Creekwood Chronicles

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This blog is a place to chronicle our family's adventures in homeschooling, special needs, adoption, child training, and life in general.

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Thank goodness I was never sent to school...Beatrix Potter quote at DailyLearners.com

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Sep. 29, 2009

Farewell September

Posted in Creekwood Academy

Where does the time go? I'm amazed that it is the end of September already. I meant to blog at the end of each school week and summarize what we learned, but that idea got lost in the shuffle really fast. I still want to do a recap of each week - we'll see how this week goes. For now, I'll give a brief summary of this past month, in a nutshell (the "natives" are getting restless):

The first week of the month was spent in doctor appointments and an eye exam under anesthesia (DS won't cooperate to have a regular eye exam & doesn't understand why we need to do them either), and a parent/teacher welcome & info meeting before the EI preschool year starts.

On September 6 my parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary. Wow! That's very rare in this day and age, sadly. DS started his weekly EI preschool class again that week. We also had a formal ASD (autism spectrum disorder) screening for him, followed by an official diagnosis [sigh]. I haven't processed all that data yet (emotionally or mentally).

Our first official day of school was September 14. On Mon/Wed/Fri mornings while DS is at his preschool class, I get to work one-on-one with DD. After lunch on weekdays, and on Tue/Thu we get to have "school" together. We cut our school-week short to go visit grandma and help make applesauce. Even DS helped! It's yummy too!

Since our first week of school was cut short (lesson wise), I decided to push our calendar of lessons back a week and continue week one the following week. This proved to be a good idea since we are still trying to get used to the new "school-time" routine and not everything works as scheduled. We also received the doctor's report from DS's autism screening (still trying to absorb all that info).

And now this week - yesterday was picture day at the EI preschool. Last year DS did very well (he loves getting his picture taken - I think its the flash he loves more than anything), so I am eager to see the photos from this year. We have had two good days for school-time, and I am hopeful that the rest of the week will go as well (or better?). I'll have to let you know...

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Sep. 1, 2009

Our Learning Tree

Posted in Creekwood Academy

I am so excited! I just finished creating my first bulletin board. I wanted to make something attractive and also inspiring to decorate the one really "school-y" thing in our learning area (aka: the living room & kitchen). I looked at several bulletin board ideas posted online and saw several that were intriguing. I knew I wanted something autumnal, creative but not too complicated (didn't want to spend hours working on it), and I wanted something that would suit several months (or the whole year, perhaps?).

Finally I decided on a tree, but not just any tree. Ours would have fruit or leaves (or something) on it labeled with some of the different things the children would be learning. And I wanted some kind of title to go with it. Some of the ideas I toyed with and later set aside were:

Fall-ing for Learning - cute, but I didn't like the implied randomness; I'm pretty deliberate about our learning (semantics, I know, but it irritated me)

Harvest of Learning - nice, but we're sowing the seeds here; not quite ready to reap the harvest

Nuts about Learning (with acorns) - liked the idea of using something other than fruit, but I have enough people thinking we're a little crazy because of our homeschooling and lifestyle choices without plastering a synonym on our bulletin board (yes, semantics again...)

The Fruit of Learning - not bad; I almost went with this one except when I thought about it, the academic subjects are tools for learning, not the fruit of it.

Soooooo....

I decided on "Our Learning Tree".

I made red and yellow circles out of construction paper for apples and labled them with some of the academic subjects and character traits the children will be learning this year. The tree trunk and a couple side branches are just rectangles of brown construction paper. I drew random lines and knotholes to make it look a little more like tree bark. For the leaves I cut puffy cloud-like shapes out of two shades of green construction paper and fiddled around with their placement until I liked how it looked. To finish it, I drew a few random leaf shapes on the greenery, stuck a few individual leaves on the apples, and for the piece-de-resistance, added some little sparkly fall leaves from our Autumn decor stash. The last detail was the title of our bulletin board. I sketched the letters roughly on blue construction paper, cut them out, and pinned them up (I stapled all these elements to the bulletin board - a trick I learned from a school teacher years ago). The result is what you see above. I'm very pleased with how it turned out. I hope you like it too.

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Aug. 31, 2009

On the Eve of a New School Year...

Posted in Creekwood Academy

These past few weeks have been full. We've been enjoying the summer weather while it lasts and I've been busy as a bee getting our things ready for the new school year. Below is an overview of what I've been working on lately:

I've been fine-tuning and implementing the much anticipated family "schedule". I got the "Managers of Their Homes" (MOTH) book for my birthday in July and after reading and digesting the detailed and very helpful information a couple of times, I started putting together our schedule. Let me just say that I LOVE this system - it is so helpful to me! I've tried to use several other styles of routines/schedules in the past and they've all flopped. We've been taking the baby steps and slowly adding more parts of our MOTH schedule as we get used to it and it's working. I'm getting a lot more accomplished and feeling much more organized - it's great! We're not done yet (there are some blank spots yet to plan) and we haven't got to where we're doing the whole thing, but we're headed in the right direction.

I've been sorting through our books and supplies and organizing our shelves again. Now things are easier to find as we need them.

I bought a 6-pack of magazine storage boxes to help organize our school books/materials (see blue boxes on bottom row above). They have been very helpful, and I wanted to be able to organize some more things that way, but couldn't bring myself to spend the $$ for them at the store. Thankfully I saw an idea for using empty cereal boxes and decided to make some storage boxes.

I started with several of these:

And after several days of cutting, gluing, papering, and drying, I had several of these:

Normally I wouldn't choose a modern circle pattern paper (I'm very much an "old-fashioned" girl), but the main paper I had on hand to cover the boxes was brown kraft paper, and the blue & green circles matched my decor, while the beige/brown circles matched the kraft paper - so it works. And in case anyone is wondering, I used larger size cereal/cracker boxes such as one gets from the big warehouse stores. These were sufficiently deep to hold 8x11 or slightly larger papers & materials (like a plethora of coloring books!). It also took longer than I anticipated because I had to keep clearing off the kitchen table so we could eat there at mealtime (imagine that!), but they're finally done - until I decide I need some more!

I've also been inspired by the workbox idea that so many are talking about. I have neither the book or the floor space to implement the full system, but one homeschool mom showed how she adapted it to use with a portable file box, and I thought that would just suit us to a tee. For the moment, the children's boxes are holding their school materials - pink for her and blue for him (what can I say, I'm a traditionalist!).

My box (in the center) has the only empty hanging folders I could find - thankfully, there are 5, one for each day of the school week. I have labled them Monday through Friday and color coded them to match the folders inside. In each day there are 3 clear folders (I got the package of 15 folders on clearance at the office supply store for $4). Since the folders have three different tab positions in 5 different colors, I matched the color with the day of the week and labled each of the three tab positions for each of us. Mine are the first tab on the far left, DD is the middle tab, and DS is the far right tab. That way I can see at a glance whose folder is out for any given day. And because they are heavy-duty plastic they should hold up to repeated handling pretty well.

So far I plan on using this to assemble the basic materials/papers needed for each day of the week to go with our curriculum, rather than dividing it up each day. This is our first "official" year, so I want to take it easy and not try to do too much all at once. In our state, record keeping is required when a child enters first grade (or is age 8, whichever comes first). Since we're doing K & PreK levels this year, I plan on keeping my records as if I had to for state requirements (like I will have to next year), as a practice run for record keeping. My hope is that by the time next year rolls around, I will have a pretty good handle on maintaining regular records and it won't seem so daunting when I need to have them for state requirements.

I've also been exercising my creative muscles and creating some visual charts/displays to use in our daily school routine. I have a bulletin board mounted on the wall above my computer. I cleared it off and am prettying it up to use for school stuff...

The border above the bulletin board is a Susan Winget border I found at Michaels in their new teacher stuff section. I love Susan Winget's artwork! I cut the scalloped ABC border from black cardstock and used a white paint pen to write the letters. The type of letter I used is the D'Nelian style font. I really like the contrast and how it looks like a chalkboard around the edges. I also have the numerals from 0-9 along the bottom of the frame.

Like many others in homeschool blogland, I found some handy pocket charts in Target's dollar section. I used one to make a chart of our daily routines:

I got tired of the endless, "Is it time for lunch?" and "When are we doing ------?" questions. There are only 8 rows, but it is enough to list our main morning-afternoon activities. It will also help my DD practice reading the clock. Each activity has the time beside it (not shown) and she can just check the clock to see if the time matches. I added pictures beside each event to help recognize the different activities since I have pre-readers on my hands.

The other chart I will be using as a learning chart to help us review what we are learning each week:

I am using the Sonbeams curriculum I was blessed to receive in March as our "spine". I will be adding things & adapting it to make it more challenging for DD and simplifying it for DS. The 26 week curriculum follows a letter of the alphabet each week, the numerals from 0-25, a color a week for the first 11 weeks, a shape a week for the next 10 weeks, and finishes up with various gross motor & fine motor skills. I'll share in another post some of the modifications I am making to fit our family, but that's the program in a nutshell.

Finally, I have put together a Calendar Board to use at the begining of our school day. I made this on a tri-fold board for several reasons: 1) we don't have the wall space to hang it (and it won't stay put if I hang it on the glass door in the kitchen - condensation is the enemy of adhesive); 2) DH prefers not to have dozens of school things scattered everywhere, so I wanted something I could put away each day; 3) and having something we take out each morning helps make the start of our "school time" feel a little more official.

I found the calendar numbers/months at the dollar store. I am using black velcro to attach the calendar pieces because they are easier for DS to see. It may not be the prettiest, but high contrast materials are a must with low-vision. I realize it is not yet September 1st - I added them for the photo shoot.

Here is a close up of the right hand side:

Besides doing the calendar, we will recite the salutes to the American flag, Christian flag and the Bible (a tradition I'm bringing in from my own homeschool days). I have the US flag picture mounted on the left hand side of the board and the Christian flag & Bible pictures here on the right. If you look closely you will notice that the bottom of the pictures is not attached. I mounted them so they can flip up and we can read the words of the salute underneath (in case I forget sometime). I've also printed out and mounted on cardstock several verses that I want to be a theme or motto for our learning.

On the left hand side (below the US flag) I have another verse and pockets to put the numbers in Chinese & French we'll be learning with our dates. Why Chinese & French? Well, DS was born in China and I have French ancestry. We'll also be learning the colors in Chinese & French, but more on that another time. To make the clear pockets for the number cards I used one of my clear sheet protector pages, cut to size, and taped to the cardstock with clear packing tape. I wanted a clear pocket that would survive repeated handling and this seemed to fit the bill. We'll see how it holds up to daily use - I may do this part myself just so I know it won't be mauled by eager little fingers.

Well, those are all the things I have pictures for. I've also been typing up lists, school calendar activities, title pages for the children's learning notebooks, and ironing out the lesson plan details. It's been fun (and I'm not quite done yet), but I'm glad I have this "practice" year before the formal "you must keep records" stuff really begins, because even this simplified planning has been a lot of work. Much of that is due to planning for a regular K level child and a special needs PreK child schooling together, and I hope that gets easier with time and experience.

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Jul. 6, 2009

Pennsylvania Lapbook

Posted in Creekwood Academy

Well a few posts back I mentioned that I had recently spent two weeks in China and that when I recovered I would have something to share. Well I'm here to make good on that promise. I won't go into all the details about the trip - some things are a little sensitive given the country I was visiting - but one of the things we did while we were there was to visit an English training school. Schoolteachers from the countryside were given the opportunity to come into a city and study English for two years. Upon graduation from this program they return to their villages as English teachers. We were invited to visit this school for two days and talk with the students so they could practice their English with us.

We were asked to bring something to share with them about our families, where we live, our jobs and the like. We were not allowed, however, to openly share our faith. I did not know how I could talk about my family without sharing how God's hand was in everything so I decided to share about our home state - Pennsylvania. Since they asked that we bring photos, and anyone can look at and enjoy pictures even if they don't understand all the words, I decided to make a lapbook on Pensylvania to bring with me.

I thought an overview of the basics of Pennsylvania history, people and places with lots of color and pictures would at least be interesting, and a lapbook is flat so it wouldn't take much room or be too heavy for my suitcase (space and weight are at a premium when you travel overseas - especially these days).

So this is my second lapbook - you can read about my first lapbook here. I used the free Pennsylvania lapbook files from Homeschool Helper with very few modifications. I found the free PA lapbook by typing "pennsylvania lapbook" in the Google search box. It was one of the top search results. Then I supplemented their graphics with some images of Pennsylyvania and the topics in the lapbook, also found using the Google search. Some of the clip-art in the lapbook files was a little cartoony and since I was making this to share with adults, I thought I'd "mature" it just a little. I didn't want to change too much because I didn't have time and I wanted my children to enjoy looking at it too.

I made my lapbook base by refolding two file folders shutter style, so their flaps met in the center, then I glued the two folders together along one of the side flaps. I chose blue and red to reflect the colors on the PA flag, our country's colors and because I like red & blue together. I won't describe every part of the lapbook shown below because you can see all that on the Homeschool Helper PA lapbook page, but I will tell about the things I did a little differently so this lapbook would be a tiny bit more "grown-up".

Here I have the lapbook open face down so you can see the front (blue) and back (red) covers. I found several images of Pennsylvania symbols and state postcards online and resized and printed them to fit the cover. I wrote "Pennsylvania" in blue sharpie on the front and enveloped it in clear contact paper to protect it from travel wear & tear. I chose the scripty lettering for the title to satisfy my love of flowy, swirly fonts. I think it looks pretty, don't you?

Next we can see inside the front (blue folder) section:

And the back (red folder) section:

Pretty much all the white elements you see in the above photos are printed from the Homeschool Helper site. I just printed them on regular white paper, cut them out and mounted them in the lapbook. Normally I would use cardstock for the mini-books, but I did not have white cardstock and I needed to assemble this on rather short notice. Some of the pictures and a few elements are mounted on colored cardstock for stability, but most everything was just glued in as is. It works for an adults lapbook that won't be mauled by children, but I really prefer cardstock for the mini-books.

In the photo just above there is a picture I colored of an Amish style quilt pattern. This is the cover to a one-page flip book. Inside is a very brief description of the Pennsylvania Dutch people - the Amish. Above that is a photo of a scene in Amish country. The Homeschool Helper element for the Pennsylvania Dutch was a mini book with clipart, but I wanted something that really reflected something of the people.

Below the info on the Amish is a picture of a PA licence plate. I saw this idea in another homeschooler's state lapbook and thought it would be a fun touch. They do have cars in China and I thought they might like to see what one of our licence plates looked like.

Lastly, in the center of the red folder section, near the top right, is a mini-book about the famous battles in PA. I put a picture of Washington at Valley Forge behind the title on the cover, and inside are about a half dozen little pages with a very brief description of several battles that occurred on PA soil. If I remember correctly, the Homeschool Helper element for this was a one page journal block with clipart.

The other elements I added or changed a little are described with photos below.

The photo above shows the inside of the Pennsylvania state symbols flap-booklet. The instructions were to write the names of each symbol under the flap, but since I didn't know how many of these items would be familiar to the students, I found a picture of each item and glued them inside with an arrow from the name to it's picture.

Above is a page I made about the Liberty Bell. The Homeschool Helper page has links to a couple resources but not really any mini-books. I found a couple pictures of the bell - one I colored and glued to a pocket, and the other was a photo I made as the background for my data sheet on the bell. The info sheet folds up neatly and fits in the pocket.

On the other side of the red folder I have information about the Native Indian tribes that originally lived in the area. I think the Homeschool Helper element for this was a tab-top flip book with clipart. The area of China we went to is very artistic (music and handcrafts) so I wanted to show something artistic. In the fourth photo of the inside of the lapbook you can see I found a picture of some Indian beadwork for the outside of this mini-book. Above, you can see inside. The main Indian tribes lived along rivers (and generally had names to reflect these locations) so I included a picture of what a typical PA river looks like and a little map of Pennsylvania with the main rivers associated with the tribes marked.

The photo above and just below here show four famous documents that were written in Pennsylvania. The photo further up with the whole two page spread shows the little pocket I made to store these "documents". The graphic on the pocket came from the Homeschool Helper page, but I can't remember what the whole thing was, I just remember it wasn't quite what I wanted to use. Instead I found images of these documents online, printed them and mounted them on info cards I made. Basically I wanted to have the name of the document, who wrote it, when, where and briefly, why it was written. I had to be very careful here to keep to just the facts - thankfully, no one asked me to elaborate.

Finally, I added a liberal sprinkling of shiny star stickers to make it a little more festive. I hope you enjoyed this little tour of my Pennsylvania lapbook. I had fun making it and sharing it with the teacher-students.

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Mar. 18, 2009

Homeschool Q&A - Part 5

Posted in Creekwood Academy

It has been almost a year since my first four posts on this topic. You can read the four original posts here: one, two, three, four. Since that time, my children have progressed in their learning, I have found more helpful resources, and another friend shared with me that she and her husband want to homeschool their children. As I went through my original posts to share them with my other friend, I realized I could add something to the information I shared previously. My friend has kindergarten and younger age children and I thought that some of the things we've been learning and using this year would be of help to her as well as others.

Most of what I will share below is an extension of my earlier post, part three. We have continued with our informal, eclectic style of learning this year and have been having a lot of fun. Some of the lesson ideas I planned to do did not materialize and others I did not think of, spontaneously popped up and refreshed us with their newness. What that last sentence means is first, I sometimes plan too much and we can't do everything, and second, by cultivating wonder in our children we sometimes go off on learning tangents we did not plan, but that are intriguing and necessary in order to foster a love of learning.

For instance, here are a few of the questions my daughter has asked in the past couple months and some of the things we have learned as a result:

"What do bears eat?" - Generally speaking, bears like to eat honey, berries, fish, and some smaller animals.

"Do bats have tails?" - Yes, bats do have tails. Their tails are built into their wing structure. They are awake at night and sleep during the day. They sleep upside down. They like to eat insects. They have excellent hearing.

"What is an opossum?" - An opossum is a mammal with grey hair on its body, a white face and long, skinny pink tail. They are marsupials and the mothers carry their babies in a pouch (like kangaroos). They hang upside down by their tails. They sleep a lot. They don't move quickly - we learned this when we nearly ran over one on our way home one evening, thus prompting this particular mini-unit study.

We are still working on reinforcing phonics and some sight words as a precursor to reading. DD is impatient to read, but does not always think about what sounds the letters make before she guesses what the word she is looking at says. So we're still taking it slowly - but I don't think it will be long before she gets it and is reading.

With her handwriting, she still tends to want to write her letters any old way instead of following the instructions to form the letters in a specific pattern. It may seem like a small thing now, but eventually knowing how to correctly form the letters will help her be able to write more quickly and fluidly. We now have bright alphabet strips on our wall so she can look at the letter and see the arrows to know how she should write each letter.

We also have been doing copywork to give her practice writing words and phrases with correct upper and lower case letters and proper size and spacing.

We have done several different unit studies so far, some with lapbooks to remember the things we learned (some lapbooks have been started but, alas, not completed yet). Most of these unit studies were inspired by books we were reading, and a couple were the result of activities that caught our interest. We have learned about Johnny Appleseed, Laura Ingalls Wilder and the "Little House In the Big Woods", rainforest animals and habitat (after attending a rainforest show sponsored by a local Christian school), and Chinese Spring Festival (aka: Chinese New Year).

I'm sure you've noticed the theme of animals, animals, animals in the above activities. Animals of many kinds seem to be a great favorite with our DD. In fact, animals I wouldn't touch with a 25 foot pole are delightful and intensely interesting to her. Perhaps she will be a veterinarian or zoologist some day. See the photo from the rainforest show below for proof:

How many of you would like to cozy up to a giant albino constrictor (expert handler present or not)? Apparently my daughter thought it was the greatest thing. And I learned that she can be braver than I am in some things, and snakes are not slimy - it was warm, smooth and soft (and she thought it would be a good pet). DS liked the birds at the show, especially the one that flew right over our heads and brushed us with her wing! I am much more comfortable with birds.

For math we have been counting higher, practicing writing the numbers, learning to read a digital clock, using manipulatives, and lots of practical mental math skills. DD clearly has her Daddy's brain when it comes to numbers. I have to really be prepared and know the answer before I ask her anything, because she is very quick. I have been researching math programs and really like what I have learned about Math-U-See. Hopefully we can start using that program this summer or in the fall.

With our DS so many things have progressed since last spring. He attends an Early Intervention preschool class three days a week in order to have access to the therapy he needs to catch up developmentally with his peers. He really seems to be enjoying this class and will be staying on through next year. After he turns six, he will not be able to remain in the EI preschool environment. However, we will cross that bridge when we get there.

For Christmas we added Preschool Prep Company's "Meet The Colors" to our DVD library. This has proven to be one of the best choices we have made for him as far as learning tools goes. Since December, he has not only learned the basic colors, but can consistently name the color of nearly anything in sight - something he seems to do all day, every day! He enjoys the other Preschool Prep titles we have (letters, numbers & shapes) and can say many of their names, but finds it difficult to identify them when asked. After thinking about it, I have come to the conclusion that perhaps his vision does not allow him to see the shapes of the objects (letters, numbers, shapes etc.) clearly enough to be able to identify them. However, colors are not bound by a shape so they were easier for him to learn.

To help with his letters, numbers & shapes I plan to make large size, textured items to hang on the wall and put in simple learning folders for him to use. I'm not sure if this is the final solution, or just a step in the right direction, but we'll give it a try.

DS is doing an excellent job of correctly naming many different animals and identifying the sounds they make. He knows the standard farm animals (cow, horse, sheep, chicken, rooster, duck, pig, goat), several forest animals (bear, deer, rabbit, mouse, owl), some zoo animals (giraffe, elephant, hippo, zebra, camel, tiger, lion, panda, monkey) and the familiar dog, cat, fish, and bird. Oh and one of his favorites - dinosaurs!

Another wonderful change is that DS actually likes having books read to him now! I LOVE books so this is a big thing with me! In fact, he will come and ask for "book?" many times during the day, and is more than happy to have the same book read to him over and over again. They must have pictures though. He cares little for a story, regardless of how interesting it may be, if there are no pictures to look at. I am so excited to see how much he is enjoying books now. He wants to share them with everyone. His sister was not feeling well a couple days ago, and while she curled up on one end of the couch, he sat at the other end with several bright books "reading" the pictures! I'm not sure she fully appreciated his translation of the stories (he still speaks largely in "gibberish") but he was content and seemed delighted to be "reading" to her for a change. It was very sweet!

In his EI class, they have several crafty projects they work on each week. Because he is regularly encouraged to work with paint, glue and other gooey materials, he now actually enjoys these substances. He still is not a huge fan of play-dough, but I think that will come in time. It is a good tool for strengthening his hand muscles and finger dexterity, so I'm not giving up on it yet. I saw how much he enjoyed crafty projects when I had the children make some Valentine's Day pictures for their Daddy. My DS spontaneously requested different colors of markers to color with, cheerfully glued and sticker-ed, and when his first picture was done, promptly asked to make another one! Below are photos of the Valentine pictures he made:

His sister made these pictures:

One other thing before I wrap this up. A couple of months ago I came across a blog site called "Tot School". In it are ideas for learning geared toward toddlers and pre-preschoolers. I have found that many of these ideas work well for my DS, as his development is currently in that age bracket. Some of the ideas do not work because of his vision issues, but may be adapted with larger items. I'm still working on figuring out how to adapt the ideas for him specifically, but the ideas are great.

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Oct. 29, 2008

Her first Creation Journal

Posted in Creekwood Academy

We have been enjoying an informal study of God's creation for years. We live in an area that experiences four distinct seasons and with that comes many opportunities to see many different things God created and observe their changes through the year.

DD is taking every opportunity she can to practice writing her letters, and her drawings are getting much more easy to recognize. She is forever asking me about the birds, animals, insects and plants we see in our neighborhood and we have been having a lot of fun learning about them in more detail. This fall I thought it might be a good time to start recording what we're learning in a Creation Journal (sometimes called a Nature Journal). We will use these for the final drafts. DD will practice her drawing and writing on loose paper, then copy her best work into her journal.

DD and I both made one. We took plain composition books - well, hers has a half page of primary lines on the bottom and blank drawing space on the top - and used pretty paper & stickers to decorate the covers. To protect the covers from regular wear and tear, I covered the finished surface with clear contact paper. Here is DD's first Creation Journal:

I chose the blue & brown color papers for mine, and DD wanted hers to look "just like" mine, so we used a more "grown up" decorating idea for her book too. The light green swirly lines are a heavy glitter paper (I can't avoid glitter of some kind with this girl!), and the green dots are the same paper, cut with a hole punch.

I printed the title on the plain brown side of one of the patterned papers so it matched the color scheme. After the background paper and title were dried completely, DD picked where she wanted me to put the swirls, violet rub-ons, and cardstock decorations (the "B" for her name, and decorative squares & rectangles). When those were securely dry, she went to town with the leaf stickers and glitter dots.

Finally, I wrote some of the things she will record in her journal along the swirly lines (she can't write that small yet). For a sample of her handwriting, see her first journal entry below:

I hope you enjoyed a glimpse into our DD's first Creation Journal. She and I have certainly enjoyed making it and journaling about all the wonders of God's creation we see around us. Today, I think we need to do an entry about the first snow of the season - my DD's favorite kind of weather!

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Oct. 7, 2008

My Lapbook Sampler

Posted in Creekwood Academy

I have been thoroughly enjoying creating lapbooks with my children. DD loves it and DS tolerates it in small doses. There are so many different kinds of mini-books and things one can use in a lapbook. We have not yet purchased any kits, just put our own things together and things we found free online, but it's been fun. I noticed that I was accumulating quite a pile of sample mini books. Every time I came across a mini book I liked, I followed the instructions and made a sample for future reference. Well, I had quite a collection in my lapbook idea folder, and I needed to find a better way to organize them. Then I thought, why not make a lapbook of all the ideas and mini book samples? So I did. And I uncharacteristically threw my natural perfectionistic tendencies out the window and just quickly laid it out and pasted them in. I wanted to get it done quickly, so I didn't stress out if things weren't absolutely perfect. So my first lapbook is complete, organized, functional and not too bad looking, for a quickly put together project. I hope this helps you with your lapbook ideas. Enjoy!

I made my sampler base by refolding two file folders shutter style, so their flaps met in the center, then I glued the two folders back to back. I made two title cover sheets and mounted them on the "front" of both sides. Here is what one of the title covers looks like:

To reinforce the connection between the two folders, I used a long strip of clear packing tape on each side. Next, I took all my mini-book samples and laid them out, trying to keep it relatively organized. When everything had a place, I took my glue stick and went to town sticking them in.

Here's what I put in side one:

This is the full spread on the first side of my sampler. In the center I stapled in some illustrated instructions on how to create about 7 different basic mini-books. I have samples of each of these in my lapbook, but I might forget how to fold something someday (I'm human, it happens). This way I won't get stuck on the "how-to". Below are close-ups and more details about what everything is.

On the left hand side, from top to bottom, I have a pocket (with notes on a lapbook I'd like to do sometime sticking out of the top), a matchbook, and a four-corner book (aka: quilt square book).

On the right hand side I have a flap book. These can have almost as many or as few flaps as you like, and can be mounted vertically, as I did, or horizontally.

On the other side of the sampler I have the following:

In the center I have instructions on how to make a mini-book with one sheet of paper, sometimes called a "poof" book. I guess because you fold it, make one cut and, "poof" you have a little book. And yes, it is pretty much that easy.

Under those notes, I added an extension and attached some idea pages from Scrapbooking To Learn.

On the left hand side (sorry its a little blurry) I have a couple poof books and an accordian fold book below. A close-up of the yellow poof book is below.

This yellow poof book was my first mini-book sampler. I made the mini-book and wrote in directions and illustrations for some of the great mini-books I was learning about. Nothing fancy, in fact, my handwriting is a little crooked and sloppy. After doing this little booklet, I decided to start making a sample of the different mini-books instead of just taking notes on them. And that pile of samples led to this Lapbook Sampler.

On the right hand side I have a circle flip book. Folded, it is a compact quarter of a circle. When opened, it expands to half a circle, 3/4 and finally the full circle seen above. I saw a video on YouTube a while ago where a mom was showing her childs lapbooks. She used this circle idea to create a large circle lapbook on the days of creation. It was very impressive.

On the back of the right hand flap I have a larger, double layer poof book. I just put a smaller mini book inside each page of the larger one. Here it is open to some of the pages:

And that concludes this brief tour through my Lapbook Sampler. I hope my ideas are helpful to you. I had a lot of fun putting it together and the samples and ideas have been really useful in this format. Next time I do a lapbook for myself, I'll make it a little more substantial. Perhaps a study of a foreign country, or a certain period of history, or... ah, well, at least I got to make one of my own!

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Sep. 13, 2008

Our First Lapbook - part 3 - Autumn 2007

Posted in Creekwood Academy

Okay - here is the reverse side of my DD's Thanksgiving lapbook (for the other side, see my previous post). On the front cover is a picture she colored of the Mayflower.

My DD's favorite colors are pink and purple, so autumn or not, she wanted to use those colors in her Thanksgiving lapbook (like I said before, she's a girly-girl). She traced the words for the title, though I wrote "Mayflower" on the ship, she chose the purple pen - she can't write that small yet.

Opening up both flaps you see the Pilgrim theme and a little bit about the First Thanksgiving and the Mayflower journey.

On the left hand side is a little map of the Mayflower crossing and a list of foods they may have had at the First Thanksgiving celebration. We compared that list with the foods we like to eat at our Thanksgiving meal. On the right hand side is a little page of Pilgrim & Indian math. DD cut the numbers out of a strip and after adding up the people in each equation, glued the correct number beside it. All the cutting and gluing on this side was done by my DD. I helped with layout though.

In the center are several pages about the pilgrims and their life in the new world (simplified for a 3.5 year old of course). On top is a rhyming story called "Pilgrim, Pilgrim".

Next is a coloring picture of what their village might have looked like. I'm not sure why she wanted everyone to have green hats, but there it is.

Last is a matching activity page about how the Indians taught the Pilgrims to use fish to fertilize the corn. She colored the fish pictures and cut them off a strip below the picture of corn. Then she had to match the quantity of fish in each picture with the numeral beneath each corn stalk and glue them on.

If you close the right flap you can see she decorated this side with leaf stickers and confetti. The big leaves were cut out of a page of clip art. The verse was at my place at my MOPS Thanksgiving meeting. DD loved the satiny ribbon, even if it was brown. We talked about how the leaves change color in the autumn and fall off the trees. This was the only way I could encourage DD to include some actual fall colors on this side of her lapbook. The girl loves pink and purple!

This concludes the posts about our first lapbooks created in autumn 2007. Since we made these a year ago, it was a challenge to find exact links for all the printables we used. I only used free sources. Since this was our first lapbook, I did not want to buy anything in case my children did not click with this project, not to mention that the things I wanted to include for DS's lapbook would probably not fit with a conventional kit. Mostly I did a google search for "thanksgiving" "mayflower" and "pilgrims" to find the pictures, graphics and examples of other lapbooks in this theme. Specific pages came from the following sites:

Thanksgiving lapbook idea from Little Blots
Writing practice sheets & coloring pages
"Pilgrim, Pilgrim" story booklet
Mini-books "I Am Thankful" & "Thanksgiving Colors" by Barbara Pratt from Pratts Educational Resources (sorry couldn't find the link again)
Mayflower journey map
"Fertilize the Corn" activity page

We had a lot of fun learning together and creating these lapbooks. I hope you enjoyed them and that perhaps they gave you some ideas to use with your children.

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Sep. 12, 2008

Our First Lapbook - part 2 - Autumn 2007

Posted in Creekwood Academy

Like I mentioned in the previous post my son had therapists working with him to help with his multiple developmental delays. Because they came to our home at the time, they kindly included his sister in their art & craft projects. I included more detail in the things we did for my daughter's lapbook, but some of the elements will look familiar if you saw the previous post on my son's lapbook. My daughter was also 3.5 years old, but has no developmental delays - in fact she can't seem to learn things fast enough. She wants to know & do everything now! I hope you enjoy looking at her first lapbook. We certainly had fun making it.

DD's lapbook is two-sided (two folders attached back to back). The first side (shown in this post) is in an autumn theme with a few Thanksgiving elements. The second side (to be shown in a future post) illustrates on a basic level what she was learning about the pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving. More about that later, but now, part one of DD's Thaksgiving lapbook.

First is the cover page. Again, I traced the leaf shape on her pumpkin fingerpainting and cut it out. DD helped mount it on colored paper for stability and traced the words for the title. Then she put glitter glue for added interest (what can I say - she's a girly-girl who loves sparkles!).

Inside are some fall theme pictures DD colored to practice staying in the lines and following directions. The Turkey picture in the center is a "color by letter". She had to look for the letters and match the correct color. It was a bit of a challenge for her, but she loved it when she could see the picture completed. She also did a very good job of staying in the lines. The picture underneath it on the left was a similar idea. I wanted her to practice following directions and to color the fruits & vegetables in the colors God made them in nature. I outlined each item with marker and she filled them in with crayon. Beside that is the Bible verse we were working on.

On the bottom right hand side is a little "turkey math". The colored turkeys were in a separate strip. She colored them then cut them out and glued them on the page in the correct order. It was a little easy for her (she's been counting for a while now), but she liked the turkeys and the cutting & gluing practice. At the top of each of the side flaps are mini books I found online. Below are a few pictures of what's inside each mini book.

The first one on the left says, "I Am Thankful For..."

The second one on the right says, "The Colors I Eat on Thanksgiving Day".

In the center, under the color-by-letter picture was some writing practice with the letter "T", and under that was a page with leaf matching.

With the right flap closed you can see her "pumpkins from seed to harvest" sequence.

DD traced the numbers and cut out the shapes and glued them on for the covers of our little flip books. We used the colors one would see during the life-cycle of a pumpkin. Inside are illustrations of the different stages of a pumpkin.

That is the first side of my DD's first lapbook. I will show the other side of her Thanksgiving lapbook in another post. Stay tuned!

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Sep. 11, 2008

Our First Lapbook - Autumn 2007

Posted in Creekwood Academy

I finally got pictures of our first lapbooks. I made them with my children last autumn. I wanted to find a compact way of displaying the skills my son was learning with his therapists as well as a way to keep some of the little projects he made with them. Then I found out about lapbooks. It seemed the perfect solution.

The ones I did with my son last year are perhaps not your traditional lapbooks, but it worked for us. He had vision therapy (he has low-vision issues), speech therapy, occupational therapy and general developmental therapy. I took the fall pictures his therapists did with him and the skills he was learning (pre-writing, coloring, cutting, gluing, color matching and so forth) and created a lapbook containg those items along the autumn/Thanksgiving theme.

This post will show pictures and descriptions of my son's Thanksgiving lapbook from 2007. I hope our simple ideas will encourage you to try lapbooking with your child.

The front cover says, "We Are Thankful". One of his therapy projects was a large fingerpainting of a pumpkin. It was far too big to keep whole, so I took a maple leaf shaped plate I have and traced the outline on the pumpkin painting. I cut the leaf out and mounted it on colored paper for stability. I found the graphic for "Thankful" online and created the title with it. To reinforce the sensory/texture lesson he was learning with the fingerpainting, I had him spread colored glitter glue on the front of his lapbook (using glitter was his sister's idea - she wanted sparkles on hers!). I also wrote what skills the different elements of his lapbook demonstrate so we will be able to remember years from now what he was learning.

Inside are elements that illustrate the different skills he was working on with his therapists:

I had him color a picture of the Mayflower and practiced saying "boat" (speech therapy progress was a very tricky one to include in the lapbook!). He used a bingo dauber to make the brown dots, and cut pieces from strips of red, orange and yellow paper. Then he practiced gluing the pieces he cut to leaf shapes and matching the colors. I found several pictures of fall produce/food in those same colors and he matched them and glued them nearby.

Attached underneath the boat picture is "T" for turkey and thanksgiving. This was pre-writing practice. He was learning to make vertical & horizontal lines, starting at the green dot and ending at the red dot (top to bottom and left to right). He made these lines without assistance (and that was a big step!).

Next, below that page is a turkey picture for more coloring practice. He also loved making turkey sounds with this one (actually, he liked it best when Mama made turkey sounds!).

The last layer inside his lapbook has a finger rhyme song we practiced for fun and to help him become more aware of his hands and to strengthen his fingers. Below that is a picture of pilgrims - I chose a colored picture so his lapbook would not be mostly white. He did not like to do much coloring and it made his hands tired easily if we did it too long. There are also a few colored metallic turkey decorations on the side. They are actually seasonal confetti that we kept to decorate the lapbooks. The shiny surfaces helped catch DS's eye (vision therapy at work!).

Folding the right flap in shows the Bible verse we were learning. DS tried to say some of the words, but at the time they were too difficult. It was still important to include it, and the picture above it added a little more color. And you can see a little more glitter too.

On the back of his lapbook, I attached a picture he brought home from the church nursery class one week. Considering the neatness of the picture, I think one of the teachers helped him considerably (aka: did it for him!). There are a few light scribbles in the lower right hand corner where DS made his mark. It's a turkey and he loves circles so I included it, even though he did not contribute much to this one - it's still cute.

I hope you enjoyed this little tour of our first lapbook. I'll show my daughter's lapbook in another post.

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Jun. 18, 2008

Homeschool Q&A - Part 4

Posted in Creekwood Academy

This is the last installment of my series on homeschooling. My friend had one more question, so here goes...

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Question 2:

I do have one more [question]. [Son 2] is one of those gifted children...straight A student, hardly has to study. What types of programs are there for gifted children?

Answers: Part 4

I don't know your son's specific interests, but a couple of authors I have heard mentioned repeatedly, especially for boys [Son 1] and [Son 2]'s ages, are G. A. Henty and R. M. Ballantyne. These two men wrote historical adventure stories for boys. Their books are set around historical events throughout history and all around the world. One resource I know of is Vision Forum. There are also many excellent biographies of godly heroes written for your boy's ages. Providing excellent examples of godly character through fiction or biographies is important to help them develop godly character themselves.

The Summer 2007 issue of TOS (The Old Schoolhouse) magazine covers many aspects of Special Needs, and yes, that does include Gifted learners. You can get a copy of a back issue, but quantities may be limited. Two articles I found helpful are "The Content of Their Characters: Challenges in Gifted Children" by Helene Barker Kiser (pp.117-119) and "Communication Skills and Your Gifted Child" by JoJo Tabares (pp.120-121). Some of the TOS articles are available on their website, but not the most recent ones. One article on gifted learners on their site is here.

As for [Son 2], he may be “technically” gifted or just incredibly bright. Either way, there are challenges to his education. His ability to absorb information may put him learning above his peers, and a challenge will be to make sure the material chosen is age appropriate for him, while still educationally stimulating. He may learn facts and information easily, but his mental understanding and emotional development will not necessarily be at the same level.

Gifted and very intelligent students frequently need extra help learning social skills and developing character qualities such as patience, compassion, discernment and wisdom. Because learning comes so easily to them and they frequently are beyond their peers, many tend to be impatient with others who do not know what they know or do not learn as fast as they do. Another child who learns more slowly than they, may be more wise or understand their material better because they have had more time to absorb it than the child who learns quickly and moves ahead faster.

Whatever [Son 2]'s interests, start with prayer for God's wisdom for his education, then look for things that will interest and challenge him. If he is passionate about science, look for good, Biblically based science programs - Apologia and Answers In Genesis are two great choices. If math is his thing, Saxon math books tend to be more challenging than most and may be right up his alley. If reading and writing are what drives him, let him read great books and write about whatever interests him. If he loves to read but hates writing (maybe he doesn't know what to write), try copywork using great books for fodder. If history is his passion, there is a wealth of Christian historical literature available as well as visiting historical sites and museums. These are just a few ideas.

Keep in mind also, that he may be advanced in many subjects, but struggle with one. This can be very frustrating to a bright child because everything else comes so easily to him. The key is to turn the frustration into an interesting challenge to be conquered. Boys tend to be wired to conquer things and if you come at the difficulty from this angle, it will be to your advantage. You will also want to be very aware of how [Son 2] learns best. Does he thrive with the traditional textbook approach, need to see it to understand it, need to hear it explained, or have to get his hands on it to figure it out? Bright/gifted students can have difficult enough time finding materials that interest them and challenge them at their advanced level, without having to contend with material presented in a learning style different to their own.

I hope I've been helpful. Your boys are at such great ages for learning and doing all kinds of exciting things for learning. Have fun!

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Jun. 18, 2008

Homeschool Q&A - Part 3

Posted in Creekwood Academy

Answers: Part 3

Okay. Let me see if I can wrap it up here! I think there is at least one question I have not yet answered...

Q - Have you started teaching [your children]?

I am teaching DD a little. She is eager to "do school" but I don't want to overload her or do too much too fast. Once DS catches up developmentally, and no longer needs therapy, he too will be home full-time. That will be fun!

As for DD (and I realize your sons are all past the preschool age), I have some workbooks she likes to do that we got from our local dollar-mart or the bookstore, as well as a series of preschool readiness books from Rod and Staff Publishers, and the preschool book from Handwriting Without Tears. We have a Kumon activity book and we do lots of play-dough, cutting, pasting, coloring, crafting and reading. Lots of reading! Sometimes I read to the children and look at the pictures together, and other times I read aloud while they play quietly near me. We just purchased a couple of beginner books from The Critical Thinking company and are looking forward to the arrival of Pre-Math-It.

DD also loves making lapbooks. Look it up online, they are great fun. Since she's still small, I get the materials together and help her put it together. Some of my favorite resources for lapbooking and notebooking are: Lapbook Lessons, Christian Preschool Printables, Homeschool Share, Unit Studies, Notebooking Pages, and the Notebooking Nook.

DD is chomping at the bit to learn to read. I don’t want to push it too hard and burn her out, or strain her eyesight, but she is anxious to learn. I plan on working through “Teach Your Child to Read” by Siegfried Engelmann with her in addition to our regular reading aloud. She has already started recognizing some words as we read. They are not your typical “sight words” perhaps, but she recognizes “God”, “love”, “Jesus”, “Lord”, “Ruth”, “David”, “Daniel” and a couple others.

We have been working with DS on more basic skills for the most part, but are starting to be able to introduce some new “school” concepts. During the traditional school year (Sept-May) he has therapy in a preschool class setting two-three days a week. He has vision therapy (working on learning to use and trust his eyes; learning to identify similar/different items – sizes, colors, shapes, animals etc.), speech therapy (learning how to make sounds and combine them into words; identifying items, recognizing similarities & differences, and following instructions), occupational therapy (gross motor & fine motor skills – learning to play with toys appropriately, dressing/undressing skills, self-feeding skills, coloring/pre-writing, cutting, pasting, exploring new textures (tactile), and more), and behavioral/developmental therapy (learning to express himself appropriately, exposure to preschool level activities & learning how to function in a group setting).

DS is making good progress and is developmentally somewhere around the two year old mark, more or less. We review his therapy activities at home and do plenty of things to augment it. We talk about everything we do – labeling things and explaining what we’re doing and why as we go along. His favorite shape is a circle and he finally seems to enjoy coloring. We are practicing ABC’s, basic counting, and introducing colors and other shapes. He enjoys the DVD's from Preschool Prep Company. We have the numbers, letters and shapes DVD's. We used them first with his sister, and saw amazing benefits. His low-vision affects his ability to absorb the content as quickly as she did, but he is learning. We sing a lot of songs and read stories (though his attention span is not very long for books). He can recognize and imitate the sounds of a few animals and say their name (doggie, cat, bird, cow, sheep). He’s not fond of play-dough, glue or finger paint, but likes sand, rocks, grass and chalk. I have been working through several of the activities from “Slow And Steady, Get Me Ready” by June Oberlander with him. It came highly recommended and it has been a good fit for us.

My personal preference for curriculum or method of teaching is kind of an eclectic mix of Charlotte Mason/Classical/Unit Study approach. My children are not ready for the regular "formal" learning yet, but I like what I see with the Heart Of Wisdom teaching approach, Tapestry Of Grace, Trivium Pursuit, Homeschool In The Woods, Christian Perspective, and Classical Astronomy to name a few. For Creation materials I love the resources at Answers In Genesis. They also have several Biblical history resources. Lots of great stuff there.

Aside from the books and activities, I try to weave learning into our daily lives. As my children are still so young, it is not too complicated. We identify colors and shapes of things we see; count the number of items; match like things together and identify why things are different; fractions and following directions in cooking; addition and subtraction of anything; recognizing words in books or elsewhere; memory skills with songs and verses; answering TONS of "why" questions; and practical things like helping with laundry, cooking and cleaning (my children are still young enough to think household tasks are fun) and a myriad of other things.

You want your boys to grow up to be godly men and to love to learn. Help their "book learning" come alive by integrating it into everyday things. Have them help plan meals and prepare them (home economics, nutrition, meal planning, science [what is the difference between baking soda & baking powder, and why does it matter]...), help with shopping (math, budgeting, planning, logistics [how do you keep the cold stuff from getting warm while still getting everything you need]...), gardening (science, botany, math/geometry, archeology [depending on what you uncover in your garden bed!], engineering [how to keep tomato plants or beans growing upright]...), and dozens of other ways.

Finally, a few things I have learned from others and will share with you. 1) Let your boys be boys; 2) Keep them active - a healthy, active body is necessary for a healthy, active mind; 3) Give them work to do around the house and yard - they need to know that they are a useful, contributing member of the family, and it helps to build a good work ethic; 4) Read good books with them and to them, and see that they have good books to read on their own; 5) Find ways to serve others as a family - nothing helps put our self in its place better than helping and encouraging others; 6) Help them to see God's hand in creation, in history and in your own lives.

I guess that will do it for now. I hope I have not completely overwhelmed you with all this information. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I hope I have been helpful.

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Jun. 17, 2008

Homeschool Q&A - Part 2

Posted in Creekwood Academy

This is the second of a short series of posts on homeschooling. The answers are in response to questions a friend asked me recently. For the beginning of the story, see my previous post.

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Answer: Part 2

I hope I didn't overwhelm you with my last message. I had no idea it would get so long. There is just so much to share on the subject of homeschooling! Here I go with more info!

Q – What [homeschool materials] do you recommend?

A couple of authors I have read and highly recommend are Dr. Raymond & Dorothy Moore and Ruth Beechick. They have written several books for homeschooling parents about the whys and hows and I have found them very helpful. Another author I appreciate is Voddie Baucham. He is a pastor and homeschool father whose perspective on the family and education I have been greatly encouraged by. I have read and been thoroughly blessed by his book "Family Driven Faith". There are also several video clips of him speaking available on You Tube. He has a passion to help families be a godly example and to help them train their children for Christ in our ungodly world.

I received my Spring 2008 issue of The Old Schoolhouse magazine (TOS) recently and it has their "Excellence in Education" awards for curriculum and homeschool products. Get a copy of this issue if you can, but here are their first place "winners" [subject/category - publisher/supplier]:

CORE CURRICULA

History - Sonlight
Geography - Sonlight
Phonics - A Beka
Science - Apologia
Math - Math-U-See
Literature - Sonlight
Writing (composition) - Institute for Excellence in Writing
Handwriting - Handwriting Without Tears
Complete Computer-Based Curriculum - Switched-On Schoolhouse

FOUNDATIONAL PRODUCTS

Character Building Materials - Sonlight
Bible Curriculum - Sonlight
Creation Science/Creationism Product - Apologia

ENRICHMENT PRODUCTS

Art - How Great Thou Art
Foreign Language - Rosetta Stone
Music - Alfred Publishing

GENERAL PRODUCTS

Friendliest Homeschool Company - Sonlight
Most Unique Homeschool Company - Sonlight
Best Software - Rosetta Stone and Teaching Textbooks (tie)
Best Resource Book - Rainbow Resources

SPECIALTY PRODUCTS

Unit Studies - Tapestry of Grace
Classical Resources - Tapestry of Grace
Charlotte Mason - My Father's World
Special Needs - Teach4Mastery, Inc.
Educational Games - Timberdoodle
Best Homeschool Speaker - Andrew Pudewa
Best Overall Homeschool Company - Sonlight

The above is just a list of their first place winners. The magazine itself goes into detail about their criteria and why they chose these winners. Most if not all of the above are US companies, but I imagine the materials would be available through Canadian distributors.

Of the above, we have personally used Timberdoodle for educational products and games, Rosetta Stone for Mandarin Chinese, and Handwriting Without Tears (preschool book). I also just received a copy of Rainbow Resources print catalog. The catalog is about two inches thick and seems to have a wide variety of just about anything. I have looked at and been impressed with, but not yet purchased, materials from Tapestry of Grace, My Father's World and Apologia.

Again, this post is getting really long. I'll stop here for now and continue in another message. I hope this is helpful information. Stay tuned...

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Jun. 16, 2008

Homeschool Intro and Q&A - Part 1

Posted in Creekwood Academy

My Homeschool Background

A friend of mine emailed me recently and asked me about homeschooling. She and her husband plan to begin homeschooling their three sons this fall and she wanted to learn more about my experiences. I modified the emails slightly in order to create posts for my blog. This is the first of a series of posts on homeschooling, attempting to answer some questions from my friend as she and her husband embark on this adventure with their sons.

First a little background: I was homeschooled for junior & senior high school back in the 1980’s. My six younger siblings were homeschooled from grade school to graduation, the younger ones never having been enrolled in “traditional school”. Before homeschooling, we attended a local Christian school.

Now I am married, and my husband and I have been blessed with two children (both age four). We have been educating them since they joined our family, but are beginning to start introducing more “formal” education (otherwise known as “school work”). Our son has multiple developmental delays (from living in an orphanage for 2.5 years prior to his adoption into our family), so he receives several different kinds of therapy to help him catch up with his peers. The need for therapy will diminish with time and hopefully, within a year or so, he will no longer need this extra help.

This is my homeschooling background in a nutshell. We have barely got our feet wet as far as teaching our children is concerned, but I hope my experiences will prove helpful, none the less.

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Questions 1:

[We] are planning to homeschool next year! I am so excited. [We] have prayed about this for 3 years and know without a doubt that God has directed us in this way.

My question is: What curriculum did your mom use and which one would you recommend?

I am going to an A Beka conference next week and I have many others sending me information on theirs but I wanted to ask someone who doesn't live near me about it. I LOVE the idea of homeschooling! I have all their music, swimming lessons set up for the daytime next fall. I'm really excited! We want to raise godly men more than we want them to be influenced by this school system.

The boys are:
- [Son1] age 11, Sept 08, grade 6
- [Son2] age 9, Sept 08, grade 4
- [Son3] age 5, Sept 08, grade 1

I am still heavily in the process of compiling information and have quite a hefty folder put together so far with homeschooling info. I would definitely want to keep my supplier in Canada (cost etc). I want to be "overly" prepared by the time I tell friends etc.

Have you started teaching [your children]?

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Answer: Part 1

[Dear Friend] I am so excited that you and your husband will be homeschooling your boys next year. It's a big step, but when God leads, the best place to be is right where He puts you.

Before you choose a curriculum, there are a few questions you need to ask yourselves. First, you need to be clear about WHY you want to homeschool and what your end goals for your children are. For example, a family who chooses to homeschool primarily because they want their children to be academically advanced and gain entrance into ivy-league caliber universities will choose different curriculum and methods than perhaps the family who desires their children to develop godly character or master a trade, rather than just "book smarts". You said, “We want to raise godly men more than we want them to be influenced by this school system.” That vision for your son’s will greatly impact what curriculum you select and the methods you use to teach them.

I have a few recommendations before I jump in. I highly recommend that you get a subscription to a quality homeschool magazine. My two favorites are The Old Schoolhouse magazine and Homeschooling Today . I believe both offer subscriptions to Canada. If you only choose one, I suggest TOS. I also suggest that you find a local homeschooling group and talk with the members. Other homeschoolers are a great resource. I also recommend you look into a membership with the Homeschool Legal Defense Association of Canada (for those in the USA go to HSLDA - HomeSchool Legal Defense Association).

Q – What curriculum did your mom use?

There are several homeschooling styles out there that were not around when my mom was homeschooling. My mom used a few textbooks from here and there, but at the time that was all that was available. I remember she used some A Beka (it was also predominately the choice for local Christian schools), Bob Jones and Saxon math. These and other big publishers like them would be considered a "traditional approach" to education.

The traditional approach usually consists of a "boxed curriculum" for all subjects. For students who love textbooks/workbooks and following a set course of study, this may be the way to go. Many new homeschoolers choose this as their starting point because the boxed curriculum covers all standard subjects for a given grade level and is most like the traditional school method they are familiar with. However, everything at the same level and structured the same way will not always work for every child. If you choose this approach, don't be afraid to tweak it to fit your child.

Being able to tailor your children's education to fit their needs, interests, strengths and weaknesses is one of the major benefits of homeschooling. If you haven't already, take note of your sons interests and learning styles (how they take in and process information). This will enable you to choose curriculum and teaching methods that will work for each of them. The advantage for you is that no one knows your children better - regular schools can't operate that way.

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I'll pause here for now and continue in another post. Stay tuned.

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Mar. 17, 2008

Book Review: "My Mommy, My Teacher"

Posted in Creekwood Academy

My children love looking at the wonderful illustrations in Johannah Bluedorn's book, "My Mommy, My Teacher". The vivid colors and rich detail on every page are simply stunning! I chose this as the first of Johanna Bluedorn's books to purchase for our family because of the title. We are homeschooling our children, and though they are only preschool age, many of their young friends attend a school outside the home. Even her little brother, because he needs several different therapies to help him progress developmentally, attends a special class at a preschool each week. My daughter was wondering why she didn't "go to school" and if she was missing something exciting. After introducing her to this book, she only wonders when we will get to do all of the different things in the story! Hardly a day goes by without at least one request to hear the "Mommy Teacher" story. Read it - you won't be disappointed.

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Nov. 29, 2007

Desks!

Posted in Creekwood Academy

I just have to share a blessing we received this week. I was talking to a friend of mine and she brought up the fact that I said we are homeschooling. When I confirmed this, she looked at me and said, "You over-achiever, you!". Believe me when I say that couldn't be further from the truth! Some days I think I've been productive if we're all dressed before noon and we've all eaten regular meals. Laundry, dishes, cleaning and the like are often pushed off the radar by a couple of three year-olds who need "Mama Time" - especially our DS who is still learning what home and family mean. In fact, if there is a mama of littles (without older children helpers) who does get it all done regularly without neglecting the all-important "Mama Time", I'd really like to meet her! I need a mentor in that department!

The title of "over-achiever" I quickly disclaimed, and told her that we are homeschooling because we believe God has called us to do so, not because I'm any super-mom. I saw she was thinking of the traditional classroom set-up with a teacher instructing a large group of children. I explained that that environment is not what we mean when we say we are homeschooling - in fact we don't have any desks or a chalkboard (yet). We just use the kitchen table when we need to. Here's where the blessing comes in. She asked me if we'd like a couple of old desks. They weren't pretty, just the old style with a desk lid that opens to put books and stuff in. They had two they got from an old school and weren't using them anymore - did we want them? Did we? Oh boy! She described the exact style of desk I would have wished for if I thought there were any around anymore. Well, to make a long story shorter, they brought them over this week and now we have two school desks! The desks are plain beige, and well used, but my children love sitting in them and I can hardly get them out to do other things! God is so good!

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