Homeschooling 101

I have had several parents ask me recently about homeschooling. They ask questions like:

What program do you use?

Do you keep their permanent records?

How do you occupy the younger child/kids while teaching the older kids?

Are you apart of a homeschool group? Do you suggest it?

Do you have a schedule you follow?

How do you incorporate art, physical education and music into the learning experience?

Most important question of all~~how do you keep your sanity?

Since I have had many questions asked to me and one friend even suggested I blog about homeschooling (little did he know that I already had a blog for homeschooling that I was seriously neglecting) I decided that I would post about the basics of homeschooling. I also decided that I would make sure to maintain this blog so that everyone can get a look into our little academy at home.

What program do you use?

We use the A.C.E. curriculum. We have had great success with this curriculum. There are 12 PACES for each subject for each grade, 3 PACES each quarter for each subject. Each PACE has a scripture and character attribute that is taught throughout the book. There are many, many curriculum's out there. It is my suggestion that you find one that completely suits your family. That may mean a combination of materials. While we use A.C.E. I also incorporate science experiments for extra fun and lapbooking (this a great blog post that explains it so well) as well.

Do you keep their permanent records?

No, I do not keep my kids permanent records. You have that option, like if you just choose to order books from the website then you would be responsible for all records. I choose to go through a Christian school. I give the work, grade the work and tests and then I mail in the completed tests to the school. They keep their records until we decide to change schools or graduation. I love it! While I am the one watching over her education I feel a certain level of security knowing that when their permanent records are reviewed by colleges no accusation of fraud can be made. Whether or not to keep your child's permanent records is totally a matter of preference. We have gone through the same school for five years now and we have no intention of changing anytime soon. If you find yourself interested in homeschooling, using the A.C.E. curriculum and want someone else to keep the records I highly recommend Heartland Christian Academy.

How do you occupy the younger child/kids while teaching the older kids?

This is a question that I often ask myself. ~Smile~ Because of the ages of my children I have always had at least one child that needs to be occupied. I have to admit that at times it can make things very interesting but you just have to get creative. In years past, I would set up the boys (who were to young for school) with stations such as; play doh, blocks, cars, number puzzles that were age appropriate and etc. I would have them in sitting within eye shot the whole time and they would have a learning type play time. Then when Sam got old enough to do preschool with, I only had to keep Daniel occupied. Now that Makiah and Sam are both doing PACES, Daniel is now old enough to do preschool, we all sit at the table together. Each child does work independently, I sit there too to help each child as they need it. Makiah needs less help, Sam is learning to read, so he gets very specific instruction and Daniel listens in. Things can get crazy at times and probably will. The key is knowing when you or they or all of you are overwhelmed. If you are overwhelmed, that is a good time to have story time or take a small break.

Are you apart of a homeschool group? Do you suggest it?

We have been involved in homeschool groups off and on. If you are a one vehicle family, it can make transportation interesting but I do suggest being involved in a group. It's nice to be able to get out and about with other moms and kids and do something besides book work. We will be joining a new group this year and we are all excited about it. As much as everyone talks about kids needing socialization, we moms (and dads if that's the case) need some adult interaction. It is a good thing for everyone.

Do you have a schedule you follow?

I have done several different styles or schedules over the years. For us, I had to be flexible with the routines from year to year (and sometimes day to day) because each year brought new challenges with it. This is the first year that everyone is doing structured work; 5th grade, Kindergarten/1st grade and preschool. That combo will bring it's own unique challenges with it, so being flexible to change is good. Having said that, we do have a basic schedule that we follow for school time. Set the schedule to fit your family, if you have early bird kiddos then work that. If your kids are like mine, they are a bit slow in the morning. The important thing about a schedule is being consistent. If school is going to start at 8 o'clock, then start at 8 o'clock. If everyone is a little crabby, still start at 8, but maybe start with a song or a story. The contents of your schedule can change up and be flexible, but the time schedule itself needs to stay consistent. My pastor has a saying that I have adopted because I love it, "Blessed are the flexible, for they will never be bent out of shape."

How do you incorporate art, physical education and music into the learning experience?

It is very easy to incorporate these fun and yet very important classes into your homeschool experience. Let's start with art.

Art: Crafts, coloring, painting and drawing are things your child probably already loves to do. Art doesn't have to be something that is elaborate and expensive, you can get some cheap supplies at a local Dollar store and your kids will be thrilled. Get craft ideas online to match what your kiddos are learning or what holiday is coming up next. I'll be putting ideas up on the blog each week for arts and crafts.

Physical Ed: Kids love to be active and it doesn't take much to have them having a good time and being active. Let them go outside for awhile, but make it a structured time and event. Have them run races, play leap frog, play tug-o-war or other various games. If the weather is bad, then use your living room and get them doing exercises such as; toe touches, jumping jacks, high kicks and stretches. Twenty to thirty minutes a day, they get a break to get their sillies out and they are moving. You may even want to go to a park when your school work is done or go to an area that has a trail (and going on a nature hike incorporates science into the activity).

Music: This is another one that is easily accomplished with younger children. We have music time almost daily in my house. We sing songs, some learning some silly, we have contests like a silly dance contest or a name that song contest. Also for more of a learning experience you can learn about different types of music and all the instruments you hear. When they are older you can look into music lessons of some sort. By making musical instruments you combine art and music together!

The bottom line with these three important areas of learning is to get creative. Use online resources for more ideas, read blogs and articles. There is a plethera of ideas out there to make your school excellent in all areas.

Most important question of all~~how do you keep your sanity?

For those who know me, they might say that I haven't kept my sanity! ~Smile~ I think they key to happy homeschooling with minimal stress is to know your limits. If you wake up one day and you are tired and stressed, the kids are tired and grumpy, it might be a good day to have a story day, complete with a living room picnic. Or a day to get out and go somewhere, even if its just the library. The parent that is homeschooling needs to keep themselves connected to other adults even if it is via the phone for a happy conversation with a friend during lunch. Also, know in advance that your homeschool will never be perfect and learn to be okay with that. Perfection is not required, striving toward excellence should be the goal. Some days you just need a break and that's okay. Some days are a struggle to get through but you press on and do and that makes "after school" all the more special. Some days everything will go without a hitch and other days won't. It's a fact, rolling with the punches and dancing during the good days will help to keep you sane.

I hope this has been helpful. I will be making this blog a priority this school year, to not only document Principle Things, but also to share with all of you ideas and helpful hints.

Homeschooling is always an adventure, sometimes a good one and other times it's rather stressful. But in the end, it's always worth it!

Blessings,

Valerie