Our Homeschool

New Year's 2012!!!

2011-12-29T00:10:00.000-05:00

Another busy year gone by. Where does the time go?

I found some really great New Year's activities and crafts and thought I'd share.

Here is a memory box. Such a great idea. I'm definitely going to do this one with my youngest son.
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/memory_box.htm

Here is a great little coloring picture for younger kids.

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/new_year_coloring_AV.htm

There are many more crafts, activities, calendar pages, and coloring pages on this site.

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/happy_new_year.htm

2011-11-24T10:28:00.001-05:00

What are you thankful for?

Back to homeschooling plan

2011-07-27T19:38:00.001-04:00

I found a great article and had to share!

Ten Step Plan to Back to Homeschool Bliss

Back to School means a lot of things to a lot of people. At my house it means: decluttering, donating, reorganizing, cleaning, discussing, planning, purchasing, scheduling, record keeping, and (most importantly) involving my entire family in the process - and even making it fun and rewarding for us all. Here are some simple ideas for the best ways to reach back-to-homeschool bliss!

1. Reclaim your house!

Round up everyone who is old enough and give them each a large laundry basket, a box, or even a good-sized trash bag. It’s time to free yourself and your house!! Send everyone to their room and tell them that they can’t come out until their bag is full of unwanted items. If your children are too young or too attached to every little thing, have dad take them to the park for a couple of hours while you do the dirty work.

You can start in the office/craft room and don’t be afraid to grab another bag if you need one, but be sure to select your unwanted items carefully; remember that some things may be good resources for this school year. I personally go for the decorative and broken items that just take up space first. I also run into books, games, and materials that my son has grown out of. Drawers, closets, and shelves are a huge hot spot for clutter. Remember, everything you put in that bag is one more thing that you will NEVER have to pick up off the floor again!

Tip: Inspire your kids by giving an award to whoever gets rid of the most stuff. Have a quick talk with your kids and be sure that they understand what is appropriate to throw away. You may have to look everything over before the final ok. Last year, my son threw everything from his dresser into his bag so he could outdo his dad!

2. Make a Litte Trash Turn into Cash

After you have piled all of these items into one spot you can talk with your family about a garage sale. If there’s enough stuff, this is a great way to pay for some of those fun new items for school. I have a garage sale every year and I try to get rid of as much as possible. Last year alone I made around $475 on a hot Saturday in August, but it was all worth it (you should see the great curriculum that I ended up with)! You can take anything you don’t sell to your local Salvation Army at the end of the selling day. Be sure to get a donation slip from them, because you can deduct the donation from your taxes as a charitable contribution.

Very important!
Take your unsold items to the Salvation Army immediately . . . do NOT leave the extras lying around because you’ll only end up with a headache later! I learned this from personal experience. I tripped over a bag of donation items for 6 months before throwing it in the car and finally getting rid of it!

3. Tackle the Dust Bunnies

Now that all of that clutter is out the door, let’s clean house. Instead of a Spring Cleaning Day my family has the annual “Summer Sundown.” We clean on the first Saturday of August and don’t stop until the house is spotless, even if the sun goes down! We order pizza, turn on music, and have fun with it. The person who works the hardest gets to pick the fun place we go to the next day.

Here are some ways to inspire the kids to help you:

Collect Loose Change. You know that when you do laundry, turn the sofa cushions, or move the furniture to vacuum you always find loose change. Keep a big jar in the living room were everyone can drop the change that they find while cleaning. Choose something fun ahead of time to buy with the money (like candy or ice cream cones or even a fun trip to the zoo!). Sometimes I even hide some extra coins for them to find and keep them motivated. It’s really fun to see my son’s face when he discovers that extra fifty cents I put under the coffee table!
Cleaning for Clues. Write up a checklist of tasks that your children must complete that day and hand the list over to them. Every time they finish a task, they can bring their list to you and you can check off the item. In return for the check, give your kids a “clue.” This can be a clue to where a special thank-you gift has been hidden, a clue about what the gift might be, a clue about where you’re going to dinner that night, whatever gets them excited! If you’re feeling really artistic, you could draw a map that will lead your kids to hidden treasure. Just cut it into puzzle-like pieces and hand out a map piece for every check mark your kids earn. Of course, make sure that your kids won’t accidentally stumble on the hidden treasure while cleaning!

4. Organization Made Easy

Now that you’ve purged all of the extras, and cleaned out the broken crayons and spilled paint, take a good look at the organization of things. Every one of us knows that we have our problem areas. Mine are dirty laundry in bedrooms, my son’s “school zone,” and the scariest of all . . . the Office/Craft area. These are the items I bought to solve my messy problems:

Laundry hampers and new laundry baskets. Yes, all the gross and half broken ones when out with the trash! I couldn’t believe that such a small change could make me smile so much!
Two-dozen (yes two-dozen) plastic shoe size boxes with lids. I found them at Wal-Mart for one dollar each. Twenty-four dollars can buy you a lot of freedom. I know twenty-four sounds like a lot, but once you get them home you’ll see that everything seems to belong in one!
Four big plastic containers with lids. I put all of the summer camping gear into these containers and stored them in the garage; I sorted Art and Crafts materials in the office; I organized the extra curriculum items that I wasn’t going to be using just yet; and (most importantly) I put this year’s curriculum and materials in the last one and kept it close at hand. I also used a couple of the smaller plastic containers to help keep the boxes organized.
One package of thirty-six labels. I used these to label every one of the containers I bought and a couple of other boxes on the shelves. Keep the boxes stacked label out and make your labels as descriptive as possible. This way, you’ll avoid searching through box after box for that one item you just can’t seem to find!
One old shoebox. Last but not least my son’s “school zone” was tackled with plastic containers for extras and an old shoebox. The shoebox is turning into a tradition at my house. I cover it with white paper (old birthday or Christmas paper turned over) or a paper bag and then he draws whatever he wants on it. We use this box as his school box. We always keep the following items in it: three freshly sharpened pencils, a big eraser, crayons, ruler,counting bars, and some others depending on what we’re doing. To make your own school box just think of all the things your children need everyday and keep it in their own box. This will save you a lot of time and frustration that would’ve been spent trying to find everything you need everyday.

5. Make a Game Plan With the Kids

This is a perfect time to talk with the kids and see what they want to learn about. I love to give my son the option of one major topic (per quarter or semester depending on how interested we get) and we use unit studies and some creativity to cover some of the basics. Depending on the age of your kids, this doesn’t have to be a very complicated topic. This year my son said he’d like to learn more about sharks (he’s been in love with them ever since “Finding Nemo”).

6. Printable Resources to Simplify Lesson Planning!

Lesson plans are a great place to start. The more you know what you’re doing for the year, the more specific you can be about your school supplies. If you’re using a complete curriculum, then you’ll already have most of the specific materials that you’ll need. On the other hand, if you’re more like me and like to take it a little more relaxed, then try out this Blank Goals Sheet. I like to start every year with this, because it helps me decide what I want my children to accomplish for the year. To find the curriculum that’s right for you and your family there is also the teaching style and learning style quizzes. After you’ve taken the quizzes, please check out our Select Curriculum Guide for help to fully understand your curriculum options. There are also a lot of free worksheets and interactive websites to assist you this school year on our Select Resource Guide.

7. Shop til you Drop!

After filling in the goals sheet or looking over your curriculum options, use the garage sale money to make a dent in your back-to-school list.

8. Ready Made Schedules

Whether you’re a traditional homeschooler or an Unschooler, schedules can help you stay on track. Here are some great examples successful homeschool moms have shared with me. I’ve also made a great 2004–2005 school year calendar that you can personalize and print.

9. Take the Sting out of Record Planning

The more I look into the record planning software the more I’m aware that the perfect one just hasn’t been made yet. So after looking over the top recommended ones I was very disappointed. They weren’t very user friendly and they all seemed overly complicated and tiresome. As I keep my fingers crossed for the perfect computer program to come on the market, I will stick to what works for me. Depending on your states laws you can personalize this to your needs too! I buy one 3 ring binder per child. I color code and give each child the color of their choice. You can buy matching folders and other things to give to each one of your kids. Then I start out with the basic subjects and other important information for the school year. I have made some examples that you can print and use or copy as the beginning of your own record-keeping information. I keep these files on the computer and type in them daily or weekly (or whenever I get around to it). I print them out and put them in the binder. This is the boring paperwork part that we all have to endure. Fortunately, there is a fun way to keep track of the brighter side of your child’s homeschool year. Check out Amber’s awesome scrapbooking ideas for a great way to get everyone involved in the fun.

10. Relax, Smile, and go on a picnic at your local park!

Thanks for listening and I hope this helps you along your homeschool journey!
Aloha –

Kristi

Birds of Prey

2011-07-11T19:28:00.000-04:00

Last week we went to our library for the "birds of prey" show. It was quite interesting.

All of the birds are rescues that the gentleman keeps at his home. He spent about 15 minutes talking about each individual bird and then gave them a dead mouse as a treat! It was very educational and very gross, lol! My youngest son Jordan enjoyed it.

Snakes Alive With Snakehead Ed

2011-06-18T21:05:00.001-04:00

I am so thankful for our library. They have so many home school programs that we participate in. Over the summer they have a great summer learning program. This year the theme is outdoor adventures. This activity was called "Snakes Alive with Snakehead Ed". I took my son to it because he loves snakes. He is in the middle picture petting a black snake. The snake on the left is a Corn snake and the one on the right is a Coral snake. We have several other summer learning activities to attend this summer. I will try to post most of them. I will be counting this events as school credit. Hope you all enjoy!

A boa snake to the left and a green

tree snake to the right.

This huge snake is named Melanie.

My youngest, Jordan was brave

enough to pose for the pic on the right!

First Indians Game

2011-06-18T01:26:00.002-04:00

For an early birthday present for my youngest sons 10th birthday, my husband and I took him to an Indianapolis Indian's game. It was fun as well as a learning experience. Sadly we lost 0-4 but look forward to going to watch them play against the Boston Red Sox. I think he's hooked now and so... a baseball fan is born!

Mini-Volcano

2011-06-07T10:17:00.002-04:00

Green snot activity

2011-05-17T13:51:00.000-04:00

Great giveaway blog!

2011-05-12T11:24:00.000-04:00

I came across a great blog that features giveaways (which I love!). Check it out!

Welcome Wednesday Blog Hop

2011-05-11T19:28:00.000-04:00

Ocean In A Bottle

2011-05-10T13:17:00.000-04:00

For our ocean in a bottle we used baby oil instead of cooking oil and also added a little glitter. After we tried it out we added some plastic animals that grow. By the next day we had giant sea animals in our ocean!

Layered colors

2011-05-03T11:56:00.000-04:00

Silly putty

2011-04-26T12:11:00.002-04:00

2011-04-25T23:53:00.001-04:00

Well I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter. I know we did. We slept in and then went to church to hear about how much God loves us that he sent his only son to die for our sins! Our church showed a few scenes from the movie-The Passion of Christ. The main scene was the one where Jesus was being so violently beaten. It doesn't matter how many times I see this part, it still gives me chills from head to toe and makes me want to cry uncontrollably. For Jesus to love us so much that he went through what he did is so amazing to me. It makes me think of just how much I love my children that I would do anything for them. Both of my boys sat with me in "the big church" as my youngest son calls it, because kids church was not open. I haven't let my nine year old watch this movie yet due to some of the intense scenes. When they played the part where Jesus was so badly beaten and had to carry the cross up to the hill where they would nail him to it, I told my youngest that he could close his eyes if it was too sad for him. He watched some of it and had this terrified look on his face. He said to me, "why did they do that to him?" and "did they really do all of that?" Of course I told him yes they really did and he did it for all of us because he loves us so much. I've always told him the story of how Jesus went through all of what he did for us, but not in such detail. He looked up at me again and said, "that makes me feel so much different about him!" I know he has always loved Jesus and felt good about him but to hear him say that and with such sincerity touched my heart so deeply.

Great Geography Activity

2011-04-14T20:34:00.003-04:00

Postcard Kids Project started for Home School children around the world in Oct 2002 to help them enhance their Geographic studies even some history through sending postcards from their area to other postcard kids around the world. We also have some public/private kids and even some grandma's too under certain circumstances. Lets keep it KIDS their PARENTS ONLY please. No min, no max you send how many you want, whenever you want, to whom you want, but they can do the same too!

Track your postcards by tacking a pin on to a map,create a scrapbook, do notebooking, hang on your wall, create a huge map, collect for 4-H projects, show and tell with your homeschool group/coop.

For a full explanation and list of rules follow this link:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/postcardkids/

Make a bottle disappear!

2011-04-12T12:05:00.002-04:00

egg in a bottle

2011-04-05T13:01:00.000-04:00

april fool's pranks

2011-04-01T15:55:00.001-04:00

April Fools' Day has gotta be one of the best holidays. You get to play nasty pranks and practical jokes on people - and get away with it! Kidzworld has put together some safe but fun April Fools' pranks you can pull on your friends and family.

Read more: April Fools' Practical Jokes & Pranks http://www.kidzworld.com/article/1939-april-fools-practical-jokes-and-pranks#ixzz1IIrAIrjT

water trick

2011-03-29T12:30:00.000-04:00

so glad I home school!

2011-03-28T17:07:00.000-04:00

I'm so glad I home school right now. My youngest son broke his arm riding his bike. I'm not sure how we would get through all of the home work and writing assignments. Granted he didn't break the arm that he writes with but, it's still challenging to get situated when he's doing his work.

home made play dough

2011-03-28T15:36:00.000-04:00

Garden Challenge

2011-03-26T19:52:00.000-04:00

http://homeschoolcreations.blogspot.com/

Milk Carton Bird Feeder

2011-03-19T11:39:00.002-04:00

The Secret to Homeschooling Freedom

2011-03-18T16:33:00.000-04:00

The Secret to Homeschooling Freedom

This free report shows how you can experience true freedom and joy in your homeschool by using one simple technique - the Self-Teaching Method! Contains practical pointers, plus a bonus Q&A section with a homeschool student who loves this fascinating approach!

Follow this link to get your free download:
http://homeschoolenrichment.com/goodies/freedom.html

What are you going to do when they get to high school?

2011-03-18T16:23:00.001-04:00

Something that has been weighing heavily on my heart for some time now is how I'm going to handle things when my children are ready for high school. My oldest son is in the seventh grade and will soon be heading that way. I found a real helpful article that made me feel a little more hopeful. I say a little more hopeful because as a mom I don't think I'll ever feel completely like what I'm doing is the right thing but it's always nice to find things that help us a little in our journey to raise great kids.

"The Essence of Highschool"

By: Leslie Wyatt

This seemingly innocent question was the source of anxiety for many a homeschool family in the early days. Back when our family began in the eighties, homeschooling was still very much a pioneer movement�young and full of energy, but not yet sure what the later years would look like.

But more than twenty years down the road, homeschooling your high schooler is no longer uncharted territory. It has been done and is being done with ease and success, and needn't be the overwhelming proposition it initially appears to be. Curriculum and support abound, and if you know where you're heading, you can take your students through all twelve years with confidence.

Goals

A company would never send an ocean liner out onto the high seas without a destination. In the same way, homeschooling your highschool-age children calls for a port to aim at. Yes, it's possible to look at high school itself as a goal, as many do in the public school arena. But in homeschooling, knowing where you want to end up is a fundamental question that will dictate curriculum choices, course of study, and ultimately, the success of the endeavor.

For some parents, high school is viewed as preparation for college. However, the issue is deeper than whether or not we should send our children to college. A friend of mine recently commented that as homeschoolers, we don't have to raise the next president. If we can help our children become honest, hardworking, responsible adults who love Jesus and seek to please Him in all areas, we can count ourselves successful. Whether or not they attend college is not our decision anyway, but the Lord's, and what we really need to seek is an understanding of the gifts and callings God created them with, and where He wants to take them in their lives. He may want one to be a doctor. He may have created another to excel at mechanics, gardening, or public relations.

Sometimes it is easily apparent which direction the Lord wants a child prepared in. Other times, it seems a profound mystery. Either way, the objective for high school is to get our children ready to take the place in life God has fashioned them for, even if we don't yet know what that is. In short, by the time they reach adulthood, they should be adults.

Independence

Seen from the perspective of preparation, high school is a season in which the teen works toward independence in many realms. Firstly, our over-riding desire and prayer is that they will make the transition from outward motivations of parents, rewards, and consequences, to the inward motivation that comes from a consciousness of a personal relationship to Jesus. It's no longer about "Dad said" and "I have to write neatly or Mom will make me do it over again." By graduation time, we hope to see conduct and motivations springing from a desire to please the Father.

Decision making. It's surprising how many home school parents continue to make all the decisions for their 16, 17, 18-year-olds, then somehow expect that these children-turned-adults will be proficient in the decision making process, without ever trying their wings. A variation of this is that parents say they will let their son or daughter make a decision, but if they don't agree with the conclusion, they over-ride the teen's choice in favor of one that seems safer.

True, there are occasions when age and wisdom may need to step in to avert catastrophe. But no matter how long and strongly parents seek to control, prevent mistakes, and ward off embarrassment, the time will come when their child must stand alone. How sad it is if our children have reached that point not only un-equipped, but actually hindered by we who have been given the responsibility to steward them for God.

Responsibility. We all want our kids to marry someone who is responsible. But how often we fail to raise kids that others will want their responsible kids to marry! If we plan every academic move from kindergarten through twelfth grade and play the policeman to make sure they follow through, we are in danger of producing graduates that stand around waiting for someone to tell them what to do.

I don't know about you, but I'd trade ten teens politely waiting for orders for one who can look around, see what needs to be done, and take the initiative to do it. To that end, one of the aspects to build into a high school agenda is that of independent study and self scheduling.

Practical Application

Goals are inspiring. But their real value is that they guide what we do in the practical realm. Choose curriculum that encourages your teen to become a responsible, mature decision-maker. Top of the list would be those materials that promote independent learning and scoring. Bottom of the list would be ones that put the burden of learning onto the parent by relying heavily on teacher input, expertise, and correcting. If the options that further these goals seem a bit rote or boring�not your dream curriculum�it may be comforting to know that students tend to delve deeply into their areas of interest, thus making up for possible shallowness in curriculum choices, and just about every course available, if followed, will give a student the necessary knowledge to pass a Graduation Equivalent Degree test.

In view of raising responsible adults, have your high schoolers analyze their own textbooks for the coming year, decide how many pages or chapters must be done each week to finish at the projected date, schedule tests, etc. Give them oversight as needed, but increasingly leave it up to the student to stay on track. Mom, don't check up on and nag them six times a day to finish, finish, finish. Have them go over their calendar and progress with Dad each week, or if Dad isn't available, with Mom. You may want to have a parent correct tests, but aim toward leaving it up to the student to keep the academic fires lit under themselves. By the time they're seniors, they should be taking full responsibility for their own education.

Life Skills

Real life experiences come into their own in the high school years as our students prepare for adulthood. Virtual reality, even at its best, is really not reality. Learning how to do things is. Studying about canning green beans is nice. Doing it is real. Studying about woodworking is good. Learning to use power tools, cut, measure and build is real. To this end, seek to open up opportunities in areas of your child's giftedness, giving him or her a platform for gaining confidence and expertise.

Depending on availability and the natural bent of the child, endeavor to get them involved in real life experience. Besides their work at home, they might volunteer at the vets or the local museum or fire station. Clean, weed, or mow at the neighbor's. Teach music. Work in their dad's cabinet shop or on his roofing crew. Each family will have their own variation of real-life opportunities to explore. The important thing is to give the teens room to learn skills and make decisions while they are still able to avail themselves of parental feedback and security.

However, beware of thinking that dabbling in different fields in an area of giftedness is sufficient preparation for adulthood. Becoming an adult is more about attitude than ability, which is why practical life skills/experiences are so valuable. They give abundant opportunities to keep going when the going gets tough. That is where character is forged. A word study on discipline in the best textbook cannot substitute for the discipline and submission it requires to work for someone else, doing the "grunt" work as well as the fun stuff, and doing the kind of job they're asking for, even if all you really want to do is curl up somewhere with a cup of tea and a good book.

Diligence takes on new meaning to your son as he rises at 5:00 a.m. day after cold winter day, and into the sweltering summer, to help out at a neighbor's dairy. Becoming a "self starter" and possessor of a great work ethic doesn't usually happen playing computer games. Determination, self-reliance, and self-lessness�these are hallmarks of maturity, and they are earned, not awarded. It takes consistency and patience, and logging a lot of hours of just plain hard work in order to learn to function as an adult should.

Finding opportunities for your teens to learn life skills is also vital because reality breeds contentment. As parents, we want to avoid revolution. Revolution is almost always a fight for independence, and the high school years can be a battleground. But they need not be. How much better if parents can open doors of opportunity and challenge as fast as the teen reaches them. Or faster. Keep those kids on their toes. Challenge them to go beyond their previous comfort zones. Mental knowledge without the chance to try their hand at what they've learned foments discontent. If highschool kids feel they don't have any essential skills, and if that insecurity is coupled with parental control, they are in danger of feeling trapped. Whether they then try to break out, or just resign themselves, it is not the freedom they should walk in, nor what we as parents have been entrusted to do for them.

Myths

Springing from our own public school backgrounds where the responsibility for getting an education falls to the teacher, not the student, one of the myths that has surrounded high schooling at home is that the parent must be able to know/teach everything from chemistry to calculus, or the student will not get what he needs academically. Wrong. If instruction is needed in a realm you don't excel in, there are many ways to utilize the expertise of others. Video teachers. Co-oping. Tutoring. If your child shows a strength in an area that you can't help her with, check out the options. They're out there.

Another fairy story is that the older the student gets, the more important social interaction becomes (meaning peer-related activities). Don't buy into this one. If foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, as the Lord tells us in Proverbs, then pooling a bunch of foolishness is not going to do anyone any good. Rather, as Proverbs also tells us, the companion of the wise will become wise. To this end, what best equips a person for life in the real world is to interact with people of all ages. An interesting exercise is to watch a teen that is used to hanging out with his age group interact in a mixed group. At best he's ill at ease. Usually, he's like a fish out of water. Contrast this with a teen that routinely interacts with old, young, and in between. It can be enlightening.

Diplomas

A certain number of homeschoolers maintain that a diploma is unnecessary. "All it is is a piece of paper, anyway." True. However, proof that your student has the equivalent of a high school education is often required by employers, colleges, etc. Fortunately, there is more than one way to obtain that piece of paper. Often homeschool co-ops or organizations will hold a group graduation and pass out diplomas. You can also choose a curriculum company that keeps the records for you and issues a diploma upon completion of their course. What we have done that has worked well is to have our students study for and take the Graduation Equivalence Degree test.

By contacting your area GED office, you can find out what is required to do this. For those interested in college, a high score on the GED is an asset. Other college-bound students have by-passed the diploma issue by enrolling in a course or two at a local college or by taking the SAT or ACT college entrance exams.

It's Worth It

No matter what route you take or curriculum you choose, high schooling at home needn't be more difficult, nor should you have to go to college to be the "teacher." The Lord will help you. And be assured of this: Homeschooling your high schooler is just as important as homeschooling in the younger grades, and the rewards are just as great!

paying for college

2011-03-10T16:28:00.003-05:00

scientific tuesday-tornado tube

2011-03-08T11:14:00.001-05:00

Buy you own tornado tube

scientific tuesday

2011-02-28T22:45:00.003-05:00

home schooling questions

2011-02-28T14:02:00.032-05:00

THE BIG QUESTIONS:

Is It Legal?

Michael Farris HSLDA Chairman & General Counsel

“Because the United States Constitution is the highest law of the land, homeschooling has always been legal in all 50 states,” says Michael Farris. “It has been a bit of a fight to get the various members of the education and social services establishment to accept that fact, but great progress has been made. Currently about two-thirds of the states have specific laws authorizing and regulating homeschooling. In the balance of the states, homeschoolers may legally operate as a small private school or provide ‘equivalent instruction.’ The details vary considerably from state to state and opinions about the law vary from district to district. What does not vary is HSLDA’s commitment to the constitutional right to teach one’s children at home.” For a summary of your state’s homeschool law or regulation, go to www.hslda.org/laws.

HOW DO I DO IT?

Where do I find curriculum and materials?: There’s an ever-increasing variety of curriculum—from traditional textbooks to homeschool-specific curriculum and correspondence courses. Thankfully, experienced homeschool moms have put together review guides, saving newcomers time and frustration. Just two such guides are Mary Pride's Complete Guide to Getting Started Homeschooling series* and Cathy Duffy’s two volume 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum: Choosing the Right Curriculum for Your Child. Start by contacting homeschooling veterans in your local and/or state support group—ask what they have tried, what has or has not worked for them, and why. You need to get to know your child’s learning style. Attend a couple of homeschool seminars and curriculum fairs where you can look at your options firsthand. To find a support group or state homeschool convention near you, visit HSLDA's website.
I don’t have a teaching degree, can I really teach my child?

Yes, research and practical experience show that it is dedication and hard work, not special training, that produce outstanding educational results in a homeschool setting.

How much time does it take?: A lot less than you think. Homeschooled students don't have to take time to change classes or travel to and from a school, so they can proceed at their own pace. In elementary years especially, parents and children often find that they may only need a few hours to accomplish their work for the day.
What if I have several children in different grade levels?: You'll be surprised at the subjects that can span grade levels. Certain curricula lend themselves to multilevel teaching. You can design your program so that older children work independently in the morning while you work individually with younger children, and then while younger children take naps in the afternoon, you can have one-on-one time with older students.

What about my child's special needs?

Thousands of families are homeschooling children whose special needs range from Attention Deficit Disorder to severe multiple handicaps. Parents often find that when they bring these children home to be educated, they come out of the “deep freeze” that has kept them from making significant progress. Gone are the comparisons, labels, social pressures, and distractions that a regular classroom may bring. Parents can offer their children individualized education, flexibility, encouragement, and support, which may be ideal for children who are learning-disabled, medically sensitive, or attention-deficit.

What about socialization, special interests and enrichment activities?

Research has found that most homeschooled students are involved in a wide variety of outside activities, interact with a broad spectrum of people, and make positive contributions to their communities. Experience has shown that homeschoolers are well socialized and able to make lasting friendships across age and cultural divides.

What about the high school years?

Homeschooling your child through high school offers great benefits for parents and students. Sure, there will be challenges such as more difficult subject matter. On the other hand, your high schooler requires less supervision and can take increasing charge of his own education. You can do it, and HSLDA wants to help you! Check out the great resources at www.hslda.org/highschool. HSLDA’s two high school coordinators—moms who’ve graduated their own children from high school at home—bring a wealth of experience and friendly advice to share with member families who are navigating these challenging, yet exciting years.

What about a diploma, graduation, and college?

Homeschool graduates closely parallel their public school counterparts—about two-thirds go on to post-secondary education, and one-third directly into the job market. (Brian Ray, Strengths of Their Own—Home Schoolers Across America, NHERI, 1997.) Homeschool students who have utilized community colleges for foreign language, lab science, or higher mathematics courses discover as an added bonus that these course credits make it easier to enroll in four-year colleges after high school graduation. To see this article in it's original form and for other tips, go to http://www.youcanhomeschool.org

scientific tuesday

2011-02-22T15:54:00.001-05:00

glowing water

2011-02-15T13:52:00.003-05:00

valentines day worksheet

2011-02-10T20:12:00.001-05:00

For more worksheets like this go to:
http://superteacherworksheets.com/valentines.html

scientific tuesday

2011-02-08T11:00:00.002-05:00

You will survive!

2011-02-04T21:17:00.002-05:00

Gummi bears grow up

2011-02-01T11:44:00.000-05:00

scientific tuesday

2011-01-25T14:26:00.000-05:00

scientific tuesday

2011-01-18T13:16:00.009-05:00

Awesome granola bar recipe

2011-01-15T14:19:00.002-05:00

I found this great recipe created by Jessica Williams.

Group the contents into two categories, wet and dry. Mix all your wet together in one bowl and all your dry together in a second bowl. Then fold the dry into the wet, a little at a time, mixing as you go. Then spread the batter on two cookie-sheets/baking pans. Place in conventional oven on 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Cook for 5-10 more minutes until light brown but not burnt! Remove, slice into granola bars, or let cool and break into granola-clusters. We eat this plain or with milk in a bowl, or with yogurt & fruit (raspberries, blueberries, pear, or apple.)

WET:
1 cup honey (This makes it just barely sweet enough. Add more if your family is used to store-bought granola bars.)
1-2 eggs (Optional. This will make it stick together more for “chunky” granola or to slice into granola bars.)
1/4 cup of water or almond milk (Regular or vanilla, any variation okay.)
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 cup of oil (Sunflower is preferred, but I’ve made with olive oil just fine)
1 cup of almond or peanut butter (Optional)
DRY INGREDIENTS
This gets fun. Go seed and nut crazy.
4 cups of oats
1 cup of sunflower seeds
1 cup of chopped walnuts
1 cup of sesame seeds
1/2 cup of flax seeds
1/2 cup of chia seeds
1 cup flour (I have experimented with Kamut, Spelt & Wheat)
1 Tablespoon of cacao powder (This gives a slightly chocolate flavor; optional.)
1 Tablespoon of green powder (Available online or in healthfood stores; there are many brands. This sneaks GREENS into this Grrranola treat. Optional. The flavor can be a little “intense.”)
1 cup of raisons or chocolate chips

http://mothering.com/all-things-mothering/

Red Light Green Light

2011-01-14T15:05:00.040-05:00

I stumbled upon a great idea that another homeschool mom came up with and thought I'd share it with everyone. There are so many ideas that moms come up with that amaze me. This would work really well for an elementary age child. It was written by Heather L. Sanders at http://ohmystinkinheck.com/

Remember the elementary school game “Red Light, Green Light”? I loved that game with its scrambling starts and frantic stops. I have vivid memories of morning recess – the sound of the running, stomping feet, grass still wet with dew, the giggling when you didn’t get out – the pouting and fisted frustration when you did get out.

I admit, I was much better at “Red Light, Green Light” than my other favorite, “Simon Says.” A natural born talker, LISTENING was always a challenge. “Red Light, Green Light” was active, competitive, straightforward”, a perfect match for me.

I was reminded of the game Sunday evening; as I unpacked all our boxes of curriculum here in the new house, little red and green post-it style tabs sticking off pages made it easy to locate and pull out our current texts.

I can’t actually remember the point I stopped buying and using yellow post-its to mark our places, but I do remember seeing the red and green on these tabs and having a “lightbulb moment”; they have proven to be an excellent way to visually assist my kids with start and stop points in all their daily books.

Emelie, my oldest, helps me ready the curriculum for each school day. After breakfast, she reads the reading/work schedule and moves the tabs to the correct pages of her and her siblings’ readers, workbooks, and textbooks before stacking the day’s books on the table.

An easy system, it allows even young children to work independently. Kenny knows to look for the green tab to BEGIN the Exercises in his Singapore Math workbook and to STOP at the red tab.

Green means go.
Red means stop.
It’s “Red Light, Green Light” all over again.

This type of planning ahead also helps me work with 3 children at once with less interruptions. They KNOW what they need to do, they know where they need to start, and these red and green tabs give them the independence to do it on their own. When they reach the red tab and can STOP that particular subject, they don’t have to interrupt my work with another sibling, they can simply GO to the next green tab. These tabs are a simple, effective tool – they aren't costly, but have proven to be priceless in our homeschool.

To see this article in it's original form follow the link:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/homeschooling/2009/04/red-light-green-light/comment-page-2/#

Christmas At The Indianapolis Zoo

2011-01-11T20:08:00.001-05:00

Scientific Tuesday

2011-01-11T19:45:00.001-05:00

Scientific Tuesday

2011-01-04T10:53:00.002-05:00

Make this adorable edible bear!

2010-12-23T16:18:00.001-05:00

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/teddy-bear/a1e6414b-e1d3-4218-aa21-8ec53833848d

2010-12-20T16:46:00.001-05:00

Homeschool Your Child for Free: More Than 1,400 Smart, Effective, and Practical Resources for Educating Your Family at Home

Introduced in 2000, Homeschool Your Child for Free gave countless parents the plan and peace of mind to get their kids’ education on the right track. Now, authors LauraMaery Gold and Joan M. Zielinski have revised and updated their popular guide, offering their expert homeschooling advice and information, plus new tools and resources to help you and your child succeed:

• Complete curriculum plans for a comprehensive education, from preschool through high school
• Where to find free online courses; NEW!
• Ways to partner with public schools; NEW!
• Legal guidelines and compliance requirements for home educators
• Keys to graduating a homeschooler; NEW!
• Developing personal finance management and life skills; NEW!
• Teaching tips and motivators from successful homeschoolers
• Career and vocational guidance; NEW!
• And so much more!

Comprehensive and clear, Homeschool Your Child for Free gives you access to free instructional material–from reading-readiness activities for preschoolers to science projects for teens–to help build a strong foundation that will last into adulthood. You don’t need to drain your bank account to guarantee a good education for your child. With a computer and the Internet, you have the largest library and laboratory right at your fingertips–all for free!

SCIENTIFIC TUESDAY

2010-12-14T14:16:00.000-05:00

Stop Bullying

2010-12-09T15:06:00.001-05:00

SCIENTIFIC TUESDAY

2010-12-07T12:05:00.001-05:00

Beat The Monday Blues

2010-12-06T11:41:00.001-05:00

I had a little trouble getting started this morning so being the google queen I am, I found a nice little article on beating the Monday blues that I thought was interesting, so I thought I'd share.

http://www.ehow.com/how_117079_beat-monday-morning.html

Snowy day activities

2010-12-04T13:09:00.002-05:00

Here is and adorable snow globe craft and the link to find it:

http://crafts.kaboose.com/snglobe.html

Snowflake and mitten wall hanging

http://crafts.kaboose.com/mitten-snowflake-wall-hanging.html

A snowy hand print

http://crafts.kaboose.com/snowy-handprint-tree.html

Here's a delicious Gingerbread Face Cookie

http://crafts.kaboose.com/gingerbread-face-cookies.html

Cool Milk Trick

2010-11-25T15:51:00.001-05:00

Homeschool Burnout

2010-11-22T14:38:00.001-05:00

Coming to a place of "burnout" as a homeschooling parent, or as a home schooler, means that somewhere in the process, we have lost sight of our goals. One of the many reasons parents choose to homeschool is that they want to enjoy time with their children. We see homeschooling as an opportunity to spend worthwhile time with our child, exploring learning together, and walking the exciting road side by side. Opening the world to our children is a delight and we enthusiastically begin by talking, reading, walking, and sharing life.

However, it isn't long before "comparison" steps in and we begin to doubt if we are giving our child the best education possible. The focus shifts quickly from the relationship building opportunity to "an education", and unfortunately, our society has taught us to measure "education" by scores. So, driven by our need to see results in order to compare our children, we set them down to a plethora of textbooks, a CD course, another on-line program just in case.... and on it goes.

With our eyes on the next homeschooling family (who fits in so much in their day), we begin early in the morning. We become the task master - the time keeper - the driving force. We stay up late to control programs, we mark their work with a red pen, we become anxious when the book isn't being finished according to our timetable. We push harder, work longer, become more irritated.

Then we notice that there are so many activities that the children from the school down the road are involved in. We need to join a drama group, become a part of the home school choir, take some music and art lessons and be part of a home school network group or co-op if there is one close by. Our children are now being forced out the door, in the car, the baby needs to be woken up and dragged here and there. We keep our eye on our watches.... so that our children won't be the ones missing out!

It is easy to see how burnout can happen and how we can be swayed by peer pressure from our homeschooling circles and from the community around us. But, how can we avoid burnout?

Let us consider these ways:
Focus on our unique goals
Firstly, we need to know where we are headed. Each family is unique and we should rejoice in that! We need to take time to consider our own family goals. Where are we headed? What is important to US? What is the lasting quality we want to pass on to our children? When we know that, we need to head in that direction and keep to it.
Nip comparison in the bud.
When our eyes stray to begin to compare our child with someone else's or our child to their sibling, we need to nip that thought in the bud. Break off the thought there and then. We need to be in control of our thought patterns, and dismiss what is not edifying. Instead, we should substitute that thought with something else - with a sentence or Bible verse you memorize. If you train yourself to actively put another thought in its place, you will be more successful in nipping those thoughts of comparison.
Be realistic with our time
Everyone has different limitations according to time. We need to make decisions for our unique family as to how much time will be spent at the desk. Do your children have time for sport? Do they have time for a hobby? Time to think and just "be"? Time for God? Time for fun?

Consider our own circumstances

Each family has different circumstances which will affect them as a unit. Health, traveling distance to services, number of children, abilities of children, parent and child personalities - all of these have bearing on who we are and what we can do. We should not be in judgment of ourselves because of our own personal limitations, but rather, accept our circumstances and move on confidently and maturely.

So, whether you are a veteran or a new homeschooling parent, I challenge you to keep your focus, remember the goals you have set, don't give time to comparison, be realistic with your time and accept your personal circumstances. Remember why you began to homeschool and enjoy learning together as a family. When you stop "enjoying" the learning experience, reflect on why you began and review what you are doing.

Written by Marianne