Joy Comes in the Morning!

After a long struggle or process or effort, VICTORY~JOY~SATISFACTION
~ACHIEVEMENT~RESULTS
can be so fulfilling! Without the work though, the sweetness of the end result is less, for if we are just handed the victory, joy, satisfaction, achievement or results then somehow it is not as savory, not as valuable, not as appreciated.

Have you ever struggled or longed and worked, set a goal to meet then step by step met that goal? In the words of an old comedic actor, "How sweet it is!" Yes, we feel that in our accomplishment and pursuit pushes the end result to a higher estimated value for we KNOW what it took to achieve and gain...

Getting started this year, gearing up, roaring up our engines for another year of pursuit, effort, struggle, process, steps, work we can keep our eye on the end result knowing that in a not too distant future with the sweet savor of victory, our child who we have meticulously planned their education, prayed for without reserve, loved unconditionally and cheered onward will find for themselves the life that God has for them as well developed, seasoned, educated citizens who can do what other generations of great worth have done~have achieved~have become!

I encourage you, as these first few weeks get into gear to keep your eye on the end of the days when it's a final curtain call, "this is it" day,their graduation from your homeschooling efforts, to know that every little itty bitty effort will bring fruit for a brighter world and God's glory! Homeschooling in its very nature is a process, and we can be confident that our efforts will bring what is sown, and God can be praised because joy does come in the morning~and how sweet the savoring after the process for both we parents and our precious children!

Savoring the thought of the Joy to come!

Singing to Learn~A fun and stress free way to enjoy schooling

I got purely giddy over a blast I got today from Homeschool Enrichment Magazine
http://homeschoolenrichment.com/
You can get a free sample too!

Today we are looking at homeschooling from an older age, we are now 8th and 9th graders, but way back when, in the early days when some of the conventional methods we tried, like workbooks and text books were not working, I found singing and physical activities~kinesthetic methods of learning to be very useful! VERY! Young children generally like to sing and dance! They are you know are much more active and hands on than some when they get older, while this learning style can remain, sometimes it will also "evolve" into visual and still auditory, but in different ways without a true need to move and sing...
but for the littles or
those who learn this way best~Sing to Learn
http://singnlearn.org/ is a resource site with LOADS of auditory singing learning materials...I saw Sing Spell Read and Write by Sue Dickson who we used with our struggling reader when he was second grade. It was fun, and most importantly it gave him a sense of accomplishment: It has a RACE TRACK board with vinyl magnetic cars that move around the track as each level is accomplished. It's colorful, durable, and we put it on the side of our fridge so my son could track his progress. There are learning games to accompany a reader, and writing phonics text which will focus on sounds, blends, diphthongs, and more...there is a spelling list and even songs to teach all of this...I adored it~and it WORKED! Another product I see they carry is called Skip Count Kid's Bible Heroes which was hugely successful in teaching the multiplication tables to my children with really cute songs~Bible based! There's a song about Noah and the ark with the animals coming on the ark by two's...we loved this one too! Go check out this website~you can listen to samples and order a catalog...the listening samples is HUGELY HELPFUL~

I found this so helpful when teaching my children in the early years and believe that these were very helpful in the foundations to learning that my children now possess!

Unsolicited, as most of my sharing is~It's purely for your benefit~I hope this helps!
blessings,

FREE MATH GAMES Site

I am loving FREE~and Thanks Maria Miller of Math Mammoth for your newsletter full of reviews that you have done that shared this neat site. If you don't know Math Mammoth, it's a inexpensive and comprehensive math curriculum for all ages and math subjects supported with a math teacher's experiences~she has youtube demos you can watch~ I reviewed Math Mammoth last year as part of The Old Schoolhouse Crew viral marketing campaign, and you can read my review: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/SisterTipster/637653/ Also you can sign up for Maria Miller's math enewsletters~they are very helpful!! She IS GREAT!


Check out these FREE math games which a categorized by grade or age and then also separately skills: http://www.iplaymathgames.com/ They are printable! THIS is really exciting for me...Sometimes we need a little "extra" to get the points across in an area...this is HUGE! Go check it out!!

I am hoping you are having a wonderful year either in the classroom now or still getting ready! Today is day ONE for us~whoohoo!!

blessings,

3 Days Out...

And then we get going for our 9th year of homeschooling! Whoohoo! I am amazed and a little nervous I must admit. High school is important, but I have to remember that I've taught and taught them to teach and learn themselves for so many years that NOW is the time to let them shine~SHINE ON KIDS!! I have plans for subjects and curriculum choices that are not willynilly put together, but have been well thought out researched curriculum choices. . .even looked at some that I had to join up some "groups" to voyer enough to understand the processes...but I feel confident we are heading in a solid direction. You can read my choices here http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/SisterTipster/714778/

With all said, three days out we are gearing up for a fantastic year! I am working to get our books in order, plans begun and ordered, and even do some cleaning so we can focus on the subjects better as we are introduced into the scheme of them. I am excited!

Where are you? Have you begun yet or are you like me on the path of counting down to the BIG day??

Happy Year!

Where Are You?

Dumb question huh?

You are right there at your computer reading my bloggie, right?

But I'm talking about on the journey of home educating your child. Is this your first, third, like me~ninth year or more? Where is your child educationally? What are the skills and strengths and then gaps and weaknesses? Just exactly where are you in acesssing where they are? I think this is probably the most crucial question a parent must ask as we get settled into whichever year be it first or last year of homeschooling. A wise friend years ago when I followed a boxed format, which isn't all bad either, told me, "you have to progress as they do, not as the material does." I have taken this advice right deep in my heart and really truly hung on tight as some skills have been harder and others easier for my children. One child gets math and science easier while writing and reading have been harder. It's exactly the opposite with the other child. Ha~I am doomed to be "balanced" in my methods and approaches, right? I have to teach to both's needs! AND we don't just keep going...if some element isn't "gotten" we hang onto it while we inch forward and they learn. I particularly remember this with long division. REMEMBER how hard this was? OR were you one of those who got it easy? See, I confess that I have struggled myself...so when it came to these skills, I found at the time our curriculum DID NOT provide enough practice. Now I have heard mom-teachers say that they have had too much practice for their child in the curriculum~this was not the case for us when my child struggled. WE NEEDED MORE~so I found more until we GOT IT! So knowing the strengths and weaknesses really is important in planning our year~and we progress from a starting point. Just because I put it in the plan will not mean that my children will ZOOM through, but rather thoroughly accomplish the work. I except them to know the material, not just DO the material. So as we are all getting going, gearing up and shifting into overdrive~do we KNOW where were are? Let's find out and plod our well trodden paths into more knowledge and insight as we go along!

Ways to figure out WHERE:

1. Ask some questions of yourself. How did the work progress? Is there a "battle?" Sometimes a battle in our children is an indication they are resistant which can mean it is hard for them and they need HELP. Reflect and observe~think on it...listen to your child.

2. Look at the work. A Pre-test is very helpful. What does my child KNOW before I begin teaching. Sometimes we are boring them to death with information they already know! AND then again, we are boring them with processes that are not in their learning styles. I know that learning styles are important, but one word of caution from me: Don't just focus on the strong ones for your teaching methods~stretch your child to USE all modalities so he can function in the real world of learning. My daughter said, "I need to see it; I am not auditory." OK, daughter! But ARE YOU GOING to challenge your university professor who lectures in that monotone because it's "not your style?" Yeah, right as he looks over your head and marks that big ole paper...now learning styles can be things like "disabilities" too, so I'm not minimizing these either, but work to train the kiddos to be as strong and DEVELOP coping mechanisms for their weaknesses/differences instead of EXPECTING accomadations. They are necessary for some, but often we can learn our way around things! Look at some folks without parts of their senses how they manage and even thrive~a wonderful piano tuner is blind that I know; I've seen Joni Erikson-Tada paint with her teeth~absolutely gorgeous works! So why can't we work out kid's weakened areas to strengthen then like any trainer would to strengthen the body's muscles?

3. Gain cooperation~can you convince your child to work with you to move forward? If you are new~I have read MORE out here on little itty-bitty people being homeschooled from toddlerhood than I have the child who has been in school who either WANTS more education or who for some reason has struggled and is pulled out. If you are the parent who got mad at the school and pulled your child out thinking homeschooling is better, congratulations! You are correct, but it's not easier! Promise!! But it's do-able for the parent who will look and evaluate and get cooperation to move forward. Once your child is willing to "try" to work or wants to learn, or WILL learn, then move forward.

4. Listening, ask your child questions. I wanted to know, since we are ready to study foreign language for high school credit (we've done it all along already!) WHICH ONE DO YOU WANT to study? What is their interests? Desires, goals, dreams? Offer and expose loads of possibilities, but also LISTEN...then plan.

5. AND then plan. Plan by creating goals and steps to accomplish these goals. If your child is old enough, enlist them in this plan. Teach planning and scheduling along the way~but plan. In our state, we have to submit to the BOA (board of education) a list of intended educational resources for the year to obtain a truancy excuse. Finding WHAT to teach in terms of subject matter is really simple if you wish to follow what subjects in order of learning them that are state requirements. I looked over our state requirements for a high school diploma (hours and subjects) and since our forms that we are required to submit spell out subject matter, it was easier than in the last two states I lived in...but I knew then in elementary school that at first, early on I had to teach reading and writing skills, along with other stuff. . .I followed in many ways what the Christian schools would teach, but put it in a format for homeschooling. I have had a schoolroom. I have used the kitchen table. I have held them in my arms and read when they were young and worked at a small short table too in the livingroom~actually it was our piano bench and they had little children's chairs that sat on each end with me in the middle. Today, they both have computer work stations with internet, and we are all wirelessly connected. Some of their work is done there, some on the couch, other on the kitchen table and even some of it outside and in their rooms. I have a library of resources, but no formal schoolroom. I don't knock it, but it's not necessary as children LEARN all over the house, so don't sweat it if you don't have it...a good book case and work surface will do ya! Oh, I forgot to say we've also had individual desks just LIKE public or private school too! They learned different things from each environment, but while environent may seem utterly important, the most important is the content.

6. Content: God first, Family, church and world. We attempt a Biblical worldview. NOT easy, but all our subjects are viewed through the lense of God's Word, His character and love.

I think I will follow up with more on the idea of content. Just HOW did I find it. . .and then HOW did I do it? Remember that knowing WHERE you are in your homeschooling journey is the first step to each year~no matter which one!

NOW, where is that...map?
Oh yeah, I've got it right here!
See you again, and blessings as you consider WHERE!
SisterTipster<3