Experiment 1: Drinking Water from Salt Water

I don't know about where you are, but it's been hotter than Billy Blue Blazes here. (though, now I'm curious about who Billy Blue is and who set him on fire....lol). One of the ways we try to bear the heat is through doing experiments. They can be fun, cheap, easy and educational! Drinking water is becoming more and more scarce the world over as fresh water supplies are evaporated due to global warming and droughts. You can use the following resources to do some research on the current water shortage situation: http://drinkingwaterz.com/2369-shortage-of-drinking-water.html http://whyfiles.org/131fresh_water/2.html

One of the things that has intrigued scientists from the time we emerged from the caves, was how to take the plentiful salt water of the seas and oceans and make them palatable for drinking. Ok, onto the experiment, this is a small scale version of one of the methods scientists are evaluating.

  Supplies:

• 1-2 TBS table salt
• bowl
• 3 cups water (tap water is fine)
•  small bowl or coffee cup
• stone
• thick plastic wrap

Procedure:

1. pour watere into the larger bowl
2. mix salt into the water until it is dissolved
3.  place the small bowl or cup into the water CAREFULLY, you do not want to let any of the water to flow ov the sides of the cup.
4. Place the stone in the center of the plastic wrap, so at the wrap angles down into the cup a bit.
5. carefully place the bowl in the sun
6. wait several hours. You should see water droplets on the inside of the plastic wrap dripping into the cup.
7. after a few hours allow student to taste the water in the cup - it won't be salty!

What happened:
The water from The bowl evaporated, condensing on the underside of the plastic wrap (which is why heavy duty plastic wrap is so important, lesser quality plastic wrap will allow the water vapor to escape and leave the cup empty.) salt doesn't evaporate, so essentially the evaporation process separates the water molecules from the salt ones.

Cutting Corners

Ive always been frugal. I love the rush I get from Couponing, or from finding a great deal. I am always amazed to learn how much some families spend on educational supplies - both HS & PS families. When my DH was laid off over a year ago I knew I'd have to cut corners even more. I had been spending about $500/year to HS my 2 boys. Most of that as for printer ink and paper. Since his layoff, and losing his unemployment a few weeks ago, I've had to find ways to make our education virtually free. Here are my most important money saving tips: 1) Printing: Ink- Store your printer ink properly. Believe it or not, ink dries out fairly quickly. I only put mine in my printer while it is in use. The rest of the time I store my ink in a ziplock Baggie. But there are other ways of saving on ink, using refillable inks. Or, if you are someone who prints a lot, I suggest looking into Continuous Ink Systems. They cost about $45 to set up but you can print thousands of pages as opposed to the hundred or so from regular ink cartridges. Also, be sure you are always printing on the Quick, or Economy settings. Honestly they are still clear and nice (except for pictures) but you will save tons. Paper- make sure you are purchasing recycled paper. In some areas it is cheaper to purchase paper in bulk. Keep in mind color paper and card stock will always cost way more $$. Save these for very small projects. I use card stock for very little. A small package can last me nearly a year. I very rarely use colored paper unless I get a fantastic deal. I have about 3 packages of colored card stock left. I had gotten them for $1.00 per package about 9 months ago, I had gotten 5 packages. And I have used them for several classes I have taught recently. Furthermore, whenever possible, print on both sides of the page. I actually will hold off on printing until I have an even number of pages to print, then I'll print on both sides of the page. I also save paper by keeping all printed mistakes - I've accidentally printed something twice, or once it printed I noticed an error that had to be corrected. Rather than throwing away the pages, I keep them and the kids can use them as their drawing papers. I don't know about you, but my kids LOVE to draw, but not use coloring books. So we use scrapped paper. Laminate- I think I paid less than $20 for my laminator. The sheets can be purchased relatively cheaply through websites like www.amazon.com. I can print a worksheet (both sides of course! Lol) then save it to reuse with my younger son. But, if you want to give it a try, without spending the $30 startup cost, try page protectors. You can slip the worksheet into it, then use dry erase marker. These don't last as long as the laminated pages, but if you are just starting out and want to see if the technique is effective, this is a cheaper way to go about it. 2) Curriculum: I save potentially thousands each year by designing my own curriculum. You can read how I go about it http://kickbuttcrazylapbooks.blogspot.com/search?q=Designing+your+own+curriculum. I use a combination of things for our curricula. One of the main parts of our schooling is from free websites { check out my Free Website Master List at http://kickbuttcrazylapbooks.blogspot.com/search?q=Free+websites+master+list}. But one of the main factors in my curriculum is personal interests of my kids. I LISTEN to them. This way I am not stuck with a ton of materials I have paid for, but which were epic fails. Following my boys interests and curiosity virtually guarantees success. Supplies- I purchase just about all my office supplies between July & August when there are some seriously fantastic back to school sales. Where you can find notebooks for $1 each and boxes of pencils, erasers, markers, etc for less than that! My eldest sons birthday is in July and I often make gift bags with back to school supplies since we don't do candy. For larger kits, like for science, we generally ask for those as birthday or Yule gifts. Family and friends are more than happy to give a gift card or experiment kit as a gift, which can save me a bunch of money. Also, another $$ saving tip? Try to find educational supplies at non-educational stores. What I mean is, teacher supply stores, curricula websites, even office supply stores will often charge (at least) double what the same item would be at Walmart or at the Dollar store. They tack on a certain % just for using the term 'educational'. A pencil is a pencil, it doesn't matter if it cost you $3.00 or $0.25. Books- I don't think I have purchased more than 2 books for my kids. And yet we have an entire library in our house (6 bookcases overflowing with books). Most of my books I've gotten through trade. I also purchased 2 book lots on eBay for $20/each and received about 100 books. I also belong to our local Freecycle group on Yahoo Groups. I've had several local ps teachers give me everything they cleaned out of their classroom at the end of the year. Furthermore, at our co-op we do a book/curricula trade, where everyone brings in the books and curriculum they no longer need and trade it with others. (I've gotten TONS this way). 3) Technology: Internet- Don't be afraid of technology. I suggest having a DSL connection in your home and a membership to Netflix ($8/month). In fact, if you have DSL and streaming videos you can save a minimum of $100/month by doing away with cable. You can watch history and Discovery channel shows on Netflix. Computers, net books, iPods, oh my!- I've said it befor, and I'll say it again, my iPad is worth it's weight in gold!! I now spend less than $100/year to school my 2 boys mostly because I've almost stopped printing things entirely. Instead of paying $25-100/year for membership to certain websites, I instead pay a one time fee of $5 for an app. It does depend on the type of learner your student is, but my oldest is a Visual learner, my youngest is a kinetic learner, and interactive apps work wonderfully for both. And they save me a ton. I'm very excited for this fall when iPad is comming out with a smaller (thus cheaper) version, which will cost roughly the same as a kindle. 3)Groups: Co-op. we love our co-op. it helps that I found one within walking distance from our home, so I don't have to factor in gas. But our co-op has a per semester family fee of $50. To cover this fee, I teach classes. I also save $$ for our more expensive supplies by teaching a class and charging a materials fee. For instance, my kids were interested in learning about circuits, and I wanted to get the Snap Circuits set for them. But the cheapest set I could find on eBay was about $200. So I taught an electricity class at our co-op, charged the materials fee to cov the costs of getting the sets, and voila - we get to learn about electricity! Museums- I'll be honest. We rarely go to museums. They are just too expensive. But again, you can ask for memberships as a gift from the grandparents. Also, check out any special homeschooler days. Many of the museums in my area have a homeschooler day once or twice a year where the enterance fee is either waived or steeply discounted. Don't forget to factor in travel expenses as well!! So, I've been asked this about a hundred times. Here's the breakdown of my HS expenses. $25/year= books $25/year= apps $30/year= travel expenses $10/year= field trips $10/year= printing materials I don't count Netflix ($8/month) because we watch way more movies for enjoyment than for education. I also don't count our Internet connection as it is a part of our cable tv package, which is definitely not educational..lol.. Hope this helps!

Decisions, decisions, decisions....

'Tis the season for decision making...la,la,la,la,la, la-la, la, laaaa.. (what, you don't know that song? Lol) I don't know about you all but this time of year I like to torture myself by becomming innundated by the obscene number of choices out there, for the coming school year. So I thought for those both new and...er..experienced (I have an issue with the term 'old' lol) I'd put together my list for swimming through the choices available without getting bogged down. here are my top 5 contributing factors/important decisions. These are the order in which I do them each summer. 1) Know Your State Laws. Believe it or not, laws can change. (gasp, shock!) In fact the educational laws in my state have been undergoing a major change over the last two years. This seems redundant for those experienced schoolers, but it's important to ensure you're following the letter of the law. Plus, some states have strict guidelines and that will make a major impact on the other decisions when it comes to curriculum, teaching/learning style, etc. so, just do a quick check at your state level, just to keep abreast of what those politicians might have done. First timers can find the laws - http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/directory/Legalities.htm for easy to read. But for subsequent years, I really suggest going through your state, you can just google (state) Homeschooling Laws, and find the link to your state. 2) Money, Money, Money, mun-ay. This is one of the biggest decisions because it will have a huge impact on what further decisions are available to you. You really can HS at almost any cost. I'm super frugal, which is real lucky since my DH was laid off over a year ago. So for my two boys I spend less than $100/year. How much you can budget for education will be dependent on your finances. Keep in mind you CAN get a fantastic education for virtually nothing. So don't think you HAVE to budget thousands of dollars or else your kids will be at a disadvantage. Now once you have the yearly budget numbers (let's say $500/child, which is average). Some will decide to have a quarterly budget, or make the budget 2x/year. It really depends on your finances. Once you have the genral number of what money will be available for you to play with, you need to divide that number into compartments. You'll want to distribute/budget that amount. A good general guideline is as follows. 75% = curricula {using the aforementioned $500 as a guide, this would be $375/student/year} 10% = field trips/membership fees {this would amount to roughly $50/student/year} 10% = supplies 5% = groups and co-operatives 5% = travel expenses Now, this isn't set in stone. Seem will want more money spent on co-ops than they will on curriculum, others live way out in the boonies and therefore have to budget more for travel expenses, etc. But, this is a good starting point. My next post will include all my $$ saving tips and how I cut corners. 3) What Type Are Yooouuu? This is by far the most difficult decion, especially in the beginning of your HS adventure, IMO. Figuring out you child(ren) learning style, your teaching style and the type of HS you want are big decisions that we often make more complicated then necessary. But, these decesions will help narrow the abundant field of available curricula from overwhelming to manageable. There are a couple contributing factors and they are: A) State Laws- this is really where your state laws can be a help to you. Some states have very specific curricula requirements. HS'ers in these states will have the curricula field already narrowed by laws that require certain subjects, number of days, hours of learning, etc.so you, in those states, can search our curricula that is sufficient to encompass those requirements, but, for those of you like myself, who live in a state that has no requirements, this factor will not help narrow the field. B) Learning Styles - I can't stress enough the importance of developing an understanding of the different learning styles. A great webste for learning about the different styles is - http://people.usd.edu/~bwjames/tut/learning-style/styleres.html But, there are a couple of things to remember. First, most children do not acquire a specific style until around 3rd grade. Before that time, most kids need a combination of all the styles. So if you are starting with a pre-k-2nd grader, you will want curricula that includes a varied approach to delivering information. I've always maintained that these younger kids require mostly a kinetic/hands on approach. Younger kids really need to get their hands dirty, to involve all of their senses in order to process information. But, even if you have an older student, they may require multiple aspects since these learning styles tend to overlap. If you are unsure of what style best fits your student, then I suggest doing a few unit studies and including a few different aspects. If your child loses interest or becomes frustrated, then you'll know that style was a bust. C) Teaching styles - guess what, your teaching style might be completely counter to you students learning style. So, again a few test unit studies will be helpful. In order for you to be a helpful teacher, you'll need to have an understanding of what your learning style is. Let me give you an example. I'm most comfortable with a lecture style of teaching. Where I'm spouting facts and explanations. But, my eldest is a visual learner. So he needs visual, not audio, cues in order to process the information. So I have to find curricula that is heavy on his learning style, especially since it is so counter to my own style. 4) Your Long Term Goals Ok, okay, you got me. I am an anal planner. I admit it. But having a clear understanding of your goals will also help you narrow your choices. If your goal is to prepare them to re-enter PS then you'll want curricula that best mimics those used in a Ps classroom. If your long term goals are for your kids to enter college, then you'll want to make yourself familiar with enterance requirements and plan your curricula accordingly. My general goals a 2-fold. 1) I want my kids to understand how their mind processes information. This means helping them develop good study habits and giving them a lot of independance. 2) I want my kids to understand Where to Look for information. This means I often bring up a topic and leave them to do research using various tools. Neither of ese goals requires me to give a lot of lectures, nor do they require a strict curricula format, so I can do away with curricula that encompasses those requirement, thus narrowing the field. So, answer these questions, on the day of your child(ren) graduation from HS, What do you hope these have learned? What do you hope you have been successful in imparting? How would you define your home school? What are your students prepared for? 5) Space. If you live in a tiny abode (as I do) then getting completely different curricula for each of your students will be confusing. They will have no room for being seperate from siblings and thus will have to be overhearing their siblings lessons while doing their own? Instead, you'll want curricula that can be a single lesson adapted to many grade levels. You might also pull back from an overwhelming project driven curricula as you might not have the available space for either storage of materials, or execution of the projects. I hope these are a help to all of you!

Out with the Old, in with the New?

Over the last cupe of decades, the general populus heard whispers - "are you using the New math?" Old Math vs. New Math?? Ok, I know it's a little overwhelming and confusing. I will try to explain a bit about the Old and New ways of approaching Math, but don't worry....even the experts agree the 'New' way doesn't work well.. I both love and love to hate the new math program. Has anyone heard of an 'Integrated' classroom? Or a child complain, "when will I ever use this in real life!" well New Math attempted to address these, they also tried to move past the basic computation skill we grew up with and moved toward advanced deductive reasoning. In our books and homework, back in the day of our childhood, we had line after line of the exact same type of problem working one type of process - this was in the hope of achieving wrote memorization of specific math facts. A child first learned to count. They then learned to add. Oce they had memorized adding, they moved on to subtracting. I've said it before, but old math was made difficult once a student approached algebra. This is because Old Math treated numbers and number manipulation as concrete facts. But, once a student starts algebra, they were told no, numbers can be molded and manipulated, they are NOT concrete. What I mean is, in the Old way: a student learns to count, they can recognize the shape of a 3 and a 4. Once they had mastered counting, they moved onto addition. They were told 3 + 4 = the shape the student recognized as a 7. Then the student eventually moved on to multiplication. They would see the shape 3 multiplied by 4 and they would recognize they equal 12. Once fractions were introduced it became overwhelming...why? Well we had spent years using those real numbers to achieve an answer. But in fractions you deal with the abstract - remember LCD (lowest common denominator)? We tell them, oh just multiply the fraction by 4 then solve the problem....but the student stares at the page and can't comprehend - you have changed the fraction, how can that get to the right answer? You can't just change shoes into umbrellas! They had no way of understanding that numbers, shapes, anything related to math is NOT concrete. A 3 is never just a 3, it can equal 1, 1, 1; or 4p=12 they both equal 3 but really 3 is just a label. New math attempts to start a student thinking of math as playdough or Legos. If you have a huge bucket of Legos you can choose to build a castle or a car - but they are still Legos you are using. New math attempts this, so kids learn that they can do a million and one things - but they are still just working with quantities and labels, in other words MATH! In my opinion, New Math can be summed up in one term - Discussion. New math is less about finding the RIGHT answer and instead is more about what path the student decided to try to take to achieve the problem. Some parents think we do not teach the students the pencil-and-paper shortcuts we learned when we were younger.  We DO teach them, but we just don’t rush into it.  We would rather students do things the long way first!  Why, you ask?  Our math programs must build a foundation of conceptual understanding first before the algorithms are introduced.  In other words, we have to work concretely and manipulatively first.  Students today use concrete, hands-on materials when they encounter new concepts.  Later they will learn the symbolic shortcuts we used when we were younger.  It is more important that students DESCRIBE AND DEMONSTRATE how they went about solving math problems instead of focusing on getting the correct answer. Research shows that students’ working together helps with their understanding.  When you walk by a small group trying to discuss ways to figure out an answer, you hear: “I have an idea”, “Wait, wait I got a different plan”, “Let’s try your way, then my way”, and “But that does not make sense!”  During group problem-solving, teachers are actively listening to students’ reasoning which, in turn, helps them better understand the students’ thinking.  Keep in mind that there is still time in the classroom for students to work independently and teachers know how important it is to work independently.   So, what's the downside of this new math? Well, there are sometimes too many choices! It can frustrate some minds when you say - there is no right or wrong way of finding the answer. It can be overwhelming to some, to look at an equation but not knowing which path to take to solve it and instead hear the teacher say, which one do you want to try? I think the key to success will be somewhere in the middle, giving instruction on one path at a time working mastery, but reminding the student that there are tons of ways of working with numbers!! Here are some websites: http://everydaymath.uchicago.edu/parents/ http://www.math.com/homeworkhelp/EverydayMath.html https://www.wrightgroup.com/parent_connection

"Bet my castle will be stronger than yours!"

It's been rainy and yucky here. The kids have been a little grouchy, i've been in pain (aka grouchy)...while sitting the kids in seperate corners. I asked them what project they wanted to start next (as they have wrapped up just about all the things they've been working on since Jan). They sat quietly a moment, glaring at each other; then my youngest said, "I bet i can design a better castle than you" to which my oldest replies "no way. Mom's on my team, dad's on yours." (mind you they are still glaring at each other) Youngest, "conditions...specifications?" Oldest, "has to be designed fully in blue print form, and built so it can open like a doll house to see the inside. And it has to be at least 1 cubic foot in size" Youngest, "and it has to be made in one week" Oldest, "deal....mom, can we find an architecture app?" Then my kids spent a super quiet 4 hours with rulers, pencils, and computer and ipad applications for drafting, designing their own castles. They are planning on using a variety of materials to build....can't wait! Man, nothing beats HS, when this is what arguing gets an 8 and 10 y/o on a Wednesday morning...lol... I'll definitely post pics. It was great - they used CAD programs to do the general design, which they then transferred to graph paper so we could figure out the exact measurements. They had to use multiplication, division and geometry to get where to place studs and windows and the arch of the windows and doors. Lol... They will begin assembly today. I'll keep posting updates! I believe they decided on using popsicle sticks and glue. They each had built Trebuchet's (catapults) at co-op this past semester, so i think the goal is to see whose can withstand the assault.

Defining Our Homeschool

I've gotten a lot of questions about our style of homeschool lately. People asking questions about everything from my teaching style, the kids' learning styles, curriculum choices, scheduling, etc. I've evolved over the last decade since we started this adventure. I've learned to let go of my death grip on the reigns. I'm one of those super anal, type A personalities. I like to have everything detailed and written out. I like to have pretty schedules and expectations. But after a time of banging my head against the wall - where I kept trying to fit these expectations and they didn't work, I had to ask myself, WHY? What was the point of the details, schedules, worksheets, etc. As hard as it is to admit, I finally came to the conclusion that 99% of it was for looks - so when others looked at our family/homeschool they'd think how fantastic it all is. It almost didn't matter if any of it was successful - as long as the IMAGE was successful. This was actually a shock.

I've always thought I was beyond seeking acceptance from outsiders, but after a couple of years of HS I realized we never fully grow beyond it. You see, I had designed these amazing (on paper) curricula, I spent tons on printing materials, ordering texts, etc. And these would work for a little while, but eventually it became a daily torture. My scolding/threatening the kids to do their work. The kids staring off into space, not answering questions correctly, etc. I felt like a failure. And I was terrified of doing more harm than good with homeschooling. So I had to sit back, take a break and analyze what I wanted to get out of homeschooling.

Why were we doing it? I had a miserable experience in public school growing up. I felt like an idiot, a feeling reinforced by my teachers. I was told I would never 'get it' or 'use it' so I should just give up. I finally dropped out of high school my junior year. I did a home study course to complete the credits needed for my diploma then signed up for a community college - because it was kinda expected. I became gravely ill my first semester of college. I spent the next two years in and out of the hospital. This was long before online learning, but I got special dispensation from the dean to allow me to continue my classes even though I couldn't always make it to the actual lectures. After 2 years I had earned my associates degree. Learning was fun and a distraction from my illness, so I transferred to a 4 year university. While transferring I had a councilor ask me what I wanted to major in. After reviewing my transcripts she recommended math or science. I explained that I wasn't smart enough for that. She looked like I was crazy and pointed out that I had taken every math & science class offered at my previous college and graduated with a 4.0 GPA. I finally realized that by taking the classroom and teacher out of the equation, I was able to learn in the manner I needed. So when my kids were born, I didn't want them to grow up thinking they were stupid just because they might not learn from a classroom setting. So that was the main reason for HS. My other reason was peer pressure and self esteem. I wanted my kids to have developed a solid sense of self and high self-esteem BEFORE being faced with peer pressure. That way they would be strong enough to not get caught doing something stupid or harmful.

With these are my reasons for HS I realized none of it was being supplied by my crazy schedule/curriculums. So I started following a more child led style. We do a formal co-operative once per week. So we do 1x/week of formal schooling. That is the day we introduce new materials, break open the books, do lapbooks, etc. During the rest of the week we have no tv/video games between the hours of 10am and 3pm. During this time the kids are encouraged to learn. Whether using computer programs, the Ipad, books, etc.

You see, I TALK with my kids. I try to determine what they are interested in learning - dinosaurs, computer programming, etc. Then I find a ton of resources from a ton of different styles. The kids are then free to choose what they wish to use. Using this technique has turned my kids from reluctant learners to excited and engaged learners! They watch documentaries, they build thing, they do experiments, they write stories and have even learned how to program their own video games. If in order to build the best catapult they realize they need to understand logarithms then they learn how to do them! Much of what they do is college level things. We don't have spelling lists, nor do we chant multiplication facts. But through practical application they have learned to do both!

So we are child-led eclectic homeschoolers - and proud of it!!

Curriculum -

When it comes to exactly what that means....hmmm. Well I love technology. With my oldest being on the Autism spectrum, he's a visual learner. He gets high levels of anxiety with lots of worksheets and handwriting. So I had to throw out my ideal way of learning. I found my favorite websites and incorporated technology - which inspires him. We have 4 parts of school/curriculum - Ipad Apps, Computer Programs, Documentaries/Podcasts, Co-operatives & Writing.

Ipad Apps -
I love our Ipad. It has completely revolutionized our school. New Apps come out almost weekly, and most are free or else less than $5. This is really the bulk of our school. There are 2 parts we use -
Itunes Apps - these are regular independent apps put together by individuals or companies. Some of our favorites are the following -
Khan Academy - these are short video clips on math. It introduces new ideas and concepts.
Splash Math - This comes in different grade levels. It seems like a video game, but it doesn't introduce concepts so we use it in conjunction with Khan.
Minds of Math - This is a history of Math which is fun.
Sciences -- Painless Earth Science, Side Stax, Circuits, Science Fun To Go, TED (great podcasts)
Brain Pop - this is a fun program that changes daily, so it has themes of the day from history to geography all different subjects.
Rock Prodigy - this is an awesome app for learning to play guitar. You plug in your ear buds and the ipad picks up on the sound of you playing so it can tell if you are doing it right!! My youngest loves hearing himself play.
Irish Fiddle - my oldest is using this to learn to play the Violin
Move The Turtle - This is an intro to Robotics/Computer programming. There is a turtle on the screen and the student learns to program the turtle to follow different commands.
Freefall Spelling
Language Arts - Itooch English, Toon Tastic (this is a story board app), Painless Grammar.
Tap Typing
Barefoot Atlas - this is an amazing interactive world atlas with locations, tourist spots in a 3-d map, and the student can tap on anything and it will give an interactive lesson on it.
Itunes U - This is an app that has access from many different universities and school districts. You can sign up for an independent e-class. FREE! Or you can order textbooks (which are not free..lol). Right now my oldest's favorite eclass is ALICE which is a computer programming interface designed by Columbia University. You take the free eclass, and download the Free program on the computer and voila, you can learn programming! My son just finished programming his first video game - of a biplane racing a star ship on Mars!

Computer Programs - we use these to mix things up a bit. Not often, but we only have one Ipad, so while one child is on the ipad the other can use the computer. Programs like theheadoftheclass.com

Documentaries/Podcasts - (ie. Netflix) This is worth it's weight in gold, IMO. Especially w/ my visual learner. We watch documentaries on geography, history, science, etc. Then the kids often set out to make models or experiments on what they learned.

Co-operatives - we do co-operative school once or twice a week for 12 weeks (2 semesters a year). Our co-ops are pretty serious endeavors. There are some fun classes like theatre and dancing, but we also have serious classes like Latin, Writing, Science, etc. We LOVE Co-op!!

Writing - I could never get my kids to cooperate with penmanship worksheets. It was torture. So we started journaling and writing stories. They would do different editions while we would helpfully critique their work. This helped work spelling, grammar and penmanship.

Scheduling

We often shock people with our schedule, or seeming lack of one. I used to design very detailed curriculums and we would do everything on them, but it was boring and torturous for all involved. My kids would read my anxiety as I panicked to try and get everything in. Ugh! So now we do a much more relaxed schedule, and the kids are flying through the work!

Since we do co-op once/week, I keep it to a once/week learning day. When we are not doing co-op then I'll use Tuesdays (co-op day) to introduce new information, work on a project, etc. This is a day where I'll actually teach lessons. The rest of the week (7 days a week) there is no tv or video games between the hours of 10 and 3 unless it's a program for educational purposes. During this time the kids are encouraged to learn - on their own mostly unless they ask for help/input. You see I talk with my kids a lot, finding out what they are interested in learning, Then I find a ton of resources - books, computer programs, experiment kits, etc. Then during these quiet periods each day the kids tend to grab at these resources and set out learning. Because it is based on what they were interested in, they are eager to delve in. With little to no encouragement from me, they LOVE to learn.

 One thing this has made me realize? When I was in school the fun was extracted from learning - especially with all the repetition and busy work. Plus they have to stick to a specific curriculum, so kids are not encouraged to explore and learn anything they want. See, I would have thought that w/o the strict schedule kids would just not learn anything, but the opposite is true because my kids think learning is FUN!

We school year round. So that we can take a day or two off whenever the mood strikes us.

So that's us in a nutshell. Hope that cleared up all your questions!
Shannon

Behavior Bucks

I have been asked about a billion times, lately how i coordinate games, behavior, tv time,etc while doing child led learning.

My oldest would happily lock himself in his room w/ one of the game systems and only emerge to grab food or switch out games. He could probably keep this up for a month if left unchecked. My youngest emerges more often, but he has more of a strong will. So if he has his mind set one doing X and i say it's time to do Y - the battle would begin.

About a year ago, quite by accident, i discovered the key to happiness. Lol. First, i had cleaned their room of all game systems, ereaders, mp3, computers, etc. everything was moved into my bedroom closet. I wanted to start teaching them the value of the dollar, at that time. So i made each child a poster that looked like a checkbook register. The concept was they could earn fictional 'bucks' and use these bucks to get games and such. I was SHOCKED to realize it was a hugely effective behavioral tool as well.

Along the bottom of each poster are 3 columns.

Column 1-- Earnings -- these are the ings the kids can do to earn the bucks

School work = 10 bucks
Chores = 5 bucks
Being helpful = 5 bucks
Changing the litter = 5 bucks

Column 2 -- Deductions -- these are behaviors that will lose them bucks

Lying = 25 bucks
Fighting = 15 bucks
Being disrespectful = 20 bucks
Incomplete schoolwork = 15 bucks

Column 3 -- Spending -- these are ways they can use their bucks

Wii = 25 bucks
Nintendo DS =20 bucks
Nintendo 64 = 20 bucks
Computer = 15 bucks
MP3= 10 bucks
Bike riding = 10 bucks
Scooter = 5 bucks

If they choose to use some of their bucks, they are essentially RENTING the system from us. The length of time the renting lasts starts at the end of the schoolday (when they have earned their bucks for completing schoolwork and chores) and lasts until 10am the next day, when we usuallu begin school. So, the quicker they get their work done the longer they will have with their games. Oh, and they can not turn in bad work. Rushing through and claiming to be done, even when you know it's substandard work is considered cheating, aka lying, and will cost you bucks. There are exceptions to this. Using the computer or ipad for school work isn't limited. Using computer programming games like Alics (from Columbia University) or Scratch (from MIT) and creating their own games is not limited.

My goal, at first, wasn't to limit them in their play. It was to help them learn to appreciate what they have, at the same time learning economics (earnings, savings, spending, etc.) it was just a blessed surprise to realize it was also a great behavioral tool!