It was my turn to lead our Keepers At Home group this week and we had so much fun learning the handicraft of paper quilling!

Paper quilling is the art of creating designs from strips of coiled paper. There are quilling tools and quilling papers available, but we simply used materials I had around the house.

How To:

Using my paper cutter, I pre-cut strips of cardstock into 1/4″ wide strips.

I set out the following supplies:

• Strips of paper
• Quilling tools: pencils, screwdrivers, toothpicks, chopsticks (any skinny, round objects I could find) Try to offer varied widths for different coiling effects.
• Glue (with toothpicks for “painting the glue” on the paper to seal the coils)
• Sheets of cardstock to display the finished designs

The girls coiled the strips into various shapes depending on the designs they were creating. Some coils were tight, some were loose, some were shaped by pinching the coil, and some were only coiled on one end of the strip. Our techniques may not have been “proper”, but we had fun and created very pretty designs.

Aren’t they cute?

Feel free to link your own paper quilling projects in the comments. I can’t wait to see them!

No related posts.

The photo collages are in no particular order and don’t show every single project we entered.  Some projects were created by a 9th grader, some by a 6th grader and some by a PKer.  (We only took part in the art, construction, sewing and cooking competitions.  There were probably six other categories we could’ve entered.  I’m tellin’ ya, this night is amazing!)

Related posts:

1. Co-op Competition Night
2. Expo Competition Night
3. Expo Comptetions

Welcome to Day 3 of my Heart of the Matter 10 Days of… Series about Teaching Values.  Today’s topic focuses on one of the most important things (besides the Bible) we’ve added to our homeschooling schedule – Service Opportunities.

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free.  But do not use your freedom to indulge in the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.  For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Galatians 5:13-14

In our home, learning to serve plays a major role in values training.  Of course, we train our children to serve one another in our home, but we’re also intentional in finding service opportunities outside the home.  As soon as our children are able to take part in service activities, we get them involved!  Helping to clean up after a co-op event, setting tables for a bereavement dinner at church and taking out the trash for grandma and grandpa are all simple to-do’s even for little ones.

{Serving at a local soup kitchen.}

As our kids get older, we actively seek opportunities to serve.  Working at the soup kitchen, making meals for shut-ins with the youth group, and bagging groceries at the food pantry are some examples.  Believe it or not, not once have my children complained about these times of work!  Oh, they will complain quite often about chores around the house, school assignments, not having time to watch a favorite tv show, or how often one of them touches the other in the car!!  But, there’s something magical about serving others outside the home that make us all very humble, eager and incredibly thankful for the blessing of serving others.  Through these experiences, my children have also learned values such as empathy, acceptance and compassion.  It’s truly beautiful to watch your children joyfully serve others.

{Making mop ponies for a children’s home for Christmas.  K.E.E.P. Youth Council}

As my children have gotten older, I’ve found serving in leadership roles to promote values training just as well (in different ways) than the type of serving I was talking about above.  My children (mostly my oldest – 9th grade – at this point) have been part of youth councils for various things like 4-H and the Kentucky Equine Education Project.  They have attended leadership conferences for Christian youth and helped set-up our state’s annual homeschooling convention.

With each of these opportunities, I’ve watched my children mature.  They’ve learned work ethic, respect, perseverance, cooperation, confidence and so much more.  Not to mention, in each case they’ve made wonderful friends who share common goals.

{Bagging food at the local food pantry.}

Just where do you begin involving your children in service and leadership opportunities?  Well, that answer depends very much on your child’s age and what is available in your area.  I’ve created a list of ideas to get you started below.

Just for the record , I address the topics of service and leadership in my new book, Homeschooling the Gifted and Advanced Learner – Chapter 8 “What About Socialization?”, p 116!  You certainly don’t need to have gifted children to participate in these wonderful experiences, though.  ALL children benefit in such character building moments!  What are you waiting for?  Start thinking seriously about how you can incorporate more service time into your homeschool!

I’d love to hear what you’ve done in your homeschool to serve others!

Be sure to visit these sweet ladies during the 10 days adventure between November 7th-18th!

10 days of Character Studies | Confessions of a Homeschooler
10 days of Christmas Countdown Ideas | Milk & Cookies
10 days of Creative Writing | Chocolate on My Cranium
10 days of Crockpot Meals | The Happy Housewife
10 Days to a Godly Marriage | Women Living Well
10 Days of Growing Leaders | Mom’s Mustard Seeds
10 Days of Homeschooling High School | Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers
10 days of I Wish I Had Known | Fruit in Season
10 days of Keeping Your Marbles | The Tie That Binds Us
10 days of Kid-friendly Food | Planner Perfect
10 Days of Language Arts Lesson Planning | Jimmie’s Collage
10 Days of Learning Apps | Daze of Adventure
10 Days of a Mason Jar Christmas | Cajun Joie de Vivre
10 Days of More JESUS in Christmas | Preschoolers and Peace
10 Days to a Peaceful Home | Raising Arrows
10 Days of Raising a Life-Long-Learner | Bright Ideas Press
10 days of Science with Math | Blog, She Wrote
10 days of Teaching Values | Our Journey Westward
10 days of Winning your Child’s Heart | I Take Joy

Related posts:

1. Teaching Values through Chores and Jobs – Day 4
2. Teaching Values {Resources} – Day10
3. Teaching Values through Discipline that Reaches the Heart – Day 5

Welcome to Day 4 of my Heart of the Matter 10 Days of… Series on Teaching Values in your homeschool!  Today I’ll be writing about how to build values through chores and jobs.

Chores

From the time my children can toddle, they get the pleasure of helping with chores around the house and around the farm.  With every new responsibility comes wonderful new values.  (Not to mention preparation for their futures!)  Just some of the values I’ve seen molded in my children through chores include:

• Ambition – taking the to-do’s seriously and doing them well
• Commitment – knowing that chores must be done before other things
• Diligence – sticking with chores even when they become frustrating
• Confidence – knowing that “mom trusted me with this responsibility”
• Cooperation – we often work together to accomplish various tasks
• Joy – Yes, really!  Not always, mind you, but there is deep joy and satisfaction in knowing a task has been completed.  I bet you’ve felt joy when looking around your house after it’s had a deep cleaning, right?  Same with kids!

There are OH SO MANY MORE values that could be included in this list – helpfulness, leadership, punctuality, obedience, strength, organization…

Whenever I write a post about chores, people always ask what chores my children are expected to do on a regular basis and at what age.  That’s a hard question to answer because each one of my children has been ready to do different chores at different ages.  So, instead of giving age-appropriate lists, I thought I’d make a chart of current chores my children are capable of.

Please note that only a few chores are ever scheduled at one time AND oftentimes the chores are supervised or the kids are the “helpers” rather than completely responsible.

Our current chore schedule looks something like this:

Every single day before breakfast ALL the kids must: make beds, brush teeth, get dressed, bring laundry to the laundry room, and straighten their rooms.

Monday-Friday everyone has an additional chore to work on at some point throughout the day.  This might include straightening a closet, vacuuming under couch cushions, or weeding a flower bed.  This chore rarely takes more than 15 minutes to complete.

Saturday morning is our deep cleaning time.  We divvy up various chores to make sure the entire house is straightened and cleaned.  If we’ve kept up with the basic chores the rest of the week, this deep cleaning usually takes less than 2 hours.

Jobs

Although we haven’t officially sent our children out into the work force, the older two have taken on various jobs for money.  This summer, they mowed the neighbor’s yard once every two weeks.  It was a very large yard and they used a push mower – they earned every single penny of their fee!  They have also worked in the hay fields and cattle barns with their dad during the summer, and have been hired out for odd jobs by grandparents. With every new “job”, I watch the values mentioned above grow just a little more!

As a side note, I encourage my children when they come to me with a business idea.  Besides being character builders, their businesses have been wonderful homeschooling activities.  They have generated business concepts, created business cards, marketed themselves and earned money!  With each new business, lessons are learned and the productivity gets a little better.

Chore Resources

I included these resources in my last 10 Days Series on Habit Training using the Charlotte Mason method, but I thought they might be beneficial in this post, too.  I always create my own chore charts, but these would certainly save you time and effort!

Donna Young’s Chore Chart Maker

Confessions of a Homeschooler’s Chore System and Printables

That Resource Site’s Printable Charts

What are your thoughts on using chores and jobs to build character/values?

Be sure to visit these wonderful ladies during the 10 days adventure between November 7th-18th!

10 days of Character Studies | Confessions of a Homeschooler
10 days of Christmas Countdown Ideas | Milk & Cookies
10 days of Creative Writing | Chocolate on My Cranium
10 days of Crockpot Meals | The Happy Housewife
10 Days to a Godly Marriage | Women Living Well
10 Days of Growing Leaders | Mom’s Mustard Seeds
10 Days of Homeschooling High School | Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers
10 days of I Wish I Had Known | Fruit in Season
10 days of Keeping Your Marbles | The Tie That Binds Us
10 days of Kid-friendly Food | Planner Perfect
10 Days of Language Arts Lesson Planning | Jimmie’s Collage
10 Days of Learning Apps | Daze of Adventure
10 Days of a Mason Jar Christmas | Cajun Joie de Vivre
10 Days of More JESUS in Christmas | Preschoolers and Peace
10 Days to a Peaceful Home | Raising Arrows
10 Days of Raising a Life-Long-Learner | Bright Ideas Press
10 days of Science with Math | Blog, She Wrote
10 days of Teaching Values | Our Journey Westward
10 days of Winning your Child’s Heart | I Take Joy

Related posts:

1. Habit Training – Chores
2. Teaching Values {Resources} – Day10
3. Teaching Values Using For Instruction in Righteousness – Day 6

Some of you know that our co-op hosts a yearly competition expo.  We love taking part and the photos below show my children’s entries this year.

Mahayla

Chocolate Cream Pie

Honey Oatmeal Yeast Bread

Acrylic Painting

Knitted Doily

Caleb

Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Acorn Forest Wood Project

Paper Craft

3-D Animal Cell

Eli

3-D Fish

Hot Rocks Painting

And my sweet parents who helped organize the art competition.

Related posts:

1. Co-op Competition Night
2. Expo Comptetions
3. Night at the Museum Party

Because of our Charlotte Mason style homeschool, I’ve encouraged handicrafts such as sewing, crocheting and knitting from the very beginning.  I’ve enlisted the help of a 90+ year old neighbor, a grandmother and a 4-H sewing class – for, you see, I’m not good at any of these skills!

Mahayla had a friend over not too long ago and they spent the entire afternoon designing adorable purses.  What a pleasure to know the gentle encouragement handicrafting has provided not only skills, but pleasure as well.

No related posts.

Mahayla  entered most of her sewing projects into the fair and won Grand Champion on two of them!

Between Mahayla and Caleb, they entered 14 different projects in the categories of sewing, homemade soap, canned veggies, beaded jewelry and art and came home with FIVE Grand Champion ribbons, 12 Blue Ribbons and 2 Red Ribbons.  The Grand Champion items will go to the State Fair in August!  (Caleb wanted me to insert here that his projects were only in canning, soap and art – he DID NOT make any jewelry or sew any girlie stuff.)

And together, they brought home $41 in prize money to boot!

Goat showing, well, it didn’t go quite as smoothly as planned.  We were complete newbies – and everyone there knew it!  Ha!  From where to go and what to do, we didn’t have the first clue.  Granted, after many required hours of goat and livestock classes we should’ve known what was going on, but the classes didn’t ever teach the practical side of show day.  Oh well, live and learn is a saying that truly fits in this situation.  We’ll know better next time.  In fact, we were so lost that we completely missed showing goats during one round because we had no idea that we weren’t finished after the first showmanship round.  There is apparently a showing class based on the weight of the goats that took place while our kids were screaming at the top of the ferris wheel!  Oops!

Below is Mahayla with her Daddy.  They were watching Caleb show goats.  Caleb was able to watch a few more rounds than her, which gave him  a distinct advantage in the ring.  She’s busy telling her dad how ticked she is that he didn’t work his goat NEARLY as often or as hard as her, but was placing higher.

Eli was SO cute!  And made everyone melt as he talked to the judge.  Again, we had no idea the kids would be questioned by the judge, so that’s yet another thing we were unprepared for.  But the kids held their own even under the surprise pressure.

Here’s Eli’s conversation with the judge.  He didn’t skip a beat.

Judge: And what’s your name young man?

Eli: Eli

Judge: How old are you, Eli?

Eli: Two (He’s not, he’s three and a half!)

Judge: Wow!  Two? (Eli shakes his head ‘yes’.)  And what’s your goat’s name?

Eli: Sister, but this is my brother’s goat, Brother.  (Eli’s goat had a hurt foot, so he showed Caleb’s goat, which Eli calls Brother.)

Judge: That’s a really long name!  What do you like best about your goat, Eli?

Eli: When he pets me.

Judge: You like when the goat pets you?  (Eli nods ‘yes’.)

Related posts:

1. Fair Time!

I’ve had lots of questions about the projects we complete as part of our homeschool life.  I’ve even presented a workshop specifically concerning this topic, as well as including it as a topic in my most popular workshop “Creative Homeschooling”.

I’ve been wanting to write a blog post about incorporating projects into your homeschool for quite some time, but Jimmie finally gave me the kick in the pants I needed when commenting on my post about our Presidents of the United States study.  So for Jimmie and everyone else who ever wondered, here are the basics about adding projects to homeschooling… )

Why add projects?

• They encourage independent learning.
• They require creative and critical thinking.
• They require writing and research.
• They allow for choices.
• They allow for meaningful, hands-on experiences.
• They allow for varied learning styles to be met.
• They encourage real learning about a subject that isn’t simply memorized for a test and then forgotten.

Our methods of learning are continually changing – mostly because I want my children to experience all forms of learning and not become “stuck” when they’re required to do something later in life in a different way than they’ve learned.  For example, if I only gave paper and pencil tests for every subject throughout their entire homeschool career, they would probably struggle when asked to complete a project at some point that requires creative thinking, the ability to put together a nice visual product and speak about it.  On the other hand, if I never gave paper and pencil tests, this wouldn’t prepare them adequately for possible future tasks either.  I hope this makes sense.  I’m continually changing the approach so they’ll be prepared to handle whatever task is thrown their way!

Even more so, though, I feel like projects have helped my children understand and retain information greatly – as compared to simply learning about a topic and regurgitating the info back to me on a test.  Why?  Because they become part of the learning through their projects!  In order to complete the project, they have to “know their stuff” about the topic AND put it together in an organized, thoughtful, expressive way.  Besides this, we expect our children to present their projects – to further embed the learning and to become comfortable with verbalizing themselves.  Believe me, just because they can put together a super project, doesn’t mean they can automatically speak about it.  This is a separate skill to be learned, but just as important.

What are projects?

Projects can really be anything!

• play/skit/speech/storytelling
• story/report/book report/article/newsletter
• mobile/diorama/model
• experiment/demonstration
• scrapbook/poster/journal
• art/craft/cooking/other handicraft

How do I add projects to our learning?

This is a doozy, so I think I’ll break it down into a couple of areas:

When?  By the time my children are seven, they’re introduced to the world of projects.  I always complete the first projects alongside them.  Once I see they’re capable of completing a thorough project without my help, I’ll be available as a resource for questions or ideas.  By the time they’re in 5th grade (hopefully earlier), they’re expected to complete projects on their own with very little direction from me.

If you’re starting projects when your children are older, I suggest still working along side them at first and giving very clear expectations for final outcomes until they are able to complete a thorough project on their own.

When I say give very clear expectations, this is a little misleading.  I typically give my children expectations that are open-ended.  In other words, “I expect your diorama to show at least five important aspects of Native American life.  I also expect that all surfaces with be covered and several 3-D models will be present.”  This gives them a direction without me telling them exactly what to include and how to include it.  Clear as mud?

Where?  Most of the time, projects are interjected into our unit studies – which happen to be science and history related.  A typical unit plan might be to learn about a topic together over the course of a week or more (depending on the subject.)  At the end of the unit, I decide how many projects that unit warrants.  For instance, if the unit was really long, I’ll expect five or more projects to be completed.  If the unit was really short, one might be enough.  They have a length of time to complete the projects, we set a date for presentations and the presentations become the finale of the unit.

I will usually come up with a list of several project choices from which my children can choose.  I try to vary the learning styles required in the project list so my son who doesn’t prefer too much writing can find projects to suit his needs.  Here’s a sample list of project choices I might offer if I expect them to complete THREE projects:

• file folder report
• diorama
• skit with siblings
• scrapbook page
• newspaper article
• commercial

In this list, all will require some reading, research and writing, but can you see how they allow for a variety of learning styles – writing, speaking, organizing, crafting, acting, etc?

We have also completed language arts projects such as bound poetry books and math projects such as grocery story price comparison charts.  Remember that most any project is going to involve reading, research and writing  – so language arts is always included!

As for grading, well, we don’t give many grades around here.  We do talk about what was really good about the projects and what could be improved next time.  Through my gentle direction, my children have quickly learned how to critique their work.  (If not handled with care and lots of encouragement, this could turn into self-bashing.  Don’t let them do that to themselves!)

If I’ve noticed that one of my children really needs to improve a certain part of their projects, I will simply include that more specifically in my instructions to them next time around.  For example, one of my children was not very thorough in his/her research and writing during our past unit.  When the next project time rolls around, I’ll be sure he/she chooses a project with plenty of writing and make it very clear how much of each I expect. You see, project time allows for choices, but mom’s still the boss!  )

I sure hope this has been helpful and not muddied the water!  Please ask whatever questions you may have and I’ll write a second post if I need to clarify anything.

You might find the following posts helpful in seeing some of the projects we’ve completed in the past.

• Presidents of the United States
• US Geography
• Slavery and Civil War
• Westward Expansion
• American Revolution
• Native Americans
• Kentucky History
• Weather
• Astronomy
• Chemistry
• Poetry at the Coffee House

Just in case you ever wondered, one of the things Melissa and I have included in the NaturExplorers units is project-based learning.  Each unit gives several ideas for hands-on, writing/research and other projects you can assign!

Related posts:

1. KY Project Presentations
2. Learning Centers
3. Embriodery Project

Have a very blessed Memorial Day weekend!  I hope the weather is beautiful where you are and you get to spend time with family and friends!

Related posts:

1. Holiday Open House and Christmas Links

On Tuesday, our Homeschool 4-H Club had a special speaker who happened to be talking on the topic of nutrition. A perfect fit even if it wasn’t planned!  After talking about healthy eating habits, they made some fun little critter snacks out of apples, raisins, pretzels, granola and peanut butter.  Yum!

Our group usually gets to help bag take-home snacks for the needy children in our local schools.  They always enjoy helping with this task.

No related posts.