A Wahm Trying to Homeschool Also!

Whether a child has been to a traditional school or has been home schooled forever, many six to eight year old's enjoy learning.  As a parent, understanding how your child learns, which temperament is their strongest, and what type of intelligence they excel in will greatly assist in the teaching/learning process.

Six to eight year olds learn best when they are having fun.  Reading to the child is essential to their learning experience.  Read about a variety of subjects, such as animals, mystery, history, fantasy, classics, and adventures.  Visit the library often and see what they offer.  Some offer reading and art classes or other activities.  Purchasing a phonics book will dramatically help your child to understand how words are phonetically read out loud.

Another lesson for this age group is writing skills.  Although the child may have difficulty writing, they certainly can talk up a storm.  Scribing for your child as they tell a story is a great way for them to see it written down.

Have them draw pictures by the words that you have written for them.  Narration is also a great tool to learning language skills.  Read to your child and have them repeat in their own words what the story was about.  Remember to keep all these lessons fun and stress free.  Children learn at their own pace as long as there is daily practice there is nothing to worry about.

When working with arithmetic, try to incorporate a lot of real life situations, such as cooking, or trips to the grocery store, etc.  Science is another subject that is learned best in its natural setting.  Read about snakes and then go to a zoo to see some.  Name all the animals at the zoo and then write about it later.

See how many different birds are outside your home and try to name them.  The hands on approach is often the easiest way to learn.  Walk on the beach and name all the animals, hike in the mountains and notice the different landscapes, collect specimens, notice changing seasons, the world is a learning experience.

In addition, parents want to teach their children responsibility and accountability with household chores.  This is an excellent way for child to learn that they are capable and that they are needed in the family.

Overall, children in this age group enjoy combining research with creative projects, such as crafts, costumes, foods, reports, place setting, home decorations, music, and imagination play.  With every activity, each subject can be incorporated easily.  A purchased curriculum is not necessary, learning is inevitable.

In WA state we have free online learning for the homeschooling children.  Called WA Virtual Academies. It is a great opportunity for kids in WA to get a full curriculum at home and on the computer.

If you did not know that this was an option in WA please go check it out, this might be just the thing for your child.

What you get out of this program is;

WAVA students students in grades K-12:

• Work one-on-one with one or more state-certified, highly qualified teachers.
• Learn with the engaging, patented K¹² curriculum
• Are connected through our active, supportive school community
• Benefit from an individualized approach to learning

Just another option available to families trying to homeschool in WA.

If you are like many of us who home school you do take a little vacation from schooling the kids and maybe from your business also, in the summer time. It is about that time to get back to the schooling and the business. That means getting the kids back on a schedule and you too- this can take a little getting used to again.

It's still possible to have pleasant family mealtimes even after schooling/work has begun but again it will take getting back on a schedule. Check out these back-to-schooling dinner tips for busy Moms who are also WAHMs:

1. Have a meal plan.

The most important key to having relaxed family dinners even on school/work nights is having a meal plan. This will simplify both food shopping and meal preparation, and help you save money to boot.

If you need help, check out Dine Without Whine's meal and grocery planning service.

2. Try freezer meals.

Cut down on cooking time by cooking large batches and then freezing them for future use.

3. Simplify your schedule.

With school time comes extracurricular activities that could have you running - or driving around - like a headless chicken. Keep things to a minimum. Overloading children with too many extracurricular activities is not good for them. They need downtime too.

4. Get the kids involved in cooking.

Get some help by mobilizing your own troops - your husband and children - as your kitchen helpers. Cooking is an important life skill and now it's bonding time as well.

5. Have an emergency plan.

No matter how well you plan in advance, something always comes up. Plan for that as well. Always have emergency supplies in the pantry so you can throw together a home-cooked meal at a moment's notice.

It could be a frozen dinner you prepared during the weekend. Mine is pasta, a can of tomato sauce and whatever vegetables are in the refrigerator.

6. Post your family schedule.

Keep a large calendar on the wall where you can see every family member's schedule at a glance. It will also help you plan activities around your family dinner times.

7. Set a routine.

Decide on an earlier dinner time, bedtime and wake up time and start following them a few days before schooling officially begins. This way, everybody's adjusted when the real thing comes.

8. Stay flexible.

Sometimes you just can't afford disruptions to your meal times. An occasional missed family dinner is no big deal - when you know you'll have more throughout the week.

9. Consider schooling/work schedules.

Take note of school events the kids may want to be apart of and other activities in your family calendar - so you can plan your family dinners with them in mind.

10. Cook once, eat twice.

Every so often, cook a double batch of meals that can easily be transformed into another entree or side dish. For example, roast 2 chickens. Have one for tonight's dinner. Chop up the other for chicken salad for later in the week.

11. Organize your kitchen.

If you haven't done so yet, now's the time to take stock of your kitchen. Make sure the items you use most often are accessible from your food prep area. Replace the tools that are broken, and get those gadgets that will help you get dinner ready faster.

12. Have a special meal.

Make Friday night Teen's night - which means they plan and prepare the meal. That is, if you have teens or any child old enough to prepare meals. They'll learn how to cook, you get the night off (from cooking), and everybody has fun. The only condition is: everybody has to eat what's prepared.

13. Make it educational.

This idea is for preschool-age kids. Make or buy a special placemat with letter or numbers. Laminate it with Con-Tact paper so it becomes a wipe-off board. Use it only for dinnertimes.

14. More mealtime learning opportunities.

Plan some meals to coincide with specific topics your child is studying. For example, on the night after a field trip you take to a pioneer town, have a pioneer-style meal, cooked outside over an open fire (if allowed in your area).

15. Celebrate schooling successes at dinner.

Celebrate schooling successes with a special family meal. Prepare the child's favorite meal and prepare a nice dessert. It's more important to have a meal that's relaxed and delicious, than one that tool hours to prepare.

16. Nurture relationships.

Get to know your children's closest friends by inviting them to dinner once in a while.

Follow these tips to make family mealtimes simpler, easier and more fun. For meal planning and grocery shopping help, go to Dine Without Whine.

Your monthly subscription includes a weekly meal plan with recipes for main dishes, side dishes, 2 desserts and 2 brunches.

You'll also get a weekly grocery shopping list of everything you need to create the recipes. The list is categorized according to grocery sections, so your shopping will be easier and faster.

For a limited time, you can try Dine Without Whine for a penny. Click here to find out how.

So, do you take the summer off from homeschooling because your kids are complaining "none of our friends have to go to school in the summer"?

It can be a tough fight with the kids but you need to win this one.  Our school systems do such a disservice to our kids when they stop teaching them for two months.  And there is absolutely no reason for them to do this.

It used to be the schools were let out in the summer so the kids work the families farm.  How many kids do you know now who work on the family farm?  Yeah, they are a slim minority.  So, keeping the kids out of school for 2 months for no good reason is just, well...."Stupid!"

Children's little minds do not retain things for very long, especially after two months of watching TV and playing video games.  Their little minds turn to mush.  Don't let that happen to your kids minds.

You might not be as vigorous in their studies as you would be during the rest of the year, but, make them keep up their studies.  They will get used to the routine and still have plenty of time for playing outside with their friends.  And your children will be far advanced in their studies from other kids their ages also.

Homeschooling and the Internet - many consider the two to be a match made in heaven.  In fact, those who homeschool would be hard pressed to do so without the Internet.  The following seven ways explain how to use the Internet with homeschooling, but there are many more.

1.  Find state laws concerning homeschooling.  One of the first ways the Internet can help with homeschooling is by giving parents access to homeschool laws for their state.  Knowing the laws will prepare homeschool families to meet their state’s requirements so they can comply with them. 

2.  If you’re new to homeschooling, you’ll most likely need to have support during the year.  The Internet is a great place to find support.  Not only can you find online homeschooling groups, but your local group will probably use the Internet to communicate, especially if the members are spread out over a large area.

3.  Purchasing curriculum is a major undertaking every year.  Use the Internet first to research curriculum and compare prices before buying.  Besides going to the curriculum manufacturer’s websites, look for used curriculum on places such as eBay and half.com.  If you purchase materials online it will be delivered right to your door instead of having to drive around trying to find it.

4.  Once you have your curriculum, you may want to supplement it with handouts, worksheets, and puzzles.  These are easily accessible on the Internet.  And, most of the materials you find on the Internet are either free, or very inexpensive.  Use common search engines like Google, Yahooligans, or Ask Jeeves Kids to find the items you need.

5.  Some children are interested in music and would like to learn more about it.  Resources found online would be great for this child.  Not only can you find free sheet music online for nearly any instrument, you can also learn about the composers who wrote that music.  There are even websites that can teach your child how to create music.

6.  If your child is looking for specific information about their favorite subject?  You can run to the library, or if you have Internet access, your child should be able to find anything they could ever hope to learn online.  A couple of good research sites would include Discovery.com, HistoryChannel.com, and PBS.com. 

7.  Does your child need to learn something that you don’t feel comfortable teaching?  You could either find out if there are private tutors for that subject in your area, or you may be able to find an online tutorial. 

As you can see, the Internet can be extremely useful if you homeschool.  These seven ideas for using the Internet are not exhaustive.  All it takes is a little bit of imagination and you’ll be able to find other ways that you can use it, as well.  Take some time, do some searching, and you’ll see that homeschooling and the Internet are indeed a match made in heaven.