Simple Homeschool Success Tips

Simple Homeschool Success Tips
By Mary Joyce

There certainly is an abundance of homeschooling information available and this is a good thing… for the most part… as long as you don’t get bogged down in overload and suffer paralysis by analysis. There are a lot of wonderful articles and tips to help you insure your homeschool success.

So, through the experiences of my own and reading about those experiences and advice of others, here are some of, not only the best, but most universal home school success tips.

First of all have fun. Make learning fun. It should be for kids. And by the way, enjoy learning new things with your kids. There is some much in this world that we cannot control, so let’s let control what we can… our attitude and how we approach each and every day. Children will absorb your attitude and mood...read the full article here.

Homeschool Art Contest!

Homeschool Art Contest!

Art Contest! We will be having an art contest for your children ages 7-14, This contest will run through August 31st to allow time for your children to submit their artwork.

Any media will be accepted, however, if using oil or regular pastels, please scan and send your file as a .jpeg to prevent damage to the art work and my scanner!

Rules: Please have your children draw or paint any subject they would like. The artwork must be submitted on 8 1/2 X 11 paper, of any type. Please send in a large envelope to prevent damage from bending. The submitted entries will not be returned, so if you want them back, please enclose return postage.

Please fill out and sign this form and send it with your child's artwork. This gives me permission for your child's information to be posted on our web site. We will only be using the child's first name, initial of their last name, their age and the state they reside in.

The winner will receive a $50.00 gift certificate and their art will be showcased on our front page throughout the month of October!
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Homeschool News

From the Washington Times - Father an essential learning tool

I recently was invited to participate in an interview about home-schooling on "The Tom deSabla Show" on WNET-AM (1160). Three callers to the show, plus the host, were home-schooling or considering home-schooling. Here's an interesting note: All were men.

It was inspiring to hear how they help their children learn or they share educational duties with mom and how concerned they are with finding good learning materials or opportunities for interaction...read the full article.
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The featured book this week is Beorn the Proud by Madeleine Polland

Two cultures, two faiths, struggle against each other in this exciting story by Madeleine Polland. You can almost hear the clash of arms and taste the Great Hall feasts in this authentic recreation of 9th century Europe, when Viking raiders ravaged the coasts of Ireland. Amid the battles and shipwrecks and deeds of bravery and treachery, twelve-year-old Beorn learns Christian humility from his young captive, Ness, the daughter of an Irish chieftain. Youngsters will enjoy the adventure, while their parents appreciate the realism. A Bethlehem Book. Ages 10+.

Gift Certificate Winner & Homeschool Art Contest!

And the Winner... of our drawing for a $25.00 gift certificate is...Shelly Pierson. Shelly, I hope you enjoy your prize!

Art Contest! We will be having an art contest for your children ages 7-14, This contest will run through August 31st to allow time for your children to submit their artwork.

Any media will be accepted, however, if using oil or regular pastels, please scan and send your file as a .jpeg, to prevent damage to the art work and my scanner!

Rules: Please have your children draw or paint any subject they would like. The artwork must be submitted on 8 1/2 X 11 paper, of any type. Please send in a large envelope to prevent damage from bending. The submitted entries will not be returned, so if you want them back, please enclose return postage. Please fill out and sign this form and send it with your child's artwork. This gives me permission for your child's information to be posted on our web site. We will only be using the child's first name, initial of their last name, their age and the state they reside in.

The winner will receive a $50.00 gift certificate and their art will be showcased on our front page throughout the month of October!

Myths of Learning Types

Homeschool Lessons Made Easy - Learning Types and Understanding the Myth
By Darren Michalczuk

What is a learning type?

Most educators at some point in their career have been introduced to the three learning styles: visual, auditory and kinesthetic. Even First Aid or swimming teachers learn that there are three separate styles. A visual learner remembers what is seen like notes on a blackboard, posters or a demonstration. An auditory learner will remember what is heard like verbal instructions, lyrics to a song or books read in class. A kinesthetic learner will remember body movements or sensations like building a birdhouse, kicking a soccer ball or making a model of the solar system. Instructors are taught that each person falls into only one category and to reach all learners, you must teach all three styles. This is only partially true.

Why is this misleading?

Although this belief holds some truth, it is misleading. The myth of believing that people are only one type of learner can be easily disproved with two examples: a Labrador puppy and a rollercoaster. If it were true that all people fall into only one category, then there would be people who could only imagine the yelp and whimper of a young Labrador puppy, but not the shiny coat and big paws or the feel the soft fur and sharp teeth. Similarly there would be people who would only be able to visualize a rollercoaster and not be able to imagine the sounds of screams and carnival music or feel of going over the steep drops and curves. The truth is that most people can imagine all three.

Almost everyone can imagine what an elephant looks, sounds and feels like. It is also easy to imagine the colour, texture and taste of an orange. Almost everyone can imagine the sound of fireworks or a phone ringing. Almost everyone can imagine the feel of a warm fire or cool water. People are capable of learning in all three styles, not just one.

How can we develop learning styles?

This is important to know since we can help students develop skills in a specific area without relying on the excuse that they are “not that type of learner”. Although it is still good practice to present information to all three styles, don’t expect student to wait until their style comes along. Students can be taught how to understand, remember and use materials that teach to all three styles.
Some skills do not come naturally to some students. Unfamiliar words in text books need to be looked up in a glossary or dictionary. Captions for diagrams need to be read carefully. When listening to instructions, questions must be asked to clarify any information that is unclear. To truly teach a student, you don’t merely teach the information, you teach a student how to learn the information. It is like the old saying: if you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime. By giving a student the right skills, you teach him or her to learn for a lifetime.

Darren Michalczuk is the founder of the Brick School. He is an experienced classroom teacher who has developed many programs and resources for math, language and music. The Brick School offers quality educational posters, programs and worksheets online for elementary language arts, math and music. Materials are designed to promote effective learning strategies in an easy to understand, straight-forward format. They offer both practical solutions to learning problems and leading edge technology and techniques. It reaches both struggling students and those who need extra challenges in class.With the latest software and leading edge learning strategies, our materials are paving the way for learning. User-friendly programs give students instant feedback while they practice important basic skills. Lessons and study guides also include proven learning strategies and memories techniques. Please visit our website.http://brickschool.ca

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?Homeschool-Lessons-Made-Easy---Learning-Types-and-Understanding-the-Myth&id=557365

Bodies - A Homeschool Field Trip Your Kids Won't Soon Forget!

Lord Willing, we are going on a field trip to the South Street Seaport in New York City to see Bodies.

If you have never heard of it, Bodies is a exhibition of 19 actual bodies, (cadavers) and 260 organs that have been preserved by usual methods, then dissected to show the various organs and then placed in a bath of polymer or silicone.

You are even able to view the entire circulatory system. This exhibit offers thousands of unique teaching possibilities! Free teacher's guides are also available for the exhibit. I'm a bit curious as to how it will be to look so closely at the human body. I can't wait to see God's awesome design! The exhibit will be in several other major cities soon, so if you can't make it to NY, then you may have another chance to go. What an awesome opportunity for your family, if you can stomach it!

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Montessori Home Schooling By Diane Crawford

The Montessori home schooling method was developed by Dr. Maria Montessori in the early 1900s to educate children from poor families in San Lorenzo Rome. Dr. Montessori developed a method of teaching children as children, rather than smaller adults. Instead of pigeonholing children into the common institutionalized methods such as grading and testing, the Montessori home schooling method allows children develop their talents, takes note of weaknesses, and encourages children to develop both their weaknesses, and natural talents in their own time.

The Montessori home schooling method is taught to children from as early as birth, and can go as high as year 12 education. Rather than grading, feedback and analysis is usually provided in the form of a list or narration of the child's talents, and weaknesses. An emphasis on and an approach to improving the child's weaknesses are then taken, as education progresses.

The wonderful thing that the Montessori home schooling method offers a child is a focus on what the child needs as an individual, rather than pre-set needs for the class as a whole. Learning is done at the child's own pace, and teachers take the role of a guide rather than a lecturer. One of the main goals that this method uses is to encourage children to keep their natural joy of learning, without pressuring them to compete with each other and learn when they are not yet ready, or mature enough.

Through this method of teaching, children are encouraged to be independent, and are given freedom with some set limits and responsibilities that come with having freedom.

The entire approach used in Montessori home schooling method is that children learn in an entirely different way than adults. Lessons are specially structured to children's needs, and the natural way that they learn to give children the best advantage in both an academic, and social learning environment.

Montessori Method Lessons

The Montessori method ensures that a child is never given an activity without being shown how it is of use to them. After the activity has been demonstrated, the child is then given the freedom to use this newly acquired knowledge with no limits, other than their own imagination, or when the materials or child has a risk of being a danger to themselves or those around them.

Each activity is carefully selected, and will pave the way for later activities, and concepts. Children are encouraged to repeat an activity as many times as they want to, until they become bored with it. At this stage, it is a sign that the child is ready to start the next activity.

There is never a prescribed time table, or period in which children are meant to learn certain concepts, or lessons, the speed that these are learned will depend entirely on the child, and when they feel ready to move on. However, there is a set sequence of learning activities that are used for lessons. The Montessori home schooling method was originally designed as a schooling system, but it is a very popular method that is often scaled down and used by parents for home schooling.

For more info on Montessori Home Schooling? Head on over to http://www.homeschooling4you.com/

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?Montessori-Home-Schooling&id=455085

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Drawing for $25.00 gift certificate!

Don't forget, If you are currently subscribed to our bi-monthly newsletter Comforts of Home. you will automatically be entered in a drawing for a $25.00 gift certificate. If you are not subscribed and would like to be entered for the drawing, you can subscribe here. The drawing will take place on May 14th. The winner will be announced the next day.