Category Archives: Our Homeschool

Mother Teresa

According to Special Days in August (https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2016/07/26/special-days-in-august-2016/), the 26th is Mother Teresa’s birthday. This means that she will be our study and timeline addition of the day. Below are the online resources I found for us as we learn about this wonderful lady and perhaps one of the greatest and most inspiring humanitarians of modern history.

A short biography for kids http://www.pitara.com/magazine/people/online.asp?story=16

Timeline – http://www.softschools.com/timelines/mother_teresa_timeline/48/

Worksheet Printables – http://www.schoolexpress.com/fws/cat.php?id=2655

The Life of a Healer a video biography – http://www.watchmojo.com/video/id/10485/

A wonderful selection of quotes – http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/mother_teresa.html

And because Mother Teresa will be such an inspiration to us, we can’t complete the study without trying to feed the poor and hungry. We’ll cover all the rest of our subjects (math, geography, science, art, grammar) through this site today http://freerice.com/category

Just in case you don’t know about about the Free Rice site…
To simply explain, you play educational quiz games (lots of subjects to choose from) and for every correct answer you can collect rice. Real rice that goes to real people! The questions start off easy and get harder and harder. There is an option to join that would keep track of progress and your place in the games so each time you visit you may play from where you last left off. Or you can just play without sign up/sign in. Also, they offer a couple of printables and lesson plans (I liked the creative writing idea).

betty jo

Aviation Week Learning Resources

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According to Special Days in August , “Aviation” is one of this month’s themes. And, “Aviation Week” is the week with the 19th. The reason behind “Aviation Week” is in celebration of the accomplishments of Orville Wright who was born Aug. 19, 1867.

The following links are to the online resources and activities to learn about the Wright Brothers and aviation.

A biography of the Wright Brothers along with printables – http://gardenofpraise.com/ibdwrigh.htm

Learn about the Wright Brothers. See their house and shop as well as their famous flight in Kitty Hawk, NC. with this old and brief educational movie. http://www.havefunwithhistory.com/movies/wrightBrothers.html

We’ve been watching some of the animated series Adventurers – Masters of Time so we’re excited to see a Wright Brothers episode http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJud1QjUvo8&list=PL608A5B35B7419A93&index=15 If you haven’t seen these before, I recommend you start with the first episode so you’ll understand the theme, then you can skip around to match them with your studies.

Aviation history timeline, projects, and more for kids – http://www.aviation-for-kids.com/

Exhibits from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum http://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/

Airplane parts and functions – http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/k-12/airplane/airplane.html

Victory Through Air Power – by Walt Disney – A History of Flight from the Wright Brothers to WW2 Aerial Defense Campaigns – (produced in the1940s, this contains some war propaganda that may seem wrong by today’s standards, but adds another historic learning element.)

Step-by-step instructions and videos of varying levels of difficulty for folding paper airplanes – http://www.foldnfly.com/#/1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-2

A Bible based lesson which uses paper airplanes as a object lesson http://www.christianitycove.com/youth-bible-study-lessons-object-lessons/854/

Awesome links to aviation themed interactives and games http://www.2learn.ca/kids/listSciG6.aspx?Type=57

Airplane coloring pages and craft projects http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org/artscraftsideaskids/coloringpages/airplanescoloringpages.html

Airplane Party Ideas

So often I feel that our learning plans for a week are left “up in the air” and we just follow where the week takes us….

However, this time “up in the air” is all planned out!

betty jo

Elephants

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Back at the beginning of our summer break a couple of summers ago, J requested that we create a jungle mural on our chalk board wall. He made sure that it included an elephant.

Elephants happen to be one of our favorite animals and according to Special Days in August , the 12th is “World Elephant Day”! And, September 22 is “Elephant Appreciation Day”! I’m glad that we took some time to study these magnificent creatures.

Below are the resources we used as we learned about elephants.

All about Elephants – African vs. Asian, Elephant Sounds, and Facts www.elemotion.org/learning-center/

Scientific Research – How Elephants Think thinkelephants.org/pages/ow-elephants-think.html

Meet the Elephants who live at the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee www.elephants.com/meetElephants.php

Elephant Myths and Folklore socyberty.com/foldlore/elephant-in-myths-mthology-and-folklore/

Elephant Jokes www.enchantedlearning.com/joke/animalselephant.shtl

Elephant Themed Language Arts Interactive Games www.learninggamesforkids.com/mammal-games-videos/elephant-games-videos.html

I snagged this Elephants – Speedy Lapbook a while back as part of a freebie offer. Currently, it’s not free but on sale for $0.50. www.currclick.com/product/83435/Elephants–Speedy-Lapbook?term=elephant+speedy

Youtube has a video collection of elephants playing! www.youtube.com/results?search-query=elephants+playing

Read Rudyard Kipling’s The Elephant’s Child free online www.gutenberg.org/files/32488-h/32488-h.htm#Page_63

A Song, Agony and Ivory, dedicated to the movement to stop the wholesale slaughter of elephants taking place as a result of the ivory trade. (the song and website is a project of a homeschooling family!) www.agonyandivory.com

And for Notebooking, Elephant Bordered Paper www.teacherfiles.com/resources-bp-animals.htm

May this be a study that, like elephants, we won’t forget!

betty jo

Teaching Resources for Special Days in August

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Follow this link for the August Resource list updated for 2018

Current Events Resources

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“Oh, you homeschool? Your children won’t know about the real world…” Blah, blah, blah.

As home educators we have a huge advantage when it comes to teaching world events as they unfold. We are not limited to only an occasional news study. We are not tied to a lesson plan that leaves no room to learn about something important happening. Homeschoolers (for the most part) are highly aware of the “real world”.

For our family, world current events always has a part in our weekly studies. Current events lessons can inspire prayer projects, set the stage for discussions/debates, lead to geography/culture studies, and make great essay/report assignments. It’s so very important for all of us to know what’s happening in the world. Even as we “shelter” the children, through current events studies they will gain knowledge of the world. Also, they will understand some of the reasons why we are “sheltering” them.

For record keeping purposes, current events counts towards social studies and will often include other subjects such as reading comprehension, geography, arts, science, history, politics, and religion, too.

This past week I was asked to share some resources for adding current event studies to the homeschooling curriculum. Below are the links to free online current events sites for kids . The ones with the * in front of them are sites that our family frequently uses, the others were recommended by other homeschoolers.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/

http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/

http://www.cnn.com/studentnews/

* http://www.timeforkids.com/

* www.studentnewsdaily.com

* http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/news/

* http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/

* http://www.youngzine.org/

* http://www.dogonews.com/

http://magazines.scholastic.com/

http://news.discovery.com/adventure/tags/kids.htm

http://htekidsnews.com/

K-12 Current Event Resources from the Smithsonian http://tweentribune.com/

Daily News Videos for Kids (You can view without signing up, but sign up is free and you can receive more resources.) http://www.channelone.com/

And here’s a couple of additional links we like to follow with our current event studies. Sometimes we just need some good news or at least know what those of Christian faith are actively doing about the bad news. (Sometimes I choose not to include the younger boys, as the articles can occasionally be mature and graphic.)

* http://www.persecution.com/

* http://www.samaritanspurse.org/

* http://gospelforasia-reports.org/

There’s a few free current event printable worksheets and templates to choose from here (you’ll need an account, but it’s free and a site that will be good to have for resources for any subject or grade level) http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Browse/Search:current+events/Grade-Level/Homeschooler/Price-Range/Free

For updates and articles concerning teaching, parenting, and education, The Native Speaker’s Academy has awesome weekly posts. http://us5.campaign-archive1.com/?u=8fb495371ca5be23e1601ecc0&id=44fb271459&e

Do you have a favorite resource for current event studies? Do you have a neat way your family includes current events into the homeschooling week? Please share in the comments, inquiring minds will want to know!

betty jo

Teaching July

Superstitions

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Because we’ve been having an abundance of craziness and busyness this week, I thought that we wouldn’t “do school” today. But… it’s Friday the 13th!

I’m wowed by the resources and links I have saved up for a study on superstitions do use on a Friday the 13th. Surely we’ll be able to make a little time to learn about superstitions because this stuff is INTERESTING! Below are the sites and resources I found to share with you just in case you can make time for a little superstition too.

Origins of common superstitions explained at Live Science http://www.livescience.com/33507-origins-of-superstitions.html

Behavioral psychology in regards to superstitions discussed from Kids Net Encyclopedia http://encyclopedia.kids.net.au/page/su/Superstition

13 Superstitious Writing Prompts https://cecileswriters.wordpress.com/2012/04/13/superstitious-prompts/

Free Printable “Black Cat” border writing paper https://www.teacherfiles.com/resources_bp_holidays.htm

20 +free superstition worksheets from Busy Teacher (you’ll need an account, but it’s easy to set up) http://busyteacher.org/classroom_activities-vocabulary/superstitions-worksheets/

Common Superstitions and Why We Have Them (article, video, graphics) https://medium.com/ecom-tips/common-superstitions-why-do-we-have-them-b701245e8ca7

Superstition origins video from Mental Floss (this one’s for the older kids) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFyDUaSi-5w

Mathematical Properties of the Number 13 http://www.numbergossip.com/13

To keep this study in the right perspective we’ll include 1 Timothy 4:7 with this study. “People tell silly stories that don’t agree with God’s truth. Don’t follow what these stories teach. But teach yourself to be devoted to God.”

And finally some music, which my kids will consider ancient history, but saying such a thing may bring them some bad luck!

betty jo

Story Telling With Aesop’s Fables

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Today is our first “special day” study of the summer. Aesop! The calendar says June 4 is his birthday, but his history doesn’t have that exact information recorded. Around 620-560 BC was his time. Below are the links that we’re going to follow as we not only learn about Aesop and read his works, but as we practice public speaking and communication through story telling. The project will be to learn an Aesop fable well enough to present it orally. Retelling is an awesome way to check for reading comprehension and concept understanding as well as being a great communication skill.

A brief biography http://www.findingdulcinea.com/features/profiles/a/aesop.html

Aesop quotes that are as relevant today as they were back in his day http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/a/aesop.html

Fables to read with discussion questions and quizzes, activities, and vocabulary glossary http://www.mcwdn.org/fables/fabadult.html

Tips for good story telling

Articles

For an added challenge, I’m going to have the kids retell a lesson they have personally learned by substituting animals as the characters just as Aesop had done. And of course, we’ll add some art to the lesson. Illustrations are a fantastic way to enhance a story. This is my “go to” site for art/drawing instructions when we need a little tutoring, and it seems like they have a good variety of drawing animal instructions if we need it. http://www.dragoart.com/animals-for-kids-c408-1.htm

This is a 24 video collection of animated Aesop fables, because summer studies should always include a movie inside under the air conditioning during the hot afternoon.

For the complete listing of Special Days in June click here Special Days in June, 2018

I plan on participating myself with our Aesop studies. I certainly have a long list of personal lessons learned that could be put into a short story. After all, he did teach that, “Example is the best precept” and “Better wise from the misfortunes of others than by your own”.

betty jo

A New Kid, Birthdays, and Year End Events

It’s Unanimous For Strawberries!

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At the beginning of each month I go through the special days listing, and check off what I think we should add to our studies. I also give the list to the kids and they check off the topics that interest them. (https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2014/04/29/special-days-in-may/). Rarely does a monthly theme interest all of us, but the May food theme, STRAWBERRIES, was unanimous!

This close to the end of our school year, I really won’t have the time to develop our own strawberry study, but can not just ignore the fact that we all want to explore this favorite food. This is where my friend, Fran, comes in! (http://www.franw.com/) She has developed and published an e-book appropriately named Strawberry Craze.

Strawberry Craze is a 91 page study and activity guide. Fran has graciously given me a copy and I’m so excited! It is covers subjects across the curriculum and has something for all ages. She gives the instructions for crafts, gardening, and science experiments. She has included a list of questions for research projects and little known facts and trivia. Strawberry Craze has math, health, and language connections, too. And recipes! Not just a couple of yummy desserts to try, but recipes for lip gloss, scratch-n-sniff stickers, shampoo, and play clay, just to name a few.

Strawberries have been added to the top of my weekend shopping list! And will probably be repeated on every grocery list in between now and when we are able to pick our own from our garden.

Now is the right time to pick up a copy of the e-book for yourself. It’s being offered for only $2! To find out more and take a peek at some sample pages click here http://www.franw.com/2013/09/strawberry-craze-ebook.html

Oh, by the way, Fran gave me Strawberry Craze just because she’s my friend. The e-book gift was not given to me for the purpose of this review. The review and recommendation is completely of my own doing.

betty jo