Tips Archives - Educating Laytons

10 Questions About Year Round Homeschooling

April 10, 2012 By Stef

I have mentioned before we homeschool year round, but I’m always surprised I get so many questions about it. Mostly folks think we’re chained to a desk and miss out on the beach. We don’t – we just go a different time of year!!

Here are the answers to the typical questions I get for year round homeschooling …

1. WHY?!
We tried the summer break and it lead to a lot (A LOT) of boredom, disobedience, tv time, and laziness. (it’s hot outside so there isn’t much to do inside without some “project” to work on).

2. Don’t the boys complain?
No. ”in the real world” my husband doesn’t have 3 months off and we want our boys to always know learning just doesn’t turn off at a certain time, day, or month of the year. Learning happens all the time at every age! The boys play with friends (who have off for summer) after lunch.

3. What about “vacation”?
Summers in FL are miserably hot & humid not to mention ridiculously crowded! November and February are much more enjoyable. Our “vacations” are sprinkled throughout the year when we join hubs on work trips (Deerfield Bch, Vero Bch, and Spring Island this year).

4. Are there any breaks in “assigned work”?
Yes. June the boy attends 2 camps – 1 week of VBS and 1 week of Art Camp. For December we usually spend the month celebrating Advent, and again in late February we take 2 more weeks off. We do not touch books but rather read and work on science experiments (I don’t consider these “school days”). I think we’re always working on science experiments.

5. When do you (mom) get a break?
I have attended weekend conferences away from town, Relevant ’10 & ’11 now called Allume Social, and speaking at The 2:1 Conference later this month. In town I try to plan one monthly “moms” dessert night, movie night, etc. with friends. It doesn’t always happen, so I use the time to run errands. I meet weekly with two other women (mentoring group) for two hours, as well as attend a Wednesday night hour long women’s bible study.

If I ever get bored stiff of what we’re doing we change it up quickly implementing a few ideas –> (How To Avoid Homeschool Burn Out). And with a frequently traveling spouse – I’m intentional to keep school fun and engaging!

6. How do you keep up with grades/year?
Today we have completed 180 days of school – my son is wrapping up 3rd grade math and has started 4th grade everything else. I submit an evaluation for “assigned work completed” at the end of the summer. We know his grade for church, camps, and soccer purposes – but otherwise we’re not concerned with it. We do “school” not “4th grade”.

7. When do you buy curriculum?
I’m always interested in curriculum. But I wait until we’re half way through something to decide if we’re going to use it the following year. I have a few points I take into consideration before purchasing curriculum (10 Questions to Ask About Curriculum), but I just get what we need when we need it. I attended the FPEA Homeschool Convention last year and purchased a few items there. I always keep my eyes out for sales and review opportunities – keeping a list of items I’m interested in looking into!

8. Do you celebrate the “end of a year”?
Absolutely! The end of a year might be April 10th or May 31st – it’s when the 180 days of assigned work has been mastered. We cook the boy a special dinner (pizza or tacos) and celebrate his accomplishment.
9. What about celebrating holidays?
We celebrate some holidays by learning about them! If my husband has off we try to make family time together – be that a regular Monday or Labor Day. Time with him comes first in our homeschool.

10. Does it feel like school never ends?
No. Actually – when we’re not homeschooling I feel like there is a problem. It’s a lifestyle now – it’s not just check off items on an agenda before lunch Monday-Friday. We had a friend over for dinner the other night and the boys watched Wild Kratts. They learned about some animal, so after the show I pulled out our World of Animals book and read more about that animal. The friend was amazed we had “those type of books” and it was just a regular night for my family.

Do you homeschool year round? What is a hesitation why you wouldn’t??

Filed Under: Tips Tagged With: top ten, year round homeschool

10 Questions to Ask About Curriculum

February 27, 2012 By Stef

Do you have Questions About Curriculum? We all should before we spend a lot of money on products we will never like.

Questions About Curriculum

1. is it worth the money? Our 1st year homeschooling I bought the most expensive reading program for my kindergarten son – who could not read. It was great for the following year but sat on our shelf collecting dust. I should have found a cheaper “intro to reading” program.

2. what have I heard about it? - start reading reviews of the curriculum you might be interested in (don’t just read the ones off company websites google the product and read what everyone has to say – find unbiased reviews). Right now I am seeing a ton of informative reviews on Geography Matters – because of these reviews I contacted the company and we’re going to use it next year. (a post about that decision coming Thursday)

3. what is the focus? are you teaching evolution or creation – it will make a difference in the products you buy much more than your science curriculum. If God is at the heart of your curriculum you will notice much more “character training” than simple black & white facts.

4. what am I paying for, really? some companies have real fancy books but the content falls flat. Am I paying for the glossy finish & name or quality content? What’s In The Bible is wonderfully full of quality content and the price is reasonable – it makes for a great supplement!

5. what does this look like long term? lapbooks are great but do you want to do them all year? manipulatives sound fun but you’ll be constantly picking them up in February when you hate school. Do you have the space for all those readers?

6. do I want to support this company? sadly, some companies are not easy to work with, have horrible return policies or are not interested in your feedback. Other companies like Apologia are wonderfully helpful, easy to contact, quick to answer questions and fun to work with.

7. does it benefit my child’s learning style? Bottom line – it does not matter what YOU like. If your child is not tactile manipulatives will not be “fun” – ever. My oldest son is not auditory and did not enjoy the Classical Conversation’s cds no matter how many times I played them. Yet his little brother loves singing the same songs! The best curriculum for your family is the one that teaches toward student’s learning style.

8. does it require a lot of planning? Different moms like different structure. I like flexibility. I have a great Homeschool Planner, but I still like when the curriculum guides me. Does the curriculum offer flexibility – 2 day schedule, 3 day schedule, or 4 day schedule – curriculum that offers different plans is more appealing like Mystery of History Volume I offered different variations.

9. can other kids use it? I have a big age gap so this isn’t my primary concern. Next year I am teaching 4th grade & preschool/kindergarten. Online products like unit studies I can purchase once and reprint twice. Amanda Bennett Download N Go unit studies were fantastic because I could print out an extra coloring page for little man to doodle along side our lessons.

10. does it have a good affiliate program? I’m a blogger so naturally I like the idea of using a product like All About Spelling. I can share what we’re doing on my blog and earn a little cash at the same time - it pays for the curriculum!

Do you have a list of Questions About Curriculum before you buy? It might help to weed out the confusion!

* this post contains affiliate links*

Filed Under: Tips Tagged With: top ten

10 Ways to avoid homeschool burn out

February 20, 2012 By Stef

Let’s all try to avoid homeschool burn out this year!

As homeschoolers we have this great kick off to our school year followed by a fun fall with lots of great new seasonal projects! Then we rush into a GREAT BIG build up to an exciting winter & Christmas season (parties, crafts, presents, trips, JESUS !!).

After the new year most of us take that winter break but a few of us homeschoolers do not … and slowly start to burn out by mid-February. By March we’re on a first-wave basis with the bus driver wondering when we’ll get those immunization forms filled out for next year public school.

ok, too dramatic? We all know and live this truth … homeschooling gets tough after winter.

Some homeschools celebrate the 100th day of school … this is great and fun, but I think there should be 2 “fresh” and “new” days to celebrate and get excited about – the 1st day of the school year and the day back from “winter break”. Making this 2nd part of the school year a kick off for fun things to come helps eliminate the monotony homeschool can bring.

My top 10 ways to avoid homeschool burn out

1. start something new (new curriculum, new subject, new elective, something you have never ever ever ever done at all up until this point). Consider this for next year when buying curriculum so you can set aside your I’m gonna kill myself if we don’t do something new workbook.
2. buy some new board games – we just picked up 4 new “educational” games and we’re putting up the books for a bit.
3. reverse your schedule – so many homeschoolers think math has to happen at 9am or 2-2 no longer = 0 Who cares what time you do what? Flip flop your subjects for something fresh and new. Work backwards!
4. add a new “supplement” – try a dvd, audio book, new flash cards, Mad Libs, magazine, etc.
5. rearrange your school room, supplies, decorations, etc. (if you don’t decorate hang up a new photo).
6. get a fish – turtle – lizard – or some desk top friendly excitement (betas are super cheap and easy to maintain).
7. play some music while children are working, or dance in between subjects to “get the wiggles out”.
8. get a spring-is-coming-plant or flower to brighten up a dark house.
9. get outside – right now, turn off your computer and get outside. If it’s just too cold and you’re stuck inside – create a “beach” retreat in your living room and have some learning fun on beach towels ! Serve up lemon aid or ice pops. Get out play doh or blocks and make a sand castle. (just do something different) Read a book about sea animals or ocean layers.
10. freshen up supplies – there is nothing more fun than a new box of crayons, new colored pencils, new ruler, new notebook – all these things you can get cheap at the $ store. It’s fun to work with some new supplies!