Posted by Cindy on May 31, 2007
Today’s my last Tip of the Day blog. How quickly May has flown by! I’ve so much enjoyed spending this month on The Front Porch! Thank you for the opportunity Tia and HomeschoolBlogger!
Today’s tip has been inspired by another blogger whose writings I have recently had the joy of reading. By Sun and Candlelight creates such a warm and inviting learning environment for her children! For each new thing they study, she sets up a lovely display to peak the interest of her boys. Yes, boys. Yes, lovely displays. I think it’s marvelous that she’s helping her boys to appreciate beauty, too. Here’s a picture of one of her displays.
Whether it’s a unit, a special holiday, someone’s birthday or just something you want to do to peak your children’s interest in a certain subject, think about creating a special place in your home to create a buzz of inquisitiveness for your children.
Here are some examples:
Bird Notebooking – Set up a little table in front of a window where you’ve placed a birdfeeder. On the table, place a few bird info books and how-to-draw books on the table. Include a basket full of colored pencils and drawing paper. If you happen to have any bird stuffed animals, crafts, stencils, little birds used by crafters, or anything else to do with birds – set them on, under or around the table. Place a couple of cozy chairs or pillows near the window to encourage bird watching.
See what I mean. Very inviting, yet very gentle nudging. You’re lighting the spark that will get their fires going!
Fourth of July – Cover the table with a piece of cheap patriotic fabric as a table cloth. Place a flag in the middle of the table, along with a few books about the 4th, some red, white & blue crafting supplies in a basket, and maybe a handmade poster of The Pledge of Allegiance taped to the wall behind the table. On the fourth, you might place a lovely plate of sugar cookies on the table to be decorated and eaten after singing some patriotic songs. How about some sparklers sitting in a vase that they get to use later that night?
The sky is the limit! These little displays do take some planning by Mom, but what a reward for your efforts when your children run down the hall to see just what Mom may have done with “the” table today!
Here’s my first go at a learning display.
The topic is Insects – I’ve placed some bumblebee fabric (that I already had) on the table. I’ve included a bowl of plastic bugs, some insect books (nonfiction and fiction), a bug box with built in magnifier, sketchbooks and colored pencils, insect life cycle cards (handmade from internet photocopies), bug stickers and some fun reproducibles I found on the internet (bug masks and word searches).
Since we’re not really “schooling” right now, I’m using this table as more of an exploration center for the time being. I’ll probably change a few of the current items out in a couple of days. Maybe adding the Cootie game, some playdough for bug sculpting, some insect coloring/labeling sheets and a self-explanatory experiment.
In two days’ time, my children have LOVED this display and have soaked up every book and goody I’ve put out. I’m off to plan more displays………..
If you make/have made one, would you mind posting your topic and what you included in the display? I’d love your ideas!
Related Tags: homeschool, learning displays
Posted by Cindy on May 30, 2007
Around here, summer’s the time I take to get organized. I try to work on everything from my pantry to my files to my homeschool room.
I don’t know about you, but by the end of a long school year, I’ve let a lot of things slide in the area of organization. A pile of school papers that need to be filed here, a stack of coupons to be clipped there.
I know this won’t cover everything – it probably won’t even be the tip of the iceberg – but here are some things I’ll be organizing this summer. Please share your tips!! I’m always looking for great ideas to pull myself or my house together.
Homeschool Room
-Go through all of ‘06/07 schoolwork. Keep a select few samples, pitch the rest.
-Go through all book shelves. Pull out things to sell, pitch & give away. Organize the rest by subject.
-Go through all supplies (art, writing, manipulatives, etc.) Pitch the old, organize the good and make a list of things to buy at the back-to-school sales.
-Start gathering next year’s curriculum, planning sheets, notebooks and such.
Pantry
-Get everything organized (yet again) with like items. Put older cans and boxes in front so I’ll use them first.
-Make a “permanent” grocery list of items that I buy frequently. I’ll keep copies of this list on a clipboard (with pen attached) in my pantry. As I notice I’m running low on something, I can quickly check it off on the list. Organize the list in the order of the aisles at my grocery store so I don’t miss something and have to backtrack. (I copied, pasted and slightly modified a list for myself from what I found here.)
-Print off several copies of a weekly menu planner to keep in the pantry, too. (I found a great menu/grocerynotes/daily notes planner here.)
-Organize my coupons and figure out some good way to use them before they expire! (I’m so bad at this one – any suggestions would be appreciated!!)
Kitchen
-Reorganize all my spices so that I can actually find them without having to unload every bottle from my cabinet. (I ended up only keeping the spices I use frequently in the cabinet. I put the rest in a box in the pantry.)
Before
After
-Organize the plastic containers so that all the bowls and lids don’t fall out on me every time I open the cabinet.
-Buy plastic shoeboxes to organize the smaller containers in my refrigerator.
-Clip only the recipes I actually use from the mountain of cookbooks I own and put them into a notebook. Pitch or give away the rest of the books.
Office
-Set up a better system for in/out/to do mail and paperwork.
-Go through file cabinets and purge everything I can.
-Organize manuals/warranties alphabetically.
-Go through all magazines. Rip out and file important stuff. Give the rest to friends, family, nursing homes…
-Figure out some way to organize all the pens, pencils, paper clips, staples and hundreds of other little things in the office space.
Clothes & Toys
-I usually do these twice a year when we switch out clothes for the fall/winter and spring/summer seasons. We go through everything and decide what needs to be stored for another sibling, what can be given away and what needs to be pitched. I don’t do yard sales. (Oh, but I do shop them!!) First reason, we live to far off the yard sale path. Second, everything I would put back for a yard sale would find its way back into the life of one of my family members before I could sell it!!
Basement
-Try to find LOTS of cheap, but sturdy shelving. Everything down there needs to be organized. In fact, I may just pretend none of that is even there this summer!
Computer
-Download all pictures onto disks to have a hard copy in case of a computer crash. Make extra disks to give to my parents, so there is an extra copy in case I lose mine or something happens to it.
-Download all important files onto disks for the same reasons.
Pictures
-Organize all loose pictures into photo boxes in chronological order.
-Buy some frames to display more pictures.
Okay. I think I’ll stop. If I organize just a few of these things this summer, I’ll be doing really well. It is summer, I want to play, too!
Related Tags: homeschool, summer, organize
Posted by Cindy on May 29, 2007
If you’re anything like me, art tends to take somewhat of a back seat to other subjects during the school year. So, I’ve decided to make an art center that will stay around all summer long!
I plan to fill it with all sorts of goodies, but only a few at a time. I’ll change out the supplies every week or two to keep the center fresh and exciting. I’ll also check out a couple of books on a new artist every couple of weeks to put in the center, too.
The center is in my kitchen (where we spend a lot of time!), with an old sheet underneath. There’s plenty of wall space for the artists to display their work, too!
Here’s what the first week’s table looks like - a Picasso book, colorful clay, tie-dye kit, oil pastels and plenty of paper. I picked really colorful supplies because Picasso used lots of bright color in his art.
I don’t know what other artists I’ll spotlight, but here’s a list of supplies I have on hand to use throughout the summer: watercolors, acrylic paints, sponges, food coloring, paint pens, marbling kit, markers, crayons, colored pencils, toothbrushes, pastels, charcoal, face paints, craft scissors, foam shapes, foam sheets, glitter glues, fabric, scrapbook paper, construction paper, pipe cleaners, wood shapes, wood scraps, beads, yarn, brayers, colored sand, sequins, feathers, old cards, old magazines, sculpey clay, glitter, goodly eyes, pom poms, stickers, tissue paper, ribbon, styrofoam…….
Remember to keep an eye out for some of these things at yard sales and Goodwill! I stock up on many things in July at the Back-to-School sales. I also use a lot of recyclables.
Whether young or old, I think all ages can benefit from an art center. Even if you school year ’round, you could easily incorporate this sort of center into your regular schedule. Personally, a summer’s worth of art in my kitchen will be enough! Until next summer, that is.
Related Tags: homeschool, summer, art, crafts, artists
Posted by Cindy on May 27, 2007
Sorry I’ve been so long in posting this. We’ve been so busy this week, I couldn’t find the time to download pictures until now.
Warning: Potential Spoilers!! If you want to experience the museum yourself, read no further.
WOW!! That word about sums up our experience. I don’t know what more to say, but will try to put together some sort of description that might give it some justice. Sorry if I overuse the exclamation points. 
First, it’s beautiful! From the building to the outdoor walk around the lake to the displays – beautiful!
Next, it’s very well done! Realistic displays, amazing fossil examples, great “story” as you walk through of the Seven C’s. (Creation, Corruption, Catastrophe, Confusion, Christ, Crucifixion, Consumation)
Awesome Films! A very moving film towards the end of the journey about Christ and his sacrifice, a very cool special effects theater (I won’t spill the beans on this one!) and a spectacular planetarium show!!
There’s lots to keep the attention of little ones all the way to adults. It was me alone with my children this time around and we only tipped the iceberg of things to see and learn!!
A great bookstore! Anything and everything your heart could desire to teach children, teens and adults about creation vs. evolution and Biblical truths. I have a lot of their material already, so I only bought a cute car decal of a fish called “Truth” eating a little evolutionary fish called “Darwin”. Too cute!
Great food if you want to eat at the museum. We brought our lunch yesterday, but ate there last summer during a construction preview.
Very friendly staff!
Very visual police force with bomb dogs!! Yep, you read right – bomb dogs. Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum have been under some pretty stiff criticism and even some threats. It made me feel safe to know all precautions were being taken to protect our safety.
Very friendly crowd of guests!
And most of all, a great witnessing tool!!!! If you have children or family or friends in doubt, this would be a great trip to take with them.
So to sum up, if you are within the driving distance of, say Australia or China, it’s worth the trip!! )
One side note: This was a preview week for members and several things weren’t completed yet. Not a lot, but several things here and there. Even a couple of bigger rooms/displays. They’re hoping to be fully finished by the grand opening next week. If you’re planning to go soon, you may want to hold off a couple of weeks or call ahead to be sure everything is done before you go. I just want you to get your money’s worth, especially if you’re driving quite some distance.
Second side note: I ran across a great entry at Pattycake’s site that helps you defend your faith and the Bible’s authenticity. I just thought it fit in really well with the theme of this post!
Visit the official Creation Museum site here. Visit Answers in Genesis here.
My camera doesn’t take the best pictures, but here’s a very brief veiwing.
Posted by Cindy on May 25, 2007
You’re sitting around the dining room table some Sunday afternoon 20 or 30 years from now with your children and grandchildren. What will your children want to talk about?
I hope my children have rich stories full of wonderful memories to talk about! I hope there will be many bright and beautiful moments that stand out in their minds that they want to share with their children. Moments that they want to recreate with their children!
I won’t mind talking about the daily grind of chores and school work. I won’t mind talking about the rotten days when we all grumped around. I won’t mind talking about anything really. I’ll just be all smiles that my children and grandchildren are at my table! But I sure will be happy when the conversation turns consistently to the things that I purposely set out to do when they were children that I wanted them to remember when they grew up.
Things like a trip to the museum, a tea party, jumping on the trampoline together, mom acting like a crazy woman when they made a homerun, weekly picnics at the park during the summer, water balloon fights, snuggling on the couch with good books, making special meals together, pillow and blanket forts, hikes to the creek………………
Everything so simple, yet so important.
I hope your table will be filled with special memories!
Related Tags: making memories, homeschool
