There are No Snow Days in Homeschool

Just like there is no crying in baseball, there are no snow days in homeschool. Today in Peculiar, MO it's in the 20s and icy and windy and snowing. Schools are cancelling further north ("in town") and the huge trash company called it quits for the day. My eye doctor's office closed for the day, so my son and I will reschedule. I wasn't going to go anyway ... my huge van doesn't do so well on icy roads. I miss my front-wheel drive minivan sometimes. My husband works a good half hour from home, and I wonder how long it will take him to drive home in this weather.

And the educating goes on. It looks like this inside my house when it's a crummy day outside:

My oldest made pancakes!

Fancy hot chocolate mixes from a gift basket from my mom for Christmas

Eva loves extra time by the fire to play LOL dolls, Shopkins, Num Noms

Michael and Sam hanging out during reading time by the fire

This is Crash Course on YouTube (free) and is hosted by John Green (Fault in Our Stars author and hilarious). I love when I introduce the kids to something and they don't hate it but instead ask to watch more! Today we watched 3 videos on the Agricultural Revolution (World History)

KHAN ACADEMY for math (sorry, no picture of this)

Michael is our resident artist for sure. He just sits down and starts doodling stuff like this

Michael was trying to be funny when he drew this "self-portrait" of his brother Sam

Callie making chocolate chip cookies for science, math and life skills and tossed in some white chocolate  morsels and some mini marshmallows.

Yes, if it snows REALLY good sometime, we are taking the day off to sled for sure. Sledding looks a little different now that we have moved to the country and 8 acres of land. We hook up two sleds behind the mower, make sure the blade is up so we are not mowing snow, and off they go.

If you homeschool, and your local brick-and-mortar schools close, do you also take the day off? Do you think it's more laid-back to take a snow day or to continue life as normal, in your usual laid-back fashion, seeking some sort of continuity after the long Christmas break?

#BraveWriter 2017-2018 Boomerang Book Selections

The following is taken from the Brave Writer website:

The Boomerang is the monthly digital product that features a classic work of fiction each month. These novels are used to teach the mechanics of writing (grammar, spelling, punctuation, and literary elements). In addition to the weekly passages used for copywork and dictation, The Boomerang includes 9 discussion questions which are designed to enhance a student's comprehension of the novel's themes and construction through discussion and writing.

Each guide contains the following:

• Copywork/dictation passages
• Grammar, spelling, punctuation, and literary device notes
• 9 discussion questions
• Book Club Party ideas
• Access to the Private Facebook Group to discuss how you implement the Arrow

2017-2018 Book List 

August: Station Eleven (Emily St. John Mandel) (purchased paper book and audiobook on estories)
September: Walking (Henry David Thoreau) (purchased paper book)
October: The Thing About Jellyfish (Ali Benjamin) (purchased audiobook on estories)
November: Georges (Alexandre Dumas)
December: The Westing Game (Ellen Raskin)
January: The Call of the Wild and White Fang (Jack London)
February: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (Frederick Douglass)
March: When You Reach Me (Rebecca Stead)
April: The Inquisitor's Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog (Adam Gidwitz)
May: Anne of Green Gables (Lucy Maud Montgomery)

Always review the books yourself and be certain that you are okay with the contents before giving them to your children. Some of these titles do contain adult language and themes.

#BraveWriter 2017-2018 Arrow Book Selections

The following is taken from Brave Writer's website.

The Arrow is the monthly digital product (like a magazine) that features copywork and dictation passages from a specific read aloud novel (novels listed below, not included with purchase). The Arrow is designed for children ages 8-11 (3rd - 6th grades) and is an indispensable tool for parents who want to teach language arts in a natural, literature-bathed context.

This year's Arrow Guides are brought to you by Melissa Wiley, well-loved children's novelist and Brave Writer instructor! Mary Wilson, popular blogger, is adding a page of Book Club Party ideas for each book this year as well.

Each guide contains the following:

• Copywork/dictation passages
• Grammar, spelling, punctuation, and literary device notes
• Writing activity
• 9 discussion questions
• Book Club Party ideas
• Access to the Private Facebook Group to discuss how you implement the Arrow

2017-2018 Book List 

August: The Bad Beginning, (Lemony Snicket)
September: Esperanza Rising (Pam Muñoz Ryan)
October: The Girl Who Drank the Moon (Kelly Barnhill)
November: Johnny Tremain (Esther Forbes)
December: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (Grace Lin)
January: Finn Family Moomintroll (Tove Jansson)
February: Elijah of Buxton (Christopher Paul Curtis)
March: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (E. L. Konigsberg)
April: The Red Pencil (Andrea Davis Pinkney)
May: The Thing About Luck (Cynthia Kadohata)

Always review the books yourself and be certain that you are okay with the contents before giving them to your children.

Coffee and Co-op Planning 2017 Semester 1

This will be our third year participating in a Catholic co-op as a family. The first year I was a classroom helper and cafeteria cleaner. Last year I taught PE, Creative Writing and Drama. This year I feel like I'm getting the hang of things finally and will be teaching 5th/6th PE, 9-12 PE, and 5-8 Creative Writing one semester/Drama the next.

June was funky with my kids off at different camps and activities. July was funky with my husband working double hours. Have you ever tried to do homeschool planning with five of your own kids running around plus neighbors and friends? My brain was short-circuiting from all the stops and starts so I focused on organizing physical stuff like backpacks and bookshelves.



Anyway, last year I did a little too much seat-of-my-pants teaching and I don't want to do that again. If I have it all planned out for one entire semester of 16 meetings then I won't be freaking out the night before/morning of trying to figure out what to do. I don't feel this benefits my state of mine OR the kids and their learning. I know when I have things planned in advance that I'm excited to teach, I am a much more fun teacher. This goes for at home as well.

My husband's work hours went back to normal, it's Saturday, so I checked the calendar and it looks like a great (rainy) day to head to somewhere with Wi-Fi and coffee and knock out some planning. Parents and kids like a good syllabus, and I'm gonna give one (well, three) to them.

I have the basic layout of the syllabus so I know how many days/slots to fill in so I can get my topics and activities organized. I'm finding I have a lot of fun to be had with poetry, something I personally didn't think I enjoyed but am finding I really dig. And if I dig it, I know I can get the kids to dig it!

Heading out to fill in those slots, which will hopefully turn into an hour a week of homeschool co-op enchantment and discovery and enjoyment. My biggest problem is that I'll be in Florida for a couple of weeks and don't know what I can give up for my helper to teach. I just want to do it all! If only I could be in two places at once :-)

Check back for my Homeschool Co-op Creative Writing Syllabus for grades 5 through 8 (yes, quite a spread but we'll make it work).

I'd love to hear about your planning processes, successes and challenges!

Using Reward Charts in Your Home and Homeschool

I love Target's cheap aisle that's right in the front when you walk in the door. Starting in the summertime they always have fun teacher things and they run out fast! I picked up these reward charts that came with cute apple stickers to try to motivate my kids to get into some good habits for a reward.

I'm getting tired of hounding the kid, but a Pokemon booster pack speaks for itself loud and clear.

The booster pack Sam wants is about $4 so I am doing the same type of reward for Callie. She will fill up 2-3 of these charts doing her math, so she can save up and get a $12 piece of jewelry instead. She is way behind in math and I'm trying to get her caught up. We only have one PC and 5 kids running around the house, so getting her math done can be a feat sometimes.

Supercute reward stickers.

I'm the kind of mom who believes in doing things that make mothering more fun and easier and fosters the relationship I have with my kids. I don't want to JUST be the dictator homeschool teacher; I want to have fun with the learning process. That can't happen all the time, obviously, but I give it a shot. So, yes, I believe in bribes and I believe in rewards. And we don't do that all the time. When I get compliments on my older kids I know I have done something right and I just need to keep up the character-building work with my two youngest kids even though I am getting exhausted during this parenting journey (wink).

A Captive Audience: Read to Your Kid While They're in the Bathtub

My 9-year-old went through a period where she loved to take showers. Then she reverted back to wanting to take baths. I shouldn't say "revert" like it's a backward step ... I still take baths sometimes because they are relaxing, after all!

Anyway, today she was in the tub and she likes for someone to stay with her, which usually means me. I like to use that chance to catch up on homeschool reading ... today it was Catholic Heritage Curricula's Science 2. I've owned this book for a long time and have read the stories over and over to the kids over the years. Now I'm trying to get them all read to my three youngest kids. I'm sure I'll read them again to my 7-year-old sometime, maybe next year even.

I love my little captive audience. She listens and asks questions and it's great one-on-one time, which is rare in a big family.

Then she got out of the tub and went to "play school" ... getting out her co-op backpack and putting on her jacket and making her "school lunch" ... and I love these rare days that are unhurried. I love them even more probably because they are so rare. Did I mention she made the pantry her locker?

Where do you like to read to your kids? Do you read to them even when they get older? I bet you they still enjoy it even in their teens :-)

Do Homeschooled Kids Go to College?

Why, yes, they do.

I get asked this a lot. "Will your kids go to college?"

My answer: Sure, if they want to and they know what they want to do. We are junior college people simply because of the cost and the belief that 18-year-olds don't need to go to another state to party and do stupid things. Call us crazy.*

*If your kid got a scholarship to an out-of-state college and is doing well and not being incredibly stupid with drinking and sex, pat yourself on the back. It does happen. A scholarship is a different story, too ... partying on my dime is not gonna happen.

So here's what we are telling our high schooler now.

Work hard because you'll probably need to take the GED and also if you take the ACT your scores will help determine any scholarships or other help in college.

If you aren't sure what you want to do with your life at age 17 or 18, for God's sake don't spend $30,000 on college. I don't have that kind of money and I'm not going to take out loans for it because I need to RETIRE and DIE IN STYLE someday. And if you take out loans for that amount, I will laugh at you every time I see you.

I am not raising my kids to be in debt just so they can appear "normal" and like everybody else who goes that route.

COLLEGE VERSUS NO COLLEGE
Case study: My husband. His parents weren't going to pay for college. He worked. He went to college at age 26 and got a degree to be an engineer at age 29 WHILE WORKING FULL-TIME. It cost him $30,000 total in school loans and he's now a working engineer. We paid off the loans within a few years before having children.

Case study: Me. I went to junior college over the course of TEN YEARS to get a 2-year degree and paid for it myself. I now have an AA degree which doesn't really help me with my writing and proofreading career but it's nice to say I have it. I don't know how much it cost me in the end but I wish I had saved all that time and invested the money instead :-)

Case study: My father. No college. Worked as a letter carrier for enough years to retire at age 55. In the meantime he was traveling to Hawaii and other fun places in the USA. He will be 67 this summer and is still doing just fine.

Case studies: Some family members. All three kids went to college and their parents paid. If you can afford that, congrats, but make sure you have saved for your OWN future because there is no guarantee that your kids are going to help you out later. If you can't afford that, WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING GOING INTO DEBT FOR YOUR KID, WHO IS ABLE-BODIED AND ABLE TO WORK? Two are teachers, which you need a degree to be. The other would have had a promising banking career but he fell ill. This is a case where the kids did it the "right" way and honored their parents in the process. I often say you won't appreciate it unless you pay for it, but I do every now and then see someone who appreciates it when it is given to them. Of course, these are MY family members, so they have that Swedish grit and they rock, obviously.

Lawyers, doctors, licensed therapists, chiropractors, pharmacists, engineers, vets, etc. Yes, please get a degree. Pay a lot for it with or without your parents' help and then pay back your loans quickly using your decent-sized paychecks.

BOTTOM LINE
Be who you are, kids. If you are one of those rare kids who wants to be something major, go to college whenever you want. There is no rush, though. If you want to work for a while, that's cool too. If you want to live at home for a while and go to junior college and save money while you also work, then you are obviously one of my children and you will not be going into debt. Congratulations.