Unschooling, Worksheets, Unit Studies, Lesson Plans, Hands-On Activities? Continue reading, plus see links below!
In traditional schools, the second semester usually begins in January. That means the kids are now about halfway through the year.
Homeschoolers can follow a traditional school instructional calendar. Or you can follow your own educational plans and schedules. And, of course, you can add other topics, as well, such as Art, Music, Foreign Languages, Life Skills, etc.
The way you homeschool is totally up to you and your family, depending on what works best for your educational goals, your family values, your child’s best learning styles, and most workable homeschool schedule.
Now is a great time to reflect on the first semester of your homeschool, consider what went well, what worked best, and what could perhaps work better for the next few months of homeschooling.
If you’d like to focus on individual Lessons covering Math, Science, Language Arts, and Social Studies, we’ll include some links below to help you out.
If, alternatively, you’d like to try theme studies, unit studies, or unschooling activities, we’ll include some links for those.
Remember, also, to revisit our previous posts of Weekly Homeschool Lessons and Learning Activities, posted in August; 500+ Science Experiments and Hands-On Math Activities, also posted in August; Unschooling Activities and Reading Activities, posted in September; Language Arts, Social Studies, Math, and Science Activities, posted in October; Crafting History, posted in November; and Winter Learning Activities, posted in December, along with many other educational ideas over the past months.
*** Here are some Links to Lessons covering Math, Science, Language Arts, and Social Studies:
1. Math Solutions, Grades K-8:
https://mathsolutions.com/classroom-lessons
2. Math Goodies, Elementary to Pre-Algebra:
https://www.mathgoodies.com/lessons
3. Math Worksheets:
https://www.math-drills.com
4. Homeschool Math Worksheets:
https://www.homeschoolmath.net/worksheets
5. 80 Science Activities:
https://elementalscience.com/blogs/news/80-free-science-activities
6. Science Worksheets:
https://www.easyteacherworksheets.com/science.html
7. Language Arts Lesson Plans:
https://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/archives/lang.shtml
8. Language Arts Worksheets:
https://www.easyteacherworksheets.com/languagearts.html
9. Social Studies Activities:
https://sharemylesson.com/subject/social-studies
10. Social Studies Worksheets:
https://www.education.com/worksheets/social-studies
*** Here are some Links to Theme Studies, Unit Studies, or Unschooling Activities:
1. BookShark Unit Studies:
https://www.bookshark.com/freebies
2. Discover Unit Studies:
https://discoverunitstudies.com
3. Hess UnAcademy Unit Studies:
https://hessunacademy.com/unit-studies
4. Crafty Classroom Unit Studies:
https://thecraftyclassroom.com/free-unit-studies
5. Unschooling and Hands-On Ideas:
https://www.weedemandreap.com/learn-subjects-unschooling
6. Unschooling Ideas for Older Kids:
https://www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com/100-hands-on-activities-for-middle-school-and-high-school
7. More Unschooling Ideas:
https://zenhabits.net/unschool
Happy homeschooling!
Friday, January 27, 2023
Tuesday, January 3, 2023
New Year, New Ideas, New Interests, New Learning!
It’s a New Year and Time for New Ideas, New Interests, New Learning! You can try to learn something new every day, but if that’s not always feasible, definitely try to learn at least 52 new things this year. That’s 1 new thing you can learn each week of the year.
Here’s a few to get you started:
1. “Imagination is more important than knowledge,” said Albert Einstein. What do you think he meant by this? He felt that imagination opened up an entire world of possibilities. And he felt 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 week!
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 a wire sculpture, create twirling mobiles, create with construction kits, create a building, create a model, create art, create whatever interests you. And you’ll know you’re using your intelligence, creating, learning, and having fun this week!
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 excited about it and want to learn all you can about it. Be excited and curious, and learn more this week!
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 this week by asking questions like: “What if? How? Why? Who? When? Where?” Regardless of the subjects you might be studying this week, be curious about them. Ask more questions! Go further! Be curious! 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!
Explore! Experiment! Imagine! Create! Read! Write! Play! Build! Ask! Seek! Research! Be Curious! Be Innovative! Be Adventurous!
Resolve to make this new year an exciting one filled with fun, imaginative, creative learning!
Happy homeschooling every week of this new year!
Here’s a few to get you started:
1. “Imagination is more important than knowledge,” said Albert Einstein. What do you think he meant by this? He felt that imagination opened up an entire world of possibilities. And he felt 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 week!
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 a wire sculpture, create twirling mobiles, create with construction kits, create a building, create a model, create art, create whatever interests you. And you’ll know you’re using your intelligence, creating, learning, and having fun this week!
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 excited about it and want to learn all you can about it. Be excited and curious, and learn more this week!
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 this week by asking questions like: “What if? How? Why? Who? When? Where?” Regardless of the subjects you might be studying this week, be curious about them. Ask more questions! Go further! Be curious! 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!
Explore! Experiment! Imagine! Create! Read! Write! Play! Build! Ask! Seek! Research! Be Curious! Be Innovative! Be Adventurous!
Resolve to make this new year an exciting one filled with fun, imaginative, creative learning!
Happy homeschooling every week of this new year!
Wednesday, December 14, 2022
Christmas Gifts and Winter Learning
Christmas gift giveaway: We’re giving away 2 books this week: Science Experiments (for ages 5 to 10) and Science Experiments (for ages 9 and up). To enter, see details at the end of this blog post.
In addition, we’re focusing on things we can all learn as the Winter season settles in. Regardless of our age, we can all learn things from Christmas, the holidays, and winter, in general.
Here is a list of learning ideas for Christmas and the coming winter months:
1. The Christmas Story, of course. (The biblical one, not the BB gun one.) Regardless of faith or personal beliefs, it’s helpful to have an understanding of what the biblical story of Christmas is all about. Even Linus telling Charlie Brown what Christmas is all about, in A Charlie Brown Christmas, is poignant, no matter our age or beliefs.
2. And since we mentioned it, we can learn empathy and understanding through watching A Charlie Brown Christmas. As in most of Charles Schulz’s creations, we see children forgetting to be kind and compassionate, being temporarily too self-centered and unseeing of the “bigger picture,” until the light suddenly dawns. Witnessing this transformation in Charlie Brown’s friends helps children realize that they, too, can view things differently and in a more positive and perceptive way.
3. And also, since we mentioned it, we can learn the importance of family, tradition, and nostalgia in watching The Christmas Story – yes, the BB-gun one. Who has not been disappointed on Christmas, by not finding that “special gift” under the tree, or having the “day spoiled” by a disaster, such as a ruined Christmas dinner? But then having parents who understand those feelings, who put things into perspective or create ways to overcome disappointments, making those Christmases some of the most memorable of childhood.
4. Moving on from Christmas stories and shows – of which there are many wonderful ones, too many to mention in this blog post, but some which I know are special to you and your family – we encourage you to take a look at your own Christmas stories and traditions, and all you can learn from them. Write down your traditions and special events in a journal, then pass them on to your children and grandchildren.
5. Hanging Christmas lights from a tangled ball of last-year’s interwoven wires is a lesson in patience and perseverance! Doing this year after year either reinforces those qualities of patience and perseverance, or leads to developing an innovative way of storing those twisted strands of light. Maybe your child will be the inventor who creates a better way of organizing and storing those strands for next year!
6. Then there’s the electrical aspect of actually getting the lights to glow. There’s burnt-out bulbs, blown fuses, running extension cords to outlets, setting timers, synchronizing the motion lights to music, and determining the number of lights and strands required for each display! Plus understanding volts and wattages, and the meaning of the UL certification label on the lights. Christmas lights can lead to a thorough study of Electricity and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics).
7. Speaking of Mathematics, there’s baking and more baking to be done! Cookies, candies, a Yule Log cake, and Gingerbread houses to make! Not only does this require mathematical measurements of ingredients, but also critical thinking skills for constructing the special goodies. Plus, creative thinking and logical thinking skills come into play, when certain ingredients aren’t on-hand and substitutions have to be made, or the final result isn’t exactly as planned and last-minute, inventive tweaks are needed. All are learning opportunities, while still having fun!
8. Speaking of fun and creativity, there’s the wrapping of the gifts. Give younger kids boxes and scrap paper, ribbons, and bows (or, as the Grinch said, “ribbons, tags, packages, boxes, or bags”). Let them practice wrapping the boxes or perhaps wrap special items they’d like to share with others. Older kids can wrap thoughtful, hand-made items they’ve made for others.
9. And speaking of hand-made items, crafts made by family members to give to loved ones are always heart-warming and appreciated. And, as the Grinch also said, as he watched the Whos down in Whoville, clasping hands and singing on Christmas morning: “Maybe Christmas doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.” With hand-crafted gifts from the heart, Christmas doesn’t have to come from a store. Children can learn, first-hand, that it means a little bit more.
10. Before we move on from Christmas – and all the potential for learning it provides – remember to write “Thank You” notes to everyone after Christmas. This “lesson” includes Cursive Writing Practice, Creative Thinking, Creative Writing, Envelope Addressing, Stamp Affixing, perhaps Post Office Visits, and most importantly, emphasizes Thoughtfulness, Respectfulness, Expressions of Gratitude, and overall Good Etiquette. Thank-you cards can be handmade, too, or created from recycled Christmas cards.
11. Winter is here! It arrives between December 21 and December 22 every year, in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the Winter Solstice. It is the shortest day of the year. It is the time of year when the Earth’s axis is tilted the farthest away from the sun.
12. Take time to observe this – to really, really observe it. On December 21 or 22, look at how low the Sun seems to hang in the sky, closer to the horizon line, almost directly in your line of sight. Notice the shadows of your house, building, or trees, and notice how far away the shadows stretch in winter, compared to where the shadows fall in summer.
13. Days are short! Or at least the hours of daylight are shorter. Look at your local sunrise and sunset times, and compare them to summertime sunrise and sunset times. Here, our sunrise is at 8:03 a.m. and sunset is at 5:23 p.m. on December 22. But in the summer, on the longest day of the year, June 21, our sunrise is at 6:16 a.m. and sunset is at 9:16 p.m. How many daytime hours do YOU have on your shortest day of the year in December? Compare that to the daytime hours available on your longest day of the year in June.
14. Cold winter wonderlands! Could the length of the day be part of the reason why it’s colder in the winter (less direct sunshine when farthest from the equator) and why it’s hotter in the summer (more intense sunshine for longer periods of time when closer to the equator)? Track the temperatures in a Weather Log over the coming weeks and months, and determine why some days are colder than others.
15. Precipitation! What changes warm rains to winter snows? When watching the snow falling one winter day, my son said, “Snow is actually white rain!” Perceptive, to a point. Scientifically, snowflakes form when ice crystals stick together, because of the colder temperatures in the clouds. The crystal formations then become heavy enough to fall to the ground – even though they often appear to be floating like feathers!
16. Make Your Own Snowflakes! Here’s a couple different ways. Click here: https://www.marthastewart.com/269342/crystal-snowflake, or Click here: https://gosciencekids.com/salt-crystal-snowflakes.
17. Make a Snow Globe, as simple or as elaborate as you’d like! Here’s a couple ideas: Click here: https://www.marthastewart.com/276346/how-to-make-a-snow-globe, or Click here: https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/home-lifestyle/crafts-diy/g41900770/diy-snow-globes.
18. Animals in the snow! After your first, nice snowfall, track animal prints in the snow. See how many different ones you can find. The first ones you see will probably be delicate indentations from birds’ feet on top of the snow. Then the paw prints of cats or dogs. And tracks from squirrels, rabbits, and deer. Follow their paths to see what areas they visited, and try to determine what drew them to those areas. To identify the prints, do a search online for “animal tracks in the snow.”
19. Animals under the snow! When walking on top of the snow, it’s strange to think of animals living underneath it. But chipmunks, groundhogs, mice, voles, and lizards live under the snow or in tunnels in the ground, where it’s surprisingly warmer. Frogs, fish, and turtles may stay on the bottom of ponds, where they burrow into the mud. Learn more about animal behavior and their winter homes, online or in library books.
20. Animals away from the snow! Many animals – like human “snowbirds” – migrate south or to warmer climates for the winter. You might miss your hummingbirds during the winter, but they are living it up in the southern United States, Mexico, or Central America. Do an image search for bird or hummingbird migration paths to see charts of where your favorite backyard birds might be living during the winter. Keep track of when they return in the spring, then when they depart again next winter. Keep this information in your Nature Journal, where you can refer to it again and again. Remember to feed the birds that do stick around your home for the winter!
The above activities can be interesting and educational for all ages over the winter. Plus, following where the activities lead is always entertaining, as well. Allowing children time and freedom to explore these topics can open their eyes to so much in our world that is amazing, breathtaking, and awe-inspiring – a feeling that can last a lifetime.
And, now, to enter the Christmas gift giveaway, just send an email to us at: EVHomeschooling@gmail.com. We’ll draw 2 winners in the coming week. One book for younger kids (ages 5 to 10) entitled 100+ Awesome Science Experiments for Kids. And one book for older kids (ages 9 and up) entitled 101 Great Science Experiments for Kids.
Happy Homeschooling and Happy Holidays!
In addition, we’re focusing on things we can all learn as the Winter season settles in. Regardless of our age, we can all learn things from Christmas, the holidays, and winter, in general.
Here is a list of learning ideas for Christmas and the coming winter months:
1. The Christmas Story, of course. (The biblical one, not the BB gun one.) Regardless of faith or personal beliefs, it’s helpful to have an understanding of what the biblical story of Christmas is all about. Even Linus telling Charlie Brown what Christmas is all about, in A Charlie Brown Christmas, is poignant, no matter our age or beliefs.
2. And since we mentioned it, we can learn empathy and understanding through watching A Charlie Brown Christmas. As in most of Charles Schulz’s creations, we see children forgetting to be kind and compassionate, being temporarily too self-centered and unseeing of the “bigger picture,” until the light suddenly dawns. Witnessing this transformation in Charlie Brown’s friends helps children realize that they, too, can view things differently and in a more positive and perceptive way.
3. And also, since we mentioned it, we can learn the importance of family, tradition, and nostalgia in watching The Christmas Story – yes, the BB-gun one. Who has not been disappointed on Christmas, by not finding that “special gift” under the tree, or having the “day spoiled” by a disaster, such as a ruined Christmas dinner? But then having parents who understand those feelings, who put things into perspective or create ways to overcome disappointments, making those Christmases some of the most memorable of childhood.
4. Moving on from Christmas stories and shows – of which there are many wonderful ones, too many to mention in this blog post, but some which I know are special to you and your family – we encourage you to take a look at your own Christmas stories and traditions, and all you can learn from them. Write down your traditions and special events in a journal, then pass them on to your children and grandchildren.
5. Hanging Christmas lights from a tangled ball of last-year’s interwoven wires is a lesson in patience and perseverance! Doing this year after year either reinforces those qualities of patience and perseverance, or leads to developing an innovative way of storing those twisted strands of light. Maybe your child will be the inventor who creates a better way of organizing and storing those strands for next year!
6. Then there’s the electrical aspect of actually getting the lights to glow. There’s burnt-out bulbs, blown fuses, running extension cords to outlets, setting timers, synchronizing the motion lights to music, and determining the number of lights and strands required for each display! Plus understanding volts and wattages, and the meaning of the UL certification label on the lights. Christmas lights can lead to a thorough study of Electricity and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics).
7. Speaking of Mathematics, there’s baking and more baking to be done! Cookies, candies, a Yule Log cake, and Gingerbread houses to make! Not only does this require mathematical measurements of ingredients, but also critical thinking skills for constructing the special goodies. Plus, creative thinking and logical thinking skills come into play, when certain ingredients aren’t on-hand and substitutions have to be made, or the final result isn’t exactly as planned and last-minute, inventive tweaks are needed. All are learning opportunities, while still having fun!
8. Speaking of fun and creativity, there’s the wrapping of the gifts. Give younger kids boxes and scrap paper, ribbons, and bows (or, as the Grinch said, “ribbons, tags, packages, boxes, or bags”). Let them practice wrapping the boxes or perhaps wrap special items they’d like to share with others. Older kids can wrap thoughtful, hand-made items they’ve made for others.
9. And speaking of hand-made items, crafts made by family members to give to loved ones are always heart-warming and appreciated. And, as the Grinch also said, as he watched the Whos down in Whoville, clasping hands and singing on Christmas morning: “Maybe Christmas doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.” With hand-crafted gifts from the heart, Christmas doesn’t have to come from a store. Children can learn, first-hand, that it means a little bit more.
10. Before we move on from Christmas – and all the potential for learning it provides – remember to write “Thank You” notes to everyone after Christmas. This “lesson” includes Cursive Writing Practice, Creative Thinking, Creative Writing, Envelope Addressing, Stamp Affixing, perhaps Post Office Visits, and most importantly, emphasizes Thoughtfulness, Respectfulness, Expressions of Gratitude, and overall Good Etiquette. Thank-you cards can be handmade, too, or created from recycled Christmas cards.
11. Winter is here! It arrives between December 21 and December 22 every year, in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the Winter Solstice. It is the shortest day of the year. It is the time of year when the Earth’s axis is tilted the farthest away from the sun.
12. Take time to observe this – to really, really observe it. On December 21 or 22, look at how low the Sun seems to hang in the sky, closer to the horizon line, almost directly in your line of sight. Notice the shadows of your house, building, or trees, and notice how far away the shadows stretch in winter, compared to where the shadows fall in summer.
13. Days are short! Or at least the hours of daylight are shorter. Look at your local sunrise and sunset times, and compare them to summertime sunrise and sunset times. Here, our sunrise is at 8:03 a.m. and sunset is at 5:23 p.m. on December 22. But in the summer, on the longest day of the year, June 21, our sunrise is at 6:16 a.m. and sunset is at 9:16 p.m. How many daytime hours do YOU have on your shortest day of the year in December? Compare that to the daytime hours available on your longest day of the year in June.
14. Cold winter wonderlands! Could the length of the day be part of the reason why it’s colder in the winter (less direct sunshine when farthest from the equator) and why it’s hotter in the summer (more intense sunshine for longer periods of time when closer to the equator)? Track the temperatures in a Weather Log over the coming weeks and months, and determine why some days are colder than others.
15. Precipitation! What changes warm rains to winter snows? When watching the snow falling one winter day, my son said, “Snow is actually white rain!” Perceptive, to a point. Scientifically, snowflakes form when ice crystals stick together, because of the colder temperatures in the clouds. The crystal formations then become heavy enough to fall to the ground – even though they often appear to be floating like feathers!
16. Make Your Own Snowflakes! Here’s a couple different ways. Click here: https://www.marthastewart.com/269342/crystal-snowflake, or Click here: https://gosciencekids.com/salt-crystal-snowflakes.
17. Make a Snow Globe, as simple or as elaborate as you’d like! Here’s a couple ideas: Click here: https://www.marthastewart.com/276346/how-to-make-a-snow-globe, or Click here: https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/home-lifestyle/crafts-diy/g41900770/diy-snow-globes.
18. Animals in the snow! After your first, nice snowfall, track animal prints in the snow. See how many different ones you can find. The first ones you see will probably be delicate indentations from birds’ feet on top of the snow. Then the paw prints of cats or dogs. And tracks from squirrels, rabbits, and deer. Follow their paths to see what areas they visited, and try to determine what drew them to those areas. To identify the prints, do a search online for “animal tracks in the snow.”
19. Animals under the snow! When walking on top of the snow, it’s strange to think of animals living underneath it. But chipmunks, groundhogs, mice, voles, and lizards live under the snow or in tunnels in the ground, where it’s surprisingly warmer. Frogs, fish, and turtles may stay on the bottom of ponds, where they burrow into the mud. Learn more about animal behavior and their winter homes, online or in library books.
20. Animals away from the snow! Many animals – like human “snowbirds” – migrate south or to warmer climates for the winter. You might miss your hummingbirds during the winter, but they are living it up in the southern United States, Mexico, or Central America. Do an image search for bird or hummingbird migration paths to see charts of where your favorite backyard birds might be living during the winter. Keep track of when they return in the spring, then when they depart again next winter. Keep this information in your Nature Journal, where you can refer to it again and again. Remember to feed the birds that do stick around your home for the winter!
The above activities can be interesting and educational for all ages over the winter. Plus, following where the activities lead is always entertaining, as well. Allowing children time and freedom to explore these topics can open their eyes to so much in our world that is amazing, breathtaking, and awe-inspiring – a feeling that can last a lifetime.
And, now, to enter the Christmas gift giveaway, just send an email to us at: EVHomeschooling@gmail.com. We’ll draw 2 winners in the coming week. One book for younger kids (ages 5 to 10) entitled 100+ Awesome Science Experiments for Kids. And one book for older kids (ages 9 and up) entitled 101 Great Science Experiments for Kids.
Happy Homeschooling and Happy Holidays!
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!
Friday, November 4, 2022
Fun Language Arts Activities
When learning is fun, children will naturally learn more. But
even better, they will remember and retain more of what
they learn. Here you’ll see how to thread fun through Language Arts. More subjects, topics, and activities will be added in the next few days.
Language Arts Activities
Language arts encompasses English, reading, writing, spelling, vocabulary, grammar, composition, literature, drama, and poetry, listening and speaking, and related written or oral activities. Ideas and activities follow.
Reading Activities:
Reading need not be dull! Famous or popular movies are made from books and stories! If your children are not especially interested in reading, try reading movie scripts together, such as Disney movie scripts or family movie scripts featured on www.SimplyScripts.com. Use the scripts to act out the movie, and compare scripts to the book version of the story. Try writing your own scripts, too!
Turn your library visits into story scavenger hunts! Have children find books that will take them to another land, another planet, or an imaginary world. See if they can locate books by particular authors or stories that focus on a particular time period.
Make it fun! If your children are having no luck finding such books, see if you can help. Pull out a few selections from the shelves and point out the colorful pictures or delightful illustrations. Then wonder aloud what might be occurring in the story. Begin reading a few of the pages aloud, and soon their interest will be piqued.
Book suggestions and Reading Lists are available at www.KidsReadingCircle.com and https://www.rd.com/list/the-best-childrens-books-ever-written. The RD (Reader’s Digest) site lists “100 Best Children’s Books of All Time.”
Breathe life into the stories you read together. In addition to discussing the characters and events in the stories, create your own plays or dramatic performances based upon the stories. Or simply take turns reading the lines of the different characters in the voices that seem to reflect their personalities. This often results in fits of giggles and reading fun!
Read to them, share written stories with them, read newspapers aloud, and read information aloud, even if it’s the cereal boxes at breakfast or a sign in the dentist’s waiting room. The key to encouraging children to read is to read, read, read!
Parts of Speech:
Use illustrated books or even comic books to help children become more familiar with nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. After reading the stories, pick out the different parts of speech together. When done on a regular basis with stories children enjoy, you’ll be surprised how quickly they’ll learn the different parts of speech and how long they’ll retain this knowledge.
Here’s a fun activity many children enjoy. They can assign colors to the different parts of speech. Then, with colored construction paper at their fingertips, they can jot down the nouns they find in a story on red construction paper, for instance. They cut up those nouns on red paper and drop them into a jar or box. Then they jot down the verbs from the story on blue construction paper, cut up the verbs, and drop them into the jar or box. They can continue with yellow adjectives, green adverbs, etc., cutting up the words and dropping them into the container.
Later, they can shake up the container and select a red noun, blue verb, yellow adjective, green adverb, and create their own fun or silly sentences. Over time, as they continue to add colorful words to the container, they’ll have quite a collection of nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, all color coded and clicking in their mind. And they’ll become much better at spotting the different parts of speech in sentences as they read.
Writing Activities:
Brainstorm new story prompts or creative writing ideas together each day. For instance: What if time ran backward? What if you could read everyone else’s thoughts? What if you had webbed feet and a beak? Describe what your day would be like, or write a story based on your "What if" ideas. Keep a daily writing journal full of your creative thoughts and stories.
As a family, think about a story you’d like to write. Decide on the characters, setting, plot, and storyline. Then have each family member write his or her own version of the story. Read your stories aloud and see how similar or different the stories are.
In today’s digital world of texting, instant messaging, and e-mail, letter- writing is still an important skill. Children can hone those skills by writing letters on a regular basis to friends and families. Remind them to write thank-you notes for gifts or favors, as well. They can also write letters and thank-you notes to famous folks. What might they write to Dr. Seuss? What would they thank him for? What would they write to Pocahontas, or to Lewis and Clark, or to Mark Twain? They can write letters to other favorite authors, actors or actresses, or local heroes.
Spelling and Vocabulary Fun:
Use Scrabble game tiles, magnetic letters, or other types of letter tiles for spelling practice. See who can spell the words the quickest. See who can create the silliest word. Spell out words on each other’s backs with your fingers, and see who is the most ticklish as kids practice their spelling skills!
Spelling lists are available for Kindergarten through Grade 9 at www.HomeSpellingWords.com. For online spelling and vocabulary, browse spelling and word games at www.FunBrain.com/Games/Spellaroo.
More subject areas, topics, and activities are coming in the next few days, so check back soon!
Remember to sign up for our Weekly Newsletter in the Subscribe box on the right!
Happy homeschooling!
Language Arts Activities
Language arts encompasses English, reading, writing, spelling, vocabulary, grammar, composition, literature, drama, and poetry, listening and speaking, and related written or oral activities. Ideas and activities follow.
Reading Activities:
Reading need not be dull! Famous or popular movies are made from books and stories! If your children are not especially interested in reading, try reading movie scripts together, such as Disney movie scripts or family movie scripts featured on www.SimplyScripts.com. Use the scripts to act out the movie, and compare scripts to the book version of the story. Try writing your own scripts, too!
Turn your library visits into story scavenger hunts! Have children find books that will take them to another land, another planet, or an imaginary world. See if they can locate books by particular authors or stories that focus on a particular time period.
Make it fun! If your children are having no luck finding such books, see if you can help. Pull out a few selections from the shelves and point out the colorful pictures or delightful illustrations. Then wonder aloud what might be occurring in the story. Begin reading a few of the pages aloud, and soon their interest will be piqued.
Book suggestions and Reading Lists are available at www.KidsReadingCircle.com and https://www.rd.com/list/the-best-childrens-books-ever-written. The RD (Reader’s Digest) site lists “100 Best Children’s Books of All Time.”
Breathe life into the stories you read together. In addition to discussing the characters and events in the stories, create your own plays or dramatic performances based upon the stories. Or simply take turns reading the lines of the different characters in the voices that seem to reflect their personalities. This often results in fits of giggles and reading fun!
Read to them, share written stories with them, read newspapers aloud, and read information aloud, even if it’s the cereal boxes at breakfast or a sign in the dentist’s waiting room. The key to encouraging children to read is to read, read, read!
Parts of Speech:
Use illustrated books or even comic books to help children become more familiar with nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. After reading the stories, pick out the different parts of speech together. When done on a regular basis with stories children enjoy, you’ll be surprised how quickly they’ll learn the different parts of speech and how long they’ll retain this knowledge.
Here’s a fun activity many children enjoy. They can assign colors to the different parts of speech. Then, with colored construction paper at their fingertips, they can jot down the nouns they find in a story on red construction paper, for instance. They cut up those nouns on red paper and drop them into a jar or box. Then they jot down the verbs from the story on blue construction paper, cut up the verbs, and drop them into the jar or box. They can continue with yellow adjectives, green adverbs, etc., cutting up the words and dropping them into the container.
Later, they can shake up the container and select a red noun, blue verb, yellow adjective, green adverb, and create their own fun or silly sentences. Over time, as they continue to add colorful words to the container, they’ll have quite a collection of nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, all color coded and clicking in their mind. And they’ll become much better at spotting the different parts of speech in sentences as they read.
Writing Activities:
Brainstorm new story prompts or creative writing ideas together each day. For instance: What if time ran backward? What if you could read everyone else’s thoughts? What if you had webbed feet and a beak? Describe what your day would be like, or write a story based on your "What if" ideas. Keep a daily writing journal full of your creative thoughts and stories.
As a family, think about a story you’d like to write. Decide on the characters, setting, plot, and storyline. Then have each family member write his or her own version of the story. Read your stories aloud and see how similar or different the stories are.
In today’s digital world of texting, instant messaging, and e-mail, letter- writing is still an important skill. Children can hone those skills by writing letters on a regular basis to friends and families. Remind them to write thank-you notes for gifts or favors, as well. They can also write letters and thank-you notes to famous folks. What might they write to Dr. Seuss? What would they thank him for? What would they write to Pocahontas, or to Lewis and Clark, or to Mark Twain? They can write letters to other favorite authors, actors or actresses, or local heroes.
Spelling and Vocabulary Fun:
Use Scrabble game tiles, magnetic letters, or other types of letter tiles for spelling practice. See who can spell the words the quickest. See who can create the silliest word. Spell out words on each other’s backs with your fingers, and see who is the most ticklish as kids practice their spelling skills!
Spelling lists are available for Kindergarten through Grade 9 at www.HomeSpellingWords.com. For online spelling and vocabulary, browse spelling and word games at www.FunBrain.com/Games/Spellaroo.
More subject areas, topics, and activities are coming in the next few days, so check back soon!
Remember to sign up for our Weekly Newsletter in the Subscribe box on the right!
Happy homeschooling!
Thursday, October 27, 2022
Weekly Lessons for All Grade Levels
Here are some Lesson Plan Ideas for this week, including Nature Journaling and Math in Nature.
Language Arts
- Why Nature Journaling works: "The long-time industrialized approach, the so-called factory model of schooling, has failed many.... Nature journaling, by helping learners become observant or immersed in, and reflective on, the world around them, sets the stage for lifelong self-learning from primary sources.... It incorporates sciences, local social and natural history, math, language, art, and physical education into one, integrated practice." (Clare Walker Leslie, from Keeping a Nature Journal).
- Read about the learning workshops based on Keeping a Nature Journal by author Clare Walker Leslie.
- See examples of Nature Journaling from the book entitled My Nature Journal: A Personal Nature Guide for Young People.
- Create a unique, artistically inspired Nature Journal of your own.
- Books on Nature Journaling: My Nature Journal: A Personal Nature Guide for Young People by Adrienne Olmstead. Keeping a Nature Journal by Clare Walker Leslie and Charles Roth. Nature Log Kids: A Kid's Journal to Record Their Nature Experiences by Deanna Brandt.
- As you write about and sketch scenes from Nature, immerse yourselves in Nature activities, such as rock collecting, leaf collages, nature scavenger hunts, inspecting animal tracks, insects, plants, and pond life. After sketching and investigating, notice how children begin seeing their world differently and more clearly.
- Journal writing activities: Have children regularly compose poems or songs based on some of their Nature sketches. Have them create imaginative stories revolving around topics inspired by their Nature Journals, such as a bird's travels, a rabbit's adventures, a tree's history, a flower's hopes, a seed's beginnings and future, a stream's journey, etc.
Social Studies
- View the beautifully illustrated Nature Journal of Aleta Karstad. Discuss the ways that sketches and writings from Nature can document the history and ongoing changes of a place.
- See how to make and keep a Nature Journal, according to John Muir, the inspiration for and first president of the Sierra Club. Read "What Is a Nature Journal" then "Make Your Own Journal."
- Learn more about John Muir, read his biography, and read quotes by John Muir at the Sierra Club site (https://vault.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/bio/default.aspx).
- Use your Nature Journal to document the history of places near you. Sketch the way they appear today and date your sketches. Sketch the same scenes a month from now, and three months from now, remembering to date the sketches each time. Discuss the changes and how the areas might have looked 100 years ago, and 100 years from now.
- Take field trips to places of interest nearby, bringing along your Nature Journal. Sketch new buildings or stores that now stand where fields or woods once stood. Research the history of those areas. Find previous photos of those locations and sketch how the area once looked. How have the changes affected your community? What are the positive and the negative effects of the changes?
- Determine if any upcoming changes, developments, or new construction are being planned for your community. Sketch those areas as they appear today, before the changes or construction occur. Sketch the locations periodically, as the changes progress. You will have a graphic and descriptive history of those areas, which you can share with others in the future.
- If you sketch and document changes within your community, consider donating your Nature Journal to your local library or as an exhibit for special events at your local museum.
Math
- Research Math in Nature. Learn about Fibonacci numbers in Nature, patterns in Nature, and spirals in Nature.
- Fibonacci numbers can also be seen in flower petals and seed heads. Find flowers or seed heads in nature and sketch them. Or sketch those that you find on the Internet. Label and date your sketches in your Nature Journal.
- Learn more about Fibonacci numbers in flowers, shells, trees, leaf arrangements, pinecones, pineapples, and more.
- Find pinecones or view pinecones on the Internet. Then sketch your pinecones, noting the spirals in the cone.
- Make bird feeders from your pinecones for your backyard friends, too.
Science
- Create a "Backyard Wildlife Scrapbook" of your own Backyard Wildlife Habitat.
- Investigate the animals and plants, make your own "animal cards" or "plant cards", construct dioramas or poster displays of their habitats and ecosystems, and write reports or label your projects with descriptive paragraphs.
- Get more Nature Journal ideas from the Smithsonian's richly illustrated "Introduction to the Nature Journal".
- Create Journal pages for recording nature observations and drawing sketches of what you see each day.
- Remember to encourage your children's enthusiasm, ideas, and activities, and run with them! Allow them to lead you in new and varied directions, for fun, well-rounded learning your children will remember for a lifetime!
Life Skills
- The process of sketching and drawing helps children to learn how to focus in the "here-and-now." The end results of their artwork help children see how "effort correlates to results."
- Accomplishments and improvements in drawing capabilities show children how "practice makes perfect". They will see, and better understand, that building skills does require time and effort. But they'll also see that the process is fun and inspirational, making skill-building all the more enjoyable and worthwhile.
- Sketch "everyday life" scenarios, such as mom doing yard work, dad cooking, siblings doing daily chores, the family playing games together, family members caring for or playing with pets, the mail carrier delivering mail, the neighbor taking out the trash, etc.
- Read "Getting Back to Nature with Your Kids" (https://www.livingmags.info/features/back-to-nature) and "Nature and Kids" (https://www.ahaparenting.com/read/nature). Then discuss ways to enjoy the outdoors, while staying safe and healthy at the same time.
- Brainstorm all the fun outdoor activities you could take part in and make a list of them.
Arts and Music
- Create a unique Nature Journal and always keep it handy.
- Try illustrations from Aleta Karstad's journal.
- Listen to your favorite music while sketching, drawing, or painting. See if the music helps to inspire your drawings, or does it hinder your inspiration? What types of music are most enjoyable to listen to while you're drawing?
- Try drawing birds and learn about John James Audubon.
Check back often for more lesson plan ideas to come!
Happy homeschooling!
Language Arts
- Why Nature Journaling works: "The long-time industrialized approach, the so-called factory model of schooling, has failed many.... Nature journaling, by helping learners become observant or immersed in, and reflective on, the world around them, sets the stage for lifelong self-learning from primary sources.... It incorporates sciences, local social and natural history, math, language, art, and physical education into one, integrated practice." (Clare Walker Leslie, from Keeping a Nature Journal).
- Read about the learning workshops based on Keeping a Nature Journal by author Clare Walker Leslie.
- See examples of Nature Journaling from the book entitled My Nature Journal: A Personal Nature Guide for Young People.
- Create a unique, artistically inspired Nature Journal of your own.
- Books on Nature Journaling: My Nature Journal: A Personal Nature Guide for Young People by Adrienne Olmstead. Keeping a Nature Journal by Clare Walker Leslie and Charles Roth. Nature Log Kids: A Kid's Journal to Record Their Nature Experiences by Deanna Brandt.
- As you write about and sketch scenes from Nature, immerse yourselves in Nature activities, such as rock collecting, leaf collages, nature scavenger hunts, inspecting animal tracks, insects, plants, and pond life. After sketching and investigating, notice how children begin seeing their world differently and more clearly.
- Journal writing activities: Have children regularly compose poems or songs based on some of their Nature sketches. Have them create imaginative stories revolving around topics inspired by their Nature Journals, such as a bird's travels, a rabbit's adventures, a tree's history, a flower's hopes, a seed's beginnings and future, a stream's journey, etc.
Social Studies
- View the beautifully illustrated Nature Journal of Aleta Karstad. Discuss the ways that sketches and writings from Nature can document the history and ongoing changes of a place.
- See how to make and keep a Nature Journal, according to John Muir, the inspiration for and first president of the Sierra Club. Read "What Is a Nature Journal" then "Make Your Own Journal."
- Learn more about John Muir, read his biography, and read quotes by John Muir at the Sierra Club site (https://vault.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/bio/default.aspx).
- Use your Nature Journal to document the history of places near you. Sketch the way they appear today and date your sketches. Sketch the same scenes a month from now, and three months from now, remembering to date the sketches each time. Discuss the changes and how the areas might have looked 100 years ago, and 100 years from now.
- Take field trips to places of interest nearby, bringing along your Nature Journal. Sketch new buildings or stores that now stand where fields or woods once stood. Research the history of those areas. Find previous photos of those locations and sketch how the area once looked. How have the changes affected your community? What are the positive and the negative effects of the changes?
- Determine if any upcoming changes, developments, or new construction are being planned for your community. Sketch those areas as they appear today, before the changes or construction occur. Sketch the locations periodically, as the changes progress. You will have a graphic and descriptive history of those areas, which you can share with others in the future.
- If you sketch and document changes within your community, consider donating your Nature Journal to your local library or as an exhibit for special events at your local museum.
Math
- Research Math in Nature. Learn about Fibonacci numbers in Nature, patterns in Nature, and spirals in Nature.
- Fibonacci numbers can also be seen in flower petals and seed heads. Find flowers or seed heads in nature and sketch them. Or sketch those that you find on the Internet. Label and date your sketches in your Nature Journal.
- Learn more about Fibonacci numbers in flowers, shells, trees, leaf arrangements, pinecones, pineapples, and more.
- Find pinecones or view pinecones on the Internet. Then sketch your pinecones, noting the spirals in the cone.
- Make bird feeders from your pinecones for your backyard friends, too.
Science
- Create a "Backyard Wildlife Scrapbook" of your own Backyard Wildlife Habitat.
- Investigate the animals and plants, make your own "animal cards" or "plant cards", construct dioramas or poster displays of their habitats and ecosystems, and write reports or label your projects with descriptive paragraphs.
- Get more Nature Journal ideas from the Smithsonian's richly illustrated "Introduction to the Nature Journal".
- Create Journal pages for recording nature observations and drawing sketches of what you see each day.
- Remember to encourage your children's enthusiasm, ideas, and activities, and run with them! Allow them to lead you in new and varied directions, for fun, well-rounded learning your children will remember for a lifetime!
Life Skills
- The process of sketching and drawing helps children to learn how to focus in the "here-and-now." The end results of their artwork help children see how "effort correlates to results."
- Accomplishments and improvements in drawing capabilities show children how "practice makes perfect". They will see, and better understand, that building skills does require time and effort. But they'll also see that the process is fun and inspirational, making skill-building all the more enjoyable and worthwhile.
- Sketch "everyday life" scenarios, such as mom doing yard work, dad cooking, siblings doing daily chores, the family playing games together, family members caring for or playing with pets, the mail carrier delivering mail, the neighbor taking out the trash, etc.
- Read "Getting Back to Nature with Your Kids" (https://www.livingmags.info/features/back-to-nature) and "Nature and Kids" (https://www.ahaparenting.com/read/nature). Then discuss ways to enjoy the outdoors, while staying safe and healthy at the same time.
- Brainstorm all the fun outdoor activities you could take part in and make a list of them.
Arts and Music
- Create a unique Nature Journal and always keep it handy.
- Try illustrations from Aleta Karstad's journal.
- Listen to your favorite music while sketching, drawing, or painting. See if the music helps to inspire your drawings, or does it hinder your inspiration? What types of music are most enjoyable to listen to while you're drawing?
- Try drawing birds and learn about John James Audubon.
Check back often for more lesson plan ideas to come!
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!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)