Apr. 22, 2009 - Journal Entry
April 22, 09
We have had a quiet day today. One of the girls was at a birthday party and Alexander is sick with a cold and so we only did a small amount of school work. I took Anne on a bike ride and she shined the rest of the day. It is amazing to me that just a little time from mom can light up a child's face for the rest of the day. I need to remember to take time to do the little things.
I am getting ready for a yard sale on Saturday to raise money for Anne to go to summer camp. I looked at the weather and there is a 30% chance of rain so I am hoping that it will hold off until we at least make the $ she needs! I need to weed my tiny garden and mow tomorrow (in my spare time)! So much to do so little time!
Friday night at church is our Secret Sister Spring Fling and I need to get busy preparing the lesson there is nothing like waiting until the last minute to do something. We could just eat and visit and forget lessons! HA!! Not me, not when I have a captive auidience.
Life is moving fast right now during this season of our lives. I cherish days like today and enjoy the quiet. All too soon I am sure I will have more quiet days than I want. I am so thankful for my noisey, busy kiddos and the joy they bring me!
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Apr. 21, 2009 - Teaching Reading Painlessly
Teaching Reading Painlessly
Teaching reading has been one of my greatest delights in home schooling. I am a little sad everyday as Alexander learns just a little more. I love to teach kids to read. I love how their eyes will light up when they finally get it. So how do you do it? Teaching reading is different for every child/parent relationship. In other words what worked wonderful with child number one may not work at all for child number two. So be prepared to change your approach if needed.
This is what teaching a child to read looks like in my home:
The first thing we do is read, read, read all the time. Letting our preschooler see us reading for pleasure. When my kids turn three we go to the library and we check out books. I do this on a regular basis (at least once a week) and we bring home 10-15 books. And I read, dad reads, sister reads... everyone reads to the preschooler.
Each of my children have come to me between the ages of three and four and said mommy I want to learn to read. I promptly tell them that reading is lots of work so we need to practice working hard and then I teach them to make their bed and fold the dish towels. These are things they have usually already been doing but now they become chores. We practice working hard. I have them dry dishes, wipe the table, try to sweep (this is too funny to watch). After a few weeks of working hard then we are ready to learn to read. This has helped to accomplish several things. The first it helps me to find out if my child is obedient because after folding the third dish towel the child will say, "I'm tired". They must obey and finish the job even though it is hard. You can not teach a disobedient child. It also helps to build their excitement about reading.
When I think they are ready I pull out the book Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons and I start going through it with them. I go at the child’s pace. If they are tired after one exercise we put it up for another time. I watch them for tired cues squirming, rubbing their eyes, yawning, mixing up letters. Little ones tire easily especially if you are teaching reading very young. I never push. Short lessons are the key to success. I never spend 20 min. at a time. Usually the lessons are less than 5 minutes in one sitting.
I do not do the writing component of the book at all. I teach my children to read before I ever teach them to write. If you are teaching an older child the writing can be taught easily along with the reading. I make reading lesson time a cuddle time. We curl up in a chair with the book and do our lesson. I never let my child see my frustration if the forget the sound for the 100th time. I promptly correct any mistakes they make by just saying the correct sound and then I have them start the word over.
This book has worked for three of my four children. My oldest learned to read before the age of four. My third child learned to read a little after four. And my son is now learning to read at almost five. We have had no tears over reading with these three kids. The two girls each quit using the book about 3/4 of the way through and were reading at a second grade level.
Now you ask what about the one it did not work for. You will probably have a child that struggles with reading. I believe that every homeschool mom usually does because children all have different gifts. I used this book with my second daughter at the age of 3.5 for several months and decided it was not time and I put it down. I picked it up at 4.5 for several months and decided it was not time. I tried again at 5.5 and realized we might have a problem. I tried using another curriculum that made the problems worse. At the age of 6 she told me that she did not need to do school that it was okay. Now we were still reading those 10-15 library books a week to her during this time and even had started longer read alouds. She did participate in school and was required to do all the hands on activities and coloring. So I promptly decided to quit reading to her! (gasp)
She needed to be motivated. I bought another curriculum which did not work. I cried daily in the solitude of my bedroom and told my husband I thought she would never read fluently. I prayed for God to intervene. She was 7 by this time and still only barely reading words such as cat, bat, hat. I picked up a used curriculum at a yard sale when we were out of state visiting my grandmother that summer. So she was 7.5 years. The curriculum was "Sing Spell Read Write" She was reading by the time she was 8. I do not even know how it happened. We were struggling daily through the lessons. One day I walked in and she was reading to her younger sister. My mouth was hanging open! I truly do not think it was the curriculum that we used I think that she just needed time.
My encouragement to you if you have a child that is struggling with reading is to not give up. To keep going forward but to not push too hard. Each child will read when they are ready. Always make reading enjoyable and a delight and they will want to learn. Throw out any and all curriculum that steals your joy or that of your child.
Heavenly Father, Thank you for the ability to read and write. I take such joy in reading Your word. Help us as we teach our children this skill. Show us how to best teach our children. Help us to not compare them with others of the same age but to let each child grow and mature in the way you made them. Help us to seek you for wisdom when we need it and to listen closely to Your leading for each of our children. Amen.
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Apr. 21, 2009 - The Great Curriculum Search
The Great Curriculum Search
Homeschooling has been the greatest adventure of my life. I have learned more through the years of teaching my children than I ever thought possible. I am so thankful to the Lord that He has lead me to home school my children it has been one of biggest ways that He has worked in me. I am so blessed to have the privilege to teach my children, to hang out with them and to just be.
Through the years I have read about, researched and bought many different curriculums. The Lord has lead me down many paths and I have lead myself and my children down more than one wrong path.
My curriculum journey has been wide and varied. The goals have always remained the same. I home school so that I can have relationship with my children and keep them close to my heart. It is my desire that they learn to love the Lord with all of their hearts. I home school so that my children can learn by experiences and learn from great literature and great people. I home school only because God called us to teach our children at home.
I have used a variety of curriculum for a variety of circumstances. I believe my children have had a good education. It has not always been what I dreamed of and desired for them. Most of the time the curriculum we had was what God provide and not what I had dreamed of: The curriculum of real life and life experiences. Used book store finds or better yet yard sale finds. Sometimes I even did get to purchase the things I had longed for and sometimes those things set on the shelf.
As a home school mom I know the hours that can be spent searching for just the "right" thing. The stress over not having the money for the perfect thing you found. I know because I have been walking down that path yet again the past few weeks.
My kids are growing and we are entering a new phase. My oldest daughter has one more year until high school. I have labored over the decision making process until my brain hurt. The problem: I teach with unit studies heavily using hands on activities and living books but it requires lots of teacher planning. The curriculums that I use have things for high school but they recommend that the high school student work independently of the family. This troubles me. It has always been my desire that we do school together and we always have. I have researched for hours and driven myself batty to only find that every curriculum I can find that follows my approach sends the high school student off to be independent. I did find one option but the cost is outlandish which makes it a non-option for our family.
So where do I go from here? I like to have a plan and I usually make a plan for my plan. I have no idea at this point what the Lord has in mind for our family and for the high school years. I do know that He will provide exactly the curriculum, the experiences and the people that my children need in their life. As home school moms we have to plan it is a part of our job. In our planning though we have to remember the One who works all things together for our good. He loves these kids even more than we do. We have to take the curriculum and experiences that He does provide and use them to the best of our abilities. He desires that we walk in peace and contentment. I would encourage you to trust Him to meet your every need. If you are longing for a curriculum or an experience for your children but the money has not been there I encourage you to let it go and walk in the way God has set before you. He knows what you and your children need even before you ask.
Thank you Lord for knowing what my family needs this year. Thank you for teaching me yet again about your provision for our needs. I do trust you and I give my home school to you. You are a great and might God and Your ways are not our own. Help me to walk in Your ways today. Amen.
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Aug. 22, 2008 - Week In Review
Week number four went fairly well the crying and whining did take a dive downward this week. It has been a hard adjustment getting back into a routine. Since they have been out of one since January pretty much. I was so sick with the pregnancy and then grieving over the loss of Isaac that most of their school from Jan.-June was student led learning or online and independent. They learned so much this past year and much of it went beyond academics.
Some of the things they learned: how to serve, how to care for their brother when mommy was throwing her guts up, how to take care of someone who is throwing their guts up, the older girls learned to cook more dishes independently, they learned how to trust God even when bad things happen, my two oldest learned how to comfort someone who is grieving. The have both grown so much through this hard time of our lives. I can not imagine how much harder it would have been without them by my side.
So the best part of the week was our mapping activity with Ancient Civilizations and the Bible. We learned so much about the Fertile Crescent. The vocabulary game we played yesterday was a big hit, too! Charades with the vocabulary words. Even my four year old son joined in on the fun.
I let the older girls pick their own spelling words from their reading this week. Well, my oldest daughter picked several sciencific names of lizards and as a result made a 60% on her test yesterday. I don't think she will do that again. This worked great with daughter number two though and she did exceptionally well on her test.
My second-grader had a great week, too. We have been reading Heidi outloud which she is loving!! Only three chapters left and she is ready to go to the library for another read aloud.
And lastly, I have started 100 Easy Lessons with my little guy. He is so different than the girls. He is very smart and learns fast only there is one small problem he won't sit still!!!
So thats our week in review. We are having a crazy fun time on this grand adventure of learning at home.
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Aug. 18, 2008 - Our Curriculum for 2008-2009 School Year
Curriculum for 2008-2009
Language Arts: Copy Work, Institute for Excellence in Writing, Easy Grammar, Learning Grammar Through Writing, Various Writing Handbooks
Spelling: their spelling words come from their writing.
Literature: We read about what we are studying. The older girls are taking a book club type class at co-op on the Narnia books. We log every book that they read in full, or selections of. The list is very, very long by the end of the year. I also have them do impromtu narriations periodically.
Math: Life of Fred (for seventh grader), Saxon 65 (for sixth grader), Math U See (for third grader)
Science: Bob Jones Life Science (co-op class for sixth and seventh grader), nature journals, library books, ect... for all the kids
History: Ancient Civilizations and the Bible by Diana Waring
Other: Typing, Polished Cornerstones, Greenleaf Guide to Old Testament History, God and the History of Art, We plan to start relaxed spanish in December.
Co-op classes: Sixth and seventh grader: crochet, Narina, quilting, Life Science. The third grader: government, creation class, and two arts and crafts classes.
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