Posts tagged books
Heavenly Humor for Teachers
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Here’s the newest project I had the privilege of being a part of. It was a thrill to contribute to Heavenly Humor for the Teacher’s Soul: 75 Inspirational Readings (with Class!). I am so thankful to Barbour Publishing for including this homeschool mom’s writing in the book.
The book includes 75 humorous stories–some from the view point of the student and some from the teacher. All have a heart-warming message of hope and grace. Take a look!
Finding What Your Student Needs
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As we begin another year of homeschooling, it’s easy to become consumed with curriculum and schedules and plans for co-ops, field trips and programs. While all of those things are important, I am once again reminded to slow down and prayerfully consider each of my children—their needs, desires, loves, struggles and limitations. Instead of focusing on grade level, what others are doing or even what I think I should be doing, I am reminded to focus on how I can reach each of my children with a love of learning.
For each child this is a different path. For me, this year, it will mean more hands-on learning. It will mean putting the books away and coming up with new ways of teaching the material. For example, after reading through the Five in a Row book How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World, I’ve decided to take a morning and bake an apple pie with my children. The organized task master in me struggles with the idea of breaking away from the curriculum schedule, but in order to give my children the kind of education I truly want them to have, I know this is a necessary step. And hey, it’ll be lots of fun, I’m sure.
Another step I am taking is to add lapbooking. I am fully aware of the fact that in order to do this, some of the workbook pages won’t be filled—at least not that day. A part of me cringes as that fact. But then, I have to ask myself which will be more meaningful to my children: filled workbook pages or handmade books that they can revisit and enjoy. I’m sure the answer will be the personal books. And to help me with that endeavor, I’ve called on the expertise of Tammy Duby and Cyndy Regeling and their book The Ultimate Lap Book Handbook
This is the direction in which I’m heading, and I know full well that it is very different from others. Whatever your students need, I pray you receive it. And as you zero in on exactly what they need, I pray you’ll find your own passion for teaching them. God bless!
Are you taking a new direction this year, or fine tuning an old one? I’d love to hear about it. Please comment below and share how you are changing your homeschool in the coming year–new curriculum you’ve found, new approach, ways to streamline, whatever. Let’s learn from each other.
Review: The Unschooling Handbook by Mary Griffith
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As personal as homeschooling is, the method of unschooling is even more so. Unschooling families vary widely in their approach. Some use a few select curriculums for a few select subject; others use none. This makes writing on the subject of unschooling difficult. I know. I’ve read several books about it, and most have difficulty putting down on paper exactly how to use the method. The Unschooling Handbook : How to Use the Whole World As Your Child’s Classroom
Author Mary Griffith takes on the subject of unschooling in a very relaxed, open-minded way. She introduces the subjects in chapters like “TV or Not TV,” “How Can You Tell They’re Learning?,” “Reading and Writing,” “Math and Problem Solving,” “Changes As Kids Grow Older,” etc. and then lets each unfold with several examples from unschooling families.
For the person who already leans toward the unschooling method of homeschooling, this will feel natural, but to the person wanting to understand exactly what do to, it comes across as vague. Griffith uses several examples of families to illustrate the unschooling method, but the examples are so different that it’s hard to know which are effective and which aren’t. And some really left me questioning the method all together. For example, one parent said:
“We have no restrictions on television watching… I don’t feel there is any point to restricting their viewing. I want them to learn to self-regulate, not be dependent on me to tell them what they should do. Also, it would be antithetical to my unschooling philosophy to prescribe or proscribe any source of information.”
Another said, “I think the time to step in and help is when we’re asked for help. We [the parents] might suggest that this would be a good time to work on a particular subject that we think they’ll need, but we can only suggest; they are free to refuse (and frequently do!). I think that to have a good, respectful relationship with our teens we need to be sensitive to their right to choose what they are learning and how they want to pursue it.”
That kind of laissez-faire approach made me uncomfortable, but I admit that this may very well be my inexperience with this method showing. I would have liked to see more in the way of statistics and research to support the method’s effectiveness. Instead, the attitude displayed in the book is “trust us, it works.”
Other parts of the book encouraged me. Griffith’s sidebars “An Unschooling Week One, Two and Three” gave the best insight into how unschooling works. They allowed the reader to see what a typical unschooling week looks like for three different students, and they showed how subjects naturally flow together, which is a big part of the unschooling method.
My favorite parts of the book were the resource guides at the end of each chapter. Because unschooling doesn’t often include curriculum, these were mainly real life examples—books, videos, websites and other tools. Those alone make The Unschooling Handbook useful and are great resources that anyone could use to enhance their homeschool.
However, if you want to better understand the philosophy of unschooling, you would do better to go back to the beginning to Teach Your Own: The John Holt Book of Homeschooling
Yes, my review of The Unschooling Handbook is mixed. But then like I said, homeschooling is personal. As with any book, it’s useful to take what works for you and discard what doesn’t. That’s what I took away from this book. I’ll use some of the suggested resources and continue to ponder many of the family examples. I’ll incorporate what fits with our family’s personality and ignore the rest.
If you have read The Unschooling Handbook and found it helpful to your homeschool, please leave a comment and let me know what you gleaned and how it affected you. I would love to dialogue about this method and this book. Happy homeschooling!
Review: Homeschooling for Excellence by David and Micki Colfax
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I just finished Homeschooling for Excellence
Book Review: Simplify Your Life by Marcia Ramsland
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In an effort to make my homeschool and home run more efficiently, I recently read Simplify Your Life: Get Organized and Stay That Way
Learning How to Lapbook
1At the 2010 Texas Home School Book Fair, I came across a vendor that sold history lapbooks. This piqued my interest and I began researching how to make my own. That led me to a few web sites that have a lot to say on the subject.
Lapbooks are creative folders/notebooks that highlight what a student learns during a unit study. Think of them as a cross between scrapbooking and journaling. Lapbooks are filled with smaller sections, or “books,” and can be personalized to reflect each student’s age, giftings and interests.
If you are looking to learn more about lapbooking (what it is and how to execute it) then you’ll appreciate the sites I found. Lapbooking can be especially effective for a creative child who appreciates adding an artistic twist to their subjects or helping you jazz up new subjects for reluctant learners. Check out these handy sites:
Lapbook Lessons: This site is dedicated to lapbooking, complete with FREE lapbooks, ideas for creating your own and a forum so you can glean and share ideas with other homeschoolers.
How to Plan a Lapbook: At the end of this page there is a list of additional lapbook sites. Together, these give a great overview of how to create your own lapbook.
Also, if you’d like a book about it, here’s a great one The Ultimate Lap Book Handbook
If you have used lapbooking in your homeschool, tell me about it. Or if you have other great lapbooking sites, please share. Happy homeschooling!
FREE Resources for Charlotte Mason Homeschoolers
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When I first began studying homeschooling methods, I kept coming across the name Charlotte Mason. To be honest, I really didn’t get her method of homeschooling. It just didn’t click. I didn’t understand what made her style of educating different, or what was meant by using “real books.” Then I came across a site that has become one of my favorite sources on the Web for homeschooling: Simply Charlotte Mason.
Veteran homeschoolers Sonya Shafer, Karen Smith and their families have created a site dedicated to encouraging other homeschoolers in the Charlotte Mason method. Their site offers several FREE e-books that explain the method. I especially liked Sonya Shafer’s book, Education Is an Atmosphere, a Discipline, a Life. It is a great condensed introduction to what Charlotte Mason actually wrote in her original series.
Simply Charlotte Mason offers several other FREE helps that I return to time and time again. Its free curriculum guide, complete with living book suggestions, is a wonderful resource. SCM has also added short teaching videos to its site where Sonya Shafer offers tips for things like scheduling, teaching and more.
Even today, I had questions about teaching spelling to my child. I’m not interested in buying a complex spelling curriculum with an arbitrary collection of word lists. I would prefer to have our spelling studies come out of our reading. Watching Shafer’s video, Prepared Dictation, gave me the guidance I needed.
The Simply Charlotte Mason forum is also very encouraging and active. Shafer is often available to answer questions and regularly offers feedback to visitors. I also appreciate that when I receive newsletter emails from this company they offer more than spam for their latest product, a pet peeve of mine with some other homeschooling sites. Instead, Simply Charlotte Mason includes relevant, interesting and useful information in their newsletters. Of course, not everything on the website is free, but the products that are for sale are reasonably priced.
So there it is, my glowing recommendation for Simply Charlotte Mason. I promise, I’m not getting a kick back for this. I’m just very appreciative to these two fellow homeschoolers and their families. They have helped me understand and implement the Charlotte Mason method into my home school, and I’m sure they can do the same for you.
Video Review: So You’re Thinking About Homeschooling by Lisa Whelchel
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Check out my video review for Lisa Welchel’s book, SO YOU’RE THINKING ABOUT HOMESCHOOLING
Rediscover the Library
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When was the last time you ventured into the library? When was the last time you allowed yourself time to peruse the books, books on tape, DVDs and magazines? If you’re a homeschooler, the answer may be “last week” or “last month.” That’s because the library offers wonderful opportunities for homeschoolers.
For me, homeschooling reintroduced me to the library. As a child, I spent hours there discovering all the books, attending children’s workshops and participating in read-a-thons. It was a treasure hunt each and every time. I loved finding just the right books and checking out my favorites to take home and enjoy. This continued until I graduated college.
Since that time I have only visited the library a handful of times. Instead I’ve found myself ordering books from online or brick-and-mortar stores and filling my shelves with books that I only read once. Once I had children, I frequented story time and checked out books for their enjoyment, but really, I was a light user.
All that changed when I became a homeschooling mom, and I hope it’s changed for you. Like all parents, and especially homeschooling families, I want to introduce my children to quality books, but I don’t want to buy every book I discover. I don’t have the room or the budget for such a pursuit. That’s where the library comes in.
Thanks to modern technology, the search for enticing titles just got easier. Many libraries have their card catalogs online. So you can search your library’s titles and even reserve the titles you want from the comfort of your own home. If your library has multiple branches, you can even order books from other locales and have them delivered to your branch. This gives you the benefit of a much larger selection, the convenience of a one-stop-shopping and the saving grace of being able to run into the library, collect your treasures and be on your way before your children can decide to explore the place at full volume. Ever tried to find good, interesting titles with a three-year-old playing hide-and-seek around the shelves? It’s not pretty.
Yes, the library is a wonderful resource. And don’t forget to check out the non-fiction children’s books and educational DVDs (think documentaries), which can add a boost to any curriculum. You may even find new resources for you, too. That latest fiction thriller you’ve wanted to read? No problem. A new business title? They’ll probably have it.
Many libraries also offer cultural events for added fun. They might have a well-known author visit for Black History Month or a folklore dance group for Cinco de Mayo. Events like these will usually be free of charge. You’ll find information about them on the library’s website.
All of this and more makes your local library a great—and frugal—homeschooling resource. Be sure to check it out and let me know what you find. I’d love to hear comments about how you use your library. Let’s learn together.
Photo: A Rainbow of Books by candiedwomanire