I usually blog about the school side of home schooling. But, today, I want to reflect on my personal journey and encourage you to give attention to your home as well.

My husband and I renewed our wedding vows on Sunday. It was our 11 1/2 year anniversary. While that certainly isn't a milestone number, after a time of personal challenges, transitions, and deep introspection, renewing our wedding vows was exactly what we needed to do to affirm our commitment to God and our family as we approach this sacred season and a new year of opportunity.

We are in the midst of a major career change for my husband, and we have our house, which my husband designed, on the market. After fifteen years of mission work and church ministry, my husband has spent the last six months on a type of sabbatical, and has worked as a manager at a retail store and as an adjunct professor of philosophy at a local college. He's planning to teach more college courses, and is heading into a new venture as a family counselor alongside his best friend who has a wonderful ministry called TEAM Restoration. We are hoping to move a little closer to our friends, and decrease our expenses to accommodate our home school lifestyle, leading to our need to sell our house.

I'm sharing this with you to encourage you. Yes, our children need to know how to read, write, and think critically. But more than that, they need to know that in a world that is unsteady and ever-changing, God is a rock, and their family is a place of peace, grace, comfort, rest and stability. Building a house of refuge must take priority over building a school of excellence. My roles as a nurturing wife and mother are ever more significant than my role as teacher.

So, during this season, as you worry about covering all the academic bases amidst hurried holiday happenings, let a few of the non-essentials go by the wayside. Are there any vows you need to make, or consider renewing?

Let's set aside some time today to think over our priorities. Focus on Christ; spend five extra minutes today praying and reading the Bible. Give attention to your husband; spend five extra minutes today to write him a note of encouragement. Bless your children; spend five extra minutes today giving hugs and kisses. Oh, and skip the dusting. It will still be there tomorrow. Or next week.

Today, remember that the most important thing in home schooling, isn't the schooling, but the home. Math and science can't create a lasting legacy of love, but a firm foundation in Christ will help your family weather the inevitable winds of change that blow your way.

I'll look forward to reading your comments.

Happy HOME Schooling,
Mrs. Sherry

I wanted to expand upon the spelling question we visited a couple of days ago.

I do recommend using a spelling curriculum of some sort, but I also like to use journals to supplement spelling instruction. Journals are a great way to tie language arts instruction together: composition, spelling, penmanship and reading.

There are lots of different kinds of journal entries. Here are a few:
1. Daily diary: Students give an account of their activities, thoughts and feelings.
2. Current events journal: Students read and comment on a newspaper or magazine article. This is a nice way to integrate social studies and language arts!
3. Creative writing journal: Students are given a writing prompt (such as "On a dark and stormy night..." or "sharks..."), and they add on to the prompt to finish the story. They can create their own prompts, or they can be teacher driven. Students are occasionally encouraged to try different writing forms such as poetry or plays.
4. Dialogue journal: The teacher and student create an ongoing dialogue, asking and answering each others' questions.
5. Free Flow journal: Students write whatever comes to mind. (This is great fun for the self-motivated student who loves to write, but can frustrate the fire out of those who find writing to be a challenge.)

I like to mix up these approaches to encourage variety in writing. Generally, I either set a timer for a few minutes (depending on age and ability), or ask them to write one page.

I don't "grade" student journals; I simply read them and respond, noting progress across the language arts areas. Sometimes, my response may include gently correcting glaring errors, but I emphasize effort over quality. (Of course, my approach would be different if I were reviewing a final draft of some sort.) I use my high school English teacher's idea of marking journals with green or purple ink. There really is something negative about a paper being marked up with a red pen!

As far as spelling goes, I keep a separate log of frequently misspelled words from the journal and add those words, a few at a time, to their traditional spelling list. My goal is to see fewer spelling mistakes in the journal as the year progresses.

I have additional spelling and journal tips I'll share later.

I'm looking forward to receiving more questions. Remember, just click on comment at the bottom of a particular post if you want more detail, or, to ask a new question altogether, click on guest book and send me your query.

Happy Home Schooling!
Mrs. Sherry

Q: Mrs. Sherry,
Thanks for your tips about using graph paper to help a messy math whiz. Another problem I am running into is my son's general handwriting. I am constantly having to remind him to put space between his words. I remind him of spacing before he starts writing, but it doesn't seem to work. He hates writing anyway, so this is a source of frustration for both of us. Do you have any suggestions?
From Christine

A: I'd try two things.

1. Fold an index card in half and ask him to write SPACE on it. Let him decorate it with pictures or stickers with an "outer space" theme. Put it in front of him as a visual reminder to use proper spacing. He'll get the point.

2. Give him points for neatness on each assignment.
3=excellent spacing, excellent letter formation; big improvement!
2=good spacing and letter formation; noticeable improvement
1=completed work, but poor spacing and letter formation; little or no noticeable improvement

Allow him to accumulate "neatness" points through the week; on Friday, if he earns an agreed upon number of points, he earns a privilege. Fun, inexpensive privileges might include:
A. Blank Page Pass: This could be a big motivator! He can staple the pass to a penmanship paper giving him permission to skip it (or at least half of it)!
B. Allow him to use a gel pen or other fun writing instrument on his next page. Or, allow him to buy a fun new pencil or pencil grip at the teacher store.
C. Typing or Printing Pass: If cursive is the issue, kids will love to have the privilege of stapling one of these passes to a paper, giving them the option of typing or printing the assignment.

I'd also say that most doctors I know have illegible penmanship. Not that I think it's okay, in fact it could be dangerous, but it seems to be less important today than it once was to write neatly. Most doctors, in fact, are using Palm Pilots and laptops to keep patient records and order prescriptions. So, while I think an emphasis on excellence is important, and I think direct instruction in penmanship is essential, don't dwell on it too much and allow it to become a source of stress. For journaling, for example, just go ahead and let him type on the computer. You may find that he likes to write, and writes more, when he doesn't have to write it out by hand.

Let me know how these ideas work, and if you need more suggestions, I'd love to hear from you again!

Happy Home Schooling!
Mrs. Sherry

Q: In addition to workbook assignments, I have my daughter write her spelling words 5x each. She hates spelling, and doesn't do well on the tests. What do you suggest?

A: This is a fun question to answer! I have several ideas that might be interesting for you to try.

First, consider that your instructional approach may not suit her learning style. I've organized the following suggestions by learning style:

1. Visual learners need to SEE how to spell a word. Allow your speller to use markers or colored pencils to write the words; use one color for vowels, and another for consonants. Assign the student to use a third color to mark spelling patterns (such as blends, special endings or silent letters). You can also use crossword puzzles, or design boxes that are shaped to the size of each letter, and ask the student to fill in the shapes. Flash cards are another good tool to use; allow the student to see, then spell the word to practice. She might also enjoy taking her spelling words outside! On warm days, allow her to spell with sidewalk chalk. On snowy days, fill an old mustard or ketchup bottle with a solution of water and food coloring; she can spell out the words on the snow!

2. Tactile/kinesthetic learners need to EXPERIENCE and FEEL how to spell a word. Allow them to form the letter shapes with their bodies to practice spelling a word. Use any medium that is textured and can be manipulated; clay, play dough, pipe cleaners, and yarn on felt are great tools. One of my favorite tools is a "salt box." Simply pour salt or sand into a shallow lid or container, and ask the student to spell the words. You can gently shake the salt to "erase" and spell the next word. The outdoor suggestions listed above also provide good texture and activity for kinesthetic learners. Games such as Boggle, Boggle Jr. or Scrabble are great games for these learners.

3. Auditory learners need to HEAR how to spell a word. Allow the student to record the word, definition and correct spelling of her word list onto a tape to play it back for review. Oral practice with a partner (spelling bee style) also works well. Using chants, songs or rhymes are big keys to helping an auditory learner. You might also look for electronic games or computers that spell the words out loud as the letters are typed.

If you aren't sure what type of learner she is, try a different approach each week for three weeks. The week that is the most "fun" for the student and leads to fewer complaints and better test scores will probably reveal her learning style.

Second, you might want to look into a different curriculum. Here is an annotated list to consider:

1. A Reason for Spelling: a simple, traditional approach that seems to cover all of the bases

2. A Beka: a traditional, advanced approach that emphasizes phonics and vocabulary

3. Happy Phonics: a primary, hands-on teaching kit that includes lots of games; go to www.lovetolearn.com

4. The Natural Speller: This is my personal favorite, and includes a list of all the words and phonics rules needed for a comprehensive elementary spelling program. It's very inexpensive and allows room for you to create your own activities to fit the learning style of your child.

Check back tomorrow, and I will discuss how you can use journals to develop excellent spellers!

Happy Home Schooling!
Mrs. Sherry

Q: How can I post a question to this site?

A: Some of you have tried to leave comments/questions, but have been unable to do so; I have fixed the program error! You can now click on guest book to post a comment or question. If you want to comment or ask a more detailed question about an archived or current blog posting, you can click on comment at the bottom of that particular blog. I will receive an alert when you leave a comment and will respond. Thanks for reading my blog, and I'm looking forward to hearing from you soon!

Happy Home Schooling!
Mrs. Sherry