Time For Teaching Textbooks

During our Fall Semester I have constantly thought about changing the curriculum that we currently use for math.  I've been back and forth about it simply because it is VERY important to me that my kiddos have an excellent grasp of math (mainly because I didn't).  I've been doing some research and had narrowed my top two choices down to Saxon and Teaching Textbooks.  I was completly annoyed with the Saxon website, having to sign into a guest book just to get to the product video, then having to sign in again to get to the Virtual Sample. I mean what kind of people holds the videos randsome to get email addresses...WHO??? Not to mention the 15 minutes of rambling about the research behind the design and layout of the textbooks.  I just wanted to find out what they would learn and would I be responsible for all of the lesson plans. Neither of which I found out during my 20 minute stint at the website.  So, I gathered up my limited patience and went elsewhere...specifically, to Teaching Textbooks.

My kiddos work independently for most subjects, at this juncture in their education, except for math.  I usually will prepare a lesson for them using our trusty E.D. Hirsch grade level series as my guide.  I then will have them practice the concepts learned on the dry erase board (which they love to do) as many times as needed, so that I can see that they understand the concept.  Next, I follow-up with worksheets from the Evan-Moor Math Skills workbooks.  I give them as much time as they need on any concept using this method.  I like my current method because of that, but it is the ONLY reason I like it.  

It is EXTREMELY time consuming using my current method, trying to find the right worksheets to correlate with the concepts from my E.D Hirsch books.  Duplicating hand-outs, because I don't let them write in the workbooks.  Researching the best way to teach a concepts such as decimals and conversions...cause I can't trust how I learned it. It's lots and lots and LOTS of work on my part.  I'm exhausted from just sharing it with you.

My plan is to find a curriculum that teaches them a bit more on their own, but to also keep them ahead of the game, which they currently are.  I reviewed the Teaching Textbooks and think that this is going to be the best fit for us.  Even though, after reviewing the placement tests offered on the website, I've determined that I may have to purchase the books that are a grade or two above my kiddos' levels. 

What I love about the Teaching Textbooks though, is that they are kid-friendly and conversational.  Both of which will appeal to my kiddos.  I love the fact that there are DVD's to explain every single problem that is in the textbooks and that my kiddos will be able to go over any concept as many times as needed.  The website itself has easily accessible samples (that you don't have to give out your email address for) as well as a demo of the grade book that is used to track your kids progress. AWESOME!  They had me at self-teaching DVD's.

Of course, I will keep you posted on how it goes.  If you have TT and have any comments or suggestions about this curriculum, or any other awesome math curriculum you've found...please share in the comments section.

~Blessings~

Claudea B.



Needed Encouragement

Today, while at homeschool PE, I was talking to a woman (well, it was more like venting) that I'd never met before about my materialistic wants and desires.  It began as an innocent enough conversation that took a nasty turn at why I decided to get out of the social work field.  Oh how I rambled on about how social workers are under-paid and over-worked, the bureaucracy of it all and the endless string of disappointed people left along the way.  I was such an IDIOT!  This poor woman, come to find out her daughter is going to school to become a social worker.  Well, I won't keep harping on how I felt but I'm sure you can imagine what I was thinking (idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot).  Long story short, the conversation got me to thinking about my many blessings and why I'm homeschooling my kiddos.  I know that as homeschoolers, many of us are living on one income and it is challenging even for the most devote christian at times to deal with emotional and financial issues.  It is for me any way, and I just need to count my blessings sometimes and reflect on all the good in my life.  So without further ado here is my list of ten things I'm thankful for this day:

1. Blessed to be loved unconditionally by my heavenly Father.
2. My BEAUTIFUL family.
3. To be able to homeschool my children.
4. To have caring friends and neighbors.
5. To have the freedom to choose.
6. To be able to pursue my goals.
7. To marvel at God's magnificent works.
8. To be loved.
9. To have the things that I need.
10. To have the wisdom to reflect and be thankful.

What are you thankful for?

New Attitude

I've decided to get back to blogging. My old job had me so busy that I could barely find the time to breathe, let alone write. Now I'm home again with the kiddos and doing the homemaker thing so I'd like to get back to a little happiness as well. I've been looking around and reading some other awesome mom blogs and would like to take this blog in a new direction. Give it a whole new look and just talk about life as a mom with a new little one, wife, homeschooler, and frugal domestic engineer. I'd like for this blog to give me a place to be myself and explore my purpose. A place to express who I am as I learn and grow. I hope it's all that I'm praying for.

Science for Preschoolers: Part II

Well now that we've had a few discussions about science, you may agree that it seems a little less intimidating and whole lot more fun! Knowing that your child learns best by engaging in activities that allow some level of independent discovery or observation, asking questions and discovering the answer or maybe having to start over again. One of the most important aspects to remember for science of preschoolers is the following: Please, Please Please follow your preschoolers lead! If you carefully observe what interest your child and provide opportunities for your child to explore it more and find the answers, the more your child will feel confident in his own abilities and the more enthused he will be. You will also find out the different topics that your preschooler is interested in which will carry over into other subjects like reading and math. Allow your preschooler to use real world or household items to explore such as cardboard tubes, rocks, shells, flashlights, small appliances, locks and keys, bugs and magnifying glasses, compasses, whistles, measuring cups, measuring tapes, mirrors, nuts and bolts, screwdriver, seeds and potting soil, cotton balls, aluminum foil, wax paper, sponges and buckets, and old clocks....to name a few. This will provide your child with the "real world" experience and open the door for questions and problem-solving...Hey that's what real scientist's do!

Science for Preschoolers: Part I

Typically thinking about science may conjure thoughts of glass beakers, periodic tables, and scientific methods. However, science for the preschooler is a bit more simplistic in nature. You can still expect your preschooler to use six crucial thinking steps to utilize science. The following is a list of the six thinking levels. 1. Your preschooler is able to discover! This may be the most exciting step and the most natural because it is a preschoolers' full-time job to discover. As the parent/teacher, you can encourage your child to think about what she is discovering by asking questions about what it is she is discovering. 2. Gathering information is something that a preschooler seems to do just as naturally and goes hand in hand with discovery. Preschoolers love to ask questions and that gives parents the okay to ask questions as well. You can ask "why do you think...?" questions to get a good idea of how your preschooler views the world. 3. Understanding is the next thinking level of science for a preschooler. Again asking questions of your preschooler but these questions are more of the "why did that happen?" or "what did you notice?" questions. 4. Experimenting is a level of trying new things with an activity, some variation. This is a perfect opportunity for asking the child about their observations of the comparison between the two scenarios. 5. Evaluating ideas accessing the different scenarios. You would ask "What would happen if we try this?" to encourage the child to explore different hypothesis in their mind. 6. Adjusting is the last level and this happens when a hypothesis or what they thought would happen, did not turn out quite the way they expected. Now the questions that are relevant are again "why do you think....?" You can observe these levels of thinking in your preschooler as you create situations for them to learn from. I will be posting some age-appropriate science activities next Sunday, as a part of a four part series, to give you some ideas of everyday things that can be used for scientific exploration.

Learning to Write!

I remember when Sunshyne was learning to write. She would go through entire note books and draw just a few scribbles on each page. It was cute at first until I realized that every thing that I needed note book paper for would have her signature on it. Nevertheless, it's worth having patients for. Nothing describes the feeling of getting your first little letter from your child that says "I love you mommy!" There is a process to the writing madness of a preschooler. There's a lot involved with learning to write. Your preschooler must understand which direction the letters go on paper, that letters are important and symbolize something which has meaning, and eventually re-create letters to form their very own words. The process of writing goes something like this: 1. Scribbling: Which helps your toddler/preschooler realize that they can make a mark with the object and control what is drawn. This basically gives your preschooler the introduction to handling writing utensils and making something happen. 2. Constructive scribbling: which is the prelude to understanding that there is an order to the writing experience. This is where you will notice that the scribbles are going from left to right on the paper. 3. Understanding differences in written expression: This is evident when your child understands the difference between pictures and letters/words. 4. Actual Letters: Your toddler or preschooler may actually make shapes that look like letters and represent words. Don't be surprised if there very first, and favorite letter is the first letter of their name. It's called ego centrism, but we will talk about that at another time:) 5. Letter Trains: Now your preschooler understands that the symbols have meaning, that they are letters that form words, and that they go in a certain direction on the paper. It is now time for them to practice the letters and you may notice them practicing by making letter trains. This is a long string of letters that represent an idea or story. Have a little fun and ask your preschooler to read what she has written. 6. Actual Words: This is when your preschooler understands that the words are individual letters that make up a thought or statement. This is when you will begin to see spaces between the words on paper. 7. Spelling Sounds: Now your preschooler may be showing an interest in letter sound play and may be writing different beginning word sounds on paper. 8. Copying: Your preschooler will now be writing different words that she sees or may ask you to spell some words for her to write. 9. Actual Writing: Now you preschooler is organizing print and understanding how to write letters and words. Provide your child with lined paper and an array of writing utensils such as crayons, markers, pencils, pens, and even chalk (watch for allergies on this one). This will allow your preschooler to explore the world of writing in a number of venues and help you to understand where your preschooler is developmentally with writing. Allow your preschooler to make his "mark" on birthday cards and other important written correspondence to encourage learning. Happy writting!