Homeschool Collection - May 2019 Edition

Good Morning! It is a beautiful day here in Southeast Texas. This month, sixteen crew members share some words of encouragement for you and your homeschool. I invite you to grab a cup of coffee and join us as we share with you this month.

Chareen @ Every Bed of Roses shares

• House Cleaning and Homeschool?” Is it even possible? No new magic formula’s, however I will share some gems I’ve learned along my 21 year homechool journey.
• Nature Journaling Resources – With summer around the corner it’s a wonderful time to begin Nature Journals with your family.
• P is for Pterodactyl – I love interesting books and thought this new alphabet book a pretty interesting addition to any library.
• FREE Fine Arts Resources for Your Homeschool – With tight budgets due to single incomes here is a list of FREE Resources to help you address the fine arts in your Homeschool.

Abby @ Making Room 4 One More shares

• Mini Geography Lesson: Imports Scavenger Hunt (with FREEBIE) – Here’s a quick, open and go mini geography lesson to use today in your homeschool. Kids will learn about the geographical theme of movement with an Imports Scavenger Hunt!
• 5 Secrets for Homemaking Sanity While Homeschooling – “Have you ever met a busy homeschool mom? Funny question, right? We’re all busy! We’re juggling homeschooling, volunteering, parenting, hobbies, side gigs or full-time jobs, laundry, cleaning, and meal prep. Whew. We know that the homemaking stuff can’t be ignored. It has to get done. We also know that the homeschooling stuff can’t be ignored. It has to get done. Here are five tips for your sanity!”
• I Don’t Lesson Plan (and you shouldn’t either) – “Do you feel overwhelmed and stressed out when you see pictures on Pinterest of big organization files or planner books for homeschool moms? I do too! Because the fact is (even though I’m a former classroom teacher), I don’t lesson plan, and you shouldn’t either. There, I said it.”
• 88 Things First Time Homeschool Moms Need to Know – Are you a first-time homeschool mom? You might think you need to know all about lesson planning, or Charlotte Mason, or unit studies. The things you really need to know about homeschooling are these simple, beautiful, and direct truths.

Yvie @ Homeschool On the Range shares

• 10 Best Vintage Series for Boys – Classic novels for boys!
• 10 Best Vintage Series for Girls – Classics for girls’ summer reading!
• Subscription Boxes for Teens – Make summer learning fun with these hands on activities!
• Best Planners for Teens – Teaching responsibility in high school is a little bit easier with these planners…

Susan @ My Happy Homeschool shares

• Writing for the Future – “Teaching writing can be intimidating, especially if you don’t feel like a good writer. Here are some tips you can use to encourage your students to write. ”

Destiny @ Some Call It Destiny shares

• Public School to Homeschooling: Making a Smooth Transition – 5 things to do to make the transition to homeschooling go smoother
• Reading Comprehension Strategies – 5 practical suggestions to increase reading comprehension

Kym @ Homeschool Coffee Break shares

• How Do You Make a Four-Year Plan for High School? – Some advice about planning ahead to cover everything during the high school years
• From the High School Lesson Book – Graduation – A look at how our homeschool group plans the graduation ceremony, along with some background on many graduation traditions.
• Homeschool Essentials for Graduating – Faith and Worldview – Before they are ready to graduate and head out into the world, we want to make sure our students learn Biblical worldview and make their faith their own.
• A Cup of Coffee and a Word of Advice – Keep Your Perspective – I wrote this article when I was preparing to graduate my third student, and needed to remind myself of these things as I graduate my youngest child this year. I’m considering how successful we’ve been in meeting our vision for our homeschool, and thinking about how my perspective will be changing now.

Monique @ Early Learning Mom shares

• Raising Bookworms: What We Read in April 2019 – “Another month gone by… Does anyone else feel like 2019 is just flying by? So once again this month I got laryngitis yet again. I’m really not to sure why I keep getting it. Usually I get it once every year to year and a half. But so far I have gotten it twice in 4 months. So as you can image, losing my voice put a damper on our homeschool and read aloud time. However we still managed to read 16 chapter books and 70 picture books.”
• Homeschooling on a Budget: Children’s Hospital Book Market Haul – “Homeschooling on a budget. As most parents who have even looked into homeschooling, it can be EXPENSIVE! But I have discovered over the years that if you shop smart, you can get everything you need for much cheaper, some times even free.”
• Early Learning Revolution – “Early Learning Revolution Did you know there are programs on the market that help parents of babies, toddlers and preschoolers learn to read, do math? You know what else? If you do the programs right they work too! Some programs worth mentioning are How to Teach Your Baby to Read, BrillKids Little Reader, Your Baby Can Learn(formally known as Your Baby Can Read, MonkiSee, Tweedlewinks, etc. ”
• Summer Life With Autism & Year Round Homeschooling – “Summer is officially over. My big kids are back at their respected schools, and Little Z is back to the homeschool grind. Well not that we really stopped learning since we are year round homeschoolers. But we did pull out the new curriculum a few weeks ago. Life has been very hectic the last few months and I had taken a long unplanned hiatus from blogging and YouTube. I just felt that I was being pulled away from this platform. Instead I needed to put all my energy into my family. Last September my body was getting so run down. I got sick 2 times that month. It made me see I had to slow down.”

Lori @ At Home: where life happens shares

• Riding The Wave of Unexpected Interest – Lots of rain can lead to an interest in waves and flash flood. So we followed that wave of interest and came up with a mini-unit study of flash floods, sink holes, and the power of water.
• Cultivating an Attitude – I am sharing ways to be intentional about having an attitude of gratitude.
• 5 Ways to Include Music in Your Education – Five simple ways to add music into your home education routine.
• Winnie’s Great War – This is a fun read-aloud option that will capture the attention of all ages. Relating the story of the bear that came to be Winnie the Pooh, Winnie’s Great War is a touching WWII story about a real bear cub and how he served during the war.

Wendy @ Life on Chickadee Lane shares

• E is for Eagles {Blogging Through the Alphabet} – Sharing information and resources of information about Bald Eagles and Golden Eagles.
• F is for Flamingos {Blogging Through the Alphabet} – Sharing information about, and lovely photos of, flamingos.
• H is for Hummingbirds {Blogging Through the Alphabet} – Anyone who knows me, even a little, should also know that among my favorite birds, hummingbirds are among my most favorite. Here I share photos, videos, and a few links to more information.
• Dear Future Wife of My Son – A mom sharing advice to the future wife of her son, as well as a reminder for us as parents to remember to pray for the future wives of our sons.

Dawn @ Schoolin’ Swag shares

• Our Summer Plans: 2019 Edition – Some fun ideas for adding a little structure to your summer days.
• How to Get More Out of Your Nature Walks – Simple and easy ways to make nature walks more educational
• Pre-K Farm Study Ideas – Ideas and resources for creating your own farm unit study for preschool or kindergarten aged children.
• Summer Plans: Rhythms and Routines – Join us in focusing on rhythms and routines this summer to get a good start next fall.

Crystal @ Our Little Bunch shares

• Our Curriculum Choices for 2019/2020 (grades 4 and 7) – Have a peek at our curriculum choices for the coming school year!
• 14 Fun And Practical Gifts For The Homeschool Mom – Looking for a fun and practical gift for the homeschool mom in your life? Look no further!
• The Complete Beginners Guide To Homeschooling With Ease – Whatever your reason, if you are wanting to start homeschooling, you likely have many questions on where and how to get started and what your responsibilities are.
• Letter Of The Week – All About “B” – The 2nd installment in our Letter Of The Week Theme, let’s learn about the letter B!

Annette @ A Net in Time shares

• Four Considerations when combining work and homeschool – As moms (and dads) we have to make choices in our daily activities. What will we do on a given is influenced by a variety of factors in our lives. What our families are engaged in, the weather, commitments we have made, and more. When we work as well as homeschool, sometimes making it all fit together relatively smoothly can be a challenge.
• Leaping Lagomorphs – I first learned of rabbit hopping as a sport about five years ago now? i was preparing a rabbit class for some homeschoolers and was looking for activities one could do with their pet rabbit. Rabbit hopping came up as one of the options. Later at one of the rabbit club shows, the 4-H kids put on an agility rabbit demonstration. I learned how to start training a rabbit to do rabbit hopping.
• Poison Gas in World War 1 – Did you know that France was actually the first company to use poison gas in World War 1? I didn’t either. Learn more about the use of poison gas in WW1 in this blog post.
• Choosing Rabbits to Keep – One of the challenges in having a rabbitry is deciding who you will keep and who will not keep. Sometimes it’s very easy, but other times it is very challenging. How one makes a decision depends on several factors and is affected by your over arching goal for your rabbits. This post is all about choosing rabbits to keep in your herd.

Karen @ Tots and Me…Growing Up Together shares

• Littles Learning Link Up: Symmetrical Butterfly Crafts – As a part of our caterpillar/butterfly unit, we made two symmetrical butterfly crafts. One of the crafts also incorporated patterns. This was my way of including math in our lesson.
• Littles Learning Link Up: Butterfly Metamorphosis/Life Cycle Fun Round Up – A round up of 30 creative ideas to help teach children about the life cycle of the butterfly. You will find a variety of activities, crafts, snacks, and printables.
• Littles Learning Link Up: Butterfly Lapbook – This butterfly lapbook incorporates math and science with mini books and activities. There is a life cycle book. addition butterfly game, “Let’s Compare” butterfly/caterpillar book, symmetrical butterfly matching game, and parts of a butterfly activity.
• Littles Learning Link Up: Pattern Caterpillar Crafts – As a part of our caterpillar/butterfly unit, we made two pattern caterpillar crafts.

Amy @ the WRITE Balance shares

• 3 Things I’m Learning About Learning – Since the beginning of our homeschooling journey, we have gained some great wisdom from the communities we have been a part of. Here are a few things we have learned about learning.
• The Value of Gardening in Education – “Whether it is a few pots on back porch or an acre of land carefully planned out in February, having a garden is an incredible asset to your family’s education. Planting and harvesting (and everything in between) is something that we have in common with every generation before us. While your family may not rely on your garden the way my grandparents did theirs, the process is still this incredible hands-on tool for enhancing education.and keeping our hearts grounded – pun fully intended! ”

Kristen H @ A Mom’s Quest to Teach shares

• Crafts: Lions – Study about the fierce lion and create your own simple lion craft.
• Crafts: Ladybugs – Create one of two ladybug crafts using simple materials.
• Dice, Decks, and Boards: Koala Capers – Read about a fun card game for preschoolers as well as learn a few other ways to use the cards in your homeschool.
• E is for Elizabeth’s Speeches and Letters – If you have older children studying the Tudors, this post will provide a few ideas for incorporating primary documents into your homeschooling lessons.

Michelle @ THe Brave Homeschooling Mama shares

• Top 5 Tips for a Successful Homeschool Convention – I give my viewers 5 tips so they can enjoy and have a good convention.

Happy Homeschooling!

A-Z Animals: A for Alligator

A-Z Animals provides a mini unit study for each letter of the alphabet for early learning. Each unit provides three activities using a children’s book as the theme for parents and students to complete together.

Read with Me

Parents read the children’s book “See You Later, Alligator” by Annie Kubler with their student.

Learn with Me

Parents learn with their student about alligators through the video link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gC438crLVY

Create with Me

Parents create a Clothespin Alligator craft with their student.

You will need the following materials to create a Clothespin Alligator:

·         One Green Clothespin

·         White and Red Craft Paint

·         Two Googly Eyes

·         One Green Chenille Stem

·         Scissors

·         Glue

·         Green paper

Here are the directions to create a Clothespin Alligator:

·         Cut two pieces of chenille stem to a length of 2 inches. These will become the alligator legs.

·         Cut a strip of green paper as wide as the clothespin and about 1 ½ times as long.

·         Paint the inside of the clothespin red where it connects when closed. When the red dries, add white dots to make teeth. When the paint is dry, the craft is ready to create the clothespin alligator.

·         Show the student how to make an accordion fold with the strip of paper. The folded paper will become the alligator’s back. Glue the paper to the top of the clothespin, leaving enough room for googly eyes.

·         Glue the two legs to the bottom of the clothespin and bend to make legs.

·         Glue two googly eyes to the top of the clothespin near the mouth.

·         When the glue dries, the alligator is ready to chomp! Squeeze the tail to make the alligator’s mouth open. The alligator can open its mouth wide to show off its pearly white teeth!

Happy Homeschooling!

Teaching Options for Teens

As you plan a high school program for your teen, remember that a variety of teaching options exist, all of them worthy of consideration. Because teens are unique and post high school goals vary, the core academic and elective courses needed for each year will differ for each teen. Once you determine the courses your teen needs during high school, you can choose the best teaching options, which include parent-taught, co-op classes, online courses, tutors, or dual-enrollment.

PARENT-TAUGHT

Homeschool parents willing to expend time to teach a high school course can do so with excellence. Many homeschool resources provide textbooks, teacher guides, video lectures, answer keys, tests, and suggested lesson plans. The real benefit of this option is that parents maintain control over the curriculum and concepts covered. You and your teen can enjoy the learning process together and you have first hand knowledge of your teen’s comprehension of each subject matter.

CO-OP CLASSES

If your homeschool community offers co-op classes, be sure you understand the responsibilities of the teacher, student, and parent to ensure that there are no surprises. Some co-ops require parents to teach, while others may hire a teacher. Some co-op classes require monthly fees, while others may be free. Many co-op classes meet once a week, so teachers must assign homework. Parental supervision is required for a successful co-op class.

ONLINE COURSES

A variety of online courses are available in all subject matters. Online teachers typically provide course instruction and answer questions. There are two types of online formats. Live formats have been designed so all students are online at the same time each week. Self-paced courses have been designed so students can watch them on their own time schedule. Teens usually have one calendar year to complete a course.

TUTORS

If your teen could use extra help understanding certain concepts, then an informal, as needed approach may be helpful. Look for local tutors among your circle of friends. Consider a homeschool mom who has expertise in the particular subject matter. Formal weekly tutoring by a paid tutor is a good option for courses that your teen finds difficult or for subjects outside your comfort zone to teach.

DUAL-ENROLLMENT

Homeschool teens who are up for the challenge of community college courses earn both high school and college credit at the same time. The process to enroll your teen in a dual enrollment course will vary upon the specific college, but generally there are few qualifications. Just be sure to verify that the community college course credit will transfer to your teen’s four-year college of choice.

Homeschooling offers the freedom to mix and match these teaching options. Homeschool parents have the opportunity to customize not only your teen’s courses but also the best teaching options, which include parent-taught, co-op classes, online courses, tutors, or dual-enrollment.

Vocabulary Virtuoso: PSAT-SAT Book 1 - Crew Review

Vocabulary Virtuoso: PSAT-SAT Book 1 from The Critical Thinking Co. was created for late middle school and high school students to build vocabulary necessary for comprehension in critical reading. The SAT test has critical reading sections that closely resemble the type of reading the student will encounter in college and future work situations. Both the writing and language sections in the SAT test the student’s ability to analyze and think clearly; but it also uses a strong vocabulary to test comprehension in reading and cogent thinking skills. Whether used in the traditional classroom, as a homeschool resource, or for independent study, Vocabulary Virtuoso is a highly effective and fun vocabulary resource!

Vocabulary Virtuoso: PSAT-SAT Book 1 provides the student with twenty vocabulary lists. Each vocabulary list contains nine words and majority of these words are from current PSAT or SAT lists. Each vocabulary list emphasizes one part of speech such as nouns, verbs, or adjectives. The lessons include a pronunciation key, definition, other word forms, and a sentence using the word in context. A review is included after every four vocabulary lists to ensure mastery of the words. Each review includes three activities, one of which is a crossword puzzle. Please note, the answer key is in the back on the book.

Vocabulary Virtuoso: PSAT-SAT Book 1 provides the student with six activities per vocabulary list. In Section A, students write the best list word that the synonyms, idioms, or phrases define to complete each sentence.

In section B, students write the best word from the choice box to complete each sentence.

In section C, students write the best word from the choice box to fill each blank in the story. As in previous Vocabulary Virtuoso books, the action in the stories takes place in a fictional classroom setting where students and teachers interact as they learn literary, rhetorical, and historical concepts.

In section D, the underlined part in each sentence is a synonym, idiom, phrase, or definition for a list word. Students unscramble the list word and write the word on the blank.

In section E, students write the word, idiom, or phrase from the choice box that best defines each list word.

In section F, students complete each sentence to show that they understand the meaning of the underlined word.

Vocabulary Virtuoso: PSAT-SAT Book 1 increases vocabulary, stimulates imagination, and boosts standard-based language arts skills. Each of the lists teaches PSAT and/or SAT vocabulary words, which are made up of dynamic, real-life words students may encounter while reading or use in their writing. Upon completion, students will have mastered 180 vocabulary words, and become a virtuoso, a person who has great skill at some endeavor. Vocabulary Virtuoso PSAT-SAT Book 1 has been highly effective in teaching my daughter new vocabulary words, as well as building her confidence in every day reading comprehension. Visit the Crew Blog to read what the Homeschool Review Crew has to say about Vocabulary Virtuoso PSAT-SAT Book 1, as well as other products from The Critical Thinking Co.

By What Standards Will We Choose to Live

When it comes to the education of our children, by what standards will we choose to live?

1 John 2:15-17 reads “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”

Is it wrong to want our children to excel in academics? Absolutely not! But if academic excellence is the goal without God and His Word, our priorities are misplaced.

Colossians 3:1-2 reads “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”

2 Corinthians 10:5 reads “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”

While I want my children to do well in their educational pursuits, I want to measure their success by God’s standards and not the world’s. Everything that passes through their mind needs to be filtered by the Word of God. We need to remember, math is a thought, science is a thought, grammar is a thought; and every subject we teach should be brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. To see how this is applied, let’s look at a few subjects most children are taught.

GRAMMAR – Why do we teach our children how to read? To be able read the Bible. Why do we teach our children how to spell, write, and speak properly? To be able to communicate the gospel and other truths found in the Word of God.

Colossians 3:17 reads “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”

Perhaps, your child wins a spelling bee or scores high on a test. If so, give God the glory; but don’t let these things be your motivation. Everything we do – handwriting, spelling, and language composition – should be to the glory of God.

MATH – Why do we teach our children math? To empower them to make sound financial decisions for life. Every child will need basic math skills to balance a checkbook, pay the bills, or run a business. All of these things, can be a testimony for our Lord.

SCIENCE – Why do we teach our children science? I am not teaching mere facts in order to pass a test. I want to encourage my children to step back and look in awe at God’s creation; and then thank Him for these blessings.

HISTORY – Why do we teach our children history? If we look at history through the sovereignty of God, it becomes His Story. What better opportunity to teach our children biblical morals and values than to have them read and study about godly people from the past. In history, we also teach the mistakes that mankind has made in the past, so our children are not doomed to repeat them.

So the question is, “By what standards will we choose to live?” As Christian parents, we must keep in mind that we will be accountable to God for the education of our children. Academic excellence is a commendable goal, but learning should not be divided up between secular and spiritual. Everything should be spiritual. This happens when we incorporate God in every subject and in every aspect of our daily lives.