Free and Fun Spelling Website

Are you looking for a FREE, quality spelling website that is completely hands-off for Mom and Dad for your spelling curriculum?

My kids have thoroughly enjoyed Gradespelling.com. I love it because they complete their spelling totally independent of me. There is never any grumbling when they go to do their spelling.  Each lesson offers a wide variety of ways to practice the spelling list including Hang A Bot, Spelling Bee, Word Jumble and Word Search. Their absolute favorite is Hang A Bot! My kids work on two short, engaging and to-the-point activities per school day. The free website also offers vocabulary-building exercises.

www.gradespelling.com

Additionally, a premium version is offered.   We find, however, the free version works great for us. The premium version does offer a free novel studies section for a variety of very popular books.

www.spellingclassroom.com

My daughter uses a Hewlett-Packard Chromebook that we purchased from Amazon for only $160  that works splendidly for her school work. At 11.6 inches, it is the perfect weight and size for her hands. She uses it for spelling, IXL, writing essays, research, YouTube, email and more.

http://amzn.to/2bmdReq

Here were our curriculum choices last school year:

An Example of an Eclectic, Academic Homeschool Curriculum

For ideas on adding more structure to your schedule to allow more time for experiential learning, you may be interested in:

Academic Scheduling for More Experiential Learning Part One

Academic Scheduling for More Experiential Learning Part Two

 

You can sign up to follow The Contemporary Homeschooler via email by clicking on the Follow button. Also, join our community on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/TheContemporaryHomeschooler/

Note: If you decide to make a purchase through my blog link, Amazon will pay me a commission for it.  This doesn’t cost you anything additional. These commissions help to keep the rest of my content free. So, thank you!

Homeschooling: The Road Less Traveled

While reading a book today about life’s critical choices, I was reminded of Robert Frost’s words and immediately thought of our family’s decision to homeschool. It is the road less traveled and that has made all the difference for our family.

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.”

–Robert Frost

Here is a picture of our first day homeschooling several years ago. I pulled my son out of public school March of his kindergarten year. I remember the feeling of freedom and joy to be out in the world learning together as part of their education.

First day of our homeschool journey several years ago.

Some ways it has made all the difference for our family includes:

• Family Bonds–My kids are best friends. We experience so much life together.  While they do have a tiff every now and then, they generally really enjoy one another. I observe this same pattern with our homeschool family friends. You just don’t see a lot of bickering amongst siblings in our community. 
• Love Affair with Books–One of my favorite things about homeschooling is having plenty of time for reading aloud.  We travel on many book journeys together and engage in lots of conversation about what I read aloud. Additionally, we frequent a wide variety of libraries.  The kids are dying to get to one to find more books to bring home for their reading pleasure. Each library has its own personality and unique book selection.
• Friendships–Our homeschool family friends are incredible people with shared values and vision for how we want to raise our kids. We have a blast doing life with them! I did not experience this same connection when we were in public school.
• Love of Learning–We are able to learn in a wide variety of environments and from many different people. Yes, I am their teacher for many subjects. However, we are also out learning from park rangers, museum docents, business owners, scientists and more! We learn from passionate parents in our co-op.  We are not confined to one classroom and the same teacher daily. Additionally, I do not teach to a standardized test which can crush a love of learning.
• Customized Education–I am an entrepreneur for my children’s education. Nimbly, we tailor the curriculum and learning opportunities to their learning styles, passions and our family’s priorities.

How has homeschooling made all the difference for your family?  Please click onto our Facebook page below and let us know. Your words may be encouragement for a family who is considering homeschooling or one wondering if they should stay the course.

Here are a few other links you may enjoy:

Benefits of Experiential Learning

I Like Being with My Kids

Academic Scheduling for More Experiential Learning

 

You can sign up to follow The Contemporary Homeschooler via email by clicking on the Follow button. Also, join our community on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/TheContemporaryHomeschooler/

 

 

 

Benefits of Experiential Learning

Homeschooled students have much more time to engage in experiential learning than their conventionally-schooled peers. Are you taking advantage of your freedom and flexibility as a homeschool family to reap the enjoyment and benefits of experiential learning?

Homeschooled students have much more time to engage in experiential learning than their conventionally-schooled peers.

I’m a big proponent of being structured in our house so we can finish our academic work and be out experiencing the world. Here are some reasons I love experiential learning:

1. Fosters Innovation and Creativity–New and unusual experiences wire our brains to think differently. They stimulate original thinking and trigger a broad range of thinking strategies which can’t be garnered from books or lectures.  According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 65% of today’s grade-school kids will end up at jobs that haven’t been invented yet. Technology is eradicating many jobs causing employers to seek out creative and innovative individuals.
2. Learn From Mistakes–With hands-on learning, students learn from trial and error what works and what doesn’t. Instead of seeing a mistake as a failure, it can be viewed as an opportunity from which to learn and build upon.
3. Memorable Learning–Experiential learning is usually far more engaging, fun and memorable than sitting through a lecture and being in the same classroom day after day. These hands-on experiences in varied and interesting locations will be seared into the students’ brains for many years to come. This is the opposite from the brain dump that occurs after taking a test about information that seems irrelevant to the student. Much of what a student learns sitting in the classroom he sees as irrelevant.
4. Increases Neural Connections–The coupling of theoretical learning with real hands-on learning increases connections between neurons. Homeschool parents are intimately involved in our children’s education.  We are able to assist with making connections between things we are learning in our academics and books and tying those in with real-world experiences and experiential learning. The more connections that are made, the smarter the student will be!
5. Builds Collaboration and Teamwork Skills–When engaged with experiential learning, a student is often working with a partner or team. Not only does this mean working with different personalities and backgrounds but in homeschool this also means collaborating with students of various ages. This mirrors the real world working environment.
6. Joyful For Our Family–As a homeschool family, we often engage in experiential learning jointly. We have a blast growing in knowledge together. This really fosters a love of learning and creates strong family bonds.

I am so grateful for my freedom in homeschool to provide these wonderful experiential learning opportunities for my kids! What an amazing life we have!

Are you taking advantage of your freedom and flexibility as a homeschool family to reap the enjoyment and benefits of experiential learning?

For ideas on adding more structure to your schedule to allow more time for experiential learning, you may be interested in:

Academic Scheduling for More Experiential Learning Part One

Academic Scheduling for More Experiential Learning Part Two

Here were our curriculum choices last school year:

An Example of an Eclectic, Academic Homeschool Curriculum

You can sign up to follow The Contemporary Homeschooler via email by clicking on the Follow button. Also, join our community on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/TheContemporaryHomeschooler/

 

Homeschoolers: Do This Before Going on Vacation

Do you want the local scoop on the best places to go before heading out on vacation? Join the homeschool Facebook page of the destination to which you are travelling and pick their brains. Probably better than any travel website, homeschoolers know the most fun, interesting and educational places to take kids. These may be places that aren’t on the top of a tourist list of activities to do but insiders know these hidden gems. Homeschoolers appreciate the value of hands-on learning and field trips.

Probably better than any travel website or book, homeschoolers know the most fun, interesting and educational places to take kids.

Meeting a lobsterman and learning what he does may not be on your tourist website.

For example, we are planning  our annual vacation to New England. Within minutes of posting a request for field trip ideas on the Massachusetts Homeschooler Connection Facebook page, their helpful responses came flooding in. I told my husband that now we need several months in New England to do all these awesome things! Thanks MA homeschooler! XOXOXO

One of the things I love most about the homeschool community is how generous we are sharing our knowledge, ideas, and excitement! We are a true community of passionate life-long learners!

Spending time in a beautiful, historic library built in 1888 is an example of a gem a local homeschooler could tell you about.

For ideas on adding more structure to your schedule to allow more time for experiential learning, you may be interested in:

Academic Scheduling for More Experiential Learning Part One

Academic Scheduling for More Experiential Learning Part Two

You can sign up to follow The Contemporary Homeschooler via email by clicking on the Follow button. Also, join our community on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/TheContemporaryHomeschooler/

What Will You Change in Your Homeschool This Year?

Winston Churchill said, “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.”

You greatly seize upon your homeschool freedoms when you adapt and change. You are not locked into a schedule, curriculum or rules like those in conventional schools.  You don’t have to go through a teacher, principal or bureaucracy to change what is best for your children. You have complete FREEDOM to customize your children’s education as needs and opportunities change. Additionally, change keeps learning and life fresh and exciting. 

You have complete FREEDOM to customize your children’s education as needs and opportunities change.

We took part in a weekly class at Disneyland this year that brought much joy to our family dynamic while also simultaneously being immersed in the creative and innovative genius of The Walt Disney Company.

Here are a few questions to consider:

Do you want to spend more time enjoying your kids?

Are you feeling burnt out?

Did  part of your curriculum often result in tears or frustration?

Do you feel you are are spending a lot of time nagging or being negative?

Would you like more homeschool family friends?

Are you looking to offer a greater variety of learning opportunities outside the home to your kiddos?

Would you like to improve your family dynamic?

Change keeps learning and life fresh and exciting. 

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then I urge you to evaluate what you should change this year. Now is the time for a fresh start! Talk to your spouse and kids. Ask them what they loved about last year and want to continue and what they did not like. Be in community with other homeschool families and learn from them. Seek out opportunities you never considered before. Pick the brains of parents who have great kids.

Seek out opportunities you never considered before. Pick the brains of parents who have great kids.

Take it from someone who was feeling burnt out about this time last year. I’m glad I made some pretty radical changes. They were a gamble for us but paid off big time on so many levels.   We had our most joyful, inspiring and memorable year yet, and I am now more passionate about homeschooling than ever. A big reason I created The Contemporary Homeschooler is for YOU. I want to share my experiences and insights with you as well as learn from all of you and be in community together learning from one another.

While homeschooling is not always easy, when we learn to adapt we can enjoy much success and happiness.

So I ask you, what will you change this year?

If you would like to learn how we changed our schedule this past year, then check out these posts:

Academic Scheduling for More Experiential Learning Part One

Academic Scheduling for More Experiential Learning Part Two

 

You can sign up to follow The Contemporary Homeschooler via email by clicking on the Follow button. Also, join our community on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/TheContemporaryHomeschooler/

 

Academic Scheduling for More Experiential Learning: Part One

We all want to be out doing this!

 

Instead of this! 

So, we need to knock those academics out of the way ASAP so we can have some fun.

Last year, we dramatically changed our schedule by being away from home 3 full days each week so we could be involved in a weekly program at Disneyland, another day sailing and another day at our co-op. This did not include other activities like extra-curriculars, field trips, park days, etc. I wondered how we would ever complete our academics so came up with a plan as a family.

This is a series on how to schedule academics so we have plenty of time to engage with the world. This is what we have done as a family and has worked for us. What type of schedule has worked for you?

• SET EXPECTATIONS

Before signing up for all the activities, we had a family meeting. The kids had to give their commitment that they would need to be dressed and starting their math at 7:30 AM on days we were to be gone.  They would also do their required history/science reading for 25 minutes in the car en route to our activities. Additionally, they would need to do some math over the weekend. Prior to this, they never had school work on the weekend.

• CREATE A CHECKLIST

I told my kids what needed to be completed and they used Google Sheets to create their daily check-off list. This had the added benefit of giving them practice with spreadsheets. We will talk about what that schedule looks like in detail in the 2nd post in this series.

• YEAR-ROUND SCHOOL

We have always done year-round school. However, because we were out 3 days/week last year and plan to do the same in the fall, we are doing a little bit heavier workload over the summer than we did in prior summers. Sure, we take some days off completely and even a week here and there.  A writing composition teacher has come to my house on Fridays giving them assignments to work on each day. That has helped us to stay on track with writing as it is easy for me to skip on that over the summer.

Additionally, it is hot during the summer and crowded with all the conventionally-schooled kids out and about. I’d much rather be knocking out some school work in our air-conditioned house on some of those days and enjoy our beautiful and interesting places with fewer people and better weather.

How do you schedule your academics?

Find Part Two of this series by clicking on the link below:

Academic Scheduling for More Experiential Learning: Part Two

Here were our curriculum choices last school year:

An Example of an Eclectic, Academic Homeschool Curriculum

For ideas on how to design your own writing curriculum:

Designing Your Own Writing Curriculum

You can sign up to follow The Contemporary Homeschooler via email by clicking on the Follow button. Also, join our community on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/TheContemporaryHomeschooler/

You Are an Entrepreneur for Your Family’s Education

Life is Beautiful!

Are you making the most of your freedom in homeschooling? I will not squander these precious years with my kids by chaining ourselves to curriculum and staying indoors much of the day. Life is beautiful! We focus on our core work and get it done quickly so we can be out making memories together and learning more about the world. It is so much more joyful to be outside together exploring than dragging the day along with curriculum inside the house.

“Go for it now. The future is promised to no one.”–Wayne Dyer

An Example of an Eclectic, Academic Homeschool Curriculum

Some of you have asked what a typical homeschool curriculum looks like and how much is spent. We try to do as much learning out in the world as possible as well as through living books. Here is what we did for my 9, 8 and 5-year-olds last year. I think about $508 was spent total for all 3 of them averaging about $170/kid for the year.

Math
*Horizons Math workbooks 1 and 2 for $22.45 each
http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/sku/000718
Horizons Math Teacher Manual for $45
http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/sku/000717
*We supplement with Singapore Math workbooks
Singapore Math a and b workbooks $13.20/each
http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/sku/023997
Singapore Math Home Instructor Guides for a and b $17.49 each
http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/sku/024006
*We supplement with IXL–2 memberships at $79/each
*We supplement with XtraMath and cycle through it about every 3 months to stay sharp with math facts
https://xtramath.org/#/home/index

Grammar
First Language Lessons 4 workbooks at $12.95 each
http://www.rainbowresource.com/proddtl.php…
First Language Lessons 4 Teacher Manual at $19.50
http://www.rainbowresource.com/proddtl.php…

Spelling
Spelling.com is an interactive free spelling website
http://gradespelling.com/

Writing composition
I have not found a curriculum I have loved so have done my own thing. The link below will take you to another blog post about writing ideas without using a curriculum. Instead, you can tailor it to passions and experiences. If they write for their peers on a site like MeWe or a blog, they may find it more enjoyable than just writing for their teacher or parent.

Writing Ideas

Penmanship
D’Nealian Handwriting at $10.95 each
http://www.rainbowresource.com/proddtl.php?id=037802&subject=Handwriting/9&category=MODERN+%2F+D%92NEALIAN+STYLE+-+MANUSCRIPT+AND+CURSIVE/2015

Science
Apologia Anatomy and Physiology text @$25.25
http://www.rainbowresource.com/proddtl.php…
Apologia Anatomy and Physiology Notebooking Journal at $17.50 each
Also, we get many science books from the library to cover a wide variety of topics and greater understanding of the world.

Literature and History
We do all literature and history for free with living books from the library. Reading is a huge cornerstone of our curriculum and we are a family of ravenous readers. Reading aloud during snack and meal times is one of my favorite parts of homeschooling.

Learning to Read (for my 5 year old)
Explode the Code 2 and 3 at $6.95 each
http://www.rainbowresource.com/proddtl.php…

Would anyone else like to share their curriculum? What do you absolutely love? Let others benefit from your experience.

Welcome to The Contemporary Homeschooler

Welcome to The Contemporary Homeschooler! Academic excellence, lots of experiential learning and high-quality books are hallmarks of our household. With a good structure in place, homeschoolers are able to complete their academic work in around half the time of a typical conventional school day. We like to use that extra time to engage with the world and follow our passions.  I don’t box our family into following a particular homeschool philosophy. Rather, I  see myself as an entrepreneur for my family: nimble and adaptive to our needs and learning opportunities.

I  see myself as an entrepreneur for my family: nimble and adaptive to our needs and learning opportunities.

As a homeschool family, you have the freedom to put your children on the cutting edge of education. You can customize and personalize their academics. There is a huge selection of curriculum, both web-based and paper-based, available to homeschool families. You can incorporate abundant experiential learning opportunities into your schedule. I will not squander my time away with my kids as a slave to excessive busy work or  dawdle around the house all day. We finish our work and get out into the world. Now, more than ever, there are wonderful opportunities for homeschoolers! Carpe diem!!!!

You can sign up to follow The Contemporary Homeschooler via email by clicking on the Follow button. Also, join our community on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/TheContemporaryHomeschooler/