Lynn's Farewell, BrainChild.com, Spelling Help
By Lynn Hogan
Added Friday, November 11, 2005
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The Homeschooler's Notebook
Encouragement and Advice for Homeschool Families
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Vol. 6 No 45 November 11, 2005
ISSN: 1536-2035
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Copyright (c) 2000-2005 Lynn Hogan. All Rights Reserved.
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Welcome to the Homeschooler's Notebook!
If you like this newsletter, recommend it to a friend. We all
need to be helping each other with our schools!
Directions for subscribing and unsubscribing are below.
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IN THIS ISSUE:
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Notes from Lynn:
-- It's Here
Helpful Hints
-- On Line Assessment Site
-- Lewis and Clark Education Kit
-- CLEP Website
Question of the Week:
-- How Do I Get My Son to Quit Dawdling?
Reader's Response
-- Teaching Spelling
Lynn's Picks
-- Favorite Books
Announcements
--Subscriber Information Including Archive Retrieval
--Sponsorship Information
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NOTES FROM LYNN
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Well, today is the day. At the end of this article I have some exciting
news. NO don't go scrolling down already, stay with me for a little bit
more. I'd like you to go with me down memory lane. Do you remember when you
first decided you were going to homeschool? I remember when I did. Many of
you have read on the website (http://www.unitstudyhelps.com/jnl.shtml) how I
had no clue that I was going to homeschool, and that when I made that
decision I was terrified. Perhaps you felt (or still feel) the same way.
Well, today we are many, many years past that juncture in my life. My
daughter has grown up, gone to college, gotten married to a fellow believer
and is working in her field of choice. My son has also grown up. He is
finishing his last class to earn his associates degree (he already has an PC
Tech diploma and several certifications) and is looking for his first
full-time job in his field. (Anyone out there in the NC area looking for a
versatile PC person?).
Many of you have followed the trials and tribulations of my family through
this newsletter and another through the years. (Anyone remember the
Konos-korner?) Six years ago I became a member of the Dollar Stretcher
family and began to publish this newsletter on a weekly basis. I tried to be
open with you about the things going on in MY homeschool so that you could
learn that your homeschool could survive. After all, if Lynn Hogan could do
this thing, almost ANYONE could!
Throughout the years, I have always felt it was important to empower you to
teach YOUR school YOUR way. I never encouraged you to not care about your
school or your children. People would write and say they were leaving
because I didn't push a certain style of schooling or critique curriculum. I
was fine with that because I always believed that there were plenty of other
avenues for you to find that kind of information. My heart was always to
focus on encouraging you to be the best homeschooling parent you could be
without "beating you up". Most of you had plenty of other people in your
worlds telling you what was wrong with your schools!
Today is the end of an era for me and a beginning of a new era for you.
Although my last child graduated 2 years ago, I continued to try to supply
you with quality content. I HOPE that, throughout the years, you found
something of value in each issue.
For the last several months, I have been feeling like it was time to pass
this newsletter on to someone who would be equally passionate about helping
you on your homeschooling journey. I began to put out some feelers, and have
been blessed to have gotten to know Heather Idoni of FamilyClassroom.net
(http://www.familyclassroom.net ). I truly believe that Heather will
continue the ministry of helping you to be successful in your homeschooling
journey. Heather has homeschooled all her children (5 boys from ages 5-15)
from the beginning and is very familiar with the challenges and blessings
involved in the process. More than that, Heather has relationships with a
number of other homeschooling experts that will be sharing that expertise
with you as well. I truly feel confident that this change will be a great
opportunity for the readers of the Homeschooler's Notebook
I do want to add that it has been a blessing to have been able to serve you
these last several years. I have been HONORED to have received some
marvelously encouraging e-mails over the years. I will always be available
to give you my .02. My passion for homeschoolers has not changed, simply my
venue for doing so. Feel free to e-mail me at Lynn@unitstudyhelps.com any
time you feel so led. THANK YOU for letting me share my family and MY SCHOOL
with you. Please remember that it is, indeed, YOUR SCHOOL! You can do this
and I believe in YOU! May the Lord RICHLY bless you on your homeschooling
journey!
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HELPFUL TIPS:
Here's Your Chance! Send YOUR Ideas Along to
HN-ideas@familyclassroom.net
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On-Line Math and Reading Assessments
I am a special education teacher. In our department at my high
school, we have been utilizing a website that has online math /
reading assessments. http://www.brainchild.com/ This is a
wonderful tool for teachers and parents alike to visit and see
an effective analysis of how their child performs. It is state-
specific, so one click on your state brings up materials that
are aligned with the standards and benchmarks specific to your
state. - Julie
Lewis and Clark Education Kit
Lewis and Clark: The "Back to School with Lewis & Clark" program
was developed to make a 200-year-old historical event relevant
for today's students. The program offers educators free CD-ROMS
that will allow them to easily incorporate lesson plans on
Lewis & Clark into their teaching for grades 4-12. Go to:
http://www.backtoschoolwithlewisandclark.org/ to request
your copy. - Kathy
Interested in CLEP Testing?
For those of you interested in the CLEP, I stumbed across this
site and it is fabulous. - Helen
http://mcquacks2.tripod.com/cleplessonplans/index.html
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ASK YOUR QUESTION
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Have you a burning question that you can't ask just anyone? Send
it to HN-questions@familyclassroom.net and we'll see if a smart
subscriber can't help you out. (Editor's Note: You can also
post your QUESTIONS at this message board to see what others
might have to say. The address is: http://www.voy.com/89720/
PLEASE SEND YOUR RESPONSE TO
HN-answers@familyclassroom.net
--
My 11-year-old ADHD, very bright son takes HOURS to complete
math worksheets that should take about an hour or so. He's
winning and it's making me crazy! Limit setting, discipline,
giving him shorter section of the worksheet haven't improved
anything. I know he can do the work...any suggestion is
appreciated! - Penny
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YOUR RESPONSE
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NOTE: my publication of these responses does not necessarily
mean that I endorse a product or an activity. You make your own
decisions about how these responses might work in YOUR school!
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I was wondering how you go about helping a child 6 & 8 years of
age learn how to spell words.
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My 8 year old writes in a journal and I make the spelling list
from the words she writes. I pick a few words each time she
writes and place them on a list. She copies those words out
throughout the week and then I give her a spelling test at the
end of the week. This idea comes from a language arts
curriculum I am currently using; I enjoy this method because
she is using words that are relevant to her. If we don't
journal sometimes I just put down words that she has asked me
to spell, or words I see that are spelled incorrectly when she
is drawing. - Julie
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If your family has a computer, could your child play spell check
with the computer until s/he gets it right? Try to keep a list
of those tricky words so you can review them the following week
and month until s/he's got the word firmly implanted. Also,
whenever we were in the car, we had an ongoing spelling bee.
You could keep small prizes or treats in the car for
encouraging rewards. - Susan
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One thing that worked with my oldest was to have a spelling
notebook for him. I started with a list of spelling words that
I found online for his age. I had a different page for each
letter. Then, as he asked how to spell words, I first had him
look in the notebook. I checked to make sure it was the
correct word (ie red or read.) If it wasn't in his notebook, I
spelled it for him as he wrote it down. He always had a place
to start, and I didn't have to repeat the same words over and
over. When he found words in his reading that he didn't know
how to pronounce, I would often have him write those down, as
well as words that he misspelled in his writing assignments.
- Donna
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I have had the same questions. This year though I found a great
way to teach spelling in addition to their curriculum.. When
writing for creativity or other subjects I allow them to spell
out the word how they believe the word to be spelled. I do not
correct them at that time. Once they have finished their work,
I call them over to me and they read it out loud to me. (Only
they can read some of those spelling words!LOL!) I take my pen,
use editing marks, and then write the correct spelling over the
word. They do not have to correct their spelling that day but
the following day before starting new work. My daughter is no
longer frustrated at the writing process and loves creative
writing now. You'd also be surprised at how many new spelling
words your children will pick up! - Elizabeth
---
Here is a game called RnR Spelling that I downloaded for free
for my 7 y/o second grader.
http://www.freenetpages.co.uk/hp/khughes/rnrspelling/ No sounds
or exciting characters, but it works for me, and you can edit
the list to include any words your child might have problems
with. I get my spelling lessons from www.abcteach.com. They
have interesting spelling units you can print out. The lessons
include doing a worksheet or two every day of the week and a
spelling test at the end of the week. The worksheets are fun -
at least for my daughter - and include things like word
searches, crosswords, and old-fashioned copy work, as well as
review units. The membership fee is more than worth it, IMO,
and they have much more than spelling lessons available. - Maria
---
I have an 8 year-old who just seems to be a natural speller, but
he still needs help with some of the more difficult words.
Keeping a journal is one way that we have done it. He makes
his entries as best he can. At the end of the week, I go over
them and circle any misspelled words. These become the words
that he'll have for study for the coming week. This
concentrates his focus only on the words he needs help with.
The subjects of his journal entries are varied. This helps
with a greater variety of words. - Rhonda
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LYNN'S PICKS
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Because this is my last issue, I am going to share some of my
favorite books with you. I did cheat and asked around to other
former homeschooling students as well as parents. If you go to
the links provided and think they are worth your time, you may
want to pick up some as holiday gifts. For the sake of space, I
will let you get the descriptions from the links.
Teaching:
Writers Express: A Handbook for Young Writers
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0669471658/unitstudyhelpsth
The Three R's
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0940319063/unitstudyhelpsth
Student Recommended Fiction for Your Student:
Little House on Rocky Ridge
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0064404781/unitstudyhelpsth
Hatchet
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0689826990/unitstudyhelpsth
Devotion/Spiritual
The Life You've Always Wanted
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0310246954/unitstudyhelpsth
Adult Fiction
One Tuesday Morning
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0310247527/unitstudyhelpsth
The Wisdom Hunter
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1590522591/unitstudyhelpsth
These are just a few of my favorites that I read or used over the years.
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SPONSORSHIP INFORMATION
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There are opportunities for you to be a sponsor of this
newsletter. If you are interested, drop an e-mail to
marketing@stretcher.com with "Homeschoolers-Notebook" as the
subject. We'll send you some information on how to be a part of
this ministry!
EDITOR'S NOTES:
All contributed articles are printed with the author's prior
consent. It is assumed that any questions, tips or replies to
questions may be reprinted. All letters become the property of
the "Homeschooler's Notebook". (Occasionally your contribution
may have to be edited for space.)
Again, I welcome you to the group. Feel free to send any
newsletter contributions or get in touch with Heather at
HN-articles@familyclassroom.net .
This Ezine is listed in 'The Free Directory of Ezines:
http://www.freezineweb.com/ as well as this other directory:
http://www.ezinelisting.com/patrick/index.php?aff=Lynnusa2000
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