Skip to main content

The ABC's (and D's and E's) of Our Homeschool Success ~ "D"rawing Sticks {Homeschool Essentials Blog Hop}



We are already on Day 4 of the Schoolhouse Review Crew's Homeschooling Essentials Blog Hop. I hope that you have picked up some good tips for essentials that might make your homeschooling experience a little more pleasant. In reading some of the other participants' posts, I know I have!

Our essential item today is a big one for us! Last year we would start at the top of our planner page and work our way down. But Eli doesn't like spelling or any kind of writing, so I noticed that he started to stress about about them when we were doing subjects that he did like. And then I noticed Brynne start saying, "Oh no! Math is coming up!" We couldn't even concentrate on the subject we were on for the anticipation of less-desired subjects that were next on our list.

So we stared "D"rawing Sticks.


I just took a simple mason jar and attached a little ribbon around it. I used large craft sticks and wrote each of our subjects on them. We start each morning with our Bible lesson. Then on Mondays and Wednesdays Brynne gets to draw the first stick to see which subject we are doing next. On Tuesdays and Thursdays Eli gets to draw first. Since our Fridays are little different, I usually write down our lessons on small slips of paper and the kids play "rock, paper, scissors" to see who gets to draw first.


After the first stick is drawn and that subject completed, the other child draws the next stick, and so on, until our day is complete. I am not going to lie and say that I don't still hear things like, "Shoot, I chose Math!" or "Please don't be Spelling, please don't be Spelling …", but at least while we are working our on current subject there is less stressing, because …


What are the A's, B's and C's of our homeschooling success?

"A" Plan
"B"oard .. white board
"C"lipboards

You should also take some time to see what the other 88 Crew Members posting in the Homeschooling Essentials Blog Hop find as being necessary in their schooling. I especially encourage you to visit some of my friends: Laura @ Day by Day in Our World, Julie @ Nurturing Learning, Lisa @ Farm Fresh Adventures, DaLynn @ For the Display of His Splendor, Lori @ At Home: where life happens, Adriana @ Homeschool Ways, Brandy @ Kingdom Academy Homeschool, Meg @ Adventures with Jude, Sarah @ Delivering Grace.


Comments

  1. This is an absolutely great idea! What an awesome way to break up the routine!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great idea. I can see how this helped a lot.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

We all know that in this crazy world of homeschooling, we need all the (adult) support we can get. Please leave a comment if you so wish!

Popular posts from this blog

ABCya

Eli's reading resource teacher shared a website with me yesterday that I would like to pass along. It's called ABCya . There are separate educational sections with fantastic games for ages kindergarten through 5th grade. I browsed the 2nd grade level, and it includes age-appropriate games about Letters, Numbers, Shapes, Geometry, Patterns, Mouse Manipulation, Art and Holiday games. There are lots and lots of fun and creative games for children to play. They are fun, but oh, so educational. Eli's favorite, in his short time playing it, was Create a Car . A lot of the games also have Apps available for purchase (99 cents for most of them) for the iPad and iPhone. I have been looking for another free website for games similar to Starfall , for some time. I think I have found it. I can feel confident having Eli and Brynne play these games.

A Thomas Jefferson Education "This Week in History" ~ Schoolhouse Review

Talk about a GOLD MINE! A Thomas Jefferson Education's This Week in History by Rachel DeMille is her "labor of love" ... and I absolutely LOVE it! " This Week in History is a daily resource that brings your home school or classroom to life." For just $9.99 per month, you can log onto TJEd.com and click the "This Week in History" link to obtain many, many, many resources tied to specific events that occurred in the upcoming week in history. Or even better, you can receive the summaries and links to ALL resources right in your email Inbox each week! It doesn't get any easier than that! What does this really look like in real life? Each week, I receive an email from Rachel DeMille that sets out each date of the coming week. Under the date, there are listed anywhere from one to several events that occurred in history on that date. THEN there are ALL kinds of things to do related to that event, such as books to read, websites to visit, ac

Cells ~ It's What's for Dinner

Dawson made edible cells on Friday. He made an animal cell pizza ... and a plant cell chocolate chip cookie ... He reviewed what he's learned about cells the past two weeks, and I had dinner made by someone else. Win, win!! I am linking up at Science Sunday at Adventures in Mommydom.