Something that I've struggled with on this tour is not really knowing what it is that I want to see and experience in Japan. Unlike France or Germany, I didn't have much of a mental image to go with Japan.
I thought that might be the case with some other people here or who are on the way. I have often turned to the Japan National Tourism Board site, which has not only city specific info for travel planning, but also a lot of good general cultural info about Japan. The KIE section, for example has several pages of information about the traditon of moon viewing in Japan. (The big full moon festivals are right around the corner in August.)
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Having Your Own Summer Homeschool Conference
Again on the organizational front, I found this blog post from a homeschool mom who is having a personal homeschool conference (would this be home conferencing?). This is something that she started doing last year and you can also read about that here.
I've been listening to some of the Peace Hill Press conference lectures as I plan what we're doing this year. Susan Wise Bauer also has some cool classical homeschooling Q&A videos on You Tube.
There are also some helpful (and even some free) lectures available at Word MP3.
If you think about it, a typical school year would program in several days for the teacher to prepare for the beginning of the year, calculate grades and give feedback to students about their progress, transition to a new semester and even learn about and practice a new educational program. I don't think that it is unreasonable for us to take some of that same time to plan for our homeschool year.
I've been listening to some of the Peace Hill Press conference lectures as I plan what we're doing this year. Susan Wise Bauer also has some cool classical homeschooling Q&A videos on You Tube.
There are also some helpful (and even some free) lectures available at Word MP3.
If you think about it, a typical school year would program in several days for the teacher to prepare for the beginning of the year, calculate grades and give feedback to students about their progress, transition to a new semester and even learn about and practice a new educational program. I don't think that it is unreasonable for us to take some of that same time to plan for our homeschool year.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Homeschool Organization
Organizing everything for homeschooling can seem like a Hereculean task at times. You might have some subjects planned out in neat lessons like math and grammar. But then you add in books that have to be read a chapter at a time, science programs with reading and experiments, spelling lists, etc; and it quickly runs out of control.
If all of your material comes from the same source, you might have a couple over arching schedules to follow. But start pulling from different curriculums or doing one pace for history and another for science and again it runs off the rails.
And all of this isn't even touching on what you do with multiple kids doing different things. Or keeping records for the end of the year. (We're likely to move to a state that requires at least some record keeping AND those high school years are looking.) It seems like this time every year I find interesting discussions online about planning and getting organized.
Last year was workboxes. The idea is that each student has a set of boxes or drawers, one per subject. Each evening, the boxes are filled with work for the next day. Some get books and assignments, others get coloring pages or activities. The next day the student works through each box. When they are done, they are done with school for the day. The Workbox System is an idea from Sue Patrick. If you search on "homeschool workboxes" you can find a number of blogs with examples of how they are put to use. Here are a couple examples. Ice cube bins as boxes. Plastic shoe boxes on racks. Even more links and photos in this review of the workbox system. It might be too much for some families. On the other hand, it might be just the thing to get good activities out of the closet and drawer where you've been saving them and into the kids' hands. And it could be a real motivator for a dawdling student if he knows there is a puzzle or a game stashed in there after math is done.
What I'm seeing discussed this year is using file folders. The general idea is that you take a folder for each week and preplan so that all of the assignments and worksheets are already there. There is a long discussion of homeschool filing systems at the Well Trained Mind Curriculum Board. This blogger has modified the folder idea for use with 3 ring binders. I do like the idea of having activity sheets right with the schedule for that week. Too often I realize that I've forgotten to do mapping or coloring sheets that I'd intended to use. Or that all of the science readings had accompanying questions to answer in another binder. So there may well be an advantage to grouping by week rather than by subject.
Anyway, something to think about while you're lounging at the pool.
If all of your material comes from the same source, you might have a couple over arching schedules to follow. But start pulling from different curriculums or doing one pace for history and another for science and again it runs off the rails.
And all of this isn't even touching on what you do with multiple kids doing different things. Or keeping records for the end of the year. (We're likely to move to a state that requires at least some record keeping AND those high school years are looking.) It seems like this time every year I find interesting discussions online about planning and getting organized.
Last year was workboxes. The idea is that each student has a set of boxes or drawers, one per subject. Each evening, the boxes are filled with work for the next day. Some get books and assignments, others get coloring pages or activities. The next day the student works through each box. When they are done, they are done with school for the day. The Workbox System is an idea from Sue Patrick. If you search on "homeschool workboxes" you can find a number of blogs with examples of how they are put to use. Here are a couple examples. Ice cube bins as boxes. Plastic shoe boxes on racks. Even more links and photos in this review of the workbox system. It might be too much for some families. On the other hand, it might be just the thing to get good activities out of the closet and drawer where you've been saving them and into the kids' hands. And it could be a real motivator for a dawdling student if he knows there is a puzzle or a game stashed in there after math is done.
What I'm seeing discussed this year is using file folders. The general idea is that you take a folder for each week and preplan so that all of the assignments and worksheets are already there. There is a long discussion of homeschool filing systems at the Well Trained Mind Curriculum Board. This blogger has modified the folder idea for use with 3 ring binders. I do like the idea of having activity sheets right with the schedule for that week. Too often I realize that I've forgotten to do mapping or coloring sheets that I'd intended to use. Or that all of the science readings had accompanying questions to answer in another binder. So there may well be an advantage to grouping by week rather than by subject.
Anyway, something to think about while you're lounging at the pool.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Legos as Reading Manipulatives
If you have a beginning or emerging reader, you should check out the pictures at Filth Wizardry of Duplo Legos converted into reading manipulatives. It's worth checking out the rest of the blog too, especially if you have younger or crafty kids. There are some fantastic ideas mostly focusing on arts and crafts.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Free Elementary Life Science Curriculum
This website from Mr. Q has a free elementary level life science curriculum as an intro to his other science curriculum. You can also browse through the lab notes archive, which containes some interesting stand alone experiments. The blog section has been running a series of science posts relating to food.
There's some good science here using a lot of material that you probably have at hand.
There's some good science here using a lot of material that you probably have at hand.
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