Thursday, October 5, 2017

Homeschooling 101 seminar

As I had mentioned in my last post, I had the opportunity to speak to the ladies at the Foundations Conference on the topic of "Homeschooling 101."

Unfortunately, there were some technical failures with the recording of that seminar, so I am not able to share the video as originally intended.

However, in preparation of the conference, I offered the same seminar at our church as a 'trial run', which was recorded. It speaks a little more specifically the laws in Arizona, but otherwise contains the same information. 

You can watch in on YouTube:



To view a copy of the handout that summarizes the content of the seminar, please click here.


I refer to my previous seminar on teaching kids to read, which you can watch here:




31 comments:

  1. I am in my first year of homeschooling (2nd grade, unfortunately 1st grade was in the public fool system) I am so eager to watch this video as I've referenced your blog several times (before and during) for help already!


    Thank you!!!
    Jessica

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  2. Thank you, I can see you spent a lot of time preparing this. You primarily speak on topics for beginning homeschooling at an early age, Pre-K.
    Would you have any advise on beginning homeschooling at an older age, high school?
    I currently only have one child, in a public high school, duel college enrollment. I feel that I am to late, and am intimidated at the task.

    Thank you for being an inspiration of what a Godly women/family should be.

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    Replies
    1. I have never started homeschooling with older grades, and have no experience or advice to offer. I'd hate to give wrong advice about something I don't understand.

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    2. But I thought you had older children as well?

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  3. Thank you for all that you do! It’s greatly appreciated!

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  4. Great work! I'm glad you shared. You did a great job. Thanks for the handout too.

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  5. We have been using a back up from kindergarten through sixth grade for our daughter and agree with you that it is too time-consuming. We can afford to buy another curriculum but would like to have it not take up our whole day. What curriculum would you recommend for us?

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    Replies
    1. *using Abeka (not using a back up).

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    2. We have been using and loving ACE School of Tomorrow. Like every curriculum, it has its problems, but overall it is working very well for us.

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  6. Thank you so much for posting this!!
    My sister just moved to Arizona and she wants to homeschool her children.
    So while she has only one, she has been learning all she can about it.

    These videos will help her a lot.

    Blessings to you and your beautiful family!

    ~Elizabeth

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  7. I finally took the time to watch this, and what a relief it was! My kids are in grades 2, 1, and PK4. Then I have an 18 month old, and I'm a few weeks pregnant with our 5th. The oldest 2 are already great readers. Knowing that next year, my eldest can be (mostly) independent with her school work is a HUGE worry that has been lifted.
    I'm also relieved to know that you do very little school work in the morning, and limit schooling to a few hours in the afternoons. Appointments, errands and field trips are so much more convenient in the morning, and I used to feel guilty having my kids along when they "should be in school", if you know what I mean.
    I have to remember that as a kid, I was in public school all day but 75% of that day was not productive learning. So really, 2-3 hours a day of sit-down, focused work is ample time.
    Thanks again for your encouragement.

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  8. Just how tall is Solomon? Amazing how he is taller than both of you.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, taller than either of us, 6 ft and growing!

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  9. I’m in my first year! Thank you for all these tips.

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  10. I enjoyed your video. Thanks for sharing. I was wondering if you could give a little insight into the nap times and bed times. On the handout it says nap time is from 1-4 and bed time is at 7. My question is do the little kids sleep that whole time 1-4 and then are ready to go to bed at 7?? Is there a way you do nap times for example they don't have to sleep just stay in their bed or they listen to something?? Same for bed do they listen to something for awhile or no?? It would be great to hear your thoughts on this. Also with the big kids bed time being later what age would big kids be classified as( I know in the video you said nap time is mandatory for 6 years and younger so would big kid be 7 and above??)and do the big kids share rooms with the little kids making it harder for the little kids to want to go to sleep cause the bigger kids get to stay up or have the lights on etc... Hope this made sense :) Thanks for any help you give with this matter.

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    1. They sleep anywhere from 1.5 to 2.5 hours during that time frame. I have blocked those hours out to give us some flexibility. Until the last napper wakes up, those who are already up have to occupy themselves silently.

      They don't have to sleep, just lie still with their eyes closed without fidgeting or talking... which almost always guarantees they fall asleep.

      They nap from infancy, so it's not something we have to force on them, we just keep them in the habit until they start first grade and do that during nap time.

      Big kids share rooms with the little kids. The big kids hang out in other parts of the house until they go to bed, and when they do, they do so silently so as to not wake the little people.

      The setup in each family will have to be different based on your circumstances.

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  11. Hi Mrs. Anderson,

    Thanks for taking the time to make this video (very helpful!) I noticed that you mentioned that you don't allow your kids to read Tolkien or C.S.Lewis. I understand Tolkien, but I always thought of Lewis as a Christian author? I read the books when I was a kid, but don't really remember all the details. What is the objection? Is fantasy a genre that should be avoided in general?

    Thanks again and God bless!

    - Felicity

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    Replies
    1. He is considered by many a Christian, but he clearly did not believe the gospel of faith alone in Jesus Christ.

      And yes, I do steer clear of fantasy in general, though this is a personal preference and not a question of right or wrong.

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  12. Thank you so much for the tutorial! Your kids are so lucky to have you as a teacher. I wish I would have had the same education. I went to school in Germany and I never liked it very much, everyone is just a number and nobody cares about the individual student.

    I know it has nithing to do with homeschooling but I can't stop thinking about the woman you were praying about in the middle. My friend had something similar and it was so scary. Is she and the baby ok? Please let her know I praying for her.

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    1. Yes, both mom and baby are healthy and well. Baby was born prematurely but perfectly healthy and pretty sturdy for being a preemie, and was able to come home after about a month in the hospital. He is growing well.

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  13. That video was pure gold - thank you SO much for posting! Thank you!!
    Diana

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  14. PLEASE PLEASE will you upload the recipe for the sausage and bell pepper pizza you make? I saw it on your menu and it sounds incredible.

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  15. Hello! I looooved this video! Have you ever heard of Easy Peasy Homeschool (it's a christian-based online curriculum that's free).. www.allinonehomeschool.com? I would be interested to hear your opinion of it. :) Thanks, Logan

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    Replies
    1. I think it's a great resource, and all free. Typically, the less money curriculum costs, the more work it requires of the parent. So depending on whether mom has more time or money, that will influence which route she will go.

      Personally, I have more money than time as a busy homeschool mom of almost 10 kids, including 7 students, so I prefer to buy a curriculum that is less labor intensive for me.

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  16. What are your thoughts on McGuffey's Eclectic Primers and Readers, if you've heard of them?

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  17. Hi Zsuzsanna! I have watched this video and re-read the notes a couple more times since my last comment. :) I really liked your idea of getting book lists from the different curriculums available, so I started working on that. First, I realized our Library stinks. They had maybe three books! Second, after I decided I would just buy them all from used resources, I thought more about how to use them. That's where I'm hung up. HA! I keep thinking, "Even if I have every book between two lists, I don't know the best way to break up reading them! or How they can be used together to teach a specific topic." With that in mind, I looked at SonLight's K curriculum. Wow. I'm scared. At the end of the sample there's a year overview of the topics/biographies for each week. I don't even recognize some of the names....so embarrassing. I thought I was smart, but now I feel completely inadequate and overwhelmed. I want my kids to be smarter than me (I'm good w/ math and science, not history, geography, social studies, government, etc!). So I feel like I HAVE to find a curriculum that will teach them the things that I don't know to teach them. I thought that maybe I could just buy the Instructor Guides and buy all the books from other resources..... does that sound like a good idea? Also, I'm confused about the logistics of teaching. I have three girls that will be 5, 4, and 2 by August. I always assumed I would teach math and reading in shifts with them each individually and then do most/all the other subjects kind of all together (as much and as long as possible anyway). But I'm not sure how that will work out with a purchased curriculum. If I bought the K curriculum now (which is over $700!!!!), would my 4yo always be kind of a year ahead or would I need to re-do the K curriculum with her (which, $$-wise sound like at least I'll be getting my money's worth, but logistically, it seems silly??)?? I don't have anyone to ask these questions. ANY help or advice would be so greatly appreciated! Thank you for everything you do and good luck with your pending arrival (if he/she hasn't arrived yet)! God Bless!!

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  18. You can just disregard my last comment! I re-watched the video and realized you definitely answered most of my questions. I must've re-watched when I was tired and skipped around! Thank you again for all your work and for being such an awesome role model! :) God Bless!!

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  19. Sorry for another comment...haha. Have you heard of the Ron Paul Curriculum?

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  20. Hello, Mrs. Anderson.
    You posted a link to the old seminar. The link does not work anymore. I was looking for it all over YouTube, would you please share the working link again?
    I watched it before, but there was a part where you tell us what materials, in you opinion, of abeka phonics we only need to teach our.kids to read. If the link was compromised and you don't have the video anymore, could you please share in your reply a quick list of these .materials again? Thank you! Your family and sharing through your blog is such a blessing:)))

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  21. Any thoughts on Life of Fred?

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Your KINDLY WORDED, constructive comments are welcome, whether or not they express a differing opinion. All others will be deleted without second thought.