Home School Support Network

LESSON PLANS

Posted by Hank Osborne on May 11, 2012 Leave a Comment

Podcast Episode 16 show notes.

This week we had a few homeschooling families over for dinner and the topic of school planning came up. As I shared how my method has changed over the years, my husband noticed the nodding heads (of mostly the husbands!) How is it that us wives stress out so much over lesson plans?! I have a couple of theories and some possible solutions.

Theory 1
Temperaments! I know that I go back to this frequently but it is integral to understanding how God wired us up AND to understanding our strengths/weaknesses. If you will recall from episode 10, the Choleric & Meloncholoy temperaments are the task focused temperaments and they like to have a PLAN! Melanchologies are also perfectionists and love their Sticky Note “to do” list. I believe it is a natural tendency to be stressed when life (AKA school planning) is unplanned. Yes, God does work on our weaknesses but it is a process!

Theory 2
I think our goals/purpose for homeschooling causes (or at least contributes to) the stress we experience in the area of school planning. This goes back to our discussion in episode 2. When our purpose in homeschooling is academic greatness rather than training their hearts and character in the ways of the Lord, then a natural side effect is pressure- sometimes extreme pressure- to find THE BEST curriculum, plan out GREAT lesson plans, and implement those plans! A good antibiotic for this is realizing that NO MATTER how hard you try, you WILL have gaps in your child’s education because it is not possible to teach your child every academic knowledge and skill there is. Despite the effort of “trained educators”, the same is true for them too- I’ve also been in that camp! But what you can teach them is how to love the Lord, obey HIM and exhibit Godly character…knowing that these things will follow them well in life and any laking skills or knowledge can be quickly obtained. Employers can’t train character but they can train skills.

THE “SCHOOL” METHOD
My college training ingrained in me a method of creating lesson plans where it was written out what would be accomplished everyday in each subject and the learning objectives/state standard for each lesson. These plans were kept in a book on my desk where the school administrators could view them at any point in our day. In addition to the weekly plans, I also had a “long range plan” of the skills I had to teach and how that was going to fit for the year.
There is nothing wrong with this type of planning in your homeschool, if it works for you. This is how I started in my homeschooling until I started spending more time revising it than I did implementing it or creating it in the first place! You can look at an example of those plans on the shownotes. This method of planning will be more difficult if you have a lot of context situations (as discussed in episode 11). Another difficulty to this level of detail and planning in advance is that it works for the Choleric & Melancholy (task oriented) temperaments but not so well for the people oriented.

The Lord revealed another method that has been working well for me. I like to call it a “Completed Work record”.

COMPLETED WORK RECORD – for daily plans
I started writing down everything we did in a school day AFTER it was completed. I have found that my life is much easier when I am electronically connected so I started using Google Docs to keep a record of daily work completed for each child. I will print these records out at the end of the year to include in their school work portfolios.

Benefits:
It has reduced the amount of frustration and time I spend revising daily written lesson plans–tremendously! I can edit the electronic record any where (and any time I have a few minutes). Plus I can cut and paste…a nice feature to have!
The best benefit has been the relief of stress to “keep up with my plans”. (Again, this is coming from a task-oriented temperament as opposed to a people-oriented person who actually does need more structure.) Using this method, I have been better able to put a halt on school to deal with attitudes of the heart which need training- which is my primary focus for home educating my children. I don’t get so frustrated and overwhelmed at seeing my week of beautiful lesson plans crossed out or with arrows marked all over simply because I had to deal with outright defiance, temper tantrums, or lack of personal responsibility!

PLANNING FOR THE WEEK OR MONTH
History and science are the easiest for me to plan because they naturally lend themselves to units or sections. These smaller chunks can be broken down into a weekly flow of activities. To give myself flexibility, I write down the order of activities to complete a unit and sometimes I break it down to “Day 1″, etc. If I don’t complete all the activities for that day, or I over plan, then it is at the top of the list to do on the next day. It can be likened to creating a sequence. I try to plan a unit at a time but sometimes life gets in the way and I end up planning a week. I do try to know where I am heading in the curriculum. Math gets done one lesson at a time and is little planning though that varies by curriculum. I tend to use history and science books for me to read aloud or for my child to read to me/brothers. I do a phonics/spelling/handwriting program, called STEPS, that is already broken into lesson and activity and easy to plug in wherever I need. Piano is practiced daily with a lesson once per week. “Daily GRAMS”(English/editing) and Bible are done almost daily. Other subjects like art, writing, PE, Geography, Latin, Bible/Character Club are done at our co-op once a week with the homework being done at home (but NOT ALL of these subjects are done every year!)

WHAT I AM NOT SAYING
I am not saying you should not plan at all. To think that you can embark on such a huge task of home educating your children without any plan at all is hugely nieve and risky! I am not saying you should be lazy in your planning or not teach your children valuable skills. They must learn the basics like reading, writing, and math. But does that mean your child is doomed academically if he/she doesn’t know all his vocabulary, know where Tanzania is in his/her head, or doesn’t remember all the facts of the Golden Age of Greece? No. Be wise, be purposeful, but also flexible.

What a relief to trust in my Lord and Savior to equip these children in skills they need to fulfil His purposes.

Links mentioned in this episode: Donna Young’s Lesson Plans

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Filed Under: General, Podcast, Time Management | Tagged: Tagged With: How-to, Planning, Record Keeping, Tools

Busy Bags for Preschoolers

Posted by Sherry Osborne on May 7, 2012 Leave a Comment

These discovery bootles are our contribution to a busy bag swap with our local home school support group. this busy bag swap is for items appropriate for 2-3 year olds.

My boys and I had so much fun making these bottles! They kind of evolved from ‘just’ a neat thing to look at to a challenge for an older child. Because this change of gears happened after I started making them, the bottles don’t have all of the same items (which adds to the challenge). I thought I would create a check list that you can print out for any older siblings.

Contents of a Discovery Bottle (Click for close up)

ABC letters- Can you spell a word with your letters?
pony beads- How many different colors?
bowling pin
domino- Add the two numbers to find the sum.
die
marble
car Squinkie
frog
buttons- How many can you count?
star beads
gold stars
car, airplane, and train buttons
aquarium rocks
sea shell
zoo animal
whale
heart
2 googly eyes
shimmery ribbon
sequins- 3 colors (one is hard to find)
Lego- It may not look like a typical piece!
ring
penny & dime (one has 2 pennies & dimes- a little helper lost track)
ladybug button
circle sparkle “gem”
nail
Lite Brite piece- look hard!
ice cream/dessert
smily face ball

The next posts on Busy Bags will provide pictures of items we received in the busy bag swap as well as tips on making items durable without breaking the bank.

Filed Under: Fun, General | Tagged: Tagged With: Arts and Crafts, Crafts, Fun, Preschool

Notebooking Lessons Learned

Posted by Sherry Osborne on April 30, 2012 Leave a Comment

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At the Teach Them Diligently Homeschool Convention I attended a session led by Jeannie Fulbright. This episode of our podcast will feature some of the things I learned from this session.

Timeline example completed at the end of 1st grade. Riley summarized what he learned about Martin Luther after reading a couple of quality books.

Podcast Episode 15 Show Notes

I briefly mentioned Notebooking in a Methods of Homeschooling blog post with a promise to go into more detail. I went to this session and for the first time received a good understanding of what “notebooking” is and the curriculum that uses this method.
Jeannie Fulbright uses “a methodology of education that employs a child’s comprehension, critical thinking, and creativity to produce a permanent work of artistic and academic value.” This method is based on a Charlotte Mason approach (see previous blog post) which can be linked back to how many great thinkers of the past kept a learning notebook (IE Leonardo & G. Washington).
Highschool lab manuals are basically Notebooking.
You can use Notebooking with ANY curriculum.
It uses “narration” which is telling back in your own words what you have learned.
Is a great way to retain what is learned. You would read a book then the child draws a picture and writes what they learned or a summary. The child has to mull over the material. They forget what is read/learned if they don’t do anything with the information other than taking a quiz.
It becomes a record of learning for the year.
The child “owns” the book AND the knowledge that is in the book he/she created.
Include in the Notebook: maps, mini books/lapbooks, photos of trips or projects, field trip reports, copywork, timelines, summaries, newspaper articles, brochures, and charts/diagrams.
Notebooking does take more time than a test or quiz.
Don’t go overboard by doing one everyday.

Lets look at typical assessments for a minute.

Notebooking replaces “artificial assessment” with authentic learning. Typical assessments don’t increase learning potential and they do not engage the child.

In the lower grades, typical assessments do not develop critical thinking.
no contemplation and it doesn’t engage the whole mind.
makes the purpose of learning about the test
uses mostly short term memory

Other Links mentioned in this episode:

Lapbooks Podcast Episode

Notebooking Pages - Free Sample Page Downloads

Apologia Science

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Other examples of Riley’s Notebooks:

This is a 3rd grade example of a summary of what a "Relief Sculpture" is. It was completed in our study if Assyria.

Copy work example included in a history notebook. Riley completed this in 3rd grade. Copy work focuses on handwriting and correct sentence formation/grammar.

Historical Timeline Example of what would be included in a notebook.

Map of ancient civilizations and the Bible. Include maps in your notebooks.

Filed Under: Giveaway, Methods, Podcast | Tagged: Tagged With: Curriculum, How-to, Methods, Science, South Carolina

Homemade Toothpaste

Posted by Sherry Osborne on April 24, 2012 Leave a Comment

I recently had the book The Toothpaste Millionaire by Jean Merrill recommended to me to read to my boys. A quick search at our local library turned up the book and excitement was on my 9 year old’s face as he read the title (I’m guessing the attention getter was the word “millionaire” NOT the word “toothpaste”!).

We read the book, breaking it up into smaller chunks over several days. The book is about a boy and his friend and their quest to make- and then sell- affordable toothpaste. It was refreshing to find a book with an interesting plot and no objectionable character or language. My son and I recommend this book! Note: There is an updated version of this book (of at least the cover but I don’t know about the content). We read the older version.

I did a quick Google search for “homemade toothpaste recipe” and quickly discovered we already HAD all the ingredients to make our own toothpaste. You can’t get any cheaper than that!! We did this as the culminating activity to our reading and have been using it now for weeks. I actually prefer the homemade stuff as it feels like my teeth are cleaner!

I used Tammy’s Recipes website and found the step by step pictures easy to follow. It took literally just minutes! I haven’t let my four year old use this toothpaste because he just hasn’t mastered the whole “don’t swallow” thing but my nine year old loves it. As for safety, I asked the boys’ dentist to see if the baking soda is harmful and I received an okay from that standpoint. His concern was the lack of fluoride, which neither I nor the boys, have used for about two years now without any problems.

Another concern I’ve heard is about the essential oils being “food grade”. The opinions over this go back and forth so I’ll let you decide on that. I will say that you can find food grade oils online, and maybe even at your local health food store. They are more expensive than non-food grade but many are still pretty reasonably priced.

So if you are looking for a quick summer read and activity, keep this one in mind. As a bonus, you get some “natural toothpaste” too! Happy reading!

Filed Under: Science | Tagged: Tagged With: How-to, Math, Science

Lessons I Learned from a Conference

Posted by Sherry Osborne on April 18, 2012 Leave a Comment

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Conference Teach Them Diligently

Reasons to attend a homeschool conference:

It “refuels” mom and gives much needed encouragement!
Refreshing time away.
Personal growth in the Lord.
Hands on opportunity in the vendor hall to really “see” the curriculum.

Rhino Technologies – Get audio files (MP3) of the sessions from the Teach Them Diligently conference.

Yee Haw! Books for Boys- Jan Bloom

Boys do what they see their dads do so dads need to model reading from a real book, not just electronic books!
Allow boys to move around while you read a longer book- they ARE listening! It takes all their concentration to “sit still” and it frees up their mind to be able to move AND listen. (See blog post on Fidgets)
Allow kids to posses the books they love- write their name in them and keep them accessible.
Be aware of when the books were published! Prior to the 1960s the school librarians were the “gate keepers” but it is not so now.
Boys like books with odd information, obscure facts, and challenges. Don’t be afraid of books with battles and conquering.
Keep a “Book Journal” or index box with cards of title, author, # of pages in the book, plot & a few sentences. Gives you a record of what you’ve read and you can go back through your favorites without forgetting them. (See Lamplighter Publishing)
If reading continues to be difficult past 10-12 years, consider www.visiontherapy.com
Books for “early reading”

Nancy Drew, Beatrix Potter, Thorton Burgess, Frog and Toad, Bobbsey Twins, Marion Renich (sports), I Can Read Series,
Boxcar Children- the first 19 books were written by Warner but not the later ones (the character & values are better in #1-19).
Be careful of language and attitude in biography category. Check out Garrard Biographies, Childhood of Famous Americans

“intermediate” reading

Madeleine L’Engle, Jenny L. Cote, Hardy Boys, Sugar Creek Gang, American Adventure, American Heritage, Scripture Slueth, The Building on the Rock Series (5th grade +)
Be careful of language and attitude in biography category. Check out YWAM Biographies & Trailblazer Biographies

The Seven E’s for Choosing Curriculum- Jeannie Fullbright

See the last blog post for more of her points.
Be more intentional about devotion time both personally and with the kids. Devotion tends to go whenever we think we are behind in our “curriculum”!

I try to choose curriculum where Christ is in the center and woven throughout EVERYTHING rather than a curriculum with God as a ‘side entree’.

When you abandon a curriculum because it no longer works/fits your needs, then try to figure out WHY. This is so you don’t end up buying the same thing with a different name on it!

The Brain, Memory, & Learning- Carlita Boyle

Takes 5-6 hours to move learning from temporary to permanent storage. Teaching a new skill befores this causes problems with the first learning. Application: It doesn’t always help to give more work- need short teaching times.

the time of day influences learning- Learn your child’s pattern
Most probable effective learning times are after waking, just before bedtime, few hours before/after midpoint of the day. Ask your child “Is there a time that you like to learn?”
Stress has a major impact on memory. Children link the EMOTION they had when learning something back to the INFORMATION they learned!
Not getting enough sleep interferes with memory. REM sleep happens in the later hours of the night and that is when short term memory is transferred to long term. Power Sleep by James Maas
Exercise helps memory! Learn first then exercise- It releases epinephrin and they learn better. DON’T SKIP RECESS!!
3 ways to get information into long term memory

1. intense sensory experience to link memory to
2. intense repetition or drill (most commonly used in textbooks)
3. drill used over TIME- is effective when learning a little bit at a time, over time.

Sensory Based Activities- Special Needs Consultant in SCAIHS

“All children can benefit at some time instructionally with sensory activities to allow them to be better able to focus on the lessons being taught.” Osbornes call them “fidgets”. They keep the fingers busy so the brain can focus.
Indicators of Sensory Integration disorder: speech & laguage delay/deficits, hypo &/or hyper activity level (like with Vestibular issues), stimuli reactions (tactile issues), difficulty with coordination skills (motor planning like with Proprioceptive issues)
“FEED THE NEED!” Identify the need & provide opportunities for the child to do it in a safe and appropriate mannor. Examples
We DO need to introduce textures they don’t like- little bits at a time.
Plan some sensory activities in your day that are individualized to your child…even in busy or “bad” days.
check out www.sizzlebop.com and carol’s Web Corner http://www.westfieldacademy.org/adhd/ for ideas on teaching distractable children and helping them to memorize or retain information.
check out www.blueletterbible.com for awesome features that are helpful for ALL CHILDREN. I was also told (but haven’t figured it out for myself yet) that you can enlarge a passage and change the background/text color to make it easier for dyslexic readers.

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Filed Under: Giveaway, Podcast | Tagged: Tagged With: Curriculum, Giveaway, South Carolina, Special Needs

Homeschooling Methods

Posted by Sherry Osborne on March 27, 2012 Leave a Comment

We’ve talked about the broad types (or categories) of homeschool curriculum. As a previous public school teacher, I have a comfort level in this area. However, applying that knowledge to the myriad of products available- each of which will tell you theirs is the best- is a different story! Hopefully the podcast has given you a skeleton of understanding.

I attended Jeannie Fullbright’s session called “The Seven E’s for Choosing Curriculum” at the Teach Them Diligently homeschool conference. One of the areas that this session helped me was by outlining the different METHODS of homeschooling. Obviously I didn’t do my research homework before I began homeschooling! My goal is not to write a paper on this topic but to rather give you a skeleton of understanding behind some of the most popular methods. There is some overlap between the methods and the types of curriculum (note that one could substitute the words “philosophy” or “approach” in place of the word “methods”). For example, textbook and unit studies are BOTH methods and a type of curriculum that can be bought (see last post & chart for explanation of these two). I want to discuss the Classical, Charlotte Mason, and Child Directed methods today.

The Classical approach is systematic and rigorous and finds its’ roots back in the way the Greeks/Romans educated. It is focused on the written and spoken language rather than images or videos. There is an emphasis on the great works of literature from Plato, Aristotle, Swift, and Dickens, to name a few. “It follows a specific three-part pattern: the mind must be first supplied with facts and images, then given the logical tools for organization of facts, and finally equipped to express conclusions.” It is believed that all learning is interrelated and uses history as the connection between all these areas. There are three stages of learning. The Grammar Stage, grades 1-4, are spent sponging up facts and memorizing. The Dialectic Stage (or logic stage), middle school, focuses on the the cause and effect between subject areas and are able to understand the framework they fit into. The last stage of learning is the Rhetoric Stage where the child learns to write and speak with elegance. http://www.welltrainedmind.com/classical-education/

Charlotte Mason trained governesses who schooled children in the 1800’s. She believed that ⅓ of a child’s education came from home environment, another ⅓ from the discipline of good habits/character, and the last third from academics. In general this approach is gentle rather than rigorous. The lessons are short with focused attention- lengthening as they get older. Charlotte believed that children should be given good quality “living” books rather than dry dull textbooks for the subjects of history, geography, science and literature. Science was spent observing nature and recording observations in a “nature notebook”. Math is stresses the importance of understanding the why of a concept and using manipulatives as a tool to learn this before pencil and paper work begins. A key component of the Charlotte Mason method is the use of “narration” to learn and retain information. I will do a whole topic on this method in the future but for now let me say narration is when a child tells back in his own words what he saw, read, or heard and it can be done orally or written. Narration is the opposite of textbook assessments. http://simplycharlottemason.com/basics/started/charlotte-mason-method/

The last method has several names that are varying degrees of the same method; Child Directed, Delight Directed, or Unschooling. The underlying philosophy is that all kids naturally want to learn and they will excel when left to their own devices to explore what interests them. This method of schooling sounds very much like the trend of “child-centered parenting”. It leaves an unanswered question of “What about subjects’ children aren’t particularly interested in, but need to know?” Some “Unschoolers” provide some structure and make sure their child is doing a math curriculum.
Read more at Suite101: Homeschooling Trends: The Trend for Child-Led UnSchooling in Homeschooling Homes | Suite101.com

As I type this I am wondering just how many more philosophical methods there are (or will be) to home educating. Is it any wonder so many of us are bogged down and overwhelmed as we begin the process of teaching our children?

“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one can say, “Look! This is something new”? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time.” Ecclesiastes 1:9-10 NIV

Filed Under: General | Tagged: Tagged With: Curriculum, Methods, Tools

Curriculum Types

Posted by Sherry Osborne on March 22, 2012 1 Comment

Gods Design for Life: The World of Animals

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Our goal in this episode is to equip you with some basic knowledge of the types of curriculum with some pros and cons of each. This is so that you can identify what your educational styles are and what some curricula choices are that matches your style. This BY NO MEANS is intended to be an an all inclusive list! There’s no way to know all that is available on the market- it changes too fast!

If you learn the basic categories that most curriculum falls into then you can identify it yourself. This is especially helpful when you go to curriculum fairs, homeschool conventions, or think you might like to try your friend’s favorite curriculum.

I personally believe that the most rounded education comes from using a variety of types. EVERY product available is going to have holes or at the very least, disadvantages. My best friend watched me run in circles trying to find the “perfect” curriculum when I began home schooling. I did finally realize there was no such thing because I didn’t write it (coming up with my own thing was time consuming, exhausting and at times- expensive).

I have also learned there is a “season” for every type of curriculum to be used- by most people. For example, a workbook curriculum might be necessary in one subject or in a season of context (new baby or moving) even if it is not your preferred method. Or you might need to use a unit approach to get your reluctant learner excited about learning.

The 4 types of curriculum that we are going to compare are:
Workbook*
Textbook*
Unit Study
Literature Books

*Because of the similarities between these two, it can be difficult to define the difference because most textbooks also have a workbook component and vice versa.

Below is a chart that we mentioned in this episode of the HSSN Podcast. This chart shows the Pros, Cons, Planning, Temperament, and example notes for each homeschool curriculum type.

Also mentioned in this episode is an episode of the DaddyLife.net Podcast discussing Love Languages and HSSN Podcast Episode 10 on Temperaments.

Home School Curriculum Types Review Notes

Click image to download a PDF copy of the notes.

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Filed Under: Curriculum, Giveaway, Podcast | Tagged: Tagged With: Curriculum, Giveaway, Methods, Special Needs, Tools

Juggling a Houseful with Learning Stations

Posted by Sherry Osborne on March 5, 2012 1 Comment

“Children are a blessing from the Lord; they are a reward from him.”
Psalm 127:3 NLT

Ever been at your whits end trying to juggle your “blessings” all the while accomplish schooling with one or more of those same blessings?! Time management is the key!

We’ve talked about Structure and Routine in Episode 5 and a part of that structure is training your children to stay within boundaries set by mom. We started with training “blanket time” for the boys when they became mobile. I would put down a blanket with a few toys on it and set a timer. Each time they went to crawl off, I would redirect them back on the blanket. If you keep some toys set aside to use for blanket time then they maintain their novelty and can successfully lengthen this time once it has been trained.

With a houseful of siblings, that blanket time is often seen as a relief to have their “own” space marked off as theirs! I have found that “blanket time” doesn’t HAVE to be just for toddlers, in fact it illuminated an area that needed training in my 4 ½ year old today. You will notice there is a child missing from the picture above because he was on his bed working on his obeying without complaining as he was not happy with the choice of activity I gave him (coloring sheet). This is character training, and is the main reason our family has decided to homeschool. This is also school!

There are several different ways to use the blanket boundaries for school teaching time and for structuring preschoolers so you HAVE TIME to teach (and yes, house cleaning too!)

I have taken that blanket time training (which I learned about from On Becoming Toddlerwise) and blended it with a teaching practice of “learning centers”. This is where you have several areas of learning activities set up throughout a room and the children are rotated through these centers. You can use these educational activities for school and swap children after a determined amount of time. All the while, mom is available assisting and redirecting those little ones, working on behavior, or doing some chores.

Another use is to give the children relatively independent activities so mom can have some one-on-one time to work on a subject with another child. Do realize that if you have toddlers, mom needs to be able to pause this instruction time to redirect the little ones (so save the very difficult subjects for when the little ones are napping or resting on their beds). If mom doesn’t insist the little ones stay on the blanket, then they will stop doing so and this tool is no longer usable.

I also use these boundaries and small, quiet toys (what my son’s occupational therapist calls “fidgets”) for when I have a good amount of reading aloud to them. We start reading on the couch and I dismiss them to their blankets once they have done all the sitting I can reasonably expect. It looks sort of like a train making stops letting off passengers. I use this method instead of having the child go play somewhere else because if they are in the same room they are still absorbing information. The only caveat is that they play quietly or they loose the freedom to play with their “fidget”. I use mainly sensory items as fidgets (meaning they are squishy, stretchy, or textured). You can check out a special needs catalogue such as Abilitations or try a craft store like Michaels. Our favorite fidgets are various size pompoms. This method works great for my special needs son and for the younger ones (4-6 year olds) but NOT for the toddlers! When I have a lot of reading that is when I put the toddler in his Pack and Play in the other room with a few toys (basically “blanket time” but with the physical boundaries).

Ideas for learning centers:
Leappad electronic games with educational game cartridges (many of these are retired by Leap Frog but are worth the hunt)
TAG Reader (also by Leap Frog)
Discovery Toys “Playful Patterns”
Discovery Toys “Learning Bugs”
Discovery Toys “Think it Through Tiles”
Tangrams with patterns
Lacing cards – fine motor skills
Design & Drill – copying patterns & fine motor
File Folder Games
puzzles
coloring or activity book
picture books

Filed Under: Time Management | Tagged: Tagged With: Character Training, Methods, Preschool, Tools

God’s Design Science Series – Review

Posted by Hank Osborne on February 22, 2012 2 Comments

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One of the most difficult decisions I face in homeschooling is choosing a curriculum among the abundance of choices available. Ironically, it’s also one of the major “benefits” I see that Homeschooling offers!

It is difficult for a few reasons. One is that I personally do best being able to put my hands on it to view the curriculum in it’s entirety (rather than viewing a lesson or unit that is available to view online). Another reason is that I HATE wasting money! Finally, there are many review websites and blogs out there but I found some of the reviews to be written by the publishers of the curriculum (I didn’t want a sales pitch) and the other reviews would be all over the place. I realize that no one curriculum will be a perfect fit for everyone but reading some raving reviews right next to some obviously disgruntled reviews for the same curriculum was frustrating and confusing for me.

I am going to do my best to give a factual review of the God’s Design for Science series. First let’s start with some curriculum details.

This series is written by Debbie & Richard Lawrence and published by Answers in Genesis. It is divided into 4 theme areas: Chemistry and Ecology (3-8th), Physical World (3-8th), Heaven and Earth (1-8th), and Life (1-8th). Each of these themes has three individual books that goes into more specific content. For example the God’s Design for Life has “World of Plants”, “World of Animals”, and “Human Body”. It takes about a year to complete the three books so the whole curriculum series would be four years of science.

Advantages:

The biggest advantage, in my opinion, is that it is multi grade level in the SAME book. EACH lesson is written with a “beginner” section that fits K-2nd really well, a section for 3-8th, and some “challenge” sections designed for 6-8th but my third grader can often complete. Included are “Special Features” articles which are fun facts or biographies of scientists who have contributed to the subject.
It is creation based (meaning it is completely evolution theory free) and examples of God’s design of our world is woven throughout the curriculum.
Comprehension questions are included for every level and in every lesson (the teacher’s book has the answers).
There are added activities for each lesson like experiments, worksheets, research projects, and some charades/art. Any worksheets and tests are on the CD ROM that is included with each individual book.
MOST activities do not require much prep time or materials (and the materials they do require are ones you would have on hand or from a grocery store).
It lends well to pulling in additional picture books or activities.
The cost is pretty low and you have the option of buying per book, per theme series, or the whole series.

Disadvantages

The unit tests cover content for all the grade levels. If your child doesn’t do the “challenge” sections then there will be questions that he/she will not know on the tests. Likewise, the tests are very difficult for the K-2nd “beginner” level as much of the content would be foreign to them.
The content of each lesson is light (at least for the “World of Animals” book but that may not be the case for “Properties of Atoms and Molecules” book!)
If you want a science curriculum that is highly WORKSHEET OR EXPERIMENT based then this NOT for you!

For our family, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. I realize that no curriculum is perfect. You may however, want to check God’s Design out!

Also mentioned in this episode was the Teach Them Diligently Convention for Christian homeschoolers. We highly recommend this convention if you are going to be anywhere near the upstate of South Carolina between March 15-17.

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Filed Under: Podcast, Science | Tagged: Tagged With: Curriculum

Special Needs Education – Context

Posted by Sherry Osborne on February 6, 2012 Leave a Comment

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Podcast Episode 11 – Context – Educating at home when life gets tough due to illness of a child, spouse, grandparent. Maybe your context is caused by a job change, moving, or you have a new baby in the home. Context can strict any homeschooling family at any time.

In particular “context” is an area I struggle with. I attribute it to the task oriented part of both my primary and secondary temperaments (I’m sure being a firstborn also has a part). But alas God is still “working on me” and having four boys (one with special needs) has a way of speeding up the process I think.

Homeschooling can look completely different from one family to another and this is especially the case when there are special needs. This is also the beauty of homeschooling. Parents get to choose how to best teach their child by taking into account any needs.

Caden’s Page - Read more about our special needs son. We never know what medical issues we are going to face or when they will come.

GENERAL HELPS

Heavier work load when Caden’s well. Which means we are mostly at home rather than out and about.
When he’s well enough for therapy, which comes to the house, I make sure I count that as school time. Keep his goal sheets and evaluations.
I give myself 365 days to complete 180 days of school. So basically we do school year around with short breaks as we need them. This also takes care of the problem that comes with long breaks which is that NO one wants to start back! Of course retention is better without long breaks.
Record the work that WAS completed rather than the lessons you WANT to complete. This saves time & frustration from erasing lesson plans plus the pressure to get it all done.

DURING ILLNESSES (Context or other context situations)

Use less active school like videos, reading stories, and educational toy/game like TAG Reader or LEAP Pad. Videos may vary from “There Goes A Helicopter”, to “Character Builder” series, to “Ancient Egypt”. We do a lot of books on tape from the library because Caden is not reading yet or we listen to a Creation based science series called “Jonathan Park” which has our whole family on the edge of our seat!
I give my older child more of the independent work subjects like those which are on the computer/online. Ex Teaching Textbooks, Rosetta, SOS, typing
I write down everything we do and if it is really not much, then I may count two days worth work as one “school day”.
Somedays I just have to remember that he’s doing more learning at home than he would be getting in a Special Ed class. The amount of days he would miss in public or private would be MANY! Give yourself some grace and “tomorrow’s another day!”

Resources

Character Builders DVD Set - Capture your child’s imagination witfully-animated episodes on Obedience & Self Control, Sharing and Kindness, Patience and Peace, Confidence and Love, Thankfulness and Gentleness and more.

The Amazing Bible Series – The Amazing Book

Ancient Africa (Ancient Civilizations for Children) – We found a version on Greece in our local public library.

Incredible Creatures That Defy Evolution 1