November happenings on the farm

I did it again. . .  I blinked and the year is almost over.  Has anyone else ever done that before?  It seems like just yesterday it was January and we winding down from the holiday festivities.

We are 10 weeks into our school year this year and have been enjoying our morning school time.  Some of the resources we are using this year are really starting to shine in the way of results for each of the kids.  I always have my doubts when I begin something new, but I believe the key to trying something new is to keep at it for awhile.  Unless of course you hate it yourself and find yourself dreading teaching it - that's the time to let it go.

Xtramath is a fabulous online drill practice for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.  The lessons are short each day - maybe 10 minutes and the teacher, Mr. C, is not my children's favorite, but now it has just become a joke about how he hates the kids when he doesn't move them up a level.

Hodgepodge has become our favorite art curriculum.  The kids love coloring with chalk pastels.  We have used their Spring Chalk, Fall Chalk, American Landscapes and Sharks curriculum.  Tricia Hodges shares her love of art, that she received from her mother, in an easy to use PDF step-by-step tutorial.  One of my favorite things about the curriculum is that she walks us through each step of the drawing so that even George, our 7 year old,  can master the drawing.

People always ask me how do you homeschool?  Most of the time I believe they are asking, "How do you have all the skills necessary to teach each of the required subjects, because one person just can't possibly be equipped to teach everything - right?"  I truly believe that God has equipped each parent with the necessary skills to teach their children, regardless of their own educational background.  BUT, if even that scares the strongest of parents, you can relax in the comfort of knowing that so many other talented educators are available to help each of us in our weak areas with excellent curriculum.  There are online curriculums, workbooks, E-books and numerous websites and blogs ready to assist even the feable hearted homeschool mom or dad.  This is our 14th year of homeschooling and we have already graduated two students.  Both of which are doing very well. 

Homeschooling isn't about producing the smartest, brightest or most intelligent student.  It's about equipping our children with the skills and knowledge to be productive adult citizens in our ever unproductive society.  Any child, homeschooled or public schooled should be equipped with the ability to further their own education by having the tools to seek out knowledge and learn new things.  Okay, enough of my soapbox.

Happy Fall Everyone!  And a BIG THANK YOU to all of our followers.  You are so special to us.