Homeschooling for 3

Ever since I broke down and got the TOS planner (which I love!) I have intended to get my subscription to their magazine as well. From everything that I’ve seen from The Old Schoolhouse, the subscription should fill in the gaps for anything that I might have missed while setting up the children’s school schedule. Yep, I was going to get that subscription, but it’s been three weeks since I made up my mind. Why? Well, life gets in the way. Little things like VBS, getting the children discharged from their cyber-charter school, returning equipment, etcetera and etcetera.

But guess what! I signed up for my subscription tonight and here’s why.

As I was getting ready to shut down the computer for the night I was held captive by an email announcing that the first 5,000 subscribers (new or renewals) to the TOS magazine will be eligible for 19 cool bonuses (which include software, books, online resources, family gifts and much more). There are so many extras that TOS had to create an interactive catalog just to show you the “bio” of each of the gifts. And if you’re amongst the first 1,000 subscribers you get a special bonus – a Summer Bouquet! Now, being a tiny bit competitive I wanted to make sure that I was amongst the first to get my subscription – I mean, I’m a sucker for free bonuses. And as you know, any time we complete a goal we are rewarded with a sense of contentment – which means I’ll have pleasant dreams tonight. J

But wait – what about you? It wouldn’t be very fair of me to keep this great deal all to myself. So, I’m letting you know now that you need to have your fingers RUN don’t walk over to TOS and get that subscription so that you can be eligible to at least get the first 19 bonuses, if not the last. And remember, don’t be stingy – you need to pass this information on to your friends as well.

BTW, I’ve made it easy for you to get started. Just click the picture or you can click here.

As some of you know, I am returning to my traditional homeschooling roots this year. I did my experimentation into cyberschooling and found it lacking. But I also live in PA, one of the high documentation homeschooling states (also known as “Big PAin in the neck states”) so I’ve been wondering how I was going to pull a curriculum together to present to the Lords of Education so they’ll go away. So, once we made our decision to get away from cyberschools I began looking at different curriculum. I have been looking at complete year curriculum as well as a more eclectic collection of resources. But now I don’t have to look any further because I just discovered The Old Schoolhouse 2009-2010 Planner!

First off, let me confess that I have not been the most organized homeschooler. I’ve purchased programs to keep records on the girls work, I’ve set up schedules (that I then proceeded to ignore after about a week), and changed my mind a couple of times during the course of the year on some of the books that we had chosen to use for learning. But after reading through this 375 page masterpiece of planning I am finally content. Each month is based upon a theme and all the activities and subjects that are taught in that month follow that theme. This would be just about perfect for new homeschooling families. When you start out homeschooling you always worry that you won’t get everything done. The planner is designed to help you not only get yourself organized, but to have fun while you teach and learn.

For example, July’s theme is American History. So, there is an introductory article with notes to introduce the theme to the kids. After the introductory article there is usually a fact sheet that can be printed and displayed for perhaps memorization work or whatever clever idea you may have. After that you get a list of resources that can be used to teach the theme effectively. These resources touch on American History but from different standpoints. The resource guide contains links to the historical materials that you can use to expand your subject, literature that you can use to make the time period come to life, lap book activities, craft activities, math activities and science activities. So, all disciplines are covered while you stay within that theme. And how could I forget about the great recipes that are included each month to break up the monotony of cooking? I’ve seen several recipes that I can’t wait to try! Maybe since the recipes are tied in with the monthly themes I can get my “picky, picky” people to give the new dishes a try in the name of “education”. (Click here to see the TOC and plans for each month.)

Why does this work for my crew? We’re not (okay I’m not) good with follow-through when I have very little maneuverability. You know, it becomes like those dreaded worksheets that our teachers in public school would pass out to keep you quiet while they did administrative work. Overly structured schedules start to feel like busy work to me and then I get rebellious and end up doing something totally different (which isn’t really a good habit to develop and really hard to break!) But this – this monthly theme outline allows us to figure out what we want to concentrate on each day. Maybe we’ll do crafts and talk about what it must have been like to live in those days. Or perhaps we’ll read the excellent book, “Ben Franklin: Inventing America” and try some of the experiments that Benjamin Franklin indulged in at various points of his life. Who knows? But that’s the great thing – it doesn’t matter because at the end of the month we’ll have a comprehensive understanding with a lot less stress getting it all done. And after two years of cyberschooling and dealing with artificial learning deadlines that is really important to me this year.

Okay, so I know that there are organization masters in our vast homeschooling community who are probably thinking:

“What a waste of money! That’s a no brainer. Just sit down, decide what you want to do, schedule it and get it done. What does this planner have that would interest me?”

Well how about 186 pages of forms, glorious, reproducible forms? There are forms for curriculum records, forms for report cards, forms for high school transcripts, forms for evaluations. Then there are forms for creating schedules for 1, 2, and 3+ children in your homeschool. There are forms for chores, grocery shopping, supply shopping, volunteer activities, bible readings, and discipleship records. There are forms for people who like to plan their school year monthly. There are forms for organizing your coop, planning field trips, as well as science lab and journal forms. There are forms for people who like to plan annually. Weekly schedules, daily schedules – and last but not least – a checklist/shopping list for your garden and even a graph to plot out how your garden grows! I mean, for people who love organization, you’ll be in form heaven.

Although I am no longer a cyberschooler (yea!), I can’t forget about my friends over there. This planner would be a great addition to whatever school curriculum you are using from the state. Why? For one thing, since all of the subjects are covered you will have a plethora of ideas to add a little spice to your homeschooling days. We all know how dry conventional textbooks are, so this would be a good way to re-energize yourself and your kids while maintaining your mandated work schedule. The forms are also useful because with all the activities our “unsocialized” children are engaged in, I’m sure you’ll appreciate the extra help in keeping everything straight. The planner also contains 12 “Must Know” reference sheets that cover everything from word roots (something not normally taught in schools these days), emergency preparedness, as a whole lot more.

In addition to the monthly activities outlined in the planner, The Old School house also has additional modules for each monthly theme. These can be purchased separately if you want to expand your lessons for the month. These modules contain extra activities, recipes, and pertinent information for each month’s theme. From what I can see, everything has provided in the Planner to having a productive and fun educational experience. The one downside of this is that I can no longer be excused for my lack of organization because the The Old Schoolhouse 2009-2010 Planner does everything but teach the kids the courses. At this rate, I may actually be able to organize my cluttered brain — isn’t that a scary thought.

Happy Friday! It’s been a busy week at my house, but we’re having lots of fun getting back into the groove of natural homeschooling. And Friendly’s Free Scoop Saturday is right on time. They are giving away a free one scoop ice cream cone (or cup) of your choice. Up here in Pennsylvania the party starts at 12 p.m. and ends at 5 p.m. You can check out your local schedule by visiting Friendly’s website.

Speaking of free, my daughter is a beginning reader who likes her independence in learning. So, besides using programs found at Starfall (which are excellent by the way), and I Know That, we also use Click N Read Phonics. The program is developing quite a favorable reputation. They are now offering newcomers a free lesson to see what all the buzz is about. So, check it out and see if it might be right for your little ones.

Oh yeah, don’t forget to get your free chocolate coupons at the Mars website each and every Friday from now until September.

Hi,

I just got an email about a brand new book series called “When I Grow Up I Want To Be …” that I thought might be of interest. I have to wait until my husband gets paid (“Thanks Dad!”), but I’m definitely going to get this one. The thing I like about it is that it discusses a variety of jobs (i.e., Firefighter, Veterinarian, Chef, Military, Doctor, Police Officer, Missionary, Artist, Pilot, and Farmer to name a few) from a practical standpoint. They discuss how much money you can make at these professions, the skills you need, the actual day-to-day tasks, etc.

My daughter, Jade, wants to be a Firefighter (well at least for the last year or so) and I think this will be an excellent introduction for her. After we read it I’m going to take her to a firehouse so that she can do a little fact finding of her own!

Anyway, the special pricing only lasts until the end of the month, so you should check it out soon.

I first became aware of the Ultimate Homeschool Expo last year. But since I had decided to try cyberschooling, I really didn’t feel that attending would be helpful for me. Boy was I wrong! The resources that Cindy offers are useful to everyone — cyberschoolers, homeschoolers and even moms who aren’t homeschooling. I mean, what mom wouldn’t benefit from audios like “Let’s Simplify”, “Taking Care of Mom” and other edification for moms.

Now that I’m firmly in the traditional homeschooling camp, I have been soaking up as much information as possible on how to setup my “new” homeschooling lifestyle. So, this Expo is a great blessing for me. Some of the bonuses even include a whole a whole set of resources dedicated to re-starting my homeschooling year!

This convention NEVER ends. You can listen to it at your convenience. You can listen again and again and again. It is set up so that you can listen on your computer or you can download these workshops to your Mp3 player and carry them along with you wherever you go. Oh! You can even burn them to a CD. I have been listening to several workshops and they are simply fantastic! You will love it!

It is hard to capture all of the fun in words. You have just GOT to check it out! I give it my highest recommendation Get the details here.

Since I’m back in the saddle as a traditional homeschooler, I’ve been surfing around for inspiration. This article caught my eye and I thought I’d share it with you too! The point that made me feel terribly terrific about returning to my homeschooling ranks is found in point number four.

(By Terri Johnson – co-author of Homeschooling ABCs – an online class starting this month for brand new homeschoolers)

We’ve all seen it… or, at least, heard about it… the homeschooled child who wins the geography bee, or the one who graduates at the age of 15, or the one who excels in musical accomplishments…

Now, obviously, a student does not have to be homeschooled in order to accomplish one of the feats above, nor does every homeschooled child excel in such notable ways. However, every homeschooling parent desires for success in teaching their children at home and launching them into the world to become all that God has intended for them to be.

The flipside to this statement is that no one wants to fail when it comes to teaching their children at home. So, what are the five necessary ingredients to homeschooling success?

The first one is the desire to foster a closer relationship with each of your children and your kids with one another. If you don’t want to spend more time together and deepen these relationships (or, at least, want to want to spend more time together), then homeschooling may not be the best choice for you. However, I am sure that you have heard it said before that at the end of the day, no one is going to say, “I wish that I had spent more time at work… or by myself… or with my canary…” No, the universal regret that aging and dying people declare is their sadness over not spending enough time with their loved ones. Teaching your children at home is an amazing opportunity to spend more time with your dearest loved ones and have no regrets.

The second ingredient to homeschooling success is a teachable spirit on the part of the parent. This is essential because, like it or not, you will learn so much more teaching your own children than you ever did in school the first time around. So, you might as well like to learn.

On that same note, the third essential ingredient to successful homeschooling is creating a home environment that is conducive to learning. This may show itself differently in each of our homes, but the result is the same – a place where kids can learn and enjoy it.

A home that is conducive to learning may have quiet and cozy reading nooks, bookshelves crammed with great books, a listening corner complete with headphones and a beanbag chair, uncluttered smooth surfaces for writing, stacks of coloring/activity books and colored pencils, a place to gather together and talk about the day’s events. You get the idea… Create centers in your home that make learning fun and accessible.

The fourth ingredient for a successful homeschool is 2 hours of your time to devote to your children’s studies. Truly, when the one-on-one teaching method is employed in your home, you do not need all day in order to get things done. In fact, a child in K-2 grades might be finished with her schoolwork in as few as 45 minutes (of course, that probably does not include the time that you spend reading together because who can get enough of that!). [Just my two cents: I used to teach each day for about that 2-3 hours a day and their knowledge grew in leaps and bounds. Then I started cyberschooling and the longer the hours, the less they learned! It's good to know that I had it right in the beginning.]

At the other end of the spectrum, you might not need that much time with your middle schooler or high schooler either, because they become such independent learners by this age. The kids that will need the majority of that time that you have designated for school – those full 2 hours – would be your students in 3-6 grades as math and grammar assignments might get a little more involved.

The fifth (and final) ingredient for homeschooling success is a library card. That’s right! With access to a huge roomful of books, a world of learning opportunities is at your doorstep. Let’s say that your child is interested in insects or flowers, electricity or magnetism, transportation or inventions… check out as many books as he can devour on the subject and then some more. Watch your child light up with the delight of learning.

With these 5 essential ingredients incorporated into your homeschool, you will experience successful learning in the lives of your children, because this is the measure of success – children that love to learn!

Enjoy those learning moments…

Terri Johnson

Co-author of Homeschooling ABCs – an online class starting this month for brand new homeschoolers. Don’t let self-doubt, or lack of experience, rob you of the best first year possible! Sign up for class here.