Comments on: A Long Overdue Homeschooling Update

By: Lori Bourne

Lori Bourne — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 18:47:12 +0000

Hi, Rosemarie! When they finished our basement, they put in insulation and also heating ducts so the room is heated like any other room. If you can’t do that, you’d need some kind of heating like a small room heater or something like that.

By: Rosemarie Colon

Rosemarie Colon — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 16:51:40 +0000

if we redid our basement for classroom use it still be a very very cold room (largest room in the house of course) but unusable in the winter. We live in south jersey. we have an unfinished basement. I would love to turn this into a classroom but in the winter we’d have to wear winter coats and if some one is sick well we cannot go down – too cold. How did you work around this problem? Or did you not have this problem? Thank you.

By: Lori Bourne

Lori Bourne — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:35:29 +0000

Great thoughts, everyone! Homeschooling can be intimidating but well worth the time and effort, for sure.

Jeanette, I love that homeschooling can take place anywhere, anytime. The other night after dinner my son was reading a novel and my daughter was making crafts with some Christmas paper and I was like, “Hey, this is homeschooling too!” Yours is a great example of the benefits of multiple ages working together.

By: Jeanette MacDonald

Jeanette MacDonald — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:09:44 +0000

Thanks for your sharing, Lori. I have a much more distracted household, with 6 children and another on the way. My eldest is 10. We homeschool with a combination of workbooks, Montessori, etc. since I am also a Montessori teacher. I find our rhythm goes up and down, though. Sometimes it takes half a day of effort just to get out the winter things and make sure everyone has a coat, snowpants, mitts, etc. that fit! But I feel this too, is part of the process, especially in a large family.
Let me share an exciting event: My daughter Anna, 7, just has never been interested in doing any handwriting. Though she has beautiful capital handwriting, I would hear grief when I would try to show her that the p has to go below the line, etc. My son Jeremiah, 5 1/2, has been dilligently working on his italic book. Last Saturday, Jeremiah decided to do 20 pages of handwriting and he passed the page Anna was on. Well, this kicked Anna into gear and she started working. The two of them spent a good 4 hours on Saturday and Anna finished her book. Jeremiah proceeded to work for hours on the next few days and he also finished the book he started 2 weeks ago. It was an amazing sight to see. I joke with them, “But you’re not allowed to do homeschooling on the weekend!”

By: Staci

Staci — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:13:41 +0000

Thank you, Lori. Your posts are a true inspiration for me as I travel through our first year of homeschooling. Thank you for sharing a glimpse into your home. I’ll be purchasing your CD this month as a Christmas gift for myself. When I began this journey I thought I would create most of my own printable materials–since I am computer savvy enough to do so. However, when I found your materials, I knew I could never create all of the materials at the same depth & breadth to which you have for even a fraction of the cost of your CD’s. I’ve been saving my pennies so that I can save myself the effort and focus more energy on my children’s learning and development. My daughter, who will turn 8 on Christmas and son, who just recently turned 6 have loved all of the work that I have placed in our classroom, especially when it has come from MontessoriForEveryone.com. And best yet, I know that there is room for us to “grow,” within your CD collection. Thanks again.

By: Kylie

Kylie — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:45:09 +0000

Thanks Lori. We are still easing into it all so I am not starting with the daily journal or comprehensive lists until the beginning of 2010 ( a new school year for us). We are focusing on routine at the moment and mummy needs to get organised with preparing more materials….

By: Lori Bourne

Lori Bourne — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:09:34 +0000

I find that with recording something for every work they do, my kids do generate quite a bit of work over a week’s period. They are also writing the date every day, editing sentences, and practicing penmanship in addition to recording their work.

I also print a Comprehensive List for each child and check things off, as well as keeping their completed monthly workplans in the binder with their written work.

“Recording” work can take the form of drawings, diagrams, artwork, etc. in addition to writing. Today, my son read the third Geography Chart, completed the first experiment for that chart, and then drew a full-page diagram of hot air rising and cool air descending. It was all his own idea to do it that way, which was more than fine with me.

By: Kylie

Kylie — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:04:48 +0000

Thanks Lori, yep that’s all really. So you don’t really expect anymore than that in terms of turning out work that can be kept on file? I guess it’s just so different from regular schooling where they would spend most of their day writing or filling in worksheets etc I am always concerned when we don’t have much to show for our efforts over a week’s worth of school….if you knwo what I mean!.

By: Lori Bourne

Lori Bourne — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:33:37 +0000

I like making piano part of our routine – it ensures that they definitely practice every day. I see the progress from that consistency. I am enjoying working with them each day too – it’s almost like a piano lesson every day!

By: Sheri

Sheri — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:16:28 +0000

Piano is also part of our daily routine. With all the other activities we do, sometimes piano and guitar practice is all that gets done at home in a day. They find music such an enjoyable and grounding thing. I also think it’s wonderful for that brain development and manual dexterity. We often combine music and math work in the same time block. Somehow, they just go together well.