Every Bed of Roses: 5 Days of Tips for Homeschool Parents

Showing posts with label 5 Days of Tips for Homeschool Parents. Show all posts

Friday, 1 April 2016

Tip FIVE - Read Aloud Together Every Day

Today is the final post for this weeks Tips for Homeschool Parents blog Hop. The first four tips for the week so far are:

Today I would like to encourage you to read together every day. There are many many benefits to both the student and the one reading out loud.

Some of the Benefits of reading out loud to your family

Vocabulary development
Improves focus and concentration skills
It's a good way to grapple with difficult issues
Books allow you to develop an awareness of people and situations outside of your personal experience
They help us develop a sense of empathy to our fellow man.
It develops a sense of closeness and bonding.
Improves speech fluency
Develops comprehension
Grows phonological awareness
Reduces stress
Expands knowledge
Develops analytical thinking skills
Promotes creativity
Improves grammar
Creates a family tradition

Did you know a child’s reading level doesn’t catch up to his listening level until eighth grade?

For more information on the benefits of reading out loud to your family Jim Release has authored a book called The Read-aloud Handbook.

Here are some interesting articles on reading out loud to your family

I love this story. This father read out loud to his daughter every day until she started collage. That's a total of 3,218 nights in a row! They have over 700 favorite books. You can read about their journey here: A Father-Daughter Bond, Page by Page

Sarah over at Amongst Lovely Things hosts the Read-Aloud Revival. You can find out more here: About The Read Aloud Revival.

With all the amazing books out there it can be overwhelming. Here are a few lists to get you started reading together as a family:

the Read-Aloud Revival Booklist
Honey for a Child's Heart
Book List Resources In this post I've linked to a large list of recommended literature resources.
Each week on a Tuesday I share my latest book find. You can find these posts under Tuesday's Treasures

This post is part of the Schoolhouse Review Crew 5 Days of Tips for Homeschool Parents Blog Hop. Blog posts from these bloggers will be going live between 8 am EST and Midday.

I invite you to grab a cup of tea and head on over to these bloggers to see their word of encouragement to you today.

Blessings
Chareen

If you're on Pinterest I encourage you to follow the board 5 Days of Tips for Homeschool Parents for some wonderful NEW content for your Homeschool Boards.

Follow Every Bed of Roses's board 5 Days of Tips for Homeschool Parents. on Pinterest.

Thursday, 31 March 2016

Tip FOUR - One Step at a Time

Welcome back to this weeks Tips for Homeschool Parents blog Hop. The first three tips for the week so far are:

Today I would like to talk about the journey. Homeschooling is more than education. It's about a journey. It's a journey that you, your spouse, your children and extended family are on. This journey is more like a marathon than a sprint and as such you need to learn to pace yourself.

Homeschooling is about one small step at a time. It's about building precept upon precept. There is no need to hurry. It is far better to do a limited amount with excellence than it is to hurry because you've got too much to do and miss the depth and breadth of the experience. Your children will be adults a lot faster than you know. Take time to savor the moments.

When you're having a tough day remember that tomorrow is a fresh new day, it's a gift. When that new day dawns it's a an opportunity to build a better and stronger relationship. As you walk this journey, don't sweat the small stuff.

Look at the bigger picture. What are your long term goals? Now choose your top two or three priorities for YOUR homeschool. Write them down, decide what you need to do to fulfill them and then begin the journey of one step at time to achieve them.

Do NOT let other homeschool families personal priorities high jack yours and get in the way. Every single family has there own personalities, dreams, hopes and aspirations. Do not try to follow their dreams. You are who you are and it's not wise to clone your homeschool on someone else dreams. When you do that you set yourself up to be disappointed, frustrated and burned out. Learn to be TRUE to Yourselves and who you are. This is the key to ultimate freedom and enjoying your homeschool journey.

I encourage you to slow down and enjoy the journey. Guard your time and your energy, and that of your children. Do not feel that you need to do everything there is out there. Your time and your energy are a limited resource and if you over extend them you will become burned out or your children will. Consider well what you commit yourselves to do and the consequence on the whole family.

Becoming burned out is a very real issue among homeschool families. I would like to encourage you to read the following articles for some ideas on how to manage your journey so as to maintain your stamina for the long term.

Blessings
Chareen

If you're on Pinterest I encourage you to follow the board 5 Days of Tips for Homeschool Parents for some wonderful NEW content for your Homeschool Boards.

Follow Every Bed of Roses's board 5 Days of Tips for Homeschool Parents. on Pinterest.

Wednesday, 30 March 2016

Tip THREE ... Buy some Ice Cream

Welcome back to this weeks Tips for Homeschool Parents. So far in the series we have talked about Becoming Equipped: Know What You Think and Why and Finding Your Rhythm. Today I would like to encourage you to stock up on ice-cream (or your family favourite treat)!

As much as homeschooling is living the dream sooner or later the honeymoon period will end. You will experience the odd frustrating and difficult day. We are all human. Every day is different. Just when you think you've got it nailed something will happen to make you question your choices and that's when you need to remember tip number one - Know WHY you are doing what you are doing which in turn will empower you with the strength to keep going.

When you hit a day when no matter how hard you try you will not be able to explain an easy concept to a student who is struggling to comprehend what is in front of them and soon tensions will escalate and things can become, well let's just say not so nice. There will be tears of frustration or angry words and then I recommend you close the books.

Put AWAY all the books and declare ICE CREAM day.

Believe me your children will be grateful and so will you be. It's a great way to diffuse the situation, it creates a happy memory, provides space for you all to reconnect and relaxes everyone involved.

Whatever you do, do not go back to the subject that sparked the tensions. Tackle the next thing on the list or get out the house and go for a walk. Come back to that subject tomorrow after you and the child have had a good nights rest and you've had some time to think about a new approach to solve their quandary.

If you find that you and the children keep coming to the point of sparking each other it could be because you are all tired. You may need to look at finding a new rhythm for your homeschool.

We follow a five week rotation. Our rhythm is to home educate for four weeks and then have a one week break. Nine of these rotations equal a total of 36 weeks of school and only take up 40 weeks of the year. Leaving us twelve weeks of holidays. You can read more about this topic in these two posts: Homeschool Daily Schedules and Our Rhythm - Year Round Schooling. When working out your families rhythm remember to check what your country/state requirements are for homeschooling for the year.

I love what Sally Clarkson says in her book The Mission of Motherhood: "There are many varieties of personalities and possibilities of home organization, Each of us simply has to find the combination of routines that suits our lifestyle and desires." This is why it's important for you to do what's best for your family even if it's different to your homeschool neighbour.

I'm looking forward to sharing more tips with you later this week.

Blessings
Chareen

If you're on Pinterest I encourage you to follow the board 5 Days of Tips for Homeschool Parents for some wonderful NEW content for your Homeschool Boards.
Follow Every Bed of Roses's board 5 Days of Tips for Homeschool Parents. on Pinterest.

Tip TWO ... Find YOUR Rhythm

Welcome to day two of Tips for Homeschool Parents which is being hosted by the Schoolhouse Review Crew. Yesterday's topic was Become Equipped Know What You Think and Why. Today I would like to encourage you to find your own personal rhythm and stick to it.

One of the challenges that face us as homeschool parents is to leave school at school. Most home educating families today were not home educated themselves and the only model of education they have in their minds is that of the school they personally attended. Part of the problem with this is that school is six to seven hours a day five days of week plus homework time and this model does not work at home.

When you home educate keep in mind you are not schooling you are tutoring and one of the majour differences is the amount of time required to accomplish the same amount of educating.

At school you have a 1:30 ratio which means the teacher needs more time to teach and help the students in her care. At home you have a one to one ratio which means you will know when your student grasps a concept. The same principle applies to the quantity of written work you require for each subject. The majority of written work issued at school is 'busy work'. The aim of this written work is to keep students busy and allow the teacher time to help the students who need assistance.

Finding the balance as to the amount of time you need each day to complete your daily requirements is the first step to successfully home educating. Time is a limited resource and one that needs to be managed. Part of this management is finding your rhythm and sticking to it.

"Every lesson must have its own time, and no other time in this world is there for it. The sense of the preciousness of time, of the irreparable loss when a ten minutes' lesson is thrown away must be brought home." - Charlotte Mason Companion page 93

The most important part of finding your rhythm is that you do not play the comparison game. Stop comparing what you are doing with the next home school family in your group of friends or blog are doing. Your family is unique. It has it's own set of needs. IF you are constantly changing up how you do things or adding to what you are doing because of what other families are doing you are going to wear yourself and your children out.

Here are a few blog posts which cover some of the areas of time in homeschool, each of these posts address a different aspect of homeschooling which directly impacts your homeschool schedule/rhythm:

Dear Mom Who is Feeling Overwhelmed
IF you are a new home educator and have just brought your students home then I encourage you to read: From School to Homeschool
House Cleaning and Home School ? Just how do you balance the two??
Homeschool Daily Schedules Sally Clarkson says: "There are many varieties of personalities and possibilities of home organization, Each of us simply has to find the combination of routines that suits our lifestyle and desires." - The Mission of Motherhood.
Our Rhythm - Year Round Schooling
How Important is Alone Time and Home Schooling ?
A little Word on Homeschool Record Keeping
Homeschool Burnout

I'm looking forward to sharing more tips with you later this week.

Melissa @ Grace Christian School
Michele @ Family, Faith and Fridays
Missica @ Through the Open Window
Monique @ Mountain of Grace Homeschooling
Rebekah @ There Will Be A $5 Charge For Whining
Renita @ Krazy Kuehner Days
Sarah @ Renaissance Mama
Sasha @ Such a Time as This
Tawnee @ Adventures in Homeschooling
Tiffany @ The Crafty Home
Tina @ Desperate Homeschoolers

Tuesday, 29 March 2016

Tip ONE ... Become Equipped Know What You Think

If you are a new homeschooling parent, welcome to one of the most amazing journeys you will ever embark on. If you're an experienced homeschooling parent be encouraged. Homeschooling is one of the most incredible journey's you will undertake with your children. It's a marathon of a journey and not a sprint so slow down, enjoy the journey it will be over far quicker than you can imagine. Pace yourself or you will run out of energy. This week I am joining fifty bloggers from the Schoolhouse Review Crew and together we are aiming to bring you 5 Days of Tips for Homeschool Parents.

Tip ONE - Become Equipped Know What You Think & Why

One of the things to be aware of is the homeschooling is no longer a new movement. We are into the third and fourth generation of homeschoolers. There are many many different approaches and more types of curriculum than you will ever work through in a hundred years. Each and every curriculum company has put their heart and soul into developing their product and the internet has become a vehicle of creating even more accessible things to do with your children. It can be incredibly overwhelming when you first start looking.

As a new or veteran homeschooler I encourage you to read up on the different philosophies of homeschooling. By this I mean know a little bit about the different methods and approaches which are used today. You will hear terms such as the Charlotte Mason Method, Delight Directed Education, and so forth.

It's important that you know which one you would like to use and more importantly why you are choosing this option for your family. Remember this is NOT set in stone and will change as your family grows and changes and as your experience as a home educator expands. It is however important to have a starting point and to move forward from there.

IF you don't know what you think OR why you think what you do then every homeschool consultant will try to sell you their product and soon you will have a home full of different curriculum and you will be overwhelmed! OR you will have a budget blow out or you will be so confused and not buy anything and give up the journey before you begin.

Scripture exhorts us in Ephesians 4:14 thus: Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.

Knowledge is Power. That power is either in your hand or in someone elses. If you don't know what you think or what your goals are then there will be someone out there who is only too happy to lead you a merry dance and convince you to spend your money with them.

Knowing why you are doing something

is the first step in being empowered

to follow through with your choices.

Even if you are a seasoned homeschooler and you don't have your thoughts and focus set then every single time you see something new or meet a new homeschooler and hear what they are doing you will feel as though you are somehow failing your children or they are missing out which in turn will drive you to choose to add more to an already busy homeschool. The danger of this is that soon you will be doing a great many things with mediocrity and become overwhelmed and exhausted.

STEP one form the cornerstone of your homeschool by Knowing What You Think & Why.

Equip Yourself Well for the journey ahead BEFORE you begin.I have shared some thoughts on a variety of topics which are foundational to the home education journey and would encourage you to look at the following posts:

I'm looking forward to sharing more tips with you later this week.

Annette @ A Net In Time
Brandy @ Kingdom Academy Homeschool
Brenda @ Counting Pinecones
Carol @ Home Sweet Life
Cassandra @ A Glimpse of Normal
Cristi @ Through the Calm and Through the Storm
Crystal @ Crystal Starr
DaLynn @ Biblical Womanhood
Danielle @ Sensible Whimsy
Dawn @ Double O Farms

Blessings
Chareen
If you're on Pinterest I encourage you to follow the board 5 Days of Tips for Homeschool Parents Content for some wonderful content for your Homeschool Boards.

Follow Every Bed of Roses's board 5 Days of Tips for Homeschool Parents. on Pinterest.

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