Homeschool Co-ops

We have had the pleasure of participating in a homeschool co-op almost every semester of our homeschool career.  We have a large community of homeschoolers in our community and several co-ops to choose from.

If you're not familiar, a homeschool co-op is a group of homeschooling families meeting together (usually one day a week).  This is not a drop off, 'moms day out' kind of thing though.  Because all of the moms (and sometimes dads and/or grandmas, etc) stay and teach or assist in classes.

Co-op has always been a blessing to our family.  There are women whom I love dearly and count among my closest friends today that I met at co-op.  Many of my children's best friends are fellow co-op kids.  And our kids have had the opportunity to take classes that I could have/would have never taught them like karate, ballet, chocolate class, volcano class, and drama.

For us, co-op is about fun.  But some parents participate in co-op to enroll their students in classes that they find difficult to teach.  Now that our kids are getting older, we are feeling the pressure of 'losing' one day of our core curriculum teaching to co-op.  But for now we will make the necessary sacrifice to make co-op work.  We just enjoy it that much.  Also, I should mention that our co-op is only one day a week for 9 weeks in the fall and 9 weeks in the Spring.  That's not a huge commitment.

Also, our family has teamed up with another family this year to share the responsibility of teaching our History and Science curriculum.   Two days a week, we meet up to walk through this in-depth curricula.  It has been a joy and always the highlight of our week! 

For your pleasure, here is a repost of a 2008 post:

Effects of a Full Day at Co-op






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Glimpses of our Schoolroom

The schoolroom in our home has moved three times.  We first started in a finished room in our basement.  Then we moved upstairs to the bonus room.  And finally we landed in a room on the main floor in our home.

I can remember several years ago searching online for homeschool room ideas and the pickins' were slim, to say the least.  But now we have Pinterest....a place to drool over the dream rooms that are not only impractical for our space, but also unaffordable and yet we will strive to attain them nonetheless.

My measly homeschool room pales in comparison to the beautiful rooms you'll find online these days, but I do have a few special places there that I enjoy...

Oh, organization is just pretty, isn't it?  On the top shelf is workbook curriculum my kids are working through divided by grade.  The red, yellow, and green drawers came from a drawer system that I had that was falling a part. But the drawers were still in perfect shape.  So I use them to house craft supplies and other things and store them on my bookshelf.

A couple weeks ago I shared how to paint word murals after painting in my school room.

And I also shared instructions for making this school room artwork.

My new art display center is one of my favorite spaces now and an idea that came from Pinterest!  Hey, not all of my pins are impractical.  These are just clipboards that I found for $1 each.  Chad and I screwed each on to the wall and now the kids can hang their artwork on the wall...instead of on my refrigerator!

I found something to do with all those empty spaghetti sauce jars.

Gluesticks were on sale for just 10 cents each!  I bought 90 of them!  I just love having a container full of gluesticks.  Yes, that does make me strange.

This picture shows 3 different areas of organization that are really helping to make our homeschool run more smoothly.

~1.  The two blue crates.:  I bought 4 of these a few years ago for kids to keep their individual curricula in, but when we switched rooms they just took up too much space.  However, I really needed more bookshelf space.  So I flipped the crated on their sides and stacked them on top of each other.  I thought I would need to zip tie them together, but they are actually quite stable and very sturdy.

~2. The 6-drawer unit: (Actually, it's two stackable 3-drawer units.)  Each drawer is labeled with a different child's name and is just big enough for their workbooks, notebooks, and readers...also a pencil.  Basically, everything they need to do their individual studies is right there in their drawer. 

~3. The 6 stackable trays on top.:  Their are certain items that we use everyday in our homeschool.  Mostly certain books.  I could keep them on a bookshelf, but often when kids pull things off bookshelves, they don't do so nicely.  Instead, they rip them out, pulling other books with them.  And when kids put books back on bookshelves, they don't usually find the spot where it was, sliding it in right side up, spine facing out.  Instead they toss it on the bookshelf sideways and on top of the fallen-over books they left earlier.  So, I found these trays to be a useful spot to place our daily textbooks.  I have a tray for each of the following: our Biblical Worldview textbook, our history textbook, our history coloring/notebook pages, our science textbooks, our current read-aloud and dictionary, and a "For Mom" tray for kids to place work that needs to be graded.

Finally, who doesn't love a basket of books?  I select books that go along with our current studies for 'book basket' time.

Now for the fun part...seeing everybody else's school rooms!  Check them out at the links below!  Pin It Now!

Streamlining School Planning

Oh, the hours and hours I spent in school planning those first few years of homeschool.  For months, I would painstakingly comb over curriculum, ordering in early Spring so that it would get to me in time to map out weekly lessons.  By the time summer rolled around, I would be working through next year's January lessons.  I bought planners and planning software and gradebooks.  And each year I had every intention of following my plans exactly.

Every year I failed miserably.

By week three.

Planning is great.  I have to admit, I actually enjoy planning.  But I don't always enjoy implementing. 

Let's face it, sometimes things just don't go as planned.  Curriculum doesn't always work out.  Things take longer than you expect.  Eight children all develop strep throat or a stomach virus simultaneously and school has to come to a halt for a week. 

So I gave up on meticulous planning and I now opt for a more streamlined approach.

This is my school binder.  It has a place for homeschool catalogs that I am considering purchasing from.  It has a folder to keep my school attendance log.

Press PAUSE.

This is by far my favorite school attendance chart.   The entire year fits on two pages and you can add your attendance days as you go to make sure you are on track. 

You can also use this chart to plan your Start Date, Last Day of School, and all the breaks in between.  Just decide when you want to start, fill in your breaks, tally up the number of days to be sure that it aligns with the number of days your school district (or curriculum) requires, and you're golden!  Be sure to use a pencil as it sometimes takes some finagling (that's fu-NAY-ga-ling, do we only use that word here in the South?) to make it all work. 

Once I've got my calendar planned.  I do some evaluation of the curriculum we used last year.  That means, I ask myself two questions.

"Did I like it?" and "Do I want to use it again?'

If I answer 'no', then I do a little online and catalog research until I find what I want.  I label one section of my binder "curriculum" and give each child a notebook page.  As I choose, I make a list of the needed curriculum to purchase for each child on their pages along with the cost.  (This helps the hubby to see where our homeschool budget is going.)  Once these details are finalized, I sit down with Chad and discuss the curriculum I've chosen and what our goals are for each child for the school year and write those down as well.

If I'm really feeling on top of things, I might jot down some field trip or craft ideas as well.

After that, I order the curriculum and we go with it.  No daily or weekly lesson planning.  It's pretty simple.

I did want to talk a little about our student planners though...

This year I made a planner for each of the older kids (grades 2 and up).  I used some folders I had bought on sale as the front and back cover.  I just slit them down the middle and inserted the sheets I wanted in order, then dropped them off at a local office supply store to have them spiral bound for just a couple dollars each.

I like that using the folders as the cover not only makes it more sturdy, but also creates a pocket folder on the inside cover to store extra papers in.  I included 2012 and 2013 one-page calendars in the front that I printed from my Schoolhouse Planner pages.  (You can get the Schoolhouse Planner free when you sign up for a paid membership to SchoolhouseTeachers.com .  See my review here.)

The bulk of my planner pages are made up this two-page spread.  It's a place for my kids to write their co-op homework each week and to check off the individual work and chores that they've done.  If their planner is filled out correctly and they've completed all of their work for the week, they get to pull a prize from our prize box.

You can download these pages here.  I'm afraid they can't be edited and they are pretty specific to our family's needs, but perhaps you'll find them helpful... Homework Assignment Planner Pages - Page 001 Homework Assignment Planner Pages - Page 002

In the back of the student planners, I've added several other planner pages like book logs, field trip logs, their own attendance sheets to track the number of days they've completed school, and more.  Again most of my planner sheets came from the Schoolhouse Planner.

I had to share a pic of this quote that A10 apparently thought was inspirational enough to jot down in her planner.  Love it!

I'm not the only one discussing Homeschool Planning today.  Check out the Back to School Homeschool Blog Hop for more ideas and inspiration!  Pin It Now!

Curriculum Picks

So here we are on week 3 and attempting to ease our way into this year's curriculum picks.  There are some that we absolutely LOVE....some that I'm questioning.  If you are a new homeschool mom and find a month or so in that something just isn't working, don't be afraid to tweak your curriculum picks.  Believe me, there is nothing worse than trudging through a curriculum all year long just because it's the one you started with.  The beauty of homeschooling is that you are the teacher and you get to choose what you teach.

Here is G11 with his individual studies.  Language Arts 6 and Reading 6 from Christian Light Publications (CLP).  Teaching Textbooks 6.

A10: Language Arts 5 and Reading 5 (CLP).  Teaching Textbooks 5.  A Reason For Handwriting.

E8: Language Arts 4 and Reading 4 (CLP). Teaching Textbooks 4.  A Reason For Handwriting.

H7:  A10: Language Arts 2 and Reading 2 and Math 2 (CLP).  I Can Write Cursive.

E5: Mathematical Reasoning and Building Thinking Skills (Critical Thinking Co.)  Learning to Read (CLP).

L4: ABC Readiness Series (CLP).

As a family we are working through Who Am I (Apologia Worldview Series), Mystery of History Vol. 1, and God's Design for the Physical World (AIG Science).  We are very much enjoying each of these series!

We are using YWAM's Christian Heroes Series for our family read alouds this year.  In honor of the Olympic season we have started with the Eric Liddell book.  SO good!

In addition to all this, our students our required to read other books (some that we choose and some that they choose), complete writing projects, and are working on lots of fun review products.


Check out what other curriculum Back to Homeschool Blog Hop bloggers are using and join me tomorrow to discuss Homeschool Planning! Pin It Now!

I Always Thought Eclectic Meant Weird

ECLEC'TIC, a. [Gr. to choose.] Selecting; choosing; an epithet given to certain philosophers of antiquity, who did not attach themselves to any particular sect, but selected from the opinions and principles of each, what they thought solid and good. Hence we say, an eclectic philosopher; the eclectic sect.                           
                                                       ~Noah Webster's 1828 Dictionary

     I always thought eclectic meant weird.  Turns out I was wrong.

     I mean, it's not that I thought there was anything wrong with weird.  Personally, I can't think of any season of life when I didn't have at least a dozen or so people who would ascribe that word to my personality and/or life choices.  Let's face it, homeschooling is pretty weird.  So my wrong assumption about the word eclectic did not at all translate into a deterrent to the method.

     By no means do I have an exhaustive knowledge on the subject of homeschooling methods.  But I have done some research on the topic and after eight years of homeschooling I have come to discover what I like about each one.  So very briefly, I will attempt to explain the homeschool methods that have influenced us and how we use them in our own very eclectic style.

Charlotte Mason Method: When I think of Charlotte Mason homeschooling, I think of living books, nature study, copywork, and narration.  Actually, this is really my dream method of homeschooling.  I can just imagine us all spending hours outdoors, sketching wildflowers and reading classic literature under a weeping willow tree.   Unfortunately, that isn't always practical with our large family and all the responsibility that comes along with that.  But we do pull heavily from this method, searching for curricula that is literature rich and incorporating read alouds in our every day lessons.  We have included much nature study in our homeschool over the years centering many of our field trips around outdoor education.

To learn more about the Charlotte Mason Method check out this website.

Classical Education Method:  In her article, What is Classical Education?, Susan Wise Bauer says the following...

"Classical education depends on a three-part process of training the mind. The early years of school are spent in absorbing facts, systematically laying the foundations for advanced study. In the middle grades, students learn to think through arguments. In the high school years, they learn to express themselves. This classical pattern is called the trivium."

This three-part process has always made sense to me.  We started out as a strictly classical homeschool while we attended a classical cottage school.  We pay homage to our classical roots with the name of our school, Integritas Academy.  The trivium is a part of our overall guideline when choosing curriculum each year.

Traditional Education Method:  Think textbook, paper, and pencil.  Think workbook.  Think public school.  Probably my least favorite method of education, as it seems most uninspiring, yet in a pinch it can get the job done.  And with eight children, sometimes I just need to get the job done.  Actually, two of my children operate very well with the textbooks and workbooks, no-frills approach.

Unit Study Approach: This is another one of my very favorite methods.  It seems that all of my children flourish using unit studies.  The basic concept is large-family friendly in that the idea is to teach subjects using one main theme and teaching all of your children at their own level at once.  So, if we are learning about Ancient Egypt, we will incorporate all of our lessons including history, science, art, language arts, even math when possible around the theme of Ancient Egypt.  HomeschoolShare is a great website that offers free unit studies for all ages.  The biggest problem with this method is the amount of prep time it takes for the teacher.  We usually incorporate unit studies a few times a year.

Unschooling: Also described as "natural learning" or "independent learning"...I've also thought of "child-directed learning" to be in this field.  Basically learning happens as life happens and when the child shows an interest in a particular field of education, take advantage of that and explore it.  This method is really not structured enough for me, but on the days that I fall short and manage to complete little or none of our planned lessons, I like to think of us as having an "unschooling" day.  I mean surely we learned something that day, right?

Wait.  Maybe I shouldn't have admitted that out loud.  Scratch that last thought.  What I really meant to say is that our children always have highly intellectual, well thought out and implemented, educational plans.  Every day their learning is fruitful and they retain every part of their lessons indefinitely.

Hmmmm.

Montessori Method:  Really when researched, the Montessori method just seems a lot like the unschooling method with a more sophisticated title.  And that kind of bothers me, because I find 'unschooling' much easier to pronounce than 'montessori'.  As a matter of fact, I cannot say that word without forming it like a question to the person I'm speaking to...

"I was reading an article recently explaining the Montessori method....MonTESSori?...MontesSORi?"

*sigh*

I will say that the one distinguishing factor that I think of when it comes to the Montessori method is fun, hands-on learning.  We like to use this a lot especially in the early years.  We use file folder games, lapbooks, sensory and activity bags. 

     Thankfully for homeschoolers like me, the term eclectic was dubbed as an actual method.  We don't ascribe to any one method, but instead take a little bit from all.  You can call us weird.  You can call us undecided.  But I like how Noah Webster defined us...the eclectic sect.


     Hey, did you know that I'm not the only one talking about Homeschooling Methods today?  Check out all the other homeschool bloggers participating and be sure to come back each day for the Back to Homeschool Blog Hop! Pin It Now!