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Feel free to email
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What
does the curriculum come with?
(top of page)
Each
Hands on Homeschooling curriculum comes in a 3-ring binder with the
following categories:
1. Introduction (letter from
the author)
2. Prep and Planning (ideas
for getting organized and beginning to homeschool)
3. Overview (year at a glance
showing all themes)
4. Lesson Plans (weekly
overviews and daily instructions)
5. Alternate Activities
(additional ideas and recipes)
6. Patterns (patterns and
worksheets for the whole year)
7. Index (alphabetical list of
activities so you can look it up again)
8. Early Bird order form
(savings coupon for the next version. Note: Age 5 curriculum does not
have an Early Bird form)
What
do I need to buy/have in addition to the binder to use Hands on
Homeschooling?
(top of page)
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?
(top of page)
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?
(top of page)
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?
(top of page)
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?
(top of page)
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?
(top of page)
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?
(top of page)
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?
(top of page)
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?
(top of page)
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?
(top of page)
A
curriculum returned within 20 days of the original shipment, in original
condition, will be accepted for return. Our policy is to refund the
curriculum price using the same method as that used for the original
purchase minus a restocking fee of 20%.
Curriculum returned with smudges, stains, damaged pages, or other obvious
wear will be accepted under limited conditions. If it is decided that the
curriculum can be returned, the refund amount will be based on the
returned product’s condition after the 20% restocking fee.
Please note that we do not refund the original shipping amount or the
cost of returning the book(s).
It would much appreciated if you will
contact us by email
prior
to returning the curriculum and let us know why you wish to return the
book(s) and that it is being returned.
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