Homeschool helps
Grade Scoring Advice That Works For Me
(This would not apply if you don't use grades in your home school. But if you do - - read on!) =)
I was looking over my children's school papers daily, of course, to grade their work. I'd have them correct wrong answers, so that they didn't ingrain wrong patterns and answers in their minds. But I was saving the actual recording of the grades for a once-weekly time in my schedule. And, as things go, that often got put off to ''later.'' By the time Friday rolled around, I was ready to tackle other projects, do weekend plans, etc. It seemed so easy to simply record some test scores on my grade recording sheet, that I justified putting it off until Saturday night, or Sunday night, or maybe even early Monday before the kids woke up. As you can figure out, that meant that oftentimes the grades didn't get recorded until the end of each grading period. By then, it was a colossal hassle and frustration to cull through four children's sets of folders to find tests and other graded papers in amidst the other school work. It took up FAR more time that it ever would have had to, had I done it **immediately.**
So, my super-simple solution?: Record those grades **right away!** Yes, immediately! I wouldn't let anything short of an emergency at that moment stop me from quickly pulling out a red pen and rapidly writing out the percentage grade on my little grade recording sheet. =)
And the result?: A happy, un-stressed momma without any grade-recording procrastination, and easy quarterly grades to compile! =) | | mommaloves2teach |
Other
How Wonderful!!
We have been ''back'' to homeschooling for 3 weeks now! I had forgotten how wonderful it was to have my boys around all day. We have done a few science projects, although not all successful, we had a ball doing them and less of a ball when they had to document on them in their science journals! Ha! And of course I get an ''Aw do we have to do that?'' every now and then, but the ''Yays!'' greatly out number them. The most important part is our Bible lesson daily. They seem to enjoy them more than anything! And we remember each day that He is the reason we are able to homeschool in the first place! | | diain71 |
| | Special needs
My special boy...
Homeschooling 3 kids with 2 toddlers (and another baby due in Feb. 11) can be challenging. Add the fact that one of my sons has Down syndrome and it becomes the hardest thing I have EVER done. Having read several books and spent many hours on my knees, my best advice is this... keep it simple, keep it short, keep it sweet.
Lessons with him rarely go longer than 10 minutes and I'm lucky to get 2 subjects done each day. At 10 yrs old he can read on a K/1st grade level and is working on simple addition. I also utilize the Building Thinking Skills series - but any program that focuses on manipulatives is fabulous for him!
I, like many of you, question my abilities - sometimes on a weekly basis - but that is where the 'sweet' comes in. When I or the kids start to feel overwhelmed, we stop. We play in the backyard, make some banana bread or even pop in a movie and have a snack.
My mantra is that all my kiddos are gifts from God and each one is a treasure... so even when they are driving me crazy, I can recite this mantra and manage to hold on to that last tiny bit of sanity - and that gets me through the day! | | hcinfo |
Organization/time management
Slow Cooker Meals Save Time, Reduce Stress
I have saved much meal preparation time simply by planning many slow cooker meals to use throughout the week. Since they use whole food ingredients, they are also much healthier. I can prepare and begin cooking the meal within 15-25 minutes, depending on the complexity of the particular meal. It cooks itself, leaving me only a vegetable or salad and a starchy side dish to prepare later on in the day.
I bought two slow cookers, finding that many side dishes and desserts can also be cooked in them! Since I know that by the end of our school day I will not have a meal to prepare for the evening's dinner, it has eliminated any stress associated with meal prep, so that I can enjoy my afternoons and early evenings better, or free up time for other things that I need to do! | | mommaloves2teach |
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