Thursday 30 September 2021

YouTube Homeschooling

Wow we're on the second last week of of Blogging Through the Alphabet 2021. This week we are talking all things Y. Today I want to share a few thoughts on teaching our children using YouTube. My co-host Deidre is sharing Y is for Yellow in her her Lego Alphabet Series.

When Nathaniel was younger we really loved learning online via YouTube.  There are some really AMAZING channels on there.  Today I want to share a few we've enjoyed.

The Engineer Guy is one of my favourite channels.  Bill Hammack explores the world of engineering.  You can find his website here: The Engineer Guy.

Here are a few of his YouTube video's that are my favourites:
I've enjoyed these:
If you're looking for a channel to challenge your thinking and expand your horizons I highly recommend Martyn Iles The Truth of It on YouTube.

Mark Rober is a former NASA and Apple Engineer and creates interesting things on YouTube.
We're fans of Myth Busters around here so this new channel was very welcome indeed.  Adam Savage hosts the Tested content platform.



Brave Wilderness is by Coyote Person, Mark Vins and Mario Aldecoa. they lead you on a variety of expeditions featuring everything from Grizzly Bears and Crocodiles to Rattlesnakes and Tiger Sharks! Every single episode offers an opportunity to learn something new. 

Want to learn to paint with acrylics?  Follow the Art Sherapa where you can take online beginners tutorials.


If you are interested in renewable energy then this documentary is thought provoking: Planet of the Humans directed by Jeff Gibbs.

Our introduction to science in motion was by this fun channel: The SlowMo Guys.  

What are some of your favourite channels on YouTube to compliment your homeschooling?

Blessings 

Chareen

Featured from last week the letter W...


This Week over at Our Homeschool Notebook the topic is Y is for Yellow

 

Please link up your posts starting with the letter Y for this weeks ABC Blogging




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Thursday 23 September 2021

X-Factor in Your Homeschool

You are the most important X-Factor in Your Homeschool! You are the Key Ingredient to Homeschool Success. Dear Homeschool Parent stop selling yourself short.  You are valuable and you are the reason your homeschool exists and YOU are the central ingredient!

Define X factor

  • a noteworthy special talent or quality
  • a variable in a given situation that could have the most significant impact on the outcome.
  • an unknown or unexplained element that makes something more interesting or valuable (Collins)
  • a quality that you cannot describe that makes someone very special (Cambridge)
  • a circumstance, quality, or person that has a strong but unpredictable influence (Merriam-Webster)
  • When people describe someone they like, they often mention their qualities. One of these qualities is something elusive they can't explain. (Thrive Global)

Looking back over the years that I have been homeschooling I've come to realise that playing the comparison game is one of the biggest detailers of my journey. Remain committed to being true to yourself. - Stop comparing what you are doing to what other homeschooling families are doing.  As the mom you are UNIQUELY qualified to homeschool YOUR family Well.

Remember social media and blogs are not a true reflection of what others are doing nor are they a a list of "I need to do this in order to succeed..." It is better to do a little with excellence than a multitude of things incompletely.

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.



For Further Reading and Tips on how to cope each day

  1. Become Equipped: Know What You Think and Why.
  2. Finding Your Rhythm and keeping to it.
  3. Buy some Ice Cream - Dealing with difficult days.
  4. Tip FOUR - One Step at a Time 
  5. Dear Mom Who is Feeling Overwhelmed
  6. IF you are a new home educator and have just brought your students home then I encourage you to read: From School to Homeschool 
  7. House Cleaning and Home School ? Just how do you balance the two?? 
  8. 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.
  9. Our Rhythm - Year Round Schooling
  10. How Important is Alone Time and Home Schooling ? 
  11. A little Word on Homeschool Record Keeping 
  12. Homeschool Burnout
  13. Take a Break when YOU need it ... Do not underestimate the power of rest. Rest at night, rest from school and mini rests throughout your day.
  14. The Busy Homeschool Mom's Guide to Daylight. 
Be TRUE to yourself and who He has made you. When He formed you He placed within you all you would need through Him to succeed at the task He has placed before you.

Blessings

Chareen

Featured from last week the letter W...

This Week over at Our Homeschool Notebook the topic is X is for Xylophone

 

Please link up your posts starting with the letter X for this weeks ABC Blogging

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Thursday 16 September 2021

Writing Cursive

 We certainly are reaching the end of Blogging Through the Alphabet 2021. with the letter W for this week.  Today I want to share a few thoughts on teaching our children to write cursive.  My co-host Deidre is sharing W is for World in her her Lego Alphabet Series.

When we started homeschooling I assumed I would teach my children to write cursive when they turned nine years old because that's when I learned it at school.  I was astounded however when I discovered that cursive was not taught to students in New Zealand.  The moment that solidified my decision was when I wrote out a recipe in cursive and gave it to a friend.  A few months later I asked if she had made the recipe to which she answered no.  When I asked why? She responded with she couldn't read it because it was in cursive!  I was astounded it never occurred to me that someone couldn't read cursive.  That was the defining moment I decided that my children would learn to both read and write in CURSIVE.

Taking time to write by hand slows us down and allows truth to seep in - Laurie Bestvater {The Living Page -30}

Advantages of Teaching Cursive

  • It is less fine-motor skill intensive.
  • All the lowercase letters begin in the same place on the baseline.
  • Spacing within and between words is controlled.
  • By lifting the pencil between words, the beginning and ending of words is emphasized.
  • It is difficult to reverse letters such as b’s and d’s.

14 Abilities Needed for Handwriting (Source Brainworks)

  1. Visual focusing: the ability for the eyes to work together
  2. Mental attention: the ability to screen out distractions
  3. Organized physical movements: the ability to maintain posture and hold the writing tool
  4. Receptive language: the ability to perceive abstract concepts and follow verbal directions
  5. Inner expressive language: the ability to think clearly, organize ideas and concepts, and communicate through writing
  6. Memory recall: the ability to remember letter formations and the required movements necessary to make each letter and connection.
  7. Concentration with awareness: the ability to maintain consistent awareness of details and form over a period of time
  8. Spatial perception: the ability to utilize space.
  9. Organization: the ability to organize mind, body, and space to produce meaningful responses
  10. Integration: the ability to unite the mind, body, and space to create meaningful written expression     
  11. Eye-hand coordination: the ability to use the eyes and hand together as a unit.
  12. Motor planning: the ability to plan and carry out an action
  13. Tactile input: the ability to feel the pencil in the hand and apply the appropriate pressure to write
  14. Crossing midline: the movement of the eyes, a hand, or forearm to move across the midsection of the body without moving any other part of the body

My Product Choice to Teach Cursive

Cursive Logic is my favourite product to teach cursive.  You can read my review here.

Penmanship Resources on YouTube

Writing

What are your thoughts on teaching Cursive in your homeschool?

Chareen

---oOo---


Find the other ABC posts in this series here:

  1. A is for Art Lessons at Home
  2. B is for Books Where do You Purchase Yours? 
  3. Charlotte Mason a Round Up of Posts 
  4. Delight Directed Education
  5. Encouragement for Weary Homeschooling Mothers
  6. For the Children's Sake  
  7. G is for Geography
  8. Homeschool Bloggers  
  9. Instagramers to follow who are homeschooling
  10. Joy in Your Homeschool Journey
  11. Know Yourself - Stop the Comparison Game  
  12. Life Skills in Your Homeschool
  13. Math Resource for Home Education
  14. Netflix in Your Homeschool
  15. Olympics 2021
  16. P is for Podcasts  
  17. Quintessentially Homeschool
  18. Read-A-Loud in Your Homeschool
  19. Science in Your Homeschool
  20. Teaching From Rest by Sarah Mackenzie 
  21. Ubiquitous Homeschooler 
  22. Value Added Learning
  23. Writing Cursive

Featured from last week the letter P...


This Week over at Our Homeschool Notebook the topic is W is for World

 

Please link up your posts starting with the letter W for this weeks ABC Blogging

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