Magnet Math Perfect storm: One asthmatic down with a respiratory infection + Just enough energy to have him bouncing off the walls + freezing cold weather= desperate mom looking for an activity to reduce some energy yet not aggravate his lungs. Drum roll… Introducing “Magnetic Math” Skills Exercised: addition hand eye coordination tally marks good sportsmanship self control Materials needed: One (or more) hyper, under -the-weather children one backyard filled with freezing cold weather one metal door one (or more) soft magnets post-its + sharpie Directions: Add at least 5 post-its to your metallic surface (I used a door) with varying number values. (I chose 1, 5, and 10) Have child stand a predetermined distance away from the door. Have Child toss (Not chuck) the magnet while trying to hit a number value. Have child use tally marks to keep track of their score. First child to a certain predetermined score wins! Variations: Vary the number values to reinforce whatever math facts the child is working on mastering. Do a subtraction game. Have the child start at 50 (or any other number) and subtract any number values they land on. They should have their final turn requiring them to land on a specific number to win! Sit Over the shoulder Blind fold Isn’t homeschooling wonderfully fun?
3 Fabulous Footprint Crafts 15 days of Thanksgiving Homeschooling ideas! Free of course! Day Two: Pitter-Patter of Little Feet I love little footprints. The smaller the better, don’t you think? I have been searching for footprint art and guess what? This “genre” of art is a bit tricky to find! Here are the best crafts I could find for you to capture those cute feet. Cute Footprint Keepsake Plate by Handprint and Footprint Art Follow in His Foot Steps Stool I love this idea by Simply Kierste! When I make it, I will add the scripture: John 12:26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
Sick Kids Best laid plans of Moms and Homeschoolers jump out the window when the kids spike a fever and feel miserable. (Note I said, “and feel miserable”. In my home, a fever could be coupled with a child that has absolutely no other symptoms. That would = normal homeschool day for me!) Today, I have 3 sick kids and I do not feel so well myself. I know we will curl up and read and watch an educational (or fun movie) at some point, but I wanted to share this recipe with you. It’s fast. It’s easy. It brings cheerfulness into the morning. Gingerbread Men Eggs! Visit my cooking blog by clicking on the link above and check it out:). Not sure what to do with your sick kids? I liked this article! 9 At Home Activities for Sick Kids
I Wasn’t Ready for a Fire… Are You? Please pass this on to everyone! We were so lucky… Life happens. I have heard this saying before, but yesterday it caught up with me in a very forgiving way. We had a neighborhood emergency and it revealed that our family does not have an emergency plan in place. I am writing this as a way to get my mind around t we should do in an emergency, but also to warn you. We were very lucky. I pray we are never tested on our new plan, yet I want to be ready just in case. Early in the morning we smelled smoke. It was a none threatening smell. Actually, it smelled wonderful, like someone was burning some wonderfully aromatic wood in their fireplace. It was relaxing. It was too warm for us to start a fire, but the smell did make us check the temperature just to make sure. Yes, it was too warm for us to burn a fire. We had a lovely morning. We talked about everything from pumpkins to raising chickens. I remember even talking about the fact that I was not willing to get up in the middle of the night to check on baby chickens. Random, I know. My husband commented that they make warmers to keep baby chickens warm. Even more random… Or was it? I went for an hour and a half walk with one of the kids. When I stepped back onto our front lawn I smelled the fire smell again. Mmmm. Smelled like fall. I went inside and commented to my husband that it must be a fireplace, because I could only smell it here. I sent the kids outside to play and they came bursting back inside within 5 minutes… “Mom! There black smoke right out front. I think it’s the neighbor’s house!” I walked outside (Not sure I believed the kids…) and saw the smoke and the flames… our neighbor’s yard was on fire… Throw all reason out the door. I called to have my son bring me the phone and dial 911. My husband was in the shower and I did not even think to go tell him. I was working on less than rational thought. I had no logical trains of thought, just OMGoodness, that fire is close. Fast forward about an hour. The fire was out. No one was hurt. The only loss was a… CHICKEN COOP! Can you believe it? We learned a few lessons that morning. We don’t have an emergency plan We can’t think rationally in an emergency We should trust the Lord’s whisper of a voice (He was trying to tell us the chicken coop was on fire!) So I have to ask you. Are you and your children ready for an emergency? As a homeschooler, this is my responsibility to equip my children. We are currently forming our official plan and we will be practicing weekly for a while, then monthly. Do you have a plan? What would you and your kids do if there was a: Fire Earthquake Tornado Flood Hurricane National Disaster If your family was separated, Where will you meet? Do you use cell phones and cordless handheld phones? They do not work when cell towers go down and power outages happen. Do you have one of those “old fashioned” phones that simply plug into the wall? You’ll want one! Start garage sale shopping. Do you have a list of emergency contacts in your wallet? Do all of your children? Do your kids know how to make collect calls from a pay phone? (Don’t laugh. When I taught my then 18 year old he tried to tell me there were no pay phones in our town. He was so used to cell phone technology that he didn’t even see them!) My day yesterday showed me that even though I love my Scarlet O’Hara mentality of “I’m not going to worry about that today, I’ll worry about that tomorrow”, if I do not have a plan to follow then I will be up a creek without a paddle in an emergency. Need a starting point? Here is a great Disaster Preparedness Coloring Book by FEMA Here is FEMA’s Make an Emergency Plan Site Our family feels like the Lord protected us in our little emergency. It could have been so much worse! All the trees within 5 feet of the fire are crispy dry. We are all surrounded by fires favorite food, dried brush. The wind is notorious in our town, we even have one of the largest wind farms! We could have lost everything. We are thankful for our neighbors who never hesitated! They knocked the fire down from a 30 foot wall of fire, down to about a foot by the time the fire department arrived! If you do not have a plan, set aside school work for a few days this week and develop one with your children and start drilling! The year-round support and guidance you need to succeed in your homeschool journey. Welcome to The Homeschool Sisterhood! Learn more…
Coffee Break: To Pay or Not To Pay Your Kids I was blessed to sit and visit with a group of about 12 homeschool parents this morning. It was so refreshing. There’s something magical about sitting and visiting over coffee and treats. I was again reminded about perspective, but from a different, well, perspective this morning. Just a few days ago, I was teaching my boys that an acorn could be either a beautiful sign of autumn, or a safety hazard. This morning I was reminded that each and every family in a unique and amazing self-contained unit. I do not, but what works for me may not work for you and vice versa. The incredible truth is that it’s OK. The important thing is that we settle into what works for our own families in the current season of life that we are walking through at this moment in time. Here are some of the differences between the families I sat with this morning: Chores. Some children never lift a finger around their home, some are paid to make their beds, some have a whole list of to do tasks to be completed. Television. Some families have art easels where a television would typically be found. Some kids earn “coupons” to buy TV time. Some families only watch on the weekends, some have no television boundaries. Meals. Some people eat out more than 4 times a week, some never eat anything unless it is prepared in their own kitchen. Some kids learn to cook when they are 5, and some of us have to wait until we are grown up to learn how to boil water. Curriculum. Some homeschoolers try to duplicate a traditional classroom atmosphere, even building mini school rooms to occupy 5 days a week where some kids are left to govern their own days and learn as they go. Some homeschoolers buy textbooks, worksheets, quizzes, and tests, while others use their local library as their curriculum. School work. Some kids complete an endless chain of worksheets and regurgitating questions while others are covered in dirt as they build their own catapults in their backyard. We are all so uniquely and wonderfully made. No two homeschool families are alike. The important thing is that we take the time to discover who “we are” and then blossom with our kids. No one can really tell you how to homeschool your kids. You know what they need to work on (not any particular worksheet, but maybe learning to read or master their math facts). Take what makes you and your children unique and allow yourself to grow into the best you can be. Definitely spend time with other homeschoolers, either in person or on-line, and get to that place where there is open sharing. Glean ideas, tips, projects and encouragement that you want to incorporate into your life and let go of the rest. Every year, things will change. That’s OK. Actually that’s the beauty of homeschool.
Homeschooling: How To Move From Newbie To Veteran A Newbie Homeschooler is one who is still in that honeymoon phase of homeschooling. It lasts for about one to three years and can honestly hold you back from the best homeschooling has to offer. So how does one move from the newbie side of the homeschool line to the coveted veteran side? It’s different for everyone, but it all starts here: Do not quit. Homeschooling is one of the more challenging endeavours that a parent can undertake. Imagine sitting in your home, surrounded by all of your children. You are the chief cook and bottle washer. You decide what they eat, what they wear, what they learn. Honestly, the task can be daunting. Complicate the homeschooling experience by the fact that humans are competitive by nature and we tend to want what others have. That translates into having our children involved in too many activities and ordering their school days with an ivy league quality set of assignments to be completed each day. New Homeschoolers tend to make a huge mistake. They run out and order a curriculum because it looks good, long before they discover who their children are as students and who they themselves are as teachers. A Newbie still believes that “this curriculum” or “that curriculum” will help their child learn. Veteran Homeschoolers are a different breed entirely. While we are all unique, we do share some concrete similarities. Veterans know their child’s strengths and weaknesses. Veterans tailor their child’s education to fit in between the lines of their students passions and abilities. Veterans are confident in their ability to teach, yet humble enough to ask for help when necessary. Veterans are more interested in their child’s character than how many math facts they can fire off in 60 seconds. So how does a Newbie move to the Veteran Side? Spend more time studying what makes your child tick than you do shopping for curriculum. Ask for help determining your child’s learning style and your teaching style. Have fun learning along side your children. Choose to ignore the laundry and play in the mud. Realize that your primary goal is to teach your child to love to learn, not master XYZ of your states standards. Being a newbie can be a wonderful season in your educational career. This is where you can honestly glean wonderful pearls of wisdom from educators around you. Enjoy the process of discovering who you and your children are as homeschoolers. It is never about how well your child knows page 214 of their science book. It is about how well you equip your child to seek knowledge daily. Your goal should be to reach the veteran camp as soon as possible. Sure, there is more laundry here, but the kids are having a blast at learning, living, and growing!
Teaching Older Children About Business I have spent quite a bit of time thinking about how to better prepare my young men for this new and crazy world. My oldest son is a sophomore in college and we are constantly discussing his future, his career choices and the fact that what he does today profoundly impacts his tomorrow. He is well on his way to earning his degree and reaching his lifelong dream of being a history professor, but he has dreams or being a business owner. So why build an online business with him? Because I can. Because I am learning the processes myself and am very excited to see what the Lord will do in our lives and my enthusiasm is contagious. One of the mental challenges of homeschooling, for me, has been the process of breaking out of the molds that society would label “education”. Why wouldn’t I take the time to teach my children something they want to learn, something they see value in, and sneak in a few “educational lessons” along the way. The same way that we might puree carrots and squash to add to a sauce and sneak in nutrition, I sneak my core goals into everything I teach my kids as we research and pursue their passions. Does this make sense? Well, in my home, this idea has caught fire. I have 5 boys and three of them are in the start up phases of their own on-line companies. Cool huh? As soon as they come on-line I will share them with you, but for now I’d like to ask you to consider asking your older kids if this is something they might want to explore. I say explore, because I have been on this road for about 6 years. It has taken me an embarrassing amount of time to get to where I am today. I will assume that many of you may have a child (or maybe you yourself) who would love to start a business. The good news is that I love to share! Ask your kids if they are old enough. “Would you like to learn how to start an online business?” If either you or they say yes, be sure to enter to the right. I am giving away 2 copies of a special report designed to help you get started!
Experience First: Flight Every time the Space Shuttle launched I cried like a baby. “Mission Control, This is Endeavour are we cleared for launch?” “Endeavor you are cleared to launch in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…” I get goosebumps just thinking about it. Now, teaching kids about aerodynamics is another subject altogether. I get a headache just thinking about it. For me, this is a dry and dull subject (if you are an aerospace engineer who may visit this article, forgive me). Related: Your preschools don’t need to sit still, they need to move! So how do I teach my kids about things I find dull and boring? I find someone who is passionate about the subject and get my kids in front of their enthusiasm! The funny thing is when I am with my children I catch the enthusiasm. In our “who you know” world, our family was invited to watch the final flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour as it made its California Tour. (My husband worked for NASA at the time). I have to say this was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen in my life. We were able to have a front row seat to view the shuttle fly by on the back of its 747 and then land and park directly in front of our family ( and a few thousand other blessed people). Wow. I still cannot believe we were able to see this. Now let me ask you. Do you think my boys are going to be interested as we learn about flight and aerodynamics? You tell me… While it is true that not everyone can get an invitation like this, everyone has opportunities all around them to explore something amazing. Seize every one of those opportunities as you homeschool. I hear of homeschoolers that farm, raise chickens and cows, build an organic homestead and store, visit local (and not so local) museums, participate in living history days, attend plays, play musical instruments, attend art shows, shadow professionals to preview jobs, design and build computers, and more. What do you have available to you and your kids? Maybe it’s fishing. If you want your kids to learn about the fish of the sea, begin by taking them fishing. Don’t know how to fish? Ask around. My hubby took two of our sons out with a friend today to participate in their first fishing derby. Look at that King Salmon! You can bet that boy will be primed and ready to learn about the life cycle of a fish, and the impact of the Salmon on the health of the Pacific Northwest where we live. He’ll likely even be ready to help protect fish to ensure that his kids can experience this same thrill. It could be anything, but usually kids don’t say, “Hey, I’m passionate about this thing I’ve never done before!” Kids need to experience first, become intrigued and then they’ll be excited to learn. Always lead with EXPERIENCE Ask a neighbor or two for their top ten sites in your town for their top ten list of places to see Visit your local chamber of commerce Order your national parks map and visit 3 parks this year Read your local paper and attend things that you may think are boring (just do not say that aloud to your kids) Then stand back. As your kids taste and see this amazing world, they will be primed and ready to receive the “educational” activities rolling in your imagination. Just be sure to hook their curiosity before you blast off into learning! How to Make Learning Fun: EASY! Hebrew for Homeschoolers High School Electives for Homeschoolers
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Homeschooling: Where do I Begin? So you have made the decision to home school your children, but have no idea where to start. Today, let me give you a jump start. Understanding that you should: Establish your family mission statement Pick the subjects/topics/curriculum to study Determine how you stay organized … you can still get started today. First. Pick a subject that interests you and your kids. I highly suggest going to the local library (or browsing your own bookshelves). When I first began homeschooling I discovered my library did not have a book limit. What that meant was every time I took the kids to the library, we would leave with 20-40 books! (Words of wisdom: teach your children to respect books. Keep your library books in a separate location, like a basket. Mark your calendar to remind you when the books are due. I suggest giving yourself a few days cushion just in case the baby gets sick. Late fees at the library are minimal unless they are multiplied by 40 books…) Second. Learn everything you can about that subject: Together! Read. Research online. Search Netflix. Search YouTube. Get deep into learning!! Third. Choose a project to showcase what you all have learned! Project Ideas: Mini books, notebooking, lapbooks, pocket books, and power points are just a few suggestions. Third. Spend a week (to a month) becoming and expert and making that project! (approximately). Fourth. Ready, Set, Learn! Have a blast learning along side of your kiddos. The more excited you are, the better. Enthusiasm is contagious. Fifth. This step is vital. The kids (and you) have worked hard to create some amazing project. No matter how simple the final product turns out to be, make sure the kids share it with someone. Have them walk daddy through their creation, explain it to grandma, or teach it to a neighbor. This will do two things: Reinforce what the kids have learned Let them bask in the spotlight! Here are a few resources to help you set up your project: Sign up here to receive freebies, deals, and resources!! A wonderful resource for mini-books~ Lapbooking templates My Favorite Pocket Projects How to create a power point
Pinterest for Homeschoolers! Have you found me out on Pinterest yet? I am constantly browsing this wonderful site for the best resources to help you with your homeschooling adventure. There is an endless source of inspiration out here. Hop on over to my page and follow me. See What I Have to Share with you! Click here:) Be sure to click on the follow me button!
Math is Just Like Christmas! Math is Just Like Christmas! is a post from Bekki @ A Better Way to Homeschool where we learn to train our children to become lifelong learners. If you have enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Bekki on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Google+! I introduced the boys to their manipulative math bin today. It was like Christmas Morning! This little guy was so excited that I never could get a picture in focus! I gave them no agenda, just “Explore”. They had a ball handling all the fun things: base 10 blocks, practice clocks, counter markers, math mats, and rubber stamps. The older boys had fun “making things” out of the different sets. Squishy created a unique game while Giggles built with the blocks like they were Legos. The most surprising discovery was the set of rubber stamps. These have become, not only a fun activity, but a necessary component of every lesson. My kids no longer want a 100% written on their work, they want a 100 block stamp instead (the older kids want the 1000 block stamp). A really simple, yet surprisingly challenging activity is to write numbers onto a blank piece of paper and then to have the kids stamp the correct block representation of each number. I was surprised that it was as challenging as it was for the younger boys and we have incorporated it into our weekly math activity schedule. What’s in our math manipulative bin? Base 10 stamps Base 10 Starter Kit Learning Clock Geometric Patterns Teddy bear counters …and more… Preview of the Heart of Homeschooling God’s Way Master Class. We need to STOP measuring success by grades, achievements, awards, and worksheets.
Boy Heaven Boy Heaven is a post from Bekki @ A Better Way to Homeschool where we learn to train our children to become lifelong learners. If you have enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Bekki on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Google+! Boy Heaven! My husband recently bought me a new printer for my office. He surprised the boys today by handing them the old broken unit and a few screw drivers. They were busy for hours! Yes, they are wearing helmets. They were riding bikes and scooters until the surprise project was presented. They were so excited they left their helmets on for quite a while… Favorite discovery. Circuit boards galore! The boys were astounded at how many parts, pieces, springs, electronics, ribbon cables, gears, and screws were hidden inside this simple machine. What a great lesson!
Disclosure Policy This blog is a site written and edited by me, Bekki Sayler. I am the homeschooling mama of 5 amazing boys and LOVE the homeschool life. A Better Way to Homeschool was born out of my passion for coming alongside and equipping and encouraging new and frustrated homeschoolers. I believe the Lord has blessed me with a vision to help many homeschooling families. I work daily to provide homeschooling tutorial videos, homeschooling guidance, coaching, inspiration, and much more. If I thought I could create a brick and mortar business to meet your needs I would do so in a heartbeat! My gifting is in my ability to boil down decades of homeschooling and practical family life advice to share it with you all on-line. This is my “other full-time job”. I honestly believe it is more than fair to be compensated for my many hours of hard work that are invested in bringing you the best resources I can create or find. As this site continues to grow, so do my expenses. This blog contains custom products created by me and affiliate links. That means you and I are partners keeping this blog alive. I make a small percentage in commission when you purchase my creations or follow the links I share. In return, I am committed to bringing you only high-quality products and services. The money I earn helps cover the costs of running this blog, like domain name and web hosting and allows me to stay at home with my children. I do make you this promise: I promote only those products and services that I would use personally. I always share my honest opinions and experiences, even for products and services whose ads appear on my web site. If I am compensated to write a blog post, I will make full disclosure. All content on A Better Way to Homeschool is copyrighted, and it may not be reprinted in full form without my written consent. This disclosure is provided in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR § 255.5: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Amazon Affiliate Advertising Policy A Better Way to Homeschool is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. “As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.” Affiliate Policy with other Bloggers and Advertisers A Better Way to Homeschool is partners with other bloggers and advertisers such as, but not limited to They Call Me Blessed, Teach Them Diligently, CJ Affiliates, Moolah, Early Bird Mom, and more. My husband and I pray about this site and its content. Our prayer is that you will find resources that truly bless and equip you and your families on your homeschooling journey. My Christian integrity is more important to me than making a profit. I will never intentionally share any content or endorse any product or service that will compromise my integrity. If you find any products that are of concern, please contact me and I will remove them immediately! Compensation received will not influence what I share with you or my ability to express my honest opinion. Again my integrity is not for sale! Please check the total on any purchase at checkout. Although I make every effort to post the current information, offers are subject to change without notice. It is your responsibility to make sure FREE items ARE STILL FREE at check out. Last revision: December 10, 2018
Our Daily Homeschool Schedule I get quite a few people asking me about our homeschool schedule. They want to know how I homeschool multiple ages and grades without having a nervous breakdown. It all comes down to planning, flexibility, and a healthy dose of reality. Master Chore List: As Promised!! Learning from the Past The card catalog has been replaced by computers. There was a day when you could walk up to a cabinet filled with actual drawers holding small cards in alphabetical order. The cards were created as a trilogy, where the information listed was rearranged according to the categories of Author, Subject, and Title. When looking up a certain book you could physically walk up to a drawer, open it, and flip back through the cards until the exact book was identified. From that point, you would hand write the information necessary to help you locate the book on the library’s shelves. Antiquated, I know, but relevant as we look to homeschooling our children. We cannot allow our minds to be trapped back in the era of the card catalog, for that is certainly completely irrelevant to our children. If our kids actually walk into a library, they will walk up to a computer to complete their search. With a few swift key strokes, they will have the appropriate information right before their eyes. While we can appreciate how far we have come, our kids are miles ahead of us. They are born into this technology driven world. They think its normal to watch a television show and watch a person pop up in the corner and tell them some fact about he character that is performing the show, the actor, or the location. They are not annoyed by the “pop up’s” on the computer screen as they search for information; in fact they absorb 12 times the information in one 15 minute sitting that we ever could. (I made up the 12 times, but you know what I mean) Our card catalog mind wants to physically touch, smell, and see our one piece of information. Their computer savvy mind wants to scan through the 3.2 million search engine results, filter for the top 4 relevant sites, and laugh at the funny pop-up. They are being programmed to soak up information like a sponge. So how is this relevant to homeschooling. Besides the obvious “we shouldn’t try to teach them about how to find a book through a card catalog” we should embrace this information driven world while teaching our kids to focus. The challenge with a our new world is that our kids can quickly acclimate to this alternate universe. They can believe that its OK to buy a movie ticket while texting their friends simultaneously, or sit at the dinner table and be watching a YouTube video and chatting as they eat and communicate with the people sitting at the same table. As homeschoolers in the new millennium we must learn from the past. We need to teach our kids to categorize their technology-filled world into a few essentially vital categories: people relationships knowledge entertainment If our kids can recognize that everything fits into one of those categories, then they can be taught to prioritize them. People first, knowledge, entertainment, and so on. While we cannot change the world to look like it did when we stood in a library at age 12, we can teach our kids to treat this new world with the proper perspective. We need to teach our kids to focus on people and relationships (not the touchy-feely kind, but the “you are more important than this cell phone” kind) and embrace the benefits that technology provides. Our kids are sponges. We need to teach them to absorb knowledge and to seek hard after those subjects, topics, and fields that they are passionate about. We need to not be intimidated that they can do 12 times more than we could do in the same amount of time, but rather train them to use that ability to become a better student, family member, and human being. Preview of the Heart of Homeschooling God’s Way Master Class. We need to STOP measuring success by grades, achievements, awards, and worksheets. Using Notebooking to Add Creativity to your Lessons Laying a New Foundation Love of learning. What does that phrase mean to you? When I began homeschooling, I figured my children would naturally love to learn. I would not need to teach them how to do this. Instead, my goal was to fill their minds with as much knowledge as I could possibly pour upon them. My experiences as a public school student and teacher taught me that children could easily make it from K-12 and beyond attaining titles such as “top of their class” without truly learning anything more than how to study, memorize, and regurgitate facts. I was one of those types of kids and I definitely wanted my children to get more than this from their education. Determined to set a full plate before them, I scoured over homeschooling magazines, catalogs, and websites and purchased more books and curriculums in those first couple of years than I have the last six combined. It soon became apparent that we would need to add extra hours to our day in order to finish all of the prescribed scopes and sequences. With schedules and assignment sheets in hand, we began to plow our way through our curriculums. Now, obviously, we hit a few bumps in the road. Who doesn’t? During those years though, all skeptical eyes were upon us from family to friends to the local social worker that paid regular visits to our home (we were fostering at the time). All bumps were neatly swept under the rug and we kept right on plowing. From the outside looking in and according to the standardized tests, everything was great. Eventually though, the pace and the bumps began to wear on me and I became restless about our homeschooling. The kids, on the other hand, had adjusted fairly well. They had grown accustomed to the long hours, the lack of playtime, and mom’s perfectionist tendencies. However, when I finally took stock one day in what we were doing, I realized that instead of helping my children to rise above my own educational background, I had trained them to be just like me. They were pro’s at marking off their little check boxes, filling in the blanks, and regurgitating information in nice little pre-packaged amounts. Additionally, they had sacrificed their own interests and desires so much to this point that they really did not know how to “just be a kid”. This was not what homeschooling was supposed to be like for our family! What happened? In retrospect, I know that my mistake was not in having high aspirations nor was it my perfectionist tendencies or the pressure from our skeptical audience. The problem was I began building my children’s education without first laying a proper foundation. I continued to add layer upon layer to our educational structure with the goal to build it as tall as possible. Therefore, when the building became too heavy and burdensome, it all came crashing down without much more than the materials to show for all of the labor. This is the point where those in my situation begin selling off all of the “materials” in exchange for new ones thinking that will somehow fix the problem. Instead, we should focus our time and attention on laying that proper foundation. So how does one go about this? First, give yourself permission to break whatever mold your family is currently conforming to and let go of whatever is entangling you. (Unfortunately, it took me about three years to really do this and to let go.) Then, invest some time to research “homeschooling philosophy” online or at the library and begin writing your own philosophy of education. This will be your foundation. Seek ideas that will preserve the unique personalities, desires, and interests of your children as well as remain true to your family’s vision. Define what “love of learning” means to you. Weave this into your foundation. You may find that your philosophy is a hodge-podge of some of the popular homeschooling philosophies floating around out there. Perfect! Take the best points from those that really mesh with your family and make it your own. Having defined this for my family has freed me from my own misconceptions about education as well those from outside sources and “experts”. It has freed my children to be kids again, opening the doors of discovery and ushering in a true love of learning that will build larger storehouses of information and wisdom than I could have ever hoped of building! (Reprinted with permission from Debra Reed, NotebookingPages.com) Go to page 1 Go to page 2 Go to Next Page »
Learning from the Past The card catalog has been replaced by computers. There was a day when you could walk up to a cabinet filled with actual drawers holding small cards in alphabetical order. The cards were created as a trilogy, where the information listed was rearranged according to the categories of Author, Subject, and Title. When looking up a certain book you could physically walk up to a drawer, open it, and flip back through the cards until the exact book was identified. From that point, you would hand write the information necessary to help you locate the book on the library’s shelves. Antiquated, I know, but relevant as we look to homeschooling our children. We cannot allow our minds to be trapped back in the era of the card catalog, for that is certainly completely irrelevant to our children. If our kids actually walk into a library, they will walk up to a computer to complete their search. With a few swift key strokes, they will have the appropriate information right before their eyes. While we can appreciate how far we have come, our kids are miles ahead of us. They are born into this technology driven world. They think its normal to watch a television show and watch a person pop up in the corner and tell them some fact about he character that is performing the show, the actor, or the location. They are not annoyed by the “pop up’s” on the computer screen as they search for information; in fact they absorb 12 times the information in one 15 minute sitting that we ever could. (I made up the 12 times, but you know what I mean) Our card catalog mind wants to physically touch, smell, and see our one piece of information. Their computer savvy mind wants to scan through the 3.2 million search engine results, filter for the top 4 relevant sites, and laugh at the funny pop-up. They are being programmed to soak up information like a sponge. So how is this relevant to homeschooling. Besides the obvious “we shouldn’t try to teach them about how to find a book through a card catalog” we should embrace this information driven world while teaching our kids to focus. The challenge with a our new world is that our kids can quickly acclimate to this alternate universe. They can believe that its OK to buy a movie ticket while texting their friends simultaneously, or sit at the dinner table and be watching a YouTube video and chatting as they eat and communicate with the people sitting at the same table. As homeschoolers in the new millennium we must learn from the past. We need to teach our kids to categorize their technology-filled world into a few essentially vital categories: people relationships knowledge entertainment If our kids can recognize that everything fits into one of those categories, then they can be taught to prioritize them. People first, knowledge, entertainment, and so on. While we cannot change the world to look like it did when we stood in a library at age 12, we can teach our kids to treat this new world with the proper perspective. We need to teach our kids to focus on people and relationships (not the touchy-feely kind, but the “you are more important than this cell phone” kind) and embrace the benefits that technology provides. Our kids are sponges. We need to teach them to absorb knowledge and to seek hard after those subjects, topics, and fields that they are passionate about. We need to not be intimidated that they can do 12 times more than we could do in the same amount of time, but rather train them to use that ability to become a better student, family member, and human being. Preview of the Heart of Homeschooling God’s Way Master Class. We need to STOP measuring success by grades, achievements, awards, and worksheets.
Laying a New Foundation Love of learning. What does that phrase mean to you? When I began homeschooling, I figured my children would naturally love to learn. I would not need to teach them how to do this. Instead, my goal was to fill their minds with as much knowledge as I could possibly pour upon them. My experiences as a public school student and teacher taught me that children could easily make it from K-12 and beyond attaining titles such as “top of their class” without truly learning anything more than how to study, memorize, and regurgitate facts. I was one of those types of kids and I definitely wanted my children to get more than this from their education. Determined to set a full plate before them, I scoured over homeschooling magazines, catalogs, and websites and purchased more books and curriculums in those first couple of years than I have the last six combined. It soon became apparent that we would need to add extra hours to our day in order to finish all of the prescribed scopes and sequences. With schedules and assignment sheets in hand, we began to plow our way through our curriculums. Now, obviously, we hit a few bumps in the road. Who doesn’t? During those years though, all skeptical eyes were upon us from family to friends to the local social worker that paid regular visits to our home (we were fostering at the time). All bumps were neatly swept under the rug and we kept right on plowing. From the outside looking in and according to the standardized tests, everything was great. Eventually though, the pace and the bumps began to wear on me and I became restless about our homeschooling. The kids, on the other hand, had adjusted fairly well. They had grown accustomed to the long hours, the lack of playtime, and mom’s perfectionist tendencies. However, when I finally took stock one day in what we were doing, I realized that instead of helping my children to rise above my own educational background, I had trained them to be just like me. They were pro’s at marking off their little check boxes, filling in the blanks, and regurgitating information in nice little pre-packaged amounts. Additionally, they had sacrificed their own interests and desires so much to this point that they really did not know how to “just be a kid”. This was not what homeschooling was supposed to be like for our family! What happened? In retrospect, I know that my mistake was not in having high aspirations nor was it my perfectionist tendencies or the pressure from our skeptical audience. The problem was I began building my children’s education without first laying a proper foundation. I continued to add layer upon layer to our educational structure with the goal to build it as tall as possible. Therefore, when the building became too heavy and burdensome, it all came crashing down without much more than the materials to show for all of the labor. This is the point where those in my situation begin selling off all of the “materials” in exchange for new ones thinking that will somehow fix the problem. Instead, we should focus our time and attention on laying that proper foundation. So how does one go about this? First, give yourself permission to break whatever mold your family is currently conforming to and let go of whatever is entangling you. (Unfortunately, it took me about three years to really do this and to let go.) Then, invest some time to research “homeschooling philosophy” online or at the library and begin writing your own philosophy of education. This will be your foundation. Seek ideas that will preserve the unique personalities, desires, and interests of your children as well as remain true to your family’s vision. Define what “love of learning” means to you. Weave this into your foundation. You may find that your philosophy is a hodge-podge of some of the popular homeschooling philosophies floating around out there. Perfect! Take the best points from those that really mesh with your family and make it your own. Having defined this for my family has freed me from my own misconceptions about education as well those from outside sources and “experts”. It has freed my children to be kids again, opening the doors of discovery and ushering in a true love of learning that will build larger storehouses of information and wisdom than I could have ever hoped of building! (Reprinted with permission from Debra Reed, NotebookingPages.com)