The Curriculum Choice

Chore Buster

Biblical Principle Approach, Organization 7 Responses »

May 202010

The resource I’m sharing this month isn’t actually curriculum, but it is helping me with the home part of homeschooling.

I’ve tried various chore charts, including one with tabs and tokens and hooks. It was a good idea, but it was so complicated I quickly tired of it. Then set up a filing box divided by task frequency: daily, weekly, monthly. That, too, worked for awhile.

photo credit: spinneraf

Lately, I’ve used the free-for-all method. Basically, that means dust accumulation hides the color my furniture and my feet stick to the kitchen floor. When I can’t stand that anymore, I finally clean.

Some people are fine with this arrangement. Some of these care-free, happy people even live in my house. I wish I was more like them, but my perfectionist tendencies run deep.

I’ve relaxed tremendously, but I can concentrate on the school part of homeschool when I know the floor will get washed and the bills will get paid. Not having to think about when those tasks will be squeezed in between distractions is bliss.

Chore Buster is perfect! The free online chore chart generator has many unique features that make it ideal for my family.

First, I entered each individual in my household and attached a percentage of chore assignments to them. For instance, my husband works all day, so he has only 25% of chores. (To view in detail, please click on the photo.)

Then I began listing the jobs. Each chore can be assigned a difficulty rating and frequency. Here’s a partial list of what I entered to get you started:

As I was entered in chores, I discovered one of the best options. Chores can be set for specific people. Thus, I added menu planing and paying bills which are specific to me. My children easily see they are not the only ones with chores, and I don’t have to write out my to do list every day.

Chores are randomized based on the factors entered. (To view in detail, please click on the photo.)

Various option for printing are available. I print out one week of chores for our entire family on one sheet of paper. It’s very utilitarian and plain, so I draw lines with my daughters’ colored markers to separate family members. As chores are completed, we mark them off and at the end of the day a sticker appears as a small reward.

If you want to calculate points for a reward system, it is easy to do with Chore Buster, as well. As you add chores, insert a point value and then at the end of the week you can “Calculate Rewards.” That option is underneath the “My Schedule” tab.

The best part of this system is that once it is in place it’s automatic and easily tweaked. Now if I could find a computer application to actually complete the chores…That wouldn’t build character though, would it?

Written by Renae Deckard, Biblical Principled mother of 3. Find Renae’s reflections about homeschool and family life at Life Nurturing Education.

Inspiration from Pilgrim’s Progress

Bible, Biblical Principle Approach, Encouragement, Literature, New to Homeschooling 3 Responses »

Oct 062009

If lessons are meant to be creative, mine fail. This year, lessons are pretty much straight from the book. Commendable plans smolder in my thoughts. Our idea books are perused often, but not by me. My son has taken to finding his own creativity. I applaud his efforts.

Pilgrim's Progress
Pilgrim’s Progress

When I asked him to record the characters in Pilgrim’s Progress, he hunted for Alternatives to Worksheets. Not taking into account my paper-cutting, creative-sketching, engineer-type son, I had traded it on Paperbackswap. Similar books grace our shelves, so I did not think it would be missed.

It was, but only momentarily. Once my son explained his idea, I found another tab book as an example. He finished his lesson with flourish.

Enter guilt. Where is my creativity? I should be adding interesting projects to make school exciting. If I battle laziness, and quit being distracted, maybe my son will not draw incessantly at the bottom of every assignment.

Then again, maybe that isn’t so bad. His mark of individuality is on each page, and every doodle tells a story. I need some of his inspiration. Thus the thoughts clash in my heart. I can choose guilt and despair, or forgiveness and hope.

In Pilgrim’s Progress Hopeful and Christian are captured by Giant Despair. Thrown into the dungeon and tormented the prisoners refuse to die, so the giant plans to kill them. Fearful captives intercede through the night. Then Christian delivers a passionate speech,

What a fool, am I, thus to lie in a stinking dungeon, when I may as well walk at liberty! I have a key in my bosom, called Promise, that will, I am persuaded, open any lock in Doubting Castle.

The key does indeed unlock the doors, and the companions escape, free to continue their path to beloved Celestial City.

Like these two pilgrims, I cannot remain burdened by fear any longer. Wallowing in guilt cripples. There are keys for me to use. They are principles to challenge my negativity.

Promise 1

He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion. Philippians 1:6

I am unfinished. The grace of God is my hope as I forge ahead on this pilgrim journey.

Promise 2

A battered reed he will not break off, and a smoldering wick he will not put out, until he leads justice to victory. Mathew 12:20

I am not ashes yet. The breath of the Holy Spirit blows on my heart to ignite my soul.

With these promises firmly in my grasp, I hear the chains clatter as they hit the floor. The gate swings open, and the paralyzed giant is no longer a threat. I am free!

Written by Renae Deckard, Biblical Principled mother of 3. Find Renae’s reflections about homeschool and family life at Life Nurturing Education.

A few non-BPA resources

Biblical Principle Approach, Language Arts, Literature, Mathematics No Responses »

Sep 152009

I have taken to buying books–lots of books. I buy literature from a local used bookstore and lots of resource books from mega-bookstores and my local used homeschool store. I like to buy books that I can refer to over and over for ideas and inspiration. I need to jazz up my lessons but I’m not always sure how to do it. Once I have the basic lesson planned, I need to provide a create outlet for expressing the principles we learn, and I have many books on my shelf that do not ascribe to a Biblical Principle Approach philosophy but are terrific nonetheless. These resources are for elementary ages.

Alternatives to Worksheets (and More Alternatives to Worksheets) has such great ideas for things we can put in our notebooks that aren’t worksheets. This is very easy to use in our studies because there’s nothing to change at all. It is simply fun projects that don’t involve a worksheet. The ideas work for any subject any time of the year. I have used their projects in math, Bible, literature and history. (The also have Better than Book Reports, which is great too.)
Big Book of Books by Dinah Zike is also great. We make many little books for our notebooks with ideas from Dinah. She has books on many school subjects that you can also use to add to your lessons.
How to Get Your Child off the Refrigerator and Onto Learning by Carol Barnier is another highly recommended resource for any parent struggling with high energy children. She is a homeschool mom who developed all sorts of strategies while home schooling her busy son. There are tons of high energy ideas for every subject and lots of practical advice on dealing with field trips and church. I can’t say enough about this great book. Princess G loves every idea I have ever tried from this book. It gets us up from the desk and moving and learning.
365 Reading Activities from Backpack Books has a year’s worth of great activities. They also make one for phonics and crafts (which I also have). They are all good for quick ideas to add to your lessons.
The internet. I can’t believe the stuff I have at my fingertips. Encyclopedias, dictionaries, crafts, and lots more at the click of a mouse. Yesterday Princess G saw a flip book and thought that would be a fun thing to try. In less than 5 minutes I googled one and printed out a neat running dinosaur flip book. That’s just almost too easy!
Daily Grams are an easy way to keep up the grammar skills. Each exercise takes only 5 minutes or so and Princess G really likes them. They begin at 2nd grade (the pink book).
Math Art is also filled with fun ideas to spice up math time with a place value snake, fraction flags and quilts, multiplication house, tesselations and weaving number patterns.

This is only the tip of my resource vault iceberg. I will share more in my next post.

How To Make An Overall Plan for The Year

Encouragement, High School, Mom Helps, New to Homeschooling, Organization, Philosophies 5 Responses »

Aug 292009

Often I am asked by new homeschoolers about how to make an overall plan for the school year. They are looking for the nuts and bolts of putting lots of great ideas together because they tend to get overwhelmed by whole process. I shared the following ideas with a friend and I hope they help and encourage readers here at Curriculum Choice.

I try to emphasis to new homeschoolers that your “school day” extends far beyond the usual school hours. By making good use of that concept you can fit some school related learning into every day of the week and move some of your ideas and projects into the evenings or over the weekends so your whole family can participate.

My Steps to Pulling it All Together

1. Consider what you want to teach. What are the main points of the lessons? What are my goals for this particular year? The process of putting these thoughts on paper in a simple form gives a touchstone when considering what books, resources, and other options to use.

Take an inventory of what materials you have on hand

2. Gather your materials to see what you have and what you might need:

Textbooks or workbooks (if you are going to use these)
Library books (look on your local library website and browse their catalog of books)
Games and Kits
Online activities (Google the topic with “lesson plan” after it or “activities” or “unit study”)
Field trip ideas
DVDs from Netflix

I usually keep a notebook page for each subject as I am planning and record my ideas on paper as I go.

3. Decide which materials best suit your child. Try to figure out which aspect of what you are learning is going to be most interesting to them.

Active learner-Short activities, lots of movement, limited table time.

Some Children Thrive on Reading Lots of Books

Visual Learner-Picture books, videos, lots of art activities.
Avid Reader-Keep a list of books that can fill in your schedule and don’t forget books for subjects like science, history, and biographies of artists and musicians.
Project Learner-Kits, models, lapbooks, and notebook pages are great for this kind of learner.

4. Divide the text, books, activities, and field trips into the desired amount of time. I prefer to move slowly through a book and have them give an oral or written narration every day. When your children are young, working up to one paragraph per book selection per day is enough along with a drawing or a map or something that is interesting to them. I never try to do it all. (see #6)

Combine writing, art, and science into one project

5. Look for ways to connect subjects:

History and literature (historical fiction)
History and art and music (learn about artists and composers from the history time period)
Science and art (drawing diagrams or labs, drawing animals found in your neighborhood)
Math and science (measuring things for labs, cooking)
PE and math (times tables while jump roping, counting repetitions, count as you bounce a ball)

6. Have an overall plan but be flexible.
Decide if any areas are needing extra attention for this school year, make those a priority and perhaps complete them earlier in the day.

Off Season Traveling is a Great Experience

Take the opportunity for field trips-This is one reason for home schooling in the first place. Taking field trips when everyone else is back in school is so enjoyable and far less crowded.

Plan for interruptions-Divide your books into 34 or 35 weeks instead of 38 so you have some wiggle room.

7. Have a plan for things to do when your child is sick:
Educational videos while laying on the couch.
Read out loud to your child.
Listen to classical music while they rest.
Play quiet games.

8. Make use of your time spent traveling in the car:
Listen to books on tape.
Listen to folk music or classical music.
Have a box of books they can read to themselves.
Have a stack of math facts flashcards (keep in a Ziploc.)
Have a stack of sight words to read (keep in a Ziploc.)

Hopefully this post has helped you in some way, either with a few ideas to get started with or a some new ideas to try in your homeschool.

Written by Barb-Harmony Art mom. She also blogs at http://www.harmonyartmom.blogspot.com

Transcripts Made Easy

Organization 1 Response »

Aug 102009

Is anybody else beginning to stress a little about high school? Come on, raise your hand higher, I know you’re out there!

I consider myself a pretty confident homeschooler overall. I don’t over-analyze curriculum choices or worry about counting every single minute of every single lesson. I’m a fairly relaxed homeschooler – which is the way I like it. Until, that is, the “H” word begins to hover over my head. Then I start to fret, wondering if our relaxed, eclectic, Charlotte Mason style will cut the mustard when it comes to things like filling out transcripts, calculating grade point averages and getting my children into college if that’s the path God desires.

Some of you may say, “Your oldest is only in 7th grade. Why are you fussing over this now?” Well, as you’ll soon find out from my review, it seems it’s never too early to at least have a plan in mind for high school. And if I want to begin any high school credit courses early (which I do), 7th grade isn’t at all too early to have the plan in place.

So, where did I start looking? I ran across a book titled Transcripts Made Easy by Janice Campbell. She’s a mom of four who has been homeschooling since the late 80′s and currently has two boys who graduated from college early and two boys who are beginning college courses in high school. Because of her experience, success and the simplicity of this book, I have found it to be a tremendous help in planning high school – and easing my anxiety!

Includes reproducible forms!

Transcripts Made Easy is truly easy to understand. Even with 120 pages, it’s a fairly quick read, too. Janice walks you through, step-by-step, how to simply and effectively keep academic records, how to turn those records into a GPA sheet, how to calculate credits and quality points, making adjustments for AP or college classes and how to make sure you are preparing your student for classes that meet state and college-bound goals.

She even includes real conversations with college admissions counselors to help you understand what they are really looking for in an applicant.

For our less textbook structured homeschool, my favorite sections are those that help me justify unit studies, field trips, 4-H, service projects and the like. There’s even an entire chapter dedicated to teaching you how to name less traditional classes, how to assign them the appropriate credit, and even how to assess them so that a grade can be given for the GPA. Ah, what a relief! I won’t have to turn into Textbook Tina afterall! (Not that there’s anything wrong with textbooks – most of the time they just aren’t our style.)

With the reproducible forms included in the book, you can easily begin noting high school level courses for credit, even if you start them a year or two early. And if you’re already in high school, but still looking for a system that works, it seems it’s never too late (or too hard) to jump into the record keeping provided in TME.

Transcripts Made Easy can be purchased as a softcover 8 1/2 x 11″ book for $21.95, or as an e-book for $18.95. Both are very fairly priced!

-Written by Cindy, Eclectic Charlotte Mason mom of Three. You can find her blogging at Our Journey Westward and Shining Dawn Books.