To The Rock Homeschool: July 2020

Tuesday, July 21, 2020

Finding the PERFECT Homeschool Curriculum

I repeat, there is no PERFECT HOMESCHOOL CURRICULUM!

The best advice I ever received as new homeschool moms was to find a curriculum that is OK, and then STOP LOOKING. Homeschool parents take years off their life searching for the elusive "perfect" curriculum".

Don’t look for curriculum, look for a homeschool style, then find something that fits that style. There are styles that work better for your child, styles that DON’T WORK for your child, but there will never be a PERFECT FIT.

I personally love our curriculum, My Father's World, because it combines a few different learning styles that fit our family. That said, we ignore one third of what is in the manual because it just doesn't "fit" where we are, or that academic need is met elsewhere. We skip their Bible many times because we do to a Bible Study that has its own homework for my kids, and we skip their art because we take art classes outside the home.

Your teacher’s Manual is not god, and NO teacher’s manual is perfect. Just because your teacher's manual says they should be able to write that sentence that week doesn't mean your child is ready to write that sentence. It doesn’t necessarily mean you need a new teacher’s manual, it just means you get to make it work for YOUR family.

It is OK to stay on a Math concept for two weeks, even though your manual says they should learn it in two days. When you get "stuck" try to count it as a blessing because if your child was not one-on-one with you are home, they would not be "stuck", they would be "left behind".

Making it work is not something you know right away, and that is OK. You will learn slowly how to make sometime work for your family, what parts to throw out and what to keep, just like you did in those early years of parenting. You learned what stuffed animals comforted your child enough to fall asleep, or how to make green beans more appetizing.

If you are looking for curriculum, and up to your eyeballs in stress, take a breath. It will be OK! We have ALL been there. You will find something that works, and you can make work for your family.

Wednesday, July 8, 2020

How Long is Your Homeschool Day?

HOW LONG IS YOUR HOMESCHOOL DAY?

The rule of thumb is to add about 20 minutes for each grade, but every KID is different and every DAY is different. Some days we get through our whole day in an hour and half, some days it feels like we trudge through at snail's pace.

How Long is Your Homeschool Day?

Preschool- 15 to 30 min
Kindergarten- 30 min to 1 hour
1st to 2nd Grade- 45 min to 1.5 hours
3rd to 4th Grade- 1.5 to 3 hours
5th to 6th Grade- 2.5 to 3.5 hours
7th to 8th grade- 3 to 4.5 hours
High School- 3.5 to 6 hours

1. STRUCTURED LEARNING

These times apply to STRUCTURED learning, a.k.a direct teaching and/or "seat-work". This does not include field trips, cooking dinner together, play time, and all the other learning that happens every moment in your house!

Your day may go over this time with extra-curricular and fun educational activities that don't fall into "structured" learning. Guided free-play (like play-dough and dress up), gym class, audio-books, separate art class, and field trips are different, and will last longer because they REQUIRE A DIFERENT TYPE OF BRAIN ENGAGEMENT.

I taught preschool and kindergarten, and I can attest that the times above are the longest any STRUCTURED time will be effective in those younger ages. Yes, you can get a compliant child to sit and listen or do worksheet for longer, but in my experience retention falls drastically after these age-appropriate windows of direct teaching.

2. TIME RANGES, NOT SET IN STONE

These are just jumping off ranges for new homeschoolers to see that they do not have to fill the same time period at the public school! Public school class schedules require a lot of crowd control time, and you don't have that crowd. Many moms are afraid they are missing something if they get Kindergarten done in 45 minutes, but as a former Kindergarten teacher, I can promise you that you are not!

3. Every KID is different and every DAY is different.

Some days we get through our whole day in an hour and half, some days it feels like we trudge through at snail's pace.

You have to find out what works for you. What works for your student, may slow down another.

This year we found the day goes faster when we do Math first (because my sons says then his brain isn't already tired when he gets to it), but that approach may slow down your day. Like I said, all kids are different.

Some days my kids through their school work super fast, but the next day we have a science lab, a math test, and an English paper to write and it takes most of the day.

If your days are CONSISTENTLY GOING WAY OVER THESE TIME RANGES and your children are struggling, maybe take some time to reflect WHY that is.

Are you expecting too much independent work from your student, and they need more one on one time?

Is there too much busywork or redundancies in your curriculum?

Would switching to audiobooks help a child who is struggling to get their reading done?

Do you need to drop back a grade level in a few subjects?

Are you overscheduled on homeschool activities and trying to cram things into a shorter period of time?

Do you kids work better in the morning and you are trying to get work done in the afternoon? Or vice versa?

Does this schedule ring true for your homeschool day? Please let me know in the comments!

Thursday, July 2, 2020

Drawn to God: Sermon Notes Journal

Drawn to God: Sermon Notes Journal for any age

After creating Sermon Notes for Kids and Sermon Notes for Teen, I had several requests for an adult sermon notes journal. As I came up with a plan, I designed the journal I needed myself!

Drawn to God is a 52 Week Sermon Notebook for Doodlers and Artists, or anyone who needs space to process the sermon through writing. This journal is the perfect notebook for engaging creatively with the sermon with options to write, reflect, and draw.