Homeschool Hacks

Fun Lapbooking Video

I adore this YouTube video. I have been brainstorming all the fun things the boys can make lapbooks about. My Nine year old is already planning his 'Mythbusters' lapbook.

Five Dangerous Things We Should Let Our Kids Do

I am a huge fan of the TED series speakers. I posted the very popular, 'Do Schools Kill Creativity' last week. Today I want to share this excellent speech titled, 'Five Dangerous Things We Should Let Our Kids Do.' I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

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I would love to hear your thoughts on this speech. Feel free to leave them here in the comments or over at Homeschool Hackers!

Blessings, Allison

Tidal Learning Tuesday -Melissa's Rule of Six

This is the second installment of Tidal Learning Tuesday. I received so many wonderful emails telling of how inspiring Melissa's words were from last Tuesday. I have copied her wonderful rule of six and made my own rule of ten. It is posted as its own page in the sidebar.

This post was oringinally posted October 26, 2006. Big thanks and love for the wonderful Melissa Wiley for allowing Homeschool Hacks to share her wonderful work.

My Rule of Six and Whence It Came

"It's funny how things you post on the internet take on a life of their own. When I began this blog last spring, I put "Our Rule of Six" in the sidebar (see it down there on the left, under the baby photo?), intending to write a post about it. I touched upon it in one of the very first posts I wrote for this blog, but I always meant to come back to it and explain how the idea developed. Now and then I'll get a nice email from someone who has happened upon the Rule of Six and found it useful, and I'm always so thrilled by that and I'll think, Oh that's right, I need to write that post!

But it's been just a wee bit busy around here these past few months.

While I was on the road last week (or the week before; it's all a blur), my friend Mary G.—whom I had the great pleasure of meeting in person during my Denver visit—popped me a lovely note saying she'd borrowed my Rule of Six for her own blog, and lots of people had responded with their versions, and would I mind if she put together a little Rule of Six Carnival? Of course I was delighted. I've greatly enjoyed reading this collection of posts, seeing how some folks have chimed in with their thoughts about my Rule, and others have put together their own lists.

And I figured it's about time I finished up that old post about what our Rule of Six is and how I came up with it! It's something I've been using for four or five years, and when I think about it, I can't believe I haven't ever posted about it before because it is such an important and constant guideline for me.

It got its start, as so many helpful principles do, in the writings of Charlotte Mason. In A Charlotte Mason Companion, Karen Andreola wrote that Miss Mason believed children needed three things every day: something to love, something to think about, and something to do. (And if you read the other posts in the Carnival, you'll see that the Bookworm, astute woman that she is, picked up on my source immediately!)

I remember it was shortly after we moved from New York to Virginia in 2002 that I looked at the bright faces of my three little girls in their big blue room and made a silent promise to myself to give them that good soul-food every day: something to love, to think about, to do. I thought about what that meant in practical terms, because a concept has to translate very clearly on a practical level if there is any hope of my pulling it off. It's the logistics that get you, every time. Broad principles are like umbrellas, and you need a hand to hold the umbrella with.

And that's how I got to our Rule of Five. (Yes, five. It was Five for the first two or three years. Item number Six didn't join the list until later—which is why I've been tickled to see all these Rules of Six popping up, because ours was the Rule of Five for so long.) I thought of it as the five fingers of a hand, the five things that I strive to make a part of every day we spend together:

• Good books

• Imaginative play

• Encounters with beauty (through art, music, and the natural world—this includes our nature walks)

• Ideas to ponder and discuss (there's Miss Mason's "something to think about")

• Prayer

When Mary borrowed my list, she put prayer at the top to reflect its overarching importance, which makes perfect sense. I have it at the bottom for the very same reason. I always figure that you're most likely to remember the last thing you hear. If I put the most important thing at the bottom of the list, that's the word that echoes in my consciousness afterward.

Also, when the girls were younger it worked so beautifully with a little fingerplay we would do at bedtime. We would hold up a finger for each thing on the list. "What did you play today?" I would ask, and eager stories would bubble forth. "Who remembers what books we read?" "Where did we meet beauty today?" It was such fun, at the end of the day, to listen to their reflections about what we'd done since breakfast. At the end of the list, we'd all be holding up the five fingers of a hand, and then we'd clap our hands together and that meant time to pray.

For us, as Catholics, the word "prayer" in my list is meant to encompass the whole range of religious customs and practices that are woven through our day, celebrating the feasts and seasons of the liturgical year.

But what about the sixth item in my Rule of Six? You see, of course, what's missing from my original list: work. That's because when I first came up with the list, my oldest child was only six, and play WAS her work. A couple of years later, the list grew—like my children. I added "meaningful work" (as opposed to busywork) to express the importance of doing useful things cheerfully and well, with reverence and attention.

And the five-finger visual works even better now, because you can tally off the first five things on the list and then clasp your hands together for the sixth. It's been a long time, though, since we used the fingerplay at the end of the day. I bet Beanie doesn't even remember it. Maybe that's something to return to now that we're settling into a new rhythm, a new place to practice our Rule."

Delightfully inspiring, I know! Now it is your turn Homeschool Hackers. What would be on your rule of 6, or in my case -rule of 10!

Leave your thoughts in the comments or over at the Homeschool Hackers discussion group.

Blessings, Allison

"It's funny how things you post on the internet take on a life of their own. When I began this blog last spring, I put "Our Rule of Six" in the sidebar (see it down there on the left, under the baby photo?), intending to write a post about it. I touched upon it in one of the very first posts I wrote for this blog, but I always meant to come back to it and explain how the idea developed. Now and then I'll get a nice email from someone who has happened upon the Rule of Six and found it useful, and I'm always so thrilled by that and I'll think, Oh that's right, I need to write that post!

But it's been just a wee bit busy around here these past few months.

While I was on the road last week (or the week before; it's all a blur), my friend Mary G.—whom I had the great pleasure of meeting in person during my Denver visit—popped me a lovely note saying she'd borrowed my Rule of Six for her own blog, and lots of people had responded with their versions, and would I mind if she put together a little Rule of Six Carnival? Of course I was delighted. I've greatly enjoyed reading this collection of posts, seeing how some folks have chimed in with their thoughts about my Rule, and others have put together their own lists.

And I figured it's about time I finished up that old post about what our Rule of Six is and how I came up with it! It's something I've been using for four or five years, and when I think about it, I can't believe I haven't ever posted about it before because it is such an important and constant guideline for me.

It got its start, as so many helpful principles do, in the writings of Charlotte Mason. In A Charlotte Mason Companion, Karen Andreola wrote that Miss Mason believed children needed three things every day: something to love, something to think about, and something to do. (And if you read the other posts in the Carnival, you'll see that the Bookworm, astute woman that she is, picked up on my source immediately!)

I remember it was shortly after we moved from New York to Virginia in 2002 that I looked at the bright faces of my three little girls in their big blue room and made a silent promise to myself to give them that good soul-food every day: something to love, to think about, to do. I thought about what that meant in practical terms, because a concept has to translate very clearly on a practical level if there is any hope of my pulling it off. It's the logistics that get you, every time. Broad principles are like umbrellas, and you need a hand to hold the umbrella with.

And that's how I got to our Rule of Five. (Yes, five. It was Five for the first two or three years. Item number Six didn't join the list until later—which is why I've been tickled to see all these Rules of Six popping up, because ours was the Rule of Five for so long.) I thought of it as the five fingers of a hand, the five things that I strive to make a part of every day we spend together:

• Good books

• Imaginative play

• Encounters with beauty (through art, music, and the natural world—this includes our nature walks)

• Ideas to ponder and discuss (there's Miss Mason's "something to think about")

• Prayer

When Mary borrowed my list, she put prayer at the top to reflect its overarching importance, which makes perfect sense. I have it at the bottom for the very same reason. I always figure that you're most likely to remember the last thing you hear. If I put the most important thing at the bottom of the list, that's the word that echoes in my consciousness afterward.

Also, when the girls were younger it worked so beautifully with a little fingerplay we would do at bedtime. We would hold up a finger for each thing on the list. "What did you play today?" I would ask, and eager stories would bubble forth. "Who remembers what books we read?" "Where did we meet beauty today?" It was such fun, at the end of the day, to listen to their reflections about what we'd done since breakfast. At the end of the list, we'd all be holding up the five fingers of a hand, and then we'd clap our hands together and that meant time to pray.

For us, as Catholics, the word "prayer" in my list is meant to encompass the whole range of religious customs and practices that are woven through our day, celebrating the feasts and seasons of the liturgical year.

But what about the sixth item in my Rule of Six? You see, of course, what's missing from my original list: work. That's because when I first came up with the list, my oldest child was only six, and play WAS her work. A couple of years later, the list grew—like my children. I added "meaningful work" (as opposed to busywork) to express the importance of doing useful things cheerfully and well, with reverence and attention.

And the five-finger visual works even better now, because you can tally off the first five things on the list and then clasp your hands together for the sixth. It's been a long time, though, since we used the fingerplay at the end of the day. I bet Beanie doesn't even remember it. Maybe that's something to return to now that we're settling into a new rhythm, a new place to practice our Rule."

Delightfully inspiring, I know! Now it is your turn Homeschool Hackers. What would be on your rule of 6, or in my case -rule of 10!

Leave your thoughts in the comments or over at the Homeschool Hackers discussion group.

Blessings, Allison

Daily Links You'll Love

THUMBS UP!

(from DarkRoastBlend)

Nonfiction Monday Round-up- Wonderful books to check out from your local library.

Cute Dice Game Ideas- Cabin fever anyone?

75 questions to ask yourself- I love this handy list of questions.

Hack -Lesson Planning

"One of the most important things and the hardest for me to accomplish in order to have an organized day is lesson planning.  I finally took a day one weekend and sat down with my children’s curriculum, and filled a calendar with scheduled lessons.  It was amazingly simple once I got past that first step—committing myself to doing it.  For some reason I just thought “I’ve paid for this curriculum, I should just be able to follow the instructions and teach it.”  Not so.  With my children, it became very apparent that I would need a Plan of Attack.  Otherwise, I was Dead in the Water.

Step One: obtain a daily planner
Step Two:  set aside a day with nothing to do but plan (probably the most difficult part of the whole thing)
Step Three:  Review the material; this is like skimming before studying; what are the main parts to the lesson?  What can you reasonably achieve in a day? How do you want to divide this lesson up?
Step Four:  For each day, write a summary in your planner of what you will teach, and the book and page you can find the lesson in.

Now every night, I take out my calendar and check on what I’m going to teach tomorrow.  I get the text out, review the lesson more thoroughly, and meditate on how to present it to my child.  Since I started doing this, I have been getting rave reviews.  My 8 year old told his daddy this morning that he wants me to teach him through college!  Who could ask for anything more?"

-Alicia from Homestate

Quick note from a very embarrassed Allison- Apparently I posted four times yesterday. ~blushes~ The planets aligned and when my toddler kept pressing buttons, he learned to publish!

A Present for You

Hi Homeschool Hackers,

I made a fancy little widget for your sidebars. The widget is automatically updated when I post so you'll never miss a tip, a link or a laugh!

It is easy to add to your site.

• Click 'Get Widget'
• Click 'Embed Code'
• Copy the HTML code
• Paste into your sidebar
• Enjoy!

I would love to hear where all the Homeschool Hack widget lives. Be sure to let me know here or on the Homeschool Hackers social site.

Have a blessed Sunday, Allison

Funnies- Charlie Bit Me!

When I was first asking for ideas for the re-launch of Homeschool Hacks I asked everyone I could for their input. I once said that I wanted to know what everyone needs, even if it is a video of dancing monkeys.

Well, let me tell you, I had tons of moms tell me that they wanted tons of comic relief thrown in. I aim to please, I'll be posting funnies throughout the week just to brighten your day!

Enjoy!

Daily Links You'll Love

How to make beautiful beads out of recycled newspaper. -This is absolutely adorable. So many concepts can be incorperated into this activity: Recycling, Frugal Living, Arts, Jewelry Making.

Super easy to make finger puppets. The kids can make them independantly. Yay!

Do it yourself backyard ice rink. So cool.

Socialization? No Thanks!

Enjoy!

Do Schools Kill Creativity?

"A must-see for every parent and teacher. Education guru Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining (and profoundly moving) case for creating an education system that nurtures creativity, rather than undermining it. Sir Ken Robinson is author of "Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative," and a leading expert on innovation in education and business. (Recorded February, 2006 in Monterey, CA.)

More TEDTalks at www.TED.com

This video has been making the rounds on the web because of the genius of Sir Ken Robinson and his deeply resonating message. The first 5-8 minutes are a bit dry, be sure hang in there and watch the last 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Dry Erase Boards- The Gift That Keeps Giving!

"Marker boards are great for writing out daily schedules, chore charts, to-do-lists, etc. Also great for practicing math or spelling. My dad taught me a lot of Bible verses as a kid by writing out the whole verse, having me read it through aloud twice, and then erasing one or two words, read through twice, repeat until the whole verse is gone. Worked fabulously every time, and I still remember many of those verses!"

- Jenni @ Makeshift Mama

makeshiftmama.wordpress.com