Mom is hard at work on Fall curriculum of Math, Science and yes, even Spelling!

While we just finished our school year and while my boys are enjoying just vegging out for the Summer... Mom is already hard at work on Fall 2012 curriculum! I am never one to let things go until the last minute AND I want to be prepared when Fall starts because I have 2, count them 2....high schoolers! The Fall curriculum will definitely include Math, Science, History, Language Arts, a Foreign language and Spelling Curriculum! Despite that they are high schoolers and technically above "spelling"....I am a firm believer that spelling is a life skill that everyone should have! Yes, most computers have spell check now.....kids are not always on their computers! I still have my boys write letters by hand, they must take notes by hand and keep lists for things they want! This not only practices their handwriting but it keeps their spelling in tune! So...as I search the internet for the best curriculum for our needs.....they are chilling on their bikes, playing in the sprinkler, camping with Grandma and Grandpa or jumping into Grammy and Poppy's pool with no knowledge to how much Mom works for their homeschooling in the off hours! But it is 100% worth it! Love those boys!!

Using Music as an educational tool!

Music is a great way to teach, especially if you have music oriented kids! Think back to when you were a kid and the songs you learned in school! Even nursery rhyme songs! They almost always had lessons, they taught us things about life, the world, our country, etc. They were educational songs! Some kids learn better while listening to music, some learn better when things are put into a song! Your child can sing an entire Justin Bieber song but cannot remember their States and Capitals. See if together you can come up with a song to use to memorize these! It might help, one of those tunes that gets stuck in their heads!! With my 2 teens.....I have 1 that loves music and 1 that likes it on car rides, etc. but it doesn’t have to be his thing! So if we were needing to memorize things.....we might try to find a silly ditty that could be turned into an educational song that even as high schoolers....they would love! That is the joy of homeschooling.....we can tweak things to work for our kids, even if it means tweaking it two, three or even four times because each child is different! So...if there was a subject that your child really struggled with this past school year...and they love music, maybe a search of the internet for educational songs that you can use for that subject! It might just be the ice breaker you need to get them to understand and learn the subject! Happy Homeschooling!