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Hands on Ancient Civilizations Archaeology Activity

Up until a few weeks ago, I honestly couldn’t spell archaeology. I would get lost as soon as I typed that “ae” in the middle.

As an introduction to ancient civilizations with our boys we decided to do an introduction unit on archaeology. 

We had so much fun I wanted to share it with you. 

9 Steps to Create an Archaeological Dig for Kids

Collage of kids doing a backhoe-are archaeological dig
  1. I gathered about a dozen random items from around the house.

They were everything from plastic bottle caps to a vegetable peeler. I tried to keep them hidden from the boys as I collected “future artifacts”.

2. We went to the library and checked out some great archaeology books. 

My favorites in this batch were  Eyewitness Archaeology and Digging up the Past.

3. We watched the Young Indiana Jones on Netflix and some of Indiana Jones. This was the secret sauce to hooking the boys. 

4. When they were not watching, I buried our artifacts in a shallow tub and placed it on the side of the yard.

5. I casually mentioned they needed to get shoes, socks and a hat.

 “I had just received news that an artifact was discovered in our yard!’

The boys ran.

6. We gathered tools: a screen sifter, hand shovels, ribbon to make quadrants in our dig site, paper and pencil to record our finds, and a camera.

Oh, I almost forgot. Real walkie-talkies. These were the highlight.

7. I sent them out to locate the dig site.

Ok, at first they were devastated that there was a staged tub of dirt. The youngest almost cried because he was ready to get a backhoe and tear up the grass!!

8. Once they embraced the activity: we split the tub into quarters.

I had them divide their papers into quarters. We numbered and labelled each quarter on our data sheet and then divided the dig site. The oldest chose the deepest dirt of course.

9. The rules. 

The kids would carefully remove dirt until they uncovered something. Then they were required to switch to toothbrushes. They had to carefully brush away dirt until the artifact could be seen. Next they had to sketch the item on their data sheet in the position it was found, then they could remove it and continue digging.

They LOVED this activity after they recovered from the fact that mom staged it.

Follow up activities.

1. Catalogue their finds.

 Take a picture of each artifact and carefully describe (in writing) everything about the item and indicate exactly where it was found.

2. Review the 7 aspects of culture. 

Arts and Literature, Customs and traditions, Economic Systems, Forms of Government, Language, Religion, Social Organization. 

3. Create an educated guess about each artifact (ignoring its true life purpose they will create a new one) and create a chart that has each artifact fit into one of the 7 aspects of Culture.

What did we cover?

  • Math: Charting
  • Reading
  • History: 7 Aspects of Culture, Intro into Ancient Civilizations
  • Science: Archaeology
  • Writing: descriptive and creative writing
  • Art: sketching real life objects

This is a very full project. We spent 2 weeks so far and will take another week to wrap up the writing portion (maybe 2 weeks depending on life). (If I had a chance to do it again I’d get theses two books:

Hands On Archaeology for Kids

Pyramids!

How about you?
Have you done any amazing hands-on archaeology projects?

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: a better way to homeschool, archaeology, hands on ancient Civilizations projects, homeschooling multiple grades, Uncategorized

Email Whitelisting

GMAIL:

  1. In your inbox, locate an email from bekki@Abetterwaytohomeschool.com (ex. your welcome mail for the file you just downloaded).
  2. Open the email and locate the “down arrow” next to the reply button at the top right of the message.

Click the down arrow and select “Add to Contacts List” from the dropdown menu. 

That’s it! Now you can look forward to your next A better Way to Homeschool message, headed to your inbox soon.

YAHOO! MAIL:

When opening an email message, a “+” symbol should display next to From: and the sender’s name. Select this and an “Add to contacts” pop-up should appear. Select “Save”:
Yahoo whitelisting

MAC MAIL:

Select “Mail” and “Preferences” from the top menu.
Mac Mail Whitelisting
In the “Preferences” window, click the “Rules” icon.
Click the “Add Rule” button.
mac2
In the “Rules” window, type a name for your rule in the “Description” field.
Use the following settings: “If any of the following conditions are met: From Contains.”
Type the sender’s email address in the text field beside “Contains.”
Select “Move Message” and “Inbox” from the drop-down menus.Click “Ok” to save the rule.

OUTLOOK 2003 &; LATER:

Right-click on the message in your inbox.
Select “Junk E-mail” from the menu.
Click “Add Sender to Safe Senders List.”
outlook

DON’T SEE YOUR EMAIL PROVIDER HERE?

Check out the instructions on this page.
See you in your inbox!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: email whitelist, Uncategorized

Teachers and Homeschoolers Sharing Wisdom Part 3: Guest Blogger Jennifer Garcia

I am just loving the guest Bloggers who have graced us with wisdom these past few weeks! The links are at the end of this post!

Today’s guest blogger is Jennifer Garcia with Pages of Grace.
She is a Christian, teacher, wife, mom, runner, cake decorator, and craft enthusiast who tries to enjoy the little things in life. I love that! Get ready. Jennifer, like me, began by disagreeing with homeschooling! I love how the Lord changed her heart!

Here’s Jennifer!

To
be honest, when I was teaching in the classroom, I did not understand
why people chose to homeschool.

Through
my college education and the years I spent working in public schools,
I was trained to believe that children should be in regular school;
it was not good for them to be deprived of the socialization that
comes from the schools.

Now
that I have children of my own, my whole thought process has changed!

I
decided to take a few years off when I had my first child, always
planning on going back to the classroom when my children were in
school. Over the past year, we have spent a lot of time looking at
the different school options in our area, and I am feeling more and
more that homeschool is a very good option for us and many other
families.

My
older daughter attends a Christian preschool, and I do supplemental
work at a home with her and my younger daughter. I completely
understand and respect the reasons that parents choose to homeschool
their children now. Parents know what is best for their own children.
There are many reasons, but these are the three big ones that stick
out to me and many people I know:

*We
want more time with our children. Family time seems to be less and
less important these days, but in reality, I believe it is more
necessary than ever. By spending that extra time with our children,
we have the opportunity to pour love, wisdom, and morals into our
children that we might not have if they were in school every day.

*Exposing
our children to things when we feel it is right. There is such a push
to throw kids out in society and let them deal with it, because
that’s what “everybody” does. However, we feel that there
is a proper time and place for children to be exposed to certain
ideas and situations, and it should be when we feel they are ready,
not when society says they should.

*Religious
reasons. While everyone has their own beliefs, we believe that Jesus
and the Bible should guide our lives. Our society has removed every
ounce of truth from our schools, to the point where I felt I had to
walk on eggshells as a teacher. It is very sad to see that the more
we push God away, the worse our society has become. Students will
eventually have to grow up and make their own choices, but I believe
that children need to spend these influential years in an atmosphere
of love and truth, so they are ready for what the world throws at
them later.

My
children are young, so we are mostly focused on literacy right now. I
create activities and lessons based on their interests. I know the
topic that I want to focus on, and then I mix it with the things that
my kids enjoy. For example, my girls are both really into art, so
when we are working on letter recognition, I give them lots of
different materials and have them make letters using the different
materials–rhinestones and glitter are their favorites 🙂 They also
love playing games, so when we started doing sight words, I made some
games that we could play together to reinforce the sight word
practice. I think the key to approaching new things is to know the
topic that you need to teach, and then create learning activities
around the interests of the children.

When
I was in the classroom, I worked with many struggling learners. Here
is my approach to helping them succeed:

First
and foremost, you have to know the child. Look at all of the
background information so you understand what is NOT working.

Then,
I take a different approach. If one method is not clicking, I try
something else. I also think it is important to take things one step
at a time. It can be overwhelming to look at a child who is
struggling in every area. I take the approach of tackling one thing
at a time, and also making it a point to praise every milestone and
achievement. This builds confidence in the student and helps him feel
that he is making progress and that the goals are in reach.

My
Teachers Pay Teachers store has a wide variety of resources, because
I have things from the classroom (4th-6th grade) and things that I
make for my own children (preschool-kindergarten). I will include
some products from different levels, in the hopes that it will help
parents with multiple children.

This
is my main freebie.

It
is a set of task cards for double digit multiplication. Task cards
are a great resource that can be used in many different ways.

Double Digit Multiplication Task Cards

This
is one of my phonics packets. I have a series of phonics packets that
I made to teach my children how to read. I think this is a great
homeschool resource. It is easy to follow and progresses smoothly
from one topic to the next. Each packet builds upon the last. The
packets are designed to focus on one or two word families at a time,
allowing children to focus on and master one thing and build
confidence. This is the first packet (CVC words). I have 3 other
packets in my store now, and I am working on adding more soon.

CVC Complete Practice Packet-No Prep 

I
have some novel studies that are complete integrated units. These are
a fun way to really dive into a book, while covering many different
skills. This link is for the book, Holes. I also have novel studies
for Charlotte’s Web and The Tale of Desperaux, and I am in the
process of adding a few more in the next few months.

Holes Novel Study-Complete Integrated Unit 

I
hope parents find this information helpful, and I look forward to
learning more about homeschool ideas from the other people in this
guest blog. Thank you for the opportunity to collaborate 🙂



Recent Guest Bloggers:
Melissa Jenkins,  My Broken BootStraps 
Lisa Smith, Tales of Teaching and Learning

Disclosure:
I receive no monetary perks for any of the teaching and learning packets shared in this post. I am simply trying to share my heart for becoming a better educator by connecting great teachers with great homeschoolers. We have so much to learn from each other!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Jennifer Garcia, teachers sharing wisdom, Uncategorized

Teachers And Homeschoolers Sharing Wisdom: Guest Blogger Lisa Smith

http://talesofteachingandlearning.blogspot.com/
I am super excited to introduce you all to my first “Teacher Guest Blogger”, Lisa Smith!

As a fellow wife, mom, Christian, principal, teacher and author you can be assured that she has a lot of valuable wisdom and insight for each one of us.


Make her welcome, comment on her post, visit her blog, and grab one of her fabulous resources at the bottom of this post!


                                                                          ~Bekki

I
believe that it’s the parent’s choice how their children are raised
and taught. Whether you are a public school teacher,
private school teacher or a homeschool teacher, you work
hard for the success of your students and that should be respected. 

In
reality, homeschool teachers and public school teachers have a lot in
common. We all create lessons, assessments, and follow standards (of
some kind). Instead of noting the differences, we need to work
together to share ideas and materials, because in the end, we all
want our students to succeed.

When
creating a new lesson, I always begin with the end in mind.
I ask myself, “What is it that they must know?” Then, I
create the assessment before making the activities and
lessons. This helps me stay focused on what’s important. 

I
am not a fan of making every 
assessment a traditional “test.”

 Assessments do not have to be boring! 

For example, my Events
in History Series have
projects for assessments. In my science class, I assess students by
using my Around
the Room Science Task Cards.
If students can finish the cards, I know they have mastered the
skills. In my fifth grade math class, I used Math
Bingo Cards and
a Classifying
Shapes Activity to
assess student learning 
                          (You can visit Lisa’s store by following the link at the end of this post)

In
addition, reviewing content doesn’t have to be boring. 
One of my
favorite review activities came from Tr. Harvey Silver. 
It called the
Magic Box. 
Basically, you have the students draw a box and have them
write everything they learned on that topic in the box. After you
give them plenty of thinking time, you go over the items in their box
and help them add to it. This makes a great study guide, or a quick
assessment.

In
my state, Indiana, we will have four different standardized tests in
a four year period. We would be fools to worry about “teaching to
the test.” Instead, we focus on teaching our standards. In my
opinion, standards do not limit teachers or take away their freedom
to be creative. Standards are just the checklist of what my kids need
to know before they leave me. What I do to meet that standard is up
to me.

I
use a standards checklist to ensure I meet my standards.
This standards checklist helps me to ensure that I am helping my
students be successful. Standards are important because they are a
teacher’s guidepost. Every successful program has standards. They
may not be Common Core or state standards, but if you have created
your own curriculum, you most definitely had to put thought into what
you wanted your child to learn and those are standards by which you
teach. 

I
sincerely thank you for reading my post and a special thank you to A
Better Way to Homeschool for the guest host opportunity.
More about Lisa:

My husband and I have three children ranging from 10 to 17 years old. I have a wide-range of teaching experience.  

Many years ago I owned a preschool and was a teacher for 4 and 5 year olds. After selling the preschool, I taught first grade at a rural school corporation and then taught fifth grade at a charter school.  

For the last five years, I have taught in the community in which I live. Within those five years, I taught fifth and sixth grade. This year, I was promoted to principal of the elementary school and I am the High Ability Coordinator and Curriculum Director for my school corporation.

Please
visit my Teacher Pay Teacher store for units that may be helpful to
you and your children
at https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Rigorous-Resources-By-Lisa

*********************************************************************************

Isn’t Lisa Great?
I asked her to share three fabulous resources with us. Not only does she have a wealth of experience and wisdom, but she also creates learning materials that can be easily used in our homeschooling environments. Here we go:
Freebie:
Poetry Posters
Even though the cover says “Classroom Posters”, these would make wonderful notebook references for homeschoolers studying poetry!
Poetry: (5-7th grade)
NO PREP Poetry Close Read Bundle
This is a great way to do a poetry focus. Lisa has done all the planning for you!
Plot Structure: (4th-8th)
Plot Unit
This complete unit helps us teach our kiddos how to analyze the plot of a story in an objective way.
Disclosure:
I receive no monetary perks for any of the teaching and learning packets shared in this post. I am simply trying to share my heart for becoming a better educator by connecting great teachers with great homeschoolers. We have so much to learn from each other!



Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: guest blogger, how to homeschool better, teachers sharing wisdom, Uncategorized

Teachers Sharing Wisdom

I have a special treat for you!
I have asked a handful of teacher/educators to share their thoughts and wisdom with us.
Hear me out:
I consider myself a professional educator. I am always looking for better ways to teach my kids or help others. One of my richest pools of wisdom and advice is from my teacher friends.
I have lined up educators with various levels of teaching experience to share valuable wisdom. I am super excited.
Don’t be afraid.
I am still a homeschooler at heart. Often times I see homeschoolers and “public teachers” lined up on opposite sides of the educational fence, refusing to listen to one another. My hope is that this mini series will help bridge this gap.
Teachers have a lot to offer us as homeschoolers!
Stay tuned! I am thinking this series will be featured on Thursdays for the next few weeks. 
First up: Lisa Smith

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: teachers wisdom for homeschoolers, Uncategorized

Lessons from a Paper Roller Coaster

Lessons from a Paper Roller Coaster
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Rebekah-Sayler
My favorite part of homeschooling is having the ability to provide the opportunity for kids to dig deeper when they are sucked in to a learning experience.
When we moved to Washington State, our boys caught the last session of a class on  building a paper roller coaster.
Our youngest son was so bummed that he missed the chance to build one that the teacher quickly pulled together a kit for him.
Two months later, he was  still working on the coaster.
It has been an amazing learning tool.

What can you learn by building a Paper Roller Coaster?

  • Patience- This is not a “build it quick project. He spent days prepping and building the framework. We talked a lot about the need for a sturdy foundation and he took it to heart. This past week he decided to go taller. Currently, this nine-year old’s roller coaster frame is about 7 feet tall!
  • Planning- Once he had his framework set, he began planning the actual fun stuff. “where are my scissors?” That’s right. He has had them for weeks now.
  • Testing- Quickly, he learned that what he saw in his mind often did not work in reality. He would plan, cut and test, tweak the design and test again before he secured the feature into the coaster.
  • Support features- In order to go bigger, he learned that you must reinforce your design.
  • Coaching isn’t easy- By the time the coaster was 7 foot tall, the other boys in the house began to take notice.  In the picture above, the older son was showing his idea to the younger son. He explained how to make it and was getting frustrated that the younger one “wouldn’t listen”.
  Very Important Lesson: Just because you KNOW the best way, doesn’t guarantee the student will listen or accept your advice.
Sometimes the hardest thing about being a parent, teaching, or coaching is giving advice and then stepping back to watch… the 13-year-old in the picture was very offended that the nine-year-old wanted to try his way first…
I could not have created a lesson that would have demonstrated the value of being a patient coach!
Do you think your kids would enjoy this project?
Grab your paper roller coaster kit here.
Have an amazing day! 
Be willing to lay “school” aside to allow for learning!
 

More from Bekki

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: homeschool science, paper roller coaster, roller coaster physics, Uncategorized

Happy Mother’s Day Gift Idea

Mother's Day Flower Pot Booklet & Keepsake

Mother’s Day is right around the corner. 
I absolutely LOVE flowers for Mother’s Day, don’t you?

Inspired by our new home’s garden, I had to create a fun, easy, and sweet Mother’s Day Booklet and Keepsake for your kiddos.

This kit has everything you and your kids need to create this really cute booklet to bless mom.
Yeah, it is a bit self serving, I know. But I love it anyway.

I love Mother’s Day gifts like these because they capture the essence of my kids at the time they were created. Kind of like a time capsule, only better.

Hop on over and grab your Flower Pot Booklet Pack today!

By the way, this one is easily adaptable for kids of all ages! Yeah!!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Mother's Day Activity, Mother's Day craft, Mother's Day Gift, Uncategorized

I Know My Phone Number!

I Know My Phone Number!!


But do my kids?

We have been struggling to memorize our new phone numbers together. It is amazing how confusing it can become when you begin to throw out the old numbers and learn the new ones.

Our family has four phone numbers that need to be memorized. Phew! That is a lot!

I created this fun little foldable to help out our youngest.

In the event of an emergency, can you kids simply pick up a phone and call you or your emergency contact? If not, I would recommend that you begin memorizing phone numbers together.

(I confess, I JUST memorized my oldest son’s cell number. Since I simply dial by contact on my smart phone I never committed his number to memory. Bad mom.)

How do you teach your children important phone numbers?

***Just a final nudge***
My home phone does not work during a power outage. Does yours?
We have a back-up phone. you know, one of those plug into the wall types. I would recommend you not only have a back up, but teach your kids how to use it!

Do You Have a Minute? You might enjoy:
My Son Almost Died Today

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: learning phone numbers, phone number worksheet, teach phone number, Uncategorized

Don’t Rescue Your Kids

Don’t Rescue Your Kids from Boredom, Second Place,  
or Hard Work!

We recently moved to a beautiful new rental nestled on 4 acres in Washington.
The place is stunning, the yard a haven.

The boys have an absolute ball playing in the wonderland, but don’t necessarily enjoy the yardwork needed to keep it looking wonderful.

Today, our 11 year old was cutting his section of the grass. Since we are in fact in Washington, I was trying to make sure the main yard got cut before this afternoon’s rain. I did not succeed.

With 40 x 6 feet left to mow, the skies opened up and it began to pour. I mean pour!

I shouted to my son to stop mowing so he could get out of the rain.  
         He didn’t hear me.
                   I stood there under the over hang of the roof watching him mow.



He was smiling. Smiling in the pouring rain.

Why was my instinct to “save” him from the downpour? It must be a mom thing.

Not only did he finish cutting the grass with a huge grin, he also stumbled upon a beautiful little frog that he caught and relocated to our pond. The boy was in heaven.

Some of the best experiences in life are on the other side of trials, downpours and boredom.

We need to let our kids push through.
I’m talking to myself right now as I reflect on this, but I know I am not alone.

Kids today don’t have the same gumption as kids of the past. They need to work harder and be less entertained and coddled… Don’t you think? Maybe it’s because We have 5 boys and are very aware of our responsibility to raise future men that I feel this way.

  • Yes, it’s ok to make your kids do chores. It’s even ok to make them redo them if they did a lousy job for their age, or if they have a lousy attitude. Make them go get the trash bag out of the can and place it back in the kitchen and take it out again. 5, 10, 100 times if necessary.
  • Yes, it’s ok to let them cut the grass in the rain, or the sun, or under a rainbow. Supervised of course. (FYI- I almost always work right alongside the kids. If they are mowing, I’m weeding…)
  • Yes, it’s ok to have them vacuum, wash dishes, or fold laundry. Trust me, it will not kill them.
  • Yes, it’s ok for them not to win a game or trophy. If they did not win, then they lost. Teach them to win with humility and lose with grace.
Don’t Rescue Your Kids from Boredom, Second Place,  
or Hard Work! We all need them to grow up to be creative, humble, hardworking, gracious adults who are not afraid to work hard until the job is done right! Amen?

Who knows? Maybe they will smile in the rain and relocate a few frogs along the way…

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: boredom, Uncategorized

I Should Have Quit

Today is definitely one of those days.
I should have quit when:

  • The ceiling started dripping.
  • I realized the water was coming from the upstairs bathroom.
  • When I called the landlord to tell her that the upstairs bathroom was leaking into the downstairs bathroom.
  • When my 7th grader decided I was “wasting his time by trying to get him to write down a few math steps”.
  • My 7th grader was shaking in frustration, confusion, and rebellion.
  • The plumber came and asked me where the main water turn off was for our new home.
  • My 6the grader decided that 2 hours was an appropriate time limit for a lesson that was begun with the words, “honey, I am letting you do this easy math lesson today so you can practice three things: neatness, discipline, and timing…”
  • I looked at my 6th grader’s paper only to discover he had only neatly written the lesson number after 30 minutes.
  • My 4th grader disappeared from the school area… AGAIN.
  • My 7th grader announces to me, in front of the plumber, “mom, ______ just bit ______” (no names to protect the guilty)
Ok, I really should have quit when:
  • I realized that one of my kids bit another of my kids. (Really? I have No I kids under the age of 9!!!)
  • The guilty child was just “play biting in order to get his toy back…” (I repeat. My kids are older than 9).
  • The plumber asks, “So… You homeschool?”
  • I reply, “Yes sir. Only today is one of those days that I question homeschooling!”
I really, really, really should have quit when:
  • The boys almost hung the dog. Accidentally of course.
So, I quit. Just now.
I sent the boys to bed until tomorrow. (Or until I cool down, which ever comes first)
Do you ever keep going on a day that clearly communicates, “STOP!”
Tell me, I’m not the only one!!

My Best Sellers:
Snow
Days: All About Snow

Fine
Motor Skills Galore

Multiplication
Fact Practice Bundl
e

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: quit, Uncategorized, when homeschooling is hard

Moving and Homeschooling

In case you have been wondering where I have been…

Our family is relocating to Washington State. My home is in complete chaos. School has been virtually non-existent. It has been crazy!

I have not had time to even think about blogging lately, not to mention the fact that this is happening so quickly that it is a shock to all who know us. Out of love and respect for our family and friends, I wanted to make sure they heard about the move from us first, before reading about it here.

This is the actual week of our move, so I expect to be continuing with my internet silence for another few weeks, or until I can find my materials again.

For now, I am thankful for the flexibility of homeschooling! The boys have been champions at packing and disassembling. They are super excited for their adventure. Washington, Here we come!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: moving and homeschooling, Uncategorized

Snow Days!!! Learning About Snow During School

My boys and I are learning all about snow!

I set aside our “normal” curriculum and wrote a unit study on snow.

The boys are loving the break from the norm and are dreaming about our first snowfall. Hopefully we will be sledding before the new year. In the meantime we are learning about all the different types, colors, and sounds of snow. From Blood Falls to Surviving an avalanche, we are all amazed!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 
I am purposing to break from blogging until 2015!
Snow Days!! All About Snow-4th, 5th, 6th Grades- No Prep

May the Lord bless you and your family!!!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: snow Days, Uncategorized

Learning to Speak in Front of Crowds

One of our goals as home-schoolers is to teach our boys to be effective communicators.  We strive to teach all of the boys to be excellent in both their written and oral communication skills.

As future Godly men, we believe they need to have the confidence necessary to stand in front of a crowd and deliver a speech.Without dying. Without breaking into a sweat. Without cowering in fear.

One of the things we do for our boys is to look for speech competitions. One of our current favorites is called Oral Language.

The Boys select a piece of literature three to five minutes in length that they not only commit to memory but then perform dramatically in front of a panel of judges and an audience.

All three of our younger boys competed this year, two of them are moving on to the next level. The reason we are so proud of the boys has nothing to do with how they perform their pieces, but rather how they handle the stress of being in front of a crowd.They are all champions to us!

This is not a small task for either the boys or me.

  • It takes FOREVER to find acceptable pieces.
  • It takes weeks to memorize the pieces.
  • it takes dozens and dozens of practices to figure out how to act the piece out.
  • It takes me hours and hours to help them perfect their enunciation and timing.

It is always worth it!
Today I recorded two of the pieces to share with you and your children. Enjoy!

What kinds of things do you do to help your children become comfortable in front of a crowd?

 
This is his first year competing. He is nine years old and was terrified to go in front of the crowd. It has been a HUGE growing experience for him to participate.
 
This guy is one of my “ham children”. This piece is hysterical and he does a masterful job performing it.

Thanks to Anchor me Designs for the cute graphic above~

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[leadpages_leadbox leadbox_id=142a79846639c5] [/leadpages_leadbox]

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: oral language competition, speech, teaching speech, Uncategorized, video

Thanksgiving Week

I am not sure where this year went, but it is actually Thanksgiving week.

It is a bit bitter sweet for me, because our oldest son is actually not going to be able to make it home for the holiday. sniff, sniff. (He is blessed to go visit his sweet girlfriend’s family!)

Many years ago I gave up trying to get much school done during Thanksgiving week. Instead, we clean, decorate for Christmas, bake and truthfully just bask in the goodness of God.

My Secrets to Thanksgiving Success

  • I begin to thaw my 25 pound turkey on Sunday.
  • I Decorate for Christmas. (Why do I decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving?)
    • Hang Outside light. The kids are being trained to be good husbands and daddies someday, so we have been teaching them how to do this task for the last two years.
    • Put up our tree. (Yes, its an artificial one . But it is Gorgeous!) We string the lights and place the ornaments under the tree until after Thanksgiving.
    • Decorate the house. My mom gave me a sweet Christmas scene that I always put out each year, this too goes out before Thanksgiving.
  • I Plan School for the two weeks in between the Thanksgiving Holiday and our Christmas break and the first week back after the New Year.
    • I do not know about you, but I need these few weeks to be light and preplanned. All copies need to be made long before I need them! If I do not have these key weeks planned out, we do not do school.
  •  I bake pies and breads on Tuesday and Wednesday.
  • Wednesday I pull out clean and label all my serving dishes and utensils. I put little post its on each dish with the name of the entrée or side that is destined to be placed there on Thursday. Nothing is worse than finishing your gravy and having to look for your gravy bowl right before dinner. Pull them out ahead and you will be more relaxed.
    • Thanksgiving No Prep 3rd Grade Math, Reading, and Science

    • Pulling dishes and labelling is a great kid job!
  • Thursday. Thanksgiving Day. This will be my 30ish time cooking and serving Thanksgiving Dinner. We have had years when we celebrate two times so everyone can make it.
  •  Here is my staple Thanksgiving Menu!

Have a Wonderfully Blessed Thanksgiving!
Bekki

I am excited to share some of my learning packs with you!

6 Thanksgiving Activities Freebie

This freebie has some easy and fun Thanksgiving Activities. Great for K-1 graders.

4 Thanksgiving Jokes Solved with Divisibility Rules- 4th-7thThe Pilgrim packet above is full of activities that are great for 2nd-4th graders.

Color by Divisibility is a fun 4-6th grade activity pack.

                        Here are three of my newest packets.

15 Advent and Christmas Math and Reading Activities- 3rd-5

15 Advent and Christmas Activities

Order of Operations: Task Cards  5th-8th Grade & Homeschool 
Easy Practice for Order of Operations
Multiplication Mania: Learn 9 Hardest Multiplication Facts 
Learn and practice the hardest multiplication facts with this fun game

20 Christmas No Prep Math and Reading Activities-3rd Grade
 A fun collection of Christmas themed activities

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Thanksgiving Activities, Uncategorized

21 Thanksgiving Math Activities for Little Ones

 I am super excited about this next activity pack!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/21-Thanksgiving-Math-Activities-for-Kindergarten-979059

21 Thanksgiving Math Activities for you pre-K- First graders.

While I wrote it with Kindergarteners in mind, it would be fun for your little ones:).

This activity pack is loaded with fun coloring and math activities for your little ones. I loved holiday and themed pages because it seems even my older kids want to use them. It must be the “holiday buzz”!

More Thanksgiving Activities Here
 Thanksgiving Math, Reading, Science Activities for 3rd Grade
 30 Thanksgiving Activities, Crafts, and Games for K-2nd Grade
 21 Thanksgiving Math Activities for Kindergarten
 4 Thanksgiving Jokes Solved with Divisibility
 Fall Math and Literacy Super Bundle- Grades K-2


Did You Enjoy this Article? Subscribe to receive our latest and greatest: right here

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: fun kindergarten math, kindergarden math printables, math activities, Thanksgiving Activities, Thanksgiving Math activities for Kindergarten, Uncategorized

20 Thanksgiving Themed Math and Reading Activities

I just uploaded my latest learning pack, just in time to help you celebrate 
Thanksgiving with your kids.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Thanksgiving-No-Prep-3rd-Grade-Math-Reading-and-Science-Activities-1524016

I made this one with a 3rd grade focus, but many of the activities are great from k-4.

Click on the image to go to my store to preview the pack! 

 Here is the list of fun activities included:

Addition: “Owl” Show you my facts!
Multiplication: “Owl” Show you my facts!
Math: Round to the nearest 10
Math: Round to the nearest 100
Math: Round to the nearest 1,000
Addition: Color by SUM
Math: Who, who, who is first? (ordinal number practice- 2 pages)
Math: A-Mazing Turkey
Math Game: What’s the Number?
Math: EASY-Color by Number- Number Recognition
Math: Medium-Color by Number Multiples of 2, 3, 4, 5 ,6, 10
Game: Thanksgiving BINGO (4 game boards, 7 pages game pieces)
Reading for Facts! It’s all about the turkey!
Reading: Color by Sight words
Writing: Thanksgiving Acrostic
Nouns: Thanksgiving Nouns
Verbs: Thanksgiving Verbs
Adjectives: Thanksgiving Adjectives
Science: Life Cycle of a Pumpkin (2 pages: booklet and labels)
Science: Life Cycle of a Thanksgiving Turkey

More Thanksgiving Activities Here
 Thanksgiving Math, Reading, Science Activities for 3rd Grade
 30 Thanksgiving Activities, Crafts, and Games for K-2nd Grade
 21 Thanksgiving Math Activities for Kindergarten
 4 Thanksgiving Jokes Solved with Divisibility
 Fall Math and Literacy Super Bundle- Grades K-2

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: thanksgiving math, thanksgiving reading, Thanksgiving Science, thanksgiving writing, Uncategorized

Creativity and Boredom

My dad always said creativity and imagination lived just on the other side of boredom. I watch this truth play out not only in my own life, but the lives of my children as well. I have 5 very talented and creative boys. Yes, I am biased, but I am telling you it’s true.
My boys are Lego architects, writers, painters, musicians, and simply a whole bunch of fun to be around. Before I sound too much like a snotty prideful mom, I want to repeat what my dad always told me:

“Creativity and Imagination live just on the other side of boredom.”


Here is the secret to growing amazingly creative and imaginative kids… 
…Let them be bored!  
Allow your kids to get bored. I mean really bored. 
  • Do not rescue them (unless there’s blood).
  • Do not turn on the TV and absolutely ban “all things electronic.
  • Tell them all you have is an endless list of chores for them to complete if they come to you for suggestions.
  • If the weather permits, send ’em outside and tell them they cannot come in until the timer dings. At least an hour!
  • Sit back and wait…

 Depending on how over-stimulated and over scheduled your kids are, there will likely be a delay between their first boredom appointment and the flow of creativity. It could be a few minutes, or a few days.
Trust me it is worth the wait!
Plan for periods of boredom regularly. Daily is best. Summer is meant for this type of schedule- embrace it.
You may think I am crazy, but I am quite sane. Its the bored kids who create the “new games”. Its the bored kids who create awesome forts. Its the bored kids who write creative stories. Its the bored kids who think painting a fence is fun. Its the bored kids who weave complicated characters and events into their make-believe playtime. Its the bored kids who change the world.
Now, if you just cannot handle the thought of allowing your children to become really bored, or if the thought of the possibly whining makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck: cheat.

  • Go to the local thrift stores and let them buy some new dress-up clothes.
  • Pick up a few (or a few dozen) empty cardboard boxes.
  • Buy an assortment of PVC piping and let them create.
  • Find a spell-binding book to read aloud at breakfast or lunch. Be sure to stop reading at an exciting part! This is a great time to send them off. My kids end up personifying literary characters often!
  • Buy some spiral bound notebooks and “special pens” to help them write a creative story (Tell them you will not correct spelling and grammar… just let them write).
  • Invite a “cool big kid” over to play.

As homeschoolers we can over schedule our children’s lives to the point of physical and mental exhaustion. Slow down. Let the lull of summer on the horizon remind us that it is more than OK to slow down. We need to allow our children to come to the end of their schedules in order to provide time and opportunity for creativity.

Download your FREE  “Creativity and Boredom” {Printable}

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: bored kids, creativity and imagination in kids, great homeschool resources, how to homeschool, Uncategorized

Medieval Science: Sundials, Candles Clocks, and Water Clocks

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Medieval-Science-Sundials-Candle-Clocks-and-Water-Clocks-1492029http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Medieval-Science-Sundials-Candle-Clocks-and-Water-Clocks-1492029

I have been disappointed with our science curriculum this year. We are studying Medieval History together and I really wanted to integrate our science as well. I found a great little picture book with medieval science, inventions, and discoveries but it was lacking with hands-on activities.


What’s a girl to do?
Well, I decided to make my own activity pack.
This 9 page pack has a reading and reading comprehension activity, copy work pages that match each of my kids handwriting levels, and 3 hands on projects. The boys doesn’t know it yet, but we will be making a sundial, a candle clock, and a water clock.
I am super excited!
 I will add in pictures as we do the activities.
Happy Learning.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: candle clocks, Medieval History, medieval Science, sundials, Uncategorized, water clock

Army Men, Competing, and Inventing: A Great Morning

Our morning began like this:

This cute little guy found an old army parachute guy amongst the toy collection in our home.

This one discovery turned into an all morning endeavour and had my husband and I enjoying the simplicity of childhood.

Hubby taught this guy how to throw the army man, and then the fun truly began.  Enjoy the photo journey!

 

Hold him kinda like a baseball .

Chuck him high in the air .

Watch his chute deploy!

 

Bigger brother tried to outdo him, by digging into the toys and finding the “Super G.I. Joe” with Parachute.

Here is his explanation for how you throw the army man.

 

This guy looked around and discovered there were no more army men with parachutes, so he made one!

One grocery bag with the handles cut off

Gut a length of paracord, and pull out the 7 fibers (strings).
Find small pebbles…

Using the pebbles wrapped in the bag, tie the cords onto the bag. (Apparently the pebbles help the bag not rip! Great tip hubby!)

Will it work?

Fly, Bionicle, fly!!!

Success!

This was such a fun morning. There is something about watching your kids delight in simple childhood pleasures that truly delight the soul!

Of course, Hubby had to show us video. An 80 year old woman has a major parachute malfunction and lives to tell the tale.

Have fun with your kids today!

Preview of the Heart of Homeschooling God’s Way Master Class.

We need to STOP measuring success by grades, achievements, awards, and worksheets.

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: a better way to homeschool, Uncategorized

Insider Deal: Kindergarteners and Preschoolers


“Oh my goodness, Jane! I just found my favorite shoes on sale for almost 75% off!!”

Don’t you love it when you find an amazing deal?
I shout it from the rooftops when I can save money.
My husband works hard to provide for our family and he LOVES it when I save money too!!

        Get ready to shout from the rooftops my friend!

Check out my Kindergarten Bundle of fun!
This Kindergarten Bundle sells for $25 in my store. 
That is a great deal. That’s already over 50% off.

Want to see everything that is included?
View the product in my store here, but don’t buy it at that price!

One of the ways I am able to stay at home with my children is to run my homeschool website and create and sell fun activities. It’s such a blessing to hear how other’s are able to learn from my homeschooling journey or how their kids love my teaching materials.

It’s goose bump exciting for me.

I already work hard to keep my prices low for the general public, but homeschoolers have a special place in my heart. I never had a large homeschool budget. Actually, I had No Homeschool budget most years.

So for my homeschooling friends, I try to offer the lowest price possible while sill being able to help put milk in my kid’s cheerios. Let’s face it, dry cheerios are just not as awesome as milky cheerios!

If you looked at my store, you will see that this Kindergarten Bundle is only $25.


But that’s not a good enough deal for you, my friend.

As an Insider you receive the special price of only $15.



Full price is not for you, my friend.

Come back here to get your special deal:).





                                          

Yes, you have my permission to share this with your very best, best friend.
Everyone else, please encourage them to visit and join us here.

If they subscribe, they will have access to all of the same goodies you have had so far!

  • Homeschool 101 Guide
  • Homeschool Notebook Set Up Guide  {printable}
  • Homeschool Mindset Checklist {printable}
  • Homeschool Goal Sheet  {printable}
  • Unit Study Planner  {printable}
  • Babies and Toddler Survival Plan  {printable}
  • Notebooking Samples  {printable}
  • Math Concepts to Master before Graduating High School  {printable}
  • History Concepts to Explore  {printable}

If you are already a subscriber and are missing any of the things on this list, please email me here.
I have made wonderful changes to benefit your homeschooling journey.

If you are not a part of our secret club, simply click on the “Yes I want Help!” Button and jump on board! (OK, it’s not a secret club, but it is cool).

Download your FREE  “Kindergarten Fun” {Printable}



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Hi, I'm Bekki,

A professional Nerf Buller Dodging Homeschool Mom of five sons!
My passion is to help homeschooling moms educate their kids from the inside out.
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