We have often kept up some sort of study throughout summer.  We are a family who embraces learning as a way of life v.s. something more institutional and dry.  Not to mention we live in Canada, so studying botany or entomology in the dead of winter (and -35 Celsius) just isn’t practical or rewarding.  Until this year however, our summer homeschooling has been quite unstructured.

This year I made the decision to truly embrace a year round homeschool schedule. We still make time for fun and lazy days, but we are not tossing every subject overboard for two and half months.

Year Round Homeschooling

Why Now?

Seeing as we have a child entering high school (yes, I blinked!), one finishing up middle school and the other in elementary we have hit a stage where I am needed in many different ways.  While they are all quite independent and good students, it doesn’t change the fact that I need to be there to guide, encourage and motivate them.  I can see that we will all benefit from a bit more structure, more acquired skills and even more fun.

My eldest is discerning possible career paths and has the foresight to know he will need advanced Science, Math, English and Social Studies (History/Geography) to achieve his goals for his high school diploma.

With this realization, I knew we would need to change up our homeschool routine and some of our curriculum.  At our spring homeschool convention I was able to purchase a new science curriculum from Apologia and shortly thereafter I found a great high school level geography curriculum from Bright Ideas Press called “North Star Geography”.

North Star Geography

Looking at Our Year

As my kids get older, their interests in sports and music lessons take up more time, not to mention some volunteer commitments and part time jobs.  With this in mind, I can see that following a typical school year of  September to June is crammed full with very little white space. 

We need white space!

I will admit this past year there were days where no one wanted to do anything.  No chores, no school work, not even fun read alouds, which is always my “go to” when things are upside down and we need a break.  When I witnessed this I knew I needed to make some changes.

Not only are we continuing to homeschool through the summer, but everyone is taking a good look at their extra-curricular activities.  We are committing to only participating in the activities which bring the most joy and the most beneficial.

By spreading the academics out, we can make more room for down time to replenish, book appointments, go to sporting events and competitions as well as our musical recitals.

The beauty of homeschooling is the flexibility it affords each family to embrace their calling and vocation and give them the time to address any needs which may arise.

This summer my family is having fun exploring Geography, History and Science mixed with a good dose of lazy summer days and great books.

The Math and Writing will be sprinkled in a pinch at a time, but don’t tell my kids; it’s a secret!

Besides, if summers are completely unstructured it can take a toll on mom.  Keeping some kind of routine is always beneficial.

More Ideas About Summer Homeschooling

• Summer Circle Time by Kendra Fletcher over at Preschoolers and Peace.  

• Summer Road Trip blog posts over at Bright Ideas Press.

Each and every member of our family has their own value they add.  We all have special talents which can enhance our family relationships.

Add Value to Your Homeschool

Have an evening or a rainy afternoon meeting with your kids to brainstorm and help one another recognize their own special gifts and talents?

I’m sure your family has someone who:

• Can make you laugh

• Enjoys a good and lively discussion

• Is a caregiver

• Can organize

• Bakes or cooks

• Is musical

• Enjoys organizing

• Loves to read to other

• etc.

The list can go on, but you get the idea.  Sharing your unique talents and gifts within the family will strengthen everyone and also help you recognize how you can help others outside of your family unit.

As homeschool parents, husband and wife can also take time to brainstorm how to add more value to the homeschool day.

How can we enhance the education of our children?

Add more value to your homeschool by:

• Adding in more of the Arts – Music and Art

• More fieldtrips

• Co-op classes

• Online classes

• Park days and play days with other homeschool families

• Finding ways to help break down learning barriers

• Having a flex day

• etc.

Some ways we have added extra value to our homeschool and our curriculum can be found in these HSI posts:

Spelling Help

Home Schoolers Journey…Am I Doing Enough?

Homeschool Business Letter Project

10 Homeschooling “Mistakes” You Need to Quit

Think You Can’t Homeschool Art? Think Again!

This vocation of home educating our children is important, but never forget to enjoy the process, and more importantly…enjoy one another!

What kind of planner are you?

I am a list maker, the “old fashioned” pencil and paper kind of list maker.

There is something about a pencil or pen in my hand which helps me to own my to-do list.

When we physically write something out, it helps our minds to own those tasks a little more than if we write it via a keyboard, in a virtual way.

 Although, having smartphones and apps certainly are useful too.

Organizing Your Day

In fact, at our house we have a virtual calendar for our family where each member is colour coded, to go along with my paper list.

My husband and I enter our appointments, business travel as well as our children’s sports and other out of the home activities into our virtual calendar.  As our kids become more involved with activities outside the home, this has helped my husband stay in the loop.  When he is out working or if he has been out of town, all he has to do is check our calendar to know what the rest of us are up to.

 It also helps me!

At the beginning of each week I enter all the activities or appointments we have planned as a family and as individuals.

Once all of that is entered I can let it go and allow myself to focus on all our other “to-do” lists.  As homeschoolers, we all have a lot on the go from planning each child’s subjects and projects to the regular household stuff like laundry.

(That never ending pile of laundry, or is this just my house?  Lol.)

What Goes on the Master List?

Making a master list is great, but you have to be picky.

Discern what is on your list and what can or should be on your children’s lists.

Then break it all down, into your daily  Action List.

1. Have – To’s

2. Should – Do’s

3. Want – To’s

I keep my “Have to’s” as focused and clear cut as I can, and try to attack at least 1 “Should Do”.

Once my “Have to” and “Should do” lists  are done I get to pick something from my “Want to” List.  I can work away at one of my hobbies, read a book, or just sit.

At our house the goal of our action lists is to provide our family with:

• organization

• direction

• strategy

• peace of mind

• a sense of accomplishment

This may sound all neat and tidy, but let me tell you, we definitely live a real life around here which also means it can all just be a whirlwind of organized chaos!

Once you jump into this homeschooling pool you soon realize there is an even larger pool of amazing curriculum you can choose from!

This post isn’t about planning out curriculum day by day, but focuses on the first stages of planning and choosing your curriculum.

Planning Your Homeschool

I usually start my curriculum search on-line. 

Window shopping on-line is a great starting point to your search without adding the clutter of magazines to your desk or counter tops.

While you are on-line, look up some homeschool bloggers who share the resources they are using or have tried.
This is a great way to find homeschool curriculum companies too as they often work closely with homeschool bloggers.  With the help help of bloggers, curriculum publishers can promote their products as well as educate us on how to effectively use their curriculum.

Need to know where to start to find amazing homeschool bloggers?

Check out iHomeschool Network, they have a team of wonderful homeschool moms who often do reviews and share how they use their curriculum.  As well, you will find many of them offer free or low cost printables which may be all you need for certain subjects.

Once you short list a few curriculum companies, publishers, or educational toy suppliers, you can then seek them out and ask for their catalogues.  Most curriculum publishers also offer sample lessons or assessments which is a great way to see if it is a fit for your child.

If you need to know where or how to request homeschool catalogues, check out this post by Jimmie Lanley  Where to Request Homeshool Catalogue. 

As much as I do search on-line, I love catalouges!

By the time I am done looking through my catalogues, they have sticky tabs everywhere, are highlighted, dog eared, and pen marked.

When I am in planning mode, my catalogues, sticky notes, pen and notepad go everywhere with me!

Get Your Hands On the Books and Materials

Homeschool Conventions are great for us to learn, expand our thoughts, to get encouragement, and also to meet up with friends; but they also have the Vendor Hall!

The first time I stepped across the hallway from the conference rooms to the vendor hall and walked through the doors I was overcome with excitement!

 I love books and games, not to mention all the music, art and science stuff!  I thought to myself — YES! This will be great!

I started out with a spring in my step eager to buy everything in one stop, however, I did become a bit overwhelmed.

Before I let that overwhelming feeling take too strong a hold of me, I zipped outside for a coffee break and began to focus on what our essentials were.

What curriculum did I need and what could I manage without. (Read: Choosing Homeschool Curriculum for more tips)

Yes, the vendor hall is great, you can get your essential supplies and books done in one fell swoop!

Another benefit of the vendor hall at a homeschool convention is you can hold the curriculum in your hands, and take some time to really look at it!

If you are debating between two Math programs or History for instance, the vendor hall is a great place to be.

You have the opportunity to speak with the publishers or representatives and you can look through their program.

Don’t forget other parents who use the curriculum are also there making their purchases.  Don’t be shy, ask if they have a minute to share why they like Math “XYZ”, ask how they use it in their home.

Often other Moms and Dads are willing to take a few moments to help out another homeschooler; after all, we have all been the ones standing there with 2 hands holding 2 different books wondering which one to go with.

Even after 8 1/2 years, I have times where I need to compare and contrast in order to figure out what will work best.  In fact, as I write this I am taking a break from looking through some different Science curriculum I borrowed from a friend and comparing it to what we are currently using.

Whether you are a new homeschooling parent or one who has been at it for a while, no matter what method you follow, we all have to plan our homeschool curriculum and books every year for each of our children.

We all have this in common.

What is your favourite way to plan and organize your homeschool curriculum?

Questions about curriculum are some of the most common, perhaps even running neck-and-neck with the ‘socialization’ question.

A vast array of amazing curriculum  exists to support you in this journey, no matter what method(s) you use or special needs you may need to address.

We have options!

In fact, it can sometimes feel like there are too many choices and you can feel overwhelmed.

Homeschool Curriculum

 (Remember the first homeschool convention you went to and the vendor hall? There is a lot!)

You don’t have to feel paralyzed when it comes to sorting through and choosing your curriculum.

Take Action

• Grab your pencil and notepad – Make a Pro/Con list

• Ask for sample lessons

• Ask fellow homeschool families what they use

Once you discover some of what is available to you and you start to browse and research, it can help if you keep these things in mind.

 Be Mindful of:

• Who is it for

• What is their learning style

• Will the curriculum support their learning style

• Will it span the ages of your children, or do you care if it does

• Will it help you achieve your end goal for your child(ren)

• Can you photocopy pages for use within your own family (check with publisher) “Homeschoolers Honor Copyright” (from iHomeschool Network)

• How will it fit into your schedule

• Can you easily adapt lessons for more than one child

• Is it available as a download

• Will it support your method of homeschooling  “8 Homeschooling Methods“

• Will this help fuel the love of learning within your children

• Do you even need a curriculum to educate your child that particular subject

Truth is, as homeschool parents we can have many different levels of feeling overwhelmed when it comes to choosing curriculum for our children.

We can feel both blessed and cursed by the sea of books available to choose from.  One of the most common questions I hear about curriculum is:

“What if it doesn’t work, what if I buy it and never really use it?”

And you know what?  We have all been there, and done that!

From those who unschool to those who follow a more aligned path (meaning very much like the curriculum of local schools) we have all bought something we thought would be great, which turned out to sit on the shelf.

We have all held onto those resources and tried it with all our children, some of us get to finally use it and some of us end up writing it off completely.

As much as we plan we also have to be ready for the detours and sideroads.  

A purchased curriculum which turns out not to be exactly what you needed doesn’t always have to be tossed aside.  Instead you can adapt the lessons or at minimum use them as a guide to help plan a study.  You can then head out to the library for books,  find some hands on activities, or search for some YouTube videos to support what you are teaching.  

Remember

• Break down your subjects and your goals for each child within that subject

• Get to know your child’s strengths and weaknesses

• Foster a love of learning

• Support your child’s curiosity, creativity and intelligence

• Have fun and be flexible

Homeschooling is not a contest, it is not a race and there are no “curriculum police“.

You are blessed with the freedom to choose, adapt and change if necessary.

Tip for Choosing Homeschool Curriculum

 Ok, your turn…

Share 1 tip about choosing curriculum to help encourage and support your fellow homeschooler!

The Live iHomeschool Studio event has past but the MP3 recordings are still available, click on this link: iHomeschool Studio MP3 Recordings, or on any photo to purchase.

iHomeschool Studio 2014 MP3’s

*Affiliate link

Ever wish you could pack up and escape to a Home School Conference?

Then reality hits and you realise this year it won’t happen for you.

It could be due to combined costs, let’s face it the fees can add up quickly!

• Travel

• Registration

• Hotel

• Meals

• Babysitting

This year is different!  

This year you CAN attend a 4 day educational event made just for Homeschooling Parents!

iHomeschool Network had pulled together some Amazing Homeschool Speakers, for people like you and me who can’t get out to a 4 day conference. iHomeschool Studio is an online webinar event which takes place February 11-14, 2014 and it is only $25!!

*This post contains affiliate links to this event

Not only can we listen in the comfort and of our homes but it is also very affordable!  When you register you will also be provided with the mp3 recordings, so you can go back to listen again and again.

Sessions range from organizing and frugal homeschooling to personality and learning styles. We will offer help with intense kids, high school students, and lazy kids. Although we cover academics like science, music, and geography, we also delve into matters of the heart as we help you instill a love of Christian missions in your children and build positive character traits all while maintaining the spark in your marriage. There is something for everyone! ~iHomeschool Studio

 

What’s Included in your Ticket Price?

• 24 live sessions 

• Audio recordings of all 24 sessions (MP3 format)

• Discounts, door prizes, give-aways from the sponsors and speakers

Don’t forget the convenience factor!

• You can watch/listen at your own pace.

• You can get the kids going on a project, make yourself a hot cup of coffee/tea, sit for a session or two and soak up all that encouragement.

• You can even fold the laundry while you are watching.  (Who am I kidding, we all know I won’t fold the laundry! )

• You can declare a p.j. day, kids can play games or do arts and crafts while you tune in.

I also love that the mp3 audio recordings of ALL 24 sessions are included in the ticket price.

Now we don’t have to worry about all our Mom taxi duties or grocery runs, just download and take all the encouraging iHomeschool Studio talks on the road!

Speakers:

 I am very excited to listen to these awesome speakers as I am not able to travel to the other homeschool conferences this year.

This online webinar is a perfect way for me to get a little “Professional Development” for our homeschool!

What are you waiting for?

Grab your tickets to the iHomeschool Studio and join me in the audience for some homeschool encouragement!

The holidays are fast approaching and with it comes excitement and anticipation.  No matter what faith or beliefs you hold close to your heart each of us have a few times a year where we are preparing for some type of holiday.

We celebrate Christmas, and I still get excited much like I did when I was a child.  Perhaps on some level even more.  As a Mom, there is something magical about handing down family traditions as well as creating our own.

Holidays and Homeschooling

Why Bother With Tradition?

Following tradition is nothing new.

We have been following tradition since the beginning of time; mankind and our beliefs are deeply rooted in tradition.  Stories handed down from one generation to the next, everything from our beliefs to family recipes. 

Having and following tradition speaks to our hearts, connects us to our rich history and builds up our relationship with one another.

There is nothing like sharing good food and great stories to bring a family closer.

Preparing for Holidays

I am a list maker!

Put a pencil in my hand, pass me a pad of paper and I can write “To Do Lists” like nobody’s business; everything from shopping to baking.

As handy as lists are, they will only be as good as the effort you put into them.  After I complete each list I make a note of my “most essentials” I require in order to pull off my bigger plans.

If I head out to do my grocery shopping without taking the time consult with my baking list, then chances are my trip to the grocery store will not be successful. I am bound to forget a crucial ingredient. (Yes, it is often the eggs, butter or milk.)

Prioritizing the essentials of our day and our holiday season is what helps me stay on track and not stress about little things like perfectly baked gingerbread cookies. 

We all have our favourite traditions, so taking the time to prepare and pinpoint your most treasured traditions will help you in the larger scheme of your holiday.

Homeschooling and Holidays

We are very lucky to enjoy the flexibility of homeschooling as we prepare for our family celebrations.

People will often ask me how many days  we take off and if we follow along with the schools in town?

My Answer is that we vary our off time from year to year.

Depending what method of homeschooling you follow, what your family traditions are, and the needs of your family will depend on how many days you take off.  Many homeschoolers I know take a year round approach to their studies which allow them to plan some more time off around special holidays.

Adjusting our Homeschool Schedule

December 1st is usually the start of us adjusting how we go about our homeschool studies.

We start changing up our routine and schedule to include extra crafts, more music, trips to donate items to the less fortunate, baking, reading Christmas themed stories and even Math by the fireplace.

Other things we take time to do include helping neighbours shovel snow, building snow forts and inviting other kids on the street to jump in to help out, as well as decorating our home.

The best part about all of this is we are teaching our kids things which cannot be found in textbooks.

We are carrying on and building upon our family traditions as well as celebrating our family, friends and neighbours – we are making connections!

These are skills and knowledge you cannot find in a curriculum, but will surely last them a lifetime!

Something For Everyone

This year I have also found some great studies to add to our adjusted homeschool routine for the holidays!

We love the Nutcracker and Christmas Carols!  Mary, from Homegrown Learners and SQUILT: Music Appreciation, has a wonderful Nutcracker Unit Study as well as Squilt Christmas Carols  for your music enthusiasts!

Christmas Carols – Music Study

The Nutcracker – A SQUILT Unit Study

What a great way to enjoy some of our Christmas favourites and learn at the same time!

I am also excited to share that Tricia, from Southern Hodgepodge, now has “A Simple Start in Christmas Chalk Pastels” available.  I share more information about these Chalk Pastel tutorials in “Think You Can’t Homeschool Art? Think Again!”.  Now we can continue on with learning more chalk pastel techniques while making some great Christmas art to hang! (Click on the book to see more details!)

 “Truth in the Tinsel”.  (Link listed below) is an e-book is full of crafts to celebrate the Christmas season; we also cannot wait to get started with this book!  In fact, I have planned ahead and have already purchased all my necessary supplies, my kids are so excited knowing they get to do a craft Everyday leading up to Christmas! I wrote more about it here: “Truth in the Tinsel and Homeschooling”

TRUTH in the TINSEL

Easy Printable Ornaments!

*

Need more ideas on how to Homeschool and prepare for the holidays?  I was a panelist on this iHomeschool Hangout, along with other homeschooling moms who shared some great holiday preparation tips!

We are so excited to get started with “Truth in the Tinsel, An Advent Experience for Little Hands” in just a few days!

Truth in the Tinsel

Last year was the first I had heard of “Truth in the Tinsel” Click here to visit Truth in the Tinsel. and it was already just a week before Christmas.

I decided to do some of the crafts and activities anyway, so I scrambled to get some of our craft supplies gathered the children around and made a few of the crafts.

We had fun, even my older kids got involved!

As homeschoolers we are lucky to be able to adjust our schedules and routines in order to fit our needs.

Every holiday season I do just that!

I make adjustments to our regular routine so we can truly enjoy every holiday, make new memories as well as follow some of our older traditions.

Come December 1st, I start to add in more Unit Studies and “Truth in the Tinsel” is a perfect fit for us!

Even as I write this, I have some of our supplies out beside me which my kids have noticed and now they are ready and excited to get started!

My Tips to Get You Started

• Once you download your ebook, go straight to the Craft Supplies page to write out what you need, then head to the store to purchase it all in one go if you can.  Once you are home, organize the supplies into bins/boxes and small bags  you can zip closed for any of the smaller supplies.

• If you are feeling extra energetic on the organizing side of things you can even have a bin for each child and sort the supplies needed for the next day into each of their bins the night before.

• Don’t worry if you find out about this “late” just pick up and start with it like we did last year!

• If some of your children are too young to do the crafts, there are also some picture word clues and other downloads to print and use with your own Advent calendar.

• Many older children can still enjoy making crafts with their siblings.  They can make their own and elaborate on each craft or they can help out the younger kids with their projects.

• Most of all … Have Fun! Go with the flow and do what works for you and your family each season.

This is a wonderful resource for families either as a unit study like we do, or just as your way to count down until Christmas!

Want to save some time? Or just need something a littler easier?  Check out Truth in the Tinsel Printable Ornaments!

Easy Printable Ornaments!

To learn more about “Truth in the Tinsel” click on the link below and start up a new Family Tradition!

Click here to visit Truth in the Tinsel.

TRUTH in the TINSEL

Do you use “Truth in the Tinsel”?  I would love to hear your tips!!

When I make the above statement my kids scurry around the house to find their library cards, backpacks and rolling suitcases; then place them by the front door.

They will grab a snack…usually apples and bottles of water, quickly dress and remind me to make sure I have change for the parking meter!

They are on it…no dilly dally!

They LOVE going to the library!

We have been so busy lately that I put  our trips to the library on the back burner.  We went from going every 2 or 3 weeks to going every 2 or 3 months!

We lost our Homeschool Groove!

Library Day Keeps Us in Our Home School Groove!

I didn’t even realize I had fallen out of our routine!

Which means I was far too distracted by our busyness than by what our true schedule should be…Ooops!

Have you ever been so distracted and caught up in life that you put off important things?

How To Stay in Your Groove:

• Make a list of special things each of your kids like to do. (lego, art, games, outdoor play, etc.)

• Make a list of special things you like to do.

• Find some common ground between all of your lists.

• Where do you like to go? Sometimes you just need to get out of the house. (We love our Library time as well as going on Nature Hikes)

• Try to stay on track with the little things. i.e.  chores,

• Music can help motivate us, find some tunes and let the music move you.

• Plan a family adventure.

• Keep creativity at the forefront of what you do each day. (Don’t forget we can be creative in many different ways; it isn’t just art or music.)

• Check in with your kids and your spouse as much as you can. Maybe a weekly meeting is a good idea. Even young children can contribute…they know what made them smile and what fun things they learned.  Older kids can also start to take responsibility for how their days go and contribute their thoughts.

• Always keep your WHY a part of your daily check and balance, and don’t be worried if your Why changes.

• Have a schedule of some sort.  I find as my kids get older the more detailed my schedule needs to be.  This also offers them a bit of security and independence, since they know what is expected, they can learn to carry on to the next task as you do your chores or help your other kids.

I knew we were losing our groove when none of us were all that excited to do anything.  Asking the kids to do Math was echoed with moans and groans.  My kids like Math…they are really good at Math!

Time for ACTION 

When you start to hear the moans and groans, when our kids (or even ourselves) start to “self-block” with negative talk it isn’t time to drill the Math harder; it’s time to close the books and take action!

Pull out your list of what you all enjoy doing and get after it!

We got back to the Library this week!  I set aside the whole day just for that and 1 chore each.  When we got home the only thing they had to do was just enjoy looking through their books.

Today I had a small schedule of Math, French, and Spelling; 1 chore each and time with me,  where I promised them I would look through library books with them.

You know what? 

They did it!    All of it!

No fighting

No tears

No negative self-talk.

We all lose our groove every once in a while, I don’t think it is something we can avoid…but we can decide on the action we will take to get back into our groove again.

It’s your turn…I would really enjoy hearing how you get back your groove!

I used to be both a night owl and a morning person, it was great!  It also baffled everyone around me how I could be just as chipper in the early mornings as I could be later in the evenings.

For a long time I took my ability to be an “any kind of day person”  for granted!  I haven’t been embracing my mornings like I used to, I haven’t been mindful of what works for me.

I’m not sure when this happened? (nor will I dwell on when or why)

Life has a way of throwing so much at our feet from time to time which can easily distract us from the core and essence of who we are.  This isn’t to say that what is thrown our way is all bad either, some of it is good.

In fact, I can become more distracted by the beauty in my life sometimes more than the bad things.  Either way, it is a distraction.

This morning, however I woke up earlier than I have in a long time (very early) without having to set my alarm.

I was tired and could’ve gone right back to sleep had it not been for the nagging shooting pain going down my leg.  (Yes, I awoke to a pinched sciatic nerve.)  So, I got up and on with my day; thinking either way I will be tired so I may as well be up and at ’em.

It’s Your Day!

I stumbled to the kitchen in the dark of the morning, kids and dogs still deep in slumber, and make myself a cup of coffee.  I opened the curtains, it is still dark outside, so I turn on a small light in the corner and just sit.

  Just me

my hot coffee

my family all still snug as bugs

the quiet

the dimly lit room

the stillness and gift of a new day

Suddenly I was overcome with a realization >> I forgot how much I LOVE early mornings!

Why did I let it slip away from me?

The stillness and quietness has a way of helping me sort through all those stirring thoughts we can all have.  I gain so much clarity in the quiet of the morning!

I am so thankful for waking up early today, it reminded me not only of how important it is for me to be up to enjoy the early mornings, but it also reminded me that I can choose my outlook of the coming day.

Thinking back to those days when my co-workers and friends were amazed by my ability to be both a morning person just as much as I could be a night owl I realize it was my decision to be that way.

We can choose to be joyful, and to take on our day with a smile; whether it be in the morning, the evening, or anywhere in between.

Life can be hard enough without us getting in our own way and forgetting what works for us.

I am taking back my mornings!

What are doing to get back on track today?