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The kids and I are on our way to the Illinois Catholic Homeschool Conference.
The kids are looking forward to the Teen Track and I'm happy for some inspirational talks too. I'll report on the conference when we get back. |
Posted in Homeschool
 Draft of co-op class: playing with c-mapping tools for the first time. |
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Our own Concert Youth Chorale visited Indianapolis to share a concert with the infamous Indianapolis Children's Choir. The kids really enjoyed performing for one another.
My daughter and son both sing in the Concert Youth Chorale. My daughter also accompanies the choir on flute for a piece in their repertoire.
But it wasn't all work and no play! We stayed at this hotel....FUN for all!
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Posted in Homeschool
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Focus on the Family hosts a panel discussion about homeschooling.
Sign petition in defense of homeschooling. |
Posted in Homeschool
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Math Team 2008
Our homeschool boys blew away the competition at the MathCounts chapter competition. They took the top individual places and dominated the Countdown Round. The young man holding the trophy won the Countdown round (and it was his first competition). Last year I blogged about our homeschool math team's win. Two of the returning team members are my sons. Congratulation boys! And a big thank you to Denise at Let's Play Math, who has been their devoted tutor, coach and cheerleader.
Now it's time to prepare for the state MathCount's competition. Want to try your hand at Mathcount's problems? See how far you can get HERE! |
From left to right: 4th place (tie) winner, 3rd place , 2nd place and 1st place winners. All top four place winners are members of our homeschool math team, competing with several schools throughout our region. Their team placed 1st overall and will advance to the state competition in Chicago next month.
Hey Team....we forgot to put the coach in the photo! Posted in Homeschool
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Classical Conversations is coming to a town near us! A Classical Christian Homeschool Service Information Meeting February 28, 2008, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Christ Church, PCA 1301 North Linden, Normal, Illinois The Foundations Program is for children 12 and under. This simple, yet complete program enables a mother to teach her children to master a subject easily and efficiently. For 24 weeks, mothers and children meet at one location where the students are placed in groups of 8 by age/grade and taught to learn classically by a trained tutor. Students participate in art projects, science experiments, oral and written presentations, and in a rigorous memorization program. A parent must attend. Foundations Grammar Topics
World History, American History, Science, Geography, English, Latin, Math Foundations Projects
Music Theory, Art History, Composers, Drawing, Science Experiments, Presentations The Essentials Program is for 3rd -6th grade students who want an intensive Language Arts program. They meet from 1:00-3:00 each week after their Foundations Program. The Essentials program meets one day a week for 24 weeks each school year. The students spend 45 minutes studying English grammar, 45 minutes on a writing assignment from the Institute for Excellence in Writing, and 30 minutes of Math Slam, a fun way of drilling math facts. The Challenge Program is for students 12 and older. For 30 weeks, they study six challenging subjects at home. Then they practice dialectic & rhetorical skills in a weekly 6 hour program along with tutoring in math, foreign language, and complete science labs. Students also receive suggestions for improving their written work. We call each level a Challenge rather than a grade as we want students to be at the level they are prepared to study. For Further Information, visit our website at www.classicalconversations.com To RSVP for the above events, email Sandra Haney at classicaledu.bloomIL@yahoo.com You may also contact Kim Cromer, State Manager at kcromer@classicalconversations.com |
Posted in Homeschool
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This video cracked me up! Turn up your volume. |
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This is my 14 yo daughter's favorite conductor, Dr. Shaw. She has played under his direction in the local summer youth band program since 4th grade. Recently she auditioned for our city's Youth Symphony Orchestra. This is a special program for "highly motivated" high school kids. Last night she found out she made it! And so we celebrate with her today .... atta Girl! |
Posted in Homeschool
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Even good friends raise an eyebrow when I answer their questions about homeschooling through high school. My general answer includes our love of learning using excellent literature, especially the classics. Not only do our Illinois schools not promote the classics as ideal literature, some of our districts are pushing smut on our children. Related Tags: literature, reading lists
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If you want to start a homeschool co-op, ask some experts to teach. We've lined up some very talented teachers for our Fall Semester. We appreciate their time and contributions to a rich learning environment for our children! Meet a few of them..... a Photography Teacher who blogs at Fstops and Shutter Speeds a Journalism Teacher , who is a contributing editor to the Decatur Magazine and a Math Teacher and conference speaker who blogs at Let's Play Math |
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Denise at Let's Play Math posted Homeschooling Burnout: 10 Tips for Coping. Thanks for some great ideas for re-looking at our days, Denise. How do you know if you're burned out? Some symptoms include: a lack of patience, a lack of appetite OR overeating, overreacting to minor issues, and making irrational decisions. I think I've been burned out I'd like to chime in with Denise on some strategies to battle burnout: (these are listed in no particular order) 1. Find an outside activity for yourself and the kids: a family nature walk or gardening day. If your kids are old enough, maybe you'd prefer a meditaitve walk alone, while they take a bike ride with dad. Or send them out to Tree School so you can relax on your deck and enjoy the sounds of nature vs. the sound of "Mommm"! Get fresh air and out of your house. 2. Once everyone has had some fresh air and exercised a bit, make a pitcher of your favorite drink: ice tea or lemonade? Allow yourself and your kids to take two hours of "alone time" with their beverage. Mom may choose to read one of those books piled next to her bed, or flip through a magazine or catalog, or talk to a supportive friend on the phone. Give the kids some ideas to use this time creatively......give them the digital camera to capture some nature photos, challenge them to a photo contest, make some scrapbooking pages. 3. Find a family service project and take a day away from school to serve others. Once we see "how good we have it", we're more open to recommit to our educational opportunities. 4. If you're not getting together with other homeschool families regularly, find reasons to share learning time outside of your regular academic schedule. Find a substitute teacher for a day or join a co-op in your area. 5. Engage learning modalities which do not require mom time: videos online, supplemental DVD's for textbooks, audio-visual curricular lectures and lessons, and online tutorials. 6. Maybe you have read, changing the behavior and response of others around you, begins with a change in your own heart and words. 7. You can't be serious about everything. Even catastrophes make family memories. Laugh more with your kids! And for those of us in the midst of adolescent angst, Try to Appreciate Those Teen Years. 8. Tackle the clutter and give yourself a Learning Space Make Over. Or implement just a few organizational strategies each month. Can you find the books you need in your house? It also helps to make a library corner....ask anyone who has spent a whole morning just looking for the books they need that day. Sometimes physical and mental clutter, clutters our hearts. 9. Talk to other moms about how they cope with burnout or read about the Seven Habits of Highly Effective Homeschooling. The authors of this blog series admit they do not always succeed at these habits, but sharing experiences and supporting one another goes a long way! 10. Don't re-invent the wheel. Use web resources ... it's not cheating. Honest! You can also find web resources to Homeschool for Free, if financial stress adds to your burnout. 11. Take a school vacation....no not a vacation away from school (although I'm very much in favor of that too!); make the vacation count as school. Here's an example of family weekend school or take a unit study vacation. Or find a week long school camp in your city. It's a change of routine and venue and FUN! 12. And last, but NEVER least, pray this special Homeschool Mom Prayer. Related Tags: homeschool, burnout, stress |
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