Mar. 19, 2006 More on Notebooking
As I have written before, I am more of a "relaxed" homeschooler. There are more than a few things I have learned along the way, such as:
--Don't try and do it out of your own experiential thinking--you'll only produce frustration and burn out
--DO train yourself to listen to the Holy Spirit in the moment. Be lead by His peace and you will gain the results God wants, not necessarily the results that will impress your school administrator or concerned relative, neighbor, etc. As it is written in Psalm 37, He will make your righteousness shine as the noonday, you may have to be patient and endure the misunderstanding of those you respect and love.
--Don't pretend to know everything! Be open to change and in the constant state of learning for yourself.
This is is where my new "notebooking adventure" comes in.
Lately, I've faced a little bit of frustration. I have some older people who are beginning to have different schedules and we have needed some way to keep them accountable since they don't always spend "academic time" with us, and besides, they often do lots of self-directed learning and need just a little guidance and way to document it.
Then I began to do research on the web and found so many resources that described what other families were doing with notebooks, and I began to be encouraged and inspired!
I realized that I had always emphasized the importance of God's Word, and we had done sporatic copy work in they past, I needed to bring the Word into a more centralized place in our daily learning adventure. I also wished to introduce the scholarly side of Bible study to my oldest children still at home, while I still had their attention and was a primary influence. I considered that building the habit of daily study would benefit them as they launch out into jobs and college, etc.
So, we purchased some of the 1" three-ring binders from Sam's Club, did some printing and copying from the web, and we were on our way!
It is amazing how this has helped my children to feel more encouraged and motivated as well. They have places that their work can be stored and shown, which gives them a great sense of accomplishment. The older children are not waiting around until I have the time to give them more challenging assignments, and so they are less frustrated and have more "productive free time" than some of the silly things that we can all do when our minds are not focused.
Here are some of the url's that have helped me:
http://highland.hitcho.com.au/Forms.htm
http://www.lifestyleoflearning.org/
http://www.homeschooloasis.com/lol_main_pg.htm
Today, Sunday, we are all home sick with colds, so the older children are all working on their essays--due Monday--on subjects they have chosen according to their own interests. Grace is writing about Julius Caesar, Anna is writing about the originator of the Bauhaus movement in design, and Timothy is writing about the new chivalry movement.
Last night while I was baking cinnamon rolls the girls sat at the bar and I helped them organize their thoughts as they related what they had been learning in their research.e We used a graphic organizer for essays that I had copied and placed in their notebooks (found at the highland link above).
Today I helped Timothy find more about his subject, since his search online was too narrow and he had had trouble finding enough varied information.
Each day we are beginning with some copywork, discussion, making assignments, and about 15 min. to 1/2 hour in math drills. The younger children have also begun to fill their notebooks with drawings and projects that they are interested in.
While addressing the need for us to have more documentation, I am also attempting to be sensitive to my children as to their interests, so that whatever effort they make will be mostly self-motivated and will give them knowledge they can use.
This is much like our Roman puppet show--where they each get to shine while they learn. I am taking stills of each stage so that they can add the images to their notebook section on history.
I bought some of the 1" notebooks at Sam's, did some printing and copying, and we were on our way!
|
•
Comments (2)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
Mar. 14, 2006 More Detours on the Journey...
Well, so much has been growing on! I "re-discovered" notebooking and my dear husband just went out of his way to encourage me and help me to set up a whole slew of notebooks for the kids! I had done notebooks in the past--not knowing that a whole bunch of folks were doing the same!
So, we are still doing Rome, and we are still pretty relaxed, but Lifestyle of Learning and notebooking have added some dimensions that I was missing. I needed more Bible, and I needed to feel comfortable about some ways to make requirements that were not too "schoolish" that they killed the natural learning "instinct". I also needed to be able to have a better way of saving everyone's stuff and encouraging them to do more of their own tracking and recording.
Meanwhile, our whole household has been praying more and spending more time together, even the 2 that live with us but are pretty busy. It has been a great time of renewal for all of us!
I have been so stoked! Thank You, Jesus!
|
•
Comments (2)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
Feb. 25, 2006 Our Roman Road
This is a report on a unit study in the "real world".
We are having a great time--and God has helped us to come up with the perfect way to bring it all together!
We are planning on staging a Barbie/GI Joe puppet show based on the story of Julius Caesar, Cleopatra and Marcus Antonius (Marc Antony). Everyone is so excited--we have costume designers, set designers, script writers and puppeteers just chomping at the bit.
So, we spend a lot of time researching just so that we can get everything accurate, which leads us through history books and encyclopedias and lots of different websites (we have been blessed with high-speed internet, networked throughout our house--one of the benefits of having older children who are computer-competent--so we bring the laptop wherever we are and surf the net looking for websites, playing games, and watching video feeds on all things Ancient Roman--before this I would have just gone to the library and checked out all sorts of books. It works the same, only this way we don't rack up the fines from all the lost and overdue items!).
Instead of goading the kids to get into their work, I have to pry them away! Nikki is always at the sewing machine, the girls are constantly talking about Cleopatra, and the kids in general are planning to "yuck it up" and create a comedy about the whole mess--which is what these peoples lives were realy like.
Meanwhile, we have also kept up on the little bit of academics we do everyday. I have a collection of large, 8.5 x 11 envelopes and have supplied each of the children with one, and continually fill it with sheets that I have copied, either from some copiable drill books (which I have collected over the years)or from the internet. These deal with math, pages for dictation, and those sight-word cards from Jan Brett that we play games with. I have the older children help me with some of the tutoring in math with the younger ones, but I am in charge of dicatation and reading tutoring.
To save us time everyday, I have also required that they keep a working pencil in their folders, and we keep these folders in a box which can be carried to wherever we do "school". Thus, no time wasted searching for pencils or packets!
The academics we do only take about 1.5 total, and each child only spends about .5 hour on their specific drills, so nobody gets burnt-out, including me!
I have also required an essay to be done by the older kids by the end of the month, since I know from the experience of my oldest three that they will definitely need to know how to write essays in college. This essay will be on a chapter of A.W.Tozer's book "The Pursuit of God", will be written in the classic format, will be written from a thematic sentence which I have supplied, and will be a minimum of 1000 words.
We recently purchased a cam-corder--a real answer to prayer--so we will be using this to record the puppet show--how much fun can one family have?!
|
•
Comments (4)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
Feb. 15, 2006 "Easy" Unit Studies
Someone has expressed what I have often felt--that unit studies can be overwhelming, especially if you have a few babies or toddlers about you.
Here are a few things that I have done in the past that have made them more fun:
First, I didn't have some detailed master-plan that made me feel like a slave. I know there are those out there that may do well with that sort of thing--but my life is too unpredictable, just as this week we have had deliveries and shopping and illness and all sorts of things. When I get too "planny" I tend to get frustrated.
Instead...I have just gone to the library and checked out all sorts of books on our subject matter and brought them home. We have then looked through them and found the ones that we liked the best--then we read them and discussed and explored together. Sometimes I took cues from our readings and planned other activities, such as cooking or crafting or going around and doing some hands-on stuff. I have found that delving and immersing in the subject suggested fun things on the way, instead of trying the plan them all from the outset.
There are probably some lists on the internet of activities that could be used for any unit study. I actually have a list of this that I got from a book put out by the Hewitt Foundation years ago--I don't know if it is still available--but I have pulled from it for years.
As I mentioned before, I pretty much "wing it", which means I try and do things in the unit according to time, energy and money. If we don't get to something, I don't sweat it. I have seen some "canned" units that are so full of cutsie little crafts that the whole thing becomes silly. Also, there are only so many field trips you can have time for.
The idea of a unit study is not to make sure everyone knows everything about a subject, but there are a few basic functions 1) to introduce and enthuse a child about subjects outside their normal realm 2) to explore and enjoy something that everyone is already interested in 3) to develop skills of research, understanding and responding that will help encourage them to be life-long learners, and I'm sure there are a few more.
Also, you don't have to try and fit every subject area into every unit. I don't worry if we don't find some activity specifically geared toward math or science, although I can tell you right now that we always do in our reading and our discussion--simply by calculating how long someone lived, or how far someone had to travel, or the inventions of the time, causes for diseases like plagues, etc.
For our study of Ancient Greece we did timelines, wrote and performed a play, created posters that presented the different phases of the culture, made a paper Olympic torch and baked bachlava, but this was after we had enjoyed hours of reading and discussing together, with maps and books strewn all over the place for a couple of weeks.
Of course, I have also assigned the older children with more challenging things--such as taking notes and making outlines and writing papers and stories.
Then I record everything--there are lots of forms you can find on line for this sort of thing, which reminds me...
The internet is such a great resource! In our unit on Michelangelo, I found word-searches and other print-outs and bought a used copy of "The Agony and the Ecstacy" (with Chuck Heston as Michelangelo) on Amazon for only a few bucks.
For this unit study I have used a video stream from the Discovery channel that dramatized Pliny the Younger's description of the eruption of Vesuvius to the historian Tacitus. We also watched a video online of a volcanic eruption.
Since Valentine's Day was this week, and Valentine was a Roman, I printed out a valentine coloring page from Jan Brett (her site is great--lots of gorgeous, free print-outs for educators) and the kids colored it while I read more about Roman roads to everyone.
Don't forget--movies are great ways to get everyone excited. We are planning to watch Ben Hur, The Robe, Sparticus, and Elizabeth Taylor's Cleopatra. We don't watch these during the day, but at night during "family time", so that everyone gets into the act, including Daddy and the other grown-ups.
Unit studies don't have to be complicated to be "educational". Let the subject carry you, instead of the other way around.
|
•
Comments (3)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
Feb. 7, 2006 The Great Roman Experiement
Well, it was time to do a unit study--the Ancient Rome unit study.
I decided to do the research ahead of time and make it real convenient to cover "everything" in modules, etc.
What a mess! I had it collected, but I guess after visiting so many sites that had it all scripted and laid-out, I thought I could get away with it myself. But it was a farcical fiasco! The baby cried, the husband interrupted, the daughter away from home called, and the non-readers were lost--yech!
Tomorrow will be different. Tomorrow we will read and discuss and enjoy, and maybe even do a little "vocabulary"--or maybe we won't! No more scripts, just enjoyment.
Glad I learned that lesson, AGAIN!
|
•
Comments (1)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
Feb. 2, 2006 Why Undecided?
Yesterday I was thinking about changing my homeschool category--but I looked through the list and couldn't find one that fit me.
I know that I love Charlotte Mason's ideas about lighting fires, I love the Classical approach because it is so rich, I love Unit Studies because they are so fun, and I tend towards Unschooling because it really emphasizes the fact that children are unique and have their own timetables for things.
But, there wasn't a category for this on the Homeschool Blogger list--so I remain "undecided".
Everyday and every hour we are looking for, not only what "works", but where God is leading us and each child. We do a little bit of everything. Some months it is all "auto-didact". Other times I am really pushing the 3 R's a la Ruth Beechick. Charlotte Mason has afforded us the opportunity to thoroughly enjoy literature with times when we have done nothing but immerse ourselves in a good novel or wonderful poetry. Then there are times for a few good unit studies--which are what we are about to undertake.
We will be doing a unit on Ancient Rome first. I have done this one in the past--when my oldest 3 were all young--but they are all gone now, and it is time to recycle with my younger ones. I am so excited at the fun we will have together!
Then I plan on doing a unit on "nature"--per the kids' request. We will be using the habitats as a basis and organize everything around that. Daddy is excited because he wants to help the kids keep a nature notebook as the spring unfolds. Since he works from home now, it will be a great thing to have him join us!
I will be keeping a little journal of our progress here, in case it will bless anyone out there who likes that sort of thing.
|
•
Comments (2)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
Some thoughts on reading--
If you've ever tried to teach a child to read and feel as though you have "failed", there is hope!
My first youngster didn't read "books" until she was 16--and boy, did she ever give us a scare. But realy, if I had had more patience with her early on, and not convinced her she was "strange" just because she didn't learn perfectly at age 7, she may have been reading a lot sooner.
Reading is more "intuitive" than it is scientific. It is the extension of speaking, of language. Sometimes we help our children by method, and sometimes we interrupt their innate ability to teach themselves.
Over the years I have come to the conclusion that we can give our children the tools to read, but they have to take it up themselves in order to use those tools. Of course, a big part of this is believing they actually can use the tools they are given.
What tools am I referring to?
Things like the basic phonics sounds, the understanding that words read left-to-right, and how to sound out. The practice of a few sight words also helps.
There are many ways to inculcate these basic principles. Some cost lots of money and are whole programs, some cost about $20 (I'm thinking of "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons"), and some cost only a few bucks or nothing at all.
Actually, the less spent, the better, because you won't feel the need to pressure your youngster due to the great amount of monetary investment. Besides, the cheaper it is, the better it usually works--education is more like this than the billion-dollars they claim to need in the public arena.
Then, if your Charlie or Susan doesn't read right away, don't sweat it. Read, read, read aloud, and allow them to practice with you close by. Tell them that someday it will be like a spy code that they will crack. Tell them that the more they practice, the easier it will become. Give them reasons, in their realm of interests, where reading would make it so much easier.
Above all, don't let fear of the future take away from your enjoyment of your child now. The reading will eventually happen, but they will not be 7 or 9 or 11 ever again, and if you always view them through the eyes of a "problem", you will lose these years that can never be re-captured.
A list of cheap things to teach reading:
prayer
If
you don't surrender it all to the Lord, it becomes a horrible burden!
Give it to Him and then relax. Trust Him to give you a positive
outcome, and in His time.
phonics flash cards
First,
introduce the sounds one-by-one, over and over for a number of days.
Then play games. I like to have them quiz me and I purposely mess up a
bit and have them catch me--they love this! Then, of course, they like
the challenge of being quizzed as well.
Dr. Seuss books
Read
these over and over, and have lots of fun with them! Then, when the
time is right, encourage them to start reading them. "Hop on Pop" is
the easiest, but then there are "Green Eggs and Ham" and "One Fish, Two
Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" are great fun. Don't feel as though you need
to constantly challenge to higher reading. They need to feel secure and
capable, since we tend to want to do things that we feel we are good
at, and you need your child to want to read themselves, not just
because you are constantly goading them into it. I buy these books at our local thrift store for $.28, and so I have multiple copies of each.
Sight word cards by Jan Brett--http://www.janbrett.com/
We
have printed out the sight word cards on this site and have been
playing a sort of bingo-word find game everyday with just ten of them.
I say one out loud and they find it and write it down on the bottom or
margins of the page. There are all sorts of other fun helps on this
site that will help you along the way, and they are all so gorgeous!
Pencils and paper
I
don't teach my children good penmanship, I have them copy, either from
the board or from a book. They love creating different fonts and
writing about Barbies and all sorts of creatures they create as I
become their walking spelling-dictionary.
Don't forget your trusty library-card, especially if you don't have a lot of books built up yourself. This is for your read-alouds, especially those that are chapter books. Children as young as 4 can sit through a chapter-book, as long as it is engaging. We are reading through "The Chronicles of Narnia", with times of oral narration and discussion. Get them talking--remember that reading is an extension of language, and speaking is a great part of that whole picture.
|
•
Comments (2)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
Welcome to our little blog!
We are the crazy, often mixed-up and noisy homeschooling family of 15 (although our oldest is married and lives away from us).
It was about 17 years ago that we began our "Great Escape" from the public school system, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. 3 of us have "graduated" (although they have never stopped learning) and there are now 10 home each day, 17 and under!
I have tried so many different homeschooling styles that I just couldn't get myself to commit to any certain category, although we favor "unschooling", but we also do a little bit of the 3 R's every once in a while, just for a few hours each day.
My kids are so great--they are realy my favorite pasttime (besides the obvious first loves--God and my hubby). I love staring at them and just listening to what they have to say.
Through the years they are the ones who have taught me more than I have taught them! My husband and I were just commenting today how much we have needed them to knock all of the rough edges off of us so that we could become better people. The conversation began around the eminent birth of our first grandchild and how it will certainly change the lives of our daughter and son-in-law.
When we had our daughter (now pregnant with her first daughter), we knew nothing about love or selflessness or living for someone else's comfort rather than our own. Through the years we have learned to give up so much, and gained so much more than we ever deserved.
Our kids have a great time together, too. Just this morning I witnessed our 5yo kiss her little 4yo sister good-morning--how precious!
I'm blessed, I'm priveleged, and I 'm thankful--and I hope to share my homeschooling joys and helps with others.
|
•
Comments (2)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
|
|
|
Page 1
of 1
Last Page | Next Page
|
|
