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From Dorian's Desk |
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June Get Connected! There are few things that seem to attract the attention of people these days than connecting with one another! We can stream live and connect with events going on across the globe. We can be LinkedIn and we can connect to share information with other professionals and ideas with like-minded friends all over the world. As homeschooling moms, we can now connect with other homeschoolers in chat rooms or on boards. We glean gems of wisdom as we read blogs shared by those who have walked our pathway, and we find comfort in the fact that we are not alone in our feelings or situations as we cope with struggles and share joys as homeschooling families. All this connecting happens through a few simple keystrokes! Sometimes, although we spend our days with our children, we don't always make opportunities to "connect" with them. Here's a great idea to make some sweet connections with each child AND help to strengthen writing skills over the summer and in the year to come! Children as young as kindergarten or preschool can do this as long as they are able to write phonetically. This "Get Connected" project really just involves simple daily journaling by your child with your responses to those daily journal entries. It really amounts to creating a dialogue that might never happen in exactly the same way without the daily written element. Dialoguing with a student can be so bonding, and it encourages the child to share personal thoughts, ideas, and reflections. As homeschooling parents, we have an especially unique and blessed opportunity and privilege to be able to implement this method at home. It starts with the student writing any simple entry for the day. You read their journal entry and write a response back to them. The next day, they respond to your questions or comments - and then write a new entry. It doesn't have to be profound or inspirational, but it can turn into those things! It starts with you using each daily writing opportunity to be interested in your child. Following are some examples of things children might write and possible responses by you in parentheses. You can let your child choose the topic of the daily entry, suggest that it be about daily or weekly summer happenings, or assign a different topic of your choice. We went for a picnic in the park today. That was fun! I got stung by a bee while we were eating lunch. That was not fun! (I love picnics - it was hot, though - right? I'm sorry you got stung - but I'm glad that you are okay now. Do you remember the time that you were stung when you were three years old?) I am so excited! Next week is our summer vacation at the beach! I love the ocean! (I'm excited too, and I've been so busy packing! How many states will we drive through before we get to the beach?) I'm feeling grouchy today. (I'm so sorry! Sometimes I feel grouchy too. When that happens, I try to count my blessings and repeat a Bible verse that reminds me of how much God loves me even when I feel grouchy! Let me know if there is something I can do to help! I'll be praying for you! Love, Mom) Today we went to the ice cream shop! My favorite flavor of ice cream is strawberry. (Mine too! I especially like it in an ice cream cone. What are two other flavors you like? Love, Mom) If you start and continue this with your child, you will find it to be a beautifully rewarding experience. Although you can do it in a spiral notebook journal, it's also a great idea to do it on the computer to help an older child practice keyboarding skills! If you already knew about and have used this idea but haven't used it for a while, this summer might be the perfect time to revisit it! Oh, and with all this talk of connecting - be sure to tell all your homeschooling friends about Learning Adventures! The best way to share the good news about Learning Adventures is still moms sharing their great experiences with other moms! Happy Summer!
From Dorian's desk - Christmas "Making your list . . . checkin' it twice!" List-making comes naturally to me, since being organized is one of my personal attributes. As a young adult, newly married and teaching young children, I was a zealous list-maker - almost to the point of adding "make list" to my list of things to do! I had more than one list going at a time, a "to-do" list for work, a list of goals for work, a "to-do" list for home, a grocery and supplies list of household needs for shopping (which I still keep faithfully), a list of personal goals . . . I am sure there were more than that as well. There was just something about crossing things off my list that felt like such an accomplishment and nurtured the organized part of my soul! As life got ever busier and I became a mommy and eventually grew older (and hopefully, wiser) my individual lists became less important as time itself grew more precious. Reading to Ryan or chatting with him while he was swinging became more "urgent" than spending so much time creating lists and checking things off them. I guess that's why, when we began teaching Ryan at home, we wanted a learning adventure - one that wasn't so concerned with checking things "off" the list as a focus on the things that would be "on" the list that he would carry with him for the rest of his life. Sure, there are still lists of skills and concepts involved, and there is still organization in the way it all happens each day and within each unit and each volume - but, hopefully there is a more meaningful focus than just the superficial checking off of skills, concepts, lessons, and "tasks" in learning. It's my prayer that your learning adventure will be more than an educational check list for you and your family! I'll provide you with the skills, concepts, lessons, and activities so you can focus on reaching that greater goal of experiencing the learning journey of a lifetime with your children - and continue to build memories that will strengthen your relationship with them and with the Lord! So - as Christmas nears and we begin making those "lists" - I hope this year, your list will include taking the time to enjoy Christmas moments with your children - reading, walking in the snow together, singing carols together, baking together, serving others together, marking Christmas milestones, and making memories together. Most of all, my prayer is that you will take time to reflect and delight in God's unspeakable gift of the Babe in the manger, and that Jesus, the Light of the World, will be the reason for everything you do. May His light shine through you this Christmas! ~Dorian
From Dorian's desk - April Don't you just love the smell of spring? Gardeners in the Midwest are just beginning to plant seeds in the cold ground and watch for the first sprouts of those tender and delicious early spring vegetables. I've had very little experience in the planting of gardens, but I can joyfully claim much experience in eating those first tasty garden morsels and savoring each mouthwatering bite! Beets and berries, rhubarb and radishes, carrots, greens and lettuces, scallions and asparagus, peas and new potatoes! Yum! I always thank the farmers for coming to share their bounty at the Farmers' Market with those of us who are not as talented at growing things as they are! A garden is such a lovely thing! For those of you who would like to insert a mini-unit into your spring learning schedule - a Garden Unit is a timely idea to consider. Spending a week or so doing a mini-unit study in the spring can be really fun for the family - or it can be equally as meaningful at the end of the school year/beginning of summer. In this study, you will create your own schedule and pick and choose as many or as few of the following activity suggestions as you like. The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett, will provide the literature foundation for your garden unit study. In it, you will meet the sickly, neglected, and quite contrary Mary Lennox who goes to live with her uncle at Misselthwaite Manor in England. While there, Mary learns about a secret garden that has been locked for ten years, and she is determined to find the mysterious garden. When she finds the key to the secret garden, it leads to an unlikely friendship with the nature lover, Dickon, and the spoiled and lonely Collin, and a series of events that will transform the garden and all of their lives. Growth is a theme in this book, both in the garden and in the lives of the characters. A mini-unit study need not include every element of a comprehensive unit study and can still touch on the main points of the curriculum spectrum if it includes reading and discussing, writing, and extending the literature into the realms of social studies, science, and fine arts. Whether you just choose to read (or re-read) The Secret Garden together as a family or you decide to add some of the following learning and fun activities - you will appreciate this inspiring tale of growth! Here are some extension activities that go along with The Secret Garden:
May you experience many "growing" blessings as you enjoy the rest of this school year and the spring and summer season with your children! ~Dorian
From Dorian's Desk - July Our county fair is this week, when the tomatoes are ripening, the sweet corn is just beginning to burst with juicy flavor, and the cicadas are warming up for their daily and nightly chorus here in America's heartland. This is the time of year when many of you are completely immersed in gardening and helping your children get their 4-H projects entered at the local county (and state) fair. If you aren't involved in exhibiting at the fair, you will almost certainly be attending your county fair, which always brings back heartwarming childhood memories of days gone by. As you prepare for the end of summer and the beginning of your school year, consider spending a transition week doing a mini-unit study just for fun with your family! It's a gentle way of getting back into the swing of the more structured homeschooling year, because you will create your own schedule, picking and choosing as many or as few of the following activity suggestions as you like. Although the story of Charlotte's Web, by E.B. White, is typically enjoyed by children on the younger side of the spectrum, there can be no doubt that
it is an endearing and enduring story that transcends all generations - and it never fails to touch the heart! Charlotte's Web provides a wonderful foundation for a mini-unit study that is perfect for this time of year. Don't reject this idea because you have read the book before! Each time I read Charlotte's Web,
I laugh louder, marvel more at the themes and insights, shed a few more tears, and heartily enjoy the tender and heartwarming story it tells of the sweet pig, Wilbur, the wise spider, Charlotte, the hilarious rat,
Templeton, and the little farm girl, Fern, who comes to know them in that one very special summer. A mini-unit study need not include every element of a comprehensive unit study, and can still touch on the main points of the curriculum spectrum if it includes reading and discussing, writing, and extending the literature into the realms of social studies, science, and fine arts. Whether you just choose to re-read Charlotte's Web together as a family or you decide to add some of the following learning and fun activities - you will appreciate re-visiting this tender tale at this most appropriate time of the year! Here are some extension activities that go along with Charlotte's Web:
Blessings as you enjoy the rest of the summer and begin your homeschooling year! ~Dorian |
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