Archive by Author | Lisa McAfee

Homeschool: Teaching Music

Aug24

One of the requirements you may have to teach when you are homeschooling is music. You do not need to do anything so ambitious as enroll them in music lessons or teach them how to read notes. Although, if you want to do that, it would be great! You can introduce your daughter/son to musical instruments with books such as these titles. If you click on the books it will take you to the site to learn more about them and purchase if you so choose.

Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin by Lloyd Moss is a lyrical book teaching children about instruments and how each one adds to the richness of the orchestra.

Here is a video of the book that has a short musical piece as each instrument is introduced for children to see and hear it.

A Child’s Introduction to the Orchestra by Robert Levine is terrific book because not only does it teach about the various instruments in the orchestra, but it has song selections too.

Have a great week! ~Lisa~

The Unexpected: 7 Things to Keep Going

Aug17

You plan as best as you can and, seemingly out of nowhere, something happens to derail those plans. Having to help school your child at home; having a baby, losing a job, moving, illness, you can fill in the blank for what has happened to you to change your circumstances. You probably feel overwhelmed and a bit stuck on what to do next. Screen Shot 2020-08-17 at 12.44.41 PM.png

1.Reach out Having someone to listen is a great help. Many times they can offer help or give a different perspective.

2. Get connected Is there a support group that can help? What about a Facebook group, an internet meeting, a community program? Since Covid-19 so much more online opportunities have been created and there are more ways to be doing things virtually. I know it isn’t like being there, but you can get connected with people and programs.

3. Do the next thing What is one thing you can do right now? You will feel better knowing that you have done something rather than nothing. Maybe just writing down all of the things you have to do will help. That is the first step…

4. Make a plan What do you want to see accomplished today? What do you need to do to accomplish it? Just write down a few reasonable things that you know can be done. One year I was teaching four classes and having to create all new lessons for  50% of them and was tutoring ten students. I know! What was I thinking?! I had an extremely long list of tasks I needed  to do and it was sooo gratifying to put a big ol’ line through the items I got finished each day. I try to be too ambitious and put a bunch of things on the list. I have realized that if I plan for a couple of things I can always add more to what I wanted to do for the day.

5. Ask for help How many times have you seen your child struggle and you know if they just asked for help they could go on. I tell homeschool families that I don’t have all of the answers, but I will try my hardest to find someone who can help.

6. Help others I know that may sound crazy when things are topsy-turvy, but being in a situation that you didn’t expect gives us compassion for others. Even if you do not have the time to help, making a batch of cookies or asking how they are doing and listening will help lift your spirits too.

7. It’s okay to fail. Isn’t this what we tell our children? Why don’t we heed our own advice?  I try to drag out the spandex tights, cape, and the bright red boots , but I realize that I don’t look so good in that costume and it show every flaw I have, and believe me, I have a lot!  It’s a costume after all, not “real” clothes.

For you who have been thrust into homeschooling, I believe in you! I know you can do this. You love your child and want the best for her/him and I know you will help them to succeed.

Have a great week!  ~Lisa~ 

 

 

 

An Act of Kindness

Aug3

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I had the privilege of doing a portfolio review this past month for a wonderful and thoughtful young lady. Her mom said she wanted to let her neighbors know that they are not alone during these difficult times. She bought plastic containers, filled them with wrapped candy, and attached this note to each one. We can make someone’s day with a simple act of kindness. This would be easy for you and your children to do for school and would count for Language Arts and Handwriting.

Have a great week! ~Lisa~

 

 

Letter of Intent for Homeschooling

Jul20

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Did you receive a letter from your school district stating your student needs to have some type of assessment from this past year? There has been some confusion from some school districts concerning this year’s requirements. If you homeschooled for the 2019-2020 school year and are going to continue to do so for the 2020-2021 school year, you do not need to have your child assessed. Of course, I am happy to do an assessment for you this year if you wish. You can email me at: schoolmarmohio@me.com 

You may include this paragraph from the Christian Home Educators of Ohio’s website with your letter of intent this year if you like.

Sub.H.B. 164, Section 5 was approved by the Ohio Legislature on June 11, 2020 “…that Section 17 of H.B. 197 of the 133rd General Assembly be amended to read as follows:

(L) No school district shall require the parent of any student who was instructed at home in accordance with section 3321.04 of the Revised Code for the 2019-2020 school year to submit to the district superintendent the academic assessment report required under rule 3301-34-04 of the Administrative Code as a condition of the district allowing the student to continue to receive home instruction for the 2020-2021 school year.”

Have a great week! ~Lisa~

Getting Ready for the New Year

Jul13

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We are already into the second week of July and school will be starting before you know it. Maybe you are just beginning to homeschool or maybe you are starting the last year of your homeschooling. Either way, everyone needs to plan what they will be doing for the year. So, I have three things for you to consider doing over the next few weeks.

  • Pick a curriculum- What will you be using this year for school? This requires some investigating on your part. If you are new to homeschooling, I recommend that you find something that is already planned out. This can be traditional textbooks, online programs, distance learning opportunities, etc. It is much easier to modify a curriculum instead of having to create your own. After  you have that first year under your belt you will have a better idea of what works for your child and what does not.
  • Consider your home and classroom work space. Where will you have school? I think having a dedicated area to do school is great, but it may be that you work at the kitchen table. Do what works best for your family. We began with a schoolroom and ended up migrating as the year went on. After a couple of years I just had all of us meet at the kitchen table. 🙂
  • Complete the Home Education Notification Form. (<- Click on the bold words to get a copy.) It is only used to notify the school that you are going to homeschool your child for the school year. It must be completed and turned into the superintendent no later that the first day of when your child’s school building begins the academic year. I would suggest you send it by registered mail with a return receipt. This is so you have record that they received it. It gets very busy for the superintendent’s office and your paperwork could get lost. If that should happen, you have a record that they received it.

Item #6 is for you to just list a few general topics of what you intend to teach your child for the school year. For instance, in math you can list for your child who is of first grade level the topics of single digit addition and subtraction, counting money and telling time. This is for informational purposes and you can change your mind as the year progresses. Your daughter may sail through addition and subtraction and you decide to add multiple digit addition. That is great and there is no need to contact the school and let them know your topics have changed. She may struggle with telling time and you decide to wait until a later date to teach this. This is perfectly fine too. The superintendent is just seeing that you have some topics for your child to learn.

Item #7 on the form is for informational purposes as well. You can list resources that you will be using, but you do not need to make an extensive list of every book you are going to use. You may not have even come across a fabulous resource yet and discover it as the year continues. That has happened to me on several occasions. You can list the textbook (if you are using one) as well as other resources or programs. For instance, in Social Studies you might use Story of the World, various videos, maps of the world and United States and  and app such as Stack the States.  Again, the superintendent is looking to see that you have a plan of what resources you would like to use.

Have a great week! ~Lisa~