Putting Last Year's Homeschool to Bed

School is ovah! We had a great year, learned a ton, made great friends, have amazing memories, read the best books and wrote some amazing papers! Commence summer schedule, baby!

But before you move on to next year do a WRAP-UP from last year.

1) Evaluate how the year went.

• How did the Curriculum work for you? Did you love it, like it, tolerate it, hate it? 
• How did it work for the kids? Did it actually get used regularly enough to be beneficial?
• Were the extra-curriculars you were involved in too time-consuming, too rigorous, too expensive or a waste of time? Did they add or detract from your overall plan?
• Did social events provide healthy social interaction?
• Co-ops, on-line classes and  other outsourced programs- how did they work? Did they deliver what you expected? Were they worth the time, money, planning and effort it took to participate?
• What programs, events, activities, sports are you going to continue and which are you going to change or get rid of?

2) Sort and Organize

Sort through papers, notebooks, curriculums, books, DVD's, etc and purge. Books and curriculum you are done with- donate, sell or compost (yes, you read that right, CrunchyMomma here).
The stuff you are keeping? Clean it up and put it back on the bookshelves. The memories you want to keep? Make a scrapbook, a yearbook (Peekaboo) or blog about it.
Go through clothes, shoes and winter gear while you are at it. The kids grew at the speed of sound this year!

3) Teacher Training

Plan on a Homeschool Conference, Convention or Parent Practicum. Teacher Training Y'all. Determine an area you want to build your own copiousness in this year and make a plan for actually doing it.For me, it will continue to be Latina and Logic (Memoria Press and Jim Nance to the rescue!).Read some great books, start a book or Schole club. Don't forget to add in some fun and a break from your regularly scheduled programming so that you are refreshed and ready for what's next!

4) Look Ahead 

Make a list of curriculum and supplies you need to check out and purchase.
Overplan your coming year and then Go with the flow.

We've come to appreaciate the value of having beginning and end dates to our school year. Year-round schooling left us all feeling like we were on a never ending hamster wheel, never getting that that deeply satisfying feeling of accomplishment. These days we set a yearly academic schedule of 30 weeks, plan in breaks (Christmas/ stay or vacation, and summer school. We get more done, feel better about what we have done and look forward to what's ahead.

 

@Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!

Smash, Cram, Smoosh. Fitting It All In as you Homeschool High School

This months topic in Homeschooling High School has to do with fitting it all in.
Great question. There is a LOT to high school= academics, volunteering, work, family, church, sports, camps, special interests. I've written about it a bit before- you can check out previous posts here:

How Do You Get It All Done
How to Keep It All Straight
Getting Things Done
Let's Get Organized
Creating Time


1) We set SMART goals for the kids and work consistently towards them. We stick with tried and true curriculum as much as possible (Apologia Science, anything by Memoria Press, etc) This saves us time and energy in learning new curricula and systems.

2)We don't do everything and we don't always get everything done.
 Our kids haven't played organized sports since moving to our acreage, more's the pity, because of availability and time costs.
 3) We realize that so much of what we DO do is seasonal. What we do in the winter is different than what we do in the summer. What we do in 9th grade is different than what we do in 10th, 11th, and 12th.
We choose academics and extra-curriculars that are much like the protein drink we consume- they might look a bit pricey at the front end, but extremely efficient in what they deliver, and we don't waste a lot of time and energy trying to back-fill what we are not getting by going with inferior products, goods and services. In other words we do a lot of front end load investment. If we can't afford something, we go all A.F. and improvise, adapt and over-come by creating something ourrselves (Co-ops), bringing programs to the area (TeenPact) bartering (blog posts/social media promotion in exchange for curriculum), investing in what's already here with out time and services (the local drama camps).

 What we get done.

Academics Every day. Every week. We've are part of Classical Conversations Challenge program this year- Challenge A and Challenge 1.
My kids are busy doing Latin, Math, Debate, Science with Labs, Literature/Composition, and Rhetoric. When the CC literature says that they recommend 1 hour a day of studying for each strand throughout the week, they are not kidding. We are doing every bit of that.

Faith Building  My kids are loving the sweet country church that we have been going to, the smallish and down to earth youth group(s). My kids also go to many church activities and events outside of that related to other groups we are involved with. This isn't regular, but they get lots of steeping in the Judeo-Christian tradition, including almost daily discussion from Biblical Archeology Review, First Things, Jerusalem Post, CJCUC. They both have their own devotions going on and have taken up the challenge to read the Bible completely through. We do lots of Comparative Religion studies as well, because religion is always front and center of why people do what they do and we talk about that daily.

Politcs my kids are pretty steeped in politics in this house-hold, read World Mag and others, and do their fair bit of campaigning and volunteering for political organizations.
Art- Music, Visual and Dance (ballroom, y'all). Gotta have art. They are my kids. We supply materials, room to create, paint, draw, feed-back, books and teachers/courses when we can find quality, skill building programs.
PE-personal work-outs, jaunts and visits to the gym.
Reading. You gotta breathe and read. Have to.

We don't do a lot of extras during the week, nor do we have a lot of distractions. My high schoolers, however, do several camps throughout the year.. It kind of goes along with the idea of "batching."
Batching and yet more Batching

Camps
They do TeenPact in the spring, and sometimes TeenPact Alumni events, like Back to DC or Survival in the fall. As a result of this, they often serve or campaign with various groups, like the Family Policy Council and Family Heritage Alliance.

The participate in a One Act Play festival every January, Drama Camp every June and Shakespeare Camp in July. Sometimes they participate in Poetry Outloud. It's a lot of theater, but the real benefit is public performance, memorizing a complete Shakespeare play every year, memorizing tons of great poetry and lots of fun with friends.

Jobs My high schoolers have also held odd jobs- most of them seasonal and ag related, although the ubiquitous barista work has appeared. Having regular work hours during the week tends to disrupt what we are doing, and again, because we live way out, and I work from home, leaving during the day takes up huge chunks of time, or messes up my work life.

So, how do we fit it all in?

Weekly Meeting -Weekly Goal Setting
The Day after CC community day the kids and I sit down with their Challenge guide and calendar and we divey up the week among the remaining 4 days. We add in church and any other activities, like odd jobs, ballroom dancing, etc. Setting goals, even when it is as simple as writing them down in a weekly planner, is one of the best steps I've found to actually accomplishing those goals.

Our Day-to-Day
 We usually knock through Math first and together. We usually do Latin together-ish, because we are often cross-referencing and utilizing each other to get the work done. We are all really enjoying Henle Latin this year. Though it is hard work, it is satisfying work and we are putting together pieces of the puzzle and finding great joy in it.

Other subjects, the kids do on their own. Cub does 90% of his work completely independently, but if we don't map it out on his planner together, he struggles with getting everything done and on -time.
The kids take breaks throughout the day to go outside, or do reading they've decided upon, but generally, during the week we are hitting the academics regularly and decidedly.

Week-ends
Often, the kids are doing some school work on Saturday as well. My kids are not the fastest hard workers, but they are thorough and committed to getting a good job done. Cub, especially, is a deliberate thinker, slow and steady, and accurate. If he doesn't have time to mull through an assignment or project, it really stresses him. This year, with the formal debates, and teams, we've schedule several couple hour times to meet with team mates. He is willing to put the time in on the week-end to get a good job done and be prepared for every community day.

Why Do We Focus So Much on Academics? 
Isn't one of the greatest joys about homeschooling the ability to NOT be tied down to formality, be delight directed, do what we want when we want. Why yes, yes it is. And we have chosen a classical method, pedagogy and curriculum for these specific reasons:

Classical Education teaches you how to think. 
Furthermore, Classical Education teaches you what to do; addressing 2 of the greatest needs in the world and in the church right now.

So, we do a lot of challenging, formal academics. And then my kids have time to do a lot of other things, like read, wander, wonder, create, build, play, work-out, chat with friends, do projects, etc.

Read more on How to Fit it ALL in while educating in the high school years:

• Chareen @ Every Bed of Roses shares thoughts on the question: Can you fit it ALL in during the High School Years?
• Wendy @ Life at Rossmont shares: Help! How Do I Fit It All In?!
• Michele @  Family, Faith and Fridays shares: Time? Who Has Time?
• Lisa @ Golden Grasses shares: Smash, Cram, Smoosh. How do you fit it all in? Homeschooling High School
• Carol @ Home Sweet Life shares: Help! I Can't Fit It All In!
• Debbie @ Debbie's Homeschool Corner shares: Keeping High School Work from Consuming Our Lives
• http://www.aswewalkalongtheroad.com/2015/11/managing-my-homeschool-high-school.html

@Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!

Don't Panic! Homeschooling High School Blog Hop

This month's theme for the Home School High School Blog Hop is 

Planning for High School 

You are singing my song, baby! This is what I do professionally for a large academic company that services students all over the world. My students range from gifted Olympic hopefuls to profoundly learning or physically disabled from the U.S. and abroad. Give me a high-schooler and I can give you a plan and a Transcript (in my sleep!). 

We've had a homeshcooled high schooler in our home for the past 14 years (that's what happens when you have 5 kids with a 3-5 year spacing between each one!). I have a blog post that captures a whole slew of posts on planning for high school titled, ohsosubtly, Get With the Program. This post covers planning, pedagogy, managing your school-room and house, middle-school, high-school and Keeping it all Straight. Be sure to check it out and click on the links!

For the purposes of this post, let's start with pedagogy. Much of what we do educationally is guided by the Classical Method, specifically the Trivium, and as they move in to high school, the dialectic and rhetoric stages. We are looking for programs that teach logical thought and eventually take the kids to the point that they can creatively express their thoughts on a subject with beauty, truth and goodness. We have embraced a Classical Pedagogy for several years believing it to be effective, cost efficient, and totally in keeping with our Christian values and beliefs. We also take a very hands-on, experiential approach and include great books at every turn. Classical is our spine, with a liberal does of literature and project/ experiential based learning.

Based on this, how do we choose curriculum? We have a couple of curriculum suppliers that we know, trust and purchase from. This includes Memoria Press, Peace Hill Press, Roman Roads Media and Classical Conversations. In addition we do curriculum reviews and between the two, we are good. I stay away from other catalogs, because it distracts me from our program. We have enough exposure to new curriculum through reviews and friends that I'm in the loop with amazing new cool stuff that comes along. Additionally, I've found, limiting catalog consumpton on my part, keeps me from falling from the siren song of every.new.thing.that.comes.along. It's easier to stay the course if one is clear as to what the course is and is confident in it!

We follow a standard 4 x 4 transcript- 4 credits of Math, Science, English, History. Well, in theory we do. In reality my kids usually have 6-8 credits in History and English and 3-5 credits in Math and Science, with tons of extra-curriculars, way too much government/ campaigning and out of control Theater credits.

High School Credits- we go with the standard Carnegie unit- 120 hours of work = 1 credit, 60 hours = 1/2 credit, 30 hours = 1/4 credit. Some times that looks like a text book (complete a high school Apologia Science book with "On Your Own" questions and tests = 1 credit),hours on task (Shakespeare Camp), extra reading (completing all of the History of the World volumes by Susan Wise Bauer)  projects (drywalling, grouting, building bookshelves, brick-laying), camps (TeenPact), on-line classes (Bridgeway Acdaemy Science Labs), or co-ops and Tutoring Center.

We are not picky- we take credits where we find them, within the defined parameters of our pedagogy, 4 x 4 transcript goal and time. For an excellent resource on how to think outside the book regarding High School credits, I highly recommend Barb Shelton's HomeSchool Design Form+U+la. That is not to say that we count 1/3 of a textbook as a full credit, or a 15 hour Drama camp as 1/2 credit. I want my kids to know what academic hard work is, to be competitive against other kids who have done the actual full credits worth of work and the satisfaction of accomplishing a real thing.

Last year (Cub's 9th grade year), he did co-op classes (Poetry, Water-color, Middle East studies and a hands on Bio. lab) on-line labs and classes (Chem lab and Myths and Legends) , private tutoring (math), DVD's (The Greeks and First Form Latin), Classical Conversations (Essentials), Camps (Drama, Shakespeare, TeenPact, Speech), Textbooks (Science), Novels (too many to list), History for Fun (History of the Ancient World by SWB and the CC Timeline), Ballroom Dancing, hours outside and many, many hours spent honing his drawing skills. He also earned 11 credits, which was way too many and at one point we looked at each other and agreed that his schedule was out of control.

If it also looks like I am not actually teaching him that many classes, you are right. My role changes from primary teaching in the eled years to Mentor and Tour Guide in the high school years, resourcing my kids with opportunities, lessons and Tutors that go beyond what we can give our kids in terms of knowledge, time or energy.

We live in a low regulation state for Homeschoolers which means that there are high school graduation requirements but there is not a portfolio review to ensure they are done. Getting into college is not a worry for me in regards to my kids, or really most kids, unless they have some profound disability- it's paying for college without obscene debt that is the real challenge. Test scores are the real determinant of scholarship money, way beyond Transcipt- so Test Prep is part of our high school program. Khan Academy has free test prep and there are local and on-line Test Prep programs. I highly recommend having high schoolers do 2-3 practice tests before the actual test, so that they gain familiarity with the test before hand.  

Keeping Records- I make an outline of all four years of high school as the kids start High School - a "Start with the End in Mind" approach. Our map is divided into four years and includes summer camps and extra-curriculars. Transcripts are created at the end of High School using free on-line templates from DonnaYoung.org, as well as creating my own using Word and inserting a graph. I prefer the by-the-year transcript instead of by-subject transcript, but that is a matter of preference. I do list Community Service, campaigning, camps, etc on a second page, high-lighting specific items, such as when the kids get a lead role in a full-length production of a Shakespeare play.

Extra-Curriculars- So glad you asked. We are involved in some really fun extra-curriculars including Drama Camp every spring. The High School Drama Camp now does a huge musical production every other year. Last year it was Joseph and the Technicolor Dream-Coat, which was amazing!  We also participate every January in the Festival of One Act Plays which takes place at a local university theater. Each summer, our kids live at a friends house, the same talented lady who directs the entire thing, for a week immersed in a Shakespeare Play, with a 2-hour performance given at a local park on the 6th day. Believe me, they know and love/hate the play by the end of camp! Feeche has also been involved in Poetry Outloud, which is a national recitation competition.

TeenPact has been in our lives since we brought it to South Dakota several years ago and our kids go through the State and Alumni Class, the 1-Day Speech Class and Back to D.C.
Cub wants to do Survival this year in the fall as well, depending on how much money he makes this summer. We've also been involved in tons of campaigns in the past, somewhat as a result of our involvement with TeenPact. Our older kids have been invited to work on State and National campaigns around the country and have been gifted free plane tickets, loads of caffeine and life- long friends in return for their service and energy.

There is Homeschool Ballroom Dancing, classes and DQ afterward every other week all year long and our kids love it. Each spring the parents invite kids to attend a Homeschool Dinner/ Dance that is semi-formal and includes crazy food and more dancing!

In the summer months, we all meet at a park for the kids to play volleyball. Some of the athletic, volleyball oriented Moms teach skills and drill the younger kids while the older ones jump right into games.

Friends of ours hosted a monthly "TeenNight" for 12 year olds and up in our area for years and their youngest just graduated. We've taken up the banner for this summer and are having a monthly get-together featuring fun, food and bon-fire, which includes air-hockey, smoke-bombs, and hide-and-seek over several acres, including old sheds, groves and fields. Everyone brings a snack to share and parents stay and visit, too.

Our kids also regularly work-out. Feeche was involved in the Timothy Group, which had a rigorous and demanding timed work-out schedule. Now the kids jog, trek, work-out on their own or go to our local small gym with me.  Cub wants to add Fencing and Tae-Kwon-Do this year but it is going to be dependent on times and ability to get there.

Cub also spends time doing things that interest him like project based art work, time shooting (guns and bows) and researching areas of interest. In our world, house projects figure heavily, as we've moved beyond re-building from a house fire to re-modeling a house that survived a house fire. The kids have learned amazing life skills including but not limited to drywalling, brick-laying, house-painitng and grouting. Shop class credit, Cha-ching!

Our teens have all held jobs- including working at Dr. Dh's office, haying, local farm work, working at coffee and tea houses, construction and orchard work. We live in the country, so local farm and orchard work is what's around, but it often pays more than minimum because it is demanding and dirty, and our kids work when they are at work, instead of checking Facebook.

College Credit during High School- the DE laws in our state just changed, so kids can start DE classes at age 16. Cub turns 16 this January, so DE courses, especially as he can do them on-line at home, may be something we try to fit in. He is taking another full-up course load, in addition to extra-curriculars and work, so we'll have to see how it can fit in. He may take some less demanding gen-ed courses, like Speech. Also, CLEPping is on our scope (our State schools take up to 10 CLEP courses- that's a year's worth of college for pennies on the dollar) and things like Western Civilizations I and II, along with Comp 101 will probably be done via CLEP as my kids live and breathe that stuff.

Holy Mackeral, as I write all of this down, it sounds like a lot and it is. Add in two working parents, a college kid in the house, a rising 7th grader, church, friends, teaching co-op and CC classes, speaking,  other obligations and we are full-up. Homeshcooling High School is a lot of fun, though, especially if you have teen-agers that have work/study skills and goals.

Our 15 year old rocks and is a fun combo of kid (he asked me to go see Jurassic World with him -of course I went!) and man (upper body strength, y'all), not to mention skills (brick walk laying-woot!). And he has the academic back-ground to engage delightfully on theology, doctrinal issues, history and politics. Love being home with my teen-agers!

I do lead a 3 hour High School Homeschool Mini-Workshop in homes and for larger venues such as conventions covering credits, transcripts, testing and so much more! as well private consulting on creating High School Maps and Transcripts for a reasonable fee. Feel free to leave a comment or pm me if you are interested in knowing more!

Take time to stop by the other Blogs in the Hop and read their amazing words of wisdom on Homeschooling Through High School! 

Meg from Adventures with Jude on Planning Your Homeschool High School
Chareen at Every Bed of Roses with thoughts on Planning to Homeschool through the High School Years
April from ElCloud Homeschool shares Homeschooling High School: Planning For High School
Debra over at Footprints in the Butter asks: You mean I have to PLAN our Homeschool High School?!?
Michele at Family, Faith and Fridays shares Here's the Plan
Lisa at Golden Grasses says Don't Panic! Homeshcooling High School Blog Hop
Debbie at Debbie's Homeschool Corner Planning Out a High School Program
Gena over at I Choose Joy! shares her The Top Tip for Planning Homeschool High School
Kym at Homeschool Coffee Break shares on Planning and Preparing for Success
Tess from Circling Through This Life shares on Planning the High School Years
Erica over at Be The One shares Planning and Record Keeping for High School
Jennifer from A Glimpse of Our Life on Planning For Homeschooling Highschool
Carol over at Home Sweet Life on Making A Plan
Wendy at Life at Rossmont shares thoughts on Planning for High School
Cristi from Through the Calm and Through the Storm shares on Making High School Plans
Dawn Oaks at Double O Farms shares Planning for the High School Years
Leah from As We Walk Along the Road shares her thoughts on Making Plans for Homeschooling Through High School
Leah from As We Walk Along the Road shares her thoughts on Making Plans for Homeschooling Through High School


@Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!

Challenge A Prep

We are deep into Spring, heading into Summer and I am regularly busy with getting things done and planning for what's next. Our CC Practicum is just over a month away and I am soaking in scientific copiousness and other brainiac cool things. It will be 3 days of sharing the classical model, CC love and talking with new and veteran homeschoolers. And an on-site bookstore. It's like classical Christian community heaven, right there.

In between that I am busy stock piling tons of info for Challenge A- which I'll be directing in the fall. Can.not.wait, y'all. Our group is 1/2 full (Master's class, move on UP!) with several others discerning if it's going to be a good fit for them or not. I have a Challenge A notebook already going, with tabs and sections, files and more. It is going to be a rocking year. Thought I'd share some of the goodness with you -even if you are not a Challenge student, there is a lot of fantastic info on getting organized, Jr. and Sr. High Homeschool, memorization, and much, much more. If I've left someone out, or a link that is too good to pass up, please let me know and I'll add it right in!

Specific Helps
Flash Card Making Kit
The World on a String- Globe Ornament
Infographics on 30 Different Countries
Creating a Geography Table
Continental Blob Maps
Squilt: Music Appreciation Made Simple
Henle Study Guide from Memoria Press. 
Challenge A Extra's Ebook

World Fair Tri-fold display- check out ClassicalTeacher at c3 

Great Posts from Challenge A Mommas

Challenge A: What I Can't Live Without- by 6 More Summers
Challenge A Notebook Organization by 6 More Summers
If I Could Start Challenge Again by Classical Conversations at Home
Let's Talk About Challenge A by Mt. Hope Chronicles
What is it like to be a Challenge Parent by Half a Hundred Acre Wood
Insight from a First Year Challenge Mom by Half a Hundred Acre Wood
20 Things I Wish I Had Known About CC's Challenge Program from EverFaith
Bridging the Gap - Foundations to Challenge Series #1
Bridging the Gap- Foundations to Challenge Series #2
Bridging the Gap- Foundations to Challenge Series #3

CC Blogs/ Carnivals/Link-Ups

CC Blog Roll, Link-Up and Carnival at Half a Hundred Acre Wood
HomeGrown Learners: Classical Conversations
Half a Hundred Acre Wood
Mt. Hope Chronicles
Suzanne Shares
Running With Team Hogan

Bring 'em on! 

@Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!

PSA: Hard is Not the Opposite of Fun

@Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!

7 Reasons Why You Should Blog if You Homeschool

I had a couple of goals for blogging when I started back in 08'- to write more regularly, to be part of a broader homeschooling community than I have locally, and to have a creative outlet that was less messy and expensive than scrapbooking. What I didn't expect was exactly how many opportunities and challenges would be available to me through the world of blogging. If you are looking for a fun new challenge for the New Year, why not add blogging to your list? Below are 7 compelling reasons to do so:

1- Reflection
Blogging, like scrapbooking, gives you the opportunity to reflect on what you've done. Hindsight is often 20:20 and when you write a weekly report, or a book review or a post about your summer vacation it allows you to think deeply and carefully about what you've done, what you haven't done and what you hope to get done.
In the same vein, blogging helps one express their reflection in varied ways. I wrote a book review, very tongue in cheek, a bit too cavalier, and the author commented. This author is a world class, best seller. How on earth did she find my little review? But she did, and it was not that kind, even if it was funny. I was focused too much on getting a laugh and not enough on the fact that there was a person who had put their heart and soul into something. I apologized and changed the review but it caused me to reflect, once again, the power of words, and the power of kindness.

2- Visual Memory
 Writing, and therefore blogging, about a book, movie or curriculum  forces me to think about the content in more robust and dynamic ways . Rather than a simple descriptive re-telling of a book, movie or curriculum, I want my blog to examine themes, content, quality and value. My readers might not agree with me, but I want to at least add to the discussion and prompt people to think.

3-Discovery
 My original goal of being part of a homeshooling community beyond where I live has been met and exceeded by far. I have met homeschoolers and bloggers on every continent who have the same victories, struggles, hopes and dreams as me.
I have participated in amazing blogging challenges and communities (stay tuned for the 5th annual Virtual Curriculum Fair-taking place every Monday this January) that have broadened any opportunity I could have found in my small corner of the world.
I have been able to chat with curriculum writers and suppliers and have the privilege of reviewing some world class products, all because I blog.

4- Create Personal Momentum
 When I write a weekly report, if forces me to realize what we've done- what we haven't done, what we could have done. I see the holes in our schedule, the places where I am far too draconian and pitfalls to be avoided. I'm challenged by blog challenges, by weekly reports, by Christmas decoration link-ups. I see places and opportunities, I rub shoulders with others doing more, and I am encouraged to go beyond what I think I can do. There is a synergy that comes from blogging.
 Is it that important that I blog about our Christmas decorations? Not really. What is important is that we came together as a family, we laughed, sang Christmas carols, talked about memories and favorite traditions, shared moments together. I'm often encouraged by others, and hope that my blog/our life can encourage others to live life together, instead of in front of  a screen, that families are challenged to talk about their faith, the books they've read and that education becomes an intentional transmission of culture instead of a haphazard one.

5-Peer Review
If you've homeschooled for any length of time, perhaps you've discovered that it can be a lonely path. And yet, the world wide web allows us rub shoulders with others traveling the same narrow path. In other words, even homeschoolers have peers.
Sometimes this will garner you criticism, trolls or snarky comments. Learning to deal with troublemakers is all part of the show and a skill set unto itself.
But more often than not, you will discover your tribe on-line and it is seriously gratifying when that happens. The friends I have made, the amazing, touching, wonderful comments that this blog has given someone hope, caused them to laugh or call their sister have made my day. Comments that folks are praying for us, are encouraged by our testimony, that they've been challenged to re-think their expectations, or even just their math curriculum encourage our entire family.

6- Raise the Bar
Hitting the "publish" button is immediate. Spell check is a part of my life- though it is not fool proof, grammatical construction is really a fantastic tool and synonym finder is my friend. Having the potential of a world wide audience has raised the bar, as it should.

7-Creative Expression
If you are a closet artist, like myself, blogging is a fantastic and cost effective form of expression. Photography, writing, graphic design, vlogging and more- there is plenty of room to grow and expand. There are plenty of free tools on-line,  making it actually cost effective for anyone with access to a computer and a creative turn of mind.

If you blog, what are some of your reasons for doing so? If not, jump in, the water's just fine!

@Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!'

New Goals New Year

To say that this year has blown by is a serious understatement. This time last year I was kind of drowning in computer training on a slow-as-molasses, decrepit, overly-loved laptop and kind of wondering if I was really up to working in this brave new world of computer everything. Last spring went by in a blur. Feeche took over my co-op class, I resigned from the TOS Crew, quite doing reviews, stopped reading, did nothing on the house or DIY, threw homeschooling at the kids and made some difficult decisions about not re-joining the co-op we've been part of for 5 + years. 

Enter a new season. 

This past fall we started an in-home class day, joined the local Classical Conversations, got much more familiar with work (even though we've changed computer systems at least twice), re-applied to the CREW (Hi Crewbies! I missed you!), did a ton of different trainings, got my head above water

taught writing and poetry, which I L.O.V.E.

It seems I've finally hit a spot where I can think about next things, instead of just what I haven't gotten to of late. 

Love that! 

And so, goals for the New Year.

(You can read my basic goals up top)

Here's a chance for you to set some of your own goals: 

Come back and link up so we can stop by and read yours!

@Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!

The Working Woman's Guide to Homeschooling- Flow, Grow and Tools

 

I've written before about how I like to over plan for school- knowingly planning too much stuff at the outset and then when school hits going with the flow. This requires that I know what I'm doing- that I have my budget decided upon, I know where to acquire things from, have my curriculum, books and supplies gathered, my support in place (co-ops, class days, outsourcing) my books binned and carted, my CD's in their basket- in other words, stuff ready to roll.

 

At this point, homeschooling is not difficult work for me. It's been my vocation for a couple of decades, I've written a Master's thesis about it, spoken about it, blogged about it, started class-days, co-ops and Mom's groups- it's what I've done. I love education, I love kids, I love teaching. The only thing missing is money and more time.

 

Enter the working world. I'm currently working in a job that uses my degrees, is challenging, boasts a terrific corporate culture and compensates well. But I haven't been in the working world for awhile. Yes, I'm fairly familiar with computers but I'm the farthest thing from a computer nerd and so I've been on a bit of a learning curve of late. My job isn't IN computers but my job is possible because of computers.
 

Maybe you are on that same learning curve. Maybe you've been a working Mom and just brought your kids home to school. Or like me, you've homeschooled long enough to have your favorite curriculum catalogs and your routine is so established it s a no-brainer,  but you are now returning to work. Either way, you are growing. Growing is good. But like my 14 year old exhibits daily, it requires extra calories that are nutritious, more sleep than normal and plenty of fresh air and time to mull. Even with all of that, growing pains  and occasional break-downs are still just part of the routine. Growth is challenging. Growth also messes up our established routines and habits. We have undergone a massive transition this year. Our established routines are dis-established. Our habits are out of whack. We are in transition as we re-evaluate what is working and not working. We haven't don't much "flow" this year and we have realized that some of the tools that have been wonderful in the past just don't fit anymore.
 

Here's my advice. Be nice to yourself. Be gentle as you learn the ropes of either your job or of how to homeschool. It's O.K. not to know everything, to make mistakes, to ask questions. My supervisor gave me a great gift by telling that she expected me to be asking questions for at least a year. Pshew. What a relief. And as much as I hate to do it- having gained some mastery in an area or two over the years, the fact of the matter is that at certain things I'm a newbie. And I'm discovering whole new areas in which I'm challenged and I have to ask questions, make mistakes and admit I've messed up. So not my favorite thing to do. But necessary if I'm going to learn the job and have the ability to do it well.

 

To keep growing we have to find the experts in the areas we want to grow. Not everyone who claims to be an expert is. Not everyone speaking publicly or publishing books is either. Have discernment and choose people in the areas you need to grow in - while I've read many, many books on education, there are some I just wouldn't recommend to anyone. 

 

Like the chart at the top states, eliminate distractions and gather your tools. For me, this meant purchasing a new computer. For you it might mean buying a 3-hole punch or a printer, or a camera, or going to a conference, or making time to listen to MP3's of great homeschooling leaders. One of the greatest lessons I learned during our house rebuild was this: Set up and tear down often take as long as the actual task. The correct tools can make the difference between success and not happening.

I know not everyone is in the position to buy a new computer. Frankly, we looked at it as an investment. I couldn't do the job without it and it will make the time I'm at work infinitely more efficient.

Eliminating distractions has been more difficult. While I love our first floor open floor plan, working out of it is not very time efficient. Mainly because there are a zillion distractions. Growing often means learning how to manage distractions.

 

For investment's sake I treat homeschooling pedagogy and curriculum from an eliminate the distractions pove- the classical method simplifies most everything imho. We invest in non-consumables, simple and effective curriculum that does what it says it's going to to do, without costing a fortune. Distractions in the homeshcool world include but are not limited to the siren song of every.new.thing. Look, you don't have to try out stuff just because someone else says it's good or it works for their kid. My 14 year old does not and will not enjoy activity books or lap books, period. Investing in curriculum like that for him is a distraction and causes us both to suffer.

 

Gather your (management) tools. Evernote and Google Doc seem to be the tools of choice for a whole lot of Working Homeshcoolers. There's apps and daytimers and wall calendars. The important thing is to get something that works for you and use it. I like the thought of on-line apps but at heart I'm a paper and pencil gal and still need a calendar to write in. On Day #1 I talked about "Knowing Yourself." Know which tools will work for you.  Just like the best curriculum is that which you take down off the shelf and use, so too the best planning tools are the ones that you utilize. Management tools for our homeschool are simple- a list for each kid outlining their curriculum, coded by text, workbook, CD, MP3, PDF, on-line, etc. Train them to use the list. Ka-bam.

Call to Action
Inventory 3 areas you need to grow in and set SMART goals.
Identify 3 distractions to work and homeschool and set SMART goals to eliminate them.
Research 3 tools that would make your work and homeshcool more effective. Determine how to aquire them.

Be sure to stop by my fellow Crewbies for some more great reading this week.
Kathy @ Kathys Cluttered Mind ~ Fieldtripping Fun
Leah @ As We Walk Along the Road ~ Great Kids Reads
Shalynne @ Wonderfully Chaotic ~ Birth and Babies
Lisa Marie @ The Canadian Homeschooler ~ Canadian Teachers Pay Teachers Stores
Kemi @ Homemaking Organized ~ Homekeeping for Girls and Boys
Heather @ Only Passionate Curiosity ~ Planning Your Homeschool Year
Nikki @ Angels of Heart ~ Easter: The Cross for Preschoolers
Jenn @ Treasuring Life's Blessings ~ Family Friendly Finger Food
Lisa @ Golden Grasses ~ The Working Woman's Guide to Homeschooling

Also be sure to head over to Schoolhouse Review Crew Blog to see what all 60 of my fellow crew members are blogging about this week for their 5 day blog hop!

 

@Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!

The Working Woman's Guide to Homeschooling Day- #2 Your Compelling Reason

Today's post in the series
The Working Woman's Guide to Homeschooling
has to do with defining your compelling reason.

Getting Things Done When There is Too Much To Do and Only ONE of YOU.

 

The biggest challenge working women have are in the areas of Time and Energy. There isn't enough of either one. If you homeschool AND work, you probably have less time than ever. Of course the best way to handle time challenges is to know why you are doing what you are doing and then make a plan and work your plan. In chatting with other homeschooling Moms who also work, by far the #1 challenge, is, as a friend says, "Managing Me."

And that's really the crux of making the whole thing work- the whole thing being staying healthy and save, keeping your job and educating your children. YOU are a resource, with limited time, energy and creativity and if you don't manage yourself, something will lose out. But let me take a load off from the get-go: something will lose out anyway, you won't get everything done, and you'll just have to let some things go.

Here's the real deal.  Educating your children is a job. You can outsource it, do it yourself or a combination thereof, but anyone who says it's free and easy is trying to justify or sell you something. How and where you educate your kids is one of the biggest parenting decisions you will make.

If you work you obviously have a job. Last time I looked 1 job + 1 job = 2 jobs. So, there you go. You are busy; very busy because you have not one, but two jobs. Congralations, you now qualify for Wonder Woman.

I am assuming that if you are undertaking the arduous task of managing 2 Jobs, you have a

Compelling Reason.

Are you clear about what it is? 

Write the vision and make it plain.

Personally, if  I don't write important things down and see it I'll forget all about them. . Then when the going gets tough (which it will, guaranteed) you can read your compelling reason and rest assured in your good choices. Or wonder at them, pray, wrestle and make different ones. Either way, it's a starting place and you need one, if you are going to successfully navigate the choppy waters of too much to do and not enough time to do it in. 

 

Your compelling reason is going to help you get and stay focused.

Compelling reasons can include but are not limited to social, emotional, spiritual, academic, physical, and familial concerns, among others. Among the working homeshcooling moms that I talked to in preparation for this series some of the compelling reasons were; their child was being bullied to the point of physical harm, their child was so depressed in school they had a suicide plan, their child has special academic needs better met at home, their child had health issues, they wanted better academics for their kids than the school provided, their child was very involved in a sport or artistic endeavor that took hours of training each day, their child was gifted or special needs or 2E, the family traveled for work, the family wanted more time together, Common Core implementation, etc. In other words, your compelling reason is going to be as unique and individual as you and your family is. Nevertheless, know what it is.

Our compelling reason is this:

Education is the transmission of culture.

I don't see the public (or often private, with a few exceptions) school system transmitting of culture of Christ, Truth and beauty. That's a deal breaker for us so we homeschool.

Once you have a compelling reason, you are going to want to focus the time and energy that you do have. If I get up earlier than everyone else and knock out 2-3 hours of work before breakfast, I can get about as much done as if I try to work during the entire morning while everyone is getting breakfast, milling about and grabbing my attention for math and to chat about whatever is on the news or in their reading. Multi- tasking is not effective and for me, simply means I waste more time and lose track of my notes. Not good in a detailed job that has seasons of extreme busyness.

How to stay focused at work, in order to truly maximize your time? As one of the gals mentioned when questioned:
"I keep schedule after schedule after schedule. And I work in routines. We always follow the same routines for school and for activities and for bedtime. And I follow the same routines for my working."

Leah Courtney
As We Walk Along the Road.

Find a planning format and routine that works for you and use it. Work and school habits also make life function much more smoothly.

In order to stay focused at work, especially as one of those people who has the privilege and distraction of working at home, my kids and I have had to become more flexible in how and when we do school. I written for years about the importance of quality "helpers" in your homeschool- CD's, DVD's, MP3's, on-line classes, computer classes, co-ops and class-days. On crazy busy days, my kids might listen to more school than they've read about. Or you might find us doing Spelling at 5:30 instead of in the morning, like we used to.

Here's how school is focused: A Master List for each kid with thier school work listed.
A Basket of CD's, DVD's; a Library Cart of school books and worktexts, a bin of memory cards, a flash-drive with MP3's and PDF downloads, a computer with log-ins and passwords in the memory.
If I'm working, the kids know that they can go to the list and pick something else. If I can't help them, they move on to the next thing they can do. If there's nothing else, they read, or they have free time to roam outside, create something, play with kittens, mull, write or read. Don't underestimate the importance of "free time" and "free play"- kids need time and space to just "be."

For those who are working outside of the home, this presents it's own unique set of problems in managing Homeshcool. Some moms have hired Nanny's who do the schoolwork, others have significant other's or in-laws who manage school, others work swing shifts and probably all of us don't sleep as much as we'd like.

Call to Action:
Define your compelling reasons to homeschool.
Define your compelling reasons to work.
Define 3 areas that require focus and create action steps to make your focus more effective.

I'd love to hear from you. What are your compelling reasons for Homeschooling while working. How do you stay focused at Work and at Home?

Be sure to stop by my fellow Crewbies for some more great reading this week.
Kathy @ Kathys Cluttered Mind ~ Fieldtripping Fun
Leah @ As We Walk Along the Road ~ Great Kids Reads
Shalynne @ Wonderfully Chaotic ~ Birth and Babies
Lisa Marie @ The Canadian Homeschooler ~ Canadian Teachers Pay Teachers Stores
Kemi @ Homemaking Organized ~ Homekeeping for Girls and Boys
Heather @ Only Passionate Curiosity ~ Planning Your Homeschool Year
Nikki @ Angels of Heart ~ Easter: The Cross for Preschoolers
Jenn @ Treasuring Life's Blessings ~ Family Friendly Finger Food
Lisa @ Golden Grasses ~ The Working Woman's Guide to Homeschooling

Also be sure to head over to Schoolhouse Review Crew Blog to see what all 60 of my fellow crew members are blogging about this week for their 5 day blog hop!

@Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!

Nitty Gritty Monday- Learn to Make Lists That Clear Your Mind





Next week I'll be participating in another 5 Day Blog Hop sponsored by the Homeschool Review Crew. My Crewbies and I have been planning, prepping and posting, in order to bring you another week of fantastic reading on a plethora of topics ranging from Educational Apps, Organization, Field Trips, Mnemonics and so much more. My topic will be

The Working Woman's Guide to Homeschooling.

 

Homeschooling is growing - and for good reason- and those of us working while homecshooling are growing by leaps and bounds as well.

 

If you work seasonally, part time or full time, I hope this series will speak to you. I've interviewed several working Homeschooling Moms for this series to bring btdt wisdome to you!

 

To whet your appetite for what's to come I wanted to introduce you to my blogger buddy, Mystie. We "met" on-line last year in a fantastic thread on Getting Things Done, inspired by the book of the same name by David Allen.  Mystie took the concepts in Allen's book and made them accessible and do-able for homeschoolers.  When you are done reading, take a minute to stop by Mystie's blog- she has tons of resources and helps for homeschoolers!

Learn to Make Lists That Clear Your Mind

I first read the time-management classic, Getting Things Done, about eight years ago, and implemented a few of its strategies. Almost three years later, after my fourth baby turned one, I returned to it again, because four children and a lack of sleep severely affected my brain power. Following his instructions, even though they are targeted at business people, yielded amazing results in mental clarity. We all go through seasons that feel like we are perpetual drowning. Sometimes, no matter how much I do, it never feels like progress is made.

 

Going through the steps outlined in Getting Things Done helps me to overcome that feeling and slowly climb back into the driver seat of my routines, my stuff, and my responsibilities. The book is all about “black-belt” list-making. I slowly worked at implementing a more complete GTD system, and every step yielded significant improvement in my peace of mind by banishing that awful, constant nagging sense of things unknown left undone and that sense upon entering any room or glancing any direction and seeing only things that you should do, but aren’t.

 

“Anxiety,” claims David Allen in Getting Things Done, “is caused by a lack of control, organization, preparation, and action.” He posits that most people know how to plan and they know what to do, they just don’t do it. So his book is a step-by-step coaching towards doing completely and well what most people only do in crises or in a scattered manner. Getting Things Done is about managing your stuff and your actions, and once those are under control, your mind is left more free and clear to focus on the present moment with your family. In GTD for Homemakers, I take his principles and make them practical for our situation as involved, busy mothers, giving examples that relate to our lives, rather than assuming an office setting.

 

GTD for Homemakers is not about turning our homes and families into a well-oiled machine, but about being in control of our tasks and stuff rather than letting them control us, so that instead of running around like chickens with heads cut off, we may be more free and calm to clearly see what the right "next thing" is to do.

 

If you’d like to try this process for yourself, explained step-by-step by someone who knows what life at home with littles is like, check out GTD for Homemakers.  This week only, use discount code laughing to get 30% off! bio: Mystie Winckler is a wife, mother, homemaker, and home-educator. Mystie has been married for twelve years to her only sweetheart, Matt, and both are homeschool graduates themselves. Now they raise & educate their five young children at home. Mystie blogs at Simply Convivial on homemaking and home-educating and at Simplified Organization about organization and productivity for intentional moms. You can receive her ebook, A Quickstart Guide to GTD for Moms for free! –Mystie

 

"The business done in the home is nothing less than the shaping of the bodies and souls of humanity." – G.K. Chesterton Simply Convivial: Weekend Reads Simple Pantry Cooking: What’s for Dinner? Menu Plan Monday

Stop by all next week for more great posts!

@Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!

5 Days of Homeschooling Essentials- Persevere

So, you have decided to homeschool. You've gotten off the wide and tax subsidized path of government education and have high hopes of providing your kids with academic challenge and excellence, great field trips, travel, intelligent conversation, enough rest, privacy, and maybe, at least, a bit of peace. That's your plan. I love that plan. I think I had that plan once. And then reality hits.


Never Give Up

You get sick, or pregnant, or are sick while pregnant, your kids can't decode a, e, or c and don't want to, the field trips are too expensive or too far away, you are getting constant pressure from nosy neighbors and school teacher relatives to allow your kids the exceptional experiences and opportunities that we all had in school, you realize that you don't know grammar, not much history and want, far more than intelligent conversation, to just be left alone for 5 minutes.

What to do?      
 Be clear on your Purpose, gather Your People, discover your Places, and Develop your Program.

Evaluate regularly and don't get so committed to form that you forget the function of what you are doing- Is homeschooling working and effective? Are there better, more cost effective, efficient, enjoyable ways of doing things?

You will find that homeschooling will take you on paths you didn't even know existed, but you will also find that you are probably far afield from familiar paths and places. You will most likely experience a learning curve, over and over again, as you manage the path, or blaze a trail called, "alternative education." Learning curves often leave you feeling physically and emotionally exhausted and like you know nothing. In those moments, where you feel drained and inadequate, it is easy to want to throw in the towel.

And sometimes, based on your purpose and clear evaluation of the situation, you will want to change directions. There is nothing magical about one method of education over another. All of them demand that you show up, on one level or another, most of them have different goals. Which is why its important to know what yours are.

And once you set them, persevere.

per·se·vere  [pur-suh-veer] /ˌpɜrsəˈvɪər/ Show Spelled

verb (used without object), per·se·vered, per·se·ver·ing.

1.to persist in anything undertaken; maintain a purpose in spite of difficulty, obstacles, or discouragement; continue steadfastly.

@Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!