Hello Moms and friends of Moms,
It's been awhile since my last blog.
I've been busy creating content and living life.
Since my last blog, we (my family) have discovered that my kid wants to be Shaun White so mama had to do what mama had to do and started homeschooling to chase the snow.
@TristamtheBoarder on IG
I used to be anti-homeschool and was resistant.
I thought homeschooling created bunch of anti-social weirdo kids and I just wasn't sure about it.
After doing it for few months of growing pains, I was a changed person.
Homeschooling is not so bad.
It gives you flexibility with your schedule and you get to mold your kid's curriculum.
But it's a lot of work and time consuming, not to mention the fights.
If I had a choice, I would sent the kid back to school but we are under quarantine and it looks like this will be awhile.
And a mamas gotta do what a mamas gotta do.
HOMESCHOOLING
Here are some resources and tips I've learned along the way.
RULES I LEARNED TO MAKE IT EASIER
1. Time the kid.
Tell your kid that they have certain amount of minutes to complete work and set your timer. Otherwise, this will take all day. Mine will.
2. Give the kid an incentive like screen time if they complete such and such.
Kid with an objective is so much easier to deal with than an uninspired potato sack.
3. Set expectations. I tell the kid what needs to be completed, what we have to accomplish and get him involved to have him help me help him so we don't get a giant "F".
4. Maybe your wifi could go out for few days? Amazing how my kid picked up reading after we stayed in an area that had no wifi for days. Now, my kid is an avid reader. Getting your kid to read adds the biggest value in education and gives mom some personal space and time.
5. One thing a day.
If your kid learns one thing a day, you are ok. Don't be hard on yourself.
I try to teach one new lesson and review one of something old, usually math related. Repetition seems to be the key in making anything stick. Somedays this will be nearly impossible and some days you do more than one.
RESOURCES FOR HOMESCHOOLING
1. Worksheets -
Print a worksheet for the topic you are covering and you get some mom time, hopefully. You can choose your kid's grade and the subject at www.education.com. They offer guided lessons and lesson plans but I like them best for the worksheets. Again, it's about repetition and making it sink in.
Teacherspayteachers.com is also good for worksheets and lesson plans. This is a website created by teachers where they share their lesson plans and www.dadsworksheets.com was created by a dad and has great worksheets.
2. Outschool.com offers small live zoom classes on all subjects including personal development and even piano. I schedule early AM classes since your kid has to be out of bed for the class! and they could associate with a live kids, online that is. They also offer pre-recorded classes but for that you have youtube. Yes, www.youtube.com has everything on everything.
3. www.khanacademy.org is also good for video tutorials and if you need a brush up on what you have to teach your kid. 😀What is an adverb again, really?
4. There are project based learning packets and plans on topics that a traditional school would never cover. Get your kid to learn all about electronics. You can order a kit on www.eeme.com ~ another dad-runned company that teaches kids how to use a breadboard and control a led light!
There are cooking clubs for kids like www.raddishkids.com and https://captainplanetfoundation.org for little budding gardeners.
Or the curriculum requirement for fourth grader's history covers California state history. How about teaching this from an American-Indian's POV or learning about Mulholland and the water wars that covers Los Angeles into Inyo County and beyond. I did.
5. Mathantics.com makes math fun and explains math really well. They also have their own youtube channel.
6. Podcasts are good and educational. I like history podcasts and play them when I have the kid trapped in the car. My favorite one is "American History Tellers". Surprising, how much history they could learn in the car! There are many kid's podcast out there. "Finn Caspian" (just for fun), "Storynory" for stories all around the world and "Brains On" for science etc.
but our favorite podcast is neither educational or g-rated since we love to listen to real life ghost stories on "Anything Ghost" with Lex Wahl!
Here are more resources -
RESOURCES:
Tutor.com ~ Free online tutoring for K-12
Overdrive ~ Books, audiobooks, comics, magazines, and videos
Kanopy ~ Educational and entertaining movies and shows
BookFlix by Scholastic ~ Read-along and listen to books
ScienceFlix by Scholastic ~ Hundreds of science topics with articles and videos for all levels.
MakeMake ~ Digital books in en español
CultureGrams ~ Maps, flags and reports on countries and states
New York Times ~ Free access to the online edition
Teens of LA Film Fest ~ submissions accepted through June 19th
Universal Class ~ continuing education courses for career or personal enrichment
Lynda.com ~ over 3,000 courses taught by industry experts
Mango Languages ~ free online language learning
Quill.org ~ interactive writing and grammer
Topscience.org ~ science, chemistry, physics, math - hands-on learning system
I will add to this blog as I go and learn more.
Excuse my grammer and spelling mistakes.
I'm on limited mommy time without any assistants.
Moms! If you have additional resources you want to share, please write below.
~ yoMamaRice blogs, vlogs, makes things and does funny
- yoMamaRice