Homeshooling How We Do It

Welcome to homeschooling, year 14. As this year comes to a close and I start to face year 15, I noticed a theme that seems to keep repeating year after year. Perhaps you've noticed it in your house too.

We are ready to be done, physically and mentally, but not academically.

So, about this time of year, I start thinking about how to make next year better.

7 of the 8 children are still here in the house, and still need my time and attention daily. This year I taught 11th grade, 9th, 7th, 3rd and 1st grade all at once, with a three year old who likes to yell at me

"MOM, WHERE'S MY SCHOOLWORK!"

and a one year old who until recently was still nursing.

I often hear this question: "HOW DO YOU DO IT?" and almost always, the person asking is either not a homeschooler and completely clueless, and there is no answer that I can give them, OR the person is a homeschooling mom who is really asking, "HOW CAN I DO IT?"

So, I'm going to try to help answer both of those questions, without too much snark, and try to keep it real.

TIP #1 MAKE LESSON PLANS AND LISTS
REALITY #1 YOU WILL PROBABLY ALWAYS BE BEHIND SCHEDULE

After trying all sorts of things, I've learned that for my personality, I need to spend the summer researching curriculum and developing lesson plans. I have publishers I like Veritas Press and I usually start with their recommendations and tailor it to each child (I'll talk about that next). I use a grid from Sonlight to plan out our daily lessons or goals.

The first page always looks something like this ALL IN PENCIL with subjects along the side column and children's names at the top. It's a worksheet, a place for me to plan out what I hope to accomplish over the course of the year.

Then, I create a page for each day (Monday - Friday for 36 weeks) - this is important for those of you who have to report attendance or record a certain number of school days per year - at the end of the year, this can serve as your record book as well as a help for planning out the next year.

An individual day plan looks more like this.
TIP #2 MAKE ALL YOUR PLANS IN PENCIL
REALITY #2 PLANS CHANGE

I use a yellow highlighter to put a line through each item as we complete it. Notice not box is full. You do not have to do every subject every day. Also, we don't finish all the planned items on the day I plan them, so if we finish something the next day, I don't move it in the planner, I just highlight it whenever we finish it.

So, what to put on the plan?

I spend a lot of time really thinking about who each child is, what matters to them, what motivates them, what they want to learn about and how I can teach it to them while still having them learn the things I want them to learn.
For my high schoolers, I asked them this year to make a list of the classes they wish were offered at their school, classes they would take if they could. I'm using that list to direct my curriculum choices.

Some packaged curriculum come with an already laid out lesson plan, so I just transfer that to our daily chart. Most of them are at the very least designed to fit into an 18 week or 36 week plan, so it's just a matter of sitting down with the curriculum and sorting out what makes sense to do each day.

If you are creating your own curriculum then you will have to decide how to break down the work into daily bites. This is not difficult, but it does take more time. But, if you are developing your own curriculum, then you are already investing a big chunk of time. I've done both over the years, and I prefer to write my own for some subjects, and prefer a canned curriculum for others - it depends on you and your child.


TIP #3 RELY ON YOUR OLDER CHILDREN TO BE INDEPENDENT AND HELPFUL
REALITY #3 SOMETIMES THEY ARE SICK AND/OR GRUMPY TOO OR PROCRASTINATORS OR WELL, JUST HUMAN...

In real use, I pull out this binder every day and it helps keep us focused.
If I'm sick, or away from home, or taking a child to the doctor or nursing the baby, an older child can open the binder and know what to do and can help younger children to know what to do.

As the year progresses, we tend to get ahead in some subjects (you don't have to stop reading just because your lesson plan says that you've done one day of work - you just mark off what you accomplish), and you'll fall behind in others. That makes using the binder a little more challenging for a child.

I keep bookmarks at the spots where we are in each subject and move the bookmarks as we go along. I use sticky notes so they don't get accidentally moved.

TIP #4 MAKE LISTS
REALITY #4 SOME CHILDREN WILL IGNORE THEIR LIST IF YOU DON'T HOUND THEM

To keep the day running smoothly, it usually helps to start with everyone at the dining room table. I begin with math, since most of them can work on practice problems or reading their next lesson in their books on their own while I work with them one at a time. I check their previous work, and write down their next assignment.
Then, we do Grammar. As I work with each individual child, the others start on their math assignments.

I work through each subject this way, reviewing material, answering questions and writing down the next assignment. 

When all goes well, each child has an assignment sheet to work through in just a couple of hours, allowing me to help children who need extra explanation, prepare "schoolwork" for the three year old, plan meals and it allows older, independent children to leave the table and go find quiet spaces to work.

When all goes sour, well then we sit at the table for awhile and still get some things done, but I don't have to try and make a judgement about how "good" of a day we had. This gives me an objective perspective on our year as a whole. I can look back over weeks and months, not just one bad day, and I can see what we've accomplished.

TIP #5 GIVE OLDER CHILDREN QUIET SPACES TO WORK
REALITY #5 SOME CHILDREN WILL STILL TRY TO WORK ON THE COUCH IN FRONT OF THE TV.

Our older children have tables in their room that they can use for studying. We also have a couple of small tables in our basement that can be used for younger children to do art projects and Playdoh or for older children to study at if necessary.

If they show that they are having trouble doing their work with the freedom to get their work done at their own pace, then I make them stay at the dining room table and work there. When they show a more diligent work ethic, they get their freedom back.

For especially difficult lessons, I will also ask older children to take the Littles to play with their toys so that I can work with one child alone who needs extra help.

TIP #6 DON'T LET THE LIST LIMIT YOU
REALITY #6 THERE ARE MANY THINGS THAT ARE EDUCATIONAL THAT YOU WON'T THINK TO INCLUDE IN YOUR LESSON PLANS

As fun and interesting things present themselves, go do them. Take time off of your schedule for swimming lessons, theater productions, hikes in the woods and whatever other things your family likes to do.

This year we discovered the Performing Arts Center in our area and their educational series. So, when we do those things, I pencil them into the lesson plans, or in the side margins if necessary. This year, we've added speech and essay contests, 4H projects, theater productions, drama club, youth group, swimming lessons and more to our original lesson plans.

How do I do it all? Here are some tips, but my answer is really by the grace of God go we.
So, don't forget to pray.

Following Your Kid's Lead

I'm learning to follow my kids lead. They are creative and fun and smart and they have great ideas.

The 17 year old wants to be a Broadway star! Here's her Facebook page.
As her mom, and her guidance counselor it's my job over this next year to make sure that she builds a resume that will boost her chances of getting into the college of her choice and accepted into their musical theater program.

As a small private school, it is difficult to offer some of the things that might look good on that application. Things like drama club, band & orchestra, dance, choir, etc.
So, we are trying to be creative.

The 15 year old wants to work in computers. He's not sure what, but maybe building them, repairing them, etc. Also, hard to create a technical lab on our school's itty bitty budget.

The 9 year old wants to be famous on YouTube. He's convinced he can sit around playing Minecraft, recording himself talking about it and get paid for it. I would laugh, but there are people actually doing it, so who am I to tell him he can't?
But, neither of us has any idea how to begin.

So, as the first semester of our homeschool year is nearing it's close, I'm pondering the curriculum and lesson plans for semester #2. What can we do differently to help these children work toward their goals while still meeting my idea of "schoolwork"?

I'm following their lead.

We now have a family YouTube page.
It's called 8 Kids Playing, a perfect name for our little actors and actresses, musicians and gamers.

AND, the kids are working on starting a newsletter. THE JOHNSON JOURNAL!

They are learning writing, business planning, and computer skills all at the same time. But, the part I like the best is the TEAMWORK because it was all their idea.

That's one Bad Kat

It is November 1st and NaNoWriMo has officially begun at our house. We didn't stay up and start at midnight, although I was tempted to. But, we went to chapel, completed our morning chores, finished our math and history, and then warmed up leftover lasagna for lunch and we are getting started on our family Novel Writing project.

I am using a text called Written & Illustrated by...

The first step is to create a publishing company. Now, this is easier than you might think because children are good at brainstorming.

However, it is also quite difficult for the following reasons:

1. Boys like to come up with names that are offensive. One suggestion for our publishing company was "Books of Poop" I used my ultimate authority to rule that one out even though it got a majority vote.

2. Many names that seem like a good idea, like "Johnson Publishing House" from our last name, are already taken. We did not want to misrepresent ourselves by using the name of an already existing publishing company.

3. Getting five kids to agree on a name unanimously is just plain challenging.

But, it's just past noon and we have done it... We have named our publishing company.
So, may I present.... (drumroll please) the publishing company created by the Johnson family for the sole purpose of publishing our own written and illustrated creations...

Bad Kat Publishing Co.

Being the Memory Maker

Photo taken at Heartwood Resort. 

I don't get out much. I like being at home. But, when I leave home, I like to go somewhere with a view.

I've been called "culturally illiterate", and it's probably true. I don't read the paper or watch the news or spend time keeping up with the latest entertainers. I don't know what movie stars are having babies or who their baby daddy is and I didn't watch last nights game. I don't keep up and I generally just don't care that much.

I often feel like Temperance Brennan on Bones when someone makes a cultural reference and she replies with a matter of fact

"I don't know what that means."

But, I'm just busy caring about and thinking about other things, and time feels short. Maybe it's because I'm getting older...
A young mom asked me the other day, "How do you know all these stories?"
I laughed, but after thinking it over, I realized that I have just lived. I listen to people talk, I watch their lives go by and I remember. I've had a lot of experiences, so I have a lot of stories to tell.

I have memories.

Not all of my memories are good. Some are horrible, and tragic. Some bring me to tears. Some memories send me to my room to hide under a blanket and wish I never had to come out. Some of them are just that bad.

But, I am made up of memories. My fears and joys, my hopes and dreams are often built upon these memories.

I know that my kids will have a lifetime of them, how ever long that life will be. So, today, instead of keeping up with the Who-nots in Hollywood or watching the ball players in the stadium, I am going to be a memory maker. I'm going to do my best to sprinkle in some really good ones, the kind that make you smile, and even cry tears of joy just to think of them.

How many days until we go to Walt Disney World?

How many days until we go to Walt Disney World?

If you are planning a trip to WDW or anywhere else, you probably hear the question, "How much longer?" over and over again... well, at least if you have kids, you do.

Here is a tip from the book  Vacation Education EPCOT. A series of Unit Studies inspired by your favorite vacation destinations.

3. Here's a tip to help keep little ones from going bonkers waiting for the big day. Cut a piece of construction paper into strips. On the first one write "We leave today" and then turn the strip so the words are on the inside, and tape the edges together. On the second strip write, "We leave tomorrow" and then loop this through the first ring and tape its edges together. Continue writing messages such as "Today we pack our suitcases, you can help" or "Only ten more days, count them on your fingers" and looping them onto the previous ring. When finished, hang this string of rings in a prominent part of the house where your children will see it every day. The last ring should be for the day you start making them. Each morning, your child can cut one down and read the message. The string of rings will be a visual reminder to help your children answer for themselves the constant questions of "How many more days until we go to Disney World?"

Now, if you are planning a surprise, you should not use this tip. One of our most memorable trips was our first. Our oldest was 6 years old, and in dance class. On the night of their final performance of the year, we dropped her off an hour before the show, and went home to pack the van. After the show, we drove as she fell asleep, still in her costume, makeup, frizzy hair and all. By the time she woke up, we were half way there. We handed her a United States map, told her the route we had driven so far, and let her guess where we were headed. It took her about two minutes to figure it out.