Posted by Cindy on March 28, 2007
We just finished a wonderful lapbooking unit on horses! Back when Eli was only a month old, we did our very first lapbook on snow. Although it was fun and a great learning experience, I didn’t put much effort or planning into it. This time, I took time to plan and – wow, what a great unit it’s been. The kids have learned SO MUCH and have a beautiful keepsake of their work to remind them of our time spent.
I used the lapbooking unit from Hands of a Child and added some of my own assignments as well, especially for Mahayla. Her added work included a circle story about a horse, a horse report, taking/saving/printing pictures of horses, a checklist of horse care skills learned, a log of horse books read and songs learned, a map of horses around the world, drawing horses, a visit to a tack shop and horse farm, completing a crossword of breeds, and creating a horse comic strip. Caleb did some of these things, too. There were some of the activities we didn’t do from the Hands of a Child unit because I preferred to have the kids learn a few of the things in different ways. The lapbook books can get a little tedious, so I spiced things up a bit.
Here are the covers. Mahayla’s is a picture she drew. Caleb’s is a dot-to-dot he colored.
Here are the back covers – a world map.
Here is Caleb’s – two folders put together. In the first. I’m holding up a story he narrated that we stapled at the top. In the second, I’m holding up a Draw Write Now horse picture he drew.
Here is Mahayla’s. Hers is three folders put together. The second picture shows an animal report and a drawing stapled at the top. There are lapbook activities underneath. The fourth picture is the third back of a folder.
Posted by Cindy on
Send ‘em to “public school”!!!
This morning my kiddos had to be up and dressed, with chores finished, and sitting at the kitchen table by 8:00am. School was in session from 8:00-3:00! They were given one 1/2 hour lunch/recess and two bathroom/water breaks. The had to sit at the table in hardback chairs the entire time, and even raise their hands to speak!
About twice a year, I have to bring the “public school” into my home. Why? Because my sweet children have no idea how blessed they are to be homeschoolers. After day upon day of whining and complaining about the work they have to do, I finally decided that they simply must be reminded about how thankful they should be. So, I loaded them up with twice the workload (the worksheets, worksheets, oh the worksheets!!) and designed a very structured, very long day. Poor things were exhausted by 3:00 – will they never learn?
But, I am so looking forward to tomorrow! A slight reminder of our public school day will bring sweet smiles to their faces and joyful work from their hearts! For awhile anyway…….Then “public school” will find itself back in my home for a visit yet again.
Try it! It’s a bit of extra work for you, but WELL worth the effort!!
Posted by Cindy on March 14, 2007
My goodness, there are so many curriculum choices! It can be very overwhelming to choose just the right thing sometimes. Even when I choose something that I think will be perfect, it isn’t always. Thank the Lord for places like Vegsource and Ebay! As the years have gone on, I’ve gotten much better at choosing things that I don’t have to turn around and sell almost as quickly as they come in the mail!
As I share some of my favorites, I’d love to think they might be your favorites, too, but your children and mine may not be alike. Your style and mine may not be alike. Either way, I hope this list encourages you to use curriculum that inspires your child. Yes, inspires!
Is it important to me that my children get a complete education? Yes.
Is it important to me that they learn certain things that they really couldn’t care less about? Sometimes.
Is it important for me to make sure they have a good foundation in the basics? Absolutely.
But, most important to me is that they are inspired. That they love to learn and know how to find answers to their questions. That they leave most (not all) lessons with a sense of purpose. That what they learn fits their learning style so well that it hasn’t been a source of complete frustration.
Figuring all this out hasn’t happened overnight. I’ve made a lot of mistakes, and will continue to. But, I have no problems chucking one not-so-good thing for another better thing when needed. I feel like it’s my responsibility to create an inspiring atmosphere over just a “here is your work for the day, get it done” atmosphere.
Some people ask, “How do you know you’re covering everything if you don’t follow one complete curriculum all the way from 1st grade through high school?” My answer: Who’s to say THEY are covering everything? Especially everything that MY children need to know. My children have special talents, skills, interests and desires that God gave them. I’m much more qualified to see those things and teach towards them than a pre-set curriculum, right? Also, if I’m using a variety of math curriculums, let’s say, I’m most likely going to cover just about “everything” at some point anyway. And even more importantly, if I “miss” something, they will have all the skills and resources necessary pick it up when needed. No one person or curriculum can possibly teach EVERYTHING anyway.
So for my favorites (so far):
PK
NOTHING formal
Lots of read alouds, crafts, easy experiments, easy cooking, letter and number games, songs, poems, free art time, dress up, dramatic play….
____________________
K-1st
Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons
Bob Books
Starfall.com & Workbooks that go along
Explode the Code 1
Reading to Learn Series (1st-3rd)
Spelling Workout (late 1st)
First Language Lessons (late 1st)
Five In A Row
Horizons Math
Miquon Math
Keyboard Capers
(music theory)
NaturExplorers
Still lots of the same informal learning as PK. My lessons were/are very short at this age.
____________________
2nd/3rd
Reading to Learn Series
First Language Lessons
Abeka Language
(3rd)
Spelling Workout
Mind Benders
Horizons Math
Miquon Math
Five In A Row
Apologia Elementary Science
Considering God’s Creation
NaturExplorers
Lapbooking Units from Hand of a Child, A Journey Through Learning and Knowledge Box Central
The Story of the World (I start this in 1st)
History Pockets
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4th
Intermediate Language Lessons
Living Literature Grammar Packets
Spelling Power
Math 5 / 4
The Story of the World
Mystery of History
Apologia Elementary Science
NaturExplorers
Lapbooking Units from Hands of a Child, A Journey Through Learning and Knowledge Box Central
____________________
Bible and Character Training for PK-4th
The Child’s Story Bible
The Big Picture Bible Timeline Book
Miller Books
Discovering Jesus in Genesis
Jotham’s Journey: A Storybook for Advent
Bartholomew’s Passage: A Storybook for Advent
Tabitha’s Travels: A Storybook for Advent
Amon’s Adventure: A Storybook for Easter
Vinegar Boy: A Storybook for Easter
Adam and His Kin
The Seven C’s of History
For Instruction in Righteousness : A Topical Reference Guide for Biblical Child-Training
Jonathan Park CD Dramas
I’ve used many other things, but these are my favorites. I’m never using everything at once, just in case you think the lists look really long!
I would love to hear some of your favorites! Please add them to the comments.
Posted by Cindy on
This meal was brought to us by Edith, a homeschooling friend, after Eli was born. She recently shared the recipe, and I thought I would pass it on…. It’s so quick, so easy and so good!
PENNE HAM SKILLET
1 lb. cooked penne pasta
3 c. cubed fully cooked ham
1 sweet red pepper, diced
1 med. onion
1/4 c. minced fresh parsley ( I used dried)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 c. olive oil
3 Tbsp. butter
1 can chicken broth
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Saute ham, red pepper, onion, parsley, garlic, basil and oregano in oil and butter for 4-6 minutes (until veggies are tender.) Stir in broth and lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes until liquid is reduced by half. Stir pasta into mixture and heat through. Serve with Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. Yield: 6 servings
Posted by Cindy on March 6, 2007
What a pleasure this group has been! This summer, a few moms of girls ages 8-12 got together to organize a Keepers At Home group. We meet twice a month and use the Keepers At Home Handbook as a loose guide when planning what to teach the girls. The moms take turns teaching classes – choosing what we feel most comfortable with. After the class, the girls and moms get to sign off in the Handbook that a certain skill was learned and the girls earn a little bracelet charm (handmade) to add to charm bracelets we gave them in the beginning.
This picture is from our decoupage class.
The girls are having a ball! Each meeting starts with the Keepers At Home song, then one of the girls prays. The mom who is leading the lesson usually begins with a short devotional first. So far, we’ve had classes on decoupage, soap making, cleaning, horses, dessert baking, yarn doll making and hospitality/tea party. Some of the classes yet to come this year are cake decorating, safe computer downloading and cookie baking.
This picture is of two moms who “helped” during a cleaning relay. Lucky for me, I was pregnant at the time and couldn’t take part!
Our biggest goals when putting the group together were (1) to teach the girls unique skills and (2) keep it cheap! Most of us had looked into Girl Scouts or American Heritage Girls and liked the concept, but not the price tag or the large amounts of time each took. So, we found this alternative and have been very pleased. We keep it casual, small, simple and try to make most projects/lessons free or cheap.
What’s so wonderful about this program is:
*it can be used by any age girl.
*any size group (even one girl and her mom) works.
*the projects/lessons can be as in depth or simple as you see fit.
*the handbook gives you tons of ideas, but you aren’t tied to any particular order or curriculum.
*it teaches skills that are not only fun, but useful for a future woman/mom/wife/keeper of the home.
There’s more, but I’ll let you check it out for yourself! http://www.keepersofthefaith.com/Catalog/KeepersClubsIndex.asp
In case your wondering, they have a boy’s program, too called Contenders For The Faith. I would love to see the dads of our group put together some of these activities for our sons.
