Search Results for: blog draw a map with your kids

How to Have a H.E.A.R.T. For Your Children

Product: How to Have a H.E.A.R.T For Your Kids by: Rachael Carman Target Audience: Homeschool Moms Format: Book Publisher: Apologia Cost: $13.00 After being a homeschool mom for nine years I can tell you all about the ups and downs. I can share the tears and the joy. I would tell you that my homeschool is based on God, excellence, and academics. I would tell you my focus is on family and training up young soldiers for God’s army. While I mean every word of it if you came to my house on a trying day you may not see … Continue reading →

Homeschool Curriculum Glossary (Daily Skill-Drawing)

Daily Skill Builders by Walsh Publishing is a series of workbooks that provides short exercises to give children daily practice in English and math. Daily Warm ups is workbook series that teaches reading, writing, communication, critical thinking skills, and word attack strategies while preparing students for standardized testing. Davidsons Music is a Christian musical education DVD curriculum that allows students to be self taught as well as encouraging creativity. Developmental Math “is composed of a complete workbook series progressing, Level by Level, through the basic elements of arithmetic into the beginnings of algebra. As a self- teaching program, Developmental Mathematics … Continue reading →

Should “Perfectionist” Kids Get Special Accommodations?

Sometimes it seems like my life is a long, continuous string of parent-teacher conferences, one right after the other. Today I had three, and the last one was for my sixth grader, Riley, who, for the purposes of this blog, we might just call “Mr. Perfectionist.” His teacher sat across from us at a long table, where she pushed several papers over toward me. “Any questions about his grades?” she asked. “Yes… well… they don’t seem indicative of his abilities,” I said. “I’m wondering what you think is going on.” This was becoming a trend for Riley. Although his grades … Continue reading →

Draw a Map With Your Kids

Here’s a fun thing to do with your children, which also encourages some good thinking skills. Draw a map of their world. All you need is some crayons or markers, and some large paper. I like to use poster board, but in a pinch you can always tape small sheets of paper together. I’ve also used paper grocery sacks for this. If you cut off the bottom, and up one side you end up with a large sheet. The drawback is that grocery sacks are brown, and your pictures won’t show up as well. If you want to pull out … Continue reading →

What Your Second Grader Should Know in Social Studies

* Holidays and festivals Look for an upcoming blog in the Homeschoolers’ Advent Calendar regarding great ideas for celebrating a multi-ethnic Christmas season. * Patriotic celebrations While it’s a little young to teach all of the history surrounding Independence Day, I suggest reading several related books: –The Story of America’s Birthday by Patricia A. Pingry –Hooray for the 4th of July by Wendy Watson –Apple Pie for 4th of July by Janet S. Wong –Anything related that was written by Jean Fritz * Communities in other lands: past and present * Family and family history * Families around the world … Continue reading →

What Should Your Kindergartner Know Part 1: Social Studies

Here is a checklist for those of you who are teaching kindergarten. Remember that this is a guide, but of course you can use this to pull together your own curriculum. Not teaching kindergarten? Look soon for the rest of the sereis which will go through 12th grade. * Meanings of holidays, traditions, and customs Holidays.net has a HUGE archive of crafts, ideas, recipes, etc. to help celebrate. It’s also worth your effort to search the Yahooligans Holiday page. They have just about every conceivable holiday as well as links to crafts, activities, and lessons. * Understanding and appreciating other … Continue reading →

Make Up Your Own Family Game

Instead of pulling a game out of the cupboard that you have played a million times try making up your own family game. It could be a board game, card game, or a thinking game. Oftentimes making up the game can be just as fun as playing it. So gather around the table or in the family room and get creative! Here are some ideas to help get your imagination started. Travel Game Make up your own travel game. Choose a starting and ending destination. Then get a real map, download, or draw your own, and draw squares connecting your … Continue reading →

The Seven Intelligences: What Kind of Learner is Your Child?

Children learn in a variety of ways. This is why the traditional method of education, where a teacher lectures children as they sit facing her in rows, is often woefully inadequate. Once we discover the specific intellectual strengths our children have, we can help provide them with new, stimulating experiences that will inspire them to learn in their own ways. The Seven Intelligences There are seven different types of intelligence, as described by Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner in his book, Frames of Mind. According to Gardner, we know that every child has a bit of each in different proportions. As … Continue reading →

Make the Most of Summer Travel

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Whether you homeschool year-round or take time off during the summer months don’t let the season of sunny days fly by without a few fun lessons. Family road trips are the ideal vehicle for hands-on learning.  Rather than allow your kids to blow travel time watching movies, playing video games or annoying their siblings have them master geography using colorful flashcards or practice math facts using your vehicle’s odometer and mile markers along the highway. By involving the entire family in some interactive “car-schooling” your kids will have the states and capitals memorized in no time.  To test your children’s memory … Continue reading →

Adventures in Summer Scrapping

Lions, and tigers, and bears! Oh my! Nothing says summer scrapbooking quite like a spread that showcases a family trip to the zoo. It’s memory book-making at its finest… and easiest. Think about it; unlike some summer adventures, the zoo is loaded with photo opportunities, from snaps of your kids getting up close and personal with penguins to images of Junior taking his first camel ride. An afternoon at the zoo can yield an entire scrapbook of funny and exotic layouts, especially when you pair your favorite pictures with mementos, including maps, ticket stubs, brochures and receipts. Fortunately, there is … Continue reading →