Let's Play a Game...

Let’s play a game: “2 Truths and 1 Lie.” (Although we do have a caveat before we start, it is never ok to actually lie. ;))

Here’s how it works... we’ll share two surprising facts and one lie about homeschooling, and then you have to decide which “fact” is actually a lie. Ready? Put your game face on!

Fact: Homeschooling is fun. Growing in your relationships and being able to positively influence your children in every aspect of their development really is enjoyable. Sure, there will be hard seasons throughout your time together but the overall experience is well worth the effort.

Fact: It is easiest to walk your homeschooling journey alone so you don’t have to conform to any schedule or routine.

Fact: Perfectionism can hinder your homeschooling. Expecting and waiting for the perfect curriculum, for your house to be spotless and for your kids to always want to do their assigned work without complaints, all while telling yourself if your life isn’t IG perfect, you are a failure will kill the joy and love in your home.

Ready to learn which “fact” was actually a lie? *Drumroll please!*If you guessed that it is easiest to homeschool alone was a lie, you win this round! While we think going with the flow can be good, we’ve yet to experience one homeschooling family that didn’t benefit from having a routine that brings them out of the home to interact with friends and take a load off a parent for at least one subject as a welcomed part of the week. We are so thankful that we can help provide these homeschooling benefits to our families. Your turn! What’s a fact about you that people often think is a lie?

Establishing 2020 Goals

In our last blog post we were talking all about the stages of homeschooling and how to meet your homeschool goals.  If you have never written out goals with your  children, it is always a great way to start the new year!  2020 not only brings a new year but a new decade. Sit and think for just a moment how much life will change in 10 years. Will your children still be at home or off to college? They might even be married with children by then! Now is the time to make a fresh start and build your hope for the future.  The only limitations are your own thoughts and breaking those barriers might just be the key to having the best year yet with your children! 

We have a beautiful older woman in our church congregation that is full of wisdom that she has gained over the years.  She has taught many women in her time and one thing that she always emphasizes is how to set goals based on the scripture in Luke 2:52.  That verse says,

"And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." 

Although God’s Word is complete, she did add one thing to her goal list that isn't listed in this specific verse, financial. We feel like that is fitting because the bible does talk alot about our financial lives as well.  (Dave Ramsey is the expert here!)

If this method of living was good enough for Jesus, it is definitely good enough for us!  Keeping Jesus in our mind as we set goals for the new year gives us a sense of purpose and power to accomplish great things with the days He has given us!  We want to give you a head start to easily create goals with your children based on this verse so please feel free to download this pdf and print one for each of your children.

As you can see, this goal setting outline doesn’t just want you to blindly write your goal and then file it away to never be thought of again. Take the goal and break it down into actionable steps. This helps fit the overwhelm and gives your children the confidence that they need to actually accomplish their dreams! Don’t forget to add their reason why. On the days that we don’t want to work on our goals, because lets face it, it isn’t always fun to grow when we are smack dab in the process, they will keep working at it because they can look up and think to themselves, “Oh yeah, that is WHY I want to accomplish this goal.” Now, let’s get going and make this year spectacular!

Our next post will be all about making goal setting fun….stay tuned for that! If you don’t want to miss out on any blog posts, Cedar Hill news or upcoming events, click here to join our email list.

Homeschool Goals and Routines

As we start to settle in for the winter, it is a good time to take a few quiet moments to sit down and really look at our homeschool routines, ideas, and accomplishments for the first part of this school year. It is always best to focus on the positives but as you look back, we also need to take the time to review the things that might not be working the way you had planned. 

Now, before we get much deeper, know that there are going to be periods, hopefully just a day or two but they can last longer, where your child (or yourself) are disgruntled or overwhelmed about learning in general.  Take these times to either push them beyond their comfort zone to growth in a fun way or let them just sit on cruise control for a short time to help them rejuvenate.  We all need brain breaks every once in a while! 

One word of caution , there is so much chatter about the “kind” of homeschooler we identify with.  Are you involved in CC (Classical Conversations), unchoolers, part of the wild and free movement, school at home, ect.?  As you sit back at ponder (hopefully with a steaming cup of coffee or tea),  all that really matters is if you and your children love the way YOUR family is choosing to learn.  Are you satisfied with their growth?  Are you encouraged by the way they are excited to learn?  If the answer to these questions is a resounding yes, keep up the good work mama! If not, then it might be time to take a look at how you are choosing to go about your days. 

Traditionally, homeschooling goes through stages along with your children's development.  In the early years we get to play with lots of paint, sounds, construction paper, glue, and glitter.  The laminator is your best friend during this period but the pieces of cut laminate sheets are more like your worst enemy. Then you transition into the upper elementary age to middle school.  Your kids still want to paint and do art but the projects get more involved and the mess is a little more manageable because hopefully, they are learning to clean up after themselves just a bit.  It is during this stage that you may start to question, as your child's primary educator, if you have what it takes to finish out the next stage.. high school. As you transition into high school age, you move into transcripts, testing, upper-level math, and lab sciences.  Some families will choose to completely stay their own course for all of the high school learning and might even decide to never take the SAT or pursue higher formal education in the form of college.  That is totally ok!  Trades are on a comeback and our children will be able to support themselves just as well, if not better, by learning a trade than if they become a degreed professional.  For those families that do decide that college is the best path for their child/ren, the reality is that they will need to know how to take notes, study for tests, handle the nerves of testing, write formal essays, do higher-level math and so on.

You can be prepared for both high school options at any age by asking yourself these questions:

Are the decisions I am making today helping or hindering our goals for our homeschool journey?

Are we growing closer as a family and to God through our homeschool journey?

Can I see growth, even incremental, in my children’s abilities mentally, spiritually and physically?

There are undoubtedly many more questions you can ask yourself but these will give you a good indicator as to what path you are currently on and if you need to just stay the course or look to alter your direction.

Just as you are looking at your family’s routines, priorities, strengths and weaknesses, we are also looking at ours at Cedar Hill Academy.  We feel like our true gift to our families is having learning options for upper elementary to high school students that engage, teach and encourage them to love learning. Yes, even what some feel are harder subjects like math and science.  Experiment days are definitely a favorite with the students and who knew a game of faction spoons could draw so many laughs! We are loving our Saplings class and feel like it is going beyond the classroom teaching skills and abilities that you can only get with a personalized education. During our first semester, the sapling students have built life-size teepees, a longhouse for the winter, fires (with of course s’mores), dioramas, scale models of the early Lewis and Clark forts, gone on nature hikes collect local plants, identifying and drying them and so much more.  The students are also loving the read alouds and outside free time that we take each learning period. Growing a family or a business are both works in progress, but if we keep our ultimate goal in mind, we know we will succeed together in both. 

Over the next few weeks, we want to give you tools to help set your homeschool goals that are based on scripture that really work! We have said it before and will say it again, progress over perfection conquers the homeschool day. We would love to hear from you. What are some struggles and some wins you have had this year?

What is your reason WHY?

As we scroll through FB or IG, we are usually seeing the highlight reels of peoples lives. We are seeing the smiling faces, the perfectly cleaned homes and wet, sloppy kisses of cute puppies and loving brothers and sisters. This isn’t always the reality of life though.

As moms, we have the days of self-doubt, “Should I really be homeschooling my kids, are they getting what they need?” “Am I smart enough to do this?” “Am I screwing them up for the rest of their life and they will need to live with me because they can’t get a job to support themselves?” (ok maybe the last one is just us…)

We want to put your mind at ease. Your children will learn and grow under your guidance and it will be fulfilling for you and them because you have chosen this lifestyle out of zeal and diligence. There is not a homeschool mom out there that is homeschooling for purely selfish reasons. We do it because we have a true passion to better our children’s lives, to spend more time with them and to give them a specialized education that we know will benefit them.

There is another side of the story that most people do not like to talk about. Those stories where mothers neglect their children, the children are subjected to scenes that are unimaginable but you know what? Some of those children rise through the ashes and become wonderful and productive adults too. We do not wish this path on anyone else but share this to show that not all the glory or blame will forever be set on your shoulders.

You are a good mama. Do you make mistakes? Yes, because you are human. Each day or even each moment, you try to put the right foot forward. You say, "I'm sorry." Ask for a do-over. Hug and kiss your children. You can have a read-in or just smile and say, "I love you." That is the true beginning of a good day and a life worth living together. What is your go-to way to help remind yourself of WHY you choose to homeschool?

It is Not to Late to Change

When we read this quote from C.S. Lewis, it made us stop and pause in our busy day. We pondered the thought over and over for the rest of the day and it really made us consider the truth behind the statement.

There are times in our lives that we need to re-evaluate the needs of our families. We crave to make a slight change or even feel it in the pit of our stomach.

That change can look like leaving the public school system because their learning style doesn’t fit the “system”, you can see how the influences your children are encountering on a daily basis is changing them into being someone you know isn’t their best, or even that you are realizing your family values don’t a line with what is being taught day in and day out by people you don’t know or trust.

Change can also look like this, your children are happy to be homeschooling but they do crave a little more social interaction. You love being their mom, but sometimes you think they might benefit from being taught by someone that has another method that would connect with your child and enhance their love of learning but you are not willing to put them in public school.

Ultimately, when we read this insightful quote I reminded us it is not to late to make a change. Change can sometimes be filled with unknowns but thankfully you don’t have to do it alone. The Cedar Hill Academy family is rich with wisdom, enthusiastic people and love. Are you ready to love the path you have chosen for children?

5 Must Have Items for the Washington State Homeschool Conference

All across America Homeschool conventions happen each spring as homeschooling families wrap up this year and gear up for next. Conventions are uplifting, full of ideas, and also a bit exhausting but you leave with a head and notebook full is new ideas! We are headed to the Heritage Christian Homeschool Convention this week and as we prepare, we thought it would be helpful to share our 5 must haves when you go to conventions:

-A favorite pen/blank notebook: I know it seems silly but if you are anything like us, you will come home with many, many notes! It is always more fun to write with a pen that you love in a notebook that you can easily access all the information you learned. A quick tip: bring a few colored pens to mark the corners of the pages to keep track of categories of information.  For example, color a pink corner for family, marriage and relationships, green for math, red for reading, ect.  Color as you go so you don’t run out of room as you write. The color coding will make it easy to flip through at a glance to find the tips and tricks you need. Can you tell we love our office supplies around here?

 -Comfortable shoes: Although you will be sitting alot, the venues are usually large and the parking can be difficult so you end up walking quite a bit and it is not fun to have hurting feet on these long days.

-Wear layers: While we are on the topic of clothing and comfort, the venues are nice but the temperatures can fluctuate greatly from room to room, so dress in layers or bring a light sweater. Better to be prepared than freeze in our book!

-Water & a light snack: Lines are usually long for refreshments during the breaks and it is always nice to make sure your sweet tooth can be satisfied.  Bonus….bring your favorite because you don’t have to share with any littles!

-An open heart:  The speakers are usually very powerful and have inspirational ideas that if you choose to take and use them, will help you create lifelong learners and truly exceptional people.

It isn’t too late to attend the Christian Heritage Conference but if you are busy this weekend, the WHO conference is June 21 & 22. One of the benefits of attending the conferences are the curriculum sales! They always have a vendor section and many of the publishers have discounted convention prices. You can view many different curriculum which can help you decide if a specific program will work well for your family.

Are you planning on attending any home school conferences this year? If so, tag us with #cedarhillacademy so we can say hi!

Using Children's Books With Students of All Ages

Many homeschooling families have multiple ages that you teach each day. That can be trying when there is a large gap between ages and abilities in your children. Did you know that you can incorporate Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See , which is often seen as a toddler book used for teaching colors, to simply teach multi age lessons? It is written for our littles but It is so very much more than a simple book! This and many other children's books can be a jumping off point to teach a multitude of skills for students of any age.

Level 1

Reading and writing often go hand in hand and using a engaging story to excite your children to write is a great benefit of sharing these books with all of your children. If your student knows their colors but doesn’t yet know how to write and spell the color words, take this opportunity to help them create their own book where they write in the color words. Here is a tip, If they do not yet have the writing skill to form letters easily, you can quickly download a free trace font and it will give them a guide to have the confidence to write the color words themselves. To take learning up another notch, embrace Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See to model how to write in rhythm and cadence. Just as Brown Bear, Brown Bear starts with one character and follows a path of discovery, you can suggest your child start with a hard working ranger and explore the forest through the eyes of the animals living there. Don’t forget, as they write make sure that the pattern in rhythm is the same as found in Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See. A straightforward way to ensure they are staying in rhythm, rhyme and cadence , which is the goal, is to use a simple song with a 4/4 time signature as their guide. Row, Row, Row Your Boat is the perfect example of a song that will make it easier to check the rhyme. Try it out for yourself and see what cool stories you can create right along side your children!

Level 2

Using children’s books like, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See, to learn about other areas of study can enrich the literary experience of your homeschool. Studying about the animals that live in Washington state, the tundra, the rain forest or any other biosphere would be a natural extension of interest led study for this classic book. An effortless way to make learning about animal groupings that you choose to study, be it class, habitat, or other distinguishing features, would be to provide pictures of a variety of animals and have your student group them in like classifications. This activity could be a simple as grouping them into farm animals, jungle animals, ect. or you could really challenge older students with having them sort the pictures into major and minor classifications. As you study and explore various types of animals, don’t forget to add in the sounds they make! This will not only be fun, but also be a vocabulary building activity as they use words such as snarling, growling, bugling etc. The downside is you will most likely be hearing a bit of a zoo chorus at your home as the excited minds have fun soaking in all of this new knowledge.

Level 3

Children’s literature is so rich so please don’t limit the uses of “toddler” books to just toddlers! They can be a starting point for many and varied reading, writing, art and, most importantly, learning activities.

In the fall, we will be doing many of these activities and more with our classes. Our goal is to truly instill the love of learning in your children, right along side you. We want them to be excited to discover new things and have the desire to continue to grow in knowledge. We can’t wait to walk the journey together as we partner with your family to create an educational experience that surpasses all the rest!

We would love to hear about some of your favorite children’s books! We have never met a homeschool mama that didn’t have a few cherished books! Comment below to share yours!

Abeka Homeschool Curriculum Chat

As we continue on our exploration of curriculums, we hope that you will find something that peaks your interest and helps you on your homeschool journey.  We are always available to support you if you have any questions on how to plan or implement curriculum into your week as you participate in our homeschool support classes. 

Without further ado, today we will be talking to Sarah C. about her experience with Abeka.  Sarah has two early elementary aged children that are flourishing under her loving guidance.

CHA: Why did you initially choose this curriculum?  

Sarah: We use Abeka's homeschool curriculum for language arts and math.  Because I used Abeka when I was homeschooling in the 90s, I was confident in the material and believed it would give my kids the foundational knowledge they need to succeed as students.  I was also looking for a straightforward curriculum that did not require a lot of preparation from me and material that embraced a Christian worldview.  After looking at a number of other options, I decided to try Abeka for our first year. I liked it so much that we have continued using it from kindergarten until now (my oldest is in third grade).  

Abeka's language curriculum includes reading, writing, and spelling.  Abeka's teaching approach is traditional and emphasizes mastery through drill, repetition, and memorization.  Every week I introduce a few new concepts, phonics rules, and writing skills and then we practice those new skills and review ones we are already familiar with.  I also give weekly tests in each subject.  I thrive with a routine, so this approach works especially well for me, but I believe it is also important to adjust the routine and material to fit my kids' different learning styles and needs.  Once you understand Abeka's routine (I suggest following its suggested schedule for at least a month to get the full picture), it is easy to adopt and modify.   

CHA: Are you still using it for the same reasons or have your reasons changed? 

Sarah: While I initially chose Abeka because I was familiar with the material and it required minimal prep work for me, I did have reservations.  I have heard many complaints about the curriculum being too rigid, and I was skeptical about Abeka's decision to start teaching cursive writing in kindergarten.  (I initially opted out of the cursive instruction and purchased the traditional print writing the company still offered.  I did start teaching cursive in first grade.)  Now that I have used the curriculum with my kids and seen the results, I love Abeka's language arts and math curriculum for many reasons.  I appreciate its methodical and thorough approach to teaching new skills and reviewing past skills.  It keeps me on pace to make sure we cover what my kids need to cover in their respective grades (paced over 170 lessons in each subject for the year), and it helps me challenge my kids to try new concepts that I would not have independently believed they could handle yet.  I highly value its test material -- both so that I can evaluate where my kids need work and because it gives them an opportunity to get comfortable with test taking.  In short, I believe Abeka lays a strong foundation for lifelong success by teaching my kids how to study while also teaching the appropriate substantive knowledge.  

Notably, Abeka does offer full grade kits to cover every traditional subject (language arts, arithmetic, history, science, art, health & safety, etc.).  We used the full grade kits in first grade, but I did not care for Abeka's approach to science, history, or health & safety.  I believe these subjects lend themselves to a more interactive and hands-on approach, and I thought Abeka presented an overly simplified summary of history and scientific principles.  Language Arts, on the other hand and in my opinion, is exceptional in its phonetic approaching to reading and spelling.  It teaches grammar skills especially well.   

CHA: Was there any cost involved in purchasing the materials? 

Sarah: Abeka sells its material individually and in single-subject kits.  The language arts child kit and parent kit combined costs approximately $300-350 for each grade (kindergarten is much less).  The child and parent kits for arithmetic costs approximately $170.  Much of the material is reusable (readers, teacher lesson plans, teaching charts/aids, answer keys, etc.), so the more kids you use it for, the more cost effective it becomes.  (The consumable student workbooks costs about $65 for language arts and $30 for arithmetic.)  

CHA: Are there any supplementary materials that you used that were helpful? 

Sarah: At the elementary level, teacher manuals are necessary because the curriculum works best if you introduce new concepts before practicing them in the workbooks.  The language and math teaching charts are very useful aids that I have used again and again (even in later grades).  Abeka offers a lot more teaching helps (flash cards, prerecorded classroom instruction, and other online options), but I did not find these helpful or necessary at the early elementary age.

CHA: How did your family use this curriculum?  

Sarah: I sit with my kids at our kitchen table while they complete their workbooks each school day.  The lower elementary grades require significant teacher instruction (these are clearly laid out in the teacher's manuals), but with more than one student, I quickly learn to adapt how much I am reviewing each day with the kids and how much work the kids need to do in each book.  (Starting in third grade, students can work more independently.)  Math can get especially repetitive, and I normally cross off a number of review problems (e.g., I choose one or two addition and subtraction problems to practice while crossing off at least five or six other similar problems).  I also do not require my kids to complete all the student "seatwork" (basically a lengthy rewrite of what they learned that day) scheduled in the teacher manual, and I sometimes skip or combine lessons to keep us on pace to complete the 170 lessons for the year.   I appreciate having the core material there so that I can pick and choose where more practice is needed, but sticking too rigidly to the curriculum would make the work tedious and uninteresting.   

CHA: What are some of the best attributes of this curriculum? 

Sarah: I greatly appreciate Abeka's Christian worldview and comprehensive language arts and math programs.  Incidentally, it develops good study skills and helps students get comfortable taking tests.

CHA: What are some of the drawbacks of using this curriculum? 

Sarah: Abeka is expensive and does require modification to avoid students burning out.  

CHA: How was this curriculum a good fit for your family? How would you recommend it to be used? 

Sarah: I whole-heartedly endorse Abeka and frequently recommend its language arts and math subjects.  It fits my teaching style quite well, and I have learned how to adapt it to my kids' learning styles.  

Thank you so much for your input and information Sarah! We have a lineup of other wonderful curriculums to highlight so make sure you sign up on our mailing list so you don't miss one! 

 What curriculums are you pondering for next school year? Leave a comment and let us know!

Sonlight Homeschool Curriculum Chat

At Cedar Hill Academy, we want to help you have the most successful homeschooling years with your children.  We offer support to you by having classes each week to help lighten your load all the while giving your children the social interaction they crave and fun learning experiences.

 Additionally, if you choose to supplement our classes with at home curriculum, we want to give you resources to help support your decision.  This is the first in a series of blog posts that will give you an insight on different curriculum options from the viewpoint of veteran homeschool moms.  When we were choosing the women we asked to share, our criteria was that they had to have used a specific curriculum for over two years with successful results.  All of these women also have Christian worldviews.

 First up, Chesiree, who is a homeschool mom to three children.  She has graduated her oldest son and he is now a flourishing college student.  She has a high school aged daughter and an upper elementary aged son that are still using Sonlight with great success.  Here are her thoughts on Sonlight and how it has blessed their family (The children's names have been removed for privacy):

 CHA: Why did you initially choose this curriculum? 

Chesiree: Our family has used Sonlight since 2008.  Up until that point, we were struggling to put together something for our oldest son, who did NOT enjoy reading in the least.  He was only just beginning to read and to even ask him to read had me bracing for a battle every day.  I was finding it difficult to be consistent and I had a strong sense of being overwhelmed.  E* and I were often at odds and just struggled to work together without daily conflict. As with a lot of new home schoolers, homeschooling was not what I had imagined it would be.  I was researching several options when I came upon Sonlight.  I had a few very strong, supportive friends who had chosen a Charlotte Mason approach and so I began to look into literature based learning.  Being a literature based curriculum, I knew it was risky at best to consider this for E* but it had so much to offer for me.  It sounds selfish but I reasoned that if I could find something that worked for me as a parent/teacher then I would have a better chance at consistency and a more joyful, relaxed atmosphere (which had not been our mindset to this point..lol).  I just prayed that the literature based approach would gently encourage E* to learn to love to read.  

 CHA: Was there any cost involved in purchasing the materials?

Chesiree: We chose to make the commitment.  It was a pretty costly initial investment for us. We chose to use their Core (which includes Bible, History, Language Arts, Reading, and Grammar) along with their science Core.  I had used Math-U-See up to this point and Sonlight actually had this option as a suggested math curriculum, so we continued on with this math curriculum.  The initial cost was about $1100.  I do believe there are ways to cut that cost, using your local library, online sources, and other tips and tricks but I knew myself well enough to know that honestly, it must be easy and convenient for me to be consistent. The yearly investment is significant and varied from about $800-$1000 but with K*, our daughter only 3 years behind E*, we could see that the pain of writing that check every year would soon decrease.  Sonlight offers a payment plan WITHOUT interest of 3,6,9, or even 12 months to pay with installments which we used every year.  With Sonlight, once the initial Core is purchased, only supplemental items are needed for additional student.  This made our investment for K* when she began so much less.  I would say we would spend about $300 a year on supplements and for her math curriculum which is purchased separately.  They do update their readers yearly and I would say that on average we have to buy 3 new books yearly for the updated schedule to match up.  They are a minimal cost.  Ordering from year to year can be slightly confusing with new reading material updates that have to be incorporated into what you have already purchased.  For this, we just contact the online chat representatives and their take a look at our cart to make sure we haven’t missed anything.  It works so well.

 CHA: What are some of the best attributes of this curriculum?

Chesiree: Your schedule is absolutely laid out for you day by day.  You have a choice of a 4 or 5 day curriculum.  Notes for each section, tips, maps, extra materials, and online resources made it very easy to begin.  I could walk to my big blue binder every day and know that my day was prepared, my week was laid out, and I had 36 weeks of lesson plans ready to go.  It was priceless to me at that point.  I really was in love from the beginning and we dug right in.  From the beginning, you could see E* really sink into these books.  I think it was totally unintentional on his part..lol..but we could see it working and that was an amazing answer to prayer for us.  After all our struggles, he was 8 years old at that point and we knew we needed to find some answers.  This was our answer. We had much success that year.  We watched him transform into what he is now, which is a voracious reader who is taking advanced literature classes in his college courses and is a lover of classic literature.

 CHA: Are you still using it for the same reasons or have your reasons changed?

Chesiree: We still use Sonlight with our middle daughter (15) and our youngest son (11).  It has done a wonderful job preparing our oldest son (20) for his college career, not to mention he was more than ready to participate in a program here in Washington called Running Start for his Junior and Senior years which allowed him to receive his High School Diploma and Associates of Arts 2-year degree from our local college.  We have watched it turn all 2 out of our 3 children in to avid readers (that 3rd one is on his way though..lol).

 CHA: How was this curriculum a good fit for your family? How would you recommend it to be used?

Chesiree: As business owners, we still use Sonlight for the reasons that we began using it 11 years ago...convenience and thoroughness...it is all done for me.  You can work the curriculum to its fullest potential or you can back away and pick and choose what you participate in.  For anything to work properly, it has to be the right fit for your family and you must be honest enough with yourself to look at your strengths and weaknesses to discern what would work best for your children and yourself. 

 Thank you so much for you wisdom and knowledge Chesiree!

We have a lineup of other wonderful curriculums to highlight so make sure you sign up on our mailing list so you don't miss one! 

 Do you have a specific curriculum you would like to see featured here?  Please leave a comment and we will try to do a feature for you! 

Homeschooling is Like Ice Cream

Spring is just around the corner and the season brings with it a time of renewed vigor and thoughts of the bright possibilities to come.  It is also the time of year that homeschool parents start thinking and planning for the next school year! Some of you have already been educating your children for years, but if you are like most parents, you always look to see if you need to change your routine or look at new opportunities to enhance what you are already accomplishing at home.  Others of you are just starting on your homeschool journey and don't even know where to begin.  We hope in the coming weeks to be able to help guide you, whichever phase you are currently in, as you plan the important educational goals for each of your children. 

First, in the planning process, it is wise to look at the different methods of schooling to see which method fits your family.  Think of it like a large ice cream filled waffle cone. Your decision to homeschool is a good foundation like a giant, sweet-smelling waffle cone.  With a slightly crisp waffle cone in your hand, you need to decide which delectable, creamy ice cream to fill it with.  But which flavor should you choose? As you are looking through the slanted glass, you see there are many flavors and colors to choose from.  Right away, some flavors will stand out as possibilities and others will be absolute no-ways! The same will be true as you look at the different homeschool methods.  As you research the methods, you will look at some and know right away they will not be a good fit for your family.  Others you will jot down to investigate a bit more deeply.  Here are a few of the many methods to help you on your search:

Unit Based Studies

Traditional Method (schooling at home)

Eclectic

Charlotte Mason

Unschooling

Classical Education

This is an article by Parents magazine that helps describe a little about some of these methods and more https://www.parents.com/kids/education/home-schooling/homeschooling-methods/

Like we said, these are just a few of the different approaches you can take to bless your children with a well rounded education.  We do hope that in your planning, you will be thinking about Cedar Hill Academy and the benefits we offer you and your children.  Let us help relieve some of your teaching load and give your time to get other important responsibilities done, let your children create their tribe of friends to collaborate and learn with while they explore learning in new and fun ways that will delight them!

No one has ever said that homeschooling is easy, but it is so worth it! Let's walk this journey together as we help lighten your load through support, create friendships and have fun on this education adventure!

Creating Lifelong Learners

As we learned last week, the unit-based study method improves attitude, academic achievement and retention in our children.  Now while the thought of creating or implementing a unit-based study is appealing and the benefits do far outweigh any negatives...there is one thing that can scare the faint of heart away from accomplishing a unit study.... the mess.  As homeschool parents, we are not immune to the fact that our homes will be messy because of the constant stream of activity going on each day, although for some of us the thought of sticky glue, gallons of glitter, paper bits and globs of wet paint almost make us cover our heads and cry.  Is one more mess, days of glitter on the floors (even after the tenth time sweeping) and wiping down the tables and walls cleaning stray paint really worth the effort? In the end, yes but there is some good news! You don't have to plan the study all by yourself or clean up the mess when you enroll at Cedar Hill Academy!  Your children will get the opportunity to be immersed in creative learning and the mess stays out of your home!  Albert Einstein has many inspiring quotes, but this is a favorite of ours, "Creativity is intelligence having fun."  Learning should be fun if you are striving to create a lifelong learner.  Why would you want to create a lifelong learner? 

There are many compelling reasons but here are 10 to ponder:

1.        Students become self-starters

2.      They are highly motivated to learn

3.      Expands their worldview and strengthens personal beliefs

4.     Life will always be fascinating and full of adventures

5.      Helps develop an entrepreneurial spirit filled with hours of relentless tinkering, exploration, creativity and innovation (think Ben Franklin, Thomas Edison and Henry Ford) 

6.      It keeps their minds active even when they are old

Henry Ford once said, “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.”

7.      Creates great conversationalists that can engage many types of people and backgrounds

8.      Helps learn practical life skills

9.      They have higher self confidence with each new skill learned

10.  Naturally become a well-rounded person

 Learning through experiences, like hands-on studies, is a wonderful skill you can give your children to help create lifelong learners. Let's work together to help instill the love of learning in your children so they can grow and develop to be well rounded students and people that enjoy learning new things for a lifetime!

Enrollment is open now for the 2019/2020 school year!