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You are here: Home / Archives for how to homeschool better

how to homeschool better

Should I Homeschool: Am I a Good Enough Teacher to Homeschool My Kids?

I wrestle with feelings of insecurity when it comes to homeschooling our boys.

Sometimes I wonder if I am the best teacher for my children…
Am I alone?

Last week I picked up the novel my son was reading to help him with comprehension. He is reading Call it Courage. As I read the first chapter I realized that this book was not about a boy’s struggle with war. (That’s right! I never even noticed the cover)

Good Lord, help my children!

…

Read More »

Filed Under: blog, K-8th Grade, sticky Tagged With: can i homeschool, how to homeschool better, video

Hindsight: It is Worth Repeating

If I could rewind the tape and begin homeschooling my kids today with the benefit of my 16 years of experience, what would I do differently? 


1. I would spend the first 6-12 months to a year organizing my home,
working on establishing a daily rhythm, and study my children.

2. I’d go to the library at least once a week allowing them to choose
books that interest them, and hand picking random books for me to read
aloud. I would be watching for what they are interested in, what makes
them excited, what they find boring, etc.

3. I would rely on my husband more in creating a vision for our
children, rather than trying to figure out what everyone else is doing. I
wouldn’t waste a second trying to make what works for your kids work
for mine. I’d keep my husband in the loop about our daily escapades and
accept his advice more quickly. I mistakenly thought that because he
worked outside the home all day he would be unable to see what the kids
needed. This piece of humble pie would have been better to consume early
in homeschooling.

4. Rather than spending countless hours worrying about this curriculum or that, I would begin with the family goals we have now:

  • Put the highest priority on sharing our love for Jesus with our children. 

  • To insure the kids know their math facts inside and out. Period. Forget learning them, they need to over learn them.

  • To inspire a love for literature by exposing the kids to a steady flow
    of great books. (I would read aloud daily no matter what their ages).
    I’d be picking the brains of the veteran homeschoolers, librarians, and
    authors that are in my sphere of influence for suggestions and I would
    prioritize a daily reading habit.

  • I would focus all learning to develop excellent written and oral
    communication skills. I would find my children pen pals so they could
    perfect the friendly letter.

  • I would have them do copy work from the masters and discuss why the
    sentences, paragraphs, essays, or stories are so great. I would
    understand that excellence in writing really comes from being well read
    and practice, tactics, practice.

5. I would find opportunities for my kids to stand and share in front of
others, whether it is during a family BBQ or performing with the local
theater- giving them the skill and confidence to speak in front of
others.

6. I would view curriculum, tests, quizzes, and state tests as resources
to help me customize each of the kids education, not the substance of
their learning.

7. I would relax more.
I’d let the kids get dirtier.
I would get
dirtier.

We would play in the rain, build in the snow, chase rainbows,
cloud watch, visit the farm, play at the beach, collect more leaves,
examine more bugs, watch more plays, attend the theater, interview our
doctors and dentists, locate inspirational guests like missionaries,
mechanical engineers, artists, poets, and ace mechanics to share their
passions with the kids. I would put a map of the US and the world under
glass or plastic across my kitchen table and every single time we read
or heard about a place we would locate it on the map and discuss how
close/far it it from us.

8. I would hide the duct tape…

9. I would do it all over again. And again. And again.

I know my children so much more intimately because of homeschooling. I
am forever grateful for the vision my husband was given for our family.

How about you?
What are the top few things you would change if you could
rewind the tape and homeschool those beginning years with the wisdom
you have today?


Filed Under: blog Tagged With: hindsight, how to homeschool better, Uncategorized, video, wisdom from veteran homeschoolers

Teachers And Homeschoolers Sharing Wisdom: Guest Blogger Lisa Smith

http://talesofteachingandlearning.blogspot.com/
I am super excited to introduce you all to my first “Teacher Guest Blogger”, Lisa Smith!

As a fellow wife, mom, Christian, principal, teacher and author you can be assured that she has a lot of valuable wisdom and insight for each one of us.


Make her welcome, comment on her post, visit her blog, and grab one of her fabulous resources at the bottom of this post!


                                                                          ~Bekki

I
believe that it’s the parent’s choice how their children are raised
and taught. Whether you are a public school teacher,
private school teacher or a homeschool teacher, you work
hard for the success of your students and that should be respected. 

In
reality, homeschool teachers and public school teachers have a lot in
common. We all create lessons, assessments, and follow standards (of
some kind). Instead of noting the differences, we need to work
together to share ideas and materials, because in the end, we all
want our students to succeed.

When
creating a new lesson, I always begin with the end in mind.
I ask myself, “What is it that they must know?” Then, I
create the assessment before making the activities and
lessons. This helps me stay focused on what’s important. 

I
am not a fan of making every 
assessment a traditional “test.”

 Assessments do not have to be boring! 

For example, my Events
in History Series have
projects for assessments. In my science class, I assess students by
using my Around
the Room Science Task Cards.
If students can finish the cards, I know they have mastered the
skills. In my fifth grade math class, I used Math
Bingo Cards and
a Classifying
Shapes Activity to
assess student learning 
                          (You can visit Lisa’s store by following the link at the end of this post)

In
addition, reviewing content doesn’t have to be boring. 
One of my
favorite review activities came from Tr. Harvey Silver. 
It called the
Magic Box. 
Basically, you have the students draw a box and have them
write everything they learned on that topic in the box. After you
give them plenty of thinking time, you go over the items in their box
and help them add to it. This makes a great study guide, or a quick
assessment.

In
my state, Indiana, we will have four different standardized tests in
a four year period. We would be fools to worry about “teaching to
the test.” Instead, we focus on teaching our standards. In my
opinion, standards do not limit teachers or take away their freedom
to be creative. Standards are just the checklist of what my kids need
to know before they leave me. What I do to meet that standard is up
to me.

I
use a standards checklist to ensure I meet my standards.
This standards checklist helps me to ensure that I am helping my
students be successful. Standards are important because they are a
teacher’s guidepost. Every successful program has standards. They
may not be Common Core or state standards, but if you have created
your own curriculum, you most definitely had to put thought into what
you wanted your child to learn and those are standards by which you
teach. 

I
sincerely thank you for reading my post and a special thank you to A
Better Way to Homeschool for the guest host opportunity.
More about Lisa:

My husband and I have three children ranging from 10 to 17 years old. I have a wide-range of teaching experience.  

Many years ago I owned a preschool and was a teacher for 4 and 5 year olds. After selling the preschool, I taught first grade at a rural school corporation and then taught fifth grade at a charter school.  

For the last five years, I have taught in the community in which I live. Within those five years, I taught fifth and sixth grade. This year, I was promoted to principal of the elementary school and I am the High Ability Coordinator and Curriculum Director for my school corporation.

Please
visit my Teacher Pay Teacher store for units that may be helpful to
you and your children
at https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Rigorous-Resources-By-Lisa

*********************************************************************************

Isn’t Lisa Great?
I asked her to share three fabulous resources with us. Not only does she have a wealth of experience and wisdom, but she also creates learning materials that can be easily used in our homeschooling environments. Here we go:
Freebie:
Poetry Posters
Even though the cover says “Classroom Posters”, these would make wonderful notebook references for homeschoolers studying poetry!
Poetry: (5-7th grade)
NO PREP Poetry Close Read Bundle
This is a great way to do a poetry focus. Lisa has done all the planning for you!
Plot Structure: (4th-8th)
Plot Unit
This complete unit helps us teach our kiddos how to analyze the plot of a story in an objective way.
Disclosure:
I receive no monetary perks for any of the teaching and learning packets shared in this post. I am simply trying to share my heart for becoming a better educator by connecting great teachers with great homeschoolers. We have so much to learn from each other!



Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: guest blogger, how to homeschool better, teachers sharing wisdom, Uncategorized

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