A few weeks ago our printer went kaput. 

At first I thought I could live without it, but it didn't take me long to figure out just how much I really did rely on my printer, especially the copier mode.  Apparently I love making copies! 

After holding off for a while and shopping around, I finally decided to make a dent in my Amazon balance that I've been saving through Swagbucks.  My plan had been to save up for Christmas, which I've been doing faithfully all year.  And since we've made a tradition of giving homemade photo calendars of the kids for all the grandparents, a new printer would be a necessary thing for our Christmas plans.   

I finally decided on this beauty: 

It is such a wonderful thing to be able to replace an important item in your home for absolutely nothing!  From the Amazon gift cards that I've earned and saved through Swagbucks, this printer did not cost me one single penny.  And we still have a bit left over to splurge on Christmas gifts.

  I don't post about Swagbucks lightly.  It really is a website I believe in and use regularly.  If you are not familiar with Swagbucks, it is primarily a search engine that randomly awards "Swagbucks" which can be redeemed for prizes, one of the best deals being a $5 Amazon gift card for 450 Swagbucks.  These cards can be saved in your Amazon account and used whenever you want to spend them.  There are other ways to earn Swagbucks:  completing special offers, watching videos, finding Swagcodes, and getting referrals.  I have found that just using Swagbucks as a search engine will result in about 2 $5 Amazon cards a month.  So by next Christmas you could have an extra $120 toward your Christmas shopping!

Any other Swagbucks fans out there?

Disclaimer:  the above post does contain affiliate links.

Pizza for Homeschoolers

It's time to enroll in Pizza Hut's Book It Program for the 2010-2011 school year.  This is a great reading incentive program where homeschoolers are welcome to participate.  You set your own individual reading goals for each child, and they are rewarded with their own pizza when they meet that goal.  This is our second year in the program and we love it!  Enrollment is first come, first served and runs through June, so don't wait too long!  I have never received junk emails from Pizza Hut as a result of signing, which I appreciate. 

FYI:  I have no affiliation with Pizza Hut.  I just think this is a great program for kids and homeschoolers! 

New Free Resource

Are you familiar with Lesson Pathways?  They are a formerly subscription-based educational resource that is now completely free!  You can use Lesson Pathways as a complete curriculum or pick and choose the links available by grade or subject.  And now it's free!  I think I'll be turning to this site often to look for resources.

Homeschooling: The Charter School Option

I admit it.

I homeschool through a  public charter school. 

So according to the state of California, my daughter is a public school student.  Even though I am her only instructor and she spends all her days with me.

There is a lot of negativity in Christian circles toward charter schools.  I can talk about that another day.  Today I want to talk about some of the pros and cons of homeschooling through a charter school and how things have worked  for us during the last year and a half.

Pros:

Funds are available to buy curriculum, supplies and to pay for classes.
(To be honest, this is the biggest pro for us.)  We are allotted a significant amount of money each semester to request curriculum, supplies, and to pay for various classes.  This is not a blank check.  In fact I never actually see the money.  I submit my requests to our "teacher," and she will order the items requested.  The funds available have been enough to cover all our curriculum, dance classes, and lots of supplemental materials as well.  

Accountability
We meet with my daughter's "teacher" once a month for about an hour to review progress.  These meetings are a really good way to take an objective look at what we've done the previous month.  My daughter gets to talk about what she's accomplished and learned.  Knowing we have a scheduled meeting is a good kick in the pants for me on those days when school gets lost in the shuffle of life.  Since I get along great with my daughter's teacher it's like having a friendly coffee date with a friend!

Freedom to choose different methods, curriculum, or scope and sequence.
I am not required to use a California-adopted curriculum.  I have been following the classical scope and sequence, which means we are currently studying life science and ancient history.  This is fairly different than what is being taught in California public schools in first grade.  The job of our "teacher" is to take what we've learned, and see where it fits the state standards.  In the long run, I believe we will have covered all the same state standards (and then some), but in a different sequence.  I have the freedom to teach what I want when I want and the charter school allows me to do that.

Field trips (though limited socialization)
The charter school offers several field trip opportunities throughout the year.  Since there are so many students from all over southern California, we've found that it's not the best way to meet new friends.  It is, however, a great way to see friends we already know and spend the day with them while learning some things at the same time.

No daily requirement of instructional hours:
We are required to do school each day, but when we're done, we're done.  We typically spend 2-3 hours doing direct "schooling" during which we cover Bible, reading, phonics or grammar, math, science or history, and either art, music, Shakespeare, or hymn study.  The charter school recognizes the efficiency of homeschooling and thankfully does not mandate set hours.

Cons:

Mandatory state testing (although no mandatory test prep)
This one is painful.  Next year my daughter will be old enough for state testing.  I do not believe high-stakes assessment are a good indicator of student progress, especially at such a young age.  The positive side of it is that I am not required to do test prep.  As my daughter's teacher, I will not "teach to the test" nor do any significant test prep with her.   In public schools much time is spent doing mandatory test prep rather than real instruction, which I think is a greater detriment than the test itself.

Four other tests throughout the year.
There are several other tests my daughter must take throughout the year.  Fortunately most of these are given during our monthly "teacher" meetings.  There is also a writing test administered at home, which I am not excited about at such a young age.  I view these as $400 tests that "earn" us our funding.  Am I selling out?  Maybe.

Limitations on what funds can be used for
There are definitely restrictions on what can be purchased.  Things can only be purchased through approved vendors and that are grade-level appropriate.  They must also be non-sectarian (not Christian).  I purchase or find my own materials for our Bible lessons and hymn study.

Follow the set school calendar
The charter school has as set calendar that follows closely to a traditional school calendar, starting in late August and ending at the end of May.  It's not really a negative for us, but it could be for some families.  We can and have taken vacations during school days and called them field trips and brought our school work with us. 

Limited socialization
Other than the field trips, being a part of a public charter has not directly provided us with social opportunities.  (Some public charter schools offer drop-off classes.  Ours does not.)  Fortunately, we have plenty of other activities to meet this need such as co-op, church activities, library storytime, and park days.

***************************************

With all that said, the public charter school option has been the best choice for us.  I have spent much time and thought weighing all of our options for education, and this option is the the best one for us at this point in time.  It is not perfect.  It is not the best choice for everyone.  I do, however, feel that it it is an option that deserves consideration. 

I know this can be a touchy subject, but I'd love to hear your thoughts.  Comments, questions, and discussions are always welcome!

Seminar highlights

I went to great seminar a while ago presented by Carole Joy Seid.  I was encouraged by the wonderful ideas presented.  I wish I had time to go into more depth, but a list of bullet points will have to suffice to keep them in my memory.

• Think about what is the best thing for your child, not your ego.  (More on that here.)
• It is vital to have books (and I would add educational resources) available to your children.  "Provide them with a banquet of book."  I love that!
• Teach them to love books before teaching them how to read.
• Keep reading as a treat, not a chore.
• Christian biographies are are a great and underused resource.
• Media is a powerful thing that we should get rid of!
• Spend some time at the end of the day getting the "castle ready for the king."
• Teach children to have a strong work ethic.
• Go outside with your childen.
• Relax!  There's plenty of time to teach them Latin and poetry and grammar and geometry and all the other things you want them to know.

Carole is great speaker and encourager.  If you have an opportunity to hear her speak, don't miss it!

Educating Myself

Between my birthday and Christmas I've been blessed to add the "Homeschool Trifecta" to my personal library.  These are the books that any Charlotte Mason or Classical homeschooler either has read, owns, or wants to read or own.  I am now happily in the owner category!

Last year I borrowed A Charlotte Mason Companion: Personal Reflections on the Gentle Art of Learningfrom a friend and really gained an understanding for what the Charlotte Mason was all about.  I restrained myself from underlining meaningful passages and reluctantly (after several months) returned it.  Reading it as well as some other online research was enough to make me officially switch from unit studies to CM.  (I still love unit studies for kindergarten, though!)

The Original Home Schooling Series is not an easy read, and I've been slowly working my way through it.  Thank goodness for ballet classes during which I can sit and read uninterupted!  I'm still on the first volume, and am loving reading about Mason's thoughts on "Out-of-Door Life for the Children."  Such good stuff.  Sometimes a little off scientifically, but pretty much always hits the nail on the head in a practical sense

I still have a lot to learn about the classical method, but I know I like its scope and sequence.  I first read The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home (Third Editition) when I checked it out from the library.  Three weeks was enough to know that it was a book I wanted to own so I could refer to it for it's resources and read it more deeply and slowly. 

At the rate I'm going it may well be a year before I get through all of these, but I'm loving soaking them in at a leisurely pace without worrying about due dates! 

What books are in your homeschooling trifecta?

Southern California Seminar for Homeschooling Parents

This Saturday I'm excited to be attending a seminar entitled "A Literature Based Approach to Education" presented by Carole Joy Seid.  This will be my first opportunity to hear her speak, but she comes highly recommended by several friends of mine, who try to attend her seminars every time she's nearby! 

If you're in the Southern California area, this should be a very uplifting day!  I know at this time of  the year it can be very helpful to get a little motivational boost.  I think this seminar should do the trick!

Any one else planning on attending?

Get more information here (click on the Chino seminar on 1.09.2010).

Teacher Prep

I just picked up The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home at the library this morning and am amazed at the wealth of resources it contains. The version I checked out is from 1999, so it's a bit dated, but there is an updated version printed earlier this year. This might be one to add permanently to my bookshelf!

I started reading during nap time and found some inspiring little gems:

On teaching K-4 children:

Fill their minds and imagination with images and concepts, pictures and
stories. Spread knowledge out in front of them, and let them feast.

On first grade life science (but could easily be substituted with any subject):

The purpose of the first-grade notebook is not to "complete" the study of
life on earth somehow. It's to develop the child's curiosity,
research skills, reading and writing skills, and concentration span. Your
goal is simple: when biology comes around again in fifth grade, you want to
hear your child say, "Oh, good. I love biology!"

On socialization:

Positive socialization is all about living in your world responsibly, fulfilling
your potential, taking advantage of opportunity, making the lives of others
around you better. You don't need the institutional school to teach these values
to your child.

Old-Fashioned Education

Old Fashioned Education is a homeschooling resource I ran across recently that seems like it would be a great option for those homeschooling on a seriously tight budget. It uses free online resources and library books. Many of the books used are even available to read online for free. There is a curriculum for kindergarten through 12th grade, including a detailed 40 week schedule for each grade. All the planning is done for you!

I really appreciate their philosophy on buying and selling resources. It is based on Matthew 10:8, "Freely ye have received, freely give." Here's what they say in their Official Position on Buying and Selling Curriculum Resources:

"We give to others out of the abundance that God gives to us. We give
without expecting anything in return. We give because it's the right thing to
do and we want to teach our children that giving to others is something to be
encouraged."

Sounds like a great organization to support. Hope this is helpful!

Wish me luck!

Do you know Homeschool Share? I discovered it this year and love it! This is a great site that has great material for theme units and book studies that has been put together by other homeschool parents. With free resources this good, why would you pay money for them? I believe in it so much that I'm going to put my time (no money, sorry) where my mouth is and enter this contest. I've already been approved to do a unit on one of my favorite children's books ever. Any guesses? I guess I'd better get to work!

L.A. Fair

Last year we took our first ever "official" school field trip to the Los Angeles County Fair. It's free for all school groups including homeschoolers. It's a fun trip and a lot more than just seing cows and quilts. Although there's that, too. They open the gates at 9am, three hours before the public can enter and they give you a free parking pass. You can sign up now, but I didn't sign up until August last year and received my packet of info and passes without a problem. If you're in the Southern California area, you might want to check it out.

Lots of Links

During the last week I've put together some link lists over in the sidebar. You might want to take a look if haven't noticed them yet. I will continue to add to them as I come across more helpful sites. Am I missing any? What are your favorite homeschool or educational online resources?

The Creation of a Theme Unit

For the next two weeks, we'll be doing a unit on birds and I thought I would document the process of what I do to put together a unit study.

1. Choose a topic

I chose all my topics at the beginning of the year which allows me plenty of time to collect ideas. I wrote more about choosing a topic here.

2. Make a concept map

I have a spiral notebook that I use to keep track of ideas for theme units. At the beginning of the year I gave each topic a page and as I think of things or come across ideas, I write it down. I do take some time at the beginning of the year and go through all the topics I plan to cover and just write down as many things as I can come up with. They may or may not be relevant, but I'd rather write it down and not use the idea than wonder, "What was that great idea I had last night?" (which happens quite a bit, too!)

The concept map is not complete ideas, but really just a page of word associations with that topic. Although if I do have a specific idea, I'll jot it down as well, so I won't forget. Here's on that I made for this unit:

3. Find good literature

I start with any relevant titles that I can think of, especially from our own book collection. I plan on using these books from our collection:

• Make Way for Ducklings (McCloskey)


• The Ugly Duckling (Andersen)


• Stellaluna (Cannen) (Mostly about bats, but also about birds)

The California Department of Education (CDE) website has a helpful list of recommended literature. This list is obviously not comprehensive, but it is a good starting point. The list does have a search category, but I prefer to go through the entire list for the appropriate grade level and look for books for all my themes all at once. I will keep my list of themes next to me (because I will forget some!) and refer to it as I look at the literature list. Additional information, including a summary of the book, is available by clicking on the title if I am not sure of its subject.

Here's what I wrote down from the CDE list (grades K-2):

• The Ugly Duckling(Anderson)


• Baby Bird's First Nest(Asch)


• Beautiful Blackbird(Ashley)


• Urban Roosts(Bash)


• Chick and Duckling(Gingsburg)


• Ducks Don't Get Wet(Goldin)


• Bluebird Summer(Hopkinson)


• Song of the Swallows(Politi)


• Dancers in the Garden(Ryder)


• Birdsong(Wood)

My final stop is a search of our local library's online catalog. I'll start by searching for the books I found on CDE's website. Then I'll do a general search for my topic. When I find a book I want, or even think I want, I'll put a hold on the book. this is the key for me. By putting a hold on the book, the library will find it, even it's at another branch, bring it to my library, and put it on a shelf for me with my name on it. This way, I can walk in, pick up my personalized pile of books (and sometimes movies), check them out, and be done in 5 minutes in the most calm and peaceful manner, no matter what kind of mood my kids are in.

When I look at the library website I can see from reviews and summaries that some books are more fitting than others, and some books are just not available. Here are the books I ended up taking home with me:

• Urban Roosts(Bash)


• Birdsong(Wood)


• Ducks Don't Get Wet(Goldin)
  
• Song of the Swallows(Politi)
  
• Dancers in the Garden(Ryder)


• A Poet's Bird Garden(Montenegro)


• Bird, Bird, Bird! (A Chirping Chant) (Sayre)


• Feathers for Lunch (Ehlert)


• Bird (Eyewitness Book)


• Bird(Eyewitness DVD)

4. Find other resources

As I go about the Internet I often run across a good idea or activity on a topic I'll be covering, so I'll save it to my Favorites file. I organize my Favorites by theme , so when it comes time for that unit, I can go to my favorites list and have several ideas ready and waiting for me.

• Beak adaptation lesson


• Another bird beak adaptation lesson


• One more beak adaptation lesson!


• The Egg Book comparing egg sizes in a printable book


• Make a nest craft
  
• Be part of an official bird count. We got our free kit here.

I also use Netflix for appropriate movies. Instead of searching my theme topic (i.e. birds) I seem to find more relevant movies by going through the entire educational section. I use a method similar to how I use the CDE's list of recommended literature. This does take time, but I only do it once or twice a year. At the beginning of the year or semester I go through the list of educational movies and add the ones I want for all my themes to my queue. When the appropriate theme comes up, I'll bump it to the top of my list. All that to say, I didn't really find any relevant movies on birds through Netflix.

Lastly, don't forget to check for resources you may have at home. We have binoculars, an owl pellet dissection kit and the book Birds, Nests, and Eggs from our charter school curriculum. We may or may not be able to check out a box of bird resources from the local library, so I have not included any of those resources in my plans.

5. Choose activities, lessons, field trips, learning opportunities

On of the reasons I chose this theme was our amazing local resources. The San Bernardino County Museum has on of the largest collection of bird eggs in the world, as well an extensive collections of birds. We also have a local bird farm which we'll be visiting for the first time.

I also wanted to get out do some real birdwatching in our National Forest, so I saved this for the spring, when the weather would be a little more cooperative for us.

6. Create main learning topics

I do this last because I want to prevent being disappointed if a certain book or resource is unavailable. I don't want to plan two days dissecting owl pellets if the owl pellets haven't arrived yet!

First I wrote out a rough schedule with the main topic or activity to be covered each day of our two week unit:

1 day eggs
1 day field trip to museum
1 day field trip to Bracken bird farm
1 day habitats
1 day bird beak adaptations
1 day predator/prey & owl pellets
1 day nests
1 day migration
1 day field trip to birdwatching
1 day Bible story

7. Create a schedule

Next I'll put days in order, putting things in logical order and working around set field trip days.

Monday: habitats
Tuesday: eggs
Wednesday: field trip to the museum
Thursday: nests
Friday: Bible story
Monday: field trip to Bracken bird farm
Tuesday: migration
Wednesday: bird beak adaptations
Thursday: predator/prey and owl pellets
Friday: bird watching

Finally I'll list the books and activities that go along with the topic of each day.

Monday: habitats

• Read Birdsong and begin Urban Roosts.
• Make categories of different bird habitats and list a few that belong in each category. For example flamingos and pelicans are water birds, penguins are arctic birds, and macaws and parrots are tropical birds.

Tuesday: eggs

• Finish Urban Roosts and refer to Birds Nests, Eggs.
• Make the egg book and talk about differences in eggs from various birds.
• Break open and egg and discuss the parts of the egg. Draw a picture and label the parts in science journal.

Wednesday: field trip to the museum

• scavenger hunt for certain birds, eggs, and nests at the museum.
• Draw picture of student's favorite nest in science journal.

Thursday: nests

• Read more Birds, Nests, and Eggs.
• Discuss bird nests seen at the museum and nest drawing in science journal.
• Make a nest.

Friday: Bible story

• Read I Kings 17:1-6.
• Discuss how God always provides for us even when there seems to be no way.
• Memory Verse Matthew 6:26

Monday: field trip to Bracken bird farm and feathers (I added feathers as an afterthought on this day because I didn't have a better place for it.)

• Collect feathers on the ground at the Bird Farm.
• Read Ducks Don't Get Wet.
• Feather & oil experiment
• Feather painting. Use a feather as a paint brush for interesting patterns.

Tuesday: migration

• Read Song of the Swallows or Make Way for Ducklings.
• Look at the migration route of different birds on a map. Find routes here.
• Have student write or dictate a simple story about a migrating bird and what he saw. You can follow this pattern or create your own.

A swallow was flying to his summer home. First, he
saw__________. Then, he saw _________. Next, he saw
___________. Then he was home.

Wednesday: bird beak adaptations

• Birds (Eyewitness).
• Do one of the bird beak activities listed above.

Thursday: predator/prey and owl pellets

• Read Feathers for Lunch.
• Define predator and prey and examples of bird predators (owls, hawks, eagles) and their prey (mice, small birds, snakes).
• Dissect owl pellets and glue recreated skeleton with the bones onto construction paper.

Friday: bird watching

• Read Dancers in the Garden.
• Birdwatch and complete urban birds survey.

Finally I'll check to see if anything is lacking. Are we doing something from each subject (reading, writing, math, social studies, science, PE?) I don't always have lessons for each subject, but I try to be fairly balanced. In this case I added the story frame to migration day. We really don't have PE, but we'll be doing some walking when we go birdwatching. This theme is obviously very heavy on science, which is just fine.

There's a few books that I didn't find a specific place for during our lessons, but I'll leave them out, and they'll probably get read. If not, that's okay, too. I like to over plan and have an abundance of books on a subject so that my kids are immersed in a topic. I don't want them to close the books when we're done with school and forget about until the next day.

This plan is NOT set in stone. I definitely like to capitalize upon teachable moments, but having a plan is a good way to keep me on track. It does take some work to make your own theme unit, but it's also a lot of fun and a great way to personalize your child's education!

Printables resources

This week's Heart of The Matter Meme is: Sharing the Resources: What are your favorite printables and why? Here's some of my favorites:

homeschoolshare.org

There are tons of lapbook printables along with specific directions how to use them. Since my daughter realized how much she enjoys making lapbooks, this has been my only source for materials.

learningpage.com

You have to register, which in general I REALLY don't like doing, but it is free, and this site has been worth it. The only emails I get from them are monthly updates with new printables. They have some great theme unit pages including space and insects, and lots of printing sheets which basically served as my printing curriculum this year.

enchantedlearning.com

Who doesn't love this site?! So much information! You do have to pay $20 a year to be a member and access all the pages, but I was able to have the membership purchased for me by my charter school. I believe you can access some pages for free.

Jump over to Heart of the Matter and see what resources others are using.

Pizza for reading

Pizza Hut has a great program for kids in grades K through 6th called Book It! where kids are rewarded with an individual pizza for meeting their reading goal each month. I participated as a teacher and again this year as a homeschooler. It's a completely free program and a great incentive to get reluctant readers to meet a goal. (You set the goal for your own child.) They are taking sign-ups NOW for next school year, so go HERE to get enrolled now.

Dr. Seuss: Resources

A ton of Dr. Seuss based activity ideas, crafts, and lessons can be found at Hubbard's Cupboard.

Homegrown Hearts has great learning activities based on Horton Hears a Who.

Seussville.com has fun games to go along with Dr. Seuss stories. The storymaker is my favorite!

What's your favorite Dr. Seuss book? Kids can take their own survey and record their findings here.

Don't let the lack of images fool you. There's a lot of great lessons on this site that is conveniently organized by book.

Make goo and oobleck with scrumdilly-do. And part one has some great teaching ideas to use with Fox in Socks.

FiveJs had put together a great resource of teaching topics that work well with various Dr. Seuss books. It's organized by both topic and further down, by book title.

We have been having a great time with the Green Eggs and Ham Cookbook. We've made Goose Juice and Biggel balls so far, but there's so many more recipes we want to make!

Abraham Lincoln: Resources

This virtual museum includes literature resources, a very simple biography, and activity ideas and links.

A great lapbook to make (along with so many others) can be found here.

Mrs. Payton and her students share what they've learned about Lincoln here. The treasure hunt and quiz are worth checking out.

Homeschool Freebie of the Day is offering a radio drama and a reenactment of a speech originally given by Lincoln. Today only!!

Chinese New Year: Resources

Montessori Teacher Training has great ways to celebrate Chinese New from learning to use chopsticks as fine-motor practice to games to a recipe for fortune cookies. Yum!

Speaking of fortune cookies…try this fun crafty version. I used chenille stems instead of floral wire and a hot glue gun.

I love Kids Craft Weekly! Here's her take on Chinese New Year crafts.

Wikipedia is a fantastic source to everything you ever wanted to know about Chinese New Year. Really, everything! The mythology section explains the supposed origin of this holiday, which was completely new to me, and very insightful.

Martin Luther King, Jr.: Resources

We love making mini-books! Here is a cute “teeny tiny book” about MLK.

Lots of good ideas for kindergarten lessons including books to read can be found here.

Celebrating the election of our first African-American president is an appropriate way to honor the work of MLK. The Crafty Crow has some great ideas for an Obama inaugural party.

Another mini-book. This one is about famous African-Americans and their achievements. We used this one for our paper quilt.

Ruby Bridges is a great movie that builds some background knowledge of the civil rights movement. This movie is not rated, but I found it to be appropriate for my kindergartener. There were definitely some hateful words and racial slurs in the movie, but I think it is important to the message of the movie. Be sure to watch this one with your kids and pause at crucial moments to discuss things with them.

Transportation: Resources

The Smithsonian National Museum of American History has an on-line exhibit called America on the Move. Most of the activities are not geared toward kindergarten students, but there are some cool images, games and lesson plans that could serve as jumping off points for more ideas.

An easy-to-read printable book called "Go Car Go!" is available from DLTK.

Mrs. Nelson has a lot of great ideas for her transportation unit.

Ecole Whitehorse Elementary has more links than you can shake your tailpipe at including a nice list of learning objectives.

More good stuff on lessonplanspage.com.