What do I need to buy/have in addition to the binder
to use Hands on Homeschooling?
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Because denominations
may interpret Bible stories or messages slightly different, the Bible
stories are not provided in the binder. You will need to have a source for
the stories (paraphrase your own Bible, children’s Bibles, Bible story
books, etc.) The one single source that I have found to be most helpful is
the Egermeier’s Story Bible.
The lesson plans give a supply list for each activity. If you already do
arts and crafts with your child(ren) you will most likely have a majority of
the items already. None of the items called for are high price nor should
they be difficult to find in your local craft store or discount store (like
Wal-Mart).
How much time should we devote to
school each day?
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That is strictly up to you and your child. Some kids have the attention span
to follow along through all of the activities at a single sitting. Although
this is not common. Depending on the age level, each curriculum offers 3-4
daily activities. You can choose to do them all at once or spread them out
through the day. While in the preschool years we spent an average of 1 hour
a day on school work. We would usually do some in the morning and some in
the afternoon just to break up the playtime. “Deskwork” with pencil or
crayons was usually done while the younger sibling(s) had a nap or rest time
just so that I could focus on the older child’s needs. Of course when we
found something that the kids did not want to stop (like bug collecting or
playing with play dough that we had just made), we extended the activity and
it went on as long as the activity held their interest.
Can I start using the curriculum
“late” in the school year?
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One of the best things I have found about homeschooling is that as the
educator, I can choose to do what works for me. You can too! Although all
of the curriculums have some monthly theme related activities, it is quite
easy to adapt. I do recommend that you begin with the September lessons and
move forward. Some subjects, like math, build on prior lessons so you do not
want to jump in ahead of your child’s abilities and frustrate them. But if
you were to begin the curriculum in January instead of September you would
find the curriculum showing Christmas crafts when you were actually in the
month of April. When you come to a themed activity that does not fit because
your calendar shows another month, you simply look to another month in the
curriculum and pick something that is a better fit. In this case you would
look to the month of April and pick something from there. Or you can go to
the back of the binder to the Alternate Activities section and pick
something from there. Again, homeschooling allows you the ability to pick
what works best for your family.
We adjust our schedule almost every year. During the preschool years we did
this twice to accommodate the birth of new babies. Our second daughter was
born in February and needed open-hear surgery in March. School simply
stopped and we picked up where we left off going a little into the typical
summer break. The third girl was born in November. We planned ahead that
year and started school August 1st and then did no school at all
between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. We still finished school ahead of the
public schools and got a nice jump on summer vacation.
Do I have to use the program 5 days a week?
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As described above, no,
do what works for you. Many Hands on Homeschooling customers do not follow
the traditional 5-day-a-week school schedule. Some use the program to
supplement a mother’s day out program, some people use it just on the
weekends because the parent works during the week, and some use it just as
it is written. It is all up to you. During the year that my oldest child was
four using the Pre-K curriculum I was asked by a friend to homeschool her
child as well in order to prepare her for public kindergarten the following
year. The child was already involved in a mother’s day out program so she
was only available 2 days a week. We “did school” Wednesday and Friday
afternoons from 12:30 – 3:30 while my youngest child took a nap. We managed
to get through everything in the Hands on Homeschooling Pre-K version except
field trips. The curriculum is flexible enough to fit around your schedule.
Can I use Hands on Homeschooling in a daycare?
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Hands on Homeschooling
is currently being used in homes for individual families of children, home
daycare, and in preschools and mother's day out programs around the globe.
Do I need the Idea Book to use a
curriculum or a curriculum to use the Idea Book?
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No. Each
curriculum was written to teach specific skills to a specific age group. The
Idea Book is simply a collection of activities that can be used with a wide
range of ages. The Idea Book has tips for parents and activities to do with
kids from infants and up. You do not need one to use the other.
Is the curriculum available on CD?
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Sadly technology has made duplicating digital information so easy that I
cannot put the curriculum on CD or send it by email at this time.
However, the Idea Book will soon be available on CD.
How long does it take to receive
the curriculum once I order?
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Each week I collect orders through Wednesday afternoon, assemble books on
Thursday and ship on Fridays. Within the US I use Priority Mail which takes
3-5 days. So how long it takes to receive the order really depends on what
day of the week your order is received. You can send payment (check or money
order) along with the order form from the website or you can send payment
through PayPal. Credit card payments through PayPal or money on account are
immediately funded. “E-checks” (money from your checking account) done
through PayPal take 3-5 days to clear. Orders will not be sent until money
is funded.
My child’s birthday is in the
middle of the year, what version of HOH do I pick?
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Which version of
Hands on Homeschooling you choose has more to do with your child’s
developmental level more than his/her physical age. Take a look at the
Skills Lists posted with each age of the curriculum that you are
considering. If your child has mastered a majority of the skills from the
younger version, than you would probably be fine going ahead with the older
version. Keep in mind that you can simplify things if needed by doing more
of the prep work for your child (cutting things out, lower expectations for
coloring in the lines, following lines with fingers instead of crayons or
pencils…) If you went through a majority of the year making things easier
than you could simply repeat the same age program next fall using it as
written.
Do you have a return policy?
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Yes. Curriculum returned within 30 days of the original ship date, in
original condition, will be refunded. I do not refund the shipping price or
the cost of return. If you do need to return a binder for any reason, please
email me first and let me know it is coming and the reason for the return.
