How do you school multiple ages at the same time?

This is something I am emailed about a lot.

To be honest it mostly comes down to planning (hence our set school times) and making sure that each child gets some one on one time for the topic they are struggling with. For example - I might be working one on one with Rose on her letter and phonetic reading while the older two (Lilly and Sunflower) are researching and writing up some history work and Tulip is doing copy work. Or while Lilly is working on a new math topic, Sunflower and Tulip will be working on their geography maps while Rose does letter tracing.

I also rely on the girls teaching each other - this is a good way for the older girls to prove they understand a topic by sharing their knowledge with one of their sisters (and a nice way of freeing me up for some one on one time where needed)

The other lifesaver for me is joint lessons - where possible I use joint lessons so all the girls will sit together to discuss, read and narrate then be sent off to do some individual work/research based on what we've just learnt - science, history, geography and even math all lend themselves to this format in our house.

Science is a easy example - when I did the life cycle of stars presentation we all sat together,
did the activity together, discussed it together, then they split off to do some individual work on it which consisted of the older girls writing (in their own words) in their science journals and the younger ones working with the 3 part cards, stamps and star crafts.

Or when we did the human body, after the activity Lilly and Sunflower drew and labelled diagrams while Tulip did a body system puzzle.

History usually involves reading about it together, individual narration (they either tell me in their own words what we've just read or answer questions on what we studied) and then, depending on age, write it up or do a craft/draw a picture.

Geography also works well as a joint lesson - we study the country together then they split with the older girls doing some more research about life in that country while the younger ones trace a map of the country or draw the flag etc.

Math is a great example - when we studied square numbers together the oldest 3 each drew diagrams or suck square stickers to represent them while Rose went off to the kitchen and used Shreddies (a square shaped breakfast cereal) to match the square numbers.

The joy of joint lessons for me is the way they all grasp the knowledge better when working together - Rose was 3 1/2 when we did the life cycle of a star lesson but she wanted to know more about it than her bigger sisters did and we ended up reading star and space books to her for weeks.

Learning over the holidays

Christmas is a time for us to slow down and that is reflected in the girls workload over the holidays.

We stop our more structured work and switch to read alouds. We pick history books that cover topics they are interested in,  history stories and science books.

These are some of the books we are reading at the moment 

We don't ditch math work over the holidays - we just change how we do it. I love living maths and we have a number of favourite books

we also love math games so area war, 

200 down

and dot to dots have all featured heavily over the last couple of weeks.

My favourite math activity over the last couple of weeks has been bedtime math - I got the free app and each day they have a new math question for the girls to solve and as it comes with questions for big kids as well as little kids and wee ones, they all get a turn to answer : )

Why I'm thankful for Homeschooling

With Thanksgiving fast approaching it gave me pause to stop and think about what I'm grateful for in my life and right near the top of that list is homeschooling.

So here is a list of what I am thankful for in our homeschool

• That I live in a country with the freedom to home educate my children and my prayers go out to those who live where there is no choice.
• That my husband supports my decision (even on the tough days where the housework has slid into oblivion 'cause we were stuck doing decimals).
• The chance to watch my children discover and explore the world around them.
• To experience their joy of discovery and watch their faces light up when it finally clicks. 
• That my children get a chance to be kids and are not forced to grow up too fast.
• That I learn something new every day (even if it's just that the average chocolate bar has 8 insect legs in or that a chickens bottom is called a fluff)
• For the friendships between my girls - I think if they weren't together every day then they wouldn't be as close as they are.
• That they have time to explore areas of interest to them (hence why Lilly has spent the last month reading loads of Greek and Roman myths).
• That they are willing to question (and even correct me when I'm wrong).
• For the like minded friends they have and the support they give us.
• The flexibility it gives us to personalise work to their individual learning style, level and needs.
• For the extra time we get to spend with them.

feel free to share why you love homeschooling too :)

The Science of Fireworks Activity Day

We had a great activity day last week all about the science behind fireworks.

We made sparklers,

explored the colours produced by different chemicals when they burn,

made paper rockets and catherine wheels,

made fireworks in a jar,

talked about the science involved in making bonfire toffee/honeycomb

and turned safety matches into strike anywhere matches

At Home in Dogwood Mudhole - TOS Book Review

 

DH has always accused me of being a closet farmer (usually when I'm trudging out in my wellies to give the chickens some extra warm water in the winter snows) so I was happy to be offered the chance to review 'At home in Dogwood Mudhole'  volume 1: Nothing That Eats, by Franklin Sanders.

At Home in Dogwood Mudhole is a series of three books (two currently available), comprised of a collection of letters that he wrote chronicling their life from 1995 through 2002. These cover the family moving from the city out to a small farm and their experiences including the how they adapted to farming, family life, strange animals, his faith and great (or quirky) businesses they've met along the way.

I was just expecting a farming story so was pleasantly surprised to discover this is a bit of a history book as well - I've learnt loads about southern traditions, the American Civil War and re-enactments. 
Because this book is a series of letters, rather than a 'story', it makes for an easy read - you can sit, grab a quick 5 mins and just read a chapter or dedicate an evening to getting hooked and seeing if their chickens can survive their dogs.

The writing is candid, humorous and engaging, almost too engaging - I often lost track of time when reading this. There are certainly parts of the book that really speak to you (like deciding how much a pet is worth in vet bills or to quote the book 'the $30 dog that becomes a $1000 dog') and parts that make you laugh out loud (the horse squaring off with the dogs over the dog food or the suicidal guinea pigs). 

What I've enjoyed MOST about At Home in Dogwood Hole is the authenticity. It's all about real people - their learning curve, celebrations and all the joys and sorrows that come with family life. I'm pleased to say it's made me laugh, gasp and even shed a tear or two.
This book would be a great read for anyone interested in a down-to-earth lifestyle - I'd happily recommend it for adults and teens.

You can purchase At Home in Dogwood Mudhole for $22.95 in paperback or $16.95 for Kindle/PDF copy.

You can see what my crew mates thought over at the TOS Blog