Help Making the Right Choices About Curriculum

March 31, 2013 by Leave a Comment

I love getting new curriculum because it gives me an opportunity to try something new with my kids. Sometimes we just need a good change of pace.

However, sometimes when we are in a rut, I place too much hope on a new curriculum. Like if  I try something new, it will miraculously solve all the problems I’m having in math.

The first think you want to think about is your own teaching style. How do you learn? What appeals to you and what do you want to get out of the curriculum?

Be realistic, how much time can you really devote to it? I don’t know how many times I would have loved to jump into an intensive study or curriculum but it pulled too much time away from other subjects. It just wasn’t doable. [Read more...]

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Homeschooling with a New Toddler

February 4, 2013 by

My baby is now one years old, officially she is no longer a baby but a toddler. Although she will always be the baby of the family. I have suggestions for keeping your toddler busy, but those don’t work with my baby because she’s one. She still puts everything in her mouth and she has a wonderfully short attention span.

What do you do with a toddler while you are trying to homeschool the older children?

Well all the fun ideas that I usually have don’t apply to her. She’s too young for a lot of the activities that require fine motor skills and objects that she likes to mouth. She doesn’t like to play with toys yet, at least not long enough for me to get any work done. [Read more...]

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Are You Doing Too Much in Your Homeschool?

October 27, 2012 by

Parents want what is best for their children but can you do too much in your homeschool? Of course you can but how do you know if it is too much for your children to handle?

Parents have so many resources available to them now that it can be overwhelming. Parents also want to ensure that their children are getting the best education possible. However, you can’t do it all. You cannot teach everything there is to teach to your child and remain sane.

Are your children actually interested the subject? Or is it something you’ve chosen that you feel they “should” learn? It could be piano, or Latin, or another language or activity, do your children truly enjoy learning those things or do you feel as though they should just push through it. No one enjoys doing things they don’t want to, so why force a child to learn something they don’t need right now when the time can be better spent learning something they are interested in. [Read more...]

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Classical Music for Kids

September 28, 2012 by

Have fun listening to classical music with your kids in your homeschool. How can you get your children interested in classical music?

If you want to expose your children to classical music, how can you get them more interested?

Decide on a time of the day when you will play classical music, this can be during lunch, during break or nap time. Whatever works for your family. Introduce your children to the composer. My son always loves to get background information on the composers or artists we study. It is nice to know what period of time they were living in at the time the piece was created.

Take a field trip to a local symphony or to see a live concert. Experience  a live symphony or concert is a more rewarding experience and will truly get your child interested in classical music. [Read more...]

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Are You a Homeschool Curriculum Junkie?

September 26, 2012 by

Yes, I’m talking to you, are you a curriculum junkie? Do you have 5 math programs or 5 writing programs sitting on your shelf?

I find that if you have funds available, there may be a chance that those funds can go to an endless supply of curricula. You justify every purchase by saying it is the only thing that will help your children. Educational purchases can’t be bad after all.

I find that subjects where you lack confidence in teaching are where you generally have a tendency to purchase more for. That way if any issues arise, you able to pull information from a lot of resources. [Read more...]

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Tips for Homeschooling Boys

September 13, 2012 by

It takes a very patient mother to homeschool boys or the wiggly child, here are some tips to help you in your homeschool.

I am the mother of two boys and have learned early not to compare them to anyone else, especially to other families of girls. They are different, there’s no denying it, however, you will need to change your school of thinking in terms of what  your homeschooling experience will be.

Of course all children are different but on the majority, boys will be boys, and like it or not, they’re not going to willingly sit down for hours to do school work. It is unrealistic to expect a 4 or 5 year old to sit down for an hour or two to do seat work. You are going to have to break up that work into more manageable chunks. [Read more...]

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Back to School Supplies – What do you really need?

August 5, 2012 by

School is around the corner, what supplies do your children really need?

If you don’t school year round, you will probably be in need of some new things for the school year. August is also a good time to stock up on supplies while they are on sale since public school children will be returning to school.

This is a great time to clean out your closets and drawers where you keep all your school supplies and take an inventory of what you have left. You don’t realize how many erasers you have until you group them all together to find that you have 8 of them left from before. This way you’re not overbuying, you can save a bit of money, and you are not cluttering your household. [Read more...]

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Music Lessons for Kids

July 14, 2012 by

Why should your kids take music lessons? Music lessons are a great way to introduce  a creative outlet for your children.

Children who study music usually do better in school. They learn that they need to practice their skills to achieve something wonderful. By learning to play a piece of music, they learn about hard work and what it takes to achieve their goals. They learn that in order to get a music piece right, they must practice it over and over again. This dilegent work ethic can then transfer to other areas of their life like school work.

By learning to play an instrument, they can learn about team work, if they are playing in a band. By practicing with other musicians they learn about co-operation and how to work well with everyone. [Read more...]

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Building Blocks for Kids

July 11, 2012 by

Do your children love building? What is the educational value in building blocks for kids?

There are Megablocks, K’nex, Legos, and Lincoln Logs, what use are these to your little ones? If they are playing with them, building, creating, and imaginative play, it sounds like a great way to learn to me.

As a toddler playing with  large building blocks, she must master her hand and eye coordination as well as gross motor skills. All that imaginative play invites creativity and not to mention plenty of fun.

Block building in a group setting or with siblings can help foster social skills by encouraging team work, co-operation, and sharing [Read more...]

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Teaching Your Kids to Read

July 7, 2012 by

Does your child know all their ABCs? Are they interested in reading and ask you what every word in sight says?

When you see that your child is interested in the ABCs or asks what certain words say, I think that is a great time to start teaching letter sounds and then reading. This age may vary for each child,

If you child knows their ABCs, the next step is to get them to sound out each letter. How can you teach this? There are some wonderful songs and websites that you can visit. LeapFrog: Letter Factory is a great video to teach the letter sounds. It’s fun and keeps the child engaged. My son watched this 3 or 4 times before he was reciting the letter sounds to himself. [Read more...]

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