Hobbes
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Posts posted by Hobbes
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Teaching the Bible accurately is very important to me and I've never​ found a conflict with the history presented in SOTW. It is excellent and a fantastic springboard for conversations with your kids that are more specific to your worldview, especially if you do additional reading and learn and discuss more about the cultures and characters. It's been such an amazing program for our family.
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That's pretty much the way my kids seem to be. My 9yo just lost one on Friday and I think it was only her 5th. It had been loose since October, which was driving me nuts.
I was always late with teeth too. My dentist used to say that late teeth were strong teeth and I've definitely found that to be true.
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Sparkling water.
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We finished The Voyage of the Dawn Treader together this week and started The Silver Chair. 7+9yos are loving it. 3yo pretends to listen. 1yo is loud.
It's fun because DH never read them before and it's been long enough for me that I've forgotten a lot, so we're all (re)discovering Narnia together.
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Math in elementary school often seems to involve kids measuring things with thumbs or feet or steps so they can see how inaccurate those measurements are when going between people. They are never allowed, apparently, to come to the conclusion that it's mighty convenient to have a measurement system that you don't have to remember to carry around with you.
Using body parts to measure things might be inaccurate, but there's a reason it's persisted for so very, very long.
I was thinking this the other day, when my 7yo was working on measurement and found that her finger is exactly a cm wide. My first thought was, "how convenient​ for her!" 😠Pity it won't stay that way...
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Both daughters weaned themselves around a year. I was sad, I would have liked it to be longer.
First son weaned himself at 20m. Again , I would have liked longer but I was quite pregnant and also not thrilled about tandem nursing.
Second son is 13m and going strong (more so than first son). We will see.
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Are we the same person??? I still sometimes narrate my life in my head. LOL.
It's possible... it's at least quite nice to know I'm not the only one!!!
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I clearly remember do I doing this as a kid and my girls do it all the time. "And then you said that you wanted to come to my house"... "No, then I said that we should go to the farm!" I figure it comes from reading a lot of books/audiobooks.
ETA - I remember doing this in my head as a young teen. At the time I wanted to be a writer and I would mentally narrate things I was doing to "get a feel for" how I might write scenes. I was a real hoot as a teen... 😂
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We've enjoyed the Who Was series (available on audible). They are about an hour long and are a good overview biography of various historical figures.
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I assign a chore to each day, both for me and my two older kids. Because I don't feel overwhelmed about what to do, it's quick to just do what's written down when I have a moment. I've adjusted this until each chore works well for its assigned day.
We have a rotation of about 10-12 meals that work for us (allergy-friendly, whole food, everyone likes, simple to prepare). I have a one-page weekly planner and every Saturday or Sunday fill in the meals were having based on activities that week. It means our grocery list is almost always the same (quick shopping!), but we also don't get quite so bored with the meals because they switch out a bit from week to week. Long-roasting and crock pots meals are my friends​.
I do one day for laundry wash/dry. The next day, the olders' job is to sort it into baskets and fold/put away their own. That leaves me much less laundry to fold. I try to keep kids' clothes to a minimum (just over one week's worth) so that it doesn't get overwhelming.
I have one day for library and one shelf for library books. That entirely changed our rush-about-to-find-books-and-get-tons-of-fines system. 😒
I keep on going lists on my phone for birthday ideas, extra errands, etc. This means I can make a stop when it's convenient and I can pick up bday gifts without needing a special trip.
Naptime/quiet time and bedtime are consistent and not negotiable.
Regular donations of things we don't need. Less clutter saves so much time. Right now we are in a stage that feels so stuff-heavy, though (baby + toddler + craft-making olders).
What I need to improve is my sleep. I'm not good about putting down the book and going to bed. 😑
Doing these things make it manageable, but often I still feel that everything will come crashing down if I don't keep moving or if I'm handed on more ball to juggle. Thankfully, this hasn't happened yet. I think it's just part of the stage...
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We like a mix. Walking, riding, museum, park, landmark, swimming pool. Sounds like you are doing a good balance.
Like others, some of our favourite trips have been with kids, because they've caused us to slow down, be outside, and enjoy the atmosphere of the place we're visiting.
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If you already have Bible study curricula and AWANA, it might be worth just reading through the Bible in small chunks? This is what we do at Morning Time and it's been incredibly effective. The kids tend to have their own questions which spark natural discussion.
We've found that any of the gospels, Proverbs (LOTS of great discussion!), Psalms, Genesis, Ruth, and Esther are some of the books that are great for kid engagement.
It's quick (unless you get into a really good discussion!) and it's the first thing we do, so it always gets done. I'd say the kids have an interesting question or thought about 75% of the time and the other 25%, I leave it to sit on their minds and move on.
Not a book suggestion, so ignore this is not helpful, just my 2¢. 😊
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I like this thought. I buy things I don't end up using, but I was thinking recently that it was helpful for me to have seen them, even if I didn't go that route. It develops my sense of context... that there are different ways to teach various subjects and I don't have to be so tied to the one thing I do choose to use. It's also cheaper than teacher's college. 😉I always read through whatever I buy, and even if I end up not "using it" with the kids, it makes me a better teacher to read through lots of different currics this way. It not only helps me learn more content, but it also helps me see different ways of presenting the same concepts.
ETA: I usually start buying materials for the next year around March.
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What does she mean by "ineffective"?
When my 6yo was fascinated by Greek mythology and wanted to have long discussions about how the Greeks' religious beliefs were different than our family beliefs, I saw that as an effective connection to history.
When my 6 + 4 yo daughters were head over heels for Queen Elizabeth I, coloured pages and pages of pictures about her, dressed up to look like her, and celebrated her birthday, I saw that as an effective history connection. Ego-centric, yes... they liked her because she appealed to them. But now we are coming up to her in SOTW2 and they are thrilled. They see her as an old friend and they are interested to learn more about her context, family history, impact on the modern world.
I have a hard time seeing hiSTORY as unrelated to narrative. Sometimes the narrative we get is flawed, true. But it's supposed to be the story of what has happened in the past. And many children connect deeply with narrative. If I see that I've developed a narrative connection to history which inspires my kids to dig deeper when they encounter history topics in the future, I'll be satisfied that my early elementary children had an effective, developmentally appropriate exposure to history.
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My 7+9yos have been using permanent markers for a few years. I read the riot act about only using them at the table or you lose the privilege, and it's worked.
They like that the permanent ones don't smudge.
I keep them in a separate jar so that it's clear what's what.
Always a bit of a risk, though...
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With MM2, we are using xTra Math and a lot of games (Zeus of the Loose, Rack-O, hundreds board games). I also use a lot of manipulatives with MM and that had seemed to help solidify things.
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I see this, from being a homeschool graduate in 2002 to a homeschooling mom now.I think one big shift has been instead of hsing for positive reasons (religion, academics) to hsing for negative reasons. So many folks don't WANT to hs, but feel like they have to, because their kids are drowning. If you get up every morning hating what you do, but feeling you have no choice, you don't tend to stick with it very long. If we can help the negative folks into the positive camp, we will have done a good thing.
That's one of the reasons I like the pioneer, settler, refugee monikers. They make sense.
I clearly remember my Mom saying that homeschooling out of fear usually doesn't work well - homeschooling from a positive vision has much more longevity. I think fear of the public schools has increased and homeschooling is more frequently considered as an option in response.
What is better now? I love the availability of curricula (especially improved in Canada!) and the increased support options. I love the lower level of stigma now that homeschooling is more common.
What isn't better? There is so much "noise" and distraction, with endless resources and curricula available. It's hard to wade through it all. It's hard to stay calmly committed to a path. It's hard for me to turn off the tech and just homeschool (certainly an issue in many workplaces as well). I could always research just a little more...
I love homeschooling with a computer, but I do find that my mind and vision can get cluttered easily with all that's out there now. That's why I find myself re-reading Schaeffer Macaulay, the Moores, Ruth Beechick, etc. The vision is so clear and calming.
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Our morning time is at the breakfast table.
The basics stay the same:
- Bible reading (KJV... 9yo asked to learn "Old English" and reading the KJV was the best way I could think of!)
- Prayer
- Memory work - Bible passages, poetry, facts, French
- Daily poem (Favorite Poems anthology)
- Journaling (free writing, copy work, picture study, or lit narration, etc)
If we start the day with those, we have a good and calm foundation.
Things that flex:
- French most days (picture book, GSWF, Petit Ours Brun, flashcards)
- Child's Intro to Art/discussion of Met Art A Day calendar
- Mad Libs
ETA: This is what we are doing this year, but it's been working so well that in planning, I've just spotted in to do the same thing again... maybe switch out a few resources.
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They may have been updated and therefore this may not apply, but if not vastly changed - for much of my own homeschooling, A&O Lifepacs were my English and Math. We did them on grade level, they got it done (which I liked), and I had no problem transitioning into other curricula on grade level.
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This is so helpful, thank you! I'm thinking of using Wheeler's with one of mine next year.
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Well said. I have 4 kids, ages 1-9. Many of these same things make it work for me:I haven't read all the replies, but the first few at least. Sorry if I'm repeating.
I have four kids in a similar age range- 10 down to 2.
My biggest message is to simplify, simplify, simplify. We don't do in-depth history or science projects. We listen to history audio books, and the kids read from history encyclopedias and historical fiction, as well as science encyclopedias and science-based novels as part of their reading basket time each day (They read for x minutes from mom-selected books, then either orally narrate what they read about that day or write a paragraph about it). That's it. We hit math, language arts (including writing) and foreign language each day. That's it. Everything else is organic learning and learning from reading during basket time and free reading.
Next, simplify home life. MEAL PLAN- single best thing to do. :-) Cleaning rotation of some kind, increase chores for able-bodied kids.
Simplify your hobbies/side jobs. I think you listed 3 things- coupons, eBay resale, and mystery shopping. Choose ONE to pursue for this year. Just one. Let the others go... for now. This is ONE season of your life, and there will come a time when your kids are old enough for you to pick up your other money-making ventures again.
- school mornings, free afternoons
- everyone has quiet time in afternoons while baby naps. We use lots of audiobooks
- only out one morning a week (for a relaxed drop off co-op) and we only school the other four days
- checklists for kids' work
- meal plans
- daily chore plan - one for me, one for each older kid
- consistent bedtime. Evening is when I do "me" stuff and spend time with my husband. We don't go out a lot in the evenings.
What Ellie said about just being home makes a huge difference for me as well. I know that personalities vary, though...
Talk with your husband about what are the most helpful ways for him to support. Sometimes they don't know what would help us best.
It's a challenging stage and I definitely believe it's a calling and not for everyone. I am always letting some area slide. But the worth is tremendous.
If you keep at it, try to carve a routine that fits your priorities and know that, especially for a while with littles, it will be hard work. That said, my good friends who have their kids in school face their own share of school- related work, so I think some of this is just the stage. â¤
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OPGTR has worked well for us - started with a child at about the level you mentioned and jumped in partway through the book. I don't adore it, but it works very well. It's incremental and doesn't take ages every day.
I don't have any experience with The Reading Lesson though.
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We are finishing SOTW 2 at the moment (we took two years to do it). I'd agree about leaving it as exposure.
However, if you think you want to do something to gently review without pressure, I would also recommend checking out some of the picture books listed in the AG and reading them together. There are so many good ones.
A favourite activity for my 7 & 9yos has been to glue figures to our timeline. We have a simple timeline in a binder, but you could use a poster board or some other thing like that. I cut small squares of paper and write the names and date on the square - often they like to do a tiny illustration underneath - and they glue it on.
If you chose a few picture books and added those people to the timeline, it might be a very easy way to "do history" without a lot of stress. If they seem to love a particular topic, hand them the coloring sheet. 😊 There was a period when my kids fell in love with Queen Elizabeth I and I printed oodles of colouring sheets for them and checked out library books. We talked about her a lot and they still remember quite a bit about her. It was so relaxed.
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We are only into 2nd and 3rd grade, but no regrets whatsoever. For myself, I was homeschooled all the way through and am deeply grateful for the education and lifestyle I was given... no regrets.
How do you transition from xyz to doing school work?
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
I had a hard time getting everyone started until I switched to transitioning right from breakfast into schoolwork. We do school at the kitchen table, so it works well.
As soon as I finish eating, I start with Bible reading as they finish. We discuss, then pray. We start memory work and clear the table as we go, then continue into the rest of "morning time."
When we are done with morning time, they pull out their checklists and get to work. There are some breaks to move around, but we basically do the work until it's done (always by noon) and then move on. That's been the only way I've been able to be consistent about start time.