Back to Homeschool Week 3

Our third week went very well.  Our routine seems to be working and allowing me to spend one on one time with each child every day.  The children have made the transition to using Math U See and so far they all like it much better.  The only subject we have not added to our schedule yet is Latin.  I waited to order Latin Alive Book 2 for Chelsea and got it for 25 % off with free shipping from Christianbook.com and it is not here yet.  The boys use Visual Latin, but we have not dived back into it either and probably won't for about 2 weeks.  We have several review items that we are focusing on right now.

To go along with our Apologia Swimming Creatures study, we decided to get a fish tank.  We set it up last week and Friday we went to Walmart and bout 5 Danios, 2 Tiger Barbs, an algae eater, a gold snail, and a Pink Gourami.  So far the fish have provided hours of entertainment for the children.  We also are planning on hatching Triops, and raising a tadpole.

Friday we had a Back to Homeschool picnic at the park.  It didn't last as long as usual because with the heat index it was 106 degrees that day and everyone was soooooo hot!  We had a good time for the time we were there and it was a great way to welcome some of the new homeschooling families.  It is amazing to me how much the homeschooling movement continues to grow, even in a small little town that we live in.  It was wonderful to see, meet, and have the opportunity to encourage new homeschooling moms!

The County Fair starts Monday.  This is one of our busiest weeks of the year and we will be missing school for a few days.  Our Art Classes are starting back up on Friday and the children are very excited about that.  I found my camera (finally!) so next week's post should actually have some pictures in it.  Have a great week!

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Finding A Good Balance With My Struggling Reader

Our house is full of people who LOVE to read!  Art and I both read all of the time and my oldest two children were reading very well by the age of 5.  We read aloud in our house....a lot!  We go to the library weekly.  Our house is full of picture books (both fiction and non fiction), chapter books, audio books, magazines, and e books.  

My Alex (8 1/2) is a struggling reader.  He has been making a ton of progress ever since we started using All About Spelling and All About Reading, a multi sensory approach to teaching reading and spelling.  The use of letter manipulatives and the process of building the words has really helped his brain be able to process the words and read them.  We made it all the way through Level One of All About Reading and Spelling last year and have started working on Level Two of All About Spelling this year and using the readers to go along with them.  But, although he is doing much better, reading just does not come easy to Alex.

One of the biggest things I struggle with for him is that I don't want to kill his love of reading because it is such a struggle. Too often I find myself wanting to read everything to him so he doesn't have to struggle.   I want it to be easy for him!  As parents we have to walk a fine line between letting them struggle and helping out and it can be difficult to find that balance.  

As I try to find our balance, this is what has been working for us.  Alex reads aloud with me everyday out of his All About Reading readers.  It usually takes about 15-20 minutes to do a lesson and 15-20 minutes to read a story.  If it is a day when there is no reading assignment, he chooses one of the older stories we have already done.  When it comes to his Math, I have been sitting with him and instead of reading all of the instructions to him, I have him read them out loud to me (same with word problems.)  If there are words that are more difficult, I encourage him to try and figure it out and then we sound it out together.  I encourage him to read things he sees on television or in the grocery store.  To help reinforce new words, I have been putting them in the Spelling City iPad app and he has been playing games to learn the words.  At the library (and at home) many times he will choose non fiction picture books to look over during reading time.  We fill his mp3 player with audio books so that he can listen to chapter books that are above his reading level (www.booksshouldbefree.com is a great resource for audio books.) 

I am hoping that as his confidence and vocabulary grows, I will be able to encourage him to try and read longer books on his own and focus on one word at a time instead of being overwhelmed by all of the words on the page.  I want him to be able to pick up a book and enjoy it.  I don't want reading to be a delight, not a chore.

So, moms of struggling readers.  Any tips or advice for making reading a delight to your children? 


*links to All About Spelling are my affiliate links and I make a commission for products purchased through those links.  I only form affiliate relationships with companies whose products I use and believe in!

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Schoolhouse Review Crew: Math 911

For 49 years, Professor Weissman has been teaching Math.  Math 911 is for students who believe that Algebra is difficult and a struggle to learn.  Math 911 is an easy and economical solution for Math students.  Math 911 will teach you to absorb Algebra effortlessly.

Math 911 is a simple no frills approach to Mathematics.  There are no games or distracting graphics.  Math 911 is a mastery based program.  No answers are graded as wrong.  Instead, the student continues in the area they are working until they get enough answers correct to show mastery. If the student does not get an answer correct they can see a step by step demonstration of the solution to the problem.

Professor Weismann's software is Algebra In A Flash $49.95.  Plug in your flash drive into any computer with Windows 7, XP, or Vista.  No downloads are necessary.  The flash drive contains a complete Algebra Course, plus bonus topics including: Introductory and Intermediate Algebra, Pre Calculus, Trigonometry, and Introductory Statistics.  Upgrades are free and more topics will be included in future upgrades.  At the time of this posting, there is a homeschool special for $40 off using the code homeschool at checkout.

You can try a complete Introductory Algebra course free with no rebate or credit card necessary.  Go to the Math 911 homepage and download and installation instructions can be found in the sidebar. There are also several free PDF modules available for download.

We received a download version of Math 911.  We used Math 911 to reinforce concepts that we are currently working on in Algebra.  The program gives you the ability to choose your topic and you can work in that area as long as you like.  I really liked that there were no distracting bells and whistles in the Math 911 program.  Students can simply concentrate on their Math problems.  I love that it takes a mastery approach and focuses the student on what they get right and not what they get wrong.  Similar problems are generated when the student gets a problem wrong until they show mastery.  I found that the step by step solutions to every problem was very helpful to pinpoint exactly where you went wrong and prevent the same mistake in future equations.

The software that is used in Math 911 is an older type of software.  The way the page is set up was a little difficult for me.   The problem shows up at the top of the screen, your answer goes in the middle, and your directions are at the bottom.  I found this a bit awkward.  Also when typing in a series of numbers and a mistake was made, I couldn't just go back and fix the mistake.  I had to take off all of the numbers up to the mistake then retype them. 

 To see what other crew mates had to say click here.

Disclaimer:  I received a complimentary Math 911 download for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review.  I received no other compensation.

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Homeschooling is Not the Same as School At Home

Many people think that we homeschool because of a bad school district or that the public school teachers do not do a good job teaching.  That simply is not true.  We homeschool because we want more than a public school education can ever offer our children.  There may be some schools that are considered better than others, but it's the system as a whole that doesn't work.

The Public School System teaches that you are only able to learn up to a certain "level" for your grade and you are not allowed to learn anything beyond that.  They teach that the teacher and the textbook are always right and of much more importance than the parent and the family.  It teaches all subjects from an evolutionary perspective.  They focus all of their importance on test scores and if you don't do well on the test or cannot learn the way they teach then there is something wrong with you.  Their form of "socialization" is a forced association with 20 other children exactly the same age and one adult who cannot see or control what goes on all the time in her classroom.

I want my children to delight in learning, not just between the hours of 8 and 3 Monday through Friday, but all the time.  I want to be able to allow them to pursue their interests and God given talents.  I want them to put God first in everything, learn from a Christian Creationist perspective, and that History is really a study of HIStory.  I want them to know there is so much more to learning than just reading a textbook and knowledge is much more than achieving a high score on a test. I want to provide hands on learning experiences for them to be able to see , touch, feel, and experience.  I want them to learn day to day real life chores and experiences.  When we miss a day of "school" in order to do a community service project or take a field trip, it's not a day of "missing" our schoolwork.  Those are the lessons that teach the most.  I wat family to come first and for my children to be each other's best friends for life.  I want them to know what "real life" is like and that in the "real world" you associate with people of all ages and backgrounds.  

 I really could keep going on and on, but my computer time is almost up!  I found this yesterday on Facebook and wanted to share it here as well for those of you who are not on Facebook or have not liked The Happy Homeschool Mom.  It came from Holy Spirit Led Homeschooling and I thought it said it perfectly.

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Schoolhouse Review Crew: Reading Kingdom

My first year on the Crew, I had an opportunity to review an online reading program, Reading Kingdom, that opened the world of reading to my son Alex like nothing else that we tried and gave him the tools and confidence that he needed to begin reading.  You can read the review I wrote here.  During that review time, Anthony was just not quite ready to use the program (more on that in a minute.)  Now that he is older, and after the success we achieved with Alex, I was happy to have an opportunity to review Reading Kingdom again.

Reading Kingdom is a fun online reading program that teaches children ages 4-10 how to read and write to a 3rd grade level.  The program was created by Dr. Marion Blank Director of the Light on Learning Program at Columbia University and one of the world's top experts in reading.  Reading Kingdom is so much fun that children want to play it and usually after a few sessions are able to do so completely independently.  The program offers customized reading instruction for your child and is the only online program that teaches all 6 skills necessary for reading and writing success: sequencing, motor skills, sounds, meaning, grammar, and comprehension.  Children can see their progress by earning points for their passports and watching a bar graph showing how much of the level and program they have completed.  Parents can log in and see their child's progress or can receive weekly email reports.

You can read more about their approach to teaching reading by clicking here.

What makes Reading Kingdom different from other reading programs?  Find out more by reading this article here.

The program starts off with an optional keyboard and mouse training for young children who are not familiar with the keyboard.  Next the child completes a skills survey to determine which of the 6 levels of the program they need to begin.  The pre reading level has two components.  The Seeing Sequence portion teaches visual scanning and memory while Letter Land teaches to find and click letters smoothly.  After completing that level a second skills survey is taken.  The reading and writing portion has 5 levels with 6 books at each level.  The first level starts with short simple words and moves on to increasingly complex language.  Before reading a book the child is taught all the words he needs using 4 different game like formats.  Before teaching the word, the child is asked to type it and if they already know it that word is skipped and the program moves on to the next word.    A session generally takes about 15-20 minutes to complete.

Reader Report

Reading Kingdom offers a free 30 trial.  After your trial, subscriptions to Reading Kingdom are $19.99/month (with no monthly minimum), or $199.99 per year (20% off). Additional children in your account get 50% off ($9.99/month or $99.99/year). You can cancel your subscriptions at any time. 

Sign up for your free trial here. 

We LOVE Reading Kingdom!!  As I said in my introduction paragraph, Reading Kingdom was very helpful in teaching Alex to read the last time we reviewed the program.  We already knew and loved that the program teaches reading and writing in a fun and interesting way and I loved their approach to doing so.  But, since our last review, there have been several improvements made to the program that have made it even better!  The biggest frustration I had with Anthony the first time we reviewed the program (he was 5 at the time) was that he got frustrated that he didn't have enough time to put in his whole answer.  One of the changes to the program is that the parent can go in and adjust the amount of time the child has to answer.  The student now earn points for their correct answers and as they earn them it opens up new levels on their passport.  This has been very motivating to Anthony and he often completes more than one lesson to see his points grow!  We love the improvements on the reader report that shows exactly where your child is both in their level and in the complete program.  It makes it so much easier for me to see how he is doing without having to sit and watch him.  Parents can move the child forward or back a level if they choose to with a quick note to customer service who respond quickly and courteously.  

Anthony enjoys playing Reading Kingdom so much that he even requests to play it on the week-ends.  But the most important part of that is not just that he is having fun, but learning the skills he needs to read and write successfully.  That knowledge goes beyond being able to recognize the words in the game.  He is remembering and reading those words he has learned when he sees them other places.  We look forward to continuing with  Reading Kingdom program.

To see what other crew mates have to say click here.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary subscription to Reading Kingdom for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review.  I received no other compensation.

  

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Yes You Can Successfully Homeschool High School

This week's Blog Cruise topic is Homeschooling High School.  High School is a scary thought for homeschoolers years before it even begins.  My first year of homeschooling my oldest daughter was in the third grade.  One of my fears before we made the commitment to homeschool that first year was, "What happens when she is older and her knowledge surpasses mine?  How will I teach things like Algebra and Chemistry to my daughter when I didn't like them when I went to school and did terrible in those subjects?"  My daughter was 7 years old and I was already terrified at the thought of homeschooling those upper grades.  Thankfully there was a very wise veteran homeschooler who was able to encourage and counsel me.

Now that Chelsea is actually in High School, I have to tell you that truthfully homeschooling High School is easier than homeschooling Elementary School!!  Why?  By the time your child is High School age they can take responsibility for a large portion of their education.  With a little help and guidance they can write and complete their own schedule and do their work independently.  That is not true in the younger years when mom has to sit side by side with the child almost all of the time. 

How do you teach advanced subjects or things you have limited (or no) knowledge in?  In today's day and age their is no limit to what your child can learn in your homeschool.  Many homeschool textbooks are written so that the child is able to teach themselves with little or no teacher input necessary.  There is a huge variety of DVD and internet courses available.  Currently Chelsea is taking an online writing course (Time4 Writing) and using a DVD course for Latin (Latin Alive!) and Algebra (Math U See.)  If you own an iPad or other tablet or Smart Phone there are a ton of educational apps available.  Many areas offer homeschool co ops classes or workshops.  There may people who are knowledgeable in your child's area of interest that would LOVE to share their knowledge with your child.  The possibilities are truly endless!

Is High School more expensive to homeschool?  It depends on the curriculum you choose.  Courses that use DVD's or online schooling usually are more expensive.  Many times if you keep your items in very good condition you will be able to resell them when you are through and for me that helps to offset some of the costs.  We also use as many free resources as possible.  For Literature, instead of buying all of the books that go with the curriculum, we use the library or find free ebooks online. 

How do you know what classes your High Schooler should take?  Check first and see if there are any regulations for your state that homeschoolers need to graduate.  Arkansas does not have any specific regulations but our Education Alliance recommends this course of study for a college bound student:

English 4 credits: Suggested courses to choose from: Composition, American Lit, British Lit, World Lit, Rhetoric,Creative Writing, Speech/Communication, Journalism, Debate;
also consider AP courses

Math 4+ credits: Algebra 1 & 2, Geometry, Trigonometry, Pre-Calculus,
Calculus, AP Calculus

History: 3-4 credits ESSENTIALS: World History, American History, American
Government. CONSIDER: Economics, Geography,
Constitutional Law and AP courses

Science: 3-4 credits Physical Science, General Science, Earth Science, Biology,
Chemistry, and Physics. CONSIDER: AP courses

Foreign Language: 2-4 credits French, Spanish, Latin, German, Russian, etc. (2 years same
language preferred)

Physical Education: 1-2 credits Many options available

Fine Arts :1-2 credits Art, Music, Drama, Photography, etc.

Electives 5 credits : Practical Arts, Life Skills, Home Economics, Bible, Computer
Skills, etc.

Total Credits: 23-27 credits

How do you count credits?   As a general rule, most courses that the textbook takes a whole year to complete in the main subject areas (math, science, english, foreign language, history) will equal one credit hour.  Elective courses that only take half of a year to complete receive 1/2 credit.  Another way to figure out how much a course is worth would be to figure out the number of hours your child has worked in a particular subject area.  This way if you are using several sources or unit studies and not a traditional "text book", or if you review 5 different math curricula in one year (does this happen to anyone else?) you will know how much credit to give.  120-180 hours is worth one credit.  Many traditional text book course take about 150 hours (50 min/day, 5 days/week, 36 weeks.)  Courses with labs may take closer to 180 hours and electives will be in the 120-150 hour range.  Using those numbers as a guideline you can figure out 1/2 and 1/4 credit courses also.  As she finishes a course I keep track of the name of the course, how much credit it is worth and her grade in the course.  There are many programs out there for making your own transcripts, and in Arkansas the Education Alliance will make one for you with any donation amount if you send all of your information to them.

There are several great resources for homeschooling High School. TOS has several great homeschool planners (one is made especially for High Schoolers) that are all free with a membership to Schoolhouseteachers.com.  Donna Young also has some great information and planners on her website which you can find by clicking here. Lee Binz has a ton of information and advice for parents homeschooling High School. Go to her website by clicking here.

 Don't let the thought of High School intimidate you! Don't let people make you feel incapable or unqualified to teach your High School children.  They are the same children at 15 as they were when God blessed you with them as infants and commanded you to, "Train them up in the way they will go."  Many people successfully homeschool their children through High School and they get to go out into the world as intelligent, confident, prepared adults. You can do it! Enjoy the time you have with your children because before you know it, they will be heading out the door to college or a career.

Stop by and see what other crew mates had to say here.

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Back to Homeschool Week 2

Last week we officially started back to school.  We start our school work back gradually adding in a few subjects at a time until we are back to a full schedule.  Last week we started out with P.E., History, Bible, Reading, and Science.  This week we added in Writing/Handwriting, Spelling, and Math. 

One of the challenges to our schedule this year is scheduling the children who are using DVD programs and also the computer.  Nick and Chelsea both are using DVD's for Math, plus Nick is using them for Latin and Writing.  Anthony is using Reading Kingdom on the computer, the younger children are using Speekee, and we just got a new computer program to review called Zoo Whiz.  Our TV is in the family room and the younger children get to watch a show while Emmie goes down for her nap and the older children are doing afternoon school work.  I had Nick use the laptop with ear buds so he could watch his DVDs in the schoolroom while I was doing Spelling with Alex.  Chelsea had to rearrange her schedule to wait for the computer so she could do her Math.  Anthony uses the computer while I am making lunch, Alex after recess and we watch Speekee late in the afternoon. 

Our most fun projects of the week were for Swimming Creatures.  We made our ocean box that w will be filling with clay animals or animal pictures as we learn about them.  Our Triops and Grow a Frog kits came in the mail yesterday.  We need to get the right kind of water for the Triops and send the certificate in to get the tadpole.  The children are very excited about these projects!  They also want to buy an aquarium and some fish.  I love the Apologia makes learning about Science so much fun!

Emelia did better this week too.  She seemed to be more comfortable with our schedule and content to go and play while we did our morning schoolwork.  She did cut a new tooth this week and was very clingy one day, but not in a way that was disrupting.  Her favorite part of the school day is P.E.  She sits and watches and laughs and claps.  Sometimes she even tries to do the exercises with us and is very cute!

The most exciting thing that happened in our homeschool this week was that we got an iPad!  I had been looking at them for awhile and actually jokingly told Art last spring after my Ebay selling spree that instead of Math curriculum I was going to take the money and buy an iPad.  I didn't.  I bought that Math books.  But when we were talking about it again last week and all of the educational/homeschooling possibilities there are with the iPad, Art told me to stop talking about it and go ahead and buy it!  So I did.  We have only had it a few days but so far we LOVE it!  I will say that the amount of apps available for the iPad can be a bit overwhelming!  There are so many out there it is hard to choose.  I put several free apps on there for pre-school activities, piano, star walk, presidents verses aliens and a few games.  I have bought stack the states, rocket math,and kinderzoo.  For Emelia I put an Old McDonald app and she loves it!  I want to find some really good educational apps for all of my children.  I don't want the iPad to be a time wasting device.  I want the children to use it as a learning tool.  I did also put The Old Schoolhouse Magazine App on it for Me!  I am really excited to have the iPad and the possibilities it adds to our homeschool!  I will definitely be blogging more about the iPad and how we are using it in our homeschool soon.

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