Whether you decide to continue your homeschooling into the summer or you take a break and follow a traditional school schedule, the time between ending one school year and beginning the next is a great time to stop and take an evaluation of how things are going in your homeschool. There are several components of your homeschooling that you can consider as you hold this evaluation.

Evaluate Curriculum

Is your curriculum working for you? Are your kids doing well with it or are they struggling? Is your curriculum cost effective? Does the curriculum fit with your homeschooling style? With your teaching style? With your children’s learning styles?

It’s easy to fall into the trap of sticking with a curriculum just because you’ve been using it forever or just because a homeschool guru proclaimed it the best. Instead of automatically continuing with your present curriculum, take some time to evaluate how well it’s working.

Look at Outside Classes

It’s also important to look at the outside classes your children might be taking. Do you attend a co-op? Do your high school students take dual enrollment classes? Should your child take an online class?

As students get older and their needs change, different types of outside classes might be appropriate. A co-op that has worked great through the elementary years might not be a good fit for middle or high school students. And even if the family has enjoyed the co-op, it might be time to make a change. Take some time to evaluate the outside classes your using to see if they’re still a good fit.

Consider Schedules

When our schedules are too full, we become burned out much more quickly. So do our kids. Take some time to evaluate your schedule to see if there are areas where you’re doing too much. Is one day of the week particularly hard? Are you finding yourself pushed to even get schoolwork accomplished because you’re out of the house so often?

Even good activities might need to be cut if your schedule is just too full. Sometimes there are so many good things available for our families that we say yes to everything and then struggle with constantly feeling overwhelmed. If your schedule is too full, cut a few things. Then your family will actually be able to enjoy the activities you do keep more.

Check a Scope and Sequence

It’s also good to occasionally evaluate what material you’ve covered already in your homeschool and what you should consider covering in the coming years. This can be especially important if you piece together a curriculum instead of using a boxed curriculum. What history topics have you covered in the past years? What haven’t you covered? Have you taught only one branch of science — biology, chemistry, or physics — and never even introduced the others?

It’s great to cover material that interests you and your children, but it’s also good to cover breadth of different topics, especially if you’re meeting requirements for college entrance testing or high school transcripts. During your homeschool evaluation, consider what topics you’ve covered and what you may still need to plan for.

:: This post originally appeared on Bright Ideas Press. 

The post How to Evaluate Your Homeschool Year appeared first on The Academy at Bright Ideas Press.

Advances in technology have changed the way we educate our children. And I’m so thankful! Online classes provide wonderful benefits for both homeschool parent and student. There are many reasons why homeschoolers are choosing online classes, especially for their high school students.

Online Classes Relieve Stress for the Homeschool Parent

As a homeschool parent, we have many responsibilities. We are often teaching multiple students at different grade levels on top of our household duties. Many of us work part time or volunteer many hours per week at church or in homeschool co-ops. Enrolling our high schoolers in online classes lightens our load by removing from our shoulders the brunt of teaching and grading. As an added benefit, online classes typically have built in record keeping which makes high school transcript creation a breeze.

:: History 4: The Mystery of History, Vol. IV (MOH IV) Wars of Independence to Modern Times with Linda Lacour Hobar

Online Classes are an Opportunity to Learn From an Expert

As students get older, they tend to develop interests in areas where parents do not have a lot of knowledge. Finding an online class in those areas of interest allows your student to learn from an expert in that field. Those experts delight in teaching others about the subject they love. There’s no reason for your own lack of knowledge or experience to stymie your teen’s passion when there are so many ways to learn online. For example, in The Mystery of History Online Classes, students learn from Linda Lacour Hobar, the author of The Mystery of History series.

Online Classes Teach Life Skills

Taking online classes teaches our children responsibility. As homeschool parents we guide our children in their day-to-day lessons. When they take online classes, we are removed from the equation, and they become more responsible for their education. They have to learn to complete their work and submit it in a timely manner or suffer the consequences of not doing so. They are responsible for listening and following the directions without the cushion of mom’s reminders.

:: Physical Science with Chris Leingang

Online Classes Prepare Students For College

Many colleges have started offering a majority of their courses online in an attempt to lower costs, to offer the classes to a larger number of students, and to allow students flexibility in their schedule. Therefore, it is likely that your students will take online courses in college. Having experience with online classes in high school will better prepare students for taking them in college.

Also, homeschool students are used to only having their parents grading their work. Before heading to college it would be greatly beneficial to receive feedback from other teachers. My daughter, who wanted to go into journalism took an online writing course in high school, and the feedback that she received from the instructor was a huge help in preparing for her college writing courses.

:: This post originally appeared on Bright Ideas Press. 

The post 4 Reasons Your High Schooler Should Try an Online Class appeared first on The Academy at Bright Ideas Press.

The Winter Olympics are upon us! I love this opportunity to spend time as a family rooting for our country and cheering on the tremendous efforts of our athletes. Watching the Olympics and paying attention to the personal stories about the athletes offers talking points — we can talk about dedication, perseverance, and overcoming adversity. As the events take place, we will see a variety of responses to both success and defeat. How do the athletes respond to their circumstances? This microcosm of intense success and failure is rich with opportunity to identify moral fortitude.

In addition to lessons of character, the olympics is also full of opportunities to learn about other cultures. Choose a country or two and spend some time studying it. Learn about their food, their dress, and their religion. Follow their wins and losses in the Olympic events. Here are sites to guide you.

Sites to follow the 2018 Winter Olympics

• The International Olympic Committee. This site is full of all the information you might be interested in regarding all Olympic Games, past and present, you’ll also find information about these Olympic Games.
• The PyeongChangThis site is dedicated to the 2018 games. It’s easy to navigate and will help you determine what the sports are, what the events are, and who the winners are.

Free Winter Olympic Printables

Here are some free resources to download to help you track the 2018 Winter Olympics.

1. A world map. This is just one of many maps included in WonderMaps by Bright Ideas Press. By opening the layers panel, you’ll be able to toggle different features on or off. You can choose to include (or remove) the color overlay, physical features, continent names, and bodies of water.
2. Olympic Event Card. Use this to learn about your favorite events. This card includes a space for you to put a picture of the event. Keep track of the medal winners for these events. Use the attached Olympic 2018 Flags printable to cut out flags and place them on it.
3. Olympic 2018 Flags. This printable is designed to go with the Olympic Event Card. Sorted by continent, it’s fun to just look through this list and see who is competing in the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.
4. Olympics 2018 Medals by Country. Use this to keep track of the medal winnings of each country.
5. Country Fact File. This graphic organizer comes from North Star Geography, published by Bright Ideas Press. Use this to guide your research as you dig more deeply into other cultures.

However you choose to take part in the Olympic Games, enjoy the spectacle of nations joining together to celebrate commitment, dedication, and excellence!

The post Free Winter Olympic Printables appeared first on The Academy at Bright Ideas Press.

I’ll be honest. Homeschooling more than one child at different grade levels, using different curricula and materials can get a little hairy at times. It’s all well and good if all of the children can work fairly independently with mom as the overseer. But when kids have questions or need direct teaching on a subject, a homeschool mom can find herself pulled in multiple directions at once.

One way that homeschool moms find help with the stress of teaching multiple children is online classes. We’ve used a variety of online courses over our homeschool years, and I find them beneficial in several ways.

Online classes teach difficult subjects

I will be the first to admit that I am not a genius in every academic subject. Although I was pretty good in school, there were definitely some subjects in which I had more ability than in others. And then there was math.

Math has never been easy for me. I made it through Algebra 1, but beyond that I struggled to keep my grades up so that they wouldn’t affect my otherwise high GPA. So when it came time for my own children to enter high school level math, I knew that I wasn’t their most effective teacher. They’ve primarily used online math classes ever since.

Online classes are a great way to cover those subjects in which you feel less than qualified. There are many great online programs with instruction that can help you teach your children those subjects.

Speech with Jamie Anderson

Online classes hold students accountable

When I was a classroom teacher before becoming a mom, I tried to hold fast to due dates. I taught second grade, so it wasn’t as if I had students turning in research papers or taking final exams. But I did expect them to do the small amount of homework assigned each night (which was usually done with parents’ help anyway). Plus there were consequences for not having work done on time.

As a homeschool teacher, though, I can sometimes become a pushover when I hear pleas like these:

• “Mom, I really meant to finish that essay last night, but you know I didn’t feel good.”
• “I’m not actually ready to take that test today even though you saw that I studied until late last night. Can we just put it off until tomorrow?”
• “I know you said this paper had to be about the Revolutionary War, but I don’t really like that time period, so can I just change and write it about the Civil War instead?”

It’s easier to change due dates or lower expectations instead of causing drama and tears.

When my kids have taken online classes, though, they are required to turn in assignments —on time, according to a schedule, no exceptions. Having them take an online class gives them the opportunity to be accountable to another adult besides me.

Online classes help me multi-task

As mom of four children, I’ve learned to multi-task. But no matter how efficient I am, there are some things I just can’t do at the same time. Teaching two different children two different subjects on two different grade levels is one of them. When I try to do this, everyone — including me — ends up confused and frustrated.

The beauty of online classes is that multiple children can be taking different classes at the same time. We’re only limited by the number of computers we have. I can check on each one and follow up with what they’re doing. And it can all be happening simultaneously, without affecting our sanity.

SAT/ACT Prep with Caryl Veloso

Online classes are more objective

I think that all parents occasionally think a little highly of the abilities and knowledge of their children. Of course, my children are all geniuses, so maybe it’s only me who thinks this way.

But when I stop to be realistic, I know that my children aren’t geniuses. When I grade assignments and tests, I realize that they don’t always fully understand the material they’re learning. I know that they didn’t get those answers quite right. But it is sometimes difficult for me to be objective. Instead I always want to give them the benefit of the doubt, “I know that he wrote the wrong answer for this question, but we’ve been over it so many times, I’m sure he knows the right answer. He was just confused because of the way the question is worded.”

When my kids take online classes, however, and have to submit answers online or submit assignments through email, there is a more objective view of their mastery of the subject. If they answer a question wrong online, it’s wrong. You can argue with the computer. If they turn in an assignment that isn’t well done to the teacher of an online class, they are going to get objective feedback.

Online classes can be a homeschool mom’s best friend. They’ve definitely saved my sanity a number of times. And I’ve found that the kids often enjoy the novelty of a different kind of instruction, instead of only having me to listen to all day. If you’re feeling pulled in too many directions, trying to teach too many kids too many subjects all at one time, try some online classes to change things up. You may find that they make your life a little easier as well.

// This post originally appeared on Bright Ideas Press.

The post Four Ways Online Homeschool Classes Lighten My Load as a Homeschool Mom appeared first on The Academy at Bright Ideas Press.

What made me a timeline flunkie? My inability to commit to a timeline…I am a perfectionist (and I have a type B personality – but that’s a topic for another time).

I’ve tried timeline after timeline. I’ve put them up on my wall. I’ve bought strips to put up on my wall. I’ve made strips to put up on my wall. I’ve spent lots of money on beautiful timeline books. I’ve color-coordinated my timelines so that each different type of person is noted with a different color – scientists were green. Musicians were blue. Historic figures were red.

But what do I do with someone who fell in more than one category? And how do we notate people anyway? Do we put a line from their birth date to their death date? Sadly, I even criticized my daughter for her inability to write in my expensive, purchased timeline book with handwriting that met my standards. I decided not to spend any more money on timeline books if it meant I damaged my children’s self-esteem.

So I started making timelines. This is wonderful! Such flexibility! But this begs another question: How many years on a two page spread? A hundred years? 50 years? 25 years? A decade? Ugh! More decisions!! But through all my trials, here is what I’ve learned:

It really doesn’t matter.

How you make a timeline doesn't matter. Actually doing it is what matters. #homeschool
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What artists were alive during the Civil War? What was happening in China while the Israelites were running from Pharaoh? What battles took place during WWII? How far apart in time were they? Putting together a timeline is also a great review. What? You don’t do your timeline every Friday? Me, either. Some years I just get to it once a month. Or once a semester – and then it’s review. I hold up a timeline figure, give the name and ask my children who can tell me about it. Whoever can tell me about it gets to put it on the timeline.

Now that I’ve given you freedom, you still have decisions to make.

Here are a few ideas for timelines that we have used in our homeschool over the years. This is not a list of what is right or what will necessarily work for you. It’s simply some ideas to get you going.

4 Ideas for Making Timelines

• Sewing board timeline a la The Mystery of History. This works GREAT for us. But with a twist. I turn the sewing board horizontally, so it can be free standing. I give each line a century. This works so well for us – lots of space for what we’re studying, and I don’t have to find somewhere to hang it. I use duct tape to make my lines. I have also used ribbon. Or electrical tape. Or a Sharpie. Use what you have.
• Notebook timeline. When I do this, each student gets their own. Then I have to have/keep track of three sets of timeline figures – one for each student. But they each get to color them in, and that’s a bonus. I have made my own timeline template. With this template, I can make a two page spread fifty years, a hundred years, or a decade. Right now we’re using All American History. I am choosing to make each two page spread fifty years until I get to the 1800’s. Then I think I’ll make each two-page spread a decade.

Check out the laminated timelines and set of Timeline Figures that are compatible with The Mystery of History.

• People timeline. I put people on their death years. I decided that people make more contributions closer to the date of their death than their birth.
• Color-coding timeline. With my older students, if I really want to color code, I’ve learned to keep it simple. Sometimes I have them mat the figure on colored paper. Sometimes I have them take a colored marker and draw a line across the bottom of a figure – red for people, blue for events.

Those are just some thoughts on how I have made it work in my home. Now you can go and make it yours!

The Mystery of History Volume IV Historical Timeline Figures

// This article originally appeared on Bright Ideas Press.

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To properly manage students with grades, let’s start with a biblical worldview of authority. You see, in God’s grand scheme of the universe, there exists hierarchy, order, and a chain of command. He is the righteous loving Father (Eph 4:4-6); we [in Christ] are His beloved adopted heirs (Gal 4:5-7); and our children are our responsibility to lead, train, and teach (Deut 6:6-7). In practical terms, this means that you as the parent have the God-given authority to manage your home, teach your children, and issue academic grades for their education.

While this may seem an obvious point to bring up, let’s acknowledge that the right to homeschool and manage your children’s grades will always be threatened by those who don’t hold to a biblical worldview or don’t agree on the value of home education! So, please hold the right to teach your children close to your heart. Value the right to use grades when and if you desire. Handle the right to manage grades with integrity and in accordance with your state standards. And practice these rights with confidence because your authority comes from God! Now, let’s get a bit more practical.

Consider Age of Child When Grading

To properly measure students with grades, always consider what is age appropriate. For example, there is little need to measure learning via grades with younger students (those K-3rd grade), because parents are so highly involved in the teaching process. Sitting side by side a little one, you know what they’re learning or not learning. What younger students need most is acknowledgement, which can be offered through hugs, praise, and stickers—or whatever reward is needed!

Middle students (those 4th-8th grade) are a different story. Once a child is able to read and write, the parent is usually less involved in the teaching process. For this reason, grades for independent work on a few subjects can be incredibly valuable in determining what students are capable of learning without assistance. Quizzes, tests, and homework grades, written or oral, can tell you what the student really understands, or doesn’t understand and needs more attention. Generally speaking, this age group—in the throes of puberty and self-absorption—still needs praise and acknowledge, but additionally needs pushing in some areas and pulling in others. Grades can be especially useful at this age to leverage hard work from students who are prone to test authority.

Older students (those in high school) come with a new set of issues because most homeschool parents are “required” to count high school credits with grades. (Rare is the family that will be exempt from state requirements.) The path to success with this age group is developing a clear purpose for their education (determining if a student is college bound, heading into the work force, or starting a family); establishing a plan to reach that purpose (learning subjects at home or taking outside classes); and creating accountability (deciding who grades the work, keeps the records, and creates a transcript). With a purpose, a plan, and accountability, you can use a few grades or an abundance of grades to document the fulfillment of credits and measure academic success. Of course this exciting time requires prayer, wisdom, and some letting go as you are ultimately moving your student to the next station in life. (And yes, there will be tears as you let go, but they’re good tears.)

Test grades don’t always reflect true learning. #homeschool
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Last, to properly motivate students with grades, we should first agree that grades might fail us in one of two ways. First, because of stress, learning disabilities, or a lack of test taking skills, quiz and test grades don’t always reflect true learning. There, I said it! High grades or low grades aren’t the end all of home education. A student’s final GPA doesn’t define the worth of that student, or of you! But this doesn’t mean we can’t use grades along the way to help us find problems that need to be solved. It may be that poor grades alert us to anxiety issues, special needs, or the unfortunate reality that we’re not doing our job well. (Spoiler alert! Poor grades in our students may be a reflection of our own shortcomings and we’re the ones in need of help!)

Second, another way grades may fail us is the fact that “good” grades won’t inspire all personality types! Naturally, grades may mean more to highly driven overachievers and less to creative free spirits. (They have other things on their mind.) So, when considering whether or not you will keep a few grades or a lot of grades on your students, please consider their God-given personalities. When grades matter to a student, you know what to do! Keep up with them and do it. When grades don’t seem to matter much, be creative with self-paced courses, pass/fail options, credit for mentoring positions, and work-grade contracts (ie. earn grades based on work and effort rather than final test scores.)

In summary, homeschool families will vary on how, when, and why they keep grades. However, all families can benefit from formulating a philosophy of grading that evolves with the needs of the family. At the right age, the right time, and in proper context, grades can help most of us manage, measure, and motivate our students. So, use them wisely!

The post To Grade or Not to Grade Homeschool Assignments appeared first on The Academy at Bright Ideas Press.

“Allergic to Literature” or “Averse to English” may be labels that loom over your homeschooler’s head, especially where classic literature is concerned. You want to provide a well-rounded literary education, but you can’t seem to break through the “Why do I have to read this? It’s so boring!” phase. As an English teacher, I know some tricks of the trade to change a resistant reader’s tune, and I’d like to share them with you!

4 Steps to Improve Your Homeschooler’s Appreciation and Comprehension of Literature

Get into Context

Before ever peering at a book’s pages, a wealth of information awaits a reader. That information is a work’s context. Let’s break context up into three parts: author, setting, and genre.

• Author – When introducing a work of literature, help your homeschooler grasp that the author intentionally and painstakingly sat down and wrote it. That author has a story of his or her own, and often, it is as fascinating as the work itself. Encourage your homeschooler to do research from a reputable source and answer the following questions:
  • What was the author’s life like?
  • How did he or she become an author?
  • How might personal circumstances have influenced the writing?
  • In what time period did this author live?
  • What were the author’s social, political, religious beliefs and ideologies?
• Setting – Set your homeschooler on a quest to learn about where and when of the novel takes place: Russian Revolution? Tudor Dynasty? Reign of Terror? Industrial Revolution? So many remarkable works of literature involve locations and events that will spark your child’s geographical and historical interests while heightening literary sensibilities.
• Genre – A work is classified as a particular genre, or type, because it contains key attributes. Set your homeschooler on a mission to gather as much information as possible about the genre of the work before reading it. Then, let the literary treasure hunt begin! Recognizing genre distinctions will delight the reader and illuminate the reading.

Make it Relatable

As your homeschooler is reading a new work, look for ways to make connections that relate it his or her interests, personal experiences, and favorite books or characters.

• Interests – What’s your homeschooler’s passion? Tap into it! Sports fan? Relate the plight of a character to a batter who keeps striking out. Budding artist? Highlight an author’s use of figurative language and compare it to an artist’s color palette. Scientist or mathematician? Look at the structure of the work as a formula, equation, or experiment in which a character’s actions combined with environmental forces yield certain results. You get the idea!
• Personal Experiences – What are some life experiences your homeschooler has endured or is still processing? Perhaps a character in the novel is experiencing something similar. What a perfect opportunity to discuss the loss of a loved one, sickness, rejection, joy, disappointment…the list goes on. As a teenager, I had a “lightbulb” moment while reading a required classic novel I was not particularly enjoying. The main character reminded me of a loved one whose actions I was struggling to understand and did not commend. Being allowed to get inside that character’s head helped me see my loved one in a new light and with greater compassion.
• Favorite Books or Characters – What book or character is your homeschooler’s favorite? Is your homeschooler a Lord of the Rings fanatic but can’t stand Chaucer? Use the quest aspect of Lord of the Rings to make a connection with the pilgrimage in The Canterbury Tales. The Bible tells us that there is “nothing new under the sun.” Literature inspires literature and if you try even a little, you will see similarities among a multitude of works, making it quite easy to elevate the comprehension of a new text with analogies of a familiar one. Speaking of the Bible, Biblical imagery is rampant in literature, so making connections to scripture and the life of Christ is simple. In one of my favorite literature lessons, we connected the works of Edgar Allan Poe to the Bible. The students were stunned as they saw the gospel message emerge from such darkness and despair.

Chart it Out

Visual and hands-on learners will love this step and all readers will benefit from it. It helps make the abstraction of literature more tangible and details more memorable.

Thanks to the work of Gustav Freytag, we know that stories can be dissected into five parts:

• Exposition
• Rising Action
• Climax
• Falling Action
• Resolution (Denouement).

Before reading the work, your homeschooler should:

• define the above terms (if not already familiar)
• create a plot chart (see example)

While reading, encourage your homeschooler to:

• use a highlighter to mark passages that seem important to the advancement of the plot
• fill in the plot information on the plot chart in pencil where he or she thinks the events belong; the information can be written in short sentences, key words, or phrases

After reading the work, your homeschooler can:

• go back and rearrange, expound, and complete the information on the plot chart
• get creative; use poster board for a broader surface area and illustrate a scene for each of the five parts

Challenge the Reader

If your homeschooler has completed the previous steps, then it is impossible for him or her to be unaffected by the work. It’s time to journey beyond “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” and challenge the reader to answer some imaginative, out-of- the-box questions:

•  If you were the author of this work, what would you have done differently and why?
• Based on your research, why do you think the author chose to take the story in this direction?
• What if you were the main character…would you have reacted similarly or differently in the circumstances?
• If you changed the work’s setting, how would it be different?

Once those hypothetical doors are open, invite a more introspective look:

• Did this work awaken or stir your emotions?
• Did it help you understand others or yourself in a new way?
• Did the work confirm or challenge your beliefs?
• What do you feel you learned from this work?

Grab a Book and Go!

Great works of literature have the power to excite our imaginations and fill us with wonder while transporting us to worlds and eras we cannot visit in body. Where will your homeschooler
go next? May these four steps help you lead the way!

The post 4 Steps to Improve Your Homeschooler’s Appreciation and Comprehension of Literature appeared first on The Academy at Bright Ideas Press.

So, how do you teach your kids in the kitchen?

Nutrition

(This may be the most obvious and is the most fun for me.)
Learn about carbohydrates, proteins, and fats!

Ask them to plan a healthy meal incorporating all three macronutrients.

Ask them to classify foods into the following groups – complex carbohydrate, simple carbohydrate, complete protein, incomplete protein, saturated fat and omega-3 fats.

Ask them to take a favorite meal and creatively add vegetables to it!

Teach them to read labels and be a food detective. Do a pantry makeover and get rid of foods that contain high fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated oil, and food dyes. Replace them with healthier alternatives during your next shopping trip. Ask them to research and write a paper on why we should not consume those ingredients.

Reading/Foreign language

If your kids are younger and just beginning to read, the kitchen is a great place to start. They can practice reading labels and recipes.
If your child is taking a foreign language, have them only identify foods by their Spanish name (for example) for the day.

Math

Young children can learn about shapes. “An orange is a circle. A slice of bread is a square. A granola bar is a rectangle.”
Fractions – Practice doubling or halving recipes. Then make the recipe! Yum!

Word problems – If you are having a party with 16 friends, how would you cut the brownies in your 8×8 pan so that everyone receives 1 brownie? Would you have any leftover?
Word problems – The recommended serving size of meat is 4 oz. You have invited 22 guests to your Labor Day party. Assuming that the average consumption will be 1 BBQ pork sandwich, how much pork should you purchase?

Botany & Gardening

Grow plants from kitchen scraps. Vegetables like celery, lettuce, bean sprouts, and potatoes can easily be sprouted and planted in your garden or in a pot! One of the easiest ones to do is celery. There are many online tutorials available.

Learn about the parts of the plant. Ask them to write down everything they ate yesterday and ask them to identify which parts of the plant they consumed.

Budgeting

This is a life skill that is crucial to success! Healthy eating does not have to break the bank! Teach them how to meal plan based on what you have in your kitchen, sale ads, in-season produce and the family budget. Allow them to make the meal plan and shop for ingredients.

Along with this, allow them to create meals using ingredients/leftovers already available in your kitchen. Leftovers do not have to be eaten the same way as originally fixed. Did you make chili? Have it as nachos the next day!

Social Studies – Culture

Food is an awesome way to learn about other cultures. Research foods that are common to the culture you are studying. Find recipes and start cooking!

Chemical reactions

Make bread to demonstrate how yeast works.

Make cookies or biscuits to demonstrate how other leavening agents work.

Ferment your own vegetables. Make sure you research the proper technique in order to prevent mold and illness.

Brown avocados and cut-up apples to demonstrate oxidation. Ask them to research and experiment with ways to prevent this oxidation.

Make meringue to demonstrate protein denaturation.

Physical Science

Classify foods and drinks as a solid, liquid or gas. Turn solid foods into liquids and vice versa.

Make popcorn to illustrate that water, when heated, turns into a gas. The inside of a popcorn kernel contains a little bit of water which is what causes into to pop when heated.

Identify the boiling point and freezing point of different liquids.

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These are just the tip of the iceberg when teaching kids in the kitchen. What tips would you share?

The post 8 Ways to Teach Kids in the Kitchen appeared first on The Academy at Bright Ideas Press.