My Cool HomeschoolHomeschooling Resources

This morning, John had his first test in his Geography co-op class. The class meets once a week, and he was given a syllabus at the beginning of the course, so he knew the test was coming up. The class meets on Mondays, and we were all headed out of town for the weekend; I knew he wouldn’t have much time to finish his homework. I reminded him all week that he needed to get it done early (I realize now I reminded him too many times), and he said he would.

Off we went for the weekend, arriving home again Sunday afternoon. “Are you ready for tomorrow?” I asked him again Sunday night. He answered in the affirmative, so I went on to help the others prepare for the next day.

This morning we got up later than expected and rushed around to get out the door in time. In the midst of the fray, John calls out, “Oh no, I forgot to study for my geography test!”

“But I reminded and reminded you,” I replied.
“Yes, but you were going to email the teacher to ask her about the website.” There was a certain website that would help with studying, but he forgot the web address.

I grumbled as I continued rushing around, and he went off to study as quickly as he could. I had told him that I’d get the website address for him, but it was still his job to keep up with things.

He went into class, and I saw him just for a moment afterward. “I didn’t get any of them right,” he whispered before heading off down the hall.

I think he probably answered more of them correctly than he thinks he did, but either way, we both learned some valuable lessons from this experience. He learned that he is responsible for his homework and his tests, even if I fall short in emailing a teacher. And I learned that I shouldn’t take on his responsibilities; he knows when his assignments are due, and if he has any questions, he can email the teacher himself. After all, he is the one who receives the grade, not me. If I had to receive one, I’d have given myself a B+ for my efforts. But I probably would have made a C- in Laundry for the week.

 This week marked our second full week of co-op. Elementary students can sign up for one morning a week of enrichment-type classes, but for middle school and high school students, the co-op follows the university model. Students choose individual classes, attend class one or two days of the week, then work on their assignments at home. So while my younger three might be doing a  science experiment, art project, or PE class, John, who’s in eighth grade this year, is taking Geography and Physical Science. And it’s been a bit of a rough start. 

Each class requires quite a bit of work at home. Homework? We hadn’t used the word very much before this year. John brings home workbook assignments, reading assignments, study questions to answer… all of which he has to turn in to someone else besides me. He has deadlines now; he doesn’t get extra time to complete his work if it’s not done. He takes quizzes and tests just one time – there’s no opportunity to try the problems again. And he’s responsible for writing down his assignments and finishing them in a timely manner. 

How’s it going? Well, he told me he worked on his assignments all week, but the night before they were due, he stayed up two hours past his bedtime trying to finish. He tells me briefly about his current event and lab reports, then tells me he’s not sure when he’s supposed to turn them in. Sometimes he doesn’t even understand the assignment. “Why don’t you ask your teacher?” I ask him, but he just replies, “I don’t know.” 

So do I think these classes are worth it? I’d have to answer with a resounding “Yes!” No matter what grade he receives, he’ll have had an experience that requires he manage his time well, complete a project by a due date, and speak up when he has a question. And from what I’ve seen so far, he’s up to the challenge. He’s beginning to understand what’s expected, and he’s working hard at it. And hopefully next week will go a little better.

A couple of weeks ago on a Sunday afternoon, my daughter Cassie turned our local public television station and came across a show called Hannah Help Me!  She later relayed to me the contents of the 30-minute show, and I began to wish I had seen it with her.

Hannah Help Me is a reality mom-makeover show in which author and lifestyle expert Hannah Keeley comes to the home of a mom in trouble and gives her tips and strategies to help her succeed. (Hannah is actually a homeschooling mom of seven herself.) She helps moms organize their homes, create schedules that work, or regain their self-confidence. The day Cassie was watching, the show featured a homeschooling mom who needed help structuring her days in such a way that she could not only teach her children at home, but work part-time while keeping the house clean as well. Although she didn’t think to call me to the T.V. to watch it with her, Cassie did tell me most of what Hannah had told the mom. The ideas were great!

Hannah Keeley also has a website with even more for moms. You can sign up to receive her free no-stress e-cookbook featuring 30 recipes all under ten dollars. Articles on the site include tips on health and beauty, family and children, home and garden, money management, and marriage, and self-improvement. You’ll also find recipes for everything from appetizers to salads to main courses to desserts. And you can glean even more tips from Hannah’s blog. You can find it all at www.hannahkeeley.com

We don’t watch a lot of television during the week, but Hannah Help Me! is a show I’m really enjoying. I’m finding lots of good advice and inspiration — now, if only I could fit into my supermom suit!

If you are looking for ideas for new lesson plans, take a moment to visit Viatouch.com. This education resource site has a great deal to offer both traditional classroom teachers and homeschooling parents alike.

Once you’re on the homepage, find the “Learning and Leisure” section. You’ll follow the link to a page with a number of categories listed on the left — these pages provide further links to other websites regarding these particular topics. If you’re searching the Internet for information about any of these subjects, this is a good place to start.

My favorite part of the site, however, is found when you click on “Teacher Resources.”  We use an eclectic mix of curricula (books from several different publishers), so I’m always on the lookout for new ideas. Under “Teacher-Created Resources,” you’ll find lesson plans for students from elementary through high school in a variety of subjects. The “Teacher Articles” section includes nonfiction articles for elementary students in science and history, as well as more lesson plans and teaching techniques for other subjects such as writing and math.

The site also includes a link called “Story Station” which features original fiction stories for children and young adults. These are also free to access.

And there’s still a lot of room for this site to grow. Every time I check back, new content has been added. And if you have resources you’d like to share, this site may be for you as well. Put your ideas in writing and submit your lesson plans, tips, charts, and articles for publication on the site. Viatouch offers payment for each teacher resource that they publish. Just follow the link for “Teacher Resources submission guidelines.”

The information Viatouch offers is free, so check it out. You might find something you’ll be able to use in your next lesson.

Today in our co-op Kindergarten/First Grade class, we read The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack. In the story, the little yellow duck Ping is late returning to his home, a boat on the Yangtze River. Today, each student made their own “Ping.” Here’s how we did it:

Supplies:

• White or yellow socks
• Rit fabric dye (optional) – yellow and orange
• Large googley eyes
• White glue or a low-temp hot glue gun/glue sticks
• Yellow felt
• Pen
• Scissors
• Fiberfill (stuffing)
• Rubber Bands

You can use a white sock for the duck, or, if you want a yellow duck like Ping, use a yellow sock. We didn’t have yellow socks available, so I dyed the socks yellow (before class) using Rit dye. Then, to create an orange beak, I dyed the top of the ribbed part of the sock (about 1 ½ inches) using the orange Rit dye.

1. Give each student a sock, and have them stuff the sock with fiberfill to the ribbing. They’ll need more stuffing for a fatter duck; less stuffing for a soft and floppy duck. When they have finished stuffing the duck’s body, tie it off by looping a rubber band around the sock.

2. Students will then stuff the “head” of the duck the same way. Use the stuffing to fill the sock up to the orange beak. More stuffing will create a rounder head. When the head is full, tie it off by looping another rubber band around it.

3. You now have the beak, head, and body of the duck. To finish the beak, cut a straight line on one side of it. Cut another straight line on the opposite side. Now there is a top part and lower part of the beak.

4. Glue the googley eyes on the head.

5. With your pen, draw out two wings on the yellow piece of felt. Cut out the wings.

6. Glue the wings to the duck’s body, and Ping is ready to go!

*Note: White glue takes longer to dry and may not be as secure as the hot glue.

We joined a co-op again this year for the first time in several years. Today was the first day for my oldest son, John. He had a one-hour class in geography that started at 9:00 am. He didn’t want to go; he doesn’t know many people at the co-op. “But,” I reassured him, “this is going to be good. You’ll see.”

All I had to do was get him ready with his supplies and get him to the class on time. Then I had an hour to wait before I picked him up and headed home again. The rest of the children will start their classes on Monday, so this was to be a good trial run.

Well, it should have been. I remembered reading in an email that he needed to bring a notebook and pen, but it’s been a busy week, month, — okay, summer, and I forgot to look over the list again. John reminded me to do it last night, and when I checked I saw that he needed a workbook too. We had no way to get it in time.

I felt sick inside. He was going to his first class with students he didn’t know, and he’d be the only one without a book. In my panic, I emailed the teacher, asking if she had an extra I could replace later. But that was all I could do. I gathered the rest of the supplies and went to bed, quite discouraged.

I woke up all the kids early this morning, so we could be sure to leave early in case I had to meet with the teacher. I checked my email once more and whew! — there was her note, saying they didn’t need their workbooks today. I took a deep breath, and we headed out the door anyway, just to be sure we’d be on time.

When we arrived at the church where the co-op is held, I didn’t see very many cars — and we weren’t that early. Where was everyone? Then I remembered another email I received earlier in the week giving instructions on where to park. I had briefly read over it at the time, and now I couldn’t remember. We followed another car into a lower lot and tried all the doors. They were all locked.

“Well, we’re getting off to a great start,” John said. All we could do was laugh and keep looking for the entrance. It wasn’t a good start at all — I was disorganized, un-informed, and confused.

But, the good news is, we did start. We found the door, the classroom, the teacher, and he went in for his first class. On Monday, though, I have to get all four to class. Hmmm….

Once again, this year I’ve been searching for some different curricula for my children. What’s worked for one doesn’t always work for the next in line. During my search, I’ve come across a great website called Home-School-Curriculum-Advisor.com. Not only does the site give information about some of the various programs available, it provides practical help in finding which one is right for your family.

Included in the buttons on the left is one entitled “How to Choose.” Following the links provided, parents are given six key steps to take before they look into curriculum. Included in the steps are determining your goals, considering learning styles as well as your own limitations, and several more.

In the “Reviews” section, you’ll find advice regarding several homeschooling resources, including Sonlight, Switched on Schoolhouse, the Robinson Curriculum, and Tapestry of Grace. Here, the author not only tells the advantages of each program, but the disadvantages as well, giving you a complete assessment of how it worked for her family. If you are considering using one of these four types of curriculum, read through these reviews first.

And there’s more. There are links to the various publishers’ websites, including Bob Jones Publications and A Beka Homeschool Curriculum, as well as a number of options online.  You’ll also find articles about unschooling, evaluating learning, and learning styles. An article about homeschooling problems even addresses struggles with developmental and character issues.

The school year has already started for most, but if you’re still struggling as you homeschool your child (which at times has lasted well into the school year for me), read through the information on this site. There are many thought-provoking questions provided that you can ask yourself — questions to help you and your child get back on track.

At a get-together this morning, several of us homeschooling moms had an opportunity to compare what we’ve been doing with our children recently. I feel like we’ve finally found a daily schedule that is going to work well for us, so I told them about my plan. Other moms, then, told how they begin their mornings, and their ideas were great! I left feeling inspired, energized, and ready to make even more changes to the plan.

After speaking with the other moms today, I realized that there’s more I want to do. Before we begin with breakfast, I want us to start our day with prayer as a family. I want each child to have an opportunity to pray for each other, for their dad, for extended family, for special needs we’ve heard of, for our missionary friends who are far away. One mom suggested providing each child with a slip of paper with name written on it — that would be the one they pray for that day.

Memorizing scripture was something else that was mentioned that I want to add. One family works on a verse or two a week all together. The older children could then learn even more on their own.

Of course, adding in a time for prayer and Bible memory before our “classes” begin will require extra time for our school day. I always hope to get an early start so that we’ll be finished by lunch, but for one reason or another, we often seem to go into the afternoon. But the fifteen minutes or so that it would take to add it in would well worth the time. After all, for us homeschooling isn’t just about the academics; it’s also about raising wise, responsible, and compassionate people who will make a difference in their world.