Home-school Revamp

Written a few months back, I am sharing a post that hadn't been published but was saved as a draft. Since I wrote it, we have been working mostly on reading and some neat science projects the kids have enjoyed. 

I feel like I'm running out of time. My pregnancy appears to have progressed rapidly and I realize what this means. It seems that very soon the time spent with our schooling will be affected greatly. I know from past experience, that immediately after giving birth and for some time later, our schooling time diminishes considerably. As it is, my days are spent driving my college-aged girls to and from school, making our schooling schedule choppy and shortened.

 I could have really used a schedule, but never did get around to it. Instead we have mostly done lessons from workbooks for the youngest. Occasionally I prepare a more elaborate lesson with a project which I know my kids enjoy much better. The oldest ones have more freedom choosing what and when to study. Usually they spend most of their time reading something they are interested in, this could be anything from history, biographies, science, or literature. Later, they might work on some math and writing. I haven't been as consistent as I would like, but I try to keep them accountable. To do this, I periodically ask, what they are working on at the moment, and I encourage them to make sure to dedicate time to different subjects.

It's important to check through the work they do, in order to get a better idea of the progress made. This helps me see where there is need for improvement. As it is, I see a need to spend more time reading with my younger ones. My older kids could also benefit from putting more emphasis studying grammar. 

I think this coming week is a good one to make some major changes. We need more structure and better accountability. Maybe the best way to accomplish this is keeping a written record of our daily school work. My older home-schooled kids have planners, but haven't used them much. This however seems like a good time to start using them again. If I purpose to check their planners daily, and record the lessons worked on by my younger ones; I believe we can make some noticeable improvement.  

Accountability is important for me as well. That is why I'm grateful for the times my husband asks if and how, our kids schooling is progressing. I also feel gratitude for my college students. They see and understand the importance of education, and will regularly question their siblings schooling improvement (or lack of improvement). This helps keep me on my toes and helps me focus better on our educational goals. 

I'm excited for the coming weeks. Maybe, I'll even take some time to post some of the things we work on. I do love being a home-school mom, even though I admit to being guilty of slacking off a bit.
My goal for the next few weeks is to revamp our home-school! Any ideas or comments are appreciated. 

~Blessed@home

Making some progress

  It finally feels like we are making some progress. Presently, I have three kids in college and one preparing for his GED exam. We're hoping he is enrolled in college for his first semester this coming fall, by the way. Amazing how time flies. It seemed only yesterday when our firstborn enthusiastically begged to be home-schooled. Now he is attending a university and doing rather well in meeting his educational goals. We have two children that are studying to be physicians and one from the picture above planning on becoming a nurse. 

  Life can be difficult at times and there can be periods that seem progress is no where in the horizon; but if we hang in there, we will see the the results of our labor. We are far from done, as we have seven more kids home-schooling and are due for our twelfth child in about a week. Looking back however, it is such joy to see our kids dedicated to their education and working on their goals. 

  It is by no means an easy thing raising children and deciding a home education is the only way to go. We made this decision years ago and have stuck it out, and now are beginning to see the fruit of our labor. Education is definitely a priority to our family, even though I am the most likely unqualified fit for the job. At least it's how I've felt all along. My thought has pretty much been, a hope not to ruin their education to the point they hate it or give up. But I have learned some valuable lessons along our educational journey. Maybe one the best lessons I've learned, is that teaching the basics and a love of learning, is enough to get them well on their way; and they then take off on their own. Give them the tools, and then give them room. That's basically what it takes. 

Feeling accomplished and,

Blessed@home!

FOR TODAY

Outside my window...Beautiful day enjoyed greatly by my children playing in their tree house.

I am thinking...Soon my kids finals will be over, and I will not need to drive them to school; but will stay home instead. I'm so proud of my kids hard work and good grades. I'm especially proud of my third born daughter's first semester at college. She is realizing she can really do this, despite her being hesitant at first.   

I am thankful...that I am magnificently blessed with a wonderful husband and amazing family

In the kitchen...Some cleaning, then I'm hoping one of my boys will make some of their yummy oatmeal cookies.

I am wearing...Still in my PJs they are so comfy!

I am creating...A to-do-list for my home schooling and house work.

I am going...To drive my kids to and from school 2 more days.

I am wondering...Which book to read next, once I'm done with the one I'm currently reading. So many choices, most likely means I'll wind up reading two.

I am reading...Cheaper by the Dozen, it's turning out to be one of my favorite books. 

I am hoping...All goes well with the arrival of our baby. I'm about 5 weeks away from my due date. 

I am looking forward to...Organizing my bedroom and possibly a new paint job.

I am learning...To read more fluently in Hebrew. 

Around the house...I'm enjoying our family room that my husband has worked so hard to finish. Fresh paint and new furnishings make our family room and library a better, more pleasant place for homeschooling. 

I am pondering...How to go about getting more exercise into my day, and taking better care of my health. 

A favorite quote for today..."Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential."  -Winston Churchill

One of my favorite things...Praying early in the morning with my children. 

A few plans for the rest of the week: Drive my girls to school and take two of my boys to the library. Get more accomplished during our homeschooling.

A peek into my day...

The Simple Woman's Daybook

Home School, Hebrew Class & More

Today’s homeschooling went rather well I think. Early in the morning my thirteen-year-old and I worked on his Hebrew and Aleph-Bet studies and made good progress. First of all, I prepared breakfast for the both of us. Everyone else was still sleeping with the exception of one of his brothers (my early bird). This was a good thing, since he had all my attention and no distractions. He was actually reading and understanding the story Yesh Lanu Llama a Hebrew story book we bought for my older kids some years ago. About a week ago, He took a day to learn all the letters of the Aleph-Bet. Today, we worked on combining the sounds and actually reading a few short paragraphs. We were both so happy to see what a little effort in study can accomplish. For anyone wishing or better yet, planning to study conversational Hebrew; I highly recommend using the lesson books Hebrew & Heritage Modern Language 1-4 published by Behrman House. I used them with my older children and found them to be an excellent course for the subject. 

later in the day, after my kids had finished with their regular schooling, I worked with my other son on a project he'd been anxiously waiting to work on. Except for loosening a few screws, I mostly watched as my son took apart an old computer monitor. You see, I love books. So, one day when I stopped by a store on my way home, we found a really neat book. 

We had a few old computers that we needed to get rid off, so, voila! Here's how it all went.

   

       And lastly, the final product is seen here.

A Bit of Schooling Here and There

As I had mentioned before, we are trying to get back to doing homeschooling more regularly after the birth of my baby girl. While some days are pretty good and we get the work done, others are rather slow and we hardly accomplish what I'd like. In such cases, I like to get a little creative and spontaneous about choosing what to study, things not necessarily found within our basic curriculum at the time. Our basic curriculum consists of workbooks purchased from Christian Light. They are very practical and require very little lesson prep time in my opinion. The kids seem to do well working independently and can do the work, for the most part, without my help. I do however, enjoy sitting with them and going over different topics and subjects. I like to see them learning new things and taking interest in them. Last week, we brought out the old microscope and had a blast using it. The idea was to get them to learn how to use it while learning to identify its parts easily. To make things easier I used a small chalk board in which I drew and labeled a drawing of a microscope and then hung it near our kitchen table. Having it in the kitchen gave me the opportunity to work on preparing lunch as they worked on their schooling at the table. On other occasions our study/library works out better. Within a short time of having drawn the microscope, they had successfully memorized the parts, and were intrigued by the subject of exploration. I was lucky to find and buy a copy of the Scriptures, written in microscopic size, at our local market. I bought a couple for only a dime a piece, which was a deal hard to resist. The kids were amazed to see how such a small copy of the Scriptures could be printed. It was intriguing to all. This was one good day in our home school; and one they're likely to remember well.