Want a fun alternative to Halloween? Host a Harvest Festival! It is lots of fun. My children wouldn’t trade it for trick-or-treating any day! We have been having Harvest Festivals for the past eleven years. When we first decided that Halloween didn’t fit the description of seeking after things that are virtuous, praiseworthy and of good report, we realized that we couldn’t leave a vacuum. We had to begin a new wholesome tradition to fill the gap left when we abandoned Halloween. My children look forward to Harvest Festival eagerly each year. Rather than decorating our house with ghosts, spiders and ghouls, we focus on the blessings God provides for us in a bounteous harvest. We leave these decorations up right through Thanksgiving. We learn songs such as “Come Ye Thankful People, Come” and other hymns that celebrate the harvest. God is the center of this season.
I Want to Homeschool
Question:
I really have a passion for wanting to homeschool our 4 children, however my husband and other family members think it would be better for the children and I would be better off sending them to school. Am I showing respect to my husband by dropping the subject and teaching them what I can when they are out of school for sick days and vacations? How can I get my husband to understand how badly I want to do this? [Read more…]
Creating a Home School Library
I’m a book-a-holic and live in a regular-sized house, so books get tucked here, there and everywhere. Naturally, when one of my children asked a question about the bottom of the ocean, I wanted to show them that wonderful book with the great picture of the ocean floor . . . but where is that book? By the time I’ve dug through this shelf and the cabinet and this drawer, they’ve lost interest.
A Way to Grade
Here’s one mother’s clever way of motivating her children to do excellent work!Contributed by Carol Johnson
Gainesville, Florida
I had heard all the arguments for and against grading your children in homeschool, and had decided not to grade. Going along with the theory that they will learn better when something is interesting to them; I teach them until they understand, or until I completely lose their interest. I couldn’t figure out how to use grades in this form of “school.”
A Spoonful of Sugar: My Philosophy of Homeschooling
I am often asked about my philosophy of homeschooling. I have come to think Mary Poppins knew best, when she told the children that, “a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down, in the most delightful way!”
I truly don’t think learning could ever be as nasty to take as medicine, but apparently some teachers seem to dish it out rather distastefully, unfortunately. Think of high school math, chemistry, ancient history . . . In homeschool, we have the privilege of dishing it up deliciously, with a “spoonful of sugar”, so to speak.
A Plea to Homeschoolers: Do it!
“I hear you are one who really does homeschool”, someone in my community told me in a casual conversation.
“Oh, really?”, I replied. “How do you know?”
“Because Vi told me you do it,” she returned.
“How does Vi know?” I asked.
Simplify Your Homeschool: Subject of the Day
Ammon at Mesa Verde
Does homeschooling feel overwhelming to you? So many subjects to teach . . . so many different age levels . . . such a frantic rush to get it all in?
If you are feeling this way, you may want to try the “Subject of the Day”. This plan is simply to choose one subject per day of the school week. I like to alternate fun subjects with more intense subjects, ending with a social activity or field trip on Friday. Plan it however you like, but post it on your fridge or wall, so that everyone has a sense of order.
Easy Exercise
We know we should exercise, but it sure seems hard to make it to the gym, or get out walking or jogging on icy roads. Having children at home for school complicates it even more—who is there to supervise while you are gone?
I’ve come up with a plan—sort of goofy, but it works! So, who can argue?
