What about workbooks?

I find it beautifully ironic that when R goes off to play by herself she often chooses to "play school."  Some mornings she asks me to play with her.  There have been many mornings (when I had other plans and intended to let her and C just play on their own) when I just couldn't say no to that little face telling me, "You're the teacher," as if this weren't something we do all day every day anyway!

That's the thing: I don't think she realizes that what we do IS school.  There are some days that are more formal than others when I think she is aware that we're "doing school."  But other days she'll make comments to me about how sometimes we forget to do school, and I just have to laugh because she doesn't think that what we are doing counts.  I think that's a great thing, because that means it's natural and fun.  That's my goal.

Sometimes I think she craves the structure more though, and I'm happy to comply.  On those days I instruct her to get dressed, pack her backpack, and then have her sit in her little chair at her little table. C sits with her because she has to do everything big sister does.  I sit up front.  We stand and say the pledge of allegiance, recite our ABC's, and maybe read a book.

Then we break out the workbooks.  We don't do them very regularly because a four-year-old only has a limited attention span.  But when we start a page, I require her to at least finish what she began.  (It is very important to me that she learn to be a finisher.)  This requires me to get creative sometimes, to make it exciting even once the novelty has worn off.

The other day, we did our math workbook with Cheerios.  When R finished a pair of problems, (3+4 and 4+3 for example,) I would give her the number of Cheerios that were the answer, (in this example, 7.)  That was the extent of my idea; I figured she'd eat them and then move on to the next problem.  Instead, she decided she wanted to show me all the different ways she could make that number, (0+7, 1+6, 2+5, etc.) using the Cheerios I had given her.

So, what do I think of workbooks?  They're good occasionally.  They're a great tool in our bag of options, but never over-do it!  I may make R finish any page she begins, but I definitely don't require her to finish any workbook she begins.  We have a whole shelf of different workbooks that I let her choose from depending on her mood and our purposes.  They are great for practicing already learned concepts, but I try not to use them to learn things for the first time.  Mainly this is because I want to take full advantage of all that homeschooling has to offer, and one of the greatest things homeschooling offers is the ability to let your kids learn hands on.  When we first began learning addition, it was always using real objects or people.  (If there are two parents and two kids, how many are there in our family?)  When we were learning about trees, we went outside and felt them, smelled them, looked at them.  We like to get our hands dirty!

But some days I don't really mind "playing school."  :)

Questions?

I was wondering if anyone has any particular questions they would like me to answer about homeschooling here on my blog?  Is there anything you'd like me to elaborate or focus on for a given post?  If not, then I'll just keep on talking about whatever comes to mind or interests me for the moment.

But please don't hesitate to comment below and pose any questions you might have!  I promise I'll do my best to answer them!  :)

Why do I homeschool my kids so young?

After writing yesterday's post about it being an "off-day," I felt the need to clarify something.  I realized that I could come off as a seriously neurotic and controlling or perfectionistic mother.  I have a four-year-old and a two-year-old.  I know I don't need to be doing homeschool yet.  And trust me, we have had plenty of truer "off-days" than the one I described yesterday.

We have had days (particularly sick days) when we haven't done a thing, days when we DID watch TV all day long and I didn't lift a finger to do any chores or encourage any learning at all.  For me, those same days turn out to be the days when I feel the most anxiety.  Those are the days that I am least patient and loving with my girls.  Those are the days that my children argue more and listen less.  And those are the days when I come away feeling absolutely awful about myself.  I try REALLY hard to avoid days like that, but less because I'm concerned about living out some idealistic life and more because I just can't stand the way I or our home feels at the end of it.

Again, for the sake of clarity, why do I homeschool my four-year-old instead of waiting until a more "normal" age?  Because my personality is such that if we weren't officially homeschooling, I would still be looking for intentional activities to do with the girls; things to keep us occupied and busy and make me feel productive; things that allowed us to work together and interact and draw closer in our relationships.  So, for me, it just makes sense to let those activities be school centered.  Why not, when I'm going to be putting forth all this effort anyway?

The key is that we don't keep pursuing any course that is adding stress or straining our relationship.  It requires a sort of nonchalance about what we do and when and how.  I keep general goals in mind and then use all my creative and persuasive powers to make it desirable and fun.  If I really badly want to read a chapter of The Secret Garden, but no matter what I say R isn't interested, I drop it.  If we are working on handwriting and I feel myself losing patience, I take a step back and change my approach, or else bag it altogether for the day.  There are no requirements here, no necessary bench-marks.  Everything we do is extra!

Why is homeschooling ideal in terms of flexibility?

Today was a quieter homeschool day for us.  In accordance with my goals we still did just a little bit of reading, a little bit of writing, and a little bit of math, (more math than anything else because that's what R seems to prefer right now.)  Other than that we mostly just played, went to the library, and had friends over.  It was a nice break, a needed "day off."

This is one of the things that I absolutely LOVE about homeschooling.  I love that it follows my schedule instead of all the pressure that can come with having to follow the school system's schedule.  I love the flexibility.  I love that when baby brother is born in a few months, I'll be able to take a full month off in the middle of winter without any guilt or negative consequences.  This is possible in part because R and C are still so young, but also because we do school six days a week year round.  We don't take regular breaks on weekends and over summers.  Why would we, when homeschool is almost as natural as breathing?

Even on days like today when I feel like I've taken a break, (mainly because there was far less intentional teaching done on my part,) we still had our gospel lesson over breakfast and multiple conversations about informative things in addition to our reading, writing, and math.  We talked about what cemeteries are, what gills are for, and how the sun helps plants to grow.   We also covered issues such as sharing, taking care of our bodies, and not watching too much TV.  And this was on an off day!  :D

I guess you could say that my "off days" are just days when we slip into more of an unschooling methodology for a bit.  The unschooling theory is essentially that life will naturally lead you to the things you need know.  Now, I don't subscribe to this method entirely, but it certainly has it's merits.  I believe in child-led learning to a point.  I believe that my girls will retain those things that they are interested and completely invested in better than those things that are forced upon them.  Accordingly, I try to take full advantage of their curiosity and passions.  But, in addition, I feel it absolutely necessary for some things to be introduced into their line-of-sight which will hopefully lead them to show interest in a greater variety and depth of topics.

Today was an unschooling day for us though, and it worked.  I feel like both R and C got the attention they needed along with plenty of intellectual stimulation.  Any day that we don't spend glued to screens for eight hours or more counts as a success in my book.  ;)

How do you make writing fun for young ones?

One of my longer term goals for this fall was to get R more comfortable with writing.  There's no great rush; I feel no need to drill her or get her handwriting to any certain level.  For me it's all about creating a regular habit of writing at least a little every day.  It's about familiarity and comfort in doing something she'll be doing for the rest of her life.

We've had a hard time with handwriting when I've tried it in the past though.  I think this was because I really just didn't know how to approach it.  I have a lot of handwriting paper with the colored solid and dotted lines, so I think I was a little overanxious about getting her to write all of her letters just so.  But whenever I attempted it with her, it turned into a bit of a battle.  She ended up bored, and I frustrated.  So I gave us a bit of a break this last week.

In planning for this week, I decided to revisit writing and this time I brainstormed a little about ways to make it fun.  (I actually have to keep reminding myself that I have four-year-old and not to expect so much!)  So here were the ideas I came up with, two of which we tried with great success today:

• Make a treasure hunt for Daddy using sticky notes
• Write back and forth to each other instead of talking for fifteen minutes
• Copy words or sentences from books or movies around the house
• Start a Christmas wish list
• Write notes or letters to friends or family members
• Create labels for items around the house
• Make a menu for dinner

I'm sure I could think of more if I took the time; this was just my quick brainstorm list.  The point is that before I can do anything effectively with the girls, they have to really want to do it.  I'm left with the option to either follow their fancies, or inspire them to fancy my goals.  ;)

How do you inspire your child to read the classics?

I have begun to read The Secret Garden aloud to the girls this week.  I have read a few longer books to them before: The Wind in the Willows, Little House in the Big Woods, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, etc.  I feel like this has been good for them on multiple levels.  They learn patience for a long drawn-out story versus the short quick ones they get in picture books.  They gain valuable moral lessons from higher quality literature.  They get exposure to a wider vocabulary.  And probably most important to me right now, they get in the habit of being read to every day.

I don't require their full-attention; I don't expect them to sit still or look at the words with me.  But I do expect them (especially R) to listen.

I make it fun and engaging. I stop and talk a lot, asking questions and making sure R is following the story line or drawing out the most important lessons.

When we last read, we got to the part of the book where (if you're familiar with the story) Martha's mother, a very poor mother of twelve children, out of the sweet goodness of her heart buys Mary a jump-rope with the little money she has.  She doesn't personally know Mary.  Martha is Mary's friend but also her maid, and Mary is the remarkably wealthy and spoiled child who lives with her uncle in a mansion.  But she is orphaned and lonely, and Martha's mother feels compassion for her and her situation.

I was so touched by this part of the story.  Granted, it is just a story.  But the truth is that there are people out there like this, who sacrifice every day for others even though they themselves are in need. What a great lesson in Christlike love.

Did R fully grasp it?  I don't know. Probably not.  But maybe, just maybe, our reading classic books together every day will cultivate a desire within her to read classic books on her own someday which will unlock the door to a wealth of equally wonderful moral lessons to be learned.

Mixing Colors Experiment

R is fascinated with mixing colors lately for some reason.  We've done lots of online games to learn about which colors mix to make other colors, but the other day I finally pulled out the big guns and did some real-life hands-on learning.  We just filled some mugs with water, put a bunch of drops of food coloring into each and then used a dropper to experiment away. She loved it.  :)

Why do you write this blog?

I have worried a little about writing this blog.  It's a place where I get to expound on my beautiful life and bountiful blessings, but I am very aware that not everyone enjoys the same blessings I do.  Some may long to be married or desire to have children but haven't had the opportunity.  Some, as much as they wish to be with their children all day long, are working or going to school and just trying to get by.  Some may be home with their children but are feeling inadequate in their ability to cope with the multitude of responsibilities which are theirs.  The variety of circumstances vary as much as we as women do.

The reason I decided to blog despite this knowledge and the possibility that others may find my writing offensive is best expressed in my experience with Pinterest.

I first became acquainted with Pinterest at a time in my life when I was struggling with post-partum depression and was simply surviving my life as a stay-at-home-mom.  I hated that, because I knew that I was supposed to be experiencing the life I had always dreamed of; I wanted to be thriving, not just surviving.

When I discovered Pinterest, it was as if someone had turned on a light in my mind. I discovered that there was a whole world of ideas and that had never occurred to me before.  I felt inspired and motivated to make my life richer by applying the things that I was learning, by being more creative and experimental.  Though I can't say it fixed my depression, it definitely had an impact.  I was surprised when I learned that many women have a hard time with Pinterest because of the unrealistic expectations they feel like it creates.  To me it's all about perspective.  I feel no pressure to do every interesting thing I see, but I can let the ideas wash over me and inspire me to be and do more within my own capacity and circumstances.

That's what I hope for with this blog:  that other moms will read with an understanding that all of our lives our beautiful and rich in different ways, and come away with a greater desire and capacity to beautify and enrich their lives even more.

How do you get your children interested in reading?

Today we made our weekly trip to the library.  We have been going now for about three years to whichever library was closest to wherever we lived.  We always have a huge stash of library books, return about half of them, (the ones that have already been read one too many times,) and then replace them with a pile of books which I had placed on hold the week before.

I love doing holds because we end up with much higher quality books than we do when we just browse and wing it.  Besides, it makes it far less stressful for me; I let the girls sit and look at books and play with toys without any pressure to find so many books before my blood sugar starts giving out on me or C gets lost wandering through the library.

My favorite part of library day usually looks something like this:

It never fails to entirely delight me the way that R can't get enough of all these new books.  She will sit and read for hours the day we restock our library collection.  It's a beautiful thing.  :)

When we first began frequenting the library when R was about one, I began checking out every ABC book they had.  Her attention span was short, but I knew how important it was to read to her every day, so I figured these books were perfect!  She could pay attention to one or two letters per page and be soaking up precious info at the same time.

Little did I know that doing so would result in her knowing all the letter names by the time she was 18 months and all the letter sounds shortly thereafter. She now reads fluently anything she can get her hands on. She is still surprising me though.  Just the other day I discovered that she can read silently and still retain everything!

Needless to say, though I knew there was no guarantee of this miracle working more than once, I decided to give C every chance I gave R, and we have continued checking out all the ABC books.  It turns out that C loves learning her letters too, and knows almost all of them and some of the sounds.  It gives me some degree of confidence that it wasn't just a fluke and that what I am doing matters.

I love reading and knowing that it is foundational to any great education has given me a great deal of motivation to make it a priority in our home.  So we fill our home with books, I read my own books in front of the girls, we let them read or look at books in bed as they fall asleep, we read to them every night, I read classics to them during the day, and we go to the library every week.  ;)

How do you create a learning atmosphere in your home?

Man... I am exhausted!  Some days just take it out of me, and today was definitely one of those days!  We got a lot done though, which always make me feel good.  But I'm afraid all I can ever think about at the end of a day like today is what we didn't do.

We didn't go outside.  It was too rainy.

I didn't get in any solid scripture study.  I slept in.

I didn't do a gospel lesson with the girls.  Again... I slept in.  :P


. . . Okay, that's all the pessimism I'm going to allow myself for the day.


The truth is, it was a great day.  My sweet husband, Mr. C, let me sleep in for which I am quite grateful.  When I did get up, the girls had already been fed and were ready to get going for the day.  So I asked R, "Do you want to do math, reading, or writing?"

"Math!" she exclaimed enthusiastically.  I smile to myself just thinking about it.  This is what I love about homeschool.  No stigmas to learning.  This is what we do all day long everyday, for fun!  :)

So we did one day's worth of math on Easy Peasy (see resources tab above,) and when I asked her what she wanted to do now, she said (and I'm not making this up!) "More math!"  We repeated this cycle several times.  I lost track of how many days worth of math we did, but it was a lot, especially considering that these weren't all the most engaging math games ever.  Granted, there's not a ton to do for each day, and I don't make her do all the writing out of math problems.  But still... she's four.

So maybe you're sitting there saying, "This isn't realistic.  Even if this little girl does feel so excited about school, it's a fluke!  Normal kids don't act like that.  Besides, in few years it will probably wear off anyway."

Maybe... but I don't think so.  And I'll tell you why:  This is all she knows.  Some people might say that I've tricked her into believing that school is fun, but I see it differently.  I have framed a lifestyle and home atmosphere that has allowed her natural curiosities and enthusiasm to flourish instead of being smothered by certain social norms.

I don't believe for one second that math is hard or boring.  I believe that it is fascinating and enjoyable, but we have been fooled into thinking otherwise.  Sometimes this comes as we become adults and find addition problems to be old news, and some of it might come from hearing peers complain about math until we have it fixed in our minds that we should find it difficult too.

However it comes about, one of the best outcomes of homeschooling is the opportunity to put the fun back into learning--or to save it from being destroyed in the first place if you get to start early enough!

So, how do you create this atmosphere?

First, don't be afraid to severely limit your children's media time.  And be selective about what media you do allow.  For us this has meant that media time occurs between three and five in the afternoon, and I encourage them towards the shows that are the most educational or morally uplifting.  The reason for this should be obvious: we all know how attention sucking media is, especially television.  How many kids, when given the option between video games and TV or learning activities are going to pick the latter?  Sadly, even you and I, being adults and knowing the value of learning and the consequences for wasting our time rarely choose to educate ourselves in our spare moments.  Therefore, make the choice easy for your kids.  Media has it's time, but the rest of the time is learning time!

Another key to creating the right atmosphere is your attitude.  Mom sets the tone for the house, and if you are enthusiastic about school, then your kids will be too.  They follow your lead, especially at these young tender ages.  As we create norms and habits in these early years and consistently stick to them, they will become expected and comforting parts of everyday life even as the children grow older.

My last tip is to create the right environment for learning by surrounding your kids with books and educational toys.  I try to turn every toy into a learning toy.  When we play with blocks we do more than just stack them or build creatively:  we count them, we organize them by colors and shapes, we make patterns, and so on.  I'm limited only by my own creativity and imagination.

I hope as you read these ideas you find them inspiring and motivational, not burdensome.  The main point here is to create a learning lifestyle.  Homeschooling for us is not something we do between such and such hours each day, nor did it begin at a certain age for our girls.  We don't take breaks on weekends, or summers, or even sick days really!  Because homeschooling is the way we live.  For me personally, homeschooling is synonymous with parenting... but that's a whole other post.  ;)

How do you plan and prepare for your homeschooling week?

Homeschooling--to do it well--often requires an almost monumental amount of energy, enthusiasm, and creativity.  Sometimes this is easy, especially when you're just getting started and everything is new and exciting anyway. After a few weeks though, summoning all that enthusiasm may require a bit more conscious effort.  To that end, I try to take a little time every weekend to prepare myself for the coming week--both in things practical, such as the specific things I want to accomplish, as well as things more psychological.  I often need to read only a little bit of educationally motivating literature before I start feeling particularly pumped up for another week of homeschool!  :)

As a bit of a preview of what I hope to be posting about in the coming week, I'll tell you what our plans are this week:

• Read at least one chapter of The Secret Garden out loud to R each day
• Do a color mixing experiment using water and food colors
• Learn about seconds, minutes, and hours
• Begin teaching C the sounds of the alphabet
• Practice colors and shapes with C through coloring and drawing
• Encourage R to write something--anything--each day (this might take some really creative thinking...)
• Learn about pilgrims (we have a book from the library)
• Do a fall craft of some kind involving leaves
• Do math using the Easy Peasy first-grade outline (see resources tab above)
• Dance to the silly songs CD that we got from the library
• Do a gospel lesson from the nursery lesson book each morning during breakfast
• Have R read more of her Book of Mormon stories book

To be clear, this list is just me brainstorming about all the things we COULD do this week and a lot of things I HOPE we get to do this week.  It is NOT something I feel obligated to stick to.  Why?  Because what matters more to me than anything else is that R stay interested and excited about what we're doing.  Insofar as I can keep her engaged in these particular activities (many of which are on the list specifically because she has shown some degree of interest) I will stick to my plans.  Everything is fluid and flexible though, and I love it being that way.  My only real goal each day is to get a little bit of reading, writing, and math done regardless of the shape or form that comes in.

So that is my practical planning.  In terms of my psychological preparation, I'm reading one of Charlotte Mason's books.  A lot of what she says is a little outdated or hard to apply in modern life, but she definitely has a lot of great bits of wisdom here and there too.  I'll leave you with one of my most recent favorites:

"One of the secrets of the educator is to present nothing as stale knowledge, but to put himself in the position of the child, and wonder and admire with him."

Welcome to my world!

I am starting this blog because homeschooling is something I'm passionate about and I long to discuss and share this dynamic and exciting part of my life!  Being a stay-at-home/homeschooling mom is incredibly demanding, while at the same time wonderfully fulfilling.  I hope to reach out to others who are currently homeschooling, considering it as an educational option, or just curious about homeschool in general.

I have two little girls.  R is four-years-old and absolutely brilliant.  She makes me feel confident about my choice to homeschool because she is so far advanced for her age.  She is currently reading at a third-grade level and doing first-grade work for everything else.  C is two and already following in her big sister's footsteps.  She knows almost all of her letters and numbers and is beginning to learn the letter sounds and how to count more accurately.  We're still working on colors and shapes though.  ;)


I consider our homeschooling to have begun the day Ruby was born.  We don't "do school" during certain hours of the day.  We live school.  We learn and explore and ask questions and find answers all day long.

I'll state the obvious here, (because you're going to find out soon enough,) I am NOT perfect and I definitely DON'T know everything.  Far from it, in fact.  :)  I have plenty of ideas and theories, but I'm learning as I go.  A lot of what I do is trial and error.  But my passion and enthusiasm for this work is what keeps me moving forward as I try to glean true principles of intelligence.