Homeschool+Food=Fun

The question was asked, how do you keep some fun in your homeschool.  I knew what my answer was, but I thought I had better ask the kids to see if I was right.  Sure enough, it was unanimous-FOOD!

It brings me great joy to make a delicious treat for my hard working students (and husband too)!

It’s a privilege to nourish their bodies as well as their minds.

The smell of Peanut Butter muffins after a challenging morning of Latin and Algebra just makes everything better!

Cheers of delight at the sight of homemade pizza!

Even a green salad is treat, just look at all those gorgeous colors!

A little afternoon pick-me up!  Hot chocolate and chocolate chip coconut bars.  Everyday is worth celebrating!

Hearty Beef and Barley soup to keep brains going and stomachs quiet.

Twisted Breadsticks to soak up the extra sauce from spaghetti, these rolls scream, “Mom LOVES YOU!”

We have what I call a classically relaxed homeschool.  I’ve got my children doing a lot of school work, it’s the least I can do to feed them wholesome food that nourishes their mind, body and spirit!  I don’t exactly know why it makes the days so fun, but I’m sure glad it does!

Feed them well!

Joyfully,

Mrs. Taffy

Afraid of the “Big-Yellow-Bus!”

You may think that I started homeschooling because of some passion or conviction.  You may think I started homeschooling because I’m the teaching type or because we lived in the slums when Banana Taffy was born, the truth of the matter is that I was afraid.  Afraid of what you ask?

The school bus.  Plan and simple.  How in the world was I going to stick this adorable, helpless, innocent, perfect little person on that big scary school bus?

And how about his brother close behind him…could I stick him on there?

There was just NO WAY I could do it!! 

Just look at that face…

So now you know the truth…no passion, no conviction, no great revelation, just plain and simple fear.

All that said, now I do have passion and conviction and revelation to keep me on this path, but it all started out really simply.  “No busses for us!”

Joyfully,

Mrs. Taffy

The Blessing of a well-laid Plan

By nature I am a planner.  I couldn’t stop if I tried.  I’m always spouting off to my family the order of the day and  what they can expect.  I make a menu and a grocery list every week, I even lay out clothes for all the people under 12 in my household, me included.  I’m  constantly thinking ahead and planning for the unseen, because of this obsession we are rarely ever late, but the downside is…I can be a bit of a nag.  (sheepish grin)

 

This overflow of plan-bility pours into our homeschool too. I’m starting to reap the benefits of planning as my two oldest are taking college classes this year and are on track to graduate from high school, with almost an AA, in 2013. 

Last year I discovered the Old Schoolhouse Planners.  I know this sounds like a plug, it isn’t meant too, I really do use it all the time!

This is what my planning book looks like.  I love the weekly planning pages because I can type in the different boxes, this is completely customizable!  I print out each week for each child and then store them in a page protector. I’m using a planner from last year.  I like to plan our school in 6 week increments.   For my 9th grader, she keeps all her planning pages in her own binder, this one here primarily holds the pages for the 1st and 3rd grader.

Planning all that school for a highschooler and two elementary children takes some pretty concentrated effort, so I give my family lots of warning.  I don’t have to be alone to plan, but I do need less than normal interruptions.  So I make my expectations pretty clear:  “You can play down here but don’t show me your toys.” “You can have a snack but ask somebody else to get it for you.”  Stuff like that. 

Each week I pull out a planner page for the two children, I like to put them back to back with a paper clip so I can just flip them over to mark things as completed.  This really satisfies my other obsession, marking things off a list!!  As we complete the task I outline the square with a highlighter, if I decide not to teach a certain subject or if what I planned at the beginning the 6 weeks isn’t working in real life, I just put a diagonal line through it.  I also like to write notes on there about what scriptures they worked on and if they had a sick day.  When the week is completed, I hole punch it and put it in a different section of my planning binder.

My sons that are doing college are learning to schedule and plan their own time.  I am here to offer suggestions if they need it, but they are doing really well accomplishing their tasks and goals on a weekly basis.  I think this is because they’ve been exposed to some structural planning throughout their homeschool experience.

I should mention that even though our schedule looks like it goes in order from first to last, I generally let the children decide which order they want to do things in.  My ultimate goal for each of them is to get them to be successful and effective time management people.  I won’t be able to plan their entire life, though I think it would be fun!  ha! ha!

There’s no right or wrong way to plan your homeschool, I would encourage you to try different things and see what works for you!  If you are afraid to plan, pray about it, find out what is the root of that fear and pray for wisdom, God loves to give us wisdom in great quantities!!  (James 1:5)

Blessings on an amazing journey of learning!

Joyfully,

Mrs. Taffy

Educating the WholeHearted Child~TOS Review

Once again I’ve had the privilege to review a recently revised book published by Apologia. Educating the WholeHearted Child, by Clay and Sally Clarkson, is basically an enormous manual revealing the heart of homeschooling and the heart of your child. 

With a whopping 375 pages, you’ll get more than just curriculum recommendations, what you’re getting is a guidebook leading you down a path to create an environment of nurturing and growth.

Chapter 1 is called The Christian Home:  Learning to Be at Home with Christ.  If all you read was this first chapter, you would be well on your way to setting the proper foundation in your home.

“In the same way that we seek after God until we find him, children will seek after the kind of home and family life they instinctively desire, even though they are too young to do anything about it.  Every child bears the image of God, their Creator, in their soul.  Since the ideal of a godly home and family was part of God’s original creation before the Fall and an expression of his creative nature, we believe it is etched in every child’s heart.  Your child is made for and naturally longs for the home that you can provide.  If a child finds that kind of home, the vacuum will be filled and they will be more likely to find contentment and fulfillment that will shape the rest of their lives; if they do not find it, they will be more likely to seek to fill that vacuum with substitutes and counterfeits, and that futile search will shape the rest of their restless lives.”

I found myself repeatedly reading snippets of this book out loud to my husband, I was just so excited to read so much truth and passion in one place!  I highlighted so many things to share with you, but fear you will grow weary of reading them on this blog!  So you’ll just have to trust me when I say it’s amazing!

Divided into 3 sections:  Home, Learning and Methods, you could be revisit this book for years to come and still benefit from it’s wisdom.

I loved how the Clarkson’s included “In our Home” snippets, to let the reader experience how they  personally did things.  The resource section in the back is loaded with ideas and worksheets to help you in planning and implementing the things you’ve learned.

Selling for $22.00 from Apologia, this book should be on your curriculum list, under the section: For Teacher!  If you are new to homeschooling and you can catch the vision of what the Clarkson’s are teaching, you’ll be way ahead of the rest of us!

To see what my other Crew Mates thought, visit the Crew Blog.

Joyfully,

Mrs.Taffy

Disclosure-I was given a copy of this book for free, in exchange for my opinion, I was not paid.

Show me the Money! {part 2}

 

The topic of this post is making a homeschool budget.   I always giggle when I hear people talking about making a  budget…not because I think it’s funny, but because I’m married to a very “visionary” man and making a budget is akin to running for president.  It might be a noble idea, but it’s just not gonna happen!  Maybe you are married to somebody like this too, or maybe you are this person and it’s just impossible to make a budget and stick to it.

Because I’ve been married to my husband for almost 19 years and because I’ve been homeschooling for at least 13 off those years, I figured out a way to get what I need, when I need it that doesn’t include the word budget, at least not in the true definition of the word.

Way back at the beginning of my homeschool journey, when Mr. Taffy was making $15.00 an hour and I was home with three little ones I got frustrated with having to ask for money intermittently throughout the year. I also got a little tired of trying to explain every little thing I wanted to buy for the children and why. My husband has a short attention span and can’t spend very long listening to me go on and on about the curriculum and books I like. So I decided to make a homeschool proposal.

Each year after Christmas I would start brainstorming and researching what and from where I was going to buy our books. After I figured it out, I would write it all up in a very “professional” looking document, complete with prices and totals. I would even include things like book shelves and pencils.  Then I would give it to Mr. Taffy to approve. You know what? He’s always approved! And since I made the proposal so early in the year, we were able to take that money out of our tax return and set it aside for the appropriate time to buy. I still do this! It’s also a great way to get through the mid-winter homeschool blues that sometimes sneaks into homeschool households after Christmas.

Besides my New Year’s Proposal there are so many websites with FREE stuff for homeschoolers. Some of my favorites are: 

• http://www.homeschoolshare.com/
• http://www.filefolderfun.com/
• http://www.donnayoung.org/
• http://www.enchantedlearning.com/

These sites offer worksheets and lapbooks and unit studies all for free! Somebody else did the work of compiling the information and posting the links, all you have to do is click and print and reserve some books at the library! 

Another way I like to earn money separate from the regular household income for homeschool supplies is through selling books at either used-curriculum sales or on Amazon.  In turn, you can usually buy things that you might want or need at the same places. I’m always happy to come out of a sale breaking even! 

Stuff to sell.

Visit my Crew Mates to see how they budget their homeschools! (They will be available on 10/18)  Blessings on an amazing journey of learning!

Joyfully,

Mrs. Taffy

P.S.  I’ve written a similar post about the affordability of homeschooling, if that interests you, click here.

A few of my favorite things!

I’ve been homeschooling for a long time, forever it seems, and one of my favorite things about homeschooling is picking curriculum and books and supplies to teach my children with.  It’s a long process for me each year, but I enjoy the research so much!

Now that we’ve been into this 2010/2011 school year for a several weeks, I’d like to share some of my favorite choices.  I’m going to start with the older kids and work my way down to the younger children, there’s so much more out there for the younger kids anyway.

10th Grade

By far, my most favorite things for this grade are Apologia Biology, Teaching Textbooks Algebra 2 and Beautiful Feet Medieval History.

We’ve been using Apologia for a few years now and I can’t recommend them enough, well worth the price!

We’ve been using Teaching Textbooks for a few years as well, and though they are spendy, this curriculum has solved a lot of problems for me and having a big family is a bonus, I can just keep using it over and over and over again!

The most surprising thing to me is the Beautiful Feet Medieval History.  I’m actually using this same curriculum for all three older children-10th, 9th, & 8th.  The study guide is broken into 2 sections; one section for 7/8 and one section for 9/10.  Some of the books that the two groups read are the same and some are different.  I think what I really love about this is the books the children are getting to read.  It was a lot of work tracking down the books for the study and I spent too much money probably, but they LOVE history now!  They have been reading books that challenge them both intellectually and spiritually.  Two years ago we were in Washington D.C.  and saw the original Magna Charta—honestly  we didn’t know why that document was significant.  That was the first book they read in this study!  Now we know!  They will get to study William Tyndale, Joan of Arc, Martin Luther, William Wallace and more!  I really toiled over whether this was the right History curriculum for us and I believe I can say with confidence that it is. 

As an aside, the study guide suggests reading the books aloud to your children.  This hung me up just slightly, but I was able to manipulate the curriculum and plan their lessons in a way that they are doing it completely independently.  And I did not buy multiple books so they each had their own copy to read, instead, they have to manage their time in a way so they can share—real life! 

 

9th Grade

(Aren’t teen boys ALWAYS eating?)

His books are just like his older brothers.  They aren’t doing anything different to be honest.  But this guy loves his Pinnacle Studios for making Lego movies.  We call him our “binary” guy, he thinks like a computer and often gets called a “know-it-all.”  He’s the one who keeps me thoroughly informed on the content of the books he’s reading for History.  :o)

I think the best curriculum choice I made for him this year is Easy Grammar Plus.  Both he and his 12 year old sister struggled in English last year.  Not the composition or comprehension portion, but the mechanics portion.  So I decide to try Easy Grammar Plus which claims to teach all those mechanics in a very quick and easy format.  Sure enough, the light bulb has been going on, for both of them! 

8th Grade 

Including all of the aforementioned…probably the best thing I’m doing with this sweetie is scheduling time in her day each day to work on her own projects.  I call it “life-skills.”  And can include, but isn’t limited too:  knitting, sewing, cooking/baking & drying herbs.  She loves crafty/homemakey things and I want to encourage that in her. 

2nd Grade

Big drop there…you can look at my Taffy Academy page to see what exactly I am using with him, but probably our  favorites right now are Draw-Write-Now and Saxon Math 2.  He begs to do math!  I don’t go through every little thing the book suggests though,  he picks things up pretty quickly and would get bored if I was redundant the way Saxon likes.  He didn’t like Draw-Write-Now last year, so if you have a child who is resistant now, wait awhile and try again.  He enjoys the challenge of the drawings now and particularly likes showing his writings and drawing to his siblings—the older ones have all used the same books.  Last year we started using Galloping the Globe and we all absolutely loved it!  I haven’t gotten back into that yet, but I’m sure it will be another favorite once we do.

Kindergarten

 

This is one of the best ages to teach!  I love this age!  It doesn’t take much time each day, and there are so many fun learning tools, not to mention all the wonderful free resources on-line now!

Her main “bookish” subjects are Teach your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons and Explode the Code.  I’ve taught all my children to read with 100 Easy Lessons—great resource!  This is my first time using the Explode the Code series.  I found a workbook at a Used-Curriculum sale once, or maybe it was a thrift store…either way it was a cheap way to try it out, I remember she wasn’t quite ready to starting learning how to read so this was a gentle way to introduce phonics.  We started with the Before the Code series and are now on book 1.  We only do about 2 pages a day, that seems about right and it corresponds nicely with the Teach Your Child to Read book.  Most of the math we do is either through manipulatives or free File Folder Games.

I could probably write a little book about all the fun things I use with my Kindergartener, please don’t feel like you have to use a packaged curriculum, that would be such a waste of this fun age!  Learning is everywhere for a 5 year old!

TotSchool

I don’t have much to say about this…yeah right!  lol  My best advice:  give your Tot first priority in your homeschool day—that’s not a curriculum.  I spend 30-45 minutes working with him on colors, patterns, counting, etc.  In return he’s a little angel while I’m working with the other children.  Okay, maybe not a complete angel, but definitely better behaved than when I neglect to give him that time FIRST! 

Also, I would suggest visiting this blog and participating in TotSchool.  This other website is loaded with ideas for TotSchool too.  Participating in TotSchool has given me accountability to not neglect the youngest in our family.  And honestly, he probably appreciates the time more than anyone else!

Joyfully,

Mrs. Taffy

Being Strong-Willed

“How do you respond to family/friends that don't support your decision to homeschool?”

This question has been difficult for me.  I almost didn’t answer it for fear of sounding arrogant.  Please forgive me if I come across that way!  It's not my intention…it’s just my way…

Here’s the deal:  I’m very strong-willed.  You probably don’t know that by looking at me or reading my blog, but it’s the truth.  Somebody tried to “pray” that off me once…but of course my will rose up and I was like, “no way!”  My strong-will is what’s kept me on the straight and narrow since I was 5. 

A funny thing about my life is that I didn’t grow up in Christian household but my  parents sent me to a Christian school where we had chapel and memorized scripture as part of our daily lessons.  And it was at that school, as a little kindergartner, that Jesus became my Savior.  Obviously I know what that means more now than I did then, but it was real enough to keep me on this path my whole life.  I’m not trying to give the impression that I was this perfect little Christian girl, Lord knows I was far from that, but my will is what has kept me seeking the Lord and turning to the Lord even though that wasn’t modeled in my own household. 

It’s this same strong-will that made me a loaner in high school and allowed me to remain chaste until marriage.  This same strong-will allows me to have this 7th baby without shame, and (to bring this post back on topic) it’s the same strong-will that keeps me from caring what people think about me homeschooling.  Doesn't that sound arrogant?  I hate the way that sounds, but it’s the truth to an extent.  I haven’t encountered too many naysayers in my homeschool experience.  I’m blessed to have family and friends that support our decision.  That doesn’t mean I haven’t had negative comments—they usually come from strangers or from people who speak before they think.  One time from someone who I looked up too and admired very much.  This particular instance did make me cry, but not retaliate or even defend myself—I was too shocked to speak honestly.  It was more the way it was told to me, not that the words were spoken.  She did apologize, but she got knocked off the pedestal I put her on. 

I homeschool because I am convicted to do so.  Homeschooling to me, is just like anything else I do, an act of surrender and worship to God.  I do it for Him and none other.  That alone gives me the confidence to face and ignore rude hurtful comments.  Jesus is no stranger to this kind of treatment and what did He teach us?

Turn the other cheek.

Pray for those that curse you.

Forgive as I have forgiven you.

Treat others like you want to be treated.

So what can I do?  I can follow Jesus example and in return I don’t criticize somebody’s choice to use public school.  If they want to talk about why I homeschool, I will tell them truthfully. 

There’s a backbone needed on this homeschool journey.  A bit of strong-will to go against the tide.  A resolve to do what you feel the Lord has told you do, NO MATTER WHAT anybody else says! 

And my prayer is that if you have a life filled with unsupportive people, that Jesus will be your Rock and your Confidence and as your security grows in Him, so will your ability to “be a duck” and let those hurtful words slide off your back and fall into the mud where they belong!

Sheepishly,

Mrs. Taffy

Technology & Homeschool

The question is: Do you use technology in your homeschool?  At first I didn’t think I would have anything to contribute to this question, we aren’t that hip on technology really.  But then I started looking around and taking pictures of things that could be considered “technology” and I guess we DO use technology in our homeschool!  Having a “geeky” husband, we always have computers, that’s the main thing.  Computers.

These are the kid’s computers.  They look fancy, but trust me, they were cheap because my husband is the best computer shopper God ever created!  He studies ads and visits stores.  It’s his “thing.” 

This is my computer, right before I wrote up this post.  I’ve got my piles of shopping lists and review materials spread around me, not to mention my “oh so healthy” water and cell phone in case hubby calls. 

The kids mainly use their computers for school,  I have two in high school this year, so they are writing more papers and doing more research on-line.  All of the older 3 do math and Spanish on their computers as well.  Two of them have blogs that serve as a creative writing outlet.  One of them is really into computer animation and loves to make Lego movies in his free time. 

I use my computer for blogging and writing and I have a digital planner on their that I use to make the children’s lesson plans.  We all LOVE email too!

Some other little gadgets that we have around our house that could be technology include:  2 printers, a laminator, and a label maker.

And let’s not forget the baby’s computer!

 

We also enjoy a plethora of educational science and homemaking DVD’s. 

I definitely believe that you can homeschool elementary children without a computer, but in this day and age, it would be a disservice to our young people to not teach them the very basics of running and maintaining a computer.  I will admit that it’s scary “out there” but we strive to teach our children to be discerning and wise. Not to mention  a healthy dose of the fear of the Lord in there for good measure!  :o)

So I guess technology does play a pretty big part in our homeschool journey and I will be the first to admit I’m miserable when my laptop is out of order! 

Joyfully,

Mrs. Blanchard