I'm so clever!

And apparently a little prideful as well.

I had an idea that I wanted to share.  Anyone who is teaching children who have different learning styles knows that you have to be able to adapt to what works best for them vs what is traditionally done.

Having said that, I was in a little bit of a pickle with my eldest's science this year.  I had bought a great science curriculum for 8th/9th grade used.  Of course with it being used all the workbooks and test sheets were also used.  I figured at first that I would just go online and order the workbook and test booklet - only to discover that they were really expensive.  My next thought was that I would just skip the workbook and have her read the text and take notes and then answer questions in a notebook.  That has worked fine for the workbook - but I still have the matter of the tests.  She isn't a great test taker, she tends to get frustrated easily and even though she knows the material she doesn't do as well on a "test".  So I decided to forgo the chapter tests and have her concentrate on the semester and final tests as long as she was putting in the proper time studying.

As far as the Semester and final tests go - we had figured to just type them out on our computer and them she can take it.  Which brought me to my next dilemma - I have very little time on a daily basis and so the thought of typing out a 100 questions was very daunting.  Then my Ah Ha moment came.

She can type it out.  I gave her my test key, and she is typing out all the questions on the test.  This actually helps with her typing skills, helps her to study for this test because since she is reading and typing the questions on her own she is more likely to remember them when she is studying over the next few days before she takes the test.  And she is seeing the answers in my booklet and that is allowing the proper answer to "get into her head" so she is more likely to retain this information well past the day of actually taking the test.

Now some may think that this is encouraging her to cheat so to speak - kids who have different learning styles need to learn according to the way that their brain can retain information - by her "touching" this information several times, she is more likely to retain it vs what a test reveals about memorizing the right answer.

For me and my husband - test taking is just another tool for learning, important but not the final word on what she knows.  I took many tests when I was school and did well, but it wasn't until I put something into practice or saw it for myself that I actually retained the information.

Be open to different possibilities in educating our children - trying to keep everything in the same box is just as damaging as not learning at all.

Semester Update

We have almost finished our first semester, what a learning process - for me!  The girls are doing well considering I am constantly changing things up (or at least it seems that way).  I am figuring out what I like and what I don't like, what the girls respond to and what they don't respond to and overall what seems possible to accomplish and what I may need to let go of.

One thing that is bugging me is the record keeping, last year I downloaded a spreadsheet form from another blogger, that worked well but I seem to have a hard time filling it in.  I joined a free online record keeper this year and am really impressed with it, but am still having a hard time keeping up with filling everything in.  Also, because of our slow internet, it takes forever to update each activity and fill in all the subjects each day.  I have attempted to just leave the laptop on all day and go back and forth between chores/schooling and filling something in.  Keeping track of everything  if mainly for my choice to be accountable since our state does not require us to submit records to them.  I know that when #1 daughter enters high school next year I will need to keep good records for her transcripts.  I figured I should get in the habit now.  I am a little torn because of the amount of time it takes and I feel like it takes away from actually teaching time.  I am considering just going to a simple form that can be put into their planners or mine to help keep track of everyday activities and just enter graded tests and reports into a record/transcript creator type program.

Another thing I have discovered in the last semester is that we have gotten a good jump on the core subjects but I have really slacked off on the electives.  This is bothering me because it is the electives that really set apart our home school from traditional school.  Bible, arts, foreign language options etc.  So when we start back tomorrow I am going to figure out a schedule for making sure we accomplish ALL that we have committed to learning.

Finally, I am learning that not all curriculum is created equally and that it is ok for me to decide that something isn't working well or to decide to try something new instead.  At first I was really hard on myself about what I had chosen and sticking it out.  Now it is really getting into my brain that it is ok to say "let's take a break from this" or "lets do this differently."  Homeschooling is very forgiving!

Officially Homeschoolers

We'll, we have been officially homeschooling for 2 months now and I love it!  The girls are doing really well, although I am really struggling with getting the 1st grader on a schedule.  She has CAPD and I believe ADD as well and so it is very hard to get her to concentrate for very long.  So we take frequent breaks but then she goes off for her break and I see something I need to get done and before you know it, it's an hour later and she has been playing this whole time.

Luckily, she is only 1st grade so I know that we aren't doing to much damage.  I also feel that I want her to like learning and if I am being to strict with her and demanding she will begin to hate school work.

I think the biggest things I want my girls to learn is that learning is fun and you can turn almost any situation into a learning experience.  I do want to try and stay on track with what colleges would want and so forth but how we do is going to be our own style.  I am already finding resources that I do like and ones that I don't.

I am also finding that I still was stuck in the box more than I thought I was. I am working on that, I have always been the more "rebellious" one in our way of thinking about education, but I didn't realize how much I was still influenced by what I learned in public school concerning how school should be. I am loving this and love looking up blogs and resources on the subject! :)

I want the first shot!

I have a preteen, well actually I have a preteen for about a month and then she will be a full-fledged teenager.  Yes, I am stocking up on coupons for hair dye!  A couple of weeks ago, we were kind of going through something with a friend of ours when a thought occurred to me.  I want first shot at my kids.

I don't want my kids learning about boyfriend/girlfriend stuff from their friends.  I don't want my kids learning about right and wrong from their friends. I don't want my kids learning about what they should look like or what a real friend is from their friends.  I want to be the one to teach them these things first.  Now, I am not naive in thinking that they will only listen to me and not their friends, but I know that first impressions and first statements stick with you, am I right?  I don't want my almost teenager to think that she isn't special because she doesn't have a boyfriend at the age of 13.  I don't even want her thinking about that subject,  I did when I was her age and it really messed me up.  I want to be able to teach her that a boyfriend does not define her and that there will be plenty of time for dating and such when she is much older but right now the Lord has a special plan for her that she needs to be focused on.

I just want a chance to plant the seeds that I feel the Lord wants planted, to surround this seedling with the nutrients and environmental conditions needed to encourage healthy growth. Before all the weeds start to invade, I want to make sure that she has a firm foundation that will help her battle through. 

Sign-language

We are learning sign-language!  Ever since I was a little kid and a friend's sister was hearing impaired, I have wanted to learn sign-language.  My friend taught me a little bit so that I could communicate with her little sister but really just the basics and it has been over 25 yrs ago so I really don't remember much.

Now that I am homeschooling, I have been looking for different subjects to teach my girls.  I really want them to be able to speak or converse in another language.  They have both been doing a Spanish curriculum on our "school"days at the church but I have had this nagging desire for us all to learn signing.  I found a wonderful curriculum online that is FREE! Yes, I said FREE, and we started today. 

I explained to my girls that to me sign-language is a language of love.  I am very excited about this and we have a goal of being able to sign the song "I Love You Lord" in church someday soon. Thank you Lord for giving us more than just our mouths to speak!

Homeschooling

I have to say that I am loving homeschooling my girls.  I am still figuring stuff out like curriculum (or even if I want to use a "curriculum") schedules, philosophies and so forth.  I am a researcher by nature and so I spend hours looking things up on the computer, reading books etc.  But I have such a peace in my heart concerning all this and I am finding that the possibilities are endless. I have been researching topics like "unschooling" which I have to admit that when I first saw that topic I about freaked!  But as I started going through the philosophy behind it, I realized that I actually agree with a lot of it. 

I have also realized that I can do this and I can develop my own practices that suit my children.  Kids are different and I think one of the reasons why I wanted to home school was that I want to embrace my kids' differences instead of try and conform them to fit in a mold.  I also don't believe that it is healthy to make kids sit for 6-8 hours a day and cram them full of information and expect them all to grasp this and use it.  God made a wonderful world for us to explore and I want that to be what my children learn.  I didn't dislike learning when I was in school but I did hate school which hampered my ability to learn.  I want my kids to be like sponges and want to absorb all that they can.

I am really excited about our new adventure and I know that my kids are as well.  They love going to the library, zoo, museums and the park.  They love the idea of doing math on the swing set or English in the corner of the closet with a flashlight like they were hiding out.  A good education can come in so many forms and I believe the Lord is showing me right now what is good for my family.  Homeschooling is not for everyone I know but if children are struggling in school it may be an option to look at - for me and my family, I LOVE IT!!!

Embracing Differences

I am a homeschooling mom these days.  I have two extremely different daughters, they are 6 yrs apart and complete opposites.  This is the first year that I am really trying to teach my 6yr old.  She has been going to school since she was born (I work at our church and we had a school there up until this year) but now that she is "of age" to be in kinder we are trying to get across to her that she needs to actually do school not just be in school.

She is a little on the strong-willed, ADHD side of the spectrum, at least compared to her sister who can work independently for hours without even a whisper.  The 12yr old's philosophy is "Get 'er done" whereas the 6yr old's philosophy is "Why?" In the time that I have spent writing this blog, the 12 yr old has completed 2 subjects, the 6yr old 1 math problem, ugh!

I need to figure out what works for her and her way of thinking, God made her this way for a purpose and I need to cultivate the good parts and weed out the negative in order for her to blossom.

Lord, help me!