The Monthly Chat


<< Previous editions   September, 2011   Next edition >>

Printable bits of wisdom, ideas, and reflections for your friends and
homeschool group, from the members of HomeschoolClassifieds.com
Opinions expressed are those of the individual authors.
©1997-2009 HomeschoolClassifieds.com, Knoxville, TN

 
Humor
You Know You're a Homeschooler When ...

- When your child is teased that there are poisonous snakes in the hole she fell into, her calm response is, ''That can't be. There are no poisonous snakes in our state.''

- Your 6-year-old hears you discussing something involving numbers and wants to know, ''How would that look in a pie chart?''

- Your 5-year-old says she heated up her silly putty and you fear she put it in the microwave. When you ask how she heated it, she replies, ''Well, just with my carbon dioxide.'' She means she breathed on it.

- Your daughter sees a piece of art you painted before she was born. Her first question is, ''And how did you FEEL while you were painting it?''

- You can't cut into a piece of fruit in your house without the kids examining the seeds and begging, ''Can we plant them?!? Can we?''

- There are tadpoles swimming on your kitchen counter, right there between the cutting board and the coffeemaker. Said tadpoles are in a glass bowl from your china cabinet. Over by the china cabinet are butterfly chrysalises you don't want to throw out because they're just so cool.

- You shout, ''Ewww!'' because you find a half-eaten bird in the garage. Your daughter scolds you by saying, ''Not ewww ... Cool!''

- Your daughter is supposed to be changing into her pajamas, but instead she stands in front of the mirror with her t-shirt hanging off her head because, ''I look like one of the kings of Egypt.''

- Your daughter is looking for a way to light the back of the closet and says, ''Mom, do you know where a flashlight is, or should we make one?''
suebattel
 
Homeschool helps
It Is Possible!!

Perhaps my biggest misconception about Homeschooling, was that it just wouldn't be possible for ME to teach my children as well as public/private school teachers could.

I dont' have a teaching degree, and never had experience, other than in church, teaching younger children. Honestly, the thought of my children's success/failure in school, weighing solely on my shoulders, terrified me!

It was a leap of faith, for my husband and I to step into the Homeschooling world, but through God's grace, we're working on year number three, and are excited to say....IT IS POSSIBLE!
This year, we had decided to start a bit later in the year than before, but the kids are begging to get started sooner! This fact alone, amazes me! It's really that enjoyable to them, and I never thought that would be.

I'm so blessed to be able to see my children so much now. The mundane 7am-3:30pm cleaning house, running errands, and other chores while my kids were at school and husband at work, was just not the life I wanted. I missed them!! Now, we do almost everything together and we have fun with life!! The Lord has even blessed my husband with a job that allows him to be home by noon each day now. It's a joint effort for him and I, and it's been the best ''job'' either of us have ever had!
My prayer is that other parents will hear the call, as a ministry, to homeschool their children, and then be courageous enough to step out and take the chance.

Homeschooling is MORE than possible...it's a delight, and the enjoyment that comes from watching your own children learn and grow is enough to make this so worth while. It's such a blessing, on so many levels!
usanglers
 
Other
A few Reasons that we are Homeschooling

My oldest child is nine years old. She will be beginning fourth
grade science, social studies, health, and music, but is behind
in the rest of her subjects. She is reading at a normal
level for her age and grade, but she hates writing sentences
and dislikes writing neatly even more. She is about half way
through her third grade Reading and English books and is really
stumbling along with her math. I put her back into second
grade math in a new curriculum because the third grade book
we had her in was giving her so much trouble. If she were in
the public school system here, she would simply be passed on
without being required to master the facts.

I am glad that with homeschooling we can customize her
curriculum and change levels and resources as needed. I
expect that we will have an easier time with the next three as
I have already learned so much from our first child.
emilymom4

Bible & Spiritual growth
Missions Underground

This website is used to create a place for people to explore missions and the Great Commission, in an interactive way. This will allow, for the first time, an opportunity to see how certain geographical regions are impacting their world for Christ, and reveal the need for the Gospel in others. Explore, learn, and get connected as missions goes underground.

This is a free service and primarily is used with social networking via facebook and Youtube. So it is free, there will be monthly news letters and more features as this website is discussed. This is a great way for parents and their children to be active in reaching the world for Christ, as they incorporate the Great Commission into their Home school routine.
http://www.missionsundeground.com/
missionsundergound
 
Homeschool helps
Jesus, Master of All

In chemistry, He turned water to wine (John 2:1-11).

In biology, He was born without the normal conception (Matthew 1:18-25).

In physics, He overcame the law of gravity when He walked on water and when He ascended into heaven (Matthew 14:29; Acts1:9-11).

In economics, He disproved the law of diminishing return by feeding five thousand men with two fish and five loaves of bread (John 6:10-11).

In medicine, He cured the sick and the blind without administering a single dose of drugs (Matthew 15:30; John 11:37).

In history, He is the beginning and the end (Revelation 1:11).

In government, He is King of kings (1 Timothy 6:15).

In religion, no one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6).

-copied from House to House, Heart to Heart magazine.
cswbooks

Homeschool helps
Why I Love Cathy Duffy's ''100 Top Picks''

This is the most helpful of all the books our family has purchased over the course of our twelve years of homeschooling! After my son's 7th year of being homeschooled, we read this book. School was good before, but superb after applying Cathy Duffy's tips. During his 8th year, each of his books and school subjects were not only among the 100 best of thousands out there, but they were each uniquely matched up to him, his needs, his character, his way of thinking and learning and doing things. Amazing!!! No more dread of spelling, history, science, or any other subject. School time was cut down by about a third, since he truly understood and ''meshed with'' his books and curriculum instructions. And best of all? A new ''I really can do this!'' attitude. Oh, did I mention how it transformed my daughter, too? Although she's quite her brother's opposite, her curriculum is now perfect for her. Thank you Cathy, and to God be all glory!
sandratn
 
Homeschool helps
Reusing consumable worktexts

When you think a worktext has been consumed, think again! Multiple choice answers, specifically those who require a circled a, b, c, d or e alongside the given answer can be a low maintenance opportunity to reuse for another student. Don't worry about those circled answers, just go through with the same kind of pencil, pen, etc. that the 1st child used, and circle ALL of the answer choices. Then, when that next student sits down to take that test or do that worksheet, have them COLOR IN the correct circle. That is it! You will at least get a second use out of your books this way. I know, I have been around! Living overseas for a few years brings out the resourcefulness in a person! Happy homeschooling. Hug your kids, they grow up too fast.
carolchenault

Homeschool helps
Carpe Diem!

August is a great time to ''seize the school day'' for the year ahead. We've found it helpful to give each child a planner page marked off in 1/2 hour increments for each hour of the day, and each day of the week. We ask each one to think about what they enjoy and where they want their time to be invested during the days of the school year. Mom benefits from doing the same, considering her responsibilities to the Lord, the family, the home and community, and the homeschool. It's been enlightening to find out what each person's optimal schedule looks like, and to do our best to accommodate and balance preferences for maximum motivation and satisfaction. Happy planning!
susie_r

Homeschool helps
Encouragement for moms....

Sometimes we get so caught up in all of the things we want to
do, that we lose sight of Who we are doing them for. My focus
this year is to keep my eyes on Jesus and make sure that
everything I do honors Him and builds up my family. I want to be
a woman ''who builds up her house'' and ''doesn't tear it down
with her own hands...''
ilive4jesus

Other
This site is the BEST!!!

This is the best homeschool website ever! It is easy to use and the people are so helpful and friendly! I wish I would have known about it long ago!! I have homeschooled for a long time and I have done it all and seen it all! This site gives the best advice on what to use. Thank you for such an amazing, helpful tool!
proudmomof3girls
 
Homeschool helps
Why & How of a SMALL H.S.Group

I started a small group of 7 homeschool families 11 years ago, and it is the best part of our homeschool besides homeschooling itself! We 7 are still together, all mothers and kids are best friends, and we take turns gathering at our homes-the kids know and love each of our unique homes and properties, and we cannot imagine meeting at an impersonal facility. We are a SUPPORT & PLAY/FELLOWSHIP group, who on occasion do a field trip and 4 or 5 times have done a unit study all together. Do the BIG stuff as a family with your county group, but keep your small group small...THE SIMPLICITY IS ITS LASTING BEAUTY! God bless!
sandratn

Homeschool helps
Don't Be Afraid to Change Curriculum

Please don't fear changing a book, subject, or even your child's or family's complete curriculum, any time of year. If you or your child is miserable with or finding the subject very difficult or stressful, change! How? First, research internet, catalogs, and ''how to'' homeschool books for substitutes. Learn about ''learning styles''. And, remember, used books are cheap, even if the new fails. ORDER BOOK: ''100 TOP PICKS'' by Cathy Duffy. Perfect for lists of curriculum and how to match up each individual child to the PERFECT ones for him! God bless!
sandratn

Lang arts: phonics
Spell to Write and Read (SWR)

I just got home from my second SWR seminar ... it just amazes me that we were taught all these years that English as a language had very little rhyme or reason attached to its evolution. That's just nonsense now that I have the rules/answers in my hand with SWR. I am so blessed that my children will learn the correct rules that will allow them to become better speller and readers and a whole new world is opened up to them from there . . . I know the Lord will use this blessings to bless others. Lord bless the SWR teachers!
coastiechick

Other
Finished school but always a homeschooler

All three of our kids (now in their mid 20s each) are finished, but still it brings me joy when they refer to themselves as home-schoolers. They make mention of it regularly and often with fondness (and a little humor). They felt more prepared to enter college then the peers they saw around them and often remind me it's because they had to teach themselves Algebra (o:
dnurkle
 
Math: fundamentals
Outdoor Math Number Line

We had great success teaching math outdoors with a number line that the kids could walk on. We start at the first number and walk forward to add and backward to subtract. In other words, for 3 + 5, start at 3 and walk 5 paces forward to end at 8. For 3 - 5, start at 3 and walk 5 paces backward to end at -2.
mcmom

Other
Homeschool great but not for Everyone

Even though we love being able to homeschool our children, we must remember it isn't for everyone. I dislike seeing other homeschoolers frown when someone sends their kids to school. Perhaps the Lord is leading that family and thier children to be missionaries at school....just thinking out loud.
home4schooldaze

Homeschool helps
Free Homeschool Help

If you have dsl internet connection or better, think about making use of all the FREE schooling material out there on the web! This year I will use the web to teach both history and science. My children love to surf the web, so what better way to get in some valuable learning time?
rootdoctor67

Other
Value of Learning

''Getting things done is not always what is most important. There is value in allowing others to learn, even if the task is not accomplished as quickly, efficiently or effectively.''
-- R.D. Clyde
adverbe