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...
Tag: start somewhere
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...
My Five most Invaluable Items to use in Homeschooling: #1 A Library Card
A Library Card is one of my five most invaluable items to use in homeschooling. We are book people. When we moved, we got rid of furniture, but not books. That said, there are only so many books that one individual (in most instances) can have in their private collection....
Interest-led Homeschooling
Interest-led Homeschooling While the 3 Rs are absolutely fundamental things to teach, don’t be hesitant to delve into interest-led homeschooling. While you may not give your child a choice of what math they get to do because you know the direction you are taking them, there are times and things...
In the beginning… Getting started
In the beginning ... Getting started with homeschooling. Here’s a little secret about our homeschool journey. It was very hard getting started. Even though my hubby had passed on to me what he saw our home education accomplishing and I could see the end goal, the first step to take...
Humorous Stories
Keep a journal of family funnies. It is worth your while to keep a journal of the humorous stories that come up in your child’s growing years. I wish I had kept one with diligence, but alas, I did not. Instead, I have periodically sent an email to some family...
Film Study
Introducing film study... The audio-visual medium seems to be replacing the written word for entertainment in the current younger generation, which is why I believe film study is important. What exactly is film study, what does it entail, and how does one go about studying a movie? Why should you...
Field Trips
Field Trips... They're closer than you think! A simple visit to find out about the local police department, or a trip to a museum are both field trips. You don’t have to go far afield or spend a lot of money to take such exploratory and educational excursions. Anywhere you...
End of year report
An end of year report to record what you have covered in your school year is worth the effort. When we lived in Vermont, the state required an end of year report, a written proof of what we had done in our school year. In the same way that taking...
Creating your own curriculum
If you can’t find what you’re looking for, consider creating your own curriculum. I looked for a long time for the golden bullet, the perfect curriculum, the one that would do it all. What I didn’t realize was that I was looking for someone else to do every part of...
Making Connections
Making Connections Before you get confused, I don’t mean meeting new people when I refer to making connections. That is a completely different subject. I mean making connections in the brain synapses. Those are one of the big reasons we like unit studies, but that’s not the only reason. (See...
Caldecott Books
Caldecott Awards are given to the illustrators of children's books. One of the greatest gems of a book I read to the children was a Caldecott Book. Whereas Newbery awards are given annually to the authors of children’s books, the Caldecott Medal awards are given to the illustrators for the...
Avoid Feeling Overwhelmed in your Homeschool
Avoid feeling overwhelmed - set yourself to do it. Avoiding feeling overwhelmed is something to set yourself to do. That sense of the weight of the responsibility of your child’s education can lead to insomnia, fear and high blood pressure. That is plainly completely unprofitable. Yet it may be where...