August 10, 2009 by KellyH.

One thing I’ve come to rely on, quite heavily, has become a great tool for staying organized: Post-it(R) Notes. I picked up a huge package of these colored beauties at Sam’s Club about 6 months ago–just the small ones (1.5″ X 2″).

I keep a pad on my computer desk, right above my slide-out keyboard. As I play Scrabble(R) over at Facebook, I make notes about possible moves and the points they are worth. When a Note gets filled, I simply throw it away. When I think of something I need to do, like write a Thank-You note, I jot it down. Sometimes I’ll have three things to-do on one note–as I do them I cross them off, and after the last one, I toss the Note.

I use them for bookmarks in my journals, my writing spirals, my Weaver Volumes, and even the hymnal. The bright colors make them easy to see, and they have just the right amount of stickiness to keep them in place.

Small, but indispesible. I love them!

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July 22, 2009 by KellyH.

Oh, how I miss those days of teaching! My youngest is going to be 9 next month… 4th grade in September. He still loves to do the hands-on stuff, but it’s just not the same. With toddlers and preschoolers, everything is new, everything is “wow!” and every lesson takes lots of body movement to complete. As they age, the movements get refined until it is just their hands moving a pen across the paper, or clicking the mouse button on the computer.

Planning for the earliest years was quite easy– anything that took us outside was a successful day of schooling!

When my oldest was in 1st grade, his brother was in K4. They were both thrilled to do science because it usually meant going outside. When I was teaching grades 5 & 3, I added in another boy in K. It was nice that the older boys could work more independently, but at the same time they still loved being involved in the hands-on stuff the best.

Eventually I added a girl to the group, giving me students in K, 3, 6 & 8. While the two oldest would work independently, the 3rd grade boy loved to be involved in the lessons for his sister in K. My last boy began K when his sister was in 2nd, putting the older boys in 5th, 8th & 10th.

What was my #1 favorite way to integrate the K child into our studies? Using coloring pages. Even the older children enjoyed listening and discussing things while they kept their hands busy!

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July 13, 2009 by KellyH.

There’s a great deal of discussion among homeschooling families at this time of year about filling in the “gaps” left by a curriculum–or if a curriculum will leave gaps in a child’s education. With that in mind, I’d like to address three things about educational gaps: what they are, how they can be filled and how they can be avoided.

What is a Gap?

First we need to address what a gap is–after all, you can’t fix something if you don’t know it’s broke.

Some parents feel a gap happens when their child doesn’t know something that another (younger or older) child knows. Some parents base their “gap knowledge” on the Scope & Sequence of the public school system, and yet others use the Scope & Sequence of the curriculum they are thinking of switching to next year. The basic flaw in each of these thoughts is “comparison.”

If you are comparing your child to a friend’s child, you’ll find gaps. Perhaps your friend raised tadpoles/frogs and you didn’t. Your friend’s child will understand the life cycle of the frog in great detail, while your child may not be able to remember the word metamorphosis. But, there will be things your child knows, like the names of all the cloud formations, which your friend’s child won’t have a clue about. Not every fourth grade child knows their state’s history. Just because someone else taught something in sixth grade doesn’t mean you have to… you can teach it in fifth, or even in third if you want!

If you’re comparing curricula you’ll find many don’t match up, which leaves perceived gaps in the education of the child being taught. Why don’t they match up? Because everyone thinks their Scope & Sequence is best. Most are based on years of research and study by the author(s) of the curriculum. The curriculum is then written to be used from K through 12th grade, with no interruptions. If used this way, there will be no gaps, because everything in the Scope & Sequence will be introduced, taught, and reviewed eventually.

If you are following the Scope & Sequence of a specific publisher, you should be using their curriculum, too. After all, there is no better way to meet all of the objectives than to use the same curriculum. What? You don’t want to use their curriculum? Then why follow their Scope & Sequence? There is a better way!

So, what is a gap? It is a perceived lack of knowledge in a particular subject, or multiple subjects. The question must then be asked, “Does my child really have gaps, or will I be teaching that material at a later date?” To what, or whom, are you comparing your child?

How Can a Gap Be Filled?

Let’s say you feel there is a gap. How can you fill it? This will take work on your part. First, you must decide where your child is lacking. You have to decide what your child should know at this point in his or her life. You’ll also want to decide on basic milestones for the rest of their schooling. When do you want your child to learn about the 50 States, or the Civil War? In what grade should they know the water cycle, erosion, or land formations? When should your child be able to write a research paper? When will you teach exponents?

One way to figure all of this out is to obtain a variety of Scope & Sequences. Lay them out, side-by-side, and see how they compare. Use some sheets of loose-leaf paper (one for each year your child has left in school) to write down major topics you wish to study each year, or goals/objectives you wish to meet. You may decide to follow one of the Scope & Sequences, or you may put them all away and go with your own ideas.  Whatever you decide to do, get it written down. By having each year on a separate sheet of paper, you can spread them out and get a good visual of what you want to teach. You’ll also be able to see if you’re missing anything.

Congratulations! You’ve just written your own personalized Scope & Sequence!

Now look through the curriculum you’ll be using next year. Does it meet your needs? Will you be teaching what you want your child to learn next year? If you feel something is missing, check the Scope & Sequence of the curriculum. Was that topic taught last year, before you started using the curriculum? Will it be taught next year?

You may wish to adjust your personalized Scope & Sequence to allow for flexibility in teaching, specifically if certain subjects will be taught the following year. Or, you may wish to have your child do a short study on the topics you feel he or she should know already, to get them caught up with the curriculum. Either way, don’t stress! Curriculum is a tool, to be used as you see fit. It’s not set in stone–if it were, you wouldn’t be changing curricula.

How Can a Gap Be Avoided?

This will also take work on your part, but the good news is that most of that work is already finished! If you’ve created a personalized Scope & Sequence, as mentioned above, all you need to do is refer to it throughout the year to be sure all the objectives are being met. If you are following a Scope & Sequence from a specific company, you can refer to that throughout the year as well.

What if your curriculum just isn’t working for your family? What if your kinesthetic learner is struggling to get through a textbook? What if your child can’t seem to sit still long enough to fill in all of the blanks? What if you don’t like the world view of your current curriculum? Then, obviously, you’ll be switching–and you’re bound to notice gaps, either in what you’ve been using or in what you’re about to use. Don’t worry! Take out your personalized Scope & Sequence and make adjustments to the curriculum or to your teaching timetable.

The best way to avoid gaps is to be in complete control. Isn’t that why you’re homeschooling–to control your child’s education?  Chances are good your child does not have gaps. You just haven’t gotten to that objective yet.

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June 20, 2009 by KellyH.

Often when someone writes in with a question about Weaver, they’ve already asked about it somewhere else (another blog, another forum, etc). Many of the people who answer them have never used Weaver, or don’t care for the unit study method of educating their children.

I spent this past school year using Alpha Omega LIFEPACs with my children, instead of Weaver, and I’ve used the SOS computer programs in the past as well. Do I think unit studies take more time? Not really.

Picture these two scenarios:

1) You sit down with your Day by Day and Volume and spend 2-4 hours planning out two weeks of studies for one unit. During the two weeks you teach this unit, you spend 15 minutes each morning going over what you’ll teach to refresh your memory. After you’re finished teaching each day, you put your books away and go about your other tasks, interacting with your children and discussing things that relate to your studies. Based on the things you discuss, you know whether or not they are understanding what you’ve been teaching.

2) Each day for about three weeks you place a LIFEPAC in front of your child and they work through the required 3-5 pages in order to finish the booklet in the allotted time. At the end of each day, you take time to correct what they worked on that day. Depending on the number of kids you are teaching, that can be anywhere from 5 booklets (for one child) to 20+ booklets (for four or more children). Since you are the teacher, you must judge whether or not your child understood the question and answered properly. (Your child usually isn’t nearby for you to question further.) If you have more than one child, this process can take 2-4 hours! And, if you feel your child isn’t understanding the question, you will probably require he or she re-read the section and re-answer the questions–either than night or the next day, before they can continue on in his or her booklet.

The question I must now pose to you, reader is this: Do you want to spend more time before the lesson or after the lesson? Do you want to know what you’re teaching, and teach it to everyone at once, and have family discussion about it? Or, do you want to try to keep track of who is studying what and reteach what they don’t understand the next day? Two to four hours every other Sunday afternoon, or an hour every evening?

Hmmm… you do the math.

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August 18, 2008 by KellyH.

Every now and then I stumble upon a homeschool bulletin board and find questions about using The Weaver Curriculum. Recently, I found a post that really saddened me. The woman said she could not use Weaver because of the time involved to prepare the lessons. At first, I thought she was probably over-organizing things and trying to memorize the lesson plans. But then I read how long she is taking to prepare: 45 minutes.

Forty-five minutes! This mom felt that 45 minutes was too long to spend to prepare for the day of educating her children. I started thinking about activities that take 45 minutes to complete…

• Cleaning the pool
• Quiet Time
• Making supper
• Preparing for church (includes washing my hair)
• Washing a load of laundry

I’m sure there’s more, but those are the first that come to mind. Is 45 minutes too much time when it comes to my children? Obviously not since I spend about that much time cooking for them each night.

How much time does a pastor spend preparing Sunday’s sermon? Or the Sunday school teacher; how much time is spent preparing to teach one day a week? What if a hairdresser didn’t take time to talk to the client, but just started cutting and curling her hair. The client would not get what she needs from that hairdresser! Doctors, plumbers, police officers–they all spend time learning their trade so they can do their best to serve their clients. Your children are your clients. Have you spent any time preparing for their education?

How much prep time is too much? For each family it will be different. Perhaps 45 minutes is too much, but if it is then I suggest the family check into another form of educating their children. Where are you spending your time? Is that activity more important than your child’s education? Is your child worth your time? Only you can answer that.

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July 4, 2008 by KellyH.

Although it’s just the beginning of July, thousands of homeschooling parents around the world are gearing up for their child’s senior year of high school. As school begins again in the next month or two, they’ll start to make plans for graduation next spring. Having just gone through this process, I shared how it was organized in my article, Organizing a Homeschool Graduation, at Suite101.com.

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July 2, 2008 by KellyH.

I’ve become a contributing writer for Suite101.com. My first article, titled Clean Up Your Homeschooling Area, was recently posted. I hope you enjoy reading it!

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May 12, 2008 by KellyH.

Warm weather brings so many distractions: prepping the pool for summer; hikes in the nature park; parking farther away from building entrances to get more exercise; cleaning up the yard; and the list goes on. Although I’m not much of an ‘outdoor’ person, I do enjoy relaxing outside while visiting with friends and relatives. Last week I had the opportunity to do that while visiting my mom.

My two youngest were daring enough to swim in the lake at Grandma’s house. These two are fish; they had splashed around in our in-ground pool the day before as it was filling. I think the lake was slightly warmer, but not by much!

Church activities and out-of-town visitors are another big distraction. Two of my sons are helping with the Upwards football evaluations this week, keeping them busy after supper each night. My cousin called today and we hammered out plans for her to visit with a few of her children. I say “a few” because she has twelve. Yes, I said twelve, and the ten youngest are boys. She’s only bringing five boys, leaving the other five with their older sisters and father.

How can I best utilize these distractions for educational purposes? I’m hoping to keep the children informed and involved in all that’s happening and being planned. I’ll keep them focused on seeing the world through God’s eyes with guided discussions and questions when possible. I’ll also use the distractions to keep the children busy while I plan out our next unit of study!

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February 16, 2008 by KellyH.

Our schedule has gotten off-track just a little. Last Thursday my husband returned from a business trip in the afternoon. I couldn’t go grocery shopping because I was waiting for him to call for a ride home from the airport. I couldn’t go Friday because we had the day off from school and spent it an hour away visiting grandparents. I couldn’t go Friday night because we had other commitments. I finally went this evening (Saturday) even though I dislike shopping on weekends/evenings. Not only has my “mom” routine gotten off-track, but some of the children didn’t finish up school on Thursday, so they’ll be working on Monday to catch-up. I’ll have to go through my lesson plans and rewrite them to fit in the catch-up day. But, that’s okay–that’s what makes homeschooling so great! We are not working on anyone esle’s schedule but our own. If we need to spend more time on something, we do. If we need to wrap it up quickly, we do. If we need to postpone it, we do. You’ll hear people refer to “teachable moments.” That’s where flexibility comes in. As we drove to visit grandparents yesterday, we observed the devastation caused by ice storms a couple weeks ago. Trees cracked at the top, and branches totally ripped off… the poor trees looked so sad and wounded, my heart broke. We were able to discuss how the damage happened, which led to weather and other science-related issues. There was a pile for burning branches in the community where my parents live. This led to another scientific discussion about heat, and “reactions.” Flexibility. Rabbit Trails. Teachable Moments. Call it what you like, it all comes down to educating our children according to God’s perfect plan: through the family. I am so thankful that we homeschool, and that my children feel they can ask anything, discuss anything, comment on anything… they enjoy having conversations with us!

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January 16, 2008 by holly cowie.

The new year is upon this mom of many and one thing I have found most helpful to start a new year is to do a quick reevualation of my schooling. I like to start with reminding myself of why I homeschool as it seems that after the holidays everyone can easily feel a little burn out.

Next, I like to go over our schedules and see if everything is working the best it can. Do I need to give more time to a particular student or maybe I just need to allow more time for research on those supplement objectives that my older students are working on.

After checking those off my list I look at our schedule in general. Are we able to stay with how it is or do I need to switch some subjects around to ease the load.

I realized that when I make myself (note the key word here is make) do this simple check that the second half of my school year goes much smoother and I don’t feel so overwhelmed with a scheduling problem that really was just a simple fix. This time of checking also allows me to review what we have already accomplished for the year and that is always a boost at a much needed slow time of year. Lastly, when I take time to “pull up any loose strings” my days are less likely to unravel.

Put on the kettle for a nice cup of coffee or tea , grab your school planner, say outloud “check please” and help the rest of your year to weave together.

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