Explode The Code

Okay, so I typically baulk at programs suggested for me by other people... at least initially, though I do usually check them out myself. Well, since I had two children reading in the early "pre-school" years, I didn't really give a good look at Explode the Code. Yeah, I'll admit it, I'm good at assuming everything is wrong, and then having to admit that I'm wrong instead!

I have been using notebooks to do reading comprehension (I read the book, or chapters, and write down questions, she answers them) and then also for writing prompts (I either start the sentence and she completes the "story" or I suggest an idea and she has to write around that). I really like this method because it forces her to come up with her own ideas and thoughts!

However, my mother works with younger children learning to read. She mentioned that children who learn to read young, and who read at very advanced levels, will suddenly stop comprehending the material because they can read words that they don't understand and they have never had to "work out" what something means. PROBLEM. RED FLAG. Not that we were at that point yet, but I didn't want to get there either.

Since she had also given me many of the Explode the Code books that were left over from last year, I decided to try them out. I was not too impressed.... they seemed overly simplified. Almost belittling to my "smart" child. But as I thought more about it, I realized that the program forces children to "slow down" and "study out what they've read" by using sentences that make sense with the picture, but would not make sense in real life along with normal real life ones. It also uses tremendous repetition.

I started my oldest two (ages 6 and 4) on these books, at different levels. They love them. So I let them continue. I know that I started Gabi lower than her level, but I wanted her to get the handle on the program without the frustration. She's already half way through her second book and we only started this last month.

She has added new words to her vocabulary (our family seems to know more big words then little... at least our children). She's learned to "speak up" and ask what something means. (She's also learned how to look up the word in a dictionary) And I've seen this spill over in our daily conversations as well. Big words that she was using correctly, she'll actually ask for the definition of, and then either admit that she'd done it right, or correct her own sentences. And she's going back and re-reading books that she loved before and coming back with more information.

My third child also wants to get started... since he's 3 and has just started to read, I'll get him the "Get Ready for the Code" books to start with. They will help him to get his writing skills down, and be better at reading so he's not frustrated with the Explode the Codes when he gets there.

Glad To Know You're Still Checking In!

A quick apology to anyone who reads this - or tries to - on a regular basis... it's that time of year when we're all in the middle of the schooling process, and now it's the holidays too. Anyway, we're glad that you're still reading and hopefully we'll have more useful information for you all to use.

You can check out our individual blogs as well, as many of us publish our "daily" adventures there which might give more information or ideas to you. We tend to use this one more for passing on information that we know is helpful in other people's decision making in curriculum, teaching, and to ask and help try to answer questions we might have.

An Affordable, Hands-On Math

I've done a lot of research in regards to math programs. I knew I wanted something very hands on, but I wanted to know that my children would be learning what they needed to. I also did not want to spend a bunch of money on the program (say $1000.00 just for a math program every single individual year!). So, with my husband and my mother working in different school systems, I was able to gather a lot of ideas. Unfortunately, I kept coming back to the price. I figured, for that price, I could get the manipulatives and create my own curriculum. My biggest fear was that I might miss a critical step some where that wouldn't be noticed until later on - when it was truly needed!

Anyway, I really liked what I had seen about the Bridges Program and even some of what I saw from the Investigations programs. Both programs are designed for classroom use - thereby, they are very expensive. And then I stumbled upon this program:

RightStart Mathematics. It's affordable (one years lessons, worksheets, and necessary manipulatives is no more than $180.00 with add on kits less then that - or the whole set (5 years of lessons, worksheets, and necessary manipulatives ) for $500. The do have a geometry set (2 years) that is less than $200.

Anyway, I chose this program because it's hands on, it's affordable, it has great reviews, and it works with the idea of quantifying and not just counting. If this is the kind of program you're looking for, then check it out. The customer service was wonderful and pleasant too!

What we are doing this year

I am glad you posted (KS) what you ordered. It is nice to see what others find useful, as well as seeing how others go about teaching for the year.
So for this year for liliana this is what we are doing. She is 3 1/2 so it is still mostly 'free' time

Alright so I bought the following book:
"Honey for a child's heart"- It has loads of wonderful time tested suggestions for books/media for various age groups that are available in most libraries. I picked up a similar book (also wonderful), called, "Best of the Best for children", between both of these books, each week I go through them and pick out books/media that I would like to check out that week to use for both my girls. What has been amazing to me (we are on week 3 now) is liliana's response.
So without her knowing it I go around the library and pick a few of these 'treasures' as well as random books i see that look good. Most of the 'treasure' books are old, or classics.
Within 24 hrs of having her new stash she has picked out her favorites for the week and it is always the treasure books that i selected from both of the books i purchased.
Her favorites right now are the Beatrix Potter books. She just loves picking two new ones out each week and will hardly let them out of her sight. Mr. Jeremy Fisher even goes to bed with her (some nights when she is having a hard time sleeping, we give her a wind up flashlight and a few favorite books and she reads in her bed for a bit).
So if anyone knows where I can get the peter rabbit books (complete set) please let me know. Online it is like 80-100$!!!
If any of you ever go into Twice Told tales, if you see it and it is 50$ or cheaper I will pay you to get it for me. We would like to give the set to our girls for Christmas.
Anyway, I am getting off topic. KInd of. I mean. I love that she loves these books that I keep picking out and enjoy a resource like that.
There are a few things we may order from Rainbow and I have been narrowing down some selections. We are still working on a workbook set I bought a few mts ago and we do that 3 days a week, at her request. It includes a bible story/coloring. As well as 5 other skill workbooks. She is really into the whole cutting/pasting, beadmaking or necklace making. She has also started to want to spell everything, in sound and writing. So we do alot of either actual writing (whatever words she chooses) or we use magnet letters to spell words out.
She also started her very first dance class last week. We are fortunate to have a studio here that is cheap enough to afford. Only $15/month for a 30min class once a week. If I told them I could not afford even that she would still be allowed to dance for free. So she really enjoyed that first class.
We meet every friday (right now at a park) with a homeschooling group that we have become close with. We do little field trips with them, like we are going apple picking in a few weeks. We have been to the dairy farm, will be going to the fire station. So that is another resource.
She is still watching her signing time and now enjoys helping Mattie learn how to sign.
We also go by UNE's library once a week, they have some wonderful educational DVD/Video's to check out. LIke right now she watches, The Blue Planet and mostly likes that.
Before I know it the week is full. This is how things are going for us right now.

Rainbow

I always find it interesting to see what others order for the year. I just put a big order in and wanted to share, incase anyone is interested. If not, feel free to delete this post.
Part of our school day on Friday was looking through our Rainbow catalog to get some cool ideas of what we wanted to study this year. Caleb said: physics, more about the great outdoors, Maine history and geography. Lundi said: how money works (economics), geology, horses, more Shakespeare and writing.
Harrison said: rocks and crystals, more ETC, microscope observation and dogs. Lauren said: nature, more ETC, babies (don't need to order anything for this one) and crystals.
With this in mind, here is what I ordered:

• Cartoon Guide to Physics
• Exploring Physics
• Physics and the World Around You
• Explode The Code (x5)
• Spectrum Phonics
• Shakespeare for Young Readers
• Any Child Can Write
• Writing Warm-Up
• Pet Tornado
• Geology By Design
• Cave Book
• Rocks and Fossils
• Break Your Own Geodes (x2)
• Glow in the Dark Geodes
• Smithsonian Crystal Growing Kit
• Sticky Stones
• Fossil Collection
• Pocket Full of Pinecones
• Knot Tying Game
• Oh, Wilderness
• Spotters Guide to Birds of Prey
• Spotters Guide to the Night Sky
• Spotters Guide to Rocks and Minerals
• Spotters Guide to the Weather
• The Way Babies Were Made (not for Lauren)
• Where Do Babies Come From? (not for Lauren, either)
• Engineering the City
• Historical Who-Dun-Its
• The Smithsonian Guide to Horses
• A.O.P Switched on Schoolhouse /Maine
• Whatever Happened to Penny Candy?

All I have left to get are our regular consumables (math, grammar, history and writing) and we are......good. to. go!

KKS

Book It - Free Pizza

For anyone who is not familiar with the Pizza Hut Book It Program, it's a wonderful way to encourage reading for children in grades K-6. They have certain reading requirements for each month (a 6 month long program starting in October). Every month in which they complete the requirements, they receive a certificate for a free personal pan pizza! As long as your child loves pizza it's great fun and motivation (not that they all need motivation, but what's a little reward anyway)!

There is a pre-school program, but you cannot do it from your home as it's designed as a classroom only program. I'm going to look into if we can do it with a group of pre-school aged kids through home school... though you can't do it individually. It only runs 8 weeks and starts in March.

You can do it individually for your K-6 grade child. Just got to the link below and sign up to get your materials mailed directly to your house! Remember, it starts in October... so sign up right away!

Also, under the teacher link, there are things to help - printouts and so on. Check it out... sign up... and I'll let you know if there is a way to do the pre-school group if we get them together!

PIZZA HUT BOOK IT PROGRAM

This is the one....

OK....here is my favorite assignment sheet. I love how it has all the subjects listed, then also room to add your own. I have used it with multiple kids, I just keep them in a binder behind a tab with their name. I also put a copy in their binder so they can work independently.
http://www.geocities.com/gpielstick/Homeschooling_Forms.html
KKS

Another Interesting Link

Hey, I was organizing all my bookmarks and came across this one for free educational materials (including simple piano arrangements for beginners!). I've not explored much of what they have yet - I had book marked it for the music. But it is all free, printable - you just can't sell it! So, check it out if you want something more, something different, or if you're just stumped!

Garden of Praise

Free Printable Schedule

http://www.oklahomahomeschool.com/pdf%20documents/Weekly%20Plan_Blank.pdf

I have a better one that I am still tying to find the link to, but this one is very similar. I'll post the other one when I find it.
KKS

Getting The Year Under Way.....

Tara mentioned that she wanted to start grammar with Gabi, so I thought I would share a free curriculum that I have used. It's pretty straight forward and covers all the basics. I hope you find it helpful.
Here is the link: http://www.sfreading.com/resources/ghb.html
KKS

K12 Homeschool

I just heard about another homeschooling option. Some of you may have checked it out already, and many may be like me and have never heard of it. Anyway, the enrollment fee is extremely low, but it gives you the full course curriculum. You do have to buy materials though, and I must admit that I did not add it all up to see what the final per year cost would be. Anyway, if you're interested, check them out using the link below.

K12 Homeschool

Back - Pictures Coming

We're back and I promise that I'll put up some pictures and information from our trip as soon as our house is back together. We had carpet installed in almost the whole house just after we returned and so we're in the putting everything back together.... requiring ourselves to organize and create a real home for everything as we go (something we didn't do when we moved in). Any, I expect to be able to give the update sometime this week.

We're Soon To Be Off

Well, our family is off for vacation... in a few days. We've got some things planned that will be both fun and educational. For one, we're going to climb a volcano! Yes, we'll take lots of pictures and maybe even find some time to post the information about it for you guys! We're really excited about this as it's one thing that Gabi has been wanting to do all year... she still loves volcanoes. We're also going to one of the national train museums. So we'll have all sort of information about the old fashioned trains!

Aside from those two major things, nothing else is "set in stone"... although I'm sure we'll find lots of other fun and educational things to do along the way!

new question?

well, I went to the curriculum sale. I really enjoyed it. I got there 45 mins after it started and still found quite abit of good stuff. If it happens to be during a good time I will go next year and hopefully I will get there even earlier so that I can get some more good things.
I have a question for everyone. Hoe does homeschooling happen when life is so disruptive? I mean, when kids are in school people have to get their kids to school and then can deal with whatever crazy is going on in their life, but when kids are still home how does one still concentrate to help them learn what they need to (prepare lessons, or atleast prepare materials for them to teach themselves, assuming they are at that point). How does homeschooling not become a luxury that occurs when things in life are smooth?

Used Curriculum Sale

The nitty gritty-details have finally become available. The sale is coming right up. If anyone wants to ride together, let me know. I will surely be going.
It is mentioned in the information that it's best to come sans enfants. I will add my recommendation to that. It's pretty (very) stressful to keep track of them, clean up after them and look at their many, many requests and still focus on the things that you need to. If you can imagine, it's even worse than taking ALL the kids shoe shopping-around lunch time, when you and them are cranky, the baby needs a nap, won't stay in the stroller and everybody has to pee-.....all by yourself. Ya, it's that bad. You will enjoy yourself so much more if you leave the littles home. Here is the link:
http://homeschoolersofmaine.org/uc08.htm
KKS

Simplest Problem Solving

I've mentioned before that my children are rather young. A common problem, and one that I've been dealing with, is for children, especially such young children, to simply tell you a condition, usually in whine or without pausing before repeating and allowing their voice to escalate.

Instead of just jumping to meet their demands (ie, in the morning I hear "I"m hungry" and then I would typically ask what they wanted to eat and then go get it), I've been making them stop and rephrase their words so there is a solution. (ie, "Mama, could you get me some yogurt, please?)

Even my two year old can rephrase his expressions into "solution based questions" with only the simple reminder of "Can you change that to a solution?" They no longer get their "needs" fulfilled simply by stating the condition.

I think this will be beneficial. It will teach them to think of the solution and be more polite. It will also help me to feel appreciated and not like my nerves are being grated with a cheese grater! After all, little children must, at some point, grow to be full functioning adults. This is one step to keep the peace and teach them a valuable lesson at the same time. And one step to becoming full functioning adults.

new resource

Well it has been awhile. I have been wanting to post about something that I came across. My lack of post has really mirrored my life. I don't feel like I have done a whole lot with Liliana, in terms of on purpose teaching or using her materials already purchased. We both miss our little 'school' time (i don't call it that, but she refers to it as 'project' time, or "mom, can we do a project)...for her doing a project can mean using her Kumon cutting book which teaches her how to cut various shapes and styles (lines, wiggles, round circles, etc), or her Kumon sticker/paste book, which, after an item is cut out she has to glue it into the right spot to complete a picture (we have used these books all up, they came in handy for stake/general conference), we also have a Kumon Folding book, a little more challenging for her (to fold on a line indicated to make a picture), so that one is not used up yet. I ordered these from Discount homeschooling and will order part two of all of them, which is just building on part ones skills...
What I really wanted to post about is, www.sonlight.com
I would recommend requesting a catalog...They have curriculum's, but the neat thing is in their catalog they list every book/resource used in each particular curriculum (so you can check it out from the library, or maybe you already have it). What is also really neat is that you can buy separately a 'teachers' manual, see sample at www.sonlight.com/samples.html
I plan on getting a manual, life is not as predictable as I would like, and I don't always have prep time for homeschooling, but this makes sure you already know what you can do the next day (but still offers flexibility) and it is not pricey, the teachers manual for pre-k/K is only 21.00 (for the whole year). If you do decide to order a whole program they let you try it out every day for a whole year (kids grubby hands all over the books, writing all over everything, etc...) and if it doesn't work you can return everything for a refund, no matter what condition it is in...
This catalog will become a huge resource for me, maybe you can also find some great ides in it...enjoy

Sorry...I Gotta Go.

I am sorry to do this so suddenly, although the decision wasn't sudden. I am withdrawing from the group. I will not be homeschooling next year and I am trying to get myself situated with my schooling as well. Sorry for my discontinued participation. On the other hand the blog is still something I am interested in since educatiion doesn't end at public school or even begin there. Home is where it is at...

Things To Do - Green Up

It seems we're all getting busy and this site isn't staying updated. Sorry to anyone who waits to read. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the wonderful weather we've been having. I'd love to hear about some learning adventures, or science experiments or anything else. Everything we share helps to add another person in their quest for good education.

Our family went out for a walk the other day and the kids took notice of the trash that was no longer buried under piles and piles of snow! They wanted to clean it up, so we got a trash bag and cleaned as we went. It was a wonderful opportunity for them to serve the community and beautify the earth. We even talked about how this earth is a gift from our Heavenly Father and how we should not only be grateful for it, but respectful of it too.

L.L.Bean

I just wanted to let you guys know that L.L.Bean is hosting a Kid's Fun Festival. It will be held from April 24th through April 27th and all the activities are free. I am planning on going on Thursday but may change my mind and go on Friday. If you need more info, let me know.

sale

Hey everyone,
Well here are the details for the sale I posted about earlier. Let me know if you think you might be coming so I can look out for you there.

Spring Homeschool Books and Supplies 'Swap and Sell'
When: Saturday April 12th
Where: at St. Nicholas Episcopal Church
350 US RT #1 in Scarborough (across from the Scarborough Downs entrance)
Time: 2:00pm to 4:00pm

ALso, let me know if you need directions..

Sharing....

"Let your children be exposed to great minds, great ideas, everlasting truth, and those things which will build and motivate for good."
Gordon B. Hinckley - Ensign, June 1985, 4


KKS

Wishing For Spring

I'm wishing spring would decide to come and stick around...and maybe kick winter out! And with that I've been thinking about gardens. This year the kids have asked to have their own flower garden. Since we have plenty of space, we've agreed. I know we can't get out to the yard to pick a place... let alone have any idea when we might really be able to put anything in the ground. But I thought I'd get them started on some inside plants... they need something to change things up in the daily schedule! (Cabin Fever is past dilerium!)

Any thoughts as to which flowers to plant? They are 2, 4, and 6 years old. I want something easy enough, but also (because of the younger two) something that won't take too long to germinate! Any suggestions would be great!

sale

Hey everyone. I hang out with some moms down here who homeschool and they just informed me of the annual used homeschooling stuff/curriculum sale that they put on each year for southern maine. It will be April 12th in Scarborough. I will post the time and place when I find out. I will be checking it out for sure. I guess if you have stuff to sell there is a person to contact inorder sign up (and a $5.00 fee) Anyway, let me know if you are interested in actually selling stuff as well and I will find out the contact info for that person. For all those who may just want to buy, I will put more details closer to the date as I find them out.

LDS On-Line High School (And Grades 1-8)

My dad was telling me about this on-line LDS High School, which now also offers grades 1 - 8. It's an accredited school, and even gives a diploma for completion. It is a private school, so there is a tuition. Though for grades 1-8 it's $485 for the first kid and only $295 for each additional kid. That's at least $4500 less than the private schools around here (and more), while allowing for the home schooling schedule (your own, your pace). It's also about half the price (or more savings) than many leading full curriculum. At the High School level, I'm not sure the cost, I couldn't seem to find it real easy. But you can take as many courses as you want or be completely enrolled in the full program. I suspect that tuition is based on classes taken. There is a form to fill out if you're interested in more information.

Anyway, here's the link. It's sounds interesting in it's way. It even seems as though there are opportunities to get together with other kids "in the school" through field trips (arranged by parents).

Karl G. Maeser Academy

Winter Fun Day

Many of us are still sick... or in the recovery (but don't push it) zone. With that in mind, I wanted to pose a questions about Winter Fun Day which is scheduled for Thursday. Do you still want to hold it? I know that my family and (I believe unless things have changed a ton since yesterday) Juanita's family won't be able to make it due to the illness stuff. Not sure how other families are doing. Nikki, as it's at your place, you can make the final call. Hold it without us (which is okay) or we could try to postpone in the hopes that people are well enough to really be out in the wet and cold (since the snow isn't going anywhere fast). Any thoughts?

No Child Left Inside

I was blog hopping tonight and found this great website.
I actually heard a bird outside today, which has pushed me to seek outdoor activity plans. I think this will be great and I can't wait for the snow to melt....or atleast for the temperature to rise!!!! We are Stiiiiiirrrrrr crazy!
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/HarmonyArtMom/480223/

KKS

Update On Rosetta Stone

Some many have noticed (and I think I noted it before) that Rosetta Stone has a volume 3 (not just in Spanish - Latin American) but it was not available in the home school format (with teachers book and workbooks, etc). However, they are releasing this volume 3 in home school format (along with volumes 1 and 2, as individuals, as a 1 &2 set, and as all three set). Not out quite yet... anticipated for the end of March! Not sure what the monthly plan will run there, but come the beginning of next month we should be able to find out.

A Window of Opportunity

Ordering

Just wanted to let people know I'm placing an order with Rainbow Resource shortly (by the end of the week, I hope). If you're interested in putting orders together please let me know. I might be ordering from discount school supply as well (although I've not yet checked on prices to see which is the better deal). I'd be willing to do a little "co-op" shopping if someone was interested in splitting materials (specifically arts and craft supplies).

I noticed that Rainbow Resources' "busy" (and thus slow shipping and receiving) time runs from April to August. I'm planning on getting what I need for the beginning of next year in addition to the things that I want through the spring and summer so that I won't need to place another order until the fall. (I'll admit that I hate waiting!)

Rainforest Maths

My kids have been exploring several of the websites found at Educational Freeware. I really like Rainforest Maths. It brings you to a start page where you choose your level. Then it brings you to another page filled with many activities...I mean a lot! And, they are broken down into specifics skills and knowledge bases.

Of the math sites that we've tried, this is my top pick. All three computer capable children work on this site and enjoy it. The one down side is that if your children is working on multiple levels (for example: level 1 for measurements and level 2 for telling time) then you have to go back to the level choosing page. There is no easy way to switch levels within a topic.

Meeting Minutes...

Sorry it has taken me sooo long to post. My computer is in some kind of funk. Anyway here are the things we discussed:

Meetings will be held on every 1st and 3rd thursday of the month: Please be on time so we can get started and accomplish everything we need to in a timely manner. It is equally important to finish and depart on time so that families can accomplish other things that may be on their daily agendas. Meetings generally run from 10am-noon. Please bring bag lunches. It is also important to never leave children unsupervised.

NEXT MEETING on March 20th @ Nicki's in the afternoon

We are alternating hosting the meeting between the 4 families
- Nicki: March 20th WINTER FUN DAY
- Kim: April 3rd PUPPET SHOW WRITING
- Tara: April 17th PUPPET MAKING
- Juanita: May 1st PAINT BOXES
- Nicki: May 15th PRACTICE PUPPET SHOW

We will perform the show to the elderly in one of the areas nursing homes on June 5th.

Our System

We have multiple computers in our house. One server, one Mac (Mike's) one for the kids and one that is mine.
When C&L are doing their school online (time4learning), their "designated days rule" is not in force. Usually, Lundi works upstairs and Caleb, because he has a harder time with background noise, works down stairs in the office. Otherwise, it works like this:
Sunday-it stays off
Monday-Lauren's day
Tuesday-Moms day
Wednesday-Moms day
Thursday-Caleb's day
Friday-Lundi's day
Saturday-Harrison's day

The reason that I have days on their computer is because it gives me a chance to have a "no media day," or give one of the other kids an extra day if they need it. This has proved to be the system that works best for us. Their designated computer day, also happens to be their day for family prayers. Now......Lauren sometimes takes the "her day" thing waaaaay overboard. Like she thinks that she rules everything all day (meals, tv shows, where we go....on and on). Other than that, it goes pretty smoothly.
Hope this helps, see you on the morrow.
KKS

Puter time

Well computer time at our house started out as a major privilege. I mean liliana had to complete serious chores in order to earn the time she got on the computer. Once she was on she was in control of where she wanted to be. As we set up her own desktop with only certain sites (we are up to 10 sites now) she decided if she wanted to visit all of them or just one. In the beginning, I hardly even interacted with her while she was having computer time. As with all new and exciting things after time she wasn't as excited about earning computer time. Now I don't make such a big deal about having to earn the right to use it, I usually just say, "alright, before computer time (it tends to take place right after dinner, during that hour between eating and getting ready for bed) we have to tidy up your room and finish our dinner"...We typically help her complete her task and I tend to hover around the general computer area now. I still let her direct herself as to what she wants to 'play' but will offer suggestions if she starts getting bored or frustrated with something.
As I have also just looked at the Freeware and added some sites to liliana's desktop she was just playing tonight and if something is new to her she ask me loads of questions. She is also in the 'I want to show you something" stage...It is hard for me. I really like her being able to navigate a site or exercise by herself (part of that is selfish, even though I am still nearby, I enjoy her not asking me questions or even paying attention to what I am doing so that I can have a few minutes of thoughts) .If she is not sure how to do something (since she is still learning to read I have to initially show her where the important buttons are to click) than I will sit with her and guide her.
As I was looking at the Freeware site I also wondered about how much time she should spend on the computer. on the one hand, it is great information all for the taking. On the other hand I really don't want her in front of any type of screen for that long in a given day. So as of now she spends about 30 mins on the computer tops a day. I can see her using it for longer as she is older, like an hour. I can also see myself allowing her to earn more time (up to 30 mins) to do things like email/blogs/or whatever else that she would want to do that is not pertinent to her education but that is still skill building and harmless.
Like tonight in the course of 20 mins we did abit of typing (learning where things are on the keyboard), some tuxPaint, some counting (math) 'games' from two different sites, she spent about 10 mins on her new favorite site poisson Rouge. I do not have to set a timer yet, she usually pulls herself off (gets fidgety and ready to move on to the next thing) within 15-20mins.
Anyway this is what we do for now. We will revise as needed.
I should also add this all applies to a normal, good, healthy day...If I am sick or what have you than I would rather she have more computer time (with all of this educational stuff) than watch a movie or drive me crazy. So life is imperfect and hopefully our children forgive us for not always being a straight arrow

With So Many....How Do You...

With so many good and helpful websites for the kids (thanks to Educational-Freeware)- and I haven't even added the downloads yet- I am now in need of a better system for granting computer time. Part of me feels like truly educational practices (not just the skill building games) could be used as part of their learning time (I am trying to separate the two). But then I wonder if that would allow someone too much time on the computer and cause a break down in the other kids because they feel it is unfair.

So, how do you regulate computer time?

Local Group Planning Meeting

We already notified people about the first meeting for our local group... this Thursday March 6 at 10am. Here's what you need to know:

As this is a planning meeting, please bring a bag lunch for yourself and each of your children.

Coloring will be provided. If your child has trouble sharing coloring items, please bring their own. If you think your child will not do well with this project, please bring something else for them to do.

In the future, these things will be arranged differently. We'll be discussing these things along with other planning and group set-up topics.

If you are interested, but have not yet found out where we are meeting, please contact either Tara or Juanita... call or email, use profile to contact us through email if you don't already have the information.

Thank You

Educational Freeware

My daughter loves a program called Tux Paint. She uses it at school and all year has begged for us to get it. I kept forgetting to look it up....and wasn't looking forward to finding it because we have a Mac and, well, so much of the software for Macs is expensive. And although fun or helpful, it eats through a budget way too quickly.

I finally looked it up today... it's a free download! And I'm posting the site it can be found on. There are other freebies for education there as well, although I've not explored them. So, enjoy!

Educational Freeware

UPDATE:

This site is actually a compilation of free downloads and on-line sites. All have been checked out and evaluated for their effectiveness for a certain age group or subject. These are high ranking games, activities and software. I've liked what I've seen so far... although I've not tried the downloads yet. Many of the sites (maybe all) that we like are also listed in there. So... a great place to check out.

Planet Books

Our family recently purchased a set of books from a book order my daughter brought home. I was drawn to the set because they were all about the planets and my daughter had started getting in to the stars. I figured this would be the next step. I was surprised, however, to see just how much information was in the books.

These books would be below older kids, although for a quick refresher they might like to read them to younger kids. But it's really geared towards the younger side of the elementary ages. There are 11 books, each book talks only about one planet (the 10th one is the Sun... which is technically a star). 23 pages of information and 1 page of glossary terms each.

The set is called "Space Launch!" Put out by Gareth Stevens Publishing, A Weekly Reader Company. Below are the titles:

Series: Space Launch
Let's Explore Earth
Let's Explore Jupiter
Let's Explore Mars
Let's Explore Mercury
Let's Explore the Moon
Let's Explore Neptune
Let's Explore Saturn
Let's Explore the Sun
Let's Explore Uranus
Let's Explore Venus
Let's Explore Pluto and Beyond

Handy-Dandy Websites

I will do my best to catagorize these according to grade. Again, it's a very loose guideline.


PreK-2

Letter recognition/tracing/sounds

• http://www.letteroftheweek.com/

Handwriting/penmanship/cursive. This site also has many homeschool helps like schedules and organizers.

• http://www.donnayoung.org/

Early reading/math skills/concepts

• http://www.worksheetuniverse.com/

Free to join. Great workshets on all subjects.

• http://www.learningpage.com/

A wide variety of fun worksheets. You can also generate your own math workshets here.

• www.abcteach.com
  

Shakespeare is Elementary

• http://www.cps.ednet.ns.ca/pageone.htm

Us Government for Kids

• http://bensguide.gpo.gov/

More coming soon....I suddenly got VERY tired.

KKS

No need to worry about "winging it."

Homeschooling doesn't mean just "winging it" with a bunch of half hearted hopes. Improving as you go along is part of the normal growth of your family's homeschool experience - children and adults. It takes some planning on your part, not trying to squeeze someone else's plan into your family. It takes planning even to transition much of the planning over to your children as they mature. Let them also try this exercise. Include your spouse and other concerned relatives and friends in your homeschool journey.

Here is the full article:
http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/articles/010107.htm
KKS

First Meeting

Okay.. we're going to start... so, if you're in the local area and are interested in starting a group with us... and figuring it all out together (it's not in stone yet)... then please join us next week on Thursday, March 6th at 10:00am. If you're interested, call either Juanita or Tara for more information and the meeting location. Thanks.

Edible Math

During lunch, Beth and Jeremy started counting their crackers. Jeremy was just counting them as I put jelly on them. Beth went over and got some. Counted them out. Then went back for more. Counted those out. And then added them together. She then did subraction by way of eating a certain number at a time. Jeremy started trying to do the same.

I mention this because Beth (especially) is a very hands-on and visual learner. She's also one of those do-it-myselfers. Sometimes, with subjects like math and language, it's hard to figure out how to help such learners to "learn". This is a great way which is also a "real life" learning experience, and not just on paper. For learners like Beth, this is a must.

I had been working with little rocks doing a similiar thing with Beth weeks ago. I figured she was ready to see it on paper as well and to work between the hands on and the paper. But I was wrong. As soon as the numbers were on paper, she got frustrated and gave up. I've decided that we'll stick with the hands on and visual stuff for now. She knows what her numbers look like written, but the math sentences don't compute for her yet. And because getting frustrated means shutting down all together for her, we'll just work with what she's able to understand and add the "tough" stuff later on down the road. I'm sure I'll try several times before the timing is just right.

A Cute Poem....

My Aunt Kathy wrote this and I thought I would share it with all of you.......

Dr Seuss
Dr Seuss was really smart.
With rhyming words he did his part
to make us laugh and make us start
to understand that books are art.
I liked his books when I was seven.
Hop on Pop was phonics heaven.
He had his rhyming engines revvin',
inventing noothbrush, zamp, and grevin.
When I grew up it was divine
to read his books to children mine,
and they as well did like them fine.
Oh, for those days I sometimes pine.
But nowadays with deeper pleasure
than for which there is a measure
I read to those who are my treasure--
the perfect cure for stress and pressure.
It matters not if I must read
Go, Dog. Go! till my eyes bleed.
Two year olds with playful greed
constant repetition need!
Yes, Dr. Seuss was one smart guy.
Within each story's plot may lie
a deeper truth in which to try
to live and learn and grow.
Goodbye!

by Kathy Stanley

Winging it, are you?

Alright, so I had a quick question for whomever would like to answer.
It is Sunday night. For me that is planning night. I sit down and try to think of the various things Liliana and I can do during the upcoming week, both activities as well as mark pages in her various workbooks that we could complete together.
How do other people plan? Do you do it weekly or monthly? Do you have weekly goals that help you decide what to work on. I feel like I am just winging it and wondering if all the pieces will come together inside of my children someday.

Brite Music

Has anyone heard of Brite Music? I hadn't until a couple of weeks ago. I've still not heard any of their stuff, but a friend has a lot of their stuff and was telling me about it.

It's teaching values and manners and how to get along in life through music and story-like dialogs that kids listen to. The lady who writes the songs is LDS. I believe that they also allow you to hear a sample on-line before ordering. And, they even have other things, like work books to go along with the series. I did notice that they do series specials over the course of several months. Anyway, for anyone whose children are auditory learners (or who learn tons through music) this might be something worth checking out.

Spanish (And Other Languages)

I had mentioned earlier on that we would be teaching our children Spanish - even though Bob is fluent, I am not and I will be doing the majority of the teaching. I've been looking over lots (and I mean everything I can stumble across) of curriculum and resources. I'm thinking that we'll end up with Rosetta Stone - Spanish Latin American version. (They have numerous different languages...check them out to see if they have the language you are looking for)

They have homeschooling equivalents for each language which are only $10.00 more (for the extra manual and instruction stuff). They also have a 7 day free online trail of the program. And, a five month payment play for the homeschool version. It can also be purchased at Rainbow Resource (and probably a hundred other places), but without the payment plan. Also, if purchased directly through Rosetta Stone, then there is a 6 month, no questions asked, money back guarantee! They also have an online only subscription for 3, 6, or 12 months... something like that. If you think you can learn it fast (or your kids) that might be the way to go. With four kids and myself, I think I'm better off with the whole program.

The down side, a one level program is over $200... the combo of level one and level two is $349... also available in the personal section (not available in the homeschool format yet) is a level three.

Really, for a complete program it's not bad. But as with most homeschoolers, our budget is tight and I'm not sure if we'll be able to fit it in right away.

Bob uses Study Spanish online with his students to help with supplamenting and teaching. It's free, but it doesn't have the "fun interaction" that kids would want.

Service

I found this link last year and book-marked it and forgot about it. Today I rediscovered it...
Service

Just something for an idea...

Welcome to Angela

Say hi and welcome to Angela, our newest member. I'm sure we'll be benefiting greatly from her insight and knowledge. Angela, please share the reasons for your educational decisions, if you don't mind. Thanks.

Local Group

Juanita and I have been talking about starting a local homeschooling support group. I've mentioned this to at least two others in the area as well. You'll find what we're considering below. We welcome and encourage comments which can help make this a great group. Things we might not have considered, things to make an idea better, or any questions you have which might help us to get it figured out better.

This group's primary focus (beyond support) would be service. Service that can be worked on through the year(s), as individuals and groups. As well as service in larger areas as a group (ie. clean up playground or beach, visit the elderly, etc)

Although we're organizing a local group, we're interested in others doing the same with the same primary focus, and then incorporating some regional projects (maybe even a regional meeting or two a year).

This local group would meet every other week on Wednesday. Projects may be planned for times and days other than the meeting group time.

It would include a lunch-on (assigned pot-luck style, rotating who brought what).

It would include a project for the kids (also rotating who's setting it up). This could be an on going project, or a new one. Craft or otherwise, as long as it engages the kids while we discuss what we need. Older children, who are able and willing, can participate (and will be encouraged to participate) in the planning of service projects. There will be no unsupervised children...as in, if the kids are outside, so are we so we can keep eyes on them, etc.

The more social part would be during lunch, with the support and planning happening directly after.

Participation in any group service is voluntary and is not required to participate in the group.

Large service projects will, hopefully, include learning experiences beyond the service. For example, if we clean up a section of the beach, then they have the opportunity to also learn about hermit crabs and tidal pools. They also can have a "built-in reward" by swimming.

Any thoughts, suggestions, or questions are greatly appreciated.

Another Family's Choice

I have received permission to include the following in this blog. A friend who read our reasons for homeschooling, thought about her reasons for sending her children to public school. I felt this needed to be shared as well. You can find the original post here. Although an exact copy is supplied below.

My Turn...

Most of you wouldn't know (or be surprised), but there are several families in our church in Farmington who homeschool their children. While not a necessity, religion is often a springboard for homeschooling families, as it is a way to reinforce values as a part of the educating process. Certainly faith based ideas are not taught in the public school system, nor do I think they should be, as the contention it would cause would be over-whelming, even in my tiny town of 5,000 or so.

The question was recently presented on a blog that 4 of them contribute to, "Why do you homeschool?" And each of the 4 contributors responded with their own reasons. I read the first one a few days ago, and in doing so even had about 13 seconds of a twinge of guilt. I love my children, I see challenges from public school, I love spending time with them, but also love being able to send them to school, does that mean school is just a (somewhat) cheap babysitter for me?

Then I literally shook my head, and thought, "Wait, what are my reasons for sending my children to public school?" So, in the interest of sharing, and with no Spirit of contention at all (for I truly believe the decision is individual) I would like to share my reasons in this forum.

We bought our house in Jay for a few reasons, it was central to family, the furthest set of grandparents was only 5 minutes away at the time. Taxes are low, thanks to the mill, curbside pickup for everyone didn't hurt, and my husband graduated from the small school district, which was still small. I put Dustin into a private Preschool when he was 4. I was surprised to learn then that some children began at 3. I told people who would ask if he enjoyed school, "Oh yes, my little socialite finally has a social gathering to go to!" When Dustin was 4, he, Brian (2), and my mom and I went swimming at the beach. Dustin started talking to a couple of girls who were maybe 8 or 9. It went like this, "Hi, my name is Dustin Jones, and that's my brother, Brian Jones, and his whole name is Brian Scott Jones, and my whole name is Dustin William Jones, and I'm 4 years old, and he's 2 years old..." And in under 3 minutes he was happily sharing a foam noodle with them. Dustin is a very social person.

He has benefitted greatly from public school. He has had successes, the GT program in Jay is run by his dear friend's father, and this man alone has inspired Dustin to seek for greatness. Mr. Taylor was also instrumental in bringing the Gear-Up program to Jay Middle School, any middle school student could attend. When Dustin arrived home from day 5 of the five day program, he informed me that he wanted to invent the new fuel to replace gasoline. I never would have dreamt I had that potential at his age. His grades are through the roof. His friends all have grades through the roof. Numerous teachers have commented to me personally what a joy his class of 45-50 students is, how attentive and well-behaved and kind they are collectively. We are truly blessed. He also has failed. He did not make the Middle school basketball team, and pretend I told you (though I never would) he cried when he was cut in the first round. But he survived, and realized that basketball is not the end of the world.

Brian came into this world a very different child. Much more like his mom than his dad, socializing is not a natural thing to him. Unlike his mom, he had the added stress of speech problems. His bright shining eyes had many thoughts to share, but he didn't know how to form the words. After 6 months of speech therapy, at age 2 1/2, he finally uttered "Mom" for the first time. People would say, "What does he call you?" "He doesn't, I am always here." At age 3 he was in a preschool for developmentally challenged children, due to his expressive speech delays. It was a great experience for him, and at 4 he went there and to the private preschool Dustin attended.

This preschool taught a concept unheard of to me. Children were not encouraged to take turns. If one child had a toy, and you wanted it, you were told to wait until they were done. But isn't it that way in the real world?

Brian LOVED the other children. He did not readily know how to interact with them, but at that age they were very kind, and he learned from them as much as the teacher. He was so much better prepared for school, because of it. Brian is a child who always roots for the underdog. In our home, he supports the Yankees, and Jeff Gordon. No one else likes either of them. At school, he plays with the children who no one else wants to play with. "Everyone was playing football, but Bradley didn't want to, so I played with Bradley today." Thank goodness his class has him there.

With much suffering on my own part, he has had the extra help to accomplish his lessons at school. An ed-tech for his first 3 years, but he has overcome those needs, and not had one these last 2 years. He still hates writing. But he can come up with ideas now that meet the teacher's request. He likes bugs, even picks them up. He would never have learned that from me. My children all have interests that do not relate to me or Bill, but that enrich their lives.

Michael is a hard one. The preschool closed, so i took him to a daycare in Farmington that had a preschool program. It was expensive, though, and he only went through Christmastime. He didn't like it, and I worried because he would not speak up to the teacher there when he was upset.

He liked kindergarten for the most part, until they put security cameras in the hallways over Christmas break. He had an excellent teacher who maintained order and could teach even with 18 kids. He was sure the security cameras were out to get him, though, and 2 were directly above his classroom door. But I finally asked him if he thought the camera could jump down off the wall and scold him if he was naughty, he laughed, and overcame his fear.

He came home from his first day of first grade, and asked if I would homeschool him. I asked him why, and he missed me, and school was too hard. His best friend Zakary was also in another class. I told him that he was a smart kid, and could learn the things he needed to with time. He still has frustration, but I remind him of how much he has learned already. He made some new friends, particularly Andrew and Owen, and now his complaint is only that he got his name on the board once. "It's a pretty silly rule, only one person at the trash can at a time, I needed to empty my pencil sharpener." But, he still goes back, and he follows class rules as best he can. He also cried last month about the fact that he had never been voted good citizen. I asked his teacher, in an effort to keep the program positive, what could I encourage him to do to be a good citizen. She said he needed to stay on task and complete his work, and also he had been talking when he should have been working, so he had gotten his name on the board. That one he didn't share with me ;-)! I told him this, he tried harder, and today announced he was good citizen this month!! He was tickled pink at his accomplishment.

When baseball starts in April, Dustin and Brian will both be exercising steers daily, and with school, homework, and household chores our life will be very full. I will wish I had more time with them at home. But, I cannot put that above the great accomplishments they have had.

My children are the only Latter-Day Saint children in the entire school district. Thank goodness they are there! Dustin was in a discussion last year with his class about different religions. He came home and asked for a picture of the First Vision, an artist depiction of when Joseph Smith saw God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, in a grove of trees in 1820. He wanted to bring it to school and show the class. This experience did not convert the 13 children in the class to "Mormonism". But, it strengthened my son's testimony, and perhaps touched a heart. Simply having the Holy Ghost with a person, and putting the person in a place, can bring the Spirit to that place.

I am grateful for good teachers. I am grateful for strong children, and a voice that can be heard in our district. I am grateful for public education.

Posted by Marie

(Again... found here)

Tanglewood

I called about the tickets. They are $8.00...kids under 2 are free. They can reserve tickets for us (to be paid for and picked up on Thursday) but I need to give them a head count. Let me know if you want to go.
KKS

More from me....do I talk too much?

We usually don't do many fieldtrips in the winter because skiing takes up so much of our time. I know that we have a month or two left of winter here in the great state of Maine.....but the Smiths are getting CABIN FEVER!!! So tonight I did a little bit of research to find a few upcoming events.

Oh,,,,,but first, par request, here is the used curriculum link. The nitty-gritty details are not yet available, but check back in a month or two....http://www.homeschoolbooks.org/events.htm

2/16-2/24 LL Bean Kids Winter fun week.
2/20-4/28 Maine State Museum-Cabinet of Curiosities. They are open every week day from 9:00am to 5:00pm and Saturday 10:00-4:00. Admission is $1-$2.
2/29 Old Fort Western-Augusta. There will be an educators workshop from 8:30-3:00pm. Teaching about 17th-18th century Maine Indians.
3/7-3/8 Maine Homeschoolers Convention http://www.homeschoolersofmaine.org/convention.htm

5/29-5/30 LDS Eastern Home Educators Conference http://www.ldsehe.org/pricing.html

THIS Thursday! Tanglewood Marienettes will be presenting Cinderella. We saw this show last year at UMF and it is so awasome!!! It's at Gorham Middle School (close for you, Heather...little L will love it!) The show is at 10:15am. There will be a book signing by Kevin Hawkes (our former bishop in Cape Elizabeth) from 9:00-10:30. For advanced ticket sales call Mo Terry at 839-7133. This is a fabulous show! Hilarious and very entertaining.
One last thing....For those of you who are night owls...tomorrow night there will be an eclipse. Here are the details http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/LEmono/TLE2008Feb21/TLE2008Feb21.html
I hope everyone is having a good week.
I'll post events as I find them.

KKS

A Quick Note

I've noticed there are have been times when we are getting dangerously close to being judgmental (or coming across as such) to others both involved in public and home schooling settings in our blogs and notes. I'm glad everyone is able to voice their personal experience, and I want this to continue. But I also need us to be considerate of others and keep in mind that there is NO ONE RIGHT WAY or RIGHT CURRICULUM FOR ALL PEOPLE.

So, just a reminder to all, it is okay to mention things that have been noted for personal or negative educational value in a person's experience and even why this may have been so for them. However, I want to be sure that we do so in a way which is not offensive to others. Remember, each educational choice is personal. No choice is more right than another. Each person, and child, has different needs and is at different levels. Please keep these things in mind as you add your thoughts to this blog. Also, please remember that this is an educational blog, and although most of us home school at least some of our kids at least part of the time, it is not strictly a home schooling blog. Education, as a whole, needs to be widely accepted and respected.

Thank You.

Finding Your Style

I was lent some books to read over to help me determine the best way to home school my children according to their needs and my own. Although I've not finished reading any of them all the way through. I do recommend two of them for others.

1. 100 Top Picks For Homeschool Curriculum by Cathy Duffy
~This one walks you through specific questions and helps you appropriately weigh them out. It also explains the various different styles. (Even though I knew I wasn't traditional and didn't plan to purchase a specific curriculum, it includes that kind of learning and teaching in the assessment as well). It also includes websites, book titles, and other such things to help you. I will include the website for the curriculum reviews: CLICK HERE.

2. Talkers, Watcher, & Doers by Cheri Fuller
~This one helps you understand (or unlock) the learning style of your children. Knowing this information will save lots of energy and maybe even emotional strain while working with your children.

The last book I will list is good if you want direct answers all in one place. It can certainly be helpful, but the above two were my top picks of the three I was lent.

3. The Homeschooling Book Of Answers by Linda Dobson
~Answers to normal homeschooling questions, especially for the beginning homeschooler.

Tried & True (according to the Smith clan).

Math

• Saxon (K-12) They do have an online placement test that is free, which I found to be really helpful.
• Wrap-Ups (PreK-4)
• Mathematicians Are People, Too. Stories from the lives of great mathematicians. (K-4)
• McGraw Hill workbooks (PreK-1)

Language Arts

• Spelling/Grammar
• Explode The Code (This gets my highest recommendation!)(PreK-4)
• Up With Language Series (3-8)
• Literature
• Great Illustrated Classics (1-5)
• Five In A Row (PreK-3)
• Tales From Shakespeare (This one is written in comic book form.)(4-6)
• The Childrens Classics-Tales From Shakespeare (3-6)
• Puffin Classics (2-5)
• Writing
• The Little Red Writing Book (Writing Prompts) (K-2)
• Daily Witing Prompts (3-5)
• Explode The Code (PreK-4)
• Create-A-Story Game
• Phonics tiles
• Learning To Read
• Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons (preK-?)
• The Read Aloud Handbook (Adult)
• Explode The Code (PreK-4)

Science

• Lyrical Life Science (PreK-6)
• Backyard Scientist (PreK-8)
• The Teaching Tank (PreK-12) They also have discovery books you can buy.)
• The Mudpies Activity Book (1-4)
• Do Fish Drink? (1-3)
• You're Taller in the Morning, but Shorter at Night (all ages)
• Animals Without Backbones (1-4)
• Blister Microscope w/slides (PreK-adult)
• Magnets (K-12)
• Potato Clock (1-5)
• Magic School Bus-The World of Germs Science Kit...this came with petri dishes to grow our own bacteria....really cool!! (3-6)
• Real Science-4-Kids Chemistry (Pre Level 1)
• Real Science-4-Kids Chemistry Laboratory Workbook (Pre Level 1) I am not giving an age on these because I learned so much from these books. But I would say that even a kid as young as 6 would understand it---now you all know how much chemistry I learned in school :)

History

• Story of The World (1-5)
• Don't Know Much About....(series) (2-4)
• If You Lived.....(series) We love these books!! (1-7)
• Historical Biographies by Peggy Pancella
• Living History-The Hands On Approach to History ((3-7 but can be adapted for younger kids. I use it for all of my kids).
• Classical Kids-An Activity Guide to Life in Ancient Greece (1-6)
• Founding Fathers.....Uncommon Heroes (2-5)
• I Love America (preK-2) This is put out by The National Center for Constitutional Studies. (It is fabulous for the small kids, we love this!)
• LDS Church History
• Your Story Hour (audio CD's...great for school in the car) (3-8...but even Lauren loves these)
• Where in Time is Carmen SanGiego? (2-4) computer game
• The Learning Calendar

Geography

• Visualize World Geography (1-8)
• Great States!! board game (K-3)
• World Book Encyclopedia Atlas for Kids (1-4)

Social Studies

• Our Communities (1-3)
• Children Just Like Me (K-4)
• Manners Please (K-3)
• Mind Your Manners (4-6)
• A Child Guide to Cultures of the World (2-6)
• The Book of Great Inventions (2-5)
• A Young Persons Guide to Philosophy (4-8)
• Philosophy For Kids (3-6)
• Exploring The Wonders of the World (4-7)
• The Usbourne Book of Explorers (2-5)
• Character Counts (PreK-2)

Art

• Poetry for Young People (2-8)
• Teaching 10 Fabulous Forms of Poetry (3-7)
• Oxford First Book of Art
• The Art Book for Kids (which means no nudes) (1-4)
• The Usbourne Introduction to Art (1-4)
• I Can Do All Things-Beginning book of drawing & painting. (K-?....I use this book)

Music

• Music For Little Mozarts (workbook, flash cards and audio CD) (PreK-2)
• Music Together (birth-5)
• Name That Classical Tune (audio CD 2-4)
• Meet The Masters-The Story and Life of the Great Composers (1-adult)

Anatomy

• Play and Find Out About The Human Body (we love this one, too!) (K-3)
• BODY-An Amazing Tour of Human Anatomy (2-7)
• Understanding Your Body

Let me know if you have any questions.

The list of websites will be coming soon....slumber awaits me.

Also, I would love to hear other peoples' recommendations, too.

KKS

Curriculum

Hello Friends

I am in the process of getting together a list of our favorite homeschooling supplies. It is by no means a complete list, that would take me a month. It is a list of our favorites.
Also, I put the grades in parenthesies.....this is a very loose guideline. Many of the things I have used can be adapted for younger/older children. If you have specific questions (like what I do or don't like about a particular item, or where I bought it), you can ask me. I just don't want to list all of the details for each thing because sometimes I can be really long winded in my descriptions....especialy with stuff that I REALLY like. I will also be including a list of our favorite/most used websites.
Another thing....if you see something that you are interested in but want to be more sure, you can stop by my house and check it out. (like if you want to touch before you buy.)
Last but not least....there is a HUGE used curriculum sale every year in Augusta. I get alot of my stuff there. If any of you are interested in attending, I will post the details here as soon as I can find out. You can also put unwanted homeschooling items in the sale if you give them a heads-up. I think they keep 10% for their overhead cost of renting the building and such.
A word of caution....It is so easy to over buy!! Be careful not to buy stuff unless you are absolutley sure you need it. Alot of distributors have their "Must Haves" list and try to scare you into buying many un-needed products.
The list will be coming soon.
KKS

Reasons

When I was growing up, I never wanted to be a teacher. Patience is not one of my strong points, nor is spontaneity. And my mom will attest to the fact that I Hate to get my hands dirty. For all these reasons (and probably more) teaching anybody's kids never even crossed my mind.

These are probably the biggest reasons that I am also tempted to send my child to public school.

In fact, my daughter has even tried it. When Em was 4 years old, I researched the new pre-K program our town was starting. The teacher assured me that the kindergarten teachers had gotten together to discuss things like curriculum and "It's going to be like Kindergarten used to be." she said. I loved that! My big girl was soooo ready for Kindergarten but I was nowhere near ready to have her gone ALL day!

A few weeks into the school year, my bright, outgoing, daughter (she is really nothing like me.) started acting up and worrying more about what another child liked than her own interests. So, nice and calmly I decided to talk with his mother. I went to her classroom before school started for the day. ( She was a teacher at the school and had their class once a week.) Anyway, as I was leaving her classroom, the principal guided me out of the hallway and into the teacher's lounge to ream me out for interrupting a teacher's day. "She's not here as a parent, she's here as a teacher." Can I remind you that this took place before school had even started for the day? I didn't even know how to react. It was like being in school myself again. or a really bad job. Hello! This is MY child, not hers. I have every right to look out for her best interests.

Then, I started wondering when the kids were actually going to be learning anything at Em's level. Apparently, the screenings done for the whole class had a very low average in many aspects so the goals for the pre-K were lowered. Academically speaking, Em was ready for Kindergarten, though. Her personal screenings in the ps backed me up on this. They put her at an age equivalent of 5.1 years old.

Before the end of the first quarter, I decided that public school wasn't right for our family. Maybe someday, but not yet. We started Kindergarten at home in November of 2006.

I believe that we as parents have been given such a gift to raise our kids to their full potential. For some, that means sending them to someone else for 6 hours/day, and that's ok. Most people think you have to nurse your babies and vaccinate them for everything, too. (Who knew I could be such a rebel?) Making decisions for our family is a responsibility and priviledge only my husband and I have. Of course, that means we'll get all the blame for the screw-ups, too.

Some people think that the only way to socialize your kids is to put them in school. I admit, I worry about it. I have gone out of my way to make sure that my child is getting out, being around other kids. Em still goes to the public school for our choice of "specials." She has such a busy schedule that my life is no longer my own. Mondays we have Girl Scouts. Wednesdays she has Art. (I mentioned that I don't enjoy getting dirty, right?) Fridays she has Music. (How am I going to fit time in for Daniel's activities?) On all of those days, I take my kids to work with me, too. Not that my job is hard, but it provides gas money to go grocery shopping. Functioning in the real world is something I want to make sure my kids are used to doing. People are constantly amazed at how smart and polite Em is. She's usually better in public than at home, not unlike most kids her age.

I have been sitting here forEVER typing this post, and I'm still not convinced that it gets out all of my feelings and reasons about why we choose to homeschool. It's a lot of work, and a lot of emotion. Fear and guilt, joy and rewarding. Homeschooling is not easy. But I know by the great feelings I get when Em learns something new, that the decisions we make for our children are the right ones for our family. For right now, anyway.

Thanks

I just wanted to say a quick thanks to the creaters of this blog. I am enjoying hearing different perspectives on schooling and am glad to be invited to this forum. I hope I can offer something worthwhile soon.

Curriculum

What curriculum(s) do you use? Have you explored? Do you like?

I thought it could be helpful to those looking for a curriculum to hear from experienced users. Please share your thoughts and knowledge.

Science resource for kids

Thanks for the link to radio shows. I love them myself (and listened to one, "U live where", during quiet time today). I hope my children enjoy them as much as I do.
I also wanted to share a resource I just came across in my library. It is a book called, "Worms eat our garbage". It is great if you are looking for science, math, history, etc..to do with your children. Not to mention, taking care of waste all in the same time.
I have not looked it up yet to see how much it would cost but it came out when I was 13 so I would imagine it is cheap to get, esp. used.
Enjoy.

A Great Article

Thanks for the intellectual stimulation, everyone. I love having my brain stretched. Even if it's not real conversation, it is surely conservation of my sanity. I found a little bit of myself in everyone's responses. It's good to occasionally think about things like this to (sort of) re-evaluate my motives.

Anyway, I was browsing the LDS Homeschooling in California website (link found in the sidebar) and found this great article and wanted to share. I thought of it when I read Tara's post when she was talking about Bob and his....um....hang-ups about homeschooling.

http://www2.whidbey.net/jmboyes/Salt-n-Light.pdf

Also on the site I found another jewel....
http://ldshomeschoolinginca.org/audio.html#free
We downloaded a bunch of the old time radio shows and I am so excited to listen to them. I don't know about you, but we love to listen to radio shows....sometimes we even turn off the TV and just listen. It's so enjoyable to "play" the show in your head....like a book without pictures. It's something to keep you busy tomorrow while we sit and wait to dig out of the big storm coming tonight!!
Love to all! And be safe.
Anyway....Enjoy.
KKS

My Reason...wow.

Wow! This is a great topic. I don't know where to begin. I can say that I relate with all your posts...it must be a motherhood thing.
I homeschool because I always wanted to (cheesy, I know). Mattea was 12-18 months when I had no choice to leave her with strangers in a child care. She was still a baby in my eyes and would cry her poor little heart out every time I left her. I would check on her as much as possible, but it wasn't the same as me watching her grow and teaching her things I thought were important. I was sad to miss out on that. But, being a single mom and trying to get an education to become self sufficient didn't leave me the option to stay at home.
I homeschool because my daughter was in child care settings since she was a baby...then kindergarten came! I was afraid to let her go...every step of the way was agonizing. My baby already had unsafe, bad experiences when she was in a public setting and I feared the reoccurrence, since teachers can't stop everything.
I homeschool because a teacher told my daughter she couldn't use both hands to write with and I was perfectly fine with it, but the teacher tried to tell me it was damaging to allow her to do that. Mattea is left handed but can write with both...I think it's amazing...reminds me of when I was a kid and was assigned to write a story...so I did, but I did it all backwards letters and text...all backwards. I needed a mirror to read it.
I homeschool because when I had put Mattea in PS for the whole 3-4 weeks she was there, she turned into such a hateful, tired, desperate little girl. I looked into her eyes and it was like my daughter wasn't even in there.
I homeschool because I got to see more of my daughter. When I went to school and Mattea was in PS we saw less of each other. I missed my baby.
Oh my, now you all got me crying.
I homeschool because I want to see my daughter grow and I want to have a say in what I find appropriate to teach my child. I want her to learn the things that interest her. I want her to want to learn. I want her to appreciate all the beauty and goodness of the world God has given us. (not worldly world)
I homeschool to preserve her innocence. She is a kid. Of course I want her to grow up (deep down). But she doesn't need to learn things or be exposed to them at such a young age. At a time it could be more damaging. Don't misinterpret that as being sheltered...not at all what I am implying. I give her the knowledge she asks for with the gospel in mind. I'll give an example: the church's standard and approach to teaching children about sex and society's do not line up...I Choose The Church's!
I homeschool because I prayed about and got an extremely overwhelming confirmation (I need to hang on to that).

****Homeschooling has brought my family closer together. During the decision making process I prayed so much even when I got a confirmation because HS is such a life changing decision. What if I screwed her up? What if I didn't give her all she needed? Is she going to have a growing or depleting testimony of the gospel? I am a student. This isn't logical. How will I do this? I did pros and cons and HS always won (if that's what you want to call it).
I had so much going through my mind, but when it came down to it, the answer is obvious, I homeschool.
The Lord paved the way:

*I went online to research single parent homeschool and by the good graces of our Father in Heaven, I found and became in contact with a single homeschooling mother in my town! She helped me get going and gave me so much information and encouragement.

Everything fell into place.
* I had a friend willing to keep Mattea while I was in class
*My mom (who isn't always supportive) was very supportive and encouraging.

This has been a wonderful topic for me to reflect on, so thank you KIM for asking. I was feeling inadequate and like putting Mattea in school recently. After reading everyones post and reflecting on my own reasons I am now reminded of why I homeschool and why for now, until the Lord prompts me otherwise, I homeschool.
I do want to add that I cannot do anything without prayer or Heavenly Father (Alma 26) . If there is anything I have a testimony of it is prayer. I always get answers, guidance, direction, & comfort...even if the comfort is just knowing that the Lord hears me. I prayed about homeschool and the Lord impressed upon me to do it, so ultimately that is why I homeschool.

One Family's Decision

First off, great topic! Also, I like that everyone tells how it was their own family decision... not that everyone who reads this home schools in the official sense. And in our case, we even, at present, use the public school.

It seems that the two before me had it a bit easier in this decision process. Maybe not. Maybe they have only shared a little. However, my struggle was more than just questions and, in fact, was brought about with serious emotional battles. Not to say that education is emotional (though for some it can be) but rather the steps to making our decision were agonizing!

We, too, did the research. We, too, asked all the questions and then some. We even tracked down individuals who went through various schoolings who were like our children (gifted - at least so far). Let me back up just a minute... when our first was born, we both were in favor of Home Schooling mostly because of our realization that society's standards were far below our own. However, as my husband finished schooling to become a teacher, he saw many of the good sides of public school. Let's face it, there is no perfect educational environment for all children. But rather, there is a perfect (or near perfect) solution for each child. This opened a window for me to explore the various schooling options. However, my husband made another realization which set him fully on public school. That was: the more children we had, the less of my time I could devote to teaching them and giving them each that individual time... let alone the house work.

When Gabi taught herself to read in one week (when given the resources), I knew that public school would not be the answer. We had (just before this) moved to a small town where she would have been 1 of 4 students in her class. She would have been able to have a special instruction with her teacher (larger classes don't allow for this because of the time demands on the teacher). However, our school was told they could no longer have a kindergarten class and that those students would be bused 8 minutes away to be combined with another group. This happened after we had registered her... and discovered that kindergarten screening had nothing to do with reading, coloring, speech, math, names, addresses, etc.

Two weeks into the school year, we are told we needed to consider skipping our daughter. The only real answer academically, yet putting her with kids (we're talking up to two grades) who are bigger than her... and she is small for her age. This is when the struggle and unease went into full blown crisis... for lack of a better word.

Her school and teachers are trying to work with her. However, she's missing part of one class to get another or not having a class at all one day because it doesn't work with her normal class schedule. Thus the downside to a small district comes into play.

In the end, through much prayer and much divine guidance (helping us find the information and the people to talk with), we have decided to home school. As the next two children have already shown these same signs of giftedness (and one a little more so), this decision, for now, is for all our children. But because Gabi was already in school, we decided to let her choose whether to start in January or in September. She chose September. But, when she's home, she continues to demand to be taught (something she's done since birth) and the others have already begun.

That is our journey... but the following are our reasons (in no particular order):

1. Gifted children do not get the support in public schools that other children do because of laws that won't allow teachers to fully accommodate them. Even gifted plans do not begin before 2nd grade and typically not until at least 3rd grade. Even those plans are limited by law.

2. ATTITUDE! When my children are home (including Gabi) the dynamic is loving. They try to be nice (but they are siblings) and they are more helpful. The words they use are in keeping with gospel standards. And the way they say them as well. When Gabi is in school for 1.5 weeks, her attitude drops. She's a different, mean, rude, and bossy child. It only gets worse as the time goes on. When school is not in session, transitioning back to her normal self takes two or three days. But having her back is great!

3. Gospel Study. Gabi loves to read her scriptures. But finding the time to do it is difficult when she is in school. When she comes home, she only wants "free time" because she's tired of the schedule. And I don't have the time to sit with her and help her understand because it's the late afternoon when kids are screaming and hungry as I try to get dinner ready.

4. Language. We have been studying ASL since Gabi was a baby. This is not offered in school. And, in a small district, neither is Spanish which we want to expose our children to because this is the language my husband teaches, and used on his mission.

5. FAMILY TIME! Gabi is one of the lucky ones as far as time away from home for public school. She's the last one picked up and the third one dropped off. She's gone 7 hours a day. When she has homework, then her afternoon is gone. Then it's dinner time. Then it's bedtime. No room for an occassional stay up late night for the family to spend time together.

6. LEARNING IS FUN! Since birth, my children have felt learning to be fun! They are eager to learn. They want to excel. But we've always allowed them to learn what they want, when they want. We encourage and allow them to read when they want to. Right now, in school, Gabi HAS to read whenever the rest of the class is doing something that is too easy for her. That's, as she put it, "almost all the time" She had learned to hate reading. She wouldn't even pick up a book to read for herself, let alone to her brothers or sister. She wants to learn about volcanoes, dinosaurs, stars, write a book... things that most kindergarteners don't get to do. (They did help her make a volcano, but that was all)

7. Values and Principles. Children are impressionable... for good or bad. My husband held the theory that putting them out in the world at five was like a vaccination. Let them hear and see from the other kids while we could still correct them at home. This works for some people. However, there is no harm in providing a secure environment to teach these things as the primary example for them. As one lady put it (and I'm paraphrasing), it's not that home schooling parents do it any better than public schooling parents. Rather, they just have more time to re-enforce good principles.

8. FAMILY UNITY! The more time my children spend together, the more friendly they are to each other. They call each other their best friends. They play together, learn together, teach together, and love together. This family unity is of great importance to me. Knowing that our family is forever, I want us to WANT to be together, instead of feeling STUCK with each other.


9. My selfish reason...INDIVIDUAL TIME WITH MY KIDS! I know that sounds ridiculous... mother of four, home schooling all, dad works full time and more... but really, it's my selfish reason. I use to envy my husband because whenever a child would get "one-on-one" time, it was with him. I wanted that too. I wanted to build those relationships like that as well. When we started really home schooling, I noticed that the children stopped fighting over who got my time and attention. They were willing to let me work with each one separately. They learned to take turns with me... knowing that they would also get a turn. We build a separate and individual relationship in addition to working on our formal education.

So, that's it... in a not so little nut shell. But, with all that being said. I must admit that if the opportunity were to ever arise for me to give my children an education that I could not duplicate and which would be wholesome and good, then I would not hesitate to do it. Even if this meant moving, or public school, or exchange, or whatever.

My reason

Thanks for bringing this topic up...My reasons are well kinda selfish at first...My big girl is just 3yrs old. I already feel like so much of her life has gone by (her life with me) and as much as I wouldn't put her in daycare and miss out on her growing up, I have no desire to send her away to school for 6-8 hrs a day and allow them to see her growing/learning and I miss being a primary educator (and learner, as I wholeheartedly believe she will teach me as much as I teach her). I am not ready to miss her. I am not ready for someone else to decide for my daughter what will be important for her to learn and what wont. I am not ready for her to learn her values from conversations at school (or peers). I am not ready for her to be told she is not smart in the way they measure it.
On the other hand I am ready for her to love being with her family. I am ready for her to excel in learning and actually believe it is fun, instead of a dreadful thing to be nervous about (TEST). I am ready for her to grow in her understanding and appreciation of the world. I am ready to watch my baby grow, learn, fall and pick her self back up, struggle and succeed. I am ready to watch her teach her younger siblings some of the things she has learned without thinking they are too young or not in her "grade" so they wont get it. I am ready to watch my daughter learn values based on our faith in God, His Son, as well as faith in our fellow men (seeing the best in others).
I am her mother. I know her better than anyone. And atleast with my oldest, she is a spitting image of me (in personality and learning) and when I think about how different my view of education would have been had I been HS, well lets just say it would not have taken me till College (lucky I even made it too college) to learn that educating myself could be fun. It cost alot of money to learn that simple lesson.
I am not perfect. There are days when I am outta sorts and her education suffers abit. I dont even know how to teach certain subjects (like geometry) as I myself still do not understand what my teachers were trying to teach me. We will learn together. There will be many moments when she gets it before me and can learn it even better by having to teach her poor old mom something.
We tend to forget that public schools have not been around that long. They are an experiment too.The thing that has been around the longest is homeschooling. Whether in family units or co-op type situations. And then even when public schools came around, towns were smaller. Students of all ages met in the same room. Classes were much much smaller. Teachers usually lived with a local family or where already part of the community, so teachers knew their students better and were better able to tailor their education to them and their particular goals.
The closest we will ever get to 'school' will be a Montessori type situation. They are typically not as long of a day, less structured, and geared towards individual learning. If we are ever living around one and can afford it (as it cosy Way more than HS)then we will see if any of our children our interested in trying it out. It would still never replace them being educated at home, I would just supplement what they are getting at school or help fill in the blanks if any exist.
As for the much looked forward bus ride. Still have not figured out about that. Maybe I can 'borrow' one sometime or take her on a field trip in one.
I mean, really, I rode the bus...it is not all it is cracked up to be. Some of my worst peer experiences happened on that thing.
I am excited about learning with my children. It keeps me busy and my mind active. I really can't see anything she will be missing out on.
I am thankful for a husband who supports this decision (even though he excelled in a school environment). He himself wishes he had been HS.
I look forward to our family growing closer together in this crazy world because of our time HS'ing.

What Is Your Reason?

I've been thinking alot about this lately and thought this was an appropriate place to think it out.
Some of my children would flunk in PS and some of them would thrive. Therefore, I have core reasons that are applicable to all five as well as individual reasons. Ill write about a few of each.
I have been homeschooling for almost seven years now. Throughout the years, I have seen myself change and evolve as a parent and as a teacher....always seeking to balance the two.
When we first moved here, Caleb was five, had been to a great preschool in Utah and was excited about riding the bus. He was unaware of the struggle that we were having concerning his education. I had been thinking about HS since he was born. But like everyone, I struggled with the typical questions. Can I give him what he needs? Do I have what it takes? Will it ruin or strengthen our relationship? Will he be missing out? What about all of the good things about PS? Will I be able to adequatley prepare him for mission/college/life out in the big world? My resources are limited, what about exposing him to things I know nothing about? What if he misses his calling in life because he never found out what he really enjoys? What if he falls behind....everyone will say "it's because he is homeschooled." (As if that never happens in PS.) What will my inlaws think? We live in a sheltered community, isn't homeschooling going to make that worse? What am I going to do when he gets smarter than me? Will he resent me when he is grown-up? And many, many more. I've thought about them all. Every good parent has asked themselves similar questions based on the decisions they make for their own children.
Innitialy, the bases of my decision was as simple as this: I didn't think he was ready for all day kindergarten, and I certainly wasn't ready for him to be away from home for eight hours every day. I don't mean "not ready" from an academic standpoint....he was doing all the normal stuff (and then some.) I was afraid that he wouldn't get the stimulation he needed. I was afraid that he would be bored and turned off to learning, which is my BIGGEST fear. I feel like the PS system has a conveyor belt way of "processing" students and I didn't feel like Caleb was ready to fit into their mold. Which we all know, if they don't fit, they don't succeed. I feel this way even today. Caleb is not a "traditional learner." Maybe that's because I believe so strongly in "child innitiated learning," so much of the time he learns what he wants to learn. Currently his interests are birds of prey, ancient Egypt, skiing, Legos, (well, that one is constant) the human body and algebra. We will persue these subjects until he has had enough, moved on or loses interest....whatever you want to call it. I'm not sure he would be permitted to learn this way in PS. I apply this same technique to each of my children. They are individuals. I am a firm believer that if they learn it (meaning anything) when they want to learn it, they retain it. For example, each of my children learned to read at different ages. One was six, the next one was five, the third has just recently learned to read (also six) and the fourth one is four and learning to read. (we use the book "Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lesons"). I have taught them all when they asked to learn. I don't believe in dumbing them down and I don't believe in pushing them too hard. It is a tricky balance that I feel only a mother can acheive. At home, there are no learning standards, pressure to succeed or the government looking over our shoulder. We learn in freedom.
I understand that Lauren will eventually plateau and be even with her peers. Just because she learns to read at age four doesn't mean that she will always be ahead of her game. I've read all the studies. However....that does NOT mean I should hold her back (or dumb her down) if she is currently thrilled about being empowered to read! Learning is fun and exiting. Many of us have developed a resentment toward learning because we went through the PS system. And many of us have had to wait until we are adults to learn how enjoyable learning really is. Think about how much further ahead we would all be if we were never taught that learning was uncool, boring or nerdy. Now.....I know that not everyone had the same, rotten experience in PS that I had. I also know that things have "changed" (for better or worse, depending on who you ask).
At this pont in my career as a homeschooling Mom, my reasons are different. I am still evolving and have much to learn. I really enjoy it, they really enjoy it, it is working for us, the Lord has let me know that this is the right thing for our family and at this point there is no reason to change course.
Just to be fair and objective, we revisit this decision every year, with every child. It also helps me feel less intimidated if I remind myself that we are doing this one year at a time.
The first year was the hardest, second was better. Now we are in a "groove" and I feel like I have a pretty good handle on our educational persuits. The Lord has blessed us so much and continues to do so.
We will carry on.
So tell me.....What is your reason?
KKS