Homeschool Mom's Night Out

What a great time we homeschool moms had last night! I am so grateful that God has led me to these encouraging and fun ladies! There were about ten of us last night. We enjoyed soft drinks and tea and coffee (thanks to our wonderful Keurig machine), as well as delicious mexican dip and tortilla chips, mini quiches, crudites, crackers and cheese, brownies, and blueberry bread. While we were eating our refreshments, I couldn't get anyone to sit down, but it was fun just mingling in the kitchen. After eating, we adjourned to the den (pictured below), where the program portion of our evening commenced.

Faith Markle got us started. She is a mom who has homeschooled several children all the way through school; her youngest is a senior this year. Faith has such a gentle spirit and is also wise and knowledgeable. Many of us homeschool moms benefit from this true Titus 2 woman. She had us put our names in a bowl to draw for which mom would share about her family. Sharon LaFreniere spoke, and I was interested to learn that she is originally Canadian and has been in the US for about 13 years. I didn't know that, but I could hear her accent in her "out"s and "about"s as she continued to talk. She and her family enjoy riding their horses. Sharon shared how her family has moved from an unschooling approach to a slightly more conventional route and what curricula she explores. It was so nice to have this sharing time because at co-op, we mothers don't always have the chance to really get to know one another, as we are all teaching a class or volunteering in a class or keeping up with our kids.

After an open sharing time where we had the chance to ask questions or share concerns or celebrations about our homeschool journey, the presentation began. Cindy Blackwell shared her knowledge of the impact gender differences make on learning styles. I was excited about this topic because I have already seen how differently Will and Emily Anne approach learning!

Cindy shared that from birth girls hear better than boys. Therefore, boys prefer teachers who are louder, whereas girls prefer softer-spoken teachers. There are also gender differences in vision. Boys are more attuned to motion, where girls are more attuned to color. I remember several times where I've tried to encourage Will to use more color in his drawings, and I probably looked right over any action that he was trying to portray!

Stress affects boys and girls differently, too. For example, if you scold or fuss at a boy, his heart rate goes up, his adrenaline is increased, and his attentiveness increases. Stress, however, causes girls to shut down. Boys also prefer cave-like atmospheres, which is why you often may find them under the table! Girls prefer warmer environments (74 degrees F is optimal), while boys are more comfortable when it is cooler (59-65 degrees F).

Joanne Ludwick, who has two daughters, made the point that there are learning style differences even among the same gender. We went on to talk about how much more kinesthetic most boys are and that they need to be moving or doing something with their hands as they learn. Faith made the great suggestion of making play-doh letters or cookie dough letters that they can shape into letters and then eat when making the alphabet. I will definitely be trying that with Will!

Julie Watkins then shared my greatest take-away of the evening. She encouraged us to look at the gifts that God has given our children and not to neglect them or to push them to the side to try to fit in all the curriculum or even to try to do what other homeschool families are doing. She stated that God blessed our children with these gifts in order to help Him achieve His purposes, and we should not squelch them in our attempts to get everything done that we think needs to be achieved. Moms also made the point that these gifts help our children to learn. For example, a child who loves to sing will often learn best by making up songs about the subject matter.

After a touching prayer time where we prayed for each other's requests, we ended the night feeling encouraged and renewed. Most of us will see each other today at the homeschool group's
Valentine's skating party.

I hope that you have a great weekend and a meaningful Valentine's Day, realizing that Christ loves us with an unsurpassing love.

But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight . . . .

Philippians 1:9

Back into the Groove

After a relaxing few weeks without schedules, we are ready to get back on track, not only with getting back to work and homeschool, but also with regular, planned meals. Organizing Junkie has a whole list of people's plans if, like me, you need some inspiration.

Without further ado, here's our plan for dinners for this week:

Monday: Spaghetti with garlic bread and salad

Tuesday: Herbed Lemon Chicken Breasts over rice, green beans, honey-glazed carrots

Wednesday: Fellowship Supper at church

Thursday: Hamburger steaks with gravy, mashed potatoes, and corn on the cob

Friday: Shrimp -n- Grits with salad

In homeschool this week, here's what we're planning to study:



Bible: Moses & Mt. Sinai, The Ten Commandments, The Golden Calf
Math: The next five lessons in Saxon Math, which include subtracting zero from a number and subtracting the same number from itself, as well as measuring
Handwriting: Practice in handwriting will include the Ten Commandments, to reinforce memory work
Phonics: This week's lessons include beginning consonant blends
History: We will be beginning The Story of the World with the Introduction to History and Archaeology

Have a great week!

Great Thanksgiving Read-Alouds

As Thanksgiving approaches, I went on a quest to find some great books that would spark interest in and learning about this American holiday. I used the wonderful tool that is the online libary catalog and reserved many books about Thanksgiving. We read through most of them last week, and I've culled the ones we enjoyed most and have listed them below:

• This First Thanksgiving Day: A Counting Story by Laura Krauss Melmed is one of our favorites. It has rhyming text and shows 1 sleeping pilgrim, 2 giggling Wamanoag girls, etc., all the way up to 12 tables brimming with food and friends at the Thanksgiving feast. The illustrations are wonderful, and not only do they help the smallest ones to count up to twelve, there are various other things in the illustrations to find and count, including a tricky turkey on each page. We even counted all the pilgrims and Indians on the last page--146!
• Thanksgiving on Plymouth Plantation by Diane Stanley is narrated by a brother and sister who are taken back into time by their grandmother to experience the very first Thanksgiving Day. The story line really held the interest of my children, and the book is chock full of interesting details about the way the Pilgrims lived. In addition to the regular text, the illustrations also include those speech balloons (like in cartoons), which were a little awkward to read, but they contained such great tidbits of interesting information, I couldn't skip over them.
• The First Thanksgiving by Garnet Jackson is a wonderful introduction to the origins of this holiday. This nonfiction book is written in a simple but engaging style with pictures that my children really enjoyed. It is basic, simple, and thorough and would be a great way to start your Thanksgiving read-alouds.
• Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving by Laurie Halse Anderson was a learning experience for me. This book, with detailed and humorous pictures, tells the story of Sarah Hale, who persistently petitioned politicians and presidents (How's that for alliteration?) over forty years to make Thanksgiving a national holiday. Sarah was an interesting woman who raised five children, was an editor of magazines, and the author of "Mary Had a Little Lamb." The book contains a nonfiction addendum at the back with more facts on Sarah's life, the history of Thanksgiving, and what life was like in 1863 (the year Thanksgiving became a national holiday). The theme of one person able to make a difference through persistence is something I am glad my children were exposed to in this book.

Happy Reading! Aren't you thankful for good books?

What We're Using

The Heart of the Matter is hosting an online meme today about what you're using this year for homeschooling. Here's our list:

• Bible: A Child Story's Bible, by Catherine Vos--We're reading a small section each day and then doing a related craft. We're also doing memory verses.
• Math: Saxon 1--Emily Anne is doing first grade math because her 4K preschool class last year used the 5K Saxon math curriculum. The first two weeks have been review, and the daily meeting time is a little too repetitive for us. However, we are getting into adding and subtracting, and EA loves acting out the "some, more, less" stories.
• Handwriting: A Reason for Handwriting, 1--The first section of this workbook includes many review lessons. EA needs them, but they are quite long. This subject is our struggle, as EA requires continual prompting to stay on task with these long review lessons. Once the actual lessons begin with the shorter practice and the incentive of mailing out a finished Bible verse, I'm hoping the struggle will end.
• Phonics: An Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading, by Jessie Wise--I love, love this book! We had started last spring to supplement the phonics she was receiving in 4K but used it only sproradically. Now that we've been using it every day for about three weeks now, Emily Anne's reading has really taken off. We just started the section on consonant blends yesterday.
• Science: From Mudpies to Magnets--We actually haven't used a lesson from this book yet. I think I'll choose one to do per week.

Check out what other home educators are using at The Heart of the Matter.

Homeschool Co-op: The Agony & the Ecstasy

Today was our first day of our local homeschool group's co-op. Emily Anne was enrolled in Opening Assembly (public speaking in a show & tell type format), Chemistry, Election Fun, Historic Artists, and Creative Math. Will was enrolled in a general Preschool class, Bible Time, Zoo Animals, and Rest and Relaxation.

As a part of the co-op, parents who are not teaching a class are teacher helpers. I volunteered to help in Will's preschool class and the R & R class. I thought that Emily Anne would be fine without Mama nearby and that Will might need some help adjusting to a schedule, especially at the beginning and end of the day. It turns out, I was right!

Throughout the day, whenever I had a chance to see or speak with Emily Anne, she was smiling and telling me how much she enjoyed co-op. She made fast friends with another girl just her age. Several teachers and parents told me in passing how smart and polite she was and that she had told them all about finding fossils in Tennessee. Who doesn't love to be complimented on their children? I was positively beaming!

Of course, at the time that I received these accolades, I was chasing after my other child. Will had a hard day. He is 2 1/2, which is too old for the nursery but not quite ready for the 3-year-old classes in which he is enrolled.

To top it off, Will was up at 6:15 this morning. We had to be at co-op at 8:00 to register and get EA to opening assembly. By the time his first class started, he was already asking about snack. He was great in this first class; he listened to the story, identified shapes and made a collage with them, and participated in the music. After this class, there was a snack, with time to play on the gym floor with basketballs. Will did not want to leave the basketballs to go to Bible Time. I finally convinced him to go to class (with me, even though I was not a volunteer), and he was okay in this class--not perfectly behaved, but not unmanageable either.

It was a great ordeal to get him to get to his next class; the basketballs were still beckoning. He enjoyed the zoo animal puppets that he colored when we finally got there, though. Next on the schedule was lunch, with the Rest & Relaxation class after that. We had brought his sleeping bag, with which he was delighted. My hopes were high, but, unfortunately, I was too soon hopeful. By the time the class actually started, he was tired of his sleeping bag and over-tired and over-stimulated. With my best efforts, I got him settled down, and I looked up to see Joel peeking in the window. Will and I went out to see him, and I learned that he had had to put our older cat to sleep (Booker had a fast-growing facial tumor). Joel wanted to confirm what time we would be home so that he could arrange to be there to explain to the children. After seeing Daddy, Will's efforts at communal naptime were exhausted (pun intended) After struggling with him, I finally went out to the car, brought in a few books and read to him. In ten minutes he was asleep in a noisy gym.

I learned a good lesson today. One of the reasons homeschooling seemed so appealing was the flexibility of time and learning experiences it offered. Co-op is a great fit for Emily Anne at her age. The number of classes are too overwhelming for Will right now. Rather than try to fit to the schedule, I should adapt it to fit to our needs.

Check in later in the week for a post about moving my longed-for furniture and a book review.

1st Day of Homeschooling!

Okay, so I have known for a while that we were going to do the homeschooling thing, yet I have had a hard time deciding exactly when to begin! At first, I made up a detailed year-round schedule that would basically be three weeks on, one week off throughout the year. However, once summer got here, things got too busy between Vacation Bible School, swimming lessons, and vacations and my schedule was wrecked! So, then, I decided to wait and just begin when our local homeschool co-op would begin--the week of August 18. I went ahead and planned out our first week of homeschooling and made copies of everything we would need.

Then, Emily Anne began asking about when we would begin homeschooling. One of the things that I originally loved about homeschooling was the flexibility to homeschool when we wanted to, and also the enthusaism for learning that EA was showing. So, since, we had everything ready, I thought, Why not begin Monday? It would keep me from anticipating and getting too nervous or get my expectations hyped for the ideal situation.

Today began with circle time on the floor of the playroom. We said a prayer, and then I read aloud from the first section of The Child's Story Bible: "God Was and Is." Emily Anne thrilled me by making an unsolicited connection; when we were talking about the fact that God loves us even more than our parents do. She said, "Mom, that sounds like that song that we sang in Bible School" and proceeded to sing it--"If you ask me how much God loves me, I'd say, 'deeper than the ocean, wider than the sea!'"

We then sang "My God Is So Big" and "God Made Me" (The lyrics are "God made me, God made me, God made everything, and God made me." It's sung to the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell."). We had fun substituting our names, our pets' names, and other nouns for "me."

We then made self-portrait paper-dolls, with the theme of "God Made Me." Will really got into this! I helped him cut out the pieces and drew the eyes and mouth when he got frustrated, but he enjoyed coloring the clothes and taping them on to his figure. Emily Anne did all of hers except the cutting out of the figure. I was really impressed with her cutting skills, especially around the shoes!

Next, we practiced our memory verse for this week: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." Genesis 1:1. We'll be studying Creation for the rest of the week in Bible time.

The next subject was Math. We completed Lesson 1 of Saxon Math. Will played with foam number puzzles while Emily Anne and I talked about calendars and numbers. The days of the week, months, year, and dates were all review for her; she knew them without my going through the "script" for the lesson at all. She surprised me, too, on the number chart. The lesson called for counting only up to 30, but when I stopped at 30, she continued counting by herself up to 100!

Snack break was next on the agenda (I was able to put clothes in the dryer during this time), and after snack, Emily Anne worked on the first review lesson of handwriting in Level A of A Reason for Handwriting, while Will colored a worksheet. After I went over the form and direction of the letters (EA does need some help in this area; she wants to make the letters her own way), she was able to do a lot of the practice by herself, and I was able to help Will coloring in objects that were the same on his worksheet.

Emily Anne and I then worked on the first lesson in Section 3 (Lesson 29) of The Ordinary Parents' Guide to Reading (We had already been working on these lessons during 4K). After Emily Anne's lesson, we all played with the alphabet letters on the magnetic white board, encouraging Will to pick the correct letter from the board.

We went outside, along with Addie, to have some unstructured play time, and lasted about thirty minutes in the heat. Emily Anne was pulling up weeds and then planting them in pots!

In the time before lunch, I was able to clean the carpet in the playroom.

When Daddy came home for lunch, the kids were extra excited to see him, and the first thing Will did was to take Joel by the hand to the refrigerator and say, "Look, Dad! Will made craft!"

Emily Anne recapped the morning for him, and then later, Will took him by the hand to the white board in the playroom where our schedule was written out. He pointed at Bible and said, "We had Bible," and then pointed out the other words and had Joel say them for him. Apparently, Will was more acclimated to the schedule than I thought!

After lunch, we had some read-aloud time with various books. I would like to have themed books for the week for read alouds, although I'm not sure that I want all our lessons pulled from them. I'll have to check out some FIAR websites and see what's there.

So, all in all, it was a great first day for homeschooling, and I'm glad I didn't have the time to stress out beforehand. We'll see how tomorrow goes . . . .

How We Schedule

Today's Heart of the Matter meme asks us to explain how we schedule. Back in March when I ordered curriculum, I came up with a great plan of how we would organize our school year and our school days.

First off, I decided we would do a year-round schedule, "doing" school for three weeks and then taking a week off. I tweaked the schedule here and there so that the weeks off would coincide with the two weely vacations we would take (one with my familly and one with Joel's) and major holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter). With this schedule we would be beginning our school year next week.

My reasons for coming up with a year-round schedule were that Emily Anne was so excited about learning right now (and I was so excited about homeschooling) that I hated to wait just because traditional schedules start in the fall. I've had a couple of misgivings since March, which include the fact that the vast majority of people in my local homeschool group follow a traditional schedule and my worry that breaks so often might seem arbitrary to EA when those breaks don't coincide with a vacation or holiday (and they would be, wouldn't they?). Also, I'm not sure how the Saxon math curriculum I'm using will work with year-round scheduling, but I'm sure we can adapt it. I also forgot to include Vacation Bible School in my planning, and it occurs the third week into our schedule.

Since next year will just be 5K for EA, and SC doesn't require reporting during that year, I think that it will be a time for experimentation for us. We'll go ahead and try out our year-round schedule and see how it works for us.

Back in March I also came up with a schedule for each day, complete with times for each subject. Knowing that children complete some assignments that we had thought might take more time quickly, and vice versa, I think I'll go with a more relaxed agenda approach. A white board would be like our To-Do List, with each subject and/or activity written on the board, along with a magnetized picture of each one. We'll start each day around 9am, which will give us some down time and chore time before the school day begins.

How do you schedule your homeschool days? Share your schedule and check out other schedules at The Heart of the Matter.

How We Socialize

Today's Heart of the Matter meme asks us to share the ways in which our family socializes. I dealt with the issue of socialization and how the word doesn't always mean exactly what we think it means earlier in this post, so today I'll just list the ways that our family socializes.

• Church & Church Activities: Our children participate (or will participate) in Sunday School, Children's Choir, and Rainbow Ringers (children's handbell choir). We also socialize at our Wednesday night fellowship suppers.


• Homeschool Organization Activities: Next fall we will begin co-op classes with our local homeschool group on Mondays. We already participate in play dates and field trips sponsored by this same group.


• Extra-curricular Activities: Emily Anne particpates in dance, Upward soccer & basketball. In a few years she will also begin to take piano.


• Get-Togethers with Friends: We participate in play-dates with friends, birthday parties (4 so far this month!), cookouts and dinners with several families, etc.


• Family: If socialization is learning to interact with people within an accepted framework of behavior, then family is the natural way to socialize! From our immediate family to grandparents to great-grandparents to aunts and uncles and cousins, our children are experiencing intergenerational socialization.

Have a great weekend!

The Things My Child Taught Me in Homeschool

Today's Heart of the Matter meme asks us to share what our children have taught us in homeschool lessons. Although we haven't yet been officially homeschooling, Emily Anne and Will have already taught me several lessons.

• Be Flexible. One of the first "real" lessons that Emily Anne & I tried was with The Ordinary Parents' Guide to Teaching Reading. Now, it is a wonderful book, well organized with step-by-step content. At the beginning of each lesson is a poem that reviews the consonants and the sounds they make, and Emily Anne refused to say it with me. After exaggerating my voice to make it sound fun, cajoling, and threatenting, and all the tension underlying all of that, I finally stopped and thought about why the author included the poem. It was to review the consonant sounds. But, wait a minute, Emily Anne already knew the consonant sounds. She never missed them in any other of the review activities. Did it really matter if she didn't say the poem? I remember as a public school teacher becoming highly incensed when I heard that some school districts were requiring scripted lessons to ensure that all students were getting the same instruction, and here I was following this phonics lesson to the letter (no pun intended!)! Emily Anne reminded me that not every curriculum is tailor-made for my child, and that I should remember to be flexible with our activities.
• Interest is More Important Than Age. We received Draw Write Now, Book 1 in the mail the other week. This book was supposed to be curriculum for next year, but EA pleaded to begin lessons in it right away. I wanted to start at the beginning with some simpler pictures, but EA desperately wanted to draw the girl jumping rope toward the end of the book. The drawing started out with writing the word girl and had some pretty sophisticated curlicues and symmetry. I was afraid that she would become frustrated. Lo and behold, she did a great job. Even more amazing, she has reproduced this drawing several times without any help or instructions. I don't think that I could have done it again without any step-by-step drawings. Emily Anne has also surprised me with her interest in chapter books. I have tentatively gone ahead and begun reading what she has requested and have always been surprised by the vocabulary she learns, her attention span, and her comphrehension. EA has taught me not to underestimate her ability when she shows an interest in something.
• A Lot Can Be Learned in Informal Lessons. I haven't sat down with Will and given him formal lessons in anything, other than simply reading aloud to him. He has picked up so much from casual conversations, our reading, and my lessons with Emily Anne. Will has begun counting, recognizing his letters, and putting puzzles together, pretty much on his own. Will has taught me that you don't have to have a curriculum to learn!
• Learning is Fun & Exciting! Okay, I'm the nerdy type that has always believed this, but it has been a long time since I have squealed in delight at looking at a bug close up or recognizing an exclamation mark on the page. Emily Anne and Will have both taught me that new discoveries are always something to get excited about.

To read more lessons learned in homeschool, visit The Heart of the Matter. Have a great weekend!

Home Education Week--Looking Forward

Dana's prompt for today, the last day of Home Education Week asks us to look forward on our homeschool journey:





What are your goals for home education? What do you hope to instill in your children? Are you planning any changes to how you educate your children?





This week I have been really gearing up for homeschool experience. We have received some curriculum that I've ordered, and I've been developing schedules in my head (soon, I hope, to be on paper, or at least in Homeschool Tracker). On Tuesday our local homeschool group is sponsoring a Mom's Night Out, the topic of which will be resource sharing.





Yesterday, Emily Anne, Will, and I attended a Spring Fling for our local homeschool group, which included crafts, games, refreshments and a lovely setting by a lake. It was the first time my children had been around most of these home educated children, and it was a wonderful introduction for them to these new friends. We had a ball!








So, with all of these activities dealing with home education this week, it is appropriate to end the week with a reflection on my goals for children. These goals will help to build the foundation for my further homeschool planning.

• My children will know God's Word, will know Him, and will seek to please Him with their lives.
• My children will be so saturated with reading material and read-alouds that they will develop a life-long love of reading.
• My children will have the freedom to explore their areas of interest and talents, developing them in order to fulfill God's purpose for their lives.
• My children will be grounded in the basics of a classical education so that they will be rooted in the knowledge of the past in order to succeed in the future.
• My children will be surrounded by an atmosphere of celebration of knowledge so that they will develop a life-long love of learning.

My overall arc of the homeschool experience will be classical learning, but also during these early years, we will explore unit studies, nature studies, and living books. Therefore, their all-important first exposure to learning will be a mix of classical and Charlotte Mason approaches.