Posts tagged ‘homeschool styles’

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This is the final post in a 5 part series written by Bethany of Confessions of an Organized Homeschool Mom. Be sure to check back to read more great tips for taming the paper beast!”

Welcome to the final segment of the “Put Paper in Its Place” series! If you’re a homeschooler and if you’ve been reading the entire series, this last section should just help you synthesize everything. As you may already suspect, I am not an advocate of keeping every single worksheet, piece of art, or diorama produced by the little darlings. Shocking, I know. Surprisingly, neither am I an advocate for trashing everything. You’ll be pleased to know that a middle ground exists. It’s called a portfolio.

The word portfolio usually strikes fear in the heart of homeschoolers. I have to keep a what? Why would I want to keep all that stuff? But all of the shadow boxes, insect project boards, wooden villages, and authentic medieval costumes won’t fit into a binder! Yes, I have heard all these comments and more whenever the topic of portfolios comes up. Yet, I always reply that a portfolio is not only a necessary thing, but also a good thing. Let me show you how and why.

What is a portfolio, anyway? I decided to look up the word in my official Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition to see what its normal usage is. After all, it’s a unique homeschooling word, right? At least, I thought the way that homeschoolers used the word was specific to us. I almost fell off my chair when I read this definition:

“a selection of a student’s work (as papers and tests) compiled over a period of time and used for assessing performance or progress.”

So much for being revolutionary! Regardless, a portfolio is a collection of your child’s scholarly achievements.

How do you gather all this stuff? Do you just grab the last three pages out of your kids’ hands on June 15 and call it good? Do you wait until your high school senior tells you that his prospective college wants to see his portfolio when he visits tomorrow? No, no, no! On the other hand, you really don’t need to have the exact same number of papers for every subject perfectly typed on the computer and color coded in a set of twelve filing boxes.

A meritorious portfolio does not include every single assignment from every single subject. It includes a representation of work completed: the best writing samples, the best test scores, the best artwork, the best notebooking pages, and the best worksheet pages. It also includes pictures of 3-D projects, field trips, and other activities that can’t be condensed into a single written document. Set aside some work from every academic year. Do it as you go through the year so that it will not be an overwhelming task at whatever point you close out records for each year. I take my children’s desk binders about once a month, choose papers to go into the portfolio, and trash the rest, unless they’re needed for a later test.

The further your child gets academically, the more you may wish to weed out some of the earlier work. You may end up with only one kindergarten handwriting page and one first grade math test by the time your child graduates. That’s fine. Don’t take all of it out, though. I’ve attended homeschool graduations where a portfolio containing selections from twelve years’ worth of work was displayed. It was really neat to see the child’s scholastic progression through the years. Your child may enjoy looking back over her progress as well.

Okay, you’re collecting all of these papers and photos (of larger projects), so where do you put all of them? The best place for a portfolio is in a binder. Yes, even for you file foxes. The main reason for this is that a portfolio should be portable. (Extra bonus points if you notice that both of these words have port as the root, from the Latin word porto, which means I carry.) It’s much easier to carry a binder into a college admission counselor’s office than it is to carry a filing cabinet. You’ll definitely want a 3-inch size for this project. Feel free to let your child choose her favorite color, or buy the kind with the clear pocket on the front and have your student design her own cover.

Put subject dividers into the binder. File the papers from earliest (kindergarten or whatever grade you started homeschooling or saving papers) to the latest within each subject. Just save one out of every ten, twenty, or even thirty pages. Save more tests than regular worksheets. Save the best essays, and choose just one of those essays to show all of the child’s work—outline, rough drafts, corrections, and final draft.

I can hear you now: Why am I making a portfolio? It sounds like way too much work, and it’s not even required by my state! Do I still need to make one even if my child is not headed to college? Obviously, some states make portfolios mandatory, but aside from that, reasons abound for making one. If you choose not to give actual grades or not to fill out a report card (or its equivalent), then a portfolio becomes even more important. A portfolio gives physical evidence that little Johnny really is a genius—just as you always thought! Portfolios preserve hard work, provide evidence for skeptical grandparents or other family members and friends, help with planning for younger siblings, and record grades and/or levels earned and completed.

If you have piles and boxes of papers, start slowly. Set up the binder first so you have a place to put the papers you’re saving. Then go through one stack or box a day, perhaps while you’re watching TV at night, and eventually you will have a lovely portfolio of your child’s academic successes. I’m cringing as I write this, but I just have to reiterate that you must keep up with a project this large or it will get away from you. If you put a few papers into the portfolio every month or so, it will be no big deal, but if you procrastinate, you’ll find it more difficult to subdue the paper piles.

I hope you’ve found this series on paper to be helpful. The more I wrote, the more I realized could be written; however, this is it for now. I’ve provided you with the tips and encouragement that you need to conquer the paper monster once and for all.

This post was written by Bethany L., homeschool mom, Lesson Pathways contributor and author of the Confessions of an Organized Homeschool Mom blog.

Teachers are always looking for new ways to engage their students. I’ve found one of the easiest ways to do that is by using technology. Kids LOVE technology. Tell them it’s time for math and they groan. Tell them we’re going to the computer lab to work tessellations on the computer, and suddenly I’m a hero! Lesson Pathways is a wonderful tool that assists busy teachers in offering Internet-based activities to their students. The best part? All the work is already done for them. What teacher wouldn’t love that?

I have personally spent hours sitting at the computer looking for a cool webquest or an online game. Sometimes I’ve looked for my whole class; sometimes I’ve looked for reinforcement or enrichment for a single student. I wish I had been able to access a service like Lesson Pathways all along. It would have saved me valuable time–you know, to fill out paperwork, call parents, attend a staffing…

Among the 36 weeks of curriculum per core subject, per grade (currently through grade 5), you’ll find a wealth of lessons, mini-lessons, hands-on activities, online games, videos, e-books…the list goes on. It’s so easy to use too! The Planner feature is such a useful tool. You can add your entire class in just a few minutes. Once that is set up, you can select the Pathways you want to assign. The part I really like is having the option to assign Pathways to individual students or to the entire class. Again, anything that saves some time is a good thing in my book.

I really like that I can use this anywhere. I can browse Lesson Pathways from home, school, the coffee shop… I don’t have to lug around those big, heavy teacher-edition textbooks. I don’t even need to have a pen with me, for that matter. That’s generally a good thing. I never have a pen when I need it. (I think I was absent the day they taught organization at my university.) I just click on the Pathway I want to use and assign it to either the whole class or just the students I want to use it. I can also print out a worksheet from home and take it to school for copying the next day. I don’t know about you, but I do my best thinking with my bunny slippers on–and well, administration tends to frown on me wearing them to school.

Differentiated instruction is one of my favorite education buzzwords, and Lesson Pathways has a handle on it. The creators of Lesson Pathways are aware of the distinct needs of individual learners and of teacher’s requirements to differentiate instruction for their students. For this reason, the lessons offered address a wide variety of learning styles and methods. The search feature on the site will allow you to find just what you need. For example, type “Mesopotamia” into the search box and 49 pre-screened and carefully selected choices will pop up. You can then filter your search further if you’re looking for, say, a video. All of the Pathways are tagged to help you find resources for special needs or instructional methods.

We all know how overpaid teachers are, right? We just love to spend our own money in the classroom and buy supplies for which we’ll never even dream of being reimbursed. Hmmm…maybe not. The good news is Lesson Pathways isn’t going to break your classroom stipend (if you’re lucky enough to get one). Compared with a tutoring service, boxed curriculum, and other learning sites, you’ll find this service is incredibly cost-efficient.

If you’re still not sure, sign up for a FREE trial with Lesson Pathways. For more information, contact one of the team members at ContactUs@LessonPathways.com.

Be sure to stop by the The Work of Childhood between now and November 4th to find out how to win a FREE one year subscription to LessonPathways.com!!!

While you’re there, check out the archives to read about their family and adventures in homeschooling!

Homeschool co-ops can be formed for a number of reasons. With younger children, they often consist of more organized playgroups for which parents take turns coming up with good activity ideas each week. Sometimes co-ops are formed for academic purposes, focusing on a particular subject. Children may be close in age, or the subject may be one in which siblings of various ages are invited to participate.

Whatever your reasons for forming a co-op, here are some tips for starting and operating one successfully:

• ASSESS the Need for a Co-op
  One of the best ways to start a co-op is to be part of a larger homeschooling support group that meets on a periodic basis. Parents can then form sub-groups based on interests or ages, and co-ops may form out of those groups. It is important to see whether there is real interest in your co-op idea. Sometimes parents spend time and money trying to organize a co-op, but the interest isn’t there in the larger community or the schedule isn’t convenient. Make sure your idea generates some interest either by email or phone or even through a Yahoo! group. After people sign up initially, I make sure I contact them again individually–as the start date gets closer–to make sure they are really interested.

• Organization
  Even though a co-op is generally a group effort among parents, someone still needs to do the initial organizing, or the co-op may not be successful. Once initial interest has been established, the organizer should get parents to volunteer to participate in the co-op. The organizer should communicate well and be specific about times and dates, so parents know how much time and effort their participation will involve. This can actually be the hardest part since some new homeschoolers may over-promise their involvement and have to withdraw when they realize they are involved in too many activities. Also, the organizer has to make sure the parents have some willingness to work together with each other in a cooperative way. Some parents have very different educational goals and philosophies, so it’s better to know up front if you are all on the same philosophical page about the co-op and how it’s presented. I feel better about a group co-op when I really understand parental expectations. This may take more time, but it is worth it to make sure everyone has a willingness to do the work and follow through.

• Establish Ground Rules
  Without basic ground rules, hurt feelings are likely. One biggie is always money. Is there going to be a charge for supplies, and how are the co-op expenses to be paid? Do the co-op leaders give a general outline of what they are going to present before the class, or do the parents just trust each other to take over with their children? What kind of discipline is going to be used if children (or parents) get out of hand and are disruptive? It helps if these ground rules are clear at the beginning, so misunderstandings and feelings of too much responsibility on one parent’s shoulders do not arise. The biggest upsets I have encountered in co-ops have been over whether to pay an individual parent who has professional expertise in the area he or she is teaching. In general, I think it is simpler for parents to donate their time but get reimbursed for supplies.

• Maintain Balance
  Make sure you and the children have a good balance of time in the co-op. One of the things children don’t like is having absolutely no time to play if it’s an academic co-op. There should be some relaxing, social time for both parents and children, ensuring that everyone has fun. I think snacks are an important part of co-op success, but make sure everyone is on the same dietary wavelength here too. Parents can take turns bringing snacks as long as food allergies and dietary restrictions don’t leave some children out of snack time or cause them to eat food that’s not good for them. Diet is another one of those biggies, but if the fare is simple, basically healthy and agreed upon beforehand, everyone should enjoy the balance of learning, relaxing and snacking that marks a successful co-op. I find that children 10 and under really need playtime and are always ready to eat, so my co-ops have at least 20 minutes of unstructured playtime during which they can snack freely on what’s put out for them.

• Keep Communicating and Be Flexible
  Sometimes the goal of a co-op may change based on feedback from the parents and children. Be flexible enough to listen to feedback and make changes that will work for the group as a whole. And, if something really isn’t working for a family, make sure there is a way the family can make a graceful exit. I have personal experience in this area. I was the primary teacher in a co-op and a parent just didn’t realize the amount of work that was involved in my class. She was a new homeschooler and hadn’t really integrated my guidelines for parental involvement in the homework I established. As a result, her son was less prepared than he should have been. We ended up having a good talk about what would work best for her son, and she decided it wasn’t my co-op. She withdrew her child with no hard feelings and a refund of the supply costs.

Co-ops are a wonderful way for children to enjoy learning new skills and information from other parents or even guest speakers. If your co-op is organized well, families are respectful of the ground rules and communication lines are kept open, you are likely to have a successful co-op year.

This post was written by Lilian F., homeschool mom and Lesson Pathways contributor.

We have homeschooled for 10 years, but we are not unique. We are no different from any other family. We love each other and learn together every day.

What makes us a little different is the fact we all have special needs. That’s right–all of us. Each of us brings a different quality to our home. My eldest is high school age and my youngest is elementary school age. I want to share with you a few things about my youngest since he is still being homeschooled. Travis is 10 years old and has invisible special needs, which means he appears to be an average child because his special needs aren’t clearly visible. He has Tourette Syndrome, Central Auditory Processing Disorder, and Sensory Processing Disorder. He may be on the Autism Spectrum (presently being assessed) as well.

He enjoys learning things through visual aids, in 15-minute increments, through one-on-one instruction, and with concise printables. He does not do well with workbooks because he likes to complete what he started, and a whole workbook is too much. His grade levels span from grade 1 to 5, depending on the topic and subject. He is a true perfectionist and a lover of science. He is a puzzle!

I searched high and low for a curriculum that would fit his needs. I tried all types of styles of homeschooling, from relaxed learning, unschooling and child-led learning to classical education, unit studies and full box curriculum. Nothing fit his way of learning. When everything I tried with my eldest failed with my youngest, I was desperate. I had to come up with something! I decided the only choice was to make our own curriculum. We decided to “Tailorschool,” and I built his curriculum to fit his individual strengths and needs. This is how we used to homeschool: http://specialneedsinhomeschooling.blogspot.com/2009/02/how-we-do-this-homeschooling-thing.html. The Internet provided more than enough information.

I searched high and low for a curriculum that would fit his needs. I tried all types of styles of homeschooling, from relaxed learning, unschooling and child-led learning to classical education, unit studies and full box curriculum. Nothing fit his way of learning. When everything I tried with my eldest failed with my youngest, I was desperate. I had to come up with something!

If Travis was doing grade 1 English and grade 5 math, I could find resources that catered to his strengths, allowing him to learn at his level. It was work, and I do mean WORK! I spent hours scouring the Internet to find the safest links with the best opportunities for him to learn. I searched for links to printables so he could work in small increments, links to videos and audio resources to feed his learning style, links to explanations of the lesson so I could learn it in order to teach him, and links to fun activities he found engaging and I found educational. Then he would progress, and I would have to do it all over again! I spent close to 20 hours a week making his lessons and organizing everything.

Then, Lesson Pathways was presented to me, and the ideology behind it was to build entire grade levels and whole lessons based on exactly what I was doing! I was intrigued, but at the same time, I thought it was impossible. There was no way anyone could build an entire website, with that many resources on all the topics needed. A year later, it was built and is still growing!

I am not spending time building his curriculum or tons of money buying resources I may enjoying every minute of it! I am spending time learning with him. never use, and he is Travis absolutely LOVES LessonPathways.com, and so do I.

Lesson Pathways has done it! It has exceeded my expectations and provided the best resources found on the Web, with a multisensory approach to learning. For the first time in my 10 years of homeschooling, I have 20 hours a week to spend WITH my children, instead of planning for them!

Travis is using LessonPathways.com, and it’s set up to provide visual and hands-on learning components that are perfectly matched with his learning style, meeting his special needs in a way that can guarantee his success. I can mix and match Pathways of different grade levels to match his needs. All I do is add the units to his personalized planner and check off each unit when he has completed it! I am not spending time building his curriculum or tons of money buying resources I may never use, and he is enjoying every minute of it! I am spending time learning with him. Travis absolutely LOVES LessonPathways.com, and so do I.

*While “Travis” is a very real person, his name has been changed for this story.*

This post was written by Jennifer B., a homeschool mom and LessonPathways.com team member.  To learn more about Jennifer and the other great blog writers, visit the “Our People” tab.

When my family and I decided to begin homeschooling about 10 years ago, I found myself asking the same questions of every homeschooler I met, for probably about the first three or four years: “How do you homeschool?” I received many responses, each one different from the other.  With each different response, I would wind up in a panic, thinking “I’m doing this all wrong!  I’m going to mess up my kids forever because I’m not doing <insert any advice you’ve ever received here>!”

Now, after years of asking the “How do you homeschool?” question, I find I’m the one answering the question for many new homeschoolers.  I’m always reluctant to answer this because there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer. How my family has homeschooled has changed and evolved each year, as our needs and situation changes.  We’ve implemented many different homeschooling approaches, ranging from unschooling to unit studies to boxed curriculum.  There were things we loved about each one of them, but what works for us one year may not work for us another year.   No matter what approach I’ve taken to homeschooling, there are few words of wisdom that always apply:

Relax: Take a deep breath, calm down and relax.  Stressing and obsessing won’t help educate your child, and it certainly isn’t going to help you!  Try to enjoy the journey and the time with your children.

Don’t compare your homeschooling style with others: It’s always helpful to “peek” into another’s home classroom; you can find lots of inspiration and ideas!  However, don’t compare your homeschool with someone else’s.  It’s like comparing apples and oranges.  No matter how similar two families or children may be, each one is unique.

We’ve implemented many different homeschooling approaches, ranging from unschooling to unit studies to boxed curriculum. There were things we loved about each one of them, but what works for us one year may not work for us another year. No matter what approach I’ve taken to homeschooling, there are few words of wisdom that always apply

Don’t believe the hype: People are very passionate about what they use and how they do things.  Before drinking the Kool-Aid, do more research first.  Try it out, and see whether you can borrow the books from a friend for a few weeks.  I’m speaking from experience on this one, my friends.  My oldest daughter was really struggling with math for several years.  Naturally, being the concerned homeschool mom I am, I asked around. Everyone was raving about a particular math program.  It was supposedly the best.  Everyone loved it.   I bought it, lock, stock and barrel, only to find that it did not work for us.

Because this was the “very best math program in the whole world,” I figured we just had to keep at it.  So, we kept at it for two full years before I came to the realization that maybe this wasn’t the “very best math program in the whole world” for us.  Since then, I’ve found some lesser-known programs, and both of my girls are flourishing.  The shame of it all is that it took me so long to figure it out. Don’t believe the hype!

Let go of the guilt: There will always be something you could have done better.  On the flip side, there will always be something you could have done worse.  Let go of the guilt.  Not all children learn the same things at the same pace.  Sometimes, you just have to realize you’re doing the best you can and recognize the baby steps you and your child have taken towards reaching your educational goals.  In my book, if your child knows you love her at the end of every day, you’ve done a good job.

There is no definitive answer to the question “How do you homeschool?” It’s a lot like trying to answer the question “How do you mother?”  People can tell you how to become a mother and that you need to change diapers, make sure the baby is fed, take him to the doctor for checkups, and so on, but nobody can really tell you how to mother your child.  It’s something you just have to do and figure out what works best for you and your family.  As your child grows, his need will change, and (with a little perception on your part) you will naturally adapt.

The same holds true for homsechooling.  There is no “right way” or “wrong way” to homeschool.  What works for one family may not be the right choice for your family. What works for your family this year may not work next year.  In fact, what works for one child may not even work well for your other children.  Enjoy the journey, love your children, and enjoy the benefits of the homeschooling lifestyle; you’ll be just fine.

This post was written by Christina S., a LessonPathways.com Team Member and  homeschool mom of 10 years.  She lives with her husband and two daughters in Detroit, Michigan.