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Schoolhouse Smarties ~ Math Monday
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11:28 AM, Nov. 9, 2009 .. Posted in Contests .. 0 comments .. Link ![]() Ready for some questions in Math? There are three age categories of questions today. Be sure to email the answers to me at thogate@thehomeschoolmagazine.com. Correct answers will be entered into our drawings at the end of the month. We will be giving away two gift certificates to the Schoolhouse Store.
Okay, here are your questions:
Alrighty, email me your answers. Also on the email, I will need your name, age, state you live in, and email address. I'm looking forward to hearing from you! To enter you must live in the US. Click here for full contest rules. Blessings, Classical Education ~ Teaching From a Place of Rest, Pt. 2
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As my children become older and my teaching load increases due to more students, teaching from a place of rest seems quite inviting to me. It is like an oasis in the middle of a teaching storm. I yearn to be able to teach with a sense of calm and peace. I think I have reached the tip of this iceberg but I am always eager to listen on conversations (usually cyber ones) that deal with rest.
11:16 AM, Nov. 9, 2009 .. Posted in classical .. 0 comments .. Link As I noted a few weeks ago, teaching with a sense of rest can mean many things. It can mean a sense of contentment with how you are teaching your children and the curriculum you are using. It can also mean paring down the subjects you are teaching to the bare minimum. This concept scares many homeschooling moms. This idea is equivalent to academic suicide to the minds of many. This flies in the face of modern education. Today in public schools, the students' days are filled with numerous classes that are not just academic in nature but vocational as well. The premise for this is that the schools are trying to prepare the student for the world and a job, hence, computer classes, home ec. classes, welding classes, etc. In overloading the student in this manner, we are increasing the odds that he or she will not be able to learn anything very well. The basics will be pushed under the rug, so to speak, to make room for the extras. Therefore, we end up with young adults that do not know much about anything. We, then, wonder why Johnny can't write or read when he graduates high school. When we focus on the basics and a few extras, we have time to teach in a thorough and effective way. When your child is doing the basics of math and language arts (grammar, spelling, writing, lit. study, vocab) plus the extras of foreign language (some are doing 2 or 3 different language studies) and content subjects (history, science, geography, etc,) there is no wonder that it is taking them much longer than 6 hours to get their school work done. Also, what are they truly learning? Climbing Parnassus by Tracy Lee Simmons and The Latin-Centered Curriculum by Andrew Campbell speaks to simplifying our academic expectations of our children. In doing this, we can teach more deeply and effectively. There is a sense of rest in teaching this way. Also, teaching this way requires trust. We need to trust that God will fill in the gaps in the way that only He can. Trust is key in rest. The first few years of our homeschooling was chock full of various subjects like geography, science, vocab, Latin and Spanish plus all of the CM variables of picture study and composer study and we haven't even gotten to the basics yet. Our days were full and I taught with a cloud of pressure hovering over me the entire time. When we didn't finish all of our plans (which happened regularly) I felt like a total failure. Another consequence to this kind of schedule was children who were burnt out come the end of the first term. They were beginning to hate learning. This is not how I had envisioned our homeschooling to be. Again, failure. It has taken me a few years to clue in, but I am seeing now that less is better. I am able to give more time to my kids to teach them. We do not have time pressures anymore. Our frantic, crazy days have been replaced with a relaxed, calm atmosphere. It is a soothing balm to my soul. Our days are now focused on math, reading, writing and grammar. We do one content subject which is history. We do science but in a very relaxed manner. We will not do science as a formal subject until my children hit Grade 7. I do teach Latin to my children but it, too, is done in a relaxed manner as my children are dyslexic and foreign langauages are tricky for them. We also do Plutarch, Greek Mythology, Poetry, Recitation, and Shakespeare but they are done one a day. Even this sounds like a lot but it is do-able for us. We do not feel the familiar pressures of days gone by. There is that sense of calm and peace that I have been trying to attain for the last 5 years. I am sure that I will always have to strive for this rest every year that we homeschool but I think I am up to the challenge.
Julia lives on the Canadian Prairies with her husband, homeschooling their 3 children (10,8,6) and is attempting to give them a Classical Education. You can read more at her blog. Craft Corner ~ Homemaking
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11:13 AM, Nov. 9, 2009 .. Posted in CraftCorner .. 0 comments .. Link ![]() There are some pretty neat things about homemaking, and some pretty neat things you can use in your home! Try one of these lovely ideas!
American Heritage Foundation -- free American history curriculum Click banner to visit AHEF website."If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." ~~ Thomas Jefferson The American Heritage Education Foundation is a non-profit organization created to help educate our children in the history of our nation and the philosophies upon which it was established. They believe that the focus on diversity in our schools is tearing the country apart and threatening its survival, and that it needs to be balanced with a study of our country's history. They focus on four themes in US history: Freedom, Unity, Progress, and Responsibility. In order to promote these four themes, the American Heritage Foundation created an American history/citizenship curriculum for K-12. They provide this $150 value curriculum free of charge as a free PDF download, as PDF documents on a free CD-ROM, or for $19.50 in a printed notebook format. The curriculum is provided in 3 levels: elementary, middle school, and high school. They also provide a Spanish language variation in the elementary level. Each level of curriculum is over 180 pages long, with information for the teacher, lesson plans, group activities and individual activities. These materials are designed for public school use, and some of the activities are obviously created with a larger group in mind than a typical homeschool family (like the Colonial America Simulation Game). These could be adapted with some effort, or they could be used in a homeschool group or co-op setting. Now, I will admit that adapting materials intended for a public school classroom to the family homeschool isn't always easy, but sometimes it can be worth it. Although the American Heritage Foundation is a secular organization, the curriculum refers to the founding father's belief in God and the Bible with factual respect. The Christian beliefs of the Colonial settlers and founding fathers is not ignored, but it is still a secular curriculum. This makes it suitable for classroom use, or use in a homeschool group with members of varying beliefs. Some of the citizenship topics covered include:
For myself, I have to admit that I will not use all these lessons and activities, but I will use some of them. Most of our citizenship lessons are oral discussions. We aren't likely to use most of the worksheets, but we are more likely to use the activity ideas. I think this curriculum lends itself to a homeschool group or co-op more easily than to an individual family situation. BUT, it's a FREE curriculum!! Request your own copy and check it out for yourself. Even if it's not something you'll use regularly, there may be some helpful information or even one activity that makes it worthwhile. Get it for your homeschool group ... or you might fall in love with it, and take the time to make it work for your family. You have nothing to lose! If you'd like to help promote the American Heritage Foundation, you can donate to their non-profit organization. These donations will help them continue to share their curriculum free of charge to public schools, private schools, and home schools. This item was provided free for our review as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew. We received no other compensation, and this review is our honest opinion. Click the TOS Homeschool Crew banner at the top to read more reviews on this product by other Homeschool Crew members. Trusting In Him, April It's time for contest #3!![]() Contest Giveaway #3 Beeyoutiful's Tea Tree Oil To enter just tell me about your favorite pet! Was it a dog, cat, horse, hamster? Do you still have her/him? Entries taken until Wednesday night and I'll announce the winner on Thursday. Please leave me a way to get in touch with you if you win. Our sweet little kitty, Raider, is now living in NC with my best friend. She has a new name, Bella. We miss her a lot. I want to know what she is doing and if she misses us. ![]() HI RAIDER, I MEAN BELLA!! I hope you live 20 long years and give my favorite friend lots of love and company. WE MISS YOU! Apollo Eight Astronauts Read From Genesis 1968The other night my daughter came to me with her Awana book and said "It says in here that in the 60's the Astronauts read from the book of Genesis on Christmas Eve from the Moon. Is that true or something Awana just made up?" I happened to be sitting at the computer so I played this for her...http://www.archive.org/details/Genesis-ApolloEight-24Dec1968 Pretty cool! I am assuming I don't remember this from the original airing since I was only 3 in 1968! But I do remember hearing it before. It is quite touching to listen to and somewhat sad to think about how much our world has changed in the last 40 years. I can't imagine something like this happening today and obviously neither could my daughter since she thought they had made it up for Awana. I am praying for a revival for America! How awesome it would be to NOT be surprised to hear prayer in this country! How wonderful it would be for my children and grandchildren to live in an America that honored the one true God! Please join me in praying for our country. Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,
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