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Paperwork: Organizing that Big ol’ Pile

Jul30

Dale came in from work the other evening and remarked that the kitchen table wasn’t really for eating, but rather it was an, “educational resource center.”How true!! Our table is free of books and papers for about one month before I start getting involved once again in the planning of classes for the coming school year. Perhaps you are like me and have your kitchen as not only a place to eat, but also where you do most of your school with your children. I honestly thought once school was finished for the year my table would be clutter free. It hasn’t happened yet and I have to be honest with myself realizing it probably never will be, oh well.

So, how do you and I deal with the school papers, workbooks, art projects, etc. that are a part of school life? First of all, you will need to come up with a system that works for you. Some ideas that come to mind are:

  • A large portable mailbox with hanging file folders. You can place graded and dates papers in there according to subject. If you have several children, give each student different colored folders. For example:have blue for Junior and red for Missy.  The various subjects would be what is written on the Home Education Notification form: language arts; math; social studies; science; health/safety/first aid; and fine arts.
  • A large plastic bin. You can still use folders for each student.  If you have more than a few children this will work better, but follow the same idea as stated above.
  • Different colored binders for each subject area. I think a 1″ binder will work nicely if you do not have a large amount of paperwork for that particular subject. Purchase a larger binder for subjects with a larger amount of papers such as math.
  • A 3″ binder will work if you want to keep all paperwork together instead of keeping subjects separate. You can purchase tabs and label each subject. I have found the plastic page protectors to be beneficial to slide art projects, multi-page reports, ticket stubs from plays or symphony performances, timelines, etc.
  • Take pictures! If you have a child who loves crafts, art projects or Legos, the amount of creativity will overwhelm your household. 🙂 You can’t keep everything, but you can take pictures and have those for a lifetime. It cuts down on the amount of paperwork and clutter too.
  • Have one central area for all your supplies. Store construction paper, writing paper, computer paper, (you get the idea) that is accessible, yet out-of-the-way of your traffic pattern.  School and art supplies can be stored there as well.  I have a three drawer plastic cart that I use and that seems to work rather well, plus it was inexpensive. Perhaps you have a closet that can be repurposed for school. Maybe even a shelf in the pantry if you have school in your kitchen. Hmmm…. maybe I should have Dale build a low shelf in my pantry…

Teaching with Toddlers and Preschoolers: Ideas and Activities

Jul23

imagesTeaching at home with younger children who are not yet in school requires a little bit of  planning, creativity (whether yours or someone else’s), some scheduling, and a whole lot of  patience. But, the good news is that is can be done and you don’t have to come up with all of the ideas yourself.  Consider the following when planning a great year for your preschoolers.

Have “school only” activities. Toddlers and preschoolers like to be involved in what is going on and want to do school just like your older students. Select activities that can only be done in order to keep their attention and have them be in the mind frame of “school time”. Fill up a container (plastic bin, box, drawer, etc.,) with activities that can only be done when your other students are are in class.

Begin your school day exclusively with them. A little one-on-one time is well worth it because in my experience, the younger children will be interrupting and performing attention-getting tricks until you pay attention to them. At that point, this is not the best time to try and start a school activity because you are most likely having to take care of a mess or something of that matter. Get them started on an activity after cuddling, hugging, and kissing. 🙂

Make a big deal out of them being in school.  Your preschooler should be close by to where you are doing school with your older students. This could be at the table with all of your scholars, in the high chair or at a workstation . If you don’t place importance on them being included and train them that they are “in school” then it is difficult for them to see that school is nothing more than time that is not spent with them.

Ideas for Activities:

play doh

chenille rods or straws and a plastic colander or plastic lids with holes punched out to insert (or thread) through the holes

stickers and sticker books

color with water books

heavy-duty board books

magnetic letters to use on a cookie sheet or the refrigerator

foam or wooden puzzles

plastic food, old cereal boxes that the ends are taped  to play store

tennis ball (roll on floor to a fellow sibling)

pompoms to count, or sort by color (You can include plastic tweezers and a muffin tin for the pompoms. Color code by adding a colored sticker to the bottom of the tin.)

plastic bowls to nest

Do you have any suggestions? Please post so others can enjoy your ideas.

Free Online Class This Week

Jul10

My son and I took a class about murderous Roman emperors several years back with the Lukeion Project and loved it. Amy and Regan Barr, both archaeologists, are amazing teachers and make ancient history come alive with their classes and seminars.   This week they are offering a FREE online class called Truth is Stranger than Fiction.  It’s going to be great. Why don’t you join me? I just signed up!

Here is the description from their website about  the class. History abounds with tales of the bizarre and the unbelievable. Sadly, the summary “just-the-facts” view of history often skips the most memorable stories. If history has become dull and dry, it’s probably because you’re leaving out the best parts. This workshop brings out the fun in history by letting the audience vote on a series of “what happens next?” scenarios from ancient history. You’ll walk away understanding that, when it comes to history, the fun is in the details.

Feeling a Little Spacey? Resources for Space Science

Jul9

Put on your space suits and get ready for a tour of the galaxy! We are going to be looking at some great websites today. I have used every one of these sites (except for the water rocket) with my 8th grade Earth/Space class, but activities can be adapted for all aged children.

Answers in Genesis has a large video on demand collection that you can watch to introduce, develop, or review concepts on topics you are studying. This particular video discusses the flaws in the Big Bang Theory and is directed toward middle school age and older.

Are you ready for your tour of space? First things first, how does a space suit actually work? Here is a great site that explains how that bulky suit actually works. space suit

Budding scientists (and their teachers too) can explore how a rocket works by making your own low tech one with film canisters and Alka-Seltzer tablets. This was a favorite of my class. rockets

Need film canisters? Film canister launcher? Steve Spangler has all you need for the above-mentioned experiment and more. If you want to get your student(s) interested and excited about science check out his videos. Your child(ren) will be saying, “Can we do that experiment?” after each one you watch. stevespangler

Do you have a family member who would love to build a water rocket? This looks like a lot of fun. I never did build this for my class, but I am sure we would have thoroughly enjoyed it. click here

If you are not familiar with the website from NASA you will want to look at this amazing resource! There is a gallery of pictures for your studies that is perfect for every topic of space. You can see a new picture each day! Our universe is so incredible and NASA has been able to capture a fragment of it for us to enjoy. This picture is a solar flare of the sun that occurred on July 4, 2012. No wonder it’s so hot this year.  For you to see more spectacular images click here.

Planets, asteroids, stars, and our moon are a few topics this free astronomy network has to offer. Planets for Kids

Do you remember all the order of planets? Chances are that if you do, you had some type of mnemonic to help you recall. Here are several sayings to help your space explorer remember their order. click here

Poor Pluto! It’s no longer considered a planet but, you can read all about its discovery and why it is no longer classified as one. Read all about it.

When teaching students, I find it beneficial to provide additional resources and explanations if possible since many of these concepts are difficult to grasp. It’s one thing to “see” a solar eclipse, but another to actually understand what is occurring. Here is a website that explains what happens during an eclipse: click here. Lunar eclipses are explained on this site too.

Can you explain the phases of the moon to your student? How about using a styrofoam ball and a light? Here is a great hands-on activity that provides an “Ah-ha!” moment..  NOTE**  As mentioned previously, the activity calls for a styrofoam ball, but I found it to be beneficial to use one that is smooth and can reflect the light source you are using. This allows the student to have a more accurate representation of the moon’s surface. Ask your child before beginning the activity to tell you what causes the phases of the moon. Review what occurred after completing this activity. moon phases

Did you know each crater on the moon’s surface that we can see is named? Did you know that ancient people thought the craters looked like a rabbit? Of course you did! Crater Crazy is an article about the creation of the craters and how you can make your own. crazy Here’s another moon crater activity for further explanation or exploration. NASA

Did you know from our perspective on earth it looks like the planets move forwards and backwards? This is called retrograde motion and here is a website to explain what we “see”. motion

Do you want to add some history or have your student do a report? Here are some books that will help:

One Small Step: Celebrating the First Men on the Moon, Jerry Stone “This celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing is a collection of keepsakes and memories that bring that historic moment of pride an accomplishment to life for a new generation. A stunning lenticular cover animates man’s first steps on the moon; an embossed textured page inside reproduces footprints in lunar soil; stickers, replicas, mission patches, fold-out newspaper pages, collecting cards, removable novelties and more complete this spectacular commemorative book.” (amazon)

Look to the Stars, Buzz Aldrin “Written by one of the first astronauts to go to the moon, Mr. Aldrin recounts the history of space exploration as he discusses that man has always had a fascination with space and has looked to the stars.” (amazon)

One Giant Leap, Robert Burleigh “Commemorating the 40th anniversary of man’s first walk on the moon, this book for younger readers is a tribute that transports readers to the stars, where they will experience the moon landing just as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin did in 1969.” (publisher synopsis)

The sky’s the limit, so whatcha’ waiting for? Get out there and explore! Signing off from Jupiter (Court, that is). Have fun exploring our wonderful universe.   5-4-3-2-1… Lift-off!

Online Math Games

Jul2

Summer is a great time to review math facts so that your student doesn’t forget all of the knowledge that they worked so hard to gain throughout the year. How about using some fun online games to help?

Fun 4 the Brain This website has games that children review and learn addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

Math is Fun has tutorials on various math topics and practice for grades 1-6 and algebra too.

Math Play There are games on this website for grades 1-8!

Looking for math worksheets? Math-Aids creates worksheets and flashcards and you have several options from which to choose. There are so many topics to choose from that I think you will find something for each of your students since it is multi-age beginning at kindergarten and includes some geometry worksheets. click here

Math playground has games for a variety of math levels, including fractions, geometry, and algebra. check it out!

Looking for games that focus on fractions? How about math games?

Softschools has games and online practice for all mathematical operations.

Play Kids Games not only has games to play, but you can also have your student print out the results of the games. It’s a great way to track practice and improve skills.

Happy Playing!

~Lisa~