At Home with the Editors: Shelli's 3rd Grade

Every year, Shelli and Amy open the door and invite you to step inside their homeschool lives. (Please ignore the mess!) We talk about the resources we're using in our own homeschools and how we structure our days. There are lots of ways to homeschool, and we don't think our way is the best—just the one that happens to be working best for our particular families at this particular time.  If nothing else, you will get a behind-the-scenes look in the homes of the editors of home / school / life, but if something here helps you, all the better!? Today, Shelli's talking about how she homeschooled her 3rd grader this year.

This has been a busy year for my nine-year-old son, and for me, I’m a little in awe with the changes I’ve been seeing in him. He’s becoming more mature and disciplined, yet he’s just as creative as ever.  

Last year, I wrote more about his building projects because he was a “little engineer.” This year he surprised us by becoming interested in playing the piano, and through the year, he’s slowly shifted all his attention to learning about classical music. I don’t think his building tendencies have stopped, but they’re definitely on the back burner for now. His piano playing has become a big part of all our lives, so I’m giving it a heading all to itself! (See below.)

I should also note that this year has shown me how the flexibility in homeschooling is a huge asset. As my son’s interest in piano and classical music took center stage, I was able to let go of some curriculum ideas I had for the year. For example, we have put off foreign language, some Art Fridays, and just general “busyness” that I might have filled our time with, if my son didn’t become so engrossed in his new project. It’s been great to be able to do this, and I feel it’s given me the opportunity to give him what (to me) is more of a priority: time to play and be a kid.

Here is what we’ve accomplished during my son’s third grade:

Language Arts

My son wanted to work on spelling, so we completed Level 1 of All About Spelling, which I thought was a great program. He didn’t particularly like this program, but I think it gave him confidence that he can spell. He is not a child that is going to write anything voluntarily; it’s just not his thing. So we’re moving slowly in this area.

To improve handwriting skills, I have used both Handwriting Without Tears and a calligraphy set.

We are getting ready to do a standardized test, which homeschoolers in my state (Georgia) are required to do in the third grade, so I’m using a test prep book to review, and we’re also using some posters I have to learn the parts of speech. 

We’ve done a lot of reading this year. My son loves reading Calvin and Hobbes, and he’s enjoying reading the Battle Bugs series to himself. A few books I’ve read to him this year include My Father’s Dragon, Charlotte’s Web, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Story of Dr. Doolittle, and On the Shores of Silver Lake among others.

Math

Math was a priority for me this year, and I feel we have made great progress in it this year. We completed four more Life of Fred books, which brings us to a total of seven books in that series. Right now, we’re reviewing math in our test prep book.

I have also begun to require that my son memorize the times tables, and we started with the three times tables. I put a little chart of “the threes” up on the wall, and I covered the answers. We go over it every time we do lessons. To make it fun, I began timing my son on how fast he could recite the 3 times tables, and I got him to try to beat his last time. My six-year-old has joined in on the fun too!

You can read about some of the other math games we’ve played this year here.

Science

My son loves science, and he’s ahead in this subject, so I haven’t made it a big focus this year. However, he attended a homeschool chemical engineering class during the fall, and everyday we watch nature and science documentaries. This summer we’re going to begin using a middle school level science curriculum, which my son can’t wait to try. I’ll write about that at a later date.

Social Studies

I don’t do a lot of formal work in this area because we learn so much through our daily routine. Occasionally we watch history documentaries, and my son keeps up with current events with the New-O-Matic app. I also did a short study this year on the Cherokee Indians because there are so many local attractions in our home state of Georgia with historical references to the Cherokees.

Last year I made a Big History Timeline for our wall that we update whenever we learn something new about history, and we’ve made good use of it.

Art

During the fall, my son took a pottery class, and we’ve done some art lessons at home. I usually do art on Fridays, but I let it slide for a while. Now I’m getting back into that routine again. We also visit our local art museum regularly to see new exhibits.

Piano

As I mentioned above, this has been my son’s big focus this year. He will have been taking piano lessons for one full year at the end of May! When he started, my husband and I casually said we’d be happy if he lasted one year since music is part of a well-rounded education. We had no idea how far our son would take it! Here’s a more specific list of what we’ve done this year:

• Because our son progressed so quickly in his lessons, we went from a digital piano, to an upright piano, and now to a grand piano! Crazy, I know! But we feel it’s very important he has the right tools to work with to accomplish his goals. We have all enjoyed learning about how a piano works and the different brands of pianos, etc.
• When we met a piano teacher whose knowledge and focus better matched our son’s goals, and he expressed an interest in working with our son, we took the opportunity to switch teachers. (Though I’ll ever be grateful for his first teacher who helped instill a love of piano playing through her warmth and enthusiasm.)
• My son has begun studying the great composers. We use Meet the Great Composers, Greene’s Biographical Encyclopedia of Composers, and the Internet.  My son watches many classical performances on YouTube.
• At two nearby universities, we are able to attend faculty and student recitals for free, and some of the bigger student performances are inexpensive to attend, so my son has attended 10 performances this year!

What are some of your favorite curriculum, resources and accomplishments that you have made this year?

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Getting the Education I Didn't Know I Craved

We often write about the cool things our kids are doing as they receive a home education — an education fueled by their passions and interests yet curated by the adults who know them best.  As a parent who loves learning, I have my own ideas for what makes a great education, so while I give my children's interests a priority, I do not "unschool."

Perhaps part of the reason I don't unschool is a bit selfish. Not only are there topics (besides reading and math) that I believe every student should have a basic knowledge of — history, world religion, a foreign language, and art, just to name a few — but I want to learn more about these important topics, too. In my traditional public school education, I only skimmed the surface of some of these subjects, and others were not part of a traditional school curriculum. Now that I’m homeschooling my kids, I can give them the education I think they should have, and I can benefit from it, too.  

I should note, however, that if I introduce a topic to my kids, and they moan and groan, we just skim it too. I'm not going torture them. But I feel as we link these bits together, it will someday complete a strong chain of knowledge that will enhance their lives and personal endeavors, and they may come back to it at a later date.

There are also times I introduce something to my kids, and they want more, so we dive in! This happened when I introduced space exploration and weather science to my eldest son when he was little. We have the time and flexibility to spend as much or as little time as we want on a subject, which I treasure about homeschooling.

Whether or not my kids want to learn more about a subject, I have learned that I can have my own projects! Even if they don't join me, I can keep reading, exploring, and creating. In fact, this is a crucial part of homeschooling... I should be modeling the behavior I want them to have, right? This has been a very liberating aspect of home education that I didn't realize would happen when I started.

Perhaps even more delightful are the subjects that my children have brought me to. In them, I have found some of my passions. I think these passions were always there, but they were not fully realized. My sons were the keys who opened these doors for me.

“Whether or not my kids want to learn more about a subject, I have learned that I can have my own projects! Even if they don’t join me, I can keep reading, exploring, and creating. In fact, this is a crucial part of homeschooling... I should be modeling the behavior I want them to have, right? ”

For example, when my eldest son was four I discovered that nature brought him alive. I accompanied him to several nature and science classes at our local nature center, and his shyness fell by the wayside as he hiked on the nature trails and listened to the naturalists. As for me, I fell in love with the whole atmosphere. I fell in love with science!

Science was my most dreaded class in school. (Perhaps second to P.E.) I never understood it. My teachers were horrible. As a result, I had huge misconceptions about science. And worst of all, I thought I was bad at it. But seeing science through my son's eyes, and being reintroduced to it through the nature center programs, I am hooked. I even developed a deep appreciation for snakes and amphibians through my son's first love.

Without my kids, I now read science articles, nature memoirs, and I began my Year of Citizen Science projects. I share these things with them, if I think they would be interested in them, but I consider these endeavors part of my own education that I'm pursuing while also home educating my children.

Here are some more examples of the endeavors I have started since I began homeschooling: 

• My eldest son spent a long time learning about carnivorous plants when he was seven. Now he grows them, and I help him. I think they are so pretty that I'm sure I'll be cultivating these plants long after he moves out of the house.
• My younger son has a great passion for birds, and this has been contagious for the whole family. In fact, I have a little morning ritual of observing birds out my window before my boys even wake up! (And now I have this book on my wish list.)
• Through my younger son's love of drawing, I started a sketchbook habit that I hope I'll continue the rest of my life.
• Recently, I began a project all of my own. That is, no one else in the house started this interest, though they’re all reaping the benefits. I am on a mission to learn how to bake bread with natural yeast, and I’m taking it little by little as I have time.

I think more than anything, homeschooling has taught me that if I want to do or learn about something, I can do it slowly and in increments. A little bit goes a long way! Reading for 15 minutes... finding a few minutes to sketch every week or month... finding a new YouTube video about bread baking every once in a while... I don't have to accomplish my goals this week or this month. 

It's about giving my interests attention on a regular basis. 

“ I share these things with them, if I think they would be interested in them, but I consider these endeavors part of my own education that I’m pursuing while also home educating my children.”

I never realized that this is what it looks like to have discipline. While I was capable of finishing what was required of me when I was younger, I rarely finished those things that I wanted to do... those personal goals that no one was making me do. 

Sadly, I don’t think traditional school teaches children how to have self-motivated discipline. Because kids are having to work so hard to accomplish goals set by other people, they don’t have the time or energy to explore and develop their own interests. At least, I didn’t.

But in homeschooling my own children, I have learned that real learning happens slowly. I have learned to manage my time better (because I have to!), and I have learned that I can have many projects going at once. While I try to focus on just one or two at a time so that I can make progress, it is liberating to have no deadlines. Those things we do for ourselves should be joyful and stress-free, though certainly a steady progression forward is what brings happiness and fulfillment.

Watching my children work on their interests in a slow and deliberate manner — and how they do more as their capability increases — has taught me these things. I feel extremely lucky for the education I’m receiving while homeschooling my kids!

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Read more from Shelli

Citizen Science Projects #4 & #5: Project Noah and iNaturalist

When I spoke with the naturalist at our local nature center about citizen science projects, she recommended that all kids use either Project Noah or iNaturalist to keep track of their nature discoveries. So during April, I decided to take some time and get to know what these projects were and how we could begin using them at home.

Project Noah and iNaturalist are very similar. They are both crowdsourcing tools that can help scientists and researchers study wildlife in your backyard. Through their websites or apps, you can simultaneously keep track of your nature discoveries, connect with other people who love nature, get help identifying that plant, bug or animal that you don’t know the name of and also help scientists with their research. 

In each of them, you can also join one or more groups that focus on a particular place or specific plants or animals. This is a great way to connect with other people in your area or who are interested in birds, for example, or plants…whatever you like observing and taking photos of the best! In Project Noah, these groups are called “missions,” and in iNaturalist, they are called “projects.”

I signed up for both of these programs, but I was disappointed to discover that I could not find the Android app for Project Noah in Google Play. Perhaps it’s being updated? I sent a message to Project Noah to ask about its status, but I haven’t received a reply yet. Sadly, if I can’t use my phone camera, I doubt I’ll be using Project Noah very often. 

I had better luck with iNaturalist. I signed up on their website, and then I downloaded their app to my phone and signed in there. I’ve only uploaded one photo of a little hairstreak butterfly my son found in our yard the other day, so I’m still tinkering with the site. I’m excited to see there’s an option to keep a “journal” – a sort of blog – on there too! I did not see this option on Project Noah.

If you’re a member of iNaturalist, and you’d like to connect with me, my handle is “mamaofletters.” I look forward to sharing our nature discoveries with you!

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At Home with the Editors: Shelli's Kindergarten

Every year, Shelli and Amy open the door and invite you to step inside their homeschool lives. (Please ignore the mess!) We talk about the resources we're using in our own homeschools and how we structure our days. There are lots of ways to homeschool, and we don't think our way is the best—just the one that happens to be working best for our particular families at this particular time.  If nothing else, you will get a behind-the-scenes look in the homes of the editors of home / school / life, but if something here helps you, all the better! Today, Shelli's talking about how she homeschooled kindergarten this year.

This is my second time homeschooling kindergarten, and I can assure you, it’s so much easier the second time around! I know without a doubt that as long as I’m spending quality time with my son, reading to him, letting him explore, and most importantly, giving him free, unstructured time to play, I can’t go wrong with kindergarten. 

The nice thing about being a younger sibling is that you pick up so much information just by watching your older sibling. My six-year-old watches and sometimes participates in his brother’s lessons. He hears books read aloud that are well above his level. He can help out when we do a science experiment, and he loves art day, too. With my first son, I didn’t know any other homeschoolers until he was four or five, but my younger son has been going to play dates since he was a baby. 

My older son was in the third grade this year, so his work was harder and more structured than any year thus far. As a result, my six-year-old had much more structure to his days than his older brother did at six years old, but the upside to this is that he still had lots of time to play by himself while I was working with his brother. I think letting children learn how to play by themselves is so important. Not only does it give them important skills that they will need in the future, it is also very helpful to their parents in the present moment!

CURRICULUM

Language Arts

This year I’m slowly helping my son with his reading skills. I have tried a variety of resources (just like I did with my older son), and thankfully, I am much more patient than I used to be. We spend about 30 minutes on language arts three days a week. I don’t worry about whether he’s keeping up with his peers because I know from experience that it’s better to let children learn how to read at their own pace.

Here’s what I’ve used and will keep using for the foreseeable future:

• Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons – This became too difficult for him, so I stopped using it and will save until next year.
• Brainquest’s Kindergarten Star Wars workbooks – We finished these and will be moving onto the 1st grade workbooks soon.
• Starfall.com – My son loves this site.
• Starfall Level 1 Reading and Writing Journal
• Handwriting Without Tears “My Printing Book”

In addition to this, my six-year-old has enjoyed listening to My Father’s Dragon, Charlotte’s Web, Calvin and Hobbes and a variety of storybooks this year.

Math

I use Life of Fred with my older boy, but that curriculum just didn’t seem right for my younger son. Instead, I’m using Singapore’s Primary Math Textbook 1A with Home Instructor’s Guide (U.S. Edition) with great success. Actually, I’ve been using it much longer than this school year. We do lessons three days a week, and I am carefully going through every worksheet, game and activity with him.  When we finish this set, I’ll move on to the next level.

I don’t worry about completing any curriculum in one school year. For me, I am more concerned about making steady progress at my son’s pace.

My six-year-old seems to love math. If you ask him, he would say he didn’t like math, but actions speak louder than words. This kid is always asking me math questions, he loves to count things, and he’s always noting the time. He even wanted to join his older brother in learning the multiplication tables! 

All other subjects

At this age, I don’t do any formal lessons in science or social studies. I am confident that through our daily life and major interests, he is getting all the instruction he needs for these areas. We watch nature, science, or history documentaries every day, visit museums frequently, and he attends classes and camps at the local nature center and botanical garden. 

I try to make every Friday “art day,” and we have read about artists, the history of art, and visited the local art museum. For history, we read books and watch documentaries. (My husband is a history professor, so I’m not worried about history.)

My six-year-old loves birds, so we have spent a lot of time observing birds, reading about them, drawing them, and listening to the sounds they make on our bird guide app. 

The wonderful thing about homeschooling is that if you are curious, engaged in life, and open-minded, your children will learn so much through their daily life. Very little instruction is needed. (Of course, for unschoolers, they feel no instruction is needed at all, and that works for many families too.) 

I do teach my children certain subjects, but mostly, I try to fill our house with books and tools, and I give them plenty of time to play and ask questions. Especially for kindergarten, this is all we need.  

Please offer your kindergarten tips in the comments section below.

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Books about Education: Schools on Trial

Schools on Trial: How Freedom and Creativity Can Fix Our Educational Malpractice

By Nikhil Goyal

Buy on Amazon

“Our schools should strip away every element that they are known for: grades, tests, compulsory classes, periods, bells, age segregation, and homework. And then we should craft institutions that are grounded in the attributes we want to see in citizens in our society and designed to foster critical thinking and lifelong learning.”

Many homeschoolers, including myself, will not have trouble understanding the points Nikhil Goyal makes in his new book, Schools on Trial: How Freedom and Creativity Can Fix Our Educational Malpractice. Following in the footsteps of John Holt, John Taylor Gatto, Ivan Illich and others, Goyal believes that our current public school system is seriously flawed and wants to change it. 

In the beginning of the book, Goyal viciously attacks the current public school system, calling it a prison. It’s important to note that Goyal recently graduated from a well-ranked high school himself. This 20-year-old journalist seemed to have fared well despite his schooling: he was named as one of Forbes’ 30 under 30. Though extremely critical, he gives a reasoned and well-researched account for his views.

The best part of the book, however, is the extensive research Goyal did on alternative methods of education. He only briefly touches on homeschooling. Most of the book is about his visits to several private, democratic schools around the country. A democratic school is one in which the students have control over their education and voting rights when it comes to the administration of the school. He makes the case that public school should give kids more control over their education as well. In this book you’ll learn the philosophies of such schools as Tinkering School, Sudbury schools, Summerhill School, Philly Free School and more. 

This was extremely interesting to me. While I would not consider our style of homeschooling “unschooling,” I do rely on my children’s input when deciding what to put most of our efforts into. While I had heard of alternative schools, I didn’t know what democratic schools looked like, and it was inspiring to read how these schools operate. Seeing the good that they’re doing for students made me feel good about what I’m doing at home, and living in a culture that seems to value conformity more than the freedom to pursue intellectual interests, I don’t get that kind of reinforcement very often.

I found Goyal’s vision of setting up more community programs and investing in libraries and maker spaces a great idea. I think many homeschoolers are already utilizing many community resources, and I wholeheartedly agree that involving more of the community in educating our youth would be a win for everybody. But, of course, making this happen seems like an impossible task and Goyal understands what he’s up against. 

While I know there are unhappy parents and teachers out there trying to make a change, I don’t think enough people are unhappy enough to take a stand against the current state of our public schools.  Perhaps this is because they don’t understand the alternatives and that they can work. This is why Goyal’s book is invaluable.  While these schools may not hold all the answers to the problems our public school system faces—I think any school is hard pressed to help a child who doesn’t have a supportive, loving family at home—they do offer a new way of looking at things. So whether or not parents could afford to send their children to one of these schools (we couldn’t), every parent should at least be aware that there are alternatives and how they work. They may inspire parents to get involved with their local schools, or they may even inspire a new way of parenting (or homeschooling technique). 

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Citizen Science Project #3: Budburst

For my third citizen science project that I began in March, I picked Project Budburst, and I highly recommend this for homeschoolers with young children because it’s super easy. 

The researchers at Project Budburst would like you to pick a plant in your area that you can visit often and record the changes it makes through the seasons. You will then create an account on the their website and input the data you find.

If you visit their website, you’ll find easy directions, and there is a database of plants where you’ll probably find your plant. (There are certain plants that they would prefer you to observe, so be sure to check out that list.) Once you find your plant, you can download a chart that will tell you exactly what changes you need to look for with a space to record the date. You can pick a tree, shrub, flower…whatever you want!

I picked a flowering dogwood tree that is growing in my front yard. During this spring season, it’s been changing rapidly, so I’ve been checking it almost everyday! Here you can see the chart I’m using to record the date of my observations. 

 I’m going to be recording my observations year-round, but they also give you an opportunity to do a single report (that is, a one-time observation: click here for that report), so if you are facilitating a co-op class, that would be a great choice.

The study of the timing of how a plant or animal changes or moves with the seasons is called phenology. As you work on your budburst project, there are many pages on their website that will teach you about phenology, why it’s important, and how that’s teaching scientists about climate change. This page has a short video that I showed to my boys.

If you try out Project Budburst, I hope you’ll have fun and tell us about your experience!

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Don’t Cut the Screen Time—Just Make Sure It Counts

During those idle moments when I’m too tired to think, I start surfing the web. Without fail, I’ll usually come across some kind of article warning parents about the perils of screen time for their children. I’ve read that screen time can hurt children’s social skills, can cause obesity, or it hurts children’s brain development. I’m not arguing that these points are completely false. Too much screen time isn’t good for anybody, but I’m growing wary of these articles. How about an article telling parents to trust their instincts when it comes to screen time?  How about an article saying that if your life is well balanced with many different activities throughout the day, including screen time, you don’t have to worry so much?

If your child begins to misbehave, or you notice other negative consequences from letting your child play digital games or watch television, then by all means, create the boundaries you feel they need.  For me, I believe screen time should complement an already busy day. We watch a lot of documentaries and entertaining shows together as a family (about 30 minutes each at lunch and dinner), and as we watch, we laugh, pose questions, and sometimes get inspired to try new things. You might be surprised that we allow this during mealtimes, but my husband and I very much consider our program-watching part of our home education. It’s yielded too many good things to consider it otherwise.

In the late afternoon, the boys have about 1-1.5 hour to play digital games. After this, they either go outside to play if the weather is nice, or they watch some television, if the weather isn’t nice. At night right before bed, they also watch a couple of programs.

When I talk to other mothers and learn about their screen time allowances, I realize we let our kids watch and play more than most parents allow. But I also hear a lot about children’s misbehavior…or perceived misbehavior. They cry and fight because they want more television. They get lost in a video game and won’t stop, etc. I don’t know if it’s my boy’s personalities or the way we deal with screen time, but my boys never ask for more screen time or give us other trouble about it. At the most, I sometimes have a hard time getting them to quit a game, but it rarely escalates. I always allow them to reach a natural stopping point, which seems fair to me, so they are usually fine when it’s quitting time. 

Speaking of quitting time, we’ve kept the same schedule, which evolved naturally when my eldest was very young, for all these years. Our mornings and early afternoons are steeped in activity…lessons, playtime, time to create or run around outside. The late afternoons and evenings contain most of the screen time, though we often go outside for a while during this time too, and my eldest practices piano after dinner as well. Children crave routine, and I think this schedule has made it easier for them. They know exactly when it’s time to watch a little TV or play their games. They also know when it’s time to work on lessons, play outside or inside, make some art, practice piano, eat a meal, clean up, cuddle with mom, visit with a friend, take a family day trip, or do some other activity.

“As their mom, I want to recognize and honor what is most important to them. So this means allowing them to have their screen time.”

One thing I have noticed with my boys is that the time they get to play a game or watch TV is extremely important to them. It’s the thing they look forward to most in their day. I think a lot of parents (including myself) can feel disappointed when a child values screen time over, say, playing outdoors, reading a book, or any other number of activities we like to consider “productive.” But I’ve come to see that my boy’s screen time is very productive. Not only are they learning skills through the games they are playing (or the programming we allow them to watch), they are interacting, collaborating, and having discussions with one another. When they aren’t playing, they often discuss their games with each other, planning strategy ahead of time. 

As their mom, I want to recognize and honor what is most important to them. So this means allowing them to have their screen time. Also as their mom, I want to make sure they are participating in a variety of activities, so I consider it my job to facilitate time for reading, playing outside, going hiking, going on a field trip, time with friends, or even science experiments… all things my boys love to do, but they aren’t necessarily going to make plans to do these things like they would plan on building a zoo in Minecraft together.

Screen time is and should be unique to each family. Follow your instincts for what works and feels healthy for your children. Don’t let the media (or even me) make you feel bad for what works for your family.

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Stuff We Like :: 4.15.16

This week, Shelli's got the scoop on what's lighting up her April homeschool. 

spring

We’re a birding family, so we love the spring weather and watching the birds nest and fly about in our yard! My six-year-old especially loved this interactive website that lets you explore bird anatomy, and in the evenings we’re also enjoying watching some wild bird videos too.

 

at home/school/iife

in the magazine: Subscribers can download our free meal planning sheet (with spaces for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks because homeschoolers need spaces for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks!) when you log into the subscribers-only portal.

on the blog: Amy shares what she's learned teaching homeschoolers creative writing

on instagram: Why yes, our Friday nights are pretty thrilling

 

Homeschool

This month we’ve been learning about the Cherokee Indians because our local art museum has a Cherokee Basketry exhibit I want to attend, and this is an important part of our state’s history the boys should understand. (So, yes, this is a Mama-led activity!) I began by reading The Cherokee: native basket weavers by Therese DeAngelis, Sequoyah by Doraine Bennett, and The Cherokees by Jill Ward, which were all short (elementary level) books I checked out from the library.  Then we read the (middle school-ish) book Only the Names Remain by Alex W. Bealer, a sad account of the Trail of Tears. These were all good books.

 

My New Adventure

It’s not always about the boys’ projects around here. This spring I have been delving into the world of bread baking, and not only that, I have captured my own wild yeast, too! The series Cooked (exclusive to Netflix) inspired me. I am using the book Classic Sourdoughs, but it hasn’t answered all my questions, so I’ve frequented YouTube and friends on Twitter as well! (Thank you, Twitter friends!) After four loaves of bread, I’m still trying to get it right! (I did have great success with pizza dough, however.)

 

Books

The boys are constantly looking at our collection of Calvin and Hobbes books, which I keep on the kitchen table with the weekly newspaper. At least my nine-year-old is reading something without being told!

A couple of years ago, my nine-year-old lost interest in the Little House books when we got to By the Shores of Silver Lake. Now we’ve picked it up again, and he’s enjoying it. I think we’ll finish the series now!

For myself, I just finished reading Taking Lottie Home by Terry Kay. It’s a Southern novel, and I thought it was going to be predictable, but as the story gained momentum, I realized it was not! It was a very good read and a meaningful story.

 

T.V.

Our most current beloved documentaries: 

--NOVA’s Rise of the Robots (PBS)

--Nature’s Wild France (PBS)

--Cooked (Netflix exclusive)

--Chef’s Table (Netflix exclusive) (These last two were insanely great.)

Just for me: Mr. Selfridge (Masterpiece Theatre PBS; available on Amazon Prime)

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Citizen Science Project #2: The Great Backyard Bird Count

I did it! Not only have I made progress in my resolution to do more citizen science projects this year, I participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) – a project I have been wanting to do for several years! This year it took place February 12-15, but don’t worry if you missed it. It’s an annual event, so you can do it next year!

I was extra motivated this year because my six-year-old is enamored with birds, and when I say enamored, I mean he not only loves real birds, he plays with toy birds and tweets and chirps almost all day long! So I could not not participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count, and on more than one day, my six-year-old helped me watch out for birds.

Last year, however, I tried to participate, and I’m not kidding when I say THERE WERE NO BIRDS IN OUR YARD ALL WEEKEND! I looked out our windows several times, and to my disappointment, I didn’t see one bird (except maybe for a crow). Usually we have many songbirds visiting our wooded yard, but that weekend was very cold, so it was unusually quiet on the “bird byways.”

This year was similar, actually. I can only hypothesize that it was because of the cold weather. I never saw the yellow-bellied sapsucker that frequently visits a tree in our backyard, or the cardinals, or the golden-crowned kinglets, or the occasional pine warbler. (Maybe all those people putting out bird feeders for the GBBC stole our birds away?!) But I did see enough birds to make a count.

Signing up for the GBBC is very easy and quick. It only took me about five minutes to submit a checklist, and I could make checklists for those times when I sat at my window for the purpose of bird watching, or I could submit one for when I happened to notice two Canadian geese while driving home from the store.

So here are the birds I had the pleasure of seeing that weekend in our yard. When I put it all together, it’s certainly not a flimsy list!

• Red-bellied Woodpecker 
• Eastern Phoebe
• American Crow
• Carolina Chickadee
• Tufted Titmouse
• Carolina Wren
• American Robin
• House Finch

Did you participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count? What did you have the luck of finding?

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The Most Helpful Math Games I’ve Found

This year I’ve been searching for more ways to make math fun but also productive. These games get a high-five from this homeschool mom.

The Matching to 10 Game is great for practicing equations that add up to 10.

You can use any standard deck of cards, but you’ll need to remove most of the face cards. Turn the Ace card into a #1, and make one of your face cards a 0. I used an old deck of cards, and I used blank labels to stick a 1 and 0 to the Ace & face card.

Spread the cards out on the table face down, and then take turns turning over two cards at a time. If your cards add up to 10, you get to keep the pair. If they don’t add up to 10, turn them back over. Keep playing until all the cards are used up. The winner is the person with the most pairs.

Addition Game

Use the same deck of cards you prepared for the matching game. Shuffle them well and place the stack face down on the table. Each person takes two cards and then adds them together. If they get the answer right, they get to keep the cards. If not, the cards are put in a discard pile. Players who are already good at math might want to take 3 cards to add together. Whoever has the most cards at the end of the stack, wins, or you can just reshuffle the discard pile and play again. (To make it a little harder, take out the #1s and #0s.)

Number Line Game

For kids who like to move, you can go outside when the weather is nice and draw a big number line from 0-10 on the driveway, and the child can step on the number line as equations are called out.  You can also do this on a piece of paper with some tokens.  You’ll need a pair of dice or either a parent can call out equations.

Roll the dice, and the child will add the pair of numbers together. They can use the number line to help them, but during their second turn, if they are already mid-way through the number line, it will get trickier. The object of the game is to land right on the 10. If your equation takes you to a number larger than 10, you need to go back and start at 0. Keep playing until one of the players land on the 10. That’s the winner of the game.

Sum Swamp

If it’s in your homeschool budget, I can’t recommend the board game Sum Swamp enough. Though made for younger kids, it’s still fun for my nine-year-old to play, and I like it too! The game gives children practice with addition, subtraction and figuring out odd and even numbers.

Please share your favorite math games in the comments section below.

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Ideas to Celebrate the Winter Solstice On Short Notice

For the past few years, I have been trying, not too unsuccessfully, to start a tradition in my family of celebrating the winter solstice. On the calendar, it marks the longest night here in the northern hemisphere, and ancient cultures would celebrate the return of the light at this time. For me, it seems like a great way to celebrate nature and the change of the seasons. It’s also a way to learn about history and recognize how this phenomenon was the reason many of our holiday celebrations are celebrated this time of year.

Unfortunately, I don’t always plan ahead. My life is busy enough as it is, and at this time of year, we’re also getting ready to celebrate Christmas. So I put this list together of simple ways you can celebrate the solstice that won’t take much advance preparation. I usually let my boys pick how they want to celebrate the day. If you celebrate the winter solstice, please tell us how you do that in the comments section.

Learn the Science ::. For young kids, you might want to check out this short video that explains the winter and summer solstice. If you have a globe and a small lamp, you can also easily simulate how the earth orbits the sun by putting the lamp on the floor and walking the globe around it. Use the simple image on this page to guide you.

Celebrate Nature :: Many people like to celebrate nature on the winter solstice, and you can probably think of many ways to do this. One idea is getting out of the house for a hike. Or go somewhere to feed the birds. You can make simple bird feeders by spreading peanut butter on a bagel, and then dipping them into some birdseed. Hang them in the trees in your yard or along a trail in the woods. Why not begin planning your spring garden early? Peruse seed catalogs and do some research on how to attract birds and butterflies to your yard. Or you could start a nature journal and jot down the wildlife you encounter on your excursions.

Celebrate the Light :: Turn off your electric lights and use candles. Take a break from the Internet, make a warm soup or other favorite dishes, spend time with your loved ones, and tell stories. Talk about the goals you would like to accomplish in the coming year.

Make a Winter Solstice Tree :: One year my boys and I went outside to gather small branches that fell from the trees. We arranged the branches in some vases and then hung paper snowflakes on them. This was fun to do and made a pretty winter decoration for the house. I think I’ll see if my boys want to do that again this year. ;)

What is your favorite tradition for celebrating the winter solstice?

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Making Peace with Homeschool Messes

Sometimes, the perfect life looks a little messier than you might have expected. Shelli explores the surprising beauty of a messy house.

There are four baskets of unfolded laundry at the foot of your bed. The afternoon light streaming through the window is shining a spotlight on dusty floors. It’s almost time for dinner, and you haven’t even thought about it yet.

Other mothers are so much better at all this stuff. They plan meals, keep their houses clean, play with their children and watch prime time T.V. while snuggling with their husbands after the children go to bed. Maybe that is an unrealistic image, but other moms seem so much better at this.

You were never a neat freak by any means, but before the children came along, the house was at least tidy. Now the clutter, oh, the clutter that comes with children and—especially— homeschooling.

A new neighbor stops by with her son, and you look over your dining room before you answer the door. Only, it’s a not a dining room anymore. It’s been converted into the “school room,” and it is cluttered with all your homeschooling books, games, projects, and more. The mess is not pretty like the messes you see in parenting magazines. It is cardboard-dust, glue-stains, puzzle-boxes-dangerously-stacked, broken-crafts-crammed-onto-the- shelves messy,

You wish you didn’t always feel the need to apologize for the mess, but you can’t help it. You do it anyway, and you expect your neighbor to give the routine reply. “Oh, don’t worry about it! I completely understand.” (That’s what you always say.)

Instead, she stands there quietly, look- ing around, and she says slowly, “Do you know what this says to me?”

You shake your head. Messes can speak?

She says, “This tells me that you spend a lot of time doing activities with your children. I would like to do more of that.”

You feel something akin to light shining around your head. It’s more than a light bulb. It’s a new perspective. You would like to kiss your new neighbor, but you control yourself.

No mother is perfect, and every mother has her own talents. Some are good at cooking. Some are good at organizing. Others are good at being spontaneous. Some are good at creating structure. Some encourage messes because they know their kids are creating and using their imaginations.

Some mothers and fathers work full-time or part-time, and some of them do that while also homeschooling their children. Some spouses help out more than other spouses. Every household has its own way of splitting up the duties of making a living, keeping the house clean, and giving the children an education.

But listen to this: No matter how you slice it up, something has to give. You are either giving up time with the children, or you are giving up time to take care of yourself. Absolutely nobody can do it all.

Make a list of your priorities. What do you want to accomplish? What are the most important things you can do to maintain a healthy quality of life for yourself and family? Put those at the top. (You better put self-care up there. If you don’t take care of yourself, how can you take care of your family?) Now, what’s the least important stuff?

Think about this. What’s the least important thing that you can let go of? One of these things is surely keeping a clean house. If you are always worrying about the clutter in your house, then you have too much clutter in your brain. Let it go.

Make your goal more reasonable. Think “sanitary and livable” but not perfect. Dust bunnies, clutter, and glitter in the carpet can wait. You have more important things to do.

On the crazy days when you feel most overwhelmed, go back to your list of priorities. Have you maintained that top one? If yes, pat yourself on the back. When life gets the most harried, that’s what is most important.

This article was originally published in the spring 2014 issue of home/school/life magazine.

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Fun Ideas to Celebrate Star Wars Day in Your Homeschool

13 ways to celebrate Star Wars Day on May 4.

DO THIS

Pull out all your Star Wars-themed Halloween costumes along with the toy light sabers, and wear them all day. Be sure to say, “May the Fourth be with you” to everyone you meet.

Host a star Wars marathon by watching all the movies (or, you know, at least the good ones). 

Make Star Wars cookies with cute Star Wars cookie cutters by Think Geek, or order Star Wars M&Ms.

Make a Star Wars pinata that looks like Yoda or Darth Vadar, or buy this really cool pinata of the Millenium Falcon.

Make your own lightsabers. Use pipe insulation — wrap one end with gray duct tape for the handle, and use colored tape for the lights.

Real life celebrations are cancelled right now, but you can join the fun online at Supercon’s Star Wars Day (which includes May the Fourth and Revenge of the Fifth events).

You can also visit the Smithsonian’s Star Wars: The Magic of Myth exhibition online. It’s got some really cool stuff from the first trilogy that dates back to the time when Jar Jar Binks was just a twinkle in George Lucas’s eye.

If your kids like Stars Wars and storytelling, they may enjoy the Star Wars Scene Maker app, which is made for the iPhone or iPad. It won “Best Creative Fun Award” at the 2014 Tillywig Toy and Media Awards.

Play a round of Star Wars Monopoly. (There are a few different versions, so shop around.)

Latin students will not want to miss the Legonium’s all-Latin Star Wars production.

READ THIS

The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film

By J.W. Rinzler

If you really want to geek up on your knowledge of Star Wars, The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film or Star Wars Year by Year: A Visual Chronicle will fill you in on all the nitty-gritty details.

Star Wars: Jedi Academy

By Jeffrey Brown

My eight-year-old adores the Jedi Academy series by Jeffrey Brown. The third book is due to come out this summer.

William Shakespeare's Star Wars

By Ian Doescher

William Shakespeare’s Star Wars retells the classic space epic, Shakespeare-style. Forsooth! —by Shelli Bond Pabis

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Mindful Homeschool: Find the Beauty in the Mess and Chaos

“The hours when the mind is absorbed in beauty are the only hours we live.”

Richard Jefferies (1848-1887) was an English nature writer, so I will assume that when he wrote this, he may have been referring to the beauty of this Earth. As someone who finds inspiration and perhaps even my spiritual bent rooted in nature, I would have to agree with him that spending time with nature is essential for humans. It gives us a way of connecting with ourselves, replenishing our spirits, and yes, absorbing the beauty and bounty of this planet. But Beauty can be found in many places, and it can be felt as well as seen. As homeschool parents, we are gifted with the ability to spend every moment of our day absorbed in beauty. Are you rolling your eyes at me? Indeed, I know our lives don’t always feel beautiful. But what if we change our perspective a little? What if we see it for what it really is?

The messy house is a testament to our artwork – the rearing of our children and the love we pour into our homes and families. How boring our children’s lives would be if they grew up in a home that had to be perfect and without the dog’s dusty paw prints on the floor or the clutter of books and unfinished projects.

“I know our lives don’t always feel beautiful. But what if we change our perspective a little? What if we see it for what it really is?”

And the mess is our children’s outpouring of artistic expression! Their toys, their scattered drawings, the matchbox cars that we trip on, and even the doll’s clothes crumbled up on the bedroom floor. These are their first works of imagination.

Photo by Shelli Bond Pabis

The noise is the beautiful sound of a family. Yes, sometimes even the yelling, the crying, and exasperated sighs. All of that mixes with the laughter, the music, and the endless questions of a child to create a home life. It is a full life, and it all has a purpose.

Look around you and find the beauty. Can you study it awhile, take a photograph, draw a picture, or record it in another way? Stand back, view a bigger picture of your life, and start seeing the beauty everywhere.

Feel free to leave a comment or image of your beautiful surroundings in the comments section.

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