Growing Your Homeschool

Holiday Gift Ideas for Homeschoolers

2013-12-16T00:30:00.000-08:00

Looking for gift ideas for a homeschooling family you know?
Perhaps one of these 10 categories will help.

Or, maybe you have been directed here by a loved one, like your daughter-in-law. {Hi Ma! Just a shout out to my mother-in-law.}

Either way, read on for homeschool gift ideas. All items on the listing have been chosen for their potential educational value.

Books - Always a great place to start for the homeschooling family you know. The possibilities are endless with categories of all sorts to ponder. A few more specific ideas might be

classical literature {Some books never go out of style. One online listing of classics is found here.}
audio books {Jim Weiss has numerous titles available and his audio CDs are a favorite among homeschoolers.}
nonfiction selections {Usborne, DK, and Kingfisher are some publishers to check out.}

Games - Most games have at least some educational value to them.

classic games {Just like books, some games are always a hit. Most people enjoy Monopoly, Life, Checkers, Chess, and Scrabble to name a few.}
solitary games {Think Fun is a great company for solitary games with games like Rush Hour, Solitaire Chess, and Path Words. Other solitary game ideas include Colorku, which is Sudoku using color balls on a wooden board, Screwball Scramble, and Simon.}
games for two {Goblet, Square Up!, Nine Men's Morris, and Fox & Geese will offer fun for two.}
group games {Rummikub, Blokus, and Quoridor are fun for almost any age.}
card games {A regular deck of cards can be used for numerous games, but some other card games like Phase 10, Blink, Skip-Bo, and Uno might be worth the purchase, too.}

Movies -

classic movies
musicals on film
documentaries and educational {Some documentaries can become family favorites. I'll readily admit when my oldest was four, he was given two videos, and I thought, really? However, over the years they have become favorites of all our children. What are they? The Living Desert and Play Along Games and Songs}
biographies and true stories
Netflix {Don't know which movie would work the best? Give a subscription.}

Toys -

building toys
marble mazes
buildings {Castles and farms are two ideas.}
train sets
household toys {Kitchen sets, tea sets, tool sets and the like are fun for younger children.}
puzzles {Ravensburger and Melissa & Doug offer great puzzles.}

Science Kits -

Chemistry {for younger scientists and for older}
Physics {for beginners and advanced}
Biology {Insect Lore has numerous kits to observe live creatures.}
Weather {for the very young and elementary ages}
Geology {Rock kits like this one could bring out the rock hound in any family.}

Models & Craft Kits -

Solar System {for the one who loves the stars - these can usually be found at craft stores and online}
Moon {Moon in My Room illuminates the various phases of the moon by remote.}
dinosaur bones {for the budding archaeologist - find one here and here}
robot kits {find one here and here}
transportation vehicles {cars and planes}
weaving looms
knitting, crocheting, and sewing kits

Memberships - Family memberships can be a gift that keeps giving.

museums
State parks
zoo
public gardens

Educational Supplies -

globes and maps
backpacks {Even homeschoolers cart books to and fro places.}
pencils and pens {Most children like stylish pens and pencils, and they make great stocking stuffers.}
erasers {Find one in the shape of a favorite character.}
posters {Gear it toward their upcoming lessons or interests.}

Technology - In today's age, technology can be a huge blessing. Just be sure to check with the parents for what is acceptable in their family.

graphing calculators
e-readers
digital cameras
musical devices
cell phones
internet access
notebooks
lap tops

Time - The best gift of all may just be you! Giving of your time and talents will be greatly appreciated by your loved ones.

volunteer at the co-op {teach one class, be a guest speaker, help as an assistant even for just one day}
field trips {plan one, take the children for a day out, or offer to go along}
read with a child {Select some of your personal favorite children's books to share. Read aloud to them, or have them read aloud to you.}
bake or cook a meal together
tend a garden together {plant, water, weed, harvest, shell peas, or can fresh vegetables}
pick fruit together {maybe make jam or juice with the fruit}
sew, knit, or crochet
build something {A birdhouse, rabbit cage, or mailbox could be a useful construction project.}

No matter what you give this year or in the years to come, your sincere desire to help, support, and encourage a homeschooling family is the greatest gift you can give.

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Dorie and her drummer husband, Jerry, began their homeschooling journey over ten years ago. Currently, they home educate four children ranging from early elementary to high school. Dorie can be found at Homeschooling Just Next Door, Facebook, or Pinterest.

Should You Join?

2013-12-09T13:18:00.004-08:00

Staring at the sign, we couldn't believe it.

Two choices were before us.

Either pay $125 for all six of us to enter the museum and take a guided tour, or
pay $120 to gain admittance for the day with the guided tour and become members for an entire year. Our membership would allow us to revisit anytime over the following year and take select guided tours for free. We would also receive two guest tickets with our membership.

My husband looked at me and said flatly, "We'll save $5 just by becoming members."

"But will we use it?" I asked trying to formulate some counter argument, because I just couldn't believe the pricing.

"I don't care if we ever use it. We'll save $5 by getting it today. Then, if we do want to use the membership, we can. It will already be paid for."

His logic prevailed, and we became members for one year. Over that year, we would visit two more times. On the second and final time, we shared our guest tickets with my parents and took a guided tour with them.

For our family, three visits to this museum over the course of one year for less than the cost of one visit was definitely worth the price.

And, honestly, this wasn't the first time we had gotten such a deal.

We've joined an art museum for a year We timed it to see three special exhibits including Rembrandt and Van Gogh exhibits. Not only did we see the special exhibits at no extra cost, we toured the entire museum of three floors and three wings over the course of that year, one wing at a time.

For several years, we were members of a public garden which we visited throughout the changing seasons. Our children became acquainted with numerous plants and trees, discovering how their appearances changed each season. The garden hosted numerous concerts, fireworks, and cultural events which we attended, because they were free for members.

One year we became members of a science museum. Two visits would have paid for the membership, but we timed our membership to overlap three special exhibits we wanted to see. At this particular museum, members received special pricing for these exhibits. Over that year, we saw some of the Dead Sea Scrolls, artifacts from the Titanic, and learned about espionage in addition to touring the regular exhibits.

A Few Benefits of Becoming a Member

If used enough times, a membership can more than pay for itself {you must calculate the cost for your individual family}
Special discounts or tours are often included in memberships
Sometimes, your family can attend off hours or special hours just for members
You can plan your visits and see portions of the facility. You won't have to 'see it all' because you can make multiple trips for the same price.
Some memberships are eligible for a tax deduction (Please refer to the specifics of your membership.)

If your family is anything like ours, you don't have an endless supply of money. Where and how you choose to spend it are serious considerations. For each membership, we carefully calculated the financial cost. If we deemed a membership worthwhile, we then researched the best time to join. We want our memberships to be as beneficial as possible. From our experience, I have comprised a brief list of how to select memberships.

How to Choose Where and When to Belong

Know your family's interests. If you love paintings, then an art museum may be a great fit for your family, but if you don't it may torture to have to keep visiting an art museum.
Look ahead in your children's academic lessons. Will you be studying Ancient History? A museum of archaeology and anthropology may be a good fit for that year.
Discover museums in your local area which correspond to your family's interests or your children's academic lessons. Be sure to look for places you will want to visit more than once.
Narrow the choices by eliminating those museums which are too far away or too inconvenient. If your family won't, or isn't able to make the trip during the hours the facility is open, then a membership would be foolish. You'll never use it.
Research those museums or places on your shortened listing. What does each place cost for membership? What are the specific benefits members receive that one-time visitors don't? What is the upcoming exhibit or future show schedule? Is there anything on the calendar which you would want to see or do? Will these visits and events fit into your family calendar? Can you time the membership to view or participate in all the upcoming events you would like to see or do?
Do the math!* I cannot stress this one enough. It still may not be cost effective to join. Perhaps you can visit the museum on a free day, or take advantage of a coupon offer. Sometimes a better deal is available, and a membership is not necessary.
Eliminate the choices which don't work well for your family, and pursue those which do on your own timetable.

*When considering the cost of visiting, include the cost of travel, tolls, parking, and food. Also, if you will want some type of souvenir, include this into your cost as well.

All the photographs featured in this post originally appeared on my personal blog. They highlight a visit to a special event at our local art member. We were privileged to attend for free, not because we were members, but because the event and the museum were free to the community that day. It really does pay to research and calculate the costs.

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To Break or not to Break?

2013-11-29T00:30:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving weekend!

This week, the kids and I traveled over the river and through the woods to Grandma's house! Now, we're snuggled up with family, enjoying our time together and eating too much food. I'm forgoing most of the mega deals this year, so no need to brave the Black Friday crowds.

This is the first time, though, that we've gone on a vacation like this and I brought our homeschool stuff with us! *gasp* I know, I know. Usually, I like to take the whole week of Thanksgiving off, or at least only focus on Thanksgiving-related activities.

However, this has been a really rough season for us, health-wise. I was sick for an entire 3 weeks in October, and all 3 of my kids seem to be taking turns getting sick themselves or making each other sick. That's put us way behind in our curriculum.

I'm not really one to obsess over something like that. Correction--I am that type, but I'm learning to overcome that bit of the perfectionist side of me. While I'm not in any hurry to "catch up," I also believe we need to stay on track. So, we're brought a little bit of homeschool with us.

Granted, many of our activities are still Thanksgiving (and starting Monday--Christmas) related--the books we read, the crafts we do, etc. We are still making sure to plunge on in our studies. The girls are enjoying learning about the medieval times and animal habitats in science. In another post, I'll have to share the travel books I made for them, which bits of math, spelling, reading, and history/geography in the form of games! Yes, I'm sneaky like that.

What about you? Do you continue to homeschool through the holidays? Why or why not?

Sharing Thanksgiving Traditions

2013-11-22T00:01:00.000-08:00

I am a big fan of the last two months of the year. Halloween kicks off an amazing time of year. As a military family, Veterans Day is very important to us, and then Thanksgiving, which leads into the Christmas season. Two months of love, compassion, thankfulness, and remembrance.

Many people think that Thanksgiving gets looked over, but I don't believe that's necessarily true. Although the original reason for celebrating might get lost in translation, its essence is highlighted even more in light of the Christmas season, which seems to come earlier every year. I tend to see Thanksgiving as the kick-off celebration. Christmas is all about Jesus' birth and what he would ultimately do. Thanksgiving is about being grateful for what we have, thankful for what God has done for us.

The original Thanksgiving was a celebration of a full harvest of food after experiencing a particularly rough winter the year before. Of the men, women, and children who originally arrived on the Mayflower, only about half survived that first went. With the help of Squanto and his fellow Indians, the people learned to plant corn and other crops, to use the local plants, and to hunt/fish. By the time, the next harvest arrived, there was plenty to go around. They then held the feast to celebrate God's provision with their new friends.

Now, we gather together with friends and family for a meal to celebrate our "harvest," whatever that might look like for us. Some years are more bountiful than others, but we always have something to be thankful for, even if it is only the salvation provided by Jesus' death and resurrection.

Being a military family, Thanksgiving looks different every year. We haven't really been able to build too many traditions.

The past few years, though, we've done our thankful leaves. We all write what we are thankful for on leaves cut out of construction paper, and then tape them to the sliding door. The kids seem to have a lot of fun with it, and sometimes it amazes me what they find to be grateful for. There are the typical kids answers like their favorite toy or TV or the like. But, when, without prompting, they say something like Jesus's sacrifice or my family or time with Mommy/Daddy, etc. it just makes my heart melt!

And then there's pumpkin pie and fried turkey. Doesn't seem to matter where we are or who we're celebrating Thanksgiving with, those two items end up on the list somehow. ("Say, have you tried fried turkey--it's just mouth-watering!")

This year, I think I'm going to start a new tradition of having the girls weave our placemats for the big meal. We'll start with construction paper, but maybe when they're older, we'll try some weaving with something else. :)

What are your Thanksgiving traditions? Anything fun or unique?

Creating a Unit Study

2013-11-18T04:10:00.001-08:00

There are plenty available. Just do a quick search and you are bound to find more than one unit study for the very next topic in your lesson plan. Some will cost you. Some are free.

One of them may just be perfect for you and your family. The topic, lessons, and activities are spot on. It couldn't get any better. After all, the work is done for you. You just have to implement it.

But what about those of us who actually want to plan our own? Maybe customize it completely? How do you plan a unit study?

Today, I'll walk you through a few quick steps to planning your own unit study. These steps will work for almost any unit study, whether it be a multi-subject unit study or a simple history unit.

How to Plan a Unit Study

Pick a topic. Perhaps you'd like to study a time period in history, a specific culture, or science topic. Maybe you would like to build a unit study around a book you will be reading with your children.
Find one main reference book, resource, or website. This resource will serve as a guide or starting point, depending how you choose to use it. Generally, if you want to build a unit study based on a piece of literature, this becomes your reference book.
Create a list of subtopics. Good reference resources can be used to glean subtopics or areas of further study within one main topic. Some can be used as spines for the entire study. Usborne, DK, and other books like them lend themselves well to this usage. Their typical one topic per two page layout easily creates an outline for more in depth study. Unit studies based on literature, might use elements from the plot, characters, setting, and author. For instance, a unit study on Charlotte's Web could include subtopics like farm life, barns, spiders, farm animals, rats, and fairs.
Collect {or create your own} ideas. Find books, projects, activities, and worksheets for each of the subtopics. Be sure to include ideas below, at, and above grade level. Generally, anything can be altered a little, and sometimes you may want an activity to serve as a review or a challenge for your child. In the past, before Pinterest, I used to collect all my ideas in a file. Now, I simply pin the idea onto a board.
Find field trips. List local places and events which could relate to one or more of the subtopics. Check into virtual tours as well. Sometimes it may not be possible to visit a place, but students can 'tour' it through a website.
Outline the order of study. It may seem backwards to place this step so far down the list. However, once you have the details collected, then you can decide which of the subtopics you'll likely spend more time covering or which are more important in the unit study.
Assign a schedule for the unit study. Judging by the ideas you have found or created, you can decide how much time to allow each one. Be sure to keep it flexible and include a few extra days for topics of interest. Children often want to explore a specific topic further. Allow them the freedom to do so, by setting aside extra time.

If you are creating a unit study which is cross curricula, then you will need to pay careful attention to include subtopics, activities, and field trips which are indeed cross curricula. Balance your unit study by finding or creating lessons which include all the areas of study you want to cover.

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Dorie and her drummer husband, Jerry, began the homeschooling journey over ten years ago. Currently, they home educate four children ranging from early elementary to high school. Dorie can be found at Homeschooling Just Next Door, Facebook, or Pinterest.