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How Do You Know When to Keep Homeschooling?

How Do You Know When to Keep Homeschooling?, ask blair, sea homeschoolers
Dec 17, 2023 | Blair Lee
How Do You Know When to Keep Homeschooling?, ask blair, sea homeschoolers

How Do You Know When to Keep Homeschooling?

Blair,

How do you know when to keep homeschooling and when to look for other educational options? Our homeschooling is going mostly ok. She whines sometimes when she would rather watch YouTube than do math, but just typical 8yo behavior and she usually has fun once we get started. She is ahead in some subjects and a little behind the norm in reading, again typical 8yo stuff. But, homeschooling is exhausting! All the planning, searching for materials that are truly secular and a good fit for my child, implementing academics in an engaging hands-on manner, plus working full-time (from home) and trying to keep the house from completely falling apart. I know it’s important and worth it and I want to keep going, but I am burnt out! It doesn’t help that we have zero local friends or family, so I never get a break. And we don’t really have the money for in-person classes or activities. I have adhd and I am pretty sure my child does as well, so I’m not sure if public school would work for her (it was terrible for me growing up). I truly do want to keep homeschooling, but I cannot keep going like this much longer. I don’t expect homeschooling to be easy. I know making sure I am raising a well-educated human will always require some work. But do you have any advice for how to make it easier or how to not constantly feel like the weight of my child’s entire future rests solely on my shoulders?

From Avery
Homeschooling: 3 years
Child’s Grade: 2nd

Hello Avery,

How do you know when to keep homeschooling and when to look for other educational options?

I do have tips for you, but first I want to address the issue of you feeling burned out, separate from your child’s education. Your mental health is critically important. If something is negatively affecting it, then sometimes you have hard choices to make. I am not a mental health expert, so I will not give any more advice than this: take the time to be in a calm mental state, then decide what you need to do to minimize your stress level. Your answer will likely have negatives and positives; but whatever it is, if it is right for your mental health, then it is right.

But do you have any advice for how to make it easier or how to not constantly feel like the weight of my child’s entire future rests solely on my shoulders?

You work full time, you’re a mom, you take care of the house, and you homeschool?! No wonder you are burned out! That is a lot! Couple that with no local friends or family, and it must get lonely sometimes. I do have some tips to help.

  • Take some time this year to figure out how your child learns. Do not overcomplicate this. Just observe how they approach academic tasks and their modalities of choice. Do they prefer an approach that is:
    • Reading and writing
    • Watching someone
    • Listening, or
    • Kinesthetic?
  • After gathering this information, use the SEA Homeschoolers Facebook Group strategically to help find and choose materials.
    • Start by telling people how your child learns and that you think they have ADHD.
    • Next, ask for suggestions from people who have homeschooled a child like yours.
    • Once you think you have a sound choice, you can even explicitly ask for the pros and cons from those who have used the curriculum with a child who has ADHD. Don’t forget to ask about how time-consuming the curriculum is for parents, too.
    • One benefit of asking these questions in the SEA Facebook group is that we have strict policies regarding non-secular materials. In the rare case where we do miss something, members are quick to alert us. The group also has a list of non-secular curricula listed in the files section. Check that over and don’t buy anything on the non-secular list.
  • It is also okay not to do it all.
    • Hands-on learning is important, but you do not have to do it for every subject or all the time, especially if it is overwhelming. Give yourself a break if you need one. In a science course with 20 labs, don’t do all 20. In a history course that has a project to complete every week, you don’t have to do them all. During a busy week, let your child orally tell you about the lesson and consider it finished.
    • During a hectic week, let your child take a break or do work that doesn’t require a lot of your input.
    • If you are a planner who gets stressed when you get off schedule, work on that. The world is never going to fit neatly into someone’s schedule all or even most of the time. However, if you do not use a plan at all, I recommend you make one. You are very busy, and it will help you to have a plan so that you do not need to constantly figure out your schedule.
    • Choose a curriculum that has a plan already completed for you to work from throughout the week.
    • If you need a day off from teaching, take one.
  • Finally, ask in the SEA Homeschoolers group if there is anyone local to you with a child your daughter’s age. Who knows; maybe you will find someone near you to hang out with.

Hugs & Much Love, Blair!

Check out more articles through the Ask Blair Page on this website.

This article was submitted in June 2022 and was published in the July issue of the SEA Homeschoolers Magazine.

Do you have a question for the fan-favorite column “Ask Blair” found in The SEA Homeschoolers Magazine? Please use this form to submit your homeschooling questions. The SEA team will select a few questions to be answered by SEA Homeschoolers Founder & Magazine Editor, Blair Lee, in each quarterly issue. Due to space, not all questions will be published in the magazine. Those that come in shortly after a magazine issue has been published will go on this page. These are important questions and we want to answer them for you in a timely way. Please be sure to include all pertinent information relevant to your question – examples: learner ages, grade levels, preferred resource format, topics of interest, preferred homeschool methodologies, state requirements you’re trying to meet, learning challenges, etc.

Submit your homeschooling question through this link.





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Ages and Stages of Writing Instruction

The Ages and Stages of Writing Instruction, Michelle Parrinello-Cason, writing, SEA Homeschoolers
Dec 5, 2023 | Blair Lee, M.S.

Ages and Stages of Writing Instruction

Think of Writing like Cooking

From Dr. Michelle Parrinello-Cason

I’m a big fan of using metaphors to take the mystery out of writing instruction, and that’s what I’m going to be doing in this article.

One of the things I hear most often from families trying to figure out how to teach writing in their homeschool is concern. Concern that they aren’t doing “enough.” Concern that they’re “late” or “behind.” Concern that some particular skill isn’t developed adequately.

I hear these concerns—and, as a homeschooling mom, I feel them myself—but I’ve got an idea that I think will take some of the stress out of writing instruction.

To better understand the ages and stages of writing instruction, let’s think of writing like cooking.

Ages and Stages of Writing Instruction: Setting Our Goal

You don’t know where your kid is going to end up. Perhaps they’re going to be a world-class author of bestselling books or a researcher who publishes in peer-reviewed journals about their life-changing experiments. They may need mastery of formal, professional, and polished writing to meet their goals. Or they may not.

What you know for sure, though, is that they’ll need the foundational skills of communication. Whether they’re heading to college or not, whether they’re heading into a writing-intensive career or not, whether they like to write for fun or not, they’re going to need some basic foundations. Everyone benefits from the clarity, critical thinking, organization, and depth of exploration that comes with writing practice. It’s a universal skill.

Now think about cooking. You don’t know if your kid is going to end up a world-class chef. Perhaps they’ll go on to compete in cooking competitions or open their own restaurant. Perhaps they’ll create new and innovative recipes that change the culinary game. They may need the mastery of formal, precise, and decorative baking skills to meet their goals. Or they may not.

What you know for sure, though, is that the foundational skills learned through cooking are translatable to other areas in life. Being able to read and follow a recipe, converting amounts mathematically, experimenting with flavors, practicing hand-eye coordination, knowing how to feed themselves nutritionally-sound food, and developing safety strategies for knives and ovens—these are all skills worth developing for everyone.

Our goal then — whether we’re talking about cooking or writing—is to provide our learners with the foundational skills they need to follow the paths that interest them most. We don’t want to cut off any options for them, but we also don’t want to hyper-focus on perfection before they’ve had the chance to learn the basics. We want to foster an appreciation for exploration and skill-building.

Let’s get going.

The Ages and Stages of Writing Instruction, Michelle Parrinello-Cason, writing, SEA Homeschoolers

The Early Years: Birth through Preschool

Cooking in the early years is mostly about appreciation for the process. We include our kids in the kitchen as we cook there ourselves. They eat food, and they explore its many textures, flavors, and appearances.

They see you as a model. You cook, you eat, and you prepare food and provide it to them. You describe food when they see it and teach them that the mashed potato and the French fry have the same origin. Your behavior and direct instruction provide a foundation in understanding.

When we do include kids in the actual cooking, it’s usually messy and requires either a lot of support or low expectations. But we include them anyway because we know that the skills and interests they’re building are worthwhile.

That’s what we should do for writing, too.

To set the stage for strong writers, these early years should include cultivating an appreciation for and joy in words and language.

The absolute best thing you can do to help with future writing and reading habits at this stage is read books—lots of them. Picture books, board books, audiobooks, chapter books—explore it all. Read that favorite story over and over again. Have a spot in the house where piling together with a book to read aloud just feels right and necessary. Get library cards and use them often. Have bookshelves that are accessible to little hands.

One thing that adults don’t always think of as part of their child’s education is their own modeled behavior, but it really matters for developing a love of language. Let them see you read, and them see you love it. That means read what you love and in a format that works for you. Graphic novels, page-turning thrillers, magazines, gardening books, cookbooks—explore it all. Let your kids see you as a reader.

Of course, this is also the age where you introduce letters and letter sounds and basic handwriting practice. There are tons of great tips available for these practices in the many, many preschool curricula out there. Find some that work and use them, but remember that creating wonder and joy around reading is just as much a foundational skill for writing as these more technical aspects.

At a Glance:

  • Read, read, and read some more
  • Model a love for reading
  • Make books accessible and enjoyable
The Ages and Stages of Writing Instruction, Michelle Parrinello-Cason, writing, SEA Homeschoolers

Early Elementary: Kindergarten-Second Grade

As kids develop more physical skills and longer attention spans, cooking can be a lot more meaningful. We’ll teach them how to safely use the knife and follow simple recipes. We don’t, however, expect that a dish come out perfect.

If a kid at this age makes cupcakes, for instance, we’re likely not expecting them to be iced evenly. They wouldn’t likely make their way into a display case of a bakery. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t delicious!

Continue building a great foundation for writing through that practice and appreciation for reading.

Great books, mediocre books, silly books, serious books—read it all. Keep the read aloud traditions, and—as your learner develops their own reading abilities during these years—provide them with access to choose their own independent reading selections. Don’t worry about keeping them “on level.” Reading under their level builds confidence. Reading above their level stretches their skills. Listening to audiobooks is reading. Reading graphic novels is reading. Reading is worthwhile in all its forms.

Introduce writing as a low-pressure experience. Write paragraphs describing personal experiences. Write letters to people you love. Make lists and take notes. Tell stories. Remember that writing doesn’t just mean pen to paper. It also includes playing with puppets and creating stories with Legos. Making a speech and recording it on video is writing. Drawing pictures is writing. Typing is writing.

Incorporate writing into other subjects. Have your learner write about how they would feel to be in a particular moment in history. Write down the results of the science experiment. Make writing a regular, meaningful part of day-to-day life.

As your writer’s interests and attention span allow, you can focus on some specific writing skills as they arise. Talk about capitalization conventions and how writers put periods at the end of sentences. Model these practices in your own writing and when you scribe for your writers. Do not make a big deal out of it when they don’t immediately translate these skills into their own writing. Do not make every piece of writing require perfect polish. Let most of their writing exist in its rough draft form. It teaches them that, first and foremost, writing is about ideas.

We understand that getting in the kitchen and making a mess is a great way to build the interest and early skills for a lifelong cooking practice. Writing skills happen the same way.

At a Glance:

  • Read, read, and read some more
  • Make writing a low-pressure activity
  • Remember writing takes many forms
  • Make a mess
The Ages and Stages of Writing Instruction, Michelle Parrinello-Cason, writing, SEA Homeschoolers

Late Elementary: Third-Fifth Grade

At this point in cooking, you might start adding in some more refined requirements and expectations. Your young chefs will probably start to master specific recipes they can complete without your assistance. They may start mixing together their own concoctions—some will be delicious, and some will be . . . well, not delicious. Experimentation is important, and this stage adds the consideration of external expectations. What kind of food will other people like, too?

In writing, now is the time to start introducing some basic academic writing conventions. These should remain low stakes and occasional. Not every piece of writing requires rigorous standards around mechanics and grammar. Much—perhaps even most—of your learner’s writing should remain informal, not evaluated on its lower order concerns like spelling and punctuation.

Occasionally, though, introduce a formal assignment that does need to be polished and perfected for an audience. Use these assignments to identify the areas that need the most attention. Help writers start to develop their own revision process. Teach them to read aloud and listen for errors and missing words.

The biggest goal of this age and stage is to get them comfortable with the idea that sometimes—but not always—writing comes with higher expectations. It’s like baking cupcakes at home vs. baking them for a professional shop display. At home, it doesn’t matter if the icing is uneven and the wrapper pulled off a big chunk of the cupcake. It’s still delicious. If you were putting them in a shop display, though, you’d be more careful and deliberate with what you put forward. You might even have to make cupcakes you wouldn’t normally make—specific flavors and themes that meet your customers’ demands.

This is the time to start exploring that concept with an occasional assignment. Just make sure that it always has an authentic context. Tie it to a lesson in another subject. Write about a character from that history chapter. Summarize that documentary. Write a letter about the social justice lesson. Writing needs to be meaningful.

At a Glance:

  • Introduce occasional higher-stakes requirements
  • Start to consider audience more formally
  • Write in multiple subjects
  • Make writing meaningful and connected to ideas
The Ages and Stages of Writing Instruction, Michelle Parrinello-Cason, writing, SEA Homeschoolers

Middle School: Sixth-Eighth Grade

At this point, those home chefs probably have some pretty sophisticated skill sets, but they may have developed unevenly. They might be very skilled at particular kinds of cooking but not have much practice in others. They may still need supervision during tricky or risky practices, but they’re likely getting comfortable with creating their own plans and following more complex recipes.

This is the time to really start to understand academic writing conventions and their requirements. Helping a learner nail down these concepts now means that their high school years can be spent exploring the effectiveness and finding their personal voice rather than being overwhelmed by the demands.

Build on the work from the Late Elementary section by incorporating more and more formal writing assignments with specific expectations in terms of form, format, and goals. Support the development of an individual and rigorous revision process by requiring multiple drafts with feedback at each stage. Break writing assignments down into steps that help learners choose topics, research, outline, brainstorm, draft, revise, and polish with purpose and intention.

Continue to do a mix of formal and informal writing assignments that don’t always require such careful attention to grammar and mechanics. It’s important to remember that writing is always about ideas first. The polishing is important for some circumstances, but the ideas are important all the time.

Most importantly, if you can get all the basic skills introduced in these stages, writing at the high school level can really be about exploration, developing critical thinking skills, and discovering ideas.

Think of it as sending your chefs off with a familiarity of a range of cooking styles and techniques even if they have their favorites that are more heavily leaned upon.

At a Glance:

  • Mix informal and formal writing assignments
  • Focus on developing a flexible and personal writing process
  • Experiment with different formats and goals
  • Introduce assignments that create new expectations
The Ages and Stages of Writing Instruction, Michelle Parrinello-Cason, writing, SEA Homeschoolers

High School: Ninth-Twelfth Grade

Ideally, this would be the stage where a chef could start to explore their own recipes and explore unique flavor combinations with confidence and bravery. Sure, sometimes things are going to fail, but someone who has experience in the kitchen and strong foundational skills won’t feel deterred by an experiment that doesn’t work out.

That’s how we want our high school writers to approach their craft: unafraid to think outside the box and prepared to improvise when a new idea strikes.

In order to get there, high school writing should be about pushing the boundaries of the comfort zone and continuously asking writers to consider different audiences and purposes. The more complex, engaging, and authentic the writing experiences can be, the better.

Continue to explore the connection between reading and writing by making writing a component of different subjects. Remember that writing takes many forms, and creating infographics, video reports, and speeches all count.

Build authentic writing experiences where a real audience sees the finished product. Send letters to elected officials and post flyers in the park. Make street art and publish podcasts. Teach your writer that their voice matters and find an audience who wants to hear it.

Research becomes a key focus of writing at this stage, and knowing how to find credible sources and incorporate them meaningfully into their own writing is one of the most important skills a high school writer can develop.

Teach them that writing sometimes has to follow academic writing conventions to perfection. Cover letters and resumes can’t afford to have a typo or a punctuation error. Help them learn when it matters most.

At a Glance:

  • Make research a major component
  • Write across different subjects
  • Create real-life audiences
  • Write in various forms and formats
The Ages and Stages of Writing Instruction, Michelle Parrinello-Cason, writing, SEA Homeschoolers

Ages and Stages of Writing Instruction: Final Thoughts

It’s never too late to learn writing skills. We’re all communicators by our very nature, and these are skills that we’ll develop more when we have situations that call upon them in a meaningful way.

The most important advice I can give for families working on writing is to meet your learner where they are and don’t worry about any official timeline. We all develop skills in their own time and place. The more we practice, the better we become, and the absolute most important thing you can do is provide your writer support to practice often.

Just like cooking, writing is a lifelong skill. Some of us use it daily and with joy—we’re constantly looking at new ways to practice the skill and make it a key part of our lives. Others may do it begrudgingly and only when necessary, but it’s still easier to do when we have a strong foundation behind us.

Start wherever you are and build skills with the confidence that they’ll serve your learner well today and for the rest of their lives.

Michelle Parrinello-Cason is the founder of Dayla Learning, a place for “homeschooling the humanities with humanity.” Michelle has a PhD in English and more than twenty years of experience as an educator, including six as a full-time college professor. As a homeschooling mom of two, Michelle has embraced home education as a place to put the principles of trust in students, critical thinking, and flexible engagement with the world into practice. She offers secular online classes and materials for English, philosophy, and literature and likes to teach through a pop culture lens.

Check out our article, Ages and Stages for Teaching Science.

New to Homeschooling? Check out our How to Homeschool 101 Article.





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10 Teaching Tips for Homeschooling Elementary School

10 Teaching Tips for Homeschooling Elementary School, Homeschooling Elementary School, Grades K–4, Blair Lee, SEA Homeschoolers
Nov 5, 2023 | Blair Lee, M.S.

10 Teaching Tips for Homeschooling Elementary School

For more information focused on learning theory and cognitive science, check out Blair’s article, Homeschooling Elementary School.

Tip #1: Work with learners at their level: To meet the needs of the individual, you should meet them where they are. For example, I have a grandson in 2nd grade and a granddaughter, his cousin, in 3rd grade. Math comes easily for him, but not for her.

You can check out how I work with him here.

When I work with her, instruction is focused less on the step-by-step process and more on direct problem solving. Where my grandson looks at 68 + 17 and knows the answer right away, my granddaughter struggles to come up with the answer without manipulatives. (Unfortunately, no one realized she needed these until I started working with her.) My grandson does sometimes draw diagrams, but he has never needed manipulatives. The introduction of manipulatives into math for my granddaughter took her from a struggling math student to one who is beginning to comfortably complete her math homework.

You might be wondering how to figure out their level. If in doubt, I recommend a MAP test or something similar. It is an adaptive assessment that measures where your student is in math, reading, language usage, and science. The test also provides detailed, actionable data about what a child should be working on.

One of the most important things you can do for elementary learners is to take the time to get to know how they learn. Slow down if you need to. Even if that means slowing the scheduling and pacing of lessons. Once you figure out how your children access and process information, their academic work will speed up.

Tip #2: Scaffold learning: Scaffolding is an important part of meeting learners where they are. The amount of scaffolding and support each student needs will vary. It is important to provide the support and guidance a learner needs. I know that sometimes it can feel like a time suck, but you will be able to gradually reduce the level of support as they become more proficient.

Tip #3: Keep it positive: Some days, this is easier said than done! I will admit to taking a “vacation” day now and then when I reached frustration overload. The issue is that a nurturing culture of thinking is most likely to evolve in a positive and supportive learning environment. If patience is a virtue you struggle with, it is probably a skill to work on mastering as your children work to master academic concepts.

Tip #4: Make learning fun and engaging: Elementary-aged students are more likely to learn and remember information if they are engaged in fun and interesting activities. When students are enjoying themselves, they are more likely to be motivated to pay attention and participate in class. When learners are engaged, it makes what they are learning more memorable. And hey, you are involved in their learning! You will enjoy teaching more when learning is fun and engaging.

Tip #5: Social and emotional learning: The brain regions responsible for social cognition and understanding others’ perspectives develop rapidly for this age cohort. This is essential for developing social skills, empathy, and an understanding of social norms and relationships. As with all learning, the teaching you get around these is important. Social and emotional learning can benefit children’s ability to communicate effectively and build positive relationships with others.

10 Teaching Tips for Homeschooling Elementary School, Homeschooling Elementary School, Grades K–4, Blair Lee, SEA Homeschoolers

Tip #6: Diversity matters: Using diverse resources in elementary school is important. Especially with homeschool kids, most of us live in a small community of people with whom we interact. It is important, as our kids are beginning to make sense of the world, that we expose them to different perspectives and cultures. This can help them develop empathy and tolerance for others. It can also help them learn about the world around them in a more nuanced way.

A few examples of how you can include diverse resources are to ask in the SEA group for diverse resources, look for curriculum that positively portrays people in marginalized communities in positive ways, and use first-person, own-voice resources.

Tip #7: Critical thinking: In a world absolutely full of adults who do not have adequate critical thinking skills, do not assume your children acquire them without intentional teaching. It turns out that elementary school is the perfect time to begin teaching these skills. Starting at about age six, children begin to transition from preoperational thinking to concrete operational thinking. This means that they can think more logically and systematically about the world around them. With intentional teaching, they are better equipped to analyze information and make logical connections when forming conclusions.

Tip #8: Let them move: Every ten to fifteen minutes, when I taught live online science classes to elementary learners, I had the class get up and move. I would tell students things like, “We have been sitting long enough. Let’s prove that Earth’s gravity is still working.” Or, “What do you think will happen to your breathing rate if you do ten jumping jacks?” We would jump up and down, or do jumping jacks, and then get right back to our lesson, which sometimes related to the activity but often didn’t.

The kids loved it. They probably thought it was for fun. My real reason was to keep their brains engaged and focused. I was familiar with cognitive learning theory and what it has to say about the connection between attention and movement. According to the theory (and my observations while teaching), when students are physically active, their brains are more alert and engaged. This can help them learn and retain information more effectively. Movement also helps to improve memory. When students learn new concepts or skills while moving, they are more likely to remember them. This is because movement helps to create new neural pathways in the brain, a key component of learning. Movement also releases endorphins, which have mood-boosting and stress-reducing effects. This also helps with focus and attention.

It is not just jumping jacks and proving gravity works that benefit from movement. Pairing active, hands-on work with learning benefits the acquisition of that information. For example, when hands-on work is paired with science, students are much more likely to master concepts than if all learning is done watching a video or reading a chapter.

Tip #9: Organization is important: I have bad news for those of you who function best with chaos. Being organized and prepared will help immensely when homeschooling. Some children need organization and a schedule to succeed. I recommend having a schedule that you stick to within reason. (You are a homeschooler, after all!)

As a part of this organization, have clear expectations for what you expect in terms of academic performance. Be clear about these and communicate them to your children. You will also want to be organized when it comes to record-keeping. Even if you are not required to keep records, you will be glad you did when you want to evaluate the progress your learner is making.

Tip #10: Evaluations: Students need feedback on their work to learn and grow. If you have never taught before, you might struggle with feedback in the form of evaluations. A good starting point is to reflect on the purpose of evaluations. My personal philosophy is that evaluations should nurture students, helping them to see themselves as learners while at the same time helping them grow. That sentence sounds lovely, at least to me. The problem is, it can be challenging to give feedback that helps someone grow. To do that, you are going to have to point out the academic areas that they need to work on.

My recommendation is that you start with the positives. Make those genuine. Next, pick 123 things that your student should work on next. I feel that three is the maximum number of new skills for someone to be working on at any given time. More than that is overwhelming, and while you can lightly touch on more than three, it’s unlikely that mastery of them will happen with more than three.

Pay attention to improvements in what they’re working on. Give concrete scaffolding help until there is mastery of a skill. Then you can add the next one to three skills. Be very positive when there is improvement. Be careful; a mistake that is easy to make is to see a little bit of improvement and then stop paying attention. Don’t do that until you feel there is a mastery of the skill.

This is part of a series from Blair Lee.  Check out the SEA Homeschoolers Magazine and SEA Homeschoolers Online Conference Series to review what neuroscience tells us about learning in the middle school years.

New to Homeschooling? Check out our How to Homeschool 101 Article.

For more information focused on learning theory and cognitive science, check out Blair’s article, Homeschooling Elementary School.





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Homeschooling Elementary School

Homeschooling Elementary School, Grades K–4, Blair Lee, SEA Homeschoolers
Nov 4, 2023 | Blair Lee, M.S.

Homeschooling Elementary School

Homeschooling elementary school is a perfect educational setting for developing a personal philosophy based on the intellectual life you want for your children. I encourage you, as your child’s primary educator, to take the time to reflect on what you hope for your child’s “intellectual life.”

The Wonder Years

Over the years, I taught and tutored students in grades 1st through college. There are high points in teaching every grade, but it is the elementary students I miss the most. It is just so fulfilling and fun to work with this age group as they discover the world around them! Their innate curiosity and eagerness to learn make teaching them an adventure filled with AHA moments and new discoveries. Their unique perspective on the world, unburdened by preconceived notions or biases, leads to observations and insights that will keep you thinking and, in live, online classes, on your toes!

As every homeschooler of this age cohort knows, however, it’s not all fun and games. It is easy to worry as you work to understand how your children learn. We worry if we are adequately meeting their needs where they are strong, and we worry if we are providing the right kind of scaffolding where they struggle. This is complicated if your child is neurodiverse. Compounding this is that at the same time they are learning to read and write, they are also learning how to handle their big emotions and frustrations when things don’t go exactly as planned. And yet, this is the age I miss the most. They are genuinely adorable, and it is special to be there when someone learns something for the first time.

A Multimodal Approach for Balanced Learning, SEA Homeschoolers, Blair Lee, Guide

Your Educational Philosophy

One thing that is challenging about teaching these early grades is that it is often your first foray into teaching. I encourage you to really give some thought to your educational philosophy. This passage resonates with me as a reason to do some big-picture thinking about what you want for your children’s learning. I think this is especially important when working with young learners, as they are exposed to more formal learning for the first time.

Vygotsky (1978), writing about the importance of the sociocultural context of learning and providing models, stated, “Children grow into the intellectual life of those around them.” This is one of our favorite quotes because it provides a powerful metaphor for what it means to educate. With what kind of intellectual life are we surrounding our students? Is it hardy, inspiring, and complex? How are we fostering the growth of their intellectual life? What are our students learning about learning in our classrooms? How are we engaging them in the processes of thinking, learning, problem solving, designing, debating, and citizenship? How can we move beyond merely imparting knowledge and passing along tips for how to achieve high marks on external exams so that we are preparing students, not for tests, but for life? ~ The Power of Making Thinking Visible, Ron Ritchhart and Mark Church, p. 24

The book is targeted at traditional school educators; however, there is an educational philosophy in this passage that is useful in any educational setting. Homeschooling is a perfect educational setting for developing a personal philosophy based on the intellectual life you want for your children. I encourage you, as your child’s primary educator, to take the time to reflect on what you hope for your child’s “intellectual life.”

Homeschooling Elementary School, Grades K–4, Blair Lee, SEA Homeschoolers, educational philosophy Ask yourself:

  • Ritchhart and Church used the adjectives hardy, inspiring, and complex. What adjectives do you want to use to describe your child’s intellectual life?
  • How will you cultivate your philosophy and shape your child’s learning to reflect your chosen adjectives? This is no small task. I recommend you take the time and thought needed for this. Make it personal. It is great to get input from other sources, but as the person crafting your children’s intellectual life, you want it to be true to you and what you hope for your children.
  • What are your children learning about learning? How are you mentoring your children to become skilled learners?
  • How are you creating a culture of thinking? A culture of thinking refers to an environment where curiosity and the pursuit of knowledge are encouraged and valued. In such a culture, we encourage children to ask questions and engage in deep thinking.
  • How are you mentoring (apprenticing) your children in the process of thinking, learning, problem solving, designing, debating, and citizenship? You might align these with certain disciplines, or you might choose to teach these as their own subject and then weave them into other subjects.
  • How is your child’s learning preparing them for life? When I went through this exercise, I focused on the importance of being a “well-learned” adult. This is personal, of course. But I used well-learned instead of well-educated because I feel well-educated does not put as much focus on the process of learning and the skills needed to be a strong lifelong learner.

When answering these questions, it is important to take neuroscience and neuropsychology into account.

What Brain Science Tells Us

A young child’s inquisitiveness and desire to learn are understandable when you consider the anatomy and physiology of the human brain. According to Ronald McKay, PhD, of the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation, what makes the brain so powerful is that it is sort of hard-wired and sort of not hardwired. The brain is hard-wired to learn in the sense that the basic architecture is there, ready to be used for learning. The brain is not hardwired in the sense that it is flexible, making it profoundly adaptable in the context of learning, which occurs based on what it is exposed to.

That makes the early years of education important, as the quality and content of that education are engaged in shaping the brain’s architecture. As children learn, synapses form. According to Roberto Malinow, MD, PhD, synapses are the sites of communication between nerve cells. It is through nerve cells that the brain communicates. This communication mediates our actions, thoughts, and learning. Synapses are relevant when discussing learning because when you learn something, it’s because synapses have been modified. The communication between nerve cells holding learning in the form of memories has been modified, and it will stay modified unless synaptic pruning occurs.

Research shows that the brains of elementary-aged children are highly adaptable and capable of forming new neural connections. This underscores the importance of early education in shaping cognitive abilities. During these early years of education, children’s brains undergo significant growth and change, laying the foundation for their future learning abilities and creating sites where knowledge is accumulated and built upon. This is a time when children are rapidly acquiring new knowledge and skills, and their thinking is becoming more complex. Synapses are forming, and the architecture of the brain is shaping itself to hold learning. Based on changing anatomy and the effect this has on physiology, it is not surprising that studies show that when intentional instruction is structured, scaffolded, and targeted for the learner, learning outcomes are greatly enhanced throughout a person’s life (How People Learn, p. 103–104).

I really think homeschooling would be great for our family but, Blair Lee, SEA Homeschoolers
Homeschooling Elementary School, Grades K–4, Blair Lee, SEA Homeschoolers, Synapse density
  • Synapse – The site of communication between nerve cells
  • Synaptic Pruning – a natural process as a part of brain maturation where the brain removes synapses that do not communicate with others.
  • Myelination – sheaths are laid down to protect synapses that are not pruned.

Before You Can Lose It, You Have to Have It 

In the context of middle school learners, researchers adhere to the “use it or lose it” principle. Meaning, starting in early adolescence, synapses and connections that are used survive and flourish, and those that are not used are pruned. This has significant implications for the importance of learning in the elementary grades and how learning in the early years has long-lasting effects on future learning. In the “Use it or lose it model,” learning must be present to be used.

I find the analogy of a messy room helpful for understanding this. Starting in the late elementary grades, the brain begins a process called synaptic pruning, where synapses and connections that are unused are pruned. The synapses and connections that are well-used are not pruned. They are strengthened in a process called myelination. It is as if the brain is a childhood bedroom that is getting its first major cleaning. Toys and games that are not used are thrown away. Those that are well used are kept and strengthened.

If your child doesn’t play with Legos anymore, the Legos are gone. If they do still play with Legos, the Legos are kept and made better than new. But what if your child was never exposed to toys that teach design and engineering skills, like Legos? The implication is that as the architecture of the brain restructures around the skills and information that are well-used, design and engineering skills are not a part of this because they are not present.

Play and Unstructured Learning Are Important

In the homeschool community, especially in the early elementary years, it is common to see people advocate for a focus on play and unstructured learning. Both are certainly important as essential aspects of a child’s development. They can be educational and intellectually stimulating, creating synapses and connections. Play provides opportunities for social, emotional, and cognitive growth. It also often involves solving problems, which is valuable for developing critical thinking skills. Unstructured learning fosters a child’s creative thinking. Because unstructured learning is self-directed, it can create a high level of interest in the act of learning. The issue is that play and unstructured learning are chaotic when it comes to the acquisition of knowledge and skills. Without some planning and structure, it is easy for there to be holes in a person’s education.

Homeschooling Elementary School, Grades K–4, Blair Lee, SEA Homeschoolers, play and unstructured learning
Homeschooling Elementary School, Grades K–4, Blair Lee, SEA Homeschoolers, structured learning

Structured learning is an education system with defined paths for learning, objectives, and a formal hierarchy. A basic way of thinking of this is, “In order to learn C, first you need to learn A, and then B.”

Structured Learning

Play is important, and so is structured learning. The science explaining how people learn does not support an either/or position like the one that is pervasive in the homeschool community. If you provide your child with formal academics in kindergarten through fourth grade, you are not ruining their childhood or making them hate learning.

What you are doing is supporting the development of their brain as a learner. You are aiding them in acquiring knowledge and information that will form a solid foundation for their knowledge base. Structured learning intentionally ensures that students are exposed to fundamental concepts and skills in a logical sequence. This foundation is essential for more advanced learning in later years. You are also making a value statement about your feelings and relationship with the acquisition of knowledge.

Cognitive Learning Theory as a Part of Your Educational Philosophy

Cognitive learning theory promotes the idea that students, especially those in the elementary grades, learn best when they are actively engaged in the learning process. People learn by doing, by exploring, and by making mistakes. When you work with students, it quickly becomes evident that learning best happens when the heads and the hands are engaged.

Guiding Literalists to Learn Abstract Concepts

Children ages 6 to 10 are literalists who interpret language and concepts in concrete ways. That is not to say they are not capable of abstract learning. However, there is a range, with some elementary-aged children being extreme literalists who require thoughtful and intensive support to engage in abstract learning.

Abstract learning is the ability to understand and use concepts that are not concrete. For example, the concept of “number” is abstract, as is the concept of “letter” and the sounds associated with them because they are not something that can be seen or touched. Other abstract concepts include things like “love,” “justice,” and “freedom.”

Their developing brain is the reason for this. The prefrontal cortex, a region of the brain involved in higher-order thinking skills, plays a key role in abstract learning. The prefrontal cortex is not fully developed until early adulthood, but it does begin to develop in early childhood. Your child’s ability to think abstractly correlates with the development of their prefrontal cortex. Children learn abstract concepts by building on their concrete experiences. If this is an area where your child needs more work, use concrete examples and hands-on activities to help children understand abstract concepts.

Homeschooling Elementary School, Grades K–4, Blair Lee, SEA Homeschoolers, guiding literalists to learn abstract concepts

Ways to Scaffold for Abstract Learning

  • My #1 recommendation is to use curriculum that does this work for you.
  • Language arts: Use concrete examples to help children understand the relationship between letters and sounds. For example, you could show children a picture of a cat and point out the individual letters in the word “cat.” You could then make the sounds of the letters and have the child blend the sounds together to form the word “cat.”
  • Language arts: Explain that there are some words that do not follow the typical phonics rules. These words are called irregular words. You can provide a list of irregular words to memorize, or you can teach strategies for decoding irregular words.
  • Language arts: To teach the concept of similes, read stories and poems that use similes and have children identify the similes.
  • Language arts: Use metaphors and analogies, and discuss what they mean when you do, to help children relate abstract concepts to their own experiences.
  • Math: A child might learn the concept of “number” using manipulatives for counting.
  • Math: To teach the concept of addition, use concrete objects, such as blocks or beads, to help children visualize and understand the process of addition.
  • Math: To teach the concept of fractions, use fraction circles or other manipulatives to help children understand the different parts of a whole.
  • Science: Make and use diagrams or models that help children visualize what they are studying.
  • Science: Include experiments that do a good job of highlighting concepts from what they are studying.
  • Social studies and history: Work on hands-on projects that do a good job of highlighting concepts from what they are studying.
  • Social studies and history: Have big discussions about abstract concepts like justice and equality.

Homeschooling Elementary School: Academic Disciplines

Learning to Read and Reading to Learn, Homeschooling Elementary School, Grades K–4, Blair Lee, SEA Homeschoolers

There is solid evidence that genetics is a factor in the ease with which a person learns to read. As an aside, I come from a family of early readers. My paternal grandfather, my father, my son, and I all just started reading at the age of three. Family lore has it that we taught ourselves to read at three. The genetics of reading are even more interesting than that when you think in terms of evolutionary biology and the human brain. For most of human history, reading would not have been an important skill. It was not until the mid- to late 1800s that literacy became more common. Understanding and producing spoken language is how our ancestors communicated. It would have been important. From the standpoint of evolutionary biology, it is not surprising that humans acquire sophisticated spoken-language skills with ease. Decoding written language and connecting that with speech, on the other hand… it is a testament to the profound abilities of the human brain that we can read.

Learning to Read and Reading to Learn

The acquisition of reading skills is a complex cognitive process that involves multiple brain regions and is associated with structural changes in the brain. If you do not provide structured learning for any other discipline, I urge you to do it for reading. If the goal of reading is to understand what is being read, reading can be considered THE foundational skill almost every other subject relies on. Research that spans decades indicates “a strong scientific consensus around the importance of phonics instruction in the initial stages of learning to read.”

Spoken Language

The first step in learning to read is to understand and produce spoken words. Language is incredibly complex. It is important that young children have an intuitive understanding of it before being asked to decode alphabetic symbols.

Learning to Read

Reading involves decoding written symbols (letters) and associating them with the sounds of spoken language. Children typically begin with basic phonics, learning letter-sound correspondences and blending sounds like s + h is sh and c + h is ch to form words. As they progress, children develop sight-word recognition and reading fluency. Next, they work on reading comprehension, which focuses on understanding simple and short texts.

The acquisition of these skills is associated with extensive changes in regions of the brain. Processing phonological information activates one area of the left hemisphere. Recognizing and reading common words (sight words) involves a different area. Along with changes and activation of the brain’s architecture, continued work on reading results in the brain strengthening synapses that connect different parts of the brain. This enhances the efficiency of communication between regions of the brain involved in reading.

Reading to Learn

The transition from “learning to read” to “reading to learn” is a critical milestone for a young learner. It signifies the shift from acquiring basic reading skills to using reading as a tool for acquiring and applying knowledge across various disciplines. They develop reading fluency and automatic word recognition. This means they can read with greater speed and comprehension. In the upper elementary grades, students encounter more complex information in their reading in disciplines such as science, history, and literature. Understanding this, curriculum developers write materials that are more advanced compared to those written for early elementary grades.

The transition comes with accompanying changes in the brain. The brain is more adept at recognizing words, understanding text, and making connections to prior knowledge. As children read to learn, their brain connections used for reading become more specialized, and the processing of written language becomes more automatic.

 

Follow this link to read an excellent article about reading acquisition.

It is important to note that reading instruction should not stop once children transition from “learning to read” to “reading to learn.” Too often, we stop providing reading instruction for this grade cohort. Children need continued support focused on reading skills and comprehension all the way through the elementary grades.

Writing

There are the same benefits for brain development when learning the writing process as with any other subject. Like reading, writing is a complicated process. You have to get your ideas and thoughts from your brain, down your arms, and onto the page. When I transitioned from writing on paper to using a computer, it took me months until my writing was of the same quality. Now, I am trying to use dictation software occasionally; let’s just say my skill level is not there yet. My point in sharing this is to highlight how challenging it is to bring all the skills together for writing.

Personally, I find some writing programs to be cavalier, missing much of the basic, explicit, early instruction found in the curricula of other disciplines. I think writing programs for elementary students should teach both the mechanics and the craft of writing. I feel cognitive science supports a step-by-step approach, starting with words and quickly moving on to sentences, and so on. My point is not to review writing programs; it is to alert you that young learners might need more support and scaffolding than is in the writing program you are using. If that is the case, give it to them. For example, if your child is not ready to write, you can help them use language as a means of telling stories by taking dictation for them as they work on the art of oral storytelling.

Numeracy (Number Literacy)

Do you love numbers? I did, right until homeschooling my youngest. As much as I loved it, he loved to hate it. It is less than infinity, but the number of times we fought about math is countless.

As with reading, numeracy (mathematical skills and understanding) is an important skill set that starts with decoding numbers. Learning builds from there in a systematic and logical progression. In addition to the basics, students become better able to identify patterns, think abstractly, and visualize and understand spatial relationships. As they work on retrieving facts and information and strategize about problem solving, their metacognitive skills improve. Problem solving is also important for teaching the skill of organizing your thinking in a linear fashion. The brain undergoes changes while learning.

A Multi-Subject Approach: Science, History, Art, Etc.

In elementary grades, structured learning focuses on developing essential academic skills, such as reading, writing, and math. This is important. Brain research supports early literacy initiatives. They show that the brain is particularly receptive to language during the early years of elementary school. The areas of the brain responsible for language and communication continue to develop in 6- to 10-year-olds. This development is associated with improvements in vocabulary, grammar, and the ability to understand and express complex ideas.

Math is also emphasized in elementary school because it plays a central role in cognitive development. Mathematics provides a foundational framework for understanding and solving problems. It is an important part of developing critical thinking, logical reasoning, and abstract thinking.

Too often, however, subjects like science, history, and art are either not taught or incorporated into ELA. There is plenty of research into the problems with this in science. Given the information about the brain and how learning happens, it is no surprise that, based on national test results from 2019, “Fewer than 1 in 4 high school seniors and a little more than a third of 4th and 8th graders performed proficiently in science.” Edweek.org. It is fair to assume that all subjects that have been eliminated as the focus has shifted to math, reading, writing, and test-taking have seen a similar decline in literacy that is comparable to the declines observed in science.

As homeschooling parents, we can change these numbers for our children. Which is why I strongly recommend you use a multi-subject approach when working with your children. The subjects you choose to have your children learn create synapses that are strengthened over the years as your children consistently learn in these subject areas. In this way, your children will “have it and use it.”

For this age and grade cohort, a seminar approach is not optimal. I recommend an extended study that focuses on one subject or discipline. This can be quarter-, semester-, year-, or several weeks long. This is important because young children are building the initial foundation for knowledge. They are making connections and building on what they are learning.

Skilled at Learning

In addition to academic subjects, it is important to teach emerging students learning skills. In researching for this article, I came across numerous educators advocating for intentional instruction of metacognition and executive functioning skills in elementary school. To understand why, think about what happens for young children around the skillset of learning. We have expectations about and assessments for reading, writing, and math without teaching the skills of learning. We just sort of throw kids into school and expect them to have a skillset around learning without explicitly teaching these skills in a careful sequence of logical steps to master them.

Handcrafting a Culture of Thinking: Metacognition, Blair Lee, SEA Homeschoolers, guides

An Example of Weaving Learning Skills into Learning

Intentionally teaching learning skills is important. I worry, though, that in the stress and business of everything else, figuring out how to add learning skills to the list of things to be worked on will seem overwhelming for parents. To help, I am sharing an example from work I did with my grandson, who is in second grade.

My grandson was working on math homework. The solution was straightforward for him to calculate. That wasn’t what he needed help with. As a part of each problem, he was asked to “Show How You Know,” by writing down the multiple steps needed to calculate the answer and drawing a diagram supporting it. He understood how to draw the diagram, but he wasn’t sure what the multistep process was.

Two other adults had looked at this and decided he should ask Grandma Blair for help. The issue was that there were no explicit instructions for adults or kids about the specific learning skills that would make this exercise meaningful, which is why I was asked to work with him. The other adults just wanted to help him through the steps. However, since he didn’t understand, that amounted to telling him what went where. They thought I could improve on that.

The exercise was a good one. I could see connections from this sort of problem to solving problems in science in the future. To help show what I did, I organized it into bulleted points.

There were four problems.

  • I started by looking over the assignment and then telling my grandson that I felt sure he had the skills to write the steps down. I also acknowledged that it was tricky to think that way without practice, which he was going to get from doing this assignment. I was mentoring him to approach this assignment with a growth mindset.
  • Then I showed my grandson how you use sample problems to solve current ones. The sample problem was on a previous page. We folded back the page so that for the first problem, he could reference the sample as he worked through the steps. (Actually, I started by telling him it was not “dumb” to write down the steps when you already know the answer, 😉.) When I folded back the page, his eyes got big as if I had done something major, and he said, “I didn’t know you could do that!” Using examples of work done correctly is a skill that should be taught.
  • Next, I had him read the instructions on the sample and the problem he was working on to make sure they were asking for the same process. Whenever I work with young people, one of the first things I ask them to do is read the instructions. This is a skill many people go to college without having.
  • Then, I had him write what he was given, including the units (cm) that were used in the sample. As I did this, I told him to always start by writing what you are given and to always include units, especially in the answer. This is an organizational skill that is important for later science classes.
  • Before putting pencil to paper, I talked to him about what he was being asked to calculate and the process he used. This helped him work on his metacognitive skills.
  • Now, he was ready to write the steps. He was able to do this on his own at this point. This was the first of four problems. When answering the second problem, he used the first as an example. Throughout the process, I had him tell me each step as he wrote it down. This was a multimodal approach where I added an auditory component to a reading and writing exercise.
  • He was able to complete the final two problems without using an example. To help with his metacognitive skills, I told him the goal was that he could write down all the steps without using an example by or before the last problem.
  • He was really proud of himself, as was I. After completing the problem, he was quick to show his work to other adults. Like me, they praised his effort and work. Genuine feedback is an important part of creating a culture of thinking where children understand that the academic work they do and the effort they put into it are noticed and valued.

If adding learning skills seems overwhelming, I hope this example helps. My guess is that you have been working on learning skills without even realizing it. It took me about 15 minutes to work with my grandson. During that time, he set and met a learning goal by writing the steps for two problems without a sample. He self-regulated his thinking when he changed his attitude from “This is dumb” to engaging in the work as he became aware of what the purpose of the lesson was. He worked on problem-solving that was process-oriented. He retrieved the retained information when working on problems 3 and 4. He worked on organizational skills. By working on these skills with explanations of their purpose, he built connections in his brain that will make him a more skilled learner.

Homeschooling Elementary School, Grades K–4, Blair Lee, SEA Homeschoolers, developmentally appropriate

Developmentally Appropriate Learning

I want to emphasize the huge range of learning abilities in this age cohort. If any of the advice in this talk does not seem developmentally appropriate for your children, please just ignore it. Children learn at different rates. This makes it important to provide children with developmentally appropriate learning that makes sense for their age, stage of development, and individual needs.

Motor Skills

Fine and gross motor skills go through rapid development during the early childhood years. Most of us take this for granted, but if you have a child who is struggling with fine motor skills, you are aware of the big effect this has on academics. If you are concerned about your child’s fine or gross motor skill development, talk to your pediatrician or a pediatric occupational therapist. They can assess your child’s skills and provide you with specific recommendations for activities and interventions to help your child.

Homeschooling Elementary School, Grades K–4, Blair Lee, SEA Homeschoolers, educational philosophy
Homeschooling Elementary School, Grades K–4, Blair Lee, SEA Homeschoolers, Neurodiversity

Neurodiversity

No article on homeschooling in elementary school would be complete without discussing neurodiversity. It is often during grades K through 4 that parents with neurodivergent children notice their children are not accessing and processing information the way their neurotypical peers do. The issue when writing about neurodiversity is that it is an umbrella term including people with ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia, autism, dysgraphia, giftedness, Down’s syndrome, and other diagnoses. If you suspect your child is neurodiverse, I recommend finding resources that give help and information targeted at the condition you think your child might have.

It is also important to get a medical diagnosis. However, that can take years and be prohibitively expensive. For that reason, many experts recommend you “Act as if…” That means that you work with your children as if you have a medical diagnosis that confirms your child has the suspected condition.

 

To help you identify if your child has neurodiversity, we put together a series of articles listing the signs to look for. You can access them through this link. (Coming soon.)

This is part of a series from Blair Lee.  Check out the SEA Homeschoolers Magazine and SEA Homeschoolers Online Conference Series to review what neuroscience tells us about learning in the middle school years.

New to Homeschooling? Check out our How to Homeschool 101 Article.

For more information, check out Blair’s article, 10 Teaching Tips for Homeschooling Elementary School.





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Talk to Your Child about Not Being on Grade Level with Peers

ask blair, sea homeschoolers, Talk to Your Child about Not Being on Grade Level with Peers
Oct 23, 2023 | Blair Lee
ask blair, sea homeschoolers, Talk to Your Child about Not Being on Grade Level with Peers

How to Talk to Your Child about Not Being on Grade Level with Peers

Blair,

How do I talk to my child about them not being on grade level with their peers? My child would be in 3rd grade if they went to b&m school. We work at their pace and level. At times we have been a bit more relaxed while working through neuropsych evals and more structured when we’ve been able to. They are very bright, but not working at a 3rd grade level in most subjects.

They recently started saying they think they are not smart because they can’t do the schoolwork their friends are doing. I told them that everyone learns things differently and at different times and that everyone has some things that come more easily and other things that they have to work harder at. That response seems to work in the moment, but it is becoming a daily issue. Is there a better way to talk about this? Or should I not focus on it? Is there something we should be doing in our homeschooling to help them not feel this way?

From Lyn
Homeschooling: 2 years
Kid age 9

Hello {{& HUGS}} Lyn,

It hurts your heart a bit when your child unfairly compares themself to their peers like this, doesn’t it? We are dealing with something similar with one of my granddaughters who is in 3rd grade. She is not at grade level in math. According to her, all her friends are. My daughter-in-law called me last week asking for advice similar to what you are looking for.

Based on what you shared, you are doing a great job. You are approaching the conversation with empathy and understanding. Everyone does learn things differently and at different times. Everyone also has some things that come more easily and other things that they must work harder at. The issue is that at your child’s age, kids pay a lot of attention to how they compare to their friends. In answer to your questions, there are some important steps you can take to help with this situation.

How do I talk to my child about them not being on grade level with their peers? Or should I not focus on it?

Listen to them.

If your child is aware that their peers are working at a higher level than they are, you should talk about it. If you don’t, you run the risk of your child internalizing their feelings and stuffing them. The fact that your child comes to you with these concerns shows that they trust you to help them with the big feeling they are having about this. They trust you to help them feel better. They trust you to help resolve the situation.

Ensure you address the areas where they are negatively comparing themself.

Your child trusts you to make them feel smart and to share evidence supporting that they are smart. Even when our children do not seem to be taking our messaging to heart, psychological studies show that they are internalizing it. As both their parent and teacher, you are helping them “write the script” for how they see themselves as a learner. To ensure you are addressing (and hearing) their specific concerns, encourage your child to share and then repeat back to them to make sure your help and guidance are on point. Make sure you actively listen to what your child says without interrupting or judging. I know it is hard to do, but let your own concerns go, so that your child gets the sense you are positive that can resolve the issues they are concerned about.

Use growth mindset language and help them set achievable goals.

When you respond, try to address the specific issues. Be honest about the work your child has in front of them. Use a growth mindset, where you acknowledge where work is needed to be at grade level, and then focus on the effort needed to get there. Set goals with your child that are doable in “kid-time.” Instead of getting to grade level for reading, for example, work toward the next level in books or easily reading a book that was challenging earlier.

When my son was recovering from post-concussive syndrome, he worried that he would not get all his brain function back, like short-term memory. I was honest with him about the work needed. Then I gave him actionable things he could do, goals.

I provided scaffolding and support to help ensure success. I also provided nudging as needed. Once my son had a goal, it was critically important he succeeded in these to alleviate his concerns and the way he was beginning to see himself.

It took so much effort on his part! As he worked, I used language with him that intentionally focused on the level of effort. I talked to him about perseverance as a life skill. I told him how proud I was, and it was genuine.

Is there something we should be doing in our homeschooling to help them not feel this way?

Provide feedback and evaluations that nurture.

As you know, instead of grade levels, your child should be focusing on their effort and how that translates into progress. You can help shift the focus by keeping regular work samples that you review with them. You might choose to do some focused work even while you are working on neuropsychic evaluations, so there is continued progress toward their goals.

Make sure you are genuinely proud when you look at their work. Emphasize how their effort has led to growth. You can say, “I know you’re working hard, and I’m proud of you. Look at the progress you have made.” Remember, you are the primary model for how your child perceives themself and the world. An important goal you could help your child work on could be around the language they use when they talk about themself.

As a part of that pride, celebrate achievements. Share progress with friends, family, and in the SEA Facebook community, wherever works best to get positive comments. This reinforces the idea that effort and progress are reasons for celebration. Since this will not be fixed, continue to provide reassurance and support.

Choose a subject or two that are undertaught in schools.

There are some subjects that you can be sure your child’s friends at brick-and-mortar school are not taking. When you say your child is behind, I assume that is in language arts and math. Science, history, world language, and computer coding are all examples of academic subjects that are generally undertaught in traditional school. Your child and you could choose one or more of these to work on. There would be no good way to compare themselves to their friends when studying these, taking away the pressure they are putting on themself.

 

I hope this advice helps! I know from personal experience how hard this situation is to deal with. It took a lot of work for my son. I can only hope he sees himself, as I do, through the lens of how much harder he had to work than some to get to where he is today.

Much Love, Blair

Check out more articles through the Ask Blair Page on this website.

This article was submitted in April 2023 and was not published in the July issue of the SEA Homeschoolers Magazine. This was done so that Mya could get her question answered sooner.

Do you have a question for the fan-favorite column “Ask Blair” found in The SEA Homeschoolers Magazine? Please use this form to submit your homeschooling questions. The SEA team will select a few questions to be answered by SEA Homeschoolers Founder & Magazine Editor, Blair Lee, in each quarterly issue. Due to space, not all questions will be published in the magazine. Those that come in shortly after a magazine issue has been published will go on this page. These are important questions and we want to answer them for you in a timely way. Please be sure to include all pertinent information relevant to your question – examples: learner ages, grade levels, preferred resource format, topics of interest, preferred homeschool methodologies, state requirements you’re trying to meet, learning challenges, etc.

Submit your homeschooling question through this link.





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Advice for Picking a Reading Curriculum

Advice for picking reading curriculum, reading curriculum, ask blair, sea homeschoolers
Oct 3, 2023 | Blair Lee
Advice for picking reading curriculum, reading curriculum, ask blair, sea homeschoolers

What criteria should I use for picking a reading curriculum?

Blair,

How do I pick a reading curriculum? I am overwhelmed by the options! I’ve asked in online groups and get the same 8 or 9 responses over and over again. What criteria do I use to pick one?

From Eric
Homeschooling: 7 months
Kids ages 5 and 6

Hello Eric,

Choosing a reading curriculum can indeed be overwhelming. There are so many options! It is made more challenging, because which one is right (or wrong) for your learner depends on how they learn and process information. It can be hard to figure that out for reading before they are emergent readers. And let’s face it, this is an area where parents really care about choosing the perfect program right from the start, without a lot of trial and error.

There are four approaches to reading instruction.

When choosing reading curriculum, it can be helpful to understand the approach used by the curriculum developers. I define the four approaches below, and it might seem like overkill to do so, but some learners skew heavily in how they access and process words to either a systematic phonics or a whole language approach. I think it is helpful to have some idea of the different approaches if your child struggles to learn to read. I have personally worked with a whole language learner before, and a MUCH different approach for reading instruction was needed with him. Any time phonics was inserted into the lesson, he struggled.

1. Systematic Phonics explicitly teaches children grapheme-phoneme correspondences prior to emphasizing the meanings of written words. A few different versions of systematic phonics exist, but the most common version is called synthetic systematic phonics. With this approach, children learn the sound of letters in isolation, and then learn to blend the sounds together to form words.
2. Whole Language primarily focuses on the meaning of words presented in text. With this approach, educators provide a literacy rich environment and combine speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Children are taught the use of three cueing systems, graphophonemics, semantic, and syntactic-to guess words that they do not recognize. Whole Language typically includes some phonics, but the phonics instruction is often unsystematic and used when a child is unable to guess.
3. Structured Word Inquiry teaches morphological families with the help of a matrix and explicitly teaches grapheme-phoneme correspondences in that context, as well as etymological influences that make sense of spellings. Like Systematic Phonics, this approach breaks down words into parts, but rather than just focusing on grapheme-phoneme correspondences it highlights all regularities, including, but not limited to, the fact that morphemes (think word chunks like – ing here) are spelled consistently and the way that morphemes are combined in regular ways. As with Whole Language, it emphasizes the importance of meaning from the start, but it focuses on meanings of words, rather than texts. (Structured Word Inquiry is sometimes referred to as Whole Word Learning.)
4. Balanced Literacy is an approach that has long been common in the eclectic homeschool community. A Balanced Literacy approach combines parts of Systematic Phonics, Whole Language, and Structured Word Inquiry resources, starting with Whole Language in the preschool and/or kindergarten years, then evolving into Structured Word Inquiry or Systematic Phonics, while continuing to use parts of each approach to meet your child’s needs throughout their reading instruction.

Start with Your Learner

When someone tells you about a great reading program, that is sure to work for your child, they are basing that on the success their child had using the program. This may, or may not, translate into success for you. To help get more targeted recommendations from people whose children learn similarly to yours, I recommend giving information about how your child learns when asking for advice. Of course, this can be challenging to figure out if your child is just starting formal learning. There are some basic considerations to look for.

  • The program should be engaging and motivating for your children. It sounds obvious, but choose a program that has reading material on topics your children want to learn about.
  • The program should be appropriate for the student’s current reading level. If the program is too difficult, it will frustrate the student. If it is too easy, it will not challenge the student. There should be clear guidelines for when to scaffold to the next level.
  • Get samples of the programs and have your children try them out. The reading program I used with my son was gifted to me (unasked for by me) from my mother-in-law, who I loved so much I gave it a try rather than tell her we didn’t use it. I thought it was the most boring program ever! My son loved it so much, he begged to do it, even on days we were not planning to do school.
  • Consider whether the program can be adapted to meet individual learning needs. Can it be tailored to meet the unique needs of the reader?
  • A robust multimodal program, one that includes videos, reading, writing, kinesthetic, and auditory, with a variety of activities and materials, is more likely to work for both your children. A multimodal program also takes a holistic approach to ELA learning that will benefit learning in every subject area.

Teacher Support

Reading is such an important skill to master that it is common to be nervous about teaching your children to read. If you are nervous, make sure the program is also a good fit for you, “the teacher.” Even if you are not nervous, good teaching support materials should be considered essential.

  • Choose a program that provides a good teachers’ manual with the support you need to implement the program effectively.
  • Choose a program that was developed with homeschooling parents in mind. Programs that were developed strictly for the classroom often have activities and teaching methods that may not translate well to a homeschooling setting. They may make assumptions you had training implementing certain methodologies or incorporate resources that are readily available in a school setting but are less accessible to homeschoolers.
  • Monitoring progress is important for you and your children. Look for programs that provide tools for tracking progress, such as assessments, benchmarks, or regular evaluations. This helps identify areas of improvement and adjust instruction accordingly.

Other Considerations

  • The curriculum should be based on the latest research on how children learn to read. This means that it should include explicit instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. The caveat to this being if you have a child who does not learn well with systematic phonics.
  • A well-rounded program should cover a range of literacy skills, including phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency. Balance is key to comprehensive reading development.
  • Seek programs that are backed by research and have a track record of effectiveness. Look for studies or reviews that demonstrate the success of the program. Once you have narrowed your choices down, the SEA Homeschoolers Facebook Group is a great place to get testimonials. Just ask for the pros and cons of each possibility.
  • Look for a program that gives information if you encounter challenges. Bonus points if there is some discussion about using the program if your children are not neurotypical.

My best advice is that once you find a program to give it some time and do not spend too much time second guessing your choice if your children find learning to read challenging. And of course: Read a lot to and with your children!

I hope these suggestions help! As Always, Much Love Blair

Check out more articles through the Ask Blair Page on this website.

This article was submitted in April 2023 and was not published in the July issue of the SEA Homeschoolers Magazine. This was done so that Mya could get her question answered sooner.

Do you have a question for the fan-favorite column “Ask Blair” found in The SEA Homeschoolers Magazine? Please use this form to submit your homeschooling questions. The SEA team will select a few questions to be answered by SEA Homeschoolers Founder & Magazine Editor, Blair Lee, in each quarterly issue. Due to space, not all questions will be published in the magazine. Those that come in shortly after a magazine issue has been published will go on this page. These are important questions and we want to answer them for you in a timely way. Please be sure to include all pertinent information relevant to your question – examples: learner ages, grade levels, preferred resource format, topics of interest, preferred homeschool methodologies, state requirements you’re trying to meet, learning challenges, etc.

Submit your homeschooling question through this link.





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Ages and Stages for Teaching Science

Ages and Stages for Teaching Science, Blair Lee, learning science, secular science, science, homeschooling
Sep 2, 2023 | Blair Lee, M.S.

Ages and Stages for Teaching Science

From Blair Lee, M.S.

In her book, Your Child’s Growing Mind: A Guide to Learning and Brain Development from Birth to Adolescence, Jane M. Healy states that understanding a child’s brain and the way it develops is the key to understanding how they learn.  While Healy does not specifically discuss the ages and stages for teaching science, she does discuss the current scientific theory on nervous system development and relates that to the ages and stages of learning for young people. Each child is different. They access and process information differently, and they learn using different strategies. There is, however, some broad understanding of brain development that can, as Healy states, be a guide for what to expect at certain ages and stages.

In Ages and Stages for Teaching Science, I will cover the ages and stages for science learning. This article developed from a talk I gave at the SEA Online Conference in August 2022. We received numerous requests from attendees that I write an article based on this specific information, which is only part of a more general-learning science talk. If your child does not fit into the classic ages and stages, remember this is a broad discussion, and there might be overlaps or outliers at every age and stage.

Ages and Stages for Teaching Science at the Elementary Level

Get kids excited about learning science.

Learning how the natural and physical world works is fascinating for students at this age. Channel their enthusiasm and choose relevant topics and information that fascinates them. At this age, confidence is key. If a child has a learning challenge involving writing, reading, or fine motor skills, pull those out of science work. Focus on the important information that kids need to learn so that they can begin understanding how the natural and physical world works. If you give them feedback about their science work, make it positive. Focus on the things they have learned and have come to fully understand.

If your child moves beyond a science level and wants to do more and engage more fully with what they just learned, go for it. This type of engagement is where a love of learning comes from, and if you want your child to be a lifelong learner, the first step is helping them to love learning.

Sometimes, parents get nervous about homeschooling science, even at the elementary level, because they feel they are not “good” at science. You will want to work on these nerves if this sounds like you. Your children can sense that you’re nervous about teaching something, and it can negatively affect the way they approach and feel about learning the subject matter. If you’re nervous about. teaching science for this reason, find good resources to help you teach and learn right along with your kids.

Ages and Stages for Teaching Science, Blair Lee, learning science, secular science, science, homeschooling

Focus on the foundational fundamentals

In the later years, there will be a shift to focus on the processes, procedures, and practices used by scientists. Be wary of using science materials that rely primarily on processes over facts. To critically evaluate science topics and find materials that apply to processes, procedures, and practices. in a meaningful way, learners need to understand the facts that are the foundational fundamentals explaining science. To understand what is really happening in the natural and physical world, learners need to be able to put together the pieces of the puzzle that define science systems.

A focus on the foundational fundamentals will include facts, memorization, and knowledge gathering. Scaffold the knowledge students are acquiring in a way that helps them put together the pieces of what they’re learning . It is important to include some work involving the processes, procedures, and practices of science. This should be done with explicit explanations, walking learners through what they should be doing for each step. It is essential you use evidence-based science materials so that your student learns the basic facts of science.

Engage the hands and the head

This is not to say that there isn’t a hands-on component: science at every age and stage should focus on the “doing” of science. Coming to understand the natural and physical world requires active thought that incorporates kinesthetic work as learners think through science information coupled with observations. Young learners will enjoy science more if they’re up and moving around while they engage with the material. They will also learn at a higher level, as they come to master what they’re working on through different learning processes and pathways.

Check out this article Vetting Secular Science Curriculum for help ensuring your are choosing evidence-based science materials with your children.

Ages and Stages for Teaching Science at the Middle School Level

Get students ready for high school science.

Critical thinking and executive functioning skills are an important part of success. For high school science, and honestly all academic endeavors, the time to begin working on these skills is in middle school. If you begin working on skills such as notetaking, identifying ideas a hypothesis is based on, understanding the difference between inference and direct observation, and others, by the time they get to high school, learners can apply these skills in a way that brings sound reasoning and logic to their studies.

Ages and Stages for Teaching Science, Blair Lee, learning science, secular science, science, homeschooling

Weaving science practices and procedures into the foundational fundamentals

In addition to building on foundational fundamentals, middle school is a great time to begin working on the practices and procedures that scientists use as they conduct science. It is critically important that learners come to understand the type of work that goes into developing scientific theories and arriving at science facts. It is likely that the basics for this were covered at the elementary level; however, it is at the middle school level that you should expect the teaching around this to be more explicit about the science work that is being done.

A good middle school science course should walk through the parts of the scientific method and offer examples of how it has been applied to real-world situations. Within this walkthrough, learners should be asked to report data and bring reasoning and logic into their discussions about labs and activities they conduct. This should be done within the context of a written lab report, based on lab work that students are doing. Look for course materials that use a scaffolded approach. In teaching the basics of this very formulaic type of nonfiction writing, middle school students should be taught about the specifics of what is being looked for in the hypothesis, data, results, and conclusion. This type of thoughtful teaching supports the teaching around how scientists arrive at scientific theories.

It is also important to work on learners’ metacognitive skills, in particular, the ability to retrieve, apply, and discuss retained knowledge. Ask questions, arriving at a hypothesis based on what academic material learners have already been exposed to. Help them learn to apply what might not seem on the face of it to be related to the things they are studying. It can be beneficial to students to be shown how to take a narrow view when looking at something, then open that up to a broader view, especially if you encourage them to retrieve and apply knowledge they’ve been exposed to previously. If you’re worried that you won’t be familiar with what they’ve learned, open a dialogue and have a discussion. Something as simple as you thinking about your thinking out loud can be a real benefit to young people as they come to understand, through modeling, the thinking process of someone who has had more academic experience than they have.

Evaluations

For middle school students, I recommend giving a first assignment to evaluate their knowledge. Look at where they are and scaffold them to grow from there. One of the most important things that you can do for middle school students is to help them internalize a growth mindset: a mindset where your learner comes to understand that it is the acquisition of information and knowledge that’s of primary importance, not the time it takes to learn it.

Ages and Stages for Teaching Science at the High School Level

Get students ready for college and work.

High school is the perfect time to work on the executive functioning, critical thinking, and metacognitive skills your learner will need once they graduate from high school. These skills are often critical for future success. So, why not teach them? Science is a great discipline to weave in many of these skills. High school science requires scheduling, the ability to read and disseminate texts, the ability to pull primary principles out of a large body of text, the ability to think critically and logically, and the ability to build on prior knowledge in a way that benefits what you’re working on.

High school students are ready to have big discussions about science. Teach them how to determine if a source is credible or not, and what to look for in a credible source, for example, peer reviewed articles. Make real-world connections outside of science to what they are learning in science. Many of the issues we are facing in the world today have their basis in science.

Ages and Stages for Teaching Science, Blair Lee, learning science, secular science, science, homeschooling

High school science skills

High school students are ready to think about the big picture and begin applying the science skills that they’ve been working on before high school. Look for high school students to apply reasoning and logic when reading and reporting science information. Ask students to make connections to what’s happening in science outside of their studies.

As a part of that, I feel we owe it to students to do them the courtesy of making sure they have an adequate education around important science topics such as climate change and microbiology. If something is important for negotiating the natural and physical world, including learners’ individual health, it is important that we teach the information they need, even if it’s an uncomfortable subject to cover.

Within their science studies, learners should use logical deduction based on prior knowledge when developing hypotheses. They should be able to pull data from tables and graphs to use in support of conclusions. Frankly, this is a skill that should be incorporated beyond just science studies. If the data comes from sources other than academic texts, discuss how information can be misconstrued, and why it’s important to use reliable sources for data. Students should be able to demonstrate an understanding of science practices and procedures in written form using a lab report. Lab reports should incorporate a logical progression, where conclusions relate directly to data.

Evaluations

I recommend using a mastery approach for evaluations with high school students. A mastery approach gives students the opportunity to go back and work on subjects when it is called to their attention that they haven’t achieved grade and stage level mastery. Let’s be honest, no one learns everything the first time they are exposed to it. A mastery approach to evaluations acknowledges this and uses a growth mindset. For high school students, a mastery approach also gives them the opportunity to earn the grade they want. Remember, high school students need grades for their transcripts in all core classes. A mastery approach gives students who are high achievers the opportunity to be in control of the grade they earn, especially if you create a situation and a system so that you can accurately determine if they take the time to go back and learn the material.

The ages and stages for teaching science is not just important for people who have been teaching science each year. If you haven’t been engaged in science all along, and you’re worried that you have not addressed some of these issues at an earlier age and stage, don’t worry about it. You can only start from where you are. There is no time like the present to get started. Many of the points made within the Ages and Stages for Teaching Science don’t just apply to science. In addition, no subject is an island. There are learning skills that make sense to teach in science that are important for students to be able to apply in all subjects.

New to Homeschooling? Check out our How to Homeschool 101 Article.

Check out our article, Ages and Stages of Writing Instruction.





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Flowers Have Differences

Flowers Have Differences, botany, biology, transpiration, Ask Blair, seahomeschoolers.com, Blair Lee, Fun Science Activities
Aug 2, 2023 | Blair Lee

Flowers Have Differences

There are over 300,000 different kinds of flowers! Different species of flowers have differences. They all also have some similarities.  This comparative anatomy lab will provide insights into the structural similarities, differences, and adaptations of various cut flowers. It will allow students to explore the diverse strategies that flowers have developed to survive and reproduce in different environments.

From: 9 Fun Science Activities. Click here to find links to the other 8 activities!

Materials for Flowers Have Differences

  • Different types of fresh cut flowers (e.g., roses, sunflowers, lilies, daisies)
  • Scalpel or sharp knife
  • Magnifying glasses or microscope
  • White paper or dissection trays
  • Tweezers or forceps
  • Gloves (optional)
  • Notebook and pen for recording observations

Procedure for Flowers Have Differences

  1. Select several different types of fresh cut flowers for comparison. Choose flowers with distinct shapes, sizes, and colors.
  2. Set up a workspace with white paper or dissection trays to provide a clear background for observations.
  3. Put on gloves (if desired) to handle the flowers and prevent any potential allergies or sensitivities.
  4. Examine each flower carefully, noting its overall shape, size, color, and any distinguishing features.
  5. Gently remove one petal from each flower and place it on the white paper or dissection tray.
  6. Using a scalpel or sharp knife, make a longitudinal or transverse incision on the stem of each flower.
  7. Carefully observe the internal structures of the stems, such as xylem and phloem tissues, and note any differences in color, texture, or arrangement.
  8. Examine the petals under magnifying glasses or microscopes to observe the presence of veins, pigments, trichomes, or other structures.
  9. Compare the structures of the flowers, both externally and internally, and record your observations in a notebook.
  10. Analyze the similarities and differences in anatomical structures among the different flowers.
  11. Discuss the possible adaptations of each flower’s anatomy to its environment, pollination mechanisms, or other ecological factors.

Check out more articles through the Ask Blair Page on this website. This article was submitted in April 2023 and was not published in the July issue of the SEA Homeschoolers Magazine.

Do you have a question for the fan-favorite column “Ask Blair” found in The SEA Homeschoolers Magazine? Please use this form to submit your homeschooling questions. The SEA team will select a few questions to be answered by SEA Homeschoolers Founder & Magazine Editor, Blair Lee, in each quarterly issue. Due to space, not all questions will be published in the magazine. Those that come in shortly after a magazine issue has been published will go on this page. These are important questions and we want to answer them for you in a timely way. Please be sure to include all pertinent information relevant to your question – examples: learner ages, grade levels, preferred resource format, topics of interest, preferred homeschool methodologies, state requirements you’re trying to meet, learning challenges, etc.

Submit your homeschooling question through this link.





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Are Transpiration Rates Different for Different Species of Flowers

Are Transpiration Rates Different for Different Species of Flowers, botany, biology, transpiration, Ask Blair, seahomeschoolers.com, Blair Lee, Fun Science Activities, science fair
Aug 2, 2023 | Blair Lee

Are Transpiration Rates Different for Different Species of Flowers

Plants take water up through their roots and, in the case of cut flowers, stems. Transpiration is the process where much of this water is released into the atmosphere through small pores called stomata. Transpiration has several important functions for plants, it drives a plants circulation delivering dissolved minerals from the plant’s roots to the rest of the plant. It is also important for cooling the plant and for maintaining water pressure throughout the plant, so it doesn’t wilt.

In this lab, students measure and compare the transpiration rates of different species of cut flowers. This lab can be coupled with the lab investigating the rate of the uptake of water for different species of flowers. If you do, put two of the same type of flower in each vase. One of each species of flower should have a baggie secured over it as outlined below.

From: 9 Fun Science Activities. Click here to find links to the other 8 activities!

Materials for Are Transpiration Rates Different for Different Species of Flowers

  • Fresh cut flowers (e.g., carnations, hydrangeas, lilies)
  • Clear plastic bags
  • Rubber bands or twist ties
  • Water
  • Several clear vases or containers

Procedure for Are Transpiration Rates Different for Different Species of Flowers

  1. Place all the containers in a well-lit area away from direct sunlight, heat sources, or drafts.
  2. Secure a bag with a rubber band or twist tie around the stem of each flower below where it goes into the water.
  3. Place one flower in each vase. Or into the same vase if combining the two labs.
  4. Check the baggies after 24 hours. Which flower has the most moisture inside the baggie? How does this amount of moisture in each baggy track with changes in the water level in each vase.

Check out more articles through the Ask Blair Page on this website. This article was submitted in April 2023 and was not published in the July issue of the SEA Homeschoolers Magazine.

Do you have a question for the fan-favorite column “Ask Blair” found in The SEA Homeschoolers Magazine? Please use this form to submit your homeschooling questions. The SEA team will select a few questions to be answered by SEA Homeschoolers Founder & Magazine Editor, Blair Lee, in each quarterly issue. Due to space, not all questions will be published in the magazine. Those that come in shortly after a magazine issue has been published will go on this page. These are important questions and we want to answer them for you in a timely way. Please be sure to include all pertinent information relevant to your question – examples: learner ages, grade levels, preferred resource format, topics of interest, preferred homeschool methodologies, state requirements you’re trying to meet, learning challenges, etc.

Submit your homeschooling question through this link.





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Water Uptake Rates for Different Species of Flowers

Water Uptake Rates for Different Species of Flowers, the Effects of Different Solutions on the Lifespan of Cut Flowers, Ask Blair, seahomeschoolers.com, Blair Lee, Fun Science Activities, biology, science fair, botany
Aug 2, 2023 | Blair Lee

Water Uptake Rates for Different Species of Flowers

Flowers need water, sunlight, and carbon dioxide to make food via photosynthesis. You might be surprised to learn that even after they are cut, flowers continue to take up water.  The question for this lab is “after they are cut, do different species of flowers take water up at the same rate as each other?”  In this lab, you will investigate to find out.

This lab can be coupled with the lab investigating the transpiration rate for different species of flowers. If you do, put two of the same type of flower in each vase.

From: 9 Fun Science Activities. Click here to find links to the other 8 activities!

Materials for Water Uptake Rates for Different Species of Flowers

  • Fresh cut flowers (e.g., roses or daisies)
  • Several clear vases or containers
  • Water
  • Food coloring (optional)
  • Measuring cup

Procedure for Water Uptake Rates for Different Species of Flowers

  1. Use the measuring cup to fill each vase with the same amount of water.
  2. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring to each vase to make it easier to observe water movement.
  3. Trim the stems of the flowers at a 45-degree angle under water to ensure a fresh cut.
  4. Place one flower in each vase.
  5. Place all the containers in a well-lit area away from direct sunlight, heat sources, or drafts.
  6. Record the time it takes for each flower to show noticeable changes in water coloration.
  7. One at a time, pour the water from each vase into a measuring cup. Calculate the difference between the initial amount of water used and the final amount to determine the total amount of water taken up by each flower.
  8. Compare the absorption rates of different types of flowers and draw conclusions based on your observations.

Check out more articles through the Ask Blair Page on this website. This article was submitted in April 2023 and was not published in the July issue of the SEA Homeschoolers Magazine.

Do you have a question for the fan-favorite column “Ask Blair” found in The SEA Homeschoolers Magazine? Please use this form to submit your homeschooling questions. The SEA team will select a few questions to be answered by SEA Homeschoolers Founder & Magazine Editor, Blair Lee, in each quarterly issue. Due to space, not all questions will be published in the magazine. Those that come in shortly after a magazine issue has been published will go on this page. These are important questions and we want to answer them for you in a timely way. Please be sure to include all pertinent information relevant to your question – examples: learner ages, grade levels, preferred resource format, topics of interest, preferred homeschool methodologies, state requirements you’re trying to meet, learning challenges, etc.

Submit your homeschooling question through this link.





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The Effects of Different Solutions on the Lifespan of Cut Flowers

Water Uptake Rates for Different Species of Flowers, the Effects of Different Solutions on the Lifespan of Cut Flowers, Ask Blair, seahomeschoolers.com, Blair Lee, Fun Science Activities, biology, science fair, botany
Aug 2, 2023 | Blair Lee

The Effects of Different Solutions on the Lifespan of Cut Flowers

In this experiment kids will investigate the impact of various solutions on the lifespan of cut flowers. You can extend it explore other factors like temperature, light exposure, or pH levels in the solutions. Just remember to only test one thing at a time. It is important that there is only one independent variable determining the dependent variable. For example, in this experiment you will investigate the effects different solutions have on the lifespan of cut flowers. The solutions are the independent variable. The lifespan of the cut flowers is the dependent variable. It is important you set this up so that all flowers are at the same temperature and get the same amount of sunlight. Both are independent variables, and if they are not kept constant the results for different solutions are in question.

This would be a great experiment for a science fair. However, to enhance the scientific rigor of your experiment, it is essential to replicate the experiment multiple times and ensure the conditions remain consistent throughout the trials.

From: 9 Fun Science Activities. Click here to find links to the other 8 activities!

Materials for The Effects of Different Solutions on the Lifespan of Cut Flowers

  • One type of cut flowers (e.g., roses, carnations, lilies, etc.)
  • Several vases or containers
  • Distilled water
  • Different solutions (e.g., flower food packets, homemade solutions, commercially available preservatives, etc.)
  • Measuring cups/spoons
  • Labels
  • Notebook and pen for recording observations

Procedure for The Effects of Different Solutions on the Lifespan of Cut Flowers

  1. After reading the lead-in, ask kids why it is important to use only one type of flower. (Using different flowers introduced a second independent variable.)
  2. Choose flowers of the same type with similar lengths and conditions to ensure consistency.
  3. Prepare several vases or containers and fill them with the different solutions you want to test. Label each container with the type of solution used.
  4. Fill a few additional containers with distilled water, which will serve as a control group.
  5. Trim the stems of the flowers at a 45-degree angle under water to ensure a fresh cut, and immediately place each flower into a designated container.
  6. Place all the containers in a well-lit area away from direct sunlight, heat sources, or drafts.
  7. Observe and record the following data daily:
    • Flower appearance (color, petal texture, etc.)
    • Stem length
    • Number of open/closed buds
    • Overall freshness
  8. Repeat the observations for at least 7-10 days or until significant differences become evident.
  9. Analyze and interpret your results based on the recorded data. Look for patterns and note which solutions resulted in longer-lasting flowers.
  10. Draw conclusions and consider possible reasons for the differences observed. Was there a particular solution that helped preserve the flowers better?
  11. If present your findings, include graphs, charts, and photographs.

Check out more articles through the Ask Blair Page on this website. This article was submitted in April 2023 and was not published in the July issue of the SEA Homeschoolers Magazine.

Do you have a question for the fan-favorite column “Ask Blair” found in The SEA Homeschoolers Magazine? Please use this form to submit your homeschooling questions. The SEA team will select a few questions to be answered by SEA Homeschoolers Founder & Magazine Editor, Blair Lee, in each quarterly issue. Due to space, not all questions will be published in the magazine. Those that come in shortly after a magazine issue has been published will go on this page. These are important questions and we want to answer them for you in a timely way. Please be sure to include all pertinent information relevant to your question – examples: learner ages, grade levels, preferred resource format, topics of interest, preferred homeschool methodologies, state requirements you’re trying to meet, learning challenges, etc.

Submit your homeschooling question through this link.





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Resolving Colors with a Microscope

Resolving Colors with a Microscope, Ask Blair, seahomeschoolers.com, Blair Lee, Fun Science Activities
Aug 2, 2023 | Blair Lee

Resolving Colors with a Microscope

Resolving Colors with a Microscope is adapted from R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey Biology 2 by Blair Lee, M.S.

Printed type is fascinating to look at with a microscope. What appears to be seamless type and color is a collection of dots of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (CMYK) in different ratios depending on the color you see with your naked eye. It is fun to also look at color from a crayon or marker to compare how color from one of those looks through a microscope as compared to color on printed materials.

From: 9 Fun Science Activities. Click here to find links to the other 8 activities!

Materials for Resolving Colors with a Microscope

  • Compound light microscope
  • 9cm x 4cm piece of smooth white paper with black type printed on it
  • Scissors
  • Flyer with colored print
  • Piece of white paper
  • Crayon or marker – any color except black

Procedure for Resolving Colors with a Microscope

  1. Rotate the nosepiece so that the lowest power objective lens, 40x, will be focused on the specimen, the piece of paper. This is ALWAYS the starting position when you use your microscope. The lowest-power objective lens is the shortest one with the 4 stamped on it.
  2. Put the piece of paper that has type onto the stage, using the stage clips to hold it in place. You will not use a slide for this part of the experiment. Cut the paper as need to fit.
  3. Turn the coarse focusing knob until the stage has been moved up as close to the objective lens as it will go.
  4. Turn on the light for the microscope.
  5. Look through the eyepiece. Do not worry about focusing yet. Are you looking at type when you look through the eyepiece? If not, turn the knobs on the stage until you can see the black type. Find a letter and center it. Because there is no slide, you might need to move the paper with your finger.
  6. Turn the coarse focusing knob while you are looking through the eyepiece. Stop turning the knob at the clearest point.
  7. Adjust the amount of light.
  8. Turn the fine focusing knob so that the print is very clear. You should see random dots of overspray from the print.
  9. Turn the nosepiece so the 100x lens is focused on the specimen. Look at the specimen. Do you still see type? When you look at a higher magnification, you are looking at a smaller overall area. Sometimes the part you are looking at will no longer be in the area seen through the lens. If you don‘t see the type, carefully move the knobs on the stage so the type is seen through the lens.
  10. Turn the nosepiece so the 400x lens is focused on the specimen. Look at the specimen. Remember, when you look at a higher magnification you are looking at a smaller overall area. Sometimes the part you were looking at will no longer be in the area seen through the lens. Do you still see type? If not, move the stage until you do. What you will also see at this magnification are the fibers making up the paper. You might need to play with the focus to see the paper fibers.
  11. Repeat steps 1-10 for the colored flyer.
  12. Draw a line with the crayon on the white paper and repeat steps 1 – 10 for the line of crayon color.

Check out more articles through the Ask Blair Page on this website. This article was submitted in April 2023 and was not published in the July issue of the SEA Homeschoolers Magazine.

Do you have a question for the fan-favorite column “Ask Blair” found in The SEA Homeschoolers Magazine? Please use this form to submit your homeschooling questions. The SEA team will select a few questions to be answered by SEA Homeschoolers Founder & Magazine Editor, Blair Lee, in each quarterly issue. Due to space, not all questions will be published in the magazine. Those that come in shortly after a magazine issue has been published will go on this page. These are important questions and we want to answer them for you in a timely way. Please be sure to include all pertinent information relevant to your question – examples: learner ages, grade levels, preferred resource format, topics of interest, preferred homeschool methodologies, state requirements you’re trying to meet, learning challenges, etc.

Submit your homeschooling question through this link.





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Exploring Buoyancy with Paper Boats

Exploring Buoyancy with Paper Boats, Ask Blair, Fun Science Activities, SEA Homeschoolers, Secular Science, design and engineering, buoyancy
Aug 2, 2023 | Blair Lee

Exploring Buoyancy with Paper Boats

Archimedes didn’t invent boats, but his thinking about them is important for understanding why boats float! Archimedes was a classical Greek thinker and tinkerer who lived from about 287 B.C. to 212 B.C.E. He realized (while in the bathtub, according to history) that the weight of the water that is pushed out of the way is equal to the lifting force on that object. In this activity, you will apply Archimedes principles and design thinking to paper boats, as you investigate the factors that affect their buoyancy and stability. Learners will also explore how different design modifications impact the boats floating ability. This promotes critical thinking and problem-solving skills as learners investigate the impact of different design modifications on the boats’ ability to float and remain stable in water.

From: 9 Fun Science Activities. Click here to find links to the other 8 activities!

Materials for Exploring Buoyancy with Paper Boats

  • Construction paper or lightweight cardstock
  • Scissors
  • Ruler or measuring tape
  • Clear plastic tub or basin filled with water
  • Small weights (e.g., pennies, small rocks)
  • Stopwatch or timer
  • Optional: Markers or colored pencils for decorating the paper boats

Procedure for Exploring Buoyancy with Paper Boats

  1. Discuss the concept of buoyancy and how it relates to the ability of objects to float. There are many good YouTube videos on this topic.
  2. Drop a coin into water and watch it sink. Look at pictures of large ships and ask kids to form a hypothesis about why the coin sinks and they float even though they are made of metal like the coin.
  3. Begin with a basic paper boat design. https://youtu.be/vNba3jbBSOw has good instructions. The steps are as follows:
    • Cut a rectangular piece of construction paper, approximately 20 cm by 30 cm (adjust the size if needed).
    • Fold the rectangular paper in half lengthwise to create a crease, then unfold it.
    • Fold the shorter edges of the paper towards the center crease, overlapping them slightly. These folds will form the sides of the boat.
    • Fold up the bottom edge of the paper to create a triangular shape and fold it back down to secure the sides of the boat.
    • Fold down the top edge of the paper to create a straight edge for the boat’s top.
  4. Test the initial boat design by placing it gently in the water and observing if it floats. If necessary, make adjustments to ensure it floats without sinking or capsizing.
  5. Record the time it takes for the boat to sink or capsize. Note any observations about its stability or balance.
  6. Explore the impact of design modifications on the boat’s buoyancy. Consider factors such as size, shape, or weight distribution.
  7. Make modifications to the boat design, such as altering the size, adding flaps, or changing the shape of the boat’s hull.
  8. Create multiple boats with different design modifications, ensuring that each boat is the same size and weight.
  9. Test each modified boat by placing it in the water and recording the time it takes to sink or capsize. Compare the results to the initial boat design.
  10. Place weights in the boat as you analyze the data and observations to identify the design factors that positively or negatively affect buoyancy and stability.
  11. Discuss the principles of buoyancy and stability and how they relate to the design modifications. What design factors contributed to improved buoyancy or stability? Which factors caused the boats to sink or capsize?
  12. Optional: Decorate the paper boats using markers or colored pencils to personalize their appearance.
  13. Repeat the experiments multiple times to ensure consistent results and verify the findings.

Check out more articles through the Ask Blair Page on this website. This article was submitted in April 2023 and was not published in the July issue of the SEA Homeschoolers Magazine.

Do you have a question for the fan-favorite column “Ask Blair” found in The SEA Homeschoolers Magazine? Please use this form to submit your homeschooling questions. The SEA team will select a few questions to be answered by SEA Homeschoolers Founder & Magazine Editor, Blair Lee, in each quarterly issue. Due to space, not all questions will be published in the magazine. Those that come in shortly after a magazine issue has been published will go on this page. These are important questions and we want to answer them for you in a timely way. Please be sure to include all pertinent information relevant to your question – examples: learner ages, grade levels, preferred resource format, topics of interest, preferred homeschool methodologies, state requirements you’re trying to meet, learning challenges, etc.

Submit your homeschooling question through this link.





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Make a Model of a Barnacle

Make a Model of a Barnacle, Ask Blair, seahomeschoolers.com, Blair Lee, Fun Science Activities, Marine Science
Aug 2, 2023 | Blair Lee

Make a Model of a Barnacle

Make a Model of a Barnacle, Blair Lee

Make a Model of a Barnacle is from Marine Science by Blair Lee, M.S. Expected out in 2024.

There are more than 1,400 species of barnacles living along the coast, on sea life, such as whales, and on the bottom and sides of boats. There are even barnacles at hydrothermal vents! They attach to surfaces by secreting a cement-like substance that is the most powerful natural glue known.

Make a Model of a Barnacle, Blair Lee

Barnacles are filter feeders. They use featherlike appendages called cirri to filter food, like plankton, from the water. For barnacles that live in intertidal zones, when the tide is out, barnacles close their shells to keep their bodies from drying out or being eaten by birds. When the tide comes in, they open their shell to catch food from the water.

From: 9 Fun Science Activities. Click here to find links to the other 8 activities!

Materials for Make a Model of a Barnacle

  • 1 sheet 6-inch x 6-inch (15 cm x 15 cm) sheet of paper: Yellow, white cream or black if you have one of those colors. These are the most common colors for barnacles.
  • 4-ounce container of Playdough or other modeling clay: White or cream if you have it. The shells of barnacles are made of white calcium carbonate.
  • 2 pipe cleaners cut into 2-inch (5 cm) lengths
  • Hot glue or another glue

Procedure for Make a Model of a Barnacle

1.) Make an origami fortune teller.

  • Fold the paper in half both ways.
  • Fold the paper along both diagonal.
  • Fold each of the 4 corners into the center.

  • Flip it over and fold the 4 corners into center.

  • Open the pockets.

2.) Put a ball of clay in each pocket to help keep the pockets open and not squashed flat.

3.) GENTLY wrap clay around the origami fortune teller. You can stick a pencil through the clay to open any pockets that become squashed.

4.) Use hot glue, or another type, to glue the pipe cleaner “cirri” into the open mouth of the barnacle.

Check out more articles through the Ask Blair Page on this website. This article was submitted in April 2023 and was not published in the July issue of the SEA Homeschoolers Magazine.

Do you have a question for the fan-favorite column “Ask Blair” found in The SEA Homeschoolers Magazine? Please use this form to submit your homeschooling questions. The SEA team will select a few questions to be answered by SEA Homeschoolers Founder & Magazine Editor, Blair Lee, in each quarterly issue. Due to space, not all questions will be published in the magazine. Those that come in shortly after a magazine issue has been published will go on this page. These are important questions and we want to answer them for you in a timely way. Please be sure to include all pertinent information relevant to your question – examples: learner ages, grade levels, preferred resource format, topics of interest, preferred homeschool methodologies, state requirements you’re trying to meet, learning challenges, etc.

Submit your homeschooling question through this link.





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Flight and Aerodynamics with Paper Airplanes

Flight and Aerodynamics with Paper Airplanes, Ask Blair, seahomeschoolers.com, Blair Lee, Fun Science Activities, Aerodynamics, design and engineering
Aug 2, 2023 | Blair Lee

Flight and Aerodynamics with Paper Airplanes

In this activity kids will explore the principles of aerodynamics by designing and testing paper airplanes. Encourage students to experiment with different wing shapes, sizes, and folds to observe how they affect flight performance. They can measure flight distance, hang time, or conduct controlled experiments to investigate variables like wing design or paper weight.

From: 9 Fun Science Activities. Click here to find links to the other 8 activities!

Materials for Flight and Aerodynamics with Paper Airplanes

  • Paper of different weights
  • Ruler or measuring tape
  • Scissors
  • Tape
  • Paperclips
  • Markers or colored pencils (optional)
  • Large open space for flying the paper airplanes
  • Stopwatch or timer

Procedure for Flight and Aerodynamics with Paper Airplanes

  1. Discuss the basic principles of flight and aerodynamics, including lift, drag, and thrust, with the participants. There are many good YouTube videos on this topic.
  2. Explain that the objective of the experiment is to design and test paper airplanes to determine how different design factors affect flight distance and stability.
  3. Begin by designing a basic paper airplane with a simple dart design. This website gives good instructions for making paper airplanes. It has good instructions for making several different kinds of paper airplanes: https://www.hgtv.com/design/make-and-celebrate/handmade/how-to-make-a-paper-airplane.
  4. Test the initial design by throwing the paper airplane and measuring the distance it travels. Record the distance.
  5. Choose one design factor to vary, such as wing shape, wing size, or fuselage length. For example, for wing shape, create different airplanes with delta wings, rectangular wings, or swept-back wings.
  6. Create three paper airplanes for each design factor variation to ensure consistency and accuracy of results.
  7. Test each design variation by throwing the paper airplanes and measuring the distance traveled. Record the distance for each flight.
  8. Repeat steps 5-7 for the remaining design factors you selected.
  9. Analyze the data and observe the patterns and trends in flight distance for each design variation.
  10. Discuss the impact of each design factor on flight performance. Which design factors resulted in longer flight distances? Did any design factors affect stability or maneuverability?
  11. Based on the observations and analysis, choose the design factors that contributed to the best flight performance.
  12. Optional: Decorate the chosen paper airplane design with markers or colored pencils to personalize it.
  13. Test the final chosen design multiple times and record the average flight distance.
  14. Compare the flight distance of the final chosen design with the initial design and discuss the improvements made.
  15. Optional: Explore other factors that may affect the flight performance, such as launch angle or wing angle, and conduct additional experiments to investigate their impact.

Check out more articles through the Ask Blair Page on this website. This article was submitted in April 2023 and was not published in the July issue of the SEA Homeschoolers Magazine.

Do you have a question for the fan-favorite column “Ask Blair” found in The SEA Homeschoolers Magazine? Please use this form to submit your homeschooling questions. The SEA team will select a few questions to be answered by SEA Homeschoolers Founder & Magazine Editor, Blair Lee, in each quarterly issue. Due to space, not all questions will be published in the magazine. Those that come in shortly after a magazine issue has been published will go on this page. These are important questions and we want to answer them for you in a timely way. Please be sure to include all pertinent information relevant to your question – examples: learner ages, grade levels, preferred resource format, topics of interest, preferred homeschool methodologies, state requirements you’re trying to meet, learning challenges, etc.

Submit your homeschooling question through this link.





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Make Recycled Paper

Make Recycled Paper, Ask Blair, Fun Science Activities, SEA Homeschoolers, Secular Science, Environmental Science
Aug 2, 2023 | Blair Lee

Make Recycled Paper

In this science activity, kids will make recycled paper. This activity provides an opportunity to understand the scientific process of recycling paper and observe firsthand how waste materials can be transformed into new usable products.

You can make plain paper, or you can add things like flower petals or glitter to make decorated paper. After removing any foreign material, like staples, you will soak the paper. Paper is made of the same fibers that allow trees to stand tall. When you soak the paper, the fibers separate and can be used to make new recycled paper.

From: 9 Fun Science Activities. Click here to find links to the other 8 activities!

Materials for Make Recycled Paper

  • Used paper, at least 10 sheets of it
  • Large bucket or bin
  • Blender or food processor
  • Fine mesh screen or window screen
  • Wooden frames that are slightly larger than the screen
  • Sponge
  • Water
  • Towels for drying
  • Optional: Paper additives such as e.g., flower petals, glitter, dried leaves (This would be a great way to reuse cut flowers.)

Procedure for Make Recycled Paper

  1. Remove any non-paper items, such as plastic or staples.
  2. Tear the paper into small pieces and soak them in water for several hours or overnight.
  3. Drain the soaked paper pieces and transfer them to a blender or food processor. Add water to help with blending and create a paper pulp mixture. Blend until the paper turns into a smooth pulp.
  4. Fill a large bucket or bin with water, leaving some space for the paper pulp.
  5. Add the paper pulp to the water in the bucket and stir gently to ensure an even distribution.
  6. Optional: If desired, you can add paper additives, such as flower petals, glitter, or dried leaves, to create customized paper with unique characteristics.
  7. Prepare the wooden frames by attaching the fine mesh screen securely to the frame using staples or tacks.
  8. Submerge the frame with the screen side facing down into the paper pulp mixture, ensuring the entire screen is covered.
  9. Carefully lift the frame out of the mixture, allowing the excess water to drain. Let the water drip back into the bucket.
  10. Place the frame on a towel or stack of newspapers, screen side down so the paper pulp is facing up. Use a sponge to press down on the pulp gently. This step helps to remove excess water and bring the paper fibers back together.
  11. Carefully lift and flip the lift the frame, leaving the newly formed sheet of paper on the towel. Repeat the process to create more sheets of paper.
  12. Allow the paper to dry completely overnight.
  13. Once the paper is dry, carefully remove it from the towel.
  14. Observe and compare the characteristics of homemade recycled paper with store-bought paper. Note differences in texture, color, and thickness.

Check out more articles through the Ask Blair Page on this website. This article was submitted in April 2023 and was not published in the July issue of the SEA Homeschoolers Magazine.

Do you have a question for the fan-favorite column “Ask Blair” found in The SEA Homeschoolers Magazine? Please use this form to submit your homeschooling questions. The SEA team will select a few questions to be answered by SEA Homeschoolers Founder & Magazine Editor, Blair Lee, in each quarterly issue. Due to space, not all questions will be published in the magazine. Those that come in shortly after a magazine issue has been published will go on this page. These are important questions and we want to answer them for you in a timely way. Please be sure to include all pertinent information relevant to your question – examples: learner ages, grade levels, preferred resource format, topics of interest, preferred homeschool methodologies, state requirements you’re trying to meet, learning challenges, etc.

Submit your homeschooling question through this link.





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9 Fun Science Activities

Resolving Colors with a Microscope, Ask Blair, seahomeschoolers.com, Blair Lee, Fun Science Activities
Aug 2, 2023 | Blair Lee

9 Fun Science Activities

Blair,

My two girls have started performing a lot with a local ballet and community theatre. It has been a great addition to our homeschool. However, we end up with lots of extra flyers and programs and so so so many bouquets of flowers after every performance. They will be in 5 shows over the next 3 months and I am hoping you have suggestions for fun science activities & experiments that we can do with all these cut flowers and foliage and maybe the extra flyers too. I was thinking of using the flyers (plain paper) and programs (glossy paper) for crafts but would love ideas for science tie-ins with these paper items too!

From Lylla
Homeschooling: 3 years
Kids ages 8 and 10

Hello Lylla,

Fun Science Activities! It should come as no surprise that I love this question! Once I got started, I sort of went overboard. LOL! Links to the science activities are in this post to make it manageable. Otherwise, this response would be the size of a booklet.

5 Fun Science Activities with Paper

There are all sorts of fun science activities you can do with paper. Here are five. The first looks at how paper is recycled. This is best done outside where it doesn’t matter if it gets kind of messy. There are two design and engineering projects. One focuses on aerodynamics with paper airplanes. I have done this activity from kids to adults, and everyone loves it. It is really fun! Make sure and compare paper airplanes made from the different weights of paper. The second design and engineer activity is done with paper boat. Kids learn about buoyancy, and then test what they learn with paper boats that they make. There is also an activity making a scientific model of a barnacle. This is adapted from a marine science course I am working on. Finally, I adapted a microscope lab from R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey Biology 2 where kids use their microscope to look at printed material comparing colored print, black type, with crayon or a marker.

  1. Make Recycled Paper: This activity provides an opportunity to understand the scientific process of recycling paper and observe firsthand how waste materials can be transformed into new usable products.
  2. Flight and Aerodynamics with Paper Airplanes: In this activity, kids will explore the principles of aerodynamics by designing and testing paper airplanes.
  3. Make a Model of a Barnacle: Barnacles are ubiquitous and fascinating to learn about. This hands-on scientific model of a barnacle is fun and educational!
  4. Exploring Buoyancy with Paper Boats: In this activity, kids apply Archimedes principles and design thinking to paper boats, as they investigate the factors that affect a boat’s buoyancy and stability. Learners will also explore how different design modifications impact the boats floating ability promoting critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
  5. Resolving Colors with a Microscope: Printed type is fascinating to look at with a microscope. What appears to be seamless type and color is a collection of dots of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (CMYK) in different ratios depending on the color you see with your naked eye.

4 Fun Science Activities with Flowers

I took some time thinking about a couple of new labs for this. There are the obvious activities like putting white flowers into water with food coloring to investigate circulation in flowers, which I encourage you to do. I wanted something I had never written before. I thought of four. The first looks at the effects of different solutions on the longevity of cut flowers. Is water the best thing to use for flowers? Does the flower food packet included with some bouquets make a difference for longevity? These questions and more are answered with this science activity. Then there are two related activities. The first compares water absorption rates for different types of cut flowers. Using two of the same type of flower in each vase, you will put a baggie over one of them to look at the different rates of transpiration by type. Finally, there is comparative anatomy lab looking at the structural difference between the anatomy of different species (types) of flowers.

  1. Investigating the Effects of Different Solutions on the Lifespan of Cut Flowers: In this experiment kids will investigate the impact of various solutions on the lifespan of cut flowers. They will also learn about dependent and independent variables.
  2. Water Uptake Rates for Different Species of Flowers: In this lab, learners will investigate to find out if, after they are cut, different species of flowers take water up at the same rate as each other. This lab can be coupled with the lab investigating the transpiration rate for different species of flowers.
  3. Are Transpiration Rates Different for Different Species of Flowers?: In this lab, students measure and compare the transpiration rates of different species of cut flowers. This lab can be coupled with the lab investigating the rate of the uptake of water for different species of flowers.
  4. Flowers Have Differences: There are over 300,000 different kinds of flowers! They have some similarities. They also have differences. This comparative anatomy lab will provide insights into the structural similarities, differences, and adaptations of various cut flowers.

Much Love, Blair

Check out more articles through the Ask Blair Page on this website. This article was submitted in April 2023 and was not published in the July issue of the SEA Homeschoolers Magazine.

Do you have a question for the fan-favorite column “Ask Blair” found in The SEA Homeschoolers Magazine? Please use this form to submit your homeschooling questions. The SEA team will select a few questions to be answered by SEA Homeschoolers Founder & Magazine Editor, Blair Lee, in each quarterly issue. Due to space, not all questions will be published in the magazine. Those that come in shortly after a magazine issue has been published will go on this page. These are important questions and we want to answer them for you in a timely way. Please be sure to include all pertinent information relevant to your question – examples: learner ages, grade levels, preferred resource format, topics of interest, preferred homeschool methodologies, state requirements you’re trying to meet, learning challenges, etc.

Submit your homeschooling question through this link.





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Advice for a Former School Teacher

Advice for a Former School Teacher, Ask Blair, seahomeschoolers.com, Blair Lee
Jul 16, 2023 | Blair Lee
Advice for a Former School Teacher, Ask Blair, seahomeschoolers.com, Blair Lee

Advice for a Former School Teacher

Blair,

I’ve been teaching in the public school system in Florida for 18 years, as a second-grade teacher for 6 years and then as an elementary reading specialist for the last 12 years. Due to the changes to curriculum, gun policies, and the attack on LGBTQ+ families in FL, my wife and I no longer feel the public school system is the right place for us. My kids are headed into 1st and 4th grade in the fall. I am excited and scared. I know I can teach them, but I am feeling overwhelmed by all my years of training. You would think it would make me feel more confident, and in some ways it does, but not really.

Do you have any advice for a former school teacher getting started in homeschooling? What best practices from my classroom years will benefit us as a homeschooling family? What common classroom practices should I let go of to help us be successful? In case it matters, my kids have had an amazing school experience and are also excited to start homeschooling (maybe because they will get to sleep in…lol), but I am the one who really needed to make this change for my own mental health, for the safety of my family, and to make sure my kids have robust & well-rounded accurate education that will serve them well throughout their lives.

From Summer
Homeschooling: starting in the fall
Kids ages 7 and 10

Hello Summer,

I am sorry for you had to leave your profession for those reasons. I am also delighted to have someone with the wealth of knowledge you have in our community! Welcome to SEA!

Do you have any advice for a former school teacher getting started in homeschooling?

Advice for a Former School Teacher Tip #1

The first thing you should do is to write down your dream for your children’s journey through learning. Make it big, profound, and empowering. It can be practical. It can be idealistic. The bottom line is, it is your dream for your child, your family, and your homeschool. If you have others who have retired with you, you might want to share these. It’s okay to take a slice of someone else’s dream if it’s a good one.

Once you have your dream, write how you can actualize each part of it. This should be concrete and doable. The good news for someone who is an experienced teacher is that you understand that learning big educational strands is a long game. You have a good idea, for example, how to plan and structure writing over several years, and what needs to be mastered before progressing. There will naturally be some long-range planning in this. It is also very important to include what you will do at the start of this school year to make your dream a reality.

Something I think you might have fun with is to have your children and wife help you write a mission statement. If you the information from the first two steps. Now you can sit down with your children and package it into a paragraph or two that sums up what your home school is all about.

What best practices from my classroom years will benefit us as a homeschooling family?

Advice for a Former School Teacher Tip #2

Your years as a teacher provide valuable insights and best practices that can benefit your homeschooling family. The solid understanding you have of how learning happens is one of these. As a teacher, you understand the importance of recognizing and addressing the unique needs and learning styles of each student. In a homeschool setting, you can personalize the curriculum and tailor instruction to suit your children’s individual strengths and challenges. In addition, the skills you have for mentoring when a learner is strong in an area and scaffolding when they struggle are hugely beneficial. It will foster increased engagement and ensure that each child is challenged at an appropriate level. Wait until you see what happens with children who receive an individualized education where they are taught just an increment above their level. It’s profound!

You have firsthand experience with incorporating learning and executive function skills into teaching. You also understand why they are so important to a person’s success in school and out of it. Knowing how to work on metacognition and executive functioning skills and create a multi-modal learning environment so your child are balanced learners is a big benefit. Along with this, are the strategies you have for keeping kids engaged when they do not love a subject. You will need these.

In the classroom, you likely encountered unexpected situations that required flexibility and creative problem-solving. These skills will be valuable in homeschooling as well, as you navigate the challenges and adapt to the evolving needs of your children.

When I started homeschooling, I remember telling a friend the thing I found most valuable was my skill at planning an entire year of study with the necessary resources to implement the plan. Drawing from your experience as a teacher, you likely have skills in lesson planning, organizing materials, and creating a structured learning environment. Applying these practices to your homeschooling journey can help ensure a well-rounded education for your children. As a teacher, you likely utilized various educational resources to enhance your instruction. You can continue to leverage these resources, including textbooks, online materials, educational apps, and local libraries, to enrich your children’s homeschooling experience.

What common classroom practices should I let go of to help us be successful?

Advice for a Former School Teacher Tip #3

After eighteen years of teaching, it is only natural that you have some habits around children’s classroom behavior. If that’s the case, you might need to work on those. The learning environment at home tends to be much more relaxed and casual. In a homeschooling environment, the dynamic between you as the parent and teacher may differ from a traditional classroom setting. Embrace a more collaborative and supportive approach, allowing your children to have input in their education. Encourage independent thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making to foster a sense of ownership in their learning process.

I urge you to let go of the “literacy at all costs to the detriment of teaching science and history” mindset. The truth is that most homeschooled students, certainly those in the SEA Community get much more and better education in science and history than traditionally schooled children. That is because we do not teach these as a component of language arts. Teach hands-on science and let it get messy. Make history meaningful, diverse, and inclusive.

As a teacher you worked with benchmarks for academic skills. In a homeschooling environment, you should focus more on individual progress and growth rather than external benchmarks as you incorporate the mindset that there is no timeline for learning. How you evaluate work will reflect this. Instead of evaluating based on benchmarks, I recommend shifting the emphasis towards providing feedback, encouraging self-assessment, and celebrating your children’s achievements based on their unique abilities and effort.

I also recommend using a mastery approach for evaluations. Applying your expertise in assessing students’ progress and providing feedback, and then handing the work back to them to get more time with the material they have not mastered. I recommend you plan your lessons accordingly so that there are no holes in learning.

In homeschooling, you have the flexibility to design a schedule that works best for your family. In a traditional classroom, the day is often structured by fixed schedules and specific time slots for each subject. Embrace the freedom to create a more flexible routine that accommodates your children’s learning styles, interests, and natural rhythms. This extends to how you structure work done in subject areas. For example, when working on math, will your kids be given 30 minutes for math, or will you assign work that needs to be completed in order to be done.

The structured curricula and textbooks are gone. If you love some of those, keep using them. You can say “Goodbye” to all the rest! Don’t feel bound by rigid adherence to a specific curriculum. Explore a wide range of educational materials, including online resources, documentaries, educational games, hands-on activities, and field trips. Be open to exploring alternative resources, incorporating real-life experiences, and allowing your children’s interests to guide the learning process. Falling down rabbit holes is a required element of homeschooling! (Just kidding… sort of.)

Test taking, homework, teaching test taking skills: What are you going to do about these? In the homeschooling community, there is no standard for these. It’s completely up to you. If you have strong feelings about any of these, think about why, and then decide based on that.

Again, I welcome you to the SEA Homeschool Community. I hope this information helps. If you have any follow up questions, you can find me online in the SEA Homeschooling Community Facebook Groups.

Much Love, Blair

Check out more articles through the Ask Blair Page on this website.

This article was submitted in April 2023 and was not published in the July issue of the SEA Homeschoolers Magazine. This was done so that Mya could get her question answered sooner.

Do you have a question for the fan-favorite column “Ask Blair” found in The SEA Homeschoolers Magazine? Please use this form to submit your homeschooling questions. The SEA team will select a few questions to be answered by SEA Homeschoolers Founder & Magazine Editor, Blair Lee, in each quarterly issue. Due to space, not all questions will be published in the magazine. Those that come in shortly after a magazine issue has been published will go on this page. These are important questions and we want to answer them for you in a timely way. Please be sure to include all pertinent information relevant to your question – examples: learner ages, grade levels, preferred resource format, topics of interest, preferred homeschool methodologies, state requirements you’re trying to meet, learning challenges, etc.

Submit your homeschooling question through this link.





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How to Handcraft a Unit Study

How to handcraft a unit study, Blair Lee, SEA Homeschoolers, seahomeschoolers.com, guides, history of Chaco canyon
Jun 22, 2023 | Blair Lee, M.S.

How to Handcraft a Unit Study

From Blair Lee, M.S.

A handcrafted education is one that focuses on the unique strengths, challenges, and passions of learners and their families. It is common for homeschool parents to want to develop unit studies focused on these passions.

Unit studies can be a fun and engaging academic strategy that incorporates many academic disciplines and skills. They are great for working on the mastery of skills such as writing and reasoning. They can also add excitement to your studies. Unit studies are especially meaningful when they are handcrafted by you for your learners.

But (and it’s a big but!) how do you develop one? If the number of people asking this in the SEA Homeschoolers Facebook groups is any indication, this is a challenge for many of you. During the past 20 years, I have written hundreds of unit studies to use with my son and grandchildren, in the curriculum I develop, and in online classes.

In this article, I will share the process I use when developing unit studies. In addition to offering information about developing unit studies, I will share one I developed when I wrote this article. The best way to learn is by doing, and I found myself having to write a new unit study in order to explain how to write them! Why don’t you get out a pen and piece of paper to begin planning as you read.

Start with a Topic

How to Handcraft a Unit Study Step 1

When Albert Einstein said, “Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler” he could have been talking about your initial topic for a unit study. This should be a maximum of 1 to 4 sentences or even 1 incomplete sentence. If you have a couple of paragraphs or a page worth of notes, that is not your topic; that is an outline in paragraph form. Until you are experienced in writing unit studies, you will need to be very strict with yourself about keeping the topic tight to your initial topic. Even with all my years of experience, or maybe because of it, I still keep the focus of unit studies narrow to keep them cohesive and manageable rather than chaotic.

It is important that the topic is interesting for your children. It is just as important that you are interested in the topic of the unit study. There is so much research that goes into developing a unit study, at least until you have some experience, so you will want to be excited about the topic. I also recommend starting with a topic you feel academically competent teaching. Writing your own unit study is curriculum development. If you are nervous about teaching a subject, it makes it much more difficult to develop curriculum in that subject area.

Initial Topic: Blair’s Unit Study

The Indigenous History of Chaco Canyon

This is a great topic. It is narrow in focus, but robust enough to build a project around. It is less than one sentence. The subject matter is of interest to me. We traveled there this year and it had a profound impact on me. However, this is not the perfect topic, as you will see.

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Image Credit Blair Lee

Pre-Plan

How to Handcraft a Unit Study Step 2

The next step is to make some organizational decisions. There are 3 important decisions to make before going any further.

  1. How many weeks are you allotting for your unit study? I recommend your first unit study span 2 to 4 weeks. One week is usually not enough time to delve deeply into a subject. However, do not let it run more than 6 weeks. The amount of planning that is required to keep it cohesive and focused becomes more complicated with every week you add. I understand the desire to conduct a semester-long unit study. However, until you have the experience associated with understanding everything that goes into developing a couple of them, it can be challenging to be successful.
  2. Will the unit study be ancillary or the primary focus of your studies? This can affect the length of time spent on the unit study. A unit study that is ancillary primarily focuses on one or two subjects. When I develop science curriculum, for example, the chapters of each unit, make up a unit that is focused on a science topic. They are designed to be ancillary to other studies. A unit study that is the primary focus encompasses all or most of a learner’s studies while you are doing it.
  3. Is there enough information to make it worth spending more time planning a unit study for this topic? You will want to conduct some quick online research of this topic. Make sure there is plenty of information, and that the information is at a level your kids can understand. Occasionally, I will find a topic of interest that I consider adding into a course I am writing, only to find that the amount of knowledge needed to understand it makes it a poor topic to include.

Pre-Planning for The Indigenous History of Chaco Canyon

The Indigenous “Culture” of Chaco Canyon

  1. Three-week study
  2. Primary focus
  3. There is plenty of information
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Image Credit Blair Lee

Choose a Primary Discipline and Secondary Disciplines

How to Handcraft a Unit Study Step 3

Choose one primary discipline for the project. Be strict with yourself if you want the focus to be on multiple disciplines. Yes, you can weave in other subjects; but they must support the primary discipline. These subjects are the secondary disciplines, At this point, you may need to tweak your initial topic if necessary to make it a better fit with the discipline.

Once you have figured out the primary discipline and topic, before planning, complete some additional, quick research. If you cannot find good information that is age and stage appropriate for your learners, I recommend you rethink the focus of the topic to something with more information. For example, little to nothing is know about the culture of the inhabitants of Chaco Canyon. The information I found was mostly conjecture. Much more is known about the history of Chaco Canyon.

Image Credit Jim Lee

Primary Discipline: History

Main Topic: The Indigenous History of Chaco Canyon

For several reasons, I changed my topic to the History of Chaco Canyon from 850 CE to 1250 CE. The topic of culture fits neatly into history. Narrowing the time span will make the unit study more manageable and less likely to become unwieldy. This time span better reflects why I am interested in this as the topic of my unit study.

  • Quick research of topic
    • 900 BCE first dated evidence
    • 200 CE first dwellings
    • Borders the Navajo Reservation

Through this research, I learned that people were living in this area at least 2,922 years ago. I had to decide if I wanted to change my date. I did not, because I wanted to focus on the period when most of the dwellings have been dated to. I also found great information about Chaco Canyon on the website of a neighboring Navajo organization, which I can use to help with planning.

Next, choose the other academic disciplines you want to weave into the unit study. For each discipline, ask yourself how it fits with the primary discipline. If you cannot answer this, consider leaving it out. Adding topics that do not easily connect will make the unit study disorganized, which should be avoided. Put a question mark next to any topic that might be difficult to find information for as you proceed (as I did in the list below). Add academic skills/activities you want students to work on. Unit studies are a great way to work on mastery of skills.

Secondary Disciplines

  • Science
  • Construction & Architecture
  • Archaeology
  • Linguistics?
  • Writing
  • Literature & Nonfiction Reading
  • Geography

Before investing more time, make sure these work with your situation; for example, multiple learners at different levels or an only child.

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Image Credit Blair Lee

Flesh Out the Topics into a Bulleted List

How to Handcraft a Unit Study Step 4

One reason I developed a unit study was to use as an example in this section. I do not know what area your unit study focuses on. Therefore, this section will be devoted to choices I made for the history of Chaco Canyon from 850 CE to 1250 CE.

You can see from the example that the focus of the planning goes back to the primary discipline. Every discipline can be broken down by the types of topics included in a study of the discipline. You can see from my list that I am interested in the linguistics and politics as a part of this history.  I could not find substantial information about these, so I would not include them in my unit study. When choosing topical information, keep it tightly focus on the primary discipline.

For the secondary topics, I have an example of possible sub-topics to include for each secondary discipline.  The reason for doing this before going into detail for the primary topic is, one – to decide which ones to keep and which, if any, to cut, two – to see how the pieces fit together, many of these cover the history and make that planning easier, and three – to see if there are any thematic elements I want to use as focal points.

Start with the Primary Discipline

This bullet point list will be fleshed out later in this process. The topical information that will be chosen will tightly focus on the primary discipline. For example, I do plan on quickly referencing the people who lived in this area before 850 CE and the people who lived there after 1250 CE, but it will be brief.

Other Topics Included under History

  • People
  • Culture
  • Linguistics?
  • Technology
  • Politics?

Again, I wrote a question mark after all topics that might be difficult to get information about.

Learning Skills

While planning, decide if you want to intentionally include learning skills as a part of your project.

Then Work on the Secondary Disciplines

Secondary Disciplines: The Indigenous History of Chaco Canyon

    • Science
      • Was climate change responsible for the decline of this civilization
      • Fossil evidence of plants and animals in the area
      • Pigments from local soil
      • Changing geology to the river that runs through it
      • Geology of the Colorado Plateau
      • Radiometric dating
    • Construction & Architecture
      • Building with stone
    • Archaeology
      • How archaeologists build a story from their digs
    • Linguistics?
      • Is there historical evidence of the linguistic group of the residents of Chaco Canyon?
    • Writing
      • Research and write a paper on topic related to Chaco Canyon
    • Literature & Nonfiction Reading
      • Find books focused on Chaco Canyon in nonfiction and fiction categories
    • Geography
      • Colorado Plateau
      • Routes people traveled from to reach Chaco Canyon
    • Culture?
      • Who were the peoples of Chaco Canyon?
      • Where did they go?
      • How did their society function?
    • Art
      • Pottery making

This is a big list. To have a manageable project, I will have to either make cuts to this list, weave multiple topics together, or keep activities short. For example, I saw a video a while back that linked climate change to the decline of this civilization. That would be a good (and brief) way to focus on that specific topic.

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Decide on the Hands-On Activities

How to Handcraft a Unit Study Step 5

It is a good idea to decide on a hands-on project before serious planning goes into the unit study. If one of the secondary disciplines lends itself to a fun hands-on activity, you will not want to cut it. This also helps to ensure that you have enough hands-on projects within your unit study.

There are lots of pottery shards in Chaco Canyon. Even though I am not artistic AT ALL, I would definitely include pot making in this unit study. That is what YouTube tutorials are for.

Image Credit Blair Lee

Hands-On Activities

  • Pigments from local soil, paired with
  • Pottery making
  • Building with stone
  • How archaeologists build a story from their digs
  • How the geography has changed over time, much of this change has come about because of weathering and erosion, so this is part geography and part geology.
Image Credit Blair Lee

CUT, CUT, and then CUT some more

How to Handcraft a Unit Study Step 6

Until you have gained more experience, make cuts. Actually, the more experienced you are the more cuts you make. I have entire chapters and labs fully written that have never made it into books.

Do not let the unit study become overlong or unruly. You see an example of the first topic I deleted, linguistics. It will likely be joined by other topics as I continue to plan in more detail.

The First of Many Cuts

Linguistics: Is there historical evidence of the linguistic group of the residents of Chaco Canyon?

I could not find solid information about this topic.

Start Planning It Out

How to Handcraft a Unit Study Step 7

Now, it is time to begin planning each week. Develop a detailed weekly/daily schedule. If this is haphazard, your unit study will be chaotic. You have probably guessed by now that chaotic unit studies are to be avoided.

At this point, you need to make some structural decisions. This unit study will be chronological, as history often is.

It is a good idea to start the unit study with a hook. Take the time to plan something fun that gets everyone excited about the topic. A field trip to a museum or even a visit to Chaco Canyon would be a great way to start a study of the history of Chaco Canyon. Pottery making would be fun, too!

As you build your outline, be mindful that learners have the knowledge and skills required to study the topics. If they do not, you will want to teach the requisite knowledge and skills early on (after the hook, of course).

While planning, ask yourself if you missed anything in your previous outline. I realized I left two important topics out: a Geography lesson focused on the area, as well as the areas in North and South America where some of the artifacts found at Chaco Canyon were discovered. I also left off pictographs and petroglyphs, which will be included in the hands-on projects section.

Image Credit Blair Lee

Calendar It Out

How to Handcraft a Unit Study Step 8

You are not done yet! Now you will need to put this information into a calendar. Keep making cuts if the unit study is running long. You will also want to write down discussion questions. You can even plan when to discuss them.

Blair's Schedule

If your goal is to have a cohesive unit study, you want to start with a solid plan. It is okay to tweak the plan, and fall down rabbit holes once you get going, but a plan that you can refer to, fall back on, or stick to rigidly (depending on your homeschooling style) will keep this from becoming chaotic.

As you can see I have chosen a chronological approach. When planning a unit study for a subject that does not lend itself to this approach, I recommend referring to doing some research to investigate how others structure a course of study on this topic.

Blair's Week 1 Plan for The History of Chaco Canyon Unit Study

Week 1

The parentheses contain notes to myself.

Topics
  • History of this area to 850 CE
  • Basic geography of the area
  • How do archeologists know? Digs, dating,
    and fossil evidence
  • Find a book/articles and start reading

Hands-on/writing/field trips
  • Visit a museum of man (docent tour?)
  • Short research project about what life was like before there were machines (Perhaps do this when learning about building with rock, instead of here.)
  • Mapwork of the area
  • Archeological dig (I will set something up for the kids in the yard.)
  • Find radiometric dating activity

Weekly Resources

List the resources you will use this week.

Books, article links, supplies, lab, and activity plans

List the links and titles as you find them.

If you use this guide to handcraft a unit study, I would love to hear from you. If you like, feel free to customize and use this one.

This is part of The Learner’s Toolbox from Blair Lee. The Learner’s Toolbox is a multi-part series in the SEA Homeschoolers Magazine and SEA Homeschoolers Online Conference Series that focuses on learning skills that are essential for lifelong learners.

New to Homeschooling? Check out our How to Homeschool 101 Article.

Want to know what SEA Homeschoolers is about? The SEA Homeschoolers Team collaborated on a list of 27 WE BELIEVE statements so you would know the answer!





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How to Homeschool 101

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Jun 21, 2023 | Blair Lee, M.S.

How to Homeschool 101

You Have Decided to Homeschool! Now What?

This practical How to Homeschool 101 article gives you the information you need to get started. Includes a free PDF download.

Let me acknowledge the elephant in the room right away: yes, it is a big responsibility to choose to educate your child. You won’t hear that many places in the homeschooling community, and that’s too bad. It makes new homeschoolers feel as if everyone has it figured out but them, when in fact, it’s a learning curve.

Like any new endeavor, it can be challenging to figure out all the pieces and how they fit together. You will have a much clearer idea of the basics after you have some experience. There are pieces that must come together to help you and your children succeed with homeschooling, but the good news is that most of these are simple and straightforward.

How to Homeschool 101: Step 1

Know Your Homeschooling Laws

Before doing anything, make sure you are homeschooling legally. In the United States, homeschool laws vary by state. The best place to find information to ensure that you are complying with the laws in your state is through a state homeschooling organization or your state’s Department of Education. On the SEA Homeschoolers 101 page, you can find links to every state’s laws.

At this initial stage, you will learn if there is paperwork you need to file, a date to register by, the compulsory school age, and/or if there are attendance requirements. You will want to know if your state has a portfolio requirement for homeschoolers, and if they do, what it looks like in your state.

Some states have testing requirements and restrictions on who can administer them. In addition, some states have restrictions on the curriculum you can use. There are also states where evaluations must be completed by a person on their approved list of evaluators.

If you think your child needs an IEP or accommodations, it is important to investigate how that works in your state. Learn the process for getting these for homeschooled students in your state.. Find out what services are provided for homeschooled learners with an IEP. In some states, no services are available.

After you have discovered your state’s requirements, members of the SEA Homeschoolers Facebook group who live in your state are a great resource for any questions you may have. For example, California does have a deadline by which you must register, however, there are no penalties for filling the form out after the date. As a resident of California who homeschooled her son, I am able to offer that information to members of the SEA Homeschoolers Facebook group! We are a diverse group with members all across the country, and all members can benefit from that base of knowledge and experience.

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What will you do with your one wild and precious life?

How to Homeschool 101: Step 2

Dare to Dream

At its best, a homeschooled education is a handcrafted education that focuses on the unique strengths, challenges, and passions of the individual. It gives students an education that honors who they are as a learner and how their unique brain works. The benefits of homeschooling in this way are profound, empowering, and the best path for helping your child gain the tools they need to get to do what they want with their one wild and precious life.

Take some time early on to answer the following questions. When you think about your child as a learner, what do you want for your child? What do you hope is the end result that comes from homeschooling? What does the ideal learning journey look like for you?

Stephen Covey, the author of The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People has as his second habit – Begin with the End in Mind. According to Covey, all things are created twice – there is the mental creation and the physical creation. Your homeschooling is much more likely to be successful if you write down your dream for your child’s education, crafting a mission statement for homeschooling. This is the mental creation for what homeschooling will mean to your child and your family. Make it big and profound. Ask yourself what your journey will look like. Do not let your nerves or doubts keep you from dreaming big. The journey starts with a direction, then you put one foot in front of the other.

After that, you can work on the physical creation by getting started making the mental creation a reality. Because this journey starts with one step, the beginning is important too. It is a good idea to give some thought about how, on day one, you might actualize your dream.

A learner-centered education like this is a profound gift to give a learner. It might not seem that way every step of your journey, but it will benefit the learner’s relationship with learning overall.

Read The Renaissance of a Handcrafted Education for more on this topic.

How to Homeschool 101: Step 3

How Does Your Child Learn?

Every day, new (and even experienced) homeschoolers enter Facebook groups and ask about curriculum. There is no information offered about how their child learns, and they do not ask the people recommending curriculum about how their children learn, either. One of the most fundamental tenets of homeschooling is that it is an education that focuses on the individual. To provide an individualized education you need to know how your children access and process information. If you use this information when you do ask for information, you will get better answers.

Are you thinking, “I have no idea where to even start figuring this out!?!”

Tip 1: What learning modalities does your child primarily use?

Watch how your child approaches academic endeavors. Focus on the primary modalities your child uses for new or challenging tasks. This gives you important information about how your child instinctively chooses to access and work with information.

How to Homeschool 101, Homeschooling 101, seahomeschoolers.com, SEA Homeschoolers, Blair Lee, auditory learner

Auditory learners learn by listening. Podcasts, webinars, audiobooks, or face-to-face instruction are good paths for them to process and access information. Group discussions or debates can also form part of auditory learning.

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Kinesthetic learners process and access information through doing. Good lessons for these learners often a combine other types of learning. For example, when learning a historical event or topic in science hands-on projects with videos or reading will benefit learning for kinesthetic learning.

Visual learners process and access information more effectively when graphs, infographics, cartoons and illustrations, videos, artwork, flowcharts, and diagrams are included in lessons, things that stimulate the learner’s eyes. Making visual observations, such as through drawing, can benefit this cohort of learners.

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Reading and writing learners process and access information through text-based courses, PDF’s, documents, books, and eBooks. These learners are often good test takers. We are most familiar with this type of learning primarily because of the systematic teaching of this method in traditional school.

Struggling to find a reading curriculum? Check out this article.

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In addition to learning modalities look for:

  • Do you have a child that asks lots of questions? I know that sometimes this drives parents and teachers nuts, but ask yourself: is this how your child processes information. Is that how they start to puzzle out the answer? Or maybe your learner doesn’t ask questions. That can be frustrating too. In either of these situations, or if you have someone in the middle, start to think about how your child processes information.
  • Does your child learn through collaborative learning or are they a solo learner? these are the extremes. Most people are somewhere in the middle. Where an understanding of this can help you is, for example, if you have a child who learns best in a collaborative setting, you might want to pick a live online class or a co-op for subjects your child finds challenging. That way they will be more engaged as they’re learning. Some students really benefit from learning where there is a discussion component and/or brainstorming.

Or perhaps you have a learner who prefers to learn things on their own. Some learners find collaboration to be a distraction to thinking. With a solo learner you need to pay more attention, in case they need your help to puzzle through things, they might have missed. It’s actually good to be able to work collaboratively and as a solo learner. It helps to scaffold students to work in both situations. However, you have to be careful with this, some kids who are solo learners will turn off in collaborative settings.

  • Does your child need a lot of validation about whether they’ve learned something or not. My recommendation is that if your child needs validation, give it. It can be an age or a stage situation. Make sure that your validation is genuine and specific about something that they know.

It can be a situation where a learner is not strong in their metacognitive skills, so they really don’t know what they know. Some people need to know they have learned something,  completed one task, to go on to the next.

Tip 2: Learn from Your Prior Teachers

The good news is, you can draw some parallels from how a child’s biological parents learn. Studies have shown there are genetic components to how people access and process information. Be thoughtful, however, if you use this information from how you learn as an adult. It isn’t about how a child’s biological parents learn as adult. What matters is how they learned best as children. As a secondary caution, genetics is complicated, so this tip might or might not be helpful.

Because of the genetic component, it can be helpful to think about teachers you responded too. (This is a good exercise even if you are not the biological parent.) As you are figuring out how your child learns,  there is absolutely no reason to reinvent the wheel. Think about the techniques used by your favorite teachers. Could you incorporate those into your homeschool?

What about the techniques used by your least favorite teachers. Let’s just say 3 grade was really bad for me, with a teacher who insisted we all do the same phonics and vocabulary programs at the same pace in class every day,  no matter what our reading level. That experience had a big impact on my understanding of the importance of individualized learning.

Check out this article filled with homeschooling advice for a former school teacher.

Tip 3: Methodologies

Educational methodologies are based on educational pedagogy. There are several you hear about in the homeschool community. Several popular homeschool curriculums are based on specific methodologies, and good educational philosophy exists in many of them. It is worth taking the time to read those over with a highlighter in your hand. Do not assume that because a methodology resonates with you, that it will be a good fit for your child. If it appeals to you, it simply means that, as an adult, you could learn from that methodology. The word eclectic in Secular, Eclectic, Academic Homeschoolers refers to using a hodgepodge of these.  Eclectic Homeschoolers use whatever works best for the child and the academic subject.

If you are interested to learn how to incorporate travel into your homeschooling, read our worldschooling article.

Tip 4: Learning Skills

Homeschooling 101, seahomeschoolers.com, SEA Homeschoolers, Blair Lee, metacognition There are three primary strands of learning skills that should be incorporated into learning. Students with weak learning skills can find academic challenging. They can get in the way of a learner’s ability to access and process information and skills. Take some time to figure out which skills you will incorporate into your homeschool will have lifelong benefits.

  • #1. Balanced learners are multimodal learners. As the word suggests, multimodal learners learn using all four modalities. Most people are strong in one or two of these. A multimodal approach incorporates work done using all of these modalities. This enhances the likelihood that a learner will be a balanced learner, able to access materials using the best modality for the job, instead of a heavy reliance on one or two modes. Balanced learners are strong enough using each of the four modalities to choose the one best suited to the learning task.
  • #2. Metacognition is the ability of a student to know what they know and how to retrieve it for use in all settings. With a metacognitive approach, students use prior knowledge to organize, monitor, and adapt the way you approach new learning material and situations.
  • #3. Too often executive functioning skills are worked on outside of academic settings. That’s too bad, because executive functioning skills are often the easiest way to work on as a part of learning. Executive functioning skills are also critically important for academic success. I was a college professor before homeschooling my son, and there are numerous instances that I can think of where students struggled in my classes because they didn’t have the executive functioning skills needed to pass college science class.

How to Homeschool 101: Step 4

Choosing Curricula

For most home schoolers choosing curriculum is one of the most fun parts of home schooling and one of the most frustrating. The good news is there are so many options you can find something that is a good fit for almost any learner. The bad news is there are so many options you can lose whole years of your life while searching for just the right curricula and programs. I have a few tips to help.

  • #1. It should come as no surprise that curricula that have been around for a while have more reviews than those that are new. In addition to general reviews, since more people have used the materials, it is easier to find people whose children have a similar learning style to yours who were either successful or unsuccessful using the materials. If user reviews are a major criterion that you use, then you are likely going to prefer time tested materials. There are established publishers who are known for the quality of their materials, and my experience in the home school community is that you can assume that new materials from them will be consistent. The shiny new curriculum that no one has ever heard of, however, you probably want to ask about it in a an online group.
  • #2. Using what you have learned about how your child learns helps immensely when choosing materials and will likely save you money.
  • #3. If you want to work on learning skills, and you don’t want to do all the planning of how to integrate those on your own, look for curricula and program that incorporate them into their materials. If it’s not obvious to you how this is done, reach out to the publisher or author and ask if they do this and state that you would like some concrete examples of where it’s done in the materials.
  • #4. It is hard to know what delivery of materials will work best for your child when you start out. Some learners thrive online, others need printed course materials. Some homeschoolers prefer handcrafting a year where they choose the subjects, others prefer an all-in-one curriculum. There is no right or wrong, it’s simply what works best for your child and your family situation.
  • #5. Even though you are just starting out, it’s a good idea to discuss the pluses and perils of switching mid-year. If your child is struggling with a subject your first thought might be that it’s the curricula. Before deciding that you’re going to switch, take the time to diagnose to make sure that’s the issue. Good curriculum has a comprehensive structure where topical information builds on itself. If you switch, you can create a situation where your child does not get a comprehensive year of learning in that subject.
  • #6. Curricula and programs take time and money to develop. It has to be sustainable for the writers and publishers to put in their time. If you have a budget, it can be helpful to do your planning ahead of time. Budget for the materials, and ask online about when companies have sales.
  • #7. It’s homeschooling, which means you can write or piece together your own materials. This is how I came to write my first course, R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey Chemistry 1. I could not find  a secular chemistry course for my son when he was going into third grade. I did not start out with a yearlong course, and I don’t recommend you do that either. A unit study is a good place to start. BY starting smaller you can become more skilled as you go along. I wrote this article, How to Handcraft a Unit Study, to walk you step-by-step through the process of how to do that.
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How to Homeschool 101: Step 5

Get Organized

I hear some of you groaning, but…

Effective organizational strategies in homeschooling helps create a structuredHomeschooling 101, seahomeschoolers.com, SEA Homeschoolers, Blair Lee and efficient learning environment that maximizes productivity, promotes engagement, and supports the educational growth of your child. Organizing can mean resources management, time management, or a dedicated homeschool space. What will work best for you, depends on you.

  • You annual academic schedule is totally up to you. You should use whatever works best. A lot of homeschoolers, even if it is not what they plan,  end up doing year-round. OA major benefit of homeschooling, is the flexibility around scheduling. However, if your child takes online classes, there will usually be a start and end date.
  • Do yourself a favor right from the start, organize your homeschooling resources, such as books, educational materials, and online subscriptions. Even over the course of a year, you can amass so much!
  • Implement a system to track and monitor your child’s progress. You do not need to keep everything, but you should keep work samples. This can include maintaining records of completed assignments, assessments, grades, and any other relevant information. Organizing these records helps in evaluating your child’s development and providing necessary feedback. Staying up on this can save headaches if you ever need their school records.
  • Establishing a daily or weekly routine provides a predictable schedule for both students and parents. Establishing set times for different subjects, breaks, and activities helps create a sense of order and consistency in the homeschooling routine. Some students need a routine to thrive.
  • The number of learners you are homeschooling requires different organizational strategies. For multiples, the more organized you are the easier it is to homeschool. Combine if you can. If you are thinking the age range is too great, or the kids fight like crazy, you can give different assignments. So, on the teaching end it looks the same topic but on the student end they are working on different assignments. For an only, some organization that includes collaborative learning can be important. This often means you are their co-collaborator.
  • Do you like to plan? I do! While organization is important, remember to be flexible and adaptable in your homeschooling approach. Allow room for spontaneous learning opportunities and adjustments as needed. Organization should support your homeschool journey, not limit it. One thing that can be stressful for people who like plans is when, for example, an assignment you schedule for 10 days takes 5 or not 5 but 15. If it takes 10 – perfect planning – if it takes more or less – the plan wasn’t perfect – it is not a reflection of the learner. And if it is important to learn,  it takes the time it takes for your unique individual. For example, if your child takes two years to learn multiplication tables and you planned for one year, they took two years. The plan was the problem.
Homeschooling 101, seahomeschoolers.com, SEA Homeschoolers, Blair Lee

How to Homeschool 101: Step 6

My Final Tips

  • Socialization: Socialization is finally easier again, especially in states that have large secular groups. Unfortunately, it is still a struggle for those who do not. If you’re struggling to find a group where your child can socialize, get into the SEA homeschoolers Facebook group and look for people in your area. The good news is through the Outschool platform, if you’re struggling to find local socialization for your child there are online socialization clubs.
  • You have to be careful when you’re homeschooling that it isn’t school all the time. You are thinking about your child’s education a lot. It is easy to get stuck in school mode.

One thing that can be kind of tricky when you are both a teacher and a parent is discipline around academics. It will likely happen that you need to discipline your child around an academic issue. It can be so easy to let things slide that you would never let slide if your child did it to a teacher who wasn’t you. It’s good to have a plan, how you’re going to handle it if that happens.

  • Be kind to yourself as you learn your new job. Give yourself the same space and respect that you would give others who were trying to gift their child with an education that honors who they are. It is important to have expectations that are reasonable based on where you are at.

Do not expect yourself to be perfect.  I am not a big fan of that word. I believe that perfect is an opinion word. If you are a person who thrives on perfection, every day that you show up for your children and do your best I will define that as perfect for you.

As a side note, if you are a person who expects yourself to show up and be perfect right away, that is something that you want to be very careful of as you homeschool your children. We are models for our children about normative behavior. It’s important that we talk to ourselves and about ourselves in a way that models how we hope our children talk to themselves and about themselves.

  • I urge you to find a support community. You need a group of people, even if it is online, to support you on this journey.

Welcome to Homeschooling, Blair Lee & the Entire Team at SEA Homeschooling

Free How to Homeschool 101 PDF workbook to help you get started.

Join Host Blair Lee for SEA Homeschoolers Book Club. Each month we will read a book focused on helping us teach our kids.

Want to know what SEA Homeschoolers is about? The SEA Homeschoolers Team collaborated on a list of 27 WE BELIEVE statements so you would know the answer!

This is part of The Learner’s Toolbox from Blair Lee. The Learner’s Toolbox is a multi-part series in the SEA Homeschoolers Magazine and SEA Homeschoolers Online Conference Series that focuses on learning skills that are essential for lifelong learners.