Closing down shop

This blog was started as part of a community project that I was going to be a part of. Since then the community has fallen apart and so we won't be doing the project. I'm going to leave this blog up since I've linked to it from my other blog but won't be posting here anymore. Thanks!

What do all of these people have in common?

C.S. Lewis, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Pearl S. Buck, Hans Christian Andersen, Helen Beatrix Potter, Frank Lloyd Wright, John Adams, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Benjamin Franklin, Whoopi Goldberg, Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Charlie Chaplin?

Take a moment to read this article and find out!

Art is an important part of homeschool

Have you been meaning to find new art projects for your children? Or do you simply think that art is not important?

Well, art is a lot more important than you may think. It teaches children to be creative and to think outside of the lines. Art is also something that your child can take with them for life. Therefore, you can see that art is important.

Now that you understand the importance of art, you may be thinking to yourself that this is going to be really hard because you are not creative. This does not have to be the case though. As this article suggests, there are lots of places where you can find art projects to use in your homeschool.

Take some time, do some reading and begin getting creative with your children today.

Curriculum for children who have special needs

Finding pre-packaged curriculum will take some searching so that you are sure to find what will work best for you. If you have a child with special needs, this searching may take even more work. This is because you will want to be sure to find something that will definitely work with your child while sparking a love learning in them. Spending time to do this will really pay off for you though. Once you see that light bulb go off in your child's mind or that spark of interest flare up, you will be very happy that you have spent this time searching and researching. Here are some of the things that you should keep in mind whenever you start your "hunt."

Unit Studies: The answer to teaching multiple ages of students at 1 time

If you are a parent who is homeschooling more than 1 child, you know just how difficult it can be. One way in which you can make homeschooling easier for yourself is through unit studies. Through unit studies you can teach multiple ages of children about a topic at the same time. This is very beneficial as it will make your teaching easier. However, it is going to take you some extra time in order to put a unit study together. Of course, you could also purchase a pre-packaged unit study to do with your children. If you would like more information about what unit studies are and how to put them together, I invite you to take a moment to read an article I wrote, entitled "Frugal Homeschool Unit Studies."

The advantages and disadvantages of unschooling

I am going to take a moment to talk about myself here, which is something that I do not do too often but I feel that doing so will help some of you out right now...

I have gone through various phases of homeschooling my daughter. We started out with doing unit studies that I created. This did well for us for quite a while but I soon got burnt out with everything that I was trying to do, so we started doing various workbooks. Of course, my dd didn't like them 1 bit. So, after figuring out that it really was not worth fighting with her, I slowed down a bit. This is when I met a radical unschooler and started to really understand what unschooling is about. While we are by no means radical unschoolers I have embraced this lifestyle and it works quite well for us. The reason I say that we are not radical is that whenever my dd says she's interested in something, I'll look for worksheets to do about the topic. For instance, she is now interested in sharks and so I've gone to such places as Enchanted Learning and printed out some worksheets for us to work through together.

My point is that I really recommend that you go with the ebb and flow of homeschooling instead of fighting it. You are going to have to spend some time figuring out what method really works for you and your family. If you are thinking about unschooling, like we do, then here is an article that I have written about the advantages and disadvantages of this method. I encourage you to take a look, weigh the advantages with the disadvantages and then decide whether or not this method will work for you and your family. Whatever you decide is great, I just think it's important to think everything through. Good luck!

Unit Studies

A fun homeschooling method is the Unit Studies (also known as thematic units or integrated studies) aproach. This approach teaches everything in 1 unit instead of several different subjects. The Unit Study has a common theme running through everything that you do as all areas are blended together. As such, the children will get to experience how the world them in interconnected.

This approach can be easily adapted to any other style of teaching that you use. Herein everything is neatly tied together in 1 package. If you use a little creativity, you can actually change any pre-packaged curriculum to fit this aproach. This is something that big families enjoy because children of various ages can learn together in their own ways.

What is uschooling?

Unschooling is probably the most misunderstood style of homeschooling. Regardless of the name, you should know that children do still learn a lot of valuable subjects, just in a different manner. This is because unschooling parents believe that their children were born with an innate desire to learn. As such, the parents teach teach their children about what they are interested in and so children are interested in learning. Of course, this style is not perfect for everyone.

If you want to know more about unschooling, I invite you to read my article, entitled "The Definition Of Unschooling."

Is this the end of the TAKS testing in Houston, Texas?

There are a lot of homeschooling parents who really dislike how the public schools "teach to the test," meaning that teachers are only teaching students things that will be on these standardized tests. It is as though they simply do not care if these children forget everything the next day or if they really understand what they are being taught, as long as the numbers look good on the test. For this reason, a lot of parents and teachers agree that there is way too much time spent teaching to high-stakes nature of this test.

It is interesting to note that Abelardo Saavedra (Houston schools Superintendent) says that these children are not getting a full, well-rounded education whenever teachers are forced to "teach the test." Kevin Hoffman (Houston school board member) agrees that this is not a healthy learning environment for the students and teachers. Both of them agree that end-of-course exams could be used to better determine whether children are learning everything that they need to learn.

So, in Houston, Texas, which is the largest school district in Texas, these "teaching to the test" days may soon be over. This is because they are considering putting an end to the TAKS testing. This would be a huge step forward because other schools might follow in their footsteps. Plus, children would be able to be judged according to what they actually know instead of what they can "spit back" on a standardized test.

Of course, all of this has to go before the Legislature first. They will be voting on this today. If they decide to go ahead and eliminate the TAKS testing, it would then be replaced with end-of-course exams in the core subject areas.

Eclectic homeschooling

This is a method of homeschooling that is close to my heart because it is how my dd and I started out with homeschooling before finding out that we do much better as unschoolers. Basically, in eclectic homeschooling, the child does not do work out of 1 set of traditional books. Instead, the child has a variety of sources available to them to use. These sources can range from traditional textbooks to library books. Regardless of what they are, these are things that the parents have decided will work best for their children. As such, the parents have a real opportunity to be able to personalize their teaching style to what best suits their child. This is done so that children will more likely enjoy themselves, thus enabling them to learn more. Of course, this approach may not work for everyone because some parents really need more organization than is available here.

Just some thoughts

With Easter coming this Sunday, do you have your children's baskets ready? Or are you still hunting around for some healthy things to put inside of it? If you're looking for healthy treats, here are some ideas for you:

1. There are so many different types of bubbles available at the dollar store anymore. Most children would love these.
2. Speaking of the dollar store... They also have coloring books, kites, baskets, plastic Easter eggs and tons of other small trinkets.
3. Sidewalk chalk is another fun treat.
4. Make some homemade playdough and use your imagination for toys that you can put along side of the playdough.
5. Instead of little chocolate Easter eggs, why not put some yogurt covered raisins in there? You could also make some trailmix with jellybeans in it.

Hopefully these ideas will lead you to come up with some other great ideas. If so, then please take a moment to share them with me. I'd love to hear all about these ideas!

How to sabotage your homeschool

Lately I have been sharing some information with you about the various types of homeschooling that can be done. While all of this is fine and dandy, it is also important to know and understand that as a parent, you have the power to make or break the homeschooling experience for your child. Here are 8 things that you need to make sure that you do NOT do. If you are doing them already, with or without realizing it, I've also included some remedies. So, without further ado, here they are:

1. If you find that you're unorganized, the house is a mess and there is no food in your pantry, then it is time to get your books and lesson plans together, clean your house and do some grocery shopping. While you are at it, set up a system so that you can make sure that you stay on top of these things from this point forward.
2. If your children are taking forever to do their work (more than 3 hours in grade school or more than 6 hours in high school), then time is being wasted somewhere. So, make sure that you are giving your children short lessons so that they do not dawdle and get discouraged. Alternate hard lessons with easy ones and use these to teach your children the value of paying attention to the task at hand.
3. When you find that your children are spending more time on schoolwor than on living life, you've got a problem that will lead to burnout for the both of you. Only 1/3 of a child's day should be spent on schoolwork, so slow down and don't work so hard.
4. As a parent, you MUST get enough rest or you will be tense all of the time and thus have nothing left to give to your children. If this is you, then you need to set aside a few small moments throughout your day to do something for yourself.
5. Do you find that you are talking about nothing but your children? Well, you should also be talking about the special things that you do in your life without your children. Of course, this means tha t you will need to pay attention to #5.
6. When you discover that you are controlling your child instead of building a relationship with him or her, STOP. This can be difficult because you want what's best for your child, but you really do need to realize that you are raising a strong, valuable member of society and not a drone. Of course, this doesn't mean that you shouldn't protect your child, but children need to be able to make some of their own decisions within the boundaries that you have set.
7. Do you spend a lot of time comparing your homeschool to that of others? If so, you are only going to frustrate yourself. You need to accept whatever season your family is in and what your child's “special” needs at this point are. Every homeschool is different, just like every family is different. Whenever you try to keep up with other families you are only diluting the beauty of your own family.

Introducing Enki education

Enki Education is not very well known of. It is rich with multicultural stories and teaches a love of the natural world. However, the homeschool curriculum itself is Waldorf based and quite holisitc. There is also a lot of art integrated into this curriculum, as well as a lot of conferences, discussion groups and training programs for parents. It also nurtures the integration of body, heart and mind. Therefore, a lot of parents believe that this is a great way to cultivate educational excellence, confidence and competence.

Since all of this is done with a great deal of flexibility, it can be easily adapted to fit each family's own individual needs. So, it becomes more than a curriculum. It becomes a way of life. This is especially true since it really values community and family.

While all of this sounds really great, some Christian families may be turned off by this method because it is Buddhist in thought. Plus, this system was named after the Sumerian god of wisdom and water: Enkei. However, it is flexible enough to adapt to the special needs of Christian families. There are some Christian families who prefer not to work with it at all though.

More on unschooling...

I'm glad that some of you took the time to post about how my description of unschooling was fair and accurate. I was afraid that I'd come across as Dr. Phil did when he met a radical unschooler by the name of Dayna Martin. While I think that is a rather extreme example of unschooling, I will not knock how she's chosen to educate her children at home. Of course, it is important to know that this extreme does exist, but not all of us will go to this extreme with our children. So, I'm glad that my definition of unschooling did it justice.

A brief introduction to unschooling

You have probably heard of unschooling (a.k.a. "child-led learning") in the news. This is a type of homeschooling that is somewhat difficult to describe because it looks so different from any other form of homeschooling.

This form of homeschooling was greatly influenced by John Holt's writing. Herein children are allowed to have the freedom to grow and explore at their own pace. With this in mind, it is important to understand that there are no curriculum, lesson plans, work books or any other form of formal schooling done unless the child requests it.

Obviously, parents have to take a leap of faith in order to unschool their children. These parents have to trust that their children really do want to learn and grow. They have to have faith that these children will learn in their own time and for their own reasons. Of course, this form of schooling is not for everyone though. Some families need to have a learning environment that is structured and controlled. These people will find that just living life and allowing learning to occur naturally a bit unsettling.

Those Germans

I know that I should simply be happy that I live in a country that allows people to homeschool freely, but this article has really made me quite upset. This is an article that has been circulated through other news sources as well. Basically, it is illegal to homeschool in Germany. For this reason, a family has been broken up just because they have chosen to homeschool their daughter who was having problems. Well, all of the children have scored quite well and have what can be seen clearly as a good education. Nevertheless, 2 parents are left fighting to get their children back so that they can deal with the damage that the state has done to their children. How infuriating! It really is too bad that there is nothing we can do. I really hope that the Germans are as infuriated by this as I am and that they are trying to make some changes. In the meantime, I think we should all pray for or send good vibes to this family.

My educational philosophy

While I am going to try to keep this blog open-minded so that all homeschooling parents will enjoy stopping by here to find new information about what is going on in the homeschooling world, I know that my point of view may still be found herein. As such, I want you to know something about me. My family consists of my 5-year-old spirited daughter (more on that later) and msyelf. I work from home doing some freelance writing but do have some health issues that keep me at home. This does not mean that my dd and I don't get out and about on a regular basis, because we do. My dd is involved with classes in our local library and very involved with the youth group at our church. We also live near a park where we go on nice days. She has a few homeschooling friends that we try doing play dates with too. Most days consist of us waking up and reading from our children's Bible and another book that is filled with nursery rhymes and poetry. She then has her own activities that she does: painting, puzzles, educational TV, etc. At some point in the day we spend some time doing a few workbook pages and some of her lapbook. We also play a lot of file folder games and read a lot of "living books." I guess you could call us eclectic with some unschooling involved. So, that's where we stand as a family. I'm looking forward to hearing where you stand.

Why "Phenomenal Homeschooling?"

So, you may be wondering why I have chosen to name this blog "Phenomenal Homeschooling." Well, according to the dictionary:

phe·nom·e·nal [fi-nom-uh-nl] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective 1. highly extraordinary or prodigious; exceptional: phenomenal speed.

This is a word that I think describes homeschooling quite well. Why? First of all because we are giving our children the gift of a highly extraordinary education. Secondly, because we are the exception to what is going on in the world of education today. I think you will now agree that this blog's name is quite appropriate.

Welcome!

While I already have a personal homeschooling blog, I thought it was time for me to share some of my philosophy and other information about homeschooling for those mothers who are thinking about homeschooling their children, or who are already doing so. Secretly, I've been wanting a place where I can review products that I've used, share great homeschooling stories that I've found along the way, and all the rest that goes along with this. That is where this blog is going to come in really handy for me. I look forward to sharing a lot of great stuff with you!