MOVING TO WORDPRESS...

I am no longer posting our homeschooling lessons here but instead, I am going to continue blogging at Wordpress.

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TARSIERS

We spent the weekend at Bohol and the boys had a blast! They got to spend some time at the beach where they played and swam and threw pebbles into the water and made sand castles and looked at sea life. Of course, I would not allow an opportunity like that to pass by without some integrated lessons along the way. Sometimes they were game and sometimes they weren't. But I didn't mind. As long as they were having fun and enjoying nature.

Anyway, they also got to see the beautiful Chocolate Hills which is a famous tourist spot in Bohol. We also got to see the Man-made Mahogany Forest in Bilar, the Hanging Bridge in Sevilla, the really cute tarsiers (which is another favorite of tourists), we lunched at Loboc River and cruised it, visited Loboc Church, saw a really large python and visited one of the oldest churches in the Philippines, the Baclayon Church. It was a lot of fun.

During our last day there, we went dolphin-watching and snorkeling. We wish we stayed longer than 3 days but perhaps we could go back to that wonderful place one more time. For now, our experiences and memories will suffice.

AVOIDING HOMESCHOOL BURNOUT

How to Avoid Homeschool Burnout
Be Aware of Homeschool Peer Pressure

by Marianne Vanderkolk

Coming to a place of "burnout" as a homeschooling parent, or as a home schooler, means that somewhere in the process, we have lost sight of our goals. One of the many reasons parents choose to homeschool is that they want to enjoy time with their children. We see homeschooling as an opportunity to spend worthwhile time with our child, exploring learning together, and walking the exciting road side by side. Opening the world to our children is a delight and we enthusiastically begin by talking, reading, walking, and sharing life.

However, it isn't long before "comparison" steps in and we begin to doubt if we are giving our child the best education possible. The focus shifts quickly from the relationship building opportunity to "an education", and unfortunately, our society has taught us to measure "education" by scores. So, driven by our need to see results in order to compare our children, we set them down to a plethora of textbooks, a CD course, another on-line program just in case.... and on it goes.

With our eyes on the next homeschooling family (who fits in so much in their day), we begin early in the morning. We become the task master - the time keeper - the driving force. We stay up late to control programs, we mark their work with a red pen, we become anxious when the book isn't being finished according to our timetable. We push harder, work longer, become more irritated.

Then we notice that there are so many activities that the children from the school down the road are involved in. We need to join a drama group, become a part of the home school choir, take some music and art lessons and be part of a home school network group or co-op if there is one close by. Our children are now being forced out the door, in the car, the baby needs to be woken up and dragged here and there. We keep our eye on our watches.... so that our children won't be the ones missing out!

It is easy to see how burnout can happen and how we can be swayed by peer pressure from our homeschooling circles and from the community around us. But, how can we avoid burnout?
Let us consider these ways:

Focus on our unique goals
Firstly, we need to know where we are headed. Each family is unique and we should rejoice in that! We need to take time to consider our own family goals. Where are we headed? What is important to US? What is the lasting quality we want to pass on to our children? When we know that, we need to head in that direction and keep to it.

Nip comparison in the bud.
When our eyes stray to begin to compare our child with someone else's or our child to their sibling, we need to nip that thought in the bud. Break off the thought there and then. We need to be in control of our thought patterns, and dismiss what is not edifying. Instead, we should substitute that thought with something else - with a sentence or Bible verse you memorize. If you train yourself to actively put another thought in its place, you will be more successful in nipping those thoughts of comparison.

Be realistic with our time
Everyone has different limitations according to time. We need to make decisions for our unique family as to how much time will be spent at the desk. Do your children have time for sport? Do they have time for a hobby? Time to think and just "be"? Time for God? Time for fun?

Consider our own circumstances
Each family has different circumstances which will affect them as a unit. Health, traveling distance to services, number of children, abilities of children, parent and child personalities - all of these have bearing on who we are and what we can do. We should not be in judgment of ourselves because of our own personal limitations, but rather, accept our circumstances and move on confidently and maturely.

So, whether you are a veteran or a new homeschooling parent, I challenge you to keep your focus, remember the goals you have set, don't give time to comparison, be realistic with your time and accept your personal circumstances. Remember why you began to homeschool and enjoy learning together as a family. When you stop "enjoying" the learning experience, reflect on why you began and review what you are doing.

Written by Marianne V from http://www.design-your-homeschool.com/index.html

RHYMING WORDS

Nikki has this workbook that had cutouts at the back. When he was done with the book, I cut out the words and let him put the rhyming words together. He got them all correctly in one try. I am actually thinking of upping Nikki's lessons a bit because he seems to know the basic stuff already. But of course, we will be doing reviews from time to time just to keep him on the right track. So far, aside from rhyming words, I have been letting him practice dexterity: putting on his clothes, eating with spoon and fork, tying, cutting paper, beading, etc. We have also tried to do some hands-on activities like baking cookies. He seems to enjoy those. I think he was starting to get bored with worksheet lessons so I'm trying to put a bit of variety in our lessons. I think I need to plan our lessons more carefully. Maybe we could have one major activity for the day and then minor lessons after. Hopefully, we will be more orgnized in the coming months.

Wish us luck!

NIKKI'S DRAWINGS

I really love looking at Nikki's drawings. I think they are so creative. Sometimes, he would draw some things happening at the moment. Then he would add speech bubbles and make dialogues. I wish my mom and dad encouraged me to do these things. Anyway, here are a couple of his drawings:

TIME WITH DAD

Here is Ethan with his dad at Pancake House (SM Mall of Asia). I think this is a lovely photo of them together.

I just want my boys to spend as much time as they can with their dad because Ruther is scheduled to go back to Japan next month and they won't be seeing their dad for 5 months. So bonding with their dad is my top priority now. And hopefully, it will all pay off in the future. =D

CUTTING

Ethan tries cutting some paper. Isn't he cute? =D

Between the two of them, I noticed that Ethan is more dextrous than Nikki. I know that Nikki will improve over time but I'm just happy that Ethan excels in some things. People usually compare Nikki and Ethan a lot and I don't think that it's fair. As a second child, I know what it's like to carry that burden. I had to measure up or fall behind the shadow of my sister who I felt did everything better than me. The only place I excelled was in sports and it was just too bad that my parents did not push me in that arena. I promised myself that I will not make that mistake with Nikki and Ethan. I want to hone their talents and I want them to do what makes them happy even if it is unconventional. So hopefully, with homeschooling, we are on the right path.

GREAT READ

I love this article because I too, am a mathphobic. =D

Are You Mathphobic?
by Barbara Frank

I don’t know about you, but I’m claustrophobic, aviatophobic and aquaphobic, which means I’m afraid of enclosed spaces, flying and drowning. That’s why you’ll never catch me flying to Miami so I can board a ship for an around-the-world cruise. But one fear I don’t have that many people do is arithmophobia, which is the fear of arithmetic. For the sake of simplicity, let’s call those people mathphobic.

Many homeschooling parents are mathphobic. They’re cool with teaching their little ones their numbers, and even simple addition and subtraction. But go much past that and the possibilities scare them silly. Long division? Who remembers it and why should we, they ask. That’s why God led someone to invent the calculator! And don’t even bring up the A word (algebra). They can’t bear to go there. Like Scarlett O’Hara, they’ll think about that tomorrow.

Math curriculum publishers don’t do much to quell the mathphobic parent’s fears. Some math programs are pretty overwhelming in and of themselves, without even considering the subject matter. In order to make the program work, you need to watch instructional DVDs, buy additional manuals, or go to informative seminars. Not too intimidating! But like the subject itself, teaching math doesn’t have to be intimidating unless we make it so.

In Free at Last; The Sudbury Valley School, Daniel Greenberg relates the story of a dozen 9-to-12-year-olds at the school who decided they wanted to learn arithmetic. Since the school was set up to be a place where children learn on their own timetable, these children had never been taught arithmetic because they had not expressed any interest in learning about it up until then. So Greenberg found an 1898 math primer that included plenty of exercises for self-study, and set up arithmetic classes twice a week for as long as it took the children to learn basic math. Each class lasted 30 minutes, and then the children were sent off with exercises to do on their own time, which they would hand in at the next class.

Once the children had mastered addition, subtraction, multiplication (including memorization of the multiplication tables), division, fractions, decimals, percentages and square roots, Greenberg tallied up the total classroom hours. The total was 20 hours.

Somewhat shocked, Greenberg consulted a public school math specialist who told him that twenty hours was about right for interested students, because math really isn’t that difficult. He said teaching math took six years or more in the public schools because the students were unwilling and disinterested, and so it had to be fed to them in small doses over a long time.
I did not read Greenberg’s book until long after I had begun homeschooling my children, but I wish I’d read it sooner. I probably spent too many years teaching my kids math when it could have been done more efficiently. But do I know they spent far fewer hours learning math than kids in formal school, and they came through just fine. My eldest studied math up through algebra and geometry, while her younger brother completed Algebra 2 at home before taking calculus at our community college.

People have asked me how I managed to teach my children high-school-level math when I don’t have a math background. I remind them that I started at the beginning with my kids and worked along with them from the early years through high school. I relearned math three times with my three older kids, and let me tell you, it all comes back to you. Math actually makes far more sense to me now than it did when I was the student. I especially appreciate how everything fits together; the kids have made fun of me for thinking geometry proofs are fun. But I’ve seen them get into proofs too, whether they’ll admit it or not.

When we first began homeschooling, we used a formal math curriculum designed for private schools. It was overflowing with busywork, and soon made my kids math-haters. But once I switched to Miquon Math (along with a box of beautifully colored wooden Cuisinaire rods), they discovered that math could be fun and interesting. After they completed the six Miquon books, I began using Saxon 54 with them, and we worked our way through the upper-level Saxon series (skipping books and lessons as necessary), which they finished in their mid-teens. I used a separate geometry course for them because most high schools where we lived at that time offered geometry as a separate course.

I think most parents are capable of teaching their children high-school-level math if they’ve relearned math as I have. But I’m not so sure all students need to learn as much math in high school as my son did. He was college-bound and thought he would be going into computer science, so he studied math much longer than his older sister did. She didn’t want to go to college, so she quit studying math after Geometry, except for a math refresher book that I had her use senior year. Now in her mid-twenties, she is very good in math and was in charge of the payroll and cash office at her last job.

If your children are college-bound, you’ll want to make sure math is a part of their studies well into high school, but even then, it depends on their major. As it turned out, my son ended up getting his degree in Theological Languages, so his time spent slogging through calculus was unnecessary. You can probably stop after algebra and geometry unless your child is gifted in the math and science arena and needs to be challenged. In that case, you can find instructors in advanced math topics at your local community college or in a good online school.

No matter what level of math you’re teaching, you’ll find lots of help online. One particular favorite of mine is a blog, “Let’s Play Math,” by homeschooling mom Denise, who has taught every level of math from Pre-K to college physics. She not only shares a wide variety of math resources, but also encourages questions from other homeschool parents. Bookmark this site:

http://letsplaymath.wordpress.com

Be sure to visit her extensive list of math resources while you’re there:

http://letsplaymath.wordpress.com/free-mostly-math-resources-on-the-internet

There’s plenty there to help you, and an online search of math helps will give you even more to work with. But while you’re pulling all these things together, remember that your child can pick up any mathphobia you might have; it is catchy, you know. Make sure you approach math with a positive attitude, and your child will be much more likely to enjoy learning math and to take off with it. Maybe someday you’ll find yourself in the position I was with my son, watching him tackle and succeed at something I never could: calculus!

Copyright 2007 Barbara Frank/Cardamom Publishers

HOMESCHOOLING, FAMILY AND HOPE

from HomeschoolFreeStuff.com:

Homeschooling, Family and Hope

My family has what I believe is a very unique reason for home schooling. It does not have as much to do with religion, sheltering, or a dissatisfaction with the public school system as much as it has to do with teaching the concept of "family". Here is our story:

My family is not "blended", it is more of what I'd call "scrambled"! My oldest two children, 14 and 12, attend a charter prep school which is a combined jr. high and high school. I was very interested in home schooling both of them way back before they even started kindergarden, but their father was not in support of it. So, off to public school they went, and despite a few problems along the way, they have turned out fine. In the meantime, I divorced and remarried. My new husband and I were excited to start a family of our own, but after four years of trying were told we would be unable to conceive. We were both upset, but after a while we decided to become foster parents. During the past seven years, we have foster 12 children from newborn through high school age. The children came from different parts of our town, so we had the opportunity to have experience with most all of the schools in our area. Some were downright awful and others were surprisingly good. But all of them had one particular thing in common: far too many children for the attention of just one teacher. In fact, some of the classrooms were 30:1! However, at the time, foster parents were not allowed to home school children in the state of Arizona, where we live. So, I tried to help with homework or intervene with a teacher where I could. I wished I could home school, but the law just wouldn't permit it.

That all changed with a new "set" of foster children. The State placed two children in our home. They were half-sisters, ages 6 months and 8 years. The six months old was beautiful and cuddly, and appropriate for her age, albeit a bit small. Her sister, Hope, was equally bright and attractive, but had picked up some very nasty habits along the way. Both girls had come from a drug addicted mother, and were drug addicted themselves at birth. Their entire family was like a giant soap-opera, complete with prision sentences and gang affiliations. I believe every family member had been in charge of the girls at one point in time or another while their Mother was in prision, but all lacked the ability to provide a safe, caring home.

Hope was so smart, but did just terrible in school. She was at only a 1st grade level in most areas when she began school with us in third grade. We put her in our local district, like we did the other foster kids. At first she seemed to do very well, and made friends. But she began declining quickly. Her teacher complaned she did not pay attention, she did apply herself and her friendships were deteriorating.

The State had also given my husband and me the opportunity to adopt the girls. The decision to adopt the baby was easy as she was so adorable and bonded to us. But Hope was a different story. She was stubborn, defiant, and difficult at times. Some days she fit in well with us, and others, it was like a foreigner was in our home. She could be very loving and kind, and other days aloof. I just wasn't sure about forever with this one, but yet, when I looked into her eyes, I'd see a little girl desperate for love and a chance for a better future. So, I started praying. And then, listening. And finally, things became much more clear.

I read up on Hope's life experience from the piles of files her social worker had on her. It was no wonder she didn't function well in a family; she had never really had one to learn to function in! To her, parents were people to abuse and abandon you. She felt she had to fend for herself emotionally and physically. She had learned that friends were not people to be revered and cared about, but people to obtain "things" from. She had really only learned to abuse friendships and family members in an effort to survive. School was just a safe haven for her – a place where she could play and be a kid for a few hours until she had to go home and face the dangers of her family. School was not about learning, but about safety. How strange is that to us as home school parents – public school as a safe haven! Then I realized that our house was not much better in some ways. No, we did not abuse her, but we expected her to "fit in" and be loving, yet for 8 hours a day she was away from us. I began to realize that she would be unable to really see what a "Mom" and "Dad" did and how loving relationships and bonds are formed unless she was truly around to see it in action. I placed a call to her social worker to see if home schooling could be attempted. Much to my surprise, the state had reversed its policy and now allowed for home school in certain situations.

That was two years ago. We decided to home school her for fourth and fifth grade. I am happy to report that not only had she caught up to where a "normal" 6th grade student is, she is excelling. The one-on-one attention and accountability she has learned have helped her self esteem greatly. Everyday, we start out with a "life-skills" lesson to teach her some of the things she never learned, such as how to make a friend, how to be honest, how to be diligent, etc. This has made such a difference in her personality – she is no longer sneaky and manipulative, but truly a joy to be around. The beautiful young lady I knew exsisted under that tough exterior is becoming stronger and more confident every day.

We did end up adopting the girls along with another little boy, now age 3, in a beautiful court ceremony on December 20th, 2005. It was attended by all of our family members and many friends who have been very loving and supportive. And one week later….you guessed it! I found out that I was expecting a baby. Little Ethan was born on August 18th, 2006. Yes, the Lord did answer our prayers for a family in a strange way, but we wouldn't change a thing. And I plan on home schooling the three little ones from the start. As for Hope, she is stronger and more confident each day. She wants to attend Jr. High with her two older siblings next year, and we are considering letting her do so. No matter what we choose, she will be able to face each day with the knowledge that she has a family that loves her and cares for her. Now there is something that you just can't learn in school!

NIKKI'S PLANNER

Ruther and I got this planner for Nikki. We think it's a great and fun way for him to be aware of the days of the week and the dates as they progress. Not only that, it will also teach him about the weather and the seasons as well as his feelings everyday. It's really a neat planner and I hope he never tires of it. =D