What do you use in your home that makes you excited to start the day?

[MommyInTraining]

What kind of materials do you use in your homeschool that keeps you wanting to teach another day. Why do those things excite you and stave off boredom (for you) in your teaching?

 

Thanks!

 

Terri in WA

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

What kind of materials do you use in your homeschool that keeps you wanting to teach another day. Why do those things excite you and stave off boredom (for you) in your teaching?

 

Thanks!

 

Terri in WA

 

This is a really great question.

 

I liked Sonlight's read aloud choices. I LOVED Van Loon and Churchill last year. Ummm... Ambleside Online's art prints were really good. Oh, and News Currents was a superb current events resource that we used in so very many ways.

 

Probably more stuff, but I'm a little rusty.

 

Singapore math and science were very inspiring.

[Chris in VA]

Story of the World, hands down. Love it, look forward to it, wouldn't do history without it (including the AG, of course!)

[ABQmom]

I love reading to my dc especially when we are reading a really great book. We have learned so much together this way in history, and it has been a bonding time for me and the children.

[susie in tx]

I love using TOG. LOL Everything is so easy to plan, and all I have to do is follow the plan. It makes my day go so smoothly. I also love to teach things to my girls that they love to learn. Right now, they are enjoying our history discussions, so those are a highlight. Groaning when I tell them to get certain books out never bodes for a good learning experience for any of us.

[ELaurie]

I see you are asking about curricula :)

[Linda...inOwasso]

Okay, I can't top ELaurie's response :) but believe it or not... it's Latin. Lively Latin. I was really dreading this subject since I've never studied it before but my dd7 and I look forward to tackling it together and it really is FUN.

[SandraDumas]

nt

[sassenach]

Coffee was my thought too.

:D Yeah, that's what I was thinking. My 10yo actually makes my coffee for me in the morning. She knows that she really can't start school till then.

 

For us, it's SL read alouds, hands down. That's where our real joy in school happens.

[Trivium Academy]

Any product that makes spending the time with my children teaching them more pleasant. I don't need fireworks of excitement, although those are nice but just an interest from my children to keep moving forward.

 

Right now that includes Tapestry of Grace, any type of art project, Primary Language Lessons (dd7 LOVES this and so do I) and Explorer's Bible Study. If I dropped Explode the Code, I don't think dd7 would care but I feel she needs the reinforcement right now.

[Donna T.]

This year, I made some changes here and there and went back and forth on a few things. I've now settled on the materials that I can trust to provide what I need as a teacher and the children need to learn and remain engaged. I think I just had to try some different things to be sure that my original choices were good ones! So, we've gone back to some things I had dropped and everything is really clicking for us.

 

As far as really looking FORWARD to each day, our SL books have had the most impact on us. I'm reading Egermeier's Bible Story Book to both of the boys. Both of them listen to this quite thoughtfully and enjoy talking about the stories. We have enjoyed every read aloud that we have ever read from our SL stuff. They look forward to their SL science - they like all of it: the books, DVD, and experiments. I truly love MathUSee and R&S for both spelling and grammar.

 

I recently told my oldest son that we were doing school while we were doing our SL reading for the day. He said, "Are you joking? SL is school?" It was so cute and sweet.

[cherryblossom]

I see you are asking about curricula :)

 

I was going to say that too! Nothing excites me more at the start of a new day!:D

[Friederike in Persia]

Esp. when the dds write a narration on it and read it to dh in the evening and we all end up talking about Hannibal, or the hanging gardens or whatever!

[Paisley Hedgehog]

..

[Closeacademy]

Working in monthly units, having a framework in circle time which is a lot of fun, and mixing up the day to day activities so that we are not doing the same things each day. Each day is a little bit different.

[Chris in PA]

Isn't that sad? Where has the fun of homeschool gone? I have a 9th grade dd, 7th grade dd, and a 4th grade ds. I feel like all we do is get through the day. Another worksheet, another math lesson, another paper to revise. I get so stressed out by thinking I need to check another thing off the list. This wasn't my vision when we started out. I guess if I really reflect on it, I have lost sight of it. Any suggestions for making it more fun would be appreciated. What a wake up call!

[OneRoomHomeSchool]

Our read aloud time! I love it, it's our favorite part of homeschooling. We do our academics in the morning...takes all of an hour and then I read aloud, on average (give or take on various day) 2 hours per day.

[Wendy in ME]

I also have to say the read aloud time. It always leads to the best discussions and I still get to cuddle with the older boys on the couch.

[JFSinIL]

First, dd does TT. Yippee = that gives me at least 45 minutes to start laundry, clean the kitchen - I like to have chores done in the morning (you did ask what I get excited about, not my dd, right?:rolleyes: She hates math!). We immediately follow math with close to an hour of reading aloud together while sitting close on the couch - usually our large Lab acts as a blanket. OK - recently we have just held the book and let Jim Dale read to us, but that is just 'cause dd is finally ready to finish HP7.

[Plaid Dad]

Um, coffee? ;)

 

Honestly, though, what keeps me excited - particularly in the midst of the winter doldrums - is not curriculum for my first grader, but my own self-education projects. By reading and studying, I remind myself why we're doing all this in the first place. It also gives me more sympathy for my dd because I know how challenging it is to face a page of Latin or math problems and think, "Oh, man, here we go."

[8filltheheart]

For me, it is quite simple.....looking at my children. I can't say I get overly excited about any school stuff anymore. After 14 1/2 yrs, it has all lost its novelty. ;) But, I love my kids and would do just about anything for them. When I think about the fact that this is all new for them (even if I have already done it 4x before!), I make myself excited for them. :)

[HappyatHome]

After 15 years of homeschooling, I look forward to almost every day. I couldn't pin down why to just one curriculum, although reading aloud to my dc is still my favorite part of schooling and Sonlight has facilitated that love. It lends itself nicely to discussions and I love talking things out. Also, I allow myself to try something new curriculum-wise, every year. I think for me, that helps to keep things interesting.

[Another Lynn]

Isn't that sad? Where has the fun of homeschool gone? I have a 9th grade dd, 7th grade dd, and a 4th grade ds. I feel like all we do is get through the day. Another worksheet, another math lesson, another paper to revise. I get so stressed out by thinking I need to check another thing off the list. This wasn't my vision when we started out. I guess if I really reflect on it, I have lost sight of it. Any suggestions for making it more fun would be appreciated. What a wake up call!

 

Me too! I understand how you feel. My excuse is pregnancy, morning sickness (which was better until I got a stomach bug), lack of mental focus (did I mention pregnancy, LOL?), "pre"-partum depression, and maybe a little bit the burden of completing Classical Conversations (although it has definitely had it's good points too!)

 

I'm really thankful for this thread. I have abandoned so many of our "fun things" (read alouds for one, Bible time together, art and music) because I just can't make any more words come out of my mouth.

 

Momof7's response is very convicting. A goal to aspire to. Definitely one I'll print out and read a couple times a week (when I'm feeling better!)

[Deece in MN]

Ours is our read-a-loud time, but this is not school related.

 

We read books that we are all interested in; mainly fantasy. My dd asked if we could have a daily ritual. When I asked her what she was thinking of, she said she wanted to start our day reading our book and end our day reading our book.

 

We love this time even though it really has nothing to do with our "school time" or curriculum. It is just a nice way to start our day.

 

None of our curriculum really makes us excited to start our day. Don't get me wrong, we like what we are using, but the curriculum in and of itself doesn't get anyone out of bed in the morning. :)

[prairiegirl]

that gets me excited but, rather, how I am using the curriculum. We embarked on an experiment of sorts in the fall of doing our subjects in block lessons. We focus on one subject for an extended period of time. We might do a three week block of math, a 4 week block of history, etc and rotate these blocks so that all subjects are covered. We spend two hours or more a day on this subject. It has been very freeing for us. We can delve so much more deeply into a topic and not be worried about time constraints. I was concerned that we would fall behind in each subject doing it this way, but, so far, this is not the case. We are right on schedule with all of our subjects.

 

Language Arts is naturally embedded in each subject. We do narrations, copywork, dictation, etc. within the subject that we are doing for that block. I was worried about math but we do a math block alternately with the other blocks. Also, when we do a block that is not math, we have math review in the afternoon. My children are loving doing school this way. We have more time for the creative part of our lives. This has instilled a burst of excitement into our days.

 

Julia

mom of 3 (8,7,5)

[Verena]

:D

 

Really, I LOVE having a good breakfast. But that wasn't really the question, now, was it? :D

 

We always start the day with read-alouds and singing. That's my favorite part. It gets everyone moving in the same direction and re-directs one of my sons tendency to feel sorry for himself that he has to do school. After a good story/poem/song, he usually has a smile on his face.

[Narrow Gate Academy]

I love to see the look on my kids faces when the light bulb goes off in their minds because they finally get something. I love the challenge of tweaking what we use on the fly to make it work for different kids. I love learning along with them, and the great books we read together. I'd like to get back to the snuggling on the couch part, but first we need to find a new couch that's actually comfortable.

[Mom0012]

I'd definitely have to say Sonlight. I'm doing core 1 with my 8 and 6 year olds. I read to them at breakfast and we all look forward to it every day.

 

Lisa

[Lisawa]

This is a great question.... I can’t say or speak of excitement to start the day, but hands sown AG and JAG are huge success here.

 

Slowing our pace in TOG for my 15 year old was also a bonus and necessity. Its much more enjoyable for her not stressing to have a deadline in 5 short days. It was to much.... down side though, its a bit slow for Rylee the 11 year old. We will be going through the summer with TOG, but we are good w/ that.:)

 

[Michelle T]

anti-depressents was the first thing that came to mind, but I'm not actually taking any right now, and I don't think that's what you meant!

 

Seriously, I kind of have a nervous, feeling of dread each morning. Schooling is always a chore, because DS really doesn't like learning anything, and due to his severe ADHD and LD's, there are never "lightbulbs lighting up" or a-ha! I-get-it! moments here. Just endless repetition of things that a child years younger than DS would have understood immediately. He doesn't like hands-on, videos, projects, or anything other than straightforward, read-and-get-it-over-with schooling.

 

Sorry, I think I'm getting myself down here! I homeschool DS because I know he would be even worse off in PS, and even further behind, but I cannot honestly say it has ever been fun, rewarding, appreciated, or something I look forward to each day.

Michelle T :(

[Guest Lorna]

The science programme we are using at the moment (click on 'science' in my signature). It has games, experiments and even songs! We are also enjoying the book 'Life of Mammals' and 'Life of Plants' by David Attenborough.

I love our PE days too. i get to go off and have a swim and a think.

[Catherine]

I start our day with it, and choose books I enjoy and almost always, they enjoy them too. It's my favorite part of the day.

[Lori D.]

Although, our different twist is that I absolutely love to learn -- but our 2 boys would rather do absolutely anything other than school. ::sigh::

 

So, like Jessica of Trivium Academy, what makes ME excited is whatever makes our time spent together pleasant -- i.e., no griping or sighing or whining. (lol) In general, for us, that is our morning and our after lunch "together times". In those times we do things like:

 

- Bible devotional/discussion time and prayer for each other and others (morning)

- do interesting critical thinking puzzles (morning "brain warm-up")

- read a book aloud (after lunch, gentle easing back into school)

- do vocabulary or learn "adages" and sayings as a game

(we do English From the Roots Up as a sort of guessing game, and we learned the adages and sayings from the language arts section of the book series "What Your ... Grader Needs To Know" by playing it as a sort of "Wheel of Fortune" game)

 

 

Including educational games, software, and video/DVDs -- and field trips! -- have all helped make things more pleasant.

 

 

Also pleasant is ME being willing to not be so tied to my schedule so that we can go on little "bunny trails" of interest as things come up. For example, this past week, older son was doing his Jacobs Geometry, and the lesson used anamorphic art and pictures for an example. So while both boys worked, I did a quick google search and came up with some interesting websites on anamorphic art -- so we took 5 minutes out of math to read about and look at anamorphic art. Fun!

 

In the past, bunny trails have led to some really big and worthwhile projects -- one year, as a result of personal interest and "bunny trailing", one son ended up doing a lot of research and built a 1/400th scale model of the Sears Tower, plus a 3 page written report -- and ended up entering it into the local county fair!

 

And a month or so ago, we had a very foggy morning (I've *never* seen fog like that here in our dry climate), so we set aside starting school right away and went for a walk and enjoyed the fog. By the time we got back 20 minutes later, most of the fog had burned off -- but we all had smiles on our faces and had a very pleasant time doing school together, having started off doing something fun and spontaneous together. : )

 

 

In the past 2 years, curriculum that everyone seems to have enjoyed -- at least no groaning! (lol) -- in fact, I actually get comments like, "oh, can't we do a little more of that?" with the following:

 

- Lightning Literature 7 and 8

- Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings

- together reading/discussing (a la WTM "Great Books" style) a few great literature works during the year -- Fagles translation of "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey" have been a huge hit; and the boys are anticipating "Beowulf".

 

 

And, while no one would *voluntarily* choose to do math, I really have to say that Math-U-See has been a night and day difference for our younger son who used to struggle horribly with math. [Although, whenever we pull out the DVD, I first have to hear comments about the poor instructor -- like Steve Demme's weight, or corny jokes, or -- just last week, one of the boys turned to the other and said, "Look! He has a 'comb-over'!" Gaagh! Well, at least there's no more flinging oneself backwards on the couch and wailing, "I can't DO this!"]

 

 

Well, no "excitement" in my post (lol) -- but what has made a reasonable compromise and kept things pleasant. : ) Have a wonderful homeschooling journey! Warmest regards, Lori D.

[Jenn in Mo]

Isn't that sad? Where has the fun of homeschool gone? I have a 9th grade dd, 7th grade dd, and a 4th grade ds. I feel like all we do is get through the day. Another worksheet, another math lesson, another paper to revise. I get so stressed out by thinking I need to check another thing off the list. This wasn't my vision when we started out. I guess if I really reflect on it, I have lost sight of it. Any suggestions for making it more fun would be appreciated. What a wake up call!

 

Hey, Chris! I PM'd you just in case, but here's a stab at a thought:

 

Something I ran across at a homeschool conference last year, was the idea of having sit-down discussion times about books they are reading. We have read aloud time when they are younger (and it was also recommended to try keeping up some read-aloud even though they could just read it themselves) but often gets dropped when they are older. You could try buying two copies of books or sharing the one copy and setting dates to discuss it weekly. Encourage them to make notes on post-its about things they found interesting, things they had to look up or think about, and things they would still like to understand better. Do the same in your book and make note of things you'd like to be sure they understood. Sit knee to knee and enjoy the discussion, chapter by chapter.

[countrykiddos]

..when we get together and pray, discuss, and sometimes just waste time talking about something frivolous, but it gets us all in good spirits, ready to start our day and on the same page. It's not "do school" time, so there's no pressure.

When we skip meeting time, (which is casual, sitting around the living room) things just never seem to go right. It's definitely worth it to us to take the time out, even if we're running behind, to get together.

 

Kim

[St. Theophan Academy]

Okay, I can't top ELaurie's response :) but believe it or not... it's Latin. Lively Latin. I was really dreading this subject since I've never studied it before but my dd7 and I look forward to tackling it together and it really is FUN.

 

We are loving it too!!! After trudging through the first 12 lessons of Latin Primer, LL has been such a fun change for us, far more engaging, and far less work for me! Anne Marie

[Lori in MS]

Our Bible discussions, read alouds, and Apologia elementary science.

[fishnoises]

What keeps me going is Latin. Everything else has to be done. But the Latin is the first thing we do (LCII). They may moan and groan with the drills, but I know that some day, they will remember learning Latin with Mom with fondness. It is not something they could ever get at PS. I wouldn't trade it for anything. No one will ever convince me that we are wasting our time. (Or that I am making the kids do to much work! They love doing those Lacunae puzzles....) Anyway...I could go on and on.

But, yeah...gotta have my coffee. We even managed to spill my coffee on the textbook. I was not too happy. Not that I would ever sell the book. But now it's all stained and crunchy....

[Kathie in VA]

I seem to always get out of bed hoping/praying for a good school day... which means little to no discipline or interruptions and lots of work (maybe even our whole schedule?) would get done! .... doesn't happen though.

 

After reading these posts, I think I'll go back to reading aloud first thing in the morning. Now that my youngest is 3 perhaps this will work again. We are currently reading a story that a friend is writing... so we only have so much available at a time. It's fun for all of us. I had been saving it for the afternoons with the idea that the core work should get done first thing and this is the reward. BUT we don't always earn that reward. :o Maybe it's time to put it first in the day. Tell them I will start reading whether they are ready or not :eek: and if they aren't then they'll miss out and can read it on their own later. ;)

 

Thanks for this post, it's been helpful.

 

Oh, wait. One more thing. If I've recently started a new post or am following a recent post, then checking this message board might make me excited to start the day :D

[Laura Corin]

Laura

[Karen in CO]

Gin

I do prefer to start off with a little vodka and OJ.

 

Seriously - I spend a lot of time on self education and trying to keep ahead of my high schooler. It helps me to be able to bring more than just a set of books to our school table. My kids see me reading and struggling to learn daily. It is a part of our lifestyle. I think that an essential element of raising kids that like to learn is seeing learning as a normal part of life.

[Mom to 3 Island Boys]

Feeling organized is the most important thing for me to feel exited about the day! I'm much happier starting the day when I am prepared for whatever we are doing that day for homework, the kids are actually awake and ready to get started, and I am at least somewhat caught up on things I need to get done around the house. I hate facing a day when I didn't get the kitchen or something else finished, the kids are in a whiny "do I have to do homework" mood with glazed-over eyes and bad breath, and I am flipping through books trying to figure out where I am and what to do! Caffeine is also a major ingredient, but I see that that has already been covered! :D

[Isa]

One math curriculum that I have really enjoyed is Miquon for 1st-3rd graders. There is always something new and interesting to figure out, and my boys love math because of it. Math becomes a game, an interesting challenge to overcome instead of the same way of solving problems over and over again.

 

Another thing I've found that really helps is to vary the routine. This could involve changing the order of the subjects, doing something new and unexpected within a subject, or taking a day of the week for fieldtrips or visiting with friends.