My Favorite Care Bear (art), Number Line Math, & Learning to Read...

 

My Granddaughter is always proud of her work!

She has just begun her second year of Pre-School / Pre-K.

 

My Grandson is so excited that he has finally learned how to draw a star!

He has just begun grade 1 at age 5.  

My Grandson has learned how to add and subtract single digit numbers using a number line, his fingers, blocks, or whatever is handy.  (Memorizing the addition and subtraction facts will come as time goes by.  Understanding must come first!)  

  

My Grandson can now read many simple, short-vowel words.  He has recently taken a practice Spelling test (his first one) and scored 80%.  How encouraging it is to see your efforts as a homeschooling parent bearing fruit!  

Getting ready to wrap things up for the year...

We will soon be officially ending our 2013-14 school year, but we will still be doing periodic reviews in Math and Phonics throughout the summer.  My 3 and 5 year old grandbabies have learned much during this school year.  Notably, the 5 year old is now learning to read and write three and four letter words, and do simple addition and subtraction, among many other things.  He does still need to learn to tie shoe laces, however;  so, perhaps we could work on that during the summer.  The 3 year old has learned to recognize several shapes, many colors, her numbers to 12, many of her letters, and she knows how to spell her name.  Yay!  Really, they both have learned too much to list here.  I am very proud of them!  I feel that my grandson is ready to move on First Grade in the Fall, while my granddaughter will be doing her Pre-K/age 4 curriculum, and perhaps some grade K work.

 

Congratulations, my  precious babies, on a job well done!  

Successful mothers...

If at first you don't succeed...

 

I saw this on Facebook and agreed whole-heartedly!  This advice can apply to children of all ages, including "know-it-all" teenagers and young adult children.  lol!

Raising Children to Become Successful Adults...

Homeschool vs. Public School - Stats...

http://www.home-school.com/news/homeschool-vs-public-school.php

Homeschooling Through High School - You Can Do It!

I have become aware that there are some Christian homeschooling families who homeschool their children only during their elementary and middle school years and then put them in public school for their high school years.  I personally feel that this can potentially cause more harm than good, for it is the environment of the public high schools that can have the most negative influences on your children.  It has been my own experience with my own children that these negative influences (peer pressure, disrespect for parents, violence, sexual harrassment, immoral lifestyles, smoking, drugs, etc.) actually  begin showing themselves in the public middle schools - by the 6th & 7th grades, if not sooner.  If parents homeschool for the lower grades only, then it is more than probable that the good they tried to instill in their children will become undone by the time they graduate high school.  Sure, there is a chance that these kids will turn out fine despite the negative influences during their most formative years, but that chance is slim because the parents will no longer be the major power exerted over the minds and behavior of their children.    More waking hours will be spent in the company of their immature peers who, for the most part, lack proper social skills than in the company of  their mature parents who know the proper way to act in social situations.  Also,  these formerly homeschooled children will now be exposed to textbooks which promote evolution as being fact rather than a theory, humanist propaganda rather than history, and a tolerance/acceptance for immoral and unnatural lifestyles.

Some homeschooling parents feel that they are somehow inadequate or too unlearned themselves to educate their children through high school, and that is why they stop homeschooling after elementary or middle school.  While I can understand their reasoning, I want to assure these parents that homeschooling through high school CAN be done despite these fears.  I've been there, I know!
(You can read more about my homeschooling experiences with my own children on my earlier blogs - from June, July, etc. of 2011.)

I graduated from a public high school knowing only basic math and basic science, yet I was able to take my kids through high school at home in all the major subjects which included Algebra 1 & 2, Geometry, Biology, & Chemistry.  I was able to do this through a combination of lessons on video, a private tutor which we used for Algebra 1 for a few months, and a community college class in Algebra 2 which my daughter and I both took together.  Needless to say, I educated myself alongside my homeschooled children.  Two of my three children went on to attend college after graduating high school at home.  Both of them were ready for all college-level courses.  They did not have to take any remedial classes.  The one child (my older son) that did not attend college, frequently tutored his girlfriend during her first year of college, despite the fact that he'd never taken a college class himself. 
All three of my children ended up with great jobs, though my daughter has now become a stay-at-home mom and has asked me to help her homeschool her own children. 

So, parents, please don't let your own lack of education hinder you from homeschooling your children through high school.  Listed below are a few homeschooling publishers from which you may obtain lessons on video or via internet connection to homeschool instructors.  Also, check with your community college for "dual enrollment" classes for your high school student.  Each state will have a minimum age for enrollment in these community college classes.  In my own state it is 16 years old.

www.abeka.com
www.bjupress.com
http://schooloftomorrowusa.com
www.libertyonlineacademy.com
www.chalkdust.com
www.teachingtextbooks.com

You could do an internet search for other sources.  Try "homeschooling curriculum on DVD" and see what comes up. 

Blessings to you on your homeschooling journey!

Update on my homeschooled nephew...

My nephew, end of grade K, is already reading and doing multiplication!  Wow!   Now,  how many Kindergarteners do you know of who can do that?  Double wow!!  Is he smart or what?  (Okay, I know I'm sounding like a cackling mother hen, but hey!  What can I say?  I'm proud of my nephew's accomplishments, and I'm proud of my baby sister for being brave enough to attempt homeschooling.  It's working!) Typically, reading doesn't begin to take root until well into First Grade, and multiplication isn't even begun until the second semester of Second Grade.  Congratulations on a job well done!  You've already come too far to turn back now!  Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

A Word of Encouragement to New Homeschooling Parents...

Don't despair and don't second-guess yourself.  Sounds so simple, huh?  Yet, doubts about what you are doing plague you.  People, especially family members, question your motives.  Some folks will even "quizz" your children about what they know in order to "prove" whether or not homeschooling really works or not.  You have days when there are so many interruptions that basically nothing in the way of academics was accomplished.   Serious illness or some other calamity has befallen your family, hindering your entire school year.  You just know your child's education has suffered for it - he'll be behind his public school peers.  You just know you've failed in giving your child a proper education, and he'll not be ready for college upon high school (homeschool) graduation.  Right? 

Wrong!  How do I know?  I've been there - experienced all that - and still managed to educate all three of my children better than any public school could have done.   Of course, I give the good Lord above all the credit for my success in homeschooling.  Without His blessing and grace, I could not have done it. 

With my oldest child, when she began studying high school level courses, I found myself having to study and learn alongside her.  There was so much that I had forgotten from my own high school days, and much that I hadn't even learned at all!  You can read more about those early days of homeschooling with her, and our reasons for homeschooling her in the first place, by reading an earlier post from last summer.  (Click on the link below this post called "Success" to have quick access to it.)   Like I said before in that earlier post, we took her out of public school when she was in 7th grade.  I gave her a diagnostic test which proved she was actually on a 5th grade level in Math and English (Language Arts).  After finishing 10th grade at home, she took a Math & English Placement Test at our local college.  I was told afterwards that my daughter "scored better than most high school graduates" on those tests!  (At that very moment,  it felt like a weight had slipped from my shoulders.   I finally realized, without a doubt, that my efforts to educate my children were not in vain.  I WAS accomplishing something of value.  Homeschooling WAS working, and it was working WELL!) At age 16, my daughter was ready for college level English and Algebra 2.  She had only completed Algebra 1 and Geometry at home, so I was glad to hear that she was, indeed, ready to move on to Algebra 2.   Yay!  (Since I had never taken Algebra 2 in high school, my daughter and I both signed up for the class at the college.)   She graduated from high school at home the following year - one year ahead of her public school peers.  She waited until she was 18 to attend college, and did not have to take any remedial courses. 

By the time my third child finished 10th grade at home, I felt like an "old pro".  My first two children had graduated and entered the work force without any problems.  (My second child chose not to attend college.  He preferred working full-time.)  Then, I began having health issues.  After suffering with a problem for a good while, I ended up having major surgery around the time of my youngest child's junior year of school.  This took alot of my attention away from his schooling.   Then, in the fall of my son's senior year, I experienced horrendous back problems which affected my hip and leg, and was in excruciating (literal "screaming fits") pain for about 2 and a half months, and lingering (moaning and groaning) pain and disability for over a year.  Needless to say, any education my son received during most of his last two years of high school, he acquired on his own.  His last year was mostly spent in taking care of me.  (My husband was a long-haul trucker, and was gone from home for 5 or 6 days at a time, and home for 1 or 2 days.  My daughter was married and living away from home and working.  My older son was also working and gone all day.)  That left my younger son to wait on me, help me up and down, take me to the doctor, do my shopping, do my house cleaning, listen to me cry, etc.  He did all that and never complained.   He did not have much time left to spend on his lessons.  I was in so much pain that I could not sufficiently guide him or even really supervise what he was supposed to do.

When my son's senior year was over, and it was time for him to take the Math & English Placement Tests at the college, I was probably more concerned about how he would do than he was.  I felt like I had been such a failure to him for his last two years of high school.  I was afraid he'd be behind academically.  As it turned out, I'd worried for nothing!  My son tested very well on both of those placement tests and was ready for all college level subjects.   God had come through for us, despite our hardships of the previous couple of  years. 

I guess the lesson I have learned in my own homeschooling journey with my kids is that all God requires of us, as parents, is to plant the seed.  HE will give the increase.  It's like that old gospel (Pentecostal Holiness) song says, "If you'll take one step - He'll take two!  Ain't no limit what God can do.  He said, 'If ya go, don't worry about yourself.  All ya gotta do is take a step!' "

Amen to that!  If we do our best (even when our best doesn't seem like enough), God will do the rest!

You Can Homeschool (YouTube Videos) / Home School Legal Defense Association

Part 1  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvhiuVNaCGA&feature=player_embedded

Part 2  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kR2NCpdMDEo&NR=1

Part 3  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Mu3TpHixyE&feature=related

A College Degree is NOT Required in Order to Successfully Homeschool Your Child

I am proof of that.  I graduated from public high school 30 years ago (back when teachers & principals still had control of  their schools;  but even then, the only Math requirement for high school graduation was to take Algebra I.  I did not take Geometry, nor did I take Algebra II in high school).  I attended a  vocational school from which I obtained my certification in Occupational Child Care & Development.  I  went on to college for a short time, taking more classes in Child Care & Development, as well as a bookkeeping course, and typing classes. I do NOT have a college degree.  I have never taken a college-level English or Math course (not officially, anyway).

So...how was I able to sucessfully supervise the education of my 3 children through high school?  What made it work?   As a Christian, I feel that GOD's GRACE and GUIDANCE were the most important elements of my family's homeschooling experience.  DETERMINATION to see it through to the end and DEDICATION to the cause are also vital to a homeschool's success. 

I first took my oldest child out of public school when she was in 7th grade.  She did great at public school during primary school (K-4).  My sweet, loving child  made straight A's and tested as being "gifted".  That all began to change after she began middle school.  Her grades began to drop and her attitude began to change for the worse.  By 7th grade, her report card was showing C's and B's . Her teachers had her taken off of the gifted list - which didn't make sense to me - either you were gifted or you weren't.  One of her teachers told me that my daughter "could try again in 8th grade" to pass the gifted test.  I thought, "What?  She'd ALREADY passed this test!  Why don't you just try to figure out what her problem is?"  In addition to my daughter's falling grades, she had become hateful to, and resentful of, her family members.   She was also being indecently harassed at school by a male classmate.   In desperation, my husband and I decided to try homeschooling.  We figured we could not do any worse at teaching than her public school teachers were doing.  Chances were, we could do a better job of it.  They obviously were not able to give our daughter any special attention where her falling grades were concerned.  They didn't even seem to want to try. (I later learned, through special testing which I arranged myself, that our daughter was on a 5th grade level in Math & English.  The two years she had spent at middle school had been nothing but a waste of time!)  Concerning her negative attitude - we knew that was a result of spending so much time with her unsaved peers.  She was allowing their bad attitudes and disrespect for authority to influence her.  We knew a change of scenery was in order to combat that.  We took our daughter out of public school in October of her 7th grade year.  We took our 2 younger boys out  before the next school year began.  They began homeschooling in their 5th and 1st grade years.  By the way, during the time my older son  was in public school, he could not spell worth a dime, as his teachers were no longer giving proper phonics instruction. 

As it turned out, homeschooling was the BEST educational decision we have ever made concerning our children.  The rift in our family bond began to heal. As for academics, we focused more intently on the subjects they had problems with.  I ended up learning (or re-learning) right along with my children.  When my children reached high school and math became more difficult, we used various aids: a tutor (another homeschool mom) and VHS videos for Algebra 1, Geometry CDs for use on the computer and VHS video instruction (now available on DVDs, of course), and for Algebra 2 my daughter and I took a class together at our local community college.  Homeschoolers in my state, as well as in some other states,  may take classes at their local community colleges as early as age 16. 

The results:  My daughter and my youngest son chose to go on to college after graduation from high school at home.  Both did extremely well on their Math & English Placement Tests given by the college.  Neither of them had to take any remedial courses at college after their high school (homeschool) graduation.  After my daughter took the tests, the adviser told me "she did BETTER than MOST (public) high school graduates".  After my son took the tests, the adviser told me that he did so well that "he can take whatever he wants" (go into any field of study). My daughter ended up working in bookkeeping/computer at one of our local banks.  (She decided to become a stay-at-home mom before the birth of her second child, and intends for me to help her homeschool her children.)  My youngest son is currently enrolled in college part-time and works part-time.  His major is Computer Software.  My older son (my middle child) decided to go directly into the work force full-time.  He has done well at various jobs, and has now settled into a rewarding career as a Correctional Officer at a Maximum Security Prison.  Despite the fact that this son of mine has never attended college, he frequently tutored his girlfriend  when she was in her last two years of high school and also when she was in college.  She made very good grades on the assignments he helped her with. 

So, parents, don't let the lack of a college degree hinder you from homeschooling your children.  There are various ways to overcome any obstacles you might face.  If you seek God's blessing and guidance, if you are dedicated to the cause and determined to see it through - no matter what - then it will work and the end results will amaze you. 

If anyone questions your ability to teach your children due to your lack of college attendance or due to your lack of having a college degree (and if you have graduated from a public school), you could reply:

"I have graduated from a public, state-run high school.  If my diploma is valid, as the government assures me that it is, then what makes you think that I am unable to transfer my knowledge on to someone else?"

Otherwise, you could just simply state:

"Considering the fact that the majority of  public high school graduates that go on to college must take remedial courses in college, I don't feel that I could do any worse at teaching my kids than the public schools would do."

Case closed!