Mar
13
2009

Avoiding Home School Burnout

-by Mimi Rothschild

There is no argument that home school is a rewarding experience, both for us as educators and our children as students. However, as with most rewards, there are certain sacrifices that are made and challenges to be met. Couple these sacrifices and challenges with the fact that home school families are often held to a much higher standard than traditional ones, and we can often experience what’s known as “home school burnout”.

While the pressures of the outside world will never cease, there are certainly things that you can do to avoid home school burnout and stay on track.

  • Recognize and embrace your family’s uniqueness. Every family is different, so it is important that you realize that the dynamic of your family might be staunchly different than that of other families you know, even ones that home school. As long as you focus on what works for your family, you will be more likely to stay on track and keep the pace that works best for you. Trying to mold yourself after others will never work, and you will quickly grow tired.
  • Don’t allow comparisons. Similar to the point just mentioned, it is critical to the success of your family to find your own system of doing things so that you and your children are productive and content. If you strive to model another family you view as successful, you might just find yourself falling short, and feeling frustrated in the end.
  • Don’t overdo it. Taking on too much is never a good idea, so pace yourself. Understand that there may be days that you just can’t get to everything, and try not to let it bother you. Working at a pace that is comfortable for you and your students is more important, and in the long run, it will be reflected in their productivity and success.
  • Acknowledge your family’s circumstances. How many children do you have? Does your husband travel for work, or is he available to help you in teaching some of their lessons? Each family’s situation is different therefore you must consider these things and work around them. If you don’t, you’re sure to quickly run out of steam and that’s not good for anyone.
  • Pray. Pray. Pray some more. God should be at the center of our family dynamic, and the focus of hearts in everything we do. Seeking guidance, wisdom, support and compassion from Him will make all the difference in the world and help you to avoid the pitfalls of home school burnout.

Above all, be aware. If you recognize that you or your children are getting overwhelmed, address it immediately so it doesn’t get out of hand.

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Mimi Rothschild is the Founder of LearningByGrace.org the nation’s leading provider of online PreK-12 online Christian educational programs for homeschoolers.

By Mimi Rothschild | Posted in Southern Baptist Academy | Comments (1)
Feb
18
2009

Teaching History Through Art

-by Mimi Rothschild

Ask students which class is their least favorite, and many will tell you that history is the one they’d skip.

It doesn’t have to be that way. History, they may say, is dull and boring and all about memorizing names and dates. But actually, history is about people and the amazing things people have done. It’s about life.

One way to help your students make the connection between the dull names and dates on the one hand and the vibrant events of the lives of people on the other, is through art. Here are some ways to structure art lessons so that they will bring history to life for your students:

• Begin by observing. Choose a painting, a sculpture, a piece of music, a building – any work of art from the time period you want to study. Find a copy online or in the library, and let your students spend some time with it. Point out interesting details or ask questions to lead your students toward deeper observation. Make lists or graphic organizers detailing your observations. And find the exact date of the piece, as well.
• Next, try it out. Looking and listening are great ways to learn, but your students will always learn more if they can get in and try some hands-on learning. Having student make their own works of art will encourage even deeper observation. Have your students copy a painting, design an illustration in the same style as the one they’ve observed, make a costume based on that worn by a statue, or “conduct” a piece of music. Add to the list or the graphic organizer of observations. See whether there are points that students now want to correct, based on their greater understanding.
• Finally, draw some conclusions. You’ve observed a piece of art by the Aztecs, let’s say, listing all the things you noticed. You’ve replicated the piece in salt dough, painted it, and labeled it with the date of the original piece. What can you say about the Aztecs from this experience? How was their way of life different from that of people in other places at the same time? What questions did your observation raise, and how will you find answers to those questions? What other projects do you want to try now, based on the experience with the first project? Have students contemplate these things, and write paragraphs to go with their projects.

You may be surprised by how much insight your students gain from projects of this kind. Take the questions and ideas developed in the course of this project into your lessons on history, and you’ll be thrilled at how much more deeply your students appreciate what they learn.

If you use this technique over the long term, why not set up a classroom museum? With projects and paragraphs labeling them, you’ll have a lively window into history.

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Mimi Rothschild is the Founder of LearningByGrace.org the nation’s leading provider of online PreK-12 online Christian educational programs for homeschoolers.

By Mimi Rothschild | Posted in Southern Baptist Academy | Tagged , | Comments (0)
Feb
11
2009

Teaching Writing

-by Mimi Rothschild

Writing is an essential skill. While some worry that texting and instant messaging are causing our kids to lose their writing skills, the truth is that in the global marketplace, writing is a more essential skill than ever. With more of us working with people from other parts of the world, sharing jobs with workers who are in place at different times of day from ourselves, and working with information more than with objects, the ability to write is essential.

How can we be sure that our students are developing effective writing skills? While there are plenty of different ideas for teaching writing, the basic, most effective approach hasn’t changed since the earliest lessons on rhetoric.

• Start with good examples. While we might sometimes feel that getting our kids to read anything at all is enough of a goal, without trying to insist on quality, the truth is that what kids read affects how they write. If your kids resist reading classic literature, you can read aloud to them. Before TV, families enjoyed reading aloud together, and they still can. Start off with a great classic story like The Swiss Family Robinson or “The Gift of the Magi,” and make reading together a special time. Soon, encouraged by this experience, they’ll be open to reading excellent literature on their own.
• Encourage lots of writing. In order to write well, kids need to write often. Have your kids write journals, papers, letters to grandparents, stories, songs – anything they enjoy writing can be a good choice. If you have reluctant writers, let them start with shorter pieces and combine them with drawings, but get the kids writing every day.
• Give feedback. Unless we know what needs improvement, we can’t improve. You, another educator, or any trusted adult can help kids improve writing by helping them find errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Don’t discount the value of peer feedback, either. Let brothers and sisters help kids find the most exciting parts of what they’ve written, or the parts that are hard to understand and need clarification. Whoever gives the feedback, make sure that they mention what works as well as what needs work. Feedback is to help students improve, not to discourage them!

While study of grammar, spelling, punctuation and handwriting all have their place, the three steps above are the irreplaceable keys to good writing. Build them into your lessons for lasting success.

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Mimi Rothschild is the Founder of LearningByGrace.org the nation’s leading provider of online PreK-12 online Christian educational programs for homeschoolers.

By Mimi Rothschild | Posted in Miscellaneous, Southern Baptist Academy | Tagged , | Comments (0)
Feb
04
2009

Daytime Curfew Laws

-by Mimi Rothschild

Your young children are studying together peacefully, helping each other circle the letter that finishes the word on a worksheet. The baby is asleep, and you’re checking an essay your teen wrote while he is out riding his bike for a while – a well-earned break between writing and algebra lessons.

A knock at the door breaks the peace of the afternoon – especially when you see that it’s a police officer bringing your son home. Dozens of frightening scenarios run through your mind before the officer tells you that you’ve run afoul of your community’s daytime curfew laws.

Many towns across the country have daytime curfew laws preventing kids from being out on the street without their parents during public school hours. Many parents have never heard of these laws.

The community leaders who lobby for these laws are thinking about kids who skip school, kids who are expelled, and kids who drop out. They’re imagining teenagers loitering at the bowling alley, smoking and drinking in parking lots, and committing vandalism and petty crimes. The laws are often presented as efforts to “keep kids off the street” or to “control crime.”

What about homeschool students who are old enough to walk to and from the library, dance class, or the park alone? They are still subject to these laws, even though they’re not the ones the community was thinking about when the laws were developed.

Fortunately, it’s easy to avoid trouble:

  • Check with the local police department to find out whether your town has a daytime curfew. Ask the hours, the ages covered, and whether parental permission notes are accepted by police officers. Ask specifically what your child should do if he or she is ever stopped by a police officer.
  • Make sure your children have picture ID. Those who are too young to drive (but old enough to walk or bike alone) can usually get a non-driver’s ID at the same office that issues drivers’ licenses.
  • Make sure your kids understand that these laws are designed to protect them and other law-abiding citizens. If they are stopped, they don’t need to feel frightened. Since you’ve checked on the laws, you – and they – will know exactly what’s required by your community.

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Mimi Rothschild is the Founder of LearningByGrace.org the nation’s leading provider of online PreK-12 online Christian educational programs for homeschoolers.

By Mimi Rothschild | Posted in Homeschoolers, Homeschooling Tips, Southern Baptist Academy | Tagged , | Comments (1)
Jan
29
2009

Family Health for the Homeschool

-by Mimi Rothschild

Many of us, homeschoolers or not, start the New Year with goals for healthier living. Homeschool families have some special challenges – and some special advantages, too. How can you increase your chances of success with your family’s 2009 health goals?

• Get moving. Homeschool families often don’t have organized P.E. or sports. Maybe this is the year to enroll in gymnastics or dance classes, to form a soccer team with other families, or to sign up with a Mommy and Me exercise class. On the up side, we can also make our own decisions about how to structure the day, with nature walks, biking to field trip destinations, or Wii Fit whenever we choose. The key is making a commitment.
• Take on nutrition. Nutrition is a great topic to study, and meal planning and preparation can be part of science, life skills, or even math lessons. This is a plus for the home school family. On the other hand, we can also easily fall into the habit of grazing – if the kitchen is always open, then the kids may be snacking all day, and they may not be making the best choices. Consider limiting snack times, including good snack choices in the nutrition lessons, or even just keeping track of snacks and sodas consumed.
• Be good role models. Is this the year to quit smoking? To really get into the habit of buckling up when you drive? To change the way you handle stress? One of the primary reasons many of us choose to homeschool is in order to shelter our kids from negative influences. This means that we become an even more important role model for our children. They’re learning their health habits from us.

It’s a lot to think about – but this is a great time to think about it!

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Mimi Rothschild is the Founder of LearningByGrace.org the nation’s leading provider of online PreK-12 online Christian educational programs for homeschoolers.

By Mimi Rothschild | Posted in Activities for Homeschoolers, Homeschoolers, Homeschooling Tips, Southern Baptist Academy | Tagged , , | Comments (0)
Dec
19
2008

Gingerbread for Christmas

-by Mimi Rothschild

One of the benefits of homeschooling for Christian families is that we can keep Christ in Christmas, and certainly our studies at Christmastime should focus on Jesus, the reason for the season.

We can also enjoy the elements of our national Christmas celebration that have grown up with our country. One of these is gingerbread. When you need to take a baking day, keep it a learning day, too, by using this fun topic to review skills and lessons in many subject areas.

Reading

•    Read the story of “The Gingerbread Boy” and then have your older children retell it to the younger ones.

•    If you have enough cookie cutters, make the gingerbread boy, the little old woman, the little old man, and all the animals that chased the gingerbread boy. Use a set to retell the story before eating them!

•    At the library or online, read as many different versions of the story as you can find. Make a chart of the similarities and differences.
Math

•    Baking gives so many excellent opportunities to practice math: measurement, fractions (for more advanced students, double or triple the recipe and get practice in calculating with fractions, too!), time, counting, and even basic multiplication and division (how many rows should you put on the pan to make a dozen cookies at once?).

•    Count out cookies into storage bags or containers for good counting practice that can also help you end up with well-filled cookie boxes or bags for your friends and delivery people.

•    Get more complicated math practice by building a gingerbread house. Encourage the kids to measure and plan their building and decorations to get the most math (and the longest quiet time for you to get those cookies wrapped up) out of this activity.
Social Studies

•    For each of the ingredients in the recipe, find out how it is made, what the raw materials are, and where they come from. Cinnamon and ginger were precious spices from exotic foreign lands when Americans first started making gingerbread, and housewives might have ground their own flour. How does that compare with the journey from raw materials to finished cookies today?

•    This story is found in the United States, England, Norway, and Germany. Find these countries on a map or globe.
Character

•    The gingerbread boy in the story is naughty in running away, and he becomes more and more proud and boastful as he goes through the story, saying “I ran away from the little old woman and the little old man” and listing the animals, finishing up, “…and I can run away from you, too!” He makes the unwise decision to trust the fox and accept a ride across the river from him. In the end, he is eaten by the fox. There’s a lesson here about pride and about risky behavior.

•    On the other hand, if you don’t like seeing the gingerbread boy eaten up, you can take a leaf from Jan Brett’s Gingerbread Baby, in which the runaway gingerbread boy is rescued and given a gingerbread house to live in. Remind your children that we are rescued by Jesus from our sins, even when we make bad decisions. The same thing happened to the gingerbread baby in Brett’s modern story.

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Mimi Rothschild is the Founder of LearningByGrace.org the nation’s leading provider of online PreK-12 online Christian educational programs for homeschoolers.

By hmandel | Posted in Southern Baptist Academy | Comments (0)
Nov
25
2008

Planning Study Space

-by Mimi Rothschild
Homeschool parents sometimes have a fantasy about their classrooms. “I’m going to make a schoolroom,” we say. We have it all planned: the bulletin board, the wall maps, the shelves for books, the cubbies we’ll build for the math manipulatives and board games. There’ll be desks or tables for each student, and a reading area. It’ll be our own perfect image of a school room, better than any we’ve ever seen in a school.

Or your fantasy might be quite different. Maybe you imagine a room full of cushions, with computer stations and a big screen TV for those educational videos, musical instruments and music stands, microscopes and other lab equipment in a safe area, and exercise equipment so you and the kids can do a little weightlifting to refresh yourselves between lessons.

Whatever your fantasy, the reality is likely to be very different. We have two computers in our living room, and piles of books on the desks and floors as well as on the bookshelves. There are bookshelves in the dining room, too, and there are days when studying happens on that table — but there are also days when the studying happens on the couch or on the floor or in the car.

What are the real essentials for a homeschool learning space?

• Workspace. A table is great. A group of small tables that can be pushed together for group work or spread apart for individual work can be especially great. But if you have to do everything on your laps, you’ll be limited in what you can do. Science and art lessons require workspaces that can be thoroughly cleaned, and where a spill isn’t the end of the world.

• Open space for movement. Being able to stand up and move around, to pace while you think, to get into different groupings to work on things together and alone allows you to use different approaches when different approaches are called for. Being surrounded by clutter and unable to move without moving things first is stressful.

• Storage space. Even if you do most of your schooling online, you still need some room for paper, science equipment, art supplies, and maybe even a few books. If you don’t have dedicated storage space for the things you need for homeschooling, you’ll waste time hunting for those things.

• Comfortable space. Some tasks, like reading a nice long book or drawing, require physically comfortable places where students can stretch out and relax while they work. In some households, this will be bedrooms or a treehouse. It doesn’t have to be a group space. There just has to be a comfortable place for extensive work.

• Writing space. I laughed the first time I saw my friend get up to write on a marker board while
working with one child. But I was wrong. You need a place to draw or write while explaining concepts. Lap-size marker boards work. Big chart tablets from the office supply store can work, too. It’s a matter of individual preference, and what kind of room you have to work in. But don’t reject the idea of a board on the wall just because it sounds like school.

With your schoolroom space set up – even if it’s a corner of the kitchen – you’ll enjoy school more.

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Mimi Rothschild is the Founder of LearningByGrace.org the nation’s leading provider of online PreK-12 online Christian educational programs for homeschoolers.

By Mimi Rothschild | Posted in Southern Baptist Academy | Comments (2)
Nov
19
2008

Planning Study Space

-by Mimi Rothschild

Homeschool parents sometimes have a fantasy about their classrooms. “I’m going to make a schoolroom,” we say. We have it all planned: the bulletin board, the wall maps, the shelves for books, the cubbies we’ll build for the math manipulatives and board games. There’ll be desks or tables for each student, and a reading area. It’ll be our own perfect image of a school room, better than any we’ve ever seen in a school.

Or your fantasy might be quite different. Maybe you imagine a room full of cushions, with computer stations and a big screen TV for those educational videos, musical instruments and music stands, microscopes and other lab equipment in a safe area, and exercise equipment so you and the kids can do a little weightlifting to refresh yourselves between lessons.

Whatever your fantasy, the reality is likely to be very different. We have two computers in our living room, and piles of books on the desks and floors as well as on the bookshelves. There are bookshelves in the dining room, too, and there are days when studying happens on that table — but there are also days when the studying happens on the couch or on the floor or in the car.

What are the real essentials for a homeschool learning space?

• Workspace. A table is great. A group of small tables that can be pushed together for group work or spread apart for individual work can be especially great. But if you have to do everything on your laps, you’ll be limited in what you can do. Science and art lessons require workspaces that can be thoroughly cleaned, and where a spill isn’t the end of the world.

• Open space for movement. Being able to stand up and move around, to pace while you think, to get into different groupings to work on things together and alone allows you to use different approaches when different approaches are called for. Being surrounded by clutter and unable to move without moving things first is stressful.

• Storage space. Even if you do most of your schooling online, you still need some room for paper, science equipment, art supplies, and maybe even a few books. If you don’t have dedicated storage space for the things you need for homeschooling, you’ll waste time hunting for those things.

• Comfortable space. Some tasks, like reading a nice long book or drawing, require physically comfortable places where students can stretch out and relax while they work. In some households, this will be bedrooms or a treehouse. It doesn’t have to be a group space. There just has to be a comfortable place for extensive work.

• Writing space. I laughed the first time I saw my friend get up to write on a marker board while working with one child. But I was wrong. You need a place to draw or write while explaining concepts. Lap-size marker boards work. Big chart tablets from the office supply store can work, too. It’s a matter of individual preference, and what kind of room you have to work in. But don’t reject the idea of a board on the wall just because it sounds like school.

With your schoolroom space set up – even if it’s a corner of the kitchen – you’ll enjoy school more.

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Mimi Rothschild is the Founder of LearningByGrace.org the nation’s leading provider of online PreK-12 online Christian educational programs for homeschoolers.

By Mimi Rothschild | Posted in Southern Baptist Academy | Comments (0)
Nov
13
2008

What Grade Are You In?

When an adult meets a child, it is very likely that the first question asked will be, “What grade are you in?”

For our homeschool students, the answer might be, “I’m in first grade reading, fourth grade math, and everything else is second grade” or “I get to go at my own pace, and we don’t worry about what grade I’m in.” Sometimes the real answer might even be, “It depends on the day – my mom teaches us all together, and sometimes the lessons are for my grade level and sometimes they’re for my sisters’ grade levels.”

Is this a problem? It doesn’t have to be.

When we plan lessons, we need to consider where our children are developmentally as well as what they’ve mastered in the subject. Sometimes a precocious homeschool student could move ahead and study subjects usually considered appropriate for older students. If we choose to do this, we need to make sure that the method used for presenting the subject matter fits the student’s developmental stage, even if the topic is more advanced. The same is true when our student needs to review concepts from an earlier grade level. When our expectations are out of sync with our child’s developmental stage, we’re asking for frustration, for ourselves and our children.

So a young child can understand, learn, and enjoy algebraic thinking concepts using toy animals to manipulate, but not using an algebra workbook. An older student who needs more work on basic reading can get good practice by using magazines and other materials written at a basic level, but might be embarrassed at being asked to read a book labeled “easy reader.”

Equally, when we want our children of different ages to study a subject together, we have to be ready to adapt the lesson to the different developmental needs of the different ages. A group of children may listen to the same online lecture or piece of music together. The youngest children might color while they listen, since it is hard for them to sit still and pay attention as long as the older ones. The older students might take notes in order to help organize their thoughts and develop this useful study technique. In this way, all the students can gain what they need from the shared experience.

What if your student is advanced in some areas and not in others? There’s a temptation to spend more time on the areas where the child has trouble, in hopes of catching up. Yet it is often true that the area in which the child excels is a source of pleasure for him. If he is forced to work extra on math in order to catch up with the reading that he loves, he may resent math and find it even harder, while losing some of his strength in reading through lack of practice.

In our own lives, we know and accept that there are some things we’re better at and enjoy more. We don’t expect ourselves to be equally good at everything. Yet we often do expect this of our kids.
Instead, let your student use her strengths to shore up her weaknesses. For example, if she loves science and struggles with writing, let her write lab reports about experiments, or keep a nature observation journal. If music is his pleasure and history is a chore, study history through music.

We can also recognize that our children may need more support for some subjects than others. That’s one of the advantages of homeschooling: that we can let our children work at the pace they need.

Christ gave His apostles what they were ready for, and didn’t insist that they learn and understand everything at once. This is a good example for us as eduators.

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Mimi Rothschild is the Founder of LearningByGrace.org the nation’s leading provider of online PreK-12 online Christian educational programs for homeschoolers.

By Mimi Rothschild | Posted in Activities for Homeschoolers, Christianity, College-bound Homeschoolers, Homeschooling Gifted Children, Homeschooling Resources, Homeschooling Special Needs, Homeschooling Tips, Socialization for Homeschoolers, Southern Baptist Academy, Trends in Homeschooling | Comments (0)
Oct
20
2008

Maintaining order in your homeschool during the day

-by Mimi Rothschild

For most families, their home is their haven; a place to play, to rest, to relax. The dynamic of a homeschool home has to be quite different, as it is transformed daily from a regular house to a place of learning. In order to be a successful teacher, it is critical to maintain proper order in your home during the day, when your children are working on their lessons. This can be challenging for most families. Distractions such as games, toys and even television abound in the home, threatening to rob your student’s attention from the matter at hand. And disorganization can be the downfall of even the most gifted educator. But don’t despair. There are some simple tips that you can employ to help you stay on track, so your children can as well.

• Make a list. Every morning. And stick to it. It seems simple and maybe a bit rudimentary, but having all of your activities written out, in order of importance can help you stay focused and make the most of your time during the day. Don’t forget to include your other daily activities, such as housework and any other tasks you want to accomplish that day. This way you won’t be left feeling that you’ve forgotten something at the end of the day.

• Before your day begins, make sure each child’s work station is prepared. Be sure that all required materials are readily at hand. It can be extremely distracting, both for you and for your student, to have to stop and search for a pencil or more paper. Being prepared before the day begins will ensure a smooth flowing day.

• Have a set schedule of daily work, including the order in which it is to be completed and how much time will be devoted to each subject or lesson. Post the schedule in a prominent place where everyone can view it at all times. And do your best to stick to your set times. Otherwise, it’s very easy to let time get away from you, leaving you scrambling to finish your tasks and possibly forgetting to complete some by the end of the school day.

• Go over your daily schedule with your child each morning, so they know what the day will entail and what is expected of them.

• Incorporate order and rules into your lessons. After all, life is all about order and discipline. Use real-life examples such as the Ten Commandments and U.S. laws to drive home the importance of ordinance in our daily lives.

• Discipline is critical to maintaining order in your home and classroom. And, discipline and education go hand in hand. Proverbs 12:1 tells us: “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid”. Children simply cannot learn if they aren’t listening and paying attention. Deal with disobedience and negative behavior swiftly. Make it clear what is expected of your child, and what behavior is unacceptable. But don’t forget, children respond wonderfully to positive reinforcement, so be sure to also reward and encourage obedience and good behavior.

• Establish a set of rules that must be adhered to during the school day. These rules should include things such as “Do not speak out during class” and “Ask permission to be excused”. Encourage your children to participate in making the list of rules, so that they feel they are a part of it. Post the list of regulations prominently and refer to it often.

• Set clear and concise boundaries between you as a parent and you as a teacher. It’s all too easy for a child to fall into the more relaxed parent/child relationship and forget that they should be showing you respect as their educator during the school day. When they view you clearly as their teacher, they are more likely to follow instruction and maintain order, and less likely to fool around and get off track.

It can be very difficult to get both your home and your homeschool running smoothly. Conducting structured lessons in the same environment that you also have play and down-time can be challenging to say the least. But by following the suggestions above, you should be able to get your classroom and your home running like a well oiled machine in no time.

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Mimi Rothschild is the Founder of Learning By Grace, Inc. the nation’s leading provider of online PreK-12 online Christian educational programs for homeschoolers.

By Mimi Rothschild | Posted in Activities for Homeschoolers, Christianity, Exodus Mandate, Homeschooling Tips, Southern Baptist Homeschooling News, Trends in Homeschooling | Comments (0)