Homeschool Co-op: Apologia's Chemistry & Physics, Lesson 1, Part 1

Today was a good day. It was the first day for us to begin our new co-op. A new year, but with old friends. Two of my bestie homeschool mommas, our 13 kids and me just hanging out in the library conference room is a fabulous thing. It's in the week in and week out times that you really get to build relationships and get to know people on a level that goes deep enough to really make a friendship that lasts.

Aimee gave us a lesson on a Renaissance artist and Jessica introduced us to creative writing in a really fun way. I may talk more about all that some other time, but for tonight, I'm going to focus on my lesson: The Properties of Matter.

My part of co-op is teaching Chemistry and Physics using Apologia's Young Explorer Series. Each lesson will probably take me at least two weeks to get through, because there are a lot of really cool experiments and I want to do as many as possible. This is why I love doing science with other families. It forces me to do more than just show the kids a video or tell them what is supposed to happen. I actually gather the stuff and do the experiments. The accountability and larger group both help with this, I guess.

Lesson One is properties of matter.  Since it was Day 1, we started with a really short review about my expectations for the class and all that jazz. Then came the lecture portion. This is my fourth Apologia science co-op class and I've pretty much done them all the same way. I NEVER read to the kids from the book, unless it's a short excerpt or the directions for an experiment. In fact, I've found that it's best for me to read the material ahead of time, and just make short notes for myself to teach from. It's more fun for everyone that way. No one enjoys a class that only involves the leader reading straight from the text you can read yourself!

I'm a big believer in graphic organizers and use them with kids all the time. So, rather than have them just take notes, I gave them one. Because it's a homeschool class, we have kids ages 4-16. That's a WIDE range. The smallest don't even get a paper, because honestly, if they can't read, there is no point. The middle kids may get a page that is partially filled out and the oldest of the kids have to fill in most of the blanks themselves. Differentiated instruction at it's best, right there! My old principals would be so proud!

There were a TON of supplies for this lesson. I spent a good chunk of time on Sunday afternoon collecting them and making sure I had everything I needed. That said, the baseball and eggs didn't make it to the car and I forgot to stop at my mom's house and borrow her turkey baster. Luck for me, the kids are imaginative and I had a small medicine dropper that we could use in a pinch!

One of the things I love about the Apologia books is that they include a lot of great experiments right in the text. Yes, I supplement with other things when appropriate, but just doing the stuff in the book is enough. That's exactly what we did today; most of the suggested stuff with a little of my own thrown in.

We only got through three properties today; volume, mass and density. We did the experiments for each as we got to them. Density was by far the most fun. Because it was a word that some of the kids had never heard before, we started out the discussion by having everyone stand and huddle together, thus becoming more dense. We then took some steps back; less dense. Repeat a couple times and they got the idea along with a couple of group hugs!

Because I'd forgotten the eggs, I assigned the next experiment as homework. Basically, the idea is to see how adding salt to water changes its density, and thus, the ability of certain things to float. Drop an egg into a regular glass of water and it will sink to the bottom. Drop it in a glass of salt water the result should be different.

We did another salt water density experiment with colored water that stayed separated when we sucked it up in a straw. I have to admit, I kind of blew it on this one. I didn't have big enough cups (see the photo below) because I didn't read the lesson closely enough. I tilted them a little and it kinda worked, but mostly it was a bust - totally my bad. Live and learn, folks!

The next, and last one of the day, went a lot better. It had the most supplies and was pretty pricey, as far as experiments go. I spent over $20 on the ingredients. The point of the experiment was to see how liquids with different densities would stack on top of one another. We followed the instructions and added a cup each of honey, corn syrup, and 100% maple syrup. Those are the three big layers on the bottom. Cool, huh? The next layers were supposed to be one cup each as well, but I got nervous that my vase wasn't big enough and I didn't have the turkey baster. It took a lot of time to add everything with the little medicine dropper, so I improvised. The kids could still see the layers, so that worked. I just forgot about dropping things into the solution to see where they would end up. That was much harder to see. I wish I had taken a bit more time and made all the remaining layers at least a little bigger.

Next came whole milk, dish soap, water, vegetable oil and rubbing alcohol. We added some food coloring to a few of the liquids to make it easier to see the differences. Everyone thought this was a really neat experiment. One of the littler guys kept hypothesizing that the liquids would mix but whenever they did, they quickly separated back out. After getting all the layers in, we added various objects to see where they ended up. You can see the ping pong ball that ended up on top, as well as the die and rock that sunk all the way to the bottom. What you can't see in the picture is the cherry tomato in the dish soap, the bead right under the milk layer, and the popcorn kernel that we couldn't find that's somewhere in the middle!

Next week, we'll discuss seven more properties and make our own lava lamps! I'm really looking forward to seeing how those turn out. Stay tuned, as my plan is to try to document our way through chemistry and physics here! 

Homeschool Update: All the Other Stuff We're Trying This Year

It's another new year and once again, I'm changing some things up. But we're keeping some things the same, too. Earlier, I wrote about how outsourcing math by using Teaching Textbooks has changed our homeschool for the better. If you missed that, you can read all about it here. Not teaching and grading everything for all four kids has been a lifesaver so far, even though we're only a month in. I actually have time to do the laundry, keep the house reasonably clean and if I'm lucky, catch up on an episode or two of my favorites on Netflix.

Another thing I've passed off this year is writing for my two oldest. I've been struggling to be effective in teaching writing for several years now. This summer my husband and I were discussing how and what we could do to change that. About that time, a friend, who just happens to make a living as a professional writer, posted on Facebook that she was wanting to teach a writing class for middle and/or high school kids. This was honestly an answer to prayer. For a minimal fee (at least, compared to what I spent on TT!) she would teach them about thesis statements and paragraphs and punctuation and all that jazz. We signed up immediately. There are just four kids in the class, so it still has a very "homeschool" feel. They enjoy lots of discussion, a little silliness and tons of individual feedback from a professional writer. It's a total win for us. My son still hasn't fallen in love with writing but at least he's trying now. Truth is, he has great voice and his stuff is fun to read. Hopefully, after this class, he'll know that and realize that he can be good at this, even if it's not as natural to him as throwing a baseball.

One thing we DIDN'T change was our history. Last year we started Notgrass Publishing's America the Beautiful. It's American history, geography and literature. It can be done in a single year, but we decided to stretch it out over two. All four kids gather around the table, listen to me read the lesson and then do age appropriate assignments. Sometimes that means map exercises, creative writing paragraphs, looking up definitions of new vocabulary or completing a crossword puzzle. The older two kids have five daily comprehension questions. All of this is done without complaint. The kids like the lessons and so do I. I am really liking the chronological approach they use. It's brought to light a few things that hadn't clicked for me with my random bits and pieces of history taught in random years. The continual struggle over slavery from the earliest moments of American history, in particular, has stood out to me. They also give a short biography of each president and the kids and I are enjoying learning about them. Did you know that Johnson once beat a man with his cane after a failed assassination attempt, where both men's guns failed to fire? Neither did I. But now we all do!

The littles are continuing their phonics workbooks. Tigger uses a book I had left over from my public school teaching days and AJ uses one I pulled out of a bin at the recycling center. It's probably my very best find out there to date. You never know where you're going to find the good stuff, momma. I'm so NOT above dumpster diving when it comes to otherwise expensive curriculum stuff!

With my bigs, I'm finding we have a few holes. When they were the littles, all of this homeschooling stuff was so new and scary and overwhelming for me. There are some things that we did really well and a few things, not so much. Some things worked really well for one kid and not at all for another. But one area that all of my kids have struggled with is spelling. So, this year we're trying out All About Spelling. The littles are on Step 1, so we have a really long way to go and I can't give much of an opinion on it yet. I do really like that they are learning ALL of the sounds each phoneme makes, not just the long and short vowel sounds. It makes more sense to start off saying that "C" can have a hard sound like in "cat" but also a soft sound like in "circus," as opposed to just saying "the c says /k/." I can already see the difference that is making with AJ reading.

I'm waiting to save up a bit so I can buy All About Reading because I have this feeling that it's going to prove to be more effective than Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons for my boys and their learning styles. Since I only have one left who is learning to read, I'm finding it harder to bite the bullet and spend the money, but well....I'll let you know. For now, we're taking it one phonics page at a time.

Next week we start a new co-op with some of our old co-op friends. I'll be teaching Apologia's Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics while the other moms teach art/music appreciation, creative writing, and PE. I've spent the day collecting materials and making lesson plans and I think it's fairly safe to say that I'm pumped about how fun this is going to be! Not to mention, I will get to see a couple of my favorite homeschool moms on a regular basis again! Their kids are pretty great, too, it's going to be a blast to teach. (Chemistry pun intended. My kids keep asking me if we're going to blow things up. I keep answering with, "I hope not!")

This isn't all that fills our days, but it's the majority. We throw in some Typing Instructor, DuoLingo, Tynker, Code.org, Stack the States or other app on most days. The kids read - a lot. To me, to each  other and to themselves. Next month they'll read to the residents at our local assisted living facility once a month. They'll also hear the librarians read at the bi-monthly homeschool story times our local library will be hosting. No one ever meant homeschooling to be staying home all day anyway, right? After all, the world is our school and we can (and do!) learn everywhere!

Homeschool Update: How Teaching Textbooks Changed Us

So....we're like a month into the new school year here. Kinda. I mean, I can't say that we've been hard-core schooling all that time. This year we've done what I'd call a soft-launch. Also known as the "Mom can't handle everything all at once so she's starting off slow" launch. Whatever works, man.

Anyhoo, we're off and running now. And honestly, this may be the best year yet. "What makes this such a great year?" you ask. To sum it up in a word: outsourcing. That's right, my friends, this homeschool momma has started out Year 8 by NOT teaching every single thing myself. It's blissful.

The very best thing I have ever done was switch our math curriculum from Saxon to Teaching Textbooks. Don't get me wrong. Saxon is a FABULOUS, hard-core, tried-and-true way to teach math. Kids who go all the way through it are math phenoms. But you guys, it is SOOOOOOO time intensive. I'm talking hours and hours and hours of math every. single. day. Teaching, working and grading three levels of it pretty much killed me last year. In fact, I would say that it sucked the joy out of many a day in our little home. The kids would groan and moan when I said it was time to do math. There was much, much weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Thanks to the power of the internets, I found a Facebook group of homeschool parents. A few kept talking about this new fangled math system they called "TT." For over a year, I watched, listened, and researched to see if this was something that would work for us. Last spring, when we got our tax return I talked Vance into biting the bullet, spent almost $600 and bought three brand new levels of Teaching Textbooks for my kids. Honestly, we should have started that very day. But alas, I waited for the new year to start this fall. Rookie mistake.

For those of you unfamiliar with the power of TT, let me give you the basics. TT is a CD based program that works with our iMac. (It can also work on a Windows based machine just as well.) After the initial download, the kids put in their CD, click the icon and put on their headphones. The program gives a lecture, practice problems, and regular problems. The kids have two chances to get it right and get immediate feedback on each problem. TT has a grade book built in, so the kids and I can go anytime and see how they've done on each assignment and test. The problems are fun and even with only one kid able to work at a time, they take WAY less time than how we were doing math before. Did I mention that I don't have to grade anything? Nada. That is by far my favorite part.

Remember how I said that last year there was much weeping and gnashing of teeth? Well, we still have that. Every time I mention cleaning a toilet or giving me a kiss in public, that's the case. But math time? Not so much. In fact, not at all. One kid is often done with math before I even get breakfast. The others smile and go to the computer with absolutely no fussing when I mention that they need to do their math. More than once, a kid has even ASKED to do MORE THAN ONE ASSIGNMENT a day. This. is. unheard. of. Can I get a "Hallelujah" here? Because this change really deserves one. I can honestly say that TT has changed our homeschool for the better. We have more time and even more importantly, we have more peace in our home. *Insert contented sigh here.*

Book Review: Window on the World

I bought this book for the 2011-12 school year based on the recommendation from Sonlight.  Sonlight uses it as part of their Core B+C curriculum.  I used it with my first and third graders.  My four year old sometimes listened in as well.  It was one of our favorite purchases that year.

Each double page spread in this extremely inviting, colorful book focuses on a different county or people group around the world.  Maps, statistics, and interesting facts about each country/group are included in ways that add to the conversation and allow the readers to understand more about the culture being taught.  The photos are fantastic and are often of children. This has really helped my children to relate to the people we've read about.

Each section has an attention keeping narrative that explains the spiritual situation of the people described in that day's lesson.  Be warned, the authors don't shy away from hard situations or put a politically correct spin on them.  These have really opened up some deep discussions with my kids.  In describing Muslims in Yemen, the book explains, "Because families are very close, it would be unthinkable for one member of the family to choose another religion. Such a person is considered a traitor who deserves to die." That brought up some serious questions that I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to address, but in the end, I was glad to have those conversations with my kids.  In the back of the book they include some pages that explain many of the worlds dominant religions.  These pages have helped me explain many things to my children over the course of this year.

Our favorite part of the book is the "To help you pray" section of each double page spread. This part gives things to thank God for as well as things to ask God for.  I have really enjoyed praying with my children for people we would otherwise not even know about.  My heart still melts when I think of my four year old praying at supper and asking God to "please be with the kids that live in the sewer, God.  Be with them."  My kids and I are much more missions-minded since we have started reading this book.

When used as a part of the Sonlight Core B+C program, kids study the history and geography of the world, starting with the Middle East and working towards more newly civilized parts of the planet.  For example, they start with the Creation story in the Bible, Mesopotamia in their history lesson, the Middle East for Geography Songs and the countries of the Middle East for this book.  More on that when I get around to reviewing Core B+C at some point in the future.

My only complaint with this book is that the edition I have was published in 2001.  It's pre 9/11 and Operation Iraqi Freedom.  When we read about Iraq, they talked a lot about Saddam Huessein as the leader.  Obviously, I had to update that a little.  I have no idea if an update is in the works or not, but I certainly hope so.

I give this book 5 out of 5 possible stars. *****

The Big Red Box: A Homeschool Win

Sometimes it's just so hard to fit it all in! Math, science, religious studies, handwriting, history, geography, foreign language, art, music, writing, poetry, non-fiction, fiction, health, PE . . . the list goes on for miles! Lately I've felt like there may be some gaps in my kids' learning. Not huge unfathomable canyons, but just some little things that we might be missing out on. After trying out many different approaches with not much luck, I finally came up with an idea that seems to be working. 

It's not one of those amazing, "wow!" kind of ideas, but it is one of those ideas that made me go, "Why didn't I think of that years ago?" 

We go to the library about once a week, or at a minimum, once every two weeks. Usually I just let the kids get stuff for them and I get stuff for me, and we go on our merry way. A couple of weeks ago, though, I got an idea. I would let the kids pick out their own books but I would also pick out some things for them. I browsed the non-fiction section for things I thought they might be interested in and took home a huge stack.

When I got home, I found an old plastic milk crate that was empty and decided it would be a great container for these books. I plopped them in, then hit the shelves at our house for even more books and filled it up. Then I implemented a new policy. On school days, the kids MUST read from the "Red Box" for at least 30 minutes each day. 

Right now, there are books on Greek mythology, classical art, a road atlas, karate for kids, the Negro baseball league, Samurai, WWII, the Constitution, Christmas, dragons, the Underground Railroad, the Avengers and more. There are some easy readers and even some old Kids Discover magazines. Some of them are read every single day (mostly the mythology and Avengers right now) and others haven't been touched yet.

On Monday, we'll head to the library, return most of these and pick up some new ones. Some will stay for weeks and others will never be seen again. Some will go away for a while and come back in a month or two. There are books on different reading levels and different subjects. They can easily be traded out.

The best part of this is that my kids are LOVING the big red box. They haven't fought me on this even once. The big ones read to the little ones and they are picking up books they may have never given a second glance to on their own. I'm calling that a homeschool win!

3 Myths About Homeschoolers That You Should Stop Believing

Having done this homeschooling thing for a while now, I have found that there are some common misconceptions the general public seems to have about us.  I'd like to take a few minutes and clear up three of those myths for you.  (These aren't universal truths, as I'm sure you could find families that do fit these stereotypes. But the homeschoolers that I know don't and I would bet that most others don't either.)

1. We don't care about public education.

Nothing could be further from the truth. While most of my kiddos are not currently attending our local elementary or middle school (we actually do have one in preschool there this year), the majority of kids in America are going to public school. With the exception of a handful of homeschoolers and about three families who send their kids to private Christian schools, all the rest of my kids' friends go to public school. Most of their cousins and their fellow Scouts go to public school.  As do our neighbors and the kids on their ball teams. The kids we know at church and my own kids' friends as well. I have many, many friends who are amazing public school teachers. To even imply that I don't care about any of these people is absurd and to be quite honest, a little insulting.

2. Our kids are unsocialized.

Pa-leeze! This is such an outdated misconception. This week we had a back-to-school party for just our homeschool friends. They couldn't all attend, but we had over 20 kids and a dozen parents there. (If everyone we invited had come, that number would have more than doubled. And that's JUST our homeschool friends.) They swam, played games, jumped on the trampoline and a few of the older ones were even a little awkward around members of the opposite sex. Sounds pretty normal to me.

3. We somehow have more patience than other parents.

I cannot even begin to tell you the number of times I have heard, "I would homeschool, but I don't have the patience." And what, dear friends, makes you think that I do? Seriously, I lose my temper way more often than I am willing to fess up to. And don't even shake you're head and think to yourself, Maybe, Kelsy. But I bet you've never (insert your worst parenting moment here). Because short of things that would land me in jail, I probably have. And because the nature of homeschooling puts me in close proximity to my little dearies more often than some other moms, I probably lose it more often.  Don't believe me? Ask my kids. Wait. Scratch that. Don't ask my kids. They might tell you the truth.

The reality is, we're just normal people. Yes, we choose to teach our kids differently but our sameness is much bigger than our differences.  We all care about other people, even the ones who are not just like us. We all want need friends and meaningful relationships with others. Homeschool moms blow it with our kids and have to ask forgiveness (from them and from God) just as often, if not more so than other people do. So home, public or private schooled, let's all love each other and give each other a lot of grace.  We all need it. 

Book Review: The Usborne Book of World History

The Usborne Book of World History by Anne Millard, 2008 edition

I bought this book for the 2011-12 school year based on the recommendation from Sonlight.  Sonlight uses it as part of their Core B+C curriculum.  They pair this book with Hillyer's A Child's History of the World, Geography Songs and the Bible.  I use it with my first and third graders.

The history aspect of Sonlight's Core B+C is focused on ancient civilizations, starting with the earliest settlers in Mesopotamia to the late twentieth century, roughly ending around the Vietnam War.  This book in particular chronicles life on the planet through about 1914, or right before World War I.

Each pair of pages in this book are a "chapter" about a certain time period and place in history.  There are no photographs (for obvious reasons!) but there are detailed, colorful drawings that depict the people and places well.  A warning for the easily offended; there is a LOT of nudity depicted in this book.  In accurately trying to depict the cultures of ancient people, the authors did not put clothes on people who probably did not wear them.  There are well over two dozen pictures of naked folks.  This doesn't bother me or my kids, but if it does you or yours, this is NOT the book for you.

There are also many violent scenes. Pictures show a gladiator fighting a bear, Christians being thrown to the lions, and soldiers with spears through their chests.  This visual history is not for the faint of heart.  They don't shy away from mentioning human sacrifices, executions (Mary, Queen of Scots is shown with an executioner about to chop off her head with an axe), or the horrors of war (there is no mention of sexual slavery or rape).

That said, this is a very interesting and well done book.  While this would not be a good stand-alone history text, the information given is excellent but brief.  They cover Joan of Arc in less than 40 words and a picture of her burning at the stake.  Obviously, there is more to her story, but this is a good introduction.  That's basically the truth of the entire book: It shouldn't be your only history text, but it is certainly a great supplement to one.

Unsolicited Advice For Beginning to Homeschool

So, you're thinking about homeschooling?  Awesome.  I'm always up for adding more families to the homeschool community.  Here, in the order that they came into my head, are a few things I think you need to know before you start.

1. Your house is going to be a mess (almost always).  

Seriously.  Unless you are one of those crazy, organized, super moms like my sister, if your house is filled with little people all day, every day, it's not going to stay clean.

Books will be found on every conceivable surface of your home.  Under the couch? Yep. In the fridge? Had that happen once.  In the bathroom?  Duh.  Stacked on end tables and on the kitchen counter? Of course.

Art projects will dominate entire rooms of your house for weeks at a time.  Toys will take over your living room floor.  Laundry will go undone and you will wonder if you will ever see the kitchen sink without dishes in it.

People are messy.  Accept it.  Some people might tell you to just let the housekeeping go while the kids are little and learning at home.  And while that is fine in theory, it is impossibly hard for most people to accept.  My advice?  Let some of it go. Decide what you can live with and what you can't live without and go from there.  If you absolutely must have a clean kitchen before you can work, then clean your kitchen.  If not, let it go.

2. You will hate it (sometimes).

There are days when I would love nothing more than to walk a child the six blocks to our local elementary school and enroll his little butt into the public education system.  These days are usually the days when I'm already tired, hungry or hormonally imbalanced.  Or days when the kids are tired, hungry or in the mood to test boundaries.  Admittedly, those days are fewer and further between now than they were at the beginning of our journey, five years ago.

Now that I'm a little more veteran in this, I have figured out how to cope on those days.  Coping looks like a lot of things in our house.  Sometimes it looks a lot like a nap and other times it looks like a trip to the pool.  It can also look like housecleaning (see #1) or shooting my kids with the sprayer from the kitchen sink.

3. You need to figure out what your homeschooling philosophy is.  

Research.  Learn about unschooling, classical education, co-ops, spirals, and all the other buzz words.  Decide which one best fits with your family.  Try it.  But there's one really, really important thing you need to keep in mind.  Are you ready for it?  Here goes: Be prepared to change 100% of your plan.  Really.  You might think you want to unschool in the beginning and realize six months in that you can't stand giving your kids that much freedom.  Or try a structured co-op and realize that you can't stand being that controlled by someone else.  And you know what?  That's okay. You're not locked in.  You don't even have to wait until next year to change.  You can do what works for your family, even if it's not what you thought it was four months, six weeks or two days ago.  Which leads me to the next point . . .

4. Don't go crazy when the latest curriculum catalog comes in the mail.  

You really don't need all of that stuff to teach well.  Especially when your kiddos are small.  With a few exceptions, most people could teach through elementary school with a library card, a computer, a printer, some paper and pencils.  For my now seven year old, we use a ton of stuff from the library, homemade flashcards, an old abacus, workbooks from Dollar General and a copy of "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" that I got on Amazon.com for less than $8.  That's it.  The math workbooks were under $10 total.

My older kids have math texts (we use Saxon) that we are actually able to share with another homeschooling family who has a child a year ahead of my oldest.  Our kids are currently in 7th, 6th, 5th, and 4th grade math texts. We bought the 4th grade book, but have been abundantly blessed to be able to borrow their books for the other years.

Over the years I've bought some other things but generally speaking, I don't think things have been that much better in the years we spent more money.

5. People will question your decision.  You need a plan dealing with this.

It may seem silly, but you will be amazed at how many people will weigh in on your decision to educate your kids at home. I've been asked by Wal-Mart checkers, dental hygienists, my 80+ year old neighbor, public school teachers who understand, public school teachers who don't know me and think I must hate them and the system they represent, waitresses, complete strangers in the grocery store and more about why we homeschool.  Overall, the experience has been positive.  Most people seem okay with the idea for my family but almost all of them feel compelled to tell me why they personally couldn't do it.

I say you need a plan because, well, you do.  It can be difficult to come up with compelling sounding reasons on the spur of the moment, especially if you have just spent the last two hours grocery shopping with four kids in tow, are hungry and have to pee. Knowing ahead of time how you will respond is helpful.  I used to give lengthy dissertations on the benefits of homeschooling to anyone who would ask.  Now, I mostly just say, "Yep.  We do homeschool." And might add in the occasional, "It doesn't work for everybody, but for now it's working really well for us."  That, and I let my kids speak for themselves.  They all love homeschooling and can give their own dissertations on why it's the best way for them to learn.

Unsolicited Advice for Homeschooling Little Ones

Over and over and over again I see and hear loving, caring, hard-working mommas who are contemplating homeschooling their preschool and kindergarten kiddos ask the same question; "What curriculum should I use?"

My answer is very simple:  "None.  You do not need to buy an expensive big box curriculum for a child that age."

Give me a minute before you think I'm advocating the impossible and I'll expand on some things I think you should do instead.

1. Read to your child.  Follow the words with your finger while you read aloud and help your son learn that English tracks from left to right.  Ask natural questions as you read.  Have your child predict what will happen next.  Count the number of dogs on the page.  Ask which has more, what color the balloons are, or what time of day it is in the story.  Little ones love this and these are the prereading skills they need.  An expensive curriculum won't likely give you much in this regard that you couldn't figure out all by yourself but they will charge you an arm and a leg.

2. Go places.  Go to the library, the grocery, the zoo, the park, the museum, the firehouse, city hall, the aquarium, and to church.  While you're there, talk about what you see and what you're doing.  Even if you think your kids are too young to understand, with time and repetition, they will pick up on so much more than you can imagine.

When you're at the grocery, explain to your daughters and sons that you are picking cereal based on what is on sale and the nutritional content.  Let them see the difference in price between red delicious and Fuji apples.  Let them help you put the produce on the scale and learn to read it.  At the checkout, explain the difference between paying with a debit card, credit card, check and cash.  Explain why you choose to pay the way you do.  It doesn't need to be a formal lesson or one that takes very long.  A few sentences here and there add up!

My kids have all been to the voting booth with me more than once.  They know how the process works and why it is important to me.  Hopefully, by the time they are 18, going to the poll will be such a natural thing for them to do that they won't miss a single chance to have their say in the world.

3. Use what you've got and what's around you.  Point out letters and numbers you find in your home and around town.  In the car, have the kids look outside for the letters in their names or the alphabet.  At home, have them search through magazines for letters.  Cut them out and make an alphabet book or wall with construction paper and glue.  Make or buy some simple and inexpensive letter flash cards if you must.

Sing the alphabet and count as part of your bedtime or bath time or whatever time routines.  Make it a natural part of the day, not "school time."  Learning can take place 24/7, so don't relegate it to 8-3.

4. Let kids be kids.  There is much knowledge to be gained in free play. This is something any preschool or kindergarten teacher worth listening to would tell you.  They would probably also tell you that they are getting more and more pressure to leave this out in lieu of formal learning.  They probably hate that.

5.  I'm a big believer in the "better late than early" philosophy.  I had a friend once explain it to me this way: It is possible for a farmer to work his field in the cold, snowy, frozen ground of January.  It can be done, but at a great cost in time and resources for the farmer.  The ground itself does not necessary benefit from this either.  However, if a farmer waits until Spring and works his ground when it is ready, it is a much, much easier process for both the farmer and the field.   The same is true about our kids.  If we force them to begin formal schooling before they are ready, the process is long and hard and often kills the natural love of learning the child once had.  If however, we wait until the child himself shows some signs of wanting to begin, it all goes so much more smoothly.

I have four kids and they have all learned to read at different ages.  At age 5, my oldest wasn't ready for kindergarten.  He didn't show the least bit of interest in learning to read.  At age 6, we started our formal homeschooling and he still wasn't ready then.  I didn't understand all that I do know and I probably pushed him too hard that first year.   At age 7, when he decided he wanted to be a reader, he became one.

My daughter read early.  She listened to me teach her brother that first year and when I started with her the next, she really had very little to learn.  She had picked it up from listening to me work with her older brother and basically taught herself to read at age 5.  She has been a voracious reader since.

Tigger is almost 7 and still learning to read.  At age 5, he had zero interest so we didn't do much.  This year, he started taking an interest and we have used Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons along with sight word cards to teach him.  Once he saw the value in reading, he started wanting to do it, with less fuss when I told him to get his book out.

My youngest just turned four and we have done zero formal schooling with him.  He watches a lot of Leap Frog videos (The Letter Factory is our favorite!) and has a Letter Factory toy of his own.  He sits with Tigger and me when we do our reading lessons and he's learning.  A few weeks ago my dad handed him a pen and told him to write his name. He did. All by himself with not one single writing lesson. You will be surprised at how much your kids will pick up just by living.


Seasoned homeschoolers, would you agree or are you big fans of the big box curriculum?

Reasons We Love Homeschooling #1-9

There are a lot of reasons we love to homeschool.  A lot.  For this post, I even asked the kids and they were happy to share what they think are the best things about being educated at home. Some of our reasons are totally obvious but some of them may surprise you.  In no particular order, here are a few of our favorites.  

*Please know that I am in no way implying that families who don't homeschool cannot do some of these same things or that they must have horrible relationships with one another.  I do not think that for even one minute.  These are just some of the benefits that I see in our home, with our family.  

1. On days when we're just really sleepy or don't feel well, we get to sleep in.  There are no tardy slips to fill out.  We sleep until we're not tired and then we do our work when we're rested.  That may mean sleeping in until 10:00 or taking a nap at 2:00.  It also might mean doing school at 6:00 PM.

2. On a related note, we don't have to get up and out of the house in a presentable fashion by 8:00 AM.  In fact, most of the time, we're still in bed then.  And as you can see here, clothing is totally optional during school time. (Apparently, so is cleaning the carpet.  Eh, a girl can only do so much in a day.)

This means we get to stay up later, too.  Because of that, the kids get more time in with their daddy, who doesn't usually get home from work until around 5:30. If they go to bed at 10:00, they have the chance to get some time in with him that they would miss if they went to bed at 8:30.

3. EZ - "I get lots of breaks."

4. Truly differentiated instruction. If you're not in education, just know that it means this: Each kid gets to learn at his own level and own pace.  Or as my oldest said when I asked him what his favorite parts of homeschooling are, "I get to learn what I'm ready for."

5. Reading lessons = snuggle time.

6. Our kids like each other.  I mean, really, really like each other.  At this point, if my "school aged" kids left the house during the day, it would just be AJ at home.  He doesn't even want to think about how bored he would be with just Momma around to entertain him all day.  

Right now, they even like spending time with their parents!  All three of my big kids gave more family time as one of their top reasons they like homeschooling.

EZ - "I get to stay home with my family!"

Big E - "I get to see my family every day."

Baby Girl - "I get to see my family."

7. On snow days, we can ditch the books and go outside or stay warm and not get behind. Either way, we don't have to make up a day over spring break or in the summer!

8. Big E - "That it's AWESOME!" I would say that's a pretty great endorsement coming from a ten-year-old boy!

9. We get to take more field trips.  Once a month we take a class at the zoo.  We've been to museums, government buildings, planetariums, and nursing homes.  We don't go just once a year.  We go whenever there is an event we want to attend.  We also get to go places during the week and avoid the weekend crowds.  Recently we celebrated a birthday at Chuck-E-Cheese on a Friday afternoon.  There were less than two dozen people there.  So, so much better than fighting the crowd on a Saturday.

Big E - "I get to go places with my homeschool friends that I wouldn't get to go to otherwise." 

Baby Girl - "We get to go on field trips more often, like once a month.  I don't think we would do that as often in public school."

There are lots of other things we love about being able to educate our kids at home.  We'll try to share more of those with you soon.  For now, if you're a homeschooler, what do you love about it?  If you're not, what do you think you would love?

Order of Operations Poster

Today Baby Girl's math lesson was on the order of operations.  Her book didn't have a great visual, so I created this one.  I thought some of you might like it.  I'm still figuring out all of this blog related stuff, so I don't know how to make this a pdf file for you.  If you want a copy, email me or message me on Facebook and I'll get it to you.

New Year, New School Plan

One of the hardest things for me as a homeschooler is keeping everyone (myself included) on task.  Finding a schedule that works for us has been impossible.  I tried to do the whole "have a routine not a schedule" thing, but I'm not really any better at that.

For a while, I made detailed lesson plans for each week (customized for each kid), printed them out, gave them to each kid, and tried to be sure we got every single thing on them done.  The idea was good and it did help.  When I actually did it. The reality for me was this: I suck at doing this.  If my printer runs out of ink, we don't have school for three weeks because I can't print the lesson plans.  (Ok, so maybe this is a bit of an exaggeration...or maybe not.)  It seemed like we were using a lot of paper to print out a schedule that we were never quite able to live up to and I hated that.  So I quit.

I've tried following the teacher's guides in Sonlight's core curriculum.  Didn't work.  I felt like I had to do everything they suggested, even the stuff I felt like was a waste of time.  If we missed a day, I was totally thrown off.  So I quit.

Over the past five years, my go-to lesson plan strategy has all too often been to simply wing it.  I'd just do whatever we felt like that day and call it good.  In my head I had a rough idea but I didn't let the kids in on it.  Because we didn't follow a schedule or even a routine, they had no idea how long school would last.  We might be done at noon and spend the rest of the day at the park or we might be working from breakfast to bedtime.  Although I love the flexibility or being able to set aside what we're doing for the sake of more important things, like building relationships or serving others, not knowing what was expected made things rough on my kids.

Over Christmas break I decided I need a new approach.  I love check-lists.  The satisfaction that comes when I look down at a row of checked off tasks is one of life's simple pleasures.  My problem was that I didn't have the time or energy to create new check-lists for each kid each day.  (Especially so now that I have three kids in school!)  So...I figured out a way to let the kids know what is expected without going crazy.

We started out by having a min-confernce with each kid.  We talked about what they thought each day should look like.  I had some requirements in mind but let the kids take the lead.  They all agreed that they needed to do one math lesson or test each day.  One kid wants to read one chapter in the Bible and another wants to read it for 30 minutes a day.  Some have slightly longer activities than others and my youngest doesn't have nearly as much to do as the big kids.  We included typing, Kindle apps, and computer time as well as regular pencil-paper activities in math, reading, Bible, writing, science and social sciences.

After the conferences I made up lists for each child.  I used clip art to add stars under each task.  If they are expected to do it every day, there are five stars.  If it's a once a week activity, one star.  Three times a week, three stars and so on.  Because I loathe the idea of making new charts each week, I got out my handy-dandy laminator and slicked them up!  Now the kids just use dry erase markers to check off what they have finished and everyone knows what is expected of them for the day.

The kids are in charge of what they do and when.  They know that they have to be finished with school before they can do anything else, like go to Scouts, visit friends, or watch TV.  I let them know in the morning if we have plans and they need to work accordingly.  For my daughter, this means she starts school before the rest of us are up.  This gives her more free time later in the day.  My oldest loves sleeping in.  He may need to tweak his sleeping habits if he's going to get done with school before all of his activities. But for me, that's a learning lesson as well.  Time management, baby.

To be fair, we're only on day four of this.  But for the past four days, we've had success.  The older kids take about four hours to get done and the younger one is busy for about half of that time.  Ask me next week and we may have scrapped the whole thing.  Or maybe we'll still be using a slightly different version of this when they're in high school.  That's the beauty of homeschooling. We can do what works and kick the rest to the curb.

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What works for your schedule?  Do you let your kids lead the school day or are you a more in-charge kind of teacher?

Back to School

It's the end of August, otherwise known as Back to School Season.

All over the place, mommas are talking about sending their kiddos off to school.  TV commercials, facebook posts, magazine covers and even real life conversations seem to all be shouting "Back to School!  The kids are going back to school!"

Some moms, mostly the young ones with brand-spanking-new kindergarteners, get a little teary when they talk about it.  They're going to miss their kids.  Their babies are growing up too fast...sniff.  Sigh. Hug.

There are those who can't wait to get the kids out of their hair/house.  "Woo-hoo!  Only nine more days until school starts!  Can't wait!  Mommy needs a break!"

As a homeschooler, I don't really have experience as either of these mommas.  I have never dropped my kid off at kindergarten and when school starts, my kids are still with me 24/7.  August isn't usually even that big of a deal because we usually try to do some kind of school year round and then sort of ease into a full day.

First Day of School Fail

Well, today was Year 5, Day 1 if homeschooling. It went well...for about 2 1/2 minutes. I am not even kidding. 

Overslept and got started an hour late. No biggie, as I'm not a slave to schedules. It does mean that I skipped the shower. I should have known it would all be downhill from there.

We didn't even get through the devotional before my 10 year old was up, leaving the room, looking for his glasses. (Still unfound, btw.) Got that taken care of, read about how God loves us when we're tired and how we can lean on him. Seemed appropriate. If I had only known how much so!

My printer/copier wouldn't work, so those cute little cut out pages I had planned for my 3 year old to do --- that didn't happen. So instead of practicing his fine motor skills, he was bored, i.e. running with scissors and threatening to cut up anything within reach. 

My six year old was NOT happy that first grade is going to be a time to actually work, so he didn't. After writing his name on his new HWT book, he needed a break. I asked him to collect the laundry and that turned into AN HOUR of crying, hitting his little brother (luckily, he'd put down the scissors by then!), and just being generally annoying.

Meanwhile, I had assigned one page (I am not even exaggerating, there were SEVEN words!) of HWT to my 10 year old. Thirty minutes later, he wasn't even close to done. Seriously? Seven freaking words!

An hour after starting out with all my grand plans, I was reduced to a screaming, stinky because I didn't shower, crying mom with a migraine. Public school starts here on Thursday and I informed all of my children that they would be going. The little boys wailed, grabbing on to me like a life preserver, the littlest saying, "Me too little to go to public school!" My 8 year old daughter, bless her, had done nothing but what I had asked of her, and now she was bawling as well. The 10 year old just glared at me.

I tried to retreat to my room, to regroup, pray and avoid social services needing to intervene. Not gonna happen. My 10 year old decided I needed to be parented. I remember my mom saying that I did this often as a kid. I totally got paid back for that today. 

As I'm lying on my bed, desperate to calm down and needing to get a grip, Eli is parenting me from my doorway, "Mom, have you gotten yourself under control yet?"

"I can't do this everyday, son."

"I can't do this everyday, either, Mom. You have broken the hearts of every kid in this house today. Including mine."

Wow. Take that, Super Mom. You are a failure. You suck at this. You have broken.their.hearts. 

Enter the rest of the minions, all sobbing, but all laying on me, leaning on me, hugging me...loving me in my failure. We cried. We talked. We decided to keep trying. 

That was this morning. This afternoon we cleaned up a little, ate lunch and the kids are playing - not fighting - with each other just now. 

Today was a miserable failure. I'm not going to even pretend that everything is better now, because it's not. We didn't get anything done and our soft-launch turned into "Houston, we have a problem." My best hope is that, like Scarlett said, "Tomorrow is another day."

So take heart, homeschool mommas (and daddies), your first day will almost certainly be better than mine. 

Our School Room

After reading a post from the pajama momma's blog, I decided I could share with you our schoolroom.  (Still not sure if that's one word or two.)  This is much better this year than last, as until this summer, we didn't even have a room just for our studies. We spent the first two years of our homeschool journey at the kitchen table.  While there were some benefits to this, the drawbacks were many.  The biggest one was the plethora of materials we use for school were spread out through every room and hallway in our house, garage and attic.  Since Baby Girl never slept in her bed anyway, we moved her in with the boys and converted her old room into a much more usable space for school. It's still a work in progress and there are still some leftover art pieces from when it was my daughter's room.  I'm hoping to cover at least part of one wall with chalkboard paint, but haven't gotten that far yet.  Here it is as of today:

Maps are pretty much my favorite things.  You can NEVER have too many maps, especially in a school room!  Here are a few that hang in ours, along with a couple of art projects.

This place value chart from my time teaching fifth grade has come in handy more than once since we started homeschooling.

The books on the blue shelf are for the kiddos.  The taller shelf is a mix of teacher resources and novels for elementary age kids.

My dad picked up a couple of these old school desks at sales and auctions.  The kids now all have their own work spaces.  This is working out well for us.

I finally have a teacher's desk for all my stuff!  

I'm Still Here

It's been well over a month since I was able to blog anything.  Well, that's not entirely true.  I have a couple of things in the drafts folder that I have yet to finish.  That said, there's just too much on my plate and my mind to even start.  So, in 500 words or less (or more maybe.  I'm not actually going to count), here's my life lately.

Flashcard Jeopardy

Last week, when I was making dinner, E needed to work on his math facts.  We'd been a little remiss on this lately, and he was having a hard time with his 8x and 6x facts.

I am Not That Homeschool Mom

Close your eyes.  Now, quick, what pops into your head when I say "homeschool mom?"

Whatever it was, I am pretty certain I am not that homeschool mom.

I wear jeans, put on make-up (if I'm leaving the house), and swim in mixed company.  My dyed hair has not been in a bun since my second grade ballet recital.  Said ballet recital was probably the last time I wore hose, too.

I hate to cook, clean and do most other things that are traditionally considered what a "good mom" likes to do.  My family does not garden or eat only organic/raw/gluten-free/sugar-free foods. Our meals are only sometimes homemade, and if I had it my way, we would eat Pizza Hut at least eight times a week.  That, or have a personal, on-demand chef.

My floors are not swept twice a day and the laundry pile is often taller than the children.  Sometimes, it's taller than the children's father!  Dusting has become a quarterly chore and my backyard will never get landscaped.

I'm not crafty.  I can't sew on buttons that last more than a week.  Sewing machines make me more nervous than a rat in a snake cage.  I've never made anything more complicated than the pillows Mrs. Wallace insisted I put together in seventh grade home economics.  I've dabbled in scrapbooking, but even that has become too daunting a task for me lately.  My 2009 birthday gift certificate to our local scrapping store is still in my wallet, unused.

Our lives are not run on a color-coded three-ring binder schedule.  We don't get up before dawn and milk cows or feed chickens.  We watch too many movies and play a lot of video games.   My kids are often up until way past traditional bedtimes and don't always remember to say "please" and "thank you."

My kids don't play the cello, violin or even piano.  They don't speak Latin, Spanish or anything other than our Midwest version of English.  They don't study quantum physics or underwater basket weaving.

It's not that I think any of the above things are bad.  Heck, I'd love to be crafty and have an immaculate house.  There are a ton of skirt and bun wearing women out there who are amazing.  I wish we ate healthier and that I could make my own curtains.  But I will never make my own curtains.  I am not that homeschool mom.  It's just not who I am.

But I am the homeschool mom that spends hours choosing just the right projects for her kids.  I read them Scripture.  I taxi them from one activity to the other and make sure they are well-rounded, social people.  Four times a year, I make the most rockin' birthday cakes imaginable.  I facilitate an environment where they can learn, not just academics, but to get along with each other, to be home-builders, and to be followers of Christ.  I am that homeschool mom.  And I'm perfectly okay with that.

An Attitude of Gratitude

I'm gonna be honest here.  Yesterday was a crappy day.

Grateful #6

Today I'm super grateful for one simple thing.  When I went into his room to call him into the kitchen to work on school, I found Big E on his bed, reading a book.  It wasn't a book I'd assigned him to read, and he wasn't just looking at the pictures.  I could hear him reading.  It was a great moment for me; as a mom and as his teacher.  He's starting to read for pleasure, not just for school.  It's clicking!  Yay, for Big E!