lorisoard.com

Have you had a chance to check out my interview with the amazing Michele Duggar? You can read it here:

http://home-school.lovetoknow.com/Duggar_Family_Interview

Hope you enjoy!

Lori

Well, our school year has basically wound to a close. My girls will be continuing to work on math this summer, but we’ve been done with most of our other subjects for a long time. Whether you school year round or take a break at any time during the year, it’s important to build this down time into your schedule. The teacher (you!) needs a break and the kids need the break. By allowing their brains to rest, you allow them to come back refreshed. There are two schools of thought on whether these breaks should be shorter or longer. Personally, I find that shorter breaks help my kids retain more information, but longer breaks help them enjoy their childhood. It quickly becomes a trade-off.

The first year we homeschooled, we (I) decided to do year-round homeschooling. We were on a schedule where we had a week break here and there and a longer break at Christmas, but other than that we homeschooled. I became exhausted. The kids became exhausted and we were all grumpy and hard to get along with.

After that crazy little experiment, I decided that year-round schooling was not for our family. Besides, it really cramped our summer traditions of long lazy days at the pool and road trips on the spur of the moment. I want my children to look back on their childhood and remember those fun summer days of laughter and sunshine. I don’t want their memories to be of gazing out the window and WISHING they could be in the pool, but Mom made them do fractions. So, the second year we chose to do a more traditional type of schoolyear with a two month break in the summer. The exception was that we took our holidays on non-holidays, so we could go places and still avoid the crowds. This set-up seems to work better for us and it is what we’ve stayed with.

My oldest daughter is going to the local high school next year, so my homeschool days with her are coming to an end. As I look back at the past three years, I realize we’ve finally found our homeschooling groove. I no longer stress as much over whether my kids are learning, because I know they are. I no longer worry if one daughter gets behind in a subject, because I’ve learned from experience that they can catch up the minute they set their mind to it. My oldest daughter was at a fourth grade level in math (maybe) when she was in 7th grade. Within a year and a half, she has completely caught up and is ready for high school Algebra. Better yet, she actually understands the math. When I think about all the hours and hours spent trying to drill facts into her head and worrying over her future, I have to laugh and know that God truly does work these things out. My daughter just needed more time and the right math curriculum (MathUSee in her case). Not only does she now understand it, but I expect her to excel in high school math, something I never would have thought possible a few years ago.

So, as this school year winds to a close, ask yourself if you’re allowing time for memories or just memorization.

The girls and I just discovered a really fun site for students and homeschoolers put on by Scholastic called StudyJams, through a company I get news and visit new sites through. You can get a 14-day trial at:

http://www.bzzagent.com//p/2733541020/lori_soard

We haven’t completely checked it out yet, but it looks interesting.

Lori

During days like these in homeschooling, you may feel as though homeschooling difficulties have you swamped. Anytime there is a major change in your household, you may wonder if your children are learning what they need to know. However, homeschooling difficulties can sometimes turn into blessings in disguise.

Death or Illness

Although I haven’t experienced this myself since beginning homeschooling, many of my friends have had to care for an ailing family member or deal with death while trying to maintain a regular homeschool schedule. One friend of mine told me that when she cared for her mother for a year that she didn’t feel her kids were learning anything at all. There just wasn’t time or leftover energy to do the school work that needed to be done and she felt as though she was completely failing her kids. When her mother passed away, she pulled the pieces together and tested her children to see where they were academically. She was pleasantly surprised to find that her daughters were not nearly as far behind as she thought they were. They self-taught, read to one another and learned somehow through that year. More importantly, she feels that they learned the importance of caring for family and being kind to those who are ill.

Moving

Moving can put a real damper on homeschooling. We started homeschooling in the summer time, because we were “testing it out” as I attempted to convince my husband it was the right choice for our girls. Ultimately, he agreed with me when he saw how well they were both doing. However, this was a huge challenge. We were finishing a new house, living in a tiny apartment and trying to homeschool. In the middle of all that, it was time to move into the new house, so we were packing, unpacking and living out of boxes. The best advice I can offer with this homeschooling difficulty is to do a little each day but don’t overwhelm yourself or your children. We decided to focus on math, since it was summer, but during the regular school year, I would probably scale down to the three “R’s” and stick with reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmatic. Once the move was completed, I would then add in other topics one at a time, starting with science, history and then electives.

New Family Member

We recently had a 16-year-old niece move in with us. We’re thrilled to have her here, but it has been an adjustment to everyone. She misses her old school, old friends and home and we have had to rearrange things and make adjustments. The first week she was here, I scaled the girls down to math only for the week. They are nearly finished with their other subjects for the year, anyway and math is always our weak area, so I never want to let that lapse. I quickly decided that spring break wasn’t happening for us this year, unless we wanted to work most of the summer and marked that off our schedule, so we can play catch-up. My niece has now been here about a week and a half and we are settling into a routine, as I knew we would. I have started to slowly add back in other topics, starting with reading. I will then add writing, science, history and then art.

The main thing to do when you are having any type of homeschooling difficulties is to figure out what your key areas are that your children should focus upon. I would start with the weakest area first, because that is where your child is most likely to potentially fall behind. Then add the other areas back in from weakest to strongest in skills. Here are some subjects you will probably want to cover:

• Math
• Reading
• Writing
• Grammar
• Science
• History
• Bible
• Electives
  • Languages
  • Art
  • Music
  • Physical Education
  • Sports

After months of researching correspondence high schools and thinking through all of our options, our family has made the decision to send our oldest to the local high school next year. I’m at peace over this decision. I prayed about it and the Lord’s answer was to let my daughter make the decision. We spent time visiting the local school, reading through skads of info on correspondence high schools, looking at options and making pros and cons lists. I know she prayed about the decision and struggled with it, so it wasn’t a snap decision she made. She feels she is in the Lord’s will as well, and she is strong enough that I know her decision is hers alone.

I was also very impressed with the local high school, particularly the guidance counselor. And, if my daughter hates it, or we all hate it, she can always come back home.

We will now be a split family, with one child in public school and one at home. It should be rather interesting next year as we work to juggle commitments to the local school and commitments to home schooling. I have always been involved in some way in my children’s education, and that won’t change now. It’s just going to be harder to juggle.

I have also noticed that some in the home school community are what I will nicely refer to as home schooling purists. I’m a little worried about these purists and their reaction to our split-schooled family. Being a purist means that they do not believe in ever sending your child to another school. They may not come right out and say so, but their comments about how *they* have home schooled all the way through, and are just committed to what the Lord wants them to do, speak volumes. As if we’re not committed to Lord, is the insinuation. Then, there are those who understand completely that each child has different needs at different times and would not judge anyone else for their choices. This is how I strive to be.

There are obvious things Christians need to stand up against. If someone is committing a sin, then we should speak out. We should try to lead lost people to Christ. But, despite what some might think, sending your child to the local school is not a sin. We have other battles to fight, and I don’t know God’s plans for my beautiful daughter. It might be for her to reach other teens for Christ in a powerful way.

I do have to admit to being a tiny bit sad over her decision, however. I was looking forward to working toward CLEP tests and reading some of those wonderful books she would be working on in British Lit next year (she did American Lit this year). I was excited about her taking some courses through the local community college too. But most of all, I am going to miss having her here with me all day. Her personality has blossomed in the last three years of homeschooling. She has gone from a kid that used to be very difficult, mainly because she is so strong willed, to a kind, loving, and passionate Christian. I have enjoyed our discussions this past year on some very deep topics. She’s now going to be gone seven plus hours a day and then any sports or activities. I have treasured the last three years of homeschooling, because we had reclaimed our time with our children again. I enjoyed the fact that we could stop and pray at any moment about anything that concerned us. I’m going to miss that.

I know it’s time to give my baby her wings and let her start those first fluttering movements that will one day take her out of our nest and into a nest of her own, but no one ever told me that Mama birds mourn when their babies learn to fly.

A day in the life of a homeschooling mom, writer, editor, chauffeur, housekeeper, wife, church secretary, daughter, mother, friend…

Like most women, I have many roles and many different hats to wear. Often, I have to juggle those hats or wear more than one at the same time. Life it hectic, crazy, busy but happy and fulfilling.

I often find myself wondering why I didn’t just say no to whatever task is at hand, yet when that task is completed, I feel joy at helping others. I have learned over the years to pick and choose those volunteer jobs and to only take on short-term commitments outside of a few things I do regularly. This is to help me keep my sanity.

I have also learned to only take on tasks that I in some way enjoy or am skilled at. To take on a task I loathe makes me unhappy and makes those around me unhappy. There is usually someone else who actually enjoys doing those things and therefore can do a much better job at them.

Sing? I love it. I may not be the most skilled singer in the world, but I love to praise God with my voice and I love it even more when others sing along. I believe my skill in this area is in choosing songs that have deep meaning for me and also for others because they can sense my passion. It is more in the heart of the singing than in my actual skill level, which I will be the first to admit has much room for improvement.

Writing? Obviously I love writing. It is my chosen profession. It is where I feel confident, strong, capable. I also feel that God has given me a gift of written gab so that I can reach others in some small way. I have often said that if my words change just one life or bring hope to one person that I have made all the difference and I still feel that way.

Mom? Most days I love this role. My girls are my world. They are before writing, singing and the other things I love. To have the opportunity to raise them, mold them and get to know their precious souls is such a wonderful gift from God that i can hardly express my gratitude at being a mother. Having my girls was not easy. Pregnancy was at first hard to come by and later hard to maintain. I almost lost both of them multiple times, lost a child between them and yet they are healthy and thriving. This is more of a miracle than I can express, especially now that I understand more fully the many crazy hoops my body had to jump through to accomplish their being here. I thank God for them every single day. Yet, I am human and we all have our days. Any mother who has homeschooled will tell you that life is just downright insane at times. There are days when nothing seems to click and for a perfectionist like myself that can be tough.

Homeschooling my girls has grown me more than anything else I’ve done. I’ve learned to pray without ceasing during the hard times, and it has brought me closer to the Lord. I have learned that my patience has its limits and there are days when we are all just spinning our wheels. I’ve learned to take my eyes off my “to-do” lists and enjoy the moment. Recently, we set our other school work aside and we had a Jane Austen week after my girls caught the movie “Emma” on television and expressed an interest in this favorite author of mine. It was perfect timing as a movie called “Becoming Jane” was also out that week about Jane Austin’s life. We read Austin books; we studied the time period; we even learned about money of the time and worked in some math. Most of all, we laughed together over Austin’s words and at her quirky way of looking at the world and seeing the humor beneath all the pomp and circumstance. We had vivid discussions about how different things are now and yet how people are still very much the same. I know in my heart that my girls will remember this week long after they forget how to diagram a sentence. It was more educational in many ways than our typical school work. Unstructured? Yes, yet they learned so very much.

Chauffeur. Sigh. Run here, pick up this friend, take that friend home, run the teen to youth group, run the youngest to a Keeper’s meeting, run to the library, run to art class, then to music class, run to Hobby Lobby for supplies for the science experiment. My car’s wheels have been run off. I’ve always been a person who loves to run, yet these days I find myself craving the at home time I rarely get. My oldest will get her learner’s permit next year and I’m a little ashamed to admit that I almost can’t wait until she is able to get her own driver’s license. She can then run herself to her friend’s house or to youth group and I can breathe again. Then again, the thought of my baby on the road is terrifying, so maybe I take it back.

Those are just a few of the roles I play, so you can see how busy and full my days are. Amazingly, I wouldn’t change a thing. I love God and serving him through the church, I love my girls, I love home schooling them, I love writing and I love my husband enough to want to keep a nice home for him. There will be time to sleep later in life.

In part 2, I am going to take you through a typical day in our household as a home school family.

Below is information on a new class I’ll be starting in August for the 2007/2008 school year.  I think your Jr/Sr High students would enjoy this class.  I will also be doing a class for younger students (4th-6th grade) on the same day (different time) but we may all work together some if the scripts need younger or older students.  We’ll work that out as we go along.  We will meet every other week for an hour and a half for the older kids and an hour for the younger kids.  We may have to expand that time if we aren’t getting everything done to two hours and an hour and a half, but we’ll see how it goes for now. I am trying to get us a class room at Graceland, but if that doesn’t work out we can use one of the classrooms at our local church close to Sellersburg. Day will be decided later but will more than likely be a Thurs. or Friday.

Details are below.  Let me know if you have any questions.  This should be a lot of fun and will give the kids an opportunity to learn creative writing, see how a script is put together and to learn how a film is put together and the same process with a play.

August-November

We will work on the elements of screenwriting, plot, characterization, format, film a screenplay that the kids will work on and we will have a premier for the parents.

December we will take a break since many families go away during that month.

January-May

We will learn more story elements, write a play, learn basic drama elements, basic voice instruction, and put together a play with a which will be performed for parents at the end of the year.

The kids will also get a T-shirt, which we’ll have them design and they will also help come up with a name for our group for the year.  Example:  Home School Writers & Actors Guild.  I’m going to allow them to come up with ideas and then the class will vote on the final name and design.

The class will run $35.00/month (a portion of that is going to be donated to the facility we wind up using and also to purchase T-shirts and such), but I do ask that you commit to staying in for at least the full semester (example August-November). It is really hard to write someone into a script and then have them leave mid-stream.  They also need to commit to being available for practices or to make up that time with homework or an additional practice if they simply have to miss.

I will also have the kids work on their own screen writing and play writing and we will have some interpretive readings and monologues to get them used to doing this in front of other people.

If you have a shy child, they are more than welcome.  I will try to work with them to help bring them out of their shell a bit.  I was shy as a kid too, so I understand what they’re going through.  Sometimes a small part or something they can do with others helps tremendously.

I’m going to limit the group size this first year until I see how everything comes together, so if you want to reserve a spot for your child, email me and I’ll send you a registration form and additional information.

Thanks so much!

Lori

PS  This is taking the place of the summer camp I was considering.  After researching some of the pieces out there, I really don’t feel we could do it justice in such a short period of time.  I may look into doing something next summer after I see how the timing on these classes works out.

Lori Soard
Cutting Edge Writing

www.lorisoard.com

Hi, all.  I had to post a short review about the Time4Learning.com website.  We started using this site this past year.  My children HATE math but now they look forward to getting on the Time4Learning website and trying different math games and learning new facts.  I have noticed a marked improvement in their scores on the tests I give them and amazingly enough I too am getting better at math just from helping them with their lessons.

Time4Learning is a comprehensive curriculum (Try the demo lessons) that covers math and language arts.  Most of the grades also have a bonus of social studies and science.  They do have some printable worksheets, so your child does not have to do all their work online.  Although we do not use this as our main curriculum, a parent could easily do so and cover the main facts their child needs to know for grade level.

Because my oldest has struggled with math so much, one thing that really impressed me was that they were willing to set her grade level where I wanted on each subject.  She is ahead in Language Arts and behind in math and Time4Learning was able to accommodate those needs.

Their customer service is stellar.  Anytime I’ve had a question or problem, they respond quickly and in a professional, the customer is always right, manner.  Visit the parent forum.

My youngest enjoys the playground area at the site, which offers a variety of online educational games.  She earns time at the “playground” by completing her lessons.  I used to spend half my day arguing with the girls to do their work.  Now, when we get into one of those moods where they want to argue, I just say, “Why don’t we do Time4Learning?”  They never argue about working on these lessons, so it has helped us accomplish more this year than we normally would.  Let’s face it, we want our children to do well but as homeschooling parents, it is sometimes a struggle to fit everything in by the end of the year.  That doesn’t mean they aren’t learning valuable life lessons along the way, but at times they really do just need to learn math.

My oldest recently took a test so we could see where we were placement wise on math and she had gone up two grade levels this year.  She is nearly caught up now and I’m sure with Time4Learning’s help, she will continue to excel.  I can’t recommend this website highly enough.  In addition to the benefits of learning, they track your child’s progress so you have a record of his work.  I print this off every few months and place it into their files I keep.  While we don’t have to keep these records in the state of Indiana, it is a nice reference to see what we’ve covered and how she’s doing on a given subject.

It is not a Christian curriculum, but I have yet to find anything in it that disagrees with our family’s beliefs.  However, should we come across something, I would bring it to their attention and we would simply skip that section.  The parent has the ability to review all lessons before the child completes them as well so that should prevent any surprises.

You can visit Time4Learning at Time4Learning.com to learn more about this wonderful curriculum or to sign up.  Check out their free trial.

 

Another school year is almost at a close.  Over the next few weeks, I’ll be looking at curriculum choices for the next school year and posting an article about the debate raging over Virtual Charter Schools.  Stay tuned for details.  If you have something you’d like to add about a particular curriculum, please post under comments.