Category Archives: Homeschool 101

2014-2015 Curriculum

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We attended the Midwest Parent Educators conference and curriculum expo this past spring and got all our supplies and curriculum for next school year.  We purchase mostly from Rainbow Resource because they have the lowest prices but we got some things like our Math-U-See program direct from their booth at a show discount.  It’s a great place to look at the different curriculum that are successful on the market.  We are all set to go and we are spending any down time this summer finishing up the last few chapters in our 2012-2013 curriculum.

Zavien, 4th Grade

  • Grammar: First Language Lessons III this is a short lesson that uses repetition in a constructive and non-monotonous way.  We’ve both enjoyed it and he retains it.
  • Writing: Writing with Ease III… this is also a short lesson but you have to be engaged the whole lesson to make sure the child is writing correctly.  This is when I’m the most strict with writing.  For cursive we are using Classical Conversations Prescripts work books.
  • Spelling: Phonics for Reading & Spelling (spelling)… this is a good program and works best with consistency.  We use an iPad app to study our spelling list each week which has worked really well.
  • Literature:  Classical House of Learning/Grammar Stage/ my son loves to be read to and to draw.  This is a great program that ties into our history lesson too.
  • Reading: McGuffey Readers… great classic curriculum to reinforce reading skills.  Christian Lighthouse Education Reading (readers and workbook)… I really like these readers as it teaches good character along with reading.  I got the workbooks to help with comprehension but it’s been less about comprehension and more about reading skills.  After a section of these readers my son has to spend the rest of his 1 hour of reading in elective books.  He reads Magic Tree House, the Geronimo Mouse series, the Dragon Keeper’s series, and he just got the Hardy Boy’s.
  • Poetry:  The boys memorize one poem at a time and then I record them reciting it.  They practice the poem everyday until they have it mastered.  We choose our poems from The Random House Book of Poetry.
  • Latin:  We started Prima Latin from Classical Conversations this year and it’s going well so far.
  • Math: Math-U-See Delta we love this program and the boys really thrived on it last year.  It’s a very hands on program and teaches in sequence.
  • History: Story of the World III… this is a great program that my son loves to listen to.  He will sit and listen to the audio while coloring and I will ask him the workbook questions to make sure he was listening.  Then we do map work and take the test.  We don’t get into the projects much due to time but we try to do some of the literature suggestions and encyclopedia reading.
  • Science: Geography… We are exploring geography this year.
  • Religion: Bible Stories… we read a chapter at bedtime and it’s been great for all of us.  Mom included.  Getting through the Old Testament is easy with these Children’s Bible Stories.
  • Art & Art History: the children attend DHA and Zion’s Compass Co-op where they have 1 hour lessons each week that cover different subjects in art and art history.
  • Music & Music History: Piano Lessons… we take lessons with Michelle Sherer and it’s been great.  It’s so fun to see them at their recitals. Voice Lessons… we take lessons with Havilah Bruder and we saw a drastic improvement in our older son’s singing in church.

He also will be doing soccer in the fall & spring, DHA 1 day a week, Zion’s Compass Co-op 1 morning each week.

Jaxon, 2nd Grade

  • Grammar: First Language Lessons II
  • Writing: Writing with Ease II
  • Spelling: Phonics for Reading & Spelling (phonograms, writing, & spelling)
  • Literature: Classical House of Learning/Grammar Stage
  • Reading: McGuffey Readers & Christian Lighthouse Education Reading(readers)
  • Poetry: The Random House Book of Poetry
  • Math: Math-U-See Gamma
  • History: Story of the World III
  • Science: Geography
  • Religion: Bible Stories
  • Music: Piano lessons, Guitar lessons

He also will be doing soccer in the fall & spring, DHA 1 day a week, Zion’s Compass Co-op 1 morning each week, and horse back riding lessons once a week.

Tylea, Kindergarten

  • Reading: Phonogram cards, Discover the Code series
  • Math: Math-U-See Alpha
  • Writing: learning her circle space as she masters her phonics
  • Enrichment: Busy Bags!
  • Music: Piano lessons

She also will be doing soccer in the fall, ballet after the new year, DHA 1 day a week,  Zion’s Compass Co-op 1 morning each week, and Handmaidens(think Christian girl scouts).

Vaylee, Toddlerdom

  • Busy Bags!  We have like 50 different busy bags that I can turn to and entertain my little one.  I love it!

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Supplement Resources:Homeschool Library

Weekly Enrichment Program: Discovery Homeschool Academy(DHA)- homeschool enrichment one day a week.  All the fun classes that you liked in public school: PE, Art, Music, Spanish, Science, Social Studies.  We have class parties, field day, grandparents day, field trips and other fun activities with the fellowship of other homeschool families.  They also have homeschool 101 classes for parents that were great.

Homeschool Co-op: Zion’s Compass Homeschool Co-op- one morning each week we join other families and share teaching!  This year the subjects are Music, Art, Science, and History.  The parents take turns to teach each of the subjects each week.  It’s been fabulous and the children makes friends and enjoy experiences together.

Homeschool Support:  I really enjoy The Well Trained Mind forum online and the book has been so helpful in navigating available curriculum.  Once a month I am attending the Zion’s Compass Parent Night, which has guest speakers to help in different areas that appeal to homeschooling parents.

1, 2, 3, 4 My Elementary Tour

1st Grade

First grade is really when homeschool gets rolling.  You add a bunch of curriculum that you didn’t cover in kindergarten or preschool.  You spend more time learning in each specific subject area.  There is a lot of growing and stretching that happens this 1st grade year.  It’s the transition year between fun kindergarten and the next 12 years of focused learning.  Children are excited to be growing up but we have to be conscience as parents to encourage their curiosity and thirst for knowledge.  Too much school can squash that thirst and it’s a fine line.

For us in 1st grade we add history, science, literature, spelling, grammar, memorization, art/music history, and some computer work.  That’s in addition to the reading, writing, math, and piano that we established in kindergarten.  It’s quite the adjustment for the child.  For a first child they are usually excited to be learning new things.  For a younger sibling they are big like their big brother/sister and get to do that work now!  They’re excited!

Science, history, and literature are great stories that the child probably hasn’t heard before.  The children are eager to hear these wonderful stories about new exciting things.  The major growth with those subjects in 1st grade is that the child has to really hear the story and answer questions about what they heard.  That’s a new skill that usually takes a couple months.  For us, in history, I will have the child listen to the audio story several times.  The first time they get to color the accompanying coloring sheet while they listen with headphones.  When they can’t answer any questions then they listen again without coloring.  If they still don’t know the answers, I will play the lesson out loud, and pause it after the answer to each question is given.  By the middle of 1st grade the child has learned what is expected in the lesson and tries to pay close attention to find the answers the first time.

Grammar and memorization are new in 1st grade too.  For example memorizing the definition of a noun, and poems about the days in the months.  Children are actually very good at memorizing things and our grammar lessons are short and sweet and the repetition is just right.  I also have my children pick out a poem to memorize in 1st grade.  My oldest son picked The Crocodile by Lewis Carole.  My second son has chosen A Visit by St. Nicolas by Clement Clarke Moore(he’s 1/4 through having it memorized and possibly regretting choosing such a long poem).  We have them preform their chosen poem in front of family around the end of the school year.

Z marking the phonetic rules on his spelling words

Spelling is a natural progression from learning phonograms and beginning reading.  We have a really long list of spelling words(with their rules explained) to complete over several years.  We do 10 words at a time.  We go over each word, and the sound each letter makes in that word.  We review any spelling rules we come across and the child copies these into his note book.  Next, I have uploaded a spelling app that allows custom spelling lists.  It has a study test option which shows the words and plays my voice using the word in a sentence.  It also has a word search and word scramble.  There is a testing feature that has smiley hints.  My children will review their spelling words in this app for several days until they feel confident to take their spelling test.  My 3rd grader is moving through his spelling lists at a quick rate while my 1st grader takes his time.  But that’s okay.  We are working on spelling mastery not an extensive 1st grade vocabulary.  Whichever words they miss on their spelling test I will add onto their next list of 10 words.

Also in addition to reading verbally with mom/dad, we start a required 30 minutes of independent reading.  At first we called it silent reading so that the child understood the difference.  But now we call it fun reading.  It’s child’s choice of which books they would like to read at this time.  But they have to choose out of a basket with books appropriate for their actual reading level, or they may look through books we got at the library that week, or follow along with an audio book.

For art/music history we try to include stories from artists and musicians from the past, pictures of their creations, or audios of their masterpieces.  We visit museums, play classical music while doing math, we do art lessons from Artistic Pursuits, and watch Little Einsteins.

We do math drills on the computer at xtramath.org and that has been a nice intro to the number pad on the computer.  The boys also do supervised google searches for special interest coloring pages.  I have a typing program that I need to get setup on a desktop for them to use that I just haven’t gotten to yet.  Typing will be part of my younger children’s 1st grade experience in the future.

1st, 2nd Grade Daily
 Math 30mn  Grammar 15mn  Writing 15mn
Spelling 15mn  Verbal Reading 15mn Req Reading 30mn
Piano 30mn
Weekly
 Science 1.5hr/wk  History 1.5hr/wk Literature 3hr/wk
Optional
 Music History  Art History Art/Crafts

2nd, 3rd, & 4th Grades

We basically continue the above pattern through fourth grade.  In 2nd or 3rd grade we will add cursive handwriting and latin.  At what point in time we add it depends on the child’s level of development.  I introduced cursive to my second grader last year and it was tears and just awful.  So we only did that one lesson(and switched curriculum).  By fall of this year it was easy peasy.  He’s flown through his Cursive Without Tears book basically all by himself.  We just purchased him a new cursive book of Bible verses that he’ll start next week.  I’m looking forward to starting latin and I would have introduced it right after Christmas break but I’m waiting for the spring conference sale.  At Mardel’s last week I decided I liked Prima Latin best so I will be picking that up on April 4th!

In 3rd grade the required reading time also increased from 30 minutes to one hour.  That’s time that has to be spent reading chapter books of the child’s choice.  I feel that it is imperative that these books be of interest to the child.  If one series doesn’t work try a different one.  Our son was intimidated by books without pictures so we started with the Geronimo series.  It was goofy and about dinosaurs.  Perfect for an 8 year-old-boy.  He’s been reading through those at a faster and faster rate which is so exciting.  This past Saturday we picked out a new Christian series that is from Odyssey that he’s interested in.  He calls it a cross between Odyssey and Magic Tree House.  I want all my children to have a love of literature.  I strive to read to them daily and often change my voice for each character.  I’m personally so grateful to my 3rd grade teacher for gifting me with a love of reading.

3rd, 4th Grade Daily
 Math 30mn  Grammar 15mn  Writing 15mn
Spelling 15mn  Verbal Reading 30mn Req Reading 1hr
Piano 30mn  Cursive 30mn  Latin 30mn
Weekly
 Science 1.5hr/wk  History 1.5hr/wk Literature 3hr/wk
Optional
 Music History  Art History Art/Crafts

I haven’t taught 4th grade yet but that is our plan above.  These first four years are called the “Grammar Stage,” in classical education.  It’s when children are little sponges.  These are the years in which the building blocks for all other learning are laid.  Grades 5-8 are called the “Logic Stage,” is a time when the child begins to pay attention to cause and effect, to the relationships between different fields of knowledge relate, to the way facts fit together into a logical framework.  And grades 9-12 are called the “Rhetoric Stage,” where a student learns to write and speak with force and originality. The student of rhetoric applies the rules of logic learned in middle school to the foundational information learned in the early grades and expresses his conclusions in clear, forceful, elegant language.  At this point you also focus on special interests and training for the future.  (Source)

Check out my curriculum post for this 2013-2014 school year for a full list of what we use.  And here are links for information on how I teach preschool and kindergarten.

Balance, Step, Walk, Run-Kindergarten

When a toddler begins the process to walk he first starts by pulling himself up to standing and works on his balance.  Next he holds onto something as he takes steps.  Then he lets go of his support and takes his first step on his own.  Next he’s walking and then running.  It’s a process.  Some children go from standing to walking quite quickly, while others take their time.

This process is the same with reading, writing, and arithmetic.  You start with the basics and each child grows in their own time.  So realize this before you start teaching your kindergartener.  If your expectation is that you will be teaching and correcting your child’s basic reading and writing capabilities until 2nd, 3rd, and possibly 4th grade then it will be a happy surprise if they pick up on fluency earlier.

AisforApple2READING:  First we start with phonics.  We learn the 72 phonograms by sight WITHOUT visual aids.  We have used audio aids on some of the harder ones. However, I’m not sure if that will hinder them in the long run.  When you give a visual or audio aid when learning phonics then the child has to first remember the image or aid before they can deduce the basic sound(s).  A is for apple, for instance.  The child first has to remember Apple, then only one of the three sounds that A makes.  So we don’t use any visual aids.  They only look at a flashcard with the letter on it.

While our children can sing their alphabet at a very young age we do not introduce the letter names when we are doing phonograms.  We call the letters by their phonetic sounds.  So instead of calling A by it’s name, we call it by ă, ā, and ä.  We call the letter O by it’s phonetic sounds of ŏ, ō, ŭ, and oo.

Jax with phonetic flashcards

We introduce phonogram flashcards a few at a time until they are mastered.  When the first four are memorized, we add a few more, while still reviewing all the ones we’ve mastered.  We start this process in pre-k but we don’t accomplish all 74  basic phonograms until kindergarten usually.  Every child is different and I’ve heard of children reading at age 3.

We introduce the first 26 phonograms in this order: o, c, a, d, f, g, s, qu, e, b, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, p, r, t, u, v, w, x, y, and z.  Most letters only have one sound, six have two sounds, three have three sounds, and one has four sounds.  So the first 26 phonograms have 41 different sounds in total.

Once the first 26 phonograms are established we start phonics readers.  We have the Biscuit Books set and the children really love it.  After the Biscuit books we read through some Dick and Jane books, then we start McGuffey’s Pictorial Primer and the readers from Christian Light Publications.  Our kindergartener also sits and flips through books or listens to audio books during their “silent reading” time.

CircleSpace


WRITING:  Once the child has mastered how to read the first 26 phonograms we start on learning to write the letters.  We learn to write in the same order that we learned to read.  We use a curriculum called Phonics for Reading and Spelling.  In it there are charts and one of them is called the Circle Space.  We used the Circle Space and especially the star station in learning to write letters.

LetterAPhonogramThe curriculum flashcards can be purchased separately from the whole system.  On the front of the card is the letter.  And on the back of each card are instructions on how to say the sounds of the letter, sample words the sounds are in, and letter formation verbiage.  To the right is a picture of the back of our flashcard for letter A.  These are invaluable to me as a teacher and have made teaching to read and write simple without a lot of book work.

Using these stations has made explaining letter writing very simple.  And there are names for each of the lines as well.  It makes it fun and easy to learn the rules of penmanship.  It also makes it very simple for me to correct letter formation in higher grades.  I’m often telling my 1st grader not to let his letters touch the poison line.

CircleSpaceLinesDetails

circlespacesample

After learning how to write each letter, I continue using the line names and circle space stations in corrections as the children write.  It’s very important in the beginning to watch them as they write during “writing time”.  You do not allow them to form bad habits.  You watch how they are holding their pencil, guide them as needed(watch out for the shark line), and erase and repeat if mistakes are made.  I do not correct their penmanship in other subjects.

ARITHMETIC:  We use Math-U-See and we all really like it.  “Math-U-See is designed to teach students specific skills that build as the student progresses. This systematic and cumulative approach uses a definite, logical sequence of concept instruction. The Math-U-See system is structured with step-by-step procedures for introducing, reviewing, practicing, and mastering concepts. Each lesson teaches using multi-sensory tools such as videos, manipulatives, and other resources, designed to appeal to any type of learner.”

At our house the child sits and watches the video.  We do the first worksheet together to make sure instructions are understood and the concept is established.  Then they do the rest of the worksheets on their own over a week.  If they have questions they ask.  I grade their worksheets each day and they have to go back and correct any mistakes.  That helps me, as the teacher, catch if they are not understanding the concept since I’m working with several of my children while they are doing their math worksheets.

MORE:  We also do piano lessons, crafts, and my kindergartener is invited to sit into my older children’s history, science, and literature lessons and experiments/activities.  One day a week they attend the Discovery Homeschool Academy and at the end of the year our little kindergartener has a graduation!  He loved it!

Kindergarten Daily
Math 30mn Writing 15mn Piano 30mn
Phonics 15mn  Verbal Reading 15mn Req Reading 15mn
Optional
 Science  History Literature
 Music History  Art History Art/Crafts

Check out my curriculum post for last 2012-2013 school year for a full list of what we used.  And here are links for information on how I teach preschool and elementary.

Where to Start- Homeschooling a Preschooler

When my preschooler is ready to do school we start with our math primer book, tracing letters and numbers, learning phonograms, reading corner, and piano daily.  We “do school” when she feels like it and only for as long as she feels like doing it at a time.  The rest of the day is spent imagining with toys, playing with playdoh, coloring, painting, playing with manipulatives, and yes sometimes watching movies.  In the nice weather more time is spent playing outside.  Occasionally she will join in projects with her older brothers.  For example last week they all picked a bird they wanted to study and we did a project on that bird.

MATH:  For our math primer we use the curriculum from Math-U-See.  In the past my boys used work books from Walmart that we were given.  The lessons are short and simple.  I do not stress how the child’s written numbers look at all.  Their motor skills are not developed enough to force perfect writing at this stage.  Playing with math manipulatives is always fun and helps teach patterns, sorting, and basic addition and subtraction.

Ty working on her pre-k work

WRITING:  We use sheet protectors and plastic sleeves with print outs to practice tracing shapes, letters, and numbers with dry erase markers.  My children have always enjoyed using dry erase markers.  This helps them notice the shapes and get their hands use to creating the shapes.  I do not expect them to write the numbers or letters from memory in preschool.  Although Tylea has been writing her name on her own since right after her fourth birthday.

READING:  We have a reading corner setup.  It has a CD player with headphones and a little rocking chair.  There are baskets with specific reading levels in each.  There is also a box full of books with audio CDs.  My preschooler is welcome to sit and listen or just flip through books anytime she would like.

PHONICS:  I start introducing phonograms before preschool just to gage the child’s ability for retention.  My daughter was not ready for phonics until her preschool year.  So we have been working to memorize the phonograms.  We haven’t gotten very far with her and that’s just her level.  With my second son in preschool he picked up on the first 26 phonograms pretty quickly.  He was competing with his older brother though and I think that pushed him to learn them quickly.  My daughter doesn’t have that pressure so we are taking it slow and that’s ok.  She does enjoy doing the first Explode the Code book, although I did not use this previously with my boys.

SCIENCE:  We go on hikes, we visit nearby parks, we have a pass to the Kansas City Zoo, we visit Powell Gardens(a botanical garden), we take camping trips to parks like Dinosaur Valley in Texas, spring 2014 we are going to the Creation Museum in Kentucky.  We watch shows like Magic School Bus and the Discovery Channel.  We bake together and talk about the weather pretty regularly.  We also have a  farm and lots of animal and plant science gets discovered.

BUSY BAGS:  We have a box of busy bags that our preschooler will go through when she feels like it.  She does it at her own pace and asks me questions as she goes.  It’s pretty neat to watch her play and discover.

PIANO:  My children start piano in preschool.  It starts them getting use to practicing and rhythm.  And they are adorable at piano recitals.  My daughter was so tickled with herself after she played her piano piece at her first recital.  It was adorable.

TyPiano2013-1 TyPiano2013-2

ARTS & CRAFTS:  We are an artsy family and have lots of different supplies always available for creating.  We paint often, color a lot, cut up things into tiny pieces for fun, and create seasonal crafts.

I’m writing a blog post on what we do in Kindergarten and how I teach my children to write their letters using a circle space and the star station.  It’s worked really well for my two boys and I will start my daughter working with it in the fall, which will be her kindergarten year.

Check out my curriculum post for 2013-2014 school year for a full list of what we use.  And here are links for information on how I teach kindergarten and elementary.

Does Common Core Affect Missouri Homeschoolers?

Common Core State Standards as Defined in Missouri:

“The standards:

  • Establish consistent learning goals for all students – regardless of where they live.
  • Provide a clear roadmap of academic expectations at each grade level.
  • Are relevant to the real world and prepare students for post-secondary education and a globally competitive workforce.
  • Were developed by a diverse team of educators, researchers and parents from across the country‒including Missouri‒to be academically rigorous, attainable for students, and practical for teachers and districts.

The New English Language Arts Standards

Shifts in the new English language arts standards include:

  • Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction and information texts, in addition to literature.
  • Reading and writing grounded in evidence from the text.
  • Regular practice with complex text and its academic vocabulary.

The New Math Standards

Shifts in the new math standards include:

  • Focus: deeper learning in two to four areas at each grade level.
  • Coherence: concepts logically connected from one grade to the next and linked to other major topics at each grade level.
  • Rigor: fluency with arithmetic, application of knowledge to real world situations and a deep understanding of mathematical concepts.”  dese.mo.gov

How Common Core Standards Affect Missouri Homeschooling:

Books globe and glasses

“45 states–including Missouri–took the bait, gave
up the right to choose what their children would learn, and promised
to create a system that would require all public children to learn
exactly the same things.

This could affect homeschoolers profoundly if it is not stopped.
College admissions tests are already changing to submit to Common
Core. The ability to enter college or get a scholarship could one day
depend on having learned the Common Core. Getting a job or getting
into the military could one day depend on learning the Common Core.
Even some homeschool curriculum providers have announced that their
books comply with Common Core!

Once all public school children are learning exactly the same things
nationwide, the path is laid to force private schools and homeschools
to comply. After all, why should some non-conformists be allowed to
teach their kids anything they want when “everyone” is learning Common
Core? It is not unthinkable that your freedom to teach your children
what you know they should learn could vanish–or it could be penalized
beyond anything we might now imagine.

The federalization of education content would be a huge step toward
turning the clock back and ending homeschool freedom.”  HSLDA

Section 3 of the Missouri Homeschool Law:

“3. Nothing in this section shall require a private, parochial, parish or home school to include in its curriculum any concept, topic, or practice in conflict with the school’s religious doctrines or to exclude from its curriculum any concept, topic, or practice consistent with the school’s religious doctrines. Any other provision of the law to the contrary notwithstanding, all departments or agencies of the state of Missouri shall be prohibited from dictating through rule, regulation or other device any statewide curriculum for private, parochial, parish or home schools. “ FHE-MO

Brookie-Lee’s Perspective:

I’m glad to know that it’s currently illegal for the state of Missouri to tell me what set of standards(Common Core) or curriculum to use in homeschooling my children.  The freedom to teach my children based on our beliefs, learning styles, and each individual student’s pace is imperative to education.  We switched math programs to find one that worked better for us.  We picked our history based on it’s broad inclusion of events, peoples, and biblical history.  Our Language Arts is a combination of many different curriculum and materials to ensure the depth of learning.  We are teaching in an environment and with materials that we believe in.  Curriculum that we are confident will educate our children thoroughly despite any lack of education we ourselves may have.

I am confident in the schooling we are doing and am not currently concerned about the SATs.  We will fully educate our children, and unless the SATs turn into tests on presidential memos, I’m sure our children will know what they need to in order to score well.  As a concerned, involved parent I will keep my eye on the progress of public education in America.  Adjusting our own course as we see necessary.  While I don’t see higher education as a necessity to success, I believe that everyone should have the choice to choose that path. I have a stronger belief in entrepreneurship and real life to teach true and useful knowledge.  But CHOICE and the FREEDOM to choose is what made this country great.  And we will teach our children and supply them with all they need to have those choices open and available to them.  Apprenticeship, Business, College, Government, Family, Travel.  The world will be available to them because we aren’t limiting them to “post-secondary education and a globally competitive workforce.”

One of the things we emphasize is doing what you love.  We’ve discovered in our own journey’s for happiness that doing work you love is imperative.  Helping our children discover their gifts and talents and making a living at it is our goal for the next three decades.  Passion for what you do makes all the difference in the world for having a happy life.  My husband loves to design and now works for a successful solar company that he helped grow to what it is now.  His love for his job and his satisfaction for what he’s contributing to the world is a wonderful example to our children.  We hope to find each child’s passion and talent as we homeschool.  Devoting more time on areas where passion shows.  Allowing the child to blossom and become an expert by the time they are old enough to go out into the world.  Thankfully there is not a law or set of curriculum that will limit us from doing that.

My Own 4-day Homeschool Planner

Last year I recorded all of our daily work in a planner I purchased from Mardel’s.  It was pretty and had Bible Scriptures, perforated shopping lists, goal pages, etc, etc.  By the end of the year there was a huge section of it that I just didn’t use.  A lot of fluff that I just didn’t need.  I looked at the other options at Mardel’s this year and nothing was really perfect for having two children to record for.  They aren’t learning the same things and I needed the right amount of space for each.  And we only homeschool four days a week since we attend an enrichment program on Tuesdays.  So I created my own.  It’s very plain but it is exactly what I needed and I’m excited about it.  I put it in a three ring binder for now.  I’m going to test it out this year and make any changes I need to pages as we go.  For next year I will spiral bind it.  I just printed a simple cover page with a picture of our family and the year.  Included a two year calendar that lists the holiday dates.  Then the log sheets and the weekly planner pages.  I write down daily what we’ve accomplished and do not write down for the future.  I find the future never goes as planned so I plan for that.  ;D  This is super simple but it’s clean and clear.  I hope you find this helpful.

Click images below to open excel and word files to create your own planner!

2013-14 cover  Two Year in a Page Log2013-2014Click on image below to open a generic excel file where you can fill in your own subjects/curriculum in the left column.  Notice I have all my core subjects toward the top and all the non-core subjects after.  To leave room for my 3-ring hole punch my excel sheet margins are top/bottom: .5, left: .75, right: .25, header:.15, footer: .0

JaxWkSheet

2013-2014 Curriculum

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We attended the Midwest Parent Educators conference and curriculum expo this past spring and got all our supplies and curriculum for next school year.  We purchase mostly from Rainbow Resource because they have the lowest prices but we got some things like our Math-U-See program direct from their booth at a show discount.  It’s a great place to look at the different curriculum that are successful on the market.  We are all set to go and we are spending any down time this summer finishing up the last few chapters in our 2012-2013 curriculum.

Zavien, 3rd Grade

  • Grammar: First Language Lessons II…  this is a short lesson that uses repetition in a constructive and non-monotonous way.  We’ve both enjoyed it and he retains it.
  • Writing: Writing with Ease II… this is also a short lesson but you have to be engaged the whole lesson to make sure the child is writing correctly.  This is when I’m the most strict with writing.  Cursive Without Tears… we did one lesson of cursive last year and it was a disaster so I decided to wait until 3rd grade.  My son is young for this grade so we are a little behind in some subjects(cursive) and right on target with other subjects(math).
  • Spelling: Phonics for Reading & Spelling (spelling)… this is a good program and works best with consistency.  I’ve considered Explode the Code as an alternative as well.
  • Literature:  Classical House of Learning/Grammar Stage/Middle Ages.. my son loves to be read to and to draw.  This is a great program that ties into our history lesson too.
  • Reading: McGuffey Readers… great classic curriculum to reinforce reading skills.  Christian Lighthouse Education Reading (readers and workbook)… I really like these readers as it teaches good character along with reading.  I got the workbooks to help with comprehension but it’s been less about comprehension and more about reading skills.
  • Math: Math-U-See Gamma… we love this program and the boys really thrived on it last year.  It’s a very hands on program and teaches in sequence.
  • History: Story of the World II… this is a great program that my son loves to listen to.  He will sit and listen to the audio while coloring and I will ask him the workbook questions to make sure he was listening.  Then we do map work and take the test.  We don’t get into the projects much due to time but we try to do some of the literature suggestions and encyclopedia reading.
  • Science: Apologia Zoology 1 & 2…. we did Zoology 3 last year and will be going back to do 1 & 2.  The children really enjoying learning about the animals.
  • Religion: Bible Stories… we read a chapter at bedtime and it’s been great for all of us.  Mom included.  Getting through the Old Testament is easy with these Children’s Bible Stories.
  • Art & Art History: Artistic Pursuits… my son loved the few lessons we had time for last year.  I’m going to try harder to do a lesson at least once a week this next school year.  We do plenty of non directed arts and crafts at our house but this program teaches art history along with technique and I really need to buckle down and work it into our week better.
  • Music & Music History: Lives of the Musicians… this book is so fun.  We read a short bit on the musician, I will play the music over the month, and we read books from the library about the musician.  Piano Lessons… we take lessons with Michelle Sherer and it’s been great.  It’s so fun to see them at their recitals.  Voice Lessons… we take lessons with Havilah Bruder and we saw a drastic improvement in our older son’s singing in church.

He also will be doing soccer in the fall & spring, DHA 1 day a week, and Trail Life.

Jaxon, 1st Grade

  • Grammar: First Language Lessons I
  • Writing: Writing with Ease I
  • Spelling: Phonics for Reading & Spelling (phonograms, writing, & spelling)
  • Literature: Classical House of Learning/Grammar Stage/Middle Ages
  • Reading: McGuffey Readers & Christian Lighthouse Education Reading(readers)
  • Math: Math-U-See Beta
  • History: Story of the World II
  • Science: Apologia Science Zoology 1 & 2
  • Religion: Bible Stories
  • Music: Piano lessons, Voice Lessons

He also will be doing soccer in the fall & spring, DHA 1 day a week, and Trail Life.

Tylea, Preschool

  • Reading: Phonogram cards, Discover the Code series
  • Math: Math-U-See Primer
  • Writing: tracing over letters and numbers with dry erasers
  • Enrichment: Busy Bags!
  • Music: Piano lessons

She also takes ballet during the school year and loves that.

Vaylee, Toddlerdom

  • Busy Bags!  We have like 50 different busy bags that I can turn to and entertain my little one.  I love it!

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Supplement Resources:Homeschool Library

Weekly Enrichment Program: Discovery Homeschool Academy(DHA)- homeschool enrichment one day a week.  All the fun classes that you liked in public school: PE, Art, Music, Spanish, Science, Social Studies.  We have class parties, field day, grandparents day, field trips and other fun activities with the fellowship of other homeschool families.  They also have homeschool 101 classes for parents that were great.

Annual Trip to Mini Town: My children loved this program.  They got to experience being a consumer and Z also experienced being a producer.  So much fun and great learning!  I will be helping run the program this next year and I’m very excited!

Homeschool Support:  I really enjoy The Well Trained Mind forum online and the book has been so helpful in navigating available curriculum.  I also attend the Lee’s Summit Home Educators monthly meetings when I can and have found great information there.

What is an Hour of Instruction in Missouri?

Families for Home Education in Missouri, aka FHE, was created to protect the inalienable right of the parents of Missouri to teach their own children without state regulation or control.  FHE has an essential resource book for Missouri home educators titled, First Things First.  Below is an excerpt from that book, and the emphasis is mine in regards to unit hours.

“This has probably been one of the most debated and talked about topics in the Missouri home school community since the law was passed. This issue has not been decided in a court of law. Over the years, FHE has provided documentation and opinions from educations experts and lawyers in order to provide guidelines for the home school community. However, the bottom line is that the responsibility of accurately recording the hours of instruction lies with the parents. Remember that this documentation is designed to serve as your defense, so it is to your advantage to be cautious in recording hours.

Home educators often worry about what constitutes an hour of instruction. The term isn’t defined in the law and is therefore subject to some interpretation. In a formal classroom setting, an hour of instruction is a typical classroom session, a unit of educational instruction or activity. For example, an hour in the typical classroom does not constitute 60 minutes on the clock. In most classrooms, it is between 45-50 minutes. Instruction away from home for field trips, choir practices, private lessons, etc. may certainly be added to your plan book/diary and log. Because of the nature of home education, most of our children receive far more than 1,000 hours of instruction throughout the school year. To be safe, we should document as many of these hours as we can.

It is highly unlikely that you will ever need to produce the log for anyone. The only person who has the authority to request to view your log is the prosecuting attorney in your county. This is not a routine practice, and should only occur if someone reports you to his or her office for educational neglect or truancy.”

There are many families homeschooling that interpret this to mean that when you have a curriculum to follow for one school year and your child accomplishes one unit/lesson of this curriculum, that you can count that as 1 unit hour.  So if your child is advanced and can accomplish the lesson in 15 minutes that you can count that as 1 unit hour.  While there was a time that this was true it is no longer the case.  About 10 years ago the interpretation of the law was clarified in the homeschooling legal community.  The 1,000 hours of instruction is a literal meaning and all hour requirements must be met to be complaint.  So if your child does math for 15 minutes, you can only count that 15 minutes.  Now if your child does math for 50-55 minutes it’s perfectly fine to round up to an hour, but only as long as you also round down.  So doing math for 35 minutes would be recorded for 30 minutes.  This is in regards to elementary and middle school.  And don’t get overwhelmed, I’ve found getting my hours is super easy!

In high school: “a completed credit towards high school graduation shall be defined as one hundred hours or more of instruction in a course.”  You need 16 statutory credits(100 hours each) to not be considered a drop out.  But colleges are looking for 22-24 academic credits(completed course, ex: Algebra 1).  As my children are not in high school I will not delve farther into that topic today and I would encourage you to become familiar with the state law if you do not live in Missouri.

This information is current as of the 2012-2013 school year and was provided by the legal defense attorneys of FHE and HSLDA per LSHE.

Here is a sample of a spreadsheet that can be used to track your hours.  To understand more about hours visit my post on Homeschool Beginnings.

My 2012-2013 hours log was a rewards chart.  So that when my child accomplishes his goal he gets something special like going miniature golfing or paint-balling, etc.  If I needed to produce my hours log to an official I would give them this sheet and NOT my lesson planner.

For 2013-2014 I created my own 3 ring planner and put my log sheets in the front.  Here is what it looks like for each child.

Log2013-2014

 

Homeschool Beginnings

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When we started our homeschooling journey I was very overwhelmed with all the options out there.  Thankfully my circles are like minded and I had access to homeschooling parents that I could ask questions.  Through chatting online, reading lots of books, and listening to the needs of my children and our family I was able to figure out our homeschooling path.  Here are some topics that I think you will find helpful.

De-school:  For us coming out of a private Kindergarten my son needed some time to de-school.  He hated learning and wanted nothing to do with anything that resembled his semester in the klink.  So we did a lot of fun learning that was not labeled until the fall.  When school time rolled around we took it little by little getting mom and son use to this new adventure.  After de-schooling, my learning hungry child was back and thirsty for knowledge!

Prep:  With my second child who will officially be starting kindergarten this fall we have done some prep work.  When he’s interested we will do a math lesson but mostly we run through phonograms several times a week and we have been working on some basic readers.  He also enjoys some free online educational programs.  We move at his pace and interest.  Kids naturally have a thirst for knowledge.  It’s really quite awesome.  Listening to them and introducing them to new concepts is fun.  We also have a lot of craft supplies at our house that my children get into daily.

Method:  There are lots of different ways to homeschool and in fact no two ways are the same.  Cater your homeschool around your family’s needs and preferences.  Learning about the different methodologies is a great place to start.  Our homeschool has a foundation of Classical Education using a lot of literature with some computer supplementation.  Once you figure out your method, the curriculum search is simplified.

Rigidity~Fluidity:  Deciding what schedule and atmosphere you will teach in is a very fluid thing at our house.  Sometimes we are on the couch, in mom’s bed, on the front porch, or at the dining room table.  Some days we stick to the schedule but most of the time we adapt to what the child needs.  Maybe we need more time in math and everyone is falling asleep reading about Williby’s.  Or tomorrow math may be a breeze and we loved marsupials so much we wanted to spend extra time mapping out where they all live in the world.  I’m okay with a fluid schedule since it means that my child will have a high retention rate for the lesson.  (Picture of my two boys seeing the world with blue colored goggles.)

Law:  Each state has a different homeschooling law and it’s in your best interest to become very familiar with it.  Here is a website that details each state’s law.

  • Missouri–  Applies to ages 7-16(17).  1000 hours of instructions.  600 of these hours must be in reading, math, social studies, language arts, and science(not evenly, just collectively).  At least 400 of the 600 must must be at the “regular homeschool location”(i.e. with mom wherever mom may be).  Requirements must be met within the school term(12 months starting July 1st OR within the school term set by parents).  Below are things you need to keep but you are not required to turn them in to anyone.
    1. Must maintain a record of activities and subjects taught.
    2. Must keep a portfolio of the students work.
    3. Must keep a record of evaluations of the students progress.
    4. OR keep other written, equivalent evidence.  Parent can choose 1,2,&3 or just 4 which allows more flexibility.
  • Kansas– Applies to ages 7-16(17).  You must register your private school, be competent, have at least 186 days of instruction, instruction must be planned, scheduled, and have periodic testing.  (I’m not homeschooling in Kansas so please read the pdf attached to have a full understanding.)

Home School Legal Defense AssociationHome School Legal Defense Association is a nonprofit advocacy organization established to defend and advance the constitutional right of parents to direct the education of their children and to protect family freedoms. Through annual memberships, HSLDA is tens of thousands of families united in service together, providing a strong voice when and where needed.

Support:  Finding other like minded homeschooling parents has been key in my confidence on this journey.  One of my favorite online forums is found at The Well Trained Mind website.  It’s very active and I’ve researched through those threads and after reading reviews confidentially made my curriculum choices.  Plus I love to hear ideas that others are using and see into their homeschooling lives for inspiration.  Google your city name and homeschool enrichment to find programs in your area.  Below are some great options in the Kansas City area.

Homeschooling Support in Kansas City Area

Pre-school Enrichment:

KC Circle– a parent run, parent involved learning coop.  Each parent offers a class and signs their children up to participate in classes/field trips offered.  Classes located all over the metro.

Homeschool Enrichment:

Discovery Homeschool Academy(DHA)– A Christian-based enrichment program for homeschooled children grades K-8th with a qualified, Christian faculty.  Students will be creatively challenged with hands-on activities and experiments in their classes.  The Academy meets on Tuesdays 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m., September to May.  Music, Art, PE, Spanish, Science, Social Studies, Computers.  Located in Raytown, Missouri.  (Picture of my son’s first day at DHA.)

KC Homeschool– A member supported, all-inclusive secular group of local homeschoolers.  We offer a co-op that runs year round, regular field trips, clubs, a monthly parent’s night out and other activities.  Online we offer a discussion forum, printable membership card, classified ads, a sortable field trip database and each family can build their own secure website to share with friends and family!

L.E.A.R.N.–  Home Education Network provides secular support and resources to homeschooling families in Missouri and Kansas by providing regular meetings, social activities, membership cards, website, annual picnic & reunion, unprom, teen and pre-teen events,  weekly gathering of coop classes, park days, graduation ceremony, information about homeschooling and legislative updates.

E.D.C.A.T.E.– Currently children between the ages of infancy all the way through high school are represented in our membership. We offer active teen and tween social groups as well as preschool activities and everything in between. Current activities include: Lego play groups, Pokemon club, history co-ops, park days, field trips, drama classes, literature and writing classes, educational activity days, mom’s night out, and many more! EDUCATE also hosts an annual recognition ceremony, talent show and other family socials such as the fall kick-off picnic, holiday parties, roundtables, and the spring social. Most activities occur in the Johnson County area of Kansas, but membership is not limited to that area.

 Local Homeschool Groups/Forums/Support/Co-ops:

Midwest Parent Educators(MPE)– serves homeschoolers by providing an annual Conference & Curriculum Fair(it’s amazing and a must go event!), networking through its large membership, listings of local events and opportunities for homeschoolers, and more.  Our local office offers support for families researching homeschooling and a library of materials geared toward homeschooling families, available as benefits of membership.  MPE’s regular events include a Women’s Retreat, Men’s Leadership Evening, How to Homeschool Workshop and a Used Curriculum Sale.

Lee’s Summit Home Educators (LSHE)– a Christian-based homeschool support group for families who choose to educate their pre-K through high school students. Our group is based on volunteers who desire to have a strong home school community for their children as well as themselves.   We typically meet on the 2nd Mondays each month at 7pm, Sept.-May, at Christ Triumphant Church in Lee’s Summit, MO.

Raymore Home Educators– Throughout the school year RHE encourages participation in local as well as state-wide field trips, conferences, classes and lectures, sports teams, testing, community events, and community service projects. We organize holiday parties and family events as well as a boisterous field day, and members-only book and curriculum sale. The accomplishments of the school year are marked with the publication of the RHE yearbook. Meets monthly, September through May, on the first Thursday at 2:30 PM. We meet at the First Baptist Church of Raymore.

Lawrence Area Homeschoolers Network– a secular, inclusive homeschooling group to support families and encourage homeschooling in Lawrence, KS and surrounding areas.  Meets on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of each month. Time: 1:00pm – 3:30pm.  Email list, monthly meetings, most of our meetings are social in nature, although members are encouraged to share their skills through classes, activities, and organized field trips.

Northland Families Learning Together– a secular support group for Home Educators in the Greater Kansas City area, with activities based mainly in the Northland. NFLT provides support and educational and social events to the Kansas City homeschooling community.

Local Mailing List for Homeschool Activities in the KC Area

KC-Happenings– an informational list for homeschoolers and friends. We will be sending announcements regarding activities open to all homeschoolers. If your child is involved in activities that might require email updates, this is where you will find them.

Homeschool Shopping

Mardels– Big box store of homeschooling supplies with aisles and aisles of curriculum and so much more!  I feel like a kid in a candy store and have spent hours in the store.  Half the store is homeschooling supplies and half the store is a Christian book store.  Locations all over the country including one in Independence and Overland Park.

Rainbow Resource– A complete online store that carries all the top homeschooling curriculum.  They have the most competitive prices across the board.  I love when they have a booth at our local home school conference and I don’t have to pay shipping!

Lakeshore Learning– I really love browsing this website.  There are tons of manipulatives and great additions to homeschooling.  When we move and have more space to store things I plan on ordering some fun things for our school.

This list of groups in Kansas City is by no means complete.  There are many small groups supporting each other in our wonderful city.  If you have a group that you participate in that I didn’t list please tell us about it.  Even if I listed your group, we’d love to hear your experience!