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I'm not a curriculum junkie - I don't usually extole the virtues of any one curriculum from the rooftops. I understand that there isn't one curriculum that fits all families - BUT (you knew there was going to be a but).....I have to do this entry about Bravewriter. (I know, I know I've done MANY entries about Bravewriter, but I just LOVE it SO much). Bravewriter? You say you never heard of it - you are probably right - she doesn't advertise - she is strictly known from word of mouth only (which is a shame actually, I wish every homeschooler at least knew about this program so that they could make an informed decision). What is Bravewriter? Bravewriter is a writing philosophy, written by a homeschooling Mom who is The cornerstone of the philosophy is a publication called The Writers Jungle - what you won't find - what to do day to day, what you will find - how to slowly implement the Bravewriter lifestyle into your homeschool journey. The Writer's Jungle is one of those "good books" that you can reread many times and still get gems or tidbits that you can use that very day. Some of the philosophy includes a "Jot it Down" stage, narration, copywork and dictation or course, exercises that seemingly don't have to do with writing at all but in fact flame the fires of freewriting. Of course the lifestyle wouldn't be complete without Teatime, something we implemented last year and can't do without now. This year we are looking at Afternoon Movie time to our repitoire. Besides the philosophy itself (which by the way means that The Writers Jungle works for all the ages you will be working with) I love the fact that Julie wants to keep involved with the people who are using her program. She does this a variety of ways but she really is there to hold you hand, give you suggestions and talk you down off of writing theology ledges. Julie offers other resources as well such as online courses (which teaches Moms and kids at the same time) and subscriptons to "magazine" type articles that help you focus in on specific tasks. She has a yahoo group calendar setup that will even send you reminders of things to try that day (that was how I first "tried" out Bravewriter). There is SO much more I can blog about but it really is one of those things that you need to discover for yourself. So here is your start, Julie answering a very common question from a new user of her philosophy http://www.bravewriter.com/blog2/?p=795 From there check out all Julie has to offer - do LOTS of research and I think the more you read the more excited you'll get about this program. I hope it blesses you as it has our household.
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It's been a while since I've been on here and no I'm not still sitting by the pool. I have gotten some of my projects done - like painting my computer desk and our homeschool credenza. The colors match my kitchen. I'm pretty happy with the results. Here are the before and after shots.
The next project on my list is to sand and stain my dining room table. Unfortunately we haven't had a string of really nice days so that I can do it outside. Maybe next week? We had some friends from the city visit as well which was lovely. The kids played with kittens while the Mom's knitted by the pool. It's nice to be able to just relax with friends. I did get a little homeschool planning done and even some curriculum bought. I still have some more to do and will reveal all when everything has been set in place. It's too soon to be thinking about it yet anyways. This week the plans are for some movies that the kids want to see, Incredible Hulk, Wall-e and The Dark Knight (Noah is only seeing Wall-e) and we also need to make arrangements for cousin swapping in the next couple of weeks. For myself I have a dying class I'm attending on the 21st that I am really excited about. I've been doing some knitting and spinning but never of course as much as I would like. Well that's it for me for today, I don't expect to be on again anytime soon - this weekly blogging is fitting in nicely with the relaxed summer months. I hope you all are enjoying your summer as well. |
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Summertime is officially here at the Desrosiers household! Yesterday we filled up the pool - my favorite day of the year is watching the pool fill up! It means that the lazy days of summer are officially here! It means that the rains of June have stopped and we have the hot, hot weather that can only mean - get near water! It means that I have relaxed....my kids have relaxed and we are all - well you know RELAXED! It means that I can think about nothing and not feel any guilt about not thinking about nothing. It means I can watch my kids and just watch my kids for the sake of watching my kids - no hidden learning style agenda. Ha ha! I love this time of year because it gives me prespective. It gives me hope, I usually see in my kids all the learning and developing they have done this last year. I love the hope that summer brings in all that there is yet to learn and discover and that some of those things don't need "lesson plans". Did I mention I love summer? I love that email and blogging and all things computer have slowed down. It feels like the "virtual world" is on vacation and also needs this time of renewal. I love that friends go on holidays and that although we miss them we get the excitement of connecting again when they come back. Or friends that we don't get to see all the time have the time now to come visit us giving us a chance to catch up with each other and enjoy the days of summer together. I love that meals are simplier and the household tasks seem fewer or less necessary. Yup....I love summer! I wish the slowness of summer could stay all year long but alas before I know it the heticness of the fall season will be upon us, but for now you can catch me at poolside.....relaxing! |
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Last week I had a summer cold! AGGH! I hate summer colds, well I hate colds period but especially in the summer - it's so beautiful outside and you feel so miserable. Anyways I'm sleeping through the night now, I have my energy back and I can breathe. A small cough is still hanging around but I can already tell this morning that my chest is less congested so yeah, now I can get back to my regularly scheduled summer! On the agenda this week is more furniture rearranging. Actually what I'm doing is emptying my computer desk and the homeschool credenza and painting them to match my kitchen colors. We've moved the kids computers desks from the dining room into the living room so now have more space again in the dining room. I'm also hoping to resand and restain my dining room table and get new chairs (or maybe a new table and new chairs), we'll see how tight the purse strings are. These projects have been on my list for a while so they are my top priority in getting them done this summer and I can't believe it's almost July already!! Also on the agenda this week is Josh is attending a horse day camp. It was cancelled and rescheduled twice due to flooding, so I'm hoping it's a go on Wednesday. He'll be going with 3 other friends so that will be some nice time away for him. We also have a field trip planned to the Ellis bird farm - we went last year and it's a wonderful place to be in the summer! Afterwards there is a beach nearby that a bunch of us are going to - kind of a wind up of the year - it will be a fun, fun day. Oh I am also in the process of organzing some classes for our homeschool group for next year. It looks like Fridays will be the day for lots of fun stuff. So far we have a school board group coming out that have been organizing classes for homeschoolers in the city for many years now, well they are starting an outreach program and I'm getting them to come out the 2nd Friday of each month to do some programs. They have amazing instructors (talented homeschool Mom's of course) that do some fun classes! I'm hoping it helps the kids to create a bit more of a community for themselves and perhaps meet some new friends. I also have a series of film making classes in September and October. Again these classes were being offered in the far off city and I've got them coming out to our neck of the woods. I'm most excited for the Make your own Rock Video for Josh - I think he will really enjoy that and the film making aspect is something that has been on his list for a while that we haven't really pursued before. I also have Mad Science coming out - they are amazing and that will make for a fun science filled day. And lastly an Art lady that will be doing a Mask Making workshop as well as Painting on Rocks class both should be fun for all ages and will be a perfect spring time activity! I MUST get started on MY summer reading list as well! The books are beginning to stack up and the time is fleeting by. I really do want to make this a priority before I begin my planning for next year. I want to be inspired and encouraged before beginning again and I know reading will do that for me. Well I best get started on my week - now that I read it back it seems busier than I anticipated - isn't that the way it always is, ha ha. Enjoy the sunshine!
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Ahhhhh! I FINALLY feel in "summer mode". I love summer it's by far my favorite season - all be it way too short!! This weekend our homeschooling group had our first annual camp out and it was SO much fun and SO relaxing and rejuvenating all at the same time. Before the camp I wasn't in "summer mode" mostly because of all the rain we've been having but the clouds were pushed away for some much coveted sunshine and it turned out to be a wonderful, wonderful weekend! Today I am using my new found restfulness for some much needed flower gardening. Like I said with all the rain things have gotten way out of control out there. It doesn't look like we'll have much of a vegetable garden (again because of too much rain already) but at least I'll have beautiful flowers to gaze on from the comfort of my summer lounge chair! I reflect a lot during the summer months on our past homeschool year and some of the things I want to work on in the coming year. I reflect I don't panic. I find summer is a perfect time to observe the kids and really think upon what's important (and what's not). Of course lots of learning also happens during the summer months and truthfully it's much more what I wish my homeschool was throughout the year but I guess homeschool has it's "seasons" too. Well I best return to the great outdoors while the sun is shining. I hope wherever you are you are enjoying the crazy, lazy days of summer! |
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I'm preparing for a Used Book and Curriculum Sale tomorrow so that means.....going through the bookshelves and there are many like every good homeschooler knows! I thought I would share how I do a “spring cleaning”. I do this for many reasons the most important being making room for more new books ;). First of all I need to share what bookshelves I have and how they are organized. 1) The main living book shelf – this is the family/homeschool book shelf. We have Dad and Mom books on the top two shelves, then we have Novels and Series type books, then I have Geography and History on one shelf and finally Science related stuff on another. 2) The next shelf is a new shelf for us this year and it’s called the Tea Time book shelf, these are all the books that I want to use during tea time (those ones that are so awesome yet I never seem to take the time to read to the kids, some poetry books, great picture books, Christian books, manners, grammar, and finally some art books as this is when we tend to do art activities as well, at the end of tea time. This shelf has been AMAZING for me this year, I finally used those books that I have been meaning too (and many of them will be staying as they are so great). 3) Next is the homeschool credenza and not technically a book shelf this is where I hold “curriculumy” type stuff. On the left is stuff I use for Josh and on the right Noah’s stuff. The 4 drawers going down the middle houses, pens/pencils/coloring pencils, felts etc., Bible stuff, Game pieces, dices, cards and other manipulative paraphenilia. 4) Then comes the “preschool” bookshelf which is mostly Noah’s “stuff” not just books, but I also house all the Living Math books and manipulatives here. 5) Lastly each kid has a bookshelf in their bedroom where I periodically swap out books for bedtime/interest reading. So when I “hit” a book shelf this is what I do. As I pull each book off the shelf I put it into one of the following categories: 1) Treasure – I have totally forgotten I had this book and WOW this will be perfect for this year, I’ll write it on a list to use in my planning OR I’ll add it to the Tea Shelf to use during tea times. 2) Keeper – I may or may/not use it this year but I will use it again – it’s most likely a reference type book. 3) Donate – I probably won’t use it again but it’s a useful book so I’ll donate it to our homeschooling library so that someone else may get use or enjoyment from it. 4) Thrift Store – I call these ‘junk books’ ones that were read once or upon getting them had material in them that wasn’t for us. I donate them to the thrift store in town. 5) Sell – I can make some money from these books – used curriculum that was great but I won’t use again or I never used. If there is a price affixed I usually ask for 50% of that price. I use this money to buy more books – it’s my incentive to sell more books. 6) Move to another shelf – either the kids books shelves, the tea time shelf, or I decide to reorganize my shelf in another manner (although the “system” I seem to have now has been working well for us for quite a while). I have to mention here that I usually don’t like organizing things into “subject” areas as so many books really are “cross curricular”. But I have found keeping all the, Science type books and the Geography and History together has increased our use of these books and make it easy for us when we need to reference something in that area. Lastly I make a list of things that I think are missing or that we may need. I also make a reminder to myself to use the library more often as well as our homeschool resource library, SO many treasures there but I don’t need to “house” them with MY precious bookshelf space. |
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I’m SO excited about a blog I just found! It’s called Canadian Home Educators Blog Carnival and I KNOW it’s quickly going to become a new favorite of mine and my fellow homeschoolers! Each week she calls for Canadian Carnival submissions and visits homeschoolers across this great country we have the privilege of homeschooling in. I just HAVE TO make a submission! What’s my favorite resource? Mug Up! What is Mug Up? Mug Up is a weekly event that a group of us homeschoolers in the area have the privilege of attending. How it works is each Wednesday one of the Mom's volunteers to "host". The only requirement of the hostess is to have something to fill up our mugs with, mostly coffee! We each bring our own mugs, hence the name, and brown bag lunches for us and the kids and it's basically open house style from 10:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Some stay for the duration others just pop in whenever they can make it. Some come every week some only once a month or whenever they can make it. Everyone is always welcome and it’s a great place for new homeschoolers to come and feel welcome and get to know us and our kids before coming on other events or activities that our group has. It’s always a great day of chatting for the Mom's and the kids play their hearts out with their friends. It's truly "socialization" at it's best! I have to say that in my 8 years of homeschooling it's definitely the best event for keeping the spirits charged. I also find because Joshua knows it's going to happen every week he doesn't balk at all about the school work he has to do on the other days, he gets his play time in with his friends. Mug Up keeps me "anchored", encouraged, it’s the best source for resources and inspiration and hey if you are having a bad it’s the one place where everyone knows your name! They listen, they understand, they give you hugs if you need one. It's such a joy to be able to discuss our year, our kids, and our homeschooling styles with other like minded people. No we don't all homeschool the same way which is what is great! We can discuss what works (and doesn't) for us and still get so much from others about things we might want to try. We TRULY encourage one another in whatever way homeschooling works for us! Mug Up has transcended community, it has transcended encouragement and it has transcended homeschooling! It’s THE most amazing resource I’ve ever had the pleasure using in all the years I have homeschooled. I recommend you start one in your area today! You won’t be disappointed. Happy Homeschooling! |
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I'm speaking at a homeschool conference on Saturday and my topic is Intro to Homeschooling. All my notes and hand outs are done and I thought I would blog a "short version" for those that are thinking of or have decided to homeschool. My topic is divided into 3 parts: 5 Simple Steps to Get Started (including resources); Top 10 Myths and an Interactive Question and Answer Period. I'm going to start with getting the Myths out of the way. I'm not going to list them all in this blog entry but I bet you can guess what my # 1 Myth is on my list. YES the always popular SOCIALIZATION!! Since this is the most common concern we come across - not just when we start out but we even encounter THAT concern throughout our homeschooling journey I thought I would share how I handle it. The first thing I do is ask the question back to them "What Do You Mean by Socialization?" Something that I have found is it means different things to different people. For some it means the kids won't end up making it in the "real world" or for some it means the kids will be "isolated" and for others it means they won't learn how to deal with things like "bullies". However they answer I "customize" my answer for their concern. I find that by knowing how to answer their concerns it eases both their minds and yours because you are not caught "off guard" or you don't have an answer for them. How do you find the answers? Well you speak from your own experience of course or if you don't have experiences to draw on yet I recommend that you put yourself on a good reading program that includes several general homeschooling books. These books will have the answers you seek, or ask other homeschoolers how they answer to those concerns. The 5 simple steps in getting started include: 1) Research = Read, read, read and read some more. Read what? Anything you can get your hands on about homeschooling. General homeschooling books (check the library and homeschooling catalogues), books on different homeschooling philosophies, homeschooling magazines, homeschooling catalogues, go to conferences and fairs and pick up as much free stuff as you can, facts and statistics (just make sure they are facts and statistics and not someones opinion) and Frequently Asked Questions on homeschooling websites and blogs. 2) Contact several support groups - both in your physical area as well as "virtual" groups - Yahoo groups is an amazing support group tool. 3) Register with a school board - which is where A LOT OF US get bogged down as we think it is the most important step - it is not - it is just one step that we have to do by September 30 in order to get funding and keep "legal" within the province of Alberta. What do you need to ask a board: What is your mission statement (and do you agree with it). What funding do they provide and what policies do they have that are tied to the funding, and who will be your facilitator and can you and your kids meet her/him before registering. Remember if you make a "wrong" decision in choosing a board it's the easiest to fix - if you are unhappy with your facilitator simply ask to switch to another facilitator - if you are still unhappy simply go to another board. There are boards that "rescue" families mid year - unfortunately your funding doesn't go with you but sometimes it's worth switching if it reduces your stress and you find a board that works for you. And remember each year you have the option of choosing a new board if your philosophy or circumstances change. 4) Seek out curriculum, field trips and other educational resources - AGAIN another area people get bogged down. I recommend you don't buy ANY curriculum until you know a) your familiy's "style", b) your teaching style and c) your children's learning style. If you feel you really MUST buy curriculum start with Math and try out several programs to find one that "fits". This will give you a good indication of the style of curriculum to look for in other subject areas. What do you do if you haven't bought any curriculum? I suggest you go to the library and let your child choose books (both fiction and non fiction) on topics that they are interested in. After they read those books (or you read aloud with them) ask them to tell you or to write something up about what the book was about or an interesting thing they learned. Go on field trips either on your own or with other homeschoolers and use educational resources such as toys, games, computer cd's and the internet. By going this route you will save vasts amounts of time, money and stress then if you buy a bunch of stuff that you don't know whether it will work or not. By taking time to read first and getting to know how homeschooling will "fit" into your families lifestyle and just spending time with your child reading and doing things, you will "know" what to look for when you are ready to dive into the "curriculum" pool. Lastly step 5 is meet other homeschoolers and enjoy your new lifestyle! THIS IS the most important step - find other homeschoolers that you can relate to, learn from, be friend with, your kids can be friends with their kids, and you can do things and travel on this journey together. NO not everyone you meet you will like but you will be able to find someone that can give you a hug when you need it and whom you can enjoy the wonderful world of homeschooling together. I'll be ending my session with an interactive question and answer time so if you have any questions about starting to homeschool or homeschooling in general or specifically please feel free to leave a comment and I'll happily answer it as best I can. I LOVE homeschooling with all my heart and I LOVE sharing my journey and experiences with others. I believe I was given a lot of great information, resources and people when I started out and I just want to pass that along to others who may be just beginning their journey. I hope this helps. Happy Homeschooling!
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Well the weather hasn't turned any better, it's still raining, and now not only is it beyond wet, it's cold and all I feel like doing is sleeping. We celebrated Joshua's 13th birthday on the weekend. He had a lot of fun. We took the kids to the Prince Caspian movie which they all loved (even though it's very different than the book). Then we came home and had pizza and cake (black forest, Joshua's favorite kind) and then the boys slept out in the RV. Well technically they didn't sleep. Yup they stayed up all night!! It was quite funny to see them the next day trying to stay awake. I had promised him and electronic extravaganza and I think they got their fill well as full as boys that age can get. Anyways I'm glad it's over, I'm ready to accept that he's 13 a teenager (there I said it, that's the first step). So what's next on the agenda? Not much really the usual Mug Up and I have a homeschool conference on Satuday that I am speaking at (Intro to Homeschooling) and attending (Homeschooling Highschool). I am looking forward to the time away, hopefully I come back refrershed and ready to tackle some of the other tasks on my list. What other tasks: Well we will be moving my nephew Joey into his own apartment in town. We are giving him some furniture which means I get to rearrange some things and maybe buy some new stuff for ourselves. I'm looking forward to the decluttering and rearranging, I'm ready for a change. I also want to paint and refinish a couple of pieces of furniture as well, it has to get sunny to do that though. We have a couple of camping trips planned that I'm looking forward to. My plan for summer is to get lots of reading in. Well I'm off to knit and spin for the evening - perfect weather for that at least. Until next time.
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Well the beautiful sunshine has turned into a torrential downpour. It wouldn't have been too bad except I was in the middle of renovating my front flower garden which is now a mess and we didn't get our vegetable garden in either!! It's going to be too wet for a while too the way it's coming down now. Oh well that's Alberta weather for ya! At least it isn't snow right? I really don't have much to blog about, I seem to be simply puttering and not get much accomplished. Don't get me wrong I have a long list just very unmotivated to do any of it. Oh well I'm sure the energy level and motivation will come back eventually. Until then I'll just keep reading, knitting, spinning, doing basic housework and cooking in between. Maybe I'll try and get motivated by searching my computer drive and come up with an amazing blog entry about homeschooling, now THAT would be a good idea don't ya think? OR I could just sit here and watch the rain come down....
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Well the update on the kittens is there is 4 and all are doing well. We have also added to the "ark" with ants. On Wednesday was our regular Mug Up only this time we had a theme "spring fling". Each family brought a spring activity and one of the activities this year was an ant farm. Noah is loving it of course and has only added tot he science lab that is out dining room right now!! Paul has had a couple of days off already and with this beautiful weather we've been getting some badly needed yard work done. One thing about gardening though is it makes you VERY AWARE of how out of shape you are!! The kids are having a good time as well, I bought them a "wiggle" sprinkler and Paul fixed the other swing that was broken. I also moved the RV in anticipating getting it ready for our camping season so of course the kids have been in and out of there pretending they are camping already. Noah and I even had a nap out there yesterday afternoon (it was great no one could find us)!! Well it's only Friday and we still have the long weekend ahead of us. Josh is going to Youth Group tonight, they are doing lazer tag, one of his favorite activities. Paul and Josh are helping a friend with their cattle drive tomorow and it's Josh's 13th birthday tomorrow!! We've decided to do the "party" the following weekend as too many people had plans given it was the first long weekend of the summer. It's good because it will give me an extra week of getting use to having a 13 year old in the house, YIKES! Well I think that's it from us for now. I hope you all are enjoying the wonderful sunshine too! |
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On Monday Noah and I spent some time doing some school. Recently we had gotten the book 5 green and speckled frogs from the library. Noah has learned the song and every night at bedtime we have a little ritual where we sing the song and he "hops" into the pond. Well on Monday I had printed off some tadpole/frog activities. One of the activities was coloring 5 frogs and we taped them to pipe cleaners and Noah then did a "puppet show" with them as he sang the song 5 green and speckled frogs. Yes it was VERY cute and he "performed" it for anyone who would listen. Here is a picture of him and his frog puppet show.
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As if new baby chicks, butterfly larvae, and tadpoles wasn't enough Josh just came in from his chores to announce that we have new (still being born at this point) kittens!! Yes the excitement never ends in our world!! Will keep you updated!
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I've been discussing the whole Junior High/High School thing for a while now with fellow homeschooling friends. I have processed a lot of information, still am, but one of the nuggets that have come from all the discussions has been "keep doing what your doing, and read, read, read). Part of this came as a result of thinking back to when I first started homeschooling and what worked and what didn't as well as well as what "advice" I've given and still give to others about starting homeschooling (especially those like me that started at the beginning). I find a lot of similiarities between that "phase" of homeschooling and this phase. Such as: 1) Friends make different decisions than you. And although this is hard you must do what you think is right for you/your family/your child. 2) You aren't going to know what they are going to do/be so the best way to prepare them is by giving them the basics, teach them how to learn, follow their passions/interests and important life skills. 3) Yes there is a lot of cool stuff out there and you can become very busy trying to do it all but at the end of the day what works for your child. 4) And the best thing YOU can do is read, read, read homeschooling books (I have found if you keep your nose in a book it keeps you from going insane thinking about all the what ifs......) And I haven’t read any homeschooling books for a while and with the whole junior high/high school thing coming on I decided to go back to the basics and put myself on a reading program again for the summer. I already picked up Homeschooling the Teen Years by Cafi Cohen (but honestly it didn’t do much for me). Some of the ones I have on my list to read this summer are: Parent/Teen Breakthrough by Mira Kirshenbaiem and Charles Foster Real Lives: Eleven Teenagers that don’t go to School The Teenagers Guide to School Outside the Box by Rebecca Greene (this one is waiting at the library for me to be picked up). Teaching Boys and Other Children who would rather build forts all day by Andrew Pudewa Homeschooling: A Family’s Journey (due out in August) How to keep your child's heart Teri Maxwell.
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Well I am and I'm not. I have been taking a bit of a hiatus knowing that I was going to get busy real quick, so Monday and Tuesday weren't much of anything, a little bit of housework here and there but nothing substantial. Wednesday was of course Mug Up and it was here and we had a tremendous turn out. All though it probably appears chaotic to most it's such a blessing to us Mom's as well as to the kids. Thursday was the arrival of butterflies, over 120 of them, that all had to be seperated into their individual vials with food and organized by who ordered what. Everyone pitched in and it was actually done quite quickly, except we have way more than I originally ordered. Friday of course was delivery of said butterflies and in return we got some tadpoles (4) in return. This is the first time we've done tadpoles...I hope they make it, we are using swamp water from our land and there seems to be a lot of floating/living things in it including some apparently very entertaining snails. So far the tadpoles seem to be doing ok. Josh has been at a play date all day today and it turns out tonight they are going to a movie as well which has allowed me to spend some quality time with Noah. He came with me to deliver the last of the butterflies today so we stopped at a playground and just had fun all afternoon before coming home. I have to say he was on exceptionally good and patient behaviour today....he's growing up. Oh and he wanted me to teach him how to write his name. And he can read No and Yes, he can also read some numbers as we were playing cards and he identified a number of them. Well hubby is in the city working this weekend but it will allow him to have an extra, extra long weekend off next weekend (Josh's birthday). I really haven't spent ANY quality time planning anything for such a special birthday. I want to do something special on his day and then his friends and extended family celebration will be the following weekend as not many of his friends could make it the actual day of his birthday due to it being a long weekend. Anyways any special ideas on celebrating #13, I would love to hear them! It going to be a real quiet evening hear tonight with Paul and Josh both gone and Noah in bed early. I'm not really sure what to do with myself. Perhaps I'll make some special tea, put on Phantom of the Opera and spin :). See what I mean about the hiatus? Oh I do have some draft blog entries sitting for a final editing so good things are coming....just don't know when my head space will be in it. Until then enjoy the rest of the weekend and I'll try to blog again soon....I promise!
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I love my blog! I love having a place to journal our daily homeschooing happenings. I love that family and friends can read it and can feel "caught up" in our daily lives. I love that I don't have to "remember" to tell them things and I love that they know "what we do" and "how we homeschool". I love that they feel and tell me that I'm doing a good job and that they think the kids are getting a good and fun education. I love seeing the pictures of my kids as they are learning. I love that when it's time for our facilitator visit that it's as easy as going back through my entries and typing up a little synopsis of what we've done that I can share with her and it's enough to get us chatting and discussing all the wonderful things we've done throughout the year and will be doing next year. Yup I love my blog! But (you knew there was going to be a but didn't you)..... I want to do more! All of the above is a very selfish (although great) reason to have a blog, but I want to bless other homeschoolers as well (as they have blessed me). I want to share others blogs that touch me, that provide me with thoughts and ideas and resources, that encourage me in my homeschool journey! I want to share more of my thoughts, philosophies, resources and ideas with others in hopes that they can glean something from them and help in their homeschool journey. I want to encourage others! We are doing SUCH an important work. An important work that in the day to day can go unnoticed, unappreciated, and unacknowledged. And the ones that REALLY know what we do and go through on a daily basis is other homeschool parents. Let us encourage one another! And there are so many wonderful bloggers out there that do this in a tremendous way ....I want to be one of them! I want to share, share and share some more! So in that vein I want to hear from you! What do you LOVE about blogs....is it the encouragement? The ideas and resources? The "stories"? PLEASE leave me a comment about what you need/want or love in a blog! In the upcoming months you will be seeing new things on my blog and I hope that some of what I share blesses you, helps you, makes you laugh, makes you cry, touches you. My hope is that you come daily to be fed, so that you may fight the good fight, so that inturn you will bless others in your homeschooling journey (and on your blog). Yup, I'm going to love my new blog too! |
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It seems I'm getting away from blogging daily again, thankfully today was Mug Up which keeps me "anchored" (in more ways than one). It's such a joy to be able to discuss our year, our kids, our styles with other like minded people. No we don't all homeschool the same way which is what is great! We can discuss what works (and doesn't) for us and still get so much from others about things we might want to try for next year. Anyways here is what we are up to. Monday the whole "team" pulled together and did a yard clean up - eeeewwwwww!! We still have a ways to go but a lot gone done, maybe some more on the weekend? Tuesday - Tea Time -- another "anchor". We had been "neglecting" bookwork so it was nice to gather around the table again and read some of the books we just got from the library. I also had Josh do a placement test for a new Math program I'm looking at for next year called Teaching Textbooks http://www.teachingtextbooks.com/ Apparently it's being called the "Math Without The Tears" on some homeschooling lists. This will be a big program for Josh but so were the other two I was looking at as well for next year. I need something that lends itself towards more independence for Josh and he did ask for more computer school next year so this qualifies. Also I think it will help in some organizational skills on his part. Anyways a friend is going to buy the program so I'll look at it again when she gets it and then make a final decision. September is a long way off right? Our facilitator visit is tommorow - haven't really prepared much for that, that is the wonderful thing about having a blog, I just looked back through the entries and typed up a one page summary of what we've been doing. Of course we'll have our usual assortment of books on the tables and Josh will share whatever is on his heart and of course Noah will play host, ha ha. Friday we are having our groups "game day" everyone is bringing their favorite games to play, to discuss to whatever. Should be a good time and I'm hoping to find a few more to add to our selection. I find with all the electronic distractions board games are getting squeezed out, also Josh is older and his interests have changed and I haven't really gotten any new board games for a while. The weekend is suppose to be beautiful again so I'm hoping to get the dining room/homeschool areas spring cleaned.....maybe even the kitchen. Of course some spinning is in order as well....REALLY enjoying that!!! Well that's about it from me. I am slowly beginning to work on some plans for next year but very slowly. I'll try and do more "homeschooling" blog posts in the next little while as I wrap up the year. Stay tuned my friends. |
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I do have a good excuse as I was out of town but more on that later. Let's see what' have we been up to? Picked up new baby chicks! Those have been a ton of fun as you can see by the pics!
I also picked up my new spinning wheel. Again a ton of fun (for Mom).
I actually didn't get a chance to spin on it until I got home from my Kansa trip. That's right hubby and I headed out of town without kids. Paul went to a seminar regarding his cow business and I met a friend and did some yarn crawling. A wonderful holiday although going from the green grass and blooming flowers back to a massive snow storm was not fun. The only silver lining I see in that is it put me in the mood for sitting and spinning. Now that we are back and settled into our routine we had Mug Up yesterday and tomorrow will be out last scheduled gym time. The following week our schedule picks up again with field trips and other fun activities so stay tuned. |
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My post on writing is going to be short and sweet (I talked a bit about some writing already in my reading post). Two things for writing 1) Handwriting without the Tears and 2) Bravewriter. 1) The mechanics (physical learning how to write the letters). No better program out there (in my opinion) than Handwriting without the Tears. What I love the most - she doesn't put any grade level information on her books so kids don't know if they are behind/ahead grade level. 2) not a lot on the page but just enough to give excellent instruction and practice. She interests children with something on the page. And it's an excellent language arts program that include when/why to use captialization, punctuation, grammar etc. And it's an excellent value. Lastly doing a page (or two when they are older) a day gives excellent discipline/practice in handwriting. If you do nothing else, it's enough. I know because that's all we've really done over the years for "writing". 2) Once they have the mechnics down (or while they are getting the mechanics down) you can begin implementing Bravewriter. Bravewriter is a lifestyle of writing and there is too much information on how wonderful this program is to include in a single blog entry. Suffice it to say you can use it all the way through your homeschool journey (so an excellent value of both time and money) and the end result is a writer who will love to write with THEIR writer's voice. OK a couple of pet peeves. I think writing (as it's presented in the public school system and in most writing "curriculums" is overrated). I feel like it's presented in a style that assumes that every student will end up being an author or an editor one day. This is not true. If a child wants to be an author you don't need to coerice them into writing, they will love writing. And they usually get their love of writing from READING!! Case in point: http://www.sacbee.com/107/story/814315.html They other thing is kids writing is overly criticized in the public school and sadly enough by some homeschool Mom's. One thing that Bravewriter has taught me is praise, praise, praise ALL writing. Correct mistakes only on pieces that will be "final"/published pieces and choose only 2-3 corrections for the child to correct themselves and you quietly correct the rest. Once a child "masters" the 2-3 things that they are responsible for they can move on to correcting 2-3 "new" things. Also I believe working on things like spelling and grammar etc., can all be taught by reading, narration, copywork and dictation and writing. In fact I believe it has a bigger impact. What about an "obscure" word or "grammatical" theory that they may need to know -- teach them how to use a dictionary and reference material (but even that doesn't need to be done until the higher grade levels). Yes children need to be literate - but I always look at how I use writing in MY everday life..... I make lists, I write emails, blog entries and hmmmm not much else. My husband in his well paying computer job does mostly emails, documentation/instructoinal type pieces that involve a lot of cutting and pasting and he has a little scribbler on his desk that he journals in his day to day pieces of info that he needs to refer to. We don't write novels. If we wanted to write novels we would be. And you'll KNOW if you have a child that will be a writer and I pray that you just let them write and praise and praise and praise. And I don't think quantity = quality. If you look at the amount of writing required by most curriclum ( and that's just in Language Arts, what about all the other subjects that they are required to write in), kids are asked to do a large amount of writing everyday. No wonder they hate it. Also be aware that some boys (and girls but it's more prevelant in boys I have one) that really struggle with the physical writing itself, (if they can do the work orally but hate "worksheets" or writing down what they know, this may be the case). There is a term for this it's called "dysgraphia" and you just need to be aware or it and there is lots of accommodations you can make for them so that writing is not such a painful experience. OK lastly ....I think children's writing should be shared and in homeschooling circles I don't think we do this enough (I know I don't and I'm just realizing now how important and how "reinforcing" it is to a child). Find an outlet for your child's writing. Recently a homeschooling friend has created a "newspaper" for homeschooled kids by homschooled kids that includes all kinds of "pieces" including writing. I think it's a wonderful idea for kids to showcase their talents and find purpose in writing rather than just doing an "assignment". Well this is getting long isn't it (and I thought I had nothing to say on the subject). I hope it's helpful to someone, I know it's helped me in putting my thoughts on the subject down on paper (see writing with a purpose). Have a great day and happy writing! |
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I want to get a blog entry in on reading. It's part of "what my philosophy is on homeschooling" series as well as helping me process my plans for next year. Our homeschool philosophy begins and ends with reading aloud. If I had to choose only one thing to do for homeschool this would be it. I don't think you can go wrong with starting to read aloud to your children at a very young age and continuing that into their adult years (perhaps not a full novel, but if you read something interesting or well written I think you should share it with your children no matter how old they get). I think a common mistake we make, especially once our children have "independent reading skills" is that we stop reading aloud to them. I know I did and it turned out to be a mistake. Thankfully Tea Time "reintroduced" us to this wonderful resource! I believe by reading aloud that "narration" or discussion naturally follows suit. It's very natural to ask a child "so why do you think that character responded that way?" or "what do you think will happen next?" Likewise I don't know any child that doesn't ask questions while being read to or is willing to share their thoughts or opinions on the story at hand. Reading aloud is such a great teaching tool! It's cross curricular -- it doesn't always have to be a storybook or novel...non-fiction, newspaper articles, biographies, history, travel anything you can think of you can find in printed form to read aloud. What if YOU get tired of reading aloud or don't feel you have the "talent" to make the story come alive for your children? Welcome to the 21st century -- not only do we have books on tape we have audio books on cd and the inenviable resource of the internet and mp3 formats, podcasts, etc., so someone else can do the reading! Just as reading aloud leads to narration, writing naturally follows narration. I truly believe that if children read good writing that they will be good writers. Copywork and Dictation can naturally follow Narration as well Spelling and Grammar is naturally incorporated into copywork and dictation -- they will know when something doesn't look or sound right and these are wonderful "teachable" moments that reinforce learning in a powerful yet simple way. Again cross-curricular, all age and grade levels - what better "curriculum" is there?! So what resources do I use to choose what books to read aloud? Book lists - one of my favorite is http://childrensbooks.about.com/mlibrary.htm - a list for everyone! This is another favorite - http://www.homeschoolfavourites.com.au/index.html For science and history resources I like this site: http://www.livinglearningbooks.com/cart.php If you are following a certain "pilosophy" of home education they usually recommend certain books as well. I also like using a variety of homeschooling catalogues - they have great "reading lists" to choose from and instead of buying I check the library first. Speaking of which, let's not forget the library a homeschoolers best friend - which you can now search and put books on hold in the comfort of your own home (and pajamas I might add). And asking! My fellow homeschooling buddies always have recommendations, especially useful as you get into the older teen years. For audio resources I love this commercial site http://www.firetheimagination.ca/home.php and for free audio resources that include a lot of the classics I recommend signing up for http://www.homeschoolradioshows.com/ they will email you a link to download an audio classic each week. We've built up quite the library this way and if I don't feel like reading I just put one of these on the computer while we are having tea time. And although I haven't used this site yet http://www.tumblebooks.com/library/asp/customer_login.asp?accessdenied=%2Flibrary%2Fasp%2Fhome%5Ftumblebooks%2Easp I do want to start using it to setup a "listening corner" for Noah to use to hopefully give me some time when I need to work with Joshua on some one on one stuff. So what about teaching your kids to read? Start and keep reading aloud to your kids, eventually they will want to know how to read -- yes every child will reach this stage at different ages just like every other developmental milestone so until then....just keep reading to them. When they start asking, "what does this say" or "i want to read it" you know they are ready to learn how to read. What do they need to learn to know how to read? Simply - they need to recognize the letters of the alphabet. They need to know that each letter has a name and each letter makes a sound (or several sounds, depending on the other letters that are in the word - letters make up a word). Start with easy words - words that are in the books they like to "read". Rhyming books are another good place to start because they can usually predict the word that comes next which is a great confidence builder, yes even if they aren't technically reading the word they "believe" they can read. This is a great "shared reading" experience. Another game I like to play is when a child knows how to read a certain word, let's say "the" or "and", while I'm reading aloud I'll use my finger to follow along what I am reading when I come to a word they can read I stop and wait for them to read the word. As they learn more words they get to help to read more of the story. They also learn that reading is done left to right. Yes some phonics and sight word instruction is usually necessary at some point - use whatever system/curriculum works for your child - every child is different. For Josh Bob Books was all it took as well as a fun "phonics city" display on our living room wall that I made (it really it was more for me than him). For Noah he is practically teaching himself and he definately has the motivation to want to be able to read. Computer games and recipes are another great way that kids can learn how to read. The other great thing is that once kids do know how to read teaching/learning is SO much easier and it's the cornerstone for learning everything else! It's my first homeschooling "goal" to achieve with a child. It's important to make time in the day for quiet reading time as well. Whether it's to each other or each person grabbing a book for a little solitude time. It's easy for this wonderful resource to get pushed out by other "distractions" -- keep a certain time of the day as part of a daily routine even if it's right before bed if no other time works. Lastly, if you feel like no homeschoolng is taking place in your life....grab a book. SO much learning can be done just by reading and listening. So for those hectic days, weeks or months if you don't get to anything else -- grab a book and 15 minutes and you'll be amazed at how much learning can be accomplished in a little amount of time. I think that is all my thoughts on reading for now. I would love to hear comments, suggestions, recommendation and your thoughts on reading as well. Now I'm going to go to the library with my kids and pick up more books :)
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