Posts tagged ‘hands-on learning’

Day 1 of Homeschooling

As we sat and tried to read the beautifully illustrated book about clouds, my son’s body was wiggling all over, his hands were twiddling like crazy, and he was full of one thing – BOREDOM! All my carefully planned lessons for the year were going to be a complete flop with this highly active child!

All too soon I realized that his learning style was totally different than mine. And I had just finished creating a year’s worth of lesson plans that I would enjoy…. What to do now?

Determined to make his first year of homeschooling a success, I began scouring the Internet for resources and activities for my active child. Before long, I landed on Lesson Pathways.

My quick search for a lesson on clouds hit with success! A quick trip to the local supermarket and I was ready to try again. My son was skeptical as I pulled back out the Cloud book, but I was prepared for his reaction. I quickly added a piece of blue paper and a can of Redi Whip. Now I had his attention (and that of his younger sister as well ☺ ).

Six months later, we are still thriving on the hugely hands on lesson plans found in Lessons Pathways, and I have a household that LOVES Monday’s, which for them is “When all the fun starts”.

I would read a page, we would look at the pictures, and he would build me a cloud on his page from what we learned. It was AWESOME! My son, that only yesterday told me “I HATE LEARNING”, was now totally engrossed in the material! And not only was he totally into it, the whole family was soon getting involved in the hands on fun.

Six months later, we are still thriving on the hugely hands on lesson plans found in Lessons Pathways, and I have a household that LOVES Monday’s, which for them is “When all the fun starts”.

Bringing Action Into Your Home

Are you struggling with an active child’s lack of interest in learning what you are presenting through workbooks and table work? Here are a few great tips for adjusting your lessons to their needs:

1. Try not to stop them from moving – they are still listening even if they are pacing your living room or dribbling a ball at the same time.
2. When sitting is unavoidable, keep lessons short and offer little breaks in between each part.
3. Play games! They acquire information fastest when participating in a science lab, drama presentation, skit, field trip, dance, or other active activity.
4. Finally, check out Lesson Pathways for their great hands on applications!

And, as a Homeschooling Mama that appreciates using friends as my #1 resource, I would love to hear back from you. What are your tricks and tips for teaching the kinesthetic or physically active learner?

This post was written by Jody N.  A homeschool mom of two, living with her family in west Michigan.  You can read more about her and our other contributors by visiting the Our People page.

A second post in our “Making Math Meaningful” series, Lyn L. shares some insight on how to make math hands-on through yard sales.

Do you and the kids have stuff piling up everywhere? Need some extra cash for a family project or just for fun? Collect all that junk and have a yard sale. The kids can earn some extra money and practice hands-on math at the same time.

Hands-On Math Through Sorting

Building math skills isn’t always about the figures. Sorting items into categories can help build important skills the kids will need in solving complicated math problems. It also helps to keep the brain active. Items can be categorized by type, shapes, and even sizes. Differentiation is extremely important for solving all types of math problems.

Learn Math Through Pricing Sale Items

Kids can determine how much items should cost by their age, item type, wear and tear, and more. Comparison skills will help in all aspects of life, including math computation. Determining the value of something is essential to understanding how numbers and other math concepts work. It also will help in many career options – not just those related to the field of math.

Estimate How Much Would be Made

Not all yard sales will be successful enough to sell everything. But let the kids figure out what the potential profit from the sale would be if all items were sold. They should add up the prices of everything. Then, explain about how some people might bargain and allow for a certain percentage to be subtracted to reflect that. Then, explain about the items used in having the yard sale, such as markers and poster board to create signs, labels to create price tags, cost of food and beverages that might be sold, etc. These items need to be subtracted to come to the final estimate of profit. Keep this total for later use.

Let the Kids Cashier

Older kids can handle this without your help (just be sure to supervise for safety). With younger kids, you can explain it to them as they go, allowing them to be involved in the transaction as much as possible. Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and decimals/money-counting are common skills that will be used in cashiering. Kids also may get experience with fractions and percentages.

Final Hands-On Math Lessons Through the Yard Sale

At the end of the day, let your children add up all the money. Like in the profit estimate, supplies will need to be accounted for. Be sure your kids subtract those. Then, here’s where the estimate comes in handy. Let the kids compare the estimated figure to the actual profit to see how well the sale went. Explain how businesses do not always make what they think they will. Was there a profit after all the supplies?

Kids can learn math easily through hands-on lessons, such as this one. All you have to do is create the opportunity. Sometimes they present themselves. We just have to pay attention and grab those moments when possible. By allowing the kids to practice math in a hands-on situation, you are giving them necessary skills will last a lifetime.

Lyn Lomasi is a home school mom, expert parenting writer, former nanny, author of “Positive Parenting Tips for Every Week of the Year“, & owner of several websites, including ParentSuccessfully.com.

Homeschooling Preschoolers Happens Organically With Day-to-Day Activities

“What curriculum should I use with my preschooler?” This is a common question I hear from other mothers of preschoolers. What am I using for my kids? Mostly life. Here are some of my favorite preschool resources.

Online lesson plans for preschoolers–I love using online resources, which are easy to access in an odd moment, and through them I can glean plenty of ideas and inspiration for activities.

Crafts and art supplies–The craft section of your local dollar store is a bounty of possibilities for preschool activities. Pipe cleaners, puff balls, sequins, glitter, glue, foam pieces, tissue paper, paint and more can all be used for a wide variety of art projects and crafts.

Papers–lots of papers. My kids like to spread out and cut and glue and color and fold and paint… For this, we need PAPER! We use old newspaper beneath any painting sessions, old magazines for practicing cutting, and of course, construction paper and scrap copy paper for coloring projects.

Housework–Housework? How is housework learning for preschoolers? Oh, in so many ways! The simple act of creating matches from your odd sock basket encourages eye coordination and fine detail recognition. Helping to set a table place setting to make each person’s place look like your sample improves a child’s reasoning and memory skills. Learning to hold a dustpan while you sweep encourages motor skills. There are so many ways to include a child in your everyday activities, helping them develop skills that provide a base for learning later in life.

The Local Library–Library books are a must–children’s books of all kinds! Many children’s books can be used as the basis for additional learning activities. For example, one of my children’s favorites, Curious George, can be used to talk about the principle of floating and gravity when George the monkey floats away holding onto a bundle of helium balloons.

With these inexpensive and easily accessible learning resources in your home, your preschooler will learn more than you realize. It’s often in the unexpected moments that you see your children shine, especially when learning is a part of everyday life, instead of something with lots of pressure and structure attached!

Angela England lives in rural Oklahoma with her husband and soon to be four children, where she works as a professional blogger in addition to homeschooling, doing childbirth work and massage therapy. England is the founder of The Untrained Housewife – a social site for homemakers, mothers and homeschoolers to exchange back-to-the-basic tips and tricks.

Dam Square - Amsterdam

In February 2004, our family went on a six-week adventure in Amsterdam.  Before our trip, I spent an endless number of hours preparing.  You might think I was getting the essentials ready–you know, organizing rain gear and making sure each family member had clean underwear…  But no, I was preparing our curriculum.   I needed enough materials to educate THREE CHILDREN for SIX WEEKS!

My husband had already warned me.  On *this* trip, we were not going to pay the airlines the over-weight-limit surcharges for our suitcases.  We were going to pack light.  That meant a very limited number of books would be accompanying us on this trip.  I spent DAYS creating our learning plans. I decided what each child would be working on each day throughout the six weeks and then photocopied the appropriate portions of their textbooks.  I also copied worksheets, quizzes, and tests and assembled craft projects in resealable plastic bags.  Each child had a six-inch binder with everything he would need, including a binder zipper pouch with pencils, pens, erasers, markers, and crayons.  Yes, I am a geek!

After we recovered from our initial jet lag, the children and I pulled out the binders and began working.  The first day didn’t go so badly.  But things got progressively worse.  My middle son spent many hours staring out the window, watching the boats sail through the canal in front of our apartment and studying the people below. It was quite a struggle to get him to do any work.  My oldest son was battling George Washington.  He had chosen a book about Mr. Washington for his book report.  But he had no interest in the book (photocopied and in the binder, of course).  Instead, he was fascinated with a book he found on the shelf of the rental home, a book about the German occupation of the Netherlands.

On one particularly frustrating day, I decided to set our schoolwork aside and take the children to the grocery store.  Until then, my husband or I had gone to the store alone, as the stores in Amsterdam can be rather crowded and it was quite a long walk.  But we were out of some essentials, and quite honestly, I needed some Dutch chocolate therapy!

Grote Markt - Haarlem

The children and I spent about two hours in the grocery store that day.  It started off as a fun game.  We weren’t able to read the Dutch text on the food packaging, so we started guessing what things were.  Hmmm…..looks like a small bag of potato chips, but why is there a German Shepard on the front?  Ah, it also has the Purina logo!  Tomaten Soep?  Tomato Soup!   We then started to compare Dutch packaging to what we normally find in the United States.  Hot dogs in glass jars. Spiced raisin bread in a can.  Mayonnaise in a tube.  (I would have guessed toothpaste, but it was in an aisle with the ketchup and mustard.)

Next, we converted Euros to Dollars in order to compare prices.  We even factored in the exchange rate! We explored the enormous display of cheeses, and a very nice English-speaking gentleman told us how the different types of cheeses are made and even gave us samples to taste!  Finally, we had the ultimate fun–we bought some items and we had no idea WHAT they were!  (As it turns out, the cardboard carton in the dairy section labeled “Vla” is a thick, drinkable pudding.  Very yummy!)

The next day, I pulled out our binders again and the children groaned.  In fact, you’re probably groaning while reading this and thinking “How dense can this woman be?”  Ok, I won’t torture you any longer.  I finally gave in.  We didn’t touch the binders for the remainder of the six weeks!  Instead, I handed our Amsterdam tour guide books over to the kids and told them to plan our itinerary.

Each night they spent hours looking through the tour guide books, choosing the places they would like to visit. They looked at pictures, read descriptions, and even read insider tips!  Our vacation planning turned into a family project.  We purchased large sheets of blank newspaper print from a print shop and created an enormous wall calendar with each day’s activities.  We plotted our destinations on a map and planned our transportation routes via the local train system.  We also kept a running log of expenses for museums and attractions we visited, along with our transportation and food costs.  My oldest son also began writing a journal about our experiences in Amsterdam.

Madurodam

We were busy every second of the remainder of the trip!

We went to the Amsterdam Historisch Museum and learned the history of Amsterdam and the importance of the canal system.

We toured The Dutch Royal House (The Queens Palace) and learned about the Dutch Government and compared it to the US Government.

Queen's Palace

We went to Vondelpark and learned about the native plant life, fed the waterfowl, and took in an outdoor children’s theater production (in Dutch, but the children still liked it!)

We toured the Oude Kerk (Old Church), a architectural marvel, built in the year 1250.

We took a boat tour of the Amsterdam canals and learned about the waterway system and studied the unique bridges.

Amsterdam canal

We went to the Anne Frank house and learned what life was like for Anne and her family while they hid from the Nazis.

Anne Frank House

We visited Lord of the Attic, a secret hidden church built during the Reformation when Catholics were forbidden to hold public services.

We visited the Scheepvaart Museum and learned about Dutch Maritime History and general shipbuilding.  We also had fun on the Eastindianman Amsterdam, a remake of the original ship that sailed in 1749.

We went to the Museumplein, an amazing cultural area and visited the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum.

We visited Rembrandthuis and learned about Rembrandt’s life and studied his works.

Cheese Delivery

We visited the highly entertaining and educational Alkmaar Cheese Market (Kaasmarkt).  Watch the short video!

We toured the Gassan Diamond Factory and learned how to distinguish real diamonds from replicas.  We also learned about diamond excavation and the 4C’s to remember when purchasing a diamond.

We toured the Dutch Resistence Museum (Verzets Museum) and learned what life was like in the Netherlands during the German occupation.

We took a day trip to the sleepy little town of Haarlem and visited St. Bavokerk, a Gothic-style church supposedly built sometime before 1500 AD.

We took a day trip to The Hague (Den Haag), the International City of Peace and Justice, and visited Madurodam, an amazingly fun miniature replica of the Netherlands.

Madurodam

We took a day trip to the coastal town of Zandvoort and dipped our toes into the frigid waters of the North Sea.

Zandvoort

We took a day trip to Zaanse Schans, a village depicting Dutch life in the 17th and 18th centuries.  We watched craftsmen create klompen (Dutch wooden clogs), learned about cheese-making, and toured a working windmill.

We took a day trip to Kukenhof and saw amazing displays of brightly colored tulips and other plants.

We took a weekend trip to Paris, via a high speed Thalyus train.  We visited the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, and Notre Dame Cathedral.

Louvre

And we did a lot of grocery shopping!

As you can see, our trip was full of amazing experiences.  My children learned about culture, history, geography and many other subjects in a hands-on, enjoyable way.  And *I* learned a lot about my children!

This post was written by Jennifer G., homeschool mom of 3 and Lesson Pathways Team Member.