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Extra Curricular and Service Activities

Jun23

Extra curricular and service activities are an essential component of your high school student’s education for several reasons. First, colleges are not only looking at grades, ACT and SAT scores, but also the types of activities your student has participated in throughout high school. Second, for a student who is not going to college this is a great opportunity for them to participate in a variety of activities that could help them with a career choice. But, what I feel is the most important thing about these activities is, it helps teens to see beyond themselves and serve others. Here are some tips and ideas to consider:

Be purposeful in the types of activities that your student chooses to do. Look for places and programs that would benefit them as a perspective applicant for a college or a career choice. For instance, if you have a student who is interested in being a vet tech, find an animal shelter or a veterinary clinic at which to volunteer. One of the families that I do narratives for has a daughter who volunteers at a veterinary clinic, helps the vet by taking care of the animals, and has been invited to attend surgeries. The thing I find most interesting is she is only going to be a 6th grader! I can only imagine what she will be doing when she is a senior in high school.

Select a variety of activities if possible. I was sometimes able to incorporate my sons’ extra curricular activities as part of our homeschooling. For instance, we were able to volunteer to be MOPS childcare workers one school year, we sorted clothes for a battered children’s shelter, served the poor, helped with church programs and attended volunteer training and seminars. Some of these activities required us to rearrange our homeschool schedule, but it was done easily and I am glad we had an opportunity to serve. You don’t have to go through an organization. You can visit nursing homes, help with the cleanup of your neighborhood,the possibilities are only limited to what you can imagine.  I counted some of these activities toward criteria I had established for a careers class. When Malcolm was a senior we designed an elective class that incorporated writing, photography, friends, and coffee shops. He and three of his friends met weekly to critique various coffee shops throughout the city. They interviewed owners and staff, took pictures, drank lots of coffee, and posted their reviews on a blog they created.

Tailor activities to suit your student’s interests. What is it that your teen is interested in or possibly considering as a career choice for college or life? Is there a way to volunteer or get paid to help further this interest? Ian was interested in radio so he volunteered one spring at one of our local radio stations. Malcolm was interested in opening a coffee shop and worked with a local owner for six weeks learning about different roasting techniques, how to make various coffe drinks, and talking to him about the business side of the coffee shop.

Work! I know this is obvious, but admissions counselors look to see if a student has been able to work while also attending school. One of my sons worked at a restaurant that says, “My pleasure” and several of the counselors who spoke with him commented about his employment there in a positive manner. Working also helps our children with time management, responsibility, working with others, and possible recommendations for college applications or full time employment. 🙂 It can also confirm whether to pursue the college major that is being contemplated and help eliminate uncertainty.

Start a business. Does your entrepreneur have an idea that they would like to try? In this day and age it is a lot easier to connect people to your business through the internet. I have a friend who is a CPA and has some great tips and resources on helping teens start a business.

Possible volunteer opportunities that are limited only to what I could think of at the present time.

Church Childcare, puppet ministry, youth group, missions trips, audiovisual team, summer bible school programs,etc. (Find a need- fill it!)

Health care industry Candy stripers, visiting people in the hospital, get on the schedule for meals to the Ronald McDonald House, visit nursing homes

Social Work After school tutoring, serve food at homeless shelters, group homes, food pantries, organize a day to help neighbors (yard work, garage sale. a get together with activities for the children, etc.)

Run/Walks There are a variety of walks that you can do throughout the year. You can either participate or be a volunteer at the event. This is a great way for the whole family to be involved. I like to give, but I have also enjoy participating in the events. I just did a 5k Hunger Walk here in Cincinnati and plan on doing a 10k walk that raises money for the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota to give school backpacks to children living there.

Volunteer Opportunities  Find an area that interests your scholar and brainstorm together about possibilities. Is there a place that doesn’t currently have a volunteer program? Maybe you can create a volunteer position! Why not contact the places that you are interested in with a proposal for volunteering? I always have told my kids that it doesn’t hurt to ask.  Still need some ideas? Click here to find a list of volunteer positions in your area.

Free Math Assessment

Jun20

“How can I find out what in what areas my student is lacking and where are his weaknesses in math?” was something I was asked recently when doing narrative reviews. Good question! If you are using a textbook, see if the publisher offers an assessment test. If not, I found a  free online math assessment (preschool – adult) that can be taken multiple times. You can use this tool  to help you plan the upcoming year as it shows you areas where your child missed questions.

While you are looking at the site, be sure to find the section that says Free Assessment Test. This can be retaken, which I think is a nice feature. If your student needs additional help you can subscribe to their tutoring service.

I took the 2nd grade test ( I passed!) and found it to be informative and helpful. Be sure to allow enough time for your student to complete the test. It may take 30-60 minutes depending upon your student.

So Many Curriculums,How do I Choose?

Jun16

Whether you have been home schooling for a long time or this is just the beginning of your journey, you may have realized that many home school families have a large number of children. I don’t; I only have two sons. At times I wish I had more, but my two sons were a whirlwind of non-stop activity and I really couldn’t see myself chasing more little ones. Call me a whimp, that’s okay; I probably am. With all that said, I only got two shots at trying out all the amazing curriculum that I saw at the home school convention and in the catalogs that I received.

“Where do I begin?” was my first thought and may be yours as well. First of all, decide what philosophy of education best meets what you want to accomplish with your family and best matches your ideals. Not sure of your philosophy? A great resource to help you decide what books and ideas you would like to pursue with your children is a website called Home School Curriculum Advisor and you can read the article entitled, Creating a Home Schooling Philosophy of Education Simply and Easily. Be aware that if this is the first time you are considering what your home education philosophy, it may take more time than you originally thought. It is well worth it though, and will save you countless hours of looking at curriculum and spending hard-earned cash needlessly.

Another component that is worth investigating is what type of learning style best fits your child(ren) and you. There are a variety of ways in which people learn: audio, visual, kinesthetic, or a combination of the aforementioned. Let’s face it, no two people are alike and some curriculum works better than others depending upon each individual. Here are some resources on learning styles to help you determine your scholar’s style: They Way They Learn, by Cynthia Tobias and The Big What Now Book of Learning, by Carol Barnier.

Will you be able to tailor each individual subject to meet each of your children’s needs? Probably not unless you have one student (obviously!), but you can be aware of the type of learners your children are and pay attention to the style of learning that best fits you too since you are teaching. You can love a program that uses workbooks as its mode of teaching and be enthusiastic about it, but if you have a kinesthetic learner who needs to be involved in projects and being able to move, your best laid plans will be hard to implement and will not be all that successful. I have found that unit studies and lap books provide a great balance for those who need hands-on activities and those who excel with workbooks and worksheets.

After you have decided what type of philosophy of education and the types of learners you have in your school, THEN begin to look at curriculum. 🙂 Even within the area of curriculum for a certain type of philosophy you will find different approaches and products. For instance, if you like Unit Studies you have a choice of making your own or using one already prepared. You can choose to do something general as in the history of Ohio or be specific and choose to concentrate just on local history. Be a little bit of detective and a little bit of hound dog. There are a wide variety of choices and products to choose from and if you hear or see something that no one else has tried, don’t be afraid to investigate, dig in, and go down a different path than everyone else if that is what you need to do for your family. I did and I was happy with the choices I made.

I have listed two resources to help you with curriculum choices. Take your time in reading through these.

Choosing a Home Schooling Method: Which One is Right for You? I like how the author has given you a brief overview of a particular philosophy of education and characteristics of the various programs.

Cathy Duffy’s 100 Top Picks for Home School Curriculum is a great resource book to purchase. She gives you a short inventory of the style of learners too and curriculum that would fit with your scholar’s style.

You have chosen a curriculum that you would like to order? Great! Here are some of my recommendations for home schooling products; they have a wide variety of books and also fun activities to enhance your curriculum.

Catalogs for Home Schooling Curriculum and Products You can request a catalog, but I have links to the websites listed below. Personally, I prefer a paper catalog,

“Why a paper catalog instead of the online version?” you may ask. Here are some of the reasons I like a paper catalog, although I do refer to the online versions too. You can mark in it with notes (if it can be found at the library, or be borrowed, etc.), you can take it anywhere, (even the bathroom while relaxing in the tub),sometimes you don’t always have internet connections (good reading while waiting out a storm in your basement 🙂 ), it is easily navigable-I can turn the pages, sticky note particular pages, etc.,and you can show other enthusiastic home school friends and ask veterans their opinions about products. I also keep catalogs close by my couch so when home school moms come to see me we can look at several curriculum options and products while they are meeting with me.

I just received my Rainbow Resource catalog in the mail and I love pouring over it. Oh Happy Day! There is just something about picking up that big catalog and holding it in my hands that makes me feel happy. (Be honest, many of you feel the same way when looking at home school products!) Beware! If you are new to home schooling, then do not let the size of the catalog deter you. It is easily 6 inches thick, but remember that it would be like putting all the products AND reviews of a small store into print.

Christian Book Distributors is another great resource, especially if you are looking for specific Christian titles.

Sonlight catalog has lists of books that are tried and true. I have used a large majority of the library books (also known as “living books”) they recommend in their programs as they can stand alone without using their particular program if you choose.

Veritas Press A classical education products catalog

Beautiful Feet Books I love the book selections and the literature guides,especially for middle schol students and older.

I hope that this helps you clarify your vision for your family and their education and helps eliminate the stress that you may feel in picking curriculum.

Selecting a Book (Independent reading)

Jun9

How does your reader know if a book is just right for them? I found this Just Right Book Selection Rubric that I think will act as a good guide to ensure successful independent reading.

EASY

*you can read the words fluently (smooth and with an interesting voice)

*you have a large framework of knowledge for the subject

*there often are not a lot of words on a page

*you know how to say all the words

*there are not a lot of pages in the book

*sometimes the book has a larger font

*you totally understand the story

*your reading rate may be quicker

*your thinking comes easy as you read the words

CHALLENGING

*many of the words are too hard to decode (failed a five finger test)

*you don’t know what the tricky words MEAN

*your reading becomes choppy more than it is fluent

*you don’t have any framework of knowledge for the subject

*there are often a lot of words on the page

*often the font is small

*you lose focus as you are reading

*you are not enjoying the book because you have to do too much word work

*your thinking is confused

*your reading rate slows way down

JUST RIGHT

*you can read most of the words

*you can understand what you are reading

*you enjoy the book

*you may have some framework of knowledge for the subject

*you can read the book with smooth fluency but there are some choppy places

*your reading rate is just right- not too slow and not too fast

*you can figure out the tricky words and still get the meaning of the story

Source: http://www.readinglady.com/mosaic/tools/tools.htm

Summer (School) Ideas for Writing

Jun2

A home school mom asked me for some writing ideas to keep skills up during the summer. Here are a few that we have enjoyed.

Ideas for Writing

Conversational journal I am not exactly sure what else to name it, but the idea is that you purchase a small spiral bound notebook and write a question in it. For instance, it has been raining quite a bit here lately and I am beginning to feel quite waterlogged! A question I asked one of my sons was, “Can you think of a rainy day activity you would like to do? Why?” His response, “I’d like to go with my friends and jump around in the water and take photos. Why? Because if I wait until we have a sunny day to take pictures it may not ever happen!” Good answer since we have had rain 10 out of the last 11 days.  Now, some of you may be wondering how do I get my child to write when (s)he  doesn’t like to do it? I believe it is all in the timing. When the guys were younger I would put the notebook on their pillow and the rule was that the notebook needs to be on my pillow by the following evening with a response. I would send them up to bed 15-30 minutes before lights were to be out for the evening. I don’t know about your children, but to delay bedtime was a huge issue with my family. This was a great way for them to delay while at the same time having them write and communicate with me. The other rule was: “Ask me a question.” We had some great “conversations”. You respond back to them and put the notebook back on their pillow. Collect the notebook and start another conversation as often as you like. I have actually kept some of these notebooks since they are a time capsule of sorts. I believe you will be pleasantly surprised to see the response you get from your children. There may be resistance at first, but be persistent and you will reap  a reward.

Family Newsletter

There are great templates on our word processors for creating a family newsletter. Include vacation pictures and add captions, include activities you did around town, why not add some family funnies (comments or incidents that occurred), or interview one family member.  Send electronically or do it the old-fashioned way! Addressing envelopes is actually a language arts objective. Be creative and have fun. You can use this as part of your portfolio review (written narrative).

Writing is more than just creative pieces. It is communicating an idea or thought in a written manner. If you have a child who is totally resistant to writing a paragraph then how about creating lists? (birthday,potential summer activities,friends to have over or visit, my favorite foods lists, places to visit, favorite books, etc.) What about making up hints for a treasure hunt either outside or inside for a rainy day or have your student create a list of things to find on a Nature Walk?