Dynamic Reader Question

Dynamic Reader Question–How To Get All those Homeschool Science Experiments Done?

January 4, 2014 | 2 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Whatever I am doing on my blog, your questions are always at the top of my list.

I only had answered part of Laura’s question and now want to answer the second part of her question.

Hi there Tina!!
Laura here (a most grateful “follower” who thinks your site is awesome). I have two questions.
1. There are so many neat things to do and neat curriculum with science, how is one to get them all done. I’ve even thought about doing 2 along side each other.

Sharing with you first on how to pick a science curriculum helps you to see if it will fit in with what you want to get done for the day.

The most important thing I have learned about how to do science is to not ever do a bait and switch and give up hands-on projects. And, I did this to myself and have nobody to blame. I started off good when teaching science, but then lost my way.

My oldest son was a bit precocious when it came to learning and I fed his science love through hands-on experiments.

Simply doing something hands-on two or three times a week was the best start to science. We used several books. Two of them are below.

When they were young, it is more important for them to delight in learning. Understanding all the science and why’s behind an experiment comes later.

Then, I made the big science goof and gave up hands-on activities when they got a bit older in elementary grades. I fell victim to the thinking they had to only now write papers, do vocabulary and keep science journals. Instead of adding that AND keeping the hands-on, I got unbalanced and let the hands-on activities fall by the side. All along all I needed to do was to revamp my schedule to allow more time for science. I finally did that, but not before I lost a few precious years with my oldest son.

Hands-On Science or Picky Choosers?

So one hallmark of a well rounded out science program is plenty of hands-on projects. And, it should stay that way all the way to high school.

Science is about doing, not just reading or watching somebody else do it.

After that there are other things you want to determine about a program before you buy. For example, if you are short on time already, then you may want to purchase premade kits.

List at this list of questions:

Is it secular or Christian? Which do you want?	Can it be used for multiple ages?
Do you want to learn by subject matter (unit studies) or by mixing and matching topics similar to a textbook?	As the kids get older, supplies like microscopes cost a bit more. How many supplies do you need?
Are science kits available? Or, do you have to gather your own supplies?	Do the children learn at the computer part of the time? Is it all computer reading or part book and part computer or all book?
If you don’t have a science background, then you may want a more helpful teacher guide. How helpful is the teacher guide? Does it have thorough explanations or is it an answer sheet only?

Superb Science Schedules

After you decide what is important to you in a science curriculum, then you have to make time to do all of those wonderful hands-on science activities.

Don’t do the same thing I did and try to make a middle school budding scientist work on a toddler approved schedule.

Increase the time for science as they get older so that they know how to both research and note their findings AND have time to test those ideas, i.e. hands-on activities.

Too, along the 6th grade or so, you can start off your day with science which is a content subject instead of the skill subjects. Hopefully, this is past the time your children struggle with the skill subjects.

You know I am a firm believe in writing it all out and that means a schedule too. Write it all so that you not only see it, but that you as the teacher stick to it. This will help your children have well-rounded out days. Too, seeing it keeps these ideas from being “pie in the sky” dreams, but makes them reality.

Look at these options.

Schedule.		Science Here.
Mon. – Fri. until noon ALL the skill subjects are to be done.		Mon. – Fri. Science every afternoon for an hour.
Mon. – Fri. until noon ALL the skill subjects are to be done.		Mon. Wed. Fri. Alternating days to switch with another content subject like history or geography.
Mon. – Fri. until noon ALL the skill subjects are to be done.		Mon. Tue. Two back to back afternoons of science or visa versa make it W,T,F.
Mon. – Fri. start off with science and then start your skill subjects.

The two main keys to being sure you cover science is to 1) not push the skill subjects past the time they are suppose to be done. I have heard of drill sergeants moms who feel that all lesson plans have to be done before you move on to the other fun subjects. Skill subjects need to stay to the time scheduled by you.

Remember, it is the *time* for learning that needs to be scheduled, not necessarily the lesson plan. As long as they are doing it, they are learning. And, the next 2) thing to do is schedule it. Just do it.

Though I have used parts of two science curricula, I have never used all of any one curriculum. I simply used what I needed from each one.

What about you? How does your schedule look for science? Do you have any more tips for Laura?

Too, if you don’t remember the difference between the skill and content subjects, look at my post below:

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

Hugs and love ya,

Linking to

Should Homeschool History Be Covered in Chronological Order?

October 28, 2013 | 5 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I love your questions and answer them as I can. I have a couple of questions from Laura, but I am helping her out with one of them today and will save the other one for next time.

Hi there Tina!!
Laura here (a most grateful “follower” who thinks your site is awesome). I have two questions……..

Regarding history, ancient world and American, do you think history needs to be done in order? Ie. ancient and then leading up to American or is it possible to do a little Ancient and then American. It seems like the latter may lend itself to confusing the kids. Your perspective if you don’t mind and at your convenience. I know you’re busy.

My simple answer to this question is: It depends. If you are relatively new to homeschooling (under 4 years or so) or have never covered history in a systematic way, it is extremely beneficial. You should do it at least one cycle through to form a history skeleton on which to place key events.

Having a flow to the story of history has helped my sons tremendously in being able to place key events and important people close to the right time period. Too, I wanted them to be able to understand Bible chronology, i.e. history began with creation,etc.

I say it depends too because the whole purpose of covering a curriculum in a 3 or 4 year cycle is to get a bird’s eye view. That means leave off all unnecessary details and dates that bog us down. Therein lies the rub. Some curriculum providers in an effort to beef it up so speak, stress both child and parent alike because key points are lost in all the details and background information. The child may end up having a dislike for history and that is putting it nicely because instead us of moving on and reading the story, we may have taken many bunny trails.

That is the reason I was SO over the top and still am about us using Brimwood Press History. It is the first of its kind which covers history in great big HUGE chunks so we can get the full picture quickly.

However, if you have time and your children are younger, then you don’t have to go as fast. A program like the ones I list below in the chart will be of value to you. You have time to go through a cycle and will have more background information. Just remember to trim the fat if you feel like you are going too long or lagging. If you pulled your child out of high school and you only have a few years to cover history, your children already have a dislike for history or if you feel you are even lagging behind in your understanding of it, then using a program like Brimwood Press first will help to minimize burnout and bring some fun back into your journey.

The chart below has some history providers that follow a chronological approach. I just added a few, not all of them. Some have more than one volume to choose from for a time period and others stick to 3 or 4 volumes, but this helps us to see some of our choices.

Curriculum Name	Provider	4 Year Cycle	3 Year Cycle	Multiple Ages of Children
Story of the World	Peace Hill Press	√		√
The Mystery of History	Bright Ideas Press		√ *Note Volume IV Coming.	√
History Revealed	Diana Waring		√	√
Tapestry of Grace	Lampstand Press	√		√
Truth Quest	Truth Quest History	√ Yes, but numerous grade level volumes to choose from instead of just 4.		√
TRISMS	TRISMS	√ Yes, but included 1 more volume to choose from for middleschoolers.		√
Sonlight	Sonlight	√ Yes, but numerous grade level volumes to choose from instead of just 4.		√

However, there are more things to consider too.

Understanding how children naturally learn at different stages, which is normally tied in to their ages, but not always, helps you to find a better fit for your family.

Learning in chronological order may not be of benefit to your children right now if they are all very young like pre-k or kindergarten age, if they don’t care for history or they are suffering from burn out.

For example, most public schools teach “social studies” to pre-k and kindergarten age starting from the inside, or their immediate world and go to the outside world. Because very young children understand their immediate world like their family, their house and the street they live on, teachers first teach them things like learning about their community and community helpers. Then, from there to their state, to their country and then to the larger world as they grow older. There is some logic to this because children are single minded at that age and it’s all about THEM. Too, though children that age are learning with every breath they take, their world is small because of their developmental age.

Would a pre-k or kindergarten child benefit from understanding the Minoans, appreciate that Herodotus is referred to as the Father of History or grasp the conflict between Athens or Sparta?

Probably not. However, they would appreciate good stories from Aesop’s fables, which has its start in Ancient Civilizations or cycle 1.

It is my experience and I agree with Susan Wise Bauer that it is better to start teaching history chronologically when your first child is older. Susan Wise Bauer suggests first grade and I would recommend even later is okay too. I started in first grade with Mr. Senior 2013, but see that I could have even waited until he was second or third grade and would have been fine too. Of course I was worried about him “getting behind” but realize now that even with a year or two older we could have moved faster and covered more in depth.

In a nutshell: If you have older children or if your first one is at a second or third grade level, it is very practical, useful and absolutely a delight to cover history in chronological order. It is like making an outline. An outline doesn’t have all the supporting details right now, but gives you a sweeping overview. Later, you can come back and add details.

I taught Mr. Senior 2013 following the public school method like learning about his community and community helpers when he was in pre-k because I did not know of any other methods. But there are other methods of how to teach young kids history or children that have history burnout.

I have a second post I will share with you on this shortly or toward the end of the week, but first I have a post or two coming about a hands on history kit for South America that I am excited to tell you about.

Hugs and love ya,

My YouTube Channel + Dynamic Reader Question: Homeschooling Triplets

September 20, 2013 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Before I share the dynamic reader question this week, I have to share a few other things I have been playing working on.

I have been putting this off way too long, but I have a YouTube channel now. Lordy, lordy. I have my first video up. Or, I should say my first video up with my kids. You know I have done videos before with my web workshops, but this is the first one with Tiny. We never had so much fun opening a dumb box, but I had to share it and my channel. I will be uploading more videos too. Come on over and give my channel some love. I will try to make another one soon if I can keep from laughing through it all. Mr. Awesome helps narrate this one too.

Also, I have a free fall unit study coming up ……………….

a printable for our planner, and the next part for our South America Unit Study. I know, I know, but I LOVE keeping a lot of things stoked. It gives me a head rush and a pep in my step.

Switching gears on you I want to share a dynamic reader question. I think there is always something we can learn about homeschooling when helping others so I wanted you to get the benefit too. Here is Julie’s question. Can you sympathize?

Do you have any advice or any articles/blogs to send me to? We are starting Kindergarten. I have triplet 5 year old boys. I think I am struggling most with what do I when we are teaching the same thing but they are going at different paces? Right now I do just think of us like a little classroom but I don’t want to just be a school at home. Right now I just teach to the slowest learner and the one who may be moving a little faster just doesn’t get to. He gets extra busy work. It’s not ideal but it’s all I can think to do right now.I want them to have the advantages of home schooling but don’t know how to implement it for them. What happens if they have different learning styles? I really don’t want to have to teach three different curricula. Do I schedule individual time to cover the differences even though it’s all the same information? We are using Math in Focus, Handwriting without Tears and The ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading.
Right now we just do school in our living room. I have one who is a wiz at math, one who is a great reader and if almost teaching himself and one who stays under the radar but seems to be fine with whatever I am teaching.
Thank you so much for any advise.
Julie

Having helped new homeschooling families with triples, though I do not have any, was one of my most challenging feats. From visiting with them at their house to helping them set up their school area, I have learned that some of the basic rules of schooling multiple children applies to them too.

I won’t sugarcoat it for you and tell you homeschooling triplets or twins is easy. There are challenges that the rest of us don’t understand and in many ways it can’t be compared exactly to homeschooling multiples. It truly is a unique situation that calls for pulling out all kinds of teaching tips from moms who school an only (more on that in a minute) to moms who school multiples.

Teaching one grade level allows you to be absorbed in what they need to know at that grade level. Even though you may have one son that is ahead a grade level, that is still just two grades. As the teacher, you can really hone your teaching skills in on one grade level at a time unlike a mom who may have 4 grade levels. Savor each grade because like a mom of an only, you will not repeat it, unless of course you have younger children. The families I knew did not have younger children after having triplets.

Busy Work OR Learning the Value of Independence

You are not alone in the dilemma of how to educate one child while working with your other children. We all face that similar dilemma. They are a number of solutions that will work and one of them is to have the more advanced son work on something that is easy. (Applies only to this age because 5 year olds need lots of hands-on games and activities. Gifted and talented children are still a different topic and this would not necessarily apply to an older child) Yes, easy, but still educational, challenging, but not busy work.

When the work is easy enough for a 5 year old to do on his own, this allows you the true 1:1 time with the slowest learner without being interrupted by the one that is advanced.

Look at these teaching ideas.

Make it his computer time or iPad time. Invest in appropriate apps for his age. Its okay to grab some help. Check out my pinterest board.

He can do a craft at his own desk area. Key here is to being sure that he has all supplies ahead of time.

This is time for him to listen to an audio book or have one read to him online. Barnes & Noble has the author read their book.

Make it his music time. Either listening to good composers or learning on an instrument.

This can also be his exercise time.
Also two of the kids can play a learning game while you teach the slowest. They can play cards and call out math facts or other memorization work to each other. Both children benefit from this.

For my middle guy, he was so wiggly that he did chores at this time.

Copy work is PERFECT too for this time as boys tend to lag behind girls in fine motor skills. Check my pinterest board for free copy work.

I also invited over a music teacher and we switched kids out. She taught one boy music while I schooled the other one and then we switched. Worked great!

Too, it is okay for him to spend time by himself because each child learns that the world or schedule does not always revolve around them. This is good practice too for learning independently in the future like in highschool.

Just enforce the rule that its still school time even if he is doing something by himself.

Slowest learner sets the pace. You are right on target for this. Moms of twins, triplets and even multiples can all agree on one fundamental fact and that is regardless of birth date, each child develops differently. This is something that all of us contend with if we have more than one child. This is also the reason we all homeschool. Whether you have one, three, or seven, no mom wants their kids lost in a classroom of 30 kids. So delight in the fact that he will not get left behind but will get the same level of fine teaching as your other children. Yes, you schedule time to work with them individually. Have you studied my illustration of my teacher’s schedule?

Different learning styles does equal different curriculum. I know it’s overwhelming to you right now and it will be for a while, but the truth of it is that just because your triplets will be doing a lot of the same things together like sports and probably have the same friends, they may have different learning styles. Each child flourishes when they have a curriculum that is suited to their learning style.

When they are young, their main learning style is Wiggly Willy and hands on. I talk about learning styles in my #3 video workshop:God’s Gifted Children that is about two hours long and right now your boys are too young to identify their learning styles.

You have a few years yet and by that time you will understand learning styles better. Right now, take it slow and teach them using your learning style. Throw in plenty of hands-on activities and teach in shorter spurts like 25 or 30 minutes and then take a break and then come back for more.

Take Tips from a Mom Of An Only Too. Shock!

Moms of onlies can be geniuses at creating situations where their child learns to develop at being an individual. They don’t have a sibling to rub off the rough spots so these parents work double hard at being sure their child’s inner self develops. Whether it’s a field trip, volunteering or taking a class with other kids, take an example from them in learning to both seize and create moments for each child to shine individually and not as a group.

Though twins or triplets have a sibling, there is no natural pecking order of older, middle and younger child so each child may struggle with self-identity.

Too, there is a natural competitiveness I have seen from children who are twins and triplets and the desire to be seen as individuals is needed. This is a balancing act because in one way my experience through the years is that these siblings end up being each others’ best friends and they should. However, they also crave individuality.

Hang in there Julie and though I won’t even go there to say we all completely understand your circumstances, I can say we all share similar problems.

I have seen the benefits of homeschooling by providing more opportunities for unique situations. And, it is not always necessary to separate them for unique experiences to the point of being stressed. They came into this world together and I think that is part of their inner self too.

Are you a mom of twins, triplets or even multiple children and have any advice for Julie?

Hugs, love ya and be sure to visit our first video, and subscribe to my channel as we got some new Zeezok curriculum

Dynamic Reader Spotlight Life in The Rainforest Project

May 24, 2013 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I love getting your emails and hearing about your projects whether they are learning or organizing related. And, I am never too busy in my blogging schedule to pause and share when I get one from my dynamic readers. I recently got these beautiful pictures from Chayaan’s mom in (Colombo, Sri Lanka) and I just had to show you what a beautiful job Chayaan did.

Life in the Rainforest by Chayaan Perera (Colombo, Sri Lanka)

Vrai, Chayaan’s mother said:The cover images are all cut outs, and the other pictures of animals, birds, reptiles etc are also all cut outs pasted on to the backgrounds.

I love it because it shows how intricate children can be when learning comes alive or when you find the spark that ignites them.

You have to love the fact that when something interests a child, they will write. The key is to finding something that interests them.

Vrai also said: The pages of pictures on Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, People and Flowers have been done in 3D!

Each key page has a ‘Fact Box’ into which he made and placed ‘Flash Cards’.

I know he will not get tired of reviewing or going back over this. This is the kind of tool to use for assessment of knowledge instead of boring tests.

Vrai also told me: This was all his idea and plan and knowledge is all his own.

I also love the fact that he mixed and matched printables from our site and others to get something unique.

I love the end where he made a call to save the planet. Overall, you can tell how much time was spent on this project. I put Chayann’s work as a slide presentation on our Amazon page. If you get a chance and have time, go on over to our page and show this little guy some love by commenting in the box at the bottom of our website.

Chayaan, you did a GREAT job and hope you enjoyed the dynamic reader spotlight today. Thank you to your mom for sending in your hard work. She is doing a great job with you. You made my day today.

Hugs and you know I love ya,

A Reader Asked Is there a Spiral or Mastery Approach for English

May 21, 2013 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

A reader asked is there a spiral or mastery approach to English. Look at her question below.

Jennifer writes “I know that you wrote about Spiral VS Mastery programs for Math, but is there a such thing for English. My daughter has used 1st language lessons (1st, 2nd, 3rd) and then Rod and Staff for (4th-7th). We are pulling our hair out! Writing and English is not my thing, I would take math any day. I need help knowing what kind of learning those two Englishes are so that I can doing something different. I was thinking about Alpha Omega Life Pacs but would love some insight. Thank you for your time. I appreciate your thoughts and your response.”

The answer to your question directly is YES. There can be several approaches to how we teach grammar and writing.

{But indirectly, it matters more how we use it than the approach we choose.}

Demystifying the language arts process too by understanding that grammar and writing are two very different skill sets will help you to weigh curriculum differently.

A Reader Asked Is there a Spiral or Mastery Approach for English

Grammar a Tool or Ruler

At times it seems that grammar can be complicated to understand.

However, just like math, grammar is about learning and understanding rules. Some rules in math are simple to understand some not so simple. Does everybody master these rules? I don’t. I need constant reminders. Do these rules ever go away? No, they build on each other.

Spiral Approach

There are also exceptions to the rules in math and we make allowances for them. Learning the English language is similar.

So texts tend to be “graded” in grammar meaning they go from very simple to complex rules. Most texts, whether spiral or mastery, add some type of review.

The best way I found to use a text for grammar should be like we use a ruler to measure. Do we have the need to measure on a daily basis if we have basic skills in grammar? Absolutely not.

Grammar should be studied in use with writing to show the importance of it in the writing process. If we study grammar separately it may not hold any meaning to a child or to us.

Writing a Process

Writing on the other hand is a process. More important than memorizing a set of rules in grammar is that our children develop a strong writing foundation and equate writing with pleasure.

Writing is about communicating ideas that are important to us. Ideas can be serious, heartbreaking or even hysterical . Communicating ideas effortlessly builds meaning on the definition of the terms subject and verb.

In the writing process there is room for creativity.

Grammar rules are just explanations not creations or a creative like a composition.

Both texts you are using are very good resources but they don’t always work well with every learner or teacher.

Rod and Staff takes a more mastery approach while First Language Lessons seems to be down the middle because it uses a more incremental approach or step by step. Most grammar texts serve well as reference tools only.

Solution

Teaching writing by using something laid out like Institute for Excellence in Writing or WriteShop can bring relief when we are struggling. Rod and Staff is also a writing program with grammar but at times it can be hard to measure progress.

Approach for Homeschool English

Because good speech and writing well don’t just happen, we all need practice daily and models to follow. I don’t think you need any more grammar books but need help to apply the grammar she has learned to a writing program that will give you ways to chart her progress.

A writing program that gives you more direct instruction will put the emphasis back on why we learn the grammar rules and breathe life into language arts.

Your turn. Do you have any other insight or tips to share with Jennifer?

Look at these other tips:

Hugs to ya’ll..

Tina

Dynamic Reader Question