Art and math are so often a wonderful duo. Anytime you can combine the creativity of art with the logical side of nature, you've got a powerful activity that connects both sides of the brain for meaningful learning. This particular lesson brings art and math together through a fun project inspired by famous abstract artist Wassily Kandinsky. Who was Wassily Kandinsky Wassily Kandinsky is known as a pioneer of abstract art. Abstract art doesn't look like real life. Instead, the style uses bold lines, shapes, and colors to sometimes oddly portray real images - or no image at all. Abstract artists often paint in ways to try to express their feelings or emotions. The painting of ... Read More
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Rather than eat all that candy sitting around the house after trick-or-treating (or another holiday), why not put it to good use? These fun candy math and science lesson ideas will keep your kids busy, happy, and learning! What will we do with all this candy? Honestly, most of the candy that comes in this house after trick-or-treating eventually gets pitched or given away. There's only so much I can allow my kids to eat before the mom guilt kicks in. However, during the few days we still have loads and loads of candy, we always have fun with living math and science lessons! Candy Math and Science Candy graphing is for all ages! Concrete graphs are graphs ... Read More
Math, science, geography, history, AND language arts all in one super-fun day of pumpkin school? YES! Skip the textbooks for a few days and enjoy some fall-themed learning with your elementary and middle school students. We have enjoyed one version or another of pumpkin school for years. While you can certainly have fun with without friends, these activities are so much fun to do with a small group. Living Math and Science with Pumpkins Several of these ideas come from my how-to book for parents called Loving Living Math. It's a book that teaches you how to include "living" (real life, hands-on, meaningful, conceptual) math into your homeschool. Pumpkin Math and ... Read More
At the IAHE Conference (Indiana Association of Home Educators), I taught four workshops. While they were all well-attended and well-received, one of the sessions sparked an emotional reaction like none other. My brain training session was the last on my schedule and one of the last of the weekend. I fully expected a low turnout and glazed-over eyes from those few. To my shock, the room was packed to the brim with eager participants. Some of them, I later found out, almost desperate for information to help their struggling students. Because of the immense response I had to the topic of brain training at IAHE (and elsewhere), I'm going to write a BRIEF summary of that workshop and ... Read More
Morning Time. Morning Basket Time. Circle Time. In our home we call it Brain Training Time. Whatever you might call it, I have some great ideas to help you include nature study during the time you gather for family learning before jumping into the rest of your homeschool day. I bet you think I'm going to tell you that circle time should begin with a quick nature walk. Nope. While that's certainly a great way to start your day, in this article I'm actually going to share ideas for nature study without going outside! And, since we're talking circle time and I know you're probably including more than one activity each day, all these ideas are meant to last no more ... Read More
If you have a cooperative extension service in your community, you've hit the homeschooling jackpot. What's a cooperative extension service? It's a cooperation between communities and universities that provides training and services to the community on the topics of agriculture, horticulture, homemaking skills, and homesteading skills. 4-H is the most well-known program that cooperative extension services provide for children. Beginning in 4th grade, the 4-H program offers an incredible array of opportunities in agriculture, healthy living, science, handicrafts, life skills, sportsmanship, service, civic engagement, and leadership. A Homeschool 4-H Club Historically, where we ... Read More
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