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Keyboard Classroom – Learn How To Type in Your Homeschool

January 23, 2014 | 2 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

(I was given a copy of Keyboard Classroom in exchange for my honest opinion. This post also contains affiliate links. Read my full disclosures here and here.)

Back when they still offered typing in high school, I took it as an elective and I am glad I did.

Typing is a skill I have used to this day and so I wanted to be sure each one of my sons had a good grasp on the skill.

I don’t do the hunt/peck sort of typing just for the fact that on my job interviews back in the day they required timed tests. That is not my goal for my sons. I do have a list of things I am looking for in a typing program and a few of them are that it has to be easy to use, would teach typing in increments, have some way to see a record of their progress, could be used for multiple children or the family, incorporated some of the skills I learned as a quick typist like taking dictation and is pretty self-manageable. I don’t want to be managing lessons for another subject.

So when I was given the chance to use Keyboard Classroom for the past few months I was delighted.

Benefits of Keyboard Classroom

easy set up	the home screen is easily understandable by a child of any age
it has that incremental approach which I was looking for	repeat practice is the best way to learn typing as it is used in this program
games are used to incorporate fun and give you a sense of accomplishment. The minute Tiny figured out you only needed 2 tokens for a game, he over there on the games.	short spurts like one minute of work was good for Tiny too

Did you notice those nifty little finger guards up there in that first picture? They are placed on the keyboard to help your child keep his fingers in the right position. That is a nice plus for those who struggle to keep their fingers positioned correctly. I think that is the hardest part for any new typist.

We only used the finger guards for the first lesson or so because Tiny had some prior typing experience, not much, but he still was okay without them.

The greatest advantage for us in using this program is that it helped to strengthen Tiny’s finger reaches. Too, Tiny has had piano lessons so I think that helped in understanding finger placement. He found this program quite easy to understand, but it still presented a nice challenge when he went to the higher levels.

Look at the levels this program has:

Keyboard Finger Trainer/Typing Words/Home Stretch/Typing Sentences and Capital Stretch. Unlike some other typing programs I used with my older boys, with Keyboard Classroom Tiny seemed to make improvement a little faster. I think it was the satisfaction knowing that he completed a level.

The short one minute lessons were easy for Tiny to remember and do which is another unique feature about this program.

This next feature may or may not be good for you. Not sure it would appeal to girls either, but you never know. But you work hard to move through the ranks moving from cadet up to corporal and general. So that is the way used to show progress.

Of course I had to try out one or two drills to get the feel of it and one thing I figured out was that the child does not hit the enter key to return to the next line, but the space bar. I couldn’t really read on the site why that is an effective way to teach, but I think I would prefer he use the enter key which is more natural to typing.

When it comes to correcting errors, no big alarm or sirens go off, thank goodness. But you see a small x so you know that it was not correct.

I think the pricing is a bit cumbersome for homeschool families. It comes with a single user license and it can add up quickly when you have multiple children. Most of us, including me have multiple children that we might want to use this with.

If you have a pick up and go sort of style about teaching you may like this program because there were no videos to watch to learn how or interactive videos for the lessons. Too, if you are not interested in tracking progress other than moving through the ranks you will like the easy way Keyboard Classroom keeps up with progress.

Overall, the program was easy to learn and Tiny likes it and sneaks in the office to practice.

Product Name:Keyboard Classroom

Prices: $49.95 for a family license (5 people)

Type of Product: CD-rom purchase.

Customer Service: I received my CD on time and it installed safely and quickly.

Ages: 8 and up!

Social Media Links:

Facebook

All prices are good as of the date of this review.

Hugs and love ya,

Homeschool Organization : Are you Collecting Cookbooks OR Recipes?

January 22, 2014 | 8 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

A few years back I wrote an article about organized menu planning for my new bees, but when it comes to meal planning I think anybody can benefit from the tips.

Applying here that small, but significant tip that I shared too in my recent post Homeschool Organization–Where do you begin? when I emphasized the baby step to organization which is to “identify with precision” the need or problem defines the troubled spot real clear.

Here is my answer: When I am meal planning, I am not collecting cook books, but recipes. And let’s take it one step further to make it even more clear what our needs are if we are struggling to put supper on the table and that is to collect recipes our family will eat.

In the picture below is what my recipe book looked liked back then. I now call it my main recipe book.

I basically took the time to go through most of the cookbooks I had and recipes I had collected online and put them in a 5 inch binder. I divided it by these sections; main entree, breakfasts, sides, breads, condiments, desserts and beverages.

The picture above are the cookbooks that I had left to go through at the time. I do not have any of them now because I finished that project. I only kept two cookbooks that were of sentimental value.

Unless we are clear about what our goal is for anything that we are trying to organize, then no clear cut plan will ever emerge.

Are we collecting cook books or recipes? There is a big difference. One we can bring clutter in our kitchen if we collect cook books and the other collecting recipes is clearly defined because that is what we are really wanting to achieve.

Too, with Pinterest now, it is easier to store recipes online. Still though we want to spend LESS time flipping through cook books and online on Pinterest when it comes to menu planning.

The only way to do this is to take time to print them, organize them and have them handy. Make a specialized cook book for your family.

I know there are tons of online grocery shopping and menu planning tools, but they never work for me when I about to menu plan or cook. I like having it all down printed in front of me to flip through or look at while I am cooking. That is just me, you may do better with something online. I need to touch and see my recipes in my binder.

But do you know what is the sweetest investment when taking hours and hours to make a specialized recipe binder cookbook? It is filling the binder with recipes that MY family will actually eat. Avoiding time wasters by flipping through useless pages in a cook book and avoiding spending hours and hours on Pinterest to find something different only to make the same old usual dinner is priceless to me.

Can you see that menu planning becomes a cinch? Your recipe book should be filled with more recipes that your family eats and enjoys instead of recipes that have not been “field tested” by your family. More on that in a minute.

Can you menu plan for 365 days and not repeat a meal? That was my mind-set when I started filling my book and I can do that now. Of course, I don’t do that because some foods my family really loves and wants to have them a couple times a month. The point is that your recipe book is not filled with recipes that your family will not eat and you have a variety to choose from when boredom sets in.

So don’t go through willy-nilly sticking all the recipes in your book. It took me almost 3 years to get the first book done because I would test out a new recipe on my family before it was a “keeper” for my binder. Choose selectively even if it means having less recipes in your book. When I started I promise I couldn’t think of more than about 7 -10 meals that I cooked and that my family actually would eat. I knew I cooked more, but I had to get them all down. I knew that if my crew gobbled the meal down, it was a keeper. If they just kind of liked it, but knew it could taste better by adding this or that ingredient, I revised the recipe to suit my family. The point is it takes time to test each new recipe that you put in your binder. The basic rule of thumb is to fill your binder with more tried and true recipes than recipes for testing.

My recipe binders have now hit one of my must-haves for homeschooling because when I am tired, I can still menu plan for 30 days because I know my family will not only eat but enjoy just about all the recipes I have stored now.

Today, I have 3 binders (first picture above) because it is the way I prefer to menu plan and organize. The big binder or 5 inch binder is my main book basically for all my recipes except crockpot meals and I also took out the breakfast section.

In homeschooling we need to relentlessly use our crockpots year round and I now want those recipes to be kept separate so I can find them easier. So that is my second binder. And then the meal we prefer to eat together as a family is breakfast, so I collect recipes that are unique and fast and keep that binder easy to retrieve. Too, though it is called my Breakfast and Lunch binder because it has home lunch ideas in it also because I don’t want lunch at home to become boring so I keep those ideas handy there.

Heads Up: Don’t make too many binders though you may think it is easier to organize this way. Organization is about keeping things streamlined and you can make this project too complicated by over organizing. I really only have 2 binders, my main and crockpot binder, that I reach for when planning. The last binder filled with breakfast and lunch ideas is just that – an idea book if I get bogged down. Breakfast and lunch are not areas I need help on everyday like my main meal which is supper.

It’s just about time to update my binders again. Since we will be moving and because I can’t take the binders with me, it will be the perfect time to update them when we get settled again.

Look at these easy steps I did in case you want to start one now.

1. Go through each cook book slowly or online recipes and decide what your family will “try” (field test) and what they will eat. Don’t do this in a hurry as you probably, like me, paid good money for your cook books and want to get the full use out of them.

2. Then decide whether to tear out the pages or unbind them in your books. Keep in mind that organization for homeschooling is not waiting for the perfect looking page. In other words don’t say I will re-type a recipe. You can do that later if you want to because right now you may get side-tracked if you try to do that.

And if you do that, instead of completing a specialized cook book for your family, you may create road blocks by waiting to set up a perfect page. I know, I know, it grinds me also because I like it all matching and pretty pages, but the truth of it is you have time to come back to make those pages pretty after you declutter.

3. Each torn out page or printed page from Pinterest needs to go into a page protector. Page protectors are good for messes in the kitchen too since your recipe is protected. Go ahead and put the recipe in the sections you created whether you are know or don’t know if your family will like the recipe.

It is much easier to take the recipe out of the page protector and throw it away than it is to have a big pile of pages laying out, adding to clutter and not usable.

4. Field test on your family by cooking the recipes you were unsure of and then I put notes on my recipes when I cooked the ones I was testing. Mark up the recipe, place a check on it or something so you will know if you tweaked it a bit, will keep it or toss in the garbage if there was no salvaging it. Basically, mark the ones you have cooked already so you have some record.

5. Throw away all cook books and their clutter. It feels pretty good at this point.

Did I mention you actually look forward to cooking and you have something treasured that was made just for you and your family?

I have created something unique for my family and you can too! Take from this what you can use and I hope it breathes some help into your cooking routine.

I can’t wait to make another set of binders when I move. And this time, I may have to create some brand spanking new pretty divider pages for our recipe binders and new covers too. What do you think? Want to do this now or with me again when I land?

Hugs and love ya,

Free Homeschool Planner Cover

January 18, 2014 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I am trying to stay ahead of the “moving curve” by sending out my planner forms for this year a tad bit early. You know normally somewhere early spring I send out my updated forms. I don’t want to take any chances though that my move overseas will interrupt you making your planner when it’s time.

But not only that, I have some other new forms besides the cover pages that I will be showcasing this year (hopefully) later. I just wanted to give you a heads up about those new forms too in case I get interrupted by my move.

Curriculum Pages for Planner

I normally try to stick to my homeschool unit studies at this time of the year, but again my readers fall in the super smart category (call me biased) and I know I won’t confuse you by throwing hodgepodge topics at you right now.

I think what I am trying to say in a professional blogging way is: “GIRRRRL, I will be ALL over the place on my blogging topics as we get closer to putting up the house for sale!”

So today, I am excited to share the next newest Curriculum Planner cover. I call this one Blue Serenity because it has that effect on me when I look at it. Also, I have added the words “year round” as part of the title because most of us homeschool year round.

If you don’t actually homeschool year round, you do plan so I think anybody could really use it even if you take off for the summer.

One thing you will notice and that is I started leaving off my name at the bottom on a few of the forms. It certainly is not because I am not claiming copyright, but I wanted you to have something personal and its hard to do that on some forms where a website is all over it. Besides, I have you to tout about my planner and you know where my forms are at. That is all that is important to me.

Though I have had copyright infringement on my planner forms by other bloggers claiming my forms (remember my 5 year list of holidays on one page where a blogger added her branding at the top and claimed it as her own), it has not dampened my enthusiasm to share with you. I did follow up with that blogger and she removed my documents.

My focus is on you and I am undeterred in providing you with a hot planner. One that you are proud of.

I hope you love the newest cover because I love ya.

Download Blue Serenity Cover here.

Hugs,

Grab these homeschool planning forms for the school year!

Free Back Cover Curriculum Planner Pages

Homeschool History Curriculum Cheat Sheet

Melting Bubblegum Homeschool Planner Cover

Point Well Taken Free Homeschool Planner @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus — Point Well Taken Free Homeschool Planner

Curriculum & Homeschool Conventions –Cures for Cabin Fever

January 17, 2014 | 4 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

This is a sponsored post and I am proud to be partnering with Great Homeschool Conventions this year because I LOVE their convention philosophy.

Before Tiny was conceived (okay not a TMI post) and when I only had Mr. Senior 2013 and Mr. Awesome, I started my homeschool journey in a tiny 800 square foot cabin and that included the porch.

Having just two bedrooms and one main living area for both schooling and living was a perfect size as I started my homeschooling journey. I loved that cabin because not only was it cozy but on the porch I spent countless hours reading and playing with my sons.

As much as I loved it though, I seemed to spend more time at the local teacher store hunting just the right hands on activities for my budding reader. That is until I found out about homeschool conventions.

Too, because there were times the cabin did feel like cramped quarters, I focused on learning several things as a novice teacher and one was how to navigate a homeschool convention.

Homeschool Convention Tools, Techniques and Tips

Planning in advance with the same passion I planned a family vacation, I was sure to not miss any conventions that were close to me. Guess what? Even if they weren’t close, I realized soon in my homeschool journey that attending a convention catapulted me ahead in honing my homeschool teaching skills.

Look at some tips I learned when I attended conventions and made an extra effort to attend the bigger ones.

1. Love them and leave them kids. When my kids were very young, I would try to leave them at home at least one day with Grandma. It normally was the second day. On that day I was more tired but also I had time to look through the booths. Too, I have had many years of living in the cabin with no family near me so that I could leave my kids. If it is the same for you, go slow and go the pace of the children. Do not miss the convention, but take breaks and plan on attending some workshops. When you attend workshops, you and the kids (hopefully) can sit down, take a break and at the same time still receive some much needed encouragement.

2. Avoid convention-itis. Try to give yourself one day to think about what you have looked over and then buy the next day. However, if there are limited products of the curriculum you want and you already know that you need it, then purchase it and it’s done so you don’t have to go back.

3. Deploy the Teens. If you have teens, they can be a great source of help if you put them to work. My teens enjoyed having a mission. Let them tour some of the vendors and call you back with prices and information.

4. Deploy the Gear. No teens? Grab a super size stroller and it serves as both snack holder and place for the younger ones to sit down.

5. Money Belt Must. I always liked having my money belt around my waist so I constantly do not have to bend over. Some moms I see leave their money on top of the stroller, but in this day and age even at a homeschool convention, we just can’t trust everybody. By having it around your waist, you can still hold the little ones on your hips too. My preference only, but I have never liked a backpack because I have seen many folks back into racks and other people. I do bring a tote though that I can stick papers in that I want to look at later.

6. Utilize the on-site Storage Room or Services. Most conventions have free storage rooms for your convention purchases. Even if they charge you for a space, it really is worth it instead of hauling around all your new purchases. At the end of the convention, back your car up and load it all up.

7. Distinguish between Workshops. Keep in mind there are generally two types of workshops at conventions. One is a “product workshop” and the other is an “informational workshop”.

A product workshop will be more specific and geared toward selling the product and it generally is hosted by a vendor. This is not really a negative especially if you are interested in purchasing it for your use. The product workshops can be so more informative educating you about the use of a product.

Information workshops will be about various homeschooling topics that are of interest to us and are normally put on by a seasoned mom who has had particular success with either a method or is sharing the how-tos of a subject. Look ahead on the schedule and try to plot out your course of action for the days you are there.

8. Make Ahead Do Not Forget List. My packing list normally includes hair clip, phone, extra cell phone, water, lipstick (yes have to be purdyyy), comfortable shoes, tote, credit cards and/or checks, printable list of my curriculum needs and wants and waist belt with cash. And do not bring all $100.00 bills (I did have a few of them at one time) because not all companies can make change for a $100.00 bill. Small bills are best.

Get Excited for Great Homeschool Conventions

Homeschool conventions do not have to be a time of wondering around aimlessly with no plan or standing out with a deer in the headlight look. The first time attending any homeschool convention can be downright overwhelming, but soon enough the contagious spirit of fellow homeschoolers fills the building. Walking away with enough zest and vigor to move ahead one more year in my journey, I make it a yearly habit of attending them.

I still love that old cabin with all its charm and character. It has a special place in my heart because not only was it my first homeschooling area but my craze for curriculum and love for conventions was conceived there.

What about you? Have you decided which convention/s you are going to? Remember to register with Great Homeschool Conventions!

Need some checklists for the convention? Look at the links below:

Master the Subjects Form – 5 Days Of The Benefits & Challenges of Teaching Mixed Ages Together – Day 4: Embrace Homeschooling Multiple Grades

Teacher’s Manual Checklist – {How To Series} How to Determine if a Teacher’s Manual is Treasure or Trash? + {printable checklist}

Hugs and love ya,

This is also a blog hop. This blog hop is organized by iHomeschool Network, a collaboration of outstanding homeschool bloggers who connect with each other and with family-friendly companies in mutual beneficial projects. Visit us on Pinterest, Twitter and Google Plus. And of course, click the image below to visit all the other blog articles from the homeschool moms of the iHomeschool Network.

Day 1 Unit Studies Define & Redefine the Meaning

January 16, 2014 | 2 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I have Day 1 unit studies.

Waiting with bated breath, I am beyond excited in sharing my first series of the year which is 10 Days of Diving into Unit Studies by Creating A Unit Study Together because it is about a subject that I am passionate about.

10 Days of Diving Into Unit Studies by Creating a Unit Study Together

I have not always felt so dedicated to the method of teaching using unit studies. Like a lot of homeschoolers, I too fell victim to the rank and file sort of mind-set when it came to picking out curriculum and teaching my children.

It is not that I didn’t want to try something different, I was just afraid to mess my kids up for life.

Too, if I had a step by step guide, I think I would have felt more comfortable easing down the unit study trail.

10 Days of Diving Into Unit Studies by Creating a Unit Study Together Day 1

While I am confessing, I might as well tell you too that I felt like the unit study approach was for those “other” homeschoolers.

The ones who were crafty and had to have crafts in their homes. How could they possibly learn anything by “playing” all day? Me?

I had just assume throw a bunch of papers at the kids for them to complete and then everybody would know for sure we were homeschooling. Ouch.

Besides, the unit study approach didn’t mesh with my bent toward the classical approach of homeschooling. Or so I thought at the time anyway.

Whatever you think of homeschoolers that use unit studies, one thing that is not debated is that it works for all ages of children.

It is a classic way of teaching all of your children together.

I think the best way to illustrate the energizing affect of a unit study is for us to do one together as we plod along in this series. What do you think? You can create one that you’re interested in right alongside the one I will be designing.

Just a reminder too before I get too far off track here and that is most of the time I never do my blogging series one day right after the other.

I have too much to say other things to talk about so I plod along and give you time to catch up. Or like in this series, it will hopefully give you time to plan right alongside me. No rush.

How to Adopt a Definition that Works

There are many definitions for unit studies. The definition for a unit study is that there are no rules. That may sound a bit cliché, but in order to embrace unit studies you have to let go of the thinking that we have-to do anything.

No, I’m not encouraging homeschool rebels, but I am encouraging you to avoid homeschooling robots.

From the beginning, adopting a definition of a unit study allays many fears or doubts because you will follow the definition that fits your family.

How does this help you? Because you can use as many or as little laid out subjects right alongside the ones you create.

Unit studies are a lot like cooking for your family.

Deciding which ingredients you buy prepackaged and which ones you make by hand is your choice.

Knowing which ingredients your family loathes, which ingredients they love and which foods they need for their health are decisions only you can make too.

Don’t make unit studies harder by adopting a rigid definition.

Adopting a definition that fits your family will be the determining factor if you lap one up or lag in enthusiasm to get started.

Here is my definition that I adopted.

Choosing any topic, book or discipline (subject) and building a number of study days, weeks, months or a year designed specifically for my family by incorporating a few or all academic areas of study on that one topic, book or discipline and sprinkling easy hands-on ideas throughout the course of our study.

How does your definition sound?

Clinging to the idea of a unit study approach is not easy if you don’t have a clear vision of how it will affect your family or your reasons for adding it to your school.

Small Idea Big Payoff

Instead of talking homeschoolers into investigating unit studies, I share what has worked for my family. Too, I don’t talk folks into trying unit studies because it is not for everyone.

Unit studies can be a lot of work and time consuming. I have never been afraid of working hard and especially if I knew that I would have titanic results.

A unit study can be totally child-led or not. I am not an advocate of child-led learning in the absolute meaning of the definition because parents are essential to daily guiding the child to the basics of what he needs to learn.

On the other hand, children do start learning the day they are born and unless we feed and follow their craving for learning we may be severely limiting their potential.

Look at some ways a unit study has benefited my family.

Small Idea Big Payoff

Research skills by the child on a unit study subject fertilizes the ground for a life-long intellect.
Children are not passive learners waiting for the next chapter to be assigned to them. Seizing the opportunities for learning because they have had a say in the topic or unit study solidifies in their mind the value of their education. Instead of constantly struggling with our children to help them treasure the value of their education, they are now partners with us.
At the very core of unit studies are living books or resources that are used to stir the imagination. Unlike most textbooks which can be designed to extract every enjoyment of pleasure from a topic, living books spark a fondness for continued learning. Even if you are using a reference based source, the sheer enjoyment of capturing the interests of your children develops a love for learning from an early age.
Though tough at times, managing multiple ages of children who are learning the same topic together fosters a mastery level of that topic.
As children become masters of their own learning, the preconceived idea that children have to be limited in their knowledge to a grade level which is based on personal whims of public educators is not brought into our homeschool. With standards across school, children normally spend a great amount of wasted and meaningless time covering the same subjects over and over again in each grade. Take a look at the Underground History of American Education by John Taylor Gatto.
As much as I had preferred my children just do worksheets, hands-on projects have shown to increase a child’s knowledge of that subject. Much research has been written on the value of hands-on projects and yes crafts.
Your family can cover an in-depth study the first time around. Avoid wasting time and reduce educational boredom by broadening the depth of the topic initially.

Have you decided yet? Will you dive into a homeschool unit study?

Follow along as we create a unit study together step by step. Decide the topic you need for your family and I will share my topic next that I need to plan.

Hugs and you know I love ya,