Best homeschooling thing I ever did . . .

[threedogfarm]

I have two to add:

 

1. Deciding how many days to school. I love the idea of year round schooling with 6 weeks on and 1 week off but it doesn't work with our schedule--we like the time off in the summer (summer is beautiful here and we have a lot of PS friends. We take off from the 2nd week of June until the 1st full week of August to allow for a beach vacation and two weeks of camp) and we like to ski in the winter--and powder days are hard to predict! We school 134 days/year (we typically school 4 days/week so I came up with that number by doing 34 weeks instead of the traditional 36 weeks). I decided since we limited the days, every day had to be a "full" day to count--field trip days, days on the couch spent reading, etc., doing just math and history on one day--these days don't count. I am more accountable and we have gotten far more done than I would have thought in less time and with lots of time for projects, field trips and vacations. It has also made planning much, much easier.

 

2. Buying a new-to-us 2011 World Book Encyclopedia set. How's that for old school?????? I really don't like using the computer to look up things to add to a lesson when we're in the middle of it because it breaks the rhythm of school and we could easily get sidetracked (and not necessarily in a good way. . .). Our encyclopedia allows us to find out the answers to the questions that come up easily and with minimal interruption. Why did Jessie Wise choose Edgar Allen Poe's poem in FLL to memorize? Well, let's look up Edgar Allen Poe (A: EAP felt a poem's impact was enhanced by its musical quality and versification. The poem "The Bells" demonstrates this well--whether or not this was Wise's intention I do not know but it was very satisfying to learn this and stopped the children's grumbles about memorizing it.). Lots of questions come up when we do school and I was often at a loss for an answer and then they usually fell to the wayside never to be answered. Now we are able to look them up quickly and either move on or we decide we want to know more and make note of that and look up further books in the library. I can't believe that I waited so long to get one!

[Luckymama]

We started homeschooling when dd was in fifth grade.

 

The best thing I've done with homeschooling has been to let dd move at her own pace in math. Of course, that was the reason for homeschooling in the first place :lol:

[winoelle]

Hmmmm....homeschooling year round was definitely one of the best things I have done. The most important thing though was letting go of what everyone elsewhere had to say about curriculum and dropping things that didn't work for us regardless of how excellent they were purported to be. I made both of us miserable sticking with certain curriculum (Singapore) long after I should have let it go. Now, I still read the reviews and look for guidance, but with a better understanding of dd's learning style so that we don't necessarily pick what is considered the "best" but we pick what is best for her.

[UrbanSue]

 

2. Buying a new-to-us 2011 World Book Encyclopedia set. How's that for old school?????? I really don't like using the computer to look up things to add to a lesson when we're in the middle of it because it breaks the rhythm of school and we could easily get sidetracked (and not necessarily in a good way. . .). Our encyclopedia allows us to find out the answers to the questions that come up easily and with minimal interruption. Why did Jessie Wise choose Edgar Allen Poe's poem in FLL to memorize? Well, let's look up Edgar Allen Poe (A: EAP felt a poem's impact was enhanced by its musical quality and versification. The poem "The Bells" demonstrates this well--whether or not this was Wise's intention I do not know but it was very satisfying to learn this and stopped the children's grumbles about memorizing it.). Lots of questions come up when we do school and I was often at a loss for an answer and then they usually fell to the wayside never to be answered. Now we are able to look them up quickly and either move on or we decide we want to know more and make note of that and look up further books in the library. I can't believe that I waited so long to get one!

 

 

Dh and I were just talking about doing this recently. We have trhe 13th edition of the Brittanica which was based off the famous 11th edition. But it's 1939. The German flat in it is a swastika. I just loved poring over our Encyclopedia set as a kid. Did you research this particular edition or just find a good deal?

[Dmmetler]

Offering classes/groups at my home for the topics DD is really interested in and wants to share. They haven't gotten a huge number of kids, but the ones they've gotten have ended up being a really good peer group for DD, and also helped "shake the branches" of our HS group and find the parents who were more compatible with me in my homeschooling style.

[HS Mom in NC]

Schooling Year Round

 

Mine are 17, 15, and 7 now. I've been HSing for 13 years. We schooled year round when my older two were younger. Year round schooling has pros and cons.

 

Pros:

1. You can adjust your school to maximize the weather. School during extreme weather to avoid cabin fever and go outdoors during mild weather.

 

2. You can avoid schooling during the holidays or other very busy times of year for your family.

 

3. You can take advantage of vacations off season in some places.

 

4. You can add in activities that would otherwise disrupt the typical institutional school schedule.

 

Cons:

1. If your child is involved in activities with kids from institutional schools, activities will be scheduled around the school year.

 

2. You have to explain things a lot more. Institutional education can have quite a mind-numbing effect on some people so something as simple as arranging a school year around something other than the crop schedules of agricultural America long since gone is baffling to otherwise intelligent people.

 

36 Week File Folder System

 

It's been lovely having school for my older two set up this way. When the year starts they know exactly what they need to get done by the end of each week. I do English, Logic, and History with them. My husband does Math and Science with them.

[Guest]

We're still pretty new compared to some of you, but the best thing I have done recently is to let go of the mindset that we have to be done at noon. I would feel so guilty when I see all the posts of how quickly people are done and how little they school. I am dealing with my son dawdling, and now that I am not so stressed about being done at a certain time, our days are going so much better. We take a long time to school, and I am okay with that.

[HS Mom in NC]

We're still pretty new compared to some of you, but the best thing I have done recently is to let go of the mindset that we have to be done at noon. I would feel so guilty when I see all the posts of how quickly people are done and how little they school. I am dealing with my son dawdling, and now that I am not so stressed about being done at a certain time, our days are going so much better. We take a long time to school, and I am okay with that.

 

 

We're never done by noon. My little one is usually done by 1:30 or 2:00 unless it's been a planned half day. We take breaks in between each subject because she needs to move around a lot through out the day.

 

My older two school between 9 and 3 every day until the subjects I do with them (if they get stuck I answer their questions) done for the week. My husband teaches Math and Science several nights a week. They can do whatever they want each day in whatever order they choose as long as they meet their deadlines. If they get done early, they can do their own thing. More than once they pushed hard so they could go to a midnight showing of a movie opening like The Hobbit, Hunger Games, etc. and sleep in the next morning. All their school for the week had to be turned in before they went.

[I.Dup.]

Year round schooling. We take breaks when we need to, no pressure, and we plan on being done in April or May for the nice weather, take a month or two off, and start again when the really hot weather hits. I love vacationing and taking breaks whenever we need to.

 

Being relaxed in my schooling. None of us has gotten close to true burn out, not even really mid-year burn out.

 

Following TWTM (loosely), the biggest advantage I have seen has been learning history chronologically.

[Embassy]

The best thing so far was to have psycho-educational testing done. It gave me tons of direction on how to best educate my kids.

[edelweiss]

Well, I have only been at this since August, so I am probably not even qualified to give a valid answer:)

 

The best thing that I have implemented since August? Having my groceries delivered! Grocery shopping has always been my nemesis, but once I started homeschooling I had to streamline this dreaded chore. It takes me less than an hour online to put my order together, and I only pay the equivalent of $6 for delivery. I am not exaggerating to say that this one thing has totally rocked my domestic world and consequently our homeschool:)

 

 

I'm SOOOOOO jealous. That would help me immensely! Grocery shopping is my nemesis. I had online shopping where I lived before, but it isn't available where I live now. :glare: Seriously, I live in an affluent suburb of the 15th largest (by population) city in the United States. I cannot believe that no one offers it. Phew! Sorry, it is a bit of a sore spot for me.

[weederberries]

 

Wow, I want to know more about this. Where do you go? How do you do it? I'm drooling.

 

 

It's pure blessing. My husband has been given the opportunity to do a month of business in Europe the last couple of years and his company has been generous enough to let us tag along.

 

Each time it has been different locations in Europe (England, Italy, Germany, Hungary, France and Spain). The cost is mostly covered by his work expenses. We do pay for food, entertainment, and inter-country travel. Lodging and airfare have been covered by the company. One business class ticket (company policy for overseas flights) turns out to be the cost of 5 coach tickets, so they allow him to make that sacrifice for us.

 

We find out where we're going a couple of months in advance and study up. It's fit in very nicely with our curriculum. The year we studied the Roman Empire, we were able to find evidences of it throughout the far reaches of the empire and spent a week in Rome itself. As we studied the middle ages and reformation, we sought out the locations and evidence wherever we were.

 

It's been a beautiful opportunity for our family and if you can make it happen even once, I would highly recommend it. Don't wait until your kids are this or that age. They can appreciate it in any stage. The first year we traveled with a 4, 6 and 7 year old. Best trip of our lives. My 4 year old came home asking when we could travel to Egypt. They loved it.

 

Practically speaking, we save lots of money by renting apartments wherever we go. We use airbnb.com and find reasonably priced lodging for a family of 5. Most of the time, kitchen and laundry facilities are available and we save a lot of money that way too. We've stayed a block from the Pantheon in Rome, in a medieval watch tower in Tuscany, a hippy's flat in Cologne, and a swanky pad in London, typically at 1/5 the cost of a hotel room.

 

Make a plan and make it happen! Take advantage of the possibilities of home schooling!

[shadah]

We do the every day except Sunday thing. It has really cut down on the whining. It enabled me to work with dd at a better time of day for her as well. We do alittle in the morning and a little in the evening M-Sat. It is hard to explain to other people. I just had to realize that my child cannot cope without consistency day in and day out.

[Chelli]

I agree with a PP who said to get the public school teacher out of my brain! It is such a hindrance to homeschooling to have been educated to be a ps teacher.

 

These are the things that helped me once I got rid of the ps mentality:

 

1. Year round schooling using this schedule making tip.

 

2. Looping subjects

 

3. CM education.

[PachiSusan]

The best home schooling decision that I made was giving up my dreams/expectations about what schooling would look and feel like and what *I* wanted to teach. Just as giving birth to a child that came with a personality and likes, dislikes, and what works for her, having a child educated at home is much the same thing.

 

I wanted to teach her in a classical education mode. I wanted to teach her Latin and Greek, read books, curl up in bean bag chairs and discuss the world. I was going to be a very relaxed fun Mom. We would do a "Learning in the Heart of the Home" type of education. Experiential, field trips, nature journals, science experiments. We'd have an amazing school room. You get the picture.

 

What I got instead was a child who loves fairies and Spongebob, Minecraft and ponies. She doesn't like to write unless forced to. She WANTS to sit at a desk and do her work there. She wants tests and lives for her grades. She has no desire to have a school room with Maps on the wall and different work areas.

 

I needed a rigid curriculum just like school so that I know she's getting a well rounded education, but me as her teacher and at home. She wants control over what she does when and hates a schedule.

 

The best thing I did was combine the two: tailor the schooling to her style and tastes, but keep it as rigorous as I needed subject wise, and as free flowing she needed while still letting her be in the desk and "do school".

 

It's most certainly not my dream of what home education was, but I am seeing fruits in the both of us ,and I think it's pretty cool to be her teacher and her Mommy and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

 

And this makes post 1000 in one month! LOLOL I guess I jumped right on in with both feet, eh??

[UrbanSue]

I agree with a PP who said to get the public school teacher out of my brain! It is such a hindrance to homeschooling to have been educated to be a ps teacher.

 

These are the things that helped me once I got rid of the ps mentality:

 

1. Year round schooling using this schedule making tip.

 

2. Looping subjects

 

3. CM education.

 

Can you say more about what you mean by "looping subjects"? Do you mean just starting the next level when you finish the previous without worrying about "grade level" or something else?

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

Go from rigorous to relaxed. We actually get more done and actually learn more. The kids are happy with school and are willing to study things on their own (make their own rabbit trails). Best of all even with the more getting covered, we do it in less time which leaves time development of interests. it has been a win win win change.

[scbusf]

The best thing I've done so far is to read this thread! I've only been HSing for 2 months. There is some GREAT stuff in this thread. Thanks everyone for sharing!!!!!!!

[nono]

I can think of lots of good things, but the best thing I ever did was go old tech and new tech at the same time. I bought a Kindle Fire the day they came out. At the same time, I had a big blackboard delivered.

 

My dd was struggling to read. Basically couldn't do it, despite a lot of effort. Turned on the Kindle Fire and for some reason changed a book to white letters on black background, and she started to read a little. And then more and more. She said she loved me using the blackboard. It transformed our schooling experience within a week! My best guess is she may have had scotopic sensitivity. I suppose once she knew what she was looking for with white letters on black background, she could slowly train up her brain to find the black letters on the white background.