Summertime is full of adventure, staying up late, and playing outside for most kids, and while there’s a lot of fun to be had during warm months, summer break can be a bit stressful for parents who are trying to plan for safety. Summer safety is a very serious matter. In rural areas, the challenges are a little different due to the environment; because many of these areas are home to farms with large, dangerous machinery and animals, it’s especially important to teach children how to be safe and how to prevent accidents.

There are many things to take into consideration when teaching children rural summer safety, in part because many families who own farmland like to include young ones in the work to get them acclimated to the environment. Teaching kids early about hard work is wonderful, but it also pays to make sure they know the dangers associated with equipment and how to keep themselves safe when you’re busy. Here are a few of the best tips for doing just that.

Road safety

Because many rural areas are home to narrow, winding roads, it’s important to teach children the dangers of playing near them or riding bikes on them. According to the American Journal of Public Health, 19% of all child and teen deaths in rural areas are due to vehicle accidents, and it’s presumed that so many occur because of lack of appropriate signage and traffic lights as well as speed. Make sure teenagers of driving age are well aware of any dangers on local roads and teach them how to handle various conditions, such as driving in heavy rain or on loose gravel.

ATVs also play a part in many fatal child injuries, so it’s imperative that you educate your family on how to safely operate one of these vehicles and always have an adult supervise. Make sure equipment such as helmets are in good shape and fit well, too.

Weapons and sports equipment

Many who live in rural areas keep weapons in the home for hunting or sport, so it’s important to teach firearm safety to everyone in the family and keep guns locked up and out of reach of young ones. It’s a good idea to make sure everyone has brightly-colored vests or jackets to wear in wooded areas, especially during hunting season, and keep communication open to make sure little ones know their boundaries when it comes to your property.

Machinery

Teaching kids about the power of farm machinery can be a great educational experience, but it’s also important to make sure they respect it at the same time. Tractors, combine harvesters, and cultivators are all examples of useful machines that can cause injury or death. Make sure your family understands who can operate these tools and what to do in case of an emergency.

It’s also important to keep a close eye on pesticides and the tools used with them. Keeping everything safely put away and out of reach of little ones is a must.

Water safety

Many rural areas include ponds, lakes, and streams and can attract kids during the hot months of summer. It’s important to scope out these areas before your children play to make sure there are no snakes or other dangerous animals lurking about and cover any unused wells. Teach your children about water safety, including not diving from elevated areas and what to do if their muscles start to cramp.

It’s also a good idea to think about the water that your family uses for bathing and drinking. Some rural areas use wells, and wells that were dug rather than drilled can allow the water to become contaminated. Well water isn’t fluoridated like tap water is, so it’s important to maintain your family’s oral health, especially children, whose teeth are in a state of flux until about age 12 or 13.

Summertime can be tons of fun for kids no matter where they live. As long as you are aware of any risks where you live and educate your family about them, the warmer months can be safe and happy times for everyone.

Photo by: Pixabay

Sean Morris is a former social worker turned stay-at-home dad. He knows what it’s like to juggle family and career. He did it for years until deciding to become a stay-at-home dad after the birth of his son. Though he loved his career in social work, he has found this additional time with his kids to be the most rewarding experience of his life. He began writing for LearnFit.org to share his experiences and to help guide anyone struggling to find the best path for their life, career, and/or family.

Even if this is your first year homeschooling, you probably already know that life tends to get in the way. It’s so easy to get distracted by the urgent – those things that demand your attention right away. Appointments and other errands somehow seem to fall right in the middle of “school hours”, causing both parents and children to struggle to get back on track later in the day. It happens at our house a lot. Consistent we are not.

But there is incredible value in consistency, no matter what we’re trying to do. As a teenager, I discovered the effects of consistency when learning to play the oboe. For years, I practiced just enough to get through the next week’s lesson, and my skill level reflected it. Finally, when I was a junior in high school, I started practicing every day, improving so much I actually won an award for it.

Consistency also improves academic performance, just as a lack of consistency hinders it. I can’t tell you how many times we began learning the multiplication facts, only to let them slide when things got busy. Then we’d have to start all over again. The result: students who knew some of the facts but not enough to get through a whole math lesson by themselves.

Reading, writing, memorizing, working math problems — all require consistency. Improvement may be hard to see in the short term, but every time your child works at something, progress is made. Just look back to where your child was at the start of the year, and what he can do now. Consistency is the key, and a great lesson for any age.

Photo by: dwstucke

What can you expect at a homeschooling convention? Most conventions have a line-up of speakers to address various aspects of homeschooling, from raising children to curriculum to teaching methods.  Many offer activities and classes for children and teens as well. Be sure to take some your school funds with you, as vendors will be offering a variety of books and other educational materials.

There are a number of homeschooling conventions already scheduled this year, and they are usually very affordable since they are priced with families in mind. To see if there’s a convention coming to your area, check out this list below:

NORTHEAST

Rockport, Maine – March 17-19, 2016: HOME Convention

Worcester, Massachusetts – April 28-30, 2016: MassHope 2016 Convention 

SOUTHEAST

Boiling Springs, South Carolina – March 5, 2016: Home Educators Special Needs Alliance Conference

Greenville, South Carolina – March 10 -12, 2016: Southeast Homeschool Convention  

Nashville, Tennessee – March 17-19, 2016: Teach Them Diligently Homeschool Convention 

Atlanta, Georgia – April 28-30, 2016: Teach Them Diligently Homeschool Convention

Orlando, Florida – May 26-29, 2016: FPEA Convention

Winston Salem, North Carolina – June 2-4, 2016: Thrive Annual NCHE Conference 

Richmond, Virginia – June 9-11, 2016: Virginia Homeschool Convention 

Atlanta, Georgia – July 29-30, 2016: Southeast Homeschool Expo  

WEST

Ontario, California – June 16-18: California Homeschool Convention

Modesto, California – July 22-23, 2016: Valley Home Educators Homeschool Convention 

San Francisco, California – July 28-31, 2016: HSC Homeschool Association of California Conference

NORTHWEST

Anchorage, Alaska – April 15-16, 2016: Statewide Homeschool Convention 

SOUTHWEST

Fort Worth, Texas – March 17-19, 2016: Texas Homeschool Convention

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – April 29-30, 2016: Oklahoma Homeschool Convention 

Arlington, Texas – May 5-7, 2016: THSC Convention 

Phoenix, Arizona – July 15-16, 2016: AFHE Homeschool Convention

The Woodlands, Texas – July 21-23, 2016: THSC Convention

MIDWEST

Cincinnati, Ohio – March 31-April 2, 2016: Midwest Homeschool Convention 

Duluth, Minnesota – April 22-23, 2016 – 2016 MÂCHÉ Homeschool Conference and Curriculum Fair

Indianapolis, Indiana – April 28-30, 2016: IAHE Home Educators’ Convention 

Sandusky, Ohio – May 12-14, 2016: Teach Them Diligently Homeschool Convention 

Photo by:  Bill Abbott

I’m sad to say, no one paid any attention to my clothes. Instead, everyone was focused on buying and selling those school books to increase their homeschooling options. Many had huge collections of hands-on curricula for multiple ages. While the kids may have had some lessons outside the home, such as music or dance, much of what they learned was taught by Mom.

Homeschooling is much different now than when I first began. Perhaps it’s because jumpers have gone out of “homeschooling style”, but it’s probably due more to technology and the Internet. If a family wants to homeschool their children, the resources are unlimited. No longer do they have to scour book sales and catalogs for just the right curriculum. Homeschooling options have changed as now almost everything is just a click away.

If you considered homeschooling but weren’t sure you could do it, take heart. There are so many homeschooling options available now — so many ways to teach your children. You just have to find what works best for your family.

Teaching With Texts At Home – This is how it all started for me, so we still do a lot of this at home. We usually use a variety of curricula from a number of different publishers.

Video and Computer Courses – When we first started homeschooling, I remember hearing about a course you could purchase on VHS tapes (yes, VHS!). You can still find video courses, such as those offered by BJU Press and A Beka, although now they’re on DVD. These companies offer interactive courses on the computer as well.

Online Classes – Depending on where you live, some public school districts offer classes for free online. You can find free curriculum online, too. If you have the extra funds to invest, you can sign your child up for courses such as Classes by Beth or BraveWriter.

Co-op Classes – There are as many different types of co-ops as there are homeschooling families. Sometimes parents serve as the teachers; other times, teachers are hired. Some co-ops are looser in structure, focusing more on enrichment classes like music and art. Others are structured more like a school. One year, we participated in Classical Conversations, a co-op that follows the classical model of learning. My elementary students memorized a lot that year!

The good news is, if you want to homeschool, there’s a way you can do it. And you don’t even have to wear a jumper!

Photo by:  Ginny

Then we get to Christmas break. Most likely, we’ve gone through the same struggles we do every fall. We never quite seem to get into a good school schedule, extracurricular activities have me running all over town, and each day I’m more and more tempted to let the kids sleep in so I can have some quiet time. It’s not quite the scenario I had pictured back in August.

But that’s okay. Because a new year means a new start. It’s a time we make resolutions for positive changes. And it’s a time to start fresh with homeschooling again, even though we’re half-way through.

If you’re like me and your school year needs a boost, here are some steps you can take.

Set New Goals

Set new goals for the rest of the school year. Write down what you want to accomplish, as well as what you want each child to complete. Have your kids take part in setting these goals, too.

Create a Fresh Plan

Start with a fresh plan. Look at your days again. Since you’ve been going at this for about four months now, you can look at it more realistically. Decide what times your students need to be working on their lessons and make a commitment to stick to those times. Life has a tendency to get in the way, but it doesn’t always have to.

Find Better Curriculum

Swap out curriculum that just isn’t working. If your child is struggling with a particular curriculum, it’s a good time to try something else. Ask other homeschooling friends for recommendations.

Participate in Important Activities

Re-evaluate the extra-curricular activities your kids have been involved in. Do they really enjoy them? Are they worth the time, money, and effort it takes to keep them involved? Are there activities that would be more meaningful, teaching the kids how to give back? There are lots of good things to be involved in, but there is a limited amount of time. If either you or your child is feeling overwhelmed, decide which activities need to go.

Go Somewhere New

Look for learning opportunities you haven’t taken advantage of before. Are there museums, state and national parks, or historical sites nearby that your children haven’t visited before? Mark the days on the calendar when you’ll explore these new places together.

I’m looking forward to the new year and a new beginning. What are some ways you get a fresh start with school?

Photo by: Kelly Taylor

Suzanne Brown is a long-time homeschooling mom and a founding member of the Upstate Homeschool Co-op, one of the largest co-ops in the upstate of South Carolina. The Upstate Homeschool Co-op (UHC) began in 1997 with 19 children. Today it serves more than 500.

UHC is organized and administered by a volunteer committee of home schooling parents, though the teachers are paid professionals, many of which hold degrees in the fields they are teaching. Classes are offered on Mondays and Wednesdays. But like any homeschool co-op, UHC is designed to enhance the learning that goes on at home.

The following interview was conducted by UHC student Kylie Lewis. She asked Suzanne about the changes in the co-op since it first began. If you’re part of a co-op, you might recognize some of the challenges Suzanne mentions, as well as some of the rewards.

Kylie:

Why was the co-op first started, and where did you get the idea?

Suzanne:

Well, I didn’t really have an idea to start a co-op. I had an idea to get moms together to do some activities and some different learning units with their children, and we started in my house. We did music and art, some history and science, and we all split up and taught different things. One of us would watch the “little people” who were not quite old enough [to participate]. So, I didn’t really set out to start a co-op, but it has evolved into that.

Kylie:

When did the co-op become a two-day per week program?

Suzanne:

We began the high school program about 10 years ago. It’s really hard to get the high school classes in with only one day per week.

Kylie:

What has been the hardest thing about heading this co-op?

Suzanne:

I think the thing that is not necessarily “hard” but is challenging is working around the different facilities, trying to honor their needs versus our needs, and always working around the schedules. I do think one of the challenging things personally is being a mom and a wife and managing my family. I have seven children, so managing all those pieces while still giving my time to co-op [is a challenge].

Kylie:

What has been the most enjoyable thing about heading the co-op?

Suzanne:

I love working with families, and I love working with students. I really enjoy helping parents meet the educational goals they have for their students, and I enjoy helping kids that maybe don’t fit inside the box. They either need to be challenged if they’re super bright, or they may have some learning struggles and need some accommodations to graduate high school with a strong program. I really enjoy that type of work.

Has your own co-op seen any significant changes since it first began?

Photo by: Upstate Homeschool Co-op

We have met our friends at many different places. We’ve met them at storytime, at playgroups, on field trips, at co-op, at the park, at extracurricular activities, in homeschool PE, and at church. And while everyone’s experience is different, this is what I have discovered:

*I must be willing to make the first move when looking for a friend for my child. Sometimes it’s hard, but taking a risk and introducing yourself to someone new can have great payoffs. I found a friend at the library that way – we actually introduced ourselves to each other at the same time – and our kids are still friends, even after fifteen years and a move three hours away.

*Because we homeschool, I know my children’s friends really well. When the kids get together, I’m there, too. And I don’t just know their best friends – I know all of their acquaintances.

*I also know the friends’ parents well. When the homeschooling moms in my area meet for activities, we like to talk. As my kids would say, we like to talk and talk and talk. We share more than just pleasantries – we share child-rearing concerns, educational struggles and triumphs, family and personal challenges. We even have an online support group for the moms in our area.

*Friendships don’t necessarily develop based on the age of the student. When my oldest was ten, he had friends who were a couple years younger than him as well as a friend who was four years older. They just all enjoyed doing the same things.

*Some friendships just don’t last. While I like to think that homeschooled students have a strong sense of loyalty and commitment, they are kids after all, and relationships can be tricky. New interests, hurt feelings, and growing pains can cause even homeschooled friends to pull away. The plus side: though the disappointment is there, I can help my child work through it.

How have your homeschooled children fostered strong friendships?

Photo by: hepingting

Q: Parents have long been encouraged to start reading to their children at a very young age to foster a love for reading. In your experience, have you found that reading to young children helps them with writing, too?

A: Definitely. The more we read to our children, the more intuitive writing becomes for them. Not only does it build a love for language in general, but hearing the rhythm of the words read aloud helps train a child’s brain to respond with similar rhythms when putting pencil to paper.

Another benefit is that we can read books aloud to our children that are far too advanced with vocabulary or story content than they could tackle on their own. Reading aloud to children helps stretch their imagination beyond their own natural understanding, helps they grow wiser beyond their normal abilities, and helps them explore the world in ways they couldn’t achieve by reading a book all by themselves.

I think this really influences them in positive ways as young writers. My husband and I started reading board books to our two sons when they were babies. We continued to read aloud to them until they were in high school and after that we listed to audio Books-on-Tape together. The older they got the more advanced books we enjoyed!

Nursery rhymes are a great example of books you can read to even the youngest child. One of my newest books just came out, A Pirate’s Mother Goose, and is a delightful pirate-y spin on favorite nursery rhymes.

You can find free coloring pages, fun activities, and a free educator’s guide to bring this picture book into your homeschooling curriculum.

Q: Of all the books you have written, which project or projects stand out as some of your favorites?

By this stage of my career, I have so many personal favorites. I have truly been blessed with seeing many of my writing dreams come true through the books that have been published. But one of my all-time favorites is the series of mine that came out last year with Zonderkidz. It’s a set of four nonfiction books on people in the Bible in the GET TO KNOW SERIES: Jesus, Mary, Apostle Paul, and King David. In this series I got to show elementary kids how our Christian faith is based on fact and how the Bible is a true historical document that is supported by many, many archaeological finds.

Check out the fun puzzles, cool crafts, awesome activities, and a free educator’s guide for this series.

The second project that is a personal favorite of mine includes the two books I’ve written to help adults learn how to write and get their children’s books published. I’ve heard from so many writers how the information in these books has helped them gain confidence and start to experience the success they’ve longed for. I also get invited to teach at writing conferences in different states based on these books. 

You can learn more about these books here. Find out more about Nancy and all of her resources for homeschooling families on her website.

Photo by:  WriteShop

A: Do whatever it takes to enjoy the journey. Over the years I’ve written for some pretty stressful and tight deadlines. I’ve had to force myself to write even on days when I felt grumpy or sick. So how did I “force” myself to pump out the work I needed to do? I’d wear a silly writer’s hat to put myself in a better mood. I’d get out my pink and purple highlighters and collection of colorful stickers and have fun looking for mistakes I made to improve my manuscripts. I’d create colorful mock-ups of my stories to show my friends and family and track my progress. So many of the ideas in WriteShop to engage kids in writing come from my own experiences of things I actually do as a writer.

So if you’re feeling apprehensive, don’t take yourself too seriously. Have fun! Make a silly hat to wear while you teach. Gather your own special tools to use when you teach. It’s okay to grow along with your children. After all, learning to write is a journey and as I’ve come to realize, it’s a joyful journey that can last your whole life long. 

And one last thing, don’t be afraid to tell your children you don’t know the answer to a question or problem they might encounter as budding writers. Invite them on an adventure to help you look up the answer instead!

Photo by:  Writeshop

Q: You’re the author of more than 100 books for children, including many that could be added to a homeschooling curriculum. Some are collections of mini-books geared towards beginning and emergent readers. Could you tell us more about them?

A: I always write with homeschoolers in mind. My two sisters homeschooled their children and our son married a homeschooled gal! And I especially love writing material to help parents teach their little ones to read. My series of One Sentence Storybooks: Bible Favorites, Bible Heroes, and Bible Animals each come as a boxed set of 10 mini-books per set. These full-color stories use repetition, word-to-illustration matching, and the fresh new approach of telling an entire story in just one sentence to help even the youngest readers learn to decode words successfully and with confidence. It’s so exciting to see parents posting reviews about how their three, four, and five-year-olds are reading these books all by themselves! Some of my favorite testimonies have been when parents share that they “caught” their son or daughter reading these books to a baby brother or sister!

Read some of these reviews as well as download free reading-based printables and activity ideas here.

Q: I love the WriteShop writing curriculum, and we use it at our homeschooling co-op. You wrote the WriteShop Primary and Junior series for elementary students. How does this curriculum help parents teach their children to write?

A: That is so wonderful that you’re using this curriculum! I’m so glad you’ve “caught the vision” and are finding this a helpful resource in your co-op. 

I believe in making learning fun. When we can get kids excited and motivated, they’ll engage and they’ll learn. When I wrote WriteShop Primary and WriteShop Junior I combined actual steps I take in my own career as a children’s writer along with delightfully fun games and activities I used with my own sons to help them learn. The result? Kids have so much fun they don’t even realize they’re learning or doing assignments. But the biggest plus is that they discover the joy of writing.

Find out more about Nancy, WriteShop Primary, and WriteShop Jr.!

Photo by:  Writeshop