I had just met a woman in ministry when I told her that after I finished my Ph.D. in clinical psychology, I wanted to be a Christian psychologist.
“You can’t just be a Christian psychologist,” she said.
I tried to listen to what she said after that about qualifications and training, but I was stuck on that sentence. I was annoyed. How did she know? Why couldn’t I be a Christian psychologist if that’s what I wanted to do? What I felt called to do? At the same time, I was scared. When I entered graduate school, my classmates and I were stunned to learn all the requirements we had to fulfill in order to be practicing psychologists. Maybe this woman was right. I would have another whole list of requirements to meet to be a faith-based counselor.
When I finished my internship and graduated, I applied for a job with a Christian practice. I had to complete a questionnaire about my faith as part of my application. When I was interviewed, I worried that it would become apparent that I didn’t have the qualifications. I had earned my degree in a secular university. My father wasn’t a pastor. My family hadn’t even gone to church most of my life. Maybe he would say, “You can’t just be a Christian psychologist.”
To my surprise, he said nothing of the sort. I was hired and given my own office. Then I was scared again. I had never brought my faith into the counseling room. How would I do that? Fortunately, there were books on Christian counseling that I bought and read. I also had a Christian psychologist supervising me for my first year. But many times I found myself at a loss as to what to say or do with a client. I would say, “Let’s pray!” To my surprise, my clients were pleased with that idea.
Not Qualified to Be a Teacher
I was, in fact, able to just be a Christian psychologist. But that lesson didn’t stick with me. I struggled with it when I was hired to teach developmental psychology at the university. I had a Ph.D., but I had never taught students of any age before, let alone college students. I ordered the recommended textbook, did some of the things my professors had done to teach me, and came up with some of my own ideas. I had a good response from the students, ended up loving it, and my supervisor said he would be glad to hire me again. I quit teaching to have a baby, though, and faced a whole new round of qualification issues. I really didn’t think it was wise for the hospital to let me take the baby home. I hadn’t even done much babysitting!
I muddled my way through parenting the same way I had counseling and teaching. But when God called me to homeschool, I worried that I didn’t have the qualifications for that either. I had taught college students, but I had never taught anyone to read. What if I couldn’t do it? I had never taken an elementary education course. Once again, I managed to do it with reading and wisdom from others. I even began to feel qualified to teach my own children. In more than one discussion with people who asked about homeschooling, I was told that it was fine for me with a Ph.D. Other people, though, weren’t qualified to teach their children. I did what I could to educate them. “There are books, curricula, and support groups to help anyone homeschool,” I would say. And I believed it.
But when it came to me, I still believed that woman who said I couldn’t just be something. I had to be qualified. I had to be trained.
Not Qualified to Be a Homeschool Publisher
When I had the idea for writing my own language arts curriculum, I started off in the true spirit of homeschooling. I just jumped in and learned as I went along. I started writing the curriculum I’d always wanted to have for my kids. But as I came closer to finishing it, I got stuck. I made excuses. I quit working on it. I didn’t feel qualified.
I then had the opportunity to meet with a small group of homeschool publishers. I figured I could at least say that I was a blogger if I chickened out in admitting that I was writing curriculum. I met Charlene Notgrass, whose history curriculum I had used with my children. She was so warm that I decided to tell her what I was working on. I told her the concept behind it — that I would use story to teach language arts concepts and make them funny and memorable.
I expected her to ask me about my experience in writing fiction and curriculum. I expected her to ask me about my experience in homeschool publishing. I expected her to tell me what I needed to do before I ever thought of trying to publish. I expected her to say, “You can’t just be a homeschool publisher.”
How foolish of me. I recently read the story of Orville and Wilbur Wright in another history curriculum my kids have enjoyed, Mystery of History. The Wright brothers were high school dropouts. Apparently, no one told them that they couldn’t just be engineers, or they couldn’t just be inventors. Because that’s exactly what they were.
The heart of homeschooling is that we can just be our children’s teacher.
Not only that, but our children can just be whatever God calls them to be. As the saying goes, “God doesn’t call the qualified. He qualifies the called.”
I shouldn’t have been surprised when Charlene’s face lit up when I told her about my curriculum. She got her husband’s and others’ attention and told them about it, too. That encouragement gave me the extra confidence I needed to finish Grammar Galaxy. Charlene found me at the homeschool conference where I exhibited it for the first time and hugged me.
Taken the day the books arrived
That was just 21 months ago. Since that time, many moms who have used Grammar Galaxy with their kids have told me their kids beg to use it every day. They’ve told me it’s changed their homeschools because now their kids love to read. They tell me they are using it to learn grammar themselves because it was not their strong suit.
I now have three volumes of Grammar Galaxy published and a fourth in the works.
I now believe I can just be a homeschool publisher. I also believe you can just be a home educator. I believe you can raise excellent readers and writers, even if you don’t think you can.
Has anyone told you you’re not qualified to homeschool or do something else you long to do? Let’s chat about it on Facebook.
I know you’ll enjoy this guest post by my friends at 7SistersHomeschool.com. Be sure to check out their fantastic homeschool electives for high school.
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Homeschooling high school years are the best years of all! While building a transcript and serious life preparation can be intimidating, high school is FUN because of the electives! Electives are enjoyable because they expand your teens’ interests, abilities and experience.
One word of warning: Don’t think that your teen MUST have a prescribed set of electives in order to have the proper transcript. There’s really not one set of BEST electives that fit every homeschooler because:There’s not one right way to homeschool. The “best” set of electives for your teen will be the set that best fits his or her strengths, interests and goals.
Homeschooling teens is such a good educational decision because you and your teens get to choose the educational electives that are the best fit for them. To put it simply:
The BEST electives for your homeschool are the ones that help YOUR TEEN develop into the person God has in mind.
In choosing electives, you are helping your teens develop into the persons they should be, but you are also helping them develop awesome transcripts. Many colleges look at 4 things on the high school transcript:
Level of academic rigor of courses
Level of performance (GPA, SATs/ACTs)
Level of personal development/Kinds of electives (because they are building a freshman class, they want to know the kinds of students they are considering- electives tell them that)
Level of commitment (extra-curriculars, especially long-term involvement extras; and competitions)
With that in mind, here are 5 categories to consider as you choose the best electives for your teens’ homeschool transcript:
Electives that explore an intriguing interest. If your teen loved chemistry, an advanced chemistry would be an excellent elective. If your teen loves Civil War history, a history elective with in-depth exploration of the topic would be a perfect elective. If your teen loves singing, voice lessons make a wise elective.
Electives that uncover an undiscovered interest. Don’t just run with already discovered interests. Most teens don’t fully know what they are interested in. (In fact, as we work with teens we often hear them say that they aren’t sure what they like or what they want to learn.) Choose some out of the box (but not killer-level) courses just to explore. Consider things like human development, field studies on astronomy (learn the constellations, etc- don’t go in for the physics on an exploratory elective), an out-of-the-box world language (think Cherokee or Celtic) painting, or poetry writing and reading.
Electives that attract an admissions officer’s attention. For this one, you’ll need to look at some local college websites (or college websites your teen may be interested in outside your area). See what kinds of electives they are looking for. Often they want to see a social science like psychology or sociology; this kind of information is empowering when you are choosing your electives for the year.
Electives that delve into career discovery. You really, really don’t want to skip this one. Why spend thousands of dollars on college if your teen doesn’t have a clue about what his major should be? Make sure you include an actual career exploration course. Other good career discovery courses include apprenticeships and courses that explore a career (for instance, a course on early childhood education or personal training).
Electives that leap into life skills. Show that your teen can function in the real world. Courses like home maintenance and home economics have not gone out of style. Courses that prepare for life but also have academic value (like human development or anatomy and physiology) are fabulous, too.
What if you aim for at least one elective from each of the 5 categories over the course of the 4 years of high school? That would be a great guideline, but remember: There’s not ONE right way to homeschool high school! When you include courses that are a good fit for your students, you’ve found the BEST electives for them. You’ll end up with homeschool high school graduates with stellar skills and terrific transcripts!
Meet six 20+year veteran homeschool moms who helped each other make it all the way to high school graduation! Vicki, Sabrina, Kym, Marilyn, Sara and Allison make up 7SistersHomeschool.com, providing ebook curriculum, coaching, and encouragement for homeschoolers everywhere. Firmly committed to the truth that there is NOT ONE RIGHT WAY to homeschool, 7Sisters develops curriculum that is adaptable to a variety of levels and promises NO busywork and NO overkill. Sharing with others via blog posts, social media and The Homeschool High School Podcast, your “big sisters” will help you along on your homeschool adventures. “But I don’t understand the “7Sisters” name,” you may say. “When I count the sisters, I only get to 6…”That’s because when you join us, YOU are the 7th sister!
I received this product at no charge and was compensated for my time. All opinions are my own. I do not recommend products I would not use or recommend to friends.
I love audiobooks. They are a great way of passing the time whether you are traveling or doing chores. They build vocabulary and reading skills, too. But I’ve had a hard time finding audiobooks that hold my children’s interest.
I have to admit that I was nervous about listening to audio dramas from Heirloom Audio. I thought maybe they were for those homeschooled kids who love listening to anything because their parents won’t let them watch TV. That wouldn’t be my kids. And I had a real challenge on my hands when I wanted to listen to the first set of CDs called In Freedom’s Cause. My 14-year-old son was going to be in the car with me. He gives almost everything low marks. He is like Mikey from the old commercial who shocked his family by liking Life cereal.
My Family’s Reaction to Heirloom Audio
I knew that Heirloom audios were produced by the former writer and director of Adventures in Odyssey. My boys did enjoy those. They listened to them in a CD player in their bedroom at night. I had listened to them with my older boys. My youngest two boys had recently asked me to give away their CD player because they were done with all the audios they had. Adventures in Odyssey definitely appeals to a younger crowd. I was worried that my 14-year-old would be insulted by the audio. “This is for little kids!” I was sure he would say. My planned response was, “Then let your younger brother enjoy it.”
I loved the movie Braveheart, the story of William Wallace, but have never considered letting my children watch it. I am not squeamish, but the amount of blood in that movie was much too much for me. I thought it would be great if they could hear the story without the violence. I was in a rush to get on the road, so I popped the CD into our car’s player and started listening with the boys. I was shocked both by what I heard and what I didn’t hear.
First, I couldn’t believe the quality of these audios. I produce a podcast, so I know how challenging good audio is. The musical score was like that of the finest movie you would see in a theater. And no wonder. I later learned that the soundtrack was composed by Emmy-winning composer John Campbell, who also composed the original score for The Chronicles of Narnia. The sound effects communicated the story as well as a movie, but without the visuals. And the acting? Absolutely amazing. I’ve done some acting and I’ve given accents a try. I couldn’t believe the authenticity of the Scottish accents in In Freedom’s Cause. If I had read the actors’ credits on the CD cases of all the Heirloom audios before beginning to listen, I wouldn’t have been shocked. They include: The Lord of the Rings, Mom’s Night Out, Rudy, Fireproof, Star Wars, Tarzan, The Hobbit, and more. Click HERE to hear the actors recording and discussing this audio.
I was also shocked that I didn’t hear any complaints from the back seat. In fact, I heard silence until we got back into the car to return home from our visit. “Turn it back on!” my 14-year-old insisted. We didn’t finish In Freedom’s Cause in one trip, so when only my 14-year-old was going to be traveling with us two days later, he insisted on finishing it, even though my youngest would have to listen separately. For his part, my 10-year-old told me, “You need to give it a good review. It’s great!”
After our first trip listening, I told the boys that their father would enjoy the CD. I didn’t think about it again until my husband returned from an all-day trip in the car the CD was in. He told me he had turned on the radio and the William Wallace audio had come on. Even though he was in the middle of the story, he told me he was hooked. He listened to the rest. He was thrilled when I told him I had more. “I can’t wait to listen to With Lee in Virginia,” he told me. I agree. If my kids didn’t like these audios, I would listen to them myself.
Why Heirloom Audios are Better Than Audiobooks
So you’ve gotten the idea that we like Heirloom Audio’s dramas. But why do I say they are better than audiobooks?
#1 They are more engaging
The music, the multiple actors, and the quality sound effects capture kids’ attention better than standard audiobooks. Kids who don’t like traditional audiobooks are likely to love these audios. They appeal to a wider age range. The company says they’re appropriate for ages 6 to adult and I agree. I think they will especially appeal to boys, who can be much harder to engage with audiobooks. When you hear the sword being drawn and men in battle, boys in particular will stay with the story.
#2 They teach history
You can certainly find audiobooks that teach history, but I haven’t found any of this quality that teach children. I love learning history through biographical stories. That’s exactly how Heirloom Audio teaches. The Dragon and the Raven teaches about King Alfred of Wessex. I don’t remember who he is, so I need to listen! Under Drake’s Flag is about Sir Frances Drake. The Spanish Inquisition will come to life for you and your children.
#3 They inspire faith
Most audiobooks do not have a Christian worldview. Those that do usually don’t go beyond “God loves you.” In Freedom’s Cause dealt with the importance of God’s Word in a believer’s life, why we shouldn’t take revenge, and why bad things happen to good people. I know many adults who could benefit from these lessons. The most powerful way of teaching our children the faith after our own example is through story.
#4 They include study guides
Each audio drama includes a study guide. It was from the study guide for In Freedom’s Cause that I learned more about G.A. Henty, who wrote the book about Wallace and Bruce. I also got to see a statue of William Wallace. And I was very impressed with the guide itself. Questions to help your child listen and understand are included. You could take breaks on a long trip to discuss what you’ve heard or after lunchtime listening session. Excellent discussion questions about faith and character are also included. Even more impressive are the vocabulary word lists, maps, and research assignments that take the learning deeper.
I always think we will do school in the car, especially when we are on a big road trip. These dramas make that possible and without complaints!
Now You Can Save Big on Heirloom Audio
You’re going to want to get a copy of all these CDs that are also downloadable, especially with the special offer that’s available to my readers. You will get 67% off retail. That’s amazing, considering that they are worth every penny of the retail price. I hope you’ll order today.
I can’t wait to get started on another audio in the car tonight!
The first Friday in May is National Space Day. Actually, it’s an international celebration. I thought I’d join the fun by sharing six spectacular resources for making the most of this day in your homeschool.
#1 Grammar Galaxy
Grammar Galaxy: Nebula is a complete language arts curriculum for beginning readers that is perfect for National Space Day.
Read the first lesson for free to your kids to get them motivated to read. The first fun mission that follows the lesson has young guardians of the galaxy heading to the library–a perfect time to pick up other space-related books and videos. While you’re checking out Grammar Galaxy, be sure to download your free space-themed Reading for Treasure map by clicking on it.
Even though these ideas are designed for a space-themed birthday party, what a delightful surprise they would make for your kids this first Friday in May. I’m most crazy about the moon rock craft and the snack ideas!
#6 Space-Themed Movies for Kids
What would National Space Day be without a good movie? This list of 12 space-themed movies for kids doesn’t include Star Wars. There are so many good options that you can turn National Space Day into National Space month!
Vocabulary is the number one predictor of your student’s academic and life success. That’s why I made it such a key part of Grammar Galaxy, a new, fun language arts curriculum for beginning readers. Reading is the best way to build vocabulary by far, but we can squeeze more vocabulary teaching in without our kids even realizing it through games.
Are you in a hurry? Pin this post so you can reference it later.
I’m including over 50 games that can be tailored to a wide range of grade levels and number of players. If you scroll down, you’ll find a list of online vocabulary game sites that are also free. If you love this list, be sure to check out the Ultimate List of Free Grammar Games as well.
A Sticky Situation – The player who is it is in the center with a sticky note on their back with a vocabulary word on it. Students turn around in the circle so players can see and give clues to the word. The player that gives the winning clue is then it.
Beach Ball Vocabulary – Write words in marker on a beach ball. Players gently throw the ball. Whichever word a player’s thumb (right or left) is touching must be defined and used in a sentence.
Chat About It – Partners compare the number of words correctly defined/used in a sentence on a list.
Circle Rotation – Players form inner and outer circles. The outer circle player asks the facing inner circle player a question about a word and signs her sheet if she is correct. The player with the most signatures wins.
Definitely…Not…Kind Of – Students try to get their teammates to guess their vocabulary word by putting their descriptor words into definitely, not, and kind-of categories.
Dictionary Roll a Word – Encourages students to check the dictionary for the part of speech of a word, pronunciation and more using a die.
Don’t Break the Ice – Students hammer out the ice piece that corresponds to the definition read.
Don’t Say It – This is like Taboo for vocabulary words with a list of words that cannot be given as clues for guessing the word.
Erase a Word – Team members get to erase a correctly identified vocabulary word and win when all their words are erased.
Fake Texts – Text your students using a new vocabulary word and challenge them to use the context to determine meaning.
Fish Race – Teams or players move their fish one wave for correctly identifying vocabulary words (used for Spanish vocab, but appropriate for English as well).
Game Show – Students write their own vocabulary questions and answers on cards that are then used in a game show format.
Rate Your Happiness – Have students rate their happiness on a 1-5 scale if they experienced a situation using a vocabulary word.
Relay Runners – Teams compete to find the just-defined word in a stack of index cards at the finish line and return to their team the fastest.
Roll the Die – Depending on the roll of the die, students will define, give a synonym or antonym, use a word in a sentence, draw a word, or act it out. Do the same with a spinner or with notecards.
Slap! – Call out a vocabulary word and the first student to slap it, adds it to his/her pile.
Stack the Words – Students who correctly define or use a vocabulary word written on a cup can keep it and use the cup to build a tower. Highest tower wins. Also with prefixes.
Sticky Note Match – Students write vocab words on sticky notes, outline them on the board and write the definition in the square. Their partner has to match them.
That’s Nonsense! – Print out sentences that include nonsense words and have players match vocabulary words to the correct sentences. Can do this with teams and by timing.
Toss and Answer – Students throw a ball or small object into a muffin tin that has a word in each compartment. Students could define the word or have to use it in a sentence.
True or Untrue – Kids can give the correct definition or try to fool players with a fake one.
Vocabulary Kaboom – Words are drawn on sticks and must be used correctly. If a player draws a kaboom stick, all the sticks must be returned to the cup.
Vocabulary Oops! – Players get to keep vocabulary cards they correctly identify until they draw an Oops! card
Vocabulary Social – Students wear vocab words in lanyards and introduce themselves as their word.
Vocabulary Spelling Game – Students use letter tiles to spell out words based on the definition.
Vocabulary Swat – Teams use a flyswatter to swat the correct word on the board after hearing the definition read. You can also write words on bug cards.
Vocabulary Word Snowball Fight – Vocab words and definitions are written on separate pieces of paper that are crumpled up and thrown. Students pick up a word and have to find the student who has their definition. You could compete for time.
Word Sneak – Pairs attempt to sneak vocabulary words into conversation.
Word Speed – Write as many words as they can think of in a time limit, getting points for correct words.
Word Up Baseball – The teacher is the pitcher who throws the “ball” to the student batter. The batter must throw the ball to the correct player / word in the outfield.
Language arts is critically important to our children’s academic and life success. Fortunately, that doesn’t mean teaching these skills has to take hours, be difficult, or even worse, be boring.
In my search for curriculum to teach my children to read and analyze good literature, build a strong vocabulary, spell accurately, use grammar properly, develop legible handwriting, write creatively, write to inform, and speak well, I found myself alternately delighted and depressed. Some things worked brilliantly–others, not so much.
After 17 years of teaching language arts to my own six children and eleven of my friends’ children, I’ve learned there’s a better way.
Language Arts Teaching Can Be Fast
My initial attempt at potty training my oldest son took a very. long. time. Once he was ready, it took no time at all. I didn’t have to remind him or clean up accidents at night. He had it.
Teaching grammar, in particular, can be like potty training. You can teach the abstract concepts year after year before a child’s reasoning has developed, or you can wait until teaching grammar takes no time at all. You can take your high school student through a course like English Grammar 101 and be done with that aspect of language arts in no time. Meanwhile, you can skip the dry grammar workbooks that could squelch your child’s desire to ever learn it.
My fourth son was potty trained very fast because he happened to think potty training was fun. Formal teaching doesn’t have to — and probably shouldn’t — take a lot of time. This list of children’s reading behaviors by grade levels makes it clear that elementary students cannot sustain attention for long periods. Kindergarteners’ attention span is just 10-15 minutes!
The best way to use those minutes of limited attention in younger students is to read. Students who read (or are read to) frequently will develop better vocabularies, spelling skills, and writing skills than students who don’t — even without workbooks.
Language Arts Teaching Can Be Easy
I hear from many homeschooling moms who aren’t confident in their ability to teach language arts. Some of these moms choose a curriculum that looks difficult so they feel confident their child will learn more than they did. Harder must be better, right? Wrong!
Many reluctant readers avoid reading because the books they’re given are just too hard for them. The way to motivate them is to give them books they can be successful reading. As homeschooling moms, we want to choose curriculum that makes language arts concepts simple for us to understand, too.
Language arts teaching can be easy for parents by focusing on reading. Ask your child questions about what was read. Look up new words together. Spell words in the car. Write things incorrectly and see if your child can guess what’s wrong. And did I mention the importance of reading? 🙂
Make language arts easy for your child by giving as much assistance as is needed. Read the directions for him. Allow your child to dictate spelling words or entire stories. Put off work that is too difficult in favor of learning what makes her feel successful.
Language Arts Teaching Can Be Fun
The best way to make language arts teaching fast and easy is to make it fun. Kids learn faster when they’re having a good time and it’s much easier to teach a happy child than a crabby one. This also works in reverse. Short, easy lessons are a lot more fun for kids than long, overly difficult ones. I’ve shared how to make grammar fun, but vocabulary, spelling, and writing can be fun, too.
I did my master’s research on humor and learned that surprise is a key component of what makes us laugh. Read books with a surprising and funny twist. (Kids prefer funny fiction, so give it to them!) Surprise the kids by playing games instead of doing seatwork. Let them surprise you with their funny writing.
Let your child lead you in making language arts enjoyable. Incorporate your child’s personality and preferences into your teaching. Does your child love to play video games? Have him read game hacks online. Does your student love movies? Read the book first and have a movie party to celebrate finishing it. Do you have competitive kids? Turn every aspect of language arts into a challenge.
Grammar Galaxy is Fast, Easy & Fun Language Arts for Beginning Readers
I wanted a curriculum that was all of these things and hadn’t found it, so I created one.
Grammar Galaxy is Fast.
Whether you’re homeschooling multiple children or your child attends a traditional school, you don’t have a lot of extra time. That’s why Grammar Galaxy is designed to take just ten minutes of teacher/parent time a day. Your beginning reader can use the extra time to read and write for the fun of it!
Grammar Galaxy is Easy.
If reading and writing aren’t your strengths, you’ll love Grammar Galaxy. Concepts are presented in an easy-to-understand story format. And there’s no prep work! Just read with your child and do the short activities that reinforce the learning.
Grammar Galaxy is Fun.
The evil Gremlin tries to destroy Grammar Galaxy and the guardians have to save it by completing missions. Grammar Galaxy includes humor and mystery, but it doesn’t include dry exercises. Young writers are asked to do very little handwriting. Instead, they enjoy learning by doing.
You can click the “Learn More” button to download a sample and check out reviews or “Shop” to take advantage of introductory pricing that ends after April 17th.
I explain the story behind Grammar Galaxy and how to use it in the video.
I’m a Christian psychologist turned homeschooling mother of six. My life can be a little crazy, so I look for sanity-saving ideas to use and share. I hope you’ll read my About page to learn more.
