Free Time for Homeschoolers

When people ask me how much time I spend homeschooling, it's hard to answer. Do you include family work? Do you want me to count music practice? What about time spent reading?

And what about free time? At first, I'm sure you'd say no, but free time is actually something I'm pretty passionate about. Kids need time to just play, create, explore, and be kids.

Today, for example, I was doing some dishes after lunch. Usually, I recruit help from all my little eaters, but I looked around and decided not to disrupt them.

Bubs was at the piano, picking out the Star Wars theme song by ear.

Welly was writing a retelling of Cinderella.

Why-Why was actually vacuuming for me.

OK...so I did ask Why to vacuum, but Bubs and Welly were using their free time for great creative pursuits that they chose to do.

There's so much power in choice, isn't there? When we choose to play an instrument, write a story, or whatever else we may choose to do, don't you think we get so much more out of it than if we were just fulfilling an assignment?

LDS Homeschool Conference Notes

On Saturday, I went to the Latter-day Learning Conference at American Heritage School, and my cup is full. What a great day! I feel on fire with excitement.

The morning began with an inspiring keynote address by Nick Gentile. Here are some of my notes.

• Doctrine and Covenants 29:34- All things are spiritual; God never gave us a law that was only temporal.
• In the Doctrine and Covenants manual, it says that man makes the distinction between temporal and spiritual, not God.
• Elder Wirthlin, at the October 2007 General Conference said that God sees us as the glorious beings we are capable of becoming.
• Referenced the talk, An Education for Real Life, by President Henry B. Eyring.
• Described the 4R-ing system to learning: Research, Reason, Relate, Record.
• Make SMART goals: specific, measurable, achievable, results-focused, time-bound.

For the first breakout sessions, I listened to Jane Mack and Nannette Wiggins, who spoke about how The Family School curriculum came to be. It has been a long and time-consuming process that is blessing the lives of many! They talked about "laying the Gospel as the foundation of every subject". It was an interesting class, but I didn't take many notes, I'm afraid.

During the second session, I heard from Lauri Updike, a teacher at American Heritage School. 

• Peculiar people are His treasure.
• Neil Flinders, author of Teach the Children: An Agency Approach to Education , said that true religion includes ALL the Lord has given us.
• We should treat our kids as children of God. Assume the best of them. Have high expectations.
• Use primary sources and prophetic quotes to find truth.
• Study the meaning behind words. 1. Dictionary 2. Words of living Prophets 3. Scriptures 4. Reason out a personal definition relating it to your own life.
• 4Rs help us self-govern.
• We want Christ "written in the fleshy tables of our hearts".

After the second session, I went out to a delicious lunch with a couple friends. My friend, Liz, highly recommends the book, 10 critical keys for highly effective Mormon families.

After lunch, Ruel Haymond gave an incredible class, entitled Like it or Not, Likening is the Key.

• The natural man in each of us wants to liken unto everyone except ourselves.
• It's easy to read and think, "Those dumb Nephites. If they could only see!" We need to apply to our own lives instead.
• We can overcome the natural man through hope in Christ.
• Recommends the book, TO END ALL WARS
  by Ernest Gordon and the documentary, Miracle on the River Kwai.

Next, I heard Diann Jeppson speak about Family Devotionals.

• Her family likes to "play missionary". Diann pretends to be an investigator and asks kids questions about the Church. They are supposed to incorporate an Article of Faith in their answer.
• Possible Building Blocks of devotional include: prayer, song, memorizing scriptures, Our Heritage, Teaching the Topics of Themes (her personal favorite**), True to the Faith (older kids), scriptures, spelling, creative writing, inspiring quotes, locate a couple places on a map, recite family mission statement or a family cheer, Pledge of Allegiance, Monday Morning at the Movies (watch a conference talk), read a family history story, manners, etc.
• Strategies: 1. Food is a great gatherer. 2. Give people something to do with their hands. (coloring, knitting, crochet, carving, fixing something...) 3. Be consistent, even when it has to be short. 4. Tell stories in your own words.

Lastly, I chose to listen to an experienced panel of homeschoolers.

1. To motivate your children:

• Praise them.
• Be sure your requirements are worthwhile.
• Take a long-term view.
• Set the stage with older kids.
• Work and play WITH them.
• Give stars or beans in a jar for every time they happily say, "Sure, Mom. I'd be glad to." Let them earn ice cream or field trips.

2. Favorite things about homeschooling:

• Time spent together.
• Great discussions because they learn to be good conversationalists.
• Kids become your friends.

3. Take time for yourself. Even the Savior left the press of the multitude to go apart.

Those are my notes. I'm kind of a conference junkie. I love days like this, when I can go fill my cup to overflowing and come home refreshed and ready to stretch and grow.

Emily blogs at Homespun Light, where she talks about books, homeschool, books, religion, crafts, and books.

(I wrote this post for Latter-day Homeschooling. If you are an LDS homeschooler, you'll definitely want to check it out!)

Thoughts on the Meaning of Education

It's difficult for me to encapsulate my definition of education because education is everywhere in everything. It is life. It's growth. It's improvement. Education is so much more than school (or home school), which is merely one structure from which we aim to become educated.

Education, to me, is placing ourselves, and those we are responsible for, on the path of eternal progression, and moving forward. All light and knowledge are part of this. There is no division between temporal and spiritual. All truth is God's truth. In this way, there is no end to education. There is no graduation from eternal progression.

Part of our eternal path, is to gain success in our earthly life. I feel that my role as a mother is to help my kids obtain success here that will prepare them for this life, and in turn, for the eternities.

This includes, but is not limited to:

1. Building Christlike attributes and character.
2. Loving and understanding the Gospel.
3. Being exposed to a broad base of knowledge, with deep understanding of topics of interest, talent, and passion.
4. Realizing personal life mission.
5. Possessing skills that will enable them to support themselves and their families when/if necessary.
6. Embracing God-given gender roles.

When people ask me what we do for home school, it's difficult for me to explain. We don't structure it like public school. It's a life style of learning. I like to call it Life Education.

Happy Learning!

Making Art out of Basic Shapes

A lot of the work we do is based on things I think Bubs should be learning or wants to learn. Welly is next. Wy-Wy enjoys tagging along for lessons and storytimes, but once in a while a lesson is more geared toward the littlest ones. That doesn't mean we can't all have fun, though. Who doesn't love acting like a toddler now and then?

You've probably already figured out what we did for this simple mini lesson. We just drew basic shapes and identified them. Then we used our shapes to make pictures.

I also had Bubs draw lines on the shapes, making them symmetrical (as seen in the top picture).

Fun, simple, easy...and like usual, the kids kept working on their projects while I read aloud to them for a while.

PS. We love our morning Read-Aloud time. It's something we never miss. Right now, we're working our way through Blue by Joyce Moyer Hostetter (Review here).

Book Review: The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

Tiffany Aching, age 9, is a responsible  and sensible girl. She makes cheese and watches after her sticky little brother. Generation after generation of Achings have been sheep herders.

But Tiffany wants to be something more. She wants to be a witch.

When creatures from Fairyland start invading her farm, she does what anyone would do...arms herself with a frying pan.

Luckily she has a better weapon. The Nac Mac Feegle, also known as the Wee Free Men, are on her side. They're tiny blue men with lots of tattoos. They love to fight and drink strong drink. Their battle cries are hilarious. We laughed out loud when they said, "They can tak' oour lives, but they cannae tak' oour troousers!" They're also always chanting, ""Nae king! Nae quin! Nae laird! Nae master! We willnae be fooled again!" ***

Tiffany has mixed feelings about taking care of her brother all the time, but when he is whisked away by the evil Queen of Fairyland, she knows she doesn't have a choice but to save him...and of course, the Wee Free Men are more than anxious to help.

Once they are in Fairyland, the story gets a bit more complicated, with different levels of dreaming and reality.

This story is not only entertaining, but it has a multitude of life lessons. I read it after a friend said that it was a great analogy for becoming a leader. Because of this, I saw many great insights I may have missed. After a series of dreams, Tiffany realizes, "The secret is not to dream. The secret is to wake up. Waking up is harder."

Tiffany is a great character. She wonders about her lack of emotions. She knows she has a seed of greatness inside of her, so she seeks a mentor to help her become what she wants to be. After all, everyone starts small, "like oak trees". She believes in herself and does what she has to do.

In terms of age-appropriateness, I recommend this book for tweens and teens. Like I said, the Nac Mac Feegle love their strong drink. Also, Granny Aching, Tiffany's grandma, smoked cigars. The cigar packaging plays a large part in the story and is once said to look like a naked woman's sillouette if you hold the package just so.

I read it aloud to my kids, skipping the things aforementioned. Use your judgment.

***Funny story. One evening in AZ, the kids, in desperate need of a bath, were marching through the house chanting, "No baths, no showers, no soap. We won't be fooled again!"

Mini Lesson Ideas: Math, Geography, Art, and More...

Each morning after breakfast, we do a Mini Lesson, which is a short lesson about whatever random thing I think of. Sometimes the ideas are inspired by the kids and sometimes not.

Mini Lessons are a great way to introduce ideas and concepts that don't already fit into our daily work...and they're pretty much the kids' favorite part of the day. I never tell them ahead of time what it will be. The surprise helps keep them fun.

Here are some of the lessons we've done...

1. Tell a short story that includes basic shapes. Trace the shapes in the air while you tell it, and then have everyone draw an interpretation of the story. After you've set the example, have the kids tell a brief story and have everyone draw theirs, too.

2. Compare a flat world map with a globe. Find where you live on both. Identify the 7 continents. Color and label the continents on a blank world map.

3. Measure things around the house with a measuring tape/ruler. Record findings. (When we did this, we discovered that Y's neck is bigger around than his big sister's and brother's necks! No wonder we can't button the top button of his church shirt!)

4. Make coin critters! We absolutely love this idea from Family Fun.

5. Make paper airplanes. Talk about lift and gravity. Color and label a diagram of a wing.

6. Build card houses. (This one turned into a zoo for little stuffed animals.)

7. ABC Gratitudes. Write out the letters A-Z, one letter on each line. The first person fills in something that they're grateful for that starts with an A, then passes it to the next person, until you have a whole alphabet of thanksgiving.

8. Work on memorizing the 50 States Song.

Right after Mini Lesson, I read aloud to the kids, so I like to finish with something they can do with their hands while I read...usually it's some kind of coloring. They also like to embroider, finger knit, draw, and write notes while I read.

I keep a running list of ideas that is easily accessible because some days I have lots of ideas and other days I don't.

New Schedule

So, I'd love to say that I haven't been blogging because I've just spent way less time on-line, but that would be a BIG lie. I've been on-line obsessively looking at houses.

We're looking to shorten Robby's commute and expand a bit. We made an offer on a Be-U-tiful house with a heavenly yard, but so did 13 other families...and we didn't win.  :(

I have read a few novels lately, but none of them fit the Deliciously Clean Reads bill, unfortunately.

So, I'm rambling.

We also made a new homeschool schedule that we are loving...so I thought I'd share...

This schedule doesn't have times. It's more of a routine than a schedule.

1. Wake up. (It's harder than it sounds.)
2. Personal Chores: get dressed, pick up room, brush teeth, comb hair
3. Breakfast and dishes.
4. Mini Lesson and Read-Aloud (We're done some fun stuff I'll be sharing. The Mini-lesson can be about anything I feel like teaching.)
5. Scripture Goals: Bubs and Welly both made goals to read the scriptures on their own every day this year. Yay for that!!!
6. Math. We're using the A Beka books. So far, so great!
7. Family Work: One load of laundry and Daily Work)
8. Free Time.
9. Lunch and Clean Up.
10. ROW to Know. (Read or Write to Know.)
11. Service.
12. Errands/Whatever else needs to be done.
13. Free time.
14. Dinner and Clean up.
15. Family Time. (Often wrestle-with-Daddy time.)
16. Family Scripture Study: Currently studying the New Testament.
17. Bedtime. (Almost always with bedtime stories and lullabies.)

Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery

Book Review: Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery

Isn't Anne of Green Gables a perfect classic? We just finished listening to it.

Poor Anne has had a difficult life, moving from one house to another, always taking care of children, and then ending up in an orphanage. Although she doesn't pity herself, she longs for a home (with a large scope for imagination, of course).

Finally, someone wants to adopt her, and her little heart can hardly dare to hope it will work out. She almost falls apart when she discovers that Mathew and Marilla of Green Gables meant to adopt a boy and intend to send her back.

But who can resist Anne with her wild imaginings and endearing ways? She is a great character: well-drawn, imperfect but trying to be good, and quite entertaining.

Don't miss this book!

And now for a different kind of review...

We listened to Anne of Green Gables on LibriVox.org. This website has been a great addition to our homeschooling. Books that are in the public domain (in other words, classics published before 1923) have been recorded by volunteers. You can listen to them for free from your computer or download the mp3 and use it however you'd like!

We are now listening to A Christmas Carol while we do handcrafts together.

The only negative that I have found with LibriVox, is that sometimes you won't like the voice of the reader and sometimes different chapters of the same book are read by different readers. But...what do you expect? It's free!  The most popular classics have been recorded multiple times, so if you don't like one reader, you can always try another.

Isn't it about...Time?

Remember the LDS commercials that said, Isn't it about...time?


Well, time is on my mind these days. Honestly, it's one of the main reasons I homeschool. So I have time with my children. So they have time to roam, imagine, and explore. So they have time to be best friends with each other. So we all have time to pursue our passions.


Recently, I came across the article, Old Fashioned Play Builds Serious Skills by Alix Spiegel. In it, Spiegel shows how play has changed over the last 50 or so years. Play has gone from unstructured, imaginative time to time that is scripted by toys and media.


Dorothy Singer, a psychological researcher at Yale, said the following:

"Because of the testing, and the emphasis now that you have to really pass these tests, teachers are starting earlier and earlier to drill the kids in their basic fundamentals. Play is viewed as unnecessary, a waste of time. I have so many articles that have documented the shortening of free play for children, where the teachers in these schools are using the time for cognitive skills."

In another article, written by Lenore Skenazy, entitled The Power of Free Play, the author compares modern day children who participate in many scheduled activities to those with plenty of free time.

Play gets everything going: the mind, the body, the will to live. It is so crucial to child health that the American Academy of Pediatrics released a huge report on it in 2006, recommending that we stop adding hours to the academic day, shrinking recess and supervising all our kids’ activities. It begged parents to remember that even though we desperately want our kids to “succeed,” play does not take away from that pursuit. “As parents prepare their children for the future, they cannot know precisely which skills they will need for the workforce,” wrote the docs. But confidence, creativity, tenacity, problem solving, decency and the ability to have a little fun will surely help.

Besides the research, leaders of the Church have warned about having too much going on. In Elder Oaks' talk, Good, Better, Best, he discusses the value of family time.

The amount of children-and-parent time absorbed in the good activities of private lessons, team sports, and other school and club activities also needs to be carefully regulated. Otherwise, children will be overscheduled, and parents will be frazzled and frustrated...Parents should teach gospel priorities through what they do with their children.

Family experts have warned against what they call “the overscheduling of children.” In the last generation children are far busier and families spend far less time together. Among many measures of this disturbing trend are the reports that structured sports time has doubled, but children’s free time has declined by 12 hours per week, and unstructured outdoor activities have fallen by 50 percent.2 The number of those who report that their “whole family usually eats dinner together” has declined 33 percent. 

Again, I homeschool to have time with my family. What is more important than building our eternal relationships and spending time gaining knowledge together that will also be eternal?

After all, isn't it about...time?

**This is a post I created for Latter-day Homeschooling. Hope you enjoyed it!**

Book Review: A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

A Little Princess has always been a favorite book of mine. Though bittersweet, it leaves you wanting to live a more grateful, imaginative life.

Sarah Crewe has lived a privileged life, to say the least. She has always been given everything her heart desired, and been waited on hand and foot. You might think that a girl like this would be spoiled and selfish, but Sarah has a generous heart. She entertains the girls in her boarding school with wild stories of India, befriending even those less popular.

When Sarah's lot in life changes drastically, she becomes a penniless servant, hungry and cold. She pretends to be a princess, and reminds herself to be gracious and share the little she has.

I highly recommend this story for listeners of all ages. Like I said, it was a favorite of mine as a child, and now I realize that it still holds a place in my heart.

First Day of (non) School

Just because we homeschool, doesn't mean we want to miss out on things like the first day of school! We are joining a co-op this year that meets once to twice a week, and we started this week with a visit to a local museum. The kids were excited, so we put on their new clothes and backpacks and started our new school year with a bang.

We have a revamped schedule we are working on. Here's what it looks like so far:

5:30 My Personal exercise

6:00 My personal time for prayer and scripture study

6:45 Family Scripture Study and prayer

7:15 Breakfast/Dishes
Fold and put away one load of laundry together
Weekly Worky (Monday-make bread, Tuesday-dust/vacuum, Wednesday-bathrooms, Thursday-windows/mopping, Friday-according to need)
Personal Chores (Get dressed, brush hair and teeth, straighten room...)

9:15 Quick-Pick up

9:30 Pledge of Allegiance
Memorization (write out what we are trying to memorize that day, then memorize through actions, marching to the rhythm, taking turns saying lines...)
Mom School-A mini lesson on whatever I think is lacking (like symmetry/assymetry)

10:30 Read-aloud during snack

11:00 ROW to Know-Quiet, individual reading or writing time

12:00 Lunch-discuss what we learned during ROW

12:30 Math

1:00 Quiet Time

1:30 Free Productive Time (pretty much anything except friends, media, or outside time)

(2:30 Errands if we have any)

3:00 Free Time

5:00 Everyone comes in to prepare for dinner time.

6:00 Dinner/Dishes

6:45 Family Read-Aloud

7:30 Bedtime

9:30 Grown-up bedtime

So, there you have it...our basic outline. And, yes, we are very flexible with it.

The Usborne Science Encyclopedia

You are probably familiar with Usborne Books. Have you seen their Science Encyclopedia? It is a beautiful book that has gotten lots of love around here. It's basically a textbook, but one that is pretty enough and interesting enough to just sit down and read.

This book covers the basic topics of Materials, Mixtures & Compounds, Energy/Forces/Motion, Earth & Space, Light/Sound/Electricity, Plants, Animals, and the Human Body in a friendly way that will appeal to elementary age students. Then, when one of the topics strikes your child's interest, he can visit the websites recommended to go along with the topic or try one of the experiments.

We recently grew our own crystals out of alum, based on an experiment in this book. 

After letting them grow for a few days, we chose the biggest one, and using it as a 'seed crystal', put it in the jar and watched it grow some more.

It was a fun experiment, and though the Usborne Science Encyclopedia seemed a little expensive for this cheap mama, I'm really glad we have it.

The Boys' Second Annual Backpacking Trip

This summer (which is insanely almost over!!!), the boys (excluding Y) went on their yearly backpacking/fishing trip. It looks like a lot of fun, doesn't it? On the way home, Robby called, and when I asked how it went, he said, "Ohhhh. It couldn't have been a more perfect trip."

I'm glad they had such a fun bonding experience.

Next up, I get to bond with Robby. He's planning to take me on a backpacking/fishing trip sometime soon. I'm excited (and a little nervous....) He says I have to leave my books at home because we are going to be doing some serious fly fishing.

I'm pretty sure I'll be able to sneak one in, though.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Happy Memorial Day!

Today turned into a wonderful home school day. I didn't have a single thing planned, but it was a perfect example of life-led learning.

First thing this morning, I hung the American flag in the front yard. The kids, seeing that I was outside, quickly got dressed and joined me.

We recited the Pledge of Allegiance, placing our hands over our hearts. Saying the words with the kids, I realized that they might not understand some of it, so we sat there in the grass and had a big discussion about the words of the Pledge and the purpose of Memorial Day.

Then, we came inside and read Holes by Louis Sachar for hours. (A review is forthcoming...) When we finished, the kids (all on their own) decided to make their own books. Bub's is about animals, and Welly's is about princesses. Shocking.

Next, our home schooling neighbors came to play. They played for a little while, and then my kids went and had lunch and quiet reading time at their house.

Finally, we took a walk, delivering birthday invitations for Welly's upcoming Tea Party.

And that brings us to late afternoon. The kids are still playing, and I'm sure they will until I call them in to go BBQing at Grandma and Grandpa's.

Just a normal (but wonderful) day.

Hope yours was great, too.

Homeschooling: Love of Learning Phase

Thomas Jefferson Education aka Leadership Education is divided into 3 categories: Core Phase, Love of Learning Phase, and Scholarship Phase.

Right now, Bubs is in Love of Learning Phase. Children in this phase are passionate about learning and flit from one exciting thing to the next, finding areas of strength and understanding. The other day, Bubs decided it would be fun to add doubles. You know, 1+1=2 2+2=4 4+4=8 etc. until he got to sixty-something MILLION! Ridiculous.

I love homeschooling. I hope his love of learning never dies.

Thomas Jefferson and Charlotte Mason Education

Today I'm chatting about a couple of homeschool styles at TJEd Trenches.

See you tomorrow with our latest family adventures at one of my favorite places on earth. See?

Oh, just wait. That's only a glimpse of the heaven.

Loves.

Family Work

I've been thinking a lot about Family Work ever since I read the following article.

Family Work by Kathleen Slaugh Bahr and Cheri A. Loveless

One part of the article that particularly stuck out to me talks about doing mundane chores together. It says...

"Ironically, it is the very things commonly disliked about family work that offer the greatest possibilities for nurturing close relationships and forging family ties. Some people dislike family work because, they say, it is mindless. Yet chores that can be done with a minimum of concentration leave our minds free to focus on one another as we work together. We can talk, sing, or tell stories as we work. Working side by side tends to dissolve feelings of hierarchy, making it easier for children to discuss topics of concern with their parents. Unlike play, which usually requires mental concentration as well as physical involvement, family work invites intimate conversation between parent and child."

I love this paragraph. It gives purpose to the chores that we must do over and over again. Laundry, dishes, vacuuming, bathrooms, cooking, etc. As long as we have to spend so much time doing these things, isn't it great that there can be a loftier goal behind them?

How many times have I decided to do the kids' chores because it is easier than nagging them about it? What a great idea to do all the jobs together, instead of splitting up chores.

Thinking back, I have so many great memories of cooking, folding clothes, and doing dishes with loved ones.

Have you noticed how much kids LOVE to help until you wreck it by demanding they do something? (Hmmm. Inspire, not require?)

What do you think about the concepts in Family Work? In what ways have you found working together valuable?

Pumpkin School

Today, we went to Grandma Jo and Grandpa Ron's to study the pumpkins in their garden. First we counted how many there were (20!), then we chose three pumpkins to measure. We measured height and circumference. We plan to go back a couple times to see how much they grow.

I love homeschool! It is such a joy to be part of their learning process.

Our Homeschool Schedule

Today I'm talking about the way we structure our days over at the TJEd Trenches.

Newspaper Fort: Enjoying the Journey

With a bit of inspiration from Family Fun (and a whole lot of newspapers), we built this fort...and I've been thinking. Sometimes making a fort is about having a small place to hide away, but most of the time, it is all about the process.

This project involved math, cooperation, shapes, dexterity, creativity, and a whole lot of jumping around and loving life...

Having kids around is such a joy, isn't it? Of course there are hard times...but, man, there are great times too, aren't there?