Art: A Reflection of Worldview

Classroom Help, Informative

Published with Permission
Written by Jessica Hulcy
www.homeschoolmentor.com/www.konos.com
www.TOSMagazine.com

I always taught units to my kids; however, I never failed to take advantage of whatever field trip we could, unit-related or not. I would scour the “Arts and Entertainment” section of the newspaper (this was pre-Internet era) to see what events were scheduled in Dallas. One day the Dallas Museum of Art advertised a visiting exhibit from Spain that was highlighting El Greco’s paintings. I had taken one semester of Art History in college, so I had heard of El Greco, but past that I would have to research him at the library.

Once I knew enough, off we trotted to view the exhibit. Shortly thereafter, we viewed another exhibit of the works of Dutch Reformed painters. In the car I asked the kids if they had noticed any differences between the two art shows. Jason commented that the first exhibit was all about religion, and Jordan added that the second was about people. Brilliant! But why the difference?

Art and History… Inseparable (more…)

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Can Learning Disabilities Be Mitigated?

Classroom Help, Informative, Preschoolers, Special Needs

Published with Permission
Written by Dianne Craft, MA, CNHP
www.diannecraft.org
www.TOSMagazine.com

On a sunny morning, twin 5-year-olds were practicing writing their names. Cara wrote her name on the paper and proudly showed it to me. John also wrote his name and proudly showed it to me. Cara’s name was written well, albeit with the primitive spacing and angles that 5-year-olds often use. John, however, wrote his name in total mirror writing! As a special educator, I knew that reversing a letter in writing is typical for a child who is just learning how to write, as 5-year-olds are. However, I knew that total mirror writing was a whole different story. That told me that this child was having big issues with an internalized midline that would only lead to bigger issues when older, if not addressed early. (more…)

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Our Ever-Evolving Home School

Classroom Help, Informative

Published with Permission
By Julie Cerdas
theadventuresofbear.blogspot.com
www.TOSMagazine.com

 

After reading The Dan Riley School for a Girl as a college student, I knew I wanted to home school any future kids. Of course I was single at the time, but this thought stayed with me. When our daughter, now 4, was born, it became evident that she was a quick baby—she sat up, crawled, talked, and walked early and then picked up the alphabet on her own. By age 2 she was reading, and not because I was pushing it! By the time she was 2-1/2 she was determined to write. I don’t say this to boast but rather to drive home my next thought: How could we send her to preschool where she would be learning a letter, color, and number per week when she already knew all that? I remembered reading the aforementioned book and started to look for blogs and other books about homeschooling. My husband and I had many conversations and prayers and finally decided we would home school.

What I love about homeschooling is that it is ever evolving.

(more…)

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