Starting with the test in math!

 

My favorite trick for math curriculum users who have bored children - at the start of a new chapter/section give them 24 hours to review the material and then give them the "test".

If they do 90% or better they know the material and they don't need to do that section. If they don't get a 90% or better - they have to cover the material in that section as you normally would have assigned it.

This method gives them a ton of motivation to do their very best work on the test, prevents them from having to repeat a bunch of stuff they already know, and helps them quickly move up to a level of math where they are actually able to learn something without you worrying they are missing something.

Computerized All-in-One Curriculum?

 

Did You Know?

Many new homeschooling families today first ask for an all-in-one computerized program that their student can work on independently. They want an education just like the public school they are leaving.

When asked if their student learns best on the computer, they almost all say "YES! My student loves being on the computer." (Ah, but being on the computer for hours on end is very different from doing schoolwork on one.)

When asked what grades their student is getting in school, they often admit their student is behind. (After all, 50-70% of public-school students aren't at grade level. Why, if their computerized program is so good is it failing our students?)

When asked why they are leaving the public-school they often say stress. (Why, if their computerized program is so good is it not meeting their social-emotional needs?)

When asked if they are a hands-on learner, an auditory learner, or a visual learner they often say hands-on or tell me the student has ADHD. (Why are we expecting a computer to get them up and moving?)

Many students use the educational software for a few minutes and then wander off to play computer games and watch YouTube videos - or use the software to give them the answers to all the problems and never actually learn much. Months after starting to homeschool the parent feels like a failure and they can’t understand what went wrong. Trying to reproduce public school at home with a resource designed for a public school is where.

Please do not try to reproduce public school at home! Very few students learn best from all-in-one computerized programs.

Most students NEED interaction.

They NEED you to guide them.

They NEED you to be an active participant in their daily learning with real books from the library, discussions in the car, hands-on experiments and math manipulatives, jokes about silly audiobooks you listened to together while cooking dinner, and historical fiction movies ending at bedtime. They need YOU!

(Yes, I worked full time and homeschooled. I get it – it isn’t easy. Ah, but your kids are SO worth the hour or two a day year round it takes!)

Does your bedroom have an office?

Imagine your ideal bedroom. I bet it is a lot like mine: a super comfy bed, dust free furniture, only a very few decorations, subdued lighting, and very little that would distract from a calm and peaceful sleep. 

No loud noises, no TV, no computers. 

I have never understood how some folks have home offices and school computers in their bedrooms. If I did that, I would roll over at 3 am, see the pile of work,  and think about everything I still have to do and never be able to fall back to sleep. It would make my anxiety and the number of sleepless nights I already suffer with skyrocket. 

Does your student have trouble sleeping? 

Does your student deal with anxiety? 

What is in their bedroom? Can you find any other space in the house to create a separate office? 

The Power of Volunteering

For many years my sons and I delivered Meals on Wheels. We received a list of folks, picked up the meals, and I drove. I always went with my children when they were little and I loved seeing the smiles as they saw children coming in their door with their meals. 

Along the way we met some absolutely lovely folks. They simply beamed because they not only got to see other people - but actual children. 

We had one person yell and swear at us when we wished him a good day. It offered us good conversations about why that person might have acted that way. My children didn't go back to that door for some time. 

One visit was memorable. We were instructed to ring the bell after leaving the meal in the cooler outside the door. As the children were a bit older now they did this on their own. One day my oldest came back to the car and said the meal from the previous day was still in the cooler so we made calls and, sure enough, the lady had fallen. My son's concern saved her life and he was featured in a newspaper article. 

We also took various seniors grocery shopping once a week. They always treated it as high adventure! 

My children learned a lot about the circle of life volunteering. I wish more families would find the time to volunteer in some way in their community. It would teach compassion and understanding to old and young alike - and maybe even save a life or two!