Posted by Cindy on July 19, 2011
Lately we’ve been having lots of read aloud time in the afternoons. I’ve been trying to give my children things to keep their hands busy – paints, knitting, Lego pieces and nature notebooking pages or simple activities. So many of the NaturExplorers notebooking pages and activities can be used on the spur of the moment that they have become wonderful “fillers” during our reading time.
Before we read, I have them hop out into the yard to collect whatever nature specimen they need to complete the page or activity. Since they know we’ll be reading for some time, they don’t rush through the assignment and the resulting work has been excellent! Below are just a couple of examples from the Fruits and Nuts and Delightful Deciduous Trees studies.
(Note that my notebooking pages are copied in black and white. All the NaturExplorers notebooking pages are created in full color, but print just fine in black and white if you don’t have a color printer.)
Posted by Cindy on April 11, 2011
Eli wrote his very first story a few weeks ago called The Lonely P. I thought I’d post it for my new friends Kim Kautzer and Debbie Oldar, authors of WriteShop. They were our wonderful, WONDERFUL booth neighbors at the Midwest Homeschool Convention last week. They are such sweet mentors! Be sure to check out their writing programs!
The Loney P, by Eli, age 4
Once upon a time there were pools that the lonely P swam in. Some kids and dads and moms swam there, too.
The P made a friend, the number 2.
The P swam in one pool and the 2 swam in another pool.
He was a happy P now.
Posted by Cindy on December 9, 2010
Great Grammar Lessons That Work
is a fun little book from Scholastic that offers quick, meaningful and sometimes hands-on grammar lessons for the 3rd-6th grader. We used the section on abstract nouns the other day to write diamante poems.
War vs. Peace
War
World, bloody
Fighting, shouting, yelling
Guns, commanders, silence, friendship
Celebrating, rejoicing, crying tears of joy
Calm, wonderful
Peace
Posted by Cindy on October 13, 2009
I recently reviewed some curriculum from Moving Beyond the Page that included a Poetry unit. Mahayla worked through the self-directed curriculum on her own and then completed a final project of sharing some of her own poetry in a coffeehouse setting. Here are a few pictures from the “coffeehouse”. 
This is some of the poetry she shared.
Nothing like dressing up for you big performance! (Insert rolling eyes.) The poster in the back was a display teaching the audience (her family) about poetry forms and the tv is on because it was playing soft music.
Yummy banana bread. Every coffeehouse poetry reading needs food!
This week and next, the kids are working on presidential projects. I’ll share them with you soon!
