Coffee Talk: You Are Special!

Every child is special and precious, and part of our job as parents is to let them know how special they are, and how much they mean to us. However, real life can sometimes move us far away from that goal, and it is so easy to get distracted and take our eye off the target. As I sit here with my coffee, I can think of some of the times that I am guilty of doing exactly that, and you probably can think of a few times that the same thing happened to you.

Don't let the busyness of life push the loving kindness so far to the back of your mind that you miss the easy opportunities to show them they are loved and appreciated. It doesn't take anything but time, really. And it doesn't even require much time.

When they do something well, or display extraordinary kindness, or master something that has been tough to do, let the world know how proud you are of them! When our children were young, we had a "You Are Special" plate that we would set out for special occasions for any one of us - birthdays, game days, baptisms, getting braces put on or off, heading off to camp, and so on. They loved the recognition and appreciation, and it was such a simple and fun gesture.

These are the things that they will remember in the years ahead, and use them to pattern their own parenting. When I write these studies, it is with the same goal - that they explore and create and realize that they are special and bright and so unique!

I hope you enjoy this very unique giveaway that we are having here on the blog for the next few days. This plate could become your family's new tradition!

Blessings,

Amanda B.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Created in His Image

Children come into this world with insatiable curiosity, a magnificent imagination, and creativity as unique as their fingerprints. Creativity is one of those gifts that I believe God has given us, since He created us “in His image.” It can open the door to all of the treasures and abilities that He placed within us. 

Some children will be more interested in the great outdoors, while others will want to read any book within reach. Others will struggle with handwriting, while taking your breath away with their pencil sketches along the margins of their journal.

There are many kinds of interests that can help reveal gifts and talents. You may follow some interests around the world and back again, only to discover that what they were most interested in at the age of five (fireman) is exactly what they will pursue as they reach adulthood.

As I look back at some of my favorite homeschooling mementos from over the years, I am stunned at how creative our children were in such unique ways, and at how much we all might have learned if I’d been a little more creative in helping them grow. Relax and stay open. You’ve got room to roam with them, and plenty to explore!

Blessings,
Amanda B.

Coffee Talk: Planning Your Year With Unit Studies

I've got my coffee in hand--let's talk about one of the most frequently asked questions. "How do you plan a school year with unit studies?"

Well, here's a little bit of background. You’ve probably heard by now that I love unit studies. ;) It all started when we tried textbooks at the beginning of our homeschool adventure, and the children lost that spark of enthusiasm for learning and exploring. I was determined to kindle that fire with interesting topics—I wanted them to WANT to learn. I began creating unit studies for just that reason, and it worked. I have that same goal for your children. No more fighting over how many textbook pages to read or “Do I have to do ALL of the problems?”

Over our next few days, let’s talk about how to plan this coming year the easy way. First, download our free Build a Year Planner. It's a very simple tool that we created just to help plan the year ahead.

Begin filling in your planner by including the special days—holidays, birthdays, vacations, etc. All of these are important to the family and can be great indicators of unit study choices. At our house, birthdays call for a week-long celebration, while Thanksgiving and Christmas always involved a four-week unit study and the making of many memories.

You are off to a great start! People are so amazed with how easy it is to fill a year with unit studies, add a math and language arts program, and be FINISHED with shopping and planning! Keep it simple, friends. This isn't rocket science, and I know rocket science. :)

Until next time,
Amanda B.
 
PS – Download a list of all of our unit study titles here. This list makes planning MUCH easier!

25% off Everything Sale!

25% off of EVERYTHING when you use the code 25OffSale at checkout!

If you've been waiting for a big sale to fill up the USAB free planner, now is the time to take advantage of the savings! 

For those of you that love to see a sample plan, here's one just for you! On the sample planner, you will find the dates of our free upcoming Facebook co-ops for Sensational Sharks, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Olympics 2014 - don't forget to include them in your plan, and take advantage of the big sale.

The year is looking good - have fun filling in your plan and saving big $$ with our 25% off everything sale!

Blessings,
Amanda B.

Coffee Talk: What Is Your Goal?

No, I’m not asking WHY you homeschool. Those are the reasons that you homeschool.

I am asking you to name your GOAL in homeschooling.

After coming to grips with the concept that I was homeschooling them to help them discover and develop their gifts and talents, I realized that God had given me the goal. It was now up to me to follow His plan, and step out of the boat of “normal” and “standard.”

Our walk away from a standard textbook curriculum was a walk of faith. The discovery of the unit study model of learning was a result of that walk, much prayer, and a very colicky baby that loved sleeping in my arms while I searched for answers to my questions about teaching children using their interests.

From that point on, we followed all kinds of interests and side roads. We’ve now got two college graduates (one is a veterinarian and one is a tree farmer), and one starting his junior year of college, majoring in computer science. Not one similarity in any of their interests, gifts, or talents. But what a blessing it has been to watch them take off in the directions that they were designed for! Yes, it took plenty of faith and courage to step away from the "traditional" education model, but it's one of the best gifts we've given our children.

Fear can be crippling - toss it! Grab faith by the hand and head for a new kind of year. Focus on the child, not the standardized lists. I don't know about you, but nothing about our children was "standard!"

Blessings,

Amanda B.

You’ve probably heard by now that I love unit studies. ;) It all started when we tried textbooks, and the children lost that spark of enthusiasm for learning and exploring. I was determined to kindle that fire with interesting topics—I wanted them to WANT to learn, not have the next world war. I began creating unit studies for just that reason, and it worked. I have that same goal for your children. No more fighting over how many textbook pages to read or “Do I have to do ALL of the problems?”
Over our next few days, let’s talk about how to plan this coming year the easy way. First, download our free Build a Year Planner.
Begin filling in your planner by including the special days—holidays, birthdays, vacations, etc. All of these are important to the family and can be great indicators of unit study choices. At our house, birthdays call for a weeklong celebration, while Thanksgiving and Christmas always involved a four-week unit study and the making of many memories.
You are off to a great start! People are so amazed with how simple it is to fill a year with unit studies, add a math and language arts program, and be FINISHED with shopping and planning! Keep it simple, friends. This isn't rocket science, and I know rocket science. :)
Until next time,
Amanda B.
PS – Download a list of all of our unit study titles here. This list makes planning MUCH easier!
- See more at: http://www.unitstudy.com/CoffeeTalk.html#sthash.3SLXNayB.dpuf

You’ve probably heard by now that I love unit studies. ;) It all started when we tried textbooks, and the children lost that spark of enthusiasm for learning and exploring. I was determined to kindle that fire with interesting topics—I wanted them to WANT to learn, not have the next world war. I began creating unit studies for just that reason, and it worked. I have that same goal for your children. No more fighting over how many textbook pages to read or “Do I have to do ALL of the problems?”
Over our next few days, let’s talk about how to plan this coming year the easy way. First, download our free Build a Year Planner.
Begin filling in your planner by including the special days—holidays, birthdays, vacations, etc. All of these are important to the family and can be great indicators of unit study choices. At our house, birthdays call for a weeklong celebration, while Thanksgiving and Christmas always involved a four-week unit study and the making of many memories.
You are off to a great start! People are so amazed with how simple it is to fill a year with unit studies, add a math and language arts program, and be FINISHED with shopping and planning! Keep it simple, friends. This isn't rocket science, and I know rocket science. :)
Until next time,
Amanda B.
PS – Download a list of all of our unit study titles here. This list makes planning MUCH easier!
- See more at: http://www.unitstudy.com/CoffeeTalk.html#sthash.3SLXNayB.dpuf

You’ve probably heard by now that I love unit studies. ;) It all started when we tried textbooks, and the children lost that spark of enthusiasm for learning and exploring. I was determined to kindle that fire with interesting topics—I wanted them to WANT to learn, not have the next world war. I began creating unit studies for just that reason, and it worked. I have that same goal for your children. No more fighting over how many textbook pages to read or “Do I have to do ALL of the problems?”
Over our next few days, let’s talk about how to plan this coming year the easy way. First, download our free Build a Year Planner.
Begin filling in your planner by including the special days—holidays, birthdays, vacations, etc. All of these are important to the family and can be great indicators of unit study choices. At our house, birthdays call for a weeklong celebration, while Thanksgiving and Christmas always involved a four-week unit study and the making of many memories.
You are off to a great start! People are so amazed with how simple it is to fill a year with unit studies, add a math and language arts program, and be FINISHED with shopping and planning! Keep it simple, friends. This isn't rocket science, and I know rocket science. :)
Until next time,
Amanda B.
PS – Download a list of all of our unit study titles here. This list makes planning MUCH easier!
- See more at: http://www.unitstudy.com/CoffeeTalk.html#sthash.3SLXNayB.dpuf

You’ve probably heard by now that I love unit studies. ;) It all started when we tried textbooks, and the children lost that spark of enthusiasm for learning and exploring. I was determined to kindle that fire with interesting topics—I wanted them to WANT to learn, not have the next world war. I began creating unit studies for just that reason, and it worked. I have that same goal for your children. No more fighting over how many textbook pages to read or “Do I have to do ALL of the problems?”
Over our next few days, let’s talk about how to plan this coming year the easy way. First, download our free Build a Year Planner.
Begin filling in your planner by including the special days—holidays, birthdays, vacations, etc. All of these are important to the family and can be great indicators of unit study choices. At our house, birthdays call for a weeklong celebration, while Thanksgiving and Christmas always involved a four-week unit study and the making of many memories.
You are off to a great start! People are so amazed with how simple it is to fill a year with unit studies, add a math and language arts program, and be FINISHED with shopping and planning! Keep it simple, friends. This isn't rocket science, and I know rocket science. :)
Until next time,
Amanda B.
PS – Download a list of all of our unit study titles here. This list makes planning MUCH easier!
- See more at: http://www.unitstudy.com/CoffeeTalk.html#sthash.3SLXNayB.dpuf

The Power of Homeschooling - Part 2

If you missed The Power of Homeschooling - Part 1, you can find it HERE.

So, what do you do next? First and foremost, remember that every child is a blessing, uniquely gifted by God. Unit studies help us to help them discover their own gifts and talents, as they learn about the world while we are right there beside them. I’ll never forget the time that the chemistry experiment blew silver nitrate all over my brand new white curtains, and just how our daughter looked when it happened! I will never forget the thrill of the kids when they met some of the astronauts in person, and heard about some of their space adventures. To use unit studies is to begin a trail of discovery for both you AND your children – a powerful journey of discovery.

Give them a chance to follow their interests and you might just be surprised at the outcome. With unit studies, our children have obtained a better understanding of the way things work, the history of the world, their own abilities, and much more. I am always asked about “holes in their education” if unit studies are used. First, I ask the audience if anyone ever remembers completely finishing a textbook when they were a child – not many hands have ever been raised. I share my personal experience that we never finished a textbook when I was a child, and I was so disappointed – the “good” stuff was always toward the end of the book!

The concept of education is not just to fill their heads up with any and all information available – that would take hundreds of years in these days of ever-expanding information. The concept of a good education, in my opinion, is teaching the child to be able to think, to help them build a sound foundation of learning – a strong tree of knowledge where they can place more information over the course of their lives. I will never be able to teach my children about all things, BUT, I will teach them how to think, to investigate, to research and dig for answers. In the years ahead, it is my opinion that this will be a priceless education for those who will be successful in a rapidly changing world.

Unit studies can do just this,and that’s my intention when I write them and use them – getting the child to think and explore, letting curiosity get the best of them. Try to help them develop a love of learning and enjoy the wonder of the world – it’s quite an empowering accomplishment. As powerful as homeschooling can be, it is not a result  of all homeschooling families being just alike. Realize that you will never be “just like” other families in your homeschool group or those at your state convention.

I’ve traveled all over the country as a speaker at homeschool conferences, and I’ve met all kinds of people. I am frequently asked by many parents, “Are we like typical homeschool ers?” I have to smile at this point – I don’t think I’ve ever met a “typical” homeschooler. That would be like having a “normal” day of homeschooling, whatever that is. Enjoy the uniqueness of your family and your approach to homeschooling. Some families use textbooks, while others use unit studies. It isn’t as important to follow the crowd anymore, now that the crowd is just you
and your clan – what a blessing this is for all of us.

Our family has done so many things since we started homeschooling – we’ve traveled all over, met some amazing people, and followed our dreams to all kinds of places, and I can honestly say that we’ve never had a boring day – and certainly not a “normal” day, and that is not our goal.

As a former corporate engineer, I am well-aware of the concept of having goals and a mission statement. What is my mission statement these days? To help the children discover their own gifts and talents, whether in botany or veterinary science, athletics or orthodontics, who knows what the future holds! Now, as a homeschooling mom, what is my goal? To work myself out of a job by helping them become self-motivated learners – to have them out there, learning and challenging and thriving within the realm of their own very unique gifts and talents.

Blessings,
Amanda B.

The Power of Homeschooling - Part 1

Empowering, enlivening, energizing – all words that bring to mind a sense of power and energy – invigorating. The power of homeschooling is all of that and more for our generation as parents, the generations that we are teaching, and many yet to be born. I don’t know about you, but homeschooling gave this small-town girl the confidence to think independently, not follow the crowd, and to speak up.

While learning to think and wonder and not conform to an ever-changing society, a funny thing happened along the trail of homeschooling – the children learned these lessons, too! From veterinary college to mock trial championships, our children have been empowered by homeschooling, right along with their parents.

I used to be a typical working mom, employed outside the home, struggling to find any time to catch my breath, while juggling schedules, family demands, finances, and dreams of retirement. With the switch to the amazing position of homeschool mom, I discovered both the rewards and fascination of following our interests, from studying the stars to tracking the ocean tides, from planting a vegetable garden to learning to cook, from following the routes of the explorers to tracking the paths of the men that walked on moon, from learning to quilt like the pioneers to learning how to build a fire, and so much more. No one ever made learning “interesting” for me when I was a child, but I've discovered that this is a powerful gift that I can give our children on a daily basis – a gift that will keep on giving for the rest of their lives.

In the beginning, homeschooling was a nerve wracking choice – am I doing the right thing, what will I teach them, what books shall we use, will they be able to get into college, and on and on. Then, through trial and error, we hit upon unit studies – and the light turned on, and away we went. The choice of homeschooling is a wonderful choice to make for many families, and the combined power of learning and following interests together is a life-changing force.

First, let me tell you just a bit of my story. We began homeschooling in the middle of a school year, so we chose to keep using the textbooks that the children had been using in school. That was an easy enough decision, but it quickly became obvious that they were well-trained in the use of textbooks – they read for bolded and italicized words, answered the questions at the end of the chapter, and memorized just well enough to take the test. There was no interest in schoolwork other than getting it done – no joy and certainly no curiosity. Another problem that I became painfully aware of was that there was not much long-term retention of the material covered in the textbooks. Rote memorization of textbook material is no replacement for thinking skills and logic when it comes to leading a satisfying and fulfilling adult life. If the knowledge isn’t there to stay, there is no foundation or framework to build on for the rest of their lives. For example, if they memorize the names of the parts of a plant, but never get to take one apart and experiment with the pieces, studying them under a magnifying glass or microscope, how will the controversy of genetically engineered crops ever begin to make sense? If the framework isn't there, the new information isn't connected to anything, and it is difficult to use new information in a meaningful way.

With unit studies, we found a very powerful tool that has helped build a strong tree of knowledge for our children. Remember, your curriculum should be a shaping tool, NOT a vice grip. In my opinion, the strength of a unit study approach is that the student looks at a topic from all different directions. For example, when studying gardens, we look at the basics of plant science, the history of gardens, the gardens around the world, the art of Monet and other artists who were famous for their garden paintings, and much more.

To show the difference in textbook learning and unit studies, realize that nothing ever occurs in the vacuum of just being a historical, geographical or scientific event. When something happens, it happens in a particular place (geography), at a particular time (history), involving certain people (biographies), and has an impact on life in many ways (art, science, economics, etc). 

However, when using a history textbook, events are presented chronologically, in a somewhat condensed and dry format. When we read about the first American landing on the moon, the typical history textbook will not include any information about the exciting scientific discoveries that were made to achieve this great feat. In this same textbook, we probably would not read about the astronauts and their individual contributions and sacrifices. The textbooks usually won’t include the thrilling descriptions of all that has been gained from putting a man on the moon – from the world of computers to the amazing breakthroughs in medicine. These exciting and interlinked accomplishments aren’t typically included in the brief paragraph on the American space program. See what we would have missed if we had relied on a typical history textbook to learn about the space program? And yet these missing pieces are the ones that open up the world to our children, and show them how to dream big dreams and understand how all things work together.

Boring Textbooks = Bored Kids + Bored Mom.

Continued tomorrow….don’t miss Part 2 – The Power of Homeschooling - What to Do Next?

Amanda's Got Apps!

I'm thrilled to introduce Bonza Draw, the first in my new series of apps! As you know, I am all about kids and creativity and learning adventures, whether with unit studies or other new ways to keep them captivated and curious. 

Like a kid in a candy shop, I have been fascinated with apps and all of the possibilities that they hold - not for games, but for building creativity. When our youngest son became interested in app development at college this year, everything clicked. He's majoring in computer science, and his story plays a big part in the development of our apps.

Sam has always been our constant-motion-kid, and when he was about 6 years old, I tried an experiment with him. Every night at bedtime, I would have him sit and draw whatever I suggested, right before we read a Bible story. It calmed him down and gave him time to be creative and talk to me about whatever was on his mind. My office walls are covered with his drawings. :) That was one of the best things that I could ever have done to encourage his creativity and strengthen his self confidence and our relationship. Now, he wants other kids to have the same benefit of creative time with a parent, and this series of apps is a result of that commitment.

Check out Bonza Draw on iTunes today, and let me know what you think. It's only 99 cents for a year's worth of daily ideas for your child to draw on paper and then capture an image of their art in their own Bonza Draw Gallery. The app builds anticipation as the child waits for the next idea to be revealed on the following day. Children love the drawing activities, building their own art gallery, and sharing these moments with a parent, grandparent, or friend.

Many thanks,
Amanda B.

PS - Don't forget to enter our iTunes Gift Card Giveaway! We'll be giving away a $50 iTunes gift card - help us spread the word, please?

a Rafflecopter giveaway