An Assignment sheet is simply all the work I expect (hope) my children to work through in a study block (6-10 weeks).  Each child has their own assignment sheet – for those children who are independent learners they monitor their study by using this sheet, ensuring they are keeping a balance of all their subjects (actually Jessica writes her own sheet and submits it to me for approval).  For younger students I keep a copy myself and monitor how they are going as the weeks progress.

 

I write sheets at the end of each block before we begin the next block (I use the word ‘study blocks’ instead of terms).  Depending on family life and how the student is going with the work, these sheets may be tweaked as we go along.  My purpose is to teach my children to be accountable and though I may need consequences if they have been slack I also realise that because homeschooling is all about taking life opportunities, often times we don’t have the same amount of study time as I had planned so their assignments get shuffled around with no consequences set – that is just life!

 

I use Excel to write these up, so there are lots of columns going down the page and along the top is a column for every week of our study block (6-10 weeks)
Down the left side is all the subjects that they study. I divide this up into categories

• Relationship (Bible, Character)
• Basic Skills (Discipline subjects - things that need practicing every day - math, reading, writing, typing, music, foreign language etc – this is different for each student)
• General Knowledge (History, Science, World View, etc... whatever they are learning)
• Workshop Subjects (these we learn together as a family, with the Homeschool co-op and friends)
• Delight Subjects (Subjects they choose for themselves or enhance their individual gifts and talents- this can be short term or long term)
• Reading List (this is prescribed by me - or approved by me) and infers a reading journal is kept as well
• Family Life – which includes family read alouds,
• Individual Pursuits (Productive Free time)

 

I then plot what work I expect to see finished in each week.

• Eg. I expect a balance of Bible and Character to be done over a month (5x Character, 15x Bible)
• math, writing, piano etc gets done 3-5 times a week (depending on the student),
• I plot in what history unit, or Science lessons need to be done,
• speech once a month,
• Keepers x2 month
• etc.....

 

If I keep the assignment sheets, then it becomes a part of my record keeping.

I have been away from my blog – and many other online activities – for 3-4 weeks now.  I needed a break and though I didn’t intend to stop blogging life took over and that is what happened.  Looking back, I’m kind of glad that is what happened.  Sometimes I think my blog world takes over my thinking – there is always the next blog post to write – and it was good to see that it just stopped.   Over the next few days or so I’ll post about what has been going on in my world.  It has been fairly crazy-busy! 

But in the meantime, I've been thinking over the last year - the things we've done well, the things I feel we could do better on, and the things that didn't happen at all!  It is good to review before setting forth and setting new goals and plans for next year.

These are the things that come to mind that have gone well in 2009, things that have worked for us:

• Nomi and Daniel have established the ability to do daily independent work.  Read Daily Diligences
  
• Josh and Jess have worked well with assignment sheets, I've used assignment sheets for Nomi and Daniel.  Read about our Assignment Sheets
  
• Monday was a Family Workshop day - this was the day I taught those lessons that we learnt together or in various configurations - writing, creation science, speeches, money, Auslan
  
• My main focus this year was teaching Daniel to read and though he isn't 100% there, there has been tremendous progress.  He started to write as well, often spending an hour or so writing in his free time. 
  
• Daniel established a habit of 1.5 hours of Individual time spent after lunch (where he doesn't interrupt me)  Read After Lunch Routine
  
• We scored well when I added to Nomi's discipline studies an art project each day.  She has explored various media and forms
• Joshua moved from History to Philosophy, completing Francis Schaeffer How Should we then Live DVD course
  
• We enjoyed Living Math stories and activities
  
• We began Institute of Excellence in Writing and have done several units, the kids use these tips and techniques in most of their writing.
  
• Jessica has done well at dress making (a Keepers project) she feels like she is 'getting it'
  
• I established 'Cooks helper' as a part of our daily chore roster. Consequently Josh, Jess and Nomi's cooking skills have improved greatly.
  
• My Whole Life Diary has been very beneficial in balancing all my roles and responsibilities this year.  Read a summary of my Whole Life Diary
  
• Nomi is now blogging and writing regularly
• list to be continued....
  

 

 

Things that I reflect on and think "we did not so well here"

• reading lists - though Josh and Jess do well at reading lists, Nomi struggled, she needed more involvement from me.
  
• Character – I have come to realise that this is a discipleship lesson - they need an older/wiser person to discuss this aspect of personal growth with.  Though Joshua studying it independently has had some success I believe doing it together will make more impact. 
  
• Nomi isn't as far along in her ability to research topics (though she is processing non fiction information better)
• Daniel still struggles with free time – still relies on too much screen time (or his desire is for too much screen time)
  
• How I wish we could get into Nature journaling (Check out Melissa’s blog - she says it well - just what I feel like)
• Josh and Jess Bible Study (though they studied other things that was unplanned but really good – I still want them to do the Wisdom unit from Heart of Wisdom)
• Activity Box for Daniel – Jessica and I made an activity box on the theme of Pirates with the idea of helping Daniel use his time wisely.  Unfortunately there were too many dependent activities - which was silly because the idea was for time he had to do by himself!
• List to be continued...
  

 

More abusive teachers are in the news, this time two teachers tortured and abused several special needs children in their care--children who couldn't speak out about what was happening to them.

Parents, even your special needs children deserve to be at home where it is safe, and where you can be there to protect them. Homeschooling special needs children can be done!

Check out these resources to start:

• E-Book: Teaching Jeremiah--a complete curriculum for teaching special needs children in preschool and early elementary grades.
• E-Book: Someplace Called Special--A Look at Homeschooling Special Needs Children
• Special Words for Special Needs--Blog posts by a mom homeschooling several special needs children.
  

You can find many more resources by searching online, and don't be afraid to ask questions! Trust is a huge thing for children with special needs. Your child trusts and needs you, not a person that neither you nor your child has never met before. You wouldn't just leave your child with strangers otherwise, why do so just because that stranger works for a public school?

Tia Linschied
Senior Editor of HSB

... and our entries are:

snowboard snowman

 seashells

musical one

Pirate snowman

Cutie snowman

 

 

 

 

It really just warms your heart, 

doesn’t it?  Ü

 

 Last week for our Discovering Great Artists lesson, we learned about Vincent Van Gogh.  We used his famous painting, Starry Night (above) to copy.  We used either black or dark blue paper, some of the children made houses or other buildings with paper collage.  We used oil pastels for the landscape and then added stars, moons, clouds and more blue sky with acrylic paints. 

 

Here are the girls' paintings:

Bethany (11 yrs) 

 

 

Ainsley (7 yrs)

 

 

Emily (9 yrs) 

 

 

Ruby (3 yrs)

 

 

 

 Below is another "starry night sky" painting by Van Gogh, it's called

"Starry Night over the Rhone"

 

 

 

 

 I tried my hand at this night-time cafe scene,

"The Cafe Terrace on the Place du Forum, at Night"

 

 

 

 

 

Check out this wonderful website, The Vincent van Gogh Gallery for a wonderful presentation of his paintings and much more.

 

 * * * * * * * * * * *

November for us is all about Mangoes.  We pick, pack, freeze, dehydrate and eat.  In fact we've eaten so many mangoes over the last month we are nearly over them.   (I know it is a terrible thing!!)


My favourite recipe for mangoes at the moment is a mango green smoothie:
1 orange
1 mango
1 handful of leafy greens - spinach, bokchoy etc

Blend, blend, blend till nice and smooth. 

This has been breakfast nearly every day.  Yum.

It's really no surprise to anyone ever that the NEA was more interested in protecting its power than educating children. What is surprising is that they actually feel confident enough in their power to admit it. Here's the NEA's General Counsel admitting as much in his retirement speech this past summer.

"Despite what some among us would like to believe it is not because of our creative ideas. It is not because of the merit of our positions. It is not because we care about children and it is not because we have a vision of a great public school for every child. NEA and its affiliates are effective advocates because we have power....

This is not to say that the concern of NEA and its affiliates with closing achievement gaps, reducing dropout rates, improving teacher quality and the like are unimportant or inappropriate. To the contrary. These are the goals that guide the work we do. But they need not and must not be achieved at the expense of due process, employee rights and collective bargaining. That simply is too high a price to pay.

(View YouTube video on this subject here.)


If you're a parent with children in the public schools you can voice your objections here. But the best way to object is by removing your children from their schools. Without your children they have no real power.

In a related story, future teachers in Minnesota are being "reducated" and become "culturally competent"

Hat Tip: Michelle Malkin in order to obtain a teacher certificate.

-Spunky

Cross-posted, with permission, from SpunkyHomeSchool