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Derailment! Getting Back on Track

May16

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It happens to everyone; you are moving right along when suddenly something unexpected happens such as an illness, or an unplanned event and your schooling hits a snag;  your academic plans become derailed. How do you get back to your teaching and the children working on school lessons?

Take an assessment of what needs to be finished.

  • How many lessons do you need to finish and how many days will it take to complete them?
  • Can you consolidate lessons?
  • Can you shorten them? Instead of having your child do 50 multiplication problems, how about 25 of them?
  • Does your student already know the information and is it review? Give a quiz or ask orally key concepts to see if your student has gained mastery. If so, then go on to a lesson that is new and concentrate your studies there.

If there are quite a few lessons, consider comparing the next year’s curriculum to see what concepts will be covered and wait to teach that next year. Textbooks review to a certain extent the material that has been covered the previous year at the commencement of a new academic year so you can teach that then. If it is not going to be covered in the future and is important, then do these lessons.

Formulate a plan to finish.

  • How long will it take to finish this year’s lessons? Write it out so that you can see what that looks like. If it appears you are going to be working through the summer, do short lessons and do not do school more than a couple of hours. The hot summer days of July are usually a time when no one wants to go outside and play. This would be a perfect time to do school with math review games and reading.
  • Set dates for completion. For example, by Friday we will need to complete 3 lessons on long division. Don not make it overwhelming if you are just getting back to your school routine. This will make you feel overwhelmed and not feeling like you can move forward.
  • Call a friend for support and ideas if you are feeling overwhelmed.
  • Talk to your children if they are of an appropriate age and show them what needs to be completed and the amount of time it will take to complete school. Everyone likes to know there is an end in sight and it will help to hold everyone accountable.
  • Make it fun. Can you play math review games that accomplishes the same thing as a worksheet or watch a video that compliments your studies?
  • Don’t give up. If you have to continue next year with work that needed to be finished this year, then plan accordingly. You may need to take a short summer break instead of a long one that you are are accustomed to taking. I think you will see that you will get caught up rather quickly. Be sure to ask for help if you need it.

 

Used Curriculum Sale

May9

With school wrapping up for the year you may be be interested in selling your used curriculum or purchasing what you need for next year. CHEC is having their annual sale this weekend.

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2016 CHEC Used Curriculum and Book Sale

Saturday, May 14, 2016

9:00 am – 12:00 pm (Doors open at 8:30 am for sellers only)

Friendship Baptist Church

8580 Cheviot Rd

Cincinnati, OH 45251

Why Sell at the CHEC Sale?

Convenience of dozens of buyers in person ready to take home your curriculum that day!

Great facility, easy to find, easy to access the building

No need to take pictures, write a description, and post online

No need to email back and forth, set a time to meet, or go to the post office

At noon, you’re done with money in your pocket!

Please see the CHEC website for complete details for sellers

Why Buy at the CHEC Sale?

Talk to the mom, dad or student who actually used the curriculum

Put your hands on the book, look through it and find out if you actually like it

Make it a date with hubby

Meet up with a friend and have a mom’s morning out at the curriculum sale

Great prices and selection

Admission Prices (applies to every person entering the sale including children):

 CHEC Members (with membership card) – $3.00

Please do not forget your membership card! You will be charged regular admission price without it.

 All others – $4.00

Selling Fees (in addition to admission fee above):

 Table space – $1.25 per foot; sold in 4, 6 and 8 foot lengths as available.

 Space is assigned by the volunteers in charge of the sale and their decisions are final.

Everyone welcome! Invite your friends!

See the CHEC website for complete details. (Please do not call Friendship Baptist Church.)

chechome.org

Google Photos: A Free Google App

Feb15

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Click! Click! My fingers were busy taking pictures on my cell phone of a junior high event that I attended this weekend. The yearbook staff asked me to capture some of the highlights to share since I was a part of the festivities.

Now, what do I do with the pictures? Google has a free app called Google Photos.  It is an online image organizer and viewer. In addition, it also allows you to edit pictures with several basic functions such as, color enhancement, red eye reduction, and cropping. Other features include slide shows, printing, and image timelines. You can also share your photos with others, be it friends or family, near and far.

I think this app would be great if you wanted to create a memory book of an event or if you are in a co-op and wanted to create a yearbook for your students. If you have a student who is interested in photography you could create a class for high school credit by using this app and also guidelines from one of these sources:

4-H Photography This is a requirement page for the merit badge and in no way obligates you to join the organization.

Boy Scout Photography Badge  This is a requirement page for the merit badge and in no way obligates you to join the organization.

I love this quote and wanted to share it with you. Have a great week!

~Lisa

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Google Docs

Feb8

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I took a class this fall on Google Apps for the classroom and will be sharing some of the apps I think will be useful to you as a home educator. Today I wanted to share an app for that can be used for Language Arts, but can actually be used for every subject area when writing.

Do you have a child who needs guidance with writing? Perhaps they are just beginning to write independently or perhaps they just need you to come alongside and offer some help with organizing their thoughts. Google has a free educational app called Google Docs that you will find useful for your student for creating a document.

The document is stored in the cloud and can be shared and edited if you so choose. This is a terrific means to offer suggestions to your child and also have accountability in meeting deadlines. There is a comment feature so that your suggestions are written on the side and can be resolved by the writer. I have had my students copy and paste the document so that we can see the progress that has been made throughout the course of the time spent on it.

The app can also be used if your student is collaborating on a project with someone else. The document can be shared and the other person can make changes if needed. The wonderful thing about that is if your child has been assigned a project that requires a document to go along with it, you can share it from the convenience of your home and do not have to drive across town to work on the paper together.

You can look at this amazing app for yourself by clicking HERE.

Homeschool Giveaways & Freebies

Feb1

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I have found a treasure with the Homeschool Giveaways and Freebies website. Every week there are several things you can download for FREE. Of course, who wouldn’t like that?! They have a wide variety of items that are for all grade levels, beginning with preschool all the way through high school. This week there are free cursive handwriting worksheets, a Creation preschool pack, division worksheets, SAT crossword puzzles, and creative writing prompts. Why not check it out? CLICK HERE