FRIDAY MEME

HEART OF THE MATTER FRIDAY'S MEME

"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire."- William Butler Yeats

This has to be one of my most favorite quotes. I discovered it while reading on www.courageousbeings.com , a site that helps turn homeschooling from boring to being highly motivating. I have not participated in any of their EPIC units, but I do love their philosophy!

In a nutshell-- It is understood that there are dendrites in your brain that help "fire off" information and make connections, will reproduce themselves when a child is immersed in multisensory experiences. These type of experiences promote the best learning. That is why I love field trips so much.

It is not enough to sit at a table and do a worksheet--BORING! It has also been found that these dendrites begin to die after 4 days of boredom. Thus, when we stop looking at educating as completing a lesson or curriculum as success and begin to find ways to immerse our children into valuable learning experiences; the dendrites reproduce themselves and the brain is "firing" up!

For me, it has been a reminder that as an educator my main goal is to teach my children to become life long learners. If I can develop a spirit of inquiry in my children I have ultimately accomplished the main goal of education! Learning is not something that just stops at age 18 or 21. We all are continually learning. It is a necessity for survival, but it also makes a wonderful and rich life for the one who is learning and for those around him.

This quote has revitalized my outlook on homeschooling and education in general! I hope it sets all educators on fire as we attempt to to raise up a generation of motivated, inquiring, intellectual individuals.

What I would love to explore more is the how of turning a "bored" student into one who is excited about inquiry and learning. Any suggestions?

Friday Meme- Homeschool Tips and Tricks

Friday Homeschool Meme: Tips and Tricks of Homeschooling Our Homeschooling Family

Homeschooling has been a wonderful experience for my family for the last 3 years. However, it does come with the challenges that one must learn how to overcome. I want to attempt to list the top 10 list for The 5 Chaps!

10- Be willing to toss a curriculum or lesson plans when it just is not working- or at least sell it on ebay! We all want to stick it out to the end, but sometimes we just waste our time.
Every child has a different temperate and a different learning style with multiple intelligences. Just because it worked for a sibling or Johnny across the street, doesn't mean that it will fit your child. It took me a year to find the perfect reading curriculum for my daughter. I just couldn't find the fit for her. But when I finally did, we went through the book and found where she was and finished the rest of the book in 12 weeks and now we have moved on at a great pace. We are now sticking with that curriculum because it works for her. Where would she be if I were more willing to experiment?

9- Know your child's temperament and learning style/ multiple intelligences. There are several online resources to find out if your child leans more toward auditory, visual, or kinestetic learning including the multiple intelligences. This helps a teacher know how to zero in on how the child learns best and teach to that strength. Oh the beauty of homeschooling as we play to the strengths of our children. This has been a key for me in connecting with my children in their learning.

8- Make a schedule and stick to it; but be willing to veer from it when needed. I am constantly working at this. I have found that I have very positive days when we stick to our schedule and I don't stop for extra phone calls or errands. But take breaks for those special times, like for us when it snows in SC!!

7- Include field trips in your learning! This is our favorite activity of homeschooling. We try to have at least one a week. Go to the park, nature observatory, science museums, zoos, historical sites, bread companies, plays, etc. We went to our state's visitor center and collected all of the brochures and found some wonderful historical facts of our state and have made plans to tour our local area.

8- When you do tour, include friends! My children love learning with other homeschoolers and I also love having a mom around to have an adult conversation with (about what? of course, our kids!)

OH THE CHALLENGES OF HOMESCHOOLING WITH A TODDLER!!

7- Squeeze every bit of naptime for what it's worth!!

6- It's okay to let the tv help a little while! At Christmas my little train finatic watch "The Polar Express" 3 or 4 times a week while we worked on school. During the off season, he loves to watch train documentaries. Go figure!

5- Have on hand lots of stickers, markers, and play dough!

4- Let them watch and be involved too. My toddler will watch computer time for my kids, listen in on stories, and try to do the activities they are involved in like shaving cream spelling time.

3- On the days that you have had enough and feel like you need a "calgon" break"; but yet know that is impossible too. STOP- and remind yourself not to be so serious and do something fun with the kids. It helps me and the kids to get refocused.

2- Join a support group of some kind. I cannot recommend this more than anything else! When we isolate ourselves, we feel like we are the only homeschoolers in the world and quitting gets too easy. Being with other moms for support and insights has been invaluable for me and for my children. My support group has activities for kids, moms, couples, and families. It is almost like a second family.

1- PRAY and submit yourself to your Heavenly Father each and every day. Set the atmosphere of your home each and everyday with an uplifting devotional and music of your choice! This makes all the difference in the world!