parenting peacefully since 2006

Posts Tagged ‘homeschooling’

Older Entries

10 Aug, 2010

science with Baba: relative and absolute time

Posted by: blissfule In: Perth

 
Ben took the kids through the first few pages of Physical Geology, his first geology textbook from university days, this past weekend.
 
In this video, Ben explains the scientific principles of "relative time" and "absolute time" to a three-year-old, a two-year-old, a not-quite-one-year-old, and a cat:
 
 
3 Comments
Tags: , , , , ,

09 Aug, 2010

Nikki is reading

Posted by: blissfule In: Perth

 
I brought home this library book about Animal Food, and Nikki just sat down and started reading it. She didn't try all the animal names, but "kangaroo," "wombat," and "pink cockatoo" are some of her first multisyllabic words.
 
4 Comments
Tags: ,

05 Aug, 2010

lunchtime learning with sandwiches

Posted by: blissfule In: Perth

As a beginning rhythm exercise in music class, the teacher put stuffed bears on a line and we clapped and said "bear" when she pointed to each bear. Students got to remove one bear at a time, and when the teacher pointed to that space, we held our palms up and whispered, "rest." So a typical rhythm would sound like this: "bear [clap], bear [clap], rest, bear [clap]."
 
 
When we got home and started eating sandwiches, Nikki ate one quarter of her sandwich, then excitedly told me that she had made a "rest." So we pointed and clapped for the four sections of her sandwich, "bear [clap], rest, bear [clap], bear [clap]." She has continued to do this for nearly every sandwich she's eaten at home since. Michael has gotten in on the action, and even Vi puts up her hands and says "yea!" when we all cheer a correct rhythm.
 
I have found it helps my children start the rhythm at the top left of the sandwich if I have them point to the sandwich pieces (or places where the sandwich pieces used to be) and count "1 - 2 - 3 - 4" going right to left, and top to bottom before we begin. It also sets the tempo for our simultaneous bears and rests.
 
This is one instance where playing with our food is a good thing.
3 Comments
Tags: , , , ,

03 Aug, 2010

catechism review

Posted by: blissfule In: Perth

 
Catechism questions are how we begin the day. Vi settles on the sofa with Mama for some numnums while the kiddos curl up in a blanket and answer questions from the Shorter Catechism and Young Children's Catechism. We eat breakfast after catechism.
 
For a while I started out with Question 1 in both catechisms every day. But it was taking a long time and as the review lengthened to 20 or so questions in the Shorter Catechism and 60 or so questions in the Young Children's Catechism, Nikki sat quietly during the first questions, refusing to answer ones she had memorized already, and chiming in only when we got to 5 or so questions before the one she hadn't yet memorized.
 
I took a cue from Nikki's silence (and my own growling stomach) and cut down the number of questions we reviewed each morning to 5 or so before the latest ones we're memorizing. In the Young Children's catechism, for example, I just start with Question 72, "How many commandments did God give on Mount Sinai?" and continue through Question 104, "Of what use are the ten commandments to us?" The kids have memorized up through Question 79, and it's a nice grouping of questions, all to do with the Ten Commandments.
 
This morning, however, Nikki asked if we could start at the beginning of the Shorter Catechism in order to review. She correctly answered all the questions up to this week's, Question 26, "How is Christ a king?", needing prompts only twice, both with more recently memorized questions.
 
Looks like I can continue to follow her lead and trust her to signal both when she wants more review and when less will do.
4 Comments
Tags: , ,

27 Jul, 2010

the pen-scoop method

Posted by: blissfule In: Perth

As a left-handed mum of at least one right-handed child, my gravest concern about my ability to homeschool little ones centered around teaching them to write.
 
With a sudden flash of inspiration during one of her reading lessons, I devised a way to enable Nikki to pick up and grip her pen correctly. Maybe this tip will help someone else as well.
 
          
 
First she lays the pen down, and then she scoops it up in her right hand. Next she flips the writing end of the pen down toward the paper as she curves her fingers around it. Finally, she slides her hand closer to the writing end as necessary. I'm not sure how I thought of this, but the pen-scoop method has made it so Nikki picks up her pen correctly every time.
 
My initial approach was to hold a pen in my right hand while positioning the fingers of her right hand on her pen to match. Hardly ideal since I don't normally hold a pen in my right hand, and it was trial and error for me to fine-tune her grip each time.
 
Now that we have pen-grip sorted, the rest of homeschooling should be a breeze. Right?
5 Comments
Tags: ,

26 Jul, 2010

begin again

Posted by: blissfule In: Perth

 
Nikki's insight into her own needs is both astonishing and essential in our homeschooling journey. She deeply desires to learn all she can, but at the same time she knows her limits.
 
Nikki had successfully completed Lesson 16 in her 100 Easy Lessons book. But the later lessons were a stretch and she began to try to guess what each word was before sounding it out, which wasn't working very well.
 
So she asked if we could start at Lesson 1 again. We have, and we're up to Lesson 15 for the second time. She's more confident and excited about the lessons, and she has cleared up an initial confusion between the sounds a and ē.
 
Shamelessly starting over whenever we want is a wonderful benefit of homeschooling!
4 Comments
Tags: ,

23 Jun, 2010

homeschooling close-in-age siblings

Posted by: blissfule In: Perth

 
Nikki is our primary homeschooler at the moment, with most activities geared toward her and slightly adapted where possible to include her younger brother.
 
          
 
With that in mind, I took a video this morning of Nikki answering the first 56 questions in the Catechism for Young Children. The video below is sped up to 10x speed to highlight Michael's dynamic role in our homeschool. He listens, chimes in with some of the answers, and wiggles around, all while exercising admirable control and remaining in his seat.
 

this is a silent video since it's at 10x speed
 
Nikki is an eager scholar, and I am glad to be able to teach her more things now that Michael happily cooperates during our brief but focused study sessions.
6 Comments
Tags: , , ,

22 Jun, 2010

learning to read and write

Posted by: blissfule In: Perth

 
Maybe it's the cooler weather. Or the recent illness which forced a holiday. Whatever the reason, I am very excited about adding to our homeschooling schedule.
 
First, I moved catechism memorization to before-breakfast rather than before-lunch. Violin practice doesn't take long and happens sometime between breakfast and lunch. Learning-to-read is our newest activity, and that occurs in a fifteen-minute segment just before dinner.
 
I am using Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, which is going easily so far (Lesson 2!) since Nikki already knows her phonics sounds. The lessons end with writing practice, a very popular activity since Nikki has wanted to learn to write for over a year.
6 Comments
Tags: ,

24 May, 2010

quiet reading time

Posted by: blissfule In: Perth

Sometimes when we get home after a morning outing, the kids and I are very eager to eat lunch.
 
Which is just another way of saying that we're all slightly cranky.
 
I want to blitz through lunch prep. They want to ask a million questions and/or the same question a million times.
 
Just in case you ever encounter a similar scenario, I thought I would share a strategy that has worked both times I have tried it: I asked Nikki and Michael to go sit down and read quietly.
 
 
Instant silence. Except for the pitter patter of Michael feet, running back and forth to the bookshelf.
 
By the time I finished spreading nut butter on bread and stirring flaxseed into yogurt, Nikki had thoroughly examined my library book, and Michael had amassed quite a collection of board books.
 
And I had the quiet I needed to briefly recharge before calling the kids to the table for catechism study and lunch.
2 Comments
Tags: , ,

21 May, 2010

reading

Posted by: blissfule In: Perth


image source :: webshots
 
As I walked along in central Perth pushing our double pram with Vi on my back, Nikki suddenly called out from the back seat of the pram, "Post!"
 
"What?"
 
She indicated the post boxes across the street. "Post," she repeated, and then she sounded it out, "p-o-s-t."
 
We have read "Stop, s-t-o-p" many times together at stop signs. Same letters, different order, new word!
3 Comments
Tags: ,

Older Entries

Search


  • Aileen: Simply beautiful - I have never heard this song before but it is so touchingly beautiful, all the more so at the image of Ben with two of his children
  • Poppa & Grammie: Happy Father's Day to you, Ben. So grateful that you are following your heavenly Father's leading in love with your children!
  • Jen: Happy Father's Day, Ben! The video is great and you are amazing for multi-tasking so well!

about

Blissful E is about parenting peacefully, sustainably, joyfully, and with a view toward maximizing long-term benefits for the entire family.
 
I believe that the more wisely we invest in the early years of our children's lives, the greater the benefits for us and them as they grow.
 
Look around, share your thoughts, and grow with us!

explore the archives

Copyright © 2006 - 2010 Blissful E

Fervens Remix Theme is created by: Design Disease brought to you by Smashing Magazine. Remixed by Bouncing Red Ball.

Related Posts Widget for Blogs by LinkWithin