Jan. 12, 2009 - Homeschool Happenings
We, like many other homeschoolers, started back to school last week. I spent some time over the holidays pondering our schedule and curriculum ... and tweaking a few things.
Teaching Textbooks just wasn't working for us this year. The kids hated it, and claimed not to understand the new concepts presented. I was spending as much time re-teaching as if I would have just taught it myself the first time! It puzzles me since last year they loved it! I learned long ago that if something wasn't working, no matter how good the reviews, no matter how expensive the text, we're better off shelving it and finding something that will work.
The biggest problem was that there no money in the budget for 3 new math books! I did some searching online and came across a wonderful new-to-me website. edHelper.com is a wonderful resource for any homeschooler, and I found just what we needed to finish out this year's math for all 3 of my children! There are lots of free printables, but I elected to pay the $40 for a one-year membership. edHelper covers every grade and every subject imaginable!
Another site I stumbled upon was a blog right here on Homeschoolblogger! Homeschool Kids Write. Every week ProverbsMom posts a writing assignment for your students to complete. This week the assignment is to write a paragraph with no adjectives or adverbs, then re-write it using lots of descriptive words (adjectives and adverbs!). She explains what they are, and even links to some videos and other websites. Since writing is probably our weakest area, we are going to begin using her assignments, and supplementing with some worksheets from edHelper.
We are continuing to plug away at U.S. Geography on Fridays with our co-op, and I hope to be able to get back to our Apologia Zoology this semester also.
How about you? Have you made any changes in your homeschool?
Please leave me your email or web address so I can "talk back" to your comments! :o)
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