Hunt, peck, hunt, peck....how are those typing skills?

This quote on my friend's Pinterest page last night got me thinking about typing or keyboarding!

My boys are computer experts.....at playing video games! They can hunt and peck to converse with their friends or send an email to Grandma but they are not typers per say. So....we will be adding typing/keyboarding games as part of our weekly lessons in for our Fall 2012-2013 school year! I want them to be able to type a letter proficiently with little mistakes and if they do make a mistake, the auto correct doesn’t catch it before they do! They need to be able to spot their issues. They are going to be in 9th and 10th grade. They will be writing papers in College before I know it and while I had to do mine the old fashioned way, on paper with a pen and then transfer to a typewriter or word processor.....they need to be able to use the keyboard on their computer! Which leads me to ask, how proficient are YOU on the keyboard? If not, maybe you should consider adding a typing game to your homeschool for your kids!

Where in the world is ----------? Adding Geography to your Lesson Plans!

As the 2011-2012 homeschool year is winding down....I am already looking ahead to our 2012-2013 school year! I will have 2 in high school! SHOCK! I cannot believe it! It seems like just yesterday I was at their Kindergarten orientation.... And as I sit down and make out the list of courses for them for next year, I realize that we need to bump up our geography lessons! To me, geography is VERY important! Think of the news, this happened in Somalia, that in Iraq, weapons in North Korea, tornados in Texas....each one of those talks about an area of the world and I want my boys to be able to know generally where they are! So.....I am going through different geography programs to find one that works for their age level. This is the challenge as there are lots of great programs out there but they are 14 and 15, 9th and 10th grade starting in the Fall. They are beyond what they consider "baby" programs. English, Math, History, Geography, Science are all on our lesson plans for the Fall.... thinking of adding a foreign language and ???? Whatever Mom comes up with!!!! Insert evil laugh!!! So, have you started you lesson plans for Fall yet? What is on your agenda?

You are never to old to ask for help!!! Honest!

Have you ever been at that point in your homeschool that you, the parent are at a loss! This subject was either your worst in school, you have no clue how they got that answer, what the heck is a conjunction, and who really was Napoleon? Your kids are sitting there staring at you like, "What? YOU do not know?" And you know, they are thinking that this lady is my teacher....and SHE doesn’t know.....OMG! I have been there, SO been there! I have been there more than I want to admit in the past 4 years! I was a decent student with exception of Math. I have a good memory but I tell you......they shove a lot of crap into our heads in school that there is no reason to know 20+ years later! And most of us didn't sit in grades K-12 planning to homeschool our child(ren) in the future....so we paid attention enough to pass the darn test and get us through that class..... Well, guess what.... we are homeschooling parents now.... we do have to know things OR at least be able to pull it off like we think we do!LOL That is where finding great places for online homework help comes into play! I tell every new to homeschooling parent to find great sites for each subject! They will be lifesavers! They will be your go-to when you are stuck, you are at your wits end and you cannot remember what a conjunction is! I have a folder FULL of them! I share them with anyone that asks! And I after 4 years, am not to embarrassed to admit that I do not know it all and never will! Thank goodness for the internet, the library and encyclopedias! Happy Homeschooling!

Life is a Puzzle!

I love puzzles! I love games! My kids love both! I am a firm believer that puzzles are great to stimulate the mind and I love to make sure my grandmother(who also loves puzzles) has a variety to keep her 82 year old mind active! My boys have a stack of books that are visual puzzles, mind benders, word searches, etc. as well as a bunch of websites that we can check out for a change of pace! Sometimes on really bad days my high schooler can take a break, expand his mind and relax while working on a puzzle and it clears his head so he can come back to the work at hand and concentrate.....and things tend to go smoother! Amazing as most people would think that it would work the opposite. But, it channels a different part of your brain and makes it work differently. Therefore you have a different mindset once you get back to the task at hand. Puzzles in one form or another will always be a part of our household and when my kids grow up, I hope to involve their kids in puzzles! Life is a brainteaser in itself, so why not get with the program and check out how puzzle games would work in your homeschool! Happy Homeschooling!