A friend of mine was over today and we were talking about spelling. I showed her my girls' notebooks and I explained a few details that I missed in my last post.
When I started using Spelling Power two years ago, I did read the 96--96!! pages of small type instructions before we began. There were a few things that I have really appreciated that the author instructs teachers to do.
1) As you're giving the pretest, correct the word right after it is misspelled. Dictate to a child how to correctly spell the word. Don't correct it yourself afterwards (common public classroom procedure).
2) Have students practice the words they miss on the pretest. Students don't have to copy all 10 words multiple times when they can spell them correctly. On Tuesday and Thursday, my children will practice the words they miss. On Wednesday in our routine, I plan on my children putting all 10 words in alphabetical order and sorting them.
3) This plan addresses auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learners. For kinesthetic learners, I would specifically make a hands-on list of activities for Thursday's spelling.
Happy Spelling!
PS Sami has been so glad to go back to Spelling Power this week!
Showing posts with label homeschooling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homeschooling. Show all posts
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Free Template for Short State Report
I just got an email from Evan-Moor with a link to this free simple state report. Here's the link.
I'm not sure how long it will be up, but I thought I'd post it anyhow! I'm already realized that I often have grand plans so I've already printed it as a back up in case we don't have time to do the longer report I have planned! This year is off to a busy start!
I'm not sure how long it will be up, but I thought I'd post it anyhow! I'm already realized that I often have grand plans so I've already printed it as a back up in case we don't have time to do the longer report I have planned! This year is off to a busy start!
Friday, February 25, 2011
All The Other Important Stuff To Learn...
I am a planner. Getting my master's degree in education turned me into a planner. I was taught that you needed to know what your children needed to learn and then make a plan to cover that material. Most of the time that meant you needed to create your own lessons because you likely wouldn't have books.
When I started homeschooling, I thought I would have more planning time--not less than I did as a classroom teacher. What I discovered to be reality was actually that I have far less. In my life with 3 children 2, 5, and 7, I need to be able to pick up and go with a lesson. Formatting in a book can either make my life easy or very difficult. I have a plan for their academics and I have been so blessed to watch God direct me to the right curriculums for my kids. But, recently I came upon the realization that it was time to get on the ball when it came to all the other stuff besides the academics that they need to learn. My girls are getting older and time has seemed to sneak up on me already.
So, in January, my girls began folding and putting away their clothes regularly. Autumn took on making their beds and Sami began emptying the trash. I have been trying to involve them more in the cooking and truly holding them accountable for picking up their toys. Too often I had fallen into the habit of picking things up for them. But, I knew I needed to stop--so I've mostly stopped.
Then, two weeks ago, my husband asked me about all the other things that he had hoped they would learn or have the opportunity to do because they are homeschooling. At the top of the list were cooking and gardening. I listened and took what he said and mulled it over. I pulled out a book on my bookshelf called Life Skills for Kids by Christine Field, and do some research on the internet.
I couldn't find an all in one home economics/money management/manners/hobby arts curriculum. The ones I found had a sharp dichotomy between what girls and boys were taught to do. My husband and I do want our girls to be able to keep their home, but we don't believe in keeping them home until they marry. I hope and even expect that my girls will go to college or receive additional education after high school. I am preparing them to do that. Not all girls get married and I don't know what the Lord has for them--though I do hope that he has a husband in mind for them and a wife in mind for Eli. So, I believe I need to prepare them well--to be able to both mow the lawn, paint a room, cook a meal, garden, and manage their own finances well.
The curriculums I found also tended to be far more conservative in their beliefs about men's and women's roles than mine are. I once was an evangelical feminist--which I am far from now. But, I am not super conservative about my beliefs about submission either. Dancing With The One You Love by Cindy Easley was such a blessing to me this year. It is the first book I have read about submission that I felt is written with grace and the understanding that all marriages are different--while still believing firmly in the submission of a wife to her husband. Since I didn't find a curriculum that covered everything I was looking for with lessons in it, I found myself in a quandary. I decided to collect a list of resources and a basic list of the skills I want to teach my children.
So far I have the list and the resources are on their way. I am going to post reviews of the books as they come and add a new tab to this blog that will keep a running list of the topics, my plan, and the resources.
So, here's my list of topics...
Elementary School
Money Management Wise Purchases, Grocery Shopping, Saving
Decision Making Self Discipline, Wise/Unwise
Space Organization Own Room, Clothing, Closet
Home Skills Gardening, Meal Planning, Cooking, Sewing, Recycling/Reusing
People Skills Manners, Making Friends, Phone Etiquette
Healthy Lifestyles Eating Right and Making Good Food Choices
Celebration Skills Family Traditions, Birthdays, Special Days/Achievements, Holidays,
Middle School
Money Management Clothes Shopping, Grocery Shopping, Saving/Banking
Decision Making Time (Priorities), Self Discipline, Wise/Unwise
Space Organization Home, Purse/Backpack
Vision Goals/Purpose
Home Skills Menu Planning, Cooking, Knitting/Crocheting, Child Care
People Skills Email/Letter Etiquette
Healthy Lifestyles CPR/First Aid Class
Fine Arts Photography, Music Appreciation
High School
Money Management Open and Use a Bank Account, Budgeting
Life Skills Getting a Job, Work Ethic
Home Skills House Maintenance, Car Maintenance, Painting, Wood Finishing
Animals Volunteer at Humane Society
I trained to teach K-5, taught Middle School, and tutored High School Students and adults. So, I realize that I naturally keep in mind the end of the race. I do still try to focus on what's right in front of me, but I have found that I need to know where I'm going. I am running this race intentionally. It doesn't confine me and none of what I've written is hard and fast, but it is a starting point. A place for me and my kids to begin at.
When I started homeschooling, I thought I would have more planning time--not less than I did as a classroom teacher. What I discovered to be reality was actually that I have far less. In my life with 3 children 2, 5, and 7, I need to be able to pick up and go with a lesson. Formatting in a book can either make my life easy or very difficult. I have a plan for their academics and I have been so blessed to watch God direct me to the right curriculums for my kids. But, recently I came upon the realization that it was time to get on the ball when it came to all the other stuff besides the academics that they need to learn. My girls are getting older and time has seemed to sneak up on me already.
So, in January, my girls began folding and putting away their clothes regularly. Autumn took on making their beds and Sami began emptying the trash. I have been trying to involve them more in the cooking and truly holding them accountable for picking up their toys. Too often I had fallen into the habit of picking things up for them. But, I knew I needed to stop--so I've mostly stopped.
Then, two weeks ago, my husband asked me about all the other things that he had hoped they would learn or have the opportunity to do because they are homeschooling. At the top of the list were cooking and gardening. I listened and took what he said and mulled it over. I pulled out a book on my bookshelf called Life Skills for Kids by Christine Field, and do some research on the internet.
I couldn't find an all in one home economics/money management/manners/hobby arts curriculum. The ones I found had a sharp dichotomy between what girls and boys were taught to do. My husband and I do want our girls to be able to keep their home, but we don't believe in keeping them home until they marry. I hope and even expect that my girls will go to college or receive additional education after high school. I am preparing them to do that. Not all girls get married and I don't know what the Lord has for them--though I do hope that he has a husband in mind for them and a wife in mind for Eli. So, I believe I need to prepare them well--to be able to both mow the lawn, paint a room, cook a meal, garden, and manage their own finances well.
The curriculums I found also tended to be far more conservative in their beliefs about men's and women's roles than mine are. I once was an evangelical feminist--which I am far from now. But, I am not super conservative about my beliefs about submission either. Dancing With The One You Love by Cindy Easley was such a blessing to me this year. It is the first book I have read about submission that I felt is written with grace and the understanding that all marriages are different--while still believing firmly in the submission of a wife to her husband. Since I didn't find a curriculum that covered everything I was looking for with lessons in it, I found myself in a quandary. I decided to collect a list of resources and a basic list of the skills I want to teach my children.
So far I have the list and the resources are on their way. I am going to post reviews of the books as they come and add a new tab to this blog that will keep a running list of the topics, my plan, and the resources.
So, here's my list of topics...
Elementary School
Money Management Wise Purchases, Grocery Shopping, Saving
Decision Making Self Discipline, Wise/Unwise
Space Organization Own Room, Clothing, Closet
Home Skills Gardening, Meal Planning, Cooking, Sewing, Recycling/Reusing
People Skills Manners, Making Friends, Phone Etiquette
Healthy Lifestyles Eating Right and Making Good Food Choices
Celebration Skills Family Traditions, Birthdays, Special Days/Achievements, Holidays,
Middle School
Money Management Clothes Shopping, Grocery Shopping, Saving/Banking
Decision Making Time (Priorities), Self Discipline, Wise/Unwise
Space Organization Home, Purse/Backpack
Vision Goals/Purpose
Home Skills Menu Planning, Cooking, Knitting/Crocheting, Child Care
People Skills Email/Letter Etiquette
Healthy Lifestyles CPR/First Aid Class
Fine Arts Photography, Music Appreciation
High School
Money Management Open and Use a Bank Account, Budgeting
Life Skills Getting a Job, Work Ethic
Home Skills House Maintenance, Car Maintenance, Painting, Wood Finishing
Animals Volunteer at Humane Society
I trained to teach K-5, taught Middle School, and tutored High School Students and adults. So, I realize that I naturally keep in mind the end of the race. I do still try to focus on what's right in front of me, but I have found that I need to know where I'm going. I am running this race intentionally. It doesn't confine me and none of what I've written is hard and fast, but it is a starting point. A place for me and my kids to begin at.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Homeschooling
I read a book 9 years ago called Feminism: Mystique or Mistake by Diane Passno. It had a huge impact on me and changed my thoughts about a lot of things, since I was probably what you might call an evangelical feminist at the time. But, that's a story for another time =) Anyways, at the end of the book was a chapter about moms. Though I wasn't a mom at the time, the lessons in that chapter have always stuck with me.
The basic gist of the chapter was that moms who are working should show grace to the moms who stay at home and vice versa. Moms at home often desire the affirmation at work and the break from their kids. Moms at work are jealous of the time stay at home moms get with their kids. There can be a mutual situation of envy and there are pros and cons to both sets of shoes. The author's point is that what's most important is that we are where God wants us to be. We don't have to feel guilty if we are where God wants us to be. If we feel called to work, then we should lay that before our husbands and submit to them--if they think we should or shouldn't. Many women have to work because their families need the second income. Some don't need to work, though they desire to for the extra income. More often than not, I think choosing to live on one income does involve making choices that will save money and saying no to ourselves about things we want.
A moment ago, I was reminded of this chapter when I thought of a conversation I had on Saturday about homeschooling. I enjoy homeschooling, but it is hard. Many moms who are homeschooling often wish their kids were in school and many moms whose children are in school wish their kids were homeschooling. I don't think homeschooling isn't the wisest choice for everyone and friends who are veteran homeschoolers have told me this over the years. It is the wisest choice for some though. In the end, I think that what's most important is that our children are where God wants them to be--whether that is in public, private, or home schools.
Just a thought =)
The basic gist of the chapter was that moms who are working should show grace to the moms who stay at home and vice versa. Moms at home often desire the affirmation at work and the break from their kids. Moms at work are jealous of the time stay at home moms get with their kids. There can be a mutual situation of envy and there are pros and cons to both sets of shoes. The author's point is that what's most important is that we are where God wants us to be. We don't have to feel guilty if we are where God wants us to be. If we feel called to work, then we should lay that before our husbands and submit to them--if they think we should or shouldn't. Many women have to work because their families need the second income. Some don't need to work, though they desire to for the extra income. More often than not, I think choosing to live on one income does involve making choices that will save money and saying no to ourselves about things we want.
A moment ago, I was reminded of this chapter when I thought of a conversation I had on Saturday about homeschooling. I enjoy homeschooling, but it is hard. Many moms who are homeschooling often wish their kids were in school and many moms whose children are in school wish their kids were homeschooling. I don't think homeschooling isn't the wisest choice for everyone and friends who are veteran homeschoolers have told me this over the years. It is the wisest choice for some though. In the end, I think that what's most important is that our children are where God wants them to be--whether that is in public, private, or home schools.
Just a thought =)
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