higher education

A New Method of Homeschooling For This Season

2012-01-18T19:40:00.000-07:00

We have gone through some phases in the past few years of our homeschool. This is normal for all of us; we need to keep in mind that it's not only normal for our friends or neighbors, but is also ok for US.

We did intensive Well Trained Mind for a few years. Then my still little baby turned into a toddler and the preschooler started "real" schoolwork and we eased up a little. This was when my Cactus Flower was pretty prickly relationaly and we had to stop things at least a few times a week to get her re-centered. I started to feel like this guy:

Then we became involved in a local homeschool group, and the kids made friends and joined clubs. That was only a day a week, so we dropped our "off day" and substituted club/park day. In theory.

Now all the kids are bigger and older and smarter and not napping, not getting into stuff as much, but the converse side of that coin is they are more sneaky and try to shirk schoolwork more often.

I was in the wrong line when homeschool kids were issued. I meant to get into the "motivated and self-starters, diligent without training" line but I seem to have received a set of kids from the "start after whining and dash away when mom warms her coffee" line. When we get a great day of schoolwork done, I feel like this salesgirl from a Norman Rockwell:

Anywho, I hesitate to label the phase we are in now as "plodding along" but that's what fits. We keep going. There aren't any magical projects or impressive visuals to show for it, but that goes with plodding. So we are going along. Doing the next thing. Checking off the next subject. You did science yesterday; today we're reading for History. How many seconds did you shave off your math drill's best time?

So onward and upward we go. They keep getting older, and they surprise me now and then.

-Lily did an entire math worksheet joyfully with counting bears. (They were coming and going out of the "house" to visit their grandma bear, depending if it was an "add" or a "take-away.")
-Jackson is reading "The Call of the Wild" and not enjoying it! What is that about?!

-Claire is interested in spelling words correctly (what?!) because she is on chapter five of a book she's writing, about a girl named Lola who moves from Tennessee to Texas.

-Nathan is recognizing "N" everywhere. He loves New Balance shoes for this reason. Instead of being sad because I compare what my firstborn was doing at his age, I am excited that he knows what his name starts with.

- I am more and more often leaving the housework for AFTER the schoolwork is done. I can't find who said it, but I love the quote "If you want to come see my house, call and make an appointment. If you'd like to come see us, come on over."

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education! Click on the post title to leave a comment. Teresa (Tracy) Dear

That Spark From Learning to READ!

2012-01-12T22:14:00.000-07:00

My stubborn, smart, sassy, sharp little girl- six last November- read three board books with me this evening.

(sigh of contentment)

Here we are working on a math worksheet soon after her birthday. It was a really big deal for her to do it with me- she brought the worksheet to me, and allowed me to deign to show her how to slide the counting blocks from one side of the blanket to the other as she worked out the problems.

She will walk out of the room when I suggest doing schoolwork. She even will be enjoying reading or cooking with me, and when I throw in something educational, she will abandon a fun activity in order to avoid learning formally.

Her nickname is Cactus Flower- be wary, she can be prickly.

So last week I was sitting in my chair with the four year old playing an ABC game on my phone together. It was pretty basic- there'd be "C_T" with a cat head and of course he's supposed to choose the A in the corner. Then, if he's right, the cat gets on a skateboard and you have to choose the first letter to the same word- there are four helmets with letters on them, and he's supposed to choose the helmet with the "C" on it.

Well he and I were doing it, I was sounding everything out and telling him all the answers and she was looking over our shoulders. But, of course, not getting involved, no matter how fun it was, because it was learning. But I was watching her. She was up on her toes, leaning in toward the phone, and I could see her trying to sound out the words with her cute little poochy lips. And she'd get grumpy when he got to touch the screen- wasn't she not playing?

Then tonight she was sounding out the words, and I grabbed her by the hand, pumped it up and down and pretended to be a reporter- "Wow, ma'am, that was amazing! Where'dya learn to read like that!! Call the papers! Get on the phones! Put it on the internet! Glad to meet ya! What a reader!" in my fastest most greasy fast-talking reporter-from-the-movies voice, and she just ate it right up.

First we read "Up, Up in the Sky" and then "On your Potty!" and last "The Best Ride." Silly board books from our baby book bin. Of course, she jumped ahead a few times with what she knew it said, and she shot daggers at her brother when he threw out a phrase (he had just had it read to him) correctly, but she really did sound out the words and stick the sounds together into words.

She was really proud of herself, and our last page dissolved into a tickle fest.

I'm so excited.

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education! Click on the post title to leave a comment. Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Why I don't Like Moon Sand

2011-12-05T07:16:00.000-07:00

Look at those kids! Playing happily with their Moon Sand. Some loving adult invested their money in a battery-free toy for these lucky kids. Aw. How excited they are to mold and shape it. See how they haven't spilled it. None appears to be outside the confines of their little Moon Sand Mat. How idyllic. Hm.

I really dislike Moon Sand. There's a reason for that. I did get some. We used it alot. I didn't throw it out or give it away. By that I mean I didn't actively maliciously by accident throw it in the trash can or Goodwill box. I did, however, sweep it up molecule by molecule off the floor and table and my socks until it was pretty much gone. No, I am wrong. There was quite a bit stuck impenetrably in the crevices and corners of the molding shapes that came with the kit.

It sorta sticks to itself. It sorta sticks to the table. It likes to stick to damp little children's ~~paws~~ hands. It also sorta doesn't like to stick to itself and the precious little buildings and creatures you attempt to make seem to slowly melt. Ugh. Ok, I'm done.

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education! Click on the post title to leave a comment. Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Spanish Goals For the Kids

2011-12-03T07:15:00.001-07:00

I've added some new activities to our Spanish lessons. Don't get excited- our lessons aren't very structured. I know Spanish well and like languages so I'm not sticking to some sort of curriculum. You can see my other post on basic instruction.

I really like the First Thousand Words in Spanish series. They have a lot of languages available to choose from. The pictures are friendly, detailed and clear. The book is big enough to share comfortably and I figured out a new way to use it.

We play "I spy" with it. I say "Yo veo..." and I point to the picture around the perimeter. Then the kids look for that picture in the drawing and when they find it, they say "Yo veo___." Sometimes I pantomime clues (I stood up today and did the pee-pee dance, saying "Donde esta el bano?!" very dramatically. That's what kind of mom I am; might not work for you!) Another time I said "El gato dice "Meow" to give them a clue when I didn't have the picture in the perimeter to point to.

Another way you could stretch this book is by studying the colors and then doing a color search on any given page. Or counting (in Spanish) how many girls are on a page, etc.

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education! Click on the post title to leave a comment. Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Travel Toys to Defeat Boredom at Home

2011-11-30T08:29:00.006-07:00

We just got back from a loong roadtrip the week of Thanksgiving. It was extended by three nights in Tennessee when the transmission died and we had to get it replaced. We spent 4 days in a hotel. We watched TV (ooh! The History Channel's "History of Cans!") Who could resist?!!), swam in the indoor pool literally three times a day, and ordered pizza and sandwiches for dinner every night. Thank God for continental breakfasts at hotels!!

When there was nothing appropriate on TV we were a bit strapped for activities. We did a load of wash. We rode the elevator. We got hot cocoa in the lobby. We hopped the first-floor balcony and played in the field behind the hotel. I had one stash of unread books in the exterior pocket of the suitcase. We wrote our postcards. I cleaned out my cell phonebook.

But there are many things you can carry with you that take up very little room that are ideal for many situations. For instance, you might be waiting all morning at the doctor's office. You might be at a layover between flights. Or the power could have gone out because of a hurricane or ice storm.

Until December 12 Rainbow Resource Center has free shipping on anything from the Holiday and Toy catalog. I set up the link to open in the toy department. No Problemo.

Woo Hoo!! Did you hear that?! Free shipping on orders over $25 until Dec 12th!!

Many of the following items I like are from Rainbow Resource Center:

a shoebox of dominoes and a book of domino games
a peanut butter jar of GeoMags- magnetic rods with steel balls
some abridged Cranium games- they're in small sturdy boxes
Wikki Stix- silent, pliable, non-melting or staining wax sticks
scrabble tiles in a portable banana-shaped bag
don't forget standbys like paper and pencils!

My son can be entertained for long periods of time with his knot-tying book and a shoelace. My daughters enjoy using a modern, more durable version of paper dolls- but they have magnetic clothes. My MIL gave the kids some king-size sheets to build forts with. Many of our homeschool math manipulatives can be used to entertain them for a long time- such as pattern blocks and tangrams.

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education! Click on the post title to leave a comment. Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Single-Celled Organisms Resources for Homeschoolers

2011-11-28T19:43:00.002-07:00

I love biology and microscopes, cellular biology, in particular. I wrote a post detailing our microscope purchase. I wanted to let you follow this link (Teachers' Domain) to a short Quicktime video about single-celled organisms.

I had recently seen a great short animated video showing the bustling activity in a cell that I wanted to share with you. David Bolinsky, a medical animator, said that cells are the "envy of nanotechnologists" in their abilities and irreducible wonder. The video doesn't have any voice-over, but would be nice to play while you turn off the music and read to your kids about the complexity of the cell and how amazing it is that God created it so well, to behave so efficiently.

Here's a Discovery Channel video showing (with narration) the DNA replication and formation of a protein.

Rhett and Link's Homeschoolers Song!

2011-06-04T10:44:00.002-06:00

How have I not posted this yet?! I love Rhett and Link's songs... local commercials and YouTube videos... click here to see all the videos I've posted... a ditty to coffee and more Rhett and Link!

There's a ton of great articles here at Higher Education to help you in your homeschooling journey, whether or not you use the Classical method. Enjoy!

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education! Click on the post title to leave a comment. Teresa (Tracy) Dear

"Weekly Intensives"

2011-05-10T20:28:00.003-06:00

Last month and this week we are trying a semi-break approach to school.

A while back we did a week-long focus on grammar. Each day we tackled a couple of parts of speech.

This week we are tackling geography. Five times over the course of the day I called my son or daughter to me and we went through the continent of South America. We have a nice sturdy puzzle of the continent, and to start out with we'd take all the pieces out. At first, I talked the most as they put it back together. As the day wore on, they did all the talking and I was surprised how quickly they learned the info when that's all we did.

Here are the points we covered for South America:

Columbia is the link country between Central and South America.
Brazil is the largest country.
In Brazil they speak Portuguese.
All the rest of the countries speak Spanish.
The Amazon River is in the top third of Brazil.
Bolivia is landlocked.
Paraguay is landlocked.
Chile is the long thin one.
The Andes run between Chile and Argentina.
Peru has famous ruins built by the Incans.
The Galapagos Islands are where the old land turtles live.
Antarctica is south of South America.
the Equator is (this) line.
The Atlantic is to the East.
the Pacific is to the West.

No big crazy list, but the top points for now. Next we're doing Africa, then Europe/western Europe, then the far east, and last north America (to include the 50 states).

What do you do for geography? I've heard of some memory trick books that use music, imaginative pictures of what countries are shaped like, etc, but haven't used any myself.

Here are some online map quizzes, some have downloadable blank maps to print.

Sheppard Geography games- good for fast internet

Owl & Mouse Geography games- click and drag

the one I like best is "test your geography knowledge"

Here's Rainbow Resource's maps... awesome...

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education! Click on the post title to leave a comment.Teresa (Tracy) Dear

5 Reasons to Join Homeschooling Legal Defense Associations

2011-04-25T12:13:00.003-06:00

Here is a guest post listing some reasons why to join an association that defends your right to homeschool. Don't forget to ask your local homeschool group about defense groups in your state. Enjoy!

Many homeschoolers take for granted the right to teach our children ourselves. Many of us don’t know much about our legal option, or we don’t feel comfortable spending money for legal defense in that off chance someone knocks on the door to conduct an unwarranted search through the home. Besides, who has money to throw around these days?

What many people don’t know, however, is that associations like HSLDA (Home Schooling Legal Defense Association) can protect our rights to homeschool our kids. Answering services provide attorneys for any emergency situation; they don’t have business hours and can come to your aid 24/7.

Even if they can’t protect everyone, HSLDA has come to the aid of thousands of members and nonmembers when, despite what we call the off chance, someone did come knocking. Here are five reasons to join a legal defense association to protect your home, your children, and your rights.

Money is a genuine concern. Fortunately, most legal defense associations cost less than it would cost any of us to get a good attorney anywhere. HSLDA charges a paltry $115 annually. If you qualify for a group discount, such as through the Christian Liberty Academy School System (CLASS), you may pay as little as $8 a month. If you’re in California, the California Home Educators Legal Defense (CHELD) charges only an annual $25 a family.

Many associations keep you up to date with homeschooing news, resources, links, and analysis of relevant issues. No need to go Googling, anymore; it’s all in one place.

If your child or children are having problems, associations like HSLDA have special needs coordinators who can counsel members and supply you with helpful materials.

If you’re interested in homeschooling your child or children through high school, these associations can help you along the way. They not only keep the option to homeschool through high school legal, they offer members advice, resources, and plenty of support to make sure you and your children thrive.

Don’t just use your right to home school—stand up for and support it. The fee helps your defense association come to the aid of others like you. They might even help you one day.
If joining a homeschooling defense association still seems extreme, parents will at least benefit by familiarizing themselves with state homeschool laws.

Indeed, knowledge is power, and Homeschooling is Legal provides parents with a hub of relative information.

Guest Bio: Alexis Bonari is a freelance writer and researcher for College Scholarships, where recently she’s been researching law scholarships as well as law school loans. Whenever she gets some free time, she enjoys watching a funny movie or curling up with a good book.

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education! Click on the post title to leave a comment. Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Now, let's (try to) stay on task!

2011-04-23T06:54:00.000-06:00

If the following sounds familiar to your homeschool (as well as mine!), you should check out the entire article at Simply Charlotte Mason. I get their emails- not too frequently, they definitely don't bombard your inbox- and they are just wonderful.

Mom took a deep breath and began to read aloud:

I wonder how many of my readers have ever sat upon an ottoman. If you have, you know that it . . .

“What’s an ottoman, Mom?” six-year-old Stacy interrupted.

“If you listen, it will explain . . . ” Mom began.

“It sounds like a super hero: Otto-Man!” eight-year-old Nathan chimed in with a grin.

“I wonder what his super power would be?” Stacy added. “Maybe he would . . . ”

“Let’s get back to the story and see what an ottoman really is,” directed Mom, and she picked up where she had left off.

. . . you know that it is a soft, round, tufted stool, comfortable for resting your feet, especially a father’s feet after a long day spent hard at work. . . .

“Dad doesn’t put his feet up after he gets home from work,” mentioned Nathan.

“It sounds something like a footstool,” said Stacy. “Why don’t they just say ‘footstool’?”

“What time is Dad getting home tonight, anyway?” asked Nathan.

Mom plowed ahead.

. . . I fancy you may wonder how it got such a funny name. Well, when . . .

“I didn’t say it was a funny name,” explained Stacy. “I just wondered why they didn’t use the name ‘footstool.’ After all, that’s what it is, and . . . ”

Mom tried to redirect focus.

. . . when the furniture maker began making this new kind of footstool . . .

“There you go,” interjected Nathan. “They just said it was a footstool.”

“Oh, good,” replied Stacy. “But I still wonder why they didn’t just say that in the first place. Why did they call it an ottoman?”

“You are about to find out,” sighed Mother, “if you will just listen.”

. . . he called it an “ottoman” because its shape reminded him of the round hats worn by officials in the Ottoman Empire. . . .

“Sailors wear round hats too,” added Stacy.

Mom shut the book.

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education! Click on the post title to leave a comment.Teresa (Tracy) Dear

When Spitting on Mommy is OK

2011-04-21T13:21:00.004-06:00

"Say it, don't spray it" poorly translated?

Today my five-year-old and I worked on pronunciation. She had practiced writing "Nathan," her brother's name, and then writing "th" a few times to get the pair in her little brain.

"They're partners," I told her, telling her how to mark the space between the pairs of letters on the page with her left forefinger. "They have to stand together."

She's always says "sanks" instead of "thanks" and "fink" instead of "think" so we practiced a while on placing her tongue under her teeth to make the /th sound. I was a little surprised to see that if I gently held her top and bottom lip still she could still say "Nathan" perfectly. This was helpful because she wanted to use her bottom lip to say the /f sound.

I could see that she had to think about where to put her tongue. She obviously had a habit of forming it with the /s or /f sound instead. She was actually pretty excited to be rewarded with praise and clapping for something as elementary as saying a word right.

Just in case you were having similar problems at your house, I ran out of words with /th pretty quickly after "the" and "thimble." "Nathan" seemed to be an extra challenge because the /th ws in the middle of the word. (plus Nathan was getting frustrated at us saying his name so many times!) So here's a tiny list: thin, think, that, then, thumb, thank, Thanksgiving, Thursday.

My son was sent to a speech therapist a few years ago. It was through Easter Seals. She quizzed him and said he was super intelligent- of course- and actually cut a few quizzes short because he nailed them so well. Anyway, she said he needed help with /th and /r. She gave me a five-second tutorial on how to tutor him on pronouncing the words right, but I figured just saying them right myself gives me a clue.... we didn't take him in for "therapy." I'm sure there's a time and place for it, definitely. But he was young, and my husband said he said the same things at that age. So we've let it sit, and today, he came up and told this to Lily as she spit "th's" at me (literally):

"Lily, pretend you're going to bite your tongue, but at the last second, pull it back!"

Here's a great article on Teaching Pronunciation. It has a lot of links at the bottom.

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education! Click on the post title to leave a comment.Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Futility

2011-02-27T19:08:00.000-07:00

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education! Click on the post title to leave a comment.Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Homeschool Yahoo Groups

2011-02-25T18:42:00.002-07:00

I wanted to give props to my local Yahoo! group... it's called Round Rock HOME (homeschoolers offering Moms encouragement) and I have been a part of it for 2 years. Last year, 2009-2010, I went as a guest with a friend on the first night of the year- a good meeting to go to. I got the introduction/explanation all up front instead of sporadically through the year.

They do park days each week, rotating around the local parks. They have a "not back to school party" and a welcome summer/field day. They have a party on the major holidays and service projects and field trips throughout the year. This year they're organizing a camping trip too!

But the second best part of the group is the Yahoo! site itself. It's like a forum where everyone gets the messages and can respond, and all the responses are visible to everyone. Or you can look in the database and contact just the one person you need. What's great about it is that not only can we plan field trips, we can ask developmental questions, curriculum advice, share school tips, links and articles, or ask for and receive encouragement. I love to see the responses when someone cries out in frustration and gets an inbox-full of love and assistance.

The most best part is the ladies and families I have gotten to know. It's so nice to hang out with other families that work like mine! Other people that trust their own skills and their kids' abilities. Other women who have the same doubts and certainties that I do. Meeting strangers at the different functions and having so much in common that we laugh at the same jokes. We understand how each other's homes work, and so much more.

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education! Click on the post title to leave a comment.Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Microscopic Dreams!

2011-02-13T16:46:00.008-07:00

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!

Guess what!!

I've waited five grueling long years as my oldest has trekked up the grades until now she has neared fifth grade. So it was time- glorious time- to purchase... to get.... finally... the microscope!! Eee!

We got a good microscope that should last us all the way through high school biology. It has 4x, 10x, 40x, and 100x objectives and an LED light. I also got:

which I am really excited about getting into and reviewing for y'all. I also got a microslide viewer which is similar to a viewfinder toy, except has the look and shape of a microscope. You buy long slides with 6 images- photos of professional slides, usually in a theme. The one I got was basic histology for the human body- pretty much an example on the cellular level of each body organ. I'm hoping that the microslide viewer, at only $10.50, is a suitable distraction for the two little kids while we use the real one. The perk of this set is that the slides can be seen on the regular microscope.

In addition, there are nearly 50 slides to choose from, at about $8 each. I purchased 3 sets of "real" slides from Delta Science and Education. Here's a LINK to their list of slides. I got the shapes of bacteria set, the invertebrates, and the protists. Also from them I ordered "plastic depression slides." We live near a pond! So excited!

List of Rainbow Resource's microscope choices.

Here's a really helpful chart describing the differences between the microscopes Rainbow Resource sells.

(FYI, I don't get anything when you shop at Rainbow Resource. However, I love them alot and write about them with some frequency. Click HERE to read about how I wrote reviews and won cold hard Rainbow Resource cash in return, for 8 months in a row!!)

A friend of mine was so jealous/excited about my purchase that I bartered babysitting for it's use! Since her daughter was studying the Protista and Monera Kingdoms (is that the right grammar?) the slides I bought cinched the deal!

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education! Click on the post title to leave a comment. Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Prayer Request

2010-12-08T20:01:00.005-07:00

I just got an email from HSLDA with terrible awful news. The Swedish family who was on the plane to emigrate to India so they could homeschool in peace- the government took their son into custody, the mom had a nervous breakdown... remember? Well the dad has been arrested. This family really needs some serious prayer cover. Thank you. Read the article here.

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education! Click on the post title to leave a comment.Teresa (Tracy) Dear

New School Books!!

2010-11-10T20:07:00.004-07:00

Ah, hello. Dear readers, whom I have neglected. So sorry!

Guess what?

Remember I got the scholarship from the Homeschool Foundation? Well I made my order at the wonderful Rainbow Resource Center. (Did you know they have a wishlist feature? I was able to make my order really easily because I just moved my items from the wishlist to the cart. And the other thing I love is the feature that automatically adds up your total as you fill the cart. And, they always have free shipping after you hit $150- great since books weigh so much.)

So here's what we have coming to us next week!

"Fun" stuff for all of the Kids

Character Building for Families Vol. 1
10 Things Future Mathmtns & Scntsts Must Know
Choosing Your Way Through World’s Ancient Past

Building Spanish Vocabulary

For Jackson (2nd grade)

Galileo and the Stargazers CD
Cloud Book

For Claire's Science (4th grade)

Computer Basics

Electricity and Magnetism (Usb Understnd Sci)
Physics Rocks! CD and Activity Book

Simple Machines Gr. 4-6 (Machines & Motion)

Claire's History/ TX study

Texas History
All Around Texas: Regions and Resources

Our Government Rocks! CD and Activity Book
Story of the World Vol. 4 Activity Book
Story of the World Vol. 4: Modern Age
United States Government Chart

English/Grammar/Writing for everyone when we determine where they are

First Language Lessons for Well-Trained Mind L3 Teacher

Writing With Ease Level One Workbook
Writing With Ease Level Two Workbook

Writing With Ease Level Three Workbook

Isn't it great that our family was blessed in this way!

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education! Click on the post title to leave a comment.Teresa (Tracy) Dear

The Latest News

2010-10-28T14:08:00.004-06:00

So... been livin' in limbo lately, since Tropical Storm Hermine flooded our house the first week of September. Has it really been that long? We are still displaced and staying with my parents across town. We aren't planning on going back to that house for a variety of reasons, including ongoing unemployment. *sigh* The new laundry room is spacious and beautiful.

Also, sadly, we had to put down our "old man dog," our Boxer-Rhodesian Ridgeback mix, Eli. It was sad and horrible and it's hard to imagine our life resuming normal without him. It's probably been easier on all of us since we're displaced, and he was at a friend's house for 3 weeks, but there is definitely a hole in our lives. His eulogy is here, if you're interested. I was sitting at a red light and picked a piece of lint off my sleeve. I thought about finding some Eli hairs on clothes or bedding that is packed in boxes when we finally get settled... found myself welling up with tears.

I got approved for a homeschool scholarship from the Homeschool Foundation!! I filled out an application, they sent my friend a form (to be a reference), and then they sent me a check! They asked my friend if she thought it was likely that we'd continue to homeschool, if it continued to be a challenge financially. I thought that was a good question. They also sent me a scholarship for a one-year membership to the HSLDA. This weekend I am placing my order with Rainbow Resource and I should get our new books next week!!

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education! Click on the post title to leave a comment. Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Prayer Request

2010-10-05T21:53:00.002-06:00

I just got an HSLDA update that said another Swedish family has fled, this time successfully, the country in order to continue homeschooling their children. Let's pray that they can sell their home and find refuge somewhere soon.

Here's the rest of the article.

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education! Click on the post title to leave a comment.Teresa (Tracy) Dear

How a Classical Homeschool Education Prepares Students for College

2010-10-01T21:21:00.003-06:00

Thanks to Olivia for her guest post. Nothing like a first-hand account!

Homeschooling your child with a classical education has many advantages, not least of which is the joy of becoming intimately involved with your child's intellectual development. However, some parents may be concerned as to how well such an education may be preparing their child to enter and excel at an institution of higher education. Having only recently graduated from
university, and having been homeschooled myself, I can say without reservation that both the education and socialization aspects of homeschooling placed me at a much greater advantage over some of my peers. Here are a few things to consider:

1. In college, students will be asked to think critically. The primary difference between a standard high school education and a successful collegiate one is that in high school, rote memorization is the prime mode of learning, whereas in college, professors expect students to be able to think critically, to analyze, and to synthesize information. A classical education prepared me for this challenge perfectly, whereas many of my peers struggled to even put together a cohesive argument on paper.

2. In college, peer pressure is even greater than it is in high school. When I was younger, I did spend a few years in the public education system, and the struggle to "fit in" among different peer groups is a very real phenomenon, one from which I was thankfully relieved once I began homeschool. In college, however, peer pressure becomes a completely different ball game, as it were. While the influence of peers can be controlled to a certain extent with students in high school, in college the absence of parents creates a mayhem of binge drinking, drugs, and casual sex. Many of these supposed rites of passage are mere status symbols, and since many students are coming from an environment in which status-chasing was the norm, they continue
these behaviors in college. With me and a few other acquaintances of mine who were also homeschooled, the temptation wasn't even there. We had no desire to enter the college peer pressure fracas simply because we didn't care about being "cool."

3. Homeschooling fosters a seriousness and respect for knowledge that gives a higher education meaning and direction. The vast majority of students I encountered in college were there to enjoy themselves. Classes became an almost inconvenient interruption to having the supposed "time of your life." I'm convinced that having been homeschooled enabled me to develop a love of learning that carried itself into my college years. I did well in college because I was excited about learning. While just about anybody can float by in college, not learn much, and still receive that diploma, many of my friends who were not as serious about their studies now deeply regret that they wasted so much time. Classically educated students, I've seen, have a much deeper respect for knowledge acquisition, and will thus take their studies more seriously.

These are just a few advantages I noted during my college years that I believe directly stemmed from my homeschooling experience. For homeschool parents who are anxious about their children's ability to do well in college, you can rest assured that a classical education--although not very common--is a much better way to prepare students for the challenges they'll face in university and later in life.

This guest post is contributed by Olivia Coleman, who writes on the topics of online colleges and universities. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: olivia.coleman33 @gmail.com.

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education! Click on the post title to leave a comment. Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Hermine

2010-09-14T11:51:00.001-06:00

Tropical Storm Hermine: the story of the flooding of my house last week.

Tuesday morning it was already raining when we woke up... and it continued to rain all day, all night, and into the next day. The creek behind our house was full again, and the chickens were miserable. We put a tarp over their coop and went to bed. At 11:30, my husband and I put on our rainjackets and grabbed the flashlight and went in the back to see how the creek looked. So, it was still full. Racing by, but not overflowing the banks or anything. We headed to bed.

At 1 a.m. we jumped up because someone knocked on our door! There was no one there, so my husband "checked the perimeter," peeking out the windows and checking the locks. We went back to bed. I got up briefly at 1:30 a.m. because I thought the sprinklers had gone on. At 1:45 our computer speaker started making a popping noise and James got out of bed and his feet landed in about 3 inches of water. Soon it had doubled. We moved the four kids (ages 9, 7, 4, 2) and two of the dogs (the old dog sat on his chair the entire ordeal, barely noticing as we raced back and forth) to our bed. I put the kids scrapbooks up to higher shelves, and then moved paper-wrapped bags of wheat and rice to the top of the piano and kitchen table until the water started receding after 3 a.m. Then, my dad arrived from across town and we went with him to his house, where we are still staying.

Our house is one story and inside, the water got to about 6-7 inches. In the backyard, it was a raging, 5-6 foot deep river and in the front it was about a foot deep but really fast. When we looked across the street at our neighbor's dry yard and house, we wondered if we'd have to carry the kids over there if the water continued to rise. In the backyard, our 12 X 20 shed moved 60 feet, plowing over the chicken coop and smashing it against some trees. Then it landed on top of the disc-gold goal and stopped. Thankfully, the doors didn't open and it wasn't washed clean.

We went back "home" Wednesday morning to survey the damage. The force of water is so impressive! We didn't recognize the backyard. As we approached the shed, we saw the disc golf goal peeking out from underneath like the Wicked Witch of the East, but not before we found an intact egg. Six of our 8 chickens survived, looking more miserable and waterlogged than we had last seen them (envision those wet cat pictures on the internet).

We have been overwhelmed by the situation and the action of our church family and homeschool group. I made one call Wednesday morning at about 8:30 and had a steady outpouring of help and love all day. I think about 35 people personally helped us from the body of Christ. Our Real Life group (a new group that met for the first time last Wednesday) came by and served us as we met for the first time. Our homeschool group has been amazing. All our bedding, curtains and the clothes have been taken and washed. Then, so many people took all our books, framed art, scrapbooks, pictures and files to a friend's empty apartment (up 17 steps two times!) to be kept dry from the humidity. We have a lot of books and only lost a few shelves' worth. A man we didn't know, yet, Scott, vacuumed silty water from our house for about 6 hours. Another friend ran the show like a capable general all day because I was sort of useless and slow. Friday, Steve and 17- year old Tyler took all the heavy, wet carpet and padding out of the house. Saturday, men from the church came over and emptied my husband's shed and city workers and volunteers cleared debris and stripped the siding off the shed.

I can't explain really well the feeling you get when you see building debris, ruined furniture, and trash in your friend's and neighbor's front yards. To see front-end loaders dumping it in construction dumpsters parked beside familiar cars. To see police, firemen, church volunteers, disaster specialists, and neighbors asking how they can help and what they can do. Little kids pulling wagons loaded with cold water and sandwiches.

Michelle, Angie, Leslie, Shalanda, Kevin, BJ, Niesha, Nina, Carla, Karen, Jeff, Tina, Jessica, Christine, Christina, Sommer, Barie, Laura, Mike, Kevin, Chris, Blake- new friends I can't remember their names and all the kids who pitched in- its so many to thank. Just their presence, their words, their box of trash bags- they are so appreciated. It's not that it was a big or small task, but that they took the effort to do it for us. As the house has been manhandled in the name of drying it preventing mold, we have been figuring out what our plan is for the next few weeks... more later.

p.s. we're not even going to attempt school until next Monday!

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education! Click on the post title to leave a comment.Teresa (Tracy) Dear

HSLDA: Got Our Backs

2010-09-05T21:29:00.001-06:00

Texas: Education Agency Audit of Public Schools

Dear HSLDA Members and Friends:

A recent article in the Houston Chronicle has caused some alarm in the Texas homeschool community. However, HSLDA believes that the Texas Education Agency is acting in an appropriate manner in combating fraud in the public schools.

The Chronicle's article of September 2, 2010, entitled "High Number of Home-Schooled Students Leads to State Audit," is a follow-up to its March 10, 2010, article regarding possible fraud in public schools. Darren Jones of HSLDA sent out an e-lert regarding that article, clarifying some of the inaccurate statements that the Chronicle had made.

In the most recent Chronicle article, the Texas Education Agency has revealed that in an attempt to combat public-school fraud, it will be conducting an audit of students who have recently withdrawn from public middle or high schools. It appears possible that some public
schools are claiming that students who are withdrawing from their school are going to be homeschooled, when the student may simply be quitting. This means that the public school would not have to report a student as a dropout.

HSLDA fully supports the Texas Education Agency's effort to make sure that public schools are accurately reporting and to make sure that state money is not misspent. However, if you or any other homeschoolers are harassed in any way by the TEA, please let us know so that we can assist you.

Darren A. Jones
Staff Attorney

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education! Click on the post title to leave a comment.Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Back-to School Blues... Already?

2010-08-31T22:51:00.003-06:00

We have been back at it for over a week now... the first 3 or 4 days were golden and beautiful. Then we had Friday, and the weekend, and here we are, practically to hump day and sort of dragging.

We are trying to focus on good attitude and attention span. The newness of my campaign seems to have worn thin already!

Math is going well, although my fourth-grader's workbook has been MIA all week and she and I are doing drills. My kindergardener is intimidated by the ABCs for some reason so we are working on numbers. I can't believe she's practically 5! Physics is going well, but I wish that our WTM- suggested book had more explanations in it. I don't want to sound like I'm winging it! But Claire's experiment sheets are turning out beautifully.

I am also very pleased with their narration and copywork/dictation skills. I explained to my son that the chapter we read is like a movie, so he needs to condense it down into a commercial or preview. That seems to work well for him. Today they all found it utterly hilarious that the Spartans were naked in his book.

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education! Click on the post title to leave a comment.Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Day One

2010-08-23T11:36:00.003-06:00

My little girl, nearly 5, got up this morning and put on her favorite dress. Puffy sleeves, deep peacock blue, with flowers, buttons, and a bow in back. I put her hair to the side with a matching clip and she was all set for her first day of kindergarden. (sigh...)

First I told her how we use the dotted lines on the page. She wrote her first name, we talked about the lines, we wrote it again. I said we would also do our last name. I talked her through the 4 letters. You'd have thought that our last name was Knostantinoplesohn or something!

Meltdown! I was informed that only ABC's are kindergarden. That I would be getting a frowny-face on my paper. That she wasn't going to listen to me anymore, and she was DONE!

Then I listened to her route to her bedroom by the banging and crashing sounds making a trail. My son, today is second grade, ran behind her cleaning up, so that he could announce: "I cleaned up all of Lily's tantrum, can I have points for being on a team?!"

And so it goes.

We are taking the schoolwork expectations slow. We are focusing on just 3 things for 6 weeks. They are:

working as a team in the family
having a cheerful, uncomplaining attitude
practice focus and growing an attention span

I'm glad to report that both my 2nd and 4th graders (eeek!) did their copywork/ narration/ dicatation beautifully, math was stellar and tear-free, and we're breaking for lunch. We're going to return for history or science. Great start, team!

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education! Click on the post title to leave a comment.Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Someone Like Me

2010-08-19T20:36:00.002-06:00

Monday night was the first meeting of the local homeschool group for the 10-11 school year. This year I am the Secretary/Treasurer and so I have been learning the behind-the-scenes flow.

It was a joy to go to the meeting and see the familiar faces and new faces and even though I had to stand up and explain about the clubs I help run, it was a fun night. We are trying to bring the club back to it's roots- an interesting excursion since not many of us were here when it started up.

Many of us felt like we would LIKE to get to know the other moms, but never get a chance to because when we get together at a function, we're always watching the kids or helping with the craft. So I planned a coffee at my house, purely for fun, so the moms could begin creating relationships with each other. I'm excited to see how it turns out!

I was chatting with another member of the leadership team for quite a while and the most coherent thing I came up with was something like this: It's nice to go to the meetings and hear about HOW to homeschool, or about transcripts or different methods, but mainly I want to hang out with other people who share my lifestyle. I want to talk with other parents who are with their kids all day. I want to hear that other kids whine about math. I want to hear about their dishes and vacuuming schedule and what they say to their mother-in-laws who don't understand what we're doing. I like the instructional speakers at the meetings, but mostly I go to get to know the other homeschoolers!

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education! Click on the post title to leave a comment.Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Peer Age Groups

2010-08-12T21:13:00.005-06:00

Well, I have taken only a few pictures of my own kids in the past few months. However, in the past 4 days I have taken about 90 pictures of the 10 kids in my class. Tomorrow is (thankfully) my last day and this week I have been making a "photo diary" of the activites of the kid's day so their parent can "see" what they're up to each week. I feel so much for the parents of these children! As I was downloading all the pictures, my husband says, "do you just love these kids so much?" and I had to admit, no, I did enjoy them, but it wasn't for the kids that I took the pictures. It was for their parents.

Quite a few of the kids had their birthday in the past 5 weeks that I have been in their room. Many of the parents would come by for lunch or bring approved cupcakes in honor of the day. Plenty of invitations were put in the cubbies. But some of the parents couldn't or didn't get away for their child's birthday, and that made me sad. I am probably the only teacher there that worried about it.

Having worked in a preschool environment thiis summer has solidified all my thoughts about why we homeschool. I read today in some blog's comments that she homeschools not as an educational choice but as her family's lifestyle choice- a conscious choice for togetherness and unity.

One thing I noticed about the kids being grouped together by age.... abilities or lack thereof really stand out. In my house, with my kids spanning 7 years, they know that some of them can do a task and some of them are learning; that some of them are the example and some of them are the ones watching. The big ones become the teacher and helper of the younger ones.

In the classroom, they all knew that (so-n-so) was the slow one who couldn't cut or write his name or whatever. They knew that (so-n-so) was the one who always got praised for her careful cutting or her knowledge of the shapes or letters. I had to work hard to teach my students to come alongside one another and assist each other, instead of chat amongst themselves about the obvious deficiencies of their peer. They were shocked that they got stickers on their charts for simple things like saying "Good job on your cutting- you're getting better!"

I am looking forward to the next week here at home once again. I hope to spend the week reconnecting with my kids and bringing them back around to a homeschool lifestyle. How I am newly thankful for late wake-ups, slow breakfasts, and one-on-one, unrushed time with each of them. Napping together, reading books on the couch, and making lunch. Even the 15-minute cleanups are going to be refreshing, for a while at least! I have only seen my kids in little snippit visits over the past 5 weeks. A stolen moment here or there in the hall as our classes pass. A few moments under the hawkish stare of classmates when I'm on my lunchbreak. And then, of course, the tired and hungry hour after "camp" is over and we make our way home again. Tramping exhausted throught the grocery store and hurrying home to let the dogs out.

FREEDOM! THANK GOD ALMIGHTY I AM HOME AGAIN!

I wanted to say thank you to my readers... you've been great to come check back even when I've flaked out. I have to tell you, when a blogger gets comments, she feels a relationship and comes back to write more. I know some of you have issues with the comment form procedure, let me assure you that it is not by choice!! I think it might have to do with your browser, but I don't know.

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education! Click on the post title to leave a comment.Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Where I've Been

2010-08-05T01:12:00.000-06:00

... I've been working full-time at a local day care. I worked there over 10 years ago when I was engaged and a newlywed. It's nice as far as childcare centers go. It has a big focus on learning, with ABC instruction, educational concept lessons, great imagination- based toys, Spanish lessons, etc. They've put in a lot of improvements in the last 10 years- a splash park, a putt-putt course, an indoor playground, a gymnasium, a computer lab, and a special kitchen for the kids to do projects in. I called them up last month and the director told me to come on in and go through orientation, that I could have a four-year-old class for all of July. The substitute pay (pretty much sucks) is low but it's better than the $0.00 I was making at home while James is unemployed.

Plus, I could bring all four kids for FREE. The younger two would just be in the day care side, but my school-agers would be going on field trips every day. I envisioned them enjoying the field trips and new friendships, but with bonus " homeschool indoctrination" opportunities: they would hate getting up early, they would miss playing with their Legos/reading for hours on end, they would probably encounter some meanness and would have to endure institutional-style treatment (including lining up, waiting, no food choices, teachers etc).

All in all I thought it would be a nice change before our new school year started up. But oh man, it has been tough! Getting up was hard on us for the first week, but now it's not so bad. That's what I had really dreaded; the getting four kids up and out of the house clean, fed, and presentable.

But it was far worse when we showed up- my youngest two were sobbing, pulling on my clothes miserable for the first week and a half. Then my older two were sobbing at pick-up time, reporting horrible things.

And none of that includes what I was learning in my class! When my class had to rush inside from the playground so we didn't re-enact a tearful, scream-inducing meeting with my two-year-old in the hall, the four year olds wisely told me, "you gotta earn money, though."

More on this later... Some of you have commented that you miss me... well to be honest I didn't think I had any readers (by lack of comments) so I didn't feel obligated to write... glad to know someone is out there reading me!!

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education! Click on the post title to leave a comment.Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Classical Curriculum

2010-06-25T18:29:00.004-06:00

I did some work over at Classical Curriculum a bit ago and forgot to tell you about it... It also got a makeover (visually). I'm really pleased with it and hope it's navigation-friendly. Enjoy! (plus pass the URL on to your friends, and give me any suggestions for future reviews in the comments here!)

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education! Click on the post title to leave a comment.Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Balance Benders

2010-06-21T08:35:00.005-06:00

You know how you have those talks with people (who don't homeschool) about your ability (or lack thereof) to homeschool your kids? The talks where they clearly (or subtly) say that since you don't have a teacher's certificate, you surely are unable to educate your own children?

When your'e with a fellow homeschooler, you feel free to say things like "Oh, I have learned so much this year!" or "I didn't like geometry, but when I did it with my daughter, I really 'got' it." or "Why didn't I ever even hear about this in school!"

Well, I think this logic and algebraic reasoning workbook, Balance Benders, is going to be like that. I didn't get any logic training in school aside from the short introduction to the principles when in a debate class, when they explained the ways we could break down the opponent's argument. So, this book was a challenge to me.

One thing I would change if I could: I would move the section entitled "Balance Tips (Algebra Concepts)" from pages 41-42 to right after the table of contents. I attempted the first problem and felt frustrated... been a long time since Algebra! Then I found the review of concepts in the back and it was much more productive.

I'm confident that my kids will be more equipped to tackle logic problems than I am with the consistently challenging problems found in the Balance Benders workbooks. Check out their website- it is full of books that teach logic from the subject of science, reading, math skills, and also "Daily Mind Builders" and "Think-a-Minute" workbooks that get the brain going at the beginning of the day!

This was a review for MamaBuzz. In exchange for the review, I received a free copy of the Grades 2-6 workbook, a $9.99 value, from the Critical Thinking Co. I hope you found it useful!

If your household already inspires critical thinking, maybe you should enter their Critical Thinking Heroes contest.

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education! Click on the post title to leave a comment.Teresa (Tracy) Dear

God Bless John Gatto

2010-06-20T08:45:00.006-06:00

I have read quite a few books by John Taylor Gatto, former award-winning public school teacher. I'm amazed he won any awards! He was an excellent teacher, instilling curiosity and desire to learn in his students- but did it by "bending" the laws and regulations.

Here's the best paragraph from "Against School- How Public Education Cripples our Kids, and Why."

"(Alexander) Inglis breaks down the purpose - the actual purpose - of modern schooling into six basic functions, any one of which is enough to curl the hair of those innocent enough to believe the three traditional goals listed earlier:

1) The adjustive or adaptive function. Schools are to establish fixed habits of reaction to authority. This, of course, precludes critical judgment completely. It also pretty much destroys the idea that useful or interesting material should be taught, because you can't test for reflexive obedience until you know whether you can make kids learn, and do, foolish and boring things.

2) The integrating function. This might well be called "the conformity function," because its intention is to make children as alike as possible. People who conform are predictable, and this is of great use to those who wish to harness and manipulate a large labor force.

3) The diagnostic and directive function. School is meant to determine each student's proper social role. This is done by logging evidence mathematically and anecdotally on cumulative records. As in "your permanent record." Yes, you do have one.

4) The differentiating function. Once their social role has been "diagnosed," children are to be sorted by role and trained only so far as their destination in the social machine merits - and not one step further. So much for making kids their personal best.

5) The selective function. This refers not to human choice at all but to Darwin's theory of natural selection as applied to what he called "the favored races." In short, the idea is to help things along by consciously attempting to improve the breeding stock. Schools are meant to tag the unfit - with poor grades, remedial placement, and other punishments - clearly enough that their peers will accept them as inferior and effectively bar them from the reproductive sweepstakes. That's what all those little humiliations from first grade onward were intended to do: wash the dirt down the drain.

6) The propaedeutic function. The societal system implied by these rules will require an elite group of caretakers. To that end, a small fraction of the kids will quietly be taught how to manage this continuing project, how to watch over and control a population deliberately dumbed down and declawed in order that government might proceed unchallenged and corporations might never want for obedient labor.

That, unfortunately, is the purpose of mandatory public education in this country. And lest you take Inglis for an isolated crank with a rather too cynical take on the educational enterprise, you should know that he was hardly alone in championing these ideas. Conant himself, building on the ideas of Horace Mann and others, campaigned tirelessly for an American school system designed along the same lines. Men like George Peabody, who funded the cause of mandatory schooling throughout the South, surely understood that the Prussian system was useful in creating not only a harmless electorate and a servile labor force but also a virtual herd of mindless consumers. In time a great number of industrial titans came to recognize the enormous profits to be had by cultivating and tending just such a herd via public education, among them Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller."

For the rest of the article- well worth the read!! Also go to the nav bar button, above, "Resources" and read the article about the Prussian history of our PS system. More by Gatto:

Amazon.com Widgets

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education! Click on the post title to leave a comment.Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Charlotte Mason Companion

2010-06-14T20:07:00.005-06:00

I was reading A Charlotte Mason Companion: Personal Reflections on the Gentle Art of Learningtoday... I am about 50 pages into it, and I cannot put it down! It is written by a woman who just LOVES Charlotte Mason and her method- she just sings the praises of Charlotte Mason and her way of treating kids. Every time I read about CM it makes me aspire to greatness in my parenting and educating. The author shows a real fondness for CM- she even commissioned an artist to create the cover so that readers can enjoy a young and colorful CM, instead of the more prevalent charcoal drawings of an older woman. That's love!

Rather than tell you the chapter headings and try to reword things so that you can get an idea of how cool it is, I'm just going to give you a few quotes from the author, Karen Andreola, that I've enjoyed most thus far.

"Home is the place to learn about God. The Amish learn the three "R's" in their one-room schoolhouses. At home they have a different set of three "R's" --religion, respect, and responsibility."

"I agree with Queen Victoria's assertion that "'The greatest maxim of all is that children should be brought up as simply and in as domestic a way as possible, and that (not interfering with their lessons) they should be as much as possible with their parents, and learn to place the greatest confidence in them in all things.""

"When a child shows interest that he wants to know more about something, that is one sign that he is forming a relation with it. He cares about it. Compare this with the familiar question, "Do we have to know this for the test?""

"Charlotte urges us to establish a relationship with knowledge. A relationship with knowledge is like a friendship. When you are introduced to someone, you are courteous and friendly, but you don't have a meaningful relationship. To establish one often requires patience and perseverance. Unfortunately, many lessons- such as those in many textbooks- are only

introductory. "It is nice to meet you," we say, nodding to Knowledge."

"Our knitting the net of (school) subjects makes a sort of hammock; though it has holes, it will uplift and support its owner. While we knit, the children fill in the holes. By means of self-education they acquire genuine, long-lasting knowledge... It should not be "How much has our child covered?" but "How much does he care?" and "About how many things does he care?""

Hope these books (below) are helpful in getting your own CM collection started- I own the ones by Schaeffer and Sockey, myself, and think they are great!

Amazon.com Widgets

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education! Click on the post title to leave a comment.Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Wrapping Up?

2010-06-11T19:40:00.004-06:00

I've been dragging the kids to swim lessons early each morning this week, thankful each day when I turn off the alarm at 7:50 that I don't have to get up that early every day! I love the HOMEschool lifestyle.

I've been reading a ton from homeschoolers who are wrapping up their school year and already planning for next year. Ha! I like planning for next year because it's a clean slate ready to be marked on, as of yet unruined.

We have such an easy day most days, that we school all year. It may sound harder at first, but I much prefer an easier day and a steady schedule year-round, than pounding the books for a few months and then having no schedule for a few months. Man! the YMCA has been overrun by the kids out of school for the summer. The Y is full- every room, every bleacher, every lane in the pool. Yuk. I'll take a school day any day!

I've been looking back over the year as we aim to wrap up our studies this summer. Even with all the setbacks and distractions and stress (7 months unemployment, anyone else?) I would call this school year a success.

Third Grade:

I figure that most people don't know much about Chemistry before high school; I certainly didn't. So I count our study of Chemistry a success because we did a handful of experiments, learned what it even IS, and read about the exciting history/ discovery of it as a science in The Mystery of the Periodic Table.

We finished up our history course by discarding Story of the World for the moment and studying the Revolutionary War using the Liberty's Kids video series instead of a book. We read (and "translate" to modern English) the Declaration of Independence. And we're reading a great book comparing King George to George Washington next.

Amazon.com Widgets

First Grade

My son didn't open a book during his first-grade study of the Plant Kingdom, but we did plant veggie seeds, watch them sprout, transplant them, protect them from hungry bugs, encourage frog and worm habitats, and are eagerly watching flowers develop into vegetables. So that was counted successful. His study of the human body and the animal kingdom was research-based from our encyclopedias, filling out worksheets, so it was nice to get outside (and outside the box!) for the Plant Kingdom. I think we'll finish up with some classification study and call it good.

His ancient history study was more spotty- he really enjoyed listening to the Story of the World Audiobook CD while he built with Legos. Then he really enjoyed reading Gilgamesh and Hercules- they're so good that I wrote an entire post about the author, Geraldine McCaughrean. I should probably do some mapwork of the ancient world with him and call it quits.

My four-year old is writing her name, but in the wrong order. LLiY or something instead of Lily. But she's drawing people and fish and will come to me and say "what does this say?" and will show me her sheet: MILLE or MOH. She'll be very proud that she "knew" how to write Aunt Milly's name or the word moth!!

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education! Click on the post title to leave a comment.Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Christian Kids Explore Chemistry

2010-05-18T22:00:00.007-06:00

So I attended my first curriculum fair yesterday. I was mainly selling a bunch of high-school level books I got for free off Craigslist, but I managed to get away from my table a few times to speed through the other tables. I picked up four The Boxcar Childrenfor $1 and an abacus, also for $1.

I was really hoping to find a cheap copy of "Laying Down the Rails, a Charlotte Mason Handbook," but no luck there. Here's a list of all the reasons why I didn't need to buy the book I'm about to tell you about:

Claire is finishing up her 3rd grade study of Chemistry.
I was only satisfied and not deeply in love with Christian Kids Explore Earth And Space(CKEE&S). Read my review here.
A friend of mine wasn't impressed with the difficulty level of Christian Kids Explore Physics(CKEP).
I was supposed to be earning money, not spending it!

Anyway, all these logical reasons aside, at the last second before I wheeled my nearly empty suitcase of books (I only brought home 4 things- everything else sold!) out to the car, I paid $8 for... du du dooooo.... Christian Kids Explore Chemistry(CKEC)!

I have to tell you, I really like it. The next time we come to third grade Chemistry I would start out with Unit 1 of CKEC. It has 5 lessons covering:

Intro to Chemistry
Chemistry Tools
Matter
Elements (11 common)
Mixtures and Compounds

Then I would do Unit 4 of CKEC, which has 5 lessons covering:

Solids and Liquids
Gases
Gas Laws
State Change
Solutions

Then I would spend the rest of the year doing the experiments from Well-Trained Mind's suggested text, Adventures With Atoms and Molecules.

When we return to Chemistry for 7th grade, I would quickly review Units 1 and 4 and then study Units 2, 3 and 5 of CKEC, which cover "Atoms and Molecules," "The Nature of Chemistry," and "Organic Chemistry." They are technical and in-depth enough for a 7th grader and will really prepare them for high school chemistry.

I see that CKEC is written by Robert and Elizabeth Ridlon, the authors of CKEP. Their short bio in the back does not list that they are homeschoolers themselves, as is the author of CKEE&S. So that would seem to contribute to the more in-depth, technical content. They do a great job of representing the God-glorifying aspect expected in a science book entitled "Christian Kids..."

I get worried remarks from my father, a geology major, about teaching science from a Christian worldview. So in case you were wondering, here's excerpts from CKEC. The "Christian" parts are in the introductions to each new unit, for instance:

Unit 1 Intro:

"Studying chemistry, just like other sciences, is a way to appreciate creation more deeply and examine the beauty of all that God has made. The universe was created by God and is made up of matter and energy that can be studied."

Unit 3 Intro:

"Matter is part of God's creation and it is subject to certain rules. Just like God has rules for people, the Bible tells us that He has rules for all of creation. In this unit we are going to see how different chemicals behave- how they act and how they react."

Astonishingly, they do not ask the student to memorize Colossians 1: 16 and 17! A friend of mine is married to a chemist and he has it tattoed on his... actually, I don't know where on his body he has it. Maybe we'll learn in the comments? Anywho it is clearly about chemistry:

For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible... all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

So there you have it. A firsthand report of just what it means when you hear "Christian Science Curriculum."

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education! Click on the post title to leave a comment.Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Uncover Exciting History by Amy Puetz

2010-05-10T11:53:00.002-06:00

Homeschoolers really do graduate and go on to succeed in life, in case you had heard otherwise from neighbors and grandparents. Amy Puetz, author of multiple homeschool materials including today's review, Uncovering Exciting History, is living proof of this.

Uncovering Exciting History is a history book set up much like Story of the World. Written from a Christian worldview set out to glorify God, it covers American history from Christopher Columbus up to the Navajo code talkers of WWII. In addition, it includes extra chapters with short bio/stories of 4 more historical figures.

I enjoyed her book for selfish reasons. I grew up on the east coast and loved the story of the lost colony of Roanoke. Also, I was a linguist in the Air Force and until the movie "Codetalkers" came out a few years ago, not many knew of the Navajo codetalkers. Both of these stories are included.

The writing is very clear, with a high vocabulary usage and conversational questions woven through the narrative. At the end of each chapter are a half-dozen or more comprehension questions.

I thought it was very engaging and also a joy to hear the God-glorifying details in the stories.

A $16.50 value, this book was given to me for free (in the electronic version) so that I could review it for MamaBuzz. Hope it was informative!

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education! Click on the post title to leave a comment.Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Physics

2010-05-04T20:29:00.006-06:00

Physics Experiments for Children came in the mail the other day... pleasantly surprised when I looked through the table of contents. It's organized by topic:

air
water
energy and machines
heat
sound
light
magnetism and electricity

It would be easy to do a unit on each one, or try to hit all of them by doing the first experiment in each group, and then the second, etc.

Physics has been a little intimidating to many because they didn't master it themselves in school. I have been looking forward to it so that I can master the principles- I figure a fourth grade level physics will be ok! However I have been quite intimidated by the figures I come up with when I try to budget for all the gear I want to get. That's right, want. I know it's done every day with way less, but that's the rub with homeschooling- you get to look at all those gorgeous glossy catalogs.

If, like me, you're coming from a "schooled" past yourself, you can easily remember the gear and equipment you used when you were young. Of course we want the best for our kids, and we can become distracted by all that we want to give them. A one-on-one ratio is better than equipment any day! Wants vs needs and all that.

Here's my wish list of wants.

Amazon.com Widgets

Many homeschoolers enjoy Janice VanCleave's Physics for Every Kid: 101 Easy Experiments in Motion, Heat, Light, Machines, and Sound also. The one I rec'd above is recommended by SWB in WTM because it has all the topics in one book and uses generally available household items.

However, if you want to get your salivary glands pumping (but that's biology, I guess) you can click here to get Delta's (free) Science and Math catalog.

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education! Click on the post title to leave a comment.Teresa (Tracy) Dear

List of Mistakes

2010-04-29T11:47:00.001-06:00

Only occasionally online do you find a well-thought out, long and detailed Top Ten list. Well here is one of them, entitled, Top Ten Mistakes of Homeschoolers. Aimed at a Christian worldview homeschooler. Enjoy!

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education! Click on the post title to leave a comment.Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Evolving...

2010-04-19T15:04:00.003-06:00

Sold my school desk and chair sets on Craigslist this week. It shows how our schools can morph from one form to another! When I started homeschooling I was excited to buy the desks of my youth for my kids. They quickly became school-related clutter holders. My daughter watched the High School Musical movies (Go Wildcats!) and began sitting at her desk and raising her hand when she had a question. I, of course, had no intention of walking around the room checking people's work! When it became evident that our clipboards were getting much more of a workout than our schooldesks, I decided to move on.

We should embrace whatever works for our kids as they get older and not cling to only what has worked in the past. I joked to Brenda, the woman who bought the sets, that in two years when she was a "veteran" homeschooler, she may morph from "school at home" to a more casual style, like I did.

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education!
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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Slow Growth

2010-04-04T11:55:00.005-06:00

Well.

So I haven't posted in a while.

It is a time of adjustment for us; my husband is still unemployed after a two-day stint at a job last month. I have begun to do childcare again, a nice pair of siblings (two and 6 mos) who nap beautifully and are folding into our day nicely.

So I have been mentally exhausted and unable to do more than my normal mom/teacher duties and I hope you will forgive me for not posting more.

We had our seeds come up! Our little Contender beans, funny enough, develop just like the little chart says it will. Conveniently, the different little seeds came up one at a time. When I noticed the perfect succession of growth, I pulled out Jackson's science book, Exploring Creation with Botany, and turned to the page that explains germination. The kids and I collected around the seed tray and compared our seedlings to the graph. I thought it was pretty exciting at least.

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education!
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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Judge Not; or, How I Found Enlightenment at Wally-World

2010-03-22T15:11:00.004-06:00

I might start out this post relating a stereotype, but I'm going to end it with great pride in our fellow homeschoolers!

I was at Wally-World. I HATE, hate to shop there but I had a $40 gift card. It was a 3-hour ordeal involving a normal-stress level shopping trip followed by my transaction crashing, my gift card being emptied, 4 trips back and forth through the parking lot with four kids (one with a fever), re-checking out part of my order, crying to the young person helping me, and the grand finale: rear-ending another car in the parking lot. *sigh*

When I mustered up enough courage to go back, retrieve my gift card and finish my transaction (the young dude helping me left it in my re-usable grocery store bag and attached a note and the gift card) I didn't bring the kids. Good, cause my bag and the contents were gone. I had to re-shop. I did get a free replacement shopping bag. I finally got in line.

In front of me was a cart with a very big boy in the seat. He had a grown-out crew cut, holes in both his jeans' knees, and the sole was crumbling away from his sneakers. Big blue eyes and a big gap between his front teeth.

Now, I have had kids or worked with kids for a really long time. I can generally understand them even when they are using their own sounds and such. I was a linguist in the AF and I don't know if that has anything to do with it, but I think I do pretty well deciphering them. This kid, however, was so unclear I could barely answer with general responses to his questions.

At the start of every comment, he'd say this version of "'scuse" and then ask me some question about the contents of my basket or the items in the checkout aisle around us. His mom, about 30, with dirty hair and a big black sweatshirt, did that smile-thing we all do when our kids might be annoying another adult. I happened to have Reece's pieces wrapped in cellophane to look like carrots for my kid's Easter baskets. I told him they were candy carrots. His mom said something to the effect of, "no candy for you, I don't want your teeth to look like mine," and "yeah, carrots are candy, now you'll eat more."

I was trying to be super nice and engaging with the little boy, who was non-stop questions, to show mom I wasn't bothered by his talking. It being Wally-World, I fully expected her to tell him to shut up or something just for acting like a kid.

However, the more we interacted, the more I grew to respect the mom. She was patient and gentle, telling him to slow down his speech so I could understand him. Also, although she seemed a little flustered and embarrassed, she didn't tell him to stop talking to me and she answered all of his questions with me. I think the one thing he said really clearly was "$4.98" from a display of Gatorade. Wow! He wasn't even 6. Mom said she just took down a jar of money and they played with it.

Lights began to go off in my brain... and my wonderings were confirmed when she said they homeschooled. It was a joy to have my judgemental initial assessment struck down and for the kindness and patience of a fellow homeschooler revealed under deeper investigation.

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education!
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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Spring Everywhere!

2010-03-16T08:34:00.005-06:00

Well, spring has sprung- Now it is dark in the morning when we wake up. They're selling 6-inch tall tomato plants at my grocery store, which makes me feel behind- our seeds just came in the mail the other day. I feel good about the vegetables, but I am a little overwhelmed when I see the size of the patches I planned to plant for wheat and sunflowers. I found a plan for a homemade oil press online and I want to press our own oil this fall, hence the sunflowers.

Our chickies are about a month old, and they are getting bigger every day. They get more of their own character as their feathers fill out and their coloring becomes more distinctive. Man, do they drink a lot of water! It was hard to pay over $5 for two dozen eggs yesterday, when I imagined my soon-to-be-free supply of eggs.

We lost one chick as we unpacked the carrier when we brought them home, otherwise we haven't had any casualties. I'm looking forward to getting them out of the garage and into their coop. We're using an old swingset A-frame as a base. Of course, I don't plan on it being as beautiful as the one above, but that is our size/shape we're going for.

I was very ambitious and planned an entire bed of "chicken crops," or crops that will yield different grains/seeds for chicken feed, including pumpkins, chard, and radishes for them to peck. Now, when I'm always thinking self-sufficiency, if it rains, I just wonder how many gallons of water I'm not collecting!

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education!
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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Art Tips

2010-03-08T05:42:00.002-07:00

Vermeer, Girl With a Pearl Earring

We hope that a product of a whole education would be able to appreciate art- all the different kinds. Sometimes we may feel like art, both the hands-on experiences, and the appreciation instructions, may fall by the wayside when we are focused on math and writing, history mastery, character formation and instilling discipline and a work ethic.

But dabbling in art appreciation and trying out a few art projects is something that is pretty easy to work in every month or so. Here's a few ideas.

talk about the art you see in the picture books you read
point out beauty you see in advertising and everyday life
just dive in and figure out new art techniques with your kids!

Questions to ask while looking at artwork

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education!
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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Hmmm.

2010-03-06T09:01:00.000-07:00

"My son is "behind" in reading and math. I use the term "behind" loosely. I've come to realized that I'm comparing him to a standard set by who? The very system I refuse to be a part of."

-off a homeschooling Yahoo group

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education!
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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Educational Gaps; Or, Why Your Homeschooled Child Can't Do Jumping Jacks

2010-03-03T21:08:00.003-07:00

I bet you thought this was going to be a post about the things your child is missing because he's home-educated, and how he will be just fine without those things because he knows how to learn things and find answers.

NOPE!

This is about some serious educational gaps that your children may probably have; and how you won't know about it until it is too late.

Yes, one day soon you will find yourself at the first soccer practice and your son will be the only one who doesn't know how to do jumping jacks. (my son looked like a marionette getting electrocuted)

Or you will find yourself taking part in a Post Office tour, and none of the homeschooled kids will have any idea how to sit together in a group for a photo. (spread out for yards, standing down in front)

Keep a smile on! It's better to laugh and do secret training than to worry about it.

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education!
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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Early Education

2010-02-26T06:36:00.000-07:00

Check out this article on Head Start programs and government intervention for earlier education. It seems like a common vein for the article was: the kids who spent their very early years in a state preschool were angrier. To me, it seems like the kids who stayed with a parent or family member were given more loving attention, not paid caregivers.

The goal of mandatory preschool isn't to educate kids; it's to give the parents free childcare. The kids who stayed home were on equal standing academically by first grade. Let them play for a few years!

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education!
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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

My End Table

2010-02-25T06:07:00.000-07:00

So, have any of y'all noticed my new blog look? Any thoughts?

I saw online some button that said "What's on your end table?" and I thought it was a neat idea to give someone a peek into your life... so here goes:

-a whole bunch of books:

-a spiral notebook

-melatonin for my oldest

-a plastic cup of early-blooming weeds

-Badger balm for my hands (or diaper ointment in a pinch)

-my cold cup of tea

-a highliter

-box of tissues

-unused alarm clock (until James starts his new job next week!)

-the grocery store sale papers

-some pens

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education!
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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Choosing Children's Literature

2010-02-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

Whenever I am able to pass something just excellent on to you, my dear readers, I will. I was thumbing through a catalog recently and found an AMAZING article on How to Choose Children's Literature. I was floored, and re-read it right away.

I can't tell you how it has helped me focus on what to think of when I am trying to determine if a book is good enough to be bought or borrowed. What we read really, really affects our worldview. The way people and attitudes are presented mean so much. Our children really internalize what they read.

I was even thinking about printing this off to give to the grandparents! Maybe I'll just keep coming back to it. When you go to the link, scroll down a few inches- go grab a cup of coffee!

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education!
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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Act Now!

2010-02-23T23:44:00.002-07:00

In this life we cannot do great things.

We can only do small things with great love.

- Mother Teresa

Readers, please act:

Read this article: Swedish Authorities Kidnap 7-year-old Homeschooled Boy

Then cut and paste these email addresses into a new message:

sofi.rosenqvist@gotland.se,
caroline.palmqvist@gotland.se,
gunvor.allqvie@gotland.se,
kristina.djerf@gotland.se,
marika.@gotland.se

and write an intelligent and angry email to these social workers!! Pass these along on your homeschooling news lists. Imagine if it was you and your 7-year-old... do what small thing you can, okay?

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education!
Click on the post title to leave a comment.
Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Well Trained Mind from an Australian Perspective

2010-02-22T06:09:00.005-07:00

Hello dear readers! Now that I have a nice nav bar and contact info in an easy-to-find place, I've already gotten 2 emails from readers! Yay! Interaction! Looking forward to hearing from more of you!

Here is one of those emails, from a new homeschooling mother of 4, and her oldest child is in the Grammar stage. I broke it up Q/A, Q/A for you.

1. As we live in Australia, will The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home be just as applicable and useful to us? Or does it contain a lot of American content to be taught?

I think that WTM is definitely not an American course. She tries very hard to present a full range of world history. The US doesn't enter the scene until the 3rd year. All of the Literature selections are from the countries of focus, so the reading is based on Greek, African, Chinese etc.

She presents a near-extinct (though enjoying a revival) method of education. It's based on the old way of learning, that's why it's called Classical. I would confidently say it would be a good fit for any family in any country.

2. I'm an art teacher, who has taught mostly mathematics. I was wondering how these subjects fit with The Well-Trained Mind.

Math is a core subject that is taught every year. Art is focused on more in the 5th and up ages just because getting a basis for English and math is so crucial. History and Science, in the first four years, are more about wonder and awe and the big picture- whetting their appetite with stories.

3. I did not grow up valuing English. I did well in my grades, but didn't aim to excel or improve my skills in this area. I realise now how wonderful language is. I have suddenly become really passionate about learning all I can about reading and writing - and desire to be able to teach more than just the basics or standards being met in schools.

I didn't understand how cool English was until I took "Grambo" (grammar + Rambo) in the Air Force. It was a 6-week English grammar course to help us make it through our language school. Susan Wise Bauer wrote a book for parents who were publicly educated and want to be more prepared to educate their own kids, it's called The Well-Educated Mind: A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had.

If you are doing phonics and math with your oldest, I would not worry about much else. I would buy "Well Trained Mind" and read it once through, and go back and read the how-tos and the grammar stage again. She has a really reassuring and confidence-increasing manner of writing. If you could, maybe get the The Well-Educated Mind for yourself.

4. I was wondering if I should just buy [WTM] and read it before buying the workbooks? Are there specific literature requirements that I'll need to purchase. Or, is it a matter of choosing your own materials and applying the same concepts to what you use?

Concerning materials... She has extensive material recommendation lists at the end of each section. She knows we each have our own budgets. She encourages library use A LOT and buying used books. She has written the history series and grammar and writing series. The are re-usable, excellent, and thorough. They are way less expensive when you think about re-using them for each child. (For instance, a $24 workbook seems expensive for one kid. But if you use it for each kid (by having them write on a separate paper), at the end of your time with it, you have spent $6 on EACH kid. Then you might be able to sell it, so it isn't that bad after all. But imagine how much you might spend on private school or day care!

Many of the books she likes are older editions written in a time when people didn't assume kids were stupid and had to be entertained, lots of them are on Amazon for about 5 cents but then you have to ship.

Go to my classical book review site, Classical Curriculum and all the books are reviewed out and easy to sort through.

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education!
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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Modern Fable

2010-02-19T05:00:00.001-07:00

I happened across this fable by Dr. George Reavis, assistant superintendent of the Cincinnati public school system in the 1940s:

Once upon a time, the animals decided they must do something heroic to meet the problems of a “new world” so they organized a school. They had adopted an activity curriculum consisting of running, climbing, swimming, and flying. To make it easier to administer the curriculum, all the animals took all the subjects.
The duck was excellent in swimming—in fact, better than his instructor. But he made only passing grades in flying and was very poor in running. Since he was slow in running, he had to stay after school and also drop swimming in order to practice running. This was kept up until his webbed feet were badly worn and he was only average in swimming. But average was acceptable in school, so nobody worried about that—except the duck.
The rabbit started at the top of the class in running but had a nervous breakdown because of so much makeup work in swimming.
The squirrel was excellent in climbing until he developed frustration in the flying class, where his teacher made him start from the ground up instead of the treetop down. He also developed a “charlie horse” from overexertion and then got a C in climbing and D in running.
The eagle was a problem child and was disciplined severely: In the climbing class, he beat all the others to the top of the tree but insisted on using his own way to get there.
At the end of the year, an abnormal eel that could swim exceedingly well and also run, climb and fly a little had the highest average and was valedictorian.
The prairie dogs stayed out of school and fought the tax levy because the administration would not add digging and burrowing to the curriculum. They apprenticed their children to a badger and later joined the groundhogs and gophers to start a successful private school.

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education!
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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Not a Failure

2010-02-18T06:08:00.001-07:00

So, you know, if you're reading this, that we follow the Classical Method of educaiton, as outlined in Susan Wise Bauer's book, The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home. I found early after our decision to homeschool that this method appealed to me most, and we dove in.

So I have a plan. I have a goal. I have a vision. That is great, it is just the best. However, it is also a little discouraging when you know you are off the path.

Our life has been a little topsy-turvy since about November. My husband lost his job, we had all sorts of home improvements (and disasters, with the frozen pipe), the holidays, and now this year, continued unemployment.

I have to admit my discipline has been lacking. First I am overjoyed to spend extra time with my hubby. Then I am stressed about money. Back and forth. So our school has been coasting along, math and history. Throw in some Chemistry, the human body... write a paragraph. Listen to the CD instead of painstakingly reading through the book.

Sometimes I just have to call another homeschool mom and have her tell me that the kids will still turn out fine if we have a season like this.

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education!
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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

New Look!

2010-02-16T09:26:00.002-07:00

As my first year blogging comes to a close I decided to do some renovations.... what do you think?! I'm pleased. There is only one sidebar now, and all the helpful info can now be found in the navigation buttons at the top of the page! Take a look around- become a subscriber- enjoy the new look! And tell me what you think!

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education!
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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Auto-B-Good DVDs

2010-02-15T06:09:00.001-07:00

"Auto-B-Good is a five time Emmy Award winning series that can be seen on public television and all around the world. The series is based on the adventures of 9 vehicles, each with their own unique personality, who live in the City of Auto. Each episode is centered around a different Character Development Trait, such as honesty, respect, caring, fairness and many more."

I watched the episode "The Land of Odds." In it, a yellow car named Johnny thinks that being dependable means being boring. When he accidentally gets hit on the hood(head), he has a dream that he is in the Land of Odds, where nothing can be depended on. He learns that undependable does NOT equal exciting as he thought before. This is a great series on developing good character, however, they don't point back to God as being always dependable, or how/why we should become dependable when it is difficult. This DVD is aimed at 3-10 year olds. My kids, 4, 6, and 8, thought it was entertaining and fun. If you've ever seen a "Little Bear" episode, you'll know that each episode is 3 short skits- this series is the same.

At the Auto-B-Good homepage you can find an exhaustive list of good character traits that were covered in the DVDs. Under the button "Games and Fun Stuff" is a parenting tool called "Adopt a Moral Highway." It has 36 lessons for parents to do with their kids to reinforce the character traits the kids will see in the movies. However, you do not need to even watch the movie to benefit from the lesson plans. I can easily imagine a church using these activities and conversation starters. To see an example of activities for the topic "Sportsmanship" click HERE.

You may know that my husband and I are prior Air Force. I really appreciated learning about the Absent Parent Program, a thing where a deployed member of our military can watch a DVD and make notes and questions and drawings on a special DVD liner paper. The, he or she can mail it to their child and the child can watch the same DVD and see what mom or dad had to say about it. It's a way for parents who are absent from their children's everyday lives to be a little more involved. Because it isn't religious in nature, it will appeal to every parent. If you forward this information to a friend in the military, or to your chain of command (so they can know about this resource) I would love to hear about it... leave me a comment!

I received this DVD, a $7.99 value, for free from Rising Star Studios in exchange for writing a review. I hope you found it informative!

Amazon.com Widgets

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education!
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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Map Trek: Medieval World

2010-02-12T06:05:00.000-07:00

Hey! Do you use any of these history programs?

-TruthQuest History

-Story of the World

-Biblioplan for Families

-Tapestry of Grace

-Sonlight Curriculum

-Mystery of History

-My Father’s World

-Learning Adventures

-Living Books Curriculum

-Ambleside Online

-Winter Promise

Then you may be interested in this geography book by Knowledge Quest called Map Trek v2; Medieval World. (Of course, they do have v1: Ancient Times, too. Check out their website for a full listing of books.) Right now Map Trek is available in a digital format, but in a few months it will be ready to hold in your hands. The benefits of digital are easy to see- you only need to print out a map that you need. You don't have to print out the entire year if you are starting in the middle. You can print out another one as a test! You can print multiples without going back to the copy center. And you don't have another book to keep track of!

This book begins with a letter to the parents, and some quotes about learning history from such personalities as Thucydides, Demothsenes, John Buchan, Baron Tweedsmuir and Solomon. Then it explains that each lesson is broken into sections based on the Classical method:

Level A is for Grammar stage students (gr. 1-4);

Level B is for Logic stage students (gr. 5-8); and

Level C is for Rhetoric stage students (gr. 9-12).

I think this book would be a good fit for Logic and Rhetoric age The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home students. The maps that come with the activity book for each year of Story of the World are good for lesson-specific instruction for the Grammar age student. But Map Trek really adds on the tasks! It is an in-depth study of the historical blackline maps and the geographical bodies such as mountains and bodies of water.

It has a recipe for salt-dough that will dry hard and be paintable, so that your kids can see the varied landscape in person.

It has chronological lesson plans that make it easy to jump right in, even in the middle of the year. It goes from the Byzantine Empire up to the Spanish/Portuguese empires, and in between it includes Japan, South America, and Russia, African kingdoms, China and many more European conflicts. It definitely is a WORLD map trek, not just European!

I received a digital copy of Map Trek v2; Medieval World, a $14.95 value, for free through Knowledge Quest. I hope you found this review informative!

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education!
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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Love Your Heart by Tim McGraw

2010-02-10T06:00:00.001-07:00

"Daddy, I've tried things all day. maybe I don't have as many talents as I thought." Katie frowned.

"It's okay, God gave you lots of talents, Katie." Let's ask Him to help you find just the right one for the Talent Show. Whatever you choose, remember, Mom and I are your biggest fans. I love you, my little girl."

That was an excerpt from Love Your Heart, a children's book by country music artist Tim McGraw and his songwriter, Tom Douglas. Full of beautiful art by Abigail Marble, it showcases an attentive, encouraging father witnessing the unique and generous spirit of his daughter, Katie.

The little girl is in rubber boots and playing outside, cute pj's and chatting with Dad while she eats breakfast, or a frilly dress at the talent show.... always with her hair askew she radiates cuteness and youth. The art is just wonderful.

I was not expecting much from a celebrity children's book, but I was pleasantly surprised. This book has lots of elements that make it a good choice: beautiful watercolors, a present father figure, and a little girl that learns the value of selflessness. It was a nice surprise to find God in here too!

In exchange for writing this review, I received a copy of Love Your Heart, valued at $16.99, for free from Thomas Nelson.

Amazon.com Widgets

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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Biology- 1st grade

2010-02-08T06:00:00.003-07:00

We follow, as you probably know, the The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home, which means first, fifth, and ninth grade have the study of Biology as that year's science. (and can I just mention HOW EXCITED I am to get going on a microscope study in fifth grade!!) First grade Biology is an easy-going investigation of the human body, the animal kingdom, and plants.

Jackson spent last "semester," if you want to call it that, on the human body. Now we are starting our study of the animal kingdom. If you remember from WTM, this whole year is an encyclopedia-based study. Some parents find that a little overwhelming, since there isn't a laid-out plan for each day's lesson... but I like it. I let Jackson choose a body system or animal (depending on what we're studying) and then we go with it.

(Here's an example of a perfect science lesson from last year.)

(If you're intimidated by so little guidance, look here for a homeschool mom's lesson plans for every WTM year of science.)

Remember to gently direct your kids to not do all cute and cuddly animals, or not all fierce and scaly ones, as gender or preference may dictate. You definitely want them to explore what they love, but stretch them a little to also check out how strange a slug, blowfish, toucan, or swordfish can be.

I created a form for Jackson to fill out that uses the "big science words" like hibernate, omnivore, endangered, and camouflaged. When we fill it out together- circling choices or filling in the blanks, we can talk again about what the words mean. The entire right side of the page is blank so he can jot down more info. Sure, when he studies chameleons, he could just circle "four legs" but why not write "zygodactyl" on the side too? This is true for most of the answers, like circle "land" but write "tropical forests" on the side.

This form will also work for any type of resource too. It is open-ended so that pretty much any encyclopedia or reference work will have this information. I really like it.

As I printed off the form I made for Jackson's first grade study of the animal kingdom, I thought maybe some of you would appreciate it. Email me at dearmama4x (@) gmail (.) com and I'll send you the PDF. Of course, if you want to become a follower of Higher Education in exchange, that would be great. Feel free to edit it to meet your needs.

animal collage

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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Biology Book Lists

2010-02-08T05:10:00.002-07:00

Amazon.com Widgets

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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

2010-02-05T09:34:00.001-07:00

Welcome, guests from Raising Arrows!

So glad you're here! For a quick tour of Higher Education, look in my right sidebar for some of my best posts and introduction. I hope you begin to follow me or come back again!

Dirty Secrets

2010-02-04T06:08:00.001-07:00

Just so that no one feels bad and thinks that anyone has it all together... here are all my dirty little secrets.

-I host things at my house to force myself to clean up
-I don't read to my kids at bedtime
-we read at almost every meal instead of talk
-I yell at my kids
-I almost always have clean laundry on the floor
-I don't change the sheets every week
-I bathe my kids in the morning or midday, never at night
-we don't watch tv but we watch a lot of movies
-I put off cursive till later, although it is important
-I'm going to do root/prefix/suffix study instead of Latin, and
I still consider myself a Classical homeschooler!
-I forget to feed my dogs sometimes
-I love to not put my kids to bed
-I teach my kids to cook so I don't have to feed them
-I really like to nap and read instead of work
-I use disposable diapers and we're not all organic
-I don't go to the library as much as I'd like because I have fines
-the floor in my van is covered with junk and when it gets really bad,
I throw it in the trunk (ouch) till later
-um....

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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Just Texas? Prob. Not

2010-02-03T06:04:00.000-07:00

Side note: last September, President Obama appointed a "Safe Schools Czar"named Kevin Jennings -- founder of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), an organization devoted entirely to promoting homosexuality in public schools, even for kids as young as kindergarten age.

This is an email I received last week, in its entirety:

Public schools in Texas are already steeped in political correctness, but the never-ending assault on our children's minds by way of liberal indoctrination is getting even worse. A recent report from a whistle blower reveals the far left-wing agenda being pushed on our children in the guise of education.

Recently the conservative website WorldNetDaily featured a shocking report from someone in the process of applying for teaching certification in Texas. As part of the certification process, he was required to read several extremely disturbing online articles. He chose to remain anonymous for fear of being punished for speaking out, because there are radicals deeply entrenched in the Texas educational system who don't want this information to be made public.

Some of the materials that this prospective teacher was forced to read if he wanted to be certified to teach in a public school had absolutely nothing to do with education as most people understand it. Instead, their purpose was instilling in future teachers the idea that their role in kids' lives is to act as agents of "social change" in the classroom, all in the name of "multiculturalism."

Multiculturalism is one of those liberal buzzwords that are so dangerous precisely because they can mean whatever the speaker or writer wants them to mean. In the past few decades, innocuous sounding terms like "social justice" and "celebrating diversity" have become code words used to sneak a radical left wing agenda past an unsuspecting public. Extreme liberals now want to use teachers to indoctrinate our children in the name of multiculturalism.

On one of the websites that is required reading for future teachers, there's a discussion of what multiculturalism means. Even this site admits that there's no fixed meaning; but all the definitions they propose make it clear just what multiculturalism is all about-indoctrinating our kids with a radical left-wing agenda. One of their suggested definitions is "education change as part of a larger societal transformation in which we more closely explore and criticize the oppressive foundations of society and how education serves to maintain the status quo -- foundations such as white supremacy, capitalism, global socioeconomic situations, and exploitation."

This ideological jargon makes it perfectly clear what our kids will be learning if we don't put a stop to this. They'll be taught that white people are a bunch of racists; free enterprise is unjust and socialism means fairness for all; and the main reason third world nations are impoverished is because they've been exploited by greedy, oppressive Western countries. In other words, instead of being given a real education, our children will be taught the philosophy espoused by Barack Obama and his former pastor Jeremiah Wright, who famously said "white folk's greed runs a world in need." That's just the beginning. If there's one trait all left wingers share, it's their unrelenting hatred of traditional family values. The new "certification standards" that liberals want to impose on Texas teachers are no exception.

Future teachers are warned that they must not harbor any feelings of "heterosexism," and that one of their main functions as a teacher will be to eliminate this same "heterosexism" in their students. This is apparently just as important as teaching reading, writing and arithmetic, if not more so,

because schools now serve a higher purpose, which is "the transformation of society" to eliminate all forms of "prejudice" and "oppression."

Heterosexism is the radical new PC term for the belief that homosexual conduct is immoral, or in any way inferior to heterosexual behavior. It's now established liberal doctrine that homosexuality and heterosexuality are moral equivalents which should be treated exactly alike, and anyone who disagrees is guilty of "hate." Of course, traditional Americans don't view homosexuality as being on an equal plane with opposite sex attraction, and part of the teacher's job is to eradicate this "privileging" of heterosexuality in the minds of our children. The ultimate goal is the very "transformation of society", in the words of the radical left wing website future teachers are required to read.

What would a "transformed society" look like to these people? Look no further than a book published in October of last year by Sarah Schulman to see what they have in mind for us. Schulman is a lesbian activist, as well as a professor at City University of New York, College of Staten Island. She's also a Fellow at New York University, and is considered one of the leaders in the fight against "homophobia" and "heterosexism" in America. Here's what one reviewer says of her book, Ties That Bind: Familial Homophobia and Its Consequences: "In her book, Schulman offers a strategy for dealing with homophobic trauma: Homophobia should be identified as a sickness, with families court-ordered into treatment programs." To be clear, Schulman is not talking about people who physically assault homosexuals. She's talking about people who regard homosexuality as immoral. She says they're "sick" and they should be forced into "treatment" until they're "cured."

That's just one aspect of the "transformation of society" agenda Texas teachers are now expected to take part in. These social engineers want Texas schools to teach this moral insanity to our innocent children, in order to lead the next generation into their brave new world, where free enterprise is oppression, Mom and Dad are racists, America and the rest of the Western World are the cause of third world poverty, and Christianity and traditional moral values are labeled as hate.

It's imperative that we raise our voices against our schools being used to perpetrate this outrageous radical agenda. This sort of stuff is the last thing our future teachers should be reading, but some of them are being forced to if they want to become teachers. When WorldNet Daily contacted the Texas Education Agency about this, their spokesperson downplayed it, saying these new "standards" aren't statewide; Texas schools are divided into 20 Education Service Center regions, and so it's only a regional issue, as if that settled the matter.

That's not good enough. None of the Education Service Centers should be requiring prospective teacher to read through this radical left wing propaganda in order to become certified to teach. They shouldn't even be recommending this sort of material in the first place. Our children are our most precious heritage; they're not pawns to be programmed and used by liberals to accomplish their radical goals of "transforming society."

Contact Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott and demand that he put a stop to this practice of forcing prospective teachers to read these materials, no matter where in Texas it's happening:

Commissioner Robert Scott

William B. Travis Building
1701 N. Congress Avenue
Austin, Texas, 78701

Phone: 512-463-8985

Fax: (512) 463-9838

Email: commissioner@tea.state.tx.us

Sources:

www.wnd.com

www.edchange.org

www.slate.com

Sarah_Schulman

www.insidehighered.com

The Peter Morrison Report

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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Blog Empire

2010-02-02T09:50:00.002-07:00

So as I near my one-year blogging anniversary, I wonder at the point of all this. When I started all this writing, I set a goal for myself and a time limit of 18 months. I started on March 17th, so I have till September to judge if I am "a success."

I asked my husband tonight if I don't think I am "successful" then, what should I do? Stop writing? He was like, "yeah." So, he doesn't really have to think about it, but I have really enjoyed getting my thoughts in order. Twice my computer has crashed and I have gone email, Facebook, blog and internet free. Like the days when I run out of creamer and don't have any coffee, it hasn't killed me. I haven't suffered horribly and felt as if a limb was missing. No one in the blogosphere has perished without my musings. However, I know I am a writer. I don't feel like I need to be published (ie, paid) to BE a writer. It is who I am, like a woman or mother or Jesus-follower.

So how do I know how to quit? What should I judge my success or lack thereof from? Initially, I wanted to do two things:

-make enough blogging to pay my monthly internet bill ($60)

-reach people who could be impacted by what I have to say

Now, I want to feel part of a community too. Writing on my blogs has been awesome because so much of what was in my head is out. I talk a lot less!

I enjoy reading a few blogs out there, mainly ones that glorify God. Ever since I have been pining for comments, I have started leaving comments when I read. As a blogger, it's so encouraging! I have emailed a little with other bloggers.

Have you ever been having a wonderful and animated talk about a topic you love with someone who understands you- then you realize you don't know how long ago the phone cut off, and you were talking to yourself? Sometimes that's how I feel when I have so few comments. I don't want to "pressure" anyone by any means, I just don't want this to be a narcissistic endeavor focused on me me me. But I love you, man, whoever you are out there in blogland.

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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Literature Help

2010-02-02T06:11:00.000-07:00

What will you give me for my pound?
Full twenty shillings round.
What will you give me for my shilling?
Twelve pence to give I'm willing.
What will you give me for my penny?
Four farthings, just so many.

Christina Rosetti

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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Words that Rhyme with Orange by Ross King Music

2010-02-01T02:57:00.001-07:00

Words That Rhyme With Orange by Ross King came in the mail and went straight into the CD player. Sometimes when we do a 15 minute clean-up I put on some energetic music. Personally, I can get tired of listening to "heh heh heh heh ha-aa WIPEOUT! da na na na...." again and again, so it was refreshing to pop in this CD and listen to something totally new. It's obvious Ross put a lot of thought into his lyrics, and that he has spent some time with children... my favorite was "Juice Box," (which also featured an artist named Jimmy Needham). His lyrics are funny and original and they encourage kids to enjoy themselves and who they are as individuals.

As someone who has worked previously in childcare centers and a toy store, I know how annoying a lot of music aimed at children can be. This is not that kind of music. I would be glad to listen to this in the car. Even the "gross" song about not eating your boogers, called "Don't Do It" is ok because it's an important lesson for them to learn... and their giggling is so cute, it almost drowns out the word itself.

The song called "Lionmonkeybacondonkey" reminded me of Lyle Lovett's "If I Had a Boat" because it was full of long circular run-on sentences. Except "Lionmonkeybacondonkey" was way more energetic and appealing to kids, and didn't have any curse words in it.... and I really love bacon so Ross's song was really good!

Check out his site... when I was writing this post I was looking around... he's a believer and has adopted two little boys. So he rocks in my book... go buy his CD. Another cool thing, if your kid has an MP3 player or an iPod you can buy one song at a time.

I was blessed to receive a free copy of Words That Rhyme With Orange, at $12 value, for free in exchange for writing this review!

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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Black History Resources

2010-01-29T20:46:00.002-07:00

Wait about ten seconds for the list to load... nine... eight... seven... really, any second now...

Amazon.com Widgets

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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Examiner.com

2010-01-29T06:44:00.000-07:00

So, I have challenged myself to a new kind of writing- one that earns a little pocket money. Ok, I would actually spend it on gas.

I am an Examiner... the Austin Homeschooling Examiner, to be exact. It's a challenge because I can't talk in the first person, and because I have to credit all the images I use, and because I have to write about the local take on homeschooling, not homeschooling theory or curriculum.

So I only have four articles up so far, but I would love you to stop by and tell me your thoughts!

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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

best of...

2010-01-28T06:19:00.002-07:00

Every once in a while, to give myself a break (yeah, makin' all these links is so much easier than writing...) and to welcome new readers (hi!) I like to make a compilation of the best of... lately.

-My free-form poetry, Ode to Rainbow Resource

-Death by Catalog, or, what's under my coffee table.

-THE ONE WHERE SWB COMMENTED ON MY BLOG!

-How I got burned buying curriculum online

-great review (if I do say so myself) of Hercules

-child indoctrination one and two

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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Mom Brain

2010-01-27T06:20:00.000-07:00

Oh my allergies are bothering me. My soft palate is feeling shredded! My nose feels like a wind tunnel but doesn't seem stuffed up-- my throat feels raw... it means that the cedar here in Texas is high. What it really means is that it is that time of year when I sleep with my face covered with the sheet so that I don't dehydrate and die in my sleep.

ok. Sorry.

I was really, really enjoying myself tonight- I had a night out, the first of 10 more, to study Beth Moore's Bible study on the book of Daniel. It got me thinking- the first thing I said when I got home again was "It felt so good to use my brain with these women!"

I think most of the appeal was investigating new material. Diving into something that was a challenge... but I have to admit a lot of the joy was from spending the time with other like-minded adults.

It was especially fun to come home to an aromatic house (chicken) with *gasp* folded laundry on the couch, the sound of the dishwasher running, clean counters, AND a husband, in a good mood no less, regaling me with tales of the dog mess and overflowing toilet, and the part about how he had to get out the machine to clean the carpet and *gasp* dumped out the machine and -rinsed it!- all while I was gone less than three hours.

My favorite part was not putting the kids to bed.

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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

UNTITLED

2010-01-26T06:26:00.001-07:00

A poem in honor and for my dear wife, whom I certainly don't deserve (as she may or may not have already pointed out.) Tracy is a bit under the weather, so I am unconventionally assuming her duties for the evening. Enjoy, take pity or both. God Bless.

UNTITLED

From early light as the dawn creeps between my shaded drapes,

a call from yonder door:

"I don't want grapes in my hair."

Rest eludes to dusk again

as the four of you continue to

zip and zap to and fro

begin again and hungry though

you already ate five minutes ago

"Where's my phone and why is the dog wearing a dress?"

Oh sweet love!

your cry may fall upon silent ears

but it's humor finds me still wrapped in sheets

nestled snug

Gainfully productive I may not be

but grateful this gardener is

not trees and turf but minds you grow

and to be sure at least

your love does show.

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Using Yahoo! Groups

2010-01-25T08:32:00.002-07:00

An important responsibility of homeschooling is making the effort to find like-minded friends for your children to play with. Because homeschooling is centered on the family, an effort must be made to find others outside the family unit to socialize with. While the kids play, the parents get to discuss all the things that help them- upcoming events, parenting issues, educational struggles, and the stomach-bug stories.

One helpful tool for the homeschool family is the Yahoo! group. A Yahoo! group is an online forum dedicated to a certain population group. Like groups that meet together in physical locations, each one has its own strengths and weaknesses. The best way to find out if a group is a good fit is to join one!

In order to join a Yahoo! group, you submit a request to a group's moderator. Many groups ask you to mention during the request process why you would like to join. I'll use two groups I participate in for examples. For a huge group such as Austin Area Homeschoolers (AAH), the answer could be as simple as "I am hoping to meet other parents of preschoolers who plan on homeschooling." Each group has its own focus and that focus will help the moderator decide whether to allow you to join their group. For a more selective population segment like Christian boys interested in scouting activities from the Round Rock area, a better fit could be a Yahoo! group called Contenders For the Faith.

After your request to join is received and approved, you will begin getting group emails. Depending on how many members a group has and how active the group is, you may decide to change your email settings to Daily Digest, which means you will get one condensed email of all the prior day's activity.

Each group has a listing of helpful links to websites that would be helpful to the group, a member database, files with lists of clubs or recurring activities, and a calendar. Usually any group member can post events or questions or links, although some moderators choose to preview and approve each post.

With groups for almost every method homeschooling and all walks of faith, for every extra activity you are sure to find a group of people here in the Austin area that will be a good fit for your family.

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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Thankful

2010-01-21T12:00:00.001-07:00

I call this post "Thankful" or, if you prefer, "Ode to Excessive Parenthesis."

`"Why Kids Beg and What you Can DO About it."

As my ceiling gets replaced (see why here) I am trying to be thankful.

The pressure machine is blowing (argh- new!) popcorn onto my dining room and sun room ceiling. Loudly. All the furniture that usually goes in those two rooms is in the living room (all the dirty construction footprints have been trekking across my newly cleaned carpet, by the way).

Yesterday I was enjoying a sparkling home, waiting for Jackson's Contenders meeting to start. The construction crew just showed up with no call, no warning. So we had the meeting in the garage (hey- something else to be thankful for, that it was clean(ish) and (mostly) empty!). It went pretty well, I think, and they tore my ceiling out and replaced the sheet rock. Today they're finishing up, which includes mopping the floor a few times.

Which explains why I am posting so late.

I would post pictures if I knew how to load them onto this (new to me)Mac (another thing to be thankful for). Oh- and my 8 year-old Claire said that if she could, she would have Nathan's diaper rash for him. And when I was proud of that sacrificial statement, she said she'd also suffer through my allergies for me. I told her she was like Christ if she wanted to sacrifice for others.

And my Cactus Flower grabbed a towel and wiped her baby brother's eyes when he got water in them while they bathed together. Aww. And (don't tell anyone) my son had an accident and remembered to take the sheets off his bed and bring them out in the hall!

What did this same six year old do last week that stopped me in my tracks? Oh, he not only took the empty roll off of the toilet paper thing, but HE REPLACED IT WITH A NEW ROLL. You know how I knew? He put the free end under instead of over (I put it over and no one else puts new rolls on). They (all) put the new roll on the counter or the back of the tank. It was like an era was over when I found that roll on.

Speaking of ends of ages, my baby/not baby is about to outgrow the little size 5 Vans. All four of my kids have worn this one little pair of blue shoes- now what? If I bronze them it would be like bronzing my ovaries.

I'm so pleased you're reading Higher Education!

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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

This and That

2010-01-20T06:59:00.001-07:00

Here is a free e-book, which you can read online or download.

It's called "Smooth and Easy Days with Charlotte Mason"

by Sonya Shafer. 45 pages!

Totally unrelated, but very intriguing article-

about the mystery of man's past that

we can't fully understand- yet!

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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

The Busy Couple's Guide

2010-01-19T06:21:00.001-07:00

The Busy Couple's Guide to Sharing the Work and the Joy by Kathy Peel asks the question "Can a loving, understanding couple turn into monsters that devour themselves and their young?"

Although there is sort of an assumption that it's a woman who picks up this book and "gets" her husband to read it, it is pretty man-friendly. After the intro, it has nine extensive sections. The book would be easy to read on an emergency basis, say, turning straight to the Food/Menu section when your homeschool seems likes it's going to fall apart if the dinner situation doesn't get taken care of...

The sections are:

-"The Business of Doing Family"

-Time and Schedule

-Home and Property

-Menus and Meals

-Managing Relationships

-Finances

-Special Events

-Managing Yourself

-Family Team-Building

Although the topics are different, the chapters are set up in a similar way. The book is meant to be used together, as a couple- a team running a family together. In this vein, each chapter has tasks for the couple to do together to better understand where they are, and where they want to go. These tasks include "His Normal/Her Normal- Our New Normal," and "Assess your Stress." Other powerful tools in the book are questions (with answers too), letters from the man's point of view, and sidebars full of quick tips.

One topic of family responsibility that I didn't really think of was "Special Events." I hadn't realized how much time, effort and planning goes into not only holidays and birthdays, but also the logistics of thank you cards, extended family dynamics, play date's allergies, and dentist appointments.

I think this book could be a great help to couples that are willing to work together. I think it would work even better- really well as a pre-marital book to read and study together when that kind of planning and talk talk talking is expected.

I did this book review for Mama Buzz. I received a copy of The Busy Couple's Guide to Sharing the Work and the Joy for free from Tyndale House. It's valued at $16.99.

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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

ROTFL!

2010-01-18T06:26:00.000-07:00

KILLER HILARIOUS EXCELLENT ARTICLE

Read the comments- I love homeschooler comments on articles like these!

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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Love This Quote

2010-01-15T06:23:00.000-07:00

"A lot of the people who read a bestselling novel, for example, do not read much other fiction. By contrast, the audience for an obscure novel is largely composed of people who read a lot. That means the least popular books are judged by people who have the highest standards, while the most popular are judged by people who literally do not know any better. An American who read just one book this year was disproportionately likely to have read ‘The Lost Symbol’, by Dan Brown. He almost certainly liked it."

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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Charlotte Mason

2010-01-14T06:17:00.001-07:00

I like to think that we follow the Classical Education Model in terms of scope and sequence, and throw in some Charlotte Mason for fun. When I think "CM" I think of traipsing about in fields, filling notebooks with sketches and facts, and laying about on stacks of pillows, reading aloud from a wonderful book as my children nibble cheese and listen intently.

*sigh* Let me mention here that the last time my mother read my blog (that I know of) was quite a while ago when I described the disconnect between my idyllic daydreams of homeschooling and the sometimes grim reality.

So, back to the silent cheese-nibbling... the more I learn about CM the more it has in common with WTM. Whole books, lifestyle of learning and not mere fact-filling, narration... I think inside of me there is a little teacher being pulled in two directions.

-I want my kids to learn according to their ages

-I want my kids to enjoy their childhoods

-I want my kids to respect me

-I want to respect my kids as growing people

-I want my kids to know how to learn

-I want my kids to love learning

-I want my kids to work on hard things

Sometimes I just want them to stop complaining. I never once fell on the floor a sobbing heap when my teacher asked me to do a math worksheet. I never once whined insistently when told to listen to a CD in my room and then talk about it (Ok, I was never asked to do that, but I never whined insistently when told to read the chapter silently either, which is a lot less fun).

WHAT ON EARTH IS THEIR PROBLEM?

OR IS IT ME?!

Surely I don't have the crummiest kids on earth! I want to like to hang out with them- but the whining and complaining makes me want to run outside screaming!

""""""""""

Check out this great website- you can get quick emails, browse their blog, go to conferences, buy books... a good bookmark. Simply Charlotte Mason

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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Quotes of mama4x

2010-01-13T06:02:00.002-07:00

Here are a few things that get said a lot in my house-- the things my kids will probably have on their internal recording. I don't know how I feel about that, but it is what it is for this season.

"Be nice to your sister, she's going to help you decorate your apartment one day."

"Be nice to your brother, he's going to help you fix your car one day."

"If you keep making that whining noise, I will vomit."

"I don't homeschool you so I can yell at you all day."

and the latest: I heard this come out of my mouth last week and I knew it was going to be said again.

"Do you want to own a car or go to Italy one day? Then don't leave things half-done. You know how I know you are getting to be a responsible adult? You look for ways to do extra."

That one happened when I told my oldest to scrape dried play-doh off of the cover of a book. I came back later, and what did I see? A pile of play-doh crumbs beside a book. I told her to look for ways to serve others, which in this instance would include putting all those crumbs in the trash can and putting the book back on the shelf. sheesh.

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education!
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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Father's Love

2010-01-12T05:58:00.004-07:00

Well, I never claimed to be with the times, since the movie came out in September, but maybe this will be new to a few of you. We rented "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" and I enjoyed it a lot. One of the best parts was the police officer, Earl, who was madly in love with his son. His love and affection for his little son contrasted the lack of acceptance- or is it only a communication breakdown? between the main character, Flint, and his father.

"Flint grows up in a very loving family. As a kid, when one of his experiments backfires, Flint is terribly embarrassed and demoralized, but his mom prods him out of his funk by giving him encouragement and speaking of her love for him and her belief in him. Flint's dad has the same feelings deep inside, but can never seem to express them properly. So, later, it's a big deal when one of Flint's inventions ends up translating Dad's thoughts into eloquent words of love and support.

Another father in town, Earl the police officer, repeatedly expresses love for his child, as well. In fact, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs is one of those rare movies that casts dads in a very positive light, showing fathers who face intimidating difficulties to protect and aid their children." from Focus on the Family's movie review site.

My most favorite part by far was when a tidal wave of food was imminent and Earl hurled his son like a football to his wife, who totally caught him and landed hard on a sandwich raft. Earl picks the raft (and his family) over his head and runs with it over and through obstacles. His wife uses a candy-cane to bat incoming food bombs away from the family. Then, he's come to the edge of the sea and seems stuck, but the candy cane suddenly is visible and he is hooked over the top of the raft, where he begins to direct the town away from the food tidal wave.

Like they said in the review, this movie shows fathers as a positive force in a family, fighting to save their family and the island. In fact, Flint's dad tries to save the day by emailing a file to Flint's cell phone (impossible for most of our parents).

I was surprised to see in the credits that Mr. T was the voice of Earl! USA Today article about Mr. T and the movie- good for 30-somethings to read. Here is a list of other great-looking books by the same author as "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs."

Amazon.com Widgets

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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Popcorn Ceiling

2010-01-11T06:19:00.001-07:00

Oh, oh, oh. Well, I am learning to roll with the punches life hands out. It has been cold all over the country, but here in Texas we are especially stunned by the cold weather. Anywho, we had a pipe burst in not one, not two, but THREE places on Saturday morning. This included the ceiling dripping from all the light fixtures, the fan, the vent- onto the piano, carpet, computer desk, kids books, dining room table, pillow fort that my kids had made, and 3 scrapbooks that happened to be out. *sigh*

Did tell you how we found the third bust? The first two were replaced and the water was turned on. Pshew! Water shooting in a 6-foot arc across the attic. Turn it off! Turn it off!

Well, we used every bath towel, trash can, rubbermaid tote and big drink cup to catch and soak up water. Nathan (two-year old) thought it was helpful to take the smaller cups and dump them into the big bins. Then holes were cut in the ceiling, sopping wet insulation got shoved through, splattering and splashing their way into bins on the floor. The deck is covered with the mess until we haul it through the garage to be thrown away on trash day.

I peeled plastic off the floor. I swept up plaster and insulation fluff. I mopped the floor (acres, it seems) three times! I put the furniture back. I washed loads of towels. Now, I have to prepare for a school week that will be knocked off course by insurance adjusters, and all my stuff moved and covered for days by a ceiling replacement team.

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education!

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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Giveaway

2010-01-08T14:03:00.003-07:00

I just heard about a giveaway for upper-level students, for making a transcript and practicing timed tests and such... a $45 value... Click the link to go sign up!

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education!
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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

FYI

2010-01-08T12:01:00.006-07:00

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help your kids help you

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Follow this link: MEMORY TRIGGER SYSTEMS

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education!
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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Updates...

2010-01-08T06:33:00.002-07:00

Well, I have to report in on a few things: foremost, I am working out a few of my previously mentioned tech improvements trouble spots (i.e., switching from PC to Mac). Now I can zoom to the end of a line, open new windows, and sometimes properly suck-delete instead of reverse-delete. I got a tutorial from a friend on FB how to copy and paste. So things are perking up... two things more about my Apple upgrade: the laptop is an excellent lap-warmer for these cold nights. Also, the power strip for the lamps and alarm clock is under the bed, dead-center in the middle of my headboard. I plugged the cord for the laptop into it, and I thought you would like to hear that when I went to sleep so late last night, the cord was under my pillow still. As I fell asleep I hoped that the Windows XP fairy wouldn't come and steal it away.

More important than all that, I wanted to report that school is going pretty well. Attitudes are a little choppy still; but that's to be expected. I really think we've gotten a decent amount done this week, even though we took Wednesday off for Contenders prep and had a sleepover guest here today. Jackson has done 2 history lessons and today Claire did Chemistry; tomorrow I think she's going to have a history intensive.

The Contenders for the Faith blog is really hopping along; remember, it's the Christian boys scouting club a friend and I started up here in the local homeschool group.

Best of all... wait for it... my (SWB commented!) post about Writing With Ease WON FIRST PLACE at Rainbow Resource for the month of December! $40 woo-hoo!!

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education!
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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Tech Improvements

2010-01-06T23:26:00.005-07:00

Well, it's after midnight, and I'm still up trying to figure out my new (for me) iBook. My desktop crashed the other day and my hubby (Thanks!) traded someone for this.

Oooh. Part of me wonders if they really had to change everything, or is it somehow easier this way? I can't figure oI mastered how to skip to the end of the line. I can't delete something by sucking it towards me instead of backing up over it. I can't open multiple screens. Well, Spanish and Russian, and I really enjoyed Japanese and ASL, so I figure there's hope to learn this Applese.

So, like I said, it's late and the baby (now two, gotta stop calling him that) has woken up and is that grumpy kind of not sleeping not awake.

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education!

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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Dad's Job

2010-01-06T06:45:00.001-07:00

What is the role of Dad in your family's homeschool? Is he merely the one who funds it, and you run it all with his blessing? Does he teach some of the classes? Does he help you with the big picture and the emotional support? Does he know to throw down some homeschool lingo, tossing out a few phrases as he passes your coffee klatch on his way to the home office?

I asked a few homeschool dads I know to answer the question "What kind of homeschooling does your family do? What is your role in your homeschool?" Here are some of the answers:

"The best kind. We use Sonlight for everything mostly. I am cheerleader, financier, and guest speaker at times."

"Classical education? (question mark audible) Did I get the answer right?"

"We started off doing the Classical model and we're in the process of changing philosophies right now. I've filled in here and there, mainly my role is in the decision making process about what curriculum to use and praying about that. Mainly I'm an encourager, my wife does the nuts and bolts of it."

No matter what the role of the father, communication with him is essential to the smooth funtioning of your homeschool.

Here are a few ideas.

-Dad can call on his lunch time to check on the kid's progress and give any "talks" or encouragement

-Dad can reiterate to the kids that mom is investing herself in them and their future

-Dad can look over lapbooks/notebooks and check their progress as he expresses interest in the topic.

-As the kids learn typing etc. they can communicate with their father through email and sending him papers on their own.

-Mom and Dad can take a weekend or two a year, or a long "business date" during the day a few Saturdays, to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of their students, to make big-picture goals for their direction, and such.

I would love to hear how Dad is involved in your homeschool, and tips you have about keeping him up-to-date on stuff!

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education!
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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

2010-01-05T10:00:00.004-07:00

Today I'm participating in a Homeschool Carnival- I'm near the end but there are a ton of great post to look through! Here's the link!

Welcome any visitors!

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education!
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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Fatigue Busters

2010-01-05T06:32:00.005-07:00

Why post about fatigue so early in a brand-new year? So that we don't find ourselves fatigued in a few weeks!

-take a day trip totally unrelated to the topic you're studying

-take a field trip related to what you're studying

-do school in a new location- mom's bed, the deck, by CD in the car

-take a break and come back to school on a Thursday

-concentrate on one subject- do just science for a few days

-or just drop science altogether for a while!

-take a day off of school to tackle some project that's hanging over you, weighing you (and your productivity) down

Do you really have no time for a nice break? Get yourself a cup of tea or coffee, some of your favorite cookies (mine are Italian rainbow cookies or shortbread) and go read some statistics about public schools. You'll feel refreshed and ready to return to the school table.

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education!
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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Mom's Intrinsic Value

2010-01-04T06:22:00.004-07:00

Sometimes we forget who we are, who we were made to be. Yes, you LOVE being a mom, you choose to be around your kids all day, every day... but before there were kids in your life, what was there?

When you are feeling like you lost some part of yourself between the books and the record-keeping and the diapering and the sweeping, take a minute and remember that woman you were before you were a homeschool mom.

(This is related, stick with me.) My husband seems to know a million people. When I meet one, they usually look at me with a sort of surprised look. I figured it out- James told them that we have four kids. He told them I stay at home and homeschool them. Therefore, I must be a middle-aged teacher that they remember from their 1985 fifth-grade yearbook. When they see me in person and I am only a 30 year-old in decent shape with four small kids, their mind takes a moment to adjust.

Sometimes the only thing you can do to get a boost in energy is dress up to the nines and go out on the town with your husband. Remind him that you aren't just the one running the house and the school, but the one he fell in love with __ years ago!

When you remember that you used to scrapbook but you are waa-ay behind, or that you haven't sold your Mary Kay minimum yet, or your (here's mine) favorite author had a new book published and you haven't even seen the cover yet, much less read it... take a minute. Do those things for yourself!

Even if you can't get a sitter for daytime hours, take a crazy wonderful spa-worthy bubble bath when the kids are in bed. Turn on a movie they've never seen and while they're little zombies, read a new (NOT educational or homeschool oriented) book or magazine. Go for a long run.

I usually have to figure out treats at home because of childcare issues. One thing that I would love to do OUT of the house would be an early morning coffee date with my mom or my sister or another friend. Or, a late-night trip to the grocery store to get food in *silence.* What a treat that would be!

I have four kids, and a lot of my friends have less. I can still trade childcare with them, though. I watch their two kids for 4 hours and that equals 2 hours for my four kids!

If all else fails, attempt something totally foreign and new. For me, that's buying a People magazine. For you, it might be taking that free intro to Pilates class (Pee-lot-ease, it's said, just so you don't embarrass yourself like I did, saying Pie-lets).

Make sure that you begin to indoctrinate your kids now. When you attempt to recapture your inner self, make your kids repeat something like this:

"Mom is a person. Mom has her own likes. Mom needs time alone. It is in my best interest to let Mom have some time to pursue her own interests." That way, they are creating an internal recording of healthy facts to refer to when they want to come find you.

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education!
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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Oh. My. Gosh.

2010-01-01T06:09:00.002-07:00

Talk about brand loyalty- GUESS WHAT!

I mean, Guess WHO! Guess who posted a comment on my last post before it was even two hours old?! No- it was SUSAN WISE BAUER!!

So, if you were ever curious what a grown woman looks like when she's ricocheting around screeching, you should've been here yesterday morning when I saw that she left a comment on my post about her book!

Of course I left a much more dignified response than that. After I resumed a normal breathing pattern again. *sigh* I've been blogging for 9 months now and that is the kind of encouragement I need to keep going. So thank you, Susan Wise Bauer, for reading that post. Thank you for commenting. Thank you for any other reading you've done here. I think you ROCK!

I knew my dear readers would want to see it: Here it is:

Susan Wise Bauer

That's absolutely right. Further--I actually think it's ideal (as the core text states) that parent/teachers select copywork and narration from the real books that the student is reading for history, science, and literature in order to practice writing skills. (That integrates writing into the rest of the curriculum, again ideal). However, I talk to enough parents to know that many don't have the time or the confidence to do this without step-by-step instructions, thus the workbooks. (And that's also why the workbooks are separate from the core text.) Thanks for your thoughtful reactions to our material.

SWB, 7:56:16 AM

Eee! I responded:

Can I just say that the mere thought that you have read/ been reading my blog about homeschooling makes me faint of heart. Thank you so much for your input- I'm really glad you see that most parents are supremely grateful that you choose the passages for them. Like me. FEEL FREE to comment again. I am a huge fan of WTM.

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education!
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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Brand Loyalty

2009-12-31T06:11:00.004-07:00

I have a few more comments about The Complete Writer: Writing With Ease: Strong Fundamentals (by Susan Wise Bauer of WTM reknown) that I wrote about recently.

(here's the link if you missed it.)

I remember from The Well-Trained Mind this instruction (found in her "Words, Words, Words: Spelling, Grammar, Reading, and Writing" chapter, under the section "Reading"):

"We strongly feel that "reading texts" (books with snippets of stories and poems followed by comprehension exercises) turn reading into a chore. Books, even in the early grades, ought to be sources of delight and information, not exercises to be mastered. A good classical education instills a passion for books in the student. "Reading texts" mutilate real books by pulling sections out of context and presenting them as "assignments."" (p57)

Now, when I was reading about "Writing With Ease" and the accompanying workbooks, I kept reading things like:

"Copywork and narration excerpts for each lesson are included with background information provided and comprehension questions (with possible answers) that lead the child comfortably into narration.." (from Rainbow Resource)

When I purchased the book, I saw that, as described, and against her own instruction, she has taken "snippets of stories ... followed by comprehension exercises." How do I reconcile these seemingly conflicting instructions? I have told you before that I have a 'brand loyalty' to Susan Wise Bauer, so it bothered me that she seemed to have created a curriculum empire that contradicted how she instructs us to teach our kids.

So these thoughts stewed for a while and here is my conclusion:

The passage from Well-Trained Mind is referring to READING.

The instruction from Writing With Ease is referring to WRITING.

Ok, stick with me. The purpose of the reading passages in a book about writing is to get the kids to narrate the summaries to the parent aloud. Why? Let me quote again, this time from WWE:

"As the young student narrates out loud, he is practicing the first part of the writing process: putting an idea into his own words. He is practicing a new and difficult skill without having to come up with original ideas first; because his narrations are always rooted in content he's just read or heard, he can concentrate on the task of expressing himself with words."(p8)

If you recall from my earlier post, Susan thinks most teachers get the cart before the horse- they have students write and write and revise and revise. Actually, she says, the value of narration is "He is also practicing this new skill without having to worry about the second part of the writing process: putting those words down on paper."(p8)

So the questions about the passages are to help the kids be able to take information and express it in their own words. This is why she doesn't endorse kids writing essays and research papers before they can WRITE. They need to master *pre*writing skills first:

-put idea into his own words (narration)

-putting words on paper (copywork)

-visualize a written sentence in his mind (dictation)

-putting it all together

So, whew! she's not contradicting herself. Glad I don't have to stay up late nights worrying about it anymore. Here's the link to a great post about reading in general. More on the logic and rhetoric stages of writing soon.

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education!
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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Accelerated College Degrees

2009-12-30T10:11:00.002-07:00

This guest post was written by Adrienne Carlson, who regularly writes on the topic of accelerated online degrees. I like it because, again, it may appeal to my readers with high-school age students, and because Adrienne acknowledges how awesome and disciplined our kids can be!

It’s not a choice that most of us would make, but accelerated degrees are the way to go if you want to finish college in less time than it normally takes. You can finish a bachelor’s degree in as little time as two years and a master’s degree in a year or so if you take the accelerated degree route. While some people think it’s not worth the trouble or the effort to take a shortcut to a degree, there are others who find that it helps them get ahead in life sooner because they’re able to secure a job and start earning well before their counterparts have finished college. Accelerated degrees are especially useful and appropriate for certain kinds of students like homeschoolers because:

They require dedication: When you take the fast track to a degree, you have to be dedicated and determined to stay the course, no matter how difficult it is. Homeschooled students have this advantage over their counterparts who attend regular school because they are similar to online students – they set their own pace and schedule which means that they must have a certain amount of determination and dedication in order to be able to achieve success. So when homeschoolers opt for accelerated degrees, they naturally tend to ace their courses.

They require flexibility: An accelerated degree involves much more work and effort than a regular degree and you may have to vary your schedule and juggle your other priorities accordingly to allow you time to study effectively. So you must be able to adjust to frequent changes in schedule and still ensure that all your tasks are completed, something homeschoolers become adept at over the course of their school education because they balance different activities along with their education.

They require discipline: When you’re a homeschooler, you learn to study on your own after the initial years of being coached and supervised by a parent. This provides you with the foundation needed to achieve excellence in an accelerated degree where the coursework is tough and more demands are made on your time and energy. You are capable of doing your own research and managing your time well, aspects which give you an advantage when you sign up for an accelerated degree.

They allow you to make up for lost time: If you’ve lost a few years and are behind people of your age group in completing high school because you’ve been homeschooled, accelerated degrees are the best way to catch up and make up for lost time. You can complete college with your peers instead of graduating a year or two behind them.

Accelerated degrees are mostly offered online and only in certain disciplines, so if you’re interested in pursuing one, do your research well and choose to study from an accredited institution.

Adrienne welcomes your comments and questions at her email address: http://adrienne.carlson1@gmail.com .

Thanks for the guest post!

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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Stuck

2009-12-29T07:19:00.003-07:00

Oh, oh. What to say? At the end of the year our minds turn to listing- lists to do, lists of what's been done, lists of failures, lists of losses, lists of accomplishments. That's what I intended to write about this morning... but I am mainly thinking about Rainbow Resource.

For eight (or is it nine?) months now I have been submitting product reviews to their store and earning a store credit... but this month I am stumped about which book to write about. I hate to give up on the last month of the year, but, hey, it has to happen sometime! I've got to peruse my shelves today and see if anything jumps out at me.

Maybe I'll get some lists done tomorrow!

I'm so pleased you are reading Higher Education!

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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Post Holiday Slump

2009-12-28T06:33:00.001-07:00

Well, I was all ready to go to bed and I remembered that "break's over! back to the blog!"

So here I am. Aren't you glad?

We aren't actually doing school this week. But I have something important planned... getting my butt in gear. No, not a pre-New Year workout regimen... just a self-scheduling jump start. I need to be getting up and going and running my house better-more focused- so that school can go more smoothly.

I have to make deliberate choices to succeed. I have to choose what I want done in a given day, not just see what I could squeeze in before I fell over. For instance, I just today folded and put away all the laundry and matched most of the socks. Then, of course, I washed 5 loads- the biggest pile-up we can achieve in our household (TMI: my sheets, jeans load, whites, darks, mess towels/bath mats load). So I thought of something. I want to stay on top of this pile, not under it. Before, I have complained about trying to empty the sink of dirty dishes early in the morning before the kids get up, how it's too loud and just frustrating. Ah, but folding laundry IS a silent activity- one that can be done without waking anyone, and can get a huge task off my daily to do list.

Now if I can just empty the sink every night like Flylady says!

Thanks for reading-
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Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Taking a Break

2009-12-22T13:37:00.003-07:00

Spent a decent amount of time today staring at the wall. This is my husband's first Christmas since his dad died, and with unemployment and all the bills looming - not to mention the holiday driving/ family/ etc we are a little overwhelmed.

I will be back on Monday morning my dear readers. Remember the reason for the holiday- Jesus was born so that he could grow up and die for our sins.

That's why!

Thanks for reading- Click on the post title to leave a comment-
Teresa (Tracy) Dear

Buying Online

2009-12-21T06:30:00.000-07:00

We've all had to click "buy" without being certain of what we were buying- Would the program do what it claims? Would the company offer a refund? Would the layout be too busy? It's difficult to purchase materials for your child's education when you can't handle the actual book in person. Avoid these four pitfalls: "Company Error," "Parent Error," "Recommendation Error," and the last is called "Paying for Free Error."

One way to avoid the first pitfall, "Company Error," is by establishing a relationship with the company that you are considering buying from. There is a lot of trust involved when you buy a textbook or other school supply based on reviews, without handling the actual product. You can create a relationship with a company by shopping there, calling their support number, or reading a lot of customer responses. Who is writing the reviews? What is their return policy? Do they welcome questions? How in-depth are the product descriptions?

In addition to the risk of buying new curriculum is the pressure of knowing if or when you should even try a new one! Is your student struggling? Or is it simply that YOU bored? Is your student actually learning the material? Is it too remedial, or too advanced? Is it too hands-on and project oriented when you have small children underfoot or a home business?

Frequently the poor experience comes from what I call "Parent Error." For example, I became tired of the repetition found in Saxon's spiraling information method, and I wanted to do something that made math instruction more exciting and involved. I spent $75 on a Miquon Math kit because it seemed more interesting than worksheets. I discarded it the next semester and went running back to Saxon. Many times "flaws" like repetitiveness are felt more on the part of the parent, and not the student who is doing the material for the first time. Another version of Parent Error is when the parent buys projects or supplements that they themselves would have enjoyed when they were a child. The parent fails to take the interests of the child into account.

Another time I changed books I began to understand what I call the "Recommendation Error." I blindly followed the suggestion of my curriculum guide, The Well-Trained Mind, to buy Spelling Workout. This is a consumable, semester-long workbook that sells for $17 each. However, I will soon have four students in spelling, and at an annual cost of over $30 per student for one subject, it became too expensive for us. Now we use Natural Speller, an 8-year nonconsumable text. Although I highly value the opinion and suggestions of our curriculum guide, I need to keep in mind if each recommendation matches my own lifestyle. This is also true when buying based on the recommendations of friends. Do you share similar worldviews? Do you have children in similar age groups?

I learned about the "Paying for Free" error when I bought a Color Unit Study. I paid $15 for it and decided very soon after opening it that it wasn't worth it. After handling it in person, I felt like I could have given the same instruction on color wheels to my children by simply googling it. Be sure to weigh these factors in your mind the next time you find your cursor hovering over the "buy" button!

(Does this seem familiar? I rewrote this post for an online article service. Whaddaya think?)

Exception

2009-12-18T11:06:00.004-07:00

Anyone else feeling the draw of the holidays and schoolwork is faltering?! Yikes. I tell myself, half a day is better than nothing... I guess that's true if it's the exception and not the rule!

Thanks for reading- I love your comments-
Teresa (Tracy) Dear

What ABOUT Socialization?!

2009-12-16T06:32:00.000-07:00

Ok, stick with me here- let 'em load... go in order...

-In 1994, Canadian homeschool kids were found to be satisfactorily able to interact with others, ie, 'socialized.'

-In 2003, HSLDA funded a study that found the same thing.

-This year, the same Canadian kids (now adults) were surveyed- would you believe it, they were still not social morons! Read more:

"When measured against the average Canadians ages 15 to 34 years old, home-educated Canadian adults ages 15 to 34 were more socially engaged (69 percent participated in organized activities at least once per week, compared with 48 percent of the comparable population). Average income for homeschoolers also was higher, but perhaps more significantly, while 11 percent of Canadians ages 15 to 34 rely on welfare, there were no cases of government support as the primary source of income for homeschoolers. Homeschoolers also were happier; 67.3 percent described themselves as very happy, compared with 43.8 percent of the comparable population. Almost all of the homeschoolers—96 percent—thought homeschooling had prepared them well for life."

for the full article, click HERE!

Writing With Ease

2009-12-14T05:57:00.001-07:00

My new book came in the mail this weekend! And what a blessing- it came in the evening when the kids were at the YMCA for a few hours and I had the house all to myself!! I feel like I just ordered Writing With Ease from Rainbow Resource the other day, and it's already here!

Susan Wise Bauer, author of The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education, is a professor of writing and literature at the College of William and Mary in Virginia. She says:

"I read through scores of incoherent, fragmented, unpunctuated papers, written by students who graduated from well-funded high schools with small classrooms and qualified teachers."

The full title is The Complete Writer: Writing With Ease: Strong Fundamentals and it's a four-year, non-consumable writing guide for the elementary writer. I say "writer" instead of "student" because the material can be used for anyone learning to write. Bauer is so sure that this book will be an assest to older students and other poor writers that she labeled the courses "Year One" instead of "First Grade" (and so on). Since she has college students who would benefit from this kind of instruction! Older kids don't want to think they are 'as dumb as a first grader' and I'm sure they appreciate her choice of titles.

It starts with 27 pages of Bauer's calm, confidence-inspiring way of talking to you about "Understanding the Process." She starts with 3 pages of "Why Writing Programs Fail" (writing a lot instead of learning to write); then spends 11 pages breaking down her methods for each of the three classical stages (1-4th grades = grammar stage; 5-8th grades = logic stage; 9-12th grades = rhetoric stage). Especially helpful in this section are the parts entitled "what you're not doing" and "what you're still not doing." Here she comforts and reassures those who were impacted by the recent/current methods of 'learning' writing: write, revise, repeat. She says there is definitely a time and a place for both original work and research papers, just not when most students are doing them. She doesn't want us to put the cart before the horse, as they are doing in most school settings. Here, the cart is producing written work and the horse is learning to write.

The last section of "Understanding the Process" is four page-long layouts describing how each year of instruction is going to pan out. At the bottom of each layout you are directed to the page for that year's "Mastery Evaluation," so parents can determine if their student should start in that year of lessons, or the next. It was really easy to run my oldest through the evaluation and see where she stood.

Let me quote to you from Rainbow Resource's review of the next part of Writing With Ease :

"The bulk of the text provides the weekly lessons for each level (year). Each year is divided into segments with a varying number of weeks. Each of these segments starts with a detailed lesson plan for the first week; then “tweaked” plans for the rest of the segment’s weeks (i.e. use slightly longer sentences for copywork; look for sentences that contain the proper names of days of the week and months of the year). Each year concludes with a mastery evaluation. Copywork sentences and narration excerpts are provided for each of these “first weeks” but not for the remaining weeks."

So, I didn't mention yet that along with this non-consumable text goes consumable yearly workbooks. At over $20 each, though, and four children of my own to educate, I would buy one each of the workbooks and make them copy the work on their own paper. Buying one copy and sharing it is a bargain- it's better yet than either of the other options:

-buying each student their own ($100 each kid over 4 years)

-only buying the text and finding all those passages and creating your own questions and choosing a copy sentence, etc. I'm sure for me at least that I would let it slide and end up doing a lot less than I would want to.

When I considered purchasing this book, I diligently looked at each of the pages from the table of contents that the Rainbow Resource staff put online. I was really confused how week one takes up 4 pages but weeks two and three only took up 1 page. Having the book now, I see that week one is fully scripted with a chosen passage, content questions, copywork sentences, and dicatation passages. Then, you are instructed to follow that pattern for the next few weeks on your own. To complete the full course with only the text you would have to find passages yourself, a task complicated by Bauer's suggestion to find passages that have certain requirements, such as months, capitals, abbreviations, etc.

After going through the scripted, fully prepared lessons in Writing With Ease, I am convinced that I would rather spend the money on the workbooks than look for the passages myself. How does the saying go? "You have time and money. If you have more time than money, make it. If you have more money than time, buy it."

Bedtime

2009-12-12T10:43:00.004-07:00

This is totally, completely, wonderfully hilarious. Putting four kids to bed at my house is like playing whack-a-mole, I always say. This guy's name is David Lewis Crawford, father of 2, living in Georgia. He has 2 other awesome videos on YouTube called "Spoiled Bumblebee" and "Walking Daddy."

Trying New Things

2009-12-10T05:48:00.001-07:00

So, is anyone excited about trying a new book or method or curriculum? I decided to get Writing With Easeby the author of The Well-Trained Mind, Susan Wise Bauer.

I looked at the reviews and inside the book (digitally,actually, which only includes the table of contents, and a sample page or two), but I haven't actually handled a copy. I trust Susan (like I know her!- this is what they mean by brand imprinting!) so I decided to go ahead and purchase it anyway. It is a non-consumable, 4-year guide for the elementary (or in classical lingo, Grammar) age group. Each of the grade levels has a corresponding workbook, too, but I only got the text. So we'll see!

There is a lot of trust involved when you buy based on reviews, or buy without handling the actual product. In addition is the pressure of knowing if or when you should change curriculum and try a new one. Is your student struggling? Are YOU bored? Are they actually learning the material? Is it too remedial, or too advanced? Is it too hands-on and project oriented when you have small children underfoot or a home business?

I have to say after a few years of Saxon, I was tired of the repetition and wanted to do something that made math time more exciting and involved. I tried Miquon Math because math seemed so boring and I wanted to do some drills that were more interesting than worksheets, so I purchased a lot of math games to spice things up. I discarded it the next semester and went running back to Saxon. Any drawback to Saxon's repetitiveness is felt more on the part of the parent, and not the student who is doing the material for the first time.

Another time when I changed books was when we followed The Well-Trained Mind suggestion to buy Spelling Workout. (You can read the entire post about this HERE.) The gist of it is, with more than one student it became too expensive for us. Now we use Natural Speller, an 8-year non-consumable text.

One time I felt burned by buying without handling was when I bought Color Adventure! Unit Study by Kym Wright, a homeschool mom. I paid $15 for it and decided it wasn't worth it... it had at least 6 pages of ads at the end for her other products and I felt like I could've gotten the same instruction on color wheels by googling it.

Are any of you trying something new, and either loving or hating it? Anyone been burned by buying something without handling it? I can't wait to tell you about how Writing With Easeturns out!

Good Book, Bad Book

2009-12-09T05:59:00.001-07:00

I wanted to let any new readers have a look at a post from April of this year entitled "What are they reading?" It's a good one to review as you try to figure out what to get all the nieces and nephews and cousins for Christmas.

I wanted to encourage all the kids to read! Not only to read, but to read quality books that stretch their skills and encourage learning- in a really adventurous, fun way, where your child gets swept away in the story of an exciting and new tale.

I was looking at a book from a series aimed at second-graders, called "Junie B. Jones." It has sentences starting with conjunctions all over the place! It has fragments on every page! It has adjectives like "bestest." It frequently says "me and her" etc. It says dumb, stupid, darn it, meanie, what the heck, etc. which I personally think should not be encouraged in second-graders.

On a whim I looked up classical literature for this age group. It had rough breakdowns of classical literature by grade level. One example was Velveteen Rabbitby Margery Williams. The first five sentences in The Velveteen Rabbit had an average of 29.2 words in each sentence. The first five sentences of Junie B. Jones and her Big Fat Mouth had an average of 5.4 words per sentence.

An example of one of the more complex sentences which I found in JBJ & her Big Fat Mouth was "Eating things that you find on the ground is very, very dangerous." I gave it another try and found "That's because I had tingling excitement in me about Job Day." (In addition, I found the first sentence to the Pledge of Allegiance, but I didn't think it was fair to count it, as it wasn't written by the author. In a side note, Junie's reaction to the Pledge was : "Except I don't know what that dumb story is even talking about." Uh!!)

Look how this sentence from Velveteen Rabbit teaches the meaning of the word 'superior:'

"The mechanical toys were very superior, and looked down upon every one else; they were full of modern ideas, and pretended they were real."

I must admit that JBJ is so full of incorrect grammar and simple sentences because it is written from the point of view of a first-grader, who would actually speak like that (unfortunately) and have simple interactions. However, there are quite a few older books, written in a different time, from the point of view of a five-year-old(Heidi, Little House series) They are much preferred to modern books written for our young people. Charlotte Mason emphasized very strongly the use of "whole books" instead of readers. In public schools today, segments of books are printed in textbooks with summary questions at the end. The publisher chops the most exciting or pertinent portions of a work out, puts it in the textbook, and asks directed questions which can be answered by that portion. Then we wonder later why kids can't dig through a whole book and find themes when it is not spelled out to them!

I encourage you to challenge your child's reading level by not feeding them Goosebumps or Sweet Valley High, Babysitter's Club, or such books. Always read what is a little difficult, not playground conversation in written form. When I was in middle school I really enjoyed the Sackett seriesby Louis L'Amour. A few of them are written from the point of view of a young girl. They give excellent images of early backwoods Eastern America. They encourage determination, hard work, overcoming obstacles, honesty, trustworthiness, gumption, and a host of other excellent qualities.

Rainbow Resource

2009-12-07T06:26:00.001-07:00

Well, I was sure that my Hercules review was going to get first place, but I'm not going to turn away the $10 third place award! That makes it 8 months in a row that I've earned something for a review there!!!

I wanted to tell you that right now at Rainbow Resource, any order over $25 is going to get free shipping, and there isn't any code or anything to type in! Yay! Usually the order has to be at least $150 to get free shipping.

Also, they are offering a new 'curriculum pack' for K-8th graders, with some options and upgrades. Wow! Better all the time. And they're on Facebook too.

Contenders Meeting

2009-12-03T05:56:00.003-07:00

Cutting and stripping insulated wire

So, our second ever Contenders meeting went well! Today's topic was hand tools. We set up stations, and the boys (today we had 10, I think) rotated through each one.

1. Living room: pull nails out of a 2X4 with the claw end of the hammer, and then pound them back into the hole.

2. Sun room: cut a length of insulated wire and strip it, using pliers and wire strippers.

3. Dining room: match sockets with the right socket wrench, match wrenches with the right bolt.

4. Kitchen floor: use screwdrivers to take the bottom off of my vacuum and then (please) put it back on.

Then eat cookies while you listen to the virtue of the meetimg: Proverbs 25:28, Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.

The boys stayed busy, no pounded thumbs, and they rotated stations well. All in all, I thought it was a success because the siblings were happy under Claire's 'daycare' and the moms got in some decent converstation.

Scouting

2009-12-02T06:13:00.002-07:00

There are a lot of programs out there for kids who want to be crafty, outdoorsy, make friends, and become more self-confident.

Boy Scouts

Campfire Boys and Girls

Awana

American Heritage Girls

I didn't want to sign my oldest up for Girl Scouts because I learned of their relationship with Planned Parenth00d. STOPP is an informative website that tells you more about this.

I recently learned about Keepers of the Faith and Contenders for the Faith. Contenders is sort of the extra, add-on for Keepers, so they don't even have a website. UNTIL NOW! I took it upon myself to start a informational site for them.

Here it is! Contenders! Woo-hoo!

Today is our second meeting. We are learning about hand tools. Last time we didn't know how many to expect, and we were floored at the response- I think we had about a dozen families! I'll let you know how it goes.