Laryngitis in the Homeschool

I watched Mom's Night Out for the first time, the other day and the movie started off with the mother typing an entry into her blog.  All of a sudden, being a mom blogger seemed kind of dorky.  If that's true, then I own it.  I'm a dorky mom blogger.  I love to write, and it's a fun way to release tension after a day of doing whatever it is that I did all day long.  My posts have been falling behind, because I've been so busy, but I'm here for now.

For starters, I caught a mild cold.  Since I take colloidal silver and am on a low sugar diet (due to diabetes), my illnesses don't last long, but it left me with laryngitis for about a month.  I didn't have a sore throat, was not coughing, sniffling, or anything else.  I just couldn't talk.  That makes homeschooling a lot more interesting.  I urge you.....no.....I CHALLENGE you to teach your kids for a month without talking.  Come teach MY kids for a month without talking.  I have a two year old, six year old, fifteen year old and nineteen year old.  

Actually, my two oldest kids are independent and don't need me as much.  There are parts of my fifteen year old's homework that she needed help with, but she was a trooper and just skipped those areas and did extra work in other areas until I was back in action.  My six year old loves her Easy Peasy curriculum and was very angry with me on days that I couldn't do it with her.  I realize that first grade on Easy Peasy is meant for those that can read independently, but Tarja isn't quite there, yet, and I'm not worried about it.  She's learning to read at her own pace.  However, that month that I couldn't read to her was a real drag.  My two year old is a horse of another color.  She learns her ABCs and a few other things on starfall.com.  My duty during that month was to let her sit on my lap and let her fingers do the clicking on whatever random stuff she found that looked interesting.  Her favorite letter is A, because she loves apples, but she did finally play with more of the letters.  Learning was present.  She didn't need me for anything except to help with the clicking.

So that's that.  I am a dorky mom blogger that loses her voice about twice a year.  We press on.

Have a Great Day!
Laurel Santiago

The Paperclip Game

I stole the idea of the paperclip game from the articles and blog of the man that literally bought a house with "one red paperclip".  I had a Girl Scout troop playing a few years ago, and it brought lots of grins and giggles.  At first, children are certain that they can not possibly get anything of any value by trading a paperclip, but they are always surprised in the end.

We started this game on Family Life Challenge a few days ago.  Next, I purchased some large paperclips at Family Dollar.  Tarja jumped on this game right away.  She had never played before, so it was a new adventure for her.  Below, you can see that we each have our paperclips and are ready to play.

 Tarja traded her paperclip for these sunglasses.

 Since her daddy likes sunglasses, she asked him what he would give her for them, and he gave her one of Melody's new books!  Uh oh!

Melody was a good sport, and gave her this wind chime in exchange for her book.

Tarja took her wind chime to twirling practice and traded for this cute wrist wallet.
I made my first trade, and got this purple pen.  I'll keep you posted on how we do!  Can we buy a house with one paperclip?  We shall find out!

 

Homeschool Oganizing Tip: Sticky Notes and Things to Do

Here is one way that I like to keep track of things that I need to do throughout the day, week, month, etc.  I take a colored piece of paper.  Cardstock is best, but I had construction paper.  I trace around enough sticky notes to fill the page.  Then, I put sticky notes in the squares.  I write one task at a time on each sticky note, and when I complete the task, I remove the note and throw it away.  I have a clipboard that hangs on the wall and holds this paper in place for me. 

That was easy!

Our Magic Schoolbus Unit Study for the Homeschool

We are doing a unit using the popular Magic Schoolbus series of books and cartoons.  My method of doing this type of unit study is very simple.  First of all, we gathered a few books from the library.  Our choices were limited at the library, so I actually did not make many decisions about what the unit would cover until I found out what types of books I could get. 

Next, I purchased a folder with brads and some plastic page protectors to house any written work or printable pages that we might do.  I actually did not find many printable pages other than coloring pages that were Magic Schoolbus themed, but the study isn't over, so I may find more to share with you at a later date. 

We began reading the books out loud at home.  We had books about space, teeth, the senses and the human body.  When I returned those books to the library, I made copies of the front covers to put in the folder.  I then borrowed more books on those topics that were not Magic Schoolbus, and we read those out loud at home.  The covers of those books will also go into the folder when we are finished with them.

I have allowed Tarja to pick and choose which Magic Schoolbus episodes she wants to watch on Netflix, and then we are keeping track of those titles, the same as we keep track of book titles.  There are Magic Schoolbus activities HERE.  We completed a series of fun question and answers about dinosaurs, the ocean, weather and space.  At the end of the game, she was given a colorful certificate to print out and share, which will go into her folder. 

I also have included into her unit study, a few things that we actually did before we started, but that still count toward the topics that we are learning.  For example, we went to a star gazing party just a couple of weeks prior to starting the unit.  In my opinion, it still counts as part of her unit.  In fact, if you take a little time to evaluate things that you have done, plan to do or are doing every day just out of habit, you might find that there is a lot more than can be added to show the child's work in a given unit.  That is just a little unprofessional tip, that works for my family.

Have a Great Day!
Laurel Santiago

New Week, New School Year and Jenny Wren

My family does homeschooling year round, but we do relax our standards quite a bit during the summer.  After all, each season brings it's own educational opportunities, and it's not always practical to spend every moment bent over a book.  With that said, today is Monday, and it is also time for the local public school to begin their year.  Even though we don't have children in the local public school, the excitement of the new year is in the air, and my kids can feel it, too.  Therefore, I go ahead and make this the time when we shift gears, break out new books, buy a few new school supplies, and make some new plans about how we will study for the year.  I'm simple and committed to giving them the easiest, most effective education possible, so my plans are equally as simple.

This year, with Tarja starting Y1 of the free curriculum on amblesideonline.com, I determined that the reason that I'm not always as happy with that program as I would like to be, is that it is too complex.  Reality hit me that there is no reason that I should make my family plug through every single book on the book list.  The books are wonderful, but they are classics, which usually means long and more complex than the "twaddle" that school kids tend to read today.

I downloaded as many books onto Tarja's kindle as I could find on Amazon.com for free.  I also subscribed to the Amazon Unlimited program, which is about $9.95 a month, and become sort of like Netflix for books.  You still can't get every book that you want this way, but it is way cheaper than going to the book store and a lot less frustrating than looking for all of these books at the library.  We now have a beautiful arsenal of bedtime and story time books waiting for us. 

For Bible, we have been reading through a children's Bible story book that was given to us.  Again, I don't push or pressure to have a designated Bible reading time.  It is part of the all of the other books that we pull out when we want to hear a story.  It just so happens that we have a lot more story time and bedtime story reading than our non homeschooling families have. 

Therefore, today was a new day, new week, and the beginning of a new school year.  I started off by getting Tarja to read the next lesson in McGuffey's Eclectic Primer for me.  We read the page in the book, then read the words again on her writing tablet, where I had printed them in my own print.  Tarja copied the words in her tablet.  While she did that, Abbey took a history test for a course that she just completed on Alison.com.  During that time, Tarja, Ivana and Tico Suave (their puppy), went outside to play.  After they came back inside, I read "Jenny Wren" out loud to Tarja from the Burgess Bird Book for Children.  We looked for photographs of Jenny wrens online, watched a youtube video of a Jenny wren singing in a tree and then found a tutorial about how to draw a bird.  Tarja drew a beautiful Jenny wren for her notebook. 

After that, I helped Tarja make her own soup for lunch, while Abbey put Ivana down for her nap. Tarja ate her lunch, and I read from her Bible story book.  As soon as lunch was over, she tuned on an episode of Magic Schoolbus on Netflix and laid down to rest. 

It is 3:00p.m. and there is so much more than can and will be done before the day is over.  Some of it will be from no real effort on my part.  Learning is a lifestyle and can be enjoyable.  Abbey still has some work to do, and the younger sisters will entertain themselves will all kinds of good things while Abbey is busy with her work.  It's easy, and it can be fun.
 

Have a Great Day!
Laurel Santiago

What is an Oral Narration?

In the video, you are going to meet Tarja, my six year old.  Tarja loves Bible stories.  The story of Moses is her very favorite.  Last night, I read a picture book about Moses.  Then, I asked Tarja to retell the story in her own words.  This video is completely raw and not rehearsed.  You can even see the messy room in the background and hear Ivana shouting for Abbey in the distance.  This is real life.  At some points, it appears that Tarja is reading, but she is really just using the pictures to help her retell the story.  She doesn't read well enough yet, to read that type of book.  However, the point of this whole exercise is show how we test.  Testing when using the Charlotte Mason method is simple, yet more difficult.  That doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense until you try.  If I had given Tarja a quiz about Moses, the questions and answers on the quiz would have been very limited.  After all, there are thousands of facts about Moses that could be broken down into questions for a quiz, but only a few can be reasonably presented to a first grade child.  If I ask her to tell me everything that she knows about Moses, she will happily oblige, as you will see in her video.  Now, we have a recorded example of how much she knows about Moses, rather than a written quiz that tells how much she does not know.  If I am not satisfied with her narration, then we will take more time on the subject until she knows what she should know. 

Homeschool Back to School Party

Today was our back to school party for Monahans Homeschoolers.  It was potluck, so each family brought a covered dish. 

We had a small bouncy house for the younger kids.

And a Mentos geyser, that didn't blow up like we hoped, but it still blew up a little bit.

While the kids played at the park's play ground, the moms introduced themselves, talked about their homeschooling journey up to this point, and made plans to meet again for a park day and sack lunch picnic for next week. 

Our decorations were simple and inexpensive.  Keep in mind that this is West Texas, and elaborate decorations usually get blown away by the wind.  I put a red tablecloth on the table, and bought an assortment of paper plates and plastic utensils in primary colors.  I mixed them all up so that when we got our plates to eat, there would be a mixture of colors on the table.   We had fun.  THAT WAS EASY!

"Life on Repeat" from Handsfreemama.com

 I stole these beautiful words from Hands Free Mama.  All that I could think when I read it early this morning was, "WOW....."  

Life On Repeat
Teacher, do you tire of Circle Time? Do you feel like you review the same rules over and over and over? Do you sound out the same words, show the same spelling patterns, and answer the same questions year after year? I imagine you do.
Nurse, do you tire of taking vitals and bodily fluids? Do you see the same health issues day in and day out? Do you feel like you walk the same halls, administer the same doses, and whisper the same assurances? I suspect that you do.
Mail Carrier, do you tire of damaged packages and insufficient postage? Do ever long to open a new mailbox? Do wish you could personally deliver the handwritten notes to actual people and see their joy? I have a sneaking suspicion you do.
Cashier, do you tire of slow conveyor belts, unorganized coupons, and unsmiling customers? Do your feet ache from standing in the same place at the same time each and every day? Do you hear the same bubblegum battle between parents and children day in and day out? I am pretty sure that you do.
Parent, do you tire of grumpy small people, missing shoes, and that dreaded question: what’s for dinner? Do you wipe the same noses, pick up the same wet towels, diffuse the same sibling squabbles day in and day out? I know that you do.
Musician, do you tire of bad song requests, calloused fingers, and lack of appreciation? Do you long for a new crowd, a new venue, a new stool to prop your foot on? Do get sick of wondering if this dream is going anywhere? I suppose that you do.
But here’s the thing. You just never know when you’ll be in the middle of that redundant message, task, or duty and suddenly something will happen, letting you know this time is different.
That song you’ve longed to write appears before you …
That patient turns the corner …
That kindergartener begins to read …
That woman weeps when you hand her a long-awaited letter from a military base …
That customer needs that unexpected smile …
That grown child says, “Thanks, Mom and Dad. You are the reason I made it through.”
And then suddenly your Life on Repeat is someone’s divine sign … someone’s lifesaver … someone’s second chance … someone’s voice of an angel … someone’s silver lining … someone’s hope is not lost.
As you know, you cannot predict when that day will come. It could be a slow Tuesday morning. It could be a rainy Friday afternoon when the traffic is really bad. It could be the day after a rough night of sleep. It could be when you are about to throw in the towel. Yes, it could be that day.
So I beg you to carry on.
Burp that baby for the 900^th time.
Shine those windows like a boss.
Lift your voice from the back row of the choir for the whole world to hear.
Write until you can write no more.
These are the redundant actions of an everyday hero.
And today just might be the day your life’s message intersects with a heart longing for the message only YOU can deliver.
So please, I beg you, carry on.

How to Teach Colors and Numbers, the Easy Way

Family board games are an excellent way to teach certain basic skills to children.  For some reason, the majority of children that I have been in contact with, especially my own, have learned more through the use of games and toys than through the use of special curriculum.  I'm not saying that we shouldn't have curriculum, but I am saying that sometimes there are easier ways to learn things. 

For the past fourteen years, I have taught colors and numbers at the same time, through the use of the timeless UNO card game.  Since we are playing to learn, rather than playing to win, I let the little people lay their cards out on the table so that me and other older players can help.  The gist of the game is to match either the color or the number to the card that is face up on the table.  The colors in the game are primary colors and the numbers don't go past nine.  There are a few other types of cards in the game to make it more interesting, which helps with logic, and isn't math all about logic?  Wasn't that easy? 

Salsa Festival, Rattlesnake Bomber Base Museum, Star Gazing Party, Pool Party, Quinceanera, Clothing Swap.....Oh My!

For the first time ever, I entered a pie in the pie auction and a green salsa in the salsa festival at our annual Monahans Butterfield Festival.  Tarja helped me make the salsa, so I shared my prize of a gift certificate to her favorite restaurant, along with two Pecos cantaloupes and a giant watermelon from Mandujano Brothers.

Next, we attended the ribbon cutting of our new Rattlesnake Bomber Base Museum.  If you are interested in learning about the Enola Gay, you might be interested in learning about the Rattlesnake Bomber Base, that used to be very near where we live.

My last post preceded our birthday celebration for Abbey.  We went to the Monahans Sandhills State Park for a star gazing party that was put on by our local Chamber of Commerce.  The event included playtime at the sandhills, music by HT Entertainment, and star gazing with astronomers from Midland, Texas.  After that, we went home and had the world's latest birthday party, with enchiladas, beans, rice and a birthday cake made by yours, truly. 

I don't have any pics for the pool party, but one of my friends rented the pool just for fun, and we went and did have lots of fun.

One of my twirlers had her Quinceanera yesterday.  It was a beautiful service and party. 

This morning, we had our first ever, Family Life Challenge clothing swap.  It went so well that we are planning to have another  one in October, when moms will be looking for Halloween costumes and accessories. 

We stayed busy, had fun, socialized and learn a lot about a lot of things in the world.  That was easy!




Have a Great Day!
Laurel Santiago

Happy Birthday Abbey!

Today is Abbey's 15th birthday.  Abbey has been a long time member of The Sparklers Parade Corps, both as a twirler and dancer.  She is a Girl Scout Senior, and has been in Girl Scouts since age 4.  She volunteers at the local animal shelter, and has been learning dog grooming by working as an apprentice.  Up to this point in her homeschooling journey, she has earned a certificate in Forestry and Wildlife Conservation.  Abbey also started her own Mother's Helper business.  Happy Birthday, Abbey!!!!!

Oraganization Tip: Library Due Dates

If you are anything like me, getting books to the library on time is an interesting task.  I actually stopped borrowing so many books, because I was not getting them turned in on time and many were getting lost. 

Today, I had to borrow some books that I need for a unit study that I want to do with Tarja.  I found a total of five books that I needed.  After the books were checked out, I took a picture of the receipt with my cell phone.  This will help me if I lose my receipt.  Now, I can check and be sure that I have all of my books together when it is time to take them back. 

Next, I entered the due date into the calendar/alert tool on my cell phone.  In the area marked "details," I entered the number of books that I have checked out. 

This little system should keep me from having any overdue, lost or forgotten library books. 

Have a Great Day!
Laurel Santiago

A Morning at the Santiago Homeschool

It's still summer time.  Public school starts at the end of August.  We never really stop having school, but our lessons seem less formal during the summer months.  If there is an opportunity to go do something fun, we do it.  If it is 120 degrees (I'm not joking), the kids can't safely play outside, and so that's a good time for copywork, stories, watching movies, etc.

This particular morning, we all got our sleepy heads up around 9a.m.  Don't homeschoolers get up around 5a.m. to feed the animals? We don't have a hobby farm or ranch, even though I did acquire four little chickens yesterday.  Basically, we get up when we feel like it, but I try to not let the kidlets sleep past about 10a.m.  If you see how late we stay up at night, you will understand. 

Melody had a friend come over to remove the alternator on my expedition that has been out of commission for several months.  My mom mobile has been a disaster lately.  Hopefully, replacing the alternator is the magic fix (crossing fingers). 

The same friend took Melody out to lunch.

I got Abbey to help get Tarja and Ivana ready to go out to a lunch of our own.  Tarja and I won a salsa making contest last Saturday, and one of our prizes was a gift certificate to her favorite restaurant.  While getting ready, Abbey got Ivana to use the potty, which was no easy feat.  I got their hair done and we were off to go buy a bag of chicken scratch for our new pets and then to our lunch date.

Lunch was great. We got through the entire meal without our usual terrible two year old temper tantrum.  The one that got the most food on her shirt was me.  How does that work out?

Ivana used the potty again.  She wasn't happy, but she did it.  Yay!

We got home, changed my shirt, put a load of laundy away, let Tarja go over the living room and hall way floor with the Dirt Devil (she loves that job for some reason).  Abbey helped me get plastic covers on some baby clothes that I made for sale.  She and Tarja got the chickens fed, watered and loved on.  I started a new load of laundry and nearly got the kitchen table cleared of the crochet and craft stuff.  (The kitchen table is my design studio).  I also repaired a shoe that Tarja tore after wearing it for only one day.

Ivana can now open all jars and bottles......and somebody left a nail polish bottle down in her reach.  She is now silver and glittery all over.  Abbey got some of it off of her.  It's nap time......but nobody is napping.

 Tarja and I went over her reading/copywork lesson that I took directly from McGuffy's Eclectic Primer.  I played the Overature from The Nutcracker for her.  Now she is watching a movie while Abbey and I work on Abbey's Alison.com courses. 

This is just half of our day, but we've got it sewn up so far.  

There is something that concerns me about homeschooling families, bloggers, and writers.  We feel the need to present our families as perfect, trouble free, drama free families.  It's not true.  We have bad days.  We have excellent days.  We have days where we wonder if we have the right to be mothers, much less homeschooling mothers.  We blame our troubles on everyone around us.  Honestly, I know that one of my children would be shy, whether she is homeschooled or not. One is quite confrontational.  It wouldn't have mattered where she attended school.  One is quite lazy.  Would she not have been just as lazy in school?  Sometimes, I have to give up on getting the house cleaned up, because we have lessons and activities to do.  Sometimes, I have to answer to my husband, when he gets home and wonders why the house is a wreck after he spent 12 hours working in the heat.  Sometimes, dinner isn't until 9pm, although I try to make it well worth the wait.  There are days when our 9pm dinner is a crappy meal of chicken nuggets and chips.  I have to make choices every day to make things work out for my family. 

I am spontaneous, creative, pragmatic, and busy. If something isn't working out, I will change it up in a heartbeat.  Schedules, rules, routines, regimentation!  You won't find that in this blog.  You also won't find me complaining.  I might state facts such as the nail polish incident, but I have no complaints.  My life was and is being designed by me.  I am truly grateful for all of my friends, family and blog readers/followers.  This has been a wild ride that has spanned over fourteen years of my life and I am always excited about having the opportunity to share our lives with you.

Have a Great Day!
Laurel Santiago

Easy Organizing Tip #1

A lot of us are working out our new "back to school" schedules.  Some of your are planning curriculum and lesson plans.  Some are trying to figure out how to balance work, homeschool and extra curricular activities.  It's not something that we normally categorize as "easy." 

Here is the number one, most important thing that you can do for yourself and your kids before school starts:

GET A TOTE BAG OR BACKPACK FOR EACH AND EVERY ACTIVITY THAT REQUIRES STUFF.  Tee ball?  Dance? Twirling? Girl Scouts? Youth Group?  Most activities require that you carry around something related to that activity.   For each activity, have a tote bag or backpack that is large enough to house everything that has to be taken or worn to that activity.  For example, if your child is in Awana club, have a bag that houses her shirt, vest, book, and even a pen or pencil.  If you have a softball player, put a bag together that has all of her gear, shoes, balls, glove, and anything else that you hope to never forget when you go to practices and games.  After you wash her uniforms, stick them right back in the bag. 

I also have a durable, soft sided, insulated lunch bag that is now the first aid kit.  It works for boo boos in the house, and gets to go in the car for boo boos that happen everywhere else.  For the toddler, we always have a couple of diapers and a container of wipes in the car. 

What do you do with all of those bags, backpacks, kits, etc. that you have put together?  I like to hang mine near the back door.  It's not the most beautiful display, but it makes me happy and keeps us moving efficiently.  That was easy!

Have a Great Day!

Laurel Santiago

Family Field Trips

We are truly the homeschoolers that don't stay home.  In my opinion, getting out to see and do things around the community is one of the easiest ways to get an education.  If you can go further than your home town, that's even better, but in most towns, there is more to do than you think.  If you live in a town that doesn't offer much, then stick your neck out and get something started.  It's easier than you think.  Here is a list of some of the things that we have done this summer, up until the time of this writing: 

Discover the Dinosaurs
This was a fun display of life sized dinosaurs that could be manipulated by the children.  They had information about dinosaurs on display and a room full of dinosaur themed activities and bouncy houses.

Summertime Extravaganza:

We spent all year raising money for The Sparklers to parade down Mainstreet USA at Disneyland and participate in a showcase with other twirlers and Dancers at Knottsberry Farm. 

We had a Family Life Challenge picnic, a group yard sale, many bake sales, and have attended several pool parties and birthday parties. 

Last weekend, we went to the ribbon cutting for the new Rattlesnake Bomber Base Museum that was recently opened in our town. 

Today, we attended a special concert, featuring Juan Campos, a blind singer and pianist that travels around the area playing, singing and praising God for the wonderful talent that God has given him. 

So far, our field trips, both minor and major, have covered a multitude of subjects such as science, history, fine arts, civics, and have provided social opportunities for our homeschooled children.  All that I had to do was keep my eyes and ears open for things to do around town, gather up my family, and go.  That was easy!

Have a Great Day!

Laurel Santiago

Music and Composer Study in the Homeschool

Music is a very important part of our homeschooling.  How do we fit it in?  For starters, we listen to a lot of music, of all kinds.  It doesn't matter to us if it is oldies, today's hits, opera, or something else.  We keep music playing during the majority of our days and evenings. 

Although, I was a musician, I don't force my children to learn musical instruments unless they want to do so.  We do have a very busy baton twirling and dance team and we use a wide variety of music for that.

As for focusing on specific composers, you can listen to classical music for free on Spotify.  If you would like to focus on a specific composer for a specific term or period of time, you can find playlists galore on the internet to listen to for free.  I chose The Nutcracker for Tarja for this term.  She already somewhat knows the story of The Nutcracker, because she has watched several children's varieties on Netflix. I found a playlist of various pieces from The Nutcracker on Spotify and turned it on for her to listen to while she does her copywork.  As each piece plays, we talk about the name of the composer and the name of the piece.  She recognizes a lot of the pieces from cartoons, but now she will be able to identify them by title and composer.  We will repeat the same music daily for at least a month. 

Some of my favorites to introduce to children are:

The Nutcracker
Peter and the Wolf
Swan Lake
Scheherazade
Tubby the Tuba

These are all fun and important works to learn and remember.

THAT was easy!

Have a great day!
Laurel Santiago

Literature in the Homeschool

Many English textbooks cover literature.  However, does literature learned from an organized curriculum turn children into lovers of classic stories, poems and novels?  It might, but it never worked that way for me or for my children.  I have always loved to read, as long as I got to choose the books that I was reading, but I never loved to read the books that my teachers commanded that I had to read within a certain time frame.  I'm no expert in psychology, but it seems like it works that way for a lot of students. 

The easiest way to fit great literature into your school day is to not schedule it.  Don't break out the boring classics, sit your children down and insist on reading it or on them reading it to you.  Just........DON'T. 

Instead, be selective about the books that you read for fun.  For bedtime stories we are currently reading from a collection of Beatrix Potter stories and a Bible story book.   We never read these books for school work.  They are read when Tarja comes along and says, "Will you read me a bedtime story?"  They are also read when Tarja is playing and suddenly asks, "Will you read to me?"  Isn't that easy?  She gets her story.  I get her literature or Bible lesson covered, and nobody even knows about it. 

Have a Great Day!
Laurel Santiago

Reading, Spelling, Penmanship and Very Simple Grammar

My six year old has been learning the alphabet and how it works on time4learning.com, starfall.com and abcmouse.com.  All that I really have had to do up to this point is supervise.  This year, we are moving on to practicing reading with McGuffey's Eclectic Primer.   We are going over the letters, words and sentences on each page, over and over again.  I point to each item and read it with her as many times as she is willing and energetic enough to keep repeating it.  Each lesson is very short and simple. 

After we have done this, I give her a writing tablet that I purchased at the dollar store.  It's up to you if you want to use the imaginary line paper or wide ruled paper.  I have used both with my older children and it has really depended on the child as to what worked best.  Tarja seems to want to write all over the page, so we are currently using the imaginary line paper.  With that tablet, I have already printed out her full name and the current date.  We read that together and talk about it.  The rest of the letters, words and sentences are copied from her lesson that we read together out of the McGuffey reader.  I point out certain important things about her work.  For example, if there is a name on the page, it starts with a capital letter.  The sentences begin with a capital letter and end with a punctuation mark.  What kind of punctuation marks are they and why are they being used?  If she makes a mistake, she is to draw one, neat line though the mistake and try again.  No scribbling allowed.  She is instructed to write as neatly as she can. 

There is a method to this madness.  We have seen and read new works, particularly new site words by reading from the McGuffey primer.  Instead of moving on to something else and taking time to forget about what we just read, we are getting another exposure by copying the letters, words and sentences.  By copying the letters, words, and sentences, we are getting extra reading practice with the addition of which letters make up which word and how to print them correctly.  We get to practice writing sentences with punctuation marks, and get to add capital letters where they belong.  We get to commit our reading to memory, thereby turning our youngest children into children that are being exposed to and can remember great literature. 

For older children, you can use this same method with any book or even the Bible.  The Bible is a great resource, because the words and language can be very challenging.  It doesn't get much easier than this.

Have a Great Day!
Laurel Santiago

Welcome to An Easy Education!

Welcome to my new blog!  I have quite a few homeschool blogs and articles on the internet, and decided that since we are starting a new first grader this year, maybe it is time to start a fresh blog with a new focus.  Easy education may seem misleading.  There isn't much about education or homeschooling that seems easy, at least not at first.  I went through all of the awkwardness and negativity that accompanies becoming a new homeschooler.  Could we do it?  Should we do it?  Did we have enough money?  Would our children learn?  Would they become social misfits?  Were we doing the right thing?  That was approximately fourteen years ago.  Since then, we have one graduate that is working full time and taking online classes.  She is exactly on a path of her own choosing.  Our fourteen year old has been training for her future career with animals for about two years.  She has earned a diploma in Forestry and Wildlife Conservation and a certificate in psychology.  She is currently working on another one for Outdoor Adventure.

Our family belongs to our local homeschool group.  I am the founder and owner of The Sparklers Parade Corps which is our baton twirling and dance team. I am a certified USTA (United States Twirling Association) coach.  We have a small family business that is listed with our local Chamber of Commerce.  The girls and I are long time members of Girl Scouts, and have recently started a group called Family Life Challenge. 

We have four daughters: Melody, Abbey, Tarja and Ivana.  My husband, Augustine, and I, will be married 20 years in October.  We also have a white poodle puppy (we think he might really be a peekapoo) named Tico Suave.  Needless to say, we are very busy, loud and messy.

I hope to be a blessing to all who choose to follow my blog.  I will post video demonstrations of things that my children do, lesson plans (if you can really call them that), resources that I use for my own children (if I like it, I'll share it), ideas, and even contests and challenges.  Homeschooling is serious business, but it doesn't have to be stressful or scary or cost a lot of money.  Leave me a comment, follow my blog, and I'll do the same for you.

Have a Great Day!
Laurel Santiago