Old Fashioned Education

Even though this website is Christian, I found it to be a wonderfully well rounded curriculum...and it's my favorite F word... FREE!

http://www.oldfashionededucation.com/index.html

In with the new...

Well, I'm finally, finally FINALLY, finished with my EMT training. It seemed like it took forever! Our homeschooling was pretty much put on hold for the last 4 months - we would do school like once a week, or a few worksheets here or there....but with my having to focus so totally on the training, plus work, it was just too much......so starting Monday we're starting the 'year' over again. The kids have been 2 to 3 grades ahead of their peers anyway, so no biggie.

The boys are excited to start school again - mainly because Santa brought them cool electronics that will make HS even more fun then normal! DJ got a Nintendo DS - for which I made sure we got a Spelling and a Geography game. Xman got both an VTech EReader and a Leapster Explorer. So the EReader (and let me say how wrong it is that he has an e-reader when I haven't gotten a Kindle yet!!) will help make him more comfortable with reading aloud - as he gets shy in front of anyone other than I. The Leapster Explorer I made sure to get a spelling and another geography so both kids can utilize their 'toys' for the same subjects. Although the Explorer is pretty awesome as you can get these great educational downloads (as you can hook the Explorer up to your computer) so even the most 'non' educational seeming game is really educational...if that makes sense..lol! For instance, he got a Ben 10 game from his Grandma....I thought it was just a silly game but then he was playing it today and came to interrupt me telling me "DNA comes in chromosome pairs!" (Not bad for a 6 y/o!) Then later he came and told me that the Sahara was the hottest desert in the world! LOL. So, I highly recommend the Explorer.

Now we can get back on track. The kids know that they'll have twice the work at first to get caught up on our curriculum, but they are still excited. We'll see how long that lasts!

The Real 1st Thanksgiving

One of my HS mom's pointed me toward this great link. Let your child become the historian - pulling together historical facts in order to compile an accurate idea of the 1st Thanksgiving


Plymouth.Org

Contraction Practice

One of my mom's asked me for some links or games to help her child practice doing contractions. Here are some fun ones I've come up with!


Contraction Pages
Contraction Quiz
Treasure Trove
Teacher Ideas
Working with Contractions
K - 2 Contraction Games
Fly By Contractions
Contraction Concentration Game
Spelling City

New Foreign Language Resource

OMG -- you know how I'm always searching for resources, well another HS mama just pointed me in the direction of this great webpage!

Know It All

New Site

Alright, if you have an older child and want some online courses for History, Religion, American Government, Psychology, Science (physics, environmental sciences & biology), and Math (algebra, calculus & statistics) - then you HAVE to Check out -

www.hippocampus.org

Creatiity

I have to say one of the most common things I hear from new or perspective HS mom's is, "But I'm not really creative!"I love setting a pile of junk on the floor in front of the kids and telling them to go to town creating whatever strikes their fancy. Here's a site that helps kids with creating automobiles!!

East Toy Car Making Crafts for Kids

Kids Know It

Check out this great site another HS mom told me about - thousands of free educational games and matl's


kidsknowit

Mini-Book Master Template

OMG!! Those of you who love lapbooks and Mini-books as much as I do would LOVE this. Enjoy this 12 page download!

Mini-Book Master Template

Medieval Times - Unit Study

Here's some of my resources on Medieval Times: 

We'll be doing about a month on medieval times and it will come together as we watch 'How To Train Your Dragon' and 'The Sword in the Stone'


Vid Clips

You know how much I love ZuiTube now, I think doing a day on Legends & Folktales is important, and of course no medieval study would be complete without Castles, King Arthur, and Knights or Overall Medieval History 
 more medieval history

Units & Printable's

• http://www.tooter4kids.com/MedievalTimes/steps_of_knighthood.htm
• http://abcteach.com/directory/basics/social_studies/history/
• http://www.yourchildlearns.com/castle.htm  (Build an online Medieval Castle)
• http://www.funsocialstudies.learninghaven.com/links/medieval_history.html
• http://www.learninghaven.com/articles/medieval-history.html
• http://happyhomeschool.familyclassroom.net/Archives/History/KingQueens.shtml
• http://homeschooling.families.com/blog/a-unit-study-starter-on-castles-and-medieval-life
• http://www.easyfunschool.com/ (with a unit on How To Train Your Dragon)
• http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1533305/free_printable_medieval_activities.html?cat=37
• http://freeprintableactivities.blogspot.com/2009/03/free-printable-medieval-castle.html
• http://partysupplieshut.com/medieval/medieval-history.htm  http://partysupplieshut.com/medieval/medieval-party-games.htm
• http://www.printactivities.com/Theme-Printables/Medieval-Printables.shtml
• http://cybersleuth-kids.com/sleuth/History/Medieval/Medieval_Knights/
• http://www.teachervision.fen.com/middle-ages/printable/50546.html

National ___ Month

Have you ever wondered about the weird little holidays each month? Or about which month observes which thing? I know I love having this info for our HS as it's FUN! (It was national doughnut day the other day!!). Here are some lists that might be of help:

National Awareness Months

Monthly Holidays (with great educational links)


Crazy Complete list of US Holidays, Observances and Celebrations

Furthermore, I like comparing the holidays in our country/religion to those around the world.

Earth Calendar

InterFaith Calendar

New Sites & Interesting Article!

Anyone learning about History (or the future for that matter) should check out Owl & Mouse's Build A Town website - Very cool indeed!

Ever want something truly inspirational for the kids to do on a rainy day? Ever looking for something the kids can do while you feed the baby/make dinner/fold the laundry? Then this is the treasure trove of ideas for you - Think!   - Encouraging kids to think outside of the box!

Further, one of the mom's in my Cafemom HS group brought this article to my attention - We Don't Believe in Socialization - it's a witty and honest look at the misconceptions of socialization for PS & HS.

Astronomy Vids

Well, you know my favorite new site is the ZuiKids (YouTube For Kids) so I'm just categorizing some of my fav's we're using for school -

ASTRONOMY/ SCIENCE:
The Sun Is Hot
The Real Perspective of the Solar System (earth's size in comparison to other planets)
Did You Know?....

DISCOVERY KIDS

 MATH:
Metric & Standard Measurement

HISTORY:
Social Studies
Mythology

READING / Words Helper


Little Genius

GRADES -

Homework Helper 1
Homework Helper 2
Homework Helper 3
Homework Helper 4
Homework Helper 5
Homework Helper 6

OMG I can't wait to join!!

I found this fantastic program for New England'ers - where there is precious little for homeschoolers - that gives discounts for all the museums, classes ,etc....and it's only $75/year!! I'm soooo joining!


The Family Resource Center

Cool New Site

As many of you know i use lots of lapbooks with my boys. But I also like to watch childrens videos for things like History topics. Let's face it, describing something like the Romans isn't as clear as watching it. But, on YouTube you're way more likely to find a History Channel clip (waaay to boring for my 8 & 6 y/o's) or a joke than something pertinant. So, this morning I was searching for clips on Christopher Columbus (as PS holidays just mean EXTRA work for us HS'ers..lol) and came across a YouTube-like site specifically for kids!!!! So I just had to share it with you all!!


ZuiTube - videos for kids

Some New Record Keepin Resources

I've been trying to keep better records of what we achieve, menus and finances. Here are some great free links -

http://highland.hitcho.com.au/Forms.htm - over 800 free form downloads!!

http://www.printablehomeschool.com/ - with a name like 'printable homeschool' it says it all!

Happy Autumn

Well, we're in full swing of our main curriculum - we tend to lighten up during the summer though we do technically school year round. I absolutely LOVE the change of seasons, and try to make school extra special on those days. Today is the first day of Autumn - therefore we'll be learning all about the season, what causes the change in seasons (here in the North East especially), what causes the leaves to change color, etc. We'll be using things like apples and corn in our lessons and we'll make some leaf decorations for the house and make some home-made candles to put in our emergency preparedness kit for the coming winter.

Some of the great resources we'll be using:

Worksheets & Resources:
http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/fall/
Johnny Appleseed Lapbook - http://www.homeschoolshare.com/johnny_appleseed.php
My favorite kid's Pagan Ezine - http://www.pookapages.com/
Why do leaves change color in the fall? - http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/leaves.html
Corn fun & lessons - http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson324.shtml

Free Printable Master List

Ok, I've recieved many requests for a list of where I go to get free printables as it's a major cornerstone of my HS with the boys. Here's the main list!

http://www.tlsbooks.com/
http://www.theteacherscafe.com/
http://www.abcteach.com/
http://www.studyshack.com/
http://www.teach-nology.com/
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/
http://www.firstschoolyears.com/
http://www.edplace.com/
http://www.homeschooling.about.com/
http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/
http://bogglesworldesl.com/
http://www.instructorweb.com/
http://www.softschools.com/
http://www.kiddyhouse.com/
http://www.multiplication.com/
http://www.freeprintable.com/
http://www.ezschool.com/index.html
http://www.free-phonics-worksheets.com/html/free_phonics_worksheets.html
http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/
http://www.sssoftware.com/freeworksheets/
http://www.myschoolhouse.com/courses/Sample.htm
http://www.mathfactcafe.com/
http://www.englishbanana.com/downloads.html
http://www.schoolexpress.com/fws/cat.php?id=2252
http://www.rhlschool.com/reading.htm
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/school/index.shtml
http://math-and-reading-help-for-kids.org/elementary_algebra_worksheets.html
http://www.homeschoolingadventures.com/worksheets.html
http://www.docstoc.com/search/free-elementary-spanish-worksheets
http://www.math-drills.com/algebra.shtml
http://www.netrover.com/~kingskid/freestuff.htm
http://www.funlessonplans.com/history_lesson_plans/free_history_worksheets.htm
http://www.tooter4kids.com/free_worksheets_and_awards.htm
http://www.sciencewithme.com/worksheetsmain.php
http://www.homeschoolmath.net/
http://printstationary.net/school/index.php
http://www.moneyinstructor.com/basics.asp
http://math-and-reading-help-for-kids.org/elementary_math_worksheets.html
http://www.helpingwithmath.com/by_subject/geometry/geo_worksheets.htm
http://www.mathsisfun.com/worksheets/index.php
http://teachers.net/classifieds/supplies/topic356/10.31.06.15.25.00.html
http://www.toolsforeducators.com/weather.php

This free site is great for online educational play - http://www.ixl.com/
Another master list - http://www.okaloosa.k12.fl.us/walker/freestuff.htm
http://home-school.lovetoknow.com/Free_Grammar_Worksheets

Easy Fun School Link

http://www.easyfunschool.com/IndexLanguageArts.html

The Westward Movement - American Civ

My boys will be doing some American Civ. this year and I plan on spending about a month on the Western Frontier....here's some of the resources I'll be using...



Oregon/Santa Fe Trails -
http://lapbooklessons.ning.com/forum/topics/oregon-trail-lapbook
http://www.squidoo.com/pioneers_Oregontrail (this one has a lot on cowboys, Native Americans, and other Poineers as well!)

Wild West Famous Persons:
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-outlawindex.html
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-gunfighterindex-a-b.html
http://staffweb.peoriaud.k12.az.us/karlene_edwards/New%20SMHS%20Webpage/LAFOLDER/WestBiogs.htm
http://www.thewildwest.org/
http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~eg72/EDUC525/site3/wildwest.htm
http://www.lessonsnips.com/lesson/wildwest
http://www.edhelper.com/US_wildwildwest.htm
http://www.waldsfe.org/UnitStudies/cowboys.htm
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Wild-West-Poster
http://www.supershareware.com/wide-open-west-free/
http://schools.dcsdk12.org/education/components/links/links.php?sectiondetailid=12748
http://www.d11.org/doi/socialstudies/SSGrade10/West1860/Holes%20Webquest%20Wild%20West.mht

California Gold Rush -

http://www.d11.org/doi/socialstudies/SSGrade10/West1860/Holes%20Webquest%20Wild%20West.mht
http://www.historyonthenet.com/Lessons/worksheets/american_west.htm
http://ports.parks.ca.gov/pages/22922/files/worksheet-goldrushprices.pdf
http://www.eduplace.com/ss/hmss/4/unit/act3.2.html
http://www.huntington.org/Education/GoldRush/Entrance/lesson.html

Pony Express / Transcontinental Railroad -
http://www.homeschoolshare.com/billy_and_blaze.php (pony lapbook)
http://www.easyfunschool.com/article1776.html
http://cybersleuth-kids.com/sleuth/History/US_History/Westward_Expansion/Pony_Express/index.htm
http://webpages.shepherd.edu/BSIGLE01/social%20studies%20webquest.htm
http://www.lessonsnips.com/lesson/ponyexpressrailroad
http://www.xphomestation.com/xproute.html
http://www.classbrain.com/artmonument/publish/pony_express_trail_map.shtml
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/tcrr/ (trans-con railroad)
http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/lesson_plans/lesson01.htm
http://www.answers.com/topic/american-history-for-kids-america-s-first-transcontinental-railroad

Trail of Tears/Native Americans -

http://www.cherokee-nc.com/index.php?page=62 (as told by the Cherokee's)
http://ngeorgia.com/history/nghisttt.html
http://www.powersource.com/cocinc/history/trail.htm
http://www.edhelper.com/ReadingComprehension_Geography_63_1.html
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/SSLAMDTrailOfTearsUnitIdeas68.htm

Overall/Extra Westward Expansion -
http://www.teacherplanet.com/resource/westwardexpansion.php
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/MDSSLAMathWestwardExpansionProjectIdeas46.htm
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/MD67.htm

Lewis & Clark -
http://smallworldathome.blogspot.com/2008/09/on-trail-with-lewis-and-clark.html
http://www.homeschoolhelperonline.com/lapbooks/lewis_clark.htm
http://dynamic2moms.webs.com/lewisandclark.htm
http://www.squidoo.com/lewis_clark

Lapbook Resources for 2011

Here are some of the free lapbooks we'll be doing this coming year. They are in no particular order and I have them for both boys here ( Xman is 6 y/o, DJ will be 9 in a few weeks) as I post their curriculum you'll see how everything fits together. We also school year round so I plan for 52 weeks of school. Furthermore, some will be put in a 2-ring binder together as a combo book - this is how make our text books. When we do a subject they pull out the book rather than having a million file-folder lapbooks all over. There are also some info on Mini-Offices on here. ENJOY!

Squidoo, homeschool share; homeschool helper; lapbook lessons
Space Lapbook; Solar System
Mabon Lapbook - Autumn Festivals
Classical Music; M is for Melody;  Mozart
Monet
Picasso
Cassat
John James Audobon; Backyard Birds
Greek Classics ; Greece
The Maya
Ancient China
Ancient Egypt; Egypt
Ancient Rome
Hands on Fractions
Tangrams
K-1 Math Review - Early Math
5th Grade Mini Office -- mini-office resource -- Language Mini-office
Composers
Ice Age - research, another research
Aesops Fables
Intro To Chemistry; Intro to Chemistry 2 ; Periodic Table
Civil War
Earthquakes
Grocery Store
Phonics, Vowels;  Spelling/Phonics Rules ; Phonics "at"
Lapbook-a-person - Biography
  Abe Lincoln
  Geogre Washington
  Ben Franklin
  Betsy Ross
  Presidents
  Pocahontus
Character Study - Citizenship
Plague (Middle Ages)
Subtraction Facts
Viking Adventure
Volcanoes
Boston Tea Party
Parts of Speach


File Folder Games for lapbooks
Multiplication; multiplication
Space
Even/Odd
Pumpkin patch phonics ; Shamrock Phonics; Nouns/Verbs
Character File Folder Games
Fish Fractions
Rounding
Subtraction
Science & Roman Numerals
Contractions
Addition
Skip Counting
Homophones 

Other Tidbits - printables, coloring pages, worksheets, etc.
Greek/Roman Myth & Heroes Coloring Pages
Egyptian Hierogryphs
Grade 5 printables; Grade 5 printables; math; printables; printables
Grade 4; Grade 4; math ; printables; printables
Grade 3; Grade 3; math; printables; printables; printables
Grade 2; Grade 2; math; printables; printables; printables
Grade 1; Grade 1; math; printables; printables; printables
History Worksheets;
English Worksheets
Music Worksheets;
Science Worksheets;
Multi-Grade Worksheets;  math; Grammar K-2; Grammar 3-5; Grammar 6-8; printables

Preschool Foreign Language

So one of the ways we teach the boys about different languages is by teaching them familiar things in that language - like counting and songs.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star - for those who may have not noticed, the ABC song and Twinkle Twinkle have the same melody and that melody was written by Mozart!

French:


Brille, brille, petite étoile
Dis-moi, dis-moi, qui tu es
Tout en haut du firmament
Tu as l’éclat d’un diamant.
Brille, brille, petite étoile,
Dis-moi, dis-moi, qui tu es.

Spanish:

Brille, brille, estrellita
Quiero verte cintilar
En el cielo sobre el mar
Un diamante de verdad
Brilla, brilla estrellita
Quiero verte cintilar.

German:

Funkel, funkel kleiner stern
Ach wie bist du mir so fern,
Wunderschön und unbekannt,
Wie ein strahlend Diamant,
Funkel, funkel, kleiner Stern,
Ach wie bist du mir so fern.

Latin:

Mica, mica, parva stella,
Miror quaenam sis tam bella.
Super terra in caelo,
Alba gemma splendido.
Mica, mica, parva stella,
Miror quaenam sis tam bella.
Or the parody in english  by Ian D. Bush writer.


Twinkle, twinkle little star
I don't wonder what you are
For the spectroscopic ken
tells me you are hydrogen

Another great resource site!

You know I can't resist a great free lapbooking resource as I was looking for 4th of july minibooks and such I came across - The Homeschool Mom ....ENJOY!!

4TH of July!

Happy Independance Day!! (ok I'm a few days early...lol....) We will be focusing a bit more in-depth on US Government this coming year, so while I was looking for cool things to do with the boys this weekend I found some other fantastic resources!

http://www.homeschoolforfree.net/

http://www.homeschoolhelperonline.com/lapbooks/pennsylvania.htm

http://www.currclick.com/product_info.php?products_id=24350&it=1

http://www.currclick.com/product_info.php?products_id=37985&it=1

http://www.calvarywilliamsport.com/Independence-day-coloring.html

http://homeschoolblogger.com/joyfulschool/694641/

http://homeschoolblogger.com/joyfulschool/705207/

http://stamphenge.wordpress.com/minibooks/

Another great link!

This site has some great wall decorations/posters!!

http://www.catawba.k12.nc.us/c_i_resources/Summer%20Staff%20Development.htm

A Father's Love - Inspiration

ok this vid has nothing to do with homeschooling, but I find it hugely inspirational for any endeavor.
Enjoy!!

Inspirational Video

WAHOO!! Free LA Workbooks!!!!

One of my other HS mom's showed me a FANTASTIC site. Reading and Writing Workbooks by Scott Foresman.

Consonant Blends & Phonics

We are working on consonant blends with my youngest, Xman. There are a few free lapbooks available online -

Homeschool Helper - Phonics Lapbook 1
Scribd - My Consonants Lapbook
Lapbook Lessons - Phonics Lapbooks

Games

I recently was asked about educational games. For the child who doesn't enjoy books or worksheets how can you get them to learn in fun ways? There are 2 web sites I highly recommend:

• Time4Learning.com, it's fantastic for the younger croud - all the lessons are set up like cartoon interactive games on the computer, and it's only like $20/month.
• There is also LearningPlanet.com which is similar to time4learning and it costs $39.95/year.

 

Otherwise some of the great free websites I've used are as follows:

 

 The Kids Page

 Funschool at Kaboose

 Gamequarium

 Prongo

 

Parade Fun

My kids have never walked in a parade before. Last year our Earth Scouts group didn't get it together in time, and the boys do informal Park & Rec sports instead of formal teams. But today the kids walked in the Memorial Day Parade with the Relay For Life (American Cancer Society) float.....ok the kids road the float and us Adults walked, but still. We absolutely roasted in the sun! When we began I told everyone we needed a song or chant for the children to sing and finally we came up with the relay slogan "Celebrate. Remember. And Fight Back!" Everyone clapped like crazy as we walked by, with my booming drill Sargent voice leading the charge!

Latin Lesson 1: Counting, Greetings & Intro Grammer

I haven't found a Latin program I like for the boys (or one I was willing to pay a whole lot of money for) so I've begun putting together my own curriculum on the subject. (I know, you're bracing yourself for the shock! LOL) I've decided I'll share these lessons with you all. Each week we cover a lesson, we say them out loud each day and DJ writes them out 3x/week, one of those times he creates sentences with the vocab, and another he creates vocab cards (index cards with the Latin on one side and the English on the other), and finally I call out the words in English and he writes them out in Latin like a test.

Counting:

1 = Unus          6 = Sex
2 = Duo           7 = Septem
3 = Tres           8 = Octo
4 = Quattor      9 = Novem
5 = Quinque    10= Decem

**You'll notice something right off....4 of our months were rooted in Latin: September, October, November & December....a word in English that is rooted in Latin is termed: Derivative. You'll also notice the similarities between the 'romantic languages' and their basis in Latin....1 in French = Un, in Spanish = Uno...

Greetings:

Word / Phrase.............Singular............... Plural
"Hello"................,,,,,,...Salve!....................Salvete!
"How are you?"...........Quid agis?
   -- "very well"...........Satis bene!
   -- "excellent"...........Optime!
   -- "very bad"...........Pessime.
"Who are you?"...........Quis es?...............Quis estis?
   -- "I am"....................sum
   -- "You are"................es........................estis
   -- "We are"...............sumus
   -- "everyone".............omnes
"What"........................Quid
**Family**
Mother........................mater
Father..........................pater
Daughter......................filia
Son.............................filius
Brother......................frater
Sister.........................soror
Friend.......................amicus
Teacher...................(m) magister  (f) magistra

Grammer:

Latin Consonants
Consonant........Pronunciation................example
'c'...................soft before e,i,ae,oe..............like 'ch' in charity
'c'...................hard before other letters........like 'c' in cut
'g'...................soft before e,i,ae,oe..............like 'g' in germ
'g'..................hard before all other letters.....like 'g' in go
'gn'...........................................................like 'gn' in lasagne
'j'..............................................................like 'y' in yet
's'..................never like a z......................like 's' in sing
'sc'..........................................................like 'sh' in shoot
't'..............when followed by 'i' and a vowel....sounds like 'tsee'

**letter missing from the lating alphabet? "W"**

Latin Vowels
Vowel..........Long Sound...................example
'a'...............'ah'..............................like in father
'e'...............'eh' (ay)........................like in they
'i'................'ee'...............................like in machine
'o'..............'oh'..............................like in no
'u'..............'oo'..............................like in tool
'ae'............'ay'...............................like in they
'oe'...........'ay'...............................like in they
'au'...........'ow'.............................like in cow
                             

Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill

With the tragic events leading up to the large oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, I felt it was important to teach my children what is so terrible about the situation.
Oil experiments really get the point across easily to younger children. Pour a cup of oil in a small bowl and add a few drops of food coloring. Then pour colored oil into a big bowl of water. The children can place a few toys (or if you really want to proove a point use a small stuffed animal) in and see how difficult it is to get the oil off. You can also experiment with different means of getting the oil out of the water!

Here are some of the resources I've used:

Big list of resources - Earth Scouts
Oil & Pain Contamination Activity
Effects of Oil Spills on Birds
Oil, Oil Everywhere - a book on the Exxon Valdeze with worksheets and lesson plans
Fossil Fuels, Facing the Issues
Impact of Oil Spills on Our Oceans

Local Boy w/ Cancer is Turned Into A Super Hero

Local%20boy%20with%20cancer%20turns%20into%20a%20superhero%20for%20a%20day

Mike The Monkey & World Geography

Geography We've started a 2 year journey around the world. We made a little monkey out of felt as well as some clothing cut outs. I also made a cut out of different types of transportation (a car, bike, plane, boat).


Each month Mike the Monkey goes to a new location. First it's a continent. My youngest - who just turned 4, has to find whattype of transportation carried Mike from his last location to the new one around the globe. Then he needs to find out the climate of his new location and select the appropriate clothing.

Utilizing http://www.enchantedlearning.com/ we find worksheets and continent coloring books like
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/books/africancountries/instructions.shtmlg.com
To learn more about the location.

The next month. Mike travels to a country on that continent. We look on-line to find what type of animals live there and the climate. Then My youngest colors pages of those animals. My oldest learns more about the country - it's people, food, etc.

Another Great unit on Geography - http://www.trumbull.k12.oh.us/teachers/resources/Themes/geography.html

The above came from my Preschool Plans *found on my other webpade KickbuttHomeEducation

Older & Younger Learning Together -

--- I ended up changing this plan slightly - as I'm somewhat lazy and want the kids to learn together as much as possible..lol...so my youngest would spin the globe and select the continent/country. He would then 'pack' the luggage and 'book' the transportation. Then the two of them together would research and put together a lapbook on the country in the form of a brochure. My oldest - DJ - would find out information on the population, the language, the money, and government. My youngest - Xman - would find out about the animals, clothing, traditions and tourist sites  - they would put them together in a lapbook to tempt my husband when he got home from work. It would take anywhere from a week to a month for each country depending. Sometimes we'd find out about religious practices, sometimes historical events.
 
Our Lapbook/Brochure answers these questions:

• How long would it take to get there? And how would we do it?
• What is the climate like?
• Why do people travel to this area?
• What would we do if we were there?
• What type of money do they use, what is the difference between American money and their money?
• What language do they speak? (we would usually make a pocket for small index cards with translations of easy phrases).
• What do the people there look like?
• If I were raised there what would my life be like?
• What bodies of water are near by?
• What countries are near by?
• What major landmarks are found in this country?
• How long has this country been there, what is it's basic history?
• What is the traditional attire of the people like? (we would usually try to make costumes and take a pic of us in them)
• How do their beliefs differ from my own?
• What famous people/inventions/war/etc. came from there?

get creative. This is a very fun way to learn about the world!

Happy Water Day!

As today is National Water Day we focused on the water cycle and water conservations!

http://www.filefolderfun.com/SubjectWeather.html
http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercycle.html
http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/mearth.html
http://lapbooklessons.ning.com/notes/Water_Cycle_Lapbook_Links
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/kids/kids_k-3.html
http://www.kidzone.ws/water/bactivity1.htm

Crazy Science Bday

Awwww my baby boy is now 6 years old! Xman turned 6 this past Thursday and yesturday we had his party. He requested a Mad Science party - he had seen a flyer of a company that has an employee dress as a character and conduct funny experiments...I thought, sure, but why pay them to do it? So we researched some fun, easy experiments and made our own crazy science party.

Each child got a Science Kit goody bag:

• Safety Goggles
• Plastic Gloves
• Ruller
• Compass
• Lifesaver Wintergreen Mints
• Mentos
• Rock Candy wooden stick & clothes pin
• Lab Notebook (with each of our experiments explained in each one)
• 2 unblownup balloons

The Experiments:

• Sparking Candy (and other electricity experiments like with balloons)
• Planting Fun (learning about plants and soil)
• Rock Candy (learning about sedimentary rocks)
• Fantastic Foamy Fountain (we compared 6% & 3% solution hydrogen peroxide, and leared about exothermic reactions)
• Color Explosion (we compared the grease breakdown strengths between Joy & Palmolive dish detergent).
• Exploding Soda (we learned about gas pressure)

To see the printout for the Lab Notebooks and the descriptions/explinations of the experiments view Birthday Experiments {username: kickbutttidbits password: kickbuttmama }

{Bday Scientist!}


Lil' Scientists!

Planting Fun

Soda Explosion (it was pouring rain...so I got toally soaked! The kids stood on our awning covered porch screaming a countdown to me then cheering wildly as the soda exploded!)

Fantastic Foamy Fountain

Color Explosion

March Madness

Whew, February was definately an...er....experience. I haven't really posted much - my grandfather passed away, we ended a 4 years friendship with a toxic person, I started a new job, etc....but now we're totally on track and kickin' it! We're so excited for this November. Last year we went to OH (to visit said toxic friend) but this year I'm driving the kids to Washington DC - what a learning experience it will be!!!

We led a learning team (our Earth Scouts team) a few weeks ago on - RESPECT - I thought it was appropriate. THe kids had fun writing on a big posterboard all the things that equal respect - honesty, integrity, being polite, being nice, etc.

MARCH -
This month we're learning a lot as well (with last month focusing on the Olympics).
Right now we're learning about the Iditirod and Alaska (as the race is tomorrow). Then we're moving on to a Pirate Lapbook - I've been reading Treasure Island to the boys every afternoon. The kids LOVE IT! And the love to laugh about the parallels between the old book and one of their favorite flic's - Treasure Planet. My youngest will be 6 next week (I'm totally depressed!)

Week 1 -- (ending 3/6)
Iditerod
Global Warming/Green House Gases
Alaska
Dogs

Week 2 -- (ending 3/13)
Xman's Bday - we're designing a Mad Science party, I'll post all our experiments later.
We'll be finishing our Polar Animals lapbook (from Alaska)
We'll be doing A Fish Out of Water lapbook for Xman

Week 3 -- (ending 3/21)
Spring, wonderful Spring! This week ends with the Spring Equinox - so we'll be doing some more work in our solar system
Honey Bees & Lady Bugs Lapbooks
The life of a Plant (lapbook I'm almost finished designing I'll post it when I'm done. Here's a great list of Plant Resources) And we'll be doing our Spring Lapbook


Week 4 -- (ending 3/29)

Daily Drills - Fun

I got this idea from my BFF Dani. She has her kids do a daily drill sheet each day as a sort of warm-up to homeschool. Each day is a different theme (math, puzzle, reading, etc). Well I wanted to hook the kids with something fun each day - and I found a free site to do it (of course!) So I printed several books of the following, and each morning my kids grab their binder and do a sheet (or two or three). They're fun and help us transition from normal day to school day.

http://www.crazydad.com/ is a fab site filled with great vid clips and such
For his 50 books of mazes - Mazes
For his Kiduko puzzles - Kiduko
For his FAB Slitherlink (one of my fav games) - Slitherlink
For his great Karuko puzzles - Karuko

More daily fun:
Printable Mazes for Kids (themed)
Word Searches
Connect The Dots
Color By Numbers
Family Fun Printables (word searches, memory games, mazes, puzzles, etc)

New Year Mania

So our plan for this month is a slight deviation from our origional curriculum - one of the beauties of making my own curriculum is making any changes I want..so there! haha. This month I'm squeezing in a few different concepts as it's going to be a busy month..Since we're jumping all around this month we have a 'weekly theme' each week that we really focus on. They are as follows:

Week 1 (1/1-1/9)
Aside from our usual math & grammar we're focusing on Martin Luther King Jr (a little early, as we don't celebrate the day until the 18th, but hey)
Printable book (payed site)
Coloring Page 1
Interactive Civil Rites Game
Great Research links for older kids
Ideas for celebrating Dr. King's B=day
"I have a dream" lesson Plan
Black History coloring pages
'Story of the man' article for older students

Week 2 (1/10-1/16)
This week we're focused on winter, weather & animals. We have some great lapbooks & units downloaded from Currclick.com so it should be FUN!
Deer Lapbook
Clouds Minibook
"Polar Bears Past Bedtime" MTH Lapbook (this is one of mine so remember username: kickbutttidbits and password: kickbuttmama)
"The Cat in the Hat Comes Back" (I should have it posted by this weekend, almost finished)
Winter words Minibook (pay site)
Lesson Plan
Popsicle Science
Snow Melt Experiment
'What do salt trucks do?' lesson plan that goes nicely with the above experiment
Winter Day coloring Page

Week 3 (1/18-1/23)
This week we transition from history to geography. We're settling and getting ready for the winter olympics - which is near and dear to my family, as my DH's grandfather won gold in the winter olympics in the 1930's.
Canada Lapbook (from Currclick.com)
Canada Worksheets
Canada Crafts
Canada Coloring Pages
Canada For Kids
Canada History
Proud Canadian Kids
Virtual Tour of Prince Edward Island
Kidzone Geography / DLTK Kids Canada Printables
Enchanted Learning printable 4 Canada
Canada Maze Worksheets from Teachnology

Week 4 (1/26-1/30)
Olympics Unit (from Currclick.com)
Great Kids Olympic crafts
Olympics crafts
Sports coloring pages
Olympics inthe classroom (resources)
Teachnology Olympics themes
Going for the gold worksheet
Print activities
ABC Teach olympic theme

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Happy New Year to all my readers!

I'm not one for usually making New Years Resolutions (as I'm all about setting regular goals and meeting them) but I'm going to this year. I think the most important part of a goal or resolution is making sure it's realistic to your set parameters - like I would set DJ getting his PHD this year as my goal. (although miracles can happen..lol). I'm hoping to include Yoga into my daily schedule, even with the children. I only do it about once a week now, but it makes my leg (with the vascular issue) feel so much better, and I know I'm a calmer person from doing it. I also want to get the boys into a formal music class. I can only take them so far, but we have to consider the financials. I also need a new job. I'm thinking I'm not going to be able to maintain waiting for LA Fitness to get their crap together (it's been like 3 months).

So what are your goals this year?

Cool New Science Site

I found this cool new science link - the kids have been watching their videos all day...lol...and wanting to try them themselves. Check it out!

http://www.sciencesplat.com