I was asked about our time-lines.  So here are a few different styles that I use frequently.  The first is my favorite for history.

These are just a chronological order of events for the American Revolution.  I got the time-line pieces from Hold That Thought.  I simple used card-stock and put them in protective sleeves.  As for the years on each page, it depends on how much information I have for each year.  I also like to color the rim of the pictures according to the kind of event it was.  This is just done according to my personal taste, it may not make sense to someone else. LOL 

Now for Science I like to use the accordion fold.  Here are a few pictures of the Chemistry one.  The first one is of it all folded up.

Then here it is all stretched out, showing the front side.

This is the backside.

I make these by cutting some card stock into strips.  I then fold the strips in half and glue together.  If you look at the pictures you can see the other colors from the backside.  It's one half glued onto one half of another paper.  It is actually pretty sturdy this way.  On this particular one there was different kinds of achievements made in chemistry.  So I use different colored sharpies for each kind.  As you can see some parts are more crowded than others.  I can't say we make the neatest time-lines but they do show us what happened when.  Sometimes we add clipart to these also.  This particular one is rather boring.

There you have it.  A sampling of how we do timelines.  I've seen some pretty elaborate ones and I think, boy ours sure don't compare.  Then again ours works for us and that is all that matters.  My best advice is to just play around with them until you find what works for you.  As long as you got the dates in the right order, you pretty much can't go wrong. 

It’s getting to be the time of year when we start thinking and making plans for next year.  So I thought I’d share how I go about coming up with curriculum for next year.  The first thing I do is see what I already have on the bookshelves and computer for the child.  See if I see something that is being offered for free I usually download it even if I don’t need it at the time.  I then save all this downloaded stuff onto a computer disk so it’s not eating up my hard-drive. 

Next I look to see what I can find for free online.  The math, grammar, and spelling are only accessible online.  So I make a note of the site on my planning page.  I’ll print those all out later after my shipment of ink comes in. ;o) 

After I’m done compiling my list of stuff I can get for free, I look to see what I still need to cover.  If it is something like history or science, I’ll usually make those lessons up myself.  I’ll start writing up my units for these and see what books I have on the shelf that I can use and which ones I’ll need to buy.  I personally don’t like history or science text so I tend to gravitate towards living books.  I’ll make a list of the books and see if I can either borrow them from the library or get them from a thrift store, yard sale, or library book sale during the summer.  I can usually find books for very cheap this way.  I do like to try and buy them if at all possible so I don’t have a time limit and I can use them for the other kids later. 

Keep in mind when planning for the coming year what you’ve covered this year and the typical scope and sequence. 

Now if you must buy curriculum I’d recommend trying to find it for sale used.  Also if you watch during this time of year you’ll see some good sales for new stuff.  I usually get my stuff off of Ebay or Amazon.  If you know of any other sites that sell used curriculum please share them with the rest of us. 

Here is a sample of the list I’ve put together for my middle son.  He’ll be in around 4^th grade next year.  I say around because some things are above, some below, and some on that level.  Remember to do what’s best for your child.  Also don’t be afraid to only use bits of a curriculum.  I’ve pieced together my own before by using some of several different resources.

I don’t think I’ll be buying much this year if anything.  If you’d like I’ll share my list of stuff that I come up with for my kids after I’m done compiling it.

PeeWee 2008-2009 School Year Curriculum plan

Math

CIMP Math

http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mepres/primary/default.htm

Grammar/Writing

Cursive Handwriting

http://www.homeeducationresources.com/FREEhandwriting.htm

Words of the Gospel copybook (on computer)

Scott Foresman

http://www.sfreading.com/resources/ghbgrd4.html

Reading/literature

James and the Giant Peach literature study (on computer)

Rabbit Hill literature study (on computer)

Ramona Quimby, age 8 (on computer)

McGuffey fourth level reader (on computer)

Where the Red Fern Grows (on computer)

The Red Badge of Courage (book and lesson on computer )

Junior Classics (on bookshelf)

Phonics

Spelling

Zaner-Bloser Spelling

http://www.zaner-bloser.com/spellingconnections/grade4.html

Games to go with list

http://www.spellingconnectionsonline.com/

Vocabulary

http://syndicate.com/

Science

Alligators (on computer)

Animal homes (on computer)

Cats (on computer)

Beavers (on computer)

Living Organisms lapbook (on computer)

Mammal unit (on computer)

Birds lapbook (on computer)

Caves (on computer)

Spiders lapbook (on computer)

Dolphins (on computer)

Moon lapbook (on computer) use with The complete book of Our Solar System (on bookshelf)

Automobiles lapbook (on computer)

Social Studies/Holidays

Aztecs unit and activity pages (on computer)

California lapbook (on computer)

Health/Safety

Bible/Character Studies

Art

P.E.

P.E. co-op classes

Hello all!  I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year!  Ours was great and busy.  I’ll post the highlights later.  I took a few days to recover from all the festivities.   My first post for the New Year will be to answer Karen’s question that she asked a couple of weeks ago.  I apologize for taking so long to answer.

She asked about teaching a 4 yr. old how to count pass 10.  The hitch is they resist correction.  I think she has my oldest living at her house. LOL First I just want to say he is only 4 so relax, and slow down a bit.  Every child is different and is ready for different things at different times.  Let me give you some personal experience as to what I’m talking about and hopefully it will ease your mind some.

My 14 yr. old son was pretty similar to how you are describing your son.  I did manage to get him to count to 30 by kindergarten but it took a lot of patience.  He didn’t really count past that until the end of kindergarten.  He was very resistant to the concept.  But on a positive note Math is now his best subject.  I didn’t really push it but I would visit it pretty frequently.  I tend to be relaxed and follow their lead.

I also had issues with my 9yr. old son.  He refused to learn his alphabet or anything to do with them.  He had absolutely no interest in learning to read or write.  By the end of  1^st grade is when he finally started reading.  He was a late bloomer with the reading but he caught up.  He has even surpassed grade level now.  One of his favorite things is reading. 

I tell you this to encourage you.  I think they are doing well and enjoying these subjects because I waited until they were ready to learn them.  I didn’t want it to become a bad experience.  My father never learned to read in school.  It was forced on him and he dug in his heels about it.  Learning to read then became a mental block; his brain just wouldn’t absorb it.  He didn’t learn to read until my oldest learned.  I actually taught them together.  Now that was weird, let me tell ya.

Now here are some ideas to try that I’ve used with my kids.  Only introduce one new number at a time.  So if he is on 10 then go to 11 and work on that until he has it.  Then just proceed to the next number.  It will take longer but with fewer new numbers to deal with it will make it easier. 

Just start counting randomly out loud different objects.  Not to him but in his earshot, where he can hear you.  Some examples, if you’re organizing movies, books, or picking up toys just start counting them as you put them away.  Don’t ask him to join just let him hear you counting them.  Have your other kids do it too.  This way he’ll hear and see you and others doing it.  He’ll pick it up on his own. 

Find a short book that has the numbers on every page and sit with him and show him the numbered pages.  Then read the numbers as you point to them.  After awhile encourage him to “read” with you.  Sometimes seeing this is the way everyone does it helps.

Count things he really enjoys.  For my oldest son we used matchbox cars and coins.  He loved seeing how many green, red, and blue cars he had.  I would also give him pennies on occasion to add to his piggy bank.  We would count how many we were adding as he put them in.  I always counted along with him as long as you are doing it the right way, he’ll hear it and catch on.  I would also count the objects and then have him repeat me.  So if I said one then he would say one, then two, and so on.  We did this for quite awhile until I thought he should give it a try on his own.  It is just memorization after all and it takes some longer to memorize things than others. 

Just be patient and practice, practice, practice.  I would limit his counting on his own for awhile.  I would just have him repeat you.  Then after several times have him try on his own.  If he starts getting frustrated or resistant just put it away and move on to another subject.  Then just revisit it at a later time.  I only sit and work with my little people in 10 minute increments.  We do some of the other stuff through out the day just as part of our normal life.  I have found that sitting at the table doing “school” is harder for the little people.  We just do it as we are cleaning, cooking, and doing our normal activities.  Look for ways to make it part of your daily living.  We’ll count how many birds we see on our nature walks, how many cracks in the sidewalk as we walk, or we’ll see who can pick up the most things around the house.  Just work it in as fun stuff.

Well I hope that helps.

Making a cereal box paper holder is relatively easy.  All you need is a cereal box and scissors.  I prefer the cereal boxes I get at Sam's club.  The ones that have multiply bags of cereal in them.  They're a little more sturdy but the others work too.

Here is a picture of the one that holds construction paper.  I also use them to hold the kids lapbooks and notebook paper.

Here it is empty

Now to make one you need a cereal box  (preferrably empty LOL) and scissors.

First you cut off the top flaps.

Then you cut about half way down on one of the narrow sides.

Then for the more narrow boxes I like to curve the sides some to make it easier to grab the paper.

Then you just stick in the paper.  If you wanted to make it pretty you could wrap it in wrapping paper or fabric. 

I was asked a couple of questions in the comments by opheliag.  So I thought I’d take a couple of minutes to answer them.  I was just going to comment back but it was getting pretty long so I decided to post it instead.

When you plan a unit study, do you include all of the subjects in the unit or do you have a separate math, science, language arts, etc. curriculum? Well when I start planning a unit I usually start with just my theme in mind.  I look for all kinds of resources.  When I’m putting it together if I have an activity that is math, science, or language arts orientated I mark it in the unit.  I do this for a couple of reasons.  One so I know to schedule lighter in those other subjects for the week and two so I can also point out to the kids how everything they learn is interrelated.  That we use the things we learn in several areas of our lives.   

Yes I do use a separate curriculum for the other subjects but on the weeks where the unit we are studying seeps into those areas I go a little lighter in the workload for them.  I just don't feel there is enough of the other subjects included to justify not teaching them separately.  But I also don't stress if we don't finish every page of a curriculum because I do cross the subjects in units.  Sometimes I will skip something in a book if it is a repeat of something we already covered in a unit.  This year my history units are heavy in language arts so I’ve picked more direct lighter curriculum for language arts, I’ve also done this because I feel they need more practice in their writing skills.  We do one grammar lesson a week from Winston Grammar, one proofreading lesson from Editor in chief, and one writing lesson from Wordsmith for the older boys and Scott Foresman Writing and Grammar for Peewee.  For spelling they do a page a day with a test on Friday.  It takes them between 15 and 30 minutes to do each lesson.  I’m sure as we progress through the year some of the writing assignments will get tougher and require more time.  The math in the units is usually not enough to make up for a curriculum so I do have them do extra math.  They do math 4 days a week.  We do the science units I made 2 or 3 times a week on top of whatever is required in another unit like history.  I usually try to make the two units coincide with each other.

I do not use a separate handwriting curriculum for them.  For the ones learning cursive I just gradually work in the letters and then have them start doing some of their copywork in cursive.   I have also tried to include critical thinking and reasoning in with the units this year instead of doing something separate.

Do you make lapbooks with all of your unit studies?  No I do lapbooks with preschool through 1^st mainly because they seem to be more fun for them.  When they get older we still do some lapbooking but we tend to do more notebooking, which is similar to a scrapbook.  They put their timelines, biography papers, maps, worksheets, a list of books read, and other things they find interesting in it.  They also like to add clip art, stickers, and color their pages.  They also store their final notebook page in a protective sleeve.  These notebooks are something we add to every year, they are ongoing.  I tend to use these methods mainly for history, science, and Bible because my guys just seem to retain these subjects better this way.  My goal is for them to have an understanding of the material and subject not necessarily to memorize every date.  Yes the dates are important but the lesson from history is far more important.  Those whose do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

Have you ever wondered how you could homeschool with out spending a fortune?  I remember when I first started out and was looking at all the curriculum.  Some of the prices are astounding and way beyond our budget.  Not that I wouldn’t love to try some of it, I just can’t afford it.  So I’ve had to get creative with our schooling and I thought I share some of the ways I manage to give them a solid education without spending a lot. 

First when I do buy a curriculum I try to find something that will work with several of them.  I also try to find things that are used but still in good condition.  Check sites like Ebay, Amazon, homeschool boards, and other educational forums for used materials. 

My kids whine about it but I rarely let them write in the workbooks.  I have them write the answers on a sheet of paper and write the page number on the top.  The only time I let them write in the book is if it can be cheaply replaced.  I do photocopy some things for them and put it in a binder.  I keep the books for the next kid.  Even if the next kid learns differently I can usually adjust the material to fit them.  And at the very least I’ll have a guideline on how to plan for that child and a book I can refer to for explanations on the subject matter.  I’ve become rather picky about what I purchase for these reasons.  I want to get as much bang for my buck as possible.

Secondly I scour the Internet for free curriculum and supplies.  You’d be amazed what’s out there for free.  Here are some of my favorites that I frequent for free material.

Old Fashion Education

Homeschool Share

Homeschool Helper

Ambleside Online

Scott Foresman Reading Grammar and Writing

Biblocats – tons of book units

Heartland Free Unit Studies – links to lots of wonderful units listed alphabetically.

The Science Classroom

Those are just a few of the things I’ve found for free.  I have plenty more linked under Free Curriculum and Free Things.

Another thing I do is check what programs the public library, parks dept., and local museums offer.  Last year I found a free art program through the art museum, several educational programs from the parks dept., and teacher’s materials at the library.  One of my favorites was a nature journal class the parks dept. held.  They had some guy (and I can’t remember his name right now) come and explain all about nature journals.  He had made some really nice ones and was happy to answer all their questions.  I have also found several places that give free tours and demonstrations.  We went and watched an artist make blown glass ornaments and vases.  The kids watched intensely and when he was done he asked the kids if they had any questions.  I don’t think he realized what he was getting himself into. LOL  Of course the kids had tons of questions for him.  He probably answered questions for at least 40 minutes.  The gentleman was great with them and even demonstrated some things again for them.  Most people really enjoy sharing what they do with an eager audience.  There are lots of opportunities out there like this it just takes some searching.

For books I love the library but sometimes it doesn’t always work out.  So I also hit garage sales, rummage sales, thrift stores, and the internet for these.  The other day I found a complete set of encyclopedias for $5 at a yard sale.  Yes they aren’t new but they still have lots of relevant information in them.  I have found several books, workbooks, and other schooling supplies at these places all for very cheap.  Keep your eyes open at the stores also.  I have found some nice things in the clearance racks.  This is how I found several posters, workbooks, and art supplies.  The stuff is usually off season or they updated the product to something prettier so they sell off the old cheaply. Here are some places you can find free online books.

Bibliomania

World Wide School

The Literature Network

The Baldwin Online Children’s Literature

Project Gutenberg

I also write a lot of our own material using internet sites, books I have on hand, and what I can get at the library.  This does takes more work and time than just buying it.  I wrote a piece on how I do this.  If you want to read it you can find it here.

As for all the supplies used in projects and experiments, I have a few different ways of getting them.  If I’m running low on newspapers, magazines, tubes, coffee cans, or other recyclable things I simple ask my friends and family to save them for me.  I then go collect them when they call and tell me they have a bag ready.  I send away for all those free vacation guides and brochures.  They are wonderful additions to state study notebooks and various other crafts.  For beads, felt, fabric, and other things I keep my eyes open at garage sales and the clearance racks.  I’ve also found different materials needed for science experiments this way.  You’d be amazed what people keep stashed in boxes in their garage.  My dad had some old motors and different electrical stuff just sitting there.  He didn’t want to throw them out but didn’t have any use for them either.  See it pays to offer to help someone move or clean out the garage.

I almost forgot to tell you my favorite place to get project supplies, workbooks, books, and crafts.  The Dollar Tree, you know that store where everything is a dollar.  They have scrapbooking items, teaching materials, and tons of things.  That store and I are best buds.  If I can't get what I need through garage sales and such I hit that store to see if they have it before going anywhere else.

Often if you contact private schools at the end of the year they are happy to give you stuff they were just going to pitch.  Teachers often have things they get for free and are willing to pass on the extra to you.  Just ask the worst they can say is no.

I'm going to leave this on the top until the 16th when the open house ends.  Scroll down for current entries. Thanks.

Tiany is hosting a Homeschool Open House.  I really enjoyed reading the other homeschool open houses so I thought I’d join in.

Hello!  Welcome to our Open House!  My name is JoAnn.  I’m a mom to 4 kids 3 boys and 1 girl, Pumpkin 13 (almost 14), Peewee 8, Peanut 4, and Princess 2.  I started homeschooling when my oldest was entering 2^nd grade.  I homeschooled him for 2^nd and 3^rd grades, I then put him back in public school for 4^th and 5^th.  I know, what was I thinking.  But now he’s home and well be homeschooled with the others until they graduate.  My husband is a wonderful father and husband.  He helps out when he can but with school and work he’s not around much.  We approach school with a very relaxed schedule and very eclectic approach.

So what does our days look like?  Well we don’t really have a schedule more of a flow.  None of us are morning people, well except for dh so we just get up when were ready.  I usually have coffee and check my email and do a few other computer things.  The kids eat breakfast, make their beds, brush their teeth, and take the time to get cheerful.  Then we’ll usually do a few chores to get us into the work frame of mind.  Our school day usually starts with Bible, that is about the only consistent thing.  What I do is on Monday I give the kids a list of goals to accomplish for the week and when the projects are due.  Some lessons we do together as a group so those are usually scheduled for after lunch.  The kids just pick the lessons they do on their own and work through them until the weeks goals are met.  I help out with any questions they may have.  They all work pretty well independently.  So why the older ones are doing their independent work I do preschool stuff with the littles.  After lunch we’ll do our read alouds for science or history and then start working on our notebooks.  I also try to have activities that the littles can participate in.  If I don’t have something to include them in I get out the preschool activities for them.  I do try to keep craft activities and other potentially messy things to the same time frame.  This way I’m not cleaning up several projects through the day.  Our days have no particular ending time, they just work until they want to quit.  Which works fine for us as long as they meet the due dates.

I should also mention that we have another boy that comes over and does his schoolwork here.  He’s in 7^th grade and I refer to him as C.  He’s homeschooled but his mother works nights.  So while she’s sleeping he comes and does some classes with my guys.  It’s like our own mini co-op.  Though sometimes I get the feeling he thinks he lives here too. LOL

 Here some pictures of what our days look like.

So what kind of curriculum do I use for the kids?  Well I think the easiest thing to do is to break it down by kid.

All of them

Editor in Chief

Winston Grammar

Speedy Spanish

Mavis Beacon Typing

Bible Lessons (this coming years are posted on the sidebar)

History – I make these units using All Through the Ages as a guide for books.  Here are some of units we’ll be doing this year – The American Revolution, Ancient Rome, and Native Americans.

The Usborne Complete book of Art Ideas

Various Artist – I’ve haven’t made these yet but they’ll be internet and library

Recorder Fun

Keyboarding – dh is going to teach them

P.E. co-op

Pumpkin

Lightning Literature and Composition 8^th grade

UCSMP Algebra

Apologia Physical Science

Wordsmith

Vocabulary Cartoons

Zaner-Bloser spelling – I got these off the internet and used a vocabulary worksheet generator to create a few extra worksheets to go with the spelling list.

Peewee

Math – I get various lessons and worksheets off the internet for him.  You can find various links on the sidebar by concept.

Reading – Here is the list of his reading lessons

Zaner-Bloser Spelling – made the same way as Pumpkin’s

Scott Foresman Grammar and Writing – This is also off the internet

Explode the Code books 6&7 – this covers some rules that I want him to practice some more.

Science – science lessons I put together using the internet and library.  Here are some topics we’ll be doing this year – The Scientific Method, Weather, Chemistry, and Electricity

Peanut and Princess

They’ll be doing stuff like the Apple Unit and Balloons Unit.  Princess will probably float in and out of the lessons.  I don’t really expect either one of them to sit still and do the whole lot at once.  But I like to be ready for when they are in “school” mode.

I think that pretty much covers it.  Boy, looking at the list it looks like a lot but it doesn’t feel that way during the school year.

As for where we do school, that could be anywhere.  I do have a “school room” but it is more for when we do group study and holding all the stuff.  Pumpkin has a desk in his room that he works at and Peewee seems to enjoy laying on the living room floor to do his.  Here are some photos of our school room.

How do I keep track of lessons?  Well I use Homeschool Tracker Plus, a few record sheets from the internet, and my blog.  With my blog I post the lesson plans with the links so they can just hop on the computer and pull up the lesson on my blog.  This way I don’t have to worry about what them stumbling across something.  The links they are allowed to use are in the lesson.  I have been blessed with a computer geek dh who has pieced together 3 computers for us to use.  This way makes it a little easier for me to keep track of the boys when their working on the computer because I’ve already viewed the sites.

At the end of the year I put together a little scrapbook portfolio for them to keep as a yearbook.  You can view a sample of Peewee’s here.

My best advice for homeschoolers is in a post I wrote a couple of months ago.  You can read it here.  And just so you know there are days that are totally chaos and days I feel like I’m losing control.  But tomorrow is another day and we just start over.  I enjoy having them home and can’t imagine ever sending them away everyday.

Glad you stopped by.  Hope you have a great year!

JoAnn

Melissa over at Sack Family asked me a week or so ago how I come up with my art projects.  I thought I’d take some time today to answer her question.  If anyone else has a question, feel free to ask and I’ll do my best to answer.  But be forewarned I am by no means an expert on anything. LOL  Also if anyone would like to add their answer to the question, by all means do.

Here’s the short answer, I get my ideas from several sources actually, the internet, TV, books, magazines, craft isles, and things I see for sale.  But I suppose you were looking for a little more detail. LOL

The internet:  if we are doing a lesson on a particular subject I’ll do a google search for projects to go with the subject.  I’ll type in searches like ancient Egypt crafts, ancient Egypt projects, ancient Egypt activities.  This will usually produce different results and give me lots of ideas to use.  Sometimes while doing these searches I’ll see something for sale and think “we can make something like that”.  A lot of times this will get ideas flowing in my little brain.

TV:  I like watching shows on HGTV.  One of my favorites is Decorating Cents.  I know it is a show on how to decorate a room but if you watch they often show you lots of techniques using simple things that can translate into good projects.  I also like checking out their website they have lots of kids projects.

Books:  The library is a wonderful place!  If it’s a history subject I’m putting together I look for craft books like American kids in history Colonial Times.   Our library has the non fiction books put together by topic so it makes it very easy to find what I’m looking for.  I always look through several books on the topic we’re studying.  Sometimes I use it just like it is in a book but I usually end up altering it some to go with the supplies I have on hand.  I also have several books in my personal library that I refer to for inspiration.  Here are some that I have: The Usborne Complete Book of Art Ideas, A Handbook of Arts and Crafts, Science Activities for elementary children, How to Make Books with Children, Rose art Origami, 101 Science Experiments, and Science Fair Projects.  I’ve gotten most of this second hand at yard sales and thrift stores.  I did get some off of clearance racks at the Barnes and Noble.  I always hit the clearance rack there.

Magazines:  My mom has for years giving me a subscription to one magazine or another.  The ones I like most were Nick Jr., Sesame Street, and Better Homes and Gardens.  They always had some neat ideas for projects and crafts in there.  What I do is cut out any idea that I like and stick it in a photo album.  I usually put a note beside it with any ideas I thought of while looking at the article.  Then I have a handy resource of projects to do with the kids. 

Craft isles and things for sale:  I always walk down the craft isle of a store I’m at.  Sometimes they have really cool things on clearance.  More often than not though I just walk through it to look at what kind of kids projects they’ve come out with.  Most of the pre-fab kits can easily be duplicated with things I have at home.  It is more of an inspiration isle for me.  It’s kind of like walking through the art gallery.  An example is when I saw this craft for sale.  I thought we could do something similar using paper mache.  I’ll see something and think that would go nicely with what we are studying; I wonder how we could make it.  The only time I buy something like this is if it is really cheap because I just have too many kids to buy it for.  

So there you have it.  I think that gives you an idea how my brain works when coming up with stuff.

I do the portfolios in a scrapbook style.  This way they have a keepsake for each year.  I divide it into sections: Math, Language Arts, History/Geography, Science, Physical Education/Health/Critical Thinking/Art.  For each section I make a divider page and it list the resources used for that subject.  The hardest part for me is to remember to take pictures so I have them for the portfolios.  I have boxes for each kid that I put papers in that will be used for the portfolio.  As they finish a topic I glance through the papers and place the ones I want in the box.  I keep a list of all the books they read, the field trips we take, videos and tv shows they watch, and I also have a sheet for when we use unschooling methods.  Here are some of the forms I use for records. 

Field trips

Unshooling record keeper

 Here are some photos of pages in the portfolio.

This is a history page

This is a Science page

This is an art page.  I take pictures of all their art projects so I don't have to keep them all but they still have them.

This is a critical thinking page and 1 page of our field trips

That gives you a pretty good idea of the portfolio.  This is their "yearbook".  

Over at Pass the Torch lots of homeschoolers are sharing their advice and tips.  On that note I thought I’d share what I’ve learned over the years with our homeschooling.  It has been quite the roller coaster ride.  Just when I think we have hit our groove something always changes. 

First a little background information.  I started homeschooling my oldest when he was entering 2^nd grade.  I homeschooled him for 2^nd and 3^rd grade and then I put him in public school for 4^th and 5^th grades.  All I’m going to say about this was it was a huge mistake and I should have never put him in public school again.  At the time I thought I was doing what was best for him because of some things that were happening in our lives.  Now we are entering his high school years and a new adventure is about to begin.  My other kids will all be homeschooled through high school.  So on with what I’ve learned.

1. Our first year was awful and quite frankly it was my fault.  I bought a whole prepackaged curriculum that didn’t fit my son’s learning style and was too advanced for where he was.  What I should have done was learn what his learning style was and where he was exactly in learning.  See I just assumed I could get a second grade curriculum and it would just be a natural progression of where he ended in first grade.  These 2 things resulted in many days of crying and gnashing of teeth.

2. Find their learning style and adjust to it.  This is really hard especially if it is the opposite of yours.  My oldest is an auditory learner.  If he reads something silently it sticks for a whole 2 seconds but if I let him read it out loud he retains it.  I’ll admit this drives me batty sometimes.  But because this is the way he learns best we’ve made adjustments.  He has his own area where he can go and read out loud and not disturb the others.  I also do more read aloud and get audio books for him.  My 2^nd boy is a hands on learner and auditory.  He has to be able to work things out using his hands and he has to hear it to get it.  He just doesn’t learn well by reading it alone.  As you can see the noise level in my house can get quite distracting if you’re like me and learn just from reading it.  Their learning styles were so against my nature it took me a long time to accept it and deal with it.  Don’t fight their nature set up the environment so it works for all of you.

3. It is ok to not finish a book.  I use to think if I bought the book we had to finish it.  Then I read somewhere that public schools hardly ever finish a whole textbook every year, which was a light bulb moment for me.  I started thinking that’s true and they usually spend the first several weeks rehashing what was learned the year before.  Now I use them but I don’t let them rule us.  Sometimes we skip a section or use just bits of books.  Just because I have it does not mean I have to use every page in it.

4. It is ok to start school at 10am instead of 8am.  We are not morning people and I fought this for years trying to get everyone up and started on schoolwork by 8 or 9 in the morning.  We spent many mornings miserable.  Since I have accepted this fact we actually get more accomplished in less time. 

5. You and your family are not like everyone else.  Just because so and so is doing it does not mean it will work for you.  It is really hard to not compare ourselves with other homeschooling families but it sure is a good way to make you feel like a failure.  I use to make myself miserable trying to be the perfect homeschool mom.  There is no such thing!  You must do what works for you and your family and not worry about what others are doing.  That was something that took me awhile to accept.  So if buying store bought bread instead of baking it is what works for you.  Great!  Do it. 

6. Be realistic in your expectations and don’t beat yourself up if things don’t go as you planned.  There have been times that the boys have picked things up quicker than I thought.  There have also been times when the boys have taken longer than I thought.  Both have thrown me for a loop because I kept thinking the “schedule”.  The schedule is a guide, not a live or die thing.  Relax and make adjustments as necessary.  Things will be fine and they will get there.

7. Having every kid on a different topic for every subject will drive you to the loony bin.  I tried this for awhile and learned I can not switch gears all that easy.  My brain just doesn’t work that way.  So know I try to combine subjects for the boys.  I usually combine History, Science, and Language Arts.  Yes they are in different grades but it can be done.  I’ll write up our study and include things for all the boys.  I may have biography papers on the list but obviously I don’t expect the 3^rd grader to do as well as the 8^th grader.  Also my oldest doesn’t like lapbooks but my 3^rd grader loves them.  So if I write a unit for lapbooking, I’ll have my oldest do it in a notebook instead.  This has made my life so much easier. 

8. If the child is getting frustrated with a subject close the book and move on to something else.  Go back to it at a later time when things are more relaxed.  Sometimes you just need a break from a lesson. 

9. There will be days when the kids have the wiggles and zero attention span.  On days like this I have learned everyone will just end up crying if you keep pushing to get the seat work done.  These are days we’ll go for a nature walk, the library, the zoo, or any other impromptu field trip. 

10. You can homeschool on a budget.  It takes more work on your part but if money is tight you can do it.  It is not necessary to buy tons of curriculums to give your kids a good education.  There is tons of free stuff on the internet.  You can also find lots of things at the library, museums, and other places.  Be creative and think outside the box.

I guess overall what I’ve learned is to take the time to find out what works for you and your family.  Every homeschool is different and that is what makes homeschooling so successful.  Education is not a one size fit all thing, if it was public schools would be extremely successful.

Have you ever wondered how people put together lesson plans or unit studies?  I know I have and when I started out I fumbled around trying to make my own.  It’s not too hard if you have a premade curriculum.  But if you don’t have a lot to spend on curriculum and want to utilize the internet and library how do you go about it?  Well today I thought I’d share how I do it. 

The first thing I do is decide on a topic.  I either do this by using the typical course of study at world book or going with an interest my child has at the time. 

I’ll then make a list of objectives (things I want them to learn about the topic. Like this. 

My Community Lesson

Objectives (what do I want them to learn)

1. What’s a community
2. My house
3. My neighborhood
4. Who lives in my neighborhood
5. What kind of jobs are in my
6. How do we get around in my community
7. How do we help each other
8. How do we read a neighborhood map

* This list may change as I start putting it together but this is the starting point.  I’ll then do a google search on the topic.  This gets my gears going and gives me lots of ideas.  I’ll look for coloring pages, crafts, worksheets, information sites, and recipes that go with the topic.  I’ll also look for lesson plans.  I’ll take a quick look at the site if it is a possibility I’ll copy and paste the web address onto my word document.  I’ll also copy and paste sites that spark an idea.  It usually looks like this.

Make a milk carton house.

http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/miscellaneous/milk_carton_house_craft.htm

Make a family tree

http://www.dltk-bible.com/genesis/families/my_family_tree.htm

Family hands paper mache craft

http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/miscellaneous/family_hands.htm

Counting by 2’s farm theme

http://www.kidzone.ws/math/ocean/dotsby2.htm

Counting by 5’s farm theme

http://www.kidsrcrafty.com/apples_5-100.htm

Single digit addition farm theme

http://www.kidzone.ws/math/farm/gr1-eggsaddition.htm

Community helpers songs

Community helpers arts and crafts

http://www.preschooleducation.com/ahelper.shtml

Coloring pages

http://www.coloring.ws/people.htm

http://bensguide.gpo.gov/k-2/neighborhood/index.html

http://www.apples4theteacher.com/coloring-pages/labor-day/index.html

http://pbskids.org/mayaandmiguel/english/parentsteachers/activities/helpers.html

http://www.atozkidsstuff.com/comm.html

http://teacher.scholastic.com/commclub/

http://www.hud.gov/kids/whatsjob.html

http://www.state.il.us/kids/fire/default.htm

http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/kids/flash.shtm

http://www.sparky.org/

http://www.firekills.gov.uk/juniors/999/index.htm

http://www.smokeybear.com/kids/forest_fighting.asp

http://www.hendersonville-pd.org/kids/coloringbook/

http://www.mrsnelsonsclass.com/teacherresources/thematicunits/communityhelpers.aspx

http://www.teach-nology.com/worksheets/soc_studies/comm/vocab/

http://www.abcteach.com/Extras/themesigns/commhelper.htm

http://www.abcteach.com/directory/seasonalmonths/10_october/fire_safety_month/

Fire Gear Worksheet

Tools of the Trade  

http://www.everythingpreschool.com/themes/helpers/science.htm

http://www.everythingpreschool.com/themes/helpers/art.htm

http://www.everythingpreschool.com/themes/helpers/more.htm

http://www.eduplace.com/rdg/gen_act/neighbor/where.html

* After this I’ll look for books that go with the topic.  I’ll either make a trip to the library or go to their website and do a search.  I’ll also check my bookshelves to see what I have.  I check my files I have download to see if I have anything saved that goes with it. My list usually looks like this.

Community helpers downloaded book on computer.

Caretakers book on computer.

City places book on computer

All kinds of farms on computer

Roads book on computer

Community work book on computer

Police officers book on computer

Families’ book on computer

The firefighter on computer

A visit to the zoo on computer

My Community by Evan –Moor on social studies book shelf

Library list

Communities by Lisa Trumbauer

Community helpers from A to Z by Bobbie Kalman

All about Community Helpers: a complete resource for preschool, kindergarten, and first grade teachers by Sharon MacDonald

A day in the life of a farmer by Heather Adamson

A day in the life of a firefighter by Heather Adamson

A day in the life of a police officer by Heather Adamson

A day in the life of zookeeper by Nate LeBoutillier

A day in the life of a doctor by Heather Adamson

Fireman Small w/ cassette by Wong Herbet Yee

Walter the Baker by Eric Carle

Officer buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathman

I want to be a police officer by Liz Alexander

Families by Ann Morris

Families by Gail Saunders-Smith

Building a house by Byron Barton

No Mail for Mitchell by Catherine Siracusa

Post Office video recording

I want to be a firefighter by Dan Liebman

We need mail carriers by Lola Schaefer

I want to be a doctor by Dan Liebman

Doctors by Dee Ready

I use math at the doctor’s by Joanne Mattern

Calling Doctor Amelia Bedelia by Herman Parish

Dooby dooby moo by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin

Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell

Curious George goes to the Zoo

* Next I’ll start organizing my ideas with the resources I found.  In case you’re wondering I’m making this particular unit for my younger kids.  I tend to use a lot of books for their age because they are a lot less pages per book than for my older kids and it is nothing for them to want several books read to them.   I’ll start by going through my links and splitting them up by lessons.  Sometimes I’ll add notes to the lesson about things I want to discuss and do.

Lesson 1: Families, Neighborhoods, Communities

Books:

Communities

Families

Families by Ann Morris

Families by Gail Saunders

Building a house

City places book on computer

We’ll read these books and talk about how many different families make up a community.  We will also talk about how we all work together to help the community.

Talk about how we in a family work together and help each other how we each have a role to play.   I’ll also take the kids on a walk around our neighborhood pointing out places of interest and talking about how our neighbors live in these homes.  Homes come in many different sizes and shapes.  In our particular neighborhood we have apartments, mobile homes, single story and double story homes. 

We’ll read the poem and song The People in Your Neighborhood on this page.

Make a family tree

http://www.dltk-bible.com/genesis/families/my_family_tree.htm

Family hands paper mache craft

http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/miscellaneous/family_hands.htm

Make a milk carton house.

Lesson 2: Community Helpers

Books:

Community helpers from A to Z by Bobbie Kalman

All about Community Helpers: a complete resource for preschool, kindergarten, and first grade teachers by Sharon MacDonald

Community helpers downloaded book on computer

Community work book on computer

Who lives in your neighborhood?

http://bensguide.gpo.gov/k-2/neighborhood/index.html

Community Helpers song

Do this craft project

Visit this interactive site to learn about different community helpers.

http://teacher.scholastic.com/commclub/

What’s my job interactive site?

http://www.hud.gov/kids/whatsjob.html

Usethis to template to make a helping hands wreath.  On the hands print different community helpers you could also have them add a picture and a brief description of how they help the community.   

Have themuse this to think of ways 2 community helpers are the same and different.

Lesson 3: Police

Books:

Police officers book on computer

A day in the life of a police officer by Heather Adamson

Officer buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathman

I want to be a police officer by Liz Alexander

I’m a police officer song

Police coloring page

http://www.coloring.ws/police.htm

A printable story coloring book

http://www.hendersonville-pd.org/kids/coloringbook/

Make a policeman badge.  Use cardboard, foil, and a paintbrush.  First cut out the shape of a badge.  Then cover it in foil and use the paint brush to draw a design in it to look like a policeman’s badge.  You could attach a safety pin with some tape.

Call and see if you could visit the police station

Lesson 4: Firefighters

Books:

The firefighter on computer

A day in the life of a firefighter by Heather Adamson

Fireman Small w/ cassette by Wong Herbet Yee

I want to be a firefighter by Dan Liebman

Five Friendly Firefighters

Firefighter coloring pages

http://www.coloring.ws/firemen1.htm

Interactive site to learn about fire safety

http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/kids/flash.shtm

A fun site for kids to learn about fire trucks, fire safety and more

http://www.sparky.org/

Afirefighter worksheet

Call and see if you could visit the fire station.

Fire engine puzzle to print

http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/miscellaneous/mfireenginepuzzle.html

Lesson 5: Mailman

Books:

No Mail for Mitchell by Catherine Siracusa

Post Office Video Recording

We need mail carriers by Lola Schaefer

I’m a mailman song

http://comsewogue.k12.ny.us/~rstewart/k2001/Themes/community/helpers.htm

Mailman coloring page

http://www.coloring.ws/t.asp?b=m&t=http://www.coloring.ws/people/mail.gif

You could mail grandma and grandpa a letter.  Take a trip to the post office to mail it so they can see what a post office is like.  Also you could ask if they give tours (ours don’t anymore).

For a math connection you could have them weigh different packages, letters, and such.  They could also use a ruler to measure the sizes of the envelopes and post cards.

Have the kids practice writing their name and address

http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/miscellaneous/maddress.html

Lesson 6: Doctors

Books:

A day in the life of a doctor by Heather Adamson

I want to be a doctor by Dan Liebman

Doctors by Dee Ready

I use math at the doctor’s by Joanne Mattern

Calling Doctor Amelia Bedelia by Herman Parish

I’m a helpful doctor song

http://comsewogue.k12.ny.us/~rstewart/k2001/Themes/community/helpers.htm

Doctors coloring page

http://www.coloring.ws/t.asp?b=m&t=http://www.coloring.ws/people/doc1.gif

Pictures of what’s in a doctor’s kit

Make a doctor’s collage.  Use materials you would find in a doctor’s office.  Do it in sets of. Like 5 band aids, 10 cotton balls and so forth.

Talk to the kids about the proper way to care for wounds.  Explain what happens if you don’t wash bacteria out of a wound how it can get infected. 

Lesson 7: Farmers

Books:

All kinds of farms on computer

A day in the life of a farmer by Heather Adamson

Dooby dooby moo by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin

Counting by 2’s farm theme

http://www.kidzone.ws/math/ocean/dotsby2.htm

Counting by 5’s farm theme

http://www.kidsrcrafty.com/apples_5-100.htm

Single digit addition farm theme

http://www.kidzone.ws/math/farm/gr1-eggsaddition.htm

Farmer coloring page

Lesson 8: Zookeepers

Books:

A visit to the zoo on computer

A day in the life of zookeeper by Nate LeBoutillier

Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell

Curious George goes to the Zoo

Plan a visit to the zoo. 

You could pick an animal to learn about before your visit.

Lesson 9: Bakers

Books:

Walter the Baker by Eric Carle

Baker Coloring page

Baker toilet paper roll craft

http://www.dltk-kids.com/nutrition/mbaker.htm

Bake cookies with the kids and have them do the measuring.

Lesson 10: Community Transportation

Lesson 11: Learning about maps

Books:

Roads book on computer

Make a map of our neighborhood.

At this point I’ll introduce north, south, east, and west.  I’ll show them other maps and talk about the different symbols we see on them.

* Then as you can see there are obvious gaps sometimes.  At this point I’ll do more searching for things.  I read over other lesson plans I find on the internet to get ideas to help fill them in.  At this age I often try to incorporate as many subjects as possible.  This seems to keep the day more fun and easy.

Also you’ll notice that my lessons don’t have the same titles of the objectives but that the lessons cover my objectives. 

Often while I’m searching I’ll come up with ideas just by reading and looking.  I’ll just jot these ideas down in my word document.  Then go back to them later and refine them.  I’ll then put them in the proper place.  Here is how it looks.

Use fingerprints to make math worksheets, and phonics rule we are working on.

Make stick puppets for the farmer lesson and have them make up a story to tell or have them retell a story we read.

http://kiddyhouse.com/Farm/farmclips/animalproducts.gif

http://kiddyhouse.com/Farm/farmclips/animalgender.gif

http://www.agr.state.nc.us/markets/kidstuff/dotf/colbook.htm

http://www.dltk-kids.com/animals/mfarmmobile.html

http://www.kiddyhouse.com/Farm/Cows/

http://www.kiddyhouse.com/Farm/Cows/

http://www.kiddyhouse.com/Farm/Sheep/

http://www.kiddyhouse.com/Farm/Sheep/

http://www.atozteacherstuff.com/pages/4787.shtml

http://kinderplans.com/content.cfm?pageid=136

http://www.readinga-z.com/pages/ra-z/levels/raz_laa02_farmanim_prev.pdf

http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/animal_match/index.html

http://www.calicocookie.com/zoo.html

Use animal crackers for math problems – sorting, graphing, estimating, counting,

http://www.abcteach.com/EasyPuzzles/wordsearches/lczoo.htm

http://www.lessonsense.com/animals/jigsawlizard.pdf

http://www.lessonsense.com/animals/jigsawelephant.pdf

http://www.lessonsense.com/animals/jigsawpanda.pdf

http://www.lessonsense.com/animals/giraffeshorttall.pdf

http://www.lessonsense.com/animals/elephantsmallbig.pdf

http://www.kinderplans.com/admin/images/schoolbus.pdf

http://www.first-school.ws/t/ap2/car.htm

http://www.first-school.ws/t/ap2/van.htm

http://www.first-school.ws/theme/printables/alphabet-train.htm

http://www.first-school.ws/theme/printables/number-worksheet-train.htm

http://www.first-school.ws/t/cp_transportation/ambulance.htm

http://www.coloring.ws/t.asp?b=m&t=http://www.coloring.ws/transportation/car10.gif

http://www.coloring.ws/trucks.htm

Have them alphabetize a list of transportation vehicles.

Make cutouts of wheels for them to use for counting and counting by 4’s or 2’s

* Now I’ll just add these links to the proper sections.  I’ll just keep doing this until I get enough activities and cover the subjects.  This lesson is for preK and 1^st grade so that is why the range of activities.  It really is not that hard.  There are lots of resources to use and get ideas from.  The biggest thing is to think outside the box and keep it interesting for the kids.  You’ll be amazed at how quickly they pick things up.  So this is how I do it.  I’ll post the finished product when it is done. 

One other note just because it says lesson 1, 2 and so on doesn't mean it will all be done in the same day.  I'll look at the work to be done and spread it out according to the child's ability.