Jimmie's Collage » general homeschooling

How Pinterest can Ruin Your Homeschool

Jimmie — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Pinterest is great fun, but beware. It can ruin your homeschool.

I don’t mean that you may spend too much time repinning instead of planning and teaching lessons although that could happen.

I mean something else, something that is probably more likely.

Too Many Choices = Paralysis

Pinterest is a visual overload of exponential creativity. All those brilliant ideas can be paralyzing for a homeschool mom. They are all so cute, so perfect, so educational, so “pinnable.” As you are busy repinning and categorizing those brilliant ideas, you can begin to doubt your own homeschool.

We never do creative activities.

I never think of fun projects like these, and when I see them it’s too late.

I don’t know where to start. Which of these should I do?

You may begin to compare yourself to other moms, somehow forgetting that you are seeing excerpts from millions of blog posts from thousands of bloggers over many years. It’s not like every one of those crafts was completed by a single household in a single academic year. But it’s easy to forget the reality when you are looking at a neatly organized Pinterest board.

You can start to feel craft paralysis, lesson plan overload, activity indecision.

You may begin frantically pinning in an effort to keep from missing all these great ideas.

Here’s the Reality

Even if you plan a semester long unit study, you are not going to be able to do all the incredible science or geography activities you have pinned. And if you do accomplish them all, you will be exhausted and burned out.

If you do only one or two of those three dozen activity ideas on that Pinterest board, it will still be a fantastic unit study.

If you miss another dozen relevant printables and activities after the unit study is over, it’s okay. It really does not lessen your curriculum. Let it go. Pin them “just in case” if it makes you feel good.

But realize that you cannot do it all. There is an infinite number of homeschool ideas and materials. You cannot pin them all, and you can’t do all the ones you pin.

So go enjoy Pinterest. Get inspired. Collect loads of ideas and categorize them well. But refuse the doubts that creep in which make you feel inadequate or that paralyze you with the need to make “perfect” lesson plan decisions.

I’d love to know your thoughts about Pinterest. Does it cause doubts or overload? Leave a comment.

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Homeschooling is Like Exercise

Jimmie — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:15:00 +0000

I like homeschooling a lot more than I like exercising. That’s probably obvious to you based on my blog posts. After all, this is a homeschool blog. And aside from my one random Hot Pants post, I never talk about fitness.

But I’ve discovered that homeschooling is like exercising in many ways.

1. Small, repeated investments have a big pay off in the long term.

Going to the gym doesn’t instantly give you the figure you’re longing for. (I wish!) But a commitment to exercise will show dramatic results if you stick with it — even if it is only 20 minutes a day, three times a week. Homeschool is like that. Short, daily lessons like Charlotte Mason recommended seem to be insignificant. But they build a foundation of learning which reaps huge dividends.

Some days we jump from ten minutes of artist study to ten minutes of poetry to fifteen minutes of grammar. Are we really accomplishing anything? Yes, we are. There is power in a little done often. And with short lessons there is no time to get burned out or bored.

2. If you don’t do it right, you are just wasting your time.

With exercise, if you do it wrong, you can actually hurt yourself instead of contribute to your wellness. I certainly don’t want to perpetuate any fear on the part of homeschool moms that they are teaching their children in the “wrong” ways. But every mom should carefully evaluate how she makes her educational decisions.

Are the methods you use in line with the educational goals you have? Are you spinning your wheels with methods that don’t work or that sap the love of learning from your child? Are you in a rut? Just like you ask the advice of a trainer when you’ve reached a plateau in your fitness efforts, sometimes a homeschool mom needs to seek the advice of a mentor or read a how to homeschool book.

3. Although you can spend a fortune, the necessities are very inexpensive.

I am amazed at how much you can spend on exercise — fancy clothes, gym memberships, exercise equipment, dietary supplements, and pedometers. But to get fit, all you need are a pair of tennis shoes and a place to walk. It’s really that simple.

Homeschool is exactly the same. You can easily spend a thousand dollars on a child for a year’s worth of homeschool curriculum. But homeschool can also be accomplished with Internet access, a library card, and a much more modest budget. Flashy doesn’t necessarily mean better. It’s just flashier. And expensive.

And let’s be honest. It’s a lot more fun to shop for cute workout clothes than it is to actually exercise. Right? How many of you love researching and shopping for curriculum more than the actual teaching of the lessons? Don’t let a lack of frills keep you from making your homeschool experience great. Start with what you have and keep it simple.

4. There is a high that comes — if you keep going.

I always read about endorphins that come when you exercise. But not until the last couple of years have I experienced the high that you can get from exercise. The reason I never believed in them is that I would get sweaty and stop long before the endorphins had a chance to be released. To get the good feelings, you have to press through the pain.

Homeschool is like that too. Some days it feels dull and lifeless. Some days you fight with your kids. But if you keep pressing on, those endorphins will kick in. In homeschool, the endorphins are a love of learning and a close relationship with your children. When they kick in, you know you’ve made the right decision to educate your children at home.

Do you see any more parallels between exercise and homeschool? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

(Thanks to Robert S. Donovan for the great shoe image I used under a Creative Commons license.)

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Why I am Not a Militant Homeschooler

Jimmie — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:14:50 +0000

I want to openly say that I am a homeschooler. (You knew that.) But I am not a militant homeschooler.

thanks to eBomb716 for the cool image

What is a militant homeschooler?

By militant homeschooler I mean someone who believes that all Christians should homeschool their children. Actually, the word should is probably too weak. A militant homeschooler is one who thinks that homeschooling is the only path to educating children and therefore is a matter of disobedience to God — a sin — not to.

Militant homeschoolers judge others who do not homeschool and pity those pathetic children who can’t learn at home. Militant homeschoolers like you when they find out that you homeschool — until they discover you are not a militant like they are. It’s not enough just to homeschool, you have to be utterly convinced that it is the only educational path.

Why I am not a militant homeschooler

To put it most simply, Christians we are free in Christ.

Our two commands are to love the Lord with all our heart, mind, and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

What a responsibility we have to raise our children in the love of the Lord! But homeschooling is not necessarily the single answer to that responsibility. In fact, you can homeschool your child and not teach him the truth of God’s word or be an example of it. (That would be a sin.) On the other hand, there are parents who send their children to public and private school who do an excellent job providing spiritual direction.

I agree that God calls people to homeschool. He has called me to do that –at least for now. Things could change, and God may ask us to do something different in the future. Many times in life, God has shoved us off of the path we were on, a path that He directed us to and placed us on. But the time was up. A new path was rising in its place. Who are we to question His direction?

The bottom line is that there is not one single, absolute answer to a child’s education.

Each child is unique.
Each family is different.
Each season of life brings special challenges and privileges.

Free in Christ

So to all you homeschool moms, if you stop homeschooling your child, please don’t act ashamed and embarrassed in my presence. I am not a militant homeschooler. I will not condemn your choice. You don’t have to explain why homeschooling didn’t work in your situation or that you tried with all your heart and strength before you gave up. I’ll listen if you want to share, but I will not judge you as an inferior parent because of any choice that you prayerfully made.

I am free in Christ. Free to obey Christ for the educational choices He makes for my daughter. And you are free in Christ, too.

If you want your own button to tell the world you are not a militant homeschooler, visit here.

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Homeschooling on Second Shift

Jimmie — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 21:55:43 +0000

For the past month, my husband has been working a second shift job. For the most part, I am enjoying the second shift lifestyle, but it has meant some adjustments for our family and for homeschooling.

We now eat a large lunch as our main family meal of the day. This is really healthier than having a big dinner, and I find that I have more energy to cook at mid-day than I have in the evenings. Of course, that means I have to be even more diligent to plan ahead. I must have my plan for lunch before I go to bed the night before.

I am used to eating leftovers for lunch, so it has been an adjustment to sometimes have the kitchen in full swing while Sprite is also needing input on a school assignment. While I’m cooking, I ask her to either come to me in the kitchen or to do her independent work without me.

So that we have time to spend with my husband, we have shifted the bulk of homeschooling to the afternoon hours when he is at work. Mornings are still free for Sprite and her dad to run errands, go to appointments, and swim at the gym.

Although I prefer to get my work done early, I have seen that a shift to afternoon homeschool has been pleasant for Sprite. In fact, I would say that school is easier for her in the afternoons since she seems more energetic and focused. Research has shown that because of the changes in their bodies, teens do not do well with early mornings. So second shift homeschooling seems a perfect match for a middle schooler like Sprite. We are normally done with lessons by dinner time which is a simple meal of a sandwich or leftovers (what used to be our normal fare for lunch).

Some of her friends, both homeschooled and public schooled, are surprised to call and find Sprite still working on school at 5:30 PM. But she is quick to remind them that she didn’t begin her work until around 1 PM.

Sprite has loved staying up late for many years now, and it has worked fine for our lifestyle, so I have allowed it. That meant I could rise early and have the house to myself in the first hours of the day. Now she likes to wait up for dad to get home and visit for a while before going to sleep. (I’m sure there is a psychological desire to have dad at home and connect with him before going to bed.)

On my part, I admit that I am usually already in bed and often already asleep and normally when he gets home. I’m not a bit of a night owl. But even with allowing her to stay up late and get up later, I always felt this nagging concern that we should be done with homeschool by 2:00 or 3:00 PM, that we are somehow lazy if we don’t get done before then. I am loving the freedom that a second shift homeschool gives us to start as late as we need to and keep working until it’s done.

A downside to my husband’s working second shift is that I can no longer go out for a ladies night or even to the local homeschool group since they all meet in the evenings. But I am thankful that he has a job and for the perks that second shift homeschooling offers us.

Photo Credit: thanks to Scalespeeder for the awesome clock image that I modified.

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Scheduling Time for Review

Jimmie — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:40:00 +0000

Sprite laughing at her own visual aid

Remember the photo holder thrift store find that we turned into a vocabulary tool? The idea was to make a card for each root Sprite studied and review them weekly. We did well with making the cards, but after several weeks, we neglected to review them. That omission was painfully obvious when we tried to review the whole set at the end of the workbook.

She remembered the meanings of the roots at the beginning of the book; we had reviewed those consistently. And she knew the roots at the end of the book; we had just finished them. But the ones in the middle were altogether forgotten.

Actually, this phenomena is normal for memory. We tend to remember what is at the beginning and end. But the middle items are forgotten more easily. By failing to consistently review, I was only reinforcing a normal tendency of the human memory.

So instead of rushing on to the next vocabulary resource, we spent a few days to review these roots and memorize the meanings. It would be a shame not to cement the learning after Sprite has spent so many weeks of effort on the material.

The whole experience reminded me again of the value of consistent, periodic review and final review. Why invest so much in our lesson planning and execution if we don’t take the time to lock in that learning with some quick review? My takeaway is this: Schedule time for review. Write it on the plans so that you actually do it.

How to you handle review? Is it a part of your homeschool scheduling or do you wing it? How important do you think it is? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

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Semester Planning for Homeschoolers Who Don’t Use a Packaged Curriculum

Jimmie — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:26:00 +0000

A fresh calendar year and a new semester means work for a homeschool mom. It’s time to regroup and make plans. To be honest, I enjoy the planning part.

Planning Pages

I evaluate what has worked so far in the school year, how far we have gotten compared to my original year-long plans, and what is left to cover for the year. Then I sit down with pencil in hand and craft an updated plan.

As the years have passed, we have used fewer and fewer curriculum sets. Instead we are using a hodgepodge of living books, workbooks, and homemade lessons. Although I don’t use a prepackaged curriculum, that doesn’t mean that I don’t plan. (I always have a plan!) As I was making my semester plans last week, I thought it might be helpful for other homeschool moms to get a glimpse of how to make semester plans when you use an eclectic mix of curriculums and resources.

I have some overarching goals for Sprite’s middle school years which I periodically review. It’s important to keep those in the forefront of my mind as I plan.

Then I list the academic areas I want to cover. Under each heading, I list the materials I have on hand to use for that subject. They may be workbooks, living books, PDFs, or curriculum sets. Or if I need something. I make a note of that too, and later search my local library system or Amazon.

I take the material I have, and give it an overview, trying to determine realistically how long it will take us to cover. Sometimes a book is conveniently divided into lessons, so it’s just a matter of counting it up. Other times, I have to mentally divide it and use previous experience as a guide.

I factor four days a week for homeschool so we have time for extra-curricular activities (drawing lessons, 4H, and the occasional field trip). When estimating how long something will actually take, I always round up. I like having slack built into my schedule so that we have time for tangents or time to catch up when we get off track. After all, flexibility is a primary benefit of homeschooling. Why not plan for that flexibility?

At this point, my list looks roughly like this. (Except it’s very messy, of course. And these are just a few examples of items from the list.)

History

Ancient Rome unit (Beautiful Feet) 6 weeks worth

math history biographies (livingmath.net) 8 weeks, 1 mathematician each week

Poetry

4 poets — 6 weeks each

Vocabulary

Wordly Wise 11 weeks left

Grammar

Editor in Chief 16 weeks left

Language Arts

Figuratively Speaking 40 lessons, 2 per week = 20 weeks

Then I print out some pretty pages from my homeschool planner and transfer my notes. I am a visual person, and the little boxes really help me to see where I have gaps or where I’ve planned too much. In the photo I am using the quarterly pages (from The Schoolhouse Planner) to outline the two nine week periods of the semester.

Penciling in the Plans

Of course, it’s not a neat eighteen weeks in reality, but it gives me a foundation for my plan. I write over the boxes to indicate how long I estimate different units to take. Now I can see that I have a nice 3 week gap on my history line. I decide to leave that there to allow for overflow or for some new idea. These pages go into my homeschool notebook where I refer to them as I make my weekly plans.

Note that my plans are in pencil. They are merely plans. Things change, and I always reserve the right to modify mid-stream. My plans are my tool not my master.

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My Top Fifteen Guest Posts and Articles of 2011

Jimmie — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Today’s post is a sampling of some of my most popular (homeschool related) work of 2011 from other online spots. Some of my new readers may not know that I contribute to several sites besides Jimmie’s Collage and at The Notebooking Fairy. If you missed any of these posts from 2011, it’s not too late to read and comment.

I chose these 15 posts based on traffic numbers, number of comments, or numbers of shares on social networking sites. It wasn’t totally scientific. But overall, these are some of my most popular articles and are representative of all the sites where I’ve contributed this year.

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Homeschooling in Ten Easy Questions

Jimmie — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 23:40:02 +0000

I’ve been tagged by Pam at Everyday Snapshots for this fun homeschool meme. I don’t normally do memes, but this one seemed very relevant. So, thanks, Pam!

According to the meme, I am supposed to tag six other homeschool bloggers to participate. But I’m going to take that lazy cop out and simply invite any one reading this post to participate.

The Eight Original Homeschooling Questions

1. One homeschooling book you have enjoyed.

The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling Teens by Debra Bell

I got this at the Homeschool Convention this spring, and I am so glad I did. I can see that it’s a volume I’ll be referencing often as I finish middle school and move into high school with Sprite.

2. One resource you wouldn’t be without.

Over the years, our most used resources have changed. But a dictionary is really an essential tool for all levels and for all academic areas. Dictionary Day, Oct. 16, is coming up, by the way.

3. One resource you wish you had never bought.

This is a really tough one. I love almost all books and rarely find them a waste. Even if a book turns out to be less than I expect, I can usually find enough good from it to feel that I got my purchase price.

I also spend a lot of time researching my purchases, and I’m thankful to say that I cannot think of a single homeschool purchase that I totally regretted.

4. One resource you enjoyed last year.

We have enjoyed the Metropolitan Museum of Art Page a Day Calendar for two years now — 2010 and 2011. The 2012 version is already available for sale, and I really need to do buy it before it sells out. (It does sell out every year before the previous year is even over!)

5. One resource you will be using next year.

(Since this year has just begun, I’ll reinterpret this question to mean this year, Sprite’s 7th grade year.)

The Art of Argument: an Introduction to the Informal Fallacies from Classical Academic Press

I wanted to do our advertising unit before we looked at this more abstract and comprehensive unit. I think it’s going to be fantastic, and Sprite is at the perfect age for it.

6. One resource you would like to buy.

I so want a microscope for our science studies.

7. One resource you wish existed.

I would love to have a living books based science curriculum (like Noeo Science) for high school levels.

8. One homeschool catalog you enjoy reading.

Of course, Rainbow Resource is THE catalog just because it’s so thorough. But I also really enjoy looking at Home Science Tools and Teacher Created Resources.

My Two Add-on Homeschool Questions

This meme is called Homeschooling in Ten Easy Questions, but Pam’s post had only eight questions. To fix the discrepancy without renaming the meme, I’ve chosen to create two of my own questions. Sorry to end on a negative note, but the struggles are where we learn the most, so I don’t want to discount them.

9. What homeschool subject gives you the most frustration or anxiety?

Math is the one area I worry about the most. It is not my personal strength or preference. Because Sprite wants to be a nurse, I know that she needs top-notch math skills. I sometimes wish math would just go away.

10. What is your greatest challenge in homeschooling right now?

My greatest challenge lies with the the tween/teen years in general. Making this transition is not easy, and I often don’t know the right things to do. It is a season of much prayer and seeking grace and wisdom.

Now it’s your turn! Go ahead. Copy the questions and do the homeschooling in 10 easy questions meme. It’s fun.

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Glamorizing the Mom Notebook

Jimmie — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 15:00:00 +0000

My Mom’s Homeschool Notebook is a thrift store find — it’s a thick. two inch binder in pink with a year written on the spine in permanent marker. But it just got a makeover thanks to Mod Podge. Can you believe this is the first time I’ve ever used this crafty substance? It looks like white glue but dries clear.

I cut out some fun images and quotes from some ratty children’s books and “mod podged” them onto the cover. Big M-O-M letters, cut from the same books, label the notebook spine. Simple, rather childish, but far more peppy than the original look.

Do you use Mod Podge? What was your latest Mod Podge project?

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Jimmie's Collage » general homeschooling

How Pinterest can Ruin Your Homeschool

Too Many Choices = Paralysis

Here’s the Reality

Homeschooling is Like Exercise

1. Small, repeated investments have a big pay off in the long term.

2. If you don’t do it right, you are just wasting your time.

3. Although you can spend a fortune, the necessities are very inexpensive.

4. There is a high that comes — if you keep going.

Why I am Not a Militant Homeschooler

What is a militant homeschooler?

Why I am not a militant homeschooler

Free in Christ

Homeschooling on Second Shift

Scheduling Time for Review

Semester Planning for Homeschoolers Who Don’t Use a Packaged Curriculum

History

Poetry

Vocabulary

Grammar

Language Arts

My Top Fifteen Guest Posts and Articles of 2011

At About One

At Simple Homeschool

At Educating Mother

At Natural Family Today

At Hubpages

At Wizzley

At Heart of the Matter

Top Ten Posts of 2011

Homeschooling in Ten Easy Questions

The Eight Original Homeschooling Questions

1. One homeschooling book you have enjoyed.

2. One resource you wouldn’t be without.

3. One resource you wish you had never bought.

4. One resource you enjoyed last year.

5. One resource you will be using next year.

6. One resource you would like to buy.

7. One resource you wish existed.

8. One homeschool catalog you enjoy reading.

My Two Add-on Homeschool Questions

9. What homeschool subject gives you the most frustration or anxiety?

10. What is your greatest challenge in homeschooling right now?

Glamorizing the Mom Notebook