Motivation

Mission Statement
Favorite Books
Favorite Facebook Groups
Birthday Weeks
Team Rewards

Mission Statement

Shortly after we started homeschooling, I read an article online somewhere about the importance of a mission statement in your homeschool. Since I was raised with the 7 Habits, this resonated with me quite a lot. (Add: We also love his son's books for teens and kids). Understanding WHY you homeschool is step 1 (chances are: if you're here, you might already have your WHY), and after that is figuring out what your goals and paths are. If you do an online search, there are tons of tips on how to write your mission statement. Here's ours:

Side note: The first day we homeschooled, we had an art project where the girls (we have 3) came up with a name and a logo for their school. I took their creation and digitized it so we could use it for school things like this.

Favorite Books

When we first began homeschooling, I checked out every book from the library that had the keyword "homeschool" in it. You might think I'm making it up, but I'm not. My husband, who frequently picks up 30+ books at a time for me from my library holds, will vouch for me. (50 is the limit of holds at the Calgary Public Library, in case you didn't know!)

The book that stuck with me was "Homeschooling: Take a Deep Breath, You Can Do This!" by Terrie Lynn Bittner. The author has a learning disability, but managed to homeschool her children well, and provides tons of practical ideas on how to teach children.

Homeschooling, by Terrie Lynn Bittner, cover image

My other favorite book that I've read since has been "Dumbing Us Down" by John Taylor Gatto. I think this book, by an award-winning teacher, is a must read for every person.

Favorite Facebook Groups

I've found homeschool moms on facebook to be an incredible resource. You're probably already on some of these groups, but just in case you aren't, here you go:

Birthday Weeks Etc.

One benefit that came from me planning out our entire school year on a spreadsheet was the emergence of "Birthday Weeks". I determined that since we were no longer tied to a school district's calendar, we could do whatever we wanted, right?

My kids will never let me forget a birthday week. When we began, I only took off time for my girls' birthdays. Now, we take off birthday weeks for mom and dad, too. Our kids are ahead, academically, and we feel we have earned it ;)

Team Rewards

When we started out homeschooling, I tried to find some kind of reading reward program, like the Pizza Hut program in the states. I didn't have a lot of luck, but it got me thinking about how I wanted to motivate my kids. I recall walls with charts with each students' name on it in my classrooms, where you could clearly see who was winning... and who was not.

I decided that, while I wanted to motivate my kids to learn, I also wanted to teach my kids to work together and be a team.

So, we have a team reward program. This used to be a giant jar that I painted on the wall of the basement in our old house. For every awesome thing a kid did, they'd get an "awesome marble". That could be finishing a book (two for chapter books!), or getting a math page 100% correct, or being especially kind or helpful.

Now, this same system is just a cookie sheet hung on a ribbon, and a bunch of little laminated flower squares turned in to magnets with magnet tape. When the cookie sheet is full, then we have a family pizza party with a movie. We don't do this often, so this is a treat and a reward for our kids.

UPDATE! I've moved this to a digital system! And you can use it too :D