Homeschoolers

A Shift in Education

2011-06-22T08:52:00.000-07:00

I found a wonderful YouTube video created by RSA Animate regarding a shift in education paradigms. Every parent with a student in a public school needs to watch this video!

PreK Content Standards and Learning Criteria

2011-01-27T05:34:00.000-08:00

Content Standards and Learning Criteria for PreK in West Virginia can be located in this document from the Board of Education.

http://wvde.state.wv.us/policies/p2520.15.pdf

I found this very beneficial when designing my three-year-old's activities! I have printed the tables and keep them in a binder to use as a guide.

I also found it very interesting what our kids are expected to know and understand before entering Kindergarten.

If you aren't homeschooling, this may be a good guide for you to be sure your daycare facility is properly preparing your child!

Washing Dishes and Learning!

2011-01-24T07:32:00.000-08:00

My 3-year-old daughter absolutely loves to wash dishes. I use it as a reward for finishing her other school work. Today, I set up a wash station at the big sink in the kitchen. I brought in a variety of her play dishes, filled the basin with a couple inches of water and proceeded to teach.

I asked her to point to the red dishes... the blue... the yellow... and the black.

I then asked her to count the red dishes... the blue... the yellow... and the black.

I then gave her a math word problem. Might as well introduce her to these now...

How many dishes do you have all together?

If mommy takes away the plates, how many dishes do you have left?

This may be a bit much for a 3-year-old on a worksheet, but when she can touch the dishes while she counts-- it is totally possible and enjoyable for her!

I love it when she's learning and she thinks she's playing...

A Week of Curriculum Ideas for a Toddler

2011-01-13T13:56:00.000-08:00

These are more or less an outline of my ideas. I followed this plan with my 3 year old over the course of a week. It worked and she enjoyed herself! (Don't forget it's easiest to give your toddler LOTS of breaks!)

Monday:

Letter B

Boats

Craft - Sailboat out of Meat Tray (make a Barbie Boat if you have a little girl)

Letter B/Boat Coloring Page:

http ://homeschooling .about .com /od /langearlyread /ss /letterbcolor _4.htm

Science: A lump of clay sinks. Change its shape to make it float.

B = Barbie

Barbie - Coloring Pages:

http ://www .coloring -book .info /coloring /coloring _page .php ?id =14

Barbie - Ballerina Videos- I Can Be a Ballerina

http ://icanbe .barbie .com /videos .html

Color: Blue

Blue starts with letter B

Craft: Bonnie Blue Bell Colors Buddy

http ://www .dltk -teach .com /colors /mblue .htm

Tuesday:

Letter C

Cars

Make a shiny car:

http ://www .dltk -kids .com /crafts /transportation /mshapescar .htm

Cats:

Make a cat headband:

http ://familycrafts .about .com /cs /catcrafts /a /blcathb .htm

C Book:

http ://homeschooling .about .com /od /langearlyread /ss /letterccolor .htm

http ://homeschooling .about .com /od /langearlyread /ss /letterccolor _2.htm

http ://homeschooling .about .com /od /langearlyread /ss /letterccolor _8.htm

Color: Yellow

Yellow Flowers Activity

Need: yellow baking cups, green pipe cleaners, tape, crayons or markers

Directions: Give your child a yellow baking cup, crayons, a green pipe cleaner and scissors. Use the yellow baking cups as "flowers" and have your child draw on the inside of the cups. Tape the base of the "flowers" to the green stems (pipe cleaner).

Wednesday:

Letter D

Dog

Doggie Puppet:

http ://www .dltk -kids .com /animals /mbagdog .htm

Letter D Template:

http ://www .dltk -teach .com /t .asp ?b =m &t =http ://www .dltk -teach .com /alphabuddies /image /b -dd .gif

Dog headband:

http ://familycrafts .about .com /od /dogcrafts /a /dogheadband .htm

Color:

Brown

Brown Tree Pictures Activity

Help your child paint their hand and the upper part of their forearm brown and make a brown print on a piece of paper or poster board to create the trunk and branches of a tree. Decorate the branches of the tree according to the season. For winter, add pieces of cotton for snow. For spring, add scrunched up scraps of pink tissue paper for blossoms. For summer, add pieces of green construction paper for trees, and small colored circles to represent fruit, red for apples, orange for peaches, etc... For fall, add scraps of red, orange, and yellow paper to represent leaves.

Coloring picture:

http ://www .homeschoolhelperonline .com /worksheets /pre _school /color _brown .htm

Thursday:

Letter E

Coloring Pages:

http ://homeschooling .about .com /od /langearlyread /ss /letterecolor .htm

http ://homeschooling .about .com /od /langearlyread /ss /letterecolor _5.htm

http ://homeschooling .about .com /od /langearlyread /ss /letterecolor _6.htm

Elephant Mask:

http ://homeschooling .about .com /gi /dynamic /offsite .htm ?site =http ://www .himandus .net /elefunteria /eday /mask /elephant %5 Fmask .html

Make play envelopes and stamps:

http ://www .dltk -kids .com /crafts /miscellaneous /maddress .html

Make a mailbox for your envelopes!

http ://www .dltk -kids .com /crafts /cartoons /mmailbox .html

Color: Red

Red Coloring Page:

http ://www .homeschoolhelperonline .com /worksheets /pre _school /color _red .htm

Play with red lipstick - Photograph!

Have red jello for a snack!

Friday:

Letter: F

Fish and Fishbowl

http ://homeschoolcreations .blogspot .com /2009/01/preschool -corner -letter -f .html

Go get a fish and fishbowl at the store!

His name is Fred!

Make a sign with his name on it.

Use a stamp pad and make fingerprint fishies

Color: Orange

Goldfish will be orange

Eat oranges and carrots for snacks

Play with orange clay

My Take on Organizing a Kid's Room

2011-01-05T15:38:00.000-08:00

The goal is to make the kid's room kid-friendly so kids can find their stuff and enjoy spending time in it. Funny thing is kids don't just enjoy having lots of stuff. If they have so much stuff, they forget what they have or can't find what they have, it is time to purge! Kids can be happy with the simplest toys. All they need is a nice, clean area where they can play.

I prefer to clean clockwise through the room-- so you can see where you've actually cleaned and organized. If you haven't cleaned or organized in a long time, I would start with three big black trash bags. Just make sure you don't get them confused when you're working! I find it helps to keep them all in different corners of the room while you're working.

Bags:

1) To Keep
2) To Throw Away
3) To Give Away

If a toy is broken or missing pieces, I'm of the "throw away" mindset. However, I know some of you prefer to hold on to things- just in case. You may want to start a seperate smaller bag for these toys and the missing pieces when you find them. This bag should not be stored in the kid's room. I would keep it where you keep super glue, screwdrivers, etc. That's where you'll be fixing the toys.

Now the fun part--- ORGANIZE THE KEEPERS!

Store all the stuff like stickers, books, and crayons at the desk because that is where your child will use them. Store all of the jewelry, play make-up, and dress-up clothes together. Anything of like kind should go together. For example, all doll clothes, all Barbies & accessories, all purses and backpacks, and all shoes. It's important your child sees / helps you find good storage spaces because they are more inclined to have less questions later and pick up after themselves.

I have discovered that closets are often untapped areas. You can buy a hanging shoe organizer that is perfect for Barbies and other baby dolls. Anything that hangs and uses the space above the floor is excellent. Floor space is a hot commodity in a kid's room- even in the closet. Just like when you're organizing your kitchen-- use top shelves for things that are seldom used. Use floor space and easily accessible areas for things your kids need to be able to access on their own.

Collections can make you go nuts. If your child likes to collect stuffed animals, for example, encourage them to select a few favorites (3 - 5 max!) and store the remainder out of their room. Assure them that every so often, they can go to the collection and switch. That way all of their stuffed animals can be played with and no teddy bear gets lost or ignored for very long.

Another great way to highlight collections of smaller toys is by installing shelves around your child's room. They can customize what toys are stored on the shelves and they free up floor space.

Keep all art supplies together. I have a very young child, so I prefer to keep the art supplies in the kitchen on a super-high shelf. If you have an older child, they may be more mature and can handle the supplies being stored in their closet. However, I strongly warn against keeping anything that is not washable in your child's reach.

For those of you with lots of boxed puzzles and boardgames-- I have found it easiest to store them as if they were books with the titles all facing the same way. The logic in this storage technique is you never have to screw up a stack of games to access the one on the bottom.

Regarding those lovely papers that keep coming home from school... I tried the binder system (using page protectors and dividers to organize the priceless homework sheets and art projects.)However, I'm very sentimental and quickly discovered the entire floor of my closet was filled with plastic file boxes and binders overflowing. Now, I keep a scanner attached to my laptop in my kitchen. I hang the lovely papers up for about a week on the fridge or cabinets. After that, I scan them and throw them out! When I scan them, I have them organized in a file on my computer by month and year. After a year, I burn them to a CD and keep them in a CD Binder.

And this final bit of advice is from my Grandma-- She always told me that it's easier to keep it clean by doing a little bit at a time than waiting till it's totally a disaster and you have a time limit to get it immaculate. (I'm sure I paraphrased, but you get the drift.) So, I recommend getting the room tidy once a week, but encouraging your kids daily to put away their things before bedtime. (This is very logical, and can be explained to even a kindergartener.) What if you woke up in the middle of the night and had to run to the bathroom and you tripped and fell over all this stuff???? Honestly, this logic works with both of my kids.

Happy organizing! :-)

Healthy Eating

2010-11-23T14:30:00.000-08:00

Lately, I've been doing a lot of research on this topic. I knew there were certain foods that were best suited for certain things (i.e. memory.) I decided to make a spreadsheet to see how many overlaps I could find in the most important categories that would benefit my family the most. I was searching for those "super foods." Here are my findings and recommendations for snacks and meals for your family.

These were the 9 categories that I researched: Brain Development and Memory, Skin, Hair & Nails, Heart, Energy, Smile, Eyes, Stress Reduction, and Intestinal and Bladder Health.

Out of a total of 79 foods, only 7 foods appeared in 4 or more categories. These "super foods" are: Soybeans, Kidney Beans, Low Fat Yogurt, Salmon, Blueberries, Turkey, and Spinach.

I also found some interesting information regarding brain functionality. There are two types of fats that our brains need. These create two categories of food and ideally, we should eat something from each category, rather than only one category. From what I can tell, the most kid-friendly snack that would accomplish this would be sunflower seeds and walnuts. I will be keeping a container of these in the fridge for little fingers. (And, unsalted is always best!) As for a super-brain meal, salmon and corn can't be beat!

For brain development, a snack of apples, grapes and low fat yogurt works wonders and is easy for even toddlers to eat. A breakfast of oatmeal and milk is perfect.

For skin, try green tea (drank or applied directly to the skin works) and a snack of blueberries, strawberries and walnuts.

To accomplish great results for hair and nails and work on the health of your heart, try a salad packed full of spinach, soybeans, flax seed, almond slivers, kidney beans and eggs- drizzled with olive oil. Every single item is very powerful and nothing is wasted or bad for you.

For a good energy boost, fresh orange slices are easy and fun with kids. Also, slice up an apple and dip in peanut butter. Peanut butter isn't just great tasting with the apples, it does its own job by providing excellent energy!

For eye health, a kiwi is just plain fun! What kid isn't intrigued by a hairy, green fruit that looks like it came from another planet??? Also, a snack of fresh broccoli and carrots drizzled in olive oil will greatly help your kids' eyes develop and improve. Believe it or not, dark chocolate works too! (in limited quantity though!)

To improve the health and beauty of your child's smile, give them some celery to chew on and some cheese cubes. Easy and yummy!

To reduce your own stress and calm your hyperactive toddler down, try a wonderful dinner of brown rice, turkey and sweet potatoes with a glass of milk. These items not only taste good together, they all provide terrific stress-busting, calming effects.

For intestinal health and bladder health, yogurt and whole wheat breads or muffins help keep things working right. Also, a snack of cranberries and bananas with some coconut is excellent.

A nibble tray for a toddler is an excellent way to keep them eating right. You can use an ice cube tray, muffin tray or compartmentalized plastic dish. This allows you to include small portions of healthy foods and several different types of dips (i.e. peanut butter or yogurt.) Encourage your child to sit and eat from the nibble tray throughout the day. Keeping blood sugar stable helps their behavior- so, yes, grazing is a good thing. :)

That's all for now- have fun eating!

Toy Boats

2010-11-10T19:14:00.000-08:00

This is a great way to teach about recycling, triangles, and why things float. This is also a great activity for a toddler just learning to use scissors. Triangles are incredibly easy to cut out!

You will need the following items:

Styrofoam Meat Trays
Straw
White Construction Paper
Scissors
Tape

Make little toy boats with clean Styrofoam meat trays. Insert a straw in the tray for the meat. Cut triangular sails (a great teaching activity for little ones!) from white construction paper and tape to your straw.

The boat is now seaworthy! An excellent toy for the bathtub!

Vacationing with Kids

2010-11-08T19:50:00.000-08:00

I found two great books that suggest great places to take your kids vacationing. Almost all of these experiences can be turned into an educational experience for your kid. They can help plan the trip, follow the map while you drive there and many other things! Just click the image of the book to read more about it on Amazon.com!

Ghost Sucker Covers

2010-10-28T20:50:00.000-07:00

What you will need:

White tissue
Suckers
Rubber bands
Marker

1) Put 2 tissues together. Put the center of the square on top of the sucker.

2) Wrap the tissues down and around the sucker and gather it around the bottom of the sucker (where the stick starts.)

3) Use the rubber band to hold the tissue in place.

4) Use the marker to draw spooky eyes and a mouth on your ghost.

These make excellent additions to a table centerpiece!

Stomp- Stomp Out Loud

2010-10-27T18:51:00.000-07:00

This is a great video and group to use to inspire your kids to get in that musical creative ~zone~!

Halloween Craft Ideas

2010-10-27T11:20:00.000-07:00

Crayola has created a great site with tons of Halloween craft ideas. You don't have to purchase Crayola products for the crafts though--- so don't let that stop you!

http://www.crayola.com/crafts/halloween-crafts/

The Heebie Jeebie Haunted House looked particularly fun. :-)

FREE Homeschooling Links

2010-10-26T22:53:00.000-07:00

This is a certificate maker. The certificates are FREE and customizable.

http://www.123certificates.com/

This is a list of FREE educational board games that are printable.

http://www.tinyurl.com/cardcog

This is a FREE certificate site.

http://www.dyetub.com/

These are some really cool FREE homeschooling forms and other printables.

http://www.chartjungle.com/

This website has soooo much stuff! There are various FREE homeschooling forms, calendars, charts, handwriting samplers, play money, science lab sheets, and more!

http://www.donnayoung.org/

Okay, so... this last site--- I just really LOVE. I spent a lot of time looking through all of the neat ideas! However, the Family Ties link is specific to the needs of the homeschooler. Enjoy!!!

http://www.organizedhome.com/

Greyson Chance Singing Paparazzi

2010-10-25T21:50:00.000-07:00

This is an excellent video to share with your kids to get them interested in learning to play a musical instrument. Sometimes it takes an inspirational video like this to light that spark in our kids to show them they can do something awesome with their talents.

Mini Frozen Watermelons

2010-10-25T21:40:00.000-07:00

Okay- yes, I know it isn't summertime... but I found this recipe in my collection and wanted to get it uploaded before I forgot about it!

This is a terrific recipe to do with your kids. You take 1 cup frozen whole strawberries-thawed, 1/2 cup non-fat vanilla yogurt, and 2 cups orange juice. Blend them up good. Cut limes in half and scoop out their insides so they look like little green bowls. Pour the mixture in each one and drop about 4 semi-sweet chocolate morsels in each. Freeze them flat so they don't dump out everywhere. After they're frozen, pull them out and cut each half-a-lime in half again.... you'll have little mini watermelons! They look awesome and taste terrific!

Make-Your-Own Pocket Board Game

2010-10-25T14:24:00.000-07:00

This is a game board that is easy to create, fits in your pocket, and can set up differently every time!

To play the game you will need: game board (which you can create with the instructions below), a die, and some objects to use as markers.

To create the board you will need: Plenty of thick cardstock paper (you will be cutting it into about 30 squares that are 2x2 inches each), a pair of scissors, and some markers (or crayons- personal preference here.)

Write the following labels on your cards (qty. to create is listed in parentheses) :

Start (qty. 1)
Finish (qty. 1)
Go Back 1 Space (qty. 5)
Go Ahead 1 Space (qty. 5)
Lose a Turn (qty. 1)
Take an Extra Turn (qty. 1)
Go Back to Start (qty. 1)
Go Ahead 2 Spaces (qty. 2)
Go Back 2 Spaces (qty. 2)
Go Ahead 3 Spaces (qty. 3)
Go Back 3 Spaces (qty. 3)
Draw fun pictures on the rest of the cards

After you create your game board pieces, pull out "start" and "finish" and shuffle the rest. Lay them down, one right after another, in any shape you want. "Start" goes at the beginning. "Finish" goes at the end. Use the die to see how far each player will move. Follow the instructions on the cards. First to "finish" wins!

Halloween Alphabet Practice

2010-10-20T08:04:00.001-07:00

I found this great link for the entire alphabet tracing worksheets. Each has a coloring picture on it with a Halloween theme. These are block letters and have uppercase and lowercase on each sheet.

Every time Augusta traced the letter A, I would give her a letter A sticker. It was motivation for her to keep tracing and practicing. We used the foam alphabet stickers in Halloween colors. She was able to take the backing off and put them on her worksheet by herself. They're also the perfect size to fit on top of the letters she had just traced.

Augusta worked on the letter A while I played a Clifford the Big Red Dog CD. I used the following songs: A to Z with Clifford, Now I Know My ABC's, The Happy ABC's, Old MacDonald's Spelling Farm, and 26 Letters in the Alphabet. These are all really easy songs. By the end of each, she was singing along. Each song is $0.99 through iTunes or $3.99 for the whole CD. Dollar Tree also has this CD for only a $1.00!

Music - Kidsongs DEAL!

2010-10-18T11:03:00.000-07:00

Found a good deal in the Dollar Tree!

This recently released Kidsongs CD + DVD combo that sells on their website for $12.98 (sale price) is only $1!

The CD includes these songs: Come on and Conga, Mexican Hat Dance, Here We Go 'Round The Mulberry Bush, John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt, London Bridge, Pat-A-Cake, Alouette, Simon Says, The Yellow Rose of Texas, Michael Finnegan, Home On The Range, Join The Band

The DVD has an episode of the Kidsongs TV Show. Your kids will get to learn some basic percussion skills from Sheila E. This DVD alone usually sells for $9.99!

Click here to see information on the DVD (which includes a preview!)

Click here to see information on the combo set!

My three-year-old totally loves Kidsongs. Kids do the singing and the dancing. Even my eight-year-old can get into it. Definitely a hit in my home!