Homeschool Archives - Page 3 of 50

Simple Steps to a Successful Routine

May 13, 2020Tracy

Change often means chaos, executive function failure, and total upheaval for those who live with ADHD, whether that change is summer break, winter break, or coronavirus quarantine, it really doesn’t matter. ADHD makes self-regulating extremely difficult, particularly when life changes suddenly and the systems we had in place to motivate and anchor us unravel into uncertainty. We lose our natural rhythm and face insurmountable odds trying to lasso the winds of change and ride out the storm. So how do you have a system in place that can withstand change, a system that can ride with the storms and yet help us all to stay anchored? For our family, I’ve learned that a successful routine can make all the difference.

Simple Ideas for Homeschooling Unexpectedly

March 14, 2020Tracy

Deciding to homeschool is usually an intentional, carefully-weighed decision with time for research and preparation. But when homeschool is forced upon you suddenly and unexpectedly, what do you do? First, take a deep breath, pour yourself a cup of coffee, allow yourself that extra splash of cream, and relax. Though this might not be what you would have chosen, homeschooling unexpectedly can be a memorable time of learning some valuable life lessons.

Life Lesson #1: Learning is a life-long process that doesn’t end simply because we are not at a school building. It happens all day long, every day, all around us.
Life Lesson #2: Life is full of the unexpected. Embrace a growth mindset and make the best of it. Your kids will learn from your example.
Life Lesson #3: Don’t try to copy what someone else is doing. Be yourself. Don’t try to replace your public school curriculum or schedule right now. Instead, think about who you are and who your kids are; capitalize on that!

Yet regardless of these practical life lessons, there’s still the problem of what to do.

If you want something simple and straight to the point, try Starfall.com for both reading and basic math practice for your younger kids (k-3rd) and Khan Academy (all the subjects) for your older kiddos.

Looking for something a little more creative and “family-style”? Here are a few additional ideas to help make this time of unexpectedly homeschooling both manageable and memorable.

ADHD & Dyslexia Summer Reading Recommendation

June 14, 2019Tracy

I was compensated for my time reviewing this product, 
writing this review, and hosting the giveaway. 
I was not compensated for my opinions, and all opinions are my own.

Homeschooling a child with learning disabilities is no small task, but perhaps the hardest part of it is facing down all those fears that what I’m doing won’t be enough, or that I might even make our struggles worse. Part of my strategy for facing these fears is knowledge: I read a lot. Each summer, I spend a portion of my summer reading on “professional development,” just a couple of books that help me to understand my kids (and husband) better. Specifically, that means I’ve always got at least a couple of books on my ADHD-dyslexia summer reading list. This year, one of those books was Helping your Child with Language-Based Learning Disabilities by Daniel Franklin.

Honestly, this book easily made it into the list of my top five on the topic. It’s encouraging, positive, and filled with great info! Best of all, I love that his approach focuses so much on relationship.

Homeschool Math Help with CTCMath: a review

April 17, 2019Tracy

Math is not our best subject here, though we’ve settled into some solutions for our family. I am keenly aware of our deficits and learning gaps in math, so when the opportunity came to give CTCMath a try, I excitedly jumped at the opportunity for some homeschool math help.

I was thrilled with both how easy it was to use and how excited my kids were to do math!

Tapestry of Grace DE or Stages: a review

April 12, 2019Tracy

I have used the Tapestry of Grace curriculum with my family for nearly seven years and own all four years of the DE or Digital Edition of the program. We love it! I love the richness and depth of the Tapestry of Grace curriculum, and the ability to customize a weekly plan that fits our family and our life. So when their new Stages product came out, I was curious. What was different from what I currently had? Which product should I recommend to others interested in starting Tapestry? Would having my plans and teacher notes divided into the separate Stages or learning levels solve some of the confusion I sometimes ran into when planning?

How to customize your homeschool curriculum to fit your child’s needs

February 27, 2019Tracy

For all those well-laid plans and carefully selected homeschool purchases, it happens. You get into the homeschool year and realize that what you have and who you are teaching just aren’t a match. What do you do? Do you throw out all of that curriculum and start over? Is it possible to make adjustments to your homeschool year that will actually make a difference? Sometimes the problems warrant starting over from scratch; there’s just not enough going well to make a curriculum worth keeping. But many, many times it’s possible to modify your homeschool curriculum to fit your child’s needs. Here are five steps to help you customize your homeschool curriculum.

Our experience with Heart of Dakota (pros and cons)

February 21, 2019Tracy

This past year, I decided to break from the curriculum we’d been using from the very beginning and try a few new things. I was trying to find relief during a particularly busy stage of life, and trying to wrap my head around my son’s 7th grade year and his changing academic needs. So we took a detour from Tapestry of Grace and tried Heart of Dakota for a few months.

All in all, we used Heart of Dakota (three different guides) for about 14-18 weeks, one child going a little further than the others. I dropped my youngest’s guide first: the pace was just too slow. Months into the program, and our Pilgrims still hadn’t left Holland. Compared to what we were used to (Story of the World and Tapestry), it felt like a snail’s pace, and my voracious first grader wanted more. So did I.

I hung on a little longer with the older two, trying to adapt the guide and make changes that fit us best. But the Heart of Dakota guides really aren’t made for the kind of customizing I was wanting. The changes made the guide confusing; it was just too restrictive for our style. So here’s a little more about Heart of Dakota, and why we ended up right back where we started—with Tapestry of Grace.