It’s another New Year with New Opportunities for New Interests and New Learning! Take time to enjoy the things that truly interest you this year, as a family and individually. We learn the most when we enjoy what we're doing, regardless of age. So, rather than focusing on the things we "should" be doing, let's focus on the things we "could" be doing!
Here’s a few thoughts to keep in mind as you begin your New Year:
1. “Imagination is more important than knowledge,” said Albert Einstein. He felt that imagination opened up an entire world of possibilities. He believed that imagination was a major factor in scientific research. How do you use your imagination? You can imagine a make-believe world, imagine a new world, imagine a new story, new song, new artwork, new adventures, new ideas. It’s all possible, because you have imagination! Imagine and create new things this year!
2. “Creativity is intelligence having fun,” Albert Einstein said. When you are having fun creating things, you are using your intelligence. Create clay objects, create wire sculptures, create twirling mobiles, create with construction kits, create a building, create a model, create art, create whatever interests you. As a result, you’ll be using your intelligence, creating, learning, and having fun!
3. “The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled,” said Plutarch, a Greek philosopher. By kindling a fire or sparking an idea in your mind, you are filled with excitement, curiosity, new interests, and new learning! When an idea excites or interests you, learning naturally occurs. This is because you are inspired and motivated to learn all you can about it. Be excited and curious, and you'll naturally learn more!
4. “Curiosity is the wick in the candle of learning,” observed writer William Arthur Ward. Imagine this: Without a wick, a candle can’t burn very well. Without curiosity, one can’t learn very well. Find ways to spark your own curiosity by asking questions like: “What if? How? Why? Who? When? Where?” Regardless of the topics you might currently be studying, be curious about them. Ask more questions! Go further! Learn more!
5. “Ask questions and you will gain new knowledge,” many have observed. If the tower you built collapsed, ask why and how you can keep it from collapsing the next time. If the clay sculpture you created didn’t turn out as expected, ask how you might improve it next time. If the story you wrote isn’t as exciting as you’d hoped, ask what characters or situations could liven it up. If this week’s history lesson, or math lesson, or science experiment is confusing or dull, ask what activities could make the lessons more exciting, more real, more fun, more clear. When you ask yourself, or others, you will find answers, every day and every week!
Remember to Explore! Experiment! Imagine! Create! Read! Write! Play! Build! Ask! Seek! Research! Be Curious! Be Innovative! Be Adventurous!
Resolve to make your New Year an exciting one filled with fun, imaginative, creative learning!
Happy homeschooling every week of this New Year!
Tuesday, December 31, 2024
Thursday, October 31, 2024
Hundreds of Fun Creative Writing Ideas
November is “National Novel Writing Month” – but your child doesn’t have to write a novel to enjoy the process of creating a story!
Creative writing activities help children:
* Develop important thinking processes
* Expand inventive and imaginative skills
* Communicate ideas to others
* Convey feelings and emotions
* Organize thoughts and sequencing
* Exercise reasoning and problem-solving skills
* Practice analytical and cognitive skills
* Enjoy learning and retaining knowledge longer
The age of your child is no barrier to creating stories, either. Even if she or he isn’t yet writing, children are still very adept at imagining stories and sharing them with others. You can write down the stories for them, illustrate them together, then create booklets containing their stories.
Reading their stories aloud, re-imagining them, or developing new stories sparked by their previous stories can establish a lifelong love of reading, writing, and creating.
Older children can create stories based on Writing Prompts such as those shared on the sites listed below.
Here, kids will have hundreds of writing ideas to keep them creating over the coming weeks, months, and years! Not to mention the spin-off learning that naturally occurs when children read and write! Enjoy!
* 300 Writing Prompts for Kids (PDF):
https://shakeragalley.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/300-writing-prompts-for-kids-list.pdf
* 300 Fun Writing Prompts for Kids:
https://thinkwritten.com/writing-prompts-for-kids/
* 225 Creative Writing Prompts for Kids:
https://www.prodigygame.com/main-en/blog/writing-prompts-for-kids/
* 140 Creative Writing Prompts for Kids:
https://www.squibler.io/learn/writing/writing-prompts/writing-prompt-for-kids/
* 100 Writing Prompts for Kids:
https://www.3plearning.com/blog/writing-prompts-for-kids/
For More Leaning Activities, see A Year's Worth of Learning Ideas, 500+ Science Experiments; Hands-On Math Activities; 40+ STEM/STEAM Activities; Free Worksheets for Math, Science, Language Arts, Social Studies; Unschooling Activities; and much more here on our blog.
Happy homeschooling!
Creative writing activities help children:
* Develop important thinking processes
* Expand inventive and imaginative skills
* Communicate ideas to others
* Convey feelings and emotions
* Organize thoughts and sequencing
* Exercise reasoning and problem-solving skills
* Practice analytical and cognitive skills
* Enjoy learning and retaining knowledge longer
The age of your child is no barrier to creating stories, either. Even if she or he isn’t yet writing, children are still very adept at imagining stories and sharing them with others. You can write down the stories for them, illustrate them together, then create booklets containing their stories.
Reading their stories aloud, re-imagining them, or developing new stories sparked by their previous stories can establish a lifelong love of reading, writing, and creating.
Older children can create stories based on Writing Prompts such as those shared on the sites listed below.
Here, kids will have hundreds of writing ideas to keep them creating over the coming weeks, months, and years! Not to mention the spin-off learning that naturally occurs when children read and write! Enjoy!
* 300 Writing Prompts for Kids (PDF):
https://shakeragalley.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/300-writing-prompts-for-kids-list.pdf
* 300 Fun Writing Prompts for Kids:
https://thinkwritten.com/writing-prompts-for-kids/
* 225 Creative Writing Prompts for Kids:
https://www.prodigygame.com/main-en/blog/writing-prompts-for-kids/
* 140 Creative Writing Prompts for Kids:
https://www.squibler.io/learn/writing/writing-prompts/writing-prompt-for-kids/
* 100 Writing Prompts for Kids:
https://www.3plearning.com/blog/writing-prompts-for-kids/
For More Leaning Activities, see A Year's Worth of Learning Ideas, 500+ Science Experiments; Hands-On Math Activities; 40+ STEM/STEAM Activities; Free Worksheets for Math, Science, Language Arts, Social Studies; Unschooling Activities; and much more here on our blog.
Happy homeschooling!
Monday, September 30, 2024
31 Learning Ideas + Art Fun
Inktober art fun -- and learning fun -- is here! If you’re not familiar with Inktober, it’s a challenge to improve one’s drawing skills. As the name implies, it’s drawing with ink each day in October, following 31 specific Inktober prompts. (You can quickly find the prompts by entering "Inktober 2024" online.)
You can also create your own Inktober prompts, and find loads of learning ideas through them, too.
If drawing with ink is too messy or intimidating, use whatever medium works for each of your children, be it crayon, pencil, marker, watercolor paint, etc.
Sketching each day is a great way to create a daily art habit that results in fun, joy, and a sense of accomplishment for everyone.
Plus, many educational ideas can be gleaned from the daily drawing prompts, as well.
For instance, Inktober prompts for October 2024 include topics such as Backpack, Discover, Hike, Horizon, Journal, Rhinoceros, Expedition, Scarecrow, Violin, Landmark.
As children sketch these topics, think of the educational ideas that can grow from them!
Here are a several learning ideas:
Using the “Backpack” drawing prompt, what “educational materials” might be inside the Backpack your children sketch? A Math Book? Draw a Math Book along with the Backpack. Then, from this idea, have fun with Math -- such as Online Math Games, or play Math Board Games, or engage in Mental Math Challenges with each other. What other learning ideas might be inside that Backpack?
With the “Discover” Inktober prompt, your children might draw a picture of something new they Discovered recently, thereby sketching and capturing that new knowledge on paper. Or maybe they’d want to draw an illustration of a Discovery made by explorers or inventors. This could lead to a world of learning and perhaps even encourage them to try their own inventions.
The “Hike” drawing prompt could take children anywhere in the world. This could involve educational subjects such as Geography and Social Studies (hiking to different areas, learning about mountains and forests or different cultures). Plus Math and Science skills could be practiced, by using logic to map out the time required for making the Hike, along with math calculations for determining the distance covered in the Hike.
With the “Expedition” prompt, research “Famous Expeditions” or “Historic Expeditions” (see Historical Expeditions). These are full of learning ideas for Social Studies, Geography, History, Science, Math, and more. Or plan the logistics of your own Expedition as field trips or day trips in your area. Then sketch your local Expeditions and discuss how much you learn through these trips.
For drawing prompts like “Rhinoceros” see photos of Rhinos online, read any of the many books about Rhinos, and learn about why some species are endangered. Go on an Expedition or field trip to your local zoo to see the rhinoceros and learn about their habitat, savannas, and grasslands. Make sketches of their environment, too, or sketches of any other animals or areas in the zoo.
Whether using the specific Inktober prompts – or using 31 or more of your own family’s ideas – imagine the numeours ways you can expand learning opportunities, simply based upon the fun, engaging activity of drawing, sketching, and creating!
It’s a form of daily learning that your children will enjoy and always remember! And imagine how much fun and learning your children would have if you created prompts like this for each day of every month!
It’s so enjoyable that I've set up my own Art Studio (see Misty Glow Studio) for embracing art inspiration and experimenting with creativity. Perhaps your children can, too!
Happy homeschooling!
You can also create your own Inktober prompts, and find loads of learning ideas through them, too.
If drawing with ink is too messy or intimidating, use whatever medium works for each of your children, be it crayon, pencil, marker, watercolor paint, etc.
Sketching each day is a great way to create a daily art habit that results in fun, joy, and a sense of accomplishment for everyone.
Plus, many educational ideas can be gleaned from the daily drawing prompts, as well.
For instance, Inktober prompts for October 2024 include topics such as Backpack, Discover, Hike, Horizon, Journal, Rhinoceros, Expedition, Scarecrow, Violin, Landmark.
As children sketch these topics, think of the educational ideas that can grow from them!
Here are a several learning ideas:
Using the “Backpack” drawing prompt, what “educational materials” might be inside the Backpack your children sketch? A Math Book? Draw a Math Book along with the Backpack. Then, from this idea, have fun with Math -- such as Online Math Games, or play Math Board Games, or engage in Mental Math Challenges with each other. What other learning ideas might be inside that Backpack?
With the “Discover” Inktober prompt, your children might draw a picture of something new they Discovered recently, thereby sketching and capturing that new knowledge on paper. Or maybe they’d want to draw an illustration of a Discovery made by explorers or inventors. This could lead to a world of learning and perhaps even encourage them to try their own inventions.
The “Hike” drawing prompt could take children anywhere in the world. This could involve educational subjects such as Geography and Social Studies (hiking to different areas, learning about mountains and forests or different cultures). Plus Math and Science skills could be practiced, by using logic to map out the time required for making the Hike, along with math calculations for determining the distance covered in the Hike.
With the “Expedition” prompt, research “Famous Expeditions” or “Historic Expeditions” (see Historical Expeditions). These are full of learning ideas for Social Studies, Geography, History, Science, Math, and more. Or plan the logistics of your own Expedition as field trips or day trips in your area. Then sketch your local Expeditions and discuss how much you learn through these trips.
For drawing prompts like “Rhinoceros” see photos of Rhinos online, read any of the many books about Rhinos, and learn about why some species are endangered. Go on an Expedition or field trip to your local zoo to see the rhinoceros and learn about their habitat, savannas, and grasslands. Make sketches of their environment, too, or sketches of any other animals or areas in the zoo.
Whether using the specific Inktober prompts – or using 31 or more of your own family’s ideas – imagine the numeours ways you can expand learning opportunities, simply based upon the fun, engaging activity of drawing, sketching, and creating!
It’s a form of daily learning that your children will enjoy and always remember! And imagine how much fun and learning your children would have if you created prompts like this for each day of every month!
It’s so enjoyable that I've set up my own Art Studio (see Misty Glow Studio) for embracing art inspiration and experimenting with creativity. Perhaps your children can, too!
Happy homeschooling!
Tuesday, August 13, 2024
Year’s Worth of Free Learning Ideas + Weekly Lessons and Fun Activities
August is often the beginning of the homeschool year for many families.
If you’re not quite ready or you’re struggling for ideas, this “Free Curriculum Guideline” can provide a year’s worth of educational ideas for the coming weeks and months.
Subjects Areas, Topics, and Sub-Topics are all outlined in an easy-to-view format for each grade level from Kindergarten through Elementary, Middle School, and High School.
For weekly lessons based on the subjects and topics outlined, you and your children can select books from your local public library. The more interesting the books are to your children, the better they’ll learn, too!
Online resources, activities, and experiments are also plentiful for complementing the subjects and topics outlined. The more “hands-on” the activities are, the more your children will enjoy learning. We have hundreds of activities listed here on our blog for weekly learning, too.
The “Curriculum Guideline” is provided by World Book and is titled "Typical Course of Study."
You’ll see all the core subjects areas (Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Science) plus Arts, Technology, and Health and Safety, with topics and sub-topics listed for each subject area on the guidelines. It's a great resource and is available free at this link:
https://www.worldbook.com/typical-course-of-study.aspx
We’ll be providing learning ideas and educational activities once again in the coming weeks. Be sure to check the labels below for Math, Science, Language Arts, Social Studies, Weekly Homeschool Lessons, and more!
Happy Homeschooling!
If you’re not quite ready or you’re struggling for ideas, this “Free Curriculum Guideline” can provide a year’s worth of educational ideas for the coming weeks and months.
Subjects Areas, Topics, and Sub-Topics are all outlined in an easy-to-view format for each grade level from Kindergarten through Elementary, Middle School, and High School.
For weekly lessons based on the subjects and topics outlined, you and your children can select books from your local public library. The more interesting the books are to your children, the better they’ll learn, too!
Online resources, activities, and experiments are also plentiful for complementing the subjects and topics outlined. The more “hands-on” the activities are, the more your children will enjoy learning. We have hundreds of activities listed here on our blog for weekly learning, too.
The “Curriculum Guideline” is provided by World Book and is titled "Typical Course of Study."
You’ll see all the core subjects areas (Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Science) plus Arts, Technology, and Health and Safety, with topics and sub-topics listed for each subject area on the guidelines. It's a great resource and is available free at this link:
https://www.worldbook.com/typical-course-of-study.aspx
We’ll be providing learning ideas and educational activities once again in the coming weeks. Be sure to check the labels below for Math, Science, Language Arts, Social Studies, Weekly Homeschool Lessons, and more!
Happy Homeschooling!
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