First, a Relationship

Louisascooter

“First we have a relationship, then we have an educational method.” —Karen Andreola

And so it is. As homeschool moms, we sometimes get involved trying to figure out what philosophy to follow, what type of teaching we should do, or what curriculum we should select. We eagerly read books, buy curriculum, and “try on” educational methods as if we were shoe shopping. But no “shoe” fits until we have established a warm, loving relationship. No method can make up for a strained relationship with your child, your student. Until the relationship is working right, the educational approach doesn’t really matter very much at all.

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Mastering “Greater Than” and “Less Than”

Here is an easy way to teach your children how to remember the “greater than” and “less than” symbols in their Math lesson!

 

First, draw one of the symbols,  like this:

mastering greater than

 

Now, make that symbol into a big fish’s mouth like this:
mastering greater than

 

The fish has a BIG mouth that loves to eat the most he can get:  the largest numbers.  So the big, open part of the mouth always faces the largest number.
mastering greater than

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Is it a “b” or a “d”?

Question:

My kids are having a hard time in reading and writing lower case “b” and “d” and are always mixing them up.  How do you help kids keep this straight?

Answer:

I teach them “b”.  Leave “d” alone—it will take care of itself once they learn “b”.

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My “Anti-Busting” Campaign

hand-166442_1280“Pick up your shoes”

“Don’t slam the door”

“Why are you late?”

“Didn’t you remember to _______?”

You’re BUSTED!

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Pass It On

My son Daniel and his little girls

My son Daniel and his little girls

We don’t live just for ourselves. If our beliefs and values that we hold so dearly only enrich our own lives, it is not enough. Many of us are passionate about homeschooling because of the realization that our lives are only a brief moment and what we pass on to the next generation may possibly live forever in the lives of our descendants, generation by generation. If we really believe in something, we want to pass it on!

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Keeping A Nature Journal

20150419_143942Every day I walk in the river bottoms, across the road and down the country lane from my house. It is so breathtakingly beautiful and peaceful there. I am all alone, and very rarely see another person in the 45 minutes that I am wandering through cornfields and along the banks of the river. What I do see, however, is wildlife! As I come home and describe what I have seen to my children, they take great interest in each day’s discovery. I have even taken them along, one by one, in hopes that they might happen upon the red fox and her 2 babies frolicking in the morning sunshine, as I once did.

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Self-Discipline for Mother: the Crux of Homeschool

My 7 children

When my first son, Daniel, moved out on his own, I found myself looking at homeschool and mothering with a new perspective. Although he was 19 years old, I was still getting around to the things I’d put on hold while I had babies, moved, planted my garden, endured chicken pox, etc. The music lessons, the family vacations, the trips to the museums, the mountain hikes, reading classic books together—somehow they all never happened like I’d hoped they would. (We did do a lot of them, to be sure.) Truly, life is what happens to you while you are making other plans.

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Homeschooling Assignment #6

All finished with Assignment #5?

I’m excited ’cause this is so much fun! Your children are going to love it, and so are you!

Assignment #6: Let’s Sculpt!

 

First, you need supplies, so put this on your grocery or “gather” list so you’ll be ready to have a good time!

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