My husband read to my older daughter every night for almost 10 years. This was a sacred ritual they held dear – a time to spend together every day and an opportunity for my husband to introduce his favorite literary genres to our daughter. They read series ranging from Little House to The Lord of the Rings, and my daughter and husband still look back at that time with fond memories.
Perhaps you already have a ritual of reading to your child before bed, or another time during the day, or maybe you would like to begin. Today I am focusing on book series, because this seems like a good time to read through a series or two. The list is in order from shorter to longer books. I am not including age ranges because every child's capacity for listening is different. I have included links to the Common Sense Media reviews. Here is our tried and true list of a few favorites:
I hope your Tuesday includes moments of wonder and a good book.
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Taking math outside was always a welcome change in our house. All you need for the math activities below is chalk, a string, and a pencil.
Drawing circles:
If this leaves you inspired to tackle more hands-on math ideas beyond chalk, you can find 60+ ideas here. I hope your Monday includes moments of wonder and math discoveries. Most of the walks I have taken with my husband lately include conversations about the most recent coronavirus news in our area, our predictions for the next few months, and how grateful we are for our living situation during this time. On a recent walk, my husband turned to me and said, "I am grateful for your dogged positive attitude." I appreciated his thanks, and he is correct, I tend to be the cheerleader in our house. This is not because the fear and suffering in the world is lost on me, but rather the alternative is too grim for me. Because of that, on this blog I choose to focus on the positive during this time. There are more than enough articles and blogs telling you about the grim parts, so I will focus on the small moments of wonder with our children.
To that point, we are really noticing spring around our house. This time at home is allowing us the space to notice the forsythia blooming in the back yard, the hawk waiting patiently on the branch, and the song of the mourning dove as we walk. Has your family noticed the developing spring more this year as well? If you have been more aware of nature's changes, or you would like to begin, here are some resources for keeping track of or identifying all that you are seeing right now: (Some of these resources are specific to Missouri, but similar resources can be found in your area.)
If your child would like a way of keeping track of all of these discoveries, encourage jotting them down in a nature journal. This can be as simple as a folded piece of paper with a list or pictures of birds, trees, or flowers identified on a walk or a more elaborate form of the activity. Follow the interest of your child, and have fun with it. If you would like to read a little about the pandemic, here are two suggestions I found useful this week:
I hope your Sunday includes moments of wonder and joy. Creative ideas are everywhere for spending time outside with kids or taking a virtual field trip, so I thought I would send out a simple round-up of ideas for your Friday:
Spending time outside:
Virtual field trips: Story time:
Bake cookies:
I hope your Friday includes moments of wonder and fun. I'm not sure one can homeschool without using or at least hearing about memory work. Memorization and recitation have always been a part of our homeschool curriculum, and if one daughter begins reciting "A verb is a word that does an action, shows a state of being..." the other will join in. Memory work in our home has included poetry, poetry for two voices, songs, monologues, dialogues, speeches, and lists.
Your child has likely already memorized poems, songs or verses. You can incorporate songs or verses they know from school or introduce new material to recite and memorize as you develop your rhythm at home. If you follow the interest of your child, the memory work will be fun. One of my daughters has memorized most of the songs from Hamilton, and as a result she has learned a lot about the American Revolution. Getting started:
Does your daily schedule look like Marie Kondo's schedule? My schedule is not even close, but I am trying to organize and declutter as we spend more and more time at home. While working on the school/craft/art shelves, I found our 10-year-old, small chalkboard. I put it on the kitchen table with a cheerful message. Since then, every person in the house has left messages throughout the day. Sometimes a friendly message, the lunch or dinner menu, a poem, a math challenge, a picture or a snarky message (yes, we have teenagers in our house).
This is probably not the time to focus on diagramming sentences, unless a teacher is requesting it. Creative writing, dictation, and copywork are excellent, perhaps even fun, ways to get a little writing practice in at home. Creative writing prompts:
Dictation and copywork:
Writing on a chalkboard is fun for all ages, so here are a few options, if you are interested: I hope your Wednesday includes moments of wonder and thoughtful writing. 40% of the weight of our move three years ago was books. We love books. Even though we have plenty of options on our shelves, we frequent our library in normal times. With the closure of libraries, we have turned to our home library over the last few weeks, sometimes turning to a classic we have intended to read or revisiting a favorite book. One of our daughters set up a book nook in a window sill, with rotating book options. I like this idea. A few chosen books put out in a visible spot will be picked up and read more often than a large bookshelf crammed with books. Books can be chosen randomly or by subject, author, or theme. Your family can also take turns curating the collection.
Whether you are encouraging reading for enjoyment or working on skills, here is a list of reading instruction ideas: Reading with writing, drawing, or discussion prompts:
Book suggestions and supplemental reading activities:
Access to books online:
Online reading games: Podcasts:
I hope your Tuesday includes moments of wonder and a good story. Based on my first statement from yesterday's post, you may not trust me to give math advice. Because of the reality of my first statement, I am just the person to send you towards resources to use at home.
Sites with lists and links of math activities: (Many of the activities included in these links we have used successfully over the years. I also like the simplicity, ease of implementation, and you likely have the materials around your house.)
(I chose these two sites because they meet my aesthetic need for simplicity and ease of use. There are many options out there.)
I hope your Monday includes moments of wonder and learning. I have a confession: I am not a gifted math teacher. My inability to teach algebra is legendary in our home. As a homeschool teacher, I was saved by the very gifted math teachers who provide curricula and instruction online. How anyone homeschooled before the internet is a mystery to me.
As you plan for the week ahead, I am sending along a list of educational sites for you. The number of resources within these links is vast. I encourage you to take it slowly. If you find one lesson useful, that is great! A successful day can be: an older sibling reading to a younger sibling, a child noticing halves and fourths when cutting an apple, your child telling you a story while you take a walk, noticing a bird outside and learning the type of bird, building an elaborate structure with blocks or legos, writing messages with chalk on the sidewalk, or helping you as you make dinner. Learning happens in large and small ways. Online Resources: For young children: Other Goose is a homeschool site focusing on open-ended learning ideas for children ages 2-6. For the next three weeks, they are offering their resources free of charge. For all ages: Khan Academy is an excellent resource for children in preschool through high school. There are video lessons as well as virtual practice options for all subject areas. National Geographic created lists, divided by age groups, with learning activities to use at home. Tinker Lab provides art and science activities for children ages 2-12. I would argue that the ideas are appropriate for all ages, so included it in this category. For older children: Crash Course was created by brothers John and Hank Green, providing fun and informative educational videos for teens. Tip- They talk very fast, but you can slow down the speed on YouTube to make it easier to follow. I hope your week is filled with moments of wonder and learning. The swiffer was the first tool that drew our daughters to chores. I am not entirely sure what the draw was: the adjustable handle to fit their height, the way it moved across a smooth service with ease, or that it collected dust and debris on a tidy cloth that could be tossed in the garbage. Whatever it was, they loved it. A close second was washing dishes in a large tub of soapy water. More water ended up on the children and floor than the sink, but the sense of pride and accomplishment in completing the job was palpable. That great love of chores has subsided over the years, but everyone in our family still lends a hand. With the amount of use our house is getting right now, chore distribution is a must. Knowing what chores are appropriate for various age levels can be tricky. The chart Age Appropriate Chores for Children from the Flanders Family blog is a good place to start. A few things I have learned over the years about chores:
Are you thinking about setting up a workspace for your children this weekend? Are you wondering where to begin? I suggest thinking about how you created your own, personal workspace and what was important to you. Perhaps it was finding a dedicated space, minimizing clutter, collecting all the tools you need in one place... Our homeschool workspace has changed numerous times over the years. We are constantly adjusting based on what works at the moment. I encourage you to get started and make changes as you go. Here are a few suggestions to help you get started:
Two articles for your weekend reading:
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AuthorWelcome! My name is Heidi. I am a mom of two daughters, one dog, and one rabbit, and wife to one guy. I have been a homeschool mom for thirteen years – the first ten in Chicago and the last three in St. Louis. I am glad you found your way here! Archives
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