Red Falcon Ranch

I had imagined having a perfectly clean house, painting all my walls, planting a flower garden, riding
my horse...and it all came to a screaching halt. This desire of theirs was really going to impact me
and I wasn't sure I wanted to be impacted. I then realized that this was an opportunity for all of us. My
sacrifice, or should I say postponement, of my desires to fulfill theirs is what parenting is all about.

I began to embrace the idea of being my childrens' teacher. I would no longer be relying on
someone else to make sure they were ready for adulthood. I could customize the learning
experience of each child--no more cookie-cutter education for the masses. What an opportunity! I
became as excited about the idea as Lexie and Eric were.

I researched everything I could on homeschooling. I talked to other homeschooling moms. I
attended the Minnesota Association of Christian Home Educators (MACHE) conference. While
there, I attended the seminars on getting started and looked at all the vendors' curriculums.

Armed with all of my information, curriculum, schedules, and planner, I was going to make this work
like perfection in action. After the first week, my schedule wasn't working, we were already off the
plan, and it was time to re-group and find the problem. The problem was that I was trying to run our
homeschool like the public school, like the way I grew up. Time to step outside of the box and
analyze how each child learns. Time to customize to each child and become their tutor.

I have had the most incredible three years with my kids. We have had our moments of frustration. I
have been exasperated beyond belief and the laundry has gotten behind a time or two (or three). I
know my kids in a way that I would have missed had they stayed in public school. They would have
missed so many experiences and opportunities had they stayed in public school. We are a close
family. We work together, play together, learn together. The kids are not influenced by peers to
conform. They are not subjected to the clique mentality. They will not bear the brunt of other
childrens' dysfunctions, needs, and insecurities. They will leave home prepared to successfully
navigate the adult world.

What I have learned:

- A child must be able to have some self-discipline and self-motivation to reach their goals, without
this you won't get past the first page of the first book they open. I told the kids I would be the hardest
teacher they have ever had and they said OK.

- Grading is irrelevant; who are you comparing to? I require the kids to redo any problems that are
incorrect before going to the next lesson. It doesn't make sense to keep going if they don't
understand what they just did.Therefore, do you take their grade when they don't get it and say that is
the standard of their work, or do you take their grade after they have corrected their mistakes? In
which case, it should always be 100%. A public school does not have the luxury of making sure
every student understands before going onto the next lesson. Eventually, you will have kids who
can't keep up with the pre-determined schedule. They score lower than their peers, but in reality,
they may be just as able; however, they need just a little bit more time.

- Trying to do one lesson of every subject every day is not always the best utilization of the subject
experience. Some areas of study are better taught as a unit-study with complete immersion. I have
found that to be true of science and art. We take a week every couple of months and spend the full
school day following the art curriculum. Most days, however, we do one lesson in each of the core
study areas, but it is important to also take a break and go on a field trip, or dive deep into one
subject for one day.

- Trying to stay on a regimented schedule takes away from the flexibility that is the beauty of
homeschooling. Be prepared to shift gears at a moments notice to take advantage of community
activities. One afternoon, Lexie, Eric, and I went to the Storm Spotter Training offered to the various
public safety groups and open to interested citizens. The course was taught by a meteorologist. We
became trained storm spotters.

- Homeschooling requires a paradigm shift. Homeschooling is a whole learning experience that
doesn't start at 8:00 am and end at 3:00 pm. It becomes a way of life. It encourages the kids to love
learning. It allows the kids to have a say in how they learn and with what materials. It lets kids pursue
their special areas of interest.

- Lexie has a part-time job several mornings a week. She starts her schoolwork when she gets
home. The other kids are usually done by noon. Eric loves to spend his extra time reading, hunting,
or fishing. Rachel spends her time baking or with her animals. Grace and Sarah love to run around
outside or make up games.

- What about P.E.? Lexie, Eric, Rachel, and Sarah do chores three times a day. Chores consist of
lifting weights: hay bales, water buckets, feed bags; walking from pasture to pasture, exercising
show animals. We have a trampoline and the kids love to ride bike. The kids do not play computer
games and have limited television time. I don't like to see kids "zoning out" in front of the t.v.

- What about socialization? They actually get more being homeschooled. Instead of being in a
school building seven hours a day, we are out and about getting things done, field trips, helping
neighbors, volunteering, and getting together with other homeschooling families. We are also very
much involved in 4-H and youth activities at church.

Curriculum choices we have liked so far:

MATH:
Saxon - through grade 6
Systematic Mathematics (DVD) - grade 7 and 8
Video Text Interactive (DVD) - grade 9 through 12

ENGLISH:
Rod and Staff - all grades

SPELLING:
Rod and Staff - through grade 6
SAT prep spelling/vocab lists Major Tests online

WRITING:
Individual creative writing
GA Henty as Unit Study - grade 7 through 12

PENMANSHIP:
Rod and Staff - through grade 6
Spencerian Penmanship - all ages

READING:
Rod and Staff - through grade 6
GA henty as Unit Study - grade 7 through 12
Interest reading

HISTORY:
Bob Jones University Heritage Studies - through grade 6
GA Henty as Unit Study - grade 7 through 12
The Teaching Company (DVD): World History and Early American History - all grades

SCIENCE:
Young Explorer Series - Exploring Creation by Jeannie K. Fulbright
Rainbow Science by Durell C. Dobbins, PhD
The Teaching Company (DVD): The Joy of Science
The Teaching Company (DVD): Physics In Your Life
The Teaching Company (DVD): Chemistry
The Teaching Company (DVD): Understanding the Human Body (Anatomy and Physiology)
The Teaching Company (DVD): Sensation, Perception, and the Aging Process
The Teaching Company (DVD): The Human body - How We Fail, How We Heal
Creation Seminar Series (DVD) by Dr. Kent Hovind

OTHER:
The Teaching Company (DVD): Argumentation - The Study of Effective Reasoning
The Teaching Company (DVD): Economics
The Teaching Company (DVD): How To Become A Super Star Student

MUSIC:
Piano Lessons

FOREIGN LANGUAGE:
Rosetta Stone German

ART:
Feed My Sheep Curriculum (DVD) by Barry Stebbing
Graphic Arts: Print Shop software

KEYBOARDING:
Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing software

CHARACTER BUILDING BOOKS FOR TEEN GIRLS
"Stay In The Castle" by Pastor Jerry Ross
"Before You Meet Prince charming" by Sarah Mally
"How To Be A Lady" by Harvey Newcomb
Vision Forum

CHARACTER BUILDING BOOKS FOR TEEN BOYS
"Thoughts for Young Men" by J.C. Ryle
"I Kissed Dating Goodbye" by Joshua Harris
Vision Forum

REVERSE TEACHING:
My husband was working in Hawaii. I had the opportunity to join him for four days. It was an incredible
experience. Everywhere we went I kept thinking what an educational opportunity. I made notes of
particular areas of interest that I thought would be fun for the kids to test me on. I brought home all
the brochures and tourist information I could find and had the kids do additional research on the
computer to come up with a test to give me. I gave them as many question formats that I could think
of (multiple choice, true/false, fill in the blank, matching, short answer). As they read through the
information and research material, they formed questions on a test to give me. They also had to
make up their own answer key.

GA HENTY:
About GA Henty as Unit Study - We use the GA Henty books to bring history to life. Notes are taken
on each book and a book report is typed. The book report is corrected for grammer and revised until
all mistakes are corrected.

THE TEACHING COMPANY
About The Teaching Company - Exceptional college level courses on all subjects taught on DVD by
the top professors in the country. The ones I have listed above are the ones we have orderd so far.
There are so many more I want to get.

FIELD TRIPS
Big Island Rendezvous in Albert Lea, MN.
Fort Snelling, Minnesota. Homeschool days every Friday in September covering different topics.
The Landing, Shakopee, MN. Living history museum focused on life in the 1800s.
Farm America, Waseca, MN. Living history museum focused on agriculture and farming.
Prairie River Camp, Bricelyn, MN. Incredible "solve the puzzle" corn maze and other fun activities.
Google "Homeschool Field Trip Minnesota" for more field trip opportunities.

VACATIONS
Homeschool vacations