Archive by Author | Lisa McAfee

Creating Timelines for History

Jul6

History timelines are a terrific way for helping students get a sense of time; see the significance of events; observe cause and effect, and how events interrelate. The best way to make this “come alive” is to have your child create their own. I have asked Molly, one of the homeschool moms whom I have had the privilege of reviewing her daughter’s work, if she would share how she has chosen to represent events.  She calls it “Calico History”. As you will see, she is creative and I think her scenes are purrfect! 🙂

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These are stuffed animals called Calico Critters. Notice the Statue of Liberty. 🙂

Calico Critter History

The Westward Expansion of the United States

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The space helmets are plastic balls that hold prizes you get out of a candy vending machine. I wonder if those are moon rocks?

Some tips from Molly:

You can use any toy your children like: Legos, plastic animals, Barbies, etc.

Let your children get creative with how to portray things and how to fabricate costumes, etc. This is a good problem solving exercise!

We used all kinds of stuff, including things we found outside, pictures we printed from Internet sites, craft supplies, Playdough, old bed sheets…use your imagination!

I am not an especially “crafty” person. I can’t sew more than to reattach a button. You don’t have to be “artsy” to have fun with this…playing and learning with your children is the best part of it!

Thank you for allowing me to share this,  Molly!

~Lisa

Mount Rushmore

Jun30

images-1Geography Lesson for Today!

My husband I recently visited family who live close to Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota. I thought since some of you may not get to visit this beautiful part of our amazing country that I would share a little about it.

  • On average, Mount Rushmore hosts nearly three million visitors a year.
  • It took 14 years and 400 men to carve the mountain. Despite harsh and dangerous conditions, no one died during the project.
  • Mount Rushmore cost nearly one million dollars and was mostly carved during the Great Depression.
  • Over 90% of Mount Rushmore was carved using dynamite. The blasts removed approximately 450,000 tons of rock. Details were finished with jackhammers and hand chisels.
  • The faces of Mount Rushmore are 60 feet high. That’s the same size as a six-story building. (Can your children name all of the men whose faces are on the mountainside?)
  • The eyes of each president are 11 feet wide, and their mouths are approximately 18 feet wide.
  • Thomas Jefferson’s face on Mount Rushmore was originally started on the opposite side of George Washington, but 18 months into the carving, they realized the granite was too weak. His face was dynamited off and carved on the other side.
  • To turn the dream of Mount Rushmore into reality, sculptor Gutzon Borglum and U.S. Senator Peter Norbeck had to get creative to secure federal funding. They invited President Calvin Coolidge to come to Custer State Park for a vacation so they could convince him to fund the carving of Mount Rushmore. To keep the president in the state, workers stocked the stream outside his room every night with thousands of trout. The president found the fishing so good, he decided to extend his stay for two months— just long enough to convince him to fund the carving of Mount Rushmore.
  • The men who carved Mount Rushmore were mostly miners who had come to the Black Hills in search of gold—they knew little about carving a mountain, let alone creating a giant work of art.  While the money was considered good at $8 a day, the project often ran out of money, causing the men to be furloughed or laid off.  But to their credit, when the mountain would start up again, the men would quit their jobs and come back to work on Mount Rushmore.

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Source: http://www.visitrapidcity.com

Personal Fitness

Jun22

Screen Shot 2015-06-21 at 6.41.48 AMPersonal fitness is hard to fit in when you are homeschooling and taking care of your family. But, in order for you to continue to love and help them, you need to take care of you too.  Since I can’t afford a personal trainer or coach, I decided to look for some free phone apps that can help me. I want to be able to hang out with me kids and keep up with them.

Some things to remember before you get started:

  • Schedule a time to exercise.  The day flies by, doesn’t it? If you plan a time, then you will do it. What is the best time to do it? That is up to you! 🙂
  • Start out small. You are more likely to get fit and sticking with a plan if you start out by being successful. Do something for 15 minutes (walk, jog, bike ride, swim, etc.)
  • Have a partner. I walked a half marathon a couple of years ago, but without my friend doing it with me, I would have quit. She pushed me when I didn’t want to do it, and vice versa for her.
  • Don’t quit! I know things happen and you can’t always exercise, but don’t let that stop you. Start with exercising two days a week and then increase the number of days gradually.
  • Find a motivator. I need something to keep me going, otherwise I will stop. Here are two apps that have helped me when I wanted to just stay home and eat a bag of chips.

Do you want to lose weight? I have found an app called My Fitness Pal. You can record all of your calories, water intake, and exercise in this one nifty app. Not sure how many calories your favorite recipe has in it? No problem! You can enter the recipe and it will calculate that for you. It even has graphs to indicate the percentage you have eaten in various categories, for example: protein; carbohydrates, and fats. Another feature it has is that it will sync with a FitBit, Garmin, other apps as well.

Speaking of other apps, My My Fitness is an app that I use daily. Here is the description of this app. Of course, this is talking about the purchased version, which is only a few dollars, but the free version has been fine with me (for now).  “MapMyFitness uses built in GPS technology to provide runners, cyclists and walkers the ability to map, record and track their workouts. In addition, users have access to a searchable database of local routes, online training tools, event listings and more. Users can also Import workouts from over 400 compatible devices, including Jawbone, Garmin, Polar and Fitbit. Get credit for all the calories you burn by linking your MyFitnessPal account with MapMyFitness. Once connected, you’ll be able to view your workout stats, calorie burn and nutrition data within the same dashboard.”

End of Year Evaluative Options

Jun15

Bubble Sheet Test

Congratulations on completing a year of homeschooling! You have finished school, now what has to be done in order to be ready for your summer break?

Many states require some type of evaluation at the end of the year, whether this is testing using a nationally normed test, or having a certified teacher, such as myself, review academic samples of schoolwork. If you are in need of this service, please send me a message and I will happily contact you.

If you are wanting to have your student take a nationally normed test there are several companies that offer  testing services.

Seton Testing Services offers a variety of nationally normed tests.  The first one Listed here is the California Achievement Test (CAT). You do not need to have a college degree in order to administer this test and it is $29.00. It evaluates the following subjects:

  • Vocabulary
  • Comprehension
  • Language Mechanics
  • Language Expression
  • Math Computation
  • Math Concept and Applications

The Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) requires a B.S. or a B.A. and a one-time administrator form to be filled out. Cost varies from $29.00-$39.00. It evaluates the following:

Language Skills
  • Vocabulary
  • Reading
  • Language
  • Word Analysis (Grades K-3 only)
  • Listening (Grades K-3 only)
  • Spelling
Mathematics
  • Math Concepts
  • Math Computation
  • Math Problem Solving
Science, Social Studies, and Study Skills
  • Social Studies
  • Science Materials
  • Sources of Information

The Stanford 10  Online is available for grades 3-12  and no degree is necessary. The price is $35.00 for each student. It evaluates the following:

  • Word Study Skills (grades 3, 4, and Fall of grade 5 only)
  • Reading Skills/Comprehension
  • Vocabulary
  • Mathematics
  • Language
  • Spelling
  • Social Studies
  • Science

The Stanford Achievement Test is available for grades K-12  and a B.S. or a B.A. degree is required; a video must be watched,  and a test administrator form must be completed. The price ranges from $29.00-$39.00 for each student. It evaluates the same subject areas as listed for the Stanford 10  Online test.

Summer Activities for All

Jun8

Yay! Summer is here and it’s time to explore! This week I will feature local parks, but even if you don’t live in Cincinnati, you can still find a park near your home. Better still, come for a visit to our town!

  • Go on a nature walk/hike. Take along a notebook and find a spot to stop and draw something is of interest. It can be a plant or an animal such as a bird. Pack some identification books to help you with unknown plants and animals.
  • Play on a new playground. Tired of the same ol’ playground in your area? How about finding a different one to take the children to play? It will seem like a mini vacation, but you’ll be home in time for dinner. 🙂
  • Exercise! Pull the plug on the video games and electronics and go for a bike ride or a long walk. Both of the Hamilton County Parks I have listed below also have horse trails if you feel adventurous.

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Local Parks

The Cincinnati Parks Foundation has three amazing parks along the Ohio River that are family friendly and give your children the chance to run and play. Not only is there a playground along the walkway, but there are a few large water fountains that your children can play in, and a carousel you can pay to ride. The Waterfront Parks system consist of three major Cincinnati Parks: Theodore M. Berry International Park,  Sawyer Point & Yeatman’s Cove and the  Smale Riverfront Park that is by the Great American Ballpark so you can go and catch a Reds game after you are finished playing.

Hamilton County Parks has done a fantastic job of providing green space in the greater Cincinnati area.  There is a motor vehicle fee to get into the park and you may either purchase a day pass for $3.00 or an annual pass of $10.00 that will give you access to all of the county parks and includes discount coupons to use throughout the park system.

Parky’s Farm has a fully functional farm with horses, goats, chickens,sheep, and bees. There is a garden for children to see and trails to meander along. The barn and outdoor pens allow children to see the animals up close.  If you take some extra money with you, your children can take a horse ride or play in the indoor playground.  Parky’s Farm is a part of Winton Woods that has an outdoor spray park and playground. Bring along a fishing pole to cast your line from either shore or a rental boat. There is also a pontoon boat to take a cruise along the lake. If you’d like to spend the night, there is also a camp site or small cabins to rent.

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Miami Whitewater Forest is  beautiful and is the largest park in county. While it does have an amazing lake with fishing and boating, and a beautiful golf and frisbee golf course, it has something that no other county park has that is quite so nice.  It has a 7.8 mile hike/ bike path that meanders through the countryside (where I grew up) and has spurs off it as well so you can extend your biking experience if you like. If your children are not able to go on the long bike trail, there is a shorter inner trail that is 1.4 miles long.

My friends have a bike shop called West Trail Bikes and it is a quick jaunt off the bike path to their place on New Haven Road. You can rent or purchase a bike if you would like something different than the rentals that are offered at the park. There is a quaint country shop adjoining their shop and a little grocery store (that I worked at when I was in college) where you can get an ice cold drink and a snack. You can hop back on the bike trail at several points from the town of New Haven.

If you have never been to Miami Whitewater Park, make a day of it. Pack a picnic lunch, your swimsuits for the spray/ water park,  and a pair of binoculars for wildlife watching while you are hiking the many wooded trails. I don’t think you will be disappointed!

Metro Parks of Butler County has 10 great parks, but the newest park called Voice of America MetroPark is the one with which I am most familiar. There is a nice playground that is next to the air conditioned Wheelhouse, which has bathroom facilities and a vending machine to get snacks and drinks.

There is a nice sized lake and a walking/biking path along it. Fishing is allowed in certain areas and there are benches along the way to stop and rest or just enjoy the nature you will see. During the winter there is also a sledding hill, so be sure and visit then too!