K Cera-Cera....or however it goes...

Whoa Nellie, it's been a while since I last posted. I'm such a bad blogger lately....WAHHHH! But I've been super busy between my former 2 co-ops and launching my online crafting business. I'm exhausted! Now that it's summer time, it's my time of re-evaluation. I always wonder if public school parents go through this every year, but can't see how they would. See, June is my research month, July is my planning month. Even though we homeschool year round I'm way more lenient in the summer...which I'm sure some of you didn't think it was possible. As child-led learners, how can one be lenient? Well, as I've stated a bunch of times, child-led doesn't equate to non-educational. I still insist on learning between the hours of 10-3. The difference is in the summer, while the tv is off during that time, I'm not telling them they must complete x number of lessons for that day. (The child led part comes in that I allowed them to choose the lesson and the lessons were chosen based on their interests during these summer planning sessions).

But, as I said, every year I seem to re-evaluate. Heck this year I was even tempted to try out k-12...but it's insanely expensive in my area (thank the Gods as I'm sure my kids would hate it..lol)...but now that the kids are getting older I'm starting to worry about PSAT's, college entrance exams, etc. I don't want to 'teach to the test' as public schools already proved that's a bomb technique. But with my Aspie not wanting any worksheets and text books give him anxiety...I'm starting to panic on materials for a soon-to-be 13 y/o. Especially one who wants to go to medical school. GULP! Of course this particular roller coaster ride is entitled "Home School Mom's Annual Anxiety Slam" -- am I doing enough, am I challenging them enough, am I truly preparing them for college & the 'real world'...I almost always have to force myself to re-read my older blog posts and remind myself of my goals:

1) Raise boys that are solid in the self-esteem department. They aren't arrogant. They understand their strengths and their weaknesses and know how to work with both. If they have a solid sense of self they will be less tempted to do stupid things due to peer pressure (texting while driving, trying drugs, excessive drinking, etc). But they will also be able to articulate their own position on topics...heck they will be able to HAVE their own opinion/position. And they will be confident enough to defend that opinion.

2) They will understand how to find, process and retain information. While I'm certainly NOT a proponent of wrote memorization (maybe because I always sucked at it?) I fully believe students will be able to retain & regurgitate information (which looks suspiciously like memorization). So, while I don't care if they can list all the presidents in order, (though I'd like them to have a clear understanding of the time period in which each was in office) I DO want them to know where to go for that information. More than that however, I'd like my kids to have a total understanding of how their brains work. It took me until I had an associates degree to understand how to efficiently LEARN. If my kids understand how to do so before college? I'll give myself a huge pat on the back, or an intoxicating beverage, whatever.

3) I want them to understand how to make goals and how to follow through on said goals. I think so many kids these days see college as a goal, but don't really have a clear-cut plan of how to get there, what the purpose of it all is, and what they hope to achieve after it. I want my kids to understand how to set short & long term goals and how to make precise plans to achieve those goals.

4) Yeah, yeah I want them happy and healthy and all that garbage too. :)

Once I finish beating these points into my head every year, I can relax. It makes choosing "Just the right curriculum" seem silly. Instead I focus on subjects. Since my eldest wants medical school, I will be really focusing on math & sciences as well as technical writing this year. My youngest now says he wants to be an architect, so we will be starting to delve deeper into geometry, computer programming, etc...as well as math. :) Now I just have to find the tools we'll be using to achieve these points.....hmmmmm.....

Starting back...

Ok I'm starting back to blogging after taking some months off. We've been busy, but sometimes it seems like I shouldn't blog, since in our house LIFE is a learning experience!

Today: we had grocery shopping this morning. The boys had been saving up $$ to purchase the new Luigi 3DS game and finally had enough, so we stopped by Walmart and the kid got to purchase the game.

For school just now, the kids are doing time4learning, brainpop, apps and our usually Unschooling stuff. I meet with my vascular surgeon tomorrow to find the status of my vascular condition.

So, today the kids did one of each subject on t4l, 1 brain pop video, and we watched Conspirator and discussed all the wrong done to Mrs. Surratt.

March Gifts

My baby has turned 9, how depressing! I can't believe he has grown so fast! I'm so proud of the little man he has become. He is strong willed which can lead him into a little bit of trouble, but I think it will help him later in life.

I've been complaining to my father for a few months that the boys computer no longer worked for their school work. It was really, REALLY, old and outdated. So it would just cycle and buffer and never let them log into anything. So it was really frustrating when trying to have 2 boys do computer based learning. We have the laptop and the ipad - but the ipad wouldn't do any of their school websites (time4learning, reading eggs, etc) because they are Adobe Flash based. Which was sooooo irritating. So last fall, I had gotten the boys a Kindle Fire - boy was I ticked when I turned it on and it updated....and no longer supported Adobe Flash!! Grrrr. Any Android based tablet no longer supports AF either. So we were stuck with 2 kids using 1 laptop. Which meant having one child doing school work and the other putzing around for a couple of hours, then they'd switch. Which meant distractions for the one trying to do school work, and it meant schooling lasted all day. This lead to many arguments. Anywho, I've been complaining about it to my dad for a while - that we needed a 2nd computer. He shows up on X-man's birthday with a gift, saying ti was a gift for the whole family since it was too expensive to be for only one child.

My kids were stoked when they opened a Galaxy Tab 2. I was bummed. The last thing we needed was another tablet! LOL. But my father said he had asked Best Buy to be sure the kids could do their school websites and he was told they could. So I spent HOURS setting up the tablet. It simply wouldn't recognize our WiFi, I had to use my hotspot (which I have limited data each month). And when I finally got it set-up  I realized it wouldn't work for their websites as it too was an android based OS. So I got the receipt from my dad and we all headed for Best Buy. I was ecstatic to realize they had a huge clearance sale going on notebook computers (as they are making ready for all the Windows 8 systems). I was able to get the boys an Acer ChromeBook. Essentially it's a mini-laptop, that runs on a Google Chrome operating system - so it doesn't have programs, per se. Instead it's like a computer that runs simply as an internet interface. Using Google Chrome. But Chrome has tons of apps (much like the Kindle or Ipad) so we have writing programs, spread sheets, etc. AND we have Adobe Flash! YAY!!

We got through all the kids school work in only 2.5 hours today! Nary an argument in sight!
Man, I love technology!

The old catch 22

So, I'm the director of our co-op this semester. Generally the kids unschool the rest of the week, but they LOVE co-op. our little co-op has traditionally had around 25 families....of course, this semester we ar at almost 50. So my poor kids have had zero schooling the last 2 weeks as I've organized registration stuff...and I've barely made a plan for the 3 classes I'm teaching....EEK! Well, at least it's shaping up to be an awesome semester!

Aww, I'm so proud!

You know what the main difference is between most homeschooled kids and public school kids? Homeschool kids well, most homeschoolers actually Like learning. Take this weekend my boys fought with each other over who got to do their school work first! Sure it was mostly so they could blog about what they learned (as they now think blogging is just the coolest) but its gotten them learning & writing with enthusiasm!

Today is a busy day for me. I've finished writing the lesson plan for my last Algebra class for co-op this week, but I have to print it all out. I have to figure out the bracelet design for our last Camp Halfblood class. I have to put the finishing touches on our December co-op newsletter and sent it to all our members. I have to work on the slippers I'm making my boys...AND we are setting up our Christmas tree. Eek...tomorrow I won't have a lot of time as I have big shopping (groceries) day planned.

Greetings from VT

Ahhh, it was so nice to get away! We have been going through a stressful couple of years, so it was especially lovely that our family helped us get away for a bit to my inlaws cabin in VT. We had our family reunion this past Sat at the Groton National Forest in VT. But for 4 days it was all about the nature and 4 wheeling at the cabin. There was no internet access (much to my horror) or running water, but it was sooo worth it!

Here is my 8 y/o taking his first turn as a solo rider on the 4 wheeler. He had only ridden as a passenger in the past so he was excited. Of course, later in the day, he managed to miss every one of the millions of trees in the yard, but crashed into the corner of the house! lol Both he and the 4 wheeler were fine, we kept it in 2nd geer so they couldn't go too fast.

DJ will be 11 in just a few days. It was his first time as well!

DJ's Ride

Xman's Ride

How to handle the epic fail

We have all been there. Our curriculum looks beautiful, we have all the supplies, the kids (and we, the teachers) are jonesing to jump in and go full steam ahead. So we start...within an hour the kids are antsy, not following directions, not completing work we know they are capable us. Argh! Is there anything more frustrating? Inevitable we keep trudging along, even though we begin to dread the start of school each day. We might even toy with the idea of putting the kinds in PS just to get a break! so, I thought I would write a little on using those epic fails to your advantage. Don't lose hope. Ever hear the saying, " you must kiss a hundred frogs before you find a prince"? This is how I tell newbies to approach HS. This is also one of the main reasons I'm against spending a load of $$ right away. Because you know what? Everyone learns differently. Not only that, but a child's learning style might evolve over time. So even if you get a curriculum that is similar to their style from the previous year, it may no longer work. There are a few things to keep in mind to stave off frustration: 1) Don't beat a dead horse. (I'm working metaphors for all they are worth in this article! Lol) If something isn't working for 1 week then STOP. It may just mean you all need a little break. So you can try again in a couple of weeks. If it is again an epic fail after another week, then let it go. Find another approach, or it may just mean they are not ready for the information (see point 3 for developmental milestones). 2) What looks good to you may be an epic fail for them. I remember when I first began to HS, I planned how I wished I had been taught - I learn by writing things down. Doing a lot of copy work, worksheets, etc. Epic fail. My oldest is a visual learner. It was pointless to have him do a ton of writing assignments. Sure I might be able to browbeat him into eventually completing the work, but he wouldn't retain any of the information. This was probably more frustrating than him just not completing the work to begin with. We'd spend literally hours on one assignment, with a lot of yelling to keep things on track, and finally (FINALLY) the work is finished and I ask, so what is blah? And he would stare at me uncomprehendingly. Even if I promoted to get the right answer, I'd still get nowhere. Finally a lightbulb went off above my blonde head - maybe he doesn't learn from writing things out? Duh. Lol. I had a whole school room devoted to notebooking that I had to donate. But even this fail is a step in the right direction. I can now eliminate any curriculum tool that is based on writing. So instead of notebooking, we changed to Lapbooking - which still has some writing involved, but is much more visually stimulating. My point here is to be aware of your students learning styles, even if it is completely counter to your own. Then try to find tools based in that style. 3) Get ready for a change! Yup. You did your year of struggle, finally found a curriculum that works, you go with it. It might even work for a few years, then it all starts to fall apart. Why? Well children are growing and changing. So too do their learning styles. Here is my own break down of typical styles-to-ages. Bear in mind every child is different, so your child might be different, this is just a guide. Pre-k - 2nd grade = Kinetic: it's all about the hands on learning, manipulatives, getting their senses involved. This is because they are just coming out of the toddler years, so their mind is still in tune with using eir senses to acquire information. If a toddler sees something new, they generally touch it, put it in their mouth, etc. well these early grades are not quite that bad, but their attention spans are still pretty short and they a not yet trained to acquire information through reading. Even with an early reader/writer, you'll want to have curriculum that is heavy on the kinetic learning. 2nd-4th = Visual: it's all about creating that picture in their mind. If you want to learn ancient history, they will remember more if you make it like a story where they can see the visual image, like a movie, in their head. They can learn a lot through short films and discussions. They are just beginning to become aware of themselves as individual entities. They still might enjoy manipulatives, but you can begin trickling in more complex content as long as you do it in a way that creates the visual in the mind. 4th-7th = Combo: these learners need a variety of tools - they can acquire information from reading and writing, they can learn through the visual, etc. they need a little of everything. Here it's time to begin cutting the apron strings. These students do much better with a bit of independance. They can make better choices. So I advise getting an outline together of what you want covered then pulling together resources that meet a variety of requirements and letting the student choose which sparks their interest. 8th-Graduation = Independant Study/Audio: here learning is really all up to them. Whether it be digesting the information delivered from a lecture, A documentary or through literature, they take whatever techniquest they have developed ov time, to process and retain information. They should also be capable of not just regurgitating information (memorization) but changing information into their own words. No matter your students personality or age, there will come a time when choices must be made. An unfortunate result could be the epic fail. But don't let it get you down. Being a HS educator is as much a learning experience as being an HS student is. We are all on a path of self discovery, growth and learning. Happy learning!

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

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

Our Worse Enemy -- OURSELVES!

I've been running groups like this one for years now. I've been HS'ing my own kids since they were toddlers. I'm the first person to defend HS as a viable resource. I'm the shoulder other newbies cry on. And I shake my head at the worries and guilt new HS parents often experience. But I will fully admit even I can sometimes fall prey to the even twin resting on my shoulder whispering guilt and doubt. I thought I'd write this post for all other HS mom's who stongly defend their decision then, late in the night when no one is watching, bite my fingernails to the quick.

Here are some of my guilty whisperings:

Gosh, we don't spend nearly the amount of time on HS as PS kids do...what with going to school for 8 hours then having a couple of hours of homework when they get home...Now, intellectually I know we don't need as much time as the kids are getting one on one attention, and the curriculum is designed specifically for their learning styles. I'm not trying to fit square pegs into round holes. But even I will sometimes question our dedication. When we do coop once a week, I will slack on the other days, not doing as much (and I know many other parents who do nothing at all on those other 6 days a week)....and I'm one of those parents who think all of life is a learning experience, so technically our kids are learning all of the time...but still I'll feel whisperings of doubt occasionally.

I'm not a trained professional. My oldest son has Aspergers (a form of Autism). I can not conceive of him thriving in a PS setting. And yet I know (supposedly) he'd be surrounded by 'experts' if I put him in the ps system. In fact I had a hard time finding a doctor who a. supported HS or b. would dx him without having a report from a school psychologist. Again my son is in a safe environment where I can give him the freedom to explore his stengths to his hearts content, and work gently on his weaknesses....but I had a hard time learning about his learning style, and I feel (ocassionally) that we wasted those years that I tried to teach him with a different style. I know he would have been bullied and miserable in a group setting (he has high anxiety) but ocassionally I too will doubt my abilities.

My house looks like the setting for an epic war film. One of the hardest parts of HS is getting balance. Especially since I'm legally handicapped and can't be on my feet for long periods of time. So I will shrug off keeping the kitchen spotless to instead watch hours of documentaries with the kids. Or I won't do laundry so we can instead work on building a volcano. Our house is cleaning central on the weekends, which the kids hate. But I will sometimes feel guilty for taking my quiet reading time in the evening after the kids go to bed. Our house would sparkle, but I'd probably be homicidal without it. I'm the first to tell parents the importance of taking decompression time, but it doesn't stop the guilt.

So ladies. Acknowledge your guilt and doubt, own it. I believe the doubt and fear are part and parcel with being a good parent. It keeps us on our toes, always striving to be the best parent/teacher we can be. No matter what your guilt/doubt know that you ARE good enough, you ARE smart enough, and you ARE doing what is right for YOUR family.

Blessings!

What a World!

I'm sorry I haven't been posting much in the last couple of weeks - life has certainly taken a few twists and turns! First we had the International Fair  to finish our projects for - they came out fantastic! (but it was a TON of work on all our parts) Then our computer died - The TouchSmart sucks, we only had it 18 mos!!! (Now it will cost almost $400 to fix!) Then just when we were gonna send the computer to HP to be repaired my DH was laid off, which means we're both unemployed....so both of us are looking into doing school (I would have a certification course, he would have a 2 year program, grrr) but that's really hard financially when we were on a tight budget before! So I'm trying to turn myself into one of those obsessive-compulsive coupon clippers (where do they GET all those coupons...anyway), if we could reduce our grocery bill from about $300/month to $150 then it would be covered by our food stamps (something I never thought I would have to be on in the first place).....

Wow, I did it!

Ok I'm fairly excited. I finally decided to sell some of  my lapbooks, workbooks, worksheets and presentations. Many mom's both here and on CafeMom encouraged me. HUGS! So I finally decided to start another blog (like I don't have enough already? LOL) that was dedicated to just that, selling great resources for our kids.

Home Educators Toolbox

I don't have every single one of my resources up yet, but I do have some. I'm currently working on...

Magic Tree House Books:
Mummies in the Morning (& Ancient Egypt)
Night of the Ninjas (& Ancient Japan)
Vacation Under the Volcano (Volcanoes and Pompeii)

Dr. Seuss Books:One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish
I Can Read with my Eyes Shut

Sciences:
Simple Machines
Dinosaurs
Intro to Chemistry

Math:Mysterious Multiplication
Sly Subtraction
Dubious Division
Intro to Algebra & Geometry

Check out more soon!

In with the new...

Well, I'm finally, finally FINALLY, finished with my EMT training. It seemed like it took forever! Our homeschooling was pretty much put on hold for the last 4 months - we would do school like once a week, or a few worksheets here or there....but with my having to focus so totally on the training, plus work, it was just too much......so starting Monday we're starting the 'year' over again. The kids have been 2 to 3 grades ahead of their peers anyway, so no biggie.

The boys are excited to start school again - mainly because Santa brought them cool electronics that will make HS even more fun then normal! DJ got a Nintendo DS - for which I made sure we got a Spelling and a Geography game. Xman got both an VTech EReader and a Leapster Explorer. So the EReader (and let me say how wrong it is that he has an e-reader when I haven't gotten a Kindle yet!!) will help make him more comfortable with reading aloud - as he gets shy in front of anyone other than I. The Leapster Explorer I made sure to get a spelling and another geography so both kids can utilize their 'toys' for the same subjects. Although the Explorer is pretty awesome as you can get these great educational downloads (as you can hook the Explorer up to your computer) so even the most 'non' educational seeming game is really educational...if that makes sense..lol! For instance, he got a Ben 10 game from his Grandma....I thought it was just a silly game but then he was playing it today and came to interrupt me telling me "DNA comes in chromosome pairs!" (Not bad for a 6 y/o!) Then later he came and told me that the Sahara was the hottest desert in the world! LOL. So, I highly recommend the Explorer.

Now we can get back on track. The kids know that they'll have twice the work at first to get caught up on our curriculum, but they are still excited. We'll see how long that lasts!

Parade Fun

My kids have never walked in a parade before. Last year our Earth Scouts group didn't get it together in time, and the boys do informal Park & Rec sports instead of formal teams. But today the kids walked in the Memorial Day Parade with the Relay For Life (American Cancer Society) float.....ok the kids road the float and us Adults walked, but still. We absolutely roasted in the sun! When we began I told everyone we needed a song or chant for the children to sing and finally we came up with the relay slogan "Celebrate. Remember. And Fight Back!" Everyone clapped like crazy as we walked by, with my booming drill Sargent voice leading the charge!

March Madness

Whew, February was definately an...er....experience. I haven't really posted much - my grandfather passed away, we ended a 4 years friendship with a toxic person, I started a new job, etc....but now we're totally on track and kickin' it! We're so excited for this November. Last year we went to OH (to visit said toxic friend) but this year I'm driving the kids to Washington DC - what a learning experience it will be!!!

We led a learning team (our Earth Scouts team) a few weeks ago on - RESPECT - I thought it was appropriate. THe kids had fun writing on a big posterboard all the things that equal respect - honesty, integrity, being polite, being nice, etc.

MARCH -
This month we're learning a lot as well (with last month focusing on the Olympics).
Right now we're learning about the Iditirod and Alaska (as the race is tomorrow). Then we're moving on to a Pirate Lapbook - I've been reading Treasure Island to the boys every afternoon. The kids LOVE IT! And the love to laugh about the parallels between the old book and one of their favorite flic's - Treasure Planet. My youngest will be 6 next week (I'm totally depressed!)

Week 1 -- (ending 3/6)
Iditerod
Global Warming/Green House Gases
Alaska
Dogs

Week 2 -- (ending 3/13)
Xman's Bday - we're designing a Mad Science party, I'll post all our experiments later.
We'll be finishing our Polar Animals lapbook (from Alaska)
We'll be doing A Fish Out of Water lapbook for Xman

Week 3 -- (ending 3/21)
Spring, wonderful Spring! This week ends with the Spring Equinox - so we'll be doing some more work in our solar system
Honey Bees & Lady Bugs Lapbooks
The life of a Plant (lapbook I'm almost finished designing I'll post it when I'm done. Here's a great list of Plant Resources) And we'll be doing our Spring Lapbook


Week 4 -- (ending 3/29)

Daily Drills - Fun

I got this idea from my BFF Dani. She has her kids do a daily drill sheet each day as a sort of warm-up to homeschool. Each day is a different theme (math, puzzle, reading, etc). Well I wanted to hook the kids with something fun each day - and I found a free site to do it (of course!) So I printed several books of the following, and each morning my kids grab their binder and do a sheet (or two or three). They're fun and help us transition from normal day to school day.

http://www.crazydad.com/ is a fab site filled with great vid clips and such
For his 50 books of mazes - Mazes
For his Kiduko puzzles - Kiduko
For his FAB Slitherlink (one of my fav games) - Slitherlink
For his great Karuko puzzles - Karuko

More daily fun:
Printable Mazes for Kids (themed)
Word Searches
Connect The Dots
Color By Numbers
Family Fun Printables (word searches, memory games, mazes, puzzles, etc)

New Year Mania

So our plan for this month is a slight deviation from our origional curriculum - one of the beauties of making my own curriculum is making any changes I want..so there! haha. This month I'm squeezing in a few different concepts as it's going to be a busy month..Since we're jumping all around this month we have a 'weekly theme' each week that we really focus on. They are as follows:

Week 1 (1/1-1/9)
Aside from our usual math & grammar we're focusing on Martin Luther King Jr (a little early, as we don't celebrate the day until the 18th, but hey)
Printable book (payed site)
Coloring Page 1
Interactive Civil Rites Game
Great Research links for older kids
Ideas for celebrating Dr. King's B=day
"I have a dream" lesson Plan
Black History coloring pages
'Story of the man' article for older students

Week 2 (1/10-1/16)
This week we're focused on winter, weather & animals. We have some great lapbooks & units downloaded from Currclick.com so it should be FUN!
Deer Lapbook
Clouds Minibook
"Polar Bears Past Bedtime" MTH Lapbook (this is one of mine so remember username: kickbutttidbits and password: kickbuttmama)
"The Cat in the Hat Comes Back" (I should have it posted by this weekend, almost finished)
Winter words Minibook (pay site)
Lesson Plan
Popsicle Science
Snow Melt Experiment
'What do salt trucks do?' lesson plan that goes nicely with the above experiment
Winter Day coloring Page

Week 3 (1/18-1/23)
This week we transition from history to geography. We're settling and getting ready for the winter olympics - which is near and dear to my family, as my DH's grandfather won gold in the winter olympics in the 1930's.
Canada Lapbook (from Currclick.com)
Canada Worksheets
Canada Crafts
Canada Coloring Pages
Canada For Kids
Canada History
Proud Canadian Kids
Virtual Tour of Prince Edward Island
Kidzone Geography / DLTK Kids Canada Printables
Enchanted Learning printable 4 Canada
Canada Maze Worksheets from Teachnology

Week 4 (1/26-1/30)
Olympics Unit (from Currclick.com)
Great Kids Olympic crafts
Olympics crafts
Sports coloring pages
Olympics inthe classroom (resources)
Teachnology Olympics themes
Going for the gold worksheet
Print activities
ABC Teach olympic theme

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Happy New Year to all my readers!

I'm not one for usually making New Years Resolutions (as I'm all about setting regular goals and meeting them) but I'm going to this year. I think the most important part of a goal or resolution is making sure it's realistic to your set parameters - like I would set DJ getting his PHD this year as my goal. (although miracles can happen..lol). I'm hoping to include Yoga into my daily schedule, even with the children. I only do it about once a week now, but it makes my leg (with the vascular issue) feel so much better, and I know I'm a calmer person from doing it. I also want to get the boys into a formal music class. I can only take them so far, but we have to consider the financials. I also need a new job. I'm thinking I'm not going to be able to maintain waiting for LA Fitness to get their crap together (it's been like 3 months).

So what are your goals this year?