Are you extra busy this time of year? We are! Our calendar is filled with Christmas program rehearsals, a holiday workshop, caroling, and parties. We’re decorating, crafting and baking. And of course, there’s light displays to drive by, extra shopping, and gifts to wrap and deliver. Oh yeah, there’s homeschool lessons, too.
Not only are we counting the days down until Christmas, we’re counting the days left in our semester. I know some homeschooling families that take off the month of December, as nice as that sounds, it isn’t for us. We keep on learning through December, and we have about two more weeks of homeschooling before we’ll be ready for a break . However, with the added busy-ness, regular lessons won’t give us the time we need to pursue the activities that make this time of year so special.
Below are the online links to Advent and Christmas countdowns that we are using for quick lessons that are helping us check off our daily subjects. Not only have the kids been liking these (probably because it’s extra computer time and the studies are short), I like them too. It’s wonderful to have a break in lesson planning and to devote my “teacher time” to all the activities December brings. It’s fun knowing that we have surprises waiting for us to learn about each morning. And since these resources are brief, we have the afternoons for all those extras.
As we move along on our “special days” studies through November, I see Thanksgiving looming coming up in the not so distant future. I thought seriously about not teaching Thanksgiving lessons this year. How could I not want to teach Thanksgiving? We’ve always had wonderful Thanksgiving lessons in November. Yes, that’s it. For 17 years – 17 Novembers, I’ve been teaching a week or two or three of Thanksgiving. The who, what, when, why, and how of those Mayflower pilgrims and the natives that they encountered, Lincoln’s proclamation to make a Thanksgiving holiday, Bible studies that focus on giving thanks and gratitude, nutritional studies of squash, pumpkins, turkeys, sweet potatoes, and corn, Thanksgiving celebrations around the world, tons of cooking projects, and craft activities to go along with it all – we’ve been there and done that over and over again.
In addition to my grumpy mood about Thanksgiving lessons, our primary history focus of the year is Modern World History so the Pilgrim/Indian theme just doesn’t seem to fit or apply. I look over the recent additions to our timeline and see WW1, the stock market crash of 1929, WW2 – hard and fearful times, but still were thankful times, too. Hmmm …
Below are some of the online resources we’ll be using as we begin a new Thanksgiving study with a modern history twist, and the cure for my Thanksgiving lesson planning grumpiness. I’m actually getting excited about these lessons now!
The common thread of Thanksgiving celebration during these times seems to be making the most with whatever resources were available and finding blessings in any circumstance. With this in mind, our Thanksgiving Bible studies will focus on contentment.
Philippians 4:11-12I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
1 Timothy 6:8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.
Hebrews 13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you;never will I forsake you.”
This National Geographic video is NOT for the squeamish! It is actual footage of the digestive process filmed by a scope procedure. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QYwscALNng
October 2 marks the anniversary of the very first publication of Peanuts (1950)! This is one of the October “special days” the kids were interested in. Yeah, I’m interested, too. I grew up on Peanuts. Below are some resource links to follow as we learn and have fun with Peanuts.
And in case you’re wondering, I am going to give this study credit for literature (winks), art, music, history, and creative writing. We may get a PE credit too – football kicking and baseball pitching seem to go along with the whole Peanuts theme.
October is always a favorite time of the year for my family. It’s also a favorite month for learning! October has a good variety of themes, foods, and daily historic events. This link will take you to the list of Special Days in October, 2014 https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2014/09/27/special-days-in-october-2014/
Below are the resource links to take you to special day studies we’ve done with our homeschooling through Octobers in the past. I’ve also included some links that I’m thinking we’re about to use with this October’s lessons.
The Salem Witch Trials was one of our best studies last year. Though not a “special day”, it was a nice tie in with a Halloweenish theme. Also, this resource post has been one of the most popular posts I’ve put together. https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/10/30/salem-witch-trials/
Oct. 4 – Fall Astronomy Day This link takes you to my “go to” site for all things astronomy. http://www.kidsastronomy.com/
Oct. 11 – Elenore Roosevelt born 1884 – Here’s a nice short biography, reading comprehension quizzes and language arts printables http://www.gardenofpraise.com/ibderoos.htm
Oct. 16 – Noah Webster born 1758 and Dictionary Day (this site has much more than a dictionary! You’ll find games, Webster biography, language history, daily buzz words, and a way to add your own made up word to a dictionary!) http://www.wordcentral.com/edu/index.htm
I’ll be posting some other resource links as our studies for October develop. I’m thinking owls and perhaps spiders. Haunted places and monsters are being considered, too. What are some of your October themed lesson plans? And got links?
How to Prepare for a Terrorist Attack and Links to Other More Detailed Preparedness Plans and Facts from The Dept. Of Homeland Security http://www.nationalterroralert.com/default/
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.
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).
According to Special Days inAugust , “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.
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.
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.)
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.
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
Are you extra busy this time of year? We are! Our calendar is filled with Christmas program rehearsals, a holiday workshop, caroling, and parties. We’re decorating, crafting and baking. And of course, there’s light displays to drive by, extra shopping, and gifts to wrap and deliver. Oh yeah, there’s homeschool lessons, too.
Still Learning Something New 
