A Homeschooling Hobby…

I am a scrapbooking fiend. I also like to make my own greeting cards. Having that hobby has saved my sanity more times than I count, lol. Surprisingly, it came in handy for homeschooling projects and activities as well.

The boys (ages 12 and 7) have enjoyed working on scrap pages for my books, so I decided this year we would try to let them do their own scrapbooks. They started off working with some of their favorite photos from this year, but then decided they wanted to scrap about things they learned about.

I discovered that there is actually a homeschool method similar to that, called lapbooking. The boys spend a certain amount of time learning about a place/person/concept/etc., then they create these little mini-scrapbooks (or lapbooks) with artwork, photos, and stories; just anything they want to include in them.

Outside of the fact that are choosing what they are learning, and really enjoying having that control, they are getting in extra arts and crafts time too, lol. And when they are working on their new hobby, I can have some time with my old hobby. :)

Sports for Homeschoolers?

My oldest was only six when we started homeschooling. I was so consumed with making sure I had my footing when it came to the academic stuff, that I didn’t give much thought to the athletic side of things. He was playing soccer, but had only just started and he was still in that phase where it was just cool to roll around in the grass, lol.

Fast forward 7 years and he has played twice a year EVERY year. With this fall season just ending, he has 15 seasons under his belt. He’s very serious about it, and even though I am biased because he’s mine, he’s really very good. But next spring will be his last time with our local recreation department because they only go up to a certain age after that season he will be too old.

We have contacted the local school board to see if they would let him play at the middle school level (cause…you know…we do pay taxes even though he doesn’t attend their school) but they wouldn’t even consider the idea. We live in such a rural area that there isn’t a homeschool athletics association or anything. So we are facing signing him up with a traveling league, that will ultimately cost us a few hundred dollars a season (travel included).

What about you guys? Are your kids allowed to play with the local school system? Are you fortunate enough to have homeschool athletic association?

Free Resources

I don't know about you, but I sure do love to find something free. I tend to enjoy it a bit more if it didn't cost a whole lot. Well, here are a few things for you to enjoy... yes. a . few. free. things.... :)

I have found that there are so many good resources for homeschoolers on the web, that almost every time I sit down to find something in particular, I find ten in particular! I want to know what is good and what isn't. So,here are a few things that I thought I would share with you, that I know are great resources.

Well, here's your chance... take a gander... and it's all for free!

Easy Fun School - fun resources that might make things a bit easier
Homeschool News
Carschooling - fun school things to do in the car
Learning Games for Kids - free educational resource
Home Hearts - a guide to homeschooling
Homeschool Central - advice for homeschoolers
Homeschool highlights - homeschool curriculum reviews and articles
Faith and a Full House - homeschoolers life and times
Time4Learning - free online forum for homeschool parents
Learning Treasures
Unscramble Puzzles - word scramble puzzles for spelling practice and fun

Technology in Education

Have you ever wondered what our future holds? Well, judging by the past, I would say that it hold more technological advances. We will probably see things that we could never imagine would come to pass. But, how does this apply to education? Truly it must apply, or we really cannot say that we are educating our children for the future. Without technology training how can we say our children are prepared to face their future?
Yes, we must give each child technological training. Education today must model real life application of technology. If not, we cannot truly be preparing them. I look at young people today and see kids who don't socialize - they social network. Kids that don't talk, they text. Children who have the world at their fingertips as they carry around their smartphones. It is unbelievable, but it seems as if this is our future. Wouldn't it be wise for homeschoolers to make sure that their children are well versed in technology and the application of it to life and the work force? Yes, true education prepares the whole person. Education includes reading writing arithmetic but also life skills. Technology is becoming such a part of our daily lives that it would be nearly be considered life skills. Make sure that as we educate, we don't forget preparation for the future.

Seventh Grade Foreign Language

Yes, most seventh graders are not thinking about learning a foreign language. They often look at that subject as something reserved for high school. Too bad...

This summer, I met a young lady from Latvia. She was selling educational software, to help pay for her college education. She was very friendly, and just sat down on my front porch one afternoon and began to tell me all about her life. She was from a country where it is illegal to homeschool. Her country has suffered persecution from the Russians throughout history. She works very hard to put herself through college. However, this young lady knew 5 languages. At age 19 she spoke Russian, Latvian, English, Spanish,and another language that I cannot remember. We discussed why Europeans seem to be well versed in multiple languages while Americans are lucky if they know two.

While we spoke about this, it dawned on me. Yes, the European community has many countries that are small (like our states) and within the European community people travel freely from country to country. Because these varying countries are so close - it makes sense to know more languages. In America, we have a broad expanse of land that knows English. From our southern border - all the way to the North Pole - English is spoken. The only other language widely spoken on our continent is Spanish. Yes, there are substantial numbers of people who speak French, German, Chinese, many people who within their ethnic community within the U.S. still speak their native languages. But overall - English is the majority language of a very broad expanse of territory. Does that give us excuse? I think not! Learning languages not only expands the mind, but it also gives us a better understanding of how other people think - and an appreciation of our own language.

So,don't wait until you reach high school, start learning a foreign language as soon as possible!

A Legacy...

Homeschooling has so many advantages. I know we've spoken of many of these in our other posts. From the flexibility that homeschooling provides to the many options it leaves us in teaching our children, homeschooling has a great effect on families. Homeschooling allows for much more family time than I would have if my children were gone for 8 hours every day.

Just recently I have been thinking about just how fast time has been going by. Our weeks seem more like days. I feel like I am watching my children grow up in fast forward. I want so desperately to slow it down. Remember what it was like when we were young? Time seemed to stand still. Now that I am older and I want to hang on to every minute, it slips like water through my fingers. Because of this, I am determined that I am going to make every moment count.

Each day my children get another day closer to being grown up. I want so desperately to be sure that I have invested my all into making them great adults. I want to be sure that I am leaving a legacy that will be passed down to my grandchildren, and then to their grandchildren. A legacy of care and commitment, of love and appreciation. I want to make each day count to be part of the legacy when I am gone...

Homeschool flexibility...

When life gives you lemons...make lemonade! That is exactly the flexibility that homeschooling gives you!

Having difficulties with learning disabilities? Have a change in your work schedule? Need to make adjustments so that you can have some family time? The purpose of homeschooling is to make it possible to make adjustments so that the important things in life can be more meaningful.

If you child struggles with learning disabilities, you may need to rearrange your schooling schedule. Some children, can do much better with learning when they physical exert themselves before sitting down to concentrate. Some families take the morning to exercise and physically expend energy, before taking time to learn. Doing school in the afternoon actually makes for a better day.

Some families have one parent who works during the night. They have found that if they rearrange their schedule to allow for family time in the morning they sleep better, and the children are fulfilled by getting to spend time with their parent. The schedule is arranged so that school happens in the afternoon. Allowing for flexibility in their schooling...gives them freedom to enjoy what is important.