Sep. 6, 2007 - Prayer, Planning & Preparation Pay Off

Prayer, Planning & Preparation Pay Off

What a pleasure our first two days of school have been.  Weeks of prayer, planning & preparation certainly paid off as the children merrily jumped right in.

• Devotional: We began by reciting the Lord's Prayer- and then breaking it down verse by verse to understand the real meaning.  The children don't have it memorized yet, but we're working on that. We also began with our first weekly ART devotional.  Scripture Pictures contains 52 water-color prints and associated bible stories.  We will do one per week, displaying the art throughout the week.  The focus of this particular book is Jesus' Miracles and Parables, but the company makes several others.  The art is beautiful and the children use their sketchbooks to do their own version while they listen to the bible story. 
• Bible Memorization: As a group, we are working on The Beattitudes.  We started by reading the verses aloud and copying them into the children's Holy Scripture books.
• History: We began our study of Westward Expansion in American History.  We sang a wonderful song "The Cumberland Gap" several times and jumped right in reading "Daniel Boone- Frontiersman".
• Science: I wasn't as prepared as I should have been so we were scrounging for supplies for experiments for "The Scientist's Apprentice" as we began our Unit Study on Astronomy.  We still had lots of fun making paper darts, and learning about early flight and rocketry.  I learned that I absolutely must plan this class several weeks in advance to have all the necessary materials on hand.
• Math:  RAVES here!  This year, Josh & Jessica both switched to Math-U-See.  Their first two days of lessons went as smooth as possible.  Probably not the author's intent to use the way we are, but here's what we've tried so far.  Each child pops in their DVD in their laptop, puts on their headphones and watches the 10 minute lecture before doing the page of math problems associated with the lecture.  Since Josh & Jessica's aptitude for math has brought many a tear in past years, I'm having them watch the same DVD lesson 6 days in a row to help them really absorb the material.  Each day they do one worksheet of math.  Josh said math is his favorite subject now.  I pray that this success will continue, both Josh and Jessica truly need the repetition in this subject.  Taylor & Hayley also switched from Saxon Math this year to Teaching Textbooks.  They both liked their new Computer CD lessons and they like writing in their book instead of copying pages for their answers.  So far, they are also raving about their new Math programs and say that Math is much quicker than it was with Saxon.
• Writing Co-op:  Tuesday was our first writing class.  I am teaching 10 children ranging in age from 11-14.  I am using the Institute for Excellence in Writing Level B, but we will be advancing to the Continuation Course within several weeks.  We worked through Level A last year and I am just using Level B as a quick review of concepts we have already learned.  Class went great with each child reading a prepared paragraph introduction about themselves and then we jumped right in reviewing keyword outlines and who/which clauses.  The children will be copying and editing an error-filled abridged Tom Sawyer this year, using 'Fix-it Grammar.  It was a little slow getting them started on this, but it's new.  I suspect they will all get the hang of it shortly.
• Reading:  Taylor started reading the unabridged version of Treasure Island, Hayley is reading the unabridged Huckleberry Finn, Josh is reading aloud to me from the Children's Treasure Island and Jessica is reading aloud to me from the Children's Heidi.  Taylor was having a little trouble with the vernacular, so I read two chapters of his book aloud to him last night and he got so much more out of it.  We're going to look for an audio version for him to listen to as he follows along.
• Art:  Grandma stepped in here since she is the resident artist.  She handled Art for Josh and Jessica while I took Taylor to band practice.  She didn't watch the time and took over an hour to explain the lesson, so next time she'll make adjustments.  We're using Artisitic Pursuits which incorporates art appreciation into each lesson.
• Language Arts for Jessica:  Jessica is working through a 100 year old primer, Emma Serl's Primary Language Lessons, that is positively timeless.  She's also doing spelling and handwriting.
• Music:  Lessons will start next week for the children but they have begun practicing every day to get them back in the groove.  It is so nice to hear Trumpet, Trombone, Piano & Violin music wafting from the various corners of the house.

A problem we encountered was the telephone.  I am changing our answering machine message today to politely explain that we are in school and that we will return the call after school.  90% of the phone calls can and should wait, I am sure. 

We have a few subjects that we haven't done yet, because they are scheduled on different days:  Taylor's Web Design, Hayley's Animal Science, and some other goodies I'll share next week. 

Have a blessed day!

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Sep. 4, 2007 - Back to School Today

Today we start back to school.  The new schoolroom is complete.  I have been praying and planning for weeks and we are ready.  Last night the entire family sat down and reviewed our Family Values and Expectations Contract and signed on the dotted line.   The children received their schedules and their first of many weekly assignment sheets.  We also reviewed the new chore chart for the year.  No video games for the school year, except for a brief return during designated holidays.  In fact, I can't tell you how nice it was to hear my 14 year old son say he didn't even want the X-Box back anymore, since he'd learned to live without it the last six weeks. 

We had a slight bump in the road last night, when Taylor was asked to write a brief paragraph to introduce himself to his IEW Writing Co-op class today.  After a summer break, he was in such pain writing even a little (John said he had "writer's block"), but he eventually was able to focus and finish the little thing.  I am praying we don't see a lot of this in the coming weeks.

There is no typical day, since we have music lessons on one morning, band on another afternoon, writing co-op on another afternoon, and our new Keepers of the Faith club twice a month, as well.  But I am thrilled to say that we have NO evening committments whatsoever on any regular recurring basis.  Everything has been worked into the homeschool day.  I suspect I shall be a little weary at the end of most days, but ahhh, to have our evenings as a family, it will be worth it.

One thing I haven't completed in my planning is assigning an annual reading list for each of the children.  I did go ahead and pick their first books though, so I could get them started.  I haven't done assigned reading lists in advance before, but I like the idea of giving them an approved list to choose from each time they are hunting for the next good read.

We will be doing a devotional every morning.  However, on music lesson morning, we will pop in an audio CD for a car devotional during our travel time. 

The children will also be working on memorizing selected passages from the bible as a group, with a little time spent on this each day. 

I will be teaching the devotional, history, science and writing as a group.  Math, music, additional language art courses, and each child's 'special' class will be done independently.   Specials, as we call them, is where each child picks a subject that he or she really wants to delve into.  Taylor picked web programming, Hayley picked Animal Science, and Josh and Jessica picked Art.  The children really look forward to their 'special' classes. 

Another thing I have added to the school day, is 'Handyman' hour for the boys, where they will be doing handyman projects around the house on a weekly basis and I've also added a 'Sewing' class to the schedule for the girls. 

Finally, Character training is taught all the time through constant reinforcement, but this year we decided to add in some formal character training.  John will be leading the boys in a 'manhood' training class using Pearables for Boys once a week, and I will be leading the girls in a Godly womanhood class using Pearables for Girls.   The children will also begin working on the character trait, diligence, by working through the Diligence Character Journal put out by Keepers of the Faith.

My mornings will start early.  I need time to exercise, read my bible, and update my blog before the little honeybuns get up.  So it's off to the stationery bike for me. 

Pray for our family today, and I shall pray for yours.

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Aug. 8, 2007 - A Mother's Back to School Prayer

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Jul. 29, 2007 - Our New Schoolroom is Done!

Our New Schoolroom is Done!

Since I sold my business, I no longer needed my old office, a professional, but dark and dreary place.....

So, out the furniture went.  We took down the old cupboards, patched the ceiling, repainted ceiling and walls, installed a ceiling fan and a new light fixture, and drum roll, please......the finishing touch, installed new laminate flooring over the ancient indoor/outdoor carpet.

Here's the new schoolroom, complete with 4 desks, a worktable, and 4 large bookcases that no longer adorn my dining room.....

After 5 years of homeschooling, I'm the first to admit that you can definitely do it without a dedicated schoolroom, but we're sure looking forward to having our school work, books and supplies in a central location that doesn't take over the kitchen and dining room.  Josh wanted to know if he could start school the next day, but the savvy older kids told him to be quiet. 

What a terrific family summer project this was.  The kids all learned so much in the process.  John says that Taylor (13) can measure, cut and install laminate flooring all by himself now.  Hayley and Jessica practiced painting and Josh learned many new tools as he helped Taylor put together 4 desks with hutches.

The VIP award definitely goes to Taylor, who also crawled in between the floor joists to install a 2x4 support for a heavy ceiling fan.  You rock Taylor!

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Jul. 13, 2007 - Teaching Children Technology

• Provide every child with his or her own laptop as soon as they can read. They’ll be using one the rest of their life. This can be expensive, but the payoff is a technically savvy student who can adapt to new technologies without flinching.
• Provide access to a wide variety of computer programs for educational and entertainment purposes. Keep adding to the mix. It goes without saying that you have to screen appropriate software, but there are literally thousands upon thousands of acceptable choices. 
• Give them a digital camera of their own to take pictures. They will discover that it’s very easy to load, edit and store them on their laptop. 
• Teach them about computer hardware also. If you don’t have the expertise, find a relative or friend or software program to do it for you. They need to know the difference between a USB port, a PCI slot and a Digital Media reader. 
• Revamp your science education program to include plenty of technology studies. One added benefit, if you’re not comfortable with technology, you will learn right alongside of them. 
• Provide internet access with an internet-filtering and monitoring program such as Cybersitter or Snoopstick. http://www.cybersitter.com The internet-filtering portion of the program is used to prevent access to certain websites, such as social websites like FaceBook and MySpace and other types of sites that you don’t want them exposed to. The monitoring portion of the program records e-mail, chat, web-sites visited, etc… With clear instructions from you and a stealthy internet filtering and monitoring program you will be able to immediately correct and discipline inappropriate use. 

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Apr. 1, 2007 - A Brief Overview of Homeschooling Methods

There are as many different approaches to homeschooling as there are homeschoolers, ranging from a formal school-at-home philosophy to the child-led philosophy of unschooling, with many variations in-between.  When we first made the decision to homeschool our children, I was overwhelmed by so many different choices.  I read books, talked to other homeschoolers, attended conferences, and surfed the internet, all of which helped me to form my own opinions.  If you are considering homeschooling, or just trying to learn more about it, here is a brief summary of the more popular methods.

School-At-Home.  This method attempts to duplicate a traditional school in the home environment, complete with textbooks, teacher-led instruction, and formal scheduling.

Classical Education. Comparable to European private schools of two centuries ago, studies include Greek and Latin, logic, art, philosophy and music.

Unschooling. Child-led learning where children explore as they naturally develop various interests. 

Charlotte Mason. Developed in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, this method recommends reading “living” books (books written by a single author passionate about a particular topic) and narrating them back to a teacher to demonstrate understanding. 

Distance Learning and Umbrella Schools. Some programs provide a combination of learning materials, DVDs, satellite courses, internet courses, grading and record-keeping services, and even diplomas.

Homeschool Co-ops.  These are usually put together by home-school support groups and utilize parents with specific skills in related areas.  Co-ops can be as small as two families or combine the resources of a large support group.

Eclectic Homeschooling.  Choosing and combining your favorite homeschool philosophies, you can create your unique homeschooling approach.  This is probably the most common method of homeschooling.

This is not an all-inclusive list, but it hits the highlights.  Although it is a very broad overview, my intent is to give you an introduction, helping you to focus your research in areas you find intriguing.

© Sallie H. 2007, All rights reserved.

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