Dr. Marie-Claire Moreau

Educator, Coach, Life Strategist

Down time

I recently met a mom who told me about her children and their homeschooling.  She reported that, “all of their waking hours” were spent doing book work.   It was her belief that the children should be at the table completing schoolwork all day long.  I saw the dining room table and, in fact, it appears that is what they did.

Because homeschooling is all about what parents deem best for their own kids, you can think what you want, but in the end, it is up to each family to do what they do.

In comparison, in my home, I always tried to make sure that my children had adequate “down time”.  While we had (and still have) a very rigorous homeschooling schedule, I made sure to schedule time off on a regular basis.

As someone who needs  time to myself, I suppose it was instinctive to make sure that my children had time off as well.  (Now, we know that the literature says that children need personal space and time for play, too.)  In fact, as they were growing up, I tried to enforce an informal rule that I established about leaving the house for activities – that is, one busy day out meant that the next day was spent quietly at home.  This worked well for me, as I was always able to get things done at home on alternate days.  Plus, my children had time to read, play, go outside, or whatever it is they were unable to do on days that we spent driving and schooling all over town in the van.

While this may not work for everyone, it is just what I did.  Other families may adopt different schedules and create time off in other ways.  It’s just something to think about.

During down time, children do many things.  Homeschooled kids in particular seem to find many clever uses for their time.  It isn’t always about watching televison and playing video games, although that happens (in my home) too.  But it is often about other things, as well.

For example, when my children have time off they sometimes do things like this:

They also like to do this:

Sometimes, they try this:

And other times, they do this:

And even this:

I don’t consider this time wasted.  In fact, if this kind of thing occurs in your home, you may in all good conscience award homeschooling hours for these kinds of activities.  I do.

Now, it’s my turn to ask…Do your children have down time on school days? If so, what do they like to during time off?

Storing homeschooling memories

There isn’t a parent around that doesn’t have at least one box of priceless keepsakes from when the children were little.  Baby shoes, first teeth, refrigerator drawings, greeting cards, photos, hand-prints, and you name it…these are the things that families are made of.

Homeschooling households, however, need to store more than just the usual number of family memories.  Particularly in larger families, after homeschooling for a few years, the number of papers and projects can really begin to add up. 

That is, if they aren’t tamed right from the start.

The key to taming the paper piles and clutter is two-fold: regular sorting combined with clever storage.  The sorting part is up to you, since nobody else can tell you what to save and what to throw away.  The storage part, on the other hand, has been perfected by many families before you.  That’s where this post comes in.

With so many solutions on the market today, there is no excuse for not finding just the right container for saving and storing homeschooling memories.  By shopping the retail stores, home improvement centers, and even dollar stores, it’s easy to find something for every style and budget.

Not only can storage be functional, as in these kinds of containers:

But it can also be attractive, like these:

You can get creative with storage:

 

And even downright funky:

 

Storing homeschooling memories can be fun.  Have the kids help choose what to save and where they’d like to keep it.  Purchase matching containers to create a whole storage system, or scatter containers throughout the house, wherever they fit, or anywhere they look great.

Do you have any great storage ideas to share? 

[The photos in this article are all public domain, except the last one, which was borrowed from Target online – I hope they don’t mind!]

Student portfolios

Some states require that homeschooling families maintain a portfolio for every child in the home education program.

In other states, even if it’s not required, many parents do this anyway.

What is a student portfolio?

Simply put, a portfolio is a compilation of materials that represent a student’s learning over some period of time – usually one “school year”.  The purpose of the portfolio can be either to satisfy legal requirements or to document and remember the kinds of activities that took place that year.

If a portfolio is legally required, the laws will dictate what must be included. 

If a portfolio is being used for any other reason, you can put anything you like inside.

Examples of portfolio materials include:

  • samples of student work, dated, from throughout the year
  • special projects, like artwork or term papers, that have been completed
  • photographs of places a student has visited, or of projects too bulky to fit in a portfolio
  • memorabilia, like brochures, postcards, ticket stubs, and anything else worth remembering
  • a photo of the child from that year
  • certificates and awards earned
  • a list of courses taken, grades, transcripts, or schedules if desired
  • a list of books read, videos watched, or other educational activities worthy of note
  • anything else you’d like to remember, or want to keep track of for future reference

Remember, if a portfolio is needed to meet a legal requirement, be sure that all of the necessary pieces are included.  If the portfolio is used more for record-keeping or as a family keepsake, the sky is the limit as to what you can place inside!