Tidbit #16: Tweaking the System
Posted by: homenews <homenews@...>
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THE HOPE CHEST
with Virginia Knowles
Tidbit #16 on November 8, 2003
Tweaking the System
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The Hope Chest is a free e-mail newsletter with encouragement and practical teaching tips. The writer is Virginia Knowles, wife of Thad, mother of nine children, and author of Common Sense Excellence: Faith-Filled Home Education for Preschool to 5th Grade, and The Real Life Home School Mom.
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Dear Hope Chest readers,
I think many new home schoolers have the idea that the veteran home school moms all have their systems down to a science. We old-timers supposedly know everything about curriculum, scheduling, and teaching methods. Guess again! While many of us have gained a wealth of information to share, we too are still figuring things out. Curriculum changes, our children change, our lifestyles change, our educational philosophies change, and so our strategies need to be adjusted accordingly.
Ill bet some of the curriculum you chose at the beginning of the year isnt working the way you expected. Ill bet many of you have hit schedule snags, or cant figure out how to juggle everything and still do it well. Welcome to the club! But heres the good news: you can still tweak the system to make it work more efficiently and effectively for you! You even have a month before the end of this semester to try out new ideas so that you can start with fresh energy in January!
Here are a few things we have tweaked lately:
Bible Time
I came away with renewed enthusiasm for discipling my children when we went to Sovereign Graces Celebration South conference. This whole area has been a challenge to me since we have such an age spread. I decided to start simple -- just three children (ages 6, 9 and almost 11) and nothing really fancy. Each day we open up the Gospel of John, one of them reads a short passage aloud, we discuss it briefly (vocabulary, key concepts and application), and we usually choose a key verse to memorize set to a bouncy rhythm. I occasionally read them a related Bible passage. The children often think of something extra to do, such as memorizing a verse in sign language or a few phrases in Latin. (Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi -- Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world is actually in Joannas Latina Christiana curriculum as well as one of her choir songs.) What makes this Bible time easier is that we use pocket-sized Gospels of John, which I keep in a small basket on the shelf. I get these free from the Pocket Testament League (http://www.readcarryshare.org) to give away. I like this study because it is so simple, the children are interested in it, and it equips them for evangelism. Joanna and Lydia have even decided to tuck a Gospel of John in with a friends birthday gift, especially since the covers say The Best Gift.
New curriculum
Can you believe that some children have the nerve to ask for MORE curriculum? Yep, its true. Lydia wants more work to do. She reads well, but doesnt want to JUST read all day. She begged for hands-on activities and work book pages, so we went to Books-a-Million and found a Houghton-Mifflin science workbook which has experiments and fill-in-the-blank stuff. Shes still agitating for more, so Ive got to put my thinking cap on. Sigh Im not a big hands-on project sort of person. I am much more comfortable handing my children books to read. Maybe Ill have her make a board game about South America.
Joanna also needed a change in curriculum. Shes in 5th grade, but did 5th grade Horizons Math work books last year. I had moved her into Saxon 76, but she is choking on the text format. Then I bought her a 6th grade workbook at the local teacher supply store, but she says that is way too easy for her. Ill probably break down and order Horizons 6th grade, but its not going to be cheap since I dont have the teacher manual for that level yet. Sigh
Using What We Already Have
I bought Daily Grams for two of my children, but they werent doing them DAILY. Weve had to sit down and do ten lessons at a time to catch up a bit. This isnt all that painful -- the lessons are very brief and its good practice in punctuation, parts of speech and sentence combining.
Im trying to make good use of the books we already have on our shelves. I recently picked an easy science book -- The Christian Liberty Nature Reader -- to read a chapter each day with Andrew, my 1st grader. Since we usually cuddle up on the couch for school work, I put it on the living room shelf next to First Language Lessons so I can grab them at the same time. I think we will also start Missionary Stories and the Millers by Mildred Martin for world geography. We just finished What Would Jesus Do? by Mack Thomas. (We read this for several nights at bedtime, along with Micah and Naomi.) Weve got the books, and we may as well use them!
Ill bet you have dozens of unread books in your house, maybe ones your older children read, but your younger children havent discovered yet. Its hard for them to know that each book is about when they are all wedged together on the shelf and they just see the spines. You can help them pick the right ones based on their reading level, personal interests and current school topics. I even do this for my 16 year old, because we have lots of old books that are great for her Philosophy, American Government and World Literature courses. Other times, especially when I come home from the library, I have a book talk and tell the kids what each book is about and who I think should read it.
Look through your shelves and see what you already have! Be a faithful steward with your resources!
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Well, I could write more about our tweaking our schedule and my health but Ill save those for when I have a better handle on them.
Here is a brief exerpt from the Organization chapter of my book Common Sense Excellence: Faith-Filled Education for Preschool to 5th Grade. For ordering information, please click here: http://www.thehopechest.net/CSE.html
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Review goals periodically to see if you are on track. You may have to change goals in the middle of the year, setting new challenges for the child who has surpassed expectations or readjusting the workload for the one who is still struggling. Christmas break is a great time to make these evaluations.
Do monthly and weekly planning. If you are using formal curriculum, you will need to read the teachers manual to prepare for upcoming projects, and check your childs work to be sure he is on target to finish the book on time. If you are using other methods, you can write a list of activities to accomplish and literature to read. Whatever methods you use, you will want to prepare ahead for necessary supplies, photocopies, and other details. If your child uses an assignment book (perhaps a lesson planning form book) you can jot down the specific assignments for him to complete and check off. About a month before the end of each semester, take stock of the progress your child has made, and make a list of specific assignments which must be completed before the Christmas or summer break. This could be a list of books to read, work book or text book pages to complete, reports to write, or other educational activities. Concentrate on the Core Four academic subjects: language, math, science and social studies.
Do daily planning. If your child is slipping behind on weekly goals, or you are working on something unusual, write out a short sequenced list of assignments to keep her on track for the day. Put the needed books and supplies into one plastic bin so she will be able to find everything quickly.
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And finally, a few more comments about religious persecution and the Civil War from last weeks Addendum on Patriotism, Pacifism, Perspective and Persecution:
Hi! I agree with your opinions and you are doing an outstanding job on keeping us 'on our spiritual toes', so to speak, by bringing interesting things to ponder on. I am a Romanian defector (left Romania during Ceausescu's reign, in 1982) and asked for political asylum to the States. As a Christian teacher there, I had to face lots of problems concerning my faith. God gave me the strength and the right answers when interrogated and brought me here through a miracle (it was almost impossible for a young person to get a passport to visit any free countries, at the time). I just want to encourage you on your work. In Him, Monica Smithson
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First I want to say thank you for your weekly Tidbits. I do enjoy reading them and know that you spend a great deal of time composing them and sharing your heart & thoughts. I do feel compelled to respond to the comment you made in the addendum: Thats what Whittier was trying to say 1843, eighteen years before the Civil War. If the South had voluntarily given up slavery (albeit under pressure from abolitionists like Whittier) this could have averted the bloody nation-ripping war. It seems you are saying the Civil War was fought and blood was shed only for the reason of slavery. I am sure you know this is far from the truth ~Melissia
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You said: 'If the South had voluntarily given up slavery...this could have averted the bloody nation-ripping war.' I'm sorry, but I must disagree... I think that if you do more reading, you will find that there was more to the war than slavery. Slavery was not an issue until later in the war...it was not what the war was originally fought over. And I submit to you, that the war would have been fought anyway, without slavery. If you want to know "the other side" (which I believe to be the true side!), check out the following books:
Southern by the Grace of God - Michael Andrew Grissom
When in the Course of Human Events - Charles Adams
The South Was Right - James Ronald Kennedy, Walter Donald Kennedy
The Real Lincoln -Thomas J. DiLorenzo
Even though I am a native Southerner and still live in the South, I learned things in these books I had never heard before. Remember, that the victors always write the history books...and in this case, the victor was the Federal Government. We as citizens of a REPUBLIC all lost that war! Cindy Freeman
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Virginias reply: I was born in Illinois, the Land of Lincoln, but have lived most of my life in the south. Yes, I am aware that the Civil War was not just about slavery, but it was certainly a factor, especially in the moral motivation of the general Northern public to stay in the war. Notice I said, could have averted not would have averted. Perhaps I should have inserted the word, possibly? Yes, I know that a states right to rule without undue federal interference was key to the formation of the Confederacy and still is an important issue in government. Yes, I know there are two sides to every story, that the Union army wasnt always that saintly, and that there were devout Christian Confederates like General Robert E. Lee. Two of our favorite Civil War books are Patricia Beattys Be Ever Hopeful, Hannalee and Look Homeward, Hannalee about a young Georgia mill hand and her brother who are cruelly displaced to the North during the Civil War. If any of you would like to read books -- fiction and non-fiction -- about the Civil War written from the Southern perspective, these three suppliers carry a good selection:
- Lifetime Books and Gifts: http://www.lifetimebooksandgifts.com/
- Elijah Company: http://www.lifetimebooksandgifts.com/
- Greenleaf Press: http://www.greenleafpress.com
And that is all I am going to say about this topic for a LONG time!
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While I was doing a web search, I came across a home school web site with some very encouraging articles!
Lamp Post Homeschool Store by Wynn and Harriet Yoder
Article on Home Schooling During Difficult Times:
http://www.lampposthomeschool.com/Encouragement_Homeschooling_During_Difficult_Times.htm
Article on Diligence and Faith:
http://www.lampposthomeschool.com/EncouragementDiligenceFaith.htm
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Well, thats enough from me for now! I always like to hear what you think!
In His Sovereign Grace,
Virginia Knowles