What was I thinking - Homeschooling?

Socialization - is public school better?

2009-04-09T16:02:00.003-06:00

I had a dear friend say that she was considering homeschooling and asked for input. I had to give her my two cents (actually it's probably more like a buck's worth). Other friends told her Public school was better because of the age old - socialization question...Here is my response:

Socialization…the most brought up issue having to do with homeschool. A friend of mine (who homeschools) made one comment that made me truly contemplate the pros and cons of homeschooling versus public school. She said, “When will my child ever be in a social situation like public school again?”

It’s true! They are all grouped together according to their own age, regardless of ability, and a change in circumstances is generally not acceptable even if the child is unhappy with “peers, teacher, or material covered.” Is this not leading to complacency? To a “settling for less”? At what point does a child suddenly decide to be a leader? To take the bull by the horns? At what point do they start thinking for themselves? After so long in a system that teaches them that - This is your work, you may be taught material in a way you do not understand, agree with, or even enjoy, but you must complete it. If not, you are a failure, but no child will be left behind! So you better not advance too quickly…We have a conveyor belt education in our public school system.

In the beginning, we were unhappy with the school district. Now our decision is based on so much more than that. My children are fine socially, if anything, I believe it has helped them more. They play together so well! All 5 children will frequently be doing some type of imaginary play, and this rarely, if ever, happened before we started homeschooling (this is our first year). They have more love and patience for one another. They have frequent play dates, join in weekly homeschool activities, 4-H, church, etc.

Some homeschool kids may be odd (but, look at their parents, are they odd?), but very few are mean, disrespectful, or mentally disturbed. I think I’d rather have my kids socialized with odd kids that are nice, than “cool kids”, that are mean. Does it really matter once they are out of school anyway? Aren’t we all a little odd?

For me, this is particularly poignant, because there was a girl that Abby was seated next to and she would lick Abby…Gross! This girl would also get into physical altercations with another boy almost daily! The class was frequently disciplined for the actions of a few. I know this is an extreme case (at least I hope it is), but Abby didn’t share this info with me until the summer after that school year and it was after much prodding and questioning from me. I seriously think it was traumatizing for her, and I don’t think 3rd grade is supposed to be that harsh. Had I not been so persistent, I would not have known these things to help her process through them. As she has been at home this last year, more experiences have come up from all of the past school years. Kent, as a child psychologist, has made the determination, that people count “quality time” with their children as important. This is great and it is important, but he has found it is the quantity of time that really matters. How do we know that during our “quality time” their inner issues will come up? Being there when the child is ready to talk isn’t dependent upon schedules or the clock. Homeschooling is nothing but flexible and while we have “school time” in the morning we are truly learning, talking, and growing together all day long.

One experience I’ll share happened last week.

Abby and I were working together in the kitchen and she said, “I’ve noticed I’ve been a lot less patient with Mimi (my 3 year old). I try to be nice, but it’s been hard.”

I recommended that she spend some special one on one time with her little sister, and that she would feel more love for her and feel more connected after she finished. She did this and said she said it did make a difference. I’m pretty sure that most kids that go to PS could care less if they were mean to their little sister and definitely wouldn’t bring up the issue with their parent because they felt it was a problem! I know Abby, herself, would not have done this last year.

Last night, we had an activity at church and Abby spent some one on one time together with another girl. Previously, Abby had said she didn’t wasn’t very fond this girl. On our way home, Abby had said she had enjoyed her time with her and she believed that she knew her better because she had been alone with her. We then spoke of how that situation is true in most situations, whether at home or in the community. If I didn’t homeschool, I would not seek out these opportunities to “teach”, I would be preoccupied in my own worries and self-absorption. I am their sole teacher (obviously, Kent is too, but you know what I’m saying, right?) and taking on that role has changed everything for me. I have found it incredibly empowering and instead of feeling somewhat helpless in this crazy world, I have found myself become more inclined to find the right answer or a better way to parent and love my children.

There is also a complete mental shift as a mother versus teacher. I noticed that when Abby was young, I taught her constantly. About Christ, numbers, letters, the world around her, etc. When she entered kindergarten, I gave away that responsibility. Not intentionally mind you, I just had two other children at home, and I became preoccupied. There were still teaching moments, but I didn’t search them out and most likely missed several. The problem was - I no longer viewed myself as her “teacher”. I now know that I am the lens through which my children view the world, if I don’t accept that role and responsibility, someone else will. As they get older, they can decide for themselves if what I have taught is right for them. I just know that I am responsible to God for their upbringing and I want to make sure I give them a solid foundation from which to view the world.

I have also found my relationship with my children to have greatly improved. My daughter and I frequently “butted heads” before and that rarely happens now. There are plenty of children (homeschooling and community activities) that my children can socialize with. The plus with this, is that I know with whom they socialize. With peers at school, we have absolutely no idea who they are sitting next to, or being forced to socialize with. I want my kids to know that they have the ability to choose with whom they associate. Doesn’t every other citizen have that right? If someone makes them uncomfortable, they should have the right to choose whether they want to grin and bear it or have the power to change it.

To truly understand the beauty of homeschooling, you must have a paradigm shift. I had my first daughter in PS for 4 years. After I brought her home, it was really difficult for the first 2 or 3 months. She was not used to the workload (of which she was completely capable) and was not comfortable working without knowing what was “expected”. We are taught (even in higher education) to perform to what our teacher expects. Depending upon the teacher, the requirements change. I don’t want my child to perform to the best of what a teacher expects of my child, I want them to perform to the best of their ability. I want them to be comfortable in their beliefs, not be able to spout off what a teacher wants them to recite. I want them to have morals that are taught to them every day. I want them to see “reality”, not someone else’s perception of what is right and wrong, but God’s perception of right and wrong. As my children mature, I would still love to have them attend high school for electives and to participate in sports, choir, plays, etc. I don’t want to raise them in such a “bubble” that they are not able to function in normal society. However, I do not want to place them in that situation until they are comfortable with what they believe as individuals. I am accomplishing this (hopefully ;-) by giving them a basis of good morals and principles to live by. Somewhere I heard that research showed a child, until age 8, will take on the views and values of whatever situation they are placed. I’ve never seen the actual research, but I don’t doubt it.

I can remember distinctly, an experience that I had when I was in college. I had a best friend who had mentioned in passing she had no problem with abortion. I had always been taught it was not right, but had never formed my own opinion on the matter. I remember the internal dialogue I had over the next few weeks. I wondered if I could somehow accept that abortion was something I didn’t have a problem with. I didn’t like the conflict that I felt in disagreeing with my friend, whether it was spoken aloud or not. Then like a revelation, I knew that it was acceptable to have my OWN opinions and beliefs and that that would not diminish our friendship. That it was acceptable to disagree. WHAT? I was in college?! I was just now realizing it was acceptable to think for myself? To be strong and secure enough with myself that I could have my own beliefs whether I was accepted by my peers or not?

That is what I want to teach my children, now…while they are young. I know that this is not the goal of my school district. If our country, and Christianity are going to remain strong, we must have good, moral, upstanding people, and my children are that future. That is my goal. So I think your friend is right. You need to know what your goal is. What do you want to achieve? And for me, I don’t really think it has much to do with the quality of education, but with the quality of people I’m endeavoring to raise. What person or teacher in the school district is more invested in my child’s growth and success than me? That, in and of itself, is why I am the best person qualified to teach my children.

Big Mean Mommy

Cursive writing for kindergartners

2009-02-21T10:56:00.005-07:00

I've previously written about starting off with cursive writing versus learning manuscript. Here is the link to the article that helped me make that decision.

Now...Saying you are going to teach penmanship first, and actually doing it are quite different. I could have bought a program to help teach it, but I like to do things the cheap way (which sometimes becomes the harder way, LOL!)

My kindergartner has always struggled to do things that require fine motor skills. I was not really looking forward to having him start penmanship, but I wouldn't be a very good teacher if my son didn't know how to write.

At first, I taught him how to correctly hold the pencil. I stressed that holding it correctly was much more important than how the letter looked. He was tracing to begin with and no matter how much I stressed the letters not needing to be perfect, he was obsessed with it. He would firmly hold the pencil up and down to make sure the writing followed the lines of the letters. After days of trying to correct him on his form, both he and I were very frustrated. For cursive the pencil should be held loosely and the eraser should face the writer, when writing manuscript, however, more control is needed and the pencil is held vertically.

Then I remembered something that I did when my daughter was 3 or 4 and she was learning her letters. We went to the kitchen and pulled out a cookie sheet, brown rice, and had fun! I had a picture of each of the letters and we practiced writing with our fingers in the rice. We practiced how the cursive letters are made with big loops and not straight edges, how they are smooth and flowing. We did this for two or three days and then I had him move to the chalkboard.

I don't why he could do it differently, but with the chalk, he would hold it correctly. We first just did lots of loops, swirls, the simple letters like l's and e's until he got the feel for it. During this time I stressed that the chalk should not come off the board (he was connecting several letters at a time) even if he made a mistake. Mistakes weren't important, just how he held and moved the chalk was important. After two more days of this we went back to the lined paper. Again, I had to remind him to hold the pencil correctly, but this time he understood, and by the next day he rarely needed to be reminded.

In these pictures I have written the top line so he can mimic it. (You can click on the pictures to get a closer view)In the second photo are things he has written on his own. He was SO proud of himself. When I first told him that he would be writing the sentences on his own, he was very discouraged. This quickly turned to elation as he realized his ability!

Big Mean Mommy

Being schooled by Caleb

2009-02-11T12:38:00.004-07:00

Two days ago I had a trying day. I woke up and had the start of a migraine. I plugged through the day, refusing to take any medication, instead, sniffing cayenne up my nose...LOL, I'm ROFL (Rolling On Floor Laughing ) as I type this, knowing how ridiculous it sounds...yes, you read that correctly... another form of herbal torture, snuffing cayenne.

In the herbal things I'm learning, it says that cayenne can help clear headaches...I've found, it doesn't do much for migraines, however, it does a phenomenal job of clearing your sinuses, as long as you can stand the burning in your nostrils :-)

So that leads me to later in the day, the pain was pretty bad and was starting to cause nausea, but I drank some lemon ginger tea and pressed on, doing reading with Caleb... homeschooling must continue :-)

Frustrated and feeling ill...I said to Caleb, rather curtly, "Does an "e" usually make an "uh" sound?" (as in "up", I was trying to get him to say "eh" as in "e"lephant).

Without missing a beat he looked at me and said sarcastically, "Yes, like in my name, Cal-EB."

I couldn't help but laugh, as my six year old threw it back in my face!

My sheepish reply , "Umm...OK... you're right, but here, it doesn't say that...."

I love it when my kids surprise me by being quicker than their mom!

Big Mean Mommy

I love the freedom to do odd things because I homeschool!

2009-02-02T23:40:00.008-07:00

One thing that I love about homeschooling is the freedom that my children have to be creative. We do not have cable and we watch limited amounts of TV. Most of the time my children are playing happily or creating things.

My five year old asked for colored paper two days ago and he created a castle. He spent hours cutting out the various pieces, the tower, his bedroom, the windows, a pirate ship with sails, an orange sidewalk, can you pick out all these things? I found a piece of cardboard for him and he glued all the pieces on. He was so proud of himself! He is definitely our "artist". I bet you can guess which one is the proudest of his work!

A few weeks ago I signed up for an herbal class on line that I have always wanted to take. After signing up I realized it had a 3 month time limit and I had thought it was "work at your own pace". I made the decision to let the kids have a day off of school on Friday and spent the whole day studying my own schoolwork!

While I was busy, I threw out the idea that they could build a fort. A short time later I came to see what they had created. They had set up a "town" with different locations being the grocery store, library and so on. The next day it evolved into a HUGE tent. It's about 18 feet long x 5 feet wide! The kids asked if they could sleep in it, of course we said yes! I was even a little tempted to sleep in there because it's so cool! It's been up a few days now and they are loving having the chance to sleep in it. The great thing is we don't have to worry about it being a "school night" because we homeschool!
You can't really tell, but it's quite roomy in there!

Can you share anything that your kids do that is creative and you think it's because they are homeschooled? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Big Mean Mommy

Homeschool Tracker

2009-01-17T20:39:00.002-07:00

In one of the online forums I belong to, someone suggested Homeschool Tracker as a means to keep records. The download is free for the basic edition.

Laws on keeping records vary from state to state. My state is fairly lenient and does not require any record keeping. Just as a precaution, should anyone come checking up, I have been keeping a 3 ring binder full of their work for each of them. It's only half way through the year and both folders are spilling out papers and I'm lucky if they actually get in there!

After I downloaded the program and started to input some information, I think it will be quite useful. It has a way to keep the attendance, different subjects with the applicable assignments, and even field trips can be noted. You can't beat the price! It looks like a great addition to the homeschooling curricula we all have. There is a Homeschool Tracker Plus that is available for purchase if you are so inclined, I don't know what I'm missing, so I'm happy with the basic :-)

Big Mean Mommy

Changing roles - From mom to teacher

2009-01-15T10:02:00.006-07:00

Yesterday, while visiting with another homeschooling mom,we discussed how many moms complained about their children being out of school and how they couldn't wait for the kids to go back to school after the holidays were over.

Several of my friends have made comments like this on their blogs, and I don't want them or anyone else to believe I think they are bad mothers...I was the exact same way! It was one of my biggest fears as a homeschooling mom - we would all be stuck in the same house and be at each others throats in no time.

Then I made the mental shift of changing roles - from mom to teacher. I took back the God-given responsibility of being my children's teacher 24/7. This made all the difference. Now knowing that I was responsible for all the minute details that I always overlooked, "Oh, they'll learn that in school..." was no longer applicable.

When your child approaches you and asks you a difficult question such as, "Mom, what is the fastest jet?" Instead of giving some quick answer, we go together and find the answer. I LOVE the internet! One day my daughter asked about glass blowing, we were able to find a documentary (enlightening and entertaining for her and me) on Youtube. Another day we learned the history of the Star Spangled Banner and it's significance. The entire experience resulted from a spelling word. They would never be able to stop class in Public school, go to the internet, print out the lyrics, find Francis Scott Key's experience, and hear old phonograph recordings of the National Anthem. Homeschooling this is always a possibility.

If there is one thing I want my children to learn, it is that they can always learn more, to never stop asking the questions, and then they can go find the answers to those questions.

One other HUGE difference for me is making the conscience choice to be patient. It's not easy having 3 kids 4 and under that need my attention. It seems the oldest two suck up a lot of my time, it's a balancing act. However, how I react to it is much different. If one child interrupts I simply state, "I'm working with X right now and I'll be with you when I'm done." They have learned to accept and respect this, just as they would have in public school.

Now that we've been homeschooling for a while, I have found the exact opposite to be true of my earlier fear. Having my children home has filled our home with more love and kindness instead of being at each others throats. Before homeschooling, they seldom would ALL play together and if so, it was for a very short time. Now it is a daily occurrence and often I have to ask them to get to work or they would play their imaginative games all day together!

Changing my role from just Mom to Mom/Teacher was a bit frightening, but if that's all that is holding you back from homeschooling...Don't let it!

Big Mean Mommy

Sharing your blog

2009-01-13T09:15:00.003-07:00

There is a blog that I follow, and two new sites were shared that are blogrolls. They simply feed blogs through and you watch until you find one you like and you can bookmark it or view it for a while. Kind of like channel surfing on TV.

I'm assuming it is made specifically for people who would like to expand the readership of their blogs...If you are trying to monetize your blog this is important because the larger your following the more opportunity there is to get good sponsors.

The two sites have different features, one Condron Enterprises feeds the sites a little more quickly and you can control the feed better. The guy that runs it is really nice since I had some problems adding a blog and he fixed them pronto! Condron Enterprises also lists the blogs with all the latest posts. The other site is Alphainventions. It feeds more slowly, so you have more time to browse the site, but doesn't have any controls to go to a previous site or skip forward. You also can only see one of the latest posts from the blog.

On both sites you are able to enroll your own blog to join the queue. It looks like they are both pretty new sites and will rework the sites to be better over time. Some interesting blogs are on there. You might want to check them out if you get bored.

Big Mean Mommy

Classics for Kids Website

2009-01-11T20:15:00.004-07:00

In a previous post I discussed how much we love the Classical Kids CD's. One day as I was looking for information on these CD's I came upon this website Classics for Kids. It's a really cool website that has weekly podcasts about composers or specific types of music. This month's composer is Franz Schubert and each podcast is 6 minutes long and is either biographical or teaches something about his style of composition. There are additional activities to go along with each theme such as quizzes, worksheets, games, etc. The kids ability to read music is tested in a game that spells out words and they can even compose songs of their own. I'm sure this will quickly become a site my children will be asking to listen to and play on often!

The site is easy to navigate with archives of all the past podcasts and has tons of fun things to do and listen to, and the best part is, it's all educational!

Big Mean Mommy

Scholastic Dollar Days - for Teachers and Homeschooling

2009-01-03T13:30:00.006-07:00

I just got this link off a group that I belong to for homeschooling curriculum. This

http://shop. scholastic. com/webapp/ wcs/stores/ servlet/StoreCat alogDisplay? storeId=10001& catalogId= 10002&langId= -1

should take you to the page specifically for teachers and if you are a homeschooler then you qualify (I think preschoolers count, too!) I just kind of glanced at the products. Some are as low as a dollar. I didn't have a lot of time to browse, but wanted to pass the link along so you can take a look at it, too.

Big Mean Mommy

Classical Kids CDs

2008-12-31T13:24:00.008-07:00

When my oldest daughter was around age 3, a friend of mine introduced me to these CDs. We bought several of the series and then they've been put away for years. She loved them at age 3 and when I brought them out the other day, she fell back in love with them, as well as my 4 and 6 year old boys. They listen to them every night and I love hearing the music still playing long after they have fallen asleep.The series is called Classical Kids. It features the music from several different composers such as Beethoven, Bach, Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi, Mozart, and Handel. The music is great, but what makes these CD's different than others are the stories! Each one has it's own magical story and the music is woven throughout. The three favorites for my kids have been Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart. The music for the Mozart CD is from the Magic Flute Opera. My oldest has a wonderful voice and I love hearing her sing the aria. The Mr. Bach Comes To Call CD is biographical as he visits a girl in the present. She is reluctant to practice her piano until he shows her what a beautiful instrument it is and tells her about his life and love of music. Beethoven Lives Upstairs is about a boy who first dislikes Beethoven because he lives above them and makes all kinds of loud noises. He learns to appreciate Beethoven despite his oddities and comes to love him and his music. Here is a link to a list of Classical Kids CD's
Because of these great CD's, I happened upon another really cool classical music website for kids. I'll share it in another post.

Big Mean Mommy

A great website for a list of online schools

2008-12-30T16:45:00.006-07:00

I've often wondered if I would ever be able to return to school and get a master's degree. Big Mean Daddy and I have talked for years about being able to eventually have a psychology practice together. I would have to get a master's in marriage and family therapy or something similar like social work. We live in such a remote area I would have to do some kind of mba online program. I recently heard of a website that can link you to tons of online mba programs with accredited colleges. Accredited being extremely important as it's hard enough to jump through all those licensing hoops even with accreditation! So there might be hope for me and BMD after all! Once the kids are a little more grown up, I can actually earn an mba degree online instead of having to deal with actually having to attend the classes on campus.

Big Mean Mommy

The Story of the World Series - History books NOT Baseball :-D

2008-12-30T12:43:00.022-07:00

This has to be one of the kids (and my) favorite things that we do. It came as a suggestion on The Pioneer Woman's website and it is one of the best things we have for homeschooling. It is a 4 book series on History and it teaches history chronologically. The chapters are simple and short, interesting enough for a 10 year old and still understandable for a 6 year old. My two youngest also take part quite frequently (ages 4 and 3).

The very best part of the series are the activity books. At first I thought they were a little pricey. That is until I saw the plethora of information and activities that are available in each book. The activity book is even larger than the history book!

We are several chapters into the first book and have covered Mesopotamia, Egypt and are now working on India. So far we have made pyramids, colored the included maps and coloring pages, made bricks for a Mohenjo-Daro village and written stories to go along with the time period we were in. All these great ideas didn't come from me, but from the activity book. There are also corresponding books related to each chapter for extra reading pleasure! Click on the link to see more about The Story of the World written by Susan Wise Bauer. Making the clay bricks for the Mohenjo-Daro dwelling.

Big Mean Mommy

Bean Jars as a Behavioral Intervention

2008-12-21T18:09:00.014-07:00

A few months ago, I had had it! The kids were not listening to me and I felt like I was yelling all the time. We had to motivate them somehow. This is what we came up with. There is a Good Choice Jar(GCJ) and a Bad Choice Jar(BCJ). Each child has their own jar, equal in size to their age (my oldest has a larger jar, youngest has the smallest, etc.) In school one day we studied Hammurabi's code and we decided to come up with our own "family code". The children really got into making the various rules. If you make good choices them you earn a certain number of beans per action. A bad choice and you must deduct your beans and place them in the BCJ and if it involves someone else you must also pay them beans.

Here is our code:
Obeying - 3 beans
Cleaning - 3 beans
Sharing - 3 beans
Being Kind - 6 beans
Helping someone - 6 beans

Disobeying - 3 beans in BCJ
Not working - 3 beans in BCJ
Not sharing - 3 beans in BCJ - 3 to person offended
Being Mean/teasing - 3 beans in BCJ - 3 to person offended
Yelling - 3 beans in BCJ - 3 to person offended
Hitting or kicking - 4 beans in BCJ - 4 to person offended
Lying - 10 beans to BCJ

Each of the children wrote down their own code and then signed it as a contract. As for the reward, they can trade in a jar full of beans for any number of things. A special date with mom or dad, cash, a night of staying up late and watching a movie, or playing a game, etc. For the youngest kids, McDonald's is still the number one choice. :-D

So far I have found it is most effective when a lot of beans are given. They will work out deals, "If I pick up 10 things can I have a bean?" SURE! "I picked up the toy room, how many beans can I have?" I usually ask them to give me an amount and then make it a little more. They are working on their own without being asked! That was the whole point. So being stingy with the beans works against the whole point of the intervention.

I have also made it their responsibility to put in their beans when they have done something. I can't keep track of it all and if those jars aren't filling up then it's not going to be a motivation. So far I have not found the children to be deceitful in how many beans they are putting in.

A few more notes. As the BCJ is filled, the children are to take the beans out of that jar first (should there be any). The other great thing in this plan is that it is easy for the child to get back on the right track. They may lose beans for being disobedient, but as they start working they can retrieve those beans and be rewarded.

The point of all this is to help the kids to be more responsible and enjoy the rewards of their labor. So far it seems to be working!

Big Mean Mommy

The math curriculum I use for my 4th grader

2008-12-20T21:17:00.007-07:00

This is one of the best choices I think I have made! I first talked to a dear friend who is nearing the end of her calling as Homeschool mom. Her boys are getting ready to head off to college. She originally used Saxon math with the boys, but found it to be boring. One son in particular was much more of a visual learner. She suggested what worked for her and it was Teaching Textbooks. For those that need texts under grade 4 you are out of luck. However, from 4th grade on up to pre-calc, this is a fantastic option. At the time we started homeschooling, they did not have a 4th grade version. Thanks to the placement tests available on the site, I was able to test my girl-g4 (grade 4) to see if she could handle the Math 5 and she was fine.

The curriculum costs $99.95 for the 4 CDs (for Math 5). You can also purchase a workbook that accompanies the CD (simply in written form) and that runs $119.90. At least for now, they offer free shipping. You can purchase additional workbooks for any children who may use the program again, at a later time. Also of note, if you lose or damage a CD they will replace it for $15 per CD.

After viewing some of the sample lessons on the website I was hooked. Math was never my forte, but I have to admit, even I thought it was fun. Each lesson is taught visually. Then the child does practice problems before proceeding to the regular problems. If they answer incorrectly they have the opportunity to choose to have the problem explained to them. All of it is very visual and personal. I also like the voice of the math teacher. It is as if he is the child's private tutor, he speaks in a conversational manner. There is also a little character that changes according to how many correct answers the child gets. It adds an element of fun and makes it seem much more like a game. The best part is, I only have to supplement when my child needs me, I don't have to teach it. Honestly, I haven't had to supplement yet! There is also a gradebook on the program that you can look over and see how many questions were missed on any chapters and quizzes.

Overall, I highly recommend this product. Math is one of my daughter's favorite subjects now and my boy-K can't wait to be able to use the program when he gets older.

Big Mean Mommy

The main curriculum I use

2008-12-20T10:08:00.011-07:00

Accelerated Achievement LDS version (or A2) is the main curriculum we have chosen to use. It is more of a traditional well-rounded education, with lots of Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. I have found it to be a little lacking with math in the older grades so I have another program for that. I will discuss that program in a later post.

Several things I really liked about this curriculum are:
1. The Price! Only $99 for the CD and it has tons of information. It has information for K-12.
2. It gave me a basic outline of what to do with each grade. For instance, the books that could be read for each grade, 1000 quotes for copy work (in the LDS version, scriptures are taken from all 4 standard works), a math worksheet generator, and an overall view of where I should be headed with each grade.
3. Several of the suggested reading and textbooks are on the CD and I can print them out myself directly from the CD. I have chosen to print 4 book pages per one 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper. I then put them in small plastic binders. Others choose to buy the books. It's really whatever your preference is.
4. A majority of the books are from the late 1800's. This I absolutely love. They haven't been "cleansed of Christianity". Spelling words include quotes from the Longfellow and the Bible. Reading selections include the Sermon on the Mount. Morals are discussed, such as a good work ethic. Using these books gives the opportunity to discuss these issues. I do my best to teach my children about having integrity or being honest, but the McGuffey Reader (at least the fourth one) makes it a point to gear the stories around moral issues.

The following is a selection from the CD showing what to expect to do with your Kindergartner. We completed most of these requirements in the first few months and are working on the 1st grade books (My K-boy is still working in McGuffey's eclectic primer from K and we are taking spelling words from that).

Several of the items in the list are actually links to the activities (ie the phonics activities, Pinocchio would take me to a pdf file of the book).

K-12 Home School Curriculum
By Accelerated Achievement

Kindergarten

Subjects
Reading

Phonics Instructions
Phonics Activity 1
Phonics Activity 2
McGuffey's Eclectic Primer.
Phonics Activity 3
Phonics Activity 4
(Begin teaching phonics at age 3 or 4)

Andersen's Fairy Tales

Pinocchio

Dr. Doolittle

Writing
Print Letters, upper and lower case and numbers (0 thru 9)

Begin Copy Work. We have provided you with more than 1000 copy forms, ready to print, including over 300 Bible verses and more than 1000 quotes from great philosophers.

Do lots of Art to build motor skills.

Arithmetic

Use the Math Book.

Teach your child to count to 100.

Play Games like Monopoly Daily. They have to count money, and spaces when they move, and add the spots on the die.

Domino's is also good.

Go on a walk and count your steps.

Counting objects (coins, popcorn kernels, M&M's etc. work very well).

Count everything

Kindergarten Science

Care of Pets

Colors

Common plants and animals, including farm animals.

God’s plan for Seeds

Observation and identifying Sun, Moon, Stars, planets

Simple measurement and introduction of temperature.

Basic weather and seasons

Health

Personal Hygiene

Good eating habits

Care of teeth

Major body parts

As I said, it doesn't have a strict lesson plan set out for you. If that is what your looking for, this might not be it. For me, it's perfect. I have some guidelines of what needs to be accomplished for the year and I can add or take away what I choose. For example, I am teaching my son cursive before learning to print. I read an interesting article that convinced me there was a reason they did it that way years ago! They ceased that practice in the 1930's and 40's. Here is the link to the article.

I hope this review helps in the sea of many fishes as pertains to curricula! A great place to start is HomeSchoolReviews.com So much to choose from! Good luck!

Big Mean Mommy

Power Hour

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This is one of the newest things we have implemented and I love it! Every morning we all gather around the table and one child gets to be the leader that day.

First, the leader gets to choose someone to offer a prayer.
Second, the leader will then ask us to stand and recite the family pledge.

"I am loved by God and my family.
I will follow Jesus Christ's Example.
Today, I will be the best I can be.
I will be responsible.
I will help my family, my friends, and my community.
I am proud of who I am and who I am becoming."

Third, the leader leads us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Fourth, the leader then shares a scripture story (as they are older this may become an inspirational thought).
Fifth, we read a few verses from the scriptures.
Sixth, we all sing the Days of the Week song, discuss the date and then the leader places a marker on the current date.
Seventh, any business is brought before the family and a vote taken, if need be.
Eighth, we all eat breakfast.
Ninth, we all clean up the dishes.
Tenth, we begin individual schoolwork.

I wish we had implemented something like this long ago. I believe it lets each child feel an important and individual part of the family. It also adds so much continuity to have the family brought together every morning. This could be done with any family, not just a homeschooling one. The togetherness has really brought a feeling of peace to our home (in spite of the surrounding clutter, wink).

Just a note on our family pledge. We borrowed several phrases from our daughter's former elementary school in DuPont, WA. I firmly believe it was the best public school that she could have attended. GO CHLOE CLARK! However, had we not moved away, we probably never would have tried homeschool! And for the opportunity to homeschool, I will be forever grateful!

Big Mean Mommy

Some things coming up...

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How we motivate our kids to work (HAPPILY).
What kind of curricula we use.
Our family's Power Hour - what it is...
How BMD's day job comes in handy (he's a child psychologist).
How we keep the kids (and ourselves) sane in the winter when it's -20 degrees outside.
And much more....

Big Mean Mommy

So I decided it's time to start a homeschool blog

2008-12-19T00:14:00.008-07:00

BMD (AKA Big Mean Daddy) and I have been homeschooling for a while now and really like it. The one downside...BMD is not able to be home with us while we homeschool! Sure he gets to have a little time in the evening here and there, but with 5 children there will never be enough time in the day for one on one time with each child. However, if he were home more often, and making an income while he wasn't actually at work. Then he would be able to enjoy more time with us.

One way of making that possible is by doing things on the internet. For instance, paid blogging, affiliate marketing, product reviews and so forth. Although the reason for this blog is not solely to bring in extra income, it will help to realize our dream of having BMD around a lot more and we will get to share some of the things that work for us in our family. I hope this helps others to make the jump from public schools to homeschooling. I was always the one to say I would NEVER be the one to do it. I didn't have the patience. Look at me now!

The amazing thing is, I think I have more patience than ever before (although I do have my days ;-). My children play much more happily with each other...did I mention we have 5? They range from age 10 to 17 mos. 2 girls and 3 boys. One of the wonders of homeschooling is I know that even on our bad days of school when I don't get as much accomplished as I would like...they are each getting a great education that is specifically tailored to them. And I have their best interests at heart. Not that public educators don't... but I don't have to worry about making sure that 30 kids pass the standardized test and meet certain state requirements. All I have to worry about is my own little brood and I LOVE it!

Big Mean Mommy