Learning Outside the Lines

I know it's that time of year because all the FB groups are discussing plans for the next school year and wanting ideas on new math programs.....

I share my ideas on changing up programs and the ever important advice of "If it's not broke, don't fix it."

I share lots of tips on how to search for new resources and how to be sure it will work for your student AND you, the teacher.

Find me on Facebook where I post articles, live videos, and relevant resources

My website is www.learningoutsidethelines.com

Check me out on Instagram @Lattebooks2read where I post books and resources for learning.

Please feel free to send me comments, suggestions for episodes, or questions to [email protected]

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Have you ever been to a comic con (conference)? Ever wondered what goes on there and if they are educational?

In this episode I talk about my own experiences with fandom cons, specifically, WonderCon, from last weekend.

I share the many ways that cons can be educational and how comics can really engage students around important subjects such as diversity, politics, and socioeconomic issues.

Find me on Facebook where I post articles, live videos, and relevant resources

My website is www.learningoutsidethelines.com

Check me out on Instagram @Lattebooks2read where I post books and resources for learning.

Please feel free to send me comments, suggestions for episodes, or questions to [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I briefly discuss the Spring Equinox and what that means for our family. We will be spending a lot more time outdoors and exploring and I will be releasing new episodes every 2 weeks instead of every week. For almost a year I've been trying to post episodes weekly, but spending more time with my kids, homeschooling, and outside means less time on line, thus the change to every other week.

The Spring Equinox is also this month's full moon, sometimes referred to as the Worm Moon or the Sap Moon. There are many ways to celebrate the changing of the seasons including nature walks, looking for changes in nature, and planting.

I shared 2 books on the spring equinox:

A New Beginning: Celebrating the Spring Equinox by Wendy Pfeffer

The Spring Equinox Celebrating the Greening of the Earth By Ellen Jackson

I also read one of my favorite books, I'm In Charge of Celebrations by Byrd Baylor and illustrated by Peter Parnall.

This book is a must read for spring and I hope others will check it out, as well as other books by Byrd Baylor.

Find me on Facebook where I post articles, live videos, and relevant resources

My website is www.learningoutsidethelines.com

Check me out on Instagram @Lattebooks2read where I post books and resources for learning.

Please feel free to send me comments, suggestions for episodes, or questions to [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Homeschoolers are busy! We have classes, lessons, field trips, play dates, etc. Sometimes our schedules are crazy!

Sometimes it seems we are constantly gone and aren’t getting any “school work” done. And honestly, sometimes I think this is technically true. We will get to Friday and I’ll realize they completed all of 2 math lessons, 1-2 pages of their grammar book and did no writing except the grocery list and “don’t eat this” on their box off cereal they picked at the store. 

We start to question what we are doing.....we wonder if our kids are suffering for it educationally and how do we “catch up?" We are notoriously always feeling “behind.” 

But if we really stop and look at the big picture, they are living life and learning to manage in reality. IMO the school day is an artificial construct that doesn’t mimic real life. It’s a bubble. 

You’re dealing with same age peers and this is the only time in real life this is done. Even in college, you have a variety of ages in classes. 

But with homeschooling most activities are mixed ages and often dealing with adults in ways that many kids don’t get to deal with adults regularly. 

I absolutely love to see homewchool kids having in depth convos with adults about something and the adults are enthralled and often comment afterwards how impressed they are. 

This communication is a real skill that is necessary but also needs to be practiced and experienced. 

Running from activity to activity and managing schedules and learning about things as they come up IS real life. Managing time and juggling activities and multitasking are important to learn and practice....but they are also important to learn without the major stress of a bad grade or losing sleep because an assignment is due the next day and there simply isn’t enough time in a day to complete it.

Yes, I agree learning to read, write, and math are all important, but it’s been shown over and over these skills dont have to be learned with a text and workbook and lectures. These skills can be learned thru usage and real life and necessity. And there isn’t an age guideline on these life skills, no grades that must be followed. 

People give examples all the time of kids learning years worth of grammar or math in a few months because they are mature enough to process the info and it’s comes easy when they’re ready. 

They also learn more deeply when the information is relevant such as science or history when they are at a tidepool experiencing the sea life or walking through a museum and want to learn more about a time period or person. 

I know many homeschool parents will tell you, myself included, that we’ve learned so much with our kids that we never learned in school because we are engaged with the info and learning in a meaningful way. 

I wanted to share this today to remind you not to worry about getting behind or not doing enough, because I can assure you, they are learning more than you think! Give yourself permission to stop stressing about it and enjoy the ride! 

Find me on Facebook where I post articles, live videos, and relevant resources

My website is www.learningoutsidethelines.com

Check me out on Instagram @Lattebooks2read where I post books and resources for learning.

Please feel free to send me comments, suggestions for episodes, or questions to [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Homeschooling can be challenging this time of year with cold, snow, and rain. Cabin fever can set in and we get bored with our current curriculum or model. Today I want to talk about interest led learning because it might be a great option to get out of this "rut" we get in or it might just be something that you're curious about.

Interest led learning is basically following your child's interest for a topic and deep diving in all aspects of the topic.

Kids are curious but their attention span might be short. Don't get discouraged if they jump from interest to interest and don't stick with an interest for the long term. We never know when they are planting seeds in their brain that will be of use later on down the line. We never know when that one interest might be a long term passion, as well.

Interest led learning is not an all or nothing endeavor. It can work with the curriculum or model you are using. You can use interest led learning one day a week or one week a month or maybe just in the summer. You can make it work however it might work best for you. In the hard months of February or March, maybe take a break from your regular model and just take a few weeks or month to focus on their interests. You can still gain academic skills such as writing or math thru a variety of methods. They may write reviews, reports, budget for a trip, use maps to plan a trip and learn geography. These unique activities are learning at it's best in my opinion.

If you want to learn more about interest led learning just google for blogs, articles, and youtube videos. There are a lot of resources out there to use and get ideas from.

Find me on Facebook where I post articles, live videos, and relevant resources

My website is www.learningoutsidethelines.com

Check me out on Instagram @Lattebooks2read where I post books and resources for learning.

Please feel free to send me comments, suggestions for episodes, or questions to [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The idea of homeschooling can be confusing and overwhelming for anyone just starting out. There's so much information out there, it's hard to know where to start. Even experienced homeschoolers still struggle with many of the same issues.

In this episode I share 5 "don'ts" (and a bonus) to save the new homeschooler some time and money. Even an experienced homeschooler can benefit from most of these tips as well.

Find me on Facebook where I post articles, live videos, and relevant resources

My website is www.learningoutsidethelines.com

Check me out on Instagram @Lattebooks2read where I post books and resources for learning.

Please feel free to send me comments, suggestions for episodes, or questions to [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I share my great experience at Gameschoolcon and how you can use gameschooling in your homeschool.

So what is gameschooling? I don’t think there is any hard and fast definition other than learning thru games. and this is learning thru a variety of games from board games to video games to sports and active games. Some people use games a lot in their educational model and others use it as a supplement or reinforcement. Whatever works for you and your children is great.

The wonderful thing about games is that it can appeal to many different learning styles or needs. A visual learner can be attracted to the colors and pictures and layout of a game and enjoy the pathways that need to be followed. Obviously a video game is very visual and can engage a child in ways a book cant. An auditory learner can learn thru the spoken language of the game and instructions and conversation between players. The sound effects in a video game may hold their attention and help them connect with the information being gained. A kinesthetic or hands on learner can obviously learn better by simply moving the game pieces thru the game and handling cards or rolling dice. They obviously use hand eye coordination with video games and lots of physical energy with things like tag, nerf battles, or even hopscotch (which can be used with lots of learning games) A social learner can obviously enjoy the interaction and connection between the players and learn better simply by being in their element of social interaction with meaning.

I share more examples of games in different subjects and listed below are resources I mentioned to learn more.

Meg Groom's Gameschooling website

Meg Groom's Facebook page Gameschooling (Homeschooling with Games)

My Little Poppies Facebook page Gameschool Community

Board Game Geek web site

Don't forget to use YouTube for tutorials on how to play games and game reviews.

Pinterest and Teachers pay Teachers are other sources for printable games (free or cheap)

Finally, remember that games are a great way to CONNECT with each other. With board games you're actually making eye contact, talking with each other, and giving each other your attention which can be harder to come by in this digital age. You also have to remember that your kids aren’t just learning specific facts or information from the game, they are also learning from you thru the language and terminology that is used. For math games you use math language and talk about math in a real world way, you make this topic specific language REAL and meaningful, not just abstract in a textbook.

Find me on Facebook where I post articles, live videos, and relevant resources

My website is www.learningoutsidethelines.com

Check me out on Instagram @Lattebooks2read where I post books and resources for learning.

Please feel free to send me comments, suggestions for episodes, or questions to [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I share 5 things to do in your homeschool (or even if you aren't homeschooling) this week.

I also shared that Julie Bogart of Bravewriter has a new book coming on the first week of February. Here's a link to pre order Julie Bogart's new book, The Brave Learner

Please feel free to send me comments, suggestions for episodes, or questions to [email protected]

Find me on FB where I post articles, encouragement, and relevant resources

https://www.facebook.com/learningoutsidethelinespodcast/

or www.learningoutsidethelines.com

or Instagram @ Lattebooks2read where I post books and resources for learning.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode talks about the idea of homeschool spaces and that a dedicated homeschool space isn't needed for our children to learn. Many of us think we need a special space or arrangement for homeschooling but most of us really don't need anything special for our kids to learn. Kids can learn in many different places and special accommodations are usually not needed.

I also share my own passion project for the year #2019authenticspaces is a my plea for all of us to make our home space a comfortable and authentic space. Even if it's a corner of the yard or just your bedroom, decorate it as your dream space that you've always wanted. Don't worry about something not being "adult" enough or practical, bring things into your space that you love and that bring you joy. Make your home a place that makes you happy!

Please feel free to send me comments, suggestions for episodes, or questions to [email protected]

Find me on FB where I post articles, encouragement, and relevant resources

https://www.facebook.com/learningoutsidethelinespodcast/

or www.learningoutsidethelines.com

or Instagram @ Lattebooks2read where I post books and resources for learning.

Thanks for listening!

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Happy New Year 2019!

In this episode I share some solid resources that I've found very useful and supportive over time and wanted to share them with you during a time of year that sometimes needs a bit of support or motivation.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/seahomeschoolers/ is a large active secular group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/BraveScopes/ is a large active group discussing Julie Bogart's Bravewriter program

https://www.facebook.com/groups/wildschooling/ is a wonderful resource for learning and living more aligned with nature

https://www.gameschoolcon.com is a gameschool conference February 1-3 in Irvine, CA that is going to be a great event

https://playeress.com is the site for a game I mentioned, Who's She, that I absolutely LOVE!

The main topic in this episode is about not using all the great learning gifts such as art supplies, games, books, etc as formal learning and to not "teach" but rather, let your kids figure out how to use the items on their own or let them learn naturally. DON'T KILL THE LOVE OF LEARNING by formalizing it. It's easy for us to fall into the trap of always wanting to "teach" or find all the ways a child can learn from a certain resource, but it's better to let them learn organically or self directed.

Let them guide the process.

Please feel free to send me comments, suggestions for episodes, or questions to [email protected]

Find me on FB where I post articles, encouragement, and relevant resources

https://www.facebook.com/learningoutsidethelinespodcast/

or www.learningoutsidethelines.com

or Instagram @ Lattebooks2read where I post books and resources for learning.

Thanks for listening!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.