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Make Back to School Fun

July 28, 2010 By Robyn 6 Comments

Gear up for a year full of fun and learning.

Remember the excitement and nervousness of your first day back to school when you were a child? I do. I remember the weeks leading up to the big day, my mother would take my sister and me back-to-school shopping. We would be treated to new outfits, shoes for our bigger feet, and of course new school supplies. As we were preparing to start back to school in our homeschool, I remembered the fun of getting ready to head back for another year. I want my son to have his own great memories and knew I needed to be sure to help create them.

Tip 1. Spruce Up. During the week leading up to our starting back to school, I would not let my son come into the schoolroom. It was off limits. While he was out of the room, I cleaned out old paperwork and filed it, removed old curriculum that would not be needed for this year, rearranged furniture a bit, and added new decorations and items.

Tip 2. Talk it up. Make a big deal about your child advancing to the next grade. It is a big deal. Show them how excited you are and they will certainly join in on the excitement. We talked about all of the fun things my son would be learning in third grade and thought of fun field trips we could enjoy during the year. My son eagerly participated in the discussion of learning new grammar rules, division, and more about American History.

Tip 3. Get Something New. Remember your Trapper Keeper from when you were a child? Mine was bright purple and I loved it. I decorated it front and back with puffy hearts and stickers. And then, the next year, my mother let me pick another one – fresh and ready for a new year’s adventures and doodles. Take your child to pick something new for the upcoming school year. It helps to make a list together with your child of the items that you do need for the school year. Pencils, paper, erasers, notebooks – while these may not sound particularly thrilling to you, allowing your child to pick them as his or her very own is a big deal.

Tip 4. Dress up. Have your child start their first day back to school in a special outfit. My son selected his favorite dressy shorts and shirt to wear on his first day instead of his usual gym shorts and t-shirt. And I made a special effort to dress up as well.

Tip 5. Capture it. Grab your camera and be sure to take pictures of your child’s first day of the new school year. Include you and your spouse in some of the pictures. These make great beginning shots of your homeschool yearbook or scrapbook and will be treasured photographs of your family. We took tons of pictures outside and with us, but one of my favorites was in front of the white board where I had written the date and “Welcome to Third Grade!” Having these details in one of the photographs provides a great point of reference and makes the photograph interesting, too.

What is your favorite back to school ritual?

Robyn Stone is a wife, entrepreneur and homeschooling Mom to one very energetic little boy who is not quiet so little any more. She shares about her journey in life on her blog Our Homeschool Home. She loves a good cup of coffee, photography, and a great conversation.

7 Tips for a Super Summer

June 10, 2010 By Robyn 5 Comments

We are closing out our first year of homeschooling and our family is ready for a super summer.

Tip 1. Take a break. Our family schools year-round, even in the summer. However, we plan for a bit of a longer break during the beginning and ending of the summer. During these breaks, our only educational requirement is for our son to read.

This break allows us to take time as a family and focus our attention on one another. When the break has ended, we feel rejuvenated and ready to go again.

Tip 2. Plan to play. Remember the fun of slip-n-slides and afternoons at the pool? How about just riding bikes and playing outside? These are some of my fondest memories from my childhood and most definitely are memories I plan to help create for my own child.

As a busy Mom, it is easy to get sidetracked with cleaning and other activities and realize too late that the day is coming to a close. I have learned the hard way to just plan to play. If I write it down in my calendar or on my to do list, it gets done. I am conscious of prioritizing an afternoon at the pool over something that can easily be done after my son goes to bed.

Tip 3. Visit with friends. Just like you plan to play, plan a play-date or lunch with friends. Schedule a date with friends to have a picnic at the park or even go to a movie. You will enjoy the adult conversation as much as your child enjoys seeing his friends for the day.

Another idea that I have enjoyed is if your child’s friend’s parents work outside the home; offer to pick the children up for a day to play with your child. Not only will your child have a terrific day of playing with friends, you will be paying it forward to his friend’s parents. I remember when I worked in an office environment, I felt especially guilty during the summer months when my son was home. Undoubtedly, his friend’s parents are feeling the same.

Tip 4. Try something new. Summer months make an excellent time to learn something new. Most Cultural Arts and Recreation Departments offer summer day camps for children geared toward sports, arts, music, drama, and computers. Discuss options with your child and enroll her for a lesson in an area of interest.

Tip 5. Lighten the load. It is easy to over schedule yourself and your child year-round, but especially during the summer. Go ahead and mark your calendar for “must-do” activities like family trips, any camps for which you have registered your child, and special events. If you school year-round like we do, be sure to include school activities in your listings.

Now, make a separate listing of “might-do” activities, along with any associated dates for them. Compare your listing to your calendar and see how full it looks. If it is too crowded, start eliminating activities. Get your list down to your priority items.  Then when you are looking for activities to participate in during the summer, you will have already narrowed your list based on your schedule and priorities.

Tip 6. Plan a project. The long days of summer make an excellent time to start and complete projects. Painting the house, planting and tending a garden and building a tree house are some of the summer projects I remember doing with my family from my childhood. For more advanced projects, plan a project for the entire family and assign your child a role and activities within the project. On a smaller scale, pick an area of interest and allow your child to create his own project. For example, our son loves animals. His summer project is to study the animals we have living on our farm and create a journal about them.

Tip 7. Start refreshed. This tip really lends more to a super back to school, but I thought it was important to include. Plan a few days to go through and organize the previous year’s schoolwork and get ready for the upcoming school year. Go ahead and scan reports, create backups, file any necessary reports with your school district, sell any used curriculum that you will not be needing, and clear out space for the new school year. It may not be your favorite beginning of summer activity, but you will be able to enjoy your summer knowing you can start with a clean, organized school space when you begin school again. And to me, that is definitely refreshing.

These are my seven tips, what are you going to do to make sure you have a super summer?

Robyn Stone is a wife, entrepreneur and homeschooling Mom to one very energetic little boy who is not quiet so little any more. She shares about her journey in life on her blog Our Homeschool Home. She loves a good cup of coffee, photography, and a great conversation.

Homeschooling an Only Child: Make Time for Friends

May 6, 2010 By Robyn 5 Comments

One of the questions I am asked most frequently about our homeschooling is, “What about friends?” If you are homeschooling an only child, I am sure you have heard this question quiet often as well, even from other homeschooling families.

While homeschooling your only child can have definite advantages, you do have to pay special attention to help your child make time for friends. This can easily be worked into your schedule and as part of your child’s homeschooling extra-curricular activities with thought and planning.

Here are seven tips I have found useful:

Tip 1: Group lessons. If your child loves guitar, painting, swimming, tennis, karate, or golf, find an instructor offering group lessons for children of similar ages to your child. Many times, there are instructors who offer sessions specifically for homeschooled children earlier in the day before public schools are released. Check with other homeschooling families for recommendations on such groups and instructors. If private lessons are needed, try and make those as additional lessons if possible.

Tip 2: Homeschool groups. Find a homeschool group in your area that provides not only support for you as a homeschool parent, but activities such as field trips or co-operative classes in which your child can participate. You and your child both will build relationships with other homeschooling families through these groups.

If there isn’t one in your area, prayerfully consider starting a small one of a few families to meet each week. Plan a group field trip, a meet up at the library, or a picnic in a local park.

Tip 3: Team sports. Sign up with your local recreation department for seasonal sports such as baseball, football, soccer, basketball or swim team. If your child is of the age where your recreation department no longer offers team sports, check with local sports instructors for golf, tennis, swimming, or soccer to see if there are teams available where your child may play.

If your church does not already participate, you may encourage your church to begin a youth team to play other church groups if there is enough interest. If not, check other local churches for Upstart or similar leagues.

Many state and local policies allow homeschooled children to participate in extra-curricular activities provided by the school system. These activities may include sports, band, or drama. Check with your local school system for applicability and guidelines.

Your child will interact with other children in your community while learning the importance of teamwork.

Tip 4: Church groups. This is definitely one of our family’s favorites. Participate in your church’s youth groups on a regular basis. Through church school, weekly youth groups, and vacation bible school your child will make great friendships within your church family. Encourage your church to begin additional activities for the church youth if these formal activities are not already available.

Tip 5: Scouting. As a family, become involved in scouting through your local Boy Scouts of America or Girl Scouts of America. Scouting provides excellent learning activities for your child and fosters a strong parent-child bond while providing a group setting for age-mates with your child.

Both organizations provide excellent locators on their respective websites.

Tip 6: Play dates. Most parents participated in playgroups with their children when their children were toddlers. This one on one time with a friend is still vitally important for only children as they continue to grow into young adults, especially for homeschooled only children.

Tip 7: Day camps. As we are nearing summer, many communities offer day camps for children. These camps provide concentration on a specific activity such as art, acting, a certain sport, or an academic subject. Camps or activity days may also be provided year-round through your local college or university. Check with your recreation department, city hall, or local college or university for available resources.

By making an effort to consider your child’s need for social interaction with children near his own age, your child is able to reap the benefits of homeschooling while enjoying time with friends.

Robyn Stone is a wife, entrepreneur and homeschooling Mom to one very energetic little boy who is not quiet so little any more. She shares about her journey in life on her blog Our Homeschool Home. She loves a good cup of coffee, photography, and a great conversation.