Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Art Time = Fun Time

When December rolls around I’m excited by the opportunity to focus on some fun projects we don’t always have the time to include in our day.  While science may be the most exciting subject around here, art is a very close second.  The kids enjoy any excuse to get messy and art offers plenty of opportunities.

We use a fun art curriculum that showcases interesting videos along with how to recreate the art projects at home.  This often leads to discussions of different art adventures that we would be interested in pursuing.  Sometimes, we include additional art lessons right away, other times we save them for exploration at a later date.  

If you are looking for ways to take a break from your regular lessons, look into a fun and new art program to keep your days interesting and fun.  

Monday, November 10, 2014

Holiday Fun

The holidays are quickly approaching and that’s an exciting time in our homeschool!  We like to do crafts, activities, stories, and anything that involves glue and paint!  One aspect of homeschooling we like to take advantage of during the holiday season is lapbooking.  We enjoy the finished product of lapbooking as well as taking a break from our regular school lessons to do something new.  

Sometimes, it’s nice to take a week or two to try something new or do something different.  The holidays are a lovely time to do just that.  It allows your family the opportunity the come together to focus on something fun and interesting and to embrace a nice change of pace from your regular schedule.  

Enjoy this time with your homeschooled kiddos!  The time goes so quickly and the holidays can be so magical!

Monday, October 20, 2014

Nature Studies

We definitely try to incorporate seasonal learning into our homeschool days.  The kids love to talk about autumn and the changes a season bring to us.  I love the opportunity to discuss the nature that surrounds us and how the gorgeous scenery is more than just a beautiful backdrop to our lives.  

We discuss the
balance of nature and how plants and animals will start to adapt the cooling weather.  We take walks and listen to the leaves crunch, the birds fly above us, and the bugs sing their chorus.  It’s a marvelous time to open up discussions on nature related topics and how the life cycle of a tree changes is the same from year to year.  

Take some time to embrace the newness of the fall season and the passing of summer.  Boots and scarves, jackets and bonfires all make this season one full of wonderment.  

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Back to School Time

Back to school time!  The curriculum has been chosen, supplies have been purchased, and books are ready to go.  The months of planning and preparing have come to fruition and it’s time to get the teaching underway.  


It is definitely exciting when a new school year begins.  The kids are ready to get back to their regularly scheduled programming and I’m ready to have the “I’m bored!” chorus cease!  The newness of school after a few months away bring back refreshed and interested kids, even if it lasts all too brief.  

Embrace the excitement of the new year as it fades faster and faster with each year.  Talk longer if they will listen, read more if they ask, and allow the learning to continue.  Far too soon you will hear the refrain of school time groans creeping back into your homeschool.

Monday, August 4, 2014

Spelling for Fun

There seems to be an abundance of spelling curricula available for homeschoolers.  Any way you want to teach it, there’s likely a curriculum available for you to use.  With the mobility our family enjoys by homeschooling, we tend to utilize online resources.  

One of our favorite computer resources is an online spelling curriculum.  By choosing a curriculum that offers so much variety in spelling and vocabulary games, we are able to use it for a variety of purposes.  We enjoy handwriting worksheets, word matching, definition games, and online spelling tests.  There are a lot of resources from which to choose, making that subject an easier one with which to work.

Monday, July 21, 2014

Homeschool History

History is one of our favorite subjects to study.  It’s exciting to read stories of what has happened in the past and how it has impacted our lives in the present day.  We often learn of people we did not previously know and how they changed the way our works even today.  It’s easier for our homeschool when history reads like a story, telling the details of events and other people’s lives like we had sat down with a novel.

We also incorporate social studies projects to help understand the ideas we have read and discussed.  We’ve made wigwams when discussing Native Americans and covered wagons when reading about pioneers.  We also have fun playing social studies games.  The projects are the kids favorite activities and the fun in learning is mine!

Monday, June 9, 2014

Science in Your Homeschool

How does science work in your household?  With kids spanning several ages and homeschool grades, it can be difficult to work together on many subjects.  Science, however, is one of those times we come together to learn.  Science topics are easily worked across several age groups by adding in or reducing the material presented based on learning capabilities.  

One of the ways we make science work for us is by the use of science experiments.  I find an experiment that utilizes household materials and we get started.  The kids get excited when I start setting up and for those few minutes before we get started on an experiment, they are quiet with anticipation.  It’s one subject I know we can all do together.  

Friday, May 16, 2014

Finishing the School Year

As the school year begins to wrap-up, I have been thinking about ways to improve our homeschool in the fall.  I think about what curriculum choices worked out well for us and which ones did not.  Fortunately, we will still be using the same core curriculum in the fall.  That makes summer planning much easier for me.  

In the fall, I plan on incorporating music studies and music games into our weekly schedules.  Often, when time is getting short or our schedules get too hectic, music appreciation is one of the first subjects that fall by the wayside.  I’m hoping to do more to include additional ways to include learning about music.  Besides, the kids in this house are already huge fans of music!  

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Homeschool Spelling Words

How do you practice spelling words in your homeschool?  We have found the best way to commit words to memory is to practice them through the use of online games.  It is an easy and fun way to learn new words and practice popular word lists

By finding games that are exciting and even silly, kids can have a great time playing without even realizing they are learning.  It has been said that great readers may not be good spellers but that good spellers are often great readers.  With such an important life skill at hand, such as reading, it's vital to put our best foot forward when it comes to honing our spelling skills. 

In what ways have you found to enhance spelling practice in your homeschool?  Have you tried word games?