In search of an olive tree, we circled through the Acropolis and headed towards the Erechtheion. “It’s in the same place Athena planted an olive tree back when she and Poseidon were competing for Athens”, my son said excitedly. He’d heard this story along with the many others he’d share with us throughout our trip thanks to Rick Riordan’s “Greek Gods” and “Greek Heroes.” We found the tree and read from a nearby plaque the same story my son told. A similar scene occurred in every museum and ancient site. Good books once again offered the interest and knowledge I hoped they would.
My family’s recent trip to Greece was not the first time I had used books to guide our travels. We’ve followed Laura Ingalls from Minnesota to South Dakota, used Native American histories and lore to explore Pine Ridge and the Black Hills. And we’ve walked through Platform 9 3/4, so we could ride on the Hogwarts Express into Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. Before we traveled to Idaho, we read about the geology and wildlife we might see, and books about the ocean came home in our library bags before we headed off to Delaware and Florida.
The goals I have when we travel are the same goals I have when we’re at home; I want to facilitate interest, enjoyment, and a meaningful learning experience.
No matter where we’ve traveled, I’ve found the same basic framework I use to create lessons and unit studies works well. I divide our trip into three parts: before, during, and after. This guide very much follows my goals. In the beginning, we’re finding interest. While we’re traveling, we focus on building those interests and having a lot of fun. When we return home, we have new knowledge, experiences, and often times new interests, and we have learned in a meaningful way.
Pre-Travel
Much like the beginning of a novel study should include pre-reading activities, the beginning of our traveling unit focuses on creating interest and making sure kids have the prior knowledge they need to understand where they are going and what they’ll be seeing.
Books and Film
One of the best ways I’ve found to plant interest seeds lies in the pages of a good book. Before we travel, we head to the library.
Young Adult Literature and picture books are a great place to start. Books on wildlife, myths and legends, history, and the environment have also sparked a lot of interest in our home. Movies, TV shows, and documentaries are also wonderful resources.
Before heading West, we watched “Little House on the Prairie.” The movie “The Odyssey” introduced my children to the Trojan Horse and some of the histories they’d hear about. Travel shows let them see the island of Aegina and Athens before we arrived.
Travel Guides and Websites
We love to flip through travel guides. It’s a lot of fun. Filled with beautiful pictures and a lot of information, they offer kids a glimpse of the things they might see and do. Before we travel, I have my children choose a few things that interest them. I’ve found when they have some autonomy in planning our trip; they are more likely to read up on where we’re going and look forward to the things they’ve chosen.
Food
Before we traveled to Greece, we talked a lot about the different types of food we would be able to try. I also made a few Greek dishes for dinner so we could sample some of the foods before we left. I made sure we found a few things my children would enjoy and look forward to eating again.
Packing
Many kids love to pack! Mine want to start packing months before we travel. While clothes, favorite stuffed animals, and pillows are important, I also pack supplies that will help keep the interest we’ve been building. A camera, journal, colored pencils, a magnifying glass, tape (for putting things in journals), baggies for treasures, and maps are wonderful learning tools. I’m always glad we pack them.
During Travel
The bulk of the unit, this is where the pre-learning comes into play. I’ve found the time we take to build interest and knowledge always pays off. It’s magical seeing the places you’ve learned about come to life. Dipping our toes in Plum Creek, seeing Mount Olympus, and visiting places like Delphi and the Parthenon—I know these moments were that much more meaningful because we spent time learning about them beforehand.
Vacations are meant to be fun! This is not the time to be quizzing kids or hauling around binders of the curriculum. When we travel, our focus is on being together, experiencing what’s around us, and having a good time. With that said, there are fun ways to encourage interest and facilitate learning.
Books
Literature and good stories can make time during your travels a lot of fun too! We listened to On the Banks of Plum Creek while we drove to Walnut Grove and the banks of Plum Creek. While we were visiting a museum in Greece, we found a book of Greek myths in the museum bookstore. Tired of walking, the kids and I found chocolate croissants and a little corner in the museum cafe. Together we read about what we were seeing and enjoyed a little downtime. We often continue reading about what we’re seeing or hope to see during long car rides or at bedtime.
Activities
Journaling, collecting items for a scrapbook, and taking pictures are activities that can keep our kids engaged. Many national and state parks have Junior Ranger programs. Some museums have interactive guides or scavenger hunts for kids. No matter where we travel, I try to keep my eyes out for ways we can keep and deepen our interests.
Kid days are also really important. While we are all learning all the time, we don’t have to sightsee or be tourists every day of our vacation. I try to make sure my children get to plenty of parks, have time to swim in the hotel pool, can watch their favorite shows, and have their favorite food, pizza, at least one night. The comforts of home, downtime, and doing things that are just for fun are important parts of our traveling unit too.
Games
How many Athena statues can you find?
Do I spy the messenger god?
Write down three of the most interesting facts you can find.
I like to have a handful of “I’m bored!” games in my back pocket whenever we travel. Photo scavenger hunts, drawing games, even hangman can encourage learning and give tired or bored travelers a second wind.
Post-Travel
Returning home and sleeping in our beds is always nice, but post travel to-dos and adjustments also make coming home bittersweet. Piles of laundry, jet lag, trying to get back into a routine, we’re tired, and there’s a lot to do. Still, our unit is not over. The post-travel part of our learning is just as important as the rest. It doesn’t need to happen the minute we get home, but it shouldn’t be forgotten.
Reflection
Telling our travel stories and reflecting on what we learned is important. We gather the journals, download the pictures, collect the treasures and spend time talking about our trip. My children are each creating a photo book for our trip to Greece. They have a place in their room for all the trinkets they bought and have enjoyed being able to tell their friends, our family, and their co-op teachers about their travels.
New Interests
Cooking, novel writing, homesteading, and tracking are just a few of the interests that have traveled home with us over the years. Back to the library, we go. A new unit study or project or good read is often found thanks to our travels.
You don’t have to get on a plane or travel across the seas to use a traveling unit study. Near or far, create one for any places you go. Maybe think about starting where you live or make one the next time you go on vacation. It takes time, and you might make a couple of extra trips to the library, but the learning that happens before, during, and after your trip will be well worth the added time.
About the Author
Kelly left teaching middle and high school English to homeschool her children and reclaim how she and her family spent their time. Followers of interest-led learning, her family’s days rarely look the same, but they tend to include a lot of books, art supplies, and time outside.
Kelly facilitates local writing circles for women and children, leads classes on Outschool, and blogs about nurturing the love of learning on her blog, Curiosity Encouraged. She loves to journal, read memoirs, hike, and travel. She seeks quiet mornings and good coffee daily.
There are no tags on any of my child’s clothes. When she needs new clothes, we spend hours in dressing rooms trying to find ones that are comfortable. Deeply intuitive, in need of quiet downtime, challenged by change, a perfectionist, she is not alone. There are, in fact, two people in my family of four who fall into the 20% of the population known for being highly sensitive.
Elain Aron, Ph.D. is the author of The Highly Sensitive Child: Helping Our Children Thrive When the World Overwhelms Them. She herself was often misunderstood and even shamed for being too sensitive.Elain writes, “… it is primarily parenting that decides whether the expression of sensitivity will be an advantage or a source of anxiety.” Because a highly sensitive person (HSP) brain works differently, they need understanding and support. Homeschooling can offer a highly sensitive child the environment they need to thrive.
Below, you’ll find ways to help your child embrace the gift of sensitivity.
There is Nothing Wrong With Your Child
While a child who is highly sensitive may respond differently to situations and stimuli than their siblings or peers, they should be assured their responses are not wrong. They are born with a nervous system that is highly aware. Highly Sensitive Children (HSC) are also often intuitive, creative, empathetic, and reflective. They tend to be conscientious, in tune with their senses, and have a rich inner life. Loud noises, smells, textures, tastes, or change can be a true challenge for your HSC child. Therefore, it is important to give assurance that it’s okay to be who they are.
Setting Matters
Maybe sitting at the kitchen table with talkative siblings or loud co-op classes aren’t a great fit for your HSC and hinder their learning more than they help them. They may need time in a quiet room, or to be able to listen to music or audiobooks while they work on math. Skipping loud activities or ones that require uncomfortable clothing is okay and sometimes necessary.
My child loves her biweekly wilderness class but struggles to wear the layers necessary to participate in winter. Going there in the winter is painful for her. We’ve realized until she’s able to handle snowsuits and being bundled, it’s best to sit out that season. We find other ways for her to experience nature. And we make sure on the warmer winter days, she gets plenty of time outside.
Support Their Efforts
It’s hard to want to do things that feel uncomfortable, but sometimes a highly sensitive child wants to push themselves through their discomfort. When my HSC tries to push past what is uncomfortable, I’ve found it is important she’s in control. My role is to remind her she can do hard things. And I strive to be supportive when she needs a break or to try again another time.
I recently watched her determination pay off. Every year we attend a mother-daughter camp with a huge rock wall. She is very much challenged by the feeling of the harness. The first year, she quietly cried the entire time it was on. Determined to climb, wearing the harness was a major accomplishment. The second year, she spent a good thirty minutes adjusting the harness before she was ready to climb. This year, she put it on, looked at me with her this is so uncomfortable face and headed for the wall. While it’s hard to watch my child struggle when she chooses to do so, it’s important I give her the time and space she needs.
Allow Time
Sometimes we are late to classes, and getting out the door takes a lot of time. We’ve discovered a few helpful tricks to make this easier:
make sure her comfy clothes are clean
give a lot of transition time
keep her bag packed with all the things she might need
Sometimes, she just needs a few extra minutes. The alternative to giving her this time is not attending classes or rushing her, which leads to tears and fighting. While we have gone in both directions, extra time is always the better option. When it’s hard to be patient, I try to remind myself she is not defiant or lazy. She would much rather jump in the car and be comfortable.
Offer Alternatives
While it can be hard and even frustrating to figure out an HSC’s needs and triggers, it’s important they have what they need to feel comfortable. My best advice is to take them with you when you buy clothes, school supplies, and food. Let them touch, smell, and pick out things that appeal to their senses.
Take note of what your child loves to touch and taste. Are they someone who craves things that are soft or rough? Foods that are hard like ice or mushy like applesauce? Do they need clothes that are tight or don’t have seams? Offer options and then let your child decide.
Again, it’s worth the time it takes to figure out the best pencils, pants, and foods that help an HSC feel their best. And it’s okay if the things they like or need are different from the rest of the family.
Communicate with Friends and Family
The research on Highly Sensitive People is not new. Unfortunately, neither is the tendency to label HSP as too sensitive. Friends and family might need help learning about what it means to be highly sensitive, and they might need gentle reminders. A well-intentioned family member who sees your child in a struggle can make the situation worse by raising their voice or telling them to get over it. Belittling a child’s need only creates shame and more struggle.
Communicate with friends and family, so that they know how to help when your child is having a hard time. Talking with them can also help them understand why certain gifts and activities need to be avoided. My family knows not to give my child clothes. They also know we don’t go to loud restaurants with multiple televisions blaring.
Identify Needs
Regardless of our child’s needs, we can help them to understand who they are and what they need.
They need to learn to identify their triggers and to recognize the things they enjoy and need. Help your child tap into their senses. Maybe you can play games where they touch a variety of textures or get out the spices and let them find their favorite smells. Help them collect the stuffed animals, blankets, music, and toys that bring them the most comfort. Create a special corner in their room for some of the things they love. Then, they know they can head there when they need a break.
My daughter has a basket of things she loves and sometimes needs. When she’s feeling overwhelmed, she can take it outside or to a quiet space in our home. She also knows that having a journal and pencil nearby is always helpful and has placed one in pretty much every room, car, and space she might be.
Help Your Child Advocate for Themselves
Once your child knows what they need, it’s vital we help them find their words so they can speak for themselves. People are going to ask why they always wear sweatpants or are having a hard time. They don’t need to feel embarrassed or to have a parent jump in and explain what is going on. Instead, we can empower our children by letting them know there is no shame in the truth.
I’ve heard my daughter tell both adults and children why she needs what she needs. Not only does advocating for herself help her embrace who she is, it helps her create deeper connections with the people in her life. They are given a chance to accept her for who she is.
When my daughter was four, we were talking about how she needs extra time. I’ll never forget her looking at me and saying, “I’m worth the extra time it takes, Mom.” She is, and so is every child and adult who needs extra time, certain clothes, foods, and settings.
Success is Attainable
Homeschooling a high sensitive child takes time and patience, just like homeschooling every child does. But it’s important we take the necessary steps to know what our HSC needs, help them know what they need, and make sure their home and learning environment supports them. Supporting our HSC does not mean they are never triggered or are always comfortable. It means we help them know they can do hard things, let them be who they are, and give them plenty of opportunities to find success.
About the Author
Kelly left teaching middle and high school English to homeschool her children and reclaim how she and her family spent their time. Followers of interest-led learning, her family’s days rarely look the same, but they tend to include a lot of books, art supplies, and time outside.
Kelly facilitates local writing circles for women and children and blogs about nurturing the love of learning on her blog, Curiosity Encouraged. She loves to journal, read memoirs, hike, and travel. She seeks quiet mornings and good coffee daily.
Do you remember what it was like when your sweet little babies began to utter their first sounds? Did you run to get a textbook so you could teach them how to speak? Of course not! You certainly didn’t freak out thinking there was no way you would be able to teach them how to talk.
Instead you began to say simple words to them like mama and dada. And each time they attempted to make the same sound, you excitedly cheered them on.
But for some reason, the thought of teaching language arts seems to strike fear into the hearts of many homeschool parents. There’s no need for fear.
Remember, you’ve been teaching your kids language skills since the day they were born, even if you didn’t realize it.
How Children Acquire Language
Children learn language naturally. Just like your kids learned to talk without a Teach Your Baby to Talk board-book-textbook, they can learn how to write in a natural and fun way—a way that will help you both get excited about learning.
For homeschooling language arts, you can opt for a textbook approach like a public school does. Or you can choose the natural approach for listening, reading, writing, and speaking. A natural approach to language arts (like the one BookShark uses) immerses kids in all facets of communication in an age-appropriate way.
One tool in this natural teaching toolbox is incredibly simple yet extremely effective. It’s kind of like the Swiss army knife of language teaching methods since it teaches and reinforces multiple skills.
This tool is copywork.
What Is Copywork?
Copywork is simply writing down a sentence or passage from an example. While children copy from this example, they can concentrate on punctuation, correct spelling, and penmanship because they aren’t busy composing the sentences themselves.
When we consider all that young learners are putting together at the same time, it’s easy to understand why writing might be overwhelming.
Copywork reduces the overload.
Copywork is closely related to how your kids learned to speak. You, an expert in talking with many years of experience, spoke to them, and they imitated the sounds. And with each new word they acquired, you kept talking to them. Before you knew it, they were stringing whole sentences together—eventually grammatically correct sentences without ever being formally taught the rules of grammar.
With copywork, kids get to imitate both expert and experienced writers by writing the author’s words on paper.
Copywork—An Effective Way to Teach Language Arts Skills
In the natural approach, language skills aren’t seen as separate subjects to be taught, but as a whole. That doesn’t mean you won’t ever focus on a particular area. But your curriculum will be real books.
When kids consistently use copywork as a part of their language arts studies, they encounter words in context and see how rules are applied. You will be amazed at how they naturally absorb rules of capitalization, punctuation, spelling, phonics, and other grammar skills.
Go back to the idea of how they learned to talk. They didn’t need grammar lessons. But as they heard you speak correctly over and over, they mastered the rules of grammar and sentence structure simply by absorbing them. Sure, they made mistakes along the way, but you knew it was just a part of the process. You even thought their mistakes were cute.
Why Copywork Works
Copywork respects the way kids learn language skills and takes advantage of it. Kids learn to write from actual writers, not textbook producers, by immersing them in real writing.
Copywork reinforces skills they have already learned. Your students copy out of the books they are reading. They’ll encounter the passage within context. They will both hear it and write it.
Skills are reinforced in a natural, not contrived, way. Our kids can do countless exercises in grammar books and memorize a multitude of spelling words, but when they do those things out of the context of real writing, those skills often don’t translate to their personal writing. With copywork, students encounter words in context and see the rules of grammar in action. They know not just the what but the how.
How to Use Copywork
Start small. Think of it as building language muscles. Just as you wouldn’t have a child start lifting one-hundred-pound. weights to get in shape, you don’t want to overwhelm them with long, complex copywork passages. For example, BookShark copywork passages have been chosen with children’s abilities in mind. But every kid is different! You are the teacher, so adjust the amount of copywork if needed to fit your child. If the passage seems too cumbersome, either shorten it or stretch it across more days.
Though studying many subjects works great sitting on the couch, be sure they are comfortably working at a table or desk to do copywork. Sitting up straight with feet on the floor will help young learners both focus and form good writing habits.
We are more likely to embrace something when we understand the rationale behind it. So show your kids why copywork is beneficial. Talk about the fact that they will be learning to write from great authors. Explain that copywork will help them go beyond learning rules to actually applying them.
Don’t Fall into One of These Copywork Pits
A pitfall is a hidden or unsuspected danger or difficulty. These are a couple of common pitfalls when it comes to using copywork in your homeschool language arts.
1. Lack of Consistency
Guess what? No matter how great any learning method is, sometimes kids will balk at being required to do anything. They would often rather be building LEGO bricks or coloring.
When kids think there’s a choice, they’ll usually go with whatever requires the least amount of effort (a lot like us adults!). Copywork requires focus, and it can be uncomfortable in the beginning for many children. That’s okay.
For those who are especially reluctant, you might need to shorten copywork passages, or perhaps let them choose what they will copy that day. You can even set a timer for around five minutes so they know there’s an end in sight. But do require something each day so that it becomes a habit.
2. Not Valuing Copywork Enough
It seems too simple to be really effective, doesn’t it? Since most of us were brought up with a learn with constant drill-and-practice mentality, it’s easy to think copywork won’t really be that beneficial. If you don’t believe how effective it is and embrace it, neither will your kids. It’s amazing how much our kids pick up on our attitudes.
BookShark Language Arts
When your children study language arts the natural way as BookShark teaches it, they will really learn it. Not simply to pass a test, but in a way that truly makes them better communicators.
Copywork is just one of the many ways your kids will encounter language naturally. With BookShark, all of the components of a well-rounded, natural approach to teaching Language Arts will help your students to grow in their abilities in a way that is developmentally appropriate.
This year in our homeschool we will be studying Central America. Although we have a great collection of books to read about the topic, I also wanted to find age appropriate videos that show us more about the different countries we’ll be visiting. As much as we adore a literature-based homeschool curriculum, we still love adding on the visual component with online streaming.
I turned to YouTube and found many good picks that I know will enhance our learning. I often turn on YouTube during breakfast or lunch for a special treat. We’ll spread out a blanket and have a carpet picnic while learning more about the world around us. Here are some of the videos we’ll be using for our exploration of the continent of Central America.
This 50 minute video by Expoza Travel is an in depth look at all there is to see and do in Mexico! You may add a few things to your vacation bucket list after you watch this enticing video!
We have always loved watching the Travel With Kids series of videos, and this 30 minute episode follows our favorite traveling family as they explore the beaches, jungle, and culture of Belize.
While this short 3 minute video will require an adult to read to younger children, it was very informative—teaching us all sorts of wonderful snippets about the country. This would be a good one for filling out a note taking sheet as you watch.
This quick 2 minute video takes the viewer through a day in the life of a child living in El Salvador. I find my kids relate well to these types of narratives that help them imagine themselves living in the land we are studying.
This 13 minute video follows a brother and sister pair of high school students as they volunteer in a Students Helping Honduras program. I loved that this combines the culture and people of Honduras with humanitarian service.
This 5-minute video by How Stuff Works not only explains how the canal works but goes into a bit of the history of the canal, including its construction.
This 7-minute video by National Geographic features two young kids who are learning about some of the animals which live in the rainforests of Costa Rica.
This 11 minute video by Most Amazing Top 10 takes the viewer through some pretty interesting facts about Mexico. (Please note that fact #5 is all about crime and drug cartels and as such may not be appropriate for all children. Please preview.)
Another 30 minute video by Travel with Kids focuses on the island of Utila just off the coast of Honduras. The film explores both above and below the water.
We find that videos make a great jumping off point for diving into a new territory or a fun wrap up of a lesson we’ve just covered. If you like this post, you will probably also love these video lists for other continents:
Joanne Rawson is the author of the blog Our Unschooling Journey. Known around the web as Mother of 3, Joanne began her blog when she first started homeschooling her three boys in 2012. She lives in Connecticut with her family and enjoys reading, crafting, and traveling… all of which usually ends up on her blog.
Homeschooling has challenges, finding support shouldn’t to be one of them. Support can help us when the homeschool day proves particularly tough. If you find yourself in an environment where you don’t have support, create your own! Join Janna as she chats with Laura, a mother who homeschools in Europe. Listen in Laura discusses the challenges and joys of homeschooling and how she now shares her knowledge through her blog, Monkeyandmom.com.
ABOUT OUR GUEST | Laura is a homeschooling mom from Europe and the creator of the blog Monkey And Mom. Laura has been homeschooling her son, Marc, for 7 years, delving deep into the world of STEM for gifted learners. Her journey has been one of discovery and dedication, blending nurturing, patience, and a flexible, creative approach to education. Through her blog, Laura shares an eclectic mix of homeschooling tips, resources, and fun printables, all born from her hands-on experience. Whether you’re a parent to an only child, a homeschooler looking for fresh ideas, or just beginning your homeschooling journey, Laura’s insights are sure to inspire and guide. She’s here to share her wealth of knowledge and experiences, providing valuable resources and encouragement for fellow homeschoolers.
Podcast Transcript
Janna 0:04 Welcome to Homeschool your way I’m your host Janna Koch and BookSharks Community Manager. Today I am joined by Laura from MonkeyandMom. She is a homeschool mom from Europe who is the creator of the blog, monkeyandmom, Laura has been homeschooling her son Mark for seven years delving deep into the world of STEM for gifted learners. This episode is going to open your eyes to the idea of schooling outside of your comfort zone. Laura is going to tell us her story. And I’m so excited for her to share. Let’s bring her in. Laura, thanks so much for being here.
Laura 1:10 Thank you for having me.
Janna 1:13 I am so excited for you to share your story. I know that BookShark is used internationally, I would say my exposure to the families who use BookShark are either in the US or US families who live overseas, you are neither of those things. You are a family that lives overseas that was born and raised. And so you are choosing to use an American curriculum like BookShark, and then creating this blog and these amazing videos on your YouTube channel, which we will make sure to link in the notes for those who are listening. But let’s start from the beginning. Why don’t you just introduce yourself and then we’ll get going into why you chose to homeschool in the country that you live.
Laura 2:00 Hi, I’m Laura and I’m a blogger at monkey and mom. I homeschool an only child, currently seventh grade and we are a eclectic home schooler. So we choose and pick whatever works for us. But we like balancing academics and child led learning. My son is gifted in STEM and he is my opposite in every way. So that made for an adventure in homeschooling like we never have a dull moment.
Janna 2:30 So why don’t you tell us what country you have your country of origin, maybe other countries that you lived in, and then we’ll kind of get into the history of homeschooling in the country that you’re currently in.
Laura 2:44 Sure, we are homeschooling in Romania. And we’ve been living in Romania and India for several years. So homeschooling here doesn’t really have any regulation. We don’t have any rules to tell us what to do and how to do it. It’s not legalized, I hate using that word. But that’s the truth. So we homeschool under the law that says that parents here can choose their school. So parents can choose the school outside Romania. So that’s why we had to choose an umbrella or distance school to homeschool because in Romania distance schools are illegal. So we had two options when we chose, we could go the UK route or the US Route. So we chose us because I feel that US provides us with more options, there are more options. When it comes to curriculum, there are more publishers who cater to homeschoolers like BookShark. And I also feel that the exams are easier, because we will go the AP route and SAP route and I feel that with the AP, you can choose whatever passion to have and just go to those exams, you aren’t forced to go through standardized tests, like if I can call it that. So homeschooling here isn’t popular. And I think it’s mainly because it’s, you have to do it in English, you have to do it in the language of the school that you chose. So lots of parents fear that and it’s a real fear, it’s hard. And also, there’s no real community. Like you can’t really find a lot of information on how to do it correctly. The authorities and people in general have a lot of misconceptions around it. And you can really feel shunned, you know, like you are going against the grain you’re doing something that hasn’t been done and everyone looks weird. Like why did you choose that? And also, I feel people don’t choose it because there’s not a smooth say Dealing between homeschooling and public school. Like I know in us, you can easily go between them switch and whatever suits you. But for us when we do it, it’s like a long term commitment. You cannot really go one year homeschooling one year public school and the back again, because a lot of schools here because of misconceptions and everything they can make you see through exams, for every single subject every single year, you haven’t been enrolled in a public school here. So that’s a lot. And you really have to ponder and like take this decision, this decision is not taken lightly, you know, here, so I feel like we have a small community, but it’s growing and becoming more confident, and I hope it will be fine in the years to come.
Janna 5:47 Your decision to choose a US based on brella school, you said was kind of based on the not only the academics, but also availability, but the language. So would you say there is a high percentage of Romanians that speak English? Or is that a language that isn’t necessarily spoken a lot in your country?
Laura 6:07 Well, we don’t have English as an official language. So no, it’s not that prevalent. It’s one of the languages spoken here by some people, but not a large percentage of them. But if you want to homeschool don’t really have a lot of options. Because even if you look at other languages in Europe, homeschooling is pretty much illegal. Like in Germany, you can get in jail into jail, if you homeschool your kids. There are other countries who have strict regulations like France, where you need to see through their national exams, like every two years, and they are becoming increasingly stricter. So even UK started changing and modifying their laws. So there’s not many options you have when it comes to choosing an umbrella school. Most of them are English. So English is a must learn language. But I also feel like at the same time, it was something I wanted from the beginning, you know, because I thought if my son will learn, like, we’ll finish all his school in English, and we’ll have this plus to his portfolio that he knows how to speak English. And he’s currently beneath and he finished, he has diplomas in English, then he will have doors opening for him, like he’ll have access to all the international universities and he won’t have to go to the stress of learning English, you know, as a second language, and getting ready for both the exams here. I mean, in the in the LSAT or whatever entrance exams he had to take, if you wanted to go outside to a university. So there are more benefits to English. And I keep telling people here also that it’s not only this, you also have a lot of resources in English that aren’t there in other languages. So I keep encouraging people even if don’t go the homeschooling route, you can opt to teach your kids English when they are later. So when they start school, you can just grab anything like they want to learn chemistry at seventh like minded. There’s a curriculum for that, you know, but it’s in English.
Janna 8:25 Yeah. So did you learn English as a child? Or was that something that you made a decision as an adult to learn?
Laura 8:31 No, I actually learned English during high school. English is my third language. So during high school, we had like two hours of English per week. And that’s where they started learning English. But most of it I learned when I took when I had my son, I took the decision to read in English and teach him as much English as I knew. Because that you know, I don’t know if you’re familiar with the one parent, one language and all those, like, you know more languages in their family, one parent can speak one language, the other parent can speak the other language and the kid was picked both. But I was like, Why aren’t all the languages because I’ve been both Romanian and English with him. And now he’s better than me, obviously. But while I was teaching him when he was little, I just looked to better myself. And I did through listening to audiobooks through reading all in English. I just switched everything to English. And it was so difficult at first, but then you start seeing it pay off. And I’m telling the parents that come to me also, Romanian parents that just try to create an environment where English is present everywhere, even for your kids and that really helped them. You don’t even realize when it’s happening. Just start speaking with them like when you play or when you prepare food or like make them Listen to it and use it in your family. And you will see it’s not that difficult.
Janna 10:06 I think one of the major advantages for you as a parent who is choosing to homeschool is that you have a love of learning. And I know that we as parents, when we model that for our children, it is the best type of learning, right? When we’re, we’re demonstrating that it matters to us. We’re passionate about it. It’s contagious. And I think whether it’s Romanian families learning English, or it’s English speaking families, learning Romanian, like, we have these amazing capabilities, if we’re willing to put aside our own fears, and, and just kind of jump into the deep end, knowing that there’s no way we can drown, you know, like metaphorically, because we’re not even in water. So sometimes we just, we just have to try. Now, you weren’t going to homeschool your son, from the beginning, you decided to try your local school district. And I would love for you to share that story. Because I think it’s really impactful to your journey.
Laura 11:08 Oh, yeah, he actually just tried school for a few days. And I immediately knew it wasn’t for us, like the environment. And also, I’m sorry to say this, but like the level we live in a small area. So maybe that’s why but I felt like the overall level of his peers didn’t match his and here, we don’t have that differentiation you have in us, I think you have classes for gifted kids or accelerated learning. We don’t have that here. Like everyone, the same age is put together and they all have to kind of be at the same level. I even spoke with his teacher and she said, Well, you taught him too much. And when I heard that, you know, like, that’s not normal. How can you teach someone to? You’re always learning, you know, and that you said that I was an example for him with learning goals. And I think that’s essential for all parents to show their kids, that learning never stops, you always learn you can learn as an adult, and maybe you don’t know everything, they also have to see that that adults aren’t always right. They don’t always know everything. I think those are the things I really wanted to instill in him and also encourage that natural curiosity that kids have. I didn’t feel that the schools here would help with that. In fact, I felt that that was the first thing they would crash. Because if you go to a child that’s curious and asking the question, and you tell him, Oh, you’re too little. Now you can learn it in a few years. You know, it’s not the right moment. Or we don’t do that today. We’ll do it another time. That’s like a surefire way to just drown the curiosity and belittle their curiosity because you say it’s not important enough for us to do it now. And that’s what I felt the school did here. And I didn’t realize it at the time. I just went home crying, because I felt something wasn’t right, you know. And then I’m so glad I just went ahead and listen to my instincts. Because eight years later, I can say it worked. But back then it was so scary. Like I didn’t know anything about homeschooling back then it wasn’t even in my mind. And then I discovered this homeschooler one local home schooler who was posted in English on her blog. It was called my English homeschool. And I contacted her and I asked her how to do all this and she started telling me about homeschooling and how to do it in Romania. And like that really opened my eyes and opened the gates floodgates, because after that, I started researching a lot. And I created my own communities on Facebook, and I just wanted to be an example for everyone that came behind. Like I wanted them to find the information I couldn’t find when I was looking for it. So yeah, the reason we homeschool basically was we wanted something better for our son.
Janna 15:21 I am really encouraged by your statement that you just felt like something wasn’t right. Like it. Typically, as humans, we go with the flow. We don’t like to go against the grain. It’s uncomfortable. And we’re we’re pioneers and something that we didn’t necessarily want to be a pioneer in. But there’s just that gut feeling that we can choose a different way. And I think that a lot of homeschool parents feel that way. Like, I may not know what I’m doing. But I know that I’m supposed to be doing something different than what’s being offered to me. And I don’t want to say the easy way because public school, private school charter schooling, each has their own place and challenges, right parenting is a gigantic challenge in and of itself. But I think listening to that sixth sense that we have as parents that we do know what’s best for our kids. And when we go to what we think are the authorities on it, and they they’re dismissive of us that’s like, we could go okay, well, maybe it’s just in my mind, maybe I’m just overreacting, you know, I should just like you could have just said, Well, I’ll just send them and see what happens. It’s like we have to be advocates for our children. And I think that it’s it’s a lot easier said than done. Because when you’re challenging the establishment, it does feel like David and Goliath, right? Like, I can’t do this.
Laura 16:54 And it’s not even that, like we also face challenges from our own families. Like even my own mom said that I’m destroying his future. What am I doing? This is not what people usually do, like who are you to go against everything, you know, and that’s something that parents here face. I think even in the US, there’s, it’s like, even with a rich history of homeschooling, you still have this problem. So here, it’s even more because even I had a lady write to me and saying that I’m so excited to start Homeschooling with my six year old and then in a few days, she was like, my husband has a degree. So I was like, I know exactly what she’s been through, because I had to fight my whole family to be able to do this. But I was so convinced in that instance, that this is the way we should go that I was willing to fight for it. And I’m happy I did.
Janna 17:51 When you have such a strong conviction about something, I think that is like the first stepping stone to fight because if you’re unsure and you’re wishy washy, then the first sign of resistance either a partner is very hard when your partner is not aligned with your passion, it can be very difficult to persuade. But beyond that is if you two can get on the same page, which to me is the biggest thing, but you know, then your surrounding family. It’s like when people start to poke holes in your plan, it feels, you just start to feel like you’re sinking. But when you have such a strong conviction that it’s like, I don’t have the answers to what you’re saying. Yeah, maybe I am making the wrong decision. But the only way to know is to try. And I, in our experience. I didn’t want to homeschool our kids. I was like, No, that’s not what I want to do. And my husband, we always were like, first I was like, Maybe we should homeschool. He’s like, No, not a good idea. And then I was like, Okay, we shouldn’t homeschool. And then he was like, Maybe we should homeschool. And then so it’s like we had these different phases. And finally, we were both like, Okay, we’re going to homeschool. And then that just like solidified the decision. So was your partner always on the same page when you presented this out of the box education?
Laura 19:07 Actually, he wasn’t really he wasn’t really convinced me to to work. But I kind of told him that’s what I’m doing. So you have to roll with. And he was I think he was waiting like, okay, she will quit next year. You know, like this is becoming too difficult. And then if him and my family they started seeing the results, like oh, she managed to make him read and now he can do math also and oh, he even has a diploma from the umbrella school. So maybe it’s not so bad. And then as the years progressed and they saw his growth, like my son’s growth, they kind of like we’re okay with it. My mom still brings it up sometimes. She would say like, Are you sure? Like I You’re sure he can go to college after nice where he has Have like paperwork that’s accepted. Do you know what you’re doing? And all those kinds of questions, like, you know, she sees that he’s advanced in math and chemistry. And they were worried like, what will you do? Because he’s like ahead of you. So yeah, we found on tutors online, we found online classes self paced, because he doesn’t like, once, and he’s doing great, he keeps growing. That’s what’s important to me to see him happy, both emotionally and otherwise. And to see him grow academically, though those were my goals. And I see I’m reaching them year by year.
Janna 20:39 And really, I mean, it’s like the proof is in the growth, right? It’s one of these things that it’s like, I can’t prove to you that this is a good choice. But I can only demonstrate, and the only way I can do that is by trying it. So let’s, let’s give it a go. And there are parents, especially during the pandemic, who started homeschooling, who saw the benefits, sometimes not immediately, and you know, we all have our ups and downs, right? We have good days and bad days, and both us and our children. But then, for whatever circumstances, they couldn’t continue, you know, things open back up, and it just wasn’t a possibility. And then there was other families who thought for sure, they would go right back into the brick and mortar schools. But after they had been out and been doing homeschool, they were like, This is amazing. Why didn’t we try this earlier? And so it’s one of those things that like, you just don’t know what you don’t know. And the only way to know is to do and there’s like, again, there’s fear in that right, like, but there’s also comfort in the fact that like I no amount of me talking is going to prove to you what I’m trying to prove like, you just have to trust me. And that was the thing to like, we tell a lot of people just try set aside a year, and then see and then reevaluate. And if it’s not, if it’s not for you, it’s not working, you know, and in the US, because we can, in most states seamlessly go from one to another, with very little friction. It’s like you could even do semester, just try for a semester and half the year and see how it goes. So yeah, it really, but all the things that you’re saying that you feel and have experienced? I think those are global, I don’t think that is, you know, isolated to homeschooling out of the United States, I think that is just homeschooling in general, because we’re constantly really crossing our fingers that we made the right decision for our children.
Laura 22:36 Yeah, it’s true. Like even now, as he approaches the high school years, you know, the Fears are growing. Am I doing enough? is doing enough? Like, you know, that the homeschool schedule is less than the hours they spend in public school? So should we do more hours? Should we do extra action with them? You know, those are doubts, and they will always creeping, but I think they are a sign that you’re doing the right thing. I think when you start questioning what you are doing, you’re really thinking about it and assessing it and I tell the parents who reach to me that, like it’s okay to doubt yourself. It’s okay to keep asking yourself if this is okay, if it works fine, because you should constantly see if you need to change anything. And there is no way to do that. If you don’t care. If you say no, it’s fine, it will turn out okay. No matter what I do, I think that’s where the danger lies when you stop thinking or you never think from the beginning that you should really give your best, you know, homeschooling is not easy. And I tell that to everyone. It’s not an easy decision. And it’s not an easy thing to do. Because you’re sacrificing so much as a parent. Also, it’s way easier to ship them to school, especially in some cases. And also it’s not for everyone. I know that people say, Oh, just homeschool because it’s so easy. But the truth is, some kids do better in public school. And some parents cannot take the role of a teacher or facilitator I can say because you don’t always have to be the teacher. You can choose materials and people from outside, but you still need to be involved invested in it. And some parents just cannot do it and it’s fine. Their kids will be happier in other settings. I think the main thing here is to just do what’s best for your family, for your kids and for yourself.
Janna 24:38 Now talking about one of the biggest decision makers after you’ve decided to homeschool is finding a good fit of curriculum and where you’re going to go. And so, your story you kind of reverse engineered the fact that you were looking at the end goal that you knew you wanted some kind of college Just degree for your son. And you you obviously saw right away that that was something he could accomplish. And you know, he was gifted in that. So you had the end in mind. So you kind of worked backwards and kind of tell us that process like how you narrowed it down and came to your decision and what you choose to use.
Laura 25:21 So I wanted him to like be achieving academically, but I also wanted him to preserve that curiosity and love for learning. Like I wanted him to be a lifelong learner. My end goal is not really that diploma and goal is for him to always learn, always be curious, like, I think that’s real happiness when you can find happiness in what you do, because you love it, and you’re curious about it. So, because of that, I, I ended up being eclectic, I didn’t start with the eclectic homeschooling because I thought it’s so difficult to just go. And there are so many curricula, and how do I choose the perfect lead up doing it anyway, and it was great. I think balancing that is the secret sauce here. For example, we do teach art and math, those are non negotiables. And I think it’s universally available, because no matter where you go, and what you do, these are the two things you should know you. But for the rest of them, I kind of let Him lead. I saw he has a passion for sciences and stem in general and early on. So that was our third choice. So we have language arts, math, and then his passion, which is science. So it’s pretty easy to go from there and choose curriculum. And we always prioritize them that way. So my resources and my effort efforts go more into choosing these three for him. And then there is come at the back.
Janna 26:54 I think that is unique, because I think most parents don’t look at it that necessarily that way, I think we’re so ingrained to think that it has to be, you know, these core subjects and it has to be in this order. And but you know, we really can, the point of a child led learning is to focus on what your kids are really interested in. And there’s, like you said, always non negotiables, but, but really help that process and encourage them to help you make that decision once they become capable. As they get older, because they’re going to they’re going to be the ones doing it, they probably should enjoy it too. Right. And you shouldn’t be you just hope.
Laura 27:41 Sorry. That I feel that he will continuously discovered things he’s interested in. And sometimes he’ll discover them because I am the one planning resources and exposing him to things. So as we go through a planned curriculum, we’ll stop at I don’t know we did from bookshop this year, about the Romans, you know, and then we ended up with Roman numerals. But how do you say 1 million in Roman numerals and all those things he likes going down these rabbit holes. And I think homeschooling the way we do it. Flexible and eclectic just allows us. Okay, we have pause, everything we were doing for today. Let’s go and find out more about Roman numerals. And he ended up printing pages from the internet with all the Roman numerals. And then he actually learned them so well that he started writing his own novel. And he hates writing. But he chose to put the pages in Roman numerals. So now he can read Roman numerals from monuments everything. It wasn’t something I planned to do. But this is how child led learning works, especially if you balance it because many times parents think that if you choose one style or one way you have to do it 100% You know if I want to go Child learning, I just have to do whatever the child wants every single day. And it’s not that I think eclectic homeschooling showed us that you can just blend and mix and do whatever percentage you want to just make it work and to see your child grow and grow and love to learn.
Janna 29:25 So would you say that your passion behind homeschool are the one of the reasons you love it is because you do see your son just blossoming. In all of these areas. The fact that you literally just said he doesn’t like to write but he’s writing a novel like that’s a huge win.
Laura 29:44 Yeah, it is. And we had a lot of adventures, especially when I was like a new home schooler. I had no idea what I was doing. We went with a box curriculum for the first two years and they did everything to a tee from me I realized it’s so much like public school, and we kind of both of us hated it. We went through it, but it was great. And then I really sat down. And I looked at it. I said, Okay, what is it with this curriculum, that doesn’t work? Because I knew there were parts that work. And I realized there were two main things. One was that some of the subjects or, like, busy work, they were repetitive, and he didn’t need that, because that’s the way he learned. And some of them weren’t sufficiently developed, you know, for writing, in particular, I felt that his tempering didn’t work doing. And even I wasn’t capable to explain writing, like composition, writing, you know, creative writing to him. So I said, I didn’t even know what to look for. I didn’t know what I needed, what he needed. So I sat down, I thought it through logically like what kind of curriculum would fit a logical brain. And I said, he needs something step by step, he needs something broken down, he needs like a list of things that he has to do for every single composition. So he knows what. And I found the curriculum. Finally, it was so amazing, I didn’t see immediate results like we are in the second year using it. And I finally see him take initiative in writing. And that has been amazing. Like, I cannot believe it. That also helped me because being a writer, and I love writing, and I love it so much that I sometimes go overboard with my blog posts, I write too. But I have this defect. Like, I feel like correcting his work from my point of view. And I go, like, writing is super personal. And you can’t, you cannot go there and say, Oh, I don’t agree with your idea. And I know that that’s a very touchy subject with a lot of homeschool moms, and maybe even teachers, I don’t know, all the rubrics, I just cannot correct it. So I decided to Okay, writing will be outsourced. I won’t do it. He’s doing it with videos. And I just have a checklist. And if he follows the form, I’m not looking at the ideas or the way he presented them, if he follows all the requirements, like a form of the essay, or whatever he’s writing, he gets full points. And that has been amazing for us. Like it encouraged him. And now he’s even writing his own novel. I don’t know how many hundreds of pages. It’s some sci fi thing. Hopefully, he likes.
Janna 32:50 Oh, that’s really exciting. We do have a podcast with a English tutoring company that has a publishing site. So I will definitely get you the link to that. So it might be something that he could actually publish and let other children his age read in the United States is kind of an interesting concept.
Laura 33:12 Interesting.
Janna 33:14 Yeah, I agree. I never wanted, I never graded my girls writing. I just read through it. Because I’m the same way. I’m an English major, I have an editing brain. I want to fix what’s not right, I want to change the word around so it’s more clear. And it was hurtful to them. I found that very early on, it was like, Why are you picking that apart? Why? Because it is so personal. And so I stopped grading and I thought, well, when you go on to higher learning somebody, you’re gonna have to accept criticism from somebody, but it’s just not going to be me because I didn’t want to break that part of our relationship. And both of my older two daughters, they were able to take college classes as freshmen, sophomore in high school. And all they needed was some of that guidance in like the mechanics of it, but they had no problem with the writing. And they love to write and I had a daughter who wrote a novel, too. And I was like, Oh, my gosh, I’m just blown away. I could never imagine writing, having a consistent storyline for that many pages. So. So yeah, it’s beautiful when we see those things happening, and I love that you just trusted the process. You know, it took two years. And part of that could have been the curriculum. Part of it could have been his brain development proud part of it could have just been he finally found something he wanted to write about. I mean, there’s so many different factors that I think homeschool parents get caught up in the product when really we need to just trust the process. And that again, is one of those hard asks because you’re saying well, keep going it might take a couple years you’ll get there and we are so we were immediate results driven. So it’s harder, I think for us to be like okay, it’s gonna be okay, it’s gonna work and and fingers crossed that it does. Laura in closing Do you have a homeschool hack you can share with our listeners.
Laura 35:04 In fact, I have more like, more like three. So far one of them. And the first one one that helped us a lot since the beginning. And I’m so happy and discovered it is the growth mindset. I don’t think it’s spoken of so much in the homeschooling community. But it’s so important to because you also mentioned that your daughters didn’t like to be criticized and such. So I feel the growth mindset really helps with that, and it helped my son because he’s accepting criticism in stride. Now, it helps you think differently about mistakes, it helps them see that through mistakes, you are actually learning and growing. And it’s not something that you know, you have to read a lot about, there are a few links on the internet and a few YouTube videos, you can watch, and you’ll get an idea of what you need to do. And one of our favorite quotes, which is growth mindset is all things are difficult before they are easy. And that’s what we have on our desk. And it helped him when he started reading also, because we use a curriculum that was not a good fit. And I didn’t know at the time, and he was actually crying to every lesson. And it took me a while to say okay, like, yeah, you trust the process. But up to some point, you know, like, I saw that it was working, and I kept pushing through, and then he ended up crying. So I said, Okay, this is not fine. We almost finished it. And then I just switched completely. But he remained with that reluctance in reading, you know, and the growth mindset really helped him there. And I told him, okay, just take it step by step, you know, let’s look behind you when you started speaking, because he was later I didn’t have any other example. It was very difficult for you, you know, but now you do it, you don’t even think about it. And this is what will happen with treadling. Also, you kept at you keep at it, you know, every day, a little by little, and in a few years, you won’t even think about it. And I was right, because now he’s an avid reader. He just loves reading. And that’s why book shark is so perfect for us. And the second hack is only compare yourself to yourself. I see this happen a lot, all over social media in all the Facebook groups, and we all fall into it sometimes. But you should remember that you shouldn’t compare your child to anyone else or your situation to anyone else. If you see growth, like six months ago, or one year ago, or two years ago, my key is on an upslope, then what you’re doing is perfect, keep doing it. If you don’t see that, then you should reassess and change things. And the third one is we already discussed about it. I think balancing academics and Child led is like the perfect way to, you know, grow curious individuals and individuals want to learn for life. And this happens only because homeschooling is so flexible.
Janna 38:14 Well, thank you those three, and they blend beautifully together. So I think I think that’s a full hack with a part A, B, and C. So thank you so much, Laura, I want to thank you for what you have contributed to the homeschool community, not only in your country, in your passion to help others kind of explore this alternative education, but also what you’re doing to encourage those of us on this side of the globe, because your blogs and you’re sharing your journey with you and your son has been an encouragement I know to our community as well. So thank you so much. And thank you for being here today.
Laura 38:53 Thank you for having me. It’s been so fun.
In our homeschool, my children constantly encounter new vocabulary words during their individual reading time or during BookShark lessons. My naturally curious kids are great about asking, “What does this word mean, Mom?” Typically I ask them to look it up using an online dictionary. But sometimes we use them our new words in one of these five fantastic vocabulary games.
1. Vocabulary Cube
This game requires a small bit of prep work. Make a large cube out of cardstock, the bottom of a milk carton, or the side of a cereal box.
When it’s time to play a vocabulary game for the week, write six new words the sides of the cube. If you apply clear contact paper to your cube, you can use a dry erase marker to write the words and then easily erase them for the next game.
Have your student roll the cube or throw it in the air and catch it. Whichever word he lands on is the word he has to define.
You can jazz up the game a bit by using a timer, having two kids compete to see who can get the most correct after so many tries or any other variables you can think of that would make the game more interesting such as acting out the word or using the word in a sentence.
2. Vocabulary Signs
This is a simple yet effective activity and works especially well for foreign language vocabulary.
Take a few index cards and write your vocabulary words on them. Then affix the cards in places where the words are within context. For example, if you are introducing the Spanish word for chair, you can write silla on the index card and tape it to a chair in the room. If the word is a verb, hang the card in an area where you would normally perform that action.
This activity is also great for early learning and lower grades, as they are increasing their word recognition skills. You could take this game up a notch by adding a spelling component to the activity. Have your child say the word, touch the object, then spell the word without looking at it.
3. Vocabulary Bingo
Vocabulary lends itself easily to this classic, low-prep game. All you need are bingo cards and chips. You can make cards yourself by drawing a grid with 25 squares. Leave the center square as a free space, and write vocabulary words in each of the remaining 24 spaces.
Give your child a set of chips (use beans, paper clips, or any small objects). Call out the definitions and have the child cover the words that match. When a player reaches five in a row (horizontally or vertically), they yell BINGO! To make it even more challenging, have the winner spell the vocabulary words in the winning row or use them in sentences.
4. Pictionary
This game works well with three or more players and a large collection of vocabulary words. First write your vocabulary words onto cards and give a stack of cards to each child. On each person’s turn, he selects a card from his deck and attempts to get the other players to guess his word based on what he draws on a marker board or chalk board. Using symbols, letters, or numbers is not permitted.
The first child to guess the word correctly scores a point. The child with the most points at the end of the round wins the game.
5. Charades
Similar to Pictionary, you need two teams for this game, and four or more kids is optimal. Split the kids into two teams; then have a representative from each team act out the same word. Whichever team guesses the word first scores the point. Whoever has the most points wins the round.
For all of these games, don’t stress about the actual rules or how to play. The main goal is to create memorable learning experiences that will motivate your children and teach them new vocabulary words.
Among the many benefits of homeschooling, flexibility is at the top of the list. Because homeschoolers are not tied to school calendars, we don’t have to wait until school holidays in order to get some rest and relaxation. Homeschoolers are able to take vacations during the school year when rates are less expensive and locations are less crowded.
Because of this freedom, some homeschoolers travel more often than their public school counterparts. They may world school or road school or spend more time visiting family around the country. While many may opt to abandon homeschooling while on vacation, other homeschoolers may prefer to keep a routine in place. Here are some easy ways to homeschool while on vacation and still leave plenty of space for fun!
1. Plan Ahead
Before you leave on your trip, research your destination. Head to the library together and check out books about your destination’s history, famous people, and attractions. Watch videos or movies filmed in the location. Make a list of everything you’d like to do on your vacation.
Reading novels and poetry, watching films and television programs, browsing fashion and design blogs that are either from or about the place you plan to visit encourages you to not only learn about your destination, but to dream, providing some concrete details for your mind to latch on to. (Read more here.)
2. Do What You Love
Does your daughter love a certain homeschool activity? Is your son obsessed with a certain subject? Pack what they love and leave the rest behind. You need not fill your suitcases with workbooks and textbooks for your trip to be educational. Remember to focus on the fun. More learning will happen when you relax!
3. Use Audiobooks
If you plan to travel by car, audiobooks are a perfect opportunity for learning on virtually any topic: classics, poetry, biographies/memoirs, mythology, history, science, and more!
4. Enjoy Fantastic Read Alouds
So much learning can happen through reading aloud. Packing a chapter book and reading it before bedtime during your vacation is educational and you will be making memories in the process. If there is a particular subject that you have been neglecting in your homeschool, make up for it by selecting a fantastic read aloud on that topic!
5. Play Board Games
Board games offer an opportunity for play during down time in hotels or at rest areas on the road. There are a wealth of board games on the market today covering a variety of subjects. By playing a game together, families are able to connect and make memories while working on academic skills in a way that doesn’t feel like school.
6. Explore Nature
Nature provides you with science at your fingertips. Head outside as a family and explore nature together wherever your vacation takes you. Pack your camera and hike together. Take an interest in the local plants that you don’t typically see at home. There’s no need to pack heavy field guides. Search for a few plant identification guides instead.
7. Take Field Trips
A new location means new field trips! Visit a local museum, art gallery, musical performance, or other attraction. Gather brochures, maps, and postcards for scrapbooking when you get home.
8. Journal
An easy way to work in writing and art is to keep a vacation journal. Take some time each day to write about the day’s events. Older children can write about their day while younger children can draw a picture and dictate to parents. By saving these journals, your family will have wonderful keepsakes!
9. Practice Life-skills
Reading maps, planning outings, navigating public transportation, purchasing necessities, trying new cuisine, and even speaking another language are all wonderful learning opportunities when you are in an unknown place!
10. Relax
While on vacation together, take the time to relax and enjoy yourselves. Remember that you don’t need textbooks and worksheets all the time in order for learning to occur. Learning happens all the time when you relax and let it!
Visual aids work. It’s the reason companies spend thousands of dollars on an icon to represent their brand. The same principle works for us homeschool moms. When we can connect homeschool lessons to an interactive, visual learning aid, children will understand and remember more readily. If your children are crafty and enjoy cutting, coloring, writing, and assembling papercrafts, lap books are a fabulous way to add a visual and hands-on component to whatever curriculum you use.
A lap book is an interactive notebook with smaller mini books affixed onto a file folder. It’s a fun way for craft-loving kids to organize what they learn.
The creation of the lap book is part of the learning.
And then the reviewing of the lap book cements the learning for long-term retention.
Benefits of Lap Books with a Literature-based Approach
Kids get more screen time now than ever before. While digital content has a place, it shouldn’t replace a child’s artwork, handiwork, and creativity. Lap books encourage a child’s natural desire to research, organize, and display the information they learned. What they create becomes a book of information they can reference later and be proud of.
I’m always looking for ways to simplify what we’re learning and to make my teaching time count. Lap books do that for my kids! Although some families think that the time it takes to do lap books can be a turn off, I view them as a long-term investment. Almost ten years later, my sons still take out their lap books and review what they compiled when younger. And I can’t count how many times they reviewed the information through the years while explaining their current topic of interest to family and friends.
Do you have to create lap books to learn? Of course not! Many children (and moms) are content to read and discuss—the cornerstone of the literature-based approach of BookShark curriculum. But if enjoy lap books, then they are one more tool in your toolbelt for narration and composition.
A lap book is also a portfolio of a child’s schoolwork. If you live in an area that requires annual documentation of learning, lap books are tangible and impressive proof of what your child has studied.
After realizing that my sons didn’t have to use glitter or pompoms when making a lap book, we adjusted each lap book to suit each child’s learning style. It has been one of the most flexible tools I’ve ever used with a literature-based approach. If your kids are extra crafty, they can go all out with decorations. But if your children are less interested in embellishments and design, they can keep their work simpler. It’s up to you!
Making foldable projects can help your child master things that require repetition or topics your child is struggling with. For example, if your child can’t remember the helping verbs, then encourage him to create a flip book that lists the words. Creating the book is a learning experience in itself. And then when your child lifts the flaps to recall the word list, the activity becomes active learning. Although you want your child to add tidbits of information which delight him, think of the lap book as a memory aid or reference tool to help your child recall information, too.
Lap Books: Worthless or Worth Keeping?
Mini books, graphs, charts, worksheets, maps, and writing can all be arranged in a lap book. This versatile learning tool can be adapted to each child’s needs, likes, and dislikes, and creative spunk. All you need are basic school supplies, you already have on hand:
file folders
glue stick or rubber cement
paper in various colors
scissors
tape
markers and colored pencils
Then, look at your homeschool science or history lessons with an eye to dividing up chunks of information into small units that can be individual mini books or projects.
Is there a list? It will probably make a good lap book project maybe as cards or a flipbook.
Cause and effect? Another lap book project!
Vocabulary words? Yes, those too make for great lap book components.
Events in a series? Display them in a small timeline format.
Diagrams? Perfect for lap books!
Remember that a lap book doesn’t have to include everything you studied from a chapter or topic. Pick and choose the parts that your child finds captivating and wants to illustrate through papercrafts. Lap booking works perfectly in the narration stage of your homeschool lesson. After your Read-Alouds, ask your children to narrate back what they learned, using the discussion questions in your Instructor’s Guide. Then make a project for your lap book based on what your child narrated.
You may want to create one or two minibooks a day depending on their complexity. A very elaborate project may stretch out over several days. Store each project in a ziploc bag as your child creates them. After your child finishes 10 to 13 minibooks, he can arrange them on a file folder base.
Tips for Using Lap Books with Your Homeschool Curriculum
Here are a few dos and don’ts to avoid lap book pitfalls.
Don’t turn designing the mini books into a crafting session unless the child wants to. The emphasis is on the concepts learned and how they are organized not on the fancy coloring or cutting technique—again, unless your child thrives on that kind of crafty work.
Do remember that it takes time to build a lap book. So be patient.
Don’t try to cram every idea or teaching point into the lap book. Pick and choose.
Do remember that lap books are not only for young children. Lap books give older children a chance to organize the material they’re learning. And extra flaps can easily be added to lap books to accommodate compositions and drawings added by an older learner.
Do integrate cleanup time into your homeschool day so you aren’t left with that chore by yourself.
While anything you study for homeschool can easily be made into a lap book, many families love buying pre-designed lap book kits, like these for American History I, American History II, World History I, and World History II that provide the exact templates and directions for assembling them. If your children are extremely outside-the-box thinkers, you can use a kit as a springboard for their own designs. Just add additional flaps to the lap book base and add as many extras as you like!
Whether you are looking for a way to reinforce the major teaching points in your literature-based curriculum or are looking for a creative outlet for your budding artist-scholar, lap books are a method to try.
About the Author
Tina Robertson celebrated the graduation of Mr. Senior in 2013 and Mr. Awesome in 2015. Because of her love for new homeschoolers, she mentors moms through her unique program called New Bee Homeschoolers. She loves all homeschoolers, though, as she shares her free 7 Step Curriculum Planner, unit studies, lap books and homeschooling how tos. She can’t sing, dance, or craft, but she counts organizing as a hobby. She is still in the homeschool trenches blogging at Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus.
My kids consume books like air, and there are entire homeschool days when we get so lost in a story that we forget to do math. If you’re considering buying any of BookShark’s literature-based programs, then I’m sure you can relate. There is just nothing that beats the feeling of being swept up in words, and my kids respond really well to the time spent cuddled up together, lost in historical fiction.
BookShark, naturally, is a perfect fit for voracious and eager readers. Sometimes, though, an issue arises with my order that I know other readers can relate to: We already have some of the books included in the curriculum package.
Because we’re big book lovers, our nightstands tower and our shelves sag with lots and lots of books. Given the thought and standards that BookShark uses when selecting titles for their bundles, it’s expected that there will be some crossover now and then.
Why Order Duplicates in the First Place?
When I first started looking into BookShark I fell immediately in love with the model, but hesitated at ordering. It didn’t make a lot of sense to order books I already had—to invest in a box full of goodies that contained duplicates.
I considered using their book list to search out and purchase titles individually, to order only the books I didn’t have on hand already. I put a few hours into comparing prices, hunting down editions, and building my own mini collection. But I discovered that not only did it save a lot of time to order the pre-made bundle, it actually saved me quite a bit of money to get the BookShark discount.
With my savings pocketed and our books added, though, I had to decide what I would do with the extra titles. Knowing we aren’t the only ones finding themselves in this situation, I decided to help you, fellow book-lovers, find uses for duplicates.
1. Books on the Go
As you know by now, education isn’t limited to four walls. Between appointments, field trips, lunch dates, play dates, sports, traffic, or just afternoon drives, we find ourselves away from home quite a bit. Rather than needing to plan the night before to pack up our studies and lug around a heavy bag, we keep some of our extra books in the van, allowing the kids to pick up where they left off without needing to pack.
Having extra copies in the car means you never have to feel bad about last-minute rides or unread books. Whether your child reads out loud to you or silently to themselves, they always have quality literature within reach. We’ve even sent a few books over to their grandparent’s home, so Nana and Poppy are able to join the learning!
2. Reading Buddies
Find a friend for your child and give them the extra book so that they can read it together! Set up opportunities for weekly discussions, creating a miniature book club customized just for your family.
3. Clean Copies and Marked Copies
Some book lovers may need to avert their eyes for a bit with this revelation: I sometimes write in books.
I know, I know. It’s unimaginable to some. But every now and then, I come across a passage that is particularly moving, inspiring, or beautifully-written. Sometimes there are paragraphs I want to come back to or dialogue I want to discuss with someone. There may even be words or locations I’m not familiar with, so I take note of them.
Some of my kids, though, are distracted by notes on a page. They can’t see past brightly-highlighted conversations or end up focusing on my scribbles more than their reading. Having a second copy means I can take and make all the notes I need while maintaining a crisp, clean copy for the kids who need to read in black and white.
Another fun option for writing in your extra copy is black out poetry, where words are marked out and some are left showing, creating new poems or stories with the remaining words. It’s extreme and means a book can’t be re-used, but it’s
4. Donate
The easiest, and possibly most obvious, use for a duplicate book is to donate it.
Local foster families, tutoring centers, case workers, or counselors are always in need of quality literature to pass on to children in need. Check with your local homeschooling groups to see if there are any families in need who might be studying something similar. Ask your school teacher friends if their classrooms could benefit from a great story, or check in locally-owned bookstores, consignment shops, or your local library to see if they can pass the book to someone who would love it as much as you.
There are many reasons to dive into BookShark’s program, and owning two copies of the same book should never stand in the way. There are plenty of options for making use of the extra, so what’s stopping you from doubling up today?
About the Author
Jennifer Vail proudly lives in the great state of Texas with her very handsome husband and three very funny children. All three kids are educated in three very different ways according to their very different needs, which is exhausting but fulfilling. Jen’s hobbies include naps, 90’s pop culture, Netflix binges, buying books with the best of intentions to read them all, photography, and extroverting. She holds a degree in counseling but has found her calling by writing for and spending time with families of differently-wired, outlier kids—the square pegs of the round world.
She stays up way too late and drinks way too much caffeine, but has no intention of changing either. She is the community manager and contributing author at Raising Lifelong Learners where she writes about homeschooling gifted, anxious, and otherwise different kiddos, but also rambles at This Undeserved Life from time to time. She feels compelled to mention that she still very much loves the Backstreet Boys and rarely folds her laundry.
I admit it: I’m a pretty techie girl. If there’s an app for something I do regularly, I’m on it. However, even after trying numerous approaches to I decided it wasn’t for me.
For one thing, it created extra work when the kids had trouble accessing or viewing the online checklists I created for them. Plus, I have to admit, it wasn’t super helpful for me to be tied to my laptop or tablet all day. I needed to be able to step away from the tech to focus on homeschooling.
I know some moms love writing out daily checklists on post-it notes or in a spiral notebook. More power to ‘em. But as a tech-happy person, it really bothered me to repetitively complete work that can be automated.
Enter the checklist templates.
Make Your Homeschool Checklist Template
Even if you prefer to use paper planners or checklists for your children’s chore and homeschool assignments, that doesn’t mean that you can’t automate the process a bit by creating a template for your weekly homeschool checklists.
Use any word processing program like Google Docs or Microsoft Word. Follow these steps to create your checklist:
Put your document in landscape mode.
Create a page for each student.
Add a column for each day of the week you need to track, plus one additional column. (I used the span Monday through Saturday because I wanted to include some Saturday chores.)
Add enough rows for the different subjects/categories you want to include, plus one extra row.
Leave the top left box empty and then fill in the remaining top row cells with the days of the week.
Fill in the cells in the left-hand column with the categories/subjects such as history, chores, math, science, language arts.
In each cell, fill in as many details as you can, but only the things that do not change from week to week. For example, instead of typing in actual math assignments or reading pages, type Math-U-See, Lesson ___ . Or Read __________ p. __ – ___.
If you want to have a box to tick, add each item as a part of a square bullet-point list.
Fill in Your Weekly Homeschool Checklists
Each weekend when you do your planning for the week, print out one (only one!) weekly checklist per student. Then go through and fill in the details. Add the pages or lessons to be completed each day for each subject.
If you want, add extra notes below each column about specific events such as Poetry Teatime or Ryan’s birthday.
Once you’ve added the week-specific details to each checklist, photocopy it. You keep the original and give your child the copy.
The checklist can help students have reasonable expectations for the week. Then each day, the checklist will remind students of what they need to complete. Mom keeps the master copies in a binder or folder so that she can check off school work that is done, corrected, and mom-approved!
Apply It to Long-Term Homeschool Planning
The printable checklist system also helps to create a framework for long-term homeschool planning. You don’t really need to know the date you will give each particular assignment for the entire year. You just need a list of future assignments to pull from.
Have you ever seen those caddies that go into a cabinet or refrigerator to hold and dispense canned goods or soft drinks? You load new items into the top and they roll down to the front. Grab the first available item and a new one rolls into its place, ready to go. You can work your homeschool planning in the same way. Instead of putting assignments on a calendar, just write them in a list. For example, you could list the chapters or page sections in a reading book in one-day chunks. Or make a list of math lessons interspersed with quizzes and tests at the appropriate places.
If you use a curriculum like BookShark, a great deal of this work is already done for you. All you have to do each weekend is to pull the next five assignments and customize the checklist accordingly.
If a student gets further ahead in one subject than another, or two siblings are going through the same material at different speeds, no big deal. Each person’s weekly checklist can still represent the next five assignments in each subject.
This is another great reason to write up only one week at a time. If your child only completes, say, four math assignments instead of five, no big deal. Next weekend, you can write that fifth assignment down for Monday and go from there! There’s no need to do a lot of erasing and rewriting.
Apply It to Homeschool Record Keeping
If you need to keep lesson plans or records of attendance, simple archive your weekly checklist master copies. If not, toss out those old sheets and start each new week fresh!
This printable template system has reduced the amount of repetitive writing I was doing each week. I love it! Use or adapt this idea as you wish to fit the needs of your home and homeschool!
About the Author
Lynna is a former homeschooler, then classroom teacher, now homeschool mom of eight crazy (and lovable) hooligans from middle school down to bouncing baby.
She calls her blog Homeschooling without Training Wheels because she loves to encourage families to embrace the freedom and flexibility that come with homeschooling and let go of the things that are holding them back! You can read more in her free eBook 5 Myths that are Killing Your Multi-Age Homeschool
