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.

A fun ice cream recipe that gets the whole family involved

The weather report said it was 104 yesterday and the grim report says tomorrow is going to be 108. So I wanted to come up with some fun cool activities that I could do with the kids. I love to make ice cream. I even won the ice cream crank off 4 years ago wearing my middle son at the time. SO I have altered a fun ice cream recipe for those of you who do not do diary. This is a fun way to get everyone involved and burn off a few calories in the process:

Vanilla
2 c. soy creamer (or any non-dairy milk)
2 c. soy milk (or any non-dairy milk)
3/4 c. sugar (or Splenda/other sugar substitute)
2 T. arrowroot
2 t. vanilla extract (choose a high-quality brand; none of that imitation stuff either!)

Mix 1/4 cup of soy milk with the 2 tablespoons of arrowroot and set aside.Mix the soy creamer, soy milk, and sugar together in a saucepan. When the mixture has just started to boil, take off the heat and stir in the arrowroot slurry. This should immediately cause the liquid to thicken (not a lot, but a noticeable amount; it will be thicker when it cools).Stir in vanilla extract.Set the ice cream mixture aside to cool.

ICE CREAM IN A BAGGIE:Once cooled put in ll ingredients in a zip-loc baggie Put in a gallon-size Zip-Loc bag and zip closed: 2 T. rock salt (baking aisle in grocery) the filled and zipped sandwich bag from above ice cubes to fill bag about 3/4 full Shake and roll filled bag over and over until frozen (about 30 min.) As the ice melts it does leak a little so do outside

Summer Activities

Several weeks ago Alex wrote about summer classes and programs for her 4-year-old. I've been looking into activities for mine here in Nacogdoches. For those of you who live elsewhere, your city may offer similar activities.

The Nacogdoches Public Library hosts a variety of summer programs for kids. These are things like puppet shows, yoga for kids, musicals, and plays. Last summer a local chemistry professor presented "Chemistry is Fun." It was like a magic show using chemistry. When we start homeschooling I'd like to re-create some of the things he did. Our library also has story time in English and Spanish. I've been thinking of taking Olivia to the Spanish story time. Young children pick up languages so easily - this would be the perfect time to expose her to it.

Our Recreation Center also offers a variety of activities for kids, including twirling, t-shirt workshops, painting workshops, dancing, drawing, sculpting, swim lessons (starting as young as 6 months), and gymnastics. We're signing Olivia up for gymnastics and she'll have her first class today. She's really looking forward to it. This will be her first experience with any kind of class.

Although we don't have a zoo, Ellen Trout Zoo is just down the road in Lufkin. If you want to travel a little further you can visit Caldwell Zoo in Tyler. I took the kids there Friday and met up with my mom, sister, and niece. They have two white tigers that are just beautiful! Olivia likes animals and going to the zoo. I wasn't sure how Jesse would react to it, but he had a good time. The first thing we did was watch one of the workers feed the penguins. Jesse walked up to the glass and watched them swim around. He laughed and squealed at them. Olivia and Jesse also particularly enjoyed the tigers and snakes. We'll be visiting Cameron Park Zoo in Waco in August.

Before you know it, it'll be time to pick blueberries and peaches. Olivia loves picking fruit...and eating it! Jesse loves eating fruit, too. We've been enjoying the blackberries. We haven't picked enough to make a cobbler, but we've picked enough to eat out of hand.

I'll be watching for more things for kids to do. If you've got some other ideas, I'd love to hear them.

Summer break camps

Summer vacation is quickly coming upon us and I've been looking into several places to send my almost 5 year old son for classes. We are going to start homeschooling him this fall and I want to supplement my teachings with outside classes so he can have regular social interaction in a class form. In doing so, I've found several programs that run year round and would be nice for the summer time.

Did you know there's a Lego Learning Center in Southlake? It's the only one in North America and according to my son, it's super cool. They have several spring, summer, and winter camps. They also have regular sessions throughout the year and camps specifically for homeschoolers. They learn several skills including math, engineering, and fair play.

The Fort Worth Zoo has camps meant for homeschoolers, but anyone can attend. The children are in groups according to age and learn about various animals and their habits, etc. The Heard Natural Museum offers a similar course, but seems to focus more on local flora and fauna. How cool for a 5 year old to get a zoology class?

There are several local gymnasiums that have weekly drop in classes for under a couple bucks per child. These free play classes are always super fun and non competitive. You might also look into local music schools for summer programs and there are now cooking classes for children as well. I know that Whole Foods, Central Market, and Market Street offer cooking classes for children ages 5 and up. They also offer parent and child classes for ages 3 and up.

We're trying really hard to get our kids out more, but I find it difficult to motivate myself to go farther than the local park or the mall. It's often too hot or too cold outside for the kids and to be honest it's hard for me to get all three kids ready and out the door. So this year we have made the resolution to get our children more involved in activities outside of regular playdates or the play area at the mall. I hope I've given you a few ideas for your own kids and maybe we'll even see each other there!