And yet… it’s a lesson that doesn’t seem to stick nearly as good as it should.

How many times have I persisted in trying to change an attitude in a child when the better route would have been to change my own attitude?

I once tutored a boy who on a Challenging Scale of 1-10 rated a 25. We spent the first 30-60 minutes of many tutoring sessions getting past attitude problems so we could get on to learning a thing or two. I sometimes felt I had done my fair share by spending ten minutes in relaxed mode – general chit-chat, joking around, etc. So when I announced it was time to buckle down and he dug in his heals, it made me angry. I’d given in, I’d made allowances, I’d tried to do it his way, and this was my reward. Why bother at all?

But this boy was going through a lot in his young life. He needed a very long warm-up period. He was often belligerent during that time, no matter how nice or relaxed I was. My job was to change my own attitude and approach. It was utterly useless to try to push change on him, and doing so was no more than willfulness – even self-righteousness -- on my part.

When he consistently saw that I was willing to be patient and that I would respect what he was going through – and yes, that I was not going to go away but that I was also not going to act like him – he started to improve. By changing myself, I helped him change himself.

It works in so many situations and relationships – by changing ourselves, we help others change themselves. I imagine I’ll be learning that lesson over and over for the rest of my life.

Tammy Drennan homeschooled her sons from 1985 through 2003. She now works as a writer and tutor and maintains several web sites and blogs, including www.educationconversation.wordpress.com and www.homeschoolstarter.com

I am looking forward to trying out Taco Quiche, Spinach and Cream, Broccoli and Cheese and Florentine Casserole just to name a few.  I hope you enjoy it too! 

Happy Homeschooling,

Jamin

And the rest...as they say...is history.

What's YOUR story?

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><

If you have a dog lover at your house you are going to LOVE this new item we just added to the Schoolhouse Store.

Come along for 10 "playful" lessons on dogs: 10 mini Units for a terrific discounted price!  Brandenburg Studies' The Daily Dog Bundle Set includes all top 10 single unit looks at each breed of dog. Whether it is about a pet you already have, of one you enjoy--these little units are just the ticket to get the school day going. Includes lessons on the following dog breeds: Labrador, Retrievers, Beagles, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Dachshunds, Boxers, Poodles, Shih Tzu, and Bichon Frize.

You will receive the following for EACH of the mentioned breeds:

• Student Lesson
• Student Worksheet
• Handwriting/stationery sheets for various grades
• Coloring page
• Activity or game

You'll be "dog-gone" happy you found this study!

Click HERE to find this item in E-Book format.

Click HERE to find this item in CD format.

Now, 21 years later, I understand why the "bus" felt so wrong.  Society told me this was normal.  Normal to put my child in a vehicle with a group of strangers, where she would exit with strangers and walk into a strange building, sit in a strange classroom, and learn from a teacher she did not know.  Everything inside of me told me this was wrong, but my mind tried to convince myself that it was OK, normal, "life" as it was meant to be.  Today I can articulate it, and it makes so much sense. 

Everything that felt so wrong that first day of school in 1981 felt equally right when we came home.  We came home - home where we belonged - and it felt so right.  It was so right.

I'm down to two now.  Five children altogether, only two more left to homeschool.  I've never put them on the bus.  They've only known homeschooling - they know nothing of government schooling.  Every school morning the bus passes our house.  We ease into our day, and learn in the comfortable, natural setting of home.  It feels so right.

Most public schools tend to believe that reading is an important skill to have but that it doesn’t really matter what you read – just as long as you do. So, why is it important? Maybe so you can read the warnings on your prescriptions or the clauses in your healthcare plans or the terms of employment on your contract so a greedy employer can’t take advantage of you. Then there are the street and restroom signs – and the menu, of course.

Homeschoolers, on the other hand, tend to believe reading is a means to an end. That end is wisdom, which means that what we read is of the utmost importance. What we put into our minds comes out in our attitudes and behavior. That’s not to say that we can’t read for relaxation or entertainment, but homeschoolers understand that even this is important – that entertainment reading does not have to be vacuous reading, that what we consider fun and funny is also a reflection of the sort of people we are and want to grow into.

What we read is critical because it shapes our worldview, and our worldview determines how we will respond to life’s trials and triumphs, how we will treat others, how we will conduct ourselves every moment of every day in every situation.

Here are some quotations to fuel your thinking about reading…

“Education... has produced a vast population able to read but unable to distinguish what is worth reading, an easy prey to sensations and cheap appeals.” - G. M. Trevelyan

“I read my eyes out and can't read half enough. The more one reads the more one sees we have to read.” - John Adams

“When you have mastered numbers, you will in fact no longer be reading numbers, any more than you read words when reading books. You will be reading meanings.” - Harold S. Geneen

“Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them at all.” – Henry David Thoreau

“Few are sufficiently sensible of the importance of that economy in reading which selects, almost exclusively, the very first order of books. Why, except for some special reason, read an inferior book, at the very time you might be reading one of the highest order?” - John W. Foster

“Read good, big important things." - Peggy Noonan

“Live always in the best company when you read." - Sydney Smith

“Reading is a basic tool in the living of a good life." - Mortimer J. Adler

Tammy Drennan homeschooled her sons from 1985 through 2003. She now works as a writer and tutor and maintains several web sites and blogs, including www.educationconversation.wordpress.com and www.homeschoolstarter.com

You will find the directions HERE.

Happy Homeschooling,

Jamin

• history,
• geography,
• state symbols,
• weather,
• major cities,
• local and state government,
• industry,
• and agriculture.

With:

• text,
• maps,
• color state symbol pictures,
• 6 quizzes,
• 2 tests,
• an answer key,
• a study guide for the Alabama state constitution, and
• a 10-page appendix with information about all fifty states.
  

Students remove the text and pictures from the consumable textbook and transfer them into a project notebook which they will construct about their state.
 
The Master Lesson Plans give instructions for 30 lessons which can be completed in 6 weeks or expanded to a full year or more using instructions and additional project options listed at the end of each lesson. The difficulty level may be easily and individually adjusted, allowing you to teach all grade levels simultaneously.

These will give your children all the tools they need for a great study of whatever State you choose!  Each State is only $25.00!  We have all 50 States available, you will find them all HERE.