BJ's Homeschool - Through my Kiddo's Eyes

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We started homeschooling when my daughter was 4.  We did not have a chance for her to take pictures when she was so young, but I did, as she was doing things during her homeschooling day. 

So today, I'd like to share some of the great memories that I have of my daughter's early homeschooling through the elementary years.

Early on, my daughter loved to dance, or jump on and off the couch, after doing a very short lesson......

Here's one of the very short lessons....

She always loved penguins and we went to the zoo all the time....

We used lots of manipulatives, ie small toys, like this activity...She had an illustration from a book that she wanted to create with things that she found around the house....

We loved going to the park, to watch the stream, and we saw that year after year, the salmon began to come back and spawn...

During the elementary years, we did a lot of hands art, like hand sewing, weaving on a small loom, knitting, and the like...

These activities helped with building attention span, concentration, and fine motor skills, and creativity, too....

We did our lessons each day, but then there was time for other things, like cooking together, or making cookies...

Learning at home worked well for us, as it allowed me to meet her sensory needs.  We had a large exercise ball for bouncing across the room, and a small trampoline, too.  

I could also tweet her curriculum to best fit her needs.  One year I asked her to do a big project and she chose a puppet show.  She made the puppet stage, all the characters, and she wrote the script as well.  Doing the puppet show was really kind of an initial lesson in public speaking...

One summer, my daughter did a lemonade stand, which involved math, art, and organizational skills....

We did some parks department classes, a homeschool day (like a co-op) and pre-ballet and tap.  Then in 3rd grade, we started an irish stepdancing class, and the next year, the group started doing performances at local retirement homes....

She made a lot of friends in irish....Then, there was always time to spend in the garden...

And early on, she tried a gynmastics class, and that stuck.  It became her favorite extra-curricular activity to do.

 

These are just a few of her homeschool memories, from the early years, preschool through elementary.  

What does your  young learner see through their eyes, at your homeschool?   What do you want to include to build in good memories?  I love reading your comments.  

This post is a part of the 8th Annual Back to Homeschool Blog Hop.  Check out all the other great posts from iHN homeschoolers and more.

Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,

Betsy

Betsy blogs at BJ's Homeschool, where she writes about high school,  college, and all the fun of homeschooling the early yearss, too.  As a veteran homeschooler, Betsy also offers homeschool help to families.   


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Copyright, 2016, All Rights Reserved

Encouraging your Littlest Writer

Are you looking for ways to encourage your young child's writing skills? 

Today, I am not talking about handwriting, per se, and learning how to form the letters.  Instead, I am looking at helping your kids to express themselves with the written word.  

By that I mean choosing words to write down, or dictate to you, about something that they are interested in.  And to see their words put into writing...

Kids can start doing this before they even know how to write their letters! 

When my daughter was young, we tried a variety of ways, to help her put words on the page.  We found the best ways to inspire my little writer, were the simple ones.  The simplier the better.  

My daughter is in college now, as a newbie freshman, and she loves to write!  This comes in handy with all the essays, research reports, and so forth that they ask of college students these days.

But she learned to love writing, starting when she began to color and paint, before she knew her ABC's.  

How could that be?  It all started with her art, when she was a preschooler.

Putting Words on Artwork

That's because we always wrote a sentence or two on her art creations.  I would ask her to tell me about the picture.  Then I would write her words on the edge of her paper for her.  She loved that!  Seeing her sentence there, as I read it back to her.  She felt proud.  And she was learning the meaning of the written word....with her words, that she dictated to me.

The News of the Day

Then, in K or 1st, or so, we began using wide lined paper, with a space for coloring. We called it "the news of the day.  I would ask my daughter to draw something about her day, or a favorite thing that she had seen recently. 

Then she would tell me about her picture.  At first, I would write the words that she dictated to me for her.  Then I wrote them down on another piece of paper for her to copy, as she learned her letters  But she always chose the words herself. 

These simple approaches were important first steps in developing early writing skills.Choosing her own words showed that she was using the written word to express herself, an important part of early literacy.  

As she learned how to form her letters, she began to write them directly on the page. 

We wrote everyday, usually... but sometimes there was just no news to write about.  Sometimes we really ran out of ideas.  We hit, what adults would call a writer's block.  That's when I found this helpful resource.

Collaborative Books for Young Writers by Scholastic.

It included 25 printables, with a topic, illustration, and a place for little ones to write their words.  Each one has a different theme. And all of them were designed for early learners.....

Topics include Tooth Tales, The Pet Journal, The Suitcase Book, Magical Mail, and 21 more.  

How we used this book - We selected a printable, and gave the pages to my daughter to color, cut, and enjoy.  Then she dictated her words to me, or later,  wrote her own words to go with the chosen printable.  

I helped my daughter when she asked me questions, but did not correct the grammar, or look for neat handwriting, as this activity was all about expressing herself, and feeling proud of her words.  Refining things with spelling, grammar, and legible handwriting would come....much later.

My daughter loved dictating her words to me!  Each printable was designed to be made into a two page book, with a simple title page, where your child can write his own name as the author.  

And he or she is an author!  They are authors of their little books!  Making these little books not only inspires young writers, they also teach your little ones the parts of a book, which is key to early literacy.

Click here to read more.....

Where do you turn when you are looking for writing ideas for your young learners?  I love reading your comments.  What do your little ones like to write about?

Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,

Betsy

Betsy is mom to her now college senior, whom she homeschooled from preK through high school.  She blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early years, high school & college and wrote - Homeschooling High School with College in Mind.   She offers free homeschool help through messages at BJ's Consulting. 

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Copyright, 2017, All Rights Reserved

6 Tips for Going from High School to College

Homeschool transcripts are being well accepted by colleges, especially when two important things come along for the ride -Good course descriptions and great reference letters.  

A few years ago, my daughter and I were finishing our transcripts and starting on college applications.  Now she is a senior in college.  It is so fun to see her there, loving it!

 Are you thinking about homeschooling high school, but are wondering about those related tasks, like writing course descriptions, or things like "Where should I put my teen's high school activities, on the transcript, or ?   

On campus, heading to class.

Below are 6 tips to help you plan for high school and the possibility of dealing with the college admissions process. 

Let's start with activities and awards and what to do about them.

1.  What about activities, volunteering, awards, etc?  Where should I put them on the transcript?

• There is a place for these on the actual college application itself.  It does not need to go on the transcript.  I found that the colleges liked seeing the activities, etc, on the application.
• You can list your teen's activities, leadership, awards, honor society, volunteer hours, jobs held on the application itself.

2.  Choosing a Homeschool Name - I recommend using a homeschool name, like Jones Academy, as opposed to Live and Learn Homeschool, as it gives your homeschool more formal, respected tone for the transcript.

3.  The homeschool transcript should include all the courses taken,  at home, and any outside courses, too.  That way, your homeschool transcript serves as the clearinghouse for all of your teen's high school coursework.  This gives the college admissions officers one place to see everything, at a glance. And that is what they are looking for.

Just put an "*" next to the courses that were done from outside sources, and a simple note at the bottom of the transcript, stating these were done at whatever place your child did them, the name of the college, or school, etc.

When your teen applies to college, you will send your homeschool transcript via their application to the colleges.  But be sure to also request any transcripts for credits earned from outside sources, such as community college, or public school, to be sent to the colleges. 

4.  Request transcripts from all outside sources as well, such as community college, any online courses taught by someone else, where credit was granted from them, etc.  Be sure that these are sent directly to each colleges that your student is applying to.  I found that it was easier to have them snail mailed to the colleges, than to try to upload them onto the application itself.

5.  What are course descriptions anyway, and do I need to include them?

 Course Descriptions 

Many colleges request that you also send in course descriptions, as you know.  Sometimes this can be simply a sentence but some colleges may want a short paragraph. 

Note that not all colleges require course descriptions – please check with the college in question.  

Resources for Course Descriptions

HSLDA has a nice article on Creating a Course Description.  They also have sample descriptions here.

Quick Start Homeschool has an article with sample descriptions called Writing Course Descriptions for High School. 

I have high school planning forms and tips for course descriptions in my book on high school mentioned below.

And finally, let's talk reference letters...

 Reference Letters  

6. If your student is taking an online course, or something at community college, then you already have a teacher to ask for a reference.  But many of us don't have one available, nor do we have a school counselor to ask. 

Letters from our student's activities can be just the ticket.  We used letters from Youth and Government, volunteering, and irish dance.

Often the leaders and teachers at co-op know our kids so well, that they can be a great source for reference letters.

Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,

Betsy

Betsy is mom to her now college grad, whom she homeschooled from day one.  She blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early years, high school & college and wrote the book - Homeschooling High School with College in Mind.   She offers free homeschool help through messages at BJ's Consulting. 

Want to stay in touch?  

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Copyright, 2017, All Rights Reserved

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Writing a Winning College Essay - Part 1

How to write the college application essay for homeschoolers, including 8 steps plus resources to make it easier.

Do you have a teen who is interested in college?  Does the idea of helping them get their college essay done...give you pause?

Do the words College Essay make you cringe, like they did for me?  I was feeling a more than a little nervous about this task, and my teen was, too....

Click here to reach Writing a Winning College Essay as I combined part 1 and part 2 into one article for you.

Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,

 Betsy

Betsy is a former O.T, preschool teacher and published author of children's stories.  She is mom to her 2e college grad whom she homeschooled through high school.  She blogs at BJ's Homeschool about the early years, high school, college, and is the author of "Homeschooling High School with College in Mind".  She offers homeschool help through messages at BJ's Consulting.

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Copyright @ BJ's Homeschool 2018

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Homeschooling High School - A Week at a Time -

Do you wonder what homeschooling your teen might look like?

Today, I'd like to share how we did our days (and weeks) during my daughter's senior year...fitting in core studies, but also making time for other important things like..cookie making, homemade electives and not to forget, nature study to refresh and renew us.

Usually, my teen and I would meet on Sunday nights, and make a schedule for the following week, based on what was needed to be accomplished for each core subject.  Then my daughter would write out a rough schedule for her week. 

We always met in the mornings to go over the studies for the day. My teen would decide, then, what she wanted to do when.  Once she was a senior, she scheduled her week herself, based on a list of assignments that I gave her each Sunday. 

Core studies were usually done in the mornings through the early afternoons.  After that we often had science experiments, time for writing, or elective projects to do. 

Then evenings were for outside activities a couple of days per week.  Sometimes evenings were used to finish up work, as needed.  Yes, that's a lot of study time.... 

Just in our backyard.

However, when we got behind, we could do a catch up week, and take a whole day to do each core subject, like english on Monday, math on Tuesday, etc.  And we always built in a LOT of fun things to do, too.

So, here's one of our favorite catch up weeks, from my teen's senior year.  

It was in the spring, a few weeks before her homeschool prom. We had just bought this dress....

We got this at a thrift shop.

After all the excitement of the prom dress...we did some catch up work, but also a lot of goofing off, too.

Monday, my teen focused on her chemistry course, at the coffeeshop. We are using Switched on Schoolhouse.  I love how it is self graded!  

If there is a question that I can't answer (btw, I am not a science person!), my teen could have tutoring from SOS, by the half hour, which is easily arranged, and has been a great help to us.  There are also a number of online tutoring options available, for help, as you know.


Tuesday, it was warm enough to study outside....so nice!! So my teen studied outside and made it an english day. Afterwards, we drove together just for fun and for her driving practice.

Studying outside makes it so much better!

Wednesday, she worked on her online Government course.  Taking a lot of time at once, really helped her to catch up on this course.  Then she had an irish dance practice, getting ready for this recital...

A chance to hang out with her teen friends.

Thursday was math day. We went to the library, where I worked on some computer projects, while my teen did her online math course, also from SOS.

Later we stopped by our local farmer's market and picked up some favorite veggies, for a easy to prepare dinner for that night...

I love the farmer's market.

We also picked up some veggies starts at this market, can't wait until I can plant them!

Friday morning, a friend came over to study. They worked together on one of my daughter's electives, videomaking.  I think making cookies and was just as interesting, though...

After she left, there was one assignment and an essay to finish for the weekend.  
But we both needed a break, so we decided to head out... into a beautiful, sunny day!  We drove to our most favorite beach... and were treated to this gorgeous blue sky!  Yes, I am a photography mom.

I think that 1-on-1 time is so important to our children as teens, especially as they begin to widen their horizons.

Enjoying nature means a lot to me, and I am so glad to be passing that onto my daughter.  She has become quite a photographer, too.  What hobbies do you like to do with your kids?

My daughter had a busy senior year, to finish her college entrance requirements to finish for English, science, social studies, and her elective.  It was a lot of concentrated work to be done, so we also built in concentrated FUN, too.  You gotta play!

Especially when there is such a nice sunset.....

And, most importantly, my daughter has developed a true appreciation of nature.

Are you curious how our days looked when my daughter was younger?  We homeschooled all the way, and here's how we did it in the elementary years....

How does your teen's high school week usually go?  I love reading your comments.  

This post is connected to the Not Back to School Blog Hop - Day in the Life Week.

Happy Homeschooling,

Betsy

Betsy blogs at BJ's Homeschool, where she writes about high school, college, and all the fun of homeschooling the early years, too.  As a veteran homeschooler, Betsy offers homeschool help to families.  

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