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Journal Writing

Jul1

expressyourself0741“Awww, Mom! Do I have to? I can’t think of anything to write!” might be a comment that you hear when you mention writing. I have just the thing that will help you with helping your student to write. How about bedtime journaling? My sons would try to stall bedtime as long as possible so I decided to use this to my advantage.

Several nights a week I would put a small journal on their pillow with a question they had to answer. It couldn’t be one or two words or sentences, but had to be 3 or more sentences. (See, paragraph writing is taking place! Tricky, huh?) After the entry was finished it was to be placed on my pillow so I could respond to them. This created great dialog between us and provided bonding opportunities too. Sometimes we had issues that came up during the day so I would make that one of the journal entry prompts. They could express their emotions without having to talk about it. I didn’t do this often as I believe talking about things is best, but this is a great way to get things out in the open too.

I encouraged my sons to ask me questions too. I wanted my boys to see they weren’t alone in this and writing can be fun.   They could write a question after they finished answering my question.

Journal writing is quite simple and will cost you very little. If you are concerned about bedtime stretching too long, cut the time off if need be. What a great dilemma to find yourself  in, don’t you agree? 🙂

So, ready to give it a try? Stick with it and you will see results. Let’s get started!  First, buy a spiral bound set of index cards or a blank journal. Next, add a fancy pen or marker to it. Then, explain to your child what you are going to do.  Lastly, begin! Leave the journal on their pillow and look for the journal in your room the next day. Set the guideline/expectation that the journal is to be put in your room (on your pillow if you like!) completed the next morning so you can read it and respond or write the next question in the journal for them. Don’t write questions out ahead of time in the journal so you can keep an element of “mystery”.

Do you need help coming up with topics? Here are some to get you started. Always have them answer why or explain, otherwise you will not get them to write more than one sentence! 

Topics

What is your favorite___________________  (animal, scripture verse, food, toy. etc.)

What was the favorite part of your day?

If you could do anything at all, what would it be?

What is one thing that makes you happy? Sad?

You might need to give an example of what you are looking for so you could start an entry question like this:

My favorite color is red. Can you tell? I have a red kitchen, a red clock, a red iPad cover, and the best reason of all, I have a redheaded son, y-o-u! Red makes me feel happy on days when I am grumpy and gives me energy on days when it is cloudy. What color do you like the most? Write at least 3 reasons.

Name three jobs you might want to do when you are an adult.

Can you tell me one place you would like to visit and why.

Today we studied _____________________. Tell me what you thought was interesting about it.

When we watched the movie, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, did you think the creature the crew battled in the mist was scary? What do you think they should have battled? Of course you can do that with any movie and make a spcific question that pertains to the movie.

Write a different ending to the book we just finished.

Tell me one thing you would wish for if you could.

What is your favorite toy?

What do you like about _________? (sibling, friend, friend, grandparent, etc.)

How can we help ___________? (someone who is having a difficult time)

What super hero would you like to be?

Today you and your brother were fighting over ____________________. Can you tell me why and how can we handle it differently?

Write one commandment each evening and have your student tell what it means in their own words. The next night you can have them draw a picture that illustrates it. Continue until you finish all 10. You can do that with any Bible story of your choosing.

For older students you can go into deeper topics of discussion and it doesn’t have to be left on their pillow. 🙂 I have listed some general ideas here, but if you would like more help let me know and I can write out specific topics.

*Discuss characters from books

*Discuss themes of books

* Talk about current events

* Possible plans for high school, college

* Hobbies, interests

If you have questions to add, please do as that always helps others.

Happy Writing!

~Lisa

Summer Activities

Jun24

I had a list last summer of free activities and was going to write another post this year, but I found a great list from Freebie FindingMom. With this list you will have plenty to keep your family busy. Because I have followers who do not live in Greater Cincinnati or you may go on vacation somewhere, I have chosen to keep the non-local activities in this post. Those activities that are not local I have marked with an asterisk. Have a great time!

~Lisa

The Best Free or Nearly Free Summer Activities

Free Summer Activities For Kids

Movies make great free summer activities for kids! Let’s all go to the movies…

Movies are great low-cost or sometimes even free summer activities for kids. Here are some options for movie viewing for you and the family.

Regal’s Summer Movie Express: This summer movie program is on Tuesdays & Wednesdays at 10 a.m. and runs for nine weeks. Admission is $1, and a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Will Rogers Institute. Head over here for a list of participating locations and start dates.

Cinemark Summer Movie Clubhouse: 10 movies for only $5. That comes out to just $0.50 per movie! In addition, you can purchase tickets the day of for just $1. The Rave Theater is now a part of Cinemark.

* Cinemaworld’s Summer KidFest 2013: FREE films, seven days a week, all summer long. Every day at 10 a.m., Cinemaworld features a family friendly G or PG rated film for your kids to enjoy, with new movies premiering on Fridays. FREE Admission for children and adult admission is just $2 or FREE with the donation of a non-perishable pet-food item to benefit the Brevard County Humane Society.

* Classic Cinemas: Check out the Wednesday Morning Movie Series – June 12th through August 7th, you can see G and PG rated films for just $1.

picture of movie screen as free summer activities for kids

 

* Marquee Cinemas: Enjoy a FREE family film each week during the summer. Go here for locations and movie details.

* Muvico Free Summer Film Fest:  At 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday catch a FREE family movie. This deal runs June 11th through August 15th.

Get active!

Sunny days are perfect for helping kids burn off energy and stay healthy! Best of all, being active doesn’t cost anything, making active adventures great free summer activities for kids!

AMF: Free bowling for kids 15 and under. Kids registered in the Summer Unplugged program can bowl two games per day, every day (until 8pm).

Kids Bowl Free: Each kid will score 2 FREE games of bowling per day. Head over here and click your state on the map to find a participating location near you. Please note: Taxes and shoe rental fees apply and vary by location.

picture of kid bowling as free summer activities for kids

Kids Skate Free: Kids 12 and under can skate for FREE this summer at participating Kids Skate FREE Rinks. Go here to find a location near you and sign your kids up to snag their FREE skating passes. Hours and additional fees (including skate rental fees) vary based on location.

Be a book worm.

Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Program: Have your kids (grades 1st-6th) read 8 books and record them in the Reading Journal found here. Then bring the completed journal to any Barnes & Noble bookstore, and your child can choose a FREE book from their selection on the Reading Journal list. Another FREE fun summer reading option is the Barnes & Noble FREE online storytime.

Scholastic Summer Challenge: Log your reading minutes and you’ll snag some super summer prizes.

Sylvan Learning Book Adventure: Kids in grades K-8 can search for books and read them offline. Then come back to quiz themselves on what they read and earn cool prizes.

picture of kids reading as free summer activities for kids

Half Price Books Feed Your Brain Summer Reading Program: Kids 14 and under need to read (or have a grown up read to them) for at least 15 minutes each day in the months June and July. After they have read for 300 minutes, they’ll score $5 in Half Price Books Back-to-School Bucks.

* TD Bank Summer Reading Program: Kids 18 and under can snag a FREE $10 by reading 10 books this summer. After they have read 10 books and recorded the names in the Summer Reading Form found here, take the form to the nearest TD Bank to have $10 deposited into a new or existing Young Saver account.

Pottery Barn  Kids Summer Reading Challenge: This summer reading program runs from May 16-August 26. After the kids read all the books on the Summer Reading list, they will score a FREE prize. Plus every Tuesday from 11 a.m.-11:30 a.m. there is a Pottery Barn Kids Story Time where members receive an official Book Club Passport at their first story time, plus a special FREE gift after attending five story times.

There are tons of FREE eBooks for kids on Amazon. Head over here to check them out.

A job well done….

Chores and summer educational activities may not be the most fun free summer activities for kids, but here is a way to reward them!

Chuck E. Cheese Rewards Calendars: Reward your kids for great behavior, daily chores, reading and more with the Chuck E. Cheese Rewards Calendars. Go here to download and print the calendar of your choice and once your child has completed all the tasks on the calendar bring it to Chuck E. Cheese to be rewarded with 10 FREE tokens.

Shop till you drop!

Need to beat the summer heat? Here are some indoor shopping options for those not so great outdoor days.

IKEA: If you have the urge to go shopping, bring the kids to Ikea where your kids can test all the toys in the children’s department or have fun in the FREE supervised playroom while you shop. Free toys and free playrooms make trips to Ikea fun and free summer activities for kids, while allowing you to shop to your heart’s content. (Ask at the store about specific requirements.)

Have some DIY and high-tech fun.

Tech fun doesn’t have to be costly. With these techy low-cost or free summer activities for kids, your kids can keep entertained and learn at the same time.

Home Depot: Home Depot offers FREE workshops for do-it-yourselfers of all ages and experience levels. Head over here to review the schedule of upcoming workshops and choose a specific workshop to attend.

picture of kid painting as free summer activities for kids

Lowe’s: Bring the kids to a Lowe’s Build and Grow workshop. Go here for a list of the summer FREE clinic lineup.

Michael’s: Have your kids join the Michaels Kids Club and let them explore their creativity while you shop. Only $2 per child reserves 30 minutes for your creative kid. Sessions starting every half hour from 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Plus Michaels craft stores host FREE Family Craft Time sessions so the whole family can get their craft on.

Apple Camp and Apple Youth Workshops for Families: For your tech savvy kids, have them attend an Apple Camp at a participating Apple Store. At Apple Camp, kids ages 8–12 will learn the ins and outs of iMovie and how to make their own films. The FREE three-day session leads up to an Apple Camp Film Festival where campers debut their masterpieces. Apple also offers a FREE technology session for the entire family with their Youth Workshops for Families. Youth Workshops offer families with kids (ages 6 to 13) a chance to work together to hone their Mac and iPad skills and use iLife and iWork apps to complete exciting projects. You can learn how to compose a song, build a photo album, create a compelling presentation, and more.

Microsoft YouthSpark Summer Camps: Your kids can enjoy a FREE technology class with the Microsoft Store’s 2013 YouthSpark Summer Camps where technology meets creativity for ages 8–13. Head over here to sign your child up for one of four hands on camps now before spaces fill up (YouthSpark Summer Camps are first come, first serve).

* Lakeshore Learning Crafts: FREE Crafts for Kids every Saturday from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Go here to find a location near you.

* American Girl In-Store Events: Your kids can participate in FREE American Girl in-store events that include crafts, cooking classes and tours.

Pottery Barn Kids Store Events: FREE kids activities that include events such as National Geographic Little Explorers and Celebrate Dad for Father’s Day.

Bass Pro Shops Family Summer Camp: Bass Pro Shops host FREE activities and crafts for the family. These FREE camps are every Tuesday and Thursday starting at noon and Saturday and Sunday starting at noon. Your family can enjoy FREE crafts, FREE shooting gallery, FREE casting pond, FREE family workshops, FREE make campfire s’mores, FREE photo, and FREE merit badge workshops. Please note that not all activities are available at all Bass Pro Shops.

Whole Foods Kids Cooking Classes: Do you have a little iron chef in your family? If so, then check out the Whole Foods Kids Cooking Classes for kids 5-12 years old. Pre-registration is required for all FREE cooking classes, so head over here to see what classes are coming up.

Let’s go exploring!
Exploring parks, trails and other outdoor locations are great low-cost or free summer activities for kids. Here are some options for exploring I found.

FREE National Park Days: Take the kids and head outside to explore on FREE National Park Days. Go here to learn when you can snag FREE Admission and plan your next trip to one of our great National Parks.

Use Trail Link to Discover Local Trails: Won’t be able to get to a National Park for Free National Park Days? Then use Trail Link to find local trails where you can go hiking, biking, and more.

picture of a map for scavenger hunt as free summer activities for kids

Go Geocaching: If your kids love a good treasure hunt then go Geocaching. All you need is a GPS enabled device such as your smart phone and you can play a real-world treasure hunting outdoor game called Geocaching. Players try to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, using their smart phones and then share their experiences online.

Make a friend.

Write to a Pen Pal: If you Google “find a pen pal” you’ll find several sites where you can locate pen pals from all over the world to correspond with.

Give back to the community.

Kids can participate as volunteers in your local community. While volunteer activities are inspiring free summer activities for kids, the rewards are great.

Use VolunteerMatch.org to find volunteer opportunities for you and your kids.

Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation: If your kids want to have a lemonade stand, encourage them to donate the proceeds to charity such as Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation which helps children with cancer.

Explore the arts.

This summer, take your kids to community events, museums, or other local art exhibits. These low-cost or free summer activities can help kids stretch their creative minds while school is out for the summer.

Target Community Events: Target hosts a variety of events including a day of reading for parents and kids. In addition, they partner with arts organizations so you can snag FREE or nearly FREE entry to the arts in your community.

Bank Of America Museums On Us: If you are a Bank of America or Merrill Lynch credit or debit card holder you can score FREE admission to over 150 museums the first full weekend of every month.

Give your brain a workout

Printable mazes and coloring pages serve as free summer activities for kids to help them continue building their art and critical thinking skills.

Solve Printable Mazes 

Color Crayola Disney Coloring Pages including Disney Cars Maze Coloring Page, Disney Cars Race Coloring Page, Disney Cars Mosaic, Disney Princess Coloring Pages, Disney Toy Story Coloring Page, and the Disney Mickey Mouse Coloring Page.

Enjoy all the fun activities in the FREE REI Adventure Journal

Play games, read books and comics, and more all for FREE on FunBrain.com.

Visit the Nickelodeon website to play FREE online games, watch FREE online videos, get FREE kid craft ideas, kid recipes and more!

PBS Kids: FREE educational videos, games and activities.

Disney Video: Kids can watch their favorite Disney shows like Doc McStuffins, Good Luck Charlie, Shake It Up and more.

Kids National Geographic: Kids can watch videos, play games, and learn lots of cool stuff about animals and more.

Your kids can download FREE Android apps for kids on Amazon. Head over here to check them out. For iPhone and iPad users, be sure to head to the iTunes store to download lots of fun FREE apps as well.

Feeling hungry?

At lots of great restaurants kids can eat FREE, making trips to restaurants perfect free summer activities for kids. Keep checking FreebieFindingMom.com for the latest FREE food offers for kids. You can also head over to KidsMealsDeals for more places kids eat FREE.

Let’s dance!

Download FREE Music for children from Amazon. Head over here to check it out.

When all else fails…Pinterest!

Still need more ideas to keep the kids busy this summer? Then head over to Pinterest for a bounty of inspiration for free summer activities for kids to make your kids’ summer super fun and maintain your sanity.

Thanks, Care.com, The Centsible Life, Passion For Savings, The Frugal Girls for helping with these tips for free summer activities for kids.

Stop, Drop, Roll!

Jun10

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

Jun9

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. 🙂

Resources for Teaching Health

May27

Veg-heartAs families are coming for portfolio reviews this year,  I have been making recommendations for health topics that can be used as part of your school studies. I searched my library and the internet for books to read and online games to play. I thought you might need some ideas for topics to study as well. 🙂 I have included the call letters in case you are ordering them from a library. Stay healthy!

  • Healthy eating  by Susan R. Gregson j 613.2 G
  • Eating Right by Helen Frost e 613.2 F
  • Keep Clean: a look at hygiene by Katie Bagley  e 613 B
  • Clean and Healthy by Angela Royston e613 R
  • Staying Healthy by Angela Royston e 613.0432 R
  • Oh, the Things You Can do that are Good for You by Tish Rabe
  • Staying Healthy:  Food Hygiene by Alice McGinty e 613.4 M
  • Keeping Your Body Clean by Mary Elizabeth Sazmann e613.4 S
  • 10 Ways I can Live a Healthy Life by Sara Antill j 613 A
  • Professor Protein’s Fitness, Health, Hygiene and Relaxation Tonic by Steve Parker j 613 P

Here are some websites too:

  • Kids Health This has videos for each of the body’s systems. Look under the Kids Tab->How the Body Works
  • FEMA This gives you information on how to make an emergency kit and is always a good thing to have on hand in case your power goes off at your house.
  • Shepherd Software This has information and games to play.
  • PBS Kids Health topic games that look like fun. 🙂
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention BAM! Body and Mind has information and games about diseases, nutrition, safety, and physical activity.
  • Feeding Minds This has a whole year’s curriculum for students that are middle school through high school.
  • Nourish Interactive has activities and article for students and teachers alike. There are online games as well as printables for you to use with your health curriculum.
  • Food and Fun has 11 teaching units that encourage good nutrition and being active.
  • Brain Pop  This is a great website with videos and games, but you do have to subscribe to it if you’d like to have access to all of their resources.

Daily life offers practical and relevant ways to discuss health such as, “You need to eat your cooked spinach 😦 because it helps your muscles grow strong.” (remember Popeye? ) “Please cover your mouth when you sneeze,” is a natural sigue concerning disease prevention. Going to the doctor for wellness checkups or taking care of someone who is sick are also components of health studies. Discussing bullying and the treatment of that issue pertains to mental health, and relationships,etc. If you have a resource or an experience please share.