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A New Year

8/31/2020

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Homeschoolers across the nation are starting back to school this week. Many have a few days or even weeks already under their belt. Then there are others (like me) who have yet to start even planning. Given this is my 18th year, I'm okay with that. 

Here is some of my tried and true advice for those just starting out. There are a lot of you out there. While some of this is Maine specific, some will work no matter where you live.
  • No one at the state level (up to this point) is checking off and making sure you submit your Letter of Intent (or Subsequent Letter with assessment) by September 1st. They don't have the capacity to track the almost 6,000 homeschooling student (the Maine DOE reported 5,963 home education students in April 2019) and I'm absolutely sure that number is much higher this year.
  • If you are contacted about a missing Letter of Intent, simply send in a copy (you should have kept one) or submit one. They have 10 days from notifying you to start truancy proceedings (which actually take much longer to do). You have time to make it right. 
  • You are not required by law to use the online portal set up by the Maine Department of Education that is now on their website. It is not a new requirement. The law has not changed. A paper copy is still acceptable. 
  • You are submitting a Letter of Intent. You are not submitting an application. You do not need approval. You simply need to state your intention to homeschool. 
  • Know the law and follow it. Do what is required (do not do more). Homeschoolers that came before you fought long and hard for the freedom we enjoy today to homeschool as we do. In fact, I have another post planned about the history of homeschooling in Maine.
  • Relax. Just relax. You are not going to mess up your child. I promise. In fact, the opposite will likely be true - your child will do better than previously. 
  • Relax and breathe. It needs to be on here twice. Enjoy this time at home with your children. I LOVE being with my kids. Do they drive me bonkers? Absolutely. Do I enjoy being home every day with them? Most of the time. Just like anything, it can take time to get used to a normal routine. If you aren't used to having your kids around you 24/7, know that it will take time for everyone to adjust. Give it time. 
  • Routines are your friend. I'm not a strict routine follower, but when my kids were younger, I had schedules posted EVERYWHERE. I had eating schedules (it helped cut down on the "can I have a snack" 50,000 times a day question). Nap time was sacred at my house (mamma needed a break!). 
  • Don't be a slave to your schedule. Go on the fun field trip that pops up. Take a day and just go explore your area. Don't let the textbooks and lessons take over your life.
  • Making your five year old sit at a desk/table/flat surface for more than 15-30 minutes at a stretch is torture for both you and them. Little ones need to move more than they need to learn to read and write. Yes, I said it. Do not force learning on a child who is resistant and unwilling. If teaching them to read leaves one or both of you in tears, don't do it! When your child is ready to learn, it will click and be much easier for everyone involved. This is true times ten for little boys (of which I have raised three). My youngest son was not ready to learn to read until he was almost ten. You would never know that now. 
  • No one will ever ask your child how old they were when they _______________ fill in the blank. It will never come up on a job application. It will not impact their future life UNLESS it was forced on them before they were ready. Let kids enjoy being kids. Make learning fun. Let them enjoy life.
  • Spend time exploring outside every day especially for those in the younger grades (and it's good for older ones too). Doing some type of nature study every single day will be a nice reprieve from book learning, but have a far more reaching impact. Nature is calming. Enjoy it. We live in a great state to get out and explore. 
  • Read good literature. Spend time reading aloud to your children (no matter how old they are). Read classics. Read above their grade level. Read things they wouldn't normally pick for themselves. Read. Read. Read. If you'd like to see a great book list of "living books," check out this list from Ambleside Online.
  • Find someone you trust who has been homeschooling longer than you have and listen to their advice. Go to them for help. We veterans love to help those just starting out. 

These are just a few of my rambling thoughts on homeschooling on this crisp fall-like day. I hope it helps you just a little bit. 

The most important part in all of it? Relax. You can do this.
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The Power of Audio Books

8/10/2020

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Circa 2006
When  my boys were younger (and shorter than I), we lived in the boonies of western Maine. Seriously...it took me an hour round trip just to get groceries (not counting time actually in a store). We spent a LOT of time in our vehicle driving to activities. 

One way I redeemed that time was to use audio books. We listened to so many fantastic, wonderful, amazing books. Someone on a homeschooling Facebook group asked about audio resources and I listed all the ones we used. I thought some might find it helpful. Here is our list, with reviews as well as links. Enjoy!

  • Adventures in Odyssey - We all enjoyed journeying to Whit's End. Each story had a bible truth imparted in a fun way. There are some great history stories as well. There are 900+ episodes so if you'd like to see a starting order, go to this web page.
    • ​Designed for ages 8-12
    • Can listen free to recently aired episodes online.
    • You can purchase CDs to listen to. You can also purchase in many other retail places including Amazon. 
    • You can also join the Adventures in Odyssey Club. This is a monthly membership that allows you to stream unlimited episodes as well as many other perks. I had to dig a bit to find pricing...it's $9.99/month or $9.49/6 months ($56.94 charged every six months), or $8.99/12 months ($107.88 charged once). The membership automatically renews until you cancel it. You can listen via an app as well which would allow for easier listening. 
  • Jonathan Park - The stories follow the main character, Jonathan Park, as his family goes on adventures. His father is a paleontologist who has lost his job due to his creation beliefs. They soon open a creation based museum. The stories are full of adventure and mystery. 
    • ​You can purchase as CDs or digital downloads. 
    • Each volume has four stories. 
    • The first nine volumes are the original ones. These are the ones we have listened to.
    • There are six new adventures as well. We have never listened to these so I don't know if they changed a lot from the first set or not.
    • You can purchase these from other sites as well, including Amazon.
  • YWAM Publishing - I used to go to the MassHOPE homeschooling convention every year (when those were still happening). There was always a booth for YWAM Publishing and they always had a sale on their audiobooks. I usually bought five of each year I went (three total). 
    • There are two different sets of audio stories - Christian Heroes: Then & Now or Heroes of History. 
    • These are true stories, which was a big sell for one of my kiddos. 
    • Told extremely well. 
    • You can also purchase them as digital downloads. (Click on the red links - you must be a registered user to purchase and download.)
  • Lamplighter Theater - Lamplighter started in order to publish godly stories. Most are very old and have been republished in order to get them in the hands of new listeners (and readers). 
    • You can listen to a free episode every Monday on their website. 
    • You can also purchase them on a CD or as a MP3.
    • Each story typically has a biblical truth it shares. We loved all of them. 
  • Heirloom Audio Productions - These were absolute favorites of ours. If you ever heard of G.A. Henty, then you may already be familiar with these stories. Heirloom Audio Productions uses a top-notch cast (Kirk Cameron, Brian Blessed, John Rhys-Davies). Fantastic history stories. 
    • You can purchase them as CDs. Many often come with some type of study guide as well. 
  • Focus on the Family Radio Theater - Focus on the Family has taken some wonderful classics and turned them into dramatic audio stories. The difference between a dramatic story and an audiobook is that the dramatic story has multiple voices and background noises (horses clomping, fires burning, etc) - think theater for your ears. An audiobook typically has one person doing all the voices and reading a book.
    • ​Can be purchased as CDs or digital download. 
    • Includes titles like The Chronicles of Narnia, The Hiding Place, The Secret Garden, and Anne of Green Gables
  • Story of the World - This is hands down my favorite elementary history program. It has a storybook and an activity book (you can't do the program well without the activity book). One year it was difficult for us to get school done due to some health problems with my mom. We were spending even more time in our vehicle so I borrowed all four volumes from our library and this was our history that year. 
    • Volume 1 covers the Ancient World
    • Volume 2 overs the Middle Ages
    • Volume 3 covers Early Modern Times
    • Volume 4 covers the Modern Age
    • Jim Weiss reads the stories. He's wonderful and has lots of his own stories as well. You can see some on this page along with the STOW volumes. I'll be talking about him separately as well, though. 
    • These are widely available from many different vendors.
  • Jim Weiss, Greathall Productions - Jim is a wonderful storyteller. He does a fantastic job and has many, many different volumes of stories. These were favorites of ours.
    • ​He offers a timeline of titles with ages the stories are geared for.
    • ​If you're looking for a history timeline to see where the stories fit, you can go check that out as well. 
    • Can be purchased through the Well Trained Mind (linked above), Amazon, iTunes and more.
  • Classical Kids - Hands down my favorite "fine arts" audio. Each tells a fun story about a composer (with some truth of their lives mixed in) with the music they are famous for used as the score to the story. We absolutely loved these stories and listened to them more than once. 
    • ​I can't seem to find a specific website for them (they are older) but you can find the CDs on Amazon (above link) and I'm sure other vendors if you wanted digital copies. 
    • Titles: 
      • ​Beethoven Lives Upstairs
      • Mr. Bach Comes to Call
      • Vivaldi's Ring of Mystery
      • Mozart's Magic Fantasy
      • Tchaikovsky Discovers America
      • Hallelujah Handel
      • Classical Kids Christmas
  • Maestro Classics - Another great way to enjoy classical music, learn the stories behind the songs, and learn more about the composers. 
    • ​Available on CDs or MP3
    • Lots of free resources including: curriculum, projects, puzzles and games, and even sheet music to dig deeper into the story.
  • LibriVox - this is a completely free site. The stories are all free in the public domain and read by volunteers. We used it a lot when the boys were younger. Just remember, all the readers are volunteers. Most are excellent and I remember only once not finishing a book due to the reader. 
    • ​Free public domain books.
    • You can download to listen.
    • It's easiest to search by title.

I hope you enjoyed this list of resources. I have very fond memories of listening to audio books with my boys as we traveled together. I still listen to audio books when I'm in my vehicle traveling. It helps to pass the time and I try to listen to historical stories so I learn something as well. 

Audio books are a fantastic resource to use in your homeschool. You may have a reluctant reader (or a child who just doesn't enjoy it), audio books fill the gap. You may have a child who is an auditory learner, audio books are a perfect fit. You may be on the road a lot like I used to be, audio books help fill the time with learning. 

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    Author

    I'm a homeschooling mom of five boys and three girls. I have been homeschooling now for 20+ years. I took over Freedom Academy in 2021. This blog was created and maintained by the founder of Freedom Academy up until 2021. She created the blog because homeschooling can often feel lonely and this is a way  to share some knowledge. Welcome. Grab a warm beverage and enjoy.

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