No matter how much we parents would like to deny the existence of bullying in the school system, we can’t. Public schools can be fraught with social issues which children are easily caught up in. If you are concerned for the safety of your child, then homeschooling is a good option to keep them safe. But even more than that, homeschooling is also a way to encourage them to be the best people that they can be. It’s a way to turn differences into superpowers!
The Ugly Truth about Bullying at School
Dosomething.org gives some frightening statistics about bullying in the US education system. Here are some of the most shocking:
One in five children between the ages of 12 and 18 has been bullied.
A large number of bullied children skip school because they are afraid.
Bullied kids often score lower in reading, math, and science.
Almost half of the kids interviewed were bullied because of perceived differences in them, such as appearance, race, sexual orientation, or disability.
The last point really hit home for me. As the mother of special needs twins, I saw this first hand. During the one year that my children were enrolled in public school, they were bullied. They were only in first grade, so we didn’t want to stick around to see how much worse it could have gotten as they grew up. The bullying was one reason among many why we chose to homeschool our boys.
The Benefits of Encouraging Individuality
Bullying is incredibly destructive and can have long-lasting effects on children. And this is especially true if children are different in a way seen as negative or shameful. These differences can dominate their lives, eventually becoming massive obstacles to overcome, hindering children in reaching their full potential.
But if kids are encouraged and their differences are celebrated, these traits can become advantages and strengths. Encouraging individuality can:
help kids feel proud of themselves and what makes them different
free children to be themselves
encourage them to show the world a unique perspective
nurture humans who are inclusive by nature
Preparing Our Children for the Future
The working world has changed and will continue to change in the future. The jobs we are doing now might not exist in a decade’s time. This rapid transformation means that the education system also needs to change. Public schools are unfortunately not able to keep up, but homeschooling is a viable option.
By homeschooling, you are able to allow your children to develop their individual strengths without the fear that they might be bullied for them. In addition, with a strong sense of worth and belief in themselves, children will stand out from the crowd. We need these kinds of people in the future—people who can see things in a different way, who are confident and who believe that they can make a difference, because they are different.
We all admire the individuality and boldness of Oprah Winfrey and Elon Musk. So why not encourage our children to think outside the box like those admirable heroes?
Homeschooling is best for protecting children. They are kept safe and secure. But more than that, homeschooling is a place where children can be proud of what makes them different. And I believe the world sorely needs more of these kinds of people.
Charlotte Jones is a multi-tasking mom who works from home. She spends her days blogging at My Little Home School, homeschooling her twins, and teaching English online.
Her home is a small house in a quaint little town on the coast of South Africa. You can often find her swimming in the lagoon or hiking in the forest with her husband, special needs twins, and furbaby.
She loves her family, spending time in nature, running, red lipstick, and drinking too much coffee.
It’s here, it’s actually here!! High School Curriculum! We are so excited about World History & Literature and U.S. History & Literature levels. Today’s podcast is for all your questions about books in the levels, how it differs from other levels, why you should consider BookShark’s High School curriculum and more. Janna and her guest Amy R., BookShark’s Curriculum Editor and Designer, discuss the ins and outs of BookShark’s High School Curricula.
Janna 00:00 Welcome to Homeschool Your Way. I’m your host, Janna Koch, and BookShark’s Community Manager. Today’s episode is long-awaited, we are on the verge of releasing not one, but two high school levels here at BookShark. Today I am joined by Amy Ratliff, she is BookShark’s curriculum designer, we’re going to be talking about the two new levels, which are actually kind of four because we have History & Literature for the World and then History & Literature for the U.S. both at the high school levels. But I’m jumping ahead of myself. Let me bring in Amy. Hi, Amy.
Amy 00:36 Hello, everybody.
Janna 00:39 I know that people are so excited to see your face and to hear your voice and all the information that you’re going to be sharing about what BookShark has been busy doing these last few years working on these anticipated levels of high school. Before we get too excited, I bet you are. For those of you who have been familiar with BookShark or been around, Amy was immersed in our science for several years as we were updating our levels A through F. And now she has had the refreshing pleasure of being in history for several years. Amy, why don’t you just quickly give some background about who you are and how you got involved in homeschooling?
Amy 01:26 I mean, it’s true. I’m a nerd every time I get involved in a different project here, that’s my new favorite subject. And I’m just like, okay, science, science is the best now I’m like history, the best. Like I was reading some of the books that we provided. And I’m like, this is really good stuff like stuff I didn’t necessarily learn in high school, or maybe I did and then I forgot. And I’m just getting entranced in all these books again. So yeah, I work on different subjects here. For years, it’s been science. And recently it’s been the high school levels here. So I do editing, I do writing, and I test science experiments. I read books, I find new books, I write discussion questions, I create maps and all of the above. I work with different writers who helped us create the program, I work with different illustrators to create the program, and some of my other teammates who are helping me proof and read and come up with ideas and stuff. I’ve been here for, I think, five years at this point. And, that’s a little bit about me.
Janna 02:40 And a unique thing about Amy is she was homeschooled, like me. So it’s neat to see these next generations getting involved in what’s coming out for the coming generations. Because I know when you had a very different experience than I did, your mom was very creative in designing the curriculum for you and letting you do that. That student-led even before it was a thing, and I was more by the book. And I just did what I was given and didn’t venture outside of those parameters and homeschool. And so coming from different perspectives, and yet being both so passionate about getting new material out to the next generations.
Amy 03:23 Yeah, my mom would pick books up at different homeschool conventions, or used book sales or something and made her stuff. And so I remember, like if I had an interest in something, she would create a unit study for me. And then we’d go on often we do that. So I’m and then I went to college, and I became a teacher for a while. And now I’m here at book shark. And so I and I think I mean, I like creating this curriculum and just thinking about all the conversations that you guys get to have with your kids based off of the different books, because I know that I love these books, and I hope that you guys do too.
Janna 03:59 So really, you’re getting paid for what your mom did for free.
Amy 04:03 Yes, absolutely. Thanks, Mom.
Janna 04:06 Thanks, Mom. All right. So lay it on us what is coming out for high school, and 2023-2024
Amy 04:19 Yes, we have World History, World Literature, U.S. History, and U.S. Literature, all for a high school level. We’ve been working on this for quite some time. And we’re really, really excited that it’s that both levels, not just one but both are coming out this year. If you’ve been with book shark for a while, then you might know that for a few months and 2020, we released a World program. And as soon as we released it, the spine of the program went out of print and so we had to take the entire program away. And it was so sad for everybody here and all of you.
So we’re really excited that we revamped it with a different spine. And this World History program, I guess one difference is that this also covers ancient history. So this one covers all of World History, whereas the one released in 2020, was just Modern World History. So now we do cover all of World History. The reason for that being is that we know that different states have different high school requirements. And some states want ancient, some states want the world. So we made a program that covered enough ancient and modern, that we believe that people in all States of America could use it and fulfill the requirements.
Janna 05:40 What’s interesting, Amy is that as a parent that’s been using the program for seven years. Now, if you look at our different levels, we have an Intro to World cultures. And then we have Year One of two years of Intro to World History, then the second year, we have American History, year one, American History, year two, we have Eastern Hemisphere, then we start with World History One, World History Two, American History, and now we’re starting again with World History. So what is the distinction for parents who maybe have already done World History, Levels G and H using Story of the Worlds; Volumes 1-4? When that question is posed to us, what is our stance? Why are we making World History at a high school level?
Amy 06:27 Yeah, so the overall goal for the scope and sequence of BookShark is to hit the main social studies topics three times throughout your journey, Kindergarten through High School. So you’re going to touch on different, like different culture studies three times throughout your entire BookShark career, we will touch on World History, three times you’ll touch on American History, three times. So that’s always been the goal is to have like a younger elementary, then a late elementary, middle school touch, and then another high school touch. So these new programs, I mean, we’ve had Levels I and J out for a while where we talk about American History and the History of Science. And those have kind of like those are like high-level middle school to high school. And so I know that a lot of high schoolers have been using those. But now that we have this high school, those are going to be the high school programs. And because I’ve read these, I can tell you like these are more difficult texts. They’re more mature texts, there’s a lot more spread of information. The US history book in particular, for me, I was reading it, and I was like, this is more like an AP history book. This is not what I read in high school. This is more in-depth and more analytical, I think, of people’s beliefs throughout American history, rather than just facts of like when this thing happened, and why and like, where and who was involved, it gives you more of a glimpse into the people’s mindsets and beliefs and why one thing led to another. So yeah, it’s just definitely it’s the next step, it goes deeper. We’ve never shied away from dark subjects. And we believe that exposing kids to some of the real-world trials, at younger ages, develops a sense of compassion, and wanting to help people. So while we’ve already introduced the topics of like the Holocaust, and genocide, and helping those less fortunate than you, in lower grades/levels, these high school levels, they dive right in quite a lot. So I think that it’ll expand the high schooler’s minds and will let them see a deeper view of the world. And hopefully, they really, really get into it.
Janna 09:09 I think something that I have heard said, and I think it applies very appropriately here is that when we’re introducing these topics, these timelines, these historical figures, in the elementary ages, we’re creating hooks. And as they age up, what we’re able to hang on that hook can get weightier and weightier. Right. So we are giving them space to be able to have a framework for what we’re talking about. I don’t know about you, but I barely remember second grade. I remember my teacher and maybe some of my friends, right? But I do know that as I progressed through school when I was reintroduced to a topic that I had already learned about when we delve deeper, I was able to immerse myself even more because I had context. I have a hook and a place in my mind that goes Oh, that’s right. This is happening here. This is why it’s happening. So when people are asking, ‘Well if I’ve already done one, why would I do another?’ Well, the point is that you can dive deeper to look more critically at the surroundings of what’s going on. And it isn’t a story so much anymore like it is in the younger levels. Now, we’re talking about real people, with real consequences that now affect the things around us even today.
Amy 10:31 Yeah, and I think one of the tools that we have that all your BookShark users are quite familiar with is the timeline book. And the reason that you can reuse the timeline book is to kind of support what you just said, Janna. I’m going to keep on using this year after year. And I’m going to write this new historical figure or event. And I’m going to see that last year or two years ago, or three years ago, I also wrote this other event, and I kind of remember it a little bit, but it was years ago, but now I have that connection. And you’re starting to build a web of knowledge and interconnect everything. And that’s important.
Janna 11:13 That is really like the exciting part of education because the more you know, the more in my case, an opinion I may have about this situation. But the more I’m passionate about talking about it because the details do start to click and fall in line. And so now I am more aware of the why. And like I said, the consequences and how it all fits together. You know, I knew as a kid, the shot that was heard around the world, right? And I knew the phrase, and I knew the location. But it wasn’t until I was in high school and college that I started to understand the implications of what that phrase meant. And so I think that is what we are doing, as we build on these levels and go deeper and in wider or, you know, have places to go within the same timeline. Because the fact the matter is history, it doesn’t change. We all know, you know, from where whence we began. And so as we repeat it in the sense of learning, when we add more context is how it becomes you know like that web is a great picture of how it works. So let’s jump into World History for high school. What will it include?
Amy 12:30 Okay, World History. So I guess a little background. So when we create our programs, we usually find the spine for history. So the main book, and then we surround it with all different sorts of literature to integrate with the spine and to build upon it. So this book right here, The Decay from the Dawn of Civilization to Present-Day History, is the spine of our new World History program. And so it does go from you know, like the ancient Mesopotamia to Modern day. And that includes different contemporary issues like social media and global population, recent presidents, recent wars, and stuff like that. So this book is a little bit more encyclopedic. It has two-page spreads on each different culture or nation or topic. Sometimes it has little biographies of different people throughout the entire history of the world. So there’s a lot in this book, it’s huge. So yeah, this is the spine, and then we surround it again, with all the different books that help support it. So when you are reading, sorry, I have my booklist here. So you can read, you’re going to read a book about Ancient Egypt, you will read The Art of War. When you’re learning about Ancient China, you will read the Iliad. There’s a book about Genghis Khan and how he really kind of created a lot of modernism in the world, which you never really think but he kind of issued he, he was very transformative to world cultures. You read about the family Romanov. You read about Winston Churchill, and Cry the Beloved Country with apartheid in South Africa. So there’s I think, I guess I didn’t count but there are at least a dozen different books that you read alongside that, that help you delve into and see. I mean, one of the big things that I like about our literature books is it’s easy to read the spine and see people are just like flat characters and say, oh, yeah, this person did this and they did that. And then they died. Whereas when you read the literature, you get to know their thoughts, and their emotions like to become a 3d character. And then you see the world through their eyes. And then history comes to life. And you don’t forget that feeling.
Janna 15:20 It also demonstrates and shows the implications of like, if a person in history makes a decision they’re passionate about, right, that’s their platform, knowing their background, their history, what their lens that they’re looking through, really helps understand why they have that platform and why they’re so passionate about something. And then, on this side of history, we get to see the implications of the choices that they made and the impacts that they had. And now we’re living that out, I think it’s so important to be able to tie that all together, otherwise, you are just getting facts and figures. And it is sterile, without the literature pieces to bring it alive.
Amy 16:06 Yeah, I mean, one of the books that I didn’t mention is called China’s Long March. And it took me a while of reading to realize that the mouth that they were referred to, it’s about this, this army that’s marching through China, and they’re trying to get to this place for military reasons. And it took me a while to realize that the now they’re talking about that was like, held in pretty high honor was like Mao Zedong and that most of us don’t think he’s a very good guy. And I was like, Oh, well, this is a very different perspective of him that I never thought I’d had before. And it’s just a different light and sees him as a logical, like a very strategic leader in why he got to the place that he did later in life.
Janna 16:50 It’s important to be able to make those connections because otherwise, we can villainize and not to, not to say shouldn’t or should, but we can villainize characters, people throughout history, through our lens, and not having the context and their perspective of what’s going on. I had heard it said that we couldn’t judge another culture or time period by our own standards and values, we have to judge it by theirs. And if we aren’t immersed in theirs, we can’t judge it properly. And maybe judges the wrong word. Maybe more evaluate it.
Amy 17:25 Analyze analyzed, maybe, yeah, yeah. So that’s, that’s World History. So U.S. History is going to be similar. And that we have this book is called The Land of Hope. This is the spine that earlier I was mentioning it gives me more of an AP History feel. So the author just goes through lots of the whys and what people believed, about specific people and also just the culture in general, like, what did the culture of the colonists believe that made them think that they could come here and settle in this crazy country? You know? And then rebel against England? Why? How did that happen? What were the threads that led to that? So The Land of Hope is the spine for U.S. History. And that’s surrounded by books about like the Mayflower. You get to read a little bit of the Constitution. You read about Thomas Jefferson’s fight against the Tripoli Pirates, then the Civil War. Then we have The Grapes of Wrath, which is about The Depression. And Esperanza Rising, which is a newer book that I think is also about the Depression, Finding Langston, where you get to learn about Langston Hughes. And so, again, it goes all the way from early, early America to pretty, pretty modern. I think this book actually even has stuff about Obama and Trump in it. So it’s, it’s a very recent spine for us.
Janna 19:01 I’m so glad to hear it’s refreshing to know that we are finding good spines, good literature that we can build off of that is more modern so that it can address the things that our students are currently going through, or at least their parents have gone through as opposed to only looking back to things that maybe their grandparents had gone through. Although my kids love to call me a Boomer, which I am not. So not a boomer, they get they just think it’s so funny when they say it. So another unique perspective to these two levels that are coming out that may be a little bit different than what we’ve had in the past, and I’ll have you speak to this specifically, are the sources, what type of sources are we going to be linking to these programs?
Amy 19:47 Yeah, so this is different from other guides that we’ve carried, and I’m pretty excited about it. So in addition to the spine and the literature that you read, I think every week has at least one or two primary resources that you read. And these can either be just a couple of paragraphs that we print into our guide to a couple of pages long. And these are different excerpts from like the Egyptian Book of the Dead, you know, you’re reading about the pharaohs, and you don’t really understand their religion, but then you go and you read, like, it’s like a set of 40 prayers or something, I think they would say, and you just read that and you see what they did and what they believed and what they prayed, you know, every day back then. Then there are other ones. Let’s see my favorite, Martin Luther King speeches, there is the Hammurabi code, there are FDR speeches, there are letters from Columbus to Queen Isabella, there are just all sorts of Primary Resources, written by the people that you are studying that are also printed in our guide. And it goes back to our earlier point of you have to know what the people at that time were thinking and how they viewed the world. And so reading things that they actually wrote and recorded, is very, it’s like really key to understanding why they did what they did.
Janna 21:19 I think that is very unique to this, these two levels than we’ve ever done before. But I think, pretty unique to any history program that I’ve been involved with personally, that we would make sure that there are primary resources so that we aren’t just saying, somebody’s telling us a story of what they learned about Columbus, or X, Y, and Z, we’re reading what they actually penned personally. So it makes it so much more impactful because A, our brains don’t have to decipher, is this true? Is this someone else’s bent? Is this how it was perceived? I think that having those primary resources is going to make this program stand out in the homeschool curriculum.
Amy 22:05 I hope so! I didn’t get primary resources when I was in high school, and I went to a very good public high school. So I like that. I think, as you said, it adds a completely different dimension to this program as well.
Janna 22:22 Alright, so do you have anything else to say about the histories before we move on to the literature?
Amy 22:27 Sure. So a couple of other things about these histories. So along the lines of the prime or the primary resources, we also have many research reports throughout the year for history. I don’t know about you, but I remember doing lots of term papers when I was in high school for my social studies classes. So some of them are shorter, some of them are longer some of them, we let the student pick whatever research they want to do within the timeframe that they’re studying. Right. Then other ones we say, well, like this is something that we really want our students to know more about. So go do research and do a report on it. So the type and the length vary throughout the year, sometimes it’s written, sometimes it can be oral, sometimes it could be a slideshow, whatever. So those are both in World and U.S. History. Another thing is that World History specifically comes with current events. So that’s another thing that we think is very important for high schoolers to begin practicing is to look at current news sources, know what’s going on in the world be able to have a short conversation about it with their parents, or teachers or some other trusted adult. And we also scheduled those throughout the year of go watch the news. And then tell somebody what you learned, you know, or go read like three different articles online and read and tell and explain that to your parents or ask questions if you don’t understand part of it. So that’s part of world history as well.
Janna 24:09 And if you want to see what is available, our website will be updated as this podcast comes out. So make sure to go to www.bookshark.com. And you can look at the different history levels that we have. You want to specifically look for World History High School and U.S. High School.
Amy 24:29 Yeah, and for those of you listening right now, World is coming out in April 2023. And the U.S. will be coming out this summer of 2023. So it’s a couple of months behind World, but it is nearing its final stages. So that’s very exciting.
Janna 24:49 Now one thing I love about BookShark and will continue to be passionate about is that we couple literature not only in history, but other types of literature that fall in line with what you’re learning about in history, we call it integration. So let’s get into how world literature is integrated into our world history.
Amy 25:14 Yep, so our literature programs. So they involve a little bit more fiction, but they’re often tied to history as well. So like, for example, if you’re reading about the French Revolution in World History, you’re also reading A Tale of Two Cities in World Literature, which does happen around the French Revolution. Now, it’s not like a real story, obviously, but you, it’s an important piece of classical literature. And it functions well to accompany your study of the French Revolution. So stuff like that? I don’t know, do you want to hear some of the titles?
Janna 26:02 I would love to hear some of the titles, Amy.
Amy 26:05 Okay. So part of our World Literature program. So similar to our history, it kind of goes chronologically and to clarify it, you could do World Literature by itself, it can be standalone. You don’t have to do History to do the Literature program. But I do think they complement each other so well that you will get the most out of our program if you use both the History and Literature at the same time. Like the Tale of Two Cities, you can read that whenever. But it works well if you know about the French Revolution. So similarly, our literature kind of is chronological. So we start with some pretty early texts, like you’re reading about the Epic of Gilgamesh, which is Mesopotamia a long, long, long time ago. Then you read about Siddhartha, which is also a long, long time ago in India. Then you’re reading about like, Oedipus in Julius Caesar, Rome, but both are no more fictional stories about people who lived in those times. We have Beowulf, A Tale of Two Cities, then we also get into the modern times, which, you know, a lot happens in the 20th century. So we have like All Quiet on the Western Front about World War One, Things Fall Apart about this African tribe that gets split up and colonists and stuff, Night about Jewish programs in World War Two. And then we also get into some dystopian literature, we have both 1984 and Fahrenheit 451 in here,
Janna 27:50 Now you’re speaking my language because that is my wheelhouse. I love dystopian literature. And I wasn’t exposed to it until college. So and the other one that we have in our World History, we talked about Cry the Beloved Country, I mean, these were things that I didn’t even get exposed to until I was way out of high school, and picking the classes that I wanted to take, you know, in my last two years, so it’s exciting to me to be able to introduce these to my daughter at a younger age, but then still be just as passionate about it, and be able to talk about it with her because I do so much love these types of this type of literature.
Amy 28:30 Me too. And I guess, if you’re an adult listening to this, and you don’t have a high school student, but you want to learn more about history and literature, you will find everything in here fascinating. Because, yeah, I didn’t read most of these in high school. And now I’m reading them as an adult. And I think, I mean, maybe, yeah, maybe education is wasted on the young. I don’t know, but I learned so much more as an adult than I did back when as a teenager. So I’m loving it myself.
Janna 29:00 So what are some of the language arts supplements that are going to be included in these packages?
Amy 29:06 Yes, and that brings up another good point for you BookShark customers, you families, you know that we have labeled all of our levels A, B, C, up to J. For these new high school levels, we are not giving them a specific letter name or number name, we’re just calling them High School World and High School U.S. because we want you to be able to use them in whatever order is best for you. And we want to do that because we know a lot of schools just school districts have more strict standards around when you do what in high school levels. So we want to make sure that you guys have the flexibility you need to do whatever you need to do to record and report properly. So I say all this because our language arts supplements, those do go by grades you know we have a ninth-grade vocabulary and 10th-grade vocabulary, so we allow you to mix and match the LA supplements, with your high school program in whatever order you’re going to go with it. So we also give it we give you the options, the options between two different vocabulary programs, we have Wordly Wise, which most of you know and love. And I also love, we are also introducing vocabulary from Classical Roots. This came about because students benefit from studying more classical root words in preparation for taking some standardized tests, and stuff. So if you are, so if you know the word photo is a root word for light, then you know, photography, and photosynthesis both have something to do with light. And so that is very helpful. So anyways, sorry, I have a soft spot for Classical Roots. That’s what I studied in high school. So I get very excited about it. So those are the two vocabulary options. And then you also have a set of Analogies books which is also important to begin preparing. Analogies, like comparing one thing to another thing, those connections are also really important for standardized tests later in high school. So just getting into that and those are also optionally offered with our program.
Janna 31:26 So you went through and told us a few of the titles from World Literature, what about the U.S.?
Amy 31:31U.S. Literature, okay, and US literature. So we do have the Winter People about Native Americans as the Bostonians are coming in. We have the Tempest, we have the Scarlet Letter, The Crucible, and Kidnapped Prince, which is about an African named Acuano, who gets kidnapped unfortunately, and sold into slavery and he gets passed around. And this is a real-life story where he writes his journal about it all later. And that gets published into a book, so it’s a pretty cool story, although sad. We have Huckleberry Finn, My Antonia, Echo by Pam Eunos Ryan, The Woods Day Wars, and Fever 1973. So a lot of also just really good pictures of glimpses into the minds of the characters at different points in American history,
Janna 32:29 I think now would be a great time to point out that there may be some books that you or your children have read in younger years. And as you are deep diving back into these levels of history, it might be brought up again, it’s if we reuse it, we think it’s a great book. But as you were just saying earlier that when you reread these things either as an adult, a young adult, or an older adult, you really have a different perspective, you have different hooks to be hanging the story and the context on so don’t be afraid if you have look at some of these things. And you go oh, we already read that, because the questions that are going to be asked, as you’re maybe rereading through some of this literature are going to be very different from when you read it the first time. So for example, one of the books that I have actually already read twice because I’ve done level F with my older and my youngest is Seven Daughters For Seven Sons. It’s a phenomenal book, and I am finding out, I will back up, I’ve always said I don’t like to reread books, I have a pretty good memory, I don’t care to reminisce about something, and I want to do the new the next thing I want to add more. But as I’m aging, I’m seeing the value in rereading the books because of this very concept. As I’m going back through the story, my mood could be different, my mindset is different, you know, just how I’m connecting with the story is different. And so as you reread that book or your student does, because you still can use it as a read-aloud, you can use our program however you choose. And however it works in your family, your student is going to be reading it possibly through their voice with their connotations and their context. And so it’s different than when you read it out loud to them years ago. Now they’re processing it in their way with their context. And I think there’s so much value in that. So I just want to encourage families not to shy away from things if they’ve already read the books because we’re prompting, asking questions, and putting a program together that’s going to be very unique to their experience before when they read the book before.
Amy 34:45 Yeah, and definitely within the context like you. If it’s been years since you’ve read it you know a lot more about the word in that world now, especially if you first read it when you were nine and now you’re 15 you’re gonna have a completely different perspective on it.
Janna 35:01 So what else can we be expecting in this language arts program, Amy?
Amy 35:05 Similarly to our other language arts programs, in addition to reading the fantastic literature that we give you all year long, we give you a series of creative expressions, which is just what we call our different writing assignments. Every week, you have a different writing assignment with instructions and a rubric for easy grading. So, every week is going to be different. But in general, there are four large types of writing that we focus on. And we cycle through those types throughout the year. So we have to practice writing, informative writing, like just how to do something. We practice writing narratives, we practice doing research reports, and we practice writing argumentative essays. And so obviously, none of those are just single-week assignments. But there’s, there’ll be like a few weeks surrounding each topic. And you go through those four topics, I think it’s three times throughout the year, three, three cycles throughout the year. So and that happens in both World and U.S. Literature. And then yeah, again, I mentioned just like elsewhere, we have those rubrics at the end of the week. Sometimes that part of the rubric will be grayed out. And that means that your student probably hasn’t learned how to do that little bit yet. But you see, like, that’s going to be where you’re going. You grade them on the white ones, and the gray ones you read, and you think maybe they’ll need to work on that one later because my kid’s grammar does not work very well. So that’s there for both parents and students. It’s both the parent and the student guide. The parents are the ones grading, but students need to know what they’re going to be graded on. So that’s where I put the rubrics in both codes.
Janna 36:57 And then what’s the final piece of our program with literature? Right.
Amy 37:03 The other thing is, we do schedule poetry throughout the year. So each of our levels comes with its own poetry book, in which you read at least two or three poems, I believe every week. We’ve also added one additional type of book to our US Literature, which is the Elements of Style. And so I use that back in high school, I know of just different, making sure that you know how to cite things, well, that the paragraph structure is fine. And the sentence structure is fine with the noun-verb adjectives. So we also include that book and the US Literature package.
Janna 37:45 Maybe all of this is slightly overwhelming, but very exciting that these are coming out. You know, some may wonder why we decided to release two in the same year. But I think your explanation of the fact that people do things in different orders and different states in different schools if you are tied to them requires different things. So I think that satisfies that kind of itch to know well, why would you do it this way.
Another nice option that we have provided in our lower levels that will be extended into the high school is our virtual add-on. And so the virtual seat will be customization as you’re ordering your package. And if you’re unfamiliar with that, we do have a YouTube channel about BookShark Virtual that you can get yourself familiarized with the process, and what it actually provides you but in a nutshell, it does provide a space online where your student is going to be doing their assessments instead of paper to pencil. They’ll be doing it online or uploading their work so that it’s a great keeper of the record. It does have automatic scoring, if it’s an objective question, if it’s subjective, then you or a teacher, depending on how you use our program would have to go in and score it. But it’s a great add-on for independence, all of the schedules are there. I’m a user of the virtual option with my daughter, she’s 13. And I get a ding on my cell phone every time she turns in an assignment. So as I’m busy working, I know that she is busy doing her school and don’t have to feel like at the end of the night, I have to go track everything down and see where she’s at. So definitely a bonus for parents who feel like they want their child to be a more independent student, but also they are just as busy. And it’s just a way for them to be able to keep records and have things stored in one centralized place. It does make homeschooling super simple. Not easy. We both know it’s not easy, but it simplifies the record-keeping and the scoring. So that will be available on these four levels of high school that we’re releasing.
Amy, thank you so much for taking the time to walk us through what these levels are and the thought processes behind how they got put together. We are so excited to see your passion that the person who’s actually working with the curriculum is just as excited about it as the parents who receive it. And we hope that all of that excitement is going to translate to the students who start doing it. So, thank you so much for your dedication to furthering the education of homeschooled students around the world.
Amy 40:17 Thanks for having me, Janna, and yeah, if you guys liked this program, please email us because I want to share the excitement with you.
Janna 40:25 We love positive feedback. Thank you, guys, so much for taking the time to listen. Until next time, Bye-Bye.
Homeschooling has come a long way in the last fifteen years. It used to be that most homeschoolers were educating at home because of religious reasons and mostly kept their children hidden at home—afraid that too much exposure to the world around them would hurt them in some way. These days, people are homeschooling for an array of reasons. Even some who are religious are choosing to homeschool for non-religious reasons.
You might be new to homeschooling and you think that everyone in the homeschool world is highly reserved, secluded, or unaccessible because of their religious beliefs.You might be looking for other folks who have chosen to homeschool not because of their beliefs, but because of other benefits of the homeschool lifestyle. If so, you can probably relate to my story.
I became a mom very young—19 to be exact. I never knew I wanted to be a mother, but when the doctor placed my son in my arms, my heart exploded, and I knew I would never leave home to work again if I could at all help it. Luckily, my new husband felt the same and I’ve been home with him ever since, along with three more little hooligans who have joined the ranks.
Being such a young, inexperienced mother, I was fearful of making mistakes, so choosing whether or not to send our oldest to school was a huge decision. In my heart I didn’t want to miss those formative days with my son. It wasn’t a control issue or fear; I just wanted to be with him and enjoy life with him. After a trial-run year at a private school for kindergarten, we decided to try homeschooling. We’re now in our eighth year of homeschooling, and it has been a beautiful thing for our family.
We wanted to be with our kids. We wanted to explore with them, do our days together, learn together, and have all day to achieve the education we dreamed about for them. Those were our reasons, and here are more non-religious reasons you might choose to homeschool:
The Love of Learning
The beauty of homeschooling is that you can cater to each and every one of your child’s interests and hobbies. You can choose rich literature and great teaching tactics to give your child an amazing love of learning to last their whole lives. This is another reason we chose to homeschool. After my son came home from Kindergarten with worksheet after worksheet, I knew I could give him something more—something that would light a fire in him to explore more, ask questions, and ignite his brain to think deeper.
Flexible Schedules
Some people choose to homeschool simply because they don’t want to answer to a big school calendar telling them where to be when. Having your school days open to explore is an awesome part of homeschooling, and some choose to homeschool because of this huge perk alone!
School Troubles
Bullies, teachers who don’t understand your child, and problems with friends or faculty are all reasons parents choose to pull their children out of school and give them a home education. Sometimes all it takes is a negative situation at school to open a parent’s eyes to what homeschooling offers in contrast.
Indivdualized Learning
The hard part about a traditional school is that it doesn’t have the adaptability to choose curriculum based on each child’s learning style. They have a budget to choose one curriculum that might have to last several years even if it’s not recepted well. This is where individualized learning comes in, and this is another reason why many people choose to educate at home. We have this amazing ability to change curriculum, try new things, switch halfway through the year, or scrap curriculum altogether!
There are tons of other reasons parents choose to homeschool; this just scratches the surface. I personally am a Christian, but that’s not why I chose to homeschool my children. My husband and I don’t want to control them or shield them from the world. On the contrary! There are so many beautiful things to experience out there, and homeschooling allows us the freedome to truly explore them. We all homeschool for different reasons, but the wonderful world of homeschooling is our common thread that makes us all non-traditional innovators.
Alicia Hutchinson is the homeschooling mom to four. She and her children love reading and history and exploring outside. They are just settling into their new home in the Minneapolis area, where they just relocated from North Carolina.
You can read more about Alicia and their homeschooling adventures, current projects, and thoughts on motherhood at her blog Investing Love.
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.
I have been homeschooling for so long that most of my friends and family are homeschoolers or at least homeschool-friendly. Honestly, I haven’t heard the question about socialization in so long that I forgot it was an issue. Today, I saw a Facebook acquaintance post a question to her friends, asking what kind of school they would choose for their kids. Every single one who said they would consider homeschooling mentioned joining a co-op for socialization as some sort of disclaimer.
When I began homeschooling my sons at the ages of three and five, we joined a homeschool co-op for this exact reason. In a world of homeschool haters, joining a co-op gives you a way to say, “Look! My kids socialize! My kids sit in a classroom at least once a week!”
We joined a secular co-op that met once a week for laid-back, academic classes. Co-ops are great for making new friends, learning in a group environment, and taking advantage of group rates on field trips. We loved being part of our co-op while it worked.
But then, two years ago, it no longer worked for us. Rather than try to find a better fit, we decided to leave the world of homeschool co-ops behind for a while. Here are my reasons.
1. Homeschool Co-Op Took Too Much Time
While classes only meet once a week for a few hours, co-ops rely on the support of all the members. Teaching classes is rewarding and a lot of fun, but very time-consuming! Our family had so many other opportunities and obligations that I found it difficult to juggle planning classes, buying supplies, and helping with administrative duties. Co-op took over my life, and my sons’ education suffered for it.
2. Homeschool Co-Op Was Expensive
Though most co-ops are run completely by parent volunteers, they can still get pricey. There are typically supply fees, field trip costs, and building fees. As my kids got older, the cost increased and we realized there were other classes and opportunities they would like to try that the co-op money could be used for.
3. Homeschool Co-Op Had Drama
Any time you get a large group of people together, you will get personality conflicts. My sons had a great time with their friends, but I had a hard time dealing with some of the other parents. It’s okay to have disagreements and prefer some members over others, but when you get to a point where you dread each weekly meeting, it might be time to say goodbye.
What have I gained by leaving co-op behind? Time! We are no longer rushing around every single day. We have at least two days every school week that are devoted to being at home, reading, learning, and enjoying being together. We also have time for play dates with our friends, days at the museum, and volunteering.
In addition to time in our homeschool, I’ve gained personal time, too. I no longer need to spend 100% of my time being a homeschooler. I get some downtime to be myself: to invest in my own interests, read books for fun, and focus on my needs.
I am grateful for the friends we made through co-op and the support we received as new homeschoolers. As my boys get older, we may choose to join a more academic co-op where they can learn different subjects. But right now we need the freedom to learn away from the group. Don’t worry, though, they still get plenty of socialization even without a homeschool co-op.
About Our Author
Stephanie Black is a writer and homeschool mama of two boys in Indianapolis, IN. Along with her husband and feisty rescue dog, they enjoy hiking, road tripping, and loudly singing 90s rock music.
I’ve known my son is an introvert for a long time. Of all my children, he is the only one who intentionally goes into his room and plays for hours by himself. He gets easily overwhelmed by multiple people talking at the same time. He also gets extremely frustrated and exhausted when he’s interrupted.
He’s your classic introvert: quiet, reserved, and soft-spoken. He’s quite the opposite of his outspoken older siblings.
I didn’t set out to homeschool specifically because of personality. However, I’m convinced that homeschooling offers so many benefits to introverted children that traditional schools can’t provide.
1. Extra Processing Time
Introverts need time to process information and experiences far more time than extroverts. They gather information constantly and can ponder it for days.
It’s not uncommon for teachers to move on from a subject, thinking it’s done. Then to their surprise, an introverted child will share some deep thought or conclusion about it days later. They’re just now ready to talk and engage more with that subject.
And all that time in between?
They were thinking, processing, and making connections. All this happened in the quietness of their own minds.
Extroverts may easily jump from subject to subject. Introverts need more time to dwell on a particular subject. They also crave the flexibility to return to topics they’ve pondered for a few days. Homeschooling allows introverted children to take as much time as they need.
2. Reduced Risk
Not every extrovert is a risk-taker. Yet, research shows that the majority are far more apt to take risks than their introverted counterparts.
Think about how much risk it takes to ask a question in a classroom full of peers. Just the thought keeps many introverted children’s hands right by their sides.
The ones that risk and fail? They are even less likely to risk in the future.
Asking and answering questions is rewarded in a traditional classroom. Even if a student does well in other areas, he might be penalized for lack of class participation.
In addition, introverts think deeply about problems. They might not be ready to answer questions as rapidly as teachers ask them. Homeschooling provides a safe place to both ask and answer questions. They don’t have to fear failure or ridicule. It gives them time to think before answering.
Therefore, introverted children can grow in confidence in this secure place. They’ll need it to engage and succeed in a culture that favors extroverted character traits.
3. More Alone Time
While it’s a myth that all introverts steer clear of people, most do need time alone to recharge. That quiet time is not just a nice thought or bonus.
They need it.
Introverted children who attend school all day can become overloaded by the excess stimulation. Because of this, they come home withdrawn at best, and a hot mess of pent-up emotion at worst. Homeschooling provides time for introverts to be alone and get the quiet time they desperately need. As a result, they can give their best emotional energy to the people closest to them their family.
4. Fewer Interruptions
As an introvert myself, having four children made me realize that interruptions drive me crazy. Not only that, they literally sap the energy out of me. When I’m reading aloud during our homeschool day, the more I am interrupted, the less energy I have to finish a chapter. When I’m interrupted in the middle of a task, I can completely forget what I was doing.
I’m starting to see more of this in my son. He struggles with speech, so when his siblings interrupt him repeatedly, he forgets what he was going to say. This adds to his frustration.
Also, interrupted subjects in school settings frustrate introverts. When the clock says time’s up, the teacher moves on to the next subject. So, telling an introverted child to save a math sheet for homework or to finish the book later can be extremely frustrating.
Depending on your family dynamics, homeschooling can be an ideal way to avoid interruptions. You can spend as long as you need on a particular subject.
5. A Chance to Develop Leadership Skills
Leaders who demonstrate extroverted qualities flourish in western cultures. Assertiveness, quick thinking, teamwork, charisma, confidence, and multitasking are all traits of the extroverted leader.
It’s easy to overlook introverted leaders in a school setting. The culture values and praises extroverted leadership traits. Because of this, introverts can start to believe that they aren’t really leaders at all. But introverts make good leaders, too. Schools just struggle to recognize and develop them.
Introverted leaders tend to have better focus, better listening skills, and more creativity. They are also cautious. They like to think carefully about a problem. Then they act. This can be essential for certain leadership positions.
Homeschool parents have the opportunity to help their introverted children become strong leaders in three simple ways:
Provide a safe space to be themselves
Praise introverted leadership qualities
Provide opportunities to practice leadership
The Homeschool Advantage
While introverts can succeed in a traditional school setting, homeschooling gives them a distinct advantage that they may not get anywhere else. If you need more information about raising introverts, I highly recommend these two titles:
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain
Nurture by Nature: Understanding Your Child’s Personality Type by Paul D. Tieger
And consider homeschooling. If your introverted children are not flourishing in traditional school, homeschooling might be the best gift you can give them.
About Our Author
June loves deep discussions about homeschooling, parenting, and minimalism. When she’s not homeschooling, decluttering, or blogging at This Simple Balance, she loves to enjoy perfect silence while sipping a hot cup of coffee and thinking uninterrupted thoughts—which, of course, with four kids ages eight and under doesn’t happen very often!
With our flexible homeschool schedule, we’ve had the space and control to achieve a perfect rhythm for our days. This schedule has not been imposed on us by public school, and we’re reaping the rewards! Life is much more relaxed, and the kids are learning more, too. Flexible routines and schedules are another reason why I say homeschooling is best.
The Science of Routines
Science backs the importance of routines for children. Psychology Today speaks about the comfort that children get from having a predictable routine. When they know what is happening, they feel safe.
A study found that a fixed family schedule actually helps children with behavioural issues such as oppositional defiant disorder and hyperactivity/impulsivity. I can attest to this! Our son has elements of both of these disorders and benefits from knowing what is going to happen during his day. When he is in a routine, he has far fewer meltdowns and is much more willing to learn and to engage.
Based on the data, it would be easy to think that a rigid public school routine is the ultimate comfort. But I have found the opposite to be true. And I’m not the only one!
Rigid Public School Routines Are Old School
In his TED Talk from 2010, Bring on the Learning Revolution, the late Sir Ken Robinson explained that the current public school system is based on an old model from the 19th century, “We have to go from what is essentially an industrial model of education, a manufacturing model, which is based on linearity and conformity and batching people.”
The public school schedule is an example of this conformity. Children do thrive on predictability, but they are often forced into a learning routine that does not work for them mainly so they can be batched and managed.
My kids did not thrive with the one-size-fits-all timetable of public education. In fact, the early, rushed starts caused them a huge amount of anxiety.
Some kids are better later in the morning or in the afternoon. An article in TIME says that teenagers are actually better suited to staying up late and sleeping late, so a more flexible school schedule could lead to more motivated teens. I know that my 9-year-old twins, who do like a set routine, benefit from a later start.
The Beauty of a Flexible Homeschool Routine
Schedules and routines are great, but I don’t think the public school ones should be forced on everybody. And this is where the beauty of the homeschool schedule comes into play. There are so many ways that you can mold your daily schedule to best suit your child. Here are some of the freedoms we’ve discovered in our years of homeschooling:
Kids can get enough sleep and are rested and ready for the day. They can then start the day when they feel ready to learn.
You can decide if you want to follow year-round homeschooling, take breaks periodically or use a 4-day schedule. You have the flexibility to decide what works best for your family and to change your mind whenever you like.
You can homeschool on the road and take holidays when you want to. Kids can experience the world, without having to wait for designated periods in the year to go on vacation.
Kids can have a break if they’re sick or even just having a bad day. We do this a lot! It’s difficult to expect concentration and engagement from kids when they don’t feel their best.
You can dive deeply into child-led learning, letting children focus on what delights and engages them. A flexible schedule means that subjects can easily be moved around to accommodate these interests.
The world is changing, and education needs to change too. Even though public schools are constantly improving, they are not doing so quickly enough. The old way of managing kids is still prevalent in most schools, yet this way of teaching is not going to prepare all of them adequately for the future. And that’s why homeschool is the best!
When you school at home, you can adapt learning, content, and schedules to give your children the best education possible. And then they can be ready to face a changing world that needs people flexible enough to navigate its complexities.
About Our Author
Charlotte Jones is a multi-tasking mom who works from home. She spends her days blogging at My Little Home School, homeschooling her twins, and teaching English online. Her home is a small house in a quaint little town on the coast of South Africa. You can often find her swimming in the lagoon or hiking in the forest with her husband, special needs twins, and furbaby. She loves her family, spending time in nature, running, red lipstick, and drinking too much coffee.
I am the product of public school, and cannot say enough how much I loved my experiences growing up. Yes, I stumbled across a few bad apples during my 13 years as a public school student—one overtly racist teacher, one teacher who made no attempts to hide his very pleased gaze, one teacher who cursed like a sailor, and more. But overall I knew that these teachers were not representative of the profession as a whole, and I truly loved school.
When it came time for my own children to start school, it was a no-brainer. Public school was the only option. I’d loved it, my husband had loved it, and our kids were going to love it.
And they did… for a while.
My oldest child is a people-pleaser and brilliant—exactly the kind of student every teacher would want in their class. He makes their jobs easier and never makes waves. My middle child, however… well, if you have more than one child, you’re aware of how very different that second born child tends to be from the first!
When My Child Became a Target
My middle child is not an easy student. He is profoundly gifted, sarcastic. He questions everything he learns, which is an admirable quality in an adult but not one that is so warmly embraced in a classroom of over 20 children. He was already several years ahead of where his classroom curriculum was teaching, and he is not the kind of child to sit quietly and wait patiently to be challenged.
Eventually this middle child of mine became a target. Not by his peers nor by the parents of the other children. No, instead he found himself in the crosshairs of members of the school administration. Actual adults who showed up to work every day at a school, supposedly dedicated to the care and advancement of children, went out of their way to chastise, dismiss, constrain, and persecute an 8-year-old child.
His hard-fought IEP paperwork was never filed legally; his accommodations were intentionally dismissed. One staff member in particular made it her mission to knock my son from his presumed pedestal and jeopardized his mental health in alarming ways. When he was intentionally placed in a classroom his IEP strictly forbade him from entering, she said, “He should be able to handle it.” When his extensive IQ testing hinted at possible dysgraphia, she said, “If he’s this smart, he’ll be able to figure it out.” The real doozy, though, the jewel in the cruel crown this adult bully wore, was when she filed a bullying report against my son because of his high IQ. “He can run circles around the other students with his vocabulary, and there’s no way they could keep up.” You read that right. Because my son has an extensive vocabulary, she had him formally declared a bully.
Are you mad yet? Because I sure was.
In fact, I spent most of his few years in public school seething with rage. I had other children at this school, and they definitely never encountered these issues. My youngest had several years ahead of him at this school, so I didn’t want to rock the boat too much. Teachers are often protected by layers of bureaucracy and paperwork. What exactly could I do?
I could do anything my child needed, and I’ll tell you how to do the same. Here are my angry-mom tips on what to do when your child is being bullied by a teacher.
1. Document Everything
This is the most important step and the first thing you should start doing. Every story that your child comes home with, immediately record it in any way you can. Type the details into emails, record with your phone, make note of the date, names of any other children who may have witnessed what happened, your child’s emotional state… all of it. Any emails that you receive from the bullying teacher, save them. If your class has a Facebook group or an app where photos of daily activitiesare shared, look carefully to see what your child is doing in them. Is he placed in a corner, away from the fun? Is he being left out? Is he unhappy and to the side? Save these, date them, and document everything.
2. Work Up the Ladder
Once you have documentation to back up your complaints, start by sending an email to the principal, outlining your issues. Be sure to copy any vice principals, the grade level chair, and possibly even the superintendent’s office. Don’t start with the superintendent, but don’t be afraid to include them either. Every level of leadership in your school district has a higher level they’re accountable to, and sometimes it takes seeing their boss’s name on an email to get your complaint taken seriously.
Request an in-person meeting with the principal. If you still are not satisfied or if you feel dismissed, then proceed up the ladder. And remember to keep documenting everything along the way, copying the next person up the leadership ladder on every email you send.
3. Stay Squeaky
I am a non-confrontational person by nature. I don’t like rocking the boat, ruffling feathers, or calling people out. But when it became apparent that my discomfort with confrontation was costing my child in mental wellness (and allowing an adult to bully a child), I had to get loud.
You’ve heard the saying that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, right? The same is true when advocating for your child. You will have to get loud, frequently. You will have to send emails, lots of them.
You will have to tackle the feeling that your requested meetings are inconvenient to administrators, stop hoping that everyone in the room likes you, and get squeaky. Squeak all over that office. Squeak in every meeting. Don’t let your concerns be quieted with charm and half-attempts at justice. Don’t let your child pay the price for being uncomfortable calling out people in power.
Squeak for your child.
Squeak and squeak and squeak until someone finally realizes your wheel really does need the grease.
4. Consider Your Alternatives
Sometimes, despite the most meticulous documentation, running appropriately up the ladder, and squeaking non-stop, nothing gets changed. Sometimes a teacher’s bullying behaviors may be dismissed, allowed, or even defended. Sometimes the one-size-fits-all model of public education just doesn’t fit all, and you have to consider your options.
Keep your child in the same school. You will have to be a constant presence in the office, advocating and fighting and squeaking, making a full time job out of hoping the school does the right thing.
Consider private schools. These schools are often not within most families’ budgets, and as they are not bound by the same standards and requirements as public schools, you could very well find yourself in a similar situation with fewer avenues of accountability.
Look into homeschooling. It’s not what you think it is, and it’s not what it used to be. Use this guide as a starting point. There are near-countless opportunities for the ever-important socialization worry, co-ops, parental support groups, and freedoms. Programs like BookShark empower a parent to lead their child in academics with a flexible 4-day week that eases the transition from working parent to a homeschooling parent.
Run for a seat on your city’s school board. If being a squeaky wheel hasn’t afforded you the opportunity to see change, then perhaps becoming a part of the wheel will allow you the influence to begin steering it.
Should you ever find yourself in a situation where your child has become the target of a bullying adult, where your child’s mental health and educational well-being are jeopardized because someone in power cannot control their own biased feelings and actions, you are not alone, and you are not helpless. You can fight for your child. You don’t need to make friends with everyone on staff. You walk your child through those front doors as a pathway to their future, not your own popularity. Risk your reputation for your child. Squeak for your child. Do whatever you need, whatever is best, whatever will rescue your child and put them in an educational option with an adult who truly cares for them. Your hard work may end up saving future children from the same abuse.
About Our 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.
Parenting a child with ADHD is difficult. For a mom with ADHD, though, it can feel nearly overwhelming.
There are the typical symptoms of ADHD, which often pose a challenge to a person’s ability to think clearly on demand. But, since parents with ADHD are more likely to have children who also have the disorder, these moms may struggle to manage both their own symptoms and those of their child.
How can moms with ADHD cope with the stresses of their own lives while parenting and homeschooling successfully? These tips for the ADHD mom can help. (Really! I use them!)
Tips for Living as a Mom with ADHD
Do one thing at a time. Multi-tasking is almost impossible for moms with ADHD. Giving each task full attention reduces the likelihood of mistakes and becoming overwhelmed.
Delegate. Moms already have a lot of responsibilities, so it’s easy to become burdened with things to do. Teaching kids to help out around the house can make this load easier to bear.
Be realistic. No mother should have to be a superhero. Being reasonable about the amount of things that can be done each day will help to avoid frustration.
Parenting as a Mom with ADHD
Slow down. Moms with ADHD may experience racing thoughts that can make it difficult to parent with patience. To avoid a meltdown, try to slow down and approach each situation calmly.
Develop a routine. A predictable routine can make it easier to structure the day ahead. Keep things simple by developing a natural rhythm that can be followed by everyone in the family.
Expect the unexpected. Parenting is full of unexpected moments. While a routine is helpful, it cannot predict the events that will arise each day. Ease stress by giving yourself time to manage last-minute needs that kids may have.
Homeschooling as a Mom with ADHD
Focus on the essentials. Some mothers who have ADHD may tend toward hyper-intensive planning. Since homeschooling already requires a fair amount of planning, these mothers may overwhelm themselves with lesson plans, activities, and state objectives. Instead, concentrate on the most important subjects and approach the others with a more relaxed method.
Use a block schedule. Unlike timed schedules, which require that each lesson be completed by a certain time, block schedules consist of time slots for each subject. This routine can be easier for moms with ADHD to follow because it allows for structure without adding the stress of a timed deadline.
Be flexible. No matter how well in advance a lesson is planned, homeschooling parents will always need to make adjustments. If a child dislikes a curriculum or if the lesson doesn’t get completed, learn to be flexible enough to move a lesson to another date or remove it from the plan completely. As long as the objectives are covered each year, the actual method doesn’t really matter.
Living with ADHD will never be easy. Using these tips, though, can make some of the most difficult aspects of life with this disorder manageable for moms. In fact, even moms without ADHD will probably benefit from applying these same survival skills.
About the Author
Selena is a homeschooling graduate and a veteran homeschooling mother of four, including three with ADHD. She and her husband, Jay, use an eclectic homeschooling approach to encourage their children to learn throughout their lives. Selena blogs about her family’s homeschooling adventures every week at Look! We’re Learning!
Are you studying ancient civilizations for homeschool history, for example BookShark Level 1 or BookShark Level 6? If so, you will probably find that ancient Egypt is one of the most fascinating topics you’ll cover. In addition to your scheduled reading, your child will probably enjoy supplementing with interactive, hands-on activities.
Are these extra activitiesnecessary? Not at all! But some families truly enjoy making crafts and engaging in creative projects, and when those activities can connect to homeschool history lessons, it’s all the better. Here are five relatively simple hands-on activities for ancient Egypt that you can do in your kitchen with supplies you already have in your home.
Activity 1: Mummify an Apple
If you search online, you’ll find all sorts of things that you can mummify, including a chicken. If you’d prefer something a little smaller (and possibly less gruesome), try mummifying an apple!
Take a large tin can and drill holes in the bottom (so the liquid can drain).
Cut an apple into quarters.
Put the apple in the tin can.
In a separate bowl, mix together 1 cup salt and 1 cup baking soda. Pour this mixture over the apple and set in a place where the liquid can drain.
Wait two months before digging out your mummified apple!
As an alternative, you can mummify several apples, all in different containers, and take one out every two weeks to see the mummification process as it occurs. This way, your history lesson overlaps into a science experiment!
Activity 2: Build a Sugar Cube Pyramid
Buy a box or two of sugar cubes and ingredients for plain white icing (not frosting).
Have your child figure out how big the base of the pyramid should be based on the number of sugar cubes that you have. She’ll need to determine how many sugar cubes will make up the base and how many levels will be built from there. (Math!)
Use a piece of sturdy cardboard or a baking sheet as a base. Then simply use white icing as glue to hold the cubes together. If you don’t want to eat the creation later, you could lightly spray it with tan paint or even create an elaborate diorama around it, complete with sand, tiny camels, and the Nile river.
Activity 3: Build a Toothpick and Marshmallow Pyramid
If you’d like to build a bigger pyramid than the sugar cube one, try building a pyramid out of toothpicks and miniature marshmallows. The marshmallows connect the ends of the toothpicks, so your child can easily build a very large pyramid.
Activity 4: Write Your Name in Hieroglyphs
Print out this translation of the alphabet in hieroglyphs (PDF) and have your child practice writing his or her name. Or try your hand at simple sentences summarizing facts about ancient Egypt for an innovative way to narrate your history lesson. Use the colors traditionally used in ancient Egyptian art to embellish the cartouches you create: green, red, blue, yellow, white, and black.
Edible Project 5: Mummy Dogs
This project is silly and not a bit authentic. But it’s fun, so it’s perfect for the little kids. You’ll need one package of hot dogs and a container of crescent rolls.
Put one crescent roll on the counter and with a knife, slit it into narrow strips on each side, while leaving the middle intact. Put the hot dog in the middle, and wrap the hot dog with the crescent strips. Make sure to leave a space for the face. Bake as directed, and then use a dot of ketchup to make the eyes.
Edible Project 6: Date Balls
What a yummy snack! You’ll need 1 cup dried, pitted dates, ½ cup walnuts, two tablespoons water. In a food processor, mix together the dates, walnuts, and water. Puree until a paste consistency. Roll these into balls and enjoy.
Optionally, you can coat the balls first in 2 tablespoons of honey and then in ¼ cup crushed almonds.
If hands-on projects and cooking experiments make you crazy, remember, you don’t have to do these to give your children a top-notch education. But if you find you are in a rut, the kids are getting antsy, or you have especially artistic children who are hankering for more crafts, try adding a project into your week on your fifth day without BookShark lessons. If anything else, you will have special family bonding time and you’ll be keeping your kids away from screens for a few minutes. Don’t worry about the product you are creating. Even if it doesn’t turn out quite right, the experience itself is worthwhile.
