Educating Leaders - No Conveyor Belt Education Here!

August 9, 2006 - Celebrate the First Day of School

Taking a break from our Raising Leaders book promotion . . .
Here are some ways to celebrate the first day of school.

What Do You Have for Breakfast on the First Day of School?

We have ICE CREAM!!!

That's right. I started a tradition several years ago of serving

ice cream sundaes for breakfast on the first day of homeschool .
Hey, now everyone has something to look forward to when school

starts again. BTW, having ice cream once a year for breakfast

won't ruin your kids for life.

You can't imagine their expressions when they saw ice cream

on the breakfast table for the first time. It was priceless! Even

though my kids expect it now, it is still fun to see them come

to the breakfast table full of toppings and ice cream!

BACK-TO-SCHOOL TRADITIONS – CONTEST FROM 2005

MOST ORIGINAL:

***Poems for Scavenger Hunt so kids can find their school supplies

(curriculum, new pens, rulers, etc and the last is usually candy)

Absolute favorite every year and they ask if mom will do it again.

Each poem is just a couple of lines…rhymes & corny…but we

have fun doing it!

More ideas for your Back-To-School Time:

--Ice Cream Sundae dinner the night before school starts

--Get school room (basement) all cleaned & ready for a new year –

could be thorough cleaning to surprise paint job. Try to change

something every year even if it’s little

--New School Year Gifts – paper, pencils, etc to new math games,

typing computer programs, play-doh with a few things thrown in like

sugarless bubblegum, scented erasers and such. Every child has

their own gift bag.

--Special meals for first day of school – something I usually don’t

serve for breakfast (cinnamon rolls), lunch (ABC soup & cookies)

and supper (blackboard shaped cake for dessert).

--First day made fun & exciting – to instill anticipation for learning,

documented by photos standing by white board with their names &

new grades posted in order to compare to previous years growth

and changes. Everyone is treated special from toddler to middle

school student!

--Scavenger Hunt for child’s books – I don’t let them see them until

then. When a box arrives prior to school, I try to just build the

anticipation, “ooooh-cool”, as I ppek in the bo. When the first day

arrives, he (9yo) runs from clue to clue to clue…until he comes to

the bag full of books. Then spread them out. He love sthem over

for about an hour or so, and then we talk about his new privileges

and responsibilities as he’s older. He is then putting his own

excitement to the year…Works for us!

--Bring out new school supplies I’ve stocked up on during the sales

(something I love to do) Kids get new notebooks, pencils, pens,

erasers, pencil boxes, pouches, etc.

If you have other ways you celebrate the first day of school, leave a comment on this blog post.

Kerry

category:

Homeschooling
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August 10, 2006 - new ebooks

Posted by Anonymous

I am VERY excited about reading the new books and discovering more of a plan on how to teach leadership education at home. However, I do wish they were REAL books as opposed to electronic books. It is so hard on the eyes to read online and if I have to print the whole book, I don't want to pay very much for it since I have to use all my own ink, paper and TIME!!!

God bless!

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August 10, 2006 - Good Point

Posted by LeadershipEducation

If you heard my workshop on Tuesday night, you heard me address this very issue! I really want to print these in a real book format. But, there are a few drawbacks for homeschoolers if I do this.

1. The books would not be ready until next year...by the time we do all the prep work, send them to the printer and print. I can't wait that long to get this information to you.

2. The books will be much more expensive if I print them right now. When you do a short run print of books, the cost is much higher per book (unlike books by big printing companies - Penguin Putnam, Random House, etc). The cost of your ink & paper will be much less than the total cost of printed books at this time.

3. The entire package will be much more expensive, with all the bonuses I have for your - audio workshops, transcripts of the workshops, bonus books. Making physical products is quite expensive.

I want to be fair with your pocketbook. I know it is expensive to raise children and educate them at home. I truly believe the value of this package will far outweigh the price.

One Tip: When I print ebooks, it takes very little of my time. I put the paper in the printer. I find the file on my computer and tell it to print. I walk away and do something with my children. When I return, voila, the book is printed. Only a few minutes used. When my husband reads aloud to our family, I hole-punch those pages and put them in a binder. (Or one of my children volunteer to hole-punch)

Multi-Tasking is wonderful because my time is very valuable, too!!!

Thanks for bringing up this issue.

Kerry

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August 10, 2006 - 1st day of school? no such thing

Posted by Miss Heck

I don't have a first day of school - nor even a last day of school. I regret classifying my kids into grade levels and only do so because everyone asks, "...and what grade are you in?". Then my kids look stupid when they don't know. After giving the kids a break from schoolwork sometime during the summer, we slowly start to incorporate reading projects, fun workbooks, new learning software computer programs, etc... into our everyday living. Not all at once, mind you, just a little here and there. The kids don't even realize they're learning and "doing school". Within a month or two, they're involved in the full school curriculum and we just slowly worked our way up to it. We take days off whenever something comes up (even errands) with no stress or worry about "getting behind". What is "getting behind" anyway? That sounds like conveyor belt thinking to me. You are in control of how your "school" operates. I know homeschoolers are under a lot of scrutiny and we all feel the pains of "Gee, am I really doing the right thing here?", but come on, am I the only one here who doesn't follow a regular "school year"? missy_heckenlaible@hotmail.com

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August 10, 2006 - Leaders - ages

Posted by Anonymous

Kerry, What are the ages of the children you are addressing in your new series? Also, if I posted a comment as "anonymous" and I win the drawing - how will I know it's me?
Blessed Day,
Tammy

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August 10, 2006 - 1st Day of School!

Posted by Anonymous

Athough I don't really completely stop "school" for the summer or anytime really .. around here for the 1st Day of School celebration the local homeschool groups all get together and go out to a local park for a pic nic lunch and fun filled day! So when all the kids are sitting in classrooms, ours are outside enjoying nature, waterparks, friends and FUN!! I think this year will be the 12th or so year for this event! :)

Have a happy day,
Tracey tgebert@gtatechnologies.ca

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August 10, 2006 - Leadership books

Posted by Anonymous

Greetings Kerry, Thank you for producing these books from a Biblical perspective. That is the one aspect that seems to be missing in so many guides. Blessings to you for all your hard work. Kym Keeley

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August 10, 2006 - First Day

Posted by

I agree that education is year-round, but it is always fun to have a special day to celebrate studying together as a family...whether you call it school or something else.

When we had a store in Bryan, Texas I organized a first day of school swimming party...It was on the first day that public school starts. I can't remember exactly what it was called, but something like Not Back To School Swim Party or No School Today Swim Party. We averaged 200-300 people that morning for our swim party. It was a wonderful way for everyone to connect after so many families had traveled during the summer time.

My children love the fact that every August they get to go out to lunch with Mom, all by themselves. My mom did this for me so we could spend the afternoon buying school supplies. I do this with my children just because...I have fond memories of those days still.

I love celebrations, even if it celebrates the fact that education is a year-round, life-long activity.

Kerry

Edited by LeadershipEducation on August 10, 2006 at 12:47 PM

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August 10, 2006 - Leaders & Ages

Posted by LeadershipEducation

The book set addresses young and older children. Raising Leaders, Not Followers gives specifics for laying a foundation to provide a leadership education. This begins when your children are young and you develop godly character and a love of learning. Of course, you might need to start here with teens if they lack godly character and a love of learning.

Teach Your Children How to Think with Mentoring is the second book. It picks up where the first one leaves off. It is all about independent studies and is more applicable to teenagers who can study on their own. If they can't work by themselves, they need to go back to the foundation stages in the first book.

Hop Off the Conveyor Belt covers all different ages since it is a compilation of stories, tips & articles about Leadership Education topics.

I hope this helps,
Kerry

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August 11, 2006 - first day/unschooling

Posted by Ladonna

I love your first day ideas. Thanks for sharing them. We have already been doing school for two weeks, but we will have a back to homeschool group picnic next Saturday. It is an annual event that kicks off the support group meetings and activities.

I really appreciate your post answering the question about unschooling. I have struggled with this for some time myself.

I want to give my children choices, but I do feel great conviction that they need some structure and assignments, followed by free time and choices.

I truly think you should post that reply as one of your newsletters. You made some excellent points that could help many.

Thanks again. I enjoyed the conference call. It was the first time I had ever listened to one.

God bless you,
Ladonna
covenantmom@gmail.com

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August 11, 2006 - Leadership Education

Posted by sunshine

Kerry,
Thanks for pursuing your passion and encouraging me in mine. I will be doing a lot of reading with my kids this fall, and I have been pushing myself to read as well. I see this as the way to get us to really think and question, rather than just take in knowledge. This has been a great challenge. I have read DeMille's book and appreciate how it has changed and encouraged my thinking. I love John Taylor Gatto, as well as John Holt-both have so many good things to say. Thanks again. I look forward to your books.

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A place to interact about teaching our kids without following the conveyor belt model of the government schools. Think outside the box and provide a leadership education for your children. Other musings are included on a regular basis :-)