We are living in a time where STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) education is gaining in popularity.

Many exciting and innovative career choices will centre around STEM subject areas which, as homeschoolers, we have an opportunity to provide our children with in a more real life way.

I am excited to share a new user friendly CAD (Computer Aided Design) program that we can teach our kids!

Effective How To STEM Projects

Learn Onshape is a company dedicated to teaching online 3D design projects to anyone interested with a special interest in also helping families and kids learn this real life program application!

It is one thing to learn STEM projects, but as homeschoolers we understand the amazing and magical growth which can happen when we teach from real life experiences; and Learn Onshape knows this too!

Learn Onshape has released the first in many videos on “How to Set Up Your Free Onshape Account” which you will need in order to learn and complete the exciting project he has lined up for us very soon!

Or download this Getting Started pdf to help you set up your Free Onshape Account.

To stay informed of all the inspiring content Learn Onshape will be offering, you will definitely want to sign up for their newsletter!

Pop over and do that now:  https://www.LearnOnshape.com/Sign-Up

Here’s a sneak peak of the first project!

What kind of 3D designs do your kids want to build?

Feeling excited and at peace with your decision, you start to gather resources, plan field trips and set up your home to be a haven where children fall in love with learning.
Even your children are excited! They start to dig into their History lessons, craft projects, and even fill their spare moments with exploring, self-directed learning, and fun, imaginative play.

Then “that day” comes!

That day where hour upon hour nothing seems to go right…nothing! Not only that, you can see it snowballing to the point where you know it is going to take you off track.
Those challenging days, whether they be a few in a row, or scattered throughout a semester, are heavy.
If we don’t have a great support system in place, that heavy feeling can open the door for doubt, fear and worry to take a firm grip of our hearts and minds.

Homeschool Fear, Worry and Doubt

The Truth You Need to Know

Truth is, you are brave and resilient enough to deal with these days!

You proved that the day you decided to go against the grain and homeschool. You also proved that during those seemingly normal and regular days of parenting! Parenting is hard work, but also abundantly rewarding!

The other truth is that if you are feeling a little short on resilience, you can decide to take the steps to find it. Homeschooling does afford you some flexibility to change things up, so take advantage of that when you are feeling weary. Dedicate some time for you to find your groove again!

“…decide…whether or not the goal is worth the risks involved. If it is, stop worrying…” ~Amelia Earhart

Prayer and Meditation

Never dismiss the power of grace!

God is so good that He gives us grace in the simplest of things if we are willing to see and accept it. We just need to be still long enough to recognize it. So, make quiet time, even if it is just a few minutes scattered through your day, a priority.

It has been proven, through MRI, that prayer and meditation actually has an affect on the grey matter of our brains. (Check out this article “Eight Weeks to a Better Brain”.)

Being still and quiet can be a challenge, and something we should work on in this age of busyness. If we tend to ‘pray on the run’, while that is fine, we also run the risk of missing all the extra little gifts of grace God is bestowing upon us and our families as we rush about the day.

We need to invest in ourselves and set aside some time everyday to meditate or pray.

When we are feeling stifled by the fear, worry and doubt it is a cue to slow down and recall why we are on this homeschool journey and to also know we are not alone. It might be time to reach out to those who can help build you back up again.  HSLDA has a link for support groups in your area, so reach out and make a connection.

No matter how brave or strong any of us are, we all have a time when we need encouragement.

Even those who lead your support group, or the ones who are your cheerleaders…we all have days where we need a boost from time to time. To know others have walked this path, to share stories of success, trials and even stories of our seemingly bland – boring days; it all goes a long way to encourage other homeschooling parents.

Especially on those days where our legs are shaky!

Be Gracious – Be Courteous – Be Genuine – Be Humble – Be Kind – Be Brave

Let’s build each other up and kick fear, worry and doubt to the curb!

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!

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!

Ever feel like you have just got this homeschooling thing on a roll and then all of a sudden it is time to change things up again?

You have finally found your rhythm and groove with your toddlers, 1st grade, 3rd grade, 5th grade, and 8th grade kiddos; then spring comes, homeschool conferences start up and you realize something.  

It suddenly hits you that you are a mom/dad to kids who will be entering the Middle School and/or High School years!

Whoa! How did that happen?  

You also find all your friends and family are throwing a whole new set of questions at you.

Homeschooling Middle School and High School

Questions like:  “How will you homeschool high school…especially Math and Science”?

My basic answer:  One lesson at a time!

How do any of us teach anything?

We do our homework and then we make a plan.

Yes, high school can be more complex, but we live in a time where we have more information at our finger tips than ever before!

We are able to be in the comfort of our own homes and use the internet to research v.s. the going to the library and looking books up in the old card catalogue system. (Remember that?)

As well, we are able to make some amazing connections with others via social media and on-line community forums.

Curriculum companies know this too!

I often see them offering webinars, on-line co-op classes as well as keeping in touch with and encouraging homeschoolers via social media channels like Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook and Google+. 

We don’t need to be the experts to teach a subject, we just need to know how to find the experts. 

My Plan

• Lay the foundation to help my kids become independent learners

• Research different curriculum along side of my children; find something we both feel confident in

• Look for on-line classes, co-ops, webinars, and possibly tutors to fill any gaps and to assist us

• Be involved with other homeschoolers, both in real life and on-line

• Form study groups

• Explore the multitude of free on-line academies like Khan Academy, Coursera, Google Science Fair, Discovery Education, etc.

• Always be willing to ask for help

• Take the time to recall why you started homeschooling in the first place (See my reasons: 23 Reasons Why We Homeschool)

• Be brave enough to continue the journey

We are very lucky to have friends who are engineers – mechanical – civil and aeronautical, some who are lab technicians, medical doctors/nurses; as well as highly trained, talented and successful musicians, artists, writers and dancers.

Everyone has someone in their life who can be a helpful resource when exploring new subjects and projects.

Reach out to them and add a dose of some real life, hands on learning to your day!

As for being brave enough?  Sometimes we can let fear sneak in when we are faced with the next new step.  

Rather than letting that happen to you, stop and take a look at where you have been, then look at where you can go!

Where can your homeschool story end up?

Picture it, write it down then go back and start to make your plan for the highschool years.

I bet you will find the next few chapters really aren’t that scary at all; in fact, I bet they will be full of excitement!

My plan is far from complete, it is just a start.

What are some of your ideas and goals as you plan to take on the high school years?

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!

Critical Thinking in Our Homeschool

Critical Thinking is an essential part of learning.  In order for us to be resilient and successful in life we need to be able to gather facts, process through them, know if we require any more information or help, and then make a decision to move forward.

Learning how to “Think it Through” helps us in all areas of life:

• Academics

• Relationships

• Business

Not to mention all the other little bits of life which happen in between the above three areas.  It is because of this I try my best to implement as much Critical Learning into our day as possible.  Although you do want to be careful not to overdo it, sometimes it is worth disguising it into the natural rhythm of your day v.s. always trying to make  a point of  “thinking it through” with your children.

This is a big topic, so I am going to give you a basic peek into what critical thinking is as well as how go about teaching it everyday in our home.

Critical Thinking…What is It?

Critical thinking is a way of deciding whether a claim is true, partially true, or false. Critical Thinking is a process that leads to skills that can be learned, mastered and used. Critical Thinking is a tool by which one can come about reasoned conclusions based on a reasoned process. This process incorporates passion and creativity, but guides it with discipline, practicality and common sense. It can be traced in the West to ancient Greece with its Socratic method and in the East to ancient India with the Buddhist kalama sutta and abhidharma literature. Critical thinking is an important component of education, politics, business, and science.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_thinking

When we learn critical thinking, we are learning to think about things more skillfully as well as always reaching for a higher quality of thought.  Once we develop our own questions to dig deeper into a subject we can then develop and support our own conclusions.

How I Teach Critical Thinking

I ask my kids lots of questions, good process questions; some of these are in very obvious ways and sometimes it is as natural as a basic conversation.

If you are new to this concept of teaching/parenting you will have to make a conscious effort to implement some of these process questions.  After a while you will find it will start to flow as a natural teaching method.

What are Process Questions?

Process questions are questions you can ask which will:

• Focus Attention

• Force Comparison

• Seek Clarification

• Invite Further Inquiry

• Seek Reason or Explanation

Now that you see what process questions are think of the academic subjects we learn/teach.

1.  All subjects and conversations we have require us to also know how to give focused attention.

2. What subjects do you think require us to compare data? How can we then clarify that data?

3. Can you dig deeper into said data and come up with some more questions about it?

4. Now that you have dug deeper and thought about more questions and answers, what conclusion have you come to?

Breaking Critical Thinking Down in our Homeschool

You can use critical thinking in every subject area, here are some examples of questions I ask my kids while teaching certain subjects.

Math:

• Do you notice a pattern here? (Focus)

• When have you used addition other than in your Math book? (Further Inquiry and Real Life application)

• Tell me how you did that? (Seek Reason/Explanation)

Spelling:

• What other words do you know which have a “tion” ending (Further Inquiry)

• What does that ‘e’ do at the end of the word? (Seek Clarification)

• Do you notice there are letters you cannot hear when you say this word? (Focus)

Science:

• How can we find out the mass? (Further Inquiry)

• How is _____different/same as _______ (Comparison)

• What is your evidence? (Seek Reason/Explanation)

Reading Comprehension/Family Read-a-Louds

• Look at this picture, what do you think the story is about? (Focus)

• What do you think “Johnny” will do to help his friend? (Further Inquiry)

• Why do you think that? (Seek Reason/Explanation)

As you can see with some of the process questions I ask, you really can include elements of critical thinking in all that you do, don’t forget to incorporate it into your Art and Music study as well.  In fact, we often ask these types of questions in the conversations we are having with each other and don’t always recognize it as a lesson in critical thinking.

What Else Can You Use?

Every once in a while the kids and I pull out these “Mind Benders” books from Critical Thinking Co.

We get out some scrap paper, pencil and eraser and get started on solving some of these mind benders.  They can be lots of fun, but also gives us as parents a chance to guide our children through a problem.

How to Teach Mind Benders:

1. Use process questions

2. Give your child time to think, don’t rush

3. Have them support their train of thought

4. Mistakes happen, ask more questions to get back on track

5. Have fun

Like anything new, the first time you try something it isn’t always going to work or go according to plan.  Give yourself and your children time to adapt to critical thinking exercises.

End on the Positive

I also like to end anything we tackle on a positive note.  Whenever you hit a wall, do not let yourselves stop there.  Turn it around and go over 1 item you know your child will be confident in.  If it is Math, go back and do an exercise they will get correct, let them execute that, end on the positive and then close the book.  You now know where your child will need further instruction  the next day, but both you and the child end at a spot of success!

I am always reading and learning about ways to develop good thinking skills, so this post is just and example of  How I Teach Critical Thinking based on the information I have learned so far in my journey.  We have had some great conversations and I always look forward to listening to my kids point of view on a subject.

So go ahead and start to ask more questions!

After all, when we ask someone a question it shows we have faith in them and that we respect them enough to listen!

This post is part of a “How I Teach”  link up at iHomeschool Network

Click on the picture below to find other “How I Teach” posts:

“How I Teach” – a link up with iHomeschoolNetwork.com

 Hint:  The answer does not include pulling out your hair or giving a lecture.

Many of us parents face this teeter-totter emotion from our children throughout the year.

Let’s face it, we ourselves have subjects we love to dive in and share with our children, and those we try to defer to the other parent.

While we can’t force our child to sit and apply themselves to a subject they may loathe; we can help lift them up out of the doom and gloom so they may see the dreaded subject in a different light.

Homeschooling the Least Favourite Subjects

Tips to Help your Child Learn a Subject They Don’t Like

•  Take a deep breath and step back from the situation a little.  Don’t let a battle start.

• Have one on one time where you can chat with your child to help them figure out why they might be avoiding math (for instance).

• Be willing to adapt.  Adapt the curriculum you are using, or in the case where you don’t use curriculum, perhaps be willing to get some samples and give them a try.

• Be willing to be creative.  How can you approach that subject from a different view-point? Baking for fractions, figuring out your car’s mileage for division, talk about gear ratios in your truck for ratios, etc.  Find something they enjoy and go about the subject from that angle.

• Get laughing.  Why not get a little creative and silly? Shake out those nerves

• Get your other kids busy – something they can collaborate on or be independent with and then find a spot where you and your other child can work on their least favourite subject.

• Reach out to other home school parents and ask what works for them, get some fresh ideas.

• Get downright real.  Sometimes when kids see how their Dad or Aunt use Math  everyday in their careers is enough to inspire them to try a little harder. 

• Be willing to be available.  Sometimes they just need Mom or Dad to sit beside them.

• Always,  Always,  Always end on a positive note!  If you push further into a lesson and you feel like you are heading into that all familiar tailspin; then it is time to go back and let your child execute a question where they will get the right answer.  Finish it there for the day and make note of where it started to fall apart.

As parents we are often part detective as we try to figure out our kids and the curriculum we may use or choose not to use.

So, although I did provide you with the above tips, know that these are things we do in our house which have worked for me.  They are not absolutes, take what you can and adapt my tips to help you conquer your  home school day.

One thing I do know for sure is  none of my kids are the same and the above tips come from a few years of me taking it one day at a time.  Each of my kids have their own learning styles unique to themselves and no matter how much they love a subject area, or not, they all have times where they just need me to be there for them.

Want more?  

Head over to watch my short  HSI Coffee Break  Video- Homeschooling Your Child’s Least Favourite Subject 

What tip is your favourite?

Your kids are no exception.

In this video I chat with you about what to do when your child excels in one subject area and wants to shy away from the one which presents a problem for them.

Go ahead, grab your coffee  and take 5 with me!

Homeschool Summer Reading

Summer time, time to:

• unwind

• relax

• be adventurous

• play

• dream

• discover

What better way to check off everything on the above list than to open up a great book!

We are often sitting outside reading our books, getting lost in adventures of the future, days gone past, antics of the animal world or silly stories just for fun.

No matter what book we choose to read, the 1 thing we love to do is gather around for our family read-a-loud time, and in the summer, we take it outdoors!

Family Outdoor Read-A-Loud Essentials

1. A great book (check out what is on our reading list).

2. A blanket to sit on.

3. Sunscreen, Hats, Bug Spray.

4. Pitcher of fresh water with lemon slices, or a homemade batch of Lemonade.

5. Snacks, my kids enjoy fruits slices and some homemade goodies.

6. Bubbles, or sand toys if you have a sandbox.  This allows kids to also keep busy as I read, if they really feel the need to move around

7. An easy supper on the menu. Something in the slowcooker or something you can have pre-made like cold salads etc. Then you can loose yourselves in the adventures of your book for the whole afternoon!

8. A great discussion! There is nothing we like better to than to sit and talk about the story we are reading.

9. Room to act out what was read.  Let the kids run around the yard to “play” out their interpretation of the story.

10. A clear agenda for Mom or Dad.  Don’t let your usual “to do list” nag at you…enjoy your reading time with your kids!

G.K. Chesterton Quote

Our Reading List at the moment:

(Could you help me out? At the bottom of this post I have a question for you!)

What is on your Reading List? 

Notice I don’t have a book for myself!

What would you recommend for my summer reading? (Moms need a good book too!)