Ads?

I'm using Amazon Affiliates because frankly it's the easiest way to link to books, movies, curricula, products we use, etc. without spending hours searching for pictures that aren't copyrighted. I love the reviews on Amazon's site as well. It would be nice to earn a few bucks to buy books, but it's not the raison d'etre for the blog. What do you think? Keep them or is it crass commercialism that annoys you?

I will not post anything we don't actually use and love and will provide honest reviews. Opinions?

Teaching Writing Without Formal Curricula

Coaching the Writing Process at Heart of the Matter Online is not a secular site, but I loved this article on teaching writing. This is how we are approaching it for now, but I'm considering Writing Strands for later in the year if I don't find a more relaxed approach sufficient to keep my son at or above grade level. He is a bit of a curriculum junkie and loves to use textbooks, so we may buy some textbooks for him to reference when he chooses to. Right now we are just going to focus on having the skills to correct and improve his own rough draft. Taking notes has been the best way to get my resistant writer to enjoy writing. The freedom to be imperfect made all the difference in the world to the Geekling!

Learning Tech

Amazon's Kindle is one of my favorite learning tools! The Geekling reads twice as often now that we have a Kindle and there are so many free classic books and collections of poetry for him to choose from. You can now get one for $114 that is ad supported (no ads while you are reading, just when it's in sleep mode).

Some of the free books we have downloaded and love include:

• The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (complete series)
• Complete Works of Rudyard Kipling
• Complete Works of Shakespeare
• Poetry Collections
• Alice in Wonderland
• Mark Twain
• Little Women
• Beatrix Potter
• And so much more! I love free books!

The nice thing is that any books that you have "bought" for free (and all of the pay books as well) can be read on more than one device simultaneously, so my son will read along on the Kindle while I read aloud from the Kindle App on the iPad. I have never run into a "device" limit on any book even though my mother, my son, and I will all have the same books on our (multiple devices each) at the same time. You can also pick up where you left reading on your Kindle on your smartphone, laptop, iPad, etc.

If you have any questions, leave them in the comments below! I love my Kindle and still use it more than the iPad for reading because it's so much lighter and easier to read outside. The battery life is also amazing. I never have to worry that it will die on me while we're at the doctors office like I do with the iPad. Don't get me wrong, I love my iPad, but for reading the Kindle wins hands down. I only use the Kindle app on iPad when I'm reading in bed and don't want to disturb Geek-Dad with a reading light or when the Geekling is using my Kindle. I also read using the Kindle App on my Android smartphone (free).

You can also listen to audio books using your Kindle, though it's not a feature I often use. Typically I stick with the Audible app on the iPad or my smartphone when it comes to audio books.

Our Curriculum

I've started a page that lists some of the books and topics we are covering. Look at the tab bar and go to "Our Curriculum" to see some of the books and websites we use. I've listed what we did today so you can understand what we do to learn!

Today we've used JumpStart for Math and Reading Comprehension and read The Adventures of Penrose the Mathematical Cat and Can You Count to a Googol? (Robert E. Wells Science) to understand powers of 10, place value, and large numbers over a million. We also wrote each number as we turned the pages so we could see the stair-step pattern that formed as we wrote 10, 100, 1000, etc. one under the next.

We also did a few pages in Progress in Mathematics on counting by 2, 3, 5, and 10 and reviewed more than and less than and which equations help us get the answer. He did some pages in the workbook (he requested it) and looked at the teacher's manual together. 

A reading comprehension story in JumpStart 2nd grade generated questions that led us to learn how to arrange (our movies) alphabetically by the first and second letter. We worked on patterns too. He worked on making correct change (using coins to add to specific numbers) on JumpStart as well.

Well, I will add more to this later! We are off to do some reading and maybe watch a documentary or science or nature show on Netflix to see what we want to explore this week. There should be some great thunderstorms to watch this afternoon too!

Please Vote to Help Kids With Angelman Syndrome and Seizures

Please take a moment to vote and share this to your Facebook wall! My friend Mike Ross, list his son Tommy to seizures related to Angelmans. He is working to get votes to get a huge grant to fight seizures for FAST (Foundation for Angelman Syndrome Therapeutics).

I would really appreciate it if you would vote for FAST and ask your social networks, friends, blog readers, etc. to do the same. You can vote every day!

For more information go to http://www.cureangelman.org/ you can also vote by following the link on their webpage to Vivint's FAST site.

Teaching Reading

I wanted to link to a great blog called The Reading Sage written by a public school teacher that does a great job teaching reading and getting kids that have fallen behind or have special needs caught up to grade level (and often above) in one year.

Sean was nice enough to give me some tips for teaching my son to read and suggested ways to create a great reading curriculum, learn to draw inferences, and learn to love reading. If all teachers were like Sean Taylor, we wouldn't be homeschooling! Please check out his blog. Here are some of his favorite books for building a reference library for homeschooling, there are some wonderful suggestions there.

My favorite suggestion from Sean was to give the Geekling tons of joke books to help with inferences (drawing conclusions from things not specifically stated). I was amazed no one had suggested this before! It's such a natural way to teach him to look for meaning beneath the surface in a fun way. Poetry is great for this as well. He has some trouble with "pragmatics" due to his Aspergers so even though he sounds like an adult when we speaks and has a huge vocabulary, we go to Speech and Language Therapy and work on certain skills because it makes certain parts of Reading Comprehension difficult.

The First Few Months Homeschooling

My favorite homeschool website SecularHomeschool.com has a great discussion going about what to do as you transition from public or private school to homeschooling. When I first decided to homeschool, I thought I would dive right in the day he was home for good "so he wouldn't forget everything." I also thought we would be blending a Classical and Unit Studies approach to homeschooling. That went out the window within a few days as I realized my son loved to learn and letting  him lead the way usually meant covering 3 times the material that I would have with a curriculum or schedule.

So, I printed out what Public Schools across the country cover in 2nd grade and now try to find fun activities or interests that will introduce or reinforce those skills. I don't worry about it too much, because many of our activities "accidentally" teach everything (and more) that he would be learning in a classroom. Cooking and building teach fractions (and adding or multiplying them), measurement, following directions, multiplication when we triple a recipe (I like to halve a recipe so it requires him to double or triple it).  We also learn how to research and take notes when we are cooking something new or looking for substitutions (Geekling is allergic to milk, soy, and peanuts).

I'm a bit of a control freak, so I was shocked when everything we were doing bordered on "unschooling!" When school ended, Geekling said he just wanted a week or two off so I decided to just leave interesting books lying around and watch some fun educational shows and documentaries on Netflix to spark his interest. We used the iPad to play math games to reinforce math facts, read poetry, read books together, and did some backyard and kitchen science. I taught him to write a hypothesis and take notes; when I told him that he needn't worry about spelling or punctuation when taking notes, he became incredibly excited about writing, something he has always hated and fought doing.

Now he writes stories because he wants to, requests that we read poetry instead of the Boxcar Children or Captain Underpants (his favorite), and loves to read our Field Guides to Virginia and the Carolinas on mammals, amphibians, and birds. He has learned more biology from casually flipping through those books and asking questions than he would have in 3 months in a classroom.

I'm glad I somehow resisted buying all of those expensive curricula. I really wanted to, I'm the type that would see receiving a box full of books, workbooks, outlines, etc. as Christmas morning, Hanukkah and the 4th of July all rolled into one so not ordering anything but a math curriculum was torture, but now I have plenty of money to buy used books on Amazon and some new ones that I think we'll reference for years to come like A History of US by Joy Hakim, a wonderful secular American History 11 volume set that will be battered and dogeared in no time as we drag it around the East Coast on history road trips to where all of it actually happened. 

In Nature in North Carolina

The view of the backyard from the screened porch at the house in North Carolina.

We're spending most of our time on the deck chatting while the kids run around and explore. This might be the most relaxing place on Earth! There's a pond across the street that the kids are having fun throwing rocks into, a dirt pile for building volcanoes and dams, great fishing in the canal out back, and bikes and scooters for the kids to ride. We're in the middle of nowhere so they have a lot more freedom than they would at home.

We're having a great time bird watching! We've seen tons of hummingbirds, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Finches, and Robins. We have a few different families of geese with babies and ducks. I always forget how tiny and amazing hummingbirds are!

The house is on a canal that leads to the Albermarle Sound in the middle of a protected bird sanctuary and wetland. The sunrises are incredibly beautiful, and if you come out early enough you can see egrets fishing for their breakfast.

I think we're going to get the fishing poles out this afternoon after a picnic, water balloon fight, and some swimming. There are so many fish here that the kids can catch 4 or 5 in an hour without much effort. We catch and release after taking pictures of the many species of fish found in the canal.

The Best Laid Plans...

I had planned all sorts of learning activities while we were here in NC, but we've ended up just going on picnics by the water while the kids dive off of the dock and swim. One of the most important things about homeschooling is flexibility and realizing that you don't have to be perfect. Some people see families of perfectly dressed, perfectly mannered children and are too intimidated to even try. The secret is that they have their bad days as well, or days that the schedule goes off of the rails and they end up doing something else entirely. For us that is usually when we learn the most! Even if it ends up just being a healthy break from the everyday so you can get back to it with more energy and excitement, it's a worthwhile experience. We'll just call this vacation P.E. and social skills! They are having a great time!

We have done a tiny bit of bird watching, there have been quite a few Hummingbirds, Blue Jays, and Cardinals in the backyard! Pics posted soon!

Mobile Learning

We are going over the river and through the woods (literally) to Grandma's house in North Carolina with my best friend (and her kids) who is visiting from Georgia. It's the perfect place to learn as it's in the middle of a giant bird sanctuary in a Wetland. We've packed our various Field Guides that are specific to the Carolinas and will be playing "does it float" games in the canal in the backyard that leads to the Albemarle Sound. So there will be boating, bird watching, amphibian hunting, and mammal spotting! And we'll figure out why it's the perfect habitat for each.

I'm looking forward to being able to hop in the car in September, when we'd normally be losing all freedom, and driving the hour and a half down to Hertford for hands-on nature and science learning. We'll compare water quality, catch bugs, go swimming, and have the freedom to roam in safety that simply doesn't exist in the burbs (I'm a bit Free Range, but my son's only 6).

I purchased a big scrapbooking organizer to keep all of our books, art & craft supplies, electronics, tools for science, etc. easy to grab and go at a moments notice. I also have an "apron with tons of pockets" on a 5 gallon bucket that organizes our outside learning supplies (below).
(it DOES NOT cost anywhere $130 - that's marketing nonsense)!

You of course don't need these things for homeschooling, I just found that we were spending a lot of time looking for things that were slowing down spontaneous learning. Try to avoid buying anything until you've experimented with homeschooling a bit. There are tons of free resources on the internet to get you started and samples from curriculum companies you can order or download. It's even worth it to pay for a single unit of a curriculum (if you're determined to buy one) rather than spend hundreds on something you'll never use. Also search ebay and homeschool selling and trading sites to try curricula and resources for less.

You'll be surprised to find out that the approach that seems most attractive to you when you first start looking into HS (usually Classical or following the state curriculum for most) ends up being very different from what you actually do. You'll likely discover that you and your child have very different learning styles and expectations. There are plenty of parents who loved the idea of unschooling who found that their kids wanted a "real school" experience.

Car Learning: I've also downloaded some Audio Books and transferred poetry CD's to the iPad for car learning while we travel, as homeschooling for us will involve a lot of field trips. Being in Virginia in the middle of so much history, it's mandatory! DC is only a few hours away so the great museums of the Smithsonian will be our stomping grounds once the tourist traffic has died down.

It's going to be a great week! Pictures to follow!

Resources Page

I've added a Resources page with the links I've found helpful to getting started in homeschooling. Please add some of your favorites in the comments and I'll keep adding to create a comprehensive list. It can be very frustrating finding good sites when you are new to homeschooling and haven't quite mastered the lingo (especially when so many are eliminated right off the bat if you prefer a secular approach), so let's make it easier for everyone interested in homeschooling to begin their search!

Secular Homeschooling Resources

For great forums, links, and homeschooling information, check out SecularHomeschool.com. You'll find a wonderful virtual community and a lot of support. Post your questions about getting started, choosing a curriculum, teaching styles, etc. This is one of my favorite sites!

Unschooling and Project Based Learning

What is unschooling and project based learning? Child led learning? This is how we end up getting started on new topics and activities, for some things I might use formal curriculum, but normally that is just a guide and we end up doing things hands on instead of worksheets. The more free reign I give my son, the more we seem to cover. When I try to schedule a formal day of learning, going subject by subject instead of doing things more naturally, we cover a lot less. I do keep an eye on what public schools teach to ensure that we aren't missing any important skills, but at this point we're pretty far ahead on most subjects. I would love some suggestions for writing though!

Here's a day from our Homeschool Journal that I've expanded upon a bit that shows how easy it is to turn anything into a learning experience:

We were technically on vacation, but the Geekling (my son, age 6) asked to open our new 3D chalk set. This of course led to experimenting with how lights, books, video games, and pictures looked through the 3D glasses. When he asked why there was a line of color when we looked at lights, the science and art lesson began! We looked up the definition of spectrum, talked about our old rainbow friend ROY G. BIV (the order of colors in the rainbow), and I asked him to take some notes in his science journal without worrying about spelling or punctuation to develop his note taking skills.

We wrote a hypothesis in our science journal about what his favorite video game would look like, talked about scientific method (and more about what a hypothesis is), prisms, contrast, perspective, optical illusion, and using our 5 senses to explore and understand the world. He made a few notes and we started our lists of words and terms we wanted to learn this week in the margin of his journal. He added "Kingfisher" (a bird) because he wants to know more about them.

Going outside to draw with the chalk after reading the directions started our art lesson. Warm and cool colors, contrast, perspective, optical illusion, complimentary and contrasting colors, and how we can make our art really "pop!"

Finally, we explored the backyard. The leaves, trees, flowers, and swing set were a treat for the eyes. Giving us a whole new perspective on the colors we see every day and slight shade variations. We were on a roll, so I decided we should review math facts on the trampoline (G's favorite place in the world). When it was time to take a break, I asked if he wanted to go inside and grab a book to read together. He got very excited and said, "Why don't we write our own book?!?!"

I was stunned. It would be a vast understatement to say he's a reluctant writer. Due to his Aspergers and seeing the world in black and white, creative writing is not his favorite pastime. He is very creative, but normally feels put on the spot when you ask him to write something down instead of just pretending through play. He made up a wonderful short story about a dog named Henry that wanted to be a magician.

After we were done with our story, he brought the Kindle out to the trampoline for some reading and chose Poetry! This week Robert Louis Stevenson is his favorite and we looked up a few words from Looking-glass River he didn't know while we were talking about what the poem meant. This led to synonyms, homophones, antonyms, adjectives, etc. (he started this discussion not me).

Here is the chalk & glasses set we bought that started all of this:

Light and Color Project

Our first project based learning unit inspired by Crayola 3D chalk!

But What About Socialization?!?

One of the biggest myths about homeschooling (that was a huge barrier to me even considering it initially) is that "homeschool kids aren't properly socialized." If you decide to homeschool, you will hear all too often, "But what about socialization!?!?" Incredulous friends and relatives will grill you. They will ask you about strange kids they've seen on the annual Scripps Spelling Bee, "reality" TV or documentaries. The fact is homeschoolers tend to be very well socialized!

Instead of being grouped together by age, which usually leads to "Lord of the Flies" or "Mean Girls" behavior; our kids meet people of all ages through their various interests and hobbies. They help younger children and learn from older children, they have mentors from many different backgrounds, and they become very good at finding common ground with just about anyone. They also have an instant "village" that understands them. No matter your religious beliefs or lack there of, socioeconomic status, or approach, you will instantly bond with many families simply because you're out-of-the-box thinkers that chose to homeschool! It's the ultimate icebreaker!

When I first considered homeschooling, I asked a lovely woman I met through a mutual friend the question I dread now, "But what about those weird Spelling Bee Kids I saw on TV in the 90's and in documentaries?" That's when the epiphany happened! She said, "Did it occur to you that they were homeschooled because they were that way in the first place?"

The angels sang, light broke through from the heavens, horns sounded and my entire worldview was rocked to it's core. You see, my child has Aspergers. This makes him wonderful, unique, creative, and a lot of fun, but it can also make him a target for bullies. In his private "traditional" school, he was starting to feel like a problem child because he had trouble sitting still and was bored. Some of the kids delighted in irritating him and then took pleasure in his getting into trouble for getting up and moving away from them. This bright, outgoing, loving child was starting to feel like he was "less than" and I wasn't ready for the world to beat the joy, curiosity, light, and life out of my 6 year old. 

His teacher wasn't making the accommodations that the school had promised and scolded him for things they had assured us were acceptable (being allowed to go sit in a quiet spot in the classroom away from the other kids if sensory issues overwhelmed him, being allowed to have a "fidget" to keep his hands busy when he had to sit still for long periods). She also wasn't communicating well, so he'd get in trouble daily for something that could easily be fixed if I knew about it and I wouldn't hear about it until weeks or even months later. Last year the teacher would send a quick email if there were problems so we could talk about it and practice behaviors and coping strategies at home that would be more acceptable in school. In first grade he was just made to feel that something was wrong with him for not being able to do things that were impossible for a 6 yr old with Aspergers without specifically being taught and practicing with an adult one on one first.

With Skype, the internet, public libraries, programs at museums, message boards, homeschool co-ops, field trips, and just showing up for homeschool park days, you will find plenty of people for your kids to play with. Trips to the grocery store or farmer's market become leisurely learning experiences. There is extra time to join a community theater, play sports, take art classes, music lessons, and Lego Robotics hobby clubs. People organize physical education groups so the kids can take the Presidential Physical Fitness test just like public school kids. There are also a ton of field trip opportunities organized through co-ops, message boards, and park day play groups. It's sort of like being on a very educational permanent "stay-cation." They get all of the extracurricular activities (and more) that public school kids do without feeling over scheduled. There is also plenty of time for day trips.

That friend (who also has children on the Autism Spectrum) gave us the gift of knowing that we could at least give this a try. It wasn't an irreversible decision, there are no educational emergencies, and at worst the year long trial was going to be a fun opportunity for travel, mornings cuddled in bed reading favorite books instead of rushing to get ready for school, and the flexibility to teach my son at his ability level (which is well above grade level in all but writing).

We were already spending hours a day in 1st grade doing homework he hated, I was already homeschooling him in a sense! Wouldn't it be better to use an approach that worked for him so he would enjoy learning? Hadn't I taught him the alphabet, to read, how to write his name, the colors, etc. through everyday life before he began formal schooling?

The decision was made to give homeschooling a 1 year trial and so far we are loving every minute! He is learning so much and actually enjoying it! He's now asking to do things he hated when he was in school and learning so much faster in much less time. This is the best decision we've ever made!

Secular Homeschooling

We have chosen a secular approach to homeschooling which can seem like a lonely undertaking until you've built your "homeschool family." When I initially decided to homeschool, there didn't seem to be anyone out there that homeschooled for something other than religious reasons. Then I started learning the homeschool "secret codes."

When you first begin, you will be overwhelmed by terminology you don't know: Classical, Unschooling, Eclectic (ok, that one is self explanatory), Charlotte Mason, Jefferson, TWTM, Relaxed, Waldorf, etc. Slowly, as you search for approaches and curricula, you'll start to find your tribe. A great introduction that taught me the basics and convinced me that we could homeschool is here and available for Kindle or dead tree book, The First Year of Homeschooling Your Child: Your Complete Guide to Getting Off to the Right Start

Yes, there are homeschoolers like you. Liberal, Conservative, Jewish, Christian, people who adhere to traditional curricula, and those who take a more relaxed approach. One of the best ways to start is to search for "Virginia Secular Homeschool" (your state and homeschool) on Yahoo groups. Introduce yourself and post an introduction or question, and you'll start meeting people that will help you get started on your journey.