For states where you have to log hours...

[my2guys]

Although this won't apply to us until we start 1st grade, I've been wondering about this. One of the things that appeals to me most about the HOD programs is that they accomplish the necessary learning without having to spend hours and hours at it. BUT, I live in a state (NY) where we have to log 180 days/900 hours. I'm sure there are those of you also living in states where you have to log hours, so my question is, how do you do this and not lose the beauty of the fact that it only really takes a couple of hours to "do school"? (DH is a ps elementary teacher, so I am well aware that the 7 hours that the kids spend in school are not 7 hours of teaching/structured learning time. ) So how do you all do it?

[paliz]

In our state (PA) we need to show 180 days or 900 hours (for the elementary age). I have a paper that keeps attentance. I just fill in the date to show we had school. At this age, I could never do 900 hours. I guess the only other thing to do if you have to have the hours ( I would double check that you can't do one or other) is you count everything as school. Going to the grocery store is home ec., cleaning and cooking is home ec. and so forth.

[Carrie]

Sharon,

I know for other moms who have the hourly and attendance requirement.... they usually photo-copy the Introduction and description pages about our programs in the front of the Teacher's Guide they are using of ours (to hand in and show how they are covering each area). They also sometimes hand in their entire Teacher's Guide to show their year's worth of lesson plans if needed. This really helps relieve pressure from any school district, as they can easily see you are covering all of your bases in an organized fashion.

Then, they school from their guide mainly in the morning, leaving the afternoon for more "Creative Time". The creative time is often broken up each afternoon into things like... 30 min. of educational computer, 30 min. of exercise, 30 minutes of art/creating, 30 min. of free reading time, 30 min. of books on tape/read-alouds/or library. Right there is 2 and 1/2 hours for each afternoon. You get the idea of how quickly that time adds up. All of the things I listed are actually tasks we logged time for when I was teaching public school. So, they can easily count for part of the school day. And truthfully, my kiddos do these things each afternoon on their own in some form usually, so it's not hard to do.

Just some thoughts to ponder!

Blessings,
Carrie

[my2guys]

In our state (PA) we need to show 180 days or 900 hours (for the elementary age). I would double check that you can't do one or other

Hmmm...Maybe it is one or the other. That would be great b/c I plan on schooling when dh is working so we'd make that with no problem. Maybe I'll post a question about that over on HSR to see if I can find a NYer over there. (Can't remember if we have any NY HODies on here?? )

[inHistiming]

However, I just moved here 6 months ago, so I'm just learning all the requirements (sorry for the lack of punctuation-my period key isn't working!) I know that my LEAH chapter leader said that the 900 hours breaks down to 225 per quarter She suggested only putting 225+ for the hours-not listing the exact amount of hours- because we all know that we spend so much more time teaching our kids aside from formal "school" My kids also spend a lot of "creative" time every day, making buildings with legos, helping make lunch, making necklaces, drawing, free reading time, computer time, etc My 4 year old, who is not actually being schooled yet, spent ALL DAY yesterday playing with legos, reading instructions (pictures) on how to build the Clone Turbo Tank All of his time, except lunch, dinner, and bedtime reading, was spent doing this What focus! Anyway, they are constantly learning, and it doesn't and shouldn't have to all be at a desk or table We spend time looking at the stars with my daughter's new telescope (Christmas gift), although where we are it is almost impossible to find a clear night to use the thing! My son got a Crystal Growing Kit, so we've grown crystals on our "off" time We spend time observing the snow falling, or experimenting with the sheets of ice that form on our driveway Being from Florida, we've never seen any of those things, so it makes for great science! So, I guess I'm not much help with New York regs-maybe your Chapter has a manual you can buy? I just wanted to say hello from NY and maybe encourage you and anyone else that you are almost certainly logging those required hours with your daily tasks added to your schooling Chores are life skills!My 8 and 10 year olds wash their own clothes,; I'm rambling, the list just goes on and on Everyone ENJOY your homeschool!

[Tansy]

I used to be a NY'er and Boy O Boy was I glad when I moved to TX! before I had Formally started home schooling.

If my Dad the NY school superintendent is your superintendent (thank goodness he is retired now)... it reads 180 days for a total of 900 hours. you may find the interpetation of this rule to be interperated Differently by each district. I'm pretty sure the school superintendent (SS) is responsible for your children. So on top of all the work and Flack a SS takes over his district, if their are 6 home schooling Mom's with 2-4 kids each. He has a class of 18 kids he is required to answer to the state for. read that to mean = headache, extra hours ect.

Please note some parents are just unhappy with the school system or a specific teacher, so they pull their kids out and say they are home schooling but do nothing. 3-4 months later they get tired of the situation and dump their kids back in school, these kids are now very behind and need special Ed to catch them up. My Dad has presented me with figures closing in on 50% of the kids pulled out end up this way. (I won't go into all the er um "discussions".... we have had on this issue).

So That all said, You really need to show your SS your not a FLAKEY Mom but one he can trust. Carries suggestions are right on! He has seen Carries program and I'm paraphrasing he said "Well if you actually DO IT! It covers all the important topics, But its too slanted* and DD won't get a real view of the world." *refers to how much the bible is stressed in the program. I'll leave off all the socialization commentary.

My Dad is in Mexico at the moment so I can't call him and ask a bunch of questions.

Seriously Call or just walk in and talk to the district reviewing your paperwork. Ask them how to make your stuff flow though the system easily. Go to the horses mouth! I know my Dad would prefer to spend 30 min with a HS mom who will file her stuff correctly. Than play telephone tag for 2 weeks with one who was afraid to ask.

P.S. I would like to note, My Dad Loves Jesus, Loves Children, and Loved his job.

[blessedmomof4]

HI-I'm a former NY'er and I homeschooled for years there-unless anything has changed in the past 4 years, I used to also simply mark 225 hours per quarter on my quarterly report, and 45 days each quarter, for 4 quarters. They never had a problem with that in my district. I was in Brooklyn. I am also glad I don't live there anymore-here in NV, they recently changed the law to be like TX-a one-time notification and that's it! I once considered moving to NJ, as there is no notification requirement at all
One tip from my former local homeschool group-less is more. Give the minimum required on your reports-you can make narrative report cards, detailing your child's progress, or assign grades. A copy of Carrie's introduction for whichever level of HOD you are using should more than suffice as a plan of instruction. Try www.leah.org for info.

[Tansy]

TX actually doesn't have a one time notification. Tho they do recommend that you tell your school district your child will be schooled privately, if you pull your child out of a district. If the district does ask, you only need to send a letter of assurance, saying you cover all required areas.

[blessedmomof4]

ah, even better than I thought-maybe I'll move to TX next

[my2guys]

Thanks for all the replies, ladies. So, looks like it is 900 hours, but it seems like the path has been forged by many other homeschooling families so I won't worry about it too much. Fortunately, it's not something I have to think about for a couple of years. (Leave it to NY to make things complicated )