Lori Seaborg

Giveaway Alert!!

On FreelyEducate.com, my high quality - 100% free - educational finds blog, Krampf.com is giving away two memberships to his science website.  It's a great giveaway!  All you need to do to enter is leave a comment at FreelyEducate.com. Here's the link:  http://www.freelyeducate.com

And on Just Pure Lovely, the blog that took over Keeping the Home, I posted about our inside-out-and-backwards wearing boy and our daughter who  reads her mama and whom I'd never give away. 

by Lori Seaborg 2008

A Practical Way to Teach a Love of Learning

Teaching a love of learning along with how to learn can be a lot of fun!

On Mondays, our children (ages 12, 10, and 7 - our 4yo doesn't yet participate) choose a subject to study for the week. They choose a subject of their choice, anything under the sun.

Some recent subjects: Time, Chickens, Video Game Designing, Horses, Baking.

On Friday, I want to receive from each person a paper or "notebooking" page or lapbook on the subject chosen. I don't have a lot of rules about this, but just want something to save for their notebooks (binders, with page protectors), and proof that they did indeed research.

During the week, ample time and resources are at their disposal for research: books, the internet, a library day, a camera, science supplies and anything else they need.

At our house, we always leave available many types of scissors, all of the writing implements you can imagine, paper of many types, etc. The children can use whatever they need for their research.

This doesn't take much time for me to plan. Maybe a trip to the library, or help searching on the Internet.

Any time it does take is well worth it, because it's rewarding to see the children happily learning about a subject that has caught their interest.

by Lori Seaborg 2007

Nature Study

Nature study is definitely my favorite subject in our little school, and all four kids really enjoy it now, too.  At first, one was timid about drawing, but I told him that there is no right or wrong in art -- we are the only ones with our eyes, after all, and nobody can say we didn't see the object the way we drew it -- and I told him that nobody has to ever see his work if he doesn't want to show it.  A year of drawing later, and he's one of our most enthusiastic. 

We make a point of going outside on Fridays and nature journaling after we read a selection from Anna Comstocks' Handbook of Nature Study.  Sometimes we draw in our own backyard or take a little jaunt to Weeks Bay or another nature trail.  If we must, we just look out the window if the weather is poor.

Here is a great link to help you learn more about nature study and nature journaling:  http://highland.hitcho.com.au/naturejournal.htm

Our children use drawing pads you can get from Michaels or Hobby Lobby. We don't take our art out of these books to put it into notebooks like we would other subjects.  It's left intact.

We have an assortment of colored pencils, pencils, watercolors, acrylics, brushes, etc.  Hobby Lobby has great portable paint sets.  I've just collected things over time.  When we go out, we grab our sketch pads and the bag that holds those items.  And a water bottle for our water supply.  That's it!

I think that website above will get you started. It has great links to other sites, too.  I find that looking at other artist's sketch pads (online) is great inspiration.  My husband even picks up a pad and some paints when he sees us doing nature journaling.  It's rather contagious!

by Lori Seaborg 2007

Our Current Schoolday Schedule

I recently tweaked our schedule, so thought I would share it with you.  I have been using one version or another of my schedule for about a year and a half now, so it works well for us.  Your schedule will likely look much different.  I have noticed that among homeschooling moms.  Some would go absolutely crazy at my lack of exact clock times, but for me, I shut down if I have missed the clock time, and then we do not do school at all, so it works better for me to just have time goals, or benchmarks in my day.

 

6-7am  Somewhere in there, I get up, the earlier the better.  I walk up the hill to see the farmer’s cows and pray for my family while walking.  I come back to read my Bible in what is still hopefully a quiet and sleeping house.

 

Around 7:30 or so, I start being noisy (laundry, dishes, making breakfast, playing music), so the kids will wake up.

 

By 8, I hope to see everyone up and moving.  In this hour, I want the children (ages 11, 9, 6, 3 – boy, girl, boy, girl) dressed, eating breakfast, teeth brushed, and morning routines done.  Meanwhile, I work on breakfast, getting the toddler dressed and ready, and my own morning routine.

 

By 9, I want us in the school room, ready.

 

1. Personal Journals, Copywork (a verse or quote I have ready on the chalkboard), and Math.   Phonics with the 6yo (sometimes I teach him; sometimes his older siblings teach him). I help them with math one by one, as the others write.
2. Heart of Wisdom unit study (currently Creation). We read from the unit study, from the Bible, a selected book, and sometimes do an activity. 
3. Scripture reading.  We are reading through the Bible together.  After the reading, I select a verse to put on the chalkboard. The children copy a related verse in their Bible Journals, and then draw a picture or write about what we read.
4. Hebrew:  we aim to learn 6 new words per day.
5. Memory Work:  we all say the poetry, Scripture, quote, etc. out loud that we are attempting to memorize.

 

After all of this, the children sit on stools at the bar in the kitchen and have a laid-out snack while I read a literature selection at an younger level.

 

Around 11ish, we concentrate on:

            Mondays:  Practical Skills

            Tuesdays:  Art, Music, and Shakespeare

            Wednesdays:  Nature Studies and Poetry

            Thursdays:  Science (and Library Day)

            Fridays:  Independent Research Day (a.k.a. Notebooking from selections picked up at the library on topic of choice)

 

Just before lunch and while I am making it, the children learn 6 new words of Spanish and review old ones.

 

Lunch:  always something easy and quick.  During lunch, I read a literature selection from an older level.

 

Quick pickup of the house, especially the school room.

 

1pm or so, Quiet Time :  an hour of absolute quiet (this hour is vital to my sanity!).  For the older two, quiet time needs to include reading from an assigned book.  I usually assign 1 chapter or several pages; not too much. 

 

Quiet time choices (even for me.  NO chores allowed!):

            Nap

            Write

            Art (nothing messy)

            Read

            Notebooking

 

2pm or so, Quiet Time is over (but may be continued alone) and free play is allowed.  No electronics (t.v. or computer) yet.  Afternoon activity choices:

            Playing with friends

            Free play

            Swimming and fishing

            Science experiments

            Nature walk

            Play with the animals

            Art

            Family business

            Crafting

            Gardening

 

Ideally, around 4pm, I would like to have a Tea Time for character training and etiquette.  We are usually too wrapped up in our projects to do Tea Time, but I hope to add it.

 

4:45pm  I get myself into the kitchen to start dinner or we will eat tooooo late again.  I always encourage the children to help in the kitchen. I hope to train myself out of a job.  The children are naturally drawn to the kitchen to watch me make supper, so I also have this time written down as Musical Instrument Practice time. 

 

And then is dinner, evening routines, and an hour of Family Time (games, projects, movie, or a time to show Daddy what we’ve learned through a play or a mini concert). 

 

At bedtime, my husband or I read again to the children.  (Yes, I do quite a lot of reading aloud but I love books!)

 

by Lori Seaborg 2006

Barnes and Noble University

Barnes and Noble University has some new online courses starting September 5th.  There are many interesting ones, including one on homeschooling by Linda Dobson.  The courses are for adults, but I signed up for a Backyard Astronomy course that my 11  year old and I (and hopefully Daddy!) will do together.  I've always wanted to be able to name the stars and identify the planets. 

We are also going to take Beginning Guitar. 

Whoops, I forgot to mention one small but very important detail:  The courses are FREE!

Here is the link:  Barnes and Noble University

by Lori Seaborg 2006

Free Homeschool Materials

After thinking about it all week, I decided to create a group where someone who has extra curriculum or extra books could post them just for the sake of the warm and fuzzies she or he will have, knowing she's blessing another.   And a group where someone can go when they are in financial need and anonymously look at the offerings, only emailing the person who offered. 

The group would allow only posts of "OFFER" and "TAKEN" (perhaps an occasional "wanted," provided they don't take over), so that the emails would be minimal.  The person who needed the item would email the person who offered and request the item.  When the item was taken, a "TAKEN" post would be sent out to let the group know.  Shipping and handling could be requested, to encourage everyone to share their item, even if also cash-poor.

Tonight, I created that group.  Only 1 person is a member (that would be me), so I hope you will join me!  I'll be posting some books soon.  I have an entire tote full of them and would love to share them with you if you could use them. 

Please join the list, whether you are in need or could bless someone else.  Even if you think you have nothing, you likely have extra worksheets or a half-used curriculum lying about that you could send someone.

Without further ado, here is my new group, called Free Homeschool.  You can also join via email by sending a blank email to freehomeschool-subscribe@yahoogroups.com .
 

by Lori Seaborg 2006

Vacation

Just wanted to check in with you all.  I'm currently in Huntsville, Alabama, where we are going to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center today. We've already been to Indiana to see grandparents and a sweet great-grandma (she's 95!) and to St. Louis to see friends and to watch the Air Force's Thunderbirds. 

It's fun taking these trips, knowing that the schools in our area are already in session yet  we get to drive around the country.  More than anything else, I love the freedom of homeschooling.

I'll write later in the week when we are back on the Gulf Coast. 

by Lori Seaborg 2006

Free Math Curriculum

Obviously, school is on my mind these days.  I keep sharing websites for curriculum and books!  About a month ago, someone on a Charlotte Mason email list of mine told everyone about a math program from the United Kingdom that is free.  She used it with her children last year and really liked it.   At the time of that email, I was surfing online and had a $200 math program in a virtual shopping cart.   I decided to try the free math first.  :)  

The kids and I have already enjoyed this U.K. Program . The lessons are short and hands on, with household objects and flashcards and posters (you print those items out from the site).  The children only fill out a few problems on a worksheet -- just enough to let you know that they understand (and not enough to bore them).  And the teacher's plans are laid out very easily, so that I'm able to juggle two math levels without a problem. 

The first time I visited the site, I left almost right away.  It isn't the best laid out site in the world.  Here's my tip:  Scroll down to the year level that you'd like to try.  Click on Lessons 1-30 to see the children's worksheets; Click on Copymasters for 1-30 to see the flashcards that you can print out to  use; Click on Lesson Plans for 1-30 to see the teacher's lesson plans.

For a few of the later lessons, you need a password.  If you are not in the United Kingdom, this is easy.  Just email them and say that you are a homeschooler in the United States and would like to use their program, or use your school name if you've given one to your homeschool.  Many of us have received the password successfully (it may take a few days). 

I hope this helps someone out there who likes to - or needs to - save pennies on their homeschooling!

Oh -- about the pounds and pences -- if you use this math program,  your child will be learning the English metric system and their monetary system.  The monetary system is easily interchanged with ours, another hs mom told me.  As far as the metric system, since the rest of the world uses it, I am very glad to have the kids learn it as well.  They can learn inches and miles through every day life (and maybe a few "on purpose" discussions). 

Here's another link to the Centre for Innovation in Mathematics Teaching program.

by Lori Seaborg 2006

Free Phonics Books

The longer we homeschool, the less money we spend on it.  This year, we're creating our own curriculum, through using a little of this and a little of that.

This morning, I was delighted to discover a free resource for phonics for my little guy.  Go to Progressive Phonics to download any of their ten phonics books (some books also have flashcards, memory games, and other aids to print out).  I'm a fan of "living books," those books that give a child something to imagine and/or something to learn, but when teaching phonics, you need those little sentences!  The lessons as Progressive Phonics are designed to be short, leaving you time to read aloud the classics to your child, while starting him out by reading little words in little sentences.  Soon enough, he'll be reading the classics to you!

by Lori Seaborg 2006

Sites to Visit

It’s time for some more great web links!  Here are a few of my current favorites:

 

The Book Samaritan:  http://booksamaritan.com/  If you are having a hard time financially and need help purchasing homeschool books, contact the Book Samaritan for help.  On the other hand, if you’ve been blessed financially, consider donating to them so they can help others.

 

Free Homeschool Materials: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FreeHomeschoolTools  is a very large email group of homeschoolers who offer 100% free homeschool books and supplies.  If you have extra curriculum to give away (even if many of the lessons are missing), there is someone who would love to take it off your hands (I mean, bookshelf!).  The person receiving the free item will pay for the shipping.

 

What’s That Bug? http://www.whatsthatbug.com/  Is a fascinating site, all about bugs.  If you have a mysterious bug in your house (well, hopefully not in it), you can probably identify it by browsing What’s That Bug?   If you can’t find it in their database, drop them a line and they’ll post your photo and the bug’s identification for all to see.  Thanks to this site, we were able to identify the Nephila Clavipes (Golden Silk Spider) on our front porch.

 

Be sure to check this one out:  Enature:  http://www.enature.com  On the home page, insert your zip code (you can leave the email address area blank).  What you will get as a result of inputting your zip is a field guide to this specific area.  We use this site often to identify birds and bugs that we see in our yard. You can also use the site to identify trees and wildflowers.

 

 

You all know it is Red White and Blues Week at Pensacola Beach, Florida this week, right?  The Navy’s Blue Angels are flying on Thursday, July 14, 2006, Friday, and Saturday.  This is by far their best air show, since it is a home show and they can perform extra maneuvers since they are over water.  Look here for more information:  http://www.visitpensacolabeach.com/news/redwhiteblues2006.htm  We’ll be there on Friday!  

 

Lori Seaborg

by Lori Seaborg 2006

Embroider a Globe

My internet connection is only letting me online in snippets lately.   Since your internet connection is obviously working well, check this out: 

Embroider a Globe:  What a wonderful project this is!  It wraps up geography and handicrafts all in one lesson that includes the virtue of patience.

From the website's introduction:  From about 1804 until 1844, young schoolgirls at Westtown School, a boarding school in Pennsylvania established by Quakers in 1799, embroidered globes, both terrestrial and celestial. Used to teach geography in the early decades of the nineteenth century, real globes were expensive; thus, a stitched globe was an economical way for a young girl not only to learn her lessons but to practice her needlework.

by Lori Seaborg 2006

Online Drawing Videos

We've enjoyed children's author/illustrator Jan Brett's online drawing videos.  11yo son, 8yo daughter, 6yo son and 3yo daughter and I all drew bunnies with Ms. Brett's instructions and also with the aid of our 6yo's darling bunny, Little Buzzy (Our 6yo son gives funny names to his animals.  His chicken is named "Burpy"). 

Later, during our daily "quiet time," after lunch, our 8yo and 6yo drew beautiful and startingly accurate horses from Jan Brett's "How to Draw a Horse" video.

The online videos are absolutely free -- no catches at all -- and I highly recommend them!  Click here to view the list.  Our next project is "How to Draw a Chick," also with the aid of our live models.

by Lori Seaborg 2006