Homeschool Moms
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Homeschooling moms get the best of both worlds, with the opportunity to spend more time with their children and guide their learning process. Here are tips and advice on homeschooling children, from developing lessons for homeschooling and finding ideas for projects to socializing activities for homeschooled children. Homeschooling editor: Lisa Russell |
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Written by Lisa Russell
Homemade Low Cost Day Camp Ideas for Family Fun and Games for Kids: Organize an inexpensive summer camp with these ideas for a low cost day camp. Enjoy cheap do it yourself summer camp fun and games. Plan summer fun for kids today.
Written by Lisa Russell
Multiple Intelligence Theories Help Homeschoolers Plan Classes: Knowing how a child learns best is the key to crafting effective lesson plans. Homeschool lessons designed around learning styles make learning and teaching more fun.
Written by Lisa Russell
Daily lesson plans are important documents for homeschooling, but making them can be intimidating. Learning to create effective lesson plans is a skill that can help maximize the effectiveness of your homeschool. Starting with an overall plan for the homeschool year, an annual homeschool plan, is a great way to clarify your daily goals.
Read more: How to Break Down a Curriculum for Annual Lesson Planning
Written by Lisa Russell
Written by Lisa Russell
A systematic approach to creating lesson plans for preschool themed learning, or unit studies, is well within the reach of any homeschooling family. Taking a cue from reputable private preschool programs, parents can make homemade lesson plans to reflect each child's interests and favorite activities.
Private Preschools
Since preschools have several children to manage, their curriculum is designed to make the best use of children's waxing and waning energy levels. For example, activities that require large motor skills like playing outside are alternated throughout the day with other activities, that use fine motor skills or critical thinking or expressiveness. Also, a preschooler's natural inclination to build forts, dress up and tell stories is harnessed with activities that allow them to learn naturally.
Preschool Learning Themes
To aid in planning, and give focus, interest and variety throughout the year, a curriculum for preschool often has different themes. For example, even though number play occurs every day at 9am, some days it will mean counting dinosaur toys, when the theme is dinosaurs. When the theme is fruit, they'll be counting strawberries. Dress-up during community helpers week will involve pretending to be a firefighter, or role-playing a police officer or banker
Making a Homeschool Curriculum for Preschool
Begin with your child's interests. On a sheet of paper, list the things your child likes, like dinosaurs, robots, aliens, cooking, and ballerinas. On the other side of the page, list the playtime activities that your child often engages in.
Each theme, or unit study, will consist of literature, usually picture books shared with the child or a chapter book that you read aloud. You will also need to include mathematical play, which means counting, classifying, and ordering at the preschool level. Artistic expression is also important, as are cooperative learning experiences, community involvement, observation and exploration, verbal, musical and whole-body activities.
Split the school year into 2-4 week time periods, and plan to focus on one theme at a time. Using your child's interests and favorite activities, make sure that each area of learning is being addressed. It's not necessary to duplicate a private preschool's time schedule, which often means 2-3 hour nap and measured time in each activity. There's no reason, in a homeschooling environment, to make the child stop something he's enjoying.
Make use of free preschool activities in your community, like library and book store story times. Homeschooling is about making the world their classroom, instead of being confined to the dining room table. Free worksheets and printable activities are available online, as are websites for learning. Be resourceful, and you can create a curriculum for preschool homeschool that meets a child's learning needs and their personal needs at the same time.
Written by Lisa Russell
Creating a Waldorf School at Home Using a Waldorf Curriculum: Waldorf schools can be pricey. Waldorf homeschooling is a way to provide a Waldorf education at home. Plan your own activities, or purchase a Waldorf curriculum.
Homeschooling families who are drawn to the Waldorf education method of teaching, pioneered by Rudolph Steiner, can either invent their own Waldorf program in their home, or order a Waldorf curriculum for homeschooling.
Steiner is a controversial character in the home education world. His anthroposophical view of the human being, which includes reincarnation and the evolution of the human soul, is the basis for educational philosophies that rely upon a unique emphasis upon imagination in learning that dominates the younger years, and an increase in analytical thinking as children get older. The goal of a Waldorf school education is that children reach their destinies as fully integrated humans, both mentally and spiritually.
Waldorf Education
Families choosing a Waldorf education are often pleased to realize that it isn't mandatory to purchase a specific Waldorf curriculum. Reading about the Waldorf philosophies and understanding the principles behind Waldorf schools is often enough to help parents make decisions about Waldorf toys, and to know which kinds of activities should be available for homeschooling Waldorf families.
Christian Waldorf Curriculum
Christopherus Homeschool Resources distributes a Christian Waldorf-inspired homeschooling curriculum. Donna Simmons, the founder of Christopherus has worked with Waldorf homeschooling families for more than ten years to create a Waldorf homeschool curriculum that begins in Kindergarten and goes all the way through 12th grade. The program is complete through the third grade and Donna is working with families in the older grades to help finish the older grades.
Secular Waldorf Homeschooling
Live-Education is a secular homeschooling program that focuses on teaching the parents how to present information and lessons in the Waldorf manner. Since Waldorf education involves a lot of art, and not a lot of worksheets and testing, it's important that parents have support. Live-Education offers phone support for families who are using their curriculum, as well as internet support groups. Instead of day-by-day lesson plans, the Live-Education program helps parents create blocks of learning, similar to unit studies.
Homeschool Curriculum
Oak Meadow Homeschool curriculum is designed to help parents meet state homeschooling requirements, in a manner similar to the Waldorf style. Lessons rely heavily on nature studies and journaling. They offer an accredited correspondence enrollment, similar to the Calvert model, whereby students and parents are in regular contact with teachers, and the student's work samples are evaluated.
Waldorf Supplies
Waldorf supplies are available online and in print catalogs. Many Waldorf families have started home businesses making and distributing Waldorf supplies, like Waldorf dolls, wooden toys and dress-up supplies.
Creating a Waldorf school room in pre-school is a popular time to start, with new items being added each year as the children age and begin to require different stimulation. Whether using a pre-made curriculum, or planning a Waldorf school at home, it is wise to read and understand the background of the Waldorf Education philosophy, in order to get the maximum benefit from Waldorf Homeschooling.
Written by Lisa Russell
Finding 4-H Projects and a 4-H Club
Contact your local 4-H office to obtain a copy of their current catalog. Older kids will be able to browse through and determine the kinds of projects they're interested in. A membership volunteer at the county extension office should be able to help you find a 4-H club that offers that project. If not, consider volunteering to lead the project within another group, or as a homeschool 4-H club.
How to Homeschool with 4-H
The 4-H curriculum modules are designed to be worked independently and within the context of a 4h club. Parents should find it easy, though, to adapt the activities to a smaller group size. Alternatively, a homeschool co-op is a great place to share the activities. In 4-H, one of the important goals of the program is that students learn to keep accurate record books for presentation purposes. If this is a challenge for you, consider purchasing one of the 4-H leader booklets or consulting with a local 4-H leader.
Homeschooling with 4-H
Science curriculum is one area where homeschooling families often have trouble finding a program that meets their needs. Kids in 4-H programs have been mastering animal husbandry, farming and gardening for years. Those are practical applications of biology. The computer sciences projects are becoming more popular and the 4-H catalog lists earth science projects, like geology as well.
Social Studies Homeschooling Curriculum
Keep your eyes open for 4-H projects that help a child get involved in service to their community and the world. Whether it's the community service-based projects for the elementary school students or the U.S. Government and leadership or communication projects for the high schoolers, 4-H offers a thorough and reputable program for creating leaders with an awareness of the needs of their community.
If you're just learning how to homeschool or if you simply want to explore a reputable, challenging curriculum that just happens to be almost free, then exploring the 4-H homeschooling resources might be the best idea. Finding a 4-H club in your area is one way to start, or you can order the materials online. Having the help of a 4-H leader is an easy way to navigate the unfamiliar terminology and to understand the age levels behind each 4-H project.
Written by Lisa Russell
It's no secret that kids love watching videos, and educational programming can make parents feel a little more relaxed about time spent in front of the tube. But these days, homeschooling families can take it a step further by using streaming educational videos for homeschool and create an entire video homeschooling curriculum using educational cable TV on demand and internet streaming video websites in conjunction with educational materials and lesson plans designed to enhance the experience.
Educational Videos from Cable TV On Demand
Using the cable TV box, access the on demand menu and scroll to the educational or kids and teens section. There are educational videos available for free from Discovery Education, the History Channel, TLC and Noggin. Some cable TV providers also offer other channels.
Visit the website for each network to see what tis being aired this week and check the teachers or parents section to see if there are educational lesson plans to go along with the show. Sometimes the network will offer printable worksheets, additional video footage, links to other helpful websites or even discussion boards for students and parents.
Homeschool Videos Streaming Online
Expert Village and Youtube users have uploaded several instructional videos. You can also find clips ofdocumentaries on several different topics that spread across the curriculum. Kids can browse for videos about things they're already learning, things they're interested in or even make and upload videos about things they've already learned.
The Discovery Channel offers Discovery Online Streaming Videos for classroom and homeschool use. There is a fee to join and the channel offers a complimentary 30 day free trial. Discovery streaming educational videos are very well made, they strive to be scientifically accurate and the picture quality is very high, as opposed to some of the Youtube videos available.
Search for Educational Videos
You can search for videos on Google. Simply enter a topic for a video you'd like to see, or something you'd like to learn about in the search field. After you've searched, click on the word video (upper left hand side of the screen just under the word “Google.”) This will sort out all of the search results so that you only see the videos. It will even show a screen shot of each clip.
Homeschool videos are a great way for the entire family to enjoy learning together. After watching educational videos on demand, students and parents can use the internet to find more information about the material in the video. To learn more about the making of the video, take note of the information in the credits regarding the production company, the locations used and other insightful things to research. There are a lot of ways to use videos for homeschooling. Try one today.
Written by Lisa Russell
Written by Lisa Russell
Where to Look for Homeschooling Volunteer Opportunities: Volunteering with children and teens is a great way to be involved in the community. Finding service projects and getting homeschoolers involved can be fun.
Getting homeschoolers involved in the community is an important task. So often, homeschooling families are left feeling isolated when they could be at the center of the action. With flexible schedules and a lot of interests to explore, homeschooled kids have the unique opportunity to make their community and the world their classroom. Participating in community service projects gives families the opportunity to work together for the greater good. Plus, it's a natural and healthy form of socialization.
Service Projects for Children and Teens
There are many community service projects that children and teens can be involved in. As a family, it can be as simple as raking the leaves for an elderly neighbor, leaving Christmas presents at the door of a widowed parent or peeling potatoes at a soup kitchen. Everyone is capable of helping in some way. It's just a matter of finding an appropriate place for everyone to pitch in. Smaller children are good at collecting canned goods, but should not be asked to walk around with money. Both the Girl Scout Cookie sale and the Unicef Milk Carton project have changed their rules to reflect modern safety standards.
Community Service Projects for Teens
Older teens and adults can plan their own community service projects. Teens can gather in a group to discuss the organization they'd like to help and then brainstorm ideas for how best to contribute. Many teens enjoy the idea of holding a car wash, a bake sale, an auction and spaghetti dinner or even a cell-phone telethon.
Coordinating a community service event is at the heart of the Boy Scout Eagle project and the Girl Scout Silver and Gold Awards. Not only is it good to help others, but coordinating volunteers, planning the logistics of an event, communicating with everyone involved, setting goals, marketing and advertising are all real life career skills that can benefit the teens far more than a day spent in the classroom.
Opportunities to Volunteer with Kids
Independent community service projects, like community clean-up and bake sales, are usually safe places for children to volunteer. The U.S. Postal service holds an annual fundraiser called “stamp out hunger” and in many cities, children can volunteer to help unload donated food from the mail carrier's trucks. Sorting the food into donation boxes to be sent to food banks is a task many children can manage easily. Volunteering with children is a great way to be a positive role model, and instill a love of service in a child.
Finding Service Projects
Check your local newspaper for opportunities to volunteer in the community. Many church bulletin boards also have a place where they ask for volunteers. Some older kids and teens like helping in the childcare room during a MOPS meeting, or during the Sunday service. Contact the chamber of commerce to see what the major organizations are that are dedicated to helping meet the needs of the elderly, the disabled and the ill. Sometimes people need help shopping, running errands and handling home management concerns.
Every community has people and places that just need a little help sometimes. Making a habit of getting involved and helping others can be an important part of a homeschool education. When homeschoolers are visible, active and involved in the community, they are seen as more of an asset and less like unsocialized nonconformists (as if that's a bad thing).
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