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Trisha White

July 18, 2014 By Trisha White

Preparing For the New Year – Curriculum.

Many are preparing for the new school year. Some are stressing about it and some are at ease with it. It doesn’t necessarily come with time but more with confidence of knowing what you are doing for your children is the best thing you could do. Is the child going to like the curriculum? Do I need all this curriculum? Where am I going to get the money for the curriculum? Is this curriculum going to cover everything that is needed? There are many questions that come to mind when I think of this topic.

As a veteran homeschooler I struggled with this for several years after we decide to home educate our three children. I purchased a “canned curriculum” (a curriculum that is all chosen for you by grade, you purchaseLooking at bugs everything for that grade and get a discount price ) for our middle child to start first grade with. We tried to do everything that there was to do and we burned out fast, I felt like we were not doing it right, it took us all day to complete the studies and my student started to dislike “school”. It just didn’t seem right to be working 6-8 hours a day with a first grader.

As time went on we realized that there is really only an hour to an hour and a half that the students in the government schools were actually doing academics. The rest of the time is spent going from class to class, getting the class settled, handing out papers, oh and don’t forget the assemblies. 🙂 There is recess and lunch as well. Times when the teacher has to deal with a crisis and much more.

So, when it comes to choosing your curriculum remember that learning does not have to be all books, there are those that do not use but one or two books to teach. The rest is life and hands on learning. Getting outside and exploring the world and grabbing the insect identification book from the local library or you book shelf and finding the name of that really cool 3″ bug with large pincer looking things, Ewww. The same with flowers or trees, birds and animal tracks (you can get an identification poster free from the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife).

We found the best learning comes from doing. We found that our children would remember more if we let them touch, taste, see, things around them and then sit down and discuss or 100_1482look up what it was we were touching, tasting, seeing. This may not work for all students for every subject but you get the idea.

To wrap this up, do not stress about your curriculum, use what works and think out of the box, it does not have to be expensive, magnetic letters and numbers purchased at a yard sale are awesome, the teens love them, I am always finding someones name or an expression written on the fridge left by someone that stopped by.

Oh and by the way, the “canned curriculum” that we used, I sold off the last reader- untouched – about 3 years ago when my first grader graduated from high school. To think that we purchased it 10 to 11 years ago and never used it. I am thankful that we started enjoying life and relaxing about our children’s education. Kids are just naturally going to learn, we as adults are still learning. Preparing for the New Year – relax, don’t fret, you can do it and you will do it better than anyone else can do it for your children.

Happy Homeschooling.

Filed Under: curriculum, Encouragement Tagged With: 2014, curriculum, encouragment, hands on, homeschool, learning, Maine, planning, relax

July 8, 2014 By Trisha White

The Next Stage

We have had the pleasure of graduating many students over the last 12 1/2 years as Guilford Christian Academy. We have gone from just a graduate or two to dozens in a year. We have worked hard at making our school credible and we hold to standards that we feel are important for that credibility.

With this job comes long hours and lots and lots of paperwork. We cry tears of joy and anguish as we see students moving onto the next stage of life and those that loose life so young. We have relationships with more people than ever before and they are all over the state. We love our job!

We have seen students grow up and become wonderful young adults, caring, loving, and responsible. Their parents are proud of who they have become. These students are our future, they will become the leaders of our towns, state and country.

Over the last 5 years or so we have seen a large increase in homeschoolers and it is very exciting! So, have you been thinking about homeschooling but just don’t think you can do it? I beg to differ with you. We have families with just one parent, families with lots of young ones, families with disabled children, many, many types of families. You can do it!

I remember when I first thought about homeschooling many years ago. My oldest was in 7th grade and the two younger ones were just coming up to school age. I started to think how nice it was going to be to have two of them in school and the quiet days I would have, etc. Then I started looking into homeschooling on a whim and realized that I wanted to do this for our children (it is really not about what is good for us). I talked to my husband and he was very skeptical, it had to be a joint effort, he had to be for it or I would not do it. We are a team, right? So, he agreed with a trial period and we have not turned back.Maine, Statehouse, homeschool fieldtrip

The Next Stage of life for us was one of little monetary gain but the rewards are oh so huge. We moved to Maine on a small farm, raised some animals and lived a meager life. The children got to play in the woods and climb trees, oh and take care of the animals, it is funny how that got to be old in later years, ;). Mom and Dad were home everyday, and we took the kids with us everywhere we went. We took them to the statehouse to fight bills, we took them to meetings that we went to, we took them to the conventions that we ran, everywhere. Most of the time they enjoyed the trips and got to see friends that they saw only once a year at those meetings.

So, we enjoyed homeschooling so much and were seeing the fruits of it with our family and wanted to be an encouragement and help to those that would like to homeschool. And that was the birth of Guilford Christian Academy, we would love to see everyone homeschool but we realize that some are just not able to. The Lord has a plan for everyone and it is not the same for you and for me. We invite anyone that is interested in homeschooling whether you think you will want to be under a RAPPS or file a Letter of Intent to give us a call and talk through some of the concerns you may have. We are here to help you with the next stage.

Filed Under: Encouragement, graduation Tagged With: 2014, graduate, homeschool, Revere-Media, Web

June 25, 2014 By Trisha White

Summer Time!

It is FINALLY summer here in Maine! It seems to take so long to get here and then it only lasts for a short time. There is gardening, camping, swimming, and other outdoor activities going on and the busyness of life seems to pick up.

This is still a time of learning for your students, even though we don’t necessarily think it is. So, look at things a little differently and document the things you do over the course of the summer. You will be amazed. I know some of you do “school” over the summer months so that your students don’t loose everything they have spent 9 months learning. We did that from time to time.

We came to the realization over the years that our children learned a lot by doing. They would make movies, work, help in the garden, go to the state park, family vacation, shop (yes shopping is learning), and more. They got together with friends and went fishing or to the movies. It is a time full of learning. LearHPIM1998ning about different plants and what they produce, how to care for them so they don’t die (or the wildlife eats them). How to edit a movie so that it flows well and remove the bloopers, the worth of money (which isn’t much today) and how to spend it wisely. Socialization and lots of it, how to cook over an open fire and what foods are best to do that, and much more.

Many tend to think we do not do enough with our children as homeschoolers but the fact is they are learning all the time. We expose them to real life skills and situations that develop them into leaders and not followers. We allow them to fly with their passions and really enjoy learning about the things that interest them. We give them the opportunity to be what they want to be and help them to accomplish their dreams and goals. WE ROCK! as they would say.

So, enjoy the summer, make every moment a learning moment and have fun doing it. Make the memories that will last through their adulthood and share the love of learning with your children.

Happy Homeschooling!

Filed Under: Encouragement Tagged With: 2014, encouragment, homeschool, learning, Maine, Revere-Media, Summer

June 20, 2014 By Trisha White

Coming Of Age

Guilford Christian Academy is working hard to serve the families of Maine. We have updated our sight, joined many social media services and are looking forward to a new year.

We have come to know many folks over the last 12 1/2 years. We have watched families grow and our students graduate, get married or go to college, and have children of their own. What a blessing it has been.

Now that we are established and have many students graduating every year we have determined that we need to focus on streamlining a few things. To have credibility we need to be consistent with our documents that go out to colleges and government schools. We appreciate the patience and understanding that all our members have shown as we make this transition.

We now provide official transcripts and diplomas from GCA. We have put on our first graduation and it was wonderful! We had 5 graduates in attendance, Mike and Paulie Heath provided the commencement and music. Our final graduate from our home received her diplo10155331_756646634368207_8423101867106345934_nma and is getting ready to get some college under her belt.

We have been blessed with the testimony that people are sharing about what we do. Here is something from Meg Richards one of our members:

“So nice to be re-enrolling for another year! No more paperwork hassles, certified letters and return receipts to keep track of, portfolio reviews to schedule and prepare and organize materials for, and drag the littler ones along to, no more urgent sense of having to do things on a school-year schedule, because our year-round relaxed pace is reflected in the online form reporting, done in January and June. That they also offer transcript preparation services and diplomas for a modest fee for those who plan for that in advance, takes a load off my plate for the coming years. It’s nice to be able to focus on the fun stuff, which is the learning. That I can enroll the whole family for less than doing annual portfolio reviews for 2 kids, makes it even better. So glad we gave it a try!”

With our new online semester report submission getting information to us is easier that ever, one member shared that -“The online form took me about 10 minutes to fill out, and it’s pretty much up to you: you can list materials like books used, online classes taken, learning pay sites subscribed to, field trips you took, projects they did. Formal or informal learning still counts, and it’s very flexible.”

Transcripts are now available for all homeschool families for a small fee. We have sat down with many families this past year to sort out their information. Transcripts are a vital part of furthering the education of your student.

Summer is upon us here in Maine but our work does not stop. We will continue to answer questions and gather paperwork, help those that need assistance and plan for the upcoming year.

Watch for field trip announcements, classes, and events in the upcoming year. Happy Homeschooling!

Filed Under: Announcements Tagged With: 2014, Summer, Web

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