Category Archives: Special Days

22 Years

Stewardship Day

The Dixon Springs Agriculture Center, in Southern Illinois’ Shawnee National Forest, teams up with with environmental and conservation experts every year for a week of educational programs for school children. They have been hosting this event for over twenty years, and I think our homeschooling support group has been attending for about that long, too.

We had an excellent turnout of both young children and teens for our day of Stewardship Week even though it was quite cool and cloudy.

Our first class of the day was The Three R’s (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle).

Our second class was Wildlife Management. We learned about the area habitats and the animals who live there. Also, our teacher explained illegal poaching and trapping. He passed around the pelts of animals that he had found in traps.

Even though this was rather sad, it gave the kids a chance to touch, feel, and study several of the forest’s residents.

Our third class was Wetlands Birds and thankfully it was under a tent because it had started to rain.

Instead of having our picnic lunch outside, the rain continued so we ate in our cars. After lunch, the kids went to the Activity Center. Here they stocked up on coloring pages, stickers, and worksheets to do later. They also made necklaces.

The rain decided to stick around as did the cool temperatures, forcing cancellation of the rest of the Stewardship Day classes. We were disappointed, but also ready for some dry, warm clothes.

Maybe the rain will stop sometime over the weekend so we can plant the Red Oak saplings we brought home as souvenirs.

Next year we will try this field trip again, and hopefully the sunshine will try to show up too.

betty jo

Happy Birthday, William Shakespeare

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William Shakespeare was born April 23, 1564. And, in his honor, April 23 is “Talk Like Shakespeare Day”! A couple of years ago, we learned about his life and works as part of our Renaissance Unit Studies. Below are online Shakespeare resources for today or any day.

Fun Facts and Timeline https://www.theschoolrun.com/homework-help/william-shakespeare

Guide for How to Talk like Shakespeare http://www.shakespeare400chicago.com/talklikeshakespeare.html

Shakespeare Translator to Modern English https://www.shmoop.com/shakespeare-translator/

Shakespeare Invented Words and Phrases http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/word-lists/list-of-words-and-phrases-shakespeare-invented.html

Teacher and Student Resources https://www.folger.edu/

Shakespearean Sonnet Generator https://www.poem-generator.org.uk/

Globe Theater Educational Resources http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/education

Tour Stratford Upon Avon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D57ji9MnM2U

Notebooking pages http://www.homeschoolshare.com/shakespeare_notebook_pages.php

https://notebookingfairy.com/words-coined-by-shakespeare-free-notebooking-pages/

And, the kids will like playing some of these online puzzles and games http://www.folger.edu/education/sfk_kids/

Tales from Shakespeare for young readers http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/573

Stories of Shakespeare’s plays written for children http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1430

Literature Guides (scroll down a little bit for the Shakespeare collection) http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/index_author_s.html

Wishbone Shakespaw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MsSMBrkHWI&list=PLA95D27DD44814AB9

Animated Tales Video Playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0l3PC79f6wHJ4D7f_CtK9b21_9DzGlpl

Of course, there should be cake, because studying anyone on their birthday is better with cake!

Shakespeare Party Ideas and Printables https://www.uncommongoods.com/product/printable-party-kit-shakespearean-soiree

betty jo

For more of our Middle Ages/Renaissance Unit Studies click https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/03/08/keeping-the-code/

And here https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/03/07/art-day-sistine-chapel-style/

And here https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/04/06/raphael/

And here https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/03/12/gothic-revival-in-western-kentucky/

Homeschooling On Earth Day

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Genesis 2:15^“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”

That’s the verse we will be concentrating on for our devotion/discussion and lead in for our other Earth Day lessons

Huge List of Earth Day related vocabulary words and several word puzzles https://myvocabulary.com/word-game-puzzles/earth-day-vocabulary/

Earth Day Related Quotes http://www.dgreetings.com/earth/quotes.html

Earth Day Related Math Activities https://www.yummymath.com/2018/earth-day-2018-12-activities/

Water Life Interactive Game and Educator Resources https://games.noaa.gov/oscar/welcome.html

Earth Day Projects, Activities, and Ideas http://www.blessedbeyondadoubt.com/27-earth-day-projects-for-kids-and-more/

https://www.weareteachers.com/5-earth-day-math-and-science-activities/

http://lessonplanspage.com/earthday-htm/

Make a Difference – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

REDUCE: Since there is always room for improvement for energy conservation at our house, we’ll be brainstorming ways to cut back on our usages. (I sure hope someone will feel motivated to fix the toilet that flushes on it’s own what seems like hundreds time a day for the past week.) Here’s some tips and resource for energy conservation for kids http://www.homeadvisor.com/r/home-energy-conservation-for-kids/#.Vxo8_0dezIU

REUSE: We keep a large box of paper towel rollers, scrap paper, small boxes, plastic containers, rags, and various jars and bottles to use when we want to work on crafts, building model projects, or to make games. However, the box is just a big mess presently. Earth Day is a great excuse to dump and reorganize that box. And, make some plans to use those items. Fran (our family’s favorite “substitute teacher”) is our first go-to source for using recyclables! http://www.franw.com/2017/04/earth-day-activities.html

RECYCLE: Our town has a recycling center. We’ve visited several times to drop off “trash”. And, we toured and worked there a few years ago with our local homeschool group. I think I’ll check into scheduling another group visit. If you’re not able to visit a recycling center, you can watch a video or two.

Reading Rainbow – How Trash is Recycled https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1l8HXa3HLk

What might it look like is we didn’t reduce, reuse, and recycle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWsl5wn6x0Q

Have a happy Earth Day,

betty jo

Our Homeschooling Week, April 15-19

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This homeschooling week started off with an unplanned study on poison ivy remedies. My daughter brought the itchy rash home with her from last week’s mission trip.

We learned that placing potato slices over the rash sites was an effective treatment.

Also this week, we the added an anemometer and a barometer to our homemade weather forecasting center.

Z7 updated the current conditions chart and practiced weather related jokes. His favorite this week is, “What does a cloud wear under it’s raincoat? Thunderwear!”

For “Poem In Your Pocket” day we not only kept poems in our pockets, but also studied poetic devices. Instead of notebooking or lapbooking our printable mini posters, we put them on our current (art in progress) chalkboard wall. I think it looks nice having some of the blank spaces filled in.

And, SALT (saved, anointed, loved, transformed) practice for our homeschool group’s creative ministries troop.

And, Silver Lining, homeschool color guard practice.

We will be ending our homeschooling week with our monthly homeschool support group’s family game night and potluck.

How was your week?

betty jo

Poetry In Chalk

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We have a chalkboard wall in our kitchen/school room. Currently, we are in the process of working on a project called “April Showers Bring May Flowers”. We are only working on it on rainy days and hopefully the whole wall will be covered in flowers and butterflies by May.

Yesterday, being Poetry In Your Pocket Day, we used the wall for our poetry studies.

All the poetry devise mini posters filled up the blank spots rather well.

For another blog post about our “Poetry In Your Pocket” Day click here https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/04/18/poetry-in-your-pocket/

For more about our chalkboard wall click here https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/one-of-our-favorite-things-the…

betty jo

Poetry in Your Pocket

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April 18 is “Poetry In Your Pocket Day”. Though poetry has been carried around in pockets throughout history from the Renaissance to recent times, this special day was officially established in 2002.

To celebrate this day you need to select a poem, carry it with you in your pocket and share it with others throughout the day. Many libraries, bookstores, and schools will have events to celebrate Poetry In Your Pocket Day. For the history and details of Poetry In Your Pocket Day click here hhttp://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/406

For our poetry studies in our homeschool we will be reading several types of poems and writing some original poetry. We will be using resources from these links:

Poetry lesson plans and activities http://www.theteachersguide.com/poetrymonth.htm

Free download from Currclick http://www.currclick.com/product/79594/Poem-in-Your-Pocket?affiliate_id=3162

Figures of Speech and Poetic Devices mini posters from http://jimmiescollage.co

I’ve already selected which poem is going in my pocket!
A Mother’s Love
This world has jewels, money, land
position, power, and mansions grand
But a mother’s love more precious far,
than all these other treasures are.

A mother nurtures, guides, protects
Her teachings each child’s life affects,
and when in later years they go,
away from home, and friends they know
Those teachings will provide the stay,
to keep them on the good straight way.

Though some may stray to taste the fruits,
of worldly pleasures — still the roots
of Mother’s teachings, love, and care
will some day draw them back to where,
the Savior’s love can them enfold,
and fill them with a spirit bold.

So children, each and every day,
honor your mother in some way —
To show that you appreciate,
she taught you how to love, not hate.
To comfort you, to guide, to lead,
to be there in your time of need.

But best of all, — to show the way,
that leads to home with God some day.

…Brenda Ascott Fry

What poem is going in your pocket?

betty jo

Taking A “Rain” Day

Autism – I Am Aware

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His head was a little bigger than my other babies. His grip on my finger wasn’t tight. As he reached the ages for certain milestone developments,(holding his head up without support, sitting, crawling, walking, speaking, etc), he wasn’t doing what baby experts said he should be doing. He had digestive issues. He would rarely make eye contact. He did not seem to feel pain to the degree that others did. Sometimes, he would get so frustrated he would bang his head. Sometimes he would drift away as if he wasn’t even aware of whatever was going on around him.

You’re reading about my J9. He is somewhere on that rather large autism spectrum. He has no middle ground. He is either joyful or mournful, hyper or asleep, loud or silent, all for something or completely against it. If he is interested in something it is obsessive, and if he is not interested in something he will pay it no attention whatsoever.

I saw this posted on a social media site today:

This describes my J9. He does not care what anyone thinks of him. He does not ever try to be popular or win approval. J9 is mentally free.

J9 is quite charismatic, and others, even strangers are drawn to him. He gets more hugs from his siblings, father, and me than the rest of us put together. His touch melts the heart. His laughter brightens the darkest of days.

I read an article a couple of years ago in which the author said her autistic son “thought so far outside of the box that he wasn’t even aware of a box to begin with”. That too describes my J9. For example, he sometimes cheers the sunset with the enthusiasm of a sports fan during a championship game.

J9 is smart. Really smart. His computer skills are amazing and natural. He learned phonics rules on his own and taught himself to read. His memory is outstanding. With homeschooling, he prefers to work independently. When he includes himself in a discussion he wants to know what the Bible says about it, or what my mother would think about it (she passed away before he was born). He is very interested in times and dates and is the most scheduled one in our home.

My J9 can also be funny though sometimes shocking. E17 had some girlfriends over to spend the weekend. J9 does not like to have company and was not happy about them staying with us, but we assured him that they would be spending most of their time in his sister’s room and would sleep in there. In fact he was still a little upset about that visit even after they left. A co-worker, a young man, came home one evening with A21. As he walked through the door, J9 started screaming, “You are not going to sleep with my sister!” We were laughing so hard we couldn’t even explain the situation to this young man.

As people all around the world become more aware of autism today, I hope someone will make sure they understand more than the disabilities and strangeness, I want others to be aware of the blessings of autism, too. There are many.

betty jo

15 Today

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B14, (my middle child) is now B15. He celebrated his 15th birthday today. Wow, 15 years old! He and I skipped out on homeschooling today. We went shopping for a new tablet, out to lunch, then later stopped by our house to pick up the others to join our homeschool group for bowling (PE). Tonight we partied on with his favorite home cooked meal, chicken and dumplings, and chocolate cream cake with mini M&Ms.

Though all of that has been fun, my mind has been elsewhere. My thoughts have drifted back 15 years. I was pregnant with B when our family decided we were going to quit public school, (the oldest was in kindergarten). My pregnancy was our homeschool’s first science unit study, and his homebirth was our first science experiment. Though the kindergartener slept through all the excitement, my two year old daughter did not. She learned about design and empowerment, I learned trust, my husband learned to be a true “hands on” kind of dad, and B learned that he was safe, loved, and protected outside my womb. When we woke the oldest, he learned that babies make both families and hearts grow. We all learned about miracles. Miracles make the most awesome homeschooling lessons, don’t they?

On B’s birth announcement we quoted James 1:17a, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights”. You know his name really isn’t B, it’s Boone. Boone means “gift”. Yes, without a doubt, this boy, I mean young man, is a gift from God.

betty jo