Plan-It School Series: The Conclusion!

The plans were in place.

The classroom was in order.

The children were excited.

Mom was well-rested.

And Dad was raring to go.

The first day of the 2009-2010 school year was picture perfect at the Olive Plant house. I opened my planner at 8 a.m. and glided from one lesson to the next.

There was singing.

There was dancing.

There was reading and discussing, writing and drawing. It was like a big, bright ray from heaven was shining down on our little classroom.

Then it happened.

Road crews stopped in front of our house at 10 p.m. and worked until 6 a.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

We thought they were finished until they came back for an encore performance the following Monday and Tuesday.

The walls vibrated.

The furniture rattled.

Beeping sounds echoed up and down and up and down the street all night. Lights flashed through the windows so frequently that we felt like we were at

a disco!

In other words, there was no sleeping at our house for five full nights.

It is so nice when our days come together perfectly, and we can easily follow our plans just as we wrote them. From time to time, there are days like that, and it feels good to experience the fruit of our labor. However, these are not the days for which lesson plans are really intended.

Lesson plans serve a better purpose on those days when life is hard. When the unexpected brings me down, they serve as a reminder of the important job God has given me. They remind me that what I do or don't do today will affect tomorrow. They prompt me to "get over myself" and to pray for the grace to do what God wills. Sometimes that means doing more than I thought possible through Christ who is my strength. Sometimes it means relinquishing that which I thought was so important. Some days I want to give up but am reminded that God's grace is sufficient, and others, I must lay my plans at the Throne of Grace and pray, "Not my will but yours."

So as I end this series on lesson planning, I want to encourage you to be mindful of the fact that planning is not about being perfect. It is about being prepared. When the hard times come, don't feel defeated. Don't look at your plans and think all is lost because things didn't turn out exactly as you hoped. Instead remember that "man's mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps." (Prov 16:9)

Planning is prudent. "The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty." (Prov 21:5) However, complaining, particularly because our plans are interrupted, is rooted in pride.

"Come now who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such town and spend a year there and make a profit'- yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.' As it is you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil." (Jam 4:13-16)

Now that they are complete, let's not boast in our plans. Instead let's start each day with the words "Lord willing" and end each one with gratitude for all He has given us and done for us.

Thank you for reading the Plan-It School series. I am praying that the Lord will bless your hard work this school year and prosper you and your family for His glory.

Blessings,

Dawn

*Photo credits: from http://www.freefoto.com/ as marked, all others (excluding #1-3 from http://www.photobucket.com/

Plan-It School Series: Preparing Your Answer

It is now time for another Olive Plants Drama.

The scene opens as Homeschool Dawn, Orville, and Wilbur enter the teacher's lounge at the public school where Dad teaches. The four teachers who are eating their lunches are happy to see the Olive Plant children. Since they are Dad's co-workers and acquaintances of Homeschool Dawn, friendly conversation takes place until….

Teacher Number 4: So Dawn, how long do you intend to homeschool the boys?

HSD: Probably until they graduate.

Teacher 4 (mouth agape): Oh, I would not do that if I were you. Do you really think that you can homeschool them for that long?

HSD: Yes, I do.

Teacher 4: You need to listen to me. I know a lot about children, and in my experience, homeschooling is just not good for them. You are completely neglecting…

Can you guess it?

Teacher 4: their SOCIALIZATION!

HSD (having turned six different shades of red): Well, there are different opinions. I happen to hold one very different from yours.

Teacher 4 (unaware that HSD has a degree in child development and more years classroom teaching experience than she): Yes, but what I am telling you is not an opinion. It is a cold, hard fact coming from someone who has studied child development and has experience teaching children.

HSD (feeling pride and anger well up within): Orville, Wilbur, it is time for us to go now. Goodbye everyone.

I am sorry that my drama is not as amusing as my previous ones. However, this scenario, I am sorry to say, is not fiction or even an exaggerated version of reality. This actually happened just how I wrote it. Orville had just started Kindergarten, so I was a homeschool newbie. In fact, this did not happen at my husband's current place of employment but at a school where he used to teach. I mention this because the Lord has been gracious to open many of my husband's current coworkers' eyes to the benefits of homeschooling and I have only received compliments and encouragement from them. Can you believe that?! Like I said, the Lord has been gracious.

However, what homeschooling family hasn't heard the socialization question? I have heard it from a variety of people and in some of the oddest circumstances imaginable. I have heard it from public school teachers, private school teachers, relatives, friends, friends of friends, folks at church (once again not my current church but the one previous), our hygienist, the cashier at Kroger, the veterinarian, the ice cream man, and total strangers. While bird watching one day, I thought that a bird tweeted, "What about their socialization?". That was probably just my overactive imagination at work again.

That first confrontation is the one that has stuck with me most vividly. I was completely unprepared for it. I have come to realize that the teacher was well-intentioned, though I did NOT think that at the time. I think most who bring this argument do mean well. They don't know that they are the 6,481st person to confront us. They don't realize that we can't go to the store or participate in a community event or even walk our dogs without hearing it from someone. They probably think they are making us aware of an issue we never considered. My teacher friend truly believed that my children were doomed by Michael's and my decision to homeschool them and that she would be wrong to remain silent on the issue.

She was completely unaware of my background and experience, too. Not that it matters, but here's why I bring it up. Her words revealed a sin problem with which I was still wrestling. I had to leave quickly that day because my heart was not right. I felt the wrestle between the Spirit and the flesh and I feared I was on the brink of becoming very confrontational and emotional. After I left, her words echoed through my mind, and I wrestled with my sin for the remainder of the day.

I really believe the socialization argument is a scheme of the enemy to tempt those of us who homeschool for Biblical reasons. How better to tempt people who are set apart from the world than to make them feel weird? Maybe we will believe it. Maybe we will convince ourselves that there is a better way. Or maybe it will prick our egos, and we will react with pride. My way is better than the rest, and I will prove it. I have read many a sharply-worded response to the homeschool dissenters' arguments. I have seen t-shirts, bumper stickers and other paraphernalia that promote homeschooling in an exaggerated light or mock or ridicule public school children. I wanted to do similarly that day and rub Teacher 4's nose in my teaching degree and experience. I wanted to lay out all the statistics that favor homeschooling and call her on the inherent, ugly problems of our public education system.

I failed that day. My failure was not that I let her have the last word. It was not that I left the room in hurry or that I did not present statistics or a well-formed argument. I failed because 1 Pet 3:13 tells me be ready to give an answer "to every man who asks us a reason of the hope that is within [me] (here's the tricky part) with meekness and fear." My failure was that I did not give testimony to the goodness of God. I did not explain that my hope is in Him. I couldn't be meek or show reverence for the Lord and so I fled the scene, failing to love my enemy by sharing the Gospel of Christ with her.

Later that day, when the enemy continued to remind me of what I left behind to homeschool and to tempt me to worry about my decisions, I failed again. I did not fight him properly. I fought him with my thoughts and my feelings and my logic and not with the promises and Word of God. Likewise, when I felt my own sin rise within me, I did not confess and ask for grace, but instead wrestled.

So what is my response to the socialization argument? It is kind of short, I hope rather sweet, and it is rooted in Phil 1:6. I am confident that He who began a good work in me and my children will be faithful to complete it. No statistics. No counterpoint. Just faith, plain and simple. Jesus is Lord, and my only concern in life is faithfully following Him.

Will everyone understand that? Probably not.

Will it convince them that my children aren't doomed to a life as social outcasts? Only if God opens their eyes.

However, regardless of how others may respond, I pray for the grace to be foolish in their eyes, if need be, and esteem the Gospel higher than the wisdom of the world.

Return soon for Plan-It School Series: The Conclusion!

Plan-It School Series: Preparing for Discipline

Caution: You are about to enter The Disorganized Zone. In this sector of the universe, chores are often neglected. Bedrooms look like garbage heaps. Temper tantrums erupt from preschoolers like lava from Mount St. Helens. Mothers are known to scowl a lot and sometimes steam exudes from their ears while lasers shoot from their eyes. Enter if you dare….

Episode III: School Wars

The scene opens with Homeschool Dawn, Orville, and Wilbur at work in their classroom. HSD is dressed in her Martha Washington costume and has Yankee Doodle playing from the CD player.

HSD: Boys, stand and march with me like a soldier in the War for Independence.

HSD begins to march. The boys stand and follow her until Orville accidentally steps on the back of Wilbur's shoe.

W(in a whiney voice, shrill enough to break glass): Orrrrviiillllllle! Stop stepping on me.

O: I didn't mean to do it.

W: Yes, you did!

O: No, I didn't!

W: YES, YOU DID!!

O: NO, I DIDN'T!!!!

The boys begin stepping on each other's feet while arguing.

HSD: That is enough. Sit down now! There will be no more of that!! Orville, tell Wilbur that you are sorry for stepping on his shoe.

O: But I didn’t mean to step on his shoe.

HSD: ORVILLE!

O: Yes, ma'am. (with a muffled voice) Sorry, Wilbur.

W (in a monotone voice and rushed speech): That's okay, Orville. I forgive you.

HSD: Now, I want you both to get out your journals and write a few sentences about what you remember about Yorktown from yesterday's reading.

30 seconds later…

O: I'm finished.

HSD: Already? Are you sure? That was awfully quick.

Orville hands his journal to HSD, and she reads it. Orville has (amazingly) written a well-formed essay with many details. However, his spelling is grotesque, margins have been ignored, and the Rosetta Stone is needed for decoding his handwriting.

HSD: Orville, your thoughts are excellent; however, I do not think that anyone other than I could read this. You need to edit your work and rewrite it more slowly and neatly so that others can read your good writing.

O: Do I have to? I already wrote it once. I don't understand why I should write it again.

HSD: Orville, you need to exercise discipline and care about the quality of your work.

O: But mom, I don't want to do it. Can't I rewrite it tomorrow?

HSD: No, Orville. I told you to do it and I expect you to do it now.

O: Mom, I really don't think you're being fair. You told us to write an essay, and I did. You didn't mention that we would have to edit it today. That is the second step in the writing process, and I think it is too much to ask of me to pre-write and edit consecutively.

HSD: Orville, pick up your pencil and get started immediately.

O: Yes, ma'am.

HSD turns her attention from Orville to Wilbur. He is crawling around on the floor beneath his desk.

HSD: Wilbur, what are doing?

W: I can't find my pencil.

HSD: Have you looked in your drawers?

W: Drawers? Oh, yes, I hadn't thought to look there.

Wilbur begins to unbutton his pants.

HSD: Wilbur! What are you doing?

W: You told me to look in my drawers.

HSD: Not those drawers, Wilbur… your desk drawers.

W: Ohhhh!

Wilbur climbs back into his chair, spins three times, and opens the desk drawer where he immediately locates six pencils.

HSD: Wilbur, it has been twenty minutes since I gave the assignment, and you haven't written a single word. You must get started now.

W: Yes, ma'am.

HSD turns her attention back to Orville who has a piece of construction paper and markers on his desk. He is hurriedly using the markers to write on the colored paper.

HSD: Orville, you aren't rewriting your essay with markers, are you?

O: No. I am making protest signs.

HSD: Protest signs? That has absolutely nothing to do with the assignment. You are writing about Yorktown. That is the end of the War. The protests preceded the War.

O: These signs are for me. I am protesting the writing process. It is unfair and makes children do unnecessary work.

HSD: Orville, put the markers away NOW. Get your essay out and begin your revision immediately.

O: Yes, ma'am.

HSD turns her attention back to Wilbur who is crawling on the floor again.

HSD: Wilbur, what are you doing now?

W: I dropped my eraser.

HSD searches with Wilbur for nearly ten minutes. Evidently, the entrance to the Bermuda Triangle is beneath Wilbur's desk because the eraser is nowhere to be found.

HSD (handing Wilbur a new eraser): Here is a new one. Please, do not lose this. It is your eighth eraser in three days.

W: Yes, ma'am.

HSD returns her attention to Orville who is writing slowly and deliberately on his paper. She smiles at the thought of him finally complying.

HSD: Orville, I am glad to see you so hard at work and writing so carefully. Let me see the progress you have made.

Orville hands his paper to HSD. After a quick glance, she has to close her eyes and count to ten, taking deep breaths. Orville has rewritten his essay… but in Latin.

HSD: Orville, what is this?

O: You said to rewrite it neatly but you didn't specify a language.

HSD (trying not to explode): Orville, go to your room NOW. Sit on your bed until further notice.

Orville leaves the room, and HSD turns her attention back to Wilbur. He is moving his pencil frantically. She leans over to see that he is doodling… on his desk.

HSD: Wilbur! What are you doing?

W: I don't know.

HSD: Well, are you writing your sentences about Yorktown?

W: No, ma'am.

Wilbur's lips turn downward. His big, blue eyes widen, and he gives HSD an innocent look of despair, similar to Oliver's before he asked, "Please, sir, might I have some more?"

HSD: Wilbur, have you written anything?

W(handing his journal to HSD): Yes, ma'am.

HSD looks at the journal entry. Wilbur has written the heading and nothing else.

HSD: Wilbur, we have been at this assignment for an hour, and all you have written is the heading.

Crocodile tears pour from Wilbur's eyes.

W: But I don't know how to write.

HSD: You don't know how to write? Wilbur, we write all the time. What do you mean?

W: Well, I do know how to write, but it is so hard I think my fingers might fall off if I do it for too long.

HSD(ready to scream): Wilbur, please go to your bed.

Wilbur leaves the room. HSD somberly slumps into the chair at her desk and despairingly drops her head into her hands.

HSD: *sigh*

I know all of you must think I am a terrible disciplinarian after reading that sketch. I do have my bad moments, and they usually come when it seems that both boys are intent on doing the opposite of what I want and need them to do like in the above scenario. The bad behavior seemingly hovers around me, pressing inward, and makes me feel beaten down. However, we do not have to feel defeated or deflated. Though we do not know exactly when or how bad behavior will rear its ugly head, we can prepare for it.

"Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him." Proverbs 22:15 is the place to begin in preparing for discipline. Our children's hearts are full of folly because our children are sinners in need of God's grace. In those moments that my children's actions interrupt and try my patience, I am always tempted to focus on myself. I get angry because my plans have been interrupted. I huff and I puff because my good teaching is not being appreciated. I worry because I think I am not doing this school thing as well as all the other moms out there. I sin and try to apply my methods for correcting and rebuking and not God's.

I have been known to say things like, "how could you do this to me?" or "if you embarrass me, I'll…." or "don't you know how you hurt me (or frustrate me or anger me…) when you do that?". But, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." (Prov. 1:7) As much as I try to make my boys' misbehavior about me, it is not about me at all. My discipline must not center on my feelings, my damaged hopes, or my prideful dreams. My discipline must point my children to the Lord. To prepare myself to teach my children the fear of the Lord, and not just the fear of the rod or the fear of me, I make a list of Scripture passages that correct a variety of sin problems. I also have a prepared response to each of four categories of misbehavior that when followed, keeps me calmer and more likely to discipline in a God-honoring way.

The first category of misbehavior is "Power Struggle", and students exhibiting these behaviors are acting as controllers. The controller is the one who talks back, disrupts, and willfully disobeys. Their actions can provoke us, but controllers must be dealt with calmly yet firmly. A power play in our home earns an automatic spanking. However, the controller is often sent to his room for a cool-down period first. If I try to discipline these actions immediately, I am more likely to discipline out of anger or pride. I take some time to pray. Then I go to the controller and show him from the Word how he was wrong. I set him in my lap or kneel down to his eye level while we talk. Then I apply discipline and leave him to reflect on the relevant Scripture. Afterward, we pray together and he makes the necessary apologies. Then he is hugged and loved.

The second type of misbehavior is "Revenge". The retaliatory child lashes out. These behaviors can be aggressive like stepping on a sibling's toe or passive like pouting (in the child's mind, not speaking to Mommy is a way to get back at her). Their actions are often effective, too, tempting us with feelings of guilt, failure, or hurt. I believe the most affective reaction to the revengeful child's actions is very similar to that of the controller. When applying the Word, I add a talk about how his attempts hurt him much more than me or his brother or whomever he was attempting to harm. We talk about that fact that harming your neighbor is a sin and how sin separates us from God and how hurtful that is. We follow with a discussion of our need for grace, our need to be gracious, and that vengeance is the Lord's.

The third type of misbehavior is "Attention Seeking" and the attention seeker's actions tempt us with feelings of annoyance. I am less prone to spank the attention seeker than the others. That doesn't mean that I won't spank him; it just means that I try to exercise wisdom with this one. The attention seeker after all likes the spotlight, and misbehavior, and sometimes punishment, is a way of shining it directly on him. Sometimes these attempts are mild, like telling a joke at an inappropriate time, and I think are best just to ignore. He wants attention, right? So why give it to him by correcting him? In fact, there is the potential for a vicious cycle to ensue… he misbehaves, you correct, he gets attention, he likes the attention, he misbehaves again to get more attention….

If ignoring him, however, does not correct the situation and he persists, it is time to apply the rod. When his attempts to get attention are purposefully timed to disrupt or infringe upon other rules, he must be removed from the situation immediately. I have sent my attention seeker to spend time alone in his room. This was not a "time out" but a "time away". His isolation was spent in his room (about an hour) with toys and other "fun things" removed. He was allowed to leave for the restroom but for no other reason. He had to learn that as long as he tried to manipulate us he would not get the attention he so desired. I have found that sometimes he must spend time after discipline in isolation, too, because he will try to get attention afterward, doing his best to make sure everyone feels sorry for him. When we do things right, we do not give him what he seeks. When he repents and acts appropriately, however, we make sure to give him the attention he so desires through lots of hugs and compliments.

The fourth type of misbehavior is the one that must be handled most carefully. "Avoidance of Failure" behaviors tempt us with feelings of frustration. Why won't he read his book? Why does he keep losing his pencil? Why does he take so long to complete such simple assignments? Sometimes these actions really are the result of immaturity and they really do require the rod. In this instance, they are probably more of a power play than an avoidance. However, sometimes they are something more and are rooted in something much deeper. There could be a gap in his learning, a place where he needs a little extra motivation to jump a hurdle, an issue like vision problems, or a learning disability. This is not a time for us moms to be paralyzed by guilt or feelings of inadequacy. It is a time to pray for wisdom and to find help. It is a time to talk with your child and get to the bottom of what he is experiencing.

There really were a couple of months in which Wilbur was constantly under his desk, making silly excuses, and dragging his feet. I was really frustrated, too. I tried a carrot or stick approach with him by rewarding him for completing tasks in a timely manner. I set the timer for each assignment and allowed him to go to the candy jar whenever he finished his work on time. However, during this trying period, rewards did not motivate him. Likewise, discipline only caused him to become sneaky about hiding his struggles to complete his work which made the day even harder for him and me.

One day, I determined to get to the bottom of this and sat down to have a heart to heart with him. He finally explained that he was having trouble reading. He started reading at a young age and had never struggled before, so I probed more deeply. He finally shared with me that the words on the page were blurry. After a visit to the optometrist and new glasses, the "misbehavior" stopped. His actions in this instance weren't really misbehavior as much as they were a coping mechanism. He did not want to admit that he was having problems. Though there were some lessons for him to learn about pride and honesty, he was not acting out as much as he was protecting himself.

Regardless of the type of misbehavior, we must be diligent to apply the Word. "All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." 2 Tim 3:16 As we prepare to train our children in the Word, we are equipping and preparing ourselves for the work of discipleship. As we couple the rod with the Word, we are teaching, reproofing, correcting and training our children in righteousness, not to fear us, but to fear the Lord. Below is a list of Scripture passages that teach to the heart of the matter concerning each of the four types of misbehavior.

Blessings!

Dawn

Power Struggle: Ex 20:12, Eph 6:1, Prov 1:8-9, Prov 3:11-12, Prov 4:1-9, Prov 4:14-15, Rom 6:12-14, Eph 5:15-17, Tit 3:1-9, 1Cor 13, Gal 5:16-24, Heb 13:17
Silver Lining: Each of the four misbehaviors has a silver lining. The power-struggle child is a person of vision and determination and he has the potential to accomplish great things. Pray continually for your controller that his vision and determination would be subject to God's authority. Pray that he will learn to hate sin and that he will mature into a Godly leader who is determined about the things of the Lord.

Revenge: Prov 3:29-35, Rom 12:19-21, Rom 13:10, Rom 15:1-2, 1Cor 13, Gal 5:16-24
Silver Lining: A person inclined to take revenge is a person who feels things deeply. He wants to hurt others because he is hurt. He has the potential to be incredibly compassionate. Teach him to take his pain to the Lord. Pray that your revengeful child will become a merciful person and that his passion would be for Christ alone.

Attention Seeking: Prov 27:2, John 12:43, Heb 2:12, Heb 13:15, 1 Pet 4:11, Psa 115:1, 1Cor 13, Gal 5:16-24
Silver Lining: Your attention seeker wants YOU! Teach him limits but revel in the fact that he wants love and give it to him unconditionally. He also has a big heart, big personality, and the ability to make friends easily. Pray that he will consider others more important than himself and that the Lord would make him unashamed of the Gospel.

Avoidance of Failure: John 5:24, Rom 8:1, 2Cor 3:5-6, 1Cor 13, Gal 5:16-24, Prov 16:18, Prov 29:23
Silver Lining: Though this child probably struggles with perfectionism, it is because he really cares. Teach him that mistakes are okay. Give him work to do at which he will excel and praise him for a job well done. In areas where he struggles, encourage him to always try his best but not to be paralyzed by the need for perfection. Lead him to the Throne of Grace. Pray that he would adore Christ, who alone is perfect.

Plan-It School Series: Preparing for Household Responsibilities

Caution: You are about to enter The Disorganized Zone. In this sector of the universe, crock pots are never plugged in. Laundry piles are as high as Mount Everest. Opening the refrigerator door qualifies as a science experiment, and mops, brooms, and dusters are mythological creatures. Enter, if you dare….

Episode II: Hey! Why's the Chicken in the Drier?

The scene opens with Homeschool Dawn in her kitchen gathering ingredients for that evening's dinner. She is preparing a crock pot meal which must cook for eight hours. The time is 7:30 a.m.

HSD (reading her recipe): Okay, I need chicken. Oh no, I forgot to put the chicken in the refrigerator to thaw yesterday.

HSD takes chicken out of the freezer and places it in the microwave to defrost. The chicken needs thirty minutes to thaw so she decides to start a load of laundry. She opens the lid on the washer, turns the dial, and reaches in the cabinet for the detergent.

HSD: *GROAN* No more detergent here. (She looks in the pantry where there are three boxes of fabric softener sheets, two bottles of Shout, five bottles of Febreze, and forty-seven bottles of Dawn dish washing liquid. She is a Grocery Gamer, after all. However, there is no laundry detergent.) Boys! Put your shoes on. We need to go to Wal-Mart… quickly!!

Ten minutes later…

Wilbur: Mommy! I can't find my shoes.

Orville: I can't find any socks. Wilbur took the last pair.

Wilbur: I did not. My socks were in my shoes.

Orville: How could your socks have been in your shoes if you can't find your shoes.

Wilbur: Oh yeah… well, I still didn't take the last socks.

HSD: Let's not argue about who did what. Instead let's find Wilbur's shoes. Orville, there are clean socks in the drier. (Orville leaves the room) Wilbur, where did you take your shoes off yesterday?

W: I don't know.

HSD: *sigh*

An hour later socks and shoes have been found and the trio have returned from Wal-Mart with laundry detergent. HSD pours a capfull in the wash and throws in a load of clothes. The trio head to the classroom to begin school.

HSD: Yesterday, we read about life on the farm. Farmers grow their own food and raise animals such as cows, pigs, and chickens…. CHICKEN!!! *GASP* I forgot about dinner. Boys, get out your math workbooks and complete the next section while I get dinner started.

HSD runs to the kitchen and hurriedly throws the ingredients for dinner in the crock pot. She puts the lid on and switches the dial to "low". She returns to the classroom, checks the boys' math work and finishes the lesson on farms. It is now time for lunch, and the trio return to the kitchen. The boys go to the kitchen table and HSD goes to the washing machine to switch the laundry. She discovers she left the lid open, and the wash cycle never began. She quickly closes the lid and goes to the refrigerator to get what she needs to fix lunch.

HSD: Where is the lunch meat? I just bought some yesterday.

W: Wooly (the plush toy lamb) got hungry last night, and I made him a sandwich.

HSD: Where are the carrots? I just bought those yesterday, too.

O: Uh, Mom, I ate them.

HSD: When?

O: This morning with breakfast. I realized yesterday that I need more vitamin A. It promotes healthy vision, you know, and carrots are chocked full of it.

HSD: I guess it's peanut butter sandwiches and raisins then.

W and O: *groan*

After lunch the trio returns to lessons. It is Monday and time to clean the bathroom. HSD helps the boys begin their assignments and then gathers her cleaning supplies. As she walks toward the bathroom, the phone rings…

HSD: Hello.

Caller: Hello. Mrs. Olive Plants, my name is Rainbow and I'm with the Foundation for the Preservation of Fungi Growing in the Serengeti. Would you….

HSD: No thank you. We are not interested.

HSD returns to her cleaning chores. One minute later, the phone rings again.

HSD: Hello?

Caller: Hello, Mrs. Olive Plants. This is Rainbow, again. The fungi are in danger…

HSD: As I said before, we are not interested. Please, do not call again.

HSD returns to the bathroom. Moments later, the phone rings once more.

HSD (trying not to be hateful): We are not interested. Please, stop calling.

Caller: Um… Dawn, this is Ms. Daisey, your small group leader. I just wanted to remind you that you are bringing the snack to our meeting tomorrow.

HSD: Meeting tomorrow…? (looks at calendar) Oh, yes, thank you. I had forgotten.

HSD rushes to the kitchen and whips up a snack for the meeting. From the classroom, Wilbur calls for her. He does not understand his assignment. She works with him until 4:45 when Dad walks in the backdoor.

Dad: Hello family!

HSD: Hello, dear. You're home early.

Dad: Actually, I'm late.

HSD: You're late? What time is it?

HSD suddenly realizes that it is almost 5:00 and she has not cleaned the bathroom. She rushes back to her work and completes it by 5:30. She washes up and returns to the kitchen to put the finishing touches on dinner. She opens the crock pot.

HSD: Oh no!

Dad: What's wrong?

HSD: My crock pot must be broken. It is cold, and the food is not cooked.

Dad comes to the kitchen and takes a look.

Dad: Um, honey. The crock pot isn't broken.... You forgot to plug it in.

The family goes to McDonald's for dinner, returns home for family worship, then goes to bed. Just as HSD starts to drift off to sleep, she is shocked awake by a thought....

HSD: Oh no! I forgot to put the laundry in the drier.

A compliment I often receive is "you are sooooo organized". Here's the truth. I am a complete and utter mess. The organization that those who know me personally see has been earned the hard way. I have learned through many, and I do mean many, mistakes to make notes, have a routine, and keep a schedule and planner. It is the only way a forgetful gal like me can keep it all together. From time-to-time, my system unravels, and what follows make my drama above seem mild. However, here are my top ten tips that help me prevent disaster (most of the time):

10. I turn off my telephone's ringer during school hours. There is enough to do without adding unwanted phone calls to the mix. Even though we are on the no-call list, we still get wrong numbers, campaign calls, and the occasional telemarketer. I keep my cell nearby and ask family and close friends to call that number. If I don't have the cell for some reason (like I let the battery lose its charge), I screen calls. Either way, I let my family and friends know that I will pick up for something important. However, I politely ask them to keep calls to a minimum because the phone ringing easily distracts my boys and gets me off task.

9. The Job Jar has been a lifesaver. We pull two-four jobs from it per day and make the time to complete them right away. The kids are actively involved in keeping the house clean. As keepers of our home, we moms are the managers of its upkeep. I emphasize the word managers and give you permission not to feel like you are the servant of your home. A good manager is a servant at heart. We must roll up our sleeves and be hard at work ourselves and lovingly care for our families. In fact, there are some jobs that I do not want my children completing. However, a good manager also knows when to delegate and teaches her crew how to be successful.

8. Keep a file of recipes. Whether on your computer, in a index card file, or in a folder, have a good number to choose from and keep them handy. Color-code them or file them according to ease of preparation. I save my favs to my computer. I have files for quick dinners, formal dinners, easy sides, slow-cook sides, etc. I love http://www.allrecipes.com/, too. You can join and keep an online file of recipes available at their site. I have been able to find a recipe there for almost anything I want to cook.

7. Make menus and keep them on file. I don't always have time to plan what we will eat each week. Having a few menus on file allows me to pull one and get a shopping list together quickly. Consider joining Menus4 Moms. It is free to join. There are ads and offers you have to click through, but I have found their service extremely helpful.

6. Stockpile! I find it incredibly helpful to have at least two of each cleaning/household product we use in the pantry. I join http://www.thegrocerygame.com/ two times per year for the purpose of stocking up at rock bottom prices. Just be careful not to get addicted to buying dish washing liquid because you can get it almost every week for 25 cents or less. This happened to me, and I really did end up with 47 bottles of Dawn (ironic, isn't it?).

5. I put one load of laundry in the washer at breakfast. I remind myself to make sure I close the lid! I move it to the drier at lunchtime, and fold and put it away before bed. If I do this everyday, the laundry is less likely to pile up, and I don't resort to stacking piles of clean laundry on the bed to ensure I put them away before bed, only to end up moving it all to the couch so we can go to bed only to move it back to the bed to ensure I put it away before bedtime, only to move it to the couch… you get the point!

4. I often cook a double or triple portion of each planned meal and freeze the extra servings. On nights that I am in a hurry, or forget to plug in the crock pot, my homemade frozen dinners make an easy, healthy, and inexpensive meal.

3. I make a list of what I need to do the next day before bed each night. I number the items on the list by importance and complete them in that order the next day. I highlight those things which must be done the next day to help me remember. The next night, I finish any highlighted items before going to bed and bump any other unfinished chores to the next day's list. Also, I give myself about four blocks of time during the day for chores. I find it works well to do school in small chunks with chores scattered in between. If I try to do too much of either at once, I start to feel overwhelmed.

2. I give myself days off from school here and there for big jobs like spring cleaning. I give myself breaks for planning, too.

1. I limit my daily computer time. Blogging is a great pastime, but we must be careful that it does not keep us from our responsibilities. Set limits to your online time that work with your schedule. Some days, I have two or three hours for online time. Some days, I have none. I have a morning routine during which I check my e-mail. If something requires a lengthy response, I save it for later. I also check my blog traffic. At lunch, I read any new posts by my favorite bloggers. In the evenings, I write for my blog as I have time.

Blessings and Happy Planning!

Return soon for Plan-It School Series: Preparing for Discipline

Plan-It School Series: Organizing Supplies

Caution: You are about to enter the Disorganized Zone. In this sector of the universe, craft supplies run amuck. Materials for science experiments attack the unsuspecting people who open pantries. Messes spread like a fungus. And scissors are lost in the vast cosmos of God's creation, never to be held by human hands again. Enter if you dare….

Episode I: The Hunt for the Red Pipe Cleaner

The scene opens with Homeschool Dawn, Orville, and Wilbur seated at the kitchen table, unaware that they are about to be transported to The Disorganized Zone.

HSD: Boys, today I want you to use the craft supplies on the table to create a 3-D model of a caterpillar's metamorphosis into a butterfly. Each of you has a shoe box…

HSD looks at the table. There is one shoe box, but she does not see the other one.

HSD: Boys, did one of you move the shoe box?

O and W: No ma'am.

O: I have not seen a shoebox except for the one here on the table.

W: I don't even know what a shoebox is.

HSD: Okay, let's pause for a minute and go get another shoe box.

Our three characters get into the van and drive to WalMart. After successfully begging for a shoebox, they return 45 minutes later.

HSD: Now, you both have a shoebox. I want you to cover it with construction paper… now where did the paper go?

HSD looks on the table, in the cabinet, in the storage baskets in the classroom, in the closet, on her desk, and finally under the bed.

HSD: A-ha! Here it is… cover your box with construction paper.

W: Mommy, I can't get the paper to stick.

HSD: Wilbur, sweetie, that is because you have to use some glue. Did I not give you some?

W: No.

O: I don't have any either.

HSD looks for the glue. She finds one bottle that is empty and another that is mostly full. However, the cap on the full one was left open and the glue inside has hardened. She pops the top off the bottle and digs through the crusted glue mass along the opening. She evidently applies too much pressure because the liquid glue breaks free and squirts out onto her face, hands, and shirt. After cleaning up, HSD pours some glue into a plastic bowl and goes to the craft closet for two paint brushes.

HSD (while digging through mounds of craft sticks, art paper, bottles of paint, and craft pom poms): Now, where are the paint brushes?

W: I know, Mommy.

Wilbur opens his desk drawer and proceeds to pull out crayons, markers, dried-up glue sticks, stickers, and water colors that have been used until all the palates are black, but no paint brush.

HSD: I guess it's back to Wal Mart.

20 minutes later they return with paint brushes and more glue bottles. After the boys glue the construction paper to their boxes, HSD continues with the next step.

HSD: Now take your red pipe cleaner and cut it into four pieces using your scissors.

W: I don't want to clean the pipes. It's scary under the sink.

O: Wilbur, she doesn't mean the pipes under the sink. She means a pipe like Grandpa's. Mom, I thought Grandpa's pipe makes you cough. Is that why you want us to clean it?

HSD: No one will be cleaning any pipes, kitchen or otherwise. Pipe cleaners are the different-colored, fluffy sticks that we use in crafts. You should each have a red one on the table. Now, where did they go?

HSD returns to the craft closet. When she opens it, all the paint bottles she moved in her previous search roll out and land on her feet. The papers and pom poms start to slide, and she quickly throws herself against the shelves, blocking the landslide. While pushing against the mound of supplies with the left side of her body, she reaches around with her right arm and pushes everything back inside the cabinet.

O (from the kitchen): Mom! I found the pipe cleaners.

HSD (rubbing her sore arm, side, and feet): Where were they?

O: Under the table.

HSD: *sigh* Okay, cut your pipe cleaners into four pieces.

W: How do we cut them?

HSD: Carefully use your scissors to do it.

O: I don't have any scissors.

W: Me either.

HSD: Where are they?

O and W: I don't know.

HSD(exasperated): Oh, never mind.

When I read this scenario to my husband, his reaction was to ask (in disbelief) if this had ever really happened. "Well, yes and no" is my honest answer. This particular situation is fiction but it is based on reality. I have spent many hours looking for paper or scissors or paint brushes. I have made numerous trips to Wal Mart in the middle of the school day to purchase a forgotten supply. I have been injured by supplies toppling out of an over- crowded cabinet. Worst of all, many a well-planned activity has been abandoned because I did not gather the needed supplies ahead of time.

I already mentioned my best piece of advice for new homeschooling moms in this post. The second most important thing I would advise you to do is make a list of what you need before each and every unit and then check it twice.

Before school begins, I look through all my teacher's guides and plans that I have written for my first unit and make a list of all the materials that will be needed to complete it. I try to keep a stockpile of certain materials; however, I keep it to the basics like construction paper, crayons, and paint (we LOVE to paint). Be careful when making stockpiling decisions because you do not want a cabinet full of things that you "might need".

To avoid the landslides, I store these materials in shoe boxes, trays, crates, or any other inexpensive or free storage container I can find. I keep these inside a cabinet and do not look for pretty containers. Cheap or free and durable is what is important. I label the outside of the boxes so I know the exact contents. After I have my list together, I check off anything that I have plenty of on hand. If I see that I am running low on an item, I leave it on the list so that I can restock.

I have taken two different approaches to the next step. The first two years I homeschooled, I wrote out a weekly shopping list for school materials and placed each list in my planning folder in the front of the section for the week before I would need the supplies. Each week, I removed the list and added it to my grocery shopping list. I also wrote books I would need to check out from the library on this list and made my library stop on the way to the store.

I found this approach did not give me time to get materials organized and I would still find myself scrambling at the last minute for something I had forgotten or misplaced. Two years ago, I started buying everything that I need for an entire unit in one shopping trip. I plan this shopping trip for a day that I have time to organize the materials immediately upon my return home. I put general items, like construction paper, that will be used during multiple lessons in the correct storage bins in my school cabinet. I put items that will have a single use in a bin that is numbered according to the week it will be needed. I store all science supplies in the kitchen and have dedicated one shelf for those things… with the exception of common, household items like baking soda. Those are easy to find when needed and won’t send me on a scavenger hunt during school hours, so I leave them in their normal spot.

The 2009 Schoolhouse Planner has a shopping list with room for writing in schools supplies. There is also a form to help you keep track of library books.

To keep messes under control, I have arranged the boys' desks front-to-front so they serve as an individual work station or as a shared space for projects. Each boy has his own garbage can at his desk and is required to check it daily and empty it as needed. I also have an old, king-sized sheet that when folded covers the entire workspace and prevents paint, glue or other messes from damaging the desks. The paint has stained it, but I can throw it in the washing machine when finished to wash away the messy, sticky remains of a project. If we will be working on a painting project for multiple days, I spread newspapers beneath the sheets as the paint splatters will soak through if left to sit. The sheet over the newspapers prevents the boys from getting ink on their fingers (and arms, face, the furniture….).

Make sure you buy plenty of pencils, erasers, crayons, markers, and glue at the beginning of the year, too. Our state has a tax-free shopping weekend. I have found that the week before is the best time to buy though. The back-to-school sales usually run during that week, at least in my area, and the prices are so low that even after paying tax, it is a much better deal. I keep a basket on my desk for storing extras of these items close at hand and keep a can of pre-sharpened pencils there, too.

How do you stay out of The Disorganized Zone? Feel free to share your tips, too!

Blessings and Happy Planning!

Return soon for Plan-It School Series: Preparing for Household Responsibilities

Plan-It School Series: Preparing for Assessment

The principal of the school where I taught always said that there are three keys to good teaching…

Assessment…

Assessment…

Assessment….

When I say "assessment", what is the first thing that comes to mind? A written test, right?

Multiple choice, essay, fill-in-the-blank, and even standardized tests are what most often qualify as assessment. Though it is true that these are types of assessments, evaluating what your child has learned is an on-going process. It begins with pre-assessments and continues each day through several forms of evaluation.

Pre-assessment occurs at the beginning of a new unit or before teaching a new skill. It can be formal. You give your child a work sheet of problems or questions that pertain to the material to be covered. It can also be informal… a simple discussion in which you determine what your child already understands. A KWL table is a great way to begin the assessment process. Before you begin a new unit of study, your child fills in the K column with the information he already knows. If your child can produce this information in this way, you can feel confident that he has mastered it and that you do not need to teach it.

I find questioning to be the best form of on-going assessment. It is simple yet effective. At the end of a lesson, take a minute or two to close out the lesson. In Setting the Stage, I compared the set of the lesson to an introductory paragraph of an essay. Similarly, the closure of a lesson is like the closing paragraph of an essay. After writing the body, a good writer takes one last paragraph to summarize and end his presentation or argument. In the closure of a lesson, the teacher takes a few minutes to ask questions that pertain to the lesson or reading or activity. This informal assessment lets you know what your students grasped and where they need a little more work.

Writing is another great way to assess. Remember those dreaded essay tests we took in school? That is one way to assess through writing; however, anything that you have your child write that demonstrates a knowledge of the content area can be used. If you have your child journal or notebook, allow him to write about what he is learning. Younger children may only be required to write a sentence or two. The older the child, the more he should be required to write.

Sometimes a more formal essay is appropriate. Younger students can be asked to write a few sentences on a topic. Middle aged children can be assigned a three-point essay while older students must write a research or term paper. If you assign a writing project as a means of evaluating what your child has learned in a different content area, it is advisable to give two grades… one for the writing quality and one for the content. The content grade can be averaged in with other grades in that particular subject. You would not want your child to receive a poor History grade because he failed to use commas properly. Likewise, you would not want him to receive a good History grade because his grammar was good while his content was lacking. Rubric grading is a great way to grade writing. The rubric can be generated to include both content and style or two rubrics can be used, one to assess writing quality and one to assess content.

Alternative assessments offer many options for closing out a unit of study. I love portfolio assessments. They help me stay organized during the school year and end up as keep-sakes later. They also make for a good place to keep attendance, standardized test results, and other records. You can read about how we organize a portfolio here.

Performance-based assessments ask students to put in action what they have learned. I observed a teacher once who assigned her class the task of creating a restaurant… not a pretend one, a real, functioning restaurant within their classroom. They had to seek out investors for start-up money, create a menu, hire a chef, set the classroom up to function as a restaurant, shop for food, décor, furniture and other supplies, send out invitations to the restaurant's "opening (and only) night", and serve as the restaurant's wait staff that evening. They put to use skills they had acquired in math, writing, health, economics and art. The teacher graded their performance in each of the core subject areas, and the attendees, including a restaurant reviewer for the local paper, evaluated their overall performance.

I have had my children complete a few simpler-to-pull-off performance-based assessments. They have created a grocery store which sold play food to the stuffed animals of our house. They created a society for their plush toy birds and organized the Birdieland government. They have written and performed short plays (at home with family members as the audience). All of these fall into the category of performance-based assessments because several skills from different content areas were put into practice. The success of their endeavor was measured by how well they used what they had learned.

The form of assessment I use most often is project-based. Technically, project-based learning is more of a style of teaching, and the projects are assessed with a checklist or a rubric. However, overseeing a project always gives me a clear understanding of my boys' abilities. A good project usually integrates skills from many different subject areas. It also involves organizational skills. Each time my boys complete a project, I am able to assess how well they can take a large job and break it into smaller steps. In the early years, I had to think through every project for them. Now that they are 4th and 5th graders, they can organize their work themselves and only need guidance from me. We complete so many projects that I compiled a list of 101 different project ideas.

So, let's review. What did you learn in this post? What is a portfolio assessment? What are performance-based assessments? What assessment form can you use to grade both writing and projects? Did I just make you look back over this post? Ah Ha! This, my friend, is what we call closure! :-)

Please post your answers as a comment and feel free to leave any tips you have, too!

Blessings and Happy Planning!

Return Soon for the next article in the Plan-It School Series.

Plan-It School Series: Setting the Stage

Setting the stage for learning is something I was encouraged to do during my teacher training and years as a public school teacher. I have found it helpful as a homeschool mom, too. The "set", as it is called in education circles (at least back when I was in that circle), is similar to an opening paragraph for your writing. When writing, you do not want to just jump into the body of your work. You write a introductory paragraph that draws your reader in and directs their thinking toward the topic. Opening paragraphs can vary in style from exciting to thought provoking, but whatever the style, they serve a singular purpose. Likewise, it is helpful not to jump into teaching but to find a way to open your units and your lessons that draws your students in and makes them want to learn more.

I begin each unit or mini-unit I teach with a set activity. I usually try to make these the highest interest activities and I try to develop a set that will help my children warm up to the topic of study and engage them. Here is a list of a few unit sets I have used in the past:

• Creating a banner
• Dancing
• Music
• Decorating the house for the theme
• Drama
• Field trip
• Playing a game
• Role play
• Feast
  
  

One of the most elaborate sets that I did with my children was as an opener to a unit on The American Revolution. Michael and I named our home Great Olive-tain. Each room of the house was a different part of the Kingdom, and the boys' bedroom was declared the Colonies of the Kingdom. Michael was crowned King of Olive-tain, and I played the role of Parliament.

The day before school began, I wrote and a read a proclamation which placed unfair laws and taxes on the boys. There was a Quartering Act in which they had to move out their bird collection to make room for some of Michael's and my belongings. There was a tax on play time. For every hour of play, they had to pay us $1 from their Piggy Bank (we did not keep this money, btw, but returned it after our role play). The boys were outraged. I told them that as citizens of Great Olive-tain they had the right to appeal to the King. He, of course, took no mercy on them. Instead, he declared them rebellious and blockaded their bedroom.

Like I said earlier, this was my most elaborate set ever. It gave their brains a jump-start, and they were fully engaged. As we read about the events that led to the Revolutionary War, the boys would say things like, "That is just like what you did to us, Mom," or "Dad did that to us, too." Though a role play like this must be handled carefully… our boys are thick-skinned and enjoy reenacting history, even if they have to suffer a little… it demonstrates how abstract or foreign concepts can be brought to a child's level and made applicable for them. This is what engages them in the learning process.

I make sets for individual lessons much simpler. Sometimes questions are the best way to begin.

• What did you learn yesterday?
• How do you do x?
• Why do you do y?
• How is x different from y?
• What do you already know about x?
• What do you hope to learn about y?
  
  

If the lesson involves reading, we thoroughly discuss the book cover and make predictions.

• What do you see on the cover?
• What do you think this character is doing?
• Why do you think the book is titled ____?
• What do you think will happen in this story?
  

Sometimes I do the unexpected.

• Don a costume. (Like the one in the picture at the top of this article. I dressed as a mad scientist for the start of our Chemistry unit and performed a science demonstration with a surprising result.)
• Perform a science demonstration.
• Do something that is purposefully and obviously incorrect (like before a lesson on verb tenses, write on the board "The boys went to school tomorrow.")
• Show a picture that relates to the topic and discuss.
• Tell a joke (that relates to the lesson of course).
• Read a poem that relates to the topic.
• Dance, jump around, act, or rap. (Once again as it fits the lesson. Oh yes, I really do "rap"... Notice I put that in quotes. :) You'll have to ask me to do the continent rap or verb conjugation rap sometime.)
  
  

More times than not, I show a picture or object that illustrates the concept to be learned. For instance, when teaching a lesson from our Chemistry curriculum on lab equipment, I placed a pen, paper, and books on one table and a fireman's hat and play hatchet on another. We discussed who would use each piece of equipment and why. We also discussed how each could not use the other's equipment. A pen would be of little use to a fireman as he fights a fire. A teacher could be sent to jail for carrying a hatchet to school. This drew them into the lesson and began the process of thinking about why a chemist needs a particular set of tools.

Think for a moment about the parables in Matthew 13 that the Lord Jesus used to teach us. In these parables, he was teaching about the Kingdom of Heaven. For us, that is an abstract concept. It is a place we have not seen, yet we know of it because of His teaching. Think about what He used to explain Heaven to us… treasure, a mustard seed, a pearl… all concrete, tangible items that held meaning for his students. He used the familiar to explain the unfamiliar. This is, in a way, is what we are to do with a lesson set.

What do you do to jump-start your children's thinking? Feel free to share.

Blessings and Happy Planning!

Return soon for Plan-It School: Preparing for Assessments

Plan-It School Series: Writing Objectives, Part Two

My best piece of advice for new homeschooling moms is to remember that learning takes time and learning takes effort. No one can be told something once or read it in passing or fill out a worksheet on it and remember it. Though the process may be easier for some than for others, even those we consider most intelligent have to work to learn. Some of the brightest children in America are those who make it to the National Spelling Bee finals. As gifted as these children are, their achievement is the product of hard work. Those who are best prepared, do more than just memorize, too. They dissect words. They analyze them, categorize them, and evaluate them. Their learning moves in two directions, horizontally and vertically.

Since I am the Olive Plants mom, I want you to think of learning as a vine. I am fascinated by vines. In fact, my dream house is an English stone cottage covered in them. What makes the vine so beautiful is how extensively it grows. It is not easily confined. It grows in every direction along a wall, both horizontally and vertically. In my previous post on this topic, I mentioned that when I write objectives, I look to this list of verbs. This list helps me brainstorm and create learning activities that give variety to the work of learning. Planning activities that climb the ladder of thinking has promoted both horizontal and vertical growth in my olive plants.

Horizontal growth involves the progression of skills. For example, first our children need to learn to count, then to add, subtract, multiply, divide… and so on through Algebra, Geometry, and perhaps Calculus. This is the pace of acceleration, and this pace should be set according to the needs of the child and the difficultly of the skills being mastered. Some areas of study need more time and more work. All students will get certain lessons more quickly and other lessons more slowly.

Part of the beauty of homeschooling is that you can tailor your lessons to fit your children's learning needs. If they master addition with regrouping in three lessons, do you really need to complete the ten lessons presented in the text? However, if your child needs more time to master a particular skill, you can take the time needed for him to learn it well. Or you can decide that it is something that needs to be postponed until a later date. Your vine will grow at different rates over the years, and you, as the gardener, manage that growth.

I suggest you give your vine ample room to grow vertically as well. The list of verbs I use is based on Bloom's Taxonomy, which organizes learning activities from lower to higher order thinking. I believe incorporating higher order thinking skills is important because it offers a child the opportunity to put skills into a context and put them to work which increases retention.

Opponents of HOTS argue that it pushes children, especially younger ones, beyond what they are naturally capable of accomplishing. To a small extent that is true. It takes practice to learn to apply, analyze or evaluate. I do not think it happens automatically, even in older children. Starting this process earlier and tailoring HOTS activities to match the skill set of your younger child promotes reasoning that strengthens the ability to learn and builds good judgment. I have also found that young children, when given the opportunity to learn along side older children and adults, will accomplish far more than most would imagine they could.

At first, higher order activities require a lot of help from mom and dad. Just as you would provide a young vine a trellis, a stake or other prop to support its upward growth, teachers must provide the support needed for children to stretch their thinking. If you try to incorporate these types of activities do not be discouraged by blank stares. Instead, ask a lot of guiding questions to prompt the upward growth in your students. Just because they cannot accomplish it on their own at first, does not mean that they will not get there with proper support. What I have experienced with my students in a school setting and with my children at home is that the baby steps of progress soon become giant steps which soon become leaps.

It is my opinion that some who argue against HOTS, however, confuse vertical growth and horizontal growth. To incorporate HOTS, a teacher should not force a child to approach information he is not ready to process. I have heard it said that incorporating HOTS means something akin to asking 1st graders to use complex sentences or gerund phrases in their writing or to be able to identify these more sophisticated writing elements in other's work. This is not my interpretation of HOTS. I have always been taught that incorporating HOTS challenges teachers to take grade appropriate skills and ask their students to put them to use and to learn them thoroughly. It asks teachers to move beyond skill and drill and help their students find a purpose for what they learn.

For example, if a second grade child is learning about nouns, he must first define the term. That is the first level of learning called "knowledge". Then he must demonstrate comprehension. Can he recognize a noun in writing? From there he must analyze and apply… learning differences between common and proper nouns and using these words in his writing. He must synthesize the learning by integrating it with previously mastered skills. How do nouns and verbs work together? What function do they perform? Finally he must evaluate. Daily editing is a great way to work at the evaluation level. Can they find mistakes within their own writing or their siblings or even yours? They should only be held accountable for the skills they have mastered. A second grader should not be asked to find comma splices. That would not be HOTS. That would be a horizontal progression and would fall under acceleration. To incorporate vertical movement through HOTS, he would find misspelled plural nouns, proper nouns that are not capitalized, or perhaps places in his writing that a pronoun could replace a noun to make the reading flow better. After he has worked his way up the ladder of learning, he will have a much better grasp of the material and will be much more likely to retain the learning.

HOTS should also shape the types of questions we ask. For example, after reading The Three Little Pigs, you could ask "Who were the characters?" When your child answers, "The three pigs and the wolf", he has demonstrated knowledge, the first rung on the learning ladder. If he can summarize the story, he has moved up the ladder to comprehension. Next, ask him to prove the wolf's intentions were no good. If he can explain that wolves like to eat pigs and quote the wolf as having said, "I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house down," he has moved up the ladder once more. Then require him to analyze by asking a series of "why" questions. Why did the pig build his house from bricks? Why did the pigs boil the water in the fire place? These are analysis level questions. Require your children to synthesize knowledge by asking them how the story would have differed if all three pigs had built their houses of bricks or of straw. Finish by evaluating the behavior of the pigs. Who was the wise pig? Perhaps synthesize again by comparing the story to the Biblical principle of building your house upon the rock. All of these questions fall within the realm of what a younger child can answer, however, they require him to chew, savor, and fully digest what he is learning.

Another aspect of incorporating HOTS that I like is the variety it offers. If you look at the list of verbs, there are many potential activity ideas there. If you want to spice up your school day, try exchanging some of the rote activities and worksheets for activities like dramatizations, debates, discussions, constructing models, presenting, illustrating, and diagramming. These higher-level activities also promote families working together and learning from each other. Whereas, the lower-level activities of completing worksheets or rote practice tend to isolate children and make learning a chore instead of a joy. There have to be those times. Like I said earlier, learning takes time and work; however, teaching as we go, by doing and enjoying, just makes learning a little kinder and nicer. It builds up the family by getting everyone involved.

Just like you would fill your planter with a variety of foliage for a beautiful landscape, I challenge you to fill your planner with a variety of verbs. When you do, get ready to watch your vine grow!

Blessings and Happy Planning!

Return soon for Plan-It School Series: Setting the Stage for Learning

Plan-It School Series: Writing Objectives, Part One

Often times when preparing to teach, we think primarily of what we, the teachers, will do. We ask ourselves, "How will I present this information?" I have found that lessons run more smoothly and my children retain more when I think instead about what they will be doing during a lesson. Writing objectives helps me to do this.
　
Before writing objectives, I write a series of learning cues called "essential questions", also called "EQ's". Some teachers write an EQ for every lesson. That is one way to go; however, I find it works best for me to write an EQ for each unit of study. For example, our history curriculum calls for a three-week unit on the American immigration boom of the late 19th Century. My EQ for this unit is "Why did people leave their homelands for America and how did immigration shape our country?" It is a very broad question and can be answered by any student at any level of learning. Younger children's responses will not be as detailed as older one's; however, they will support their answers using information acquired during the unit just the same.
　
At the end of the unit, I use the EQ as my final evaluation. I have younger students answer orally or create a project that answers the question. During this particular unit, my younger son's studies will focus on geography. I will have him complete a mapping project that shows population changes and reasons for immigration such as famine or revolutions. My older son will write an essay that answers this same question. Also, he will create a picture slide show about the time period using Power Point. In a presentation that will accompany the slide show, he must answer the EQ.
　
Objectives are the stepping stones along the path of learning. How do you get your younger child from point A where he knows little to nothing on the topic to point B where he can formulate an educated response to the essential question? How do you guide your older student from point A where he has a more basic understanding to point B where he can formulate a more sophisticated answer to the essential question?
　
First, I look through my teacher's guide and select the activities that I think best support the learning goal. I think it is very important we remember that a teacher's guide is called that for a reason. It is there to guide us, but we need not feel obligated to complete everything listed. Curriculum writers have to develop programs that meet a variety of learning needs. If we try to do everything that they suggest, we will find ourselves feeling burned out quickly. Know what you want your children to accomplish and pick accordingly.
　
This year, I am using the TOS 2009 Schoolhouse Planner's "Weekly Planning I" form for organizing my objectives. There is a place for labeling the week number and date, and there is a column for each day of the week. Each row allows you to designate the subject area. There are nine rows. I write in each box what my child will complete that day for the designated subject. I am very specific in what I write, too. For instance, if he will be completing a lap book over the duration of the week, I write in which element of the project he will finish that day. If he needs to read, I write in exact page numbers or chapter numbers. If he is working on a project, I write in the stage of the project he will complete that day… such as "research immigration online and fill in graphic organizer # 3." I do my best to keep my focus on what he will be doing instead of what I will be doing as often as possible.
　
Next, since I want my students learning by doing, I look at a list of verbs. Sometimes I need more than what the teacher's guide offers. This list is a driving force in my planning and has helped me so much over the years. I want to dedicate a post to this topic, so I will end here and ask you to return soon for Plan-It School Series: Writing Objectives, Part Two.
　
Blessings and Happy Planning!

Plan-It School Series: Organizing Materials, Part Two

It is now time for our feature presentation….
　
At School with the Olive Plants
　
The scene begins with Homeschool Dawn, Orville, and Wilbur seated at the kitchen table.
　

Homeschool Dawn: Orville, it is time for math. Please, get out your textbook.
　
Orville: Is that the yellow book?
　
HSD: No, Orville, that is the phone book. Your math textbook is green. Where is it?
　
O: I'm not sure. I think I put it in my bedroom.
　
Orville leaves the kitchen and searches his room for the elusive math textbook.
　
HSD: Wilbur, let's work on your spelling while Orville finds his math book. Please get out your spelling book.
　
Wilbur (after looking through a mound of assorted workbooks, Lego magazines, and drawings of birds): I don't see it anywhere.
　
HSD: Well, where did you last have it?
　
W: I don't know.
　
HSD: Wilbur, please go look for your spelling workbook.
　
Wilbur leaves the table, and Orville returns.
　
O: Mom, I'm not sure if I found it. Is it one of these?
　
Orville sets a pile of objects in front of HSD. She examines each, one at a time.
　
HSD: (after looking at the first object) No, this is your math workbook. You need the text today. (while holding the second object) No, this is your brother's math textbook. Wilbur, come get your math book, please.
　
Wilbur enters the kitchen with Legos in hand.
　
HSD: Wilbur, are you looking for your spelling book?
　
W: Yes.
　
HSD: Why do you have the Legos then?
　
W: I built a book-finding machine. It's helping me.
　
Wilbur takes his math book and he and the machine resume their search. HSD holds up the next item in Orville's stack.
　
HSD: No, this is The Chicken Sisters.
　
W (from the next room): The Chicken Sisters? I love that book. Will you read it to us, pleeeeaaase?!
　
HSD: No, keep looking for your book.
　
HSD looks through the remaining items in Orville's stack. There is a Taco Bell receipt, a sock, two crayons, a potato, and the Holy Grail, but no math textbook.
　
HSD: Orville, what did you do with your book?
　
O: Mom, I just can't find it. Maybe Maggie (the dog) ate it.
　
Wilbur returns to the kitchen with an even larger Legos construct in hand.
　
W: Mom, I couldn't find my spelling book so I built an even bigger machine. Look, it has a scope on top, wheels for bumpy terrain, and a super word sensor. The best part is the spy button. When I press it, Word Girl will fly through my bedroom window and spell my words for me.
　
HSD looks at the clock. It is four o'clock and time to start dinner.
　
HSD: I guess we'll have Saturday school again this week.
　
O: But Mom… it is Saturday.
　
HSD: *sigh*
　
Okay, so my little drama is a bit over-the-top; however, it is truer-to-life than I would like to admit. I found early on that I could not keep a shared-space school arrangement organized. To eliminate some of the confusion, each boy now has his own desk with a built-in storage cubby. Any of their current books or workbooks is kept in it. They also have three-ring folders for several subjects. Before each nine-week unit begins, I photocopy all worksheets and notebooking pages that they will need and organize them in these folders. These folders also stay in this cubby.
　
On our bookshelf, I organize the books not currently in use but that will be needed later in the unit. In previous years, I have taught thematically which required several books per student. This year I am switching to Tapestry of Grace which also requires several resources per child. Previously, I stored the books on these shelves in alphabetical order. I picked up a tip from my friend, Molly at Counter-cultural School, that I like even better.
　
She suggested using color coding labels (you know, the little multi-colored dots). I am starting with Year 3 and chose green dots as my label for all Year 3 books. I then wrote in the center of each dot "UG" for upper grammar or "D" for dialectic. I do not have lower grammar or rhetoric students, but obviously, those could be labeled "LG" and "R". I also wrote "4" on each label for the unit number. I attached these to the side of each book and placed a piece of scotch tape over each label to ensure it stays put. When my Year 4 books arrive, I will label them with blue dots. When we restart the history cycle in two years, I will label the Year 1 and Year 2 books with two different colors.
　
I finished by placing the books on the shelves in the order they will be needed. I have one shelf for upper grammar and one shelf for dialectic. Wilbur knows that his books are on the "UG" shelf, and Orville knows that his are on the "D" shelf. When each has completed a book, he is to place it on his shelf, remove the next book, and place it in his cubby. No more book-finding machines or Holy Grails. Everything is easy to track. As I mentioned in Organizing Materials, Part One, I keep a log of books in my school library using the "Homeschool Book Inventory" found in the 2009 Schoolhouse Planner.
　
Here is my classroom now….
　

The two bottom-right shelves hold our TOG books. The others hold other subjects, manipulatives, and other teaching materials.

Aaaaah! Order has been restored!
　
Return soon for the next article in the Plan-It School series: Writing Objectives.

Plan-It School Series: Organizing Materials, Part One

Okay, so the books have all arrived, and now my house looks like this….

And this….

But I want it to look like this….*

Well, at least like this…

The first year we homeschooled, I nearly had a nervous breakdown trying to organize and keep track of books. First, finding shelf space for everything was tough. Then, it seemed like almost every day I could not find the books I needed when I needed them. I was an organizational train wreck. Over the years, I have learned to tackle these issues early and stay on top of them throughout the school year.

I begin by tackling the most difficult task of the year, imho… clearing out the previous year's books, materials, paper work, etc. My state requires that I create a year-end report for each of my children. I am not a strong record-keeper so I have to make this simple for myself.

During the school year, I place finished, graded assignments in my filing cabinet. I have one folder for each boy. I also take pictures of art work or larger projects that cannot be filed. At the end of each six weeks, I remove their papers from the file, and the boys and I sort through them. We keep samples of work from each subject. I let them help me decide what stays and what goes. I guide them through this process so that the best work stays but, at the same time, I value their input because it ensures I keep assignments that were meaningful to them. The "keep-it" work goes back into the file, and the rest goes to a grandma or to the garbage.

At the end of the school year, we place the work they decided to keep each six weeks into an expandable file. I also print pictures of projects and art and place them in the file. The filing cabinet is clean and ready for the next school year.

To complete my state's requirements, I also type a report on each boy. I write a short paragraph describing each of the following:

• Subjects studied (I use the TOS 2009 Schoolhouse Planner's "End-of-Year Evaluation" form)
• Grades earned (I use the TOS 2009 Schoolhouse Planner's "End-of-Year Report Card" form)
• Mastered content
• Areas of weakness
• Strategies I intend to implement the next school year to address weaknesses
• Extra-curricular work (TOS 2009 Schoolhouse Planner's "Extra-curricular Activities Log"
• Special achievements

The 2009 Schoolhouse Planner has several forms that could be used for this record. I highly recommend it. I also include a copy of each boy's attendance report (the Schoolhouse Planner has a form for this too) and achievement test results. In my home state, homeschooled children are required to take a standardized achievement test every three years. I try to test mine every year as I think it is a helpful tool. I use the results to guide my planning for the next school year.

After this is complete, I remove books that we have completed from the shelves. I sort through these books and decide which ones will be needed again in the future. Of the ones I know will never be used again, I decide if I want to sell them or store them. I log the ones that I will be keeping, especially those that will be used again in a later school year, using the Schoolhouse Planner's "Homeschool Book Inventory". I store the books in numbered boxes. I write the box number where I will find each book beside its title on the inventory form. I try to sell the others at my local homeschool association's book sale. I list the ones that do not sell there on ebay.

Now, my shelves are clear and ready for next year's curricula. Return soon for Organizing Your Materials, Part Two in which I will share my system for labeling, logging, and shelving our books.

*image from http://www.flicker.com/