Our Focus in this e-zine is: Industriousness.

Each Keep on Track Issue endeavours to provide the reader with practical advice and food for thought.

The layout of the E-zine is as follows:

• Greetings from Marianne
• News
• Considering our Goals
• Curriculum Application
• Organizational Tips
• Coming soon

Greetings from Marianne

In this issue, we will focus on the goal of being industriousness - but not just for the sake of keeping busy. As homeschool mums we have no trouble keeping busy.

In our family in the month of October, we have celebrated a birthday, been on a wonderful church camp, had a week of a gastro bug, been part of several events at church.... no there's no trouble being busy.

At the moment, we are enjoying the pleasures of spring - the new life and the busyness we observe in nature - nesting, birds feeding their young, silkworms chomping on leaves and we are kept busy keeping them happy.

In my site, I've kept busy too! I've added more content as you'll read about below.

So, why talk about being industrious? Let's read more below.

News

Check out Your Homeschool Gallery This is where you inspire others and where you will be inspired by others!

Inspire us! Add to The Homeschool Gallery

I'd love to hear some more about your life - your family, your kids, show us their masterpieces!!

Over this month, I have added an online Nature Journal. The world is a wonderful place and things which you see everyday can be amazing for us! Please inspire us with God's beauty from your side of the world.

I've also added a Science Resources Page. Find your resources here, click on them and buy from CBD! I have chosen ChristianBook as a link because they have so many products, at competitive prices and with reasonable shipping costs. If you like my recommendations - buy through my site or buy through the CBD search box on my site - and I'll receive a small commission - thanks to you!!

I have also written a page on learning stages in order to help parents get a general focus on the age/stage in which their child is in.

There are also some more Curriculum Descriptions which have been added. Come and add your review of this curriculum.

In Aussie homeschooling, I have added some Australian Curriculum for your information and also your review.
Janette's Pictures of Australian History and Narratives
DownUnder Literature Copywork Series
DownUnder Literature Nature Studies

Have you used this curricula? Tell us what you think.

Have you wondered how you can involve your homeschooled teen in real-life learning? There are many ways in which they can be active in their learning and use their interests as a springboard to further research and education.

I've written a page on how your teen may get involved in writing a profitable web business or even a hobby site. As they read, research and write for a purpose, other skills will naturally develop. Check out my page and see what skills will be developed if they write a website or develop a web business.

I have also written a Free 4 Week E-Course. It can be for you or your child. Building a web business is for anyone - and for your own specific goal - whether it be a family diary, a way to supplement an income or a full-blown family business which you run from home. Can a website be profitable? I'm sure you'll be excited by what you read!

My 17 yr old son has just begun building his own website. He's got two pages! Check them out here! Computer-Hardware-Explained.com

Lastly, in order for readers to navigate my site more easily, I have added a sitemap and also a search page. You can search for your homeschooling answers on design-your-homeschool.com at this page.

Considering the Goal of Being Industrious

I have some reservations about talking about being industriousness. I do not want to leave you with the idea that you need to be busy - in fact, I am saying that I would want you and I to use our time in such a focussed way, that we have time for "being". Industriousness is all about how we use our time - stewardship of our time - using it in the best way possible.

I have concerns when I see young homeschooling families driven by peer pressure of being involved, busy, active, on excursions, out and about, doing 3 math courses at one time, singing lessons, drama and running all sorts of events. No!!! Slow Down!!

This is what being industrious means (and doesn't mean) to me:

• Being industrious does not mean "just being busy" for the sake of busyness. We shouldn't be filling our children's day with fill-in worksheet for no reason. I urge you to look at what you are using and question - is this making the learning meaningful or am I filling in time? It isn't necessary to fill in each worksheet in a workbook just because it's there. Skip pages if they understand the concept; do exercises orally; don't work through a book for no valid reason. Keep all their learning real, -focussed and purposeful. Don't burn out your children, or yourself.

• Being industrious also means we should use all our time wisely. We need to use the time in the car to sing songs, memory chants, maths facts - tables etc, Bible verses, and conversation. Talk about everything when you are in the shops, while walking, while working - as it says in Deuteronomy 6: "as you rise, when you lie down, as you walk along the road..."

• We also need to make decisions as to what is worthwhile in regards to our time - what to pursue, what to leave, what excursions to go on, what to leave out... when to do it... Remember to keep your focus and enjoy your time at home without being 'busy' chasing the "must-do-activies."

• Lastly, as we apply the goal of industriousness in our family, we should measure the things we do by the benefit it gives others. Are the things we are involved in useful to others? Think of projects that are useful for the home, that build others up and are for the enjoyment of others.

Some reminders from last issue - which also relate to industriousness:

The same attentiveness which is given to 'things' needs to be given to bookwork. Charlotte Mason writes that you should never let the child dawdle over their work. "When a child grows stupid over a lesson, it is time to put it away." She also speaks of the necessity of short lessons so that the child can dutifully concentrate on the task at hand and then turn their attention to another subject. It is also important to change the type of lesson - arrange their work so that the tasks which follow one another are varied. (mental / physical/ language/ maths).

Charlotte Mason speaks about definite work in a given time. This is to train the child in habits of order and of diligence. This short amount of time - is especially set apart for a particular subject. She also speaks about natural rewards - if the work is completed in less time, the remaining time belongs to the child. And, conversely, the work not completed may mean that it will be completed when the rest of the family have finished.

Curriculum Application

Characters from History
Benjamin Franklin - his many achievements showed his industrious nature. He said, "Work while it is called today, for you know not how much you may be hindered tomorrow. One today is worth two tomorrows; never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today."

George Washington Carver

The Sower Series: George Washington Carver: Man's Slave Becomes God's Scientist By Mott Media, Llc Born to slave parents, young George was orphaned before he could walk. In his youth he fought poverty and throughout his life he battled prejudice. Yet George Washington Carver emerges as one of history's most remarkable men! How? "The Lord has guided me," Carver was heard often to say. "He has shown me the way, just as He will show everyone who turns to Him." Carver declared, "Without my Savior, I am nothing." With his Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, George Washington Carver was greatly used by God to discover countless numbers of scientific wonders and to lead a life which has inspired millions of Christians everywhere. For ages 9 to 13.

George Washington

Thomas Alva Edison

Henry Martyn - translating the Scripture into Persian (known for his industriousness)

Life & Letters of Henry Martyn By John Sargent / Banner Of Truth Arguably the most influential missionary biography of the 19th century, Sargent's study of Henry Martyn (1781-1812) tells how he put the work of evangelism and Bible translation in India before the prizes his brilliant Cambridge career had opened to him. 480 pgs

William Wilberforce

John Newtown

The Roots of Endurance: Invincible Perseverance in the Lives of John Newton, Charles Simeon, and William Wilberforce; softcover By John Piper / Crossway Books & Bibles John Newton. Charles Simeon and William Wilberforce suffered lifelong opposition and endured for the causes of gospel truth, missionary zeal and political justice. They found, in solid doctrine and joy the roots for habitual tenderness in response to their adversaries-without doctrinal or moral flinching. The are examples of remarkable grace. Here are the lives of three great men and focuses on not only how they endured great opposition, but that they did so without bitterness.

Science
The life and activity of an ant;
Build an ant farm;
Read about ants; Make notebook pages on ants - different kinds and different jobs;
The life and activity of a bee;
Visit a bee keeper;
Read and research bees; Make notebooking pages;
Birds and their migration according to times and seasons;

Literature
Read and Copy this Aesop's Fable:
The Ant and the Grasshopper
IN a field one summer’s day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart’s content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to the nest.
"Why not come and chat with me," said the Grasshopper, "instead of toiling and moiling in that way?"
"I am helping to lay up food for the winter," said the Ant, "and recommend you to do the same."
"Why bother about winter?" said the Grasshopper; "we have got plenty of food at present." But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil. When the winter came the Grasshopper had no food, and found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing every day corn and grain from the stores they had collected in the summer. Then the Grasshopper knew:
"IT IS BEST TO PREPARE FOR THE DAYS OF NECESSITY."

Outline the fable into a keyword outline;
Re-write the fable, by adding your own character descriptions, and dialogue.

The Story of the Little Red Hen. - This story and others like it is about a shortage of animals who are willing to pitch in and help when help is needed.

The Three Little Pigs - It is a story about working hard and working smart - with the right tools, doing it right in the first place.

How the Camel got his Hump by Rudyard Kipling from "Just So Stories."

Just So Stories By Rudyard Kipling / Puffin From the 'satiable curiosity of the elephant's child to the crab who played with the sea, from the ingenious invention of the alphabet to how the rhinoceros got its wrinkled skin, these stories of strange happenings in the High and Far-Off Times brim with life, fun and magic--a wonderful collection that will hold you spellbound.

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe; How Crusoe needs to be industrious in his 24 years of solitude on the island.

Robinson Crusoe By Daniel Defoe / New York Post This classic story of a shipwrecked mariner on a deserted island is perhaps the greatest adventure in all of English literature. Fleeing from pirates, Robinson Crusoe is swept ashore in a storm, possessing only a knife, a box of tobacco, a pipe-and the will to survive. His is the saga of a man alone: a man who overcomes self-pity and despair to reconstruct his life; who painstakingly teaches himself how to fashion a pot, bake bread, build a canoe; and who, after twenty-four agonizing years of solitude, discovers a human footprint in the sand...

Robinson Crusoe - audiobook on CD By Daniel Defoe / Brilliance Audio Son of a middle-class Englishman, Robinson Crusoe takes to the sea to find adventure. And find it he does when on one of his voyages he is shipwrecked on a deserted South American island for thirty-five years.After scavenging his broken ship for useful items, he had only his skills and ingenuity to keep him alive as there was to be no one else on the island for the next twenty-four years. In the middle of that twenty-fourth year he rescued a native about to be eaten by cannibals who were using his island for a place of feasting. Crusoe named this man Friday, after the day of his rescue. Friday became his faithful servant and friend, even returning with him to England after their deliverance by an English ship.Listeners will enjoy Crusoe's determination for survival against all odds and admire the spirituality that gave him the strength to survive. A hero through the ages, he richly deserves the admiration that has endured over three centuries. Read by Casaletto. 9 CD's. 11 hours. Unabridged.

Up From Slavery by Booker T.Washington - how a black American worked and worked and worked to earn an education.

Up from Slavery By Booker T. Washington / Random House, Inc On reading Booker T. Washington's classic autobiography, Up from Slavery, Langston Hughes noted, "(Washington's) story of himself, as half-seen by himself, is one of America's most revealing books." "I was born a slave on a plantation in Franklin County, West Virginia. My life had its beginnings in the midst of the most miserable, desolate, and discouraging surroundings." So begins the famous autobiography that helped make Booker T. Washington the most prominent black spokesman of his time. Simple in its style and anecdotal in its approach, Up from Slavery, published to great acclaim in 1901, vividly recounts Washington's birth into slavery, his yearning for education, and his single-minded vision of building an educational center for black students, the Tuskegee Institute. A shrewd diplomat and a tireless promoter of the importance of education for black Americans, Washington cut a controversial figure in his own day.

The Book of Virtues by William J.Bennett - an excellent resource: A treasury of great moral stories. Has a chapter on Work.

The Book of Virtues By William J. Bennett / Simon & Schuster Trade Sales Bennett, former Secretary of Education, shows your whole family how to learn more about biblical principles from many genres of literature. Stories from the Bible, American history, poems, fables, Greek myths, philosophy, fiction, and fairy tales are all used to illustrate the virtues of self-discipline, compassion, responsibility, courage, and faith. 830 pages, softcover from Simon & Schuster.

Writing
Make lists of what your family considers a priority.
Write a list of things you plan to do.
Divide your day into time slots - and write down how many hours you spend in different activities - school work, sleep, eating, tv..

Copybook -
Some Quotes to copy:

• "In our era, the road to holiness necessarily passes through the world of action." John Locke
• "Nobody will know what you mean by saying, "God is love", unless you live it as well."
• Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action." Benjamin Disraeli
• "Iron rust from disuse, stagnant water loses its purity and in cold weather becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigours of the mind. " Leonardo da Vinci
• If you have something to do that is worth doing, don't just talk about it, but do it. After you have done it, your friends and enemies will talk about it." George W. Blout
• Besides the noble art of getting things done there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials." Lin Yutang
• "Do what you can with what you have where you are."Theodore Roosevelt

Copy the poem, "A Psalm of Life" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Famous Speeches
Use some of the above quotes and write an essay on it. Describe who the author was, the meaning of the quote, an example in real life of what the quote means, a reason why we should take note of the meaning.

In Praise of Strenuous Life by Theodore Roosevelt.

Maths
Teach time - hours, minutes, seconds. Make some clock biscuits with icing;
Make a monthly calendar - discuss months, seasons, birthdays; Mark birthdays on a birthday calendar;
Make a graph on how you spend your day - bar graphs of the hours; Change it into a circle graph;
Estimate how long it takes to do certain tasks - time yourself. How can you do it quicker?

Arts and Crafts
Make a craft showing the seasons of the year: - fabric collage depicting the seasons;

Patchwork Quilt of seasons

Music
Timing - clap the timing;
Clap the beats;
Learn and practice an instrument;

Excursions
Bee Keeper;
Factories in action;

Practical Living
It's all about using your time well and working hard: Gardening - through the seasons; Research what needs sowing and when;
Looking after a garden plot - weeding, planting, watering etc
Keeping animals
Taking control of one aspect of home life - according to age: setting the table/ folding clothes/ matching socks/ packing dishwasher and so on.

Organizational Tips

We get up at 6.00a.m. (or close to), have breakfast and begin our work at 6.30a.m. We work solidly for a few hours until 9.00 - 9.30a.m. By that time, we have basically finished our work! At some time of the day, I like to read aloud to everyone, and they also like to have their own quiet reading time. So, if we plan to have a day out - we'd leave the reading until the afternoon, or otherwise, we'd read from 9.00-10.00 and have our quiet reading after lunch as per normal.

I must admit, we've just had a church camp, and I have not been able to rouse myself or the kids in the week following the camp, but this routine is certainly a hit in the family.

What do we do with our day? Well, we've been out walking in the bush - spending hours at the creek - finding tadpoles, making dams, swimming and paddling. We've been to the beach. We've been bike-riding; (next time we go for a bike ride we'll take some sausages and have a barbecue over an outside wood fire.) We've been to the library and we've planned a few excursions. The children have made a "steam-engine"??!! - cans, wood, clay and water - trying to make steam move a small propeller, have enjoyed making bows and arrows and a target, have had more time for lego and crafts, made cakes and biscuits and making a calico doll. We've also had more time to look after our silkworms and so on.

This is probably a routine I would like to keep for spring and summer - a great way to make the most of the lovely hours of sun!

For those who are experiencing cold weather right now, keep this idea in mind for six months from now!

Need help organizing your homeschool days?
Check out the homeschool planner!

Coming soon...