Cookie's Domain

Bald Eagle Unit Study

2014-01-28T12:53:00.000-06:00

We have just started studying birds and the first bird in our science book, Science Essentials, Grades 3 - 4, is the American Bald Eagle. I did not feel that just the one page in the book was enough information for the children so I put together some additional resources that we will use to give the children a good understanding of our national bird.

Free Bald Eagle Activity Book
Man, no one can put together a great educational book on nature like the U.S. government. I really mean that. I have a list of numerous free coloring and activity books in the tab at the top of the site and many of them were published by a .gov site. This book about bald eagle awareness week is extremely thorough in talking about eagles. As a matter of fact, it contains way more info than what I feel is needed in our studies. So, I just printed off pages 3-6 and that will be plenty for us.

Free Bald Eagle Coloring Pages
There is no shortage of these pages. No doubt you will one to your child's liking by just doing a quick search on Google. I am going to pull up images of bald eagle coloring pages and let each child pick the one he or she wants to color.

Free Bald Eagle Crafts
I am keeping this to a 3 day lesson so we will just be dong a little craft. I am going to let each of the children choose from one of the following.

bald eagle toilet paper roll craft
paper bag bald eagle craft
color and cut patriot eagle

Bald Eagle Documentary
There is a cool little documentary from 1938 on the Internet Archives called Birds of Prey. Bald eagles are discussed briefly.

Free Printable Reading Books for Homeschool

2014-01-27T10:28:00.000-06:00

I started writing this post in 2010 but never finished or published it. 2 of my children have now surpassed the reading levels of these books. But very shortly these resources will come in handy for my 6 year old emergent reader.

Print Free Public Domain Books from Google
So far, one of my favorite finds online has been the free primers and readers that were written around a century ago. I was pleasantly surprised the children have really enjoyed my decision to start printing them off of Google again. I rarely (almost never) find inappropriate subject matter in the books. There are some words that are no longer politically correct, but when I come across those I just explain that to the children. And if there is magic or other subject matter that I don't want the children to read then I just don't print those pages. Also, the children really like the stories in the readers.

But I know that one day the readers will be below the children's reading levels. So I'm starting to look for some free printable reading books that will present a challenge when the time comes.

Sites with Free Printable Reading Books
I wonder if Professor Garfield is a hidden jewel on the internet. There are printable books all about everyone's favorite cat in addition to a game and flash card to go along with each book to help enforce the site words in the books.

Learning Pages Ewe books has a lot of free books. And I mean a lot. I printed out a few but found the way that you have to construct them to be awkward. But the material itself is excellent for children who have just become fluent readers.

Reading A to Z is a paid site but they have some free samples you can print out.

Manatee Unit Study

2014-01-24T17:09:00.002-06:00

We spent two weeks learning about manatees as part of our science studies of endangered species. They are quite intriguing and the children enjoyed learning about them.

Short Manatee Video
First we watched a National Geographic video about manatees heading south. My children had no idea what a manatee is or what they look like so this was a good introduction.

Free Manatee Activity Book
I printed out a really great activity book called Manatees - Florida's Gentle Giants. In my opinion the book could serve as a complete curriculum. But I like to pull from numerous resources to get some different perspectives and to learn as much as possible.

Free Manatee Printables
So with the activity book as a guide, I supplemented the lesson with manatee printables from About.com. Included in the printables is a: word search, crossword puzzle, coloring page, and printable manatee craft (a door hanger). My children completed most of the pages and 2 of them chose to make the door hanger. I think these printables helped to keep the lesson fun.

Manatee Documentary

We have an Amazon Prime membership which means we can watch their videos offered on Prime for free. I was so happy to find that they currently have a manatee documentary which held the children's interest for most of it's 47 minutes. None of the other material we had covered the fact that sailors of old thought manatees were mermaids (or maybe I missed that part). So the title Endangered Mermaids: The Manatees of Florida and the explanation of it in the beginning was helpful.

Manatee Games
We didn't play any of these games at SaveTheManatee.org because I didn't find them until after our lessons were complete. But they look extremely educational.

Learning About Adverbs in the Elementary Grades

2014-01-22T11:06:00.000-06:00

A free site I had been using to print out grammar books has not been working for weeks now. I really should have downloaded the book onto my computer while I had the chance. Tsk. Tsk. But I did not and now I am finding myself having to put together a grammar curriculum to get us through the end of the year.

I have been rummaging around the internet finding this and that. I found a great grammar game called Grammar Ninja. My son was happily playing it and advanced from beginner ninja to skilled ninja and that is when we discovered that he does not have a strong grasp on adverbs yet.

So, I have compiled the resources that we are using this week to learn about adverbs.

Here is the the Adverb playlist that I put together on Youtube.

There was a time when I tried my hand at creating my own worksheets. But really, there are so many great, free worksheets out there that I don't feel this is the best use of my time anymore. So I did a quick Google image search for adverb worksheets and found a weeks worth plus one that can be used as a test as well.

Some Free Online Adverb Games
The Adjectives and Adverbs Trail
Adventures with Adjectives and Adverbs
Grab the Adverbs
Practice Using Adverbs
Adverbs Jeopardy - 1 or 2 person game

Adverb Tests/Quizzes
And once the children have had their fill of adverbs they can take an online adverb quiz which can double as a test. The quiz is even scored for you at the end. And here is a shorter 6 question online adverb quiz.

You could throw an Adverb wordsearch into the mix as well.

menu Plan Monday - August 20, 2012

2012-08-20T13:39:00.001-05:00

We have lived without buying fast food for about six weeks. A dear friend treated the children and me to Burger King about a week ago, which was very nice. And a few nights ago we ate dinner made by more precious friends. But other the that, I have been cooking 3 meals a day, 7 days a week.

And you know what ? It hasn't been so terrible. We don't eat out a lot anyway. However, usually my husband treats us to a meal a few Sundays a month to give me a break from cooking. And I am sure that we will get back to that family tradition once we are all reunited in CA. ***I miss my Honey! Anyhoo...*** So, it has been necessary to be as frugal as possible until such time. Menu planning helps tremendously with that goal.

Menu Plan Monday

last week's homemade cheese pizza

Breakfast

(served with fruit)

Monday: cold cereal ~ Tuesday: hot cereal ~ Wednesday: eggs, bread (and possibly meat) ~ Thursday: hot cereal ~ Friday: cold cereal ~ Saturday: pancakes/waffles

Lunch

(served with veggies or fruit)

~ PBJ ~ grilled cheese sandwiches ~ leftovers x2 ~ tuna casserole ~

Dinner

(served with veggies and grains if needed)

~ cheeseburgers with homemade hamburger buns ~ chicken tacos ~ spinach quiche ~ baked chicken ~ tuna salad sandwiches ~ BBQ ribs ~ breakfast for dinner ~

Homeschooling for Free - Elementary Grades

2012-08-02T19:16:00.001-05:00

I would like to share our plan for homeschool this year for my elementary students. It is my hope that you will see that with just a bit of preparation that it is possible to homeschool primarily from free resources from the internet and the library.

Bible

The children and I will take turns reading a story a day from the Bible using this reading list. We will discuss the scriptures and then the children can draw a picture or do a craft related to the reading. The quickest way to find a craft is to type the name of the story followed by the word "craft" in Google. For example, you can search for a "Noah's ark craft" or a "Daniel in the lions den craft".

English/Language Arts

We will use McGuffey's Readers for about 15 min a day. You will find more information on how I plan to use them on my post about returning to McGuffey Readers. For grammar I have three living books that we will be reading, one of which is Grammar-Land. This is a humorous book where each of the nine parts of speech must stand trial and prove why he is justified in "owning" the words that he does. And I will supplement the book with grammar songs found on YouTube.

For my five year old, I will continue checking out alphabet books and beginner reader books from the library and work out of the McGuffey Primer a bit.

I will hand write copywork for my two children in a notebook that has the dotted middle lines and solid top and bottom lines. I'll print some sheets on both sides from Donna Young and make our own homemade notebooks. I will either have the children copy Bible verses or sentences from their readers.

Arithmetic

Originally I was going to use Ray's for math this year. But after carefully considering what Don Potter had to say I have decided to use First Lessons in Numbers instead. Mr. Potter actually strongly recommended teaching with First Lessons in Arithmetic -which he has links to on his site; but, he said that the two books are very similar. (Mr. Potter is an educator that I respect very much. He incorporates old fashioned public domain texts into his classroom to successfully teach his students arithmetic, reading through phonics, cursive, and grammar.) After comparing the two along with Ray's, I feel that FLIN will work best for our homeschool. I like the abundance of illustrations and I like that the lessons are short.

Also, we will read living math books from the library, use our math fun box, and play plenty of math games.

Science

We will do nature studies using Ana Botsford Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study. And we will read several living books from the public domain pertaining to animals, insects, birds, plants, and gardening. (Here is our reading list for this year.) Also, we will watch Beakman's World on Netflix and attempt some of the experiments from the show.

It took me a few weeks to put all of the resources together. But I feel that it was time well spent.

Here is how we are homeschooling high school free this year.

Menu Plan Monday - 7/30/12

2012-07-30T09:07:00.001-05:00

Menu Plan Monday

We are starting school back on August 1st. There is always an adjustment period at the beginning of the school year that can last for over a week. So most of our meals will easy to prepare. That way I won't have to spend as much time in the kitchen as I usually do.

Breakfast

cold cereal~hot cereal~eggs and potatoes~homemade muffins~pancakes

served with fruit

Lunch

grilled bacon and cheese sandwiches~homemade granola~PBJ~leftovers~canned soup

served with fruit or veggies

Dinner

french bread pizza~hot dogs~spaghetti~chicken fried steak~homemade Hamburger Helper~bbq chicken~tuna tacos

served with grains/bread (if needed) and veggies

Snacks

cheese and crackers~popcorn~trail mix

2012 - 2013 Homeschool Reading List

2012-07-28T15:25:00.001-05:00

Last year I attempted to follow Ambleside Online's reading list. I printed out quite a few books and stapled them together with my handy dandy, heavy duty stapler. And then I made myself weekly schedules based on AO's suggestions. This is no slight against AO but I just did not manage to keep up with the reading like I thought I would be able to.

After some self-reflection I have come to the conclusion that our schooling experience turns out the best when I put the curriculum together myself. For years I have started out that way but at some point I would doubt my efforts and switch to something that some "experts" had put together. My husband has been telling me this for years but I finally believe for myself that I am a great teacher to my children.

There can be a lot of self doubt when you homeschool. I have definitely had my fair share of it. But I am done with that. I know that God has uniquely gifted me to make sure that my children get a quality education. I am the expert for my children. I refuse to doubt myself any longer. And that's the end of it.

What does any of this have to do with our reading list for this year? Well, this list has been compiled by me based on the tastes, needs, and beliefs of my family. We don't do fairies, witches, or magic in our house. So there are no books with any of that content (to my knowledge) on this list. And we love the Lord; so, many of the books mention God.

Most of these books can be found for free by doing a quick search on Google Books. Otherwise, I have provided a link.

Drawing

~~Willie's First Lessons in Drawing~~

English/Literature

Aesop's Fables

The Child's Own English Book

Grammar-Land

The Play Grammar or The Elements of Grammar Explained in Easy Games

History

The Boy Lincoln

Broad Stripes and Bright Stars

Fifty Famous Stories Retold

Hans Brinker

Letters from Colonial Children

Mary of Plymouth

Ten Boys Who Lived on the Road from Long Ago to Now

Math

Everyday Number Stories

Living math books from the library

~~Number Stories of Long Ago~~

Science

The Burgess Animal Book for Children

The Burgess Bird Book for Children

The Insect Folk

Seed Babies

The Storybook of Science

When Mother Let Us Garden

Additional Reading

Toby Tyler or Ten Weeks at the Circus

Resources that I used to compile my list:

Accelerated Achievement book list

Ambleside Online

Graded List of Books for Children - 1922

Homeschool Freebie of the Day

Old Fashioned Education

Robinson curriculum

Homeschooling High School for Free - 11th Grade

2012-07-25T10:10:00.001-05:00

This year my soon to be 14 year old will be in the 11th grade. I am grateful to God for the years that I have been able to homeschool him. And I am a little sad that he is almost done. These years teaching him have been both challenging and extremely rewarding. But my intention with this post isn't to reminisce. I want to share the free resources that we will use this school year for my son's core classes.

An Invaluable Website

Once my son started middle school I began purchasing textbooks for him because I had a hard time finding free resources for the classes he was taking. But in recent years, I have seen a plethora of great material become available online. My favorite place to use for finding upper grade courses is Free-Ed.net. It is not the prettiest looking site but don't let that stop you from finding some wonderful resources there.

Here are the classes and materials that my son will use for 11th grade this year.

Math

I can't believe my son will be learning Calculus this year. It seems like only yesterday that I taught him how to skip count and made homemade flashcards for him so that he could memorize his addition and subtraction tables. But I digress... Last year we used MIT's open courseware for the first time for Calculus; so, we will continue on with a Calculus II course taught by the same professor. The used book we bought last year for just a few dollars covers both courses, so no need to be buy another one.

Geography

In our homeschool, history and geography have always gone hand in hand. I taught my son to learn the geography of the locations that he is studying in history by using maps and atlases. But my husband feels that it is best that my son takes a separate, in depth geography course. Originally, I was going to use the Geography for the 21st Century video course along with the textbook which I was going to purchase from Amazon for under $10, including shipping.

But for the time being we are only able to access the Internet from my iPad. Apple doesn't support flash so we are unable to access any of Learner.org's videos. So we will use the course outline and reading lists from one of MIT's geography classes. If we can't get the titles from the library then we'll make appropriate substitutions.

Science

Physics! Need I say more? Well actually, I probably should. The number one question I get when I share some of the high school classes that my son is taking or has taken is, how do you teach that subject? My answer is that thanks to the internet I don't have to teach it. And I couldn't even if I wanted to because I never went above Earth Science or Algebra II/Trigonometry in high school. So once again, I am turning to a more-than-qualified MIT professor to teach physics in our homeschool. And I'll buy the least expensive used textbook from Amazon.

English/Language Arts

There is a McGuffey reader to cover every year of school. So, no worries there. And our Englsih classes are always heavily based on classic literature. So, my son will read several, quality works of fiction from the library, of his choosing. And he will be required to write a few book reports. Also, we will focus on quite a bit of essay writing.

Foreign Language

This year D is taking Spanish III. he will have a lot of conversations with fluent Spanish speakers and we will utilize the college text Poco a Poco.

I am Enjoying Read Alouds with the Children

2012-07-13T06:59:00.001-05:00

A mom reading to her children

The children and I finished with our first two read alouds, Willie's First Lessons in Drawing and Number Stories of Long Ago. And you know what? We are hooked! Of course, the children have always like to be read to. So I guess I should say I'm hooked. Because really, the only one who was a bit skeptical of the whole process was me. I like to read to the children but I tire quickly of the books that we get from the library. Particularly since there almost winds up being a favorite that I am asked to read over and over and over again.

But I am finding out that living books are so interesting that they draw you into the story. Even books that are written specifically for young children are still quite amusing to me. At the moment one of the books we are reading is Grammar-Land. It was definitely written for little ones but both my 13 year old and I are finding the book to be very comical.

For the past few days I have been compiling a reading list for our upcoming school year. I know that reading aloud will continue to be a success in our homeschool as long as I utilize the following guidelines for myself.

Pick books that I find interesting.

There is no sense in trying to get through a book that I find boring. After all, I am the one who is doing the reading. There's no way I will be able to read a book with expression or enthusiasm for very long if it doesn't appeal to me. Just saying...

Only read one chapter a day.

This is for the children's sake and for mine. I don't burnout from doing too much reading; and, the children are left hanging waiting for the next chapter. Charlotte Mason explained that this sparks additional interest in our children. If the chapters are too long then I will divide them up over a couple or a few nights. But, I haven't encountered that yet with the few books that we have read so far.

Allow a moderate amount of "on topic" discussion.

I don't mind if the children ask questions as I read or if they add a few relevant comments along the way. If they start saying something that is clearly unrelated to what we are reading then I remind them that we need to stay on topic. Or I might tell them to save what they have to say until we are completely done with our reading time.

Read at certain times a day.

I will definitely need to establish a routine in order to make sure that we get all of our reading in. Right now I am working on establishing reading times before breakfast, before quiet/nap time, and before bed. The Word is always our morning selection. So that leaves room for us to read two living books at a time.

Menu Plan Monday - Week of 07/08/12

2012-07-09T13:36:00.001-05:00

I know that by Jesus' stripes I was healed of all sicknesses. By faith I know I'm healed and I am resisting all diseases knowing that illness has no choice but to flee from me. Today I found a great website all about believing, claiming, and receiving healing. I know that God has done His part and I will continue to do my part by taking care of the body that the Lord has blessed me with.

I had a great week of eating mostly plant based meals. I did have some homemade gluten free pizza at a friend's house on Friday. And on Sunday the children and I ate at the new Popeyes that we had been waiting to open near us. And you know what? I'm fine with that. I enjoyed delicious food with friends and family. But the rest of the week I ate the way that I prefer to eat.

I also exercised last week after not doing so for over a month. I walked a mile to a Leslie Sansone video on YouTube. This week I am moving up to 2 miles. Slow and steady wins the race.

Menu Plan Monday

(Mostly) Plant Based Meals (for breakfast, lunch, or dinner)

Salads with mashed avocado and lemon as dressing
Black bean soup
Guacamole
Black bean burgers
Egg, veggie, and bean scramble
Microwaved sweet potato with nuts and raisins
Crustless vegetable quiche with nutritional yeast (cheese substitute)
Fish and veggies steamed in the microwave
Tuna salad in a corn tortilla

Dinner for the Children - served with vegetables and bread (as needed)

Loaded baked potatoes
Cheese pizza
Hot dogs
Taco bake
Spaghetti
Hamburgers on homemade buns, French fries
My version of chuck wagon chow, where I use ground beef instead of steak and put all of the ingredients in homemade gravy

I have been missing my Honey who is in CA; and, since we have been staying with friends I haven't had much desire or drive to make any bread dough by hand. I've only done it twice in almost 2 months. But I WILL make some this week for the pizza, hamburgers, and sandwiches for lunch. Praise God for a kitchen to bake in regardless of whether it's mine.

HEBuddy Summer Reading Program - 2012

2012-07-06T07:27:00.001-05:00

I found out about HEBubby's Summer Reading program in 2001 when I moved back to San Antonio from Virginia Beach. That year I only had one child participate. But by 2007 that number had grown to 4. And we have participated every year; except, there was that one year when the t-shirts awarded were of HEBuddy dressed as a wizard. The children still did a lot of reading that summer but we skipped sending away for that prize.

With moving from our house almost 2 months ago, my husband going to CA, and us staying with friends waiting to join him, I had completely forgotten about the reading program this year. I must really have a lot on my mind because I usually start talking about summer reading before school is even over with. Thankfully, a few days ago my children spied a stand at the front of HEB that reminded us. So we picked up 3 submission forms and went on our merry way. Sadly, my eldest who is now 13 feels that he is too old to wear an HEBuddy shirt. How did that happen?

We will be completing our reading and have our reading lists mailed in pretty quickly in hopes that we will still be in town when the t-shirts arrrive. In the past, it has never taken more than three weeks for us to receive them.

The San Antonio Public Library system also has a summer reading program each year ending with a big library party. I used to let my eldest participate in those but the themes changed from cute and kid related to magic. I tried to ignore it the first year and let my son do the reading so that he could pick out a free book. But surprise, almost all of the choices were books about magic. Maybe they have since changed their ways, but we decided to just stick with HEB's program.

Learning to Draw with Living Books

2012-07-03T08:50:00.001-05:00

Last week I read the children a book called Willie's First Drawing Lessons: Simple Lines of Nature. I like how book titles were so self explanatory back in the day. It is a small book of approximately 40 pages. But despite it's length (or lack thereof), it is a great living book that teaches children some important basics for drawing.

This is what is stated in the beginning of the book:

This little book has been written chiefly with a view to interest a young child in Form by associating its instruction with familiar objects; but it has further been attempted to render the attainment of the first ideas of drawing more easy, by classifying all lines into two kinds only.

****Random fact**** I have to mention that the book is written by "A. Lady". How cute is that? ****End of random fact****

By the time we finished the book the children knew that basically drawing comes down to straight lines and curved lines. Willie points out these shapes in his everyday surroundings to his mom and dad. The book came out in 1857 so in Willie's day that meant nature, steamboats, Bricklayers, and Milk Maidens - to name a few.

Straight Lines

The above illustration is used when Willie explains to his father the four types of straight lines. The children and I learned that some lines had different names 150 years ago. What we know as vertical lines today were called perpendicular back then. And diagonal lines used to be called oblique. Who knew?

Curved Lines

Willie explains to his father that a curved line "is a line which does not go the shortest way between two points, but sweeps evenly out on one side or the other." Circles are touched on a bit as well.

Angles

Even though angles are really just two straight lines that meet at a point, the book does dedicate a chapter to them. Acute, right, and obtuse angles are illustrated and explained in a way that isn't confusing to little ones.

Short and Sweet

The beautiful illustrations and the quaint story kept the children very interested. Also, I just read one chapter a day before Quiet Time in keeping with Charlotte Mason's belief that short, concise lessons are best to keep the children's attention.

Drawing Lessons

Willie's First Drawing Lessons and Teaching Children to Draw compliment each other. TCTD gives practical application to the concepts that Willie explains.

Menu Plan Monday - Week of July 2

2012-07-01T10:01:00.001-05:00

About a month after I became lax with my eating habits I started having some health challenges. I prayed and asked the Lord what to do. And I was reminded of what I already know is right - eating right and exercise! So, I am returning to cooking with NO: milk, cheese, refined sugar, wheat, red meat, pork, oil, or salt, bleached or white grains and flours.

Easy Breakfasts and Dinners

So this week I actually have 2 menus. One is for the children and the other is my plant strong eating plan. Because of the additional food prep I will keep breakfast and lunch for the children very simple. Breakfast will either consist of hot or cold cereal; or, it will be my easy - yet delicious - eggs, potato and toast. And lunch will be various kinds of sandwiches on homemade bread served with a fruit or quick pizza.

Plant Strong Anytime Meals - served with additional fruit or veggies (if needed)

Microwaved sweet potato with raisins, nuts, and sweet potato spices
Slow cooker beans
Stir Fry - without oil, with tofu
Tuna on a corn tortilla
Mashed bean tacos with nutritional yeast
Salad full of nuts, fruits, and veggies - with mashed avocado and lemon juice or hummus in place of salad dressing
Steamed fish, baked potato
Fruit and veggie smoothies
Homemade granola
Scrambles eggs with veggies and beans (one of my faves)

I have never been big on "breakfast foods" vs. "dinner foods". I will eat whatever strikes my fancy any time of day. So that is why I called these anytime meals. I will eat variations of the foods listed above plus snacks like: air popped popcorn sprinkled with nutritional yeast, raw fruits, and veggies dipped in homemade hummus without oil and without tahini.

Dinner for the Children - served with bread (if needed) and a vegetable

Baked BBQ chicken
Chicken fajitas
Honey BBQ ribs
Pinto beans and rice
Bean and cheese tacos
Homemade cheese pizza
Hotdogs on homemade buns

Free Scripture Songs: ScriptureSongs.net

2012-06-27T13:50:00.001-05:00

The children and I are huge God Rocks fans. We discovered them a couple of years ago on TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network). God Rocks have songs that they call Bible Toons which are NIV scripture set to catchy tunes. I used to record the shows and then we'd listen to them during lunchtime. But we got rid of cable some time ago. So, there went our God Rocks.

I managed to find one of their CD's on Amazon for just a few dollars. But it only has 13 songs on it and the songs are very short. You can purchase the complete set of Bible Toon songs from their website but with the cost and shipping charges from Canada that would have to be a Christmas present for the family.

Of course, for every thing that cost money there is some sort of free equivalent available online. And thankfully I found a great site that has free songs that are scripture set to music. ScriptureSongs.net was a wonderful discovery. The artist who's songs are on this site plays the guitar and sings scriptures in a serene, folksy way. Think of James Taylor singing the Word of God. Amazing!

No Distractions

The songs really are uplifting and very beautiful. And they stay in your mind. I have been humming and singing songs from the first CD off and on all day, and I just discovered the site yesterday. Since it is just a voice and an acoustic guitar, the scripture is what it's all about.

To King James or Not to King James

Sometimes I can not tell for sure what translation he is using. And the artist himself said in his Q&A that he is not tied to one particular translation. If that is not a deal breaker for you then you might want to check out some of the songs. You can listen to the songs individually or you can stream entire CDs. You can also download the music or burn it onto CDs and distribute it freely to bless others.

Scripture Memorization Here We Come

I can definitely see us using these songs as part of our Bible time. This is definitely a beautiful way to meditate on and memorize the Word of God

Living Books for Math - Number Stories of Long Ago

2012-06-26T08:46:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was the first day of a new schedule that I started with the children. It is summer time but we needed a little structure, regardless. Also, I wanted to start doing some reading aloud. And since we have done zero math since our school year officially ended, that seemed like a good place to start.

Admittedly, I was a bit inclined to be skeptical of the concept of children learning math through living books. But I am trusting in the method and giving it a go. I have one child who experienced frustration last year with math, A LOT of it. So, I figured just listening to some fun stories about it will help to get rid of the hard feelings he may have developed regarding arithmetic.

Before bed last night I read the intro and first story in Number Stories of Long Ago. I had skimmed the story beforehand to make sure it was appropriate and was left wondering if it would hold everyone's attention. My two youngest were tired after a long evening of VBS and it showed while I read the story. But the one child that I wanted to benefit from the story the most DID!

A look at the 2nd preface of the book explains why Number Stories was written.

PREFACE NUMBER TWO

FOR THE GROWN-UPS, AND NOT WORTH

READING

The story of our numbers, of the world's attempts

to count, of the many experiments in writing numer-

als, and of the difficulties encountered through the

ages in performing our everyday computations — all

this is so interwoven with the history of humanity

as to have an interest for every thinking person. As

the world has grown, so the work with numbers has

grown; when the world has faced the mysteries of

the universe, numbers have assisted in solving its

problems; when commerce and science have shown

new needs in computation, arithmetic has always been

ready to lend a hand. The history of mathematics is

no small part of the history of civilization.

This being the case, it seems proper to relate at

least some portion of the story of numbers to the

pupils in our schools. It can be made quite as inter-

esting as any other story of civilization, for it touches

upon a subject with which the pupils in our schools

are in daily contact, adding new values to the prob-

lems of arithmetic and giving a new perspective to

the whole study of mathematics.

This book is intended for supplementary reading

in the elementary school. It is written in nontech-

nical language, and the effort has been made to con-

nect with the history enough of the human element

to make it more interesting than any mere recital of

facts. With it there is also joined something of the

history of writing materials, this being connected nat-

urally with the story of our numbers. Chapters I-VIII

can easily be read aloud, and the Question Box at

the end of each chapter can be used as a basis for

conversation or for written work.

The facts stated in the book are as nearly exact as

the circumstances permit. It is not to be expected,

however, that changes in the form of various nu-

merals will be considered. Such changes are of no

moment in a work of this nature and do not con-

tradict the statement that the historical facts are

presented with substantial accuracy.

It is the author's hope that this little series of

human incidents will create a new interest not merely

in the study of arithmetic but in the story of the

development of our civilization.

DAVID EUGENE SMITH, author

(emphasis mine)

Wow, those were high hopes for a book! But because of how engaging the first story is I know that the author accomplished his goals. This is the page that got my son excitedly doing mental math right before bedtime late on a Monday night.

"FIVE!!!!" My son excitedly shouted that out without any prompting right after I read "two twos and one". And this morning he asked me if I would read another story "right now". All I can say to that is thank you Lord!

Easy, Simple, Less is More Homeschool - and I Mean It

2012-06-25T15:58:00.001-05:00

Recently I made two purchases for myself for this upcoming homeschool year that have made a huge impact on me. I bought Sherry Hayes book Homeschool Sanity and I purchased the Easy Homeschooling Library by Lorraine Curry. Spending money on homeschool material is rare for me. I spend a lot of time finding free advice online. But this time I felt that these resources would be helpful and were worth paying for. And I am glad to say that I was not disappointed.

Last year I made a lot of changes in our school more than once during the school year. We changed curriculum and methods midstream on several occasions. We were all over the place with worksheets, notebooking, Charlotte Mason techniques, Ambleside Online, and only God remembers what else. Did I mention that I changed things up several times?

I really was aiming for a smooth homeschool year but obviously that didn't happen. Nothing seemed to be working quite right. I am thankful that I found Sherry Hayes' blog a few weeks ago. She is a huge advocate of using oldie but goodie PD books. And she has figured out how to homeschool 15 children in a simple, yet effective way. That is quite a feat. So, I decided to glean all I could from her, and from Lorraine Curry - another homeschool veteran.

And I just kept being brought back to the same principles.

- Keep God foremost in our homeschool.

- Keep it simple.

- Use classic literature.

- Do nature studies.

- Do a lot of reading (out loud and independently).

I have wrestled with all of these concepts before (not with putting God first but with all the others). I have even given Charlotte Mason a try. Her philosophies line up very closely with these principles. But my public school institutionalized self kept fighting against me. I just couldn't shake the feeling that simple equated to "not enough". But the other part of me really believed that keeping school simple is the right way to go with our family. I believed God didn't intend for school to be so hard.

"Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 11:29-30

Another huge problem that I was having was that I just couldn't figure out how to use public domain texts in our modern day homeschool. I had a very inconsistent approach. But between the two resources I listed above, that is no longer an issue. I feel like I have a good, simple, and viable plan for homeschool for the first time ever. Praise God!

The Plan

So this is what we will using for homeschool next year.

English - McGuffey's Eclectic Readers
Math - Ray's Arithmetic and math manipulatives
Drawing - Drawing with Children by Mona Brookes and Willie's First Drawing Lessons
Science - public domain (PD) children's books about nature and nature studies using Handbook of Nature Study
Penmanship - copywork from the Bible
Social Studies - PD books
Bible Study - reading from the KJV, scripture memorization

On paper that may seem like a lot. But I assure you that I will make sure it's not. I know that Charlotte Mason was right on point when she said that lessons should be kept short. "Less is More" is my new homeschool philosophy.

Changing Education Paradigms

2012-06-13T21:12:00.001-05:00

Here is some thought provoking ideas about how our educational system needs to change. Check out this cool animation that demonstrates Ken Robinson's ideas on changing education paradigms.

4 reasons to keep your home schooled children away from the T.V.

2012-06-05T21:24:00.000-05:00

Here is a guest post by Faige Kobre.

Many parents, I have learned, have a problem limiting the television consumption of their children. It would therefor, seem to be reasonable to believe that parents that home school their children may have an even more difficult time doing so , since the television temptation is in front of their children's noses all day long. If however, you home school your children and you realize how detrimental most T.V. watching is then it will motivate you to keep your children as far away from the T.V. set as possible.

There have been many studies done that have documented the terrible effect television has had on society and children in particular. One of the most shocking things to me was to learn that television programmers don't think of television as existing to inform, entertain and to educate, but that it exists totally to sell and to advertise products. Its purpose is to gather an audience and to create a feeling of hunger and need in us. Is it no wonder then, that children of today are so bored and needy. As a result commercialism is the end result of too much television watching. The more kids watch the more they want to buy.

The second glaring study about too much T.V. watching is how it impairs cognitive development. Kids stay up too late watching shows, don't get enough sleep and cannot concentrate ins school. The TV shows are very quick moving and have overstimulating images and fast paced action. It is very difficult to keep children attention after being subjected to so much of this. Not getting enough sleep and being overstimulated just kills the children's attention levels.

Television also impedes imagination. Kids who watch a lot of television have less imagination as it has been proven to depress creativity and decrease imaginative play. Parents that want to encourage their children's creativity would be best off giving them all kinds of creative crafts that will stimulate their creativity and not suppress it. Even if you don't have a specific educational philosophy like the Reggio Emilia philosophy, nobody wants their children's cognitive levels to be impaired. This probably applies more to parents that home school, than parents of children in public and private schools as they are being home schooled to get the many benefits it brings. Don't ruin the benefits of the home schooling you are giving your children by allowing them to spend too much time in front of the TV.

Today's guest blogger feels strongly that television has very little place in homeschool. In our homeschool the television is off most days of the week. If it pertains to our lessons then we will watch an educational program on Netflix, such as Sid the Science Kid. This past year our entire elementary science curriculum was based around Beakman's World.

So, I am not at all opposed to using the television in a limited way for educational purposes. But I do agree wholeheartedly that constantly plopping the children down in front of the television for hours on end is not beneficial.

Homeschool management tips for new homeschoolers

2012-05-31T21:14:00.000-05:00

Today we have a guest post.

Homeschooling families make their home the center of their life — their base, from which everything is planned, and where they often spend a large part of the day. Educating kids at home changes more than the way we run our households. It affects every area of our lives. In my family, homeschooling goes hand in hand with working from home, for instance. Simply said, that means that we create a terrible mess every day, and that we have a lot of different things to plan to keep everything running smoothly. How?

Time management

Everyone notes that small children thrive on routines, but that doesn't sound very spontaneous, does it? I thought random adventures, starting school after enjoying a lazy breakfast together, and fitting my work-at-home job in there somewhere sounded much nicer. My children did great with a learning-centered but largely unscheduled home, but my work suffered and the house was in a terrible state. After a few months, I rediscovered the wheel and accepted that time management helps immensely.

Try scheduling school for all children and working hours for the parents, as well as shopping, outings, and household duties in advance. Write them all in a diary together (either on the computer or on "old-fashioned" paper), and also give each family member their own planner. Get your kids involved in managing the home as much as possible if you want to free up time. Yes, this is possible! Admittedly, I feel guilty for making my kids clean up after themselves, but I do feel a little better when I think they won't be slobs like me when they grow up :). I find that tidying up after each and every school subject or other project saves time.

Accept you are not superwoman

If you decided to homeschool, you obviously placed your children's education at the top of your priority list. It's fine to move doing laundry and keeping the house immaculately clean to the lower half of that list. One person' can't do everything, and trying to be perfect will just burn you out. Accept that you are doing the best you can, and get a cleaning professional to help with the house if you can afford it. Are you pregnant or homeschooling with a newborn? In that case, cut yourself some additional slack in the household department, and be very content that you can accomplish homeschooling. During pregnancy, you may want to look into some less teacher-intensive curricula (to pull out at least on those days that you feel extremely tired).

Where do you school?

Experiment with doing school in different places in and out of the house for a while. Homeschooling at the kitchen table fits in with the cliche, but does it work best for you? IS it possible to have a dedicated school room, fitted out just the way you need it? Ours has a table where both kids and a parent can sit, a computer desk, and lots of storage space. The biggest advantage of having a school room is that you can limit the school-related mess to one room. In the summer, you may also like to school outdoors. In the winter, try taking one child to a cafe for a hot coco and some math!

Look after yourself, too

Children learn much better with a motivated, energetic teacher. Make sure to claim some time for yourself, to relax and unwind. Whether it's reading a book by yourself, jogging in the park and working on weight loss after pregnancy, or grabbing lunch with a friend and no kids, you definitely deserve to make space for your own needs. In fact, your household probably floats your your sanity, so it is well worth investing in that!

Olivia is a homeschooling mom of two. She blogs about fertility, pregnancy, and beyond at Trying To Conceive.

Fun Ways to Help Your Community

2012-05-29T05:00:00.000-05:00

Today's guest blogger shares some ideas on how to be beneficial in your community. Many of these ideas can be used to teach homeschoolers how to become more involved in the world around them.

If you're looking to make a contribution to your community in a more substantial way there are many avenues you can explore. What makes a community is the people working together to help make your block, neighborhood, city or town worth living in.

Volunteer
If you're new to volunteering you may maintain the antiquated notion that giving back has to be boring. Not true. Depending on your interests you can help your community in ways that also give you joy.

Love animals? Why not help out at a local shelter or walk dogs for senior citizens who are no longer as mobil as they once were?
If you love children you could assist at your local hospital to make sure babies in incubation get human interaction.
Or maybe you have carpentry skills you'd like to put to use – there are many non-profits out there helping families in need by building or repairing their homes at low or no cost.
Don't forget to consider giving the gift of literacy or a second language to those in need.

No matter what you interests there will most likely be numerous ways you can find to help give back.

Support Local Businesses
Yep, one of the best ways to make your town a great place to live is to support independent artists and businesses. Granted, the national chain stores often offer convenience and sometimes lower prices but what do they do to help contribute to the feel of a community? If you take pride in where you live give back by keeping your money circulating locally whenever possible.

Radio Rockstar
Volunteering as a DJ at your local college station is about as much fun you can have while giving back. Many local radio stations have been drastically affected by funding cutbacks and fewer donations from listeners – to help offset costs, many radio hosts work for free.

Love music and want to share it with the community? Contact your local college stations to see if they have any openings. If the station doesn't initially have openings then ask to sign up as a substitute host, as needed. Once you're around long enough there's a better than average bet that you'll soon get your own time slot. Worried because you've never DJ'd before? Don't worry, the station will train you.

Join a Co-Op
If interested in exceptional health food or fitness gear you might want to look into the advantages of joining a co-op. The idea is that you pay a certain manageable amount every month or year, in exchange for deals on quality items. The theory is that you, in essence, own the store where you shop. In addition to feeling invested in the success of the business these types of establishments tend to make more of an effort to hear what their customers have to say.

And you thought making a difference would be painful or boring. The truth is you can often express yourself creatively, use skills that can make a difference and help make your community an even better place to live.

Written by Erin Nolan. Getting money back from a ppi insurance premium? Spend it locally!

5 Ways to Help Your Kids Connect to Their New Neighborhood

2012-05-25T05:00:00.000-05:00

Today's guest post is very timely for our family. We are moving from Texas to California. So we will definitely put a couple of these tips into practice. I am especially looking forward to checking out the libraries in our (soon to be) new town.

Moving to a new neighborhood can be difficult, especially for young children. They are forced to leave their childhood home, their friends and the only neighborhood they have ever known. This transition can be even more difficult for a child that is homeschooled. While most children gain friendships through interactions at school, a homeschooled student has to work twice as hard to find friends in their new neighborhood. If you are the parent of a homeschooled child, here are 5 ways you can help her to connect to her new neighborhood after a move.

Help Her Join a Team

While your son or daughter may not be able to join their school’s basketball or softball team, there are plenty of club teams and just-for-fun leagues that are always accepting new members. Being a part of a sports team is not only a great way to make friends; it will also help your child to stay in shape and learn to work as part of a unit with group of kids. If your child isn’t interested in sports, give the scouts a try. Your child can learn valuable life skills and make new friends at the same time.

Take Walks around the Neighborhood

In some neighborhoods this is easier said than done, but if you are lucky enough to live in a place where you can go for a walk with you child take the opportunity to familiarize yourself with your new surroundings and introduce yourself to as many people as possible. You may find that there are other kids your child’s age living just around the corner. Set up a play date for them to get to know each other better.

Get a Library Card

We often think of the library as a quiet place to read and study. The library is also a great place for your kids to make new friends. Libraries often organize readings, movie nights and other types of get-togethers designed for kids of all-ages. Does your child love Choose Your Own Adventure or G.A. Henty books? The library is a great place for your child to meet kids that are into the same types of books that they are. A shared love of Harry Potter could blossom into a lifelong friendship.

Sign Your Child up for a Class

Just because your child doesn’t attend a traditional school that doesn’t mean that they can’t attend afterschool classes offered in the community. Does your child like to dance, cook or paint? Afterschool classes are a great way for your child to improve a skill while meeting dozens of kids with the same interest. Having trouble picking out a class? Try signing your child up for Spanish, French or Chinese classes. Not only will they be introduced to an extremely helpful new skill, they will also be introduced to a new culture, new foods and new friends.

Make Friends with Your Neighbors

There is no better resource in your new neighborhood than the people who live down the street. Take the time to invite your new neighbors over to a housewarming party or just knock on their doors and say hello. Even if they don’t have children that are your child’s age, they will be able to give you a better idea of where the neighborhood kids like to hang out, what activities they are into and where you can connect with other parents. By building your social network you will not only help your child to make friends, you will make a few new friends yourself.

Author Bio: Kenny Soto is a blogger for MyMove.com. Visit MyMove.com for tips, customizable checklists and hand-picked deals to make moving more rewarding and less stressful.

Considering Home Schooling? Consider These Legal Issues

2012-05-23T05:00:00.000-05:00

It is important to know the laws regarding homeschooling in your state. This guest article gives an overview of some of the issues that may be relevant where you live. Also, one of the best sites to find out the legal ins and outs of educating your children at home is the HSLDA. That's the first place I looked when I found out we were moving to a different state.

An increasing number of parents are, for a wide variety of reasons, thinking about home-schooling their children. The reasons for this include concerns about the quality of education in public schools, inability to afford private school, a desire to teach a curriculum grounded in the family’s religious or philosophical beliefs, and many others.

In all 50 states in the U.S., home schooling is legal. However, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that parents do not have a constitutional right to home school their children. This decision gives the governments of individual states a good deal of authority to regulate the practice of home schooling, including the subjects that are taught in such schools, as they see fit.

And as you might imagine, the nature and scope of these regulations vary widely from state to state.

Wherever you live in the United States, it’s important that you do your research on the laws that apply to home schooling, since the intent of this article is not to provide a comprehensive survey of the laws related to home schooling in all 50 states. However, it will provide some information about the legal issues that come up most frequently when a parent decides to home school their child.

State Regulation of Home School Curriculums

Although all states in the U.S. allow parents to home school their children, they also have a strong interest in ensuring that all children receive a minimum standard of education, whether it’s in public school, a private school, or home school.

For that reason, most states require that certain subjects be taught in all schools, including home schools. They typically include mathematics, reading, writing, science, and history. The requirements differ somewhat from state to state, however. Many education companies, as well as non-profit organizations, produce curriculums in these subjects, designed for parents who are home schooling their children. This allows parents to teach these courses even if they are not experts in all of those subjects, especially when teaching them at lower levels.

Some states require parents who are home schooling their children above a certain class level to have a state teacher’s certificate, or to be licensed tutors.

However, many states do not have this requirement.

This means that either educational or social services authorities may have access to your home, in order to ensure that the home and educational environment are conducive to the child/student receiving a quality education.

Teaching Religious Subjects at Home Schools

One of the most often-cited reasons for choosing to home school is a desire of parents to teach students in accordance with their religious or philosophical views.

In general, the First Amendment right to free exercise of religion gives parents wide-ranging discretion to teach religious subjects in a home school environment. It would be very difficult for a state government to justify allowing home schooling while prohibiting religious instruction in home schools. Any attempt to do so would likely be held unconstitutional by either a state or federal court.

However, as mentioned earlier, state governments can, and do, mandate that certain subjects be taught in the home school setting. Setting up a home school for religious purposes does not create an exception to this rule. While parents may teach whatever religious subjects they like in addition to the required subjects, they cannot replace the required subjects with religious teachings.

Miscellaneous

There are many other rules that may apply to home schooling in your state. It’s important for you to research the relevant laws governing home schooling in your state.

However, there are a few more rules present in most states that can be discussed here. For example, in most states, all courses in home school must be taught in English – with the obvious exception of a foreign language class.

Also, most states require home schools to be in session more or less at the same time as other schools. So, classes have to be taught during the day, 5 days a week. Furthermore, classes must run for a standard school year – usually a minimum of 170-180 days. Again, the specifics vary from state to state.

Finally, it’s important to understand the need to cooperate with state and local authorities that are responsible for regulating home schooling in their jurisdictions. While some of the things home schooling parents may have to submit to, such as making regular reports to the school district, and teaching subjects required by the state, may seem intrusive, these rules exist for a reason.

Like it or not, we live in an interconnected society, where nothing occurs in a vacuum. So whether they’re educated at home or in public schools, your children will eventually grow up to be adults, and, by extension, members of society. The state therefore has an interest in ensuring that as many people as possible enter society (and, almost as importantly, the workforce) with a decent education.

Conclusion

As you can see, the rules affecting home schooling are numerous, and can sometimes get pretty complicated. This article is not a comprehensive guide to the legal issues that you can face as a result of home schooling your children, and if you require detailed information on the subject, you should contact your state’s education authorities, and/or an attorney, either of whom will be able to advise you further.

John Richards writes for the LegalMatch.com Law Blog and LegalMatch.com. This blog post is not intended to serve as legal advice. It is offered for informational purposes only. Only an attorney licensed to practice law in your state is qualified to give you legal advice.

Teaching Your Children Skills for Life

2012-05-18T05:00:00.000-05:00

Homeschooling your child brings with it the opportunity to teach your child the necessary life’s skill in addition to the entire academic lessons that you will be teaching. In fact many of the life skills that you will teach will be far more important and will have a much more long lasting effect that many of the planned out academic lessons deemed necessary. While some of these life skills will be learned through osmosis, many of them need to be stressed in ordered for them to be fully learned and practiced. Many of these skills can be learned while being integrated into your daily lesson plans.

Communication skills

By far one of the key skills you can teach your child is good communication skills. Good communication skills will assist your child in developing self confidence, a good sense of self-worth, and better relationships with you and others. Children are not born as good communicators they need to be taught this skill. In order to teach your child to communicate well with you and others, you need to teach your child to express themselves by actually listening to them and hearing what they have to say. Try to remove all distractions, turn off the TV, shut off the phone and give them your undivided attention. Train your child to look you in the eye and focus on you while they are speaking. Discuss with your child what you just heard, engage them into conversation a show him/her how to explain their thoughts clearly.

Social skills

Proper communication, problem-solving, decision making, self-management, and peer relations abilities are the social skills which allow one to initiate and maintain positive social relationships with others. Children that do not display proper social behavior are very often incapable of maintaining lasting relationships and can also interfere with learning. Many children posses inborn social skills and don’t need help in this area at all. However, especially in a home school setting, where children have very little opportunity to interact with pears, teaching and practicing social skills is of utmost importance in order for them to succeed. There are many tools that can assist you. In fact there are many special needs toys and games available that focus on social interaction and can do so much in the way of promoting social skills in a relaxed and fun atmosphere.

Self Management Skills

Teaching children to manage and be responsible for their actions is a key skill as well. The first step towards teaching children self management skills would be for you as a parent to conduct an assessment of your child. You need to evaluate what your child is capable of doing on their own. Toilet training your child is something that needs to be done, yet before taking the task on, you need to evaluate whether your child is ready and prepared to complete this skill. At every stage there is different self management skills that you can expect your child to master. Once you have prepared your child to be responsible for this task make sure to keep track of whether they complete what they are now supposed to be doing. If they are responsible for making their bed, make sure it done properly and in a timely fashion in order for it to be regularly maintained. A responsible and independent individual will be a successful individual.

There are so many diverse life skills that are of a parent’s responsibility to teach their child. Mastering these skills will go a long way in ensuring your child’s ultimate success which is every parent’s life goal.

Susan Goodman is pediatric therapist and a social media director for funandfunction.com. With her many years of experience with working with children hands-on, she guides customers in purchasing innovative products to further enhance their child’s development.

Teaching Cursive Handwriting: Worksheets I Plan on Using

2012-05-16T05:00:00.000-05:00

Well, before we knew that we were moving my 7 year old had expressed an interest in learning to write in cursive . So, I had starting searching for some effective (and hopefully painless) ways of teaching him.

Teaching Cursive: Worksheets Work

Worksheets are tried and true. So I plan on going that route. I learned Zaner Bloser and that is the style that I taught my oldest. So, why change now? Below are some useful resources that I found.

Cursive Alphabet Chart

Here is a Zaner Bloser alphabet chart. I am strongly considering printing this out and laminating it. That way I can pass it down to my 2 youngest children.

Cursive Practice Sheets

I will definitely print out these cursive handwriting worksheets that have all 26 letters, upper and lowercase, written on various sized lines. And I will turn it into a handwriting notebook.

Cursive Animation

Donna Young cursive animations are a good way to make sure that your children are taught the proper way to form their letters. I must admit that over the years I have adopted a style of handwriting that is partially cursive and partially manuscript. So, the animations serve as a good reminder on the right way to write cursive. Donna Young also offers a plethora of handwriting worksheets as well.

Cursive Writing Generator

If you want to make your own worksheets then make sure to check out my post on making your own handwriting worksheets for free. Two of the sites listed there has cursive handwriting generators.

So far, manuscript writing has not come easy for my son. I am hopeful that cursive will be less stressful now that he's used to the proper way of holding a pencil; and, he has become used to the idea of writing.

I will definitely use Charlotte Mason's advice of assigning a little bit of handwriting at a time. I don't want worksheet after worksheet after worksheet to cause frustration and burnout in my son. I've learned the hard way that isn't the best approach for us. So, we'll take it slow, just concentrating on a a letter a day, or whatever my son is comfortable with.

My daughter is a year younger but she and her brother seem to be in the same "grade". They are on slightly different levels in reading and math. But it is so slight that currently they do all of the same work. So, I'm sure that she will want to take up cursive as well when the new school year begins.