A Warm Welcome to our Newest Subscribers!

Epi Kardia has a mailing list that goes literally around the world! Besides home schooling moms from Florida to Alaska, we also have readers from Canada, Australia, the Philippines, Germany, Nepal, China, New Zealand, Peru, Egypt and Puerto Rico!

Epi Kardia is honored and humbled by your support!  This has always been part business and part ministry, so as I said in my last post with our survey results, I want to make sure and respond to some of your direct questions and comments on the survey many of you so kindly completed.

Where is….?

I’m having trouble navigating your website./Your website is confusing.

• I’m sorry you are having trouble!  I have worked on the navigation  in order for it to flow a little better – if you are having trouble finding what you’re looking for, I suggest the following:

1. Go to the home page and REFRESH/RELOAD the page. (That applies to many pages – do it every time you come to a different page on the Epi Kardia site,  just to make sure you are not missing anything.)
2. Start with the Curriculum Overview page.  That page explains the different types of curricula and has links to more detailed descriptions with samples. Hopefully will clarify many of your questions.
3. If you have questions that you don’t see answered, please feel free to email me directly. (dana@epikardia.com)  I will always answer your questions.
   

Why don’t you have book lists on your web site?/Where are your book lists?/Why is there no kindergarten book list?

• We DO have book lists on our website.  You can find them on the left sidebar, under Books! From that first page you may navigate to book lists for our lesson plans and courses.
• We are adding the Kindergarten books as we speak.  Bear with me, those book links take a while to put up but I hope to have them all on soon.

Who is….?

Where can I find others who use your curriculum?/How about having a forum where I can talk to other Epi Kardia curriculum users?

• Good question!  We do put quotes on our website from real live people who use our curriculum, but at present we don’t have a forum of EK users.  (It is on our To Do list, but not at the top yet .)
• So would anyone like to volunteer to be a reference? If you wouldn’t mind answering an email question or two from someone who wants an opinion, please contact me at dana@epikardia.com.
• Alternatively, if you currently use Epi Kardia curriculum and you would like to answer a few online questions about it for others’ perusal, please go to a site such as www.choosyhomeschooler.com and write a quick review. I think you would have to create a user name and password on that site before you could write a review.
• We do have some home school moms who are going to be reviewing our curriculum in the next few months.  We will certainly let you know when they are published.

Please don’t wait for a survey if there is something you would like to ask, a broken link you would like to bring to my attention or just a comment you would like to make – I would love to hear from you (dana@epikardia.com).

Have a great weekend!

P.S. I just read a wonderful book about raising boys that I will reviewing next week!  Make a note to check back or join our list if you haven’t already done so!

I should have done this a long time ago!

A  from-the-bottom-of-my-heart thank you to those who took the time to take my survey!  After about a hundred responses, it is time to let you know a little about what you said you needed and wanted to read about on this blog.

But before I tell you that, it is obvious from many of your comments that a  number of you are in desperate need of a bit of  motivation and encouragement.

Let me give you some.

You are doing a very. hard. but. valuable. thing. in home schooling your children.

Home schooling is NOT easy, or painless, or without major self-sacrifice.

Please stop comparing yourself with other people who make it look easy.

You know who I’m talking about.

• The denim-jumpered ladies who grind their own wheat to make whole grain bread and make all their kids’ clothes.
• The ones you run into at Wal-Mart, wearing make-up, who have nine nicely dressed, perfectly quiet children walking in a line when yours don’t have clean underwear on because you haven’t been able to do laundry* and you have bribed them to behave with the promise of a treat later backed up by several nasty looks.
• The ones who not only have a neat colored-coded schedule for every day but who actually follow it for more than a day and a half.

*true story

And realize that the advice and coaching you get from this blog comes from what we have learned from doing things wrong as well as from doing things right.

I can tell you, though, that homeschooling has been a wonderful thing for my own spiritual growth as well as that of our children.  There is nothing like seeing yourself in your kids’ less than perfect behavior to give you a picture of what our Heavenly Father so often sees in us!  Ouch!

It has been an even more wonderful thing enjoying the fruit of God’s grace and our home schooling labors in seeing children who love the Lord and are working hard to walk in His footsteps.  Home schooling  is oh, so worth it.

I am also thankful for those of you who took the time to answer the last survey question about what you are struggling with the most. Some of you really poured your heart out, and I appreciated your candidness and your trust in me. I plan to address many of those issues in the weeks and months to follow.

Survey Results

Before I give you a peek at the results, let’s look at the basics of who replied (and I’m rounding):

• 12% of you have home schooled under a year

• 24% from one to three years

• 22%  from three to five years

• 42%  for over six years

I don’t know about you, but I am encouraged that so many of you have home schooled for that long, and I hope this blog will support your efforts and give you some practical tools to keep going!

First Things First

1.  Now the interesting and inspiring part of the survey. The single, most important thing to over half of you (51%) was to read about Christian parenting – how to disciple and mentor your children.  That is SUCH an encouragement to me, as this is what we are called to do, even before academics!  And if you have read this blog for a while you know that this is a topic close to my heart!  If you are new around here, you might be encouraged to read a few of these older posts that relate to Christian parenting:

• Six Tips to Start Second Semester begins with a personal inventory – the most important place to start before we ’start on’ our kids!
• Want to be Wise? is another post written from the perspective of getting yourself in the correct frame of mind first, beginning with prayer and listing specific scripture on my prayer list as I approached the second semester of this school year.
• Using Habits in Personal Training is listed under our Charlotte Mason posts, but it describes how children need to be taught, from the beginning (!), that they are not ‘their own,’ but live under a greater Authority – what a contrast from our current child-centered culture!
• Teaching Character through Poetry Part I and Part II are two of Beth’s posts with great ideas for  incorporating character training into poetry studies.
• Cultural Creeping warns that  we need to be constantly aware of how we and our children are bombarded by our culture’s non-Christian worldview and the need to combat it.

The Rest of the Very Important Stuff

2.  How to Teach Different Subjects (44%)

3.  Teaching High Schoolers (39%)

4.  Ideas for Lesson Plans (39%)

5. Charlotte Mason Methods (38%)

6. Teaching Middle Schoolers (33%)

What You Considered Important

1. Home Schooling Support and Encouragement (47%)

2. Description of Epi Kardia Curricula (46%)

3. Planning and organization (45%)

4. Hands on Learning (44%)

5. Ideas for Lesson Plans (39%)

Lesson Plan Ideas

Because so many of you considered lesson plan ideas important, before this post gets any longer I want to list some of our pertinent posts in one place for those of you who are newer readers:

• Writing a Book Review – Writing a book review for the purpose of encouraging someone else to read a well-loved book is a lot more interesting to write than the traditional report.
• Make a Middle Ages Dictionary! will give you detailed instructions and resources to make a book, taken from our middle school lesson plans, that can be adapted for younger or older students studying this or another time period/subject.
• Make a Lapbook! Identifies the benefits of using graphic organizers and includes photos and MANY ideas and resources for making mini-books and lapbooks.
• Picture Study – Ever wondered how to incorporate the study of great art into your homeschooling? Read about this painless way to do so!
• Picture Study for Older Students -A continuation of the post above, this article contains additional ideas appropriate for your older children.
• The Question Box – This creative, hands on idea can be used to review or to incite interest in studying all kinds of topics.  The lesson example given in on the Middle Ages and can be used with students of all ages.

OK, this is WAY longer than I intended!  But I do want to assure you that I will respond to your preferences  as I plan and write this blog.  And for those of you who asked me to answer particular questions, I will address those very soon.

Many Blessings, Sisters!

P.S.  THANK YOU for some of your very encouraging comments!

One of the most controversial of Charlotte Mason’s principles is how she viewed the teaching of composition.

‘Composition’ comes by Nature.––In fact, lessons on ‘composition’ should follow the model of that famous essay on “Snakes in Ireland”––”There are none.” For children under nine, the question of composition resolves itself into that of narration, varied by some such simple exercise as to write a part and narrate a part, or write the whole account of a walk they have taken, a lesson they have studied, or of some simple matter that they know. Before they are ten, children who have been in the habit of using books will write good, vigorous English with ease and freedom; that is, if they have not been hampered by instructions. It is well for them not even to learn rules for the placing of full stops and capitals until they notice how these things occur in their books. Our business is to provide children with material in their lessons, and leave the handling of such material to themselves. If we would believe it, composition is as natural as jumping and running to children who have been allowed due use of books. They should narrate in the first place, and they will compose, later readily enough; but they should not be taught ‘composition.’

Did you get that last sentence?  Not teach composition?  Let’s look again at her thoughts restated in modern English:

1. Under the age of nine, composition should not be taught as a subject. Rather, children should narrate, either orally or in combination with writing, about an experience they have had or on a subject with which they are familiar.
2. Children who have been exposed to the best in literature will automatically be able to express themselves in writing.
3. Punctuation (grammar) should be taught using the books they are reading for examples rather than in isolation.
4. She intimated here and states more clearly elsewhere: Children are to be exposed to superior literature and be allowed to interact with it themselves without us voluminously interpreting and explaining it to them.

One of the keys to understanding this teaching is that she is discussing younger elementary children, not middle school and high school children.  In our curriculum we do not recommend formal composition instruction prior to the age of nine (third grade) – and by that I mean teaching children to write reports, summaries of literature or anything requiring more advanced reasoning skills or even requiring more than a very short paragraph at a time.

Some of the popular Charlotte Mason ‘interpreters’ believe Charlotte did not have children do any writing during those earlier years, but she did specifically state in the quote above (from Volume I, The Original Home Schooling Series) that narrations could be all or part in writing, even for children below nine.

Although we don’t believe children are to jump right into school with copious quantities of writing, as more classically oriented curricula often suggest, we do feel there are many skills involved in learning to write and they are more easily learned if they are taught using real books and reinforced through copy work in the earlier years. Some CM purists might disagree.  We do keep those lessons very brief and always in conjunction with books written at the child’s comprehension level, but we utilize copy work from first grade on and we include basic punctuation and grammar, as you can see in this first grade sample week  from our first grade plans here.

Although in #2 above Ms. Mason assumes that children exposed to high quality literature will be able to write automatically, I can’t say that has been my experience for all children.  Some have definitely been more natural writers than others, in my opinion, and some have benefited by more detailed writing instruction.  But not in the first few grades — save it for later elementary.

One can’t underestimate what young children learn and absorb through hearing and reading top quality literature, however, we shortchange them if we don’t answer their questions and clarify areas that they obviously do not understand, paying close attention to their attention span and interest level.  In Endangered Minds: Why Children Don’t Think And What We Can Do About It, Dr. Healy describes just how important discussion between parents and children is to developing children’s verbal and language skills, and the more conversation, the better.  Mind, I am not talking about  daily lecturing your primary-aged learners! If your find your children’s eyes glazing over and they suddenly disappear at read-aloud time, consider that you may have crossed the line.  This time with literature is to be enjoyed, not analyzed to death.

I would love to hear how some of you long-time Charlotte Mason fans have dealt with composition in your home schools.  Have you taught writing using traditional CM methods or used another curriculum?  At what age did you begin composition instruction?  I appreciate your input – it helps all of us!

Blessings,

An extensive knowledge of the exact meanings of English words accompanies outstanding success in this country more often than any other single characteristic we have been able to isolate and measure. —Research Scientist Johnson O’Connor

An extensive vocabulary is a valuable tool that will help your children in every arena of their lives: academically, vocationally and socially.  An excellent vocabulary will improve one’s ability to comprehend other’s ideas,  understand the ‘grammar’ of a field of study, and to better articulate one’s own thoughts, opinions and beliefs. In our family, the development of an excellent vocabulary is one of the benefits of a Charlotte Mason education that we have observed firsthand.

How is Vocabulary Developed?

Vocabulary is developed by immersing children in high quality literature – in other words -  living books.  Generally, it is not by vocabulary programs and workbooks. Although those have their place, nothing exposes children to a broad, varied vocabulary like reading exceptional books. Many exceptional books.

Even before children painstakingly learn to blend vowels and consonants, their minds should be stimulated by hearing top notch literature.  In fact, even Ms. Mason was amazed that young children were able not just to grasp, but truly enjoy books that were several ‘levels’ beyond their own.  Exposed frequently at an early age to living books resulted in children “acquiring a copious vocabulary,” according to Ms. Mason.

Do I Have to Stop and Look up Every Word I Don’t Know?

It seems logical to have children look up the words they don’t know, doesn’t it?  Surprisingly, Ms. Mason did not agree.  She felt as though it was demeaning to children even to offer explanations for words unless they asked.  She quite definitively proclaimed that explaining the words destroyed children’s interest in the story and ‘just flat annoyed’ them!  So how did she think they would learn words they didn’t know?  Charlotte felt that most of the time they had some idea of what a word meant by the context in which it was found.  She felt if children read broadly enough, they would encounter words in different contexts and eventually glean quite a competent understanding of them.

So How Do We Help Our Kids Add to Their Vocabulary?

There are a few things we can do to help our children learn new words:

1. Teach children to try and figure out new words by their context. Walk them through the process as you are reading to them if they ask about a word: What is the author talking about here? What do you think it could mean?  What other word might fit in that spot (based on the rest of the sentence)?
2. Model enthusiasm for learning new words by circling words during your own reading that you are going to look up later.  Add them to your ongoing word list.  Talk about them.  Practice using them in sentences.
3. Pick out vocabulary words from their history and science reading and have them learn the words at another time – not during their reading time.  Epi Kardia’s Daily Lesson Plans use this method.
4. For children third grade an up, have them start two lists in their language arts notebooks: one for Tired Words and one for WOW! Words. (For those of you who use Epi Kardia curriculum, those charts are in the Tools section of your Manuals.)

For example, Tired Words are words that are overused, nonexpressive and imprecise.  Words like good, bad, pretty, mad, great and nice are bland, boring and don’t convey much to your reader.  Help your children ‘collect’ more interesting words that will add zing to their writing.  On their WOW! Words chart they could add: virtuous, dreadful, gorgeous, furious, tremendous and mannerly. (Be sure to read their work aloud with the Tired words and then with the WOW! words — they will be amazed at the difference!) During their composition lessons, teach them to replace their Tired words with WOW! words. When you find an overused or nondescript word in their writing, it should be added to their Tired Words list, to be forever banned from appearing in their writing.  Have your children add to both lists regularly, and as you teach them to self-edit, have them eventually identify and replace any Tired words they find on their own without any help from you.

But most importantly, read, read, read!  If you do, you will be surprised at the words your children will learn and begin using in their conversation!  Have you not found that to be true in your own homeschool?

Happy reading!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello, Everyone!

Other than our recent workshop, you might have noticed me keeping a lower profile around here lately. After much prayer and consideration, I have felt God leading me to take a break from the day to day operation of Epi Kardia.  I have had some personal projects that have been on the back burner too long, and I would like to spend additional time with my new husband and my last child at home.

I am not going anywhere and I am still planning on teaching classes. Epi Kardia will not operate any differently than it has been operating. Hopefully, I will even pop in and blog occasionally!

In Christ,

Last time we discussed Nature study as perhaps the most obvious of Charlotte Mason’s suggested activities that utilizes many senses, hence appealing more to non-traditional learners. Of course, we are talking about being outside and actually observing nature first hand, rather than studying nature from books alone.  If you missed it, read that post here. Thankfully, Charlotte Mason’s educational methods dovetail with non-traditional learning in many other ways as well!

Train up a Child in the Way HE Should Go…

Many of the public school classrooms that most of us languished in only allowed for the traditional (auditory-sequential) learner to use her gifts. Hear a lecture, read a book, and then write a report on it.  Ho hum.

But if you have homeschooled for a while, you have probably noticed that all of your students do not learn in the same ways and they are not motivated by the same type of assignments. (Is that an understatement, or what?)  As we have mentioned before, as they become older, children begin to exhibit preferences for the way they like to learn.  Some like learning things out loud, perhaps to music, or maybe they like to discuss ideas orally.  There are others who need to read to learn, and are totally distracted by little brother’s humming and toe-tapping. Some think and remember best if information is presented in picture, chart or graph formats. Still others need to move around to maximize their learning.

Pay attention to these details and study your children in order to give them the opportunity to let them do their best work. Give them that opportunity by letting them use as many of their senses as possible, especially until you have identified which one they use the most.  Then maximize it by incorporating it into their assignments regularly.  They will be more engaged and cooperative when assigned work they enjoy and feel good about their ability to do!

Students Benefit by Hands on Learning

Activities that are hands on in nature generally benefit ALL types of learners, but especially those who are more ‘right-brained,’ which includes many non-traditional learners. So by giving your students the opportunity to do more hands on activities, you are maximizing all of your kids’ abilities to learn, but you are especially giving your non-traditional learners the chance to shine.  So continue to use those ‘living books’ in your schooling and have your students orally narrate.  But in addition, make sure students are not just reading and hearing; they also need to be seeing and doing.

For example:

• Have your students work on a project such as hooking a rug or dipping candles while you are reading to them about colonial times.

• Incorporate field trips into your school as often as possible – don’t just read about a farm, go visit one!  Let your students produce a photo essay of the trip instead of a written report.

• Let your children draw pictures while you are reading to them. Let your student narrate afterward, using his pictures.

• Create mini-books/lapbooks, Power-point presentations, or create video “TV commercials”  instead of writing traditional reports.

• Create African costumes and cook authentic African food while reading about Africa.

• Research and plan to have an evening of Olympic Games while reading about Ancient Greece.

Other Narration Ideas

As you know, one of those foundational beliefs of Ms. Mason’s was that information was not truly absorbed until it was reproduced in some way, usually through verbal narration.  But there are many ways to reproduce information.  I would not slight that method, however; especially if your children are younger and just starting out to ‘tell back’ that which they have read or have had read to them.  But as children become older, it is especially helpful for the non-traditional learner to be able to narrate in her own way, using her own natural bents.

• Let your very visual child actually take ‘notes’ in pictures while you are reading or teaching him.

• Allow more ‘hands on’ narration, in addition to the above suggestion, such as producing a dramatization, painting a picture, or creating a poem to ‘narrate’ what has been read.

Picture and Music Study

By their very nature, Picture and Music study appeal to the senses and should not be neglected. Some children are reached by art and/or music in a way that can’t be touched by reading.  Read about picture study here.  Books about period music and artists, as well as CD suggestions are included in every unit of our complete programs.

I’m so thankful that our kids have the opportunity to be taught the way that best suits them, rather than the way that best suits the school system!  If you have non-traditional learners at home, I would love to hear how YOU have incorporated Charlotte Mason’s methodology into your homeschool!   Please consider leaving a comment below.

Gratefully His,

On Monday night Beth had the opportunity of presenting a workshop on mini-books and lapbooks, types of graphic organizers, to our homeschooling support group.  We were pleased to have such a good turnout and spent a delightful evening with old and new friends.  It was especially enjoyable to see some ‘textbook’ moms learn that hands on projects such as mini-books and lapbooks were not only fun, but also educational!

What is a Graphic Organizer?

For the benefit of those of you who were not present, a graphic organizer is any tool that allows your student to organize his thoughts and record what he’s learned in a visual way.  Examples of common graphic organizers include:

• Charts and Graphs
• Venn Diagrams
• Scrapbooks, Lapbooks and Mini-books
• Library Pockets and Envelopes

We made two different types of mini-books at our workshop – an accordion book and a layered-look book, and we showed  examples of mini-books and lapbooks that had been made by our children as well as some we had made in teaching a Reluctant Writers class a few years ago.

For example, here is a very simple mini-book that can be made by an elementary aged student:

Directions:

1.  Using one single piece of 8 1/2 x 11 inch colored paper, hold the base piece of paper vertically, then fold it in half lengthwise.

2. Out of contrasting paper colors, construct a simple flower clearly showing the petals, leaves, stem and roots, as shown in the picture on the far left.

3. After gluing the flower to the top half of the folded paper, cut through the flower and the top half of the paper, to the fold.  Make three cuts so that the flower, leaves, stem and roots each have their own section.

4. On the inside of the flaps, label each section, as shown.

5.  Write a short description of each flower ‘part’ opposite each label.

What is a Lapbook?

A lapbook is a innovative, visual, creative, kinesthetic, way to organize information.  Examples abound of lapbooks online (and see our resource list at the bottom of this post), but on the right is an example of one my son made a while back about space.  The base is simply made from two file folders glued together.

Directions for making the lapbook:

1.  Take two file folders, laying vertically open on the table in front of you.

2.  One at a time, take the outside edges of each file folder and fold them in towards the center fold.  Crease well, then let them open.

3. Glue together the sides of each folder that are next to each other.  Voila!  That is all there is to it – you can make lapbooks bigger by gluing on more folders or attaching additional flaps inside.

At the left is a photo of the inside of the lapbook.  There is space for vocabulary, illustrations, charts, book reports, clip art and anything else your study included.  The multicolored mini-book is a favorite of ours, the layered-look book.  It allows students to do a fair amount of writing, depending upon the number of pages it contains, but is much less intimidating than that dreaded big, blank sheet of paper because it is divided into many different sections.

Lapbooks are not only fun to make but:

• they are kinesthetic and visual, maximizing other learning modes
• they beg to be shown to others, giving students an automatic and painless review of the material contained in their lapbook, every time they show it to someone else
• they can be used for studying almost any subject and easily may integrate several subjects, maximizing learning
• they are great at enticing reluctant writers because they are divided into many smaller sections
• they can also be used as an assessment tool, especially when assigned with an accompanying rubric outlining what is to be included in the lapbook
• they can be used for all ages, kindergarten through high school

As with all graphic organizers, anytime your elementary student is organizing information, he is building a foundation for learning more advanced writing skills as well as for learning how to take notes.

At every grade level and in every type of curriculum we have,  Epi Kardia curricula uses mini-books, lapbooks and graphic organizers!

Online Resources for Mini- and Lapbooks

Here is a resource list for mini- and lapbook resources including instructions, ideas and even free lapbooks:

• This site has every type of mini book imaginable as well as  free templates!

• This site has guided reading materials and  MANY mini book ideas and resources for elementary ages.

• This is one of our favorite original sites with great instruction and ideas. Check out the blog for this site as well.

• This has an array of lapbook information for all ages. In fact, at The Homeschol Lounge (highly recommended!) you can join a group of homeschooling moms who share lapbook ideas and resources.

And for those of you who want to incorporate notebooking and scrapbooking into your homeschooling (or you like to scrapbook yourself):

• These are resources and other links for educational scrapbooking.

• This is a free software download (full version) to begin digital scrapbooking immediately.

If you read our last post, Six Steps to Start Second Semester, mini- and lapbooks might be just the thing to add some pizazz to your homeschooling this semester.  Even if you use a traditional curriculum, please give your students a chance to do some thing hands on, colorful and creative!  Enjoy!

In His Service,

P.S. If you have a reluctant writer or two at your house, in addition to trying mini-books, you might find our reluctant writer series helpful.  See Reluctant Writers – Part 1 The Early Years, Reluctant Writers – Part 2 The Middle Years and Reluctant Writers – Part 3 High School and Beyond.

The winter months can be rough for many homeschool moms.  The gray, barren days can follow one another like saltines in a box, making us feel about as drab as the view outside. If you find yourself in the midst of the winter doldrums, it might be time to do some self and school evaluation.

1.  How is Your Private Time with God?

If you have read this blog for very long, you have probably inferred that we think this is the place to begin any self-evaluation. How are you doing on having regular prayer and Bible study times?  If you have found yourself out of the habit after the holidays, now is a good time to get started again. Don’t wait until you have things perfectly quiet and organized before you spend some time in the Word. For inspiration, read this post about Susannah Wesley called Growing Moms.   If you need a jump start in this area, pick up a good devotional.  There are MANY wonderful ones out there.  One of my favorites is the classic My Utmost for His Highest.  If you have ever participated in the Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God Bible study, you might enjoy the devotional I am using this year called Experiencing God Day-By-Day.  I find it helpful to read the daily passage and the thoughts about it in the devotional first, then read the passage in the Bible itself (in the context of the chapter surrounding it).  Then I pray, asking God to show me what He wants me to see in that passage.  Having a journal to jot down what He tells me and other thoughts that come up is a necessity as well.  This time need not be in the morning, but I find it to be my best time before my mind is filled with my ‘to do’ list.

2.  Does Your Marriage Need Attention?

Valentines Day is right around the corner.  Instead of just stocking up on candy  for the…kids (see #3), why don’t you plan a special time to bless your husband that day?  A handmade valentine, a special dinner, or a babysitter for the kids and a bundled up stroll along the beach or a country road might be just the thing to help your husband know he is special.  Does he like to watch the game on TV, play golf, or putter around in the garage?  Maybe just sharing an activity of his choice would be appreciated.  We homeschool moms often need to work harder at getting quality husband-wife time into the schedule!

3.  Are You Paying Attention to Your Own Health?

Most moms are marvelous when it comes to keeping kids dressed warmly, drilling those math facts and doling out vitamins and vegetables.  BUT… what about ourselves?  Are you exercising regularly?  “They” say that thirty to sixty minutes most days is about the right amount of exercise, but that might be pretty difficult if you have little ones.  You can do something, even if it is popping in an exercise video during naptime.  Some virtual accountability might be in order to help you get and stay on track. My friend Cindy showed me this very handy website through Prevention magazine where you can track your exercise, everything you eat and even your mood.  Go to “My Heath Tracker” near the top right  of the page, set up a free account, plug in what you weigh and what you would like to weigh, what you have eaten that day and what you have done for exercise. It is very informative!   If you are already an exerciser,  The Daily Mile might be helpful.  It is an online social training log wherein you can find friends, log in your runs/biking/ walking miles or times, can blog about your thoughts and encourage your friends. It has Twitter and Facebook interfaces as well.  My college-aged daughter’s friends encourage each other in their exercise programs through this venue.

One other health resource I wanted to share with you:   As a 3 1/2 year cancer survivor myself, I am always reading about new ideas and research in the area of cancer prevention.  I came across this free report you might be interested in downloading and reading – it is a food guide for cancer prevention and survival.

4. Is Your House in Order?

I even hesitate to ask that question – I can hear the groans from here!  I mean in good enough order that you are able to function, and obviously we are going to have different tolerance levels here.  Personally, I find it very difficult to focus on school when the house is totally out of control.  Develop some routines and do your absolute best to stick to them.  My favorite resource for keeping the dust bunnies at bay is the Flylady routines.  She talks about controlling C.H.A.O.S. (Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome ) by dividing your home into zones and cleaning a little each day in that zone as well as working on general clutter. Go to her website and click on Getting Started for more information.  Make sure your children have age appropriate chores as well! We are big on checklists at our house.  Behind children’s bedroom closet doors is a list in a page protector that says “M’s room is clean when…..1.  All clothes are picked up off the floor and either put into the laundry basket or folded neatly and put in the drawer.  2.  All school papers are punched and put into notebooks and trash is thrown in the trashcan.” etc.  Build into the day a quick pick up before Dad gets home (see #2).

5.  How Many Out-of-the-Home Activities is Too Many?

Did you really enjoy Christmas and New Year’s vacation, in part because most or all of your outside activities ceased during that period?  Did the more relaxed schedule and extra time with your dear hubby and charming children yield better relationships between all of you?  Was it easier to keep the house under control and eat healthier because you weren’t constantly running from one thing to another?   Hmmm.  Maybe this means you/your children are doing too much outside the home.  They do call it ‘home’ schooling, y’know.  Give some hard thought to evaluating each of your and your kids’ activities and consider what you can cut.  Many homeschoolers choose one activity and/or one sport per child per semester.  Husbands’ insight can be helpful here.  My friend Jennifer recently gave me some godly advice on just this subject.  She said, “Lay everything at the feet of Jesus.  Only pick up what He would have you pick up.”  (See #1)

6. Is Your School Curriculum Working for You?

This is the season when we want to forget about this school year and just start planning next year.    It isn’t a bad thing to start looking toward the coming year and making plans, but we do have to finish this year! Try to get energized about finishing this year well while you are dreaming and drooling over what you want to do next.  Getting your school records organized is a good start. I am a long time user of  Homeschool Tracker software.  They have an absolutely free basic package that you can download immediately, which I used for a few years, but if you plan on homeschooling during the high school years (and I hope you do!) spending the $49 and buying the PLUS version will enable you to keep much more detailed records, apply the weighted grading scale that we have to use in South Carolina, and use many more helpful features.  See the comparison between the free version of  Homeschool Tracker and the paid version here. If you decide you can afford the $49, that is all you will ever have to pay because they offer free upgrades. Additionally, the few times I have had questions not answered by the detailed online tutorials, their free software support has been almost immediate.  This software has been a valued tool in my family and has considerably cut down on paper, our family’s biggest nemesis.   Do me a favor and if you decide to purchase the Homeschool Tracker software, please consider typing this code in the Referral Information page of the shopping cart under “Make Selection – **Customer Referral (I have a code)”: FNZ9E .  If you do that, I will receive a small referral bonus.  I appreciate it!

Now, start evaluating your homeschool curriculum.  Most likely you have used it for almost a half a year now.  Is it meeting the needs of your family… or is the honeymoon over? I am not suggesting that you immediately ditch whatever you are using now–just take notice of how it works with your teaching and your kids’ learning styles.  Are you enjoying it?  Are your children enthusiastic about using it?  Does it motivate them to complete their lessons, and are they retaining the information?  Do they discuss it with your husband at dinner, or want to find out more about a subject or person that they learned about during ’school’?  OR Do you have to hound them to get their work done?  Do they constantly denounce it as boring?  Are you having difficulty staying interested yourself?  Dialog with your children about what they think.  What do they like the best about school?  What do they like the least?  Why?  Children can give us some great insights if we would just ask them and really listen to their answers.  If you find that they are bored and unmotivated, adding some living books and more hands on activities might be just the thing to liven things up!  Try to hone in on their interests, as well. We have many well-written, high interest, living books listed on our Books! pages if you need some examples.  If you have a budding artist, instigate some picture study, or create a lapbook that dovetails with your studies.  Instead of your typical textbook book report, try assigning a Book Review.  Try a new, fun way to present or review material, such as the one suggested in this post, The Question Box, or this one, Make a Lapbook!

Use this opportunity to tweak things a little and you might find yourself out of those doldrums and excited once again.  Remember that Mom’s positive attitude sets the tone for everyone else.  I hope you have found some of these ideas and links helpful – I would love to hear your recommendations as well!

In His Service,

On this blog post I had planned on sharing some helpful links and information I have collected to help you hit the ground running this January.  But instead, I want to let you know about a sale going on now to benefit the Estes Family.  Many of you are probably familiar with Jeff and Kate’s company, Hands and Hearts.  They create and sell hands on history kits of entertaining and educational activities to augment history curriculum.  You might know that the Estes family of ten includes a darling, fragile three year old named Noah, who struggles with mitochondrial disease, an ultimately terminal condition.

What you might not know about the Estes family is what they have faced in the last few years:

• Jeff has been out of work after the company he worked for downsized and had to lay him off.
• Federal laws concerning children’s products have radically changed, drastically reducing their company’s profitability
• Noah has had multiple hospitalizations, usually sudden ones that cause Kate to have to drop everything and rush Noah to the hospital in Greenville, SC and Jeff to have to be home with their other children.
• Caring for Noah at home has become more and more challenging with his special medical needs.

Although committed to living debt free, the Estes have seen their savings dwindle.  They are torn because, frankly, it takes both Kate and Jeff to take care of things at home with Noah’s needs and frequent hospitalizations. Jeff needs to work at home.

Thankfully, Jeff has found a business opportunity that he and Kate have researched and feel would be right for them in their challenging situation.  The trouble is, they don’t have the funds to get it started.

And… this is where YOU come in.

Christian self-publishing friends have donated a FANTASTIC list of  homeschool products that are available to those who make at least a $39 donation to the Estes family.  The number of items goes up with the amount of your donation. You are welcome to donate more or less, as you wish, but the Estes family would like to use the income from this sale to give them a way to support their unique family.

If you would like some awesome homeschool products and to help the Estes family, please click here.  If you would just like to make a donation, I’m sure that would be fine, too.

Thanks for taking the time to read about this very difficult situation, and whether you are able to donate or not, please pray for this precious family.

Feel free to forward this to anyone you think might be interested!

In His grace,

Recent question: Can I homeschool my [non-traditional learners] Charlotte Mason style?

Answer: Of course!

As we discuss in our parent manual, parents teach and children learn in a variety of ways.  Some prefer to absorb information by what they see, for example, reading a book, watching a movie or viewing a live demonstration.  Some learn best by what they hear, such as when listening to a lecture, verbal instructions or an audio book. Some prefer to learn through what they do, or retain more by moving around as they are taking in information through another venue.  For example, making candles instead of reading about how they are made, or doing jumping jacks while practicing multiplication tables.   Most people utilize all of these learning methods to some degree, but  prefer one over the others.

Traditional school seems to be notoriously crafted to benefit the type of learners who like to sit still, learn things in a logical progression, and read about rather than experience what they are learning about, to the detriment of the others who don’t fit that mold! What a blessing it is that we are able to craft our learning opportunities to fit our children’s natural bents!

Charlotte Mason understood children. Many of her teaching methods and principles already incorporate a variety of learning methods.

Nature Study

Advocating as much time outside as possible, Ms. Mason suggested children experience nature first hand.

Children should be encouraged to watch, patiently and quietly, until they learn something of the habits and history of the bee, ant, wasp, spider, hairy caterpillar, dragon-fly, and whatever of larger growth comes in their way.

Rather than spending up to six hours outside every suitably-weathered day as Ms. Mason suggested, many homeschoolers satisfy their outdoor longings by taking at least one nature ‘walk’ per week, identifying and recording the different trees, flowers, insects and birds that come across their path.  (Some of our favorite books to use for these activities are below.)

Observing nature incorporates all the senses:  watching a bumblebee extract nectar from a flower while listening to its low buzz…feeling the gentle wind flow through your hair while listening to the leaves rustle…feeling the rough outer layer of a seashell and the smooth-as-glass inside, then holding it to your ear and listening to the ‘ocean’…

We help our children hone their powers of observation as they study their subjects, write about them and make detailed drawings in their nature notebooks, all while using visual, auditory and kinesthetic modes of learning.

Next week we will talk about other aspects of Charlotte Mason’s methods of learning in conjunction with learning styles.

Have a great week!

Warmly,

P.S.  These are some of our favorite books for aiding our nature studies. Check them out!
Handbook of Nature Study
Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America (Peterson Field Guide Series)
Peterson Field Guides; Rocks and Minerals
Peterson Field Guides; Wildflowers
Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of N.A.

P.P.S.  Read about one way to incorporate hands on (also known as tactile or kinesthetic) learning in this post called, Make a Lapbook!