Finding quality educational programming for preschoolers is easy, but as soon as kids hit 5 or 6 years old, the pickings suddenly become very slim. Therefore, the introduction of Teddy P. Brains is very exciting.

Journey into the Rainforest, the first DVD in the series, contains all of the elements to make both children and their parents happy. The exciting adventure is replete with educational material and opportunities for kids to exercise thinking skills. The educational elements are worked into the fascinating story so well, that kids will hardly realize they are actually being taught. In fact, learning becomes the most exciting part of a fun and mysterious adventure.

The computer animation works well, especially for this being the first DVD in the series. While it may not be the fantastic graphics and effects that kids are used to seeing from the big-money studios, the story more than makes up for any lack. I would have liked to have seen even more of the real-life images that are woven through-out the movie, but the internet serves as a good supplement to see what animals like the Anaconda and the capybara really look like.

I've been homeschooling my dawta, Maryam, on and off, all of her life. When I left the classroom at the end of the 07-08 school year, I was hoping it was for good. It was my dream and goal to be able to school her for the remainder of her school years.

I love being at home with her living the "FreeStyle" - Freedom + Lifestyle. We would wake when our bodies told us to, not an alarm clock. Learn in freedom of a schedule. Travel as we wanted and learn at our own pace. We have bonded tremendously as mother and daughter.

I have tried many ways to supplement my income with limited results and my savings found itself dwindling fast. As much as I love homeschooling her, I have made the decision to return to work full time.

I taught in the public and charter school systems for nine years on and off and this fall, I shall return again as a first grade teacher. My daughter will also be enrolled at my school as a First Grader.

n this western society we are influenced every single day to divide and seperate from our roots.
I'm sure as a homeschooler you have many individuals concerned about whether your homeschool teaches sufficient academic for your chil/children. However, if they are black individuals, they should also have concern as to whether you are thriving as a black family. It is harder to manitain black culture then academics in this society!
As you know, school systems do not support black culture, they promote europan culture.

There is not much room to express our Afrikan selves in the west unless we take initative.
This is a large reason why i love homeschooling. It gives parents and yputh the opportunitiy to express their Afrikan selves at home.

Here are some ways to keep your homeschool Afrikan-focused:
1. An Afrikan-Home
Have many Afrocentric items and decorations in your home. Set up a shrine, get Afrikan cloth and drape it on your windows, Put up Afrikan pictures and place Afrikan statues around your home. These things will ingrane Afrikan images in your childrens minds.

2. Stories and Songs

Well it's the end of my senior year and i've been working so hard for four years so that I could get to this point. Now I feel like a battery that has run out of juice. When i get home (at about 7:00 pm everyday) i want to nothing but soak in a hot shower and write some blogs and check mail. This routine has started a month ago when i finished all of my college applications and financial aid sheets.
So i feel like i should be feeling bad because i usually do when i feel like i've been slacking. But a little voice in the back of my head is whispering to me..." you deserve it". But that little voice that sounds so cheerful and soothing has deceived me once already. But like i said this is my senior year and you know what? i think that my little voice is right. I do deserve this. I AM like a battery and now i need to collect my battery juices so that I can start fresh for college.

Greetings my sisters it is me again. The teacher in my homeschool program sent me a great link for activities to do for black history month. It is from the scholastic website. The lesson was very honest but child appropriate. We learned about slavery today. A picture on the screen depicted what a plantation would look like. When you click on different sections of the plantation there are narratives from, i believe actual slaves, because there were excerpts from books. There is even a play you can act out about Marcus Garvey and the back to Africa movement. check out the site and let me know what you ladies and you children think about it. peace..

Black History Lessons

Greetings sisters my name is C. I am new to the site and would like to share some info with you ladies. Homeschooling is one of the best things a mom can do for a child. Even if you do it for the first few years. I was intimidated with it at first. What should I teach first? Should I set a schedule? I don't think I can do this. But looking at the present school system and being a vegetarian family, i felt that homeschool was the best way to go. So I search the Internet near and far and decided to pay 600 for the abeka program. But something didn't sit well with my spirit so I looked one more time and found K12. This program is great it is free. It is free because your child is technically in public school with the state but you are the teacher. They are virtual academies, you are assigned a teacher to help you and you do everything online. K12 sends you all the textbooks, activity books learning tools, beakers, goggles, etc. whatever the child needs to learn. The books are returned to the school at the end of the year.

What is education? According to the book A Thomas Jefferson Education, education is classics, discussions, projects (application), and writing. Very simple. Right? Yes, but very challenging to do, especially when one starts to mix schooling with education. They are two different things. Unfortunately, many home-schooling families are starting to go down that path of schooling.

The other day the we were very excited about a lunch date with another home-schooling family. After lunch the children went to go have fun, and the mother and I remained at the dining room table to discuss...education. She brought to my attention the book A Thomas Jefferson Education (TJED) by author and founder of the George Wythe College, Oliver Van DeMille. The book is not solely about TJ, but the education that created some of the greatest leaders in history, and of TJ's mentor, George Wythe.

Greetings all,

I have been a Mom and homeschooler of my Princess for more than five years. I'm doing a great job but there's always room for improvement. I'm asking that you all share your best tip on parenting/homeschooling. It can be a ritual or activity that has proven to be very beneficial for your child/ren.

I'll share mine:

My daughter and I perform a nightly ritual of prayer and meditation. When we first started praying together, I had her memorize a short, simple prayer. Later, I felt that we should both pray from our hearts. We sit on the floor and light a candle for the color of the day. We begin a round of taking deep cleansing breaths while listening to soft meditative music in the background. My Princess then begins to give thanks and gratitude to the Creator for her blessings that day followed by my session. We then end by meditating and deep breathing just as we began.

The idea of homeschooling my little one has been on my brain for quite some time. I've looked at curriculum, read the blogs of some homeschooling mamas, evaluated our local school and think that I will be ready to take that leap once she graduates preschool in June.


I'm apprehensive about 2 things. 1) I would have to leave my job, a job that I only go to twice a week. I teach at a large public university and am part-time faculty, with amazing benefits. 2) My daughter has special needs. She has a hemiplegia on the right side of her brain which has affected the left side of her body and her speech. Cognitively, she's on point. Although she wasn't independently mobile until she was about 2, she is now unstoppable and even attends dance class on Saturday. She has therapies-PT, OT, and Speech- which the city would be mandated to continue until she is 21 or no longer needs them.


I just really want to make sure I am doing the right thing. She is social and I'd want her to continue to be able to interact with other children. I have about 7 months or so to work the details out, but in my heart of hearts I know I am going in the right direction.


Thoughts?

Here are some homeschooling style approaches to consider,when starting your first year of homeschooling.It also serves as a good reference for those who may need a change from their current curriculum.

Classical:
Dating from ancient Greece and Rome, this philosophy is based upon the trivium:
grammar (using language)
logic (correct thinking)
rhetoric (verbal and written communication

School at Home:
This approach is most similar to conventional school learning. This teaching style places an emphasis on learning facts and then applying these facts to facilitate a well-rounded education. Textbooks and workbooks are used and the home educator accepts the traditional teacher role. Traditional homeschooling is also called the school-at-home method. Most traditional home schoolers use a set curriculum and give grades.

Charlotte Mason:
This style or philosophy, created in the nineteenth century by Mason, emphasizes among other things:
the reading of classic books that engage the mind
narration (retelling what one has learned)
art
music
ournaling
Although this approach is not unschooling, CM practitioners do not use workbooks or textbooks.

Now that school is almost over ,I have begun to to plan my curriculum for the the next school year.Yea ,already planning.So with that in mind I thought I would post my ideas as they come to me with resources,links,etc for those who might be interested.In the meantime here is another option for an Home school approach. This has been my previous approach : "Relaxed" or "Eclectic" Homeschooling "Relaxed" or "Eclectic" homeschooling is the method used most often by home schoolers. Basically, eclectic home schoolers use a little of this and a little of that, using workbooks for math, reading, and spelling, and taking an unschooling approach for the other subjects. The advantage of this method is that the parent feels that the subjects they believe are most important are covered thoroughly. This method also allows the family to choose textbooks, field trips, and classes that fit their needs and interests. A good magazine for the eclectic home schooler is Home Education Magazine

I am not what one would call an "Unschooler" I am more of a " Eclectic Homeschooler" when I'm not doing "Virtual Schooling",but I thought I would share this with those who are interested in homeschooling and looking for the best choices out here.

Unschooling starts with the learner, who has definite interests, learning styles, skills and multiple intelligences, which becomes "the system." Therefore, it fits every time. No child is a square peg, and everything they value is a round hole and an opportunity for real learning. In essence, Unschooling is a continuation of the natural autodidactic style that all children have, at least until they reach the age of compulsory education. At that age, children in the schools or school at home model, are retrained to conform them to didactics, teaching which requires an outside instructor.

I just wanted to show you guys exactly what I'm talking about with these portfolios.This is every 4 weeks.Not to mention that anything that is a composition,essay,report of ANY type has to have three copies.Mawiyah,I will defiantly be getting with you on your curriculum.Soulliving I thought I would be able to incorporate our materials,subjects,etc into their lessons as well,but we had little chance for that.Say for instance,like a book report I would have the children do their report on a black story written by a black author .They sent those reports back with zeros stating that either the book wasn't on the approved book list or that they didn't understand what the report was saying based on the book they chose.Now they got a chance to redo it,but of course it had to be a book on the list.Needless to say ,how many black authors do you think they have on that list.These schools DO NOT tell you exactly the truth when your signing up,they make it seem all simple ,like you can set your own schedule,contact with the child's teacher,fun field trips,etc.They do not say that the teacher will be calling every single week and that once the child reaches 5/6 grade they will have a different

It's 6:49 a.m.

So, you have begun your home-schooling journey. You sit down to admire your to-do-list and feel so accomplished.

*Spouse agreed to home-schooling [check]
*Find home-schooling resources [check]
*Decide on curriculum [check]
*Find home-schooling group [check]
*Purchase school supplies [check]
*Find home-schooling Mommies to hang out with [check]
*Find extra-curricula activities for children [check]

Yes, so accomplished!

Curtis 16 has severe autism and Tyler PDD,NOS very high functional. I homeschool Tyler. He has great trouble with relating to other children. They are my inspiration.
My Boys

I'M SO EXCITED! I HAVE DECIDED TO HOMESCHOOL MY TWO CHILDREN NOW THIER ARE AGES 1 AND A HALF AND 3 MONTHS BUT I'M PUMPED!
ANYHOW MY IDEA HAS EXPANDED DUE TO MY LOVE FOR CHILDREN AND BLACK(AND ALL FAMILY OF COLOR), PEOPLE ON THE WHOLE(ALSO MY RECENT STUDIES) INTO WANTING NOT ONLY TO TEACH MY OWN BUT OTHERS ALSO,EDUCATION OVERSHADOWING THE IDEA OF EVEN CHARGING MONEY, AND THEN I THOUGHT WELL WE COULD BE TEACHING THEM EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING...! AND HOW TO BE AN INDEPENDANT THINKER, TO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CREATOR, TO RESPECT OUR ELDERS AND ANCESTORS,HOW TO WORK THE SOIL,BE OUR OWN BOSSES START OUR OWN BUISNESSES, PLAN OUR FAMILIES WITH CAREFULL CONSIDERATION AND LOVE, THE REAL! WE TEACH...! AND WHERE..! AND METHODS,>>>! AND THE SOCIALIZATION FACTOR....!
YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYIN', SO I WOULD LIKE TO GET SOME STUDY/BRAINSTORMING GROUPS TOGETHER WITH SOME MOMS AND OR DADS
ALONG WITH SOME PLAYDATES AND YOU KNOW POOL SOME IDEAS.
WHO'S WITH IT?
I'M IN THE EAST BAY.
HIT ME UP!
"Love your Life...it's a blessing!!!"

When I first started homeschooling, I didn't really know what was in store for us. All I knew was that I didn't like how my son wasn't getting the individual attention he needed in school and that he was being bullied. None of the teachers or authorities were on the front lines with me when I was trying to put an end to the bullying. I drew the line when he came home very upset and his pants ripped up to his knee, and again, nobody from his school called me.

Now that we are homeschooling, my son has matured to a great extent. My daughter is also doing great. She is very bright,alert and intelligent.

We love the fact that we can be creative and independent in creating studies for homeschool. We are always coming up with new ideas for cultural,academic, and social studies.

I find that homeschool opens up new doors to better opportunities for me to challenge myself as a parent and teacher. It also challenges me as an entrepreneur since it puts positive pressure on me to be successful since I made a choice not to go out and work. Homeschooling pressures me to succeed in business at home.

I remember the moment I decided to home school...I was pregnant with baby number three and my eldest was in kindergarten at the local "prestigous" Black private school and my second was in a wonderful daycare owned by a dear sistah friend...

I had hesitated to enroll the oldest in school because , being from the area I knew how poor the education was here and how Eurocentric and patriarchal the schools are

Meaning...there was no where she could go to teach her about who SHE is...you know? No one was interested in telling her more about Her Ancestors and Her place in the Universe...folx only wanted to teach her where she didn't fit and who she was NOT BUT..

I did it anyway because I didn't feel as if I had a choice

Conceiving my third led me into a researching, self learning frenzy...every child you bear will take you on a different journey and help you to reach your highest self...if you listen

This homeschooling/un-schooling season, we are focusing on math, art, and reading with our four year old. Lately he has been wanting to use boxes to practice on rather than notebook paper, so being that we promote creativity...I went along with it. We use his blocks, popcorn, and crayons to do addition problems. He seems to be getting the hang of it & I think the visual stimulation makes it stick..he even did a little subtraction! It feels so good to see your children learn, especially when the teacher is you! I traced his left and right hand, and his left and right foot onto the box with some crayons(which he thought was hilarious) and we played a quick game of “mini twister” to make sure he has the right and left senses down, and then we numbered the toes and fingers & used the drawing to practice counting from 1 to 20. What is your pre-schooler & kindergarten tot currently learning? Do any of you have any unusual/fun learning activities that you use at home?