Tag Archives: homeschooling

Jan 20 2014

5 Days of Homeschool Essentials, Day 1 – A Supportive Spouse

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What essentials do you need to homeschool your children successfully? A master’s in education? Classroom experience? Lots of money? None of the above, in my book.

Here’s my list of homeschool essentials:

1. A supportive spouse

2. A library card

3. A support group

4. An internet connection

5. Craft materials

Let’s talk about the first one: a supportive spouse.

God worked a miracle in my heart to help me embrace homeschooling. Then, I found myself desiring something that my husband did not approve of.

Stack of rocks balancing

A supportive husband provides the balance needed in the homeschooling process.

My husband and I are best friends. We talk about everything. We agree on everything.

To say it was hard while we wanted different things for our children would be a huge understatement. Thankfully, it only happened for a couple of months.

Did we talk about having children in pre-marital counseling? Yes. Did we discuss how we were going to educate them? Sure. But I wasn’t a mom. I did not know that, one day, I would feel I could not breathe if my children spent seven hours away from me, five days a week.

Having children changed my perspective on homeschooling.

Well, God changed my husband’s heart, too. He agreed to homeschool and here we are.

What a team we make, the two of us! I have always been into Humanities, while he is a computer geek and a scientist at heart. Combining our forces, we love guiding our children’s education, talking about developments and making decisions as we see fit. We joke that he is the principal of the school, but he really fulfills that role.

A supportive spouse can

  • counsel
  • congratulate
  • pick up the slack
  • endure till the end
  • keep you sane
  • teach a subject you don’t like
  • read to the kids
  • drive them to co-op
  • listen
  • laugh
  • pray
  • brag
  • love
  • accept
  • forgive
  • encourage
  • etc etc etc

I personally know some homeschooling mothers who are either single or whose husbands barely tolerate homeschooling. These moms have done an amazing job without a supportive spouse. They prove it can be done even without a supportive spouse, but they tell me how difficult it is.

For me, a supportive husband represents the #1 homeschooling essential.

For more interpretations of the homeschool essentials, check out these great blog posts from my friends on the Crew.

Laura @ Day by Day in Our World

Julie @ Nurturing Learning

Lisa @ Farm Fresh Adventures

DaLynn @ For the Display of His Splendor

Lori @ At Home: where life happens

Nicole @ Journey to Excellence

Brandy @ Kingdom Academy Homeschool

Meg @ Adventures with Jude

Sarah @ Delivering Grace

5 Days of Homeschooling Essentials

Jan 20 2014

Mom Monday Week 3 – Dealing with Tragedy

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The man who told me to look into homeschooling five years ago, when my firstborn was only one year old, passed away on January 8. He was my father-in-law.

He lived only five minutes away. I saw him almost every week and, of course, for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the kids’ birthdays. He was a constant presence in my life, in other words.

And now, he is no more.

The sadness overwhelmed me to the point where I entered the grieving stage of denial. Almost three weeks later, I have not left denial yet. Denial protects me from hurting. It also helped me make it through the memorial and funeral services.

Mom Monday Week 3 Dealing with Tragedy is part of a blog post series on Homeschool Ways

Denial keeps me strong so I can answer the kids’ questions.

But the fact remains, we homeschool because my father-in-law planted a seed with me. It took several years for it to sprout, but it sprouted.

“You should look into homeschooling him,” my father-in-law said to me five years ago, pointing to my one-year-old who was toddling around us. “I met this lady from Ohio and she said it was the best educational experience for her sons,” he continued.  Continue reading »

Jan 17 2014

Katie Meets the Impressionists Review

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(This post contains affiliate links, i.e. you purchase great products at no additional cost to you and I receive a small percentage of their price. For my full disclosure policy, click here.)

Homeschooling moms tend to be curious, life-long learners because teachers must be willing to learn constantly. Personally, I love studying new things. I almost feel selfish at times for all the fun I have learning and reading and preparing my lesson plans for the following day. Take, for instance, art appreciation.

Recently, I came across a series of art books for kids, featuring Katie, a little girl who goes to the art museum and can enter and exit paintings as needed. James Mayhew, a graduate of Maidstone College of Art, wrote at least a dozen of these books, from what I can gather, and I want all of them! Do I sound like the nerdy kid from “The Polar Express” movie, when they passed by the toy store window?

We bought two titles to get started on our collection: “Katie Meets the Impressionists” and “Katie and the Spanish Princess.” My children asked me to read each of them twice the first time we cracked them open. That night, they asked daddy to read them again.

Auguste Renoir (French, 1841 - 1919 ), A Girl with a Watering Can, 1876, oil on canvas, Chester Dale Collection

My three-year-old recognized this painting. We have seen it before in “A Year in Art.” It was the first confirmation I received that my art education efforts are paying off.

In “Katie Meets the Impressionists,” our heroine meets Jean, Claude Monet’s son, as well as the Girl with the Watering Can, the girl on “Her First Evening Out,” and lots of Blue Dancers – all mesmerizing characters in famous paintings by Monet, Renoir and Degas.

I was very proud of my three-year-old daughter who reacted as soon as she saw the Girl with the Watering Can – “She’s the girl from that other book!” My daughter recognized the girl in the painting because we have been using “A Year in Art” for our tea time and this painting is featured in there.

Charlotte Mason advocated exposure to art. Most educators believe in the refining influence of art education. “Katie Meets the Impressionists” provides a gentle introduction to or an exciting continuation of art appreciation.

For the French names or words in the book, a Google search like “Degas pronunciation” helps.

Your own copy of this book, which you can show your children again and again, will create great homeschooling memories.

Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop
Jan 14 2014

And the Winner of “The 12-Week Year” Book Is…

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Very excited to announce the winner of “The 12-Week Year” book: her name is Geanina and she lives in Georgia. How cool is that?

Geanina from Georgia, a homeschooling mom of two teenage boys, with a third on the way. Congratulations are in order… twice!

One autographed copy of this New York Times bestseller coming your way, Geanina! Thank you for being a faithful subscriber to Homeschool Ways blog and newsletter.

Jan 13 2014

Mom Monday Week 2 – Exercise Exceeds Expectations

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Raise your hand if you want:

  • more energy to homeschool your children
  • regulated hormone levels (ahem!)
  • improved moods (my word for 2014 is gentle)
  • better sleep

You can achieve all this (and more) through regular physical activity, a.k.a. exercise.

Purple Exercise Mat and Pink Weights

My exercise mat and weights

Some moms think of exercise as just another chore to do. But exercise can be fun. In fact, if you don’t make it fun, you won’t do it. It’s that simple.  Continue reading »

Jan 10 2014

7 Factors In Choosing Handwriting Curriculum

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In our homeschool, we teach a range of subjects, but we focus mainly on the 3Rs this year. When we started in September, I realized the R of ‘Riting had to wait for a semester. We kept plenty busy with math and reading, as well as monthly science classes, weekly violin lessons, Home Ec., crafts, P.E., service projects, and Adventurers.

The overall task of getting into a routine took some time, too. Besides, I just knew my son was not ready for the effort required in learning good penmanship. He can print (that’s writing only upper case letters, manuscript-style, e.g. HOMESCHOOL). He signs his name on his worksheets and he can write a short card for somebody. This gave me time to look into several handwriting curricula.

Handwriting page from a Romanian workbook

Handwriting page from a Romanian workbook similar to what I use.

Here are 7 factors I considered when choosing handwriting curriculum:

1. The age of the student. Fine motor skills, essential for handwriting, don’t even develop until after the age of six.

2. The gender of the student. Boys mature more slowly than girls.

3. Cursive or manuscript? It’s a big debate. Personally, I only teach cursive and printing (needed for filling out forms by hand). I don’t teach manuscript at all.

4. Right-handed or left-handed student? The position of the hand and the strokes are different for a south paw.

5. Start with big letters and go smaller OR start at the letter size your student will use throughout his life? Again, a big debate. Some people say writing big letters equates drawing, which is different from penmanship. I tend to agree.

6. Should you use a curriculum that does not change the size of the lines? To me, changing from one line-spacing to another is like teaching somebody to play cello and then moving them to a bass a few months into it. Why make them re-adjust the strokes to a different size line-spacing?

7. Consider a curriculum that offers not only horizontal guide lines, but also slanted ones, so the child knows how far he can go sideways.

Personally, I am using a Romanian handwriting curriculum similar to what I grew up with. Initially, I planned on using Cursive First, which I really like, but they don’t have slanted lines, like the Romanian handwriting curriculum. I said it before and I will say it again: homeschooling allows for a tailored approach, so we might as well take advantage of it.

Jan 5 2014

3 Simple Solutions for Music and Art in Homeschooling

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In homeschooling, just like in traditional schooling, it can be tempting to set music and art aside for when we have time (or money). How can a busy homeschooling mom add music and art to an already full schedule? Here are my solutions (besides violin lessons):

1. Can You Hear It? will start you on this quest to steal a few moments for classical music and art appreciation simultaneously. My kids love this book and CD, which we got from the library. We soon got our own copy from Amazon.

I play the music during meals, but, also, while I cook and they play nearby. We open the book and turn the pages as the tracks change. Sometimes I read to the kids from the book. Other times, we listen and comment on what we see.

Small girl having tea and looking at painting

My daughter listens to “Carnival of the Animals – Aquarium” while looking at the corresponding painting in “Can You Hear It” and enjoying a bagel and raspberry zinger tea; my son is not in the picture because he was finishing up a LEGO project before joining us.

2. A Year in Art offers us visual pleasure as we enjoy our afternoon tea time, a tradition we started about a month ago. Around 4pm, I put a tea kettle on the stove and get out some scones, or biscuits, or bagels, or graham crackers, or toast. I use what I have on hand.

We open the book and look at 3-5 paintings while sipping tea and enjoying something sweet. They have questions. We look for answers together. Sometimes we locate towns and countries on a world atlas.

3. Free concerts – We catch the Knoxville Youth Symphony concerts several times a year and, also, the Sevier County Choral Society concerts (December and May). I used to sing with the Choral Society before I became a mom, so it sort of feels like a reunion for me. If you check your local newspaper or Google free concerts in your area, you should find similar offerings where you live.

I have felt the liberating and relaxing effects of art and music in our homeschooling enough, that I am thinking about experimenting with doing music and/or art before math, reading or writing. I’ll let you know if I have enough courage to implement it on a regular basis. So far, I have done it once and we all loved it.

Jan 3 2014

Lego Education Simple Machines Pack Review

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Last March, I decided to invest in a LEGO Education set for my son, who loves building with LEGO bricks. The Simple Machines Pack for homeschool seemed like the most basic set and a good place to start. It did not disappoint.

It presents four sets of simple machines: gears, wheels and axles, levers and pulleys. The target audience is students in grades one through three, but my son was not even in kindergarten in spring and he had no trouble building.

Of course, he needed guidance. At times, it seemed the concepts went over his head, so I did not insist on the theory. I let him building and play with his creations. He really enjoyed predicting outcomes and then testing to see if he was right or wrong.

I could follow the lesson plans easily, even though I am not mechanically inclined. The binder contains the same information as the CD-ROM, but I would highly recommend you get both, for your convenience.

Wheels and Axles, the second lesson of simple machines in this activity pack, showed my son how to build a go-cart and a wheelbarrow.

Levers provided further fun learning, with models like a catapult and a railroad crossing gate.

Finally, the fourth simple machines: pulleys. This complex model on the left is called crazy floors. On the right, my daughter is enjoying her go-cart.

We have since bought the Simple and Motorized Machines Activity Pack for our son, so the Simple Machines set has become my daughter’s set by default. She cannot build yet all by herself, as she is only three.

She enjoys watching me build these models for her. I tell her what I need and she helps by handing me the right bricks and plates – great exercise for reviewing colors and numbers in both Romanian and English.

I highly recommend both these sets for your homeschool and, if your children are small, I would definitely start with the Simple Machines Pack first to test the waters. For more LEGO projects, click here.

Dec 31 2013

Happy New Year 2014!

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Whether you homeschool or not, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day bring so much excitement. We all appreciate a new beginning, a clean slate, a fresh start.

Traditionally, we wish each other a Happy New Year. That’s nice, as long as we go beyond wishing and hoping.

Children wishing a happy new year 2014 in front of a white board

My children with their new board and easel.

Salman Khan of the Khan Academy inspired me with his 2012 commencement speech at Rice University. He encouraged the graduates to take a pro-active approach towards happiness and challenged them to increase the net happiness of the world.

How do you do that?

1. Be positive in a delusional kind of way, even when the situation looks hopeless. “Sometimes I force myself to smile. Good things happen in your body when you smile,” he says.

2. Appreciate the smallest things people do for you and tell them so. A waiter, a bank teller, a sibling, a friend, a store clerk – they all need a word of encouragement and a compliment. By saying one nice thing, you might not only turn a bad day into a good one for someone, you might turn a career around. The ripple effects of positive words cannot be measured.

3. Travel forwards and backwards in time. Let’s say that you were 70 today, but somehow you could magically go back in time to today and re-live your life. You can re-live all your successes, and fix all your regrets.

What kind of things would a 70-year-old person regret?

  • not spending more time with their children
  • not saying “I love you” more to their spouse
  • not telling their parents how much they appreciate them

There’s nothing on that list about bringing more work home from the office for the weekend or getting all the laundry done by a certain time each day.

Corollary: by homeschooling your children, you touch not only your children and grandchildren, but this world in ways you don’t even dream about.

On that note, let me wish you a Happy New Year and a successful homeschool in 2014.