The theme song to a popular kids’ television show sings, “There’s a hundred and four days of summer vacation and school comes along just to end it.” That may or may not hold true for us homeschoolers. Since we have freedom to work with a much more flexible schedule than those in traditional school systems, we have a choice: to homeschool or not to homeschool during the summer months. I have been homeschooling since 2000. Over the years, we have worked our calendar a variety of ways. In the beginning, I worked an office job, so our dedicated school days …
How Parents Support (and Sabotage) Student Success (Part III)
As parents, we want to help our children succeed in school. In my twenty-two years as a classroom teacher (twenty-one as a parent), I’ve seen parent strategies that pay big dividends. I’ve also seen well-intentioned efforts that actually cost the kids. Today is Part 3 of a series in which we explore one support strategy and one form of sabotage. (Here are links to Part 1 and Part 2.) Support #3: Help Your Child Develop Organizational and Planning Systems One day, I came home from 4th grade in tears. I’d been assigned a “research report” on the Yokut Indians, and …
How Parents Support (and Sabotage) Student Success (Part I)
As parents, we want to help our children succeed in school. In my twenty-two years as a classroom teacher (twenty-one as a parent), I’ve seen parent strategies that pay big dividends. I’ve also seen well-intentioned efforts that actually cost the kids. Today, I’m going to start a series in which we explore one support strategy and one form of sabotage. Support 1: Help your child learn their multiplication tables. Through the 20s. As soon as possible. I’m not suggesting “super baby” tactics. But do take advantage of edutainment software programs that will drill your child over and over again. Make …
Raising a Reader
3 steps to foster a love of books starting from birth! “What can I do now to prepare my children to succeed in school?” I’m often asked when I speak to MOPS groups. In this age of computerized everything, my low-tech answer raises eyebrows. “Books and reading…followed by more books and more reading…and after that, even more books and even more reading!” is my standard reply. Thanks to Jim Trelease’s Read Aloud Handbook (http://www.trelease-on-reading.com/), Daniel and I became fanatical about Family Reading Time when our kids were just 2 and 4. We quit watching TV and spent 1-2 hours per …
“Teacher Trouble: P.T.A. Assignment”
They take backpacks filled with folders, pencils, and hopes for a great year. When conversations begin creating a picture of your child’s school year, you may discover you’re assigned something you didn’t request. You may be scheduled for “teacher trouble.” “How could anyone be unkind to my child?” we wonder. “Why are they so harsh?” we ask. And “That didn’t seem like a professional way to handle that,” we mutter. We try to think positively, be understanding, and let the year get started. But once underway, parents may find they have, indeed, been signed up for “teacher trouble”. How do …
Getting Over the Homeschool Holiday Hump
It happened every year. Thanksgiving and Christmas would loom largely over our homeschool plans and as we began to shut things down for the holidays and take a break from class. We loved the time we had together during those precious days – the only problem was that once the holidays were gone and we launched into the new year, we always had a hard time getting back on the homeschool track. Every year we were on three good months into school when the fun and festivities of all the holidays seemed to derail our well laid plans. Definitely not …