Inclusive Homeschool

There’s lots of math worksheet and online practice sites, but the one I like the most goes by the name - what else? The Math Worksheet Site! http://themathworksheetsite.com/

It’s a free resource, kinda. You can use the generator for all the operations for free, but the membership adds to the types of problems you can create. For a fee of $20 a year or $2.50 a month - and they do have monthly membership - you have additional types of problems to generate.

For example, for addition, the free side allows you to generate a number of addition problems in horizontal, vertical format and the types of digits and number of digits you want to add. The membership allows you to create problems with missing addends and perhaps others. I don’t know yet, but that one sticks out.

Still the free side has lots to choose from, and you can customize your worksheets to a greater degree with those than other sites I’ve come across. This is important to me.

The operations and topics covered are: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, mixed problems, fractions, measurement, graphing, telling time, one hundred chart.

Now, I’m not a worksheet mom. Don’t really care for them, but with math, I have found it helpful to use specific worksheets geared to whatever concept we’re working on and just for reinforcing math facts. It’s nice to be able to tailor make them myself. Brhiannon needs a lot of building of foundation work before moving on in math.

Also, because of the way my work schedule runs there are three days in a row that varies each week where I don’t have her. I have to be able to send something down with her or she will have no exposure to math or language arts, and those are precisely the subjects that she needs consistency in. These custom generated worksheets are the ticket for her. I’ve already used the free addition sheets, picking the numbers to add and the numbers I wanted them added to.

So far I’m only using the free part of the site, but I will probably purchase a membership, because I want to generate a greater variety of problems….and because I’m a curriculum and resources junkie.

Tags: free resources, generator, Math, paid resources, worksheets

If you’re interested in lap or note booking this is the site for you!

eMINTS is an acronym for the Missouri’s Instructional Networked Teaching Strategies. They created an incredibly rich collection of information, the individual units called eThemes. These are used in classrooms (and homeschools) across the country and worldwide.

Even if you’re not interested in unit studies per se, the grouping of so much information under specific topics makes this a great resource for anyone and a more efficient way to find quality information.

Topics are categorized by grade level and alphabetical order. I checked out a few, and the information and web links for Ancient China alone blew me away. There are tons of animal eThemes, as well as other topics. The Art of the Five Major World Religions eTheme is a gold mine. Even though it’s listed for 9th grade and up, the art work and synopsis of information can definitely be used for younger grades.

These aren’t lesson plans, but it wouldn’t be difficult to create one from these resources.

Another thing I really like is their eTheme Calendar, which has a link to a website for whatever is featured on any given day. The links are relative to the general theme of the month. February had links for Susan B Anthony’s birthday, as well as various links related to Black History month, President’s Day, Lunar New Year and other interesting topics.

The one problem I have on this site is getting sidetracked as I discover one cool link after another!

Tags: Links, Resources, theme, unit studies, websites

That may sound like the most obvious statement in the world, but in a culture that’s so fond of delineating things into stages and phases, and perceives a linear journey more than an exponential one, we sometimes forget that walking through a door doesn’t mean closing it.

I was once taught that you raised your kids, they became adults and you let them go. And if you had a relationship with them then, it was as adults. (Not by my mother, by the way, who raised me to believe I was responsible for her welfare and would always be.)

But your kids do grow up. They become adults and the time of childhood is over. But your relationship to them as their mother isn’t.

The needs of the relationship changes and the way you express your love changes, but the parent/child relationship never ends.

A Lovely Lunch with My Son
Today, I had lunch with my son, whom I adore. As a young man approaching his 23rd birthday, I don’t see him all that often, so I really cherished this time together and the two-hour fifteen minute talk we had. He did most of it, sharing this thoughts, his feelings with me. I soaked up every word.

And yes, without a doubt, there was this young man, a young adult making his place, figuring out his priorities and what that looks like to him…no longer the eight year old I remembered, nor will ever be again.

But he wasn’t talking to a peer or another adult. I was his mom, and there was a significance to my words that only I could have as his mom.

No matter how well or how poorly we do our job, we as parents carry so much power to be able to make a difference in our children’s lives - no matter their age.

Never to be Replicated or Substituted
This doesn’t mean we make choices for them or live their lives for them or carry them on our backs. It doesn’t mean they have to live up to our expectations. Their lives, after all, are their’s.

And this isn’t another one of those very worn out “mothers are to blame for everything” kind of Freudian scapegoating either. Our children, especially as adults, are responsible for the choices they make, and are indeed, free agents.

But what we bring to our children, as their mothers, can have significance to them that cannot be replicated or substituted by anyone else. No matter how old they get, we have a power.

We have the power to matter - regardless whether they want to or are capable of admitting that or not. Most importantly, we have the power to see. How we see our children has incredible potential to heal, support and uplift them…or tear them down.

It’s never too late to bless our kids.

Children grow, kids turn into adults, but once you take on the job, you never stop being a mother. How I am needed changes, but the fact that I am needed never does.

And that comforts me.

Tags: Children, offspring, parenting, relationship, single mom

I love homeschoolers. They are among the most supportive people I have ever met, especially in the online groups I belong to.

I was stressing out about a situation, and asked for help on one of my email group lists. It’s amazing the support and wonderful suggestions I received. As a single parent, it can be very challenging to homeschool your child, but while I’m responsible for putting together my curriculum, implementing it and supporting myself and my child, I’m not alone.

I’m fortunate there are two co-op groups in my area that I can participate in, but I also have 24 hour seven days a week support online from any one of my many homeschool email groups.

You don’t have to do this alone. If you’re considering homeschooling or are homeschooling, get on a homeschool list and let yourself reap the benefits of other people’s experiences. Plus, you deserve the emotional support. The curriculum reviews are valuable alone, but those encouraging words are priceless.

Yahoo Groups has tons of homeschooling groups for all topics and regions. There’s over 800,000 education and school groups alone! You can narrow down your search and find the group(s) for you.

So Many Uses
If you want to know about cyber schools, there’s a group. If you want to know about a specific cyber school there’s a group. If you’re interested in unschooling or Waldorf or classical education there’s a group. If you have a visual spatial child or you want to know more about lapbooking there’s a group. There’s actually more than one group on each of those topics and more.

Co-ops often have their own group to keep in touch with members and virtual co-ops exist online. There’s groups for virtual field trips, a valuable resource to find really awesome places to go to online, live cams, 3D museum tours and the like. There are groups for just about everything and anything. You pick. You choose. Or you can start one up.

I just read of a homeschooling family that created their own yahoo group for their family. This doesn’t take the place of family time, but really helped them to coordinate their school work and activities throughout the day. Plus, it was fun.

Just go there, type in your search and choose. I don’t know what I’d do without mine. Well, I do know…I did without before with my first two. I struggled. That’s what I did.

It’s still a challenge, but what a world of difference!

Tags: help, homeschool, network, online, Resources, single mom, support

Well, The Nickelodeon Spiderwick Chronicles upset me more than I realized. When I woke up feeling angrier the next morning than I did the previous day, I knew it was more than just because of a stupid movie.

This particular total disregard for the story hit a deep nerve in me. It underscores our culture’s general disregard for the artist, whether authors or musicians or any other art form, and evidently a part of me had an intense reaction to it.

It’s so prevalent in our society, this flippant disregard, that you can become desensitized, but at least for me, not this time. I wrote about it on my personal blog, Keeping the Dream, this morning. I’m sure I’ll be addressing this issue in further posts.

In Honor Of
Today, in honor of telling your story and story tellers everywhere, I want to acknowledge one of my favorite storytellers and include two good resources for stories.

Mountain Moon Storytellers, Bob and Barb Gingrich, two of my favorite storytellers in my hometown, York, PA. If you ever have a chance to catch any of their events, you have to. They are delightful and warm people both on and off stage, filled with rich stories and generous spirit.

National Storytelling Network: Find a storyteller, find support as a storyteller, learn about the art and develop your own skills.

Peace Corps Stories: Phenomenal resource of stories collected by Peace Corps volunteers complete with lesson plans. The stories are grouped by grade, region and subject area.

These are not just a collection of native stories from around the world, but include a collection of letters from Peace Corps volunteers themselves in the field, and that is where all good stories begin - from personal human experience. I just discovered this website this morning. I will definitely be using its resources in our homeschooling venture.

Tags: lesson plans, reading, Resources, Spiderwick Chronicles, stories, storytelling

Don’t forget, the Great Backyard Bird Count is in session now! You can still participate. It runs February 15 through the 18th.

And you don’t have to do it all four days. Just taking the time to stop once and really observe around you, to be mindful of the little creatures that share our space is worth the doing!

Tags: birds, network, Science