In Is Your Homeschool Hampered by Your “Addiction”? – Part 1, I covered the characteristics of “homeschool addiction”: a serious ailment which consumes many new homeschoolers early in their journey. Please understand that I do not use the term lightly or to minimize in any way the pain of physical addictions. In my experience, however, new homeschoolers share many of the same characteristics, and so I use the word to clearly describe the situation here as well. In this piece, I offer some hope and healing to those who are so smitten.

If you find yourself where I was “way back when”, what can you do?

• First, recognize that you’re addicted! Any recovery program starts with that step. And don’t be ashamed, either. Especially when you’re first starting to homeschool, there IS a learning curve and you DO need to do your own homework!
• Set limits on your internet surfing. Set a timer for the kids, and set one for yourself as well. Or limit yourself to a few hours in the evening after they go to bed, or an hour in the morning before they get up for school. Put it on a schedule so it doesn’t take over your life.
• If you’ve already got bunches of stuff, commit to using something now. Give it 6 weeks – whether or not you like it at first. Sometimes we just have to give a new program time. And you don’t want to model flippancy for your kids. If you’re tempted to buy something new, get rid of something before the new resource comes in. Sell it, give it away, who cares? Just get it out of the house!
• Make yourself write a review. I know that sounds weird – who’s gonna read it, right? But this works to your advantage in a few ways. First, it makes you sit down and analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the program for yourself. When someone asks you for your opinion, as they will, you’ll be able to answer intelligently! It also starts to build your own expertise and ability to mentor or coach other newer homeschoolers who may need advice. It gives you practice in writing, a communication skill that is sorely lacking today, and one which you will need to teach your children at some point. And lastly, it gives you some resources to start a home business! Huh? Let me tell you, you never know where you’re going to end up and what you’ll be doing down the road. With all the products I’ve tried over time, if I had thought about this idea years ago, I’d be all the more richer in resources for my homeschool website!

So, that’s my antidote to “homeschool addiction”! Turn it around and make it work for you. There’s no reason you have to stay addicted, but with a healthy amount of effort and continued education, you can channel that energy to not only help you and your family, but you can share your wisdom and experiences to help others as well.

Pat Fenner offers encouragement to homeschoolers at Help-4-Your-Homeschool.com. For monthly doses of encouragement, inspiration and ideas, sign up for her free newsletter “Sparks for the Flame”.

When I first started homeschooling 14 years ago, I developed a number of addictions. Not the life-threatening or dangerous to society ones, mind you. They appeared innocent enough, you might say even helpful, but in the long run they began to hamper my efforts. “Hello, my name is Pat, and I’m a homeschool addict” (“Hello, Pat!”) Now, don’t laugh – some of you already know what I mean. I became a free catalog addict, a homeschool magazine addict. I scoured the library and used book stores for “how to” books. I stayed glued to the internet (basic and lean as it was in those days) for resources, free worksheets, curriculum reviews. I ordered samples and accumulated portions of new curricula. I rationalized it by convincing myself that I was on a learning curve as well; that I was building a library; that I could stop anytime! The mounting stacks and piles and my bulging file cabinet was just a sign that I needed more shelves and storage, right? But late one night as I passed by the mirror in my room and looked into bloodshot eyes, the realization finally dawned on me – yes, I was addicted.

Well, I had to get it under control at least! There’s a phrase I heard recently that describes this phenomenon perfectly: appetite without activity. It perfectly described what I was experiencing, and what it causes is equally descriptive of what happened to me! Although the context in which I heard this phrase was spiritual (and I know you can apply it to health as well), what occurred in our homeschool was a veritable “freeze” in productive activity. I had so much information I didn’t know what to do with it all! I’d start the kids on one thing, and if I got the least bit of resistance, I’d switch. Don’t like worksheets? Let’s do a unit study! Too much activity there? Ok, back to a workbook. How about a pre-packaged curriculum? And don’t get me started on the gazillion resources to teach math that are available! My poor kids were going crazy – I, on the other hand, was already there.

I guess the beginning of my recovery occurred when I was talking to a good friend and mentor of mine, who had been homeschooling her 8 kids “forever”. I asked her how she chose materials for her brood. We talked a little about learning styles, and then she said to me “You know, there’s lots of good stuff out there; but don’t try it all at the expense of what’s best.” She wasn’t talking about resources, she was talking about me, my time, my presence in our children’s lives.

In the final analysis, it almost doesn’t matter what you use to homeschool your kids. And, truth be told, if you’re in this for the long haul, what you need will come to you. I could tell you tons of stories of how that played out while homeschooling our 2 oldest through high school – I could never have planned it out better! Find and stay connected to a good support group, and check your community for opportunities for your children. But whatever you use and whatever you do, do it with them to whatever extent possible. I use a workbook for my 3rd grade son’s math, but we always sit down to start it together. We review concepts, pull together a quick manipulative or 2 to get the idea across if need be, and then he’s on his own. We go to the Y for PE – together; watch videos and read historical fiction and make timelines for History – together; go to the library – together… get the picture?!

Here are 5 simple steps you can take (in no particular order) to break your addiction and get your school moving again.

• Go outside with the kids! Take a walk, jump on the trampoline, plant (or weed) the garden. Just get moving and give yourself and your kids a break!
• Ask the kids to pick out their favorite book and read to them or listen to them read. There’s nothing like snuggling on the couch with your kiddos around, reading something together, to bring you back to reality.
• Call or – better yet – go visit a friend. Bring the kids – or not. And if it’s a homeschooling friend, you’re allowed to “talk shop” if need be. The point is to get a change of scenery.
• Do something non-homeschool related! I know that sounds extreme, but I promise you’ll enjoy it. Even if it’s to grab a cup of coffee with a friend or neighbor, or meet your hubby for lunch.  This time, however, homeschool topics are not allowed.
• Check out Is Your Homeschool Hampered by Your “Addiction”? – Part 2 with some more tips and suggestions!

Homeschooling can provide a wonderful education for your kids and provide ample opportunities for your family to grow and learn together – as long as you keep on moving on a productive and healthy path!!

Pat Fenner offers encouragement to homeschoolers at Help-4-Your-Homeschool.com. For monthly doses of encouragement, inspiration and ideas, sign up for her free newsletter “Sparks for the Flame”.

Author: Shantell Berrett

When someone asks us, “How is your vision?”, we may respond with something like, “Great! It’s 20/20.” What we are essentially answering is simply how clearly we see things; there is so much more to vision and processing than what we see. “Since something like 75% to 90% of all a child learns comes to him via the visual pathways, it stands to reason that if there is any interference in those pathways, a child will not develop to his maximum potential” (Getz, Donald J., O.D., “Vision and Perception Therapy,” 1973).

One of the most important visual skills is directionality or tracking. Having our eyes coordinate and turn inward to focus on one task at a time, such as reading, must be learned. It can be difficult for our eyes if any of these skills are not automatic, and it will take extra effort on the part of the individuals. This can be very frustrating and exhausting and will often cause them to need a break. They will be the ones who stare out the window after reading for a while or rest their heads on their arms, covering one eye, or they could be the ones who start to act out due to frustration. These students are often mislabeled as ADD or even ADHD. All of these important eye processes can be learned. Perceiving the symbols, and training our eyes to work left to right, which is a convention of the English language, take practice, time, and, often, methods of intervention to help.

Directional tracking is an important and an often-neglected, essential tool in reading. An article by Miscese Gagen, a mother and tutor, explains perfectly the importance of this skill:

“We read and write English from left-to-right. This left-to-right horizontal arrangement of print is an essential component of the written English language. Proper directional tracking is looking at and processing all the letters in order from left-to-right. Proper directional tracking is essential for reading success.”

“For accurate reading, the student must process sounds in order from left-to-right. Knowing the individual sounds is not sufficient… Correct phonologic processing requires proper directional tracking.”

“You need to directly teach proper directional tracking because scanning left-to-right in a straight line manner is not a natural process. Instinctively, looking all over is a superior way to gather and process information. Straight line, left-to-right processing is one of the arbitrary artificial components of our man made written English language that the student must learn and automatically apply. Many children apply the superior natural instincts of looking all over and fail to develop straight line left-to-right tracking skills that are essential to proficient reading.” (Gagen, RightTrackReading.com)

Discover Intensive Phonics for Yourself has built-in tools that help immensely with directional tracking. First, Discover Intensive Phonics for Yourself teaches consonant and vowel sounds in slides. Slides put a consonant with a vowel for correct pronunciation by having students slide the sounds from left-to-right. This is much more effective than teaching ending patterns first, then going back (working right-to-left) and adding initial phonemes. This is not the way our eyes need to look at words for fluency. Our eyes must be trained to look at two, three, or more phonemes with each eye fixation. Slides have them look at those initial sounds as a unit, which causes an increase in fluency and the ability to read by simply adding final or ending phonemes. Second, Discover Intensive Phonics for Yourself has the student mark the word, underneath, from left-to-right.  This helps their eyes track linearly and ensures they are seeing and processing each sound in the correct order. After learning how to mark words in this manner, students will eventually transfer this skill to their reading and “see” the markings in their heads as they read the word left-to-right. It keeps them working directionally and helps with blending, fluency, and decoding. When they are able to decode automatically and are fluently working from left-to-right, comprehension also increases.

Using a finger or a card to move along underneath the words when reading is another important and helpful tool in directional tracking.  Utilizing these important tools can help your child feel more confident and encounter fewer obstacles when they are reading.

Shantell Berrett has a B.A. in English specializing in reading and dyslexia.  She has three wonderful kids ages 13, 11, and 7.  Her 11 year old son has dyslexia and is the reason she works in this field in writing, research and educating in schools and at home. Visit her website at ReadingHorizonsAtHome.com.

Author: Dianne Dachyshyn

Learning how to write a story takes time and is developed in stages. It involves much more than plot. Starting from scratch means creating a setting, characters and dialogue. That is a big task, but we can help. If we want our children to learn how to write a story, we need to prime the pump with creative writing ideas. If we provide some of the elements, it makes it easier for them to start creating. Once they are creating, they will produce. With production comes refinement. The more they write, the better they will write.

Two simple techniques are story retelling and story extension. Begin with a familiar, well-loved story. Fairy tales are excellent, even for older kids. I used this technique in my French classes when we were learning The Three Little Pigs (my junior highs were in shock when we began). Eventually, we retold the story so that nothing changed–neither the characters, nor the plot, but the story was restated in new language. Kids are often very clever in the way they retell the story. When they retell, they are allowed to add as many details as they like as long as the meaning, the characters and the sequence of the story remain unchanged.

Story extension takes the story past the original ending. It answers the questions what then and what if . . . ? You would be surprised how creative your children will be when they need not invent the characters or the setting. Even the basic plot line has been previously developed. All they have to do is fine tune and add the odd character or twist in plot. It gives them a foundation and parameters, freeing them to take risks with the part for which they are responsible. This is much more manageable and makes them more comfortable. You should help them get started by brainstorming with them (that’s the grist). Ask some questions. Stir their imagination pot. Prime the Pump.

Once they have experience using familiar stories, you can give them a picture and use the ideas in it for grist. Start a file of good pictures with interesting characters and some kind of action (avoid landscapes). Magazines are great for these. Then you can prompt them by asking things like:

“What is a good name for the girl in the picture? Where do you think she is going? Where did she come from? Why is she smiling/sad/angry? What do you think she is saying to the dog? Who is the other person? What will happen if it starts to rain/snow?”

You get the idea. The possibilities are endless. Remember that a pump cannot pump air and few of us can pull ideas from a vacuum. Give your kids some grist (creative writing ideas) to get them going. Then watch them create. Happy writing!

Dianne Dachyshyn is a freelance writer and a motivational speaker who lives in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.  She works as a home education facilitator, helping homeschooling families plan their programs and deal with challenges.  Dianne is passionate about teaching children to write.  Visit her website at HomeschoolWell.com.