Archive by Author | Lisa McAfee

Stop, Drop, Roll!

imagesFire Prevention, First Aid, and Safety are areas that we are to cover in the course of our academic year while homeschooling. There are not many textbooks related specifically to this topic, so you have to “think outside the box.” Safety doesn’t have to be taught from a book, but can be topics that you need to discuss with your student. Ones that come to mind are: kitchen, food, fire,water, bike, internet, stranger, personal, and pedestrian safety. I have some resources that will help you. The only book that I am familiar with is ABeka, but according to reviews, these books look like good resources to use. If you have used a resource that you have found helpful please share! 🙂

 Books (textbooks and other books)

Health, Safety and Manners, Abeka This is a series that addresses various topics and there are books for grades 1,2, and 3.

Let’s Be Safe, P.K. Hallinan Various topics are discussed including tying shoes, safely crossing the street, and stranger safety.

Busy Places, Caroline Hardy This preschool book is colorful with rhyming text that teaches children safety by highlighting something in the picture.

Watch Out! Around Town, Claire Llewellyn Grades Preschool- 2  “Advice in this book focuses on staying in parents’ sight and avoiding getting lost when in large, busy places like stores and theaters. Kids are also instructed to observe safety rules in playgrounds, and to take extra care when encountering adults they don’t know. Clearly written in brief passages that are easy for younger children to absorb and understand, the Watch Out!series of color-illustrated books give kids safety advice that applies inside and outside the home, while they are traveling in a car, and when they are enjoying nature and having outdoor fun.” (Barnes and Noble synopsis) Another book in this series is At Home A book about safety inside and outside the home.

No Dragons for Tea: Fire Safety for Kids, Jean Pendziwol A charming book that teaches children about fire safety with catchy phrases and a friendly dragon. Other books by this author include: A Treasure at Sea for Dragon and Me (water safety); The Tale of Sir Dragon (bullying issues)

Internet Resources

Study Ladder has mini books that can be read online and also offers free worksheets and activities. Grades: Preschool- 4.

Food Safety Here is a list of online games your student can play that pertain to cooking and storing food and cooking temperatures. Grades 1-6.

Firework Safety These are safety rules and games for  keeping safe from fireworks.

Internet Safety PBS has an online game that is interactive and geared toward 8-12 year olds, although I enjoyed playing too! 🙂

Clarifying the Notification Process

I wanted to address some confusion I have noticed with items 6 and 7 on the required annual Notification Form. They are two separate areas so I want to discuss this. Item 6 states you are to include “a brief outline of intended curriculum” while item 7 states you are to include “a list of textbooks and other basic teaching materials” along with a few other items. A brief outline (item 6) means that you are to list topics you intend to cover for the year in each subject area whereas item 7 requires to list the actual materials you plan on using for instruction. Here is a sample of what you can send to the superintendent. I also have more examples that you can use as a reference listed in a previous post. (Filling out the notification form)

Amazing Adam Atoms 20___- 20___ Academic Year

Subject

Language Arts

Curriculum Topics (Item 6)

Reading fluency and comprehension

Oral reading Spelling Workout

Writing short stories

Parts of speech, grammar

Textbooks, other curricula (Item 7)

Easy Grammar- Wanda Phillips

Grammar Usage Mechanics-Spelling Modern Curriculum Press

Various library books and curricula- Amelia Bedelia, Henry and Mudge

Subject

Social Studies

Curriculum Topics

Holidays and festivals

Patriotic celebrations

Communities in other lands:

past and present

Textbooks, other curricula

Early American History-Rea Berg

Various library books and curricula-American History

If You Lived During Viking Times

Subject

Mathematics

Curriculum Topics

Addition facts

Subtraction facts

Fractions

Geometry

Textbooks, other curricula

Mathematics, Bob Jones University Press

Subject

Science

Curriculum Topics

Weather

Solar System

Plants

Textbook, other curricula

Primarily Plants, AIMS Activities

Space Exploration Fun Kit, Dover Publications

NASA website

Subject

Health

Curriculum Topics

Nutrition

Prevention of communicable diseases

Textbooks, other curricula

Various library books-

Dinosaurs Alive and Well! Laurie Kransky Brown

My Body, Patricia Carratello

Subject

Physical Education

Curriculum Topics

Physical fitness

Outdoor activities

Exercise

Textbook, other curricula

Health, Safety, Manners- ABeka Books

Gym and Swim program YMCA

Upwards Basketball

Subject

Fine Arts

Curriculum Topics

Studying various musicians and artists

Textbooks, other curricula

Various library books and CD’s-

Beethoven Lives Upstairs

Come Look with Me,Lucy Micklethwaite

Cincinnati Art Museum

Subject

First Aid, Safety, Fire Prevention

Curriculum Topics

Basic first aid

Fire safety

Bicycle safety

Textbooks, other curricula

Various library books- Dinosaurs Beware, Laurie Kransky Brown

Cub Scouts

Fire safety program

I hope this helps you with the notification process. Please note this does not constitute any legal advice as I am not a lawyer, nor do I play the role of one on TV. 🙂

Drawing Class

blog art titleStick figures are the best I can do when it comes to art, so I depended upon others to teach my sons how to draw. I have a friend, Myra Roller,  who is a fantastic artist and worked for Gibson Greeting Cards here in Cincinnati. I see that one of her classes has openings this fall. To see examples of the work that her students have produced , go to her website:  http://therollingartroom.blogspot.com/search/label/Beginning%20Drawing.

Kingdom Builders Co-op is offering Drawing Plus with Myra Roller this fall in Sharonville.  The class will meet 1:05-2:00 for 14 weeks starting Wednesday, September 4.  Drop-off students must be 12 years old by December 31, 2013. If you are interested, please contact kingdombuildersreg@gmail.com

Drawing Plus

Grade level: 7-12

Teacher: Myra Roller

Description of course: This class is for the serious student or for those who love or want to learn drawing skills.  Students will work on 2-dimensional art.  First-year students will work in pencil drawing basic objects in still life.  As they progress, they can add their choice of media (colored pencil, pen-and-ink, charcoal, or oil pastels).  Painting skills are not covered in this class.

Time required outside of class for homework: only to finish projects not finished in class.

Length of course: 1 year

Are new students accepted second semester?: yes

Fee/semester: $95 (Drop-off families also pay Kingdom Builders a $50 annual family registration fee.)

Maximum class size: 10

Minimum class size: 5

For general information on Kingdom Builders Co-op, please see our website: http://kingdombuilderscoop.weebly.com/.

Playdough Mats

This week there is a set of FREE playdough mats that introduce and review colors with simple directions. What a fun way to work on colors! Check out Curr Click’s website.

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Kitchen Organization

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After living here for 17 years and having cabinets and a floor that needed attention, we decided to remodel our kitchen. We have easily looked at 1000 pictures of various kitchens and kitchen products gathering ideas for our home. To say that I am overstimulated with kitchen ideas is an understatement.

One of the areas that has frustrated me over the years is where to put all of the spices I use. I have kept them in various places and have been aggravated with not being able to find the ingredient when I need it. My father-in-law found a solution for us online at a place called Vertical Spice. The kit that we bought has various sliding drawer sizes and it works beautifully! No more grousing and complaining about not being able to find a spice! The price is a little more than a hanging spice rack that can be installed on your pantry door, but I like this so much better! It takes the stress out of looking for an ingredient and saves time too! Who can’t use that when you have a busy household to run? I have included pictures for you to see in case you are looking for a solution for your spices too. Vertical Spice

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The above pictures are the spice racks that can fit medium-sized spice jars on them or you can stack 2 of the small spices on top of each other if you have the small-sized containers.

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This sliding rack can hold medium to taller bottles. You can get quite a few spices on the shelves, which is a feature that sold me on it.

photo-5This last picture above shows the widest shelf that can hold bigger items such as cooking oil, cooking spray, and wider containers such as salt. As you can see, I still have room on the side so it could hold something wider that what I have on the shelf.  The shelves are clear and have notches for you to put elastic bands (provided) around them to enclose the containers. If you are looking for a space-saving, easy-to-organize space rack, this might work for you. Happy organizing!

~Lisa