Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Activity, Change, Progress

How To - - -

Accreditation Removing the Shroud of Mystery

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

Let’s get a bit technical today.  My legal brain loves to go to details like this, but more than anything because I get a lot of questions about accreditation, I wanted to share a basic overview of what is accreditation and if it’s important to you.

Homeschoolers throw this word out and then stop to take a deep breath because they are not sure if they should be shopping for something that says accredited, running from it or just standing in place freaking out.

GETTING SMART WITH ACCREDITATION

Since I love layman’s language too and simple is always better let’s break down accreditation removing the shroud of mystery that seems to loom over it.

The first step in understanding whether or not you need to investigate more about accreditation is to grasp a basic meaning of it.

Accreditation. A voluntary process by schools to an agency that certifies that the school has met certain requirements and is an official school. 

In the United States, accreditation is an entirely voluntary process.

Can you see that right away the term official becomes a problem?  Why?   Because if you are legally going to need an accredited school, the next logical question is accredited by whom.  I’ll get to that in a minute. Let’s soak in this definition a bit more.

Homeschooling and Accreditation

In layman’s language, an accredited agency establishes guidelines saying that your child attended a real or legal school.

  Now don’t get your hairs bristled yet because I am right there with you, but key to understanding this is to understand it from a legal point of view.

It is a way of one educational institutional assuring another educational institution, usually an institute of higher education, like a four year college that the diploma meets certain qualifications or standards.

It is about establishing guidelines or standards.

Too, when accredited becomes a topic for discussion, it is normally during the high school years, but not always. More on that in a minute too.

If you live in a state or country that requires an accredited program, then understanding the big players recognized by the government is key to being selectively picky about a school that voluntarily goes through the accrediting process.

Goodness sakes, there is no need to memorize them, we have enough on our plates. Just be familiar with the agencies.

As you can see, if you need an accredited school, it’s just as important to be sure it’s accredited by one of these six regional bodies that are recognized by the U.S. Department of Education:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
New England Association of Schools and Colleges
Northwest Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Western Association of Schools and Colleges

There are good accrediting agencies and bad ones, recognized ones and unrecognized ones, legitimate ones and phony ones. 

I don’t want to completely make your eyes pop out, because there are other accrediting agencies that I have seen through the years that are excellent, but the key is to understanding whether or not a majority of high learning institutes will recognize them.

Let’s separate the legal information now from what works for giving a child a superior education.

  A fine detail, but huge point homeschoolers over look when they get anxious about accreditation is understanding that accreditation has nothing to with the value of an education or the curriculum.

WHAT NO ONE TELLS YOU ABOUT ACCREDITATION

The two terms accreditation and superior education are not synonymous.

Schools throw out  that term as if attending one of those schools gives your child an edge in learning. It does not.

Helping new homeschoolers, I have seen some of the worst private schools accredited and I have seen some very small private school not accredited that offer an excellent educational program.

Accreditation may become important for these 3 reasons:

  • 1. It may be important in the elementary years, if you don’t plan to school longer than a year.  After putting your child back into school,  your local school may require proof that your child used an accredited school before they advance them to the next grade.
  • 2. Normally accredited is used more when your teen approaches high school and is deciding what path to take for their post high school years.  Helping homeschoolers whose children went on to the military is where an accredited diploma is important. This though could be a whole article on its own, but to keep it simple, please be sure you look into this if your child is planning a route that way.
  • 3. The next area where you need to know if your child has to have an accredited diploma is either if you live in a state that requires it or if your child is wanting to pursue a career that specifically asks for a diploma from an accredited school.

As you can see, thousands and thousands of homeschoolers have gone on to elite colleges with a mommy degree and without the need for an accredited school.

Homeschoolers may still be the minority in colleges, but it’s not the minority that understand how driven our homeschooled kids are and the superior value of their high school education without an accreditation agency can’t be denied.

Understanding that accreditation is not a mystery, but fulfills legal requirements and is used mostly when your child approaches the teen years helps you to understand whether or not an accredited school is something you need for your family.

What’s your answer when somebody asks you if your children attend an accredited school?

Hugs and love ya

Did you miss these posts?

3 Wrong Ways to Homeschool a Hotheaded Child

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

When I started homeschooling my first son, Mr. Senior 2013, he was the perfect child to school or least I thought so.  Along came Mr. Awesome and I was humbled because all of the sudden I had a hotheaded and stubborn child on my hands or least I thought so.

I just knew he was going to be defiant because of the way he wouldn’t sit like I thought he should, quietly as I taught him to read like I did with my oldest son.

Fast forward a few years into homeschooling my middle son and after many days that ended with tears (mine), it was hard to swallow the pill that I was the one creating the havoc.

Growing a Renegade Homeschooler

Today in 3 wrong ways to homeschool a hotheaded child, I want to share what I did wrong.

1. Assume that all children learn the same.

Because Mr. Awesome was very young, there were some questions I had to ponder as to my parenting and homeschooling. I had to figure out if I was the cause or not.  Sure, it’s easy to blame it on the kid because self-examination is not easy.

He wasn’t old enough to articulate and even at that some teens who struggle with how you teach a subject can’t articulate it either.  They might feel like you are the teacher and are doing things “right” and so the problem must be the kids.

Sad to say, some homeschool moms feel that way too.  They don’t analyze their approach, they just assume they have a defiant child.  They may, but then again, do they create the child that way because a parent won’t move out of the way they think.

Do you think there is something wrong with your child because he learns differently than you?  Do you feel your way is the best way of teaching because it is the way you process information?

See, I figured out that my middle son’s personality was opposite of mine.

Instead of feeding his desire to learn, I was suffocating it.  I was given him no choice but to act out because he had no other way of telling me.

2. Expecting my middle son who had a passion to create, learn outside the box and seize the moment to stay in the box because it felt right for me. Ouch.

Inexperienced homeschooling teacher that I was, I was more concerned about proving progress to others instead of learning how my son progressed and learned.

Rebellion was my son’s only way of letting me know that the way I so defiantly moved ahead in what worked for my first son didn’t work for him.  Where did my middle son get his stubborn streak from?

I was afraid he was going to be one of those little boys who was always disruptive because he never sat still and didn’t want to learn at a desk because that is where I thought learning took place.

3.  Schedule his every learning moment. 

Though my oldest son thrived when he could check off things on his list, my middle son felt trapped and confined.  From my middle son’s need to have flexibility and my need to not give up a routine, I created what I call zones in our day.

The morning zone is school, the afternoon zone is reading and the evening zone is family or play time.  As he grew, I gave him boundaries, but within those hours of the school zone he was free to choose which subjects he wanted to start with first and where to do them at.  He just had to get them done.

Now that Mr. Awesome is close to finishing his high school years, I again have tears but for a very different reason.

I am grateful for his gifts and how he taught me to be the kind of homeschooling educator I wanted to be.  Not one that insisted on her way or the highway, but one that could embrace many different learning styles.

He is the child that shook me out of my comfort zone and into creating lapbooks.  He is my inspiration for every lapbook created as I think about those learners who live life with so much gusto and need to move to make things happen.

As he fell behind in spelling one year with many sleepless nights on my part that year and then moved two grade levels up the next year, I realized to relax and embrace the ebb and flow of his learning.

Continuing to put in front of him what I wanted him to learn, he would come grab it from the learning table and run.  My kid who ate on the run learned on the run and all I had to do was to be sure it was on the table when he came back.

Understanding too that I didn’t have to give up everything that I loved about the classical approach or what my goals were for him, I knew that I could alter any of the homeschool approaches and embrace the unit study approach too.
I could expand any approach to include activities that suited the way my son learned best, which is through moving and hands-on.

I bucked the norm or system thinking that if a child was having fun or moving that he wasn’t learning and the way he now attacks his high school curriculum with such care to his grades and what he is learning is way more thanks than I could ever ask for.

As I mentioned he is close to finishing high school years, but I am not sure I will ever be done telling you about the things I learned from my “hotheaded” child.

But what if a child is actually willfully disobedient? Check out Homeschool Rebel or Resister and But the Little Dear Doesn’t Want to Homeschool.

Are you struggling with teaching a hotheaded child?

What are some things that worked for you?
Hugs and love ya

Signature T

 

Look at these books that helped me to decide rebel or resistant learner!

Planning Homeschool When Drowning in a Sea of Ideas

| 9 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Sitting in my living room and deciding what we wanted to do for school next, I realized that planning homeschool when drowning in a sea of ideas can be daunting and energy zapping.

Like you though, ideas, projects, and lists are all made because we want to problem solve or craft ideas into projects.

However, my to-do list and ideas for everything from homeschool to personal goals to my blog was growing more detailed by the moment.
Impatient person that I am to meet some of these goals, I realized it can make you feel defeated before you even start planning.

Do you find that you just pull back and don’t do anything because you can’t find a starting point? Organized or not, this can happen to anybody and it has happened to me more times than I care to admit.

One top of that, a problem with most people who love organization is that we have our noses so buried in the details of homeschool planning we can’t see the big picture.

I focused on things that inspire me to find a starting point. Don’t let your brilliant or creative flashes harness you.

Look at these 4 steps for a starting point as you plan your new homeschool year.

STEP 1. Clearly Identify

Start by just writing all that you want to do, but don’t worry about organizing your ideas just yet.

I want to finish a book on homeschooling that I have started, get my youngest son caught up with where I want him to be, help my next highschooler finish and graduate this next year, lose more weight, blog more passionately, help new homeschoolers with more detailed articles, create more unit studies, spend more time with the Mr. now that we live in beautiful South America and . . .  and . . .

Pen your ideas and identify them as clearly as you can, but don’t separate them into categories just yet because that will stifle what is on your mind for now.

STEP 2. Slice And Dice

After you have mounds of ideas and things that you want to do, take your list and prioritize what is most important to you.

What I have found in this step of the thought process is that some ideas are not worthy of my time after I weigh them against other things I have on my list.

You need to either shelf or shave ideas that you can’t get to this next year.

I have been ask, but how do you know how many to delete or shave off and how many to keep? I have found that a simple way to accomplish more is to use the 12 calendar months or physical year as a strainer.

In my mental process, I limit myself to 12 ideas or things that I want to get done for a new year.  Some ideas or things will only take a few days or few weeks and other ideas may take longer.  Too, some things like my goal of spending time with the Mr. can be grouped with another goal.

I find that a base of 12 ideas is a good starting point because it allows one idea or project per month.

It’s a natural way to plan, but most of the time we over plan with no filter in place. The physical year is my filter.

Don’t give up any of the ideas you have if you see in looking over your list that there are more worthwhile projects to pursue right now.

Just put them back for now and save your list because you never know during the year when you have time to reach into your treasure trove of thoughts and get one more project done.

At this point too, I can see a clear picture of how many are homeschool related, personal related, and business related and I group them together now.

STEP 3. Arrange In Importance to YOU

We both know that clearly our homeschool planning takes a prominent place.  But so should your health and spiritual welfare.

If you have been homeschooling at all costs and sacrificing either your physical or spiritual health, your homeschooling journey may not survive.

Some years, I have added in workbooks for the kids or hired a tutor because I needed the break.  Balance has always been hard for strong-willed homeschooling mamas.  I’m right there with you too.

The homeschooling survivors are ones that are willing to change when something needs to be done instead of heading straight to burnout.

Too, sometimes you have to decide what is a want versus a need.  For example, I am so over the top giddy on wanting to finish my homeschooling book, but I won’t do it at the expense of sacrificing Tiny along the way.

Will there still be homeschoolers the next year or the next?  For sure. But my son’s homeschool years are fleeting so it maintains priority for me.

Priority is uniquely different to each of us and we need to not only dig deep to determine them, but be honest on what is something we need to do versus something that we desire to do.

Now the challenge – number each one from the most important to the least.

Can you see the plan emerging? Remember, you should have only 12 numbered.

You can have more on your list, but only 12 numbered. Remember, this is about getting them done, not dreaming about them.

Too, some things which are long term projects, like my homeschool book, can be worked on throughout the year as I accomplish my 12 tasks.

So leave one or two long-term projects on your list that can simmer on the backburner while you meet your other goals.

STEP 4. Make A Visible Plan of Action

The fourth step is the most critical and it is to write it all down.  Did you know this is where a lot of people stumble or just give up?

After going through the grueling process of planning, they fail to make it cement or concrete.

Get it off your mind and onto something that you can see and physically check off.  Put the plan into action by writing it down.

See the big picture by assigning it to a calendar month. If you shriek at paper planning (can’t imagine, just saying) then put it down in your digital planner.

It is not a plan – well until it is.

Sounds easy enough, but a major reason we feel trapped before we start is that if it is not put down in some action form, our ideas might stay as pie in the sky goals.

In an upcoming post, l will show you how I finally solved my problem and got my nose out of those details that I love to wallow in.

Keeping this process of how I arrived at homeschool planning for the year does me no good to keep it in my head and so I hope this 4 step process simplifies the planning process for you.

Follow the four easy steps of homeschool planning which are clearly identifying all that you want to do for the year, organize ideas by category and slim your ideas down to just 12 with a few extra long-term projects, arrange them in importance by using the cruel (you cannot start them all at once, I tried that one time. Stay sane, don’t try it) number system because you have to have a Number 1 starting point and then avoid using invisible ink by writing it ALL down.

I guarantee you will have success in planning for a new year if you try faithfully to follow those four easy peazy steps.

What about you? Do you see a new plan of action or are you using one that works for you?

You’ll love these other tips!:

Over Scheduling + Over Planning = Over Load

3 Easy Fixes to Recharge Your Homeschool Routine

How To Create a Homeschool Schedule That You Can Stick To    

Hugs and love ya,

The One Question Homeschooled Kids Dread Answering

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

Besides answering questions to relatives about what my kids have been learning and no I don’t mean the kind of genuine questions where my extended family is interested, but the kind where they think they can quiz my kids to find out if they are truly learning, there is one question dreaded more by my kids.

The one question homeschooled kids dread answering is what grade they are in. And when my kids shrug their shoulders and answer with, “I don’t know”, that just gives the relatives one more thing to bristle about.

When kids have not been exposed to public school grade levels and they have not learned to keep pace with a grade level, they really don’t know what grade they are in and guess what? Most kids don’t care.

As my kids have grown older and see the shrieks of terror on some adult’s faces because my kids have no idea what grade they are, my kids try to reply as best they can.

When Mr. Senior 2013 was in fourth grade and without any prodding from me, he replied, “Which subject?” The reply made complete sense to me.

I learned a few things from that encounter:

It was probably best to prepare my kids for questions like that because most people are asking just to be polite;

It was a reminder to me that I had released myself from the bondage of graded level learning because my kids were all over the place in each subject and it was a good feeling;

That my kids were being allowed to learn at their own pace;

That I did recognize the differences in each of my kids because they were accomplishing skills at different grade levels; and

That if I had to reply to it I probably would have to say something like he is in 9th grade reading, 7th grade grammar, 8th grade math, 7th grade writing. .. oh my!

Through the years, I have found it better to reply with a more general reply like he is in middle school or high school.

Too, I find a more general reply avoids a lot of confusion even for my sons. For example, we may have started a new curriculum mid-year and my sons may reply they are in one grade level for that year and then still be in that same grade level the beginning of the next year.

To avoid my kids feeling confused, which are the only ones I am concerned about when answering that question, I just have them reply in generalities by saying middle school or elementary school.  The kids understand there are about 3 or 4 grades considered for any level, even high school.

Sometimes, the boys reply by saying their age and then the adult can figure it out on their own.

Besides how many people would understand that you may be starting pre-algebra with a 11 year old or a 5th grader reading high school level literature?

How about you? Do your kids know which grade they are in?

Hugs and love ya,

2012Tinasignature 3 Reasons You Wouldn’t Want to Homeschool

Also, check out some other comebacks here:

“I’m homeschooling because I want them socialized”

How do I SOCIALIZE my kids?

Gauging Homeschool Progress – Masters of their Material?

4 Ways to Not Plan the Most Boring Homeschool Field Trip Ever

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

Besides changing the monotony of a hum drum day, homeschool field trips are learning adventures.

Maybe it’s how captivating I find the challenge of adding in all the homeschool subjects on any field trip we take or maybe it’s the charge we get after we meet up with other families that makes us wanting to plan more.

Too, when others join in, it can make an enormous difference in how much you remember the trip.

But if you want others to join your family, then there are 4 ways to not plan the most boring homeschool field trip ever.

You take charge of it.

I don’t view myself as a funny or even entertaining homeschool mom.

However, with that being said, planning and taking charge of our learning adventure is something I have done with much success.It doesn’t take the most entertaining mom to do, but you have to have a fun loving spirit that is infectious.

Don’t sit back and wait for field trips to happen.  When you plan your trips like one that you would want to attend, then others will come. Excitement is contagious and when you are excited that trickles down to each member.

Maybe you don’t feel like you have time to plan it, but a little known secret in planning field trips is that it is just like lesson planning in a way.

Field trips are your lesson plans for the day and when you view it like that, you are not adding to your already hectic schedule, but you are adapting it.  Not extra work, just different.

Treat Others Like You Want to Be Treated.

The families in my group and in many groups are the most grateful creatures and it has made my planning numerous field trips such a delight.  I just don’t say this lightly because planning can be such hard work at times, but the payoff in friendships have been worth every ounce of extra stress.
When I plan thinking about others, it makes their experience more engaging.  For example, many years I had to use a baby stroller and always ask questions about how easy it was to get around using a stroller.
I tried to pick field trips that would make it easier to handle several little ones alone when you are venturing out solo. When we outgrew baby strollers, I still asked detailed questions and passed on that information to the moms in my group.

When you haul around several little ones, all the tidbits on how to make it easier to attend and still enjoy the outing makes the field trip one that many will not forget.
On the flip side, if the field trip was primarily for little ones, I was very specific in adding in a suggestion or two that could include the teens.

Since most of us have kids of different ages, we like to bring them all to each field trip.  I would suggest time at the park afterwards and ask the teens to bring their games or things they wanted to share with their friends.
Our teens never had problems with field trips based just for the little ones because they knew some part of the day they could be with their friends.  A couple of places we went to even had a few things that only teens could do after the little kids finished.

So a few moms would go with the teens while the others stayed with the little kids. Treating others like you would want to not only feels good, but the whole group benefits.

Forget “Normal”When Planning Seasonal.

It is easy to plan seasonal activities like a leaf hunt in the fall or planning a back to school pool party in the summer.

I am not encouraging you to not plan seasonally, but what will set your group apart from the others will be the not so normal things you plan during any season.

Stretch your creative juices during the seasons to plan for not so normal activities.

For example, one year when we had scorching hot Texas weather and planning a back to school party, we went to the chilly ice skating rink.

When the ice skating rink got scraped, we got asked if our kids wanted to play in the snow/ice outside.

Playing with snow afterwards was an unexpected treat for our kids.  All ages got involved.  No homeschool mom was spared in the snowball fight.

Another example would be planning a swimming party in the winter.  Of course finding a heated pool would be a must.

Why do we find activities that we normally can’t do in one season as appealing?  Making the unexpected happen in your group will make your group unique and you will attract families plenty!

Mind the Details.

I’ll just say it.  There is nothing more aggravating to any mom of many than to show up at a lack luster planned field trip.

If you are the kind of person that doesn’t mind shooting from the hip when planning, then this might not bother you so much.   However, field trips can be a lot of work especially if you have a distance to drive and especially if you need to make arrangements to have the vehicle if you’re a one vehicle family.

Then, there is lunch to think about and fees, if any for the field trip.

One small tip that has been huge in avoiding miscommunication with the group is to keep everything in email or in written form.  I love to text and pick the phone up too when I want to get the answers to my questions quickly.

However, after doing that, I email the personnel at the field trip location just to be sure I have my details correct.  But here is the secret, then forward to your group, the response you get from personnel at the field trip location.

Why? This cuts down on any aggravation if a family did not understand the costs or details.  Even if there is a mix up, the group can see that you had your details straight and those that appreciate your hard work will stay part of your group.

Another detail to be aware of that is extremely important is knowing exactly what is going to happen when you arrive at the field trip.

One thing I have done right is to ask meaningful questions regarding the length of a program.  Because our field trip group was formed primarily for socialization, an equal part of our day needed to be left for the kids to visit.

Do not forget the primary purpose of your group when planning.  For example, we were not interested in long winded instructors who were trying to follow common core standards and who chewed up most of our day as we sat in desks.
By asking meaningful questions ahead of time, I was able to ask in a gracious way if the speaking parts of some instructors could be cut back.   Of course there is no need to have to go into detail about why we were short on time.  I always let it be known we had time constraints.  We did.

{Our field trip to the federal reserve was geared toward highschoolers, but knowing that other ages of children would be there, we cut the discourse in half and still enjoyed what we learned.}

Too, even if the subject has your student’s rapt attention, unless it’s planned ahead of time, be sure you stick to the hours you communicate about to the group.  Some kids may not be interested in the same things your kids are and too some families may have distances to drive back to their home.

Bringing the ewww and awww to field trips is easy when you think about how you want to be treated when planning.

Taking charge of a field trip, you can determine the atmosphere and keep it a meaningful part of your day and create awesome field trips by not thinking like everybody else.

Finally, when you take extra care with the details, your field trip group remembers.  And the best pay off yet, your children are not only provided with endless ways to explore the world around them but make life-long friends too.

If your first planned field trip was a flop, what are you going to do differently this time?
>Hugs and love ya,

2012Tinasignature Appreciating the Culture of South America Through Dance

Look at these other ways to plan field trips.

Beyond Museums and Zoos Homeschool Field Trip Form

Homeschool Field Trips – An Important Piece of the Educational Puzzle Part 1 + Free Field Trip Planning Page.

Homeschool Field Trips – An Important Piece of the Educational Puzzle Part 2 + Free Editable Field Trip Tracking Guide.