Choosing curriculum

Since we've announced (Ta-da!) that we are homeschooling next year, I've gotten several questions about which curriculum we plan to use. I've probably mentioned before, but I'm not using a commercially created homeschool curriculum. There is nothing wrong with them. Some of them look really cool, in fact. But there are several reasons why they aren't right for our family (at least this year.)

1. They are expensive. Oh my stars, are a lot of them expensive. While I'm sure they are worth the money, they are out of our current budget.

2. They have limited flexibility. If my kids decide they want to learn more about red foxes, we have the ability to learn all about them, without having to worry about staying on a schedule. On the flip side, commercial plans have really well-structured activities.

3. They bring my inner hippie down.

4. We can be less like "school" and more like "home."

5. I love the idea of creating lesson plans for us. We'll see how long that lasts.

Like I said, there are a ton of really great materials available. And if you use one, I'd love to hear more about why you chose it, and why it works for you!

Celebrating the first day of summer vacation- with homeschool!

Ahhh, summer break. It brings to mind long, lazy days...cookouts....jumping in the swimming pool....and if you live in our house, a science field trip and lesson!

I based this lesson off a plan on the Smithsonian Education website. I used this activity as the base of our learning. Instead of using a meter square and the worksheets, we used a jump rope and some paper and markers.

To begin our activity, we posed a question. (Well, I did.)

Where is plant life more diverse in Bledsoe Creek State Park? Then we talked about diversity and how it applied to plant life.

Then we each made a hypothesis. Anthony predicted that there would be more plant species where there were lots of deer. Normally, we see tons of deer, but no such luck today. Jerimiah predicted we would find more plants at the bottom of the park, about 50 feet from the lake. Mom agreed with Jerimiah's prediction. Dad predicted we would find more plant species around a tree in the forest.

With our prediction in place, we began exploring. To gather our data, we made a circle with a jump rope in four locations. In each location, the kids and Dad counted the different types of plants in the circle. Anthony recorded the data for us.

The boys making their circle to begin counting the number of plant species.

 Anthony counting 

 Making the circle around a tree to test Dad's hypothesis.

 Counting at the top of the "mountain" at Bledsoe Creek.

 Jerimiah counting the types of plant species at the bottom of the "mountain" near the water.

Anthony diligently recording our data.

So, after all the data was compiled, we made a graph to show our results. 

Our data.

Dad helping to create our chart

Our graph

It's not a perfect graph, and the spelling is not perfect either. But today we covered several subjects. Our hike covered P.E. We discussed the scientific method and ecosystems for science. We built a graph from a table of data, which made an excellent math lesson. Most importantly, we had a great time. 

And nothing makes Dad happier than being right. :)

Technology and Homeschooling

Remember your parents telling you, "When I was a kid...." Well, when I was a kid, we read these things called books. And when we went to the library, we pulled a drawer to find a listing of all the books available on a subject. Now they have these new fangled things called computers that do all the work. And it's great!

All this information is great, but it can also lead to over stimulation and lack of focus. Even though we haven't officially started homeschooling yet, I'm trying to put together as many unit studies as I can before the kids are home all day.

I want to teach my kids everything. I want them to know about the Bible, U.S. history, world history, chemistry, biology, literature, algebra, geometry, red-eyed tree frogs...well, everything. And the Internet lets me do that. The Internet also lets me spend hours looking up different ways to teach them everything. What ends up happening is that I lose focus on what I was originally looking to find, because I'm chasing that next thing. Then I find that hours have passed, but I've accomplished very little.

There are some really great resources out there. These are ones that I especially like:

Edsitement

Homeschooling A to Z

Lesson Pathways

Smithsonian Education

American Museum of Natural History


I also really love Pinterest. I've found a ton of great ideas there.

The Internet is a great tool, when used properly. I'm still a big fan of books, and there is a lot of book reading in my lesson plans too. I just have to make sure I'm not letting the Internet take over. Creating a list of learning goals is helping me with that.

How do you use technology in lesson planning/lesson delivery? I'd love to hear from you!