5 Secrets for a Fun, Educational Homeschool Week

Here's 5 Secrets a Homeschool Family shared with us:

5 Subjects – 5 Days. Or one subject per day.

This homeschool family shared "5 Secrets" about their interesting homeschool schedule. A typical homeschool day for them revolves around one subject per day (or five subjects per week).

And best of all, their schedule is flexible, depending on how they’re feeling each week.

Here’s an example from one of their recent weeks:

1. Monday - Language Arts / Literature: Selecting favorite books to read and using them to recognize nouns, verbs, and all parts of speech. Then creating and writing sentences, paragraphs, and their own stories, while focusing on using descriptive parts of speech, new vocabulary words, and proper spelling.

2. Tuesday – Science / Experiments: Using the Scientific Method to test ideas or hypotheses when contemplating a variety of experiments. The experiments they choose can last the entire day, from morning till night, and Mom said Science Day is their favorite day of the week. The kids eagerly record their ideas, experiments, predictions, test methods, and results in their Science Journals at the end of Science Day, too.

3. Wednesday – Social Studies / History: Currently they’re reading the “Who Was?” series of historical biographies, which include over 200 books, such as Who Was Ferdinand Magellan?, Who Was Sacagawea?, Who Was Albert Einstein?, Who Was Amelia Earhart?, Thomas Edison, Ben Franklin, Mark Twain, Martin Luther King, Maria Tallchief, John Kennedy, Louis Armstrong, The Beatles, etc. The kids are enjoying the format, and the topics cross over into Literature, Science, the Arts, as well as providing social issues to discuss and their impact on today’s culture.

4. Thursday – Math / Technology: Since Math Day lasts all day, they sometimes start with reviewing math facts, such as using Multiplication and Division Flash Cards and timing the kids on how quickly they can get the answers. Then they move on to Math Games, such as Swat, Splat, or Math Bingo. They might also use manipulatives or toys such as Math Fidget Toys, Tubo toy, or Montessori-type math items to practice Math skills. Soon they’re creating with Marble Run sets, Mazes, Lego blocks, Construction sets, Bridge-Building kits, etc. These use mathematical planning, reasoning skills, logic, creative thinking, and critical thinking skills. At some point during the day, they’ll do some math worksheets, which usually focus on solving word problems.

5. Friday – Cultural Arts / Music: This is another favorite day for the kids, according to Mom. The kids get to choose the types of art, craft, and music activities they want to do on Fridays. Mom also said she found it interesting that if the kids read a historical biography such as Who Were the Beatles?, they were interested in playing Beatles music that week. Or if they read Who Was Pablo Picasso?, the kids were engrossed in creating their own versions of Picasso art.

Although each of the days above has a designated subject, this family finds that topics and subject areas often overlap.

So even if Monday is Literature Day, they could find themselves thinking about Math if they’re reading The Phantom Tollbooth, or Science and Time Travel if reading A Wrinkle in Time.

Or if Wednesday is History Day, they could be covering Geography or Science or Math or Art or Music, depending on the type of Historical Biographies they’re reading.

Also, there’s flexibility in this family’s schedule. If they don’t “feel like” Social Studies on Wednesday or Math on Thursday, they’ll switch things up.

Or if Mom realizes the kids are getting overwhelmed by too much Math one day, they’ll switch to doing something else, even if it’s unrelated to Math.

Maybe they’ll take a field trip to a local museum or library, or go on a picnic and a nature hike, or bake or cook favorite recipes, or bring out tubs of craft items and create something off the top of their heads. They often find that Math works its way into whatever they’re doing, anyway.

Overall, they’ve found this homeschool schedule fun, interesting, educational, flexible, and a great way to provide a well-rounded pool of knowledge and learning activities. It’s something your family might enjoy experimenting with, too.

Click any of the Labels below for more ideas for all subjects areas.

Happy homeschooling!

September Learning Ideas

September has 30 days, and that’s 30 new things to learn about this month.

Here’s some tips and ideas to get you started:

* Fall begins this month – find out when and why.

* Track the time of sunrises and sunsets this September. Compare the differences between the times in early September and the times in late September. How does this affect your daily activities?

* Record the high and low temperatures in early September and in late September. How much do they vary? Why might it be cooler in late September, compared to early September?

* Start creating fall crafts on the 1st day of September and continue each day of the month. By the end of the month, you’ll have armloads of decorations to make your room and your home “fall festive” and “fall welcoming.”

* National Hummingbird Day occurs in September. Provide extra nectar for them, or make sugar-water. That will give them energy for their flight south in a few weeks. Where do they go each fall? Research this and create a report on hummingbirds, complete with maps and illustrations.

* National Wildlife Day is September 4. Read books on wildlife, such as Rewilding: Bringing Wildlife Back Where It Belongs; Wildlife Ranger Action Guide; Animal Habitats; Homes in the Wild; and similar books to enjoy and discuss.

* Cheese Pizza Day is September 5. Make your own cheese pizza – and add any toppings you like!

* Read-a-Book Day is September 6. Start a reading log and try to read a book a day. At the end of this year, add up the total number of books you’ve read!

* Share Your Care Day is September 9. Do you remember Care Bears, or do you still have one? You don’t need one, though, to show you care about someone. Think of all the ways you can show others you care about them.

* National Grandparents Day is September 10. This is an excellent day to show your grandparents how much you care about them, too!

* Ants on a Log Day is September 12. Have you ever made Ants on a Log? If not, this is the day to do it! See how creative you can be, making delicious treats like this. Or create new treats and give them a new name.

* Kids Take Over the Kitchen Day is September 13. See recipes for kids at this link (https://cookingwithkids.org/recipes/) or check out some library books on kid cooks, such as Kids Can Cook Anything; The Big, Fun Kids Cookbook; The Recipe-a-Day Kids Cookbook; and others.

* National Parents Day Off is September 14. When kids take over the kitchen on the 13th, have them prepare a meal for the 14th, when parents “have the day off.” Since this day is also National Live Creative Day, have kids plan creative learning activities for today, the 14th, while parents take the day off!

* As Fall approaches, paint or sketch the trees and scenery outside your window. Then, in a few weeks, paint or sketch the same scene again. Have the leaves begun to change colors? Why is this? Paint the scene again in October or December. How is it different, and why?

* Take a September Field Trip to your local library and see the books they’ve displayed there this month. Try books, such as Heroes: September 11, 2001; Goodbye, Summer, Hello, Autumn; Apple Pies and Hayrides; Why Do Leaves Change Colors; and more.

See the September calendar here for more ideas this month:
https://nationaldaycalendar.com/september/

For more September activities, see these:
https://www.whereimaginationgrows.com/kids-activities-for-september/

You’ll see ideas for working parents, families, stepfamilies, pets, dogs, autumn equinox, fall crafts, gymnastics, outdoor activities, pirates, hobbits, creating diaries, creating comic books, magic, apples, orchards, apple math, apple drop, fall foliage, fall tree art, fall wreaths, and more!

Turn the ideas into fun learning adventures!

Happy homeschooling!