Follow Your Passion

Follow your passion.  One reason families home school is to allow more time to pursue your passion, whether it’s music, horses, or volleyball.  We try to finish school in three hours so we can get down to work.  Try all kinds of activities to find your child’s spark.  We bake, cook, do art, and experiment.  Paul, ten, likes coding, programming, and dessert.  Enlist friends from your church to teach new skills, such as knitting.  Make premie or chemo hats.  Learn to play an instrument.  Join the choir at church.  Train dogs.  Make bird boxes.  Learn to life guard.  Train for a 5K race.  Follow your passion!

Make Recordings for Digital Portfolios

 We keep track of everything, including guitar, a Fine Arts Elective.  Below is a sample from the guitar lesson.  My husband, Rob, does Zoom calls with Paul and a friend.  I load samples to YouTube and save them in a slideshow.

Prescriptive Instruction

What is prescriptive instruction?  Whenever an opportunity for a lesson arises, use it to teach.  Here are two examples.  Paul, ten, was writing an essay answer and misused ‘there’.  BTW this isn’t the first time.  Yes, we have had ‘there, their, and they’re’ grammar lessons.  Several times.  Each time Paul mistakes the correct ‘there’, we retract.  I’ve exhausted my own source of ‘there’ lessons and print another from the internet.  Every single time he mistakes ‘there’, we do a quick lesson.  It only takes five minutes.

We take the same approach for misunderstandings.  Paul didn’t know how to read a protractor properly.  Immediately, we located a lesson on angles and retaught the use of a protractor.  In fact, we substituted the protractor lesson for his daily math work.  Whenever, you see your child making a similar mistake or having a misunderstanding, stop and correct it.  Hey we may do a quick lesson on homophones!

Light Bulbs

 Here is a worksheet to compare the costs between LED, CFL, or incandescent light bulbs.  Add a little economics to your math lesson.  Another similar math lesson is this  Home Energy Audit from Teach Engineering.  Pull out your electric bill for the kids.  I like practical math lessons.

Guess the Test

  How do you prepare for tests?  Paul, ten, is learning how to study for tests.  We instruct him to read and complete study guides and answer questions.  We added note-taking.  Once, Paul has completed labs, matching, vocabulary, and exercises, we have him go back through the material and take notes.  As he works through the chapter, Paul tries to identify key points which will be on the test.  You can do the same thing for math lessons before a test.  Which types of problems will be on the test?  Which problems present the most difficulty?  Be sure to do extra word problems; they always present difficulties.  Try having your child determine likely test questions, rather than give him a study guide.  Explain to her she will be creating a study guide.

Christmas Presents

 Our little household is making several art projects for Christmas Presents.  Additionally, I’m giving close family friends who home-school a giant bin with art supplies: sketch books, markers, colored pencils, and water color sets.  These friends have a large family.  New sets of supplies make school seem fresh again.  I bought the bin and sketch books at Five Below.  You could raid Dollar Tree for more fun art supplies, too. I took advantage of back to school sales last fall.  Yes, this is one of those presents parents appreciate more than kids.  

Art and Science

  Pink Stripey Socks has 40 ideas to combine STEM and art, beginning with DIY art materials, such as home-made water colors and sidewalk chalk paint.  Start with Pink Stripey’s links and compare recipes with other sites, such as Martha Stewart’s Watercolor Paint.  Experiment with the proportions of corn syrup and corn starch. Use the home-made paint with crayons to make these notebooks for little presents.  Sit down with your kids and plan which art supplies they want to make. Chalk?   Finger paint?  Scratch art?  Here are more DIY art material recipes.  How do they plan to assess the quality of the art supply?  What do they want to make?  Could the art product be a Christmas gift or wrapping paper?  Hey!  Anything worth doing is worth over-doing!  Don’t forget to document the entire project for your home-school portfolio.  I know we will!

 

Montessori Materials

Are you doing Montessori activities?  Here is a guide to basic Montessori materials for home-schoolers.   Do you want to make your own materials? Here are a host of materials to print and use.  Here is a list of materials for preschool.  Montessori At Home has loads of ideas.  Use Craft Supplies for math counters or color matching.  Homeschool Fridays has seasonal materials to gather and make.  Montessori for Babies has even more DIY to try.  This post has great ideas about finding low cost Montessori materials.

Wikipedia

 I taught in both public and private schools. English teachers do not like Wikipedia.  You may not be aware that English teachers do not want students to cite Wikipedia. Ever.  Get your teen in the habit of citing other websites—even when Wikipedia is accurate, which is often is.  Many English teachers, especially in college, will mark down papers citing Wikipedia.

Animal Cams

 I just wrote a post about Animal Cams.  It occurred to me the topic of Monkey Selfies and Copyright would make an interesting topic for a composition.  Here is an article, Who Owns the Monkey Selfies?  Isn’t this an interesting question?  Give it a whirl.  See if you can get your teen to write a paper.

Dry Erase Board

 Have you been making do with Dry Erase Contact Paper?  The dry erase markers can leave traces or shadows after awhile.  We set up 3x4 ft dry erase or whiteboards in our basement for Co-op classes. Now is the time to shop Black Friday deals.  The price to beat on a large whiteboard is $50.  In the mean time, try using a Mr. Clean dry eraser on your existing white board.

Teach with Clay

My science classes make clay models.  (Below is Paul, ten, making an animal cell model with clay.). First, here are some recipes.  Here is a stop motion animated clay water cycle.  You can make Molecules from clay.  Clay isn’t limited to  Science.  Try Map Elevations with clay. USGS has Play Dough Topo—topography.  Let your child make any clay animal. Now instead of writing about how to make a PPJ sandwich, explain how to make a clay Pokémon figure or a panda.  Have your child make up several creatures for her own stop action animation.  Here is an article about making storyboards.  Any type of writing is Composition.  Here are even more ideas for Play-doh for School projects.  BTW, experimenting with different play dough recipes is science.  Take loads of photos while you work.  No one said School has to be dull.

What resources are available at your library?

 Does your local library offer home-school resources?  My home is near Quantico; the local library system has a number of resources.  The local library system hosts home-school classes, too.  Right now, the library has expanded its resources with Learn at Home.  Many libraries have ramped up access to online classes, ebooks, and reference materials, such as academic articles. Here  is the Old Bridge NJ website, the Kanawha County Public Library in Charleston WV, Saginaw Michigan Library, and York County Library, in Rock Hill, SC.  Take a look at their offerings.  Ask your local library if they can assess The Great Courses or Universal Class.  Is there a dedicated section for home-school families?  Is there a Maker Space?  What digital resources can the library access?  With so many families home-schooling, now is the time to see what your library has and can offer.  My husband just picked up a book curbside at our library; there was a flyer.  Take a look.

Great Courses

 Good Will has a nice lot of Great Courses DVDs.  Warning!  These are dry.  Used DVDs are a good way to review the material.

Prescriptive Instruction

 What is prescriptive instruction?  Our little household uses this technique all the time.  Here’s an example.  Paul, ten, asks to differentiate mean, median, or mode.  He confuses radius and diameter or quotient and product,  Paul might miss a math problem.  These situations call for more instruction.  When your child confuses a math concept or adjectives and adverbs, stop and assess.  First, have your child write down terms, definitions, and examples.  Locate practice sets or sentences to diagram.  You are acting as the education doctor and prescribing more work to address and correct a problem.  This approach is key to math success.  Anytime there is confusion, stop, clarify, do a bit of practice before you move on.

Let’s Make Art for Christmas presents!

Update: Amazon has a deal for Faber Castell Museum series for $4.90.  

Our little household make art for Christmas presents.  Paul, ten, is not an enthusiastic artist.  We started last summer.  Paul like to take photos and odd filters.  Some are below.  We put prints on canvas board.  Here is a DIY with instructions.  Paul is doing a number of color by number projects: Colorful Cat, and Colorful Dog— Dean Russo Art. I bought this Marvel Paint by Number kit.  Paul colored it with sharpies instead of paint.  Faber Castell has a good selection of color or paint by number sets.  I especially like the Museum series, with Water Lilies.  Want ideas for art projects?  Start with Dick Blick lessons—which is where I buy canvas panels.  

Used Textbook at Good Will online

 Good Will has a listing for Saxon Math 8/7 kit—a great price!  Good Will has elementary level occasionally, such as this Bible kit.  Check prices on eBay and Amazon.  Try Facebook Marketplace, too.  If you use Apologia curriculum, there is a group on Facebook which lists textbooks all the time.  Good Will stores sell books and textbooks on Amazon, too.  Plan next year’s course schedule and start shopping for deals now.  Below is an example of textbooks on Facebook’s Apologia Group.

Roots on TI 83

 The video demonstrates how to calculate roots; the example is the fourth root of 625.

TI 83 Check Factors of Polynomials

 Yet another video.  This one explains how to graph polynomials to see if the factors are correct.

Augmented Matrices

 Here is a video explaining how to multiply augmented matrices.

How to multiply matrices with TI 83

 Here is a short video explaining how to enter matrices and multiply them with a TI 83 calculator.

Graphing Calculator

 More and more, kids need a graphing calculator for Math.  Try Good Will online.  I recommend bidding on TI 84 or TI 83 graphing calculators.  Be sure the calculator powers on.  The stores on Good Will usually have pictures with the calculator powered on.  Avoid listings that are untested.  Check the shipping cost.  If your total cost for a TI 84 calculator is less than $40, you have a bargain.  Don’t pay more than $25 for a TI 83.  I have bid on eBay, with very little luck.  I bought another used TI 84 on Amazon, which was a terrible deal.  The calculator was gritty.  It did power on; I’m using it as a digital thermometer.  I have had the best luck at Good Will.  Happy Hunting!

Coding

 Our little household has computer as part of the curriculum, especially over the summer.  What do we use?  Paul is ten; his daddy is a software engineer.  Paul started with COJI and MIT Scratch in first grade.  We used Code Your Own Games.  Initially, I sat beside Paul to work through the instructions.  Those days are long gone.  Paul’s daddy set up a STEAM for Paul.  He is learning to program with 7 Billion Humans and Autonauts. Paul uses Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing, too.  Typing lessons increase his speed programming.  One of the best programming toys is LEGO Boost.  It is expensive.  Good Will online lists LEGO Boost for much less than $159.  LEGO Boost has five different projects.  Once you complete the robot or guitar the child programs.  Paul liked the Robot and guitar.  We are finishing the auto builder toy right now.  The kitty and excavator just didn’t do much.  Our little household works together on each build because finding tiny Legos is frustrating.  Programming it is all Paul.  Want to try programming?  Start with MIT Scratch.  If your library is open, check out coding books for kids.  Check out your library’s digital collection.  Our local library online has Star Wars Coding Projects available.  Kindle Unlimited also has several Scratch coding books to try.  Below are pix of our latest LEGO Boost project.  It’s about 50%complete.

Twizzlers Geometry

 We’ve been doing loads of science experiments with candy.  I’m trying to find ways to use all of my Twizzlers.  Lines and Angles uses Twizzlers and Skittles.  Perfect!  I still have loads of jelly beans, too, from Jelly Bean Dichotomous Keys.  Here are multiplication and division activities with Twizzlers and Skittles.  The author is promoting her TPT store.  Make your own arrays—possibly with Skittles or jelly beans.

Create a Digital Portfolio

I’m creating a slideshow to submit to Paul’s online school for quarterly grades.   I’ve been taking photos, videos, and scans to enter into Slides.  I’m in the habit of documenting work and recording grades into Google Classroom.  The slideshow is another step to make things easier for the advisor at the online school to evaluate Paul’s work.  I had the idea to make short videos of Paul playing guitar, shooting baskets, and demonstrating the exercise station in the basement.  Going forward, I plan to enter work samples in slideshow whenever I post a grade to Classroom.  Next quarter, most of the work submitting grades and work samples will be done.

Candy Math Lesson

 I’m an advocate for science and math.  Paul, ten, campaigns for more science and math with candy.  Here is a math lesson, Twizzlers Linear Regression.  We did the lesson with the graphing calculator.  Below is a video explaining how to graph a linear regression in the TI 83–which operates similarly to the TI 84.  The kids eat and measure Twizzlers, then record and graph the data.  This is fun!

Want another great lesson? Clean!

 Our oven is a mess!  I’m reluctant to use the self-clean setting.  The repairman said it could strain or destroy sensitive electronics.  I don’t want to asphyxiate our little household with commercial oven cleaners.  There are many DIY mixtures.   This blogger tested eight recipes for oven cleaners.  What a great home-school lesson!  Let your kids research and test different cleaning recipes.  I have a brass tray and want to test these DIY ideas.  What about DIY laundry detergents?  Stain removers? Let your child take the lead, do some research, and conduct the experiments.  Let her create a folder on Google Drive to save the most promising recipes.  Would she like to create a book of recipes with her own notes and photos to make Christmas presents?  Let her compare prices to upload and creat a book.  It’s another way to add a bit of tech and experimentation to your home-school routine.

Want a great lesson? Bake!

Do you want a great home-school lesson?  Bake bread.  Try  this No Knead recipe.  We baked a boule on a pizza stone and rolls in a cast iron skillet.  Compare this recipe by kneading the dough.  Bake similarly sized loaves on different surfaces: aluminum pan, baking stone, and cast iron skillet.  Unleash your creative child.  She’ll be reading and testing recipes for hours.

Do you work on every subject every day?

 Do you work on every subject everyday?  It depends.  Our little household is working to complete quarter exams.  This week the bulk of our energy has gone into studying and testing.  Usually, we make the Core Four, Math, History, Science, and English a priority.  We make adjustments.  If Paul is writing a book report, we do Vocabulary, and ease off Grammar that day.  If we are doing a science lab in the afternoon, we do one page in the Science workbook.  

I home-school a teen, too.  She does much better with blocks of subjects on different days.  Together we save blocks of time for editing papers.  We meet by Zoom frequently, sometimes daily to assess progress.  We make adjustments all the time.  

Young kids thrive in structure.  Assign a bit of work in every subject every day.  As the kids mature, try to balance the work.  If we have a heavy load of tests, we assign reading in the textbooks, rather than loads of written work.  If a science model takes an hour, I divide the Grammar into smaller chunks.  How does your child thrive?  Go ahead and make adjustments.

Great Courses

 Good Will has several listings for The Great Courses.  These DVD sets can be a tremendous supplement o your home-school program.  Your teen can try a language or a course, such as photography, to see if she likes it.  Don’t forget to check the shipping before you bid on any Good Will listing.  The listings are,from Good Will stores across the U.S.  Some stores gross up shipping or attach large handling fees.  Take a look?

Montessori Letters

 Good Will also have moveable letters.  There are several trays or sets available.  Anything Montessori is expensive.  Take a look.

The Great Writing Great Fiction at Good Will

Along with educational curriculum, Good Will has a listing for The Great Courses Writing. It looks as though it includes the DVD.  These programs are pricey.  This is a bargain.

Lifepac Curriculum at Good Will

 Occasionally Good Will offers curriculum, such as this listing for Fourth Grade Lifepac Curriculum.  The shipping price is fair.  Take a look.

Grades

 I’m organizing quarterly grades to submit to Kolbe.  I scanned or took photos of tests, activities, book reports, projects, and lessons.  I organized this with Google Slides.  Below are a few screen shots.  There are over forty images and notes.  I want to make it easy to evaluate.  Take a look.

History: Heritage Studies

 This past summer, our little household tried BJU Heritage Studies.  I bought a 2e edition set for 5th grade.  Most of the time we use Catholic Sea to Shining Sea.  But BJU 5th grade Heritage history set has a nice unit on the United States.  We’re using this to supplement Geography.  Fifth grade is the time to learn the states and capitals.  The Heritage Series sets are much less costly and offer a Christian perspective.  I wanted more rigor and a Catholic perspective.  Read Cathy Duffy’s review before you try the series.

Record everything!

 Our little household keeps records for everything home-school related, including PE.  Usually, we go on a long walk/bike ride.  But the weather is changing.  We added a little calisthenics.  Right now, we exercise for ten minutes after lunch before resuming School.  Our plan is to do a second set of exercises and a fitness program on the TV when the weather is bad.  My husband has kept a record of exercises and reps for years on a spreadsheet.  We have these exercises: jump rope, squats, step ups, crunches, grapevine, and three weight routines.  You might add a log of exercise to Google Classroom.  Take a look at our fancy gym.

Saxon Math

 If you poll home-school families, many of them use Saxon Math.  There’s a reason.  Saxon includes clearly written lessons.  Every lesson has review problems to check and reinforce student understanding.  Paul, ten is using Saxon 65.  There are review quizzes at regular intervals.  After he completes five lessons, there is a cumulative test.  Paul does one lesson every day.  I recommend buying a home-school set: tests, textbook, and solution guide, also available as a CD.  Saxon takes out the guesswork of constructing a math program.

Buy an inexpensive or used globe.

 Go ahead and buy a used globe or an inexpensive globe.  The first lesson with your kids is to determine if the globe is accurate.  Look carefully at the names for African and Eastern European countries to see if the names are up to date.  Make corrections and tape these to the globe.  You’ll be surprised how much your kids learn from that one lesson.  Hey!  Now your globe is accurate.

Create a Digital Portfolio

 Do you have a digital portfolio?  Let me show you how I keep records as both hard copies and in digital records.  This is going to seem like overkill.  It is.  I had a family friend toss most of her work before I could scan samples to send to the online school.  Now, I am neurotic.  Okay, more neurotic.

I grade the hard copies of worksheets, quizzes, and tests.  Materials are hole-punched and saved in a binder.

Google Classroom saves the grades in a spreadsheet.  Paul is ten.  I use my husband’s email address for Paul’s grades.

Graded work samples are scanned.  iPhones and iPads can scan with the Notes app.  I save the scans and email them to myself.

You can save the scanned documents in Google Drive or in a folder in Gmail.

 

Here is the folder in Gmail.

Here is the assignment in Google Classroom.

After I scan documents with the Notes app, I upload the pdf documents to Google Drive.

Teach with names.

 The first word a little one learns to write is his or her name.  Guess what?  This idea works in Math, too.  Rewrite the math problem with the child’s name.  See how much more interested he or she is in math.

Teach how to study!

 One essential skill kids need to learn is how to study.  My first tip is to have your child do hands-on activities and projects first.  How does this help the child learn to study?  Kids need to relate to the topic.  Kids need to connect to a topic.  Read it, say it, and do it.  Let me give you an example. We’re working on Genetics in Science.  Paul, ten, extracted DNA from split peas, made a Mitosis model, did an inventory of traits, and looks at an onion root tip under the microscope.  I draw from labs to explain how DNA stores the codes for genes and traits.  He can see the stages of mitosis under the microscope on the onion root tip.  The textbook material makes more sense.  He’s better equipped to understand the material when tested.  

We use Catholic Textbooks for History.  All of our efforts work toward the tests as a measure of understanding.  Paul reads the chapter in the book.  Then he does workbook pages.  Each time, he rereads the section in the book, attempts as much as he can without the book, and finally uses the book to answer the exercises.  We use the same approach for quizzes.  Reread the section, answer the quiz questions, then use the textbook to complete the quiz.  We use the quizzes and review questions to study for the test.  Our goal is for Paul to begin to apply this method independently.  

Try different methods to study: write out Latin declensions several times or vocabulary lists.  Draw pictures as memory aides.  Keep the goal in mind.  You’re teaching your child how to attack his subjects independently and successfully.

How to enter matrices in TI 83 calculator

 I’m helping my husband create videos for his Algebra 2 Co-op Class.  Here is how to enter matrices and graph linear regressions in the TI 83 calculator.

Keep your supplies handy!

 Many home-school families have a dedicated space set aside—often the dining room.  We use a small space adjacent to the kitchen and keep supplies nearby in bins.  We sorted subjects into bins, complete with syllabi, notebooks, textbooks—even flash cards.  All the bins are in one spot—will, region.  I need a pile-file system to stay organized.  As long as the books and supplies are in their respective bins, I can locate class materials in seconds.  Take a look.