Homeschooling: The Big WHY

We've homeschooled for a while now (27 years this year) and it has defined a large part of our family life. Why homeschool? I always knew that if I ever had kids I would seek out an alternative to public education for them. I moved every 2 years as a child and being shy (which I was, no lie), this was painfully difficult. I was always the new kid, always the outsider and I missed vast amounts of information. Plus, school just wasn't that interesting. Maybe it seemed that way because I spent so much time wondering what we were talking about (did I mention I missed out on a lot by moving?) I compensated by doing things I thought were interesting. I read. A lot. In high school I sang in choirs, played in bands, threw pottery, studied photography, played tennis, swam on teams, held jobs, and read thousands of words and hundreds of books. And worked. I learned a lot, but not necessarily in the traditional expected ways.

My family traveled a lot growing up and my Mom was always taking us camping and to factories and parks and points of interest on vacations. My dad was the best question asker on every docent-led walk. I remember sitting in the total pitch black of a cave as a child, listening to my Dad pepper the Guide with questions about bats, and guano. My Dad’s family could talk to anyone about anything and their inquisitiveness about people and places opened doors and opportunities to us to see, explore and understand in new ways. My Dad taught my sister and I both to read at young ages and books have been part of my life since. In many ways, my parents primed the pump for my own homeschooling adventure.

My husband and I started homeschooling in southern California when our oldest was 5. At that time, you didn't have to register your kids for school until they were 7 and we would have finished the part of grad school that required CA residency and moved somewhere else. Which is exactly what happened. The CA schools that we visited had issues. I won't bore you with the details but they covered the gamut from academic to social. We figured we could handle phonics instruction, which we did (thanks Samuel Blumenfeld- LOVE AlphaPhoncis!), and then reassess once we were re-settled.

From there we spent a year in Ohio, knowing that the military would move us again in a year. Which they did. We believed that homeschooling for the interim year would provide more consistency than enrolling and de-enrolling once we moved. We spent the year hanging out with friends from college, family and taking care of our very sick newborn. Dr. Dh's internship cooked his grits time and energy wise so we didn't see him as much as we would have liked but we had a lot of fun going on field trips, reading books and being close to the people we loved.

After that we landed in NM. Home of abysmal test scores and the drug corridor of the west. By the time we'd left Ohio I joked that we were in a rut, which is why we continued to homeschool. Sadly, folks failed to laugh at my droll and dry wit, so I quit joking about it. The fact of the matter is that homeschooling had become a life-style for us. My husband and I are committed to education and sharing our faith with our kids and believed that a private educational model, specifically tutoring, delivered by invested, caring adults was the way to go. Homeschooling was the way that we could do this affordably. 

It hasn't been all joyful educational pursuit. We've birthed strong-willed kids, changed locations and social support a couple of times and had our share of challenges. Yet we continue to homeschool. Why? For us, it boils down to a couple of simple things.

Education. Our kids are getting a solid education. Is it perfect? No. Are there gaps? Yes. Is that normal. I think so. Do we continue to hone and improve what we do? Yes. 
Faith. Our kids are committed to their faith and have years to refine, define and own it before the world and peers, and a whole host of other voices come along to batter and beat it into something almost Christan. Our kids leave our home with a solid understanding of the history of the church, the importance and personhood of Jesus and a glimpse at how imperfect people attempt to live a live of vibrant faith. Is it perfect? No. Do we fail? Yes. Is that normal. I know so.
Family. It's a busy world. We've had hours to spend together, playing, reading, learning, building, re-modeling, cooking, gardening, arguing and laughing together. The good side of that is that everybody really knows each other. The downside of this is that everybody really knows each other. Is it perfect? No. Do we get on each others nerves. You betcha'.

We’ll be graduating our fourth homeschooler this spring; with one to go. It’s been a sweet season and the best job in the world. We have learned, laughed, traveled, wrestled, struggled, grown, prayed, cooked, celebrated together over these past many years. We have had our share of heartache, struggles and failures, as well as our share of laughs and wins.

Is homeschooling the way to ensure picture perfect academically trained kids? Is homeschooling the way to raise people of character? Is homeschooling the way to ensure that no troubles or heartaches will come your way? None of these are true. Homeschooling is an option, with no guaranteed outcomes. Your kids will struggle, they will not be perfect, they will fail; as will you. They may turn their back on everything you hold dear. But if God is calling you to homeschool, your job is not figure that out. Your job is to be faithful to do what He is asking you to do. Outcomes are above your pay-grade.

Even with no guarantees, and after all these years, I am so grateful to have the opportunity to homeschool. It’s been a great joy and a blessed calling.

Find out more about the Virtual Curriculum Fair herehttp://www.homeschoolingheartsandminds.com/2017/12/the-2018-virtual-homeschool-fair-is.html#comment-form

Visit the bloggers participating in the Virtual Homeschool Fair:
Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts & Minds
Laura @ Four Little Penguins
Dana @ Life Led Homeschool
Jenn K. @ A Peace of Mind
Kristen H. @ Sunrise to Sunset
Kim @ Good Sweet Love
Christy @ Unexpected Homeschool
Jen Duncan @ A Helping Hand Homeschool
Lori @ At Home: where life happens
Jacquelin @ A Stable Beginning
Amanda H @ Hopkins Homeschool
Annette @ A Net In Time
Lizzy @ Peaches@Home
Sabrina @ Kids, Crunch, and Christ
Michele Pleasants @ Family, Faith and Fridays
Brittney @ Mom's Heart
Sarah @ Delivering Grace

Lisa Nehring has 1 husband, 2 graduate degrees, 5 kids and a black-belt in homeschooling. She is the owner of True North Homeschool Academy, which delivers 6^th-12^th grade courses live, on-line. Check out TNHA FB page for up launch information and specials! https://www.facebook.com/TrueNorthHomeschoolAcademy/notifications/

http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/ag30/Lisa_Nehring/siggywithflower_zps2ffa66ba.png @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!

Home School Happenings

It's been a busy year chock full of working, teaching, learning. This is our 4th consecutive year of Classical Conversations and our 3rd consecutive year of Challenge. Challenge is challenging. As we speak my Challenge 1 and 3 kids are working on a Power Point for a Shakespeare project and a 5 minute Philosophy Lecture. It's a full and amazing program. When they work, I work. Yeah, if you need help with sentence diagramming or Latin translations, or delivery a presentation, I'm your girl.

I was bumped from my cute little Jr. High kiddos up to Challenge 3 this year - our class consists of nine 11th and 12th graders. I started this year with no small amount of fear and trembling. Chemistry,  Trigonometry, Philosophy, and a boatload of presentations and projects -  14 total in all this semester and 19 next  includig essays, individual events, impromptu, Lincoln Douglas and policy debates, Shakespeare Recitations and more. It's been amazing.

Challenge 1 and III go along with each very well this year, including Shakespeare and American History. I am loving the fact that my Senior, who also went through Ch 1 is making amazing connections and integrations in History, Literature, Philosophy and Theology. I live with some true-blue nerds and honestly, I love it.

In other news, I quit the job I've had for the last 4 years. Almost to the day. It it was a great blessing to get the job and a great relief to let it go. I'm still Directing Challenge and I am also taking on another Academic position with a newly re-branded on-line homeschool titled True North Homeschool Academy. So, it's not like I'm not working, it's just like I'm working and it's fun again. You can keep abreast of all the good things happening there by liking, following and sharing at True North Homeschool Academy. Courses schedules and descriptions will be posted as soon as we launch our brand spanking new web-site, coming soon!


What's been keeping you busy?

@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 Games & Resources

We have kept super busy this year with 2 Challenge programs, a college student coming and going a job, or two, Directing Challenge A and a few other things- too much painting of offices, for sure. But, now that we winding up Challenge, I wanted to record some of the games, resources and schedule we used before I forget them all and so that I have a handy reference for training this summer.

Here Goes:

We started each Community Day with a short devotional and scripture reading. We sing the Doxology, say it in Latin or pray.
Then we write 5 and 5 (5 Common Topics/ 5 Cannons of Rhetoric)
Then we'd dive in to the 6 Seminars.

Latin- the kids loved Latin Scrabble. I had two sets of tiles divided between 5 groups of two each. They could add in 2 vowels and 3 consonants as needed. They could use the Latin dictionary or other Latin words as long as they were used correctly and declined/ conjugated correctly.  Often, the teams competed against each other, seeing how many sentences they could create in a limited time- they had to have their sentences checked by an adult.

To change it up: They would have to create a question using Ubi, Ibi, Cur, Quis or Quid. They would get a point for every questions created. If we had time they would then have the group next to them form an answer to their question in Latin with their tiles - this created some hilarious results!

Latin stations- several times I would put info we've studied on file cards- for instance: Latin declensions, conjugations, Grammar rules, translation from English to Latin or vice-versa - and tape them around the room. I relied heavily on the homework that we'd completed as well as Memoria Press Guides to Henle. I would intersperse the information with difficult and simple problems. The kids would go around the room in whatever order they wanted and try to solve/answer as many cards as possible in a given time.

We also played Latin bingo with Personal Pronouns.

We copied charts in class.
Every Community Day we spent 10 minutes chanting Latin charts, which I purchased from Memoria Press. I highly recommend having them professionally laminated.

We would race to see who could translate and diagram Latin sentences the fastest.

Mold, Act, Draw. I just found this game but will be playing it this coming week- the kids LOVE clay! Make a simple spinner and put Mold on it twice, Act on it twice and Draw on it twice. Student picks a vocab word from a deck and spins the spinner. They have to either mold with clay, act it out like charades or draw it out like pictionary. Set timer for 60 seconds.


Math
We did student directed Math Discussion for every seminar and then I would introduce the Saxon lessons. I created a Math Discussion sheet based on the 5 Common Topics; starting with "Definitions." The kids had to thoroughly exhaust each section before they could.
Board Slam was our best diversion - the kids continue to love it. One of our moms donated a huge bag of dice for the year and it included many different sided dice. To change it up, I'd allow the kids to pick different sided dice. We'd also set the timer for a minute and at the end of the timer the kids would have to trade their board with someone else and pick up where they'd left off.

LTW

I copied off the terms we'd learned in Lost Tools of Writing and cut them in to slips. Divide the kids into groups and they have to take the slips of paper, put them in order for a Persuasive Essay. Then, I would give the kids a topic- like the Burning Bush, or The Three Little Pigs and they would have 15 minutes to write a collaborative essay on the topic (usually only with 2 proofs for the sake of time).

Dictionary Game- the kids loved this. I would take vocab words from the reading and say/spell the words to teams- between 10-25 words, depending on how much time we had. The teams would look up and define the terms. The team with the most correctly defined terms withing a specific time limit won. Extra points for making Latin connections.

Rhetoric 

The biggest hit this year was Socratic Circles. At the beginning of the year, I would choose the topic but as the kids got more familiar with it, they would choose the topic. Great discussion!
I would also assign the kids roles to play-act: God, Moses, Charles Darwin, etc and the "audience" would ask them questions. GREAT interaction about issues related to It Couldn't Just Happen.
To review Fallacies the kids would randomly pick 3-5 fallacies/catechisms and have 10 minutes to come up with a skit that included them all. The rest of the class would try to guess what they had portrayed. This made for much hilarity.
Have the kids search for fallacies in real life- they are everywhere! Whoever brings in the most, wins points!
And, of course, we played Jeopardy.

Science
For Science, I printed off a list of things to include in their presentations as well as how to create a good presentation. The kids earned points for things like making eye-contact, introducing themselves and their topic, etc.
For body systems- once we had a few under our belt, I printed off sheets for the systems and numbered them, but not in the same order. The kids had to draw and label them in the ordered number and had to complete the lesser numbers in order to earn the higher number points. They could strategize and have multiple people drawing at the same time, but I usually gave them between 10-15 minutes to draw up to all 9 systems.

Debate

We played "Around the World" often-the kids enjoyed this.
We also played "Family Feud." I person from 2 teams would be at the front. I would give clues about a country, capital or feature and the first person to guess within 1 minute would get a point.
We often played pictionary for geography terms. The kids loved it!

My goal to end each Community Day was to go through "Collect, Connect, Compose" but I wasn't very consistent on it. Collect what they've learned that day, connect it to something they've already known and compose a poem, song, ditty, drawing, etc. about it. Great integration.

Points- I had a simple point system based on Fabas (Latin for "bean.") Kids got points for completing all homework in each strand, for winning games, for integration of subject material, etc. We had a quart sized jar that the beans went into. Once the jar was full, I had an ice-cream party for the kids at lunch. The faba jar was super important to the kids until they earned an ice cream party and then it was important, but not something they thought about all of the time. In my mind, I think it was because they were internalizing how to manage the material, making connections automatically and understanding how to work the program.

That's it. We didn't have a huge array of games to choose from, but the ones we had we used often and had a great time with. Perhaps this will spark some good games for you to do with your class or kids. If so, I'd love to hear about it!

@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!

15 Sneak Peeks into our Homeschool Life

*1*

 While we have a big house for the number of people actually living in it and could easily have a dedicated space to homeschool in, we always migrate to our open first floor- combo office/living room/dining room/kitchen. We still use our trusty library cart and make frequent visits to the library.

*2*

I have written hundreds of curriculum and book reviews over the past couple of years, both independently and with the imitable TOS Review Crew. I loved every minute of it, but different seasons make different demands and I literally ran out of time. We have super simplified what we do and how we do it and have divested our home and bookshelves of extraneous curriculum and resources. It's way easier to dust now.

*3*

We homeschool classically. Classical Conversations makes homeschooling classically that much more do-able and we love our CC Community, the friends, accountability, great discussion and more!

*4*

We are all closet artists. This fall Feeche took part in NaNoWriMo (even in the midst of college classes), Cub is constantly creating weaponry and drawing and Flower is in a clay phase. Art books, building and drawing materials are always part of what we do.

*5*

Dr. Dh is very involved in our homeschool in a non-traditional way; constantly showing the kids cool info on the NASA and NOAA web-sites, talking with them about politics and theology and showing them cool archaeological dig sites like this one in Israel.

*6*

We've homeschooled for over a quarter of a century in 4 different states (Pacific coast, Midwest, Southwest, and upper Northwest) and graduated 3 kids so far. Does it get old? No. The key? Keep up the challenge. When I'm not inspired, they're not inspired. That's why I look for amazing programs, like CC and TeenPact, amazing companies like Circe, Memoria Press and Roman Roads Media and Master Teachers like Wes Callihan and Jim Nance. Learning all the time, baby. That's our motto.
We homeschool for a couple of different reasons which include academic, theological and social.I wrote a Master's Thesis on homeschooling and the American Educational system.

*7*

I've started class days, co-ops, camps, brought TeenPact to our State and worked several jobs, both paid and volunteer, while homeschooling. I currently work from home for an educational company on the east coast that works with homeschoolers around the world, It's kind of a sweet gig.

*8*

I've chronicled the last 8 years of our homeschooling on this blog. If you are looking for info on homeschooling high school, homeschooling classically, homeschooling multiple kids in multiple stages and ages, you've come to the right place.
Blogging has been a great opportunity! I've met friends from around the world, been entrusted with scores of products, books and curriculas to review, honed my writing skills, and landed a job or two.

*9*

Our family lives in an area that has amazing drama opportunities for homeschoolers. My kids participate in Tantara (Festival of One Act Plays) each Jan, Drama Camp each June and Shakespeare Camp each July. They have also participated in TP's Political Communications Class and Poetry Outloud. They are all adroit at public performance.

*10*

We are all bibliophiles.  Books are just part of our lives and we give and share books cause you gotta breathe and read. Got to do it.

*11*

I have a planner and a plan. Once it's written down, I might actually lose the plan on paper, but it's in my head. I over plan and then go with the flow. It's kind of a hybrid classical/unschooling approach to life.

*12*

We are gardeners. We like gardens, plants on the porch and pots in the house during winter. Growing things make us happy. Flower has big plans for a Straw Bale garden this summer, and the straw is already safely stored in the shed, waiting for spring.

*13*

We have been busy re-storing a neglected 90+ year old homestead on the Territories and putting together our old 4x4 Farmhouse since we were burned out by a house fire 6 years ago. It's crazy to think that it was 6 years ago already. We've been busy building, reading, homeschooling, restoring ever since! About 2 years ago, Dr.Dh and I switched gears mentally and decided that we were no longer still re-building from the house fire, we were reclaiming an old farmstead. This gave us some mental space to live and re-build. And, the house does look amazing. There's just still a zillion a few unfinished projects. 

*14* 

We are DIYers. We've actually enjoyed (mostly) the house re-build and take on more projects than we really have time for.

*15*

I don't have easy answers for homeschooling. 

There is no "If you do this, you will get this outcome" formula that works.

 If you use X curriculum, some kids will love it and some will hate it and some will ignore it. 

If you use X parenting technique some kids will thrive, some will crump and some will ignore it. 

If you read a zillion books to your kids you will have some passionate readers, some blase readers and some readers who do so for info only. At least, one hopes, they'll be literate. 

If you homeschool for academics you may have academic kids. You may not.

If you homeschool for God, you may have Godly kids. You may not. 

If you homeschool for the freedom it affords, you may have kids who value and embrace freedom. You may not. 

So, why invest in something that may or may not pay off? 

We are being faithful in doing what we believe God has called us to do. 

The outcome is His. 

@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!

Copywork as a Tool

My kids did copywork when they were younger. Then SWB published Writing With Ease and it was just part of the curriculum. Love that.

This year we are deep into Essentials. Guess what? They are copying charts. We aim for 2 a day. They are learning stuff. It's easy, it's painless, it's almost like they aren't really doing homework it's so simple. They just get the chart out, copy it down.

I had an epiphany. Why not do more of it? So, I printed off a chart converting common fractions/decimals/percentages. Because, you know, it is so helpful to just have those conversions available to you when you need them. Which, of course, is the joy of memory work- you own what you know. Pop the page into a page protector,throw some dry erase markers at the kids and you are ready to go.

Simple. Effective. Inexpensive. Love that.

@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

Captivated by Media Talk - TOS Review

"Television is an invention that permits you to be entertained in your living room by people you wouldn't have in your house." David Frost Media Talk 101 is dedicated to bringing awareness about the effects and challenges of living in a media saturated world.  To that end they created Captivated DVD.   Like the above quote, this movie was not created to put your mind at ease about media consumption. This DVD was created to get you thinking about the media consumption that takes place in your home and in your family.   Some of the questions asked in this presentation:

• Has today's connectivity drawn us closer to one another or strangely more disjointed?
• is our social experience richer and deeper or more shallow an artificial.

Captivated DVD's purpose is to get you thinking about your own media consumption and being proactive consumers, rather than reactive and passive consumers of media.   Some interesting statistics:

• According to a recent report by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the average teen spends 7.5 hours a day consuming media. It’s nearly 11 hours a day if you count media multi-tasking.
• It was recently reported that YouTube has now reached 2 billion video views a day and 24 hours of new video are being uploaded each minute.
•  Another study reported that the average person watches 4.7 hours of television every day. Life expectancy in the U.S. is currently 77.8 years so if you happen to be average then that would equal 15 years of your life just watching TV.
• It is estimated that the average mobile teen sends and receives 2,899 text messages per month.
•  Did you know that 43% of 3-4 year olds have a TV in their bedroom?

This DVD gives you stats, talks to experts, shares testimonies, explains media addiction and hopes to leave the viewer questioning their own media consumption.

I'm old enough to be pre-media. My Dad grew up in on a rural farm amongst hard working German farmers. He remembers getting in-door plumbing, electricity, a household phone and the families first T.V. He was a  voracious reader and his kids were expected to follow suite. Which we did.

I grew up in a home that didn't watch T.V. much- not that there was much to watch- 3 channels that were often fuzzy.

I live in a home that is not that media rich. Dr. Dh and I are voracious readers and we expect our kids to follow suite. Which they do.

And yet, among the 5 of us living here there are 4 lap-tops, 4 cell phones, including a Smartie, a big-screen T.V. a car with a DVD player and a Nook. Yeah, we're not THAT media rich, and yet writing it all down makes me realize just how media rich we have become. Part of that richness has to do with a couple of jobs. The Smart Phone and 1 lap top are job dedicated, which takes us down a notch on the media- hip scale, but then again, if I didn't have a FB, Pinterest and Twitter account, one of my jobs would be a lot harder. And frankly, I wouldn't have my primary job without the one that requires all of the media connections; and the Nook was a job perk. So, while I'm mindful of our media consumption, we also totally appreciate it and utilize media.

Dr. Dh and the kid and I watched this together one Sunday afternoon. Dr. Dh is a psychologist with a serious interest in neuro-psychology. A lot of what this DVD talks about is a growing concern for him. He, and the Christian therapists that he works with, have, anecdotally, seen a real decline in personal maturity, accountability and faith in the past many years. They see it as a result of the media immersion most people soak themselves in morning, noon and night.

Our family is old school in that we are more word than image based. And I plan to keep it that way. This video just underscored our previous decisions to do so and gave us food for thought about the growing media consumption that we are involved with. This movie is a great addition to ones apologetics program for Jr. and Sr. High, to show at a homeschool Mom's meeting, for Sunday School and to share with your church library. Social media is here to stay- that's just fact. But being mindful consumers, and teaching our kids to be so as well, is plain old good stewardship. This film and the compatible web-site will give you the information, tools and impetus to be that good steward. Highly recommended for all ages. 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CaptivatedTheMovie
Twitter: @CaptivatedMovie

You can watch over 15 video clips of the Captivated DVD to see if it's right for your family.
You can purchase the Captivated DVD for $16.95 (free shipping), and right now there is also a special offer going on: if you order 2 DVDs, you get the second one for only $5!

  @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!

Around the World in 80 Days

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For our first Poppins Nook Club book review the theme is Where in the World.  So, it just made sense to read, Around the World in 80 Days. Great stuff.

I'm reading to and 5/6th grader and an 8th grader-  logic stage kids who read voraciously. I've read this out loud before, which I vaguley remember, but Feeche did, in living color.

The story was written by Jules Verne in 1864. His father disowned him for pursuing a career in the theater rather than in law. Adversity caused Verne to write- often and well -as he churned out Five Weeks in a Balloon, Around the World in 80 Days, Journey to the Center of the Earth and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea in a matter of a few years. The concepts are brilliant given the time period in which he wrote.

As always I'm stuck by the brilliant wordsmithery of Jules Verne. He is a master craftsman. If you want to expose your kids to beautiful words, brilliantly rendered, look no further than Verne;

"The mysterious habits of Phileas Fogg were recalled; his solitary ways, his sudden departure; and it seemed clear that, in undertaking a tour round the world on the pretext of a wager, he had no other end in view than to elude the detectives, and throw them off his track."

Phileas Fogg places his trust and financial future in the hands of modernity as he races to beat the clock and travel round the world in 80 days. He, while dispassionate and mechanical, travels with a Passepartout, his loyal and passionate valet, picks up a few strays along the way and sees the world. Well, he would see the world if he'd ever leave his seat. In the end, he finds the most valuable treasure of all, without even realizing he was looking for it.

It's rollicking good fun. A grand adventure- when the world was newer and not so wholly connected as it is now. Totally appropriate for kids and adventurer es of all ages. This would be a terrific book to study as a unit, create a lapbook with, put on a play over. Or just read out-loud, laughing at the antics of good-hearted Passepartout, and re-reading the lovely word-play of Verne.

For more great books from this months Book Club. And for tons of creative lapbooking and globe-trotting fun check out Poppins Book Nook  as well as  these other creative blogs to find more “Where in the World” themed books and activities.

Enchanted Homeschooling Mom ~ 3 Dinosaurs ~ To the Moon and Back ~ Planet Smarty Pants ~ Farm Fresh Adventures ~ Growing in God's Grace ~ Chestnut Grove Academy ~ Faith and Good Works ~ Learning and Growing the Piwi Way ~ The Usual Mayhem~Preschool Powol Packets ~ Monsters Ed Homeschool Academy ~ Adventures in Mommydom ~ Teach Beside Me ~ Life with Moore Babies ~ Kathy's Cluttered Mind ~ Are We There Yet? ~ Our Crafts N Things ~ Hopkins Homeschool ~ ABC Creative Learning ~ Joy Focused Learning ~ P is for Preschooler ~ Laugh and Learn ~ A Mommy's Adventures ~ Inspiring 2 New Hampshire Children ~World for Learning ~ The Kennedy Adventures ~ Ever After in the Woods ~ Golden Grasses ~ Our Simple Kinda Life ~ A glimpse of our life ~ Journey to Excellence ~ Happy Little Homemaker ~ Little Homeschool Blessings ~ Simplicity Breeds Happiness ~Raventhreads ~ Water on the Floor ~ Learning Fundamentals ~ Tots and Me ~ As We Walk Along The Road ~ Stir the Wonder ~ For This Season ~ Where Imagination Grows ~ Lextin Academy ~ The Canadian Homeschooler ~ School Time Snippets ~ Peakle Pie ~Mom's Heart ~ A Moment in our World ~ Every Bed of Roses ~ Finchnwren ~ At Home Where Life Happens ~ Suncoast Momma ~The Library Adventure ~ Embracing Destiny ~ Day by Day in our World ~ Our Homeschool Studio ~ A "Peace" of Mind ~ Thou Shall Not Whine ~ SAHM I am ~ eLeMeNo-P Kids ~ Simple Living Mama

An InLinkz Link-up

@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!

Critter Fest Report

*1*

I have always held hands with my kids-even as they get older and even my boys. It is one of those sweet little connections that say, I am sure of you, I have you, you are mine.  Today as Flower and I were going in to our little local grocery, I wiggled my hands at her, like I've done since she was barely toddling, and she caught up with me and held my hand walking in. We stopped in the foyer and looked at Easter thingamajigs. A gal, not much younger than me, walked up to us and said how sweet it was to see us holding hands, Momma and Girlie, how seeing us walk together like that blessed her.  And then she said, catching her breath and looking away, "I really miss my Mom."

*2*

School this week consisted of math- Cub is at the point in Applications of Algebra where it's very helpful to have Dad around to check problem set up. I'm great at working Algebra but kind of short out on the set-up. The More Perplexors are just that- MORE difficult. Spelling cruises along with Spelling You See and IEW's Spelling and Vocab. History of the Medieval History on CD, and Flower is about done with her American History for the year, too. Cub is on the last chapter of Biology- we are at that point in the year of finishing up some stuff. Love that.

*3*

Tons of reading this week as we read Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne- which is incredibly entertaining from the vocabulary point of view alone. Master wordsmith, that Verne. Flower fed her King and I obsession by cruising through Ana and the King. A bittersweet story of a woman and a forward thinking King who brought emancipation and education to their world.
In other Musical news we did watch Frozen- not once, but twice. Short on plot, but strong on song.

*4*

We are still totally, completely, enthralled with The Greeks by Roman Roads Media. If you are even remotely interested in classical education, ancient history, a superior understanding of a culture that formed our own or learning from one of the best in their field, you must get this series. It is, hands down, superb.

*5*

Samples of the sweet little thumbprint animals, people and pictures, Flower has been designing. Aren't they adorable?

*6*

Current reviews:

Mango Languages

Lilla Rose review and Give-away

Spelling You See

Tons more to come! 

Along with another 5 Day Hop. 

I'm working hard on my series, so stay tuned! 

*7*

Dolphin sighting, way out here in the Territories.

How was your week? 

@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!

Spelling You See- TOS Review

Spelling You See,

brought by the good folks who brought us Math You See, is, hands down, FANTASTIC.
We reviewed both  Wild Tales (Level C) and American (Level D
I have some natural spellers, some o.k. spellers and some "shoot me now, 'cause I'll never be able to figure out this spelling," spellers. I would almost count myself in that last category and Thank-God regularly for on-line dictionaries, and the creator of Spell-check.
My mathy girl struggles greatly with spelling. We've tried other spelling programs and they've left her in tears. She is a good writer but a hurtful comment by another girl in co-op about what a miserable speller she was and her own insecurities about spelling left her with wounded confidence and the belief that she just wasn't ever going to "get" spelling. We've tried several programs, with success ranging from terrible to hopeful moderate.

Enter Spelling You See. Frankly, I wasn't sure what to expect. What we received was a very slim teachers manual, 2 workbooks and a well and strategically packaged set of erasable colored pencils. Both Cub and Flower were curious about the program straight off given the pencils.

I had originally signed up to review American (level D). Flower is a solid and confident reader. Due to a shipping snafu we receive Wild Tales first, and then later on Americana. Flower and I looked through Wild Tales and decided to give it a go. Oh, I am so glad we did!

Each lesson is formatted the same, and divided into 5 sections, A, B, C, D and E. Each lesson focuses  on identifying and learning one of the following: vowel chunks, bossy r chunks, consonant chunks, endings or wise Y's. The genius of this program is that the kids identiy these areas and circle them. The vowel chunks are always yellow, the consonant chunks blue, etc. In this way, the kids learn to see the words in phonetic "chunks" versus individual letters. There is tons of repetition built in to each lesson and by the end of a lesson, the kids are writing it from dictation.

You can see how Flower circled the consonant chunks and vowel chunks by color- vowel chunks yellow and consonant chunks- blue.

Wild Tales begins with nursery rhymes and has an animal theme. The lay-out is simple, but bright and colorful. Each picture coordinates with the text. While Flower is far beyond the reading level of Wild Tales, this was a perfect place to start with spelling. From Day One her spelling improved. Not just a little, but significantly. She started writing letters to friends again (something she's been avoiding since she realized she wasn't quite up to speed with spelling), leaving little notes around the house and in her Dad's lunch. What joy to see her confidence grow by leaps and bounds!

American focuses on all things American. Part 2 even has Mt. Rushmore on the cover (we live in the Territories, y'all!). Each days worth of spelling reiterates some small snippet of American History. Part of Flower's history for the year is to finish reading an American History book used in Co-op last year. Spelling You See's American ties in beautifully, reiterating simple stories.

Spelling You See: Wild Tales (Level C)
Spelling You See: American (Level D)

One of the things that makes this so successful is that the program is not "grade level" dependent. The student starts wherever they are, gaining mastery quickly and painlessly. Flower did several components of a lesson a day, blazing through Wild Tales, gaining spelling mastery along the way. In no way did she feel that she was behind or less than. The sentences and stories are complex enough to engage even those way beyond reading wise. Each section of a lesson takes about 10 minutes. We did spelling every day because Flower was highly motivated and enjoyed the lessons. The copywork and dictation are something she's done for English for years, so this was nothing new. Also, the spelling has to do with words the kids would use in every day language. The focus is on spelling mastery; so there's not a lot of bells, whistles and extras thrown in. And for that, I am grateful. I'm all about the simplistic, straightforward and effective!

Spelling You See: Listen and Write (Level A)
Instructor’s Handbook $14
Student Pack $20

Spelling You See: Jack and Jill (Level B)
Instructor’s Handbook $16
Student Pack $30

Spelling You See: Wild Tales (Level C)
Instructor’s Handbook $14
Student Pack $30

Spelling You See: American (Level D)
Instructor’s Handbook $14
Student Pack $30

Spelling You See: American Spirit (Level E)
Instructor’s Handbook $14
Student Pack $30

This program is geared for elementary students, or for those who need remedial help in spelling.

Spelling You See is worth every penny. This is a fantastic program for the spelling weary, the visual learner, those invested in classical methodology and anyone interested in an effective, affordable, fantastic spelling program. I'm so thrilled to have found something that has given my daughter the skills she needed to unlock the mysteries of spelling. Major kudos to Spelling You See on one of the best spelling programs we've ever used.

@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!

Are You a Stuck at Home Homeschooler?

We've homeschooled for a long time. We homeschooled in a mega-tropolis, in a dusty cow-town, in military housing, in the far north and the southwest and the Midwest, in the car, going coast to coast and at living history museums, science museums and about every where in between.

What about you?

Source: BestMastersinEducation.com
@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 Scalpel Report

*1*

This week was full of trips to town, a 1/2 hour spent with a man with a scalpel and stitches with an admonition to not talk for a few days. Boy howdy, I wish I could have videotaped Dr. Dh's reaction (along with a few other un-named personages who know who they are!). I thought he was gonna need a hernia repair from laughing so hard.

*2*

So, we got a little creative with school. Lit is my fall back and basically the kids took turns reading aloud Around the World in 80 Days, my first Poppins Book Club review. This book has some particularly fantastic verbiage to it's credit, even if you don't make a complete geographic unit study out of it (which would be easy to do). School also included lots of soaking in the sunshine and walks to the river due some of the 50 degree days, personal reading with some math thrown in and I'm calling it good.

Check out these beauties! You know how I've mentioned that my kids rue the fast approaching day when Perplexors are done? A visit to the Teacher's store and guess what, More Perplexors. So we picked up C's and D's. These babies are not for the faint of heart. We left with a bag full of 'em and smiles all around. Love that.

*3*

Watched some of History Channel's Noah. Right off, the heavily English-accented announcer, a must have for any History Channel production, says, "Noah was an Ancient Renaissance man." Did I just hear that right? Yes, yes I did.  My inner history timeline function just shorted.

*4*

So the locust/weed child that we live with (you know the type, they go through your kitchen like a flock of locusts eating everything in sight and then sprout like weeds before your very eyes) can't even fit in the jeans I bought for him at Christmas. Thankfully, shorts season is about here, which is about the only retaliation the Mother of above said child has.

*5*

One of the office applications I use, like daily, has a serious ninja function. Basically, if I'm looking for something- something I get, that I've done, that I did years ago in former jobs, it is impossible to find. Ninja-like. I need anti-ninja spray or something. 

Animal Overload

 *6*

Lit love, baby.

Both Sarah Addison Allen and Malcolm Gladwell have new books out. Cue library search. The wait list is a bit long, but it'll be worth it. Mystical fiction. I just love the sound of the genre, and Addison Allen can dish it up with panache. Maxwell is every sociologists dream writer- pithy, witty and wise, and with that hair, seriously why wouldn't you want to read what he wrote? Even if you don't agree with him, it's mull-worthy stuff, every time.

*7*

 

Listened in on a friend mulling over classical ed, beauty and children's birthright this week.In response to utilitarianism I went in search more color, discovering some glass beads, river rock and a sweet flat dish, done up in crackle finish. I might spray it antique white, but for now I like it as is, with the addition of a few candles hidden in the depths of my buffet.

Speaking of beauty- you ARE going to want to read my Lila Rose review and sign up for the give-away. I love their flexi-clip. Function and beauty all wrapped up together.

So, I moustache you, how was your week?

@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!