My Cool HomeschoolHomeschooling Resources

If you’re like me, you have some extra projects you’d like to get to. Perhaps you like to sew, crochet, scrapbook, or write. And if you’re like me, you have a hard time fitting it into your schedule as a homeschooler.

I like to think that I can spend a couple of hours every night after the children are in bed working on projects. This sounds like a lot of time and a good plan, but it rarely works out. Evening activities such scouts or church mean that the children go to bed later than planned; by the time they’re all tucked in, I’m usually too tired to work on anything. Fortunately, we still have our weekly Daddy’s Night.

 It all started a couple of years ago, and it’s one of my favorite traditions. On a Friday or Saturday evening, we rent a movie or borrow one from the library. Then, when Dad arrives home from work, I disappear — to the bedroom, the study, or the store – wherever I need to go to do what I need to do.

 While I’m gone, Daddy steps in and takes over. He makes supper, usually something simple, such as frozen pizzas he can top with extra cheese and pepperoni. The children enjoy creating the pizzas with him – they’ve come up with some creative topping designs.  One of the children spreads out a towel on the floor of the family room to use as a tablecloth, and the pizza is served as the movie begins. Dad usually provides a special dessert, too– ice cream or honey buns or popcorn.     

 Sometimes Daddy decides to take the children out instead — maybe for supper and an extra-thick milk shake. But whatever they do, I can relax and enjoy the bit of free time, knowing that all are well-fed, cared for, and making special memories with their dad.

Besides the fun of the hunt, letterboxing also offers opportunities for artistic expression, as many letterboxers create their own rubber stamps with original designs. If your family enjoys letterboxing, here’s an easy way that you can make your own stamps. Younger children can draw the design for you to cut out, while older children can cut the design out themselves.

Supplies you’ll need:

• Cutting Set for Block Printing – We found one at our local craft store. The handle with five small interchangeable blades costs about ten dollars.
• Carving Block or Polymer Erasers – The carving block I have is 4″ x 4″, and it cost just over two dollars. You can also use the white polymer erasers; three of them cost just under three dollars.
• Pencil
• Pen
• Paper (optional)
• Inkpad or marker

1. Begin by creating your stamp design. You can draw directly on the carving block or the eraser, or you can draw it out on the paper first. If you’re drawing on paper, start by tracing around the block you’ll be cutting, so you know how big your design can be. As you create your design, remember to make it bold and simple for easier cutting.

2. If you drew your design on the paper, you’ll need to transfer it to the carving block or eraser. To do this, simply flip the design over and align it with your carving block. Rub the back of your paper to transfer the design.  This will create a mirror image of your design. Trace over it once more with a pen on the carving block to make it easier to see.

3. Now you’re ready to start cutting. To create a stamp, you’ll want to cut away everything AROUND your design. The carving block is soft, and the different sizes of blades available in the cutting set make this easier.

4. Now test your stamp!  You can use an inkpad, or just rub over your stamp with a marker. Try it out on a piece of paper, and then make any final adjustments. You can affix your stamp to a block or wood, or just use it as it is.

5. Have fun with your new stamp, and start letterboxing!

A couple of years ago, a friend introduced me to a great family activity: letterboxing. For the children, letterboxing is a treasure hunt; for parents, it’s a chance to get out and have fun with your kids.

Letterboxing involves following clues (posted online) to a small plastic box hidden in a public place, such as a state or city park. Inside the box is a small notepad, a rubber stamp with a design, and sometimes a pen. For our first hunt, we decided to look for a mermaid stamp that had been hidden in our nearby state park. The clue we printed off made it even more fun – the author had written it as a story about the mermaid and her travels through the woods.

We took along a small notepad of our own, a rubber stamp I had on hand, and a marker to ink the stamp.  My children were extra excited by this treasure hunt because my college-aged niece was going with us.  We found the landmarks mentioned in the story, though some were a little trickier to find than others.

We worked at it for about an hour, all the while talking and sharing and enjoying our time together. We eventually found the mermaid stamp at the top of a hill, tucked under a rock in a small plastic box. We took out the stamp, inked it with our marker, and stamped our own notebook with it. Then we took out our stamp, inked it, and stamped the little notebook  that was in the box. We signed and dated it as well, so the owner of the mermaid stamp would know that we had been there.  Before we left, we returned everything to the box, sealed it, and hid it again where we had found it, so other letterboxers could have a turn.

To make our next adventures even more fun, I made a little booklet for each child out of plain white paper to collect stamps in, as well as their very own rubber stamp to take along. You can also make your own stamps with custom designs. My friend has even put together her own letterboxes to hide and posted the clues online.

Ready to start your family on a letterboxing treasure hunt? Two great sites to visit are www.letterboxing.org and www.atlasquest.com.

One of my favorite history curriculums for elementary students is The Story of the World by Susan Wise Bauer. Consisting of four volumes in all, this series is designed so students complete one volume per year. A great way for teaching history to multiple grade levels, this series can even be used with middle school students.

Volume 1: The Ancients covers from 5000 B.C. to 400 A.D.; Volume 2: The Middle Ages covers from 400  to 1600; Volume 3: Early Modern Times covers from 1600 – 1850; and Volume 4: The Modern Age covers from 1850 – 1994. Each book discusses what was happening around the world during a particular time period, so students have a better understanding of major events and how they affected various nations. For example, students learn that Napoleon’s financial troubles led him to sell the Louisiana territory to the United States, which in turn allowed westward expansion to continue. I have to smile when my fourth grader can tell me the connection between Napoleon and Thomas Jefferson!

What makes this such an enjoyable series for both the parent and child is the way in which it is written. Susan Bauer presents history as a story, a narrative meant to be read aloud to the students by a parent or teacher. It’s fun to read and fun to listen to. Sometimes my older children and I take turns reading a page, which gives them extra reading practice too.  The books are also available on CD, and I know several moms who use driving time as history time with this resource.

Of course, what makes history even more memorable are hands-on activities, and this curriculum provides these as well. Activity books are available for each of the volumes. These include map work, crafts, coloring pages, and reading lists. Tests for each volume can also be purchased – everything you’d need to teach and enjoy history!

The first chickens we had were given to us by a friend. Included in that group was a hen with chicks, several of which grew up to be roosters. Since then, we’ve always had a rooster around, and each year several of the hens sit on their nests and hatch out a brood. (Because the mother hens are so protective, though, I would still buy chicks from the feed store that the children could hold.)

This spring, we have five grown roosters. One of them is clearly the dominant bird, and most of the ladies follow him around. And again, this spring, we have a familiar problem – what to do with the extra roosters?

We can’t keep all the birds, even though there’s plenty of room for them to roam; they’ll eventually start attacking each other. I could give them to a farm or another homeschooling family that needs a rooster, but so far I haven’t found one. All of our other options, though, mean a sad fate for the birds. The possiblities, then:

• We could eat them since they’re not quite a year old. A friend told me that if they get much older, the meat is just too tough. But neither my husband nor I are the pioneering type, and neither of us wants to do the deed to prepare them for cooking.
• We could give them to someone else to eat — I just have to find that person. Not as easy as one might think.
• We could sell them at the flea market or our local weekly livestock auction. This is tempting, as it would give us cash in our pocket, but I’d wonder if the new owners would use them for cock fights.

What makes the choices harder this year is that all of these birds are very sweet – at least, as much as a rooster can be. They come to eat when I call them and follow us around the yard like pets. We’ll have to do something soon, though — that many roosters can wear a hen out!

One of my late night hobbies is writing and illustrating for children. I enjoy writing articles, poems, and stories, and I’d like to illustrate my own picture books some day. Writers will tell you that to have a book published, you have to study the market and know who publishes the type of story you’ve written. As I’ve researched the different publishing houses, I’ve discovered Sylvan Dell, a small publishing company established by homeschoolers with education in mind.

Sylvan Dell publishes picture books about science and math — subjects such as the planets, sea turtles, rivers, and odd and even numbers are presented in a fun and enjoyable way. What makes these books different from other picture books, however, is that they are purposely created to be used in the home or school classroom. To reinforce the educational component, the company also adds three to five pages of extra activities and information in the back of every story. Now, though, they’ve added even more – their website also offers free online reading and math quizzes, teaching activities, and crafts.

And that’s not all.  For the past two years, the company also sponsored a writing contest for homeschooled high schoolers. Students followed the guidelines to create their own picture books, and winners received cash prizes and possible publication. I haven’t found information about a contest this year, but I hope they continue – what a great opportunity for students interested in writing.

I’ve found a number of Sylvan Dell books in our local library, and my children have really enjoyed them. It’s easy to take one of their books and create a unit study around it, especially for younger elementary students. So if you’re looking for a science lesson for your little one, check them out! Their titles can be found on their website at www.sylvandellpublishing.com.

By the way, I’ve only sent one picture book manuscript to them to consider for publication, and it was rejected. Ah, well!  They still publish great books!

One of the great things about homeschooling today is the huge variety of curriculum available. Some families prefer to use an entire curriculum produced by one publisher; for our family, however, I’ve found I like to use texts from different publishers for the subjects we study. For science, my favorite is Apologia.

The Apologia Young Explorer Series was written for upper elementary/early middle school. We’re enjoying our third book this year, Exploring Creation with Zoology 3: Land Animals of the Sixth Day. Other titles available are Astronomy, Botany, Zoology 1:  Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day, and Zoology 2: Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day. Middle school and high school subjects include General Science, Physical Science, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. Each one is written from a creationist perspective.

Although I enjoy science, teaching it has never been my strong suit, and there have been years I struggled to fit it into our school day. What a shame, since children love learning about nature, and science readily lends itself to hands-on activities. But I don’t have that problem anymore — the Apologia texts make it so easy. The information is clearly presented, and within each chapter are interesting and fun activities that correlate with the lesson.

And these books are so user-friendly! The beginning pages feature contact information where you can find help by mail, phone, or on the web. Then comes a brief description about what the lessons include. The next couple of pages are my favorite – complete lists of all materials needed for each activity or experiment found in the lessons.

The writers of the text state that it can be read aloud to younger students or worked through individually by older students. I’ve found this to be true. While I’m reading the Land Animals text to my fourth and second grader, my seventh grader is working through the General Science text on his own. His book not only includes experiments but also review questions that I have him answer in complete sentences. Tests and solution manuals are also available for the subjects for older students.

All in all, the Apologia Science series gets an A+ from me!

This is the first year in many years that we haven’t been part of a 4-H club, and I do miss it. But I liked it better when someone else was in charge.

Last year, our 4-H clubs met once a month at a local church. The girls were all set to join a sewing club, so we needed another topic that the boys would be interested in.  One of the dads worked second shift, and since our club met in the morning, he would be available to teach them about small motors. My oldest son was so excited.

But the dad’s work schedule changed, and we soon found out he wouldn’t be able to teach after all. Because many of the boys were also in scouts, a couple of us moms decided to pick an activity they could use towards a merit badge. Woodworking sounded ideal – that is, until I became the leader. I didn’t know anything about woodworking.

To make things even tougher, our club of boys ranged in ages from 5 – 14. So once a month, I had to come up a do-able project for all, the supply list, and the instructions.

We had an hour and a half to put each project together. And we did!  Before each meeting, I made a prototype of the project, getting help from my husband or neighbor. Most of the projects worked out, and I think many of the boys learned some things. I know I learned a lot – and I’m much more confident using power tools!

We’ll probably look into 4-H again next year, though if I’m a leader, I’m going to pick a subject I know.  4-H offers so many different areas of learning, that I’m sure I can find one. It’s not just about woodworking or farming or raising cows; it’s about entomology, photography, fashion design, biology, painting, baking, leadership, citizenship, community service, public speaking, pet care,  and so much more.

One of my biggest homeschooling challenges is staying focused during our school time.

Ideally, my children will be up by 7:15 a.m., and we’ll all see my husband off at 7:30. Then they’ll begin their before-breakfast chores. By 8:00, everyone will be dressed and ready to eat breakfast. While they’re eating, we’ll read through a chapter in the Bible, then we’ll move on into other subjects from there. We’ll work at our school work as long as we need to, but it shouldn’t take more than a few hours for everyone to finish with all their academics. That is, if I just stay focused.

But I usually don’t. The phone rings, and with Caller ID I can see who it is. If it’s a number I recognize, I feel compelled to pick it up – after all, it might be an emergency.  It’s usually not an urgent call after all, but before I know it, ten to fifteen minutes have slipped by. Okay, re-group, get back to work. Regrouping takes about ten minutes more, because while I was on the phone the children disappeared into their rooms or outside to play. Nearly thirty minutes later, we’re going again.

Then one of the children needs something printed off the computer so he can continue with an assignment. I run to my husband’s study upstairs and print it off. Hmm, I think, while I’m here, I might as well check my email – just for a minute. I delete the announcements I’m not going to read and open the others. There are a few that need replies. If I don’t answer right away, the emails will get pushed down the page and lost, so I take a few more minutes to finish up before I head down again. Ten more minutes have passed, and the children have once again scattered.

Now we’re even further behind schedule. We muddle through most of the schoolwork, but the momentum that we started with was lost a long time ago. And all because I let myself get distracted.

But one of the nice things about homeschooling is that every day represents a new beginning and a fresh start. We may be a little behind in a subject, but there’s no big rush – we can work into the summer if we need to. So tomorrow, I’ll turn off the ringer to the phone and lock the study door. And most likely, something else will disrupt our school day, but at least I’ll be more focused as we work through it.

When Valentine’s Day came around this year, I decided I didn’t want candy or flowers, the two items my husband usually gives me. Instead, I told him, he could make a coupon for me – a coupon for a day off.

That’s just what he did. My coupon said that on the day of my choosing, he would take the children somewhere for an all-day adventure, and I would have the house to myself. I wouldn’t have to clean a thing – just enjoy the day.

I cashed in my coupon this past Saturday, and they headed out the door around 9:00 am. They were going to go to a few yard sales and then downtown to wander around and visit the library. If he ran out of things to do, he said, he’d take them to visit his mother until it was time to come home.

My dream day off wasn’t one of shopping or taking naps – I was craving uninterrupted time to finish up some projects I had started long ago. I was so excited and looking forward to the free time. After all, it’s often hard to find uninterrupted time even in the bathroom when your children are home with you all day.

It didn’t turn out quite how I expected, however. Of my long list of projects, I only completed two. I did wash a couple of loads of laundry just to feel as if I accomplished more, but I didn’t even get them folded. As it turns out, I think I needed a whole week off to get my projects finished up.

Now, though, I’m not longing for a big block of quiet time like I was before. I’m quite content with my fifteen minutes here, thirty minutes there, maybe even an hour of semi-quiet time while the children are engaged in their own activities. At least that way I don’t feel discouraged that more isn’t accomplished. And maybe next time…hmmm…maybe I’ll ask for the whole weekend.