If you would like to know what a homeschool lifestyle is like you can visit my other blog, Cozy Comforts. I don't post as much on this blog as I do my Cozy Comforts blog. I use this blog strictly for passing on specific homeschool information and suggestions, as well as sharing specific homeschool activities that we do. But for a look at what our actual lifestyle is like, you will get a better idea by visiting Cozy Comforts.
I can also recommend three other blogs that some of my homeschool friends do so you can visit them to get a glimpse of their homeschool lifestyles as well. There are many different ways to homeschool and each family who homeschools has their own ideas and activities -- lifestyles. Therefore you may also want to visit: Tracy's Corner, Creekside Cottage and Hospitality Lane. You can simply click on any of the highlighted blog titles to go to those blogs. You'll also see a link to my Cozy Comforts blog here on my sidebar.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Homeschool Sports Opportunities
Homeschoolers have options for sports. In the United States there has been a law passed stating that public schools must allow homeschoolers to participate in their sports programs. Here in Pennsylvania some of our homeschoolers do participate in public school sports programs. Also, many Christian schools allow homeschoolers to participate in their sports programs. However, I am grateful that we have a homeschool group that provides a good amount of sports opportunities for my boys. We decided that since we don't have our boys in public, why would we want them participating in public school sports. We've also heard some homeschoolers who participate in public school sports express their discomfort with how they are treated by the public school kids who are in those sports programs.
Today our boys started volleyball. They will receive 13 weeks of lessons and gameplay. This is a sport they have not had an opportunity to participate in before.
The boys are also currently in their basketball season. They will be participating in a basketball tournament next Saturday and their last game will be the first weekend in March. They are both pretty good at basketball, but Nicholas excels at it a little more than Anthony, whose main sport is soccer. Basketball is Nicholas's main sport.
Anthony made a foul shot in this game!
Nicholas sure can jump! No, he didn't make this shot:(
Here he is again, jumping and shooting and . . .
SCORE!!!
This is our favorite basketball photo of Nicholas so far this year.
In the Fall, Anthony participated in the homeschool soccer program.
This is our favorite soccer photo of Anthony this year.
Today our boys started volleyball. They will receive 13 weeks of lessons and gameplay. This is a sport they have not had an opportunity to participate in before.
The boys are also currently in their basketball season. They will be participating in a basketball tournament next Saturday and their last game will be the first weekend in March. They are both pretty good at basketball, but Nicholas excels at it a little more than Anthony, whose main sport is soccer. Basketball is Nicholas's main sport.
Anthony made a foul shot in this game!
Nicholas sure can jump! No, he didn't make this shot:(
Here he is again, jumping and shooting and . . . 
SCORE!!!
This is our favorite basketball photo of Nicholas so far this year.
In the Fall, Anthony participated in the homeschool soccer program.
This is our favorite soccer photo of Anthony this year. Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Co-Op
Tomorrow is the second session of our 10-week long winter session of co-op. We had a fall 10-week session that ended right before Thanksgiving.
If you are unfamiliar with what a co-op is, it is where you can get together with other homeschooling families and have your children participate in classes with other homeschoolers, and you can be a teacher or teacher aid. It's helpful for subjects that you may not feel so confident to teach on your own.
Different co-ops have different focuses, ideas, and costs. In our area, the majority of co-ops that I know anything about meet in churches one day a week. Some focus on academics. Some focus on electives such as music, art and gym. Some hire teachers to teach certain subjects and those particular classes can be costly. Some strictly have parents voluntarily teach and classes may cost very little or nothing at all; usually the cost is simply for supplies provided; parent-teachers do not get paid for their time in order to make classes more affordable since the majority of homeschool families are one-income families. And, there are those who allow the parent-teacher volunteers to charge a higher price to include something for their time. There may be other types of co-ops as well, but these are the ones I am familiar with.
We used to be involved in a co-op where high school classes were quite pricey and met all year round. After two years of this, I was tired of the cost and the winter travel and sitting in a mostly cold building for the winter days.
We are now part of a co-op that is very Christ-centered, which is something I really appreciate. The leaders have such a heart for the Lord and what the Lord wants to do with the co-op and through the co-op, as well as what the Lord wants to do through them, personally. We have a devotion time each week for parents and students.
My oldest son is taking the following classes this semester: Historical Literature, Applied Engineering and a Co-Ed Home Ec class. My second son is taking: Environmental Science, Beginning Pencil Drawing and Power Mechanics: Small Engines. Our youngest is taking: Cooking around the World, Beginning Phonics and Sign Language and Thematic storytime and Calisthenics.
My boys love their classes and being able to spend some time with friends.
This semester I am teaching the Historical Literature class. We are reading the book The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and studying World War II and the Holocaust.
I, too, really enjoy the co-op as it gives me an opportunity to talk to other homeschooling moms and we share prayer requests and support one another in the homeschool journey that the Lord has called us to.
If you are unfamiliar with what a co-op is, it is where you can get together with other homeschooling families and have your children participate in classes with other homeschoolers, and you can be a teacher or teacher aid. It's helpful for subjects that you may not feel so confident to teach on your own.
Different co-ops have different focuses, ideas, and costs. In our area, the majority of co-ops that I know anything about meet in churches one day a week. Some focus on academics. Some focus on electives such as music, art and gym. Some hire teachers to teach certain subjects and those particular classes can be costly. Some strictly have parents voluntarily teach and classes may cost very little or nothing at all; usually the cost is simply for supplies provided; parent-teachers do not get paid for their time in order to make classes more affordable since the majority of homeschool families are one-income families. And, there are those who allow the parent-teacher volunteers to charge a higher price to include something for their time. There may be other types of co-ops as well, but these are the ones I am familiar with.
We used to be involved in a co-op where high school classes were quite pricey and met all year round. After two years of this, I was tired of the cost and the winter travel and sitting in a mostly cold building for the winter days.
We are now part of a co-op that is very Christ-centered, which is something I really appreciate. The leaders have such a heart for the Lord and what the Lord wants to do with the co-op and through the co-op, as well as what the Lord wants to do through them, personally. We have a devotion time each week for parents and students.
My oldest son is taking the following classes this semester: Historical Literature, Applied Engineering and a Co-Ed Home Ec class. My second son is taking: Environmental Science, Beginning Pencil Drawing and Power Mechanics: Small Engines. Our youngest is taking: Cooking around the World, Beginning Phonics and Sign Language and Thematic storytime and Calisthenics.
My boys love their classes and being able to spend some time with friends.
This semester I am teaching the Historical Literature class. We are reading the book The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and studying World War II and the Holocaust.
I, too, really enjoy the co-op as it gives me an opportunity to talk to other homeschooling moms and we share prayer requests and support one another in the homeschool journey that the Lord has called us to.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Are Grades Important?
I receive a weekly enewsletter from HSLDA, and found something in today's that I thought was worth sharing. I apologize that I don't post very often on this blog, but there just isn't, in my opinion and in my homeschool life, enough to blog about on a more consistent basis. I will post as often as I find things that I think are worth sharing, and I will gladly post anything you would like to see or know more about if you leave me a comment telling me what you're looking for.
HSLDA does a weekly radio program entitled "Home School Heartbeat", and Mike Smith interviewed Lesha Myers, homeschool mom and author of Making the Grade, to get a perspective on how important grades are for homeschoolers.
Lesha explained that they are important for several reasons: 1) to give our kids a target/goal to reach for, and 2) because transcripts are needed, not just for college, but also for things like student drivers' classes and insurance.
Lesha went on to explain that the Bible even mentions grading, though not in the exact words or context of what we may think:
"I was surprised because I had thought that grading was a secular concept, but it's not! A while back, I was reading Kings and Chronicles for my devotions, and I noticed a recurring phrase that summed up the reign of each king of Judah in Israel. It was either, 'and he did right in the sight of the Lord, like his father, David,' or 'and he did evil in the sight of the Lord,' or something in between. And I realized that God was grading the King! He set a standard, the life of David, and then he evaluated each king according to the standard and He summed up his evaluation -- gave a grade, if you will, in a phrase.
The Bible also says quite a bit about testing. For example, Jesus Christ tested his disciples as a part of their training. Before he fed the 5,000, Jesus asked Phillip to provide bread for the multitude, and in John 6:5, it says, 'He asked this only to test him, for He already had in mind what he was going to do.' The test was for Phillip's benefit, so that he would grow in his faith and trust in the Lord. Grading is a very Biblical concept. There are quite a few principles we can glean from the Bible's pages."
Lesha also said that there is no wrong way of grading and that we need to decide what works for our own family.
HSLDA does a weekly radio program entitled "Home School Heartbeat", and Mike Smith interviewed Lesha Myers, homeschool mom and author of Making the Grade, to get a perspective on how important grades are for homeschoolers.
Lesha explained that they are important for several reasons: 1) to give our kids a target/goal to reach for, and 2) because transcripts are needed, not just for college, but also for things like student drivers' classes and insurance.
Lesha went on to explain that the Bible even mentions grading, though not in the exact words or context of what we may think:
"I was surprised because I had thought that grading was a secular concept, but it's not! A while back, I was reading Kings and Chronicles for my devotions, and I noticed a recurring phrase that summed up the reign of each king of Judah in Israel. It was either, 'and he did right in the sight of the Lord, like his father, David,' or 'and he did evil in the sight of the Lord,' or something in between. And I realized that God was grading the King! He set a standard, the life of David, and then he evaluated each king according to the standard and He summed up his evaluation -- gave a grade, if you will, in a phrase.
The Bible also says quite a bit about testing. For example, Jesus Christ tested his disciples as a part of their training. Before he fed the 5,000, Jesus asked Phillip to provide bread for the multitude, and in John 6:5, it says, 'He asked this only to test him, for He already had in mind what he was going to do.' The test was for Phillip's benefit, so that he would grow in his faith and trust in the Lord. Grading is a very Biblical concept. There are quite a few principles we can glean from the Bible's pages."
Lesha also said that there is no wrong way of grading and that we need to decide what works for our own family.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Famous Homeschooler of the Week
It's been a while since I posted a Famous Homeschooler of the week, so I decided to post one this week. I find my Famous Homeschoolers on the HSLDA website.
BLAISE PASCAL
Blaise Pascal was born in France in 1623 and educated by his father, Etienne. For some reason, his father decided not to teach his son mathematics until he reached the age of 15. But Blaise Pascal was gifted by God with a natural curiosity, and began to work on geometry by himself at age 12. His study of geometry and hydrodynamics led him to invent the syringe and the hydraulic press.
However, Pascal was more than just a scientist. Later in life, a near-death experience caused him to write these words, which he eventually stitched into the lining of his jacket. He wrote: “Fire. The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. Not of the philosophers and intellects. The God of Jesus Christ. My God and your God. Forgetfulness of the world and everything except God.”
He is also known for the famous “Pascal’s Wager,” attempting to prove that belief in God is rational. He states: “If God does not exist, one will lose nothing by believing in Him; while if He does exist, one will lose everything by not believing.” He later went on to write Pensées, a philosophical collection of personal thoughts on human suffering and faith in God.
Blaise Pascal—another tribute to the success of home education.
BLAISE PASCAL
Blaise Pascal was born in France in 1623 and educated by his father, Etienne. For some reason, his father decided not to teach his son mathematics until he reached the age of 15. But Blaise Pascal was gifted by God with a natural curiosity, and began to work on geometry by himself at age 12. His study of geometry and hydrodynamics led him to invent the syringe and the hydraulic press.
However, Pascal was more than just a scientist. Later in life, a near-death experience caused him to write these words, which he eventually stitched into the lining of his jacket. He wrote: “Fire. The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. Not of the philosophers and intellects. The God of Jesus Christ. My God and your God. Forgetfulness of the world and everything except God.”
He is also known for the famous “Pascal’s Wager,” attempting to prove that belief in God is rational. He states: “If God does not exist, one will lose nothing by believing in Him; while if He does exist, one will lose everything by not believing.” He later went on to write Pensées, a philosophical collection of personal thoughts on human suffering and faith in God.
Blaise Pascal—another tribute to the success of home education.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Common Questions about Homeschooling
"What things are vital to my success?"
We started with the ABC's of beginning homeschooling. Let's end with the 1-2-3 of things to do so you can't help but be successful!
1. Anything new in life has the potential to be trying--and can end in defeat if you haven't
built your foundation AND shored up your supports. It is imperative that you and your
husband are "reading the same recipe". Be sure to pray together before you start,
converse frequently along the way, and spend time reading uplifting and encouraging
material.
2. You will want to find like-minded families. Start asking around, search the Internet, and
don't forget to look at your state or country's Homeschool Nations page on The Old
Schoolhouse Magazine website at www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com! Hook up with
a support group. Once you begin to go to meetings, on field trips, and on other activities,
you will find friends that you "click" with. Since relationships are key to success,
cultivate these. You can become a part of the homeschooling community online at
www.HomeschoolBlogger.com.
3. Mentors abound! One thing that veteran homeschoolers like to do is talk about
homeschooling! Find those in your area who can guide you with some tried-and-true
wisdom. Read homeschooling books and magazines at your local library, go to your
state convention, and try different support group meetings. Sometimes a play group
will turn out to be a great sharing time between the moms there. If you can't go to
conventions, get some speaker presentations on tape! You can have well known
speakers on audio right at home!
The journey of homeschooling is much more than a recipe for a nurturing dish or award-winning treats--but we hope these tips will help you find high quality ingredients and the tools you need. Our prayer is that your homeschooling endeavor will be both profitable and enjoyable and that these ideas on how to develop your own personal family recipe will bless you for years to come. We wish you many batches of healthy, happy homeschooling adventures!
This is the last post on Common Questions about Homeschooling from the little brochure that came with one of the issues of my Old Schoolhouse magazine. I hope this information has been helpful to you.
If you have any questions about homeschooling that I didn't cover, please feel free to ask me by clicking on the word "comment" at the bottom of this post and typing your question. I will do my best to answer your questions. We are in our seventh year of homeschooling and have been involved in co-ops, small groups that provided activities and field trips, and we have tried different approaches to homeschooling.
We started with the ABC's of beginning homeschooling. Let's end with the 1-2-3 of things to do so you can't help but be successful!
1. Anything new in life has the potential to be trying--and can end in defeat if you haven't
built your foundation AND shored up your supports. It is imperative that you and your
husband are "reading the same recipe". Be sure to pray together before you start,
converse frequently along the way, and spend time reading uplifting and encouraging
material.
2. You will want to find like-minded families. Start asking around, search the Internet, and
don't forget to look at your state or country's Homeschool Nations page on The Old
Schoolhouse Magazine website at www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com! Hook up with
a support group. Once you begin to go to meetings, on field trips, and on other activities,
you will find friends that you "click" with. Since relationships are key to success,
cultivate these. You can become a part of the homeschooling community online at
www.HomeschoolBlogger.com.
3. Mentors abound! One thing that veteran homeschoolers like to do is talk about
homeschooling! Find those in your area who can guide you with some tried-and-true
wisdom. Read homeschooling books and magazines at your local library, go to your
state convention, and try different support group meetings. Sometimes a play group
will turn out to be a great sharing time between the moms there. If you can't go to
conventions, get some speaker presentations on tape! You can have well known
speakers on audio right at home!
The journey of homeschooling is much more than a recipe for a nurturing dish or award-winning treats--but we hope these tips will help you find high quality ingredients and the tools you need. Our prayer is that your homeschooling endeavor will be both profitable and enjoyable and that these ideas on how to develop your own personal family recipe will bless you for years to come. We wish you many batches of healthy, happy homeschooling adventures!
This is the last post on Common Questions about Homeschooling from the little brochure that came with one of the issues of my Old Schoolhouse magazine. I hope this information has been helpful to you.
If you have any questions about homeschooling that I didn't cover, please feel free to ask me by clicking on the word "comment" at the bottom of this post and typing your question. I will do my best to answer your questions. We are in our seventh year of homeschooling and have been involved in co-ops, small groups that provided activities and field trips, and we have tried different approaches to homeschooling.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
More Common Questions about Homeschooling
"What if my child has special needs?"
An excellent resource for special needs homeschooling is NATHHAN, the National Challenged Homeschoolers Associated Network. But remember, there are always unique needs present in every family! Some people have a special diet to adhere to--hence, no sugar or wheat is included in the recipe. And as with a special diet, there are special considerations in every family situation. You may be raising one or more children with a disability; or you, the parent, may have an illness or condition. See these things as challenges, not obstacles. An upcoming move or new baby in the family is just on more opportunity to learn! (And parents, YOU choose how to guide the learning.) Homeschooling in these situations is really no different from everyday life with them, and you are already familiar with that.
"Isn't there more to it than books, though?"
did you know that learning life skills is homeschooling too? How many high school grads do you know who don't have the necessary skills to manage a home? Lots. With homeschooling, you can be sure to teach your kids routine home maintenance, cooking, gardening, how to balance a checkbook, and so on! These things are part of life, but sometimes they get pushed to the "back burner" at an institutional school. Homeschooling provides guidance and direction in all areas of life, not just academics.
Yet again, this information came from the little pamphlet that came with one of the issues of my Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Just two installments left to this series.
By the way, homeschoolers also have access to sports. Some play sports with the local public school, but many homeschool groups also have organized sports. To see some photos of this, visit my other blog, Cozy Comforts, because my oldest son, Anthony, is currently in his soccer season and I posted photos from their first game today.
An excellent resource for special needs homeschooling is NATHHAN, the National Challenged Homeschoolers Associated Network. But remember, there are always unique needs present in every family! Some people have a special diet to adhere to--hence, no sugar or wheat is included in the recipe. And as with a special diet, there are special considerations in every family situation. You may be raising one or more children with a disability; or you, the parent, may have an illness or condition. See these things as challenges, not obstacles. An upcoming move or new baby in the family is just on more opportunity to learn! (And parents, YOU choose how to guide the learning.) Homeschooling in these situations is really no different from everyday life with them, and you are already familiar with that.
"Isn't there more to it than books, though?"
did you know that learning life skills is homeschooling too? How many high school grads do you know who don't have the necessary skills to manage a home? Lots. With homeschooling, you can be sure to teach your kids routine home maintenance, cooking, gardening, how to balance a checkbook, and so on! These things are part of life, but sometimes they get pushed to the "back burner" at an institutional school. Homeschooling provides guidance and direction in all areas of life, not just academics.
Yet again, this information came from the little pamphlet that came with one of the issues of my Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Just two installments left to this series.
By the way, homeschoolers also have access to sports. Some play sports with the local public school, but many homeschool groups also have organized sports. To see some photos of this, visit my other blog, Cozy Comforts, because my oldest son, Anthony, is currently in his soccer season and I posted photos from their first game today.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)