Check This Out!

I don’t know if you have noticed yet, but we now have a new page on the blog.  Clicking on the links on the “Show Some Homeschool Pride!” page will take you to our shops at CafePress. 

My hope is that, in the future, these products will feature scenes from other homeschooling families learning and having fun as well.

There is a beauty and wonder found in homeschooling, and we want to celebrate that.

The proceeds from any sales at our shops will be used not only to support our homeschool family, but others as well.

Thank you for reading, and may God lead and bless your homeschooling efforts, as he’s blessed ours.

                              -The Social Homeschooler

Lewis, The Friendly Repo Man-Part 2

As a said before in the last post, our first year of homeschooling was during an extremely tough year, for many reasons.  But our finances, or lack thereof, played a huge role in the stress of that year.  There were many times when I wondered why I had felt called to start homeschooling that year, of all years!  But God was with us . . .

He was with us when we my hubby had no job for six months, and then found one finally that paid a lot less then jobs he’d had before, but it was income . . . just before the unemployment ran out. 

He was there when we went to a real estate office to talk to a financial service representative about getting out of our big monthly payment, and moving to a home with a smaller one.  And He was there when the man at the office gently told us that he thought that bankruptcy was a better option for us, and he gave us the name and recommendation of a bankruptcy attorney to talk to.

He was there as my husband and I sat outside our house, in the car, and cried together.  He was there as we dried the tears of our humiliation and shame over the situation, and geared up to walk in the house and face our children and the babysitter.

He was there at the attorney’s office and in bankruptcy court, as time and time again our financial situation was laid bare and spoken about in front of strangers.  He was with us when so many others in the trustee’s office that day had attorneys that were unprepared, and ours was prepared for anything.  He was there as I felt compelled to pray over the ones that were caused extra pain by the incompetence of their legal representation.

And he was there as we prepared to move away from our first home as a married couple, and the only home our children had ever known.  He was there when we thoroughly cleaned our house and leased van in preparation to give them back to the bank, and we tried to show our children how to be honorable in bad situations.

And he was there when Lewis came to our door . . .

We had been working frantically to move everything that we could before the van had to go back.  We didn’t have the money to rent a moving van, and we were already working against time to get out of the home before the bank took possession.  We only needed to move a few more loads of belongings that wouldn’t fit in a car.  It was a Wednesday or Thursday when Lewis came to our door and knocked.

My hubby had taken the van to work, and was away as I answered the door. 

Lewis was a kind looking man, probably about the age of my father.  He looked at me and asked gently about the van.

“My husband has it and isn’t here now.”

“Are you willing to give the van back?”

“Yes, we are more than willing to give it back.  We understand that it is not ours to keep.”

Handing me his card with his name and cell phone number on it.  “Then call me, and we can set a time to meet.  I can meet you here on Saturday.”

“Oh, thank you!  We will be calling you later today to set that up.”

I said good-bye and closed the door with relief.  And here was God’s grace and mercy again, in this man named Lewis.

My husband called later to set up an “appointment” for the next day, and I sighed.  Now we had just enough time to move what we couldn’t move without the van.  There would be no removal of the van in the night, no surprise.  We had the grace and mercy of a little more time to move.

We made many trips between the two houses the next couple days, but once again God had provided for us . . . through a man named Lewis.  Praise God!

___________________________________________________________

As many of you know from my blog, we have since gone through another period of unemployment.  This time we were already at a point of living on less of an income, and we were able to live off of the unemployment income and pay our bills.  My hubby has again found a job . . . just as he would be set to lose unemployment insurance with so many right now.  Please pray with me now for them.

Lord, there are so many that are hurting financially right now.  And worse than that, there are many that can not find a job right now, and are losing their unemployment . . . the only income that they have.  We could have very easily been one of them.  There are so many whose hearts are breaking.  Please watch over those in need, and continue to provide employment opportunities and provision for them during this time.  And thank you for all of the blessings that you offer us every day.  Lord we pray this in Jesus’ name.  Amen

Lewis, The Friendly Repo Man

Did the title get your attention?!  I thought it might! 

It has been a few years since Lewis and I met, for the first (and hopefully last) time, but for some reason I was thinking about him today.

This is the time of school year where many of us struggle a bit.  It’s almost Christmas, the kids aren’t playing outside maybe as much as they were, and we are in this for the long haul.  If Wednesday is the hump day of the week, then this is the hump we must hurdle of the school year.

But where does Lewis figure into all of this?  I’m getting there. 

Every school year has it’s ups and downs, but what happens when your year has more downs than ups?  This was the way of our first homeschool year.

Our first homeschool year was a year of a learning the ways of homeschooling, homeschooling with an infant in the house, watching our finances go down the drain in bankruptcy after a layoff, giving back our house and car to the bank and moving away from the only home our children had ever known kind of year.  It wasn’t always pretty, and it definitely wasn’t easy. 

Our old home wasn’t near any homeschool activities or support groups, and other than the online part of our support group, I was pretty much flying blind.  And to top it off, I really had no real money for homeschool resources.  But God was with us . . .

To Be Continued . . . Come back and meet Lewis next time here at Social City Homeschooler.

Loving Our Social Time

 

 

 

I have to laugh! Ha ha ha  

Sorry, like I said, I had to laugh!

Admittedly, there are some closest to me that are probably tired of hearing me joke about the whole “socialization issue”.

You see, I’m the stinker that will catch my children heavy in social conversation with their *gasp!* friends, and say out loud sarcastically in public places, “Wow, you’re such an unsocialized homeschooler!”  Imagine my amused surprise when a fourth grade teacher at the city park thought I was serious, and anxiously reassured me that the boys were “just fine”!  My younger son had just spoken to him, and is doing fourth grade work.  I had a hearty chuckle over that one, and reassured him that I was only joking about the whole homeschooler/socialization issue.   I don’t think he got the joke.  Oh, well . . .

The thing is, it still amazes me that it is such an issue for so many people.  It is almost literally every non-homeschooler’s first question and concern!  As if, as a homeschooling mom I just decided that my kids didn’t need to be social, and I locked each of them in a closet with their school books all day.  Uh . . . no!  But unfortunately, I believe, homeschooling is largely misunderstood in many ways and by many people.

Now about the look on my older son’s face in the picture above.  He loves to observe, and he’s just concentrating.  Glad I could clear that up, but I digress.  

The picture above was from a mock dinosaur dig, and my boys had a blast!  Just imagine, a whole lawn of homeschool kids split into small groups and playing paleontologist.  What joy, what fun, and they were all . . .  working together!

Every homeschooling mom is bombarded with the question of “socialization”, but in our support group there really isn’t much concern about it, because we know our kids are just fine in that respect.  The ironic thing is that as most of us are such social creatures, as homeschooling moms, we are constantly “exposing our children to social situations”. 

As a family, we personally take art classes, go to a gym day with our friends, we take enrichment classes within our support group and our community in general, we go to church, and we are hosting a small group bible study(among many other things).  We do all of this as a family, and we have many friends.  Just as my husband and I are very social people, our children are very social people.

There are those that are concerned about homeschoolers functioning in “the real world”.   We are learning and growing in the “real world” every day! 

Last night I had some “social time” . . . mommy style.  I love the support group that I belong to.  I love the ladies.  I love their friendship.  I love their faith.  I love watching our kids play together.  I love the fact that together we are always striving to give our kids the best in education, life, and love . . . and that we are on this journey together.

Lord, you know that we would love to live in a world where we are better understood by those around us.  If it is in your plan, please give us this blessing.  But even if that never happens, thank you for the blessing of you.  You love us and understand us and bless us as homeschoolers and moms.  You are working in us for your plan and vision for us, and the families around us.  Thank you for blessing us on this journey together.  Amen

Social Disconnect Or Simply A Different Life Path?

I admit it, I am probably not stereotypical for society’s view of what a typical homeschooling mom looks like.  I am probably not stereotypical for society’s idea of a typical Christian mom these days either.  But is that so wrong?

I am proud of being a homeschooling mom.  It is extremely satisfying to watch my children learn and blossom.  I saw a comment somewhere from a non-homeschooler about homeschooling parents making their kids “as stupid as they are”.  Oh please!  

With the wealth of resources available to us we are learning things as a family that my husband and I had never learned in all of our years of school. 

My wish is like that of Jim and Karen Stobaugh, founders of For Such A Time As This.  We had the joy of listening to their son, Peter, speak at a homeschool convention earlier this year.  Listening to this bright and articulate young man was like listening to a man well beyond his years in wisdom and grace.  According to Peter, his parents’ wish was for “their ceiling to be his floor”.  Their wish was that their children would far exceed the path that they had tread.  What an inspiration for homeschooling families everywhere!

My husband and I not only have this wish for our children as students, but as Christians as well.  As a family we do not value many of the things that others do.  Like Jesus, our family is not just those related to us by blood, but by faith.  We look to God to teach us how to better serve in the ways that He sees fit, rather than to value what society cares about.  Of course, just as in our academic studies, in faith we are always learning and growing. 

And I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Lord thank you for your guidance in life and in family.  Please continue to provide for us in the ways that you see fit.  Help us to learn and grow to your glory and honor.  Amen.

The Excitement Of Learning

I found a lid on a pot that my son had been using to boil water for tea.  Why did he use a lid?  Flashback to our earlier science lesson about Venus . . .

We are using Apologia's "Exploring Creation With Astronomy" for our science textbook this year, and in our study about Venus it talks about the thick atmosphere of clouds being like a lid on a pot of boiling water.  The lid keeps the heat in the pot (and the water boils faster).  The atmosphere on Venus keeps it hot all day and night.

Remembering that, my son wanted his tea water to boil faster so he put a lid on the pan while he heated the water.  He was heating tea water and performing a science experiment at the same time! 

Isn’t homeschooling great?  I love the fact that I know exactly what he is learning, and we can use that to make connections between “school time” and “regular family time”.  We congratulated him on his experiment, and hopefully another lesson was forever cemented in his mind. 

Hmm . . . I wonder which awesome Apologia science book we’ll decide to use next school year?

25% Off Any Lapbook Project Pack At In The Hands Of A Child

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In The Hands Of A Child is a wonderful company.  They produce many wonderful lapbooks!  Almost literally every subject that you can think of is covered in one (or more) of their lapbooks.  Each lapbook is a versatile wealth of cross curricular fun and learning for kids of many age groups (each lapbook is designated for a particular age range).  And if you’ve never gone through putting together a lapbook you’ll be happy to know that each one comes with photos as an example of what it might look like after it is completed.  Also, sign up for their e-mail updates or check their site for the free lapbook that they offer bi-annually.

This Year's Great Symbolic Butterfly Migration

Here is our class paper butterfly.

I love Journey North for Kids!  I know that I've mentioned them before.  This site is chock full of information, scientific study, videos, printable books, etc.  all about migration and seasonal change.

In that spirit, every fall they have a symbolic butterfly migration alongside the travel and migration of the Monarch's to their winter home in Mexico. 

While we were involved in this last year as well, I really like the way that they organized it this year even better.  Instead of each student making a paper butterfly, there is one sent per class.  The new design of the butterfly being mounted to the folder leaves lots of room for self expression and creativity inside the folder.

The butterfly is mounted on the outside of a folder.  The inside is reserved for information about you class (which for us, is also our family).

They suggest putting information, pictures, and their form letter inside to tell the students in Mexico about your class.  Since we home school we told them about our home school class.  I used this free translation website to translate what we wanted to say into the Spanish language (and dialect) that they would understand. 

After completing our butterfly and preparing the envelope and return envelopes as outlined on Journey North's Symbolic Butterfly Migration website I went to the post office to send it to the Journey North offices where they will process all of the butterflies and then send them on to Mexico.  While there is no cost to be involved in this symbolic migration, they gladly accept any donations offered to help them educate the kids, and study the butterflies.

There the teachers and scientists will teach the school children about the Monarchs and how to protect them and care for their wintering sites.  The class will display our butterfly, and be able to write to us if they choose.  I can also check the Journey North site to see which school received our butterfly.

The students will care for our paper butterfly, as they do for the real butterflies, all winter.  And in the spring our paper butterfly will travel back north with the real butterflies and "land" in one of the schools that sent one out in the fall.  Last year we received a paper butterfly back, with Milkweed seeds, and information about the people working to teach the children about the butterflies and the butterflies themselves.

While yesterday was the postmark date for this year (I mentioned this program in earlier posts), I wanted you to know just how wonderful this  program was "first hand".  Hopefully you will consider it next fall, and in the meantime, use the wonderful resources they offer in their website!

When Fluff Isn’t Enough

Have you ever taken a really fluffy dog or cat and either bathed them or given them a haircut?  It’s amazing.  They look so big with their fur, but you realize that they are really very small, for all their fluff.
We recently viewed a series of history videos from a popular company.  I was so excited.  This was going to be good, and it was a complete series of much of our country’s history.  But like the illustration above I was surprised at the amount of actual history content compared to the “fluff”.  Fancy camera angles and computer animation do not make a history curriculum, or even a supplemental history video great.  Give it to me in an entertaining way, yes, but more facts and less fluff please.
I wanted something different for my kids.  That is why I absolutely LOVE the Drive Thru History series!  Dave Stotts is hilarious as the host of this series of history videos.  But beyond entertainment there is a solid foundation of research done in order to present the WHOLE story.  Faith was important to the founders of our country, and that has not been sanitized out of this curriculum.  All videos in the series of both US and ancient history are a DVD-rom with a printable discussion guide (ancient history) or curriculum (US history) on the DVD-rom.  The videos are very entertaining.  There are fancy camera angles, and computer animation.  But with this series, there is so much more.  And when Dave talks about something he is on location, and full of energy, and a vibrant history.  The curriculum is for Middle School and higher.  But our elementary school aged kids, and our whole family actually, loves these videos. Click here to view samples of what Drive Thru History has to offer.
There is also something on my wish list, although I haven’t been able to order it yet.  For at least the past couple years, Homeschool Buyers Co-op has been able to offer a deal on Electronic Fieldtrips by Colonial Williamsburg.  According to the HBC website purchase of the fieldtrips includes not only the scheduled live fieldtrips, but also live Q&A sessions with historians, among many other things.  Click here to go to Colonial Williamsburg's website and scroll down to “View a sample episode” to watch a pre-recorded clip of what to expect if you order the fieldtrips. 
Happy Monday, and God Bless ;)

Mama Said There Would Be Days Like This

 This has been such a crazy last couple weeks at our house.  The drainage from the kitchen sink and dishwasher isn’t draining.  We have boiler issues just before the cold season starts.  We way too many smaller projects demanding our attention.  And then there’s the children . . .

I love my children, and I love homeschooling with them.  It is a passion that we share as a family.  This week has been especially challenging though.  The little one has back molars coming in.  My biggest child (my hubby) and I are not getting a good night’s sleep these days.  The little wiggle worm in between us has something to do with that.  Her brothers are having a hard time settling down at night right now.  They stay up too late talking and whispering some nights, which of course makes for some testy moments during school.  We are working on making the time before before bed a more relaxing transition.

Transitions are hard.  There is no way around it.  All summer we stayed up late, and slept in.  There are days that sticking to a reasonable bedtime is a struggle.  Our little one’s bedtime needs hamper that.  But ultimately we need to buck up, and plow through.  We are the parents and that’s our job.  If we don’t hold our kids accountable to the rules that we set we pay for it in the end, and so do they.

Lord please help all of us to get a good nights sleep tonight, and bless us with an even better school day tomorrow.   Amen

The Lone Heron

When my husband first saw this Heron he couldn’t resist the temptation to get a few good photos.  As a family we love nature and photography, so why wouldn’t he?  We were very delighted and surprised that the Heron “stayed put” after so many photos (some of them taken very near to him).  Even so, we walked gingerly and respectfully quiet toward him.  Through it all the Heron did get a little nervous at the end, but remained tolerant of our photos, and quiet “oohs and aaahs” at being so close to such a beautiful bird.
Sometimes I feel like that Heron.  He had taken a different path from the others, and was alone when we saw him.  In the same way our family is alone among other family members, in some of the choices that we have made.  We are so much happier now that we have made the choices that we have, but sometimes we get the feeling that we are being watched closely and observed.  Sometimes there is open encouragement and support, and sometimes not so much.

Some of our family thinks “that all kids should be in school”, and they are leery of our decisions.  “We are definitely NOT mainstream!”, they say.  So we don’t watch the latest TV shows, but we do watch some of the older wholesome TV shows online.   We educate our kids at home.  We work together, and watching educational videos are as much of a treat for our kids as watching a movie.  They read, and watch the news, and check out the weather radar online.  They take the classes that interest them at the co-op and in the community at nature centers and such, and play “pretend” rather than video games.  We do a lot of activities with other kids, and their families outside the home.  We visit friends after church on Sunday.  And we enjoy games together, like “Scrabble” and “On Assignment With National Geographic”.  Why does that make us so weird?

We all make different decisions for our families.  I don’t make the choices that you might. And you might not make some of the choices that I have.  When looking at me, learn to see things from my point of view before you form an opinion.  If you give me the gentle understanding and grace that I deserve, then I will be able to let you know me better.

I am looking forward to knowing you better as well!  If you have your own blog, let me know.  You may also drop me a line at my profile page.
Blessings ;)

From Grouchy To Great In A Matter Of Hours

Where we live the days are getting shorter.  The sun shines less, and the days are cooler. 

More often than not we have good days despite the gloomier days of Fall and Winter.Today is not one of them :(

I do know that there is pattern to our not so great days in school.  We are more likely to have a bad school day after a jam packed weekend, or a bad night’s sleep.  Seeing the patterns that lead to a good school day as opposed to a bad one is important.  Not every day is going to be great.  But it is important to empower our children with the tools to succeed in their studies as much as possible by instilling healthy sleep patterns. 

On the days that sleep is an issue, my patience with my children can work wonders.  But it is a temporary fix to a bigger issue.  On the Monday after a busy weekend, patience is also vital, but so is a good night sleep the next night.  Here’s hoping for a good nights sleep to all of us tonight, and a blessed school day tomorrow ;)

My Childhood Dreams Have Grown Up

It’s a funny thing to look at the dreams of childhood in the reality of adulthood.  I had a chance to really think about where my former dreams have taken me today.  The realization was really amazing.  The goofy dreams that may have labeled me “nerdy” as a child were really the beginnings of some of the passions that I love today.

 

For instance, I attempted to card catalog my books as a child.  At one point I actually brought home books that were free donations in order to have more books to organize and “card catalog”.  Before now, not many people knew that, by the way.  Ok, even after this post not many people may know that . . . LOL ;)  But I digress.  So now I’m a homeschooling mom.  I’m still organizing massive amounts of books, and I have plenty of practice now.

 

My parents instilled in me a love for serving others, and I do that now in various ways.  I serve God first, and my family, friends, and others second.

 

I loved to learn, read, and train others, and now I train my children.  I am using what I have learned to help them learn what is truly important in life.

 

I have always loved to travel and take “mystery trips”, and now one of my biggest dreams is to travel the country in an RV.  I would love nothing more than to travel from city to city volunteering to serve churches and Christian non-profits, in exchange for a free-will offering to “keep us going”.  We home educate.  We could do that.  What, we are studying the Grand Canyon?  Let’s volunteer near it, and stop by and check it out!

Now where is that mobile income stream to buy the RV, and get started?  Guess we’ll just dream a tad more  . . . until God provides the means.  If it’s in His will, it’ll happen ;)

Blessings :)

Community Of Educational Opportunities

I find the home in homeschooling laughable these days.  While much of our education IS at home, there are many opportunities outside the home.  There are SO many in fact, that we routinely pick and choose.  “Socialization”?  That’s not a problem here!

We had full run of a gymnastics facility earlier this week, and are preparing for drama, pottery, and art classes in the next few days.  The drama and pottery classes are at the same time, and at the same place, as they are offered through the co-op.  One less thing to worry about.  Art is offered through a wonderful man that moves between different locations, one of them being near us.  He supplies everything needed for the class.  It’s intensive, and it’s reasonable.  I love these opportunities!

But while these opportunities are all offered through the homeschooling community, there are a wealth of resources in the community at large. 

Science centers, libraries, nature centers, skating rinks, zoos, historical centers etc. are all possible resources for classes and/or positive physical activity for home school families.  And remember, that as an educator, you may be eligible for a discounted membership fee at many science centers, zoos, and historical centers.

We have created a school newspaper.  This is such a fun Language Arts activity.  Why not interview people in the community?  This is fantastic practice in interviewing, and communicating with strangers.

These are but a few of many possible ideas?

What ideas do you have to add?

Sharing The Homeschooling Journey . . . Together

We just started a new term of home school co-op classes, and I have to say that I enjoy them as much as my kids do.  Don’t get me wrong.  This summer was truly amazing!  Our family visited Grammy by the water.  We (well hubby and the boys) camped in the backyard.  We sat around the backyard fire pit and roasted s’mores a few times.  We went to many a family and friend party or get together, and we even visited some friends while THEY camped.  We have had so much fun!

But as much fun as it is to hang out with my family, I have truly missed the camaraderie of the other homeschooling moms, and the enjoyment of experiencing that on a regular basis.  Going back to the co-op, and the “mother’s room” was a treat.  It is so much fun seeing old faces and new, and the talks about curriculum and ideas for learning.  We laugh, we encourage, we inspire, and we truly enjoy each other.  I love these ladies as a kind of family.  There is an importance to being a part of a family, going down this road . . . together. 

There is a comfort in that at the end of the day, when you’ve told a neighbor that you are homeschooling, and you can practically hear the crickets chirping.  There is a comfort in the laughter that we have at “Moms’ Nights Out” over tea, and chocolate, and stories of the zany life of a homeschooling mom with her kids. 

Each of these ladies is precious, and each of them has earned the right to be cherished and honored, and others “in the trenches with us” . . . no matter what ;)

God Bless you on YOUR journey!

And, speaking of that, how is it going?!

I Have A Confession To Make . . .

My kids love books, books about presidents, and explorers, and scientists.  Just recently my kids devoured books about Ronald Reagan, George Washington, and traveling on the Mayflower.  And at night, we read aloud from the Anne of Green Gables series of books, and my boys love it!  And I love that they love it!  (Even my hubby is enjoying the “Anne books”, but don’t tell him that I told on him ;)

OK, so it’s not a real confession.  I mean I’m sure that many of you have similar stories about your children.  But this is like a whole new world to me.  Within the last two plus years we’ve gone from a family that runs around from one thing to the next, to a family that loves to slow down, declutter, read, learn, and grow.  I’m really enjoying this!

We are now in a new way of thinking then I have ever been, and it’s nice.  Learning fractions is no longer just for math class, it is now learned when the bananas start to turn brown and I assign “The Master Chef” (my oldest son) the duty of making banana bread.  I ask him to double the recipe, and poof, we learning math . . . in the kitchen!  Outside of our language arts studies we also put together a school newspaper, and suddenly “The Bug Whisperer” (my younger son) is searching the information in his favorite nature books for the perfect subject for an article or crossword puzzle.  (You can generate your own crossword puzzles here.)  I open the computer and our little one is begging to work on her phonics on Starfall.  This is fun!

And I am learning with them.  In the past 2+ years I have learned that Monarch Butterflies winter in Mexico.  I have learned more about where the subject and predicates are in a sentence.  And most importantly I have learned that “The Bug Whisperer” thrives and flourishes under the tutelage of a calm teacher, but even more than that needs one on one help from time to time to feel secure.  He is more confident now then ever in school at home.  His love of animals, and nature, weather, and creation is amazing!  And “The Master Chef” is not only a master chef, but he is also a mentor to his siblings, and an excellent student and observer of the things and people around him. His dream is to own a restaurant some day, and I believe he’ll do it!  And it will be a nut-free restaurant ;) Our little one is growing faster than ever through the encouragement of her “brudders”, and is happily invited on (almost) all of their adventures.

I am happier than I have ever been before and I have God, and the Titus 2 homeschoolers that He brought around me, to thank for that!

Blessings!

__________________________________________________________

Thinkfinity is a great search engine of valuable printables for teachers from many sites across the web.

Super Teacher Worksheets and WorksheetsPLUS are also great resources for the teacher that needs worksheets to help students grasp a particular concept.

Author Jan Brett offers a wealth of cool tidbits to use in a classroom or at home.  She has everything here from printable flashcards and handwriting sheets to wall murals, all with her beautiful illustrations from her books.

Family Education is a wealth of printables based on both educational concepts and even historical events.

 

The Importance of the Titus 2 Woman

In the book of Titus chapter 2  older woman, uh I mean more experienced women, are called to teach the younger women how to behave and to love their husbands and children.  I would venture to say that these women of faith are more needed now than ever!

We have so much marketing hitting us, almost literally, everywhere we go . . . including the stall door of the public restrooms sometimes!  There are so many more choices these days, and with each choice advocates and marketers to push you in the direction of their “perfect choice”.  For woman, some of the debates over the choices that we have to make are fierce, and overwhelming.  After all, who wants to be the “awful mother” that made the wrong choice!

Do I have natural childbirth, or do I accept pain medication during childbirth?  Should the birth be at a hospital or at home?  Once the baby is born, do I breastfeed or bottle feed, or both?  Then before you know it it’s time for school.  Do I send them to a public school, a parochial school, a charter school, or do I home school?  And then there’s all of the homeschooling options!  Arrrrrggggg!  (The arrrrrrggggg is directed at they many decisions we have to make. I like the wealth of homeschooling options ;)

The truth is that are many choices that are fine.  There are advantages and disadvantages to each choice we make, but whatever we do, we need to be informed so that we can make the best choice for our family.  We are in our third year on this homeschooling journey, and the counsel and information of the more experienced women in our support group have enriched and opened our choice to home school into a whole world and wealth of opportunity and joy.  For those new homeschooling moms, strong in their convictions to home school, we need to be that same shelter in this storm of the educational controversy around us.  We need to guide and teach them to be the best that they can be, so that they can grow where they are planted until God should take them down a different educational path.  One of the greatest joys of homeschooling is that in teaching my children, I am also learning a great deal myself through my life with them.

Blessings on your educational journey ;)

It’s a educational opportunity and a lemon-limeade stand all in one!  (Counting money, handling customers, offering a quality product . . . )  Loving the “mascot” ;)

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P.S. Here are a few promised home school resources. 

Edifyathome.com- a home school version of the famous big name auction site

SoftSchools.com offers free educational games and worksheet generators, organized by grade level

WorksheetWorks.com is, by far, my VERY favorite worksheet generator.  It features every kind of worksheet generator that you can imagine!  You can make anything from personalized handwriting sheets to visual multiplication sheets and maps.  This is WELL worth checking out!

Steve Spangler Science is a great resource for buying science supplies, yes.  But also look at the experiment ideas and science videos.

 

 

 

Have I Mentioned That I Like Free (and inexpensive) Resources?

It is a well known fact, that many homeschooling families are one income households.  Not all are, I realize, but the point is that by and large we value the offer of something that is free or inexpensive.  It’s not that we are cheap, but many of us have found a need to be frugal.  In that spirit, and to that end, here are some resources that I’ve compiled over the last two and a half years that you may have missed in your web travels.

Grade Books-For those of you that are interested in a free online grade book/ school calendar/ report and progress report generator, there are others, but I use Snapgrades.  I found it recommended in another home school blog, and I have found it easy to use, and a great resource!  I love the fact that during those weeks that I am questioning whether we are doing enough in school I can easily check the interactive calendar, and rest my nerves.  The irony is that the weeks that I question whether we are doing enough in school, are usually the weeks that I find that I’ve been “cracking the whip” in school and trying to do more than I need to.  The boys love the fact that they receive a report card just like they did when they were “ in school” before we started homeschooling.

Curriculum- Lapbooks, and worksheets, and worksheet generators . . . oh my ;)  There are so many choices when it comes to finding free and inexpensive curriculum, but here are some of the ones that I like.

Homeschool Buyers Co-op and Christianbook.com are awesome websites for deals.  Next to attending a home school curriculum fair, these are the best places to save money on your homeschooling resources. Well worth checking out before you spend more elsewhere!

Homeschool Share is a site full of free lapbooks (including preschool lapbooks!) as well as other wonderful resources.

 Hands of a Child also offers one of their awesome lapbooks free semi-annually.  The others are not free BUT here’s the thing . . . they are reasonable, they are beautiful, they are well researched and thought out, and they almost literally offer lapbooks on just about anything you can think of from World War II to Hot Dogs (it was more cross curricular and in depth then it sounds, really LOL ;).

Learningpage is a wealth of free printables for Pre K- 3rd grade!  Here you’ll find professional worksheets/fun sheets to teach many basic skills like handwriting and counting money, printable themed wall murals that you can color and piece together with themed worksheets to match, and many wonderful free resources by current event in the monthly themed worksheet area.

ReadWriteThink is full of interactive resources to teach kids how to write a postcard or a newspaper, create a crossword puzzle or a action hero trading card (in lieu of a book report ;), or many other fun activities of Language Arts learning.  At the end of the activity you are then able to print your creation.  So much fun!  There are also lesson plan ideas each activity for those that want to use them.

Binding Books Beautifully features a book binding tool that is both inexpensive and versatile. It facilitates the older method of binding books by sewing them together between cloth or paper covered book covers. Imagine not only being able to create a beautiful book out of your kids best school and artwork, but to be able to create your own books and yearbooks, economically.  It is a way to do what the product name suggests . . . bind books beautifully!

Pizza Hut BOOK IT! is also offered to homeschoolers!  I love that Pizza Hut allows our kids to enjoy the free personal pizzas as well!  It starts in October so you may be too late to sign up for this year, but if you haven’t already, you can still try.  

I have more . . . but phew, that will have to wait until next time.  The school bell is about to ring for today, and being that I’m the teacher, well it’s time to go ;)

Until next time, God Bless ;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Short On Cash? There Are Plenty Of Free Resources Perfect For Homeschoolers

There are sooo many choices when it comes to educational resources for the homeschooling family!  Some are worth paying a little extra for, but at times people pay for resources when there are perfectly good and free alternatives.  You just have to know where to look (like the Journey North Kids Site that I mentioned yesterday).
For instance, are you looking for a phonics program? Starfall is a completely free four stage phonics program.  I loved it and have used it with my younger two now.  Not only is it an awesome interactive phonics site, but if you peruse the Download Center and the Scope and Sequence Page you will find a wealth of printable material.  Also when using the site look for a picture of a little printer at the end of the interactive books and activities for even more free printable worksheets.   (Only one word of caution about Starfall:  They also offer a Kindergarten curriculum which includes in it’s readers a book about Darwin.  Being a Christian, I wasn’t too keen about that to say the least, but there was nothing like that at their phonics site, as far as I know and it’s free.  I’ve looked it over pretty well, but look it over for yourself as well.)
Literactive is also an awesome site for reading AND spelling fun and interactive books, as well as printable activities.  Spelling City is another site for learning to spell as well as games to reinforce what you are learning to spell.  Speaking of Spelling City, if you use AVKO’s Sequential Spelling books, you should know that AVKO's spelling lists are on the Spelling City page!  (For those of you who don’t know about AVKO, I highly suggest that you watch the video demonstrations on their website.  This educational research foundation was founded by dyslexic Don McCabe, so their materials are especially helpful for others with dyslexia, but they are for everyone learning and/or struggling to learn to spell and read!)
Well, now you have a taste of the free and valuable resources bookmarked in my Language Arts bookmark (or favorites) folder.  I’ll try to give you more to “chew on” later.
God Bless!
Hubby and the kids pretending to be run over by a train rendered stationary long ago.  Fun, fun ;)

Fall Is Coming

The official first day of fall is September 22nd this year.  That’s just three short weeks from today, and I am ready!  Fall is my one of my two favorite seasons of the year, and Spring is the other.  I love the mild weather, and the crisp cool nights.  I love hay rides, and campfires, and apple cider, and pumpkin pies with lots of whipped cream (the real stuff!) on top.  (My hubby and older son make the absolute BEST pumpkin pies, by the way!)
Now this year school began “before the rush” for us, so we are actually already into our third week of school, but many of you are just starting or preparing to start.  That’s fine.  So other than curriculum, what’s a home school mom to do to fully enjoy this glorious season with her kids? 
We love nature walks!  It’s funny how obvious this should be as a learning opportunity, but even the things that should be obvious get past us from time to time.  It took me awhile to realize how much fun AND educational this could be.  I mean, like duh, and I live in an area of BEAUTIFUL fall foliage and beauty.  What a wealth of opportunity!  So here’s the next question.  Is a nature walk just a walk?  Not if you check out Journey North Kids! 
Journey North “is a global study of wildlife migration and seasonal change” according their parent site for older children and adults.  That’s the official description of what they do, but there is so much fun to be had here!  This site is full of information about different migrating animals, and even the areas that they migrate to.  There are slideshows about the animals and people around them, printable photo rich books, videos, other teaching resources, and more. 
Also, right now they are asking for people to submit signs of Fall and Fall migration sightings, such as sightings of the Monarch Butterflies that are journeying south to Mexico for the winter.  After you submit sightings, you can look at the interactive map to see what others are observing!  The coming days would be a wonderful time for a nature walk, but take note of the signs of Fall all around you, and maybe you can have your own observation on the map ;)
P. S. And if you act fast you can also send a symbolic paper Monarch to Mexico to help them educate our kids, and kids in Mexico, about caring for the Monarchs as they migrate!  Hurry!  The butterflies for the Symbolic Migration need to be postmarked before October 12th!