Changes Again...

Sometimes life gets a bit overwhelming and you just need to change things up a bit! We have decided that due to the craziness around here lately, we are going to cut back to 3 full days, 2 light days of lessons and NO work on the weekends! This is our first week of trying this routine and so far it is already feeling like what we needed. It basically works out that the days that we have the Littles will be our light days and the days that we don't have them are the full days.

I have changed up some of her workload as well to accommodate this schedule. One of the new things that she has been enjoying is Brain Pop! She really likes the movie clips and activities. I really like that she can email me the quizzes and it is one less thing that I have to really think about. She is using with the Physics kit and has been searching the site for the key words in her manual to correlate with the program - LOVE IT!!! She is taking her own initiative to expand on the subjects - HOW GREAT IS THAT!

She completed the Writing Strands 3 & 4 and did a really fantastic job on them so we have also decided to take a break on formal writing and focus more on prompt writing. We will be using 350 Fabulous Writing Prompts and 100 Quickwrites both by Scholastic. They are great prompts and readings that you go over and then allow a set amount of time to write without stopping or correcting. This gives very little time for editing in the head before getting it down on the paper and allows for more of a flow of writing. You can go back later and edit or redo something if you want to, but right now it is more about just getting her to write and not feeling pressure about it.

KM has also decided that she really doesn't like the Ancient Greece thematic unit from Teacher Created Resources. We have tried few different ones with varied success and I thought that she would like this one because it was a more challenging level, but there were some errors in the mapping section - like it tells you to locate Egypt on the map, but Egypt was not shown on the map - and therefore she has no faith in the content. I am also wondering if she is just getting sick of the Ancients, so we are going to stick with the lapbook, more of the multimedia things, - another reason why we splurged for the BrainPOP subscription - and of course the myths, because she loves EVERYTHING about them!

She has also begun to use the Tell Me More Spanish - which we got during the Homeschool Buyers' Co-op group buy last summer - and she REALLY is enjoying it. I think that the voice recognition is such an incredible key to her confidence in it! This program really seems to cover all aspects of recognition, memorization and understanding. She has been doing it daily without any qualms or complaints.

As always we will be constantly evaluating and reorganizing our path, but hey isn't that one of the many reasons why we homeschool - to give our kids exactly what they NEED WHEN they need it!

Curriculum revamped...already

Okay I am notorious for changing my mind with our curriculum choices and I didn't even make it through the first week without deciding that we were not going to use a few things for various reasons.

Health -
We decided to hold off a bit on the NIH Curriculum Supplements Series and to work through the rest of the Learn to Be Health site that she didn't complete last year. I was feeling as though we were really book heavy and wanted to go for something more computer based - this was a rather easy subject to do the switch on.

Latin -
KM was really not into the Latin Through Mythology like I thought she would be and wanted to do Minimus Secundus sooner rather than later, so I complied. I already had the set and figured why torture her if I didn't need to. I want her to love what she is learning especially when it comes to electives, so why force her to use a program that she really just doesn't want to?

History -
We planned on working through the Ancient China Thematic Unit using Between The Dragon and the Eagle, but she REALLY was not into that book, so again why use it if she doesn't like it. We are still working through most of the time worksheets and projects that went along with it and researching things as we go. When I was looking for things at the library I was reminded of the "You Wouldn't Want to" Series and Horrible Histories. KM has always loved these series and I decided to order the DVD series of Horrible Histories to supplement with - as some of the books are really hard to find around her.

Science -
KM REALLY wanted to start with the Simple Schooling Middle School Physics before we started working on Story of Science so we are holding off on that one until we have finished Physics. This actually did make a bit more sense to me after I thought about it because she has caught up with Earth Science, Astronomy, Biology and Chemistry over the last year and a half, but really hadn't done ANY physics work. So we will focus on Physics and then work through the Story of Science sets so that once we finish those KM should be ready to start High School level Science. I think this should give her a pretty solid foundation to work from.

So that is what we have changed so far. I think it will be about it for the fall session! You never know for sure though!

First day of Fall Session

It was our first day back to lessons today after a 3 week break.

We had an early start...

got some studies done...

enjoyed a wonderful hike with our coop friends...

and then got a new "class" pet!

Our first day and I am already revamping things. I have to hit the sack but will be sure to be back and let you all know what we have scrapped already!

Curriculum Picks for Fall Session - 7th Grade - HOW IT ALL FITS TOGETHER

Since I started listing our curriculum picks in August I have been asked a LOT about how we are actually going to implement ALL of the choices that we have made this year and here is a pic from Homeschool Tracker Plus which outlines our weekly plan. ~~~ If you click on it - it will open bigger in another window.

Now pay no regard to most of the timeline on the side as it is very rare that KM EVER gets her work started at 8am! However it just gives a breakdown of how things fit together. Sometimes ELA may take twice as long and Science might take half the time, but this is a good outline so that KM and I can see what it is that should get completed each day. I also am not 100% strict on which day something gets done, if a field trip, outing, playdate or something comes up OR we just don't feel like doing it that day, then we can very easily switch it to another day or move it to the weekend or whatever. I am rather rigid that all of the work gets completed within the week though, otherwise I would feel like we weren't progressing and things would get too piled up!

We upgraded to the PLUS version of the tracker in the fall so that we could save time and paper, by setting up KM's account where she can go in and check her assignments for the week or the day instead of me having to copy them to the whiteboard or write them all out in the planner. It has worked WONDERFULLY during the summer and there have been many times when KM has gone ahead on her own and completed something early so that she could setup a playdate or sleepover or just to get brownie points when asking to do something extra special! This has also helped create a lot more independence when the Littles are here. KM can go into her room and get her things done without having to tempt SC because she has to check with me on what is next.

A mom who is new to homeschooling mentioned recently that she was really concerned about being able to fit everything in and I think this is a big fear for a lot of parents especially those who have taken their kids out of PS. One thing that you have to remember is that you work at your child's pace, you don't have to rush through things to get to the next thing , to get to the next thing. You can work on it for as long or as short an amount of time as your child(ren) need or want you to. There are as many ways to homeschool as there are families who homeschool. Not one family does it EXACTLY the same as the next because no two children are EXACTLY the same! This is the BEAUTY of homeschooling!

Curriculum Picks for Fall Session - 7th Grade - Math

It is that time of year again - KM would be entering 7th grade this year and we are finally finished figuring out what in the world we were going to study! We had made an outline last spring as to what subjects she wanted to learn more about and then I set about the task of finding options that I thought that she would enjoy. Of course if you have been visiting my blog before you may realize that we don't always stick to the full plan so there are some changes since the beginning of the summer! One of the greatest as well as most overwhelming tasks for any homeschooling parent is making that final decision and dishing out that cash for the product with high hopes - all fingers and toes crossed - that it will be as FANTASTIC as it looked online or in the store! So I have decided to post our final decisions here over the next few weeks doing one or two subjects at a time so that it does not get lost in the midst of all the other posts!

So I thought I would start with my favorite subject:

Math -

You may have seen my post in the spring where I mentioned that CJ and I had discussed having KM take a year off from Teaching Textbook. She did Pre-Algebra last year and did a really great job - averaging a very strong 94% -, but I felt that maybe I was rushing her a bit in this area. I really want her to fully understand the concepts and processes of math. So we will be working through some pre-algebra and area specific workbooks at least through fall and winter. Here are the ones we will be starting out with -

• Tables, Charts and Graphs
• Building Basic Skills - Problem Solving Grade 7
• Math Minders Graphing - Grade 7
• The Complete Book of Algebra and Geometry - Grades 5 & 6 - I made this choice because KM has never had much Geometry and the Teaching Textbooks did not cover it at all, so I really feel like she needs this before she moves onto the more advanced concepts in Algebra 1 and Geometry
• Family Math - Middle School Years - Our co-op is going to be doing an algebraic reasoning class using games and projects from this book as well as some great math board and card games.

We will also be using some math software that KM hasn't used in a while to change things up from time to time -

• Cluefinders Math Adventures
• Math Blaster
• Carmen Sandiego Math Detective
• High Achiever Middle School Math 1, 2, & 3
• Middle School Advantage 2007 - Pre-Algebra & Geometry
• Snap! Geometry

I am sure that there will be more to come in this area, as I am ALWAYS finding new things for math - so I will keep posting additions!

What to do, what to do?

I think as we move forward in our homeschooling journey, we have begun to discover more and more how much learning takes place outside of the daily "school hours" of 8 to 3. However as I am looking ahead I have been struggling with the combination of what to sign KM up for and what to pass on and hope to do next year. I think that it can be VERY enticing to sign up for great classes that are being offered during the day that are geared to Homeschoolers and also to feel very thankful that these classes are available, but at the same time it can be good to step back and think about what our priorities are for our children and how we can best accomplish our learning goals.

I have made a commitment to work on our local coop program and I really feel like this is something that I need to stick to for the coming year. I have also been looking at one or two other things that I would like KM to participate in, but I need her to make the decision and the commitment for herself. She also needs to understand that some things may have to be sacrificed for others to happen. I think she is old enough to make the decision of where her priorities need to fall. She needs to understand that the commitment has to come from her and she must do the work in order for it to be a successful and worthwhile endeavor.

We had a very long discussion about what she wants to accomplish and what her goals are going to be for the coming year and I think that she really is starting to understand that her education is based on what she wants to make of it. We have both come to realize that in order for something to be truly learned, it needs to be much more ingrained into your being - to have content and connection to the things around you, rather than just random facts memorized in order to fill in the correct bubbles.

As we get farther and farther away from our old ways of thinking and that tape that constantly plays inside my head seems to get quieter and quieter - she seems to be learning more and MORE. Of course not just learning it for the moment, but really retaining and recalling the information in situations that relate to it. The transformation has been so amazing to me!

Over this summer we will be working on a more independent study approach to things. I will not be reading right along with her or standing over her shoulder until it is done. I need to know that I can give her an assignment and she will complete it. If this can be done, then I am more than willing to allow her to commit herself to more classes and outside activities in the fall. If not than we really will need to look at what sacrifices she is willing to make in order to obtain the goals that she has set for herself...not sure how this one will turn out, but I am truly keeping my fingers crossed for it!

Just thinking...

about the label/tags that I have been working on. Don't know if anyone has noticed, but I have started adding tags to the posts so that they are easier to find. I was thinking about all the different things that get covered and the one that was sticking in my head was "reasons to homeschool". I truly think that every single post could be listed with this tag, as each day I find another interesting thing that we might not ~probably wouldn't have and/or totally didn't ~ had time for if KM were still in public school. For instance all the posts that are labeled cousins - she would never have even a 1/5 of the time that she has had with her youngest cousins. The bond that has formed between her and SC never would have grown into this incredible connection that they are fortunate enough to have. All the science experiments that we have done never would have even been thought about. KM's public school friends are always complaining about how they never actually get to do science. They read from the textbook and sometimes have to write a report on something, but they never get to put anything into practice. All the great hikes, field trips and other outings would never have been done - we would have spent every afternoon trying to get homework done.

As I am sitting here typing this out KM is completing the last test of her "6th grade" year. She is sucking on a jolly rancher, drinking a glass of milk, the radio is softly playing in the background and she is calculating math problems. There is no timer, there is no rigid quietness, there is no #2 pencil - in fact she is using her favorite pencil that is covered in jungle animals.

All of the things that have gone on over the last 18 months are reasons to homeschool. Even the frustrations that pop up end in a much brighter light, because you have learned something about your child, your family or even yourself for that matter. There is no one else to blame or hide behind. It is your family, working on it's own schedule, in the way that best suits your own rhythms, desires, and passions!

As this wonderful section of our journey comes to an end and our first FULL year of homeschooling comes to a close, I would like to thank all those people who have helped my family get to this point. Many of you may not even realize how your small comments, awesome blog posts or fantastic ideas have inspired us to reach for new heights and opened our eyes to the wonderful world that we were allowing to just pass us by!

Lesson Completed -

Our proverbs lesson "April Showers Bring May Flowers" was completed this morning and I think the lesson that I needed to learn was completed as well. The title alone could not have been more perfect to me. We started this a while ago and at the time had no idea where it was going to lead us, so I thought I would share the incredible results that have come from this very simple art project.

I have expressed how much KM disliked the process of writing many times here on my blog and in real life to nearly anyone I can think of, so when I was looking into curriculum choices for next year I decided to speak to my all-time favorite homeschool guru, who also happens to be a published writer and has a daughter who received a perfect score on the written part of the SAT, so I felt she surely would have some incredibly wise words of wisdom for me and sure enough she did.

After a long discussion of what the situation was and how KM behaved when given any sort of writing assignment, we came to the conclusion that she was self-editing in her head as she was writing and this was causing her to be blocked right from the get-go. She was so worried that it wasn't going to come out perfectly the first time that she wrote something down on paper that she just wasn't able to cohesively express herself through the written word. So my guru gave me some tips and exercises to try.

The first suggestion that really made sense to me was to have her write for two minutes - either giving her a prompt, word or whatever - she was to just write for the full two minutes whatever came into her head. She shouldn't stop, erase, correct anything, worry about punctuation, spelling or anything else. She just had to have pen to paper for a full two minutes. Well this made so much sense to me, if she was not worried about it being corrected it should alleviate the blocks. So we started doing this every few days using the proverbs that we had written out for our April Showers Bring May Flowers project. It worked like a charm. KM would pick a proverb from the bag, think about it for a minute and then I would set the timer for 2 minutes. She would just write and write and write, what she thought the proverbs meant. There were times when the timer went off and she wanted to continue writing. It was as if I had another child sitting there with a pencil in hand.

The results have baffled me. Although of course they are not perfect grammatically or content wise, she has written down at least 3 to 4 sentences each time. There have been no complaints, arguments, or begrudging stares. The more we have done it, the more she grabs a new proverb out of the bag in the morning and wants to do it.

She is growing so much and truly becoming an independent learner. She is very happy to take the books and go. She wants to be able to learn these things on her own without someone hovering over her. When she has a set assignment she is completing it with no problem. Who is this child? How can this be the same individual that I had to stand over and watch her complete every word she wrote down to make sure it was done - just a year and a half ago? She is not the same child. She is a homeschooler, even better a home learner now. She truly enjoys learning and wants to find out more about EVERYTHING!

So this morning when she grabbed the last proverb out of the bag, it literally brought tears to my eyes...

One today is worth two tomorrows.

This is one of my favorite proverbs, the truest to my heart. You must cherish today because tomorrow may not come. You must love life for it can be taken away in an instant. You must enjoy the time that you have with your family because they could be gone at any moment. Though I do not want to live in constant fear of losing everyone or of tomorrow never coming, it is good to remember those that I have lost in order to remind myself that I need to cherish the people that I have in my life while they are hear.

I cannot tell you how proud I am of her accomplishments. I can tell you the joy that I feel in my heart when I see her completing a project and suddenly the light goes off in her brain. She got it! Something made the concept click and now she truly understands it. She does not remember long enough to complete the test and then proceed to dump it to learn the next information, she truly and completely is becoming educated! Every day that I spend with her I learn more about her and myself. I am truly grateful this path that we have chosen has brought us to such an incredible place.

Balance...

...it seems to be the one thing that I am on a never-ending quest to obtain! In every aspect of my life, I really need to find more balance. Most importantly I feel that we need to find a good balance in our lessons vs. playtime. I really am having some trouble in this area and I think a lot of it is the huge amount of guilt that I feel about having sent my daughter to PS for over 5 years. I feel like she needs to be given time to get some of what she had taken from her back. At the same time however I have this tape playing in the back of my head - I am sure many of you know the one I speak of - it sounds a bit like this "she should be doing work, she should be writing reports, she should be producing physical evidence of what she is accomplishing, it is the middle of the day how can I let her run around outside" and it goes on and on and on. How do you make that tape stop? How do you truly balance what needs to be done, what could get done and what can wait?

Honestly if she were younger, I would have no qualms of saying let her play,- in fact you will often hear me state this to lots of moms who start asking about Kindergarten curriculum as soon as their child turns 5,- but all her friends are starting Middle School next year and I am torn between feeling like I should be preparing her more for High School courses and feeling like she should be allowed to be young and truly "PLAY" while she still can or will for that matter.

As I think back to my college experience I remember that many classes started out right from the beginning of things. It was never assumed that you knew anything about the subject - unless of course there were prerequisites for the class. This is to cover any gaps in core information and to ensure that everyone gets an even playing field.

Science is my arch nemesis, but I am also thinking that for the most part the home school science curriculum for high school are pretty intense and cover A LOT! Why do things over and over and over again. So maybe if I do pull back a bit on certain things over the next year and allow a bit more room for interest-led activities and time for play it would be the perfect time to do it! She is young for her grade level and this could be a bit of a break time. Especially with the new baby on the way VERY shortly - just to clarify I mean another niece of course! I think that I will pull the reins back a bit and maybe try to focus on some of the areas that really need some work - such as writing - and let some of the other areas that she is very strong in -such as math- have a bit more of a break.

7th Grade Curriculum - Preliminary Decisions

As most of you have probably figured out - as I know I have stated it SEVERAL times - I am a HUGE planner, I need to feel like I have a game plan and though I am open to flexibility and wiggle room, I NEED to know that I have something set and ready to go! So before the warm weather gets here for real, I want to make sure that I have everything planned out for next year.

For the most part I have known for a while what we would be doing, but there were some final choices that I think I have committed to. So here is what KM's 7th Grade Curriculum will look like -

Summer Session - Yes we do continue our lessons during the summer, but it is on a much lighter scale. KM and I sat down and tried to figure out what she thought would be manageable and what I would agree to as enough. Here is what we came up with:

Daily:
Summer Bridge Activities - This is a review type book that has different activities each day, but helps you kinda stay on track. Most of the things are fun activities and she has been doing them for YEARS now so she figured why change something that has worked for such a long time.

Egyptian Study - if we keep at the pace we are right now with our History timeline study we should be right at Egypt when we start the Summer session. I have TONS of projects, resources, sites, kits and books for this which I think I will list separately. This will be an ongoing thing throughout the summer that I didn't really want to schedule in so we will be working on this bit by bit throughout the session.

Mondays:
Cooking - We will be using the Usbourne Internet Linked Children's World Cookbook - to travel the globe through food. We will also be going to our local farmer's markets to get local produce of the season to cook with as well as using the bounty from our own garden!

Tuesdays:
Geography - along with our world food travels, we will be using Brighter Child Geography Grade 6 which we did not have a chance to get to during this last year's studies.

Wednesday:
ELA - we have been using Scholastics Scope Magazine since last fall, but we could never manage to get to all of it, so we decided to save the reader's plays and the extra worksheets for the summer.

Thursday:
Science - I don't know how long ago it was, but at some point I picked up a copy of Homework Survival Guide: Science and I came across it when we were cleaning out our books over the winter. We decided to use it as a review and do one chapter a week for the summer. We will also be incorporating lots and LOTS of projects to go with each one so be sure to swing by for Science Thursdays starting in July. I think that this will really bring KM up to speed with the basic knowledge that she was SOOOOO lacking from her time at PS.

Fridays:
Math - another book that we just didn't get to as much as we would have liked was Fast Finishers Math so we thought this would be a good time to finish it up!


Starting in the Fall she will be doing -

Math - Teaching Textbooks was such a HUGE hit this year that I will stray from it! She will be starting Algebra 1 in the fall.


ELA - She will be doing 5-minute Daily Grammar - which should help to straighten out some of those things that really just need some repetition to get down. Also upon recommendation by a very good friend, countless internet searches and a LONG discussion with KM we have decided to give Writing Strands a try. We will be starting her off at Level 3 and she is very excited about the way that it is truly written to the student. It also has VERY little prep work for me! I also have on the back burner, Writing Survival Skills for the Middle Grades - which the same friend recommended and I lucked out and found on Paperback Swap! Also a great Paperback Swap find was World Smart Junior which will be in place of a formal vocabulary program.

Literature/Reading Comprehension - For fiction we will be using literature units from Teacher Created Resources. To start we will be doing The Cricket in Times Square, Island of the Blue Dolphin, Bridge to Terabithia and Tuck Everlasting. For non-fiction we will be using a workbook called As a Matter of Fact which seems like it will be a very good fit.

History - We will be continuing our timeline study using the Complete Book of World History as our time-line spine and we will probably begin with Ancient China in the fall. I will list these resources separately as well.

Geography - Our coop group is thinking of doing a full year Geography program, focusing on a different continent each session. This will be a GREAT way for the kids to learn about this in a group setting! I will be sure to post more about this as it develops as well.

Cultural Studies - In the fall we will be focusing on a Thanksgiving Unit that we got from Plimoth Plantation called Investigating the First Thanksgiving which helps to clarify what really happened at the first Thanksgiving and what it was really like for the Pilgrims and the Native Americans. Then we will use several resources to dive deep into the cultures of Southeast Asia, Japan, and Mexico and Central America.

Science - We have a large mismatch group of things that KM really wants to cover for Science next year. We will be starting out with the Basher Series which looks like they are going to be rather enjoyable reading, then we will be using the MOS designed Engineering is Elementary Program, a variety of free electricity resources that we ordered from National Grid and a unit on Inventions and Inventors. We will also be supplementing with a new site that I found through Homeschool Buyers Co-op called Adaptive Curriculum. Once she has all these things done I think she will have a very good basis to start some of the higher level sciences.

Foreign Language Studies - We will be sticking with Latin next year and will be using Minimus Secundus: Moving on in Latin as well as Learning Latin Through Mythology. I am already seeing a huge improvement with KM's word recognition and decoding roots since we started the Minimus: Starting out in Latin.

Art - we will be using a program that looks really intriguing called Meet the Masters. KM is a bit nervous about having to reproduce masterpieces, but I think once she starts and sees that it is really more about the techniques that she will really enjoy the program!

Music - KM is still loving the keyboard so we will be continuing with Piano Adventures. I also came across this rather interesting classroom magazine called Music Alive and for $9 I got all 8 issues of this past years magazines, which feature a current artistic from a different genre each month. KM is so into music that I couldn't pass up a deal like that! We will also continue to utilize the incredible monthly content at Classics for Kids. I am seriously considering signing her up for private keyboard lessons, but I am worried that this may deter her natural drive that she seems to be following. She reads music incredibly and truly enjoys playing, so I will just wait and see if she starts to peak off or has trouble just using the books on her own.


So that is our 7th grade plan - I hope we will stick to it, but if you are a regular reader I would guess that bets are being placed as to when the first change will occur! It feels good to have it all laid out in front of me though and I think that I have found a really good balance of what KM wants and what CJ and I feel that she really NEEDS.

While I was contemplating our learning path -

I came across some articles by Pat Ferenga that really made a lot of sense to me and I thought I would share some of it here...

I define unschooling as allowing children as much freedom to learn in the world, as their parents can comfortably bear...This is the way we learn before going to school and the way we learn when we leave school and enter the world of work...Certainly these interests can lead to reading texts, taking courses, or doing projects, but the important difference is that these activities were chosen and engaged in freely by the learner. They were not dictated to the learner through curricular mandate to be done at a specific time and place, though parents with a more hands-on approach to unschooling certainly can influence and guide their children's choices....Unschooling, for lack of a better term (until people start to accept living as part and parcel of learning), is the natural way to learn. However, this does not mean unschoolers do not take traditional classes or use curricular materials when the student, or parents and children together, decide that this is how they want to do it. Learning to read or do quadratic equations are not "natural" processes, but unschoolers nonetheless learn them when it makes sense to them to do so, not because they have reached a certain age or are compelled to do so by arbitrary authority. - taken in part from this site - HERE

This makes so much sense to me and it is just what I have been looking for as some kind of definition that really clicks! The one line that really makes it work for me is "as their parents can comfortably bear." This one line gives me a clearer link and as I grow more and more comfortable, as KM becomes more and more self-guided and we both get farther and farther from the PS thinking of "this is what you have to learn and when you have to learn it" mindset, I feel that we will be able to more and more free with our thinking, learning and life in general. CJ of course just really wants us to be happy and fully trusts in me to take the path that will get us to an educated end. I am feeling much more confident as this "school year" comes to an end than I did last. I know that we have the supports in place and that we can make these decisions on our own. We (CJ and I) know what is best for our daughter and we (KM and I) are totally capable of having a learning lifestyle that is fulfilling for all of us.

Why do some things just have to be so difficult?

I am really have a hard time trying to get KM to understand the basic concepts of writing. I have tried several different methods and approaches. I am at the point of giving up right about now - I think we are going to just drop the formal writing and try to focus on what she needs to write for her other assignment areas and try to strength those answers. I am thinking in this way it would be more cohesive and if it is connected to something else then it would be more meaningful. I had such high hopes and was really impressed with the Writing Tales curriculum. She even really liked it, but she just was not progressing and we both felt that the content was a bit dry for her age.

I am trying to find different articles about when to start formal writing and composition lessons and pros and cons of different ages so if any of you wonderful devoted followers have any insight or any suggestions at all I would be greatly appreciative as I am just utterly at a lose on this one -----

Sometimes all you need is a few kind words

I received one of the greatest comments yesterday! It makes me feel so wonderful to be able to share our story and that it helps to inspire others with their decision.

Making the extremely daunting decision of homeschooling your child(ren), whether you are just starting out with a little one or if you are removing your older child from a public or private school, can be one of the most challenging choices parents can make. You are taking on the responsibility to educate and set out a path for another's life. - Of course if you really think about it, that is what you signed on for when you decided to bring the child into the world, but I won't get into that right now. - This responsibility has changed our family and has given me insight into my daughter that I never would have had.

She has gone from a shy and awkward little girl who was afraid to answer the teacher's questions - for fear that if she got it wrong the teacher would be upset because she didn't know it and the kids would make fun of her or she would get it right the teacher would praise her and the kids would make fun of her - to a whirling dervish of knowledge. She was always afraid of getting up in front of a group on her own and Monday night she had a spectacular performance of Hermia in Shakespeare's Midsummer's Night Dream. All she needed was the right environment of a kind mentor and peers that nudged her along with caring, compassion and true encouragement! I feel so blessed to have found this incredible community of families to share this learning journey with.

Homeschooling is not for everyone, but I honestly don't know of a single family that has returned their kids to school because they were unhappy with the way things were working out...the same can't be said for the number of families that I know that have/are pulling their kids out of the current corrupted public and private school systems.

Homeschooling Mom's Version of OCD -

Obsessive Curriculum Disorder!!!

I truly think I need help with this! I know I am not the only one out there! It is often more a case of the grass is greener syndrome when you hear about some great program that is working wonders for someone else's child, but my book shelves are begging for relief and my computer is overflowing with downloads. I am constantly second guessing myself as to what we are covering and how we are covering it. I want to make sure that I have all the bases covered, no matter what may come up. This has led to a constant nagging and obsessive gathering of information. I can't pass up a Freebie of any sort that MAY come in handy someday - even if it is something that I am pretty sure KM will NEVER be interested in. I also have a TON of cute preschooly things for SC - I know she is only 21 mo. but she will be ready to read and write before you know it and I want to make sure I am prepared! Hmmm.... What to do? What to do?

This is a list of my first steps to try to break this wretched condition!

First - I decided to reorganize things so that I could really see what we have! I have weeded through my files I was saving on the main computer, as it was getting VERY difficult to even find something we wanted to do, never mind trying to save some more info in the right spots. I also reorganized the closet shelves where I keep things that we plan to use in the future. I put a LOT of books, mostly on grammar and writing, that I KNOW we will NEVER use on Paperback Swap and they were snatched up in minutes - yeah more credits!!!

Second - I decided to make some sort of list so that I have an idea of what I have for each subject area. I began by writing out all the core subjects that I have accumulated information, texts and other materials on and then I listed electives in the same way. I believe I have everything for middle school completely covered, except for the Teaching Textbooks for Math - which I will purchase after reselling each previous edition.

Third - I WILL CONSCIOUSLY MAKE AN EFFORT TO NOT PURCHASE ANYMORE SCHOOL ITEMS!!! I should have come to this conclusion way before this point, but better late than never!

Fourth - I will not download any free packets, unless we will be using them during this term! With the exception of the weekly downloads from Currclick, because really how can you pass those up!!! Otherwise I will save the sites and get the information when we are ready for it!

Fifth - I will realize that my daughter is doing EXCEPTIONALLY well with what I have been putting together. She really enjoys the programs that we are using and until SHE has a problem or complaint with the things we are using, I need to just let things BE!


How do you handle Homeschool OCD? Please share your tips and tricks, so that maybe I can get this awful condition under control!

Changes...again...

We have been revamping how things work again!
~~~ BIG SURPRISE I KNOW~~~

The first thing is our vocabulary program - KM has been using Wordly Wise 3000 second edition, since I brought her home from PS last year, as she "really liked the way it was set up." Last year they had let her keep the workbook copy that she had started with and since it was a fairly inexpensive system and she did seem to be learning from it we kept it going this year. However over the last few lessons, I noticed that she was having more and more problems with the testing part of it. She just did not seem to be understanding the definitions, when they were taken out of the content of the book or if she couldn't check the definitions. You see the workbook is set up with the words and definitions listed at the beginning of each lesson, then through out the week you do one part each day Monday through Thursday and then you test on Friday. So I sat down with her and had her show me exactly HOW she goes about doing the work. What I found was that she was never actually "reading" through the definitions of the words, she had been taught/instructed by her PS teacher in 4th grade on how to figure out the answers to the different sections using different types of context and scanning clues. Great for building "TESTING" skills, but not so great for "VOCABULARY" skills. I spoke with CJ about this for awhile this afternoon and we have decided to scrap the Wordly Wise for the time being. I am by no means knocking the product at all. I really do like the way it is setup and the different approaches, but my daughter has been trained to cheat her way through it and that just seems like busy work to me. By the way on the test she doesn't have the definitions available and that is why she can't use the system that they taught her in order to pass this test, so I wonder how well those testing skills do actually work?

So in lieu of the Wordly Wise for vocab skills we have decided to try a few different things. For one I had gotten her the My Word Coach for the Wii for Christmas - before the price shot through the roof, guess people found out how great it is!! - so we are going to incorporate that in, as well as some really cool free sites I have found online for vocab building including -

1. Number2.com
2. Free Rice
3. Learning Vocabulary Fun
4. Prepme.com

We have started Ancient History and I think the outline that we have planned is going to work really well. The hands-on project booklets, lapbook sets and ancient science are going to tie the information from the textbook together really well. I downloaded the audiobooks of the Story of the World from our library network site and I think that as we get into each section I will introduce it by using one of the stories from the set. I am stressing to her that they are stories though. I know that many, many, many people have said that SOTW is a secular program and I get why they think that since it covers all religions. At the same time, in my opinion, the way they present the stories just doesn't feel right as a "History" curriculum. However the stories themselves are great little tidbits of "this is the type of stories that they told at this time" or "these are the things that they believed at that time." I will be sure to post pics as we get more into our ancient science and kits that we will be using.

We are also adding in some more math practice review days as she is starting to get into some unfamiliar territory. Each time she comes across a new concept I am shocked at how much I thought she had learned at PS, but she really never even touched on the subject. She is using the Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra as that is where she tested into in the system and she really likes how the system is set up, but it also assumes that you have a really good understanding of a lot of the basics and while she does in some areas she is REALLY lacking in others. At the moment we have taken a step back and are spending some extra time with percentages. These can be tricky little buggers and she just doesn't seem to want to follow all the steps in the process. She starts out fine and gets so close to the answer, but somehow gets tripped up on one or two steps. The weird part is that each time it seems to be different spots as well. So we will be taking this next week to reinforce the concepts with some hands on things and real-life math problems to see if I can get her to understand that completing ALL the steps is the only way to get the right answer. As I have said a gazillion times before, I really do not like to bash the school system, but they teach the kids that any answer is better than no answer. You see on the MCAS test they get points as long as they put something for an answer. If they leave an answer blank they get 0, but if they at least take a guess, even if it is the complete wrong answer, they get 1 point. If they take a guess and get the answer that is "almost" the right answer they get 2 or 3 points. If they get the right answer they get 4 points. ---hmmmm

I adore math! I always have and the 1 and only reason for that is that math is not a subjective topic. The answer is either right or wrong, even if you can have more then one solution to a problem ~ i.e. name a prime number that is less than 11 - the answer could be 1, 3, 5, or 7 ~ the answer that you give is either right or wrong. There is no arguing about it. There is no teacher saying that THEY don't interpret it that way. It is a truly black and white subject. So it baffles me that things like this are going on in our school system and I am having to retrain my daughter's brain.

When I started typing I never intended for this post to turn into another rant about the PS system - HONESTLY I DIDN'T! Since it has been a year out of that system I really should be beyond that by now - shouldn't I? But the more I am thinking about it, the more amazed I am that I am still discovering things about the system that I somehow missed when she was there. I also think that the scary part of that is that I was a very involved parent ~ I was even a substitute teacher for a while at the school and volunteered all the time ~ so how much are the uninvolved parents missing. The parents who barely have time to read through the mass of papers that come home from school or to check their kids homework. I am not saying that they all choose to be that way or making a judgement on them, but it is a little bit frightening to me to think that their kids are just being shuffled along and taught strategies to get through the test instead of being educating in order to be a productive and prosperous member of society.

I do apologize for the twisted route that this post has taken...I guess you just never know where you will end up once you start out -or what kind of changes you have to make along the way - so maybe I didn't get so far off topic as I thought I had!

"Onlies"

I get a newsletter every so often from Home School Inc. and it had an article in it that I thought was very interesting, insightful and right to the point, so I thought I would share it here!

Socialization Strengths of Only Children

Do you have an only child? While most "onlies" would love to have siblings -- and many still will -- there are positive social strengths to be gained by being a homeschooled only child.
A week ago, we did a Quick Tip on the built-in social training-ground for children with siblings. Only children who are homeschooled also have a built-in social training-ground. It may be less obvious to your only child, but it's there.
The first reason for their positive social skill development is because they learn very early that others jump to the conclusion, even before they've met them, that only children must be spoiled! So onlies start out having something positive to prove about not being spoiled and being able to share. Only children in homeschool families also learn very quickly that there's no free lunch when it comes to other children wanting to play with them and be with them. If they want other children to come over to their house, and if they want to be invited back somewhere, they need to be the kind of friend that other children want to have. They also need to be the kind of guest whom other parents want to have in their home.
Onlies learn that complaining is a pain. They learn that sharing is a must. They learn that they need to be a friend worth having if they want to have friends. Even though at their own home they don't have siblings, only children also learn how to wait...they wait for friends.
Families who homeschool only children tend to seek out support group classes and field trips possibly more often than other families. Families who homeschool only children also seek out playmates and sponsor projects at their homes. They tend to invite others over quite a bit. But those activities alone do not build social skills. They are opportunities. Onlies learn how to share, help others, and work things out constructively with other children, or they don't get a second chance with that child who just came over to play, or with that family. They learn how to be considerate, interesting, and not selfish, because when they don't do those things, they are not invited back. It's tough! For onlies, the real world starts right away.
There's a second way that onlies build social skills. While only children may have many things and resources that some children in larger families don't have, there are also very high expectations on them. When grandparents and other relatives come to visit -- there's no question about who will stop playing and come (right away!) to be polite and talk and listen to the relatives. It's not someone else's turn -- it's the only child's turn -- every time.
Onlies do have the benefits that we all see. They tend to be showered with love and attention and lots of resources. But in that shower of attention, they learn how to negotiate with parents for a little less attention, rather than more. If you have an only, help them see the positives. Help them with these opportunities to build their social skills. Give them some space and cut back on constantly bragging about them to others. Relax and see, and help your only to see the value of what they're gaining as an only-child homeschooler!

© 2008 Home School, Inc. 2700 South River Road Suite 106 Des Plaines, IL 60018 (800)760-7015
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My only does a great job in most situations, but she does have issues when in large groups as well as dealing with younger (3-5 years) siblings. We often have her friends here so that they can play without being bothered by little brothers (which most of her friends have) and her friends often like the break from their siblings. KM's friends that are onlies also have most of the traits mentioned. I think that this article really hits all it's points right on the mark!

The only thing I think it left out is the strain that is put on parents who homeschool onlies to be the playmate, teacher, and parent. It can be a struggle, especially on those days when you just can't manage to get a playdate, there are no classes or events scheduled, you are sooooo tired and your only has decided that they NEED your help because they HAVE to build a fort with the couch or that their Barbie needs to buy new shoes but their is no cashier in the store!

I would not trade my only for anything, but I am ever so glad that KM is close with my younger siblings and her relationship with SC is priceless!

Do you have an only? Can you think of any unique challenges that haven't been mentioned?

Writing Tales

I have mentioned SEVERAL times that I have not been able to find something that I thought would work for KM for writing - well I think I have found the solution!

I am sooo excited about this program - I came across it on one of the secular yahoo lists that I belong to, and after looking at it for a few days decided that for the affordable price I really couldn't go wrong!

Here is the summary of the program:
Writing Tales is a comprehensive writing curriculum that teaches from a classical approach. Lessons and practice in grammar, spelling, vocabulary and handwriting are also included. Level One is written for 3rd-4th grade ages, or middle grammar level students. This consumable workbook is meant to be used in tandem with the Writing Tales Teacher's Guide.

So I ordered it and arrived today! I haven't been able to put it down! It looks like it is going to be the perfect direction for her! I like the aspect of the them re-telling classic stories with the room for creativity, instead of the strict retelling that can be rather boring. I also really like the fact that it has co-op lesson plans included. I think we will have to tweak some of it a bit, like leaving out the copy-work, but for the most part I think it is going to work out! I will be sure to let you know how things are rolling as when we start using it!

I am SOOOOO tired!!!

I could stay in bed for a week curled up as comfy as this:

Whom ever thinks that homeschooled children are not socialized should come and visit us this week!

We haven't stopped, it is only Wed and tomorrow is the only day this week that we don't "have" to be somewhere! I am sooo tired!

I have many "guru" types in my life, for various aspects and my very favorite ~all knowing~ homeschool guru mentioned one time having "Go Days" and "Stay Days" and sticking to them. On Go Days you have classes, do errands, have appointments, etc. On Stay days you stay at home all day - for the most part, a quick trip to the store for milk is permissible, but not much else - there really isn't anywhere that you "HAVE" to be. She tries to plan and schedule things around those days so that the kids know what to expect, she can get things done around the house and no one gets burnt out!

My new strategy ~ once I get through the rest of this jam packed week ~ I am going to try to have three out of seven days be stay days each week. Not that we will have full GO days four days, but we need to have three days that we are home. One day for laundry and cleaning, one day for baking and pre-cooking, and one day for mom to not loose that wonderful sanity I have been gaining.

I will say that KM has been incredibly receptive and cooperative this week on the go schedule - far better than she ever has been before! I however feel like I could keel over at any second and sleep for a month.

How does your family juggle the hustle and bustle that homeschooling and life can bring!
I will let you know how this system works out for us after we have tried it out a bit! Please share any tips, strategies or rules that your family lives and learns by!

What a difference a year can make!

I was at a homeschool workshop yesterday discussing lots of different topics and someone mentioned how at ease I seemed with homeschooling and how it really seems as though I have been doing it forever.

The irony in that statement for me is that exactly one year ago, I was sitting in a large conference room with a group of parents at a PTO hosted "Boo-hoo Brunch". This is an annual meet and greet for parents of the Kindergarten class to meet each other and learn about how they could help out by supporting the faculty and PTO. I was telling people how wonderful the teachers were and how many great activities the PTO sponsors and while these facts are all still true, it is just amazing to think that I am now advocating an entirely different lifestyle all together.

Although I may appear all calm and collected most of the time, I am also very good at disguising my trepidation for the upcoming year. Although I know that I have made the absolute right choice, a very wise friend of mine said "if you weren't nervous, I would be nervous for you." What she meant was all parents are nervous about something for their children. If KM was in school I would be worried about so much more and have so much less control over the outcome of those worries. At least with homeschooling we have control over what, how and when she is learning. If she wants us to spend three months on microscopic antibodies, guess what we will!

Our family has become an entirely different entity than it was a year ago. Our lifestyle is different, our schedule & routines are different, a lot of our friends are different, but by and large our priorities are different. Some people fear change and we used to be like that, but it seems as though these huge changes that have gone on over the past few year are exactly what we needed to make us a stronger more unified family. So for any newbie homeschoolers who may be reading this, please know that it will get calmer. You will become more confident in yourself, your kids and your choices! I have no doubt that you will see a miraculous difference in your children, as we have with ours. We enjoy being with each other, learning, laughing and living everyday just the way WE want to.

1st Annual Not Back to School Day!

Living less than a minute from the school that KM used to attend makes it rather difficult to ignore the fact that PS kids are back to school today! We woke up this morning to the sound of the screaming kids on the buses as they rode by. I half expected her to get upset about it, but instead she was very excited as she knew I had a full day planned for us!

SC arrived right on time and we headed out to KM's favorite restaurant for tie-dyed pancakes!

SC has started to figure out what to do with crayons - so that was fun for her! Even when we are trying to not learn something we do!We then headed over to the library to get some videos!

They love the rocking chairs!

And of course the puppet show was a must!

Next we headed to the park! Down the slides...
And up on the swings:

We headed over to the field for some ball play...

and found a shady spot for a snack!
We then headed home for a nap...
lunch and some video games!
When SC went home for the day I realized I had forgotten that I was suppose to make a stop while we were out this morning so off we went again...when we got back CJ was shocked to see his little girl looked soooo grown up!!
In case you can't tell from the earlier photos, KM had about 4-6 inches cut off her hair!!! We were walking passed a salon when I realized it had been quite a while since we had gotten our hair cut - so we did!

This was one of the best, most relaxing days we have had in a LONG time!
It will be the first of many Not Back to School Days in our household!