath.;  A snow craft where you rip white paper and make snow flakes; a vintage Geo Safari with a Holiday card; a Handwriting without Tears writing board and letters; a xylophone you assemble and play (thrift store)

Picture of entire shelf.  

These are usually transfer activities.  Starting at the top left and going across- transfer corn with small scoop. (found souffle cups and scooper used) ; Plastic soap holder and beads with tongs to put in the circles; Middle: Bean transfer with vase and pitcher; Bottom: Mats(small rugs bought at IKEA) clothes pins put on bowl (from My Montessori Journey)

Hopefully this gives you an idea of what our area looks like.  This is not our entire curriculum for the little ones, but it is a big part of it.  It has been a good fit for our family.  
Becky

Repost: Montessori homeschool #1

Repost:  I posted this over 7 years ago.  I checked the links and they are all still good.  It is still  one of my favorites posts.  

My journey through Montessori began a few years ago.  I visited a Montessori school with a friend of mine.  I was fascinated by the equipment and the ideas behind Montessori.  I had taught full time, but had never learned of Marie Montessori or her methods.

Montessori fits so well into homeschooling.  Whether you set up an area of your home with Montessori  activities, include your children in chores, have them cook with you, or use the 3 card system of learning your kids will benefit.  Children become competent independent  people when participating in Montessori.  It is worth looking into.  Below are some of my favorite Montessori resources and hopefully they are a place to start.

My father found the book Teaching Montessori in the Home the Preschool Years at a used book sale.  I kept it on my shelf for many years before reading it and realizing what a gem it was.  The author talks about how you can use Montessori principles with your children at home.  A great book to start with.

My Montessori Journey is a fabulous blog. She lists all of her activities she has in her classroom for the week on her blog.  Many times I will use her activities with my kids.  She gives you downloads and many fabulous pictures. She has stopped blogging, but all the information is still there.

Montessori for Everyone is another great site/blog.  Their company makes downloadable materials to use in your homeschool.  Many are for sale, and their are always lots of freebies.  This a family run business and they are incredibly attentive to their customers.  I have the Elementary CD. I have really enjoyed it, and we use it in our homeschool.

Allison's Montessori is a supplier of Montessori supplies.  It is fun to look around and get ideas.  Montessori Services has a home and school side to their business.   I love their catalog!!  I would highly recommend getting it to look through for ideas. I began to realize that having my children help me in the kitchen, and teaching them chores was all part of Montessori.  I realized I had underestimated their abilities and not realized the great potential  they had.  Montessori changed my view.  I would encourage you to read about it just to be informed.  My grandmother use to talk about the importance of being informed on topics. 

Hopefully this will get you started.  My next post will show our Montessori area and some of our activities.
Becky

Repost: Curricullum: Math

I have written extensively about the math curriculum(s) that I use.  I will link those to this post so they are all in one place. If you click on the name of the math program it will take you to the post I have written about that program.

I use ADD (Arithmetic Developed  Daily) to start off math with each child.  It reviews all math skills throughout the year and has daily word problem practice. 

I love my son taking AOPS (The Art Of Problem Solving.)  He continues to enjoy these classes.

My daughter continues to use Teaching Textbooks and really enjoys this program.  She is not a "mathy" person and this works well for her.

This year I have added Singapore Math to the mix.   I really, really like this program.  They have pre-tests to determine the level you should start with.  I highly recommend taking the pre-tests so you will have a successful experience with your child.

My child who is on the Autism Spectrum uses Math U See.   He really likes it and works with a tutor on this program.  It is not my favorite, but it is a good fit for him.

Have a good week,
Becky