Florida Portfolio

Sometimes it is nice to just be told what to do. You know when you don't know where you want to eat, and you ask the person with you wherever you want and they comply with an answer. That's how I feel about the Florida Statute on End-of-the-Year Portfolios. It is pretty lax, but then you have to make the decision of just what is the best way to put it together. Well, the past three days I have been doing just that.

Research...

Research...

More Research... (no, I'm not from Pinellas, but they are a neighboring county)

Yes, I am a bit OCD, and on top of that I have to plan. Surprise on what the gender of your child is? Nope, not me. If I can find out and get things in order, that's me. I am not a fan of procrastination. So, before our crazy summer begins I have gotten a move on with what our Portfolio will look like. It is finally done, and now all that needs to take place is for Sept to come and start adding Luk's school work to it.

Starting point is knowing what needs to go inside this portfolio:

Simple Portfolio Evaluations

port·fo·lio noun  5: a selection of a student's work (as papers and tests) compiled over a period of time and used for assessing performance or progress

A homeschool portfolio is a sampling of your student’s work over a certain period of time, whether year-round or a traditional school year.  To use your portfolio for your annual evaluation, in the state of Florida, it must be reviewed by a Florida certified teacher and must show educational progress.  The average cost of a portfolio evaluation is $50 and a list of certified teachers can be found on our website (www.herijax.com). You can expect an evaluation to take about an hour.  Book an appointment for the evaluation at least 6 weeks prior to your anniversary date, so you are not rushed.

Your portfolio should have 5 - 9 work samples for each subject for each quarter. Dating all your students’ papers and organizing each subject in separate sections is very helpful.  In most cases the teacher will look at the portfolio and speak with the student to see that they have made progress from the beginning of the year to the end.  Most teachers are looking for simple and to the point work that the child has done.  Extra work, projects, lapbooks or a piece of artwork that cannot fit into the portfolio can be shared with the teacher as well.

Other items typically found in a portfolio are:

§  Your letter of intent to homeschool

§  Program description (Tip: photocopy the table of contents from your students text books)

§  Daily, Weekly or Monthly logs of your student's lessons and activities

§  Reading log (this includes what the student has read, what you have read to the student and what you have read about homeschooling or any subject you are teaching your student.)
Tip: Keep your book receipt from the library for your records

§  Pictures (some things cannot be documented as well as a good photograph)

§  Extracurricular activities log

§  Awards and certificates

§  Completed “Home Education Evaluation Form” (always keep a copy for your records)

With this here is what my last few nights and today have looked like:

Yes, Play time is essential!

Curriculum, Books, Portfolio, and Logan's Puppy

Cover

Who is Luk?

Letter of Intent

Curriculum List

Curriculum Excerpts

Monthly Calendar/Plans/Objectives

(our days differ, so this will only be filled out each week)

Journal Log 

(daily thoughts on progress)

 

Book List

Field Trip and PE Log

Subject Folders

These are the 27 Right Start Worksheets

 Previous Work to show initial progress

Show some of Luk's responsibilities

Quarterly Nature Journal (Science)

Quarterly Book Reports (Chapter books read together)

Vocabulary/Spelling (English)

Quarterly Historical Figures Report (history) 

Short Break for Cheetos

(notice orange ring around lips & orange smudges on shirt) 

Last are the Pre-Assessment Sheets for Reading

Also, there is going to be a copy of the Evaluation.

Inside the subject folders will carry the work throughout the year, and some already have what will be done so that I have it all in one area. Lesson plans will look at the monthly objective alone with the table of contents from each curriculum since it shows the scope of learning. 

Our days change due to illness, behavior issues, or just having dad home on Monday. So, my plans will only be a scope of learning along with journal entries. For those things that are done on the computer like his Math supplement, I will take photos. 

Hopefully this will be an adequate portfolio. I will only know so at the end of the year. I do think that it a good plan. I'm sure that over time things will be tweaked, but that's fine. Stay tuned to see what the final product will be. 

**The pages like the Nature Journal, Historical Figures, etc came from TOS Planner with me editing some for our needs.**

Co-op Field Trip to the Florida Aquarium & thoughts

I am reminded regularly why my husband and I decided four years ago to homeschool our son (now sons). At first, it was something that I brought out to question, and after time my husband began to have strong considerations for it. Now, we are strong union on this front, and God has confirmed this decision in more ways than one. Why homeschool has been a topic of decision, and will always be a topic to discuss as we go on this journey. I seek blogs of encouragement especially from those that write more eloquently than I, or I read books that bring closure to my questioning:

“I {know} deep in my heart that God designed me, as a mother, to be at home with my children. To even think of settling for something else would be to step out of His will.  No matter how difficult the homeschooling lifestyle might become, my commitment {is} to do God’s will, not my own. Even though I could selfishly choose an ‘easier’ lifestyle, I would have to disobey God to do so. I know in my heart that God has called me to homeschool…” 

Sally Clarkson

Yes, that. With that comes our trip to the Florida Aquarium. My mommy friends and I thought that we picked a good day to go being a Tuesday morning, however when we arrived we quickly realized that the decision was not that wise. We were seeing the big yellow school buses and mounds of children coming out to go explore the Aquarium. There were hundreds of kids, but we trucked along. Each of use pushing the second borns in their strollers.   It was loud, but the kids had great time.

Lessons learned from son and mother on how to deal with older children pushing and shoving these three out of the way, and Luk being the most vocal out of the group! (side note: the boy in the red was not the one that did the pushing. I don't want this sweet boy to get a bad rep. =D)

Lessons learned on how important it is to have an objective to these trips like a scavenger hunt.

Lessons learned that when a friend is sick and not able to join in on the fun that he is remembered and missed! Each wanting to take a photo just for him.

Lessons learned that as friends: they want to help each other explore and learn!

Lessons learned that after learning can come the fun in the sun.

That even the smallest in the groups seeks to find new challenges!

Lessons learned that after some play the learning continues.

The questions asked and the answers given are just the beginning and forever of our lives in this journey.

The trip was not seamless as Luk is vocal about when things happen to him. In two situations that day Luk was pushed, shoved, and hit by children that were in groups from the schools. They were older and bigger. We talked that day and today about how Jesus was beaten and killed by people that were mean, jealous, and scared. We talked about how we may not understand why they treat us in the manner that they do, but that's important that we reflect Christ and what he did. LOVE.

I watched to see what Luk's responses were. In first incident at the otter exhibit, he was taken aback and just watched in shock that he was pushed. He pouted and waited. Then when the left, I nudged him to go back up to look. The second situation occurred in the line for him and one of his friends to touch the star fish and other sea creature. The entire group just pushed their way through even the adult with them. I think I stood in shock as this woman just watched as they did that Luk and said nothing. I waited to see Luk. Me just staying silent so that my anger towards them wouldn't come out. He said, "HEY! You pushed me!" The three out of the four boys just ignored and snickered at him, while one of the boys said, "I didn't see you." Luk just looked and pouted. That boy kept looking back at Luk while his other friends tried to turn him around and talk with him. He had a concern for the way Luk felt, while the others ignored the "little boy." As the adult looked on, I asked Luk and his friend to come on the other side of the stroller to separate the two groups. I made eye contact with the "chaperone" (whatever that means), and gave her a look of irritation and I'm sure the angered showed.

There were a few things that I thought about at this time:
(1) I am glad that I didn't have someone chaperoning my son during that time because I created a teaching moment when it was over. While the three of the boys got away with being mean to a five year old, and one boy not sure how to feel left with no answers.
(2) It gave me a time to observe how Luk will respond to conflict. I'm not sure if his reaction was best, but I am also not sure as to what I was suppose to say. I can only hope that is a correct correction, and that it was better than sitting idly by like the other adult in this story.
(3) Luk quickly forgot about the issues, and he had fun the rest of the day.

Sigh... it broke my heart to see Luk get pushed around. He did get hit in the face. What was the hardest thing about it was seeing those boys not care and that "an older person who accompanies young people at a social gathering to ensure proper behavior" was not doing her job. It made me notice that this year Luk would be going into Kindergarten and he would walking the halls with boys that age...  and "chaperones" that will not be doing their part.

I think it is important for me to note that this in NO means is saying that I want to shelter Luk, but rather that the situation and his learning after the situation was MY responsibility.

"They emphasized character, not conformity."

No, we will not conform to that behavior because that is what your friends are doing. No, we will not conform to the world and the way that others think we should act. No, we are not of this world! For Luk and Logan to know what it means to be of the world, they have to see it! We chose to NOT conform, but to grow and be like Christ. We are called to love. As I told Luk, Jesus loved those that killed Him. It may be hard; It may be painful, but Luk, you are to love those that are mean to you. Those boys will only see a boy that showed love and pain.

At the end of the day there was more character building learning than what this momma expected, but there was a wonderful amount learned beyond that for me. I end with Luk's scavenger hunt sheet:

Blog by Candid Diversions

**I found this blog and had to share. I have highlighted some of favorites.**

30 for 30 - Benefits of Homeschooling

1. You can sleep in.

2. You [Mom] can learn the things you've always wanted to learn. Didn't have time for Shakespeare when you were in school? Start now! Always wanted to take French but your school only offered Spanish? This is your chance.

3. There's less wasted time (this applies to the children. So much of "regular" school is waiting in line, waiting for the next thing to happen, waiting to leave...)

4. Your children have the chance to see you at your best...

5. ...and your worst. Yes, this is actually a good thing.

6. You can skip the boring parts.

7. You can slow down and savor the good parts.

8. There's lots of time for reading.

9. You realize that everything can be educational: sorting the laundry, a walk around the block, making change at the grocery store...

10. You get to choose the when / where / why / and, most importantly, who, of socializing.

11. You can cuddle up on the couch, the floor, or a bed when you read aloud.

12. Chores can be part of the curriculum.

13. You can kiss the principal whenever you want.

14. You don't have to create bright, eye catching bulletin boards. (This was one of Philip's most hated parts of teaching school.)

15. You can pray out loud and read your Bible throughout the day.

16. You can visit places off season (no lines!) or during the day while everyone else is in school.

17.  You can take a week off. Because of sickness, because of bad (or good) weather, or "just because".

18. There are no threatened budget cuts to art or music classes.

19. You can stay up late to look at the stars or a meteor shower.

20. No embarrassing health class - just candid discussions with mom or dad as necessary.

21. You don't have to wear shoes.

22. Recess is highly encouraged. Dodge ball is permissible. If you have to bathe or shower with someone else, it will be someone who shares the same parents as you.

23. You have time to pursue your own interests, no matter how arcane or engrossing.

24. Bullying is dealt with immediately, whether you're the victim or the perpetrator.

25. If you don't like lunch you can make your own.

26. Naptime doesn't end after Kindergarten.

27. No fundraising - no candy bars, no magazines, no popcorn. No forms that make adults want to hide when they see your child coming.

28. Playing the Wii occasionally counts as Phys. Ed.

29. You (the parent) don't miss anything: cute things they say, funny expressions they make, or that "a-ha!" moment when they figure something out.

30. No homework. In other words, once you get finished with a school day, you do not have to tackle another 3 hours of worksheets, book reports, and projects. When Mom says you're done for the day, you're done! And no terrifying bus ride home, either. And Mom? No carpool lanes.

What can I say? I'm a big fan!

When will you be "official"?

We will be registering Luk for Kindergarten in the Fall, this will be happening between August and September. I'm trying to figure out when I want the school year to start because usually Sept and Oct are our off months. With that being said, tonight the good ol' husband and I are going to sit down and figure out how we want to plan the school year as far as time frame goes. Our curriculum is not changing, Luk did a great job this past "year" with what we have for him. Phonics has been our strong hold and including math at different times.

Here are some of things he has completed and knows:

• Explode the Code Book 1 - completed level K phonics, can read level K books, complete set one of Bob Books.
• Explode the Code Book 1 1/2 - I am picking out the pages that I feel were not elaborated on in book 1. Sentence framing/comprehension and more in-depth reading comprehension. I highly recommend this book for those pages. 
• Right Start Math - He knows parallel lines, quadrilaterals & triangles, simple addition, count to 100, and we are now going off Right Start Math to get him familiar with money for some responsibilities lesson I want to do. They do money in Right Start, but I'm going over recognition and value. He knows how to visibly see quantities to 10 without counting, knows how to work the abacus, and patterning/grouping/graphing. 
• Science - we are doing living things still as we are growing our plants at home. He is also learning food chains & food cycles.
• Geography - learning maps, address, Smith & Pataso our Compassion children and their lifestyles
• Handwriting Without Tears - has been going good, but slow. ETC has a lot of writing so he is burnt out on it, but the days that there is not much to do bring it out and we practice penmanship. He knows that book comes out and he has to do it perfect. With ETC, I have let him get sloppy, but I have to say that each time I bring out HWT his next time doing ETC is better. He knows the expectation of doing it right and keeping it that way. 
• Positive Action Bible - we are only on Lesson 7 which is Abraham and Isaac. I've noticed that staying on this curriculum is not easy as we go through out the year doing different things. FOr example, Christmas we do an Jesse Tree Advent Devotional and now as Easter approaches and focus on this being our most holiday of the year we now are doing this Easter Devotional. I have been blessed to have found these from Ann Voskamp and that she has been so generous to share them for free. I highly recommend them. They are beautifully written, and I think I enjoy hanging our ornaments everyday just as much as him. I will be posting our Easter adventure with this soon. SO, needless to say Positive Action is great, but we just haven't gotten through it all, yet.

Logan is officially a toddler (17 months old), and I am devastated by it. =D He has been walking since 10 months old, been running since 11 months old, and talking like crazy. If you pay really close attention you can make out his words. He will say crazy words that are too big for him like battery or phone. Yet, I can't get the kid to say car. It's funny. He says dog (and it's sound), cat, mama, dada, coo-coo (my mom), papa, nana (banana and DH's mom), drink, open.... So on, he is along for the ride. He sings and dances. Recently, I was in the kitchen and he was pulling at the alphabet magnets on the frig. I said, "that's A." He says, "A." Then I said, "can you say B." He said it, and began humming the ABC song. Sheesh. He catches on quick. It is dangerous when it comes to his Evil Knievel skills.

I think that wraps it up for now. Here is our Jesse Tree Journey

Luk is a Reader

I haven't posted this for awhile, but Luk is reading. He finished the ETC Book 1 about a month ago, and we have been going through parts of ETC 1 1/2. I decided to purchase it, and see what all it had inside. I was very impressed. It had some of the same things that book 1 had, however it had two things that book 1 never fully introduced and that is building a sentence from jumbled words and further reading comprehension.

So, for example there is a word box with: jam, fans, bass, Al, van, bag

You then have the sentences to build:
- Nan _______ the fat cat. (fans, there is photo)
- _______ is in the bag. (Al)
- Ann adds gas to the ______. (van)
- Jan's cap is a _______. (bag)
- Sal sat in the _______. (jam)
- A mad _______ sat in a pan. (bass)

Sentence Building there is a photo with words then a blank sentence line.
these words jumbled up: the can., at, is, Sal, mad
- Sal is mad at the can.

van., has, the, Ann
- Ann has the van.

pan., in, a, naps, Hal
- Hal naps in a pan.

So, we are doing this to further his reading comprehension and sentence building along with his reading. He is really doing great. He picked up a DVD and said "qu-a-ck p-a-ck" that says "Quack Pack." Bob books set 1 are done, and he continues to read his library books.

So, we move on.

Pray for Nina

Pray for Nina

Structure, but oh so Fun

I like structure more than organizing. I like the routine and schedule of things, and it shows in Luk. He really picks up on the order that things are done. In his Sunday School class a couple of Sundays ago, he had a special guest as his teacher our wonderful pastor (who happens to be the dad of Luk's best buddy, Noah). He made sure that the preacher man stayed on the routine of his regular Sunday School teacher. When my husband was off of work that following Monday, he asked if dad could be his school teacher for the morning. We were happy to oblige, however dad had to stay in the order that mommy has it.

It's a funny thing though coming from this child:

Are you seeing what happens in one day at our home? He learns the word "incognito," and soon he comes out with glasses and guns because he is hiding who he really is. Then one day we have Woody, but we can't find that hat... so we make one with a paper plate and string. How about learning about those that worshiped golden idols and not God, well that is a job for a Storm Trooper and within five minutes Iron Man. That same day, well, we're going out to eat with Astronaut Commander Luk, followed by bedtime ritual with Mario, and a quick change to fight Joker Daddy as Batman.

For a kid that loves his structure, he LOVES playing with his imagination. Don't forget to give your kids their free time to do what they want to do. For us, it's dress up and conquer the world of injustice. As Luk begins to learn how to read and becomes more confident in his writings we have began the art sentences. Another favorite for him during fun time. He informed me he wanted a journal, today. He tells us what he wants to say, and we help him spell it if it is a hard word. Here are two his most recent writings:

"Papa, your bosses are mean for making you go far away." We are assuming the four people are his bosses. He was not happy that my dad had to be home late from work to go out of town. Result- letter to the bosses.

How about this one:

"Jesus Died on the Cross for our Sins"

I am particularly proud of this one. Every night he gets a devotional with Reson and I before he heads to bed. This night my mom did the devotional because we were gone with our youth group to Winter Jam. He wanted to write this.

In the midst of all the structure that he prefers and the structured imagination time, he loves being with Logan:

Both in their little world, but staying close to each other. Precious brother love.

It's not just his brother, but his dear friends. In particular, this guy (Boah Noah, as he calls him because he hears his family call him that):

As I see him grow into the man of God we are raising him to be, I love that in one minute he is structured and serious, however he can be the most imaginative kid around. In the end of the day, he learns and knows truth. Beautiful! As he told me this evening entering my room for devotional and prayer (dressed as this):

"Hey, Woman!" followed by mounds of giggles... sigh... fun structure, that's Luk for ya!