Luckily, during my classroom teaching experience, I worked in two school districts that allowed the classroom teacher to differentiate spelling for each student in our class. Differentiating instruction is how we best meet the needs of our students and give them what they need to be successful. Since spelling ability is developmental, I always found it vital to use a spelling program that was created with differentiation in place. Early in my teaching career, I worked for a ...
Homeschooling
5 Stages of Spelling Development
Just like so many things in our children's lives, learning spelling is developmental. Once you know what the developmental levels are, and what level your child is on, you no longer have to worry about if they are behind or right where they need to be. When we have our children, it begins. The constant comparison to other children. From who is holding their head on their own, to who is sleeping through the night. Eventually, that turns into who is reading at what ...
How You Can Save Money on School Supplies
Every parent needs them, so why not save money when shopping for school supplies this year. I love back-to-school sales! Yes, I'm the crazy parent that starts shopping for back-to-school in June while most are still taking finals. It just fits my mantra - "Never pay full price." Shopping early and often is the way to go during the back-to-school sale season. Knowing your prices and how low they will go is what is going to save you the most. ...
10 Resources for Homeschool PE Class
Our family strives to have PE at home, which means indoors in the bad weather and outside when we can. Having some PE gear at home, and knowing what resources are readily available has made a world of difference in our homeschool and in our children's fitness levels. Creating a home gym for your homeschool doesn't have to break the bank, either. Here are some of our favorite resources for teaching PE class at home. ...
Homeschool Recap: What We Used to Teach 3rd & 4th Grade
In November, we left cyber school to see if homeschooling would be a better fit for our family. Due to the stress that cyber school had caused, we took a more informal approach to the remainder of the academic year. This year, our children were in 3rd & 4th grades. This made it easy for science, social studies, art, music, phys ed/health/safety, and life skills to be taught to both children at the same time - sometimes taught by me and sometimes worked on ...