Tuesday Homeschool Tips: Encourage your child's interests

This week my tip is to let your child explore and take ownership of an interest or hobby. I know I'm not telling you anything you don't already know, but maybe its worth repeating. What is your child interested in? Maybe your child needs some ideas of things to be interested in. Can you let him or her go deeper?

In some ways it feels a little crazy to go deeper. It's overwhelming at times, and MESSY!

Sure, we could just keep our life safe and tidy (ahem...boring) but lately I have been thinking, "We live in the country. Why not?! Now is the time to try things. Why not try to hatch chicks?"

Oh, did I mention that last week my son bought an incubator with an automatic turner at a garage sale?

Thirty bucks!

He was so excited (and so was I). He's thought about them and mentioned wanting one but they can be spendy. I think to buy this unit new would have been around $170. He brought his own wallet and paid the lady. He was so cute.

This chicken business has really evolved since we began in March. I honestly never thought I would ever have chickens or gave any thought to it. No interest whatsoever. But chickens have given us all (except maybe my husband) so much joy and entertainment. We love them.

After the incubator arrived, my son started saving eggs (at room temperature) to hatch.

When he had collected enough we started. First you number them and try to guess what kind of chicken it is.

Then you weigh them and record that number and then put them in the their position.

I guess these here are in the best place. Sometimes the ones on the outside don't stay warm enough and the ones in the center may get too hot. We put the best eggs in the prime positions. We got some eggs from the people we got Mr. Buff and Goldie from. They had a gorgeous Copper Maran rooster. We're hoping to get some interesting chicks from him.

We don't really know what we're doing, but it's fun!

There are 42 egg holders and we filled every one! It's not likely that they will all hatch, in fact, it very unlikely, but my son is hopeful. For now we watch and wait. We have them in my husband's closet. We will weigh them again on Day 7.

So be encouraged! You get to spend your life with your children! This is their life too! Let them live it well. And enjoy every minute together by exploring new and interesting things. Be fun and have fun!

Bonus tip for Classical teachers: V.M. Hillyer's A Child's History of Art for sale right now on ebay as a Buy-it-Now for $25 here.

To participate in Tuesday Homeschool Tips: Post a homeschool tip in your blog, with a link to this post. Then come here and add your name, tip subject, and URL to this post. Make sure and link to your individual Tip post, not your blogs main front page. If you have a tip to share but don't have a blog, just leave it in the comments section. We all would like to hear your tip. Let the tips begin!

Tuesday Homeschool Tips: Use what you have

Keep things simple in homeschooling. Instead of buying fancy-smancy colorful plastic beads, bears or bug counters, just dig into your pantry and give your child a pile of beans to count.

I found this Japanese teapot with six matching cups at a garage sale last weekend for five bucks! I've started making a pot of tea and giving the kids tea at the table while they work. It's fun.

My 3 year old has become enamored with coloring. This one thing has helped our homeschool so much. He will sit at the table and color quietly (shhh...it's school time), and drink her tea like a big girl.

Here's a perfect example my son demonstrated the other day of using what you have. He came walking up to me dressed in his chainmail. Doesn't he look authentic? This was after his nightly shower. He's got a brown t-shirt over his head and his brown bath towel is around his waist.

So why use what you have? Two reasons off the top of my head...

1. It's free
2. You didn't bring in more clutter to manage.

And speaking of free, I ordered Up From Slavery and Foxe's Book of Martyrs from Paperback Swap.


Have a favorite tip to share with us? Please do.

Tuesday Homeschool Tips: Paperback Swap

I know I was absent last Tuesday. How did you all manage without my 'tip'? The tip I should have posted was "Don't start painting your house on the day you plan to start school".

Let it be sufficient to say that the inspiration just came upon me and I was powerless to deny it. We have lived in our house for two years now. It takes me awhile to figure out where to put things, how to organize, where to hang pictures and what colors go where. (Read: I am easily overwhelmed) I painted the entire house the week before we moved in, and have not been happy with the colors I chose for two years now. So when the idea came, I went with it.

Enough said.

I am hoping some of you will share a tip in the comments section, therefore validating the title "Tuesday Homeschool TIPS".

(hint hint...please share)

Onto the first of many TIPS...?

This is such a great idea for us bibliophiles. It is decluttering, entrepreneurship and virtual thrifting all rolled into one. It's called PaperBack Swap. The story behind PaperBack Swap is that a few guys were sitting around one night talking about all the paperback books that they purchased over the years when they traveled on business. Each of them had a stack of books that they had read. So they decided to set up a web site that allows all of us to swap paperback books with each other. Now it's grown to include ALL books, hardcovers and audio too.

Here's how it works. I listed some books on the site (you have to list at least 10 books to get in the club) and I got 2 free book credits to get me started. So I can order 2 books right away - free of charge and have them mailed directly to me.

Then when another member selects one of my books that I have listed, I mail it to them. I pay for the postage. But then I get a book credit and I can select a book that I want. So another club member returns the favor and mails me one of their books free of charge. For every book I mail out, I get another book in return.

I listed about 12 books the other day. I have already mailed out 3. I think of my credits like pesto in the freezer. I'm excited that I have a good store saved up for a rainy day or until I know of a particular book I need.

So here is my plan. When I find a good book at a thrift store, garage sale or library book sale, I can load up (within reason) my paper bag devoted to PaperBack Swap and trade them in for other books I need for homeschooling. I know of one homeschooling mom who turns in her children's old picture books in exchange for classic literature for her now high school aged kids. This would be a great way to build your homeschool library with some of the classics, by listing other great books you know will be wanted by other homeschoolers. Who knows what you can find? I was browsing today and saw My Father's Dragon, Mr. Popper's Penguins, Petunia, and ordered Booker T. Washington's Up From Slavery.

If you do sign up, please list my email (windingtheskeinATgmailDOTcom)

in the referral section because then I get another free book.

Okay...let the other TIPS begin...

Tuesday Homeschool Tips: Scheduling the school year

Are you gearing up for another school year? We are!

I am always in the process of trying to 'get organized'. I'll probably have it all figured out by the time all my kids are married. But in the meantime I wanted to share something that I did last year that helped me stay on track.

I have used many different calendars and forms from Donna Young's website. Everything is free and what a help she has been to me.

I print out a few of these calendars (pictured above) and divide the school year up into four 9 week quarters with a week break in between each quarter. I get out my markers and color code them with green being the vacation days. The yellow blocks are birthdays or special holidays. I then post one on the refrigerator, give one to my oldest son, and put one in my homeschool notebook.




I also printed this calendar and color coded it for the front sleeve of my homeschool notebook. This helps to keep the kids and I on track and motivated. Ex: "We only have 3 more weeks of school until our week break."

Donna Young has many different forms and planners to print out. Even if you are not a homeschooler, she has daily planners, household planners and too many to list. Take a minute to check her site out. It's worth bookmarking.

You are likely a homeschool mom yourself and have your own homeschooling tip to share. Please share in the comments section.

I'd like to have this every Tuesday so if you can't think of something today, come back next Tuesday and share something you thought of over the week or gain more tips!