Lindy's Homeschool: Times Tables Party!!! More Rocks, Germany, Austria, and a Cruise

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Times Tables Party!!! More Rocks, Germany, Austria, and a Cruise

Maxwell had his birthday. But more importantly to the Homeschool World, he passed off all his times tables. The reward that I had promised for this was to go to the water slides (the only ones in like a 3 hour radius.) This was perfect timing (haha--timing--nevermind.) and the waterslides doubled as a birthday party.

I have to admit that I'm rather proud of the way Maxwell passed off his 12s. He was able to pass the 12s off easily when they were in order, but when they were out of order, it was a bit harder. He got how you times with the 2 and then with the 1, but it was hard for him, not as fast and automatic as timetables are supposed to be.

So, I took the TimesTales strategies, and I made KILLER stories that made it super duper easy for Maxwell to memorize his 12s. Behold:

Oh yah, I'm THAT kind of homeschool mom. Woot woot!

Enough of tooting my own horn; on to science. We learned more about rocks. We learned about igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks. We also learned about crystals and fossil fuels (this might seem like a lot, but whatever. I didn't have a ton of experiments, okay?)

When learning about crystals, we had our own homemade geodes with copper sulfate and eggshells.

For geography, we learned about germany. We made German stars. Well, Maxwell and I made German stars. That was CRAZY hard. Not something for your first origami try.

We also did scherenschnitte. Pretty much fancy snowflakes. A little too hard for my whole crew again.

We also learned about Austria. We watched Sound of Music as our activity. Yep. Easy peasy.

And for my records, I have totally loved the Disney Small World Library. I want this series! So perfect for little schoolers to learn about different countries.

But all of this was just one week. What happened to last week you ask? CRUISE!

Yep. Dustin and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary by taking a cruise.

However, I really don't think I'll ever take a cruise again. Seasick. Blah.

Now I'm over seasickness, but I have a nasty cold. Not sure how much we are doing next week.

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The "awkward and unprepared" Myth

There are many misconceptions and biases against homeschooling, and many people really think that I've never heard them or considered them. Many people worry about the "inevitable social awkwardness" of homeschoolers or that they are "unprepared for the world." In my experience, I've found that homeschoolers tend to be as socially "normal" or "awkward" as their parents. As far as "unprepared for the world" is concerned, that depends on how they are taught, but I have seen many successes first hand. Basically, I know the ins and outs of the decision I've made, thanks.

Why I Homeschool

When I was first married, I fell in love with the kids of the Leavitts and Schafers (my sisters-in-law families.) They were...and still are...confident, leaders, innocent where they should be innocent, creative, and accepting. They were also homeschooled. I wanted my future kids to be like them, and if homeschooling was part of that equation, then I was willing to make the sacrifice. Now, after years of study, prayer, and experience, I want to homeschool for many reasons. I want my kids to be family oriented not peer oriented. I want to include the gospel in every aspect of what they are taught. I want them to think out side of the box. I don't want them to be obsessed with what is "cool." I want them to feel loved by those around them. I want them to know who they are and what they stand for before they are bombarded by outside influences. I know that many families can do this without homeschooling, but it seems a lot harder to me. Basically, I'm a control freak. I want to be in control of my children's learning and social life....homeschooling makes that easier.

Also, now that I've realized they are severely dyslexic, I think homeschool is the best place for dyslexics to learn.

And there's the statistics.

My Schedule

7:15

START OUR DAY

Daddy does scriptures

Breakfast

Devotional w/ videos

Come Follow Me

Goals/mindfulness/memorization

9:00

School Starts

Maxwell

School of Hope Online

Hyrum's 3 "R"s

IEW Grammar and Writing

Video Text Algebra

Spelling (Word Wasp)

Daniel's 3 "R"s

Writing Prompts

Rightstart Math level "G"

Spelling (Wasp)

William's 3 "R"s

All About Reading

Creative Writing

Rightstart level "D"

Abraham's 3 "R"s

Logic of English

Handwriting Without Tears

Rightstart level "B"

Activity in afternoon:

Social Studies

Science

Art

Chess

field trips

Literature Club

WAS classes

My Curriculum

For math, I do RightStart Mathematics, which is an abacus based math, Times Tales to memorize multiplication, Video Text for Algebra, and Mathantics or other supplements on youtube.

For Devotionals, I use Come Follow Me.

For Reading, I have used the Barton Reading and Spelling program, but right now I'm experimenting with All About Reading and Logic of English.

For Writing, I use Handwriting Without Tears, IEW Fix It! Grammar, and IEW Student Intensive Writing.

For History, and Science, I use The Four Year Plan (which I LOVE.) This year we are using the "Family Jubilee" book which covers Biology, Modern World History, and New Testament.