Book Review: The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook

subtitle- a creative and stress-free approach to homeschooling

I found this book to be a good read. I only read the first half of it and not the testimonials from different homeschool families around the country. I prefer right now to have more a philosophical encouragement than "here's exactly how to do it" type of literature. I found their advice on lesson planning (basically make a journal of the day AFTER the day is done) and on organization - simple is better! - to be helpful. They do seem to lean more toward unschooling than I would prefer. So much "unschool" stuff is stressed that someone might get the wrong idea without keeping in balance their thoughts on "guided" freedom of the student. Once again they stressed studies and personal experience to uphold their motto of "better late than early" although thankfully this book did not go to the nth degree to prove that point (as did Better Late Than Early (as one would expect) and School Can Wait) The testimony of the how the Moore family began homeschooling was helpful as well as the "Moore Formula" that they encourage which is a balance of work, service and academics. That idea is very appealing to me and goes along well with Charlotte Mason's philosophy of "Education is an Atmosphere, a Discipline, a Life" (though it doesn't correspond exactly). Also encouraging was Ms. Moore's advice to take into account "real life" such as house cleaning and cooking meals, etc. Often times I feel bad that I must clean and cook instead of just concentrating on the children's "education". When I really think about those things are part and parcel of their education. Chapter 10 on encouraging family health was also helpful (though not earth-shattering in content). Seems to me we do a great disservice to our children and ourselves when we neglect to think of the "big picture" of life. There is much in Mason's writings about health and even the types of food we feed our children. Good stuff that I'm always thinking about.

mind-stuff

Our real concern is that children should have a good and regular supply of mind-stuff to think upon; that they should have large converse with books as well as with things; that they should become intimate with great men through the books and works of art they have left us, the best part of themselves.

— Charlotte Mason

Merry Christmas!

Holly Frame Christmas 5x7 folded card

Get custom photo Christmas cards online at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

The Roseberry Family - 2009

Click here to view this photo book larger

book notes: The Glass Wall - Why Mathematics Can Seem Difficult

From time to time I enjoy reading books on how people - especially children - learn. Recently I read The Glass Wall by Frank Smith. Here are a couple of quotes I thought were notable:

One would think that language is something that is discovered by every child (or taught to every child). Yet studies of the rapidly efficient manner in which language skill and knowledge develop in children has led many researchers to assert that language is invented (or reinvented) by children rather than discovered by them or revealed to them. And no less a psychologist that Jean Piaget has asserted that children have to invent or reinvent mathematics in order to learn it. In a sense, the wheel is reinvented every time someone discovers what a wheel can do. p14-15

Memory, like understanding, is unavoidable in mathematics and everything else. Although mathematics might seem to be a constant process of "working things out", the foundation of any kind of mathematical enterprise is memory, and a great deal of learning mathematics involves committing mathematical facts and procedures to memory. Memory eases all of our way through mathematics and we can't get started without it. p113

Many kinds of difficulty confront learners. Locating these difficulties in the learner's brain and giving them pseudo-medical names is not helpful. Usually what is needed is more time, more understanding, more sensitivity, less pressure, a fundamentally different approach to mathematics education, stressing comprehension rather than memorization - and sometimes a period of mental convalescence. p135

He boiled mathematics to a relationship between numbers. In the simplest terms "one and one more". The rest of counting, for instance, is just a repeat of that method.

He gave several good reasons why memorization of facts is greatly aided by comprehension of the facts rather than just by rote.

make your own play-dough

The best and easiest play-dough recipe I've found:

1 1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup salt
3/4 cup water (with food coloring)

Mix all ingredients in bowl. Add more water if needed or flour - you want a very stiff dough. With oiled hands, knead into soft dough.

The Mother at Home

Perhaps no book has been more encouraging, convicting and inspiring to me as a mother as John S. C. Abbott's book The Mother at Home. Read it online or buy it from Amazon. It will be time and money well spent.

what we're eating this summer

Making meals for the freezer has been such a HUGE help and blessing since we started homeschooling. Click the log to see what we're eating this summer and into the fall...

our journey with My Father's World

I've started a website where I'm organizing all my thoughts and resources for MFW Kindergarten and 1st grade this year. You can visit it at
https://sites.google.com/site/journeywithmfw/home

update for 2010-2011

This updates the post 2010 codeword: simplify

We be using the following materials for this year:

6y-son: My Father's World 1st Grade
4y-daughter: My Father's World Kindergarten

(We'll do the science from the K program together instead of doing 1st grade science.)

I decided not to purchase the Little Pim DVD's because I want the kids to learn Spanish verbally before trying to read the words. (Little Pim shows the word as it is being said.) I think that showing the kids the words can really throw a kink in their pronunciation. I found and like Professor Parrot. The kids just get to practice saying the words and singing in Spanish.

I also decided to wait on implementing the Five-in-a-Row program. If we see that we need something more, I will add it in later. Instead of buying the FIAR books, I will probably use the resources at Homeschool Share. I have already sketched out a few weeks of activities and I really like the free lapbook materials provided at HSS. I think this would be very helpful in teaching some history and geography.

I attended the local homeschool expo last weekend and it was VERY helpful to talk to the representatives from My Father's World and sit in on their classes. I'm excited about using their curriculum this year and for year's to come. So much of their philosophy of education completely meshes with mine. It's nice to find something already put together that is really something I want to use as-is. Just click the checkbox and a nice box of everything arrives at your door. Very cool indeed.

kindergarten graduation

We had a fun time at my 6yo's kindergarten graduation. We threw a party at home and invited those families that really played a key role in his life this year. He was so excited to have both sets of grandparents in for the occasion as well. I made a video presentation highlighting his accomplishments in each area.

His dad and I presented him with a diploma and a Bible for which he had been asking.

Lots of fun! I can't believe that our first year in official homeschool is over!

a few blogs I'm enjoying at the moment

Confessions of a Homeschooler - good info about workboxes, preschool and a very cool "Letter of the Week" preschool curriculum

1+1+1=1 - lots of good stuff about Tot Trays, Preschool and elementary homeschool.

I really like her hands-on approach and her recommendations for good toys. Plus, the graphic design and layout is excellent!

2010 codeword: simplify

Our education plan for the 2010-2011 is going to look much different than the 2009-2010 school year. Mama needs to simplify. I feel like I need more guidance and more of 'packaged' program instead of coming up with all the lesson plans myself. I still firmly hold to a Charlotte Mason philosophy and I "think" I've found something to fit my plans.

My Father's World
First Grade is affordable ($239 for deluxe set - cheaper than I can scrounge for the individual items), together (just buy the package and they send it to you - wow) and (time-will-tell) looks like a lot of fun. Once I got past the hokey graphics (though they are very age appropriate and will probably make my 6yoB feel more at home with his own drawings), it looks really good. Though he's already much past the reading level, I will use the phonics instruction as spelling practice instead. The math looks fun - hands-on, slow-paced - just like I like it. Subsequent years in MFW looks much light Sonlight but MUCH cheaper. I'm really excited about using this.


Little Pim
For a little treat and intro into foreign language, I'm planning to purchase the Little Pim DVD's for use during drive time (which there is not much of lately) and for a morning break. My 6yoB is very interested in learning Spanish and we have new neighbors across the road who are Hispanic - so gives us an opportunity to practice!


Five in a Row
Our little 4yoG is needing something extra and I'm thinking about Five in a Row. I hope to continue teaching her how to read, but I also want to have more mommy-time with her. I checked the FIAR book last night and it looks great. Basically, you take one children's book (like Madeline) per week and read it every day. The FIAR book contains different "projects" to go along with the children's book in the areas of Social Studies, Art, Applied Math, Language Arts and Science. The goal is to do one project per day for each content area. FIAR also has a cookbook providing recipes from different regions of the world to go along with the children's book of the week - french recipes for Madeline, s'il vous plait.

I've also considered the Language Arts section of Lesson Pathways to fill this need (and to supplement the First Grade curriculum as well), but I need to look into this more and make sure I'm not creating more work for myself.

Physical Education
My plan is to take the kids to fitness classes at our local athletic club beginning in October - when my then 1yoG can go to child care (and mama can go swimming!). We might also start ballet for the 4yoG and soccer or baseball for the 6yoB.

Sounds good to me! Any thoughts from anyone?

currclick freebies

Good stuff available for free in the CurrClick Easter Egg Hunt - including Miquon Math Orange Book and Inside My Body Lapbook with Study Guide. Check out the details

irish blessing

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields and,
Until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

notebooking resources

Some very cool stuff available at NotebookingPages.com! I'm thinking about using their 50 States set when we study American History next year.

Books by G.A. Henty

I recently listed to a seminar on homeschooling boys and the speaker recommended books by G. A. Henty as good stories showcasing manly men. These are available for free at Project Gutenberg, but also for free via Amazon for Kindle. You can download a Kindle for PC application to read them on your computer if you don't have a Kindle.

Free: Hands-on Science Activities at Michael's

Handicrafts: Woodworking

In the area of handicrafts, the plan is to concentrate for the next year on woodworking with our 5 year old son. We are going to try out the free workshops offered by businesses in our area. Here are the options for the next few months.

Lowe's Build & Grow

Jewelry Organizer

Saturday Feb 13, 2010

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM



LoweBot

Saturday Feb 27, 2010

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Kid Workshops at Home Depot

Handicrafts

From Ambleside Online:

The handicrafts Charlotte Mason wanted children to do were more than arts and crafts projects - she wanted children to put time into creating something of real use, and she expected them to care enough about the project to take pains to produce well-done work. Making (and mending) real things like rugs, baskets, ceramic pots, doll furniture, and sewing on lost buttons, hemming pillowcases, cooking, woodworking, cross stitching and fixing plumbing were what she had in mind rather than worthless busy art projects that end up thrown away. She saw this as a way to encourage a productive will and develop skills that can be carried into adulthood, and perhaps a way to reveal and exercise talents or callings. Afternoons were left free for children to work on such projects.

I'm starting to look at our 2010-2011 school year and putting together our education plan. One thing that I felt compelled to do this year was "Arts and Crafts" which generally took a lot of time to get together and then ended up in the trash - after a picture of our work, of course.

My children LOVE doing "crafts". My 5 year-old son has recently started using his own toolbox to build things out of wood, so we decided for the next year we'll concentrate on woodworking with him. For our 4 year-old daughter, I'm thinking about beading in addition to (for both) working with textiles - cutting and dying fabric as elementary sewing.