Posts tagged ‘homeschool’

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.

Have you been hit by the winter cold yet?  Now is a great time to explore what life is like in Arctic habitats and it just so happens we’ve got a fantastic line-up of resources for you to build your unit study.

This unit teaches children about the arctic habitat. They’ll learn about the climate differences and how animals and plants live within these environments. Learn about polar bears, create an Arctic scene and try an experiment to discover how it might feel to be an animal living in the Arctic. This unit also include printable worksheets, games and videos to complete your study.  This unit is designed to last about one week, depending on how often you teach science.

Last year we did a “child led” unit on Hanukkah, which included sharing an evening in celebration with some of our Jewish family friends and then attending their synagogue with them for a beautiful hanukia celebration. My daughter (and my Husband and I too!) thoroughly enjoyed learning about the traditions and history of their celebration. This year my daughter asked to learn more about the history and traditions of Christmas around the world.

Christmas is a holiday that we celebrate, but as we are discovering, we really know very little about the traditions and history behind our own beloved celebration. This year’s “child led” Christmas lessons are broken up into the three following categories: Christmas Traditions Around the World, Christmas Symbols, and Holiday Baking. (All three of the categories also cover language arts, geography, and history lessons, as well as hitting upon art, science, and math.)

Christmas is a holiday that we celebrate, but as we are discovering, we really know very little about the traditions and history behind our own beloved celebration.

Each day my daughter selects about five countries and we read aloud their Christmas traditions from Christmas Around the World.

When selecting the countries, she chooses them by region and compares and contrasts the neighboring countries (and then compares and contrasts the different regions). While reading about the Christmas Traditions of France, my daughter got very excited about the “Yule Log Cake” and wanted to make one for our Christmas feast. We found this delicious photo (warning…you will be drooling!) and Yule Log Cake Recipe.

We will be making this on Christmas Eve morning together (one of several Holiday Baking projects). We will also be baking various Christmas cookies from around the world, as well as a gingerbread house.

For Christmas Symbols (including many science rich opportunities in studying the various plants), we are using History of Christmas, one read aloud daily.

It was on reading about the Christmas tree that my daughter discovered Czechoslovakian painted eggs. We researched images of these and will make some painted eggs of our own to place on our tree.

I’ve always wanted to make Peppermint Bark so I think we are going to whip up a batch of these next week (Peppermint Bark Recipe).

We will use a locally made peppermint pig that we will smash to bits for it.  We are lucky enough to have Saratoga Sweets within a reasonable driving distance, so we will visit their sweet shop first and learn more about the process of making them and the traditions associated with it (this info is also on their Web site).

We are having such a jolly good time researching all about Christmas! Do you have a favorite tradition or holiday recipe you would like to share? We’d love to learn more about your traditions too!

Cheers,
Colette

This post was written by Colette D., a new-to-homeschooling Mom and a Lesson Pathways Blog contributing writer. She and her Husband raise their daughter together in the rural countryside of Upstate New York where they like to spend as much time as possible being creative and enjoying nature. She blogs about her adventures in sewing, crafting, and baking (among other things) at yearofhandmade.

Just a reminder that the latest edition of the Blog Carnival of Homeschooling has been published at the Home Spun Juggling Blog.  It’s a great one – be sure to stop by for some wit, advice and ideas!

CurrClick is known for offering high-quality resources for homeschoolers and classroom educators.  In addition to great printable downloads, they also offer live classes.  This week, you can try one for FREE!

The class offering is “Active Science” and it will take place on Wednesday at 1:30 Central time.  Your children can enjoy all of the benefits of a classroom experience and you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your own home!

Calling All Scientists!

We’d love you to attend a free introductory glimpse of “Active Science”. A semester full of hands-on science…perfect for the short-attention-spanned, including younger audiences and children with various mild-moderate developmental delays*.

“Paced Learning” knows that we all learn differently and at our own paces so we’ve incorporated a wide range of teaching styles–vocabulary, experiments, journaling, collecting, drawing, observing…sure to keep your child involved and stimulated.

Join us for a free introductory class where you’ll meet the teacher, get an overview of the semester’s themes, and participate in a sample experiment!

*(ie: ADD, ADHD, ED, LD, Asperger’s/Autism, etc…)

Over the centuries, people have celebrated Christmas in many different ways.  As Christmas approaches, this is a wonderful time to share with your family the history, crafts and stories of years gone by.

At my house, we have started counting down the days until Christmas.  We are shamelessly singing Christmas songs at the top of our lungs, and we are enjoying our egg nog and gingerbread coffee creamers immensely.   The tree is lit and the halls are decked.  It is really beginning to look, sound and smell a lot like Christmas around here.  We seem to partake in many traditional Christmas traditions, but why?  Where did these traditions originate? This brief history of Christmas will explain why we celebrate Christmas and the many wonderful traditions associated with the holiday.

Activities for Fun and Learning

Hands-on activities make learning more memorable and more fun. Here are some activities to share with your family this Christmas season.

Make an Orange Pomander Pomanders were a traditional Christmas gift in Tudor times – designed to combat all those nasty smells of daily Tudor life!

Meeting Santa Claus Mr. Edwards met Santa on his way to the Ingall’s home for Christmas dinner. Have your child imagine and describe what he thinks it would be like to meet Santa.

Butter Pound Cake Try your hand at this delicious recipe.

Hand Dipped Candles Read and follow the directions on the page to make the candle(s). Be sure to read the tips at the bottom of the page. How do you think night time activities were affected by only having candles for light?

Make a Marshmallow Snowman Ornament If you like to add homemade ornaments to your Christmas tree each year, this marshmallow snowman Christmas ornament is quick and easy for kids or adults to make

Tools for Learning

Incorporate these online games, printables, and activities to teach your child about Christmas.

The Twelve Days of Christmas Students usually have a lot of fun doing this. The teacher can give clues for students who have trouble recalling parts of the song.

Christmas Card Nouns and Adjectives Use Christmas cards to reinforce the concepts of nouns and adjectives.

Christmas Word Puzzles Keep kids busy (and in the Christmas spirit) while you wrap, organize or decorate with these fun Christmas printables.

Online Christmas Games Dress the elves, make music and so much more!

Online Christmas Quiz Think you know everything there is to know about Christmas?  Test yourself with this fun quiz.

Videos Resources

These videos will enhance your study of Christmas — the history, traditions, and much more.

The History of the Holidays – Christmas Learn about the origins of Christmas traditions with this video from the History Channel.

The Life of a Christmas Tree From a tiny tree in the wilderness to a spectacular display in your living room; this video explains how it happens.

Christmas Light Technology Ever wonder how Christmas lights work?  Watch the video to find out!

Do you have a favorite resource for learning about Christmas?  Tell us in the comments section below!

This post was written by Dana A., a LessonPathways.com Team Member and homeschool mom.  She lives in Florida, with her husband and two children.

Whether a new homeschool mom, or a veteran one, I think we’ve all found ourselves overwhelmed and stressed at times. The baby needs her diaper changed, the living room is a wreck, you need to prepare dinner, the kids still need their spelling lesson and dad will be walking through the door, asking “So, what did you do today?”!   A growing number of homeschool moms can add professional responsibilities as well, as more and more moms are returning to the workforce while homeschooling their children.

The baby needs her diaper changed, the living room is a wreck, you need to prepare dinner, the kids still need their spelling lesson and dad will be walking through the door, asking “So, what did you do today?”!

I’ve often asked,  “Now that I have it all, can I give some of it back?”

While you might not be able to “give back” your responsibilities, there are a few things you can do to lighten your load.

Enlist help! If you’re the type that needs to be in control (and I’m pointing the finger at myself, here), this will be hard, but its something you may want to seriously consider.  You don’t need to hire a housekeeper, nanny, cook or secretary.  Help can come from many different sources; your children, your spouse, parents, friends, neighbors and other homeschooling families.  Only you can decide who can help with what, but here are some ideas to get you started:

• Recruit the kids: Give your children more responsibilities around the house.  No, they’re not going to do it as well as you can, but you’ve got to start somewhere.  Make sure the assignment is age-appropriate and they clearly understand what is expected of them.  Trust me, you can’t just say “Clean the bathroom.” – the results will more than likely leave you disappointed.  Take a few moments to write down, step-by-step, what needs to be done.  (You may want to even start a household notebook with directions on how to complete the different chores in your home).  If you’re stumped on what type of chore you can give a 4 year old, here is a great list of ideas for different ages.
• Help from a Homeschooler: Swap play dates with another homeschool mom.  Just need a few hours to get caught up?  I’ll bet there’s at least one other mom in your homeschool group the feels that same way!  Why not schedule rotating play dates?  One week you host all the kids at your house, while mom goes home, runs errands or anything else she wants to do.   The next week, it’s her turn.  The kids will have a blast and the moms will surely appreciate the efficiency of getting things done flying solo for a few hours.
• Get your spouse on board: While you probably carry the lion’s share of the work when it comes to homeschooling, consider asking your spouse to take over a subject.  Even if your partner works during the day, there’s no rule saying all lessons need to be completed between the hours of 7am and 5pm.  It doesn’t need to be complicated, either.  Dictating the spelling list, reading literature or even grading papers; any of these will lighten your load, at least a little bit.

Rearrange your curriculum! Why not do spelling every-other-day?  How about literature, math or science, for that matter?  Unless your state laws prohibit you from doing so, you may find it easier to complete two lessons in any particular subject every-other-day, rather than one lesson per subject, per day.  Consider doing science on Saturdays, or another day of the week when your spouse is home ~ make it a family affair.  Your kids might like it better too.

Make sure there really are enough hours in the day! We like to think we can do it all.  The truth is, sometimes we can’t.  If you’re feeling stressed, over worked and wondering when you will take a shower, try checking your schedule.  Sit down and plan out your day, hour by hour.  Plan it under ideal circumstances, with no interruptions, no upsets, no monkey wrenches.  Make sure you include everything, from how much time it takes you to wake up in the morning, shower, make lunch, all the way to going to sleep again at night.  How does it look?  Would you be able to get everything done under perfect conditions?  Now, subtract two hours from your ideal schedule.  Let’s be realistic – conditions and circumstances are rarely perfect or ideal.  Those two hours represent the interruptions, the fact that you ran out of milk yesterday and need to get to the store, the phone call from your mom and anything else that might pop up in the day.  Do you really have enough hours in the day?

Take care of mom! Mom is the heart of the home.  Just like in your physical body, if the heart isn’t working right, the rest of the body doesn’t work right either.  Make sure you’re getting the right nutrition, balance and “mom time.”  Finding “mom time” can be hard when you are already overwhelmed, I know, but it is essential.  Taking a “mom break” will re-energize you and you’ll be better able to tackle all that’s on your plate.

There is no magic bullet or one-size-fits-all solution to managing everything on your plate.  These are just a few ideas I’ve incorporated.  What about you?  How do you manage it all?

This post was written by Christina S., homeschool mom of 11 years and LessonPathways.com Team Member.  She lives in Detroit, Michigan, with her husband and two children.  You can connect with her on Twitter to swap homeschooling advice, homemaking ideas and other inspiration for managing it all.

December 8th is Eli Whitney’s birthday.

Add this FREE history unit study to your homeschool or classroom planner!  We all know he’s famous for inventing the cotton gin, but do you know about his other inventions too?

In this unit, you will learn about an inventor, Eli Whitney. You will learn about one of his inventions, the cotton mill, and how it changed slavery. Eli also helped out with the production of firearms for the military during his day. You will also use critical thinking skills to make your own inventions and consider why inventions are important. This unit contains reading lessons, worksheets, an online game and a video give you an in-depth look at Eli Whitney. This unit is designed to last one week, depending on how often you teach history.

Tell us about your favorite History Pathway!  We’d love to hear from you.

This post was written by Christina S., LessonPathways.com team member and veteran homeschool mom.  When not helping out around here at LessonPathways.com or other work-related project, she’s busy homeschooling or tweeting as @MrsStrick on Twitter.

In her quest to find great resources for educating her own children, she has found some she’d like to share with you.  Read on and enjoy!

Hanukkah, also known as “The Festival of Lights” (and sometimes spelled “Chanukah”) is an eight-day Jewish holiday starting on the 25th day of Kislev, which may occur at any time from late November to late December (source: wikipedia).

This year, Hanukkah begins on December 1.

While my family is not Jewish, I wanted my children (and myself!) to learn more about Jewish culture and traditions.  It’s important to me that we learn as much as we can, out of respect for our friends that are Jewish and because Jewish culture is deeply intertwined with our own Christian history.

All of the resources here were found on the internet and are completely free!  They are listed here for you, in the friendly “LessonPathways.com” Pathway format we’ve all grown to know and love.  I hope your family finds them useful in your homeschool (or classroom) studies too!

As I mentioned, I am still learning about Jewish culture and traditions.  If I’ve made an error, please let me know.  If you’ve got a great resource I missed, please share it in the comments section below!

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Links to Online Lessons

The Story of Hanukkah
Read this very short passage as an introduction to the story of Hanukkah.

History of Hanukkah
Read this account of the Birth of Hanukkah and its celebration, including symbolic foods.

Hanukkah Traditions
Learn more about Hanukkah traditions, including the Miracle of the Oil.

History of the Dreidel
Learn about the history of the Dreidel, how to play and the meaning of the Hebrew letters on each one.

Significance of the Menorah
Learn all about the Menorah and why it signifies the Feast of Lights.

The Star of David
Learn about the meaning of the Star of David

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Hands-On Projects and Activities

Make a Dreidel
Follow the directions to make your own dreidel, then try your hand at a game with a friend or family member.

Craft a Hanukkah Menorah
Use wooden spools, paint and yellow eraser pencil toppers to make this craft. (does not actually light up)

Create a Menorah
Want something that really lights up? Use baby food jars and candles to create this Menorah

Hanukkah Wreath
Recommended for ages 6+, create this wreath using a wire coat hanger, TP rolls and paint.

Star of David Window Ornament
Add a little sparkle to your windows by making these pretty ornaments

Cooking for Hanukkah
Try making Hanukkah coins or Latkes. How do you like them?

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Worksheets, Printables & Online Activities

Coloring Pages
Beautiful pictures to print and color.

Online Jigsaw Puzzle
See if you can put this holiday picture back together.

Reading Comprehension Worksheet
Print this worksheet, read the short passage and try to answer the questions.

Word Puzzle
(For the older kids) Print and solve this word puzzle about Hanukkah blessings.

Crossword Puzzle
A high quality printable word puzzle (with answer key!).

Lined Journaling Pages
Print your choice of journaling pages to keep track of what you’ve learned.

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Free Online Videos

Learn about Hanukkah with Elmo!

History Channel’s History of Hanukkah

Watch this video from the History Channel to learn more about the history of Hanukkah.

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Free Online Audio

The Story of Hanukkah
Listen to the story of the Maccabees

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Additional Resources

Chabad.org
A large collection of games and other learning goodies for learning about Hanukkah for kids.

Scholastic Lesson Plans
Lesson plans & printables for teaching about the dreidel.

Literature Hanukkah
A list of literature for children about Hanukkah.

Hanukkah Clip Art
Free clip art to use.

If you enjoyed these resources, be sure to visit our site, LessonPathways.com, for more great unit studies and FREE learning materials!

If you are homeschooling a high schooler, this free teleconference may be of interest to you.

On November 18th, Homefires is hosting special guest, Lee Binz, “The Homes Scholar“, to help you get your homeschooler ready for college.

The event is free, but advanced registration is required.  Visit the Homefires page for more information and registration.

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