Once a Homeschool Kid, Now a Homeschool Mom

November 5, 2009 by Elizabeth

I have been asked many times to compare what it was like being a homeschool student to what it is like now being a homeschool mother – what I do the same, what I do differently, and how my experiences as a child have helped me now that I am homeschooling my own children.

When I first sat down to write about it, the first thought I had looking back to my years as a homeschool child, was of all the wonderful memories I have of our times together as a family.

My parents began to homeschool me when I was beginning 3rd grade, back in the 80’s, along with my next oldest brother who was in 8th grade. We had so much fun that year! Probably my fondest memory is of our read-aloud times on the couch. Each day after lunch, we would all sit on the couch together and my mother would read to us. We read a lot of missionary biographies, Walk Across America, Christy, and many others. As long ago as that was, I still remember vividly many of the books we read together. We also would read my brother’s 8th grade Abeka literature book together, and they are really fabulous, even for a 3rd grader to listen to!

The following year we moved to another state, and my oldest brother joined our homeschool, as a junior in high school. That next year was probably one of the major highlights of my homeschool experience. We did a year-long unit study on the countries and cultures of the world. We tried to get together with people we had made acquaintance with from other countries in some cases, and in other cases we wrote to missionaries in other countries, who all kindly responded to our questions. Some of them even sent us items from the country, like postcards or currency! We tried to learn some words and phrases in each language, a bit about the geography and the culture, how to cook some ethnic food, the currency, etc.

It was so much fun! I remember tracing country maps out of the encyclopedia and drawing replicas of the country’s flag. At the end of the year we had the ultimate culmination of this study: we hosted “International Night” at our house! We invited everyone we knew from another country, including China, Japan, Mexico and maybe others, as well as a few other homeschool families. We decorated our house with items from many countries, displayed the projects we had worked on throughout the year, and ate many different kinds of ethnic foods. We even dressed in ethnic garb!

It seems to me looking back that most of the “highlights” that I remember most vividly were the “extra” things we did. Besides the “textbook academics” that were required of me, homeschooling gave me the opportunity along the way to pursue other interests that I likely would not have had time for had I been in school all day. Many of these “extra-curricular” studies, such as starting a business of breeding and selling tropical fish at 10 years old, beginning to study Japanese when I was 11 years old, many of our read-alouds and even this international unit study I described turned out to be preparation for life, as I would later live in Japan and be involved in missions.

Another thing that greatly enhanced our journey was being a part of a homeschool support group. We often enjoyed activities together with other homeschoolers, and those are also fond memories. For example, every Thanksgiving we would meet at the forest preserve and each family would bring a Ziploc baggie of meat and vegetables to add to a big pot of stew, which we would cook in the pavilion in a big iron kettle over an open fire, and enjoy old-fashioned fellowship together. As a high schooler, I was able to participate each Friday in co-op classes with our support group, such as government, world views, and leadership classes, which included public speaking and debates – something that is sometimes difficult to accomplish as a homeschooler, especially since I was the only one left at home by then! Our teacher (a homeschool mom with much experience in politics) was fabulous, and the classes were always a highlight of each week. Now I know a lot of “lone ranger homeschoolers”, and I am sure they can have a wonderful experience too, but if there is a Christian support group in your area, I would encourage you to join.

However, as much fun as these studies and events were, I think that the main thing that made my homeschool experience such a positive one was my mother’s good attitude and my relationship with her. She kept things upbeat and was usually cheerful, and we always had such a good time together! That time together is so precious. Just think of all the wonderful memories with her I would have missed out on if I had spent most of my growing-up years in school!

Now, is there anything I would do differently with my children as I homeschool them?

Well, back in the 80’s, there were not a lot of curriculum choices for homeschoolers, as opposed to today when there are SO many that it is completely overwhelming!! Anyway, we used mostly Rod and Staff in the early grades, and then switched to mainly Abeka for the higher grades. I am a “textbook” kind of person, so I did well with that and always enjoyed school, so that was not a problem. However, I think I might have retained more if the studies were more “integrated”, or enhanced. Notice how much I remembered from our countries unit study? THAT was great! However, we did all that ON TOP OF our usual textbook requirements!

Take history, for example. I liked our history textbook and always found it interesting, but since our approach was “read it, answer the questions (orally), and put it away”, I don’t know how much I actually retained! Something simple like a history timeline adds a lot to the study of history, I’m convinced, as well as adding historical novels to your studies, or an occasional hands-on project, especially in the younger grades. Projects don’t have to be daily or complicated to add a lot to your studies.

Another area I feel somewhat deficient in is science, and I think that is also a textbook problem. I actually really liked the textbook we had, with full color pictures, etc., but we did not supplement it with any experiments or anything hands-on, so I don’t think I really was committing anything to long-term memory, or really even getting a full grasp on the concept. I think most science textbooks take a “mile-wide, inch-deep” approach to most subjects, which doesn’t make it overly interesting for the students. I prefer to take three months to really explore a topic, including personal observation, recording data in a notebook, taking pictures, making sketches, adding in “living” books – to the point of not even always needing a textbook at all, for the younger grades. Studying this way, at 3-4 topics per year, a student will still study all areas of science at least twice during his school years, but the difference is that he will likely retain most of what he has studied! If you would rather not put your own science studies together in this manner, Apologia is another great option. Their books explore ONE science topic per year, so you get to really learn it! The writing style is far more interesting than most science textbooks, the pictures are great, and the projects are not too complicated.

However, I will not keep rambling on about each school subject, because I truly don’t believe that academics are the main issue for homeschoolers to consider. Much more importantly, I believe that my parents did a wonderful job of using the resources they had to equip us with a godly foundation for life. Scripture reading and memory was a vital aspect of our homeschool, and they led us by example as we walked through life together.

We spent time together and made the most of the opportunities that life afforded us to learn, study and grow. This combination of equipping for life with a godly foundation, and building of strong family relationships is so far superior to any academic style or textbook choice, and I will be forever grateful to my parents for practicing this discipleship-style home education. I truly believe that is where our focus should be – off academics and onto discipleship, character-shaping, training in godliness and building strong relationships.

That, above all, is what I hope to emulate as I walk this journey with my own children.

Elizabeth Tsukayama is a homeschool graduate homeschooling the next generation! She and her husband, Fabio (yes, that is his real name!), have four beautiful children ages 7 down to 1. Elizabeth enjoys many hobbies, but her favorite one is teaching her children and learning with them, especially using hands-on projects, lapbooks, notebooking and nature exploration. The Tsukayama family is currently packing up to travel to Brazil for missions. Life never ceases to be an adventure! You can check out her site at: www.mamaknowsbest.net.

Tags: Christy the Book, From Homeschooled to Homeschooling, Geography, Homeschooled Mother, learning about countries, Missionary Biographies, Walk Across America

Hearing a New Perspective

October 30, 2009 by Jolanthe

4 Comments

Do you have songs that just stick in your head? Ones that you just can’t shake, no matter how hard you’ve tried to get rid of them over the years?

It would be here that I could remind you of jingles such as the Oscar Meyer Weiner song and send you merrily humming away….but that would be mean, so I’ll just leave that out.

Music has such an amazing influence over our minds, helping us recall little facts and tidbits with a quick hum or whistle of a tune. Tapping into that influence can be a wonderful resource when teaching our children. Jingles and songs abound for learning scientific facts, color, the days of the week, dates in history, addition, multiplication, Bible verses, and more.

Over the last few years, we’ve been using a great little resource called Geography Songs: Sing Around the World produced by Kathy Troxel/Audio Memory. I originally purchased at a homeschool convention, but found it as an mp3 download from Amazon recently. As we work our way around the world and learn the locations of different countries, the songs on the cd have become a wonderful learning tool for us.

Geography Songs teaches the continents in small segments ~ rather than learning the entire continent of Africa at once, the focus is on the northern, eastern, or other parts of the continent. As we begin to study a continent we listen to the song a few times while sitting in front of a map. Our kids try to find the different countries and it quickly becomes a ‘game’ to see who can place the countries as quickly as possible.

I’ve learned so much through the simple and catchy songs and I know that our kids are too. Our four year old knows the continents and oceans and can name them quickly now, and even our two year old is trying to get in on learning and singing along with us!

Geography isn’t the only area of study that we’re using music these days. It’s spilling over into so many different areas of our schooltime and the results are so encouraging ~ multiplication, the atmosphere of the Earth, and Bible verses are just a few more things we’re singing about. If you can’t carry a tune then hum, whistle or find a beat and let your kids benefit from ‘hearing’ a new perspective on their studies.

Jolanthe has found that she learns just as much {if not more} as her kids through homeschooling. She has been married for almost eleven years and has four children ages two through eight. Her interests include photography, organizing, re-organizing and blogging. You can visit her at her blogs No Ordinary Moments and Homeschool Creations.

Tags: Geography, Geography Songs, Kathy Troxel, Memory Songs, music, Music for Learning

State Geography Studies

October 8, 2009 by HeatherW

2 Comments

When we pulled our oldest son home from public school half way through first grade, we didn’t have a lot of homeschooling materials or fancy curriculum. Our one goal for him at that time was to reestablish his love of learning which had been quickly and efficiently squelched by a traditional classroom setting.

Mostly we read books and adopted a unit study philosophy exploring various subjects that popped out of the stories we were reading. One area of intense interest for him was geography. In the days before we had special resources for geography, I came up with a way to record information about each state using only blank maps and an atlas.

I had a large black and white U.S. wall map which I hung up so that we could chart our progress as we traveled from state to state. As he finished studying a state, he got to color it in on the wall map. For each state, I had him produce three informative maps. The first was a political map, the second was a physical map, and the last was a fun fact map.

Requirements for the Political Map:

Mark the capital with a red circle or star and label it (the outline map we had already starred the capital but did not label it)
Locate and label three other cities in the state.
Color the water blue and label the major bodies of water.
Color the state
Color each neighboring state a different color.
Title the map.

Requirements for the Physical Map:

Color the water blue.
Use an atlas physical map to determine the physical features of the state.
Label the features and use symbols/colors to represent the features. He might use triangles for mountains or yellow for low lying coastal plain areas.
Produce a key on the back of the map to tell the map reader what the physical features are (while this typically goes on the front of a map, being a 6 year old, I gave him the extra room to accommodate this fine motor skills)
Title the map.

Requirements for the Fun Fact Map:

Use an atlas to learn more about the state. What industry is there? What crops are produced? Are there any landmarks there? What is the state famous for?
Choose five fun facts to represent on the map.
Choose a symbol for each fun fact and put it on the map in an appropriate location (example: if the state is NY then put the Statue of Liberty where she really is)
Make a key and put in on the back or where you have room on the front of the map.
Title the map.

Once my son had finished with these maps, he had a pretty good idea of what that state was like. The Fun Fact map came later as a way to allow him to discover the state on his own. I did not require him to learn or include the official state symbols although that is certainly a reasonable request.

We kept these maps together in a notebook and along with the map on the wall, it was a record of the places we’d been. Sometimes our state maps were part of the unit study we were immersed in at the time and sometimes my son would look at the wall map and decide he wanted to explore a state. In order to meet our goal of reestablishing his love of learning, I let him run with his interests.

We use resources we had on hand, but as we forged on I was able to be more discerning about what we used. We began with Scholastic US Outline maps and a one dollar Scholastic atlas both from a Scholastic Warehouse Sale. Really any map source will do, but I would look for an outline map with bold, clear lines which are spread out so the map uses the whole page. Sometimes free online sources are tempting, but I find they make for a muddled map. It is especially good to be mindful of this for younger elementary children who need space for their labeling. I will also draw a labeling line for them after they place city dots to help facilitate a neat map. My favorite maps are the Uncle Josh’s Outline Maps in the CD format (they have extras not in the book).

My favorite set of atlases right now are the National Geographic Young Explorers U.S. and World Atlases. Each map is a double page affair and there are political and physical maps for each state or country. It is very easy to determine physical features on the physical map and the political map shares a wealth of information for the Fun Fact Map.

While I admit that I have many resources in my repertoire now, our studies started very simply and yielded excellent results. Consistency and enthusiasm were the keys to our success with this survey of United States Geography. Teaching the U.S. with map making is a fun adventure and it teaches plenty of map skills along the way and the best part is you don’t need an expensive geography curriculum- just an atlas and some outline maps. Enjoy the trip!

Heather Woodie is a homeschooling mom of four kids ages 10, 8, 6, 3 and wife to a handsome chemical engineer for 13 years. Before raising a family, she taught middle school science and has a masters degree in curriculum and instruction secondary education. Now teaching at home means the chance to provide the extraordinary for her children. Between family and homeschooling time, she is working as volunteer staff for MOPS International as an Area Coordinator for NY State. She’s been homeschooling four years and you can read about those adventures on her blog, Blog She Wrote.

Tags: Fun fact map, Geography, Geography Curriculum, homeschooling, Landmarks, National Geographic Young Explorers U.S., Scholastic Warehouse Sale, State Studies, United States Geography, Using an Atlas

Geography Products Round Up

October 8, 2009 by Karin

Incorporate a Little Geography into your Day

September 14, 2009 by Jolanthe

Me On the Map: Unit Study for Preschoolers

September 11, 2009 by Susana

Games and Activities for Geography

August 17, 2009 by Jolanthe

13 Comments

Keeping geography fun and exciting for my kids can sometimes be tricky. We follow a routine in how we study various countries, so to avoid falling into a rut, I have a few fun games and ideas that we squeeze in. You know, the ones where they don’t really know that they are learning. They’re to busy having fun and thinking they are getting away…well, without schoolwork.

You, of course, know much better than that!

Looking for some fresh ideas to teach geography to your kids? Try one of these activities and sneak a little learning fun into your day:

box-child-globe

Bingo ~ Put together a list of 9-12 geography terms {land features, continents and oceans, countries within a continents, etc}. Provide your kids with 3×3 bingo boards and have them fill the squares with the different geography terms that you are learning. To play, read the definition of the term, specifics about the continent {largest continent, this continent is an island}, or name the capitals of the countries. They have to mark off the matching answer ~ you can make it as easy or difficult as you like!
ABC’s of the World ~ Our kids love to play this game. We take turns pointing to places on our world map that start with the letters of the alphabet. A ~ Albania, B ~ Belize, C ~ Canada, D ~ Denmark, until we work our way through the alphabet.
Destination Jar ~ Fill an old jar with strips of paper listing different destinations. We use famous landmarks we’ve studied, latitude/longitude coordinates or just country names. You can also list famous people: kings, queens, explorers or missionaries. Have your child pick a slip from the jar and find the place that matches on a map or a globe.
Geography Sleuth ~ Give your child a few hints about a location and then let them discover where it is. For example 1) four of the first five presidents were born in this state; 2) the state bird is the cardinal; 3) the Potomac River runs through this state…Virginia!
Toss the Globe ~ We recently bought an inflatable globe and play a game of catch with it. Whoever catches it has to name where either of their thumbs have landed. Depending on the kid’s ages, they have to tell me capitals, a famous landmark in the area, important features of that country, etc. This is great for learning map features such as mountain ranges, rivers, and borders as well as identifying the continents and oceans for younger children.

box-child-globe

Try out a few of the games and have fun together with your kids. You’ll be surprised at how much they {and you} learn through fun and simple games!

Tags: bingo, destination jar, Geography, geography games, homeschool, making learning fun

Looking for Submissions

August 2, 2009 by AmyS

4 Comments

We are looking for original articles to publish in the Autumn issue of Heart of the Matter’s digital magazine.

The due date for the article is August 12th. The topics are:

Fall activities
Family Traditions
Family Fun Times
Disciplines / Rewards
Going Green in the homeschool
Foreign language instruction
Money making ideas / Money Saving ideas
Language arts
3 R’s
Thanksgiving
Christmas
Organizing Tips
Friendships
Homemade gifts
Recipes/Quick and easy cooking
Housekeeping tips and efficiency / Chores for kids
Geography/Social studies
Indoor activities for beating the winter blues

Tags: beating the winter blues, Fall Activities, family traditions, foreign language, Geography, Green Living, holidays, homemade gifts, Homeschool Entrepreneur, Language Arts, looking for writers, recipes

Review: Charlotte Mason’s Elementary Geography

July 30, 2009 by Karin

2 Comments

Followers of Charlotte Mason will be pleased to know that Miss Mason’s original Elementary Geography is now available through Queen Homeschool Publishers. Publisher, Sandi Queen, revised portions of the original text to better reflect American wording, but otherwise stayed to true to Miss Mason’s original book.

Perhaps the best introduction to the book, is Miss Mason’s own introduction:

This little book is confined to very simple “reading lessons upon the Form and Motions of the Earth, the Points of the Compass, the Meaning of a Map: Definitions.” The shape and motions of the earth are fundamental ideas–however difficult to grasp. Geography should be learned chiefly from maps, and the child should begin the study by learning “the meaning of map,” and how to use it. These subjects are well fitted to form an attractive introduction to the study of Geography: some of them should awaken the delightful interest which attaches in a child’s mind to that which is wonderful–incomprehensible. The Map lessons should lead to mechanical efforts, equally delightful. It is only when presented to the child for the first time in the form of stale knowledge and foregone conclusions that the facts taught in these lessons appear dry and repulsive to him. An effort is made in the following pages to treat the subject with the sort of sympathetic interest and freshness which attracts children to a new study. A short summary of the chief points in each reading lesson is given in the form of questions and answers. Easy verses, illustrative of the various subjects, are introduced, in order that the children may connect pleasant poetic fancies with the phenomena upon which “Geography” so much depends. It is hoped that these reading lessons may afford intelligent teaching, even in the hands of a young teacher. The first ideas of Geography–the lessons on “Place”–which should make the child observant of local geography, of the features of his own neighbourhood, its heights and hollows and level lands, its streams and ponds–should be conveyed viva voice. At this stage, a class-book cannot take the place of an intelligent teacher. Children should go through the book twice, and should, after the second reading, be able to answer any of the questions from memory. Charlotte M. Mason

As described, the lessons are short and narrative. Discussion questions are sprinkled throughout the book as are the original black and white illustrations.

Charlotte Mason devotees will not be disappointed by the gentle instruction contained here. My only criticism would be in regards to the photos and illustrations. The publishers decided to keep Miss Mason’s originals and my children were not as impressed with them. This is easily supplemented with a quick Google search or another reference book and should not hinder your decision to purchase.

Retails for $16.95

Tags: book review, Charlotte Mason, elementary school, Geography, homeschooling, Meaning of a Map, Motions of the Earth, Points of the Compass, Sandi Queen

A Bite of Geography

July 20, 2009 by Jolanthe

5 Comments

There may come a day when our family will be world travelers, but until then we are exploring our world from the comfort of our home. We might be sprawled out on the floor using an atlas, globe, and some great literature to learn all about the world around us, but in our own way we are traveling and having a great adventure.

The first year we homeschooled, our oldest was in kindergarten and my theory was “I really can’t do much to mess up kindergarten….so it will be fine!” The next year, when we decided to continue homeschooling and we added another child into the mix, I needed to know the direction we were going to go for the next few years– mainly because I like to plan, and know what’s coming, and plan {it’s a vicious cycle for me}.

The decided course of action was a geography~based study for the next few years.

Why geography? Truthfully, I wanted to learn more about the world around us and also have our children understand how big our world is ~ and how creative their God is who made it all!

Last fall we embarked on a two year study of the continents and various countries, touching on key facts and basic information about the countries we picked to study: geographic features, missionaries, animals, historical figures and events, literature, art and so much more. We usually spend two weeks studying a country, unless we become so involved in something we are learning about and want to know more. Our studies are not all-inclusive, but give us a wonderful basis or ’stepping-stone’ for understanding our world as a whole.

Even if your studies are not geography based, there are some easy ways to incorporate more into your day ~ without much prep needed.

Learn a little at a time. We started with some basic information: learning how to read a map, basic geography features {mountains, rivers, oceans, continents} and went from there. Our preschooler can name the seven continents and five oceans just from listening to his older siblings sing fun geography songs. He also knows the directions of North, South, East, and West ~ not because I’m the world’s greatest teacher, but because he is surrounded by the information and picks it up in our everyday life.
Hang up some maps! A map can be put up practically anywhere: in your school area, the bathroom, your child’s room or even under the glass of your dining room table. We have a world map hanging at our kid’s eye-level and I find our kids plopped down on the floor looking to see where we live or just exploring the map in general. When we are studying different continents, I print off maps for them to color and fill in key features: rivers, capital, mountains, etc… Anything to get them interacting with the maps!
Find a good atlas. We keep our atlas in plain site so the kids have access to it whenever they want to use it. There are times that we look online for more resources and we really like National Geographic Xpeditions and WorldAtlas.com. Between our library and online resources, we have plenty to keep us busy and learning.

Geography can seem overwhelming because there is truly so much to know and learn. Taking it in little ‘bite-sized chunks’ and having fun along the way makes all the difference. You don’t have to cover the entire globe next week ~ start your journey out by taking one step at a time and see where your travels take you!

Tags: continent studies, Geography, historical figure studies, homeschooling, learning about countries, maps, Using an Atlas

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