Three More Families

Gordon and Gerry Going – (Ryan and Raymond)


Ryan, who is now nine years old and in third grade, begged Gerry to teach him to read when he was three and a half. She tried to put him off, but eventually gave in and went through Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons with him. By the time he was four and a half, he was reading fluently, so Gordon and Gerry knew that putting him into kindergarten would have been a waste of time. In addition, the Goings home school because they feel it is their responsibility to train up their children in the Lord, not send them to “public indoctrination into all manner of worldliness.”  They feel that public schools in California now fail to provide an adequate education and that to properly train their children requires that they be involved and informed as to the content and quality of their education. The Goings feel the best way to do this and ensure a Christ-centered worldview in their children’s education, is to home school.

At first, Gerry tried to keep Ryan busy with just reading, but it was not enough, so she enrolled him in the public charter school, CAVA, which administers the K12 curriculum. Here he was able to work at various levels, based on his personal strengths and weaknesses and move along at his own pace. Gerry and Ryan loved the program and the curriculum.

Meanwhile, the Goings moved to Arleta, which meant that Raymond, who has Down’s Syndrome and was attending a wonderful special education preschool, Horace Mann, in Burbank, would no longer be able to attend there. The local schools in Arleta were/are 98% Spanish-speaking, and with Raymond’s language delay, Gordon and Gerry did not feel this would help him in his English language development. So, with Ryan already in CAVA, it seemed a natural choice to enroll Raymond as well, where he would receive all the therapies and services he needed.

The Goings were happy with these choices until fall of 2009, when CAVA changed its policies and required Raymond to progress at a normal pace through the curriculum, and no longer allowed Gerry to jump around in the curriculum, skipping the skills for which Raymond wasn’t ready and focusing on the things with which he was succeeding. So, although it was difficult to leave the security of CAVA with its accountability, accreditation, and structure -- not to mention the curriculum and provision of services for Raymond -- Gerry removed both Ryan and Raymond from CAVA and filed her own PSA.

Since then, Ryan has been doing Switched-on-Schoolhouse (SOS). This has been a good transition from K12 for Ryan. He was especially excited that they talked about God in his schoolwork. Overall, though, Gerry has found that it isn’t challenging enough for Ryan and she doesn’t feel there is enough writing in the curriculum. Because of this, Gerry has been supplementing SOS with leftover K12 materials and Spelling City (www.spellingcity.com), and will be trying something a little different next fall.


With Raymond, Gerry has been using Alpha Omega’s LIFEPAC Kindergarten, Alpha-Phonics, and Alpha Omega’s Color Phonics. She likes the systematic approach that LIFEPAC provides. In addition Gerry is focusing on a lot of repetition and life skills for learning, like cooking, and tries not to push academics too seriously with him. If he learns to count to four by serving pancakes, that’s how she teaches counting.  She desires that Raymond learn to read and speak more clearly, so Gerry continues speech therapy and other language readiness acquisition skills with Raymond.  Raymond’s former speech therapist kindly offered the sound production curriculum See It! Say It! so he could continue it at home. Gerry also teaches Raymond sign language so he can be understood and because he has difficulty with processing auditory language.

With both of her boys on very different spectrums and possessing very different gifts and abilities, Gerry is trying to find a balance of styles and systems that works for her and her family. In fall of 2010 she is going to try a more Charlotte Mason approach for Ryan, focusing on a lot of reading and creative writing, and taking the freedom to go off on tangents and pursue specific interests. She still plans on using the leftover K12 math.

The Going boys like routine, though sticking to a routine is a bit challenging. Generally, Ryan gets up and starts his school work on his own. After breakfast, Gerry does school work with Raymond while Ryan continues his independent studies. After lunch, they finish up, usually by 1:30 p.m. Then they may read together, do any special projects, work in the yard, or do special activities. This summer, Gerry plans to do a couple of hours of school work every morning.


Summary:
Name of program: K12 (CAVA)
Pace: State Standard Driven, Spiral Curriculum with individual mastery components
Impetus: Textbook with some Literature and Thematic components
Application: John Dewey/Traditional/American
Necessary Pool of Knowledge: Cultural Literacy and State Standards
Worldview: Secular
Environment: Traditional and Computer, Tutoring in high school years
http://k12.com/
http://www.k12.com/cava/


Name of program: LIFEPAC
Pace: Mastery Based
Impetus: Textbook/Traditional/Subject Driven
Application: John Dewey/Traditional/American
Necessary Pool of Knowledge: State Standards or Textbooks
Worldview: Protestant
Environment: Traditional (Worktexts)
http://www.aophomeschooling.com/lifepac/overview.php

Name of program: Switched-on Schoolhouse
Pace: State Standard Driven
Impetus: Textbook/Traditional/Subject Driven
Application: John Dewey/Traditional/American
Necessary Pool of Knowledge: State Standards or Textbooks
Worldview: Protestant
Environment: Computer
http://www.aophomeschooling.com/switched-on-schoolhouse/overview.php

Name of program: Alpha-Phonics
Pace: Mastery Based
Impetus: None
Application: John Dewey/Traditional/American
Necessary Pool of Knowledge: None
Worldview: None
Environment: Traditional
http://www.howtotutor.com/

Name of program: Color Phonics
Pace: Mastery Based
Impetus: None
Application: John Dewey/Traditional/American
Necessary Pool of Knowledge: None
Worldview: Protestant
Environment: Computer (CD-ROM)
http://www.colorphonics.com/

Shawn and Shannon Sherlock – Lane, Louis, Larry, and Lorraine

The Sherlocks decided to home school because they wanted to train their children all day, every day, allowing them to lay a Christian foundation in all areas of their children’s lives. When they considered Deuteronomy 6:7, “You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up,” they felt that the best way for them to do that was through home schooling. In addition, they like being able to meet each child’s academic needs, whether that means going more slowly and repeating concepts or moving ahead. And at the base of it all, Shannon cannot imagine being away from them all day; she treasures the special relationships they have due to the time they spend together.

Each year Shannon files her own PSA. She is currently schooling her oldest three: Lane, nine years old and in fourth grade; Louis, seven years old and in second grade; and Larry, five years old and in kindergarten. Lorraine is three years old. Shannon does not do formal academics over the summer, but keeps the kids reading during that time.


When Shannon started schooling Lane, she used Alpha-Phonics, A Beka science, and Horizons math. She also used copy work from the Bible for penmanship, and AWANA. By the time Larry started kindergarten this year, she realized that instead of including science, she would rather just focus on reading, penmanship, math, and Bible. Also in the past she used the tactic of having the older kids rotate through entertaining the younger children while she spent one on one time with the older ones.

Last school year, Shannon tried LIFEPACS with Lane. She gives it a rating of “okay,” but it wasn’t what they were looking for. This past year she switched to My Father’s World, and used Horizons math with it. She really likes the incremental style of Horizons. In addition she uses First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind by Jessie Wise, which is a literature based grammar instruction book. She also uses English for the Thoughtful Child by Mary F. Hyde and Cyndy Shearer.

For each school day, the Sherlocks follow a strict schedule. They start school at 8:30 a.m. and do work until 10:00 a.m. They take a break from 10:00 to 10:30, and then finish up their school work before lunch, saving math for last. After lunch, they do things like practice piano and reading time. Then they do chores.

Next year Shannon plans on switching to Christian-worldview textbooks which contain the instruction and the questions. She has found that she can’t spend the time that My Father’s World requires, and needs to find something her kids can do independently, leaving her to just check their answers.

Summary:

Name of program: LIFEPAC
Pace: Mastery Based
Impetus: Textbook/Traditional/Subject Driven
Application: John Dewey/Traditional/American
Necessary Pool of Knowledge: State Standards or Textbooks
Worldview: Protestant
Environment: Traditional (Worktexts)
http://www.aophomeschooling.com/lifepac/overview.php

Name of program: Alpha-Phonics
Pace: Mastery Based
Impetus: None
Application: John Dewey/Traditional/American
Necessary Pool of Knowledge: None

Worldview: None
Environment: Traditional
http://www.howtotutor.com/

Name of Program: My Father’s World
Pace: State Standard/Spiral Based
Impetus: Unit Studies & Textbook/Traditional/Subject Driven
Application: John Dewey/Traditional/American & Charlotte Mason
Necessary Pool of Knowledge: State Standard/Textbook, Classical, Biblical Principle
Worldview: Protestant
Environment: Traditional
http://www.mfwbooks.com/

Name of Program: Horizons Math
Pace: State Standard
Impetus: Textbook/Traditional/Subject Driven
Application: John Dewey/Traditional/American
Necessary Pool of Knowledge: State Standard/Textbook
Worldview: Protestant
Environment: Traditional (workbook curriculum)
http://www.aophomeschooling.com/horizons/overview.php

Name of Program: First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind
Pace: None
Impetus: None
Application: Charlotte Mason, but may be used with others
Necessary Pool of Knowledge: Classical Education
Worldview: None
Environment: Traditional
http://www.welltrainedmind.com/store/first-language-lessons-for-the-well-trained-mind-levels-1-2-paperback.html

Name of Program: English for the Thoughtful Child
Pace: None
Impetus: None
Application: Charlotte Mason, but may be used with others
Necessary Pool of Knowledge: Classical Education
Worldview: None
Environment: Traditional
http://www.cathyduffyreviews.com/grammar-composition/english-for-thoughtful-child.htm

Greg and Gina Graven – Genevieve and George

Before Greg and Gina had children, they went to a church where it seemed that everyone around them was homeschooling. They saw how cool it was, and became convinced that in the short time we have to develop our relationships, disciple, and impact our children, home schooling is an invaluable opportunity. After having children and considering the options, they knew that for monetary reasons, private school was not an option, and they weren’t thrilled about the public school option as it would force their children into facing issues with which they were not yet equipped to deal. Also, both of these options meant losing that daily time together for building relationships within their home


For the past four years, Gina has been filing her own PSA and home schooling Genevieve (age 8, 3rd grade) using My Father’s World. With this she has used Spelling by Sound and Structure by Rod and Staff Books, Singapore Math, Primary Language Lessons by Emma Serl, Language Lessons for the Very Young, Volume 2 by Sandi Queen, AVKO’s Sequential Spelling, Spelling Power by Beverly L. Adams-Gordon, and The Getty-Dubay Italic Handwriting Series by Barbara Getty and Inga Dubay. Gina has found that Sequential Spelling works best for Genevieve, as well as Singapore Math and The Getty-Dubay Italic Handwriting Series.

Gina is planning on making a shift for next year as she considers adding George, currently four years old, to the mix, which will demand more of her time and reduce the amount of time she can work one on one with Genevieve. Though she likes what she has been using, she is thinking about shifting to the Robinson Curriculum in order to simplify, concentrate on “reading, writing, and arithmetic,” and focusing on teach Genevieve how to learn and become more of an independent learner.

In addition, Gina really wants to teach history chronologically and with a biblical worldview, which is why she is considering using The Mystery of History along with the Robinson Curriculum since history is not chronological in that curriculum. Since Genevieve really loves to read Gina feels this would be a good option since she will need to spend more one on one time with George beginning in the fall. She is planning to use My Father’s World (kindergarten/first grade) to teach George to read and do hands-on math. Gina loves My Father’s World, but as Genevieve enters third grade Gina feels the need to move away from so many individual subjects and trying to fit it all in: "Genevieve and I both have trouble focusing on so many different things at once.”

Currently they try to follow a routine for school, starting the school day at 9:00 a.m. They start with Bible, which generally consists of AWANA and Sunday school papers. After that they do math and language arts. Language arts consists of handwriting, spelling, and copy work, which is usually a memory verse or poem. Genevieve was doing a typing program and Rosetta Stone’s Spanish, but that has faded as Gina has focused more on the basic academic subjects. In the afternoon they do science and history (currently focused on geography), piano practice, art, and reading. For P.E. they enroll Genevieve in sports classes and take bike rides and walks.

Summary:


Name of Program: My Father’s World
Pace: State Standard/Spiral Based
Impetus: Unit Studies & Textbook/Traditional/Subject Driven
Application: John Dewey/Traditional/American & Charlotte Mason
Necessary Pool of Knowledge: State Standard/Textbook, Classical, Biblical Principle
Worldview: Protestant
Environment: Traditional
http://www.mfwbooks.com/

Name of program: Robinson Curriculum
Pace: Accelerated structure and emphasis (6 days a week, 5 hours per day, year-round), but allows for individual movement through the curriculum, Spiral Based (students cover subjects and themes over and over, and pick up more each time based on maturity and previous knowledge), Delayed Academics in science, Mastery/Spiral Based in math (Saxon)
Impetus: Textbook for Math (Saxon); Literature Based
Application: Unschooling (self-taught, parent is a resource, parent provides the items from which a child can choose)
Necessary Pool of Knowledge: Thomas Jefferson and Classical
Worldview: Founder -- Protestant, Actual Curriculum – None
Environment: Traditional with some Computer components
http://www.robinsoncurriculum.com/

Name of Program: The Mystery of History
Pace: None
Impetus: Unit Study
Application: Charlotte Mason, but can be used with others
Necessary Pool of Knowledge: Classical
Worldview: Protestant
Environment: Traditional
http://www.themysteryofhistory.com/

Name of Program: Spelling by Sound and Structure
Pace: Mastery Based
Impetus: Textbook/Traditional/Subject Driven
Application: John Dewey/Traditional/American
Necessary Pool of Knowledge: State Standards or Textbooks
Worldview: None, though publisher is protestant
Environment: Traditional
http://www.rodandstaffbooks.com/list/Rod_and_Staff_Spelling/

Name of Program: Singapore Math
Pace: State Standard/Spiral Based
Impetus: Textbook/Traditional/Subject Driven
Application: John Dewey/Traditional/American
Necessary Pool of Knowledge: State Standard/Textbook
Worldview: None
Environment: Traditional
http://www.singaporemath.com/Mathematics_s/1.htm

Name of Program: Primary Language Lessons

Pace: None
Impetus: None
Application: Charlotte Mason, but can be used with others
Necessary Pool of Knowledge: Classical
Worldview: None
Environment: Traditional
http://www.amazon.com/Primary-Language-Lessons-Emma-Serl/dp/0965273512

Name of Program: Language Lessons for the Very Young
Pace: None
Impetus: None
Application: Charlotte Mason, but can be used with others
Necessary Pool of Knowledge: Classical
Worldview: None
Environment: Traditional
http://www.queenhomeschool.com/productpages/Language%20Lessons/Language%20Lessons.html

Name of Program: Sequential Spelling
Pace: Mastery Based
Impetus: Textbook/Traditional/Subject Driven
Application: John Dewey/Traditional/American
Necessary Pool of Knowledge: State Standards or Textbooks
Worldview: None
Environment: Traditional
http://www.avko.org/sequentialspelling.html

Name of Program: Spelling Power
Pace: Mastery Based
Impetus: Textbook/Traditional/Subject Driven
Application: John Dewey/Traditional/American
Necessary Pool of Knowledge: State Standards or Textbooks
Worldview: None
Environment: Traditional/Computer
http://www.castlemoyle.com/shopping/spelling/spellingpower.htm

Name of Program: The Getty-Dubay Italic Handwriting Series
Pace: Mastery Based
Impetus: Textbook/Traditional/Subject Driven
Application: John Dewey/Traditional/American
Necessary Pool of Knowledge: None
Worldview: None
Environment: Traditional
http://www.handwritingsuccess.com/italic-handwriting-series.php