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Tailoring Curriculum part 2

Mar17

Continuing from yesterday…

With my middle child, we tried to start school at the age of 5 with him but he was struggling in so many areas it was overwhelming. I have tried quite the gamut of programs with him. I started out very traditional with phonics workbooks and readers. It actually worked out okay until he got to multi-syllable words. I then took a break from phonics and we started reading easy readers but he never got over the hurdle of multi-syllable words. And because of his Auditory Processing Disorder (APD), he had significant language delays and couldn’t naturally keep sounding out words. I decided to try All About Reading with him and that work well. Levels 2 and 3 are what he needed to understand how to decode those multi-syllable words. And while my son reads much better now, he still has a way to go before he can be truly independent. For spelling, he has also used All About Spelling but I will probably not continue on with him after this year. All About Spelling has really helped him to jumpstart his spelling skills, but I feel like there may be something out there that is better suited to his learning style. My plan at the convention this year is find a new product to try with him to see if that can help him spell better. As for creative writing, my son hasn’t done much of that this year. He struggles with spelling so much that we have been doing lots and lots of copywork. This is helping him to build up his hand muscles; it helps him to see words spelled correctly; and gives him lots of confidence in his writing abilities. Next year though he will begin doing his own original pieces and my hope is that his spelling will have improved enough that he will be able to do some independent writing. Finally, my last initiative with this child has been to read lots of books with diverse vocabulary to him. Because of his APD, he doesn’t learn language like you and I do. Picking up new words is difficult for him. But I have found that his vocabulary is improving significantly by me reading lots of interesting books that have an assorted variety of language.

My youngest has been my easiest to teach. She has absorbed everything around her and I have not had to spend much time with her education. She learned basic phonic rules at a very young age and I think it was probably by her listening in on her brother and sister. She started reading Bob Books at the age of three. She absolutely loved them.   I never really put her through a phonics program, but just gave her lots of books to read. For a period of time, I did make her sit with me while I did my son’s All About Reading lesson just to make sure she knew all the phonograms. But I honestly found that she didn’t need it. She had already figured most of them out on her own. For this particular child, I still bring home lots and lots of books from the library for her to read. She loves all kinds of books too. So I try to bring home a variety. As for math, she used RightStart here and there but she doesn’t really need it. She does very well with workbooks. Using workbooks, she taught herself the 4 basic functions and she does them fairly well. She not only can do them, but she also understands them. She also taught herself how to convert things as well, minutes and hours, inches and feet, the metric system and the likes using workbooks. Not only does she learn well with workbooks, but she loves to complete them. Much of her early education was completed with workbooks. Because she is such a good reader, I could literally give her the workbook and she would complete her work on her own. The only subject I have not done with a workbook for her is spelling in which she uses All About Spelling. However, next year I am not planning to continue on with this program. I am moving her to studied dictation. She has a photographic memory and I think this form of spelling will be a fantastic compliment to her learning style.

Obviously school is composed of much more than language arts and math. But I have found those are the subjects that I need to tailor most to my kids according to their learning style. As for history, science and Bible, I have changed it up a lot each year based on my needs. When I started homeschooling, I liked to build my own program. Every year at the convention was like Christmas because I couldn’t wait to discover what we would do the following year. But about 4 years in, I found I no longer had time to piece it all together. I sought out an all in one curriculum. There are many, many different vendors for an all in one curriculum. For me, this is the only time I have really considered myself and my teaching style as a huge part of the curriculum. I tried My Father’s World for a year and we absolutely loved it. The first year I did My Father’s World, my kids were all in separate levels. It went very well that year and my kids learned a lot. Then the following year I was at a point where two of my kids would be combined into their 5 year cycle. I made it in 8 weeks in dropped it. With my oldest and my middle child being so completely different, I found it was just too difficult to try to teach everyone at the same time. Not only did I have to significantly modify the assignments, they all distracted each other the entire day. I learned very quickly that I did not want to teach all of my kids together. I then found a company called Heart of Dakota. It is set up that you can combine some age groups but that you don’t need to either. It is set up with age ranges for their levels but their levels are very skill driven. For me, this was my perfect fit. I am now able to place my kids according to their skills and the teacher’s manual then tells me or them what to do. For me, this box curriculum is my perfect fit. I also never realized that my teaching style was a Charlotte Mason style. This company aligns very closely to that method of teaching and seems to also be my kids learning styles as well. In addition, because of the layout of the manual, I can switch the math and language arts with whatever program I want to make it my kid’s perfect fit too.

For me, every year I homeschool always holds an excitement and wonder of seeing the changes and growth in my kids. I love that there are so many curriculums out there to pick and choose from to help kids grown in different areas. I also love the fun stuff too. My kids have learned through the use of games, hands-on kits, and we have explored several foreign languages. I have spent much time researching and trying different programs out to see how we liked them. Some we have liked, some we have not. I live my life by the philosophy that I will immediately shelf something if I find it doesn’t work well for us. There have been many a shelved items in this family. But, I have also been very delighted by finding various curriculum treasures that my kids enjoyed much more than I anticipated. If you are struggling with curriculum, I would recommend starting with 102 Top Curriculum Picks by Cathy Duffy, which you can purchase or borrow from the library. It has a survey in the front that will help you discover your teaching style. You can then go from there to try and find curriculum that will suit you and your kids. She has wonderful reviews on her website that discuss many products that are available. Before I purchase anything, I always review it. I check her website and then I go to www.homeschoolreviews.com and check their comments as well. I have found that sometimes it does take a bit of trial and error but in general, the more research I do, the less likely I am to shelve my final selection. As a final encouragement, embrace the diversity of the various curriculums and don’t be scared to try something new. You may be pleasantly surprised by how much you love it and grateful for the change.

Caring for Pets

Feb23

FullSizeRender“If we get a cat, I promise I will help take care of her!” are the words that my sons spoke to me when they wanted a pet. Well, you know how that scenario ended up going. 🙂 Belle lived for 15 years and well beyond the boys staying here at the house. She died a few years ago and we really didn’t have any intention of getting a new cat, but then Oreo came along… He was going to have to return to the SPCA and I thought his chances of being adopted again weren’t going to be that high. So, I talked my husband into taking him in and he been here since the fall. I promised Dale I would take care of him….

So, how does this tie into homeschooling? I think making the decision to have a pet and care for it is part of  education. Now, maybe you don’t want a pet or can’t have one, so please excuse this post. I wasn’t paid by any of your children to write this post either. 🙂

Researching what type of pet that will fit your family is a practical way to incorporate a number of subjects because of your child looking at different breeds of dogs or cats, birds or fish, etc. (language arts) Not only that, but what type of environment does it need? (A cage, an aquarium, a dog house- science) What type of food does it eat? How much will it cost to take care of it? (math creeps into this!)

Pets can teach our children a number of things, responsibility being one of the most important lessons.  Feeding, cleaning up after them, and grooming can all be duties that are delegated to several members and incorporated into the chore list.

Patience seems to be a character trait that pets bring out in me. Oreo has a propensity to begin letting us know he is hungry two hours before we feed him. He is extremely quiet  the rest of the day until it comes to his belly clock telling him he needs to eat NOW!  Waking up at 4:00 in the morning to a plaintive, insistent meowing at our bedroom door can be extremely frustrating! So, one black and white cat helps me with showing kindness when I’d rather not.

So, when your child asks for a pet, you can think of all the ways that critter can help your children with school and living. I hear Oreo calling right now and he still has 60 more minutes until he gets to eat. Patience… patience…

 

Staying on Track: What to do When Life throws a Curve

Jan19

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Recently I went on an anniversary getaway with my husband to Florida. It was one of the most relaxing trips we have ever had until… I wiped out on my bicycle and did a face plant on the concrete. Ouch! To make a long story short, I had to get six stitches around my eye and sported a lovely purple shiner and lots of bruises for several weeks. Of course, that wasn’t planned and we had to adjust our plans to accommodate my accident.

Perhaps you have had a year like that, maybe not one identical to mine. ( I certainly hope not!) But, situations come up and all of the plans you made have suddenly had to be changed to fit the need you have. How do you keep going? How do you stay on track with school?

  1. Teach the main subjects. If you cannot teach every subject due to illness or other circumstances, focus on math and reading. You will be able to teach new science and social studies topics in the near future.
  2. Combine subjects by reading stories that are about history or science. Children always enjoy listening to stories.
  3. Make the circumstance a learning experience. Do you have to visit your sick mother throughout the week? Why not learn about the illness and ways to prevent it? This is a practical way to teach health. How about making up a car travel kit filled with books, math practice sheets, a map to track where you are going, get books on CD from the library, etc.
  4. Complete assignments orally if necessary. My son had to have surgery on his arm and there were several days where we discussed the questions that were in his books I either was his scribe or I noted on his workbook papers that we had done it orally and gave him a score. For instance if he got 8 out of 10 correct I circled the ones he missed and wrote +8/10 on the top of the page along with the date. Dating papers helped keep me on track and later when I glanced through the workbook I wouldn’t panic when I saw a bunch of “blank pages”.
  5. Take a break! Children have sick days in a traditional school setting and you are allowed to do so too. If circumstances are such that there is a long term illness or circumstance, be sure to have your child doing some type of school if at all possible.
  6. Watch educational videos. I am not a huge proponent of television; I don’t even own one! But, history and science are enhanced by watching videos that are related to what you are studying. The Schlessinger Company has great children’s videos about a variety of history topics, both about the United States and other countries. WeetWoo is an app that is parent curated. As with anything, preview the video before allowing your child to watch it. 
  7. Educational Apps can help reinforce concepts that you have been studying. Here are some that have been recommended by bestappsforkids.com and parents.com:
  • Stack the States (geography)
  • PopMath Basic Math (math)
  • Wurdie (spelling)
  • Bookworm (Spelling- for my own review check out my post about Language Arts games)
  • Sums Stackers (math)
  • Balloony Word (spelling)
  • Green Eggs and Ham (reading)
  • The Magic School Bus: Oceans (science)

Remember, things will return to normal and things will be routine once again.

Have a great week!

~ Lisa

The Power of Unstoppable Faith

Oct31

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Nick Vujicic is a remarkable man. I was drawn to him at first because of his physical disability; he was born with no arms and no legs. But, what makes Nick even more remarkable is his wonderful outlook on life and his powerful message of faith in God. In his latest quick-read booklet, The Power of Unstoppable Faith: Your Keys to a Fulfilled Life, Nick tells his story of wanting to give up because he felt his life had no purpose, but with the Lord’s help, he found it.

He puts forth a challenge to the reader by saying. “You and I were put on this earth to serve something greater than our narrow interests. When our focus becomes self-centered, we lose our greatest source of power. Our God-given talents are meant to benefit others.  When we use them for that greater purpose, we put faith into action to fulfill His plans for us. We make a difference in this word that helps prepare us for the next.” Nick’s encouragement is needed today in an age where the need is great and we can help bring hope by serving others, thus finding fulfillment.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review and wasn’t required to give a positive review, but I loved Nick’s encouraging words and highly recommend it. 🙂

If you have never heard of Nick or seen his videos, I’d recommend you watch them [videos] on you tube. I show one of his videos to my junior high class because his words of loving yourself and others is life-giving and powerful. I have included the video link below in my comments box.

~Lisa

Educating Sons

Sep15

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Homeschooling sons looks different than homeschooling daughters or even a mix of both. I have asked my friend, Maura Timko to share her thoughts as she has some insights that will be helpful.

Including my husband, there are 4 men in my household (45, 17, 15, and 14), plus our 2 male cats. All men, and all their man-friends, all the time. I am very clearly outnumbered.

Now, my guys are very, very good to me, and I love them to pieces. I am thankful for them every single day. It’s just that living with a bunch of men presents its own, particular brand of interesting. If you are the only woman in your household, you’ll know exactly what I mean. I am reminded daily of my minority status by the myriad of male conversational topics (I-can-do-more-pull-ups- than-you-can), television shows (ANOTHER baseball game?), and animal-like eating habits (dirty gym socks + toenail = EEW! on the coffee table, next to the nachos). Sometimes, I’m convinced that I’m an alien. Or, that they are.

Homeschooling our family of 3 boys looks very different, in so many ways. I had a hard time deciding which one to address in my blog post. (If there is interest, I’d be pleased to address more of them.) I figured I’d start by putting the biggest rock into the jar first: It takes an all new level of emotional fortitude to have all boys. As a mother you must rise to the occasion.

If there is any squeamishness about you, Mom, it has GOT TO GO! Any (every?) gross topic is up for discussion, in great detail. It begins as soon as your boys can go out and find things: nasty bugs, slimy worms, and rotting road kill will always end up on your front porch. Magnifying glasses, large and small jars, and probes/sticks will all be necessary. Stuff will get chopped up and thoroughly examined, so buy a hose. You will need to pretend that the dead squirrel they just found near the curb is the coolest thing, EVER! And…any snake or lizard that they find WILL be coming inside, in a box, without a lid, as a pet. And YOU will be have to touch it.

YOU must grow a backbone. Fast.

Over the years, I have been mentored by the writings of Victorian-era educator, Charlotte Mason. One of the pillars of Mason’s approach to education is this: Children are born persons. They are to be respected. They have their own likes and dislikes, their own favorite things, and their own thoughts. My role as a “teacher” (or even as “Mom”) is more like being a facilitator or a coach: to respect the person that God has uniquely created them to be, and to “train up my child in the way he should go,” according to God’s plan, and not my own.

Boys need to be respected, especially by their mothers. It helps them to respect themselves, and to have a strong self-esteem. As a Mom, this requires a constant trust in the Holy Spirit to be the One to speak to their hearts, to sift truth from lies, and to form good opinions. Although I will never tolerate an ungodly opinion, sometimes my boys form opinions that differ significantly from my own. Part of this is their increasing need for autonomy as they grow into men – normal adolescent development. They may even change their opinion 6 months from now – also normal development. But if my son’s opinion differs from my own – I must be respectful.

As my boys have grown, I’ve seen this bringing-of-gross-stuff transition to their writing. My teen boys no longer bring slimy bugs to my door. However, if given the freedom to express themselves, they will write about things that stun me. They will explore topics, form opinions or create stories around violent things, taboo things, gross things, and shocking things. I have learned that what they are really doing is exploring their own minds. They are learning how to deal with a hard topic, and not be afraid. They are learning to hear and know the voice of Jesus. Again, Charlotte Mason reminds me that it is the Holy Spirit who is the teacher:

“This idea of all education springing from and resting upon our relation to Almighty God – we do not merely give a religious education…but we hold that all education is divine, that every good gift of knowledge and insight comes from above, that the Lord the Holy Spirit is the supreme educator of mankind, and that the culmination of all education is that personal knowledge of and intimacy with God, in which our being finds its fullest perfection.”

I’ve also learned a great deal from Julie Bogart, author of The Writer’s Jungle, and founder of Brave Writer (www.bravewriter.com), on this topic. Here is what Julie writes about respecting the thoughts and writing of our boys:

“…boys tend to write about violence, guns, war, attacks, violent video games, machine guns, and violence. Did I mention violence? I have to overemphasize that point because so many mothers have come to me horrified that what was actually lurking in their precious boys’ minds were thoughts of blowing up the world!

We mothers are extremely uncomfortable with these subjects. Boys seem to know it and when they write, they feel reduced…boys hate this restriction, but they also can’t articulate it. Our boys believe that what they really care, think and fantasize about is not acceptable to us. They become cut off from their real thoughts, opinions and beliefs.

Girls tend to write about relationships (no brainer, right?), horses, nature and stories of puppies and kittens. How’s that for stereotyping? But I’ve seen it over and over.”

It can be very hard to read the inner thoughts of your boys, to keep your mouth SHUT, and to trust the Lord with the process. It requires an emotional distance that I never realized I would need. Most of the time, the best thing I can do for my son is to smile, and say, “Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me today.” Stop and think about this for a moment: Wouldn’t you rather hear your son’s actual thoughts? Or will you settle for what he thinks you want to hear, because it’s more comfortable for you? I prefer to have a window into the hearts of my boys.

Julie continues, describing good writing as a kind of “undressing.” Good writing is raw and vulnerable. Now that my guys are older, I have found them to be more willing to write about hard topics than to have a dialogue. Writing seems to create enough of an emotional distance to make any subject approachable. Then, they can more safely explore what they think and how they feel.

Sometimes, but not always, they will allow me to read their writing. I never demand to see it. I try not to laugh, judge, or even to look shocked. I read everything very carefully, and I take my time. Sometimes, I pray. I give my feedback, which they really do seek, but it is never of a moral nature. If a moral correction is ever needed, the moment for doing THAT must be far removed from the actual sharing of thoughts – not while they stand naked in front of me. The best way to shut your son down, to ensure that they will never share their vulnerable thoughts with you again, is to be critical in that moment.

I must be the one with the backbone. I must trust the Lord. I must allow the messy frogs, and the dirty worms, and the icky bugs. I must allow my boys to think, to fail, to course correct, to repent, and to deal with the Lord on their own terms – not mine.

I’ve been visiting colleges lately with my eldest son. At many of them, I have witnessed the fruit of parents who have not permitted their children wrestle with their own thoughts. They have raised very smart kids, certainly – many have scored higher on the SAT than my son. But they have also raised kids who cannot decide, who lack vision, and have no idea how to think for themselves. I have seen these seniors, and their parents, attending college tours; the parents are asking all the questions, the students are pulled along behind. The parents are taken on tours, given information sessions, nice food, and meetings with the Dean. The prospective students are given cheap pizza and entertainment – bread and circuses. Sadly, most of them seem satisfied.

I’m not sure how education has come to this point, but we no longer respect the personhood of our young people – particularly our young men. It’s easier than growing a backbone yourself. Education has stuffed students full of information, at the expense of their God-given personhood.

One more closing thought from Charlotte Mason:

“Therefore, children should be taught, as they become mature enough to understand such teaching, that the chief responsibility which rests upon them as persons is the acceptance or rejection of ideas. To help them in this choice, we give them principles of conduct, and a wide range of the knowledge fitted to them. These principles should save children from some of the loose thinking and heedless action which cause most of us to live at a lower level than we need. We must allow no separation to grow up between the intellectual and ‘spiritual’ life of children, but teach them that the Divine Spirit has constant access to their spirits, and is their Continual Helper in all the interests, duties and joys of life.”

I am proud that my sons see through the façade, and are learning to think for themselves. It is the fruit of having trusted the Lord to deal with them directly, helping them sort through the hard topics. They are being transformed by the renewing of their minds. Sometimes, my back still hurts – I’m a work in progress, too.

I still have my hose ready – just in case.

This post was written by my friend, Maura Timko. These opinions are entirely her own. 🙂