Archive for March, 2014
Ever feel like pulling your hair out?!
Maybe you get the impression that our homeschool is perfect and that every morning sees the children sat doing their school work in an orderly fashion. Let me burst your illusion fast! Nothing could be further from the truth! Yes there are days when schooling goes really well and we get a lot accomplished but there are many days when quite the opposite happens!
Take this week for example. I have learned that it is important to do math first. This way the kids are fresh. So, with Hannah having finished her math she was moving on to a new workbook I had just printed out for her on animals. She did the first couple pages with no problem and then started on a word-search puzzle. Nothing complicated. Yes the words went backwards, forwards and diagonal but she had done them before and this was designed for her level.
8+ hours later she had still not completed the puzzle. No, that is NOT a typo – EIGHT HOURS! She threw hissy fits, the full works. At one point I started to feel a little guilty and thought maybe there was an error and the words she said she could not find were not there. I took the puzzle and checked it for myself. No, they were all there. After about 4 hours she had 4 words left to find so I showed her beside each word which direction each word went. By 7 pm Richard told her that if she had not found the last two words before Caleb got out the bath she would start it all over again the next morning.
Guess what? We started all over again on Friday morning! She still carried on but finally got it done after 4 hours. It was not difficult, she had just decided that she could not and would not do it.
So be encouraged. When you have a rough day, remember you are not alone and persevere!
Liz
Laugh of the day!
In case you do not know, we live on a farm and raise all our own meat for eating! This morning, Daniel was doing the section on string in his Critical and Creative Thinking Activities book. The first question was:
What are 4 different ways to use string?
You will never believe the first answer out of his mouth! “Tying up a pig’s butt!”
Oh my goodness! I can pretty much guarantee that no child EVER has come up with that answer for this question in the book! If you are shaking your head wondering what on earth Daniel and I are talking about, let me explain. When you butcher an animal, in our case pigs or sheep, it helps to tie off the anus with a piece of string before gutting. This ensures that no “nasties” come out all over your meat.
As for the Critical and Creative Thinking books, we LOVE them! They really do encourage the kids to think about how things work etc. Highly recommend them AND it is legal to copy them for your own use so once you purchase a copy, you can copy it all onto your computer and then print out as many copies as you need. That means great value for the educator. Yes it takes a while to copy all the pages but the pages are perforated and once the job is done, it is done. It also means that if your child messes up on a page, you can reprint the page.
Happy schooling!
Liz
Humpty Dumpty Lapbook
We all know the famous Humpty Dumpty rhyme! Now you can enjoy this Lapbook with your young child. The Lapbook is FREE from Homeschool Share. I created a FREE 5 day lesson plan so as to get the most out of it for a week.
Of course you are free to do it in as many or as few days as you like!
Another adVENTURE of FREE, fun learning 
Liz
What comes before, after and in between?
Hope your school week has been a good one! It’s been busy here as we have been searching for a “new to us” travel trailer. That means the kids and us have been out meeting lots of different people and exploring a lot of different trailers. GREAT fun! That has also entailed some math as they have heard the different prices. We haven’t found one yet that we want/can afford so the search continues.
Here are some FREE Math printables from Mama’s Learning Corner. Suitable for Kindergarten aged children. Fill in the blanks with the correct numbers. Great counting practice 🙂
Another adVENTURE of FREE, fun learning
Liz
Excavators, Motor Graders, Bulldozers and Giant Dump Trucks
I found this set of Big Yellow Machine books by Jean Eick in our local library. I was SO impressed with them that I actually went and purchased them all. Why?
In my opinion, they were written before (1997) the age of “dumbing” kids books down. I had originally planned on reading them to Caleb (4) now, using them as part of his schooling but once I started reading them I realized they were WAY too advanced for him so will keep them for a later stage. They are actually recommended for kids 7 & up.
There is a lot of information in each of these books and one of the best things I like is the geography included. Where in the World? visits different places where these machines are used not to mention some have some history in them too. SO these books are a versatile teaching/learning tool that we will use in the future. Although older, really not outdated as these big machines do not change much.
Some are available in both hardcover and paperback, others just in hardback.
I shopped around and ended up purchasing mine from three different vendors:
- Amazon.com
- Ebay
- Abe Books
- Alibris is another online used book seller that I have used in the past.
Happy shopping!
Liz
Great Wall of China – Places of Old #5
I know earlier this week when I started this series I told you there were only 4 books! Well, I was able to get the fifth one, Great Wall of China, from the library yesterday so thought I would finish out the week with it. As I have mentioned before, on short projects I like to do things in a week. I have found that this keeps things fresh in the kids minds and keeps us all, me included, motivated. There is actually a sixth book in this series, Stonehenge, but we did Stonehenge in history a few weeks back and so I did not want to go back over that. I have posted a few links at the bottom of the page for Stonehenge if you wish to incorporate it into your study. The Dewey library number/reference for this book by Kate Riggs is JR951 RIG.
The ‘Places of Old’ books by Kate Riggs are easy to read, encourage curiosity and have full colored photos on every page. Although Caleb did not do the harder worksheet that I am sharing with you, he was old enough (4) to listen to the book. You can purchase these books from Amazon but because they are only available in hardback they are quite expensive so I recommend getting them from your library. If you are not able to find this particular book grab a different one!
Education.com has some FREE worksheets on the Great Wall of China here.
Activity Village has some nice photos and more info PLUS if you are studying China, they have loads of different crafts and activities to explore here.
As we were doing this study this morning I suddenly remembered the Dominoes. (It’s been a while since we have played that game.) We got them out, played a couple games and then Daniel and I built a portion of the Great Wall of China 🙂
As well as a regular atlas we have one of the It’s a Big Big World board book atlases. I just looked on Amazon and it looks like you can only buy them used, no longer in print. SO if you are ever at a yard sale or see one cheap GRAB it! We have had ours since Michelle and Michael were little and it has really helped us in our schooling as the pictures of the continents are so big and the countries clearly marked. Great for younger kids.
Yes, it is a little outdated now as some countries have changed (Sudan split to make Sudan and South Sudan etc) BUT the basics are there and that is what is important.
Here are some links I promised you on Stonehenge:
Another adVENTURE of FREE, fun learning
Liz
Egyptian Pyramids – Places of Old #4
I found a whole pile of FREE ‘goodies’ to go with Egyptian Pyramids today. The Dewey library number/reference for this book by Kate Riggs is JR932 RIG.
The ‘Places of Old’ books by Kate Riggs are easy to read, encourage curiosity and have full colored photos on every page. Although Caleb did not do the harder worksheet that I am sharing with you, he was old enough (4) to listen to the book. You can purchase these books from Amazon but because they are only available in hardback they are quite expensive so I recommend getting them from your library. If you are not able to find this particular book grab a different one!
Education.com has some FREE worksheets on Egyptian Pyramids here. More individual pages, in no particular order from Education.com:
- Egypt Coloring Page
- How to Draw a Pyramid (suggested for Second Grade)
- Ancient World Pyramid (Fourth Grade vocabulary)
Activity Village has LOADS of links if you really want to get into Egypt!
If you have an atlas, get it out and let the children find Egypt. As part of our study we also read from the Bible in Genesis 41 about Joseph in Egypt interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams. The kids have heard this story many times before but it was a good opportunity to refresh their memories. We also discussed Moses crossing the Red Sea and Mary, Joseph and Jesus fleeing to Egypt to escape the massacre ordered by Herod.
Another adVENTURE of FREE, fun learning
Liz
Machu Picchu – Places of Old #3
Off to Machu Picchu in Peru, a place I have wanted to visit for a long time! I can make do with pictures though 🙂 Like Taj Mahal this is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site The Dewey library number/reference for this book by Kate Riggs is JR985.37 RIG.
The ‘Places of Old’ books by Kate Riggs are easy to read, encourage curiosity and have full colored photos on every page. Although Caleb did not do the harder worksheet that I am sharing with you, he was old enough (4) to listen to the book. You can purchase these books from Amazon but because they are only available in hardback they are quite expensive so I recommend getting them from your library. If you are not able to find this particular book grab a different one!
Education.com has some FREE worksheets on Machu Picchu here. Wikipedia also has some interesting info.
I found three interesting videos which we all enjoyed:
- The History Channel – this one shows some fighting with spears etc.
- National Geographic
- You Tube – camera man is talking to a llama plus listening to a Peruvian sing.
All these links were correct at time of posting but parents PLEASE check them out before watching them with your kids in case anything has changed!
Kids Discover is another interesting link and also shows some of the native people and what they wear.
If you have an atlas, get it out and let the children find Peru.
Another adVENTURE of FREE, fun learning
Liz
Taj Mahal – Places of Old #2
Today we visit the Taj Mahal in India, a tourist destination for over 3 million people each year! (The book says 2.2 million, Wikipedia says 3!) Did you know that it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site? The Dewey library number/reference for this book by Kate Riggs is JR726 RIG.
The ‘Places of Old’ books by Kate Riggs are easy to read, encourage curiosity and have full colored photos on every page. Although Caleb did not do the harder worksheet that I am sharing with you, he was old enough (4) to listen to the book. You can purchase these books from Amazon but because they are only available in hardback they are quite expensive so I recommend getting them from your library.
Education.com has some FREE worksheets on Taj Mahal here. The fourth grade worksheet actually gives some extra details that are not in the book. Activity Village does not have any worksheets but does have a page with information on plus some India pages. Wikipedia also has some interesting info.
If you have an atlas, get it out and let the children find India. Older children can find Agra. Learning to use an atlas is an important skill.
Another adVENTURE of FREE, fun learning
Liz
Easter Island – Places of Old #1
I came across a series of books in the library last week by author Kate Riggs. For the next 4 days I am going to share one a day with you along with some extra resources. Today it is Easter Island, a fascinating island in the Pacific Ocean, where there are nearly 900 Moai (statues). The Dewey library number/reference is JR996.1 RIG.
The ‘Places of Old’ books by Kate Riggs are easy to read, encourage curiosity and have full colored photos on every page. Although Caleb did not do the harder worksheet that I am sharing with you, he was old enough (4) to listen to the book. You can purchase these books from Amazon but because they are only available in hardback they are quite expensive so I recommend getting them from your library.
If you do not already do so, please make use of your local library. If they do not have a book, you can always ask them to get it for you through an inter-county loan. Most libraries are FREE. For us, because we live outside city limits, the charge is $25 per year for the whole family. That is still an amazing deal considering we check out approximately 50 books every 2 weeks!
Education.com has a couple FREE worksheets on Easter Island here. The fourth grade worksheet actually gives some extra details that are not in the book. Both Hannah and Daniel were able to do this worksheet easily so can be used for younger grades.
Wikipedia also has some interesting info including population (5761). I had the kids guess how many they thought lived on the island before we looked this up. We all guessed WAY under!
If you have an atlas, get it out and see if you can find the tiny island. Get older children to write down the longitude and latitude of the island. Learning to use an atlas is an important skill.
Another adVENTURE of FREE, fun learning
Liz
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