What if your kids could learn to write from real-life, published authors? Sounds pretty amazing…and maybe even a little expensive, right?
The good news is they can do just that when they learn language arts naturally using copywork and dictation to develop their writing skills. BookShark Language Arts uses this approach.
Tools for Teaching Language Arts Skills
When we incorporate copywork and dictation into language arts, our kids learn to write from those who do it best.
Copywork and dictation are similar in many ways. In copywork, students write from the written word while in dictation, students write from the spoken word.
Don’t let the simplicity fool you though. Both are incredibly effective. And as students progress from copywork to dictation, they start applying what they have learned through copywork. Dictation requires higher-level thinking and writing skills and helps you to evaluate what they really understand.
How to Use Dictation to Teach Language Arts
How do you do dictation? Read a sentence or passage aloud, and have your students write what you are saying. It’s harder than it sounds though, especially when you consider the thinking skills that go into it.
Language Arts Skills in Dictation
Students are translating what they hear into the written word. That means they have to:
Remember how to spell the words
Distinguish between words that sound the same but are spelled differently, and then choose the correct one
Choose the correct punctuation (and there are a lot of different types of punctuation!)
Know when to capitalize a word
In other words, as they write from dictation, students are making decisions that will reveal if they are understanding and applying what they have learned in the context of real writing.And while they are doing all of those things, they are also absorbing the rules of grammar and usage, discovering different types of sentence structure, learning new vocabulary, and more, like they do in copywork. They are learning to write from real writers and see the rules of language in action. (And an added bonus: Kids who grow up doing dictation are great note takers in upper level classes!)
BookShark Language Arts integrates dictation exercises into the curriculum. So you don’t have to choose passages. You simply follow the Instructor’s Guide.
Extending the Dictation Lesson
Once kids have written a passage from dictation, you can then use it as a basis for personalizing their language arts lessons. You can teach them what dictation reveals they don’t know or understand yet. But be careful, you don’t want to overwhelm them. You don’t have to do all of these things every time! These are simply possibilities for how you can get the most out of dictation.
Create a personalized spelling list or notebook. Have them write down the words they misspelled during dictation. Talk about why it is wrong. Is there a spelling rule they didn’t follow? Students can even categorize frequently missed words that have the same rule.
Look up a mechanics rule in a reference book. Did they use a semicolon when they should have used a colon? Read the rule together and then simply correct the mistake.
Allow them to correct their mistakes. A lot of learning happens by going back to correct mistakes on their own. Have them look at the passage you are reading from and correct their own mistakes.
Let them make their arguments for why their way is also correct. Sometimes in language there is more than one way to write something. Let them share with you why they made the decision to use a certain word or punctuation mark and see if it is a valid alternative.
Why Dictation Teaches Students More Than Exercises in a Textbook
When students do exercises in grammar books, they are seeing a rule used in contrived sentences over and over. Often they do great on the exercises, but then struggle with the concept in their own writing.
Or they will get 100% correct on a spelling test after studying lists of words, but then turn around and spell the word incorrectly when they write it later. Why does this happen?
Because they are learning rules and words apart from the context of writing.
Dictation, however, is the application of all the rules and skills students learn in their language arts studies. When students can successfully do dictation, you know they truly understand what they are learning.
Tips for Beginning Dictation
Like any new skill, it will take time and practice for students to get comfortable with it. You can ease them into dictation so they don’t feel overwhelmed, though.
Begin dictating just one or two sentences. They can then do the rest as copywork. Slowly increase the amount of dictation as their skills increase. A little done well is better than overloading your student.
Start with copywork. Assign the sentences or passage as copywork one day, and then use the same passage as dictation the next.
Let students study the passage they will be writing from dictation before you start. As students become more comfortable with it, simply talk about the passage before you begin.
When you are starting out, don’t hesitate to repeat the sentences as many times as you need to. Begin by reading the entire passage and have them listen. Then break it down sentence by sentence or phrase by phrase if that works better for your children.
Exaggerate the pauses. Ask questions to help them along like “What punctuation do we use when there is a pause in the middle of a sentence?”
Answer their questions. If they ask how to spell a word or what punctuation to use, in the beginning go ahead and answer. It’s a big step in learning to recognize what you don’t know. Then transition them more and more by asking them to write down their best guess.
Reassure the perfectionist. If you have a perfectionist, remind them that dictation isn’t graded. It’s for pinpointing what they know and don’t know which provides direction for their language arts lessons.
Be their biggest cheerleader. Let them know that dictation takes time and practice. They will get better and better at it, and you are there to help.
BookShark Language Arts programs help you to teach language arts naturally by choosing dictation passages from the books your kids are already reading, ones that are appropriate for their level. But remember: You are the teacher. You can always modify the lessons in order for your students to experience success and grow as writers at their own pace.
How long is a typical homeschool day and how does it compare with the hours of a day in public school? Many parents, new to homeschooling, wrongly assume that they should homeschool for the same length of time as their public school counterparts.
In general, a homeschool day is much shorter than that of a traditional school. But this shorter school day doesn’t mean that less is getting done. In fact, homeschoolers can often achieve more in less time than public school students.
Some homeschoolers tout the expression “done by noon” as one of the benefits of homeschooling. This may or may not be the case for your own homeschool depending on the number of children in your family, outside activities, your natural pace, and how old your children are.
The beauty of homeschooling is that you can cater it—your routine, your curriculum, and your methods—to the unique needs of your kids and your family! Homeschool moms have the advantage of being in nearly full control of their homeschool schedule.
Diligent early birds with young children, on the other hand, might have their work complete before brunch.
Other families may like to take long breaks in between each subject, taking all day to complete their work but in an enjoyable and leisurely fashion.
Typically, students in elementary grades get their work completed in a fairly quick amount of time, often hitting that “done by noon” standard if they started the day early. Of course, the workload increases as children mature. So a middle schooler or high schooler will need to spend more hours on school work. Outside activities such as co-ops, field trips, doctor appointments, therapy and library visits can interrupt and lengthen your homeschool day, too.
In short, the average homeschool day varies greatly from family to family. But it is typically much shorter than the school day of a traditional classroom.
The Homeschool Day vs. a Typical School Day
Take a moment to consider all the classroom management teachers deal with! While all these tasks arenecessary based on the setting, they aren’t directly related to learning. Teachers have to juggle:
20-30 kids per classroom
individual and unique needs for each chile
keeping the classroom organized
roll call
class disruptions
redirecting students and keeping them on task
bathroom breaks
lunch break
hand raising
discipline issues
standardized testing and preparations
emergency drills
All these requirements cause teachers to lose important teaching time. Homeschoolers may have many these issues to contend with as well, but they are equipped to handle them much more quickly and efficiently because of the drastically lower student to teacher ratio.
As you become a more experienced homeschooler, you will gain a sense of the right amount of time for your school day. Remember your day will still be shorter than a typical public school day. And that’s one of the big perks of homeschooling! Enjoy it!
The flexibility of homeschooling allows you to cater the learning experience to your child’s unique needs and interests without the loss of teaching time. That means more time for the extras you love!
About the Author
I’m Erin, an introverted homeschooling mom to two intense extroverted kids. We are child led with a heavy emphasis on read alouds, games, art, nature hikes, and hands-on everything! My kids just learn better when they can use their hands. You can find me at Nourishing My Scholar.
We traded the hustle and bustle of city life for the quiet that only farm life can provide. This creates a wonderful environment for our children, complete with chickens, goats, ducks, and cows. I’m a huge fan of Harry Potter and Gilmore Girls. When we’re not homeschooling, you’ll find me curled up with a cup of coffee and a good book or possibly enjoying a random dance party in the front yard to the newest Disney soundtrack.
Don’t give up the ease of laid out lesson plans which a boxed homeschool curriculum provides because you have active boys. Here are four ways that a boxed curriculum turns out to be a very boy-friendly option.
1. Hands-On Activities
There is no one size fits all solution for boys. However, one thing most young boys have in common is the need to wiggle. Because a boxed curriculum eased my teacher prep time, I had leisure to look plan and add activities for wiggly learners.
For example, when reading Where the Wild Things Are, I made paper bag puppets with three of my sons.The puppets brought the story to life and helped my boys remember the plot.
The instructions for a scheduled reading worksheet was to write in the words with the long /e/ sound. Knowing my boys’ aversion to writing, I had them write the words on balloons instead of filling out the worksheet. That one little twist made the activity more fun fo them. We blew up the balloons and the boys spent the rest of the afternoon batting them about while memorizing words with the long /e/ sound.
2. Masculine Writing Topics
When teaching my boys writing, it took more teacher effort to unleash their writing creativity. Video games, sports, technology and plain old silly things are not topics that always fall into the realm of what most teachers feel are writing-worthy.
I could easily substitute a boy-friendly writing topic and still teach the different writing genres presented in the lesson plan each day.
3. A Dose of Competition
Grammar is not only about rules but about listening and using good speech every day. Knowing that my boxed curriculum had well laid out, sequential lesson plans, I could focus on creating engaging activities for my boys.
Instead of studying grammar on their own, the most effective tool was to do grammar together and orally. For my older boys, who are close in age, we made learning grammar a game. Following the teacher’s manual, I explained to the boys what they were learning for the day. As they repeated back to me what they learned, they scored points. At the end of the week, I let them dip into a treasure chest I kept full of surprises from the dollar store.
Taking boys’ natural desire for healthy competition made learning come alive.
If it looked like the competition was moving from helpful to harmful, I would change the game to a simple hide and seek indoor game. I would write words or grammar rules on index cards and hide them around the house. Each of my boys, including my younger son had an equal chance to find the cards. Boys are all about racing with each other, and this method worked too.
I never felt that I wasted the worksheets because I could use them later for a quick review or used half of them to reinforce what they were learning.
The peace of mind that I was covering grammar well was more important to me than a few pages that my boys didn’t do.
4. Independent Learning for High School
When my boys were young was not the only time I used stress-reducing boxed curriculum. My husband fell very ill one year, and I could not sit down with my high school son to plan his next year. By that time, my son liked predictable schedules and thrived on routine.
Pulling out the boxed curriculum, my teen could follow the clear cut guidelines to know what was expected of him each day as I spent time in the ICU with my husband.
Knowing what my high school son had to do each day and that he was progressing to graduation lightened my load at a time when I was stretched thin. More importantly, my son graduated with excellent grades and a love of learning was stimulated and not stifled by a boxed curriculum.
Besides providing a framework to follow, there is no shortage of lesson plans and review to choose from when using a boxed curriculum. Individualize boxed curriculum to fit all the pent-up energy you deal with day to day by using one of these four ways and free up your time to build a strong mom-son bond. To me, that is worth anything!
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, lapbooks 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.
After you decide to homeschool, the next consideration is what kind of homeschooler you will be so you can choose your curriculum and plan your style of teaching. Are you a religious homeschooler who desires to infuse all of your teaching with the principles of your faith? Or are you a secular homeschooler who prefers not to teach matters of religion or at least keep them separate from your academic pursuits? Your answers to those questions will influence what kind of curriculum you consider and ultimately buy.
Do you want a faith-neutral program or a faith-positive one? Do you prefer secular materials only for certain school subjects?The beauty of homeschooling is that you can mix and match. Some families hold a personal faith but prefer a curriculum that doesn’t address those tenets in the day-to-day homeschool lessons. Others are strictly secular in the own perspective on life and, of course, want a program to mirror that conviction.
Being a Secular Homeschooler
If you’ve ever felt out of place at overly spiritual co-ops or at churchy homeschool groups, we invite you to consider BookShark’s 4-day faith-neutral curriculum. It’s literature-based and covers everything your children need. Our All Subjects Packages include Reading, History, Science, Language Arts, and Math (plus areas like geography, vocabulary, etc.). All the materials come in one big box, and you won’t have to worry about editing out religious content on the fly. Add in whatever faith-based materials you prefer—or not! We leave the choice up to you.
Below is an index of all our articles and blog posts about secular homeschooling: reasons, definitions, tips, and even a personal story from a secular homeschooling mom.
There are as many reasons to homeschool as there are benefits in doing so. It’s not uncommon for a family to choose to homeschool for one primary reason, but as the years go on, they discover so many more reasons to homeschool—reasons they never even contemplated until they started on the journey. With more experience, a homeschool parent begins to see the rich education that homeschooling provides goes well beyond any single motivation—whether religious or secular.
Homeschooling in Michigan? Or wanting to homeschool in Michigan? Find out how you can get a FREE literature-based curriculum with support and online assessments! Join Janna Koch, BookShark’s Community Manager, as she is joined by Jen Myers and Gwyn Domke, from Michigan BookShark Virtual with Alpena schools in Michigan. Find out the benefits of using Michigan BookShark Virtual with Alpena and the option of getting it at no cost to you!
Janna (00:00): Welcome to Homeschool Your Way. I’m your host Janna Cook and BookShark’s community manager. Today’s episode focuses on homeschooling with confidence. My guest, Jen Myers, and Gwyn Domke are from Michigan BookShark Virtual. Jen and Gwyn are immersed in homeschooling both personally and professionally. Not only have they homeschooled their own children now facilitate homeschooling for numerous families across the state of Michigan. Their program has equipped parents to homeschool confidently and successfully. Let’s hear how. Jen, Gwyn, welcome.
Jen (00:38): Thanks, Janna, for having us today.
Gwyn (00:40): Thanks, Janna, for hosting us today on the show.
Janna (00:43): I’m excited to hear how your personal experiences have led you to your partnership with Michigan BookShark Virtual.
Jen (00:53): Yes, thanks, Janna. So my career is in education and I did homeschool my kids, but I also stepped into the role as director of our partnership here in the area in northeastern Michigan. And we service families who homeschool and we offer electives, but we also offer core curriculum like BookShark Michigan Virtual. And so when we first started our journey working with homeschool families, we realized that there was a real need for homeschool families that were looking for assistance with the curriculum.
(01:26) And so we did some research and we discovered BookShark. So we loved that there was a set of books that this family got as well as the virtual component. And as we did more research, we realized this was going to be a great fit for our families. So we started offering BookShark Virtual within our in-house program and we saw how successful that was. And so we decided we would launch it statewide and offer Michigan BookShark Virtual, which is pretty cool because now any homeschool family with a student in grades K through eighth grade who reside in the state of Michigan can actually sign up with our program and receive for free the whole box of BookShark Materials as well as access to the online program. So that is how I got into Michigan BookShark Virtual.
Gwyn (02:16): So my side of things is coming alongside Jen when we started the program and looking at Michigan BookShark Virtual, the opportunity is I homeschooled my kids for 16 years using the curriculum. So for me, it was just a natural fit to help families use this amazing curriculum because I know it works. And I was very excited to be able to share it with our local community and then to take it statewide is amazing.
Janna (02:46): And you mentioned this virtual component to BookShark, and it may sound possibly misleading because typically virtual schooling means that you are on the computer and you are doing everything in front of a screen. How is this program different?
Jen (03:04): Yes, that’s an important delineation that you’ve just made. So traditional online programs are indeed a hundred percent online. Matter of fact, in our very first year offering virtual classes through our partnership, we utilized traditional virtual programs where the student is a hundred percent online, and our families didn’t like it. They didn’t like that their kids, especially the younger kids, but really at any age, they just did not like how much time their kids sat in front of the screen. Plus they really lost that personal, intimate experience that our homeschool families were looking for. And that is indeed what birthed our search, there’s got to be something out there, something where it can still fit the confines and requirements of a virtual program that the state requires for schools, but also be something that works organically in that learning environment with mom, dad, or whoever is leading that homeschooling at home.
(04:02) And that is where we started looking at different options and we met a Book Shark representative and they started to explain how the beauty of this program and the uniqueness of it is yes, you still have all of those hands-on materials. You actually get a physical book to open up and sit on the couch and read with your child. You actually get a workbook to fill in, or you do hands-on experiments, and then the online part is really only about 25% of the time and that’s where you go to upload your answers, to upload the responses that you’ve already talked about. So it’s really a great blend and for sure more developmentally appropriate for those younger kids especially.
(04:41) So you’re right, it’s a great way to look at and explain how the virtual component in your curriculum is a traditional one.
Gwyn (04:51): The other benefit of BookShark is that students within certain ages can be grouped together. So for mom homeschooling, and I know from my personal experience I had four children and I could have them in two separate cores, but I had two kids in each history and science core and then they each have their individualized math, individualized language arts. But it took the pressure off of me having four separate history social studies, and four separate science levels to teach. So that is so unique and amazing with BookShark, and it’s one of the things I love sharing with families.
Jen (05:29): And the third thing I’d like to mention that’s unique about the virtual component of this curriculum is the online graders. So with a traditional online program, your online grader might be somewhere in a different state and really not have a pulse on what your expectations are or your autonomy as a parent with this online curriculum. Whereas our online graders work personally with our program so they understand the nuances of this curriculum and they understand our families. They understand where these families are coming from and each student gets individualized responses, which is very unique in the online platform. So that’s another huge delineation between BookShark virtual and traditional virtual.
Gwyn (06:16): And within our program, we also have mentors who are assigned to a family. So you have that middleman, so to speak, that’s coming alongside of you if you have those daily questions or any situation that you just want to discuss with your mentor, and then they can take it back to the BookShark teacher or if there’s something else that they’re having difficulty with or a book or a question, anything. They’re not going alone. They have someone alongside of them.
Janna (06:46): So what I hear you say is, if I’m a parent new to homeschooling, I might feel as though I don’t even know where I would begin. And so this program not only offers me a teacher to connect with, but a mentor to come alongside me, and then a curriculum that is fully planned so I don’t have to do any of the legwork if I want to homeschool my child.
Jen (07:08): Yes, that’s the beauty of it. As a matter of fact, truly right from moment one, you have someone coming alongside. Gwyn, as our bookshop coordinator, meets individually with each family prior to ordering any material. So she really can hone in on what that best fit will be, not only for each individual child but collectively as a family. So right from the beginning, you have assistance even to decide what level is your best fit, not to mention what other materials your family may need.
(07:42) And so it really helps because some families, when they start using BookShark, they’re not really sure where they want to start, which math curriculum they want to choose, do they want to bring the level up a little bit, or bring the level down a little bit? There are all these nuances about the curriculum that Gwyn is able to come alongside each family individually to really get that best-fit level.
(08:05) And so right from the beginning they have that assistance not to mention then once the material comes in, they have the assistance as far as how to navigate the IG, which is like the teacher’s manual, what to do with the materials, how to report the LMS. That’s the beauty of it is that at every step, they have assistance with those components, so they never really feel like they’re alone. They may be several hours away from where we are, but they always feel connected.
Janna (08:31): I think connections is one of the things that people who even start to contemplate homeschooling really get … Personally. I got a little anxious because I thought, I’m not classically trained. I don’t know what to look for necessarily in a curriculum. And then one of the biggest things we find in advising families with BookShark is that it’s not that easy if you don’t understand the nuances, Jen like you said, to pick a level or to combine children. To the company, we think it’s easy because we’re in it all the time 24/7, but for somebody who’s being introduced to it, it can become very overwhelming. And when I first heard about Books Shark through my co-op, I remember parents saying, “Oh, be careful there. There’s a lot of work and you really got to know what you’re doing.” But then when I got into it and saw how well it was laid out, step-by-step processes. It’s simple but not easy, I think is a great way to describe it.
Jen (09:29): Yes, and also one of the things that we’ve heard from the families is they like that the online graders can grade at the grade level expectation, so it really takes that pressure off of the family, especially when it comes to writing or subjective grading. It takes the pressure off of the parent to have to know where they should be at that grade level. As I said, for writing, that’s a good example where it helps them to have this online grader that can give the grade and subject-specific feedback, which parents really appreciate. And that also is part of the Michigan BookShark virtual component is they have that connection with their online grader for that feedback, which is pretty immediate. Some of the questions are auto-graded so they know right then when they submit it, and then for the ones that aren’t auto-graded, the responses are within days of the answer being submitted. So it’s nice. It’s not like a way of weeks and weeks to get a response from their online teacher.
(10:32): The other thing that our families really like about that is that the IG, the teacher’s manual, has all of the answers in it. So as a parent is working with a child, they’re not on their own trying to play the guessing game of what is this question asking. They can see the answer right there, which really helps. Any parent that has worked with their child with homeschooling, sometimes you do run into those questions that you’re not really sure exactly what they’re asking, and that’s a nice thing is by seeing the answer, not that you’re going to give your child the answer, but it does help to direct the discussion so that you can lead them to understand where the curriculum is trying to take them with that higher-order thinking question.
(11:09): And so that’s something that our parents really appreciate about the virtual side, is even though it’s online, you still have that printed IG with those answers right there, and it does help guide the discussion.one of my favorite things about being a parent, really, is being able to walk with my children through these hard things in life, and then seeing, okay, we don’t have all the answers.
Gwyn (11:20): Another benefit of BookShark is it is a four-day curriculum. So families absolutely love the fact that it’s four days of focus and then they have one day left in the week for enrichment or other purposes for their families. That offers so much more flexibility. Especially like some of our families homeschool in different ways. It can work for so many different families. Some work full-time, and some students are with grandma or another guardian or someone, and this curriculum offers them the opportunity they can take that with them and grandma or whoever is helping them coming alongside a tutor, whoever it is, and help them complete that.
Janna (12:08): I think flexibility is a really important point to mention because if you’re new again to this idea of taking this education and bringing it home, or you’ve been homeschooling, but you’re kind of branching out to these other programs that are available to families. If you think that it is a Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM type of program, that will disqualify many parents who are working during those hours.
Gwyn (12:35): And when you have other younger children at home, it gives you those moments to be able to put that little one down for a nap and do some of your readers together. And just the flexibility of when dad comes home at night or whoever comes home at night can do some of the work with the students. You can travel. We have families that take this curriculum on the road. They’ve been to Europe, they’ve been to Mexico. All over. So it has so many benefits to it that I think you’d be hard-pressed to not find a situation in which you can’t make BookShark work for you.
Janna (13:18): And in Michigan Books Shark Virtual specifically, are the recommended hours the same as it is for the traditional BookShark curriculum? So for let’s say a certain level, we say that it’s typically three to four hours of student work per day. Does that change at all within your program?
Gwyn (13:38): I think it depends on the family and how much of the enrichment that they participate in. You can do what’s required, especially in those years when you have a lot of littles, or if you have the dynamics of, I have some families who are homeschooling one or two children and they want every single thing that’s offered.
(13:59): And so yes, you can fill your day, but you also have that opportunity to scale back when you need to. So it would ebb and flow. It’s one of those questions that’s very different for every family.
Jen (14:14): What I would say is I don’t feel like Michigan BookShark Virtual, adding the virtual component would add time. If anything, it would add options. With traditional BookShark, as amazing as it is, you are limited to just the hands-on materials that you have, which is awesome. The nice thing about the virtual component is you have the same hands-on materials, but you also have the virtual component so that if you do need your child to be a little bit more independent, by the time they get to the older grades, you can say, “Okay, while I do this, you are going to work on this.” And that’s when they can do the virtual aspects, or as Gwyn said, you can do all of the extra stuff hands-on and then still have them upload their answers to the virtual, but it really hasn’t added time. It just adds an option that you have the flexibility to add independence for your student, especially as they get older. So if anything, I would say it adds opportunity, not time.
Janna (15:22): Well, I really like that distinction because as a homeschool mom who is down to one and she is working very independently, there’s actually very little that I do with her now working through Level I as she’s 13 then when we first started seven years ago and she was still learning how to read. So this idea that as they do age, if you are looking for more independence, it will give it. And if that’s not what you’re looking for, it certainly doesn’t have to be the focus with Michigan BookShark Virtual.
(15:53): So if I’m considering putting my child into Michigan BookShark Virtual, I would love to have the assurance that if I choose to put my child back into a brick and mortar after any time, either a year or two years later, that they are going to be tracking with their peers. So how does your program come alongside parents to give them the assurance that they’re doing enough?
Jen (16:23): Yes. Well, that is a very common question that all homeschool parents have am I doing enough? Am I at the right level? Have I covered what they’ll need? Whether you’re going to put them in school or not, homeschool families have that questions. That’s a nice thing that you can utilize with Michigan BookShark Virtual is that they’ve done that legwork for you. They’ve taken these levels, they’ve compared it to grade level expectations that Michigan has, and they’ve made sure that that material covers most of those standards so that when you hit a level in a certain grade you know that when they’ve completed that level, they’ve covered the topics and the benchmarks that are hit in the state standards for that subject, for that grade level, which is really, really a relief for homeschool parents because they don’t have to have the guesswork of how much do I do? What do I do, what do I cover? It’s all right there.
(17:29): Not only is it all right there, but by using Michigan BookShark Virtual progressively through the elementary grades and into junior high, you’re getting a really great caption of all the different subjects, all the great literature. It’s a wonderful journey of learning that those kids go through and coming from an educator comparing it to what, as I’ve seen in the classrooms that I’ve taught, the literature is high quality and the volume of literature is a lot more literature than what you would see traditionally, which all of us know the best way to make a great reader is to read. And so that is something that really is a cornerstone to this curriculum is the amount of reading that the child does as well as the read allows that the adults do with the children. What a great way for them to develop and understand how a story is put together and to study the topics of science and history as they’re tied in with stories. It makes it so much more real for them.
(18:35): Then to be able to have the practical hands-on aspects like laying it out right on the timeline. What a great way to understand how an event fits into history. You’re reading about it in every book that you read. Michigan Bookshop Virtual has the student not only identifying where in the timeline that event happens but also mapping it to where it is with geography, it makes it so much more real for the kids. It’s more meaningful than what I remember history being. And so that’s a really nice aspect of that.
(19:09): So not only are the standards taken care of and covered that the state would require, but Michigan BookShark Virtual goes even further and takes those standards and gives them application opportunities, which is really great to see incorporated in a virtual platform.
Gwyn (19:27):: So another way that you could meet some students’ needs with the curriculum is I had an auditory learner. So for him, he struggled with the readers on his own because he spent so much time trying to comprehend that I did audiobooks for him, and he’d follow along in his reader, and then he could grasp the comprehension and answer those questions effectively. So I love the fact that BookShark uses phenomenal literature. You can find an audiobook, they can listen, they can glean from history, and they can really engage and learn and grow, even for a struggling student.
Janna (20:13):: And even if there isn’t an audiobook available, it just because it’s stated as an independent reader for the student if you know your student and you need to read that to your student as they read aloud, that is one of the reasons we homeschool is so that we can speed up or slow down or make adaptions for our children. When I started homeschooling my own girls, I didn’t even realize that one of them was a struggling reader, because she compensated so well. And then when we started to go through all the literature, she wasn’t keeping up with the pace like her twin sister. And then I started to realize, oh, she’s struggling with words even though she was understanding concepts. And so just a few years of homeschooling with BookShark, she was off the charts and totally caught up and surpassed her peers. But I wouldn’t have known. How would I have known had I not been homeschooled with her?
(21:08): All right, ladies, you have me sold on this program. If I were to live in Michigan and I was contemplating that I wanted to homeschool and I know that this is the right choice for me, what would be my next practical steps as a parent who’s interested in Michigan BookShark Virtual?
Gwyn (21:27): So you would reach out to me through my email, which I think you will have that at the end of this podcast included. Tell me you’re interested. I will contact you and discuss how you will enroll with our district for the year using this free virtual online component. We will ship a box of curriculum to you directly and come alongside you and help you set up your year.
(21:57): Also students within our district are issued Chromebooks that they will check out and will be shipped. I’ll ship them to the family and they can use those to submit their work, which is another great benefit. And that would be your first couple of steps in getting set up with us here.
Jen (22:22): Then in that meeting with Gwyn, she would sit down with you once you’ve decided that this is a good fit for your family and she would discuss which level is the best fit, whether are you able to combine kids and how that works.
(22:35): We offer this for students in grades kindergarten through eighth grade, and we are able to combine kids who are close in grade level. So that is a nice thing. Usually, how that works is they combine-
Gwyn (22:49): Within a couple of grade levels.
Jen (22:52): And then they do their separate math and language arts, typically.
Gwyn (22:56): Yes. So three math programs that we offer are Saxon, Singapore, and Math UC. So families can look at those three. I do have an email that I send, and I send the links and information about all those curriculums so they can choose the best fit. We have an organic conversation about the dynamics of their student, what type of learner they are, and what approach they’re looking at.
Jen (23:22): The nice thing too is there are some pre-assessments that she sends links to that they’re able to do with their child, and then those pre-assessments give a great picture of what level would be the best fit.
(23:35) So they kind of use both the results of the pre-assessments as well as this conversation that they have to figure out what would be the best. And then from there, once they’ve decided on the level, Gwyn puts the order in, we order it, we take care of the paperwork enrollment on that, and really then everything is taken care of. Then it’s a matter of the box arriving at your house sometime later in August, and we share a calendar with the family. And like Gwyn had mentioned, it’s a four-day program. So each week they have four days of work to complete for that week, and it’s laid right out in 32 weeks. Starts at the beginning of September, goes through the middle of May, and they submit their weekly work and then at the end of the week that is all submitted, and then their mentor contacts them if they have any concerns or any questions that they need help with, and otherwise it just runs through the year.
(24:30): So it’s a pretty smooth process. It’s the enrollment, it’s receiving the materials, familiarizing yourself with the materials and the books, working through your school year, and then at the end of the school year, you’re able to keep that box of materials if you choose. If you’ve completed the whole year, you can keep that box of materials and then sign your children up for the next level if you choose to do the next year. So it’s a pretty easy process. And then we come alongside, we have Gwyn as well as our online graders that come alongside them throughout the year and pretty much weekly communication with things that they may need help with, reminders of different things that they’re doing.
(25:14): It’s a smooth-running machine. We’ve done this now for a few years and our families really, really appreciate it. It’s something that not only is the financial help to them, but really they feel like it’s an emotional help for them because they’re not out on their own. They may be in an area in Michigan where they don’t get to be with other homeschool families, and this gives them an opportunity to really rub shoulders with someone else. Oftentimes, I’ll hear Gwyn, have conversations with family where she can help them through the transition of homeschooling.
Janna (25:51): All right, I am thoroughly convinced that this is an amazing program that I want to be a part of if I were a resident of Michigan. You had mentioned that the district would send me a Chromebook for any student I sign up with through this program. What other things would I need in my home to make this successful homeschool?
Gwyn (26:12): One of the most important things for a virtual program is to have internet that is adequate for uploading because you are required to upload work each week. And if a student doesn’t have those capabilities because you’re so remote and your service is very slow, like dial-up, it’s just not going to be, unfortunately, a good fit for you. And Michigan BookShark Virtual won’t be available for you, unfortunately. Besides that, your basic school supplies, pens and pencils, and markers. That’s just a typical thing you’re going to need for your school supplies. Other than that, books are provided, the virtual component is there, and you have your teachers on this side, your mentor, and support.
Janna (27:07): In closing, what are your final words for families who are contemplating coming to Michigan BookShark Virtual?
Jen (27:16): Jenna, really what I would say is take a look online, look up Michigan BookShark Virtual, do some research, take a look at what they offer, look at the all subject packages, drool over the amazing literature that a kid can read in one year, which is pretty amazing. And then contact Gwyn. Start a conversation. You’re not committing to anything by just having a conversation. Reach out, and see if it’s a fit for your family. Dig a little bit and do some research. And at the end of the day, if you feel like this is something you like to try for your family, you’re not out anything because again, this curriculum is free.
(27:55): So I would just encourage families to do a little research, make a contact, ask the questions, and find out if it’s a good fit for them. And if so, we are here to support you.
Gwyn (28:08): I’ve homeschooled four children that are very different learning styles with BookShark. So for me personally, to have those conversations, I think it would be hard-pressed for a family to bring something to me that I wouldn’t know how to direct them and help them come up with the best solution for their children’s education for that year.
Janna (28:30): I know that if there are people who are listening who had any doubt in their mind that they could not homeschool successfully and confidently after listening to this podcast, they will now know that with the support of Michigan BookShark Virtual, they have all that they need to do this and do it really well.
(28:50): Ladies, thank you so much for coming on today. Thank you for sharing your expertise, and thank you for providing a program for the state of Michigan.
One of my chief concerns was that I valued my relationship with my son too much to homeschool him. I was convinced that spending so very much time with him would result in us growing tired of one another.
We already had battles and emotionally charged moments, and I feared that being the person to constantly force school assignments he didn’t want to do would mean butting heads even more. I worried
that he would see me as a strict teacher and not his loving mom
that lines would blur as our roles shifted
that what was already unsteady would become unsustainable
I’m very happy that I was so very wrong.
The relationship between my son and I has grown stronger than I ever could have imagined as I’ve watched him heal, grow, learn, and thrive. I’ve gotten to know wonderful parts of his personality that I would have missed otherwise. And I have been privileged to help polish the rougher parts that always seemed to rub the wrong way before.
While we’ve grown closer and found our groove in homeschooling, I’ve stumbled a few times. Through my experiences, I’ve discovered a few temptations that absolutely have the potential to damage our relationship. Here’s what I avoid to keep from ruining my relationship with my homeschooled child.
1. Too Much Review
Most curriculum works in a spiral format. It reviews previous material while introducing new information in an attempt to keep facts and formulas fresh. This isn’t necessarily a bad format, but there comes a point when reviewing can become excessive.
While learning about the state capitals, I decided to take every opportunity to quiz and review my son
while driving in the car
sitting at dinner
during commercial breaks
This was just too much. Instead of keeping facts fresh, I was negating opportunities for casual conversation and was trading connection for repetition. The freedom and peace that we enjoy in our homeschool, the chance to learn at a pace we’re comfortable with, was replaced with drills and expectations.
He wasn’t learning the capitals anymore; he was being beaten over the head with them!
What if you devote all of this time and energy into a lesson for it to go in one ear and out the other? At the end of the day, your goal as a homeschool parent isn’t to create a recording of everything taught. It’s to inspire a love of learning in your child and to forge a relationship with them in the most intimate of settings.
What your child learns is important, of course, but conversation with your kiddo is usually sufficient to get a feel for what they’ve soaked up. Be their parent, not their drill sergeant. Sit next to them and learn together; don’t ask them to recite for you.
2. Trying to Replicate What Everyone Else is Doing
Seeing how well other families are doing, it’s easy to begin to wonder if maybe you should try it, too. Maybe if you tried that curriculum your child wouldn’t struggle with spelling. If you had a dedicated homeschool room, you might be a better homeschool parent. And what about what they’re doing at the public school down the street? You heard that they’re doing this experiment and reading that book, so does it say something about you that you’re not?
Attempting to replicate what works for one family can cause you to forget (or even ignore) what works for your own. By shadowing someone else’s footsteps you rob your child of the chance to forge their own path. You create a box that you were never meant to fit inside of, and the relationship between yourself and your child suffers as you both struggle against its confines.
You, the homeschool parent, have the opportunity to meet your child where they are in every area of their life, to fine-tune and customize their education in a loving and thoughtful way. Your lesson plans can be seen as love letters to your child, the result of your dedication and devotion to what’s best for them. Be the homeschool parent that your family needs, not the one you see succeeding elsewhere.
3. Comparing. To Anyone.
In the same vein as attempting to replicate someone else’s homeschool comes the temptation to compare:
Your slow mornings with someone else’s early rising.
Your child to someone else’s.
Or yourself to another parent.
Or yourself to a homeschool philosophy.
Your tattered books to someone else’s laminated worksheets.
Any time you begin to compare yourself or your situation to another, you invite the idea that you are not good enough. Any time you compare your child’s academic performance to that of another, you invite the idea that one is better than the other. Any time you begin to notice a deficit or weakness in your home because it’s a strength in someone else’s, you are walking a dangerous line that can too easily leave you disillusioned, dissatisfied, and dismissive of the unique needs in your own homeschool.
It’s not hard to see how comparison can ruin your relationship with your child, but it’s worth reminding yourself, as often as you need to, that it is a path towards bitterness, not betterment.
4. Resenting Your Commitment to Homeschool
I know, it seems obvious. Resenting homeschooling is obviously a no-brainer when it comes to how you could possibly ruin your relationship with your child. What’s not so obvious, however, is how we come to resent it.
Maybe you’re always having to turn down invitations to lunch with friends. Maybe you’re struggling financially and could really benefit from a second income you’re forfeiting to homeschool. Maybe you’re just having a hard day.
Little thoughts creep in and say, “If only I weren’t homeschooling, I could really…” The seed is planted, and the resentment grows.
Now instead of recognizing homeschooling as a privilege, you see it as a prison, a necessity, an obligation. Your child has become a pair of shackles instead of a partner in learning.
A decision made to bring freedom to your family can quickly convert to feelings of resentment, bitterness, offense, and displeasure. Where your relationship with your child was once a cornerstone of your homeschool, it is now a duty, a task, a chore, suffering under the illusion of obligation.
You get to homeschool! You get to share this time with your children! You get to hand-pick their education and provide them with all the love, enchantment, and opportunities they can handle. Homeschooling is a privilege, but the moment you start to see it as an obligation you begin to damage the relationship you have with your child. Suddenly they are to blame, and your reason for homeschooling becomes an excuse for your unhappiness.
There are many, many ways to ruin your relationship with your homeschooled child, but none of them are caused by actually homeschooling.
Our expectations, our ideas, our own boxes that we build and expect our children to fit into—theseare the breeding grounds for relational damage. When it comes down to it, these situations and feelings can be just as damaging in any setting. As a homeschooling parent, though, you find yourself spending more time with your children than most parents do, which creates more opportunities for these little seeds to sprout.
Really the greatest way to ruin your relationship with your homeschooled child, with any child, is to become lax in examining your own heart and motivations. By guarding yourself against feelings of bitterness or insecurity, you protect your child and your relationship.
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.
Many BookShark parents love to outsource some of the scheduled reading aloud to audiobooks. This hack gives them a bit more time, saves their voice, and even allows the entire family to enjoy the listening experience together while traveling or doing chores.
Another big use of audiobooks in homeschooling is by children who struggle with reading independently. Whether it’s due to dyslexia or just learning at a slower pace, these students benefit from hearing their Readers delivered in audiobook form.
Due to licensing challenges, BookShark itself does not provide audiobooks alongside its literature-based curriculum. But with a touch of resourcefulness, you can piece together what you need. Here are our recommendations to get you started with your search of audiobooks for BookShark.
1. Free Audiobooks
The apps below are available for free through most libraries. These three apps are always our first stop when hunting for a particular title in audiobook form. Much like a library book, you have a limited time to listen but can always renew. Check with your local library to see what’s provided with your membership or library card.
Sometimes there’s a new book out and we just can’t wait for it to be offered at our library. Or maybe we want the option of listening to a book over and over without having to return it. In that case, we need a paid subscription.
I also like the feature in these apps that allows students to choose if they want to read or be read to.
3. Ebook Readers
There are also a few apps that read ebooks to you. These options are wonderful if you’re looking to help your child become a fluent independent reader since your child can follow along visually with the audio.
Bookshare® According to its website “is available only for individuals who have a qualifying reading or perceptual disability, a visual impairment, or a physical disability that affects their ability to read printed works.”
My children both love audiobooks. Many a night they have fallen asleep listening to a favorite story. We also love to listen to books on car rides.
Some readers also do a better job understanding what they are reading when they can hear it. As a teacher who has taught many students with dyslexia and other learning differences, I found this to be true again and again. While younger students might enjoy being read aloud to, I’ve also found older students often like the autonomy an audiobook gives them.
Audiobooks do not have to replace the books in our homeschool curriculum, but they can be a wonderful addition, and for some students work even better than a physical book. Try using audiobooks in conjunction with your BookShark Readers or Read-Alouds or use audiobooks when you’re in the car. They make for a wonderful start and end to the day as well. Audiobooks encourage even more reading in our homeschool days! There are no drawbacks when it comes to more great books!
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.
There’s no doubt that there are very defined preferences among homeschoolers about whether or not to use secular and faith-neutral curriculum. I’ve heard these very pointed questions when it comes to evaluating curriculum:
Does that science book espouse creationism or evolution?
Does your history curriculum align with the Bible?
I choose our curriculum carefully. All year, I pour over catalogs and curriculum sites. I read reviews and constantly keep in check what we are using and whether or not it’s the best for each particular child. Whether or not a curricula contains Bible verses or spiritual references is not something I concern myself with on this job of choosing learning tools, and this is not to say that I am not a Christian (because I am). But I have several reasons for choosing secular curriculum.
There is a ton of great curriculum out there—both secular and religious-based.
Every year that I homeschool, it seems there’s more and more to choose from. I love choices though, and I consider being able to choose from a wide array of curricula and not being held to it by a school board as one of the very biggest perks to homeschooling. That said, I feel that I would be excluding a huge range of wonderful programs out there if I were to only look at religious-based curricula.
I’ve made a choice to homeschool my children which opens up a huge amount of freedom for me to choose what best fits my children and their very individual learning styles. Why would I close myself in by choosing only religious-based books?
Religious-based curriculum tends to leave out facts I want my kids to know about.
When it comes to certain subjects, there’s very little I shield my kids from. We watch the news together. We talk about current events. We carefully discuss politics and the issues at hand. One of our biggest jobs as parents is to prepare our kids for the big world out there, and I want to discuss this tough stuff while they are still at home with me.
I have found that some religion-based curriculum leaves out information about other religions or certain historical events, and this is not something I want for my kids. Discussing a wide array of religions is something that is very important in our family. We’ve had some amazing discussions around these topics, and I feel that if anything, the knowledge of other spiritual choices, makes my own faith stronger and it also gives myself and my children a better understanding of others and what they believe.
Subjects like grammar and spelling are not for instilling faith.
Can I just say that sometimes I think we just go overboard? We can be so afraid of the outside world infiltrating our homes and our children that we even try to incorporate our beliefs in our spelling books. I have a hard enough time getting my kids to enjoy grammar without trying to tie a Bible lesson into it. For subjects like this, I choose what’s best for my children, because I know that good grammar isn’t going to teach my child how to be a decent human being; it’s just going to teach her where to capitalize.
The bottom line for us is that we have choices. Secular curriculum has its place among those choices, so don’t automatically rule it out even if you are passing your faith to your children.
About the Author
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.!
As homeschoolers, the idea of having children who can complete school lessons, projects, and assignments on their own can be enticing. Mom, who usually bears the burden of the homeschool planning and teaching, gets a break, and children take responsibility for their own education. Sounds like a win for both parties, right? Yes, but let’s delve into this idea of independent learning more deeply:
How do you know when your child is readyto learn on his own?
How much should you push your children towards working solo?
Exactly how do you train your kids to learn independently?
Is independent learning even possible?
Is It Really Possible for Children to Learn Independently?
Does independent learning really exist? The answer depends on how you define the term. All of us need to learn from someone or some kind of starting point of reference, so it’s not realistic to expect our kids to learn without any guidance at all. For example, the cornerstone of the BookShark curriculum is parent and child, learning together over great books. Sure, older kids can do their assignments and reading alone, but they would miss the insights from their parents that come from discussing the History and Literature. So consider what you and your kids lose when they learn on their own.
With that said, it is possible and wonderful to teach our children to take ownership of their education. In our family, the kids complete some of their homeschool assignments on their own, which—in my mind—qualifies as independent learning. For example, my oldest daughter does most of her lessons and quizzes herself while I help her review and prepare for testing. For our younger children, independent learning might include Read-Aloud sessions, worksheets, and simple crafts while the bulk of the learning is done alongside a parent.
When Can A Child Start to Learn on His Own?
Some early education methods, such as Montessori, encourage teaching children self-reliance at a young age. Others, such as unschooling, promote allowing a child time to develop his or her own educational interests.
Since children mature at different rates, there is no specific age when parents should begin to teach kids to work on their own. As parents, we know our children best. We know when they’re ready to move on to more advanced concepts, and we know what they’re capable of doing.
While it would be unrealistic to expect a very young child (grades K – 3) to learn solo, it could also stunt your child if you continue to hover when he’s ready for greater autonomy. In each family, parents have to assess their children’s abilities and skills to determine when they are ready to complete schoolwork on an independent basis. Trust your gut on this decision. You will know when the time is right and how much liberty to allow your kids. If you are unsure, ask them! They often know exactly what they need and can tell you how much support and direction to offer.
How to Help Kids Learn Independently
Children, like adults, need very little guidance or encouragement to do the things they like. Naturally, if our children enjoy what they are learning in school, they will develop the self-motivation to complete many of their assignments without much prodding or direction.
A good way to help kids become self-motivated is to allow them to have a say in their education. Let them choose a few of the books on the reading list this year. Or allow them to choose a few animals, places, or historical events to study.
For example, at the beginning of our school year, we make a list of all the things our kids would like to learn about. Then we try our best to work those topics into our lessons. When I announce that we’ll be covering one of those topics, the kids are so excited that they’re willing to do whatever assignment they’re given—even independently.
Another way to help kids learn to complete their schoolwork independently is to teach them to manage their time. Upper elementary and middle school grades are a wonderful time to start working on this skill. Start by giving kids to to lists to check off. Then give them blank weekly planners to fill in on their own and check off completed work.
As an example, our middle schooler, who has ADHD, is learning to create a weekly schedule for herself. She tries to complete all of her schoolwork in four days, so she can have an “off” day each week. Setting up her own routine has helped her develop the drive to get her assignments done on her own and on time.
As homeschoolers, we can make independent learning fit into our family’s educational goals, abilities, and grade levels. By giving our children a say in their education and helping them learn to manage their time, we can help them become independent learners for life.
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!
The BookShark binder* is huge. It has to be to fit all of the information, lessons, and activity sheets included in the 36-week curriculum. We need the Instructor’s Guide that goes in the binder, but thankfully we don’t need to lug it around.
There are several ways we can keep our BookShark materials organized and accessible without wrangling a 3-inch notebook. If you’re like me and prefer to keep the big binder on the shelf, all you have to do is choose one of these five solutions.
1. Use a Working Binder
A working binder is exactly what its name suggests: a binder that holds the things your homeschoolers are currently working on.
This method works well if you plan units or like to build breaks into your homeschool year every six or eight weeks. Transfer the lessons to a smaller binder and when your child is finished with them, swap them for a new set of materials.
A working binder is also a great tool if you are using several different BookShark programs. Keep your current history, writing, science, and math units together, so you always have on hand exactly what you and your student need.
2. Use a Filing Crate with Hanging Files
Some of us are just not binder people. It’s okay!
A hanging file system is another great way to organize your BookShark curriculum. All you need to do is put each weekly lesson into a separate file folder. If you have multiple homeschoolers, you might put their weekly lessons in the same folder so that you can grab one file at a time. Or you can choose different colored folders for each child.
Once you finish a lesson, move the file to the back of the crate or cabinet. Your homeschooler’s next set of lessons is now right up front, ready for them.
3. Use a Kids Binder and an Adult Binder
My child loves school supplies and would be very upset if I were the only one with a binder. So she gets her own notebook, too. tory. Use reading strategies to craft your questions and discussions:
I always put all of her activity sheets in one binder and my Instructor’s Guide in another. She also likes to organize her supplies by subject, so her BookShark history lessons and writing assignments are in one binder while her BookShark science lessons are in another. These binders don’t have to be very big and give her the autonomy (and school supplies) she craves. They also lighten the load on my binder.
4. Spiral Bind Each Unit
If you love to keep curriculum long-term, spiral binding each unit or several units is a beautiful way to save and showcase the lessons. Spiral-binding might be an easier way to travel with units or for younger children to use the materials.
Systems like the Happy Planner also allow you to punch holes into the materials and use plastic rings to bind the lessons together.
5. Pull Out What You Need Each Week
Perhaps the easiest way to keep yourself from lugging around your big BookShark binder is to pull out what you’ll need each week. Keep the materials in a folder or separate binder—whatever works for you. At the end of the week, put everything back into the big binder and pull out what you’ll need next week.
Practically speaking, the big binder is massive and takes up a good amount of space on the table.
There is another reason you might consider downsizing your binder: Some children get overwhelmed by seeing everything they will need to do in a year. Seeing a manageable amount of activity sheets or reading may dissipate the shock factor. If you feel overwhelmed by the number of lessons, it might help you feel less stressed as well.
*A BookShark binder is included in the Required Resources for All-Subject and Reading with History Packages.
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.
