Hang Out with This Homeschool Mom of 8 ║ School Week 2 │ ACE Curriculum

This week we're slowing down and getting some things in order. We have 6 school age children and 2 little ones. We've used ACE (School of Tomorrow) curriculum since our 9th grade son started preschool.
www.andreamills.tv
Week 1: • Hang Out with This Hom...
VHC Assignment 1: • How Structured or Rela...

[@casangel57]

and thats what homeschooling is all about , giving your child the help to overcome the problems he faces the one to one attention , to be able to know is personality and work with his strengths .

[@ossifkiki7574]

It's great that you know each childs strength and where they need support 😊

[@tamsin7460]

Just some encouragement for Judah. I really struggled with maths, often cried about it and got confused because Im dyspraxic and some of the methods just couldn't click in my brain. Some hard work, and I'm now a doctor. I haven't touched long division since leaving school. It seems like a mountain, but he'll get through it.

[@roomforapony1]

It is no surprise that subscriber numbers are growing! Our hunger for the Mills Family way of caring, rearing, doing, living and loving is so met by the content of found here. So loveable!

[@shellyk5423]

Just a word of encouragement, my son was just the same kind of learner as you were describing. I wanted him to have a love for learning and used the white board and other ways to keep him learning. He needed my help until 10th grade and then became very independent at that age. He fell in loved with chemistry, physics and art. When he did his SAT he scored the highest of all my other children. He currently is in college as a physics major and also, with Campus Crusades for Christ he does a Bible study for high school students. You are doing a GREAT job homeschooling and being a Godly example to you kids.

[@allywilliams9338]

I have pretty severe ADHD. I finished high school online because public schools didn't help with my ADHD, they pushed me when my brain couldn't function(I actually got so stressed out I was physically sick and in the hospital for a week). I completely understand where Judah is coming from! I have a very creative mind and I always would work on a whiteboard because it helped me understand it easier. Another thing that helped me is reading everything out loud to myself (it was like someone explaining it to me). I would always set aside an hour or two a day to work on a project that would allow me to express my creativeness. It's hard to get a set schedule that doesn't stress you out or get you overwhelmed. I know I caused my mom many sleepless nights as well when I got behind in school. I wish I could give him a black and white answer on how to deal with it but I'm still figuring it out myself! Good luck!

[@calebshipley9831]

I love watching your channel. I feel like I am dropping by a friends house when I watch these vlogs. You are doing such a good job with your children. I am just starting homeschooling this year my 5 1/2 boy, 4 year old boy and have a two and one year old under my feet. So encouraging to see a seasoned teacher as yourself, adjusting and weighing your children's needs and abilities as needs be. I can hear the concern or should I say heaviness of a mothers job with dealing with Judah! Again encouraging to know even you face days like that. You really feel like a friend. Would love to meet you in real life someday. My husband was going to bed before me and said are you going to catch up with your friend Andrea. I said I hope so. and he said tell her hi from me. You rock ~ Sara

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

You made me smile so big! This is one of the things I love about KZbin. It makes friendships possible that otherwise wouldn't be. It's so nice to find people in the world we can relate to and feel supported in what we're doing even if it's not face to face. Tell your husband "hi" back! :)

[@diyyoutubelife1124]

I love your family!! You inspire me !!

[@amandarutledge2939]

This is so out of the blue, but I would love to see a video on your potty training techniques. I am a SAHM with a 2 1/2 year old beautiful girl, and boy do I feel like I'm struggling. I feel like you're such a pro who probably has great advice ☺ Loved this video (as well as many of your others), and they are great inspiration for me and my little one.

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

I need to add that to my list. I'm doing it right now!

[@amandarutledge2939]

+Andrea Mills That'd be wonderful ☺ Thank you for hearing me out

[@angelovestea]

Amanda Rutledge I will tell u that she helped me to potty train my son who didn't get trained until he was 4

[@FarrahAFM]

This is Farrah from Facebook. Thank you so much, again, for your videos. My kids and I have been enjoying your videos so much. Cheyenne is my 2nd grader and she's particularly intrigued with seeing how another homeschool family operates.

[@debbiemorgan6701]

Asher has such a beautiful smile!

[@christalzerr4551]

I love watching your family in action['.You are all truly a team and it's heartwarming to see. Reminds me of when all my kids were schoolage!

[@christalzerr4551]

And my little Kindergartener enjoyed watching Solomon do his macaroni M and pace work! Good job! :-D

[@laurac56]

My son is very gifted in math, but we used a whiteboard all the way through algebra (he went to public school after that). He continued to use a whiteboard at home all the way through college and minored in math (major in computer science).

[@laurac56]

I was also vigilante about my kid's showing all of their work on whiteboard or paper, no skipping steps you can just do in your head, esp as a homeschool. They fought me at first, but were thankful later when they had outside math teachers and partial points were possible.

[@amberlawton2883]

Asher is definitely a comedian with that dead pan routine!

[@lynnmartin8718]

I wish now I had taken my lad out of mainstream school he was not coping at all -I didn't have any support -now a days of course it's different my boy couldn't cope with change of subjects he shut down so in the end I had to work with the school and honestly he coped better with the work we did at home and far less when he was at school - so with the school I worked with my son at home for 3 days and mainstream (school) for 2 days and that worked better for him - I will homeschool my grand children when they appear - I'd rather do 2/3 hours of real work at home than 9-3.30pm of wasted education - anyway thanks for showing me how you work your school day 👍😀

[@rosiedavies9673]

Solomon is so cute!❤️😻

[@taylormooney1947]

I am homeschooled and we use the same curriculum!!

[@rhiannonhammerich2661]

wow this is so encouraging. my children are watching with me and would like to know what maths game you play on the pc?

[@InHimAlone]

Another great video :) I have a Judah as well, but he is in 2nd grade. I see so many similarities in what you described his struggles being. I too am having to slow things down with him at times, or break it into smaller chunks, etc. It is one of the many reasons I am glad we are homeschooling. I don't think public school would be able to cater to his needs like I can and he gets so overwhelmed that he shuts down. He is so smart and has so many strengths, but I think he would flounder in public school. Question for you about ACE. I am fairly happy with what we are doing, content wise, but I do feel like it is too hands on with having many kids. Since ACE seems to build on itself, how well do you think it works for kids to start it late in the game. My oldest would be 5th next year (and then 3rd, 2nd, & K). Also, it seems fairly worksheet heavy, do your kids ever get bored/frustrated with that? It sounds like you incorporate many other things in, which probably keeps it interesting, so maybe it isn't a problem. Last thing, is it an all-or-nothing curriculum, or can I just pick certain subjects? Sorry this is so long, and thank you if you find time to answer!

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

Yes, you can just do one subject (or 2 or 3 or whatever.) It is a lot of writing which can be difficult early in the year when they are out of practice. I like to ease into it. Eden is in 2nd grade and she needs to do 3 pages per day in each subject. Justus does 3-4 pages in 4th grade. Judah and Asher do 4 pages in each subject (except as I explained in this video.) Thomas is in 9th and he does 4-6 pages per subject. (Solomon usually does 2 pages per subject in Kindergarten.) ACE has an on-line diagnostic test free on their web-site that tells you exactly where to start your child in each subject. It also shows if they need to fill in any gaps and which PACEs they need to do that. There's a paper version of the diagnostic test that you can buy for a few dollars. If you'd like to learn more about how it works, you can buy their home educator's kit for $10 which comes with a small manual explaining the system and procedures. I'd definitely recommend it. (Just in case you're curious because other people have been- I don't have any affiliation with ACE other than using their curriculum and I don't get any benefit from recommending it other than the joy of helping other people!) In Science, there are projects that do more hands-on things. You'll see Judah doing a project in next week's video. And, as you know, we add in extras that we want to do, but there's no pressure if those things don't get done! Here's a link to the home educator's kit from Christianbookcom: www.christianbook.com/home-educators-quick-start-basics-kit/pd/768220?event=ESRCG

[@InHimAlone]

Thank you for replying. I will check it out! Have a good night!

[@cristinazavala9704]

Wow, soloman is very smart

[@ecmomma]

I really enjoy these videos! You devote so much time to your children and it's wonderful to see. I am 7 weeks pregnant with no.6 and also homeschool and I feel like I failed this week. We did the bare Minimum and I just wanted to sit on the couch all week. You have so much energy! Do you get morning/all day sickness? How do you handle life when pregnancy is just so hard??!?

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

I lay on the couch all day! :) Not kidding! When I feel like the life is being sucked out of me because I'm growing a baby, I lay down and the kids come to me when they need me. And I take lots and lots of power naps. You haven't failed. You're raising your kids and sometimes you spend more time on certain things than you do at other times. It's a marathon, not a sprint. If you need to rest, rest! The bare minimum is fine. Have you seen the statistics HSLDA found in their study? It showed that there was virtually no difference in outcomes between super structured homeschools, lightly structured homeschools and unschooling. And all of them were far superior to conventional schooling. I wouldn't worry about it and just have a list of things you feel like you want to do but don't have the energy for so in those moments when you're feeling great, you already have somewhat of a plan and you can take advantage of that energetic hour or two.

[@ecmomma]

Andrea Mills thanks Andrea, very encouraging. I live in Canada but if I lived near you I would want to be your friend and have your momma/homeschool support. Thanks for the kind words and I'll try to remember I am not failing as a wife and mother I am growing a baby and will only be sick for another 8 weeks! ;) glad I found your channel!

[@coffeeandcraftinmama6054]

Solomon and his scissors! 😂 I loved how he took you literally! Also, I know you said it was odd, but I'm interested in why you all start your school week on Thursdays!

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

The short answer is that I like starting school on Thursday because then we only have 2 days before a weekend comes so the year starts off feeling more manageable. Since we are out of the house a lot on Wednesdays, it seemed like a good day to make a light school day so we used to try to get our tests done that day. We don't really follow that anymore, but it's been our pattern to count our weeks from Thursday to Wednesday for a long time now.

[@coffeeandcraftinmama6054]

Andrea Mills that makes perfect sense! 😊

[@unicornsims7044]

Love it :)

[@PotawatomiProud]

You are such a great teacher, your children are so happy and well behaved, such good little helpers, was wondering if you know of anything natural to help with energy , I think you mentioned something you were going to try in a video but do not remember which one.🙏🏽😊I thing baby Claudia was singing so cute.

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

Nothing I've ever tried has seemed to make much difference for me, so I don't know! I rely on power naps to get me through the day. I lay down for about 10 minutes and if no one talks to me (which is very difficult to accomplish) I'll fall asleep and wake back up again in that time. I always feel so much better when I get up.

[@PotawatomiProud]

+Andrea Mills k well thanks , I just remember in a video that you were going to try something and let us know, anyway just wanted to let you know that you are my mentor . I love all your videos! You are so young and wise and a beautiful communicater for all ages, such a blessing and I just cannot thank you enough.🙏🏽❤️😊

[@jessicasmith2749]

Can you post the co-op you belong to that you get your curricula for half price please?

[@BlackbeardsInhaler]

My 2nd grade struggles with adding and subtracting. I have tried counting bears, number line, finger counting and flash cards. She is just not getting it. Do you have any tips on how to teach adding and subtracting. We do ACE.

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

When one of my kids struggles, I try to rephrase it in a way I know they already understand. My kids are shopping pros, so it's easy to use money analogies with them. 376 divided by 15 for example becomes something like, you have $3.76 and there are suckers that cost 15 cents each. About how many can you buy? And then we work it out on paper. Using language and ideas they are familiar with and that paint a picture in their minds makes them more confident. Once we've done it that way a few times, they usually have it down. Maybe try an incentive like using M & Ms to work problems for a few days and let her eat them if she gets the problem right. Also, you can do the writing at first if you feel like it might save her brain power for the calculating. I wouldn't stress over it. She'll get it eventually. Maybe cut back to a few problems a day to build confidence and to keep both your attitudes positive while you work might help, too. Then build up and make a big deal out of how proud you are as she gets better and better. Tom talks about when he was about that age and he could not understand greater than/less than. Once he finally understood what they were trying to get him to do, he thought, that's it? He had such a mental block thinking there had to be more to it that he couldn't figure it out. I have a video on overwhelming math pages on my Homeschooling with ACE playlist. I'm not sure if there are any other helpful ideas on it, but you could check i tout if you like.

[@drummerlovesbookworm9738]

1. What lipstick do you wear? It's so pretty. 2. Judah reminds me of my husband. Michael (The Drummer) was the first child in the State of WA to be medicated for ADD! It was done at his school!! Quite a story. Now, as an old guy, he still struggles as he never has done the work needed to develop tactics for working with his own brain. I had a course in teacher's college about working with many learning issues and the most effective for Michael is the 'graphic organizer' which just means a list or a visual/physical aid about what steps he needs to take to do something.....we made up a song he sings before walking out the door to make sure he has all his parts like Bluetooth, wallet, watch, phone, etc. LOL! However, if I give him a list, his brain bursts and he has an emotional reaction....even if the things are really easy/quick things like bring something in from the car; brush off your rain boots; take something out of the freezer. I have learned to give him only two things at a time. When he gets stressed about how much there is to do or whether he understands how to do it the way I'm hoping it will be done, we will probably have a fight. How is it that he can load out an drum kit, book gigs, organize entire shows; put together interventions....but not do ordinary daily activities? It's all still a mystery. We are both currently reading, "Is It You, Me, or Adult ADD." He has been upset about seeing his 'symptoms' so clearly outlined in print! Another interesting thing is that I've observed many drummers are 'kinesthetic learners' and normal school work is either visual or auditory....not designed for learners who work through movement or hands-on experience. I've heard so many stories about how drummers struggled in school....and yet they are gifted, gifted percussionists. I am a real believer in those learning modes. xoj

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

I enjoy reading this. When Judah was in 1st and 2nd grade, he drummed on the table with his pencil and ruined a lot of lead! He would start out sitting in a chair, but before long the chair would be across the room and he'd be standing and bouncing. When he was doing math problems he'd bang on the table with his pencil after every problem. I like your song idea. It's really helped Judah to engage his creative mind while doing mundane work. I'm really proud of how much he's improved. He's usually the first or second one done with his school work. My lipstick here is Neutrogena MoistureSmooth color stick in Pink Nude.

[@drummerlovesbookworm9738]

I think you have a kinesthetic learner in your tribe! My son had good luck with tapping out his times tables and spelling words to a beat. He also liked doing physical puzzles. A challenge for you, Mom! :-)

[@harjotk9870]

How long do you guys tend to spend on school? Just curious!

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

Solomon and I work for about an hour to an hour and a half. Asher, Judah and Eden usually spend about 2-3 hours. Thomas and Justus spend about 3-5 hours. Some days things don't go well and it takes twice as long, though.

[@mollyanna5004]

I'm homeschooled and 14 my mum pulled my out for varies or reasonsand now I'm a pro equestrian which i have been doing since i was1/2 yo

[@chicky28799]

I really wish I could do homeschooling because I'm a pretty advanced junior in high school and I often feel bored because the teachers have to teach to everyone. I'm in all honors classes, but I want to go faster

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

That is definitely one of the big problems with the conventional school model. It's very hard to adjust to individuals. I went to a private school and graduated at 16 because I finished all the requirements quickly. I also taught the Kindergarten class during my last year of school. I taught Kindergarten in the morning and did my own work in the afternoon. Being home is so much easier for all students whether they need extra time to complete their work or whether they are like yourself and could have a large part of their day free to spend doing what they want to do.

[@ingridellis8237]

chicky28799 You should explore possibilities of duel enrollment. The other option would be online college classes.

[@erunanne]

These videos are great. I've heard about homeschooling but it doesn't really exist in my country (unless a child is chronically ill or a professional athlete or something else pretty rare, in which case they just have to cover the same curriculum that every single school in the country has, state or church one, using the same textbooks), so I couldn't imagine how one person could simultaneously be lecturing to several children of different ages. Looks like this system operates on an entirely different premise, teaching the kids to be self- sufficient and independent learners. I'm sure most parents won't be able to do it though, you look like a natural born teacher :)

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

That's one of the things I love about this curriculum is that all different ages can be working at the same time without needing direction. I went to a school that used it and it allowed a small staff to work with a large group of children of all grades, sort of like the one-room school houses of a century ago. The only children that need constant interaction are the non-readers so Solomon will need me all year for Kindergarten and then for the first 12 weeks next year as he learns to read. After that he'll be much more independent. This year it takes us about 60-90 minutes a day to do his work.

[@sakurakohattori7369]

Ok

[@caitlinparton7503]

Are any of your kids interested in sports? If they were would you put them in a league?

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

So far so one has expressed an interest. Homeschoolers are allowed to participate on public school teams, so they could do that if they wanted. (We have some homeschool friends on the Cross Country Track team.) There is also wrestling, baseball, soccer and football available outside of the school teams, but as I said, we're just not that in to sports.

[@haliethomaz]

why do you homeschool.. have your kids ever asked to go to a public school. if they really wanted to go would you allow them

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

I just always wanted to homeschool. Since I was young, I've wanted to be a wife and mother and I didn't see any reason I should have to send my kids away to school. I'm perfectly capable of raising them myself including teaching them their school lessons. None of them want to go to school. It's so far from a desire for them that it seems ridiculous to me to spend time thinking about what I'd do.

[@jjvmglinn]

It sounds like Judah has a form of Dyslexia, I'm glad you are accommodating it but he may benefit from some extra help from a trained professional who specialises x

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

That's not something I'd like to do. It's just his personality and we will work with his personality. Judah's difficulties are a normal variation of learning style and I never want him to think he's abnormal. No one is really abnormal, but as soon their style is labelled as a disorder or dysfunction, it's a lifelong stigma. That thought would never go away and when it comes down to it, everyone has weaknesses they have to deal with. If we can't figure something out, I discreetly research it and come up with new techniques to try. I'm not sure if that makes sense, but I never want my children to see themselves as disordered or dysfunctional (because they're not even though society loves pointing out and labeling differences) so I won't take him to someone who would treat him like he was- even if they mean to help.

[@debbiemorgan6701]

I agree. I hate labels.