Creative Pursuits - Virtual Curriculum Fair Week 5

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Homeschool Coffee Break helps fuel this blog and our homeschool - thank you!

Welcome to "Seeking Beauty" and Week 5 of the 2017 Virtual Curriculum Fair, hosted by Homeschooling Hearts & Minds! This week's focus is on the Arts, and on all the things that bring beauty to our world and homeschool.

Although most of us think of art and music when we're discussing beautiful things in education, this could also include Bible studies and ministry projects, all kinds of handcrafts, nature study, and so much more! I think any elective type of study brings beauty, because they are so often the studies that we want to include because they spark our imagination or fuel our creativity. In my homeschool, I've got just one student now, and she does happen to be one that loves art and music, but that wasn't necessarily the case with my older kids, so we've got some experience in choosing electives that weren't particularly artsy!

Kennady earned two full credits for music study last year, and will earn another two this year. She is part of a Children's Chorus that provides a comprehensive music education and performance program. She is in the upper level chorus, and they learn and perform some pretty challenging pieces! They memorize almost all of their music, sing several different styles and in other languages.

a fuzzy picture of rehearsal for a Christmas concert performance

Kennady also studies an instrument - she takes guitar lessons every week and plays with the worship team every other week at church. She absolutely loves the ukulele too, and owns at least three, and she plays them all the time. (She actually strums the ukulele while reading sometimes, and it's not unusual to hear her playing ukulele when she should probably be giving her full attention to something like math. *ahem*)

During high school, we haven't been working on a specific art curriculum, but Kennady works on enough art projects that it's likely she'll earn at least a half credit for art again this year. Last year her art projects included some that related to her geography course, some that were just for fun, and one major project - designing and painting a large backdrop canvas for a kids play at church. This year she hasn't done as many school-related projects - yet - but she's done a few just for fun (like decorating old 78 records), and she designed another backdrop canvas, so I'll just have to see what her total output is by the time I need to award credits at the end of the year.

the finished backdrop from December 2016

The other elective she is completing this year is Phys.Ed. How much beauty Phys.Ed. brings to your world is somewhat dependent on how much you enjoy the class or the activities, I suppose! When I was in school, I liked exactly nothing about my Phys.Ed. class, so it was not at all beautiful to me. My kids, however, have always enjoyed the co-op gym class we've been a part of for many years, so to them, it has been a beautiful thing. Even if the beauty part of it is mostly found in the fun and social aspect of playing sports with their friends.

The essence of the beautiful is unity in variety. ~Felix Mendelssohn

Fine Arts curriculum and resources we've used and loved:

ARTistic Pursuits

Everyday Easels at SchoolhouseTeachers.com

Geography Through Art

Practical Drafting - Applied Engineering Graphics and Practical Graphic Design. both from Insight Technical Education

DrumsWithWillie

See my related posts:

Fine Arts Favorites

From the High School Lesson Book - Music Studies

Why hurry over beautiful things? Why not linger and enjoy them? ~Clara Schumann

What beautiful things do you linger over and enjoy in your homeschool? Leave a comment and let me know! Also, please visit my fellow homeschool bloggers as they share thoughts on "Seeking Beauty" in this week's Virtual Curriculum Fair.

This post is part of the Virtual Curriculum Fair 2017. This year the Virtual Curriculum Fair is hosted by Susan at Homeschooling Hearts & Minds. Visit my fellow bloggers listed below and see how they are "Seeking Beauty" (all posts will be live by noon EST on January 30, 2017)!

Living & Loving Art by Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts & Minds

Putting the Fun in School by Michele @ Family, Faith and Fridays

Art Fun In Our Homeschool by Amanda @Hopkins Homeschool

Fine Arts Is The Fun Part by Laura @ Four Little Penguins

Washing Dust Off Our Souls by Lisa @ Golden Grasses

Bringing Beauty Into Your Homeschool Through Poetry by Dana @ Roscommon Acres

Seeking out the beauty... by Kim @ Good Sweet Love

Joy in Home Education by Sarah @ Delivering Grace

Teaching Drawing (When You Can't Draw) by Lizzy @ Peaches At Home

Homeschool Art for the Artistically Challenged by Brittney @ Mom's Heart

Jesus, Peace, Freedom & Our Homeshool by Meghan W @ Quiet In The Chaos

Fine Arts Options in High School by Christy @ Unexpected Homeschool

Reluctant Artist? What do you do? by Annette @ A Net in Time

Making Fine Arts a Priority by Lisa @ McClanahan 7

Creative Pursuits by Kym @ Homeschool Coffee Break

Arts and Crafts in Our Homeschool by Shecki @ Greatly Blessed

Where Do You Find Beauty? by Lori H @ At Home: where life happens

Looping our Beauty Topics Saved our Homeschool by HillaryM @ Walking Fruitfully

Now it's your turn! We invite you to join in and share your posts about the things that bring beauty to your homeschool:

An InLinkz Link-up

 Don't miss a coffee break! Subscribe to Homeschool Coffee Break by Email!

 ©2006-2017 Homeschool Coffee Break. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://kympossibleblog.blogspot.com/

What A Wonderful World - Virtual Curriculum Fair Week 4

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Homeschool Coffee Break helps fuel this blog and our homeschool - thank you!

Welcome to "Exploring Our World" and Week 4 of the 2017 Virtual Curriculum Fair, hosted by Homeschooling Hearts & Minds! This week's focus is on Social Studies and Science. That's a pretty broad group of studies that can include history, geography, world cultures, worldview, biology, botany, geology, astronomy, and more!

The world we live in really is wonderful and an exciting place to explore! History and geography are two of my own favorite ways to explore, so it's no surprise that those are my favorite subjects to teach. I feel strongly that history should be presented chronologically, at least to begin with, so for most of our homeschooling journey, we have done just that. History is more interesting, in my opinion, and easier to understand, when you learn how events build and develop and are related, rather than just memorizing dates. Geography plays a big role in history and in culture, so I think it's important to have maps to refer to even if the focus of the study is not specifically geography.

This year we are doing World History, using Exploring World History from Notgrass, which has been a staple curriculum in our homeschool. It's been a favorite because it presents history from a Biblical worldview, and combines History, Bible, and Literature for a potential three full credits in one course. (Exploring America does the same with a study of US History.) The curriculum consists of a textbook in two volumes, and a book of essays, speeches, poetry, and excerpts from larger works of literature. In addition, there is a list of novels that are assigned reading during the course. Each of the novels was either written during the time frame being studied, or is written about events during that time frame. I love this idea because it gives the study of literature more context, and it helps to tell the stories of the historical events in an engaging way. The reading list included below is a combination of the novel lists from the older and newer editions of Exploring World History, with the titles from the first edition in parentheses. When my boys did this course, none of them particularly liked reading, so we chose just a few of the novels from the list for them to read, and along with the selections from the book of essays, it was worth a half credit in Literature. Kennady is doing the same this year.

Exploring World History 

(Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis)

The Cat of Bubastes - G.A. Henty

The Art of War - Sun Tzu

Julius Caesar - William Shakespeare

The Imitation of Christ - Thomas a Kempis

Here I Stand - a biography of Martin Luther - Roland Bainton

(Pilgrim's Progress - John Bunyan)

A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

North and South - Elizabeth Gaskell (Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen)

The Hiding Place - Corrie ten Boom

Bridge to the Sun - Gwen Terasaki

Cry, the Beloved Country - Alan Paton (Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad)

(Eric Liddell: Pure Gold - David McCasland)

Animal Farm - George Orwell

The Abolition of Man - C.S. Lewis

And for reference, here is the list of novels that goes with Exploring America.

Exploring America

The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne

Narrative of the Life of David Crockett - David Crockett

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass - Frederick Douglass

Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe

Company Aytch - Sam Watkins

(Little Women - Louisa May Alcott)

Humorous Stories and Sketches - Mark Twain

(Up From Slavery - Booker T. Washington)

In His Steps - Charles Sheldon

Mama's Bank Account - Kathryn Forbes

(Christy - Catherine Marshall)

Miracle in the Hills - Mary T. Martin Sloop and LeGette Blythe

To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

The Giver - Lois Lowry

Since I believe that having some visual reference for where the events of history took place is important, we've been printing out the relevant maps from Map Trek. This collection of historical maps has been so useful over the years, and on their website, they offer free Curriculum Integration Guides to help you coordinate maps with several history curricula, including the Notgrass studies.

Kennady has a good background in world geography already, thanks to the course she did over the past two years, Cultural Geography from BJUPress. We've made great use of the resource Geography Through Art over the years as well, and I highly recommend it.

The study of the sciences is another fascinating way to explore the world, and this year we are doing Biology. We've chosen a general biology course that covers the basics, but doesn't depend on dissections and lab work. Biology is a required high school credit, but since Kennady is not pursuing a scientific field for her career, we felt that a less rigorous course would be best. We are using Biology 101 from Answers in Genesis, along with some written work from SchoolhouseTeachers.com. Again, the coursework completed last year, Survey of Science History & Concepts, served as a good foundation to round out what we're doing this year.

  

See my related posts: Worldview and Why It Matters

How do you explore our wonderful world in your homeschool? Leave a comment and let me know! Also, please visit my fellow homeschool bloggers as they share thoughts on "Exploring Our World" in this week's Virtual Curriculum Fair.

This post is part of the Virtual Curriculum Fair 2017. This year the Virtual Curriculum Fair is hosted by Susan at Homeschooling Hearts & Minds. Visit my fellow bloggers listed below and see how they are "Exploring Our World" (all posts will be live by noon EST on January 23, 2017)!

Notebooking Our Way through History by Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts & Minds

Studying the Where and How by Michele@Family, Faith and Fridays

The History of Our Mysterious Struggle With History by Laura @ Four Little Penguins

Social Science, Science and Exploring our World - Our Path by Joelle @ Homeschooling for His Glory

Learning History Through Fiction by Kristen @ Sunrise to Sunset

History in Our Homeschool by Amanda H @ Hopkins Homeschool

Exploring Our World Through History And Science by Laura @ Day by Day in Our World

Bringing History to Life! by Yvie @ Gypsy Road

History, Living Books and the Imagination by Sarah @ Delivering Grace

Exploring our world comes in many different forms. by Kim @ Good Sweet Love

Bible, History and Geography by Lizzy @ Peaches At Home

Beyond the Books - Social Studies and Science by Shecki @ Greatly Blessed

Exploring the World with Living Books by Brittney @ Mom's Heart

High School History & Science without Textbooks by Christy @ Unexpected Homeschool

Exploring the World Starting with Canada by Annette @ A Net in Time

Visit The World Through Video by Lori H @ At Home: where life happens

Nature Study is Our Favorite Way to Do Science by HillaryM @ Walking Fruitfully

What A Wonderful World by Kym @ Homeschool Coffee Break

The Time we got Lost in the Woods by Dana Hanley @ Roscommon Acres

What A World by Jennifer King @ A "Peace" of Mind

Now it's your turn! We invite you to join the conversation about words by linking up your posts about your curriculum choices in the area of Language Arts:

An InLinkz Link-up

 Don't miss a coffee break! Subscribe to Homeschool Coffee Break by Email!

 ©2006-2017 Homeschool Coffee Break. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://kympossibleblog.blogspot.com/

Math: Not Only About the Numbers - Virtual Curriculum Fair Week 3

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Homeschool Coffee Break helps fuel this blog and our homeschool - thank you!

Welcome to "Discovering Patterns" and Week 3 of the 2017 Virtual Curriculum Fair, hosted by Homeschooling Hearts & Minds! This week's focus is on math, logic, and scientific studies.Math has never been much of a favorite subject in our homeschool. My boys did fairly well with it, although finding the right curriculum for them was key to getting them through it. Harrison did fine in high school math, but did it because it was a required credit. Spencer managed well in high school math, especially once we switched to a geometry course that worked better for him than the one we'd started with. Landon did great with algebra, and I think the curriculum he used made all the difference. It was not his favorite subject, but generally speaking, it was one he understood and did without complaint.

I think you can tell where I'm going next. Kennady does not like math. I'd guess she stopped liking it sometime during grade school. She doesn't get along well with numbers. And not surprisingly, this creates a vicious cycle - she considers math "hard" so she doesn't like it; she doesn't like it so she tries to avoid it; she avoids it so she gets behind and starts to forget things she's worked on; she's behind schedule and rusty on skills so it seems "hard"; and so it goes. But we've got to get high school math credits, even if it's just because they're required for graduation; and basic math skills really are needed for practical functioning in the real world. So what are we to do?

First, find a good curriculum fit. We've settled on Life of Fred as the approach that gets the job done most effectively and with the least resistance. I think it works well for Kennady because it's NOT primarily about the numbers. It's about the concepts and principles; it's presented in a story setting; and as silly as the Fred story background is, it also shows math concepts being used in the real world.

Some feel that Life of Fred doesn't provide enough written work, or enough practice in working problems. I'm kind of on the fence on that issue myself. In a way, I believe that if my kid can demonstrate that they understand and remember what they learned, that should be enough. But sometimes the problems in the book really aren't enough, in my opinion, and I do want to make sure Kennady has mastered this stuff to the point that she could make a decent showing in a college entrance type test if she needs to. So, we also make use of resources like CTCMath, which provides tutorials and practice problems and quizzes to be used as supplements to high school level maths. 

Find out more about CTCMath in our full review: CTCMath - A Schoolhouse Crew Review

We've also got access to VideoText Algebra, which is the curriculum that Landon used. There's a lot to love about VideoText - it's great for a student that can work independently; and the video lessons that teach the material offer much better explanations that textbooks. Kennady and I have discussed the possibility of her using VideoText, and she may be giving it a try starting later this year. If she can get what she needs from the video lessons, it might be a great fit; but we probably won't know until we try.

For more about how Landon used it, see our full review: VideoText Interactive: Algebra (Schoolhouse Crew Review)

Second, stick to a predictable schedule. And as much as the ambivalence towards the subject is a challenge, THIS is the hardest part of this equation. That vicious cycle I mentioned earlier? That means that Kennady is likely not going to get out the math books and work diligently on it every day, at least not on her own. It means that I need to be reminding, checking, and even sometimes nagging, to make sure that it gets done. *sigh* Not my favorite thing to be doing; and sticking to schedule isn't my strength either. We are still working on making math study a non-negotiable part of every single school day, and with my work schedule, I'm not even going to be available to nag every day! As I said, work in progress!

I should also mention a portion of the Science course Kennady did last year: Survey of Science History & Concepts. The course is an overview of Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics; and provides the foundational knowledge in the concepts of each of these branches of science. The World of Mathematics walks the student through the history of mathematics, discussing the development of number and measurement systems, and focusing on the concepts and how the numbers are used in quantifying data and understanding how the world works.

See my related post:

From the High School Lesson Book - The History of Mathematics . . . as a Science

So you see, sometimes math is about more than just numbers. In our homeschool right now, it is more about understanding concepts and the whys and wherefores of what we're doing with numbers, rather than just the numbers themselves. And hopefully we can put a high number in the grade column on the report card and transcript in the process!

How is math going in your homeschool? Have you found resources that are a perfect fit for your students? Leave a comment and let me know! Also, please visit my fellow homeschool bloggers as they share thoughts on "Discovering Patterns" in this week's Virtual Curriculum Fair.

This post is part of the Virtual Curriculum Fair 2017. This year the Virtual Curriculum Fair is hosted by Susan at Homeschooling Hearts & Minds. Visit my fellow bloggers listed below and see how they are "Discovering Patterns" (all posts will be live by noon EST on January 16, 2017)!

Finding Our Math Equilibrium: Our Plan for 11th, 7th, 5th, and 2nd Grades + Free Printables! by Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts & Minds

Math Resources and Programs for All Ages by Amanda H @ Hopkins Homeschool

Math (doesn't) Stink! by Jennifer King @A Peace of Mind

When Math is NOT Your Thing by Michele@Family, Faith and Fridays

Math U See and All the Supplements by Laura H @ Four Little Penguins

Discovering Patterns in Our World: STEM Studies by Laura @ Day by Day in Our World

Junior High Math by Jennifer @ A Glimpse of Our Life

Science & Math for Struggling Learners by Yvie @ Gypsy Road

Maths: a subject in progress by Sarah @ Delivering Grace

Taking Mathematics out of the Textbook by Dana Hanley @ Roscommon Acre

Maths for a Very Maths-y Boy by Lizzy @ Peaches At Home

Practical Math by Annette @ A Net in Time

One of the greatest benefits of homeschooling by Kim @ Good Sweet Love

Math, How I Loathe Thee by Shecki @ Greatly Blessed

Math and Logic in Early Elementary and Preschool {virtual curriculum fair 2017} by Meghan W @ Quiet In The Chaos

Low Stress High School Science and Math by Christy @ Unexpected Homeschool

Are these toys or manipulatives? This is math? by HillaryM @ Walking Fruitfully

When You Don't Have a Math Plan by Brittney @ Mom's Heart

Clear Horizons by Lori H @ At Home: where life happens

A Few Thoughts on Teacher Math by Kristen @ Sunrise to Sunset

You may have noticed that my post wasn't included in the above list. That's because I got distracted and busy on the weekend, and forgot about the deadline for getting my post information submitted! Thankfully, I can add my contribution to the linky list; and it gives me the opportunity to let you know that YOU can add your related posts to the linky list below as well! Please do! We invite you to join in and tell us about the patterns discovered in your homeschool by linking up your posts about math, logic, and science:

An InLinkz Link-up

 Don't miss a coffee break! Subscribe to Homeschool Coffee Break by Email!

 ©2006-2017 Homeschool Coffee Break. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://kympossibleblog.blogspot.com/

Finding the Right Words - Virtual Curriculum Fair Week 2

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Homeschool Coffee Break helps fuel this blog and our homeschool - thank you!

Welcome to "Playing with Words" and Week 2 of the 2017 Virtual Curriculum Fair, hosted by Homeschooling Hearts & Minds! This week's focus is on Language Arts - English, Grammar, Writing, Literature, and more.

The abilities to communicate and to learn are, in my opinion, the most important skills a student needs in order to be successful. Reading, writing, and understanding words and using them effectively is foundational to communication and to learning. And one of the things I love about homeschooling is the flexibility we have to use just the right approach for each student - Finding the Right Words to help each one learn what they need to know.

The following resources are the curricula we are using this year for Language Arts.

For Composition (Writing Non-fiction)


We were able to review The Power In Your Hands last summer, and as we expected, it was a great fit for Kennady, so we are continuing with it through the school year. The book is written directly to the student, so she can work quite independently. The tone is relaxed and personal, with a bit of humor thrown in now and again. It's a great fit for Kennady, because she can work mostly on her own, and she likes the conversational tone. It's a good fit for me too, because the numbered lessons make it easier to keep track of work (this is an update from the first edition), and the Teacher's Guide offers specific grading grids to make evaluations easier. Students learn to write a persuasive essay; a compare-and-contrast essay; a biography; a literary analysis; and a research paper; and will be prepared for the new SAT essay and for college writing. We also like the collection of 14-Minute Power Surges found in the Teacher's Guide. These writing prompts encourage students to write without necessarily being graded on it. But those could wind up as "starter material" for essays that they will be graded on.

You can read more about The Power In Your Hands from Writing with Sharon Watson in our full review: The Power in Your Hands (A Schoolhouse Crew Review)

For Grammar (parts of speech, punctuation, vocabulary, etc):


We've found that Fix-it! Grammar (from IEW) is a great fit for Kennady, since she is a story-teller and that's the format of this grammar resource. A story is told, a sentence at a time, and students look for the intentional errors and correct them, learning about parts of speech and their functions as they go. They re-write the corrected story in their own journal, in their nicest handwriting. Kennady definitely enjoys this part! This course can be used for all ages, and teaches parts of speech, punctuation, and everything else grammar related. Younger students can go through the book(s) much more slowly than older students and learn the same material. The instructions are to work on one sentence per day for four days, but since Kennady has a great background in grammar already, we do a week's worth or more of Fix-It! lessons at a time, and in just a short sitting. As the concepts get more complex, we'll be prepared to slow down if we need to.

We originally got started with Fix-It! as part of our review of the Student Writing Intensive Level C from IEW a couple years ago. If you're looking for a writing course for high schoolers that is taught by someone other than you, give the Student Writing Intensive a look. It's a four-DVD set with basically all the teaching done by Andrew Pudewa. This curriculum was a good fit for both of my kids that year, despite their different learning styles and interest in writing, because they started by focusing on developing good writing skills without worrying about the content.



(Find out more about Fix-It! Grammar and the Student Writing Intensive in our full review: Institute for Excellence in Writing (A Schoolhouse Crew Review))
For Literature (poetry memorization, and literature study):


This is another product from the great people at the Institute for Excellence in Writing, and it feels like we are doing this purely for fun! This is Linguistic Development through Poetry Memorization - which may not sound like fun, but trust us, memorizing these poems really is enjoyable and painless. We don't have a set schedule to work on these, and to be completely honest, we've neglected it recently, but what we do is keep the CD and the Student Manual in our car, and when Kennady and I go for a drive, we work on our repertoire of memorized poems. We recite all the poems learned so far, then listen to the new poem several times before trying to recite it ourselves. Kennady was a little skeptical at first, and the first few times she was reluctant to put much dramatic effort into her recitation, but as we went along she became more animated. We even enjoy a bit of friendly competition too, as I am memorizing along with her. We do need to get back into the habit of working on this, which has been difficult while we're sharing vehicles with others in the family and therefore spending less time driving on school days. We may need to actually work on it at home instead of just while driving!

Reciting one of our favorites: The Yak by Hilaire Belloc

 Find out all the details in our full review: Poetry Memorization with Institute for Excellence in Writing)

During high school, our literature study is part of our history study because we use Exploring World History and Exploring America (both from Notgrass). This year Kennady is studying Exploring World History, so her reading list includes things like:

The Cat of Bubastes by G.A. Henty

Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

Animal Farm by George Orwell

I plan to talk more about Literature during Week 4 of the Virtual Curriculum Fair, so please check in then for more! In a nutshell though, my approach to literature study is that I want my kids to be reasonably well-read, by which I mean they are familiar with a selection of classic works of literature; and I do want them to enjoy the stories as much as possible. The books chosen to go with the Notgrass history studies are written about, or during, the time periods studied, so that adds interest. Hopefully! We don't read every book in the list, but choose a few of them, and I don't require detailed analysis or long writing assignments for each novel. Instead, we focus on reading for enjoyment and understanding of the story and historical setting. (Kennady will be writing a literary analysis essay using The Power in Your Hands, so that will be covered!)

Not surprisingly, Finding the Right Words for Kennady's high school studies turned up different curriculum choices than those that were good fits for my boys! For example, in his 11th grade year, Landon used Analytical Grammar. Landon is a "just the facts" kind of guy, and just wants to get right to the point and move on. This no-frills presentation grammar course worked great for his learning style. Find out more about this one by reading our full review: Analytical Grammar (Schoolhouse Crew Review)

  

What are some favorite Language Arts resources you've used? Leave a comment and let me know! Also, please visit my fellow homeschool bloggers as they share thoughts on "Playing With Words" in this week's Virtual Curriculum Fair.

This post is part of the Virtual Curriculum Fair 2017. This year the Virtual Curriculum Fair is hosted by Susan at Homeschooling Hearts & Minds. Visit my fellow bloggers listed below and see how they are "Playing With Words" (all posts will be live by noon EST on January 9, 2017)!

Delight Directed High School English by Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts & Minds
Act Your Part Well- 2017 VCF by Lisa @ Golden Grasses
The Search For Language by Michele @ Family, Faith and Fridays
Our Top Picks for Language Arts by Amanda H @ Hopkins Homeschool
Multiple Approaches to Language Arts in 2017 by Laura @ Day by Day in Our World
How We Cover the Language Arts in Our Homeschool by Joelle @ Homeschooling for His Glory
Use Your Words by Laura @ Four Little Penguins
The Art of Perfecting Macarons by Jennifer @ A Glimpse of Our Life
Loving Languages Every Day by Jen K @ A Peace of Mind
Speech Therapy & Elementary Latin by Yvie @ Gypsy Road
The Readin' and Writin' Part of Homeschool by Shecki @ Greatly Blessed
Children Who Love Books by Lizzy @ Peaches At Home
Customizing High School Language Credits by Christy @ Unexpected Homeschool
A Poetry Feast by Sarah @ Delivering Grace
Teaching Language Arts without Curriculum by Brittney @ Mom's Heart
I know your pain and it is worth it! by Kim @ Good Sweet Love
Language Arts: Our Style by Annette @ A Net in Time
Words! Words! Words! by Lisa M @McClanahan 7
10 Wonderful Word Games (+1) by Lori @ At Home: where life happens
Finding the Right Words by Kym @ Homeschool Coffee Break
What About Reading Comprehension? by Kristen @ Sunrise to Sunset
Teaching Grammar and Writing Through Discussion by Chelli @ The Planted Trees

Now it's your turn! We invite you to join the conversation about words by linking up your posts about your curriculum choices in the area of Language Arts:

An InLinkz Link-up

Don't miss a coffee break! Subscribe to Homeschool Coffee Break by Email! 

©2006-2017 Homeschool Coffee Break. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author.http://kympossibleblog.blogspot.com/

This Is How We Homeschool - Virtual Curriculum Fair Week 1

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Homeschool Coffee Break helps fuel this blog and our homeschool - thank you! 

Welcome to "See How We Learn" and the first week of the 2017 Virtual Curriculum Fair, hosted by Homeschooling Hearts & Minds! 

Don't worry - I'm not going to detail every little thing we do in our homeschool! Probably no one is that interested, and it would likely prove somewhat embarrassing to me and my student. What I will share is an overview of our planning and approach, and how we apply the plan to our everyday homeschool.



One of the things I do each summer as I'm preparing for a new school year to start is choose a School Scripture that provides a sort of theme or mission statement for our homeschool. This year, although I only have one student, I couldn't choose so I have two School Scriptures! Being reminded of what is more important than just academics helps me focus on our priority of discipling our children.

I do a lot of my planning the old-fashioned way, with paper and pencil, and sketch out a general plan of how to spread out the schoolwork over the year, so that we know in general how many pages/lessons/chapters of each subject to cover in an average week. I block out things like vacation and Christmas break on the calendar, as much as I can, and then mark out thirty-six school weeks.

From there I can move on to assigning lessons using  Homeschool Tracker Online. By using this wonderful program, I can view or update our schedules, records, lesson plans, grades, and reporting from my desktop or my laptop, and from anywhere I have internet access. It's my record of grades and credits, so it's easy for me to calculate quarterly or semester grades, or even our own transcript! Lesson Plans in the Tracker can be saved to use again with another student, so many of the lesson plans I'm using for Kennady were created for my older kids, saving me time now. All I have to do is tell the Tracker when to schedule the assignments! (There are shared lesson plans available in the program as well, meaning that if someone else has already created a lesson plan for a particular curriculum and submitted it to the HST community, you can use it!) I usually assign about a month's worth of lessons at a time, and print the assignment lists for Kennady to check off as she completes them. It's also very easy to reschedule anything we need to if we are moving faster or slower than anticipated, or decide not to do a particular lesson for some reason.

(Read my full review of Homeschool Tracker Online here: Homeschool Tracker Online: A Homeschool Coffee Break Review.)

I prefer to keep my lesson plans and assignment lists fairly simple, so we can more easily adjust if needed. Staying on top of the grading is important too, although it's also one of my biggest challenges in homeschooling! I also keep a Four-Year Plan for High School - in pencil! - that I start when my students start eighth grade. It's pretty easy to plot out the required credits and start filling in the options and extras based on each kid's interests and goals.

You can find information and free forms at HSLDA's Homeschooling Through High School page to help you plan. DonnaYoung.org also offers a lot of planning help and forms you can use. (Edited: It appears these are no longer free, but available for subscribers. Check Donna Young's website for details.) For four-year planning pages and all kinds of other record-keeping and planning helps, visit SchoolhouseTeachers.com. They have tons of resources for planning and record-keeping included with the low membership price.

For us, the school year usually starts according to plan and chugs along pretty good for several weeks, but inevitably something unforeseen interrupts our rhythm and we have to find our way again. I am pretty sure we're not the only homeschool family that faces this dilemma. This is where those flexible plans, with room to change and adjust, come in handy. And that school calendar that included more school days than we technically need is helpful too. Yes, we have a routine - full school days on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday; half day with gym on Tuesday - and we have expectations that we'll work on History and Math every day, for example. But when we have houseguests, or interruptions to the schedule, or are too sick to get much done; we just adjust course and move on. Somehow we always manage to be pretty close to finished by the time I have to submit the year's final grades.

This year is no exception, as we've done less school during most of December than I'd anticipated. But that's because my parents are here visiting, and call me crazy, but spending time with them is more important than staying rigidly on track in Science. So I'm not too worried - we'll just catch up starting next week. Also I started a new part-time job that will have me working two days a week, so that's something else that we'll have to consider as we tweak the calendar going forward.

Also see my related post: Homeschool 101 - Planning the School Year

How do you plan out your school year and stay on track? Leave a comment and let me know! Also, please visit my fellow homeschool bloggers as they share thoughts on "See How We Learn/Welcome to the Fair" in this week's Virtual Curriculum Fair.

This post is part of the Virtual Curriculum Fair 2017. This year the Virtual Curriculum Fair is hosted by Susan at Homeschooling Hearts & Minds. Visit my fellow bloggers listed below and "See How We Learn" (all posts will be live by noon EST on January 2, 2017)!

The Evolution of Our Homeschool by Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts & Minds

Us-School Because We Are Us, Not Someone Else by Laura @ Four Little Penguins

It's All About the School by Michele @ Family, Faith and Fridays

Setting the Stage- the 2017 Virtual Curriculum Fair! by Lisa N. @ Golden Grasses

New Year, New Goals, New School! by Amanda H @ Hopkins Homeschool

Homeschooling - A Glimpse into How We Do it by Joelle @ Homeschooling for His Glory

Spotlight on How We Learn in Our Homeschool by Laura @ Day by Day in Our World

Our Unique Eclectic Homeschool  by Jennifer @ A Glimpse of Our Life

How We Learn on the Go by Jacquelin @ A Stable Beginning

Home Education - 10 Ways We Make It Work by Lizzy @ Peaches At Home

Schedules, where would I be without them? by Kim @ Good Sweet Love

Education at Our House by Shecki @ Greatly Blessed

Starting the Day Well by Sarah @ Delivering Grace

Making a Change - Accountability and Responsibility Through Routine by Lori H @ At Home: where life happens

A time to be encouraged is coming.. the Virtual Curriculum Fair by Annette @ A Net in Time

Loving the Moment! by Jen K @ A Peace of Mind

Keeping Our Homeschool Organized by Christy @ Unexpected Homeschool

Homeschool Goal Setting – Looking Forward, Looking Back by Kristen @ Sunrise to Sunset

How We Choose Curriculum by Brittney @ Mom's Heart

This Is How We Homeschool by Kym @ Homeschool Coffee Break

How we don't learn in our homeschool & how I don't plan {2017 Virtual Homeschool Curriculum Fair} by Meghan @ Quiet in the Chaos

Learning Our Way by Lisa @ McClanahan 7

Limping Along: Our Semi-Eclectic Approach to Homeschooling by Debra @Footprints in the Butter

2017 Virtual Curriculum Fair: See How We Learn by Dana L @ Luv'N Lambert Life

This post is linked at the Encouraging Hearts & Home Blog Hop hosted by Embracing Destiny and nine other blogs.

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