The Monthly Chat

August, 2007

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Printable bits of wisdom, ideas, and reflections for your friends and
homeschool group, from the members of HomeschoolClassifieds.com
Opinions expressed are those of the individual authors.
©1997-2009 HomeschoolClassifieds.com, Knoxville, TN

Homeschool helps
Socialization and Homeschooling

''Georgie Porgie, pudding and pie...''

We've all heard the nursery rhyme about young school children who don't know how to ''socialize'' properly with one another. Those with opposing viewpoints often point to a lack of socialization as a problem with homeschoolers.

What is socialization? Webster defines the word socialize- ''to make social; adjust to or make fit for a cooperative group living; to adapt or conform to the common needs of a social group; to subject to government ownership and control...''

This type of socialization is precisely one of the reasons homeschoolers do not educate their children in goverment-run schools. Many homeschoolers reject the philosophy schools wish our children to adapt to.

Many who criticize the lack of socialization in homeschoolers, are actually refering to the fact that they are not interacting with peers. They believe that a lack of interaction with peers leads to a lack of socialization. They would better use the term, ''sociable,'' in this situation. To be sociable is to enjoy the company of others, to be friendly or agreeable. (Webster)

Being friendly and agreeable are character traits that are taught by parents. When was the last time you saw three- year olds teaching one another how to be agreeable? How about nine-year old girls being friendly to a newcomer?

Interacting with peers does not teach one how to be sociable. Parents teach children how to be sociable, and they learn by interacting with parents and siblings. The more they learn and practice within the home, the more they are ready for social settings outside of the home, not the other way around.

Teach your children these character traits at home, and then allow them to practice them in social settings outside of the home. The next time someone confronts you with the old question, ''How do your kids socialize if they don't go to school?'' - know how to answer them.

jcoulter

Lang arts: spelling/vocab
Should You Teach Spelling or Not?

Is that a trick question? We’re homeschoolers, we teach everything! One of the basics of a good education is the ability to spell most commonly used words plus a sampling of words pertinent to one’s specialized area of interest. Perhaps the question should be: Do we need to present spelling as a formal course of study?

Some students enjoy teasing out the letter patterns that make up the words. They also have the knack for building words from Greek and Latin roots. These budding linguists may benefit from structured spelling lessons.

Other students seem to learn to spell by absorbing words through their reading. These are the students who correctly spell words in their writing that they’ve never been taught. They learn spelling differently than our friends described in the paragraph above.

Requiring a student who absorbs spelling from reading to work through a formal spelling program may be a source of frustration for both parent and student. Requiring a student who delights in letter patterns to absorb spelling from their reading may also produce less than positive results. The important thing is to discover how your student learns and respond to his style rather than to what a curriculum scope and sequence may recommend.

I’m not suggesting that no one study spelling using a program. What I am suggesting is that by knowing how your student learns this particular skill may help make curriculum decisions easier, decrease stress in your school day, and help your student feel successful. Isn’t one of the major benefits of homeschooling the opportunity to teach the student rather than the curriculum?

If you have a budding linguist, get the best spelling curriculum you can find and go for it. If you have an “absorber”, provide challenging reading material for them so they can build their spelling knowledge. Knowing your student is the best indicator you have for determining whether you should teach spelling or not.

sallyc

Homeschool helps
Homeschooling with Toddlers

One of the biggest challenges homeschoolers face is when the baby in the family becomes the toddler. What was once an easy routine suddenly becomes a moment-by-moment battle for the older children’s attention and the toddler’s contentment.

Some friends and I sat around one evening and brain-stormed various techniques that might help the temporary situation of little brother wanting to be in the middle of the action and not quite ready to participate in school.

Timing:
Do the quiet-time work when toddlers are napping or eating. Or do read aloud in the bathroom with the toddler in the tub and the older children listening.

Busy Up:
Have the toddler sit in her highchair with playthings reserved just for school time. Good examples are finger paint, pudding paint or play dough. Yes, it can be messy but it will gain mom some minutes.

Have large zip-bags with special toys that are only brought out for school time. They’ll be novel each day because they are not available at other times.

Divide and Conquer:
Have the oldest children play with the youngest child while the others are finishing their school work. Have school in the evening when dad is available to lend a hand.

Include:
Include the toddlers by providing washable markers and paper for them to mimic older siblings doing seat work. Start off read aloud sessions with the toddler’s favorite book and when they trundle off to play with a toy, pick up the day’s read aloud for the older children.

Remember:
This season of homeschooling is temporary. I’ve heard that the toddler terrors do not last beyond six months, sometimes less if they learn to enjoy being included in the school day. On the days when you cannot possibly teach long division because they little guy needs to be held, remember that you still are teaching. Your olders are seeing how a family operates, each member getting what they need at the time they need it.

sallyc

Marriage & parenting
JUST a Mother?

One day as I was praying for my children, the Lord gave me this beautiful acronym for ''JUST'':

Jesus- Approved
Uniquely
Sanctioned & Specialized
Teacher

Aren't you glad you JUST a mother?

A few days later I found this beautiful poem. It really spoke to my heart as a homeschooler.

THE TEACHER

by: Leslie Pinckney Hill (1880-1960)

LORD, who am I to teach the way
To little children day by day,
So prone myself to go astray?

I teach them KNOWLEDGE, but I know
How faint they flicker and how low
The candles of my knowledge glow.

I teach them POWER to will and do,
But only now to learn anew
My own great weakness through and through.

I teach them LOVE for all mankind
And all God's creatures, but I find
My love comes lagging far behind.

Lord, if their guide I still must be,
Oh let the little children see
The teacher leaning hard on Thee.

smith8

Homeschool helps
Reading Aloud: A Homeschooler's Mightiest Tool

The single most influential book I’ve read on the subject of children and learning is not even about homeschooling. It is Jim Trelease’s Read Aloud Handbook. I picked up a copy of this book when my daughter was about two years old. I was intrigued by the idea that reading aloud could be so important. I was read to as a child and it was a natural step for me to begin reading to my child well before she was weaned.

The Read Aloud Handbook made some pretty lofty promises. Trelease claimed that if I would read to my child daily and make an effort to keep television limited that I would have a child who would want to read on her own, have a strong vocabulary, be interested in the world around her and be academically successful. I didn’t really believe in his claims to the letter but I thought there was probably some value in his message. So I chose to give it a try.

It was not easy answering my child’s request of, “Can I watch TV?” with, “No, but I’ll read you a book.” After a few weeks of this exchange she no longer asked for the TV but asked directly for the book instead. By the time she was three years old she had the attention span to sit and listen to E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web one chapter at a time.

It’s ten year later. Yes, every single thing Mr. Trelease claimed has indeed come to pass. Listening to me read aloud hour after hour, day after day, year after year did give my daughter the motivation to learn to read with very little effort. She has the strongest vocabulary of any young teenager I’ve ever met. She is interested in all areas of the world around her and has indeed been academically successful.

By homeschooling, I was afforded the maximum amount of time to read aloud. I would honestly say it has made the most impact of any choice I’ve ever made. In fact, I still read aloud. Though, we’ve come a long way from Charlotte’s Web to Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe. But the benefits still accrue.

sallyc

Organization/time management
Daily Assignment Organization

At our house, we have a folder for each day of the week. Any workbook pages that can be torn out are inserted in the correct daily folder. I also have a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that has each day of the week on it, with the subjects we study listed individually by day. I use this spreadsheet to list any pages to read or activities to do that are not easily placed in the folder. As my child completes each task, they cross it off. This helps me to make sure they have finished everything and they know exactly what is expected of them each day.

savingmoney

Other
Socialization: Survival Tips for Summer Camp

My younger son has been homeschooled all his life and is mature for his age. He has interests that are not typical (e.g. politics, history, politics....) and he doesn't know much about pop culture. At summer camp, he felt ostracized because he lacked the shared experience of traditional schooling and he didn’t know anything about current movies or music. He observed that some of the most popular kids were immature and he didn’t care to associate with them.

My older son -- a popular, social being who transitioned from homeschool to public school to boarding school -- advised his brother to:

(1) Act confidently. Posture matters. People are like dogs -- they sniff out insecurity. They hate their own insecurity so when they see it in someone else, they attack. To avoid this, exude confidence.

(2) Be nice to everyone -- even the popular kids you don't like. Try to find out something that’s important to them and compliment them on it. It’s hard for people to be mean to those who like them. Don’t be a sycophant, but be friendly and take an interest in everyone.

(3) Lighten up. Don't take yourself so seriously. Be able to laugh at yourself.

I thought this was good advice.

sandranc

Homeschool helps
May I Ask Why?

As a young mother I struggled with how to deal with a child asking, ''Why?'' Often the question can easily be translated, ''If you give me a good reason, then I will comply.'' On the other hand, what homeschooling mother wants to squelch her child's curiousity?

To be able to discern between our children's curious ''why'' and their stubborn ''why,'' we required the children to phrase their question this way...''May I ask why?'' If we answered, ''Yes,'' the child was free to ask. Sometimes we
answered ''No'' for the sole purpose of reinforcing the fact that this new phrase was actually a request, not a seemingly polite way of demanding why.

Parents should be free to make wise decisions about when and to what degree they give information to their children. We shouldn't be held captive by a demanding child.
Well-mannered children are a joy to live with and to teach!

casey

Homeschool helps
The School Store: A Reward System

Some students are highly motivated by small rewards. If a little trinket helps them get through several dreary grammar pages, I’m all for providing a little fun encouragement.

At our house we have the School Store. It’s a box of odds and ends that I purchase or collect throughout the summer and stash away until school begins. As we begin working on less exciting work, I offer points for completed work, good attitude, making me laugh, extra care on projects, etc. The first point level is 500, the second, 1000 and the all the remaining levels are 1500 points.

When 500 points are accumulated, they can be exchanged for one selection from the items in the school store. Once that first selection is made, the motivation increases because my student then knows exactly what’s in the box.

During the school year I add items especially if the selection is getting a bit low. I always include things that are of special interest but not always timely for holiday or birthday giving.

Families can determine exactly what to put in each child’s box as well as exactly how much (or little) money to expend on this project. We’ve had the school store for three years and every year there is no shortage of enthusiasm for earning points and making selections.

sallyc

Other
Using Paypal's USPS Shipping

If you can receive payments through paypal, the option they give to buy USPS postage online is a great time and money-saving way to get your homeschool books out easily and efficiently.

All you do is select the ''Print Shipping Label'' button next to the transaction you've just made (in your history table). All you need to determine the weight of your package is a small kitchen scale (for shipping most homeschool materials via media mail, you just need to know if it is under 1 pound, 2 pounds, 3 pounds, etc). Once you plug in all your details, you can print off a very professional looking label for your package. You even get delivery confirmation for just 19 cents (at the P.O. you pay 75 cents). That enables you to track the packages you send.

The best part is that you can schedule a pickup of your packages for free! No more heading off to the post office every time you have a package to send. The postman will come to your door, saving time and gas money! Give it a try!

ivegot8

Homeschool helps
How I Became a Homeschooler and How I am Blessed

I became a homeschool mom on the advice of my son's pediatrician. He felt that my son was ready to begin school, but because he was only four on September 1st, he was too young to enter school in Florida.

We had already considered homeschooling because we are adamantly opposed to the FCAT exam in Florida, and felt like the schools in our area were more focused on the exam itself than giving children the proper education they need. We are also opposed to the teaching of evolution and sex education in the schools.

I also lost my job after 17 years and was devastated. But this was God's divine intervention. We struggled at first but God has blessed us ever since we made the decision to homeschool.

Once we made the decision we knew it was the right one. This will be my eighth year teaching my son (k-6th) who will enter 7th grade. I have been so blessed because I have been able to bond with my son in a special way. We have been able to see what we do and don't have in common, and how to overcome our differences by sharing with each other. We are so close today and I enjoy all the time we get to spend with each other. He is truly my pride and joy.

gatormom

Art & music
Giving the Good Stuff a Home!

As a homeschooling mom of 4 children, ages 6 to 15, I have come to see the value of beginning while they're young to have good quality music on in the home or car. There will come a time when the poorer quality that many youth prefer today will invade their minds, and if the ''good stuff'' has already found a home there, the ''bad'' will be less likely to take up permanent lodging!

We are all affected by the things we see, hear, and participate in. Music, even subdued background music, affects our children in ways we can't always anticipate or predict. While we might one day regret playing the latest Top 40 hits, we'll never regret playing Beethoven, Bach, or Mozart. These have an edifying effect, and the rewards are reaped much later, like so many things we undertake. (And like so many of those things, exposure over time often induces more favorable responses than we might receive initially.)

I know from personal experience that it's never too early to begin anything of value and merit, including the sounds that shape our children. Let's strive to have not just the books they read and the shows they watch fill them with ''good stuff,'' but also let the tunes, lyrics, and melodies fill them with richness and appreciation for the good things of life.

teaches4

Bible & Spiritual growth
The Bible as an Ongoing Resource

I'm sure many of you already know this, and several curricula are based on this very concept, but for those who've not come to this realization yet -- you can enjoy a very rich learning experience focused on your Bible reading.

For instance, our family is currently setting aside some time to read through the Bible several nights a month. As we do so, I pull out maps that I've printed from various sources (a lovely free sample copy of Knowledge Quest maps is available at Homeschool e-store). We examine the routes taken by Abraham and Moses and discuss the names of the regions and bodies of water.

Last evening we studied a little geology as I found an image of a breastplate like the one crafted for Aaron and we identified each of the 12 gemstones used to represent the tribes of Israel. I am sure as we continue our journey more such learning opportunities will arise.

I have trouble following just one curriculum so I tend to create learning opportunities on the fly. If you are like me, don't be afraid to search the internet and use other resources to bring the Bible alive for your children.

momathwtk

Organization/time management
A Time Management Tool I Use

I work very hard in the summer to make my school year a success with time management.

I buy a planner with plenty of room for each day of the week and broken up with at least 5 different subject spaces for each day of the week. I then take each book my children use and divide the number of pages by the number of school days I will allot (I have, of course, already figured out all of my vacation days - including giving them all off for their birthday!).

Then, for each day and subject and book I write how many pages they need to read (from pg # to pg #), and write whether they have a corresponding test/quiz to take or study for, or questions from the text to answer, or a worksheet to do. I have learned, however, not to date the weeks until the week before, this allows all of us the freedom of not being ''locked'' into a schedule and feeling that we are behind.

I find this keeps us very organized throughout the year and alleviates the constant wondering ''how are we doing'' as far as progress throughout the year. I highly recommend it!

kpgal

Other
Trouble Learning to Read

My dear daughter enjoys school, but she often gets tired of reading. I don't want to push her; I want her to love reading, not despise it.

This summer, after an eye exam (not our regular eye doctor), we discovered why she would get frustrated while trying to read. The eye doctor said she probably had astigmatism and sees about 20/40. He recommended glasses.

I decided to take her to our regular family eye doctor, who is more extensive in his testing. His conclusion was that she can see about 20/25, which is normal for her stage of eye development. Her eyes have trouble staying focused, also normal and common at this age. This doctor showed us some eye exercises we can do with our daughter to strengthen her eyes and help them focus. He was upset that another eye doctor suggested glasses, since she clearly didn't have astigmatism.

I'm so glad I listened to my mommy-instinct and took her for the second opinion. I am also thankful I didn't push her to read, when it was frustrating to her.

saved1112

Lang arts: readers/literature
Readers are Leaders

One of the best things we can teach our children is the love of reading. Teaching them to read, and to love it, gives them the tool to learn anything they ever need to learn, and gives them the opportunity to ''escape'' into other countries, cultures, and lives. We can go anywhere in the world when we read! I've heard it said that ''readers are leaders'' and I really think this is true. Readers just naturally pick up more vocabulary, they learn how good writing sounds, and they learn more easily when they read enjoyable books. Begin reading to your children as babies, give them lots of books growing up, and get more ''real'' books instead of boring, dry textbooks when it comes time to teach history. I'll never forget the time when my son said, ''Mom, if every subject was reading, I'd be happy!'' I love having a large library of books, and have often teased my children about moving them out to make room for more books! Now that we are down to our last year of homeschooling, I'm finding it hard to give up our books. When we've sold curriculum we were finished with in the past, my children wouldn't let me sell it until they got to pick out the books they wanted to keep. So, I think I'll keep all my shelves of books - after all, it won't be long until there may be grandchildren coming along, and I'll need books to read to them!

navywife