Home School

Swanson Boys: Homeschool Updates, and Books they’ve been Loving

I don’t know about you, but my boys go back to school tomorrow. (Tomorrow!!)

I hope you enjoyed the last post about Homeschooling High School. (I remember being so nervous about the idea of homeschooling high school, but it has turned out to be a blast!)

As promised, I am back today to give some quick updates on the homeschool curriculum my boys are using this year, and also to share some of the books they’ve been enjoying.

^^My 4, yesterday — at a Hawaiian Rodeo! 🙂

I’m down to homeschooling just three boys, as Josiah graduated a year ago, just finished his gap year (which was so good!) and is headed to Westmont College in Santa Barbara, Ca. in a few weeks. Crazy! But really — he is SO excited and SO ready, it’s almost hard to be sad that he is leaving. 🙂

As for the other three…

Jonah is heading into his Senior Year.
Luke will be a 9th grader
Levi is starting 3rd grade.

And as for curriculum:

ALL of the boys are using ABEKA online Videos for their language arts classes and Bible.
Luke and Jonah are using the DIVE curriculum for Math and Science.* (see note below.)
Levi is using a variety of science and history books (mostly read-aloud) and Abeka Math.
All of the boys will be using IEW for various writing classes. ** (see another note!)

NOTES…

* DIVE CURRICULUM: My boys have loved using the DIVE curriculum for everything from Earth Science (Luke in 8th grade) to AP Calculus and AP Physics (Josiah and Jonah senior years.) DIVE is growing in popularity all over the world, and if you hop over to their website you will find some great giveaways going on now! Some DIVE classes have live options and others are web-based, and self-paced. DIVE is the most affordable curriculum we have used, and even in the higher level classes (Algebra 2, Pre-Calculus and Calculus) my boys have been able to take the classes completely independently because Dr. Shormann’s teaching is so good. (Which is really nice since asking their Mom questions about Calculus would not be very helpful. 😉 ) If you’re looking for Math or Science curriculums, I highly recommend DIVE! (Be sure to follow them on Facebook, and Instagram.)

*a few more fun facts: The creator of the DIVE curriculum , David Shormann, is our good friend, and he lives here on the North Shore. Dr. Shormann and his family are originally from Texas, but have been living here in Hawaii for a few years. They go to our church and their daughter Ellie is a good friend of our boys. (and she helps out with Levi’s homeschooling a bit, too.) We have so much respect for Dr. Shormann! Each of the boys have worked with him on his research projects, and they spend as much time fishing and boating with him as possible.
Also, my son Jonah is the current face of the Dive website. Hehe.

**IEW (Institute for Excellence in Writing.) We’ve used the Institute for IEW for years, beginning when Josiah was in about 3rd grade. Andrew Pudewa is such an engaging, funny, and super-smart teacher, and the kids love him! Writing can be challenging for boys, and finding a good curriculum is a game changer. I am convinced that Josiah’s early experiences with IEW inspired his love of writing, and prepared him well for great essay writing, which helped earn him college scholarships. We are big fans of IEW!

Aaaand, after years of being fans of Andrew Pudewa, I was honored to be a GUEST on Andrew’s IEW PODCAST in an episode called “The Joys of Boys” a few weeks back! (<–use that link to listen to my episode!) It was a super fun chat!

What about Abeka? We’ve used Abeka as our core curriculum for much of my boys’ homeschooling. I think it’s a great balance between kids learning in a pseudo-classroom environment (students watch a video of a teacher in front of a class, so they get to see a full lecture as if they are in the classroom) with seat work done at home. I don’t have to “teach” but I do correct and grade their papers, quizzes and tests. I feel super confident that they are getting a very thorough, college-prep. education, from a Biblical perspective.

Now for some books!
Here’s a short list of books my boys have been reading lately. This summer has been a BIG READING SUMMER for all of my boys. (Josiah decided to “train himself” for a lot of reading in college and his brothers followed suit!

LEVI, 3rd grade:

The One Year Book of Devotions for Boys
(We read this with him every morning for his devotions. It’s good for his age and I’d recommend through older elementary school.)

The Chronicles of Narnia Complete 7-Book Collection: All 7 Books Plus Bonus Book: Boxen
(We are reading this series aloud to him, and are currently in the 3rd book. He loves it!)

The Absent Author (A to Z Mysteries)
(I picked up the first few books in this series while we were in California because Levi needed something to read to himself. He is finishing the 2nd book, “The Bald Bandit” now and seems to be really enjoying it.)

LUKE’s recent favorites, 9TH grade:

The Hiding Place

Jim Elliot: One Great Purpose (Christian Heroes: Then & Now)

Robert Fulton Boy Craftsman

Okay for Now
(I got this after seeing that Sarah McKenzie from the Read Aloud Revival recommended it. Luke really enjoyed it and I want to read it next.)(And BTW– Sarah at the The RAR ^^ has heaps of great book recommendations, an awesome podcast, and tons of encouragement, so follow her now if you haven’t before!)

Shaken: Discovering Your True Identity in the Midst of Life’s Storms

Finish First: Winning Changes Everything

(^^both of the last 2 are great, especially if your kids are competitive athletes. I love finding positive role models like Tim Tebow and Scott Hamilton. I highly recommend both of those books!)

JONAH’S recent favorites, 12 grade:

Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel

The Great Divorce
(and other CS Lewis books…He and Josiah have been devouring CS Lewis. :))

How to Win Friends & Influence People
(great for learning to work with people at his new restaurant job, and though some people don’t love this book, I think it can be great for self-awareness and social skills.)

JOSIAH, pre-college reading:

Confessions (Oxford World’s Classics)
(a requirement for his Augustinian program at Westmont.) (He loved it!)

An Unhurried Life: Following Jesus’ Rhythms of Work and Rest
(recommended by Westmont for entering students. Another good one!)

Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People
(Gotta love Bob Goff. :))

The George MacDonald Treasury: Princess and the Goblin, Princess and Curdie, Light Princess, Phantastes, Giant’s Heart, at the Back of the North Wind, Golden Key, and Lilith
(He hasn’t read all of these but has been on a George MacDonald streak after hearing that C.S. Lewis was inspired by MacDonald. :))

**AFFILIATE LINKS: Some of the items listed here are affiliate links which means if you click through and purchase, I will make a small commission on the purchase. I am not an affiliate for any homeschool companies. 😉

I’d love to hear what your kids are reading, especially in the younger years as I am always looking to inspire Levi to love reading as well! Also: If you have any questions about our homeschooling, feel free to ask!

With aloha,

Monica

On Homeschooling High School

by Monica Leave a Comment

Homeschooling High School….

I am so happy to be sharing an awesome post by Jen McDonald today. I’ve been meaning to put some words together to share a homeschool post for a while now, and when I came across this post I was like “She said it better than I could!” I wanted to highlight all over my computer screen. 🙂 I think you’ll enjoy this!

Quick note — Curriculum updates? Every year I do try to do a curriculum update for my family, (though I don’t think I got to that last year…) so in my next post I will share a quick post with updates on what each of my boys are doing this next year. I also might add a few favorite books they’ve been reading… So stay tuned for that!

Meanwhile…let me give a quick welcome to Jen McDonald: Jen is a military spouse who spent three years living here on Oahu. We never met, but it turns out we have mutual friends. (It really is a small world!) Jen has written an Amazon bestselling book to support military spouses, and has a blog packed with great articles. Jen also homeschooled her four kids (even as her family moved several times –Bless her!) Be sure to check out Jen’s two brand new podcasts coming out this month (one for military spouses, and the other called Reinventing Midlife — which sounds hilarious!) Without further ado…Here’s Jen-

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From Jen: I originally wrote this in 2014. Since then, all of our kids have graduated high school and three are through college. Our oldest two are married. All that to say, my thoughts are pretty much the same about homeschooling through high school. It is definitely not for everyone, but if you’re considering it, I hope this encourages you! At the end of this post, I’ll list some of my favorite high school curricula.

We just graduated our third child from homeschooling, with our last one going into her junior year. Looking back, I recall the feelings of mild panic as our first child headed into his high school years and wondering if we could do it justice.

While homeschooling is not for every family, it’s been something that has worked for us. I’m sidestepping a bit the common questions that crop up like…

What about prom? (They can still go to a homeschool prom or with friends to a school prom if that’s something they want.)

Can I teach algebra? (You don’t have to–that’s what tutorials and correspondence courses are for!) and

Will my child have friends? (Guffaw—we have to rein in the social life at times!)

…but instead will talk for a minute about WHY homeschool high school?

Why do this crazy thing? Why take the responsibility for transcripts and test scores and credits (oh my!) on oneself?

Why?

Some reasons we’ve loved homeschooling high school.

Time

Time to read, time to think big thoughts, time to spend with family and friends. Time to go on trips or explore local areas thoroughly. Time to read books out loud together and create shared memories. Though these years were also very busy, I feel we gave our teens the gift of time.

Individual Interests

Each of our children has a different bent–one was a baseball player, one a drummer, the next a photographer, and the last is pursuing musical theater and Irish dance. Some are more gifted in math, others are excellent writers.

Though they each needed to cover certain basics during these years, it was a gift to tailor coursework to each individual’s talents, while also helping shore up their weaknesses.

Something my husband always said through the years was that we weren’t homeschooling to close doors for our kids, but to open them. If we ever found a door closed to an interest that was important to them, we found a workaround, like working with a school district for dual enrollment for sports participation.

Realizing One Size Doesn’t Fit All

Something interesting happened when we stepped outside the box, educationally speaking. Our children learned to challenge the status quo, asking questions like,

Is college right for me?
What if I want to go straight into a trade?
How about a gap year or semester to work or take a missions trip?
If I want to get a degree, what should I look at realistically?

My kids are comfortable asking much bigger, far-reaching questions than I ever did at their age. Maybe they would have anyway even if they hadn’t homeschooled, but already having an alternative educational experience seemed to give them permission to look at life differently.

There are many other reasons homeschooling simply worked for our family. Moving around as a military family was a big one–our oldest son lived in three different districts during his high school years, and homeschooling offered stability.

If you’re on the fence about homeschooling high school, I hope you’ll consider it. If you’re a homeschooling parent, I hope you’ll share what YOU loved about homeschooling the high school years!

Find Jen’s original post (with some suggested high school home school curriculums,) HERE.

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I’ll be back soon with our family’s homeschool plan for the upcoming year. (even if I don’t feel entirely ready to start…next week!?) 🙂

Until then,

Monica

How Brothers Become Best Friends

by Monica 24 Comments

This is the last school year all four of my boys will be around on a daily basis. Change is in the air.

My oldest, who just graduated high school, is currently taking a gap year to work, and work out the details of his college plans. He’s in and out of the house, mostly independent, but still spending a lot of time with his brothers. Meanwhile, the younger three are just beginning to face the reality that their big brother — the one they’ve never known life without — is slowly on his way out.

And they’re not excited about that.

They are very aware that they’ll be saying goodbye to more than their big brother; they’ll be saying goodbye to a best friend. These four are all very close.

Over the years I have received a lot requests for a post about sibling friendships. When kids are young and bickering over everything, it can seem like they’ll never get along, let alone become best friends. So parents reach out, asking for help and wondering — Have my boys ever fought? haha. Yes, they’ve had their moments (and sometimes they still do.) In fact, a few years ago this very issue inspired me to write a post about sibling squabbling. (<– read that if you could use some support right now.)

Of course it is normal for siblings to fight. Kids are bound to get on each other’s nerves, bicker, debate, and sometimes really duke it out. But I also believe, more than ever, that brothers can grow up to be the very best of friends. And though parents can’t force this to happen, there are a few things we can do to help make it a lot more likely. Here’s my list:

1) Make sure they spend time together.

The best way for siblings to become close friends is to spend time together. The more time, the more likely friendships will develop. I cannot deny that homeschooling has been a great contributor to my boys’ close relationships. They don’t have a lot of options, they are together all the time! Of course you don’t have to home school to be intentional about your kids’ time together; there are plenty of other ways we can facilitate togetherness in our children. —

–After school and weekends: Parents often set their kids up with constant activities, “playdates” or screen time, just to avoid them being home and actually having to get along. It might seem that keeping kids constantly occupied is the right thing to do, but it really can be lazy parenting. Let your kids hang out, together, and eventually they will come up with things to do — often using their imagination, (remember that!?) and simple resources. A little boredom won’t kill them either — when kids are bored together, they are likely to get creative together. Leave some space in your kids schedule, and see what happens.

— Holidays and vacations. Holidays and family vacations offer some of the best opportunities for family bonding! Some families always let their kids bring a friend on trips, or they travel with other families. This is fine, sometimes. But kids will be a lot more likely to bond with one another if all they have is…one another. We don’t exactly take road trips in Hawaii (bummer!) but I remember well the fun and torture of driving for days with my family in the station wagon as a kid. My brothers and I would draw the imaginary line across the back seat of the station wagon, and fight over almost everything. But somewhere along the way we would forget to fight and start having fun. Now we laugh about all of that, as my brothers and I are very close. I encourage families to take trips just as a family. Sure, there may be a bit of refereeing involved, but in the end they’ll be building relationships.

–Sharing bedrooms. For many reasons I love that my boys share bedrooms. First of all, it’s good for them to learn to share space and get along. Second, kids really don’t “need” their own room. (just having their own bed is a luxury compared to most places in the world.) Sharing a room prepares them for dorm life, apartment life, and one day — marriage. Finally, as they get older, sharing a room is great accountability. If one of my teens tries to stay up late on the internet, his brother will surely call him out. It’s a lot less likely for a kid to get into trouble when he’s got a roommate. With that said, sometimes I know it is really nice for a kid to have his own space. We have an extra room in our house which I have offered to my older boys. At this point though, they are all so used to being together that no one wants their own room.

2) Encourage them to support each other’s interests:

Kids are going so many directions, it’s hard for parents to keep up, let alone the siblings. Yet relationships are sure to grow when the kids are aware of, and involved in one another’s interests. Make sure kids go along to support each other’s activities when they can. It will never be totally fair or even, but it’s worth the effort to try.

Luke’s surfing takes up a ton of our free time. We do not require the brothers to be at all of his contests, but they try to come to some of them. We’ve been the same way about the other boys’ sports and activities as well.

Even if the whole family cannot attend events, it helps to make sure conversations are intentionally focused on each of the kids’ interests. Parents can direct dinner time conversations, or time in the car so that each kid has a chance to be in the spotlight.

3) Find common interests for them to share

Though we encourage our boys to discover their own unique interests, it is super helpful to have at least a couple things everyone in the kids enjoys doing together. Our boys have a long list, but surfing and music are two things they always come back to. They may go ten different directions in a day, but knowing there are a few things they love to do together will always keep them coming back together. Every family can find a game, hobby, art, or sport that all of the siblings can share. Put some effort into finding a few common interests, and they are likely to become “connecting points” for your kids for years to come.

4) Let them work things out on their own.

Whether they’re just having fun or really getting into it, kids are bound to have some scuffles.

They will disagree. They will argue and they will fight. We should never allow things to get out of hand, but we must give them a chance to work things out. This can be hard for those of us who ~~want~~ to control everything like to help everyone get along, but most of the time kids will learn and grow when given the chance to work things out.

One rule that I believe is crucial for families is that siblings must never turn against each other on the side of a friend or anyone else. Friends will come and go but brothers are forever. They must never ever (ever ever ever) make fun of each other, or in any way put down or side with a friend against a brother. When we’ve seen even a hint of this, we have addressed it swiftly. Sure, siblings may battle things out at home, but when it comes to outside relationships: brothers must have each other’s back.

Finally: Keep in mind that all friendships take time to develop. If your kids are young and fighting like cats and dogs, be patient. They’re likely to outgrow it. Talk to them about the future and how important it is that they grow up to love each other; show them examples of other families who are close. Then, give them time.

Trust my experience when I say: The same kids who get on each other’s nerves today, are likely to one day be begging their brother not to move away, because they simply cannot imagine life without him. (insert mom tears here.)

Comment below!? How do your kids get along? Anything you’ve found helpful in getting them to become friends as well as siblings? Any specific challenges you are facing? We’re all in this together, so hopefully we can encourage each other here!

Here’s to parenting well, and enjoying the ride!
Aloha,
Monica

PS As I publish this, these FOUR boys and I are headed to the airport, to fly to Seattle to visit my side of the family. Follow along on all social media accounts as we go to my parents’ mountain cabin, go boating in the Puget Sound, and hang out in lovely Gig Harbor. We’ll also be attending the Dream Auction which raises support for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (in honor of my nephew Micah.)

Homeschool Updates 2016: Part II High School

by Monica 7 Comments

I’m back today to finish my annual (give or take 😉 ) homeschool update. In my last post I shared an update on what my elementary and middle school boys are doing, and now I’m here to talk high school.
**At the end of this post I am also going to cover the details of how we keep records, and what we plan to do for graduation. (I’m trying to keep it brief, but I get a lot of questions on this stuff…)

And once again — If you’re not into the homeschool thing, there are surely more interesting places to spend your next ten minutes. No hurt feelings if you flee this post while us homeschoolers nerd out. (Come back soon though, k?)

So here we go…HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM UPDATES:

Jonah, 10th Grade: Jonah continues to use A Beka Academy Streaming online courses this year. He watches about five videos lectures a day, and does the corresponding book work, assignments, quizzes and tests. It is definitely a college-prep style curriculum, requiring a lot of reading, studying, and memorization.

Pro’s of A Beka, 10th grade: Jonah has some incredible teachers, lecturing in their field of specialty. He learns a lot from them, then takes time to read, and take notes from his books. He really enjoys most of his subjects, and often digs in to learn more outside of his class. (Thank you internet.) I feel really good about the education Jonah is getting through A Beka for high school.

Cons of A Beka, 10th grade: There is not much we do not like about A Beka. The only thing I would warn is that it is a long day, so if your student is short on time, A Beka may not be a good fit.

I will also mention that A Beka is a conservative Christian school, and in the high school years the teachers can come across a bit rigid or opinionated. We’ve taught our kids to think for themselves, comparing what they’re taught to the Bible, and to come to us if they have questions, so this hasn’t been a problem. For the most part I think the teaching is Biblically sound and balanced. And I always figure that if a curriculum is going to error on any side I’d rather it be the conservative side.

Institute for Excellence in Writing: Jonah is also doing a writing course using videos from The Institute for Excellence in Writing. (IEW) This includes a video lecture every week or two, and then writing assignments in between. (Josiah and Jonah both used the IEW writing curriculum when they were in elementary school and we loved it! I highly recommend IEW for writing!)

JOSIAH, 12th grade:

This year, Josiah is only using A Beka for Economics and Government. (and he’s enjoying those.) As for the rest…

DIVE MATH AND SCIENCE CURRICULUM: Thankfully we found DIVE Interactive math and science curriculum to be a perfect fit for Josiah. He is currently taking AP Calculus and AP Physics through DIVE.

Here’s a short description of the DIVE Interactive Math and Science curriculum:

DIVE publishes expert, video-based instruction that applies time-tested, proven teaching methods, enhanced with 21st Century content delivery. With degrees in science and engineering, Dr. Shormann’s lectures reveal God’s truth, goodness and beauty to students as they explore math and science. Courses are available for 4th grade through AP Calculus and AP Physics.

Website link: http://www.diveintomath.com

The extra cool thing for Josiah is that the creator of the DIVE courses, Dr. Shormann, actually lives here on our North Shore (transplanted from Texas!) and he even goes to our church. Josiah has gotten to know Dr. Shormann, and is now beginning to do a research internship with him this year. (He is so excited, and of course I am thrilled.) Now that I have discovered the DIVE courses, I am excited to get my younger boys started using it for their future math and science classes as well.

The Calculus and Physics classes both use Saxon textbooks, which are supported by online lectures by Dr. Shormann. Josiah says that Dr. Shormann explains things really well, and makes both classes interesting and fun. The work is time-consuming and very challenging, but he really enjoys it. Josiah has been able to ask Dr. Shormann questions when needed, but rarely needs to because things are explained so well.
(It is also Josiah’s first time using Saxon textbooks, and he really likes them too!)

Institute for Excellence in Writing: Josiah is also taking an IEW class called, “Advanced Communication Series.” He is doing it both for college prep purposes and also because he loves to write. For this he also watches a video every week or two and does assignments in between. I check his work, and when I can I also watch his lectures because I think Mr. Pudewa is just hilarious and a great teacher!

LEGAL STUFF, TRANSCRIPTS, AND GRADUATION:

{Adding this note, post-publish: I almost forgot to mention–} Most homeschool curriculums offer an Accredited Program, in which your student turns in work (either online or paper) and the curriculum provider creates an official transcript for your student. This is a great option, and maybe down the road I will use it. So far I have chosen not to go that route because I like correcting my boys’ work and being involved in the process, and also because it costs quite a bit more to use an accredited program.

As for my boys: Every state has its own requirements when it comes to homeschooling, but here in Hawaii it is actually quite simple; the only thing we are required to do each year is send a letter to our local public school sharing the boys’ standardized test results with a brief update on our progress and our intent to continue homeschooling. (I give the boys standardized tests at home, but you can choose to take them at the local school if you prefer.) The Principal then signs a form and sends it back to us for our records. Simple.

Things get a little more tricky/serious in high school. In order for the boys to graduate high school we have to keep records and create a transcript. I wouldn’t have a clue how to do this on my own, so it has been incredible to work with Hawaii’s Christian Education Institute. CEI offers academic support for Hawaii’s Christian Homeschool Community. Each year (sometimes a few times a year) I meet with a State credentialed teacher at CEI who was also a homeschool parent herself. She helps me plan and organize each boy’s homeschool curriculum, and updates me on Department of Education requirements. She helps us figure out how to document my boys’ extracurricular credits (like photography, surfing for PE, and music), make college plans, and offers a ton of encouragement. (And she is a volunteer!! Amazing, right?) My job is to give CEI all of my documentation (basically records for all that the boys do…they tell me exactly what I need to give them,) and they create an official transcript for each student. So at the end of high school my boys will literally have a high school transcript from “Christian Education Institute.” This will be very similar to a transcript from a private school. I’m so thankful.

GRADUATION: Besides the support and transcripts that CEI offers, they also organize and host an incredible graduation ceremony each year. Josiah and I recently went to a meeting about his graduation, and it looks like there will be close to 30 homeschool students in his graduating class. CEI rents out a high school auditorium and do a really nice ceremony each year. I’m sure I’ll share more about that as we get closer to that time.

I don’t know if all states have a similar support system for homeschoolers, but I feel extremely blessed to have CEI here in Hawaii.

Well, that was as brief as I could be and this is still so so long. (sorry!) I hope a few of you were interested in this process, and I’d be happy to answer any questions you have! Feel free to leave a comment, and I also invite you to share what YOU DO for your high school kids’ homeschooling as well. I’d be especially curious to hear how you handle documentation and graduation!

See you soon with something other than homeschool talk, I promise!

Much aloha,
Monica

Homeschool Updates 2016, Part I/II: Elementary and Middle School

by Monica 16 Comments

I’ve been getting a lot of requests lately, so I decided it’s time…

Time for a homeschool update.

NOTE: If you are not a homeschool family or looking into homeschooling currently, I won’t even try to pretend this post will be interesting. I totally excuse you to exit this one before I bore you to sleep. Of course I invite you to click around my site and find more interesting topics, and I promise…I’ll be back again soon with regularly scheduled programing.

Now…for the handful of you who are still here: Let’s dive in!

This topic will be divided into two posts: Today I will cover what my two youngest (first grade and 7th grade) are doing, and then in my next post I will talk about my two high schoolers (10th grade and 12th grade). The high school post will also cover things like how we keep records, transcripts, graduation, and so on.

Note: at the bottom of this post you can find links to other homeschool-related posts I have written, and a suggested resource for anyone looking into various homeschool curriculums.

Now here we go:

Elementary School–

Note: I suggest you begin with this post from two years ago about A beka–the curriculum all of the boys have used for about four years. We still use A beka for much of our homeschooling, so that gives some good background.

LEVI, first grade: Levi is doing A Beka Academy — the A Beka online streaming curriculum. He watches a first grade teacher and a classroom on video for all of his classes. The teacher includes kids watching the videos while teaching the students in the class. (“Kids at home, what is 4+3?”) He enjoys “getting to know” the kids in the class and truly feels like he is part of the classroom. They use workbooks and readers to go with the video lessons. There are many videos and worksheets to do each day.

The pros are: Levi’s teacher is amazing, and I think he is getting a great education, right from the comfort of our home computer. A Beka offers a really solid foundation in phonics, math, social studies, and Bible. The videos are thorough, yet fun. There is a lot of singing, artwork, poetry and Scripture memorization, map studies, and overall I think it is a really well-rounded first grade class. I love the workbooks and I especially enjoy how they go with the seasons and holidays of the year. Another benefit I see is that there is positive peer-pressure; no one in that video is goofing off, talking back, or being disrespectful in any way. Therefore, Levi sees a great example of a classroom of focused kids learning a lot.

As the homeschool mom, having Levi watch videos allows me a bit of freedom. If I need to leave the room, Levi CAN continue to learn from his video. That can take a lot of pressure off of me.

the cons are: As a six-year-old boy, it is not easy to sit still in front of a computer for that long. (nor do I think it’s healthy to do it every day.) So, there are days where we skip videos and instead go over the material using the teacher manual. Also, though he can do his work independently, someone pretty much has to stay near Levi throughout the day or he will start spacing out, fiddling with something, or running around the house.

Thankfully Dave is super helpful during his days off work, and we also have Morgan, a wonderful “household assistant” come over twice a week for a few hours to assist. She knows Levi’s school work well, and is actually much better at keeping him on schedule than I am. (Those are the days I try to focus on the older kids, run errands, get writing done, or just take a nap. haha.)

If Levi were my only child, I would probably chose to do A Beka for some subjects, and then choose another curriculum for others. I loved the Sonlight Curriculum when my boys were little, so perhaps I’d mix in some Sonlight readers, or pull from other amazing curriculums to round out his education. There are so many great curriculums available, I could go crazy just choosing one for those early years. I have such fond memories from when first three boys were all elementary-aged, and we did a huge variety of things together. I wish I could do that with Levi too, but we’re just in a different season as a family now, and I’m learning to accept that and not compare or feel bad about it.

LUKE, 7th grade: Luke made a complete switch in curriculums this year. Luke was one of my biggest A Beka fans, so this wasn’t an easy choice. He has always loved his A Beka teachers, and truly enjoyed learning through the videos. The problem is, Luke’s competitive surfing life is requiring more and more time, and A Beka is very time-consuming. For Luke to watch all of his videos and do all of the book work required is a very long day, especially considering his personality and how many breaks he “needs to” take (to do things like tend to his kitty, wax his surfboard, and catch highlights of whatever pro surf contest might be happening on line.)

Last year I felt like we were in a constant state of frustration just trying to get through a school day, and I knew we needed a change.

This year Luke is trying Alpha Omega’s curriculum called Monarch. Monarch is a 100% online curriculum that Luke can do anywhere. There are NO books; the work is all online. (Don’t worry, we use our reading books to supplement!) Instead of watching a video of a classroom like A Beka, Monarch is just the student interacting with slide-style lessons and fill-in-the-blank assignments. The program auto-grades most of his work, though I am able to login separately as his parent to review his work, and help out as he might need. I am also responsible to grade all essays and bigger projects, and in general to keep him doing his work and not goofing off. 🙂

The pro’s are: Luke says he is learning a lot, and he really does like Monarch. He is able to get through his work much more quickly than he did with A Beka. There is much less paperwork. Monarch covers a good range of topics, and seems to be challenging, but not overwhelming. Since there are no books or workbooks, Monarch can be done on the road easily, which is great for travel (which could be important down the road.) The parent login took me a little while to get used to, but is overall user-friendly and easy to navigate.

The cons are: I can’t really put my finger on it, but I just don’t have the same confidence in how much Luke is learning this year. I really appreciated the quality of lectures in the A Beka videos, and I miss that. Sometimes Luke will whip through his Monarch lessons so quickly, it’s hard for me to feel like he’s learning a lot. I miss textbooks and highlighters and workbooks. (which might just be me being old-school.) So, bottom line is: I think I’ll have to report back at the end of the year with how I feel about Monarch then!

If you have a competitive athlete or uniquely gifted child in your home who needs to put a lot of time into an activity outside of school, Monarch may be good for you. Click on their site to see a video introduction to how it works.

If you have specific questions about our experiences with either A Beka or Monarch, please leave them in comments since other people may have the same questions! ALSO: If you homeschool your children (or have been homeschooled yourself) I would love to hear what curriculum you use(d) and anything you have to say about it. Please feel free to comment sharing your experiences as well!

My next post will be an update on homeschooling HIGH SCHOOL…complete with record keeping, transcripts, graduation (!!) and more. I hope I have not bored you to death, and thank you for being here!

Here are a few of my other homeschool-related posts:
Homeschooling: The good, the bad, and the slightly awkward
Five Favorite moments in our homeschool day
A VLOG: Considering Homeschool? This one’s for you.
A Typical Day in our Homeschool Life

And a book that helped me when I first got started:
102 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum
*affiliate link

See you back here soon. Have a great weekend! 🙂

Monica

A Chore System, and Money Management for Kids: Our System, and a Video

by Monica 58 Comments

I hear from a lot of families who struggle to find a simple AND effective system for getting their kids to do chores consistently. We would all love to find a system that does not involve constant nagging, or inconsistencies. (Or just giving up and doing it all ourselves because sometimes that’s just easier, right?)

Well, I spent years trying…and failing…to find a system that would work for my boys. And since by nature I’m not the most organized person, I was beginning to blame myself and nearly just gave up.

And then I tried something new. And it worked. Like magic.

Seriously — we are on our fifth year of using one simple system, and my boys are completely independent. Like auto-pilot. It is possible, parents. It really is!

Following is a slightly edited post from two years ago here on the blog. Since there are so many new readers here, and I get asked this question a lot, I thought it was time to share again. I really wanted to re-do the video (it’s not my favorite) but decided to just share it as it is. It’s pretty clear and people have found it really helpful.
(ALSO: Please read note about my Youtube channel at the bottom of this post!)

OUR CHORE SYSTEM: Our chore system is not at all fancy, or complicated. In fact, it is the most simple system I have tried. But it works for us, and that says a lot. Below is a video where I share how we do it.

A couple notes before the video:
**Scuze the heavy breathing/panting you hear off and on. Our dog has bad manners.
**Beware of a wild (and very large,) bee attack at 1:54. No one was hurt.
**Somewhere in the video I say “I have three kids.” Um…Obviously, I have four kids. I was referring to how many kids are “chore-age.” Thus far Levi offers zero productivity to the family, so he doesn’t count for anything except making the messes the rest of us clean up. (To be fair, three-year olds ARE capable of doing some chores. And we’ve gotten so far as talking about Levi doing chores. And that’s all. Go easy on us.)

Here’s the video:

A little closer-up look at our chore chart. Sorry about the sloppy writing. It’s only because…I have sloppy writing.
(You’ll still get the idea, I think.)

An example of one of the weekly rotating chores:

A couple notes:

1. Before I assigned any of these chores, I have made sure to walk each boy through each of their chores. This takes some time early on. You don’t want to give them the chore of “mopping floors,” until they know exactly how you like your floors mopped. Training at the beginning is key to successful chores later.

2. Our actual chore chart has ( a lot) more on each card than the ones I show here. For example on list C above, I have scribbled in “use stainless steel cleaner to wipe down microwave, dishwasher, and fridge” under weekly, because I realized that would be part of a weekly kitchen cleaning.

I reserve the right to change lists at any time–so kids need to keep checking their list! 🙂

3. A couple common questions:

A. What do we do if someone neglects their chores? Well, that’s a tough one. First of all, there is plenty of peer pressure from the whole family to get chores done, (“we’re all in this together!”) so that rarely happens. However, if it seems someone is slacking in their chores we will either A. Dock their pay, B. add extra chores to their list, or C. Take away a privilege (free time activity, etc.) It totally depends on the circumstances, so the answer to this question varies.
B. How would you apply this to less or more children? More children is easy–just add more cards AND MORE WORK! 🙂 (the beauty of big families, haha.) If you have two kids, I think you can follow my example, and simply divide your most needed chores in half, alternating weekly. With just ONE child, I still think having a rotating system is helpful. If their weekly chores vary a little bit, it keeps things interesting, and there might be a little more motivation than doing ALL of the same chores every week.
C. How much money do we pay, and how do the kids manage it? As I said in the video, WE choose to give our boys a dollar per grade level that they are in. (9th grade= $9, 4th grade = $4, etc.) I don’t remember when that started, but it seems to work for us. As they need more money for things, they can always do extra chores (especially bigger jobs outside for Dad,) and earn more money.

Side note: I know some families don’t believe in paying their kids for chores because they want the kids to do work simply because they are part of the family, and that is totally fine, too. The reason I DO pay my boys is so that they then can learn how to manage small amounts of money well, and begin to use some of their own money for things that we normally buy for them. There are plenty of lessons to be learned in all of these things, so it gives us something tangible to work with!

As for how to manage the money: We have our boys divide their weekly pay into three envelopes: One for giving, one for saving, and one for spending. See below:

You can get nit-picky here, but our boys usually just round it out…Josiah (9th grade, $9,) might put $1 in GIVING, and both SAVE and SPEND $4. Pretty simple!

As for the “giving” envelope, our boys give approximately 10% of their allowance to either the church (like a tithe,) or to a specific ministry/fundraiser that they have a heart for: They might give to a specific mission, a group that saves children out of trafficking, or whatever might be on their heart.

I hope this gives you a little inspiration for how you might do chores in your home!

I’d love to hear about it if you have a great system as well. Or, if you grew up with a great system, etc…I’m also interested in how you help your own kid manage their money. (How much do you pay them, IF you pay?) Also, feel free to ask questions, or leave a comment!

And as always, if you found this helpful in any way, please don’t forget to share, and PIN. 😉

MUCH aloha!

Monica

PS NOTE: Because this video was from two years ago, it lives on my old Youtube account. Since revamping my site, I have a new Youtube channel that I would LOVE for you to subscribe to and follow! I don’t do a whole lot of videos, but I intend to use it more over time. (in fact a new video should be coming out this weekend.) Click HERE for the link to my new YouTube channel.

5 Favorite Moments in our Homeschool Life

by Monica 12 Comments

Our homeschool life is not perfect, but I can say that most of the time, I’m really happy with it. Most of the time I am so glad we do it. Most of the time I really love our daily groove. (If you read this post, you’ll know that our schedule can be a little nuts, but much of that is due to surf, not homeschooling, so that’s another subject.)

I have come to terms with the fact that there is no ideal school situation. With the pros will come the cons, and though I believe that homeschooling is our family’s very best option (considering where we live, lifestyle, family dynamics, and all the other stuff,) there are still times when I question. Everything. But that is kind of the name of the game in motherhood, right? Self-doubt and mom-guilt and all of that. I’m working on it.

Overall my boys are all getting an excellent education. They are happy. They have a close relationship with each other and with us. I can’t complain.

People ask me a lot of questions about homeschooling and I feel guilty sometimes for not giving more answers. They ask the big questions about how we got started, and how to choose curriculums, and how we cover everything, and I don’t even know where to start. There are other great bloggers called to that topic, and I hope people with the big questions find great resources because I’m not great at those answers at this point.

Meanwhile, I do love to share occasional posts with snippets of my heart for homeschooling. (I’m on a twice-a-year average it seems!) I don’t do it very often, but occasionally I think t’s fun.

This week a few things have stood out to me that I’m guessing a few of you might relate to and appreciate. So I thought I would share them here.

These are highlights — the every day moments that make me so glad that I get to homeschool.

Here are five:

1. The non-rushed mornings. I try to get up early to spend time with God and get some work done. But if I don’t? No biggie. There is no tight schedule to be on. No one scolding me or my kids if someone is late. (tardy slips were almost the death of me–and that was just preschool!) I have one son that gets up very early (usually before me even), and a couple other sons that sleep later. If Luke needs to surf, we make that happen. The rest of us have a very relaxed, peaceful morning. Sometimes one son is in the classroom doing math at 7:00, other times he might sleep till 8:00. Sometimes I go exercise and they eat cold cereal. Other times I make a hot breakfasts and we all eat together. The point is: We do what works for us, one day at a time. No stress.
(One side note: a doubting voice in my head used to question our mornings. I would think, But isn’t it good for them to get used to getting up early and being a little stressed to be somewhere? Because that is how real life will be. And then the more confident voice in my head replied, Actually, that is exactly why I don’t want them to be stressed and rushed now. They have the rest of their life for that! Right now they benefit from enough sleep and a peaceful morning routine.)

2. Seeing my boys’ relationship. Simply due to the fact that they are around each other all day long, my boys have a very tight relationship. All of them. The ones closest in age and every combination of ages. (oldest and youngest are even super tight.)

These boys have a million inside jokes. On their school breaks they might just sit and talk (how could they have so much to talk about? but they do!) or they skate together, kick a ball, or sling-shot wild chickens. They are without a doubt best friends and none of them can imagine ever living apart from one another.

3. The aha moments. When I hear a son yell, “YES!! It clicked! I totally get it!” Or, “I love math!! This is awesome!!” it’s just golden. When my kindergartener grasps the long “e” sound and suddenly wants to read every Early reader book in the house…I die a little inside. When my oldest son studies diligently for the SAT (all by himself, I didn’t help him at all) and then the grades come and they are actually good…Oh man — I believe that something is working.

Trust me these moments are not constant, but when they happen? The planets are perfectly aligned and all is well with my soul. Maybe we’re doing something right.

4. The cozies. Seriously. I know we live in Hawaii but I’ll forever be a Seattle girl at heart. And we do get rain up here on this hill where we live. Lots of rain. So I never tire of the rainy days when the kids make their hot beverages (don’t judge me if my teenagers drink a bit of coffee these days, k?) and the soft jazz is playing…Candles burning in each kids study zone and it’s just like an ideal study environment. Snuggling on the couch for Kindergarten is not all bad either. I feel like each of my boys has a really positive association with school and learning.

5. The magic moments.

Oh these are the best! When I walk in to find one of my boys leaned over the other, helping him figure out a math problem. When I hear one of my boys telling his brother about a great literature story, or what he is learning in history, or swapping scientific factoids. The moments where just hearing my teenagers share from their heart and I just know that what they’re saying is a reflection of the time we have poured in during our homeschool days. These are the magic moments.

Sure any of this could happen if my boys went away to school every day, but there are those times where I am just pretty sure that we’re having a “homeschool moment.” And after all I’ve poured into these years, I soak in it for all its worth.

Now that I listed five, I’m pretty sure I could list at least ten more, but we’ll leave it at these for now!

If you happen to homeschool your kids, I would love to hear if you share some of my highlights, or if you have some to add to the list. Even if you don’t homeschool, feel free to comment with the moments from your days that just make you glad to have a family! Also, if you have a really specific question that I can answer in comments…feel free to ask!

With love and hugs,

Monica

PS Two posts from 2016 updating what we’re using for homeschool curriculums: THIS one is an elementary and middle school update, and this one is for the high schoolers. (We’re continuing to love the changes, and have added more DIVE science and math classes for all of our older boys!)

A Typical Day in our Homeschool Life

by Monica 29 Comments

A look at our typical homeschool days. 🙂

I don’t even know how to start this post.
The first words I typed were “Oh dread.” (I don’t even say “Oh dread,” but somehow I typed it.)
Then I tried “It’s complicated.” and “There’s a reason I haven’t written this post before.”

But the people have spoken. And over the last year (or four) I have had a lot of requests for a post on “a typical day” in our life as a home school family. The only problem is…

We don’t have one. (I mean, a typical one.)

So, fasten your seatbelts. This isn’t your pretty picture of a bunch of kids gathered around a big table with their heads in books…A day starting promptly at 8:00 and ending sweetly at 3:00. Oh believe you me, I dream of that scene. All of those photos on the cover of home school catalogs? Love them. And there were a couple years…back when the older boys were all elementary age (and hadn’t gotten into surfing,) we had a little bit of that. It definitely fit my personality.

But now we have surfer boys, whose schedules follow the seasons and the swells. And Dave’s schedule? Two weeks on, and two weeks off (with some night shifts in the off weeks,) makes for an inconsistency of its own. Further, there are shifts between when the waves are on the north shore (usually October until April) or the South shore (the rest of the year.) Does any of this fit my personality? Let’s just say I’m being ‘stretched’ in all kinds of ways, thankyouverymuch.

With all of that said…

Let’s jump into a typical home school day in our home:

(I suggest you start with last year’s post about Abeka, the curriculum that we have been using for about three years now. Though there are a lot of great curriculums available, Abeka has proven to be a really great choice for our family!)

5:15: I’m up with coffee and my Bible. I try to squeeze in some social media/writing time when I can…(I’m not completely consistent on my wakeup time. Depending on how late I had stayed up, writing deadlines etc., I might sleep in closer to 6:00.)
6:00 Dave gets the boys up, and two or three of them will hop in the car to find some waves. They eat breakfast on the fly, and if the drive is far, will sometimes sleep a bit more, or do devotions. If Dave is off work, he will stay with them, video them, and watch them surf. If he’s working, he’ll drop them, then head to work and call me to tell me when and where to pick them up.

7ish…Levi is up. If one of the boys stayed home, I might get to take off for a 30 minute run or workout on the elliptical machine. Brothers will give him breakfast. If no one is home I hang out with Levi, do breakfast, and read/etc. Whoever is home does morning chores which might be dish duty, taking out trash, or a living room vacuum/cleanup.
9:00 Levi goes to a little Montessori school three days a week. (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 9:00-noon.) Last year it was preschool, but Teacher Nancy, (bless her heart,) has offered to do Kindergarten work with Levi this year. If it is not a “Teacher Nancy” day, Levi is home and we start his Abeka videos and book work. (no idea how that will work out, this is brand new this year for Levi!)

9:30 The other boys roll in. (or if Dave is at work, I go pick them up.) They are in board shorts/wet suits and they are starving. But they are also very refreshed and happy from their surf session. They all shower while I make egg burritos or heat up some hot cereal. *Sometimes* they do quick chores.
10:00 Boys eat while trying to read a quick devotional…I start hounding: Hurry up! School is waiting.
10:30 Each boy is in a separate room, Abeka videos are on. Let’s break this one down by individual kid/personality:
JOSIAH: Josiah does school in his room, with soft jazz music playing in the background. He has hot coffee on his desk while he watches Geometry teacher give a lecture on the computer. He has binder open, taking notes, fully engaged. His door is open and I peek in as I make rounds throughout the house…

JONAH: Jonah does school in our back room (rec. room.) He has a big desk and is semi-organized. He has become super focused though, and listens intently to his lecture on video.
LUKE: Luke takes about fifteen minutes to build a special fort for the kitty to sit with him, make hot cocoa, and set up a display of his favorite rocks and crystals across his desk. The dog (who is an outside only dog,) can be found sleeping under Luke’s feet, and the cat is in the prepared fort, and Luke finally starts school by….

10:45 Luke watching first lecture of the day.

12:00 IF Levi went to Teacher Nancy’s, I pick him up.
12:30 Everyone has done at least a two classes. They’re hungry again. We heat up leftovers, make smoothies, and take a lunch break. Josiah and Jonah both bring food to their computer to eat while they continue to do school. Luke prefers a leisurely lunch. When he’s done, he begs for a popsicle for “dessert,” and then since he has to eat the popsicle outside, he naturally ends up chasing a wild chicken down the yard with a sling shot. Mom yells at him and eventually he gets back to work.
1:00: Josiah and Jonah watching videos and doing work. Levi (hopefully) watching his videos and doing seat work. Mom keeps an eye on all of them, but stays near Levi during this time.
1:30 I make the rounds on each kid. Check to see how their progress is. I look inside each of my teacher guides to ask “Did you do Quiz 27?” or “Have you written the thesis statement?” “Do you need help choosing a science project topic?” Sometimes they need a bit of help on something, or I need to give an oral quiz. They watch lectures on video, and most of their work is simply put into a turn in tray which I get to when I can. Sometimes daily and sometimes weekly. (and sometimes…well, I shoot for weekly.)
2:00 Trying to keep Levi busy. Puzzles. School. (he has no interest in cartoons, but loves video games on devices, so that is always a battle/challenge for me to decide if/how much, etc.)

Boys plugging away at school. Fifteen minute breaks are granted at which time boys skate outside in our skate bowl, play some music, or catch up on chores. Luke taking fourth bathroom break and fifth water break of the day. When I get on his case he shows me that he just aced his math test, so how can I argue? Plus, that smile.

3:00 If Dave is at work, he is now calling to say he will be home by four, and wants to take the boys surfing. There is some tension. I am frustrated that they are really just getting in rhythm with school. “But surf is epic right now. Can they finish school tonight?” Ugh. We compromise with “You can take them if you take Levi too.” (I’m no dummy!)
I start hounding boys to watch another video, get your work done because Dad is coming and you still have two more lectures to go…

3:30 Make snacks, smoothies, anything to put in their bellies.

4:00 Dave pulls in. I might remind Josiah or Jonah that they still need to write the outline for their essay. It is 50/50 if they go surf anyways, or decide to stay home to get work done. The older two are super diligent so I trust their judgement and they know the deadline so it will get done. Luke negotiates deadlines, but honestly–does really good work. We’ll see how many more years he can get by like that, but for now, it’s working.
4:15 Guys are gone surfing. I do laundry, pick up the pieces. Correct things in turn in tray. Hop on computer. Prepare dinner. Breathe.

6:45 Guys are back home. Shower.
7:00ish Dinner. Family eats together. Talk about the day, the surf, and etc. Kids do clean up chores, etc.
7:45 Reminders that school is not done. “But Mom…Dad filmed us…Can we just watch a few minutes of our video?…” and etc.
8:00 Mom reminding again.

8:15 School work is actually being done. For anyone who actually finished the day, there are other activities: Photos are being edited for mom’s blog. Jonah and Dad jam on the guitars. Levi runs in circles. Josiah works on web design or writing or video editing…Lots of activity.
9:00 Start trying to get kids in bed. Tell them they have reading to do, and poetry and Bible verses to memorize for school.
9:30 Still trying to get kids into bed. (Breathing…)
9:45 Some boys are in bed reading (go ahead and guess who,) and ~~Luke~~ some others take fifteen more minutes to get into bed and read for five minutes before falling fast asleep.
10:00 I hop on computer, schedule some Facebook posts and check email…Fall into bed and read for maybe ten minutes before lights out.

And, my friends, that is probably as typical of a day as I could give you!
(I hope you’re not sorely disappointed.) Trust me when I say that some people have really nice, neat home school days! Just not us, right now anyways.

Also, keep in mind that I am focusing this post on our “homeschool schedule.” I’m not even trying to cover when/how I do my blogging or writing work, Dave’s work both as a doctor and a farmer, etc. I just can’t cover it all in one post! 😉

A couple additional notes:
–Two to three nights a week kids have youth group. This either follows or replaces an evening surf, and also puts them to bed a little later than we like…
–Also when surf isn’t great, boys spend more time doing school (often covering a day and a half or even two days of school to make up for lost time.) They also take more breaks then to skate our bowl, do individual projects, do more chores. (and mom is happy!)
–Two surf sessions a day is “typical” but not an everyday thing. This might happen two-three times a week. There are occasional days where no one surfs at all.
–One Friday a month we do a food-distribution with the Hawaii Food Bank which cuts our day in half, and it seems like at least twice a month we are interrupted with dentist appointments, or other random things.
–ALSO NOTE: We start school at the beginning of August. In this post I shared what a typical day has looked like in the past, but I will add that this year I am writing up some more strict schedules for things like bedtime. I’ll let ya know how that goes. I’m really hoping to have everyone IN BED by 8:30 to read, and lights out by 9:00 this year. Also looking to start the day consistent early (and refreshed..) Hey, a woman can dream!

Feel free to ask questions, share some of your day, or anything else below!
**AND as always, if you have found this inspiring, or even just amusing, please use social media share buttons to pass it on to friends! Mahalo!

Sending much love and Aloha!
Monica

GIVEAWAY WINNER! Thank you all for the FUN Summer Lovin’ comments! Jill (Mom of three boys and a girl!) was randomly chosen, and I have already sent her an email. I give two days to hear back, and if I haven’t heard I will draw another name. Thank you again to 808Dude for offering the fun giveaway!

Home School

Some reasons we’ve loved homeschooling high school.

Time

Individual Interests

Realizing One Size Doesn’t Fit All

1) Make sure they spend time together.

2) Encourage them to support each other’s interests:

3) Find common interests for them to share

4) Let them work things out on their own.

So here we go…HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM UPDATES:

Elementary School–

Here are five:

Let’s jump into a typical home school day in our home:

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