Kelly Casanova Weaving Lessons

Homeschooling

The 6 P’s of homeschooling!

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1. Prayer
For me it is essential to start my day with prayer. I feel that things go much more smoothly if I give my first moments of the day to God. I realise not everyone is religious, so some form of meditation or reflection at the beginning of the day may help you to collect your thoughts for the day ahead.

2. Preparation and planning
Each night after the evening meal and subsequent clean up I sit down at the table and plan and prepare homeschooling work for the next day. You may be more organised and plan a week ahead. I find it better to do it the night before so it’s fresh in my mind, however some art, craft or science activities need more forward planning for extra materials etc.

3. Purpose
You don’t need a mission statement as such, but knowing what you want to achieve in your homeschooling is important. What style of learning do you want to take, maybe it’s a combination or a set style. What are you ultimate goals for your children? Think long term about this – you can always change your purpose but you need to have direction.

4. Play
For any age it is essential to incorporate fun into your homeschooling routine. This presents the teacher with many challenges in setting up activities and excursions, but don’t forget fun is in the attitude as much as the activity.

5. Persistance
The year following the birth of our fourth child has been more challenging than any other. Many times I’ve felt discouraged but determined not to give up. Homeschooling is a lifestyle commitment and your children need to feel that you are committed to them and their education. You will have bad days but hopefully they will be outweighed by the good!

6. ComPromise
OK – not a “P” word but still very important. Flexibility in a learning situation is a key to success. If you can see your child becoming very interested in something, don’t just cut off and leap into the next subject because it’s “time” to. Some of the best homeschooling days are when I “go with the flow” instead of with the timetable.
If things are feeling stale or just not working, forget the book work and do something else. Whatever it is, you child will still be learning.
Remember – you are the teacher and your own boss! Do what suits you and your family best and enjoy the the privilege of teaching these young minds!

Committing to creativity

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I’ve been increasingly frustrated by the lack of time I get to work on my own art and craft projects. Sometimes it seems every waking minute is spent caring for others and working at jobs that aren’t particularly thrilling or inspiring but nonetheless essential.
This has led me to ponder my role and responsibilities as primary educator of my children and the fact that I have many talents I can share with them and partly fulfill my need to create at the same time. So, as of this week I’ve made a commitment to be more creative with my children even though it means more mess and more planning. Because it also means more fun for us all and education that is not monotonous.
Here are a few things we did this week. Colouring in pictures together.
Making a terrific mess with shaving cream and paint.

Constructing and painting insect models that also became pretend lollipops. Check out the fierce         concentration!

We’ve also done wool threading, picture painting, baking and playdough. Now I need to start planning for next week, I think we’ll need to go scouting for some new materials!

Homeschooling makes Mum smarter too!

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I’m very often asked whether, as a homeschooling Mum, I am a qualified teacher. My reply is usually along the unpopular lines of “I believe every parent is qualified to teach his/her child”. Which is usually met with a blank stare, followed by a polite if not bewildered “oh“.

The truth of the matter is that I am a university dropout who wasn’t particularly academic at school. I put in the effort, but didn’t get the grades.

Since I started homeschooling I’ve realised how much I don’t know and how much of the drivel I was taught at school was incorrect, hypothetical and (in my opinion) stupid! Homeschooling is like being given a second chance at learning. Even though you are the teacher you are learning and revising at the same time and it’s a wonderful thing. It makes me a more effective teacher because I am a genuinely interested student.

If you have considered homeschooling but don’t think you have the smarts I recommend to give yourself a chance, and with the right resources and attitude, you can do it!

Homeschool resources

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I have a few Lamb’s Book of Art workbooks, I think they are fantastic. They’re available in all different levels from preschool up and are biblically based, so you will find scripture quotes on each page and most of the activities are based on morals etc. I bought this one last year for my 9 year old son who had no confidence drawing, colouring or painting. This book has really changed his outlook on art, I highly recommend it.
I also have a couple of the preschool books for my 4 year old and she loves them. For the young children I photocopy the pages so we can go over them again and I can use them with the next children at the right age.
Another excellent resource is Seton Homeschooling. Although I don’t use any Seton curriculum I am signed up for the monthly newsletter which is very helpful and informative. It reminds me of important religious days and ways to celebrate and it’s ever so encouraging. One of the things I feel a lack of as a homeschooling Mum is encouragement, and I’ve found you go looking for it wherever you can!

A successful barter and a whinge!

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Remember my post about bartering? Here is what I received in the mail today, thank you Gilly, what a welcome parcel! I don’t own many crafting books, so you’ve just doubled my collection. I just love surprises!

Now for the whinge. I picked up my sewing machine yesterday after it jammed and had to wait a week whilst it was (apparently) repaired. Naturally, I was very eager to use it yesterday, but what with h.schooling starting back today I had a lot to organise. Anyway…… I managed to steal a few moments earlier to work on a skirt, and, lo and behold – it’s still jammed!!
This is the point where I had to stem my natural inclination to run to the phone to ask the repairer if there had been a misunderstanding, as in – I give you $80, you give me fixed machine. Yes I appreciate your dusting my machine, after all it was a bit dusty, but I actually wanted to use it not just look at it. Ok, Ok, now I’m getting snitchy, but surely not without justification?!

On a lighter note, our first day back at h.school after the hols’ went brilliantly despite a toddler with a tummy upset and it has generally been a very good day.

Off to the sewing centre I go…………

Playdough and going with the flow….

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I woke early this morning and decided to make some playdough. My 4 year old has been “somewhat challenging” of late and I wanted to get her busy straight after breakfast. Sometimes, as a homeschooler, I forget to stop and smell the roses. I forget that I’m in charge and that learning occurs in all different ways.

Normally I expect the boy to start his bookwork by 9am for time efficiency. This morning he took an interest in the playdough, and although my brain nagged at me – “it’s past 9am!!” I left him to it.


This led to a few learning discussions. He made a model of a heart, which provided an opportunity for revision of the heart’s functions. They made me countless “cupcakes” and “pancakes” and other delights.
They had to share in order to get along, this needs much reinforcement!
They learn to use kitchen tools which improves dexterity.
They learn to clean up after themselves when they’re finished.
If you’re a fellow homeschooler, or even if you’re not, I hope you can find time to “go with the flow” today and remember that learning does not have to come from a book.

Ways to cut homeschooling costs.

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Homeschooling can cost much less than regular state school fees or more than private school fees – its really up to you how much you spend. We, as a family, have a frugal approach to every financial aspect of our lives and this certainly extends to homeschooling.

I have been using a very cheap curriculum for the past 4 years, however, the holes are starting to show and I’m not happy with the quality of materials. I will be spending a little more, which is OK considering it has been so affordable so far.

Whatever curriculum you choose (or write yourself if you’re that talented!) there are many cheap and free ways to supplement your lessons. Here are a few ideas:

-Your bookshelf can be an excellent resource. I constantly use our small encyclopedia set to write lessons for my son. Simply pick a topic eg. a country, get your child to read the available information and fill in a sheet of questions you have written out prior. Voila! Free lesson.

-Read a book or novel with the child and get them to write a book report. This can be a simple or complex assignment, it depends on the age and ability of the child.

– Go on an excursion. Find all the free resources in your area to visit. Go to the playground or park. Go to the library. Go for a picnic or nature walk. Some may not consider these activities as “schoolwork” but the children will learn and even better they will enjoy it!

– Take the morning off bookwork and instead play educational games with the children, do experiments, have a fun art and craft lesson or cook something together.

-There are many free online homeschooling resources. Take the time to look around and do some googling. For young children you will find a plethora of colouring in and activity sheets. For older children you will find some sample lessons or free lessons. I use Calvary Chapel Children’s Ministry for bible lessons, it has been invaluable and costs nothing! There are many other sites offering teacher resources, have a look.

– Remember, you are the teacher, you have the freedom to decide how your child/ren will learn best. Don’t worry about others who may try to influence your schedule, do what works for you and your kids!

And most importantly, keep up the good work!

Homeschooling tips

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Here are some things that have helped me over the past few years…

1. Don’t set too much work (particularly for young children). Incorporate regular breaks into your study time.
2. Be organised! Complete your lesson plan each night for the next day.
3. Follow each child’s interests and tailor their work around what they like to do.
4. Utilise your local library. You will save so much money and its a great outing.
5. Don’t buy unnecessary things. Start with basics and figure out over time what you need. eg. dictionary, world map, pencils, art materials etc.
6. Meet up or liase with other homeschoolers. They are a wealth of information.
7. Chores and life skills are an integral part of daily life, the sooner children learn this the more your family can work as a team.
8. Include younger children by organising “school” activities appropriate to their age.
9. Give rewards for good work and the occasional “surprise day off”.
10. If its not working take a step back and analyse. Remember, you determine holiday and break times so if you’re extra tired or bogged down take time off!

Homeschooling thoughts

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I don’t usually volunteer to strangers the fact that we are a homeschooling family, however, naturally when you take a school aged child out on a school day many people want to know why. The responses I get vary between extremely positive to extremely shocked to extremely bewildered. But everyone asks the same things “Why do you do that?”. I often say “because it works really well for our family” and don’t really go into much detail as some people are sensitive and actually find it offensive that you don’t do what they do. Yes, it does work well for us, but there is so much more to it than that. One of the main reasons is we want our children to grow and learn in our faith. Another reason is my husband and I had negative school experiences. Another reason is I think our home environment has a lot to offer our children. But there is one thing that sticks in my mind – the day my first child was born. If someone had sauntered into the operating theatre when I was gazing lovingly upon this new indivdual my husband and I had been blessed with and said “I’m sorry, but I need to take this child away from you for at least 6 hours a day as I don’t think you’re capable of caring for him and teaching him. You can have him back in the evenings though!” do you think that would be acceptable?
What do you think?