Christmas Traditions around the World Pt.1

As Christmas is fast approaching I am thinking about all there is to focus on. First let me start by saying that I feel that the Christmas season starts way to soon. At some stores the decorations are up even before the Halloween decorations are on display and even when they are not up they are patiently waiting in the isles on pallets to be put on the shelves.

I thought I would share some information about how Christmas is celebrated in a few different countries.

So our first stop is China; yes they do celebrate this holiday but they do not consider it a legal holiday. With only about 1% of the population being Christian that equates to about 10 million people that are baptized. Those that are baptized do so in hiding and make sure that they do not make themselves that noticed. The one thing that I found odd is that still people have been baptized and are still becoming Christian no matter what the government states. It is said that Catholic Churches cannot hold the numbers who come out for Christmas Eve mass. They do have people dress up like Santa and they call him Dun Che Lao Ren and the children hang up muslin stockings waiting for him to fill them.

Our next stop is Iraq. I often wonder what is done there since not very many people are Christians there either. They begin to celebrate on Christmas Eve by holding a ceremony in their courtyards where the Nativity story is read by the family. Children and adults read the story from the Arabic Bible. A pile of dried thorns are placed in each corner of courtyard. Once the story is completed they begin to burn the thorns and begin to sing a Psalm that continues until all the thorns are completely burned. When only ashes are left everyone in the family jumps on the ashes three times and makes a wish. It is said that the future of the household depends on how the thorns are burned. If the thorns burn all the way down until only ashes it is a good omen and indicates good fortune for the upcoming year for the family. On Christmas day a bonfire is also burned with the Bishop presiding. A congregational chant hymn is song during the entire burning of the bonfire. Once this is completed the Bishop starts a procession with an image of the infant Jesus seated upon a scarlet colored pillow. The service is quite long and ends with the "The Touch of Peace". This Touch of Peace is given by the bishop placing his hand on the person in front of him and then that person touches the person next to him until every one in attendance has received the "The Touch of Peace" Christmas became an official holiday in 2008 for Iraqi's. As far as I could see they do not celebrate any thing to do with Santa Claus.

Our next stop is the UK. They begin to celebrate their holiday with Advent. They begin by making wreaths with three pink, one white and one purple candle. In 1850 the Christmas tree was first used when Prince Albert put up a tree for his wife Queen Victoria and their children in Windsor Castle. The decorations will stay up until January 6th which is the feast of the Epiphany. It is considered to be bad luck if the decorations are left up any longer than that date. Christmas observations were believed to have begun in 596 AD. in England when St. Augustine first landed on the shores of England with his message of Christianity on his lips. Christmas dinner consists of roasted turkey, vegetables, sauces and a rich fruity Christmas pudding with a brandy sauce. Father Christmas (Santa Claus) wears a long green or red robe and brings presents to the children. The children hang stocking or pillowcases from their bedposts to receive their gifts.

They also celebrate Boxing Day which is also a legal holiday. This is where the boys go around all day collecting money in clay pots. Once they are full then the boys smash the pots. I am not sure what exactly is done with the money that is collected. I cannot find anything about the money. I would hope that after receiving gifts and then money they would share, considering they do not mention that the girls are allowed to go out begging for money.

I hope you have enjoyed learning about these three countries as much as I did and I know that this is something I never thought about looking into for the holidays. With being so busy with all our own traditions I thought it might be interesting to see what people around the world are doing. I feel that our kids deserve to know other traditions as well as our own.

Have a great week and I will be posting again with a few new countries of interest!

Feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe!

Hello fellow homeschoolers,

As the season progresses closer and closer to the wonderful day of Christmas we sometimes forget to celebrate one of the most important person's also involved in this special day! So I would like to give you some information on how to celebrate this wonderful feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe Patroness of the Americas! The feast day is December 12th! While living in Mexico City I had the honor of visiting the Basilica to see first hand the original image of Our Lady. Words cannot express the overwhelming that I received in the presence of this image. Many times when visiting I smelled the fragrance of fresh roses when passing under the image. There were many flowers but none near the image.

In Mexico to celebrate this feast day the whole city celebrates with parties, fireworks and pilgrimages. The celebrations begin at 12:01am on the 12th of Dec. and do not end until the feast of the Three Kings.

So I have decided to share some of that information with you on how you to can celebrate this feast day at home with your children. No you don't have to worry about fireworks but you could do other things to make this feast day special.

Why the name of Guadalupe? Well the Aztec Nahuatl word coatlaxopkuh which is pronounced "quatlasupe: and sounds like th Spanish word for Guadalupe. Coa meaning serpent tla being the noun for the word "the" and xopeuh means to crush or stamp out. So the lady must have called herself " the one who crushes the serpent".

Here is the link that gives the full explanation of the name Guadalupe

http://www.sancta.org/nameguad.html

The image of the Our Lady has many different wonderful facets to it; the first that I find fascinating is that of her eyes. Scientist's have done studies on her eyes stating that her eyes have the reflection image of Juan Diego in them. Many things have proved that there is an image within the image. How fascinating is that revelation!

Here is a link to some more information about these studies.

http://www.sancta.org/eyes.html

The image of Our Lady is also been explained that she is the Protectress of the Unborn. It is said that when Our Lady appeared to Juan Diego she with child. The reasoning behind this is the traditional brown sash that she has tied around her waist. The Aztec woman would were a brown sash around their waists when with child. Also, at the bottom of the image their is a small baby. If you look at the bottom potion where their is child holding up her gown this is a baby in the folds of the gown. That is how she became the Protectress of the Unborn.

Here is the link about more information pertaining to this information.

http://www.sancta.org/patr-unb.html

The Lady appeared to just a normal Aztec who happened to hear her call. He did not understand why he heard her call or even why he conveyed her messages. He just truly believed in the message and knew in his heart he was doing the correct thing even when most of the people were telling him to forget what he saw.

Here is some more information about Juan Diego who is not considered a saint. This link also contains the beautiful image the Saint Juan Diego presented to the bishop so that he would believe him and build a church where the Lady had suggested.

http://www.sancta.org/juandiego.html

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I personally never get tired of seeing this image. I find it the most image I have ever laid my eyes upon!

This link is timeline reference for all that occurred pertaining to the image.

http://www.sancta.org/table.html

This link is to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe as it looks today.

http://www.sancta.org/table.html

This link will help you to create wonderful paper flowers that your children to make in honor of Our Lady!

http://www.theholidayspot.com/mothersday/crafts/paper_flower.htm

This site will help you to create Farilitos and Luminarias to honor Our Lady!

http://www.nmia.com/~nmcm/luminarias.htm

You can also create a wonderful display with the Poinsettia plants which also holds the same holiday as Our Lady! There are many wonderful facts at this site about the Poinsettia which originated in Mexico and was brought to the states.

http://urbanext.illinois.edu/poinsettia/facts.cfm

There are also many different books that have been written about Our Lady for children.

"Our Lady of Guadalupe Coloring Book"

"Fresh Flowers in Winter - The Story of St. Juan Diego"

I hope that I have shed some small light on the subject of Our Lady of Guadalupe so that you to can appreciate this wonderful lady that saved a country and still working hard to save the unborn. Enjoy celebrating this wonderful Feast day on December 12th.

Different Types of Advent Wreaths!

With most of Christmas always focusing on purchasing presents and getting the best deal, I thought I would post some information about why we people have advent wreaths. Traditions, lesson plans and reading to go along with the lighting of the candles each week.

This link will tell you why the advent wreath is so important. There are lesson plans that accompany this site.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/94076/here_comes_advent_why_this_christmas.html?cat=34

To keep those Irish Traditions going this is how an Irish family stays connected.

http://www.thenewageblog.com/celtic-advent-wreaths-help-keep-irish-family-traditions/

http://www.rosary-religious-inspirational-gifts.com/advent-wreaths-in-the-celtic-tradition-a-196.html

Here is a link to an advent wreath that the little ones can use. The link is has many printable to copy and do along with Bible versus.

http://www.first-school.ws/activities/bible/advent1.htm

Here are couple of books that can help with the holidays as well.

http://www.familieswithpurpose.com/adventkits.html#adventactivities

This link will have Advent wreath meditations.

http://www.gbod.org/worship/default.asp?act=reader&item_id=47983

Here is a link about praying through advent.

http://www.hopeandhealing.org/contentPage.aspx?resource_id=372

This link is about how things are done in Germany for the holidays!

http://www.theholidayspot.com/christmas/worldxmas/germany.htm

This site has many pdf files that can be copied and then have the children color. There is an advent wreath that you can have them color each week if you choose not to have real candles lit once a week. Especially with little ones around the house.

http://www.abcteach.com/directory/seasonalholidays/christmas/

I hope you find some of these sites interesting and help your family to appreciate the holiday season!

Free Christmas Crafts!

Tis the Season for making crafts with you children! I know that when mine were young we always used the month of December to create wonderful gifts! These creations in turn became wonderful gifts for family members including myself. I still have so many things that the kids made that we still display today!

Each year as I pull out these items it brings back a flood of memories of time spent together and how time has flown bye!

So I thought I would share a few ideas for you to create with your children and make wonderful memories for yourselves. I hope you enjoy them, have fun and look back and say I am so glad that we had the time to create together!!!

Hands and Feet Reindeer Craft http://www.amazingmoms.com/images/hands_feet_reindeer.jpg

Red-Nosed Wreath

http://familyfun.go.com/christmas/christmas-decorations/christmas-wreaths/red-nosed-wreath-deer-710135/

Reindeer Craft Treat Holder

http://www.amazingmoms.com/htm/christmas-crafts-for-kids-reindeer-pots.htm

Reindeer Antlers

http://www.amazingmoms.com/htm/christmas_crafts__5.htm#reindeer_antlers

Helping Hand Wreath

http://familyfun.go.com/christmas/christmas-decorations/christmas-wreaths/helping-hand-wreath-710114/

Candy Cane Mouse

http://www.amazingmoms.com/htm/christmas_crafts_mouse.htm

Jingle Bell Door Hanger

http://www.amazingmoms.com/htm/christmas-crafts-for-kids.htm

Wooden Spoon Christmas Trees

http://www.amazingmoms.com/htm/christmas__stixtree.htm

Penguin Pals

http://www.amazingmoms.com/htm/christmas_crafts__penguin.htm

Remember to let your child use their imagination, these instructions can be modified to fit yours and your child's needs. Have fun and create!!!

Snowflakes Galore!

Well that fast approaching snowflake weather is upon us. So I thought I would share a really great site that shows your child how to create wonderful looking paper snowflakes.

The site if Scissor Crafts for Children and they offer a wide variety of free samples and templates that you can print and have your child cut out. I really looks neat.

http://www.papersnowflakes.com/

At this site that is also related to making the snowflakes is a whole unit about how snowflakes are formed from the scientific aspect.

http://www.papersnowflakes.com/science.htm

This site also has actual photographs of crystallized snowflakes magnified. They are awesome looking.

http://www.papersnowflakes.com/noaa_links.htm

I hope this has been helpful in creating your own winter wonderland adventure in your own home.

New Freebies!

As I read so many different types of blogs about homeschooling trying to get more information to share the more I am finding and learning myself. Not so much about homeschooling but all the the wonderful resources that are for free on the world wide web. So I have decide to list a few places for special education and also Geometry that is was what we are currently working on right now. So from now on I will be posting a few suggestions each week for freebie sites that might can help you cut down on costs.

Free Grammer Worksheets

http://www.theteachersguide.com/worksheets/grammar/grammarworksheets.htm

This site has Nouns, Abbreviations, Synonyms and Antonyms.

National Native American Month

It is National Native American Month so here is a link for some wonderful information including lesson plans about Native American's.

http://www.theteachersguide.com/nativeamericans.html

Writing Prompts

This link has many ideas and PDF files that can be downloaded so that your child can learn how to properly write.

http://www.theteachersguide.com/writing/writingprompts/writingprompts.htm

This will help with learning the information about the Native American Indians.

Here is some information from National Geographic about the First Thanksgiving.

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Stories/History/First-thanksgiving

This site has really cool stuff for your family to do and the kids to make.

Math links.

This site has many different types of concepts that your child might need more help with just click, copy and begin to teach. How easy is that with out having to purchase a single book!

http://www.homeschoolmath.net/worksheets/

This site has only a few days of freebies so make sure that when you sign up you get all the answers and sheets that you might need at once. If you like the site then you can purchase the membership to keep receiving the free worksheets. The choice is yours.

This link is mostly for high school geometry the answer key is also included.

http://www.analyzemath.com/geometry_worksheets.html

This site has many things that are described from a teacher's perspective. One wonderful thing is that your child can see how to work the problem if you are looking for math, science or any subject. The next thing is that the site is totally free, just type what you are looking for in the search area and click! Good Luck hunting!

http://www.teachertube.com/

Here are a few things that I thought might help!

New 2 Homeshooling But Not To Teaching!

A few days ago I was asked by a certified teacher if I thought she could teach her children. I was shocked. Here is a person that is a certified elementary teacher asking me this question.

My first questions to her was why do you need my approval and why do you doubt yourself so much? Her reply was that she was afraid that she could not meet her twins needs since they both have different learning styles and a preschooler also at home. She also told me she worked at an elementary school and saw how the kids behaved and wanted her girls to be all that they could be. She first thought about homeschooling when she met a few girls that would babysit her children when she was a bible study classes. That is how I my daughter met her and then I met her and she began to ask me all these questions about homeschooling.

She would like to meet me with her husband and talk with him about homeschooling since he is skeptical. Why is it so difficult to for people to understand that homeschooling is a wonderful experience for the parents and also for the children.

I hope that when we met I am able to answer all the questions to better help them both understand that this mom has better qualifications than I do. First of all she is a certified teacher, with credentials to show her to handle children and work with all those different learning styles. Is she not their mother and understands her children better than anyone else.

I am so confused sometimes the way that people say to me that I could never homeschool, I just don't have the qualifications, or the patience to do this job.

Well who better can teach your child. Always remember that from the day that they are born you are their main teacher's. Who do you think taught your child to talk, to behave, to learn how to love, about their faith, and on and on!

Think back on all that your child has done in their short little life already and where would they be without you! You can do this wonderfully blessed job, whether you are a certified teacher or not. All of us mom and dads are certified teachers! We love our kids and teach them everyday all that is wonderful and beautiful in the world! Keep teaching your children there is not better for a child to learn than in their home with their own parents!

I truly believe this from the bottom of my heart! We parents are our children's best teachers!

The Beauty of Homeschooling!

This past week has been a different type of week. Our family has had some issues that I am sure all families have going on at any time. We were all moving in different directions and one of the gang was sick. When someone is sick that puts a hold on all appointments, meeting, or any other activity that anyone might be doing in that time frame.

Well enough said and with that information you can understand that I was a bit frazzled, tired and emotional at all that was going on at once. Yes, you heard me right I was emotional. That is very unusual for me since I can usually hold it together pretty well under pressure and deadlines. Well long story short I decided to revisit an old homeschool group that I used to belong to. It was great seeing some familiar faces and meeting some new people. As we went around the circle introducing ourselves my turn popped up. I introduced myself and gave a brief bio of my family, how long we have been homeschooling, names and ages of kids, etc, etc. I also stated that I have an autistic son. Well if the ladies sitting didn't start a barrage of questions for me. I began to answer the questions the best that I could. I noticed that in a group of seventeen mom there were six of us that had children diagnosed with some type of autism.

I was surprised and made the comment that when I first had joined the group which consisted of about thirty families, ours was the only one with an autistic child. Now three years later her we are again with at least five families with autistic children. Most of discussed why that is and how traditional schools are just not helping these children to meet their needs.

By meeting their needs it can cover many issues that autistic children face from being to load, to crowded, not being able to move around, having to keep quiet, etc, etc. There are so many things that cause that population to struggle in the original setting. We as parents have to decide what is best for our children. I have struggled with the decision of homeschooling my son because there are certain activities that he does enjoy at his school for autistic children. I find that even though his school is totally geared for children with autism they also are not meeting his needs. I find that so hard to believe that even they do not understand why my son acts the way he does, and yet they expect me to know everything.

Well these issues have caused me to seek some help, because as we all know we are not miracle workers even though we are moms. I began to pray hard and ask friends to keep us also in their prayers. I had many prayer warriors and I could feel the presence of the Lord with me this whole week for sure. Then my daughter say to me, "Mom maybe you are just trying to hard to find an answer and God is talking to you but you need to just relax". Well out of the mouths of babes as the saying states. I received an email about another blog talking about a special saint of the day St. Padre Pio. His story at the end stated don't worry, and everything will be okay. Wow! I did not need to be hit with a brick with that sign that I was given. I truly do feel that the message may not have been written for me specifically but it spoke to me anyway.

I feel that if my daughter who has been homeschooled her whole life would not have told me to relax a little would I have noticed that message? I am not sure I would have, I probably would not even read the email, attended the meeting and received some type of peace with everything for he remainder of the week. That is what I call the beauty of homeschooling. If I would not have homeschooled my daughter would she have been so in tune with her faith? I really believe that she would be in tune with everything else that is going on in the world today and definitely would not be in tune with her faith.

The beauty of homeschooling has made my life more blessed not only that I have a wonderful relationship with my children and husband but that I am not the only teacher at our house. My kids are teaching me things everyday!

When things get you bogged down remember that we are all learning from each other no matter how old we are, that is the beauty of it all.

Beginning The Year!

Hello Fellow Homeschoolers,

I am at a loss for words, summer has flown by with such speed that it has been a long time since I have posted.

The past few months have been a time for reflection on what needs to be completed this upcoming school year. Those include the challenges, the workload and weather or not I should teach at the co-op group we belong to or not.

Well, long story short I have struggled with so many issues these past few months. One, was what books we would be using. Second is making sure that we have covered all our bases these past few years since this is our senior year. Wow I can't believe this is our senior year! Life is going to be different. Lastly, do I bring my autistic son home or leave him in a special school where he is having difficulties.

I would like some of your opinions on what you do for your families especially those with special needs children. I am really struggling with this issue!

As for the books we have settled on using a wide variety of different books. I will be teaching not one or two classes but I am teaching four classes between two days. This ought to be interesting. I am looking forward to teaching a few of the classes and the other two I am worried about.

I will be teaching cooking around the world, Spanish 1 & 2, and Advanced Biology any suggestion are gratefully appreciated.

Well I will be posting as the weeks go by and more frequently to give you updates on our progress.

Enjoy the upcoming year and I am trying to think positive and so should you!

Looking to Upcoming Year Schedule

Well as the summer starts for most of the homeschoolers, we are looking at the new upcoming school year. We parents are looking at different curriculum's to purchase, getting rid of what did not work and making sure that all the bases are covered. That is of course if you are a traditional style teacher. That does not go for everyone.

Each family home schools differently and that is OK! There is no right way or wrong to get your child to learn since all children have such different styles of learning. Some parents might just have a list hand written or on the computer of what they might like to cover in the upcoming year. Some purchase a curriculum from a company, use the computer for free stuff and then their is the library, wow what a wonderful resource for us homeschoolers.

Some parents use unit studies constantly and get all their materials from the library, which is cost effective no purchasing books. This is the relaxed method. Then their is the unschooled method which each person just picks up books, reads, colors, based upon the age and freely works on materials that sparks each child's interest.

So many different ways and so many different styles. I personally use the traditional method since I am a worry wart and I have always needed to make sure that my kids were learning what the other children were learning. Although, I always made the curriculum fit my child. An example of that is when my daughter had trouble with Math we took our time since we have no time limit for getting assignments completed throughout the year. We also moved faster when she was able to complete her vocabulary, spelling and poetry. I did not stop her or my son at any time, we took our time when needed.

I personally use one whole year to teach all the materials. For me this works great since I can take my time, take breaks when needed based on family needs, and we do not feel rushed. I have noticed by doing this method we have struggled this year since we belonged to a co-op group and my children had teachers that required work to be completed in a timely manner. It has proved to be quit an experience.

We had such growing pains, but we all overcame them and worked it all. Overall it was a great leaning experience since my daughter will be in her senior year and then college which will require deadlines. It was a whole new world for her, and yet the real world. I do feel it prepared her of the reality of college and listening and taking notes which is so important also.

This year has not only been a learning experience for my kids but for me also. I love that about homeschooling. I have learned so much more than I could have ever imagined by teaching my children. I hope that everyone reading this realizes that we are constantly learning and revamping the program just like our kids would have if they went to school. Life is better when you home school, your kids are learning more no matter what type of homeschooler you are and the bond that you are creating with your children is priceless!

Never give up if you don't have to and if you are worrying about something not getting done or that you are doing wrong, try not to worry, ask questions and breathe.

Life is short remember to breathe, laugh, talk, share, ask questions, and that you to can home school and teach your children after all who knows them the best other than you the parent!

Enjoy, live, laugh and love each other!!

Special Needs Students

It has been brought to my attention that children with special needs are being missed over by all the new laws that are governing how to educate this population.
As a mother of a child with Autism it can be difficult to homeschool this child more so than a so called normal learning child. So many factors play a role and the school district wants to make sure that the way they interpret the law is the right way.
Well I beg to differ. School districts are to provide speech therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy services for your child at no costs to you. There should be a special program within each state that is for early childhood development.

In my state of Michigan it is called Early On. The link to this Early Childhood Development program in Michigan is; http://www.earlychildhoodmichigan.org/index.html

Another link to check out is Bridges for kids at; http://www.bridges4kids.org

This organization will link you up with many special services in your area that you may not be aware that exist and are willing to help you for no fee at all since they are run by your local government.

Another link is Project Great Start and you can contact your Intermediate School District for this program and here is the link;
http://wwwmigreatparents.org

You local Early on Coordinator is for children ages birth to three years this program is for children with developmental delays, any type of disability or health conditions that your child might have. The link is;
http://1800earlyon.org/About/EOcordinator,php

Local Project Find Coordinator helps with the special education system in Michigan that helps children from birth to twenty-six years of age receive services and any other help they may need.
http://wwwprojectfindmichigan.org

Head Start is a program that is national program which provides comprehensive developmental services for America’s low income family’s ages three – five years old.
Http://wwwmhsa.ws/

The Michigan Zero to five advocacies Network will help younger children also receive services;
http://bridges4kids.org/ZFAN.htm also you might want to check out http://www.bridges4kids.org/counties/Wayne.htm this is the link for Wayne county Michigan

All of these links can be found off the main link site at the top of the blog.
I know that it may seem to be a bit overwhelming to check out all the links that I have provided but these services are not being used as much by the homeschooling community and they are also available to us. These government programs are not just for children that are in school. If they say they are then find an advocate in your school district that will help you out.
Most of the services are being offered and need to be taken advantage of. All children with special needs have issues that need to be addressed. So many parents feel they can do everything themselves. Well I know that feeling but at some point you will need help or you can crazy.

Homeschooling a child with any type of disability can be emotionally draining and time consuming especially if you have other children you are also teaching. These are things I used to do with my children. I would teach certain subjects together like handwriting, math and art. These subjects seemed to flow better for our family together. Even though the age’s difference posed an issue I was able to do both at the same time. Then when I worked with my autistic son on reading comprehension I had my other child working on independent studies. Like reading history, science or religion and then answering questions. When I was done working with my son one on one I would go over and check on the work that my daughter was doing and how far along she was and if the work was correct. Then we would do something fun like play a game or something that pertained to phonics or puzzles.

It seemed to work smoothly for us and since I only have two children it was easy to go back and forth from child to child. I was unable to leave my son work independently but my daughter was more than capable of reading on her own and me helping with the questions. I also would try and alternate subjects matter each day and not have the same subjects every day. I really feel that alternating the subjects was a plus. I still continue that routine as of today. I also have used the topic of discussions that my son loved to talk about like NASCAR or basketball. We used the driver’s numbers, a player’s numbers or laps done for math. We used spelling names, terms related or any other words that pertained to that subject for spelling.

I will be posting a second part to this blog telling you how I worked on reading comprehension, main theme, word problems, sequencing problems, and many more!

Good Luck in your homeschooling journey and remember U2can Home School your child with any types of needs!

Neighbors Questions continued

Well the neighbor once again stopped by asking me more questions and has decided to use ABEKA. I thought that was a great choice knowing her child and the curriculum I thougth the fit was right. So know this what will be happening.

First, she needs to purchase and register with ABEKA. I explained that they come to different hotels in the area to register people and also if purchasing books at this time shipping and hadleing will be waived. Once she decides what grade level she will be working with her child, since her child is between two grades at present.

Second, she will recive the books in the mail and then look over the curriculum and start planning her days out for the course of the year. Each day does not need to be so planned out that things can't change but to have a plan will help to keep the year flowing with the school work in tact.

Third, digging in and starting to school her child. The plans are going to make this part much easier in order to complete this year smoothly.

Planning is the most important part of homeschooling and will help in order to keep your paper work completed.

I will be talking more about this topic in the upcoming weeks. Leraning how to make the most of your day will be the next topic that is being discussed.

Just a note I was happy to be able to help my neighbor make some clear and concise decisions about homeschooling and doing what is best for her family. I want to wish all those families that homeschool the best of luck in the upcoming year and to have a wonderfully fun-filled summer vacation!!

Neighbor's continuing Questions!

Well let's continue where we left off, I helping my neighbor to pick out a curriculum for her daughter. I had given her three suggestions for what I thought were great homeschool curriculum resources. First, Kolbe Academy, they are a Catholic based curriculum that allows you to register with them and they will keep your transcripts for any grade. They service all grades K-12 and will allow you also use their books or purchase the books of your choice for each subject title. If using their books then you will be receiving a daily course plan. The course plan is your map on how to homeschool, as well as the subjects name and what assignments need to be completed. In the course plan also called syllabus you will find what the requirements are for completing each quarter. A copy of the work is to be sent in for each subject for all four quarters. According to the grades that you place on your child’s report card, a proctor (counselor), will look over the work and make sure that the grade is appropriate and begin creating your child’s transcripts. With Kolbe’s registration fee you will receive your transcripts, counseling and your course plan but you will not receive any books. Remember you are able to purchase these where you like.

I am currently using this curriculum and have found it to be very cost effective and I like to ability to modify the course to fit the child in the event the child is not learning their particular course book. It has really helped us out with teaching subjects that my child is having trouble with. The modifications offer a great alternative.

The second curriculum was Seton Home Study, which is also a Catholic curriculum. They also have programs for grades K-12 and will keep transcripts for you. There is one difference and that is that you have to use the books that they supply to you for the registration fee. They also give you a course plan that you need to follow. There are also test and the end of each quarter that you must take and Seton will grade and average with the grades that the parent has given. You must follow their course plan and not use any other books. There enrollment fee includes all your books, the course plans, transcripts, and counseling for one price.

Seton also has a department that is strictly geared to children with special needs. This includes any and all types of learning disabilities that your child might have. I used this department for my autistic son and it has worked out wonderfully. The counselors even helped with getting books that accommodated his special needs of working with different grade levels that he was working on at the time.

Another thing that Seton did wonderfully was work with us being that we were international students at the time so they helped us with the grading and did all the counseling over the internet. Another plus for what we needed.

The last and final curriculum that I spoke to my neighbor about was ABEKA, a Christian based program that also has so many wonderful qualities. ABEKA is able to offer an on-line learning program where your child will do everything on line. No books required that I know of only a computer. They also have the traditional way of schooling that I have used in the past and are currently using to supplement my current program.

ABEKA will also provide you lesson plans, counseling and transcripts for your registration fee. They also cater to grades K-12 and you are able to purchase books from them or from other sources. They do have package deals for those children that are in the lower grades. Their books are wonderfully written from a totally Christian perspective. They are colorful, bright and interesting. They offer a wide range of material to cover. Each course has the main subject book, test book, quiz book, teacher key and all the answer keys. Each book is purchased separately for the upper grades; in the lower grades you have the ability to purchase the whole package for one set fee.

Each one of these homeschooling companies provides wonderful service as far as I am concerned and that is why I recommended them to my neighbor. Now she just needs to decide which one fits her lifestyle and that of her child.
I will keep you updated as more questions are asked and what will be the final outcome on her homeschooling journey.

A Neighbor's Questions about homeschooling

My neighbor stopped by the other day and told me she was having some problems with her child at school and has decided to homeshool. I was very surprised at this statement since she and her husband are constantly asking me questions about the subject and not really acting like they thought it was a great idea for my family. Anyway I proceeded to ask her about the way she wanted to home school. She really had no clue. We talked about purchasing a curriculum, going to the library and getting books, or just even taking a GED test and being done altogether.

We began to discuss the idea of purchasing a curriculum and letting the company keep transcripts. There are so many different places to purchase a great curriculum. I explained that there are many great sites to purchase a wonderful curriculum to name a few there is Seton Home School Study Program, ABeka, Bob Jones University, Kolbe Academy and Calvert. I said we needed to discuss what did her child wanted to do after school was over, for example; to begin college, attend a trade school for one year, or even just begin a job. My neighbor stated her daughter was unsure. I proceeded to tell her that I felt a school that offered you a choice of ways to graduate would be the best route to take. A regular diploma, summa cum laude, or magna cum laude choices would offer the best way to graduate. Any of these choices are easy to accomplish if the student is willing to co-operate.

Next we discussed the company keeping records of her grades as opposed to her mother keeping all the records. My neighbor felt that the company keeping records was definitely the way she wanted to proceed. You see she works full time and would rather not have to worry about all those issues. I agreed since that is exactly what I do with my children.
Her child also spoke to her about just testing out and then taking a GED test to complete high school without having to do complete any other work. I suggested since the child is only sixteen it would be best to complete high school. This I explained was only a suggestion and that she the mother had the final decision. I felt that the child would be better off in the long run with a high school diploma at such a young age then just having a GED. I am not saying that children who have obtained a GED did not go a long way in life with this type of diploma. I am just stating how I feel about this situation; each person has to make that personal choice for themselves.

I will be posting updates on the progress of this conversation and more to come as my neighbor makes her final decision about homeschooling her child.

Let's Get Started!

We find myself ourselves navigating the world wide web in order to find information, but the only problem with that is we are not sure of the heading the we need to type into the search bar. Well that is the same for homeschooling! You have so many questions and sometimes you just don't know where to begin or even how to ask the right questions. It is not that complecated really! So let's begin with the basic question that you may be asking yourself, are you sure you want to homeschool and what are your reasons behind wanting to take on this task? There are many different answers to this question and I hope that I can give you some answers.

First of all my husband and I agreed on homeschooling since the cost of private schools for elementary school was so high. So we thought we would try homeschooling for one year and that if it didn't work out oh well we would pay the money and send our daughter to private school. Well, eleven years later here we are, and we still have not regretted homeschooling her one day! Second question, the reason behind homeschooling was the cost of private school, but more than that it was what the school environment was going to be teaching our children. The fact that going into kindergarten she already knew the material being taught was another reason, so why pay for something that she already knowns. To let our child sit in a classroom not learning anything else new, no way!

So we began our adventure, yes I call it an adventure because there have been days where I have learned more than I have taught. We did not own a computer so there were no web searches for me, the good old library is where I did my reasearch making phone calls, asking for catalogs, brochures and anything else I could find on the subject. I learned many things, not only about different styles of homeschooling but also many differnt curriculum's that were available to purchase. I also learned that many people never even purchase a curriculum they just go to their local libraries to obtain all their books, for teaching, studying, and research. We could have done that also, but where we lived at the time in Ohio we were required to report to the city superintendent's office to ask permission to homeschool our children. So we decided to purchase a curriculum and that way we were safe in teaching what the state also required. I also joined the organization Home School Legal Defense League (aka HSLDA), in order to be safe guarded in case we had any legal issues they would provide an attorney for me at not additional costs. The fee to join the group was one hundred dollars and the curriculum we purchased offered a discount if you joined the HSLDA group. Great so we were covered on all angles, if we needed an attorney we were covered, the superintendent was satisfied we were teaching the norm, we had transcripts, and we began our journey.

It seems so easy, well some things were easy and others not so easy. For example, what if your spouse does not agree with you homeschooling, what if family members thought you were nuts for doing something like this, what curriculum do we choose and how do the kids socialize? All of these questions needed to be answered and yes we found answers to all these questions and more! But for right now just think about homeschooling and what is in the best interest for your family, your child, and those that are around your family. Will this help you family draw closer to each other or make thing more stressful? You need to ask yourself these questions, no on can answer those questions for you, but one thing is for sure, homeschooling only works if you have both parents involved and on the same page. So please don't make any decisions without some type of support, you will need it later on down the road. So for now look over some different things in your life and see where your children are at in learning, if you need to pull them out of school then do so, don't let anyone tell you can't homeschool, because I am here to tell you that You 2 Can Homeschool!!!!