Homeschool Curriculum Archives - Page 36 of 36

ABC Letter Hunt for Preschoolers

January 14, 2013 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Today ended up being ABC day in our house. While I didn’t set out to work on letter recognition today, it just kind of…happened. But that’s homeschooling for you! 😉

Pooh and Roo, in particular, are at the age where they’re interested in learning the alphabet. And I’ve been wanting to teach them to “spot” letters, so it was a fine day for an ABC letter hunt!

Our ABC Letter Hunt

At the library last week, Roo picked out the book “The City ABC Book” by Zoran Milich and we read it last night before bed. It’s a really cute book, showing how you can find the ABCs in common city signs and buildings.

I don’t think I would have ever looked at a bicycle path marker and seen an uppercase “Q”.

Naturally, we had to spend today looking for letters in our house. Tigger spotted this uppercase “O” right away.

Pooh found a lowercase “r” – the nozzle on the lotion bottle. (That was a pretty good one, if I say so myself.)

Tigger noticed an uppercase “X” in our bookcase.

I found lots of uppercase “H”s in the crosshatches of our board game chest.

And Roo found an uppercase “C” in our nursing pillow.

Have you had an ABC letter hunt with your kids? What letters can you find around your home? Let us know in the comments!

Keep on learning!

Starting the Homeschool Year Right

January 7, 2013 by Selena Robinson 2 Comments

Well, it’s a new year! And it’s a great time to look ahead to our homeschooling goals for 2013. I’ll be writing more about them in an upcoming post, but suffice it to say, we’re making some big changes in our school routine.

I think one of the things I like best about homeschooling is the freedom to change curriculum and teaching methods whenever I notice that something’s not working for our family. It’s often a lot of trial and error, but hopefully we’re getting to some kind of routine that works for ALL of our children.

In 2013, we’re starting the homeschool year right by…drumroll…asking for our kids’ opinions!

Starting the Homeschool Year with a Kids’ Interview

Usually when I plan a new homeschool year, I sit down and think about what I want the kids to learn in the next grade. I never thought about asking them for a review of what we already did the previous year before! Turns out that asking them for their honest opinions about the previous school year can be really helpful.

To get the kids’ input on last year and the new year, we did a post-2012 interview with all of them. I used a free “Year End Time Capsule” printable from Today’s Mama as the basis for our interviews. It’s really an opportunity for the children to express their favorite things about the year and what they hope to do in the coming year.

Some of the gems from our interviews:

Roo (age 3) – Favorite thing to do: “Stay up.” Why? “Because I don’t like being in the bed so much. It makes me feel bored.”

Pooh (age 4) – Favorite thing: “Coloring pictures.” Why? “Because I like looking at stuff. Toys are boring.”

Tigger (age 8) – Favorite book: “Ramona and Her Mother.” Why? “I like Chapter 2 and it has lots of girls in it. The whole book was mostly Ramona and her mother and Ramona did a lot of things with her mother.” (Hint, hint.)

After hearing their responses, my resolve is: Less boredom in 2013!

When I asked Roo what his favorite part of 2012 was, he said “The Rocking Clown Game”. It’s called Coocoo the Rocking Clown and it’s a great game for very young children and older kids.

The goal of the game is to place the colored cylinders on the clown without tipping it over. Yes, I have ours sitting on an Usborne book for balance. (Don’t judge me.)

As you can see, the more cylinders, the more likely it is that Coocoo will start rocking…

and fall over!

Our kids literally played this game for hours. They absolutely loved it. You can’t tell by Roo’s expression, but he’s saying “Cheese”. Trust me.

What are your educational goals for this year? Feel free to share them in the comments!

Ways to Teach Multiplication

December 24, 2012 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

I have a confession to make: I’ve been secretly terrified of teaching Tigger to multiply. She has a small aversion to math (even though she’s good at it) and that makes introducing new math concepts a bit of a challenge. I also wasn’t thrilled with the way that I was taught to multiply, which was to simply memorize my times tables until I could recite them on demand.

In keeping with the Charlotte Mason philosophy, I wanted to teach math from a practical point of view. That means explaining both “what” and “why”, so that Tigger understands how math works logically. So, when I finally decided to start discussing multiplication with her, I came prepared.

Here are some of the ways to teach multiplication we used to help her grasp the concept!

Ways to Teach Multiplication

To start with, I reached into the depths of our curriculum closet and retrieved a multiplication/division chart. (You can get a very similar one like it on Amazon.)

We talked about what the chart showed and how the numbers are all related to each other. BUT we did not drill her with multiplication facts, especially at first.

I copied a very detailed anchor chart that I saw on Pinterest that demonstrated several ways to multiply. I like the fact that kids are able to learn so many different ways to multiply now, rather than having to force themselves to learn in one way.

If you want to make a chart like this yourself, you’ll need the following:

The chart showed three ways to teach multiplication:

1. Repeated Addition: Show children to add the same number again and again until they reach the answer. (Example: 3 x 2 = 2+2+2)

2. Circles and Dots: Draw a circle for each time the number is multiplied and fill each one with the number of dots that corresponds with the number being multiplied. (Example: 3 x 2 = Three circles with two dots in each one)

3. Arrays: Make rows of shapes that correspond to the problem. (Example: 3 x 2 = Three rows of two dots each)

Of the three techniques, Tigger took to the circles and dots method.

Coming up to the board to work on the problems herself also seemed to help her stay focused, especially when her little brothers were also working at the table.

(Pay no attention to the laundry basket on her right.)

The good news is that she learned her times tables through eight in one week by using the circles and dots method! We’ll be using both repeated addition and arrays in upcoming weeks to help her see the other ways to teach multiplication.

But – no matter how well school is going – we try to stick with the short lessons advocated by Charlotte Mason. Which means that after a while it’s time to drop everything….

and dance!

(Pay no attention to the stroller standing behind the front door.)

Check out these other math learning ideas!

$Math Activities for ADHD Students$

And if you need more math teaching tips, follow my Math Mania board on Pinterest!

Our Charlotte Mason Homeschooling Routine

December 17, 2012 by Selena Robinson 1 Comment

Hi everyone! It took me a while to post because we’ve recently welcomed a new baby! Even though the last few days have been pretty much consumed with sleeping and nursing, we’ve been able to maintain a lot of our routine, thanks to following a loose Charlotte Mason routine.

So, what’s Charlotte Mason homeschooling about? How can you schedule it into a homeschool day? Here’s a look at our Charlotte Mason homeschooling routine!

Our Charlotte Mason Homeschooling Routine

The website Simply Charlotte Mason has a great primer on what the complete method entails, but, for this post, I’m going to keep it rather brief. In short, Charlotte Mason homeschooling relies on several specific teaching methods: short lessons, living books, narration and copywork, a classical approach to history, and regular nature study, music study, and picture study.

In our home, we’ve found that the short lessons alone make a huge difference in the effectiveness of our school days, especially since some of our children have ADHD. We also tend to follow a routine of several subjects per day, which keeps the kids interested for a longer period of time than usual.

I also post the subject outline for the day so that Tigger knows what to expect as the day progresses. This seems to help her prepare her mind for what’s to come.

Another of the key CM principles that helps us is copywork. Charlotte Mason believed that young children could learn grammar, spelling, and penmanship simply by doing copywork everyday.

We start each day off with copywork of a Bible verse and we stick with that same verse everyday for a week until Tigger memorizes the verse and she’s able to write it clearly. In this way, we’re taking care of several subjects at once, which saves me time later on.

Charlotte Mason Homeschooling Resources

For even more about the Charlotte Mason homeschooling method, check out these great books!

1. When Children Love to Learn: A Practical Application of Charlotte Mason’s Philosophy for Today by Elaine Cooper

2. A Charlotte Mason Companion: Personal Reflections on the Gentle Art of Learning by Karen Andreola

3. Consider This: Charlotte Mason and the Classical Tradition by Karen Glass

4. A Charlotte Mason Education: A Home Schooling How-To Manual by Catherine Levison

If you’d like to learn more about the Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling, visit Ambleside Online or check out the forum at Simply Charlotte Mason.

Did you love this post? Don’t forget to pin it for later!

Unschooling Week One

October 19, 2010 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

So we’re a week into this unschooling thing, and I love it already. No pressure about learning objectives, covering a specified number of pages or reviewing particular subjects. Instead, we’ve been spending more time together and talking more freely about a variety of things. In the last week, we’ve had the following educational opportunities:

* Discussing synonyms, antonyms, homonyms and homophones while shopping at the grocery store (really)

* How to play basketball – Roo spends his free time now throwing a rubber ball and shouting Bah-be-dall! We did the Chuck E. Cheese thing as a family last Thursday and Roo watched as Daddy, me, Tigger and Pooh played the Sure Shot game. I guess he picked up a few techniques from watching us.

* Leaves, acorns, trees and fall – We walked around our front yard and looked at the natural objects in it. We discovered that the garden rocks near the house were cold while the garden rocks in the yard were hot. Tigger asked why that was and Daddy told her it was because the rocks near the house were in the shade. That led to a discussion about how the sun keeps things warm. We also discovered that acorns ripen after they fall, starting out green and gradually turning black on in the outside and inside. After all, they are the fruit of an oak tree….

* Pooh asks us to “write” almost everyday. We spent a morning last week coloring a giant Tweety coloring book and he insisted that he was writing on his page. Interestingly, we had two sets of crayons and Roo spent his time matching up the similar colors. He would hold both yellows, then both blacks, then both reds, etc. He would even get fussy if we tried to take one away. Seems like he’s understanding alike and different already.

* Park day with our homeschool group – That’s not really unschooling, but the kids like it and they get to be around other littles, so that works for us.

We’re considering enrolling Tigger in ballet and gymnastics in January. She sprained her ankle a couple of weeks ago and hopefully that will help her to learn movement and balance. But, in the meantime, we’re taking it slow and easy and seeing where we end up.

An Epiphany…

October 5, 2010 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Have you ever had a sudden, liberating realization? Well, I had one over the course of last week. It started with the realization that something was wrong with the way my kids were learning. Tigger is able to understand concepts, but she hates sitting at the table doing work. And, of course, the boys are so little that it’s difficult for them to sit still for more than a few minutes. So, I started taking them out of the house more often – the aquarium, the children’s museum, park days, etc. And those are good too, but also difficult with 2 under 2 1/2. Needless to say, I was more than a little frustrated.And then it hit me. Unschooling! Unschooling! Unschooling! Now before you say, “But, that’s not REAL school!”, let me explain how I came to this point of view. I’ve been planning to homeschool since we found out we were pregnant with Tigger. But, I kept envisioning a “school at home” method, with the desks and the blackboard and the school supplies. That’s what we did in my elementary school and I liked it, so I planned to recreate that at home to keep Tigger from missing out. After our preschool year, I found out that at home we need more flexibility than school-at-home offers, so I ditched it and became an eclectic homeschooler.

If you’re not familiar with eclectic homeschooling, it’s essentially a use-what-you-like approach. So, I liked aspects of school at home (worksheets, a chalkboard) and I liked aspects of Charlotte Mason (nature study, short lessons, copywork, narration) so I used it all and we started kindergarten. Kindergarten went better than pre-K but still had its ups and downs, particularly having a newborn in the house. But, I was still feeling frustrated with both the lack of flexibility with the methods and Tigger’s growing resistance to schedules.

We embarked on first grade with a new approach – still eclectic, but far more relaxed. And it just has not worked for us. AT ALL. I’ve been frustrated, Tigger’s been frustrated and Pooh and Roo have just been enduring. I’ve read a lot of books about unschooling and, from what I’ve read, almost every parent who has decided to unschool has done so after starting with school-at-home like me. But, when I read the books, I thought “I’d never do that. I need structure and I can do this in a way that will work for my kids.” I never thought about whether my homeschooling method would work for me. Turns out that if it doesn’t work for me (the teacher), it’s not going to work for the kids.

I read an especially inspiring quote about unschooling from Kelly Lovejoy. It says:

“If you knew you only had a year more with that child, what would you expose him to? Where would you go? What would you eat? What would you watch? What would you do?
If you had only ONE year—and then it was all over, what would you do? Four seasons. Twelve months. 365 days.
Do that THIS year. And the next.
That’s how unschooling works. By living life as if it were an adventure. As if you only had a limited amount of time with that child. Because that’s the way it IS.”

Reading that almost made me cry. I want to enjoy my life with my children, not endure it as we try to get through each grade level. Things really can change in the blink of an eye and I would be so hurt if my proudest moments as a parent centered around my children’s test scores or objectives.

The core unschooling principle is that children learn all the time, no matter what they do. It’s the job of a parent to “strew” things across their path to pique their interest, but instead of coercing them into learning, we create a learning environment by encouraging them to be curious about the world around them. Sandra Dodd has a great website about unschooling here.

Anyway, I’m still new to this way of doing things, but I’ll be posting pics of us hopefully enjoying our learning experience!

Going Places….

September 8, 2010 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Okay….so after a slight hiccup in our schedule, we’re finally into the school year and things are starting to settle into some kind of routine. I held off on the first day of school stuff until this past Monday. I wanted Christopher Robin to be home so we could give Tigger her gift together. Yes, I consider new school supplies to be a gift. (Don’t judge me.)

Tigger was pleasantly surprised by her new backpack. (I got the old one from the $2.50 rack at Jo-Ann’s.)

We packed the bag with all kinds of awesomeness. Notebooks, twistable crayons, sketch pads, folders, erasers and pencils. If twistable crayons were available when I was a kid, I would probably have never stopped drawing. They’re just incredible.

Tigger wanted to take a picture with the backpack on. She’s a total ham for the camera and I admit that’s probably my fault.

Christopher Robin looks on as his daughter models her new gear. I see a mixture of happiness and wariness on his face. “Yay, she likes her new backpack! Oh no, I hope she doesn’t want to start modeling when she gets older.”

Roo isn’t too impressed. Just give him the gift paper to flail around and he’s thrilled.

During this year, we’re going to be starting basic geography – oceans, continents, countries, our city and state, etc. To help with this, we ordered the Rand McNally kids map from Amazon. This map is great and it was $10. Win.

In each section of the world, it shows icons that indicate the kind of animals that live there and symbols of the regional culture that kids should learn about. I need help like that. Otherwise, we’ll just plod through what city and country is where and Tigger will die of boredom. I confess, geography was not one of my favorite subjects growing up, but I love learning about world cultures. I’m planning to integrate that as we go along and hopefully that will keep it interesting for student and teacher.

A close up of a continent to see the icons.

So, that’s where we are for now – well, this and daily math and reading. We’ll see how this goes, but as of today, it seems to be working. Tomorrow we’ll add in history (a classical approach) and then art and science on Friday. (Yikes!)

An Epiphany….

September 21, 2009 by Selena Robinson 1 Comment

After spending last weekend doing a homeschool method book read-a-thon, I got a better idea of what I like and don’t like from all the methods. If you would like a summary of the main methods of homeschooling, check out this link: http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/homeschooling-methods.html. It summarizes them nicely and explains pros and cons of each one.

I’ll be trying out different methods during this year, so you’ll get to see different aspects of each one as we go. You could probably describe us best as relaxed/eclectic, because that way, I don’t have to commit to any particular style and we have flexibility to change when we need to.

To start out, we’re going with school at home. That is usually what homeschooling parents start with, especially parents who remove their kids from school. basically, it’s exactly like school, just….at home. (Hence the clever name.)

We’ve decided on a list of things we would like Tigger to learn by the end of kindergarten (or her educational objectives, if we’re getting technical). She already reads well, so we’re focusing on math, handwriting, and art.

– to count to 100

– to skip count by 2, 5, 10

– to cut paper on a straight line

– to improve handwriting, esp. writing on the lines (ha!)

– to tell time/count money

– to identify lines (straight, curved, wavy)

– to perform basic addition/subtraction

So, to get started, we spent last week working on writing the alphabet and numbers 0-9. In true school at home fashion, I made extensive use of the chalkboard.

I also made use of a Charlotte Mason technique: copywork to teach penmanship AND spelling. So, when we got to writing number words, I asked Tigger how to spell the word and had her sound it out to try to figure it out herself. Most of the times she could spell just by using phonics; other times, words like eight confused her. (Why is eight spelled like that anyway?) But, she grasped the concept well and liked it! I think the chalkboard is a keeper….

Look! Mommy Has a Lot to Learn!

September 9, 2009 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

So I’m finally posting again after 2 weeks…(head in bag). Christopher Robin went back to work last week for the first time since Roo’s birth and I was completely thrown off guard by the logistics of caring for 3 children under 5! I had no idea that it literally takes an entire morning to run one errand! So school was completely forsaken last week. Now that I have a better idea of what day to day is like, we started back with school again today; but a modified version of what I originally intended.

For one thing, I had to completely throw out the schedule. Now that everything takes longer than before, it’s difficult to know ahead of time how much can be planned for each day. So I’m going with broad goals for the week instead.

Teach Me Mommy Unit (spread out over 5 days instead of just 3)
Daily Text (every morning)
Bible Story (every morning)
Scripture Copywork (every morning)

As for Reading and Math, I’m far less concerned with reading. Tigger is reading on a 2nd grade level already, so I’m going to focus instead on math. She needs to brush up on counting and skip counting and possibly simple addition/subtraction.

My main area of concern is her attitude toward learning. She doesn’t like to be “taught” per se; she would rather just watch and take things on herself. While that can be good, because it means she’s self motivated, it can also be bad because it can cause her to think more of herself than she should (because she’ll think she learned things on her own). So Christopher Robin and I are spending more time working with her on that. Personally, I’ll be having her join me in doing more household tasks so she can learn as she goes and so she can get used to following directions.

Anyhoo, I’ll keep posting our progress and pics here. In the meantime, I would love to hear your schedules or suggestions as well!