Many families tell us that they would love to homeschool their children. But they work full-time jobs and assume it’s impossible. Fear not! You can homeschool your children, even when working full time. I’ll explain how.
Homeschooling is easier for remote workers or work-from-home parents. But if you work away from the home, it can seem more challenging. However, “Weekend Homeschool” and/or “Evening Homeschool” is the answer.
Average daily “time requirements” for “teaching” your child range from 1 hour per day (younger children) to 3 or 4 hours per day (older children or teens). Yet, the older your children are, the more capable they are of directing their own learning, with guidance and input from parents. So it’s not necessary to sit with older kids for 3 or 4 solid hours each day – unless you want to, of course.
One of the simplest ways to homeschool, when working full time, is to discuss lessons or activities with your children in the mornings or evenings. Include an easy-to-follow guideline of what your children are to focus on that day. They can refer to the guideline throughout the day.
On weekends, you can become involved in more hands-on learning activities, science experiments, family field trips, and reviewing any lessons that were challenging or needing extra attention. Allow plenty of freedom and flexibility for engaging in the lessons, topics, and activities during the week.
Other options include the possibility of working 1 or 2 days at home and doing more homeschool projects on those days. Or perhaps you can take your child to work with you a couple days a week. Or have your child’s caretaker oversee the homeschool lessons during the week, then make the most of fun learning activities on weekends.
Always discuss the learning activities or lessons at the end of each day. One of the best times for this is during your evening meal or as you take walks together at the end of the day. Discuss the favorite parts of the day’s activities and what your children learned that day. Ask them what they might have had difficulties with. And ask them what they’d like to learn about tomorrow.
Jot down the activities and lessons in your logbook or on our log sheets (download here: Weekly Planner Log link.)
To start homeschooling this week, take a field trip to your library. Let your children pick out any books that interest them. They’ll be transported to new worlds and learn something new from each book.
Here’s recent books that parents and kids have found interesting and educational:
Younger kids:
1. Backyard Build by Jonathan Litton
2. Book of Questions by Pablo Neruda
3. Copycat by Christy Hale
4. Emile and the Field by Kevin Young
5. Frances in the Country by Liz Garton Scanlon
Older kids:
1. Artificial Intelligence by Dinah Williams
2. Northwind by Gary Paulsen
3. Rover's Story by Jasmine Warga
4. Unstoppable Us by Yuval Noah Harari
5. Wisdom of Trees by Lita Judge
To start homeschooling today, see our previous blog posts, such as:
* Hands-On Math Activities blog post
* 500+ Science Activities post
* Social Studies, History, and Geography
* Weekly Homeschool Activities posts
* Click the Labels, below, or the Labels on previous posts.
Visit us weekly for new learning activities and ideas!
Sign up for our Weekly Newsletter, too! See the Subscribe space at right.
Happy Homeschooling!
Showing posts with label history activities. Show all posts
Showing posts with label history activities. Show all posts
Sunday, July 30, 2023
Friday, February 3, 2023
Fun February Learning Ideas
February is short, but mighty! It’s known for Groundhog Day, Valentine’s Day, Heart Health Awareness, Black History Month, and much more.
Here's dozens of learning ideas, including Science, Math, History, Reading, Creative Writing, Language Arts, Life Skills, Social Skills, Arts and Crafts, Physical Activities, Nutrition, and more!
See the Following Ideas or the February National Day Calendar here: https://nationaldaycalendar.com/february. Then click on any day of the month for fun learning ideas, or browse the following examples.
Some great examples:
February 4 is National Play Outside Day. Play your favorite games together outdoors, or see more great outdoor games here: https://www.parents.com/fun/activities/outdoor/great-outdoor-games. It’s also National Homemade Soup Day, so after a fun day playing outside, make a big pot of homemade soup together!
February 7 is National Periodic Table Day. Research the history of the periodic table and the purpose of the table: https://mocomi.com/periodic-table. Then spend an afternoon doing fun science experiments together.
February 9 is National Pizza Day. Make homemade pizza AND make homemade fractions! Use paper plates, poster board, cardboard, or construction paper to make different types of “pizza” and “toppings.” Then cut the “pizzas” in half, quarters, thirds, sixths, etc., and practice fraction math while enjoying a real, home-cooked pizza.
February 11 is National Inventor’s Day. What new things can your kids invent on this day or this month? Read Inventors Who Changed the World, or Accidental Inventions That Changed Our World, or Amazing Inventions That Changed the World, or many other similar books available at your library.
February 14 is Valentine’s Day. Research the history of Valentine’s Day and Saint Valentine. Then have fun seeing who can make the most unusual valentine, the prettiest one, the tiniest one, the most colorful one, the most intricate one! And write poems to go along with the homemade valentines!
February 17 is National Random Acts of Kindness Day. Discuss what this means, then brainstorm ways of performing acts of kindness for each other, for other family members, friends, acquaintances, and people you meet. How can this change the way you feel? And how might this affect people if you performed acts of kindness every day?
February 20 is Presidents Day. How many presidents have we had? Who was the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth presidents? Who is the current president? See if you can memorize them all! Were any of the presidents from your state?
February 21 is Mardi Gras, which is French for Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday. Research the origins of this day and how people choose to celebrate it. Have fun making Mardi Gras crafts! See ideas here: https://funfamilycrafts.com/category/seasonal-holiday/holidays/mardi-gras.
February 26 is Tell a Fairy Tale Day. Read some popular fairy tales here: https://www.storyberries.com/category/fairy-tales/famous-fairy-tales. Then have kids write or tell fairy tales, using their own imagination.
Black History Month Activities. Try these Black History Month crafts https://www.creativechild.com/articles/view/29-days-of-crafts-for-black-history-month, or view many others online. For Black History books, see https://www.weareteachers.com/black-history-books-for-kids.
Love Your Heart. Brisk walking is one of the best activities to keep your heart strong. Count your daily steps to see if you're getting a minimum of 10,000 steps a day. Together, walk around the block, along park trails, jog or dance through your house, and tally up your steps. Make a chart to track who is getting the most steps daily.
These are just a few fun ideas from the month of February. These cover topics such as Science, Math, History, Reading, Creative Writing, Language Arts, Life Skills, Social Skills, Arts and Crafts, Physical Activities, Nutrition, and more! See the National Day Calendar for more ideas this month: https://nationaldaycalendar.com/february!
Happy homeschooling!
Here's dozens of learning ideas, including Science, Math, History, Reading, Creative Writing, Language Arts, Life Skills, Social Skills, Arts and Crafts, Physical Activities, Nutrition, and more!
See the Following Ideas or the February National Day Calendar here: https://nationaldaycalendar.com/february. Then click on any day of the month for fun learning ideas, or browse the following examples.
Some great examples:
February 4 is National Play Outside Day. Play your favorite games together outdoors, or see more great outdoor games here: https://www.parents.com/fun/activities/outdoor/great-outdoor-games. It’s also National Homemade Soup Day, so after a fun day playing outside, make a big pot of homemade soup together!
February 7 is National Periodic Table Day. Research the history of the periodic table and the purpose of the table: https://mocomi.com/periodic-table. Then spend an afternoon doing fun science experiments together.
February 9 is National Pizza Day. Make homemade pizza AND make homemade fractions! Use paper plates, poster board, cardboard, or construction paper to make different types of “pizza” and “toppings.” Then cut the “pizzas” in half, quarters, thirds, sixths, etc., and practice fraction math while enjoying a real, home-cooked pizza.
February 11 is National Inventor’s Day. What new things can your kids invent on this day or this month? Read Inventors Who Changed the World, or Accidental Inventions That Changed Our World, or Amazing Inventions That Changed the World, or many other similar books available at your library.
February 14 is Valentine’s Day. Research the history of Valentine’s Day and Saint Valentine. Then have fun seeing who can make the most unusual valentine, the prettiest one, the tiniest one, the most colorful one, the most intricate one! And write poems to go along with the homemade valentines!
February 17 is National Random Acts of Kindness Day. Discuss what this means, then brainstorm ways of performing acts of kindness for each other, for other family members, friends, acquaintances, and people you meet. How can this change the way you feel? And how might this affect people if you performed acts of kindness every day?
February 20 is Presidents Day. How many presidents have we had? Who was the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth presidents? Who is the current president? See if you can memorize them all! Were any of the presidents from your state?
February 21 is Mardi Gras, which is French for Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday. Research the origins of this day and how people choose to celebrate it. Have fun making Mardi Gras crafts! See ideas here: https://funfamilycrafts.com/category/seasonal-holiday/holidays/mardi-gras.
February 26 is Tell a Fairy Tale Day. Read some popular fairy tales here: https://www.storyberries.com/category/fairy-tales/famous-fairy-tales. Then have kids write or tell fairy tales, using their own imagination.
Black History Month Activities. Try these Black History Month crafts https://www.creativechild.com/articles/view/29-days-of-crafts-for-black-history-month, or view many others online. For Black History books, see https://www.weareteachers.com/black-history-books-for-kids.
Love Your Heart. Brisk walking is one of the best activities to keep your heart strong. Count your daily steps to see if you're getting a minimum of 10,000 steps a day. Together, walk around the block, along park trails, jog or dance through your house, and tally up your steps. Make a chart to track who is getting the most steps daily.
These are just a few fun ideas from the month of February. These cover topics such as Science, Math, History, Reading, Creative Writing, Language Arts, Life Skills, Social Skills, Arts and Crafts, Physical Activities, Nutrition, and more! See the National Day Calendar for more ideas this month: https://nationaldaycalendar.com/february!
Happy homeschooling!
Thursday, November 17, 2022
Importance of History, Geography, and Social Studies
A Place in Your World
To know where you’re going, you need to know where you’ve been. Children need a sense of their place in the world, starting with their place in the family, their home in the neighborhood, their community’s businesses and stores, the boundaries of their town and their state, and where the neighboring towns, cities, states, and countries lie.
Children will be interested in knowing who started their town and why. Who were the earliest pioneers in their state, and when did their state establish its statehood? Who were the statesmen who worked hard to create the great state that children know as their home state? Who helped establish the United States of America, and where did America’s forefathers come from? Why did the earliest explorers to America leave their countries to travel to a land that was foreign to them? What was life like in the countries that those explorers left? How did life change for them?
As you can see, geography, history, and different cultures and lifestyles all revolve around one another. And they all help to establish a child’s place in this world.
Start with the simplest maps of your child’s neighborhood and broaden into state maps, world maps, and globes to help your child see where he is in this world. You can use storytelling as a way to describe not only his history and his family’s history, but also the history of his town, state, country, and world.
Mapmaking Fun
Children can draw maps, as large as they want, of their backyard, play areas, or the parks they visit. They can label the different spaces and use symbols for trees and paths, playground equipment, picnic tables, buildings, and playhouses. Then mark the routes they often follow, such as the path between the house and play areas, or the trek between the playground and parking lot at your local park.
Broaden their mapmaking skills as your children’s sense of community grows. Have them draw a map of your neighborhood or town, showing your house, the park, the nearby grocery store, gasoline station, the bank, post office, hospital, library, churches, schools, fire and police stations, and other pertinent locations.
Encourage children to decorate and label the maps in creative and colorful ways, then display them on a bulletin board. As they learn about new or different areas in their towns, have them add those locations to their maps.
Use nicely illustrated books about your state to help children learn all it has to offer. Create a basic map of your state and have children mark their town or community on the map. Next, have them locate and label the city that is nearest to their home. Then locate and label the capital of your state.
Now, using interesting books on your state, allow children to select points of interest or places they would like to visit someday, such as a state park, a cave, lake, waterfall, ocean, amusement park, ski resort, raceway, zoo, aquarium, museum, pioneer village, covered bridge, tower, or skyscraper. Have children locate and label those places on your state map. Visit those areas of interest as time and circumstances allow.
When children explore the places they have learned about, their world becomes much more real to them. Do the same with maps of the United States and the world. Although you may not be able to visit all the areas you would like, beautiful travel videos or DVDs can bring distant places right into your home!
Living History
History need not be dull or boring. History was, and is, made by living people, real people, people of the past, and people we may know today. Choose a famous person from the past and be that person. Research him or her; learn what that person was like, what he wore or how she spoke, where the person lived, what life was like when that person was alive, and how the culture or lifestyles differed from others.
Then create that person’s style of clothing from paper or cloth. For instance, if it’s Abraham Lincoln you’re emulating, replicate his stovepipe hat, black jacket, pants, and famous beard. If it’s Sacagawea, make a duplicate of her costume and papoose. Find pictures of famous people by using the Google Images search engine or checking illustrated library books. Then BE that person for a day or a week. Walk in their shoes - or moccasins - for a while!
Historical Biographies
What are some good biographies to read on historical figures? The Who Was Biographies, DK Biographies, and Sterling Biographies cover a wide range of historical figures, such as Davy Crockett, Joan of Arc, Frederick Douglass, Marie Curie, Henry Ford, Albert Einstein, Amelia Earhart, Neil Armstrong, Steve Jobs, and more. Use biographies to learn more about each era’s events and lifestyles.
Crafting History
Bring out the craft box, construction paper, craft sticks, glue, markers, pipe cleaners, and begin crafting history. Help children construct medieval castles, Viking boats, the Mayflower, teepees and longhouses, western frontier buildings and wagons, or the White House.
Use illustrated library books on castles, boats, the Wild West, or the White House as guides for replicating the objects and for learning more about each creation.
Make pipe-cleaner people to inhabit the places your children create, then let the stories from long ago unfold. Hands-on activities always serve to raise a child’s level of awareness and help to embed the learning experiences in his mind for years to come. Whenever possible, incorporate hands-on activities into your daily lessons to help bring history alive for your children!
Happy homeschooling!
To know where you’re going, you need to know where you’ve been. Children need a sense of their place in the world, starting with their place in the family, their home in the neighborhood, their community’s businesses and stores, the boundaries of their town and their state, and where the neighboring towns, cities, states, and countries lie.
Children will be interested in knowing who started their town and why. Who were the earliest pioneers in their state, and when did their state establish its statehood? Who were the statesmen who worked hard to create the great state that children know as their home state? Who helped establish the United States of America, and where did America’s forefathers come from? Why did the earliest explorers to America leave their countries to travel to a land that was foreign to them? What was life like in the countries that those explorers left? How did life change for them?
As you can see, geography, history, and different cultures and lifestyles all revolve around one another. And they all help to establish a child’s place in this world.
Start with the simplest maps of your child’s neighborhood and broaden into state maps, world maps, and globes to help your child see where he is in this world. You can use storytelling as a way to describe not only his history and his family’s history, but also the history of his town, state, country, and world.
Mapmaking Fun
Children can draw maps, as large as they want, of their backyard, play areas, or the parks they visit. They can label the different spaces and use symbols for trees and paths, playground equipment, picnic tables, buildings, and playhouses. Then mark the routes they often follow, such as the path between the house and play areas, or the trek between the playground and parking lot at your local park.
Broaden their mapmaking skills as your children’s sense of community grows. Have them draw a map of your neighborhood or town, showing your house, the park, the nearby grocery store, gasoline station, the bank, post office, hospital, library, churches, schools, fire and police stations, and other pertinent locations.
Encourage children to decorate and label the maps in creative and colorful ways, then display them on a bulletin board. As they learn about new or different areas in their towns, have them add those locations to their maps.
Use nicely illustrated books about your state to help children learn all it has to offer. Create a basic map of your state and have children mark their town or community on the map. Next, have them locate and label the city that is nearest to their home. Then locate and label the capital of your state.
Now, using interesting books on your state, allow children to select points of interest or places they would like to visit someday, such as a state park, a cave, lake, waterfall, ocean, amusement park, ski resort, raceway, zoo, aquarium, museum, pioneer village, covered bridge, tower, or skyscraper. Have children locate and label those places on your state map. Visit those areas of interest as time and circumstances allow.
When children explore the places they have learned about, their world becomes much more real to them. Do the same with maps of the United States and the world. Although you may not be able to visit all the areas you would like, beautiful travel videos or DVDs can bring distant places right into your home!
Living History
History need not be dull or boring. History was, and is, made by living people, real people, people of the past, and people we may know today. Choose a famous person from the past and be that person. Research him or her; learn what that person was like, what he wore or how she spoke, where the person lived, what life was like when that person was alive, and how the culture or lifestyles differed from others.
Then create that person’s style of clothing from paper or cloth. For instance, if it’s Abraham Lincoln you’re emulating, replicate his stovepipe hat, black jacket, pants, and famous beard. If it’s Sacagawea, make a duplicate of her costume and papoose. Find pictures of famous people by using the Google Images search engine or checking illustrated library books. Then BE that person for a day or a week. Walk in their shoes - or moccasins - for a while!
Historical Biographies
What are some good biographies to read on historical figures? The Who Was Biographies, DK Biographies, and Sterling Biographies cover a wide range of historical figures, such as Davy Crockett, Joan of Arc, Frederick Douglass, Marie Curie, Henry Ford, Albert Einstein, Amelia Earhart, Neil Armstrong, Steve Jobs, and more. Use biographies to learn more about each era’s events and lifestyles.
Crafting History
Bring out the craft box, construction paper, craft sticks, glue, markers, pipe cleaners, and begin crafting history. Help children construct medieval castles, Viking boats, the Mayflower, teepees and longhouses, western frontier buildings and wagons, or the White House.
Use illustrated library books on castles, boats, the Wild West, or the White House as guides for replicating the objects and for learning more about each creation.
Make pipe-cleaner people to inhabit the places your children create, then let the stories from long ago unfold. Hands-on activities always serve to raise a child’s level of awareness and help to embed the learning experiences in his mind for years to come. Whenever possible, incorporate hands-on activities into your daily lessons to help bring history alive for your children!
Happy homeschooling!
Thursday, October 13, 2022
Learn Something New Every Day!
Learn something new – every day - with a book!
Hurricane Ian hit Southwest Florida hard at the end of September. For the first 2 weeks of October, thousands of families were without electricity, drinkable water, and many without a roof over their heads. Several schools were damaged, as well, and school was postponed for two or more weeks.
In addition to all the worries parents experienced during and after the hurricane, many also worried about their children falling behind.
Without power in their homes, they had no Internet access, and children couldn’t even connect virtually to schools, courses, or teachers.
Without water in their homes, kitchen science or hands-on experiments weren’t easily doable, nor were many crafts kids might normally do.
Simply surviving each day, and performing basic everyday tasks – without water or electricity – understandably consumed much of the family’s time, energy, and emotional and mental capacity. Caring for families, pets, neighbors, and devastated communities, without basic amenities we are all accustomed to, has been a daily challenge for them.
Several families turned to libraries and books as a way to keep their children learning during that time. For a while, libraries were closed, roads were closed, and gasoline was in short supply, so even trips to the library weren’t always a possibility.
That’s when many families gave their “home libraries” a closer look, finding books they had forgotten about or revisiting favorite books from an “educational perspective.”
Imagine what could be learned from reading and discussing the morals or lessons conveyed in books such as the following.
Then, going further and encouraging children to draw or color favorite scenes from the books, to write or deliver short book reports, and to create or compose their own stories, perhaps imagined or inspired from reading favorite books such as these:
* The Little Engine That Could
* The Ugly Duckling
* The Runaway Bunny
* Velveteen Rabbit
* Where the Wild Things Are
* The Giving Tree
* Town Mouse and Country Mouse
* Grimm’s Fairy Tales
* Aesop’s Fables
* Magic Treehouse
* The Incredible Journey
* Black Beauty
* Sounder
* Little House in the Big Woods
* Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
* Treasure Island
* Hatchet
* My Side of the Mountain
* Robinson Crusoe
* Swiss Family Robinson
* Wrinkle in Time
* Phantom Tollbooth
* Diary of Anne Frank
* To Kill a Mockingbird
These are just a few of the books that might be on the shelves of your home library. And they are full of wisdom, insight, and learning for any age.
Books can provide not only an escape from daily challenges during a hurricane - or any other time - but also offer reading enjoyment as they provide glimpses into another time or place.
Books such as these can touch on historic events, social events, survival strategies, and ways that children and families can overcome challenging circumstances or worries, no matter how big or small.
When you might grow concerned that your children are “falling behind” or “not learning enough,” just reach for a book. Something new is learned every time a book is opened!
Happy homeschooling!
Hurricane Ian hit Southwest Florida hard at the end of September. For the first 2 weeks of October, thousands of families were without electricity, drinkable water, and many without a roof over their heads. Several schools were damaged, as well, and school was postponed for two or more weeks.
In addition to all the worries parents experienced during and after the hurricane, many also worried about their children falling behind.
Without power in their homes, they had no Internet access, and children couldn’t even connect virtually to schools, courses, or teachers.
Without water in their homes, kitchen science or hands-on experiments weren’t easily doable, nor were many crafts kids might normally do.
Simply surviving each day, and performing basic everyday tasks – without water or electricity – understandably consumed much of the family’s time, energy, and emotional and mental capacity. Caring for families, pets, neighbors, and devastated communities, without basic amenities we are all accustomed to, has been a daily challenge for them.
Several families turned to libraries and books as a way to keep their children learning during that time. For a while, libraries were closed, roads were closed, and gasoline was in short supply, so even trips to the library weren’t always a possibility.
That’s when many families gave their “home libraries” a closer look, finding books they had forgotten about or revisiting favorite books from an “educational perspective.”
Imagine what could be learned from reading and discussing the morals or lessons conveyed in books such as the following.
Then, going further and encouraging children to draw or color favorite scenes from the books, to write or deliver short book reports, and to create or compose their own stories, perhaps imagined or inspired from reading favorite books such as these:
* The Little Engine That Could
* The Ugly Duckling
* The Runaway Bunny
* Velveteen Rabbit
* Where the Wild Things Are
* The Giving Tree
* Town Mouse and Country Mouse
* Grimm’s Fairy Tales
* Aesop’s Fables
* Magic Treehouse
* The Incredible Journey
* Black Beauty
* Sounder
* Little House in the Big Woods
* Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
* Treasure Island
* Hatchet
* My Side of the Mountain
* Robinson Crusoe
* Swiss Family Robinson
* Wrinkle in Time
* Phantom Tollbooth
* Diary of Anne Frank
* To Kill a Mockingbird
These are just a few of the books that might be on the shelves of your home library. And they are full of wisdom, insight, and learning for any age.
Books can provide not only an escape from daily challenges during a hurricane - or any other time - but also offer reading enjoyment as they provide glimpses into another time or place.
Books such as these can touch on historic events, social events, survival strategies, and ways that children and families can overcome challenging circumstances or worries, no matter how big or small.
When you might grow concerned that your children are “falling behind” or “not learning enough,” just reach for a book. Something new is learned every time a book is opened!
Happy homeschooling!
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Learn about Women in History for Women's History Month
March Is Women's History Month -- Create a Collage or Timeline of Famous Women in History!
You can use the lists of Famous Women on our "Free Activities" page to choose from hundreds of Women in History.
Learn about these women, plus the historic events surrounding them.
View Exhibits and Collections of Photos and Documents for Women's History Month.
Print the Activity Pages on Famous Women in History, too.
Take the activities a bit further and branch out into other areas of history and famous events. This extends the learning and allows your children to follow their own interests, as well.
For more Homeschool Activities, see our Home page at EverythingHomeschooling.com and have fun learning!
Happy homeschooling!
You can use the lists of Famous Women on our "Free Activities" page to choose from hundreds of Women in History.
Learn about these women, plus the historic events surrounding them.
View Exhibits and Collections of Photos and Documents for Women's History Month.
Print the Activity Pages on Famous Women in History, too.
Take the activities a bit further and branch out into other areas of history and famous events. This extends the learning and allows your children to follow their own interests, as well.
For more Homeschool Activities, see our Home page at EverythingHomeschooling.com and have fun learning!
Happy homeschooling!
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