2012-2013 End of Year Announcements

On Friday, May 24 at 12 pm we will have our next South Cobb Homeschoolers Arts & Crafts for ages 0-7.  Please come out and join us.  If you will attend fill out this link https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1OQTTXZ8MCn4wk8x6l7dHyW2LhFExQVtd4oiJWsDKOG4/viewform 

As we come to the end of our first year as a homeschool support group I would like first like to thank all of you who helped to make this year a success both by your participation in the activities and by leading out.  We have gotten to a strong start with our Birth to Age 7 (K-2^nd Grade) group!

I would love for our other groups (Age 8- 10 (3^rd-5^th Grade); Age 11-13 (6^th-8^th Grade); Age-14-18 (9^th-12^th Grade)) to become active in the 2013-2014 school year. 

In the month of July 2013 we will have a parent planning meeting at the South Cobb Library.  More details will follow but if you will need to have childcare I will hire a babysitter to entertain our children with wholesome activities in one corner of the room while we meet in the other corner of the room.  Because of the cost for the babysitter, if you will need to bring your children we are requesting $2.00 per child, no more than $5.00 per family.  So if you have 3 kids or more, you will pay $5.00.

Here are some of the things we will discuss for the 2013-2014 School Year.

2014 End of Year Celebration

Nice ceremony to invite the family!  Including the following highlights

·         Kindergarten Graduation with a South Cobb Homeschoolers Yearbook

·         Grade Level Promotions with a South Cobb Homeschoolers Yearbook

·         8^th Grade Graduation with  a South Cobb Homeschoolers Yearbook

·         12^th Grade Graduation with  a South Cobb Homeschoolers Yearbook

Quarterly Unit Studies

Short, hands-on lesson plans that cover specific topics. These often fill in gaps or add enrichment to a homeschool program. You can download some of these for free, or you can purchase them with supplies and reading materials. They cover a wide variety of topics, and homeschoolers use them for many subjects.  This is open to ALL age groups!!!

We will discuss four ideas for unit studies.  Please ask your child what they would like to learn about.

·         Some ideas I would like to explore is to use the library’s FREE Power Speak http://www.cobbcat.org/e-library/language.html and explore the language and culture of the Spanish and Mandarin

·         Nature- Butterflies, Polar Bears, Fox, Lions

·         Music- Types of Instruments, Types of Music

Suggested Activities by Age Group

Choose Parent Leaders and Activities

(Birth- Age 7) Pre-K to 2^nd Grade- Quarterly Unit Studies, Arts & Crafts/Free Play

Meeting Twice a Month

(Ages 8- 10) 3^rd-5^th Grade- Quarterly Unit Studies

                Meeting Once a Month

(Ages 11- 13) 6^th-8^th Grade- Quarterly Unit Studies

                Meeting Once a Month

(Ages 14-18) 9^th-12^th Grade Quarterly Unit Studies
Meeting Once a Month

Getting Started with Homeschooling with Ruth Martin

On Thursday, May 16, 2013 the Georgia Home Educators Association started the Homeschool Conference Weekend.  One of our members Cheryl Kischuk was kind enough to share her notes from the conference.  Below is a highlight from her notes.







You may access all of her notes by clicking on this link  https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B67dNSqTuB8JaEFIRll6YVljbUU/edit?usp=sharing.

Thanks Cheryl for sharing.  I will also be posting some of my notes from the sessions I attended so stay tuned for more!!!

How to Begin…

Lesson Plans and Scheduling

1. The goal of home education is to instill in your children a love for learning.
2. Academics is not the most important aspect of education.
3. Another goal is independent learning. This is accomplished through good scheduling and lesson planning.
4. When you first begin home schooling, it may take some time to prepare and find a rhythm. After time, it is a routine and becomes less time consuming.

Rule #1: You are not a traditional school!

• You do not have to set up desks in a row and teach in a lecture format to the children.
• Write out your goals and post them in a room for all to see.
• Set a flexible schedule (What works for your family?) The beauty of homeschooling is flexibility!
• Make daily lesson plans – basic time management

                                                              i.      Plan time alone to make lesson plans (children can play with spouse while you plan)

                                                            ii.      Be near your resources (put all you will need for the lesson in one easy accessible place.)

Rule #2: Pray! Pray! Pray!

      Pray before you begin every day. When you are ready to plan our your year, realize there are 364 days and you only need to teach 180 of them. J You do not need to teach every subject every day. You may alternate subjects daily, weekly, by 6-week periods, or by semesters. Ruth Martin does suggest to try to accomplish the core subjects every day. Those core are Bible, Reading, Writing and Math.

Rule #3: NEVER plan in ink! J

      You can get free blank calendars off of Google or you may prefer to use a teacher’s planning book. First plan your year, than your months, then weeks, then days.

Rule #4: Your children will NOT like everything you have planned for them to do. Too bad. That’s Life. 

Make it a character lesson in having to do things we don’t want to do with patience, grace, humility, etc.  You and they will hit moments of frustration where the level gets too hard to handle. Stop! Take a break! Go outside and get some fresh air. Take a time out but then get back to it when ready.

Rule #5: In Homeschooling, there is no homework! J 

There can be math drills and spelling mastery but not to the point of exhaustion. ***Major advice: Find your child’s learning style and teach to it! It’ll be a MUCH smoother process!  

Here are some links to help you find your child's learning style.  Discover your own as well so that you know what you are biased towards.

• http://www.schoolfamily.com/school-family-articles/article/826-what-is-your-childs-learning-style
• https://api.ed2go.com/CourseBuilder/2.0/images/resources/prod/hss-0/LearningStyles.pdf

  

Challenges:

• You are not used to being home all day and they are not used to being home all day (especially if you’ve pulled them out of traditional schools to come home).
• We are all peer influenced. As you feel yourself getting overwhelmed, turn to the Lord for guidance and reassurance.
• Both parents should be involved. Moms teach nurturing and dads teach leadership.
• If bringing your child home from a traditional public or private school, there is a period of adjustment. It is approximately one month for every year they have been in school. Allow time for mourning and healing.

 Notes by Cheryl Kischuk

Happy Mother's Day

May 2013 Events

5/24/13 SOUTH COBB HOMESCHOOLERS NEXT EVENT:

On May 24, 2013 at 12 noon we will have our next Arts & Crafts.  Our Arts & Crafts take place at the South Cobb Library at 805 Clay Road, Mableton, GA 30126.  Our sessions include a  Bible verse memorization segments from the Old and New Testaments of the Bible combined with actions to help engage the kids. This is FREE but RSVP is required!  Click on the Link below.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1OQTTXZ8MCn4wk8x6l7dHyW2LhFExQVtd4oiJWsDKOG4/viewform 

5/15/13 FREE COBB COUNTY LIBRARY RESOURCES:

Did you know that the Cobb County Library system is FULL of resources.  Your child can learn Spanish, French and a list of other languages FREE using Powerspeak.... You can brush up on some skills FREE and Online using the ed2go courses.  They EVEN have a course on Homeschooling Successfully!!!!  Check it out.  The next round of Online Courses start May 15.

Check it out: http://www.cobbcat.org/e-library/

5/15/13 GEORGIA HOME EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION:

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