Homeschooler Help

If you have children between the ages of 8-12, mark your calendars for the week of Sept. 6th. There will be a reading comprehension class that will start on September 6th and will continue on through the rest of the week.

This class is for ages 8-12 years.

The cost will be $25

There will be 5 classes, each class is 30 minutes in length.

This class starts 1-1:30 CT. The dates are as follows:

Sept. 6th: Definitions in context

Sept. 7th: Recognizing important information

Sept. 8th: Paying attention to detail

Sept. 9th: Author inreferences

Sept. 10th: Review of strategies

This online class uses the Curriclick Virtual Classroom.  Read more about the Live Class Reading Comprehension Strategies.

The goal of this class is to give your child the ideas needed to develop their own set of comprehension strategies.

photo credit: arrathoonlaa@att.net

I love to get my hands on FREE homeschool lesson plans. I came across the American Heritage Education Foundation so I thought I would share the details. Enjoy!

The American Heritage Education Foundation produces and distributes FREE K-12  lesson plans to both teachers and students. They distribute to all 50 states.

Elementary School Lessons:

These lessons are for grades K-6th. They cover the following areas

• Colonists experience under monarchy
• Context for writing Declaration of Independence
• Important American symbols, songs and holidays
• Character traits modeled by great leaders and presidents

To learn more visit the Elementary Lesson Plan resource page.

Middle School Lessons:

These lessons correlate with the National Council for the social studies standards (NCSS). These lessons cover the following areas

• Focuses on concepts within the Declaration of Independence
• The Gettysburg Address
• And much more

To learn more about theses middle school history classes, visit the middle school lesson plan resource page.

High School Lessons:

• Mayflower Compact
• Declaration of Independence
• Federalist 47
• First Amendment
• and government letter on religious expressions in public schools

Visit the high school lesson plan resource page to learn more.

May we raise patriotic, informed children full of knowledge about freedom, unity and responsibility.

Thinking of using Sonlight curriculum but not sure where to start?

Learn more about the  Sonlight Instructor’s Guides

This type of  instructors guide might be just what you are looking for to give you the confidence you need to know what to do and when to do it during the year.

Watch the video and see what Laura Lee Ellis Homeschooler for 13 years says about the Sonlight Instructor Guides.

Are you using Sonlight? What do you like best about it?

This new textbook rental program helps the college student save up to 50% on their textbooks.  I did notice there are a lot of books for rent that are perfect for the homeschooling family. Lets go over some of the details:

Rental details

The rental program allows you to rent books  for 60, 90, or 130 days. You have the option to extend your rental agreement 15, 30, 45, 60,90, or 125 days. You can even purchase the textbooks if you decide to do so.

Books are shipped to you and all you have to do is print the shipping label and packing slip from their website put the books in a shipping box and that’s it, your ready to ship the books back to them. If the books are returned damaged with missing pages, highlighting, damaged covers etc. Barnes and Noble will charge you a fee to replace it. They will decide whether or not the book is usable.

Read more about the textbook rental program.

Lets take a look at some of the textbooks they have for rent

For your homeschooling scientist Biology of Invertebrates: All phyla of invertebrates are covered with an emphasis on unifying characteristics of each group.

For your little mathematician  Teaching Student Centered Mathematics K-3: Problem based activities  in every chapter provide numerous engaging tasks to help the student develop a beter understanding,  plus  Teaching Student Centered Mathematics Grades 3-5: The authors outline the concepts of teaching through problem solving and planning out problem based lessons. This resource provides 11 sample lessons and 150 classroom activities.

There are many math books to choose from, I know I just touched on the lower grade levels but there are also books for your Middle Schooler or High Schooler  such as Elementary and Middle School Mathematics and Algebra 2 High School Math just to name a few.

There are many History textbooks to choose from such as  Chinese History,  Rome Ancient History,  Latin American and lots more. Take some time and go through the list of subjects that your interested in. If you find a textbook you want to rent,  just make sure the rent tab is on that specific book page. It is right below the buy tab.

You can rent textbooks instore or online. Happy renting!

Do you think you might take advantage of this rental program for your homeschooler?

If you are at all interested in implementing the Workbox System then this webinar is for you.

There is a webinar on Friday Aug. 20th from 2pm-4pm Eastern Time.  So, if your at all  interested in learning more about the Workbox System then you want to definitely mark your calenders.

This will be on implementing the workbox system. The cost of this webinar is $15.00 or $29.00 with ebook. You can register here Implementing Sue Patrick’s Workbox System.

Make sure to mark your calenders for the following webinar August 23rd. This one will be on altering your childs curriculum. This webinar is $20.00 and is from 12pm-2pm Eastern. Sue will show a few examples of how to optimize and alter your childs curriculum. You can register for that here Optimizing and Altering your Homeschool Curriculum.

Moms are talking about the Workbox System:  Heather over at sweet simplicity shares her reasons of why she will be using the Workbox System, Robin over at heart of wisdom loves the system. She shares how the workboxes work and the workbox benefits.

The word workbox system seems to be the buzz around the homeschooling chat boards nowadays. With school getting ready to start moms are scrambling to get their childrens curriculum and schedules organized. I understand. I have noticed many are chatting and even blogging about the Workbox System.

This type of system is specially helpful for the child with Autism,  ADHD, ADD, and for those moms who are homeschooling several children at a time, when organization is necessary.  This system wiil help you gain control of your childs attention and focus.

The workbox  system was developed by a North Carolina homeschooling mom by the name of Sue Patrick  to help organize her autistic son. She had the need to implement a system to help him reach his highest potential in his education.

The set up

To start with you will need twelve workboxes and a metal cart 4 tier closet accesory shelf. Your child will work starting from the left to right and top to bottom. Here is a brief explanation of how Sue Patrick’s sytem works:  Sue Patrick Workbox system video. The best thing to do is to attend one of Sue’s webinars.

Webinar Registration Details

There will be a webinar on Aug. 20th from 2pm-4pm Eastern Time. This will be on implementing the workbox system. The cost of this webinar is $15.00 or $29.00 with ebook. You can register here: Implementing Sue Patrick’s Workbox System. You can also purchase and download  recorded webinars as well: Workbox System webinar download.

There will be another webinar August 23rd on altering your childs curriculum. This webinar is $20.00 and is from 12pm-2pm Eastern. Sue will show a few examples of how to optimize and alter your childs curriculum. You can register for that here: Optimizing and Altering Homeschool Curriculum

To learn more about the workbox system visit Kris over weird, unsocialized homeschoolers.

Just because you pass a test and can memorize something doesn’t mean you learned something.

Listen to what this student has to say. She really does give an amazing speech.

Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Teaching our children writing skills does not have to be difficult or challenging. You just need to find the right program that works best for you and your child.

In my search for writing programs, I ran across the writeshop.

There are three different levels of parent guided curriculum that this particular program has to offer:

Primary K-3

This curriculum uses picture books and crafts to guide the child through the writing process. Your child will not need any previous reading or writing experience. There will be eight activity lessons

• Guided writing practice only
• Pre-writing activities
• Brainstorming
• The writing project
• Editing and revising
• Activity set worksheet
• Publishing the project
• Activity Set 8: Want To Do More?

For more details about this writing curriculum visit  writeshop primary.

Write Shop I Grades 6-8th

In this study course your child will learn narrative, descriptive writing. Here is a brief description of the work book details:

• 16 lessons
• 2 weeks for each lesson
• Skill builders to teach new concepts
• Composition Evaluation Forms (one per lesson)
• Comes three ring binder with tab dividers
• Require the teachers manual

The writeshop workbook I might be just the right fit for your 6th, 7th, or 8th grader.

A teachers manual is required. This manual will better help parents explain the key concepts to their children. The teacher manual may be purchased in the Write I basic set or it can be  purchased separately.

Not sure if this program is a fit for your child? Have your child give it a spin, try out some sample lessons.

Write shop  II Grades 8-12th

In this study course it is recommended that the student complete write shop I before moving on to this course. In this write shop II program, students will focus on essays. They will  learn essay editing, writing and much more.

The same workbook details apply to this course as well as write shop I.  The only difference is, this course has 14 lessons. If you think this course may be an option for you and your high schooler,  then you definitly want to read more about the writeshop II course and what it has to offer.

Discover more resource material over at the writing and homeschool resource section of the website.
Writeshop maybe the perfect tool for developing successful writing skills.

What do you say mom, lets bring up successful writers!

I want to hear from you. What writing course are you currently using?

photo credit: Alexandratx

Does your child struggle with math? Math can be a challenging subject for many homeschoolers.   Maybe your not quiet sure what math program to use, or whether or not it will suite your childs learning style.   While you are researching  all your many options, I would like to encourage you  to take a sneak peek at the Aleks program. I used this program in the past and found it to be somewhat helpful in being able to determine what my child was mastering.

What exactly is Aleks?

In a nutshell, Aleks is a web based learning assistant that fully intrigates assesment and learning. The student can access and login to the website 24/7  from any computer.  Aleks avoids multiple-choice questions and they are very complete in their topic coverage. To more fully understand the Aleks curricula feel free to take a few minutes and take the  Aleks Tour. This will help you better grasp what is in store for you  and what to expect.

Aleks for homeschoolers

There are many homeschooling families using Aleks in their own homes. They offer assesment and individualized learning for grades 3-12. There will also be some quizzing and automated reports in order to monitor learning progress. Read the success stories other homeschool families are having with Aleks. Simply click on your state Aleks homeschool success stories.

New: Aleks Quick Tables

Aleks has added a new program. It is  a mastery tool for addition, division, multiplication and subtraction for grades 3 and up.  See the quick tables in action Quick Table Tour.

For more success stories visit aleks success stories.

I hope you found this helpful.

What math program are you using?

There is nothing like watching our own children grow and learn.  That’s what I love about homeschooling. I enjoy being there as my children grow up. There is no second chance to raise our kids all over again. We only have one chance. For me personally, I don’t want to look back and say I wish I would of.

You too can homeschool your children if that’s the choice you want to make.  You do have rights.  To learn more about your  rights you can check the Home School Legal Defense Association for more information about homeschooling in your state.

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but  the lighting of a fire.”  William Butler Yeats