Homeschooling for His Glory

The Schoolhouse Review crew is having a Back to School blog hop this week and the topic is Homeschool Encouragement. I am pretty confident that anyone embarked on this homeschooling journey can use a little encouragement. Today, Monday, the blog hop kicks off  the week   with motivational posts . Since I am entering my second year of homeschooling High-school I thought it appropriate to talk about homeschooling the High School years and maybe encourage those dreading it. First, let me tell you that the high school years are nothing like the preschool or elementary years. I recently read an article on the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog talking about the loneliness that comes from homeschooling High school , and I could not agree more with many of the points made there: the weird look when people find out you are homeschool high-school, the changing nature of field-trips, how more expensive it all becomes, the waning away of those precious childhood moments and feelings, a...

On day 2 of the 5 Days of Homeschool 101  hosted by the Schoolhouse Review Crew, we are talking about planning. There is a lot written on the topic of planning but I will try to give you a quick overview of the essentials of planning, not that I am a expert or anything, but I have nearly 9  years of battling the planning battleground in my own homeschool under my belt. When it comes to planning, a lot of it has to do with your personality and the curriculum that you decide to use. Some personalities cannot function without a well laid out plan in front of them. These types of homeschoolers usually (not always) favor curriculum that come with a planning schedule already set out. In those cases your task is simply to make sure that that plan is followed through, and the task of planning is reduced to daily, weekly and yearly scheduling of your different subjects. If you are more like me, and are not the kind who like to be told what to do and are more free spirited, you...

Today is the first day of the second bi-annual 5 Days of .... on the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog . Over 36 of us will be sharing on the basic components of homeschooling over the next five days. Today we start naturally with the curriculum. Nowadays, the choices for curriculum are limitless. Someone just starting homeschooling can get quite overwhelmed looking at the amount of choices placed in front of him. Even as veteran homeschoolers, sometimes we still find ourselves quite overwhelmed as there are so many different options that can accomplish the same goal. So how is one supposed to navigate this field? I have a few tips I would like to share with you today, which I hope will help you narrow down your choices and ease the task for you. Know what you want to accomplish:  One way that has helped me to make choices in my curriculum is knowing where I am heading with the boys. When you have a goal in mind it is easier to plot a path, than wondering aimlessly along that sa...

I did not have a post today, but the bloggers participating in this blog hops have wonderful topics covered so make sure to hop on over and visit their blogs over the week-end. Grab your coffee and happy reading. Here are a few to get you started: Jeniffer @ Thou Shall Not Whine Jennifer @ A Peace of Mind Jennifer @ Faithful Homestead Joesette @ Learning Curve Kari @ Random Acts of Boyhood Katie @ Katie's Daily Life Kemi @ Homemaking Organized Kim @ Homestead Acres Kylie @ Our Worldwide Classroom In this series on the blog: Homeschooling Tips Housekeeping Tips Budget Tips Family Fun Tips

As we continue to explore tips for homeschool parents, today I would like to share my budget tips. Homeschooling is not always a cheap option. Some can spend litlte on homeschooling, some can spend an extravagant amount of money. Most do live on a single, and at that very basic, income. I am one of those parents, so I try to save everywhere I can. Here are my best budgeting tips to help save on homeschooling. Have a household budget - This is essential so that you don't overspend. Know how much you have and how much you spend on your household expenses, that way you know how much you have available for school stuff. Talk it over with your spouse and plan for these expenses if you can. Prioritize - You cannot buy everything you think you need, or want. At least I know I can't, and even if I could, it probably would not be good stewardship. You need to prioritize what is really important and what is really needed. That is why researching your curriculum becomes really...

Today is day three of the 5 Days of Tips for Homeschool Parents hosted by the TOS Review Crew. I hope you had a chance to browse around the different blogs and posts, as there are over 50 of us participating on a very varied array of topics. Today I would like to share with you  ways to have fun as a family. When you homechool you have a lot of super advantages on your side. It is really helpful for parents who have changing work schedules, or illnesses to deal with, or are on the road a lot, you name it. One of the main attraction of homeschooling is the flexibility it provides you with. Also, schooling sometimes can be a serious matter, and is often  done by one parent. So, because of that is is really good to be able to interject fun in our homeschool days and have activities that involve the whole family. Here are some ways of having fun as a family, taking advantage of all the opportunities and flexibility schooling at home offers you. Field Trips - As homeschool...

In homeschooling homes, one of the hardest thing to do, beside the actual schooling, is to keep a tidy and clean house. I read somewhere a few years back about how a messy house is reflective of happy kids, and though I agree that this is indeed the case, one still has to keep house. So today, I would like to share some tips on how to keep the house somewhat tidy, even as we give our kids plenty of room for exploration. Designate a place for everything. This a life saver. If something in the house does not have an assigned place, the tendency will be for it to be left laying around. In the reverse, when things have their assigned spot, it is easier to put it away and require of others to do so as well. Involve the kids in cleaning up. In homeschooling homes, a lot of the mess comes from the school work and from the kids having fun exploring. So, it is only right that they be involved in the cleaning up process. On top of that, it is a great way to teach them important skills. I...

When a family decides to homeschool, it is a big and important step. It is usually best if both parents are in agreement regarding the decision to homeschool. However, it is possible to do it even when one parent is not totally on board, just a bit more challenging. Homeschooling affects every faces and aspects of your family life. This is why this week the TOS Crew will explore the theme of tips for homeschool parents Today, as part of this week-long 5 Days of Tips for Homeschool Parents, I would like to share with you a few tips regarding the actual homeschooling that can help with the ease of homeschooling. Decide as a family your style of homeschooling. There are as many ways to homeschool as there are homeschool parents. That said there are major styles that/or methods that you can tailor your homeschool to, which will help you set a course for it, and serve as a guide or compass throughout the journey. Classical, Charlotte Mason, Child-Led, Relaxed, Unschooling, Traditio...

This is it, the last day of the Real Life Homeschool blog hop week. I hope you have had a chance to read the different blogs posts on the topic, and gleaned some insights into some real life homeschools. Today let me tell you about how real life homeschooling works out for us when it comes to keeping the house clean and in order. I just have 4 words: It does not always. We live in an apartment and space is limited. School is done on the floor, on the sofa, on the bed, at the dinning table, and at the computer desk. What this does is that there is school work all over the house. At the end of the day I try to have both boys pick up everything and put it where it belongs, but it does not always happen. On a typical day, if you pop in my house in the middle of the day, the dinner table is a mess, the living room is a mess and the bedrooms are always a mess. I have a few mottos I try to apply to help me keep the house in some decent order and cleanliness: Motto #1:  "ever...

As part of the real life homeschool blog hop, I would like to share with you our schedule and how it gets, or does not always get followed.  Monday : Online Math, Life of Fred, Grammar, Writing, Copywork, Science, History, Spelling, French, Bible, Reading and read aloud Tuesday: Same as Monday except for spelling and read aloud. The science is lighter. In the afternoon Johann has piano lessons. Wednesday: Same as Tuesday. In the afternoon Zach has violin lessons. Thursday: we do not school on Thursdays because it is dad's day off ( he is a pastor). Coincidentally it is our co-op day which happens 7 weeks straight in the winter and in the spring. It goes from 12:30 to 3:30 and we do have to drive a good 30 minutes without traffic to get there, to over 1 hour in traffic time. In the winter we also have 7 weeks of volleyball on that day. Friday: Online Math, Life of Fred, Copywork, science, History, Spelling, French, Bible, Art/Poetry, Reading and re...

Yesterday, as part of this week long blog hop on Real Life Homeschool,  I shared about my 4th grader school day. Today we will look at my 6th grader school day. My oldest son is a typical first born, very autodidact, dreamer, lazy tendencies, and very laid back. I find it harder to homechool him, but over the 8 years we have been at it, there has been progress, though there is still a long road ahead. The difficulty arises in that he tends to get very distracted and needs to be held accountable. When he wakes up in the morning, he likes to do his own thing, which consists of whatever is on his mind at the moment, writing a book, creating some Lego game or board games, playing imaginary battles, you name it. After breakfast, as of recently he has taken to spending a good time in the shower. Then he tries to start his school. Most days he gets about 2-3 subjects done, then gets distracted again in doing something else, like playing with his swords, or writing or building...

Many always wonder what it is like to homeschool and what a typical day is like for a homeschooler. Well this week I am joining over 50 other bloggers to share with you what our days really look like. I have 2 boys, grade 4 and grade 6. Today I will share a day with my 4th grade,r and tomorrow a day with my 6th grader. Let me preambule this with a few things to know about my 4th grader: He is very routine oriented He is by the book He is driven He likes to achieve and be done He likes to have time to do what he wants to do and therefore tends to plan out his day. He loves to eat He moves a lot I am not a morning person so my kids are usually up before me. Don't throw the tomatoes at me!! Sometimes, my 4th grader will get started wit his school before breakfast, depending on his mood and how much work he has to do. After breakfast, which is usually anytime between 8:30-9:30 am, he gets groomed and gets to work. Most days though he stays in his pajamas - he loves...

For this last day of the 5 days of  Homeschooling Essentials,  I want to look at these aspects that you may be able to function without, but really makes homeschooling harder when they are not present.. Sometimes circumstances prevent you from possessing these things but I still consider them essentials. Dad's involvement: If you are married and homeschooling I surely hope that your spouse is on board, because if he is not, this journey just became harder (If it has not already been). If he is on board, making sure he is involved in the homeschooling process is also a great help. Make sure you share the joys and difficulties, the challenges, the successes. If at all possible, have him be involved in some part of it. For us it means read-alouds and family Bible reading times, and in the summer, sports. Extra supplies: Mobile devices such as e-reader or able to have apps Staplers Loyalty cards to supply and bookstores for savings. Velcro and magnet stuff Timer Perm...

Day 4 of the Homeschooling Essentials is here and today we will be looking at the heart attitudes that are necessary for homeschooling to run reasonably well, and for the mama to stay sane. We need to: Exercise faith: This is obvious. If we believe that God has called us to this task we must trust in His grace to carry us through. The christian life is a life of faith and this applies to every aspects, school life included. I can tell you on those days when I want to give up, besides reminding myself of the conviction the Lord gave me, I turn to God in Faith to his promises of being with us through every steps of our life, and this includes this season of schooling the boys. Be Patient, or  know that you will be learning patience : Homeschooling is tiring. Kids try your patience in ways you could not imagine. You have to keep repeating yourself over and over. That is where patience comes in. You can't afford to lose patience with your kids because they are kids, and in...