Free Homeschool Activities and Weekly Homeschool Lessons

Free Learning Activities This Week

- Valentine’s Day Crafts: Hearts Quilt, Be-Mine Jewelry, Bumpy Love Bug Sculpture
- Valentine’s Day Coloring Pages
- Valentine’s Day History and Origins
- Plus: Build Paper Skyscrapers
- Learn about Skyscrapers and Tall Structures
- Static Electricity Activities
- Library Activities and the Dewey Decimal System
- Learn about Charles Dickens and his books
- Learn about Submarine Technology, and more free activities!

For Free Activities, click:

www.EverythingHomeschooling.com/Free.aspx

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Black History Month Activity

Read and Research these African-American Women Inventors:

Write brief descriptions about these women. What did they invent or accomplish? Which is most amazing to you? How have they inspired you?

1. Miriam Benjamin
2. Sarah Boone
3. Sarah Goode
4. Lyda D. Newman
5. Judy W. Reed

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This Week's Lessons: Week 20

Language Arts:
- Take the Book Adventure;
- Write and Illustrate a Book, with Activity Lab;
- Play the Educational Language Arts Games on Nouns, Verbs, Grammar, and more;
- Practice the Vocabulary, Spelling, and Reading Skills;
- Read the Featured Book Online, Starting Today!

Social Studies:
- Learn about Black History Month;
- Explore Culture, History, Geography, Government, and Economics;
- Learn about Natural Wonders, World Geography, and more;
- Play the History and Geography Games;
- Choose a Variety of Social Studies Games to Test Your Knowledge Base.

Math:
- Practice Math Skills with Math Magician, Multiplication Bridge, Olympic Challenge, and more;
- Learn from Probability Activities, such as Fish Tank, Coin Toss, Train Race, and more;
- Refresh Fraction Skills with Flowering Fractions, Wise Up, and Who Wants Pizza;
- Enhance Algebra, Geometry, Graphing Skills, and Overall Math Skills;
- Play the Money Games, Fraction Games, and Improve Everyday Math Skills.

Science:
- “Visit” SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, and Discovery Cove online, to Observe and Learn about Animals;
- Try the Activity on Food Chains and Draw Examples of an Ecosystem;
- Learn about the Animal Kingdom, Vertebrates, Invertebrates, and more;
- Explore the “Cells” page to Learn More about Plant Cells, Animal Cells, Mitosis, Meiosis, Cell Biology, and more.
- Learn about Energy, Matter, Light, the Solar System, and more, with This Week’s Science Lessons!

Life Skills, Health, and Safety:
- Get Kids and Teens Cooking with the Featured Kid-Friendly Recipes;
- See Healthy Recipes for Kids and Help Them Understand Nutritional Information;
- Learn about Being a Hero in the Community;
- See How to Develop Good Character;
- Learn about Compassion and How to be More Compassionate.

Art and Music:
- Create Art Online with the Interactive Art Applications and Ideas;
- Use the Interactive Ideas to Replicate Art on Drawing Paper or Canvas;
- Learn How to Read Music through the Basic Instructions;
- Create Music Online and Play the Music Online;
- Duplicate Your Online Musical Compositions on Your Piano, Recorder, Guitar, or Other Musical Instrument.

LEARN All of the Above and MORE! Just click the Grades K-2 Lessons, Grades 3-6 Lessons, Grades 6-9 Lessons, or Grades 9-12 Lessons on our Everything Homeschooling site at:

www.EverythingHomeschooling.com

Happy Homeschooling!

"How Children Learn" – "Love lies at the heart of all true learning"

"Love lies at the heart of all true learning."

I recently reread How Children Learn by John Holt, an early advocate of education reform and learning at home.

The last paragraph, in the last chapter, continues to echo through my mind. It states:

“Gears, twigs, leaves, little children love the world. That is why they are so good at learning about it. For it is love, not tricks and techniques of thought, that lies at the heart of all true learning.”

That bears repeating and digesting: “It is love that lies at the heart of all true learning.” Not tricks, as John Holt pointed out. Not techniques. But love.

"Curiosity grows by what it feeds on."

Earlier in this book, Mr. Holt states:

“People have often said to me, nervously or angrily, that if we let children learn what they want to know, they will become narrow specialists, nutty experts in baseball batting averages and such trivia. Not so.”

He goes on to explain that healthy children, still curious and unafraid, are not boxed in by their learning.

Rather, their learning:

“… leads them out into life in many directions. Each new thing they learn makes them aware of other new things to be learned. Their curiosity grows by what it feeds on. Our task is to keep their curiosity well supplied with food.”

"Keep their curiosity well supplied with good food."

I believe that all of us who have homeschooled our children know exactly what John Holt means. We have seen it with our own eyes, in our own children, in our own homes.

“Keeping their curiosity well supplied with food doesn’t mean feeding them, or telling them what they have to feed themselves. It means putting within their reach the widest possible variety and quantity of good food,” explains Mr. Holt.

When we provide encouragement and guidance, plus an interesting environment filled with a wide variety of topics and ideas to explore – along with the time and flexibility to follow those interests – there’s no stopping a child or the learning that will result. Because “their curiosity grows by what it feeds on. Our task is to keep their curiosity well supplied with good food.”

Happy homeschooling from www.EverythingHomeschooling.com!

Learn about Microscopes, World Geography, Electrifying Facts, Self-Education, and more

This week at www.EverythingHomeschooling.com, learn about:

- Microscopes
- World geography
- Electrifying facts
- Green living
- Self-education
- Famous authors
- Math and literature
- History and literacy
- Science experiments
- Art and music
- Life skills
- And much more!

Start with our Home page at www.EverythingHomeschooling.com.

Happy New Year!

Christmas Activities, Winter Crafts, and More!

Start learning and having fun now with:

* Christmas Lesson Plans
* Christmas Unit Study Ideas
* Christmas Craft Ideas
* Facts about Christmas
* Origins of Christmas
* Facts about Snowflakes
* Making Snowflakes
* Creating 3D Snowflakes
* Making a Snow Globe
* Visiting a Christmas Tree Farm
* Facts about the North Pole and Arctic Circle
* Facts about Polar Bears and Penguins
* Singing 100s of Christmas Carols
* Writing Fun, Winter Crafts, and much more!

Enjoy our Free Winter and Christmas Activities at www.EverythingHomeschooling.com!

Happy homeschooling!

Thanksgiving Activities for Kids

Learn about the "First Thanksgiving" and Thanksgiving traditions this week, in the Free Homeschool Activities at: www.EverythingHomeschooling.com.

Enjoy the Thanksgiving activities, crafts, and games, too.

Have fun with the cooking activities, which help to enhance skills across the curriculum.

At www.EverythingHomeschooling.com, click any of the Monday - Friday links and enjoy the learning!

Happy Thanksgiving to All, from the Editors at EverythingHomeschooling.com.

Weekly Homeschool Lessons: Week 3 Overview

Week 3 at "Everything Homeschooling"

For 36 Weeks of Weekly Lessons for Grades K through 12, visit our Everything Homeschooling website weekly at www.EverythingHomeschooling.com.

Overview of Week 3

* Language Arts:

- Learning about, and discussing, the many different types of literature, drama, and poetry.
- Read the excerpts and examples of the different types of literature and poetry.
- See and read the suggested genres, stories, and books for experiencing more of the different types of literature and drama.
- Act out or perform the plays, comedies, or tragedies, using the suggestions provided for each grade level.
- Become familiar with the list of authors everyone should know.
- Choose books from the Picture Book Database.
- Do worksheets (if desired) on Reading Skills, Vocabulary, Spelling, Grammar, Phonics, Writing, and more.
- Create and write stories or poems, as described on our Daily Writing page.
- Try the fun learning games to enhance vocabulary skills, special skills, critical thinking skills, and more.
- Print the Reading Logs for books you read and use this week in your homeschool.

* Social Studies:

- Researching your community, your city, your state, your world.
- Creating replicas of your community with the fun, hands-on projects provided.
- Use libraries and museums to research the history of buildings and historic homes in your area.
- Use the various activities to practice and enhance map-reading, map-making skills, and creative-thinking skills.
- Use the ideas to create a “Community Journal” and add to the journal throughout the year.
- Browse and print History Worksheets, Crossword Puzzles, and Word Searches on topics such as Famous People, Medieval Times, Pioneer Life, Civil War, World Wars, Presidential Elections, and more.

* Math:

- Focusing on problem-solving techniques and strategies this week.
- View the problem-solving strategies outlines.
- Use the techniques described in the activities to help enhance problem-solving skills.
- Try solving the 30 Math Problems, using the step-by-step instructions.
- Print the Math Problem-Solving worksheets and solve the problems together.
- Try the challenging Brain Boosters to stimulate reasoning and logic skills, and more.
- For worksheets on math skills, choose Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Units of Measure, Fractions, Decimals, Negative & Positive Numbers, Geometry, Algebra, Graphing, and more.

* Science:

- Comparing living and non-living things.
- Cataloging, discussing, and sketching living things.
- Using estimating skills to guess the size of various living things.
- Visit the insect zoo and research insects.
- Using creative-thinking and critical-thinking skills.
- Creating new creatures and imaginative stories about creatures.
- Try the Science Worksheets and Activities on topics such as Animals, Birds, Insects, Reptiles, Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Magnets, Machines, Weather, Seasons, Marine Life, Earth Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and more.

* Life Skills, Health, & Safety:

- Discuss heroes and what being a hero means.
- Visit the heroes/heroines website for researching and writing.
- Read and discuss the heroes in Greek mythology.
- Write about favorite heroes/heroines.
- Use the ideas for enhancing character education.

* Arts & Music:

- See where to learn more about Bach, Vivaldi, Mozart, Brahms, and other amazing composers.
- Play the educational online game based on composers in various periods, such as Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, etc.
- Play the musical online game about Beethoven.
- Have fun making the musical instruments and singing favorite children’s songs.
- Continue with the Art Appreciation Program discussed in Week 2.
- Continue with the Music Appreciation Program discussed in Week 2.

Plus, Free Activities, creative writing, weekly challenges, hands-on projects, unit studies, unschooling ideas, and more at: www.EverythingHomeschooling.com.

Happy homeschooling!

Weekly Homeschool Lessons: Week 2 Overview

Week 2 at "Everything Homeschooling"

For 36 Weeks of Weekly Lessons for Grades K through 12, visit our Everything Homeschooling website weekly at www.EverythingHomeschooling.com.

Overview of Week 2

* Language Arts:

- Make books, using a variety of different, yet easy, methods.
- Reading Comprehension: Read stories together, then help children answer comprehension questions. Use the charts and worksheets described.
- Do worksheets (if desired) on Reading, Vocabulary, Book Reports, Story Maps, Poetry, and more.
- Creating and writing stories and poems.
- Vocabulary games to enhance vocabulary skills, word building, root words, suffixes, prefixes, antonyms, synonyms, spelling, phonics, and more.
- Reading suggestions for practicing Reading Comprehension.
- Reading Logs for printing and recording books read and books used in your homeschool.
- More Language Arts Activities to enjoy and learn from, for reading and writing skills, adverbs, adjectives, mnemonic skills, and more.

* Social Studies:

- Research your family history and learn about genealogy and creating family trees.
- Make a family tree out of real branches!
- Interview family members, grandparents, and other relatives and record family stories.
- Correlate family histories with other historical events and create timelines of events.
- Browse and print History Worksheets, Crossword Puzzles, and Word Searches on topics such as Famous People, Medieval Times, Pioneer Life, Civil War, World Wars, Presidential Elections, and more.

* Math:

- To practice Math Skills, use the Math Worksheets and Activities on Decimals, Estimating, Money, Geometry, Algebra, and more.
- Geometry: Do the fun activities, such as 3-D Drawing and Geometry, Buckyballs, Tessellations, Crystalline Structures, and more.
- Money Concepts: Try over 30 Money Lessons, such as Funny Money, Money Values, Shopping Skills, Banking Skills, Cash & Credit, and more.
- Play the online cashier game to practice money skills.
- Try the money activities, such as Money Word Problems, Money Order Form, Money Unit and Activities, and more.
- Learn more about Consumer Math topics, on understanding Commission, Discounts, Sales Tax, Interest, Unit Prices, and more: Click here and scroll down to “Consumer Math.”
- Read the suggested books on money concepts and skills.
- For worksheets on money and money concepts, choose Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Units of Measure, Fractions, Decimals, Negative & Positive Numbers, Math Challenges, and more.

* Science:

- Science is all about making new discoveries. What new discoveries have been made about our solar system recently?
- What makes a planet, a planet? See the differences in planets, their composition, surface, atmosphere, and other unique characteristics.
- Do the activity on the size of the planets and their distance from the Sun.
- Construct a miniature replica of the solar system, using the example.
- Create a replica of the solar system in a new or different way, using your imagination.
- See how to think like a scientist, exploring and analyzing your ideas and experiments.
- Read the suggested books on scientific-thinking, science experiments, and the scientific method
- Try the Science Worksheets, Science Reports, Crossword Puzzles, and Word Searches on topics such as Animals, Birds, Insects, Reptiles, Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Magnets, Machines, Weather, Seasons, Marine Life.

* Life Skills, Health, & Safety:

- Read about the many benefits of exercise and physical fitness, as well as mental and emotional fitness.
- Discuss the benefits with children and how fitness helps us to handle everyday activities.
- Encourage children to create a Physical Fitness program or routine for the upcoming homeschool year.
- Choose from the exercise ideas, such as Wiffle Tag, Long Rope Skipping, Watermelon Crawl, Upper Body Strength, and other activities.
- Read the suggested books on exercise and physical fitness.

* Arts & Music:

- Begin an Art Appreciation Program to complement your child's interests this year.
- Begin a Music Appreciation Program with the Mozart Music Appreciation Lesson.
- Browse the ideas to best suit your child's art interests.
- With your child, play the suggested online games about arts, music, literature and dance.
- See the art lessons and activities for imaginative artistic ideas.
- Read the suggested books on art and masterpieces.

Plus, Free Activities, creative writing, weekly challenges, hands-on projects, unit studies, unschooling ideas, and more at: www.EverythingHomeschooling.com.

Happy homeschooling!