Homeschool

3 Ways To Learn In The Summer Without Textbooks

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books

Library One of my all-time favorite things about summer is the Summer Reading Program offered at the library. We’ve always taken advantage of the free and very fun planned events at our local library. The ladies there take great pride in providing specific activities for each age group: 0-3, 3-5, 5-12, and 12-17. I know some years they even had a plan for adults. They offer free family movie nights, too. Each year there is a special theme that makes everything blend together and there will be prizes along the way. A special prize and party will occur at the end of the summer for those who complete their reading goals. What is the best part about the Summer Reading Programs at the library? Your kids will be reading!!!! They get to read lighter books, too. Nothing heavy or historical, unless they want to. When my children were very young they liked books like Junie B. Jones or other silly books. Even Sci Fi books or Fletcher the Dog series were fine, as long as they were reading. I approved their choices, of course. Going to the library and having all the fun activities is free and a great thing to do on a hot summer day! Children will only love learning if we as parents show excitement and joy in learning. They should see that we enjoy reading and learning. As we start reading with them right after birth with little cloth books, we teach them that books are a good thing. Reading and learning isn’t a punishment that we only do during school. Learning is a privilege and a joy! You will be surprised what you can find in your library: concerts, movies, crafts, as well as those dvds, cds, and books that can be checked out. Most libraries also have eBooks to download for free now! You can access foreign languages like Mango, too.  We loved using Mango German in our homeschool! Summer reading programs are great for homeschoolers and regular school kids alike.  So, see you at the library! Travel  Summer time and the living is easier for learning.  You would think that homeschoolers want to take a break like everyone else in the summer.  Even though I always took a summer break from the textbooks, the learning didn’t stop.  Because hubby and I are both educators and history buffs, all of our kids love history, too.  It probably rubbed off on them as we taught history with a true love of the subject. The beauty of this type of learning is that you customize it to fit the interests of your family.  Whatever you and the kids are into can be added to your trip/s.  If your budget is tight, you can make these into day trips.  You would be surprised what you can find on Google.  There are many days that museums have free admissions, too.  Pack your own picnic lunches and have a great time.  If your family is adventurous, you may do daring things: hiking or who knows what! Summer travels seemed to always be centered around touring museums, forts, and national exhibits of various types.  Only one child was the adventurous type, so that child did her roller coaster rides on youth trips.  The rest of us couldn’t stand them. Just point us to the closest monument or museum and we would be in there for days! We always loved field trips during the school year, but the summer gave more time since hubby had the summers off (teachers schedule).  We didn’t force the kids to write papers or take notes, but just let them soak in the love of learning. Life Skills Summer is also a perfect time to learn or develop life skills.  During the school year, we often get too busy to spend as much time on life skills as we would like.  There might be one skill that your child wants to take to the next level.  Your daughter, like mine, might want to learn to decorate cakes or cupcakes.  Since I’m not gifted in this area, my daughter took a class at our craft store.  It didn’t cost much and she became very good.  She even took the entire series of classes and was soon turning down too many offers to make wedding cakes! My son liked working on engines and took apart an old lawn-mower and rebuilt it.  He also worked on building a computer from scratch.  The kids have time in the summer to develop skills in the areas where they have gifts and talents.  This is why we homeschool, isn’t it?  So, I guess in the summer, I become an un-schooler?  Whatever you call our family, we are learners.  We learn year-round, but not always with a text-book.  What about your family? @2017. copyright Lisa Ehrman

Learning Styles And Homeschool Planning

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Homeschooling  introduces us to many theories of how to teach our children.  When you start to hear about them or read about them, it can be overwhelming.  But, it helps to know the basics before you start buying curriculum.  I have degrees in education, so I know something of this.  When I homeschooled, I was extremely interested in learning styles. My children were 5 years apart in age and very different in personality.  We felt like they were all first-born children, and they didn’t line up with the traditional first-born, middle and baby child patterns.  That was fine with us, but I wanted to pick a curriculum that worked well for them.  Attending my state convention in Virginia, I learned so much about planning.  I also found a book about Learning Styles. I loved this little book which I immediately could identify each of my children in their particular learning style.  As I read the book, it made so much sense how they reacted to their course-work.  If they were visual, I could see the problems they had with a lesson that was completely auditory.  Or, if they were hands-on, they had trouble sitting still and doing work-sheets all day. I never dreamed there would be any problem with worksheets.  My learning style is the type that loves worksheets, quizzes and routines.  As a teacher, I was extremely comfortable doing ABeka or something similar.  When I tried to teach in a different learning style, I was completely out of my comfort zone, and it was hard! But, understanding that it was ok to struggle, as long as it was benefitting my children made me feel great!.  My oldest was then put in a room to do his A Beka, because he really needed a quiet place to do his work.  The other two and I did KONOS unit studies in a separate room.  This plan worked so well. KONOS provided all the subjects except Math and English.  The topics had projects to do as a family, but some were for younger children and some for older children.  The kids and I loved it and they loved learning. This was one of our favorite seasons of homeschooling.  Trying to find the perfect learning program for your child is the best kind of education a child can hope for.  It certainly doesn’t make everything perfect, but it provides them the easiest way to understand what they’re expected to learn. As my children got older, they had to learn primarily from textbooks and online.  We didn’t stick with unit studies or hands-on activities.  We did more of a classical/charlottemason mix.  But, when they needed to learn or memorize or drill for tests, I reminded them of how they learned best.  They used some of those methods to prepare and did very well.  This helped prepare them for college.  They even used the study methods in college.  The oldest has a masters, the middle child is getting a masters and the youngest is a junior in college. Some people criticize learning style theory, but I know it worked in our home.  What do you think about it?  Do you have a particular way to choose your curriculum?  There are so many things to consider.  That’s what I love about homeschooling.  Learning styles is just one of the many things to consider when planning your child’s education. @2017, copyright Lisa Ehrman

Homeschool Summer Bucket List

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How do you plan your summer time?  Do you envision the lazy days ahead with lots of sleeping late, relaxation and family vacations?  Or are your summer days filled to the brim with scheduled classes, to-do lists, and organizational goals? As a homeschooling mom, I always looked forward to summer as a time to accomplish all the things that I couldn’t do during the school year.  We didn’t homeschool during the summer break (June-August), so those months were free for other activities.  That didn’t mean that summer was a free-for-all for the kids or me.  We actually had plans. Every summer was a little different, but there are many things that carried over from one summer to the next.  I guess it’s because I come from a long line of teachers, that reading and libraries are so extraordinary to me.  My children were always expected to read over the summer and participate in summer reading programs at the library. When planning the summer’s activities, I think it’s so important to include each child’s opinion.  No matter the age of the child, letting them have a say-so is a good idea.  We liked to get together and plan what we wanted to do.  It was necessary to put some things on the calendar or they probably wouldn’t happen. When you ask children what’s important for them, you might be surprised at their ideas.  They may want to have a picnic, pick peaches, or something completely unexpected.  Older children might have to be reminded of the family budget, but they can still contribute ideas that are meaningful to them.  Everyone will feel important and part of the family when they are able to help plan the summer fun list. Children will also understand when the plans to organize the closets (or other chores) may need to be done in the summer.  Having more time for relaxing and daydreaming than working can be a great thing!  I always thought that being the mom and teacher was tough, because I didn’t want to always be a person who just enforced rules.  Summer gave me a time to be a different person with my kids; a time to wear another hat. My favorite summer was one that included lots of time chilling on the deck reading books.  I read 15 books that summer.  Many were homeschooling books and sitting there with the tree’s shade was so refreshing.  The children played in the backyard with a slip-n-slide and had a great time. What are some of your favorite summer plans?  Have fun making your Summer Bucket List! @2017, copyright Lisa Ehrman

Homeschool Burn-Out

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teach

Have you ever felt burned-out from homeschooling?  Numerous things can cause a feeling of burn-out when a mom has been homeschooling for years.   Physical exhaustion can lead to burn-out, because homeschool moms don’t usually get enough sleep or exercise (self-care).  Can I hear an amen?  Homeschool moms can also get emotionally drained from stress.  Educating children is stressful, even if the children are well-behaved and obedient.  We want to do an outstanding job as teachers and as trainers of our children’s character.  On top of that, we want to have a nice home that is clean and organized. Many homeschool moms must live on a tight budget, which also causes stress.  The list could go on and on: sickness in the family, special-needs child, care-taker to a parent, job-loss, etc.  I’m sure if you have homeschooled long enough, you’ve experienced some very stressful situations.  These situations can be used for good to allow you to teach your children how to deal with stress or crisis. For me, burn-out came when I was homeschooling and trying to work part-time.  At this time, my health was getting worse and worse.  I kept pushing myself and didn’t listen to the warning signs that my body sent me.  This was not smart.  One day my body just said….that’s enough!  I had to slow down. Hubby and I decided that when the fall came around we would put our kids in a Christian school.  The oldest really was excited and the younger one didn’t really care.  We had always taken things one-year-at-a-time, so we didn’t feel guilty.  I did have some people who treated me like I was a bad mom.  I knew I was doing what was needed at the time. For two years, my kids were in school, and they did great!  The oldest graduated with honors and enjoyed the sports and social life.  The younger was also an honor student.  I rested and rested.  I learned a lot and spent much time with God. After those two years, our youngest was homeschooled again.  He was excited to come back home.  He stayed home until he graduated.  My health did continue to get worse and worse, but we worked through videos and tutors. If you can, try to prevent burn-out.  Give yourself a break.  You can’t do everything.  If burn-out happens, it happens.  Work with it and don’t fight it.  See what needs to change and let God change your family for the better.  God will bless….period.@2016, copyright Lisa Ehrman

What’s Your Learning Style?

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As an educator, the thing I love most about homeschooling, is our ability to provide individualized education plans for each of our children.  I don’t know about you, but each of my children were very different.  In order for me to teach them well, and prepare them for life ahead, I needed to make sure I used the best teaching methods suited to their learning style.   My homeschooling goal for my children was to prepare them with a strenuous education, so that no matter what calling they had, they would have a great educational foundation.  I wasn’t perfect, by any means, but did my best. I believe that teaching children to learn in the way that they learn best, will help them to love learning.  This will help them to be life-long learners.  This helps to develop character.  As I taught homeschool, I spent much of my summers learning about learning.  I already had a degree in (Music Education) so I had taken many education courses in college.  These courses helped me to understand a lot about lesson planning and the importance of scope and sequence.  I knew that just jumping around with a lot of unit studies wasn’t going to cover everything that I wanted to cover.  Gaps will happen, of course.  But, I didn’t want to add to them by my own lack of planning and organization. When I began to learn about “learning styles”, I pictured myself and each of my children.  Each of us stood out in one style or another.  Some of us over-lapped in more than one style.  This is why most curriculum plans are written so that we teach, using all of the learning styles.  (That way it works for a classroom full of kids)  It also works for children who have a balance of many styles.   You may find that one of your children is struggling with school or just one subject in school.  This is a good time to make sure you are teaching to their dominant learning style.  It helps to capture their attention and makes it easier for them to focus, naturally.  I had a child who was very visual.  When I began to use visual learning projects with her, with the Konos curriculum, she loved it.  Konos is also a great curriculum to use with more than one child, because there is much hands-on learning.  The curriculum provides many learning projects to choose from in each section, from all the different learning styles. If you’re not sure what learning style your child is, you can read more about it.  You can also have them tested.  Check with a local college that has a teacher’s education department.  Many times they offer tutoring and testing.  Oftentimes, it’s free, because the student teachers are being trained in giving these tests.  So, it’s a win-win for everyone.   Focusing on learning styles is not the only way to plan education, of course.  But, it’s an interesting way to look at how each of your children is learning.  It certainly is a good option to check into if your children have had any struggles with their curriculum.  When I earned my master’s in education, we studied differentiated instruction.  This term is used in the classroom, when the teacher needs to use all methods available to make sure that every child is able to learn.  Homeschoolers need to, and usually, do this naturally.  If you must use the same curriculum with every child (aka ABeka) you can add things to this program to meet specific learning needs.  (I’m just using ABeka as an example- I like their books and used them quite a lot). If you have any questions about this, please feel free to contact me on the contact form.  I would also love to hear comments about how you’ve used learning styles in your homeschool!  Thanks.@2016, copyright Lisa Ehrman

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