Home School In Florida

Literacy, Not Just Reading

Terri — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 14:48:30 +0000

This is a wonderful article by Arthur Pitts about how children learn literacy naturally. If you are or have been stressed out about your children learning to read, I welcome you to take a deep breath, sit back, read and enjoy!

http://www.michaelmaspress.com/guide3.htm

Homeschool Identification Card

Terri — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 12:51:17 +0000

Having your own official homeschool ID card can save you money on homeschool supplies, admission to parks and hotels and more. Teachers can get discounts at places like Office Depot and Barnes & Noble, so why not homeschool teachers?

Well, now you can too!

I scoured the Internet looking for a decent, professional-looking and FREE homeschool ID template and I’ve found one here.

I printed our cards this weekend on heavy card stock and laminated them with clear contact paper. They came out great!

The template is very user-friendly and only took me a few minutes to print cards for our whole family.

This site is well worth browsing as it offers many other homeschooling freebies and discounts as well.

Enjoy!

FPEA Homeschool Convention ~ 2010

Terri — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 18:04:46 +0000

FPEA’s homeschool convention is fast approaching. This is your opportunity to browse hundreds of curriculum packages, meet and greet other homeschoolers, attend workshops by seasoned veterans, and have some fun. Bring your kids – there are children and teen programs as well.

You can find the registration form and more information at the FPEA website.

The dates are May 27th – 30th.

The Right To Control One’s Learning

Terri — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:50:00 +0000

Should we honor our children’s right to curiosity? Their right to not only choose what they want to learn, but from whom they want to learn it?

No human right, except the right to life itself, is more fundamental than this. A person’s freedom of learning is part of his freedom of thought, even more basic than his freedom of speech. If we take from someone his right to decide what he will be curious about, we destroy his freedom of thought. We say, in effect, you must think not about what interests and concerns you, but about what interests and concerns us.

John Holt, child advocate and supporter of school reform thinks so. Read more here and when you’ve finished, please comment and tell us your thoughts!

Homeschooling Numbers Are Rising (Again)

Terri — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 19:00:39 +0000

Dan Lips, a senior policy analyst for The Heritage Foundation, a research group in Washington, said Central Florida’s increases are dramatic when compared with the rest of the nation. But they reflect a rising national interest in home schooling among parents, he said.

Take a look at today’s article in the Orlando Sentinel. Take the poll while you’re there and tell your reasons for homeschooling.

Are Your Kids Racing To Nowhere?

Terri — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:15:21 +0000

Race to Nowhere is a close up look at the current state of education and childhood in America.

I am very interested in watching this film once it’s released. I am not buying into the idea that in order to raise (and educate) “successful” kids that they have to be SuperKids and overstressed kids.

This is a major reason why I love Enki Education so much. Enki focuses on what’s important: raising whole children and teaching them the rhythms of life, of nature, of humanity, and then building academic and concepts upon this important foundation.

The end result for its students? Deep, profound learning and understanding of not only themselves, but the nature of the world. This is in direct opposition to the “go, go, go, achieve, perform, drill, drill, drill, bigger, faster, higher, better, mentality so prevalent today.

I remember a Newsweek cover many many years ago entitled “Too Much Homework?” (paraphrasing here) but I bought that magazine and saved it for many years because I knew that things were only going to get worse from there. By worse I mean exactly what these filmmakers are highlighting.

Perhaps we’ll all watch and be inspired to be part of the change. Even if it’s only in small ways inside your own home or community.

Letter & Number Reversals – Should I Be Concerned?

Terri — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 21:07:07 +0000

Almost every time I evaluate a 5, 6, 7, even 8 year old’s work, the parent asks me about letter and number reversals.

And almost every time I tell them that it is perfectly normal for a child of that developmental stage to be reversing some letters and numbers. The most common are b,d, p, q, 3, 6, 9.

Recently I learned out about an exercise (from Brain Gym) that helps with neurological integration and can be useful for helping both halves of the brain work together (a skill that is lacking at this point, thus causing reversals.)

The exercise is sometimes called Rhythmic Eights or Lazy Eights. Here are two links to help understand how it works. The first is from Brain Gym (it’s about 2/3 of the way down the page.)

And this youtube video.

Note: Have the children do this exercise much slower than is shown in the video.

If reversals continue on a consistent basis around age 8 you may want to look closer. Until then, have fun with this exercise and don’t make a big deal about reversals; they will usually take care of themselves.

Homeschool Radio Shows

Terri — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:10:32 +0000

Homeschool Radio Shows.com is a unique and interesting homeschool resource, well suited for later primary, middle and high school students. Become a member and download audio files on all kinds of topics from the women’s suffrage movement to stories by Herman Melville and Ray Bradbury.

Memberships are also on sale now and they are taking no new members after this Saturday, September 19th. If you’d like to get in on this, sign up today!

Home School Planner & Home Management Planner Combo ~ On Sale!

Terri — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:42:01 +0000

Planning and organizing. A never-ending homeschool parent’s task. I love looking at and trying new organizational tools. Want to know just how much money I’ve spent in Office Depot on pages of planners I’ll likely only use as scrap paper? Nah, you really don’t.

One day I’ll stop looking at them all, buying them, and actually commit to one! Truth be told, after several tries, I now have a relatively good system in place, and one that I’m happy with. Well, two actually. I have one home management binder, and one homeschool binder.

Here is a homeschool planner and home management binder combo that looks functional, pretty and includes inspirational quotes.

Normally $24.99, it’s now on sale until September 19th for $21.95 or $19.95 for the pdf download.

If anyone gives this a try, please feel free to leave a comment or email me your review. I’d love to hear about it and add it here!

Natural Art Supplies Giveaway

Terri — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 00:05:20 +0000

Since bringing Enki and other Waldorf-inspired ideas and traditions into our home, we’ve been more mindful of using natural materials in almost everything we do. We have long been mindful of the things we put into or on our bodies, and clean our home with, but we are now entering a whole new world of Waldorf-like toys, paints, crayons, modeling clay and the like.

How does one go about doing this after being entrenched in plastic toys and toxic materials? Small steps. We began with art supplies. We became more mindful of using natural and non-toxic brands, most of which are so well worth the extra money in in quality and durability. Right now we’re in the throes of revamping our toy situation. But that’s the subject for a whole new blog post or two or three or four . . .

For now though, check out Hip Mountain Mama’s inspiring blog – perfect for those of us who are incorporating more natural ways into our lives. Post a comment on her blog by the end of the month and be entered to win a bunch of cool, natural art products! Oh, and Hip Mountain Mama also has a shop by the same name.