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Where to Begin When Putting Together My Own Homeschool Curriculum?

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Your questions are awesome.  Where to begin when putting together my own homeschool curriculum is another dynamic reader question I have to share with you because sometimes the core curriculum is not real clear.

Look at Nicolle’s question:

I am a single mom of an incredible 6 (going on 7) year old boy.  A hands on entrepreneur with overhead still working on the business and so I am a working mom and my son comes to work with me.  though it may be difficult I work towards doing things I believe in in my heart, after long consideration.  I am very creative; however we are just making more friends and have no family where we are (my sons daddy is here p/t).  With that said and with found support in other (stay at home) home-school moms I took the leap and am just beginning to home-school my son.  I am overwhelmed though still with how to create an initial solid foundation to build a ‘core curriculum’ for him and us.  I’ve been told my style is more eclectic, unit studies, with a twist of Charlotte mason living language.  I was referred to take your course which I will.  I’ve worked on new work etc scheduling…but despite being told it’s easier to buy a curriculum (a bit expensive for me and all I want is the written curriculum and not all the books as I can attain them in a different way and which to choose?!)  I’d like to start working on my own…Where do I begin knowing the curriculum I put together (as you said in your video) will not ‘leave my child’ behind so to say??? 

Singleness can have a huge advantage when you are on the curriculum hunt.  You have time to research curriculum because you don’t have a husband’s demands to meet.  Singleness does have its freedom.

Too, using the creative and entrepreneur part of your personality are strengths and can save you money in long run.

Entrepreneurs rock and are willing to take chances and risks that others are not willing to take. This is where you can think of hands-on ideas on the spur of the moment and where you will seize teachable moments.

The side of your personality that probably needs support is with the details and maybe curbing the desire to “jump” to something different when you need to stay on course.
This is where part laid-out curriculum comes in. You are on the right track.  Just remember though that laid-out does not always mean expensive.

You can use laid-out curriculum without buying a whole boxed curriculum. Just buy each part that you need.

When looking at costs, there are a couple of ways at looking at this.
One way is that when you buy something laid-out, you don’t have the guesswork of whether you are covering the basics or not.

Another way of looking at it that I have seen is that many, many, many homeschoolers think they are saving money only to spend or waste thousands of hours trying out new curriculum in their hunt to find a perfect fit.

What price are you putting on your time to hunt for the “perfect” resource?
Understand that anything you purchase will not be perfect ever.

However, getting something that will help you to stay on task, will allow freedom for you to add your creativity and tweaking or deleting activities that make no sense to you is a great start.

I do believe you can find a balance too. One more advantage you have is that your son is very young.  Just starting out you don’t need very much at this age.

The core curriculum are basically your 3 R’s, which are reading, writing and arithmetic.

The 3 R’s vary slightly at each age, but here is the very short list of essentials for his age:

Phonics

Handwriting

Math

Reading

If you spend your hard earned dollars on these things first, then you are covering the essentials.

These are the subjects he needs to do everyday. They don’t have to be done necessarily by a worksheet either.  Again, you can add your flair to these subjects.  At this age, he needs more hands-on as well.

For example, a day of teaching might go like this: phonics may be about creating an art collage of the sounds he is working on, handwriting practice might consist of playing with slime dough after he writes a sentence or two, math could be a read aloud from a living book about math or doing a candy graph and reading could be him listening on line to a read aloud.

Using the laid out guides, you will know what he needs to learn each day and can enhance it with more hands-on learning.

With your tendency toward creativity you can add in science and history from library books and free resources.

Too, you will want to spend money on items for arts and crafts because at this age it is not just play, but it is about learning.

Used curriculum is not always cheaper. It’s worth looking at all your options.

You do not have to buy a boxed curriculum, but you can buy each of these pieces separate and still make a good fit for your son because they are still laid out.

Choose a Homeschool Phonics Program

Look at some of the choices for phonic programs that I like:

Alpha Omega has Horizons, A Beka has a solid phonics program, All About Spelling which is a reading program too, Explode the Code and Sing, Spell, Read and Write.

Choose a Homeschool Handwriting Program

A Reason for Writing and I like workbooks by Zaner-Bloser.

Too, add in plenty of copywork and dictation starting off with like one sentence to copy and expand to longer ones.

You don’t need to teach formal composition until later grades, which could be another long topic here on my blog.

For now, at this age you are teaching the mechanics of how to write.

Most children don’t have control over their fine motor skills until about halfway through first grade. That is when I started teaching cursive to each of my sons.

Choose a Homeschool Math Program

Math is a fun subject too. There are a lot of wonderful programs to choose from as well.

Besides something rigorous which is a given, I prefer bright colored pages for this age too.

Horizon Math is advanced, Singapore is right there too and so is Math U See.
Each one has a different approach.

Choose a Homeschool Reading Program

If he is not reading yet, then you want some phonics readers that enhance your phonics lessons. I used Pathway readers because they were rigorous and inexpensive.

Too, when I taught my oldest son to read, I went to the local teacher supply store and bought an inexpensive set of phonics readers. It focused on one sound in each book and then I added in way more free stuff I found on line and hands-on art to focus on that sound for three or four days and then added in another book.

If he is reading, then you want to look for living books, which means they are not textbooks. You can also save a lot of money by making regular trips to the library to get books on his reading level.

Keep in mind if you use a program like Sing, Spell, Read and Write or All About Spelling which is called All About Reading, readers will be included.

I also loved Christian Light Readers too. They are inexpensive and beautifully written.  It does not hurt to have phonics readers and easy books for beginning readers a plenty.

Though I see this long scrolling list of subjects that new homeschoolers have for their children, the core curriculum or basics are the bones or framework of an excellent education.

Stay the course by doing them each day in every grade, adding in spice along the way by varying your teaching methods and curriculum and you will have a great beginning.

You might also want to look at these posts:

8 Components of a Boxed Curriculum
How to Use a Boxed Curriculum without Giving Up Your Homeschool Approach
How To Choose Curriculum Other Than the Looks Good Method
Stop Switching Your Curriculum, Switch Your Course of Study 

Hugs and love ya,

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20 Ideas for Bringing Writing Alive through Unit Studies About Ancient Civilizations

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I have 20 ideas for bringing writing alive through unit studies.

Whether we are teaching handwriting readiness to our younger kids or how to form a coherent paragraph with our middle school or high school kids, writing is an essential skill to communicating.

Try explaining the value of this vital skill to a reluctant writer.

20 Ideas for Bringing Writing Alive through Unit Studies About Ancient Civilizations

Normally the conversation just ends in moans and groans.

Unit studies have been a way to curb the fear of the writing process and blank paper syndrome in our house.

Today, in sharing 20 ideas for bringing writing alive through unit studies, I want to share ideas for writing assignments.

They not only make writing a joy but create value in the eyes of your budding writer.

As teachers sometimes we are all too eager to get our kids to meet our expectations of the mechanics of writing instead of instilling a passion for writing in the beginning.

The trigger for getting a writer to mind the details or mechanics of his writing is to get him to write something that is relevant to the subject he is learning.

But also to give him freedom to write about what stirs his soul.

Whining or Winning Your Way Through Writing

Writing is a subject where unit study topics are powerful motivators,

Too, the unit study approach has an enormous edge over other homeschool learning approaches.

If you have included your children in the process of selecting a unit study, you already have a topic they eagerly want to know about.

Unlike boring workbooks or programs that focus first on the mechanics of writing and the subject or topic of writing is incidental, it is opposite with a unit study.

Choosing a topic for writing already has a palatable start.

Your child had a choice when planning your unit study theme. 

Your child’s freedom to choose a unit study topic gives you the necessary starting point.

Too, you take a potentially stressful subject to teach and turn it into something they look forward to.

Instead of grouping writing ideas by grade level, from kindergarten to high school, I will leave that up to you. 

You know whether your young writer is doing more advanced work or if you need to have your highschooler focus on the basics of writing.

Too, from the list below, I want to encourage you to continue to give handwriting priority in your day instead of feeling defeated.

BRINGING WRITING ALIVE THROUGH UNIT STUDIES

Look at this list of ideas as I use my unit study theme, Ancient Civilizations, as an example to plan related handwriting or composition topic.

Ancient Civilizations.

  • Describe silkworms; explain the silk making process;
  • explain the process of becoming a Samurai warrior;
  • how would you compare the lives of Egyptian Pharaohs and Queens to the common people;
  • list 3 facts that you learned from the life of Jonah;
  • research about the animals of Africa and label the parts of an animal;
  • write a quality paragraph about the art of mummy making;
  • describe Hannibal’s trek across the Alps with elephants so that your reader can experience it and picture it;
  • color an animal by number to strengthen fine motor skills or color an animal by letter recognition;
  • write an essay about the Punic Wars so that each part of the essay is clearly distinguishable, which are an opening paragraph, three detailed body paragraphs and a closing paragraph;
  • observe nature and write about the flora of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon;
  • show the relationship between Shang script or Chinese writing to cuneiform and hieroglyphics;
  • do Ancient Greece copywork; use reliable and quality resources to research about Egyptian Gods; use time order to explain the days of creation;
  • outline how to build the pyramids of Egypt;
  • describe pieces of art from Ancient Civilizations;
  • have a younger child edit a paragraph written by an older sibling;
  • choose scriptures to narrow down a topic about the pagan practices of Ancient Civilizations;
  • creative writing by using If I lived back in the times of mummies . . . or If I traveled back to the ancient land of Greece … or What I would wear to be part of the high fashion society of Greece . . . or What my weapon would be if I were training to be a Roman Legionary Soldier and copy one sentence or quote like “All Roads Lead to Rome”.

From a Word Rookie to Word Wizard

Don’t be afraid to put aside composition assignments that are meaningless in favor of choosing a topic with a meaningful message to your child.

Also, setting aside laid out curriculum and grabbing helpful reference books will allow you to create writing assignments for your family.

One resource I have used over the years and still use is Great Source Write Source. 

Matter of fact I like all their books.  It has been easy to assign written work we choose following the composition types in these books.

Also, for a teacher reference, I really like The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation: An Easy-to-Use Guide with Clear Rules, Real-World Examples, and Reproducible Quizzes and refer to this probably more often than some other references.

Another one that is timeless and has stood teaching all three of my sons with the fads of books coming in and out is If You’re Trying to Teach Kids How to Write . . . You’ve Gotta Have This Book.

Writing topics are sparked from themes that make sense to your child.

Why? Because they are based on what topic you are learning about.

Smothering the Embers of Beginning Creativity

When emphasis is put first on the engaging process of the topic then a tool like grammar can be applied afterwards. 

Kids can feel crippled when they have to think about the mechanics of writing when thoughts should be flowing.

Working on the mechanics of grammar like the who and which clauses.

Too, study nonessential and essential clauses.

Focus on narrowing down topics, planning paragraphs and editing can be done after the child has composed what he finds entertaining.

Don’t stifle the love for writing by focusing first on the rules. 

Keep the teacher mom reined in for this subject.

Rules of grammar are important and you want them to be important to your children.

The necessity of the rules can be seen when applied to something personal, which is their writing. 

Rules for the sake of rules without validity never made sense to anybody.

Does this list spark some creative ideas for writing on your present unit study? Do you want me to create lists like this for each unit study on my blog?

20 Ideas for Bringing Writing Alive through Unit Studies

Check out these other posts:

 

 

4 Secrets to Creating Your Own Successful Homeschool Co-op

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Savoring the food of the Amazon region in a banana wrapped leaf, dancing the minuet like George Washington, creating Native American crafts with beadwork and studying the healing power of plants like Lewis & Clark did are just a few of the adventures that my sons and I have participated in as I led a homeschool co-op.

4 Secrets to Creating Your Own Successful Homeschool Co-op

In my many years of homeschooling, I have seen numerous elaborate definitions of a co-op, but in its most basic form a co-op is simply a group of two or more families meeting together to share their collective efforts in teaching their children all together.

Depending on your personal experiences in participating in co-ops, you may conjure up in your mind a picture of your children engaging in awesome hands-on activity along with socialization or you may picture a mini-version of a very regimented public school that you probably fled not too long ago.

Understanding some basic facts in how co-ops are developed will help you to determine if a co-op is a good fit for your family.

Enhance Your Journey or Encumber It

There is no one set of rules for any co-op. Co-ops can be very informal without many rules or it can be as formal as public school.

Take time to ask questions after you determine if you want to meet for socialization or to meet strictly for academic purposes.

One note of caveat for new and struggling homeschoolers is that sometimes you may join a co-op to ease the burden of teaching, but actually create an environment where you may feel trapped.

Regimented schedules, turning in homework assignments and preparing extra-curricular activities are a few reasons why some homeschool families find co-ops more stressful than helpful.  They can feel a little too much public schoolish.

Do not leave the rigidness of public school to trade it away the freedom so quickly to a very regulated co-op.

Co-ops can spring up or shut down at any time. Realizing that most co-ops are ran by homeschooling parents like yourself, you will appreciate that rules are made by the homeschooling parents as they lead the group.

Most co-ops expect all the parents to shoulder some of the responsibility of running the co-op whether it is teaching, supervising toddlers, cleaning or making copies.

Unless the co-op is being ran like a small private school, most co-op leaders welcome the help. Normally it is the few doing the work of the many.

Because there is so much variety in classes like teaching crafts to preschoolers to preparing teens for driving in high school, co-ops can spring up and shut down each year or at any time during the year.

Most groups try to have their goals written down by the start of the school year, but even that can change.

Clear expectations by either a group you create or either join will avoid a lot of misery down the road.

Homeschool Co-op Conundrum

Avoid confusion of which co-op to join by having clear in your mind your purpose for participating. For example, I knew when I formed our private local co-op that my main purpose was for socialization and enrichment.

I was not interested in anybody teaching subjects like the 3 R’s to my sons because I wanted to do that.

Did I mention teaching my three at home was way more relaxing too?

The co-op serves as a refreshing break in our routine so I didn’t want a weekly co-op, but one that met once or twice a month. In addition, I wanted like-mind parents who have Christian values and a place where my sons could make lasting friends and memories.

Too, I purposely kept the co-op small because it is easier to make friends in a more cozier environment.
Activities like doing a lab, presenting a geography report to an audience and drama are better done in a group setting. It is nice to have an audience for projects.

My sons have benefited from doing those activities and have become more well rounded out in their education.

In one area I lived in we had a homeschool mom who use to be a high school Spanish teacher. My older sons took her classes which was ran more like a mini private school.

Though I prefer a more informal and hands-on setting, I took advantage of local resources for enrichment. It has only strengthened my sons’ skills in foreign languages.

4 Secrets To Creating Your Own Successful Homeschool Co-op @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

When You Gift Others

I can’t hum a tune, draw a beautiful portrait or shoot professional pictures, but none of those things are required to serve others.

Sharing with other homeschoolers and teaching is a gift.

It’s true that when you serve in a leadership position it can have trials. But I have a secret to admit and that is I am the one that always feels blessed after leading the co-op.

Over the years I have learned that each homeschooling parent possesses a gift or two whether they admit it or not.

You do not have to be a former public school teacher to teach a subject, but you do need to love the subject you teach.

Instead of looking into joining a co-op, can you form one near you? Beginnings are important. So start slow with a just few of your like-minded friends.

Meet once a month and use forums like yahoo to communicate and set up polls.

Avoid the modern day quick methods of communication like texting that interrupts your day schooling your children.

In the beginning, it’s easy to communicate like this, but as the group grows, your time can be consumed by taking care of the needs of others.

Don’t neglect your own homeschool routine and family.
When you use something like an online forum or email list, each teaching parent can respond to emails after she has taken care of her family for the day. It also trains others in your group that your priority is your own family and to be considerate of your time.

There are a wide variety of curriculum resources to use from laid out lesson plans to unit studies that make leading a cinch. Unit studies are my very favorite in teaching multiple ages because there is something for all ages to do.

Serving others is a joy and your blessing in giving will be immeasurable not only to your children, but for all others that come your way.

Creating the co-op we had took time. My first attempts at meeting with others wasn’t a fit for our family because of either the scheduling or activities.

Forming a co-op after my previous failed attempts ended up being a blessing for our family because we then met with like-minded families.

Shared experiences and fostering friendships for a lifetime have heightened our homeschool adventures.

Have you been part of a co-op that has changed your life?

3 Homeschool Co-op History Resources Worth Exploring

5 Days of a Homeschooling Co-op Convert

Marco Polo Unit Study – Terracotta Warriors and Free Resources

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Taking a bunny trail in our Marco Polo Unit Study to talk about the Terracotta Warriors was a fun way to spend the morning as we debated whether or not Marco Polo really visited all the places he claimed.

Salt Dough Recipe

Too, though we have been adding to our homeschooling supplies when we moved here, we still didn’t find any clay yet.

That is okay because salt dough is pretty cheap and you can make just about anything out of it besides salt dough maps.

So I got our trusty recipe shown in the picture above and followed the salt dough recipe found here too and we were in business.

Tiny researched a few of the free websites on line to see how the Terracotta Warriors were made and then he made his version of a warrior.

This is an activity he can do by himself too, which I loved.

Afterwards, he used some tempera paints we did find here and gave his warrior a color he thought he would have been when they were discovered.

Pretty fun and a pretty easy activity for this unit study!

Marco Polo Unit Study Terra Cotta Warriors

Marco Polo Unit Study–Terracotta Warriors and Free Resources

Too, I have some free resources today that will help to round out your unit study.

On line resources have become really important to us since we couldn’t bring all of our books when we moved here to Ecuador.
So I have taken some time in putting together some of the more helpful links and hope you find them helpful too.

Helpful Lessons Plans and Background Information

Free Teacher’s Guides

  • Teacher’s Guide on Medieval China. Even though this free guide is based on a DVD, the ideas in it are still great with background information and to spark another topic you may want to learn about.

Other Free Printables

Over at the homeschool den, Liesl has some great free printable notebooking pages about Marco Polo and Genghis Kahn notebooking pages.

Over at 123 Homeschool 4 Me, Beth has an early Explorers Unit and free Marco Polo lapbook.

Marco Polo Unit Study–Terracotta Warriors and Free Resources

YouTube Marco Polo

The Mongol Empire “Kublai Khan” History Channel For a middle school to high school student because it’s not cartoonish, but more factual type of presentation.  Appreciated by an older student.

Wait for it! Crash Course on the Mongol. Fun! From younger to older will enjoy this lively presentation.

Watch the building of a yurt in fast time.

Marco Polo Unit Study Hands-on Activities

Books About Marco Polo

10 Marco Polo Books & Resources for Kids Who Love Reading and Being Read To

Add some of these fun books about Marco Polo to your home library or use them in your unit studies.

Free Coloring Pages Marco Polo

I listed a few coloring pages here too for those of any age, K to Gray, that like to color. That includes me.  Am I the only one that prints a page for myself and color with my kids? It’s so relaxing in a way.

marco_poloviaggio_marco_polo
mpolomapkublai
Marco-PoloMarco-Polo 2

Free Country Report

Mongolia Country Report

Grab my free country report on the country of Mongolia from my geography page to add to your notebook or study. This is a fun and quick report for a middle or high school student to do.

Though not free, there are lots of great books to choose from for any age. Tiny loved the easy Junior Explorer book because it was a great read in a day or two.

Marco Polo Unit Study – Terracotta Warriors and Free Resources

How to Get the Free Marco Polo Lapbook

Now, how to grab the free printable. It’s a subscriber freebie.

When you sign up to follow me, you get access to this freebie.

1) Sign up on my email list.
2) Grab the printable.
3) Last, look for my emails in your inbox as a follower. Glad to have you.

Hugs and love ya,

Marco Polo Unit Study, Lapbook, and Hands-on Ideas

Do You Want Me to Look Over Your Homeschool Curriculum Choices?

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I am always trying to think of ways that can help you to keep on homeschooling.  We are all different and have different needs from blogs.

I want you to know that I truly care about you sticking around here and especially about you not just surviving homeschool, but really making the journey one that is a treasured memory while not giving up high academic standards.

So this blog post is really short, but one I hope you find helpful or at least encouraging.  Many times throughout the years, I would have just liked another set of eyes looking over my curriculum choices for my kids.

You know, sometimes you just want another set of eyes to see if you are covering the essentials in homeschooling or sometimes you want to take a different path and want somebody else to take a look at your curriculum choices.

I’m asking:

Do you want me to look over your homeschool curriculum choices?

I can say that I will try my best to look over them all and maybe use some of your choices here on my blog to share with others.

I have just a request or two.  Help me out in case I get overwhelmed because I would like to try to answer each email personally.

List these important things so I have a pretty good picture of your homeschooling situation.

  • Ages of children that you’re homeschooling and the curriculum that each child is using. Be specific about listing the curriculum of each child.
  • Ages of children that you are not formally homeschooling, but are taking care of this year.
  • If you’re working outside the house?
  • How long you have been homeschooling? And finally,
  • What your overall goals are or why you chose that particular curriculum?

Fill in the contact form on my blog form. One tip for forming your email is to type your email in a word document so you can see it, and then copy/paste it into the box on the contact form.

Yikes!!! I may be crazy for doing this, but this is one thing I wished I had in the beginning of my homeschool journey or just when I was struggling as the boys entered another phase or grade.

Hugs and love ya,

Tina 2015 Signature

Finding Curriculum for Unique Learners

What If I Choose the Wrong Homeschool Curriculum

How to Use a Boxed Curriculum without Giving Up Your Homeschool Approach