I really enjoy home schooling. I like to talk about it, and I like to write about it.

Sometimes, I think, people assume that things must run perfectly at our house. Don't mistake passion for perfection.

Someone has been ill at our house for the last month. This week, I've been, as we used to say growing up in Missouri, "sicker than a dog." We're in the middle of packing for a move, including having a moving sale this weekend, and I had a deadline to meet for an article yesterday.

So, we took spring break a week early. And, we're taking next week off, too. In fact, I might even take off a third week.

And sometimes, we don't start school until 10:00 AM. Okay. Sometimes 11:00. Furthermore, there are times when we don't do any hands-on activities, and my son just does worksheets. I know. It's terrible.

We'll get back on track eventually. While I definitely don't embrace this upheaval as a pattern, right now, I feel grateful to have the freedom to just do life. I know that my kids aren't suffering academically; after all, they're only 3 and 5 (!), and if they get a few extra days of playing with the neighborhood kids, I'll just chalk it up to having some good old fashioned fun (kids need that, you know!) and the socialization that everyone seems so worried about.

So, for those of you who feel inadequate or guilty from time to time for failing to measure up to self-imposed standards, I've been there, too.

Now, some people might take a relaxed schedule to an extreme of educational neglect, and I'm obviously not okay with that.
I am okay, however, with being realistic, and giving myself permission to take a vacation or a few sick days...or even a mental health day if necessary! If your kids are like mine, they're already ahead of where they need to be academically anyway, and are on a year-round calendar of learning.

So, join me in taking a deep breath and letting yourself off the hook. I'll be super mom again by Easter. Maybe.

Happy Home Schooling,
Mrs. Sherry

Spring officially begins at 7:00 this evening. How about celebrating the first full day of spring tomorrow by enjoying some great poetry?

Thank you, God, for new life and new beginnings. Thank you, God, for spring!



The following poems are from the book Poems and Prayers for the Very Young, selected and illustrated by Martha Alexander.

"The Sun"
--John Drinkwater

I told the sun that I was glad,
I'm sure I don't know why;
Somehow the pleasant way he had
Of shining in the sky,
Just put a notion in my head
That wouldn't it be fun
If, walking on the hill, I said
"I'm happy" to the sun.

"A Kite"
--Unknown
I often sit and wish that I
Could be a kite up in the sky,
And ride upon the breeze and go
Whichever way I chanced to blow.

"Out In The Fields With God"
--Louise Imogen Guiney

The little cares that fretted me,
I lost them yesterday,
Among the fields above the sea,
Among the winds at play,
Among the lowing of the herds,
The rustling of the trees,
Among the singing of the birds,
The humming of the bees.
The foolish fears of what might pass,
I cast them all away,
Among the clover-scented grass,
Among the new-mown hay,
Among the hushing of the corn
Where drowsy poppies nod,
Where ill thoughts die and good are born--
Out in the fields with God.

Happy Home Schooling,
Mrs. Sherry

When I was preparing to choose social studies and science themes for the current school year, I asked my son what he wanted to learn. I wrote down his answers and decided to buy trade books to use for each topic.

As I began to look for books, however, I quickly found that it would be much cheaper to buy a textbook that included most of the topics in which he had an interest, using the text as my base and supplementing from there.

I chose to use A Beka Science 1 as the base text for his kindergarten year. I liked it because it included most of the topics I needed, it had more detailed explanations than the kindergarten text (my son wants details!) and incredible pictures. It also included a few hands-on activities so I didn't have to make up my own if I didn't have the time. I added a couple other themes to round out the year, and have been pleased with the results. The science themes we used for kindergarten included:
1. Ocean Life
2. Seasons
3. How Toys Work
4. Dinosaurs
5. Weather
6. Plants and Seeds
7. Insects
8. Zoo Animals
9. My Body and My Senses

For social studies, I used the first half of My America, My World 1 from A Beka (I'm using the second half next year) and A Beka's Community Helpers Activity Book, along with an additional Christmas Around the World theme I developed on my own. The social studies themes we explored for kindergarten include:
1. Community Helpers
2. U.S. History, 1600-1800
3. U.S. Geography (including introduction to maps)
4. Christmas Around the World (including introduction to the globe)

I recommend using some kind of scope and sequence to determine what topics should be covered at each grade level so you don't have gaps in student learning. I often refer to the A Beka scope and sequence (available free at www.abeka.org), and have also consulted the book, What Every Kindergartener Should Know, and the World Book Typical Course of Study (see the link to the right for this scope and sequence resource).

I feel complete freedom to rearrange the order of topics in our textbooks to fit the season or to correspond with field trips. For example, I postponed our study of ocean life to correspond with a trip to the Omaha Zoo Aquarium. I don't feel tied down to the text book, but rather, use it as a primary resource.

I feel confident with this approach that both my kids and I will enjoy our learning time together. No one gets bored, and I know that they're learning what they need to know. Plus, I can easily find activities for my pre-schooler using the same themes, so I don't feel like I'm preparing two separate lesson plans. I usually present just one theme per month, so I'm not overwhelmed with planning. We have "school" year-round, so this plan is based on a twelve month calendar.

Happy Home Schooling,
Mrs. Sherry

Q: I think I'd like to teach using theme units, but I don't want to buy some of the expensive curriculum sets (like KONOS), at least at first. How do I develop my own theme units?

A: There are different ways to look at developing theme units. Here is a simple format you can use, however, to develop a social studies or science unit that includes some additional cross-curricular features.

1. Choose a social studies or science theme.
(Check back later in the week for suggested themes).
2. Write down 3-5 learning objectives or goals.
(Check back later in the week for tips on writing learning objectives.)
3. Make a list of vocabulary words to learn. You may also wish to choose spelling words from this list.
4. Choose non-fiction resources that relate to your theme. Include books, magazines, websites, videos, etc.
5. Choose additional literature to complement your theme. (Example: If your theme is weather, you might want to choose a book such as Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs or The Long Winter.)
6. Break your theme down into sub-topics, and create a daily plan based on these sub-topics in combination with your learning objectives. (Example: If your theme is weather, sub-topics might include precipitation, clouds, water cycle, forecasting, and storms.)
7. Consider ways to use math or arts projects or field trips to complement your theme. (Example: If your theme is weather, you might want to practice reading a thermometer, create a temperature graph, paint a snowy day scene and take a field trip to visit a weatherman at a local TV station.)
8. Determine a way to assess student learning.
9. Have a great time learning! Theme units are a learning adventure for me. Another bonus is that you can easily present the same theme to kids of different ages, and adapt your expectations through your learning objectives for each child.

I'll add more posts later in the week giving you details about compiling a list of themes and creating learning objectives.

I'll also include a sample elementary thematic lesson plan soon. If you'd like to vote, you may submit a comment to this post, and I'll share a plan for the theme with the most requests from the choices given below.

Theme Choices: dinosaurs, weather, intro to U.S. geography, community helpers

Happy Home Schooling!
Mrs. Sherry

Q: Can you recommend any good resources for teaching literature?

A: Yes! I love to talk about teaching language arts!

My favorite literature resource is called Across the Centuries from Lifeway Press. Each teaching guide, based on classic children's and young adult literature picks, contains 3-6 units (more for younger grades, fewer for older grades) that are reproducible and are written from a biblical perspective. In addition to blackline masters, there are plenty of fun activity suggestions to choose from in each unit that span across all content areas (science, social studies, the arts, etc.). I will say that these units tend to be challenging, so if in doubt, choose the younger grade option. Each guide is only $12.95. Books are available for pre-k through high school. This is by far the least expensive way to teach literature with a ready-to-go, easy to use, quality format. Have I made my point? I love this resource! Hip, hip, hooray!

Life Way also has a new high school college prep text series for rhetoric and for British, American and World Literature, all from a Christian perspective. I haven't previewed these books, but I'd say they are definitely worth looking into for older students. You can go to www.lifeway.com for more information on any of these resources.

I do also like Progeny Press literature study guides. These are nice if you want to do a study on a particular book; there are several units to choose from at about $12 each.

I hope that helps! If anyone has other favorite resources, we'd love to hear from you!

Happy Home Schooling,
Mrs. Sherry