Summer Planning

For most of us, the end of the school has come and we are taking a well earned recess from the normal academic activities and enjoying our summer break.  Yet as homeschooling moms, that “break” often includes lesson planning, curriculum shopping and planning for next year.  And if it doesn’t, it probably should.  John Milton Gregory, in his book “The Seven Laws of Teaching” (which if you haven’t yet read, I highly recommend) challenges us in his “rules for the Law of the Teacher”, to always make our lesson plans fresh and new.  As Milton puts it, “Prepare each lesson by fresh study. Last year's knowledge has necessarily faded somewhat. Only fresh conceptions inspire us to our best efforts.”  While some years in homeschooling force us to reply on past lesson plans, or even simply assigning the next two pages, that doesn’t have to be all there is to homeschooling.  Keep in mind one of the beautiful realities of homeschooing is customized education.  It can be so much more than “the next two pages”.  But it’s going to take some thought and planning on your part to get it there.  As you plan for your next year, I wanted to pass along some ideas and options that you may not have used before that can help bring some freshness to your lesson plans. 

Having spent the first 15 years of homeschooling in the pregnant-infant-toddler season-of-life, I am well aware of the challenges that arise from being pregnant, having babies/toddlers and homechooling the rest of your children.  Typically, if you are in this season, you are dealing with elementary aged students, which of course, is the most hands-on years of homeschooling, so that’s just perfect!

I remember many days that despite my great intentions, we simply could not get through the assigned lessons for that day and the needed one-on-one teaching time with the K-3 students just wasn’t happening.  So how can you redeem a day like that, without completely losing any and all academic or educational value?  Sit them down in front of the TV or computer!

Okay, admit it, some of you cringed when you read that, and probably for good reason.  But I didn’t mean that exactly how you read it.  If you are in that season when using  an occasional “screen day” is simply a reality in your home, at least make it academically redeeming!  Two easy ways to do that are by using YouTube and Netflix.   

1.  YouTube
Youtube is a great resource for homeschoolers.  Youtube.com/edu is where you find tons of videos for educational use that starts in preschool and goes all the way to grad school.  A lot of these are powerpoints, lectures, games, cute animated videos, different ways to teach a new concert with cute little characters, stories, and then there are a lot of episodes from educational TV shows like Sesame Street (almost all the KPBS shows actually) as well as others.  You can search by topic or level of learning which will help you sort through the all the video options on there.  There is also a way to get rid of the questionable material that pops up on the sidebar in Youtube.  Every “school” can create their own account.  It’s free and it’s called YouTube for Schools.  You just need a gmail account to get it.  Once you sign in with your “school” gmail you can create your own page and playlists for viewing with YouTube Teacher.  Then when your children are on this page, they only have access and options to watch the videos you have put on there.  The only recommended videos that will show up on the sidebar, are the ones you have allowed and added to your page.

2.  Netflix
There is a wealth of great educational movies/series on Netflix.  If you are on Facebook, there is a valuable resource for sorting through the educational options on Netflix by joining a Group called Homeschooling with Netflix.  This Group is for the sole purpose of listing educational movies and/or asking for recommendations on particular topics.  For example, if you are studying Ancient Egypt and you are having one of “those days”, you could post a question on that Facebook Group and simply say, “Any recommendations for Ancient Egypt?”  Within minutes you’ll have people listing titles of Netflix instant play resources for you and your “screen day” will have just resulted in at least some educationally redeemable time.  You could be also plan this out ahead of time and while you are lesson planning over the summer, already have movies/documentaries planned out in your lesson plan that perfectly align with what you are studying.  Another idea is to start asking those questions for recommendations over the summer, keep a list going,  and use it for the times during the school year you need it.

Another great way to add some freshness to your lesson plans is by using Pinterest.  I’ve already written a blog post about Pinterest and Homeschooling: http://www.homeschoolingmomofnine.blogspot.com/2012/05/homeschooling-and-pinterest.html

Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT) is another way to add some creative freshness to your lesson plans. This is an open marketplace for educators to buy and sell their own original teaching resources.  There are a lot of homeschoolers on there and if you have a gift for creating curriculum or resources materials, it can even be a way to make a couple extra bucks.  There is a rather large free section, and then the cost section.  What you will find on here will range from worksheets, powerpoint presentations, notebook appropriate materials, mini books, resource manuals, games, manipulatives, coloring sheets, etc. 

Let’s say you have decided to do science next year with your K-2 grade students by doing read alouds on mammals, birds and reptiles. You plan to go to the library and get a bunch of books on each type of animal group and use that time to also incorporate your daily read aloud time to your students (which, as a side note, is a fantastic approach for covering both science and history at that age, in my opinion).  Now here is where TPT comes into play.  You then go on to TPT and type in “mammals “ (for example) in the search bar and up will pop up a ton of materials on mammals.  Some will be free, some will range in price from $0.99 to $20.00.  The products themselves are mostly web based and you download what you buy, so it’s immediate.  I recommended sorting by price as your first step, so all the free stuff comes up first.  In the mammals example, you’ll end up with things like songs, powerpoint presentations, games, interactive activities and so much more.  You need to sign up and get an account in order to download anything.  It’s free if you’re just a buyer.  Sellers can either sell for free and take less of a  profit, or pay a membership fee of $60/year and get a larger cut.   

Just writing all this out has gotten me excited again to start lesson planning for next year.  I hope you found some of the above helpful and inspiring to add a fresh approach or component to your homeschool year next year.  As with anything in life, you get out of something what you put into it.  The time you spend investing in your planning next year will be time well spent and might even renew (or instill) some joy along the way.

Have a great summer and happy planning!

Third Quarter Blues

March.  It happens every year, no matter how much I mentally try to prepare for it.  Every year, right on cue, March signals what ends up being my toughest homeschooling month of the school year. March is when I feel totally “done” with the school year.  It’s a struggle to keep going, I’ve lost my momentum, the grading is piling up, we are behind, and I still have a significant amount of lessons plans to go to before it’s over. 

Many moms feel this “third quarter blues,” and my own struggle with this feeling, year after year, leads me to write this post.  There are some things I have learned and experienced over the past 19 years of homeschooling that have helped during these desert times.  It is my hope that in memorializing what I have learned, I can find (and hopefully impart) renewed encouragement and vision to finish the school year strong.

1.  A change of place
We all have our routine when it comes to where and when we homeschool.  For me, all one-on-one teaching takes place at my desk in the family room.  The kids usually end up doing their independent work in their rooms or on a couch.  Anytime school involves me, however, it is done at my desk.  But on one of “those mornings” as I returned to my bed late in the morning with my second cup of coffee and fuzzy socks, I called my elementary-aged students into my room and announced we would be having a marathon science catch-up session.  Yes, we are very behind in science, which I do as a multi-grade subject in elementary school.  Everyone, still in pajamas with fuzzy blankets or robes draped around them, clambered onto my bed nestling under the covers, with their science books and notebooks in hand.  We read around, with all the able-to-read kids taking a turn, me tackling larger chunks, and the younger ones coloring in their science notebooks and answering questions after each section.  We covered a significant chunk of science that day and I also crossed off several days worth of reading lesson plans as well.  After all, what is the point of reading, but to read and be able to answer and discuss comprehension questions?  That’s exactly what we did, covering two subjects for the price of one, all while enjoying the comfort of my bed and the change of place.  For days after, my kids asked if we could do science in my bed again.  And for days, we not only caught up in science, but in reading also, as I continued to use this time to count for two subjects.

2.  A change of routine
It sounds dumb, but sometimes just changing up the order in which you do things, or the order of kids in which you homeschool, can bring some newness to your day.  I usually start with the youngest student and work my way up.  Depending on the child, I usually fall into an unintended rut with the order of subjects we do together.  Sometimes the rut is so subtle, I don’t even realize it.  But when I sat down with my 2^nd grader recently and pulled out math first, he about died.  “We NEVER do math first! “  We don’t?  So I pulled out all the subjects we do together and told him to set the order.  His excitement over that small, insignificant thing changed the whole attitude (his AND mine) for the day.  If something that small can make a difference, find other ways to change up the routine.  Any added excitement in your students will be infectious and help bust through your own malaise. 

3.   A change in perspective

I admit I’m at a bit of an advantage here.  I have already graduated three of my kids from homeschooling and have the benefit of seeing them out in the real world and seeing how the whole homeschooling-thing (academically) worked out for them.  And it turns out, brace yourself, that those last chapters I skipped in science and history in 5^th grade isn’t significantly hindering my oldest’s ability to run her household and be an effective wife and mother.  And the three year journey to get through Algebra 1 with one of them, hasn’t stopped her from getting a full time administrative job, enabling her to support herself and find fulfillment in her calling.  And the half-finished Daily Grams books in various years, hasn’t prevented honor roll status in post high school education for others.  In other words, not every year has to be perfect.  Not every book has to be finished.  Not every lesson plan has to completed.  Particularly in the elementary years, it is okay to be flexible.  You have so much time to work with, and so much life to live, and so many memories to make, and so many un-lesson-planned lessons to teach.   We all need to take a step a back and remind ourselves that life is much bigger than the Scope and Sequence.  I’m not advocating a second-rate education.  I am, however, saying don’t sacrifice your relationship with your family at the altar of getting through the books.  As homeschoolers, it’s often a fine line that we don’t see we’ve crossed until they are older and gone.  Try to get that perspective now.

4.  A change in priorities
Sometimes the answer is as simple as “no.”  There is a tendency in many homeschooling moms I see to over-commit themselves and then find themselves truly in a position where they simply do not have the time to homeschool their children. It’s often gradual, so they don’t see it coming.  And when I say “they,” I actually mean “me."  You cannot homeschool if you are never home.  Nor can you homeschool if you are volunteering your time to too many other projects and activities.  Homeschooling takes time.  And when I get into these doldrums seasons, I can easily and blissfully devote my time to any and everything but the thing that I most want to ignore.  The temptation is great. Being aware of the problem is half the solution.  A re-commitment to your priorities is essential.   Do what you dread most first and then give yourself permission to do everything else.  More than ever, for me, that principle applies to this third quarter.  If I just mentally tell myself that school has to be done before I do anything else, before I respond to any other emails, before I clean anything, before I make that phone call, etc., it motivates me to just do it and get it done.  Giving someone else permission to hold you accountable is even more helpful.  But within that “homeschool first” priority, you may also want to give yourself a break and focus only on the essentials for a couple months.  At the beginning of the school year, I tend to go wild with my expectations and excitement with new resources and curriculum helps.  By the third quarter, I’m just back to the basics (which varies according to grade level).  If you started the year with a supplemental resource, your new priority may be to set it aside until the 4^th quarter (or forever).  Focus on the important things, do those first and then decide how you really want or need to spend the rest of the day.

5.  A change in attitude
The hardest suggestion is probably the most important.  If you are negative, frustrated, and undisciplined with homeschooling, your children will be as well.  You cannot expect them to carry on and get it done with great attitudes, if you aren’t modeling the same.  Enter the three F’s: Feelings Follow Form.  My husband introduced this concept in our family many, many years ago and it’s been a theme of ours ever since.  We don’t always feel like doing the things we’re supposed to do.  But we do them because we must (whether out of obedience, submission, necessity, prudence, etc.).  It’s through the process of doing, that our attitudes begin to change.  We don’t wait to feel like exercising.  We exercise, see results and then our attitude towards exercise begins to change.  Don’t wait until you feel like enthusiastically homeschooling your kids.  Just do it, fake the enthusiasm, pray for a change of heart and in time the feelings will come.  In the meantime, model for your kids what it’s like to do things even when we don’t feel like it.  How do you expect or want them to approach their chores or schoolwork when they don’t feel like it?  Show them what that looks like!

Well, I can’t say I’m now thoroughly motivated, excited and ready to tackle school for the rest of the year, but I am reminded of some things that have worked for me in the past and what I need to focus on to get through tomorrow.  That’s a start in the right direction.  I will press on and continue to trust that God will equip me with what I need to perform this wonderful calling to which I am called.  See you at the finish line!

Already Behind

Well, we are two weeks into the new school year and I’m already behind.  This is definitely a first for me.  I usually can stay on track for a good, solid quarter before I start falling behind.    By falling behind, I simply mean that the calendar I created over the summer listing everyone’s lesson number they should be on at any given point in the school year, is no longer the lesson we are on.  Since for the younger kids, many of their lessons cannot be done independently, when I get off track, they are off track. 

I’m not concerned about being behind, since I purposely schedule my homeschool school year with plenty of catch up days scattered throughout every month.  But I had to catch myself blaming “all these other distractions” as being the reason for falling behind.  I had to remind myself that these “distractions” aren’t really distractions at all.  They are just another part of my job that are equally as important as doing lesson #6 in Language Arts.

I’ve had to remind myself that in addition to being a homeschool mom, I am also a mom.

It is sometimes hard for homeschoolers to not get caught up in the school part of their job, at the cost of all else.  In the last two weeks the “distractions” that threw me off my self-imposed schedule were things like orthodontist appointments,  car repairs, driving kids to various activities, play dates, appliance repairs, long conversations with older kids needing my time and attention, mother/daughter Bible studies and the constant, “Mom, come swim with us” during this incredible heat wave we’ve been experiencing of late.  In hindsight, that I looked at any of those things as distractions is embarrassing.  In the blink of an eye there will be no need for me to drive anyone anywhere, losing that confined time with them alone in the car.  There will come a day when no one has any desire to swim with me, or think to even want to include me.  The day is coming when I’ll long for an available child to do a mother/daughter study with and once the play dates end, will I ever really make the time and effort to spend a few hours with girlfriends?    All these activities are not distractions.  They are simply another part of my ever growing job description, all of which provide unexpected moments of blessing and encouragement.  At the end of the day, I’d much rather have a relationship with my adult children that results in their still wanting to talk and spend time with me, over the satisfaction of knowing that I completed my school year “on time”. 

I know many of my friends are not officially starting school until Tuesday, so you are one up on me already, even though I started earlier than you.  YOU are not behind!  But as your school year starts and life dares to happen in the midst of it, remember that finishing on time isn’t nearly as important as how you handle all those life things that will come up.  How you walked your daughter through her social crisis, or the conversations you would have not had with your son as you drove him from one event to the next, are the memories that will stick with them for years to come.  Those aren’t distractions.  They are another, vital and significant, part of your job.

Have a great school year!

My "Nugget" for a New School Year

The beginning of a new homeschool year usually brings a cacophony of mixed emotions.  I love talking to the newer homeschool moms who are a year or so into their homeschooling journey and still have that infectious excitement about each and every new thing a new grade level brings.  It reminds me of the blessing we have to reach new milestones each and every year with each and every child, even when we’re teaching kindergarten for the 9^th time! 

I was asked recently by a friend who is beginning to start another year of homeschooling what “nugget” I had for her as she heads into a busy year with a couple elementary students and toddlers in tow.  I didn’t really have an answer at that the time, but after starting our first full week with just my two younger students (wanting to get ahead a bit before all the clubs and outside classes with the older kids hit and my days get crazier) I realized how much differently I homeschool these earlier grades than I did 19 years ago. Having the benefit of taking now several kids “all the way through”, I am able to see how everything fits together and how the learning process is so individual and unique to each child.  I have lived through the “this child will never, ever, learn to read” to “will you please put that book down and do your algebra!”  I understand now not to panic when they still don’t know their multiplication facts in 3^rd grade.  I don’t lose sleep over the fact that I am still doing dotted letters for my 1^st grader.  To put it another way:  I’ve learned to see homeschooling as a 13 year journey and not a year by year test.

As homeschoolers we often talk about the fact that we have the ability to tailor our kids’ education to their individual skills and abilities.  And when they excel above the grade defined textbook, we applaud and talk about how successful this all is.  But when they struggle or can’t read the grade defined reader, we convince ourselves we’re inadequate to the task, or there is something wrong with that child.  But it’s in that moment, that moment when they are struggling and can’t do it, that homeschooling is the most successful.  In a classroom situation, everything can’t come to a screeching halt while everyone waits for your child to “get it”.  In a traditional school setting, your child cannot get to the next grade level without being (more or less) exactly where everyone else is.   Not so with homeschooling.  You slow down when you need to (just as you speed up when you need to), and sometimes you just work with the difficulty and wait for it to work itself out in a year or two.

Real life example:  my 2^nd grader.  I am so thankful that God, in His perfect Providence, made him child number 8, and not somewhere in the top three or so.  Writing for this child has been quite challenging.  I’m not talking about putting together meaningful sentences here.  I’m talking about penmanship – the ability to make letters and numbers look anything remotely like letters and numbers.  It was so evident in Kindergarten that he wasn’t ready to write, so we did pretty much everything verbally, and I wrote when needed.  He learned basic phonics and learned to read, but just could not write.  In first grade, I was hoping things would change.   The first half of the year wasn’t much better than Kindergarten.  But then, slowly, I’d write less and make him write more.  If there were three rows of math facts to answer, I’d write the answers for two of the rows (as he gave the answers) and then have him write the last row.  The numbers were still large and sloppy.  It pretty much stayed that way through all of 1^st grade.  So when we started 2^nd grade last week, my plan was simply to continue with me writing some, lessening my writing as time went on.  I was a bit concerned because particularly in math, the space for writing was noticeably smaller, which I figured would be a huge challenge for him.  I was so shocked when I stepped out of the room briefly and came back to see him not only take the initiative to start the assignment, but be able to write it…well!   The picture below shows how he was writing at the end of 1^st grade and the bottom picture was what he did on his own last week.  Why the change?  Simply because he was ready.  Had he been one of the older children, when I was relatively new to homeschooling, I would have been distressed and frustrated over the writing issue.  A distress and frustration he would undoubtedly have felt.  But since I no longer see things in grade-by-grade categories as much as I do a 13 year journey, I had confidence that he would, somewhere in those 13 years, learn to write.  He didn’t feel stressed, I didn’t feel stressed, and now we move on to this year’s challenge:  getting through reading without crying (a subject for another time).

So what’s my “nugget” for homeschooling moms, particularly in the early years?  You have time.  Lots of it.  Your children will get some things faster than others, and most likely, will get some things slower than others.  But they will get it.  Work with their strengths and slow down where they need you to.  That’s the beauty of homeschooling.  If you start at the beginning, you have 13 years to work with.  Looking at it that way makes the journey much less daunting, in that not everything has to be learned on a pre-defined timetable.  Enjoy your child, and this precious time you have one-on-one with him, encouraging and leading him in his weaknesses and propelling him in his strengths.  When he finally graduates, knowing everything he was "supposed to learn", it won't matter that it wasn't until 5th grade he finally mastered his math facts.  But that time and relationship that you built in those years will matter.  Focus on that.

Have a great educationally custom-tailored year!

Do You Love Homeschooling?

In sixth grade, I had a teacher who, in all my years of education, I still remember.  Mrs. Cottrell.  She was a great teacher.  And she loved teaching!  You could tell.  She always had new projects, posters, games and creative ways of presenting a lesson that communicated very clearly her love for teaching.  Her sunny disposition and enthusiasm for education came through loud and clear.  She was having fun.  Or at least, that’s what she led us to believe!  It was in her class, in sixth grade, that I first decided I wanted to be a teacher.

Until high school, that is.  In high school, I had a series of teachers who clearly hated their jobs.  They were always grumpy, always disappointed in whatever the students did, had no personality or charisma in the way they presented their subject matter, and just looked like people who would rather be anywhere else than where they were.  It was in high school, I started questioning whether teaching was such a great idea after all. 

Which teacher are you most like?  Does it matter?

I recently overheard a couple of homeschooled teens talking about how they most certainly did not plan on homeschooling their children.  That wasn’t the first time I had heard such comments from the youth in our homeschool group.  While I am certainly aware that those comments don’t necessarily mean much in terms of what they will actually do when God gives them a child to raise in this culture, it does give me pause and wonder what it is about homeschooling they think is so terrible that they wouldn’t want to repeat.  And then it makes we wonder what message we homeschool moms are sending, not only to our own kids, but the kids of those around us, about what it’s like to homeschool.

If we approached our school day the way we desire our children to approach their school day (with good attitudes, 110% effort, fully engaged, a desire to learn, and hearts that reflect doing everything with diligence to the glory of God), would our “school” look any different than it currently does?  Could our lack of effort in the planning, teaching, organizing, and presentation of the Homeschool Mom be one of the hindrances in passing the homeschooling torch to the next generation?  Do your kids see a mom that enjoys, or even remotely likes, to be homeschooling?  These are thought provoking questions, the answers to which could have generational consequences.

You are a walking billboard to your children advertising the homeschooling way of life.  The way you talk about it to them, to others, the enthusiasm, or lack thereof, you have for it, the time and energy you spend on it, all these things communicate a message to those watching you.  If mom hates homeschooling and is stressed out all the time, why on earth would they want to do it? 

Even if you don’t feel the excitement and love for homeschooling that you wish you did, you are on stage everyday that you sit down with your children.  The message you send at that moment matters.  It matters a lot.  Figure out what you need to do to make homeschooling more enjoyable for you, and do it.  Maybe it’s new curriculum, maybe it’s dabbling in a new “approach” for a year, maybe it’s adopting a new schedule (4 days/week, 45 weeks/year), and using that 5^th day for more field trips, or art, or projects.  Maybe it’s joining a support group and being part of some co-ops, maybe it’s implementing a new organization plan, maybe it’s designating a “school” area in the house and decorating it, maybe it’s getting a prayer/accountability partner (or two) and check in with each other regularly, praying for each other’s school year on a daily basis.  Talk to other homeschool moms and get some fresh ideas about how to jump start your love for teaching your children.

So as you sit down to do math with your kids today, realize there is more at stake than getting through that math lesson.  You are advertising something to them today.  What message is your billboard communicating?