Archive for the ‘Articles’ Category
Posted on October 6, 2009 - by Kay
Shape Shooters
I got this idea from 100 Best Ideas for Primary Math, by Holly Sar Dye, M.A., to take Kate for a walk around the neighborhood. During our walk I encouraged her to look for different shapes and to take pictures of those objects for us to look at later. We would be “Shape Shooters” – shooting pictures of shapes on our walk. (Clever, I know…) I asked her to look for at least one circle, rectangle, square, triangle, diamond, oval, and octagon.
I was pleasantly surprised at how much fun this activity was and how easy it was to find all sorts of shapes just on our cul-de-sac. I even brought along my husband’s fancy camera so I could shoot a few with her and really enjoyed shooting completely different subjects than I normally do.
We took quite a few of the shots during our 15 minute walk. It would have been a MUCH longer walk if we hadn’t needed to get back quickly to eat lunch! Kate didn’t want to come back!
(Continue reading this article…)
Posted on August 31, 2009 - by Kay
First Grade Here We Come!
We’re starting a new school year tomorrow and I can hardly believe that my big girl is going to be starting 1st grade! I still feel like she’s a kindergartner in some ways, but then I realize that she is sooo smart and mature and geesh where has the time gone?
I’m looking forward to settling into a little different rhythm this year compared to last. I feel like this year is a little more planned out for me, which makes me so much more comfortable. We are going to be following AmblesideOnline’s curriculum for Year 1. For those who aren’t familiar with it, AmblesideOnline (AO) is a curriculum based on the educational approach developed by Charlotte Mason, an amazing educator from England in the late 1800s. (You can read more about her and her educational philosophy here.) Most of the books used in this curriculum are highly literary and are available for free online.
As we go through this next year, I’ll be posting our weekly lesson plans here on the site under the “Curriculum” category. Feel free to use whatever works for your student(s), drop the things that don’t, and add the things you feel are missing. And by all means, please leave me a comment that lets me know what your thoughts are – I’m still very much a novice here and look forward to hearing other educators’ input!
Ready or not, here we go!!!
Posted on August 27, 2009 - by Kay
The 14 Days of Homeschool
Just a little funny to help start off your homeschooling year with a laugh. Enjoy!
Posted on August 24, 2009 - by Kay
How to Plan for the Year
Everyone has their own system of planning their homeschooling curriculum for the year. It’s just a matter of finding the method that works best for you and digging in. With that in mind, I thought I’d document my own journey this summer in case it might be helpful to someone else learning how to plan out their year.
I started this summer by digging in on the AmblesideOnline website since that is the main curriculum we will be following this year. I pulled up the booklist for Year 1 and printed it out. I looked through our own personal library and my parents’ library (my mom LOVES children’s books), talked with friends who have already gone through Year 1, visited several used book sales, and looked for online resources, including our local library system’s catalog. Every time I would come across one of the books on this year’s list, I would mark on my printout who owned that particular book. (Continue reading this article…)
Posted on July 3, 2009 - by Kay
The Family That Reads Together
My grandmother was in town for a day recently, and my wonderful photographer-husband took some incredible pics of all of us. But, this is one of my favorites by far.
I love the twist of Kate reading Me Too Iguana (one of my sister’s childhood faves) to everyone. Of course, some of my fondest childhood memories include listening to that beautiful gray-haired woman read me bedtime stories – specifically from a big book of Uncle Wiggily’s Tales. I still get teary-eyed when my kiddos ask to pull down that special book off the shelf to read another adventure of the long-eared gentleman.
Just wanted to share a little moment of our life with you all today, and encourage you to go read one of your favorite books with your little ones.
Posted on July 2, 2009 - by Kay
Apple’s Summer Camps
Wondering what to do with your elementary age kiddos over the summer? Have a Mac at home that they’re wanting to learn more about? Apple stores are offering summer camps where your kids can learn all about stuff to do on a Mac. Here’s what they have to say:
Your kids could talk about what they did this summer—or just press Play. At Apple Camp, kids ages 8-12 learn how to do cool stuff on a Mac: make a movie, show off photos like a pro, write and record a song, or create a multimedia presentation. You can sign up for as many three-hour workshops as you like. But space is limited, so do it soon. Then get ready for an adventure.
Interested? Check out Apple’s Summer Camp page here.
Posted on June 30, 2009 - by Kay
Art Begs You to Notice It
I just recently came across this quote about art and thought it fit with the Charlotte Mason view of art quite nicely.
So I decided to share it with you all here. Enjoy!
Art begs you to notice it.
Why? Because art is God’s way of saying hello.
So pay attention to poetry.
Pay attention to music.
Pay attention to paintings and sculptures and photo exhibits and ballets and plays.
Don’t let all this go unnoticed.Your world is shouting out to you,
revealing something intrinsically glorious about itself.
Listen carefully.
Love art, the way art loves Life.~Neale Donald Walsch
Posted on May 18, 2009 - by
Milkweed and Butterflies
For Mother’s Day we have a tradition of planting in our garden in the back yard. The kids help pick out what we want to plant while we’re at the nursery, then enjoy digging holes in the garden to plant their favorites.
(Continue reading this article…)
Posted on May 1, 2009 - by
Lapbooking for Dummies
Have you heard of lapbooking? While it’s a very common method of teaching lately, especially amongst homeschoolers, I’m just now dipping my toe into this gigantic ocean of possibilities.
I’ve decided that I want to focus on butterflies for the month of May, and I’d love to have a lapbook as our final product for all that we’ve learned. So, now, I’m off to figure out exactly what is a lapbook? and how do we make one? and how long it will take? and what is a mini-book exactly?
So, for your learning pleasure, I’ve decided to document my researching trip into this new land of lapbooking. And, PLEASE, add your favorite sites to the comments below. I’m definitely the Dummy needing to learn LOTS more!! 
Enjoy!
What is a lapbook?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lap_book
http://www.squidoo.com/lapbooking
http://lapbooking.wordpress.com/lapbook/
How do you make a lapbook?
How long will it take?
http://www.squidoo.com/faq-lapbook#module9400578
What is a mini-book?
http://www.squidoo.com/minibooks
What are some easy mini-books that I can make?
http://www.squidoo.com/lapbooking#module2314521
http://www.homeschoolshare.com/lapbooking_resources.php
Starting Lapbooking and what to avoid…
http://simplest.lapbook.ever.com/
Posted on April 27, 2009 - by
BOOK IT! Reading Program from Pizza Hut
BOOK IT! motivates children to read by rewarding their reading accomplishments with praise, recognition and pizza. BOOK IT! is simple for the teacher to use, flexible because goals match reading ability, and fun because achieving a goal is a great reason to celebrate.
Who is eligible for the BOOK IT! Program for homeschools?
Any student in grades K-6 (5 years old by September of current school year) that is homeschooled and does not attend any other educational facility.
What are the program dates for 2009-010?
October 1, 2009, through March 31, 2010.
When will the 2009-10 materials be shipped to enrolled homeschools?
Materials will arrive by early to mid-September.
Visit the BOOK IT! site for more information and to enroll your homeschooler(s)…
