5 Ways to Make Homeschool Fun! - Homeschool Thursday

This has been a great week in our homeschool. Between the workload and the morale of the students and teacher, we have had a fantastic homeschool week.

We try lots of things to make homeschool fun. And homeschool is generally fun even if we are sitting at a desk with chairs and pencils and paper and all the normal school things. But sometimes we get even more crazy and that makes it much better.

So, here you go!

1. Wear PJs all day long! Pajamas for the win.

2. Do two subjects and then drop everything and head to the park for a Nerf war with friends...or just some good park playtime. 

3. Get a snowcone. In January. Just because. (And share with your siblings because any size was free so go BIG!)

4. Head to someone's bed to do group reading. We all piled onto Superman's bed and snuggled into the covers to read two history lessons. Oddly enough, everyone listened. 

5. Plan something fun to look forward to when everyone's work is done. Near our home is a cool place called Urban Air. They offer homeschool Friday jump. We look forward to this about once a month and meet all of our homeschool friends there. Moms get to talk. Kids get to jump. For 3 WHOLE HOURS! Love, love, double love.

Tell me, homeschool parents, what do you do to make homeschool even more fun than it already is?

Homeschool Tuesday - Learning to write dates

Tuesdays this year I plan to focus on homeschool ideas. I would love for this to be a place to get ideas and share ideas that relate to schooling in general.

I am not an elementary education major. I'm not even an education major at all, but my secondary concentration area for my master's degree was education...so does that give me some points?

I have taught at the college level (which I loved) and the high school level (which I did not love). And I've homeschooled now for 4.5 years. This is our third consecutive year. We have our ups and downs, but overall we are all very happy.

This year the kids are in 7th, 4th and 1st. I've never taught a child to read before, and this has certainly been a struggle for me. I also know that kids are all different and read at their own pace, so I am not pushing this like it's a big deal just yet.

I did realize that my 1st grader needs to learn about writing things like days and months and dates and such. So, in an effort to work on that, I came up with this worksheet that we will be using starting this week as we head back to school after a glorious two-week break.

I have this in PDF if you'd like to use it also. Leave me a comment.  

UPDATE: The genius mom who came up with this is my hero...

The original post on this consequence idea is below, but since then we have made some changes to the form we use. Amazing Husband thought mine wasn't detailed enough. So we made these changes...it's not as cute, but with all the changes I ran out of room for cuteness. I left both up here so you can use these should you want to.

I was in a store yesterday with my sweet mom and a woman helping us overheard me explaining the new consequence system to my mom. She followed us around just to hear more about it. I had to laugh.

One day I stumbled across this pin on Pinterest...

The pin doesn't link to a website, so I don't know how made it or how to give proper credit there. I thought the idea was genius. So I printed it out and showed it to Amazing Husband. He liked it too. 

Normally, our discipline includes taking away friend privileges, taking away electronics time (they only get 2 hours a day), and extra chores. Sometimes these things work and sometimes they become more work for us. Extra chores turns into me showing them how to do it which defeats the purpose of giving them the job in the first place. 

Well, it just so happened that both boys lost their electronics time because they snuck their Kindles upstairs one night and watched Netflix well into the wee-hours of the morning. And then Superman told me about it. While I appreciated his honesty, I actually knew this had been going on from time to time. It was time to address it. 

I don't want them thinking it's okay to sneak around and disobey...that if they don't get caught then it's okay to do something they know is breaking rules in our home.

We decided to remove all electronic time for 7 days. Sometimes this seems like the most painful punishment to them and sometimes it doesn't. The time flies by and they don't seem to care. So 5 days in, I remembered this pin I had seen and had to amend the punishment.

I made my own version...I have to pick out cute fonts and stuff. Plus I wanted to laminate it and use it over. This is what I came up with for us.

And it worked. Yesterday, I got three cabinets and one drawer cleaned out, I got four loads of laundry done without my help and the kitchen counters and dining table got cleaned off. Score.

5 NEW things for homeschool 2014-2015

We are starting (in Aug '14) on our third consecutive year of homeschooling for two of our kids and our fifth year for our oldest son. We will be teaching 7th grade, 4th grade and 1st grade. Wow!

We had a two year break when our kids attended a private school where I worked.

Each year provides learning for all of us. I learn how to be a better teacher. And hopefully they learn a lot as well. This year is no exception. I already have five things I will be doing differently in the coming year.

This week we have wrapped up our school year and said our goodbyes to kindergarten, third grade and sixth grade. We've danced and been silly, we've fussed and fought a little bit too. We've been making summer plans to swim, play at Top Golf, jump at Urban Air and so much more. 

I've begun cleaning out the school room getting things ready (already) for next year. I truly think this is my favorite part of the year. The removal of the old and bringing in of the new. 
1. We will be joining a weekly coop.

The last two years I just wasn't ready for an entire day out of our week to be committed to something else. I can already tell at this point, that we need more time with other people doing different things. This coop we are joining will allow for that. The coop also has a prep option for our oldest son so this will give me a chance to see if we need or want to pursue that. Wonder Woman and superman are both excited. Lego Man will need additional convincing. My involvement is a requirement of the group. That will be good for me as well. It will only take one day of our week and last six hours.

2. We will add foreign language.

Wonder Woman wants to learn French. Lego Man is entering middle school years. It's about time, I think, to add foreign language. I think we will go with Rosetta Stone, but I haven't completely settled on this yet. We need something that each kid can use at their own pace and that works toward mastery. If you have tried any that you love, I would love to hear about it.

3. We will split up science since my oldest will be in 7th grade and will need more in-depth science study than my 1st and 4th grader.

This year we used Apologia Science. I love the Biblical foundation of Apologia. I love the straightforward approach. However, I don't know that the kids loved it. And I don't know how much they will retain from their studies of Human Anatomy & Physiology. It was a great introduction to the human body and the way God made us.All that to say, next year the oldest needs more in depth science and the other two need more hands on learning. I'm looking at Real Science for kids for them. I am undecided on Lego Man, but may consider Apologia again for him. I just felt like the kids needed more hands on activities, more measurement of their mastery and more than just me reading a textbook.4. We will read 15 books per student this year. (1st grader may read more).This year we attempted to do 18 books. And since I get annoyed going to the library every week, it was closer to 10 books. Gasp! Yes, I get annoyed with the library. And yes I do love free books. But I get frustrated with stupid, silly things like germs, driving, parking, checking out, and overdue books. I stress about those things, and so it makes the whole process a little less fun.I do, however, love seeing the kids reading and finishing books in 24 hours. Love that! And so, I suck it up and go to the library.5. The older kids will each have one big project per semester.I'm not fully settled on this idea. But we introduced small projects this year to teach them about research. We used a form that I created to help them begin gathering facts, writing paragraphs and including visual aids.Next year Lego Man will have to expand on his research a little more and begin learning about bibliographies and other exciting things. For now, Wonder Woman will keep honing her basic research skills. (She will actually have to read about her topic rather than pretend to read about it).So for now, these are just a few things we are changing.Happy homeschool planning to you!

Are you a homeschooler? If so, are you wrapping up or doing year-round school? Are you planning for next year already? I'd love to hear from you!

5 Things - When Homeschooling is Hard

We are one week away from a week off. That's four days of school for us. We pack it in to four days, and we go hard. Yes, we do.

And the kids love it, because they get to work hard for four days and then have a three-day weekend. They love it. And their teacher does too.

But that's not the point here.

The point is this: homeschool is hard. It's constant. It's daily. It's non-stop. And all of those rolled together make it hard. It's also awesome. It's also amazing. It's also rewarding in ways I can't even begin to express.

In one word, homeschool is AWEMAZEHARD.

Yes, that's a new word. No, you will not find it in the dictionary.

Everyone gets tired when homeschooling. Even the kids doing the work. Because you know, as teachers we sit there and nothing. Or so I've been told.

So, here are 5 things to remember when homeschooling is hard. And I promise, there will be days when it's hard.

There were two questions here. She gave two answers. Take a look. I had to laugh (out loud)!

1. Stop. Collaborate, and listen.

Oh, Vanilla Ice, you bring a smile to my face and memories of 7th grade to my mind.
Seriously, though, please stop. For just a second. Remember why you began to homeschool. Remember why you love it.

Stop. Breathe deeply. Grab the baby or child that's trying to climb onto your lap. Hug them. Smell them. Breathe as deeply as you can. And then let it out.

Whatever frustration you feel at this moment, just remember why you began. Write it down if you need to. Put it on a sticky note and attach it to your bathroom mirror. There's a reason you started. Remember it now.

Remember that God has a plan and purpose for you and your children. Ask God to refresh your heart and your mind as you follow His plan.

2. Allow yourself and your kids to take a break.

My kids and I specifically decided that this year we needed more breaks. We needed something to look forward to. We needed a week off that would encourage us to work hard all the other weeks. So we opted for a six-weeks on, one-week off schedule. And for the most part, that's what we've done. And they love it. Let's be honest: I love it too! It's nice to have a week to catch up, rest, play, work, whatever. Whatever needs to be done, we get it done that 7th week. And then, we get back to work.

Park day. Her face. His leg in the air! A smile on my face.

Maybe you need a break too. Finish your work for the day - or don't. It will still be there when you get back. Just give yourself a break.

3. Schedule a park day. 

Coolest park ever. Hope Park.

Our homeschool groups does park days, but generally, they don't work for our schedule. So we schedule our own. We coordinate with a group of friends, and we hit the park. This provides an incentive for the kids to work hard and finish their studies. It provides an incentive for me as well, because I get to hang with other homeschool moms.



4. Do school differently.

We already do school quite differently from everyone else, and that's kind of the point, right?  Take it a step further.

Last week, the only thing I wanted to do was curl up on the bed with pillows and blankets and do school there. For a week or two, that's fine. Do it. The variety will entertain your kids, and it may even encourage them to work harder. Give it a shot.

Do school differently: Today the assignment was for them to give me a quiz. I did miss 1...and I got a B-.

Maybe for you, the park would do the trick. Or perhaps just plant yourself with a bucket of chalk and a blanket on the driveway. My kids love the driveway for school.

Do something different; even if that means that you (the teacher) are uncomfortable.  I am uncomfortable a lot of the time when homeschooling. But those are the days that my kids absolutely love what we do!


5. Call a friend. 

One day last year I was having a really hard day with homeschool. I even texted my husband and said, "I don't want to go back to work. I just want to work with you at our business. The kids can go to school. This is such a hard day."

I also sent a similar text to my dear friend. She simply and sweetly reminded me of why I decided to homeschool and how I encouraged her to homeschool. She told me to stop and rest. She encouraged me. She spoke words of blessing to me. She reminded me of God's love for me...and of His purpose for my life. And right now, that purpose is me homeschooling HIS kids.

P365:98-102

The kids had a great Valentine's Day party with other homeschool kids from our group. It's a brilliant idea, I tell you. Last year was the first year we participated. Everyone meets at the local mall food court at 10 a.m. Each person signs up to bring something (i.e. sprinkles, cookies, plates, napkins, etc.).

The kids decorate bags for Valentines, they decorate a cookie and eat it, and then they exchange the Valentines they brought. Each kid brings 24, and everyone goes home with more than enough. 

It was such a fun time! It's one of my favorite homeschool activities each year. And I do believe the hype about red food coloring. My normally wonderful kids were crazy and impulsive after the party. Mommy needed a time out. 

Homeschool: Short Reports (and a freebie!)

I created something recently to use in our homeschool this year. I've been wanting to teach the kids about more in-depth research, and this is a good starting point for us. Here's my plan. Go to the library and allow the kids to find books on a specific topic. It could be sharks, Italy, the Titanic - you name it. They check out two books and read them. And then they begin to gather information using this mini-report form.

If you would like to use it, you're more than welcome to. I hope it will be helpful. I also included the instructions and grading that I plan to use with my kids. You can use that or not.

Below you will find it in separate files in jpeg format. If you'd like it in PDF (one file), send me an e-mail.

Happy homeschooling!

P365:37-42

This guy right here...he's my speller. And today he participated in the area homeschool spelling bee. It will lead to county spelling bee. I couldn't be more proud of him. He was in for seven rounds, and was the fourth speller left. Before it started he told me to never sign him up again, because he was so nervous. But after, I think he changed his mind and we may be back for next year.

Wonder Woman and Superman were so well behaved. I was so proud of them. Wonder Woman, who opted out of the bee this year, knew how to spell every word that the other kids could spell. So, she decided she's participating next year.

I love spelling bees.

That's him leaning forward. He would not look at me. 

Yep, even a few minutes later, he still would not look at me.

This guy was super patient. And a little Kindle time didn't hurt.

Perfect Power Ranger, no?

Homeschool: lesson & curriculum planning

One of the things I most look forward to for homeschool is the planning – both curriculum and lesson planning.

Each year, I spend quite a bit of time creating new lesson plans. Since I haven’t homeschooled my oldest in all grades, I don’t have lesson plans established for each grade. For example, I never homeschooled Lego Man for third grade, and that means that I don’t already have lesson plans for Wonder Woman to use this year for third grade. I’ve also never taught sixth grade or kindergarten, so this year I had to create all new lesson plans.

Next year, I have a full first grade curriculum complete with lesson plans for Super-Spider-PowerRanger Man ready to go; however, I will be starting fresh with Wonder Woman for fourth grade and Lego Man for seventh grade.

(I can’t believe I almost have a seventh grader.)

Each year in January I start with a blank spiral notebook and add some tabs to the side for subjects. Then I start taking notes on ideas I have for the next year. These ideas might be curriculum or other stuff. They might be specific lesson ideas or thoughts on daily work. I love the brainstorming part.

Last year as I brainstormed for what I would do this year, one thing I noticed is that the kids like having a lesson plan in front of them for the day. Perhaps you might call it a syllabus, but really it’s just an outline of the work they have to accomplish for the day.

I also realized that I needed to have a separate copy for myself. Here’s what I came up with for each of them to use. Each child has their name and grade in the spaces marked here.

And here’s the one I use for me. This one specifically only has the subjects we do as a group. I also have a separate one similar to this for each child covering each subject they have. It also has their name and grade on it. Because I'm working with different ages, I have two boxes for Bible, two boxes for science and two boxes for history. In one box I put what the oldest will do, and in the other box I put what the younger two will do. Sometimes it's the same, and sometimes the older one has more or different work. 

For the most part, I love what I came up with. As always after using it for a few months, I figured some things out that I would do differently next year.

Next year, I will have one sheet for the entire week for the two older kids. If this becomes an issue or overwhelms one of them (which it might), I can always go back to one sheet per day.

Also next year, I will do the complete lesson plans for each child and then make a copy of it instead of having to recopy by hand each one once I have the lesson plans ready. I definitely didn’t think this one through all the way.

Soon I will be picking their science for the 2013-14. Until then – happy homeschooling! 

Homeschool: When things don't go as planned

Our school calendar for 2013-2014 includes all the dates we would be actively schooling this year. We began back in July, went for six weeks and then had a week off. And basically we have followed this six weeks on,  one week off format all year. 

At Christmas we took off two weeks. We were scheduled to return to school January 7. Due to the flu and other sickness that took over, we decided to postpone school until next week when everyone is better. 

Here's the dilemma with that...this was not part of the plan. The plan. My plan. 

I've been spending the week finalizing lesson plans and trying to get everything ready to start next week. I decided to take advantage of the extra time and use it to my advantage.

In homeschool, as in any other school, there are always things that get in the way. There are days when you wake up and just don't feel well or just don't feel like doing school. There are illnesses and issues that come up without warning. And the beauty of homeschool is that you can adjust your schedule to fit your life at the moment. 

During my miscarriage, we took off a week we weren't planning to, and then we moved school from the school room to the couch. The couch didn't work for my structured mind, so we moved back to the school room after a week. 

The key to homeschool is flexibility. Everything will not always go as planned. My kids will work slower at some point and faster at another point. There will be days when they're sick or I'm sick. There will be days when other things come up. And that's the beauty of homeschool; being able to start, stop, take a break and pick up where we left off. 

I still think a plan is important, but flexibility with the plan is equally important.

Your turn:

Do YOU homeschool? 

Do you operate with a year-long plan? If so, how do you plan it for your family?

Do you have a set schedule for each day?

Homeschool craft #3: Cup trees on paper or canvas

 I have wanted to try this for a long time...it's simple really.

You take small paper cups. Dip them in paint. Make a design on your paper or canvas. Admire your artwork. Done.

As you'll see we did two projects in one night.

Supplies we used:

• Canvas from Hobby Lobby
• Acrylic paint from Hobby Lobby
• Dixie paper cups

Not quite finished product, but it's starting to take shape.

Homeschool Craft #2: Handprint Christmas trees

I found the coolest paper by Melissa & Doug the other day at Target. Bought it. Love it. It was perfect for this project, though not as big as I wanted it to be.

Homeschool Craft #1: Paper strip Christmas tree

Paper strip Christmas tree...complete. 

This was a fun activity for all of us. I made one too. I cut strips of paper using paper we had. In my mind we didn't have beautiful colors like I wanted, but I wanted to use up what we have already. So, I made strips. And the kids loved it.

Or they pretended to love it.