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2011 Gift Guide – Timberdoodle Homeschool Vodcast

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Timberdoodle is delighted to announce our first ever gift guide! In it you’ll discover both our most popular customer favorites and our most exciting new finds in a single guide that will help you with your gift decisions.

Watch for it in your mailbox any day now – we’d love to hear when you get yours!

Not yet signed up? No problem, just click over to our free Gift guide request here, and we’ll get it right out to you. As a limited edition print run, we have very limited supplies, so if you’re interested, ask now!

You may also be interested in:
Timberdoodle Gift Guide Models 2011
Meet the Models!

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Meet the Models!

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Meet the models from our Fall 2011 Photo Shoot! We were delighted to have so many children work with us on the production of our 2011 Gift Guide, some new faces and many familiar ones. (Due to the size limitations of the gift guide we weren’t able to bring back all of the fantastic models who had worked with us in the past.) So, it is with much excitement that we introduce to you:

Brothers Judah, Cohen, & Jax

Judah, age 5

What would be the coolest pet to own? What would you name it?
“An ostrich. I would name it Happy Face.”

What chores do you have?
“Cleaning the turtles’ cage.”

If you could visit any place in the world, where would it be?
“Maddie and Annora’s house.”

If today was your birthday, what would you want to eat?
“Pancakes and aebleskiver and cake.

 

 

 

Cohen, age 3½

If you could visit any place in the world, where would it be?
“Maddie and Annora’s house.”

What would be the coolest pet to own? What would you name it?
“A lizard. Named Cohen.”

If you could have chosen your own first name, what would it be?
“Bow-wow.”

If today was your birthday, what would you want to eat?
“Macaroni and cheese and olives.”

 

 

Jax, age 2

What would be the coolest pet to own?
“A dog.”

If today was your birthday, what would you want to eat?
“Candy.”

What is a nickname you have?
“Jaxie.”

 

 

 

 

Sisters Maddie & Annora

 

Maddie, age 6

If you could have chosen your own first name, what would it be?
“Crystal.”

What is the scariest thing you have ever done?
When I picked up the elk poop.”

What book have you read or has someone read to you recently?
“Cat in the Hat.”

What would be the coolest pet to own? What would you name it?
“A poodle; I would name it Princess Rainbow.”

 

 

Annora, age 4

If you could have chosen your own first name, what would it be?
“Heart Crystal Dolphin.”

What is your favorite toy?
“Princesses and bad guys.”

What book have you read or has someone read to you recently?
“A princess book.”

What would be the coolest pet to own? What would you name it?
“A cat; I would name it Heart Princess Diamond.”

 

 

Eliana and her dad, Nehemiah

 

Eliana, age 2

What is your favorite toy?
“My bike!”

If you could visit any place in the world, where would it be?
“Disneyland.”

If today was your birthday, what would you want to eat?
“Pizza.”

What are you scared of?
“Spiders.”


 

Nehemiah

 

Nehemiah is Timberdoodle’s warehouse manager!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brothers Brayden & Abram

 

Brayden, age 11

What book have you read recently?
“I like to read The Hardy boys and I’m reading the Narnia Series.”

What is a nickname you have?
“My nickname is Braydo Tornado.”

What do you think is the best job in the world?
“I would like to compete in the Olympics.”

If you could live or visit any place in the world, where would it be?
I can’t wait to visit Germany.”

 

 

Abram, age 7

What do you think is the best job in the world?
I would like to be an Engineer and build all kinds of robots.”

If you could live any place in the world, where would it be?
Germany, where my aunt, uncle, and twin cousins live. I wish I could have a house right next door.”

What book have you read recently?
I like to read Boxcar Children and I’m also reading Little House in the Big Woods.”

What is a nickname you have?
“My nickname is Abe.”

 

Sisters Megan, Alison, & Jenny

 

Megan, age 11

If you could have chosen your own first name, what would it be?
“Alison or Gretchen.”

If you could live or visit any place in the world, where would it be?
“India or Argentina (the latter only because I like the song “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina”).”

If today was your birthday, what would you want to eat?
“Popcorn and caramel apples.”

What book have you read recently?
“George MacDonald’s The Princess and the Goblin.”

 

 

Alison, age 8

What would be the coolest pet to own? What would you name it?
“A horse named Penny.”

What do you think is the best job in the world?
“A veterinarian.”

If you could have chosen your own first name, what would it be?
“Megan.”

What is the scariest thing you have ever done?
“Kayaking.”

 

 

Jenny, age 6

What would be the coolest pet to own? What would you name it?
“A giraffe named Little Mary.”

What are you scared of?
“Scary games in the dark.”

What do you think is the best job in the world?
“An obstetrician.”

If you could have chosen your own first name, what would it be?
“Rosebud.”

 

 

 

Elisha and his uncles, Nathaniel & Darius

 

Elisha, age 1

What book have you read or has someone read to you recently?
First Hundred Words in English, I like to find the dogs.”

If today was your birthday, what would you want to eat?
“Eggs and cheese.”

What is your favorite toy?
“I like balls and trucks.”

What are you scared of?
“Anything too loud – like blowers or blenders.”

 

 

Nathaniel, age 7

What do you think is the best job in the world?
“A police officer.”

If today was your birthday, what would you want to eat?
“Quiche.”

What is a nickname you have?
“Bubba.”

What would be the coolest pet to own?
“A dinosaur.”

 

 

Darius, age 5

What would be the coolest pet to own? What would you name it?
“A tiger named Sebastian.”

If today was your birthday, what would you want to eat?
“Pizza.”

What do you think is the best job in the world?
“A firefighter.”

If you could have chosen your own first name, what would it be?
“Probably Sebastian.”

 

 

 

Brothers Caleb, Scion, Conner, and Calum

 

Caleb, age 11

What do you think is the best job in the world?
“A chicken farmer.”

What would be the coolest pet to own? What would you name it?
“An elephant named Hannibal.”

What are you scared of?
“Everything at night since I read The Hound of the Baskervilles.”

What is the scariest thing you have ever done?
“Crashed a motorbike.”


 

Scion, age 9

What would be the coolest pet to own? What would you name it?
“A monkey. I would name it George.”

What book have you read recently?
“Martin Rattler.”

What is the scariest thing you have ever done?
“Went on a Ferris Wheel.”

What do you think is the best job in the world?
“Landscaping.”

 

 

Conner, age 5

If you could have chosen your own first name, what would it be?
“Richard, my dad’s middle name.”

What is the scariest thing you have ever done?
“Put my head in the salt water.”

What do you think is the best job in the world?
“Being a mountain climber at Mt. Ranier.”

If today was your birthday, what would you want to eat?
“Rice Krispies, chocolate chip cookies, and vanilla cupcakes.”

 

 

Calum, age 1

What would be the coolest pet to own? What would you name it?
“An earwig named Squishy.”

What do you think is the best job in the world?
“Either a rockstar drummer or an entomologist.”

What is your favorite toy?
“My mom’s Tupperware.”

What book have you read or has someone read to you recently?
“My favorite book right now is Please Say Please.”

 

Siblings Zachariah, Julianna, Jonathan, & Benjamin

 

Zachariah, age 10

What are you scared of?
“My brother hiding behind the door.”

What would be the coolest pet to own? What would you name it?
“A dolphin named Echo.”

What do you think is the best job in the world?
“A dolphin trainer.”

What chores do you have?
“Feeding my chickens and rabbits.”

 

 

Julianna, age 9

If you could have chosen your own first name, what would it be?
“Grace, which is my middle name and what my first name means.”

If today was your birthday, what would you want to eat?
“Goulash.

What would be the coolest pet to own? What would you name it?
“A cat named Tiger.”

What are some nicknames you have?
“Juls and Baby Girl.”

 

 

 

Jonathan, age 7

What do you think is the best job in the world?
“Own a candy store.”

What would be the coolest pet to own? What would you name it?
“A Gardner snake named Freaky.”

If you could have chosen your own first name, what would it be?
“Bob.”

What is your favorite toy?
“Legos.”

 

 

Benjamin, age 4

What is your favorite toy?
“Cars.”

What is a nickname you have?
“Benjamin Bunny.”

If today was your birthday, what would you want to eat?
“Spaghetti.”

If you could have chosen your own first name, what would it be?
“Thomas the Train.”

 

 

 

Siblings Ben, Frank, & Lizzie

 

Ben, age 14

What do you think is the best job in the world?
“Animator at Pixar.”

If you could have chosen your own first name, what would it be?
“William.”

What is your favorite toy?
“Legos.”

What book have you read recently?
“It Happened in Washington.”

 

 

Frank, age 13

If today was your birthday, what would you want to eat?
“Pork & chicken & broccoli.”

If you could live or visit any place in the world, where would it be?
“Italy.”

What is the scariest thing you have ever done?
“Riding the roller coaster at Silverwood.”

What do you think is the best job in the world?
“Astronaut.”

 

 

Lizzie, age 7

If you could have chosen your own first name, what would it be?
“Rosie.”

If today was your birthday, what would you want to eat?
“Macaroni & cheese.”

What is a nickname you have?
“Bethany.”

What are you scared of? Why?
“Lions and bears, because they are scary.”

 

 

 

Cousins Danielle & Joshua

 

Danielle, age 1

What book have you read or has someone read to you recently?
The Very Busy Spider, I love the animals.”

What are some of your favorite toys?
“My rubber duck, teapot & teacup, and books.”

What are you scared of?
“Swings.”

What are some nicknames you have?
“Dani and Scooter.”

 

 

Joshua, age 11 months

What is your favorite toy?
“Daddy’s boots, or anything with strings.”

If today was your birthday, what would you want to eat?
“Chocolate!”

What book have you read or has someone read to you recently?
“Stop, Train, Stop! A Thomas the Tank Engine Story.”

What are you scared of?
“Being left behind.”

 

 

 

Sisters Laila & Lydia

 

Laila, age 7

What do you think is the best job in the world?
“Someone who rescues animals.”

What is the scariest thing you have ever done?
“Jumped off a dock at the lake.”

If today was your birthday, what would you want to eat?
“Grilled cheese sandwiches.”

What would be the coolest pet to own?
“A turtle.”

 

 

Lydia, age 2

What would be the coolest pet to own?
“A duck.”

What is a nickname you have?
“Boo boo.”

What are you scared of?
“Loud Noises.”

What is your favorite toy?
“Baby dolls.”

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Autism Related Links

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Reposted from a 2006 (?) article.

In our search for information on autism, (see Krissy’s Story) we have discovered a few websites that have been very helpful for us and we are eager to share them with you. While we do not agree with everything said on any one of these sites, we hope that some of these will be as helpful for you as they have been for us.

www.firstsigns.org
First Signs is a good place to find basic information about autism, diagnosis information, and links to numerous other sites, ranging from helpful to useless. The two we think are most helpful are the M-CHAT assessment for toddlers http://www.firstsigns.org/downloads/Downloads_archive/m-chat.PDF and the Australian Scale For Asperger’s Syndrome http://www.aspergersyndrome.org/Articles/The-Australian-Scale-for-Asperger-s-Syndrome.aspx.

www.behavioranalysts.com
This is Dr. Partington’s site, we have attended a number of his local workshops and have been impressed by both his practical, knowledgeable approach and his heart for the kids he works with. He is a skilled communicator who teaches with many real video examples, so you walk away having really learned something. If he will be in your area, we feel it is well worth your time and money to attend.

www.knospe-aba.com
This is the website for Robert Schramm, author of Educating Towards Recovery, our favorite autism treatment book. Don’t forget to browse our free section below as well, he has graciously allowed us to make several lengthy and very helpful excerpts from his original book available.

http://www.autism.com
This site is the clearinghouse for masses of information about a wide variety of treatment methods. With its emphasis on natural supplements and desire to make information available to parents, we have often referred to this site in our journey with Krissy. I definitely feel that Krissy has benefited from some of their suggestions, particularly the Melatonin and B vitamins, among others. However, not all of their suggestions have been helpful for her, and some have seemed downright odd. Nevertheless, being able to look at the raw data ourselves has been extremely helpful in the decision-making process. The fact that they do not sell any of the products they suggest makes them as unbiased as possible.

www.feat.org
FEAT: Families for Effective Autism Treatment. This link takes you to their main site, which will help you locate your local chapter of FEAT. Your local FEAT should be able to assist you in finding resources in your area.

www.nathhan.com
This began as a local family ministry, and now assists and encourages homeschooling families with special needs children in ways that glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. We enjoyed receiving their magazine for many years, even before we actually were involved with special needs children. Their newest website,www.chask.org has the wonderful focus of finding Christian homes for children with special needs, especially those whose parent’s are given a prenatal diagnoses and encouraged to have an abortion. What a practical way to value life.

FREE STUFF
http://www.mariposaschool.org/sites/default/files/TrainingManual_0.pdf
This massive, 136 page manual covers the basics of VBA in a practical and helpful manner. This is a wonderful free resource! (Many more PDFs are now available here: http://www.mariposaschool.org/learning-materials)

http://www.users.qwest.net/
Yes, this document is replete with typos, however it is a relatively short (38 pages) manual on the nitty-gritty details of how to teach pivotal behaviors to children with autism. One of the most helpful links we have found for getting started, it is extremely readable and easy to understand.

Download generous portions from the must-read book “Educate Toward Recovery” by Robert Schramm MA, BCBA :
Motivation and Reinforcement
Seven Steps to Earning Instructional Control with your Child
What is RDI and how does it compare to Applied Behavior Analysis and Verbal Behavior

YOU SHARED
This repost was actually triggered by an email from a customer who wanted to add this resource: http://www.peoplefinders.com/article-peoples-resource-guide-to-autism.aspx “which includes a compiled list of autism related resource pages that provide important information about topics such as diagnosis, screening, management and much more. I think it is a great resource for parents like me and I also think it would fit well under your list of important pages.” I agree, it looks very helpful. What else would you add?

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Eliminating After (Home)School Boredom

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I need some help. I had purchased a few extras to add to our basics for our school year, thinking it would not be too overwhelming for my kids (or me). However, I’m starting to second guess myself. My kids average an hour or two a morning, which I think is plenty for a 5 and 7 yo, but come afternoon they are bored. I am scratching my head trying to figure out what to do! We have logic puzzles, geography puzzles, etc. It tempts them for a couple of days, but then they run out of steam. Any suggestions?? We do plenty of coloring/drawing via notebooking and just on their own, we also do science experiments every other week. Just stumped. 🙂 Thanks!
Andrea

This is a fantastic question that has given us a lot to think/talk about here!

Before I actually answer your question, let me just commend you on what you are doing. The fact that school isn’t taking long is great, they are mastering the material and you are setting a doable pace!

There are probably more approaches and options to the remaining time in your day than there are homeschooling families, but let me just share a few of our favorites, all of which seem interwoven at some level. I should also mention that the options available to you depend a great deal on your circumstances and personal preferences. A rural introvert will have much more interest in an animal raising idea than in touring city landmarks:

Work
This is huge around our place. Hopefully they are already doing chores, but are there ways that you can increase the complexity of their tasks? For instance your seven year old could have an active part in meal planning, making a shopping list… That time then becomes a blessing to the whole family while also building skills they’ll use forever. Plus, children enjoy playing a “real” role in the family – at least most of the time.

Skills

On a similar note, what skills might they like to develop? This can include cooking, knitting, sewing, woodworking, knot tying, making balloon animals or any number of other skills that may prove to be a life skill, fun hobby, or used only for a year and then seemingly forgotten!

Interests
Are there options for encouraging them to follow their interests? For instance if you have a son who is enamored with cars, do you have the garage space for him to completely deconstruct an engine? If you have a child comfortable with 100-piece puzzles, why not get a 500-piece puzzle and encourage them to work on that at their leisure. (Include a reward for completing it if you like.)

Elective Academic Pursuits
While no child should be overwhelmed academically, some are ready for more of a challenge, be that in foreign language, art, electronics, construction, music lessons or the like. Construction and science kits are particularly terrific for young learners – they will have a blast and learn much more than they think they have!

Projects
Having identified some of their interests, can you help them come up with a multi-day project to work on? Your beginning seamstress may be excited to tackle a baby quilt. Other ideas would be knitting a stocking cap, building an elaborate fort, or even cultivating a garden. (If space allows.)

Animals
If you have the space for it, raising animals is in many ways a perfect project. From worms to chickens or rabbits, there are relatively low-cost ways for children to learn responsibility, financial prudence, and even important life-lessons when you have the opportunity to pursue animal husbandry.

Urban Ideas
A lot of these ideas are best suited for rural life, but being in the city just means you have a different set of options. What about field trips to local attractions? Joining a library program? Are there local church activities that they could help with? Our local Christian school has even had ways for homeschoolers to join them just for field trips, making it a chance to connect as well as learn.

Ideas
Have you considered Little Contenders for the Faith and Little Keepers at Home? Even if you’re not doing the whole program, (I confess, our family never did) there are a ton of helpful ideas of useful things to teach.

 

Those are our thoughts, what would you add?

 

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Motivating a Reluctant Learner

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This is my 3rd year doing hs w/my son who is 2nd grade (actually 4th if you count preschool)…
I am nearly in tears. My son will only work when I am right by his side, even if he already knows how to do the page. He is so smart, yet hates school. It took him an hour to do 1 little lesson of writing in the language lessons book. How do I do this??? Every year the same. But now this year we have added our Kindergarten son who doesn’t have as much work, but is a distraction to my second grader (I tell my second grader that in school he would be distracted by 30 kids). Plus I have house, appointments, & newborn.
(My son does love science & notebooking, but I have to read that to him….. when does it become him to read it?) Just wondering what I’m doing wrong…. I WANT to homeschool, but I am so upset because I feel I am not accomplishing anything. please help. Thank you.
Crystal

Hi Crystal,

…It sounds like you are dealing with either a motivation issue, a training issue, or most likely a combination of the two. As I mentioned to you earlier, this is a very common problem but thankfully not insurmountable in any way.

The first thing we would try here would be a system of carrots to reward his budding independence. There are lots of ways to do this, the important thing will be to determine what is compelling to him. Is he saving his money for something? Perhaps you could reward him with a penny for each page of school he does, but a nickel for each one he does without your help. Or perhaps he would like to earn screen time or playtime at the park or… In our family the big reward was a family night every Friday – only those with their schoolwork done could participate.

Once you’ve determined the reward make it really obvious to him what he gets and how. (Sticker charts work really well for some children.)

Also take time to consider what is a reasonable responsibility for him to start with. I wouldn’t necessarily expect him to work independently on all or even most of his subjects next week, but what one or two are within his immediate grasp? Then you’ll just build from there.

Once you’ve figured this out you’ll want to have a heart-to-heart chat with him and explain that he is ready to take on some adult responsibilities now, which means he also gets the benefits of these new rewards. Lay out for him exactly what you expect and what the rewards are. (And of course, by inverse, what exactly happens if he doesn’t get the work done on his own, on time or…)

Make sure the timeframe is a reasonable one for him, and then let him be responsible for managing it. In our case if we wanted to spend all week wasting time that was our choice, but of course we soon discovered that we really would miss out on family night. I don’t think any of us really learned that lesson without at least a few tearful Fridays as we tried to hurry and catch up, only to miss out altogether. It didn’t take long though to realize that this was really how it was going to work, and how to work with the standards.

Some people really balk at the idea of rewards, however, it really is the most natural of consequences. Children in school are rewarded/influenced by the peer pressure, gold stars, shame… Not only that but it is a rare adult who does their work purely out of love for the job. We expect to be rewarded for our work – whether it is the trucker working for his paycheck or the farmer sowing in order to reap a harvest. Children find it understandably difficult to grasp the rewards of their education so until he can fully get that it makes sense to find a way to make learning independently a privilege that is worth the effort.

I should mention one more thing. I’ve assumed throughout all this that the root issue is motivation. You may know that this isn’t the case. It could be a desire for perfection, lack of reading comprehension or something entirely different. By far the most common issue though is motivation, which is why I’ve focused on that.

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Helping a Child in School Stay at Grade Level

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I am not homeschooling my first grader, however, when we lived in Florida she excelled at a A grade level school and is currently enrolled in an F grade level school. I want to make sure I can keep her up to standard (and above standard where necessary) instead of her falling behind and getting lazy. I was wondering if you had/could recommend some supplemental but all inclusive educational materials for us to do together at home…
Christen (quoted with permission)

I would say that you have three areas to really work with her on.

First, areas she’s weak in are natural places to strengthen and supplement.

Second, areas she is particularly good at are also very important to encourage her to grow in and further develop her talents.

(Those two I can’t really speak to specifically, since I don’t know her needs.)

Third, those areas which are the most important. Thinking Skills tops the list of critical-but-often-overlooked topics, and I would really consider MiniLUK for her – lot of fun and yet all the foundational skills are covered by the time you work through all the activities. (The kit is expandable too, so you don’t have to buy it all at once.)

Reading is down the list only because it would be unusual for you and the school not to be emphasizing it already. Doing all that you can to help her enjoy and excel at reading will make her entire educational career easy and fun for her. The local library is usually a terrific resource for this.

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One Family’s Curriculum Planning Approach

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We were so excited to hear from one of our customers (She also happens to be my cousin AND her three daughters were a delight in our 2011 Photo Shoot!) about how she is planning out her daughters’ curriculum this year. With her permission, we’re sharing her ideas as inspiration for you all! Also, the poster above was made for us by the girls and now hangs proudly in our office!

Claire's school folder

I’ve tried clipboards for their checklists, but the papers end up getting lost and mixed up. I was going to use 3 ring binders, but opted for these thin and cheap “pocket portfolios” because I want to be able to save them (easily & without taking up too much space) at the end of the year as a record of what they did. I made sure to write the school year and their grade year, if appropriate, on their portfolio and leave room to write down any activities or extras that they’ve done.

Not shown in the pictures is a questionnaire filled out for each child. I found the idea on Hannah Keeley’s website. It is called the Student Q&A and has questions about your child’s favorite food, song, etc. Since I plan to save their portfolios, I thought it would also be fun to have something like this in each folder/each year to show how they have changed.

The other thing that we did when decorating their portfolios was to make bookmarks for each of their school books. I’m not very artsy, so I simply cut out bookmark sized card stock, brought out the stickers and some contact paper and they went to town. They also made some for each other. I like not having to try to figure out each morning where they are in their books.

 

School Supplies

I’ve taken a picture of our homeschool workstation in case you are interested. We’ve found that the only good space is at the dining table, which is a sacrifice I’m willing to make. I tried keeping all their homeschool materials in a separate location from the dining area, but found that didn’t work well for us. So, they each have a box where they keep their own pencils, erasers, etc.

workboxes

Right now I don’t have a bookshelf to manage their individual books, so I’ve opted for milk crates that sit behind the dining table. At least I have the option of moving the crates to another location if we are having company and need the extra space. I also like the fact that each child has their own designated spot for their books. As they complete the book, it goes back to the crate and stays there until they need it again.

Anyhow, I’m passing on this information to you because I know how much I love to see what other moms are doing to manage their space and time, etc. Maybe you could get other moms to post their pictures as well…

colorcoded

I made some additional changes today to Katherine and Isabelle’s checklist.  In the spirit of trying to develop more independence, I decided to add a column (A,B,C,D…) to represent each book.  On the corresponding book I have placed a sticker in the top right corner.  For one of my print-outs I’ve gone ahead and color coded it as well, but highly doubt that I will manually color each checklist for the week.    But, who knows. While I was making changes, I went ahead and added to the school year to each page.

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Timberdoodle in Africa

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Here at Timberdoodle we were so excited to get this letter from one of our long-time customers who has been working with Living Hope International in Zambia. With her permission we are delighted to share with you how she has used Timberdoodle materials in this exciting venture!

Hi!
My kids are in college now so I am “done” homeschooling but every year I get to work in a wonderful Christian orphanage in Zambia Africa, 20 kids now and building for 100! last year I observed how they had ZERO educational toys and games, so I sent them the Circuits kit in October (along with the Drafting program, but alas I forgot to take a picture!) and when I stayed with them in June they showed me how much they LOVED it by being able to do ANY cool experiment in any section I chose!

Using SnapCircuits for the orphans in Africa

I’d say, “Show me # 312!!!” and they all joined in to show me how it worked!

Using GEOPuzzles for the orphans in Africa

As you can see, I also brought with me in June the GeoPuzzles and found the teens POURING over them for hours with me! We used the Africa one as a review of their capital cities of each of the countries as well as just to LOCATE some of the countries in Africa that they were unfamiliar with! And they got to see HANDS ON where I live in the US.

Using GEOPuzzles for the orphans in Africa

It was a wonderful time and Timberdoodle was a GREAT tool and blessing to them! So I am hooked! I will definitely want to bring more of your items back with me next May or June when we return, Lord willing. But I wondered if you could use these photos or could provide donations or discounts for more great things! Thought you might like to see how far reaching Timberdoodle’s great resources really went this summer! Thank you for all the years of reviewing the products for us and for this particular opportunity it gave me to bless 20 orphans in Zambia!
Blessings,
Maureen Mattiello,
Michigan

For those of you curious about our answer, we told her we would also love to be a part of blessing the kids, and we’ll work with her on that when she gets ready to return! Have you used Timberdoodle products in a unique adventure like this? We’d absolutely love to hear about it!

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Why Timberdoodle Encourages Independent Learning

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This question on Facebook yesterday got us thinking:
Timberdoodle: I read your catalog cover to cover when it comes, and I love your thoughtful reviews of homeschooling resources. I’m wondering, though, about what feels to me like an increasing number of DVD/computer-style resources that “replace” parental involvement (like Sequential Spelling). Yes, homeschooling parents are busy, but isn’t spending time with your kids as they learn a major part of the whole point? What is your perspective on this?
Tricia Groenewold Van Dyk

What a fascinating observation! We actually have quite a few reasons for selling independent learning tools and after a little discussion here, these are what we see as the most important factors in that decision.

Avoid Burn Out
One-on-one teaching is critical to the success of any student, and homeschoolers are no exception to that. Our concern is that we have seen moms who overdo it and become helicopter moms, micromanaging every detail of their students’ education. Is it any wonder that these moms burn out? Independent learning tools provide a natural transition from the one-on-one of early childhood to less mom-intense educational approach.

Cultivate Responsible Learners
There is a lot of (dare we say it?) fun in teaching. But it is better for your student to learn on their own at times. After all, if you think about it, when they are adults you’ll want them to have the ability to pick up any skill they want and learn it on their own if needed. Structuring their education to be more and more self-taught helps them to become a responsible self-learner.

Special Needs, Illness and Newborns
Not all moms have the same amount of teaching time. Whether they are doing therapy for a child with autism, dealing with their own chronic illness or are blessed with a newborn, there are seasons when homeschooling needs to be more independent simply for mom’s sanity!

You Don’t Have To Love Teaching
As much as no one wants to mention this, we all know moms who really struggle to teach. They love their kids and feel strongly about homeschooling, but when it actually comes down to teaching they are easily overwhelmed and intimidated. If it is an area they are not gifted/trained in, then of course teaching is scary. Independent learning tools can be the step-stool that gets them comfortable in their role, but even if they never love teaching they can still reap the benefits of giving their children a superior education at home.

Timberdoodle’s Purpose: We are Here to Make Giving Your Children a Superior Education at Home Enjoyable
Here at Timberdoodle, amid the catalogs, sales, blog posts, vodcasts, Facebook giveaways… we have one primary goal. That goal is to make it possible for parents to enjoy giving their children a superior education at home. We aren’t here to sell you stuff, (though we wouldn’t exist if you didn’t shop!) which is why we have been known to send you to our “competitors” when their product would work better for you. We really just want you to be a happy homeschool family. When that happens, we feel successful! Independent learning is simply a tool in your toolbox. It is a valuable one, so use it where it works best for you.

Not Either/Or
You don’t have to pick between independent and group learning across the board. The example of spelling is a good one. Many families would find it easier and less work to have the entire family simply work through the Sequential Spelling books all together. However, some families are blessed with a tremendous age range, and everyone working on the same list really isn’t feasible. That’s where the DVDs come in. Or take Fallacy Detective for instance, it is designed to be suitable for a student to pick up and read, learning a lot. Instead our family did it as a read-aloud and took turns answering the questions. The result? Not only did we have a blast but we were also all on the same page regarding logical fallacies. Bumper stickers and ads we came across in daily life were fodder for vigorous discussions about the underlying fallacies in ways that would never have happened if we each studied it alone.

Our Family
The rule of thumb in our house was that as soon as a child could read they were responsible for their own education. We each had an annual conference with Mom to set learning goals for the year, then we were given the books for the year, often including the teacher’s manuals. Mom gave us each a weekly checklist to complete before Friday Family Night. If we needed help, we were to ask for it. Otherwise the responsibility was ours. This freed us up to do the truly important things (devotions, service, Timberdoodle work, babysitting, elder care, church projects, hospitality, farming…) as a family.

Does that help at all? We’d love to answer any questions you might have, and would especially love to hear how your family handles independent learning!

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My 3rd and 4th graders are almost the same level, should I put them in the same grade?

M

Pictured are brothers Judah and Cohen, having a blast demoing Mashoonga Cadet.

Since my children are about the same in their level of learning, being 3rd and 4th graders, not great in math, on the same level with history, and science, but different in reading…would it be wiser to buy a larger modified curriculum instead of 2 separate?  Such as the same math (maybe even both math books so that we can move ahead smoothly when ready), history, and science books along with typing, get the extras like thinking putty and a couple of books that I will read aloud and just change the price on the extras?
JoAnn

Honestly, I have mixed feelings on combining two children of different ages into the same grade across the board.

On the positive side:
• Some subjects (science, history) are better done together, everyone will learn more and have more fun!
• Your job of teaching will be easier, since you’ll only be managing one set of books.
• Your initial costs may be less, since you’ll only be buying one core at a time rather than 2. (Long term you won’t save much though, since you’ll need 2 sets of workbooks each year anyway, and can reuse the rest of the material for the younger student if you decided to keep them separate.)

On the negative side
• Some older siblings will be stressed out by this, depending on their temperament and that of their younger sibling. We’ve known kids who feel delayed because their little sibling is at the same level they are, and it seems they just give up on school.
• State requirements vary, but usually it works in your best interest to have a child covering the age-appropriate material when possible so that she does well on state mandated testing.

Below are my thoughts on each subject – but you know your children best, so ignore as needed. 

Math
Separately. Either use two programs, have your oldest move through more rapidly or put them into separate levels. Have you had them do the placement tests for Teaching Textbooks yet? I think they would be valuable.

Thinking Skills
These are consumable workbooks, so either way they will have their own book. I would be inclined to do them separately with your oldest in Building Thinking Skills 2 and your youngest in Building Thinking Skills 1, but if Building Thinking Skills 2 is too hard, then both could do Building Thinking Skills 1.

Science
Combine. Apologia is great for grades 1-6, so will be easily combined.

History
Combine. The Mystery of History will be ideal for this!

Geography
Both. The puzzle could be the same for both, just let me know what would be best. The Daily Geography books would be almost as easy to have each at their grade level, so I’d suggest that.

Spelling
Combine. As you know, we prefer to do spelling as a family anyway!

Language Arts
Separately, but this is where it is a little bit tricky. Language Lessons is designed for an age range, since it is consumable anyway, I would suggest looking at the samples and picking the best for each, but not the same one. Daily Trait Writing is not going to be hard to have each child at his/her grade. Typically handwriting is included only in 3rd grade. Would you like a 4th grade book too? Does your 4th grader know cursive yet? How about Word Roots? If she’s not done that yet, you may want to start both with Beginning Word Roots.

Graphic Novels
It just depends on how many you want. There is nothing grade specific here, though we did try to keep in mind each grade’s subjects when choosing titles.

Other
Separately. You’ll probably want a Thinking Putty and Smencil for each, along with their appropriate test prep book. The Typing Instructor could be used by both.

Other thoughts
The reality is that we all learn at different paces and your oldest needs to expect that the youngest will pass her up in some areas. However, it is a natural desire for the oldest to stay ahead, and sometimes it is best not to set a child up to work against that.

Another option would be to start both students at the same place, but explain to your oldest that in some subjects (math, thinking skills, language arts) you will be expecting her to move through faster than her brother, perhaps an extra page a day or twice as many pages as he does or… Ideally there would be some reward for doing this, such as the art kit she’s long wanted or a special trip for the whole family. (Not as a bribe, but as motivation – like getting a paycheck.)

As far as putting cores together goes, it isn’t a big difference here if technically it is one core for two students or two cores, you’ll get the same price breaks either way.

I actually think other families would be interested in this as well, would it be OK with you if I quote you on our blog so that I can post the answer as well? With your permission I’d love to do that, using your first name only of course, but there is no pressure if you are not comfortable with that!

Joy

…Anything that is said, asked, answered in our conversations may be used as you see fit.  We all have to stick together in training our children up the way they should go!  If I hadn’t asked the question, someone may have thought it anyway.
My children are definitely on different levels with many subjects and will be separated accordingly, such as reading, writing, spelling.  I’ve always done their science and history together, because it’s all for an age range anyway.  For Math, I just think that they are more on the same level than different, but as I look at the teaching textbooks more closely, they seem fine to keep on the grade level because there seems to be plenty of review so they will be stepping back a bit to catch up and I love that they can get on the computer and be taught step by step for each problem and even do the problems online which is better for them…the seem to be “allergic” to workbooks!!!  The graphic novels I plan on getting according to their interests, Shakespear’s Romeo and Juliet for my daughter (she loves that story), and discovering the T-Rex for my son that loves dinosaurs!  Along with other titles!
I love the idea of thinking putty and smencils (the will each have their own)
I have spent everyday of this week on your site combing through everything, I enjoy everything so far.  I can’t wait to get the catalogue and make my order…
JoAnn
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