Thanksgiving 2013 – Our Chalkboard Wall
There is so very much I am thankful for, not just today, but everyday. And, dear reader, I am thankful for you! It’s my prayer that you are finding much to be thankful for as well.
Have a blessed holiday!
betty jo
Here are a couple of Thanksgiving themed posts just in case you are needing some last minute activities!
Our homeschooling week was spent on more Thanksgiving themed studies. But, on the homeschooling social media groups and the e-mails I’ve received, it is all about Christmas. And with the Christmas teaching season starting in just another week, I’ve started my Christmas study link collection and I’m passing those links on to you today.
50 fun activities and projects for advent http://www.onlypassionatecuriosity.com/holiday-traditions-free-printable-activity-advent-calendar/
Resources and lesson plans for all grades and ages that teach giving and volunteerism, civic engagement, and character through service. This looks just perfect for countering the commercialism and greediness that comes along with the season. http://learningtogive.org/teachers/
5 Days of Christmas Carols study with lyrics, printables, videos, and more http://www.homegrownlearners.com/home/2012/12/20/5-days-of-christmas-carols-day-5-o-come-o-come-emmanuel.html
100’s of free Christmas themed printables for all grade levels and most subjects http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Browse/PreK-12-Subject-Area/ChristmasChanukahKwanzaa/Grade-Level/Homeschooler/Price-Range/Free
Interactive Christmas themed games http://www.akidsheart.com/holidays/christms/chgames.htm
Science, language arts, history, and art resources and lessons plans with Christmas themes https://www.teachervision.com/christmas/celebrations-and-festivals/6604.html
3 levels of Christmas Trivia http://triviapark.com/quizzes/xmasquiz.html
Printable notebooking and journaling pages here http://www.teacherfiles.com/resources_bp_holidays.htm and here http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/christmas-writing-paper
Holiday TV Guide http://m.washfm.com/articles/happy-holidays-444238/holiday-tv-guide-2013-9483051/
Since our history studies are centered around early America this year, we will be learning about the Christmas celebrations of that time. This article explains some of the Christmas traditions of the American colonists. http://foundersacademy.net/2013/colonial-cmas-decor/
This site has an overview of American Christmas history http://www.thehistoryofchristmas.com/ch/in_america.htm
“Bet You Didn’t Know” is a short Christmas history video which includes a bit of American Christmas history http://www.history.com/topics/christmas/videos#bet-you-didnt-know-christmas
Colonial American history, decorations, and recipes http://www.history.org/almanack/life/christmas/
Video, Christmas in 18th Century America http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ9Iaw0iKLY
Short story, Christmas in 1776, http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/christmas/stories/christmas-in-seventeen-seventy-six.html
Of course Christmas is not the only special day in December. Be on the lookout for my listing of special days in December coming soon!
To find your own study links and tons of “freebies”, consider joining some homeschooling social media groups. I recommend these! https://www.facebook.com/groups/567122276640599/ and https://www.facebook.com/groups/210519735725683/
Happy Holiday Teaching!
betty jo
Happy Monday! Here’s some cute and clever memes to get you smiling as you kick off another week of homeschooling! 
What these parents do to spark imagination is hilarious http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/parenting/dinovember-is-a-hilarious-practical-joke-with-a-heart-of-gold/story-fnet085v-1226760643900. Have a great week! And thanks to those who have been sending me funnies to post! betty jo
Our weather has turned much cooler this week but that has not kept us indoors. Our beautiful maple tree is loosing it’s yellow leaves and has created an opportunity for work, nature observation, and play.
Our garden science project from this past spring is still amazing. Even though we have had a few frosts, and nearly everything we had planted is finished, the peppers and onions are still producing! And weeds are coming up like crazy. We are hoping to get the remnants of the tomato vines chopped up into mulch this coming up week.
Our lessons this week focused on the establishment of the Plymouth Colony, this day in history and science, and adding Montana, Washington, and Oklahoma more states to our board. (We add a state every time it’s statehood anniversary comes up on the special days calendar.)
After a week of word games and random drawing, we started on a new mural for our chalkboard wall. It should be finished next week.
Our homeschooling support group held a Pre-Thanksgiving cooking class. E and I taught cornbread cranberry stuffing and acorn treats. The kids also learned to make rolls (regular and gluten free), butter, green bean casserole, deviled eggs, and turkey carving. Kitchen skills and safety with a little science and history thrown in made for a great school day! The class was followed by our monthly family night with more friends and more food!
For more about our garden science project click here https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/04/14/homeschool-gardening/
For photos of past chalkboard wall murals click here https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/one-of-our-favorite-things-the-wall/
For more about our local homeschooling support group click here https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/02/23/what-do-you-get-when-you-cross/
The printable resources for our year long state study come from here http://www.homeschoolshare.com/connections__usa.php
For more about our Plymouth Colony study and the links we are using click here https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/11/08/thanksgiving-unit-study-ideas-and-resources/
For the special days listing for November click here https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/10/29/special-days-in-november/
It was a busy, but good week for our family. I hope yours was good, too!
betty jo
This week we began our Thanksgiving unit studies with a couple of Pre-Thanksgiving activities. Below are some of the links we followed as we both reviewed and learned about the early American Settlements of Roanoke and Jamestown.
3 Articles about the history and mystery of the Roanoke Colony http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/ushistory/roanoke2.htm
Roanoke Colony Creative Writing Prompt http://castelliclassroom.weebly.com/classroom-updates/roanoke-writing-prompt
Online interactive Jamestown adventure http://www.historyglobe.com/jamestown/
Jamestown Interactive webquest adventure http://web.archive.org/web/20040811071346/http://www.loudoun.k12.va.us/schools/catoctin/3rd/webquests/jamestown/
Jamestown reading comprehension and printable quiz http://mrnussbaum.com/jamestown-printable-reading-comprehension/
The Natives and The English video from Crash Course http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTYOQ05oDOI
In addition to the early settlement studies, we began this thankfulness Bible study with printable cards and daily question/activity suggestions http://www.faithgateway.com/thanksgiving-bible-verses-free-printable/#.UnUbfhDZjFD
For the school days from now until Thanksgiving we we will be notebooking, crafting, cooking, reviewing, and researching who, what, when, where, and why – everything associated with the Plymouth Colony. We will keep journaling pages and bulletin boards of what we discover.
Below are the links we’ll be using for resources as we travel back in time to visit early America over the next few weeks.
Plimoth Plantation “Just for Kids” Activities – Coloring, Talk Like a Pilgrim, Virtual Field Trip, History Detective, and more! https://www.plimoth.org/learn/just-kids
Virtual field trip to the first Thanksgiving http://www.scholastic.com/scholastic_thanksgiving/webcast.htm
Thanksgiving Myths Debunked and other Thanksgiving Articles and Child Friendly Recipes https://www.education.com/articles/thanksgiving/
Interactive trivia quiz http://www.quia.com/rr/315169.html
This site is my favorite of all the resources I’ve found. We will use this site daily. http://search.freefind.com/find.html?id=76113&pageid=r&mode=ALL&query=&sitemap=Site+Map
Grammar lessons with Thanksgiving themed mad libs http://amyswandering.com/2012/11/09/thanksgiving-mad-libs-2/
Thanksgiving themed notebooking, activity, and poetry copywork printable pages http://www.notebookingnook.com/freebies-thanksgiving-notebooking-pages-activity-pages-and-copywork-notebook/
Jokes, poems, songs, and more (scroll down and look at the left sidebar) http://www.thanksgiving-day.org/thanksgivingday-fun.html
Stories, jokes, poems and coloring pages http://www.hellokids.com/search?recherche=thanksgiving&search_go=OK
Thanksgiving Math and Printables https://www.yummymath.com/2017/thanksgiving-football-black-friday-and-giving/
Thanksgiving history, fun facts, and census https://www.factmonster.com/culture-entertainment/holidays/thanksgiving
Thanksgiving themed math worksheets (for younger students) https://www.math-drills.com/search.php?s=thanksgiving&page=1&sort=weekly
How Many Calories Are on Your Thanksgiving Plate? https://www.thedailymeal.com/how-many-calories-are-your-thanksgiving-plate/112013
Ideas and instructions for Thanksgiving themed arts and crafts http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org/thanksgivingartscraftsideaskids.html
Games that pilgrim children played https://www.mayflowerjuniors2020.org/games-the-pilgrim-children-played
Thanksgiving Music Playlist
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade interactive games http://social.macys.com/parade/#/games
On nice days we’ll be getting outside for some nature observations, football (not soccer), and archery practice and just maybe some fishing.
Our science is research based (meaning the kids will have to come up with their own resources for information) and will include the following topics:
Thanksgiving themed free downloads and printables for all levels and subjects for homeschools (you will need an account, but that is free and easy to set up) http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Browse/Search:thanksgiving/Grade-Level/Homeschooler/Price-Range/Free
Resources and Activities of Thanksgiving with a modern history twist! https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2014/11/15/thanksgiving-been-there-done-that/
betty jo
Have a happy Monday, and a terrific week!
betty jo
Happy Monday!
According to the special days calendar for October, the second Thursday is World Sight Day. This awareness day is sponsored by WHO (World Health Organization) and was established to draw attention to blindness and vision impairment. Below is a collection of free resources for teaching about the human eye and blindness.
Printable human eye diagram and eye vocabulary list http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/anatomy/eye/
Follow a videotaped dissection of a cow eye and then compare and contrast what you’ve seen with an interactive diagram of the human eye. http://illinois.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/lsps07.sci.life.stru.coweye/cows-eye-dissection/
These are articles written for middle and high school levels which discusses how the eye works, the causes of blindness, and what doctors can do to detect and treat visual problems http://kidshealth.org/kid/health_problems/sight/visual_impaired.html# and http://www.planet-science.com/categories/over-11s/human-body/2010/12/let-there-be-light.aspx
Interactive quiz to test eye knowledge http://kidshealth.org/kid/quizzes/EYEquiz.html#cat20913
Vision experiments http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/chvision.html
There are many Bible verses relating to the eyes, blindness, and healing of the blind. However, Isaiah 42:16 is what I have selected for our homeschool Bible discussion, copy work and journaling
“I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,
along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;
I will turn the darkness into light before them
and make the rough places smooth.
These are the things I will do;
I will not forsake them.”
To conclude our World Sight Day study we’ll be watching this informative video about the history, training, and use of seeing eye dogs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udUWaXxGo_U
Human Eye and vision resources and videos http://www.franw.com/2015/08/the-human-eye.html
BIG List of Special Days in October, 2018
betty jo
According to the special days in September calendar, the 19th is Talk Like a Pirate Day! And on our planner, it’s the last day of our pirate unit study that we have been working on a couple of days a week for the past several weeks. It’s been a fun and interesting study. Below are some of the resources we have been using.
For pirate biographies, dictionary, lore, sea sickness, and more http://the-pirate-ship.com/
For learning about how much work it was to sail a full-rigged ship http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6DZIvMZWzQ
Since pirates needed sewing skills for sail repairs we have added some sewing instruction to our lessons.
https://sewing.com/hand-sewing-stitching-basics/
How to tie knots was also a valuable pirate expertise, so we gave that a try as well. This site has step by step knot tying instructions http://www.netknots.com/rope_knots/
Navigation by stars was another important sailor skill https://seahistory.org/sea-history-for-kids/navigating-by-the-stars/
Instructions for making a cork and needle compass https://www.nps.gov/articles/compass.htm
Our lapbook board (we glued these to file folders once the unit study was finished).
Free unit studies and lapbook printables along with book lists and other links to follow http://www.homeschoolshare.com/connections__pirates.php
“Why are pirates called pirates?” – “They just arrrrrr!” and, lots of other pirate jokes for kids http://www.enchantedlearning.com/jokes/topics/pirate.shtml
Blackbeard, pirate, and treasure chest printable notebooking pages http://www.teacherfiles.com/resources_bp_ss.htm
More pirate themed notebooking pages http://edgalaxy.com/printable-paper-for-teachers/2012/9/22/pirate-themed-writing-pack.html
Pirate Adventure Writing Prompts https://writeshop.com/pirate-printable/
These are a few of our library finds.
Movies and music!
Interactive sunken treasure game http://nationalgeographic.org/education/multimedia/interactive/maps-tools-find-sunken-treasure/
Interactive “Walk the Plank” and Pirate themed Math Games https://www.math4childrenplus.com/?s=pirate
And “Talk Like a Pirate Day” Math Lesson https://www.yummymath.com/2018/talk-like-a-pirate-day-viral-growth/
Our chalkboard wall mural. The instructions for how to draw a pirate ship from here were quite helpful. http://lifestyle.howstuffworks.com/crafts/drawing/how-to-draw-pirate-ships.htm
In conclusion to our pirate unit studies we attempted to make this treasure chest cake! https://www.coolest-birthday-cakes.com/category/other/pirate/treasure-chest/
Haha! Another “Pinterest Fail”, but still tasted good!
For more resources for special days in September click here
Wishing you smooth sailing!
betty jo
According to my special days calendar, August 28th marks the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.s speech “I Have A Dream” at the 1963 March On Washington.
Below are some wonderful free resources I found to create a one day mini unit study. These resources will cover the subjects of language arts, art, music, and history.
This link will take you to a biography with photos, coloring page, test, word puzzles, and more! http://gardenofpraise.com/ibdking.htm
This link takes you to more printables as well as art, poetry, music resources! http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/mlk-day
This link takes you to printable notebooking pages and lapbook materials http://homeschoolhelperonline.com/?s=martin+luther+king+jr
For quotes click here! http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/martin_luther_king_jr.html
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
I have that same dream for my five (not so) little children.
betty jo
Still Learning Something New 