How To - - -

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.

40 Reasons I Homeschool (And Growing Each Year)

January 8, 2014 | 7 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I have a secret to tell you and that is I thrive at this time of the year. Call me one of those weird homeschoolers, I don’t mind, but I love cold weather. My brain goes full throttle ahead.

It might sound like a contradiction, but I also take time to muse about my homeschooling journey.

I am ever so grateful to have the privilege of homeschooling my children. Don’t get me wrong, I am human and go through certain days where I feel it is more like a burden.When I feel that way, I normally write down something to remind me of the privilege. It is easier as you homeschool longer because each year gives you more positive things to simmer on.

40 Reasons I Homeschool

By sharing publicly a few of the reasons I homeschool not only sears this in my mind, but I hope it lifts you up too. Homeschooling should be contagious and I want you to keep having a bad case of it.

Listed in no particular order.

1. I want my sons to have a spiritual relationship and that is my privilege to do.

2. My sons can focus on their own education, which is their responsibility and to not be responsible for other kids in public school which are their parents’ responsibility.

3. I realized soon after homeschooling that my son is not the only gifted and talented kid. Plenty of gifted children exist in the homeschool world and their interests can be fed in a way that is good for them without giving up their childhood.

4. My sons can exercise first in the morning like they enjoy doing. Now only if I can do that.

5. My sons don’t have to read poorly copied papers from one book as a reader, but I can have as many living books as I can stuff into my home.

6. I never have to kiss them good bye in the morning.

7. If a curriculum or schedule is not working, I don’t need the principal’s approval to change it. Just do it and move on.

8. We can buy better made school supplies and not have to break them in half to share with other kids. This actually happened to us when Mr. Senior 2013 went to part of Kindergarten public school. Of course the teacher explained to me that this was to help with fine motor control by having to grasp a smaller crayon. If that was the case, why didn’t I break them at home and they keep them separate at school?

9. We never collected enough soup labels to help out with the playground at school or library either one.

10. We love peanuts and because we have no allergies here, we can roll around in them at my house if we want to.

11. I can count my all day house cleaning day as a Home Economics 101 course.

12. Because the world IS our classroom, my sons have a no holes barred attitude toward education.

13. Because the Bible is our best copywork source, history and science resource, I won’t give this up in favor of education for the masses.

14. Because my kids are square pegs, I won’t force them to fit in round holes.

15. Because I would never give up our all day reading days, or all day history days, or all day science days, or all day geography days.

16. Our lunches are more healthier, not to mention taste great. Even peanut butter and jelly tastes better at home.

17. I don’t have to schedule conferences with the teacher.

18. Because the on-site campus policemen don’t have to escort my sons to the bathroom for fear they may be beat up or bullied. Yes, this happened to a friends of ours and it has taken their son quite a few years to recover, but the emotional damage is deep. We all hug them each time we see them.

19. Because any day can be declared a school holiday.

20. I want my children to learn to be community minded, and avoid learning mindless acts like standing in line. Too, do you ever raise your hand when having conversations with other adults?

21. How does that quote go? “I homeschool because I have seen the village”.

22. Because I wanted my kitchen filled with growing crystals, and can grow mold on purpose, and want my refrigerator filled with all kinds of future science projects.

23. We don’t have to wait on the rest of the class to catch up with us and because we don’t care what the other kids are doing if we don’t want to move on.

24. Because I want my kids socialized in the truest sense of the word and not adopt what the world tries to burden us with.

25. Because I want my children to love reading and I can change our schedule on a whim to feed that habit.

26. Because my husband wants time to influence my sons to grow up to be capable, responsible, loving, hardworking, and spiritual men. Its hard to do that when they are apart for 8 or more hours each day.

27. Because teaching about not using drugs and reserving (yes I am going there) *sex* for when you are married is our responsibility as parents. I won’t leave that up to a person whose life may or may not model Bible based thinking.

28. Because regardless of a person’s belief system, I want my sons to respect and love other people. It is our job as parents to live that every day and not just say it.

29. Because once I teach a skill to my older sons, they can model and teach to my younger son. This equals more time spent together as a family.

30. To teach subjects that I am not well versed in, I can hire as many excellent and caring private tutors as I want to. I consult only my budget and not have to wait weeks or years to change my educational budget and get approval for supplemental activities.

31. Because I cannot even begin to imagine what our day would look like if we could not spend as much time on hands-on as we like to.

32. Because learning is not about sitting at the computer all day with a virtual school, but it is about getting outdoors and learning about the creation around us.

33. Because our homeschool has gone way beyond academics and we have made life-long friends who cannot ever be replaced. We are overflowing with the blessings of their loyal friendship.

34. Because it is easier to teach children to read than the public school would have you think. Ten to fifteen minutes each day wrapped up in a blanket on the couch with living books and you will have a life-long reader that you have to command to put down his book to finish his math. Oh and a few cheetos and some chocolate milk doesn’t hurt either.

35. Because my goal in high school was to not simply have my sons graduate but to have an introduction to college level courses. And, you want to ask about testing to see what they know?

36. Because as a teacher, my obligation is not to learn how 30 other kids learn best, but just how my children learn best. This equals a hidden, but gratifying joy because I can learn right alongside my children. It is hard to infuse this feeling in a new homeschool teacher until she is actually teaching her children. It is just surface talk until she is infected with the art of teaching.

37. It my sons’ privilege, responsibility, and delight to learn. I am not raising passive sit back and let the teacher tell me what to do kids. They are learning independence and not dependence from an early age.

38. Because when it comes to studying our favorite subjects like history and geography, we can arrive at at history destinations via a family vacation. We can eat, drink and dress the culture and come away with an appreciation of the true value of any culture and not accept what a few pages in a textbook tells us.

39. Too, if you want to know what my sons know about a subject, I can show you our stack of 20 or 30 books on one subject for our unit study and compare with your few pages in a textbook. So testing fear is conquered because I realize standardized testing is a tool that if not wielded right by the holder can be abused. It’s true when those signs read “To avoid personal injury, select the right tool for the job.”

40. And, lastly because it works!

40 Reasons I Homeschool (And Growing Each Year). I am ever so grateful to have the privilege of homeschooling my children. Don’t get me wrong, I am human and go through certain days where I feel it is more like a burden.When I feel that way, I normally write down something to remind me of the privilege. It is easier as you homeschool longer because each year gives you more positive things to simmer on. Click here to be rejuvenated!!

I shared a few things that rolled off the top of my head and I will be printing this to go in my planner.Also, you’ll love grabbing some go juice from these articles!

What about you? What reasons keep you getting up in the morning with a can do spirit?

Hugs and love ya

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

Coming! Forever Blog Planner = Forever Updates

December 17, 2013 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I am so excited to tell you about my Forever Blog Planner that I have been working on for months. It’s almost ready. You know I never really feel organized until I have a planner. For blogging having a planner has become a necessity for me at this point in keeping up with the things I have been storing in my head.

Like my free curriculum planner, I love options and there are many options with this planner.

I love color too and can’t possibly imagine a planner without it. But, I know at certain times, I may want minimal color. So this planner was created to satisfy both moods! It is like having 2 or 3 blog planners in one. This way you can print another design from this same set and have a planner for a second blog.

Look at some of the features of the Forever Blog Planner because this is a project, an investment and more than a blog planner.

Feature	Benefit
You will not receive one huge big giganto .pdf set up in the order that works best for me, but many separate .pdfs.	The complaint about any organizing tool is that it can’t be tweaked to fit your unique needs. Though this may take more time to download each file, keeping each file separate allows you to build it STEP by STEP for your needs.
4 Cover Choices.	Because I want choices, I have created 4 different designs. Who wants one choice or design? Like my free curriculum planner, there are several design choices in this one blog planner.
Undated, but Detailed Forms.	I do not include what I call “fluff” in my blog planner which are pages that are easily found on the internet like dated calendar pages or to-do pages which I have free on my blog here.
1 Time Purchase.	Because my pages are undated, you can use this planner Forever.

2 Page Spread	A 2 page spread is used for each blog post because you need a lot of room to plan your blog posts. I do not want to write in small square calendar-like boxes which are of very little practical value. Both planning and tracking within each 2 page spread gives you plenty of room to write.
Respect copyright by not using social sharing sites symbols.	Because this is a paid product, I do not use symbols or brands from social sharing sites, but make up my own abbreviations.

Forms are made to allow room for writing.

What is worse than having one big huge .pdf thrown at you organized to fit another person’s life is to have small boxes to write in. Each page is designed with a “list-like” style or lines and not squares.

You do not receive just a few pages of instructions to help you organize and use the planner.

Though not everybody needs such detailed instructions as a 40 page document, you will have them if you do. I don’t expect you to receive the planner and not receive some tips on how to use the forms or tips on staying organized.

Color choices & Beautiful!

Did I mention that the pages are all beautiful? If you have used my planners here, you know the quality of my work. There are many samples here on my blog.

Bonus Gift Files	I can’t forget to show my gratitude either, so I have created some “guaranteed” not any other like them DIY monthly dividers and tabs.

And one of the BEST reasons to buy the Forever Blog Planner is because you will receive FREE updates forever. I don’t like it when the blogging world changes and then forms can be outdated. With this 1 time purchase, you not only receive undated pages, but you receive future updates too.

It’s almost here!! I will let you know the release date.

Hugs and love ya,

Stop Switching Your Curriculum, Switch Your Course of Study

December 5, 2013 | 4 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Spending hours poring over catalogs and websites to find the perfect best curriculum resources for your children only to find out mid-year that some are more time wasters than teaching helps is a huge disappointment.

The truth of it is that I could have saved myself hundreds of dollars through the years if I had stopped switching curriculum and switched my course of study, my approach or even my mind-set.

Are You Doing these Mistakes on Planning A Course of Study?

Now, I spend more time focusing on objectives and a course of study for my children. Finding a curriculum or tool that matches my goals is secondary to the plans I have laid out.

Course of study by definition is not overly intimidating to understand either. An easy definition is “the route or direction for a path”, “the way something progresses” and a “series of lessons in a particular subject.”

Who decides that? In public school the system is different for each school, but they all have one common thread and that is the almighty textbook. This is not a blog post about dissing the textbooks, but it is about deciding who determines what is best for your family.

I have learned that using a preset curriculum and doing every assignment in the textbook is still not a guarantee that your children will learn and remember it. Not once have my sons said oh yes I remember that textbook or worksheet, but they have remembered moments or projects that I created following their desire to learn.

Fear of thinking that we have to plan all our lesson plans or not knowing what to cover next may keep us magnetically drawn to textbooks. It did for me for several years. It wasn’t until my 5th year of homeschooling that I did the big switch over to thinking more about my course of study and less on curriculum.

In reality any curriculum is just a tool and that includes textbooks. Instead of switching curriculum, I have learned that adding better resources to my home library is the key to building my own course of study for my children.

4 Shortcuts to Curriculum Planning

Look at some of these things I have done over the years as I switched from changing curriculum constantly to planning my course of study.

1.) Limit my number of workbooks each year. Everybody is different on which subjects they decide to use workbooks for. I don’t want to print out math worksheets all the time, so a consumable math workbook is just fine for us.

Too, this year I’ve been using the books by Sharon Watson for teaching high school writing, The Power In Your Hands and I love them so much that Tiny is using the lower grade writing program too. But, they are both consumable. That is the extent of my consumables for this year. Here is the link to my review Review of The Power in Your Hands: Writing Nonfiction in High School

2.). Choose Topical Helps. What I spend the most on each year are topical helps whether they are printed books, e-books or magazines. Investing in topical books like the Eyewitness Books gives you information to choose from through the years and it is an investment where you add to your collection and not get rid of them.

3.) Choose Reference Helps. The longer I homeschool, the more I also prefer reference books. Whether it is ideas on what to teach next or understanding curriculum, I’ve used these books below when I have needed them. They serve as a reference source through several years and it makes switching curriculum choices minimal when I use them.

4. Use Textbooks as Reference only. If you have budgeted your curriculum for the year, sometimes you don’t have the luxury of changing. But, you can change how you use it. When I made the switch to choosing more reference helps, I went through all my older text books and I tore out pages that I wanted to keep.

It was pretty liberating to tear the binding off and rip out sheets that I felt were worth keeping and pitch the rest of it in the trash.

I pick textbooks more carefully now.

Early this year, I purchased a textbook about teaching geography to use a reference. Too, I am not sure what type of library access I will have when we move to South America. Even if I have access to a library, sometimes I prefer to build our home library and so I may use textbooks for topical references.

Textbooks are good for putting a lot of different ideas into one small space. Those ideas serve as launching pads for our unit studies.

As homeschool teachers our job should be to think of what topics or concepts we are teaching and to view any type of curriculum as supplements to that study, not the other way around.

Time is in short supply when you are homeschooling, use it planning what YOU want to study by using topical references and helps and not switching curriculum all the time.

You won’t regret any of the purchases you make cost wise because you get several years worth of use out of each book.

Also, look at some of the links below to help you gauge some topics to study each year.

World Book’s Typical Course of Study

Scholastic has a site on what to know for each age.

Scholastic

Ambleside Online I have used several times to find good reading books for my sons. Too, it provides an outline for a rigorous curriculum through all the grade levels.

Ambleside on Line

Are you thinking about adding any new reference books soon to help you plan instead of switching curriculum?

Hugs and love ya,

How To - - -

Curriculum & Homeschool Conventions –Cures for Cabin Fever

Homeschool Convention Tools, Techniques and Tips

Get Excited for Great Homeschool Conventions

40 Reasons I Homeschool (And Growing Each Year)

40 Reasons I Homeschool

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

Hands-On Science or Picky Choosers?

Superb Science Schedules

Coming! Forever Blog Planner = Forever Updates

Stop Switching Your Curriculum, Switch Your Course of Study

Are You Doing these Mistakes on Planning A Course of Study?

4 Shortcuts to Curriculum Planning

Categories

Archives

How To - - -

Homeschool Convention Tools, Techniques and Tips

Get Excited for Great Homeschool Conventions

<img decoding="async" class="aligncenter" alt="" src="https://tinasdynamichomeschoolplus.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/300-x-300-registration-now-open-GHC-CP.png" width="271" height="271" />

40 Reasons I Homeschool

Hands-On Science or Picky Choosers?

Superb Science Schedules

Are You Doing these Mistakes on Planning A Course of Study?

4 Shortcuts to Curriculum Planning

Footer

Categories

Archives