New Year’s Resolutions.

There was a time every January 1st when I thoughtfully crafted a list of resolutions for the New Year.  However, since I am a dyed-in-the-wool control freak goal setter, I scrapped annual New Year’s Resolutions awhile back in favor of setting goals.

Rather than a list of vague things I want to accomplish, I worked on setting “SMART” goals:

•  S = specific
• M = measurable and defined in such a way that I can evaluate progress
• A = achievable;  i.e., challenging, but not impossible
• R = relevant;  important to vital areas of my life
• T = time-based; that is, they are linked to a date

So, instead of having a goal that sounds more like a New Year’s Resolution:

Lose weight.

It would be written as a SMART goal, such as:

In the next month I am going to lose five pounds by losing at least 1 1/4 pounds per week. In order to do this I am going to exercise at least 45 minutes, five days a week and cut all grain products from my diet.

Writing this as a SMART goal forces me to think specifically about how I would lose weight and what specific steps I need to take to do so. It also gives me a way to measure how I am progressing toward my goal.

Setting Homeschooling Goals

Homeschooling is a perfect opportunity to hone your goal-setting skills! In fact, if you have not set goals for yourself and your homeschooling/child training, you have missed out on the motivating, organizing, intentional action-causing power this process provides.

Here is a former SMART goal from a few years ago:

I am going to be more organized with homeschooling by arranging for my husband to watch the kids so I can spend 3-4 hours on the weekend planning for the following week. During that time I will:

• read over my lesson plans for the following week
• look through and note on my planning pages/calendar any scheduled appointments or errands we will need to run
• plan the subjects/assignments we will cover together and individually
• make sure I reserve my books at the library for the next three weeks’ reading
• grade any papers that need grading before the week starts
• plan to procure any needed material for science, history and art activities and projects prior to their scheduled time

It is extremely motivating and rewarding to make positive changes in your life.  Moreover, it is crucial modeling for your children, especially as one of our primary goals is to teach them to become independent learners and problem solvers!

Perfectionists: Set Goals with Caution

Now hear this: setting goals does not mean unproductively comparing yourself, your children or your homeschool with others, especially if you are a new homeschooling mom.  Nor does it mean that you are a failure if you don’t meet all of your goals.

You, your children and your homeschooling efforts are all works in progress, so realize that like everything else worthwhile, it takes work to make changes  - and it often takes longer than you would think and certainly more than you would like.

First Things First: Start With Yourself

I find goal setting the most productive when I begin with myself. Over the years I have learned that the tone I set with my demeanor and attitude, the way I react to my children’s behavior, the peace I exhibit (or not) all greatly affect our school day.  Am I modeling grace? Am I flexible? Am I self-controlled? Am I emotionally, spiritually and academically prepared for the day?

If you are having difficulty in some of these areas and you are not meeting with Jesus on a daily basis – I would definitely begin there. Start small and remember it takes 30 days or so to make something a routine! Work on developing consistency!

Your Challenge!

Create one personal goal or one homeschooling goal in the next 48 hours. Assess where you would like to be and formulate a goal to help you get there. Work on it until it is a SMART goal rather than a vague statement.

For example, perhaps you would like to have more regular prayer as part of your daily morning quiet time.  Your SMART goal might read something like this:

Beginning tomorrow I am going to have intentional daily prayer for my children  for ten minutes as part of my daily quiet time. 

Note – you may have to set a ‘process’ or secondary goal to achieve your primary goal, so consider that as well.  You may have to reword your goal as follows:

Beginning tomorrow I am going to get up 15 minutes earlier to have intentional daily prayer for ten minutes as part of my daily quiet time before the children get up in the morning. I will set the alarm to get up at __ and set it again to make sure I pray for at least 10 minutes.

If you already have that priority covered, perhaps you have other personal areas you would like to consider, such as:

• Beginning or tweaking an exercise program
• Making more time for daily personal reading (for your own pleasure and edification)
• Planning a weekly letter or visit to an elderly neighbor or relative
• Finding one relaxational/social outing per week with a friend to renew your perspective
• Rediscovering a beloved hobby you haven’t taken the time to engage in regularly since you began homeschooling
• Trading babysitting time with another mom and planning a weekly or biweekly ‘date night’ with your husband
• Beginning a blog
• Volunteering at church or in your community

Respond in the Comments

If you are serious about making a change in your life, make your goal public. Sharing it with others = instant accountability!

Would you benefit by setting a personal goal for yourself? Do you regularly set goals for yourself or your homeschool? I would love to hear what you are planning or about any difficulties you have setting goals in this post’s comments!

I will share one of my personal goals for this coming year in my next post.  :-)

Follow @dana_wilson

Including  fun activities along with academics is crucial to maximizing engagement and learning.  Here is a resource that I GUARANTEE your children will enjoy so much they will not even realize that they are learning. 

English Country Dancing

Recently a nineteen year old homeschool graduate Garrett Stowe, whose family is a long time user of Epi Kardia/Train up a Child Publishing curricula, sent me a wonderfully professional instructional DVD he produced to teach others how to participate in the entertaining group activity: English Country Dancing.

I was so impressed!

The cover of the DVD is shown above and a screen shot of Garrett during the film’s introductory comments is below.

I was thrilled to preview the DVD and found it not only to be professionally recorded, but a solid historical resource suitable for all homeschoolers, no matter which homeschooling philosophy or curricula you use. In addition to step-by-step directions for and demonstrations of six well-loved historical dances, English Country Dancing includes accompanying period music and lovely artwork depicting the enchanting fashions of this era.  Furthermore, the DVD offers additional historical narrative describing Victorian dancing etiquette – even revealing how proper single ladies used their fans to demurely communicate with potential suitors! Fascinating!

Here are some more details about English Country Dancing  from its creator:

Garrett, what inspired you to create this DVD?

Garrett: With my first introduction to the Civil War era dancing, I realized that this was a wonderful way to bring the family and community together for good, “old-fashioned” fun! Unfortunately, there were not many people who knew the dances, and every time we hosted a dance, we ended up spending half our time teaching the new dancers. After several frustrating dances, my (very creative) mother suggested that I combine my enjoyment of the dances and my interest in cinematography to create an instructional DVD that would allow people to learn the dances at home. 

Then when you held a dance, you could spend their time dancing instead of just teaching! Makes sense!

Side note: Even though Garrett and friends enjoyed this type of dancing and thought of it primarily just as fun, I suspect his (also very wise) mother saw this entertaining activity as an extension of their history studies, don’t you think?

What historical topics do you cover in the DVD?

The history of the Victorian/Civil War era is incredibly rich and entire documentaries have been dedicated to understanding their society. In our DVD [we] attempted to capture the beautiful etiquette, manners, and fashion of the day; especially where it pertained to dancing. Some of their customs can be somewhat humorous but many still have application today.

Why did you decide to title your DVD English Country Dancing?  Weren’t these dances done in the United States as well?

Garrett: The title English Country Dancing often confuses people and understandably so; after all, many of the dances we cover were also enjoyed in the United States. We had a hard time deciding on a title that accounted for all the origins of the dances included in the DVD. We had dances originating from Celidah Dancing, English Country Dancing, Scottish Country Dancing and even American Folk Dancing. But, at the root of all these dances was the underlying emphasis on timing and precise movements that so typified English Country Dancing. So, for simplicity’s sake, we grouped all the dances under [that title].  

How old are these dances and from where did they come?

Garrett: Supposedly, the Virginia Reel has been in existence for almost 400 years. Although not all the dances in the DVD are quite so long lived, most originated in the mid-nineteenth century and were most popular in Europe and America through the Victorian/Civil War Era. Some of the dances were peasant dances from Ireland (like the Cumberland Reel), others were dances of the aristocracy (such as the Gothic Dance or Soldier’s Joy), but all [played] a central part in every community gathering. There were even dances for children to join in on; my favorite is the Patticake polka … even my three year old sister can dance it like an expert! Today, the dances are enjoyed by everyone with a love for history and a taste for family fun.

Where did you find period costumes to wear for the production?

Garrett: The period costumes used for the dances were almost entirely hand made by the dancers. All the ladies sewed their own gowns and many of the men wore costumes made by sisters or friends.

Using English Country Dancing with your History Studies

Incorporating this entertaining activity into your history studies is easy. Here are several ways:

1.  Just watch it!  This enjoyable and informative DVD is a delightful break from the normal routine.

2.  Use English Country Dancing to introduce studies of this time period. Have your student take notes on the historical portions of the DVD and use ideas from it for further research and writing on any of the following topics:

• Queen Victoria
• the Victorian Era (the time Queen Victoria reigned in England – from 1819 to 1901)
• Victorian Morality
• The American Civil War
• Civil War past-times
• More about Fan Language
• The Language of Flowers

3.   Have your students study and practice the dances of the DVD as they complete their reading and writing on this time period. Have them use the DVD to help plan a celebratory unit-culminating event with a few other homeschooling families. Make costumes, check out some authentic music from your public library and recruit some other dancers. Serve ice cream to your guests after the dancing. (After all, ice cream was on the scene during this time and considered quite the delicacy.)

Win Your Own Copy of English Country Dancing!

Not only is this charming, well-made DVD academically useful, the dances are suitable for a small to large group from ages 6 to 60, are simple to learn and continually shift dancers to different partners (rather than encouraging ‘couples’).

So could you put a copy of English Country Dancing to good use in your homeschool? If so, please participate in our contest! We are going to be giving away one  English Country Dancing DVD!

We will be collecting entries from now until Friday night 9/28/12 at 11:30 p.m. and having a random drawing Saturday morning, so don’t delay.

Choose one or more of the following activities to participate; each thing you do increases your chances to win!

Make sure you leave a separate comment below EACH time you complete one of the following:

1. Leave a comment on this post telling us how you would incorporate English Country Dancing into your homeschool history studies.
2. Leave a comment on another recent post on this blog and let us know you did.
3. Visit and “Like” our new Train up a Child Publishing Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/trainupachildpub.
4. Tweet this offer and let us know you did.
5. Share this offer on your Facebook page and let us know you did.
6. Share this offer on one of your Pinterest boards and let us know you did.
7. Grab our new blog button (at left sidebar) and post it on your blog – include your blog address in your comment.

In addition to our give-away we will be offering a limited number English Country Dancing DVDs on our website for an introductory price of $12.97 (plus S&H).  At this price – think CHRISTMAS and buy several!

So, if you know your right hand from your left, you can walk and you can count to eight, this excellent history resource will help you make hours of wonderful memories, and teach you something as well!

This is something our whole family will love! How about yours?

Follow @dana_wilson

Squeezing in the ‘fun stuff,’ like art and music study, can be a daunting task, but it may be more important to our children than we

Human Brain via the National Institute of Health

think.

In fact, scientists are increasingly telling us  that it behooves us to consider music training as a vital component of education. Many studies have actually shown that children’s brains are impacted by music – by listening to and learning about music, by vocal training, singing in a choir, or by learning to play a musical instrument.

Although formal studies of the effects of music study and training are still fairly new to the scientific community, it looks like there are some definite benefits to music study and training.  And – it not only impacts a child as he is learning and practicing it, but appears to have lifelong implications.

For example, earlier musical training has shown to offset age-related difficulty one normally has processing sounds. You haven’t experienced that yet?

You will.

If you happen to be looking back on your forties, perhaps you have noticed it is harder to carry on a conversation in a noisy environment  - to distinguish someone’s voice from the surrounding din.  Similarly, you may be able to hear someone talking to you, but not well enough to actually process what is said.

These are normal effects of aging on our hearing that can actually be negated by music training. How we actively experience sound over the course of our lives has a profound effect on how our nervous system functions, according to neuroscientist Nina Krause, professor at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences.*

How Does Music Training Help?

The term Mozart Effect was coined in 1993 when researchers observed that students tested as much as nine points higher on a spatial IQ test after listening to music by Mozart. Although the effects lasted only a short time, this fascinating study launched several others, though without definitive results.

Despite the fact that the jury is still out regarding music and spatial reasoning, other studies have linked music training with:

• boosting of the immune system
• helping to repair brain damage in stroke victims
• increasing the language ability and social interactions of older adults
• helping seniors (with extensive music training) to be able to respond to sounds faster and more accurately than others in their age group. In fact, in one study there was no difference between the seniors (with music training) and those without music training who were much younger!

Music Helps Treat Dyslexia

Closer to home for some of you, researchers have even found a specific type of music study to help dyslexic readers.  After discovering there was a language component to dyslexia in 2007, the National Institute of Health found in further research that listening to fast music changes helped rewire dyslexic students’ brains, increasing their abilities to read as well as listen.

Read more about these studies by clicking on the links or the cutting and pasting those at the end of the article.

Music Study and Homeschooling

The more I read about music study, the more I am convinced that we need to be serious about including it in our children’s education.  There are a variety of ways to achieve this, without being accomplished musicians ourselves. If you are stumped about the best way to begin music study in your homeschool, perhaps this post would help. Also consider:

• Checking the bargain racks of any music store – classical music compilations are almost always available at a very reasonable price.
• Borrowing music from your public library.
• Learning about composers and listening to their music while studying the time period in which they lived. That is what we do.
• Including hymn study (and listening) as part of your devotions time and/or family rest times.
• Providing your child lessons in playing the piano, guitar, violin, flute, etc.
• If you play an instrument, giving your children lessons yourself.
• If another homeschool mother you know plays an instrument, perhaps you could teach one of her children math or writing while she gives yours music lessons.
• Using an older student to teach your children an instrument, rather than paying the price for an adult teacher.
• Checking out this website with your children on The Musical Brain.

Just think – by providing music study/training for  your children, you are not only giving them a well-rounded education; you may be doing much more.

It is a gift that keeps on giving.

For further reading:

The Mozart Effect

http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/students/lerch1/edpsy/mozart_effect.html

Music and the Mind: A Different Kind of Dementia Therapy

http://alzheimers.aplaceformom.com/articles/dementia-therapy-and-music/

Boosting the immune system

http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/music-therapy-can-ease-recovery-from-heart-problems

Music listening for maintaining attention of older adults with cognitive impairments.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12597728?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DiscoveryPanel.Pubmed_Discovery_RA&linkpos=3&log$=relatedarticles&logdbfrom=pubmed

Music listening enhances cognitive recovery and mood after middle cerebral artery stroke.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18287122

Sound Training Rewires Dyslexic Children’s Brains For Reading

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071030114055.htm

Music Training for Dyslexic Children

http://suite101.com/article/music-training-for-dyslexic-children-a198802

Music and Dyslexia

http://suzukimethod.com.au/suzukimusic/m/articles/view/Music-and-dyslexia

Taking up music so you can hear

http://phys.org/news169734009.html

*Harry Jackson, Jr. “Music training helps aging process.” Post and Courier (Charleston, SC), June 26, 2012, Section D, p. 2

There is an element of satisfaction in making a salt dough or cookie dough map, especially effective if everyone is ready for a break from the books.

Of course, the anticipation of eventually being able to eat the map is exciting to most students, but the fact is, anytime you can add a hands-on element to school, it is a positive thing. Studies have indicated that hands on learning might be much more effective for many students than the typical textbook-and-lecture approach.

I know, it is a messy endeavor, but that is part of the fun.

 The recipe below makes several tasty peanut butter-flavored maps.  The recipe yields a few larger or a plethora of smaller maps.

Keep reading after the recipe to see map ideas per historical period.

Dough

2 cups smooth peanut butter 2 1/2 cups powdered milk 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar 2 cups white corn syrup Mix all of the ingredients together and put portions on wax paper if you are creating smaller maps,  or want to freeze portions for future small maps.   For one or more large maps, you will need a sturdy cardboard (or perhaps several layers of cardboard glued together) for a base.  You can also use a large plastic cutting board.

Ideas for Decorations

• blue icing or white icing with blue glitter for lakes and oceans
• green sprinkles for forested areas
• cinnamon sugar for deserts
• chocolate chips for mountain ranges
• black or red licorice strips for rivers
• Red Hots for capitals
• M&Ms for major cities

Don’t forget to make a map key, especially for a large map.

Map Ideas Across History

The following ideas are taken from our Complete Programs and Daily Lesson Plans corresponding to our historical units:

Ancients (Creation to AD 476)

• Ancient China, showing the Great Wall and major cities, rivers, deserts and other land forms
• Roman Empire at its height of influence

Make sure you take a picture  of your cookie dough map before it is consumed!

Do you think your children would enjoy making cookie maps?

The dark, damp days of winter often bring depression; or at least, boredom. As the temperature plummets, so do attitudes…  and the kids have a difficult time, too.

Time to liven up your days a bit!

Here are are several strategies to help you beat the winter blahs and inject some energy to your homeschooling:

 1.  Spend time with others

Beat cabin fever by resisting the urge to stay inside during these dreary days.   Get a group together and go to an inside skating rink or bowling alley, or even better, take a field trip. Have your students ever been behind the scenes at:

• the post office?
• your favorite grocery store?
• a bakery?
• a local manufacturing plant?
• a dairy farm?
• a local museum?
• a fire station?

Arrange a tour with your support group or a few other homeschooling families, then have a bag lunch or play time afterwards. If the weather doesn’t permit playing outdoors, perhaps a gym in a local church or recreation center would allow some indoor playtime  during the morning or early afternoon hours when they are usually empty.

After reading #3, grab a few other families, get together and plan a winter event or holiday. It could even become an annual event!

2. Evaluate and plan for next year

Often we resist the urge to think ahead in favor of just plugging along, nose to the grindstone, trying to get this year’s school work finished, but this is actually an excellent time to evaluate what you are doing and how you are doing it, as well as to identify specific areas needing attention next year for each of your children.

• Considering each child at a time, ask yourself, what progress has s/he made this year spiritually, academically, etc.? Are there new interests developing that should be explored next year? How does s/he learn best? Do we need plan to focus more on improving writing, arithmetic skills, working more independently or strengthening character in certain areas?  What habits would we like to be instilling in this child?

• How will your family change next year? Will you have more or fewer children to teach? Children spread out between kindergarten and high school for the first time? Do you need to prepare to teach middle school or high school?  Consider your method of teaching and curricula you are using (or not using, if you are more of an unschooler).   Is it working for you now?  Will it continue working for you? Is it working for your children? Are they engaged, learning, enjoying what they are doing for the most part? (Or are they bored, unchallenged, unmotivated or loosing interest?) Put your thoughts in writing.

• Are there new areas you would like to build into your homeschooling, such as family devotions, nature study (plan a spring garden!), lap-booking, notebooking, journaling, hymn study, picture study, or music lessons? Make notes about what you would like to add into your school day.

3.  Change things up – unexpectedly

Are you having difficulty just wading through the three R’s, let alone getting in any fun stuff? Amazingly, with something to look forward to, the non-negotiable stuff goes much faster.  Often livening things up can be as simple as assigning each Friday in February or March as a pajama day, build-a-tent-out-of-the-furniture-and-read-in-it day, make an edible map* day, or get together with others for lunch day (see #1). *Be looking for a peanut butter edible map recipe to be posted soon for this. Yum.

After spending time evaluating in #2, did you identify some new areas you would like to include in your studies next year?  Why don’t you consider starting one or more of them now, perhaps on a smaller scale, so you can see how it works and be better prepared to start in earnest in the Fall?  Here are some how-to posts that might help:

• Lapbooking/notebooking
• Hymn Study
• Picture Study for younger or
• Picture study for older students

As a family or with a few other families (see #1), research and cook a meal or plan an event that pertains to your history, geography or religious studies. How about:

• African or Egyptian night, researching and cooking traditional foods from the culture or period you are studying and eating them like they were eaten in the past or today (especially if no utensils were used – always popular).

• an Olympic Games Day, complete with costumes and patterned after the Olympics of Ancient Greece. (But you might draw the line at the way athletes competed in Ancient Greece – without clothes.  Brrr.)

• In March, celebrate the Jewish holiday of Purim. Read the book of Esther and yell Boo! at any mention of Haman and cheer with abandon when Mordecai is mentioned.  You may also plan a feast, give to the poor and eat Hamantaschen or Haman’s Ears!

• Have a Renaissance Fair. Create appropriate costumes, research music, games, food and more that might have been appropriate for that event.  Make sure to take pictures!

Choose a secular holiday, research it, and celebrate it as a family or with others. This could be holiday on the calendar, such as these celebrated here in the U.S.:

• Black History Month (the month of February)
• American Heart Month (also, February)
• Valentines Day (Feb. 14^th) See some across-the-curricula ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day in your or with other families.
• President’s Day (Feb. 20^th)

Or, it could be a wacky holiday that you make up, or that someone else has  made up, such as:

• Random Acts of Kindness Day (Feb. 17^th)
• National Pistachio Day (Feb. 26^th)
• Johnny Appleseed Day (Mar. 11^th)

Maybe each of your children should have the option of making up his or her own holiday this month and (of course) writing down  why s/he chose the holiday and how it should be celebrated!

May patience, flexibility and creativity help you not just ‘get through’ the winter, but enjoy every day of it. And remember – time moves quickly – spring will be here before you know it.

What ideas do you have to make the days more enjoyable in the winter? We would love to hear them!