love to paint

When I was a child, I remember reading many Newberry Award winning and honor books.  I loved Cynthia Voigt's books, including Dicey's Song which won the Newberry Award.  But, I lived a life very different than the one my children are living.  I was public schooled, watched television (which at the time wasn't filled with crass humor and cuss words as it is today), read books new and old alike, and grew up.  For some reason, I gravitated even then to older books. I loved the Nancy Drew books, Anne of Green Gables series, Betsy book series (both the series by Carolyn Haywood and the other series by Maud Hart Lovelace).  I read a few Sweet Valley High books, but read more Canby Hall books, which weren't as caught up in the popularity and romance parts of high school.  My mom didn't filter what I read.  Unfortunately, my grandmother introduced me to adult fiction books as a teenager that I shouldn't have read.  The likes of Danielle Steel and Barbara ...

Be Careful Who You Read... I was reading the introduction to a book tonight online because I wanted to know what it was about.  I was trying to give the author another chance.  I'd read a book by him a few years ago and had a pretty severe reaction to it.  Well, actually, it was more than severe.  It made me very upset!  The book was one that several friends at the time agreed with and so I wanted to read it as well.  I remember reading the first page, literally, and the hairs on the back of my neck standing up on it!  There did happen to be a personal connection to the information on that page. I had just completed a semester teaching at a homeschool high school.  It was the only job that I have ever sort of been fired from.  I wasn't actually fired.  I quit.  "I resigned" would be a kinder way of putting it, I suppose.  The principal of the school stated that she had no education training, or any education administration ...

Last year, I read a book titled Chasing Sunsets by Eva Marie Everson.  My review is here .  I was impressed that the author would engage with me about her book and discuss my concerns about the content of her book. She brought out points that I hadn't considered as I was reading and reviewing the book.  After the discussion, my mind had not changed about her book (though I definitely understood her points), but I did want to read the second book in the series. A few weeks ago, the second book in Ms. Everson's Cedar Keys series arrived.  Waiting for Sunrise.  I was excited to see what it held in store for me.  It was a huge improvement over the first book in the series for me.  My concerns with the first book centered primarily on some of the language she used to describe the relationship between the main characters.  It went much more into the realm of Harlequin romances than I think is wise for Christian fiction.  This second book didn't g...

Curriculum is a very interesting thing.  There are companies that market and publish materials solely for public schools, some that do the same for private schools, some that do the same for homeschoolers.  There are also publishers that try to market and publish for more than one of the groups.  Then, there are also companies who get noticed by homeschoolers, but do not avail themselves of that market. Harcourt/Houghton Mifflin publishes the Saxon phonics and Saxon math curriculums.  These are used by public, private, and home schools.  Teacher's guides can be purchased for these curriculums by homeschoolers.  Their public school materials on the other hand (which I use and buy used via Amazon) are generally more expensive than other homeschool alternatives.  As a certified teacher, you can order curriculum from Harcourt and get the school price for the materials which is discounted from the regular price.  The same goes for Macmillan/McGraw-Hi...

A friend of mine asked me about health curriculum for homeschooling last night, so I thought I'd write this post.   I think that a lot of homeschoolers find themselves in the same pickle I've been in at times.  In covering all of the essentials, the extras like Health and Art (which are required in our state) sometimes seem like extra burdens.  I know this is why I use a textbook--it holds me accountable to the material.  I'm not as diligent with unit studies at this point in my life as I wish I was.  It is my weakness.  If I planned the units ahead of time during summer or winter break, I might have greater success though.  We all know ourselves.  This is something I've known about myself.   I'm a textbook kind of person at this point in my life so it's been  easier for me to use a health textbook. I did find one that I like a lot (and that my kids enjoy reading).  It's Harcourt Health and Fitness (grades K-6).  The K curr...

Preschool is a fun, informal time for me and my kids in their schooling.  I was like a lot of parents when Autumn was little.  I was so anxious to get started with her education.  My husband was anxious that I would be consistent with her schooling.  So, of course I did far more than I needed and pushed too hard.  But, I learned my lessons and Sami and Eli have had an easier time of it. I started with two questions. 1) What does my child need to learn? 2) What curriculum should I use? To answer #1, I found several assessment tools and a scope and sequence that really helped me know what my children needed to learn.  I like the World Book Scope and Sequence's preschool list.   World Book Preschool Scope and Sequence . Assessments Twice a year, I go through the list and put a date by the skills my child has learned. By   the end of preschool, they should be able to do all of the things on the list and be ready  for kindergarten. ...

I was going through some of the papers I'd saved from my classroom teaching last week and came across a paper with this quote: How We Learn 10% of what we READ 20% of what we HEAR 30% of what we SEE 50% of what we SEE and HEAR 70% of what is DISCUSSED with OTHERS 80% of what is EXPERIENCED PERSONALLY 95% of what we TEACH TO SOMEONE ELSE ~William Glasser I often will say that it is good for children to both hear something and see the text at the same time.  This is why.  This quote also reminds me of how important it is that we engage with our students and children about their schooling.  They are far more likely to remember what they've learned if we do.  It was a good reminder for me about how important it really is to engage with my children!