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It’s Back to HomeSchool time!! Enter the $500 Paypal Cash Giveaway below! 

Last year I had a crazy eclectic homeschool program. It was fabulous, we had a great time and my son learned a lot. Our co-op was a big part of our program. This year, I’ve decided to take a slightly different approach: simple and forthright. We need something simple as we continue to transition back into a civilian lifestyle. Our main focus this year will be on writing in preparation for high school ( it’s just two short years away).

Here’s Our 7th Grade Homeschool Plan:

Pre – Algebra (private tutoring): I am very blessed to have a mother who is a teacher too! She’ll be tutoring my son this year in Pre-Algebra. We needed to take a break from Teaching Textbooks to freshen things up a bit but will likely be back to it for high school. In addition, want my son to work on the fundamentals, so we are doing daily speed drills to sharpen his skills.

Language Arts ( Seton Spelling 7 and English 7) : We have always used Seton books. I find their English to be very high standard and love how they incorporate our Catholic faith; I feel like he’ll be getting plenty of religious instruction using them along with attending CCD/youth group.

Mechanical Man is enrolled in the actual courses online so they grade his writing papers, which I love because he gets feedback from them. In addition, we’ll be doing lots of reading. We have a great list of books this year. I will post our reading list soon. Adventurous Mailbox Series 1 is included and it fits nicely with our social studies/geography course this year.

Social Studies/ Geography– We’re taking a short break from our typical history this year and using Apologia’s Around the World in 180 Days. I’m so excited about this book. Why? Because it has it all. Geography of course, but it also incorporates history, culture and so much more with lots of practice in research skills and tons of opportunity for reports and project suggestions. That’s where a lot of my eclectic spirit will be allowed to shine out! Watch for a full review later on this year.

I’m also putting together some Every Nation Notebook Pages. These will be FREE for my subscribers once I get them created!

Science (Unit Studies) – For Science this year, it’s gonna be a very free style approach. No textbook! I’ve got so many wonderful living books I can use to cover a variety of studies. But the part we are most excited about is our microscope! We can’t wait to do our microscope unit and labs!

Bless a Homeschooler Giveaway- Enter Below

Some of you may still be still planning your homeschool year while others have already started, and some of you may have never stopped!  That’s the beauty of homeschooling – to be able to do what suits your family.  It’s back again to bless one of you; The Bless a Homeschooler Giveaway! I’ve gotten together with a group of bloggers to bless a homeschooling family with $500 (Paypal) CASH!  We’ve put our resources together to bring you a giveaway for a chance of winning $500. We know homeschooling can put financial strain on families – whether it’s from living on one income or buying curriculum for your children – the financial aspect of it can be stressful.  Our hope is that we can monetarily bless a homeschool family so they can buy the curriculum they need, pay off a bill or two, or be able to have their kids participate in extra curricular activities.

For your chance to win, simple use the Rafflecopter form below to enter –   a Rafflecopter giveaway Giveaway ends August 25th, 2015 at 11:59pm EDT.  You must be at least 18 years of age.  Selected winner will have 48 hours to respond to email notification to claim their prizes or another winner will be drawn.

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The post 7th Grade Homeschool Plan & Bless a Homeschooler Giveaway appeared first on Harrington Harmonies.

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I’ve had several readers comment lately on the need for more homeschool resources for middle and high school. And I can’t agree more! I’m not sure if it’s because numbers get smaller with homeschoolers who educate in the older grades or if it’s because moms like to select more established and accredited programs as material progress academically. Whatever the reason, I’m here to continue to make fun and creative materials for homeschools of all ages.

Use a Writing Rubric for Middle School

Since my child is now middle school much (but not all) of what you see here will be geared for older grades. It may be difficult for the average homeschool mom to quantify in her mind how to grade writing assignments. I’ve found it essential and more fair to utilize a Writing Rubric. This writing rubric is geared for my  7th grader’s daily assignments -small paragraphs and mini reports. For larger reports, apply the content section sentence requirements to paragraphs.

Download this Writing Rubric PDF

see our TOS here.

I also utilize it as a check list for his own for final editing. This gives him the chance to edit his own mistakes first before I issue a final grade. Grading his own work is a useful and helpful exercise- especially for teens and preteens.

Feel free to use this document for your own personal use. You may download and make copies for your own household. To share- simply share the post linking back to this page. Please refer to my terms of service for more information.

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The post Writing Rubric for Middle School appeared first on Harrington Harmonies.

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You may have noticed a recent lull in my blogging. A few months ago a family member was assaulted. It was devastating and sent our family into crisis. Everything stopped. Like any educator, I needed to take emergency leave from teaching to care for my family member in need. There’s just one problem. Unlike the employed educator, I didn’t get paid while on leave, nor did my child continue to receive full time instruction from a substitute. Everything just stopped, and rightly so.

I’ve seen it time and time again that an event like this sends homeschoolers back to the school system. I’m not necessarily against that it you feel it’s the best course of action- sometimes it’s necessary. But what if you really want to continue to homeschool long term?

 Sustaining homeschool through crisis is possible.

Ways to be prepared.

Nothing prepares you for violence against a loved one. You ache for them and ask yourself why over and over. You search for meaning or some explanation. You wonder what you could have done differently to have prevented it. I am humbled by the recent violence in Paris and I realize that none of us are immune to crisis. It’s part of our human experience. I’m thankful to God today that healing and forgiveness are also part of the experience.

1.Plan to Plan

When it comes to homeschooling we can be prepared. I have struggled with planning over the years just like any other homeschool mom and the dubious task of balancing homeschool demands with other aspect of life. I’ve had more success when I have planned the entire year out ahead of time. I know it sounds crazy, but it works. I usually order books early and then take a month to plan a scope and sequence as well as daily assignments. It’s really easy to adjust later and omit as needed.

Because when crisis hits you can still do some homeschooling according to what’s planned and you really don’t need to think about it. You can focus on the crisis.

2. The 3 R’s

Reading, Writing , and Arithmetic. You can get back to the basics during a time of crisis. Just do what is necessary and take a break from the extras and keep it simple.

3. Outsource

As a homeschooler today you have many choices. Outsource what you find optimal. It may mean dual enrollment at a public or private school, online enrollment, co-ops, private tutoring of a course or two, etc. Take advantage of ALL the resources available and do whatever you need to make your homeschool sustainable during crisis.

     There is a light during all this darkness…

And at the end of the day, your child will learn more than just academics. He’ll (or she’ll) learn what it means to love each other through difficulty, share pain and joy as a family, and bear trials with grace and understanding. They will know the meaning of being loved and being family- this is your most important task as a parent and as the first teacher of your child. This is your finest hour. It’s when you practice what you teach.

So, if you are suffering a trial or other difficulty while homeschooling, hang in there. Do what you can and teach through love and grace.

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The post Sustaining Homeschool Through Crisis appeared first on Harrington Harmonies.

I’ve been a homeschool mom for more than 18 years, so I’ve never actually had my own creative space. It really never even crossed my mind as something people had! (LOL). I’ve lived in 18 different homes in the last 20 years, most of them not my own. So, they were temporary at best.

 Art Studio Ideas for Small Spaces

I’ve made every place we’ve lived a home; that’s just part of the military lifestyle. But, retirement has been different- and I didn’t expect that. Silly me, I thought it would be easy.  It has taken me much longer to adjust and to make a home here. Usually everything is unpacked and set up in a week or two. It must be because of the permanency. I’ve never had a home that would be permanent.

per·ma·nent
ˈpərmənənt/adjective
1.lasting or intended to last or remain unchanged indefinitely.

It’s gotten me out of my safety zone for sure. I’ve had to be patient. Still, I truly am thrilled and it’s been a happy adjustment on my part. I’ve taken a room that was totally blah and made it into my own creative space. And I did it on a very limited budget too!

Hubby removed the carpet and I painted the walls. The color isn’t one I’d normally choose but it just seemed right.  I have to warn you though, it looks very different in different types of lighting. For the most part it looks yellow, and that’s a good phycological color for a creative space. I used left over KILZ paint to prime the dark blue previous color (so no expense for me there) and one gallon of BEHR All in One Quiet Veranda (around $30).

Next, hubby tore out the carpet and we hired the laminate flooring installed. It was the same cost as DIY since we’d need to invest in tools as well. Plus this way, we didn’t have to do the labor. ( $400 for materials and about $300 for labor.) They were fantastic and had it installed in just a few hours.

DIY Craft Desk- $50

The rest of the makeover took me a bit longer. I searched for inexpensive items to furnish the room. A crafty desk was next in line. I really had no budget for this so I wasn’t sure how to make it happen. Craft desks can be very expensive.

I built the above craft desk out of two double sided kitchen cabinets without doors. They came to me half painted and the both of them for $10. I painted them cream and then distressed the wood. See full instructions on How I made this DIY Craft Desk soon on Hip Homeschool Moms later this month.

I found an amazing chair for this desk too- for $40 at a consignment shop. It was a lucky find! Because a craft desk is a bit higher than a standard desk, at 30 inches, you need a higher than average chair. I found that the lowest setting of this bar stool works well. So far, it’s fairly comfortable and perfect for working on art. For computer work, since I have a laptop, I move around the house a lot anyway.

Art Shelves from Repurposed Old Wood $20

I needed a way to make my room feel like a studio- not an extra bedroom. I wanted my supplies at arms length. They didn’t all have to be right at my desk- I don’t mind getting up and moving around while I create. But I need them to be right there where I could see what all I have. This was the very fun part.

I made some old wood that I found in my garage into shabby little art shelves with just a little paint and small Corner Braces. I did have to do a little sawing with this project but it was minimal so i just used a hand saw and it wasn’t too hard at all. I also found a nice shelf piece of unpainted wood so I made a few larger selves with those. all the shelving required was some paint I already had and some shelving hardware- for about 7 shelves it cost around $30 in hardware total. I also found those little square shelves that you see at garage sales of the last few months. I found three sets and picked them up for around $3 a set. I love how they added some interest as well as extra space! Total spent on shelves- $39.

Of course, I also do quite a lot of homeschooling it this room. It’s definitely NOT a “stay out of mom’s room” type room. But my two guys aren’t too interested in what’s in there- art wise, so no problems really with people moving things on me either. We do some homeschooling in there as well, especially when the printer is required. And we may also be in there to record some music too!

I know this isn’t quite a homeschool room. We homeschool all over the house!  But because we do a lot of art in our homeschool and because I also store lots of homeschool books in the room, I linked it up here:

What new project or organization system are you using this year?

The post Art Studio Ideas for Small Spaces appeared first on Harrington Harmonies.

Enter Why Homeschool Giveaway Below!

Why Homeschool After 18+ Years?

I’ve homeschooled now since I first attempted it in 1997 with my ADHD child, whom I homeschooled for very specific reasons. We homeschooled only off and on for the first few years, It was a struggle. Then I found confidence and success in 2003 after adopting a Charlotte Mason philosophy and approach. We’ve been homeschooling exclusively ever since. Homeschooling my artistic and gifted children was something I simply HAD to do.  

But why keep going after 18+ years? Things have changed greatly over the last 18 years, my homeschool too. I’ve had to redefine and reinvent things over and over again. And as I enter into a new season of my life I find myself adapting once again. I’ve already graduated two children, both have completed their college and trade schools. Ahhhhhhh, sweet success. What a feeling of accomplishment- but no easy task. We had many good days and also bad ones.  Homeschooling is not perfect. It’s a labor of love.

Having purchased 19 years of curriculum over the years, I’ve tried a lot of what’s out there. I learned to homeschool by trial and error, adapt programs and create my own. But I’m not done yet. I still have a 7th grader this year to educate.

The dynamics have changed once again. Renewal is in the air. I’m seeking a fresh approach and thinking as much as I can about letting my homeschool approach evolve and be right for the now. I don’t want to be  “stuck” in the past but I I also want to allow myself the opportunity to revisit what has been a success.

However it may look in the specifics, Homeshooling is the right choice for us for these five reasons:

1. I get to choose what my child will learn. It’s up to me to choose what is academically appropriate and best for his learning style and ability. I get to decide what is best; I can make sure it is in tune with our values and beliefs. This is so important.

2. It’s academically effective. It’s hard to compete with one on one instruction and supervision. Though it’s not a fix all for everything, homeschooling is a strong form of education when executed.

3. It’s flexible. I try to be constant and true. But it’s important for our family to have flexibility; it’s great to be able to adjust fire, take breaks and vacations and family time when needed! And it’s wonderful to have total control of the schedule. As a military family, this aspect has been so beneficial for us.

4. It’s faith based. Most of my program is written by Christian authors. Some subjects are written by specifically Catholic authors which is extra wonderful so that we can incorporate faith into our child’s education.

5. It’s Affordable. Homeschooling can be expensive if you’re not disciplined. But there is also a range of affordability as well. It’s much cheeper than Catholic school tuition fees and you can invest your money in what is high priority and find so many other resources out there for free!

For More Why Homeschooling Inspiration, Visit the Posts Below!

Why I Still Choose to Homeschool After 18 Years – Harrington Harmonies

Should I Homeschool? – Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers

Why We STILL Homeschool – 1+1+1=1

10 Reasons to Homeschool – True Aim

Why Homeschool Giveaway!

We want to make it easy for you to start homeschooling! So, enter to win with the Rafflecopter below! The first 5000 people will get a FREE LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP to Lessontrek.com and more exclusive freebies & discounts! The Grand Prize Winner will receive a Kindle Fire HDX 7″, 16 GB; a $50 Amazon Gift Card, and a choice of one curriculum package below! 2 other lucky winners will be drawn for the remaining curriculum packages!

If you prefer NOT to use Rafflecopter, but would still like to enter to win, please subscribe to the Why Homeschooling Newsletter (1 entry).

PreK & K Prize Package ($338 value)

Timberdoodle – Tegu Excursion

We Choose Virtues – Homeschool Kit

Blue Manor Academy – Preschool Curriculum eBook Set

Usborne – Start to Read Pack

$50 Amazon Gift Card!

Elementary Prize Package ($646 Value)

Sing’n Learn – Math to Music 4 Book Set

CTC Math – 12 Month Family Homeschool Membership

Simply Fun – 3 Game Set; Dinosaur Challenge, Star Gazer, Global Ranking

Character Concepts – Kids of Character Curriculum

Math-U-See – New Complete Set of your choice

See The Light – Bible Story Art Projects DVD Boxed Set

WriteShop – Your Choice; Writeshop Primary or Junior Set

Geography Matters – Desk Atlas Bundle

Middle Grades & Up ($250 Value)

Math Essentials – No-Nonsense Algebra

Sing’n Learn – Kingdom’s Hope Audio Book 3 Disc Set and 1001 Writing Projects for Students

Masterbooks – Principles of Mathematics

Alpha Omega – LifePac Elective Course

$50 Amazon Gift Card

*For full rules of entry, view the Rafflecopter “Terms & Conditions”

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post Why I Still Choose to Homeschool After 18 Years appeared first on Dymphna's Song.