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Cafe Co-op

May19

classroom-pupil-image-1-150x150Here is information for a co-op in the Mt. Healthy/Springfield Township area. They would love to have high school students be a part, so if you have an older student consider joining them this fall. They have a great schedule lined up for the fall and registration is going on right now.

CAFE Christian Co-op
Just like a cafe is a place to relax, fellowship and enjoy the company of friends, CAFE Christian Co-op is a place for homeschool families to find help, support and encouragement. CAFE stands for a Community of Academics, Fine arts and Encouragement.
We are a medium-sized group of families meeting in the Mt. Healthy area. The co-op has both paid tutors and mom-taught classes, ranging from biology to ballet, art to American history, flute ensemble to First Lego League teams. Our Fine Arts Recital at the end of the year showcases the more performance-oriented classes and we finish the evening with a reception and art gallery. Classes are “a la carte”– some families stay all day and some just come for a class or two. Teachers set their own prices, and are paid directly, although there is a family fee to offset administrative costs. We do ask that families join with us and help in some capacity–teaching, being a classroom helper, taking charge of a cleaning job.
 
This year we have expanded to include full high school level classes, as well as additional junior high classes. We are excited to be able to offer a program to help families find the upper level classes that they need, and we are thrilled with the level of knowledge, passion and experience that God has provided in our upper level tutors. We look forward to watching our upper form students grow and blossom! 
 
Please check out our website for the specific list of classes, policies and schedule (http://www.cafecoop.weebly.com/) and feel free to contact me with any additional questions. Several of our elementary classes are nearing capacity, but we do not have a waiting list. 
Join us at the CAFE!

Teacher Resources: Electronic Lessons and More!

Apr21

womanEDSITEment! 

edsitement.neh.gov—This site is so much fun to visit! A project of the National Endowment for the Humanities,  also funded in part by Verizon’s Thinkfinity, I recommend this resource for developing a social studies curriculum. The topics seem virtually limitless, and each lesson plan includes guiding questions, learning objectives, instructions for how to prepare to teach the topic, assessments of student progress, and even tips on how to expand the lesson with additional reading or activities. Everything you need is contained in one clear, concise package of information. This is a tremendous resource, whether for school or simply for personal enrichment.

 Discovery Education 

www.discoveryeducation.com—With the same quality and commitment to respecting the wonder of nature as other Discovery mediums, Discovery Education has to be experienced to be believed. Their website explains their offerings as “award-winning digital content, interactive lessons, real-time assessment, virtual experiences with some of Discovery’s greatest talent, classroom contests & challenges, professional development and more.” And indeed it is so much more! There is an opportunity to subscribe to unlock additional resources, but with such an incredible amount of information available for free, I don’t feel like I’ve missed a thing by not being a subscriber.

Find access on the go to all of Discovery’s fantastic resources at www.discovery.com/mobile. Apps, games, mobile video, mobile web, and more can be accessed at this page.

 FREE 

free.ed.gov—Not only is it the name of the website, but it’s also the price tag on more than 1,500 learning resources from dozens of federal agencies all brought together in one easy to navigate website. FREE is actually the acronym for Federal Resources for Educational Excellence. The homepage is far less flashy than the other websites featured here, but don’t let its simplicity fool you. It is a straightforward portal into a vast array of information broken down by subject. It gives you a brief synopsis of the resource itself before you click through to the next website. This feature is particularly beneficial if you are exploring or brainstorming lesson plan topics.

 

 The Old Schoolhouse® Magazinetechnology resources 

www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com—If you are reading this article, chances are you are already a fan of The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine and its auxiliary products. Their former online resource, Teacher’s Toolbox, has recently undergone a transformation. It has blossomed intowww.SchoolhouseTeachers.com, one of the most comprehensive web-based resources for homeschoolers available. As part of your subscription to the now completely digital monthly magazine (an extremely valuable resource in itself), you also will have access to the website and all its content, including printables, website links, devotions, a free E-Book each month, access to back issues of the magazine, webquests, units of study, and more. The site even has recipes! Plan dinner while delivering a quality education to your children, or incorporate cooking into your lesson plans and address math, science, international culture, and more (yes, there are suggestions for this too!).

The Old Schoolhouse® also has an app for Android, Apple, and Kindle Fire devices so that you can access the support and encouragement of their publication from anywhere.

These resources put a world of information right at your fingertips. There is no reason to feel overwhelmed or alone in the homeschooling experience. The numbers are growing quickly, as are the resources to support you and your children in your quest for a world-class education delivered on your terms. I encourage you to explore, enjoy, and utilize these tools. I am confident that they will enrich your homeschooling experience and demonstrate the role that technology can play in the quality education of our students.

 

Teacher Resources: Phone and Tablet Apps

Apr14

UnknownWhere do you begin to look for good apps among the plethora of apps that are available? I have found a few sights that have apps from preschool all the way to high school. Best Apps for Kids has a review for each app and offers educational apps as well as ones to entertain. Family Education also has a list of educational apps, many that are free. Best Apps for Kids even have a Free App Friday! Speaking of free apps, here are a few to check out:

  • Kids ABC Letters Lite Preschoolers will enjoy this jigsaw puzzle approach to letters. The light version only has letters A to H, but you can download the complete version if you like it.
  • Play 123 This won a 2013 Editor’s Choice Award from Children’s Technology Review and teaches preschoolers their colors, numbers, and shapes.
  • Fun Brain Jr. Looks like so much fun as it teaches number sense, alphabetical order, and pattern sets.
  • Stack the States This app teaches and reinforces the location of the United States with a fun colorful game.
  • Word Ball The Electric Company from PBS has a game that teaches spelling for children ages 6 to 8.
  • Brain POP Movie This extremely popular app has a new educational movie to watch each day. Kids view a short documentary and there is a quiz afterwards and each movie can be archived to watch later.  It received a 5 star rating from Common Sense Media.

Enjoy your day and I hope you find an app that will benefit your student’s education. If you have found some apps that you like, please share. 🙂

 

 

 

Lapbooks

Apr6

Italy lapbook coverI like looking for new resources that enhance my teaching. There are a few websites that I have as a “go to” when looking for ideas, so over the next few weeks I will share with you some of my finds. Today I am featuring lapbooks.

Unit Studies/Lapbooking

Home School Share is one of my favorites because the authors of these lapbooks have background information, ideas, and activities to accompany each of the lapbooks. There are several levels, beginning with preschool all the way through independent learners. There is a book that goes along with the lapbook, but if I can’t find the book at the library I have either substituted the book or not used one at all. Lapbooks are versatile and multi-grade leveled, which is perfect when teaching children of various ages and academic levels. I have used them with young students who cannot read yet all the way up to junior high students. If you are teaching several students, you can adjust the level at which you have them write the information and cut out the mini books. You will probably want to cut them out for your younger students and be their scribe. This lapbook was made by a 7th grader so you can judge accordingly to what you think your student is capable of completing. If it looks like too much, then use fewer mini books.

Italy lapbook inside

The above picture is the inside of the lapbook about Italy. Each of these pieces of paper has information the student has written inside of the mini book. This teaches summarizing and research, plus it’s a great way to have students write a report without all the fuss from them on the length of the paper. 🙂

Italy lapbook back

This is the back cover that has vocabulary words the students had to find. The following website is helpful to translate; give the definition of the word if you need it ; and the audio pronunciation of the word. Click here

Another nice aspect of this particular website is that it is FREE! The only cost will be ink and paper you need to print the sheets and a file folder that acts as your lapbook. You can download as many or as few of the templates as you like. I have written about lapbooks before and have other websites to explore. Check out these too:

The Early Bird Catches a Co-op

Mar24

bird_wormI was reviewing some information I had posted in July about homeschool co-ops and thought I’d send a note about when to inquire about them. NOW is the best time to do that as many co-ops are registering families before the school year ends. I have listed some reasons for and against participating in a co-op since it is important to consider what you are committing your family to participate in for the year.

3 Reasons to Join a Co-op:

  • Co-ops can enrich your academic program. Many co-ops have science labs, art, music, and physical education programs available to students. You may not have the equipment at your home or it can be difficult to do these activities by yourselves.
  • Co-ops provide social interaction opportunities for your child(ren) and you. It is not only important for your child to meet other children, but it is just as important for you to meet with other fellow homeschoolers. You just might meet your best friend at a co-op. 🙂
  • Co-ops support and encourage you. There were quite a few times that I needed some suggestions or a person to discuss matters with in regards to homeschooling. It’s nice to have other women who are on the same journey as you.

3 Reasons to Not Join a Co-op:

  • It is time consuming. You will be away from home for at least half of your school day. Look at your  school calendar and see how you will complete your academic subjects if you join a co-op. You will need to make accommodations to accomplish this, whether it is for your children to do schoolwork before you leave for co-op, or do it when you return home, or do it over the weekend. My boys were early risers so we did a math lesson beforehand.
  • It is a commitment. Once you make the decision to be involved in a co-op you are agreeing to be there for the entire duration of that session. Some co-ops have semester-long classes and some have year-long classes, so be sure and see what that entails before signing up for classes.
  • You will be required to help. A co-op is different than a drop-off program in that you will need to volunteer to help in some way. You may need to teach a class or be a classroom aide, so be sure to check and see what is expected of you.

If you are interested in finding out about co-ops here in the greater Cincinnati area, click HERE for a list of local co-ops. I hope you find a group that works for your family.

If, by chance, you don’t get into a co-op you could organize a small group of your own, but that’s a topic for another day…

~Lisa