An earlier, fun lesson focused on having your child ask: “Where in the world am I?” (See the previous post from August 1.)
Those Educational Activities covered Social Studies, Geography, Community, Map-Making, Math Skills, Reading, Writing, Researching, Creative Thinking, Critical Thinking, Spatial Thinking, Reasoning Skills, Computer Skills, Arts and Crafts, Music, and more.
Now have your children ask: “Who in the world am I?” Remembering who we are and our place in the world is important for each of us, at any age!
Discuss Children's Sense of Self and who they are. Maybe they’re an only child, or one of many. What’s their place in the family: oldest child, youngest child, middle child, and how do they feel about that?
Family Tree activity: Create or draw a unique Family Tree or print one from a source such as: Family Trees to Print. Have kids list their brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents, and even aunts, uncles, and cousins if they’d like.
Genealogy activity: To learn more about Family History, try creating a Family Record and Migration Maps, showing where one’s ancestors originated from or traveled from. Record details about ancestors in the Family Record or Create a Scrapbook showing your family’s history. For Family Records or Migration Maps, see these Genealogy Printables: Family Records to Print.
Family Interviews: Encourage your children to contact relatives and ask them questions about their experiences as kids, where they lived, how they lived, what they did as kids in the summer and winter, and how life has changed for them over the years. As parents, share details about your own youth, too.
Write this information in a Family History Notebook, or add the details in a Scrapbook or Family Record.
Do the Math: Use Math Skills to calculate each family member’s current age, based on their birth dates or birth year. Determine the year that a grandparent was 8 years old and riding a bike to the store. Or the year a great-grandparent moved across the country when he or she was 12 years old. Have your own children determine how old they were when they learned to ride a bike, or moved to a new location, or learned to play an instrument, or started a new hobby. Put this information in the Family History Records, too!
Hobbies: Children can think about their hobbies or special interests, and write about them in their notebook or journal. Which hobbies or activities have they enjoyed the most? Why? What new hobbies or activities would your children like to try next? Help them take the next steps to pursue their current interests.
Personality and Character: Why are hobbies and special interests important to us? It’s part of Who We Are. It’s part of our Character, our Personality, our Human Nature. Who Am I? I am someone who likes to ________ (fill in the blank!). Then go for it! Be true to your nature and follow your dreams!
Self-Description: Describe yourself, through writing, video, or audio recordings. Describe your Personality: your daily disposition, your happiness, your eagerness, your struggles or challenges, and how you feel about that. Describe your Character: your unique traits, your thoughts, your behaviors, your actions, and why you feel the way you do.
Self-Esteem and Self-Confidence: Think about what makes you feel good about yourself. Maybe it’s being good in math, reading, writing, art, or music. Maybe it’s being good at basketball or swimming. Maybe it’s organizing your collections, or building things, or science projects, or creating new ideas. Maybe it’s helping your sister or brother, or helping your parents. Every day, there’s things you can do that make you proud of yourself. These things increase your self-confidence, your self-esteem, your self-worth, your self-joy! Do these things as often as possible!
Self-Improvement: We all have room for self-improvement! If there’s things your child wants to get better at, remind them that they can “Try, Try Again!” Some say that if you really want to get better at something, do it every day – maybe 15 minutes a day, maybe an hour a day, maybe 2 hours a day, or even more. Depending on how badly your child wants to improve, help them set a daily practice schedule that works for them.
Self-Responsibility: What’s your child’s sense of responsibility to his or her self? Taking care of toys, books, collectibles, and art supplies might top the list for many kids. Brushing teeth, bathing, grooming, etc., are also at the top of the list. Keeping their room neat and organized can be a responsibility. They can also help with their laundry, sorting and putting away clothes. Having age-appropriate chores and accomplishing them can be part of their responsibilities. Having age-appropriate rules and following the rules is a responsibility. Being a responsible and helpful person is always part of Who We Are.
Art Projects: Create a diorama of your home, as simple or complex as your child would like. Have your child create paper figures of each member of your family, as basic or detailed as they like. Then place the figures in various rooms of the house, where the family can interact with each other. Place the family members’ names on the figures, label the rooms of the house, describe the events occurring in the diorama, and display it on a shelf. Have the diorama “tell a story” of your child’s life today. In a few weeks or months, make another diorama, depicting your child’s story at that point in their life. Have your child think about “Who I Am Today” compared with “Who I Was Yesterday.”
Games to Play: Family History Bingo, Family Tree Connection, The Genealogy Game, Ancestree Game, Pando Family History, The Family History Ball, Family Trivia, and even The Oregon Trail.
Books to Read: Who I Am; I Like Myself; Self-Confidence Building Book; I Am, I Can Affirmations; Unplug: 365 Fun Family-Friendly Activities for Kids; I Can Do It; Steam Kids Projects; Hobby Time Adventure Journal; Family Tree Activity Book; and more.
Lessons learned and skills sharpened: History, Social Studies, Math, Reading, Writing, Science, Critical Thinking, Creative Thinking, Arts and Crafts, Research Skills, Scrapbooking, Journaling, Hobbies, and more. Jot down these lessons and activities in your lesson logbook or on our log sheets (available here: Weekly Planner Log link.)
Happy Homeschooling!
Thursday, August 4, 2022
Monday, August 1, 2022
Weekly Homeschool Lessons, Learning Activities, Where I Am
Some “school years” begin in August (which seems too early!), but we at Everything Homeschooling will begin providing homeschool activities and homeschool lessons this month, too.
To ease into your homeschool year, here are some learning ideas and activities, which will be fun and educational for your children this week. See the end of this post for ways to document homeschool activities each week.
Week 1:
Have your children ask: “Where in the world am I?”
Then think about that. Maybe their answers will include: Home. With my family. In a town or city. In the country. On a farm.
Then ask your children: What’s the name of your town, city, or neighborhood? What’s your address? Write this down.
How far do you live from the grocery store, the dollar store or convenience store, library, park, zoo, gym, museum, recreation center, and other special places?
Draw a map of your area and label these places on your map. Mark the location of your home on the map, too, along with your address.
Do the math: Determine how far each of these places are from your home. Use Google Maps to measure the distance and calculate the time it takes to travel there by car or by walking or biking. Or, track the distance and time it takes the next time you visit those places.
Write these details on your map or keep them in a notebook.
Print maps of the world, the United States, regional maps, state maps, and more here: Maps to Print link.
Label the maps, noting your location in the world, in the United States, and in your state.
Learn more about map making and reading maps, research different types of maps, view aerial or satellite maps, street maps, terrain or topography maps, and more.
Arts and Crafts Activities: Make your own map by cutting out colorful shapes to match states or provinces. Cut out an outline of your country from cardboard, then glue your states in place. Be creative, and use whatever colorful materials or supplies you have to make your map unique and decorative!
Music and Songs: On the Map Song; Geography Songs; 50 States Songs; 7 Continents Songs; and more.
Books to Read: Me on the Map; Where on Earth?; Beginner’s World Atlas; Fun with 50 States; Maps & Geography; Geography: A Visual Encyclopedia; Draw the USA; Draw the World; Geography Activity Books; and many more at your library or online.
Games to Play: World Game Board Game; Race Across the USA; Great States; Ticket to Ride; Map of the World Puzzles; United States Puzzles; and more.
Lessons learned and skills honed: Reading, Writing, Social Studies, Community, Geography, Creative Thinking, Critical Thinking, Math Skills, Map Drawing, Spatial Thinking, Computer Skills, Technology, Reasoning Skills, Arts and Crafts, Music, and more. Jot down these lessons and activities in your lesson logbook or on our log sheets (available here: Weekly Planner Log link.)
Happy Homeschooling!
To ease into your homeschool year, here are some learning ideas and activities, which will be fun and educational for your children this week. See the end of this post for ways to document homeschool activities each week.
Week 1:
Have your children ask: “Where in the world am I?”
Then think about that. Maybe their answers will include: Home. With my family. In a town or city. In the country. On a farm.
Then ask your children: What’s the name of your town, city, or neighborhood? What’s your address? Write this down.
How far do you live from the grocery store, the dollar store or convenience store, library, park, zoo, gym, museum, recreation center, and other special places?
Draw a map of your area and label these places on your map. Mark the location of your home on the map, too, along with your address.
Do the math: Determine how far each of these places are from your home. Use Google Maps to measure the distance and calculate the time it takes to travel there by car or by walking or biking. Or, track the distance and time it takes the next time you visit those places.
Write these details on your map or keep them in a notebook.
Print maps of the world, the United States, regional maps, state maps, and more here: Maps to Print link.
Label the maps, noting your location in the world, in the United States, and in your state.
Learn more about map making and reading maps, research different types of maps, view aerial or satellite maps, street maps, terrain or topography maps, and more.
Arts and Crafts Activities: Make your own map by cutting out colorful shapes to match states or provinces. Cut out an outline of your country from cardboard, then glue your states in place. Be creative, and use whatever colorful materials or supplies you have to make your map unique and decorative!
Music and Songs: On the Map Song; Geography Songs; 50 States Songs; 7 Continents Songs; and more.
Books to Read: Me on the Map; Where on Earth?; Beginner’s World Atlas; Fun with 50 States; Maps & Geography; Geography: A Visual Encyclopedia; Draw the USA; Draw the World; Geography Activity Books; and many more at your library or online.
Games to Play: World Game Board Game; Race Across the USA; Great States; Ticket to Ride; Map of the World Puzzles; United States Puzzles; and more.
Lessons learned and skills honed: Reading, Writing, Social Studies, Community, Geography, Creative Thinking, Critical Thinking, Math Skills, Map Drawing, Spatial Thinking, Computer Skills, Technology, Reasoning Skills, Arts and Crafts, Music, and more. Jot down these lessons and activities in your lesson logbook or on our log sheets (available here: Weekly Planner Log link.)
Happy Homeschooling!
Monday, July 25, 2022
Start Homeschooling, Educational Goals, Curriculum, Unschooling, + Homeschool Forms
Today's post covers How to Start Homeschooling, plus Educational Goals, Homeschool Curriculum, Lesson Plans, Unschooling, and Homeschool Forms.
As you prepare for the upcoming homeschool year, revisit – or create – a list of your educational goals for your children. If you didn’t reach all your homeschool goals last year, simply move them to this year’s list of goals.
Educational goals for your child might include:
* Developing a love of learning
* Enhancing curiosity in special interests or topics
* Finding joy in daily activities or hobbies
* Managing time and responsibilities better
* Volunteering in the community
Educational objectives and outcomes could include:
* Reading classic literature or books by favorite authors
* Trying more advanced science experiments and recording results
* Applying mental math skills or logic for solving problems
* Researching famous people or current events
* Focusing on daily life skills to increase abilities and self-confidence
From these goals and objectives, you can begin planning a curriculum (the knowledge and skills you’d like your child to acquire) along with creating lesson plans (the activities or studies that support or complement your curriculum).
Curriculum Plans
When planning a curriculum, consider your children’s wishes and input on what they’d like to learn in the coming year. Children will often surprise you with the wonderful ideas and learning suggestions they come up with! Together, you and your children can create a curriculum that is fun, interesting, and challenging to ensure a well-rounded education.
To create a curriculum, think about your educational goals, philosophies, or ambitions for your child. Then determine the objectives or plans needed to achieve those goals. These are explained more fully here:
• Educational philosophies center on what you believe your children should learn in order to achieve happiness and success in their lives. This can include morals and values, respect and responsibility, manners and kindness toward others, faith and spirituality, a love for learning, and a love for life.
• Educational aims or ambitions for your children could include life skills and self-reliance; critical thinking and reasoning skills; creative thinking skills; the ability to work well with others; to enjoy one’s work, life, and career; to show love and respect for one’s family; to be a responsible and upstanding citizen; and to contribute to one’s community.
• Learning goals and objectives should support your educational philosophies and aims for your child. For instance:
* Learning self-discipline and self-control is critical to a happy family life and career.
* Proper manners, social skills, and speaking skills are important when working with others or when contributing to the community.
* Good reading, math, science, or technology skills are imperative to all areas of one’s life, from daily living to getting ahead in one’s career.
* Artistic and creative skills add joy and meaning to one’s life.
* Healthy habits and life skills contribute to a long, productive life.
Write a Curriculum
Once you’ve determined your family’s philosophies, as well as your ambitions for your child’s education and the goals or objectives to support those ambitions, you can begin designing the curriculum. But don’t forget to consider your children’s interests and learning styles!
To write your curriculum, you’ll want to list your educational philosophies, goals, and objectives (see the Homeschool Forms link here), and keep them in a special folder labeled “Curriculum.” On the days when you forget where you are headed with your child’s education, reviewing the list of goals and objectives will be a great help!
A curriculum outline for Grade 5 Social Studies, for instance, could include:
* United States history
* Discovery of America and early settlements
* Colonial and pioneer life in America
* American Revolution and independence
* Westward movement
* Geography of United States
* Industrial Revolution
* Natural resources
* Cultural resources and relationships
Lessons and activities you do with your children will be based on the topics noted on a simple curriculum outline, similar to the above outline.
As you continue determining subject areas your child will study (i.e., Social Studies, Language Arts, Math, Science, Technology, Arts and Music, Health, and Life Skills), you’ll want to slant them toward the goals and aims that you have listed for your child’s education.
For instance, a goal for your child might be having a good, healthy life. Therefore, in studying the human body in Science, you might want to:
* Emphasize lessons on health and nutrition
* Focus on the way the body functions
* Learn how the bones and muscles work in tandem
* Determine how blood carries nutrients and oxygen to all parts of the body
* Research the respiratory and digestive systems
* Point out how proper nutrition, exercise, and healthy habits help the body function as it was designed to function.
As you can see, once you have your goals established for your child (for example, being a healthy individual), you’ll be able to focus on the objectives that you want the lessons to convey (in this case, how to achieve and maintain a healthy body).
Children master skills at varying ages and rates. Keep in mind that your child might read well at age 6, but another might struggle with reading at age 8. Or one child might grasp the relation between fractions and decimals at age 8, while another might not grasp the concept until age 10. One child might write well in cursive at age 9; another may not display attractive penmanship until age 12 or later. So, consider your child’s unique skills and abilities when setting educational goals and objectives.
Less Formal Curriculum
Designing a curriculum might seem like a lot of work. Yet, most parents already have an idea of the educational goals or ambitions for their children, even if they haven’t written them down in a formal outline.
Most parents are already in tune with their children’s interests, abilities, and learning styles, so it might not be necessary to document the objectives of each lesson. You might not need to go into detail regarding the studies or activities that will complement your child’s learning goals.
Unschooling
Unschooling is a nice option for many families. In an unschooling environment, the curriculum tends to accommodate the children’s curiosity and their interest-led activities. Don’t worry! When children are interested in a topic, they will learn! Plus, they’ll retain what they learn for a longer period of time.
If you need to present evidence of the “curriculum” you use for your “unschooled homeschool,” you can illustrate how your children’s interests and activities (such as their hobbies, experiments, creative projects, talents, discussions or books read) accomplish the goals and philosophies your family believes in – even in an unschooling environment.
Convey the unschooled curriculum with photos or short videos showing daily or weekly activities, projects, or experiments. Your child can create artwork or build models or sculptures depicting various projects. Perhaps, together, you can build a bookcase or shelves to hold the projects, sculptures, art, experiments, and displays, then take photos or brief videos of that, too. This serves as proof of continuous learning, regardless of your family’s style of home education.
To record activities in a logbook, you may use our Weekly Planner Log Book forms. The log sheets can be viewed and printed via this Weekly Planner Log link. You may use the log sheets to plan your days and weeks in advance, or to easily jot down the activities and learning events at the end of the day.
Create Lesson Plans
Lesson plans are the activities or studies that complement and carry out the intent of the curriculum and educational goals for your children.
For instance, one of your goals might be for your child to play an active part in your community as a caring, concerned individual. Therefore, you might want to create a lesson plan for Social Studies that has the objective of interacting with others for the good of the community.
Lesson plans, for this objective, could include researching the history of volunteerism in communities. Examples could include Benjamin Franklin, who helped to establish the first volunteer fire department, or Clara Barton, who founded the American Red Cross through volunteering her services. Your children could read biographies of these people, as well as books on how to volunteer. Then they could write or share their thoughts and ideas on how they could help others in your community.
Other parts of the lesson plan could include drawing posters of volunteers, visiting the headquarters of local volunteer associations, and taking an active part in community volunteer programs, such as canned food drives, clothing or toy collections, animal shelter assistance, or visiting with the elderly in nursing homes. Be sure to take photos or videos documenting these activities, too.
In our next post, we’ll cover Lessons Plans in more detail. Stay tuned!
For the Homeschool Forms mentioned here:
Homeschool forms for recording your Educational Goals and Objectives are available for viewing and printing at this link:
Weekly Planner Log sheets for recording daily/weekly lesson plans or learning activities can be viewed and printed at this link:
Or contact us at EVHomeschooling@gmail.com to receive the forms via email.
Note: Some material published here include excerpts from my book, The Everything Guide to Homeschooling, by Sherri Linsenbach, available online or in libraries and bookstores.
Happy homeschooling!
As you prepare for the upcoming homeschool year, revisit – or create – a list of your educational goals for your children. If you didn’t reach all your homeschool goals last year, simply move them to this year’s list of goals.
Educational goals for your child might include:
* Developing a love of learning
* Enhancing curiosity in special interests or topics
* Finding joy in daily activities or hobbies
* Managing time and responsibilities better
* Volunteering in the community
Educational objectives and outcomes could include:
* Reading classic literature or books by favorite authors
* Trying more advanced science experiments and recording results
* Applying mental math skills or logic for solving problems
* Researching famous people or current events
* Focusing on daily life skills to increase abilities and self-confidence
From these goals and objectives, you can begin planning a curriculum (the knowledge and skills you’d like your child to acquire) along with creating lesson plans (the activities or studies that support or complement your curriculum).
Curriculum Plans
When planning a curriculum, consider your children’s wishes and input on what they’d like to learn in the coming year. Children will often surprise you with the wonderful ideas and learning suggestions they come up with! Together, you and your children can create a curriculum that is fun, interesting, and challenging to ensure a well-rounded education.
To create a curriculum, think about your educational goals, philosophies, or ambitions for your child. Then determine the objectives or plans needed to achieve those goals. These are explained more fully here:
• Educational philosophies center on what you believe your children should learn in order to achieve happiness and success in their lives. This can include morals and values, respect and responsibility, manners and kindness toward others, faith and spirituality, a love for learning, and a love for life.
• Educational aims or ambitions for your children could include life skills and self-reliance; critical thinking and reasoning skills; creative thinking skills; the ability to work well with others; to enjoy one’s work, life, and career; to show love and respect for one’s family; to be a responsible and upstanding citizen; and to contribute to one’s community.
• Learning goals and objectives should support your educational philosophies and aims for your child. For instance:
* Learning self-discipline and self-control is critical to a happy family life and career.
* Proper manners, social skills, and speaking skills are important when working with others or when contributing to the community.
* Good reading, math, science, or technology skills are imperative to all areas of one’s life, from daily living to getting ahead in one’s career.
* Artistic and creative skills add joy and meaning to one’s life.
* Healthy habits and life skills contribute to a long, productive life.
Write a Curriculum
Once you’ve determined your family’s philosophies, as well as your ambitions for your child’s education and the goals or objectives to support those ambitions, you can begin designing the curriculum. But don’t forget to consider your children’s interests and learning styles!
To write your curriculum, you’ll want to list your educational philosophies, goals, and objectives (see the Homeschool Forms link here), and keep them in a special folder labeled “Curriculum.” On the days when you forget where you are headed with your child’s education, reviewing the list of goals and objectives will be a great help!
A curriculum outline for Grade 5 Social Studies, for instance, could include:
* United States history
* Discovery of America and early settlements
* Colonial and pioneer life in America
* American Revolution and independence
* Westward movement
* Geography of United States
* Industrial Revolution
* Natural resources
* Cultural resources and relationships
Lessons and activities you do with your children will be based on the topics noted on a simple curriculum outline, similar to the above outline.
As you continue determining subject areas your child will study (i.e., Social Studies, Language Arts, Math, Science, Technology, Arts and Music, Health, and Life Skills), you’ll want to slant them toward the goals and aims that you have listed for your child’s education.
For instance, a goal for your child might be having a good, healthy life. Therefore, in studying the human body in Science, you might want to:
* Emphasize lessons on health and nutrition
* Focus on the way the body functions
* Learn how the bones and muscles work in tandem
* Determine how blood carries nutrients and oxygen to all parts of the body
* Research the respiratory and digestive systems
* Point out how proper nutrition, exercise, and healthy habits help the body function as it was designed to function.
As you can see, once you have your goals established for your child (for example, being a healthy individual), you’ll be able to focus on the objectives that you want the lessons to convey (in this case, how to achieve and maintain a healthy body).
Children master skills at varying ages and rates. Keep in mind that your child might read well at age 6, but another might struggle with reading at age 8. Or one child might grasp the relation between fractions and decimals at age 8, while another might not grasp the concept until age 10. One child might write well in cursive at age 9; another may not display attractive penmanship until age 12 or later. So, consider your child’s unique skills and abilities when setting educational goals and objectives.
Less Formal Curriculum
Designing a curriculum might seem like a lot of work. Yet, most parents already have an idea of the educational goals or ambitions for their children, even if they haven’t written them down in a formal outline.
Most parents are already in tune with their children’s interests, abilities, and learning styles, so it might not be necessary to document the objectives of each lesson. You might not need to go into detail regarding the studies or activities that will complement your child’s learning goals.
Unschooling
Unschooling is a nice option for many families. In an unschooling environment, the curriculum tends to accommodate the children’s curiosity and their interest-led activities. Don’t worry! When children are interested in a topic, they will learn! Plus, they’ll retain what they learn for a longer period of time.
If you need to present evidence of the “curriculum” you use for your “unschooled homeschool,” you can illustrate how your children’s interests and activities (such as their hobbies, experiments, creative projects, talents, discussions or books read) accomplish the goals and philosophies your family believes in – even in an unschooling environment.
Convey the unschooled curriculum with photos or short videos showing daily or weekly activities, projects, or experiments. Your child can create artwork or build models or sculptures depicting various projects. Perhaps, together, you can build a bookcase or shelves to hold the projects, sculptures, art, experiments, and displays, then take photos or brief videos of that, too. This serves as proof of continuous learning, regardless of your family’s style of home education.
To record activities in a logbook, you may use our Weekly Planner Log Book forms. The log sheets can be viewed and printed via this Weekly Planner Log link. You may use the log sheets to plan your days and weeks in advance, or to easily jot down the activities and learning events at the end of the day.
Create Lesson Plans
Lesson plans are the activities or studies that complement and carry out the intent of the curriculum and educational goals for your children.
For instance, one of your goals might be for your child to play an active part in your community as a caring, concerned individual. Therefore, you might want to create a lesson plan for Social Studies that has the objective of interacting with others for the good of the community.
Lesson plans, for this objective, could include researching the history of volunteerism in communities. Examples could include Benjamin Franklin, who helped to establish the first volunteer fire department, or Clara Barton, who founded the American Red Cross through volunteering her services. Your children could read biographies of these people, as well as books on how to volunteer. Then they could write or share their thoughts and ideas on how they could help others in your community.
Other parts of the lesson plan could include drawing posters of volunteers, visiting the headquarters of local volunteer associations, and taking an active part in community volunteer programs, such as canned food drives, clothing or toy collections, animal shelter assistance, or visiting with the elderly in nursing homes. Be sure to take photos or videos documenting these activities, too.
In our next post, we’ll cover Lessons Plans in more detail. Stay tuned!
For the Homeschool Forms mentioned here:
Homeschool forms for recording your Educational Goals and Objectives are available for viewing and printing at this link:
Weekly Planner Log sheets for recording daily/weekly lesson plans or learning activities can be viewed and printed at this link:
Or contact us at EVHomeschooling@gmail.com to receive the forms via email.
Note: Some material published here include excerpts from my book, The Everything Guide to Homeschooling, by Sherri Linsenbach, available online or in libraries and bookstores.
Happy homeschooling!
Monday, August 10, 2020
Flexibility and Freedom to Learn
Flexibility and Freedom to Learn! These two concepts make a major difference in the home-school environment. Some families are still struggling with online schools or virtual school programs. Some children find virtual schools boring, uninteresting, or not challenging enough. Others find the blocks of time required for certain subjects to be restrictive or too limiting. These issues all hinder the real learning children could be pursuing.
Virtual school programs – as an alternative to face-to-face learning – might sound okay. To some, virtual schools might seem similar to homeschooling. But as most homeschoolers know, homeschooling isn’t “school at home.”
Homeschooling is a whole-child, well-rounded, natural way of learning that occurs every day – just as children naturally learned and acquired necessary skills from the time they were born, with guidance and care from parents. True homeschooling automatically puts your child’s happiness, health, unique learning style, innate curiosity, life skills, life goals, and real interest in learning first and foremost.
Keep Flexibility and Freedom to Learn in mind this week – and in all the weeks to come. If your child is interested in cats this week, read books, picture books, and illustrated articles on cats of all types – pet cats, domestic cats, feral cats, tigers, lions, cheetahs, panthers, cougars, leopards, jaguars, ocelots, pumas, and more in the Felidae family of cats and wildcats.
Watch cats in real time, online, at rescue centers or zoos, view images of cats and their anatomy, compare their likenesses and differences, compare their running speeds, distances they can cover, their habitats, their behaviors and characteristics, the way they care for their young, the challenges they’ve faced in the past and could face in the future.
Allow children plenty of time, flexibility, and freedom to learn all they want to learn about cats – or dogs, birds, bears, whales, fish, frogs, insects, spiders, snakes – wherever their interest lies this week, or next week, and in the weeks to come.
Maybe it’s robots that excites your child this week. How many different types of robots are there? Walking robots, talking robots, flying robots, swimming robots, crawling robots, one-legged robots, bipedal, tripedal, quadrupedal, hexapods. Who knew there were so many different types of robots!
What types can your child design or build? There’s wheeled robots, mobile robots, stationary robots, remote-controlled robots, autonomous robots, virtual robots, military robots, space robots, social-services robots, industrial robots, domestic robots!
Robots, alone, could encompass an entire month or semester of learning! And with freedom and flexibility, this one topic would include all areas of learning: reading, creating, drawing, describing, writing, calculating, programming, math applications, scientific applications, historic applications, creative thinking, critical thinking, analytical thinking, logical thinking, reasoning skills, inventive skills, and problem-solving skills.
All children deserve freedom and flexibility to learn about a wide variety of subjects and to pursue topics that capture their interests. That’s the beauty and the benefits of homeschooling!
Hundreds more learning ideas and educational activities are provided by EverythingHomeschooling.com for a well-rounded, interesting school year.
Happy homeschooling!
Virtual school programs – as an alternative to face-to-face learning – might sound okay. To some, virtual schools might seem similar to homeschooling. But as most homeschoolers know, homeschooling isn’t “school at home.”
Homeschooling is a whole-child, well-rounded, natural way of learning that occurs every day – just as children naturally learned and acquired necessary skills from the time they were born, with guidance and care from parents. True homeschooling automatically puts your child’s happiness, health, unique learning style, innate curiosity, life skills, life goals, and real interest in learning first and foremost.
Keep Flexibility and Freedom to Learn in mind this week – and in all the weeks to come. If your child is interested in cats this week, read books, picture books, and illustrated articles on cats of all types – pet cats, domestic cats, feral cats, tigers, lions, cheetahs, panthers, cougars, leopards, jaguars, ocelots, pumas, and more in the Felidae family of cats and wildcats.
Watch cats in real time, online, at rescue centers or zoos, view images of cats and their anatomy, compare their likenesses and differences, compare their running speeds, distances they can cover, their habitats, their behaviors and characteristics, the way they care for their young, the challenges they’ve faced in the past and could face in the future.
Allow children plenty of time, flexibility, and freedom to learn all they want to learn about cats – or dogs, birds, bears, whales, fish, frogs, insects, spiders, snakes – wherever their interest lies this week, or next week, and in the weeks to come.
Maybe it’s robots that excites your child this week. How many different types of robots are there? Walking robots, talking robots, flying robots, swimming robots, crawling robots, one-legged robots, bipedal, tripedal, quadrupedal, hexapods. Who knew there were so many different types of robots!
What types can your child design or build? There’s wheeled robots, mobile robots, stationary robots, remote-controlled robots, autonomous robots, virtual robots, military robots, space robots, social-services robots, industrial robots, domestic robots!
Robots, alone, could encompass an entire month or semester of learning! And with freedom and flexibility, this one topic would include all areas of learning: reading, creating, drawing, describing, writing, calculating, programming, math applications, scientific applications, historic applications, creative thinking, critical thinking, analytical thinking, logical thinking, reasoning skills, inventive skills, and problem-solving skills.
All children deserve freedom and flexibility to learn about a wide variety of subjects and to pursue topics that capture their interests. That’s the beauty and the benefits of homeschooling!
Hundreds more learning ideas and educational activities are provided by EverythingHomeschooling.com for a well-rounded, interesting school year.
Happy homeschooling!
Friday, July 31, 2020
Lesson Plans, Curriculum, Educational Goals Explained
You might find yourself confused by terms such as Lesson Plans or Curriculum. Sometimes educational terms can be as confusing as legal terms. However, your Lesson Plan can be as simple as jotting down ideas and activities for learning this coming week. And your Curriculum can include the Educational Goals and Objectives for your children.
Here’s a few examples of a Curriculum and Lesson Plans: Your Science Curriculum for this coming year could include goals for your child to learn about Earth Science (earth’s composition, volcanoes, earthquakes, planets); Life Science (plants, animals, insects, humans); or Physical Science (magnetism, energy, motion, matter).
Educational Goals and Objectives for Earth Science could be: Learning the different layers of the earth; collecting and identifying rocks; learning the different types of clouds and their impact on earth's atmosphere; creating a miniature water cycle in your backyard; experimenting with erosion in your backyard; constructing an erupting volcano; plus reading and discussing books, articles, and photos on each of these topics/experiments.
Lesson Plans for these Earth Science topics could be: Creating an actual model showing earth’s layers; reading Rocks and Minerals and labeling various rocks collected; making a colorful display showing cloud types and tracking a week’s worth of cloud types and precipitation in your area; photographing the mini water cycle experiment and recording descriptions of how and why it works; recording the erosion experiment, then researching and describing the impact of larger-scale erosion on earth, river banks, seashores; reading Volcanoes and Earthquakes and discussing why, how, and where volcanoes erupt, plus constructing a volcano and recording its eruption.
In Conjunction with these Lesson Plans and Activities, children can describe each of the lessons and experiments in their own words, explaining what they learned, or describe the activities in writing or by drawing illustrations of the experiments. They could display their illustrations or photos of this week’s lessons and activities on a bulletin board, or do a few worksheets on these topics to add to their portfolio. And, always, they can be encouraged to pursue topics branching off from the lessons and activities they’ve done.
This Easy-to-Follow Format will help you create Educational Goals for your children, plus Lessons Plans on topics and subjects to support your goals, as you follow your Curriculum, which simply describes your Educational Goals, Objectives, Lesson Plans, and Learning Activities.
Many more examples are on our website at EverythingHomeschooling.com.
Happy Homeschooling!
Here’s a few examples of a Curriculum and Lesson Plans: Your Science Curriculum for this coming year could include goals for your child to learn about Earth Science (earth’s composition, volcanoes, earthquakes, planets); Life Science (plants, animals, insects, humans); or Physical Science (magnetism, energy, motion, matter).
Educational Goals and Objectives for Earth Science could be: Learning the different layers of the earth; collecting and identifying rocks; learning the different types of clouds and their impact on earth's atmosphere; creating a miniature water cycle in your backyard; experimenting with erosion in your backyard; constructing an erupting volcano; plus reading and discussing books, articles, and photos on each of these topics/experiments.
Lesson Plans for these Earth Science topics could be: Creating an actual model showing earth’s layers; reading Rocks and Minerals and labeling various rocks collected; making a colorful display showing cloud types and tracking a week’s worth of cloud types and precipitation in your area; photographing the mini water cycle experiment and recording descriptions of how and why it works; recording the erosion experiment, then researching and describing the impact of larger-scale erosion on earth, river banks, seashores; reading Volcanoes and Earthquakes and discussing why, how, and where volcanoes erupt, plus constructing a volcano and recording its eruption.
In Conjunction with these Lesson Plans and Activities, children can describe each of the lessons and experiments in their own words, explaining what they learned, or describe the activities in writing or by drawing illustrations of the experiments. They could display their illustrations or photos of this week’s lessons and activities on a bulletin board, or do a few worksheets on these topics to add to their portfolio. And, always, they can be encouraged to pursue topics branching off from the lessons and activities they’ve done.
This Easy-to-Follow Format will help you create Educational Goals for your children, plus Lessons Plans on topics and subjects to support your goals, as you follow your Curriculum, which simply describes your Educational Goals, Objectives, Lesson Plans, and Learning Activities.
Many more examples are on our website at EverythingHomeschooling.com.
Happy Homeschooling!
Saturday, July 25, 2020
Homeschool Help for All Families
As families struggle with decisions regarding the new school year – whether to keep kids at home, send them to school, or use virtual school programs – remind friends and neighbors that homeschooling is always an option. If school choices don’t work out, homeschooling can usually be implemented at any time during the year.
Even if parents are working full-time, homeschooling can occur in the evenings or on weekends. That’s because just 1 to 2 hours is required per day, on average. Often, the time parents spend helping schooled children with homework in the evenings can consume 1 to 2 hours per night. That time could, instead, be used for homeschooling.
New ideas and fun learning activities will be provided at EverythingHomeschooling.com, as we approach “back-to-school” days.
Our site will be even easier to use as we go forward. Parents deserve simplicity in their lives, especially now. Families need dependable, reliable resources for keeping their kids learning, motivated, and happy in a safe and healthy environment.
EverythingHomeschooling.com will be here to help families, every day, all year long!
Visit us often in the coming days and weeks!
Happy homeschooling!
Even if parents are working full-time, homeschooling can occur in the evenings or on weekends. That’s because just 1 to 2 hours is required per day, on average. Often, the time parents spend helping schooled children with homework in the evenings can consume 1 to 2 hours per night. That time could, instead, be used for homeschooling.
New ideas and fun learning activities will be provided at EverythingHomeschooling.com, as we approach “back-to-school” days.
Our site will be even easier to use as we go forward. Parents deserve simplicity in their lives, especially now. Families need dependable, reliable resources for keeping their kids learning, motivated, and happy in a safe and healthy environment.
EverythingHomeschooling.com will be here to help families, every day, all year long!
Visit us often in the coming days and weeks!
Happy homeschooling!
Tuesday, April 7, 2020
Home as School
For years, homeschool families have shared the fact that school buildings are not required for learning and education. Now, nearly every family around the world has first-hand experience and knowledge of this fact.
A long school day is also not required. An hour or two per day is an average timetable, depending on your child’s age. For kindergarten to first-grade levels, the time requirement is about 30 to 60 minutes per day. For elementary-school levels, the time required is approximately 60 to 90 minutes per day. For teens and high-school levels, it’s about 2 to 4 hours per day, depending on their individual electives, studies, and goals.
Of course, outside of these time requirements, children will consistently be learning on their own. They’ll do this automatically, with extra time to experience each day in their own ways, to pursue topics that interest them, and through acquiring new knowledge due to their innate, natural curiosity.
With the Internet, online libraries, and online courses covering every topic imaginable, children can learn anything and everything from the comfort of their homes.
As homeschool families have often said: Homeschooling is NOT school at home. Classrooms, desks, textbooks, test materials are NOT required. Many families now understand this.
Your children simply need a safe, comfortable area where you can spend time together and learn together, read together and have discussions together. A place where your children can experiment and explore, stretch their minds and stretch their abilities, acquire new knowledge and soar in new directions.
Help your children to see that this is an exciting time for their education, to see how much more they can learn and how much farther they can go, without the constraints of school buildings and long schooldays.
There’s no limit to what your children can learn, no limit on how fast and how far their minds can expand. Help them to grasp and make the most of this extraordinary time. And treasure these special moments together!
Happy Homeschooling from EverythingHomeschooling.com!
A long school day is also not required. An hour or two per day is an average timetable, depending on your child’s age. For kindergarten to first-grade levels, the time requirement is about 30 to 60 minutes per day. For elementary-school levels, the time required is approximately 60 to 90 minutes per day. For teens and high-school levels, it’s about 2 to 4 hours per day, depending on their individual electives, studies, and goals.
Of course, outside of these time requirements, children will consistently be learning on their own. They’ll do this automatically, with extra time to experience each day in their own ways, to pursue topics that interest them, and through acquiring new knowledge due to their innate, natural curiosity.
With the Internet, online libraries, and online courses covering every topic imaginable, children can learn anything and everything from the comfort of their homes.
As homeschool families have often said: Homeschooling is NOT school at home. Classrooms, desks, textbooks, test materials are NOT required. Many families now understand this.
Your children simply need a safe, comfortable area where you can spend time together and learn together, read together and have discussions together. A place where your children can experiment and explore, stretch their minds and stretch their abilities, acquire new knowledge and soar in new directions.
Help your children to see that this is an exciting time for their education, to see how much more they can learn and how much farther they can go, without the constraints of school buildings and long schooldays.
There’s no limit to what your children can learn, no limit on how fast and how far their minds can expand. Help them to grasp and make the most of this extraordinary time. And treasure these special moments together!
Happy Homeschooling from EverythingHomeschooling.com!
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