Rethinking Your Educational Methods: Conversation

"He gives snow like wool; He scatters the frost like ashes."-Psalm 147:16

I battle it.  I am sure we all battle it, that traditional "right" way of educating our children.  But my heart tells me, that is not the only way.  

A few mornings ago, we woke up and there was frost on the ground.  It was so cold.  The temperature had fallen below freezing overnight, and so now the ground was frosty-white. It was a great homeschool opportunity.

I immediately called my kids attention to the frost on the ground.  My little guy was the one most interested, so we began talking about the frost on the ground.  I asked him questions like,  "Wonder what the temperature is?" and "Where did the frost come from?" and "Wonder how long it will take it to go away?"

We observed frost on the neighbor's ball in their yard.  We went outside to check the temperature on the outdoor thermometer. (It was 38 degrees at 8:17.)  My phone said it was 30 degrees, which was below freezing at the time.

We breathed out into the air and looked at our frosty breath.  That was a fun activity.  There was so much learning taking place, in a short amount of time, just because I started a conversation about the frost on the ground.

Conversation is a great way to teach your children.  You, as the parent, become a facilitator of learning.  The children are active participants.  It is not just you giving them new information, and them memorizing.  It is active learning.  Wheels are turning.  The information is being assimilated into what they already know.

Conversation is also a great way to assess children.  If they can answer questions through conversation, you can find out what they know, instead of giving a written test.  Conversation is a great tool in education.

As you go about your day to day activities, look for opportunities to have conversations with your children.  Ask questions about the weather.  What do they see outside today?  Do you hear the wind? Did you hear that bird (or those birds) tweeting?  What kind of birds do you see?  How many birds do you see?  You can cover many subject areas, such as math and science, in a short amount of time, and it can be easy and fun!

If you have a child with special needs, narrate your day.  Talk all the time about everything.  You could also add an American Sign Language component to your narration.

Even if the dialogue is one-sided at the moment, just start talking  It will awaken your children's senses to the world around them, and engage them in new learning experiences.

Many blessings as your learn new and creative ways to educate your children!

Beth

The Berenstain Bears Storybook Bible for Little Ones by Jan and Mike Berenstain

The Berenstain Bears Storybook Bible for Little Ones by Jan and Mike Berenstain is a cute little board book that contains stories from Genesis to the Resurrection of Jesus.

Stories included are:

"Creation" (Genesis 1)

"Noah Builds an Ark for God"(Genesis6)

"David Meets Goliath" (1 Samuel 17)…

"Daniel in the Lions’ Den" (Daniel 6)

"The Birth of Jesus" (Luke 1)

"The Good Neighbor" (Luke 10)

"Jesus in Jerusalem" (Matthew 20)

"He is Risen!" (Matthew 28)

Each story is 2-4 pages long, with about 2-7 sentences per page.  There aren’t human people in the stories, but bear people that act as the people in each story.

This is a really sweet book.  I liked it, and I recommend it to parents who want to teach their children Bible stories.  It is a very eye-catching board book. The stories are also really short, so if you wanted to tell them individually to toddlers you could, or you read them all to older children in one sitting, maybe as a bedtime story.

Many blessings to you as you teach your children,

Beth

To take a peek inside go to amazon.com or christianbook.com.

Disclaimer:  I received this book free from Book Look Bloggers in exchange for a review.  I was not required to give a favorable review.  The thoughts and opinions here are entirely my own.

Including American Sign Language in Your Homeschool

ASL stands for American Sign Language and is the predominant language used by the Deaf community.  It is also used by those who have hearing impairment and speech impairments/delays.  It is a considered a real language and holds many benefits for those who learn to use it.

In our house, we started learning ASL when my oldest child was 3.  Signing Time, a show that teaches children (and adults) American Sign Language through visuals, repetition, and song came on our local PBS station.  Eventually, I became so interested in ASL that I began purchasing their videos.  Now, they have online streaming, and we have been using Signing Time for over 7 years in our home.  My children know an estimated 500+ signs.  It is my goal to continue learning ASL because it could have lifelong benefits for them and the way they interact with others.

Why Teach American Sign Language

There are many reasons why it is beneficial for you to incorporate ASL into your homeschool, but here's just a few:

*It will help your children develop a second language.

Learning a second language will open a door of communication with a larger scope of people.  It would enable your children to communicate with those in the Deaf community, as well as possibly communicating with children with special needs such as autism.  (These children would also benefit greatly from learning ASL.)

*It will help them retain important information.

By adding the kinesthetic element, with the movement of hands, children will have that additional component of learning.  When kids are moving they are learning.

*It makes learning fun!

Most children love to learn signs.  And when learning is fun, they will internalize it and remember it.

*It helps them develop early literacy skills.

Through fingerspelling and sight word identification, children who learn ASL can increase their vocabularies and enhance their ability to read.

Ways to Incorporate ASL in Homeschool

There are many ways to include ASL in your homeschool, and it can be incorporated into almost any subject area.  All you have to do is to teach the sign for words included in the lessons.  Here are a few suggestions to get your started.

Bible-Sign key words in your Bible stories and scriptures your family might be memorizing.

Ex:  If your family is learning about the story of Moses, the baby in the basket, you could learn the sign for the words river, baby, water, sister, mother, etc.

Language Arts- As you read aloud to children, incorporate signs. 

Example:  My children like the story Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin.  Some repeating words you could sign in that book would be “yes, pumpkin, duck, nice, find, and no.” You can also use fingerspelling as part of your spelling curriculum. Teaching children the ASL alphabet will give them that added component which will help retain the spelling of a word.  They can see it and feel it.

Math-When teaching early counting skills, you can incorporate the ASL sign for the numbers 1-5. It would be much like using manipulatives because you are using your fingers. You can only do this with 1- 5 because the numbers beyond five won’t match the quantity you are counting. You can still continue to incorporate ASL with counting because it does add that additional element of learning.

Science- I think science is an especially fun subject where you can incorporate ASL signs.  You can use signs when you are teaching zoo animals, seasons, weather, and more!

To include American Sign Language across your curriculum, you, as the parent, are going to have to learn it yourself, which is a wonderful way to encourage more family time when you are learning something together.  I learned alongside my children, and it made it easier to use that form of communication in our home.

ASL can become something that flows naturally with your homeschool day.  You can even use it during household chores!!

There are many American Sign Language Resources you and your family can use as you incorporate ASL into your homeschool.  My favorite is of course Signing Time.  There are two series of videos, and they are working on a third, Signing Time Sentences to expand children’s knowledge of ASL.

 

If you have high school students, a good resource is signingonline.com.  They currently offer 4 courses, and your high schooler can get course credit for them.

Do you currently use American Sign Language in your home and what benefits have you seen?

*Note* I am not an expert in American Sign Language as it is not my first language.  I am still learning.  If any of the above information is incorrect, feel free to contact me.  Thank you.

Rethinking Worksheets as a Teaching Tool

Yesterday I tried to work on a worksheet with my little guy, just for fun, to give him some “work” to do.  He is almost 5, and can do lots of things already like write, spell his name, count, and he knows a lot of signs in ASL (American Sign Language). 

The objective of the worksheet was to color code the pictures based on the letter the picture began with.  For example, if the picture began with “w”, you colored the picture brown.  If it began with “d”, you colored it yellow.  If it began with “r”, you colored it orange.

For my son, this was confusing.  Watermelon was one of the pictures he was supposed to color brown.  I could sense what was going on in his mind.  A watermelon is pink and green.  A donut was one of the pictures you were supposed to color yellow.  Donuts definitely are not yellow.  They are brown, so we should be coloring that picture brown and not the watermelon.  A rainbow was one of the pictures he was supposed to color orange.  A rainbow isn’t orange.  It is red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple.  He knows that.  He has seen a lot of them in person because we lived in Hawaii for a few years.

He ended up not coloring the pictures.  We still went through all of them to identify beginning letter sounds, but he didn’t want to color the pictures.  I really didn’t blame him and didn’t make him do it.

It seemed like the point of this particular worksheet, which was to teach beginning letter sounds, was diminished by the instructions.  In the end, the main focus of the activity was whether or not the learner could follow instructions.

There are so many other ways that this skill could be taught to your homeschooler in a natural manner.  My son was already familiar with many of the pictures, because he had seen them in real life, learned about them in literature or movies, or learned how to sign the word in ASL.  Some of the word included other than the ones I have already mentioned were wagon, duck, rug, robot, door, and web.

Some simple ideas for learning beginning letter sounds with the above objects could include taking a ride in a wagon.  You could have a conversation with your child about the wagon, about the beginning letter and teach them the ASL sign, which looks like the letter all in a very short ride.  To continue with the letter w, you could observe and draw a spider web, most likely during the spring and summer.  (Later in the day, he was actually trying to teach his older sister how to draw a spider web.) This activity would overlap into science.  There are so many hands-on activities that you could do that would help your child connect with and retain beginning letter sounds better than a confusing worksheet.

Just a note, I am not completely against the use of worksheets.  It is fun sometimes to sit down and answer questions about what we know.  I like to take tests.  However, I don’t believe that worksheets should be used as a teaching tool.  The object is to help the child learn and retain this information, and that is best accomplished by helping them connect with the information.

I hope I have given you some simple ideas on how to teach your homeschooler using real world scenarios, and critical thinking about using worksheets as a teaching tool.

Many blessings to you and I hope you enjoy your journey!

Begin With the End in Mind

Begin with the end in mind. That’s something I keep thinking about. Being a parent is probably the most challenging thing I have ever done. I have these little people to shape and guide into the big people they are going to become. Where do I begin? At the end. Sounds strange, doesn’t it? But think for a moment. No artist randomly just begins painting. They first get a picture in their mind of what their completed work is supposed to look like. They know what they are creating.

Our Father God is the Great Creator. All life comes from Him. He told Jeremiah the prophet, “Before you were in the womb, I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart;”(Jeremiah 1:5) He also spoke through Jeremiah to the nation of Israel telling them in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you…” We should know the plans God has for our children and begin there.

We can ask ourselves several questions. What do I believe are God’s plans for my child(ren)? What natural talents and abilities do they have? What does God say about them? What does God say to do with them?

As homeschoolers, we have chosen to educate our children at home. Part of my reasoning for doing this is because I believe I am shaping the whole person, not just educating the mind. I have to include God’s plans and purpose for my child so I can get a clear picture of what I should be doing and stay focused on the masterpiece that with God's help, I am creating.

How do I determine the plans and purposes? I can pray. I can go to God and ask Him what I should be doing with my kids. I can pray for God to show me what natural gifting and abilities they have been given so I can help them cultivate and develop those gifts. I believe it is also important for me to be sensitive to them and keep my eyes wide open so I won’t miss something they might demonstrate interest in that will ultimately be a part of their beautiful picture. Most importantly, I must study the scriptures to find out exactly what God says that I must do and teach my children in order for them to be a success.

I know I am going to make mistakes. I already have. But I am constantly striving toward that goal of "training my children in the way they should go."(Proverbs 22:6) I believe that whatever they do, and whatever God has for them will ultimately glorify God and be an open door for them to share Jesus with their world.




(This post originally appeared at Growing Your Homeschool.)

Get to Know Jesus by Nancy I Sanders

He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."- Matthew 16:15-16

I love the heart of this author in proclaiming the Gospel message.  That is the thread that runs throughout the Get to Know series by author Nancy I Sanders.  I have written two other reviews of her books in the series including Get to Know Mary and Get to Know King David.  All of them end with Jesus.  He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.

It is not hard for me to write this book review, because Jesus is the greatest topic we can ever discuss.  Ms. Sanders has included a wealth of information in this pocket-sized book about Him.  There are maps, photos of artifacts, works of art pertaining to His life, and other photographs of places in Israel where Jesus would have traveled. Her sources for her written material (not the photos, maps, or artwork) mainly include the four Gospels, but she has done a lot of research and so there is material she has gleaned from other places as well.  She includes many definitions of Biblical terminology, information sourced from historians and early Church fathers, who lived shortly after Jesus and lots of other interesting and educational facts about the life of Christ. Some of the chapter titles include A Special Birth, The Teacher, Miracles, Preparing For Passover, and Unexpected News. Here is an interesting excerpt from a "Did You Know?" feature included in the text.

Did You Know?

Different people have done the math.  They've figured out how likely it would be for one person to fulfill every single prophecy about the Messiah.  The number has more zeros than one in a billion!  Many scholars agree this proves that Jesus is actually who he said he was...the Messiah, the Christ.

I learned new information while reading this book, gained a new perspective on some things, and read scriptures that I had not read before.  I especially liked the time that she spent talking about Him after His resurrection.  It is not something that is talked about a lot, and deserves further study.  It is what our belief in Him as Christians rests upon, that He was raised from the dead, and still lives today.

I recommend this book for any student of the Bible, young and old, who want to know more about Jesus.  This would be a great tool for churches to share with new young believers.  Homeschool families can also benefit from this book as part of their Bible study curriculum.  I am so glad it is now a part of our library!

Many blessings to you in your life with Him, whether just starting out, or you have been on this journey while!  And if you don't know Him already, check this post out to find out how you can start!

Much love in Him,

Beth

Disclaimer:  I received this book free from Book Look Bloggers in exchange for a review.  I was not required to give a favorable review.  The thoughts and opinions her are entirely my own.

To learn more about the author, Nancy I. Sanders, please visit her at her website nancyisanders.com.

To learn more about other books in the Get to Know series, visit www.zondervan.com.

Creating a Learning Environment for Young Children

There are many ways to ensure success when educating your child in your home. One of those ways is to create a learning environment. Children are like sponges, absorbing everything they come in contact with, so create a place that will help them learn naturally. Decide what you want them to learn and then plan accordingly.

When creating a learning environment you can do five things:

1.) Make sure there are materials accessible for learning.
Those materials might include books, blocks, videos, paper and crayons, markers, pencils etc. You might have to monitor use of some of the writing materials with young children lest you have colored walls! If finances are an issue check out the local library for books and go to yard sales to find new toys.

2.) Make everyday activities a learning experience.
When cooking breakfast you might have your child count with you as you crack open the eggs. One egg, two eggs, and so forth. Read the cereal box to your children pointing out letters and spelling some of the words. Buy paper plates with the alphabet on them. Get creative!


3.) As a parent, become an avid learner yourself.One thing we have done in my home is to learn American Sign Language together. I use the video series Signing Time with my children on a daily basis. I have gone on to take further sign language classes online to facilitate my own knowledge, and have even gotten my certification as a Signing Time Instructor. I am so thankful for Signing Time because the videos have been an invaluable resource for our family in developing communication and increasing speech.


4.) Play with your kids.When you as a parent interact with your child, you make connections with them, and that can facilitate your role as educator. I have often heard people say that they have to send their children to school because they will learn better from somebody else and that is just not true. God gave your children to you and told you to train them up (See Proverbs 22:6). You don’t send them to someone else to train them, so it is also possible for you be their teacher for educational purposes.



5.) ModelModel whatever you want your kids to imitate. One good example of something you can model for your children is reading. If you want them to develop a passion for reading, then you read too. Read in front of them. Read to them and with them, everyday.

This list is by no means all-inclusive. There are many more creative ideas you can come up with. I just wanted to encourage you today that you can create a successful learning environment in your home and daily lives. Remember to think of the needs of the whole child, spirit, soul, and body when you are planning. I believe you can become a confident educator of your children and have a successful school from home.

Using Picture Books to Teach Science and Other Subjects

For my post today, I thought I would share with you how you can use picture books to science and other subject areas.  I chose a few picture books that are currently on the shelf at my home.  Some of what I might share is obvious, but in other books, you might have to engage your child by using questions about the story to lead to learning in other areas.  What I really hope you take away from this are ideas about how to use picture books for activities other than just to teach your child to read.  Depending on the child, you could potentially use picture books as a supplement all the way up through middle school.  Let's get started!

 

Curious George in the Snow by Margaret & H.A. Rey: 

In this story, George and the man with the yellow hat are visiting a winter sports competition.  As usual, George and his curious ways leads to some interesting activities.  In this book, it is sledding down the hill on different contraptions, including a giant pizza pan!  From this story, you could develop a variety of science activities.  You and your child could investigate snow, or winter sports, or even how an inclined plane works.  Based on the age and ability of the child, you choose how technical you get.

God Gave Us You by Lisa Tawn Bergren

God Gave Us You is a sweet picture book about a conversation between a polar bear mama and cub.  This book could be used as part of your Bible lesson curriculum.  The story includes a repetition of the phrase, "God Gave Us You," with the polar bear mama teaching the cub that God was the reason she was part of their family.  That is really the message of the book.  But you could also use it to teach about life in the arctic.  There are many animals in the book including polar bears, seals, foxes, whales, penguins, and caribou.  The illustrations are beautiful and this book would be great if you wanted to study different biomes or climates and the wildlife that live there.

If You Give a Moose a Muffin by Laura Joffe Numeroff

Laura Joffe Numeroff has written a series of "If You Give" books and they are a great tool to teach reading.  But there are many other wonderful things hidden within the stories too.  If You Give a Moose a Muffin lends itself to teaching about baking, making homemade jam, gardening, sewing, and painting.  There are so many fun and creative activities you can create with this particular picture book.  I once used of her other books in the series, If You Give a Pig a Pancake, as a springboard for a writing activity.  I read the book to my sixth graders, then had them rewrite the story about something that was interesting to them.  They had to follow the "If You Give" format, and bring the story full circle, like the author does in the book.  That was probably the most fun writing assignment I worked on with my students ever.

 The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

The Snowy Day is a very simple story about a little boy going out in the snow to play, the adventures he finds and what happens to a snowball he brings home with him.  This story would be a great tool to teach about different types of matter and what happens when something changes from a solid to a liquid.  You might even perform a science experiment with this book during the wintertime if you live in a snowy area.



There are so many fun ideas and activities and lessons you can draw from picture books.  It also works the other way around.  If you want to teach a certain subject area, google whatever your lesson is about and the term picture books.  This will work for many subject areas.  There are even picture books that will help children with mathematical concepts!

I hope this simple little post has sparked your imagination with different ways to include picture books in your lessons and make learning fun, yet simple for kids.  Blessings to you on your homeschool journey and happy reading!



~Beth

This post originally appeared at Growing Your Homeschool.

Homeschooler, You Are Different! It's a Good Thing!

Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.-2 Corinthians 10:12

We live in a culture of diversity.  Everything is different.  There are lots of choices when it comes to virtually just about everything.  No two people are alike, with the exception of identical twins.  Sometimes even they look different because of environment and other factors.  So, why should our expectations for homeschool be any different?

In the United States, there are a variety of school types to choose from preschool up through high school.  You have Montessori schools, Charter schools, Public schools, and Private schools, the latter of the two of which I am going to discuss.

I have worked in both private and public school.  There were extremely different.    In the public school, students were allowed to wear clothing of their choice.  In the private school, students wore a uniform, except on special days.  In the private school, classes were smaller, giving the teacher a little more control and freedom.   Public school classrooms are often filled to maximum capacity.  Public school students attend school for free.  Private school students pay tuition to attend school, giving everyone involved a little higher standard of accountability.

Within both school settings you had teachers teaching different grades.  Those teachers had different backgrounds.  They went to different colleges.  They came from different cities.  They had different life experiences.  They had been teaching for different amounts of time.

When I student taught, I taught 7th grade and 3rd for my final practicum.  There were three 3rd grade teachers.  I was only supervised by one, but I got to go in all three classrooms.  Each one was different.  They had different personalities and different things they liked.  Each of their students was different-different life experiences, different interests, and different abilities.

So, why I am telling you all of this?  As a homeschooling parent, you will be different than the homeschool mom you like on facebook.  You don’t have the same qualities, intent, or purpose as her.  Your children and your family do not have the same personalities, likes or dislikes, and purpose for your life as theirs.  You might be tempted to compare yourself to her and other homeschooling moms along the way.  This is not helpful to you.  The Bible has something to say about comparing ourselves to others and about thinking of ourselves in the correct way. God’s purpose for you, your child, and your family, is not the same as my purpose, or my child, or the purpose for my family.  So, why should our educational focus and goals be the same?

Let’s look at one family in the Bible.  In the book of Genesis, we read the story of Joseph. He and his brothers were shepherds.  But it seems as though Joseph developed some other skills along the way.  We know that God gave him the ability to interpret dreams.  He also seemed to have wisdom and leadership skills either given to him by God, or developed in him by his life with his family.  Later on, after he was sold into slavery in Egypt, those abilities proved to help him.  The skills he possessed eventually propelled him to the position of Prime Minister of Egypt, thus enabling him to keep the Hebrew nation alive by saving them from famine. (See Genesis 37-50.)  God has a purpose for every person and family.  You and your family are no different.

So, when you feel tempted to compare yourself to another homeschooling family, remind yourself of the differences in the current educational system. Remind yourself that just like those differences, there are no two homeschools alike.  And most importantly remind yourself that God has a plan for you and your family that is significant to only you.

Many blessings to you on your homeschool journey wherever it may take you!

~Beth

(This post was originally published at Upside Down Homeschooling)

Writing Poetry with Kids on Valentine's Day

February is a great month to study poetry with your kids.  It is generally the month associated with love because of Valentine's Day, and a lot of poetry is all about LOVE.  One book I can recommend to use is It's Valentine's Day by Jack Prelutsky. Inside you will find fourteen different poems all pertaining to Valentine's Day.  My favorite is "I Love You More Than Applesauce."  It goes:

I love you more than applesauce, 

than peaches and a plum,

than chocolate hearts and cherry tarts

and berry bubblegum.

I love you more than lemonade

and seven-layer cakes,

than lollipops and candy drops 

and thick vanilla shakes.

I love you more than marzipan, 

than marmalade on toast,

oh I love the pies of an size, 

but I love you the most.

-Jack Prelutsky

This is a great poem to take and develop into a creative writing activity for your kids. Read the poem with your children and then tell them to rewrite the poem, changing the words to things they love.  Maybe they could create valentine's and use the poem as their message for a special person.  One year on Valentine's Day, I took this poem, rewrote it, and gave it to my husband as a gift.  I don't remember exactly how it went, but maybe something like this:

I love you more than Hershey's kisses,

than Rocky Road, or strawberry ice cream,

than chocolate thin mint cookies and peppermint shakes

and peanut butter fudge.

I love you more than Arnold Palmer's

and California Rolls,

than SPAM musubi, and malasadas

and blueberry pancakes.

I love you more than reading fiction,

than going to the movies,

oh I love all these things,

but I love you the most.

The poem in the book rhymed, and mine didn't, but you get the general idea. (This is a good opportunity to explain also that poetry doesn't always have to rhyme.  It will take less pressure off the activity if their poems don't have to rhyme.)   This activity is a fun way to get kid's writing and learning about poetry.  Have them follow the outline of the poem and share some details about themselves and they will have a lot of fun.  If you make writing fun, kids will enjoy it, and see that they have the ability to put pen to paper and be creative.

I hope you and your family enjoy this little writing activity!  Happy Valentine's Day!

~Beth

"So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other.  Just as I have loved you, you should love each other."

~John 13:34

Homeschool Mom's Bible

 

"Have you been weighing the pros and cons of homeschooling and trying to decide what to do this year for your children's education?  Although the idea of schooling your children at home seems like a daunting task, you can successfully teach them.  Planning schedules, purchasing curriculum and making lesson plans may sound foreign to you right now, but God will help you if you will simply pray and ask for his leading.  Not only will he send the encouragement and support you need from homeschooling families, he'll also show you where to get ideas, resources and supplies you need to complete the task."

-excerpt from August 12th, "Mission Impossible"

 

 

 

Homeschooling is challenging.  God has entrusted the homeschooling mom with a great job, educating her children.  As a homeschooling mom myself, I need encouragement to persevere.  The best place to look for that is in the Bible.

 

The NIV Homeschool Mom's Bible is a Bible that has devotionals based on God's Word and is applicable to homeschooling situations.  Each devotion is penned by veteran homeschool mom Janet Tatman, who spent 25 years homeschooling four children.  In her devotions in the Homeschool Mom's Bible, she shares lessons and wisdom gleaned from God's Word.

 

When I received this Bible for review, I wanted to spend some time in the daily devotionals and not just rush right through it before I wrote about it.  I enjoyed each day's devotionals and the stories Janet shared.  In my opinion, she has walked out the scripture of what it means to "train your children in the Lord."

 

I liked the Bible.  Janet has lots of good things to say to homeschooling moms.  It would have been nice though, for a project of this magnitude to include devotionals from other homeschooling moms. Every homeschoolers experience is different, so it would have been better to get a variety of perspectives and thoughts.  The Bible and what God has to say about life does not change, but His plans might look differently for you than it would for me.

 

The Bible does also need a concordance.  That is kind of a must for me when I use my Bible.  I do however use this Bible as my regular reading Bible now.

 

I would recommend this Homeschool Mom's Bible to any mom who would like more wisdom from God's Word in her journey as a homeschool mom.  The devotions within will help deepen your convictions about what you feel is a calling in your life, to homeschool your children.

 

Many blessings to you on your journey,

 

Beth



 

 

*Disclosure Statement:  I received this Bible free from Booksneeze as part of a free books for bloggers program.  I was not required to give a favorable review.  The thoughts and opinions here are entirely my own. 

 



Writing with Your Children at Christmas

I don't know about everybody else, but I am tired.  I imagine a lot of homeschoolers are tired at this time of the year and ready for a little break.  Christmas is a wonderful time to slow down and try to make things more fun at home (if we are not already!) 

Writing with your children can be extra fun at this time of the year.  It doesn't have to be structured, or even graded...you just need a little writing prompt to start.  It is a good time to practice.

As I was preparing for writing this post, I did a little brainstorming of my own.  One thing that came to mind was that movie, A Christmas Story. In the movie, Ralphie is asked to write a "theme" about what he wants for Christmas.  This could be a starting point for your little ones too.

To practice writing this month, you and your children could brainstorm a list of ideas or "writing prompts" and write about a new one everyday.  When they are finished, put all the writing together and make a little book.  At the end of the year, you will have a writing sample, something to demonstrate progress from year to year, and maybe a little keepsake.

Ideas for writing prompts:

What I Want For Christmas

Why Christmas is Special to Me

My Favorite Christmas Movie

My Favorite Bible Verse at Christmas

What I Want to Bake with My Mom at Christmas


Before you even get started, you might create a book, so that each day's writing can just be recorded in the book.  One fun idea that comes to mind is to cut out a construction paper Christmas tree.  Cut the front and back of the book out of green construction paper and fill the pages in between with regular writing paper shaped like trees.  It is your child's project.  Let them make it their own.

If you need help with writing prompts, just google "Christmas writing prompts."  Another option for writing ideas is to read Christmas stories and have your child write a response to their favorites.  There are so many things you can do with writing at Christmas.


Many blessings to you and Merry Christmas!

~Beth

"And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”-Luke 1:31-33

It Takes Time

"There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:"-Ecclesiastes 3:1

We just began our  3rd year homeschooling.  I know so much more now than I did when I started.  One thing I have learned is that it takes time.  It takes time for so many things.  It takes time to decide that homeschooling is right for you.  It takes time to develop confidence in yourself that you can homeschool your children.  It takes time to figure out what works best for your children AND for your family.  It takes time to see progress in your children's work.

When I first set out on this path of homeschooling, I had already had in my mind for some time that I wanted to homeschool.  However, I still needed that extra push.  I got it in the form of a friend and a family member who already were homeschooling their kids.  They had both been homeschooling for a while and encouraged me that I could do it too.  If it weren't for their confidence in me, I might not have decided that homeschooling was the right thing for us.  Homeschooling is slowly becoming more of a norm, or maybe it is just the circles I am running in now.  But the general mindset in the United States is that public or private school is best.  I am not against either.  But at the moment, homeschooling is best for our family.  It took time for me to be comfortable about that.

It takes time to develop confidence in yourself that you can homeschool your children.  I have a degree in Education.  I went to school to be a teacher.  But homeschooling is a different ballgame than being a public school teacher.  There you only have to answer to your employer, your class, and their parents.  As a homeschooler, you generally feel, although it is definitely not true, that you must answer to the whole of society.  And that can cause your self-confidence to diminish.  It has taken two years for me to feel like I can really do this.  At the end of last year, I had to write my first progress report letter to submit to the school where my son would attend, if he attended school.  It is one of the state laws where we live.  Writing that was overwhelming.  It helped me see where I had fallen short.  But it also demonstrated a lot of progress on behalf of my son's work, and I was so glad. 

It takes time to figure out what works best for your children.   We just finished first grade.  I have had to go back and forth a lot to figure out what works best for my son in the area of math and handwriting.  Those are two areas he needs more help in, and I think that is partially because that is not my strong suit.  So, I have to step it up a notch and figure out what is the best way for him to learn and do in these areas, and how am I going to be the most productive in teaching him or helping him to do that.  I think every homeschool mom does this dance.  You try something-find out that it doesn't work- and then try something new.  You continue this process until you figure it out.  Until your child starts responding and then learning or producing takes place.  Then next year, you get to start over again.  You learn something new each year about how they learn and about how you teach, and you just keep building on that.  It is a process.

Finally, it takes time to see progress in your children's work.  One of our goals in math this past year for my son was to be able to count to 100.  We were well into our school year and had not even gotten close to that goal.  Then, all of a sudden, one day he was counting to 30.  Then the next day, it seemed like 40.  Now he can count to 60, and we are working towards 70.  Now, some might be thinking, "Well, you didn't reach your goal."  So what!  We made progress, which means....HE IS LEARNING!  Wahoo!  That is awesome, to see your child learn, to see them make progress.  It is a beautiful thing that blesses this mommy's heart.  (At the time that I originally wrote this post, he had not achieved this goal.  He since has made it to 100 during the 2nd week of school.  Yay!)

Be kind to yourself mom.  You will go through so many changes as you homeschool.  Your kids are not the only one who will be learning.  It takes time.

Painting With Crayons

"He has filled them with skill to do every sort of work done by an engraver or by a designer or by an embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, or by a weaver—by any sort of workman or skilled designer."

Exodus 35:35

I found this activity as I was researching other homeschooling blogs looking for fine motor and sensory table activities. (I wish I could remember which blog or find it.  I would share the link and give that mom credit!)   I wanted to share what we did in our house and how our experience with painting with crayons turned out!  It is a fairly simple activity which provides so much for your preschooler or special needs child that would enjoy additional textures on paintings.

What you need:

a stove

crayons

Q-tips

cupcake/muffin tin

cupcake liners

construction paper

What you do:

*First, you need to collect any broken crayons you might have and peel the paper off.  If you want to use new crayons, just break them into pieces and peel the paper off.  Please know that peeling the paper off is very time consuming, so don't wait until right before you start the activity to do the peeling.  (Like I did.)  Or you might have to postpone it until another time....

*Second, you fill the cupcake/muffin tin with the liners. Then add the broken up crayons. I divided each color into their own separate try. You might add some different colors together for creating a fun swirly color. It is going to be fun and swirly anyway, but it still would be neat to try.

*For the next part, you can choose how you want to complete this step. You need to heat the crayons so they completely melt. You can turn a burner on the top of the stove. I would recommend using the back burner. Or, you can heat them in the oven. The oven will heat them all at once. Once they were heated, I took the liners with the melted crayon out, and put them on a paper plate. I rotated colors back and forth between the table and reheating to keep the project going. 

*After the crayons are melted, you can paint! We chose a variety of colors of construction paper. I think the black turned out the best. I tried to have the children use a different q-tip for each color they chose to paint with. That way there was not too much mixing of the colors.

When the paint dries, it provides a really neat texture.  It goes back to a broken up crayon texture, but still looks like paint.  My children really enjoyed it!  I hope yours will too!

 Next step:  Display!!!!