I love that i can slow down with my kids if they aren't catching on to something. Instead of pushing them through to the next subject just to stay on schedule or bogging them down with more homework.
My kids are learning at a pace that doesn't stress them out. They are being kids and in that process they are learning. I'm a firm believer that subject/concepts don't match up to grades or an age...they match to the child's ability and desire to learn...not matter what their grade/age.
The purpose of our homeschool is not learning everything at specific times.
Instilling a life long ability to learn what is needed. Without knowing how to self-educate, and not rely on other people to tell us what we should know, how is someone supposed to advance themselves?
We are an unhurried homeschool. We have a plan that will cover all of the vital learning concepts...just not at the same time as their public school peers.
We are individuals who need an individualized learning path. As humans we have physical and mental similarities, but each and every one of us is an individual who learns differently than each other. Even people who have the same learning style (visual, auditory, kinesthetic) have different ways of learning.
Each one of my children has a different learning style that evolves over time. I cater to these styles. I'm constantly teaching myself, through research, how to teach my children. Part of this research is talking to my children about how they feel about what and how they are learning. I have the ultimate say on what goes on in our homeschool...but they also have the freedom to tell me what they would like to learn. They have to freedom to share ideas on how they would like to learn something. I put learning in their hands...I'm here to guide them in their exploration of learning the world around them and what they need to know to be successful, productive, adults.
Showing posts with label homeschooling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homeschooling. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Sunday, March 6, 2016
P.O.E. Unit 1 - Christopher Columbus Resources
We have just received our GeoMatters Paths of Exploration curriculum and I am loving it! Our days are going smoothly...well as smoothly as they can with an almost 9yo, 6yo, and 19mo!
Unit 1 is about Christopher Columbus. We have the student notebook that you can order, and we are enjoying doing it, but I'm not sure it includes very many projects. I also want my children to learn the true story of what happened with Mr. Columbus "discovered" America.
Fridays are our days to just explore what we've learned for the week. We do our math, reading/phonics, and bible study. Anything beyond that is exploration of what we have learned. We have read the first few chapters of Christopher Columbus: Adventurer of Faith and Courage which tells about Christopher's passion for sailing, his brother Bartholomew and their first adventure on a boat during a storm, how little food their family had because of the trade his father was in, and so much more.
There are so many learning opportunities that stem from the books we read. The learning doesn't need to just be about Christopher himself...but about ships, trading and bartering, sailing, how to read a map, etc.
-Make a Compass!
-Christopher Columbus Character
-BrainPop - Christopher Columbus
-Lapbook
-Puzzles, crosswords, vocabulary
Unit 1 is about Christopher Columbus. We have the student notebook that you can order, and we are enjoying doing it, but I'm not sure it includes very many projects. I also want my children to learn the true story of what happened with Mr. Columbus "discovered" America.
Fridays are our days to just explore what we've learned for the week. We do our math, reading/phonics, and bible study. Anything beyond that is exploration of what we have learned. We have read the first few chapters of Christopher Columbus: Adventurer of Faith and Courage which tells about Christopher's passion for sailing, his brother Bartholomew and their first adventure on a boat during a storm, how little food their family had because of the trade his father was in, and so much more.
There are so many learning opportunities that stem from the books we read. The learning doesn't need to just be about Christopher himself...but about ships, trading and bartering, sailing, how to read a map, etc.
Crafts
-Paper Mache Globe-Make a Compass!
-Christopher Columbus Character
Websites
-BBC Primary History Christopher Columbus-BrainPop - Christopher Columbus
Printables
-Copywork & Worksheets-Lapbook
-Puzzles, crosswords, vocabulary
Free Reads
Videos
-The REAL History of Christopher Columbus (for older children, please preview before showing your children.)
This post contains some affiliate links.
Saturday, March 5, 2016
Weekly Wrap Up
This week we finally receive the curriculum we ordered...GeoMatters Paths of Exploration! We are loving it. I had/have plans of using Ambleside Online next year but if POE works out for us, we may end up using AO for our loop read aloud selections.
Our dog Smokey likes to get in my chair the minute I get up--He was trying to convince my oldest son that he's the teacher now.
My daughter has been having some letter formation problems, so we are stepping back and using play dough, a tray of rice, and finger paints to 'draw' the letters. We'll get back to handwriting soon. We have plenty of time; she's only in Kindergarten.
We live in the city, so finding a place to have our weekly (seems like daily, now!) nature walks is a bit of a challenge so that it doesn't get too repetitive for the children. Today we took a walk down a path near our house and went the opposite way we normally go. The kids had a great time walking, running, noticing sounds, digging...just doing what kids love to do.
After our nature walks I have the children draw a picture and write something describing it. He even looked up "how to write the tree in Chinese" and wrote the symbols.
His journal entry was entertaining today...
My oldest son got braces! He's 8.5; this seems so young for braces. I knew it was coming. He was born with a cleft lip and palate, which caused him to have very crooked front teeth. He will have perfect teeth by the end! This first phase is 18 months; this includes braces and an expander (he gets this placed in 3 weeks.)
The kids love to use my iPad to take pictures. We were messing around with PhotoBooth one day and these beauties were created. I could NOT stop laughing! My youngest son looks like some sort of alien mastermind with his crew ready to rule the world!
And last but not least our library book haul for today.
The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes | The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher | The Tale of The Pie and The Patty-Pan | The Tale of Peter Rabbit | The Tale of Jemima Puddle Duck | How Lincoln Learned to Read | The Dumbest Idea Ever | Spooksville | Countries of the the World: Spain | The Grasshopper & the Ants | The Tortoise & The Hare | Hollywood Dogs | W is for Webster | Ada Byron Lovalace and the Thinking Machine
I linked up at:
Sunday, February 21, 2016
Book Review and GIVEAWAY (ended)! The Unhurried Homeschooler
I am always stressing over if I am doing enough work with my children each day. Growing up in the public school system and have public school teachers in my family has made it hard for myself to get out of the public school mindset of when things "should" be introduced and at what age.
I've been worried that my 8.5yo son is behind in math and my 6yo daughter is behind in reading. It's made me re-think this whole homeschooling thing...several times in fact. I would waffle between peace about what we are doing and dread that I was ruining our children.
Recently I've had a whole new vision for our homeschool. I've been blessed with being about to speak with a God fearing woman who has been homeschooling for 20+ years! Her name is Durenda Wilson and she is the author of the newly published book (print and Kindle) The Unhurried Homeschooler.
THE UNHURRIED HOMESCHOOLER
by Durrenda Wilson
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Durenda Wilson has been very happily married to Darryl for 26 years and homeschooling for 20 years. They have eight awesome kids, 5 boys and 3 girls. Two are married, one is in college and the rest are still at home. Durenda is a Nana to three cuties! She writes for her own blog, Simple Nourishing Home, for The Busy Mom and Hip Homeschool Moms. She also podcasts with Heidi at The Busy Mom. She is painfully aware that she can't "do it all", she really doesn't want to and is realizing that her kids are going to be OK anyway. Her passion is simplifying, being authentic and inspiring moms to homeschool and mother in freedom and joy.
This is a wonderfully rich, quick read that is full of insight as a mother who has been there done that. She truly encourages an unhurried homeschool setting. Paying attention to the needs and wants of our children. Not letting them do whatever they want whenever they want, but paying attention to how they learn, what they want to learn, and when they want to learn. This is what she calls "being a student of our children."
In this book she talks more about why we need to slow down and learn to trust our instincts. Durenda gives a refreshing example of what homeschooling looks like in her family, while fully acknowledging, and encouraging, the reader to really find what works for their family. Inward battles and crisis are something we all deal with, points are written on both. You'll find encouragement for mothers to go through the motions of life and realize "that "school" is to revolve around home life, not home life around school."
Again, this book is wonderfully encouraging to the unsure mom who thinks she is doing too much, or those who they should be doing more!
ONTO THE GIVEAWAY
Durenda has been kind enough to offer a SIGNED COPY to the winner! Make sure you enter below! If you would like to go ahead and purchase her book, you can find it at Amazon in print or digital versions.
Win a Signed copy of The Unhurried Homeschooler
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Living Math Books: Coming to A Homeschool Near Me!!
I've heard of living books for history, but living books for math!?
YES, please!
I feel like we've been missing out...spending too much time on repetitive, mind numbing math. I knew we could teach history with living books, but how have I missed this fabulous way of teaching math?
Don't get me wrong, Saxon math is a very good curriculum...but for us the repetition was mind numbing for us. Doing the same thing over and over each day just with different numbers.
On a whim I decided to look up math books at our library. First, I searched to see if they had Life of Fred books...they don't...then, I noticed a whole list of math minded story books!
SAY WHAAAAT?
I had to know more. So, after my eldest son's woodworking class we headed to the library so that we I could look at these magical books. (My kids didn't give a hoot about what books I was interested in getting, they just wanted to play on the computers. *eyeroll*)
The first one I grabbed off the shelf and glanced at had me hooked! I scooped all of the children's math story books that were on the shelf...and promptly checked out 99% of them.
After we for home the kids wanted nothing to do with them. So I set the glorious books on the table and left them alone. I didn't want to force my children to read them...I wanted them to forget about them. I wanted them to forget the theme of today's library trip.
She had NO idea it was actually a math book. We started reading and talking about rhythm, patterns, skip counting, and graphs. About half way through the story it asked her to make a graph, which she eagerly completed!
There wasn't a single complaint about why we had to do math! Who is this child? We sat on the couch side by side reading the book, talking about the patterns, thinking up a rhythm for raindrops, graphing frogs. I'm pretty sure she remembers more about this 'math' lesson than her last few lesson of Saxon math!
She wasn't thinking about how boring math was. She was thinking about the book, what we were reading, and just having a good time with her mama...LEARNING MATH!
There wasn't a single complaint about why we had to do math! Who is this child? We sat on the couch side by side reading the book, talking about the patterns, thinking up a rhythm for raindrops, graphing frogs. I'm pretty sure she remembers more about this 'math' lesson than her last few lesson of Saxon math!
She wasn't thinking about how boring math was. She was thinking about the book, what we were reading, and just having a good time with her mama...LEARNING MATH!
I can not wait to continue using living math books in our homeschool.
Do you use living math books? Which ones are your favorite?
There are Amazon affiliate links in this post.
Saturday, February 13, 2016
Mathematics Curriculum Choices to Check Out for Homeschool Newbies
When first starting out on the homeschooling journey it can be an overwhelming task researching what math curriculum to choose. A friend of mine recently started homeschooling and I sent her links to a few of my favorite math curriculum.
I'm participating in these link ups:
3 free, 3 affordable, 3 supplemental online
FREE MATH CURRICULUM
- Easy Peasy All in One Homeschool This is a COMPLETE K-12, FREE curriculum. Lee, the author, has homeschooled her children for free for years and has put together what she has taught her children. It’s also meant to be more of an independent study, teaching children to be proactive in starting and continuing their work, asking for help when they need to. But it’s all written out to the day on what they need to do, so there isn’t ANY planning on your part…unless you want to add in more. The math is great as well and you can choose whatever level they need to be at and progress as quickly or as slowly as they need to.
- Ray's Arithmetic – This curriculum was used in the early 19th and 20th centuries. Teach intensive, and develops a strong sense of mental math.
- KHAN Academy—Early math through calculus! Free, independent, keeps track of their progress, and you can assign specific problems. Eli does this for 30 minutes a day.
AFFORDABLE-MODERATELY PRICED MATH CURRICULUM
- Teaching Textbooks $$ – computer based, workbook optional. Keeps grades for you. Independent work.
- Beast Academy $ – textbooks and workbooks in comic book style. (currently available for 3rd , 4th –they are rolling our more over the next year.) This is what I picked up for Eli.
- Math Mammoth $ – printable, affordable…I do think it follows common core, but YOU’RE the teacher…you can change it up if you want to.
SUPPLEMENTAL ONLINE GAMES
- Prodigy Game free - $ for membership —virtual wizarding world…You battle other players by answering math questions. Teacher/parent has the option to plan out what math subjects are covered and for how long.
- FunBrain - free —We haven't used this too much, but my kids often navigate to it in their free time to play their games. It really doesn't feel like they are doing school since they are playing games and having fun!
- IXL - free - $ membership — I like this website because it has all of the subjects listed out and you can choose specifically what you want your child to work on.
I'm participating in these link ups:
Sunday, February 7, 2016
2016 3rd Grade
Elijah is our almost 9yo. He loves all things technology. We will be integrating a Charlotte Mason style with a modern twist.
Along with the curriculum choices listed on our 2016 Curriculum list, he will be using the following independently.
2016 Curriculum
Tot-School
Kindergarten
Along with the curriculum choices listed on our 2016 Curriculum list, he will be using the following independently.
Language Arts
Thinking
- Rush Hour Game
- Minecraft
More 2016 Curriculum links
2016 Curriculum
Tot-School
Kindergarten
2016 Kindergarten
Charlotte is our 6 year old and loves everything about art!
She will be following along with everything that is listed for our 2016 curriculum and the following:
She will be following along with everything that is listed for our 2016 curriculum and the following:
Language Arts
- Language Lessons for Little Ones Volume 3
- Bob Books Sight Words Collection (K & 1st)
- McGuffey's Eclectic First Reader
Math
- Living math books from the library
Art
Charlotte loves art, so I'm adding an extra resource for her!
Handwriting
- Universal Handwriting - Beginning Manuscript - Grade K
2016 Curriculum
When I decided on a whole new vision for what our daily lives would look like I had a curriculum plan all laid out that was with free resources around the internet.
We have decided to join a public school charter school. Yes, there is still testing involved. No, we don't mind the testing. It doesn't have any weight on my children and we don't use it as a measure of intelligence. Read about our top 5 reasons a public school charter works for us!
We will still be pulling from several free resources but not as heavily as i had originally planned. With the available funds I was able to buy a boxed curriculum that i'm praying works for us!
This is a unit study, Charlotte Mason based curriculum. We will be covering the following units:
For individual work, please see these links:
Tot-School
Kindergarten
3rd Grade
We have decided to join a public school charter school. Yes, there is still testing involved. No, we don't mind the testing. It doesn't have any weight on my children and we don't use it as a measure of intelligence. Read about our top 5 reasons a public school charter works for us!
We will still be pulling from several free resources but not as heavily as i had originally planned. With the available funds I was able to buy a boxed curriculum that i'm praying works for us!
Our Morning Basket
This year I have decided to put together a morning basket that will be gone through every morning over breakfast. Some we will read every day, and some will be on a loop schedule.- Lifepac Bible
- Various poems
- Trial and Triumph
- Parables of Nature
- Burgess Animal Book
- Pilgrim's Progress
- Plutarch
History/Geography
Trail Guide to Learning, Paths of ExplorationThis is a unit study, Charlotte Mason based curriculum. We will be covering the following units:
- Christopher Columbus
- Jamestown
- Pilgrims
- Daniel Boone
- Lewis & Clark
- Trails West
Science
This is also included in the Trail Guide to Learning package we purchased, but I will be adding in these resources:
- Ant Farm
- Butterfly Garden
- LEGO Engineering kits
- Easy Peasy All In One Homeschool
Art
Again, this subject is included in the Trail Guide to Learning package, but we will be supplementing with these resources:
Music/Poetry
We will be using the Ambleside Online schedules for the following:
Composer Study
- Johannes Brahms
- Franz Schubert
- Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Poetry
- William Blake
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- Sara Teasdale
- Hilda Conkling
Hymns
- A Charge to Keep Have I
- Praise, My Soul, The King of Heaven
- Jesus, The Very Thought of Thee
- come Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy
- Purer In Heart, O God
- Take My Life and Let It Be
Folksongs
- When the Iceworm Nests Again
- Sown by the Salley Gardens
- I've Been Working On the Railroad
- Tom Dooley
- Skye Boat Song
Tot-School
Kindergarten
3rd Grade
2016 tot-school
We will absolutely not be doing any formal schooling with our 18 month old; however, we will be reading, singing, reading, coloring, doing fun activities, oh and did I mention reading?
Here I will list activities I plan on doing, and books I plan on reading. I will also be adding to this list as we go through the year.
Here I will list activities I plan on doing, and books I plan on reading. I will also be adding to this list as we go through the year.
- Singing the ABCs
- Counting to 10
- Reading board books
1+1+1=1 has a great post about activities for 18-24 month olds that i will be gleaning ideas from.
2016 Curriculum
Kindergarten
3rd Grade
More 2016 Curriculum links
2016 Curriculum
Kindergarten
3rd Grade
Thursday, February 4, 2016
Top 5 Reasons A Public Homeschool Charter School Works For Us
When we decided on a whole new vision for what our daily lives would look like, I had put together a curriculum plan that was full of free resources from around the internet.
As with anything, plans can change.
We have decided to join a public school charter school.
Yes, there is still testing involved.
No, we don't mind the testing.
It doesn't have any weight on the children and we don't use it as a measure of intelligence.
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| Picture made with Pablo |
1. It's essentially the same as homeschooling on our own. We have the freedom to teach what we want, when we want, and how we want. We are lucky enough that we have an education specialist that goes along with what we do and records our work according to what the state requires.
2. We have access to activities. If it weren't for the government funding, we would not be able to enroll our children in enrichment classes...such as ballet, gymnastics, woodworking, horseback riding, piano...you get the idea. It's wonderful to be able to place our children in activities that they wouldn't be able to do otherwise because of the financial strain it would put on our family. Also, I believe in not over scheduling a child. If they were in public school I wouldn't put them in an outside activity because of all the homework that is required these days. Children need to be able to play, explore, and do the things that interest them...without being exhausted.
3. Accountability. Having a person, "educational specialist", that we meet with every 15-20 days helps keep *me* on track. It prevents too many fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants days...I understand this works for some people, but not for our family. She knows our educational philosophy, she knows my teaching style, and she knows my kids' learning styles. This allows her to make suggestions when I ask her what she would recommend.
4. We choose our own curriculum. Unfortunately, we can't buy Christian/sectarian materials with the funds, but other than that we can choose whatever works best for us. The scope of what we are able to buy is huge. We are currently waiting on a shipment of a full history curriculum that uses the Charlotte Mason method, an ant farm, a butterfly garden, paint, paint brushes, a large box of art supplies, logic games...etc.
5. We get A LOT of money to spend. Each year the charter school families get government education funds. It varies a tiny bit each year depending on that year's educational budget with the district. This year each family was allotted $2200 per enrolled child! We signed up during the 2nd semester so we got a little less than half of that amount. It was fun shopping for classes and items!
While a public school charter school isn't for every family, it works for ours.
What works for your family?
Linking up here
Monday, December 14, 2015
Observe the Weeds

While helping type up a science book (Furneaux Nature Book) in the Ambleside Online typing forum...
I came across a short paragraph that really spoke to me. We live in a big city...there are hardly any beautiful fields to explore. After the book explained that if the circumstances (rain or otherwise) call for observation of a plant in doors...it went on to explain this:
"The study of plants thus isolated from their natural surroundings is, however, far less instructive and much less interesting than the study of the same species in their natural habitats, and every available opportunity should be secured for the observations of plants under their natural conditions, even if there is no better ‘field’ than a patch of waste ground, a weedy wayside, or the neglected corner of a garden." [p116]See the last two lines? (emphasis mine) That patch of weeds outside is a better observation than a picked plant brought inside.
ANYWHERE that there is plant life outside to observe...observe it there.
No matter WHAT it looks like.
Monday, November 16, 2015
A Whole New Vision

I have struggled with confidence in my ability to homeschool. My oldest son is in 3rd grade at a public school. During his K, 1st, and 2nd school years, he was homeschooled and in public school. I would start out homeschooling and then freak out that I wasn't doing a good enough job, or I had a hard day and just gave up. This year I decided to just put them (my son and daughter in K) in public school, they keep begging to homeschool.
I've done a lot of thinking over the last few months and I realized what the issue was. I was trying to force a style of homeschooling that doesn't work for us. I was trying to mimic the public school classroom...it wasn't working. Our life needs to reflect education. I need to immerse them in a life style of continuous education. There shouldn't be a line between home life and education. Education should be a part of life, not separate.
I'm not sure that I could choose just one style of homeschooling for us. We will be learning through living books, not textbooks. We follow more of a Charlotte Mason/Classical style of homeschooling but we will also add in a technological spin. We are techie nerds and technology is a huge part of this world we now live in.
I've learned that homeschooling is what we make it. It isn't about learning exactly what someone else is learning, at the exact same age they are learning it. It's about teaching the children to have the know how to get the information they need. A person who knows how to educate themselves, instead of relying on other people to feed them information, will have a deeper understanding of the world around them. We've decided that for our family, it will be through home education.
The kids are very excited for their last day of public school on December 14th. They are excited to be able to pursue their interests without having to figure out how many hours of homework they have that night. They are excited to be able to participate in activities around the city during the day. We are all excited for this shift in out lives.
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