love to paint

Sometimes curriculum works and sometimes it doesn't.  I think it has to work for both the parents and the children. Here are the conclusions I've come to over the past thirteen years since I began teaching.   For the parent, it has to "make sense".  It has to be easy to follow and give the parent the information they need in order to teach the material.   For  the child, it has to "make sense".  They need to be able to understand the material, process, and remember it.   Learning is much easier when both parent and child also want to study the curriculum and enjoy it.  If this is missing, learning can turn into a long, grueling period of pulling teeth.  Not always, but it can happen.  Sometimes you just have to plug and chug away knowing that there is a subject that neither of you enjoy and you just make the best of it.   Yesterday in the car on the way home from art, my middle daughter said to me, "Mommy, I don't like our s...

One of the books that I recommend to friends who are thinking of homeschooling is Help for the Harried Homeschooler by Christine Field.  It covers the bases of the big picture well of what it looks like to homeschool and what many of the challenges are.  It doesn't go in depth into curriculum recommendations because many other books do.  She does include a short chapter on choosing curriculum that is full of very good advice. Christine has written several other books for homeschooling. I do have one of her other books, Life Skills for Kids , which is also great.  It covers manners, chores, and all the other skills (besides academics) that we want to teach our kids when we homeschool.   This week I read one of her books that I've been curious about for a while, even though it doesn't apply to my family right now.  Sometimes I wonder if God is preparing me for what may be ahead by prompting me to read a book like the one I read this week.   Chr...

This past week was a bit stressful and busy in our house.   My husband decided in July that he would like to take the week off before we started our homeschool year.  I also had been notified that I had jury duty and we thought that this of all times I could actually go.  So, last Wednesday we headed off to Dutch Wonderland for the day.  It was great.  We all had a good time, though the water park area was way to crowded to be enjoyable.  The lines for the rides were never too long (I grew up near Disneyland which routinely had 1-2 hr. waits for rides).  So, that was Wednesday.   Thursday my husband began talking again about a second motorcycle.  We've been in the discussion phase for a long time about this.  I had shared with him that I felt my van loan should be paid off before we bought a new bike.  We realized that next month we could either a) pay for a bike outright or b) pay off the van.  On Sunday, I called in and...

Homeschooling has taught me many lessons.  One of them is that there is no one "perfect" curriculum--a curriculum that is perfect for every family.  Many families will love a curriculum, but others won't.  We are different and so are our children!  We have different goals for our children and different information we want them to learn.  There are often different skills we want them to learn as well.  Today I had a friend visit who's niece at 4 years old can name the spices in her food.  Her siblings can too!  Her family happens to love food deeply.  Two friends of mine purchased or were given ponies for their daughters this year.  Horses are a deep love and passion for these two young girls.  That time and devotion to the ponies means that their time is divided differently than many children their ages. I have been reading through a curriculum that I have found interesting.  But...  I've had this reoccurring thought that...

A month ago, we went out to lunch after church with some friends.  The husband, who knows many homeschooling families, observed that to be a good homeschooling teacher you have to have knowledge about and interest in a wide variety of subjects.  I remarked back that, "or you need to have a friend who can help fill in the gaps where you fall short".   I grew up in LA.  There wasn't much nature around.  I lived in a suburb surrounded by suburbs.  I had no interest in science.  Science is a subject area where I have gaps.   God gave me a dear friend to help me fill in this gap.  She has opened my children's eyes up to nature and blessed our family.  Last year, she gave us several caterpillars and a cocoon, which we got to watch as they went through the  life cycle of the butterfly.  This year my friend was heading out on vacation, so she bestowed on us the gift of a cocoon to watch over.   I have checked each morning on th...

A gal I met this week asked me about what test I use to assess my daughters reading levels.  I use a test called the QRI (2nd ed.).  I was taught how to use this test and interpret it in my classes for my master's degree in education.  It tests reading (phonics and sight words), reading comprehension, and background knowledge.  I wouldn't recommend this test to homeschooling parents.  I was taught how to use this test.  I had instructors walk me through it and show me how to use it.  I am very thankful for this instruction. This morning I set out to see if I could find a test online that is available to homeschoolers.  I found that Sonlight has a page listing several academic assessments for students.  Here is the page:   http://www.sonlight.com/placement-tests.html     On this page, there are reading vocabulary and comprehension assessments.  I took a look at the Let's Go Learn test and it covers all of the language a...

Sometimes I think I would like to write a book.  But, I don't have time.  I'm not even sure what I'd write about.  I do love homeschooling, though.  I love to read curriculum and talk with my friends about what they've found that they love--and what they don't.  I enjoy hearing about my friends triumphs and trials in homeschooling.  I learn so much from them.  I do love to share what I've learned works and doesn't work for our family as well.   A few years ago, I found a book that I was encouraged by, Help for the Harried Homeschooler , by Christine Field.  When several of my friends considered homeschooling, I recommended this book.  Ms. Field  talks about being on the same page with your spouse about homeschooling, structure, discipline, schooling multiple children, the challenges of homeschooling, and more.  There is only one caveat that I make when I recommend this book.  It is this:  though I recommend this bo...

A few days ago, I began posting about choosing curriculum.  Here is part 2: I'm just going to jump right in.  I left off talking about preschool and how things changed as we began kindergarten with our oldest daughter.   For kindergarten, I used World Book's Scope and sequence and used Homeschool Reviews.com to help me pick out curriculum.  I made some choices for Autumn in K that I regret, but I've ironed those out.  I'm learning that this happens to everyone (or at least everyone I know)!  It's easy to dwell on the lost money (especially when things are tight), but I've learned to hold onto it or give it to someone else who can use it, but most of all to let it go.  Sometimes we need to try something that's wrong in order to learn what's right--or in this case what's best for our children and for us as their teachers.  In kindergarten, my mistake was what I chose for Health.  I  chose Horizons Health without having seen it. ...