January is the new September. It is.

We're on Christmas break right now. We ended school at home on Wednesday, December 18th; the 19th and 20th were our last co-op days. We return to co-op this Thursday and resume school at home next Monday. As I always do on Christmas break, I'm using this time to tweak our schedule and curriculum as needed.

My friend Tiffany will tell you I frequently say "January is the new September". This is the perfect time to make changes to your homeschool. Got curriculum that just isn't working? Ditch it now. Are you absolutely, thoroughly wiped out at the end of the school? It may be time to revamp your schedule. Worried because your school year started slow, picked up a little steam but began sputtering again around the holidays? Take a few days to chart the next semester. Preparation may be the boost you need.

By now, you should know if a curriculum or text is working--for both you and your student. The best instruction for your child will be the one that perfectly joins his learning style to your teaching ability. That should be the main criteria. If a 20 year old text you picked up at a thrift store works better than the new book you've seen reviewed on a dozen homeschool sites, the thrift store tome is the one you use.

I've seen parents reluctant to part with a curriculum because it cost a small fortune and they fear discarding it will be a waste of money. Nothing could be further from the truth. Slogging onward with no success not only represents a waste of money, but a waste of time--as the child won't retain the material and you will end up re-teaching the subject later. Trust me, I know.

A few years ago, it seemed everyone was jumping on the Latin foreign language bandwagon. We did, too. A certain curriculum was declared the best thing going and several of my friends purchased it and we followed suite.

It was awful. I don't mean it was a good curriculum that just didn't work for us, I mean it was truly awful. When my girls (the oldest was in middle school at the time) began picking out errors on the DVD, I dropped it. I wasn't concerned that the text, workbook and DVD combined cost nearly $100. My girls dreaded that class and we ended up skipping foreign language for a while as I researched other options.

I found another Latin program and we began in February of the following year. By the time the school term ended in June, the girls had made a lot of progress. The reason? When you find the right curriculum you will make up the lost time.  (By the way, the program we switched to was Visual Latin. Get a free trial at the website).

We worked across the summer to catch up and started the second session in September of the next school year.

Sometimes you may need to switch a curriculum for other reasons. We used Mystery of History for a time. My girls loved it, so did I. I learned things from that text I didn't learn in school. The timeline: brilliant. The multi-level teaching schematic: awesome.


Problem was, I didn't have time for the prep and supplementary work it required. I'm a freelance writer and at the time, I was on assignment with two periodicals. We switched to a textbook for the next year. My older daughter took an online class that combined literature with history and has fulfilled those credit requirements. Grace has told me she'd like to return to Mystery of History when she begins high school in two years and we will.

I'm happy with the curriculum we're currently using. I've mentioned them here.

Our schedule may change this time around. The 16 year old is job-hunting. Her dad and I have agreed she can work a few hours on two days: Thursdays and Saturdays. We may need to move her Thursday classes earlier in the week.

What I'm doing this week is reviewing each book, marking the table of contents with the changes I need to make, searching online resources (Khan Academy, YouTube, PBS, et al) for information that will supplement what they are learning. I'm making sure I've got Beth's work graded and keeping an eye on her transcript. I keep all of this information in my planner, which is really a multi-subject spiral notebook. Classy, I know.

Those books you bought that no longer work for you--sell them. There are websites aplenty where homeschooling parents buy and sell both new and used curriculum. I've purchased and sold on www.vegsource.com If you live in the Hampton Roads area, drop by the Moore Expressions homeschool store in Virginia Beach. Cherrie and staff are more than willing to point you in the right direction curriculum-wise and offer assistance with other homeschooling issues. Find them here.

Take some to review your school and be brave enough to make the changes needed to ensure your student's success. Let's finish this school year strong.

2013-2014 curriculum

Today I'm sharing what my girls are studying this school year. In keeping with the theme of this blog (and how I choose to live in general), we've not spent a dime more than is necessary. 

I'm going to let you in on a little secret: it doesn't take a boatload of money to properly educate children. If you've got the time and patience to research, a library card, computer access and a nearby thrift store with great books or a homeschool book store, you have all you need for an effective, low-cost curriculum.

If you're considering homeschool as an option, or if you're already teaching at home, be careful of the curriculum bandwagon that equates popularity with proficiency. It drives the cost of curriculum through the roof.

For example, there is a certain computer math curriculum that is all the rage right now.  It cost more than $100 for each grade level, so if you have two kids, you've spent over $200 smacks on math alone.

My problem: math hasn't changed. No matter how many bells and whistles you add to the mix, there is only one way to learn math: memorization of basic facts then learning the formulas. That's it. And you can learn that free online or with a library book or for next to nothing with a pre-owned or less than popular text. If you prefer to teach online or use a website to supplement, there is Kahn Academy, IXL, and a host of other sites to help. Just google.

Know that the cost of a text can have very little bearing on its effectiveness. Though we assume the opposite to be true, there are pricey books that are rubbish and inexpensive books that seem heaven-sent. Personally, I prefer older books, especially history books.

I've gotten the girls' input on occasion. I took Grace with me to our local homeschool bookstore to choose her science book.  I got Beth's o.k. on the free online psychology class after we both found the book she was using a bit boring. (Thank heavens it cost only $2.00).

Though I don't spend any more than I have to, I have decided that should I find a curriculum or text that cost megabucks, I would purchase it if it were the only thing I felt would work. So far that hasn't happened and I've got nearly twenty years under my belt.

Our homeschool days begin the same on Monday through Thursday:  half hour of Bible reading followed by current events. We attend a co-op on Fridays.

The Bible reading is personal. The girls aren't tested and I don't require scripture memorization. (We have an actual topical Bible study later in the week.) We do this because the girls need to read the Word on their own.  I know the Holy Spirit is leading this 'class'. On more than one occasion, we've been studying another subject altogether and one of the girls will mention a scripture or lesson she learned or that was illuminated during that private time.

This is our first year studying current events. Our young people have more knowledge at their fingertips now than at any time but that potential must be harnessed, otherwise peer and social network interaction will stuff them full of the latest boy band or video game.

I teach at our co-op and am still surprised when my students can name every member of One Direction or list the intricacies of Minecraft but can't name our Vice President. And these are juniors and seniors who'll soon navigate the world on their own. Frightening.

 We want our kids prepared spiritually, intellectually and socially.  We use CNN Student News for current events. It's today's news from around the world given in 10 minutes bites. Each broadcast has a lesson plan with vocabulary, study and discussion questions. We've had great discussions during this time, and they're occasionally assigned a research paper. Because we co-op on Fridays, we watch the Monday through Thursday reports. In order to test their long-term memory and their note-taking skills, each Monday starts with a test of the prior week's information before beginning that day's lesson. 

We DVR each program, but you can sign up at the website and watch it online as well.
www.cnn.com/studentnews  Now my girls know Naill, Harry and the guys AND can explain the recent government shut-down.

The girls also study Latin together. We struggled through a popular Latin curriculum but it didn't work for us. We now use Visual Latin. The girls love it. The dvd program is a half hour lesson followed by five or six worksheets. We use the DVD on Tuesdays, then I make up follow up work on Thursdays. www.compassclassroom.com


Because Bethany is older, we've added  Hans Orberg's Lingva Latina to her study. Written entirely in Latin, it supplements Visual Latin's program nicely. In fact, Dwayne- the Visual Latin instructor, recommends it and gives a schedule that aligns the chapters of books. Beth is required to read a chapter or two daily while I check her via Google Translate.

Bethany's 11th grade curriculum:
Geometry (Harold Jacobs. Free- library)           
Biology  (Abeka.  $20 text & teacher's book, used)          
Psychology  (Free- online: Carnegie Mellon University)

Bethany also takes a few classes at the co-op: 
    Shakespeare (Free- library book & lecture)
    Economics  (Thomas Sowell. $25 new)
    Drama

Bethany's total: $45


Grace's 7th grade curriculum:
Fundamentals of Math  (Bob Jones. $1)
Physical Science (Prentice Hall   $12.00)
Enjoyment of Music  (Forney and Machlis   $2.50)

Grace's co-op classes:

   Government (no book cost.Teacher worksheets) 

   Grammar  (Easy Grammar $10)

   Geography ($5 atlas. Teacher developed curriculum)

   Math Games  (no book cost. Reinforces facts)

   Worship band  (no cost. Gracie already owns violin)

Grace's total: $30.50
 Beth's total:    45.00
Visual Latin    40.00 (for 30 lessons)
Latin Reader     5.00

TOTAL:      $120.50

What I've paid for two students some homeschool moms spend on one subject for a single child. Again, if you can justify spending that kind of money, go for it. But if you're like most homeschool families, funds are tight as you've sacrificed an income (or least part of an income) so that the children could be taught at home.

Don't think your child's education will suffer because you lack deep pockets. If you take the time to research and plan, you can save money and brain cells when purchasing curriculum. Feel free to drop me a line if you have questions or need help.

Ten things that will kill your homeschool

Fail to plan and plan to fail so the saying goes. No matter how wonderful your intentions or great your curriculum, a few missteps or inactions will sink your homeschool. 

 

Let's read what Jenn of  Forever, For Always, No Matter What  has to say about the topic....... 

 

 

Homeschooling is a wonderful blessing, but homeschooling is not an easy road.  There have been plenty of people who have started and stopped for a variety of reasons.  Here are some reasons that homeschooling can fail and how you can avoid them.

1.  No Support – Homeschooling is not easy.  Perhaps you are trying to homeschool without the support of your spouse, perhaps it’s your parents or your in-laws, swimming upstream is tough and frankly it can wear you out!

 2.  Isolated -  Not knowing another “IRL” (In Real Life) homeschooling family or at least another homeschooling mom can make life challenging.  On-line connections are wonderful and have been such a blessing to me, but never getting to hang out face to  face with another friend who shares your same lifestyle can be tough.

3.  Too Busy -  Having the days and the weeks filled up for every child doesn’t leave much time for much book learning, or much time down time for mom or the child.  That can lead to burn out quick.  It’s okay for kids to have “nothing” to do once in a while.

 4.  Trying to do School at Home – Trying to recreate public school at home not only isn’t going to work very well, frankly it’s not that much fun.  So, leave your hair net for the real lunch ladies and carve your own course.

5.  No Structure, No Organization – Just because you don’t have bells ringing every 45 minutes and your kids don’t have to raise your hands to go to the bathroom, doesn’t mean that structure and organization aren’t necessary.  Particularly if you are a mom of many, having a routine is essential.

6.  Not Paying Attention to How A Child Learns – Trying to fit a square peg in a round hole is going to leave you banging your head on the table.  Take some time to figure out how your child best learns and proceed accordingly, it will make all the difference.

7.  Unrealistic Expectations – Homeschooling has gotten some good and well deserved attention over the years for some of the students who have done exceptionally well.  We all aren’t homeschooling little Einsteins.  That’s okay.  Our goal should be to help educate our children to their fullest potential, whatever that may be.

8.  Not Giving it Enough Time – Bailing too early.  A semester, perhaps even one year may not be enough time to see if homeschooling is a good fit or not.  Most likely it will take longer for your family to find a good rhythm.

9.  Switching Curriculum Constantly – Purchasing new curriculum constantly is not only a financial drain, it’s a drain to the teacher and the students.  It takes extra brain power to get the feeling of a new curriculum.  If you are constantly stopping and starting, you are never giving yourself or your students the opportunity to really dig in.  Here’s a little secret: there is no perfect curriculum!

 10.  It’s Run it’s Course -  This is definitely not a “failure.” Life holds different seasons for all of us, and maybe at some point homeschooling has run it’s course for one or more of our children.  Life circumstance change, children change, we change.  It’s okay to acknowledge that what was once working well is no longer working.  Homeschooling allows for so much flexibility, that means starting and stopping as well.


Jen blogs about adoption and homeschooling at her blog  Forever, For Always, No Matter What

She wrote this article for her friends at The Homeschool Classroom

 

Handmade kitchen island, Part 1

I wanted an kitchen island, but none that I found suited me- either price or style-wise, so I decided to make one.

Victory Home is a thrift that I frequent in Portsmouth. It's located on George Washington Highway and is run by Bethany Baptist Church. Funds are used to maintain the drug recovery mission they run. I volunteered there for a while. It's a great ministry.  If you stop by, tell Melanie (the manager and wife of Bethany's pastor) that you heard about them here.

I was searching for a night stand to start this project and came across this beige beauty for $5.  Sold!

First thing: added legs. I got them at Lowe's: 9 inch traditionals @ $4.00 each. 

There's a reason the legs on this side stick out a bit.
They will be corrected.

I sanded the top with a sanding block, then added three thin layers of stain.

 

 

After each layer dried, I gave another light sanding with steel wool, careful to remove any dust afterwards

Made sure to stain the sides....

 

I wanted the woodwork on the front to stand out, so I stained that as well. 

One reason she was $5: there was no back. I've logged thousands of hours of HGTV. This is no biggie at all.

I'll finish this in another post. Stay tuned.......

Homeschool humor

This post is part of the '31 Days' series.

In addition to '31 Days of Decorating on a Dime', I'm also posting '31 Days of Common Sense Homeschooling'.  Join me every day in October as I share some of what I've learned during my homeschooling years.

 Let's get started with a little tongue-in-cheek.


Yes, you will survive homeschooling.......

Yeah, I've had days like this.....

Wait...you mean every homeschool family isn't like this?