History, Pinterest & Pyramids

We have started formal lessons in history this year.  I have been a bit surprised by just how much we all are enjoying learning together.  I have new eyes for this, as history was never a favorite growing up.  I guess it's interesting learning things I never knew and discovering stories from primary sources.

We are using SOTW as an outline, along with an actual timeline and many reference books (Usbourne & Kingfisher) and other primary sources.  I have definitely modified just how we're using SOTW and how we're tracking the globe.  We have taken a stop in Ancient Egypt to go further in depth.  The children are really enjoying making things, watching documentaries (another surprise, as they're rather lengthy and not so 'child' friendly) and reading books on the subject.

We checked out the entire selection of books on Ancient Egypt from our library.  Hopefully no one else in our community needs them for a while.

Last week, during my planning time, I went through my Pinterest board designated for Ancient History.  I must say again, that it's great to find things and know that there all in one place for when I need them!  If you're not on Pinterest, or some other board, I would recommend it as it's definitely a great way to keep things organized.

I found this idea on Pinterest and made plans for my children to do it as well.  Today ended up being the day.  We made pyramids using marshmallows and tooth picks.  Simple, as the supplies were easy to secure. A bit of a challenge, as the children had to figure out just how to create it.  I gave a few suggestions and them let them go for it. Fun, because they got to eat a few as they figured out just how to make it work.

Here are some photos of our time:

Getting Started

Making the base--we found out it should be a square.

Building up in a pyramid shape was a bit challenging, at first.

The Boy finishing his.

Pretty Girl making a larger one.

Sweetie-pie straightening her up a bit.

Finished!

Finished

Finished! (She added an extra tip on top.)

Afterwards I made some hot chocolate (yes, it's that cool here now) to use up the 'extra' marshmallows.  We'll keep them up for Daddy to see once he comes home and then, I guess, I'll let them eat those as well.  SMH. Hopefully they'll remember what we've learned and it won't all be washed away with all that sugar. (smile)

Happy Home Learning!

A Quote

"We destroy the love of learning in children, which is so strong when they are small, by encouraging and compelling them to work for petty and contemptible rewards. Gold stars or papers marked 100 and tacked to the wall, or A's on report cards, or honor rolls or dean's lists, or Phi Beta Kappa keys, in short, for the ignoble satisfaction of feeling that they are better than someone else."  ~John Holt

Our Photo Challenge :: Math

I've started a weekly photo challenge with my homeschooling group to give those who don't get out regularly a way to participate weekly.  Many of us now enjoy snapping photos of our children learning and growing.

So, I thought I'd share it here, as well.  This week we're sharing something math related.  Here's what we got into today, and before we finished I realized it fit the category!  YAY!

Life.
Gotta love it.

Happy Home Learning!!

Welcome Autumn

Thankful Thursday

This has been a challenging week.  If you read my post from Monday, you already know that in the ONE day so much was thrown my direction.  Honestly, I thought I'd be good for the rest of the week.

Not.

lol

But I still have so much to be thankful for!!

Here's my little list:

Rest.
Sleep.
A moment to catch my breath
An ear of a friend to listen to EVERYTHING.
My journal.
Chocolate. Yes, chocolate.
The shift in weather as Fall approaches
A favorite blog revisited*
An unexpected email with encouragement.
Silly children.
A playful pup (he's not small anymore but is still a baby)
Birds singing as they eat from our porch.
Food in the pantry
Plans to gather with friends
Signs of new growth [in me, in my children]
You, my online supportive community.


Peace & blessings, friends!


*more about this one to come!

Rethinking, Regrouping, Moving Forward

I must say that today went NOTHING like I'd planned, expected, thought, imagined, etc., etc.  Well, the very beginning did.

We got up, the kids had breakfast as I whipped around the house lining things up at the door.  Today was another gathering with our homeschool group.  Another mother and I spent time planning and preparing a very hands-on workshop about goal setting and planning.  Needless to say, we both spend a good amount of time (into the wee hours of the night) reading, prepping, creating for this workshop.

After making sure faces were washed and teeth brushed, all necessary items in the car.  We left the house.  I ran two important errands before making my way in the direction of the Rec Center.  As I exited the highway, I noticed that my left blinker wasn't working and scanned the dash board to see if there was any indication as to why.  Well, it was a good thing that I did for I noticed that my thermostat was rising and moving quickly up to HIGH!!  I immediately pulled into a gas station, popped the trunk and called my husband.

Photo credit

Before he answered a Police Officer pulled up and got out to help! (Yeah, I was pretty shocked by that, as officers here don't often do that sort of thing.)  I got water in the tank for the radiator and then pulled over out of the way of actual customers to give my car time to cool off.

I was proud of myself for not losing it.  For remaining calm, for speaking gently to the children.  We turned up the story on tape they were listening to and sat.  Since I'd left in plenty of time, we had time to let things cool off.  After about 20 minutes, I headed out, maybe 5 miles away from the center.  I didn't get a mile down the road before steam was billowing out from under the hood.  I saw an Auto Zone up ahead and pulled into their lot.

This time, I was a bit more frustrated, but alas, I have some good friends.  I called one of them (the one who was doing the workshop with me) to let her know what was up and she said she'd come get me in about 10 minutes.  Again, no problem.  I alerted my husband as to what has happened and he said he get over there within a few hours to take care of the car.  So, I let go of the stress about the car and waited for our pick up.

As I waited I thought about how I'd planned to be on time and set things up.  How I was disappointed about that fact but that this could just be another example of what I was already planning to share with the parents in our group--how I don't have it all together, how I've got to adjust and readjust as things happen, how I've got to learn how to be flexible and go with the flow.  Yeah, I was frustrated, but perhaps this was just another way of sharing authentically about how to keep things in a good place even when they seem like their going South fast!!

[Let me just insert, right here, that we've been without both our cars for just under 3 weeks.  We'd loaned out one of them and it has been falling apart, slowly, ever since we've gotten it back.  What keeps coming to mind is, "No good deed goes unpunished!" smh.  We've spent this time fixing one thing and then another.]

Well, time kept moving and I could see that I would be late.  My friend sent her husband to get us and he quickly moved our things from our car to his van and we were headed for the Rec Center.  As we chit chatted, I was imagining how things had started and that although I was a bit late, I could jump right in once we got there.  My friend called as we were about 3 minutes away to ask if anyone had called or texted me about not coming.  I said no and asked why.  She proceeded to tell me that NO ONE WAS THERE!

Really??!!  No, that can't be true.  "What time is it?" I asked.  It was forty-five minutes after our start time and only one person had shown up??? No one else had called?  We were both really shocked.  As I went through my phone I did get a text from a member saying she didn't think she would be able to come.  We then went online to check and see if we'd missed anyone's message to us. Nothing was online.

We vented a bit about it and then went in and proceeded with our meeting with only one participant.  (We modified things, of course.)  Our children were about as disappointed as we were, but as we're learning (again) from our children, we regrouped and kept it moving.  By the end of our time we were laughing and sharing and feeling really good about the time spent together.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Life happens.  No matter how we've planned it or imagined it.  No matter how well things have been laid out or how much time you've given to prepping.  Things come up that affect how your day will go.  That fact need not push us over the edge or send us crazy!

Today has given me a good bit to think about.  I've rethought a few things about planning, with regards to our homeschool group.  I've talked about how best we can engage the members in the group.  But at the end of the day, I choose not to give too much time to the negative spots, instead I'm going to regroup and move forward!

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

I've seen today just how blessed I am.

• Blessed to have had my blinker go out so I would notice the car overheating (and stop so I wouldn't cause more damage!).
• Blessed to have had the help of a stranger in locating exactly where I needed to put the fluid (this car is set up differently then the one I normally drive).
• Blessed that I know how to pray and mediate and allow myself to be calm when things should be frustrating.
• Blessed to have a very good friend who I can call to come get me and my kids when we're on the side of the road (ok, I'm being dramatic here. lol).
• Blessed to have children who, although disappointed, too, made the best of their time and found joy in being with the older ones who were there.
• Blessed to have a husband who 1) knows how to work on cars; 2) is willing to do whatever it takes to get it fixed; 3) keeps moving forward despite set backs (that often feel very overwhelming); 4) loves me!
• Blessed that we've been able to afford to get the car fixed (although we've had to wait for paydays to arrive--it's a blessing to have paydays!)
• Blessed that I have been practicing seeing the good in things--thus making this day, although different than I expected/planned, not a wasted day; not a 'bad' day!
• Blessed to have had this experience and come to some conclusions about how to teach our members how to better handle/communicate their cancellations.

So.
There it is.
There is was.
Tomorrow is a new day.
(His mercies are new every morning!)
I will be moving FORWARD!


Thanks for listening to all of this....

Happy Home Learning!

Daddy's Girl

This week we've been visiting with my Daddy, who came for a visit from CA.  The more I'm with him, the more I know that I'm a Daddy's Girl.  I love him.  That is all.

Enjoy your weekend!

Our Homeschool Community

I lead a homeschool group.  This year makes our fifth year.  We've seen a good number of families come and go--changing the dynamics of our group.  I'm happy to say that as we've grown through the years, we've finally found a rhythm and pace that works for us.  We now have a core of families who are not only committed to homeschooling, but to making our group a tight knit family.

The families who make up this group come from many walks and bring such diversity to my life!  I've learned a lot from each of the women (and men) who have participated over the years and am so thankful to those who have also found support and encouragement and remained a part of the group.

Today we held our Fall Meet & Greet--it's our kick off for another year together.  We have several new families who joined us this year and are looking forward to many more days of play, of great conversations, of learning, of growing and bonding.

I haven't yet gone over our sign-in sheet to do a final count of just how many families came out--but I'm sure there were at least fifty people.  We had an awesome number of children of all ages.  Here are a few shots from our time together:

It's a Wrap! [and a question]

So we made it through our first week.

I haven't quite decided if I'll do a follow-up of our week on Friday or find something else to join in (from another blog).  Last year a know several of the moms' blogs I was reading used to do something like this.  It's a great way to record as well as share with others how things are progressing.  We'll see.

What I will say right now is that I was a little surprise about how excited and interested my children were with starting history.  Well, I guess I really wasn't surprised--more pleased! (smile)  I spent a good bit of the summer reading Howard Zinn books and a good number of African-American History texts and Native American books.  I will definitely have to take time and share my thoughts about all of this (too lengthy for the time I have presently to post).

We did history each afternoon, with the exception of today.  We didn't start everything but did all of our new things.  I'm still working out how to properly stagger our lessons so that each of my children get direct time with me as necessary.  This week also showed me that I have to do a bit more planning for The Boy.  I have a few more activities to pull together so that he has a little more independent work while I'm working with his sisters.

Next week will be interrupted with some outside activities with our homeschool group--so we'll see how that will affect our learning time at home.  Because of how involved we get in learning, we are usually engaged a lot longer than the 4.5 hours per day the state requires.  With this is mind, we will again do a 4-day week which allows for the involvement we plan to have with our homeschool group in co-op classes, park days and library days weekly/bi-weekly.  We haven't started taking any of our enrichment classes, so we'll probably make more adjustments once we're out of the house for those.

Now, for the question:

I am looking for some good, inspiring homeschool/homemaking/parenting type blogs to read.  In coming back to blog-land and going through my blogroll, I found out that many of the blogs I've enjoyed over the years have ended.  I do understand that people move on, life changes.  So, I'm definitely looking for some you'd recommend.

Thanks!

Have a great weekend, too!

Thankful Thursday

I've decided to get back to this here on the blog.  I'll have to check my older posts to see who this is linked up with (or even if it is).  Feel free to join me as I continue to cultivate an attitude of gratitude.

My list for today:

Children who are are excited about learning!
Water.
Chocolate.
Cooperation.
Extra sleep.
Laughter.
Time to witness siblings getting along.
Smoothies.
Art work.
Jokes.
Open windows.
Listening my children share their thoughts and ideas.


What are you thankful for today?

Going with the Flow

So, we've made it through another day.

I wasn't so sure by how things started this morning....

We were all up early (normal for my children).  I even got a good bit of time alone and was ready to greet each of the children with smiles and hugs.  But from that point, it's like I was the only one trying to move us forward into the day.

For a little bit, it got quite intense--or, perhaps I should say, I got intense.  I'm proud to say that I didn't throw too much of a temper-tantrum (you know how we momma's do)!!  It just didn't make sense to me why each of my dear ones just didn't want to "get on" with things.

Photo credit

So, I sat back down on the couch.  Cuddled up with The Boy and Sweetie Pie as we waited for Pretty Girl to get breakfast on the table with us.  The Boy thinks he's so funny (which he is, most of the time) so he sat and told us some "jokes." Then Sweetie Pie wanted to talk about when she was a baby and so I went through all the stories that we rehearse.  I calmed down. (smile)

I was again reminded that although I have a schedule in place, it is not the boss of us or what's needed on a particular day.  We made it through breakfast and morning chores.  Nothing major happened because we got started with our learning time at 11:30am.  The children stayed engaged.  After lunch we had quiet time and ended our time as a group with our story (History).

When Daddy got home each of the children took turns sharing with him about our day.  (I find this time good for me because I get to hear, from their perspective, what they've learned, what they enjoyed and how they saw our time together.)

All this just confirms that I am indeed blessed to have these three wonderful people in my life.  Yes, they know me so well that they're able to push many of my buttons.  But they also know how to make me smile, make me laugh!  I'm also reminded that this time together is about going with the flow of our life.

And so it goes....

Happy Home Learning!

First Day of 'School'

Well, we've made it most of the way through today!!

I'm proud to share that getting up earlier (a goal I had for myself) happened and I had a few moments to myself.  Time to think, time to breathe, time to converse with my hubby, time to start a new book!

Things have pretty much progressed as we had planned.  The children were eager to get started today.  But I chose not to rush into things but take things just as we'd been doing--getting up, getting dressed, doing morning chores, having family devotion, eating breakfast.  From that point we followed, for the most part, the schedule of lessons.  Instead of our walk being first thing in the day,  as I'd thought we'd do,  we did it during our break time just before lunch, and completed an errand as the same time (love living in a neighborhood that's walkable).

Both the girls made their planned meals.  It was nice, for me, to just come and sit down. (smile)  Pretty Girl made some grain-free muffins and smoothies for breakfast.  Sweetie Pie made a vegetarian version of Tuna fish sandwiches with chips & carrots.  The Boy can't wait to help prepare dinner!

School work has gone in the same manner.  We did science all together and then I staggered each of their personal lessons so that I had time with each individually while the others were completing work they could do independently.  I decided not to do a whole lot but to touch on everything and give a simple activity/assignment.  As the year progresses, we'll definitely get deeper into things.

Only one meltdown--which only lasted a minute or two.  We've been working on making better choices.  Each of the children has a personal goal she/he is working on and I've been available to talk them through it, gently. 

Right now they're taking quiet time--listening to one of the stories on CD we checked out from the library for this purpose.  Some days, I'll probably have them actually sleep--but today we're enjoying some quiet.  During this same time, I've decided to blog and get things ready for our history lesson this afternoon.  Once we're finished with that, whatever isn't completed from this morning, they'll have time to do.  If they're all done, we'll begin with evening chores and then they can have some free play time, if they'd like.

It's overcast today and so there is a dreariness about today.  However, things are going well!  I'm happy that we've started on a 'good' foot and that we're not feeling rushed.  Hopefully we can keep this pace and enjoy the structure within our relaxed setting.

If today happens to be your first day, how are things going?  I hope that you, too, are having a good one!

Happy Home Learning!

Our Curriculum for 2012-2013

Well, this year, I've decided to embrace a more classical approach to homeschooling.  After reading and rereading The Well Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer, reading blogs/sites and talking with friends who are using Classical Conversations and seeing just how I'm pretty much doing a lot of the same things, I've decided to go with it. (smile)

I'm sure I'll still fall in the 'eclectic homeschooling' category as I'm not sold on all the curricula suggested in that book and I will not be following the order of specific topics to a tee--so if you're hard-core classical, know this upfront. LOL!

Also, a point to note, is that we're really not following the traditional grade system.  I'm teaching my children at the levels they are and moving them from there, as quickly or as slowly as they need.  So you may see some levels that don't match up across a particular grade level.  We are working on mastery of skills and competencies.  Understanding and successfully completing assignments are more important to me than plowing through material to say that we're on a particular grade level (see Philosophy for more info).

I was excited to find many of the books/resources at used sales, on craigslist and Ebay!  I was also blessed to be gifted with a good bit of things as well.  So I stayed way below my budget this year!!  Will be using the difference to purchase a couple of memberships and subscriptions.

So, without further ado, here's our list:

Language Arts
Spelling Power
Explode the Code Books
Writing with Ease
First Language Lessons
Pathway Readers & Corresponding Workbooks
Handwriting Practice Books
Rosetta Stone :: Spanish

Mathematics
Houghton Mifflin Texts/Workbooks
Manipulatives
Games

History
Ancient History Cycle 1
Resource Books
Library & Online resources

Science
Animal Kingdom (completing)
Human Body Study
Plant Study

Art & Music
Drawing & Painting
Piano Lessons
Dance Classes

Physical Education/Health
Weekly P.E. Class at a Rec Center
Daily exercise & free time outside

Spiritual Development
Sacred Texts Study & Memory Work
Meditation & Prayer
Volunteering & Charity Work

Life Skills
Cooking & Baking
Housekeeping (daily chores & responsibilities)
Sewing, Crocheting & Knitting (other handcrafting)
Meal Prep & Grocery Shopping
Chores & Responsibilities
Money Management
Yard Care
Basic (very basic) car care
Gardening & Urban Farming
Building & Woodworking

Here are some photos of some of the texts & resources we'll be using.  (I may come back and add a view more photos as time permits.)

Pretty-Girl's Books

Sweetie-Pie's books

The Boy's Books

Science Books

We will start by finishing up the Animal Kingdom.  DK's First Animal Encyclopedia is our primary text.  Understanding Your Body will be our primary text for the unit on the Human Body--all the others will be supplemental.  We'll end with a unit on Plants.  I have several other resources pinned on my Pinterest Homeschool Science Board and will be pinning others as I find them and as we need them.  I'm planning to make things very hands-on and will use what we're learning as the basis for many of our Writing with Ease Lessons.

History Books & Resources

I must say that I'm very excited about our history lessons this year.  I've really been hesitant as I just didn't know where to begin and whose history to share first (I knew what I didn't want to do).  I've finally freed myself from the miseducation I've received and will do the best I can to give my children a better picture of world history by using primary sources for those cultures other than our own.  I've spent most of the summer reading history books! lol  I'll be using a timeline and will begin in Africa, move to Asia and then follow the typical outline shown in SOTW and both the Kingfisher & Usborne Resource Books.  The public library system here is depleting a large portion of its inventory of books and I've been able to claim a good number of discarded history books [at no or low cost].  I actually have too many to pull off the shelf now, but as we use them, I may post something about how we like it/use it.  I have a good number of videos and other online resources posted on my Ancient History Pinterest Board (that place is awesome!!).  I'm planning on several notebooking activities and lapbooks to keep up with the things we learn this year.

So, there it is.  We'll see how this year goes.

Happy Home Learning!!

Meal Planning with the Kids

If you've been following me for awhile, you already know that I'm big on giving children responsibilities.  This summer, while attending a festival in NC, I attended a workshop facilitated by Sister Aljoise Aldrich Knight on the topic Women's Work in the Creation of a More Perfect Union.  (I loved the title.) Basically she lead a discussion about what we're doing as women and mothers to create the kind of people we want to see in the world.  She shared several examples of things she did with her own children to help them become successful adults.  During our conversation, a good number of the women who attended were able to share things they were doing as well.

I have to say that most of what people shared wasn't new to me.  Truth is, most of us pretty much know what "things" we should do.  But sometimes we just need to hear it again, through another person's perspective--in their words, for it to really set in.

This conversation was that for me.  I've been putting things in place for my children to be responsible and to contribute to our home, to contribute and participate in the good of our community.  But there is definitely a bit of control I've still had.  I mean, at the end of things, I want things done a certain way, during a certain time, with a certain amount of speed....(you get the picture!).

Well, since that time this summer, I've been actively working to equip my children with the skills needed to be pretty good at what I'll be asking them to do this school year.  I'm also letting go of a lot of the control I've had.  Little steps, little steps (smile)!  But I've got to start somewhere, right?  I don't want to end up with nearly grown people who don't know how to take care of themselves all because I had to have it done a certain way.

As I've previously shared, we've taken most of the summer months to learn how to do a good job completing the chores around the house.  Each of my children started with a specific list of things they learned how to do thoroughly.  After they could do it without any help, they then become responsible for teaching their siblings how to complete the job.  Yes, there were several days that I felt like I was going to LOSE MY MIND!!!! But, I kept remembering Sister Knight's words about mothers needing to let their children figure things out and do for themselves.  How giving them that space grows them and relieves the pressure and stress so many mothers carry around.  I'm proud to say that all this teaching and learning time has not only benefited them but me as well.

That being said, I decided this morning that instead of doing all this meal planning and cooking myself, I should now involve my children.  I told each of the children that after breakfast I wanted to meet with them so we could plan our meals for next week.  Each of them perked up with excitement.  (They are really liking this 'conferencing' that we've been doing and so I'm going to use it.  By making appointments with each of them, they seem more willing to wait their turn.)

We started by listing all the different meal options that we have (on hand, since we just went grocery shopping) and then another list of meals we liked (and would plan for).  I then took each of them through what kinds of foods we needed to have from each food group (pulled on our food pyramid lessons!!).  I let Pretty Girl start by planning our breakfasts.  She will also be responsible for preparing them.  After she finished, Sweetie Pie then decided on what we'll have for lunch each day--she too will be responsible for preparing them (with help).  The Boy and I will finish up with dinner plans.

Two things about this that stood out to me:
1. Each of my children came up with good ideas and took ownership of thinking through how each meal should compliment the next (we don't need to have the same foods all day long).
2. My level of 'stress' associated with coming up with meals is gone!!!

By simply equipping my children to do it, it got done.  Meals are planned! Whoopie!!!

At the end of next week, we'll take time to plan for the following one.  I will pick a day, for each of them, to try a new recipe so that we don't get bored with the meals and add some variety to our dishes.  I'm feeling good about that--and, more importantly, so are they.

I am hopeful that I am growing and making room for each of them to develop and practice new skills so that they can become the kinds of people I want to see in the world (kind, compassionate, responsible, trustworthy, respectful, passionate, generous, honest, considerate, spiritual, thoughtful, hard working, creative, etc., etc., etc.)

Are there ways in which you need to stretch yourself outside your parenting comfort zone?  What specific thing or things are you doing to raise your children to be the kinds of people you'd like our world to be filled with?  Please share a comment below!  If you've already blogged about this topic, please a link.  I'd love to hear what other like-minded mothers are and have been doing.  Thank you.

Happy Home Learning!

Another Word About Planning

As I've been going through things this week and making sure things are in place for next week, I wanted to add something else that has come up for me:

Make sure you have all needed paper, activities, supplies, etc. on hand.  As I was making assessments of where things were, I realized that I hadn't put together two of the games I have on my list for The Boy to use this coming week.  Which made me remember that there were several copies I needed to make to be ready to start the notebook/lapbook pages we'll start as well.  I then took another moment to look through each of the lessons I'm planning to make sure each item called for, I actually had.  I pulled several things off my bookshelf and have made little stacks of resources for each lesson so that I'm ready!  I've asked each of the children to made sure that their notebooks and binders are where they need to be so we can find them.

So, as all good teachers do, take inventory of your supplies as well as what you'll need for each activity and lesson.  Make sure it's in arm's reach so that you don't lose precious time searching for something you thought was "just right here."

This happens to me a lot more than I'd like.  So I'm making plans to change this.  This is something that I will do weekly, probably on Sunday evening for the start of each new week.

Hope this little reminder tip helps you as well!

In you're planning, what things have you found out about yourself?  What things are you changing for this year?  I'd love to hear from you!

Happy Home Learning!

Schedules: Yearly, Monthly, Weekly, Daily

Since I've started sharing about the importance of planning, I've spoken with a good number of 'new to homeschool' moms and a couple of experienced ones about planning and just what planning consists of.  For my local homeschool group, I'm putting together a workshop with another experienced mother, to give some specifics and benefits from taking the time to plan and then continuing to make the time to do so.

In talking with my husband, who's also an educator, we've decided that the rhythm of 6 weeks on--1 week off flows well for our family.  Just when we'll need a break, we'll have it.  I have my calendar out and will be making two of those days during that 'off' week planning days.  Time for reviewing what was planned, how well it's working and what things I'll modify.  Of course, these are things that take place regularly with teaching, however, when starting new things you have to give yourself and your children time to get used to things and time to see progress.

After planning the general schedule for the year (what months you'll teach what, what holidays and breaks you'll take) the next thing you can do is look at the themes you'll be teaching and how they fall within your year plans.  This can help you with field trip ideas and perhaps you'll tweek your schedule so that important dates (in history, in your family, etc.) can be used to assist with gaining interest in a particular lesson, activity, etc.   As you can see, each family's schedule can look very different, indeed.

Next I would suggest putting together your daily schedule.  I've seen many variations on this, and again, I believe each family new to this should try a couple of different ones to find the one that works for them.  I've seen a lot of mothers try to simply copy another's schedule and then wind up overly stressed out, not always realizing that the schedule just doesn't match her family's rhythms.  Definitely try a couple if you're not sure and make adjustments that meet your children's pace and needs.

Case and point: I have a really good friend who is always telling me how she's done with school by noon, 1pm at the latest.  I've found it rather challenging to do myself.  We end up upset with one another and feel overly rushed.  I had to realize that although we may be up early, well, the children at least, I like to ease into the day.  I had to accept that my natural rhythms don't match up well with early, "rise & shine" schedules. (smile)  And that's ok. My family's schedule of getting started later and going longer isn't a bad thing.  It's just what works for us.

Another thing I've learned is that many of us make a schedule for 'school' or 'learning time' but don't factor in all the other things we need/want to get done in any given day.  Making a daily schedule that includes your person time, meditation, cleaning/chores, exercise, errands, dr appointments, etc. would probably be more realistic and also give you a better idea of just how your day will go--or the goal for that day. (smile)

A few years ago, before I was doing anything formal in learning, I had a weekly schedule and did a pretty good job sticking to it.  Everything got done over a week's time instead of just a day or few days.  Here's what I used to do:

Sundays--Straighten up from weekend.
Mondays--change & wash bedding and bath linens
Tuesdays--Library Day, Errands & grocery shopping
Wednesdays--laundry (everything else)
Thursday--Park Day & an hour of what I wanted to do (I had sitters who'd watch the kids)
Fridays-Thorough Cleaning of Entire House
Saturdays--Rest & Family Fun

I have tried to stay pretty close to this same schedule, adjusting a few things like which day we go to the library. Since the children are older, I've divided up the chores and we work on them throughout the entire week instead of just one day now.

Here is what I'm planning as a daily schedule.  Let me also say that I'm not big on following a schedule to a tee.  I love flexibility and will allow for that, but will be using this as a general guide, hopefully on most days. (smile)

I'll start with the 'Non-negotibles' (I remember reading that on another homeschool blog, can't remember where, now. Sorry.)  The things that must be done each day before 1pm.  These are also the things that we'll do regardless of the day if we have something outside the home to do.  Adjustments will be made to the time, in those cases.

Meditation/Devotion/Memory Work
Breakfast
Daily Exercise
Morning Chores
Spelling Power
First Language Lessons
Phonics
Reading
Math

After lunch, we'll have a quiet time--yes, I so believe in this and probably will for some time!!  The children will be able to either listen to stories on tape/CD or read quietly to themselves on their beds.  I will take this time to blog, catch up on email, and/or rest myself.

After quiet time we'll do either Science or History depending upon the day as well as the intensity of the learning of a particular unit.

Then we'll do:

Art
Piano Lessons/Practice
Spanish
Dance Lessons

Again, depending upon the day.

Ending the day with:

Dinner
Evening Chores
Bathtime
Storytime
Bedtime

Things will be adjusted on the days we have activities with our homeschool group.  Those are monthly activities: 1st Thursday: Park Day; 3rd Monday: Group meetings; various field trips mainly scheduled for Tuesday or Wednesday; Science Workshops: Fridays in October & November.  I've been trying to keep our weekly library day, but this year I am thinking that we'll do it bi-weekly maybe the 2nd and 4th weeks of each month.  I've just learned about a weekly P.E. class open to homeschoolers that is offering free classes for an hour each Tuesday.  I will be looking to see just how that will work for us. (Already it is making me tired of thinking about all the running around and being out of the house--so perhaps I'll rethink that. lol)

My goal this year is to find our rhythm and stick with it.  Last year we spent many days out and about. Quite honestly, that just wasn't a good rhythm for us.  As much as we enjoyed what we were involved in, running all the time just wasn't good for us.  This year I'd like to be more grounded--flexible, but grounded.

So how are you putting together your schedules this year?  Have you thought about all the things you'd like to do and how you'll get them done?  Yes, it can seem overwhelming, but if you follow my suggested steps I'm sure you'll find success and put together a realistic schedule for the rhythms of your family.  Let me know how it's going!!

Happy Home Learning!

Conferencing

Yesterday I took some time with each of my children to discuss the plans I've been making for each of them for this year.  I showed them their books and allowed them time to look through them and ask questions.  I discussed the overall goals I have for them and asked for their input.

This is the first time I've done it this way--like a conference one might have in school (parent & teacher).  They were very excited about 'their time.'  Also during this conferencing time, we checked the supplies they had and what they needed.  Then they got to get their new supplies for the year, well, at least the beginning. :)

Since we've spent most of the summer learning and practicing our chores around the house, this week we're working on getting back into our school year daily routine.  We're officially beginning on September 4th.  Of course now that the children know what I've been planning (specifically), they're terribly excited and have already asked repeatedly if we can just start now. lol  Little do they know we've already started, but I don't want them to lose their excitement. :)

What routines are you starting this year with your family?
How are you making learning exciting?

I'd love to hear from you!

Happy Home Learning!

The [lost] Art of Letter Writing

When was the last time you received a hand written letter from a dear friend in the mail?

I used to live for those hand written letters!

As a child, I would sit and watch my mother hand write many letters and cards throughout the week. She had nice stationary and matching stickers and would spread out on our kitchen table to catch up with her loved ones and shared with them the happenings of her life.

She past that habit on to me. I started our with thank you notes and then I'd narrate letters to grandparents, aunts and uncles.  When I finally learned to write for myself, she invested in stationary for me.  I would pick things with flowers or butterflies or other nature-type things.  I would spend time writing to all sorts of people--family, friends and pen pals (who became friends).

Then there was the waiting.
The waiting for that returned letter.

That was tough sometimes.

But on the day I'd get a letter back--oh what joy!!

With the advancement of technology, I see how letter writing has been lost, if not totally forgotten.  If any of us gets mail, it's junk or bills.  It's a rare thing for me to get a handwritten letter.  My mother still writes, but uses a computer now--so although it's a letter, it's no longer handwritten.

Just a couple months ago I was without technology for about 10 days while my husband went out of town (with our laptop) for a conference.  I decided then to find some paper and write some letters.  I went through my address book and picked out 10 people to 'surprise' with a letter.  I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed doing it.  In each of the letters and told the recipient not to feel in pressure to write back--for I was writing because I had the time (not being on the computer).

I got several calls of thank you and a few emails, from those who wanted to do more, but couldn't. But, to my surprise, one day as I was looking through the mail, I found a letter address to me from one of my dear friends.  She had, too, found some time to put a few kind words and thoughts down on special paper.  It was a pleasant surprise and really meant a lot.

Something so simple. Yet for those of us who have found meaning in it over the year, it can mean a whole lot.

So, I've decided to bring handwritten letters back into style. lol  Well, at least for my little family. We've spent the morning identifying people we'd like to write to and then selected paper to pen our thoughts on.  As a treat, I let the children pick out the stamps we'll use to mail them.  I've set the expectation that we probably won't hear back via the mail from those we write to.  That we'll probably get a phone call, email or Skype invitation on many of them.

But, if someone does decide to pen us back--joy, oh joy!!

(This is also a great way to practice handwriting and other language arts skills.)

How has letter writing been a part of your life?  Or if you've not been into letter writing, what way of communication has meant something to you?

Happy Home Learning!

Planning, Planning and More Planning!!

I've spent the last two weeks fully engaged in planning for this year.  I mean, I've done a few things around the house and with the kids, but I've been putting most of my energy into getting things ready for our next months start of new learning.  You can image what the dining room table has looked like, I'm sure! :)

Yes, I'm definitely one who believes learning happens every day, everywhere, however I do start a 'school year' in the traditional way--helps keep my plans in a bit of order.  Plus, the kids like 'starting' when their non-homeschooled friends do.  I'm ok with this. :)

I've found such great resources online this week.  Pinterest has facilitated in this as I've done several searches of homeschool boards.  If you're on Pinterest, here's a quick link to three of my boards specific to homeschooling: General, Ancient history, American history.  You may find these resources helpful is you're following a classical method, although they can be used for anyone!  I may tweek these boards a bit as the 'general' one has all kinds of resources--we'll see.

I'm finding that a good amount of homeschoolers that I speak with don't take time to thoroughly plan.  Many are good about doing research on what they're going to use with their children, but they end up stopping there.  Then just starting and finding that things aren't laid out as they thought or that in pulling everything necessary for the lesson together they lose their children's attention.  One of the main things I'm sharing now with them is that just as teachers are given in-service days (for planning) and are required to attend workshops on how to use particular curricula, homeschooling parents must make/take the time to do the same.  Planning it more than just making a schedule or list of what you're going to cover, it's about going through lessons, outlining skills, pulling supplies and resources together and getting a good handle on how you will proceed (and ideas on what to do when you may need to reteach something because you child hasn't gotten it the first several times).  Since a lot of curricula designed for homeschoolers is pretty well laid out, not everyone takes this time to read through things prior to getting started.  But this is crucial!

Another important part of planning is scheduling time to plan on a regular basis throughout the year!  Finding natural breaks and making time at the beginning helps not only with burnout but with making smoother transitions.  Giving yourself enough time to evaluate what is working and what is not as well as being able to differentiate between the natural time-period needed to getting into the flow of something new verses things not being a good match for your children/yourself is critical.  Ample planning time is necessary for this.  Uninterrupted time, where you can think is what you need to make room for on a regular basis.

Hopefully you all have been doing this.  This year I've made it a BIG deal here.  The children have been cooperative, for the most part, engaging each other in other activities, since they know that what I'm doing is for THEM!!  I'll take some time over the next few days to share the specifics of my plans for this year on the page designated for that (Curriculum for 2012-2013).

How have you been planning?  What things are you finding and using this year?  I'm always interested in hearing what others are doing and what's working for them.  If you'd rather not rewrite a post you've already written, add a link below.  Thanks! ;)


Happy Homeschooling!!


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