Question:
I put my son James in public school for a short time and the teacher said he was “behind”. I was so upset, I cried for days! You said he is so young, I shouldn’t worry. At what point should I worry?
Kids to the Rescue! Training Children to Do Housekeeping
by
Emily is only six years old, but she loves to vacuum! She is too small to maneuver the vacuum cleaner very well, but that doesn’t matter. She is in training, and a partially-vacuumed carpet is better than an unvacuumed carpet!
When I began homeschooling ten years ago, I was in for a shock. “Where do you find the time to do homeschool in addition to the regular daily tasks you were accustomed to doing such as housework, grocery shopping, laundry, and gardening?”, I asked. After several months of exhaustive overload, I figured out the plain and obvious fact that there wasn’t enough mother to go around. From a sheer survival standpoint, I had to delegate the housekeeping duties. Now, looking back ten years later, I can see what a blessing in disguise it has been to not be able to keep up with my workload. As a result, my children are all well trained in housekeeping and cooking. They don’t balk at carrying a hefty portion of the housework chores. It really has become second nature to them, and each new little one that grows into toddlerhood in our home is expected to take on their portion of the work.
Is Homeschooling Too Hard?
by
Question:
I am thinking about homeschooling my 3 children, but I am getting a lot of negative attitude about it. Remarks like my children won’t be socialized, and it is really hard for parents to do. I know my children will be socialized, they have tons of friends, but is it as hard as everyone makes it sound? [Read more…]
Summer Skills Maintenance
by
Summer time, and our kids’ brains go on vacation. At least, that is what it seems like when we start up school again in the fall!
I have always been amazed that math textbooks are written so that the time period of September through Christmas vacation is “review” to try to help the children remember all the skills they forgot over the summer! As a homeschooler, if you finish a Saxon Math book mid-year you can go immediately into the next Saxon Math book at around lesson 40 and never miss a beat because lessons 1-39 do not teach any new concepts but just review the previous math book. You can get ahead fast in math this way, if you don’t take big breaks of summer forgetfulness!
Using Muscles for Memory
by
Wiggles! Kids seem to be full of them and they can make sitting still, learning, focusing, and concentrating extra hard!
If you can’t fight ’em, join ’em. Time to use those big muscles to help kids learn!
I have a chin-up bar hanging over a doorway near where we do homeschool. Over the years of raising lots of wiggly, restless boys (and girls), I have found the chin-up bar to be worth its weight in gold! Tape a scripture or poem to the wall in view of the chin-up bar, and you’ll be amazed at how quickly those children can memorize while they swing.
Minimum Daily Requirement
by
Oh, the holidays and vacation days are so exciting to kids!
And it is nice to have a little break from teaching school ourselves, right?
But I don’t look forward to the days in January trying to re-establish habits and get control of our schooling again. So. . . rather than let completely go of the reins, how about a little “minimum daily requirement” even during vacation days? I’ve found that although there is an initial groan, the kids adjust quickly, view their reduced workload as a vacation, and eagerly get it done in the morning. Because it is such a light load, there’s still plenty of time to play. Even if we get up early and attend some activity, they can get their “minimum daily requirement” finished during quiet time in the afternoon.
Lest We Forget
by
My son Ammon
No matter what our intentions are, no matter how lofty our goals, it is the disposition of all of us who live on this earth to forget. It seems it is our natural inclination. We know what we want. We are firm in our resolve. Our values are sure. Nothing can shake us from our goal. Nothing, that is, except time. As time passes, we forget. We can’t seem to recall the fervor we began with. We drift into complacency, once again! New Year’s Resolutions seem like a joke…because by February, most of us can’t remember what we resolved to do.
Towel Overload
by
With 9 family members taking a daily bath or shower, wet towels built up quickly! I found myself having to do a load per day of just towels.
I solved this problem by buying 4″ lengths of colorful grossgrain ribbon. I let each member select the color they liked, and write their name on the ribbon in permanent marker. This ribbon was safety-pinned to the edge of a bath towel to last all week long. Every Saturday morning, one of the young children was assigned to go and collect all the towels in a laundry basket to be washed.
