Lessons All Around

We had a soft start to our school year two weeks back.  We read the religion for Catholic Coffee Club and the kids were required to do just 15 minutes of math each day.  We did spend several nights outside looking up at the stars.  It is so thrilling to see a shooting star.  One night we saw about 20, 3 were huge.  It was enough to hook us for the next several nights even though the local temps were hot and humid even at 11 pm.

Being that we were from St. Louis and they were in the path of totality for the eclipse this Monday.  We heard about it from all of our friends and families.  They had huge eclipse parties.

We tried to make the most of it and see what we could.  It was a very hot and steaming day that made it a quick lesson outside and more pictures and videos later.

by Goobers

We were planning a full start next week but now I am not sure that will be possible.  You see a hurricane is headed toward Houston.

I must say that this is the kind of learning that I find most exciting.  Please parents don't fret when life gets crazy and makes schooling difficult, just turn it into a lesson.

The kids continue with small faith lessons.  We are still doing the 15 minutes of Math (as long as we have internet).  We have all been causally reading or working with reading games online for at least 15 minutes.  Now mother nature has sent us another fun lesson to mess up our full on start.  We can and will postpone most other subject to make use of the natural learning that will take place.  The science of weather, the social aspect of a crisis, the humanity of helping those in need, the faith that God is powerful and bigger than a hurricane.

I love homeschooling.  I love these kind of annoying distractions.  They are were the real learning is. So if you get off track or are hit with a hurricane.  Just make it a life lesson and keep on learning.

Had to Share - grandma cooking meme

I am finding that these meme's are catching my attention more and more.  Maybe I am just becoming old and sentimental.  I love this one.

Year Later I get Confirmation on Homeschooling

 I am always so thankful when Pooker points out that benefits of her childhood and her style of education.  I remember giving her the lesson she describes.  I loved how inquisitive she was ( and still is.)  She was only 5 years old and asked me a question about why it gets dark at night if the sun isn't moving.  It was such an awesome question that it merited a real example.  As we used the flashlight (sun) and basketball (earth) and tennis ball (moon) I could see on her face that she was understanding what I was trying to teach.  She was "getting it" and was very thoughtful in her questions.  I had questions myself about homeschool a lot that first year, her kindergarten year.  This lesson happened and I realized that I wanted those moments with my daughter.  I LOVED seeing that "A-HA" moment when she understood the answer to her question.  I loved that she was more interested not less interested as we studied to find her answer.  I never knew it meant anything to her, but that lesson changed my resolve to be her teacher.  I find it very cool that 21 years later she still remembers it.

Pooker posted this on Facebook.  

"You can laugh at my picture. I am. This one is for mom though. 
I'm in the middle of my "professional leadership and development" class. Part of which requires a ton of reflection. We were asked to express in the "artistic drawing form" a memory from school after listening to a guided lecture. My first memory of official school was my solar system lecture. I remember going to the basement so we could use a flash light (because space is dark!) and mom using different size balls to represent planets and such. It was so cool to have that time with mom and you know what, I've loved the solar system my whole life probably because of that lesson.

Thank you mom  for homeschooling me. And thanks dad for working so hard so she can be at home.

Maybe we should have spent more time with art though?"
Thank you mom  for homeschooling me. And thanks dad for working so hard so she can be at home. 
Maybe we should have spent more time with art though?"

Ok so now I am off to work more art classes for the younger kids.  I love homeschooling as much today as I did that day.  Thank you, Pooker,  for the tears of joy!

Source: TopMastersInEducation.com

A Small Success

When I saw this posted on Facebook, my heart warmed.  I didn't finish my college degree and this has been used against me over the years.  (To be fair, I was close.  I just needed one more math class and student teaching to obtain my degree in elementary education.)  When we first began homeschooling some in our family would use this argument against our decision.  Even though we held fast I admit that it has always weighed a little heavy on my heart.  As I said this was posted on Facebook and it warmed my heart, then I saw who posted it and my heart soared.


My Pooker, the oldest, had shared this.  What she wrote has inspired me in so many ways.  I am so blessed to be her mother and to have had the years with her in forming her.  Don't give up when it gets hard, the results of sticking with your homeschool student are remarkable.
Pooker:

"As I've gotten older and seen more from my peers, I've realized and come to appreciate how much my parents loved me and my siblings. By devoting time to us in the specific from of education, my parents sacrificed a lot. I know it's not for everyone. I don't think your parents loved you less if you were sent to tradition school, but mine really did devote a whole hell of lot more time to me and my siblings and I think that speaks volumes. I'm not the best test taker and I'm also not a young person with a doctorate, but that isn't due to my lack of foundation in the education system. I refuse to settle for a degree or a field just so that I can "accomplish" something and look good on paper. That's a post for another day. Right now just a thanks to mom and dad for doing something new and different to you. I know you had to have your doubts, but I think you did a pretty good job; I'm sure I've had some patients that are glad you raised me the way you did as well."

I responded by commenting, 

"Pooker, your dad and I are the ones that are blessed! We have had the honor of spending so much time with you, getting to know you and growing with you. Through your education I have learned so much about the world, our faith, and relationships. It hasn't always been easy but your homeschool education was a mission for us placed on our hearts by God. You are a remarkable person and woman of faith. You are one of the smartest people I have ever met - even if you don't test well. Thank you so much for these beautiful words of affirmation. To us they mean so much! The world is a better place because you are in it and out there saving lives."

I shared this here to remember it and to give hope to others.  

I Am Sad Because I Have Found Such Joy In Homeschooling

Friend: "My kids started a "such-in-such" public or private school today.  I think they will thrive, don't you?"  Or "I put the kids into school today. What do you think?"

  Me (the homeschooling mom):   Oh wow, that makes me sad!

Friend: Sad?!?! Who do you think your are to be sad about my decision?

Being an active member in the homeschool community for a long time puts me into a position of leadership.  I don't ask for it, I don't speak it.  Yet newer homeschool families look to success stories to draw from for inspiration.  Over the years I have spent many hours with younger moms, sharing ideas on what works and what doesn't.  Sometimes these families stay the course and join my family as success stories.

At the same time many others may abandon the homeschool lifestyle and send their kids to school.  I find this to be especially true if the kids had been in school before or if just one parent wants to try the homeschool lifestyle.  In rare cases the need for traditional school arises because of the health of a child or of a parent.                                  

Many times these families that decide to go back into the traditional school route are a little lost.  They have spent years developing their homeschool relationships.  Moms that had come to me for advice end up joining my circle and become close friends.  Often I know their children and have spent time in various activities with both the children and the moms.

I suspect that because we have become friends my opinion still matters to these moms.  More often than I like I have been asked for my opinion when I am told that their friends have put their kids into traditional school.  One mom even wanted to remain friends by hiding the truth.  My first reaction is one I hide from most but if we have become close I will really say what I am thinking.  I am always surprised that my response is troublesome to others.

I think homeschooling is the best possible option, that is why I homeschool my kiddos. My first gut feeling is that these moms are choosing the worst option and that makes me sad.  I love homeschooling, I have had wonderful success. I know my children so well because of the adventures we have had.  We have learned together. We have shared the good and bad along the way.  When you tell me that you gave that up it makes me sad.  

"I am Sad!"  If you are my friend, I am sad that you will not have the same joy I have had.  That is all that is meant by that.  I am sad that you and your child will not have the bond that I know with my children.  (That isn't to say you won't bond but it will be different that the one I know.) I am not judging you, I am not condemning you, and I am not mad at you.  We all make different choices for our own reasons.  I wish you and your family all the success and joy in the world. I do not hold anger or distain to you or your kiddos.  In fact I like your kids and will miss seeing them around all the time. I am also sad that our relationship will change and we will have less to share.    

I ask that you understand that I don't want to loose you as a friend but we will grow apart.  We will be in different circles now.  I homeschool, I like that.  I will be spending the majority of my time with homeschool mom. I do not worry about an bad influence on my kids or anything like that, it is just a different world that you are now in.  As I start the official 20th years I can reflect on the many families that have come and then gone on different paths.  God Bless you!  This is the path for me and my family.   

Should I start my school year early or late?

This is very different for each family.  The local private schools went back midAugust around our location and the publics went back the 4th Week of August, with labor day this year still two weeks off.  I used to always start the day after labor day.  This year I sit here unprepared and not really wanting to get started.  I know the better organized I am the more we will get done and yet we never do what I organize so it sometimes look like a waste.  I watch the newbies get excited about curriculum and making bold choices to teach or not teach a certain subject.  I am again stuck with my personality wanting to be uber organized and output driven with work sheets and charts but knowing that the kids do not learn that way.   I know my kids learn even in an un-schooling fashion but I still stress and compare myself to others.  "Am I doing enough?  Do I require enough?  Will they be smart enough? What will so in so think if they find out what I do?"  You would think starting year 20 of this homeschool teaching thing would afford me a little more confidence.

I have 11 wonderful children.  The oldest 4 are finished with my instruction.  The oldest is literally a life-saver working as an EMT on an ambulance.  The next three are at community college working on transfer credits.  Most importantly I have raised wonderful people.  They are kind, giving, loving, and Christ centered people that understand HEAVEN is the goal.  That is what I need to focus on all the time.  Our family motto:  HEAVEN IS THE GOAL, EVERYTHING ELSE IS GRAVY!  OK now that I have reminded myself of what is important year 20 can begin with the right focus.

So when should I start my school year?  This year for me it will be soon.  It is important to realize and focus on the goal.  Remember that no matter when you start you kids will not learn everything.  You will never get it all done.  The most important thing to do in a homeschool family is to inspire a spirit of learning and a love of Christ.  Let the kids know their purpose as a child of God and then education will fall into place.  I am not saying that academics are not important because they are extremely important, but in their proper spot.  With the goal in mind, I will start school when it works best for my family.

Classically Catholic Memory as a Program

Our co-op program has set this up so that we meet every other Wednesday.  The curriculum has 18 weeks in it.  We are to spend one week before the co-op meeting working on this week's topics.  We then meet and review or enhance with the kids.   Then we spend the next week going deeper.  Wednesday on the off week we dive into the next topic.  We spend time at the library with documentaries or any other way we individually (as a family) choose to approach the topics.  Some families use this as their core and other just as an add on and just memorization topics to another program with Wednesday being just a reminder for their memory work.

The program offers:   

1. Religion - catechism or gospel passage
2. Latin - song or prayer used for our Catholic faith
3. History - 2 or 3 sentence blub. all history is broken into 4 years worth
4. Science - various topics broken to basic memory work
5. Math - multiples and basic facts committed to memory
6. Timeline - 144 topics/cards (8 each week) in total giving a general understanding of time
7. Geography - countries, rivers, capital and other major locations
8. Great words I - simple poems for memory or Great Words II - speeches to for memory
9. Presentations -  the kids practice giving small presentations in front of class

 

We were prepared and every excited about our first week at co-op.  Uniforms were laid out and notes of encouragement from Sugar were put out for our early morning.  (We homeschool - we are used to sleeping in.)

After their first day at co-op, they were all still smiling.  Pickle, Princess and Bagel are in the same group and they are enjoying it a lot.  Jumba is by himself but with his friend C so he is also pretty happy.

For us we are using this CCM Curriculum as a core.  I still want to get even better at it.  So far we have enjoyed the timeline.  This general over view of history committed to memory helps to create a strong understand of all history and where things go in relation to others.  I have always loved this idea and worked on individual timelines with the older I have been instructed by the older kids that I really should make the time line books for the younger ones.

 To add to the timeline we are listening to Susan Wise Bauer with The Story of the World.  I am loving the audio versions.  We are flying through history to keep up with the timeline but the plan is to continue using this program and having bits and pieces of getting closer with the history statements over the next four years. 

We are still using IXL (mostly with a little CTC) for math and so far science other than the memory work has been Wild Kratts and Magic School Bus.  These shows are fantastic at teaching but we still want to go deeper. 

We also need to continue our reading the poems program which we stopped in August.  We are half way through but need to pick it up again.  They grew so much in reading do this silly program and they have asked for it back.  (This was what we used in Summer Reading called Giggle Poetry.) 

Another plus about this generation of streaming TV kiddos is that they have so many documentaries at their fingertips.  I catch them learning about our topics all the time.  Curiosity is still the best teacher and motivator. 

I Hate Co-Ops but I joined one

First I copied this from my family blog because I wanted to share with my homeschool friends.  I will continue to update on how this is working for us.  We are still using the Kindles for reading, audio and math.  I will continue to update kid blogs and share those eventually. 

I hate the idea of sending kids to a school setting in anyway.  I am a homeschooling purist.  I guess after 19 years of homeschooling I wanted to try something different.  I found a co-op option that can only do minimal damage as the kids are in school for only 2 hours every 2 weeks (and I am teaching them 30 minutes of that time.)  A few years ago we tried a program called Classically Catholic Memory in which different material is presented to be memorized over a 2 week period for the school year.  This is from the website for the program.

What is Classically Catholic Memory?
Classically Catholic Memory is a memory work program that is both Catholic and classical in nature.

What is memory work?
Memory work is simply the mastery of core facts in a given subject, or the mastery of a certain body of work (poetry or Scripture, for example) using the tool of one’s memory.

We didn't stay on track that year because I got pregnant, then sick, then had twins.  We did a little of the work but got distracted by the history topics and couldn't stay on track.  I loved the program but forgot about it with the twins and the chaos that followed.  This year I was asked to join a new/old group that were using this program and meeting every other week in a co-op format for one morning to keep each other on track.  I had not joined the group before because it was kind of far away and I didn't think my kids could handle the set up at the time.  That group fell apart and new one immerged starting with year 4 of the program.  This group was meeting at my parish - so very close- and was less structured and demanding that any I had ever scene.  On a whim I asked the kiddos if they wanted to try.  I like the program already but had not decided to use it.  After a summer of mom working them hard on reading, writing and math they wanted to give this a go.

 So we planned to go to the welcome meeting for the Divine Mercy Co-op using the CCM delta year. 

 Pickle loved being able to serve for the morning Mass for the homeshoolers and loved that if we signed up he would be able to serve on Wednesdays.

 I wasn't too sure about the co-op but I liked the other families involved and if the kids were in I agreed to give it a try. 

 No matter what happens, one thing I know for sure!  The Texas T kids will make the most of it, they will honor God while doing it, and enjoy their time together.

 Their older sibling are a little worried, they feel that we have done a great job with them and we should not try to find an easier approach now.  I have assured them that I am just using a program I enjoy whie keeping my self on track with the co-op. 

 I hate uniforms as well.  I am not sure we will continue based on uniforms alone!

Homeschool Buyers CO-OP

I am a little sick right now.  I have just learned that I have been overpaying for everything I purchased for homeschooling.  Ugh.  Anyway join the Homeschool Buyers CO-OP.  There is power in buying in a group.  If you purchase through the group the cost is less, buying in bulk is cheaper.  Considering I am trying all kinds of newer online options I know this will save me a fortune.  I am just sorry I didn't know about this sooner and that I didn't come up with the idea.  (Things have changed so much from when I first started this stuff 19 years ago.) 
Click here to visit and join the Homeschool Buyers CO-OP, don't worry it is free. 

A Fabulous Reading Find!

Take a Look, It's in a Book, A reading Rainbow Book!   I have been feeling so guilty.  I don't read to my kids enough. I read to them but not enough. I suspect it will never be enough. With so many having a difficult time with reading I am always reading everything to them.  This has really taken the pleasure out of cuddle reading baby books with the little ones.  I know that reading to them will drastically help them all with their reading. 

The last few weeks have been fantastic with reading improvement.  I have been searching for something to build on that.  Looking for something to help keep reading fun, so that the desire stays with them.   I found that there are a few Reading Rainbow episodes on Amazon the other day.  It is only one episode per season.  I thought they were just trying to get you to buy the entire seasons.  We watched a few but they did not keep the kids attention.  I think the graphics are just too old. 

 

At Mom's Night Out this week two of us were talking about how much I have loved the Immersion Reading available on some books on the Kindle.  As you know we got each child their own kindle this school year.  At times I am a little sad because there are not as many of the learning apps out there.  This can be a very expensive option.  You first buy the book from Kindle, then you also purchase the audio version from Audible.  I have found that the Books + Audio can get pretty pricy.  Spending a money of books isn't a bad thing to spend money on.  I just can't afford getting it for each child over and over again. 

 

That is when another mom mentioned how much she has loved the Reading Rainbow app.  I almost let it go without asking more about it.  What a huge mistake that would have been.  Thank you so much Mrs. Julie C.  As it turns out RR has a beautiful app for the Kindle and one for the Ipad.  Either version is wonderful.  The app is free but that will leave you limited.  The paid content has been a God Send.   For a nominal fee you can become a member and then have access to so many books and videos.  I like the set up as well. Readers and Nonreaders alike will enjoy this set up.  It brings books to life and can read to the children if they just click an icon.  My two year olds are hooked.  My only issue is that memberships are limited to 5 family identities.  This is probably only an issue for a family as big as mine.  Engaging, fun yet functional.  I can't describe it well.  Just download the app and it will show up.  Click here for the website. (although you must purchase membership through the app.)  The site describes what is available much better than I did, but as LeVar says, "Don't take my word for it!" but go check it out for yourself. 

 

My sincere thanks to LeVar Burton and the Reading Rainbow Team.  You have helped me insure that my children will love reading.  The T-Family Kindle Method just keeps getting better and better. 

Summer Reading Program

This is great find for a summer reading enhancer program.  This is simple, easy to use and takes only 30 minutes a day.  I got my copy for FREE on my Kindle.  I thought it looked interesting so I downloaded it, I mean the price was right.  You can get it too on your Kindle, click here.  To be honest it will take some work for mom, making copies and being prepared.  The book gives enough poems with lessons plans to fill 8 weeks.  The poems are all by Bruce Lansky and are really cute.  Amy Buswell has added the reading stuff and it is so fun.  More Poems can be found at the Giggle Poetry Website.  This is the full title of the book:  Giggle Poetry Reading Lessons: A Successful Reading-Fluency Program Parents and Teachers Can Use to Dramatically Improve Reading Skills and Scores.  I share this in case you are looking for something fun and schoolish to fill your summer days, try this - the price is right.

Math Drills with IXL

We need something different for Math.  It needs to be something that I can monitor.  We have used Math-U-See on and off for years.  The kids learned but not as consistently as I would like. This is not their issue but mine.  I get so busy that waiting until tomorrow to correct todays paper ends up being a week without math.  This is no way to make progress.  I asked a friend to review Ron Paul's curriculum and part of the response was that he was very happy with IXL for math and for basic grammar.  I looked into it and I like that there is an audio version that reads the question out loud with a push of a button. 

 

 

I paid for access to the IXL site.  I included the grammar and was very disappointed that this is not on audio yet.  (YET, they tell me it will be soon.  I would not have paid for that part if I had known. If your children do not struggle with reading, then this might work well for you.)   Overall I am happy and I feel my money was well spent.  Click here to be directed to the IXL site.

What am I getting for my money?  Anyone can use IXL just visit the site as a guest.  The site will not keep track of your work.  When you pay into the access it then tracks it all and generates reports.  The site keeps track of the amount of time spent working as well. This is the part that I like.  I know the kids will make progress and remember more as we establish the habit of spending 30 minutes each day working on it.  My only problem with this site is that it just drills.  I feel that this is a I made them all start at the

 beginning and we are working 30 minutes each day.  Right now was are building the habit.

 

 

 

New Way to Homeschool With Kindes

This is a project really.  I have never really been thrilled with my reporting ability.  I work with kids all the time with little to show for it at the end of the day.  All those coloring sheets just get thrown away.  I have such dyslexic kids that they end up feeling very unaccomplished.  We needed something new.  After 18 years of homeschooling, I am bored, I am tired and I am feeling like I have failed. 


So as I have stated I was reading about Ron Paul's curriculum.  I know nothing about the content but I was loving the concepts for highschool.  How can adapt his ideas into what we do?  I also don't have the money to buy each young child a computer or an ipad.  In trying to figure all this out, dad came across a great deal for Kindle Fire.  We went ahead and invested only $60 each for 4 units for Pickle, Princess, Bagel, and Jumba.  In our minds the twins are too young and Possible as a nicer Kindle Fire HDX from Christmas.  These units have internet ability but so we can visits all the math sites from practices but they don't have the cool apps like the ipads do.  That might someday be worth the investment.  For now we are trying to get this ball rolling. 

We have started the 2014-2015 school year very early this year.  For the first month is will be just trying to figure out how and getting into the practice of our new methods of being accountable.  It is lots of work right now but I know that eventually it will relieve so much of the stress on me.  My goal has always been to get the kids to be self sufficient. They need basic educational skills, they need to be able to apply them and they need to have motivation to keep at it.  I have seen so many families push and push the school work only to have the children shy away from school all together later. 

I want to encourage the independence while still keeping track.  I will always hold out hope that we will move north.  Texas is very homeschool friendly, and I love that about being here.  I need to get back in the habit of better record keeping in case we get to move into a state with much stricter guidelines. I must admit that it took a lot of time (several hours over the course of everyday for three weeks or do.)  I established a homeschool blog for each child.  They will use this to report into each day instead of handing me a stack papers that I am supposed to grade and record somewhere.  I used blogger because that is what I am familiar with.  (I plan to keep them private for a few months until we work out the kinks. I also am not sure how out there I really want to be with the kids.  It would be really bad if their friends got at look at their work and started teasing them.  To be honest I am not sure they will be public until much later. I guess time will tell.)



We started by getting the kindles hooked up and going.  Set them up and downloaded and note taking app.  Setting each child up with the right font and colors etc.  They will be using this for their writing each day and each week.  It was very time consuming setting this up on all five devices.  We are still waiting on the arrival of the cases and I will also be getting each child head phones.  I had each child write an opening post for their blogs.  This was just three or five sentences.  It was a lot for some and nothing for others.  For the first month I will not be pushing too much with the writing but there will be several things due each week.  I am trying to find a routine and get the kiddos in the habit of using the "note" app. 

Homeschool Connections

 

 

Online Classes
for Homeschoolers

Complete live online classes
for middle and high school students --
Educating the heart, mind, and soul
in the Catholic tradition.

My last post was about the Ron Paul Curriculum and I still have to say that I love the model and set up.  That particular program is not for this Catholic Homeschooling Family.  I love the model though.  I can't just use textbooks anymore.  My older kids were bored and lost interest. The model of a video class to keep them connected and engaged is so intriguing.  Due to the amount of learning issues we have worked with in the past and that we still have with rest of the bunch, I know that offering a book and expecting a report and test is not the way to gauge how much they learned. I saw this even with the on-line with audio version of Introduction to Catholicism that we did this year through My Catholic Faith Delivered (I should offer a review for them but in a later post).  We were hearing the material but not necessarily comprehending it.  So even offering the audio version is not completely engaging.  The truth is I do not have time to sit with each child and present each class with the enthusiasm they each deserve.

I have never liked just offering the books, even if they come with audio.  That has been a great option considering the kids long for some independence for high school.  I was so drawn to the Ron Paul set up because it really does offer the video and the independence.  I just need it to be a little more cost effective and a little more Catholic.  I attended the homeschool conference and once again got into a nice discussion with Walter Crawford.  He is one of the individuals behind Homeschool Connections. I really want to see if I can take the archived classes offered through Homeschool Connections.  I want to offer a Catholic alternative but loosely following the Ron Paul model.  I am not sure how this will all work but we will try to get started by June 1st and that will allow us to tweak it until we get it going.

I can't wait to see if we can make this work. 

Ron Paul Curriculum

Did you know that Ron Paul left his life of civil service and started creating a curriculum for homeschoolers?  His hope is to find a way to help save America.  I have not yet joined but look forward to.  I think the pricing is just right.  I need to wait until I have a little extra time to explore.

I don't know that we will actually use his curriculum in depth but I want to really examine the model.  He had organized a set of self directed classes that can eventually add up to a middle school and high school education.  The site claims that this is all self directed. You really must click here and  visit the web site to start investigating for yourself.

I toke one idea and ran with it, already.  I have had the kids each create a blog and the idea was taken directly from this curriculum.  Read about that idea here, written by Gary North called School Blog. For now ours are not public but eventually will be.  We also used Blogger and maybe I need to look into why he recommends WordPress.  I prefer Blogger just because I am familiar with it.

If any of this intrigues you, I suggest watching the full 26 minutes of the 6th-12th grades being explained in a video form.  I am so excited about the possibilities.  Now I have not forgotten that I have kiddos with learning issues and reading is a huge issue not to mention writing.  I think I might just adapt some of this and the ideas into a real successful curriculum for my own kids.  I do what to change some of the classes out to insure a more Catholic approach.  I agree with the reasons why we need this. 

I don't need to be convinced to homeschool.  I just need to refresh my methods and tweak here and there. If you have more experience with Ron Paul's Curriculum, please share!