Day 15—Planning vs Doing!

This post is part of a series showing the realness of homeschooling---the ugly, frustrating, and wonderfulness of it all. 

I use to spend vast amounts of time planning.   I love planning.   In fact, I love planning more than I love doing.   But I’m in a place in my life that I need to be doing so much, I don’t have so much time to be planning.
 
And along the way during that time doing without so much planning, I’ve learned that simply doing consistently is more important than finding the perfect curriculum or creating the most awesomest lesson plans ever.  

If all I have is a dull encyclopedia that I teach from everyday, that is better than getting to the fifteen most exciting living books in random spurts. 
 
It only took me 10 years or so to get to this realization, but here is where I’m at!

Day 14—Preparing for the Week

This post is part of a series showing the realness of homeschooling---the ugly, frustrating, and wonderfulness of it all. 

Most Sunday evenings you can find me preparing for our upcoming homeschooling week.   I spend much of my summer vacation choosing curriculum and lesson planning, but I’ve still found following a few steps on Sunday night help our week to run smoothly.     

1. Look over lesson plans
• I spend some time looking over lesson plans I’ve created and the lesson plans that come with some of the programs we use.   Some plans may need adjusted according to the skills we are currently focusing on.  
2. Decide on our weekly goals
• While looking at our lesson plans I decide on our goals for this week.
• It is unusual that we would be able to accomplish everything listed in our lesson plans. This time gives me an opportunity to  look at the assignments, readings, and activities planned; and I think about the things that we absolutely must accomplish, the things that would be nice to cover but aren’t necessary, and the things that don’t meet our needs at all.  
3. Look at our schedule this week.
• It would be such a comfort if each week was an exact eight to three schedule every day of the week.   Unfortunately our schedule never seems to follow that schedule.   Field trips, monthly dentist appointments, lunch dates, and public school holidays are just a few things that affect our schedule.   This week a friend needs a ride to the train station Wednesday morning, so our schedule that day will need to be adjusted.   Friday afternoon we may have out of town guest causing our week to end early.  
4. Adjust lesson plans to fit into our schedule
• Looking at our goals and our schedule I fit in our must do assignments and as many of the it would be nice activities.    I try to keep in mind I tend to over schedule—but that is still a work in process.
5. Pull resources
• I try to be organized with most things we need on our bookshelves, but occasionally I need to dig through some boxes in the garage.    And a few times a year, there is something I can’t find when I plan for it!   It is good to know that before I need it; I am saved from spending time during our school day looking for it and can figure something else out.  
6. Start the week off right.
• I can now go to bed knowing we are ready for the week.   No need to wake up Monday morning feeling that I need to scramble to get things done before my girls get up.   

The Why and How of History in My Home

Why history?   Why spend time on a subject I hated so much in school?   Why spend time on a subject that my child won’t retain anyway?   Why torture myself and my kids?  How is it really important in the world based on technology?

I could tell you without a past there is no present.    Or that to be a good citizen one must know one’s history.    Or maybe that one must learn history and memorize those dreaded dates to prove one is educated.

But let me tell you why my family studies history.     JOY!   Yep, we find joy in studying history.    History is a subject we study all together.   Starting in first grade, history is comprised of mom reading aloud stories.    Yup, history starts as simply as telling stories.

Think about it.   When you get to know someone, you don’t just memorize their place of birth, birthdate, and names of parents, kids, and siblings.   You get to know them by spending time with them, hearing funny stories about their lives, and listening to their hopes and disappointments.    History is the same way---it is getting to know people—not just their dates and vitals, but their stories, dreams, and mistakes.

So we start with stories.   Snuggled up on the couch, often with snacks in the afternoon or just before bedtime, we start to learn about people of the past.   Scripture stories, American heroes, Ancient cultures around the world,  all are excellent starting points.  Mythology of other peoples are also a valuable starting point for these myths share the values of a culture.

As my children learned to read, they would take a turn in reading history aloud to the family.   Important reading practice was taking place as well as honing public speaking skills.  Comprehension was also tested as we discussed our stories.    And often during play time these stories popped back up as the center of creative play.
 
Around 2nd grade, my children started narrating these stories back to me.    This first involved drawing a picture and writing a few words or a sentence or two about the story.  Help was always offered for spelling and punctuation, if needed.  Perfection was not expected.  I also tried to add in crafts, cooking, or games that pertained to the history we were studying.    We now had snuggly read aloud time, play time,  and art time.    Nothing stressful here --Just plain old fun!

By 5th-grade, my kids  worked their way up to writing a whole paragraph about our history reading.    Some kids choose to stop drawing pictures by this age, other children diligently spent hours drawing weapons or political cartoons.   I also would start to see a style for learning develop for each child.   One child might love to make lists of facts and dates while another loves to make scrapbook pages with elaborate pictures.   So another benefit of history is recognizing learning styles for each individual child.

In addition to narrations and pictures, we utilize timelines.   A large family timeline hangs up for all to add dates.    On this timeline, one might find family birthdays and anniversaries as well as the date Shakespeare’s first play is performed.  Any date is allowed, and anyone is allowed to add to it at anytime.  Around 6th-grade I buy each child their own timeline book.  This is a rite of passage each child looks forward to.   Now dates are added to individual timeline books as well as the family timeline.   These books really do become keepsakes as each child takes ownership in their individual content.

Disclaimer:  Our timeline is not used to memorize dates!   Rather it is used to keep track of what is happening when.   Our history studies are not always chronological, so the timeline dates help us to realize that about the time the Gutenberg Bible was being published in Germany the Byzantine Empire was conquered by Mehmet II.  They help us connect the history happening around the world.
So by the time middle school rolls around, we are reading history, talking about history, and writing about history.  And it has all been done together as a family.    But now we begin branching out—while still keeping our family read aloud time.   At this time I begin teaching writing and research skills through our history studies.   I have my child learn to outline and take notes  from encyclopedias, magazines, and other history texts.   I’ve found that this isn’t as mind-numbing as one might think because as they are working with the history text,  they are connecting it to the stories we’ve read.    As they outline the facts of The Thirty Year War, they remember the story we read about Emperor Frederick as a child, they remember the Austrian folktales, and they start to connect those stories with the people who lived during this war.   They start to think what the values and ideals of the leaders and people and connect those with the facts they learn about the conflict.

Research skills are taught as each child takes ownership in what they study about a particular time period.   After read aloud time and reading their assigned history articles each child decides on what they would like to research in depth.   A trip to the library ensues, notes are taken,  and a  paper is produced—1 page to begin with, but soon enough the papers become not only more lengthy, but also more in-depth and thoughtful.   Okay, I must admit that the process of creating these papers are not always enJOYable!   Every child has complained  about this particular process.   But the skills we’ve learned getting to this point, have paved the way for success in writing a  history paper.   And that success is what marks the JOY!      To have the skills to create something of their own making is joyful!

And these papers are shared and discussed with the family –often at the supper table.   All have the opportunity not only to learn, but also to teach.   JOY is  found in having the opportunity to impart knowledge to others.   As mothers we’ve all felt the joy of imparting knowledge to our children---imagine your children having that same kind of JOY.

So while scholars have their reasons the study of history is important, my family has its own reason to study history!

Be sure to check out my Ancient and Middle Ages history pages listing some of the specific resources used in our home to study history.  Also, I've recently added our Renaissance resources.

Homeschool Slump

 

It’s that time of the year   Time for the Homeschool Slump, the Homeschool Blues, the I Just Can’t Get Out of Bed and Do the Same Thing Over and Over Every Day Forever Feeling! 

The newness and excitement of the school year from August and September have passed us by.   The candy high from October is gone.   The breaks that came every three weeks in November and December have vanished.   Now we have long months ahead with nothing but a three day weekend here and there.   For most of us, the weather is cold and the day is short and dreary. 

What’s a mom to do when the homeschool blues come for a visit?

First:  Plan for them.   After homeschooling for 12 years, I know with certainty that the doldrums will come.    Looking at my calendar this year, shows me that there are 13 long weeks between the start of school after Christmas break and our scheduled spring break!   That’s a long time.   So I plan several short weeks to break up the monotony.  A three or four day weekend to look forward to makes the week go much faster. 

Second:  Change things up.   Take a week and set your normal curriculum aside. A short unit study is a good way to break things up. Or perhaps focusing on just one subject for the week might brighten things up—poetry week, writing week, or everyday math would work well for a week long focus.   

Third:  Get out.  Work exercise and fresh air into your weekly routine.  Getting out into the fresh cold air always leaves me feeling invigorated and ready to get to work when coming back inside.   Get out into your community for a field trip or two.  Adding field trips into your routine changes things up a bit as well as gets you out of the house.  

The doldrums and blues hit all of us at one time or another.   Understand that’s okay and they will pass.       

Week 14

We are back!    But not quite with a vengeance!   Breaks are hard to come back from. 

This month we are working on diligence.   Our working definition:

Diligence does not rely on talent, but employs commitment, industry, and perseverance to transform vision into reality.  

And our favorite diligence quote so far—Diligence is the mother of Good Luck!   Benjamin Franklin. 

As a family we took this quiz:

True False

I always do my best; I strive for excellence.

I am willing to risk failure for a worthy goal.

I am self-disciplined.

I make sure to learn from my mistakes and failures.

I try to see the big picture and think long term.

I set goals and stay focused.

I don't give up just because things seem difficult.

I don't procrastinate.

After taking the quiz, we decided procrastination is really something we all struggle with.   Procrastination is something we are all working on.    Self motivation was also discussed and is something we are working on individually.
   
And I did see that diligence translate into our school work. And I worked hard on overcoming procrastination when it came to putting away laundry!

I-E and E-R reviewed the chapter on nouns this week before taking the chapter test.   In Mega words they covered closed and silent-e syllables.   For literature, they read through I Am David, so we can start analyzing this coming week.   For writing, we started Essay Voyage.   And in math, review of rates was on the schedule.
     
E-R and I-E applied and were accepted to produce, direct, and preform a preshow scene.   Although not a huge deal, it has caused me to really think about our goals and adjust our schedules.

Merry’s excellent post at Hope for Homeschool about prioritizing for passions has given me a lot to think about.   I-E has expressed a desire to pursue a career in the movies—specially screenwriting.   I know next to nothing about preparing for anything like this.   So for now, I have lots to  think about and no quick answers.  

But for now,  I’ve decided to forego history this month.   Instead, our afternoons will be filled with Shakespeare.  

Not a bad trade-off over-all.  

What changes are happening in your homeschool?  

How to Create a Science Course From a Science Kit

Science kits seem to pop-up just about everywhere these days-- toy stores, book stores, and even the local hardware store.   Robots, bubbles, volcanoes, perfume, slime, solar power, gum.   There doesn't seem to be any aspect of science study that hasn't been turned into a kit.   The varied topics found in these science kits can turn your science studies into an unique personalized course.   The following steps will enable you to put together a science course just right for your family.

   

First find a quality science kit.  I've found that price usually matches usefulness of the product. My favorite kits are created by Thames and Kosmos.  When my children were younger the  Science in a Nutshell  kits worked well for us.   Over the years we have also tried using lower quality kits, but were always disappointed with the results.  It's hard to focus on the science concepts when mom or dad have to take over and jury-rig the contraption to try to get the experiment to work.

The latest kit we've picked 

will allow us to build a wind turbine to preform experiments with.

A library of resource books is a must.   The Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia and the Usborne Internet-Linked Science Encyclopedias are my go to books.   I also consider our library a source for more specific information.

images courtesy of books.google.com

Determine which concepts the science kit can be used to teach.   Pull out the little instruction booklet that came with your kit.

Sometimes manuals provide a bit of background or scientific information, but usually I've found them to be pretty bare-bones,thus the need for additional information to make a kit into a complete course.

Looking through this booklet  I see that the concepts of  work, energy, wind, aerodynamics, wind power, and windmills are covered throughout the different experiments.

Then decide where, how, and when your students will research these concepts.   Matching up the above concepts with the entries in my Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia and Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedias,  I start to see how learning the concepts will take place.   The wind entry in the Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia will lend itself to summarizing, so I mark down our first assignment as reading the entry and writing a paragraph summarizing the information.    While looking through the Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia, I come across a beautiful chart  explaining the Beaufort Scale of Wind Forces with a list of observable effects to measure wind force, so I include the assignment to reproduce that chart in their science notebooks, and then to make a chart to observe wind force each day through out our study of wind power.   Further more I find a  website from the Usborne Encyclopedia which includes lots of online activities about what causes different types of weather. Looking up the other concepts, I see that some of the information may be good to memorize while other entries would work for further independent research.

One of the concepts, windmills, is not covered in either encyclopedia, so I head to the library to find some books on windmills.  After searching through lots of how-to-books, I found The Wind at Work, an activity guide about windmills as well as a book chock full of pictures and history about windmills.   I also came across this gem : The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.  I hadn't planned on including a novel in our science studies, but this true story about a boy who makes a windmill out of junk in order to bring food and hope to his African village was just too good to pass up.   I feel my children will benefit from several different character traits shown in this story which is one of the reasons I love being able to put together studies that are individualized for my family.

Next match up the assignments with the experiments in the kit.   The wind entry will of course match up with the two experiments on wind.  I like to complete our research and reading before completing the experiments as I find it helps my kids to better understand what is happening during the experiment.

Complete the experiments.  The best part of any science course is the experiments!   I have my kids complete lab sheets with all experiments.   I find it helps them process what is going on in the experiment, and we have something concrete to look back on and discuss after the actual experiment has been dismantled.   Donna Young has several different lab sheets available for free.

Individualize the course for your family.  Science is an  opportunity to explore and analyze the world while really making learning fun.   There are science kits available for kindergartners through adults.  Don't wait until your children are older to start science and don't avoid using the kits yourself because you aren't young.  Use young children's natural wonder to jump start their love of learning.   Assignments for younger kids may be as simple as a picture drawn to show what was learned. That's okay. The books and assignments  I've mentioned here work for my middle school aged children; others may work better for you family.  If science is incorporated throughout their growing up years,  investigating, probing, questioning, scrutinizing, and digging to learn more about our world will become second nature to your children.

Be sure to check out what all the other Hip Homeschool Moms are doing at the

 

 and at
http://hammockhomeschool.blogspot.com/

Planning Your Own Curriculum

How I Plan My History Curriculum

I haven't found a history curriculum that really gives me everything I want in a curriculum.   I want a clear concise flow of history with a bit of depth, hands-on activities, engaging quality fiction, writing, and a clear way to show what we learned by the end.   Oh and I don't want all this to cost a ton of money.   Asking too much?   Most likely yes, since I haven't found what I'm looking for yet!

So, in years past I would buy a curriculum and tweak it to death!  Recently I decided to skip paying someone else to develop something I would simply redevelop.   I have been designing my own history curriculum since then and have come up with some simple steps that anyone could follow to design a course of study themselves.  

1)  Prioritize.    What is most important to you?    Do you want to emphasize culture, memorization, religion, a hands-on aspect, developing reading skills, geography, writing, vocabulary, reading comprehension, following a four year cycle,  American history, world history, or ___________?    The list could go on forever--every family has different needs and focuses.

           My priorities this year for history are: 

1)  Cover an overview of history through the Middle Ages and Renaissance

2)  Work on reading comprehension for my two youngest

 3) Improve my son's research skills

4) Understand the geography of the regions studied

5)  Supply activities for my crafty artsy daughters that could also be left out for my let's-get-it-done-now son

6)  Incorporate writing skills into our history studies

7) Use historical fiction to increase understanding of everyday life and to introduce discussion

 2)   Research the available resources

                  This is the fun part for me. I read my Rainbow Resource  ,   Timberdoodle,  Winterpromise, Beautiful Feet, Veritas Press, and Sonlight catalogs, as well as what ever other catalogs I can get my hands on.    I look at Amazon and Barnes and Noble websites.   I look for books and products that will meet the priorities I've set for our study.   I read the product descriptions looking for age suggestions, number of pages, worldview, skills taught, and reviews of others who have used the products.   I look for products that will help me meet the goals I set when I prioritized in step 1.

Then I move on to The Well Trained Mind Forums.  These fabulous boards have thousands of homeschooling moms and dads willing to share their opinions on every topic under the sun!   While it is a good place to get info, it can also be a rather overwhelming place to visit.   That is why I only enter after I have already narrowed my choices to a few specific products.   It is easy to search for discussions on the products you are interested in.  Most likely, someone has used it and shared why it did or didn't worked for them.   If a discussion hasn't already happened, feel free to start a new one with your specific questions.

Spend time at the library perusing their history section.   Look for books that could work as a core and for books you might want to add to the core. 

At this point I usually have more products and ideas than I can possibly use.    Think about how often you will be working on history and how much time you and your children can reasonably spend on assignments.    I plan to work on history 3 hours per week.   On top of that time spent working together I expect my 8th-grade son to spend 3-4 more hours reading, researching, and writing, and my 6th-graders to spend about 2 hours working on projects in their history portfolios.  Pare down to what you can do in your time allotted to history.   


3)   Don't Be Tempted.

Okay, very important!  Don't go ahead and order the curriculum package you read about in one of the above wonderful catalogs unless it meets all your priorities!   I've been homeschooling for over 11 years, and each year I am tempted by all the fabulous curriculum that arrives in my mailbox via those catalogs.   I want to buy the Veritas Press history cards--even though I know they don't quite work for my family.   The Sonlight guarantee always tempts me!   But people!  this is why we are creating our own thing!   If after researching things you find something that looks great and reassures you your child will be a genius after using it, but it doesn't fit your goals, it will not work for you in the long run!  Spending money on it will be a waste of resources.   Okay, deep breathe!  Now that we got that out of our systems lets move on. 

4) Pick your Core Materials

It usually works best to choose one main book to be your core.   Your core is the book that will work as the backbone of your program.   You will follow its layout adding other components to it.   A core for history could be a history encyclopedia, a textbook, or a series of books.   I chose for our history core The Story of the Middle Ages , The Story of the Renaissance, and  these History Portfolios.  These are the texts that set the pace and path of our study.

5) Add to your core.

 Look at the table of contents of your core book.   Read through the book.   Decide where to add the other components of your program.

I try to pick six books for me to read aloud and six books for my kids to read themselves.   Looking at the table of contents,  I plug these books into the chapters they will add to the most .

I want to add reading comprehension to our history  for my daughters who need extra work in this area so I added  these workbooks.   And over the years I've figured out that trying to make every source match up with every other source will only drive you crazy!   So, I don't try to match the topics in the workbooks up with exactly what we are studying in our core book.   I've found that having topics slightly off schedule can be an advantage as it builds review into the curriculum.

My goal for my son to work on research and writing skills is met through the library.   I plan for him to pick a topic to research and then in our weekly visit to the library I help him look up and find books on the topic.   I've learned through experience not to plan these topics out.    Every scholar on the earth may think the art of a certain period is important, but my child may feel the bathroom habits are more interesting!    I go with the flow, since my real goal is improving his research and writing skills.

I also take topics from our cores to practice outlining and summary skills.   The cores I've chosen also have discussion questions and activity suggestions at the end of the chapters.    I skim over these to pick any activities my girls might like to complete and add to their portfolios.   Planning these ahead of time allows me to have the supplies needed at hand.

The history portfolios have a teacher's guide which I find invaluable for helping with writing topics and interesting activities as well as providing the mapping activities that fulfill priority number four.  

I've found that it is always nice to throw in something different through-out the year to keep things interesting.   I picked these history magazines and a few Jackdaws to change things up a bit.   They filled the gap of the Byzantine Empire, Feudal Japan, and the Vikings I found in my cores.   An unit study, in-depth art project, or a field-trip can all work to add interest to your studies.

6)  Type it up

I like to type my plans up making a schedule to fit our school year.    For some reason having this official looking plan makes all the difference for me!

7) Be willing to change things up!   

Some weeks things won't go as planned.    Some activities will be duds.   A new enticing book might show up at the library.  One of your lovely children may HATE one of those wonderful resources you carefully picked out.  

I've found I'm better able to deal with these things and change things up when I start with a plan and goals.   With your plan in place, you can take one read-aloud book out and plug in another.   You can skip the activity that doesn't work for your busy week while working ahead in another area, so you can fit that activity in another week.

There you have it.   A curriculum made to order.   

The Beginning of School 2010/2011 School Year

 N started school two weeks ago with his trig class at the college.   And then we met with our beloved Mrs. Stout who helped set up a plan for the year that puts N on track to graduate at the end of this school year.   He went home with his packet of work for his first high school class of the school year, 11th-grade english.   This last Tuesday A-M started her second year of school at Foothill.   She's taking drama, dance, honors english, algebra II, honors world history, honors chemistry, and honors spanish.   Busyiness has already filled her world.

Today began our homeschool.   In the past, I've taken great pleasure in planning our schedule and fitting together like a puzzle how we would use each minute of the day.  You know what?   I must be tired, because this year I turned this aspect of our school over to my cute not-so-littles.  

Most of our first day consisted of them planning out next week and fitting in when they would work on each subject.  

We'll start out our days with Memory Time (from 7-7:45) all together. 

E-R's schedule

7:45-8:00---Spelling

8:00-9:00----Read Lit book and free reading

9:00--9:30---Math lesson

9:30--10:15---Language arts with I-E and mom

10:15--11:00---Thinking skills

11:00-12:00---Lunch

12:00-12:30---Homework time*

12:30-2:00---History

2:00---Homework*

* Homework is anything she is assigned such as math and english lessons.

Next week science isn't scheduled but in future weeks will alternate with history time.

This planning was very stressful for E-R, but I am sure that is will be much become much easier for her in future weeks.   I also think she will have much more time during her day than she thinks to work on her math and english. 

E's schedule

6:00-7:00---Free time or math

7:00-7:45---Memory Time

8:00-9:00---Work with Mom on Language Arts

9:00-10:00---Homework for Language Arts

10:15-10:30---Spelling

10:30-11:00---Reading

11:00-12:30---Lunch

12:30-2:00---History

2:00-2:30---Clean-up

On Fiday--Instead of History, Art

I-E's schedule

6:00-7:00---Building Thinking Skills

7:00-7:45---Memory Work

7:45-8:00---Spelling

8:00-8:30---Lit reading

8:30-9:00---Math

9:00-9:30---Math Lesson

9:30-10:15---Language Arts with Mom

10:15-11:00---Monday The Story of Western Civilazation, Tuesday through Friday Homework

11:00-12:30---Lunch

12:30-2:00---History

Then on Monday, Wednesday,and Friday---shower!

Over-all our scheduling time was a bit stressful, but E did say that he enjoyed planning out his time.   I-E said that now she realizes why I spent those three weeks hunkered down with the computer planning out our year.    Isn't a little stress worth-it, when it brings about some gratitude for mom and her work?

We did complete some math and history, but the highlight of the day was our Dig! Discover!Display! Kit.   It has become a tradition to start out our school year with one of these kits.   This year E picked the crystal mine kit for us to kick off the school year.

The kids have exspecially been looking forward to this Friday for a reason that has nothing to do with school.   Papa will be home after a long two weeks working in Europe!   They plan to take him to Jamba Juice when he gets back into town!    

How was your school experience this week?