Handling History

History can't just stay in the past. It's an essential part of curriculum and, when properly covered, can give students and parents a unique perspective on today's events. After all, it was history that brought us where we are today.

If you are struggling to engage and enjoy the study of history, consider these ideas.

Find the Lesson

History enables us to learn from our mistakes. Have you ever touched a hot stove? Touched the thorn of a rose? Got a cavity? Most people have done at least one of these things, and learned a valuable lesson from it – don't touch hot surfaces, be careful with thorny plants, etc. Because of your history, you know to avoid these things.

Looking farther back into history can let us learn from the mistakes of others. When studying history, look for the lesson. What important lessons do we learn? How does it apply to life today?

Read it Firsthand

Find firsthand accounts of the history. Textbooks can be dull and distant, and remove the human elements of emotion. Reading a journal of someone who lived through the period being studied can pull emotional strings and make the study more engaging. For very recent history, try to locate a survivor in your area and interview them about their experiences.

Act it Out

Cast roles. Give each person a part to play and act it out within realistic and appropriate limitation. Becoming part of the action pushes players to learn their roles while gaining empathy and understanding by acting out the roles.

Eat It, Sense It

Engage the senses. As much as possible, incorporate tastes, smells, sounds and touch into the lesson. Make foods from that culture or period. Sing songs. Be creative.


Please comment! How do you handle history?

Build Sight Reading Skills

Reading is an essential life skill that challenges many parents and students. Even individuals who know how to read aren't often interested in exercising that skill. For many, reading takes too much time and effort.

Sight-reading is very beneficial. It increases reading speed and allows the reader to focus on the meaning and not the phonics of the words. Skilled readers often recognize the shape of the word without analyzing the individual letters. Building this skill in yourself and your children will make reading much faster and easier!

To encourage my children to sight read, I labelled everything in the house. I used wide strips of paper and a bold permanent marker to clearly write the names of all the large items in the house. The couch, refrigerator, door, wall, windows, bathtub, computer--everything was labelled. Visitors thought I was crazy, but the strategy is effective! It allows children to see the word and the object at the same time.

Flashcards are another easy and successful sight reading method. Make flashcards of the most commonly used words (listed below) and words that you frequently use, such as names of family members. Use a stopwatch to see how long it takes your child to recognize all the words. Set time limits and have the children compete against the stopwatch.

Another way to practice sight reading is by reading Dr. Seuss books aloud. These books are made up primarily of the most commonly used words, and they are excellent practice. Parents can improve skills by reading to their children. =D

The 100 most commonly read words are:

1. the 
2. of
3. and
4. a
5. to
6. in
7. is
8. you
9. that
10. it
11. he
12. was
13. for
14. on
15. are
16. as
17. with
18. his
19. they
20. I
21. at
22. be
23. this
24. have
25. from
26. 
    
27. or
28. one
29. had 
30. by
31. word
32. but
33. not
34. what 
35. all
36. where we 
37. when 
38. your
39. can
40. said
41. there
42. use
43. an
44. each
45. which
46. she
47. do
48. how
49. their
50. if
51. will
52. up
53. other
54. about
55. out
56. many
57. then
58. them
59. these
60. so
61. some
62. her
63. would
64. make
65. like
66. him
67. into
68. time
69. has
70. look
71. two
72. more
73. write
74. go
75. see
76. number
77. no
78. way
79. could
80. people
81. my
82. than 
83. first
84. water
85. been
86. call
87. who
88. oil
89. its
90. now
91. find
92. long
93. down
94. day
95. did 
96. get
97. come
98. made
99. may
100. part

For a list of the 1000 most commonly used words, visit http://web1.d25.k12.id.us/home/curriculum/fuw.pdf

Rock Candy Science Experiment

It's been a long, long while since I've eaten rock candy, but the kids and I made some last week as part of our science studies. It's easier to make than you might think!

You'll Need: 
Clean wooden skewer (for each piece of rock candy)
A clothespin (for each)
A clean glass jar (for each)
Water
Sugar
Pan


The Process:

Boil water in a pan. Add food coloring if desired. Once the water is boiling, encourage each child write a hypothesis about how much sugar will dissolve in the water. Be sure to keep track of how much sugar you are adding to validate these hypotheses!

Add 1/4 of sugar at a time until no more sugar will dissolve in the water. Remove the mixture from the heat and cool for 20 minutes.

Dip each skewer into the mixture and roll it in sugar. Set the skewers aside and let it cool completely. (Investigate why rolling in the skewers makes the sugars grow faster!)

Pour the sugar water into each jar until the jar is at least 3/4 full.

Place one skewer in each jar with the sugar-coated side downward. The end of the skewer should be approximately an inch above the bottom of the glass. Use a clothespin to hold the skewer in place over the jar. Allow it to cool and wait 3 - 7 days for the sugar crystals to grow.

Thoughts about PE (Physical Education)

For many reasons, PE (physical education) can be a major homeschooling challenge. Although it is not a mandatory part of the curriculum in all states, it is required in some places. If you are struggling with PE in your homeschool environment, consider these ideas:

Active playtime counts! You don't need complex equipment or an expensive gym membership to exercise. Take time every day for active play--tag, Frisbee, dodgeball, basketball all count.

Chores are exercise, too--especially if strenuous outdoor work is involved.

Incorporate exercise into a family service activity. Clean up a park, or help build a playground! Go door to door and gather food for a food bank, or collect used magazines for an abused women's shelter.

Purchase fun exercise DVDs.

Visit parks and playgrounds! Older children may enjoy a visit to a skate park instead of a playground.

Have a dance! Turn up the music real loud and dance around.

Enroll children in community sports.

Gardening 101

Periodically over the next few months, Homeschool Skills will highlight different lessons that can be taught through gardening. This is the first of that series.

Seize the opportunity this summer to plant a garden as part of your homeschool curriculum. Gardens provide enormous cross-curriculum opportunities for learning. Science and math have obvious applications, but gardens can also be tied into literature, geography, and history. In addition to curriculum applications, gardening provides children with a beneficial life skill--and it can help save money on groceries!

Worried about space? A full-scale garden is not necessary for these lessons. Plant a few items in a small garden box, a window box or even in cleaned out trash cans! If you will be growing your garden in containers, review this helpful article.

Some plants can be grown upside down. For more information on what plants can be grown in these conditions, read this. Other plants can be trained to climb poles, posts or fences.


The first step of gardening is planning. Plan the location, size and contents of the garden.

Choose a convenient locaton that recieves six to eight hours of sunlight every day. Ensure that there is adequate drainage and that the soil will not become waterlogged. If the soil is excessively wet. the plants will not grow properly. If the soil is inadequate, build raised beds and purchase better-quality soil. (Science -- Experiment to find the areas in your yard that have the best sunlight and soil.)


If you are planting in raised beds, outline the area where the bed

will be. Raised beds are usually built in rectangles so that all areas are easily reached. (Math -- Measurements.)

Determine the material that you will use to outline the raised beds. Wood, bricks, and stones are all excellent choices. However, pressure treated wood should never be used because the chemicals used to treat the wood can affect the soil and plants. (Science -- Experiment to find out what materials work best. Math -- determine the measurements for the required materials and the total area of the garden.)


Fill the raised beds with commercial soil or with a soil-compost mix. Raised beds are more vulnerable to extreme temperatures and dryness than other gardens, so be sure to water regularly.  (Science -- learn about composting and fertilization. Perhaps you want to create several different, smaller garden areas to create a season-long growing experiment using different types of soil, compost, watering schedules, etc?) More information on raised garden beds here.

Select seeds that will grow well in your area and within the limitations of the garden you are planting. You don't want to plant something that spreads, like pumpkins, if your entire garden is only 2 or 3 feet square... unless, of course, you want to train the pumpkin plants to climb up a nearby shed, fence, or other surface. For more information on that, look at this page.


Taller plants should be planted on the north end of the garden so that they don't cast

shadows over the shorter plants.


Add some history to your garden by Introducing a traditional Native American gardening combination called 'the three sisters' to your garden. Plant corn closely together in a clump and plant climbing beans around the edges. The beans will grow up and around the corn stalks. Plant pumpkin around the edge of the beans, so that the vines will creep in and around these plants and keep the weeds away.

Focus on cultures you will be studying by growing culture or region-specific produce. If you are studying Mexico, grow a variety of peppers, tomatoes, and onions and celebrate the end-of-season harvest with a fresh homemade salsa. Irish studies can be augmented by growing onions, potatoes, carrots, cabbage and green beans, which can later be used to create this Irish recipe.

Surviving Math

As students, many of us shuddered at the word. As homeschool parents, we still don't like it much.


One of the most common questions homeschoolers get asked is, "How do you teach subjects you don't like or aren't very good at?" This is truly one of the biggest challenges of homeschooling. Not every homeschool parent is great at every subject, and some of us stumbled as students in math, science, language arts, or another major subject.

For those of us who struggle with math, how can we teach it?

Learn Along

Homeschool parents who began teaching their children from the start have the benefit of learning alongside their children. Since math is learned in a definite sequence, starting to learn alongside your children and reviewing the basics can help you refresh and be better able to grasp difficult concepts.

Make it Fun

Have fun with numbers. Small children may enjoy using Goldfish crackers to help sovle equations. They can physically build the equations by making piles of crackers, and learn addition, subtraction, multiplication and division by manipulating those piles.

Older children can enjoy playing games online and offline that build math skills.

Apply It

Look for real-life applications to the various math functions you are teaching. For example, paint a fence to learn about area. Go shopping and calculate how much you have saved using coupons. Encourage sports-minded children to calculate statistics. For more ideas on applying math to daily life, consider books like "Mathematics for Consumers" or "Life Skills Mathematics" (available in the Homeschool Skills store (http://homeschool.storenvy.com/collections/20835-books-math)).

Refresher Course

As a college student, I have the added "benefit" (some days it feels like a curse) of taking several required math courses for my degree. I seize these opportunities and try to dread them less because I realize that these classes better prepare me to teach my own children. I strongly recommend parents who have the time and resources to attend classes at a local community college, online school or other institution. It can be a wonderful experience, and it helps you teach your children by example the great value of continuing your education.

Tutors

If math is a subject you feel you can't handle, hire a tutor to teach in your home. Sit in the lessons with your children, and learn how to grasp those concepts. Like attending outside college classes, this helps teach your children the value of continuing learning.

Nurturing Natural Curiosity

The ultimate goal of all educators is to teach. Anyone who invests their time teaching wants to know that their students are going to take something away from each discussion and lesson. Homeschooling parents are no different.

However, homeschooling is a unique scenario that balances teaching and parenting. Sometimes, the busy parents in us can squash the natural curiosity right out of a child without even realizing it. After all, how many times can any person be asked “Why?” without exploding?

The most important fundamental of any educational environment must be to nurture that basic curiosity that all children possess. Children are born wanting to learn, but most children learn somewhere along the way to hate learning. Why?

Most of us have heard at least one teacher say, “There is no such thing as a stupid question.” Children must be able to believe that. Once they’ve been shamed for asking a question, they may become discouraged from asking more. Repeated shaming or negative responses can kill the desire to ask any more questions.

One of the benefits of homeschooling is not being forced to adhere to a strict curriculum. If you deviate for a day, hour or week to discuss something you hadn’t planned to cover, things are still going to be okay. Nurturing that curiosity, especially at a young age, is more important than racing through other “more important” material.  

Learning must be fun. It must be interesting. If we are going to instill a lifelong love of learning, and not just the basic knowledge needed to survive, our children must have a reason to love learning. At a young age, they naturally do. This is the perfect time to nurture and encourage that love.

Children are also more likely to retain and remember information that they wanted to know.

I have been asked hundreds of questions at inconvenient times, and I will admit that I am not perfect at putting this philosophy into practice. Nevertheless, I know that it is extremely important and I try to make answering questions a priority. If I am unable to answer immediately, I write the question down and promise to answer it later.

If your children have stopped asking questions like “Why” and “How” and seem to have lost their natural curiosity, it does not mean that all hope is lost. Reignite their curiosity by asking them questions. Trust me –there’s nothing more fun than bugging a child with persistently asking “Why” after everything they say (I’m sure it’s not because it feels like revenge or anything. =D). Ask “Why” and “How” until they reach the end of their knowledge and start guessing. Then, seize that opportunity to teach them something new.

NEWS: NH Court Orders Home schooled Girl To Public School

Last Monday (March 16, 2011), the New Hampshire Supreme Court upheld a previous ruling that ordered a homeschooled girl to attend public school. This decision, which was made against the wishes of the mother, was sparked by a debate between the child’s divorced parents.

Although the decision closely inspects the impact of religion and homeschooling in this girl’s life, the Supreme Court statement included this disclaimer:

 “The particular circumstances of this case bear emphasizing… While this case has religious overtones, it is not about religion.  While it involves home schooling, it is not about the merits of home versus public schooling.  This case is only about resolving a dispute between two parents, with equal constitutional parenting rights and joint decision-making responsibility, who have been unable to agree how to best educate daughter.”

The parents, who divorced in 1999 when the little girl was just an infant, have continually disagreed about whether she should be home schooled or public schooled. The daughter attended private school for kindergarten, but the mother began homeschooling in first grade.

Since that time, the father repeatedly fought this decision. His arguments were primarily about the influence of his former wife’s religion on their daughter and that homeschooling amplified that impact. He blamed the religion for his daughter’s failure to accept his new wife and child. He asserted that the religion “had the effect of isolating daughter from her peers” and that she could “experience diversity and improve her ability to accept differences in his home” if she were homeschooled.

THE RELIGIOUS INFLUENCE

In January 2007, the father filed a motion that stated,

“At her mother’s insistence, and against [his] wishes, [daughter] is homeschooled through a program that is affiliated with a church that both [mother] and [daughter] attend on a regular basis.” He continued to claim that his daughter was withdrawn and could not accept his new wife and child. His daughter’s therapist agreed that their relationship was suffering because she “strongly identified” with her mother’s religious beliefs.

The Supreme Court admits,

“There is no doubt that mother’s and child’s religious convictions have been a pervasive part of the parties’ school placement dispute… The trial court referred to the evidence presented that involved mother’s and daughter’s religious beliefs, including: the (guardian ad litem)’s account of daughter’s interaction with her counselor in which daughter “appeared to reflect her mother’s rigidity on questions of faith”; the GAL’s concerns about the impact of daughter’s religious beliefs on her relationship with her father; the father’s desire to expose daughter to different viewpoints to decrease his daughter’s “rigid adherence” to her mother’s religious beliefs; and mother’s acknowledgement of the strength of her and daughter’s religious beliefs. The trial court also remarked that daughter’s strong adherence to religious convictions that align with her mother’s beliefs likely was the effect of “spending her time school time with her mother and the vast majority of all of her other time with her mother.””

The blatantly religious overtones of this trial complicated the position of the court, which asserted that the decision had “not considered the merits of [daughter’s] religious beliefs, but considered only the impact of those beliefs on her interaction with others, both past and future.”

The court also states, “The evidence about faith is only relevant because [daughter] was unhappy that her father does not love her enough to want to spend eternity with her by adopting her faith.””

According to the father,

“If somebody doesn’t believe in [daughter’s] religion, she has a real, real hard time with it. If there’s ever anything that goes against what she believes in, she doesn’t really know how to respond and she automatically thinks that somebody’s attacking her or somebody is going up against her… When you have a serious discussion with [daughter], when you question her beliefs, or you present another idea to her about a religious belief, she doesn’t know what to do. She clams up. She turns away. You know, she just really can’t go any further.”

The court states that it:

“considered the importance of daughter having the ability to openly communicate with others who have a different viewpoint on a subject matter, whether or not the topic is religious in nature. It also considered the benefits of group learning, group interaction, social problem solving and exposure to a variety of points of view.”

However, the court asserts that it:

“did not express disfavor regarding the religious nature of daughter’s beliefs or disapproval regarding her vigorous defense of her religious beliefs. Neither did the court criticize the merits of mother’s and daughter’s religious convictions. Indeed, as the trial court emphasized, its order did not impose any restrictions on either parent’s ability to provide daughter with religious training or to share with daughter his or her own religious beliefs.”

THE HOME SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT

The court also states:

“The dispute between the parties in this case did not revolve around the relative academic merits of public and home schooling. Their dispute centered upon which academic experience would be in daughter’s best interests.”

In fact, it is interesting to read the court’s evaluation of the academic merits of the homeschooling experience in question. Although the mother was in complete compliance with homeschool laws, the daughter excelled academically and socialization needs were met, the court took issue with the fact that the daughter watched recorded lessons on a computer at home. The mother checked her work, answered questions, engaged in discussions with her daughter, and replayed lessons as necessary. The court cited evidence that the daughter was “bored” and “lonely” in this environment.  

The guardian ad litem determined that “daughter’s best interests, and particularly her intellectual and emotional development, would be best served by exposure to a public school setting in which she would be challenged to solve problems presented by a group learning situation and by the social interactivity of children of her age.”

“The trial court’s acknowledgement that daughter successfully participated in several activities outside of her home, performed well academically with home education and is “generally likeable and well liked, social and interactive with her peers” does not render its decision that attending public school was in daughter’s best interests an unsustainable exercise of discretion.”

For more information, read the decision for yourself here: http://www.courts.state.nh.us/supreme/opinions/2011/2011026kurowski.pdf

---

Despite the court’s assertion that this decision is isolated to this case and that it has nothing to do with homeschooling or religion, the decision seems monumental. Statements such as ”(the court) also considered the benefits of group learning, group interaction, social problem solving and exposure to a variety of points of view” seem to have a much greater scope.

What impact do you think this decision will have on homeschooling? Do you believe this decision is fair? What should the mother have done differently?

I look forward to reading your comments.

Field Trips for Less: Passes

Field trips aren’t just for public schools—in fact, field trips are ideal for homeschool students. Since homeschool parents do not have to take 20+ children with them, spur-of-the-moment detours and regular errands can become memorable teaching moments. For example, grocery stores can be a very educational place for vigilant homeschooling families (more information on grocery store trips will be posted on a later date).

Families can go to (almost) every single place that the schools go—planetariums, zoos, museums, theater performances, etc. While admission to these places can be expensive, families can get more for their money by considering season/annual passes.

For example, my children love exploring the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, Washington. One trip alone would cost our family $35 or more (definitely more when you include paying for parking!). However, we spent $80 on our first trip and purchased an annual membership that allows six named individuals unlimited admission to the regular exhibits, plus 15 free regular IMAX film passes for the year and five free guest passes to the regular exhibits per year. We added my husband’s parents to the pass for an additional $10 apiece—that’s annual admission for less than the cost of a single one-time adult admission! Now, we can take the kids to the Science Center (or their grandparents can) anytime during the year without worrying about the price of admission. In the first month of owning the pass, it’s already paid for itself. Parking, of course, is still a pain.

Another side benefit of certain membership plans, such as the one for the Pacific Science Center, is reciprocal admission programs. By holding a Pacific Science Center pass, we get free admission to more than 290 science centers that participate in the ASTC Passport Program. Since we often travel out-of-state, we are eager to explore all of the science centers we will be able to visit free of charge.

Zoo passes have similar benefits. The Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, Washington, is an amazing place. Their passes are based upon how many people are in your family, and their ages. Adults are $42 apiece and children 3-18 are $11 each. However, you are also granted free or half-price admission to nearly 150 additional zoos and aquariums across the country.

Also consider buying passes for places that aren’t strictly “school” based. One of our favorite places to go as a family is the water park. Homeschool may seem like just a great excuse to justify the expense, but our children have learned the principles of buoyancy (positive and negative), current, etc. by playing in lazy rivers and wave pools. Other principles, like inertia and gravity can also be taught there.

Be creative. Create memories. Have fun! Always remember that school can be more than just an educational experience. It can also build and strengthen relationships.  

Check back Friday for more field trip savings ideas!

Buying a Curriculum

Buying a curriculum isn’t for everyone. Some homeschooling parents really enjoy the ability to teach without stressing about curriculum development; other homeschoolers can feel burdened or restricted by the idea of a purchased curriculum.

There are some definite pros and cons to purchasing a curriculum. Before you decide to, consider the following:

PROS

Ready lesson plans

The curriculum makes school easy for parents, because it eases the burden of preparation. Everything that needs to be taught is laid out in the curriculum material.

Resell-able

Used curriculums can be resold, which can help mitigate the effects of the steep initial price. However, to get the best benefit from reselling, workbooks should be unused. This can lessen the convenience of the curriculum.

Reusable

Statistics show that most homeschool families have three or more children. If you are going to re-use the curriculum with another child, however, you may be unable to find another workbook when you need it. For most effectiveness, copy the workbook pages and do not write in the actual workbooks—or order additional workbooks if possible.

CONS

Expense

Purchasing a curriculum can be pricey, and can leave the family with less funds for “fun stuff” like field trips. Some families may feel obligated to continue using it, even if it doesn’t work well for the family, because of the cost involved.

Buying a used curriculum or re-selling it can help lessen the expense.

Learning & Teaching Style

Some curriculums can feel very similar to classroom school-work and lack the opportunity for curiosity that homeschooling naturally fosters. Did you choose to homeschool because your child wasn’t doing well in a classroom-style school environment? You may want to consider that before buying a curriculum. Is your student ahead or behind of the average student? You will want to consider this also, because most curriculums are designed to be at an average level.

The classroom-like qualities of a curriculum can be mitigated if the family uses the curriculum as a guideline for their work without actually adhering to each activity and assignment. However, this can lessen the cost-effectiveness of such a purchase.

Ultimately, it is important to make sure that the curriculum caters to your child’s learning style—and your teaching style.

Do you use a purchase a curriculum? Why/why not? What are your experiences?