Category Archives: Homeschooling

9/11 And The Atmosphere of Homeschooling

Posted on by
2

I think one thing that a mother brand new to homeschooling can hear, but not really wrap their arms around until they do it themselves, is that homeschooling is not school and that in homeschooling, the family life provides learning all the time.  Everything is an opportunity, and learning continues to happen during “school time” or not school time.

Much is being made around the Internet right now regarding the atmosphere of homeschooling – should it be an environment of learning opportunities?  grace? prayer?  Probably all of the above, correct?

But I have another idea rarely mentioned: I  suggest it be an atmosphere of love.  Love for your child and your family. Love for your Creator and a willingness to give the life of your family back to Him.    Love for your neighbors and your community.  Love for the way you homeschool and your way of living. Continue reading →

The Kiss of Death In Homeschooling

Posted on by
24

I referred to this in my last post about homeschooling struggles, but I wanted to expand on this a bit here:  the homeschooling kiss of death.  Actually, I think there are three possible kisses of death in our homeschooling experience. Continue reading →

Struggles With Homeschooling And Help!

Posted on by
4

It is that time of year where I live!  School is beginning for many homeschooling families, and some of the most common struggles and pitfalls of homeschooling come to light yet again.  I thought it would be fun to tackle some of these struggles and questions straight-on…

Here are the most common things I hear mothers mention regarding some of the difficulties in homeschooling: Continue reading →

A Beautiful Back To School Ceremony

Posted on by
15

 

On Friday, we celebrated a beautiful back to school ceremony with our homeschool group.  It had a different mood than in the past, because whilst we have many small under-7 children in our group, we now have a large crop of first through fourth graders, and some of things our group is doing reflects that a large portion of our children are in the grades.

 

We met at a member’s house for some wet on wet painting done outside, free play, and a delicious potluck lunch.  The ceremony itself began with all of us gathering together outside near a simple arched stairway. Continue reading →

Need Homeschool Planning Ideas? A New Forum

Posted on by
5

There is a relatively new forum called “Homespun Waldorf”, put together and run by a group of experienced homeschooling mothers.  I don’t get to personally participate a lot due to time restraints, but I have noticed many threads zooming around on there about combining grades and how to do it from veteran homeschooling mothers.  It may be helpful to some of you who are thinking that you need to teach separate main lesson blocks for everyone in your family; that truly is not the case.  The number of children in your family is akin to the social environment created in a school classroom; you really can get to know your family and what will work best for them all as a group and as individuals.  Homeschooling rarely looks like it does in a school setting.  We are at home.  Our homeschooling experience is first and foremost about family, about the things that unify us as a family in love, the activities we do as a family… and the learning in love as well, of course. 

 

At any rate, without further ado, here is the link so you can join yourself: 

www.homespunwaldorf.com

 

Kudos to Sarah for starting this and to all the volunteers who keep it running!

 

Hope that helps some of you who are planning,

Carrie

This Could Be My Favorite Post

Posted on by
4

…. ( A reader alerted me on 11/7/2012 that this link didn’t work and she couldn’t find the original post.  On quick search I couldn’t either, but this post is similar: http://www.elizabethfoss.com/reallearning/2012/08/lets-talk-about-learning-with-little-ones.html   Enjoy!)

,,,,of all the things Elizabeth Foss has written.  Go and check it out!

http://www.elizabethfoss.com/reallearning/2011/07/lets-talk-about-learning-with-little-ones.html

 

How is that for lovely heading into the weekend?

Many blessings,
Carrie

How To Grow A Homeschool Group

Posted on by
13

Mothers tell me all the time that they wish they had a homeschooling group that met their needs.Sometimes what forms as a loose group in the beginning really doesn’t hold as the years progress because I often find around the age of five or six, families get really antsy if this child is their oldest.  They may to decide to put their children in school or they may change homeschooling methods, and then you have to start all over again!

It is worth it though to have this structure in place.  A homeschooling group of friends is so important to the grades child.  They may have other friends who go to public or private school, but to have a group of friends who are being schooled in the same way, and even in the same method can be invaluable.

Continue reading →

Linky Love for July!

Posted on by
3

I am liking these links currently:

Erin’s post about mothering through breastfeeding:  http://mommyerin.blogspot.com/2009/08/our-lady-of-la-leche-patron-for.html

I don’t go too many days without checking Eva’s Untrodden Paths:  http://untroddenpaths.blogspot.com/

Meredith’s North American Geography Guide could be valuable to work in conjunction with whatever curriculum you have.  I would suggest for fourth or fifth graders, depending upon the progression of geography you are following in your homeschool:  http://www.awaldorfjourney.com/2011/07/north-american-geography-curriculum-guide-now-available/

For those of you planning, here is a planning post from the Seasons of Joy website:  http://ourseasonsofjoy.com/plans-and-projects/so-you-want-to-put-together-a-main-lesson-blockunit-study/  and here is a post from Rockin’ Granola about a file planning system:  http://www.rockingranola.com/2011/07/my-simplified-file-crate-system.html

Melisa Nielsen wrote a post here about dogma and tradition in Waldorf Education:  http://waldorfjourney.typepad.com/a_journey_through_waldorf/2011/07/dogma-or-tradition-or-steiner.html

Hope you enjoy those links.

Many blessings,

Carrie

What Stories Should I Use In The Six-Year Old Kindergarten Year?

Posted on by
9

I would love to hear your favorite stories that you tell to six year olds during the six year old Kindergarten year; leave your picks in the comment boxes.

I love those  repetitive stories such as The Gingerbread Man, Chicken Licken, etc, but not to reach the heart and soul of  the six year old.  I truly think that for most six year olds, these tales are enjoyable (just as they are for we the adults!)  but I am not certain these will  meet the child’s needs if  for he or she really is  in the throes of real and distinct developmental change.  If he or she is changing, really what is needed are stories with a little more “meat”, a little more good versus evil where good wins.

I hear about children who cannot handle fairy tales well; this does happen.   I wrote about that here in 2009: https://theparentingpassageway.com/2009/08/16/what-do-i-do-my-child-cant-handle-fairy-tales/  You really CANNOT bring a tale to your child that does not resonate with you or that makes you uncomfortable, so do NOT pick that one.  However, you can read a tale for two or three days, and really sleep on it and see what comes to you before you just dismiss it as well.   I  personally love nearly all the Grimms Tales, and am very comfortable with them, and I think that completely comes out in my storytelling.

So, without further ado, here are some stories we have enjoyed in my family in the past, or I have known families whose children enjoyed these tales; this list has my detailed notes as to each story: Continue reading →

Mural-Sized Moving Pictures

Posted on by
8

IMG_8311 (2)

 

 

Moving pictures are a beautiful way to illustrate the action of a story or verse.  Some resources, such as this little book from Bob and Nancy’s, “Making Picture Books With Moving Figures”  (http://www.waldorfbooks.com/teaching-resources/kindergarten-nursury/early-childhood-resources/storytime)  talk about drawing these pictures, but I like to wet on wet paint them.  One afternoon last week, I made these two scenes out of 9 pieces of watercolor paper (seven for the scenery,  plus two small pieces to make puppets of the boat, one Peter puppet and two puppets of Jesus) for a program at our church.  Continue reading →