At the start of each month, I show the boys the list of special days and let them put a check by the topics that interest them.  And, being boys, of course they both checked November 19 – World Toilet Day!  Though I didn’t exactly try to talk them out of learning about toilets, I did remind them that we were in the middle of our Thanksgiving studies.  Z said, “Mom, aren’t we thankful for toliets?”. Yes, very thankful for toilets!  So, a “Toilet” study has begun.

Below are our resources for learning about toilets.  Or they will be once we can get passed the jokes.  “Feeling a little flushed?”  “School work sure is crappy today!” and such.

Who invented toilets?  How long have toilets been around? What is an “s-trap?  Answers to these and even an experiment  http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/who-invented-the-toilet

History and Timeline for the Toilet  http://www.edinformatics.com/inventions_inventors/flush_toilet.htm

How toilets…

Each month the Special Days list will include multiple opportunities for geography studies! (See right sidebar for the current month’s list or use the search bar to access other months.) Some months will have a “Heritage” theme. For example September is ” Hispanic Heritage”  so the countries of  Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America could be included in the month’s lesson plans.  Other geography lessons can be based on Statehood Anniversaries and Country Independence Days which are also included as entries in the Special Days posts. In fact, we just finished a study on The Bahamas that we began on their Independence Day  (July 10, 1973).

Both the kids and I look forward to our geography studies!     We generally include mapping activities, fun facts (natural resources, population, currency, landforms, etc.), event timeline, famous people, key words and phrases of the language or lingo, culture, music…

And, Happy Homeschooling!

betty jo

Monster Mash, by Bobby (Boris) Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers

The ‘Monster Mash’ is a fun song co-written by Bobby “Boris” Pickett and Leonard Capizzi, in 1962. After every major record label turned the song down, Gary S. Paxton’s, of Garpax Records, decided to produce it. The song reached the #1 position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on October 20, 1962, remained #1 for two weeks, and sold a million copies that year!
In 1973 it hit #3 on the UK Singles Chart and sold a million copies again! 

Not bad for a one-hit-wonder!

As a matter of fact, it has been considered a Halloween favorite every year since its release 50+ years ago. 

Can you guess how the “Monster Mash” got its name?

A few dances were popular at the time of its release, the “Twist” and the “Mashed Potato” were two of them, and they inspired the…

Tonight is our local homeschool group’s family night and the theme is “Fall Fest”!  Our families are encouraged to bring a DIY carnival type game.  Complicated construction or expensive materials are just not necessary for great games!  Recyclables and dollar store materials combined with a little creativity is all it takes for fantastic festival fun!

I found lots online resources as I looked around for some ideas, and I’m passing the best ones on to you for your fall parties or just some seasonal play activities for you to make with your children.

Wonderful collection of activities and games! Pumpkin Golf,  Can Game, Pumpkin Bowling, and Candy Corn Toss are just a few of the easy to make and easy to set up game ideas  offered here  http://spaceshipsandlaserbeams.com/blog/party-games/21-halloween-party-games-and-activities

We decided to take this Spider Launch game to the party.  There’s other awesome ideas from this assortment of  25+ Simple Carnival…

Recently a friend asked about our Viking studies from last fall.  Here are the links I had saved.  I thought I’d pass the collection on to those of you who might be thinking about a Viking study as well.

Movies to include:  Veggie Tales: Lyle the Kindly Viking, Brave, and How to Train Your Dragon

Interactive History Games  http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/vikings/

Unit Study and Labook Printables  http://www.homeschoolshare.com/viking_adventure.php

And another Unit Study and Lapbook Printables   http://www.tinasdynamichomeschoolplus.com/middle-ages-to-reform/vikings-lapbook/

Leif Erickson Biography Resources                                                                                      http://cybersleuth-kids.com/sleuth/History/Explorers/Leif_Ericsson/index.htm

paper dolls printables  (this site is interesting, it is written in (perhaps?) Scandinavian so I have very little idea what it says, but wonderful art to browse)  http://www.ungafakta.se/pyssel/klipp/klippdockor/

Arts…

Recently, I was asked what resources to use for teaching from the Special Days posts. Every month has different topics, but I turn to the same tried and trusted web sites as I collect resources for our Special Days learning.  Below is a list of those I find to be the most helpful when preparing our “from the calendar” studies.  I hope that you will find them helpful, too.

Special Days and Biographies –  How to and resource list  https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2017/07/21/special-days-and-biographies/

Resources for Presidents Birthdays  https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2014/02/14/resources-for-presidents-day/

Special Days and Geography –  How to and resource list  https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2017/07/29/special-days-and-geography/

Special Days and Science – How to with resource list  https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2017/08/05/special-days-and-science/

A monthly calendar “resource of links and things to do, things to learn and things to explore”  http://www.se7en.org.za/se7ens-almanac

Wonderful resources, activities, crafts, recipes, and open ended ideas often related to seasons, holidays, and monthly themes for families and independent…