back to title page
My Homeschool Links
After two years of sending our precious Elya to private Christian schools, we felt God's leading to keep her home. Deuteronomy 6:5-7, Proverbs 22:6 and Psalm 78:1-8 We knew that we could not delegate the teaching of our children any longer.
We taught Elya many things at home in her preschool years. She learned to read, because she was interested and asked about all of the letter sounds. She knew simple arithmetic facts because she was curious beyond learning to count. She didn't gain any new knowledge in kindergarten because we had covered it all in the home - with no effort!
We moved as she was entering first grade and found a school in our new community to send her to. She learned new things, but as we saw the papers she was bringing home, we knew we could teach her all of those things. The school uses A Beka curriculum which is readily available to the home school market.
When we started, we used Five in a Row, a very gentle, and enjoyable unit study based on wonderful children's books. We bought A Beka Arithmetic and Language Arts to round out the lessons. But Elya wanted more. We have switched to Sonlight Curriculum which again uses real books, not a lot of textbooks. It was like greeting old friends when we opened our box of books for the year. We have loved it! Elya rereads all the books immediately after we finish with them. It also has given the teachers of this household guidance in teaching and good books to teach with.
We usually get through with our "formal" learning in three or four hours each day. Sometimes it takes longer, sometimes less. Because we only have two students in the school, we don't have to give lots of extra work to keep students busy while the others play catch up. Discipline problems don't get out of hand - it is easy to tell which student is acting up!
We continue with "school" all year 'round. We can take our vacations when we, as a family, find it convenient. No dependance on school boards here!
We also have lessons scheduled for most Saturdays. This gives Daddy time to check on the material mastered, give a Spelling test, do Science experiments, go on nature hikes with field guides, and lead in Music time. Daddy reads the Read-Alouds most evenings also. It has been a great way to have the head of the household involved in our school.
Because I am not an organized person, I needed to get the house in order. I turned to The Messies Manual by Sandra Felton, which gave me some direction. I didn't need to be overwhelmed with housework! They also have great ideas on organizing, not just cleaning. It has been a sanity saver!
We also needed to be more consistent in our discipline. We have been helped in that with The If-Then Chart and The Blessing Chart from Doorposts. Discipline does not necessarily mean punishment. We want our children to lead Godly, disciplined lives. To give them something to strive for (The Blessing Chart) is the gentle way, but you need to teach them that there are consequences to their actions (The If-Then Chart).
We also did a lot of reading. We read The How and Why of Home Schooling by Ray Ballmann and The Right Choice: Home Schooling by Christopher Klicka. They were both wonderful resources for getting started and answering questions. We also subscribed to two magazines - another wonderful resource. The Teaching Home is one that is now only a web 'zine and Practical Homeschooling is the other one. They both provide useful information on methods, curriculum and what is going on in the home schooling world.
We have also joined HSLDA Home School Legal Defense. They give up to date information on legal issues involving homeschooling. They also provide pre-paid legal services for homeschoolers.
back to title page
My Homeschool Links