Test Results and a Change of Plans

As I've previously mentioned, I have been planning to begin the RVA with Amita this fall. My intention was to begin preschool and to get a feel for curricula options and the school system, and then move ahead to kindergarten when she turned 5. 

I spoke with the enrollment agent at the RVA and she asked a few questions about Amita's skill level and where she was at academically. I told her about a few of the things Amita had been doing, the agent recommended I give Amita a placement test to make sure the curriculum will match her current level. So Amita and I talked about what a test actually is and we prepared by working on the computer a little bit. There were two exams, one called the DORA (much to Amita's excitement) and once called the ADAM. One tested core reading and one tested math skills. They both took about 45 minutes and were given at home on our computer. They had little animated animals that would ask questions and talk to Amita, and she was really excited to see what they did for each question. I was able to stop and start the tests to get Amita's wiggles out and, of course, pause for a very important snack break. I controlled the mouse and clicked Amita's answers even when I knew she knew and answer and still picked the wrong one (that was very hard for me to do!). The tests are designed to progressively get easier or harder, depending on the student's answer, until they even out at a student's baseline level. Ridhwi took Ashima out of the house (she was very excited to spend one-on-one with daddy) and Amita and I went through the questions.

The next day the RVA called and Amita tested into first grade math and mid-kindergarten reading. After a lengthy discussion with the teachers at the school and a good friend who has a masters in early childhood gifted education about whether Amita was developmentally ready for this, we decided the best thing for her was to be challenged according to her abilities. So instead of starting preschool, we began kindergarten and first grade. I decided to do a whole year of kindergarten even though a lot of the early stuff is review so she feels great about doing the "new" school assignments and she will have a solid foundation for the following years. Luckily I had done some early research so I had an idea about what curriculum I wanted. I spoke with the agent, she ordered it, and we were off! I chose Calvert, a truly exceptional curriculum by all reports. Here is a bit about it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y6moTIOwqs

At this point we are 7 lessons into both math and core subjects. I am amazed at how complete it is. For instance, PE and life skills are included. We are working on tying our shoes, balancing, and hopping on one foot, among the core reading, writing, and math. There are many stories to be read, things to think about, and fun things to color and put together. Yesterday she took an online computer course taught by a "Wise Owl" and learned how to drag a mouse, double click, and select something. This is the only computer work she has done so far, everything else is paper and pencil.

Amita is absolutely thrilled to be learning new things and to be academically challenged. She wakes me up in the morning asking what we are going to be doing in school today and can't wait to put all of her papers together for her teacher to see. It takes her 2-3 hours to go through her work depending on the lesson and we just take our time. Most days we have finished everything in the morning, and sometimes we do a few minutes here and there over the course of a day. 

I am really liking the RVA so far. I like that I am not the teacher, but I am still teaching my child from home. I like that she is being challenged at her exact level, even if it means being in two grades at once (my whole reason for homeschooling). I like that I am not grading and "in charge" of her education, but rather a facilitator who helps her with her work. I like that the teachers there have always been prompt in answering any and all questions (even on holidays and weekends!), and they truly want Amita to succeed and enjoy the learning process.

Another great thing about the RVA is that it is free for us through our school district. Technically Amita is enrolled in public school. She has enrollment dates and can be active in classes at our local public school. If we decide to continue through high school, she will be able to be active in sports, dances, and graduate with a diploma, all while schooling at home and being met academically at her own level. 

Since we will be traveling the month of October, I am working ahead. We are loving it! Here is what came in the box for this year:

Manilla paper, construction paper, music break CD's, string, newsprint paper, regular paper, tracing paper, modeling clay, and magnetic strips.

Index cards, pipe cleaners, watercolors, a ruler, thumbtacks, and the core kindergarten books.

Lots of books to read and sight word books

More core books

First grade math textbooks, manipulatives, and punch out resources (colored shapes, money punch outs, a punch out clock, etc.)

Here is everything on my shelf, ready to go!

Ashima will continue to the activities I've been doing with her. Working when she can and when she is interested, and doing activities by theme. Developing a love and interest for reading and school. Counting and singing songs, and most importantly: playing. She is following a lot of what Amita is doing so I think it is really positive for her too.

Our Homeschool Life

We've been homeschooling now for six weeks and I have to say, I think this is the best decision we ever made. The kids are LOVING it much more than I thought they would and our weekly schedule is a thing of beauty. The flexibility we have is something that is, after such a crazy year, something for which I am extremely thankful. 

Let me go into some more detail about each child and myself. 

Amita is thriving on the routine we have set. Our schedule is as follows:

Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays: 

Breakfast around 7:30/8

School: 9-11:30

Snack: 11:30-12

Nap: 12-2 for Ashima 12-1:00ish for Amita

Play/Errands/etc.: 2:30-5:30

Dinner: 5:30-6:30

Get ready for bed:6:30-7

Bedtime: 7

Tuesdays: Toddler Time from 10-10:30

Thursdays: Music class from 9:45-10:15

Tuesdays: 5-5:30 Dance

Sundays: Church 

Soon coming: swim lessons

As you can see, we have quite a few activities throughout the week  so the kids are getting quite a bit of socialization and interaction (you were worried, weren't you?!). For Amita, this is golden. She absolutely thrives on the schedule and knowing what comes next. At the beginning of each day we put our schedule on the fridge next to our homeschool room and talk about what we will be doing. 

This is just how her personality. She is a very type A person and our days goes MUCH better when I let me know what is happening. There is even schedule in our home school routine. I very much like the idea of coming together for tutoring, going apart to work on independent activities, coming together again, etc. It works well so I can have time with both kids, so that's what we do. 

The first thing we do is ring the school bell. It's a two dollar bell I ordered off the internet and took three weeks to come from China. The kids love to ring it, though, and I feel that it is a way to distinguish between play in the school room and learning time. 

We start instruction with circle time where I read 3-4 books. The last two have to do with the topic we are are learning about (I'm doing theme based learning) and the first two are books that the kids pick at the library that interest them - no matter what the subject. I think one of the most important things about learning at this age is to teach a love of reading. We sit in a corner of the room where they are facing only me (to limit distraction) and we talk about the cover of the book and make inferences as to what it might be about. Throughout the book I talk about what is happening and have the kids guess what will happen next and ask them how they feel about what is happening. I stop on almost every page and ask them something. This helps keep their attention and helps with higher order thinking questions. For Amita I might ask her what she thinks will happen next and why she thinks that, for Ashima I might ask her to point to the ball and tell me what color it is. Circle time is also the time that I introduce any new topics (while I have their attention) and we do our daily board. 

This is our daily board where we talk about the weather, days of the week, and days of the month

Our Circle Time corner

After that, I get the kids up and going on some projects and we are off and running! I come and go from kid to kid throughout the rest of the time. 

Ashima likes school too, but I think she likes it more because her sister likes it that anything. I've been working on shapes, color, and letter recognition with her. Because she's still young, I let her come and go as she wants. I don't want to push her and make homeschooling something that is not fun. Besides, she still needs lots of free play. The one thing she sits through, is story time. She loves to have books read to her and identify what she is seeing! It's a joy to see. 

I am also really liking this schedule. At this point, it is extremely flexible. If something happens, I just try to make it up one afternoon or we just skip it. The kids are still pretty young so I feel comfortable with the flexibility.  The kids are also getting plenty of rest and have bellies full of healthy food, something they were not getting on our busy school mornings before. Sometimes I wish I could get a bit of a break here and there (especially to run errands) but honestly, the schedule is so much more relaxed than it was previously that I mostly just find myself thankful to not be running around like a chicken with my head cut off. Another thing we are really enjoying is the ability to schedule time around Ridhwi's schedule. If he is going to have a day off, we plan activities he can help with, and/or rearrange our schedule as necessary. There was also a day where the girls were not up for learning. They didn't get a good night's sleep and were cranky. No matter! That's what the movie Frozen is for, right? So instead we watched the movie, went down for an early nap, and did school after the nap. They were in a much better mood and much more receptive to what we were doing. 

It is amazing how much I have seen the girls blossom with homeschooling, in just a couple of months! They are happier, eating healthier (because we are not on the run so much), and are able to tell me so much about what we are learning. Amita asks for school daily. She loves to be challenged and loves the routine. Ashima likes to have the freedom to do some things and be able to play sometimes. It's really been the best decision for our family and we are reaping the benefits.

Amita will turn 4 in May and I have made a decision for her 4-K education. For at least one year, we will be homeschooling through the Central Wisconsin RVA (Rural Virtual Academy). They use a curriculum called Little Lincoln for Pre-K and Calvert for Kindergarten (but have 15 others to choose from if we don't like it). Because of our zip code and they way the RVA is set up, we will be paired with our local school for any and all activities they offer as well as any classes. Once Amita begins Kindergarten she will have the option of taking any classes through the school (art, PE, music, even math and science if I choose) and doing the rest of the sechooling at home. Calvert and the RVA is set up such that there is 160 or so lessons for an entire year - what would be a typical school year after you take out weekends, holidays, parent/teacher conferences, and summer break. As long as she completes the assignments within the year, the RVA does not care how and when I teach them. I have autonomy as to our schedule and she has the benefits of a traditional school. At this point it seems like the best of both worlds! I am excited and looking forward to it. This also works well for me because, as much as I like homeschooling, sometimes the burden of being the person completely in charge of their schooling terrifies me. This will give me the option of working with another teacher and giving Amita what she needs too. Amita will also have the option of working within different grades - for instance she could be in 6th grade science and 7th grade math. My two biggest reasons for choosing homeschooling was that I wanted the kids to be challenged academically no matter at what level they are (neither overwhelmed or underwhelmed) and because I wanted to have flexibility in their schedule for our family. Ideally, this would give us everything we are wanting. Hopefully it is as good in actuality as it is on paper. More updates when it happens. I was not expecting to do a a virtual school, but I am loving the way this one is set up, so this is what we are doing. 

All in all, we are happy. Our schedule is great, the kids are happy and learning, and things are even easier for me. After a year of wondering if this was the right decision or not, I am happy to definitively say that it was the best thing for us. Life has slowed down, in the best possible way. Each day my time is spend loving my children and showing them how to understand the world instead of driving them from one place to another. More than anything, I feel blessed to be able to raise them this way. 

The Big Plan

It's been a year now since I started the homeschool journey. I've gone through a mountain of research and strongly feel that this is the best decision for my family at this point in our lives. 

I've spent the last few weeks looking at all of the schooling options in our area and discovered an alternative academy that looks really awesome. If, at any point, the girls are feeling like they don't want to homeschool or we are feeling it is not working for our family, we are open to this option.

That being said, here is our preschool curriculum guide. I have a fairly loose plan (the kids are only 2 and 3) and plan to add and modify as needed until Kindergarten where I plan to purchase an all-in-one curriculum for at least the first year, and then evaluate after that. The beauty of homeschooling is that I can make sure that the kids are engaged and challenged at the same time and mix things up. Right now I have a loose monthly plan and as things come up I change if I need to. The kids are really excited - they love the learning activities we have done so far and are looking forward to doing more. I love seeing their quest for knowledge and the natural curiosity. It is such a fun way to learn!

Here is the plan.

I am following three books:

 Kitchen Table Play & Learn: Activities and Lessons for Building Your Preschooler's Vital Developmental Skills.

Preschooler's Busy Book: 365 Creative Games and Activities to Occupy 3-6 Year Olds

Mudpies to Magnets: A Preschool Science Curriculum

I've previously written a post about Mudpies to Magnets, but basically it has all sorts of different age appropriate science activities for preschoolers. 

The Kitchen Table Play and Learn book is the book I am going to follow most closely, while doing enrichment activities from the Busy Book. KTPL has 30 unit studies with 5-8 specific lessons contained within each unit. Unit Studies include All About Me, Dinosaurs, Rain Forest, Bugs, Winter Days, Garden, Summer, and much more.  Each lesson has a combination of language, math, physical abilities (fine and gross motor and hand-eye coordination), social skills, and a few other skills. 

I plan to pick a unit topic (e.g. fish, bugs, weather, flowers, etc.) and gather related books from the library and try to tie it in to any travel or activities in the area, and then do each lesson for as long as it takes us - guess a month or longer since I plan to only do lessons 2-3 times a week. I am going to supplement where possible and add activities from the Busy Book and Mudpies to Magnets. 

I also subscribed to the following: 

Koala Crate 

This is a box of craft activities that is mailed to your house each month. One of the things I struggle with most is thinking of crafts for the kids. I'm planning on doing a couple of months to see if I like it as much as I think I will, and am willing to do a year-long commitment if this is all it claims to be. 

Little Passports: Early Explorers

This is a box of activities, printables, and souvenirs mailed monthly that center around world themes like food, space, art, oceans, dinosaurs, and others. I again did a monthly trial to see if it is worth the money, but it sounds great in the description. I plan to try and tie unit studies from KTPL when I can. 

The Young Scientists Club

These are kits you can purchase for doing different science actives. I think that the activities will take several days to get out everything we can out of it. I chose the Clifford Magic Science Kit first. You can buy each kit individually, so I'll see if I like the first one and go from there. 

Academically, that is the plan. I think it is more than enough and I plan to do approximately one unit a month and go from there. I am going to try and have a lesson 2-3 times a week or so depending on how much we have going on.

In terms of learning environment, Ridhwi and I converted the formal dining room into a homeschool room. We are committed to seeing this for at least the next couple of years (possibly K-12 if we feel it will be good for the kids and family) and we felt the kids needed a place dedicated to learning and fun. 

I'm working on organizing it and putting up some pictures 

It is right off the kitchen, dining, and living rooms.

I've already unpacked these tubs and we are planning to make a window seat right here. I think I will spend a lot of time there myself too!

I also purchased a few wall pictures of colors and numbers for Ashima. I splurged and bought two of these educational easels for the kids. Quite a few activities in KTPL require a felt board and a white board. This is also a magnet board, perfect for letter magnets! I think that they will grow with the girls and they get older, too. 

Now to the question everyone (and I mean everyone) asks: what about socialization? I don't like this question. Never in my adult life have I been a room with 30 people of the same age. After high school, we are placed in situations with people of different ages and abilities and expected to learn and work with them, and this is how they will learn being home schooled.  Homeschooling is a much more authentic learning experience in several respects. I will not be locking my kids in a room and not letting them out. Even so, here are the different activities they will be participating in (with other kids so they can be "socialized"):

1. Toddler time/gym time at the YMCA. A 30 minute Physical Education class once a week with about 35 other kids.

2. Music and Movement at the YMCA. A music class with about 45 other kids.

3. Play dates. I have contacted several other homeschool parents with preschool children and we plan to get together and do actives/ let the kids play together. This is in addition to regular play dates with the children of our friends.

5. Dance class. Amita has been begging for a dance class. Our schedule was too busy when she was in school but now we have time for it.

6. Library activities. We are blessed to have tons of classes and activities for preschoolers at our local library. 
7. Swim Lessons. We live on the Wisconsin River so they need to learn to swim as soon as possible. They will be taking classes at the YMCA.

Once the kids are older there are homeschool co-ops with all sorts of actives, music lessons, sports, art classes, etc. for them to be involved it, hopefully not all at the same time. They will actually be able to do more social activities than if they were in school. Whew! So glad I dodged the socialization bullet. 

I have written about what I think I will struggle with already, but I think that getting the kids to understand that when we are doing school we are learning, engaged, listening, and following directions will be most difficult. I might be their teacher but I'm also their mom. Once we get into a routine, though, I think those things will work themselves out. I'm sure there will be frustrating days, but there will be awesome ones too. I'm excited about so much family time and have the ability to do such fun activities with the kids!

I am also going to read, read, and then read some more to the kids. I am going to allow them plenty of time to play, laugh, giggle, sleep, eat healthy meals, and be children. 

The MOST important thing I'm going to do, though, is instill a lifelong love of learning. This is really the root of what I want them to get out of homeschooling, and it begins now. I will not force them or make them do things they hate. There is no need. I will instead begin showing how fun and exciting learning can be. This is the most important I think they can learn. Once they love to learn, the world is their oyster.

This is it. My plan. I'm really excited to begin and I'll make sure to update as we go along regarding activities and things that work for us. 

Let's Do This

I have previously posted about how Amita was enrolled in a Montessori preschool. We really enjoyed the school and were happy with her being there while we were settling in our house. I am sorry to report that there was a teacher change in January and something that was positive became negative. 

Let me start off by saying that Ridhwi and I evaluated where we were regarding homeschooling over Christmas and decided that we were ready to take Amita out of school and begin seriously working on homeschooling after this academic year was over. We thought we would keep Amita in school until the end of the year so she could have some consistency. We had moved her around so much that we didn't want to change anything for her if we didn't have to. While we loved the school itself, there were things we didn't like but were willing to put up with them as long as Amita was happy and learning. 

Here were the things we did not like: 
1. The lack of sleep for both kids. I would have to get the kids up before they were ready in order to get them out the door on time. They were both sleepy and crabby throughout the day because of it. 
2. The lack of breakfast. Amita can easily take an hour to eat breakfast. As I mentioned in point number one, she was already getting up earlier than she was ready for so I couldn't get her up an hour earlier on top of that for breakfast. Because of this, she would eat her breakfast in the car during the 25 minute commute to school and she often went to school without eating anything because she was sleepy. They gave a snack within the first hour so I didn't worry too much about it, but I still was not happy about it.
3. The lack of freedom in our schedule. With Ridhwi's work schedule, it is imperative that we schedule family time when we can. It is especially important for the kids to get quality time with him since they don't see him at all on his working weeks. Amita's schooling limited our ability to do this quite a bit.
4. A crazy-insane schedule for a two and three year-old. We were running around driving Amita to school on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. We had Toddler Time at the YMCA on Tuesday mornings and Music and Movement class at the Y on Thursday mornings. On Saturdays we have been going to the library for the different learning activities they host. Every single morning we were out and running around. I hated that the kids did not have time for free play or adequate rest, and that I had to choose between school and some other learning experiences (especially for Ashima who was not in school).
5. Sickness. Amita was constantly sick this winter, much more than anyone else in the house. 

We were willing to work around these things so Amita could have some consistency, but then Amita's previous teacher (who was awesome) was moved to another classroom. The new teacher, "Ms. Smith", was not as effective of a teacher. The first day I took Amita in the classroom after Christmas Ms. Smith did not introduce herself to me. In fact, it was two days before I knew who she was (I thought she was a teacher helper) and a week before I knew her name (Amita told me). I feel it was a bad first impression - Ms. Smith should have introduced herself to the parents and maybe have written a letter about herself so we could get to know her a bit and begin a relationship - especially considering she came in the middle of the year. There were also some behavior problems and lack of proper supervision that began after Christmas. Ms. Smith was a first-year teacher. I myself have been a first year teacher and  I was willing to give her a couple of weeks to settle and get her classroom management figured out. There were eight 3 year-old kids in the class, after all, and I could understand that she needed to her to classroom flow down to a routine. Four times that Ridhwi or I went to get Amita from school she was in the hallway by herself. The classroom door was open, but still, this was unacceptable. A three year-old should not be unattended. Then the behavior problems started. There was a kid in the class, "James", who has been a behavior problem the whole year. Amita had told me several times about how James would get in trouble and be in time out, or about other things James had done that were just plain bad. She never did those things herself, she just told me about them. I wasn't too concerned because it was obvious the previous teacher had James under control. Then one day after the teacher change I was reading to Amita and asked if she could give me a kiss - and she spit on me. No joke. My sweet, loving, and kind daughter spit on me, and not in a silly way - it was deliberate and mean spirited. I immediately picked her up and was on en route to time out when Amita bit me. Hard. My kids have never bitten each other so I was surprised and incredibly upset.  After the drama was over, I sat her on my lap and we had a serious discussion about what was going on. I explained that what she did was very wrong and bad and how it hurt Mommy. I asked where she learned spitting and biting and she said point blank that she learned it from James at school. It became obvious to me that Ms. Smith did not have the class under control. When combined with the other things we did not like about the school situation in general and the fact that we were planning to discontinue school anyway, we decided that enough was enough.The next day I went to the front office and put in a two week notice for her last day. 

Let me also say this. If a daycare situation was our only option, I might have been willing to put up with these things and discuss the problems with the teacher and come up with a plan so they did not affect Amita or our home life. After all, she would have had a new teacher and class in August. I understand that teachers can only control so much in a classroom setting and that kids have to learn from difficult people throughout their lives but this is not our only option and Amita does not need to learn these lessons right now. We were already planning on pulling her from the school, this just helped us decide to move up the timeline. 

I've been planning my curricula for a while now and I am finally ready. I'm going to post the things I'm doing for both kids in detail in a further post. We are going to begin next week and I am really excited for this to happen. I've been planning and deciding for a year now, and we are ready to begin. 

Let's do this.

Wherein I Realize I Can Do This

Amita has now been in preschool for several months and to this day I still remain undecided how I feel about it. I put her in school in the summer so she was mixed with two year-olds for the first several weeks - until three year-old enrollment went up enough to warrant separating the classes and and moving the three year-olds to their own classroom. At first I was very disheartened because I didn't feel she was learning much - just playing all the time. I stay at home so I really don't feel it is necessary to pay for a daycare (which was essentially what I was doing at that point). However, once she went to the other classroom I started to feel better. She came home with weekly lesson plans and I would get updates from her teacher - a lovely woman with the patience of a Saint - about how she was improving: drinking from a big girl cup, eating her lunch, and, about a week ago, she played with someone in the classroom (a big deal for her)! She also really school and her teacher. 

HOWEVER.

She has been in school for almost three months and has only been able to tell me one new thing she learned (the recognition of a bongo drum). Everything else the kids are doing are things Amita already knows. Also, by the end of the week, Amita is D.O.N.E. with school and life in general. She goes from 8-12:30 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, so she has to get up earlier than she is used to in order to eat breakfast and get ready. Then, by the time she gets home and calms down enough to sleep she barely gets a nap. I find myself spending all afternoon on Thursday and all day Friday trying to get her back on a schedule. Then, by the time she is a nice and wonderful child again, I have to start all over. I also have to wake Ashima up early to take Amita to school and she can be cranky throughout the day as well. 

My struggle is knowing where to draw the line between learning good social skills and learning academic material? Which is more important? Eventually, if I didn't put her in school, she would have learned these skills anyway, so what is she really gaining by being there?

I knew going into preschool that we were sending her essentially for social skills but I have to admit that I am rather disappointed by the lack of academic learning she has gained. I'm not expecting too much - I am simply expecting her to tell me anything that she doesn't already know. 

One day I was browsing on amazon and happened to see a butterfly kit for sale, where they send you caterpillars and you can follow them through their entire life cycle to chrysalides and finally butterflies. It was only $30.00 and I knew the girls would love it! Once I did that, I started looking at the library website online and came up with a lot of books and movies related to the butterfly life cycle. Then, I searched the internet, and came up with even more ideas! After that, my teacher brain took over and I started thinking up other lessons for different topics, including multi-media, art, nutrition, reading, and science. It was awesome! You can find the unit here. 

For the first time since I started this homeschooling journey I really felt as though I had it under control. I felt as though I could do it, for both kids, and I did! I am immensely proud of myself. Because the kids are still young and Amita is in school, I didn't push anything but rather fit in extra learning when we had the time - at most 20 minutes a day. 

I think for now we are going to have to find a balance between homeschool and preschool. We bought our house and have scheduled our move for the 6th of October and are trying to get some work done on the house before we move. In other words, things are crazy and honestly, it works well for me to have Amita in school so I only have one kid to take on house errands with me. We are doing enough at home that I am happy she will be learning new things academically.  While we are moving in our new home and getting settled I will keep Amita in school but I will most likely begin full-time preschool for 4-K. 

Another new development in my homeschool journey is that I attended a local homeschool moms gathering. It was very, very enlightening and made me feel much more confident about homeschooling to speak with other moms and find out how each person plans their day and what type of homeschooling they do (umbrella schools, online public school, unschooling, unit studies, online curricula, etc.). I have given it a lot of thought and really think they type of homeschooling I feel most comfortable with will include elective classes like art and music at a local school and the core classes like reading, science, and math schooled at home. I need to look more into the state laws regarding this, but, thanks to a great friend (that's you, Linda!) I have found a school that combines all of this with Calvert homeschool education. I finally feel I have found the right mix of home and school activities. I am still speaking with the representative and finding out more information, but so far I am liking what I am finding out.


So, this is where I am. I am barely keeping my head above water regarding the upcoming move, but I am feeling very confident about our schooling options going forward. We are going to leave Amita in school for now but are looking forward to starting a new preschool/K-12 curricula when I feel I am up to starting it - well after we are moved in and I am organized enough to begin.

This year has been a year of changes and everyone in the family is taking time to adjust. Things might be hectic right now, but they are a good kind of hectic. The kids are healthy and happy, my husband and I are in love, and we have a beautiful house we will soon be moving to. It is an exciting time in our lives and I am looking forward to our next (and final) move and being settled in our new home.

Book Review - The Everything Homeschooling Book

I give this book a 10/10. It is available here. 


I really enjoyed reading this book. It gave me a lot of insight and very helpful, practical advice about how to successfully homeschool. It includes resources, including many websites, strategies, and methods. It also has different educational activities and examples for K-12 which includes information about different learning styles and specific needs. It also included something that was really good for me - a typical homeschool day - which is one question I still have unanswered for if we decide to continue K-12. 

I think this book is incredibly helpful and I intend to purchase it so I can reference it if I have a question. This one is a winner!

Book Review: Home Learning Year by Year

I give this book at 9/10. It is available here. 

I originally rented the book from the library and ended up purchasing it from amazon. I found it incredibly helpful and informative. 

Let me start out by saying the only reason I didn't give it a 10/10 is because the copyright is 2000. The one I bought on amazon is 2009, so it is still out of date. However, the information is so informative I decided it didn't matter. 

The book is divided into 14 sections - preschool through 12th grade. Each section is subdivided into different subjects and corresponding resources for the subject. So, if you were interested in Preschool, you could find information about preschool, early childhood resources, magazines for parents, magazines for preschoolers, books for parents, books and resources from kids, and best reading lists. If you were interested in 6th grade mathematics, you could find information on what they should know in 6th grade, number theory, ratio and percent, fractions and decimals, operations, measurement, probability and statistics, geometry, and pre algebra. They also have non-core subjects like music, foreign language, health and physical education, and art covered. This book is an organized list of resources and age appropriate materials - a perfect resource for me.

One of my biggest questions about homeschooling was how I was going to know grade-level indicators. This book answers that question and gives me confidence and peace of mind that I will not be leaving anything out of my homeschooling curriculum.

This book is a keeper!

Side note: I think this book could be very informative for parents with children in school to make sure they are meeting all necessary milestones and learning goals. Additionally, I think it could be useful for teachers since it has some great resources and ideas. 

Book Review: You've Decided to Homeschool, Now What? by Marsha Hubler

Overall, I would rate this book at a 4/10. It had some good information and explained a few things but I did not find it extremely helpful. I also felt it was biased toward the state the author was from (Pennsylvania)  and biased towards those that Christian Homeschool. The author provided many quotes from the bible as well as many laws in Pennsylvania that are not applicable in Wisconsin. 

One thing I did like is that she described the different methods of homeschooling, conventional, unit studies, and also explained the "unschooling"movement. This is a movement I had come across in my research and never completely understood so I was grateful for a clear and concise explanation. 

I also found out that some public schools have homeschool coordinators - something that I need to look more into and would be a great resource if available in WI.  

She also listed several popular curricula. The only thing I didn't like was that the vast majority were Christian-based and the book was copyright in 2007 so I'm not sure exactly how current the information will be. 

Overall, I thought it explained a few things I had been wondering about but didn't have too much information that applies to me. 

Links and Materials For Homeschool Information

Below is a list of links and descriptions of websites and materials I like or have found helpful.

Materials:

• Waldorf education. I really like the idealism of Waldorf education but I'm not sure that it is academically rigorous enough. http://www.whywaldorfworks.org/#.
• Oak Meadow Education. I think there is a good possibility we will use this or something like this if we decide to do K-12. I really like the structure - something I'm discovering I need to look for in a curriculum. http://www.oakmeadow.com/index.php.
• A Well-Trained Mind. I like this a lot, I wish there was a curriculum you could purchase to go with it. Alas, I've discovered it's only a book with guidelines. While I really like it and agree with most things, I need something more detailed since I'm not sure how to come up with fun and exciting lessons on my own. http://www.welltrainedmind.com.

Websites: 

• http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/homeschooling-information.html. I thought this website was very informational and fair. Many homeschool sites are biased toward homeschooling and it can be difficult to wade through the biases to the actual information. This website also has a GREAT list of pros and cons of homeschooling.
• http://childrensmd.org/uncategorized/why-doctors-and-lawyers-homeschool-their-children-18-reasons-why-we-have-joined-americas-fastest-growing-educational-trend/. This article had some really good reasons to homeschool that I hadn't even considered.

There were MANY more that I looked out but unfortunately I looked at them before I stated blogging. I'll update this list with more as I come across them. 

Beginning the Overwhelming Research Journey

When I first started researching homeschooling, I was completely  overwhelmed. I was on Amazon looking at book after book, all fairly expensive, none of which I was sure would help. My beginning knowledge base was too small and they were all too specific. I was not homeschooling for religious reasons and I had absolutely no clue where to start. Curriculum? Co-ops? Math? Science? Reading? There were too many options and no clear path forward I quickly got frustrated.

My next line of defense in the homeschooling research battle was the public library. It turned out they had a ton of great resources for those just staring homeschool. I am working on making my way through the books and will write interesting things from each book as well as an overall review of the book. So far they have been tremendously helpful (and free!).

I plan to spend some money to purchase curriculums, materials, and supplements. However, I'm going to do it once I know what the heck I'm doing. Until such time, these books are providing the foundation for me to figure out how I want homeschooling to work for our family. Once I have some basic questions answered, I can move to the more specific books.

These are my main questions regarding beginning homeschooling:

1. What does homeschooling look like on a day-to-day basis?
2. What curriculum do I choose? How do I pick?
3. How do I know that the girls are meeting grade-level markers and indicators?
4. How do I evaluate their knowledge?
5. How do I know what they need to know at any given time? 
6. How do I teach preschool/elementary school concepts (I'm not an elementary teacher!)?
7. What kind of co-ops exist in the area we will be moving to?
8. What resources are available for parents?
9. What kids of social activities are available for home schooled children?
10. Exactly what parts of the public education can I use (art, music, PE, IEP services, etc.)?
11. What are the Wisconsin state requirements for homeschooling and what paperwork is required to be submitted to the state?
12. Does the local public school offer any homeschool resources (Parents as Teachers, homeschool coordinators, etc.)?

It is my hope that through internet research and the resources shown below I should have a very good knowledge base by the time I am finished.