Tag Archives: homeschooling

Johannes Gutenberg

This week we are concluding our Middle Ages/Renaissance unit studies. We were privileged to add Gutenberg to our Bible, history, science, literature, vocabulary, and writing lessons. (I love it when one subject covers several classes)

Johannes Gutenberg is one of my heroes! He invented the printing press and printed the first Bible! Some of those early Bibles still exist and are among our world’s greatest treasures. My printed Bible as well as several favorite books are among my greatest personal treasures.

This lovely book, Johannes Gutenberg, Inventor of the Printing Press by Fran Rees, is from our local library. We enjoyed the photos of Gutenberg’s earliest projects.

Below are the links we followed for our study.

Gutenberg biography, worksheets, quizzes, online games http://www.gardenofpraise.com/ibdguten.htm

Tracing Gutenberg’s Footsteps, a photo tour of Mainz, Gutenberg’s home http://www.mainz.de/WGAPublisher/online/html/galerie/akah-6jkjgl.en.html?foreachgaleriebildPage=5

Demonstration of the Gutenberg press http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XLWleZgU3s

Project Gutenberg offers 42,720 free e-books to download. I have this site bookmarked for the next time I hear “I’m bored, Mom”. http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/

betty jo

Preparing the Defense

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When we started our homeschooling journey some 16 years ago, it wasn’t as popular of an idea as it is now. I had some awesome seasoned homeschooling moms prepare me with what to say when, not if, but when, I would face negativity about our family’s choice for education.

“What about socialization?” “Do you have a teaching certificate?” “Don’t you want them to go to college?” “They are going to miss so many opportunities.” “But your kids will be weird.” “Is that legal?” These questions have come from church members, neighbors, public school teachers, strangers, and even family members. There’s been hard days/weeks/months that I have questioned our homeschooling decision and have had to remind myself why we do this!

I’m glad to have had a “heads up” that these questions would be coming. And, I am so thankful that I had some ideas about how to handle them. There’s a good chance that if your family homeschools, you have already had to defend your choice or will at some point. If you’re a new homeschooler, expect these questions and prepare for them.

Answer with Scripture:

Deuteronomy 6:6-7^“These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go. And when he is old he will not depart from it.”

For more Scripture concerning home education http://biblereasons.com/homeschooling/

and http://biblereasons.com/biblical-reasons-homeschool/

Homeschooling is most logical way my family can fall into obedience to these parenting instructions from the LORD.

Answer with facts and statistics:

According to http://www.homeschoolfacts.com/index.php :

Ninety-five percent of homeschoolers had an adequate comprehension of politics and government, compared to 65% of U.S. adults.
Seventy-one percent of homeschool graduates participate in ongoing community service activities, including politics, compared to 37% of adults in similar ages.
Eighty-eight percent of HS graduates are members of organizations (community groups, church, or professional organizations) compared to 50% of U.S. adults.
Significantly, 76% of homeschool graduates voted in a national or state election within the past 5 years, compared to 29 percent of similar U.S. adults.

Answer with, “I do not agree with what public schools teach”

Answer with a list of successful and famous homeschoolers: https://jaizhijourney.wordpress.com/2013/05/25/famous-authors-who-were-once-homeschooled/

Recently I saw a Youtube video series that covers excellent answers to those pesky questions that homeschoolers face. These videos are animated, and quite clever. Even if you are well prepared with Scriptures, facts, and statistics, I still recommend viewing for the fun of it.

For parents

and

For kids (because they get asked about homeschooling, too)

betty jo

‘

Dino Debate

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If you are part of social media or a news follower you have no doubt seen this already. This science quiz from a student at a private Christian school went viral not long ago and has sparked a rather ugly debate.

This is the curriculum that the test was over that has triggered such harsh comments from the atheist communities.

You can click here to link to the article from the Huffington to get a glimpse of what the evolutionist opinions have been http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/26/4th-grade-science-test-creationism-questions-dinosaurs_n_3163922.html

I love the response from Ken Ham and Answers in Genesis. They are inviting everyone to view their video, download a booklet, and take the quiz themselves, all at no charge. This offer is only good for a limited time. You can link to their site and free downloads here http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2013/05/23/families-use-atheist-attack-teach-kids-truth.

Being a lawyers kid, I love debate. And as a Christian I love the Word of God. As wonderful as it is to have faith and belief that the Biblical account of creation is true, quoting the Scriptures from Genesis chapter 1 won’t get us anything but ridicule from non believers when it comes to the Creation vs Evolution debate.

^“24And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. ²⁵God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

²⁶Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,^[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

²⁷So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.

²⁸God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

²⁹Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. ³⁰And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

³¹God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.”

Proper science examines all evidence claimed and critically researches different theories before reaching conclusions. This is how we “do” science in our homeschool. I feel this is how all science should be studied, whether in homeschools, private schools, or public schools.

As Christians, I feel we need to arm ourselves and our children with scientific evidence. We need to understand the correct scientific lingo and vocabulary and use it accordingly. It’s time to take a stand and join in the debate.

Sadly, young earth creation evidence is not mainstream although there is much available. Below are my other favorite sources for exploring creation evidence:

http://creation.com/

http://www.icr.org/article/science-resources-for-homeschool/

http://thatsafacttv.com/

If you enjoy a good fiction read, you should take a look at The Fossil Hunter by John B. Olsen, This book is loaded with the scientific community opinions and is available in libraries or can be purchased from most book retailers.

I encourage you, no matter which side of the creation/evolution debate you are on, that you will debate with respect and factual evidence.

betty jo

Our Homeschooling Week May 20-24

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I do not think I have ever looked forward to a Monday like I did this week. Our weekend was too full of activity and by Monday morning I was thankful for the fun times but more thankful to just be staying home for the next few days.

Friday night was our homeschooling support groups Prom Alternative. Group photos, dinner out, then a private party with dancing, Wii games, costume trunk photo booth, and ice cream bar.

Saturday afternoon was the first public performance for Silver Lining, our homeschool color guard team.

Sunday night was another homeschool group activity. SALT – Saved, Anointed, Loved, Transformed, (creative ministries troop), performed at a local church who was hosting a meal and service for a homeless shelter.

Much of my family’s time has been spent praying for Ian. He is a boy from our neighborhood who was violently attacked at a public school playground that is just a block away from our house. He had some brain hemorrhaging and swelling issues as a result of the beating and had to be air lifted to Vanderbilt Hospital. Miraculously, he is on the road to a complete recovery.

We attended a prayer meeting at the school playground at 4:00 Thursday. It was so good to gather with our neighbors for a time of prayer for our community, public schools, Ian, and the boys who attacked him. Thanks to social media, we were able to reach brothers and sisters in Christ with our prayer requests and many agreed to stop what they were doing at 4:00 and join with us in prayer.

We had lovely weather for being out in the yard this week. We have enjoyed watching our homeschool garden project grow.

Both the tomato and pepper plants have bloomed.

Our homeschool summer schooling focused on reading through a huge stack of library books as the start of it’s summer reading challenge. We also did a mini unit study of turtles in tribute to World Turtle Day (May 23).

Here are the links to this week’s blog posts:

Our homeschool prom: Night of the Living Teens https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/05/19/night-of-the-living-teens/

Homeschool Creative Ministries: SALT https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/05/20/salt/

About our neighbor’s boy: Ian https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/05/22/ian/

Homeschool garden science project: Watching Our Garden Grow https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/05/23/watching-our-garden-grow/

Turtle mini unit study: World Turtle Day https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/05/23/world-turtle-day/

As of now I don’t have much on the planner for the upcoming week except for another library trip, Church history notebooking, and the biggest homeschooling support group’s party of the year, Graduation and Achievement Night.

I hope you had a good week, and that this next week is even better.

betty jo

World Turtle Day

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According to my special days calendar, May 23 is World Turtle Day! I have found some great free resource links to follow as we learn about turtles in our homeschool!

Lapbook from here http://www.homeschoolshare.com/turtles.php

Much about turtles, conservation, rescue, and more here http://www.seaturtleinc.org/

More cool turtle stuff here http://www.conserveturtles.org/turtletides.php

Look inside a turtle’s shell! http://boredomtherapy.com/inside-tortoise-shell/

List with photos of different types of turtles with quick facts https://animalsake.com/different-types-of-turtles

Turtle myths and legends http://www.ancientpages.com/2015/08/29/myths-legends-reveal-ancient-turtle-worship-linked-creation-world/

Children’s Bible Ministry lesson with a turtle theme http://www.bibleline.org/turtles.html

Something challenging for an art project. Origami instructions https://www.freekidscrafts.com/origami-turtle/

Learn to draw 4 different turtles https://www.wikihow.com/Draw-a-Turtle

Rock painting tutorial https://garden.org/thread/view/3659/Turtle-Rock-Paint-Project-Tutorial/

Turtle jokes https://www.jokesbykids.com/turtle/

“What kind of jokes do turtles tell? SHELL-arious ones!”

And finally notebooking pages with ocean animals including turtles from here https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Ocean-Animal-Themed-Writing-Paper-FREEBIE-1213370

It looks like we’ve got science, language arts, computer lab, art, and fun covered for our homeschool summer school today (actually a few days worth of resources)!

betty jo

Watching Our Garden Grow

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After last years failed attempts at growing anything in our yard, we are surprised that our new garden is doing so well. In fact, we were expecting our homeschool Key Hole Garden science project to not do so well.

Both the pepper and tomato plants are blooming.

Worms, used coffee grounds, rotting vegetables and fruits, and flies. Such a wonderful example of how God uses the yucky stuff to create something useful and beautiful!

Romans 8:28^“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[a] have been called according to his purpose.”

For more about our homeschool gardening project , click here https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/04/14/homeschool-gardening/

And here https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/05/03/yuck-worms/

betty jo

Ian

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The following is from my town’s local news station. After you read the article, scroll down a little and take a look at the comments that follow. I’ve been homeschooling for 16 years and have been out of the loop about what has been going on in our local schools.

http://www.wpsdlocal6.com/news/local/12-year-old-in-hospital-after-brutal-playground-beating-208390761.html

Morgan Elementary School is about a block from my house. Z7 plays there after school hours sometimes. E17 has homeschool color guard practice there. Both Ian and the unnamed bully are my neighbors.

I am horrified, angry, and so sad.

There is a prayer meeting scheduled for Thursday, May 23 at 4:00 CT at the playground. Would you please join with us in prayers for Ian, his family, our local public schools, and my neighborhood.

Matthew 5:44 “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,”

And yes, please pray for the other boys and their families too.

betty jo

Night of the Living Teens

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E-17 wants to call it “Prom”. So we call it “Prom”. Some of the other parents in our homeschooling support group do not like all of the negatives associated with the word “Prom” and prefer to call it “Teen Night”. So we call it “Teen Night”. Some prefer to call it “Prom Alternative”. So we call it “Prom Alternative”, too. I’m thinking “Night of the Living Teens” works for me. We are just blessed to have such a special night that the title of it doesn’t really matter.

We started the evening early at one of our local parks for photos.

Then dinner out and after that to He Brews coffee shop for costume trunk, ice cream, Wii, and dancing.

E17 and Batman. The Cupid Shuffle!
(That’s me in the yellow.)

Some worn out girls at midnight!

This momma is worn out too but happy!

For another post about our special night click here https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/05/17/girls-and-flowers/

betty jo

Girls and Flowers

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E17 had a few of her friends over to our house last night. What fun!

Tonight is our homeschooling support group’s prom (alternative) and the girls NEED corsages. A variety of fresh flowers, greenery, wire, tape, sequins, rhinestones, glitter, feathers, ribbon, and hot glue mixed with some craftiness and laughter, and presto – beautiful corsages for their big night!

This is E’s corsage.

Of course they didn’t forget about the guys. The girls made boutonnieres for them out of the leftovers.

Here’s another post about our homeschool support group’s special night for the teens https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/04/05/spring-formal/

betty jo

Almost Finished

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According to the Kentucky statutes governing homeschooling, we are finished with what is required of us!

“Required Days of Instruction:

185 days, which must include the equivalent of 175 six (6) hour instructional days and 10 non-instructional (teacher) days. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 158.070 and 158.080.

Required Subjects: Include reading, writing, spelling, grammar, history, mathematics, and civics. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 158.080.”

However, we have not finished with our Middle Ages/ Renaissance unit studies, nor have we reached a stopping place with our math and spelling courses. So our current homeschooling will be continuing for a few more weeks, but without any pressure or stress. We are transitioning to the “AT LEAST ONE THING” schedule.

For now and throughout the summer I will only require my kids to do only one educational lesson a day. They may choose math, spelling/grammar, unit study, or an arts related project to work on Monday through Thursday. The rest of their day can be spent reading, watching movies, playing outside, and a little bit of video gaming. In the next few weeks we will be including youth camp, two Vacation Bible Schools, our library’s summer program, and community service projects with their daily learning choices. When we are done with our Middle Ages/Renaissance unit study, we will start working on a new one, Music.

Last year, we were able to add twelve complete school days to our records by sticking with our “AT LEAST ONE THING” a day schedule. I hope we can do that again this summer. It was wonderful having twelve days recorded at the start of our school year. It was also nice to be able to take a few extra days off during the school year without feeling that we would be falling behind schedule.

This freed up schedule is even better for me than it is my kids. I need some extra time to complete our homeschool records and scholarship reports. I also have not completely organized our summer school music unit study, not to mention the American History unit studies for the 2013-2014 school year. And, I would love to just sit back and read a book or two.

Since Monday was our first day of being finished with our regular homeschooling schedule, I thought we should do something special to celebrate. I asked the kids what they wanted to do. They wanted to go to the library. (I’m thinking my kids might be nerds.) They also asked for pizza. So pizza at the library’s garden it was.

(My two teenagers were there, too, they just did not want to be photographed this time.)

Click here to link to view homeschooling laws for any US state http://www.hslda.org/laws/default.asp

I had the opportunity for a free download last year for homeschool records, planners, and report forms. This offer is no longer available but a few free sample pages are available here http://momstoolbelt.com/homeschool-planner-student-assignment-book-pages

For more about our summer school Music unit study click here https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/05/06/homeschool-of-rock/

betty jo