Tag Archives: education

Sep7

School Supplies

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School Supplies

I thought I’d do a little bit of a follow up post to show you how the Maxperks program at Office Max can help take care of school supplies, without costing much at all. Since we homeschool, I need to have all my own teacher supplies, as well as making sure the kids have their supplies. The good thing is that we don’t go through them terribly fast, so once we purchase a package or two of something, it will last a while.

Here’s what I got on my last trip to Office Max.

I started out with $14.99 in rewards from last months purchases. (This is basically like a merchandise credit that can be used on anything in the store.) Then once that was deducted, I paid $6.30 for the items you see in the picture. The good thing about this purchase is that the cost of the two reams of paper will be credited back to me in rewards for next month (almost $14).

$6.30 is not a bad price to pay for 2 reams of paper, 5 notebooks, a box of chalk, and a good stapler (I have fought with a cheapie stapler that jams every other use for quite a while. Now I have a good basic stapler that actually works.)

Have you gotten any good deals on school supplies this year?

Aug27

Homeschooling Choices

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Homeschooling Choices

If you feel that homeschooling is the right choice for your family, where do you begin? This isn’t a post to convince you that a particular curriculum is right for you. I just wanted to lay out some options and without getting too specific, share with you what we do around here.

A plan for those who say, “Help! I want to homeschool, but I don’t feel comfortable teaching my kids academic subjects.”

There are so many advertisements on tv, in magazines, and even on the sidebar of internet sites I visit, for homeschooling options that do all the teaching FOR you! These are actually an extension of public schools, and everything you need is provided for you. Since you already pay for these options with your taxes, you can take advantage of these programs without paying tuition, book fees, etc. There are so many advantages with this type of schooling. Your child has a teacher assigned to him or her, just as they would in a brick and mortar school. The child’s hours and grades are recorded for you. Their standardized tests are included, and all you have to do is take them to the set location to be tested. It is basically like being enrolled in the public school system, but your child does all the work at home.

A plan for those who say, “Okay, I think I’m ready to teach my kids. Now how do I choose from the thousands of options out there?”

Pick a company that has been around for several years, and has a great track record. As you look through catalogs and curriculum samples, look for a publisher that offers all subjects you need to teach. Many companies will even give discounts when you purchase entire student or teacher kits for a particular grade level. You can see many examples of curriculum online, but there is nothing like flipping through the books in person. Try to find a convention, display meeting, or a bookstore that carries the products, so you can actually SEE what you are purchasing. You can ask lots of questions at these kinds of meetings as well. Of course the representatives will try to sell you on their product, but if you go armed with questions and lists of  must-haves, you should be able to make an informed decision.

A plan for those who say, “I’m pretty confident in my own ability to teach. I know what my kids need to learn and am ready to find the best products for them.”

Once you are at this stage, you have SO MANY options! Each curriculum provider is known for certain strengths and weaknesses. This is where you really need to find an exhibit hall at a convention somewhere and spend a few hours (or days) perusing all the materials. Listen to their sales pitch, flip through their materials, ask other homeschoolers, then it is up to you to make the decision. You may choose arithmetic from a particular publisher, but prefer to get your language arts from another. This does require a little extra time and effort on your part, both in the selection process AND in preparation for teaching, until you get used to each curriculum’s methods. This option may also be more expensive since you are picking and choosing only portions of a curriculum, without those kit discounts.

 

I fall somewhere in between plan 2 and 3. I was homeschooled for 7 years (grades 6-12) so I have some experience there. I went to a Christian college that is home to a major textbook publisher, and I did my student teaching in their academy with their materials, so I have some experience there. And I now have about 4 years of experience teaching my own kids at home. Still I get very overwhelmed by the many choices available to homeschoolers. I attended a major homeschool convention a couple of years ago and spent more than a few hours walking through aisles of booths and displays. I scoped it all out, paid careful attention to a few curriculum choices I wanted to consider, but went away determined to stick with plan #2. I still order an entire kit from one publisher. Now that my kids are 3rd and 4th graders, I am seriously considering trying out a couple of those other options next year, but the majority of my curriculum will probably still come from one place.

Remember these are just my opinions. I’d love to hear from you–tell me how you make your curriculum choice!

Aug17

Try Another Name

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Try Another Name

I had to laugh at the enthusiasm I received from the words “teacher’s helper” this week. When I said it earlier in the week, I heard squealing and saw jumping up and down.

We started school on Monday, and with our new school room we are loving it! I wanted to find a way to help the kids keep their desks clean, so I decided to look them over each day and put a check under their name on the board for each day it was acceptable. By the end of the week, the person (or people) with the most checks would get a small prize. I listed off a couple of options, including a piece of candy, but got no reaction until I got to “teacher’s helper”. They decided that this would be the best prize.

“If you keep your desks clean all week, you can help Mommy clean up the school room on Friday.” If I had said these words, they would have stared at me like I was crazy. I might have even gotten a moan or groan out of them. BUT since I gave the job a special name, they were so excited that they were begging to win!

This week, Clare managed to pull out the win and she will be my teacher’s helper today. So if you have a job you want the kids help with, give it a really cool name and see if you can build some excitement for it. You might be surprised like I was!

Aug14

Things to Consider Before Homeschooling

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Things to Consider Before Homeschooling

Homeschooling is really becoming quite a trend in some circles. What used to be unheard of, is now becoming much more normal. Some might even receive pressure from friends or family to homeschool, though they wouldn’t have considered it otherwise. So what kinds of things would I consider before making that decision?

  1. Am I (the parent) disciplined? Can I keep a routine or flexible schedule?
  2. Am I willing to learn new things? Some things are taught in different ways than when we were in school–am I willing to adapt or insist my way is right?
  3. Am I willing to give up time doing some activities outside the home? Homeschooling takes time and does require more time spent at home.
  4. Am I willing to do a little research to make sure I am meeting my state’s requirements for homeschooling? This information is usually very easy to find, but it is something the parent is completely responsible for.
  5. Is there a mutual respect between my children and myself? Will I treat them with love, even when concepts are difficult to comprehend? Will my children respect my authority enough to learn from my teaching?
  6. Is my child self-motivated? How easy is it to motivate him/her to get things done?

These things are not necessary deal-breakers. “I am horrible at keeping myself on a schedule–there is no way I could homeschool.” or “My child is lazy and I won’t be able to get him to do his work.” These are definitely considerations, but they also might be eye opening for you. Maybe there are some areas that both the parent and child need to work on, regardless of school choice.

Also notice that none of these have to do with actual academic skills. I don’t feel that this plays much of a part in making the decision to homeschool, especially in the younger grades. Many curriculums and teacher plans will walk you through what to teach and how to teach it. Should you feel there are topics above your proficiency, there are lots of options for online streaming where your child is actually taught by another teacher. In this case, you are simply the monitor to make sure they are doing their work.

If you are purchasing a private curriculum, costs can get pretty high. This is definitely a consideration, however, there are also ways around this. Each year, I get on Craigs List and watch for my teacher materials. I bought nearly $400 worth of material this year for $150. (And these books will be used for all 4 kids. Once I have purchased them once, I shouldn’t have to purchase them again.) Of course, I still had to buy the students workbooks, but this cut down on my cost drastically. You can find many things used. Some of the online {public school} programs are absolutely free because they are already paid for with your tax dollars. I have friends who are very happy with these methods, and I may seriously consider them in the near future when I have FOUR kids to teach!

I know that several of my readers are homeschoolers also. If you have things to add, please leave a comment for others to read!

Mar22

Why I Homeschool

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Why I Homeschool

I must start by saying I am not trying to prove that homeschooling is for everyone. I am not giving arguments for homeschooling. I am only sharing my personal reasons for doing so.

I have been asked many times why we decided to homeschool. There are many reasons, but the answer I always give first is that I LOVE teaching! I went to college determined to major in music, but realized once I was there how valuable an education degree would be to me at home. So I merged the two and graduated with a music education degree. As of right now, I wake up 5 days a week and teach. We start with academic subjects, and sometime in the process of our day we do music.

I love being in control of what my children are learning–this is the next reason we made the choice to homeschool. With our flexible schedule, my kids get the chance each day to learn math, language arts, music, cleaning and organization skills, food prep and cooking along with healthy eating choices, hands on science, laundry, history (this one is a favorite for all of us), goals and rewards, work ethic, current events, and many more things that vary each day. Because I am mommy, I can see when they are ready to learn certain things and when they aren’t quite ready to handle them. I also am able to give them the biblical foundation for WHY we learn various skills.

In contrast to that reason, I am also able to loosely control what my kids are NOT learning. When my child is away from me for the majority of the day, there is no way to know what they are learning during that time. I have some tough conversations with my kids about things that go on in our world today, and I am grateful for the chance to be able to use Scripture in introducing them. It is also incredibly important to me that they view everything through the lens of grace. It is too easy to point out sin without teaching them to have love for the sinner. This simply leads to a superior attitude, “Well, I don’t do that so I am better than that kid.” I want my children to notice the sin going on around them (and choose not to participate), but I also pray that with a biblical foundation, they will see that a person without Christ has no real choice in the matter. None of us do, except for Christ’s sacrifice on that cross. His mercy provided an escape from damnation, and His grace gives us victory in Christ.

This post is not an attempt to convince anyone that homeschooling is the “right” option, I am simply sharing with you why we chose that route. However, each of us DO homeschool, whether it is for 14 hours a day or for 6 hours a day, whether it is academic subjects or other things, whether it is formal learning or a more relaxed environment. I encourage you to make every hour you have with your kids intentional in what you teach them. Even though they must learn some tough things in our world today, determine to teach how those things relate to them in Christ. And teach them to show the love of Christ wherever they spend their time.

Mar15

Math Help for Older Kids

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Math Help for Older Kids

Someone sent me this link the other day, and I was excited about the possibility of using these free videos when my kids get older. When I talk to homeschooling moms, most of the time the topic they are most worried about teaching in the upper grades is math (pre-algebra, algebra, geometry, calculus, etc). This seems like it would be a great tool to turn to when the child (or the parent, or the teacher) needs some extra help or instruction.

Khan Academy

There was also a 14 minute video of  CBS interviewing the creator of the program, that I found interesting. You can watch that by clicking here.

Mar12

5 Minute Learning, Shapes

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5 Minute Learning, Shapes

I have been a little MIA in the blog front this past week. We have been working hard at school, and I have had several things to take care of with my ministry at church as well. While I was busy teaching Arithmetic last week, I realized that one of my projects might be nice to share with you.

When you purchase a shape sorting toy for the little ones, they get some practice on a few basic shapes. As the child gets older, they need to learn a wider variety of shapes. Till now, I haven’t had a visual tool to help with this. Miranda is at the very beginning stages of geometry in 3rd grade, so I wanted to make some flashcards to help her with some of the lesser-known shapes. I knew this wouldn’t be a waste of time since I have 3 younger children who will all eventually need these also! (They can use the simpler shapes now.)

I created these flashcards, which have only the shape on the front, and the shape with its name on the back. This will help with recognition of the shape, but also with seeing how each shape is spelled. Since my sweet husband bought me a laminator for my birthday, I was able to make these once and preserve them for all my kids. I didn’t have any white cardstock when I went to print these, so I simply printed each file separately on plain paper. I cut the pages all in half, then matched up the shapes front to back. I glued them together, then ran them through the laminator to make sure they didn’t get torn or crumpled. Here’s a list of the shapes included:

Circle, Square, Oval, Star, Triangle, Rectangle, Diamond, Crescent, Pentagon, Hexagon, Octagon, Parallelogram, Trapezoid, Rhombus

I wanted to make these available for your use also, so click on the links below if you’d like to print a copy.

Shapes Cards

Shapes Cards Labeled

 

Do any of you have a laminator? I love being able to make visuals and keep them looking nice for all the kids!

If you are interested in other posts in the 5 Minute Learning Series, click here.

 

Mar7

In-House Training, Continued

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In-House Training, Continued

Yesterday, I began writing about what it means to “train” my children. Today, I want to finish up my thoughts based on the simple definition of the word.

TRAIN:

3)To teach so as to make fit, qualified, or proficient

What goal are we heading toward in training our children? They will not be OURS to train forever because some day, they will part ways with Mom and Dad. Whether it be for a job, college, or a spouse, they will be making their own decisions. We are teaching them now, so they can become “fit, qualified, and proficient” adults.

It helps me to remember the reason I am correcting them RIGHT NOW. I do not allow them to rebel against my authority, without consequence, right now, because I am training them to submit to the authority of a boss (or some other authority) in the future. The goal of our training? To prepare them for the rest of their life.

4)To make prepared (as by exercise) for a test of skill

What does an athlete do in preparation for competition? What does a musician do in preparation for a performance? Practice, practice, practice.

Now picture this. I walk by the shoe closet and find 2 pairs of socks lying on the floor. How many times have I asked the kids NOT to leave their socks by the front door? I have asked them multiple times to come back, pick up their socks, and put them in the dirty clothes basket. Yet once again, the socks are here in the floor. Now is when this definition makes the most sense to me. I am training them for the test of adulthood, and it will not happen overnight. Just as an athlete must do the same exercises over and over, so must I help my children practice the right behavior as many times as is necessary for them to master it.

Having a clear picture of what it means to train was the starting point for me. I know I am capable of the training because God gave my children to me. I also know that it will require work on my part. If that gardener decided to walk out of his garden after planting in the spring, and not come back until fall when it was time for harvest, he would be in for a rude awakening. Without his constant care, it would be overgrown with weeds and possibly disease. I want to give what it takes to help my children mature into adulthood with one focus, to glorify God in everything they do.

Feb22

5 Minute Learning, Words

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5 Minute Learning, Words

This 5 minute learning exercise was designed to help my daughters be a little more creative with their writing. I have a daughter who aspires to be an author. When you ask her the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” she responds with, “I want to be a library girl.” I have explained that the people who work in the library aren’t necessarily the people who write books, but in her mind they still go together.

Anyway, when my child shows interest in something, I want to help them develop that interest. So if she tells me that she wants to write books some day, then I will not accept “The dog ran” as a sentence on her Language paper. In an effort to bring some of their creativity out, I came up with this exercise.

Simply look at the picture below, and use 1 word at a time to describe what you see. We take turns giving a descriptive word, until we can no longer think of any new words to say. We could do this with an elaborate painting or photograph, but that would be too easy. I want to use something smaller and with less detail, so that their brain has to really think to come up with those words.

Ours went something like this:

Light Green

Dark Green

Yummy

Shiny

Juicy

Red

Two

Brown

Pointy

Seedy

Three

Smooth

Hard

Painted

Circle

Oval

You get the idea. I ask them to think of ANY word that describes ANY aspect of the picture or the object. Once we exhaust words for this particular vase, we move on to something else. It is something fun that we sometimes do while eating lunch. Hopefully this will help when they are asked to “Write 4 sentences about what you see in the picture” on their school pages.

What do your kids want to be when they grow up?

Feb20

Magazine Look and Find

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Magazine Look and Find

Ever wonder what to do with those already read magazines you have lying around? I posted last year that you can turn some of those pictures and full-paged ads into some fancy-schmancy envelopes.

Well, here’s another idea for you. Look through the magazine and write down a list of things to find. The age of your child will determine how difficult you make the clues. These following lists were intended for my 6 and 8 year olds. I’m not sure if a couple of the clues were a little vague for my 6 year old, or if her “this is too hard” mentality kicked in, but my 8 year old found each one without difficulty.

If you already have a magazine subscription, great! If not, there’s no need to give up just yet. Do you get free coupon savings magazines in the mail? Do you ever see stacks of free magazines lying around in public places? I started receiving “Family Fun” magazine, and have no clue how or why. It isn’t costing me anything, and my kids enjoy reading it. Do any of you receive this magazine? You can purchase a subscription here, but I have seen multiple copies of this magazine lying in waiting rooms with “take one” signs attached. Anyway, if you can get your hands on a magazine or two, your kids might enjoy this little game.

Instructions for Mom:

Look through the magazine for items the kids will be able to find. If the child is very young, look for really obvious things and really big pictures. For my girls, I tried to make it a little more difficult and write down things that were pretty small, or little riddles they might have to solve while finding the picture. For example, in the Family Fun magazine, there was a picture of a set of utensils. The fork had eyes and a mustache (dad), the spoon had hair, eyes and lips (mom), and the baby spoon had braids and a face (girl). My clue was “A Family That Feeds You”, instead of writing silverware with faces. This made them use a little deductive reasoning. Miranda got this one right away, but Clare took some time to find it.

Instructions for the kids:

Look through the magazine and circle the items from the list that you find. The clues are in the order you will find them as you look from front to back. (I put mine on the list in order so they would not have to double back to find the next clue.)

Here are the lists I came up with, just in case you have a Family Fun magazine or an All You magazine in the house. The page numbers are for mom only…you can remove those if you’re giving the list to the kids.

Family Fun (March 2012 issue)

  • A Chocolate Rock   p.9
  • Small Garden   p. 18
  • Castle   p. 28
  • Cow Magnet   p. 35
  • Square Marshmallows   p. 39
  • Ball That Is Like A Candy Cane   p. 46
  • Alien   p. 54 or p. 68
  • Baby Bottle   p. 63
  • A Family That Feeds You   p. 69 or p. 70
  • An Orange Nose   p. 80

All You (March 30, 2012 issue)

  • Red & White Shoes   p. 7 or p. 141
  • Abraham Lincoln   p. 20
  • Remote Control   p. 51
  • Pink Pig   p. 73
  • Meatball   p. 91
  • Yellow Gloves   p. 99 or p. 118
  • Talking Fish   p. 111
  • Blue Wallet   p. 127
  • Alarm Clock   p. 133

Both of the girls had fun doing these and Miranda even asked me to make another one. I guess she’ll have to wait until the next installment of magazines comes in. And the nice thing about this game is that it’s free.

Do you have anything fun to do with discarded magazines?