Hands down, learning coaches win the "who is most experienced" contest! Please share what you are doing that makes COVA-schooling successful in your home. Share schooling tips, family tips, home tips... anything you think others would benefit from knowing about.
Here are the tips that I kmailed to you today. Please add a post with YOUR tips or comments on these tips!
We print the plan for each week and use that as our goal. It keeps us aware of what we have to accomplish by Friday. We also give them the option of choosing what they want to work on so they feel like they have some control. We highlight each lesson as we complete it so we can see how much we have finished. It has worked well for both boys. We are using the same plan to keep on track with high school.
*Organizing students, staying organized and keeping school organized! Everything is kept per student on their on shelf. They are responsible at the end of the day helping to keep it tidy and put away. Kind of the out of site out of mind - it is a bit of a refreshing feeling at the end of every school day vs. having piles of workbooks here, there and everywhere. *Days that quicker lessons fall on, try to do one extra in that subject to possibly free up a slot for later in the week. Use the free time you may of created by adding an extra lesson here or there for a free time learning time - cooking, baking, taking a walk to explore changing seasons, library outing or stopping at the grocery store to explore unit prices on what might be needed for home. *Don't be afraid to take a break, step away and just relax for a few minutes when needed!
1. Plan a menu for the week (or at least the day) so meals go easier. Use the Crockpot or make quick meals. 2. Mark off vacation time on the schedule so your completion dates are accurate. Even if you don't know when you will take time off, at least mark off how much time you will take off so you know exactly where you are at for the end of the year. 3. If your child understands the objective for the lesson or unit, don't do all the problems. Let them master the assessments and then move on and do another lesson or unit, so they are using their time productively. Skip the optional and revisit them later in the year if you have time. Otherwise just skip them.
=Always , always, have the kids get up at the same time every school day. For us this is 6:30 am. The kids get up and get showered and dressed as if they are leaving the house. After breakfast they make their lunch and put in the refrigerator. We have our kids get their coats on and walk or ride their bikes around the block a couple times, just to get some energy out and fresh air in! =We made a "punch card" so that every assessment they pass on the FIRSTS TRY, they get a punch in their card. Every punch is worth 25 cents. They also can get a punch for kindness shown to their sibling, exceptionally good work ethic towards school work that day or whatever behavior you want to reinforce. They can also get "hash" marks for talking back, not putting forth good effort, fighting with each other, or just whatever should not be a part of a productive school day. When daddy gets home each "hash" mark is 10 jumping-jacks, or pushups or some other exercise. If a bad attitude is the major problem, I made up a sheet with dozens of positive sayings and they copy it and hand it in. And of course, cleaning toilets is always a good way to get things back on track! =Going to all of the great field trips offered by the school and getting out as much as possible is helpful too. =Wednesdays are our cleaning day and we all take a couple of hours getting chores done in between classes. My kids are responsible for their own laundry (I supervise) and we have a chore list that switches every week. =I meal plan and cook Monday through Thursday. Friday through Sunday is for daddy and the kids. Those days are leftovers and easy stuff. Sometimes we have cereal for supper. It doesn't matter as long as it takes some of the pressure off our schedule. =We use a day planner to schedule our week. I want the kids to learn how to use a day planner and this allows us customize our schedule when we need to get 5 days of work into 4 or even three. I am the one who does the writing at this point. This way, I can familiarize myself with their schedules and I know that everything they need is getting written down. =Do a week’s worth of art and science experiments on Fridays to minimize mess. This will also give you more time to get any additional supplies. =When lessons have a part 1 and 2, we do them on the same day.
And finally… Please tell anyone who wants to survive the following: 1. Don't panic. 2. Yes, it's okay to lock yourself in the bathroom for 10 minutes to recuperate. 3. Teaching to multiple styles is time consuming. Get used to it. 4. Always maintain a good sense of humor (especially when your husband does the laundry!) 5. Breathe. 6. Breathe. 7. Chocolate does help (if you're not allergic to it!). 8. Take a walk...and breathe.
Differentiation and Compacting Curriculum: Using the K12 curriculum we will explore ways to differentiate and compact the curriculum to work with gifted students.
2 comments:
Here are the tips that I kmailed to you today. Please add a post with YOUR tips or comments on these tips!
We print the plan for each week and use that as our goal. It keeps us aware of what we have to accomplish by Friday. We also give them the option of choosing what they want to work on so they feel like they have some control. We highlight each lesson as we complete it so we can see how much we have finished. It has worked well for both boys. We are using the same plan to keep on track with high school.
*Organizing students, staying organized and keeping school organized! Everything is kept per student on their on shelf. They are responsible at the end of the day helping to keep it tidy and put away. Kind of the out of site out of mind - it is a bit of a refreshing feeling at the end of every school day vs. having piles of workbooks here, there and everywhere.
*Days that quicker lessons fall on, try to do one extra in that subject to possibly free up a slot for later in the week. Use the free time you may of created by adding an extra lesson here or there for a free time learning time - cooking, baking, taking a walk to explore changing seasons, library outing or stopping at the grocery store to explore unit prices on what might be needed for home.
*Don't be afraid to take a break, step away and just relax for a few minutes when needed!
1. Plan a menu for the week (or at least the day) so meals go easier. Use the Crockpot or make quick meals.
2. Mark off vacation time on the schedule so your completion dates are accurate. Even if you don't know when you will take time off, at least mark off how much time you will take off so you know exactly where you are at for the end of the year.
3. If your child understands the objective for the lesson or unit, don't do all the problems. Let them master the assessments and then move on and do another lesson or unit, so they are using their time productively. Skip the optional and revisit them later in the year if you have time. Otherwise just skip them.
=Always , always, have the kids get up at the same time every school day. For us this is 6:30 am. The kids get up and get showered and dressed as if they are leaving the house. After breakfast they make their lunch and put in the refrigerator. We have our kids get their coats on and walk or ride their bikes around the block a couple times, just to get some energy out and fresh air in!
=We made a "punch card" so that every assessment they pass on the FIRSTS TRY, they get a punch in their card. Every punch is worth 25 cents. They also can get a punch for kindness shown to their sibling, exceptionally good work ethic towards school work that day or whatever behavior you want to reinforce. They can also get "hash" marks for talking back, not putting forth good effort, fighting with each other, or just whatever should not be a part of a productive school day. When daddy gets home each "hash" mark is 10 jumping-jacks, or pushups or some other exercise. If a bad attitude is the major problem, I made up a sheet with dozens of positive sayings and they copy it and hand it in. And of course, cleaning toilets is always a good way to get things back on track!
=Going to all of the great field trips offered by the school and getting out as much as possible is helpful too.
=Wednesdays are our cleaning day and we all take a couple of hours getting chores done in between classes. My kids are responsible for their own laundry (I supervise) and we have a chore list that switches every week.
=I meal plan and cook Monday through Thursday. Friday through Sunday is for daddy and the kids. Those days are leftovers and easy stuff. Sometimes we have cereal for supper. It doesn't matter as long as it takes some of the pressure off our schedule.
=We use a day planner to schedule our week. I want the kids to learn how to use a day planner and this allows us customize our schedule when we need to get 5 days of work into 4 or even three. I am the one who does the writing at this point. This way, I can familiarize myself with their schedules and I know that everything they need is getting written down.
=Do a week’s worth of art and science experiments on Fridays to minimize mess. This will also give you more time to get any additional supplies.
=When lessons have a part 1 and 2, we do them on the same day.
And finally…
Please tell anyone who wants to survive the following:
1. Don't panic.
2. Yes, it's okay to lock yourself in the bathroom for 10 minutes to recuperate.
3. Teaching to multiple styles is time consuming. Get used to it.
4. Always maintain a good sense of humor (especially when your husband does the laundry!)
5. Breathe.
6. Breathe.
7. Chocolate does help (if you're not allergic to it!).
8. Take a walk...and breathe.
Michelle Bierdstedt shared an online session on Differienting the curriculum to increase your student's learning opportunities. Here are the details:
Playback Link:
https://sas.elluminate.com/mr.jnlp?suid=M.D7C13EAA25AD5DC4D0B21D22A75196
Differentiation and Compacting Curriculum:
Using the K12 curriculum we will explore ways to differentiate and compact
the curriculum to work with gifted students.
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