Friday, December 27, 2013

Organizing School Time for Large Families


A parent with a child or two can get by without a plan on some days, but as your family grows, the tendency towards chaos can increase exponentially.  Throw in children at different ages and a mix of curricula and it can quickly turn your smile upside down.  But, organizing school time for large families doesn’t have to be a hassle if you break it down into easy steps.

1.  Prioritize

This is your chance to set boundaries–not only about what subjects are most important, but also about what extracurricular events need to be included.  If you feel that math is most important, put it at the top of your list.  If your children take music lessons that you feel can’t be missed; add them in.  But if you feel like those lessons are on an as-needed basis, then list them towards the bottom.

2.  Plan

Now that you have your priorities straight — set them to paper.  If writing is your number one concern, make sure to schedule it at the time of day your children are at their most attentive.  Organizing school time for large families requires keeping your school plans on paper.  Plan out each month, then work backwards to assignments for each week, then each day.

3.  Protect

Once you have your plan, try not to deviate.  Don’t worry about being “too restrictive” —  research shows that children find comfort in pattern and order.  If your phone rings; ignore it.  You are not being rude.  If you were conducting school outside of your home, you would not be answering the phone anyway!  Try to discourage well-meaning neighbors from “dropping by” in the middle of your school day and make an effort to schedule things like hair appointments or other errands outside of school time.

Employing these few simple steps will give you an advantage when organizing school time for your large family, and help make your homeschool experience more productive.

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Six Tips for Homeschooling


Starting homeschooling for your children can seem like an incredibly time-consuming and confusing task, but with my tips for homeschooling, you can easily begin the journey together, as a family, with little headache and great reward.

  1. Try not to subscribe to the theory that homeschooled children are not sociable or the odd man out when put into a situation with homeschooled and non-homeschooled children.  Your child may actually thrive more with the one-on-one guidance you offer as parent and teacher.
  2. With that being said, one of the more humbling tips for homeschooling is, do not compare your child to another, whether that is a sibling or a group member or a friend who goes to public school. We all learn at our own pace.
  3. Find a homeschooling group in your city. They will be a plethora of tips for homeschooling, as well as more groups of children to interact with, and your shoulders to lean on.
  4. Make sure you follow your state’s law for homeschooling. Many will require a 40 week curriculum, just as a public school.  Some may dictate what needs to be taught as well. Follow the rules as you would expect your child to. But remember, this is still a more flexible choice over public, where your moral, religious, or other beliefs can come into play while teaching.
  5. Once you’ve established your state laws, set clear but attainable goals for you and your children. These can be done in advance or week to week, but the skeleton of your curriculum should be made for the year.
  6. Remember, have patience and have some fun. Life is for living and learning. Kids will be kids and each child is their own person. Have the patience when one of them has a problem, is not moving at the rate you expected, or seems confused. One of my favorite tips for homeschooling is give praise where it is needed. Kids love knowing when they’re doing well, not just when they need critique.

Monday, December 23, 2013

Teaching Fractions Made Easy


The children in my life struggle with fractions.  Even the mention of them is enough to cause a few of them anxiety.  Moving the learning of fractions in the kitchen made things so much easier and far less painful.

To begin pick a simple recipe with few ingredients and whole cup ingredients.  Rice Crispy treats or pudding work well.  Read the directions out loud and demonstrate how to measure the ingredients.  Let the children practice measuring liquids and dry ingredients.  When the recipe is completed have the children help wash the dishes by hand and encourage them to measure different amounts of dish water and rinse water.  Let them have fun!

The next time make things a bit more difficult.  Use partial cup measures (like the tin or plastic ½, 1/3, or ¼ cup measures) to measure a cup of ingredients.  For example, a recipe calls for one cup of rice.  Have the child or children measure four ¼ cup measures into the pan.  A few times doing this and children know that the bottom number of the fraction indicates how many are needed to make a whole cup.  Once this is familiar – use a ¼ cup measure to get a half of a cup.  Before long the children have a very clear understanding of basic fractions.

As the children progress to move complex learning, increase the complexity of the cooking.  Multiplication of fractions is easily introduced by double or tripling a recipe for company.  Start with the recipe, paper and pencils.  Explain that you are going to double the recipe.  One by one show the child or children how to multiply the amount of each ingredient.  After you do a couple, ask them to figure the next one.  Continue the practice with another recipe (even if you are not going to make it that day).

Follow each session in the kitchen with written material or worksheets to reinforce what the child or children learned in the kitchen.  It is not nearly as difficult when it is connected to the real application see and done in the kitchen.

Friday, December 20, 2013

Recycling During Homeschooling


Recycling during home school is a perfect route to helping children become recycling partners.  One way to introduce the problem is talk about all the trash a family produces in a week.  To make this point clearer, collect a week’s trash in a visible place.  At the end of the week weigh the trash and record the amount. Discuss what kinds of things have been thrown away.

Once the children understand the amount and the content of the family trash, introduce the three “R’s” reduce, reuse, recycle.  Take the time to review and discuss each one.

Reduce:  Ask the children to look at all the things a family uses in a day.  Help identify some things that would reduce waste.  Some examples: shut water off while brushing teeth, lathering hands, and shampooing hair; using cloth napkins instead of paper; keeping plastic pop and water bottles filled with water in the refrigerator instead of buying more bottled water;  borrowing books from the library instead of buying them; and taking cloth bags to the grocery store.

Reuse:  Ask the children to think about the things around the house that are used for something other than what it was created for.  Some examples might be using rags salvaged from other clothes and bedding; storing leftovers in plastic containers from cottage cheese, yogurt, and deli meats; and taking pop or soda glasses back for refills rather than getting a new one.

Recycle:  If your family already recycles, review the materials put in to recycle.  It is a good time to see if there are other articles that could be in the recyclables.  It is also a good time to see if there is a way to make the process more organized and easier.

If the family is not recycling, here is an opportunity to put a system in place.  Older children can help by looking up local recycling practices.  Involve the children in creating an area for collecting the recyclables.

After several weeks of working on the three “R’s,” repeat the saving of the family’s trash for a week.  Hopefully there will be enough of a reduction in trash for children to see a difference in the volume and the weight.  Review what has been done and think together about what else could be done.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

10 Ways to Increase Your Child’s Learning at Home

Here are some ideas to increase learning at home:
 
1. Limit the amount of TV a child watches in a week.

2. Limit the amount of time a child spends playing video games.

3. Play board games like Scrabble, Boggle, Backgammon, Chess, Rummy, Risk and other games that require math, spelling, reading, and strategy skills.

4. Read to younger children every day and encourage older ones to read by providing a wide variety of books and magazines.

5.  Encourage natural curiosity by helping a child find answer to questions.  Even when you know the answer, sometimes instead of answering the question help a child to look up the answer.  Not only will the child learn the answer to the question but will learn more about the subject and also, how to do research.

5. Ask questions about everything (What kind of bird is that? How did people mend clothes before the invention of sewing machines? How did people decide where roads would be place?).  Then have your child help you look up the answer.

6. As you do ordinary chores like washing dishes, laundry, or pulling weeds talk about what you are doing and why.

7. Use learning games, books, and projects as rewards rather than punishment.  It reinforces the fun of education.

8.  If a child shows an interest in a subject, encourage her or him to look for more resources on the subject and develop a project incorporating what he or she learned.  (Beware:  This is how someone ended up with a dog sled in her living room!)

9. As child is preparing for a quiz or a test, let him or her ask you the questions he or she thinks might be included.  Don’t worry if you do not know an answer.  It is a great way to model to find an answer.

10.  Create a question jar containing papers with questions that will spark an interesting discussion or journal entry.  When a child is bored, he or she can draw a paper.

Monday, December 16, 2013

Benefits of Homeschooling Your Child


One of the most concerning issues faced by parents of the current generation is that they are not satisfied by certain schools and their education systems. Home schooling is one of the best options in those situations.

Why home school? Parents must know the benefits that the home schooling system would bring in.

Center of focus: By home schooling your child, all your focus would be on educating your own child and hence he or she won’t be losing attention in the crowd.

Quality of education: You are the sole decider on what should be taught and how to teach. Hence the quality of education will always be high due to your concern towards your child.

Which subject needs more teaching: Your child may be exceptionally good at one subject and weak at another. So you may decide to give more time for the weaker subject. This is one of the most critical aspects that would answer your question on why home school.

Stress free: When you home school your child; they are relieved from the stress of being imposed to huge loads of home works and tests. You decide on the optimum level of education that is required to your child.

These are the factors that drive today’s parents to home school their kids. For all those parents who were wondering on why home school, this article would have given some answers.

Friday, December 13, 2013

Things To Know Before Getting Your Child Into A Home School


How to home school? This is the most critical information that today’s parents are trying to seek. Parents who decide to home school their child must understand the following aspects.

  • Getting yourself prepared: Since you have decided to home school your child, you must prepare the right curriculum that would best suit the child’s age and capacity to learn.
  • Understand your child’s requirements: Do not force your child to learn something that he or she doesn’t like. Provide something that the child is interested on, and then help him learn the subject.
  • Encourage sports activities: You might browse through various websites on how to home school your child, to find out the best techniques for educating your child. Apart from education, it is really important that you help your child play around with other kids every day. As you are homeschooling, care must be taken to make sure that your child is not isolated from others.
  • Educate them on life: Help your child understand how life will be when he grows up. How to plan and manage things? How to get along with people? All these things are critical to bring him out as an independent citizen and you won’t find it in many of the how to home school guides.

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Is Home Schooling The Right Option For The Child’s Future?


Educating our children has always been a huge aspect in their growth and the education system has always been a separate entity apart from the children’s homes. With the gaining popularity of the home schooling system, one of the major concerns that pop up into the minds of parents is what kind of knowledge their children would gain at home schools. What should be taught at home schools and will it affect the child’s future?

Home schooling is not a bad option when it is done with care. The amount of knowledge that a child gains at regular schools would be the same as the amount of knowledge that he would gain at home schools, provided, the child is given the right amount of education. Along with the subject related knowledge the child will also develop some extracurricular skills, as the pressure at home schools are much less when compared to the pressure that the child faces at an educational institution.

So if you decide to home school your child, just go ahead with it and if you are already home schooling your child, never regret it.

Monday, December 9, 2013

Coping Strategies For Homeschooling Parents


Being a parent is not an easy job! Parenting is demanding physically, emotionally, socially, and spiritually.  It is a huge responsibility…all the time!  Homeschooling can add to the stressors by adding more worry about homeschooling, guilt about allowing things to go undone, and more responsibility.

Have you ever notice that at times you are most stressed – at the same times your child or children are the most frustrating?  Other people can be so helpful!  “Don’t forget to take care of yourself!” There have been many times when I have wanted to yell in return, “Just how am I supposed to do that?”

As I have matured I have learned a few things that are helpful to me.  Maybe they will be helpful to you.

  •  I have to remind myself to eat and sleep regularly.  If I don’t, I am easily overwhelmed and cranky.  The “to do list” in my head just has to wait for me to do those two things or even the simplest of tasks takes more time and energy than I can give.
  •  I need to maintain relationships with friends who have a calming and strengthening affect on me.  When I am stressed, I avoid people who like drama or have a need to “fix” me.
  • I have adopted serenity spaces to take a short break.  For me the most effective spaces involve trees and outdoors (even when the snow is blowing).  I had to establish firm boundaries with the other people in my world about giving me time alone in those spaces.
  • I remember my grandparents raised children with far less money, space, options, and without a dishwasher!  They bring me strength and courage.
  • If I am struggling with an issue that I don’t want to share with people in my life, I have been known to call a free hotline (like Boys Town National Hotline 1-800-448-3000) to talk to a stranger.
  • And every day I get to take at least 15 minutes to do just what I want to do.  It might be dancing to a song that makes me happy, reading a junk novel, painting something silly, or taking a very hot bath and fantasying I’m on a cruise ship heading for Alaska.

As frustrating as it is to hear, “Don’t forget to take care of yourself,” it is important to figure out how to do that.  It is a gift only you can give yourself and it will make all the difference in the world.

Friday, December 6, 2013

A Child Like Mine


Written for thoughtful insight:

I hope that someday soon your child meets a child like mine.  She is intelligent, funny, opinionated, and passionate about life.  From an early age her hero has been Gandhi and she is naturally focused on justice and human rights.  She loves purple fingernail polish and painting.  She also uses a wheelchair, has a feeding tube and is unable to speak.  Although she has a rather primitive communication device, her main form of communication is eye gaze.  She is definitely differently abled!

You are likely to find her (and other differently abled children and adults) at the library, in the grocery store, at a museum, in the swimming pool, at a restaurant, or even in line to ride an elephant.  Your child will notice!  It is hard not to stare at the wheelchair, the feeding tube, the wild colorful shoes, or the ornery smile.  There is no reason to be embarrassed by your child gaze or even comments.  It is a learning moment.

Here are some suggestions to help both of you through the uncomfortable first encounters and meetings.

1.  Be proactive by exposing your child to differently abled people.  A Sesame Street video, Me and My Chair can be found at  www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhC7CJPdvOc; coloring and activity sheets are available at http://blog.easystand.com/activity-sheets/; information about kids who are blind http://kidshealth.org/kid/health_problems/sight/visual_impaired.html. From time to time differently abled people appear in books, movies, and magazines which is great time for a discussion.

2. Answer your child’s questions when they come.  Short honest answers are best in public but later is a good time for a more in depth conversation. Be sure to ask if the explanation actually answers the child’s question. In my experience children very often view things differently than I do. I once answered a child’s question, “what’s wrong with her?” with a simple answer about my child’s need for a wheelchair when what the child was really asking was why she was angry.

3. Always assume a differently abled person is intelligent.  There is nothing more annoying than to be talked down to.   Baby talk and talking louder are signs of ignorance not compassion.

4.  Avoid feeling sorry for someone who is differently abled.  What may appear to you as tragic is often someone else’s normal.  The person is not a miracle, a saint, or “special.”

5. Remember that the person who is differently abled is first and foremost a person with all the same feelings, joys, and struggles as anyone else.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Online Homeschooling – An Option For Homeschoolers


With an increasing number of homeschool students, the demand for homeschool tutors has increased. Lots of options and facilities are being made for the homeschoolers and one of the most beneficial options that are becoming popular is the online homeschool option.

Those parents who are concerned about finding the right tutor for their children would find this online homeschool option more helpful. This program offers the students with tutorials and books on all the subjects that are related to the homeschool curriculum.

The best feature of online homeschool is that the students are allowed to access numerous books on each subject online and if they won’t be able to access internet at a particular point of time, they can download these books and print them. This kind of arrangement would give more flexibility, since some students would find it easier to read from the hard copy, than sitting in front of the computer.

These programs are available for a minimal cost and do not require any specific software. Just a basic internet connection would suffice.

Monday, December 2, 2013

Options for Homeschool Tutors


With the changing trend in the education system, more and more parents are deciding to get their children into home schools. The reason for this might be due to their lack of confidence on the schools, their belief on the home school mode of education or due to some personal or family constraints. For those who adopt home school system, finding the right homeschool tutors will be their primary focus if needed.

Some parents decide to mentor their children themselves, and hence do not look for other qualified homeschool tutors. Though this seems to be a good approach, as the children would feel comfortable to learn from their parents, some parents do not have the time or skills.

Lots of institutions offer tutoring services and some of them would even come to the children’s homes, to teach them. These homeschool tutors are qualified in different subjects and hence a single tutor would be able to handle more than one subject. Based on the requirements of the parents, different homeschool tutors would be appointed for different subjects.

Not all parents will need tutors for their home education, but this info is given for those who may desire to choose this option in home education.