Reading Aloud

I have always read books out loud to our children. It helped them learn how the story was supposed to sound and gave us great together time.
Our favorite boys books have been The Great Brain series by John D. Fitzgerald, Eragon triligy by Christopher Paolini(who was also homeschooled), and A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson which has wonderful info about the Appalachian trail in the United States.
For the girls we also read The Great Brain series, Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery, Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.
We read several by Ralph Moody like Little Britches, Bible Stories and books by James Ralph Johnson who just happens to be my grandfather and the kids great grandfather. He wrote wonderful books about animals like Utah Lion and The Last Passenger.
The Bronze Bow and the Witch of BlackBird Pond both by Elizabeth George Speare were great reading.
My 6th grade teacher read The Bears of Blue River by Charles Major to us during school so this was a book I also read to the kids and was able to enjoy it all over again.
Reading together I think helped our kids to have a great love of reading. I also enjoyed it since most of these were favorites from my childhood.

Scheduling for Homeschooling

We have tried several methods of scheduling. Some scheduling depends on the curriculum and the ages of your children. First we used a printed schedule where one page was one school week of five days. All subjects were written in by me for each day. Each child has their own book. As items were finished they were highlighted. When all items for the day were finished a sticker was added which was a reward for the child but made it easy for me to see what was done and what needed to be finished over the weekend.

Next we used file folders. Each subject was listed at the top of the folder. Math was written five times with the days of the week written above to know which day work was to be done.Dates were written down the side to include the week. Each lesson number was written in the space where subject and date intersect.Example at the top would be Monday math, Tuesday math, etc, Monday American History, Tuesday American History etc. Down the side would be written Aug. 14-18, Aug 21-25 etc. As each subject was completed it would be highlighted. This worked well but the whole year had to be planned in advance. One folder would be used for each semester and report card and worksheets could be kept inside the folder.

Next we used three ring binders with divders. A different subject was put on each divider. Each child could write their own assignment this way. Some subjects were scheduled by the day and we would draw columns so the year would fit. Math was scheduled this way. Other subjects like history were written by the week like August 14-18 chapter 1 including questions etc.






This year and several years in the past we have used the following method. At the top of the sheet is written name of the child and the week like August 14-18. Along the top where it is not highlighted in the picture is written the subjects. Along the side is the days of the week. Where it is highlighted are the lessons. As the lessons are finished they are highlighted. When the whole week is done a sticker is put on it. We like this method since there is more room and it can be written out by the week. Each child has there own book which also makes it easier for them to get ahead if lessons are written out by the month.

Grammar for homeschooling

We have used many different grammar programs.
We have used Wisdom Words which is part of the Weaver Curriculum. We liked it since it included all grades from k to 6th grade. Each lesson is easy to do and learn. After that we used Highway to English Grammar also part of the Weaver Curriculum for high school. Lots of diagramming. Each workbook is purchased separately.
Several years we used Winston Grammar. This was a good program since the worksheets are reproducible which saves money. This course is diagramming sentences and labeling nouns, pronouns, direct objects etc. It was okay but after several weeks of repetition the kids did not look forward to it.
Last year we used The Novel Way through the Konos program. We really liked it because it covered grammar, spelling , composition and publishing. The kids each have a work book which has exercises so that they learn to write their own novel during the school year.
This year we are using Write Your Roots also through the Konos Curriculum. During the year the children write a book of family stories, and learn and practice all writing skills. This course is a one year course for grades 5-12. The Novel Way was a lot of fun so we are looking forward to doing this one. We thought the book of family stories would make great presents for Christmas 2010. We only have two children left at home so we will combine both of their books to make one longer book which will have 12 stories by each child for a total of 24.

Prize Box for Homeschooling

A prize box is a box of prizes used as an incentive to do all work and do it well. It can be a cardboard box festively decorated and put in a prominent place in your school room as a reminder.
In the early 90's when we first started homeschooling we used the cereal prizes for our prize box. We were going to do the same thing now but realized the prizes aren't very good any more. At that time the kids fought over the cereal prize so it had to be earned out of the prize box.
Prizes were earned by finishing a book, memorizing times tables, doing chores, keeping room clean for a week, or finishing a reader.
Later we had a point system where things like coming to school dressed and ready for a new day, room cleaned up, hair combed, on time for school, brush teeth, bed on time etc. were worth one point each per day. Chores also had a certain amount of points depended on whether they were daily or weekly chores. School subjects were worth one point a day for each class. Special points were awarded for finishing a book, memorizing times tables etc.
We had big prizes and little prizes depending on how many points were earned.
This year we will have items like a bag of beads, candy bar, box of crayons, paints, small cross stitch project, brush, mirror etc. for small prizes.
For large prizes we will have a bag of jerky, a tool, a new book, crossword puzzles, puzzle, stay up late on weekend or any other items on sale or of interest to the child.
We learned early on that no one was allowed to look in the box unless they were retrieving a prize and they only had 3 minutes to pick their prize.
This worked well since if I was at a clearance sale and added stuff to the box the kids wouldn't know until they had earned the prize and were allowed to look. They loved it.

KONOS Curriculum

In 1991 during our first year of homeschooling our main curriculum was Volume 1 of KONOS. KONOS is a character based curriculum.
We learned just about everything about birds which included identifying feathers, beaks, feet, eyes, migration and kinds of birds. We made bird feeders and bird books.
During our Attentiveness unit we learned about Ears, Sound and Music. This included Helen Keller, ultrasonics, Alexander Graham Bell, echos, deafness, orchestra, instruments of the symphony, reed and brass instruments, famous violinists and more. We labeled parts of pianos and violins.
Other topics included eyes and seeing, and other senses.
During our mountain men unit we learned about the Lousiana Purchase, tracks, beaver, Daniel Boone, 49ers, California etc. We made "possibles" bags for a project.
While we were studying North American Indians we made Indian necklaces, cardboard shields and made maps of all tribes, their homes and how they lived. We learned about woodland, southeast, plains, southwest, Plateau basin, California, Pacific northwest and sub artic Indians and what made each tribe unique.
We really enjoyed this curriculum since you have a list of items to do which you can pick from. If you are not interested in a unit just go to another. The volumes include weekly lesson plans. Each volume is recommended for 2 years of study. They cover from kindergarten to 8th grade. Bible, science, social studies, arts, music, literature, health and safety are covered in each volume.
A good library is a must. We lived in a small town with a small library. In 1992 we used the Weaver curriculum since we didn't need the library as much for that curriculum.
We have volume 1 and 2 of KONOS and we still use them at times.
One of our next articles will be on the Weaver Curriculum which we do have for sale on our store at www.wabbstersbooks.com. It is an excellent curriculum, however our children are older now and learning thru other programs.

Homeschool Supplies

The first couple years we home schooled we took advantage of August going-back-to-school sales at retail stores. When you can buy 24 crayons for 39 cents, paper for 4/$1, paperclips, rubber bands etc also on sale you save a lot of money. We would buy a years worth of supplies.
A years worth of supplies per child is one box of colored pencils, 2 boxes of 24 crayons, 1 ruler, 1 scissors, 1 pkg. pens, 1 pkg. pencils, 1 box markers, 1 small pencil sharpener 5-10 70 page notebooks, 2 pkg. notebook paper. For young children 2 pkg. of pencils and no pens.
Each child had their own scissors, crayons, pencils, pens, ruler, markers, small pencil sharpener all put into their own school box which they decorate on the first day of school. The kids always looked forward to the first day since they enjoyed receiving all the new school items. They are responsible for taking care of their items. Each item is labeled. When something is not put away we know who the culprit is.
Some children keep very good care of their things while others don't. When one of the children loses an item they have to earn another which teaches them to take care of their things.
Usually in January when school starts after Christmas break we add more pencils, paper and pens.
We have an electric pencil sharpener, stapler, hole puncher, paper clips, rubber bands etc. which stays in a drawer for everyone to use. In another drawer extra notebooks and paper are kept.
We put crayons, pens, pencils, markers etc. which have been used a lot in cleaned out plastic peanut butter containers for summertime or for other use.
This works well for us.

Homeschool State Books

One of my grown daughters favorite activities when she was being homeschooled was making state books.
Every few years or so we would study all the states. One year they had to draw and color the state and include all the main rivers, mountain ranges, national parks and cities.
On the next sheet of paper they drew, colored, and wrote about the state bird, tree, flower etc. They would also make a list of the capital, state song and any other information they might want to include.
They also had to research the state to find out why someone would want to visit that state and what they would see if they visited. Such as historical monuments, national parks, worlds biggest ball of twine etc. This would include the geography of the state as well.
We spent a half a week on each state and would spend a whole week on those that we really wanted to know more about.
We put all the states in a notebook which they now have to treasure.