One of the questions that frequently pops up on the ST facebook page is “how do I use this?”. Today I thought it might be helpful to point out the four main approaches to SchoolhouseTeachers.com.
The four approaches to SchoolhouseTeachers.com are in a nutshell Use by Grade, Use by Skill or Use by interest. The final approach which combines the three…. which might actually be the easiest method. 🙂 BUT more on that later.
Approach one: grade level
SchoolhouseTeachers.com has recently done this amazing things. They have started school boxes! They put together a package of what you need to educate your children per grade level.
Let’s pretend I was going to use ST for all my son’s grade 10 needs. I click on the grade 10 box which will open up this page.
Inside each box you will find links to curriculum to use. For instance, grade 10 art brings up this.
Clicking on the link will bring you to a teacher’s guide about what to do when, during what week. Everything you need to keep you on track whether you are using one resource, or four like this area. If you don’t like something in the boxes, just pick something else from grade 10 list of curriculum and follow the lesson outline for that. It might not be quite as straightforward as using the boxes, but the option is there.
Approach two: skill level
Because children mature and advance unevenly, you might decide that skill level is a better approach in your household.
You might then find yourself pouring over (for your technically grade three student) the grade 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 materials. Or deciding that your grade 3 and grade 5 student can both do grade 4 science.
Just in case you wondered, it’s perfectly okay for your children to be ahead in one area and behind in another. We don’t all learn things at the same rate as adults either. (Much to our consternation at times eh?)
Know your children, get to understand their strengths and weaknesses, and build upon both. It’s a good thing to do. Who knows.. by the time they are in highschool they might well have gained HUGE ground in a subject they struggled with earlier.
Consider if you would art classes. This is a subject where the skills of students vary widely. A beginning drawing class might not work for your creative 10-year-old genius… but might be just the ticket for your highschool student. Each person has their own abilities, right?
Approach three: interests of student
Following the interests of your student can assist them in learning new material. Does it really matter if when you are learning spelling rules if you use ocean-based words or land-based words? Does it matter if they are learning about the lifecycle of a butterfly, bird, bee, shark or spider? Like really, does it matter?
Does it matter, if practicing speech and enunciation if you read a picture book about Canada or Europe? Or when writing a persuasive essay if it’s about the merits of playing minecraft or understanding genetic diversity in rabbits? Any interest that a student has can be used to further their education.
Parents who understand this will often let their children guide their own education. And with ST having so many options to choose from, why not use it as fully as you can?
Just look at all the options for grade 10 beyond the school boxes!
Approach four: combination
The best of these approaches to me is using a combination. Not many children will say yes, I really want to understand grammar.. it’s totally my thing. But understanding grammar will help them pursue their other interests and being able to communicate well about those interests.
Having a grade guide often helps parents in planning where their children should be educationally speaking. So if you know your boy is 8 years old, about the level of grade 3 it helps you at least in knowing where to start.
Knowing where to start allows you to more easily make adjustments either up or down. If children are really interested in a topic you’ll often find they can do work above their grade level because they are so VERY interested.
My suggestion… choose the math and language arts that your students need to meet their future requirements. Meet them at their skill level and help them move forward. Then use their interests, help them broaden their doors, intrigue them with science starting with what they are interested in. Develop their love of history with their desire to understand where their grandparents came from, or how computers were developed, or … the list is endless. 🙂 My son wants to understand this country he lives in so, the geography of Canada beckons him. Good yes?
So… did you know that SchoolhouseTeachers.com is on sale right now? Two years for the price of one. Can’t beat that deal now can you? Snap it up before it’s gone! If you already are a member, which of these approaches to SchoolhouseTeachers.com do you take?
Chareen @ Every Bed of Roses shares Help How do I teach High School at Home?.
Yvie @ Homeschool on the Range shares Teaching Teens – Note-taking Skills .
Annette @ A Net in Time shares Four Approaches to SchoolhouseTeachers.
Vickie B @ Tumbleweed News shares How I taught 20+ kids at home {Blog Hop}.
Teresa @ Teresa Brouillette shares How to Teach Homeschool.
Dawn P @ Schoolin’ Swag shares How to Teach… What I Don’t Know.
Laurie @ School Days shares How Do I Teach…?.
Lori @ At Home: where life happens shares Teaching It All.
This is day four in the not back to school blog hop.Â
This is excellent advice and probably the best I have seen on “where to start” at SchoolhouseTeachers. Very good!
oh good. I met my objective then!