Home School
May ©2024
Unless otherwise credited, images are courtesy of WISDOM's Noster, Burgess, Tinant and Doyle families.
FunforActivities Groups
Thismonth, I wanted to highlight some activities you could do in your home or with your support group. Winter is a perfect time for group activities. Any time of the year works actually, but winter lends itself to a slower pace and creativity.
together with friends and home schoolers each month.
Shortly after we started home schooling, I realized the importance of having fun activities with likeminded families and children. These activities were easier to do some years than others, but I always tried to make sure our children had something to look forward to doing
Some of our activities have been: Craft Afternoons, Game Afternoons, Homeschool Parties, Country Days, and Discussion Afternoons. (Support Group Leaders, please take note of this idea and encourage your families to host get-togethers regularly. Perhaps this could be a discussion for one of your support group meetings.)
Here are a few Valentine themed ideas to get you started. Personally, I have learned smaller gatherings are EASY to do IN my home. Pick a day and an activity, tidy your home, and get ready to host. Talk to your children about hosting tips. Enjoy your time together with friends. Bigger gatherings are fun, too, once or twice a year. Plan a gathering in a bigger home or a library, church basement, etc.
Card Making
Gather the materials together before you begin. Most of the time, I was very organized and had everything
set up. Other times, I just put items out and let the children create. Find ideas:
stampinpretty.com/2014/10/three-waysto-quickly-spin-a-favorite-sketch.html
splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/ photo/2355827
Craft Afternoon
joyfullyjensen.blogspot.ca/2012/02/owlbe-your-valentine.html
cleanandscentsible.com/2011/02/ happy-valentines-day.html
Whenever I host anything in our home, my plan is often an afternoon activity (usually NOT a Monday – later on in the week is easier to prepare for). Families attending bring a potluck snack. If the craft is expensive, there is a minimal charge per child, although sometimes a
friend and I have taken turns paying for the materials. After the activity, I try to allow time for snacks and a visit – both for the children and the moms.
Game Afternoons
This is one of the easiest activities to host. I ask families to bring games that they enjoy playing. Older children and teens usually go off and play. Great for youth gatherings. The games could be Board Games –Killer Bunnies, Apples to Apples and Quelf are lots of fun for older kids. Card games are fun, too. Everyone brings potluck snacks.
Discussion Afternoons
Discussions can be led by one mom. You can plan a theme, or base discussion on a book.
We often watched an episode of a TV Show together with another family or two. (MacGyver, Dr. Quinn and Numb3rs were all favorites). I took notes while watching and led a discussion afterward. We have so many good memories of those afternoons. Again, potluck snacks played a big part.
Homeschool Parties
When our girls were younger, we had Christmas Parties, Valentine's Parties and Back to Home School Gatherings regularly through the year. To make things easier for bigger gatherings, one person booked the venue and each family brought an activity or craft and a seasonal snack. Sometimes there was a show and tell as one of the activities – which was always a highlight. Each family participating brought their own flavor to the party. Some families were recyclers and their crafts were along that line. Others were active families with boys and their activities got us moving. I always enjoyed getting to know other home educators (and their children) better!
Country Days
Country Day afternoons were a huge part of our home schooling extras for many years and I miss them. Great for grade 3 to grade 9, although younger and older kids were always welcome to attend with their moms. This can be as basic or as detailed of an afternoon as you wish. Learn a
LOT about a country or just get a taste of another culture. You decide.
We did everything from a passport activity to worksheets on the animals or culture, to YouTubes of the Country, to more. It was a lovely way to learn about different countries and a lovely way to get together with friends. Of course, it also included a show and tell time (often with items from the country we were studying OR items that the kids loved and wanted to share.) Our older children often did a follow up activity of writing about what they learned.
Perhaps these ideas don’t connect with you. Come up with ones your children would enjoy. LEGO or K’nex Afternoons would be fun. Learning to Sew would be another idea. Math Games would be great. A Cooking Lesson or Tea Party would be perfect for a lot of kids, too. Even an indoor Obstacle Course would work!
In the busy-ness of home schooling and getting academics done, don’t forget about including fun regularly. Your kids will be happier (and I think you will be, too!)
Happy Home Schooling!
Terry Yaceyko is a graduated WISDOM mama of 4 girls. She now loves finding creative ways to connect with her grandchildren and homeschoolers around Alberta.
CountingBlessingsOur
By Sandra Hammer
Hello. My name is Sandra Hammer. I am new to WISDOM. I have 4 children, ages 11, 8, 7 and 5. I am so far loving the freedom my husband and I have in choosing what we teach our kids and what we choose to not introduce to them. Public and private schools have played a huge part in my three older children’s lives. When the pandemic began last March, we found ourselves lost and not sure if we even wanted the kids to go back to school. I had a ‘pull’ to homeschool when my first child was born, but I didn’t see it being realistic because my husband was adamant that our kids would fall into the typical stereotype; they would be unsocialized, we’d fail at teaching them, they’d fall way behind compared to their peers, etc.
When all the schools were closed because of COVID, I got a ‘taste’ of what homeschool felt like, even though it was still distance learning and I was still given the work and teacher support. Nonetheless, I still felt as if I had plenty of time to work on what I wanted my kids to learn even after they were finished their ‘school work’ (by 10 am!).
I suffer from anxiety and I’m sure a lot of people do. COVID just made things worse for me because of all the uncertainties and ‘scary’ stuff that was being rumoured and then seen: empty shelves at the grocery stores, supplies running low or not in stock, seed packets sold out, people filling and stockpiling jerry cans of gasoline, people losing their jobs, stores price-gouging on certain items (like toilet paper- whaat!).
While my husband and I sat outside on our deck while the kids were in bed, I began to talk to him about all
the blessings that went ‘under the radar’ because of the pandemic. For instance, in our family, I can name a few....
1. We bought our COVID puppy while everyone was stocking up on toilet paper.
2. We moved to the country and have our dream home.
3. Besides our first puppy, we recently bought another puppy but he is for our farm.
4. We spent more time together as a family due to my husband’s work schedule being a lot more flexible, because they needed to comply with AHS rules/ regulations.
5. We were able to enjoy a beautiful camping trip to southern Alberta and Saskatchewan (Fort Walsh). This will be one I will remember for a long time!
6. Lastly, if it weren’t for COVID, I would not be homeschooling my beautiful kids. They’d still be in the ‘system’, and I’d be missing them for 6 hours every day.
As I started listing the blessings that have been bestowed on my family, it reminded me that God works through the ugly and makes something beautiful out of it, even something as ugly as this pandemic. We need to be reminded of His gentleness and love. Mark 10:27, Ecclesiastes 3:11.
Now, it’s your turn.
Consider doing a fun, interactive piece where your family lists the blessings in your lives that wouldn't have happened if it weren't for COVID. There’s just so much bad stuff in the media, it would be a breath of fresh air if we can direct the light to His blessings, take away the light from the bad and towards the good! Let’s be encouraged by one another.
Mental Health Day
By Ann Hibbard
Thebeds seem to have a firm grip on my children as they try to rise in the morning. A half-finished sewing project beckons from the project crate, trying to persuade me to let the kids sleep so I can happily sew in peace. I persevere through the temptation, insisting that my children break free from their bed captors and begin their day as I ignore the sewing table and dive into my morning responsibilities. One small step of victory! We can do this, or so I think.
Chores seem to take every ounce of effort to complete, and I wonder just how many times I am going to have to repeat every…single…instruction. Meanwhile, that new novel sitting on my nightstand joins forces with the sewing project, calling my name enticingly.
An equal voice emanates from the toy closet as a new LEGO design forms itself in the mind of my daughter. She shares her thoughts with her brother and sister, opening their ears to the LEGO summons as well.
So much effort goes into fighting the beckoning voices that we all feel exhausted, and it is only 8:30. How in the world will we make it through an entire day of school? I have two choices. I can go ahead and push everyone through the normal routine, citing the need for discipline and diligence. We all know we must train ourselves to do things we would rather not do!
Of course, choice two is a valid one as well. We could just take a break from
school and enjoy our day. After all, part of the beauty of homeschooling lies in the freedom we have to create our own schedules and take a break whenever we need one. Ask any homeschooler and you will be reminded that, in addition to lots of chocolate, mental health days are one of the primary essentials for homeschooling success.
The anticipation of happy squeals from my children as I inform them that they may go play with LEGO all day long seals the deal. Everyone likes to be the “good mom” every now and then. I inform the children of my decision and find myself immediately amazed at the new energy with which everyone finishes morning chores! Finally, the kids disappear into their bedrooms while I steal away to decide whether I am going to pick up that unfinished project or dive into the new book before afternoon obligations return me to reality. Cloudy tempers flee and the sunshine of joy reigns once again in our home.
When it comes to home schooling, training in discipline and diligence truly holds utmost importance. Sometimes we have to do things we do not want to do. Part of my responsibility as a mother is teaching my children the necessity of pushing through even when we would rather not. Equally important, however, is learning when to step back and take a break. We work best when we listen to our minds and bodies and give them the rest they need when they need it. In order to best train my children in this area, though, I cannot only heed the signals of my own mind and body and respond accordingly. I have to pay attention to the signals I pick up from
my children as well. I have to teach them how to listen to their own signals and communicate their need for rest to me. I have to teach them how to distinguish true need from laziness, distraction, or temptation. I also have to teach them when to heed the signals for rest and when necessity demands that they push forward a little while longer.
Being an organized, check-list kind of person, I have created a mental list of questions that helps me determine when we really should take a mental health day.
• How long has it been since we have had a real break other than typical weekends? Even if it has only been a short time since our last break, have our weeks been hectic or our weekends full?
• How much time do we have left before our next scheduled break? Are we just going into vacation mode a little early for a break that is just around the corner? Do we have a relaxed weekend coming up that will help us hold on until the scheduled break, or does the time between now and then look exceedingly busy?
• Are there any extraneous circumstances adding to our restlessness? How is the weather? If it has been rainy, too hot, or too cold, and we suddenly have a perfect, sunshiny day, should we not take advantage of that?
• Could it be that we have not been away from home much lately and the walls are closing in on us?
Would a change of location work just as well as a day off?
• Can we think of anything we can do other than taking an entire day off that will help our day?
I try to automatically schedule breaks based on the looks of our calendar, the typical weather patterns for our neck of the woods, and the endurance of our family. Days come, though, when the schedule just has to be thrown out the window. The school crates must be pushed out of the way to make room for the chocolate, LEGO, sewing machine, and books that take their place. That is just what we need today. Tomorrow we will be ready to get back to work again.
How do you determine when to take an unscheduled day off?
Ann Hibbard is a pastor’s wife who is hopelessly addicted to checklists and dark chocolate with almonds. She has been homeschooling her children for many years, and never tires of discovering new ways to help her children fall in love with learning. Ann’s favorite hobbies are reading, sewing, and writing, but her family believes that baking homemade chocolate chip cookies is among her greatest accomplishments. You can learn more about Ann and her family at AnnHibbard.com. This article first appeared on The Home Educating Family Blog at homeeducatingfamily.com.
Image source: Kaboompics
H o w W e H o s t e d
A Cheese & Honey Party
By Amberlin Biegel
We are a home-educated family of eleven living on our homestead in Northern Alberta. On our homestead we raise donkeys, alpacas, cows, yaks, horses, turkeys, chickens, ducks, cats, dogs, honeybees and goats. One thing our Dad always reminds us of is to respect the dirt, because everything comes from it. When winter leaves, we begin preparing for it to return again. One way we do this is to transform most of our milk into cheese! This year, at the peak of our goat milk production, we were getting about 19 gallons of milk per day. By the end of summer we will have enough cheese stocked up to last us through the long cold winter months. We also have hundreds of thousands of busy honeybees that work hard all summer long to turn Dad’s blooming alfalfa fields into gallons of golden honey that both the honeybees and ourselves stash away and feast on during the winter. But we always have extra to share… that’s why we had a Cheese and Honey Party! Here’s how we did it…
Location
We hosted our first Cheese and Honey Party on Sunday, August 12th, 2018. Our guests began arriving at 2pm and continued coming all afternoon. We originally had planned to have the party outside, but because it rained that day we had it inside. This turned out to be a good thing because we didn’t have to worry about bugs, flies, dust and other undesirable things that might contaminate our cheeses and get stuck in the honey. Plus, being in closer quarters created a warmer and more personal atmosphere for our guests. We may want to do an outside Cheese and Honey party sometime, but maybe later in the season when the bugs are not as troublesome.
It’s important to send exciting invitations that are short and sweet! We’ve found that
it really impacts people to follow up the text or email with a good old-fashioned phone call. Our Dad was great with that, and it really improved the turnout. Something else that would be very effective would be to send out personal invitations by snail mail. It shows that someone took extra thought, time and energy to invite you to something that is special and meaningful.
Music
Background music adds a lovely relaxing touch to any special event. One could even hire a local musician for this. It sure beats a recording!
Style
Know what style, and overall feeling you want to create for your guests. We had a country-harvest style with all sorts of colours and textures, and this created a warm, rounded, pleasing atmosphere.
Always remember, if it doesn’t quite look or feel right, try adding some red!
Decorate with Detail
Take time and pride in decorating and making your presentation look spectacular! Not only does it make the spread of dainties more satisfying and give your guests a deeper appreciation for the food – but it’s fun! We had a great time looking at photos and gazing though books, gathering ideas of what we could actually do with decorating a cheese spread. Candles, honey frames, oddly shaped cutting boards, (some that we made by cutting rounds from a log!) homemade knives, unique serving dishes (including a tiered plate for height), and flowers all add beauty and depth. In addition to the 27 varieties of cheeses in their various forms, we served infused herb honey and fresh honey to dip the cheese into. Strawberries, blueberries, grapes, olives, lacto-fermented carrots from last year’s harvest, fresh apples from
our apple trees, crackers and homemade sourdough flatbread all helped finish it off with a real homemade touch. Other options might include things such as dried fruits, chocolates, breads, nuts, meats, fish, mustards, and a spread of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Having at least six varieties of cheese that are contrasting to one another (some hard and others soft, some goat and others cow) might be a good place to start. Allow the cheese and fruit to sit out at room temperature for 1 - 3 hours before serving. That way all of their flavours will be full and robust.
A wonderful way to organize your cheeses would be to have separate cheese boards that showcase the varieties of that individual cheese. For example, a cheddar-type cheese board could include Fresh Cheddar, Aged Cheddar, Cheshire and Red Leicester. The Washed Rinds board (aka the stinky board!) might include Limberger, Port Salute and Monte D’Ore.
We also had a corner with homemade honey toffee and caramel popcorn all
made with our fresh honey. On a separate table we had drinks: homemade doublefermented Saskatoon Kombucha, fresh milk, lemon water with fresh garden mint, and Whey Lemonade made with whey, lemons and fresh honey. There was also fresh hot coffee perking on our AGA stove, all ready to be served in warm mugs and topped off with more honey!
Labels
Make beautiful handwritten labels for all the specialty foods. And (especially with the cheeses) maybe briefly describe where the cheese originates and what makes it unique. The labels we made are so sturdy that we can reuse them. Nothing can surpass the charm and uniqueness of anything handwritten.
Books
Have some cheese books open for your guests to look through. Two books that we’re really enjoying are The Book of Cheese: The Essential Guide to Discovering
Cheeses You'll Love by Liz Thorpe, and, The Art of Natural Cheesemaking Using Traditional, Non-Industrial Methods and Raw Ingredients to Make the World›s Best Cheeses by David Asher. These books include history relating to the different cheeses, and also cover fascinating facts regarding their processes and where they originate. Awareness of what you’re eating and what it takes to make it truly does create a deeper appreciation for what you’re enjoying!
Other Entertainment
After Dad blessed the food and thanked the Lord for it, everyone was welcome to feast to their heart's content! After eating, we played music together, did some dancing and then went outside to play games. All the while, the food still remained for our guests to nibble on.
The goal of having a party is to socialize with neighbours, family and friends, to create new acquaintances and have a fun and fulfilling time. It’s possible to get so concerned and overwhelmed with making everything “perfect” that
one loses the fun of the party and the enjoyment of the people. Don’t think that you have to get too elaborate. Remember that small and simple, if done with love and care, often gives more impact than the most extravagant spread.
Parties and celebrations are as old as dirt - almost. They’re a part of every culture (no pun intended!). We can’t let those times of celebrating and fellowship be lost in this new age of technology. We encourage you to celebrate the labour of your hands and put on a party! Invite your friends and family. Sing songs, share stories and get to know each other more. As a society we need to take the time to set our phones and devices aside and enjoy face-to-face conversation.
Always remember, everything comes from the dirt… even cheese and honey!
Amberlin is a WISDOM Graduate. The Biegel Family has a family YouTube channel where they post weekly videos of their family homesteading adventures.
Images Courtesy of Amberlin Biegel
Why I am Thankful for Loneliness
By an Anonymous WISDOM Mother
There are times that I like to be alone, to be quiet, to reflect; but loneliness is different. Loneliness isn’t rest in the quiet, it is what you feel when something is missing. You can be lonely in your own home, on a crowded street where no one sees you, or even at a party full of people that you know.
I don’t enjoy the isolation of loneliness, but I can be thankful for it because...
1. It is hard.
I don’t particularly like hard things, and if possible I will choose the easy way. Ironically, sometimes the easy road becomes difficult in ways I didn’t expect, and the things that looked so hard may teach me beautiful things that I never dreamed of. Feeling alone, like other difficult things, causes me to pray, and prayer reminds me that I
am not alone. Prayer reminds me that our God is Emmanuel. And that is a good thing.
I now notice lonely people. When my life is filled with many friends and our activities together, and I hear that someone is alone I may think ‘that is too bad’, but it isn’t likely that I will do much about it, and besides I may not have the time. But, if I have just prayed, thought, and journaled about my own isolation, then I will be more aware that others may be lonely too. Has someone just had a baby, moved to my town, or started coming to my church? Quite possibly, they are looking for friendship too. (It is also worth remembering that the people who look perfect, as if they don’t need anything or anybody, may
be individuals who are incredibly lonely.)
2. I have found friends in unusual places.
If I am blessed with an abundance of friends just like myself then I may be less likely to cultivate friendships with others who are older, younger, or just plain different than myself. Loneliness may lead me to friends that I never would have had time for otherwise.
I remember a talk that a friend and I had about loneliness. We were both home with new babies, which although wonderful, can also be isolating. We agreed that we weren’t the only ones who needed friends. So, we prayed together that God might bring people into our lives; others who were lonely too. And God answered. I had lived across the street from a neighbour of mine for almost a year without getting to know her. Now our relationship grew into an unexpected friendship. She was in her early 70’s and had that beautiful gift that many older people have – time. Once my husband and I realized that she didn’t drive, she began coming with our family to church every Sunday, and then Bible Study, Christmas and family birthday parties. My friend’s prayer was also answered and she has been blessed with the friendship of a woman younger than herself, and different in many ways, but with children close in age to her own. Another unanticipated
friendship.
3. It has caused me to take responsibility for the relationships in my life.
If I feel isolated, what can I do to cultivate friendships right now? Almost a year ago, a friend and I discussed how much we would enjoy meeting together with other moms to read and discuss a book on motherhood. We had both been encouraged and inspired by the writing of Sally Clarkson, and I had been given the book, Desperate, which seemed an excellent choice to start with. After our talk together, I realized that if I really wanted to attend the kind of reading group that we were talking about it looked like I might just have to start one myself. So, after calling at least a dozen ladies to see if others might also be interested in the idea, a group of 6 of us began meeting once a month to drink tea, read, and discuss together. Each of us is encouraged as we share together, and I am enjoying organizing something that I have never done before.
I like what Elizabeth Elliot wrote in her book, The Path of Loneliness "Loneliness is one kind of “dying” most of us learn about sooner or later. Far from being “bad” for us, a hindrance to spiritual growth, it may be the means of unfolding spiritual “blossoms” hitherto enfolded..."
The WISDOM mother who submitted this article prefers to remain anonymous.
How to Combat Isolation
We asked WISDOM parents, students, facilitators, staff and Parent Advisory Council members to offer suggestions to the following question, As a family, how do you combat a feeling of isolation in your home school?
One of the best ways our family combats isolation is actually getting out in the wilderness. That may seem like a contradiction. But, when you are out skiing across a frozen lake with mountains in the background or snowshoeing through some tall Alberta pines, it is actually easier to feel very close to our God. God is all around in His creation of sun and snow and clear, cold air. Even when only one person goes for a ski like this, God feels closer. Isolation can happen when we don’t feel close to God and nature makes it clear that He is right here. - Anonymous
It’s easy to feel alone and lonely when it’s cold outside. But there’s a real feeling of accomplishment when you get out there. Our family joined a pickup hockey game on our neighbourhood rink. We’ve done indoor things too - volunteered in youth theatre (all of us!) and hosted another family for a board game night.
- P
Our family combats isolation by getting together with friends and fellow homeschoolers on a regular basis. Whether it is a board games night, Shakespearean read-
aloud, weekly group discussions, or just getting together to sing, watch movies, and do theatre, we make a point to have communal activities planned. Having outings to look forward to every week adds that social element we miss by not being in school. Of course, WISDOM online courses are also great additions to the weekly calendar!
-A WISDOM High School Student
My quick answer is to plug into a local youth group or home school support group to meet families or youth that we invite over for an afternoon of outdoor adventure, so, in the winter if weather is permitting we go sledding or on a nature walk (geocaching is also awesome fun in a group of new acquaintances) & follow up with hot chocolate. We also put an extra effort into getting out into the community on a regular basis and volunteering - municipalities often have volunteer coordinators that can put you & your kids into a group that requires one time help (like packing Christmas Hampers) or ongoing opportunities (like snow shovelling for a senior nearby).
-MM Actually we didn’t have issues with isolation in our homeschooling. As parents, we and our children were well occupied and interacting with many age levels during their homeschooling years. So our suggestions for parents would be the following:
• have regular interaction with people outside just your own family, eg. church, common interests such as hobbies, earning money, recreational activities, etc..
• have worthwhile activities that interest your children, not just yourself
• serve other people in some meaningful way, eg. volunteering, music, visiting older or younger people in need.
-RK
Ibelieve,
whether it is a parent or a child that feels isolated, what that person really needs is ONE good friend. They need someone who loves them and will listen to them. This can be the farmer next door, a child from your church community, an elderly person, or a kind sewing teacher. The age of the person is not nearly as important as the willingness to spend time with them and make them feel special and loved. A warm cup of tea and a cookie go a long way in combatting isolation in a homeschooling mom. For kids, playing with a friend for the afternoon or working alongside someone and doing some meaningful work can really lift their spirits.
Pray that someone like this will come into your life and then seek out these potential friendships. A good start may be inviting them to your home first. -R
How do/did we combat feelings of isolation?
• playing board games
• organizing “play dates” - even once a month was enough to fill up that cup of need
• attending church weekly where friends were seen and interacted with
• getting all the academics done during the day and then having fun at extracurricular most evenings.
-K
Isolation is both a true & false reality. The feeling of isolation can be “true”. We can feel alone, we can feel no one else can or will understand, we can feel that no one else is experiencing what we are experiencing. Yet feelings can be misleading because they are filtered through our own lens, our own experiences. In essence this ‘true’
experience of our feelings is subjective in nature.
However, are we ever isolated objectively? Objective truth can be defined as the conformity of the intellect with what the thing perceived actually is. Since God is the source of all that is and knows his creation perfectly, he is the fullness of all truth. Because God is the source of all creation and knows it perfectly then no matter what we perceive subjectively we can be assured that we are never alone, never isolated, never abandoned.
How then does one move from our subjective experience of isolation to the objective reality of belonging? In a word, thanksgiving. To choose to give thanks, to be grateful places us in a position of acknowledging - another. And if there is another, then we are not alone and can begin to draw consolation and a sense of belonging moving us out of our “feeling” of isolation.
Image source: Kaboompics
Focus on Home Schooling YourChildren ACTIVITIES
By Terry Yaceyko
Focus. What a great word for home educators! Focus: a center of activity, attraction, or attention. A point of concentration.
I relished the focus I was able to use in our home schooling activities. I LOVED that I could focus on what was best for our family and our children during our days, weeks, months and years. I also loved that I could focus on my philosophy of learning and home education.
I’m going to include two links here that walk you and your spouse through
creating a home school philosophy. Creating one, printing it out and having it visible on the fridge or in your daytimer will help you navigate tough days. Not sure if you should continue home schooling? Read your home school philosophy and see if anything on it has changed – other than life has gotten hard and there are struggles. My home school philosophy kept me going for the long haul!
Onto the Fun and Educational Focuses!
Focus on Games – include playing games as much as you can with your children during your home school day and during your family time. There is so much learning that can happen with playing games (and it is great for family
bonding, building relationships, and teaching good sportsmanship!).
15 Fun Games You Can Play With Uno Cards – this link has a ton of ideas for all ages.
picklebums.com/games-you-can-play-withuno-cards
Focus on Hands on Learning
An old friend had each of her children cook through the WISDOM Cookbook one year. All 4 of her children took a turn shopping for supplies, and then cooking a meal one night a week. I don’t know that they really enjoyed every night every week, but they learned how to cook many meals and developed lovely skills for their future.
recipes online. I printed online recipes out (I often do searches for the “best” Veggie Dip and so on). If they are winners, you want to be able to make them again. (Wow, I’m just thinking of a dear friend who uses an app on her iPad to keep track of her favorite recipes. Do whatever works best for you!)
Other hands on activities could be art related, biking, swimming, field trips, gardening, hiking, training a new puppy, rock climbing, experiments, and so much more. Ask your children what they would be interested in the most!
Focus on Learning about Canada
You could do this with the WISDOM Cookbook, another cookbook, or find
This is a lovely educational virtual trip that you can buy. It could be a focus for part of your year!
shop.thecanadianhomeschooler.com/thecanadian-adventure
Focus on Younger Children Listening to Themselves Read
DIY Whisper Phones – I’ve seen these to buy online, but I love the DIY version. It is an easy way for a child struggling to read out loud to hear himself and make sure they are saying the words correctly.
adabofgluewilldo.com/diy-whisper-phones
Focus on Frugal Home Schooling with Great Books
I often talk to wanna-be home school parents that aren’t sure how they will be able to home school with only a limited amount of funding for approved educational purchases. Did you know that most of North America home educates with no funding? Alberta is one of only a few places in North America where home schoolers receive funding. I do know it is hard to make the funding
go as far as we want. I learned to shop used and to always keep my eyes open for good extras for our home school.
This is a great read about frugal home schooling with Great Books. Check it out!
nickitruesdell.com/frugal-and-freehomeschooling-with-great-books
Focus on How Long is Your Home School Day?
I absolutely love this meme and share it often with new home educators. Home Schooling is not “school at home”. You don’t have to spend hours and hours a day sitting at desks, schooling your child. I suggest trying to stick to the hour limits in the meme above for academic home schooling time. This is where I suggest focusing on home schooling your children. Afternoons can be used for educational extras that you don’t need to supervise, which can be enjoyable for your children to do – LEGO, Baking, Crafting, Sewing, Perler Beads, and so much more. That worked well for our family.
Focus on LEGO
If your children love LEGO, include it in your home school as much as you can. There are tons of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) activities for LEGO online.
Build Math Patterns with LEGO Bricks
frugalfun4boys.com/build-math-patterns-withlego-bricks
Focus on Being Intentional With Your Time as a Home Schooler
I’m including this very intentionally. Dear Home School Mom or Dad, please be intentional and focused about your time as a home school parent. Why not plan to home school for 4 days a week and do errands or chores on the 5th day. You are adding in another job to what you already do, and there are going to be tough or busy days. You have the freedom to take a day or week off as needed. Build in boundaries and extra time into your days, weeks and months.
Home educating our children was a marathon, not a sprint. If that is true for you, too, do what you can do to keep home schooling your children AND have fun together.
blog.sonlight.com/intentional-time.html
LOVE this meme. What a great reminder about what you really need to home school your children. Keep your focus on this! You can do it!
My last thought is to FOCUS on What Your Family Can Do at this point in history (or if you are a rural family). There are Virtual Animal Cams.
earthcam.com/events/animalcams
Be creative. Travel and hike, if possible. There are Zoom opportunities both for home school parents, teens, or children –parents can set them up and supervise as needed. When you can meet in person, do it as much as you can!
One WISDOM Mom shared an online Book Club idea and it was so easy to set up. One mom volunteered to read out loud to other families. They met in person in the Summertime but have met online via Zoom most of last year. The host mom made a list of books that she was thinking of reading aloud. Families needed to have a copy of each book. (Perhaps the kids followed along as she read aloud?) They met 3x a week for half an hour at a time via Zoom. (10:00 am) She reads out loud for 20 minutes and then she asks questions or has a show & tell of items related to the book (from
the previous day’s reading). Parents and younger kids are in attendance, as well, with the Zoom on mute for the listening members, while the host mom reads. About 12 kids (elementary - ages 6 - 12) attended each week and loved it. This idea could be easily adapted for other ages as well.
WISDOM also has a Pen Pal Club that WISDOM Students can participate in, as well as Mail Exchange Events that were very successful (for both Home School Moms, teens and children) last year. WISDOM even set up Virtual Game Day Events last year and will be starting those again if needed. You can find more about those here:
wisdomhomeschooling.com/resources/external/ extras-available-for-wisdom-families
None of these last ideas are better than real life activities and connections, BUT it is better than nothing and we need to embrace what we can do as families and in our home schooling during challenging times. What a gift it is to home educate our children! Let’s FOCUS on that!
Terry Yaceyko and her husband Richard live in Vermilion. They home schooled their 4 girls all the way through, and now Terry loves her work in the WISDOM office, supporting other home schoolers.
