Teaching Your Child to Read : Blending 101

I have taught two of my own children to read. Let me help you teach your child to read!  One of the hardest concepts is blending, connecting the sounds of the letters, so you can hear the word that you are saying. This tutorial is designed specifically for your child.

The "Unofficial" School Room

I, have seen so many super cute pictures on Pinterest of school rooms people have set up in their homes. I have to admit, it makes me a little jealous. We have a decent size home, but our rooms are all tied up at the moment being, well, other kinds of rooms. This spot here will make a great office or school room one day, but for the time being, it is a play room! Instead, I have "school" hiding all over my house.

I have a nice looking dry erase board in my kitchen, a basket of supplies on the kitchen counter, bookcases tucked behind furniture and many other little clues that learning goes on here, scattered throughout my home.

Growing up, we did school at the dinning room table, on the couch, in our rooms, on the swing set. Sure, if you've got the space and want to create a more structured area for schooling to take place, as Julia has done, then go for it!

On the other hand, don't feel pressured to make your home resemble a public school classroom. Do whatever works for you! ~Sarah

Be sure to visit iHomeschool Network's collection of school room ideas: Here  and check out Julia's "Official" School Room: Here

Homeschool House

This is what our school area looks like. Our homeschool house is located in the basement. In one of the corners we set up shop. I wanted one of these U-Shaped teacher's desk and my husband found one in the trash. I put Natalie on one side of the table and Noah on the other side.

I took closer pictures from left to right. I have a section for the verse of the week, Spelling list of the week, and Hymn of the the week. I really enjoy teaching with a white board. The kids love using one as well. Below the white board I have a six pouch divider from IKEA mainly with flash cards.

This shelf in the middle behind the teaching desk is a life saver. I really enjoy having the teacher's manuals and student books vertically. I seemed to forget what I had when they were stacked on top of each other horizontally. I have games and manipulatives on the far right. The divider on the floor has each of their subjects. One side is for Natalie and one is for Noah. The top two shelves are for them to put in whatever they want coloring books, etc.

The other side has a magnetic board. We put the list of subjects for the the day, and any papers that qualified for stickers or they were just particularly proud of. Something they want to show Daddy. It does not get lost that way.

To the right of the magnetic board, I have space for a Composer of the week and an Artist for the week. I typically model those after an episode of Little Einsteins. It makes it easy to chose and an easy format for them to relate. 

Almost every preschool has a weather chart. We are no exception. This is from Bob Jones FootSteps For Fours.

I have a closet where I store my other materials by subject (except PreSchool). I find that old paper boxes work great! Again, I like to see my stuff.

If you have read my entire post, I guess I trust you to see what my school area looked like before I cleaned it up for the picture :) ~Julia

Check out many other HomeSchool Room options at iHomeschool Network.

IXL.com A Great Website for Math - Try It Free

Click Here to Try It Free

Where have I been?  It seems like everyone knows about the website ixl.com, but me. Over the past year I have had two other homeschooling moms refer it to me, but I never got around to making it happen.  I finally plugged in, and the kids are loving it.  Natalie is 5 and takes it very seriously if she misses a question. She loves getting her medals! (Awards that show up on the screen after you answer so many questions successfully) Noah is 3 and loves the fact that he's on the computer! I love the fact that he is working on Pre-K Math. Fortunately for me, if you click it will read the questions and answers for you since he's a touch shy of reading math problems :)

Click Here to Try It Free

How does it work? You are able to pick any grade that you want starting with Pre-K through Algebra. The great part is you have access to your state's standards for each grade, and you get  performance tracking for each child. For example, if I ask Natalie to complete the section on reading clocks, I can see how much time she spent, how many questions she attempted, and get a grading of the questions she answered: mastered, satisfactory, needs improvement.

If a question is answered incorrectly, the answer is explained. They both learn in a fun and easy way. I find that review is very important, but I don't always remember to do it. For example, she learned all of her shapes a couple of years ago and I noticed recently she was struggling with the difference between a hexagon and octagon.  Now I am able to have her click on shapes and she gets to play for her review.

Yesterday a friend came over with her girls and ixl.com was still up on the computer. She started to go on and on about how much fun her girls have with the website.  I thought, "Really!?!, I am the last one!" So, if you have not heard of it before or just have not gotten around to checking it out, do it!! Twenty free problems are available per day. You will not have access to tracking performance that way, but you can get an idea of what the problems are and if your kids are addicted like mine. ~Julia

Our Boxes Came!

We were so excited to come home today and find 2 boxes waiting for us on the porch! I knew right away what they must be. Let me tell you, I placed both the Heart of Dakota and the Christianbook.com order on Tuesday and they both arrived today! That's with standard shipping. Pretty impressive! Natalie was very excited. Taylor on the other hand, was a bit disappointed. The boxes everything came in were not big enough to fit his entire body...

Looking through everything, I am pretty happy with this selection. Initially, I am a little disappointed that the Heart of Dakota teacher's guide is bound, rather than in a spiral or 3 ring notebook. I was hoping to put it into my own binder. O well, minor details.

Pictured above is an inside view of the Heart of Dakota teacher's guide, and below is a side view.

I had a quick feeling of regret for buying the complete Horizon's Math kit. My thought was, could I have made do without the teacher's guide and saved a lot of money? But, after looking through it, I think the teacher's guide is going to be a very nice thing to have (it includes answer keys, scope and sequence, assessment tests, worksheets, and daily lesson plans).

Being a very visual learner myself, I love that Horizons is colorful and visually appealing. My only gripe about the teachers guide, is that it too is not spiral bound and includes reproducible worksheets that will be a pain to copy. Horizons does offer these worksheets in an unbound format on their website for an additional $10, but I'd really appreciate a free PDF version since I did already purchase the curriculum!

None of the books are overwhelmingly huge. They are all lightweight and colorful from what I can tell!

Pictured above is the American Pioneers and Patriots history textbook we will be using (though the word "textbook" may be a bad word to use because I instantly think: dry and boring) This book is pretty small and colorful!

Pictured here is the Boys and Girls of Colonial Days. 

The God's Wonderful Works science book, pictured below, looks fun! I like the way it is set up, to cover earth science by focusing on the 6 days of creation and what God created on each of those days.

Pictured above is the Stories of the Pilgrims book.

Of course I will be adding in a stack of 20 or so, other early readers, biographies, and literature books to go along with this pile! I will refer in later posts, to the book lists I will be using. It's nice to know though, that this is my core. Everything that needs to be covered is right here. There will be days we only cover the basics. However, throughout the year I also hope to add in and enrich these core subjects with activities, stories and projects that will speak to Natalie's specific learning style, interests and gifts. After all, that is one of the best parts about homeschooling!

Decisions, Decisions

Well, it's official. I've laid out money and have committed to a program! I had made the decision a while ago, to use a structured program that would come with a teachers guide and lesson plans already laid out for each day. I've pieced together my own preschool and kindergarten material for Natalie, and will be again this year for Taylor, but really wanted the simplicity and structure of a program for 1st grade.


After weeks of pouring over reviews and revisiting all the programs I had used as a child or heard about in recent months, I've gone with something new! I had never heard of Heart of Dakota publishing before, but after reading about it on Cathy Duffy's web site, purchasing her 101 Top Picks book, and searching the internet for unbiased reviews, I was impressed by what other people have been saying about it. I purchased it today, and from what I hear, due to their family run business and great customer service, should expect to receive it soon!

Here's what I ordered for Natalie's First Grade Year of School

The Economy Package from Heart of Dakota - which includes:

• Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory Teachers Guide (designed for ages 6-8) Check out the simplicity of their set-up (love it)! Beyond Little Hearts Sample Page
• American Pioneers and Patriots (Christian Liberty Press)
• Stories of the Pilgrims (Christian Liberty Press)
• Boys and Girls of Colonial Days

Rather than order the deluxe package through them, I chose to purchase their recommended science book, but went with Horizons math instead of Singapore math (which is what they use). I ordered the following through christianbook.com:

• God's Wonderful Works (Christian Liberty Press)
• Horizons Math 1 complete set (Alpha Omega Publications)
• Hide 'Em in Your Heart 1 and 2 

I already have a lot of extra resources, learning aides, elective material, etc. A couple of the books I already own and plan on using include:

• The Explode the Code series 
• The Italics Handwriting series

The teachers guide for Heart of Dakota includes spelling lists and lessons, as well as suggested activities to go along with each day's reading in history, science, math, etc. I bought the Hide 'Em in Your Heart CD because I've wanted a copy anyways, and they tie in the songs with a weekly memory verse. I will be using my own Bible curriculum (probably building off of whatever our church is using this Fall for the Wednesday night Kids Club lessons). I will also be using my own literature, early readers and read-alouds. After years of using Sonlight Curriculum as a child, I am grateful to my mom for saving most of the readers! Because of this, in addition to the local library, I have quite an extensive collection of books to go along with our study in American history. Reading lists are available through Heart of Dakota and Sonlight, which can be handy guides.

I have a friend that will be ordering this same package, with the exception of a different choice in math, to use with her son that will be in second grade. Our kids will be studying the same period in history and science, but will use math curriculum tailored to their individual levels and needs. Since Natalie is my oldest, and the only one I am purchasing a formal curriculum for this year, we will put Heart of Dakota to the test! My plan in the future is to keep all three of my kids studying the same period in history. That may or may not be possible, using Heart of Dakota, but that can be decided later.

I spent about $200 dollars on all this, which I am pretty happy with considering most of the items will be reusable for my other 2 kids. I did a quick check of the usual places (Amazon, Ebay, Halfpricebooks.com and others) and didn't find any better prices than just ordering through the two places I mentioned above. I wanted to order what I could, through Heart of Dakota anyways, knowing they are a family owned and operated business. 

That's all for now! What will you be using this Fall?

~Sarah

Happy Saturday!

Today is a much needed relaxing day here at the Lemp home. We've been on the go a lot and fighting off Summer colds. Of course I say we're relaxing, but my version of relaxing involves turning a movie on for the kids and pouring over my computer screen for curriculum reviews. I just purchased the updated, pdf version of Cathy Duffy's 101 Top Picks for Homeschooling Curriculum
17.99 well spent!

I am liking the looks of Singapore Math all the more, as well as the Heart of Dakota curriculum kits that use a combination of Singapore math, Christian Liberty Press books, lots of read-a-louds and historical fiction for kids similar to Sonlight's selection of books. Their teachers guides are SUPER user friendly. They are also super flexible and leave room to substitute your own math program and phonics programs. I've realized I am basically trying to find a smaller scale, more condensed version of Sonlight! The search continues...
~Sarah

School this Fall

Well, the Summer is passing quickly, as it always does! I am trying not to stress over preparations for this coming school year. As many of you know, I was homeschooled myself from Kindergarten (back when it was practically illegal!) up through my highschool graduation. I have a great memory of my childhood and remember pretty clearly what curriculum worked well for my siblings and I, which books we loved and what books we despised. This knowledge has definitely given me a head start and extra confidence, but there are so many options out there and new publishers springing up all the time.



My oldest daughter is going to be 6 this Fall and will be working at the 1st grade level. I've pieced together a variety of books and activities for her over the past couple years to cover Preschool and Kindergarten level work. I've purchased a lot of stuff at Dollar Tree, library book sales, Costco and Amazon. Not to mention all the free stuff found on-line and in my mom's home library. She has tested at a 2nd grade reading level and 1st grade math level. Even though her birth date is on the line between placing her in Kindergarten or 1st grade, we'll proceed with first grade level curriculum. I feel that with her officially starting 1st grade, it is time to get serious!

I want to share my journey with you through the vast sea of curriculum choices. I haven't made any final decisions yet, but I wanted to share what I am currently looking into. Though I was homeschooled myself, this will be my first child starting out in homeschooling. I have a 4 year old and a 1 year old following behind her. I am also departing on this journey with a friend and her son who will be in 2nd grade. My hope is to find a curriculum that is all-encompassing, complete, with an easy to use teachers guide, lots of customization options and flexibility, i want it to follow the classical education and Charlotte Mason models, to be literature rich and use lots of stories that bring history to life, oh and I want it to be cheap! Am I asking too much? We shall see...

If money was no object, I would totally just purchase, without question, a complete package through Sonlight Curriculum. My family used this for years, and we loved it! But a complete package through them can cost $800+ dollars. You get A LOT of stuff for your money, but still, that's a lot of money. Their packages can also be used for multiple siblings at various grade levels, which helps cut the cost for families with multiple school age kids. Of course, the advantage I have that my parents did not, is the invention of ebay, craigslist and Amazon used books. No matter what curriculum path I choose to follow, I will always explore the option of piecing things together individually, be it used or discounted.

Follow my trail! Here is a list of the places I have stopped in at this week:

1. Cathy Duffy Reviews - Number one site for reviews! Buy her e-book for a complete list, some of her reviews are available free on this site
2. Sonlight Curriculum - Somewhat pricey, but a great curriculum that is super fun!
3. My Fathers World Curriculum - A top contender for this Fall
4. Heart of Dakota Publishing - An other top contender for this Fall
5. Calvert Homeschool - A serious education with live support and optional teacher involvement/assessment, but it will cost you over $1,000 a year. Not for me.
6. Christian Liberty Press - A basic package of everything you'd need, without a lot of extras. No reading books included. Uses basic text books, so it would be up to you to supplement with stories and activities to bring things to life. Not a bad price though; around $150 for younger grades, $200 for older students.
7. The Well Trained Mind
8. CBD: Homeschooling
9. 10 Tips

My main focuses is to find a good math and science curriculum that works well with my daughter's learning style, build a history program that is literature rich and works through time chronologically, then add in handwriting, spelling, Bible, etc. I want my friend and I, who has the son in 2nd grade, to be on the same page in history (literally!). To work through stories from history and read the same classic literature pieces, so that our kids have that continuity and we can team up for field trips and reports that support the period we are studying. I also want to lay the groundwork, so that when my two youngest children are school age, they can jump in on the same time period in history we are currently studying, only using their own age specific math, science, reading level books, etc.

 Has anyone out there used Heart of Dakota or My Fathers World curriculum? I am currently searching for reviews. Keep checking in and sharing insights from your own journey through curriculum choices!
~Sarah

Getting Started Homeschooling

I wanted to pass this on because it is so good for anyone setting off on the road to homeschooling. It is the perfect time to start planing if you hope to begin homeschooling for the first time this coming Fall. You have plenty of time! I've referenced this site before, but go ahead, start here at confessionsofahomeschooler.com I am loving her stuff more and more. It is all so well organized and inspirational. I am still in the process of working through all this info myself, but I love, love, love her opening line in the post entitled 10 Days of Homeschool Enrichment:

"Homeschooling is a ministry"

Take time to read through this info, and break it up into the 10 day plan that she has outlined.

10 Days of Homeschool Enrichment

Happy reading! ~Sarah

My Top Picks

I was in the process of compiling a list of homeschooling resources for a friend, when I thought, why not utilize this for a blog entry? So here ya go, a collection of some of my favorites (just off the top of my head)!
 General Information:
Information Network for Christian Homes
Home School Legal Defense 
The Well Trained Mind

Curriculum:
Sonlight Curriculum
CBD Homeschool Store
Calvert School

Conventions:
INCH Convention - MI

Blogs:
Confessions of a Homeschooler
Living Life Intentionally

Educational Games:
Starfall
PBS Kids

Specifics:
Power Glide: French
Power Glide: Spanish
Key Curriculum Math
Apologia Science
Explode the Code: Phonics and Reading
Italic Handwriting
Saxon Math
Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons


Must Reads:

Why Homeschool? (Part 2)

I've come to grips with the fact that homeschooling will never be the popular option. I find myself quite often, on guard with family members, friends, and perfect strangers that find the need to express their opinions, preconceived ideas or worst case scenarios of homeschooling. This has forced me to be very prepared and ready with answers. 

Before I continue, since I am often inclined to start with a disclaimer, I would like to state that I mean no disrespect to teachers. My grandmother was a teacher, I have two sister-in-laws that are teachers, aunts and several close friends that are teachers. When I talk about confidently teaching my own kids and providing them with a good education, I am talking about something very different than overseeing a classroom of 30 students. Teachers go through extensive training and accreditation to skillfully manage a classroom and oversee the education of many students at varying skill levels and learning styles. I am talking about working one-on-one, through a structured curriculum, with my own children, who I know better than anyone. So, without further ado, here is my list of top 10 reasons we have chosen to homeschool: 

1. Because I love my children and want to cherish the time I have with them while they are young! 
2. Because I'm somewhat of a control freak and don't trust anyone else raising my kids! 
3. Because I want control over what topics are introduced and taught to my kids and at what age they will learn about them. 
4. I want control over what my kids are learning instead of having theories and views imposed upon them that are contrary to our beliefs (side note: quality private schooling may be a valid option for this reason, but is currently out of the question, simply because of our financial situation). 
5. I can individualize our curriculum to meet each of my kid's specific learning styles and follow along at their pace, rather than holding them back or pushing them too fast for the sake of keeping up with the average student. 
6. I don't have to worry about school shootings, kids bringing knives into the classroom, bullying or negative peer pressure. Anyone that thinks I am sheltering my elementary age kids and depriving them of those important life experiences is a nut job! 
7. We can set our own pace and organize our time around the things we find most important to us as a family. 
8. My kids wont have to waste hours of their day riding a bus, nor would I be tied down, driving to and from school to pick them up at a specific time. 
9. Hey, I'm not an idiot, I don't want to shelter my kids for the rest of their lives and acknowledge that no matter what we do, the world is messed up and they're going to be exposed to junk. However, I DO believe it is healthy to protect their innocence while they are young and to help them build a firm foundation of beliefs to stand on when they are challenged. 
10. Because it is my right as a parent, and I believe I can give my kids a good education and thoroughly prepare them for successful lives in the real world, socially and academically, but most importantly, spiritually. 

When my husband and I first began the discussion of schooling for our children, we were newly married, with no children in the perceivable future. We would quickly shoot down the topic by saying "we'll cross that bridge when we come to it!" Now, 8 years later, I cannot believe we have finally reached an agreement that we are both 100% on board with. 

I have already shared that I was homeschooled from Kindergarten through 12th grade. My husband on the other hand, attended New Jersey public schools up through middle school, then went on to attend a small Christian school during high school. He is very grateful for his life experiences, the education he received, and the people that influenced him (after all, God used those experiences to shape him into the person he is today!). He had a lot of positive experiences and treasures a lot of good memories. However, during the course of his time at school, he was also exposed to a lot of tragic situations, bullying and negativity that has stuck with him over the years. This was in a pre 9/11, pre Columbine era, before metal detectors and security guards were an everyday reality at most schools. Once we had kids of our own, he found it hard to look at them and easily dismiss the idea of home education.

I never wanted the decision of education for our children to be a battle between us. I knew that no matter what the outcome was, it had to be one we reached together and were both behind, 100 percent. I wont lie to you, it wasn't easy getting to the point we are now! We've talked about it a lot, prayed a lot, read a lot and sought a lot of advice from friends. We still take it one day at a time. I wont ever claim to know what the future holds for our kids during the whole course of their school years. If God called us to send them into the public school system for a specific reason, or if the opportunity to send them to a private school opened up, we would prayerfully follow God's lead. For now, we are both fully at peace with the decision to begin a journey in home education!

Why Homeschool? (Part 1)

Let me say this first: 

I find it impossible to explain why I am pro homeschooling without sounding anti public schooling. 

However, I am most definitely NOT anti public school and acknowledge the need for good teachers and schools in our country. The fact is, children need a thorough education and many parents are not able to (or should not) personally provide that for them based on various conflicts. Every good parent is ultimately interested in choosing what is best for their child, and many parents make the choice to send their children to public schools because they believe it to be the best option for their child. So, here is your out: if you have chosen to send your children to a public school, please don't feel the need to explain to me your reasoning as if I am going to look at you differently and pass swift judgment on your obvious lack of concern for your child's well-being (did you pick up on my sarcasm?). I face enough flack and criticism for my choice to homeschool, I am not out to criticize you for your choice in public schooling.

Though I would readily repeat this disclaimer to a friend who is advocating public schools, I would just as readily turn to a friend who is contemplating home education and tell them that 

I believe homeschooling is a completely valid option and that with a varying degree of sacrifice and hard work, ANY parent can successfully home educate their child. 

Not every parent SHOULD home educate, and not every parent feels called or compelled. However, if you are contemplating homeschooling, sense that your child is not responding and progressing well educationally, or feel increasingly disheartened by the negative messages and influence your child is receiving in their classroom, it may be time to seriously consider how homeschooling would work in the life of your family. Before I go on, I wont fail to mention that there ARE other valid alternatives to public schooling such as Christian schools and charter schools, but for the purpose of this discussion I will focus specifically on home educating.

I am the product of homeschooling from Kindergarten through 12th grade. 

I'm not the brightest, most intellectual example of a homeschooled student, but I did enroll in a community college my senior year of high school and completed 12 college credit hours with a 4.0 average by the time i graduated. I did go on to complete a college degree, and have lived a very happy and satisfying life. Never did I feel deprived of anything during my childhood and never did I feel that I've struggled socially due to my years of homeschooling. On the contrary, I have always been very secure in who I am, confident and goal driven. I am very grateful for my mother's sacrifice of her time to homeschool the three of us and to instill in us the things that are most important; faith and commitment to Christ. 

There are many examples of homeschooled students that have excelled, far beyond their years, academically. There is no question that if a student has the potential, the one-on-one attention they receive from a committed parent, along with a thorough curriculum, will produce an academically solid student who will excel in college and beyond. 

But, I'm not interested in that part as much as I am in raising spiritually sound, God fearing, polite, compassionate, confident leaders that will make a positive difference in the world. 

I don't doubt that they would get a decent education in the public school system, and I don't doubt my own ability to give them a good education. Most importantly, however, is that I can personally give them a much better moral and biblical foundation to build their lives on than anyone else. I feel called to give my children the best spiritual foundation I can give them, and I feel convicted that homeschooling is the best choice I can currently make. 

To be Continued... 

If you are contemplating homeschooling and want a very thorough teacher's perspective and step-by-step resource, I would highly recommend the book: The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home

Click on the above link to be directed to an Amazon page where it can be purchased!