A Nature Table

Creating a nature table (or any other small space you set aside) is a wonderful activity to mark the passing seasons and treasure the changes that come each year.

It can also be a tool for learning about the flora and fauna of your area, for appreciating nature in general, and a way to encourage noticing what is happening outside.

A nature table is seasonal decorating at its best!


Here are some simple steps you can take to create your own:

1) Declare a space to be set aside just for this purpose.  Some ideas could include the entry table near your front door, a fireplace hearth, a coffee table, a bookshelf or desk.  A special placemat, tray, vase or box of some sort can be added.

2) Find or purchase a few starter items.  In the spring, you could purchase a potted bulb getting ready to bloom,  in the summer you could fill a glass or vase with seasonal flowers, in the fall you could begin with a small pumpkin, in the winter a paper snowflake or an empty branch.

3) Get outside!  Dress for the weather and explore your area.  Encourage your children to bring home appropriate items from appropriate places (don't pick your neighbor's flowers, but collecting autumn leaves in the park is fine) and talk about what sort of plant they came from and how that plant looks during this season.

4) Keep your hands off.  Let the children be in charge of placing, arranging and adding to your nature table.  Let your job be informing them in more detail about anything they have found, or answering questions they might have.


Here is a picture of our fall table:

How do you mark the changing seasons in your home?

Five Reasons To Try Notebooking

Notebooking, or (or lapbooks, as they are often called) can be a great addition to your homeschool.  Here are five reasons we tried to (and will continue to) notebook in ours.

1)  Notebooking is a great tool for retention, as well as encouragement toward further learning on a topic.  Notebooking is a way of retelling what has been learned in a way that appeals to a specific child's learning style.

2)  Notebooking has no rules.  Whatever your child likes best (coloring, writing, drawing, painting, cutting, pasting) can be included.  However creative or utilitarian they desire their work to be is just fine.

3)  Having control is inspiring.  The less direction I have given my children, the more elaborate and detailed their notebooks have become.  I have also been shocked at the amount of work they will do without being assigned.  My dyslexic/dysgraphic child is writing up a storm.

4)  There are endless ways to add to a notebook.  One of my favorite resources has been this list of suggestions from the Notebooking Fairy.  There are also reams of Pinterest boards and web sites dedicated to notebooking ideas.

5)  Notebooking is fun.  So much fun, that my children have been working on their notebooks in their free time.  Notebooking is fun because it, like homeschooling itself, can be tailored to the needs, desires and talents of the individual child.

Have you tried notebooking as a part of your homeschool?

Easy Preschool Science Activities

Preschool is all about discovery - and preschool science should be all about hands-on fun!  Here are a few simple ideas for science lessons with your preschooler.


Plant a Seed.

Learning the cycle of a plant and what it needs to grow is a great activity.  How many preschoolers don't love dirt? Even my little princess does.  Planting the seed into soil, making sure it has water and sunlight, and watching it grow make for wonderful hands-on learning.



Play with water.


Provide your preschooler with a variety of containers and water to fill them with.  Talk about how the same amount of water fits into different sizes and shapes of containers.  Test which kinds of things sink or float.  This is an especially fun activity if you aren't worried about spilling, so in the yard with a bathing suit and garden hose or in your own tub are the best places.


Bake together.

Measuring and mixing, feeling different textures and experiencing different smells - everything that happens in the kitchen can be an experiment!  Watching something change from liquid to solid while baking or seeing it change shape (like rising bread dough) are amazing to preschoolers.  The kitchen is a great place to learn about food and nutrition sciences.


Make a "ME."


Ask your child to lay on a piece of butcher paper.  Trace a life-size outline of your preschooler, and have fun adding different body parts.  As you draw, you can talk about the five senses, your lungs, heart and stomach and how your body grows.


Take a Nature Walk.


Your science lessons do not need to be complicated or even planned in advance.  A walk in the park or a field will afford opportunities galore to fill your little one's inquiring mind with insect, plant and natural world science.

What simple activities have helped your preschoolers learn and experience scientific ideas?

Tips to involve your preschooler in your homeschooling

We were not always a homeschooling family.

Our daughter, however, has always been home schooled.

She was three when we began our adventures at home.  I quickly learned ways to involve her in our learning process, keep her happy and allow for academic growth at her own pace.  I'm sharing a few ideas with you today, they may work for your family as well!

1) Let your preschooler work with the big kids.

Not only does this help them feel a part of your family projects, but it is a great opportunity to teach your older children about inclusivity, patience and consideration for littler ones.  There doesn't need to be a goal or expectation of what your preschooler will learn - they just need to have fun!

2) Give them 'big kid' activities as well.

My preschooler loved having worksheets, handwriting assignments, or math work to complete.  Many of her color sorting and counting activities were extra fun for her because I presented them like I did for her older brothers. It really didn't matter if she did them correctly or if they were made up - it was great practice for her to trace letters, match colors, or just pretend to be as big as her siblings.

3)  Encourage them to watch.

If your preschooler is interested, allow them to learn by osmosis.  Try not to save all your schooling for nap time. My older children just love to show off for the littler ones.

4) Give them something to do with their hands.

Each day, give your preschooler an activity to work on during school.  This can include any sort of crafty or manipulative activity, just save anything involving glue for bath day.  Crafting was always something that helped my little one sit for read alouds.

5) Enjoy being all together; it's one of the greatest blessings of homeschooling.

In this picture, my preschooler asked to practice tying my shoes while her brothers worked on spelling words with sidewalk chalk.  I missed my older children while they were away at 'regular' school, and I have treasured being spared the same separation from my youngest.

Some days are tougher than others with preschoolers underfoot, but if you work with the personality of your child and try to focus on their interests, you will have a wonderful year.  What works for your family in terms of homeschooling with preschoolers?

Five Tips For A Good Beginning

Many homeschool families school year-round, and many follow a calendar similar to their neighborhood schools.

Those who take a summer break probably have or are gearing up to start a brand-new year.  Here are some ideas for a positive  beginning:

1)  Be excited, and let your enthusiasm show.  Attitudes are contagious, so be sure your children are catching all of your good feelings.  Marketing is very important!

2)  Prepare several weeks of materials ahead of time.  My family uses a packaged curriculum, so a great deal of the organization is done for me.  I typically use Sunday afternoons as my preparation day, but when we first begin I like to have looked over and gathered the enrichment materials for the next month or so.  This allows me to focus on the children rather than the material.

3)  Do something fun or unusual during your first few weeks.  While everyone is readjusting to your routine, add some favorite activities (or some new ones!) to keep everyone feeling excited.  In our first few weeks, my oldest son started band classes at our local public school, I took the children on a 'book scavenger hunt' at our library, and we went with cousins on a field trip.

4)  Talk about what everyone is learning.  My children love to talk. Period.  I encourage them to tell others (like their father, other family members, friends and interested adults) about what they are studying.  It helps with their retention, make them feel proud of their work, and can be a great tool to show individuals without exposure how effective homeschooling is.  Discussing what they are learning with you helps them practice for whenever those opportunities arrive.

5)  Take it easy.  Don't try to get everything done.  Freeze some meals ahead of time or plan on grilled cheese and soup for supper.  Watch your children instead of your curriculum.  It is your prerogative to avoid the pressure and stress that children face in institutional schools so take advantage of it.


And don't forget to take a few pictures!  Best wishes on your new year from all of us here at Growing Your Homeschool.

Five Life Skills Every Homeschooler Can Learn NOW

One benefit my family has noticed since we moved home for school is how much my children can contribute to and learn about the running of our house and business.  Our youngest was only three at the time, and she has been able to learn and experience so much more in the areas of "basic life skills" than our older two children simply because she has never spent her days away at school.

Here are some great examples of essential and confidence-building skills your homeschooler can learn, no matter how young they are:

1) Sweep the kitchen

You can show your child how to begin at one end of the room and sweep toward a central location.  My kids still want to be the one who 'gets' to sweep because they love using the dustpan.

2)  Make a sandwich

Younger children may need the ingredients laid out for them ahead of time.  It can be fun to make a "sandwich buffet" for lunch one day, laying out many different ingredient choices and letting each person build their own meal.

3)  Fold laundry

Our routine began with younger children folding napkins, facecloths and hand towels.  Now each person folds and puts away their own clothing and we all work on the community pile (the same towels and napkins!) together.

4)  Make a phone call

Whether you have a home phone or are cell-phone only, your children can dial up a relative.  It's such a pleasure for them to repeat the numbers back as they press the buttons, or follow the directions to scroll through a menu.

5)  Wipe down surfaces

Sinks, furniture, mirrors, windows, countertops...The list is longer than my arm.  It can be such fun to get a cloth (especially if it is one you folded and put away yourself!), wet and squeeze it out, then wipe away a visible mess.

These skills become especially handy to your children and incredibly helpful to their mother once they get closer to double-digits.  Parenting a homeschooler creates endless opportunities for learning; take advantage of this and give your kids a head start on the nuts and bolts caring for themselves and their things.


What skill have you been surprised by one of your very young children performing?

Beginning Your Homeschool Year With Excitement

I remember so clearly how excited I was for the first day of each new school year as I was growing up. It was like having a birthday - it clearly marked the beginning of a new level, a new age, a fresh start.  Here are five ways to create an exciting and positive start for your homeschool.

1) Teasers

Nothing gets my children begging for school to begin as quickly as opening the boxes of next year's books.  Getting to see, touch and hear what they will be learning about actually makes them drool.  Talking about the new things they will get to learn in now that they are older (cursive! an instrument! touch-typing!) is a great validation of their continuing progress in learning.

2) Sprucing Up

We always take time before our new year begins to put away all the items we used last year (giving us time to discuss all the things we loved about learning during that time) and clean a bit.  The shelves get wiped down and reorganized, leaving clean and empty areas just begging for the year to begin.  We clean up our learning spaces and sometimes add a new place that would be fun to work.

3) New Supplies

Remember the brand-new box of crayons?  The fresh, unsharpened pencils?  Each year I provide the children with surprises at the beginning of our school year, including things like erasable pens, character pencils, rulers and counting charts.  Older children can be given protractor sets, staplers, binders and sketch books.

4) A Count Down

We do not run on a tight schedule.  We have started our schooling at a different time every year and tend to make our decisions about when to begin based on what is happening in our lives RIGHT NOW and plan around it.  However, we always manage to include a count down to the new school year, even if it is only a week.

5)  Create Traditions

Find a special way your family likes to celebrate the first week of school.  My children love having their pictures taken to mark the beginning of a new grade.  They spend time choosing a location, setting the stage and reviewing the photos to decide if we need to take another one.  Other ideas would include a special meal, a first-day field trip, or a surprise activity after lessons (like roller skating or going to a restaurant with Dad to tell him all about the day).

Whether you are preparing for your first year of learning at home or your tenth, the start of the new year is a wonderful time together.  What helps your family build excitement?

Homeschool? I Could Never Do That.

"I could never do that."

This is the single most common statement made to me by other parents when they hear that we homeschool.  It always makes me smile.

In fact, I made the same statement myself (many times) in the years before we became crazy homeschoolers ourselves.


I am going to tell you something today that you may not want to hear.  You may not be ready to hear it just yet.  You may, in fact, be avoiding hearing it.  I know all of those things were true for me when my homeschooling friend finally said to me "Yes, you can."

You totally, completely and absolutely could do this.  This homeschooling thing? Yes.  You could do it.


I can hear what you are saying to me.

I don't have time!  My child and I butt heads over everything!  I don't have time!  My husband/wife won't want to!  I'm not qualified!  I don't have time!  I don't really even like kids!  I have no teaching experience! And I don't have time!

and then we come to the root of your struggles:

*whispering now* How will I be sure they are learning enough? Learning the right things? What will other people think of them, of me? Will we turn into one of those weird, awkward homeschooling families I've heard about?  I don't know anything about homeschooling or anyone (well, other than you) who homeschools...

And worst of all, what you can't even bring yourself to say out loud:

What if I ruin my child? 




I'm going to tell you what my friend told me, when I finally couldn't lie to myself anymore about my goals and desires for my children, about their needs and abilities, about homeschooling and what it meant.

1) Homeschooling is a completely reversible decision.  If it doesn't work out, you can always go back.
2) You know, understand and love your child better than any professional educator ever could.
3) Homeschoolers are everywhere. And their kids are awesome.
4) There is help and support available (everywhere!) for new homeschoolers trying to navigate the learning curve.

And worst of all, what I couldn't even bring myself to say out loud:

5) What if institutional education ruins your child?




None of the above items means that I think everyone should be homeschooling their children, nor does it mean that institutional school is bad for every child.  It doesn't mean that homeschooling would be best for every family, or for your family.  But if you are reading this, if you are on the internet exploring homeschooling, if you are struggling with what might be the best fit for your children, this may be just what you need to face.  You certainly could do it.  Does it mean that you should or will?  Only you can answer that.

But you certainly could.  If I can, anyone (including you!) can do it as well.

Why We Love Handwriting Without Tears

We began homeschooling when my oldest son was going into third grade.  He couldn't wait to learn cursive handwriting.  I did a little bit of research into handwriting, but it was low on my list of things to worry about when we began  homeschooling.  I had heard Handwriting Without Tears (HWT) mentioned many times, so when I stumbled cross a workbook for third grade cursive at a used curriculum sale, I snapped it up.

HWT is simple, fun, and compatible with all learning styles.  It can be taught with as little or  as much parental involvement as a child desires (in my house that means one child who wants ZERO help and another who wants 100% of Mom's help).  HWT is especially good for children with motor delays or learning differences because it is simple, fun, and incorporates a broad, multi-sensory approach.  It does not have include an overwhelming amount of drilling.

I especially love the simple, fun and easy lessons.  They required little (if any) preparation on my part.  Handwriting is completed in 15 minutes or less and the children enjoy the lessons.  Frequently they ask for and complete more than a single lesson in a day.

My oldest son completed fifth grade this year, and finished the HWT program.  I was very pleased with his fifth grade HWT book - it was humorous, helpful and interesting for him.  He has very nice handwriting and has never complained about his time mastering it.  I am also very pleased with his neat, legible handwriting.

I also like HWT because it can be very inexpensive.  Many of their additional items can be replaced with items you may have at home, and I've had a great deal of luck finding many of them at used curriculum sales.  For three years, I purchased only the student workbook for my oldest child.  If I used them at all, I found teacher's books at different sales or bought them used online.  I enjoyed having the teachers manual especially for my youngest child in her first level of print and again in the first level of cursive.

The program is very well-rounded and is a fun, creative way to teach your child handwriting.  My daughter enjoys it so much, she has asked to continue handwriting lessons during summer break.  Of course, I said "yes."

Continuous Learning

We do not homeschool year-round.  My children came from an institutional school environment and we still follow a schedule that allows for a flexible summer break.

We don't follow a curriculum during our summer break, but I do make sure our children are still learning. Here are some things we are doing this summer:

1) Puzzles

We especially like geography-oriented puzzles, which are a great learning tool and helps to cement some of the map skills we have worked on.

2)  Library Programs

Most public libraries have fun summer reading programs where kids can earn prizes and participate in activities.  My oldest is looking forward to being one of the volunteer summer helpers in a couple of years.

3)  Accidental Learning

I am a big fan of leaving things lying around for children to stumble upon.  We have summer magazines and interesting reading material scattered about the house where I frequently find a small face behind the pages when it gets hot outside.

4)  Unassigned Reading

I let my children choose books at a used curriculum sale (they chose the Narnia series and several of the first Magic Treehouse books).  They are having so much fun reading through them on their own.

5)  Reading Together

One of the cornerstones of our family's educational style is reading out loud together.  We do this continuously during the school year from our curriculum, and we enjoy it so much we keep going during the summer.  Often we revisit favorite books from previous school years.


6)  Summer Classes

Summer Recreation Programs offer lots of fun, short-term classes for kids.  My children chose not to take classes this year - my older two instead asked to learn touch-typing and my youngest wants to begin cursive handwriting.  I'm going to "let" them do these things. (wink, wink)


7)  Healthy Television

I think TV can have a great place in family routine.  Like anything else, it can also be used to excess.  During the summer my children are most susceptible to wasting their time watching junk-food-for-the-brain.  I work hard to stick to PBS, nature shows, documentaries or age-appropriate (and family-friendly) movies.  I like allowing them extra screen time in the summer, but I want to feel good about what they are watching.





If you take a summer break, what are the things your family incorporates for continuous learning?

Designing your own free curriculum - resources

We pulled our children from their school after spring break when the boys were in second grade and kindergarten.  We wanted the nine remaining weeks of the school year to "try it out" in case homeschooling wasn't for us.  We had no curriculum, no experience, and no idea how things would turn out.

We did, however, have internet access.

And library cards.

And lots of people who found out we were homeschooling.


This became our trifecta of curriculum through which our early experiences of homeschool flowed.  If you are interested in designing any or all of your own homeschool studies, these can be your greatest aids.



The Internet


I can't imagine how much effort homeschooling was before the internet.  I could type in 'kindergarten science' or 'second grade math' and seven billion sites would pop up with unit study materials, other moms blogging about their great ideas, free printable worksheets or coloring pages, and lists of scope and sequence (which I would then google because I had no idea what scope and sequence even meant - it's okay if you don't know what that means either).

I ordered gently used copies of the "Core Knowledge" series of books and based most of what we did for an entire year off of those books; they were an essential resource for guiding our learning by grade level. Their website states:

"In one convenient volume per grade — from What Your Preschooler Needs to Know through What Your Sixth Grader Needs to Know — the eight-volume Core Knowledge Series provides parents, teachers, and children with an engaging, illustrated introduction to the important knowledge outlined in the Core Knowledge Sequence. Each book suggests related readings and resources. The kindergarten and first grade books also include sections on how children learn to read."

I also searched several variations of "homeschool for free" or "homeschool resources" and listed the books and read the blogs and fell into internet rabbit holes full of magical ideas and tips.  I wrote lists of books that looked helpful.

I knew what my children had been doing in school up to this point, so we tried to pick up from there.  We finished the math workbooks the school sent home with them.  My kindergartener had only the letter "Q" left in his phonics studies, so I printed off worksheets and coloring pages.

I asked my children what they wanted to learn about.  I wrote down those topics under the list of books I had made for myself and off we went to the next critical stop on our journey:

The Library


Our library contained a small but rich homeschooling section.  Among the books I read were "Homeschooling on a Shoestring"  by Melissa Morgan and Judith Allee, "The Ultimate Book Of Homeschooling Ideas" and "Homeschoolers Success Stories" both by Linda Dobson, "How to Write a No-Cost/Low Cost Curriculum for Your Homeschool Child" by Borg Hendrickson, and racks of homeschool magazines - full to the brim with lessons, activities and tips.

We spent a great deal of time in the non-fiction sections of our library.  We found books covering the topics the children were most interested in, as well as resources recommended by the Core Knowledge books and suggested by internet sources.    We discovered DK Eyewitness books; three years later they are still our favorites.  We chose fictional books to read out loud together, including the first Harry Potter book and several Newbery Medal winners.

We branched out into the Audio-Visual section of the library.  We checked out classical music CDs, books on tape or playaways, and instructional DVDs.  Our favorites were the "Signing Time" series, "Families of the World" series, and (surprise!) DK Eyewitness.

Then, I discovered an entire "Teacher's Resource" section.  Just a few steps away from the homeschooling area!  There were reams of pages for copying to create classroom-type crafts (we did a Halloween skeleton from one of these books the next October) as well as themed books for different subjects, different times of year, month-by-month, and even fully written curriculum for certain subjects.  It was a goldmine for free curriculum planning.  As far as directly impacting the work my children did each day, though, the teachers resource area remained a distant second to...

People Who Heard We Were Homeschooling


We tried to quietly fade into the nine weeks away from school, to privately decide whether or not we were going to continue with this crazy idea.  It didn't work out that way.  First of all, people want to know where on Earth  you have gone.  Secondly, people care about you and your kid(s) and want to show it. Third, everyone has tons of stuff sitting around their house taking up space and are all in a constant state of decluttering.

Paper bags started appearing on my doorstep pretty quickly.  A cousin's unfinished math book from the previous school year, a barely used stamping set, puzzles, educational games, an expensive math manipulative set, and flashcards became part of our curriculum.  My sweet mother unearthed a box of worksheets with wipe-off plastic covers and black, oily pencils that we used during the preschool years at my own childhood home.  We were given old textbooks, garage sale books, early reader books, coloring and activity books, matching sets, art kits, craft boxes, jewelry making packs, clay, sorting kits, beads, prizes, and more stickers than you can imagine.

And we used them.  We used them all.

I started meeting and talking to other homeschooling families.  I was also fortunate to already be friends with three homeschooling families and related to a fourth.  They showered me with curriculum samples, borrowed books, group introductions, and reassurances.  They let me use their curriculum books, look over their children's work, ask questions about what they used and other families used. The best things that came from these friendships included the book "Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum: A Guide to Catholic Home Education" by Laura M. Berquist and invitations to used curriculum sales, where I continue to gather information and materials - even as we enter our fourth year at home.





Was designing curriculum for my children easy?  Actually, yes.  It was pretty simple.  I'm not going to say it wasn't a lot of work or a great deal of time, but the information and resources are abundantly available.  What required the most work was the sorting, organizing, storing, copying and printing of the materials.  The researching and teaching parts were fun!  Do we still school in this way?  No, we purchase a planned curriculum now.  But if I weren't also contributing to running our family farm or we were in a tighter financial situation I would want to go back to this method of curriculum design.  I still exert a similar technique and level of control over some portions of our children's education.  And it was a great way for me to learn what sort of style and rhythm where best going to fit my family.

There is something else I took from my experience of homeschooling without a curriculum:  I loan my curriculum out.  I give away the manipulative sets, puzzles, craft kits and unfinished workbooks we don't need anymore.  I try not to bombard them, but I give entire boxes of borrow or keep items to new homeschooling families when they tell me they are going to give it a try.   I loan out science, language arts or reading packages and sets to anyone who is interested in what we have used.


And then I tell them all to get out their library card and start making friends with the most knowledgable librarian working in that wonderful place.

Homeschool "Enrichment"

In most fifth grade classes here in Kansas, children begin their year determining if they will participate in beginning band, and if so, which instrument they will play.  Band was a great part of my childhood and I wanted my children to be offered the same opportunity if it was possible.

As it turned out, we were homeschooling when fifth grade rolled around.  I had met several other homeschooling families who utilized other public schools for many different resources, so we decided to check into our town's band program.  We aren't sorry we did!

The principal (and all of the staff) were courteous, helpful, and happy to have us.  We were the first homeschool family to be partially enrolled in the intermediate school, and we found their attitudes to be refreshing and interested.  At enrollment I paid a $20 fee and the principal himself gave my son a tour of the school.  We worked together with the secretary to create a safe system of drop-off and pick-up.

The band program itself was the big seller for us - there are three teachers who work with all the children in band from fifth grade clear through high school.  Should our son decide to continue with band, he will maintain a relationship with the same teachers as he continues to grow.  The high school band in our town has the largest amount of student participants compared to all other school activities.  The teaching is well structured and they managed to have four concerts for the fifth grade to showcase their talents.  Our son made several new friends and absolutely loves playing his horn.  He has written papers and journal entries about band and will be giving a presentation about being in band at our end-of-the-school-year party.

I am encouraging him to consider other extracurricular activities through the school.  He can join sports teams, academic clubs, and school organizations if he develops the interest or desire.

I also know that, one day, he is going to surpass my knowledge and abilities in mathematics.  There will be many choices for how he can continue his learning, like internet courses, tutoring, courses structured for homeschoolers, and homeschool group learning.  I will also consider partial enrollment if he is interested.  We have had a wonderful experience this year with band!

Five Steps To Choose Homeschool Curriculum

There is an amazing selection of terrific supplies for homeschooling families. The internet brings this to our fingertips. Are you looking into curriculum for next year, or considering homeschooling for the first time? Here are a few ideas to make curriculum shopping less intimidating:

1) Create a budget.

What is the ideal amount you would like to spend? What can your family afford above/below that amount? Do you have money set aside to pay all at once, or will you be trying to take advantage of a payment plan (many companies offer these)? Nailing this down first will help you make tough decisions as you go, rather than getting your heart set on something only to realize you can't make it happen after all.

2) Create a master list.

Begin with considering which method (or methods!) of schooling best fit with your family. Think about what your mission is a homeschooling parent and what your goals are - as a family and for each particular child. Then list any requirements in your state for the ages of your children. Once you have these parameters in place, you can list the subjects you will be covering, leaving space to fill in which materials you will use as you find them.

3) Research your options.

The internet is the best shopping tool on the planet, hands down. Not only can you look over samples and lists at homeschool curriculum companies, you can also read the reviews of other parents who have used those materials and connect with other homeschooling parents to glean their perspectives on different items. Talk with the other homeschooling families in your area; ask what they are using, what they have used, and what their thoughts are concerning your curriculum quest.

4) Attend used curriculum sales and homeschool conventions.

Wether or not you purchase anything at these gatherings, you will benefit from the time you spend. It is one thing to look at an advertised book or system on your computer screen, but it is quite another to hold it in your hands, flip through all the pages and speak with the parent (and sometimes student) who used it. First-hand accounts like this and the option to read over the material helps a great deal in the decision-making process.

5) Fill in the blanks.

Once you get this far, you will have most of the items on your list filled. I usually don't make any purchases online (though I may have a saved 'shopping cart' waiting to click 'check out') until I've been to the events in step four. Then, if I have a few things I didn't find or still need, I can take advantage of bulk rates or discounted shipping when I add to my order. I may beg or borrow materials from a friend or put together lessons from a free resource online.

What have you found to be your best resource for researching curriculum?

Bulletin Board Bonanza

Before the school year began for us, we spent a part of the summer putting fresh paint in our kitchen, family room and hallway. We furnished the hall with an organ bench, a self-sticking map of the world (everyone should have one of these - ask for one as a gift if $15 isn't in the budget right now), and a small bulletin board.

The children have taken turns creating displays on the board. My younger son's first display was about beginning a new school year and included pictures of our family. My daughter chose a fall/Thanksgiving theme, and my oldest son created a pictorial pun with the heading "It's Winter Time" over a clock which, instead of numbers, had seasonal items around it's face. It's hands were pointing to the snowflake.

I have given very little guidance and encouraged this as a creative project instead of an assignment. My daughter mostly used stickers on orange paper to make hers. My older son spent most of his time thinking of something he felt was funny and clever and very little time actually erecting the display (it was all black and white and he asked me to make the snowflake). My youngest son is extremely visual, so the colors included and balance of items are really important to him. His turn came around again last week, and he decided to stick with the seasonal bent the other kids have been on but focusing on his obsession of all things farm:

Some fun and unexpected learning has come from these projects, with very little input from me. The children all agree that covering the entire background of the board makes it look nicer. They try to have continuity in the color of tacks they use to pin their items. They figured out how to count the letters and spaces in their heading to center it. They realized that using a pencil first allows them to make changes before going over it with something more permanent. They discovered useful tools and tricks for tracing, sizing, and measuring.

This was a simple idea I added to school just for fun this year, and we will be doing it again. Like most things in homeschool, it was a practical experience that added fun and hands-on learning outside of curriculum. What simple, unexpected treasures have you discovered while homeschooling this past year?

Looking Ahead

"Spring Break" seems to be the breaking point for many families. It is the time of year when parents consider different arrangements for their children if their current situation is not a good fit. We never went back to our school after spring break three years ago. It is the time of year I get more questions about homeschooling than the other three seasons put together.

Spring can be an ideal time to look into other schools or methods of schooling. It gives parents and caregivers the opportunity to visit and tour schools with out as much time pressure. It gives children more time to adjust to the idea of a change. It allows just enough time to gather loads of information about trying something new before it's decision time. It leaves that last quarter of the school year for experimentation.

When we began homeschooling, we decided to try the final nine weeks of the school year at home. That way, we reasoned, if it was a complete disaster we would have the summer to make different arrangements. We had no curriculum, no experience, no sense of certainty that we were doing the right thing.

But we were willing to take the chance.

Now that we are homeschooling, spring break becomes the time of year when I begin to assess our curriculum. I consider changes for the year to come, talk with the children about what needs they feel are not being met and if they would like to consider a different arrangement in any way. I pour over the curriculum catalogues and reviews, I read about the other homeschool families doing the same thing.

Each year, I plan far more than we ever actually manage to fit into our day. I always come back down to earth after the first couple of weeks and root myself firmly in reading, writing, math and excellent historical literature. I am drawn to the same curriculums and activities that are in line with our approach to and goals for homeschooling our children.

If you are struggling with a poor fit in your life, now is a great time to step back and consider making a change. There is not a single correct way to parent, to discipline, to educate, to be a family. There is, however, a right way for your specific family. If you do not feel you have found that way, please consider making a change. It might be as simple as choosing a new homeschool curriculum, writing your own lessons this year, or changing the math program for one of your children who is struggling with it. It may be as complicated as switching to a different school, moving to a new town, or beginning a homeschooling journey. Come back to the basics of who your family is, what your needs, goals and convictions are. These will help you find your way to the right fit for your family right now. It may change in six months or a year, but you can spring ahead and try something new.

What are you reevaluating this spring?

Five Ways To Welcome Spring to Your Homeschool

Spring fever is here! Embrace the opportunity you have with the flexibility of homeschool and enjoy the changing season. These are five suggestions for simple ways to incorporate welcoming spring into your routine.

1. Get outside! Do your reading sitting on the porch. Take chalk to the park and do some math on the sidewalk. Encourage children old enough to work on their own to take their materials out of doors to complete their assignments.

2. Plant a seed! Whether you scoop some dirt into a pot or let your children trowel up some flower bed throwing off it's winter sleep, let them try their hand at growing something. It is extra special if children choose their own seeds and do all the work themselves. This past week, without my even knowing, my third grader planted three rows of peas and twelve seed potatoes while I was working with his little sister on school.

3. Take a nature walk! Gather up some small storage containers for samples, carry a small backpack with drinking water and sketch books. Find a place for an unhurried, schedule-less walk and encourage your little ones to touch, feel, and save samples (in ways that are respectful to mother nature!). Find a warm, comfortable spot to sit and help them draw something they see.

4. Eat something fresh! Most of the farmer's markets in our area haven't begun yet, but a trip to the store can help you teach your children about seasonal shopping, the benefits to your health and the earth's that comes by way of eating fresh foods, and a tasty treat! Spinach, radishes, and green onions would make a wonderful salad or dipping tray.

5. Watch for and talk about signs of new life! At our farm, the chickens are laying eggs now, the mama cows are birthing their little calves, the bulbs have shot up their first greens, the wheat is thickening. Point out these things to your children as you are going about your daily lives and enjoy the renewal that spring can give your spirit and home. Open your windows and let spring into your homeschool!

Simpler is fitting us better

When we began homeschooling (when my children were seven, five and three) I had grand visions for the complex and exciting ways in which our lives would change. I envisioned planning and executing numerous heavy field trips, I imagined parties for holidays planned by the children where friends and family of all ages participate, I expected to push my children to advance quickly in their work and include difficult, enriching, non-required subjects.

The reality has been that none of these things happen in the way I imagined. It has turned out that my priorities came into sharper focus once we began homeschooling, and high-pressure academics, too much travel, or intense preparations don't fit well with those things we find most important.

My focus has become so much more about how large a moment can be and the potential to seize it.

Our learning is better absorbed in bite-sized, minimized routines and I am satisfied so long as we are staying generally on track with state assessments in case the children ever decide to mainstream back into school.

Our field trips are immediate and centered around the needs or interests of a person in our family at the time they occur.

We plan one party a year, when we are finished with our curriculum. The children create displays and presentations, lay out some of their best work, make refreshments. I put together a slide show of our year and play it on the laptop. We set out every book we read during the school year. Then, we invite family and friends over for our year-end party. It's wonderful for the children to see all that they have accomplished, how much they have grown, the knowledge and learning they have amassed and savored.

The rest of the year I am so satisfied with the experience our children are having when they all stop working to watch a giant flock of geese pass by, when they come in from an afternoon outside with rosy cheeked and breathless exclamations about their game or discovery. I love it when they say "I wish we could see a..." or "Could we stop and look at..." and "I wonder if we could..." and we can.

Their learning centers around reading good literature together, play-acting what they have read or heard, applying their bite-sized lessons without realizing. When we are reading one of those excellent pieces of literature and it is so moving that I have to stop reading for the lump in my throat, we can take as much time as we want to discuss what is happening in the story.

And when they beg me "Pleeeeeeease can we read a little more?" I can answer by smiling and opening the book again.

In Our School - Today

Welcome to a day with our house! Each day is different, but I wanted you to see what many of our days our like. We front-load our weeks, so we are busiest Monday - Wednesday. Thursdays have no afternoon activities and Fridays are our lightest academically as well as having no activities scheduled. This is what happened at our house on Monday:

6:00 am - I'm up (I'm a morning person - big time - so don't think this as necessary for homeschooling!) and workout. I often run with a friend or go to the gym, but I tried a workout video today. After I shower and dress, I read a few blogs. My Farmer and I have a cup of coffee together and watch the news.

7:00 to 7:15 am - My Farmer tells the children goodbye (and wakes them if they aren't already up) and heads out the door. Depending on the morning and the child, they may come out of their rooms already dressed and ready to go or they may shuffle out and lay on the couch, snoozing for a while longer. I make breakfast and visit with anyone who is awake enough.

7:30 am - We start school with breakfast; I don't have a dress code so anyone who is still in their pajamas is welcome. We usually begin our day with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance. I read to the kids from our current historical novel while they eat. When they are finished, they clear their dishes and color, work in their journal or they may move to the floor to work on legos, pet the dog or find another quiet activity while they listen.

8:30 to 9:00 am - We are finished with our group work by now (finding places on the maps we have been reading about, discussing the period in history, culture of people or new vocabulary in the history books). Everyone takes a break to do some chores - there are animals to feed, beds to be made, and sometimes there are still children who need to get dressed!

9:30 to 11:00 - Individual work becomes our focus. We do not keep a set schedule for this part (or any part, really) of our day. My oldest (ten, doing mostly fifth grade work) requires very little help or instruction and often moves to the living room to work. My second son (eight, doing primarily third grade work) works more on his own this year then he ever has before, but he is also very dyslexic and does prefer that I be nearby and available, so he typically works at the kitchen table. My daughter (six, working on first grade materials) does short assignments which all require explanation beforehand, so she also works at the table. Each child will have reading, math, handwriting and language arts.

At any time during this block of work, any child may change subjects or take a break to work on his/her list of other jobs. These include feeding/watering our pets and livestock, picking up their rooms, folding and putting away their own laundry as well as tasks I assign each day on an as-needed basis (today my oldest took the trash and recycling bin to the road, my middle cleaned the toilets and my youngest dusted). Often they stop for a snack or drink, or to watch something out the window. Generally it is a quiet, focused time. The younger the child, the more often breaks are needed and the more frequently their breaks include just playing for a bit. I try to let them self-regulate and typically it works well.

11:00 - Pick up and put away school work, lunch goes on the table. This is usually something I've made quickly (like sandwiches) or something I reheated from a previous meal. If I'm really on the ball, it's a hot meal I prepped the night before and just had to pop in the oven. Today it was just sandwiches, apples, and nuts. I had a salad. We usually like to read while we have meals, which can make it a challenge for me to eat with good manners, but usually I eat about half my lunch, read while the kids finish off their lunch, then finish mine while they are brushing their hair/teeth and putting on their shoes/coats.

11:45 - leave for band. We drive about five miles into the little town whose public school district we are in. My oldest is enrolled for band and plays the coronet. He loves it. The class is only thirty minutes, so I usually bring another book to read to the younger kids while we wait, or if it's nice we go to a park. Sometimes we run to the Post Office or wash the van.

However, even though my calendar TOLD me it was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and even though I had a lesson on MLK, and even though I'd checked the night before and KNEW there was no band (public school not in session) - yep, I still took my kid. Thankfully I figured out before I left him there that the school was empty (the lack of bikes in the rack tipped me off). So we ran to the grocery store and Shooter just came with us.

12:35 pm - band is finished (or we finished at the store), we drive to Tae Kwan Do lessons. I drop off my oldest (who has been learning TKD for two years now) and youngest (who was given TKD lessons for Christmas this year) about quarter to one. My middle son and I arrive for his phonics tutoring (we began this after his dyslexia was diagnosed in the spring) at 1:00.

2:00 pm - Phonics tutoring is finished, pick up TKD kids, head home. My children like to read or draw while we drive. We also listen to music a lot. I play Geography Songs, Sing The Word, and math fact songs...but they prefer classic country.

2:30 to 5:30 pm - Free time! This is when the kids wrap up any chores or school work they did not have time to finish before we left home. Typically there is a chore or two left to be done, but for the most part they just play. If the weather is nice (above 40 degrees) they want to be outside. Otherwise they build Lego, play with action figures, draw or paint and read library books. Today the weather was nice, so the kids played outside. The kids also have a favorite PBS show that comes on at 4:00 each day. This is when I finish up *my* chores for the day and get as much done at my desk as I can (I do the bookwork and record keeping for our farm). I also check Facebook and email. Today I went through mail, paid bills, worked on a spreadsheet and checked Facebook. I folded and put away laundry and did some decluttering. Then I started dinner. I made roasted vegetables, baked pork chops and scratch biscuits.

6:30 - Supper time! This all depends on when or if My Farmer is going to make it home for the evening meal. If not, we may be delivering it to the field for him. He opted to wait until he got home today. So I let the children stay outside until they came in of their own choice & then served the food. Usually in the winter we eat earlier, but when we have a nice day I want the kids to enjoy every drop of sunshine they can!

7:30 to 8:30 pm - Time to get ready for bed! Everyone changes into their pajamas, has a bedtime story and maybe a snack. I let my oldest son read until 9:00 or so. I finish the dishes, get lunches ready for the next day, lay out all our school materials for morning and set the coffee pot. Then I headed back to my desk and visited with My Farmer when he came home at 10:15 pm. We headed to bed just after 11:00 pm.

A few things to keep in mind when you read this:

First of all, my children are all finished with the toddler stages. I can accomplish a lot with the hours in my day because their needs and independence level has changed. Secondly, we couldn't keep this tight a schedule every day, but a few days a week is fine for us. Third, I don't need a lot of sleep. Fourth, we have been homeschooling now for three years, so we have had some practice! We have figured out what times of day are most productive in which way for each of us. This took some ironing out! This also means we've had quite some time to work into this routine and we are very comfortable with and good at it. The day I've described here looks nothing like our first nine weeks of homeschooling in the spring of 2008 - because we have all grown and changed since then.

Find the ways that are best for your family - the ways that keep most of the people happy and learning most of the time. Wise homeschooling families (several right here on GYH!) have written about the changing, growing, living nature of a homeschool - it is always going to look different from one family to another and from one month/year to the next in your own family.

I know this is long - thanks if you made it all the way to the end!

Our Favorite Homeschool Tools 2012

Happy New Year! For my first post of 2012, I want to share with you the items we have discovered (or rediscovered) as homeschool essentials for our family this year.

1. Apps

My oldest son and I both moved into the world of smarter MP3s or cell phones this holiday season. We are already making use of them to look up unknown words with dictionary apps, find places with map apps, and make lists with note apps.

2. Sharpie Liquid Pencil

I do lots of different things to encourage writing in my dysgraphic son. Special writing items really help him to feel excited about writing. We discovered this product (thank you, Santa) is perfect as it allows him to erase as he is working, never breaks (he presses hard) and becomes permanent the next day.

3. Dry Erase Slate

My daughter is on the invisible thresh hold of truly "getting" reading and writing. She enjoys all work encompassing those subjects, but for some reason this tool has been like magic to her. She loves to write and erase, write and erase, write and erase. If I lived in a state with more stringent record keeping requirements, I would take pictures of her work before she erased it. As it is, I just mark her work as done in my lesson plans, and write on her work book "completed on dry erase slate."

4. Dedicated School Storage

You have heard me talk about this before, and I'm sure I will talk about it again - but it still bears repeating. Organize your materials ahead of time. Have a space devoted only to storing school items. In our case, it is an ugly old set of particle-board shelves I bought at a school garage sale. It's indispensable! I have a section for each child to keep their 'everyday' items like pencils, math books and journals. I have a section where I keep items I use every day like my lesson plans, the books we are reading that week, paper and flashcards. I have a section for books we have finished and books we have yet to come to. It saves me so much time and heartache!

5. Binders

How did I ever homeschool without binders?! I don't know either. I have a binder that contains the entire year's lesson plans, a binder containing enrichment materials, a binder for the appendix that came with my curriculum, and my own week-long binder. Each week, I move what I need for the five school days into it. This includes lesson plans for our core (shared) work, lesson plans for each child's language arts and reading, phonics materials for my first grader, and any seasonal coloring pages or enrichment activities. I separate each of these areas with tabbed, pocketed 3-ring dividers. I place uncompleted work (like spelling lists or coloring pages) on one side of the pocket, and completed work in the other. I also keep stickers for the kids' papers, a zippered pencil case for myself, and inspirational items there (this prayer card is my favorite).

What wonderful items have been a boon to your family in homeschooling this year?

Gifts For Homeschooling Families

Do you need some holiday gift ideas for a homeschooling family you love? Are people close to you stumped about what you might like to have? Here is a list of suggestions which would make wonderful presents for anyone who is homeschooling.

1) Memberships

Does this family live near a great zoo? A children's museum? How about a YMCA with free family activities and classes? A year-long membership to these types of local attractions will be used and appreciated year-round.

2) Lessons

This is one of the best gifts our family has ever received. Our children were given 'gift certificates' from my parents for any lessons they would like to try. It was a wonderful adventure just seeking out the different types available: ballroom dancing, water polo, piano, guitar, rock climbing, martial arts, gymnastics, ballet and horseback riding were a few that were seriously considered. One of my children is, three years later, still participating in the original activity he chose.

3) Books

Homeschool families love all things literature. Just make sure you are considering the ages of the children when you make your purchase. Most sites online will have recommendations by age. Nonfiction is going to be preferable - you can even ask the families what they have been studying recently. They will appreciate your interest as well as your investment in and support of the lifestyle they have chosen.

4) Outings

Homeschool families LOVE a good field trip. Is there a fantastic place they would love to go? An air and space museum? A mine of some sort? An historical marker with attractions? Find a way to help them go, whether it is passes to the location itself, a place to stay while there, or a gift certificate to a nearby restaurant.

5) Magazine Subscriptions

There are mountains of wonderful publications in circulation for all age groups of children. You will want to be sure you dig a bit before you subscribe - often the most popular magazines are not the meatiest. Homeschool families are going to prefer very high-quality content, and they will thank you for it every time it arrives in their mailbox.

What is the best gift you have given or received that pertains to homeschooling?