Question about number of hours required

[thehergatts]

Hi! I am a planner by nature and I am thinking ahead. I hope that some of you can help me out here!!

In Ohio, you have to agree to make sure that your child receives 900 hours of instruction each year. What types of things can I count? If LHFHG only takes 2 - 2.5 hours a day, that gives me 12.5 hours a week, but I need about 27!

Any ideas?

Thanks so much!!!!

[Mom2Monkeys]

Teaching your child life skills (chores, healthy eating habits, hand washing, etc.). P.E....as in playing outside ) If you talk about the trees and animals and bugs outside, that's a nature study which would count toward science and if you talk about how God created them, then that's more time studying Bible. Helping you with a recipe is math and home ec (measuring cups, fractions, counting how many eggs, etc.) Pairing up socks is math and thinking skills. Sorting clothes for washing is math and thinking skills (categorizing). Kids in school are learning about sharing, taking turns, library skills, standing in line quietly...that counts toward their hours. You don't have to have your nose in the books for it to be learning time. Everything you do in your day is homeschooling! So, by all means mark those hours as done! Don't forget dancing and singing and clapping to the beat of the music counts too. LOL

[my3sons]

Great ideas, Tamara! You could easily add these "official" sounding names to your schedule:

RECESS: playing outdoors or indoors (when I taught public school, we had 45 minutes a day for this)
PHYSICAL EDUCATION: running around outside, biking, jumping jacks/sit-ups/push-ups, exercise videos (in ps we had 1 1/2 to 2 hours a week for this)
NATURE STUDY: enjoying God's creation, whether that may be indoors looking at nature books, or outdoors enjoying the day; I'd say you could do 20 minutes of this daily)
LIFE SKILLS (Health): any of the things Tamara mentioned, like personal hygiene (brushing teeth, etc.), baking/cooking, character training, etc. - probably 20 minutes a day
MUSIC: turn on Christian radio, play some classical music, etc. - teaching them to appreciate music (in ps we had 1 1/2 to 2 hours a week for this)
ART/CREATIVE TIME: using art supplies to create anything, puzzles, building with legos, etc. (in ps we had 1 1/2 to 2 hours a week for art)
DRAMATIC PLAY: dress-up in clothes time, acting out this or that, etc. (the kindergarten class did this daily for 20-30 minutes)
COMPUTER TIME (we had a 1 hour lab twice a week in third grade)
AUDIO BOOKS (15 minutes daily)
EDUCATIONAL VIDEO: any video you are watching that they learn something from (i.e. Barney); most teachers probably counted this 1 hour a week in ps
READ-ALOUDS: reading to your dc before bedtime, etc. (maybe 20 minutes a day you could count, etc.)
LIBRARY: checking out books from library (this can be your own "personal" library within your own home too, or the church library, or public library - whatever you already do here is fine - the idea is to have them pick books and enjoy them (we had this 1 hour a week in ps)

You really don't have to add anything to LHFHG. It's an awesome program - we've done it twice and loved it. But, I thought this list might be helpful in noting any other things you are already doing in a more official "school-type sounding" way. Just using a portion of this list should put you well over the minutes required.

HTH!
In Christ,
Julie

[gracelikerain]

Yeah, I wouldn't sweat it at all. I don't "count" hours. We do all that was mentioned & I am sure you do too!
I put down for my hours....225+ for each quarter report that I send in, which is 4 for NY.
Hope this helps!

[marypoppins]

Hi Kristy,

I'm in Ohio, too. First of all, for Kindergarten, you are only required to complete 450 hours of instruction, and depending on the age of your dc, you may not even have to notify until first grade. Many of the homeschool moms I know with kindergartners do not actually send in paperwork until the child is of compulsory age which is 6 in OH. I personally like to have my bases covered so to speak, so I did notify for my kinder. dd this year. Secondly, you are not required to turn in any paperwork detailing how you spent each of those hours. It is just a matter of placing a check in the box on the form stating that you agree to provide that many hours of instruction. The ladies have given you many wonderful ideas already of things that are considered "educational."

A couple of years ago, when my ds was in 1st grade, we used K12 through the Ohio Virtual Academy, and with OHVA being a charter school, we did have to input hours weekly, working toward a total of 920 by year end. They let us include any drive-time to and from outings and activities. Also, things like drawing, working puzzles, playing with Legos, educational computer games, reading aloud, learning a new chore or skill, helping to cook dinner, taking hikes, swimming lessons, music lessons, and playing team sports, were all examples of things I was allowed to include. Like I said before, with OHVA, we actually had to have 920 hours by the end of the year, but we ended up with well over 1000 hours by April.

[thehergatts]

Thanks for the responses. I'm not "worried" about it, but I do have some family members that don't agree with our decision to homeschool. I guess I want to be able to account for what I am agreeing to do! KWIM?

Marypoppins - I am actually debating whether or not I want to notify this fall for Kindergarten or wait until he is 6. I still haven't made up my mind about that, yet.

Thanks again!
Kristy