I ordered the book, Managers of their Homes by Steven and Teri Maxwell because a bunch of bloggers posted their so-called MOTH schedules. I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed with the house and school. We do alright, but I would like to do so much more and I thought this might help. It was a good reminder for me about how important it is to have a schedule. The authors brought up some good ideas like having older children play with younger children to free up time for working with other children and how that is good for everyone involved. Also, she talked about scheduling babies, so I think I'll try harder to get my babies on a schedule although I will use it more as a guideline. But the most value I got from the book was motivation to schedule and plan our days better. I spent quite a few hours on my computer today doing just that. I didn't want to use the enclosed kit. I need a different schedule for each day!! Then I needed to make sure we got each subject on the schedule enough times each day so that the kids will be all done with everything by Friday afternoon. I've got our field trip day and the park included, so I'm pretty proud of that and I think it will be a lot of fun.
I also have scheduled cleaning times for everybody. I've been having the kids clean up certain zones and that helps a ton, but we've got to start folding clothes everyday and following up on the dishes better. I do about 3 loads of laundry per day, and leaving it to be folded once a week is just overwhelming!!
The schedule is pretty close to what we've been doing. The biggest difference is that I am going to have to get up much earlier if I want to exercise, which I love. The kids were looking at the printed schedules and I think they are pretty excited. They all went to bed at 8 and I checked on them and turned the lights out at 9.
Now I just have to schedule and plan our meals and food prep better and get our music and Spanish lessons better planned. Right now though I think I'd better get to bed so I can get up at 6!!
Step by step-- one thing at a time!!
Showing posts with label homeschool tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homeschool tips. Show all posts
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Monday, August 2, 2010
Why study Latin and Greek?
I got this question in my comments-- here's the drawn out answer:
My husband had the unique opportunity of studying Latin as a high school student and one year at BYU. More than anything else he attributes his ability to think clearly and logically to his study of Latin. Also by learning Latin, he learned Grammar with a capital "G", most of us won't understand what he means until they study Latin. Grammar schools get their name from the schools where the kids attended to learn Latin, like in Anne of Green Gables. It was and can continue to be done.
Latin is a very organized language. The nouns, adjectives, adverbs and other parts of speech will have a different ending depending on what it is doing in the sentence-- subject, direct object, indirect object, possessive, or what word it is associated with etc. Therefore, in order to make a sentence properly in Latin, it must be clear exactly what it is you are tying to say. Same with the verbs and other parts of speech. I think the Grammar is what makes it so difficult. There is so much to keep straight which trains the mind very well. Also, by learning Latin, the student will learn English grammar as a by product and way better than they would by studying any modern language.
Another reason to study Latin is that many English words come from Latin, so it helps us understand our own language so much better. Latin is also the underlying language of our civilization. By learning Latin, we learn about history, art, science, and everything else Latin has touched which is just about everything in Western Civilizaiton.
So now why Greek? Greek has one less declension than Latin, so it is not quite so involved. So the Grammar is a little easier and that makes it a nice precursor to studying Latin. Many English words also come from Greek and how cool would it be to read the New Testament in the original Greek? And it is pretty fun to read in a different alphabet.
Tough subjects turning out disciplined minds?-- yes, just what I want. Do my girls like it-- yes when it's easy, and no when it's hard. They sure are pleased with themselves when they struggle through and finish what they thought was insurmountable.
Check out these articles from Memoria Press on studying Latin, scroll down to the bottom to see the Latin section. The section on studying formal Logic is also enlightening.
http://www.memoriapress.com/articles/
Need a short answer?
Mean Verbal SAT scores for 2006:
LATIN STUDENTS: 672
Spanish Students: 577
French Students: 637
German Students: 632
Hebrew Students: 623
Average for all students: 503
My husband had the unique opportunity of studying Latin as a high school student and one year at BYU. More than anything else he attributes his ability to think clearly and logically to his study of Latin. Also by learning Latin, he learned Grammar with a capital "G", most of us won't understand what he means until they study Latin. Grammar schools get their name from the schools where the kids attended to learn Latin, like in Anne of Green Gables. It was and can continue to be done.
Latin is a very organized language. The nouns, adjectives, adverbs and other parts of speech will have a different ending depending on what it is doing in the sentence-- subject, direct object, indirect object, possessive, or what word it is associated with etc. Therefore, in order to make a sentence properly in Latin, it must be clear exactly what it is you are tying to say. Same with the verbs and other parts of speech. I think the Grammar is what makes it so difficult. There is so much to keep straight which trains the mind very well. Also, by learning Latin, the student will learn English grammar as a by product and way better than they would by studying any modern language.
Another reason to study Latin is that many English words come from Latin, so it helps us understand our own language so much better. Latin is also the underlying language of our civilization. By learning Latin, we learn about history, art, science, and everything else Latin has touched which is just about everything in Western Civilizaiton.
So now why Greek? Greek has one less declension than Latin, so it is not quite so involved. So the Grammar is a little easier and that makes it a nice precursor to studying Latin. Many English words also come from Greek and how cool would it be to read the New Testament in the original Greek? And it is pretty fun to read in a different alphabet.
Tough subjects turning out disciplined minds?-- yes, just what I want. Do my girls like it-- yes when it's easy, and no when it's hard. They sure are pleased with themselves when they struggle through and finish what they thought was insurmountable.
Check out these articles from Memoria Press on studying Latin, scroll down to the bottom to see the Latin section. The section on studying formal Logic is also enlightening.
http://www.memoriapress.com/articles/
Need a short answer?
Mean Verbal SAT scores for 2006:
LATIN STUDENTS: 672
Spanish Students: 577
French Students: 637
German Students: 632
Hebrew Students: 623
Average for all students: 503
Friday, July 30, 2010
This year's Homeschooling Plan
I am really looking forward to getting back into schooling full tilt! I've got preschool, kindergarten, 2nd grade, 4th grade and 6th grade this year. Check out other people's plans at latter-dayhomeschooling.com
Math-- Each child does Singapore math at their level, the 2 older ones should finish the series by December and both should start Algebra around January -- I am very excited for this.
Grammar/Latin- We are studying Koine Greek with this fabulous curriculum called Elementary Greek. Not only is this a fabulous way to really learn English grammar and lots of Greek root words and the Greek of the New Testament, it is great preparation for learning Latin which we start when the child has finished the third year book which should be by May or June for the 2 oldest girls. This will become our focus. Preceding years, our focus has been in math. They need to start Latin by 7th grade to fulfill our requirements.
Science-- We use Singapore Science once the kids are proficient at reading and writing. The sixth grader should finish the program by May or June to be ready for junior high material next year. For the younger kids I am really excited about some expensive books I bought from a door to door European girl salesperson printed by Southwestern. They are actually really good. I was worried about the money, but I think it was worth it. We also bought a set of 5 used Southwestern Student Handbooks that have some great info and really fun experiments and and games for science, math, geography, and nature.
Writing-- All the children are required to write in their journal each school day. They can write whatever they want at least one sentence long. The little ones draw a picture, tell me what to write and then copy it. They also practice writing in workbooks I bought at Sam's Club and when we get our printer figured out, they will trace the scripture of the week in cursive. The older ones copy the scripture of the week each school day and write 1-2 compositions per week all in cursive.
Spelling-- I use The Natural Speller to find words for the kids to practice. When I was taking care of babies, I had my older girls practice typing out of a typing book I had bought. Now the older one may spend time typing her stories and I call that good for spelling.
Reading-- Once the kids can read well, they are required to read a book from a list for at least 30 min. per day. They love this part and have read books they wouldn't have otherwise read and have loved it. The younger kids learn to read by first learning their letters and sounds from the Letter Factory DVD, then by reading out of the Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading. We supplement that with Phonics games from LDFR.com and the McGuffey readers.
History-- I started out homeschooling by reading the story of the world to my kids. It worked for me at that time because it was all new to me, I had no sense of history at all and it was a great starting point. However, now I think it is just too long jumping around too much for these little guys to keep up and let some of the events sink in. So now the older ones do 15 min. of history reading a day from books we bought at yesterdaysclassics.com . I also read books to the younger ones mostly from yesterdaysclassics and some picture books we have and from the library. We will be reading about American history together this year.
Group Time -- We'll have story time for the younger kids various classic stories and pictures books, history, science, and scriptures, also poetry and time for memorizing scriptures and poems, we sing primary songs and other fun songs and songs in Spanish and French, then we have Spanish class and Greek review and art and experiment hands on time.
outside activities-- 4 kids in soccer!! That will be busy-- violin lessons, piano lessons, boys club, drama, and book club.
Good thing we don't do everything everyday, we just do something each day. The kids have a list what they must accomplish each day. We include make your bed, brush your and get dressed among other things. They have to do Math, Greek, reading, journal, and scripture 4 times per week. Instruments must be practiced daily.
So that's the plan for this year. I still have to work out some of the details but I think we are all excited to get back into it yay!!
Math-- Each child does Singapore math at their level, the 2 older ones should finish the series by December and both should start Algebra around January -- I am very excited for this.
Grammar/Latin- We are studying Koine Greek with this fabulous curriculum called Elementary Greek. Not only is this a fabulous way to really learn English grammar and lots of Greek root words and the Greek of the New Testament, it is great preparation for learning Latin which we start when the child has finished the third year book which should be by May or June for the 2 oldest girls. This will become our focus. Preceding years, our focus has been in math. They need to start Latin by 7th grade to fulfill our requirements.
Science-- We use Singapore Science once the kids are proficient at reading and writing. The sixth grader should finish the program by May or June to be ready for junior high material next year. For the younger kids I am really excited about some expensive books I bought from a door to door European girl salesperson printed by Southwestern. They are actually really good. I was worried about the money, but I think it was worth it. We also bought a set of 5 used Southwestern Student Handbooks that have some great info and really fun experiments and and games for science, math, geography, and nature.
Writing-- All the children are required to write in their journal each school day. They can write whatever they want at least one sentence long. The little ones draw a picture, tell me what to write and then copy it. They also practice writing in workbooks I bought at Sam's Club and when we get our printer figured out, they will trace the scripture of the week in cursive. The older ones copy the scripture of the week each school day and write 1-2 compositions per week all in cursive.
Spelling-- I use The Natural Speller to find words for the kids to practice. When I was taking care of babies, I had my older girls practice typing out of a typing book I had bought. Now the older one may spend time typing her stories and I call that good for spelling.
Reading-- Once the kids can read well, they are required to read a book from a list for at least 30 min. per day. They love this part and have read books they wouldn't have otherwise read and have loved it. The younger kids learn to read by first learning their letters and sounds from the Letter Factory DVD, then by reading out of the Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading. We supplement that with Phonics games from LDFR.com and the McGuffey readers.
History-- I started out homeschooling by reading the story of the world to my kids. It worked for me at that time because it was all new to me, I had no sense of history at all and it was a great starting point. However, now I think it is just too long jumping around too much for these little guys to keep up and let some of the events sink in. So now the older ones do 15 min. of history reading a day from books we bought at yesterdaysclassics.com . I also read books to the younger ones mostly from yesterdaysclassics and some picture books we have and from the library. We will be reading about American history together this year.
Group Time -- We'll have story time for the younger kids various classic stories and pictures books, history, science, and scriptures, also poetry and time for memorizing scriptures and poems, we sing primary songs and other fun songs and songs in Spanish and French, then we have Spanish class and Greek review and art and experiment hands on time.
outside activities-- 4 kids in soccer!! That will be busy-- violin lessons, piano lessons, boys club, drama, and book club.
Good thing we don't do everything everyday, we just do something each day. The kids have a list what they must accomplish each day. We include make your bed, brush your and get dressed among other things. They have to do Math, Greek, reading, journal, and scripture 4 times per week. Instruments must be practiced daily.
So that's the plan for this year. I still have to work out some of the details but I think we are all excited to get back into it yay!!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Lots of time and work Learning Good Stuff-- Our Schedule
Wow!! Now that my kids are "older", we have really been working hard. Homeschooling is a lot more time and work than I anticipated, but I still enjoy it, and I think it will be worth all the hard work. I made up a chart for each kid, so they know exactly what they are supposed to do each day, and they can check it off as they do it each day. When I added up the time I estimated each subject to take, it came out to about 5 hours a day for the 10 and now 9 yr olds, 4 days a week and that didn't include the enrichment of story-time or singing time or art. I limited the 10 yr old to 2 hours a day of math so that she would have time to work on other subjects. She is doing better, and understands the concepts, but we are now working on speed and accuracy. I hope she can move on to 4B soon. Her 9 yr.old sister is just about done with 4A and will probably pass the test and move on to 4B in a couple weeks. That is a little frustrating to the older sister, but that's just how it goes. Maybe the younger one will be able to explain things to the older one or at least motivate her to really focus and concentrate. It doesn't come easy to her, but she still has to and can learn it. It will take a lot more practice for her than it will for the other children.
The great thing now is that the girls are getting up, cleaning their room, getting dressed and ready for the day and starting their schoolwork on their own around 9 a.m. It is so nice!! They are able to do so much on their own and are really learning and doing well. They are realizing that starting earlier means finishing earlier, and I think they are leaning to appreciate the fun of working hard and succeeding at difficult tasks. I am really quite proud of them. They are actually growing up.
The little boys are easy to teach now that I've been through the girls and found the best curricula for everything. They also love computer games and when they finish their schoolwork and their chores, they get 15 min. each on the computer. That has been awesome motivation for them finish and learn. I'm really proud of them too. They are finally getting those simple addition and subtraction facts down and are understanding the concepts. My reluctant reader who is now 7 is really close to reading the Treehouse books on his own.
So the schedule that seems to work best at this point is for me to get up around 6-6:30 a.m., make breakfast, exercise and get ready for the day. Have the kids start their chores, eat breakfast and get ready for the day around 8 a.m. The girls can then get started on their schoolwork with the stuff they don't need me to help them with around 9 a.m. Depending on what kind of house stuff I need to do and what kind of mood the little ones are in, I can read little kid books to the little kids at 9 or let them play a little. I then help them get all their work done by 11-11:30 and they can all take a break and go play outside for a bit. Then we can eat lunch, clean up and have singing time and story time which includes scripture and poem recitations, Spanish practice, Science and some history as well as learning new songs and reading interesting stories mostly from Yesterday's Classics.
After that the younger kids are pretty much free to do anything constructive or fun while I help the older kids with Spelling, Greek, Science and Math. It is fluid from day to day, but that is the goal. We try hard to be done by 5, but with activities scheduled during the week, we usually have to finish up in the evening. I try to leave the required reading and instrument practice for the evening and have them do those last. For a couple weeks, I wondered if I was pushing them too hard. But we seem to get done a little earlier each week as they get better at focusing and realizing that they have to finish even if it's late. So I think it is paying off.
I am finding that consistency is very important. We seem to be making great progress because we have been consistent. Doing a little bit each day seems to be better than cramming a bunch of info in a short period of time. It has been very rewarding to see my children work hard and grow and learn so much. Not that I am never frustrated and wonder how many times I will have to explain estimating and rounding. But overall, I'm feeling good about our academic homeschool. There is always room for improvement, but I think we are on the right track. Here is the chart for the oldest. The numbers are the estimated time for each activity, mostly 4 days per week. We are now doing spelling each day and the emphasis is more on goals accomplished rather than time spent. The time spent thing doesn't work well for us, because I have some kids who are masters at sitting at their desk and accomplishing nothing, but it is helpful for them to know about how much time each subject should take.
(Sorry the chart isn't more legible, but I don't want to take the time to fix it. You can still get the idea!!)
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
Clean room
Get Dressed
Eat
Brush teeth
15 min. Clean
Scripture 10 10 10 10
Journal 10 10 10 10
Grammar Practice 5 5
Word Study 5 5
Sentences 5 5
Spelling 15 15 test
Poem 10 10 10 10
History Report 30
Composition 30
Book Report 30
Math 120 120 120 120 120
Science 15 15 15 15
Greek 5 sec. 20 20 20 20
Spanish 10 10 10 10
Music 15
Drawing 60
Piano 30 30 30 Lesson 30 30
Violin Lesson 20 20 20 20 20
Required Reading 30 30 30 30
History Reading 15 15 15 15
The great thing now is that the girls are getting up, cleaning their room, getting dressed and ready for the day and starting their schoolwork on their own around 9 a.m. It is so nice!! They are able to do so much on their own and are really learning and doing well. They are realizing that starting earlier means finishing earlier, and I think they are leaning to appreciate the fun of working hard and succeeding at difficult tasks. I am really quite proud of them. They are actually growing up.
The little boys are easy to teach now that I've been through the girls and found the best curricula for everything. They also love computer games and when they finish their schoolwork and their chores, they get 15 min. each on the computer. That has been awesome motivation for them finish and learn. I'm really proud of them too. They are finally getting those simple addition and subtraction facts down and are understanding the concepts. My reluctant reader who is now 7 is really close to reading the Treehouse books on his own.
So the schedule that seems to work best at this point is for me to get up around 6-6:30 a.m., make breakfast, exercise and get ready for the day. Have the kids start their chores, eat breakfast and get ready for the day around 8 a.m. The girls can then get started on their schoolwork with the stuff they don't need me to help them with around 9 a.m. Depending on what kind of house stuff I need to do and what kind of mood the little ones are in, I can read little kid books to the little kids at 9 or let them play a little. I then help them get all their work done by 11-11:30 and they can all take a break and go play outside for a bit. Then we can eat lunch, clean up and have singing time and story time which includes scripture and poem recitations, Spanish practice, Science and some history as well as learning new songs and reading interesting stories mostly from Yesterday's Classics.
After that the younger kids are pretty much free to do anything constructive or fun while I help the older kids with Spelling, Greek, Science and Math. It is fluid from day to day, but that is the goal. We try hard to be done by 5, but with activities scheduled during the week, we usually have to finish up in the evening. I try to leave the required reading and instrument practice for the evening and have them do those last. For a couple weeks, I wondered if I was pushing them too hard. But we seem to get done a little earlier each week as they get better at focusing and realizing that they have to finish even if it's late. So I think it is paying off.
I am finding that consistency is very important. We seem to be making great progress because we have been consistent. Doing a little bit each day seems to be better than cramming a bunch of info in a short period of time. It has been very rewarding to see my children work hard and grow and learn so much. Not that I am never frustrated and wonder how many times I will have to explain estimating and rounding. But overall, I'm feeling good about our academic homeschool. There is always room for improvement, but I think we are on the right track. Here is the chart for the oldest. The numbers are the estimated time for each activity, mostly 4 days per week. We are now doing spelling each day and the emphasis is more on goals accomplished rather than time spent. The time spent thing doesn't work well for us, because I have some kids who are masters at sitting at their desk and accomplishing nothing, but it is helpful for them to know about how much time each subject should take.
(Sorry the chart isn't more legible, but I don't want to take the time to fix it. You can still get the idea!!)
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
Clean room
Get Dressed
Eat
Brush teeth
15 min. Clean
Scripture 10 10 10 10
Journal 10 10 10 10
Grammar Practice 5 5
Word Study 5 5
Sentences 5 5
Spelling 15 15 test
Poem 10 10 10 10
History Report 30
Composition 30
Book Report 30
Math 120 120 120 120 120
Science 15 15 15 15
Greek 5 sec. 20 20 20 20
Spanish 10 10 10 10
Music 15
Drawing 60
Piano 30 30 30 Lesson 30 30
Violin Lesson 20 20 20 20 20
Required Reading 30 30 30 30
History Reading 15 15 15 15
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Elementary Academics
I applied to teach a class on homeschooling at the UHEA conference this year. They accepted my proposal and I just sent in my Handout last night. I thought some of you might be interested, so here it is:
Elementary Academics
Philosophy of Education-- My overall philosophy of education is that children need to learn and do stuff. How they do it is less important than what they do. So the most important thing for the parent to figure out is what they think their child needs to learn. The end goal will help you get them there.
So for me in the area of academics my husband and I have mapped out where we would like our children to be with each subject. These are some of the things we want them to know, master and be familiar with:
For Mathematics -- Calculus.
For Logic and Grammar -- Latin
For History -- A good working and in depth knowledge
For Music -- Play an instrument and understand music theory
For Art-- Know the great artists and be able to draw well
For Science -- Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Astronomy
For Economics -- Markets, Business, Government
Literature and Philosophy -- Great Books of the Western World
Home Skills, Cooking, Gardening, Life Skills
Love of Learning and Reading
Religion -- Know our Faith and Scriptures and love and obey God
Your list may be very similar or different or both.
So now that I’ve established where I want to go I can figure out how to get there.
First Skills -- They must be able to read and write and do arithmetic.
So we start as soon as the kids are ready usually around age 4 especially for the younger ones who are watching the older ones.
For Reading I like to use several resources.
First to learn the letters I recommend “The Letter Factory” by Leap Frog. Now they know the letters and their sounds.
The next step is to start putting the sounds together to make new sounds and then words. So to do this, practice saying words slow and then fast and letting the new reader guess which word it is. Then they are ready to start ready easy books like Bob books or other reading curriculums. My favorite is the Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Reading by Jessie Wise. My first daughter learned to read on McGuffy and Bob Books. The second daughter memorized those easy words quickly and never learned to sound them out so That book solved that issue. I also love Diane Hopkins “Phonics Games” from www.ldfr.com . That really helped her learn all the different phonetic combinations, and my boys have enjoyed it also. It just takes practice, practice, practice. If it is too hard or frustrating, find something easier for them to read, and pretty soon they will take off.
For writing I like to teach my kids cursive first because it teaches them that there are spaces between the words and they can’t write it backwards. I print off the scripture of the week in grey or another light color and school script dashed font because it’s free and they trace as much as I tell them given their ability. Eventually they are able to copy and write on their own.
For Math-- I love Singapore Math. I like their approach and their format and I like that they have the results to match-- #1 in math in the world. The kindergarten books get them so ready for level 1 and they are fun and colorful and make sense. When we need extra help, then we go to the textbook but otherwise we just work through the workbooks. Keep up on checking to make sure they are doing it right, and again go back to easier problems if they get too frustrated so they get the concept and then they will be able to continue on through their book.
If they keep up with Singapore Math they will be ready for Algebra in 6th or 7th grade which will get them to calculus their sophomore or junior year.
Then to get them used to beautiful language and language usage and to love learning and books, we have story time. We have little kids story time first with the picture books and nursery rhymes and scripture stories. Then we move on to reading directly from the scriptures to other stories and longer poems turning it into big kids story time which consists of an interesting chapter book, a longer poem, a history chapter, a Greek lesson and memory verses ending with Science. I love the stories and resources at www.mainlesson.com . We love story time. The older girls color, draw or crochet while I read to the younger kids, and the younger kids play with toys while I am doing the older kids stuff. If they get too fussy then we eat lunch and put them down for a nap.
For music I like to play a lot of classical music. It seems to make the house calmer and happier and it really helps them with music later because they are familiar with so many tunes even if they don’t know the names. We also like to sing together. We sing all sorts of songs and make sure to include lots of fun little kids ones like popcorn, wheels on the bus, Fun To Do, pioneer songs, etc.
For religion we read scripture stories during story time and memorize a scripture a week and a religious song. Obviously, we try to be good examples and attend our church meetings.
So that for me covers the basic foundational skills that will be needed for the younger children. So far this is what has worked . On to the next level:
After the Basics
Once they are able to read and write fairly well, they can start Greek. Our goal is to get good at Latin and Greek is a good fun stepping stone in that direction. Greek has 4 declensions instead of 5 and they can learn all the grammar and concepts with the easier Greek and then Latin will be a little less challenging. Plus I love the Greek curriculum we are using. It is found at www.opentexture.com and is called Elementary Greek. Our pick for Latin is to start them around age 11or 12 on Henle Latin. So they should have very good mastery of the subject and be able to read many of the Great Books in the original Latin by high school age.
For writing and English Studies I like Singapore’s program Sentences to Paragraphs and Word Study. They are workbooks that are fun to fill in and cover things that the kids pick up just from reading but may not realize there are rules governing punctuation, capitalization, grammar, etc.
Also for writing, I require some sort of journaling whether a traditional journal or a story journal, it is up to the child. Out of there I find spelling words for them to practice writing. I also have some writing cards which I got at one of these conferences that give some fun ideas to write about. I also have them write up a summary of something they’ve read for me once a week. I also ask them about what we’ve read after we read and have them summarize the story for me during story time.
But the main focus in these elementary years is for them to be able to write well and quickly and to be able write down what they are thinking in their head. Then when they are age 10-11 they can learn to outline and other rules of good writing, and then to be able to express themselves fully with reports and journals and other compositions. Maybe they’ll write short stories or novels or screenplays. Once they can read and write and think, they can grab a book and figure it out.
For Science I again really like Sinagapore‘s program, My Pals are Here Science. They were ranked #2 in the world in science, and we love the pictures, the explanations and the activities.
For History we really like Story of the World by Susan Wise Bauer. When they are older I will also have them read biographies and other historical books. We read many historical stories during story time and movies can be a valuable resource.
For piano, I like Music masters and Edna Mae Burnam piano course as well as music theory books. My kids have also had fun playing the recorders from West Music.
We continue with the stuff mentioned above as needed for the older children and add things like reading time on their own and reading the scriptures on their own always with the end goals in mind.
Schedules-- Now that we know what we want to do, how are we going to do it?
Organize and schedule
1-- Your house needs to be orderly and dinner needs to be planned
www.flylady.net has worked wonders for me to run my household smoothly and efficiently-- follow her plan to the letter, there are letters from other home schooling moms that are very helpful. Babysteps- alittle at a time
www.childrensmiraclemusic.com will help your children pace themselves and be ready to go in the morning.
We have to start by 9 a.m. or we will not accomplish our tasks for the day. Clean up after yourself and require the children to help clean and pick up after themselves including meals!!
2-- Make a school schedule that your kids can mark off and so that they know exactly what is required of them. My kids also like to use timers to see how long it takes. Figure out how to make this worthwhile for them-- a trip to the park or library when they’re done, a special treat, free time, etc.
Other considerations
Co-Op -- Think about what you would like for your family and then figure out how to get it. We organized a girls club when my girls were younger and this past year we joined a larger co-op. This coming year we’re organizing a Greek club and doing some smaller co-ops. Just be specific and find or make something that will work for you and your kids.
Enjoy your kids-- Do School when it’s time to do school and be home and enjoy your sweet family the rest of the time. If it gets to be too much, take a break and then start over. Keep up with Math and Piano as those are skills that are harder to make up later. Don’t push too hard while they are little. Enjoy your freer time as things seem to get more time consuming and demanding the older they get. Just love them and encourage and require and they will do their best.
Health -- Take care of yourself, exercise, eat dark green leafy salads and raw foods. Soaked almonds are great. Cut back on meat and dairy products and all processed foods. You will feel better and be able to accomplish and enjoy more.
Elementary Academics
Philosophy of Education-- My overall philosophy of education is that children need to learn and do stuff. How they do it is less important than what they do. So the most important thing for the parent to figure out is what they think their child needs to learn. The end goal will help you get them there.
So for me in the area of academics my husband and I have mapped out where we would like our children to be with each subject. These are some of the things we want them to know, master and be familiar with:
For Mathematics -- Calculus.
For Logic and Grammar -- Latin
For History -- A good working and in depth knowledge
For Music -- Play an instrument and understand music theory
For Art-- Know the great artists and be able to draw well
For Science -- Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Astronomy
For Economics -- Markets, Business, Government
Literature and Philosophy -- Great Books of the Western World
Home Skills, Cooking, Gardening, Life Skills
Love of Learning and Reading
Religion -- Know our Faith and Scriptures and love and obey God
Your list may be very similar or different or both.
So now that I’ve established where I want to go I can figure out how to get there.
First Skills -- They must be able to read and write and do arithmetic.
So we start as soon as the kids are ready usually around age 4 especially for the younger ones who are watching the older ones.
For Reading I like to use several resources.
First to learn the letters I recommend “The Letter Factory” by Leap Frog. Now they know the letters and their sounds.
The next step is to start putting the sounds together to make new sounds and then words. So to do this, practice saying words slow and then fast and letting the new reader guess which word it is. Then they are ready to start ready easy books like Bob books or other reading curriculums. My favorite is the Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Reading by Jessie Wise. My first daughter learned to read on McGuffy and Bob Books. The second daughter memorized those easy words quickly and never learned to sound them out so That book solved that issue. I also love Diane Hopkins “Phonics Games” from www.ldfr.com . That really helped her learn all the different phonetic combinations, and my boys have enjoyed it also. It just takes practice, practice, practice. If it is too hard or frustrating, find something easier for them to read, and pretty soon they will take off.
For writing I like to teach my kids cursive first because it teaches them that there are spaces between the words and they can’t write it backwards. I print off the scripture of the week in grey or another light color and school script dashed font because it’s free and they trace as much as I tell them given their ability. Eventually they are able to copy and write on their own.
For Math-- I love Singapore Math. I like their approach and their format and I like that they have the results to match-- #1 in math in the world. The kindergarten books get them so ready for level 1 and they are fun and colorful and make sense. When we need extra help, then we go to the textbook but otherwise we just work through the workbooks. Keep up on checking to make sure they are doing it right, and again go back to easier problems if they get too frustrated so they get the concept and then they will be able to continue on through their book.
If they keep up with Singapore Math they will be ready for Algebra in 6th or 7th grade which will get them to calculus their sophomore or junior year.
Then to get them used to beautiful language and language usage and to love learning and books, we have story time. We have little kids story time first with the picture books and nursery rhymes and scripture stories. Then we move on to reading directly from the scriptures to other stories and longer poems turning it into big kids story time which consists of an interesting chapter book, a longer poem, a history chapter, a Greek lesson and memory verses ending with Science. I love the stories and resources at www.mainlesson.com . We love story time. The older girls color, draw or crochet while I read to the younger kids, and the younger kids play with toys while I am doing the older kids stuff. If they get too fussy then we eat lunch and put them down for a nap.
For music I like to play a lot of classical music. It seems to make the house calmer and happier and it really helps them with music later because they are familiar with so many tunes even if they don’t know the names. We also like to sing together. We sing all sorts of songs and make sure to include lots of fun little kids ones like popcorn, wheels on the bus, Fun To Do, pioneer songs, etc.
For religion we read scripture stories during story time and memorize a scripture a week and a religious song. Obviously, we try to be good examples and attend our church meetings.
So that for me covers the basic foundational skills that will be needed for the younger children. So far this is what has worked . On to the next level:
After the Basics
Once they are able to read and write fairly well, they can start Greek. Our goal is to get good at Latin and Greek is a good fun stepping stone in that direction. Greek has 4 declensions instead of 5 and they can learn all the grammar and concepts with the easier Greek and then Latin will be a little less challenging. Plus I love the Greek curriculum we are using. It is found at www.opentexture.com and is called Elementary Greek. Our pick for Latin is to start them around age 11or 12 on Henle Latin. So they should have very good mastery of the subject and be able to read many of the Great Books in the original Latin by high school age.
For writing and English Studies I like Singapore’s program Sentences to Paragraphs and Word Study. They are workbooks that are fun to fill in and cover things that the kids pick up just from reading but may not realize there are rules governing punctuation, capitalization, grammar, etc.
Also for writing, I require some sort of journaling whether a traditional journal or a story journal, it is up to the child. Out of there I find spelling words for them to practice writing. I also have some writing cards which I got at one of these conferences that give some fun ideas to write about. I also have them write up a summary of something they’ve read for me once a week. I also ask them about what we’ve read after we read and have them summarize the story for me during story time.
But the main focus in these elementary years is for them to be able to write well and quickly and to be able write down what they are thinking in their head. Then when they are age 10-11 they can learn to outline and other rules of good writing, and then to be able to express themselves fully with reports and journals and other compositions. Maybe they’ll write short stories or novels or screenplays. Once they can read and write and think, they can grab a book and figure it out.
For Science I again really like Sinagapore‘s program, My Pals are Here Science. They were ranked #2 in the world in science, and we love the pictures, the explanations and the activities.
For History we really like Story of the World by Susan Wise Bauer. When they are older I will also have them read biographies and other historical books. We read many historical stories during story time and movies can be a valuable resource.
For piano, I like Music masters and Edna Mae Burnam piano course as well as music theory books. My kids have also had fun playing the recorders from West Music.
We continue with the stuff mentioned above as needed for the older children and add things like reading time on their own and reading the scriptures on their own always with the end goals in mind.
Schedules-- Now that we know what we want to do, how are we going to do it?
Organize and schedule
1-- Your house needs to be orderly and dinner needs to be planned
www.flylady.net has worked wonders for me to run my household smoothly and efficiently-- follow her plan to the letter, there are letters from other home schooling moms that are very helpful. Babysteps- alittle at a time
www.childrensmiraclemusic.com will help your children pace themselves and be ready to go in the morning.
We have to start by 9 a.m. or we will not accomplish our tasks for the day. Clean up after yourself and require the children to help clean and pick up after themselves including meals!!
2-- Make a school schedule that your kids can mark off and so that they know exactly what is required of them. My kids also like to use timers to see how long it takes. Figure out how to make this worthwhile for them-- a trip to the park or library when they’re done, a special treat, free time, etc.
Other considerations
Co-Op -- Think about what you would like for your family and then figure out how to get it. We organized a girls club when my girls were younger and this past year we joined a larger co-op. This coming year we’re organizing a Greek club and doing some smaller co-ops. Just be specific and find or make something that will work for you and your kids.
Enjoy your kids-- Do School when it’s time to do school and be home and enjoy your sweet family the rest of the time. If it gets to be too much, take a break and then start over. Keep up with Math and Piano as those are skills that are harder to make up later. Don’t push too hard while they are little. Enjoy your freer time as things seem to get more time consuming and demanding the older they get. Just love them and encourage and require and they will do their best.
Health -- Take care of yourself, exercise, eat dark green leafy salads and raw foods. Soaked almonds are great. Cut back on meat and dairy products and all processed foods. You will feel better and be able to accomplish and enjoy more.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Homeschool Tip -- learning vocabulary words
Here's a Tip:
A great easy way for kids to review foreign language definitions is to have them make their own memory game with the matches being between the English word and the foreign word. This gives them practice when they write each word for the game and then it gives them lots of fun review as the play the game. I cut 3x5 card in half for our game, they wrote their vocab. words on them during little kid story time and then we played it with everybody for review. The younger kids are going to fly through their lessons when they get to that point.
A great easy way for kids to review foreign language definitions is to have them make their own memory game with the matches being between the English word and the foreign word. This gives them practice when they write each word for the game and then it gives them lots of fun review as the play the game. I cut 3x5 card in half for our game, they wrote their vocab. words on them during little kid story time and then we played it with everybody for review. The younger kids are going to fly through their lessons when they get to that point.
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