My Five Most Invaluable Items to use in homeschooling: #2 Books & Audio Books I’m sure I’ve mentioned that we’re book people. The only thing to equal books in our household are the kind that someone else, with a good narration style, reads to you in the form of an...
Month: December 2018
Phonics Pathways
Phonics Pathways - a great phonics resource to teach reading and spelling. When my husband told me to start somewhere with phonics, Phonics Pathways by Dolores G. Hiskes was the book I pulled off the shelf first, and last. This simple two hundred thirty-seven page book got me quite excited....
Rainbow Cakes
Rainbow Cakes If you know children, or if you remember your own childhood, you are probably aware that children love to eat baked goods. Well, duh! ;) Because of this they love to be in the kitchen during the baking prep work and this is a great opportunity for teaching. I...
Hardware for Homeschoolers – Part II (Platform Distinctions & What To Choose)
Hardware for Homeschoolers - Part II (Platform Distinctions & What To Choose) In Part I we discussed how all modern computing platforms are very similar. In this article we are going to look at some very important distinctions which will help you decide which direction to go in your homeschooling...
Hardware for Homeschoolers – Part I (Understanding the Platforms)
Just a quick background: I’ve been hand-building PCs from components since 1992 or 1993, so I have grown up in a world that was pre-Windows and where the Macintosh was only for elitists with too much money (some may argue that has not changed). These platforms were wildly different. Today’s...
Learning outside the lines
Learning outside the lines The start of this article actually began with the concept of hardware for homeschoolers, ie computers, tablets, etc. But as I got to thinking along that subject, it dawned on me that another critical aspect to learning which is often overlooked or completely ignored in the...
Audio Books. An Invaluable Item…
Audio Books. An Invaluable Item... Audio Books… I can’t emphasize enough the great wonder and value of audio books. If you’re in the car for more than 15 minutes on a regular basis with your children, audio books are your friend. They’re an extension of your reading to them at bedtime,...
Why we chose to homeschool
Everyone has their own reasons. Here's why we made the decision to homeschool. People often want to know why we chose to homeschool, especially those who aren’t homeschooling themselves. I was born and raised in South Africa in a time that homeschooling hadn’t yet taken off and I didn’t know...
Sponges
If you've spent time with young children, you've spent time with sponges! Children are like sponges. Not in the commonly-thought-of meanings of being a mooch, parasite or freeloader, but in the sense of drinking in, soaking up, and saturating themselves with information regarding the world they live in. Children are...
Popular vs Right for your family
Homeschool peer pressure: What's popular isn't necessarily what's right for your family. The choice of going with what is popular vs right for your family may be something you have already run into. If you’re homeschooling, you’re, in most circles, already choosing what you think is right for your family...
Unit Studies
Unit Studies are a wonderful way to cover multiple subjects in one topic and make them relevant. The combining of a variety of subjects into one is called a unit study. This can be anything you like. Pumpkins, Queen Elizabeth I, Australia, bubblegum, horses, mountains. The possibilities are so endless...
The 4 Rs
You've heard about the 3 Rs. So what is the fourth R? Everyone has heard of the 3 Rs, but the 4 Rs are what the education of my children is based on. Considering that they’re the foundation of learning, has anyone else noticed that of the 3 Rs, writing...
Math
Math should be practical and real, not daunting. While many people don’t like history, at least an equal number say they don’t like math, and that they were never good at it. Usually what that means is that they had a teacher who didn’t know how to teach children who...
Newsflash
Newsflash! Newsflash! Newsflash! I know you need this newsflash like I did, so here it is. You are not omnipotent! You do not have the ability or time or knowledge to absolutely accomplish every aspect of your child’s education completely on your own without any assistance from anyone else. If...
Movie Reports
Movie reports are a great idea. Try one. Just as there’s a place for book reports, periodically there’s a place for movie reports for your children. These can be a great sidekick to your film study. A particular part of the movie, whether that be a character, a scene, the...
Newbery Books
Newbery award books - best children's books of the year. Award-winning books can be a great resource, and new Newbery Books turn up annually, and have since 1922. This award is given for the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. In other words, for the author of the...
Laziness
Signs of laziness versus responsibility. I was asked to write a post on laziness. Where do I start with a subject like this? How about identifying some tell-tale signs that show laziness on your part. Sloppy preparation Winging it, instead of any planning Waiting for the last minute to...
Mining for Nuggets
Nuggets are incredibly valuable and can transform your homeschool. How do you go about mining for nuggets, and where do you find the things that change your homeschool? I am reminded of Sonnet 43 by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, the words of which I have changed slightly. “How do I find...
Using Multi-media
Using multimedia in your curriculum. I’ve said a fair amount about the growing audio-visual medium, so it makes sense that I should write about using multimedia. Unless you’re the rare and estimable person who is incredibly bright and loves the study of facts and figures, you will perhaps be like...
Living History Books
History comes alive with living history books. Perhaps if history had been taught to me through living history books, I might not have dropped it like a hot potato as soon as I was able to do so. Somehow, the teaching of history to students in school seems to be...