Archive by Author | Lisa McAfee

CHRISTmas Resources

Dec4

Christ-in-Christmas1With Christmas just around the corner I thought I better get these Advent and Christ-focused resources to you.

I found a cute ebook called Truth in the Tinsel that is designed for little ones. It looks like a great resource and I hope you enjoy it with your little ones! It also has advent activities that you can do with your preschoolers.

At this website you can create paper ornaments with the The Names of Jesus.

I love this activity! You can make a beautiful Advent calendar with cookie sheets and scrapbooking paper.

Here is an Advent devotional and unit study. This can be used for all ages; modify to meet your family’s needs.

I have used this next unit in the past with my family and found it to be a wonderful resource that we liked. I believe you will enjoy it as well. A Blessed Christmas has an Advent section at the beginning of the unit and 25 symbols of Christmas afterwards. Each representation begins with a short explanation of its meaning, a scripture, discussion questions, crafts, recipes, and a service activity. Here is a sample of one of the symbols. It is much longer than this, but will give you an idea.

ORNAMENTS–The very first tree ornaments were a display of God’s provision to his people. Apples, cookies,and  candles were several items used to remind us that Jesus is the light of the world.
Bible: Read James1:17
Discuss: What good gifts God has given you.
Do: Make ornaments that represent God’s blessings. Or, make a small Christmas notebook that shows pictures of what God has given you, or make a Christmas banner that displays God’s blessings to you.

Have you ever wondered what the history was behind the Christmas hymns we sing?  Check out this unit study of 15 songs! Good Christian Men Rejoice

Have a wonderful Advent and Christ-filled Christmas.

Lisa

Holiday Cheer: Staying Focused and Content

Dec3

imgresHoliday Cheer, what exactly does that mean? Why did someone start saying this in the first place? I imagine it was first used as an advertisement slogan, but on the other hand, it might have been first said by someone who saw a bunch of grumpy, unhappy people enduring the holidays. It’s easy to get caught up in the commercialism of Christmas and the hectic schedule of doing school, going to activities,  buying gifts, and spending Christmas with extended family. School can become an irritating event and the lack of focus can be great during this month. If you plan ahead for the month you can find joy in this season instead of rushing through it and having school be one more item to check off your To-Do list.

Prioritize

Make school your first priority and modify if necessary. School doesn’t have to be all workbooks. You can incorporate holiday activities into your school routine. How about having your children make cards and write a message to someone on your list? It used to be that I got a lot of Christmas cards. I used to think, “That’s nice.” and not really look at the card again after I had read it once. With the advent of electronic media and communication I receive very few cards any more and it truly is a treat to receive a card.  Studying fractions? What about having your mathematician double family holiday cookie recipes? Handwriting can be included as they can write out the grocery list for the supplies that are needed to buy the ingredients.

Set an Example

Are you finding that your children are getting restless and can’t stay focused? Part of that is the excitement of the season and activities, but part of it can be how you are acting and responding during this time. If you find that you are losing your patience and catch yourself responding in short, clipped sentences or raising your voice about a spelling test, take a quick inventory. Find out what is causing you to be annoyed and a way that you can eliminate it. I have found that if I stayed focused and worked alongside my children we got more accomplished in a shorter amount of time.

Focus on Others

The holidays can make you get all wrapped up in what you need to do and not look to see what other people need. “The others “can mean your family or could it also mean a person who is struggling during this season. There is nothing better to help me gain perspective than to see the needs of others. See if there is something you can do to bring a smile to your family. If you have household chores, can they be pushed off to the side for one day? How about writing a quick I love you because note and leaving it on your child’s pillow or the dashboard of your husband’s car? If you want to help others you can volunteer at a local event or you can send a card to a serviceman. Don’t have the extra time? Another idea is to donate to a charitable organization. Have the children get involved by choosing what you will do. In the past I haven’t had extra time to do something so we sent money to the Salvation Army or World Vision. Other years when we have had more time we have purchased gifts for a giving tree or dropped off cookies to neighbors. What if you don’t have extra money? A phone call or an electronic card would be a great encouragement to people and you can brighten someone’s day by letting them know you are thinking of them.

May this season be one of joy and peace for you and your family!

~Lisa

Halfway There!

Nov26

It seems like we just got started this year but I realized this morning that Christmas is just four weeks away. Where did the time go?  On the other hand, congratulations, you are nearly halfway through your school year!

Now is a good time to stop and organize your paperwork. It really won’t take you long to do it. You just have to jump in! Take out some pages from each of the sections of workbooks in every subject that you have done so far. For instance, if you have been working on addition, subtraction, and telling time since August pull out several pages of each of these topics and put in a binder or an accordion file folder. You can label the papers  “First Semester”. These samples can be grouped either according to subject or time period. (semester, month, week, day, however you prefer) If you have not kept dates on each of the papers up until this time, just label it first semester. If you have, that is even better! Do this one more time in the month of December and place them in your binder or file folder.

For those subjects that you don’t have workbooks and still need documentation, how about writing your observations and siting a few examples? If you have done a Civil War unit that has been hands-on what did you do? Did you go to a Civil War reenactment,  read some books, make a trip to the Freedom Center? For younger students you can ask them about their experiences and write down their responses. For older students have them wrote a summary. This is called a narration and you can put that in with your paperwork. Are you planning on going to any Christmas plays or concerts? Save the program and have the children write or tell you and you record what was their favorite part.

Pictures are also a great way to show what your student has done.  Show some examples of the work (a lapbook, a model of a volcano, an art project, etc.)  If you have gone on field trips or have visited museums include these activities as well.

Guess what? You are finished! Small steps like this make the portfolio review appointment so much easier than waiting until the end of the year. Keep on running the race! I am cheering you on and know you will cross the finish line. If you need more tips on organizing paperwork check out my portfolio review or my resources, tips, and how-to’s sections.

~Lisa

Being Thankful

Nov19

freedictionary.com defines thankful as:  Aware and appreciative of a benefit; grateful. 2. Expressive of gratitude So, I was thinking this would be a good time to just state some things that I am thankful for:

  • God- Where would I be without Him?
  • Family- I have an amazing husband who loves me and two wonderful sons. I will be adding a daughter-in-law to the list next year! 🙂
  • Sisters- Aren’t sisters family? Well, of course they are, but in another sense they are not. I think of my sisters as a separate category- Superfriends. They know you like no one else and they still love you.
  • America- I think this is the greatest place to be, even with all of its warts and blemishes.
  • Freedom- We have so many freedoms: speech, religion, and assembly are just a few that come to mind. Thank you to all of our servicemen!
  • Health- I am so appreciative of being healthy. I am grateful to be alive and kickin’.
  • Marriage- I am blessed to have married my college sweetheart. I must say that I chose well with God’s help!
  • Girlfriends- I have two gals who have known me for over 20 years and they still want to hang out with me. Bless you!
  • Homeschooling- I know I am strongly opinionated when it comes to homeschooling, but I am glad we did it. My relationship with my sons is strong and healthy because we homeschooled. The academics were fantastic as well, not because I taught them everything, I didn’t. I found wonderful teachers who were passionate about content matter and made subjects come alive. Who would think that math is fun? Not me, but my neighbor and friend does. I love her for teaching my children that math makes sense.
  • Provision- I am appreciative of the food we eat, clothing I wear, and the house we call our home.
  • Employment- My husband and I are both employed and I am so glad to be able to go to work. Of course, I love what I do so the days that I see my class doesn’t seem like work at all! I teach 7th and 8th grade students who make me laugh every week.
  • Electricity and Technology – Yep, I am extremely grateful for all of the appliances and gadgets that I can use to make my life easier. I am glad I am not down at the creek beating my clothes on a rock or boiling water on an outdoor fire to cook food for my family. I am happy to not have to write my lesson plans by hand, or via a typewriter, or even mimeograph paper! If you don’t know what that is, be glad. It’s an ancient form of making duplicate copies.

My list could go on for quite a while, but before I stop I ‘d like to say I am thankful for you!

What about taking a few minutes to think of all of the things you are thankful for this year? How about writing them down and reflecting over all the blessings you have in your life? I am sure your list will be equally as long as mine.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

~Lisa

I’m Bored!

Nov12

I am sure you have heard your kids say that to you before. Some of you might be thinking that you hear that on a regular and daily basis. But, is that really what they are saying? It seems to me that it is a catch-all phrase for several things. I allowed my boys to say that for a while until I got tired of hearing it and decided to get to the root of why they were saying that phrase. Many times it was they either were tired or didn’t know what to do with their time. They wanted me to come up with a suggestion, which many times  was met with a “Nah.” or a shake of the head no.

I came up with what I think is an ingenious idea. I created an “I’m Bored” list of things for them to do. If they couldn’t find some type of constructive activity to do on their own (besides electronic media) then they consulted the list. Sometimes I would assign them a category and they were to pick something to do from the list, such as a household chore. 🙂

“What is this wondrous list?” you ask. Well, it just happens to be your day as I will share it with you!

Household Chores (Gotta have this on the top of the list!)

  • Pick up toys in your room
  • Sweep kitchen floor
  • Clean sink of choice (bathroom or kitchen)
  • Fold laundry
  • Load dishwasher
  • Clean out the refrigerator or pantry
  • Make dinner (only for those who know how to cook)

These next categories will require you to gather the supplies ahead  of time, place in a box, and have a designated area, but it is soo worth it!

Crafts

  • Potholders
  • Knitting/ crocheting
  • Origami
  • Cross stitch
  • Make cards
  • Draw a picture for the refrigerator
  • Paint
  • Make friendship bracelets Print off directions and place in box.
  • Make duct tape creations Go here for some ideas. ducktivities I had no idea there were so many things you could do with it!

Games/Activities

These suggestions are for one person as sometimes no one else is available. Once you print off the puzzle pages and solutions there is no electricity involved. 🙂

  • Solitaire
  • Crossword puzzles This site has crossword puzzles that are small, but there are two per page. (Middle school and older) Here is a site for younger students: kids crosswords
  • Sudoku puzzles that range from easy to insane
  • Word Finds
  • Coloring pages
  • Write a story Have a cool looking small spiral pad or notebook and fancy pens to write stories.
  • Read a book
  • Play with duplos,legos, dolls, or action figures Have these reserved for this particular purpose that can only be played then.
  • Jigsaw puzzles
  • Barrel of Monkeys game
  • Mazes varying in difficulty from easy to hard
  • Dot-to-dot
  • Hidden Pictures for younger students, Hidden Owl by Crayola, Hidden Pictures for older students  If your children really like Hidden Pictures consider purchasing Highlights for Kids. These have been around for a long time and have stories, jokes, and hidden pictures.
  • Kakuro puzzles I never heard of them before, have you? They are mathematical puzzles that you can read about to see if your student would be interested in trying their hand at it. kakuro (middle school to adult)

Games for Two or More Players

  • Checkers
  • Chess
  • Chinese Checkers
  • Dominoes
  • Candyland, Hi Ho Cherry O, Chutes and Ladders, Cootie All of these games are for the younger crowd
  • Life, Payday, Monopoly
  • Tic-tac-toe
  • Mancala You can make your own game if you like. You just need an egg carton and pennies or beans.
  • Connect 4
  • Guesstures
  • Scrabble
  • Uno
  • Card Games- Go Fish, Hearts,War, I Doubt It, Old Maid, Rummy, Crazy 8’s, Spit (One of my favorite card games)
  • I Spy is a great game for young children through adults. It can help young children with their colors and for older kids they can pick objects that are difficult to spot.

Make your list, prepare your boxes and you’ll be all set. If you have any suggestions I’d love to add them to the list.You can never have too many ideas to have available for when you hear your child(ren) say, “I’m bored!”

~Lisa