Email Whitelisting GMAIL: In your inbox, locate an email from bekki@Abetterwaytohomeschool.com (ex. your welcome mail for the file you just downloaded). 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”: MAC MAIL: Select “Mail” and “Preferences” from the top menu. In the “Preferences” window, click the “Rules” icon. Click the “Add Rule” button. 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.” DON’T SEE YOUR EMAIL PROVIDER HERE? Check out the instructions on this page. See you in your inbox!
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. 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. 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. 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!
Teachers And Homeschoolers Sharing Wisdom: Guest Blogger Lisa Smith 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: Even though the cover says “Classroom Posters”, these would make wonderful notebook references for homeschoolers studying poetry! Poetry: (5-7th grade) This is a great way to do a poetry focus. Lisa has done all the planning for you! Plot Structure: (4th-8th) 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!
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
Lessons from a Paper Roller Coaster Lessons from a Paper Roller Coaster 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
Happy Mother’s Day Gift Idea 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!!
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
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…
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 Bundle
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!
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! May the Lord bless you and your family!!!
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~ Download your FREE "Homeschool Journal" {Printable} Sneak Peek at "Homeschool Guide for Real Families" {Free sample}
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. 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! This freebie has some easy and fun Thanksgiving Activities. Great for K-1 graders. The 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 Activities Easy Practice for Order of Operations Learn and practice the hardest multiplication facts with this fun game A fun collection of Christmas themed activities
21 Thanksgiving Math Activities for Little Ones I am super excited about this next activity pack! 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
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. 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
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}
Medieval Science: Sundials, Candles Clocks, and Water Clocks 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.
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.
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}
Fall Giveaway a Rafflecopter giveaway I am excited to share some of my creations with you! My Fall math and literacy super bundle has a wide assortment of fall and Thanksgiving themed activities. Beginning sounds, roll a turkey game, big, bigger, and biggest activities, make your own clock, lacing cards and more. This bundle is truly lacked with fun and learning. How do you enter? It is easy! Choose a way to earn points and you are automatically entered! This giveaway ends Monday night (10/6) at midnight. Click on the images to see what you may win! Prize: Fall Math and Literacy Super Bundle and your choice of any of my products listed in my store! No, you do not “get me”, but you do get to chose one of any of my products at my store!