Homeschool Exercise Tip #2 – Warm Up

Posted on July 12, 2011 by Administrator

Whether you are performing structured or unstructured activity for your physical education component it is important to warm up before doing any kind of strenuous work. A warm up readies your body for more intense activity as well as decreases your chance of injury from being active.

What is a warm up?

A warm up is a series of light movements that increase the blood flow to working muscles and warms the muscles up so that they are more elastic and less likely to become injured as you increase the intensity of whatever you are doing.

How to warm up

Begin with light repetitive movements that use large joints in the body. Examples would be walking at a comfortable pace, small jumps, arm circles, marching in place and arm scissors. This will increase blood flow to working areas and warm the muscles a bit. Move the parts of your body you will be using through a progressively larger range of motion. If you will be running try marching in place and gradually lifting your knees up higher as you warm up. Another example is if you are going to be throwing a ball begin with small arm circles and gradually make them as large as your comfortably can.

All the movements should be comfortable. This is not the time to stretch to increase your flexibility; that is a sure fire way to injure yourself. If you want to increase your flexibility do it after the activity when your muscles are thoroughly warm. Always be in control of your movements start slowly and only increase the pace as you feel comfortable. Never move so quickly that the momentum from the movement will carry any body parts past a normal range of motion.  The warm up should be between 5-10 minutes in length to prepare your body for more intense activity.

Tips for warm ups with kids

  • Be creative and give your children an image or goal they can relate to rather than just performing the movements. An example would be if you are marching on the spot pretend you are in a marching band once you get the marching going with the knees coming up nice and high you can add the arms in by pretending you are beating on a large drum. Another example would be if you are reaching your hands above your head to warm up the shoulders and trunk you could pretend to be reaching up to grasp the clouds.
  • Perform the movements with your children, a visual example is important when performing the movements. It is usually easier to perform the movement correctly by having an example rather than a description.
  • Use as many different large movements as you can think of and keep them fairly short in duration, this will help keep the interest level up and give you a better chance of warming up the entire body than just a specific area.

Sample warm up

  • Walk – Walk across your yard three times increasing the speed a little each time. March – March in place, swing your arms with the march for 1 minute.
  • Leg Kicks – Stand on one leg and swing the other leg at the hip as far forward and back as is comfortable without moving the upper body ten times on each leg.
  • Flexion and Extension – Alternate between reaching up and extend your arms above your head and reaching down toward your toes with your knees slightly bent ten times each.
  • Standing Trunk Twists – Hold your arms out at should height and slowly rotate your torso without rotating your hips or legs as far as you comfortably can ten times.
  • Arm Circles – Stand with your arms out at shoulder height and begin small arm circles. Gradually make the circles larger. Reverse the direction and repeat for approximately 20 seconds each direction.
  • Shrugs – With your arms at your sides shrug your shoulders up and then drop your shoulders straight down as far as your comfortably can 5 times.
  • Arm Scissors – Start with your arms out at your sides at shoulder height and slowly bring your hands across in front of your body until your hands and arms cross each other 10 times.
  • Slow Jumps – Slowly bend your knees and then slowly jump 10 times. You should only come off the ground a bit. There are many other good movements to do in a warm up.

Now that you are all warmped up get out and enjoy some fun physical activity with the whole family.

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Homeschool Exercise Tip #1 – Obstacle Course

Posted on June 12, 2011 by Administrator

Ever found your kids climbing the walls for want of exercise?  The picture to the left is reason enough to make sure your children are receiving enough physical activity or they will take matters into their own hands.

I will be adding a new category to the blog starting today on Phys. Ed. ideas for homeschoolers.  Sometimes it can be a challenge to come up with activity ideas that are fun, interesting, and work on developing a skill or improving overall health and wellness with only a couple of kids.  Most physical education book are geared toward a classroom approach which means games and activities for larger groups.  A lot of these ideas do not lend themselves easily to a small group.

One way to get involved in larger group activities is through your community sports clubs.  Many communities offer soccer, baseball or softball, hockey, martial arts, figure skating, dance, gymnastics and many other choices for children 3-4 and up.  One limiting factor with community sports is the price and this may make them not the ideal choice for everyone.

Another avenue is to find out if a local homeschooling group offers activities.  Often a group of homeschoolers who live close to each other will organize fun, activity based outings that can help meet this need and it is a great way to network with other home educators in your area.

As this blog progresses, I will offer more “at home” ideas that you can use on a day-to-day basis to fill the need between community sports or homeschool outings that may not take place often enough to provide what your child needs for physical education.

Daily physical activity is very important for children in terms of overall health and development.  An article published in the International Journal of Obesity entitled “Is the Canadian childhood obesity epidemic related to physical inactivity?” by Trembley and Wilms discusses just this fact.  Children who are more involved in structured or unstructured physical activity tend to be less obese.  Now that may not seem like earth shattering news, if you are more active you will be healthier.  Our jobs as parents and educators is to help our children learn, develop healthy activity habits and above all make it enjoyable.    Positive experiences with physical activity is one of the factors which can contribute to an adult being more involved in physical activity.  The article entitled “Childhood and Adolescent Physical Activity Patterns and Adult Physical Activity” by Taylor et al in Medicine & Science in Sport & Exercise looks at the factors contributing to higher levels of physical activity in adulthood.  One major factor is a positive physical activity experience in choldhood.  If you force your kids to exercise it can cause a negative perception of exercise and make them less active as adults.   So keep it enjoyable and varied to find an activity option your child will like.  To help kids enjoy being active I will be posting free fun exercise tips.

My first Homeschool Exercise Tip is especially for kids up to approximately 12 years old.  Try  an obstacle course.  Obstacle courses are great fun, you can incorporate the items you already have in your home or backyard so it does not cost anything.  Obstacle courses can also be used to focus on specific skills you would like your child to practice, especially large motor skills like jumping, running, hopping, skipping, crawling, and throwing.

Sample Obstacle Course:

  • Run to the other end of your yard.
  • Run around a tree twice.
  • Step in circles you have made on the ground with tires, ropes or even a pet leash.
  • Crawl through a tunnel make by placing a few chairs next to each other.
  • Toss a ball into a basket.
  • Jump in the air three times.
  • Climb over a table or bench to finish.

An obstacle course can be done over successive days to try and decrease time to complete the course or as a fun competition between siblings or friends.  It can also be used as a fun activity without any competitiveness attached to it.

 

Posted in Physical Education | 2 Comments

New History/Literature Curriculum

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Administrator

 

Our new website is up!  After what seemed like ages we finally have something up for everyone to look at.  You can visit LEAF – Lifelong Education and Fun here.

A bit of background information…

As homeschoolers with a growing family we found it harder and harder to find a program that fit our needs (multiple age lessons/topics).  We also noticed a lack of Canadian content in the programs we were finding.  We decided to make our own Canadian history unit a couple of years ago to teach to our children.

Earlier this year we revisited this unit and decided to try and share it with the rest of the world through a small business venture selling unit plans for Canadian History and Literature for other home educators to use.

What we found was that we had way too much information crammed into one nine week unit.  To begin doing the information justice we expanded what we had into four units of nine weeks each.  The first unit which covers Canadian history from pre history to 1760 is very close to being finished.  Close enough in fact to have a couple of sample weeks available for people to look at.  The samples can be found here.

The history program is combined with a literature program as well.  The literature program was designed to complement the history but to focus on learning about literature, not necessarily just learning about history through literature.

Each unit is organized into three age groups to provide something for all age ranges.  Being able to study similar topics with all your children can be a huge time saver and it gives an opportunity for the older students to help the younger ones.  Another advantage is that you can find something to fit the needs of your child whether that is drawing from an older or younger section or combining part of two.  It is all in one place.

We believe education should be fun and if you are engaged in a program you are more likely to put more energy into it and also get more out of it.  With this in mind there are lots of fun projects bundled with the program.  Colouring pages, cooking projects, craft projects, word searches and crosswords are all included.

If you are looking for a history or literature program with Canadian content we hope you will check us out.

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Homeschooling a Child with a Disability

Posted on May 1, 2011 by Administrator

When I first thought about writing a blog post about home educating a child with a disability I thought “no problem”.  I have a bachelor’s degree in a disability field and have worked with people with a disability for nearly 20 years, I have a disability myself and I think I have done fairly well with keeping up with training and continuing to learn since I left University.  When I sat down to write the post though it became very difficult.  There is so much information out there, there are so many types of disabilities, and it is such a personal thing in that two people with the same disability can be quite different in terms of their strengths, needs, and abilities.

Talking about a child with a disability is a delicate subject as well in that parents are at different places in their knowledge about their child’s disability, their comfort level in talking or learning more about the disability, and their acceptance of help from others.  Having a child with a disability can be such a personal thing that it is hard to ask for help to listen to advice from others, because really they do not know exactly what you are experiencing.

One area I hear a lot about from parents of a child with a disability is a negative attitude toward professionals and not receiving the help they need.  Working with people with a disability for nearly twenty years including fitness programs, school settings and residential support settings has taught me that professionals know what they are talking about; unfortunately some of them are not very good at communicating on the level the parent needs at that time. As a parent, the best thing you can do learn from them is ask lots of questions, be open to suggestions, and think of how you can incorporate suggestions into your daily routine.  You really do know your child best, but sometimes being so close to the situation it is difficult to be creative and think of alternate ways of doing things.  Also why reinvent the wheel? There is a lot of research being done on different approaches to educating a child with a disability so use the work done by others to your advantage.  Suggestions from professionals usually are coming from a lot of experience or familiarity with the latest research trends.

Homeschooling offers some real advantages over mainstream schooling for a child with a disability.  You can individualize the program to work on exactly what is needed.  You have the flexibility to concentrate on a skill or topic until the child learns it as well as the freedom to set up your schedule to help the child as much as possible rather than having the child fit the schedule of a whole classroom full of students.

One disadvantage is that access to professional help through the school system is not there in the same way.  Home educators need to actively seek out that support.  This can be difficult; I know a lot of homeschoolers who take the world on their shoulders and try to do it all themselves.  This certainly speaks in part to why we homeschool, because on some level we think we can give our kids a better education than they receive in the public system.  It is important to remember we may be dealing with something that is truly out of our league to effectively deal with without some help.

Some general suggestions are:

  • Look into support groups for you and/or your child, linking with other parents experiencing something similar can be very helpful
  • If something is concerning you, get it checked out. Your pediatrician is a good place to start, but be prepared for a long investigation into whatever is concerning you. A good professional should tell you when they do not have the answers and refer you to someone who might.
  • Learn as much as you can; keep yourself up to date.
  • The internet is a double edged sword: lots of good information, also lots of information that is not substantiated.  Look for articles with references, refereed journals, or at least peer reviewed information.
  • Don’t be afraid to look around for a professional you can trust.  You want someone who is going to take your concerns seriously.  It needs to be someone you can talk to and feel comfortable asking questions.  You need to be able to trust them because if there is really nothing to be concerned about and they tell you that it will just lead to more doubts if that trust is not there.
  • Try not to get caught up in the negative comments that can come from some people.  Think about where the comments are coming from and if the person really knows what they are talking about with regard to your child’s disability.  These comments can be hurtful, but don’t put much stock in people’s comments when they have not idea what they are talking about.

Remember to stay as positive as possible, ask for help when you need it, and try to find the silver lining when frustration is setting in.

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Family Dynamics

Posted on April 17, 2011 by Administrator

When you have a larger family, people always ask how the mom can cope with the needs of all the children. Usually the answer is that the older ones help with the needs of the younger ones. I know in our house, that frequently happens during math time because we homeschool. I am not strong in math but my oldest son is so invariably my answer is, “Go ask you brother.” He helps the little ones out in no time and we get one with our day. This was working well until my husband and I realized that we had effectively cut our children into two groups: “The Boys” and “The Little Ones”. It got so bad that we noticed that our second oldest boy saving treats for his older brother but not “The Little Ones”.

Our goal is for our family to be one strong unit and when we realized what was happening, we decided it needed to stop–but how? That’s when we decided to try the buddy system where we would pair one kid up with another for one week and then switch. During that week, they would, take turns with the other buddy team cleaning the kitchen. They also needed to schedule time to do three fun activities with just the two of them.  Since we have five children, one is always left out but no one minds that because it means they don’t have to do dishes for a week!

At first the older boys were not particularly thrilled about the arrangement because they didn’t want to “play” with their little brother or sisters. Neither did they want to clean the kitchen with them because they would end up doing more work. The younger ones, on the other hand, loved the system from day one. They couldn’t wait to have extra time one-on-one with a big brother. Along the way, the boys realized that just because the were working with younger siblings didn’t mean that they had to do all the work. Part of their job, they came to understand, was to explain and delegate the work so they didn’t have to do all of it.

Do they enjoy playing board games with the little ones? Probably not all the time, but then again I don’t particularly like Junior Scrabble either if I play it too often! But I guess our focus is more long term. The little ones are growing fast and can now play games that the boys like. They enjoy running around outside with them and getting out the soccer ball.

The system falls apart at times and we still hear the occasional complaint that someone has more work to do than someone else but all in all we are seeing an improvement in their relationship.  We are hopeful that working and playing together will ensure that all five siblings maintain a strong bond to last a lifetime.

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Lesson Ideas – Combining Subjects

Posted on April 9, 2011 by Administrator


Ever felt like you were going 47 directions at once?  Homeschooling multiple children in multiple grades can feel like this on many days.  One way we have found to help focus things more and have a lot of fun is to approach a group of subjects from the information in one subject.

History is easy to use as your guiding subject.  Whatever you are studying in history you could find literature to match the time period and all of a sudden you are talking about history in language arts.  Science can be worked in as well, by looking at the geology of the area of the world you are studying or looking at what animals live in that place or particular time.  Looking at exploring the technology of the time period is another way to link science with history.

Other subjects could be used as the guiding topic as well.  Start with a particular book you want your children to read, add what was happening in the world at that time period or the place the book was set and history is added.  Look at the technology, animals, weather, or geology that appear in the book and science is there too.  We prefer to link other subjects with history, but it really could go any way you want it to.  A good example of a literature based approach to including other subjects is The Prairie Primer by Margie Gray.

With multiple grade levels looking at similar books, or the same subject matter with more detail for older students works well.  Your children can then talk and work together more than if they are studying completely different things.  One aspect we have enjoyed is having the older students prepare presentations for their younger siblings.

Another great benefit we have found is the incidental learning that comes out of linking subjects.  By reading a book linked with other subjects you may get started talking about the book and then a reference in the book may begin a whole new conversation on the history or science of the time.  The same works in reverse, you may be talking history and be able to related it to the happenings in your book, beginning a whole new opportunity to learn.

The different angles to a particular subject provided by linking can give your children more opportunities and different opportunities to learn.  Making part of a book meaningful for science or history purposes may help them really understand why a character did a particular thing in the story.

Have fun with combining subjects and see where it may take you.

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Learning and Fun

Posted on April 2, 2011 by Administrator

“I’m bored”
“I don’t like that subject”
“Why do I need to learn this anyway”
A lot of homeschoolers hear these statements from their children from time to time.  While education should be fun my wife and I did not start home educating our kids to get into the entertainment business.

It can be a tough when a student is not motivated in a particular subject that still needs to be taught.  A lot of homeschoolers, ourselves included, envisioned a day full of interesting activity, flowing from one lesson to the next, everyone eager to dive into more information.  Sometimes our days are like that; sometimes they are not.  Hearing your kids say, “I’m bored” can put you at a loss for words.  I think we should all remember that we can’t control what someone else likes or is interested in.  Sometimes it does not matter how fun and engaging an activity is, one of the participants might be bored.

There are certain foundations in education that I believe everyone should learn to the best of their ability, basic math and reading skills to name two.  Although we try to make schooling fun, sometimes we settle for interesting, and sometimes just for the knowledge that might lead to something more fun or interesting in the future. From time to time what we have to do may not be fun, but it can always be a learning experience.  A good life lesson can come out of these times.  Not all rewards are instantaneous, and learning a bit of perseverance to accomplish something is a good thing.

Our older children sometimes comment when they are looking at their younger siblings work, “That math is easy.  I wish mine was that easy.”  We remind them that at the time they were learning it, it was not easy and that having to put a bit of effort into a subject means you are being challenged and that at the end of the day you will probably know something you did not at the beginning.

Learning should be as fun as possible, because when people are having fun, their motivation is usually higher and I believe you retain more because you are engaged in the activity.  Making learning fun and challenging whenever possible is the ideal combination.

Finding a balance that works for you and your family is important.  Have fun, be flexible, but also be ready for the odd activity that is not well received.  We try to make education as interesting as possible, but we also understand part of our role as educators is to expose our children to new experiences even if we are unsure if our children will find them interesting.  Our job is to teach them and sometimes we do not know what will interest them until they are exposed to it.

Some things that we have done to make learning more interesting are:

  • Incorporating cooking into our lessons.  We plan a meal for the whole family based on the types of foods that would be eaten in the area we are studying in history.
  • While we read a lesson to our children they have an activity/colouring page for them to work on while they are listening.
  • We have done a whole year around a theme like Harry Potter and related as many activities to the books as possible. Even when the assignments weren’t “fun,” receiving mailing from Hogwarts in the treehouse made a world of difference!
  • Linking subjects can make them more fun as well.  A history program that incorporates language arts and literature, so the books you are reading for language arts related to the subject matter in history can be very enjoyable.

Hands on learning like

  • mummifying a chicken when studying Egypt
  • making a cloud in a jar when studying weather
  • make a volcano representing Mt. Vesuvius when studying history
  • make a booklet on animals we have found in different habitats for science

Be creative, try to make learning fun, but don’t be afraid to be a bit firm at times to help ensure your children receive the best education they possibly can.

Posted in Lesson Ideas | 4 Comments

Scheduling Can Help You Keep Your Sanity

Posted on March 26, 2011 by Administrator

 

Whenever I tell people that I educate our children at home the response is invariable, “Oh, I could never do that. I wouldn’t have the patience.” I never quite know what to say to that because I wouldn’t describe myself as a patient person but I have found that whenever I follow a schedule the day goes by much smoother. But how, many ask, do you plan a day teaching five  children ranging in age from six to sixteen. I’ve always wished to see how teachers managed in a one-room school house! Really, what I’m doing (and all the other home educating families out there are doing) is not much different.

I’ve found that the more structured the day is, the more I get accomplished and the more my children get done in one day. I’ve also noticed that my little ones get out of bed earlier in the morning than my teenagers! As such, I try to work with the little ones in the morning when their minds are fresh and with the older ones after lunch. That doesn’t mean they get the morning off- just that they need to work more independently once they roll out of bed.

With any schedule that I have tried the focus has been on having the children be as independent and accountable for their own time as possible.  Regardless of the schedule I have used, the children are involved in the planning and monitoring.  Some of our children prefer a day by day schedule to have a plan of exactly what to work on when, while others function much better with a weekly plan and goals for what should be accomplished by the end of the week.  Try a variety and find out what works best for you and your children.

Although our days are more pleasant, productive and stress-free when they are structured, I realize that as children get older some become independent and actually structure their own day with little involvement from me. I am simply pencilled in their schedule in the early afternoon. I usually set aside some quiet time for the younger ones during this time. They enjoy reading or watching “educational” type shows.

Also a few years ago, I only had one elementary age student. Now, I have three. All of them require a lot of my time in the morning. To deal with this, my mornings are now spent walking around the dining room table so I am available for all three. While one does grammar one-on-one with me, the other two work on math, which is a little more independent. Then I switch. After morning break, it’s time for history or science. Both of these are “shared” subjects so I can work with all three at once.  Combining subject matter with different expectations for different aged children can be a great time saver.

A typical day in our house, then might go something like this:

sample schedule

This system will get me through the end of the year, but I think I am going to start next trying out the White Board system that the Homeschool Bytes Blog suggests. The reason being, like her, I am committed to teaching our children to take responsibility of their own education. Also, the white board will save us a lot of paper. I have in the past had weekly schedules that are printed up (that’s five pieces of paper a week) and they fill them out. Then, there is one reusable board and it’s a master schedule of everyone’s work at glance, which hopefully will make life easier for me.

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Top 10 Book For Teens Picked By Teens

Posted on March 20, 2011 by Administrator

Are you looking for reading material for your kids?  Here are some ideas for books you may not have picked up, or read yet.  We have kids aged 6 to 16 so we decided to split our top ten lists into three categories, 6-8, 9-12, and 13-16, but of course this is only a basic guideline to organize material.  Depending on your children’s interests and reading ability they may or may not match something from their age range.  Any suggestions on books your kids just love would be most appreciated as well as we are always looking for new reading material.

At first glance these choices may seem all over the map.  Our kids, like many teens have eclectic tastes.  Teens many times read a lot of different types of books to decide where their tastes lie.  So you will see some fantasy, fiction, and science fiction.  Be sure to have many types of books to choose from to give your teen the choice to read a variety of works.  Many adults also enjoy these works, I know I read some of them as an adult and not a teen and greatly enjoyed them.

Top 10 Books for 13 to Adult.  Well how about 13?  Our teens had trouble narrowing their list!
1.  Sword of Truth Series by Terry Goodkind*
2.  Hatchet by Gary Paulsen*
3.  The Golden Aquarians by Monica Hughes*
4.  The Boy In The Striped Pajamas by John Boyne*
5.  The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini*
6.  The Elric Saga by Michael Moorcock*
7.  Asian Saga by James Clavell
8.  The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien*
9.  Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling*
10. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Earth Children Series) by Jean M. Auel*
11. The Ender Series by Orson Scott Card*
12. The Diadem Series by John Peel*
13.  Artemis Fowl Series by Eoin Colfer*

* All books were chosen by our children and we were pleased that the books marked with an asterisk are by authors who are award winners or nominees of various literary awards.

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Top 10 Literature for Pre-Teens picked by Pre-Teens

Posted on March 16, 2011 by Administrator

Are you looking for reading material for your kids?  Here are some ideas for books you may not have picked up, or read yet.  We have kids aged six to 16 so we decided to split our top ten lists into three categories, 6-8, 9-12, and 13-16, but of course this is only a basic guideline to organize material.  Depending on your children’s interests and reading ability they may or may not match something from their age range.  Any suggestions on books your kids just love would be most appreciated as well as we are always looking for new reading material.

One thing we have noticed with our children at this age is that they love series.  Learning and reading more about a character or group of characters participating in different adventures seems to be top choices.

We have also noticed that sometimes kids at this age range will pick up and read books that we might think are very easy for them or much “below” their reading ability.  My wife and I never worried about this for a couple of reasons.  First any independent reading should be encouraged and secondly it could be just for relaxation.  Reading a book that seems very simple allows one not to work hard to read it because constant challenge while reading is hard work and your child may lose interest in reading.  Think about an adult reading a formula fiction novel just for pleasure; we do it for down time, not the challenge.

Top 10 Books for 9-12 year olds
1.  The Little House Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder*
2.  Warriors Series 1 by Erin Hunter*
3.  The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis**
4.  The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster**
5.  The Tunnels of Time Series by Mary Harelkin Bishop
6.  Rescue at Fort Edmonton by Rita Feutl
7.  The Magic Tree House Series by Mary Pope Osborne*
8.  Time Warp Trio Series by Jon Scieszka
9.  Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan*
10. Canadian Flyer Adventure by Frieda Wishinsky

* All books were chosen by our children and we were pleased that the books marked with an asterisk are either nominated or award winners of various children’s literature awards.
** Although not award winners according to our searching these books are considered “classics” of children’s literature.

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