Looking Back: Our (2013) School Year

My world is blanketed in fluffy snow. My wind chimes are tinkling in the slight wind. My tea is hot. My Christmas tree lights are glowing beside me. I feel content and reflective.

Christmas time (and the end of the year) is a great time for reflection. Reflection on deep and lofty thoughts, such as the birth of the Son of God as a man over 2000 years ago. Lighter reflections on things like traditions, the weather and the cost of gas. And middling reflections on where you have been and where you are headed.

As I reflect over this past year, 2013, in a scholastic sense, I am surprised and gratified. We have done good. The longer I home school, the more I feel like this is the perfect job for me. It is honing my teaching skills and allowing me to use the gifts and desires God has given me.

It isn't all chocolate and flowers and sunshine. (bummer!) There are gray days, and grayer weeks. On rare occasions, the mental and physical and emotional exhaustion threatens to overwhelm me. But, the overall aura is one of contentment and challenge. Peace and enabling. Busy but no longer hectic.

As I look over 2013, spanning halves of two different school years, I am so thankful to God.

I am thankful that I have a middle-schooler. It is more challenging in some ways and more enjoyable in some ways.

I am thankful for a K/1st grade student who learned to read. But more than that, she has caught the joy and love of reading. She devours books these days. Chapter books. Picture books. Anything she can find.

I am thankful for a 3rd/4th grader who has learned to write in cursive and does it very nicely.

I am thankful the boys were able to attend a real school while we were overseas. Albeit for a few days. It was a fun experience for them.

I am thankful that God gives me nudges when I am on the wrong path and shows me there is another way. Even in things like math and handwriting. And home school styles.

I am thankful for the switch to our Barefoot Hippie hybrid of unit study/traditional/classical education modes of schooling this year. I love listening to the lectures on history with my kids. I love digging deeper into the life styles of the people of our time period. I love learning about the artistic styles of the men and women of this period. I love learning their poetry and practicing their art. I love learning via hands on experiments why science works the way it does.

Did I mention that I am thankful for washable crayons and the 2 year old who wields them? And that they scrub very easily off walls?

I am thankful for all we have had the privilege of learning, and all the progress we have made.

I am thankful that we were able to spend a month in the Asia Pacific region last winter, which enlarged our view of the world and some cultures the way book learning never would have.

I am thankful for in classroom learning and learning that takes place beyond these four walls. Both are necessary components of any education.

I am thankful for a network of home schoolers that I have had the privilege of interacting with-both IRL and online. I appreciate the wisdom my co-linker-uppers have shared on each topic each week. It is often confirming, but it also opens my eyes to other possibilities for bumps in the road. I am thankful for each mom who is just a step beyond (or WAY more) me and shares their experience. I am thankful for those in the trenches with me.

Reflection is about looking back and then moving forward. I don't see many radical changes in our approach come the new year. This is working very well. I did my shoring up a bit earlier this year when I switched up math for two kids, and added hand writing. We may shake things up a bit in late February or March to deal with lethargic-ness, but we'll see.

As for our weekly home school posts, this is the last one for 2013. And, as for 2014, I am not sure what that will hold for this column. Would you like to see it continue? If so, what home school topics would you like us to cover?

As you look over you home school year to date, what are you truly proud of? Does anything need some shoring up?


Be sure to check out these wonderful women's posts, and let them know if/what you've appreciated about their input...
Chareen
Julie
Lucinda
Nicole

What to Do When You Run Out of Fuel

"Everyone wants to quit in November and February." -Susan Wise Bauer via Anne Bogel

When Mr. Hippie and I were courting, I used to spend one day of the week with his family. Since we lived over an hour and half apart, sometimes Mr. Hippie would bring me to my dad's workplace and I ride home with my dad. Sometimes Mr. Hippie would drive me all the way home.

Well, one of those times, when we were still 15 miles away from my house, we ran out of gas. We were between towns and the nearest gas station was about 2 miles away. It was dark, and it was the days before we had cell phones. We had hoofed it most of the way to the gas station, when someone saw us, picked us up, brought us to the gas station and brought us back to the truck.

I think that was the only time we have run out of gas together. (knock on wood) We have run on fumes before, but always managed to coast into the gas station.

What a picture of home schooling life...Have you ever reached this point in home schooling? Either running on fumes or completely out of gas?

I did-this year. I wrote about it (here). I was exhausted from a super long conference weekend in which I learned tons of things that I hadn't had time to process. It was grey. I had no energy. All I wanted to do was bury myself in a pile of blankets and not come out for a few days. Oh, and cry and eat lots of chocolate.

A wise home schooling mom and friend of mine on FB, told me to take a day off. Another friend told me to ditch our schedule for the day and do something fun and crazy. Someone else told me to rest.

Get the picture?

Here are my strategies for refueling my home school tank...

1) Take a break. Be it a day or a week. Sometimes even home schoolers need a break. I think one of the strong points of home schooling is that we get to set our own schedule. And it is one of the weak points too. Home schoolers don't take the breaks that traditional schools take. We don't have staff in service days, or snow days, or parent teacher conference days. Which means that right now in November, we are on our 12th week of school and we have clocked 60 days of school. Which is great. But...

Freedom to set our own schedule needs to go both ways. Freedom to keep on when public schools are breaking and freedom to take a day or more when we need a break.

That Friday that I was burned out, my kids watched non educational movies most of the day. I cried repeatedly in bed, slept, read, drank tea. And got my soul recalibrated.

On another note, I always debate taking spring break, because we are so.close. to being done. But I have never regretted taking that week. It gives enough renewal to push on strong to the finish.

2) Sleep. I have a vision in my head. And maybe it is just me. But growing up, the home school stereotype was of kids sleeping in until noon, and then doing school in their pajamas. Unprofessional to the max.

And, I never want people to think that is how I home school.

So, being the over achiever type I am, I get my kids up by 7:45, they get dressed, brush their teeth, make their beds, eat breakfast, do some chores, and are ready for school to start at 8:30. And, I get up hours before them and have usually showered, drank coffee, swam or run, and made their breakfast before I get them up. 

But, I've noticed something as I have gotten older-I need more sleep. Every year. If I am not getting a solid average of 8 hours of sleep most nights, I start to fall apart. My moods tank. It is not cool. I need sleep. Sometimes I can get that sleep by going to bed earlier. Sometimes that time needs taken in the morning.

So, whether I sleep in until 6:00 or 7:00 or 8:50 (like I did this morning-I am fighting a cold), I need to sleep and sleep guilt free. And then get up and do my day, step by step. Not beating myself up because I started it later than I should have.

3) Plan ahead. I find that having planned out my curriculum last summer gives me a framework for the days and weeks that I really would rather not do anything at all. I look at my spread sheet and I already know what we need to do. It has saved me a lot of work, and also has definitely contributed to a lot less "oh, we'll do that later." I know exactly what lecture we are watching, what composer we are studying, what science experiment we are doing. It has been great.

4) Be flexible. I find that when I have a schedule, it actually allows me to be more flexible. I can look at my future plans and see where I have wiggle room.

Case in point...that day I was in bed...I actually had scheduled a lecture free week because of my conference. We ended up taking it that day. So we are right on track-not behind at all. As for science that week, we were studying Isaac Newton and prisms. We needed a sunshiny day for our experiment, but it was grey that Friday. The next Friday was gorgeous. And perfect for our experiment. We were able to slip it in, without making our school day much longer. It was fun, and it worked perfectly.

5) Get out of the house and do something fun and/or crazy. Go to the zoo or a museum or take a nature walk. Get a manicure or pedicure. Read a fun book.

My advice to you and to myself? Switch things up a bit. Laugh. Remember why you are home schooling. Remember your call. Be flexible and be reasonable with yourself. Don't hold yourself hostage to your own expectations. Step away for a day, an hour, a week, in order to be refreshed. You will be glad you did.

Check out these ladies' tips for getting recharged
Chareen
Nicole
Lucinda
Julie

School...Year Round or Not (on your life!)

So, let's just get this right out there in the open. Being a home school mom I am totally not into (read-absolutely against) year-round schooling. For me.

If you choose to do it, I'd say you are a better woman than me. The reason the Barefoot Hippies have summer break is because I need a break. This is so not about my kids.

I'd have a pic of me by a pool sipping a mimosa, except there are none.=)

I want the freedom from schedule. I want the time to accomplish other projects. I want the unstructured-ness. I want to be able to do paperwork without wondering if the kids are doing their schoolwork or not. I want to live a portion of my year not as simultaneously as other parts. One task at a time-most of the time. I want the bigger chunks of time to devote to focused ministry.

Thus, we take almost 4 months off. Every year. We finish about Mother's Day and don't start up again until the week after Labor Day.

Which means we are schooling hard in the 8 months we have school. Compared to the public schools in our area, we probably take half as many days off during that 8 month period.

And we keep up informal learning throughout the summer. Here's just a few things we have done almost every year.

-I enroll the kids in our local libraries summer reading program. The boys both clocked in over 3000 reading minutes this summer. LC was pretty close to 3000. They read fiction and nonfiction. We read together in out literary lunches. I listen to them reading aloud.

-We visit museums and historical places. In the summer of 2012, we visited Greenfield Village 3 times and learned about farm life, colonial life, Edison and much, much more. We also visited Philadelphia and DC that summer.

-We visit our state parks and spend time in nature. Hearing birds, feeling the breezes, enjoying the water.

-LC did math this summer to reinforce the idea of addition and subtraction. It took 15-20 minutes per day-if she stuck to task. Freckles did multiplication tables. We used an app on my iPad. It helped he be much more familiar with them, but by way of a game.

-I have my kids write letters sporadically during the summer. It isn't the once a week schedule of the school year, but it dust make them brush the cobwebs off their writing skills.

So, those are some of the ways I've found to continue education without the formality of textbooks during the summer. It is a more laid back approach as befitting the season. But it also keeps us from losing ground.

How about you? Year round school or maximizing the summer break?

For some varied opinions on this topic, check out....
Lucinda-Why year Round Schooling is Not for Us
Chareen-Our Rhythm, Year Round Schooling
Julie-School Year Round?
Nicole-Repair and Prepare

Cultivating a Love of Writing

I love to write. I think I almost always have. I grew up writing reports and letters. I had several pen pals. I wrote a lot and often. I wrote because writing is very cathartic and clarifying for me.

And then I started writing this blog. Writing this blog has made me strive for good grammar (relatively) and good spelling plus clear, (somewhat) concise and logical thought flow. The more I have written, the better I have gotten (I think). At over 525 posts in two years, you could probably call me a prolific writer. (who loves dashes and parentheses.)

Today's homeschool post topic is "Help, My Child Hates Writing!" I have never hated writing and my kids really aren't given a choice about writing or not. But, I tried to think back over what my mom did with us kids to cultivate a love of writing, and what I am doing with my own kids to cultivate a love of writing.

Here are a few things that come to mind...

-Write a lot and write often. I have my kids write almost every day of the week. They write letters and stories and reports and answer journal questions. Some is more formal, and some is less. BJU emphasizes learning to write. In their grammar program there are writing projects every 2-3 weeks. They delve into reports (biographical, book, topical), stories, poems and more. By writing a lot, writing becomes not so scary. And, we know this too, right?! I generally write for an hour or more, 5 days a week. Generally, the more you do anything, the more you like it.

-Write letters. Our letter writing is pretty informal, but it happens every week. I will assign the person they are all going to write to, and then I let them go at it. I have them self-proofread, and then read the letter aloud to me. I don't correct their letters. Pretty much, if they said more that "hi, how are you?" I let it go. By writing letters, they learning an almost lost art. Letters are conversational. It isn't only about the author, but also about the recipient. Plus, it's a win-win as someone else gets a letter in their mailbox to brighten their day.

-Write stories. Either fiction or personal narratives. While I do insist on good grammatical structure and precise language in their stories, stories still provide a more laid back way to learn writing. I don't know why, but this does seem to be where their writing shines best. They do really well adding descriptive words and phrases. They can write with enthusiasm, because they experienced this thing. And with fiction, anything goes. Which makes it wild and fun, while still striving for certain levels of correctness.

-Write to improve. Don't expect adult standards from second graders. It is frustrating for both of you. But, do expect better with each successive report or story. Do expect skills to be improved upon. I expect BMV's reports to be longer this year in 6th grade, than I expect from Freckles in 4th grade. I expect the mechanics to be better. I expect the thoughts to be clearer. But I don't expect him to write how I would write. There is a balance here. Our goal is to encourage a love of writing not frustrate our students because they aren't at our level. We weren't at our current level in 6th grade either. Frankly, I wasn't at my current level two years ago.

-Write as recreation not as a chore. Why do I write my blog? Because I love to write. I love expressing my thoughts. We want our kids to reach this level of writing. Where they write because they love it. Where it is second nature and thoughts just flow out onto paper or the screen.

-Write about interests. If they are into bugs, have them write letters about bugs they saw and caught. Have them write reports on different types of bugs. Have them compose poems and ditties about bugs. Writing about interests makes it less of a chore.

-Write for an audience. Have your kids write a blog. BMV started a blog when he was 7 and maintained it for about a year. He wrote restaurant reviews from a kid's perspective. He loved getting comments back.

-Write, or not. We do want our kids to learn the mechanics of writing and we do have to insist on it. But, if writing is not their thing, have them orally give a report or story. Have them research their facts, write a few bullet points and then tell you what they learned. Freckles is much more verbal than actual writing. He can weave a tale with the best of them. He can rattle off facts he has learned through reading. He has a hard time getting his thoughts as colorfully on to paper. I have him do his required reports, but less everyday writing projects. I listen to him talk about something instead. So, if your child isn't into writing, maybe adjust your requirements somewhat. Require both writing and some oral reporting. Both are good life skills.

Do you love to write or does it throw you for a loop? How have you cultivated writing skills and a love of writing in yourself and/or your children?

Please check out these other ladies' posts on writing...
Julie-Motivating Kids to Write
Lucinda-5 Writing Games Your Kids will Love
Chareen-Teaching Composition
Nicole-When Writing Brings Tears
Savannah- Helping Non-writiers Lose Hate of Writing

Historically Speaking

So, this seems a bit redundant, because I have already waxed eloquent on my Unit Study approach to school this year via studying 1600-1800. But, whatever the home school prompt prompts is what you get...Promptly.

Today I am going to share more of the nuts and bolts of how we are tackling this hunk of history. The wherefore's of the equation.

These two pictures show the basic elements of my plan. The upper pic is our timeline, and the lower pic is our textbooks.

To break it down...

-Timeline: Our timeline is actually 4 consecutive timelines covering 1600-1800. We have a line each for United States, Europe, Great Britain, and Asia. At the far left of our timeline is a few facts for these geographical areas at the end of the 1500s. And we are moving on from there. Each week we will add people and events to our timeline, including science and scientific discoveries and musicians, poets and artists. The fat red line already on the timeline is defining the baroque and classical music periods. We put it on Europe because that is where a lot of the composers lived.

-Great Courses: This is a series of thirty 30 minute lectures on the history of the United States. Professor Thompson becomes a major character of the story/facts he is telling in that particular lecture. In the first one he was a Viking (I can't remember the name of the Viking) and in the second one he was Christopher Columbus. These courses are geared for high schoolers, but because of the format, my kids are really enjoying them. (as am I)

After we watch the lecture, we dig further by answering the questions in the workbook. So far we have just discussed them verbally. It is working well. If we need further clarification about something, we have Google and Wikipedia at our fingertips.

When we run out of applicable lectures from this series, we will fill in the remaining weeks with some lectures from the World History series.

-The Story of America. This textbook is listed as essential reading to tie in with the lectures. I bought this copy used online. There is between 10-20 pages to cover every week, but there are also lots of pictures and maps, so it doesn't translate to lots of reading. It reinforces what we heard about in the lecture. Adding one more level to their line-upon-line method of learning.

-BJU World History and US History. I just got these textbooks from my mom. They are the ones I used in high school. There will be a lot of overlap in concepts. But, because these are written from a Christian perspective, I think that will add another layer of understanding. Christianity and religion are very key in the history of the world and the United States. After all, it is God who is ruling over all times, places, people and kingdoms.

-Biographies. I don't have pictures of them, but I did share somewhat a couple weeks ago about how our reading lists this year will be also filling in our big picture of this time period. We are reading a lot of both political and Christian biographies plus historical accounts of this period.

History-stories of people doing things...

How are you broaching the subject of history this year? Do you love history? Or do you suffer through it? Would you ever make it the basis for your curriculum?

Since I really love history, I am looking forward to reading how each of these gals is tackling the subject this year...
Savannah
Lucinda
Julie
Chareen
Nicole

What's On Our Reading List...HomeSchool Edition

I love to read. These days I have to make myself read more than I used to. I know this may be hard to believe, but growing up, there was no such thing as the call of the Internet. I didn't even have an email until I was 19. And that was on dial up. We didn't watch television.

Thus, we had to read. And we got to explore the wonders of worlds far beyond ours.

Which is why I have a tremendous desire to travel. It is so much fun to finely visit a location where so many books have been set. To walk the streets and experience the culture. And then, the next time you read a book set in that location, you can delve into your memories to visualize what things are like.

The Barefoot Hippies are at the end of an era. We have finished the Harry Potter books. It took us over a year of lunches, interspersed with Team of Rivals. End of summer, end of series. Left wondering if we will ever find another series that rivals HP...Sigh...

Thankfully, I have a plan. Not for another series, but I do have a reading list that we will be diving into first thing today. (did I mention it's our first day of school???) In conjunction with our new unit study/traditional/classical education plan, I have several reading lists put together. This is the first year I have put together reading list, though Mr. Hippie and I have been discussing it for several years. 

I made a individual reading list for each of my readers, plus myself, plus one for our literary lunch hours. The boys have over a dozen books on their lists. LC has far less. 

On these lists are books written between 1600 and 1800, biographies of people from this period, as well as fiction and non fiction set in this period. 

The kids will be reading such classics as Ivanhoe, Tale of Two Cities, Pilgrim's Progress, and Robinson Crusoe. Some will be abridged, and some won't, depending on reading and difficulty levels.

They also will be reading biographies of Christians and famous characters from this time period. Notables like the Wesley brothers, David Brainard, Oliver Cromwell, George Washington, and Benjamin Franklin.

Also on our reading list our books dealing with specific events. Things like the Mayflower and the Revolutionary War, the French and Indian War, French Revolution, and much more.

There is overlap of ideas, events and people in many of the books. The different genres will serve to reinforce the different facts and ideas. 

As for our literary lunch hours, I am hoping to read through David McCollough's John Adams and 1776. I might also pick one or two of the fiction titles that made it on all the lists to read on Fridays with the kids.

I personally will also be reading some books from this period. Sharpening my own saw. I have wanted to read the book, Our Oldest Enemy, since I first saw a review several years ago. This will be the year for it. I also saw a novel called Old Manor House from the 1600s. It bridges the  Goth and Classical genres. I am going to read it, and if it is appropriate, I will have BMV read it also. I am planning to read many of the books I am having the boys read, A Tale of Two Cities, Ivanhoe, Ben Franklin's autobiography.  

I am trying to figure out a time to have a book discussion each day or week. This will give us an opportunity to talk about what each one is learning. I also will have the boys write a book report or biography for each book they read. Alternating the two types of reports will teach different writing and thinking skills. And now I am just thinking aloud, but maybe our "discussions" will be them verbally giving their report. That's an idea...

My main focus in Kindergarten is to get my kids reading well. I have succeeded with 3 kids so far. Meres will break the mold. You have to know that...

Why do I stress learning to read in Kindergarten? I am a firm believer in the concept that if you can read, you can teach yourself anything. If my kids can read books for themselves, they can discover facts and knowledge without me having to be teaching them every bit of it. Which is key in covering time periods. I don't know everything about this time period we are studying. I will be increasing my knowledge along with my kids increasing theirs. We each will be learning at our own pace.

Do you have a reading list for yourself? For your kids? What is on it for this year?

For other reading list ideas, check out...
Chareen
Savannah
Nicole
Lucinda
Julie

Waxing Poetical

For the record, this post is about poetry, not waxing. Didn't want anyone to be confused. After all, homeschool moms need eyebrow waxes too. Moving on...

Those of you who have been around these Barefoot Hippie Girl parts a while, know that I am a new lover of poetry. As a matter of fact, last year was the first year we even tackled poetry in home schooling. I know, it only took 5 years to figure out that it may be worth it.

Before last year, the sum of my poetry appreciation and knowledge would have been Mother Goose and hymnology.

But then I ran across Robert Frost on FB of all things, and I was hooked. I love The Road Not Taken, Fireflies, and Blueberries. We spent last year memorizing an applicable Robert Frost poem every month. It was a lot of fun interpreting them, and often drawing and/or painting pictures to illustrate the poems.

Alas, this year we are leaving Robert Frost to the 20th century. Bummer. If he lived in the 17th or 18th century I would have kept right on going with my favorite poet. That would have been a very well rounded poetical education for my kids..."oh yeah, we studied poetry our entire school career. We know all of Robert Frost's poems."

Instead I am delving into poets from around the world, but mostly in Great Britain and Europe, for our study of poetry this year. Poets who lived and wrote from 1600-1800. Thus everything will tie up neatly with our unit study idea.

I have picked out over a dozen poets with their most famous poems. We will be looking at Robert Burns, John Keats, and Phillis Wheatley, among others. We will read some of their poems and learn about the poet's personal history. I will have the kids memorize an average of one poem per month. We will also try to illustrate the poems in some way, shape or form.

Basically we will be following the same format I used last year with Robert Frost, except for branching out a bit. I am looking forward to continuing to develop our poetry reading and comprehension skills, as well as poetry appreciation.

How do you teach poetry? Do you feel it is a needed subject?


For more poetry ideas click over to...

Nicole
Lucinda
Julie
Savannah
Chareen

A Room of My Own

Growing up, I never had my own room. I lived in a house not much bigger than my current house, but we had 8 kids plus 2 adults squeezed into my growing up home. I shared my bedroom with anywhere from 1-3 sisters until I married. And now I share my room with Mr. Hippie. Sigh. Good sigh.=)

Growing up, besides being a big family in a small house, we also home schooled. And there was no school room. Our dining room did double duty serving as school room and the place where we ate when guests came over.

It seemed logical, then, for me, when I was setting up my own home school room, to make our HQ in our dining room. We don't have an extra room to use, and the dining room contains a big table. Perfect situation for accomplishing school work, or at least, fomenting sibling irritations.

This double duty school/dining room had more similarities with split personality than simpatico. Balancing flags and table clothes, maps and white boards? Not the best situation.

This year I am making two major changes to our school room...remodeling the dining room and making a school room.

-Remodeling the dining room...if you were with my a few weeks ago, you saw 3-4 posts about home making as an art, thrift store decor, and home decorating. My heart has really been longing to not use not a decorator as an excuse anymore, but to make my home beautiful with what I have and to make some maintenance upgrades like painting and such.

My dining room has actually been a work in progress. I painted it two years ago, the floors were refinished and the chairs recovered last winter. I made curtains and will be making faux Roman shades for the door.  I have been using my table cloth to add color. I removed the flags. And I am enjoying my non-school room dining room.

But, I need to use this room as a school room too. I have 3 students and 1 toddler who have to have a place to do there school work. So, my solution-my main addition-to my dining room, is a custom made Amish corner hutch. I will display dishes and knick-knacks on the open shelves above, but behind the closed doors of the bottom half, I am making my school room concession. This is where I will keep my books and supplies. They will be easily accessible in the school room, but they will be under cover, and not detract from the overall aura of the dining room. Pretty clever if I do say so myself. (Unladylike snort)

-Making a school room...to go along with our Friday school.

Our basement is half finished. The non-laundry room side has carpet, wood paneling, closets, and dry wall. This is the room BMV does his school work in every day.

It is also the room where we are going to do our Unit study school. There is a computer down there for the kids to watch the history DVDs on. I have (albeit full) book cases in there. It seems like it is the time to convert this room into more of a school room complete with maps, timelines, white boards, flags and globe.

I am really excited about this. I think it will be helpful to have a dedicated space for our school stuff to be displayed. It still is going to be the "play" room, but the kids play down there less and less. Especially since the legos are now up in the boys' room. I feel like after almost 8 years, we are growing into our house, and our house is reflecting us, the Barefoot Hippie clan.

What's new in your school room this year? Or maybe like me, you got a school room? Whoot-whoot!


Join the other ladies to find out what is new in each of their school rooms...
Chareen
Nicole
Julie
Savannah
Lucinda

Radical Changes

*Alternately titled...Barefoot Hippie HomeSchool Year 2013-2014

Welcome back to our Tuesday Home School Help series. The way this works is that there is a pre-determined topic that 5 or more home school moms write about from their own perspectives. Then at the bottom of the post, we each include links to all the other posts so you can read the other's posts if you so desire.

It has been a great summer, and now it is (sort of) time to start thinking about school again. After my school planning day out and my back to (home) school post, I have resolved to mostly put the idea of school on the back burner for another few weeks. I still have a month of freedom to live up. Don't rush me! So, excepting for our weekly posts, this area is going to be a school free zone.

School in the Barefoot Hippie is going to be radically different this year. No, we aren't going to be wearing shoes...

As far as the "R's" go, we are sticking to BJU's curriculum. It is meeting our needs, and why mess with a good thing? My kids are young enough that they still need a formal grammar, spelling, and math program. (Well, we will always do a formal math program...) The radically different approach comes from the fact that I am switching to a unit study approach from here on out.

This may not be exactly what some people think of when they think of unit studies. It is actually more of a hybrid of unit studies and classical education. Hybrids are very hippie-ish. This hybrid is very Barefoot Hippie-ish.

I love history, and I have divided world history into periods that we are going to hit over the next 7-8 years. BMV will cover all of them before he graduates, and then we will just start recycling them until Meres is finished with all of them.

The period of history that we are covering this year is 1600-1800 AD. We are looking at it from religious, historical, geographical, fine arts, and scientific viewpoints. I purchased a series of lectures on US History and world from Great Courses, that will form the historical foundation of our studies. We will make 4 simultaneous timelines covering the United States, Britain, Asia, and Europe. There are lots of things that happened globally, and I am looking forward to delving in to them. Each history lecture has a workbook page to go with it that includes essay ideas.

On the religious front, there was the KJV ordered and published and the Great Awakening. Two critical things for Christianity then and now. Something that bridges religion and fine arts is our singing of hymns every morning. 1600-1800 AD was a very key time in sacred music history. We will be singing hymns exclusively from this time. Hymns by Cowper, the Wesley brothers, Isaac Watts and more.

I am calling art, music and poetry a lump "fine arts" this year. We will cover one of these topics every week. We are studying famous baroque and classical composers from this era, and we will spend time listening to their music. I may even take the kids to an applicable symphony concert. For poetry I have listed over a dozen famous poets from this period. We will learn about their lives, and read and interpret some of their poems. Some weeks I will have the kids memorize a famous poem. Some weeks I won't.

We also will cover some great artists and art forms from this period. And we will practice doing still life's and scenery and portraits. I may wrangle some of my artist friends to teach a class occasionally.

Scientifically, I have made a syllabus of scientists and their discoveries in this period. We will do experiments that tie in with what was learned. And we all love experiments. I have not planned the experiments yet, but I will plan a few weeks up to a month in advance so I can gather supplies.

I have put together reading lists for all 3 kids encompassing authors, classics, biographies, and historical fiction or fact based in this period. This will be key to the understanding of this period-especially on a global level.

Whenever the boys have a writing assignment in grammar, they will base it on what we are learning this year. This will incorporate the unit study idea even more into our schooling. We are going to draw maps and measure things. We are going to study hard, but it will be fun.

Anyway, to say I am excited about this up and coming year would be an understatement. The really cool thing is that the kids are excited as I am. I always have been geeked about big picture concepts and the idea of connecting the dots. So much happens during a historical period and a whole lot of it is connected. This year we are connecting the dots of the 200 years from 1600-1800 AD.

What's new in your curriculum this year? Are you excited for changes or are you looking forward to keeping a good status quo?

Now, head over to the other girls' posts to see what each one is doing differently this year...
Nicole, Chareen, Julie, Savannah, and Lucinda.

NOT Techie Home Schoolers

So, while the Barefoot Hippie clan is barefoot and hippie-ish and proud of it, we aren't too tech savvy. When I read this week's homeschool post theme, (favorite iPad or Droid educational apps) I once again cringed. Because, we really don't use a lot of apps for school-even though we have an iPad, an iPhone, an iPod Touch, a laptop and a desk top computer.

We are more paper and pencil and book type home schoolers. Those tools that were used way back prior to the 21st century...

No, we prefer to use our online and computer time for such mindless pursuits as blogging, FB and twitter (me) and watching reruns and playing video games (the offspring)

That being said, I do have a few apps that I use for educational purposes. Few being 3.

Wikipanion (free) Whenever we are doing science or history, we use Wikipedia. It is very helpful, and the links within links are awesome.

Multiplication Genius x19. ($0.99) I recently purchased this app for Freckles. My goal for him this summer is that he will be able to rattle of the multiplication facts through x12 before we restart school in September. This is a game format, plus it has all the facts through x19. I figure that several games a day will cement these in his mind. Money well spent.

The Story Mouse Talking Books (app is free, individual stories cost $1.99) This is LC's favorite app. I like it because it keeps her entertained. But, also because each familiar story is read by a man or woman with distinct British Isle accents. Why wouldn't that be a great thing? Regardless, they have decent illustrations and all the words are on the page. Each paragraph is highlighted as it is being read. This is great for word recognition. Especially if you are into your child learning to read with a British accent.

Once again, a short and sweet post. I'm sure the other girls will have a more rounded lists. What are your favorite educational apps? 

*Btw, this is our last Tuesday home school post until the beginning of August. I have enjoyed writing on the subjects, and I hope you have enjoyed reading them. I will still be writing for Tuesday's though, so don't think you get a pass.=)

Chareen's favorite website's and apps for learning
Hwee's technology: a few considerations
Nicole's iWorld of homeschooling
Erin's if I had an iPad...
Julie's husband created an iPad app to help with multiplication
Savannah's 20 free learning apps
Lucinda's favorite homeschool apps for kids and mums

Scientifically Speaking

Growing up, science was never a big interest of mine. The thought of science appealed to me...scientific method and all that. But it was too dry and textbook. I learned very little that stuck with me.

I decided to change that with my kids. We are taking a shoes off (barefoot hippie, get it?!), hands on approach to science. My goal is to make science memorable and fun.

We generally do an experiment, then ask 3 questions.
1. What did we do?
2. What happened?
3. What did we learn? (or, what were we supposed to learn?)

Each child writes their answers in their science notebook to keep forever. Or not.

My science book philosophy is rather similar to my reading textbook philosophy. You can get both rather cheaper by not using a curriculum. Which works really well for younger students. I would say that as you approach high school, it might be a good idea to do formal biology, basic science, earth science, and chemistry. At least, we probably will.

For now, I have found two great science books for under $10 each, at Barnes and Nobles. Both have 365 experiments.  The fancier one has categories for astronomy, biology, chemistry, geology, physics and weather. It has a page at the beginning of each section to record the date, experiment and notes. I use it to write down what we need for each experiment so I remember to buy the materials.

We have made ginger ale (that really fermented-our own distillery), recorded moon cycles, inflated balloons with gases from yeast, grew mold in jars and swung buckets of water around our heads to illustrate centrifugal force.

kind of looks a bit vulgar...

I consider our garden a part of our science studies. We get to learn about dormancy, photosynthesis, seeds and growth.

We also read through library books dealing with animal life, and motion, and all that is chalked up to science too.

I have found that biology, astronomy and geology are much easier to do in the spring, summer and early fall-when it is warm and things outside are growing. Chemistry and physics are able to be hands on in the middle of the winter. Mixing chemicals and watching those reactions. Great, exciting winter activity.

We spent the winter semester this past year studying the periodic table of elements. That was interesting. We'd look the elements up on the internet, and find out characteristics, where they are found, and what each is used for. I think we will possibly continue on with that next winter.

My bff also just told me about a show, Outrageous Acts of Science. This show has video clips of people doing some rather stupid stuff. (darwin award status) But, the science part comes in when scientists explain the why's and wherefore's of what just happened in the stupid clip. From the little I've seen, it is very interesting, educational, and right up my boys' alley. We just might incorporate some of that into our studies next year.

I am also heading towards a more unit study approach to school next year, so we may try some experiments based on things learned scientifically during the time period we will be studying.

All in all, I think we have had a great time doing science, and we have learned some cool things too. When you actually do something, and see the result, it is more memorable than just reading about it in a book. I think so, at least.

Did you like science when you were a kid? How do you teach science to your kids? What is the most spectacular experiment you have ever done?


For more great ideas on how to teach your kids science, check out
Chareen
Hwee
Savannah
Julie
Nicole
Erin
Lucinda

Unable to Commit

Long, long ago, in a faraway place...

This week's home school connection question deals with whether or not we are in homeschool groups.

I am not.

But I was.

And here is the story:

When I was a mother of three, but not four, and the offspring were quite a bit younger, we were part of a home schooling group. About 50% were cousins, and the other 50% were random home schoolers. (we picked them up off the street, you know?)

Our goal was to meet once a month, and study a topic corresponding with a letter of the alphabet. We started with airplanes for A, which included a visit to a private air strip, and a ride in a private plane. Churning butter was the activity for B. We toured a cheese farm for C, and a fire station for F, and ink factory for I and a radish farm for something.

It was great fun, and it was interesting. It was wonderful to just spend time together too. We learned new things, and all had a good time.

There was just one continual issue-no commitment. No one was willing to say, "I will be at our group meeting every time unless there is a major catastrophe in my life."

We aimed to hold our field trips on a regular day of the month, generally the second Thursday. But no matter what the day, we could not get hardly anyone to commit to coming, more than a day or two in advance. There was no concept of, "I can't do that other thing on this date, because I already have plans-i.e. the field trip." Which is rather a problem when you need a head count for rates and such.

I am really not sure what the hold up was.

I wonder if this lack of commitment is a hallmark of my generation, or of this day and age. But I don't think it is a good trend. Not for young people, or Christians, adults or home schoolers.

It is not polite to refuse to commit to something because some better offer may come down the pike. And, sometimes being an adult means saying, "I'm sorry, I have a previous standing Tuesday engagement. I can't do _____." Commitment means giving your word and sticking by it, even if sacrifices are involved.

Time is a precious commodity-for all of us. I am willing to make a regular commitment, and to stand committed to it. I do it for many other areas of life: Bible study, dinner with the BFF, dates with Mr. Hippie, Bible club, church, etc.. Sickness, death and being out of town are the only things that get me out of commitments.

So, for ill or nil, our home school group petered out well before Z. It was too hard to organize something and wonder if anyone would show up. I figured I could take my own kids to museums and such by ourselves with a whole lot less fuss.

But also a whole lot less community and support and practical friendship.

I haven't been involved in a group since.

I am not opposed to home school groups, whether with a formal field trip planned or simply as a time to informally hang out. I would love to have a time to learn together or just hang out and chat as moms together. My heart and soul needs that.

But I also need people to be committed to coming. If they aren't, I may as well plan on staying home. It's easier. Some may call it cynical, I call it practical. And kind of sad.

What has been your experience with home school groups? Was it better than mine? How do you foster commitment in your group? I'd love to hear some good ideas.


For much more positive outlooks at home school groups, check out
Chareen
Hwee
Julie
Erin
Nicole
Savannah
Lucinda

Beneficial Co-op(eration)

Co-op. Co-operative education. Dictionary.com makes very clear the importance of the hyphen on this one. You wouldn't want it confused with coop. Imagine the chaos. Snort.

"Coop or not? Why or why not?" People would think we were talking chickens for this week's home school post. That's extreme home schooling right there.

So, co-operative education or not? Why or why not?

Short answer: "No. My kids are too young."

That being said, youth is the only reason I haven't done any co-ops. I love the idea of a co-op. It is the opportunity for each person to shine in their strengths and talents for the good of others.

If you couldn't tell by yesterday's post, I love history. I love making history come alive. I would love to teach a junior and senior high school history course. It would totally stretch me, and be my element. Timelines, mythology, classics, biographies, and cartography...

I think a co-op would also be very beneficial for the sciences and lab work. Someone who love dissecting and blowing things up, supervising a bunch of students. That would be awesome. Though, that person would not be me. I've never dissected anything, and I have no intention of starting.

Or what about the higher maths? Algebra 1 and 2, Calculus, and Geometry. I did okay in algebra and geometry, and actually got pretty good at it teaching it to the next couple siblings under me. But, it isn't my passion or love. Someone understands math much better than I.

Art. If you have read me for more than a month, you probably have heard me say that I am not an artist. I am trying to learn a new skill set, but really, it isn't my cup of tea. But, I am blessed to be surrounded with artists. And, for the past 2 years, I have organized an art day for home schoolers, bringing in some local talent to teach drawing techniques, painting, sculpture, and origami. It has been well received, and I am already contemplating another go at it this fall.

The other area I have considered using a co-op is foreign language, particularly Spanish. We have a couple friends who are fluent in Spanish, being from Latin America and Spain respectively. I can't teach my kids Spanish. I could get them a Spanish course. But, I think it would be more affective for them to learn from and converse with a Spanish speaker.

I have seen something floating around FB and Pinterest about "We've seen the village, and we don't want it raising our children." While I appreciate the sentiment behind that, I don't completely agree. Actually, my most popular post for a while was It Takes a Village. I am willing to admit I don't know everything, and that my kids need the influence and gifts of others to enrich their lives.

BMV will be in 6th grade this fall. It is almost time to start contemplating some co-operative education. This is something I will be praying about. And if you are a homeschooler in my neck of the woods, I may be approaching you about what we can work together on.

Do you use co-ops or coops? Will you ever?



For more why's and why not's on co-ops, check out
Chareen
Hwee
Nicole
Erin
Julie
Savannah
Lucinda

Hippie Method: Food Philosophied

A philosophy is simply a belief. But it sounds more sophisticated. I have a lot of philosophies. And a belief or two, also.

I love to cook. And I love to write. And I love to home school. I don't love to clean, but I love to have a clean house. I love to run. I love to be outside. I love to eat. I love to sleep. I love to read. I love to drink coffee. I love to talk with people.

Obviously, I have a lot of love to's. How do I fit in all my loves with limited time?

Well, I like to live simultaneously. I try to live simply. I am learning to say no and to rest. I live by a rhythm/schedule. And I am learning to let good be good enough.

In our home schooling posts we have talked about juggling home schooling & alone time as well as home schooling & cleaning. Today we are going to cover juggling home schooling and cooking. Because home school moms are premier jugglers. Circus level performers. Maybe more illusionists than jugglers.

My personal food/cooking philosophy is to make delicious food that looks nice without it taking my more time to prepare than to consume. I also strive to make (relatively) healthy food. And I attempt to keep my dinner menu rather varied and fresh. And, the closest I get to using pre-prepared food is frozen ravioli and canned beans.

I have four key strategies for fulfilling my cooking/food philosophy and to be able to juggle all my other loves and responsibilities.

1. Same old-same old, for breakfast and lunch. Our breakfast and lunch menu is the same, every day. The kids eat oatmeal every morning except Thursdays and Saturdays. Those two mornings they have eggs or pancakes or something like that. I eat granola for breakfast everyday. Granola and raisins. Quick and delicious.

See, doesn't that look good?=)

Lunch for the kids is sandwiches (usually peanut butter and jelly), pretzels or chips and cookies. If we have leftovers, I will heat those. For me, lunch is milk and cookies and fruit. I know. I am the epitome of healthiness. I occasionally eat a sandwich-mostly on the days I have run and swam and need the extra uummph.

A boring, but easy, breakfast and lunch menu. And the kids haven't complained, so, I am not changing it. Not that I would even if they did complain...

2. Crock Pot. I am a whole hearted crock pot advocate. Here's why: I can make a fabulous dinner when I have a window of time in my day (morning for the low setting, or early afternoon for the high setting) and not be crazy woman during the witching hours of 4-6 p.m.. I have shared my favorite several of my favorite crockpot recipes on this blog. Recipes like Chicken Tacos, Coq Au Vin, Scarpariello, and Pulled Pork. If you go to my Small Kitchen Adventures tab, you will find links to these and many other  easy and delicious recipes. For a list of 51 meal ideas, check out Why Didn't I think of That?

3. Simple. Most dinners I make take between 30-60 minutes to whip together. I'd say that over half of them are much closer to the 30 minute mark than the 60 minute mark. It is possible to make delicious, varied and healthy food, in a small chunk of time. All the recipes shared on my Small Kitchen Adventures tab fit within this 30-60 minute window.

Not only are they simple, time-wise, they don't have 110 steps or 110 ingredients. Less is more. Way more.

4. Leftovers. I plan my dinner menu in 2 week segments, and I usually plan for 1-2 dinners a week that are leftover dinners. It may be the leftovers of one meal, or the leftovers of a combination of meals, but we eat leftovers for dinner. If I make soup or chili or marinara sauce, I make a BIG batch-enough to feed our family at least 2 meals. Usually 2 meals, and then some. I must say that my leftovers are fewer these days. What's with preteen boys and their appetites? Crazy!

Do you have a food/cooking philosophy? What are you tips for juggling cooking with life and home schooling?

For other views and tips on this subject, visit
Hwee
Julie
Erin
Chareen
Nicole
Lucinda
Savannah

*Welcome to Nicole and Erin, two other bloggers joining our panel.

Just a Homebody

I am a homebody-except when I'm not.

Actually, I love being home. In my daily rhythm, drinking lots of coffee and tea, bumping around doing chores, reading and writing. Last week I shared my dream home wishes, but really, I am quite content in my current little house.

I don't like running around. (besides running around) I get stressed when I have to be out and about a lot. I like activities for variety occasionally, but for the most part, I love my home and the people in it-and I try to stay there as much as possible. What's the point of home schooling and home business if you are never home?

There are some weeks when I really don't leave the house much. I leave for runs and swimming, Bible Study on Monday nights, and dinner with the BFF every other Tuesday, church on Sundays, and shopping every other Monday. Besides that, I'm home.

Which brings us to our home school topic for this week. Extra kid's activities? How much? And how much is too much?

Currently, we don't have many extra kids' activities on the docket. All three of the oldest kids attend BSF-the boys with me on Monday nights, and LC on Thursday mornings with her aunt. The kids also sporadically attend a Friday night kids' club at a local church. Sporadically, because if we have had too busy of a week, or if something else is going on, they don't go. I feel bad about the non-commitment, but it is the only viable option right now.

As far as extracurricular activities, (by definition: educational activities not falling within the scope of the regular curriculum-including dramatics and athletics.) We don't do ANY of those.

At this point in time we don't do athletics or music lessons or dramatics. (besides the daily freebie drama that comes from having 2 young girls in the household.)

Next year, however, I am committed to revisiting the music lesson thing. BMV has a good ear for music, and I want him to take piano lessons for at least a few years. So, I will be working that into our schedule next fall.

As far as sports go, we just haven't done them yet. They like playing soccer and baseball, but its a time thing...

Because I feel too much is too much when it interferes with schooling, fills too many afternoons/evenings with practices and games, when family time is sacrificed to individual activities and I am away from home way.too.much. 

I only have so much time. And a lot of my time is already booked. If our kids are to do sports, something else in the schedule would have to give. I am willing for something else to give, I just haven't looked into the specifics of what would have to give. It would be based on schedules. (can you wrap your mind around that long run on thought?=))

I think that this whole topic falls into a very personal category. Each family has to decide what works for them and their schooling and life goals. I don't think there is a clear cut right or wrong answer for everyone.

There is both band and drama available for home schoolers in our city. Personally, I am unwilling to drop off my kids at 9:00 in the morning and pick them up at 3:00 in the afternoon, one day a week, in order to have them be involved in a music or drama program. It would cut into my schooling time/goals. That is my choice for this life season. Others have chosen differently, and that is quite all right.

As my kids get older, this might very well change. We probably will enroll them in sports. We might seize the opportunity to be part of our local drama scene or homeschool music program.

I know the value of sports and fitness-for guys and girls. Running has made me push harder and go farther than I ever would have thought possible. I think the discipline and the persisting through physical pain is a very good thing to experience. Not giving up. I don't want to deny my kids that, just because it is easier for me to stay home. Plus, it is good to have an outlet for all that energy. I do see sports in our future. I'm just not sure of the how's yet.

I want my kids to have a musical base. Which is why I have started each of them with piano lessons, though we fell off the wagon. I want them to be able to read music and to enjoy the finer nuances of music.

But, I really can't envision myself ever running and running from one activity to another. The quintessential soccer mom I am not. Though I do have the mini van. Which I am saving for BMV in another 5-1/2 years. Then I will get my Hippie mobile, aka a bug. And BMV can be the quintessential soccer sibling, and chauffeur his sibs around. In the mini van.

What extra activities do you do with your kids? Do you feel you have found a good balance? What tips would you have for me?

This week we are welcoming a new blogger, Lucinda, onto our panel. I hope you will stop by and say "hi", and see what she has to offer on this subject. Be sure to also check out Hwee, Chareen, Julie, and Savannah.

Doing 'Rithmetic

In Laura Ingalls Wilder's day, school was all about the three R's, reading, writing and 'rithmetic. Funny how two of the three aren't technically "r's". Spelling must have rated less than phonics.

Our home school topic today is all both the last r, a-rithmetic. "Math, math, all about math." That's how the syllabus puts it.

I have to say, that once again, my traditional method of homeschooling leaves me a bit short for this post. Hmmm...

I could say, "we do math." (We even do math everyday.) That'd about cover it. And would earn it the vaunted spot of shortest Barefoot Hippie Girl post ever.

When I was growing up, and doing home schooling, we used BJU curriculum, including their math program. I have heard it is challenging, but it is what my siblings and I all used, and it didn't pose any unnecessary difficulties.

Being the if it ain't broke, why fix it? person that I am, when deciding on curriculums to use with my own kids, I chose to go with BJU (Bob Jones University). I am familiar with it. I like it. Plus I get used books from my mom for free.

I start all of my curriculum usage in first grade, not kindergarten. I use cheaper bookstore options for curriculum for kindergarten. Thus, to date, I have used BJU up through fifth grade with my oldest, and third for my second oldest.

Here is what I like about having my kids do the same curriculum all through the grades. The patterns of the textbooks follow the same flow. So, if my 5th grader is doing geometry in lesson 101, chances are, my 3rd grader is also doing geometry in lesson 101, albeit at a more basic level. This continuity is very helpful for me as the teacher of multiple grades. (the same principle carries over into grammar and spelling.)

I like BJU because it hits the same principles over and over, adding a new concept each time. And they use a lot of review. It has worked very well for us.

I also like BJU because it has worked well for both my boys, and that is saying a lot. They are both vastly different, and have different learning styles. Freckles works well both seeing and hearing something. (there probably is a proper term for that, but I don't know it off hand) He verbally works out a lot of his math. By hearing the information, it sticks in his mind better.

I know a lot of people use manipulatives for math. I really haven't up to this point. We did just make a set of multiplication fact flash cards to use with my third grader (Freckles). This ties in with his verbal-auditory learning style. I want him to be able to rattle those things off before the start of school next year. We will be working on it all summer.

when my kids don't get a math concept,  make up my own problems, and work with them until I know they understand.

My go-to math curriculum for Kindergarten has been Kumon. Have you heard of it? Kumon started over 50 years ago, as an after school math and reading tutoring center. They made up their own curriculum with the philosophy of practicing material until concepts are mastered, and advancing in small, manageable increments. Most of their workbooks have 30-40 lessons. Each lesson takes 20 minutes or less to complete.

Kumon starts very basic, and they use fun concepts. Dot to dots and mazes. Learning to count and add. It has given all three of my oldest kids a great foundation for the math skills they have continued to use with the BJU curriculum. At $6-8 a book, they tend to be quite a bit cheaper than traditional curriculum. I have also used Kumon's telling time and money books. Again, because of their step by step philosophy and practice.

They are available online, or at Barnes and Noble. And, how about a plug for B&N? Home school moms get the educator discount at B&N. It is a 20% savings. That knocks the price down even further.

What I have found interesting about this series is that I write what works for me, and what I am doing. Not what others are doing, or even what else is out there. I am sharing from my experience. And each of the other ladies are sharing from their experiences too. I hope you take the time to look everyone's posts up. What works for me, might not be your cup of tea, but maybe one of the other lady's ideas will get your juices flowing.

Oh, so you want to hear my greatest math moment this year? It ranks right up there with the yellow dyed sugar scrub...

I was cleaning my basement closet the other day, and discovered that I have the 5th grade math teacher's edition. Yes, it is the end of the year, and I have figured out each and every one of those math problems/answers on my own this entire year. End of year, end of book. Sigh...

At least I rediscovered the 6th grade teacher's edition at the same time...

What curriculum do you use for math? Do you use manipulatives? What is your favorite thing about your math curriculum? Your least favorite?


For more tips on math, check out Julie, Hwee, Chareen, and Savannah.