Remote Home-school and Tech

 I’m home-schooling a teen remotely.  We meet two or three times a week by zoom.  I keep notes during our lessons and post notes to Google Calendar, which I share with Lacie.  If you work remotely, use as many tech tools as possible.  Google for Education has tons of resources.  I put together lessons with Google Slides.  I keep assignments and tests in Classroom.  Lacie scans her papers and tests with her iPod or her grandma’s iPad.  Here is how to scan with an iPhone, iPod, or iPad.  I use Jamboard to write out problems.  Jamboard is also part of Google.  It’s a whiteboard.  I write the problem, take a screenshot, and can save it in a slideshow, which I post to Classroom.  If you are working remotely, take a look at Google for Education.

Tell Grandma

 One of our young friends is adjusting to home-school.  He doesn’t always want to do his work.  Have you heard this story?  So, twice a week I check in with L. to see how well he’s done with his work and offer encouragement.  Enlist Grandma.  Set up weekly or twice weekly Zoom sessions to see how School is progressing.  Text her in advance with concerns and comments.  Trust me.  Enlisting a powerful person like Grandma is going to be a tremendous source of encouragement.  You need every tool to successfully home-school.  Get on the phone with your mom.

How long do you work each day?

Paul, ten, in fifth grades works four to five hours a day.  Lacie, fifteen, 10th grade, works five to six hours each day.  Her brother, Lucas, seven, in second grade, works about two hours each day.  Reading, Art, music lessons, and Sports are in addition to school work.  Skills such as Handwriting are separate from school work.  Lucas, seven, does projects with Lacie whenever possible.  For example, ha and Lacie are dissecting owl pellets together.  But, his core assignments are two hours each day.  Lucas needs time to practice math facts and read stories.

Paul, ten, spends four hours on core subjects: Math, Science, English and History.  On different days, we add Religion, Latin, and Geography.  We alternate some of the English assignments.  He works four hours a day on school.  Paul also practices guitar, learns typing and programming.  This leaves plenty of time for bike riding, basketball, reading, and games.  Lacie needs to work five or six hours each day at the high school level.  Additionally, she needs extra time to read novels and write compositions.  

Do the hardest subjects first.  Use a timer and discrete assignments to help younger children learn how to focus and stay on task.  Lucas needs to work side by side with Daddy for math.  Get up early and get to work by 9am.  Do you want to drag out school all day?  Stick to a schedule five days a week.  If your child is dragging his feet, do some of the work orally or read a chapter to him aloud.  Stick to a consistent schedule every day pays big dividends.

How do we schedule work?

 My goal is to complete all of the chapters in all of the basic course work.  How do we schedule that?  How do we pace?  Paul, ten, is in fifth grade.  Saxon Math 65 has 120 lessons.  He does a lesson each day.  But we stop for math projects, such as making scatter plots, learning Roman numerals, or practicing area and perimeter.  He’ll finish 65 in a few months.  We’ll just start 76.  The pacing depends both on the child and on the subject.  In History, we’re using Catholic Textbook’s  From Sea to Shining Sea and the workbook.  There are 20 chapters.  It takes about two-three weeks for each chapter.  Our pace is about one workbook page each day.  We spend a week working on the review questions and quizzes to prepare for the test.  We started work this past summer to be sure Paul can finish by June.  He has Geography, too.  A week’s work in Geography takes about 15 minutes.  He does a week’s worth of Geography once a week.  His Science book is for sixth grade and is for both fifth and sixth grade.  The textbook had 20 chapters.  We need to complete ten by June.  I like projects.  We are likely to stick to ten chapters.  English includes an Anthology with a workbook, Composition, Grammar, and Vocabulary.  I’m using sixth grade Warriner’s and Sadlier Vocabulary workshop.  Since Paul is working a grade ahead, I’m not concerned if Grammar, Composition, and Vocabulary take two years.  We do an exercise a day.  Paul, ten, needs a challenge.  We work a grade ahead to be sure he’s challenged.   

Our guide is the textbook and number of chapters.  Whenever possible, I use a workbook with the textbook.  It divides the chapter into manageable daily assignments.  Paul’s finished with History and English Anthology after he completes one workbook page.  I do the same thing with Grammar and Vocabulary by making daily assignments of one lesson or section.  Look at the number of chapters or exercises?  How long does it take for your child to complete an exercise?  Explain to older kids that if they do not complete the textbook by June, they can work all summer.  I’ll bet the kid increases the rate of completion.  

Do projects!

I believe in hands-on activities—especially projects.   Have you tried foldable?  Here are ideas for teaching math with foldables.  I teach science; my kids make models.  For example, make animal and plant cell models.  My kids use clay.  Many families make Edible Cell Models.  Graph timelines on paper. Here is my blog post about atomic theory timelines.  This week, Paul, ten, is studying cell cycles and making a  Mitosis Wheel Foldable.  The Chemistry Co-op kids make 3D Periodic Trend models.  Another idea is to create Salt Dough Map of Israel—useful for Theology or Religion classes.  Why make models?  When a child creates a model, she has to study the diagrams closely.  The more opportunities she has to study and manipulate a concept, the more places in her brain she stores the information.  Paul, ten, is also studying animal and plant cells.  He made clay models.  He should have colored pages, too.  However, he loathes coloring.  Lacie is taking Biology; she will color animal and plant cells and make clay models with her younger brother, Lucas, seven.  Yes, Lacie will make comparison charts, too.  But all of these activities together make it easier for her to learn the differences between animal and plant cells.  Kids remember just about everything they do and forget just about everything I say.  I assign loads of activities.

Five Below Felt Storage Bins

Five Below has  felt storage bins for $2.50 each.  Their shipping is only $5 per order.  Take a look!

Five Below for Organization

 I bought a bunch of felt bins to sort all my books, notebooks, and binders.  I bought the felt bins shown below from Five Below.  Five Below sold out of felt bins.  They do have sturdy monogram bins for $5.  They have smaller lattice baskets, too.  Five Below restocks their home section often.  If you don’t like the selection now, check in another month.  It’s my favorite source for inexpensive bins.

Free Curriculum

 Life in the Nerdom has free home-school curriculum.  The quality of these resources is fantastic.  I teach Chemistry.  On Nerdom, they had the link for Georgia’s Virtual School, a great source for remote instruction.  Take a look at their site.

How to scan a document a document with an iPhone

 My Co-op classes are working remotely.  The kids are scanning or taking photos of work to submit.  One kid took written notes by Zoom as I explained how to scan with an iPhone.  I decided to make a video.  Take a look.

Try recording reading passages

 Do you have an emerging reader?  Take a video of your child reading.  Let her listen.  It’s another tool in your arsenal.  If you have Gmail, it’s easy to load a video to YouTube, owned by Google.  You may want to keep the video on a private setting.

Doubling with beans

 We did an activity with Paul, ten, yesterday.  The activity explains cell growth.  The child starts with two beans and doubles each pile of beans until there are more than 100 beans in a pile.  Beans are cheap; some of us have many beans purchased during the pandemic.  Counting piles of beans is a great way to teach doubling andmexponents.

How to enter an equation and graph it with TI 83

 Take a look.