Click here for Special Days in December updated for 2019
Special Days in December, 2015
1 Reply
Tag Archives: family
Special Days in July, 2015
Special Days in May, 2015
Learning Christmas with Countdowns
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.
For Bible references and a little related trivia each day until Christmas – http://www.jamtrust.org/resources/adventcalendar/AdventCalendar.html
Learn Something “Christmassy” every day for 25 days – http://www.whychristmas.com/adventcalendar/
Countdown with Math – secondary grade levels (6-12) – http://nrich.maths.org/11330
Countdown with Math – primary grade levels (1-5) – http://nrich.maths.org/11078
For Science, a Chemistry Countdown – http://www.compoundchem.com/2014advent/
Unlock a New Game Each Day Until Christmas – http://www.santagames.net/calendar/index.htm
World Geography and Cultures – Read about Christmas traditions around the world (We used this as a study link last year and it’s great!) – http://projectbritain.com/Xmas/calendar/index.html
Liverpool Museum has a historic display to share each day – http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/christmas/advent/
For even more Christmas Advent and Countdown resources
I hope you enjoy your final learning days until the holiday break. I wish you Merry Homeschooling!
betty jo
Thanksgiving – Been There, Done That
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!
During WW1, food was rationed and that had quite an impact on that Thanksgiving dinner. This article does a terrific job explaining American Thanksgiving during WW1. I love the photos of the newspaper ads from 1917 and 1918. http://blog.genealogybank.com/rationing-thanksgiving-dinner-during-world-war-i.html
And what of the troops on Thanksgiving 1918? Read about the football, feasts, and entertainment the Red Cross planned in this old Stars and Stripes magazine article http://www.oldmagazinearticles.com/Thanksgiving_in_WW1_France#.VGRLisnbGi0
Macy’s Department Store held their first parade in 1924. Read about the history of this famous parade here http://people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/holidays-other/macys-thanksgiving-day-parade1.htm
Watch a short video of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade history with some actual film footage from the first parade http://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/history-of-thanksgiving/videos/history-of-the-thanksgiving-day-parade
View this Macy’s Thanksgiving Day photo gallery from Time http://content.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,2100160_2324105,00.html
Thanksgiving Radio Show 1935
Jack Benny Thanksgiving Radio Show 1939
A wonderful account of the Thanksgiving that came early http://www.farmcollector.com/farm-life/thanksgiving-during-the-great-depression.aspx#axzz3IpQaEi9v
And more about that early Thanksgiving which became known as “Franksgiving” from this historic letter collection http://www.lettersofnote.com/2009/11/unhappy-franksgiving.html
That famous Norman Rockwell American family portrait of Thanksgiving dinner is still a popular work of art today. But back in 1943 it was a political statement. Find out more about that here http://bigthink.com/Picture-This/what-norman-rockwells-thanksgiving-pictures-really-about
Details of WW2 Thanksgiving in a pdf from America in WWII Magazine http://www.americainwwii.com/files/2012/11/thankful-anyway-dec-2009.pdf
A delightful article about Thanksgiving at home and at war http://www.sarahsundin.com/thanksgiving-in-world-war-ii/
Thanksgiving writings from WW2 veterans along with some pictures from Time Magazine 1940’s Thanksgiving photo album http://www.skylighters.org/thanksgiving/
Armed Forces Radio Thanksgiving Show 1944
And with that fantastic swing music, some Charleston and Swing Dance instructions may be in order!
And back in those days, math was practical and so are these Thanksgiving themed math lessons http://www.yummymath.com/?s=thanksgiving
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 4:11-12 I 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.”
Just for fun and a little about the mindset of the times here’s a Classic Thanksgiving cartoon playlist. One of these is from 1933 and one from 1945. The rest are a little more recent, 1950’s-70’s. http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRgLrYQQYdPr9xb8HiRXaJZAWiKmp4wQ6
What about science? How about human anatomy and the digestive system? Seems to fit the theme of “Thanksgiving dinner”, right?
Digestive System Facts – http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/humanbody/digestivesystem.html
Human Body Interactive Map of the digestion system – http://www.healthline.com/human-body-maps/digestive-system/male
Label the Digestion System printable with a vocabulary and definition list http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/anatomy/digestive/label/
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
A little more pleasant to watch, an animation of how the digestive system works http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwrsL-lCZYo
There is even a digestion song! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sDMVgw9d-c
Online Digestive System Quiz http://www.lrn.org/Content/Quizzes/Qdigestive.html
Hopefully our appetites will still exist after this science study! We have a lot of cooking and eating to do!
I wish you happy learning this Thanksgiving!
betty jo
Peanuts
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.
See the first Peanuts Comic! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:First_Peanuts_comic.png
Peanuts History Article http://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,2022745,00.html
Charles Schultz biography and printables http://makingartfun.com/htm/f-maf-art-library/charles-m-schultz-biography.htm
Faith Based Video https://www.museumofthebible.org/book/minutes/147
Read Peanuts comic strips free online http://www.gocomics.com/peanuts
Character Profiles https://www.peanuts.com/characters/
Step by step instructions for how to draw Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and other Peanuts characters http://www.dragoart.com/tags/tuts/1/2945/how-to-draw-charlie-brown-characters.htm
Blank Comic Strip Printables for making our own comics http://www.printablepaper.net/category/comics
The Peanuts theme song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQybajU2GNk
Theme Song Piano Lesson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh5C1F1QNAg
Theme Song Piano Tutorial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tidspc7AYkE&t=24s
Easy Theme Song Piano Tutorial for Beginners https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8ASSPA8OLE
Peanuts Quiz (easy)-
http://brainfall.com/quizzes/whats-your-peanuts-iq/
Peanuts Quiz (difficult) –
http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/arts/artwork/peanuts-quiz9.htm
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.
Good Grief!
betty jo
Current Events Resources
“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.bbc.co.uk/newsround/news/
* http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/
http://magazines.scholastic.com/
http://news.discovery.com/adventure/tags/kids.htm
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.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
We had a few fantastic “special days” studies last July. Below are those special day posts. Each one has the links to the teaching resources we used. I’ve checked the links and they seem to be working.
Ramadan, 2014 began in June and continues until July, 28 with the celebration of Eid al-Fitr. .(This past winter, our local homeschool group hosted a holiday history fair. B chose to come back to this study for his presentations. It’s a very good study.) https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/07/12/studying-ramadan/
International Joke Day – July 1 https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/07/01/just-joking/
This was our study following the 4th of July, it would have been better if we had done it first with the fireworks display to follow. We learned a lot and found it interesting. We’ll be visiting topic again this year. https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/07/05/fireworks/ We learned about the Liberty Bell as part of our July studies last year, too. The resources for that study were awesome! https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/07/08/the-liberty-bell/
Artist Rembrandt born July 14 – https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/07/15/rembrandt/
July born Presidents:
- Calvin Coolidge – July 4, 1872
- John Quincy Adams – July 11, 1767
- Gerald Ford – July 14, 1913
We haven’t yet made any decisions yet about our July 2014 special day learning, but I’m pretty sure ICE CREAM will make our list (more than once)! And, we may have a go with the July 24th unschool holiday, “Learn Nothing Day”, though I don’t know how that would be possible. Here’s the “Special Days in July” list for 2014 https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2014/06/26/special-days-in-july/
Happy July learning,
betty jo
A New Kid, Birthdays, and Year End Events
It’s been a few months since I’ve actually written a post about our family and our homeschool. Normally, that would mean that all is just mundane and not blog or photo worthy. However, that’s not what my blog absence has been about, I haven’t been able to find the time to share about all that’s been going on. Today, I’ll try to fill you in some.
First, let me introduce you to MJ! She’s our family’s new job. Actually, she is a homeschool girl who is with us four days a week for tutoring while her grandmother works. These photo are of her and Z at the last homeschool fieldtrip of the school year, Stewardship Day at Shawnee National Forest.
We have a new chalkboard wall mural that goes along with our Lewis and Clark, Oregon Trail, and Westward Journey studies.
We’ve been working on improvements to our key hole garden. The stone looks wonderful and made the best Mother’s Day present! The flowers are quite nice, too.
This next photo is E and B with SALT, (our homeschool support groups drama co-op) at the final performance of the year. And, it’s sad that this was E’s very last performance with them. Now that she’s graduating, she’ll not be in the troop. Being involved with creative ministries and drama certainly has been one of her favorite activities of her homeschooling career.
And, here’s a few of the pics from the spring formal.
Both of my youngest boys had birthdays! Z turned 9 and J turned 11.
These next photos are of Silver Lining (homeschool color guard) at their spring show, “Storms of Life”. Though, this was E’s last performance with them, she is planning to stay involved with the group as an assistant coach.
And Silver Lining’s honor and awards banquet
There’s just one more event to add to this year’s homeschooling year, graduation and achievement night. The plans are set and all will be ready for the big night, this coming up Friday. I’ll be sure to share those photos then.
betty jo
It’s Unanimous For Strawberries!
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
Still Learning Something New 
