JennifersLost Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 I want to give homeschooling more attention, and by the end of January I'll have three at home: all boys in 10th, 8th and 6th grade. I feel out of ideas. They have their books, their schedules, their music lessons..... What else can we do to shake things up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karenciavo Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 Any science fairs coming up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mamasteff Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 "virtual bowling league." I have decided to go to the bowling alley and neighboring pizza place weekly for p.e. and lunch, and if anyone wants to join me they can. another fun idea for january is to find one of those cool "____ a day" calendars and add it in to your schedule. We have done tangram a day, origami a day, Operation World (pray for or learn about a different country every day)... this next year we will be doing the Cranium calendar page a day as a fun activity to start the school day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomOfOneFunOne Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 I don't know how inspiring this is but it is different for us. The other day I was lamenting to a friend that there are a number of things I'm having to learn as an adult b/c my mom always shoo'd me out of the kitchen/sewing room/et c. when she was doing things. I realized that I sometimes do the same. I love to cook with my daughter but I would like to cook with her more. During my lamentations, I realized we could be doing so much more. During the days leading up to Christmas, we made jelly and syrup and canned them together. We loved it! We did a little sewing project together while listening to an audio book and . . . We loved it! so, we've decided to make time to do these kinds of projects often. Eventhough I do consider it educational, it is nothing like school and we enjoy each other's company so much more during those times. So, one of my resolutions is each month to learn something new in the kitchen and each month keep a new sewing project going. My daughter has whole-heartedly committed to join me and we are truly, truly, looking forward do it. We already have our sewing project chosen. We think we have our kitchen project chosen. We're excited! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 I always find it inspiring that I manage to get started again. :lol: I do plan to get more done in the morning so we don't run out of steam. And we found free ice skating at a nearby town. I hope to go at least once a week. I think I'll find an interesting project for my ds to get him up and running. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGrace Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 I had the same idea as you because it seems like all our "together time" is school-related. I don't want to get overwhelmed with hard projects though-I need simple and doable! We are also planning to do more Deuteronomy 6:7ing-weaving Biblical truths more into everything rather than having Bible as a "subject." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nrg Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 Congressional Award he started 2 years ago. This is a fine program that has your teens and olders create their own goals and work to meet them. My son has learned to play the cello, played in our university orchestra, done 700 hours of volunteer work, won a drawing contest, taught TaeKwonDo, become a certified life guard, and other worthwhile pursuits. http://www.congressionalaward.org/ http://www.congressionalaward.org/ I am glad you started this thread, because he needs some new goals now that this program has been completed (all except the final signatures). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennifersLost Posted December 28, 2008 Author Share Posted December 28, 2008 NRG - That's really cool! Thanks for the link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomOfOneFunOne Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 I had the same idea as you because it seems like all our "together time" is school-related." Exactly! That is exactly it, HappGrace, all our together time is school-related and we both knew we craved something but didn't know what it was. We were craving time together that wasn't getting through math, doing homework, getting an assignment done, et c. We just wanted to spend time together and we enjoy doing things like that. How do I pick the projects? Well, my desire and resolution for this year is to live/eat seasonally and preserve what we can. So, I dont' really know how we came up with that, we just wanted to do it and did. For our sewing project we were inspired by a book we have that has the most magnificent illustrations! It's material cut out in shapes (houses, people, et c.) and then embroidered details. We have Snow White http://www.amazon.com/White-Seven-Dwarfs-Belinda-Downes/dp/0751308811/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230491800&sr=8-10 but you can't see the magnificent details. Look at this one, it has the Look Inside feature. http://www.amazon.com/Starlight-Princess-Annie-Dalton/dp/0751374326/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230491800&sr=8-11 You can see the beautiful illustrations. We find these illustrations almost unspeakably beautiful for some reason. So, we wanted to try for ourselves. We've decided on a picture and are working on choosing material. Somtimes a season will suggest a project or a lesson or a mood. I don't really know where they come from. Holy Spirit, I guess. I know that once in a while I see something beautiful and want to recreate it and sometimes I taste something and want to recreate it. My daughter does like to be industrious and they just all work out. Just not enough so now were going to work to make that more a part of our lives. I really hope you do this in the new year! I'll let you know if I think of any really good projects (I think cooking and canning, et c is a good idea b/c it's so useful, fun, and easy) and I hope you let me know of your good ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree House Academy Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 (edited) We are making play dates more creative and exciting this winter since just going to the park is out of the question. We are also doing co-op classes and I would like to encorporate more field trips. :) Thus far this year, we have had 0 true field trips. Ohhhh...and if I am actually pregnant (which is about a 70/30 chance I am right now), then that should really make things "shaken up." LOL Edited December 28, 2008 by Tree House Academy pg comment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna T. Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 We're starting some new subjects. We are going to take chess as a subject. I'm really excited about this. My six year old begs and begs to play board games and I'm constantly saying I can't because we have to "do school". We got two new (our first) chess sets for Christmas. We read a library book about chess. They are very eager to play! They are going to be very shocked when I let them play during school time. We are also adding Greek to our school time. We will start thinking about the spring science fair. Lastly, my oldest son received a chemistry set for Christmas, so I'm going to have him use that a couple of days a week in addition to his other Chemistry studies. I'm looking forward to focusing on some different things for awhile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomOfOneFunOne Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 We are making play dates more creative and exciting this winter since just going to the park is out of the question. Hey, Rebecca, what are your creative and exciting ideas for play dates? We could use a few of those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 I'm starting Jump In writing program with my dd. We're also going to have some days for the winter with our homeschool group where we meet at the local civic center. We'll use the gym for some PE type games and then bring educational board games to play in a classroom. We'll follow up with lunch, everyone bringing their own. I'm going to work for a tax office, so I'll be leaving some evenings and some on the weekends. That will be a big change for our family because I'll be leaving before supper is cooked. My dd has been learning a few meals before the holidays. My sister got her Personal Trainer Cooking for her DS so between that and what my dh can do, I think they'll be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGrace Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 I love the beautiful illustrations-I understand why you find them inspiring! Unfortunately, I can't sew :glare: Dd9 is actually better than I am! I am not crafty either-no patience for it. Cooking is a good idea-we both love it and need to do more of it together. Interestingly, I'm really interested in seasonal things too-especially cooking! We had our first (huge) garden last yr and got some winter boxes from a local CSA. A GREAT book for seasonal cooking is this one: http://www.amazon.com/Simply-Season-World-Community-Cookbook/dp/0836192966/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230505577&sr=8-1 They also have this one for kids, which I would love to get!: http://www.amazon.com/Simply-Season-Childrens-Cookbook-Kauffman/dp/0836193369/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230505577&sr=8-2 Thanks for the cooking idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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