Homeschooling for His Glory

In my previous posts about Middle School I have shared about how I have been blessed with quite independent kids. I had promised a post about how I went about to encourage independence in my children. Here it is finally! First off I have to say that some kids are naturally independent, and in this case it is quite easier to cultivate that. With others, it is a bit more difficult and requires intentionality and being more aggressive about it. When you have kids who have learned to be independent and to own their learning, they end up being kids that do their school work, even if mom forgot to write a subject on the list of to do for that day. Here are a few steps I took in developing independence in the boys. Give them freedom - the first step is to gradually give them freedom in how they want the school day to go. Involve them in the decision making of what subjects to do each day and in the order as well. Build trust - the kids need to know that you trust them and expec...

As a Christian family, teaching the Bible and a christian worldview is a very important element in our homeschol. When one studies Scripture, it is not just about reading the stories and making up our own interpretations. Studying the Bible is about discovering God's story and His plan for our world. It is about finding out what God has to say about the world, ourselves, who He is and about His plan of salvation for His people. There are many Bible curriculum and devotional books out there, but not all are equally solid or usable in a homeschool context. Today I thought I would share with you my to 5 recommendations when it comes to choosing a devotional or Bible curriculum to use in your homeschool. Bible Road Trip   - This is a three-year Bible curriculum that takes you through the whole Bible in three years. It is theologically rich and sound. You get to read through your Bible and complete notebooking pages to help you remember and truly grasps what it teaches. Bible mem...

This month's theme for the Canadian  Homeschool Blogging Team is about what we would say if we had to give a talk at a homeschool conference. There are lots of topics that can be touched on at a homeschooling conference, but I would like to focus my talk on homeschooling the Middle School age kids. I have two boys, one in 7th grade and one in 5th grade. Next year I will have two middle schoolers. I have found that homeschooling the younger grades is somewhat easier that the older grades. Teaching your kids to read, count, reading books on the couch, doing science experiments, exploring nature through nature walks, baking cookies together, playing games, make the whole experience exciting, rewarding and fun. As the kids gets older, they become more independent and develop their own interests, which may or may not be the same as your own, and definitely vary from child to child. I have found that as the kids get older, it becomes harder to steer them in the same way as you di...

Last week I started joining in Lisa's weekly Junior High/Middle School Junction blog hop . I told you then about what we are using for my oldest 7th grade year. This week I will share with you how we work these curriculum in our daily/weekly schedule. During the Middle School year, my goal is to build up and strengthen my son's independence and responsibility. From grade 5 and 6 I started to make him be independent with his work. Very few subjects are taught by me. I try to pick challenging curriculum that he can do on his own. I also started to make him responsible on how he schedules his time. We are still in the process of teaching it to him. My son is very easily distracted and has always been. His mind/brain is filled with all sort of things and projects. He is my creative one. His nickname is "space cadet".  So it has been a challenge and long road to teach him to own his time and learning. He loves learning, but has a hard time staying on task for long perio...

So my oldest has been in middle school for over a year now. I have been meaning to write more about the middle school years, and time seems to always evades me. Another reason for my not writing so much about the Middle School years is that, my son is very independent so it feels like I would not have much to share. That said, it would seems that there is not that much out there written about the Middle School years, so I will endeavor to join  Megan over at My Full Heart to bring you a weekly post on our Middle School Homeschool journey. To start things off this week let me share with you what we are using  for his 7th grade year. Last summer I wrote a plan of what I was hoping to use this year , so you can refer to it and compare to see what we dropped and what we kept. Math: Unlock Math. Zach really likes working with Unlock Math. It is an online program with a live teacher, lots of exercises and test. You can check my review from last year . Worksheets from t...

The middle school years are on us. My oldest is going to be grade seven next year. As I think about our curriculum line up for next year, I cannot but think I need to look ahead to the High School years which will be upon us sooner that we think. My son does not quite know yet what he wants to do, but he has a deep love for History and logic, (and for everything Marvel and DC connected), so I am thinking he is probably gonna end up in the humanities. With that in mind I am cogitating a course of study that will hopefully prepare him to that end, while still working on some general subjects that are kind of basics. Math: We have been using and enjoying a review product from last year: CTC Math . Though the subscription ended a few months ago, I was blessed to be chosen for this year's review of it again. You can read my review from last year here. Earlier this year, I got a good deal on the Life of Fed Before High School series , and we are enjoying going through that....

Back at the beginning of the summer I wrote a post on top reading books for middle schooler s. Since then my boys have discovered some books that they are really enjoying, so I thought I would share them with you. The Penderwicks   and the other two in the series, though the first and the second are liked better. The Mysterious Benedict Society The Indian in the Cupboard and the next two in the series The Brotherband Chronicles series (5 in total)   Rangers Apprentices  Series (12 in total)