I have learnt that every child learns a certain way so when I started home-schooling my son he struggled to focus. Then I went through a period of 'free-schooling' and was delighted to find that he started looking into topics that he was interested in and he also listened to a variety of debates so he started to formulate his own opinions and was able to back them up. A few years later he has such a good handle on the state of the world and his powers of expression are really good. I don't think he would have reached this level had he gone to conventional school.
Music really does help learning. I am 49 years old and still remember all the words to "Conjunction Junction" from "Schoolhouse Rock" during our Saturday morning cartoons!
Oh my goodness YES. I was homeschooled as a kid, and it is SO TRUE that the hands on and FUN things are what I remember the most. I am always amazed when I see kids not interested in learning. I am so grateful I had parents who fostered my interests and taught me things in fun and interesting ways.
I was raised on sonlight history 1st-12th grade and boy did their books/literature bring history to life! I still remember some of them with such fondness
PERFECT timing. I just decided last night to forgo formal all-in-one, open and go curriculums for interest focus every 2 weeks guided by the alphabet. For example, A is for Armor-- we'll learn about blacksmithing, military around the world, fencing as a sport, wound care and first aid.
I've been homeschooling for 10 years, and it just occured to me while watching this video that I need to incorporate more videos into the history curriculum my 3rd grader is going through. He listens to the audio book for the lesson, but I used to show my older kids videos pertaining to what they were learning all the time. He's kind of gotten the short end of the homeschool stick, because I've cut out a lot of fluff with him, but sometimes that fluff is the fun stuff they look forward to. So thanks for the inspiration to get back to doing some of that stuff!
My goal for our homeschool was learning to become lifelong learners with laughter not tears. With 2 grown daughters who LOVE learning, goal successful! 🎉
Whenever my kids finish a unit I put the celebration song on by Kool and the Gang. Chase them around the house and throw them on the couch. They get so pumped everytime that song comes on 🎉😅
My girls are eight and ten and I've recently learned this lesson. I'm taking more of a unschooling approach this year after realizing that trying to force them to learn about ancient Egypt and the like was just frustrating them (and me) more than anything and nothing was being learned or retained. So I dropped history and science for now and we're focusing more on core learning (simple math, reading, spelling) as well as things they actually WANT to learn about. It's working for us so much better this way. Luckily we live in a state that has very lax homeschooling rules, basically none at all, which I love.
Thanks for the solid informational video Angela! I am new to your channels and a mom who is planning to home school next year for the first time ... most likely both my son and daughter who will be in 3rd and 1st. We are all in traditional school still this year but I am getting excited to make the change for so many reasons... excited and scared too of course 😅! I'm taking notes on curriculum recommendations so I am super interested in seeing more videos like this!
This was SO unbelievably encouraging Angela 💗 Thank you so much!! To-Do: I need to truly focus more on what interests my kids, dive deeper and I need to celebrate more 🎉
Great video! The “sticky” subject for me in my younger years was Schoolhouse Rock. I still, after 40 years, remember most of those songs. And, I applied it to my daily lessons in school. 📚🎸
One disclaimer I would give as a mom who's homeschooled for over 20 years and is married to a former history teacher, remember that musicals, movies, etc take great liberties with the facts of history. While they can be a fun activity, it's important that untruths are corrected and aren't used as the lesson. Great example is calling the U.S. a democracy.... no, we are a republic. There's a liberal movement behind many many historical media and sadly, even many modern textbooks, that would love for Americans to believe we are a democracy.
My sons were homeschooled. They are now middle aged men with great attitudes about learning every single day. I was running a medical practice, working in my own dress shop, and very involved in politics so our system was highly customized to fit with our needs. We were always firm believers in reading TONS of books. To help with history I chose books that were made into movies. We'd see the movie first and then get into the reading. You are absolutely spot on with correcting errors and misrepresentation in this way. We became adept at critiquing the accuracy of Hollywood productions and from that I had them write compositions outlining all the mistakes. We also had very full discussions on how Hollywood affects our culture both in a good way and a bad. When we watched the movies, it was easy to stop the scene and mention briefly what was particularly egregious. We only did this for "school" activities because obviously it would be annoying to have constant interruptions in ordinary viewing but it worked particularly well because there was no writing or test taking involved. The boys learned a great deal about articulating their thoughts. As they grew in confidence, our discussions became far more enlightened and complex. It was awesome. Even as a grown-up, I enjoy getting British classic literature tied to movies because reading the work after seeing the film made it easy to picture what the world looked like in that time. I get to consider whether or not the producers chose actors wisely or not. A series like Downton Abbey is an excellent example because they weave the various stories with famous events that changed the world. The main point is about getting depth in the learning experience. We still see movies with our sons and then enjoy a dinner/discussion afterwards. It's great for me because it brings me back to a time when we shared every waking moment together.
Personally I would not want Google answering "questions" for my children. Facts seem to be definitely misinterpreted these days. I will check out Night Time Zookeeper though!
Zookeeper sounds similar to MiaAcademy…one I am looking into this year. It is Christian though and they actually have a way for kids to socially connect as well and have monitors that read what is being chatted about (a friend of mine uses it and said one of her sons said, “Boooo,” to somebody else’s comment and the monitor told him that that wasn’t necessary or kind…or something like that and then sent an email to mom to let her know that it was discussed with him…something she was very grateful for). Also the teachers have more of a Christian perspective as well as the subjects. They have several languages one can learn. As well as subjects like art and music. There is Mia Prep as well that is for high schoolers, very similar but a little more expensive as well as advanced. They have the regular subjects also. I am mostly giving it a try for the languages as well as the math…my 8th grader is needing to take some pre-algebra, and I am just not capable of teaching that and teaching textbooks was a bit over their head. Hoping this is a better alternative. Just thought I would let you know of something for the older grades….like zookeeper. 😊
Im homeschooling for the first time this year. My 3rd grader tried zoo keeper for a few days and didnt like it. Maybe we'll try it again at a later time
Love your homeschool videos! What if as a parent I have a learning disability. Just not very book smart and terrible at math. Is there a chance for me to homeschool?
Learning through the rhythm of Hamilton! 🎶📚 Such a creative approach to homeschooling. I love how you've emphasized making history come alive and engaging kids with hands-on experiences. And thank you for introducing us to Night Zookeeper, it sounds like an amazing tool!
I can’t wait to homeschool and I really like the sponsor of your video today cuz it seems so helpful. I wish I was at that point of where I could actually use it but hopefully it’s around in a few years lol 😂😂😂
What a great reminder. I totally started out trying to do things like a classroom and learned over time that it was not sticking. Now that my oldest sons are in high school, I am amazed at the things that did stick and am so glad. Of course, it is the things that were the most interactive and interesting to them.
What do you recommend as far as jr high, 8th grade for Language arts, vocabulary, etc..,.? We are bothe stressed, my daughter and I, and i feel I need a more “do it all” online program that can teach, grade, etc..I worry I’m not doing enough or a good job!
I feel bad because I'm not the fun parent that likes to do hands on things or fun things... ugh. I hate dealing with experiments. I don't like building things like the kiwi crate stuff, and neither do they... I know that this stuff is important, too, but I just don't. My kids don't seem to have a love or any interest in anything either. I feel like i'm just going through motions to get it done.
Love this video (along with all of your other videos :). Excited to get the Night Zookeeper. My 3rd grader is going to loooooovvvve it. Thank you so much. God Bless
Hello from Greece 🇬🇷, really I can't do my children reading the summer. We have to reading because they are behind to the school but how can I make them do it with pleasure and happinesses????
Hi Angela I love your videos. I don't watch youtube a lot but when i do i binge watch your videos that i have missed. I have question, which I hope isn't offensive. I'm from India, and we don't do homeschooling here, and all the knowledge that I have about homeschooling is from movies and now youtube. In movies homeschooling kids are shown as loners or "wierdos" which I can see is not true. How do kids make friends without going to school? As that is an important part of school experience. And can I incorporate some of the homeschooling principles without actually homeschooling?
As for my family, we have a great church community that does Sunday School, Wednesday night programs, and host events thru out the year. Also, I co-started a weekly homeschool group (like a co-op) and it went from 16 kids last year to 30 kids this year! We have regular park playdates with other families. Aaaand, our local library has Lego play on Tuesdays and "Crafternoon" on Wednesdays. Oh, and summer sports thru our park district (Tball and soccer).
To this day I remember my mom teaching me basic math skills with piles of cookies: “If you have five cookies and I give you three more, how many cookies do you have?”
My 12 year son is a special needs kid...he strugles with math and school...but he discovered history from historic movies, than documentaries...and nou we discovered he is extremly passionate and skiled in history and that helped his self esteem, my wories about his future and also in school😊❤
Yep I’m about to change my 9th graders world history … the more I use boxed curriculum the more I’m kind of like wanting to do our own thing… it seems so one dimensional … any other homeschool moms feel the same?
Yes! My boys are 12 and 10, and I cannot get them (my oldest especially) engaged in the curriculum we're doing. Last week I decided something has to change. I have to figure out how to teach them much of this through activity and adventure because sitting at the table and following a curriculum is NOT working.
I have heard americans talk about hamilton but for some reason I have just realised my brain was merging it with the greatest showman 😂 clearly its very different 😂
ok. the play is NOT history. not at all. so you have to be careful that the facts are good. it's the same way with The Hollow Crown - three plays by Shakespeare. good lit - but not great history. to be taken with a grain of salt. The Crossing is also good. there are better videos more factual, if that matters to you.
