Where to Begin

Homeschooling can be expensive, but it doesn't have to be. My daughter will be starting first grade this fall. Instead of spending hundreds of dollars on a boxed curriculum, I decided to create my own. There are several places to find a curriculum or scope and sequence for various grade levels. You might be able to get one from your local public or private school. Here are some websites I consulted:

A Beka scope and sequence nursery through grade 12
Time 4 Learning scope and sequence preschool through grade 8
BJU Press scope and sequence preschool through grade 12

I found a couple of textbooks at Goodwill and the Women's Shelter Resale Shop. A friend of mine who is no longer homeschooling gave me some books. Most of our "textbooks" will come from our public library and university library. I picked up a math workbook at the Women's Shelter for $0.59! And it just happens to be the level we need! If I hadn't found that, I was planning to buy the workbooks from Horizons. My cousin uses their math curriculum so I got to look over hers and I really liked it. I may use it next year.

The following sites have a variety of worksheets, activities, and crafts. Some of the activities would be fun for kids to do on the weekends or during summer, not just for homeschooling. Some of the sites are geared toward younger kids.

A to Z Teacher Stuff
Easy Fun School
Family Education
TLS Books
Hotchalk
The Home School Mom
Super Teacher Worksheets
DLTK's Sites

If you've been homeschooling for a while, you probably have a list of favorite sites. If you're just getting started, I hope these will help you. I think I've got a science activity/experiment for every week! I'll probably be posting some sites by topic later. Having them categorized is helping me find what I want more easily.

Homeschool Mom

I've been scouring the internet for free materials to use with Olivia, so I've got homeschooling on the brain. I stumbled across a site the other day with the following ad for a homeschool mom. Some of the responsibilities and characteristics apply to all mothers but other parts are more specific to homeschool moms. I had to share it!

Now accepting applications:
Family seeking fun-loving, godly homeschool teacher. Applicant will be responsible for providing total educational development and daily personal care for children of multiple ages. Applicant will assume the following roles: cook, housemaid, nurse, taxi driver, administrative assistant, accountant, athletic coach, social director, computer technician, household and automotive repairman, gardener, course instructor in multiple subject areas and grade levels, and various other responsibilities. This is a full-time position — approximately 120 hours or more per week. Qualified candidates must be able to work well under pressure, multi-task, and prioritize work loads while maintaining a friendly, enthusiastic attitude. Quick thinking, good memory, and a varied background in extensive subject matter are a must. Promising candidates will be resourceful, adjust easily to distractions, and display creative, hard-working leadership abilities. Organizational and problem solving skills are a plus. Previous teaching experience and/or college preferred, but is not required. If you're interested in working in a fast-paced, ever-changing environment, this is the position for you! For more information on this exciting opportunity to earn fulfilling, one-of-a-kind rewards, please apply in person today.

I also found some great homeschooling advocacy products at CafePress. Here are a few of them that I may just have to order.

You might be homeschooled if... t-shirt
You know you are a homeschool mom when... t-shirt
My mom is the principal... t-shirt

There are also bumper stickers and t-shirts that say "I have seen "the village" and I don't want it raising my child."

In the next few weeks I'll share some websites that have free materials and activities. These are not just for homeschooling. They have worksheets that could be used if your child needs extra practice. Some of the activities and experiments would be fun to do with your kids during summer or spring break.

Music for Children

We love music - listening to it and playing it. I started playing the clarinet in the 6th grade and played it through high school. I also picked up the alto sax in high school. I can play tunes on the guitar and mandolin but never learned the chords. (That's one of the many things I'd like to do.) Hubby plays guitar (chords and melodies) and took some piano lessons. We used to play guitar and mandolin together quite frequently...before kids. Kids seem to take up a lot of time! And it's hard to play when a 2-year-old is plunking on the strings. Hopefully we'll be able to play more as the kids get older.

Olivia and Jesse like listening to music and playing around on the keyboard. Lately Olivia has shown an interest in reading music and picking out tunes. I've been helping her with the notes - we've been talking about their names, where they are on the keyboard, and how many counts they get. I plan to include music in our homeschooling. I want to study music not only for its own sake, but it will help her with math. Whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, eighth notes = fractions! Music and math are closely related. Scales follow a pattern of whole steps and half steps. Chords are also mathematical. It's not uncommon for people who do well in math to do well in music and vice versa.

I've been trying to expose Olivia (and Jesse, too, when appropriate) to a variety of music. Olivia has been to Phantom of the Opera (Dallas), Riverdance (Orange), Lord of the Dance (Tyler), Oliver (community theater), The Little Mermaid (university theater), and others. Both kids have been to programs the library sponsored that featured bluegrass, harp, and opera. We have plans to take them to Beauty and the Beast (university theater).

You might check with your local university or college and see what they have to offer. They probably have child-friendly performances. They may also offer Kindermusik or music lessons. If you're not in the Nacogdoches area, these sites will give you an idea of what you may find in your area.

Below are a few websites I found this week that I plan to use when working with Olivia. Although my husband and I have lots of sheet music, not all of it is suitable for beginners. These sites offer a variety of music - from quarter and half notes in the key of C to more complicated pieces.

Blank Sheet Music Print blank sheet music. You can add treble clef, bass clef, time signature, and key signature.

Music Tech Teacher Lots of things to print, including treble and bass notes and ledger lines on the staff, sharps, flats, major scales, rhythms and rests.

8Notes Free sheet music of varying degrees of difficulty and for a variety of instruments.

Take a Piano Sheet Music Break Free piano music of varying degrees of difficulty, as well as lessons.

I Love Homeschool

Some people weigh the advantages and disadvantages of homeschooling before making their decision. In a previous post, I mentioned that my husband and I had always planned to homeschool our children. We didn't even discuss it. We simply both agreed that it would be best for us and our kids. That being the case, we didn't make a list of all the pros and cons. This is only our first year to homeschool, but I'm already noticing advantages I hadn't thought of before.

My cousin homeschools her two children. Her husband is currently traveling a lot for his job. They don't have to enroll their kids in school, pull them out a few weeks later, then repeat the process elsewhere. They just take their school supplies when they move. As soon as they unpack, they're ready to pick up where they left off.

Last week I took the kids to my parents' house for a couple of days. Mama, Olivia, and I went to "The Phantom of the Opera" in Dallas. We saw it on Thursday at 2:00 pm. It's about a 3.5-hour drive from our house. If Olivia were in public school, I'm sure she would have gotten an unexcused absence that day.

I'm enjoying the flexibility homeschooling allows. I'll probably discover other perks as we continue this journey.

Rip Van Winkle

There's a homeschooling group in my area that gets together for various activities. I found out that they were meeting at the park last Friday, so I made a point to be there. I wanted to meet some of the mothers and let Olivia meet some of the kids. The catch: they were meeting from 1:00 to 3:00 and Jesse usually has a nap around 2:00.

We left the house right after lunch and got to the park at 1:00. A few of the homeschoolers were there. Some others trickled in later. Olivia had a great time swinging, sliding, climbing, and running. Jesse also had a great time swinging, sliding, climbing, and running. I talked to one mother. She wasn't even with the homeschooling group! She does homeschool, after all, but just happened to pick that day to go to the park. Jesse, at 21 months, wants to play with the big kids, but doesn't understand gravity. So I spent the hour we were there chasing him around, making sure he didn't kill himself. He almost fell down the steps to the slide. If he had, he would've hit his head on 4 or 5 steps. (Sometimes I wonder whether he'll make it to his 2nd birthday!)

We left the park at 2:00, ran a couple of errands, and got home around 3:30. Of course, Jesse fell asleep in the car. When we got home, I woke him up getting him out of his car seat. I hoped he'd finish his nap because he'd been up since about 7:30. That little rascal didn't go to sleep until 4:30 or 4:45. I wondered whether I should just let him stay up until bedtime, but we were planning to go back to town that evening and he really needed a nap. As it turned out, we didn't go back to town. Suppertime came and Jesse was still sawing logs. Olivia's bedtime came and Jesse was still out. (He was breathing - I checked.) I began to worry he'd get up around midnight and want to play. Finally, hubby and I went to bed. I didn't hear a peep from my little boy until 7:30 in the morning. I couldn't believe he'd slept for over 14 hours!

It's a Boy!

Or maybe a girl. I can't determine the gender of a butterfly. This is a gulf fritillary.

My husband found a chrysalis the other day. We brought it in and put it in a gallon jar, then put a coffee filter on top with a rubber band around it. He also found a caterpillar that had just started turning into a chrysalis, and one that looked like it was about to attach itself, so they went in the jar, too. We'll have 2 more butterflies this week!

Since we're homeschooling, I thought this would be a great experiment for Olivia. (Of course, any kid will enjoy watching a caterpillar turn into a butterfly.) We can cover a multitude of subjects. For example, I'm going to have her draw the life cycle of a butterfly (science and art). We can read about butterflies and passion vines (library skills, reading, and botany). We can also read about harvesting passion fruit (gardening and economics).

We took the new butterfly out of the jar.











Here you can see the upper sides of its wings.







It landed on my robe for a few seconds.







This is the gulf fritillary's caterpillar. Here you'll find some other pictures of the butterfly and caterpillar, as well as a passion flower.




The passion vine (or passion plant) is the only larval food plant for the gulf fritillary. This is a young shoot. The vines send runners underground and the plant spreads like a weed.



The passion vine produces passion fruit. I read that the fruit falls off when it's ripe.

To Be or Not To Be A Homeschooler...

...for me there is no question. Before my husband and I were even married we knew we would homeschool our children. Olivia is almost 5, the age at which most children start kindergarten. I had considered just starting her with 1st grade next year, but she told me "I want to start kindergarten when I'm 5." I don't want to squelch her enthusiasm, so we're about to start our homeschooling journey.

I know many people will ask me why I homeschool. Some already have. (My parents were probably the first. They were both public school teachers.) There are so many reasons. I thought I'd share some of my reasons, and some advantages of homeschooling, and then ask you to share some of yours. It's nice to have a good defense when you're attacked.

They're MY children. I have the right and responsibility to teach them. I'll have the freedom to spend as little or as much time helping them with a particular concept as they need. I'll also have the freedom to "teach" them in as structured or unstructured a manner as we find necessary. My kids will be safe, well-fed, and loved. They'll grow up with a positive self-image, confidence, and a strong sense of family.

We won't waste time driving to and from school. When my husband takes a business trip, we may be able to tag along and visit interesting places. (Olivia and I went with him to Austin a couple of years ago. While he was in meetings, we went to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and the Children's Museum.) We won't have to keep up with the latest fashions. We won't have to worry about negative peer pressure, teasing, or bullying.

This is by no means an exhaustive list. These are just a few things I thought about while I was sitting here. I'd love to hear your reasons for homeschooling and/or other advantages you've thought of.