Elementary Homeschool

• When Your Elementary-Aged Homeschooler Doesn't Like to Read

  15 May 2012 / Elementary Homeschool, Literature, Struggling Readers / 10 Comments

  It was 2006, and I was a failure.

  Everyone knows that all homeschooled children love books, right?  Not my kid!  He was in 4th grade, he had both eyes intact and functioning, and still he didn't love books.  Clearly, I was a failure.

  

  Ok, clearly I'm being silly!  But this is not a huge exaggeration of how it felt when my youngest just didn't like books.  I am pretty sure now that I am NOT the only homeschool mom out there to experience this, so allow me to share with you a few of the things that helped us through this crisis.

  1.  PRAYER.  That's a given.  Whenever you are frustrated about anything, the Lord is your first stop on the road to a solution.

  2.  PERSPECTIVE.  I looked at my other kids; each of them had strengths and weaknesses, interests and areas of non-interest.  I didn't think Bekah was in danger because she didn't play guitar like Jake loved to do, so why was this so upsetting to me?  Even when I looked at myself, I could see that although I didn't like sports, I wasn't crippled in life; I'd learned to take care of my body with exercise in ways that I could handle even if playing volleyball terrified me (Don't mock:  I broke a nail once and, well...I don't like to talk about it.).

  3.  INNOVATION.  I couldn't figure out a different way to present books so that he would love them, but I could figure out different ways to present the important material IN books so that he could learn from them anyway.  We used audio books, read-aloud, and added the movie versions of stories as appropriate for enrichment.  I found that often he could stick with the book if he had seen the movie first; having a grasp on all of the characters and the basic plot helped him stay focused on the book.  We used encyclopedia-style books; the shorter article format was much less intimidating.  We used book clubs so he had incentive to reach a goal in finishing the book with enough understanding to join in the club activities about it.  We used his love of drawing to help maintain his focus while reading; he drew the characters, he made maps of their world, he charted their progress through the story on life-path diagrams.  Using his hands to create something related to the story helped.

  4.  GOOD BOOKS.  I decided that less was more, and the quantity of books was not terribly important as long as he was reading well-written material and grabbing hold of it for himself.  Here's the closing paragraph from the book report he wrote on Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH when he was in 5th grade:

  "I loved the book; I love it a lot!  I would recommend that people who like adventurous and real-life stories with a fantasy twist would like this story.  I would like to write a book like this someday.  Wrapping it all together, this book was very good."

  5.  NOT-SO-GOOD BOOKS.  Huh?  Certain books grabbed this kid in ways that I didn't understand.  I can't explain WHY he fell in love with the Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey, but he did.  He read those books over and over again while I cringed in the most Charlotte-Mason-corner-of-my-heart.  Looking back I have no regrets; he practiced the discipline of sitting with a book for more than 30 seconds of his own free will.  He made happy memories with a book in his hands.  He learned creative vocabulary use (granted, some of the vocabulary were not real words, but that gave him phonics practice, right?).  Most importantly, he learned that BOOKS DO NOT EQUAL PUNISHMENT when he chose to read less-than-classic literature and I didn't cry audibly.

  Your turn:  Got ideas for reluctant readers?

  ===================================================

  New in our EBookstore, a study guide for Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien.  Find out why Jonah loved this book, and I loved it enough to write a multi-level study guide to go with it!  The concept of PERSPECTIVE is beautifully illustrated in this Newberry Medal winning book. Download your guide here.

• 4 Aspects of Career Exploration for Elementary Homeschoolers

  27 April 2012 / Career Exploration, Elementary Homeschool, News / 0 Comment

  

  Our hero, Josue, who rescues our website when it breaks (along with his precious family)!

  One of the irritating parts of life for 7 Sisters Homeschool is that sometimes websites get bugs. We haven't been able to load a post for days. One of the joyful parts of life is that our wonderful friend, Josue, got us up and running!

  Back to the post:

  Career Exploration starts in elementary school!

  Really, it does.

  Elementary aged homeschoolers do Career Exploration in 3 ways:

  1) They learn that God made each child special and that He has a place in His kingdom for each one.

  Children learn this from their parents, Sunday school teachers, and even Christian DVDs.

  2) They learn about various things that people do.

  People do lots of things. There are mothers, fathers, pastors, worship leaders, missionaries, bank tellers, grocery-store cashiers, zoo keepers, park rangers, etc. Any time your child has a conversation with an adult, it is a tiny bit of career exploration. As they grow up, they'll gain understanding about interesting jobs in this manner.

  

  Fortunately for my youngest, he had older siblings to augment his field trip experiencesunderstanding about these people and their jobs.

  Also, read with your homeschooler biographies  and stories about interesting people. This provides access to role models and ideas that you could never expose them to in real life.

  3) They have rich experiences.

  A child who has gone on many field trips and tried many new things (games, crafts, songs, sports, chores) will have the ability to think expansively. As he grows, he will naturally have lots of ideas based on what he liked or didn't like in those experiences.

  4) They explore interests and giftings.

  When a child starts expressing interest in an activity, book, or idea, see if you can develop it. Provide resources and encouragement as much as is reasonable (without pushing- a pushy parent can kill and interest). Gently invest in giftings (as long as you're not being pushy).

  Here's a precious blog from Heather at Blog, She Wrote about creating Adventure Boxes to help develop your child's passions.

  These things give elementary-aged homeschoolers a great start in Career Exploration.

  What have you done with your young ones that develop their experiences, interests, and/or giftings?

  ==============================

  Career Exploration Workbook and the FREE Career Exploration Questionnaire are important ways to invest in your high schooler's Career Exploration program. I developed this for my own kids while in college working on my counseling degree and have used it with our local homeschoolers for years. It is made to be easy, quick, and useful.

   

   

   

   

   

• 5-Minute Friday: Loud

  23 March 2012 / 5-Minute Fridays, Elementary Homeschool, Kindergarten / 4 Comments

  On Fridays, we link-up to www.thegypsymama.com and use the prompt word Lisa-Jo posts for a 5-minute post.  Here's what she says about why 5-minute posts are important:

  "We write because we love words and the relief it is to just write them without worrying if they’re just right or not. So we take five minutes on Friday and write like we used to finger paint. For joy in the process. No matter how messy the result."

  I like to give myself an additional challenge, and find a way to tie the prompt word in to whatever our theme has been at 7 Sisters for the week.  This week's theme has been KINDERGARTEN.  This week's prompt word from Lisa-Jo is: LOUD.

  "Inside voices, please!"

  "Sweetie, hold on; let Mommy help with that."

  "Oh, my! Can we please turn the volume down?!?"

  Little ones have a way of raising the noise level.  I was in the store the other day and a little girl about 4 years old was joyfully riding in her shopping cart singing,

  "Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way...HEY!  Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way...HEY!" over and over and over.

  She wasn't trying to send the other shoppers into therapy, she was just in the mood for a good song.  Her volume control was set to about 8, and from time to time her mom would ask her to be quiet, and she would drop down to a whisper, only to be back to 8 by the end of the next, "HEY!"  (Really, how can you sing, "HEY!" in a quiet voice?  C'mon, mom!)

  The ability to discern appropriate volume, to notice the effect of one's actions on the surrounding people, or the awareness of when something is crossing into obnoxious behavior is simply not present in the little guys.  It makes parents a little crazy, but it's not a matter of disobedience; it's a developmental process that has to be completed step by step.  Playing the guitar with one's feet truly does not seem like an inappropriate idea to a 5 year old; he needs mom to stop him before he damages a musical instrument, but he isn't insane for wanting to try it.

  When my children were little, I was BIG on good behavior.  (I still am, honestly!)  But sometimes I forgot that little people need time to grow up, to develop, and to learn to control those voices and bodies and attitudes.  Looking back, I wish I hadn't worried so much about whether they were small savages, destined to live a life of anarchy.

  I am glad that I told them "No" when they needed to be stopped, but I wish I hadn't wasted so much energy sweating the small stuff.  They are only that age for awhile.  It's a LOUD age, no doubt.  But praying as I helped them move through it step by step was my job as mom; it was not my job to worry about the process.  God had it covered; He didn't call me to worry about it all.

  I think sometimes my WORRIES were so LOUD they managed to drown out the happy sounds of little voices....with faulty volume controls!

  ==================================

  For more on the developmental process that gets our little ones ready for Kindergarten, and for more encouragement on worry-free homeschooling in the early years, download Vicki's A Developmental Approach to Teaching Kindergarten from our EBookstore today!

  

• 3 Reasons Homeschoolers Need to Slow Down Their Young Children's Education

  20 March 2012 / Elementary Homeschool, News / 4 Comments

  Pressure to over-perform, to over-achieve- to validate our homeschool success by being ahead of the norms...

  That's a pitfall homeschool parents can fall into- especially in the early years. I have met parents recently who feel pressure to show that their 4-year-olds are reading and 5 year-olds writing basic equations.

  I have to admit, sometimes this is appropriate (of my 5 kids, one of them taught himself to read at age 4). HOWEVER, I don't think we are doing our children any favors by shoving them into academics they are not developmentally ready for.

  Let me explain:

  Children under the age of 5 have neural structure that is significantly different than ours. For instance, an infant's brain cells (neurons) have little myelination. Myelin is an oily substance that coats the neurons, making them work more effeciently. The myelin sheath does not completely form until a child is in his teens. At pre-school age his lack of myelin effects:

  1) The preschooler's visual efficiency                                                            
  

  Children under age 5 are often effectively very slightly far-sighted. The result of this is that their eyes tire easily when moving across small objects- like rows of words in a reading book.

  2) The preschooler's fine motor abilities

  Along with the fact that their fingers tend to be short, chubby and have undeveloped muscle tone, lack of myelin effects the ability to work on small things like cutting with scissors, putting together puzzles with small pieces, and writing with pencils.

  3) The preschooler's cognitive abilities

  Preschoolers think concretely- not abstractly. (While they can understand, "Give the toy to your brother", they don't understand fully the abstract concept of sharing or "be nice", or patriotism, or algebra.)

  

  Precious homeschool buddies

  They think by centration. (One thing at a time- test this: have your 4 year-old sort beads. They sort by size or color, but not both.) The ability to think of things in more than one manner at the same time and abstractly, is necessary to reading comprehension and math equations.

  They do not have reversibility. (Can't think backwards- as in subtraction is backwards from addition.)

  When a young child is pushed educationally beyond what his myelination is able to handle well, he gets frustrated and uncooperative. He learns that learning is a chore, or worse- a torment.

  Homeschool parents, why not slow down?

  The best thing a preschooler or kindergartener needs is play. Play with toys, with shapes, with puzzles. He needs climbing and jumping and singing and pounding and coloring. This will help get his brain ready to learn. So, relax (meet your state's goals for kindergarten) but relax about it!

  I'm not just spouting off unexperienced book knowledge- with my 5 kids, I took ages 3-5 to develop readiness, wonder, and love of learning. We covered state goals, but we concentrated on development. Four of those kids have hit adulthood- the oldest two teach at the college level, kid #3 teaches high school and is a professional artist, kid #4 is an education major in college. It is OK to slow down!

  How do you develop readiness or have educational fun with your pre-school or kindergartener?

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

  We've put together a little booklet to help you organize a developmentally appropriate education for your pre-school/kindergartener. A quick read, it has lots of thoughts about developing an inexpensive and fun educational program for your child. A Developmental Approach to Teaching Kindergarten is how I "did" kindergarten.
  

  Also if you've never done so, our Human Development curriculum teaches lots about development and is good for parents, as well as teens, to work through. It helps explain to your competitive homeschool friends why you SLOW DOWN with your kids,

   

   

   

   

• Fabulous Field Trip Ideas

  10 February 2012 / Elementary Homeschool, Geography, High School, homeschooling middle school, Science, Social Studies / 10 Comments

  We recently realized that we haven't shared a list of some of our favorite field trips over the years in our homeschools....so we're trying to rectify that situation in today's post!

  Going on field trips is one of the best things about homeschooling.  Getting to experience tons of learning in unusual and exciting environments, receiving instruction from folks who are passionate about their subject area....that's the stuff!

  We live in the DE/MD/PA area, so many of these field trip ideas are in our neck-o-the-woods, but you'll see a few suggestions that reach far beyond our locale.  Here's hoping you find some inspiration to go someplace fun and learn something fabulous with your homeschoolers!

  * Maryland- Conowingo Dam, Ft. McHenry National Historic Park, Harmon Plantation,

  The National Aquarium - Baltimore , Assateague, Chincoteague

  The Mayland Zoo in Baltimore

  * Massachusetts- Boston, MA,  Plymouth

  * Virginia- Jamestown National Park, Yorktown National Park, Williamsburg

  * Delaware- Pea Patch Island State Park, Grand Opera House Performances, Old New Castle (historic town), Cape Henlopen, DE State Park

  * New York City- United Nations, Times Square, FAO Schwartz, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, New York/New Jersey- State Line State Park

  *New Jersey- Wheatland Village Glassblowers

  * Pennsylvania-  Gettysburg National Park, Canoe Creek State Park (cool bats) Raccoon Creek (water bikes), Lancaster, Valley Forge National Park, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, Kempton, PA

  * Blood Bank of Delmarva

  *North Carolina- Kitty Hawk, Ocrakoke, Roanoke

  * Cape May (NJ) Nature Center

  * Alaska

  * Grand Canyon

  * National Submarine Museum, Groton, CT

  * Mystic, CT

  * Washington, DC - the White House
  * Washington, DC - Smithsonian Museum
  * Washington, DC - Arlington National Cemetery

  * Sailing in Annapolis & watching the Blue Angels practice for the Naval Academy Commencement

  * National Cryptologic Museum at Ft Meade, MD - fascinating place, interesting exhibits & we turned
  it into a team scavenger hunt!

  * The Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia, PA - for Titanic Exhibit & Body Wars

  *San Antionio, Tx- Alamo, River Walk, Local Caves

  * Any "special events" at local historic sites where they had costumed guides/reenactors

  * National Parks & Historical SItes

  * Local Nature Centers (at State Parks, etc...)

  * Waterfalls

  * Scotland

  * Paris

  Ok, we have to stop somewhere. Lots of these trips, we took as a co-op. (If you need to start a homeschool co-op, download How to Start a Co-op.)

  What are your favorite field trips?

• Review: Favorite Books for Reluctant Elementary Readers

  07 February 2012 / Curricula, Elementary Homeschool, News, Struggling Readers / 2 Comments

  Some homeschoolers don't fall into the "I love reading" category- either from learning difficulties or lack of inspiration. It took the right series to inspire my two reluctant kids to read in elementary homeschool.

  My 4th son had dyslexia. Phonics would not work for him. We had to use sight readers and much repetition. His favorite series was Mary Manz Simon's Bible Stories.

  Each colorful, delightfully-illustrated book is short and concentrates on a set of around 20 words- perfect for a child who struggles with words. (Side benefit is that the books are only around $3 each.)

  My 5th son just couldn't care less about reading. The series that changed all that was Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey.

  Captain Underpants is a silly, boy-friendly set of books about George and Harold and their ridiculous predicaments. No "Alice and Jerry" or deep lessons of life. However, if a boy laughs hard while he reads, he learns to read well.

  My kids did lots of worthy reading, too- Bibles for kids, Bibles in comics, and some of my favorites: Edcon's Bring the Classics to Life workbook series. I used Edcon with my kids from grade 5 or 6 until they finished the series (starting in Level 1 and going through). This series was GREAT at developing inferential skills.

  My 2 youngest REALLY enjoyed the Cul de Sac Kids series by Beverly Lewis. These books featured a mystery-solving set of friends and always included solid Christian messages.

  Speaking of mystery-solving kids, all my kids loved Nate the Great by Marjorie Sharmat. Nate is fun and smart and solves all sorts of mysteries around his neighborhood.

  One of my kids' favorite elementary books of all time is Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. In fact, most of the 7 Sisters' kids read and loved this book (and worked on it together in co-op).

  This week, Sabrina introduces her Study Guide for Mrs. Frisby for 1/2 price (only $1.99).

  The study guide includes vocabulary, comprehension questions, and lots of activities. Download it today!
  

  What are books you have used to inspire your reluctant elementary reader?

  BTW- This is not a sponsored post. We just like to share our favorites with you.

   

• 5 Goals for Homeschooling Elementary School

  05 February 2012 / Elementary Homeschool, News / 4 Comments

  

  Young darlins just finished a homeschool choir concert

  Homeschooling parents have the freedom to use their children's elementary years to educate a child's WHOLE being- not simply give them an academic education.

  When my kids were in elementary school, these were our family's goals for homeschooling:

  1) Immerse them in the faith

  We read Christian-themed novels (like Frank Peretti's Cooper kids, Paul Hutchens' Sugar Creek Gang, and C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia). The kids participated in Sunday School and Awana. We read children's Bibles. We talked the faith and prayed together.

  2) Establish wonder

  Wonder is a keystone of learning. I child who has known wonder can enjoy learning. We established wonder by seeing God's hand in nature. We hiked often and took lots of opportunities to stop and look at the shapes in the clouds, note the colors on flowers, the songs of birds. We also learned the birds in our yard (at least we learned that there ARE birds in the yard) and the types of trees in the neighborhood.

  3) Develop creativity and imagination                       

  

  Big sister and little brother out for a hike

  
  

  C.S. Lewis said that "imagination is the organ of meaning". If children learn to creatively use their God-given imaginations, they will come to know themselves more deeply. They will also be more available to God's creative work in their own lives- they will learn to have fun, to create, to take their place in the universe.

  My kids composed stories and poetry, drew and did crafts (mostly in co-op with creative moms there). They also told jokes and made up tall tales and silly songs. They learned to trust that God would give them ideas.

  4) Learn perseverance

  As they take on academics, my kids had to learn perseverance. It is important to learn to say, "This is hard, but I can do it." (Of course,

  

  Co-op trip to New York City

  some days/subjects are better than others on this one- even for me. Actually, I'm still learning this one...)

  5) Learn academics

  Ah, the joy of the 3 Rs and unit studies of history and science. Good, good times. As much as we could, we'd have fun with it. What wasn't fun we learned to push through. What greater reward for me than to teach my own child to read and to multiply and to know our nation's history and Who made the world?

  What were/are your goals for homeschooling elementary school?

  ==================                              
  

  This week just $1.99 our Study Guide for Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH- vocabulary, study questions, enrichment exercises- adaptable to different grade levels.

  Great adventures in reading and learning for elementary-aged homeschoolers!

   

   

• 5-Minute Friday: Awake

  13 January 2012 / 5-Minute Fridays, Elementary Homeschool / 3 Comments

  On Fridays, we like to link up to Lisa-Jo and all the writers over at www.thegypsymama.com for a 5-minute blog.  That means Lisa-Jo picks a prompt word, and I write for 5 minutes on that word without overthinking or editing myself.....just write!

  This week's prompt word:  AWAKE.

  When my youngest was about five years old, I sent his big sister upstairs to wake up one morning.  He sat up, opened his eyes, but was clearly struggling to get all the way conscious.  His sister said, "Tigger, are you awake?  Are you okay?"

  He took a deep breath and said, "My brain is here, but my think doesn't work."

  Needless to say, that expression has been an oft-repeated favorite in our family ever since!

  When our homeschoolers are little, they are ready for so much learning.  They are AWAKE to the idea of new concepts, new skills, new experiences.  But that's not really enough.

  If we fill their brains with stuff during the elementary years, we will give them a brain...but that doesn't automatically mean their THINK will work!

  The younger years of homeschooling give us the amazing opportunity to encourage their THINK as well as their brain.  We can teach them new things, but we should also encourage them as they begin to really THINK about things in a new way, even if that way doesn't always line up clearly with the way we have always thought about a subject.

  Observing our children and their unique ways of learning and processing will enable to us to equip them for real thinking for the rest of their lives!  Isn't that exciting?  Doesn't that AWAKE something in you, mom and dad? 

  Keep those elementary years flexible enough in your homeschool so that you can awake more than just their brains....encourage their THINKS!

  ======================================

  This week we have been focusing on the elementary years in homeschooling, and tomorrow's post will be a collection of favorite memories from each of the 7 Sisters about our kids' early homeschool journeys.

  For a new resource for young students, download the literature study guide for Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricial MacLachlan.  It's half-price through the weekend...just $1.99.

  The questions and activities suggested in this study guide will encourage your little ones to THINK about what they are reading beyond a simple comprehension of the story.  Click here for a more detailed description.

  And don't forget that there are always FREE resources for you to download as well.  Scheduling Backwards, Carry Each Other's Burdens, and the Career Exploration Questionnaire are always available to you at no cost when you visit our EBookstore.

   

  

• How to Write a Progressive Story

  10 January 2012 / Elementary Homeschool, Language Arts, Writing / 6 Comments

  I have so many great memories of our homeschool co-op writing class when my kids were little.

  Allison and I had a co-op together for all the years of elementary school.  She taught most of the history and science, we did some beginning Latin together with our dad (retired professor from the University of Delaware, Dr. Gerald R. Culley - thank God for homeschool-supportive grandparents!), and I taught writing and art.

  One of our favorite activities with the kids then was writing progressive stories.  If your younger students are looking for some fun to weave into the writing process, this can be a great way to provide it.

  A progressive story requires two people, but if you have more (younger siblings, or a co-op, or even just a friend or two who have come to visit) it's even more fun.

  -  Sit around the table so everyone can write easily.  Give each child a pencil or pen.

  -  On a piece of notebook paper, write a story starter.  It can be totally boring; mom does not have to put much creative effort into this lesson plan!

  "Once there was a girl who lived in a small house."

  -  Pass the paper to the child on your right.  He or she now writes the next sentence in the story.

  -  Continue passing the paper around the table, and have each child add a new sentence to the story.  When you decide they've had enough (we had them go on for AGES sometimes when the kids got giggling and on a roll!), write a closing sentence.

  -  Then serve a snack or make everyone a mug of hot chocolate and read the story dramatically and with great feeling....all to the roars of approval from your author-audience!

  This simple activity serves several purposes.

  1.  It is fun.  For many students, writing feels like a chore.  This activity does NOT feel like a chore!

  2.  It encourages creativity in students who are very reluctant to try creative writing.  There is only pressure to write ONE sentence each time the paper comes to each child.  They will soon see that even a simple sentence can bring a twist to the story, or introduce a crisis for the characters to face.

  3.  It requires the writers to think logically about the structure of a story.  They will automatically be trying to build on what has come before on the paper.

  4.  It requires flexibility.  The kids who have a preconceived notion of where the story "should" end up will have to adjust their idea as others add sentences in between their own.

  5.  It can be tailored to lots of other learning taking place in your homeschool, both writing skills and other subjects like science or social studies.

  

  Here are some examples of ways to tailor your progressive story activity to specific goals you have for your kids' learning:

  * Choose a starter that has to do with a subject you have been studying in science.  If you have been learning about birds, your starter could be, "The egg suddenly cracked; something was moving inside!"

  * If you child is just learning about complete sentences vs. sentence fragments, you can gently correct a fragment as the story moves from one child to the next.  The opportunity for peer correction by other kids (as long as mom moderates to make sure it is offered respectfully and kindly) can be a powerful tool.

  * As your children get older, encourage them to follow a classic plot diagram where the characters are introduced, the challenge is presented, the action rises, there is a clear moment of climax, and there is a denouement where some degree of resolution is achieved.

  * Vocabulary can be easily practiced and encouraged to grow in a progressive story.  The paper comes to mom each time it makes it around the table, and you can use that opportunity to throw in a word you want to see practiced.

  Allison and I have found that our kids STILL (the youngest is 14 and the oldest of the old co-op crew is 22 now) will reminisce with lines they remember from some of their old progressive stories.  We will be gathered for a holiday dinner and hear one of them blurt out a random sentence, only to hear another one call out the following sentence before they all dissolve into gales of laughter.

  Your turn:  Have you had fun with progressive stories in your homeschool?

  ==========================================

  The books we read with our elementary-aged homeschoolers can open the door for SO MUCH learning!  Just released this week -- and only half-price $1.99 -- is our first literature study guide for elementary and young middle-school students.  It brings the Newberry Medal winner Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan to life with ideas for learning about the animals and plants native to two areas of the U.S. as you enjoy the story.  Click here to download the study guide for Sarah, Plain and Tall!

  

• 5 Reasons Why I Homeschooled Elementary School

  08 January 2012 / Elementary Homeschool, News, Teaching / 0 Comment

  

  Big Sister and Littlest Brother back in the day...

   I’ve been a homeschool mom a long time. In fact, the 7 Sisters homeschool their kids- elementary through high school graduation. This week we’ve decided to share some of our elementary homeschool experiences and curriculum with our friends. (Ta-da!! Introducing: Sabrina’s study guide for Sarah Plain and Tall- just $1.99 this week.)

  Here are 5 reasons I homeschooled elementary school:

  1) Passing on family values- faith, relationships, reading, arts, and nature

  My family made Bible study, AWANA, and church integral parts of our education program. We worked on social skills and siblings-get-along-skills. We read classics, Newberry Award Winners, and Narnia (over and over). I pretended to know enough art to introduce them to great artists- then we watched how-to shows on PBS. They played instruments in the homeschool orchestra and sang in the homeschool choir. Then we went on nature hikes and learned birds and trees (watch on Thursday for our how-to whitepaper article for birdwatching with elementary kids). Good times!

  2) Personalized education- tailored to each child’s bent               

  

  Co-op at Gettysburg

  
  

  One of my sons played flute all the way through college. We invested in lessons and orchestra time for him. One son was a passionate reader- so we made trips to the library weekly. One kid worked hard on attention skills to combat ADD-Inattentive and used careful attention to become a powerful photographer. One struggled to overcome dyslexia and then learned film-making, education, and theology. My youngest loves music and thus plays guitar in our homeschool praise band and sings in the homeschool choir

  In elementary school, our academics subjects were solid- Reading, Grammar, Language Mechanics, Handwriting, Creative Writing, Math, History, Science, Health/Safety, Phys Ed, Fine Arts, Religion (sometimes even Spanish or Norwegian). However, the specific curriculum or teaching style was geared to each kid’s need (as much as was sane and possible). Often, we did history, world languages, and science together in our co-op.

  3) Developing friendships for my kids-

  We joined our first learning co-op in those elementary days. My kids formed deep and lasting friendships in those delightful educational experiences. (Many have remained friends through adulthood and 2 co-op kids are grown and married to each other!)

  4) Developing my own friendships-

  My best friends are the homeschooling moms who have been co-oping and adventuring with me (some for 20 years). When we worked, played, and prayed together, deep and lasting bonds were formed.

  5) Helping create a homeschool friendly culture-

  Every successful homeschool family adds to the success of the entire homeschool culture. Over the 2+ decades that we’ve homeschooled, more of families homeschooled and it became a popular educational alternative. Today the US Department of Education estimates that almost 2 million American families homeschool. I LOVE being part of that cutting-edge culture!

  Happy New Year to all our homeschool friends and don’t forget to download FREE Scheduling Backwards (get organized tools) AND 1/2 price Sara Plain and Tall Study Guide (with Vocabulary, Science and History ideas just $1.99)!