Today I was watching my sweet husband cut hearts out of some paper. He is always doing kind things for others, especially for a birthday or holiday, so I didn't think much about what he was doing. Then the hearts cut out, turned into a card, and then he was pasting the cutouts into the card. I realized a moment after, that this card was a secret penpal letter to our youngest daughter Lindsey.
He has been secret penpals with each of our daughters for a while now.
A week or so ago, I went downstairs to tuck my older daughters in and read to them out of our "Farmer Boy" book, that we read out of most nights before bed. My 8 year old was sitting on her be excitedly reading a piece of paper. I recognized that this was one of her secret penpal letters from her Dad.
My 8 year old has been trying to read since she was 5. She really struggles with it for some reason. She can read, but she doesn't like to, unless its her choice to.
But there she sat, on her bed loving every word of her penpal letter.
My husband has been involving himself more with the kids education, and its been so good!
He also sat with the kids one day and gave them an art lesson. He told me he loved art in highschool, but didn't pursue it, because he was told it wouldn't help him get a good job someday.
Well, guess what talent he uses at his job of over 15 years now? Art. Its not full on drawing, but it does require an artistic eye, and art could have very well supported the job he has now, that he did not go to school for by the way. He now plans little art lessons for them every once in a while, and the kids love it.
It is a huge confidence booster to me, to know that I am not the only one focused on what my kids learn each day. To have that support from my husband makes a world of difference, and makes it easier for me to make sure I am doing my part as well.
So here are just some ideas, of what a Father Figure in the home can do to support the mother, and show his interest in his kids. I am grateful for my own husband who I am inspired by to write this post.
1. Devote one on one time to each child.
Take each child individually on a Father/daughter date or Father son/outing as often as your time will allow. Make sure they know it is important to you, by planning it and following through. Get to know them during this time. Do with them what they love to do, or just make it a lunch date.
My husband normally takes our girls to dinner and movie. With our son, he goes in our garage and plays hockey with golf clubs and a golf ball. It is pretty much the cutest thing ever btw.
2. Teach them what is yours
What are your talents/hobbies? Show your kids how to do them. Let them shadow you when you have a project, or task needing to be done. They learn so much from this! If you have a passion, share it with them, and involve them.
3. Read to them.
Since my 10 year old was just a couple months old, my husband has devoted time to reading to the kids. Whether its from a picture book, or out of the scriptures. That time spent with you reading, will fuel their desire to read as well.
4. Lead Family councils
Each Sunday, we have been having a family council, where first the mom and dad share what their week is going to be like and if we have anything we want to discuss as a family, and then each kid has a turn to do the same thing. This helps us to all be on the same page together during the week. When the kids know what to expect for a schedule or events coming up, it creates security. When the parents are secure, the family is secure, and then their education is secure.
5. Support your spouse in the homeschooling journey.
Likely if she is the one at home with them and the one whos idea this all was, it was because she wants more for her kids. She wants them to grow up with healthy relationships, safety and security, and good values. She wants them to thrive in their strengths, because they are all different. She wants them to learn hard work, and be happy with their lives as adults. If you are supporting your wife or spouse by being involved, it will help her be more confident and secure as well. She will likely homeschool with or without support, but with it, it will make it so much easier on everyone.
6. Spend time in the evenings playing games.
My husband works two jobs, and also works with the youth in our church, so he is a very busy person in his own personal life, and we love him for his hard work. We also love to be with him whenever we can.
On Sunday we started a new tradition to play games in the evening after dinner. These games can be a variety of things. Board games of course, outside games, sitting around the table telling jokes. I know of a family that plays legos together in the morning, all 6 of their kids and the Dad build towns together. We love magnatiles and other building toys. Card games are great math tools as well.
And..
7. Work hard together-Family chores
Saturday my husband always has his list of things to get done. My girls have become used to working outside with him. My oldest mowes half the lawn and he will mow the other half. Today he taught them how to winterize our lawnmower so it will continue to last a long time, teaching the value of taking care of something regularly. He makes sure each week, that they have some sort of responsibility outside every Saturday, and they willfully do it now, because they know what he expects of them. During the week they take care of inside household responsibilities with me.
I am sure there are many other ways for a Father to be involved with homeschooling. Please feel free to share what your family does in the comments below!
I am so grateful to have a supportive husband. This homeschooling journey is definitely not easy on its own, but it is definitely worth it!
Saturday, November 5, 2016
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
A day in the life, For the Passionate Bookworm Homeschoolers
How things have changed in a year!
I just read my post from last year, which actually happens to be my post before this one. :) I didn't realize I hadn't posted anything since.
We are still pretty structurally unstructured, but still in a great a way for my little learners.
I am sitting here typing this, with a big round belly, mentally feeling 43 weeks pregnant, but according to a recent ultrasound, really only about 39 weeks.
My pregnancy just seemed to go on and on, and I was feeling awesome physically, but frustrated mentally, so my midwife and I thought it would be best to get an ultrasound to make sure everything was o.k..
I had a feeling my due date was off, by maybe a week or so, but imagine my awe, when I found out, we were off by a whole month! Yes, that explained why I could still speed walk around the neighborhood at what I thought was 42 weeks pregnant, and lift my leg into the kitchen sink at what I thought was 40 weeks pregnant, to wash my foot, after I stepped in one of my toddlers lovely snack messes on the kitchen floor.
When the ultrasound showed I was really only about 38 weeks last week, I was pretty much speechless. I still am. I cannot figure out, how we were so off before, lol, but it was actually quite a relief at the same time, when I discovered I was not going to keep going overdue, and be pregnant forever, but that I was in fact not even due yet. :)
So now a week later, I really am feeling ready for this pregnancy to be over. I am finally feeling physically ready to say the least, and I hate climbing up and down the stairs or even thinking about walking around the neighborhood!
However, I have felt so much come together with our homeschooling lately. For a few months, we were very scattered, and there was pretty much no organized learning, except when we read together. It was a break though, for me. Something I needed as I prepared for the up coming event of a new little person joining our family. (Which, did I mention still hasn't happened ?)
As I have worked through things mentally, I have been finding peace. I felt very cluttered with everything I was doing before this break. I was addicted to facebook, and all the great groups and forums to be a part of. I was obsessed with hearing about how others disciplined their kids, or implemented learning into their homes, and I had at one point declared I was going to fail my kids, if I didn't keep up on learning how to do everything perfectly.
This ran me down, to a point I never want to be at again!
I was letting my happiness go down the drain, in order to make sure everyone else was happy.
When I finally started to let go, I actually deleted my facebook account, and I have been enjoying my email again.
I get my one post from Simple Homeschool each day, in the morning, that inspires me for the rest of the day.
When I have questions about a particular situation in my home, I pray. I trust my own intuition on what I should do. I don't feel like I have to buy all kinds of supplements for learning anymore either. We just use what we have, and get creative!
The past 2 years have been a huge time, for me to learn to appreciate and love myself for who I am. I have figured out so much about myself, and in the last month, I have really, really, started to take care of me.......so I can have the fuel that I need to take care of my precious family too.
I no longer do chores, and household responsibilities because I have to. I do them because I want to! I want my kids to learn to appreciate and love themselves too, and to do their responsibilities and learning because it brings them joy as well!
The freedom of Home Schooling can really give opportunities for personal growth, that any old public school wouldn't come close to.
In the last couple of weeks, we have come up with a really relaxed schedule, that has been working wonders. It was something that just fit us. I am sure it will change a bit, for a while anyway, when my time is occupied with a newborn, but its helped my kids get into a routine that they are doing on their own, and all I have to do is gently nudge them, and show them I will be there for them whenever they need me.
In the morning, my now 2 year old, knocks on his door, yelling "Mama! Mama! Open the door!". Sometimes I am already awake, taking advantage of those last few quiet moments, or sometimes I am still asleep, but his call, is my wakeup call.
I open his door and squish and snuggle him, with "Good morning!' 's, and ''How are you?", to which he replies, his plan to grab everyone of his snuggly blankets, as well as each of his cars, or stuffed animals that he slept with, to bring down to the kitchen table for breakfast. He is my little Tender Heart Bear, and his hugs and smiles in the morning are super important to me. :)
Before I go downstairs, I take care of a routine that I have been so lovingly learning to enjoy this last year. Most of the time it is taken care of before Tender Hearts wakeup call, but on days that it is not, he just follows me around until it is done.
I do this routine, because it keeps my upstairs clean for the whole day, and that creates space and peace of mind for me.
I used to be a really messy mom. I was overwhelmed by laundry, and stuff. What mother isn't? My kids thought my room was the room to leave their stuff in. I was always to exhausted to tackle these projects that built up more and more everyday. I tried to have one major cleaning project a day, which worked well, when I had the energy, but now my little routine, has made it so much easier!
I make my bed first thing. Making the bed always seemed so pointless before, but I started to see how good it made me feel to come to bed at night to a made bed, and that made the effort all worth it. Its the most important chore of the day in fact now. I make my bed for me, because I am learning to love me.
Then I clear up my nightstand, and make sure my floor is cleaned up.
I get dressed, and move into the bathroom, shutting my bedroom door behind me, to maintain the cleanliness and peaceful space that it is now.
This last year, has been a year of major simplifying, as far as belongings I have in the home too. I used to have bins under my bed, of old art projects or belongings that I couldn't part with, things that never got used and were just being stored. I took a couple of days, and just let myself get rid of them. It was so liberating! My room is now very empty. I have my dresser in my closet, my clothes have been simplified, down to only what fits in my dresser, the belongings I have on my dresser, are very few, and under my bed is empty, except for what my husband insists on keeping of his own things.
On the walls, its a few simple pictures. I am mentioning all of this, because I have done this in all of the rooms of my house, and I can't express, just how much, Less is More!
We also stopped using our computer, and I grounded myself from the library, and we don't watch any T.V., except for on Fridays and a little on Saturday, if chores and school stuff are done.
Why did I ground myself from the library? I was bringing home all these books that were terrific for learning from, and then some would get lost, and not returned on time, and it just simply costs less, to buy books from the thrift store, haha.
Friday is a day I let the kids watch education shows from Netflix, like Sid The Science Kid, or Wild Kratts, or things like that. We have to have our morning routine chores and school stuff done first though. Occassionaly, I will let them watch something uneducational, but that is mostly saved for Saturday morning.
My girls have dance class on Tuesday, and because they each have a separate time for their classes, that is our school for the day. We don't worry about school stuff otherwise.
Wednesday my 9 year old has orchestra, and for a few months we were all going, but as I let go of things, we ended up just sending her to it. I have the best Homeschool friends that have been so sweet to make sure she gets taken to orchestra every Wednesday, as I have felt the need to simplify my week.
If you are feeling overwhelmed, simplify your belongings, and your activities, and don't feel bad about getting rid of things, that you haven't used in the last 6 months, or letting go of "school stuff".
Learning will still happen.
In the bathroom, my job is clean up the floor, and wipe the toilet. Each of us have 2 chores in each room that we do on a daily basis.
I have discovered that mopping is not my thing. The hassle of getting the mop out, was just not simple enough or fun enough for me, so I started getting down on my knees with cleaner and a wash cloth, and I scrub the tiles thoroughly with my hands instead. Its quicker than having to pull out the mop, and the mop bucket, and doing all the rinsing and plunging too. :) It is actually very satisfying, knowing I personally got each little square inch, rather than wondering if the mop actually did any good. As I keep up on this each day, its way to easy to keep the tiles clean now, and there really isn't much scrubbing anymore, which makes it a fast and easy job and totally worth the 5 minutes spent each morning.
I move into the laundry room, and throw a load in to start the day. The white noise of the washing machine sends a vibe throughout the house of production. I am also in charge of making sure the floor in the laundry area is cleaned up.
Then I move into my sons room. His room will eventually be shared with our new baby, but for now its just his, and it stays fairly clean. I tidy his toys and bed, and that's it for the upstairs!
On the way down the stairs, I pick up any clutter, and move into the kitchen.
By this time, my 3 girls are waking up.
The rule is, they need to be dressed before we can have breakfast. They have 3 things to take care of before they come upstairs.
1. make their beds
2. get dressed
3. make sure their floors are picked up.
(Yep, working on getting them in the same habit, of creating peaceful space in their bedrooms too.)
We sit down for breakfast, which is still pretty simple, Fruit, nuts and seeds, and a grain of some sort.
Lately we haven't really done much of a devotional, except a prayer, and spiritual thoughts. I am looking forward to having this baby, and getting our routine established in 3-4 months, so I feel more up to more learning during devotional. For now, we do what we feel like that morning. :)
After breakfast, we start our chores for the rest of the rooms. My oldest, 9, wipes the counter and mirrors in the bathrooms, and my 7 year old wipes the bathtub, and scrubs walls.
They move into the laundry room, my 9 year old throws another load in, and my 7 year old sorts from the dryer, and scrubs walls.
They move down the stairs and my 7 year old scrubs the railing and walls on her way down, (its so nice having fingerprint free walls and a clean railing!)
While they are doing this, I sweep the kitchen and front entry way, so that they can move on to their next chores.
My 7 year old scrubs the tile in our entry way, and my 9 year old scrubs the dining room floor. I am in charge of scrubbing the kitchen floor.
My 7 year old clears the table from breakfast, and my 9 year old then takes her washcloth, and scrubs any stickiness off of the table.
Then in the kitchen, my 9 year old unloads the dishwasher, and my 7 year old scrubs cupboards, then I load the dishwasher, which will fill up through the day and be ran at night after dinner.
They then move into the living room, and my 9 year old stacks bean bags, and picks up any garbage, and then my 7 year old cleans up any laundry and makes sure our piano is cleaned off. I clean up toys, and vacuum. :)
This ends our morning chore routine. It is very fluid, moving from room to room this way, and because we do these simple necessities each morning, it prevents the room from ever getting overwhelmingly messy, and we can keep up on it better, when art projects or toys or other events take place.
My 4 year old and 2 year old, are not expected to have a chore list like my older kids. My older kids have their chores for each room listed on a dry erase surface that they can mark of as they accomplish them, they love that satisfaction of crossing off the chore. The chores are simple and quick, and this has created a habit for them. They have memorized their routines, and its so easy for them, that it just gets done. I did have to work with them on it a little when we first started this, to teach them to do a thorough job, like scrubbing in big circles on the floor, so they didn't miss spots, and things like that, but they do a really good job now, and I don't have to bug them about it. I just trust that they will do a good job, and if I notice they missed something, I lovingly point it out to them, how they can do better, and why its important to spend a little extra time to do a good job. My goal is to teach them the joy of work, ultimately, and why work isn't just discipline, but something we do, because it makes it possible to enjoy our environment and each other.
After chores, they are free to go play for a couple hours until lunch.
Around 12, we get lunch together. Normally, I will take this time to read a chapter from "Life of Fred", a really fun way of teaching math. The last few months though, this has not happened, but eventually we will again. I like to combine eating with education. :) Its a time for us to gather together, they are occupied with enjoying something tasty, and they are more willing to listen and discuss things, while they are happy and hungry.
We clean up, and play a little more, and then about 2 pm, my son goes down for his nap.
Time to relax and learn. My little Tender Heart Bear, and his best partner in crime, my 4 year old sweetheart, are pretty busy creating messes together with toys and food and the things toddlers are best at, in the morning, so when nap time comes around......its a break we all look forward to, haha!
My oldest two, on their dry erase responsibility lists, have a School list too, that they take care of during this time.
They are to spend 20 minutes of personal reading time. Then they do a lesson in math, a lesson in copy work, and then they choose some sort of art project to work on.
Their math and copy work, are normally something they choose, but recently I started writing them out for them as an assignment. I don't really like to give assignments, because I want them to inspire themselves, but with math and copy work, I have been finding it important to have a little more structure, so I can keep track of their progress, and help them progress a little more.
My 9 year old is working on fractions and addition and subtraction with big numbers, and my 7 year old is working on addition with her 10's and 20's. Their copy work is usually practice to help them perfect writing numbers or letters that they write backwards a lot, or something that supports their math learning too. My 9 year old, is learning to write out big numbers, like "One thousand, one hundred", so I write those words down, and she copies them.
During this time, I pull out a book that I am working on, and if they need my help, I am all theirs instead.
After they finish, they spend lots of time bonding and playing together, and our day stays pretty relaxed, and they will often give themselves extra learning opportunities.
My 9 year old is currently going through the Ramona Quimby series, and absolutely loooves it, so she will often extend her reading time from 20 minutes, to an hour or more. I find her with her nose in a book all. the. time.
My 7 year old is quite often making something, or exploring her talents, and my 4 year old is always entertaining herself with picture books or toys.
After dinner, we do a 15 minute pickup, concentrating on the 2 chores we are assigned for each room, but mostly sticking to just the dining room and kitchen. Then the kids go get pajamas on, and play for a while.
At about 8, we gather for our night devotional, or if its Monday we gather right after dinner for Family Night.
Devotional at night, is a family prayer, and scripture reading, and then I read 2 chapters or a picture book with each kid.
Brushing teeth, baths, and things like that take place, and if we can get them all tucked in by 9:30, its a good night.
My husband catches up on his second job, or watches a t.v. show on Netflix, and I wind down by last minute clean up in the kitchen, a shower, or checking emails and things.
It is a very relaxed environment for sure lately, but its been soooo good, and there is still a ton of learning going on.
Our learning may not be very structured at all right now, but its not the season for it. The season we are in will be over shortly, once this baby comes, and I feel better physically, and we get a routine established for our new family members needs. The kids will all be learning how to take care of a baby, and how to help mom out, when I cant keep up on everything. Then spring will be here soon too, and park days will pick up, and lots of walks in nature and enjoying outside again.
We recently inherited the first year of The Family School Latter Day Learning curriculum, which I am soooo excited about! It has lessons for Literature, Music, Science, Art, History and Geography, and the lessons are so fun.
I plan on doing one subject a day, and the lessons are only about 1/2 hour long, so probably something I will do during the nap time we all enjoy. :)
We'll be moving back into a day that is busier with learning again, but I have been so grateful for the simplicity that we have had this last year, and will be doing my best to keep it as simple as possible, yet productive.
I love Homeschool still just as much as I did before, if not more. :)
I love that we can adapt it to our needs, and be as flexible as we allow ourselves to be. Its a learning time not only for the kids, but for me too!
How have you adjusted your routine and schedule, to fit your needs as the seasons of life change?
I just read my post from last year, which actually happens to be my post before this one. :) I didn't realize I hadn't posted anything since.
We are still pretty structurally unstructured, but still in a great a way for my little learners.
I am sitting here typing this, with a big round belly, mentally feeling 43 weeks pregnant, but according to a recent ultrasound, really only about 39 weeks.
My pregnancy just seemed to go on and on, and I was feeling awesome physically, but frustrated mentally, so my midwife and I thought it would be best to get an ultrasound to make sure everything was o.k..
I had a feeling my due date was off, by maybe a week or so, but imagine my awe, when I found out, we were off by a whole month! Yes, that explained why I could still speed walk around the neighborhood at what I thought was 42 weeks pregnant, and lift my leg into the kitchen sink at what I thought was 40 weeks pregnant, to wash my foot, after I stepped in one of my toddlers lovely snack messes on the kitchen floor.
When the ultrasound showed I was really only about 38 weeks last week, I was pretty much speechless. I still am. I cannot figure out, how we were so off before, lol, but it was actually quite a relief at the same time, when I discovered I was not going to keep going overdue, and be pregnant forever, but that I was in fact not even due yet. :)
So now a week later, I really am feeling ready for this pregnancy to be over. I am finally feeling physically ready to say the least, and I hate climbing up and down the stairs or even thinking about walking around the neighborhood!
However, I have felt so much come together with our homeschooling lately. For a few months, we were very scattered, and there was pretty much no organized learning, except when we read together. It was a break though, for me. Something I needed as I prepared for the up coming event of a new little person joining our family. (Which, did I mention still hasn't happened ?)
As I have worked through things mentally, I have been finding peace. I felt very cluttered with everything I was doing before this break. I was addicted to facebook, and all the great groups and forums to be a part of. I was obsessed with hearing about how others disciplined their kids, or implemented learning into their homes, and I had at one point declared I was going to fail my kids, if I didn't keep up on learning how to do everything perfectly.
This ran me down, to a point I never want to be at again!
I was letting my happiness go down the drain, in order to make sure everyone else was happy.
When I finally started to let go, I actually deleted my facebook account, and I have been enjoying my email again.
I get my one post from Simple Homeschool each day, in the morning, that inspires me for the rest of the day.
When I have questions about a particular situation in my home, I pray. I trust my own intuition on what I should do. I don't feel like I have to buy all kinds of supplements for learning anymore either. We just use what we have, and get creative!
The past 2 years have been a huge time, for me to learn to appreciate and love myself for who I am. I have figured out so much about myself, and in the last month, I have really, really, started to take care of me.......so I can have the fuel that I need to take care of my precious family too.
I no longer do chores, and household responsibilities because I have to. I do them because I want to! I want my kids to learn to appreciate and love themselves too, and to do their responsibilities and learning because it brings them joy as well!
The freedom of Home Schooling can really give opportunities for personal growth, that any old public school wouldn't come close to.
In the last couple of weeks, we have come up with a really relaxed schedule, that has been working wonders. It was something that just fit us. I am sure it will change a bit, for a while anyway, when my time is occupied with a newborn, but its helped my kids get into a routine that they are doing on their own, and all I have to do is gently nudge them, and show them I will be there for them whenever they need me.
In the morning, my now 2 year old, knocks on his door, yelling "Mama! Mama! Open the door!". Sometimes I am already awake, taking advantage of those last few quiet moments, or sometimes I am still asleep, but his call, is my wakeup call.
I open his door and squish and snuggle him, with "Good morning!' 's, and ''How are you?", to which he replies, his plan to grab everyone of his snuggly blankets, as well as each of his cars, or stuffed animals that he slept with, to bring down to the kitchen table for breakfast. He is my little Tender Heart Bear, and his hugs and smiles in the morning are super important to me. :)
Before I go downstairs, I take care of a routine that I have been so lovingly learning to enjoy this last year. Most of the time it is taken care of before Tender Hearts wakeup call, but on days that it is not, he just follows me around until it is done.
I do this routine, because it keeps my upstairs clean for the whole day, and that creates space and peace of mind for me.
I used to be a really messy mom. I was overwhelmed by laundry, and stuff. What mother isn't? My kids thought my room was the room to leave their stuff in. I was always to exhausted to tackle these projects that built up more and more everyday. I tried to have one major cleaning project a day, which worked well, when I had the energy, but now my little routine, has made it so much easier!
I make my bed first thing. Making the bed always seemed so pointless before, but I started to see how good it made me feel to come to bed at night to a made bed, and that made the effort all worth it. Its the most important chore of the day in fact now. I make my bed for me, because I am learning to love me.
Then I clear up my nightstand, and make sure my floor is cleaned up.
I get dressed, and move into the bathroom, shutting my bedroom door behind me, to maintain the cleanliness and peaceful space that it is now.
This last year, has been a year of major simplifying, as far as belongings I have in the home too. I used to have bins under my bed, of old art projects or belongings that I couldn't part with, things that never got used and were just being stored. I took a couple of days, and just let myself get rid of them. It was so liberating! My room is now very empty. I have my dresser in my closet, my clothes have been simplified, down to only what fits in my dresser, the belongings I have on my dresser, are very few, and under my bed is empty, except for what my husband insists on keeping of his own things.
On the walls, its a few simple pictures. I am mentioning all of this, because I have done this in all of the rooms of my house, and I can't express, just how much, Less is More!
We also stopped using our computer, and I grounded myself from the library, and we don't watch any T.V., except for on Fridays and a little on Saturday, if chores and school stuff are done.
Why did I ground myself from the library? I was bringing home all these books that were terrific for learning from, and then some would get lost, and not returned on time, and it just simply costs less, to buy books from the thrift store, haha.
Friday is a day I let the kids watch education shows from Netflix, like Sid The Science Kid, or Wild Kratts, or things like that. We have to have our morning routine chores and school stuff done first though. Occassionaly, I will let them watch something uneducational, but that is mostly saved for Saturday morning.
My girls have dance class on Tuesday, and because they each have a separate time for their classes, that is our school for the day. We don't worry about school stuff otherwise.
Wednesday my 9 year old has orchestra, and for a few months we were all going, but as I let go of things, we ended up just sending her to it. I have the best Homeschool friends that have been so sweet to make sure she gets taken to orchestra every Wednesday, as I have felt the need to simplify my week.
If you are feeling overwhelmed, simplify your belongings, and your activities, and don't feel bad about getting rid of things, that you haven't used in the last 6 months, or letting go of "school stuff".
Learning will still happen.
In the bathroom, my job is clean up the floor, and wipe the toilet. Each of us have 2 chores in each room that we do on a daily basis.
I have discovered that mopping is not my thing. The hassle of getting the mop out, was just not simple enough or fun enough for me, so I started getting down on my knees with cleaner and a wash cloth, and I scrub the tiles thoroughly with my hands instead. Its quicker than having to pull out the mop, and the mop bucket, and doing all the rinsing and plunging too. :) It is actually very satisfying, knowing I personally got each little square inch, rather than wondering if the mop actually did any good. As I keep up on this each day, its way to easy to keep the tiles clean now, and there really isn't much scrubbing anymore, which makes it a fast and easy job and totally worth the 5 minutes spent each morning.
I move into the laundry room, and throw a load in to start the day. The white noise of the washing machine sends a vibe throughout the house of production. I am also in charge of making sure the floor in the laundry area is cleaned up.
Then I move into my sons room. His room will eventually be shared with our new baby, but for now its just his, and it stays fairly clean. I tidy his toys and bed, and that's it for the upstairs!
On the way down the stairs, I pick up any clutter, and move into the kitchen.
By this time, my 3 girls are waking up.
The rule is, they need to be dressed before we can have breakfast. They have 3 things to take care of before they come upstairs.
1. make their beds
2. get dressed
3. make sure their floors are picked up.
(Yep, working on getting them in the same habit, of creating peaceful space in their bedrooms too.)
We sit down for breakfast, which is still pretty simple, Fruit, nuts and seeds, and a grain of some sort.
Lately we haven't really done much of a devotional, except a prayer, and spiritual thoughts. I am looking forward to having this baby, and getting our routine established in 3-4 months, so I feel more up to more learning during devotional. For now, we do what we feel like that morning. :)
After breakfast, we start our chores for the rest of the rooms. My oldest, 9, wipes the counter and mirrors in the bathrooms, and my 7 year old wipes the bathtub, and scrubs walls.
They move into the laundry room, my 9 year old throws another load in, and my 7 year old sorts from the dryer, and scrubs walls.
They move down the stairs and my 7 year old scrubs the railing and walls on her way down, (its so nice having fingerprint free walls and a clean railing!)
While they are doing this, I sweep the kitchen and front entry way, so that they can move on to their next chores.
My 7 year old scrubs the tile in our entry way, and my 9 year old scrubs the dining room floor. I am in charge of scrubbing the kitchen floor.
My 7 year old clears the table from breakfast, and my 9 year old then takes her washcloth, and scrubs any stickiness off of the table.
Then in the kitchen, my 9 year old unloads the dishwasher, and my 7 year old scrubs cupboards, then I load the dishwasher, which will fill up through the day and be ran at night after dinner.
They then move into the living room, and my 9 year old stacks bean bags, and picks up any garbage, and then my 7 year old cleans up any laundry and makes sure our piano is cleaned off. I clean up toys, and vacuum. :)
This ends our morning chore routine. It is very fluid, moving from room to room this way, and because we do these simple necessities each morning, it prevents the room from ever getting overwhelmingly messy, and we can keep up on it better, when art projects or toys or other events take place.
My 4 year old and 2 year old, are not expected to have a chore list like my older kids. My older kids have their chores for each room listed on a dry erase surface that they can mark of as they accomplish them, they love that satisfaction of crossing off the chore. The chores are simple and quick, and this has created a habit for them. They have memorized their routines, and its so easy for them, that it just gets done. I did have to work with them on it a little when we first started this, to teach them to do a thorough job, like scrubbing in big circles on the floor, so they didn't miss spots, and things like that, but they do a really good job now, and I don't have to bug them about it. I just trust that they will do a good job, and if I notice they missed something, I lovingly point it out to them, how they can do better, and why its important to spend a little extra time to do a good job. My goal is to teach them the joy of work, ultimately, and why work isn't just discipline, but something we do, because it makes it possible to enjoy our environment and each other.
After chores, they are free to go play for a couple hours until lunch.
Around 12, we get lunch together. Normally, I will take this time to read a chapter from "Life of Fred", a really fun way of teaching math. The last few months though, this has not happened, but eventually we will again. I like to combine eating with education. :) Its a time for us to gather together, they are occupied with enjoying something tasty, and they are more willing to listen and discuss things, while they are happy and hungry.
We clean up, and play a little more, and then about 2 pm, my son goes down for his nap.
Time to relax and learn. My little Tender Heart Bear, and his best partner in crime, my 4 year old sweetheart, are pretty busy creating messes together with toys and food and the things toddlers are best at, in the morning, so when nap time comes around......its a break we all look forward to, haha!
My oldest two, on their dry erase responsibility lists, have a School list too, that they take care of during this time.
They are to spend 20 minutes of personal reading time. Then they do a lesson in math, a lesson in copy work, and then they choose some sort of art project to work on.
Their math and copy work, are normally something they choose, but recently I started writing them out for them as an assignment. I don't really like to give assignments, because I want them to inspire themselves, but with math and copy work, I have been finding it important to have a little more structure, so I can keep track of their progress, and help them progress a little more.
My 9 year old is working on fractions and addition and subtraction with big numbers, and my 7 year old is working on addition with her 10's and 20's. Their copy work is usually practice to help them perfect writing numbers or letters that they write backwards a lot, or something that supports their math learning too. My 9 year old, is learning to write out big numbers, like "One thousand, one hundred", so I write those words down, and she copies them.
During this time, I pull out a book that I am working on, and if they need my help, I am all theirs instead.
After they finish, they spend lots of time bonding and playing together, and our day stays pretty relaxed, and they will often give themselves extra learning opportunities.
My 9 year old is currently going through the Ramona Quimby series, and absolutely loooves it, so she will often extend her reading time from 20 minutes, to an hour or more. I find her with her nose in a book all. the. time.
My 7 year old is quite often making something, or exploring her talents, and my 4 year old is always entertaining herself with picture books or toys.
After dinner, we do a 15 minute pickup, concentrating on the 2 chores we are assigned for each room, but mostly sticking to just the dining room and kitchen. Then the kids go get pajamas on, and play for a while.
At about 8, we gather for our night devotional, or if its Monday we gather right after dinner for Family Night.
Devotional at night, is a family prayer, and scripture reading, and then I read 2 chapters or a picture book with each kid.
Brushing teeth, baths, and things like that take place, and if we can get them all tucked in by 9:30, its a good night.
My husband catches up on his second job, or watches a t.v. show on Netflix, and I wind down by last minute clean up in the kitchen, a shower, or checking emails and things.
It is a very relaxed environment for sure lately, but its been soooo good, and there is still a ton of learning going on.
Our learning may not be very structured at all right now, but its not the season for it. The season we are in will be over shortly, once this baby comes, and I feel better physically, and we get a routine established for our new family members needs. The kids will all be learning how to take care of a baby, and how to help mom out, when I cant keep up on everything. Then spring will be here soon too, and park days will pick up, and lots of walks in nature and enjoying outside again.
We recently inherited the first year of The Family School Latter Day Learning curriculum, which I am soooo excited about! It has lessons for Literature, Music, Science, Art, History and Geography, and the lessons are so fun.
I plan on doing one subject a day, and the lessons are only about 1/2 hour long, so probably something I will do during the nap time we all enjoy. :)
We'll be moving back into a day that is busier with learning again, but I have been so grateful for the simplicity that we have had this last year, and will be doing my best to keep it as simple as possible, yet productive.
I love Homeschool still just as much as I did before, if not more. :)
I love that we can adapt it to our needs, and be as flexible as we allow ourselves to be. Its a learning time not only for the kids, but for me too!
How have you adjusted your routine and schedule, to fit your needs as the seasons of life change?
Friday, February 21, 2014
What a day in our Home School world looks like
We have been homeschooling, in a sense, since my oldest was born, but technically this year has been our first.
I like to base our learning off of the idea of the natural milestones we reach through life. A Thomas Jefferson Education, really helped me understand the different phases we go through, after we learn to smile, roll over, sit, crawl, walk and talk. We do have the potential and capacity to teach ourselves everything we need to know, with great mentors to guide us and help us.
My kids are ages 1, 3, 6 and 8. This picture is actually a little old, but we have yet to update it. :)
My oldest went to Kindergarten and 1st grade at the public school, but she is happy to do Home School now, and my 6 year old is starting Kindergarten stuff at home too.
When others ask me how we do it, they seem to have an idea that it would be complicated, time consuming, stressful. They also worry, that they wont be smart enough (trust me I worried about that too, but quickly found out, that I have plenty of time to learn, and I am not the only one mentoring them!) I am here to tell you it does not have to be complicated or stressful, at all! We have a lot of fun, and I am actually less stressed with all my kids home, where we can wake up ready to have a fun day, and we are not obligated to drag all 4 kids out of the house, just to drive a mile to the school and then back home, 2 to 3 times a day.
Yes we need structure, and we still strive for it, and maybe if we lived somewhere where it was warm outside all the time, dragging 4 sleepy little tiny kids outside to a cold vehicle wouldn't have been so frustrating, but I will take the nice warm relaxed home, and happy faces in the morning, over tropical weather any day. :)
In the Core phase of learning
We actually do not do a lot of structured schooling. For now, that is. Right now, as TJED describes it, my kids are in a phase where the most important thing they learn, is the difference between right and wrong. This requires me, to be, their mentor, to be a good example, and to gently guide them through their day, when they make choices. We talk a lot about good manners, and virtues. We also read a lot of books, and we discuss the choices the characters had to make, and talk about what they should and should not have done.
My favorite book that we started reading, is called "The Book of Virtues" by William J. Bennett
. It has a section for each virtue, and in each section, is a poem or a story, that teaches the virtue. Its really great, and whatever curriculum or method you choose, this is a great book to read to your kids anyway.
I also love the "Little House on the Prairie" series, and my kids do too!
Another thing TJED suggests, is to structure your time, but not your content. This provides structure to the kids, and helps them learn responsibility, but it also provides the freedom, they need, to choose what they want to learn, and that leads to the Love of Learning milestone.
So, here is an example of our "structured"/not structured schedule. :)
I try, to have every body learn to be out of bed by 8 am. I would love to get to a point where we are out of bed by 7, and me out of bed by 6, but do to some personal health issues, I need all the sleep I can get in a night to help with healing. We are getting there though, and when I can get myself into bed by 9 pm, I can get up earlier. My daily goal is to be up, myself by 7, but its a goal I am still working on.On Good days it does happen, otherwise its more like 8 am. :)
- 7 am- I wake up, read my scriptures, and give myself a few minutes to check email, and facebook.
- 8 am- I make my bed, get dressed, and clean up anything in my room that needs it, like taking my water cup to the kitchen, or picking up wrappers or kids toys.
- next I move to the bathroom, do my hair, and hygiene things. I keep a package of baby wipes on our counter, and I wipe the counters and pick up anything in the bathroom that needs to be put away.
- I move to the laundry room, which is in the hall by my bathroom. I sort the load from the dryer and start a new load in the washer. My kids and I each have a small basket in the hall that our clothes get sorted into.
- Then I move into my 1 and 3 year olds room. I get them dressed, and "we" tidy up their room, and we all go down to the kitchen for breakfast. I unload the dishwasher at this time as well.
- 9 am- We all have breakfast and Devotional together. My 6 and 8 year old, have reached the milestone (finally) of getting themselves up and dressed before breakfast! (I thought it would never happen, but after starting a new awesome rewards system, they have both naturally come to be responsible about it on their own.)
One morning, she took some time coming up stairs. I wondered a little about it, but didn't bug her. Then during devotional, she announced "I have made a decision!" Next Sunday at church, I am going to get up an bear my testimony!" She explained, that she had been thinking about it, in bed, and that was why she didn't come up earlier. She still needs to wait a couple more Sundays for when we have our Fast and Testimony meeting, but she is still planning on doing it! These were the kind of words, that make a mother's heart jump for joy, and it took a lot for me to hold it in, and gently agree with her, that it was a great decision. :)
My 6 year old, kind of picks up on the spirit of it, from her sister, and shares her thought, and then my 3 year old, usually says something random like "I sleep to much", lol, and then my 1 year nods his head and mumbles something serious. It is the cutest thing, and really sets a good mood for our day. After our spiritual thoughts, we recite the scripture we are memorizing, and then the poem we are memorizing. If they pass off, the part we are working on, they earn a treat.
- 10 am- We start our morning chores. For the kids, its finishing up with hygiene, making beds, cleaning up their rooms, or anything on their chore lists, that they can earn a token for. (Tokens for chores, is our new rewards system, then they can turn in thier tokens for treats, or something fun. It works wonderfully!)
I have a list, laminated and posted in each room, of weekly deep cleaning tasks, and monthly deep cleaning tasks.
Monday-Kitchen
Tuesday-Laundry and Laundry area
Wednesday-Bathrooms
Thursday-Living room
Friday-Bedrooms
Saturday and Sundays are free days except for 5 minutes up keeping in each area, to prevent overwhelming feelings on other days. When I keep up on all of this, I don't have to clean a whole lot at all.
- 12 pm-I get my baby ready for his nap, we nurse for a bit, and then put him to bed. He will sleep for 4 hours usually, which is really nice. He recently switched from 2 naps a day, to 1 long one a day instead. When he did 2 naps, we did school during his naps, and had a recess in between. Now, we do school stuff all together, during his long nap.
- Between 12:30 pm and 4:30 pm- We have a lunch and bring out the books. During this time, the kids are encouraged, but not forced, to pick a book, or a few, and do personal reading time. Lately, we all gather on the beanbags in my living room, and they listen while I read from The Book of Virtues, or from The Little House on the Prairie. Listening, sometimes involves my 8 year old laying with her eyes closed, picturing what is going on in the story, my 6 year old quietly playing with a toy, and my 3 year old, reading her own book, sometimes to loudly. ;) Today, they ate a snack while I read, and my 8 year old read a page to us too.
- After reading, my kids usually move on to "doing" something. They love to color, or do imaginative play. I am finding this is a perfect moment to have them gather around the table for a lesson or project too. Yesterday, we gathered around the table and made 55 valentines, for each kid to pass out at our Valentines Home School get together this Friday. We also get out our "Draw Now" books, and they learn to draw something from it, and then do copy work, for phonics and writing.They also love going outside and playing. I do yard work while they play, and sometimes they join me.
- We also have an account for my 8 and 6 year old, online at Time for learning. It is an online age based curriculum, for Kindergarten through High School students. They have specific subject lessons to learn throughout a years worth of time, and they have quiz's and tests, but you do not have to do them. They are also not tied down to an outside teacher, or schedule. Its so nice for my kids to get on, and learn fun age appropriate material, to learn math, or science or phonics, but not have them feel forced to learn any of it. They learn it better, when it is their choice to learn it. We pay $34 a month, for the two accounts combined. It is a very good curriculum too, and its fun! The kids usually take an hour each, and learn something fun from it. We don't do it everyday either, just when they want to.
This is also a time, for us all to explore our talents. We break out the violins, the harmonicas, the art, the dancing, the journals, and anything else that peaks our interest.
- 4:30 pm- I start to get dinner going, and my kids are free to do what they want.
- 5:30 pm- my son wakes up from his nap by this time, and my husband comes home from work. He usually goes for a jog, or starts his other job, that he does in our living room on his laptop.
- 6:00 pm-we eat dinner, and discuss our day with Daddy.
- 7:00 pm-we have a 15 minute pickup in our kitchen. The kids each have a chore they are in charge of, my 8 year old loads the dishwasher and Daddy and I finish up the rest.
- 7:30 pm-The kids all get ready for bed, jammies, brushing teeth, baths, setting out clothes for the next day, and a 5 minute pickup in the living room and bedrooms.
- 8:00 pm Devotional- We pick a book for Daddy to read to us, sometimes its from "The Book of Virtues". We say a family prayer, and then he and my 8 year old read from the scriptures to us.
- 8:30 pm- I tuck my 1 and 3 year old into bed, and then I go down to my 6 and 8 year old. I say personal prayers with my 3 and 1 year old, and tickle and snuggle and squish them.
- With my 6 and 8 year old, I ask them about 1 sad thing they had happen during the day, and then 2 happy things, and then we tickle, giggle, snuggle and squish with them. :)
- 9:00 pm-I do a house sweep, and tidy up what I need to, and then hop in bed to read or catch up on my self taught violin lessons.
- 10:00 pm-We really try to have the lights out by this time.
The one thing I keep in mind the most, is that, this phase will not last the whole Home Schooling Experience. My 8 year old is moving into the love of learning phase, and my younger kids are still in the learning right from wrong phase. Soon, in about 4 years my 8 year old will be 12 and moving into the Scholar phase, where learning particular subjects will be more important to her, and I will be mentoring her through deeper things, and my other kids will be moving into the Love of learning stage.
I find that I myself, am going through a Love of Learning/Scholar phase. Which is super important, for me to take advantage of at this time, and be a good example, by studying the things I want to learn about too.
While we have this routine into place, it took us a bit of refining to get here, to realize it didn't need to be anything stressful or majorly structured. We also have plenty of days, especially on Monday's when we do our grocery shopping too, that our learning is completely "in the moment". We discuss things while traveling, we discuss math, while budgeting, we learn that it is stealing, when we take one little Jelly Bean from the bulk bins, and that yes, we will pay at least a penny for it, if you eat it first. :) Some days if we are out and about, the learning does not come from any book, but just from their mentor passing on information about the moment.
So there you have it! A day in the world, of Home Schooling my Passionate Bookworms! :)
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Choosing a curriculum, and why I like TJED method
One of the most daunting parts of doing Home School.........
Figuring out WHAT curriculum to go with!
It can be so overwhelming. There are a lot of curriculum programs out there. A lot of really great ones!
There are also the government k-12 online schools, which are great too.
I have been wanting to do Home School since my 7 year old went to Kindergarten, but didn't quite feel ready yet, until this last year. I looked into the online schools several times, and just never felt a connection with any of them.
My sister, who has been Home Schooling for about 15 years now, tried the online k-12 school, and has mixed feelings about it. I have talked to several other people, who have tried it also, and they say good and bad things about it. It is where I started looking, but I ended up looking past it all. (Even though the reimbursements are soooo tempting!)
Here are some benefits of an online school -
(please remember I am just starting out with this, so I leave it to you to study out for yourself too. This is just to give an idea of what I have looked into, and found for myself)
Here are some other curriculum programs that I have looked into or heard about, that would be worth looking into also:
Latter Day Learning (also known as the Family School)
My Fathers World
Ambleside Online (Charlotte Mason book list and schedule)
Confessions of a Home Schooler, has some great curriculum books too! (I love her website!)
My favorite Method, is of course the Thomas Jefferson Education (TJED).
After several years of trying different curriculums, including K-12, my sister finally found TJED, and has now been with it for about 6+ years.
My oldest daughter was just a baby when she first told me about it, and she invited me to look at their website. http://www.tjed.org/
I had years to go, until I needed to make a schooling choice for my kids, but I was very intrigued by what she had told me about it, so I looked. I ended up registering with their website, and have known since, that whether my kids ended up going to public school or not, that this was a method, I would be using in my home either way.
I love that it focuses on teaching a child to love to learn, rather than forcing a child to just learn how to get a job someday.(not that knowing how to get a job isn't important, because it definitely is, but if you know how to love to learn, you will be more likely to thrive in the job you do get someday.)
Now that I am doing Home School, I am very excited to put this method into full practice for not only my kids, but myself too!
With this method, you get to be the mentor, and the child is the educator. :) We learn from the classics. We learn Math, science, history, reading, language arts, all the important subjects, from our leaders, and from classic authors, like Shakespeare, by reading the books, and then discussing every bit of them. They choose the subject, and then you read the book with them, or before they read it, so you can mentor them along in their questions and studying.
In the first phase of this method, ages 0-8 about, children are learning the important life skill of "between right and wrong". This is a great time for you to start reading about what you want to learn about, for yourself (ex. I decided I wanted to learn about Sun Dials, recently, so I had fun looking up articles, and reading about where they started, who invented them, and things like that). It sets a great example, of you learning to love to learn, so they can transition into the next phase easily, which is "Learning to love to learn". :)
TJED's website has book lists for the classics, and so does the Ambleside Online website.
Why did I continue to choose this method, over all of the other great curriculum and methods?
My sisters oldest boys are 14 and 15, and they are doing things for fun, like memorizing the Declaration of Independence, and taking fun field trips to Mt. Rushmore as a reward, for choosing to do so.
My 14 year old nephew did this, and it is amazing to see the young man that he is becoming. I had a discussion with him, that started out casual, but was very quickly turned into, how he wants to study law, and religion, and deep, smart subjects, and the best part is he is passionate about it!
My 15 year old nephew, (and all of his 4 brothers) have amazing self values, that they hold themselves to. They are the most kind, loving, helpful, hardworking boys I have ever met!
I am telling you all of that, because, watching them, has inspired me to want that for my family too. I want my girls and my son, to desire to learn. I want them to love good books, that have good, wholesome, inspiring literature in them. I want them to learn life skills, from the virtuous wome, like "Jane Eyer", and "Little women" and to have high standards, and good values, and great self esteem about themselves. I want them to read a book, and learn how to handle difficult life situations. I want them to love our country, the way our first leaders did, and for all of the values our first leaders had, to be important to my kids too. I want our constitution to have meaning to them, so they can uphold our country, and be great leaders themselves, in their own small or big ways. I really feel they will get all of this from the Thomas Jefferson Education method. :)
I know that this is something that most families want for their children, but again, this method might not be for everyone, and there are others that are just as just as great out there. I do definitely encourage you to look at this method though, and read the book A Thomas Jefferson Education, to learn why this method works, and how to do it.
You can even do this method, and use other curriculum too if you want.
As this method teaches, we will be structuring our time, but not the content. The freedom to learn how we want to learn, encourages, loving to learn.:)
Anyway, I just wanted to share why we chose to go this route. )
I love hearing about other methods, and curriculum, so feel free to share what you have found, and what you love about it for other readers (and me) too, in the comments.
Happy Learning!
Figuring out WHAT curriculum to go with!
It can be so overwhelming. There are a lot of curriculum programs out there. A lot of really great ones!
There are also the government k-12 online schools, which are great too.
I have been wanting to do Home School since my 7 year old went to Kindergarten, but didn't quite feel ready yet, until this last year. I looked into the online schools several times, and just never felt a connection with any of them.
My sister, who has been Home Schooling for about 15 years now, tried the online k-12 school, and has mixed feelings about it. I have talked to several other people, who have tried it also, and they say good and bad things about it. It is where I started looking, but I ended up looking past it all. (Even though the reimbursements are soooo tempting!)
Here are some benefits of an online school -
(please remember I am just starting out with this, so I leave it to you to study out for yourself too. This is just to give an idea of what I have looked into, and found for myself)
- You can do school from home
- Your student still has a "classroom Teacher"
- You can work out a schedule that works for you and your student
- They often reimburse, and send you supplies (it is cheaper for them to do this, than to have your child go to public school. It costs $10,000 per child to go to public school) just a reference
- Your curriculum is planned out for you
- You can mentor them along if you need to
- You are tied down to logging on everyday for school time
- You are required to do testing
- online teaching quality can vary
- not every child learns the same, so it might work great for one of your children, and not so great with another
Here are some other curriculum programs that I have looked into or heard about, that would be worth looking into also:
Latter Day Learning (also known as the Family School)
My Fathers World
Ambleside Online (Charlotte Mason book list and schedule)
Confessions of a Home Schooler, has some great curriculum books too! (I love her website!)
My favorite Method, is of course the Thomas Jefferson Education (TJED).
After several years of trying different curriculums, including K-12, my sister finally found TJED, and has now been with it for about 6+ years.
My oldest daughter was just a baby when she first told me about it, and she invited me to look at their website. http://www.tjed.org/
I had years to go, until I needed to make a schooling choice for my kids, but I was very intrigued by what she had told me about it, so I looked. I ended up registering with their website, and have known since, that whether my kids ended up going to public school or not, that this was a method, I would be using in my home either way.
I love that it focuses on teaching a child to love to learn, rather than forcing a child to just learn how to get a job someday.(not that knowing how to get a job isn't important, because it definitely is, but if you know how to love to learn, you will be more likely to thrive in the job you do get someday.)
Now that I am doing Home School, I am very excited to put this method into full practice for not only my kids, but myself too!
With this method, you get to be the mentor, and the child is the educator. :) We learn from the classics. We learn Math, science, history, reading, language arts, all the important subjects, from our leaders, and from classic authors, like Shakespeare, by reading the books, and then discussing every bit of them. They choose the subject, and then you read the book with them, or before they read it, so you can mentor them along in their questions and studying.
In the first phase of this method, ages 0-8 about, children are learning the important life skill of "between right and wrong". This is a great time for you to start reading about what you want to learn about, for yourself (ex. I decided I wanted to learn about Sun Dials, recently, so I had fun looking up articles, and reading about where they started, who invented them, and things like that). It sets a great example, of you learning to love to learn, so they can transition into the next phase easily, which is "Learning to love to learn". :)
TJED's website has book lists for the classics, and so does the Ambleside Online website.
Why did I continue to choose this method, over all of the other great curriculum and methods?
My sisters oldest boys are 14 and 15, and they are doing things for fun, like memorizing the Declaration of Independence, and taking fun field trips to Mt. Rushmore as a reward, for choosing to do so.
My 14 year old nephew did this, and it is amazing to see the young man that he is becoming. I had a discussion with him, that started out casual, but was very quickly turned into, how he wants to study law, and religion, and deep, smart subjects, and the best part is he is passionate about it!
My 15 year old nephew, (and all of his 4 brothers) have amazing self values, that they hold themselves to. They are the most kind, loving, helpful, hardworking boys I have ever met!
I am telling you all of that, because, watching them, has inspired me to want that for my family too. I want my girls and my son, to desire to learn. I want them to love good books, that have good, wholesome, inspiring literature in them. I want them to learn life skills, from the virtuous wome, like "Jane Eyer", and "Little women" and to have high standards, and good values, and great self esteem about themselves. I want them to read a book, and learn how to handle difficult life situations. I want them to love our country, the way our first leaders did, and for all of the values our first leaders had, to be important to my kids too. I want our constitution to have meaning to them, so they can uphold our country, and be great leaders themselves, in their own small or big ways. I really feel they will get all of this from the Thomas Jefferson Education method. :)
I know that this is something that most families want for their children, but again, this method might not be for everyone, and there are others that are just as just as great out there. I do definitely encourage you to look at this method though, and read the book A Thomas Jefferson Education, to learn why this method works, and how to do it.
You can even do this method, and use other curriculum too if you want.
As this method teaches, we will be structuring our time, but not the content. The freedom to learn how we want to learn, encourages, loving to learn.:)
Anyway, I just wanted to share why we chose to go this route. )
I love hearing about other methods, and curriculum, so feel free to share what you have found, and what you love about it for other readers (and me) too, in the comments.
Happy Learning!
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Welcome!
Welcome to my new blog!
We are a new family to Home Schooling, and we are so excited to get started!
In a sense, we have been doing "Home School" for 7 years, since my oldest was born, but we are officially starting this year, with a 2nd grader and a Kindergartner, a pre-schooler, and an almost 1 year old.
We are doing the method of Thomas Jefferson Education, and learning from the classics. We are also very eclectic, and will be learning from all kinds of different sources.
I would like to share some of the fun things we do this year, on this blog.
Home school can be very overwhelming, when you are getting started, but thanks to many new friends and my two sisters, who are also doing homeschool, I have been lucky to figure out early, that it does not need to be stressful, or strict curriculum.(yay!)
We mostly get to play and learn to love to learn! :)
My plan so far this year is-
Each day:
a page out of the writing workbook
a page out of the math workbook
For each grade
Once a week we will go to the library, and each student will choose books from one subject of their choice.
I will read these books a long with them, and then have discussion time with them each day about what we read.
On Fridays-
We will do lap books for the subject they chose that week. You can watch a tutorial HERE (click on here for the link) on how to do a lapbook, they are really fun.
I am also excited to share a Co-op group once a week, with 3 other wonderful families. I will be teaching Math once a month, out of the Life of Fred books, starting with the first one-Apples. The other Mom's will be teaching Animal Science, Art, and P.E. (all my favorite subjects!)
If you are getting started with Home School, getting involved with community groups, or park play groups for Home Schoolers, will be a support to you, that will be invaluable. We have been doing a park play group this summer, and it is the best feeling to make friends who are also doing Home School. I love it, and I am so grateful to be a part of it all!
We don't have an outlined curriculum or anything, and this may change as the years go by, but for now I am excited for the relaxed way we get to learn together!
Feel free to leave comments and questions!
Happy Learning!
We are a new family to Home Schooling, and we are so excited to get started!
In a sense, we have been doing "Home School" for 7 years, since my oldest was born, but we are officially starting this year, with a 2nd grader and a Kindergartner, a pre-schooler, and an almost 1 year old.
We are doing the method of Thomas Jefferson Education, and learning from the classics. We are also very eclectic, and will be learning from all kinds of different sources.
I would like to share some of the fun things we do this year, on this blog.
Home school can be very overwhelming, when you are getting started, but thanks to many new friends and my two sisters, who are also doing homeschool, I have been lucky to figure out early, that it does not need to be stressful, or strict curriculum.(yay!)
We mostly get to play and learn to love to learn! :)
My plan so far this year is-
Each day:
a page out of the writing workbook
a page out of the math workbook
For each grade
Once a week we will go to the library, and each student will choose books from one subject of their choice.
I will read these books a long with them, and then have discussion time with them each day about what we read.
On Fridays-
We will do lap books for the subject they chose that week. You can watch a tutorial HERE (click on here for the link) on how to do a lapbook, they are really fun.
I am also excited to share a Co-op group once a week, with 3 other wonderful families. I will be teaching Math once a month, out of the Life of Fred books, starting with the first one-Apples. The other Mom's will be teaching Animal Science, Art, and P.E. (all my favorite subjects!)
If you are getting started with Home School, getting involved with community groups, or park play groups for Home Schoolers, will be a support to you, that will be invaluable. We have been doing a park play group this summer, and it is the best feeling to make friends who are also doing Home School. I love it, and I am so grateful to be a part of it all!
We don't have an outlined curriculum or anything, and this may change as the years go by, but for now I am excited for the relaxed way we get to learn together!
Feel free to leave comments and questions!
Happy Learning!
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