Homeschooling. . . .Assignment Books

Repost:  I wrote this post almost a year ago.....since then my blog has really increased in 

size, so I wanted to share it again with all of you who homeschool or are considering it.

I definitely get  a lot of interesting responses when people find out that I homeschool......I once sat beside a woman at a spaghetti dinner fundraiser....she was a complete stranger who looked at me and said, "What makes you think that you are qualified to homeschool?"  Hmm....how do I answer that one? 

Another frequent question that I am asked is.....how are you able to homeschool multi-age/grade levels.....I find this question very interesting because it make an assumption about the public school classroom....it assumes that all 20-something students in a public classroom are operating at the same skill level in the same grade.......which they are NOT! You can have a very wide range of skill and reading levels....especially in an elementary classroom. 

Honestly.....one of my fears about homeschooling was looking at the minimum 6 subjects per child and multiplying by 3....that would be 18 subjects per day??  How would that be possible??  Wouldn't I completely lose my mind trying to do that??

I came about our current system that we use by accident....My son spent a couple of years in public school and his first grade teacher had a great idea for how she had students complete their morning work....each morning she would have a "to do" list on the board. 


Students would work their way through the list and check-off the work that they completed.......the problem that our son had was that he would finish his work very quickly and then spend the rest of the morning making 11 trips to the library to check-out books.... he ended up spending a lot of time in class "waiting" for the other students to get their work done.

I use a variation of my son's first grade teacher's "To Do" list.....

I write out a daily list of work for my kids to complete....I make little check boxes that they cross off (or scribble out!) when they finish that assignment.  I always write History and Grammar or Science and Grammar last because they complete those assignments with me.  They also always do Math with me.


I have combined my kids together for science and history so that cuts down on 2 subjects for each.....and a lot of their work is completed independently with me looking over their shoulder and making corrections.

I also keep a master lesson plan book for each of my kids.  Usually in March or April, I start to plan for the following year.  I pull together all of their curriculum and start writing lessons plans.  Donna Young has amazing free printables......here is the link for the lesson plan forms.

 

My plan book keeps me on-task and helps me to see the bigger picture of where I am going....assignment books allow my kids to start their work even if I get tied up throwing in a load of laundry (or writing a blog post??).

How do you making homeschooling work in your family?

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Homeschooling. . . .K-2 civics

Pennsylvania has pretty tough requirements for homeschooling families.  Depending on how you interpret PA Homeschooling Law, you could read it that students are expected to cover Civics every year during the elementary years.


Because I am an over-achiever, I take the requirements literally and incorporate a Civics unit into my lesson planning every year. 

For Early Elementary Students, Ben's Guide to U.S. Government is an excellent resource for FREE printables!

Here's a sample of what a K-2 unit may look like when I write it for my kids.....I would do 1-2 lessons per week. (All the words that are colored are direct links to the activities or crafts.)

Week #1:  

Read about the flag and color a picture of the flag.

On the back of the flag, have students write what the 3 colors of the flag represent.

Read about the liberty bell and complete and color the liberty bell dot-to-dot. 

You can also make-you-own liberty bell with a Styrofoam cup and pipe cleaners. 

Week #2:

Memorize the Pledge of Allegiance.  Because homeschoolers don't have "morning announcements" and rise for the pledge, we often forget to memorize the Pledge.


Make a Pledge of Allegiance bookmark.

Week #3:

Read about the Seal of the United States.

Color in the worksheet using the appropriate colors and on the back, explain 5-7 symbolic representations found in the seal.


Obverse Side
Reverse Side
Bald Eagle craft

Week #4-6:

Learn the Three Branches of Government.

Here is a site that I have used before that has really fun online games to play....these are directly related to the 3 branches of government.


I always end the unit by having my kids make a poster illustrating the 3 branches.  You can get as creative as you'd like....even using popsicle sticks to build the "branches."

My passion truly is teaching, so if you have enjoyed this lesson plan, let 

me know....I'd love to share more of what we do!

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DIY Viking Ship. . . .

Recently, I haven't posted much about homeschooling....mainly because I am smack in the middle of doing it! But, when I saw this idea....I just had to share!


For history we use Story of the World....

I absolutely adore this curriculum!  In a span of 4 years, your elementary student will study ALL of world history! And the best part.....the texts are written as stories!  My son actually asks to take his text and just read it....for fun!

In SOTW part 2, Vikings are covered and I stumbled across this cute idea to make your own Viking ship!

You can head over to quirky mama to get the full tutorial for how to convert an average cardboard box into this viking longship.

Oh...and while you are there, you need to check out her other amazing ideas!!  Like this sight word ball!

Your kids will love you for making learning fun!

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Make your own reading pillow.....

Let me first start this post by saying that I like to sew, but I do NOT like sewing machines......what should be an easy project turns into a monster because of thread tension and other various annoyances!!


So...if you have a machine that works, this is a VERY easy project!


I first saw this idea here at Southern Disposition.  I tried to find an IKEA duvet as inexpensive as her, but they are not that cheap anymore, so I went with a twin flat sheet.  The whole project then cost me under $10.00!!

I took my sheet and laid it longways or lengthwise on the floor. I then took 4 pillows and set them out so I knew where to cut off the extra length of sheet.

When you cut off your extra length you will be left with a raw (or unhemmed) edge.   You will need to fold-over that edge to hem it.

To hem, I just make a fold and iron it.  

I then "fold over my fold", iron, and stitch.

Now, take your sheet that is stretched out lengthwise and fold it into third.  Because you have folded your sheet in thirds, you will have created a pocket for you pillow....

I then grabbed my pillows and laid them out side-by-side again to measure where I needed to put my seams....each pillow will have it's own "pocket."

Pin a line against your pillow and then sew to create your pillow pocket...

You've now created a pocket to stuff each pillow into...if this is confusing to you, go grab a pillow sham off your bed.  

The back of this pillow looks identical to the back of your pillow sham if you've done it correctly.  You will just have 4 "connected" shams....

See...cute pocket!

Since I bought my 4 pillows and flat sheet at IKEA, the total cost was about $10.00....

....reading Berenstein Bears under the shade of a tree....priceless!

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A painted-on dry erase board.....

Life here has gone from sad to sadder.....as soon as I get the results of the final testing, I'll update you all on our cat saga....but just warnin' ya...the ending is not happy....it's now one that may involve a trip (or four!) to the hospital...ugh!


In the meantime, my mind is just not on posting.......I have about 8-10 posts in-process (aka...partway done!), but none ready to actually post....so how cool is it that the Gaerte Gang sent me this idea today!

She painted.....right on the wall....a dry erase board!!

How cool is that!?!  

You can head over to the Gaerte Gang  to see how she did it!

~On a brighter note....my hydrangea wreath is drying perfectly....right on the door....

So now I feel like I can recommend your trying it!

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First Day of School......

I am posting this in honor of our first day of school next week because this is exactly what our homeschoolin' family looks like..........

Thought you would get a laugh from that!

~Thanks, NatSprat for letting me repost!

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Fun with Bubbles...

Summer vacation is here and I know that for some it can mean long days and bored children!  Because we homeschool, summer vacation is no different from a normal day....


Here's a super quick and very easy way to keep your kids entertained for a bit.......Bubbles!!

All you need is a pie pan, dish soap and a few straws!

If you'd like to get more creative, here's an idea from Family Fun Magazine for Soap Bubble Prints.

Here's the Family Fun recipe for make-your-own Bubble Solution:

To make your own bubble solution, mix 3 cups of water, 1 cup of dish soap, and 1/4 cup of corn syrup. 

The Adventure of Motherhood shares some really fun make-at-home wand ideas!!

One of her ideas uses a styrofoam plate!

If you are looking for more summer fun ideas, check out some of my other ideas...... 

~Science Scuba gear and Ocean unit activity

~Seed Starter from a baseball card holder

~Rootbeer Floats on a Stick

~Preschool Lapbook Ideas

....but the bubbles are definitely a favorite of my kids!

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Science: Scuba Gear....

{Ocean fun!}

For homeschooling, we are part of a co-op.....it's a group of moms that get together once a week and hold organized classes. My sons tooks science, writing, art, geography and their favorite...GYM CLASS!! I taught high school chemistry and my daughter had a science class.

She came home one day with this:



WARNING: Just to state the obvious....if you have a young child who would not safely use the scuba mask because it's made of Saran Wrap then don't make this craft!!

 

Her class had been studying the ocean and to wrap-up their unit, they made scuba gear!!  It was so easy to make!

First....grab two 2-L soda bottles.....

They will be your oxygen tanks......I can thinking of some really fun additions to these tanks!  Like blue water with glitter and fish floating in them!!  Or painting the inside so that they are actually black or blue or green or red.....

Because it was a large class with not a lot of time, her teacher simplified the project by just taping the string to the top and bottom of the bottles.

That will make your straps that attach to the tank....again, you could do ribbon, bungy cord....so many possibilities!

For the mask, it looks like she just cut an oatmeal container into strips.  The kids decorated them and then added a piece of plastic wrap and a rubber band!  Punch some holes, add a string tie and voila...scuba gear!

...isn't she adorable!

Here are some links if you'd like to do a unit study or summer craft on oceans:

Ocean Lapbook  (Younger child)

A House for Hermit Crab (Younger child)  We've done this one and had SO much fun!

Ocean Lapbook (Older child)

Nature Study at the Beach  (Jimmie's Lenses)

Enjoy!

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