Where I Am Today…
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If you’ve homeschooled awhile, you know that curriculum comes and goes, methods are continually tweaked, and there are few constants for long-term homeschooling families. One of the constants in our homeschool is our scripture memory system.
Visit The Homeschool Classroom for my tips on setting up your own scripture memory box.
I’m also over at Simple Homeschool talking about {gasp} my biggest homeschooling mistake. It has to do with teaching multiple kids and once and a little bit to do with Miss Beadle from Little House on the Prairie.
Kris Bales is a newly-retired homeschool mom and the quirky, Christ-following, painfully honest founder (and former owner) of Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. She has a pretty serious addiction to sweet tea and Words with Friends. Kris and her husband of over 30 years are parents to three amazing homeschool grads. They share their home with three dogs, two cats, a ball python, a bearded dragon, and seven birds.
I just read your post and I am just like you. I have a 9th grader and 2nd grader. Obviously, they aren't doing things together. So I start the 2nd grader off with copywork, handwriting, grammar, while my 9th grader and I do his read-a-loud and work that we need to do together. When the little and I are doing math and her history/science, he does his independent work (like Algebra, grammar, critical thinking, etc.). And the order we do it each day changes each day. I make a pretty schedule and we never follow it. But, it's what works for us!
I will definitely check out the Scripture memorization system! I am also heading over right now to check out your guest post. Hope you are having a great week! 🙂
This is our second year to homeschool. Somewhere near the end of last year I heard about this scripture memory system. Needless to say, I didn't implement it until this year. But we LOVE it!! I can see why you have kept it as one of your constants.
Thank you SO much! I finally don't feel ALONE in my own homeschool world while my friends keep asking me if my kids are being socialized enough! (I am a certified teacher, by the way… and kids go to karate, ballet, Sunday School class and take violin lessons- all GOOD socialization, not the other stuff that can happen in brick and mortar- and I KNOW, because I taught there!) I want to know how to get one of your "Caution: Unsocialized Homeschooler" t-shirts for my kids! Back to the thank you- I can't wait to check out your site each night and be encouraged. I've been taking in so much of what you say and twisting the things that aren't quite working for me by using some of your methods. I am finally EXCITED, not questioning myself by the hour. I didn't think I'd turn to the cyber world for support, but here I am. Can't wait to set up my scripture memory system. I have been struggling to come up with something that will WORK, and I believe this REALLY will. Yay! I used to be a runner, but an injury stopped me this summer and I haven't been back since. I thought maybe I am too old! Since reading your blog, I am considering starting again. You are such an inspiration. I am truly grateful.
The Scripture memory system sounds super!
I have a question, though. We do a lot of passages, rather than individual verses. (Psalm 1, 121, 103, Ephesians 4:17-32 – stuff like that.) How would you do that with this system? Ie. Would you just keep adding verses 'til you had the whole passage memorized before putting it into review? That's what I'm assuming, but if you have learned any useful management tips through YOUR trial and error, I'd rather not have to reinvent the wheel. 🙂
Also – kudos to you, Kris – while I've heard about this system for quite a while, yours was the first post that intrigued me to the point of actually reading about it. Thanks!
We learned Luke 2:1-14 for Christmas last year. I just printed it off on computer paper, folded it and kept it in the daily slot until we'd memorized it. You could do a passage in sections, moving the memorized parts into the review sections as you got them memorized. Then, as you moved on to the new sections, you could just use the previously memorized parts in order as reveiw, rather than going through the tab system. Once the whole thing was memorized, you could put all of it's cards into one slot for review. Does that make sense?
Thank you for such an encouraging comment, Bon! You can order the unsocialized homeschooler shirts at shopgreatproducts.com. Good luck on getting back into running! It's been the perfect weather for it lately.
I love the scripture memory system. I found that on SCM in my first month of using the Charlotte Mason method. It has been a wonderful tool!