Helping Parents make reasonable choices between Home School & Public School
I will be moving my blog. If you want any of the information off of this site then you might want to get it in the next few weeks. I am trimming down my time commitment and am therefor going to a new address that will be covering the same subjects. All new posts plus one for this week can be located at: http://homeschoolvspublicschool-chris.blogspot.com
Thank you for the years of great reading and hope to see you on the new site!
Before we get into a discussion on diversity let’s look at the definition of the word.
According to http://dictionary.reference.com
“di·ver·si·ty
[dih-vur-si-tee, dahy-] Show IPA
noun, plural di·ver·si·ties.
1.
the state or fact of being diverse; difference; unlikeness.
2.
variety; multiformity.
3.
a point of difference.”
Do you find yourself teaching the same way every day? Do you serve the same foods at meal times? Do you offer your children the same types of books to read? We live in a very diverse culture. We need to give our children a look at the way others live so that they are ready to enter the world as well adjusted adults.
Take one day a month and cook recipes from the countries they are studying. They are easily looked up on the internet. Talk to immigrants in your community about how they eat, believe, and live.
When you adopt a cat or a dog you do not judge them by the color of their fur. You do not judge a cut of meat by the color of the hide that it wore while it was alive. You do value those things for the good they bring into our lives. Should we be teaching our children to value people on an individual basis. Teaching them that the color of their skin does not color their hearts.
It is our responsibility to prepare our children to enter a world far different than the one that we grew up in. You teach them strong moral and ethical skills. You empower them educationally to succeed. But are they prepared to work alongside people from other cultures? Or will they back away in fear because they have no understanding of them?
What are your ideas on teaching them about the diversity our world offers them?
I am one of Grandma’s Blessings!
With all of the negative things going on in the world today it is sometimes hard to remember that there are miracles and blessings in our lives everyday. I just read an article over on “Cafe Mom” about a father and daughter who were going ice fishing and drove out on the lake. The truck fell through the ice into very deep water. Father broke free of the truck and rescued his daughter. They are both home and safe. That is a miracle! Here is a link to the article.
Even as I grieved for the parents and families caught up in the terrible tragedies around the world I received a blessing. My youngest son who has not been home in a year walked through the door. My tears were a mixture of sorrow and love. We need to take the time to acknowledge the good things in our lives! Even in the darkest times there is a light to guide our hearts home.
I know of a little boy who was diagnosed with incurable cancer. His parents were told he would not live past his first birthday. Our major children’s hospital gathered him into their hearts. He just celebrated his second birthday and is returning home cured. Miracle! Yes, I know that medicine is not thought of as a miracle, but our being able to find the cures for these awful diseases is a miracle in my mind! Blessings to those who worked so hard for him.
What are the blessings and miracles in your lives? Are you a blessing? I am going to make this an incredibly short post and go count my blessings! May your life be filled with them!!!
In this glorious time of year I am saddened by the recent events broadcast on the news media. Shootings in movie theater, shootings at a mall, shooting in a school, and knife wielding culprit in a classroom brings sadness to our hearts. We are all striving to bring safety and knowledge to our children. We worry about what they are exposed to. Have you had discussions with your children about what to do in this type of emergency?
If you are homeschooling your children then they are protected from being assaulted in the classroom. However, we all go out in public occasionally. We attend church services. We go to the mall. Sometimes a special movie is a reward. All are places that a mentally disabled person may cause havoc in our lives and endanger our children. Train your children and yourself in what to do!
Be Alert! Pay attention to the people around you. Notice where exits are located. If someone makes you or them uncomfortable then move away immediately! Find a safe location where they can be observed. So, what is a safe location? It needs to have multiple exit options. The area should have large areas to hide in if necessary to do so. Call someone and tell them about your concern and tell them that if you do not call them back in 15 minutes to call the police. Then and this is very important, turn off your cell phone! Having a cell phone ring during a hostile event will make you a target. If your children are there on their own have them follow the same procedure and wait for them to call you back. Do not try to call them! If nothing happens but you or they are still uncomfortable then follow that gut instinct and exit the area. Nothing is more important than being safe.
Preparing ourselves and our children for scary events may save their lives. Unfortunately there are a lot of mentally challenged people in the world and our health care system is not handling them in a manner that keeps us safe. So it is up to us to do the job! Enjoy going out in public to events and shopping. If you are confident in their skills it will ease your mind.
My thoughts and prayers go out to all who were involved in the multiple tragedies. May they find comfort and love. This season should be a joyous time of the year.
I learned that the Ocean is cold!
How many times have you come up against this very problem where your child digs in their heels and refuses to do the lesson? Math is yucky. History is boring! Science is just weird. Reading is a waste of my time. Those are a few of the excuses I have heard in the years when I was guiding my own students. So let’s look at each subject independently from the others.
Math gets a lot more interesting when you are baking cookies! Double the recipe and help them to figure out the right amounts of ingredients. They will get a good idea of why doing fractions is a necessary skill. Do they get an allowance and want to buy something that is expensive? Have them figure out how long they will have to save their money to get what they want. When you form a connection between interest and learning they will do it and not even realize they are doing homework.
History should never be boring to your prince or princess. Have them look at how the real ones lived in centuries past. Were the castles really that great? Or were they drafty cold places where the inhabitants huddled close to the fire during the winter? What kind of food did they eat? Did the princess or prince get to choose their life partner or were they forced into marrying someone they barely knew? What kind of things did the have to study? What was the average life span and what kinds of diseases were around that we now can cure? When did we discover those cures?
Geography ties in with history. How do the people live in a specific area of the world. What kind of land and water is available to them. How do the mountains around them affect their ability to raise crops. Does the elevation of their area change how they live? Do they live in better conditions today than they did several centuries ago?
Science can be explored in many different ways. If they are an outdoor child then have them study the environment. How do their actions when playing affect the land? Do they damage the soil or harm the trees? What does that tree do for them? If they dump harmful chemicals on the soil will it enter the water supply and make them sick? If they are raising a plant how does the use of water, insecticides and fertilizer affect the plant and the soil around it? One of my favorite ways of getting children inspired to look at their world is to have them look at it through amicroscope. The water we drink looks different from the water from a stream or lake. If you boil the water it changes again. Having them document the different things they observe leads them into an understanding of the world around them.
Your children does not have to be bored while learning. Part of your job while homeschooling them is to inspire them to learn. Once you have found the correct button for each child, and everyone of them is different, your child will excel in the subject without having to fight them through the process. Part of the joy of homeschooling is not having to do it the way everyone else does. Enjoy and have fun!
We allow survived the Thanksgiving holiday, Black Friday, and now Cyber Monday. Congratulations! Thanksgiving always reminds me that I have a lot to be thankful for. My family, fellow bloggers, a country that allows me to homeschool, being able to voice my opinion without fearing that someone is going to shoot me. This brings me to the subject of Values that I hold very dear to my heart.
I’m learning to ride! Mommy can teach me anything!
As we raise our children we are fortunate that we can pass on to them the values that are important to us as individuals. Our honesty, trust, religious beliefs, and moral standards. As I look around me I see so many people who work hard to bring quality into all of our lives! Thank you! Every blogger out there who stands up for our rights to share this information are true friends. We do not judge each other on our ages, social standing, color of our skin, ethnic origin, religious attendance, or political stand. But we do stand for our rights to home school our children and grandchildren!
In order to help each one of us stay strong it is important to local at our financial standings. If possible, buy from one of your fellow bloggers. You are supporting them in a very real way! This is the season to show support to those who you value while still getting quality gifts that will be enjoyed for years! When we buy from each other we show our children that we care about those whom we interact with and want to support them in a real and solid way.
When looking for gifts in the retail market, look local. Buy from your next door neighbor or the little shop down the road. The small businessman is our friend and a major employer for our economy. Their ability to survive in this fluctuation environment depends on us. By supporting them you may be opening a future for your own child. They need to see that it is possible to work outside the large corporate machines that dominate the news. The small business is guided by stronger moral standards than the big box stores.
Thank you again for being there to share your wonderful ideas and inspiration! Your children are blessed to have you in their lives! Let’s keep the homeschool movement growing and expanding to all who value the same things that we do.
I learn every day in every way!
Society benefits in many different ways because of the move to more homeschooling. When we look at just the educational cost relief to the public school system it is tremendous! If every home school child reentered the public school system today we would grind the system to a stop because of overcrowding.
Your children help to raise the level of learning in every way. They score higher on the SAT scores showing that the level of education is superior to what is offered in the public school system. You are taking the time to make sure your children are supplied with great content not useless quantity. You are empowering them to be independent learners which will benefit them and society throughout their lifetime. They are able to research different fields of endeavor and decide for themselves where their lives will take them.
You are guiding your children to establish strong moral and ethical standards. They are not subjected to bullying and predatory teachers within a system that is unsafe. Your children are being socialized in a safe and productive manner. They are not being exposed to unhealthy ethical and moral problems before they are old enough to withstand corrupt thinking.
As your children progress in a subject you are able to guide them to higher levels, while in the public school system they would be held to the standards of the class or teacher. Your children can explore different areas of instruction that interests them. This allows them to view different areas of learning and find what they excel in.
What other benefits to society as a whole by your taking responsibility for your children’s education do you see? Let’s talk about how you view it. Share your ideas help to expand the beneficial results!
I want my Mommy and Daddy to be healthy!
It is the cold and flu season! Taking care of each other is an important part of staying healthy. Stress causes your body to do some funny things including shutting down parts of your immune system so that we are more apt to get sick. That goes for your children and pets also. Of course we all try to eat healthy fruits and vegetables so that our bodies are receiving great nutrients, but what else do you do to build up your system?
I was fortunate enough to attend a seminar on empowering ourselves and our families. It forced me to stop and look at how I spend my time. Like all of you most of my time is spent caring for my family. Significant others, children, grandchildren, cleaning the house, teaching, cooking, running errands, laundry, and multiple other everyday tasks. We get up early and stay up late to accomplish all of our everyday goals. By the time we fall into bed at night we are tired, but hopefully satisfied with what we have done. Before we go to sleep our minds are occupied with what we need to do the next day.
STOP
For one moment imagine what it would be like for your family if you were not there. They would be devastated! Your loving touch is what keeps them on an even road and it is time to take care of yourself!
This magnificent seminar taught me how to be a better and healthier me and now you can enjoy the same benefits because Erin has just published her new book.
One Hot Mama is a delightful and insightful book full of how to improve your life! It touches on eating habits. Exercise routines that are easy to do. Ways to relax our minds and bodies so that we are healthier and better able to meet our daily tasks. It is all about energizing you so that you are able to be the best possible person for yourself and your family!
By following her simple ideas you can improve the lives of your whole family! Get your children involved so that they learn the correct habits to lead healthy and active lives.
Do you have a plan or know what your child is studying in science? So much of textbook learning is dry and boring for your child! Reading page after page of facts does not inspire our children to expand their interest in science. One of the ways my homeschool children explored science was through being involved with wildlife rehabilitation.
Musha the Barn Owl
This is “Musha” a fully grown barn owl. Musha was rescued in June of 2012 when she fell out of her nest. Her leg was fractured in several places. After many visits to the veterinarian she slowly recovered, however she could not grasp strong enough with her healed foot to hunt. If she had been released into the wild she would have starved to death. So, Musha is an educational bird with a very great attitude. She loves to show off to a crowd and is appreciative of having her picture taken. By showing her off to others while doing a talk about the environmental niche that owls fill people gain a better understanding of these birds!
The volunteers who take care of the rehabilitating wildlife learn to understand the nutritional needs, environment requirements, biology of the animal, and the environmental niche that each animal fills. Fortunately they also begin to recognise the dangers that modern man poses to these graceful creatures.
By volunteering at your local Wildlife Rehabilitation center your children can experience hands on science. They will be able to interact with some of the creatures who share our world. The hours that they give in helping will teach them more than many text books! What better way to teach your homeschool child or public school child about science while they are having fun!
Let’s face it. Sometimes what we should learn is really boring! See Jane run is not much fun! Learning to read was a challenge for my daughter until I found a fantasy book that she connected to. She has not stopped reading since, her house is littered with her current novel and the kindle is her favorite tool! My youngest son liked snakes and dinosaurs. He went on to devour such classics as Shakespeare and Alexander Dumas. Currently he is still in college learning to be a Chinese Medical Doctor. Finding what they were interested in inspired them to read and expand their horizons.
How many of your homeschool children really want to dissect a frog? My children wanted to know what he had done wrong. Instead we used the resources available to us. We regularly butchered our own livestock and the children were included in the process. My daughter would stand at the kitchen sink for hours and study how the heart pumped blood. She was also fascinated with the muscle structure and how the tendons helped move the feet. She is now a veterinarian.
By finding things they were interested in they forgot that they were learning. It was fun. Which is what learning should be. Math can be taught through cooking or in a building project. Science is also a part of cooking. Just add some vinegar to baking soda and see what happens! Have you experienced an earthquake or tornado in our area? Were your children afraid? Finding information on what causes those earth events and sharing it with your children will help them to understand and through understanding fear is lessened. Plus it will spark their interest in further investigation. Science in real life!
Open up your own imagination. You have many skills that can be taught to your children. If you work away from home let them in on how you spend your days. If you work as a sales person then you can show them how important it is to learn to communicate with different types of people and how about giving change back after a sale. Stay at home Mom, how do you balance the budget? What does the electric bill run? Help them to understand why it is important to turn off the lights when not in the room. How do you plan a week’s meal schedule? Is there a reason you cook a great big roast on Sunday and then serve hash on Monday?. All of these are skills that will help you children be better prepared for adulthood! Inspire them to want to learn. Have fun!
