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Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Give Her Credit For Her Chores!

Take out the time to teach your high school age daughter the things she'll need to know to be a proper homemaker ~ then give her a credit in home economics toward her graduation! Take 30 minutes to an hour a couple of times a week and teach her to cook by picking out mouth-watering recipes and instructing her about proper measurements, techniques, etc. Buy a recipe file box so she can save each one she masters. Teach her to sew, crochet, scrub floors properly, and even how to fold fitted sheets. Just make sure you are there to instruct her every step of the way! Praise her for tasty meals and tidy rooms. She'll appreciate this knowledge when she becomes a mom, and she'll enjoy having this quality time with you! You may even benefit and enjoy a neater home and a break from cooking as her skills become refined!

Rev up the Brain With Excercise!

It's so easy when you home school to skip the physical education. Often recess is taken in their rooms or in the kitchen munching. A physical education class is sometimes spent on mild activity or skipped altogether. However, these times of activity may be more important than learning their geography. Two to four breaks a day including such things as jump roping, shooting hoops, and running laps may be just what your child needs to fire up their learning experience. It gives them time to refocus and gets the blood pumping to their brains. You may be surprised what a difference an hour a day of activity could make in their grades and their health! Also, get them out in the sun when you can, this will just add to the benefits!

Friday, October 26, 2007

Spark Creativity!

Arts and crafts are a must for elementary age children. This usually works well about 2 hours before school is over. This is when kids start getting disinterested and tired. Seasonal projects work really well. In the fall go outside and pick up pretty leaves and let them decorate cards or bulletin boards. In the winter let them cut snowflakes from paper, make colored paper chains, or string popcorn to decorate the Christmas tree. Pine cones may be collected and dusted with glitter, or painted with craft paints. These look nice on the tree as well or you they may use them to decorate their work areas. Spring brings new life, so let them plant a seed and put it in the window. This could double as a science project. The ideas are limitless. The main thing is to keep it educational and of course fun! Any ideas you want to share? Post a comment!

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Display Your Homeschool Pride!

Do you ever have to run to the library with your kids on a "school day" or want to go out for lunch, and you're tired of people asking why your kids aren't in school? An easy and affordable way to take care of this problem would be to make an outing uniform. Take a plain,white T-shirt or sweat shirt, and make an iron-on transfer for it stating your homeschool pride. You can make these transfers right from your own computer! Just design what you want on your computer, and buy the blank transfers from your local craft store or eBay, and print them off! Iron-on and you have a nice-looking outing uniform! Now folks can see that although you're "out" your children are in school! Another way is to buy pre-made homeschooling tees at HStees.com!

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Their Own Home Office!

It's a good idea, even though you're at home to have a set place to hold class. If you have enough room in your home it is a great idea to have a "school room." Decorate it with bulletin boards, charts, photos etc., just anything that will make it seem like school. Too much clutter on the walls can be distracting, however. If you are not able to have a "room" for school, try and do lessons in the same place everyday. This gives the children a sense of order and you don't have to figure out where they will be working. They can just go to their "place" and get started!

Monday, October 22, 2007

Find Out What Fits You!

One thing about homeschooling is that it is so flexible. You can actually tailor make your curriculum and activities for each child. Each child learns in his or her own way, and cookie cutter programs just won't cut it. So many intelligent children in schools across America look like they're not smart only because they are being taught in ways that don't suit their needs. The best thing to do, is to find out "how" your child learns. Is she one that works well independently and enjoys a lot of solitude? Is he an energetic boy that loves "hands on" projects and experiements and is a visual learner?
I have just described my two school age children to you. They are from the same family, have the same Mom & Dad, do many of the same things together, but they have very different learning styles. They are unique individuals. To try and teach them with identical methods would be unfair and very frustrating for both my kids and me.
So I must find ways to meet both their needs. For my daughter, I can assign her work and she'll do it. For my son, I must give him mini breaks in his book work and implement things that will reinforce his work. Like a computer Math game that is teaching the same level of Math that his book is currently teaching, or a science project that will reinforce his science lesson. These are some examples that can be done for the visual learner. You can make your own, there are so many ideas out there, and so many ways to have fun while teaching your kids.
Remember, this will not only impact them for life as far as education goes, but the quality time they spend with you will be forever priceless.

Introduction to My Blog.

I'm new to blogging, so bear with me if something sounds a little wierd. I think I'm going to like it though. I've enjoyed writing down my thoughts since I was a little girl. (Now I type down my thoughts). Writing and essays were often among my best subjects in school and earned me some of my best grades.
School, ahh yes, that's the subject here. I may be new to blogging, but not to homeschooling. I have homeschooled my own children, and also helped with the homeschooling of my younger brothers. I have about 3 years experience into this now. I am by no means a pro, as a matter of fact, homeschooling is an ever learning process in itself, and I don't think it's an art to be mastered. Every year, every week, even every day is always so different from the last. New things are learned on a daily basis and your kids are forever changing and learning things that you have taught them yourself. When you see their progress, it's such an awesome feeling!