Blog Carnival: Summer Isn’t Over Yet

Welcome to the August 9, 2011 edition of Carnival of Homeschooling. Although a few of you are ready to
jump back into school or have already done so, others seem to be stretching those happy summer moments for as long as possible.

I suggest that you pour a frosty glass of lemonade, find a cool spot, and enjoy the delightful posts that have been submitted.

Summer fun isn’t over yet

Not quite ready for “regular school?” Tiana Krenz shares a delightful idea in Plan a Vacation, Learn Geography (Awesome FREE project!) posted at God Made Home Grown - Tiana Krenz.

Nikki Olivier invites you to journey along on an interesting family outing in I can officially call them kids! posted at Our Journey in Him, commenting, “spending time together as a family out in nature….there’s so much to learn!”

AnnieKate shares beautiful photos along with many great reasons why a garden can be a wonderful addition to homeschooling at The Gardening Homeschooler posted at Tea Time with Annie Kate.

Can you tell the difference between a plant and a weed? How about in your children’s lives? Joan Girkins presents ~Thoughts from My Garden~ (Part 4) posted at I Love Truth!.

Is it learning or is it just plain fun? Lisa Nehring offers a bit of both Summer School Shop Class posted at Golden Grasses.

Tasty treats from the garden.

In her evocative post, “Degrees of Separation” or “Your Child’s Future Sanity” posted at Sage Parnassus, Nancy reminds us to make time to touch, taste, and smell the reality around us.

Robin Phillips offers nine creative ways to connect real experiences with real learning in How To Homeschool At the Zoo: A Mini Unit Study - Crack the Egg posted at Crack the Egg Blog.

Preparing to take the plunge

Adam Faughn shared Homeschool week #3: Some of Our Preparation Steps posted at The Faughn Family of Four, saying, “We started our first week of home schooling this week, and this post shares some of the memorable steps we took to prepare for this change in our life.”

It’s awfully hard to homeschool in chaos, and it’s really not necessary when you have a built-in team of helpers. Carol J. Alexander talks about how to make it work in Getting Your Kids to Do Chores posted at Everything Home with Carol.

In This Year’s Homeschool Curriculum at her blog, MrsMamaHen.com, Conni Smith shared a rundown of the core subject curriculum her family will be using this year.

The longer you homeschool, the more likely it is that you’ll forget what you’ve taught to which child. If you do, it’s easily remedied. Elena LaVictoire presents helpful tips on Making sure they get it all covered academically and otherwise! posted at My Domestic Church.

The veterans offer tips

Is it ever too early to start reading to your child? Read Aloud … Dad presents When To Start Reading Aloud To a Child? posted at Read Aloud Dad.

It's never too early to start reading to your child.

Denise shares a great visual tool in Do You Mix Up These Words? posted at Blogging 2 Learn.

Billy Hart presents Danbury Baptist Association to Thomas Jefferson, Separation of Church and State posted at HistoricWords | American History | Founding Fathers | Politics | Faith | Quotes, saying, “The Danbury Baptist Association wrote this letter to Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson‚Äôs reply is where the phrase Separation of Church and State comes from. The Danbury Baptist Association said, ‚ÄúThe legitimate power of civil government extends no further than to punish the man who works ill to his neighbor.‚Äù”

Denise presents The (Mathematical) Trouble with Pizza posted at Let’s Play Math!, saying, “My daughter thinks her way through a challenging middle-school math problem.”

Laura O muses about learning a foreign language as a high school homeschooler.Tackle a foreign language? Which one? posted at Day By Day in Our World.

What’s it like to be the graduate of a Charlotte Mason education? Kaley Struble shares what she’s learned in Starting in the Right Direction on the ChildLightUSA blog.

Kaye Swain shared Bible Memory Verses Fun-Teaching The Ten Commandments to Our Children & Grandchildren-1 | SandwichINK for the Sandwich Generation posted at SandwichINK.com, saying, “The 10 Commandment Bible memory verses for children and grand kids was a fun summer project for my grandkids and me, but it’s also great for a homeschooling project any time in the year.”

HomeGrownKids presents Through the Bible overview (Week 1-4) posted at Kerugma, saying, “Kerugma Family Bible reading guide for use with young children. This guide is a no-fuss, easy to implement, overview of the Bible for the whole family. Preschool to highschool, homeschool, family bible reading.”

Technology might make it easier . . .

Does technology have something valuable to contribute?

Merit K presents Back to School with Tech? posted at Mission Possible!, saying, “Modern technology has some drawbacks and dangers, but there are ways to make technology work for us as parents and educators too!”

Angela Gray presents On Digital Media in Education - Team Gray! posted at team Gray!, saying, “While public education has come to mean crowd control and classroom management, digital media could mark the return of true learning–if the teachers would just get out of the way.”

Henry shares some thoughts about the nature of education and the benefit of homeschooling in Can education be automated? Should it? on Why Homeschool.

Heartfelt reminders

Trisha Poff reminds us of the importance of taking the time to give good words to those we love in Letters Never Written posted at A Multitude of Mercies.

Remember to take time for things that matter . . .

Are you at a difficult place in life? Learn more about Homeschooling Through Sicknesses, Pregnancies and Other Distressing Times at Beyond The Silver and The Gold - A Filipino Family’s Homeschool Journey.

If you’re in the early years of homeschooling, and juggling many children of different ages, don’t worry–it won’t always be this hard. Nebby offers encouragement in Homeschooling: Some Parts Get Easier posted at Letters from Nebby.

My contribution for this carnival will be the Of Daffodils and Diesels Revisited post from the archive. It was hard to choose– there are articles on everything from literature to caregiving to learning styles to homeschooling boys– but Daffodils and Diesels is especially worth reading at the beginning of a school year. It’s important to teach the student we have, rather than teaching a particular curriculum. Enjoy!

That’s all for now. I hope you enjoyed the carnival!

Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of homeschooling using the official carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on the blog carnival index page.

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Set Priorities for the New Year

I love the beginning of a new year. I like it so much that I’ve even designated a secondary “new year” in June so that I can begin afresh at least twice a year! Here’s how you can make your personal New Year a time of renewal and refreshment.

Look Back, Look Forward

vermeer_-the_milkmaid-sm As you think through the following questions, you may want to journal your answers. If you’re a perfectionist, please don’t get stalled in finding the perfect journaling notebook and the right color pen before you can get started (and don’t ask how I know that this can be a hang-up!). You may even want to blog about some of the answers (if you do, please leave a comment and link in the comment section, so that other readers can find you). Don’t feel that you have to write a lot, but try to answer all the questions.

What were the biggest blessings of the past year?
What were the most difficult challenges?
When you look back at the previous year (or six months), how do you feel about it?
How do you think your family feels about it? If you’re not sure, you may need to ask.
Were you able to stay focused on the priorities you set at the beginning of the year? If so, how did you do it? If not, what changed or went wrong?
What outside activities is your family doing, and do any of them need to be pruned so that you can refocus on priorities?
Are you including time alone each week to refresh your mind and spirit and renew your focus?
Are you conscious each day of trying to create a home atmosphere that encourages love and learning? If not, how can you keep this in mind?
What small things can you incorporate in your daily routine to express love to your husband and to each of your children?
Are you carrying a burden of anger or an unforgiving spirit? Releasing it will free you to focus and grow (the only attitude you can change is your own).
What are your top three priorities for the coming year (six months)? How do these fit with your season of life and your long-term goals?
What other priorities do you need to consider?

Three Priorities

Carnival of Homeschooling: Making Time for Things That Matter- 2011 Planning

Are you ready for 2011? For the last Carnival of Homeschooling for 2010, we have a loose collection of posts under the general topic of Making Time for Things that Matter. I find that the beginning of a new year is a good time to reflect on the year just past and think ahead to what we’d like to see happen in the new year. At the very least, it’s a good time to count blessings!

The post I’d like to share from my Taking Time for Things that Matter blog is from earlier this month, and it’s called Plan to Live Life on Purpose. It followed an article on Impact: Making Time for Things that Matter, which you may also find helpful.

In Weed It And Reap, Nancy offers encouragement for homeschool moms who are just beginning or are feeling overwhelmed at Sage Parnassus, a blog with a focus on books, education, and encouragement in the Charlotte Mason tradition.

Jill has shared Binding Books Beautifully ~ Motivating Reluctant Writers at Sweet Diva. Learn how to motivate reluctant writers (and encourage eager writers) with a hands-on book making project!

In My Arms Were Too Short to Box with God, Letty Brown offers a very personal look at her journey into homeschooling at The Bold and the Fabulous. Read more

Can You Help Me Decide? Cover Options for the Planner

I’ve been trying to choose art for the cover of the Making Time for Things that Matter Life Planner, and am having a hard time making a decision– I like each of the paintings! I want to start with one cover, but perhaps offer other options in the future for those who want to have a different cover for each year’s planner.

Beyond the cover, I’d appreciate comments about what you’d like to see in the perfect planner, too. I’m including everything I’ve always wanted in a planning calendar, and we may as well make it comprehensive! So far I’ve included week- and month-at-a-glance pages, space for mapping your mission and goals for the coming year, project tracking and accountability, to-do and shopping list spaces, a day-map planning page, birthday and contact pages, space for packing and favorite meal lists, space for a “What We’re Learning This Year” overview, an emergency list, Grandma Ellen’s Housekeeping Schedule, and a bit more.

The current cover options are below in rough draft form. Please leave a comment to let me know which, if any, you prefer. As you can see, I enjoy featuring lesser-known works of classic artists, though I may add photographic covers someday as well.

Berry Picking Children a Summer Day by Gerda Wallander, 1905

Children of the Sea by Jozef Israëls- 1872

Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose by John Singer Sargent, 1885-1886

Carnival of Homeschooling: The Beach Reading Edition

The homeschool carnival makes great beach reading.

I’m delighted to host the June 22, 2010 edition of Carnival of Homeschooling! It may be summer, but homeschoolers never stop thinking and learning. To celebrate the season, let’s imagine that we’re at a lovely beach with waves breaking, a gentle breeze blowing, and palm trees rustling. Now…. relax and read while your dear children build sand castles!

Carnival of Homeschooling- The NaNoWriMo Edition

Preface

Don't miss our Thanksgiving Sale!

Welcome to this hundred-and-umpteenth Carnival of Homeschooling! Because November is National Novel Writing Month (also known as NaNoWriMo or nano), and I’m over 10,000 words into the writing process (and can’t think of anything but writing, writing, and more writing), I thought it would be appropriate to format this Carnival as sections of a book. I even consulted the Chicago Manual of Style for an authoritative list of book parts!

Introduction

For me, homeschooling is first and foremost a heart matter. In Mangled Schedules and Grateful Hearts, an article I wrote for Home School Enrichment magazine, you can read how a father’s presence and influence can shape a family school. Enjoy! Read more

The Perfect Cure for Summer Boredom

Don’t forget to use the Convention Season Specials by July 12!

It’s summertime, and a few days after you put away the schoolbooks, you may hear the dreaded complaint, “I’m bored.” It’s a complaint I always welcomed, because I had found the perfect answer. However, let’s look first at the history of boredom.

Next time one of your children complains about being bored, or you wonder why you have to do the same task over and over again, consider this: You may be bored, but did you know that the very word itself wasn’t even invented until after 1750? Now that’s an interesting fact to keep your boredom at bay!

Think about it: If people were bored back in the 1700s, they had no clue. They might have felt it, but they hadn’t come up with the word to describe it yet, according to Patricia M. Spacks, the author of Boredom: The Literary History of a State of Mind. But once the concept had a name, it became universal. Children soon pointed it out. Researchers blame it for a number of society’s ills, including drug addiction. Even entertainment is seen as boring, because there’s so much of it to go around. The bottom line, according to Spacks, is that there’s no cure for boredom. You just have to accept it, and know there will be a change for the better soon enough.

The late poet Joseph Brodksy had this depressing thought to offer in a 1989 college commencement: “When hit by boredom, let yourself be crushed by it; submerge, hit bottom,” he said. “The sooner you hit bottom, the faster you surface.” According to some experts, the real trick is to simply get used to monotony. It’s a part of life, even among exciting people. They suggest that you try to experience things in new ways, and not mistakenly assume that only new things are interesting.

That’s all very well, but my perfect cure for the complaint of boredom was to cheerfully say, “Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that! Here’s a little project you can do” while handing them the tools for accomplishing a chore from the day’s to-do list. My boys learned very early that it was much more fun to choose an activity from the Summer Fun List (a list of good books to read, art projects to try, things to build, games to play, etc.). The key was that once the word “bored” was uttered, there was no taking it back, and the suggested chore had to be completed. Trust me, this works like a charm!

If you feel a little guilty for requiring your children to entertain themselves, or worse, you suffer a bit from the inability to keep yourself happily occupied, I assure you that banishing boredom is a noble goal. Consider these quotes:

“Many hours of solitary occupation and enjoyment, will lead to the development of the highest intellectual and moral traits of character; in fact, his mental resources may be considered entirely unknown and unexplored, who cannot spend his best and happiest hours alone.” (Jacob Abbott, c. 1850)

“Shakespeare, Leonardo da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin, and Abraham Lincoln never saw a movie, heard a radio, or looked at television. They had loneliness and knew what to do with it. They were not afraid of being lonely because they knew that was when the creative mood in them would work.” (Carl Sandburg)

All creative people know that there’s really no such thing as boredom– it’s just a feeling of dissatisfaction that, if properly channeled, can lead to great work. Don’t be tempted to respond to complaints of boredom by rushing about, providing distractions. Let your children learn how to constructively use time, and they’ll never have to be bored again.

Streamline Your Life with Habits

Charlotte Mason believed that a habit is “ten natures,” and she was right. Habits can make life smoother by automating repetitive tasks. By simply thinking through the things you do each day, and figuring out how to do them most efficiently, you can make time in your life for more interesting and rewarding pursuits. How can habits make your life easier? Here are some of the ways I’ve found:

Habit: Making a daily habit of reading and meditation can help you become more focused on the important things in life.

Habit: Plan lessons once month or once a semester, rather than once a week or on the fly.

Result: When you plan many lessons at once, you will be deeply enough involved to see the big picture and can create a well-balanced, creative course of study, rather than slapping together the basics at the last minute. Read more

What Should You Buy at the Homeschool Convention?

Will you be going to a homeschool conference this summer? If you’re teaching your children at home, I highly recommend taking the time to do this– it will be a source of education and encouragement that can keep you inspired for the entire year (if you bring home the right things). Investing in “mommy education and inspiration” is one of the very best things you can do for your children.

What are the top five things you need to provide an excellent education?

A vision for what you want to accomplish
A plan for moving toward the goal
The best resources available
Wise counsel
Supportive family and friends

Do you have all these ingredients? If not, a trip to a homeschool convention can help. If you can’t make it to a physical convention, a virtual convention such as the Ultimate Home School Expo is a good alternative. Of course, you won’t be able to purchase the supportive family and friends, but by sharing what you learn, you may be able to inspire them with a vision for the future that will help them move forward as well. Read more

Seven Things to Know Before You Begin Homeschooling

I wrote this post last week, after speaking at Cindy Rushton’s Talk-a-Latte on What I Wish I Had Known. Unfortunately, due to the migration of our server, the post disappeared when I hit ’save,’ and I didn’t have time to recreate it. Let’s try this one again!

1- Know where you are going before you gain momentum. (Once you’ve gained momentum, it’s hard to change direction!)

In Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, he points out that you must begin with the end in mind in order to be sure you’re on the right track. Plan your homeschooling path by envisioning where you want your family to be in 5, 10, 20 years, then work backward to decide on the steps you need to take to reach that goal.

Just as a map helps you reach a travel destination, a clear vision of the family life you desire (you can describe your goals in a family mission statement) can make time and money management choices much easier. Our family mission statement included the goal of creating “a loving, serene, creative environment that encourages personal and spiritual growth as part of a warm, nurturing family.” That helped us to be thankful, rather than unhappy, when circumstances and finances combined to give us more time at home than we anticipated. Read more