Tag: textbook

Science Add-Ons To Curriculum

Science Add-Ons To Curriculum

October 22, 2022

One of the advantages to homeschooling is being able to pick curricula.  Most of us would agree that our children can recite movie lines – sometimes even if they’ve just seen the movie twice. 

We used BBC Nature with David Attenborough for science for as long as we had access to it.  It showed nature in its entire splendor.  Of course, as with Carl Sagan’s Cosmos Series, we had to reflect on their errors in timeline and regarding the theory of macro-evolution.  We would say things like, “look at how amazing God’s creation is!” and as they got older, invite them to ask and investigate the question, “why do these scientists believe in millions of years instead of thousands?”   

In depth studies of animal adaptations and human interference in our food (animal and plant husbandry) have led to the understanding that “kinds” of animals adapt by losing a recessive trait rather than by adding a completely new trait.  This led to my kids saying “oh yes, I believe evolution happens, do you understand the true meaning of the word evolution?” (Spoiler: it simply means change) But have you ever been able to add anything to a creature or plant?  We have bred plants, raised animals (Becky bred chickens to get specific traits or colors), watched and observed the genetic traits pass in Guinea Pigs, chickens, and parakeets.  

Imagine their surprise and excitement when we discovered a video series that discussed the same adaptation and genetic issues they had seen in life!

We discovered The Ark Encounter website along with Creation Museum and their affiliated YouTube channel called “Answers In Genesis!”  Wow!  They are not afraid to take on difficult subjects and ask and investigate so many fascinating things about our biology, animal adaptation, DNA structures, explanations of the how and why behind so many scientific theories.  It is a wealth of information. 

The first single episode we watched (it was almost an hour long) on dinosaurs in the Bible had my youngest five captivated the entire time.  Even Theadora, who interprets every video in terms of “Paw Patrol” at the moment, sat on the couch with her snuggly blanket the entire rainy Sunday afternoon as we watched the long dinosaur episode and three others!  The podcast episodes are more for those with longer attention spans.  The lectures and Ark Encounter and Ark Exploration videos are fascinating. 

Well-done science videos help my younglings to remember the subject matter better than simply reading it in a textbook.  Apologia science (our core science) textbooks are amazing because they are bright and have experiments that bring the science to life for the students.  Adding videos as supplements to our coursework aids in bringing the words off the page and into “real life;” we are a visual people.  We like to touch, taste, see, and feel the world around us.  If you can’t physically see the Grand Canyon with your own eyes, it certainly helps to be able to watch a video showing it.  The tools available to my children far exceed those I had access to 35 years ago.  I still default on books, but I am totally willing to include new tools to help them answer tough questions in any subject. 

Check out the Ark Encounter website or look up “Answers in Genesis” on YouTube.  You will be amazed at the wealth of scholastic information in their videos.  Second best to sitting in the actual lecture hall (actually, Louis thinks it’s better because we can pause it, pull out books, and do our own discussion and additional research as they talk). 

I’ll type later about our super history supplements (also free from YouTube!) we’ve discovered.

Thank you for reading and I hope this helps you explore some cool new teaching tools!

Type at you next time,

~Nancy Tart

A Peek At Textbooks: Autumn 2022

A Peek At Textbooks: Autumn 2022

October 19, 2022

Our textbooks are usually a medley of what works best. 

This year Christina and Becky have college books only.  Christina still digs into our American Government high school textbook this semester because it “makes it easy to understand” as she’s taking a law course. 

Kimberly is officially 10th grade.  She has A Beka Book (consumer finance) and Teaching Textbooks (geometry) for arithmetic, Apologia Science, Literature Coursework from A Beka Book, a typing and writing class that uses A Beka Book Grammar & Composition as a textbook requiring paragraphs or essays on daily science and history work, and A Beka Book as her main history text.  She’s already done geometry previously, but this is a new way of looking at it that helps her understand it better.  Our educational philosophy is totally for repeating subject matter that allows for better understanding.

Jaquline is officially 7th grade.  Her textbooks include: A Beka Book Arithmetic 6 (yes, this is completing a repeat; she has done both the 5th and 6th grade books twice), A Beka Book Creative Writing, A Beka Book Language C, Apologia Science, Military History of the United States (it’s an children’s encyclopedia set and they write a report after each letter study), A Beka Book History Coursework, and Money Management Skills (a middle-school version of “Personal Finance” that incorporates their personal savings account, teaches them to set goals, observation of household finances, budgeting, etc.).  Her textbooks are officially scattered grade levels from 6th to 8th and she reads books voraciously – her reading level is far higher than her scholastic level is supposed to be. 

Jillian is officially 5th grade.  She is almost done with A Beka Book’s Basic Mathematics (rebranded a couple years ago as “Intermediate Mathematics” but we bought one textbook for each of the girls on our second order so we could use the same tests; Lucas and Thea will have the new book unless I can snag an unused Basic Mathematics edition) and will move into Pre-Algebra with either or both Teaching Textbooks and A Beka Book next month, she just completed A Beka Book’s Investigating God’s World last week and started Apologia’s Exploring Creation with Anatomy and Physiology and Health for the Glory of God (because her goal now is Sports Medicine or Physical Therapy), History is reading and writing reports on biographies of U.S. Presidents along with Bauer’s The Story of the World, A Beka’s Book’s Language C, A Beka Book’s Cursive Writing Skillbook (that one gets repeated until they master cursive writing), Business and Money Management Skills (in addition to our normal course, Jillian has started a business with her friends and that has been incorporated into our regular coursework on finances), and she is studying art mechanics, various mediums, and art history.  Jillian’s textbooks range from 3rd grade to 8th grade depending on subject.

Lucas is officially 2nd grade.  His textbooks are any book he wants to read at the moment, A Beka Book’s Handbook For Reading, A Beka Book’s Writing With Phonics, A Beka Book’s Arithmetic 1, Practical Money Math, A Beka Book’s Language 1, A Beka Book’s Letters and Sounds 1, Life of Fred Fractions, Life of Fred Decimals, Phonics and Language 2, and his Manuscript Writing Tablet which makes for amazing work-on-the-go.  I have him copy stuff wherever he is and try to read it.  My Daddy used to have be copy my favorite dinosaur books when I was learning to write.  Lucas is still what I consider a “pre-reader” (meaning when he does “read” it is choppy and he gets frustrated with not remembering the first part of the sentence).  I tend to not move into more complicated textbooks until my student is a fluid reader.  Lucas understands Mathematical concepts very well but gets frustrated very easily with words.  He thinks math.  Once he sees the patterns in English letters, he’ll be a fluid reader.

Theadora thinks she’s in school.  She does WGV Gymnastics Gym-N-Learn on Fridays (it happens Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays, but she only listens on Fridays right now) and calls that “my real school.”  She is obsessed with writing “T”s lately.  She can write T and t in cursive and “like Coach Michelle” (that means very beautiful manuscript like calligraphy because she heard me mention once about how beautiful Coach Michelle’s handwriting is – Thea calls it “coloring letters”).  Thea has to have a “school book” because the others do.  It’s in her “school box,” because everyone else has a school box.  Hers is a writing textbook with three lines and occasional letters along it.  Grandma Tina gave her a color-by-number book and a numbers workbook which she calls “her school books” too.   I don’t do anything formal with her yet.

Just a tiny peek at what we have this semester.  We just move from one book to another as they complete the first (like from Language 1 to Phonics and Language 2) and repeat some books or portions of books occasionally.  I want them to understand it is perfectly okay to go back and reread something to better understand a subject.  (Have you ever had to go back and look up a grammar rule or algebraic formula?)  Learning is our family lifestyle.  Textbooks are tools to reach the next step. 

Thank you for reading,

Type at you later!

~Nancy Tart

School Supplies

School supplies on a budget – our methods

August 31, 2018

School Shopping

Lots of people do school shopping in late July or August, just before school starts.

Since we do school year-round, I’m constantly replacing school supplies by stopping in at my favorite thrift shops and scooping up extra pencils, notebooks, erasers, or expo markers (the most commonly used items in our school).

I do try to take advantage of the school sales that pop up at the end of school supply shopping months.

Take notebooks: one independent writer in our home goes through an average of five single-subject notebooks a year!  (That’s not a lot when you consider that each notebook usually has 70 pages.)  Our history, science, and most upper math courses require a paragraph or page of written work.  Grammar practice is to edit said paragraphs or pages and rewrite them correctly.  So we use a lot of paper.  I prefer to use notebooks because they keep all the papers together and they are easier to carry than loose leaf paper (we often do work in remote locations).  This year I have four independent writers and one still using training paper (the ones from tablets with three-line-spaces).  But my training-writer is writing times tables and measures this year.  She will need one or two notebooks.  I always add one extra for each student because I would rather have extra than to buy them at 4 to 10 times the sale price!  (Most of us homeschool on a budget, don’t we?)

Oh, yes, another trick I learned was to buy college-ruled notebooks because you get extra lines at the bottom.  (Silly, but it also makes you write smaller thus more work ends up on one page.)

We bought 22 notebooks this year!  Staples & Officemax both claimed the “normal” price for a college-ruled store-brand notebook with 70 pages was $2.49.  I know Walmart has them for $1.20 or so and the thrift shops have partially used ones for $0.50. They were on sale for $0.25, usually I can find them for $0.10, but this year if someone had them super cheap, I missed that sale.  Shopping the sales essentially saved us $20.90 just on notebooks.  (The receipts claimed we “Saved” way more, but I base my savings off the cheapest normal price, not the inflated office supply store price.)

Pencils, erasers, markers, rulers, and other assorted small things I usually buy from thrift stores because you can get a lot more used items less expensive than the sale price on new ones.  Rebeccah does Sunday School and likes to buy cute craft stuff for it, which is also less expensive (and a much larger collection for choose from) at the thrift stores.

Backpacks are another thrift store buy.  I generally choose to spend less than five dollars on a backpack.  Someone’s hand-me-down from last year often has a lot of wear left in it.  We use backpacks for school stuff, travel bags (you can only carry what you can fit in your backpack), and overnight bags for Grandma’s house trips.  Even Lucas has a backpack (a cute smaller Cars one we found for a dollar at a thrift store).  He’s funny, when we’re headed to drop off at college, I’ll say “grab your school stuff.”  (Generally, a writing tablet or book)  Lucas puts two books (usually two the bigger girls have been reading – lately a favorite has been Prince Caspian), his crayon box, and his tablet in his backpack and will say “I’m ready for my school!”  His backpack swallows him!

We have learned to use the before-school sales to help keep our expenses low yet still get the items we like to use.  (Filler paper is cheaper than using notebooks, but I’ve learned notebooks are neater and easier.)  The older girls need computer paper for some college assignments and CAP work, so we also tend to buy computer paper during the sales times as they will have some super mail-in rebate offer or something.

The coolest part of shopping for school supplies is the practical math lessons that go along with it!  (I can find lessons in everything!)

Thanks for reading!

Type at you next time…

~Nancy Tart

 

Teaching Textbooks

Finding Teaching Textbooks, a new style for a different learner

August 2, 2018

Teaching Textbooks

I’ve used Pearson, A Beka Book, Nelson, and pretty much any textbook I can find.  Most of the textbooks seem to be aimed at a traditional learner.  One who can read and remember.  This worked well for Christina and Rebeccah.  With a little teaching and a few explanations as needed, they understood.

Kimberly has been a different type of learner.  She is more tactile; she has to hear, see, watch, and do.

Another parent who has several learners like Kimberly, suggested I try Teaching Textbooks.  I found a used copy of Geometry because I was about to help tutor another student who was using it and I like to understand the curriculum so I can help in a style they are used to.

Oh my goodness!

Kimberly was beginning to struggle with math in A Beka’s Basic Mathematics.  She’d tried “Life of Fred” but that was only more confusing to her.

When the box arrived with Geometry everyone was excited… until Christina and Rebeccah saw it was textbooks and were like “MOM!” and went back to the Game of Life.  I went through the first two lessons to see how this textbook worked.  Kimberly got really excited, “Mom!  I get what he’s saying!” and asked if she could do that as math instead of Basic Mathematics.

Kimberly loved it and seriously started to understand the concepts presented.  I was so excited that I researched Teaching Textbooks further, hounded EBay until I found used complete sets of Pre-Algebra, Algebra I, and Algebra II.  Kimberly was super excited when Pre-Algebra arrived and is now doing both Geometry and Pre-Algebra.  Jaquline watched (her learning style is somewhat tactile, and her abstract thoughts lead her to overthink lessons she reads) and is now doing Pre-Algebra with Teaching Textbooks too.   The material is presented so thoroughly and with clear explanations that anyone with a good understanding of basic math operations can understand and retain the subject matter well.

I will certainly be checking out any used Teaching Textbooks course I find.  Check out their site at www.teachingtextbook.com for more information!  (I buy everything used, mostly from homeschool book sales or from friends, 2nd place is EBay when hunting something specific, and lastly, I order from A Beka Book, or Apologia when needing a specific title quickly and can’t find it used.)

Thanks for reading!

Type at you next time…

~Nancy Tart

 

Any Book is Curriculum

April 14, 2018

Any Book is Curriculum

In our homeschool curriculum, we have base books that everyone has to go through.  These are standards like Arithmetic and Language Arts.

I add vocabulary workbooks to teach etymology.  Once etymology is learned, the student usually finds spelling and vocabulary far easier so only some use vocabulary or spelling workbooks.  The main way students continue learning spelling and vocabulary is along with writing assignments.

We have a base of standard History.  After the first book, we move to whatever textbook teaches a section in which they have an interest.  Any history book is accompanied by writing assignments at the end of each unit, chapter, or small book to recount what has been learned and how it compares with other texts.

Literature study usually coincides with history of an era or region.  I find  it fun to teach history as a story of  the people; which includes their writings, lifestyle, scientific achievements or lack thereof, and culture.

Basic science is usually learned hands-on in our house through the chemistry that can be found in the kitchen, biology learned from our animals, and physics discussed when someone trips on something or while building a new project.  Our final science books require a command of Algebra; these Biology, Chemistry, and Physics books set the foundation for and help with the transition into college learning.

But any book can be a part of a curriculum!

We’ve used novels and storybooks to write about and study culture.  We’ve used classic literature to teach etymology and practice translation.   We’ve used history books to build Lego cities.  We’ve used Lego sets to cross into history books and study culture.  We’ve used cookbooks to teach fractions, chemistry, and time management.   Any book a student reads can be turned into a book report, which requires practicing the skills of writing, grammar, and comprehension.

Therefore, we’ve discovered that any book can be incorporated into our home school curriculum with positive encouraging results!

Thanks for reading!

Type at you later…

~Nancy Tart

Homeschooling Challenge: Their Own Pace

April 12, 2018

Homeschooling Challenge: Their Own Pace

One of the challenges I’ve discovered in our home school journey comes from my philosophy to never keep one student back for another.   I allow them to advance at their own pace – if this means we spend eight weeks constantly studying and restudying one concept until we find a way to understand it or flying through a subject because it instantly clicks, we learn until we truly understand.

For instance, in our classroom (aka my kitchen table) right now:

Kimberly is working 7th grade arithmetic, 5th grade language, writing reports from a 4th grade science book, and studying high school vocabulary,

Jaquline is working 3rd grade arithmetic, 2nd grade language arts, a cursive writing K5 workbook, and 4th grade vocabulary,

And Jillian is working 3rd grade arithmetic, 3rd grade language arts, using a K5 manuscript writing practice, and reading 2nd grade readers.

This example would be easy if Jaquline and Jillian were twins.  Nope.  Jaquline is 8 and Jillian is 6.  Jaquline chooses to do “the bare minimum” (aka, only what mom assigns) for bookwork.  She is more interested in tagging along with her 12 year old sister when she’s watching her online Mastering Biology lectures.  She can tell you all about Mendel’s peas (the latest lecture subject) and can explain genetic color crosses in chickens (Rebeccah and Kimberly’s continuing project) and how to avoid genetic defects (aka crooked toes, hooked beak).  When she does her division, she does it all mentally!  She never has a carrying or borrowing error in operations (this was the most common error for mom, Kimberly, and Jillian).  She reads unabridged Tolkien and Hodges and loves them.  She has a very active imagination and writes with a neat calligraphic scroll.  So, when she is working, she does very well.

But she just isn’t interested in sitting down for bookwork.

Jillian, on the other hand, is at the “gung-ho” stage of elementary school.  She’s been doing workbooks since she started reading and flies through her work.  She sometimes has to go back and redo a concept (like carrying and borrowing numbers, greater than and less than, etc.) but once she’s gone through it for five or six times, she gets it and then we will hear her “teaching” Lucas or her dolls the newest understood concept.  Jillian often does the next days’ lessons just because, “I want to do more.”  She even does extra work from the back of the books “for fun!”

Jillian loves doing sit-down bookwork.

Improperly handled, this “younger child in higher grade” could cause contention in our home.

With the first instance where we had a student (our second one) surpassing another (our first one) in a subject, it caused concern for my husband and I because we didn’t want to “make learning a race” or “pressure” anyone.  Then we noticed the elder asking the younger how to figure out a problem.  They weren’t racing each other or fighting, one wasn’t irritated that the other was “over” her: they didn’t see it that way.  They treated each other as individuals and helped.  So now, we don’t worry about what “grade level” one child is at compared to another.  We continued to allow them to move through our “curriculum books” as they are able.

I’m careful to emphasize to my students that they are not in competition with each other; they are in competition with themselves.  Learning is competing with yourself.  We are to work to the best of our personal ability and strive for our best.   This is the same for anything in life!  We are to edify (build up) each other.  We don’t brag because that is cutting others down.  We rejoice when others succeed.  We rejoice when we succeed.  We are happy when we help each other.  We are thankful when others help us.  As iron sharpens iron, so we are to help each other and build each other up.

When love guides your life and reflects in your homeschool world, you foster a culture of mutual education where each student is treated with respect.   Your students learn to help others, rejoice with others, and ask for assistance when they need it without fear of ridicule.  That is part of my ultimate goal – teaching them to live in love.

Thanks for reading!

Type at you next time…

~Nancy Tart

Home School Organization

A little about our home school organization.

November 2, 2017

Home School Organization

So I’m one of these crazy people who can’t stand anything to be out of order.  I use to freak out trying to keep the house looking like a picture in a magazine…

This was until God smashed me with the realization that while life is in my house, it will never be perfectly clean.  (Note to self: NEVER be PERFECT!)

We also homeschool.  This means in addition to the normal kid toys, clothes, and assorted paraphernalia, we also have a stupendous collection of schoolwork items.  This all has to stay organized.  (Organization has paid off repeatedly as the girls move into high school level courses and dual enrollment.)  So I looked for an easy way to keep organized.

My first step at this organization was the purchase of three letter envelope sized Boxes upon which I wrote “Christina’s Schoolbooks,” “Rebeccah’s Schoolbooks,” and “Kimberly’s Schoolbooks.”

These boxes hold all current textbooks, notebooks, and school “tools” (pencils, pens, crayons, etc.) for that student.  I only had one “student” at the time, but the littler girls felt big to have their crayons, art supplies, and activity books in a “school box” too.  They also aren’t too heavy for a 5-year-old to tote around.

The students are responsible for their box and keeping their books and supplies in good order.  (Mom “issues” normal supplies like notebooks, primary crayons, pencils, pens, erasers, mathematical instruments, and books.  Usually, they like to buy their own “extras” like markers, colored pencils, or work pens inscribed with their name.)  This helps with responsibility.

Bingo!  I scored a short, sturdy wooden bookshelf that held my boxes perfectly!  **One (Jaquline’s) is missing in the picture, but that’s because she was using it!**

This allowed me to add the next 2 boxes (they were only 1 and 3, but Jaquline kept asking about her school box) and a third set for notebooks, charts & flashcards, and shared coloring & art books.  (Granted, we have a full-size bookshelf with art supplies and games and three full-size bookshelves with the supplemental school books – mostly history, science, technology, readers, and encyclopedias.)

Later, Rebeccah decided we needed a “non-reader” system on our boxes so we added “pictures” to the labels.  She likes everything organized too.

I created a book I call the School Planner.  (Rebeccah calls it “The One Book” as in “The book to rule all school!”) **Deceptively plain, isn’t it?**

It has everything school related in a very easy, homeschool-mom-friendly format.  (This means I can quickly enter information and file papers within my 10 or 15 minute time crunch.  I love organization, but hate spending time on it.)  One file drawer turned into the workbook paper file with one file for each student’s work by school year.  They look like steps and Kimberly has called them “the steps to college.”

Our School Shelf still holds everything current for 6 students (okay, Lucas isn’t a student yet, but he does have a backpack, crayons, and two coloring books in his school box).  Our School Planner sits on top of the School Shelf, and two sturdy boxes (perfect size to keep the workbooks snug and dust-free) sit on the other side against the wall holding all of the “next-ups.” (Core curriculum workbooks to be used by the next student.)

Our School Planner is organized by student in 4-week snapshots on each page.

On these pages, I keep a running list of reading books completed, courses completed and their GPA & weight (for high school-level), extra-curricular projects completed, and educational extras like field trips, community service, or practical learning.  The first page in my planner is my “base grade level guide” (texts I expect each student to pass at said grade level).

At the end of each school year (for us, the last Friday before our annual evaluation), I spend about an hour or two and compile all this raw data into a concise one or two page “report” I call a school year summary.

I attach a reading book list (gathered from the same data!) and if any high school level courses were completed, I add them into the student’s high school transcript.

For portfolio evaluations, I just grab the School Planner (reports go in the front in age order) and the file folder for each student for that year.  It’s easy and keeps me mostly stress free.  After evaluations, I rubber-band the School Planner pages together and set them in the file drawer with the previous years, print out the new pages with the changed dates and continue… the story of each school year in less than 1.5 inches of paper. The copy of their evaluation report (the copy of the official report on file with St Johns’ County) goes in a file folder with their name on it.  This has all evaluations and communications from the school district.  (This was a life-saver when the county changed computer systems!) **Lucas’ folder doesn’t have his name on it yet because they get to pick their colors**

Everything important with our school is in one long file drawer and one shelf.  This makes school time fun and easy – and organized!

Thanks for reading!

Type at you next time…

~Nancy Tart

 

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