Friday, April 26, 2013

How to End a School Year

It's the end! Well, almost.

You and your children have completed, or are about to complete, an entire school year. Looking back, it has been a long trail to walk, but you have done it, together.

Whether you feel like you are sailing across the finish line or limping with a few faithful friends helping you walk, you will finish and this calls for a special celebration.






Ten Ideas to Celebrate or Mark the End of a School Year
  1. Year End Presentations - Show family members and friends all your children have accomplished this year with a year end presentation.
  2. Plan a Picnic in the park, backyard, or living room.
  3. Serve a Special Dinner - Serve your child's favorite meal or go to their favorite restaurant to eat.
  4. Make a Special Dessert - When our oldest finished Kindergarten, I made a cake to look like Green Eggs and Ham to celebrate.
  5. Take A Trip - Go somewhere fun, like a baseball game or an amusement park.
  6. Spend the Day Outside at the beach, lake, or pool.
  7. Give a Special Memento or Gift to each child. Perhaps something that will remind them of the school year.
  8. Have a Party complete with balloons, cupcakes, and friends.
  9. Play A Round of Mini-Golf or Frisbee Golf.
  10. Do Something Daring - Try out a zip line or climbing wall.

Whatever you choose to do, remember to take the time to celebrate!





Wednesday, April 24, 2013

A Mom's Rewards

Before motherhood, I had grand plans.  I was working on my doctorate and could not wait to finish so that I could become a professor and do amazing research.  I dreamed about being published in all of the big research journals, speaking at international conferences, writing books, and being considered an "expert" in my field.  Those were the rewards I wanted.

Then, I became a mom.  And my dreams and ideas about what is truly rewarding changed.

I get my rewards every day...

"I love you, Mommy"

Big hugs

Kisses

Requests for cuddles

Valentine's cards made for "Mine Mommy"


Smiles

The sound of laughter

The knowledge that this is God's plan for me right now

And those rewards are enough for me.  



Marla is a former special education teacher, current PhD student, university instructor, and stay-at-home mom of two little girls (ages 2 and 4).  She blogs about raising and teaching her children at Marla's Motherhood Musings and her family's experiences living in Zambia at Our Life in Lusaka.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Interest-Based Learning

One of my favorite things about homeschooling is that I can individualize the learning to meet the needs and interests of my children.  We don't have to follow a set curriculum; we can create our own.

A few weeks ago, we saw a chameleon outside of our house.  We stopped what we were doing (independent work) and spent about 30 minutes observing it, but I think that Abigail and Charlotte could have spent all day looking at it!


While the girls were completing their independent work, I did a quick internet search and created a short lesson about chameleons that we were able to complete later in the day.  (Thank goodness for google, iBooks and fabulous bloggers - I found a video, 3 worksheets, and 2 books in less than 15 minutes!)

The girls loved learning more about something that they had actually witnessed.  The lesson was certainly more meaningful than it would have been if they had not seen a chameleon that morning.  And learning about the world around them makes them more excited for learning and always wanting to learn more.

I am so thankful for the ability to use interest-based learning in our homeschooling!


Marla is a former special education teacher, current PhD student, university instructor, and stay-at-home, homeschooling mom of two little girls (ages 2 and 4).  She blogs about homeschooling at Marla's Motherhood Musings and her family's experiences living in Zambia at Our Life in Lusaka.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Seeds of Wisdom: Best Aspect of Homeschooling

This week, we are so excited that several of our Mommy blogger friends are joining us in answering the Seeds of Wisdom question!  This week, we asked homeschooling moms to share their favorite aspect of homeschooling.  Here is what they said:

My favorite aspect of homeschooling is the reason I've heard many people give for why they DON'T homeschool. I love being with my kids all day, every day. This time is a blessings and only lasts a short season. Soak it up homeschool mamas, you'll miss it one day! 



My favorite part of homeschooling is being able to learn WITH my children. I want to instill a lifelong love of learning and my children. I think there's no better way to do that than to show 
them that Mommy and Daddy like learning too! 



The best part of homeschooling is being able to learn whatever inspires us and do it in a fun hands-on way. We love to learn by exploring nature, going on field trips, with learning games 
and by reading living books. 

Karyn from Teach Beside Me


The best part of homeschooling for us was the unexpected side benefit of a really close family. We genuinely enjoy spending time together, even on the bad days. 

Erin from The Usual Mayhem 


My favorite aspect of homeschooling is watching my girls learn. I LOVE when the little lightbulbs go off in their heads and you know that they understand a new concept. Seeing 
them learn is so cool! 



For our family, the best thing about homeschooling is the strengthening of our relationships. This journey can be exhilarating and/or challenging, but through it all, we grow closer to our 
Lord and to one another.



What is your favorite part of homeschooling?

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Why Your Homeschool Should Not Look Like Mine


I live in Africa.  Do you?

I am a former teacher.  Are you?

I am finishing my PhD in Special Education.  Are you?

I have two little girls, ages 2 and 4.  Do you?

My oldest attends Pre-K in the morning for social reasons, but since she is several months ahead of her peers academically, I teach her in the afternoons.  Is this your situation?

I am an eclectic teacher and using interest-based learning techniques, Montessori concepts, Charlotte Mason ideas and many others.  Do you?

I like messy play, messy art projects, and messy learning.  Do you?

I like to create my own activities for teaching instead of using a curriculum.  Do you?

I am still not sure what our long-term education plans are for our children.  Are you?

Did you answer yes to all of those questions?  My guess is no.  If you did say "yes" to all, there is a chance that our homeschools may look a bit alike.  However, you and I are still different people.  Our children are different.  Our lives are different.  Our personalities, needs, abilities, desires are different.  What works for me may not work for you.  

What works for you may not work for me. That is okay.  In fact, it is wonderful.  God made us unique and we need to embrace that.

Too often, I see parents trying to emulate what other parents are doing.  As homeschoolers, we spend hours perusing the internet to find ideas for teaching our children.  We see those bloggers that everyone loves (and I love them too!) and we want to be just like them.  We try to structure our homeschools to look like theirs.  We use the same curriculums that they recommend (or they make) and we try their organizational and home management systems.

And we fail.  We can't figure out why it seems to work so well for them and it does not work for us.

Their systems do not work for us, because we are different.  While we can (and probably should) incorporate ideas we get from others into our homeschooling, we need to ensure that our homeschools and our homes are suited to our unique needs, interests, and situations.  We are different and our homeschools should reflect that.  

God has a unique plan for my family that is different from the plan He has for your family or the plan He has for any of those fabulous SuperMom bloggers.  Let's trust that God will lead our homeschools in the right direction and follow His lead for teaching our children and managing our homes instead of trying to follow the lead of others.  When we do, we will be successful (and happier) homeschoolers!



Marla is a former special education teacher, current PhD student, university instructor, and stay-at-home mom of two little girls (ages 2 and 4).  She blogs about raising and teaching her children at Marla's Motherhood Musings and her family's experiences living in Zambia at Our Life in Lusaka.

Friday, April 5, 2013

Changes to GYH

We are excited to announce that some fabulous changes are coming to Growing Your Homeschool over the next several weeks.  As many of our current bloggers have new responsibilities and are contributing less often, some new bloggers will be joining our crew - please look for their posts and welcome them!  Also, our Friday Seeds of Wisdom will return twice a month.  However, starting next week, we will be inviting other homeschool bloggers to answer the questions along with our regular contributors so that we can give you a more diverse response to the questions.  Please remember that we love comments and welcome your feedback on our blog and the upcoming changes!

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Making Memories

One of the things that I want most for my children is for them to have pleasant memories.  I want them to look back on their childhoods and smile about their experiences.  While I know that they will have some unpleasant memories, I try hard to give them good memories too.  

I try to do small things on a daily basis to make them smile and feel loved.  I place a small note in Abigail's school snack box every day.  


I take time to play with the girls.  I color, paint, read, play dolls, build Lego houses, etc. every single day.  It might get boring sometimes, but I love spending time with them and I want them to remember me as a part of their childhoods!

I also try to create larger memories of big events.  We host a large playgroup every week.  I bake mini muffins for the children and lead them in an art project each week.


We also host events for the girls' friends.  Last weekend, we hosted an Easter egg hunt for 30 children.  I hard boiled and dyed over 200 hundred eggs that my husband then hid in the yard.  It was a lot of work, but it was worth it!  And the girls have been talking about it ever since!


As I have been working hard to make memories for my children, I am also creating great memories of my own.  I know that I will only have my girls at home for a short time and I want to make the most of it.  One day, I want to be able to look back at all of the fun we had together!

I hope that my children grow up with happy childhoods and want to create similar experiences for their own children one day.

What special things do you do to make memories with (and for) your children?

Marla is a former special education teacher, current PhD student, university instructor, and stay-at-home, homeschooling mom of two little girls (ages 2 and 4).  She blogs about homeschooling at Marla's Motherhood Musings and her family's experiences living in Zambia at Our Life in Lusaka.
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