This will likely be a new monthly feature here as I chronicle our homeschool adventures. I have found so many wonderful new resources or fallen in love once again with ones I used previously. Even if you don’t homeschool these could provide you with some great weekend activities too.

One thing I have noticed about the Oak Meadow curriculum I am using is that it, at this point anyway, is more like an outline rather than a full curriculum. Instead of giving you concrete lesson plans it gives you ideas or general instructions on what to do and what to teach. Thus I spend 30 minutes reading through the weekly lesson and then finding other resources to make it all happen. I am essentially using Oak Meadow as a guide while I create my own curriculum or utilize parts of other curricula. In this way it is very similar to K12 but K12 went a step beyond and gave you EVERYTHING you need, word for word, activity by activity. I would rather the loose structure of Oak Meadow but it also has me thinking I could just create my own piecemeal curriculum next year since I am kind of doing that anyway. We shall see. I do admit that I might be slightly lost since I started mid year and many of the current lessons are referring back to concepts and material we haven’t covered. Thus I skip those and do my own thing.

Anyway, here is my “cool resources” list for the month of November:

Pandia Press – LOVE, love love, their R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey curricula. They have 3 basics areas of study.. Earth and Space, Life, and Chemistry. We are working our way through the Earth & Space book right now and it has 12 unit studies and corresponding lab projects for each unit. Weather and Seasons for instance (Unit One) has six labs. It is VERY much a learn science by doing it method of study. PERFECT for my son.

I just ordered the History Odyssey (Ancients) as well so it looks as though we may be using Pandia for Science and History. The only issue I see with the History curricula is that it requires several other books, some of which are kind of pricey and not available at the library. I will have to use it for awhile and see if we can work around that. But again, since we are jumping into this mid year I think this will help with our history lessons.

BrainPop – Educational videos on tons of different topics. My son really enjoys them.

Handwriting Practice Worksheets – My son really likes to write and he enjoys copy work. I was psyched to find these handwriting booklets in various topics that interest him… ala Titanic. This is a GREAT resource. FREE too!

Netflix – Their streaming video service is wonderful for homeschoolers! There are an absolute ton of educational videos from documentaries about dinosaurs and WWII bombers to the Holocaust. Oh and plenty of documentaries and videos about the Ancients like Greece and Egypt.

Drawspace – Great tutorials and activities for art and drawing instruction.

Home Spelling Words – Lists of spelling words by grade and by week. This is very handy since Oak Meadow doesn’t provide spelling words for you.

Passport Template – I am going to teach social studies and geography by living it instead of by the book. We will taking an “imaginary” trip once or twice a month and I wanted a passport to stamp during our travels and found this one. During our travels we will be cooking food from that region of the world and observing their customs.

So what wonderful homeschool resources have you found lately? Please share!

I am homeschooling again! Is it weird that I am the one most excited about it? Well, anyway a move and the many, many issues at the local school have given my oldest son and I reason to decide that homeschooling is in his best interests. This go round I have smartened up and decided NOT to use an online curriculum. Yes it kept me accountable and yes we knew exactly what to do and when to do it but it was so stressful and felt more like 5-6 daily hours of grueling homework rather than a relaxed school at home environment. This time I have decided to use Oak Meadow for our curriculum (with no online support). I bought a used syllabus on eBay and it is quite perfect for us I think… it has a slight Waldorf feel to it and it is no wonder because the creators of this curriculum were Waldorf teachers.

Also this time around I will not be his only teacher. I was VERY put out recently by my husband’s employer when they decided to switch him to second shift. I think I am going to be grumpy about it for a loooong time to come BUT it will mean my husband is home every day to help out with homeschooling. So I guess that is a bit of a silver lining.

One thing I have done this week is re-subscribe to all my favorite homeschooling blogs. I missed them so!! I prefer secular blogs but don’t mind a little Christian slant as long as it isn’t ONLY about that. Here is a list of my favorites.

1. Simple Homeschool – This blogs has several writers and lots of great info on keeping homeschool simple and organized. Today’s post was all about Circle Time, which is a part of the Oak Meadow philosophy.

2. The Homeschool Classroom – Every post is FULL of great resources and links.

3. The Curriculum Choice – This blog seems to center more on homeschool product reviews which is really helpful. it gives me ideas for new tools and resources.

4. Magic and Mayhem – This blog by homeschooling mom Alicia is awesome. I read it daily and wonder where does she get the energy?!? I love that much of their learning seems to take place by doing and living rather than by completing worksheets.

5. Stitching Life – Great project ideas on this blog. I bookmarked the Scream artwork post because I think my little artist would really enjoy that.

6. Teach Mama – MANY great projects and resources including many posts on outdoor learning.

Do you have any to add?

(My daughter in an Amish schoolhouse)

I have written much about homeschooling versus public schooling. I have done both and each has advantages and disadvantages. I pretty much allow my kids to make their own choice as to the type of schooling they prefer and all three are in public schools right now. But for weeks now I have been considering pulling rank and taking my middle child, my daughter, out of school and continuing her education at home. I always thought she would be the best equipped to handle public schooling but some changes in her mood and behavior lately are causing some concern. She is only in Kindergarten for cripes sake but if this year is an indication of more like this to come… I am so very afraid.

Academically she is doing well and this is no surprise.. she is a VERY smart cookie. Socially she is doing well, she has friends and she enjoys school for the part. So I guess I am the one with the problem. I have a problem with her being more than a little obsessed with how fashionable her clothes are. I have a problem with her throwing tantrums if I try to make her wear the wrong color, a skirt that has not been bejeweled in some way, or heaven forbid.. a plain t-shirt.  I have a problem with everything she wears or owns either adding to or detracting from her “popularity points” at school. No I am not kidding.

I have a BIG problem with my six year old little girl acting more like a freaking teenager with every single day she spends in these public institutions! I also see a problem when observant family members start using terms like “mean girl” or “diva” to describe some of her behavior lately and not because they dared say it, but because they have a point.

This just confirms for me that public schools are the WORST type of social setting for kids. They may or may not be good for education but for socialization and for exposing kids to good role models… they really suck. I am putting so much effort in counteracting the bad stuff she learns there that it just makes sense to pull her out altogether.

I have some big decisions to make over the summer. Do you have any advice or experience for me?

See & Spell Puzzles

Is it getting chilly in your neck of the woods? It is here in central Ohio. I am already putting my energy savings and stay warm plan into action. This week I hope to sew up some rice bags that will be mini space heaters in our beds, some draft snakes for windows and doors, and some window quilts. Because we know it will be cold and snowy for many months I have also been thinking about how we can entertain ourselves without resorting to watching TV all winter. Yes, we will be indoors a lot but we can find fun things to do that doesn’t require a captive audience. And I say this despite the fact that a little birdy told me that Nana is getting us a Wii this xmas. Oh boy…

So as part of my xmas shopping I have been heavily researching cooperative board games. We have a few already for younger kids but not so many that will keep my oldest boy begging for more and none that my hubby and I could play alone after the kids go to bed. I want something fun, educational, and if possible, cooperative or collaberative rather than overly competitive. I think I will pick one or two up NOW though so we can get a jump on the season.. my oldest has gone fishing on his own every day for a month but the past couple of days the trips have been short since it gets cold and dark earlier.. soon he may not go at all.

Luckily I had a few good games in mind, suggested to me by some wonderful unschooling moms, and those opened the door to even more awesome possibilities. Here is some of what I found. They are not cheap like what you find at Wal-Mart but supposedly the quality leaves the usual Hasbro type games in the dust.

Shadows Over Camelot- This is a 90 minute game that takes you into the world of Camelot and Knights. It is collaborative and it would be especially good for us since we have been watching and enjoying the BBC show Merlin. Evil forces are gathering around Camelot – The Black Knight was sighted atop a desolate ridge a scheming Morgan plots her revenge; the Saxon troops are on the move; and acres of timber are being felled for the siege engines. And yet Lancelot has all but vanished, with Excalibur yet to be recovered. These are heavy times indeed. Will you, young squire, come forth and pledge allegiance to your fellow Knights at the Round Table? Is your heart of pure intent and ready to sacrifice for the good of all? Or will the dark promise of power seduce you into treason? As the incarnation of the Knights of the Round Table, players work together to defeat the forces closing in on Camelot. This game was recommended by a TV free family I met on another web site of mine… for its educational nature. I think the next one would be good on that count too.

The Colosseum Board Game – My son and I watched a two hour documentary a few months back on the Colosseum and he was so enchanted with the structure and the world of ancient Rome that I ended up buying him several large Roman history books that he devours nightly. He is so much like me… I love ancient Roman history too and this game looks amazing. As commanded by the Emperor, Rome is in the midst of a 100 day celebration commemorating the opening of the greatest public arena ever conceived by man – the Colosseum. Players earn wealth and glory as one of Rome’s greatest impresarios by producing grand spectacles in the hopes of attracting the most spectators to your events.

Another game I know my son would love is Cleopatra And The Society of Architects. He and I both can’t get enough of ancient Egyptian history, mummies, pyramids, Pharaohs, etc. And Cleopatra is a tie in to ancient Roman history as well. In this game, she calls on the members of the Society of Architects to build her a magnificent new palace in Alexandria – with a Pharaohs ransom to the design that pleases her most. It includes a true, three-dimensional palace that players compete to build. Players strive to become the wealthiest of Cleopatra’s architects by constructing the most magnificent and valuable parts of her palace. The twist however is that players will be tempted to deal with shady characters and trade in materials of dubious origins in order to help them build faster.

Ticket to Ride- This is a game recommended to me by several unschoolers. It is great for learning about geography. It is an award-winning strategy game that challenges players ages eight and up to complete multiple train routes connecting major cities. As miniature trains begin to populate the board map of North America, secret city-to-city rail connections are completed or hopelessly blocked by merciless competitors. There is also a Europe version. These might be just what you need to help kids struggling with their geography or social studies lessons or classes.

Carcassonne- Yet another unschooler recommendation… how it is they find these awesome games? The Carcassonne is a clever tile-laying game. The southern French city of Carcassonne is famous for its unique roman and medieval fortifications. The players develop the area around Carcassonne and build cities, roads and monasteries in the South of France. The skill of the players to develop the area will determine who is victorious. The game is for ages 8 and up and 2 to 5 players. Who do you think is going to know more about medieval history.. the kid in a classroom or the kid playing a strategic game set in that time period? This game is actually pretty cheap in price and I think it may be because there are many expansions packs you can purchase to add on to the game.

They look like fun right? What games to YOU play to keep everyone entertained when the weather is less than optimal?