BookShark

Author: Shanna Behrens

  • Why You Don’t Have to Be Good at Language Arts to Teach It Well

    Why You Don’t Have to Be Good at Language Arts to Teach It Well

    Many of us were taught language arts as a disjointed set of unrelated skills—a very ineffective way to learn it. Can you relate to any of these experiences?

    • Learning about a grammar concept and completing ten to twenty exercises after the lesson to practice the new skill.
    • Receiving a list of spelling words on Monday and memorizing them for a test on Friday. Then spelling them incorrectly in your own writing.
    • Defining literary terms and never noticing them in the books you read.
    • Memorizing vocabulary words, but never actually using them while speaking or writing—and then forgetting them.
    • Following a formula to write a paper and hating every minute of it because you were as bored writing it as your teachers were probably reading it.

    You did the work in school, but without context and without connection. As a result, you may believe you aren’t good at language arts. The truth is, you struggled with language arts because of how it was taught, not because of a lack of intelligence. Unfortunately we have a tendency to homeschool in the same way we learned, even if we believe our own education was lacking.

    There’s a better way. You can teach language arts effectively, no matter your own school experience with the subject. After all, Albert Einstein said, “Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.” 

    Life-Long Learning Starts with You

    As a homeschooler, know it’s perfectly fine to learn alongside your children. You don’t have to be an expert in every subject. It’s not even possible! What you do need is an attitude that says, “We can figure this out together.” 

    As Anthony J. D’Angelo said, “Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.”

    This we-can-learn-it attitude is incredibly beneficial to your students as they realize

    • You are never too old to learn and grow.
    • It’s okay if you don’t master something the first time around.
    • Learning is a process that takes diligence and practice.
    • They don’t have to do it alone.

    Modeling learning means you’re showing them how to learn, not just what to learn. You also get the benefit of a better grasp of language arts skills you can use in your own life. And you’ll also be more sympathetic when they struggle, because you know what it feels like. 

    Teaching Language Arts Comes Naturally

    “Learning is not the product of teaching. Learning is the product of the activity of learners.”—John Holt

    Your children began learning long before they ever started school. From the moment they were born, you watched in amazement with each skill they added from rolling over to lifting their heads, from sitting to standing, from crawling to walking. 

    You wondered as they picked up word after word and began speaking in phrases and sentences. You laughed at their grammar mistakes because they were adorable, and you knew one day they would say it correctly. 

    You were their first teachers. You encouraged them, you helped them, and you gently corrected their mistakes. 

    You’ve been teaching them since the day they were born, and you can continue to teach them everything they need to be effective communicators. 

    BookShark gives you the tools to help you teach language arts skills naturally, in the way kids were designed to learn. 

    Real Authors are Ready to Help

    Workbooks and textbooks may offer lessons and exercises to teach kids language arts skills, but they are ineffective to inspire a love of literature and writing. Often students don’t know how to apply those exercises to their actual writing. They miss those things that make writing compelling to read and their speeches compelling to listen to.

    With a natural approach to teaching language arts, students learn to write from real authors. They learn to communicate from those who do it best.

    • Spelling and vocabulary comes from the books they are reading. 
    • Writing assignments are tied to the subject matter they are learning about in the books they read.
    • Grammar skills are learned through copying and writing from dictation using sentences and passage from the books they are reading.

    You see the pattern. Students learn from published authors—experts in their field. Good writing inspires good writing as students absorb language arts skills naturally.

    You Have a Guide

    Anatole France correctly said, “Nine-tenths of education is encouragement.” As a homeschool parent, tou have the opportunity to be your students’ biggest cheerleader—the one who encourages them and helps them stay on track. 

    But you also have a coach to help you along the way.

    With BookShark Instructor’s Guides, you have everything you need to teach language arts, even if you don’t feel confident in your own skills. You get:

    • A 36-week, 4-day schedule designed to save one day a week for co-ops, music lessons, sports, field trips or other extra-curricular activities.
    • Weekly overviews
    • Student Activity Sheets
    • Separate parent instructions, answers, and definitions
    • Rubrics to help you evaluate more subjective activities

    You Can Teach Your Children Language Arts

    You may not consider yourself equipped to teach language arts because you didn’t understand the way it was taught to you. But there’s good news. You aren’t alone. BookShark can help. 

    You’ll have everything you need to teach your kids naturally, and along the way learn a few things yourself. It’s one of the reasons homeschooling is so successful. As a homeschooler, you are the facilitator of your children’s education. You don’t have to know everything, because like any life-long learner, you can find the resources to help.

    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.

  • Why It’s Okay for Kids to Redo Their Work and Retake Tests

    Why It’s Okay for Kids to Redo Their Work and Retake Tests

    Roald Dahl said, “By the time I am nearing the end of a story, the first part will have been reread and altered and corrected at least one hundred and fifty times. I am suspicious of both facility and speed. Good writing is essentially rewriting. I am positive of this.”

    While I believe Dahl is right, if my children thought they needed to revise a story one hundred and fifty times to produce good writing, they’d never pick up a pencil again. But if not one hundred and fifty times, then how many?

    How many times should our child retake a test, re-do an assignment, rework math problems, or revise their writing? Should they do their best the first time or be given as many times as it takes to get it right?

    Depending on whom you talk to, the answer varies. If you believe, as I do, the point of an assessment is to see what the student retained so they can continue to build skills and learn, then like me, you believe revision is essential. But revision can feel like a punishment. A redo can be synonymous with failure. I wonder if instead of asking how many times my child should revise, we ask, how can I help my child see revision as part of the learning process.

    Before we ask a child to retake a test or re-do a worksheet, we need to make sure the assessment genuinely captured what we hoped to assess. A child who struggles with test taking may be able to answer the test questions correctly when they are asked orally. Instead of assessing what a child knows about World War I (your goal), the test could be assessing their test-taking, reading, or writing skills. A child who struggles with sitting still or following directions might struggle with workbooks. Is a blank page an assessment of what they know, or how they are being asked to show what they know?

    Once we know what our child needs to learn, it’s important we, too, embrace revision. We have to check in with ourselves. Do we want our child to hurry up and get something done so we can mark it off of the Instructor’s Guide, regardless of the outcome? Here are five ways we can all see the importance of revision and help our children find success. 

    1. Focus on a Growth Mindset

    Revision is part of the learning process. It is not the final step, nor is it a means to perfection. There is no end point when it comes to learning. The more we practice and dig into a skill, the more we deepen our knowledge.

    Assessments given without the chance for revision can offer students the idea that their learning has an end.

    • They get an A+, the skill is mastered, and it’s time to move on.
    • They fail and therefore know nothing.

    Neither is true. When we encourage students to revise, rework, and relearn skills as needed, we empower them to become lifelong learners.

    2. Allow Plenty of Time

    Learning is not a race. Homeschooling allows us to slow down and offer our children plenty of time to make sure learning happens. We can slow down our curriculum. We can pause and come back when our child is ready, break down skills into smaller parts, and take our time.

    3. Help Kids Practice Skills in a Variety of Ways

    Drilling kids or using a method that isn’t working over and over will only lead to frustration. Once you identify a skill your child needs to work on, use a variety of ways to help them practice. If your child needs to work on fractions, cook something together. Play games where they practice multiplication, spelling, and grammar. Approach the learning from different angles, use multimedia, and apply hands-on methods. The more fun and engaging learning is the more it will stick.

    4. It’s Okay to Practice One Skill At a Time

    While revising an essay by hand allows a child to practice handwriting and writing at the same time, doing so over and over could lead them to hate revision, handwriting, or both. Computers make revision a lot less painful. Once they get their writing just the way it needs to be, they can always copy it or something else to practice their handwriting.

    5. There Are Many Ways to Revise

    Revision doesn’t have to look like red pen marks and rewriting the same paragraph over and over. It shouldn’t feel like a punishment. If a child is struggling with organizing their writing, have them cut up their paragraphs and sentences and revise by rearranging them in a more cohesive manner. Do a scavenger hunt with their writing and have them first find all the capitalization errors. Another time look for the spelling errors or missing periods. Give them fun pens and let them grade themselves.

    You don’t have to even call it revision. We’re just continuing to learn.

    When we help our children embrace a growth mindset, offer plenty of time to learn and practice a skill, make sure the assessment is measuring what needs to be assessed, practice one skill at a time, and use revision as tool instead something that feels tedious or like a punishment, the number of times something takes doesn’t matter. What matters is learning happens, the child finds success, and the child is motivated to keep learning.

    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.

  • Sidewalk Chalk Ideas for Homeschool Learning

    Sidewalk Chalk Ideas for Homeschool Learning

    If you’re looking for an inexpensive way to liven up your school day, grab a bucket of sidewalk chalk and head outside. While it’s easy enough to let kids go wild and create whatever they want, consider adding some structure and hands-on education to your outdoor chalk time.

    Below you’ll find activities focusing on a variety of subjects —math, science, language arts— that have one element in common; they can all be done outside with sidewalk chalk. These activities are adaptable, so feel free to use these directions as a springboard for your own fun! Modify the ideas below depending on your child’s age and ability.

    Engage Your Kids with These Chalk Activities and Games

    1. Chalk Sundial

    In an area of full sun, draw a large circle with chalk. Mark off the center of the circle. Early in the day, at the top of the hour, have someone stand on the center mark. Then, have someone else draw the shadow that is created. At the shadow’s edge, write down the time. Throughout the day, repeat the process. You’ll see the shadow moving across the circle.

    Questions to ask:

    • How does the sundial work to tell time?
    • How accurate is a sundial?

    2. Math Path

    Draw a large hopscotch board; feel free to extend it by adding extra boxes. Place a different number inside each box. Give your child a specific math function to solve in order to move into each box. For example let’s say you have the number 63 in the first box. Say, “Use division to get to 63.”

    Make it harder:

    • Instead of having them solve one math equation, make them answer many to move into a box. Using the above example, ask them to use addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division to get to 63.
    • As they move along the boxes, have kids determine whether a number is a prime number or not.

    3. Spelling Circles

    Draw many circles across a large area of your driveway. Write one letter into each circle. Give your child a word to spell and have them move among the circles, spelling it out.

    Variations:

    • Instead of having kids move from letter to letter, give them a specific movement. For example, “For this word, skip through the letters.”
    • Let your student create words from the letters in the circles. If you want to make it more challenging, have them stick to different word lengths each round, for example six letter words.

    Additional Outdoor Chalk Projects

    Build a Story

    Write a list of random words using chalk, and have your child jump from word to word, making up a creative story as they move along. You can also do this with two people by letting them take turns choosing words but contributing to the same story.

    History Timeline

    Choose a period a historical figure from your history lessons and create a timeline. Include both dates and pictures. Stick figures are welcome!

    Recreate a Masterpiece

    Have your child choose a piece of art they love and then let them make it with chalk. Discuss the pros and cons of using chalk as an art medium.

    Solar System

    Kids won’t be able to draw a life sized solar system, but they can chalk one using proper ratios. Have your student do some math and measure out each planet to make an impressive solar system.

    Whatever you decide to do, the main thing is to have fun while you’re learning! There are all kinds of chalk available, including neon colors, glow in the dark, and glitter. Hunt around for special chalks to make this outdoor learning activity extra special.

  • Five Ways to Have a Successful Family Reading Time

    Five Ways to Have a Successful Family Reading Time

    Although having a family reading time is important to my family, I realize that with the numerous other obligations a homeschool mama has, reading aloud as a family might not seems doable. Our family reading time is one of our favorite times of the day, but it didn’t always look like it does now. Here are five easy tips to help you and your family have an awesome daily reading time together:

    1. Be choosy about the time of day.  

    Your family reading time will be affected by the ages of your children and your daily activities. It may also change over time, depending on how your schedule shifts through the year. Choose a time of day that is more relaxed. If your evenings are always very hectic, that probably isn’t a good time for you.  

    We used to read in the mornings before school until the baby became a toddler. Our family reading time suffered while our mobile little sweetie was getting into everything under the sun. To say she was distracting is an understatement. We ultimately moved our reading time to evenings after the baby was in bed and after the older kids were showered and ready for bed themselves. Changing our family reading time to evening made it a great transition into bedtime.

    2. Choose books that interest your children.

    If your children can’t stand fanciful stories, don’t read them. Find an author that they love, and read his or her books. My kids love Roald Dahl! On the flipside, challenge your kids to try new literature styles, too. But make sure that they are having fun. Family reading time should not be torture.

    3. Read an array of books together.

    Sometimes I chose books that correlate with the season or an upcoming holiday. Sometimes my selections go with what we are studying in science or history.  Other times they don’t match our homeschool lessons at all.

    The point is that I select a wide variety of books, authors, and subjects.  Changing it up keeps family reading time from getting dry and boring.  Let your children suggest books they want to read.  Other times choose for them.

    4. Keep little hands busy.

    I have been reading to my kids for a long time, ever since they were very small. I’ve even read chapter books to my three-year-olds, but to expect them to sit still and not wiggle is unrealistic. Have a special activity that your little ones can do while you read. Make sure this activity is mostly mindless like these examples:

    • squeezing silly putty
    • stacking and unstacking blocks
    • matching socks

    This kind of physical action will keep them mostly stationary and quiet while you read. They may still be moving while they do their activity, but they are listening!

    5. Be consistent.

    When I’ve tried to read only one chapter every week or so, I almost never finish the novel. Being consistent in your reading time is key to being successful. With too much space between reading sessions, your kids (and you) will forget what is going on in the story. Shoot for at least reading four times per week.  It will start to become part of your daily routine, and your kids will miss it when you don’t read.

    Happy reading to your family!

    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.

  • How I Found a Homeschool Schedule That Works

    How I Found a Homeschool Schedule That Works

    We have just started our fifth year of homeschooling with BookShark and have changed our schedule through the years to fit various stages of our life. I’ve learned to make my curriculum flex for me and my kids while also trusting it to lay a solid academic foundation. I know that BookShark doesn’t need extra dressing up beyond a healthy layer of real-life exploration. But how I arrange the lessons is up to me!

    The BookShark Instructor’s Guides offer an easy-to-understand four-day schedule that shows me precisely what to cover in each subject each day—what to read, what to talk about, what words to learn, what timeline figures to place in the Timeline Book, what locations to mark on the Markable Map, what Science activities to do, etc. It’s a relief to have a base to work from! I don’t have to spend energy planning lessons.

    Sticking to My Instructor’s Guide… or Not

    Sticking to the schedule benefits my kids since the subjects are so often intertwined. I find we get an an even richer learning experience when we work through the Instructor’s Guide as planned. For example, currently our Science, History, and Readers are all set in a relatively close time period, allowing us to dive deep into the mind-set of early American days. Keeping with the same time period means that the bulk of our lessons all relate back and forth with each other.

    While staying with the schedule is my preferred method, we have frequently found ourselves in a groove and excited to continue a History lesson to the point we may get several days ahead. Most days we want to work on all subjects, and other days we may power through an entire week of Science in one sitting. We can do that! I let the curriculum flex for me!

    We choose to homeschool because it offered our family the greatest flexibility in our school schedule. Even when our schedule may look different from one week to the next, BookShark has worked well with our changes.

    Homeschooling with a Four-day Schedule

    BookShark’s four-day schedule gives our family the opportunity to enjoy an extra family day or a learning day without books. We enjoy museums and will frequently use our extra day off as a field trip day to learn more with hands-on activities at a children’s science museum or an early American homestead.

    We have also used our extra day off to do more in-depth studying of things that interest us at the time. Robotics, foreign language, and crafts frequently fill our fifth day.

    The four-day schedule is a great choice for families who want to enjoy a three-day weekend or who elect one day a week for field trips, extra-curricular activities, or homeschool co-op.

    Using the Fifth Day for Rabbit Holes

    We generally plan for a four-day week, but homeschooling has allowed us the opportunity to jump down the many rabbit holes that come about with learning. We can take our four-day schedule and spread it over five days. This means we may start out talking about an early American family’s water well and then start learning about the water table and finally study the water cycle. We might begin a lesson on the ocean and end up spending an hour with our map discussing geography. I don’t plan these rabbit hole days, but I always welcome them and love that we can adjust our schedule and not stress about getting back on track.

    Stretching a four-day schedule into five days gives us more time to spend on each subject and encourages more in-depth learning on subjects our family is interested in.  

    Keeping a Traditional School Schedule

    Following a local school’s schedule can be important for many families. It is a great way to keep on track with your school year and still get plenty of breaks during the year. When we began our first year homeschooling, we went this route and it worked well for us then. We had plenty of breaks and certainly plenty of days for learning, too.

    Choosing Year-round Schooling

    We currently choose to homeschool year-round. Although we do take a significant number of days off in the summer, I’ve found it works better for our family if we do not take two whole months off school. During the summer, we take more field trips since our local museums, libraries, and parks have great summer programs, packed full of learning opportunities.

    Our family loves to travel, so year-round schooling lets us do school while others are out on break. This means we can take our breaks during the school year in the off-season. Traveling while others are in school means the beaches are less crowded, the airfare is reduced, and the hotels are more affordable. Win-win!

    Year round schooling is a great option to avoid summer boredom while providing room for more breaks throughout the year.

    I found a homeschool schedule that works for me by being flexible and making changes when needed. Being willing to try new routines has helped me find my homeschool groove. Now I’m confident in my choices and know that I can change my schedule each year if I need to!o turn your non-reader into a reader. Some readers bloom later than others! And your investment may pay off in years to come.

    About the Author

    Pamela Gann lives in Alabama with her husband and two kids where they love doing science experiments. They began their homeschool journey back in 2013 and have used BookShark Levels K -4. Pam is a former flight attendant and is married to a pilot, so traveling is not just their passion—it is their livelihood. She blogs about their homeschool and family travel journey at PamGann. Homeschooling for their family takes place on planes, in cars, and most often outside under a shade tree.

  • Help! My Child Doesn’t Like to Read

    Help! My Child Doesn’t Like to Read

    When I started homeschooling many years ago, one of my main goals was to raise readers. As an avid reader myself, I’ve always understood the value of reading. It expands our vocabulary, teaches us, ignites our imagination, challenges us, transports us to amazing worlds, and so much more.

    I knew I wouldn’t be able to teach my girls everything, but if they could read well and enjoyed the process, they would be able to learn anything they wanted to. So I did whatever I could to make reading exciting and accessible. Here are ways to nudge your child toward becoming a lifelong reader.

    Create a Book Loving Home

    First, it’s important that our children know that we, as parents, think books are important. In our home, we have multiple bookshelves that are filled with a variety of books. Our Kindle ereaders get frequent attention. Library trips were (and still are) frequent and positive. We invest in a literature-rich homeschool curriculum.

    My husband and I read regularly, so our kids see us getting caught up in stories and hear us discuss what we’re reading. Remember that our kids tend to value what we value.

    What if you’ve done all you can think of and your child still doesn’t like to read? It’s time to ask yourself some questions.

    • Could your child have a learning disability, like dyslexia, that makes reading hard for him? Sure, we should all challenge ourselves by reading difficult books, but every time we pick up a story, it shouldn’t be a chore.

    We’re lucky that today, more than ever, there’s help available for those who have trouble reading. If this is an issue for your child, I would encourage you to seek assistance instead of deciding that he’s just never going to be a good reader.

    • Is your child a slow reader? Sometimes, especially with longer books, it’s hard to keep motivated when it seems to take forever to finish. Is he slow because he’s having trouble focusing? Is the story or vocabulary too challenging?

    Think about what can be done to break down any barriers for him. Reading isn’t a race, but see if you can help him pick up his pace, so he doesn’t get frustrated or lose interest while reading.

    Does she find the books she is reading boring? Do you let her choose her own books or is she regularly assigned reading material? Maybe she just hasn’t found the right subject to ignite her passion.

    Sure, children have to read books for school, even if they find them boring. Just make sure that you’re encouraging her to read for pleasure as well.

    4 More Tips for Turning a Non-Reader into a Reader

    • Spend part of your day reading aloud together, regardless of your child’s age. Yes, read aloud time is still valuable for teens! There is something very powerful about spending time as a family reading a story.
    • If the act of reading is challenging for your child, turn to audio books. By listening to books, instead of reading them, they can still develop the passion for the stories without having to struggle.
    • Introduce your child to a wide variety of books. Encourage her to explore the various genres and topics to find one that excites her. Make up a list and each time you go to the library, have her choose one or two different types. You both might be surprised by what grabs her attention!
    • Make sure your child is reading books that are at the right level for him. Books that are too hard or too easy can turn off a child’s interest. Challenge him to move up his reading material as he grows, but don’t jump so far ahead that every page is difficult for him to understand.

    Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that homeschooling or following any of these tips will raise a reader. However, instead of throwing in the towel claiming, “my child’s just not a reader,” persevere in your efforts to turn your non-reader into a reader. Some readers bloom later than others! And your investment may pay off in years to come.

    About the Author

    Megan Zechman is a veteran homeschool mom of two girls. Over at Education Possible, she shares creative, hands-on learning activities for middle school.

  • Winter Field Trip Ideas for Homeschoolers

    Winter Field Trip Ideas for Homeschoolers

    Field trips are great way for homeschooling families to add excitement and some real life learning to their days. Do you get out of the house with your kids?

    It’s easy to take the time to get out during the spring and fall but a bit harder to get motivated during the colder winter months. It’s important, though.

    It can become tedious to stay at home most of the day—for both you and the kids. Field trips give you all a chance to get out of the house, get some fresh air, learn new things, and interact with new people. Here are some ideas for field trips that are educational and fun.

    Zoos, Wildlife Preserves, and State Parks

    Most cities and towns have zoos and wildlife preserves, and you probably live within driving distance of a great State Park. Most of these places have indoor sections—a nature center, an education area, an aquarium, or (like our zoo) an enclosed rainforest habitat.

    These places give kids a chance to experience natural science first-hand. They interact with animals and learn about the ones that live in their area of the world: what they eat, when they sleep, their social habits, and more.

    They’re also wonderful for learning about different plant species that our local animal life depend on for survival and how human actions may be impacting them. It might be helpful to look online to see what these places offer and then write up a list of questions your kids have. Then help them find the answers while they visit.

    Art Galleries

    Even if your kids aren’t particularly interested in art, most children find galleries fun and interesting. Many even have exhibits that feature the work of child artists or have a special hands-on section where children can touch or create art. Take a look around and have your children write down the names of their favorite artists. Afterwards you can research each artist and learn more about their lives and their work.

    History and Science Museums

    I love taking my kids to science centers and history museums. With my age spread (2, 6, 8, 13), those types of places usually hold each of their interests for long periods of time.

    History museums give the kids a look into mysterious times long ago. What child can resist a dinosaur, caveman, or ancient Egyptian exhibit? Not only can they see how people lived in times past, they can see first hand what prehistoric creatures like the wooly mammoth or the saber tooth tiger looked like.

    Science museums usually give kids an opportunity to learn about science by seeing different scientific principles in practice. They may be able to learn about pressure and the effects of gas by launching a bottle rocket or about lasers by using mirrors on a grid. These museums also have seasonal exhibits that are sure to excite your kiddos, so check with yours often to see what they offer.

    Follow up your trip to a museum with a visit to your library where you check out books for further reading about whatever your children are still curious about.

    Indoor Play Zones

    When all else fails, call ahead to an indoor play zone, a laser tag facility, or a trampoline or bounce house building. They may offer group rates, and you can put out a call to your homeschool groups and coops to have friends meet you there to let the kiddos blow off steam and let the mamas have some important adult conversation. Even the indoor playground at McDonald’s and a friend and her kids meeting for a late lunch has done wonders for my sanity. Try it out.

    Local field trip spots are not hard to find and your kids–and your sanity–will thank you as you get out and move during the winter months.

    About the Author

    Colleen is a former teacher of gifted children who hoped for nice, average kids. Since things never quite work out as planned, she now stays at home to homeschool her highly gifted kids, trying desperately to stay one step ahead of them while writing about their adventures {and messes} at Raising Lifelong Learners. You can find her avoiding housework by playing on the trampoline or going for hikes with her kids. 

  • 7 Ways to Afford a Boxed Homeschool Curriculum

    7 Ways to Afford a Boxed Homeschool Curriculum

    Do you want to use a boxed curriculum but worry that you can’t afford it? If you feel that a boxed curriculum like BookShark is best for your children, don’t give up on purchasing it because you’re intimidated by the price tag. You may find that with strategic planning, you can afford a boxed curriculum.

    Before looking for additional money in your budget, first put the price into perspective. For example, consider the price per child if multiple children will be using it.

    Let’s say you have a fifth grader, a first grader, and a preschooler. If you purchase the fifth grade BookShark complete package for approximately $998, you receive materials for all the subjects your child needs—readers, read alouds, history, language arts, math, science, and spelling.

    If you keep the curriculum, you’ll be able to use it when your second child reaches fifth grade and again when your third child reaches that age. Of course, you’ll need to replace the consumables which cost approximately $350 per child. So, in this scenario, you’re able to teach three children the 5th grade complete curriculum for a grand total of $1,348, or approximately $450 per child. Suddenly, the curriculum has become much more affordable.

    Calculate how much you currently spend in one year to homeschool your children and compare that to the price on a complete curriculum. You may think that you’re not spending as much as a complete package, but that’s may be because you buy curriculum little by little throughout the year instead of all at once as you would with a boxed curriculum.

    Use Your Tax Refund

    Some families who live on a very tight budget earmark their tax refund or a portion of it to buy curriculum each year. A refund typically comes in the late winter or early spring, just the time you are starting to consider your curriculum choices for the upcoming fall.

    Save Each Month

    Another option is to set aside a certain amount every month to pay for the curriculum you anticipate buying. If you’re buying the full package for third grade and Kindergarten, for example, you’ll be paying approximately $2,418 for the year, so you’ll need to set aside $202 a month to pay for the curriculum.

    When your children get older, your monthly saving plan will be less expensive because you can save a program for the next child. When the children in the above example are in sixth and third grades, you will need to spend only $1570 ($1200 for the full sixth grade curriculum and $370 for the consumables for the 3rd grade curriculum). In this example, you’ll need to set aside only $130 a month.

    Teach Your Children Together

    If your children are within two to three grades of one another, you can combine them for their studies in history, literature, and science. So, if you have a fourth grader and a second grader, you could choose to teach them at a level in the middle, perhaps 3rd grade, which is suitable for children ages 8 to 11. Keep in mind that you will still need to teach your children at grade level for math, language arts, handwriting, and spelling. By combining some parts of your curriculum, you can see substantial savings.

    Sell Your Used Curriculum

    Once you’re done with your curriculum and no longer have a younger child to use it, sell it. BookShark curriculum maintains its value. You can sell it via eBay or a BookShark used curriculum Facebook group. You can likely regain at least 50% of your purchase price especially if it’s relatively new and in good condition. You can also try to sell the curriculum at your local homeschool group, but you’ll likely make more money online.

    Buy a Used Set of Boxed Curriculum

    Since there is a booming market for used boxed curriculum, consider buying it used. You’ll likely pay only half the price of retail. When you’re done using the curriculum, you can sell it again and recoup a good portion of your investment.

    While you may initially think that a boxed curriculum is too expensive for your family, when you use these strategies, you may find that it’s comparable to other alternatives.

  • 3 Ways BookShark Curriculum Is a Bargain

    3 Ways BookShark Curriculum Is a Bargain

    Because I love BookShark curriculum, I tell all of my homeschooling friends about it. During such a discussion, it’s not uncommon for a friend to lament that while BookShark looks amazing, it’s just too expensive.

    Although this is a common misconception among many homeschoolers, I find the opposite to be true. The way I see it, BookShark is an affordable way to provide my child with a quality education.

    1. BookShark Versus Private School

    First, I compare BookShark’s cost to private school. When my oldest child was nearing school age, we immediately ruled out public schools because of an inferior school system in our local area. Instead, he attended a private school through third grade. 

    Since we qualified for tuition assistance at the private school, our monthly tuition payment was $258. Without financial aid, the payment would have been almost $600 a month! Annually, we were paying $3,096 a year for tuition with financial aid! On top of the base costs, we also had to pay for school supplies, uniforms, and fundraisers. With all those additional expenses, the yearly total was closer to $3,500 a year. Without financial aid, we would have paid $7,200 a year.  

    Yes, compared to private school, BookShark’s full grade curriculum packages of approximately $800 to $1000 a year are a bargain! Plus, I find BookShark’s curriculum far superior to the education my son received in private school.

    Better learning for less money? Yes! Sign me up.

    2. BookShark Versus DIY Curriculum

    Next, I compare BookShark to piecing together your own program. Most moms who tell me BookShark is too expensive are frugal with their money and like to make smart financial choices. They usually prefer to piece together their children’s curriculum by buying used novels and second-hand Instructor’s Guides. This can be a great way to go. I tried it myself during the early years of homeschooling.

    What I found, though, is that when buying used, I spent more money than I anticipated over the course of the year. Some of the books I purchased weren’t as described —filled with highlighting and pencil marks, for example, so I’d have to spend more money buying the product again, hopefully in better condition.

    What’s worse, I spent far too much of my valuable time searching for the items I needed, corresponding with sellers, and tracking down sellers who didn’t send my product in a timely manner. For me, the few hundred dollars I saved buying used wasn’t worth the hassle, frustration, and time. Now I prefer to buy my BookShark curriculum new, in pristine condition, ready for my child.

    3. BookShark Versus Single Use Curriculum

    If you homeschool more than one child, the cost of using BookShark curriculum goes down each time you use it with your next child. I have a seventh grader who has used Levels D and E and is currently in Level F. I also have two younger children who are currently in Level B. When they get to Level D, which I already own, I’ll only need to buy the consumables for them, making my yearly cost approximately $300! You really can’t beat that price for a year of quality instruction. Then, when my younger children are done with the material, I’ll sell it used and recoup some of the money I originally spent, lowering my overall cost even further.

    While on the surface some may think BookShark curriculum is expensive, when you compare it to the expense of private school, the time spent to piece together used books, and the savings from reusing a particular curriculum package, BookShark can be seen for what it is—a quality education at a very affordable price.

    About the Author

    Melissa is a homeschool mom to three kids. BookShark is her primary curriculum, and she and her kids love it! When she’s not homeschooling, she’s either shuttling kids from one activity to another or working from home as a freelance writer. You can read more about Melissa’s homeschool journey at her blog Moms Plans.

  • 7 Tips for Handling New Vocabulary During Read-Alouds

    7 Tips for Handling New Vocabulary During Read-Alouds

    Reading books to our children isn’t merely an ideal way to cement family relationships or enjoy a pleasant afternoon. It’s also an excellent method to introduce new vocabulary words to our children and help them master those words.

    Here are seven easy tips for teaching and reviewing new vocabulary learned during read-alouds with your children. Pick and choose from these different options. You don’t want to use every tip for each new word you encounter. Choose the words that you think are most integral to the story or words that your children are most likely to encounter in their daily lives or academic reading. 

    1. Stop and define the word

    Stop reading as soon as you run into the new word and define it immediately. Your children will immediately hear the word in context and how it’s used in literature.

    2. Ask children to define the word

    Instead of defining the word yourself, ask your children if they know what it means. If they don’t, help the children figure out what the word means from the context and see who can come up with the best guess.

    3. Look it up in the dictionary

    Another way to learn a new vocabulary word is to look it up in the dictionary after you ask the children to predict what the word means. This is also an excellent way to teach dictionary skills and ingrain the lifelong habit of checking the dictionary for any definitions the child doesn’t know.be assured that you can cover nearly every academic subject with almost any topic. Look for the connections between your child’s current passion and math, science, social studies, English, writing, and history. And then set them free to learn with full excitement!

    4. Write it down to look up later

    Instead of stopping the storyline in the middle of action and possibly losing children’s interest, keep a notepad next to you and write down any words you’d like to discuss later. Discuss and look up the words after you’ve finished the day’s read aloud. 

    5. Review new vocabulary at the end of the session

    Defining new words is important, but it’s also just as important to help the kids retain the new vocabulary words. As you finish the day’s read aloud, ask the children to review the new vocabulary words and their meaning with you. See who can remember the most words and hand out high fives to the kids as they define the vocabulary.

    6. Define words at dinner time

    Every evening review the new words at dinner time. Make an impromptu game to see who can use the most new vocabulary words at the dinner table. How many unique and challenging sentences can be spoken?

    7. Use the word as many times as possible

    Use the words yourself as many times as you can during the next week. The children may not use the vocabulary word in their spoken vocabulary, but even the smallest child will begin to understand the vocabulary words as they hear them in use.

    Read-alouds bring a wonderful opportunity to expand your children’s vocabulary. Using these seven tips to discuss and review the words in context will cement the vocabulary in your children’s mind better than any program.sitive emotional and social benefits far beyond merely escaping a negative public school environment where bullying is rampant.