Saturday, November 18, 2017

Time4Learning: A Secord Chance

In my last post, I wrote that I was trying to find more independent learning options for Bug.  Years ago, I had tried Time4Learning for him and decided that it was kind of bleh.  Since then, I've known so many people who use it and really like it that I decided to give it another go.  I still don't like it. 

Bug tried the math and the science, 5th grade level. They were okay.  It was a lot of reading dry text and answering multiple choice questions.  I just don't see how that is learning.  I did a lot of that in school and got excellent grades and remember nothing. 

So, we are going to give Clever Dragons a go when January comes around.  We are mostly on break because we started the school year in July. 

Saturday, October 28, 2017

Some Drastic Changes

Well, in my 8th year of homeschooling, with a 13-year-old, a 9-year-old, and a 2-year-old, I reached my breaking point.  It's been a difficult few months.  I have seriously considered sending one or both of my boys to public school and have investigated online some private schools as well.  I have found keeping up with everything to be nearly impossible this year. 
I am making some changes, and we'll see how they work, and if they work, and what other changes need to be made.

I have put Bee into an algebra class.  I am signing Bug up for Time4Learning, where we will be using the math and science sections, for now.  I am letting Bug quit Spanish because I don't have the energy to make him do it.  We are taking a break from foreign language for the year for him, with the tentative plan of starting Latin next year.  Oddly, for the first time, both boys are really enjoying "homeschool days" at museums, so we are doing a lot of those. 

The boys are fine; all three kids are fine; the truth is that I am not fine.  Homeschooling is hard, exhausting, and thankless.  So is being a mom to a teen, tween, and toddler.  I am taking care of myself; I am getting some long-overdue therapy; and I'm looking forward to a more balanced lifestyle in the future. 

***
UPDATE: 2/28/18 (4 months later)
I'm doing WAY better, due to therapy, self-care, new friendships, and increased involvement in the larger community (mainly my church). 

Thursday, August 10, 2017

A Fun Day with WriteShop

I promise that I am not being paid by WriteShop, nor am I affiliated with them in any way!  I am just an enthusiastic customer.  In my 8th year of homeschooling, I have finally found a program that works for our family! 

Today, we were working on the second writing project for each boy.  (Each project has multiple steps).  For both, their was laughter and enjoyment.  Bug and I did a fun activity where we went from the general to the specific.  I had not expected him to like it, but he really got into it.  Bee had fun on his thesaurus activity, coming up bizarre answers. 

This program is very low stress but somehow manages to be effective.  It is also far cheaper than a class or online tutor.  I do not regret using those options in the past, but it is nice that I don't feel like I have to use an outside teacher and have the option of offering writing in-house. 

A Day Homeschooling a 4th Grader and an 8th Grader


I am pretty happy with our daily routine.  We are in a weird situation with few outside activities right now.  I am hoping that we'll add in more park days, that the boys will each get to do a robotics team, and we need to start piano again.  But all of those are pending for various reasons.  If the robotics teams do not work out, we will have to add in a science activity of some sort.

I am putting more responsibility on the boys for finishing their own work.  They have to finish in order to get screen time.  If they do not finish the interactive portions of their day by late afternoon, it is too late, because I am not going to work with them at that point. 

Of course, I count anything they do that is academic as "school!"  For instance, Bug gave a spontaneous oral report on the eating habits of archer fish, and I wrote that down!  

Right now, here is Bug's checklist:

  • Bible (listen to me read from the Golden Children's Bible, for religious reasons as well as cultural literacy)
  • Geography (listen to a chapter from a beautiful book called Minn on the Mississippi).  
  • Writing (an activity from Write Shop level D)
  • Spanish (we are burning through the Speekee videos and plan to try another program)
  • Math (could be Khan Academy, a chapter from Life of Fred, a game, problems I write for him, a workbook page--I give him a lot of choice in this area)  
  • Spelling (we do a much abbreviated version of All About Spelling, Level 4).
  • Handwriting (a very short sentence).  
All of his lessons are very short.  We don't do any formal reading.  He chooses to spend hours a day listening to audiobooks. 

Here is Bee's checklist:

  • Bible (Even though Bee is 13 years old, has good Biblical literacy from 2 years of Sunday school, as well as a wonderful homeschool Biblical Literacy course, I have asked him to join us for this.  For the first 11 years of his life, I was an atheist-agnostic, and I feel sad that I never read Bible stories to him.  So, it is special for me now to read them to all three children.)  
  • Write Shop
  • Social Studies (this may be reading his literature selection, watching his documentary, or working on a paper)
  •  Algebra
  • Spanish (online lesson or watch an episode of Mi Vida Loca on the BBC website)

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Review of Online CAT Test at Christian Liberty Academy (Part I)

As a habit leftover from homeschooling in Virginia, I give my children a standardized test every year.  My current state only requires every three years, but I like to have a test for my records, since we have a tendency school in a nontraditional way.  I think it's good for my children to have practice taking tests.  It gives me a sense of completion for the year. 

This year, I did something a little different:  I had Bug take online CAT test at Christian Liberty Academy.  I had intended to have him take the ITBS at our (now dissolved) co-op.  I normally like to test in May, but the test was to be offered in August, and then with the coop dissolved, I had to come up with something different to do. 

Giving the ITBS myself at home is not a great option with a toddler in the house.  I would have to do it on the weekends when my husband could watch Dot, and that is a pretty big drag on our weekend.  At least this year, I could have given both tests at the same time, since grades 3-8 can be given together.  Still, I just felt it was too much on top of starting a new school year.  Besides, if I want them to take the ITBS in the spring, I thought it would be better to do a different test; I don't want them taking the same test with just a few months in between. 

The online CAT test was easy to sign up for and easy to give to Bug.  I had him take it while Dot was napping or occupied, and we did it over a couple of weeks.  Most of the sections were very short, under 15 minutes.  The best thing about it was that his score was sent to me instantly after he finished the final test.  I was able to immediately email the results to my husband and print them for my records book. 

The disadvantage is that it is only a language and math test.  I like the science and social studies sections of the Iowa because they show that my children have a good level of literacy in those subjects. 

Bug did quite well.  His best score was for vocabulary (99th percentile) and lowest in language mechanics (75th percentile).  Haha; I am hoping WriteShop will help us with those skills.  As is the pattern for both of my boys, Bug did better on math concepts than he did on computation.  I'm very pleased with how he did.  I intended to give him a little bit of test prep, such as some arithmetic and grammar practice worksheets, but, as usual, I didn't get around to it, so his scores represent what he can do with absolutely no specific test practice at all. (Sorry for the shameless bragging--I can't stop it!)

Overall, I am happy with the test and will be giving the CAT to Bee in a couple of weeks.  I really want my kids, particularly Bee, to get practice taking a test in a group setting, so I may not use it again, but I will keep it in mind as a solid back-up plan for the boys in the future. 


Review of WriteShop, Part II

So, we have had WriteShop for about 3 weeks now, although we have not worked on it as many days as I might have liked.  Next month, I am going to have a daily checklist posted, so that we are clear on expectations.  Both boys have finished their first assignments. 

Bee, working in WriteShop I, has completed a carefully written description of an object.  Bug, working in WriteShop Junior, Level D, has a short letter of invitation finished. 

I will put both finished assignments into a writing portfolio for the year that they can show to their dad and possibly their grandparents, and so that they can feel like they have made progress. 

I am happy because we actually completed writing assignments together with a minimum of pain. 

It's interesting how it worked out.  Bee seemed to dislike the initial work but worked diligently on his actual planning and paragraph.  Bug had more fun with the prep work and was absolutely sick of the idea of a letter of invitation by the end!  So definitely time to move on to a new assignment. 

I am not stressed by this program at all and am looking forward to the future assignments.  I feel more confident and excited about teaching writing to young children, and I think that the children will feel more confident as writers by the end of the year. 

Saturday, July 15, 2017

One week with Speekee Accelarate

Bug was so resistant to taking online Spanish lessons via Skype that I agreed that he would not have to do so, even though I think it is the best way to learn.  We decided to try Speekee.  We used that program briefly years ago, but he was so little, and we had trouble sticking with it.  It turns out, they have something called Speekee Accelerate for kids his age.  Bug is 9. 

I eagerly signed up for it, as it promised to do all the Spanish prep for me. 

There are four videos a week.  The first was pretty good, although only 4 minutes long.  The other videos turned out to last only a few seconds each!  I am really not happy about it. 

Obviously, Bug has prior experience with Spanish, but it's just not enough material in my opinion, even for a beginner. Each week seems more like part of one day's material to me.  So, I guess that's how we will use it, and then we will have to figure out something else to try. 

It did spark interest though, and after he watched the videos for days 2-4, he was trying to figure out how to say that his brother is dumb in Spanish.  

I will update, if my opinion changes.  

Friday, July 14, 2017

Trying out The Ultimate Homeschool Planner

I've written about this before, but keeping records of our homeschool activities can be very stress reducing for me.  I do have trouble keeping up with systems like that.  For the past couple of weeks, I have been using The Ultimate Homeschool Planner by Debra Bell. 

This is totally not the kind of thing I would have bought when I first began homeschooling.  For one thing, while I am now a devout Christian, I was an atheist-agnostic at the time, and this is very much a Christian planner.  While it can be used by anyone, there are many sections that a person who is not Christian would need to ignore or alter. 

Here is what I like about the planner: 
  • It is colorful and fun to use.  
  • It makes me feel professional.  
  • The weekly grids are easy to customize, based on number of children and personal preference.
  • If there are pages I don't want to use, I can simply paste other pages over them.  
I have made yearly and monthly plans.  Unfortunately, weekly and daily plans don't work for my children, especially for Bee.  He tends to binge on certain subjects and is difficult to predict.  For instance, today he was binge watching his Cold War documentary series.  I'd rather he spend a lot of time doing something he is intensely interested in than begrudgingly do a little bit of each subject each day. 

My goal is to get done with certain things each month.  So, each day, I can look at our progress so far, think about where we are in the month, and what we most need to get done that day. 

One week with WriteShop

 I started using WriteShop with our boys this week, and I'm happy with my purchase so far.  Teaching writing to them has always been a huge struggle for me, and I've been saved by online writing tutors and co-op classes.  This has actually been a big disappointment to me, because I enjoy writing and have tutored it at the college level. 

At any rate, I had already decided to do writing with Bug at home because he was really burnt out on taking classes, and with us buying a house and moving locally, I wanted to save the money.  And then Bee's writing class was cancelled, and the entire co-op disintegrated shortly after.  Given the problems I have had in the past, I decided to look for a curriculum that would help us to be more successful.

So, the main issue that I've had in the past with both boys is that I give them something to write, and they claim it is too hard and refuse to do anything.  Part of this is perhaps a relationship issue, but I think the main problem was my own failure to break down the assignments into small parts.

So, in my googling, I came upon WriteShop, a fairly popular program, originally written to be used with homeschool co-ops.  The main complaints about the program is that the assignments are short with too many steps.  This sounded perfect for us!  Both the positive and the negative reviews pointed to this being exactly what our family needs.

Bug is in the fourth grade, and I ordered WriteShop Junior, Level D for him.  I received the teacher's manual, student workbook, grammar pack, and timesaver pack (highly recommended!).  They offer a digital version, but my printer is annoying, and ink is expensive, so I prefer to buy hard copies whenever possible.  I must admit not being thrilled at having to assemble these Fold and Go grammar packs, but they weren't too hard.  I am still making the bookmarks because I didn't have a good adhesive last weekend.  Still, it only takes about an hour or two of preparation for the entire year.

This week, we began our program, and Bug responded really well to it!  He seemed to enjoy his first grammar pack and the initial activities.  I like how colorful and child-friendly the grammar packs are.  Today, we did a mix-and-match exercise on the invitation letters, and that was fun, and it did the job of helping Bug to develop an awareness of the different parts of a letter.

With Bug, there are 10 writing assignments to be completed in this level.  If we do one assignment most months and two in one month, we can be finished in time to take off November and December, as I hope to do.  The program does require parent interaction, but it's very clear and easy.  

Bee in in the eight grade, and I ordered WriteShop I for him, to complete this year, and the teacher's manual for me.  If it works out well for him, I'll probably do WriteShop II with him next year.  We've been working through the initial exercises, and Bee did his first "sloppy copy" today.  He didn't seem to be radiating happiness during the skill builders, but he seemed relatively content doing the brainstorming and "sloppy copy" for his first assignment.  This is in contrast to tears, screaming, and the dreaded blank page/screen that we have dealt with in the past.

For Bee, he has 16 assignments to complete this year (with multiple steps to an assignment), so we will do 8 in the first semester and 8 in the second semester, 2 a month.  I think it's both a child and parent friendly program.  The parent has to do some modeling and explaining and helping with revisions, but there is a lot of independent work as well.  I like that it is very clear on what is expected for each assignment. 

It's hard to tell if a program will continue to work for an entire school year, but I'm happy after a week.  I'll try and report back later this semester and school year about if the program continued to be useful to us. 

Monday, July 10, 2017

Our plans for the school year

Our homeschool co-op has recently completely fallen apart, with allegations of financial mishandling, among other things.  Bee was signed up for several classes, while Bug was signed up for one class that he very much wanted to take, in addition to both being signed up for piano lessons there, and now it's gone.  I have received about half of my money back and am very much hoping that I get the rest of it.  There is a new co-op starting with many of the former instructors, and we are hoping that both boys will get to continue their robotics.  But the nice plan I had made out became completely screwed up a few weeks ago. 

So, the most important quality in a homeschooling parent is flexibility.  This is my 8th (!) year to homeschool, and every year, I do things a little differently.  Sometimes I move in one direction for a while and then find myself surprised to be moving back in the other direction.  For a while we were moving to taking a lot of outside classes, and now we find ourselves returning to doing most classes at home.  They had both requested to take fewer classes, and now we are doing it almost all at home again. 

Plans for Bee (8th grade!!!):
  •  English:  We are using a program called WriteShop, Level I.  We started it today.  No lesson plans for me, and every tiny step for each assignment is very clearly spelled out.  We should not have any issues with "blank page syndrome" or "writer's block," which is why I have frequently used writing tutors or classes for Bee.  I'm very excited about it.  If we like it, we will go one to Level II for next year.  I'm also going to have him work through the Life of Fred Language Arts series this year.  For literature this semester, I am having him read 8 books related to the Cold War, and do a short response on each one.  Next semester is still TBD.  
  • Social Studies:  We are studying the Cold War, and he is watching an extensive 24-part documentary on YouTube, in addition to the books he is reading.  Next semester, I will let him choose a different topic.  
  • Math:  He continuing to work in an algebra book by Harold Jacobs.  It's going well.  
  • Science:  I hope that he will continue on his robot team, if the team continues.  Otherwise, I will have to come up with something.  
  • Spanish:  He is back with Homeschool Spanish Academy!  Yea!  Last year, we took a break from private lessons because we were just so busy with co-op classes.  But it's too much for me with a little one in the house to make lesson plans, prepare, and have the time to interact with him individually.  In addition, I'm going to have him watch the episodes of BBC's Mi Vida Loca, on days that he doesn't have class. 
  • Arts:  He will take private piano lessons with a teacher close to our new home.  I'd like to add in some art and drama, but we'll see what comes available.  He was signed up to be in a play before our co-op fell apart.  
  • PE:  He will continue his team at the rock climbing gym, in addition to family outdoor activities.  
Plans for Bug (4th grade!!!):
  •    English:  Bug will be working through WriteShop Junior Level D.  At his request, we will continue the All About Spelling program, although I must admit, that with Dot running around, it is so hard for me to keep up with.  Bug spends hours every day listening to audiobooks, and at the age of 9, I just let him pick what he wants to read.  This worked well for Bee.  I will start assigning Bug some literature in the 6th or 7th grade.  
  • Social Studies:  I decided to try a Holling C. Holling book, as a literature-based approach to geography.  If it goes well, I'll order more.  
  • Math:  Bug will continue with Life of Fred and practice on Khan Academy as well.  
  • Science:  Bug was excited about being on a rookie FLL team.  He may still get to be on one, if the stars align.  Otherwise, I'll have to come up with something else.  
  • Spanish:  Bug adamantly refused to take online lessons.  We are going to do the Speekee program for kids his age instead.  
  • Arts:  So far, just private piano lessons.  
  • PE:  He will continue his team at the rock climbing gym, in addition to family outdoor activities.  
Plans for Dot (my tiny 2-year-old!):  Book reading, counting, singing, coloring, crafts, playing, kissing, hugging, trips to the park.  Just life! 

Plans for Me: 
  • I've never included this before in my blog, but I actually think that one of the most important things a parent can do is model a love of learning for the children.  Over the years, my children have seen me learn about gardening, Spanish, genealogy, and theology, among other things.  
  • My big project this year is continuing my Education for Ministry program (offered by the Episcopal Church).  Last year, I studied the Hebrew Bible; this year, I will focus on the New Testament.  My class meets once a week in the evening during the school year.  I have loved it.  
  • I've been enjoying reading books when I get a minute--fiction and nonfiction. 

 


Thursday, May 25, 2017

Saving Time with Subscribe and Save, Part 2

I thought I would do another post on Subscribe and Save.  We stopped using it for a while and then started back a few months ago.  The problem with it is that you have to stay on top of your subscriptions, or you can get too much stuff, and things will pile up.  But it is nice to get some staples delivered, and it saves a lot of extra trips to Target.  

Right now, we are getting: 
  • paper towels
  • toilet paper
  • facial tissues
  • baby wipes
  • family wipes
  • boogie wipes
  • Single serve coffee, called OneCup.  We don't use these all the time.  We make a big pot in the morning, but they are very convenient when we only need a single cup. 
  • cardboard litter boxes (I love these--with our one clean, gentlemanly cat, we use for a month or two and then toss.)  
  • toothpaste
  • floss (because we never remember to buy it at the store)
  • female hygiene products
  • disposable cardboard cups without lids (difficult to find at the store, and solves the problem of us leaving yucky mugs in the car and running out of mugs)
  • trash bags


Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Best apps for Busy Moms and Dad

So, here is my list of the iPhone apps that we use the most for organizing ourselves and our family life.  (Some of these are paid apps, but I am not receiving any sort of compensation for recommending them.) 

  • Tiny Calendar.  I've been using this to access my Google Calendar (because Google Calendar's old app was no good), but my husband says that he prefers the actual Google Calendar app now.  
  • 7 Minute Workout App.  I used this workout regularly for over a year!  It has been a lifesaver, especially with a young baby in the house, and I have been very happy with the results, visible muscles and good, functional strength, no back pain.  Now I am wanting more variety in my workouts, but I am still using it more sporadically when I know I need to work my muscles but am too tired to do anything that takes more time.  The Smart Workout feature gives you a different full-body workout each time you use it.  You can do just one set (approximately 7 minutes), or two or three.  Lately, I am trying Daily Burn's 365 workout.  
  • AllowanceBot.  We use this to keep up with our kids' allowances.  Otherwise, I don't know how we would keep track of if we have paid them or not.  I also use it for Bee's clothing/shoes budget (he is in charge of picking out his own casual clothes and shoes now).  
  • OrganizEat.  I just started using this to keep up with all of my recipes.  I love it because you can just take pictures of your recipes.  Most of mine are on paper, so this is hugely helpful.  I've been getting all of my favorites in there, as well as ones that I'd like to try.  It's great to have it all in one place.  
  • Google Drive.  I try to keep all of my homeschool records in here for safekeeping and easy access from multiple devices.  I also strongly encourage Bee to keep all of his schoolwork there. 
  • Chatbooks:  I use this app to automatically make small, hardback books of my favorite photos on my phone.  It is such a relief to have printed, organized books of my snapshots!  It takes 60 photos to make a book, which in a hardcover version cost $15.  They are being sent to me once a month, as I get caught up.  Each book encompasses about two months of photos (at the rate I favorite them).  
  • Day One:  I try to make a few entries a month in this journal; hey, at least one a month.  At the end of last year, I made a PDF out of my entries, and I saved it to my Google account.  Eventually, I want to print and bind them, as a little window into our family's life for the kids to have (and maybe their kids will enjoy looking at it one day).  
  • Our Groceries: A nice grocery list app.  I certainly can't keep up with a paper list.  This will sync across devices, so my husband and I can share it. 

Record Keeping for the Relaxed Homeschool

UPDATE AS OF 7-14:  I used this system briefly, then switched The Ultimate Homeschool Planner by Debra Bell for the school year.  It's working for me! 


I go off and on about record keeping.  Mostly off.  I am consistent about keeping the children's yearly standardized test scores (required only every 3 years), copy of our yearly declaration of intent to homeschool, and progress reports.  We are required to keep yearly progress reports on file--I find it much easier to keep these by semester.  Semester 1 is Jul 1 - Dec 31 and Semester 2 is Jan 1 - Jun 30.

But I have found it difficult to consistently keep records on a daily, weekly, or even monthly basis.  I have also found that many homeschoolers seem to take pride in only keeping the absolute minimum of records required by the state.  This I do not understand.  As I see it, a family tragedy (such as an illness or my death) could send our children back to school.  Records could only be helpful in this transition.  Additionally, colleges and universities vary greatly in their requirements.  Bee has only one more year until he is in high school (!), and I want to make it easy on myself in creating a high school transcript.  And there is always the possibility of being investigated for education neglect.  What incredibly unlikely, I have always felt that decent records (particularly a standardized test) would shut that sort of thing down very quickly.

It's often recommended that homeschoolers keep some kind of attendance record.  It's always hard for me to know--do I count a day as a quarter day, a half day, a full day?  Should I count weekends?  So much of my children's education comes naturally through life that it's really hard to say what is school and what is not.  But I think having some kind of written record of what was done is a great idea. 

At times, I have kept daily records on paper or in an app on my phone.  The app I have used (Lesson Tracker) was the most successful, and the best thing about it was that it showed me how much my children actually do, both as part of their "school" and on their own.  However, it requires you to enter the amount of time your child spends on the subject each day, and sometimes I just felt a little bogged down by it.

Lately, I've been using a new system (for attendance and daily records).  I made a table on Google docs (not the best application for making a table, but I managed).  It has each of the kids names and a place to check off all the subjects they do each day.  And a small area for notes to me jot down things.  Below, I have included a picture both of the blank table and of a sample for a very laid back few days like we've been having lately.




I had to use abbreviations for the subjects.  They are pretty obvious, but they stand for Reading, Writing, Math, Science, Social Studies, Spanish, Arts (Music, Art, & Theater), Physical Education, and Home Economics.  I have the Home Economics on there because occasionally, we have to take a day off and do nothing but clean house (like if company is coming), and so checking that box off is a way of reminding myself that those skills are extremely valuable.  I don't use it for the kids' daily/weekly chores though.

Next year, I will probably need to make a separate table for Bee and Bug, because Bee's subjects will need to be more specific and correspond to what will go on his transcript.

For now, I am really feeling good about checking off the subjects every day and having a visual reminder that my children are learning and developing in all sorts of ways, often without my promptings. 

What I Love about Homeschool

So, today we set up our old bounce house.  The 9-year-old, Bug, (who is really too big for it) has been bouncing in it for much of the day.  The 2-year-old, Dot, is mortally afraid of it, just like Bug was when he was her age!  I had really wanted Dot to bounce out some of her energy.

We were afraid that Bug had made a hole in the bounce house earlier, and Bee was dispatched to see if there was anything he could do.  He determined that the problem was with the air pump connection, and the bounce house was soon working perfectly again.  Later, Bug wanted to use it again and asked me to help him.  I told him I was busy getting the crockpot ready and he should do it himself.  Lo and behold, he hooked it up himself and proudly told me that it was working better than ever. 

I was just thinking about how homeschooling provides all sorts of little opportunities like that for children to problem solve and feel useful and good about themselves.  This is in the midst of a rainy day with lots of audio book listening for Bug, woodworking for Bee, and way too much Daniel Tiger for Dot. 

We are not as much on summer break as I had originally intended, due to unexpectedly taking off time to move house locally (!) , but are having a pretty laid back couple of months.