In response to John’s newsletter title, “Do our Children Learn Differently,” I had a couple of comments to make. 

Although I agree that the children of today learn differently than of children past, I don’t completely agree with it. I honestly believe that some children would have been much better off in the 70’s and 80’s had there been more technology.  My brother is a prime example of this and I know that he is not the only one out there.  I learn by repetition, I learn by “doing” rather than by reading how to do, I learn by someone teaching me. My brother learns in much the same way that my youngest son does and that is by simply “watching” something being done and then going off and doing it himself and “figuring it out”.  My brother would have never attended one day of public school if T4L had been around when he was young. 

I believe that with technology comes more options, I believe technology helps kids grasp things differently but the concepts are still the same only now instead of my mom saying to me and my brother “Go look it up in the encyclopedia”, I find myself saying “Go google that”….. While I believe that children do process things a bit differently, bottom line is learning styles are learning styles and just because my children have the wonderful opportunity that they have does not mean that they learn any different that we did; they just have more options.

My next point is about technology taking place of sports and outside.  I totally agree that my children do not head outside as soon as they are done with their school work the way that we did growing up.  We live on 70 acres and my kids should be outside exploring ALL the time with what they have available to them.  I do agree that on occasion I have to “force them” outside or have to join them when they do go outside so we can hike or what ever.  With that being said, my family spends very little time watching tv.  We are a computer family and we sit in the same room, each with our computers and enjoy each other’s company whether it be in an online game or doing our own thing “chatting”.  We spend the summers swimming in our pool and when company is here spend most of the time outside.  Yes, we do own (collectively in our family) every video game system available (with the exception of the ps3) but that also is (for the most part) done together.  So I guess that even though my kids don’t always “volunteer” to go outside, that is the way it is now and even though I dislike it, sometimes it is easier to accept it.  As a side note, my boys play soccer, roller blade, do karate and are cub scouts.  They are very active kids and even though I think they spend to much time on line, there are far worse things that they can be doing……  What would I change?  Probably them “wanting” to go out and play…   Is that going to happen?  We are working on it. :):)

The last comment I have is about “putting the gameboys down in the car”.  Each of my boys have a game boy (you shocked?) and they will probably get a better hand held system this year for Christmas.  (shocked again?)  I don’t always agree that children should have game boys and when I see children at family functions, family activities or something like that it makes me angry.  I do think that there is nothing wrong with my kids playing their game in the car and because we are home schoolers we cram learning into every bit of their lives…..  Even in the car I am throwing something “educational” at them…  I would rather them spend a little bit of time zoning while driving down the road than sitting in their rooms playing!  Of course, my kids don’t abuse their game boys and can really “take them or leave them” so it is really not an issue for us but honestly everything we do revolves around their education and something being learned, discussed or shared so giving them some time in the car to just zone is not such a bad thing for our family……

Thanks for the newsletters John, I enjoy them!

After reading Tracy’s post about other “stuff” they are using, it made me think that it would be nice to hear more about this from other parents. :o)

In our home, Time4Learning is definitely our core curriculum. I have not found an area (other than maybe spelling, which I believe is improved upon in the 3rd grade) where we NEED any supplementing. However, for some reason, my son LOVES the “The Complete Book Of…” workbooks. :o) We have Handwriting, Spanish, Science, Our Solar System, US History, Maps and Geography, Travel Games, Arts and Crafts and finally, Bible Activities. Geez…there are a bunch. :o) We also have a sign language program that we are hoping to start this year!

Since we follow a more “relaxed” homeschool plan, he doesn’t have a set amount of work that he needs to do. I have went through the lesson plans from Time4Learning, so I know how many lessons need to be done each day, but that was for my own peace of mind. It’s also helpful when we might miss a day, so I know how many he needs to do to “catch up.” We honestly have yet to have a day where he did not want to do the number of lessons I had planned. Yay! :o)

Many of the workbooks that he has, span more than one grade so there is no pressure for him to finish them. He just kinda sees where his interests are that day, and picks out a workbook. We try to do some in Handwriting every day, but he really does need the practice in that area.

So…that is our “plan” for this year. It will be great to hear from the other parents to see how Time4Learning works into their “plans.” :o)

Hey there! I got an email today from a good friend of ours and she has decided to enroll her son in the T4L. I am especially happy about this because he struggles so in Math and I think that T4L is really going to help him. She did note to me that she would continue it until she can’t afford it anymore but I really think that it is the type of thing, once you get started with it you find yourself looking forward to their excitement when they are learning something brand new. I think their family is going to really enjoy it as much as ours!

She deals with a lot of the same issues with her son that we do.. The writing, math, etc… She and I have compared notes for a few years since our children are about the same age. I was thrilled today to hear that she was going to use the program. I really believe that he is going to do well.

When I told my boys that their friend was going to start doing T4L they jumped around and yelled “Yippy”…. Almost like it personally effected them. They are so excited to see him next Friday to ask him about it. I really had to laugh at their reaction; T4L really has become so much part of our lives that they are thrilled to add someone to their “family”……

Thanks again!

So my 3rd grader did his first lessons in Science and Social Studies today. We were both shocked (in a good way) at how incredibly different the science and social studies programs are this year as opposed to the 2nd grade levels. We were so used to the small, animated lessons that when he first logged in and we saw the first lesson on Vikings…our jaws dropped, lol. I had seen the lesson plans, but honestly only briefly.

We were able to sit and read together and even involved daddy, who enjoyed being able to help. As my son read through all the information in the activities, my hubby and I just kept looking at one another going “wow! this is great!” Even though these lessons were not even remotely similar to the 2nd grade lessons he remembered, my son was totally enthralled in what he was doing. When he printed out the little Viking cards and got out his first “notebook,” I think it finally hit him that 3rd grade is not the “little kid’s school” (his words) anymore. :o)

By the time he moved on to Science, got his next notebook started and did all the measurements that the first lesson asked him to get, he truly felt like he accomplished something today. What a proud moment for us all. And we are totally looking forward to what the next lessons hold!! :o)

We have officially completed a year of Time4Learning! While it hasn’t been 12 months since we first signed up, my son has started and completed the 2nd grade with T4L. Yay!! He was so excited this morning when I told him that I had gotten the email confirming that he could officially start the 3rd grade. You’d think you just told him that he was going to Disneyland. Ok…maybe not Disneyland, but you get my point. :o)

I was SO proud of him today. He does NOT like math at all, but decided to just jump right into math today and that was the first subject he started! Having taken a little time off, he struggled initially but ended up doing well. The difference between 2nd and 3rd grades was very noticeable. The lessons were not (at least not today at any rate) quite as animated as we were used to, but he still seemed pleased. I know I was! We are keeping my 2 nieces for two weeks and they are also homeschooled. They use a different curriculum than we do and were very intrigued and watched my son quite a bit today. It will be interesting to see what the next couple of weeks hold for all of them! :o)