tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72923218728722167052024-03-12T18:34:49.460-07:00Lion Cub SchoolMaking smiles, making memories.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7292321872872216705.post-91395536169998199112018-08-22T12:52:00.001-07:002018-08-22T12:52:45.538-07:00Making Money By Blogging<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g2UKUjYB2IU/W322354FUBI/AAAAAAAAEi0/itHAiGuDYDw00tXMm6-6Mi4WSqRnWbRAQCLcBGAs/s1600/Legitimate%2BWork%2BFrom%2BHome%2BWays%2BTo%2BMake%2BMoney%2BBlogging%2BMake%2BMoney%2BOnline%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="995" data-original-width="1600" height="398" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g2UKUjYB2IU/W322354FUBI/AAAAAAAAEi0/itHAiGuDYDw00tXMm6-6Mi4WSqRnWbRAQCLcBGAs/s640/Legitimate%2BWork%2BFrom%2BHome%2BWays%2BTo%2BMake%2BMoney%2BBlogging%2BMake%2BMoney%2BOnline%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Some say there are no legitimate ways to make money from home, but that's not true. Many people make a living from home, and one of the ways people do so is by blogging. What you're reading right now is an article on a blog, and you may notice advertisements on the side of the blog or below this article. That means this blog is monetized (and most blogs are). Monetizing a blog is one of many ways to make money with blogging.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
Ways To Make Money Blogging</h2>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>1. Monetizing Your Blog With Ad Platforms</b> - The way this works is that you create a blog in a specific niche (in this case, the niche is homeschooling, so this blog focuses on homeschooling and anything homeschooling parents will find useful). After writing between 15-100 high quality blog posts that contain information that people genuinely want to read, the blog author uses a platform like Google Adsense to place ads in specific places where they will be visible by blog readers. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Depending on the type of ads that are placed on the blog, the blog author gets between a few cents and a few dollars per click on the advertisements, or a few cents for every thousand or so views to the ads. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Take note: </b>when making money per ad click this is only for legitimate ad clicks. Ad platforms like Adsense have algorithms to tell who clicked on the ad (the blog author is not allowed to click on ads), how long people stayed on the website the ad directed them to, and if any purchases were made etc. After a blog author makes at least $100 in ad clicks or ad views, they can then cash out their earnings.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SJnYiseiRyI/W3249Uw_PjI/AAAAAAAAEjA/meP8c_tJzfMWo_MBOOqTS8L7-XdLE_5JACLcBGAs/s1600/Tips%2Bfor%2Bmaking%2Bmoney%2Bblogging%2Bmonetize%2Blion%2Bcub%2Bschool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="425" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SJnYiseiRyI/W3249Uw_PjI/AAAAAAAAEjA/meP8c_tJzfMWo_MBOOqTS8L7-XdLE_5JACLcBGAs/s640/Tips%2Bfor%2Bmaking%2Bmoney%2Bblogging%2Bmonetize%2Blion%2Bcub%2Bschool.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It should be noted that the more people you can get to your blog, the more money you can make with this method. In order to get people to your blog, having a big social media presence is important. Having a lot of high quality articles is also important. If you can create a following of loyal readers by regular updates and frequent new articles, you will get readers coming back to your blog again and again (and thus get eyes on your ads again and again).</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It should also be noted that using the appropriate keywords and SEO (search engine optimization) is also important. The keywords you use on your blog articles determine the type of ads that come up on your page. Some ads are only worth a few cents per click, others can be worth a few dollars (or even twenty dollars) per click. You'll need to look into doing keyword research to figure out what kind of keywords you should be targeting in the hopes of getting those higher paid ads to pop up alongside your articles. Of course, in many niches, the ads will only be worth a few cents no matter which keywords you use, and that's ok. Many people blog because they're passionate about something, not because they're trying to make money, and they only put adsense or other ads up on their blog in the hopes of making a few extra dollars per year. Using the right keywords is also important because you want ads to populate on your page that your readers will be interested in clicking on. If your blog is about cats, you don't want ads about lawyers or buying a new car to pop up on your page. Instead it would be better to have ads about cat food, cat litter, or cat toys coming up.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>TIP: </b>Don't choose to write a blog about something you're not passionate about. Readers will be able to tell.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YDpzDnfnM74/W3263OoVsnI/AAAAAAAAEjM/VkGwYu-wTrwEs0e6XVTAaqI5kZzXUQFdgCLcBGAs/s1600/Make%2BMoney%2BOnline%2BBlogging%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1047" data-original-width="1600" height="417" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YDpzDnfnM74/W3263OoVsnI/AAAAAAAAEjM/VkGwYu-wTrwEs0e6XVTAaqI5kZzXUQFdgCLcBGAs/s640/Make%2BMoney%2BOnline%2BBlogging%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>2. Monetize With Ads You Curate Yourself </b>- Many successful blogs choose not to use an ad platform like Adsense. Instead they sell adspace directly to advertisers. Big blogs with 500,000 to a million plus readers can sell a single adblock for $300-$1,000 a month. Imagine your blog has a huge social media presence and a lot of readers monthly, and you have four ad spaces available per month. If you sell each of the four ad spaces at $500 per month, that's $2,000 a month just from advertisements sitting on the top, or side of your page, or beneath articles.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Selling ads like this means you'll be contacting businesses yourself that you think your readers will want to know about or buy from. Don't expect businesses to be lining up asking to purchase your adspace.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>3. Sell Featured (or Sponsored) Articles - </b>I currently write for a large travel blog with a big following and a huge social media presence on Facebook and Instagram. For between $500-$2,000, we write incredible featured articles about resorts, vacation rentals, and other businesses in order to help drive traffic to those businesses. There are a few things to keep in mind if you do this sort of thing:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><b>First:</b> Don't expect to sell featured articles if you have less than 500,000 followers on your blog's social media pages or if your blog itself gets less than 500,000 views per month.</li>
<li><b>Second:</b> You should not be writing paid featured articles if they aren't in line with what your readers want to read. For a travel blog, it wouldn't make sense to write an article about a new type of mop and floor cleaner. While that may be interesting to write about, it's not for readers who come to a travel blog specifically to read about amazing destinations they may want to visit.</li>
<li><b>Third: </b>Just because you offer paid articles on your blog, don't expect people to be knocking on your door asking to pay you to write articles for them. This sort of thing takes a lot of research and footwork on the part of the blog authors and administrators. You have to cold call businesses you think would be interested in your service of writing paid articles, and then you have to really sell them on it. Selling them on it means having killer packages ready to go. For the popular travel blog I write for, we don't just offer an amazing article for $2,000, we also share that article on all of our social media outlets every month for the next twelve months, and organically plug the client's business on all of the social media outlets several times a month. This is why having a large social media following is an important part of making money with blogging. Clients don't just want to buy an article, they want to buy a package that will drive the most traffic to their business as possible.</li>
<li><b>Fourth: </b>Paid articles you write have to be well researched and written like other articles on your blog that aren't paid. You don't want it to look like a paid article, as that isn't going to be good for you, your readers, or the client the article is about. It needs to look organic, and be genuine. For many featured articles I have written for the travel blog, it has taken up to two weeks of research, writing, editing, and going back and forth with the client and blog owner before an article is ready to publish.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>4. Do Sponsored Reviews Of Products Or Services Your Readers Want To Know About</b> - This is an interesting way to make money with your blog. I say interesting, because you may not be getting cash as payment, and instead get items or services. If you have a blog about cats, companies that make cat products may contact you (or you may contact them), asking to do a review on their product in exchange for that product. Rarely will a company offer to pay you money to do a review. When you do this kind of review article, you will always tell the reader that you have been paid to do the review, either in cash or by receiving the free product in exchange for the review. Even if it's not the law in your area to disclose this, it's the polite thing to do and the way to gain the trust of your readers. It's better to be open and honest with readers from the start.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When being paid (by cash or product) to do a review, it's important to write an honest review of the product. I have had people ask me to write positive reviews of their product before for money and have always turned them down. Think about how you would feel when researching a product or service you are thinking about buying. Would you appreciate it if a bunch of people who had been paid to write the review wrote positive reviews when the product isn't that great? That would lead you to buy the product and then be disappointed in it and feel as though you've wasted your money. Always be honest.</div>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
The Absolute Truth About Blogging For Profit</h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OrKk0HR1OV4/W3296MK4JrI/AAAAAAAAEjY/NZORjloW6fQLBFxv7HGmm2G78swQEwqNQCLcBGAs/s1600/The%2Btruth%2Babout%2Bblogging%2Bfor%2Bprofit%2Blion%2Bcub%2Bschool%2Bmake%2Bmoney%2Bonline%2Blegit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1099" data-original-width="1600" height="438" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OrKk0HR1OV4/W3296MK4JrI/AAAAAAAAEjY/NZORjloW6fQLBFxv7HGmm2G78swQEwqNQCLcBGAs/s640/The%2Btruth%2Babout%2Bblogging%2Bfor%2Bprofit%2Blion%2Bcub%2Bschool%2Bmake%2Bmoney%2Bonline%2Blegit.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I've given you four ways to make a profit with blogging, but I want you to know that blogging for profit isn't easy. Many bloggers never make a cent by blogging. It takes hard work, time, and dedication. For years, the travel blog I write for didn't make a profit, and it was only through the dedication of the blog owner and writers willing to do things for free for years that the blog grew, gained a social media following, and finally became successful. Don't expect to start making money over night, or even within the first year. Is it possible to make money in the first year? Absolutely, but it's rare.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
You have to find ways to keep yourself motivated, and this is another reason that you should be blogging about something you're passionate about. If you don't know much about law, and aren't passionate about law, but just decide to blog about law because ads for law firms make several dollars per click, you'll be 99% more likely to give up after the first few weeks or first couple of months, simply because you don't enjoy what you're writing about.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
There's also a huge learning process for blogging and how to make things look and sound right. In this process you'll spend thousands of hours honing your writing skills, working on SEO (search engine optimization), researching your topic, and reading and watching blogging tutorials online. If you're not dedicated to being the best blogger in your niche, you're probably not going to make any money blogging. It's a commitment you have to make right at the start of your blogging journey.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Should you blog for profit? I hope I've given you enough information in this post to help you decide whether blogging is the right way for you to make money online. If you decide to start blogging, this is just the start. <a href="http://hotshotblogger.blogspot.com/">Hot Shot Blogger</a> has some good tips on how to get started. YouTube also has a lot of helpful tutorials on the subject.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Leave us a comment on your experiences with blogging for profit or with blogging in general. Have you begun to make a profit yet? What are some of the things you've struggled with in your blogging journey? What are your top 3 tips to help others in their blogging journey?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/yK0Qu6luTO88P75XNpnQxs2OsRbIqNEiwCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="72" data-original-width="216" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/yK0Qu6luTO88P75XNpnQxs2OsRbIqNEiwCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7292321872872216705.post-36854968563348643652016-04-29T18:07:00.001-07:002016-04-29T18:07:18.293-07:00Why Time Outside Is Essential For Kids<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m2Rfj3TTDGE/VyP276PNxII/AAAAAAAAECU/x5R530n9IcAO5d31tfEgupITzr5N5kAxgCLcB/s1600/Why%2BTime%2BOutside%2BIs%2BEssential%2BFor%2BKids%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m2Rfj3TTDGE/VyP276PNxII/AAAAAAAAECU/x5R530n9IcAO5d31tfEgupITzr5N5kAxgCLcB/s640/Why%2BTime%2BOutside%2BIs%2BEssential%2BFor%2BKids%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
She sits at the kitchen table and does math. In fact, she takes up to two hours to finish one math lesson if she's having a bad day and feeling easily distracted. Even then, we're lucky if she finishes it at all. It's not that the math in the book is hard for her, or that she's bored with it. It's not that she doesn't like it. Eyes wander up to the window leading into the back yard, and I can tell that she longs to be out there, not necessarily in our back yard, but anywhere out in nature. Like mother like daughter.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I've been working a lot lately. I went back to work part time 6 months ago, and three months ago I went full time on nights. The more I work, the more I wish I could be 'out there somewhere' spending time with my daughter. Where we had all the time in the world to spend together before, the time we have is few and far in between now. The time I do have with her is spent doing chores, running her to baseball practice, and doing schoolwork. Quitting my job isn't really an option, just like stopping math and not finishing the math book this year isn't an option. It's easy for me to feel stuck in this cycle of work, sleep, school, chores, meals, work. I imagine my daughter must feel the same way sometimes. She does get to go out and play with her friends, but it's easy to feel like something's still missing in all of the day to day routine.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As our time together has become shorter because of my work schedule, and the days have grown warmer, I've found myself not wanting to stay in and do school work and chores. Maybe that's why I gave my 2nd grader a two-week break from math and a break from a few other subjects, and we've moved our studies outdoors. For the past 2 weeks we've been pretty unstructured, and in my head I feel like we've gone the unschooling route. I could never unschool fully, though to some extent we have always tried to tailor history and science to her interests. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TywJ85WFa_4/VyP10XE7v_I/AAAAAAAAECQ/S8khk2AWIYsJ-1f9Jc-g_6qToZ8sH-IUgCKgB/s1600/Homeschool%2BRecess%2BOutside%2BPlay%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TywJ85WFa_4/VyP10XE7v_I/AAAAAAAAECQ/S8khk2AWIYsJ-1f9Jc-g_6qToZ8sH-IUgCKgB/s400/Homeschool%2BRecess%2BOutside%2BPlay%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool.jpg" width="263" /></a>So what has our two week 'unschooling' break looked like? We go out to the park in the afternoons and go hiking. I tell her to go up into the trees a little further and 'find something in nature that's interesting.' She thinks it's a safari, and sets off on her adventure inspecting every insect, a blade of grass here, a pinecone there, a stick, treebark... and she does find something interesting. She finds something every afternoon when we go out. A piece of bark that insects have eaten trails inside of. A pinecone she has checked every inch of to be sure there's no spiders inhabiting before she puts it in her pocket to take home. Pretty wildflowers, and sticks covered in moss. I notice that her eyes aren't wandering looking for a kitchen table to sit down at. Instead they're alight with curiosity, and I think I can see the cogs turning in her mind, trying to work out what kind of bugs ate that bark, why they would want to eat the bark, and where they've gone now.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When we get home, I pull out a composition book and some colored pencils and she happily sits down at the table to write in her new 'nature' journal. She draws a fair likeness of the bark (better than I could have drawn), and starts writing what she's observed about it. She's writing without complaint, and I can't believe it, because one thing she hates is writing words on paper, and there is always a power struggle over it. Then she comes and snuggles up to me on the couch and we read about tree bark in a book, and then read two more books about trees. She's happy to have her answers about why insects eat the inside of the bark, and goes back to her nature journal to write some more about it, and about why tree bark is important to trees. She seems happy sitting there and writing, and eager to show what she's learned.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I've always known that it's important for kids to have unstructured time outside. That's why I make it a point to get her outside and playing with the neighborhood kids whenever possible. It's different than being out in nature and exploring just to satisfy your own curiosity though. There's something about the way we learn when we're actively engaged. Something that makes her and I both happy. Maybe it's the exercise we got when hiking, or it could be that her imagination was running wild while she was out on her 'safari.'</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kWitjYziz74/VyP10wk2FbI/AAAAAAAAECQ/Q8y46-P7OX47bhqFDv2Aem_Z7uTi8C4EwCKgB/s1600/Homeschool%2BUnstructured%2BFree%2BTime%2BOutside%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kWitjYziz74/VyP10wk2FbI/AAAAAAAAECQ/Q8y46-P7OX47bhqFDv2Aem_Z7uTi8C4EwCKgB/s400/Homeschool%2BUnstructured%2BFree%2BTime%2BOutside%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool.jpg" width="263" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Even though we're back to our book work now after our two week break, I've decided that for my 2nd grader, nature time is absolutely essential. I get on to her sometimes when she's taking an extra long time doing her math because she's 'distracted', because she uses it as an excuse. But I know why she's distracted. She wants to be out there. She wants to be engaged, and use her imagination, and explore things. She wants to feel the texture of what she's learning about, observe it with her eyes, smell it with her nose, and listen to it with her ears. And she wants to figure things out for herself.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The park we hike at isn't close to our house. It's a 20 minute drive, but as the weather continues to get warmer, and summer comes (we school year round), I've decided that she's going to get some 'nature' time every day. Walking and hiking seems to help her stay focused when we come back to the house to finish up the rest of her schoolwork for the day, and I love seeing that curious look in her eyes as she goes out to explore something she's never seen or thought about before. I love spending time with her too, and hearing the excitement in her voice as she beckons me over with, "Mom, you have to see this! Come look at the shape of this flower!"</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We can't give up on structured schoolwork or quit jobs, but we can make the most of the time we have together, and enjoy some of our time with each other 'out there', where we really want to be. It's a change of pace that we're both enjoying, and it's done wonders for her when she's sitting at the table doing her book work without complaint, and staying focused. For our family, we can't afford not to carve out time in the day to go outside and take a deep breath. It gives us time to just be free and relax for an hour, and when we go home to really focus on getting things done.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/-ll0huoKJFo0pJ-v93CjD_kea5-HapOWgCKgB/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/-ll0huoKJFo0pJ-v93CjD_kea5-HapOWgCKgB/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7292321872872216705.post-38138073858236542872016-04-29T13:11:00.000-07:002016-04-29T13:30:24.899-07:00Freebie Friday - Free Multiplication Worksheets<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6F7q5rQxa4A/VyO_etQjxoI/AAAAAAAAEB0/qjq2v7Bqz1IvRhHQQXkoK4k4Y94vGMQUwCLcB/s1600/Homeschool%2BFree%2BMath%2BCurriculum%2BMultiplication%2BWorksheets%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BFreebie%2BFriday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6F7q5rQxa4A/VyO_etQjxoI/AAAAAAAAEB0/qjq2v7Bqz1IvRhHQQXkoK4k4Y94vGMQUwCLcB/s400/Homeschool%2BFree%2BMath%2BCurriculum%2BMultiplication%2BWorksheets%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BFreebie%2BFriday.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Maybe I'm strange, but I happen to like multiplication. It was always one of the parts of math that I was good at and thought was fun. This past year I've really enjoyed teaching my daughter multiplication as well, and I thought I'd share some free multiplication worksheets with you for teaching your students.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
These multiplication worksheets cover basic single digit multiplication with reviews, double and triple digit multiplication, and multiplication with carrying. There is also a bonus 'mega' multiplication page for kids who really want to put their new skills to use. Also included are tips for parents for how to use these multiplication worksheets, and step by step instructions for how to multiply double and triple digits and how to multiply with carrying.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This is a free download and you can print it and use it as many times as you want. All I ask is that if you share it with people, that you link them back to this page.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
To get the free math worksheets, <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/17tccZi31VrYnrwIk9ApVYj4iLMGVFY5DHGa5DILLrKI/edit?usp=sharing">click here</a>, then click file -> print. It will ask you to save the file. The file will save as a PDF, which you can then open and print.<br />
<br />
You might also be interested in <a href="http://lioncubschool.blogspot.com/2015/05/homeschool-math-free-printable-graph.html">free printable graph paper for math</a>. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7292321872872216705.post-33462025156655849752016-03-02T17:17:00.000-08:002016-03-02T17:17:08.880-08:00Homeschool Giveaway - Mega Dinosaur Learning Set<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R5ZB1SWtcqs/VteOAQGK9OI/AAAAAAAAEBY/Qg-YYhThk7A/s1600/Dinosaur%2BGiveaway%2BHomeschool%2BBlog%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BFreebies%2BBest%2Bhomeschool%2Bcurriculum%2Bsmaller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R5ZB1SWtcqs/VteOAQGK9OI/AAAAAAAAEBY/Qg-YYhThk7A/s640/Dinosaur%2BGiveaway%2BHomeschool%2BBlog%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BFreebies%2BBest%2Bhomeschool%2Bcurriculum%2Bsmaller.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Welcome to our MEGA Dinosaur Learning Set Giveaway! <a href="http://lioncubschool.blogspot.com/2015/12/official-giveaway-entry-rules.html">Read the giveaway rules here</a> before you enter. Entering the giveaway is your agreement to complying with all giveaway rules and regulations.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
This giveaway is sponsored by: </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><a href="http://www.lioncubschool.blogspot.com/">Lion Cub School</a></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
We are giving away one mega dinosaur learning set package to one lucky giveaway winner. The package includes what you see in the photo above, which is:<br />
<br />
<b>Learn About Dinosaurs</b><br />
<ul>
<li>3D Explorer: Dinosaurs</li>
<li>Did Dinosaurs Have Feathers? (Lets Read And Find Out Science)</li>
<li>Digging Up Dinosaurs (Lets Read And Find Out Science)</li>
<li>Magic School Bus Presents: Dinosaurs</li>
<li>Dinosaurs Zoobook</li>
</ul>
<b>Read About Dinosaurs</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Dinosaurs Before Dark (Magic Treehouse Book 1)</li>
<li>Berenstain Bears Dinosaur Dig</li>
</ul>
<b>Get Creative With Dinosaurs</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Dinosaur Coloring Book (Dover)</li>
<li>How To Draw 101 Dinosaurs</li>
<li>How To Draw Dinosaurs</li>
<li>Origami Dinosaurs For Beginners</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Enter the giveaway below. </b>Make sure to get all your entries in and enter the required information for each entry. Giveaway runs from March 2nd 2016 to midnight March 31st 2016. A winner will be drawn at random in the first week of April 2016. <i>Your personal information will never be sold or used for advertising purposes by the site owner. </i><br />
<i></i><br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="90e39e6112" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/90e39e6112/" id="rcwidget_yfum656u" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<b>Please note: </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
We will make several attempts to contact the winner. If the winner fails to respond in 2 weeks, we will select another winner at random and the original selected winner will forfeit the prize package. We will also check to see that your entries are valid. For instance, if you click to say that you've made a comment on a certain blog post, and you are selected as winner via that entry, then we will check to see that you have actually made the comment. Non-valid entries will be ignored in the random selection process. See our <a href="http://lioncubschool.blogspot.com/2015/12/official-giveaway-entry-rules.html">official rules</a> for other important information on who can enter.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Why are we giving away this prize package? </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
It can be costly to homeschool, especially if you're doing it on your own. We stand behind the curriculum and items we're giving away because we think they're great, and we want to spread the love to other homeschool families. To give appreciation to the sponsors of this giveaway, please visit their sites, share their sites, like their Facebook pages, or show them love in other ways by telling other people about the giveaway on other social media platforms. Without our sponsors this giveaway would not be possible.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" /></a></div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7292321872872216705.post-76995810384167378262016-02-01T02:36:00.005-08:002016-02-01T02:36:55.224-08:00Homeschool Curriculum Giveaway - Wolves Learning Set<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dOSv8Iqd4IM/Vq00EUUvtVI/AAAAAAAAD90/IGuGFTOGTS8/s1600/Homeschool%2BGiveaway%2BWolves%2BScience%2BFree%2BHomeschool%2BCurriculum%2BAffordable%2BHomeschool%2BCurriculum%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHomeschool%2BBlog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dOSv8Iqd4IM/Vq00EUUvtVI/AAAAAAAAD90/IGuGFTOGTS8/s640/Homeschool%2BGiveaway%2BWolves%2BScience%2BFree%2BHomeschool%2BCurriculum%2BAffordable%2BHomeschool%2BCurriculum%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHomeschool%2BBlog.jpg" width="568" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Welcome to our Homeschool Science Wolves Learning Set Giveaway! <a href="http://lioncubschool.blogspot.com/2015/12/official-giveaway-entry-rules.html">Read the giveaway rules here</a> before you enter. Entering the giveaway is your agreement to complying with all giveaway rules and regulations.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
This giveaway is sponsored by: </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><a href="http://www.lioncubschool.blogspot.com/">Lion Cub School</a></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
We are giving away one Wolves science learning set package to one lucky giveaway winner. The package includes what you see in the photo above, which is:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Wolves (Usborne Beginners Nature)</li>
<li>Wolves (Zoobook Magazine)</li>
<li>Wolves (Smithsonian)</li>
<li>Wild Tracks! Guide To Nature's Footprints</li>
<li>Dover Forest Animals Coloring Book</li>
<li>1 New set of 12 Crayola Colored Pencils </li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Enter the giveaway below. </b>Make sure to get all your entries in and enter the required information for each entry. Giveaway runs from February 1st 2016 to midnight February 29th 2016. A winner will be drawn at random in the first week of March 2016. <i>Your personal information will never be sold or used for advertising purposes by the site owner. </i><br />
<i></i><br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<br />
<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="90e39e619" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/90e39e619/" id="rcwidget_d9m15mj9" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>We also have another giveaway this month that you may like to enter: Owls Science Learning Set Giveaway. You can enter both if you want.</b></span><br />
<br />
<b>Please note: </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
We will make several attempts to contact the winner. If the winner fails to respond in 2 weeks, we will select another winner at random and the original selected winner will forfeit the prize package. We will also check to see that your entries are valid. For instance, if you click to say that you've made a comment on a certain blog post, and you are selected as winner via that entry, then we will check to see that you have actually made the comment. Non-valid entries will be ignored in the random selection process. See our <a href="http://lioncubschool.blogspot.com/2015/12/official-giveaway-entry-rules.html">official rules</a> for other important information on who can enter.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Why are we giving away this prize package? </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
It can be costly to homeschool, especially if you're doing it on your own. We stand behind the curriculum and items we're giving away because we think they're great, and we want to spread the love to other homeschool families. To give appreciation to the sponsors of this giveaway, please visit their sites, share their sites, like their Facebook pages, or show them love in other ways by telling other people about the giveaway on other social media platforms. Without our sponsors this giveaway would not be possible.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" /></a></div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7292321872872216705.post-13990073538695507182016-02-01T02:36:00.003-08:002016-02-01T02:36:42.170-08:00Homeschool Giveaway - Sweet Owl Learning Set<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G3YAEk-eTkU/Vq02CQKfCKI/AAAAAAAAD-E/zYjS2RutlLs/s1600/Homeschool%2BGiveaway%2BScience%2BOwls%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHomeschooling%2BBlog%2BFree%2BCurriculum%2BHomeschool%2BFor%2BFree%2BAffordable%2BCurriculum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G3YAEk-eTkU/Vq02CQKfCKI/AAAAAAAAD-E/zYjS2RutlLs/s640/Homeschool%2BGiveaway%2BScience%2BOwls%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHomeschooling%2BBlog%2BFree%2BCurriculum%2BHomeschool%2BFor%2BFree%2BAffordable%2BCurriculum.jpg" width="568" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Welcome to our Homeschool Science Owls Learning Set Giveaway! <a href="http://lioncubschool.blogspot.com/2015/12/official-giveaway-entry-rules.html">Read the giveaway rules here</a> before you enter. Entering the giveaway is your agreement to complying with all giveaway rules and regulations.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
This giveaway is sponsored by: </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><a href="http://www.lioncubschool.blogspot.com/">Lion Cub School</a></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
We are giving away one Owls science learning set package to one lucky giveaway winner. The package includes what you see in the photo above, which is:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Owls (Usborn Beginners Nature)</li>
<li>Owls (Zoobook Magazine)</li>
<li>Owls Birds Of The Night (Penguin Young Readers Level 3)</li>
<li>Bird (Eyewitness Books)</li>
<li>Owl Pellet Puke Dissection Kit</li>
<li>Dover Birds Of Prey Coloring Book</li>
<li>1 Set of 12 new Crayola Colored Pencils</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Enter the giveaway below. </b>Make sure to get all your entries in and enter the required information for each entry. Giveaway runs from February 1st 2016 to midnight February 29th 2016. A winner will be drawn at random in the first week of March 2016. <i>Your personal information will never be sold or used for advertising purposes by the site owner. </i><br />
<i></i><br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<br />
<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="90e39e6110" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/90e39e6110/" id="rcwidget_qc39js9t" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>We also have another giveaway this month that you may like to enter: Wolves Science Learning Set Giveaway. You can enter both if you want.</b></span><br />
<br />
<b>Please note: </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
We will make several attempts to contact the winner. If the winner fails to respond in 2 weeks, we will select another winner at random and the original selected winner will forfeit the prize package. We will also check to see that your entries are valid. For instance, if you click to say that you've made a comment on a certain blog post, and you are selected as winner via that entry, then we will check to see that you have actually made the comment. Non-valid entries will be ignored in the random selection process. See our <a href="http://lioncubschool.blogspot.com/2015/12/official-giveaway-entry-rules.html">official rules</a> for other important information on who can enter.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Why are we giving away this prize package? </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
It can be costly to homeschool, especially if you're doing it on your own. We stand behind the curriculum and items we're giving away because we think they're great, and we want to spread the love to other homeschool families. To give appreciation to the sponsors of this giveaway, please visit their sites, share their sites, like their Facebook pages, or show them love in other ways by telling other people about the giveaway on other social media platforms. Without our sponsors this giveaway would not be possible.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" /></a></div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7292321872872216705.post-47694723168691828462016-02-01T02:36:00.001-08:002016-02-01T02:36:24.535-08:00Homeschool Giveaway - Shark Learning Set<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KEuGVeD1QXg/Vq8uXx31cEI/AAAAAAAAD_Q/37AM4FWxyHY/s1600/Science%2BHomeschool%2BGiveaway%2BSharks%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHomeschooling%2BBlog%2BScience%2BCurriculum%2Bbest%2Bhomeschool%2Baffordable%2Bcurriculum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KEuGVeD1QXg/Vq8uXx31cEI/AAAAAAAAD_Q/37AM4FWxyHY/s640/Science%2BHomeschool%2BGiveaway%2BSharks%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHomeschooling%2BBlog%2BScience%2BCurriculum%2Bbest%2Bhomeschool%2Baffordable%2Bcurriculum.jpg" width="568" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Welcome to our Homeschool Science Sharks Learning Set Giveaway! <a href="http://lioncubschool.blogspot.com/2015/12/official-giveaway-entry-rules.html">Read the giveaway rules here</a> before you enter. Entering the giveaway is your agreement to complying with all giveaway rules and regulations.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
This giveaway is sponsored by: </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><a href="http://www.lioncubschool.blogspot.com/">Lion Cub School</a></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
We are giving away one shark science learning package to one lucky giveaway winner. The package includes what you see in the photo above, which is:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Sharks (Usborn Beginners Nature)</li>
<li>Sharks (Scolastic Discover More)</li>
<li>Hark A Shark! (Cat In The Hat Learning Book)</li>
<li>Sharks Of The World Coloring Book (Dover)</li>
<li>1 Set of 12 new Crayola Colored Pencils</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Enter the giveaway below. </b>Make sure to get all your entries in and enter the required information for each entry. Giveaway runs from February 1st 2016 to midnight February 29th 2016. A winner will be drawn at random in the first week of March 2016. <i>Your personal information will never be sold or used for advertising purposes by the site owner. </i><br />
<i></i><br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<br />
<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="90e39e6111" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/90e39e6111/" id="rcwidget_bl5mg53t" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>We also have another giveaway this month that you may like to enter: Wolves Science Learning Set Giveaway. You can enter both if you want.</b></span><br />
<br />
<b>Please note: </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
We will make several attempts to contact the winner. If the winner fails to respond in 2 weeks, we will select another winner at random and the original selected winner will forfeit the prize package. We will also check to see that your entries are valid. For instance, if you click to say that you've made a comment on a certain blog post, and you are selected as winner via that entry, then we will check to see that you have actually made the comment. Non-valid entries will be ignored in the random selection process. See our <a href="http://lioncubschool.blogspot.com/2015/12/official-giveaway-entry-rules.html">official rules</a> for other important information on who can enter.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Why are we giving away this prize package? </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
It can be costly to homeschool, especially if you're doing it on your own. We stand behind the curriculum and items we're giving away because we think they're great, and we want to spread the love to other homeschool families. To give appreciation to the sponsors of this giveaway, please visit their sites, share their sites, like their Facebook pages, or show them love in other ways by telling other people about the giveaway on other social media platforms. Without our sponsors this giveaway would not be possible.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" /></a></div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7292321872872216705.post-24375045082949286092016-01-23T17:10:00.000-08:002016-01-23T17:10:42.337-08:00Travel With Children: 5 Easy Tips<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A5SDNw5LCAM/VqQWaV1muXI/AAAAAAAAD84/azrm06vu2W0/s1600/travel%2Bwith%2Bchildren%2Broad%2Btrips%2Bwith%2Bkids%2Blion%2Bcub%2Bschool%2Bhomeschool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A5SDNw5LCAM/VqQWaV1muXI/AAAAAAAAD84/azrm06vu2W0/s400/travel%2Bwith%2Bchildren%2Broad%2Btrips%2Bwith%2Bkids%2Blion%2Bcub%2Bschool%2Bhomeschool.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I can't tell you how often I've heard parents lament about their inability to travel because they have kids. "It's too hard to travel with children, they'll be cranky after an hour," is also something I hear often. My family travels a lot and once we found the groove of how to travel with kids, we found that we quite enjoy it and so does our daughter. In fact, taking road trips with kids or traveling with family doesn't have to be hard at all. With a little preparation and planning of activities for kids on road trips, things can be smooth sailing all the way.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>5 Tips For Traveling With Kids</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>1) Travel Prepared - </b>Take snacks, tissue paper, a towel (in case of accidents or messes), warm and cold weather clothes, a first aid kit, and something for the kids to do. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q-fhcbIYbcA/VqQbRiTc58I/AAAAAAAAD9E/eSeWKDobaMk/s1600/travel%2Bwith%2Bchildren%2Blion%2Bcub%2Bschool%2Bhomeschool%2Bhome%2Bschool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q-fhcbIYbcA/VqQbRiTc58I/AAAAAAAAD9E/eSeWKDobaMk/s320/travel%2Bwith%2Bchildren%2Blion%2Bcub%2Bschool%2Bhomeschool%2Bhome%2Bschool.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Perhaps the most important thing while traveling with kids (especially if taking a long road trip) is knowing where the bathrooms are. Having a GPS can help with this, but we often look up rest areas on our route. Remember that children have smaller bladders and will have to go more often than adults. I find that it also helps to limit fluids while we're on the road. It's important to stay hydrated (especially in the summer), but there's a difference between a bottle of water every couple hours and downing an entire bottle of water or juice and then asking for another one right away.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When we're coming up on a rest area we always ask our daughter if she has to go, and if I know she's had a lot to drink we stop even if she says no and have her try anyway. There's nothing like being on an interstate where there's no cities or place to pull over to use the restroom, and having your 7 year old crying because she has to pee 'real bad'.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
One last thing about being prepared on road trips: bring your own soap. Usually when we travel 3 out of 4 road side rest areas we visit are out of soap. We usually get a disposable hand soap pump from the dollar store and just keep it in the glove box and take it into the rest room with us.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>2) Take toys, books, DVD's, or games that your kids like. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Planning activities for kids on a road trip is essential. When we're going on a road trip for 4+ hours I take my daughter into her room with her backpack and tell her to pick out a few things. I usually have her pick out 2 books, 2 Barbies or action figures, 2 toy cars, 2 My Little Ponies, and a small stuffed animal. She also takes her Nintendo 2DS (which we bought specifically for long road trips) and her Kindle Fire which is packed with educational learning apps. Sometimes for very long trips (trips that will take several days to complete), we bring a small case of DVD's she likes and a portable DVD player that charges in the car.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As homeschoolers we also tend to bring some schoolwork, but it tends to be things that are more fun and interesting to her like Mad Libs, though I try to sneak her math book in there as well. I also generally take a composition book or other notebook and a pencil case with 5 or 10 crayons and several pre-sharpened pencils and an eraser so she can draw. Sometimes I encourage her to look out the window and draw scenery, or write about the places we're going and what she's excited to do when we get there. Needless to say, she is rarely bored in the car when we're traveling long distances.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>3) Bring Comfort Items</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4Cz8hvRa-ls/VqQd5VD0A9I/AAAAAAAAD9c/ljHGS-lfhY0/s1600/How%2BTo%2BTravel%2BWith%2BKids%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4Cz8hvRa-ls/VqQd5VD0A9I/AAAAAAAAD9c/ljHGS-lfhY0/s200/How%2BTo%2BTravel%2BWith%2BKids%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool.jpg" width="150" /></a>A stuffed animal and small blanket can go a long way in making long car rides comfortable for children ages 1-10. Long trips in the car can have a tendency to make kids tired and cranky, and while they will be occupied for a while with the toys and other things you've brought for them to do, they're bound to fall asleep at some point.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>4) Try To Make Things Fun</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-16xxJqpTvJw/VqQclIZifyI/AAAAAAAAD9M/OttJk9q_G1I/s1600/Activities%2BFor%2BKid%2BOn%2BRoad%2BTrips.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-16xxJqpTvJw/VqQclIZifyI/AAAAAAAAD9M/OttJk9q_G1I/s320/Activities%2BFor%2BKid%2BOn%2BRoad%2BTrips.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Unless you're in a big hurry, there's no reason you can't slow things down and enjoy the areas you're traveling through. Pack a picnic lunch and stop at a park instead of getting fast food and give the kids a chance to stretch their legs and explore. You might also want to stop at museums, visitor centers, or theme parks.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
You could also buy a disposable camera for each child to use on the trip or have your kids bring their camera if they already have one. You can give them a list of things to take pictures of and have them check things off the list as you go, or let them just be creative and photograph the world as they see it.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Something else you can do is make up a scavenger hunt ahead of time and give one copy to each child with a pencil or crayon. They can mark things off as they see them on the road. The hunt will be different depending on the area you're traveling through (especially if you're going to a National Park), but a few basic ideas could be:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Eg-DuaTgZ84/VqQdcVMhZvI/AAAAAAAAD9U/EGXOyx2Pkh0/s1600/Family%2BTravel%2BIdeas%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Eg-DuaTgZ84/VqQdcVMhZvI/AAAAAAAAD9U/EGXOyx2Pkh0/s320/Family%2BTravel%2BIdeas%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool.jpg" width="275" /></a> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A red semi-truck</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A bird of prey (eagle, owl, hawk, vulture)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A welcome to (insert state here) sign</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A VW Bug</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A convertible</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A cow</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A buffalo</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A police car</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A dog</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In fact, scavenger hunts are a wonderful way to make any outing fun, especially a hike or walk in the park. To get ideas for an outdoor scavenger hunt list, see #1 in our <a href="http://lioncubschool.blogspot.com/2015/04/10-kid-friendly-activities-for-earth-day.html">Activities To Do With Kids On Earth Day</a> post.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
One more thing I want to mention is audio books. You can download them fairly cheap these days from Audible, or you can get them in CD format from your local library. Our library also has little MP3 players they loan out with audio books pre-loaded onto them. Sometimes we take my daughter to the library before a trip and let her pick out one audio book to listen to, or we use Audible to download an audio book on her Kindle. With headphones she's good to go and not bothered by the radio in the car, and others in the car aren't bothered by her book when they want to talk.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>5) Avoid Junk Food</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When traveling it's easy to pack bags of individual potato chips, cans of soda or sugary juices, pop tarts, and other pre-packaged foods or to just stop at McDonalds for all of your meals. What's not easy (and frankly pretty miserable) is having kids who are cranky and crying for an hour because of a tummy ache from all the junk they ate, or kids who are throwing up in the car.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It's not bad to pack some processed or prepackaged foods to enjoy on a long trip, but I encourage you to do a little food preparation at home and pack things into a small cooler instead. If you want individually packed foods for convenience, put them in half size zip lock bags. Some ideas for healthy and easy to prepare snacks are:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
- Pre-washed baby carrots</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
- Pre-washed celery</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
- Pre-washed apples</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
- Individual applesauce pouches</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
- Cheese sticks</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
- Whole grain Goldfish crackers</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
- Peanuts or almonds</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
- Dried fruit</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
- Raisins, Craisins, or dried cherries</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
- Bottled water</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
- Fruit snacks made with real fruit juice</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
- Granola bars</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
- Powerbars or Tiger's Milk (I wouldn't recommend eating more than 1 of these per day)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uLMOLyJ8oXs/VqQecmhrA9I/AAAAAAAAD9k/M2AbXxPtlfs/s1600/Tips%2BFor%2BTraveling%2BWith%2BKids%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uLMOLyJ8oXs/VqQecmhrA9I/AAAAAAAAD9k/M2AbXxPtlfs/s400/Tips%2BFor%2BTraveling%2BWith%2BKids%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
With a little preparation, taking road trips with kids can be enjoyable. Planning activities for kids and being prepared are key ingredients to road trip success.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Have you had a miserable family road trip before? Do you find traveling with kids enjoyable? What are some tips you've used in the past to keep kids happy while traveling? Let us know in a comment below.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7292321872872216705.post-47267929237578652742016-01-21T15:22:00.000-08:002016-01-22T10:30:47.286-08:00Homeschool Review: Handwriting Without Tears<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KLyOv78a-Eg/VqJ1P2bxu1I/AAAAAAAAD8o/Fq8G_lRMH1s/s1600/Handwriting%2BWithout%2BTears%2BHomeschool%2BReview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KLyOv78a-Eg/VqJ1P2bxu1I/AAAAAAAAD8o/Fq8G_lRMH1s/s320/Handwriting%2BWithout%2BTears%2BHomeschool%2BReview.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I wanted to do another review on the Handwriting Without Tears curriculum because we love it so much and I wanted to give you a look inside so you can get a
good feeling for how the home school program works. I made a video to walk you through the program and what we like about it and also to give some tips for handwriting improvement. If you're interested in seeing our written review of the 1st grade Handwriting Without Tears book, <a href="http://lioncubschool.blogspot.com/2014/12/curriculum-review-my-printing-book.html">you can read it here</a>.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xlDzJYTAWOk" width="420"></iframe>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Have you ever used this program before? Did you like it? Let us know in a comment below.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7292321872872216705.post-6969414122813144602016-01-06T17:17:00.000-08:002016-01-06T17:17:55.124-08:00My Homeschooler Is So Unsocialized<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zqDwjFky2fw/Vo22Ja0UPeI/AAAAAAAAD8Y/RqZKX7hNmrs/s1600/My%2BHomeschooler%2BIs%2BUnsocialized%2BSocialization%2BHomeschooling%2BHome%2BSchool%2BParents%2BStrange%2BWeird%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHomeschool%2BVS%2BPublic%2BSchool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zqDwjFky2fw/Vo22Ja0UPeI/AAAAAAAAD8Y/RqZKX7hNmrs/s400/My%2BHomeschooler%2BIs%2BUnsocialized%2BSocialization%2BHomeschooling%2BHome%2BSchool%2BParents%2BStrange%2BWeird%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHomeschool%2BVS%2BPublic%2BSchool.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I mean, my kid must be unsocialized since she's homeschooled, right? <i>What is this mysterious socialization thing that seems to elude homeschoolers anyway?</i> It must be hard to do if parents can't make it happen at home. Ok, I'll step away from my sarcasm now. Let's be serious. Socialization is important. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Being socialized means being able to converse normally with regular people and not be seen as terribly weird or strange by the people in the community in which we live. It's being able to communicate effectively and knowing how to be around people and how to act appropriately around them. It's not picking your nose and eating it in front of your friends. Right?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><b></b><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>What Some People Think</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b> </b> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It seems like people who don't know many (or any) homeschoolers seem to have this misconception about socialization. They think it's only possible to become socialized in a public or private school setting. I went through public school as a child, and while I did have friends there, I can say now as a homeschool parent that my 2nd grader gets way more social time than I ever did in school. When I was in school my time in class was spent learning (or trying to ignore the teacher while I wrote notes to friends). I only really got 'social' time at school at lunch, at recess, in the halls, and during PE. There was also that time standing at the bus stop or traveling to and from school, but that was only a few minutes out of the day. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Reasonably I think that in a 7 hour school day I spent maybe an hour socializing. That's only 5 hours a week and I think it's safe to say we meet that standard. For most children there's also that time spent outside of school playing with neighborhood kids, and we do that as well.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>The Reality</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b> </b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As a homeschooler my daughter has so many opportunities to learn to be socialized that we often find ourselves having to say no to activities because if we said yes to them all we'd never have time to do any schoolwork. Most homeschool parents I know, including myself are sensitive to the issue of social time and so we do whatever we can to make that social time happen. Is it possible for a homeschooler to turn out weird and unsocialized? Yes, just as much as there is the possibility of a public or private school student turning out that way (come on, we all knew of <i>that</i> kid in school who was totally awkward and who didn't know how to act around people). It happens, sometimes because the child or their parents are introverted, and sometimes because they don't live near a lot of other people to socialize with, or for other reasons we're not always privy to. For the most part though I haven't really met any unsocialized homeschoolers.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We live in an area with a large and very active homeschool group. The parents put together things like group field trips (ages Pre-school through high school), speech classes, art classes, choir, PE, book clubs, group play dates, swimming trips, sledding trips, holiday parties, curriculum swaps, and more. The networking between these families is incredible and there is something going on every week. One week there were 4 field trips and we just couldn't make it to them all because there was simply too much to do!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>How My 2nd Grader Is Learning To Not Be Weird</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b> </b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Aside from the gatherings of our homeschool friends (whom we see often), my daughter also has her neighborhood friends and her friends from Girl Scouts. She plays baseball all summer long as well as going to Girl Scout camp and other local summer camps. She's part of the homeschool choir which meets once a week (sometimes more often if there's an upcoming concert) and homeschool art classes. We attend field trips as often as we can with the homeschool group, but we are twice as lucky because our Girl Scout council puts on a lot of field trips and get-togethers year round as well.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Maybe I can explain this better with photos of how active we've been in the past year as part of one group or another. I have photos of too many gatherings, groups, and field trips to share, but I can share a few.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DHlreTL0zE8/Vo2yYWl1doI/AAAAAAAAD8M/xAJvCPCb85Q/s1600/Weird%2BUnsocialized%2BHomeschooler%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BSocialization%2Bhomeschool%2Bstrange.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DHlreTL0zE8/Vo2yYWl1doI/AAAAAAAAD8M/xAJvCPCb85Q/s640/Weird%2BUnsocialized%2BHomeschooler%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BSocialization%2Bhomeschool%2Bstrange.jpg" width="622" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We know other homeschool families who are involved with so much that they are hardly ever home. They take every opportunity to get their kids into theater productions, dance, gymnastics, karate, soccer, Boy Scouts, church youth groups, volunteer opportunities, and a wide variety of other clubs, sports, and groups. We try to keep a healthy balance in our family of school time, social time, family time, and time in the great outdoors as a family. Add into that work and chores and we end up having a very full schedule and busy lifestyle with a lot of interaction with others on a day to day basis.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>What I've Observed</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b> </b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I've noticed something wonderful about homeschooled children since we started our homeschooling journey three years ago. They seem to be comfortable interacting with people of any age. I'm not the only one to have noticed either. The <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/01/homeschooled-students-wel_n_1562425.html">Huffington Post</a> says, <i>"Home-schooled students often spend less time in class,
giving them more opportunity to get out into the world and engage with
adults and teens alike. The socialization thing is really a nonissue for most homeschoolers. They're getting a lot of it."</i> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Middle school kids are fine playing with toddlers or hanging out among their peers. Second graders tag along with fourth and fifth graders, and the older kids don't mind. First graders and eight graders alike seem comfortable talking to adults and striking up a conversation with them, even if they're adults they don't know personally. It's this wonderful melting pot of ages where no one cares how old you are or what grade you're in, and you're comfortable interacting with everybody. I don't see that as much in institutionalized settings where kids are segregated in classes by age level. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
From family members to kids I've worked with in the school system, I've seen kids that have grown up in public or private schools sticking to their own age group and being too uncomfortable to move outside of it at recess and often times at home. Sometimes kids will play with neighborhood kids that are a different age simply because there's no one else nearby that's their own age, but as soon as they get back to school, that extension of friendship often time ends. It's a gap that doesn't disappear until high school and college, and even then well into adulthood I've noticed that a lot of adults tend to stick to their own age group when choosing friends.</div>
<div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; text-align: justify; top: -1999px;">
"<i>Home-schooled
students often spend less time in class, Kelly says,
giving them more opportunity to get out into the world and engage with
adults and teens alike. "The socialization thing is really a nonissue
for most home schoolers," he says. "They're getting a lot of it."</i> - See more at: http://lioncubschool.blogspot.com/p/about-home-schooling.html#sthash.v8SzsjHc.dpuf</div>
<div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; text-align: justify; top: -1999px;">
"<i>Home-schooled
students often spend less time in class, Kelly says,
giving them more opportunity to get out into the world and engage with
adults and teens alike. "The socialization thing is really a nonissue
for most home schoolers," he says. "They're getting a lot of it.""</i> - See more at: http://lioncubschool.blogspot.com/p/about-home-schooling.html#sthash.v8SzsjHc.dpuf</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Are You Curious About Homeschooling?</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b> </b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Are you interested in seeing more homeschool myths debunked? Check out our article here: <a href="http://lioncubschool.blogspot.com/p/about-home-schooling.html">The Truth About Homeschooling</a>. Or maybe you're looking for more of the nitty gritty info about what homeschooling is and how people do it, in which case you may be interested in our article: <a href="http://lioncubschool.blogspot.com/2015/03/homeschooling-101-where-do-i-start.html">Homeschooling 101 - How Do I Start?</a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
What do you think? Have you met many strange homeschooled kids or past homeschoolers? Are you a homeschool family and if so, what do you do to get in that socialization time? Let us know in a comment below, or on <a href="https://twitter.com/lioncubschool">Twitter</a>.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7292321872872216705.post-73660549449745389802016-01-01T09:07:00.002-08:002016-01-20T12:10:17.788-08:00Girls Of American History Giveaway<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CECj4yBG3Eg/VoRsCABmNgI/AAAAAAAAD7Q/iQ8qs8fmmgs/s1600/Girls%2BOf%2BAmerican%2BHistory%2BBeforever%2BKaya%2BHomeschool%2BHome%2Bschool%2Bgiveaway%2Bfreebie%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BAmerican%2BGirl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CECj4yBG3Eg/VoRsCABmNgI/AAAAAAAAD7Q/iQ8qs8fmmgs/s640/Girls%2BOf%2BAmerican%2BHistory%2BBeforever%2BKaya%2BHomeschool%2BHome%2Bschool%2Bgiveaway%2Bfreebie%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BAmerican%2BGirl.jpg" width="568" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
Welcome to our Girls Of American History Giveaway! <a href="http://lioncubschool.blogspot.com/2015/12/official-giveaway-entry-rules.html">Read the giveaway rules here</a> before you enter. Entering the giveaway is your agreement to complying with all giveaway rules and regulations.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
This giveaway is sponsored by: </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><a href="http://www.lioncubschool.blogspot.com/">Lion Cub School</a> </b>and<b> <a href="http://www.girlsofamericanhistory.com/">Girls Of American History</a></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
We are giving away 1 Girls of American History package to one lucky giveaway winner. The package includes what you see in the photo above, which is:</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>Beforever/American Girl Kaya Box Set</b></li>
<b>
</b>
<li><b>Girls of American History 6-Week Unit Study Multi-Sensory Curriculum</b></li>
<b>
</b>
<li><b>Draw Write Now Book 3</b> <i>(used in the Girls of American History curriculum)</i></li>
<li><b>Draw Write Now Book 8</b> <i>(used in the Girls of American History curriculum)</i></li>
<li><b>If you Lived With The Indians Of The Northwest Coast</b></li>
<b>
</b>
<li><b>Journeys For Freedom: A New Look At America's Story</b></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Enter the giveaway below. </b>Make sure to get all your entries in and enter the required information for each entry. Giveaway runs from January 1st 2016 to midnight January 31st 2016. A winner will be drawn at random in the first week of February 2016. <i>Your personal information will never be sold or used for advertising purposes by the site owner. If you sign up for a newsletter as an entry option, you are agreeing to receive that site's newsletter.</i><br />
<i></i><br />
<a name='more'></a><i> </i></div>
<br />
<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="90e39e618" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/90e39e618/" id="rcwidget_73a1kqc9" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>We also have another giveaway this month that you may like to enter: <a href="http://lioncubschool.blogspot.com/2016/01/little-house-learning-set-giveaway.html">Little House Learning Set Giveaway.</a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"> </a> You may enter both if you want.</b></span><br />
<br />
<b>Please note: </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
We will make several attempts to contact the winner. If the winner fails to respond in 2 weeks, we will select another winner at random and the original selected winner will forfeit the prize package. We will also check to see that your entries are valid. For instance, if you click to say that you've made a comment on a certain blog post, and you are selected as winner via that entry, then we will check to see that you have actually made the comment. Non-valid entries will be ignored in the random selection process. See our <a href="http://lioncubschool.blogspot.com/2015/12/official-giveaway-entry-rules.html">official rules</a> for other important information on who can enter.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Why are we giving away this prize package? </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
It can be costly to homeschool, especially if you're doing it on your own. We stand behind the curriculum and items we're giving away because we think they're great, and we want to spread the love to other homeschool families. To give appreciation to the sponsors of this giveaway, please visit their sites, share their sites, like their Facebook pages, or show them love in other ways by telling other people about the giveaway on other social media platforms. Without our sponsors <a href="http://www.lioncubschool.blogspot.com/">Lion Cub School</a> and <a href="http://www.girlsofamericanhistory.com/">Girls Of American History</a>, this giveaway would not be possible.<br />
<br />
Is there something else you'd like to see us give away? Let us know in a comment below.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" /></a></div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com38tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7292321872872216705.post-70553068065077085812016-01-01T09:06:00.000-08:002016-01-20T12:10:29.889-08:00Little House Learning Set Giveaway!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uIg9kw1urhg/VoRx-GMEu4I/AAAAAAAAD7g/-Xdx0TCOVuw/s1600/Homeschool%2BGiveaway%2BLittle%2BHouse%2BOn%2BThe%2BPrarie%2BPrimer%2BSet%2BFreebie%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHome%2BSchool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="601" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uIg9kw1urhg/VoRx-GMEu4I/AAAAAAAAD7g/-Xdx0TCOVuw/s640/Homeschool%2BGiveaway%2BLittle%2BHouse%2BOn%2BThe%2BPrarie%2BPrimer%2BSet%2BFreebie%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHome%2BSchool.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
Welcome to our Little House Learning Set Giveaway! <a href="http://lioncubschool.blogspot.com/2015/12/official-giveaway-entry-rules.html">Read the giveaway rules here</a> before you enter. Entering the giveaway is your agreement to complying with all giveaway rules and regulations.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
This giveaway is sponsored by: </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><a href="http://www.lioncubschool.blogspot.com/">Lion Cub School</a></b><br />
<b> </b> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
We
are giving away 1 Little House Learning Set package to one lucky
giveaway winner. The package includes what you see in the photo above,
which is:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Little House On The Prairie 9 Book Box-Set by Laura Ingalls Wilder</li>
<li>The Little House Cookbook</li>
<li>If You Traveled West In A Covered Wagon</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Enter the giveaway below. </b>Pay
attention because for some of the entries you can come back to enter
daily! Make sure to get all your entries in and enter the
required information. Giveaway runs from January 1st 2016 to midnight
January 31st 2016. A winner will be drawn at random in the first week
of February 2016. <i>Your personal information will never be sold or used for advertising purposes by the site owner.</i><br />
<i></i><br />
<a name='more'></a><i> </i></div>
<br />
<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="90e39e617" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/90e39e617/" id="rcwidget_3en6fiu0" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>We
also have another giveaway this month that you may like to enter: <a href="http://lioncubschool.blogspot.com/2016/01/girls-of-american-history-giveaway.html">Girls Of American History Giveaway.</a> You may enter both if you want.</b></span><br />
<br />
<b>Please note: </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
We
will make several attempts to contact the winner. If the winner fails
to respond in 2 weeks, we will select another winner at random and the
original selected winner will forfeit the prize package. We will also
check to see that your entries are valid. For instance, if you click to
say that you've made a comment on a certain blog post, and you are
selected as winner via that entry, then we will check to see that you
have actually made the comment. Non-valid entries will be ignored in
the random selection process. See our <a href="http://lioncubschool.blogspot.com/2015/12/official-giveaway-entry-rules.html">official rules</a> for other important information on who can enter.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Why are we giving away this prize package? </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
It
can be costly to homeschool, especially if you're doing it on your
own. We stand behind the curriculum and items we're giving away because
we think they're great, and we want to spread the love to other
homeschool families. To give appreciation to the sponsors of this
giveaway, please visit their sites, share their sites, like their
Facebook pages, or show them love in other ways by telling other people
about the giveaway on other social media platforms. Without our
sponsor <a href="http://www.lioncubschool.blogspot.com/">Lion Cub School</a> this giveaway would not be possible.<br />
<br />
Is there something else you'd like to see us give away? Let us know in a comment below.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" /></a></div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7292321872872216705.post-26179682255381514602015-12-30T12:05:00.000-08:002015-12-30T12:09:30.459-08:00New Years Resolutions And Goals For Homeschoolers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5YNSpqjYeiE/VoQyY0PiZcI/AAAAAAAAD7A/0Q5yhxSV5S0/s1600/personal%2Bgoals%2Bsetting%2Bfor%2Bkids%2Bhomeschoolers%2Bnew%2Byears%2Bresolution%2Blist%2Bfamilies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="459" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5YNSpqjYeiE/VoQyY0PiZcI/AAAAAAAAD7A/0Q5yhxSV5S0/s640/personal%2Bgoals%2Bsetting%2Bfor%2Bkids%2Bhomeschoolers%2Bnew%2Byears%2Bresolution%2Blist%2Bfamilies.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Most adults have this new years resolution thing down. First we make a list of things we'd like to change in the new year, then we get excited and hopeful about it, and try to start changing things. For some of us, we stick to the list and accomplish our goals, and for the rest, after a few weeks, our goals for the new year fall by the wayside. Why? First, because <b>changing behavior is hard.</b> Second, because when making new years resolutions<b> most people set long term goals with no shorter term goals that will help them reach their longer term goals.</b> Without those shorter term goals to meet, you lose interest because the longer term goals seem too far off and too hard to reach. Third, we often don't meet our personal goals when we make new years resolutions because <b>we have no one to help us meet our goals.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
This year, when making new years resolutions I encourage you to do two things:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b> 1) </b>Pick 1 or 2 long term goals that are really important, and then for each goal make 3-5 shorter term goals to help you get there.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>2)</b> Help your children come up with 1-3 long term goals, and help them make 3-5 shorter term goals to help them get there. Then support them and try to keep them on track with their goals. Who knows, maybe they can be your support system in keeping you on track with your resolutions as well!</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Setting Clear Measurable Goals</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
A typical new years resolution list might have 'Lose Weight' on it. That's an admirable goal, but written like this it's almost impossible to stay on track with it. Instead you should write a very clear goal with a measurable outcome such as, "Lose 15 pounds by July 4th." You can measure this goal because on July 4th you can see if you've lost 15 pounds. Because it's specific, as you measure your progress between January 1st and July 4th, you know how far you've come and how far you still have to go. When writing a clear, measurable goal, make sure it's not too hard to achieve. Something like, 'loose 200 pounds by July 4th' is not only unhealthy but nearly impossible.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Breaking Goals Down Into Smaller Attainable Steps</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
So you have your clear, measurable goal written down: "Loose 15 pounds by July 4th." And you have five months and 4 days to attain that goal. But what are you going to do to meet that mark you've set for yourself? That's where the 3-5 smaller goals come into play to help you reach your long term goal. Maybe for your goal of losing 15 pounds, you've evaluated your lifestyle and chosen to do the following smaller goals:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
1) Cut down to 1 soda a day and increase water consumption to 3 glasses a day.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
2) Instead of junk food, keep fruits and vegetables that you like eating around the house to snack on.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
3) Go to the gym twice per week for half an hour.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
4) Walk around the block once a day.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
5) Walk a mile twice a month.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The above mini-goals are things you can reasonably work out. You can write them down and put them on the fridge, and because they're all smaller chunks to a larger goal, they seem easier to work towards or to work into your calendar. Simply writing 'lose weight' doesn't inspire anyone to do anything, but 'walk around the block once per day' is a simple concrete goal that you can work into your daily routine and make a habit of. You can keep track of your progress on a calendar or chart.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>How do you make new years resolutions for kids?</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Ask your kids what they want to change or improve, make a list, and then help them pick out two or three things from that list. If they can't think of anything, here are some suggestions:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Improve math by 1 grade level</li>
<li>Improve reading by 1 grade level</li>
<li>Improve writing by 1 grade level </li>
<li>Catch up on work I've fallen behind in</li>
<li>Master 50 spelling words</li>
<li>Join a sport</li>
<li>Join an extracurricular activity or club (boy/girl scouts, drama, karate, etc etc)</li>
<li>Improve my ______ skill at ______ sport that I am already involved in</li>
<li>Read 12 new books this year (1 per month)</li>
<li>Enter a competition</li>
<li>Do a community service project </li>
<li>Learn 5 survival skills</li>
<li>Keep my room clean for 4 out of 7 days a week</li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Remember, it's important for the child to decide what their overall goals are. If you pick their goals or write all the steps involved in
meeting those goals for them, they will not be motivated to follow
through. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Try to help your child understand that their goals should be attainable and also something that is valuable to them. A goal like 'grow an inch taller' is not attainable because they have no control over how much they grow and when, and a goal like 'score 50,000 points in my video game' is not a valuable goal, even though it may seem important to them at the time.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Examples of Goal Setting For Kids</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Let's go over two more examples of how to break your child's long term goal into shorter term goals. Maybe one of your child's goals is to <i>join a sports team this year</i>. Their shorter term goals for joining a sports team might look like:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
1) Write down 5 different sports I'm interested in</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
2) Research those 5 sports and what they involve</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
3) Research times of year those sports are available in the local area and through what organizations.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
4) Find out what I need to do to join one of the teams and get together everything I need to join.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Or if your child's long term goal is <i>keep my room clean for 4 out of 7 days a week for 4 months</i>, then they can set these shorter term goals to help them reach their larger goal:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
1) Pick up 10 things in my room after breakfast every day</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
2) Pick up 10 things in my room after school every day</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
3) Pick up 10 things in my room after dinner every day</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
4) Put things away when I'm done playing with them</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
In order to measure a goal like this, where the time frame is 'do this for 4 months' then it would be helpful to get a calendar and have the child check off the days each week that the room is clean to see at the end of the week if the goal of 4 out of 7 days has been met.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Help Them Stay On Track</b> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
You can help your child stay on track by checking in regularly with them and the progress they are making and record keeping you or they are doing for the goal. Encourage them to stay on track, remain positive, ask what they may need from you to help them reach their goal, and help them remember why they wanted to reach their larger overall goal in the first place. As time goes on, if some of the shorter term goals are not working out, try to help them re-evaluate what they need to do to reach their long term goal.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
With a SMART goal (Smart, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time Bound), and with the support you and your children can give each other for reaching your goals, the new years resolutions your family makes this year can be a huge success.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
What are some of your resolutions for the new year? Let us know in a comment below.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" /></a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7292321872872216705.post-87921859919322019912015-08-15T12:33:00.000-07:002019-03-14T09:16:09.609-07:0010 Ways To Help Your Child Love Reading<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AsKkdmXhkqk/Vc-QO65OflI/AAAAAAAAD4k/Km0-865dUIk/s1600/10%2Bways%2Bto%2Bhelp%2Byour%2Bchild%2Blove%2Breading%2Blearn%2Bto%2Blove%2Breading%2Blion%2Bcub%2Bschool%2Bhomeschool%2Bhome%2Bschool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AsKkdmXhkqk/Vc-QO65OflI/AAAAAAAAD4k/Km0-865dUIk/s640/10%2Bways%2Bto%2Bhelp%2Byour%2Bchild%2Blove%2Breading%2Blearn%2Bto%2Blove%2Breading%2Blion%2Bcub%2Bschool%2Bhomeschool%2Bhome%2Bschool.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_kITV2Wjg20/Vc-QP_bQIZI/AAAAAAAAD40/mvA11m79T3U/s1600/tips%2Bto%2Bget%2Bkids%2Bto%2Bread%2Bmy%2Bchild%2Bhates%2Breading%2Bwhat%2Bdo%2BI%2Bdo%2Bhomeschool%2Bhome%2Bschool%2Blion%2Bcub%2Bschool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<b><i>"My child hates reading. What do I do?" </i></b> I've heard that a lot. I want to give you 10 things you can do to get kids to read more and encourage their love of reading. I can't guarantee any of them will work, especially any of them alone, but at least it will give you a place to start.<br />
<b></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>1) Is your child struggling?</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MtdY-Xt36F8/Vc-QO1GKXhI/AAAAAAAAD4s/yDf2IyLDWbw/s1600/Is%2BReading%2BA%2BStruggle%2BMy%2BKids%2BHate%2BReading%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHomeschool%2BHome%2BSchool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MtdY-Xt36F8/Vc-QO1GKXhI/AAAAAAAAD4s/yDf2IyLDWbw/s400/Is%2BReading%2BA%2BStruggle%2BMy%2BKids%2BHate%2BReading%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHomeschool%2BHome%2BSchool.jpg" width="400" /></a>One reason they might dislike reading could be that they're struggling or lacking confidence. If you're hearing things like, "I can't do this," or "it's too hard," this may be one of the issues. Try working with your child on their reading skills in a calm and patient manner, and also try giving them books to read that are more fitted to their reading level or even a little below it. There is nothing wrong with letting your child read a book over and over again to gain confidence and speed.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If your child is a younger reader (Kindergarten - 2nd grade) then you may find that the level readers they're trying to read simply have too many words for them to make it fun. I have been surprised that a lot of the level readers that say level 1 are too long, and slow readers will have trouble getting through an entire book in one sitting, making it frustrating for them instead of fun. One of the brands we like are Stone Arch Readers. Our local library has around 50 of them (out of the thousands of other level readers they have), and when we switched to reading these my 1st grade daughter made leaps and bounds in reading and started to really enjoy reading time.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
You might also want to look into a reading program like Hooked On Phonics that will help improve reading skills. It uses short cartoons, easy workbooks, and level appropriate level readers to teach reading skills. A program like this can give your child a stronger foundation in reading, give them confidence, and help make reading fun. You might also want to check out sites like <a href="http://www.starfall.com/">Starfall</a> (free) and <a href="http://readingeggs.com/">Reading Eggs</a> (monthly subscription but amazing program) for their online reading games.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If your child is having issues with reading in a fluid way (smoothly and quickly) then one thing you might try is reading their books with them. Read a sentence normally out loud and then have them repeat the sentence as you point to the words. Ask them to read it just like you read it with the same speed and tone of voice.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
There are also books out there for younger readers designed for parents and children to read together. Some of these books have parents read one sentence while the child reads the next. Others have the parent read one page while the child reads the next. You don't need special books to do this though. You can do this with books they already have, and hopefully books they like.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>2) Are you choosing all of your child's reading material?</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_kITV2Wjg20/Vc-QP_bQIZI/AAAAAAAAD48/wpuFPZtc9nU/s1600/tips%2Bto%2Bget%2Bkids%2Bto%2Bread%2Bmy%2Bchild%2Bhates%2Breading%2Bwhat%2Bdo%2BI%2Bdo%2Bhomeschool%2Bhome%2Bschool%2Blion%2Bcub%2Bschool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_kITV2Wjg20/Vc-QP_bQIZI/AAAAAAAAD48/wpuFPZtc9nU/s400/tips%2Bto%2Bget%2Bkids%2Bto%2Bread%2Bmy%2Bchild%2Bhates%2Breading%2Bwhat%2Bdo%2BI%2Bdo%2Bhomeschool%2Bhome%2Bschool%2Blion%2Bcub%2Bschool.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
One of the things that makes reading fun is choosing what you read. If you have religious constraints about what your child reads, then let them know the rules about subjects they can't choose from (such as books with magic). Or if you don't want them reading certain things try this: when they go to pick a novel or book, ask them to pick out 3 or 4 and bring them to you to look at before they check the books out, and then weed out any that you feel are inappropriate. This way they've still had a choice of what they want to read. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If you have a lot of books at home and it's reading time, give them a box of books to choose from instead of pulling one out and saying they must read that. Of course this is different if your child is supposed to be reading something in particular for school work.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b>
<b>3) Have you ever used reading as a punishment?</b><br />
<br />
I know this sounds strange, but occasionally I have seen parents send kids to time out to read a book when they've done something wrong. <i>"I've already told you to stop that. Go sit in your room and read for ten minutes until I call you back out to talk about what you've done wrong..."</i> this is a great way to make kids think that reading is a bad thing and make them dislike it.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b>
<b>4) Is your child only reading for school?</b><br />
<br />
If your child is only reading for classwork and never for pleasure, they may be getting burned out with it. Reading a textbook or worksheet or required school novels that they have no choice in may make reading seem like a task. Instead help them to find time to sit down and read quietly (start with 5 minutes a day for a week, then move to 10 minutes a day, then eventually up to 30 minutes or even an hour a day). If your child is older (middle or high school) and they want to listen to music low in the background while reading, that's fine too. A lot of people listen to music while they read, though this may be a distraction for younger kids. Other than music, help your child to find a place free of distraction to read, and help them choose interesting books if they aren't interested in choosing for themselves at first.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>5) Does your child see you reading?</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MrG9RIST1Qc/Vc-QO_eO_ZI/AAAAAAAAD4o/nGY5RPNn3BY/s1600/Why%2Bkids%2Bdon%2527t%2Blike%2Bto%2Bread%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHomeschool%2Btips%2Bhome%2Bschool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MrG9RIST1Qc/Vc-QO_eO_ZI/AAAAAAAAD4o/nGY5RPNn3BY/s400/Why%2Bkids%2Bdon%2527t%2Blike%2Bto%2Bread%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHomeschool%2Btips%2Bhome%2Bschool.jpg" width="400" /></a>Children often take on the traits of their parents, and that includes habits and likes and dislikes. If they never see you reading during free time they may not think it's important to read. Something you might consider is setting aside time each day as family reading time, where everybody sits down to read at the same time. It's ok to let them spread out around the house at this time to find a comfortable place. Not everybody has to sit together. One thing I remember from when I was in 3rd grade in public school was scheduled reading time. For 30 minutes each day the teacher would let us spread out around the room (under tables, on the floor, in seats, in backpack cubbies) and read. We loved it. It was the only time we got to spread out like that, and it made reading feel like something special. There was no fight to get kids to read because everybody was doing it.<br />
<br />
<b>Tip:</b> Help your child find a special place to read that's comfortable.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b>
<b>6) Do you read novels to your child? </b><br />
<br />
Even if your child is in 3rd, 4th, or even 5th grade they may still get some benefit from being read to. One of my favorite times in the school day when I was a child was having the teacher read a novel to us. It was always an interesting novel the teacher had picked out and we loved sitting for 10 minutes and listening. It was reading for pleasure, not comprehension, and we weren't asked questions or assigned projects based around the novel that was being read to us.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>7) Is there any kind of reward for reading?</b><br />
<br />
One thing some might find helpful is to offer a reward for reading. Tell your child that when he or she has finished the book they are reading (novel, not level readers), that you will take them to the bookstore to buy a new book to read. You don't have to keep this up forever. The idea is to get them interested in reading more, and at first having a goal like: <i>'Finish this book so I can get a new one'</i> may be a good motivator. Remember, if you do this, they should get to pick out the book. After you buy four or five books, you can tell them that you're going to change the rule to every two books. After every two books they read, they will get a new one, and in the mean time they can go to the library to pick out books to read.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Another idea would be to take a large clear jar and tell your children something like, "for every novel you finish I'll put a dollar in the jar. When we have $100 we'll go ...." make it some place fun like an amusement park or a place they have been wanting to go to. You may even want to let them choose where they're going. If you have more than one child this will be a good incentive to get everyone reading and adding dollars to the jar. If you don't want to use money, you can use something else as counters that the kids can't easily get their hands on to add to the jar when you're not looking. Dry pinto beans, marbles, or beads are all good options.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>8) Is there a fun way to keep track of what they're reading?</b><br />
<br />
One thing I did to keep my 1st grader interested in reading is I made a 'reading board'. I used construction paper and a Dr Seuss scalloped border to make a reading board on the wall. I printed, colored, and cut out Dr Seuss characters from online and put them on the board. It was bright and colorful looking along with being large and near her work area. When she read a level reader or other book, I gave her an index card without lines and she made a book cover for that book. She illustrated it how she wanted, colored it in, and wrote the book title, and then taped it up on her reading board. She found it very exciting and I now find her reading on her own without me having to ask. I told her I was proud of her for reading on her own and she told me, "I want to finish this so I can go make another book cover to put on the reading board." You can also do this with novels. Come up with fun ways to keep them engaged. I found that my 1st grader really enjoys being able to look up at the board and see everything that she's read. Have a look at her first grade Dr Seuss board below and her 2nd grade 'big kid' reading board that hasn't been filled with her illustrated book covers yet.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zVuR3FzHgJU/Vc-SKbrRdNI/AAAAAAAAD5E/OyBbnDRcnTQ/s1600/Make%2BReading%2BFun%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zVuR3FzHgJU/Vc-SKbrRdNI/AAAAAAAAD5E/OyBbnDRcnTQ/s320/Make%2BReading%2BFun%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool.jpg" width="233" /></a></div>
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vdN8Bu-XncY/Vc-SMLq0ghI/AAAAAAAAD5M/5kNtID5xkTo/s1600/Show%2BKids%2BReading%2BIs%2BFun%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHomeschool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vdN8Bu-XncY/Vc-SMLq0ghI/AAAAAAAAD5M/5kNtID5xkTo/s320/Show%2BKids%2BReading%2BIs%2BFun%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHomeschool.jpg" width="223" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Tip:</b> If you don't have wall space for a reading board, make a reading board on a poster board or tri-fold cardboard project board. You can pull them out when your child is ready to add new books to it, and in the mean time it folds flat and stores behind a desk or dresser.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b>
<b>9) Take an interest in what your children are reading.</b><br />
<br />
Ask your children what they like to read and why. Ask what they are currently reading and what they like about that book. Not only will this show them that you are interested, it will give you an idea of books you can encourage them to read later on, or of the types of books to direct them towards in the future if they're uncertain about what to read next.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b>
<b>10) How much TV is your child watching?</b><br />
<br />
If your child is spending several hours a day watching TV or playing video games and not reading then it may be an issue of them having found other more 'interesting' things to do. TV watching and video game playing are habits like reading, and it's easy for kids to fall into a routine like adults do. <i>Come home from school, have a snack, do homework, watch TV until dinner. Have dinner. Back to the TV...</i><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9Yne74H_ohs/Vc-QPqNfLYI/AAAAAAAAD44/5pB7zogUsio/s1600/my%2Bson%2Bhates%2Bto%2Bread%2Bmy%2Bdaughter%2Bhates%2Bto%2Bread%2Blion%2Bcub%2Bschool%2Bhomeschool%2Bhome%2Bschool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9Yne74H_ohs/Vc-QPqNfLYI/AAAAAAAAD44/5pB7zogUsio/s640/my%2Bson%2Bhates%2Bto%2Bread%2Bmy%2Bdaughter%2Bhates%2Bto%2Bread%2Blion%2Bcub%2Bschool%2Bhomeschool%2Bhome%2Bschool.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Limiting TV time and instituting half an hour of reading before or after dinner may help children to form a good habit of reading. If you have a child who is skeptical about reading being fun, help them to see the benefits. You can talk about how it's like watching a TV show or movie, but in their head. Talk about how reading can transport them to all kinds of wonderful times and places with interesting characters. Mention how some good books are turned into TV shows or movies, but how people have often found the books to be better than the movie versions.<br />
<br />
<b>Tip:</b> Encourage your child to pick a book that has been made into a movie (help find an interesting one they'll like). Have them read the book first (or you can read it together) and then watch the movie together as a family to compare and contrast how they were different and alike, and ask which they liked better, the book or the movie and why.<br />
<br />
Sometimes we have to take our children by the hand and gently lead them in the direction we want them to go. Even if your child is older you can read novels to them. If your child is middle school aged or above, start a book club with them. Get two copies of a book and read together or separately. Challenge them to read one chapter a day. Ask each other questions about the chapter that was read that day over dinner or desert. Or challenge your teen to see which one of you can read through the book the fastest and still answer each others questions about the book correctly. Have your teen come up with one hard question for each chapter to ask you at the end of the novel, and tell them you'll be coming up with one hard question for each chapter to ask them. Make it a contest to try to stump each other. This could help your teen get interested in reading, encourage them to finish a book all the way through, and ensure that they're actually reading and not skimming.<br />
<br />
Questions can be about:<br />
<ul>
<li>Characters and their relationships to each other.</li>
<li>Character feelings.</li>
<li>Plot. Think the 5 W's and the H: Who, what, when, where, why, how? Who was involved in this incident? How did this happen? Where did these two characters fall in love? When did the main character realize they'd been betrayed? What did the character's father think about this incident?</li>
<li>Themes that came up in the book (especially recurring themes).</li>
</ul>
<div>
<b>Tip:</b> It's important to remember that not everybody enjoys the same type of reading material. For instance, I love novels, but my husband doesn't because he can't keep track of who is who in a novel. Give him a Bible or a book about the Bible however and he loves it. Here are types of books your children may enjoy (often times if a child does not love reading, it's just because they haven't found a book they love yet):</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li><b>Novels</b></li>
<ol>
<li><b>Novel Types:</b> <span style="color: #cc0000;">Fantasy</span> (like Harry Potter), <span style="color: #cc0000;">Scifi, Historical fiction</span> (like My Brother Sam is Dead),<span style="color: #cc0000;"> mystery, romance, thriller </span>(think Goosebumps), <span style="color: #cc0000;">nature</span> (like My Side of the Mountain), <span style="color: #cc0000;">survival</span> (like Hatchet). <span style="color: #cc0000;">and other types</span> (such as books about kids in school or going through real life type of things).</li>
</ol>
<li><b>Magazines</b></li>
<ol>
<li><b>Magazine Types:</b> <span style="color: #cc0000;">Nature, Science, Engineering, Electronics, Mechanics, Hobbies</span> (like Lego, Makeup, offroading, stargazing, etc), <span style="color: #cc0000;">Home And Garden, Sports, scholarly and research.</span></li>
</ol>
<li><b>Informational Books</b></li>
<ol>
<li><b>Types of Informational Books:</b> <span style="color: #cc0000;">Science, Nature </span>(birds, snakes, volcanoes, etc), <span style="color: #cc0000;">Historic events</span> (like the Titanic sinking or the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake or the Civil War), <span style="color: #cc0000;">How To Books</span> (Such as drawing books, how to make paper airplanes, how to do Karate etc), <span style="color: #cc0000;">and others.</span></li>
</ol>
<li><b>Other Non-Fiction Books</b></li>
<ol>
<li><b>Types of Non-Fiction Books:</b> <span style="color: #cc0000;">Informational Books, biographies and autobiographies, and others.</span></li>
</ol>
</ol>
</div>
When kids find something to read that they're interested in that they picked out, they become invested in the book, as opposed to when their parents or teachers just give them something to read (even if it's something they're interested in) and it becomes a task. <b>Picking out their own reading material and reading things they enjoy </b>can help your child learn to love reading.<br />
<br />
I hope some of these ideas have helped. What ways have you found to get your kids interested in reading? Let us know in a comment below.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>At Home Education Resources for homeschoolers.</i></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7292321872872216705.post-46042295381091350602015-08-13T16:16:00.000-07:002018-08-18T11:44:32.365-07:006 Back To Homeschool Hacks To Make Life Easier<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-p75XrYgCfbw/Vc0Jggx8KBI/AAAAAAAAD3I/ouQiodMzIFk/s1600/Back%2BTo%2BHomeschool%2BBack%2BTo%2BSchool%2BTips%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-p75XrYgCfbw/Vc0Jggx8KBI/AAAAAAAAD3I/ouQiodMzIFk/s400/Back%2BTo%2BHomeschool%2BBack%2BTo%2BSchool%2BTips%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It's almost 'Back to Homeschool' time and I wanted to share six tips to make your transition from summer life to school life easier for your family. If you're looking for a post about how to choose curriculum, <a href="http://lioncubschool.blogspot.com/2015/03/how-do-i-choose-homeschool-without.html">see our post here</a>.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>1) Set A Loose Schedule for your day. </b> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I already talked about how to make a <a href="http://lioncubschool.blogspot.com/2015/08/how-to-plan-flexible-homeschool-schedule.html">flexible homeschool schedule here</a>. Setting a rigid school-like schedule has never worked out well for us. Instead we have a routine that can flex and bend depending on what we have to do outside of the house that day (things like sports, field trips, homeschool gatherings etc).<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Sometimes the start of school is around 9:00 and sometimes 9:30 or even 10. We don't keep a strict school schedule and we don't always do our subjects in the same order each day. We eat lunch around noon or one and if there is still school left to complete after lunch, we finish it up. Because we don't worry about keeping to a strict time table, it's less stressful and helps us ease back into school after summer.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>2) Organize work and study areas one to two weeks before school starts.</b> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Some families have dedicated school rooms, some work at a desk in the dining room, and others school at the dining room table or on the couch. Wherever you do your work, get things ready ahead of time. I like to have dedicated spaces in our study area (a corner of the dining room with a cabinet for different curricula and supplies). Certain types of books go on certain shelves in our book case storage unit, and we have plastic tubs full of markers, glue, pencils, puzzles and other supplies. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I explain to my daughter what she's allowed to get into, and what she isn't. She knows where everything is, and where she's supposed to put things away when she's done with them. Having dedicated spaces for supplies and books helps children and adults know where things are and how to clean up at the end of the day. I can tell her, "Please bring me the History Teacher's book," and she knows where it is, and "put away your colored pencils," and she knows where to put them. Organizing all of this a few weeks ahead of the start of school will give your students time to familiarize themselves with where everything is, and give you time to figure out storage solutions for your items.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>3) Plan something fun for the first day.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Let your kids know that you'll be doing something really fun (or many fun things) on the first day of school. Whether it's a back to school tradition like a special breakfast, or a special project you know they'll enjoy, planning something fun and talking it up in the week or two leading up to the start of school will get them excited (especially if they see that you're excited). School should be fun, and when kids are excited, it's so much easier to get them to do their work than when they have what I call 'the floppies'. The floppies is when your child is bored, uninterested, or borderline comatose while doing their work. Their eyes glaze over, they stare off into space, and work moves on at a snails pace no matter what you try to do to get them to work faster. Avoid the floppies! Get the kids excited!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7tngtwwK_Q8/Vc0kAAyr91I/AAAAAAAAD38/icLTcmseQ20/s1600/Make%2BHomeschool%2BFun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7tngtwwK_Q8/Vc0kAAyr91I/AAAAAAAAD38/icLTcmseQ20/s400/Make%2BHomeschool%2BFun.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Ideas for fun things to do on the first day of school:</div>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li>A fun science experiment like elephant toothpaste or magnets.</li>
<li>A special breakfast that they don't normally get... cinnamon rolls and eggs anyone?</li>
<li>Take start of school photos.</li>
<li>Wrap up a special school supply or book for each of your kids and let them unwrap after breakfast (like Christmas). If there was a special Spiderman pencil box your child wanted, buy it and don't let them know about it until the first day of school.</li>
<li>Take a field trip or mini field trip.</li>
<li>Play a learning game.</li>
<li>Introduce one of your topics with a fun storybook or educational cartoon.</li>
<li>Sing songs.</li>
<li>Have kids make up a 'first day of school' dance and have a dance competition before school starts.</li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>4) Don't overwhelm the kids or yourself on the first day.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If you plan to do too much on the first day you risk frustrating yourself and your kids, and putting everyone in a bad mood. There's no need to get to every subject on the first day (or on any given day after that). It's easy to worry that you won't get through all of your subjects or curriculum in one school year (especially if you purchased a lot of books and curricula). I'm a list person myself. I avoid stress by making lists, and in this case I make a list of all of our curriculums, how many lessons are in each, and how much time it takes to do each lesson. I also know how many days of school we're doing, and that helps me know how many lessons in a given subject we have to do each week to finish in one school year. Read more about how to figure this out in <a href="http://lioncubschool.blogspot.com/2015/08/how-to-plan-flexible-homeschool-schedule.html">our post about scheduling</a>. Having a list of how many lessons we have to get through in a week of math, English, history, etc, helps me remember that we don't have to do every subject every day, and plan our week in a non-stressful fashion.</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/class_rules_poster_customizeable-228369095279460559?rf=238386772898788968"></a><a href="http://www.zazzle.com/jaworley*"></a> <br />
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/art?rf=238386772898788968"></a> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.zazzle.com/class_rules_poster_customizeable-228369095279460559?rf=238386772898788968" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="http://www.zazzle.com/class_rules_poster_customizeable-228369095279460559?rf=238386772898788968" border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nEcnM4-z7DI/Vc0ggJLrcYI/AAAAAAAAD3w/QUvyPnFmgYU/s320/school%2Brules%2Bposter%2Bcustomizable.jpg" width="230" /></a></div>
<b>5) If there's school rules, get help making them.</b> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We as parents know what we want from our children. We have expectations of them, and sometimes those expectations are different during school time than during the rest of the day. Rules like: 'no playing with toys while you're doing school work', and 'don't stick your finger in your brother's ear while he's taking a math test'. There's a secret to school time rules though: if the kids help you make the rules, they are more likely to abide by them, and to remind others of the rules when they're being broken. What I like to do is use a white board or chalk board and get everyone's ideas for school rules written down. Then I re-write them into positives instead of negatives. Someone might say, "no hitting," and I re-write it as, "our hands are not for hurting." If someone says, "don't say bad words," I re-write it as, "be polite and respectful with our words." When kids look at a rule list full of 'no's' and 'don'ts' it's easy for them to get discouraged. Once all the rules are written, I type them up and have my student color and decorate it. Then I tape it to a wall where we can see it during our school day. Having her help me with the rules and then decorate the rules makes it seem to her as though the rules are her own, and she's eager to live by them.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DCQ_cLhE2YE/Vc0fRxontdI/AAAAAAAAD3o/cpYhuNN9cg4/s1600/jar-of-beans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DCQ_cLhE2YE/Vc0fRxontdI/AAAAAAAAD3o/cpYhuNN9cg4/s200/jar-of-beans.jpg" width="133" /></a><b>6) Put a reward system into place and explain it before school starts. If you do it right, kids will be excited and eager to follow the rules of the system.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Using rewards that can be saved up and spent later is a great way to positively reinforce desirable behavior. This is also known as a 'token economy' system. The basic premise is that when your child does something you want, you give them a token and they can save the tokens up and spend them on something they want later. This is a great way to keep them motivated and working without interrupting lessons by presenting a large prize right there. The tokens can be anything that the kids can't replicate on their own... star stickers on a chart, play money you print out, red hash marks on an index card (when you have the only red pen in the house), pennies or pinto beans in a jar... the possibilities are endless. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
How it works: </div>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li>You explain the system to the kids so they understand what's going on. Make it simple. Tell them how to earn tokens (star stickers on a chart for example), what they can earn tokens for, and what the tokens can be spent on and when they can be spent. <i>"Johnny and Jenny, you can earn a star on your chart every time you clean your desk without me asking after school is over, every time you get a B or above on a test, every time you finish a book, and for being respectful. When you get x number of stars on your chart, you get to pick a prize from the box. The one rule is, you can't ask for a token."</i></li>
<li>Every time your child does one of the desirable behaviors (lets say one of the things he can get a token for is cleaning up his desk without being asked at the end of the school day), you give him a token and let him know that you are giving it to him. <i>"Johnny, thank you for cleaning up your desk without being asked. I'm putting a star sticker on your chart."</i> If they don't know you're giving them a token, the system won't work. If you don't be consistent and give them tokens for what you said you would on a regular basis, it won't work.</li>
<li>There are two ways to spend tokens in this system. </li>
<ul>
<li><b>Option A: </b>When your child has enough tokens saved up, let them spend the tokens on the promised reward. Maybe your system says that every 10 star stickers he gets, he gets half an hour of TV. Or for every 30 star stickers he gets a dollar for his piggy bank. Or for every 50 star stickers he gets to pick a new pencil or eraser out of your special prize box. </li>
<li><b>Option B:</b> Have a 'store' set up where they can buy things with their tokens. Have items priced at 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, etc. Small items like a fruit snack might be priced at 1 token, while larger items like getting to go to the movies might be priced at 100 tokens.</li>
<li><b>Take Note:</b> It's important that you have prizes your child likes, and it's also important that your child is able to earn tokens at a quick enough pace to earn those rewards often. For this reason, make prizes available that they can earn once a day that you don't mind them having once a day, and make bigger prizes take longer to earn. Give them choices on what to spend their tokens on, it makes it more fun for them. Keep a list where they can see it if you have to, of what they can spend tokens on and how much each thing costs.</li>
</ul>
<li>Know that in a token economy system like this, you do not take tokens away for bad behavior, you only award them for good behavior. If your system isn't working at first, flood it with tokens so they can get excited about it (give them more tokens more often for desirable behavior), and then wean them off of the excess tokens back to a reasonable amount of tokens after a few days or a week.</li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Token economy systems aren't bribery. You're not bribing your child to behave. When we go to work and earn money, we are part of a token economy system. When we go to the local coffee shop and buy a coffee and get a stamp on our card that allows us to redeem every 10 stamps for a free drink, that's a token economy system. The more a person gets positive reinforcement (a token in this case that they can spend later) for a behavior, the quicker that behavior sets in place and becomes a habit.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Some behaviors you might want to reward in a system like this are: </div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">cleaning up messes they make during school time</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">cleaning up their desk</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">helping their siblings with school work</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">doing their school work in a timely manner</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">having good handwriting</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">being respectful</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">finishing a book</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">doing well on a test</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">putting a lot of effort into a project </li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If your child is doing something you don't want them to do, turn it
around into a positive behavior with this system. If your 1st grader
argues with you every time you say it's time for reading, tell him that
he'll earn a token from now on every time that he shows he's ready for
reading time with a positive attitude. Just remember that behaviors take time and consistency to change. This system is meant to make things fun and help school time run more smoothly.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I hope I have given you some good ideas to help get back into the swing of things for the start of school this year. If you have ideas of your own, let us know in a comment below.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Best way to homeschool.</i></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7292321872872216705.post-57191835642929940512015-08-08T18:26:00.000-07:002015-12-17T14:10:19.646-08:002nd Grade Homeschool Curriculum Picks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-do8BHsZDAWY/VYxSAOu0fZI/AAAAAAAADtM/F0fSgi81UZM/s1600/2nd%2BGrade%2BHomeschool%2BCurriculum%2BPicks%2BHome%2BSchool%2Bsecond%2Bgrade%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHow%2BTo%2BChoose%2BCurriculum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-do8BHsZDAWY/VYxSAOu0fZI/AAAAAAAADtM/F0fSgi81UZM/s640/2nd%2BGrade%2BHomeschool%2BCurriculum%2BPicks%2BHome%2BSchool%2Bsecond%2Bgrade%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHow%2BTo%2BChoose%2BCurriculum.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0GF4Bqc_sVo/VczeQUZvV6I/AAAAAAAAD24/X5CcuXw27bc/s1600/2nd%2Bgrade%2Bcurriculum%2Bchoices%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHomeschool%2BCurriculum%2Bpicks%2B2015-2016%2Bvideo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0GF4Bqc_sVo/VczeQUZvV6I/AAAAAAAAD24/X5CcuXw27bc/s320/2nd%2Bgrade%2Bcurriculum%2Bchoices%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHomeschool%2BCurriculum%2Bpicks%2B2015-2016%2Bvideo.jpg" width="320" /></a>Is it already time for 2nd grade? It is, and I spent over a month researching the homeschool curriculum we wanted to use for the year. Some things I already knew we were going to use because we'd used them before and liked them, but others are completely new to us this year. After coming up with a basic curriculum I scoured the internet typing in things like: "2nd Grade Homeschool Curriculum" just to see what other people were using to see if there was something I wanted to add or change about our list. That's the reason I'm posting today, to give other people ideas and let you all see what we're using. If you're wondering how I chose this curriculum, see our post: <a href="http://lioncubschool.blogspot.com/2015/03/how-do-i-choose-homeschool-without.html">How To Choose Curriculum Without Pulling My Hair Out.</a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Things to know about our curriculum picks:</b><br />
<b></b><br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<ol style="text-align: justify;">
<li>We are blessed to live in <b>a county where they provide us with $1,500 per child per year</b> to buy the curriculum of our choice so long as it isn't Christian, art, or music. Not everybody has that kind of money to spend, and some people aim to always homeschool for free. If that's you, then use this list to get ideas for things you can get at your local library or at curriculum swaps, used bookstores, garage sales, e-bay etc.</li>
<li>Virtually everything on our list <b>was purchased at Rainbow Resource</b> <a href="http://www.rainbowresource.com/">www.rainbowresource.com</a>, which is pretty much the biggest online curriculum store there is. A few things we purchased from Amazon. The good thing is, Rainbow Resource typically has things that are below retail, and a lot of the items on our list were under $5 (though that can add up fast).</li>
<li><b>We do incorporate Bible, art, and music</b> into our school day, but those are things we have to find or buy on our own since our county homeschool program won't pay for those.</li>
<li>As the school year progresses, <b>I'll add homeschool curriculum reviews for some of these different items.</b> If there is already a review then the item name will be liked to it. I will also be doing a video on what we are using for different subjects.</li>
<li>Because we are still working on reading skills and comprehension, I try to include level readers into the curriculum wherever I can so that my 2nd grader gets a lot of practice and feels involved in her learning. Because we make most of our science curriculum, science is filled with many level readers.</li>
<li>I've marked our curriculum choices below with <b><i>full curriculum</i> and </b><i><b>supplemental</b>.</i> Supplemental can be anything from a single book to a science experiment kit. A full curriculum is everything you need to teach the subject for the year including teacher's books, student workbooks, software, tests, etc.</li>
</ol>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>What We Are Using For 2nd Grade Curriculum</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b> </b> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
To start off, <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tuzipzKsXsEwHJoIWzt1KvygSGHL7dFZFJXutfJFbi0/edit?usp=sharing">HERE</a> is a link to an online spreadsheet with all of our 2nd grade curriculum choices by subject if you prefer to view it that way. In the spreadsheet are included prices, which I will not be providing here.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
I made two videos to walk you through most of our curriculum, but some things haven't come in the mail yet so not everything in the list below is in the video. The videos give you a quick look inside each thing, but the written descriptions go into detail about why and how we use these curriculums. One is our main curriculum and one video (look under science) is our science curriculum.<br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zxtWcJ-Whlk" width="560"></iframe>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
<b>History/ Health/ Social Studies/ Geography</b><i> </i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>*Full Curriculum</i> - <b>Scott Foresman Social Studies Homeschool Bundle Grade 2</b> - I chose this curriculum because it looked comprehensive and we didn't have a really good social studies curriculum for 1st grade. There was another 2nd grade social studies curriculum that I looked at that was much cheaper, but it seemed lacking. You can get this curriculum on Rainbow Resource or you can go directly to the Pearson Website and get it cheaper if you choose not to get the teacher's edition, which I don't believe is necessary for this grade level of this curriculum. Also on the Pearson Website you can look at a sample of most of the entire book if you sign up. They make the sample available for 30 days.<i> </i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>*Full Curriculum - </i><b>Daily Geography Practice Grade 2</b> - We used grade 1 for first grade and LOVED it. It's broken up into 2 questions per day for 5 days for the entire school year, but my daughter was able to zip through the questions so fast that we just decided to do all 5 days worth (10 questions) once per week instead. This curriculum goes all the way up through middle school, is cheap, is well put together and illustrated, easy and fast to teach, and enjoyable for kids. I can't stress enough how much we love this geography curriculum.<i> </i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>*Full Curriculum </i>- <b>Mystery Of History Volume 2 Early Church To Middle Age</b> - This is a Christian Curriculum. It parallels Biblical history with world history. We tried Story of the World which is secular for first grade and just didn't like it. That being said, I have no issue with secular history curricula, but found Mystery of History to be engaging and fun and it has great activities. If you are Christian and trying to incorporate Bible curriculum, this is very informative. This is one of those curricula you can use as a family. For each lesson it gives activities/homework to do for younger, middle, and older kids. This is one of my daughter's favorite subjects thanks to this curriculum. We used Volume 1 for 1st grade. You could use volume 1 for 1st and 2nd, but we're moving at a faster pace because I want to do something else for 3rd grade. To be clear, this is an enormous book and will take up space on your shelf.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>- Supplemental - </i><b>101 Things You Should Know About Geography </b>- This is a fun book and we bought this to use throughout our geography journey, not just for second grade but also in the years to come. You could easily get by without this book if you're using Daily Geography Practice, but it's fun to have, colorful, and well illustrated.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>- Supplemental - </i><b>There's A Map On My Lap: All About Maps (Cat In The Hat)</b> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>- Supplemental - </i><b>Why Shouldn't I Eat Junkfood?</b> - I couldn't find a good health curriculum for 2nd grade, or at least not one that I liked enough to use. That being said, for science this year we are going to be spending almost 2 months studying the human body, and I wanted something health related to go with that study, so I chose this book. We are a pretty health conscious family, but like everyone we have our weaknesses and junkfood is one of them.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>- Supplemental - </i><b>World / U.S. Rolled Map Pack - Paper (40” x 28”) </b>from Rainbow Resource. If you have a globe or other maps, use those. We didn't have maps or globes and I wanted a really nice yet cheap map set to put up on the wall in the dining room where we do school each day. This is two maps, one of the world and one of the United States. They are large, colorful, and best of all, cheap. Rainbow does offer a laminated version, but I didn't want to pay extra money for those when it wasn't necessary.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>English/Writing/Grammar</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>* Full Curriculum - </i><b>Voyages In English Grade 2 Student - </b>I
found that I didn't need the teacher's text for Voyages In English
first grade, and after looking through the 2nd grade student workbook I
decided to skip the teacher's text again. We may start using the
teacher's text when we get into the third grade, but we'll cross that
bridge when we come to it. The 1st and 2nd grade student workbook is
very explanatory and has more than enough information to teach the
subject. We really enjoy this program, though I have heard it gets very
intensive in upper levels.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>*</b><i> Full Curriculum - </i><b> </b><b>Printing Power Plus Workbook Set - </b>This
is part of the Handwriting Without Tears program. We used the level
before this in first grade and she loved it. She was able to work
independently without much help from me (which she also loved), so we
are going with the program again for second grade. You can buy just the
Printing Power book (blue) but the workbook set was cheap and includes a
workbook that introduces cursive which is the next level up.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Spelling/Vocabulary</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>*Full Curriculum - </i><b>Words Their Way Level B </b>-
We tried this curriculum in first grade and loved it. It's not your
typical rote memorization spelling program. My daughter didn't do well
with a rote memorization program we had tried before so we switched to
this and she's doing well with it. The kids cut out their spelling list
each week and spend the week sorting and organizing the list into
categories. Then at the end of the week they glue the words down in
their place in the workbook, do a single written worksheet, and move on
to the next weeks list. They take a test around every 4 weeks.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>- Supplemental - </i><b>Vocabulary Cartoon of the Day For Grades 2-3 Scholastic </b>-
Because Words Their Way doesn't do vocabulary with the spelling we'll
be using this for vocabulary. It's not a curriculum though I believe it's a short, easy, and fun way to learn
vocabulary.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Math</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We
did 1st and 2nd grade Horizon math during 1st grade, so we're doing
grade 3 for second grade. Math is just one of those things that
homeschoolers tend to move up or fall behind in, so choose the math
level your child is at.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>*Full Curriculum -<b> </b></i><b>Horizon Math Grade 3 Boxed Set </b>-
The boxed set includes the teachers manual and both student workbooks
for the year. We really enjoy Horizon math because it's circular and
also colorful. For 1st and 2nd grade math I did not use the teacher's
manual but a few times to figure out what the workbook was asking her to
do, but as we move up in the grades I think we'll be using the teachers
manual more and more.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>- Supplemental - </i><b>Be a Zoo Vet (Real World Math) - Orange Level *Grade 3* - </b>This
is a book I'm excited about. Real World Math makes books for grades 3
and up (they might do grade 2 also but I don't remember). Each book has
a different topic like race cars, animals, or outer space. I chose the
zoo vet since we're studying animals in science this year. This isn't a
full curriculum, but it's a fantastic way to show kids how useful math
really is in the real world. It has students using the math skills
they're learning in real world scenarios.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>- Supplemental - </i><b>Math Dictionary for Kids</b> - We'll be using this throughout our years of math.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>- Supplemental - </i><b>Why Before How: Singapore Math Computation Strategies </b>-
This is more of a book for me to be able to teach my child better. It
gives strategies and exercises for teaching math to students.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><i>- Supplemental - </i></i><b>Geoboard 6" 5x5 pin double-sided w/ rubber bands</b> - This only cost about $2 and she loves playing with this. We'll be using it as we get into geometry and other things. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><i>- Supplemental - </i></i>Multiplication
Table/Grid Chart - This also cost $2. I'm sure you could find ones to
print online for free. This one is laminated and we'll be using it as
we get more and more into multiplication.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
-<i> Supplemental - </i>Learning
Wrap-Ups - Multiplication - I love math wrap-ups. There are different
brands that make them and call them different things. You can find them
on a lot of different learning sites and also on E-Bay. We just
finished using the addition and subtraction ones. They're a great way
for kids to practice their math facts and check the answers themselves
(especially if you have a <span class="_Tgc">kinesthetic/tactile/hands on</span>
learner, ie a person who learns by moving. Teachers know these kids by
another name (antsy, unable to sit still). We keep our math wrap-ups
in the car and she uses them whenever we are on our way to the grocery
store, field trip, other activities, etc.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Reading/Reading Comprehension</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Brain Quest Reading - Grade 2 </b>
- This isn't a full curriculum, but it also isn't a supplemental
curriculum. It's somewhere in between. We used the level before this
for grade 1 and my daughter loved it. You read a short story (less than
2 minutes) to the student, and then the student answers 5 questions
based off of the story they just heard, and 5 questions based off of
other things students in their grade level learn in English. The box
comes with 2 compact books that are meant to be carried around in a
purse, backpack, or glove box. They're great to take with you on the go
to keep kids occupied, and when kids are able to read fluently on their
own, they can use this on their own without help. We did one story and
it's related questions per day.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>* Full Curriculum </i>- <b>Hooked on Phonics Grade 2 -</b>
We used grade 1 this past year and really liked it. It's a go at the
students pace curriculum, so some students will zoom through it, and
others will take longer and have to repeat lessons several times before
they get it down. That's ok because students should learn to read at
their own pace. Each grade level comes with 2 boxes and each box
contains a DVD with short 3-6 minute reading cartoons, a workbook,
stickers to keep track of progress, and 4 level readers. The way it
works is the student watches the cartoon which teaches them a new
reading concept, and then goes to the workbook and practices. They can
watch the cartoon again and practice the pages in the workbook as many
times as they want or need to to get the concept down. Then they move
on to the next cartoon lesson and workbook pages. At every 1/4 of the
workbook they'll be ready to read one of the level readers. It's a very
easy program to use.<br />
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Novels (Novels she will be reading)</div>
<div>
<br />
This
year we got a lot of "Flat Stanley" novels for her to read, as well as
"The Wind In The Willows", "The Lighthouse Family: The Eagle," and "The
Biggest Bear". You can check them out in the first video towards
the top of this post. Whenever she finishes one of these novels she'll
be doing a book report. <a href="http://lioncubschool.blogspot.com/2015/08/freebie-friday-book-report-worksheet.html">See our post here</a> for our free book report worksheet and how we do book reports (Lion Cub Style).<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
Novels (Novels I will be reading to her) </div>
<br />
I
like to read to her for 10-15 minutes a day. I talk to her about what
we read and ask her a few questions. This year we'll be reading, "The
Pushcart War," "Seaglass Summer," "Toothpaste Millionaire," and the
first few novels from the "Little House On The Prairie" series. You can
see these books in the first video towards the top of this post.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Bible</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><i>*</i></b><i>Full Curriculum - </i><b>Who Is God (And Can I Really Know Him?) Volume 1</b>
- This is a really nice and easy to use curriculum by Answers In
Genesis. It doesn't have a workbook, but they do sell a coloring book
which I've listed below. I read her the lesson while she colors the
page in the coloring book for that lesson, and then I ask her
questions. There are also journaling opportunities for each chapter.
This is the 1st in the 2 volume set and is suitable for 1st, 2nd, or 3rd
grade.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
* <i>Part of above full curriculum - </i><b>Who Is God? (And Can I Really Know Him?) Volume 1 Coloring Book </b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
* <b>Brave Girls Bible Stories - </b>This
isn't necessarily a curriculum, but we use it as such anyway. It's a
great book, though it is gender specific and as far as I know they
haven't made a version for boys. There are stories about different
women in the Bible, and each is told from a different modern day cartoon
character girl. It's fully colored and illustrated and has a prayer at
the end of each story along with how girls today can take the
information they've just learned and use it to build their character.
My 6 year old loves it and I suspect girls from 5-9 would enjoy it and
learn from it. It takes us about 5 minutes to go through a story.</div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Science</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Here's a video about how we do science with a look into our curriculums. Keep in mind that 4 or 5 things listed below didn't make it into the video because I forgot to pull them out or they are still in the mail.<br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bXT2TJc119U" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
I have this pet peeve about how they teach science in most public/private schools. It seems like they teach the same topics year after year, only going a little more in depth into the topic as each year passes. I feel like students never really get a clear grasp on any one topic this way<b>. </b>For this reason we use a full science curriculum just to be sure we're meeting state benchmarks (ie I don't want to miss anything), but we also choose 3-4 topics a year to really sink our teeth into, and I make my own curriculum for those. I've broken up the four topics we're going into this year for you to see what we're using to teach each of them.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<b>Science - General</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
*<b> </b><i>Full Curriculum </i>- Science Fusion: Grade 2 - We used grade 1 for 1st grade. All of the lessons are on the computer and they are interactive. You have to have internet access to get to them. I was impressed with this curriculum, but like other public/private school curricula it covers the same topics again and again. What I like about this (aside from the fact that my child loves it and feels like it's a computer game) is that it tells you what science benchmark they are meeting for their grade for each lesson. It comes with a large fully illustrated workbook that serves as the textbook. You do a lesson on the computer and then do several pages in the workbook. We don't actually use the workbook much, and instead just go through the lessons on the computer (which go by fast). We try to use this for half of the year, and use the other half of the school year to get into the topics we've chosen. Sometimes if the topics we've chosen for the year align with this curriculum, we use this to introduce the topic, or use some of the workbook pages to supplement what we're doing.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
-<i> Supplemental - </i><b>Living World Encyclopedia</b> - This is an awesome encyclopedia, and we plan on using this through the years in our science studies. Because we are studying a lot about animals, insects, and plants this year we'll be using this for further study on all of those topics.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
- <i>Supplemental - </i><b>Berenstain Bears Big Book of Science and Nature </b>- My child learns well with story type books that have a lot of facts, which is why we chose this book to supplement our studies about animals, nature, etc. It is jam packed with facts and is a great way to introduce certain topics in an interesting way.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>- Supplemental - </i><b>Backyard Biology: Investigate Habitats Outside Your Door (Build it Yourself)</b> - I really like this book. When we are studying plants and insects, we'll be using this book a lot.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>- Supplemental - </i><b>Magic School Bus: Complete Series Seasons 1-4 8 DVDs</b> - You could spend over $100 dollars on the entire Magic School Bus DVD set, or you could watch them all on Netflix if you are subscribed to that (which is how we plan to watch them). Magic School Bus has a lot of episodes on plants, insects, and the human body, so we'll be watching some of the episodes on Netflix to introduce topics we'll be studying in science this year.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>- Supplemental - </i> <b>In the Rainforest (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science Level 2)</b> - I love the Lets Read and Find Out Science books. They're well illustrated, packed with information, and easy to get through. You could read it through once and be done with it, or read through it several times and use it over and over for different areas of study within a topic. Since we're studying about animals this year, I wanted to have this book on this particular habitat.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Science - Animals</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When I was putting together the curriculum for animals, I came up with a list of topics I wanted her to know about relating to animals and picked books accordingly. Since everything in this list is a part of our curriculum, I'll be listing the topic instead of supplemental or full curriculum. Most of the books in this list are under $5. We'll be going through each of these books (most are rather short), and then she'll be journaling and also watching videos and making art based off of what we're learning.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b> </b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>[Mammals] </i>Is A Camel A Mammal?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>[Reptiles]</i> Miles and Miles of Reptiles: All About Reptiles</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>[Reptiles]</i> Snakes (Penguin Young Readers Level 3)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>[Reptiles and Amphibians]</i> Reptiles and Amphibians - Level 3 (Half and Half)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i> [Amphibians] </i>Why Frogs Are Wet (FRAFOS L2)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>[Amphibians]</i> About Amphibians: A Guide for Children</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>[Amphibians]</i> Look Out for Turtles! (LRAFOSL2)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<i>[Birds]</i> Fine Feathered Friends: All About Birds</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>[Birds] </i>How Do Birds Find Their Way (LRAFOS L2)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>[Birds]</i> Why Do Birds Sing? (Penguin Young Readers Level 3)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>[Birds] </i>Owls: Birds of the Night (Penguin Young Readers Level 3)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>[Birds] </i>Birds of Prey Zoobook</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<i>[Camouflage]</i> Why Do Tigers Have Stripes?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>[Camouflage]</i> What Color is Camouflage? </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<i>[Food Chain]</i> Who Eats What? Stage 2 LR + FOAS </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>[Extinction]</i> Almost Gone (LRAFOS L2)<br />
<i>[Veterinarians]</i> Doctor for the Animals - Level 1 (Half and Half)<br />
<i>[Animal Senses] </i>Amazing Animal Senses (Kingfisher Readers Level 2)<br />
<div>
<i>[Hibernation]</i> Hibernation (Scholastic Reader Level 2) </div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>[Nocturnal Animals]</i> Nocturnal Animals Zoobook</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>[Nocturnal Animals]</i> Black Out! Animals That Live In The Dark! (Penguin Young Level Readers) </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<div>
<i>[Animal Babies]</i> Animal Babies Zoobook</div>
<div>
<i>[Animal Babies]</i> How Animal Babies Stay Safe (LRAFOS L1)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>[Animal Babies] </i>Penguin Chick (LRAFOS L2)</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<i>[Marine Life]</i> Octopus is Amazing (LRAFOSL2)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>[Marine Life]</i> What Lives in a Shell? (LRAFOS1)<i> </i><br />
<br />
<i>[Wildlife and Habitats]</i> By Pond and River</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>[Animal Habitats]</i> Where Animals Live (Kingfisher Readers Level 2)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<i>[Wolves]</i> Wolves (National Geographic Reader Level 2)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>[Predators]</i> Deadly Predators (National Geographic Reader Level 2) </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<i>[Pandas]</i> Pandas (National Geographic Reader Level 2)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>[Bats]</i> Zipping, Zapping, Zooming Bats St 2 LR+FOAS</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>[Farm Animals] </i>Farm Animals (Scholastic Reader Level 2)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>[Horses] </i>Ponies (National Geographic Reader Level 1)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>[Domestic Animals]</i> Animals At Home (DK Reader Level 1)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>[Special Animals]</i> Fake Out! Animals That Play Tricks (Penguin Young Readers Level 3) </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<b>Science - Human Body</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
For the human body I wanted a full curriculum to make sure I didn't miss anything, but because my child is a visual learner I also wanted her to have videos to help her grasp some of the concepts we'd be learning. In studying the human body my goal isn't to overwhelm her with worksheets, though we will be using some of them from the various curricula we've chosen. Instead I want her to be able to see and hear what she's learning about via kid friendly videos, do something hands on with what we're learning about (there's a book to help us with that in the list below), read, and write about what she's learning about.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>*Full Curriculum - </i><b>Human Body COLOR (God’s Design for Life) -</b> This is a Christian curriculum and I really like the way it's laid out.<i> </i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>*Full Curriculum - </i><b>Human Body Grades 2-3</b> - This is a secular curriculum that is very worksheet based and not as in depth as the Human Body Color. We got it for all of the worksheets. You could use this as a great jumping off point for building your own in depth curriculum.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>*Full Curriculum - </i><b>Discovering the Human Body and Senses</b> - This is a full secular curriculum, and a good option if you don't want a Christian curriculum for human body.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>> DVD - </i><b>Human Body DVD</b> - This is a DVD for grade/middle school students and we'll be using this to introduce body systems as it's helpful to see inside body systems along with reading about them. We'll also be doing the same with certain Magic School bus episodes.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>-Supplemental - </i><b>Where Do Babies Come From? - Girl’s Edition -</b> This is a Christian book meant to teach the basics of reproduction in a way that is easy to understand and appropriate for children in grades 1-2. There is a boys book. This is in story format and our daughter loved it. It does have diagrams, but it teaches it all in a very matter of fact way and is scripted in a way that makes it easy for children to understand and parents to read.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>- Supplemental - </i><b>The Body Book: Easy To Make Hands On Models That Teach </b>- I felt like in order for my daughter to really get a firm grasp on the different body systems that she'd do well to be able to make and color models. This book will allow us to make simple paper models of the body systems we're studying.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>- Supplemental -<b> </b></i><b>Human Body Book (Die Cut Cover) </b>- We got this book for the colorful diagrams and pictures. It's not necessary but we like to have it while studying the human body.<br />
<br />
<i>- Supplemental - </i>Drop Of Blood (Lets Read And Find Out Science) </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Science - Insects</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
My goal with studying insects wasn't to go super in depth like some of the other science topics we are going through this year. This is a topic she had expressed interest in, so I worked it into our curriculum. Together we chose insects she was interested in learning about and we got books based on those choices. We also got a couple of books about insects in general. If we get into this subject and find that we want to learn more and go more in depth, then we'll find some good documentaries to watch and seek out other material at the library.<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>- Supplemental - </i><b>Dragonflies: Catching - Identifying - How and Where They Live</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><i>- Supplemental - </i></i><b>Ant Cities Stage 2 LR + FOAS</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><i><i>- Supplemental - </i></i></i><b>Honey in a Hive (LRAFOS L2)</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><i><i><i>- Supplemental - </i></i></i></i><b>Wiggling Worms at Work (LRAFOS L2)</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><i><i><i><i>- Supplemental - </i></i></i></i></i><b>On Beyond Bugs: All About Insects </b>- This is a Cat In The Hat book with all kinds of good information in it.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>- Supplemental - </i><b>Pocket Genius - Bugs</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>- Supplemental - </i><b>Secret Lives of Backyard Bugs</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><i>- Supplemental - </i></i><b>Busy! Insect (Spectrum Reader Level 1)</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><i><i>- Supplemental -</i> </i></i><b>Monster Bugs - Step into Reading Level 3 </b><b> </b> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>- Supplemental - </i><b>1001 Bugs to Spot -</b> This is more of a book we got for fun. It's a Where's Waldo or I Spy style of book.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>- Supplemental - </i><b>Insect Detective </b>- This is a story book I will use to introduce the topic.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Science - Plants</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Plants is what we're going to be studying for science in the spring, and likely into the start of summer.<b> </b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>*Full Curriculum -</i> <b>ScienceWorks - Plants - </b>This is not an in depth curriculum but is a great jumping off point for this topic with a lot of great worksheets.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>*Full Curriculum - </i><b>World Of Plants - Great Science Adventure - </b>This is an in depth curriculum.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><i><i>- Supplemental - </i></i></i><b>Plant Parts (Life of Plants)</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><i><i>- Supplemental -</i></i></i> <b>Plant Growth (Life of Plants) 2nd ed.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><i><i>- Supplemental - </i></i></i><b>Oh Say Can You Seed? </b>- Another great info packed Cat In The Hat Book</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><i><i>- Supplemental - </i></i></i><b>I Can Name 50 Trees Today - </b>A Cat In The Hat book.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><i><i> - Supplemental - </i></i></i><b>Be a Friend to Trees (LRAFOSL2)</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><i><i> - Supplemental - </i></i></i><b>Life Cycle of a Flower</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><i><i><i><i><i> - Supplemental - </i></i></i></i></i></i><b>Strange! Plants (Spectrum Reader Level 3)</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i> - Supplemental - </i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i><b>Dangerous Animals & Plants (Pckt Ntrlst Gde)</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i> - Supplemental - </i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i><b>Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants - </b>We'll be using this when we go out into nature for field studies.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i> - Supplemental - </i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i><b>Field Guide to Medicinal Wild Plants - </b>We'll be using this when we go out into nature for field studies.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i> - Supplemental - </i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i><b>The Tree Doctor (Step Into Reading Level 2) </b>- A Cat In The Hat book.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i> - Supplemental -</i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i><b><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i><i> </i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i></i>Eco Plant Pals - Aloe Alin, Butterfly Beth, Fly Trap Fred, Damian Dragon </b>- Eco Plant Pals are little grow your own plant kits. When learning about plants I want my daughter to actually be able to grow her own (we chose some interesting ones, they're very cheap) and be able to study them, journal about them, and be able to identify different plant parts.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Music</b><br />
<br />
We got her a purple Canto recorder from Rainbow Resource and I'm teaching her how to play that this year. It didn't cost very much and there are a lot of YouTube videos about how to play.<b> </b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br />Art</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We participate in homeschool art classes towards the end of the school year. I also keep around 10 kids how to draw books in a bin with drawing paper for her. I give her art time each day and let her teach herself. She's very creative and doesn't seem to need much instruction from me with drawing. During certain subjects (like insects in science) I'll have her draw things from the insect drawing book we have, or another related drawing book. Kids how to draw books are cheap at Rainbow Resource or on Amazon. Usually around $5. We try to get 2 or 3 a year, and because we do that, our collection grows pretty fast. With how to draw books it's easy to get ones that fit your children's interests.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<b>Logic</b><br />
<i>- Supplemental - </i>Logic Safari Book 1<b> - </b>We haven't done logic yet but are starting this year. I remember doing similar logic puzzles when I was in grade school, and can't wait to start her on them too.<br />
<br />
<b>Other</b><br />
<br />
<b>Spectrum Test Preparation 2015 Grade 2 - </b>She doesn't have to take the state tests until 3rd grade, but we're going to have her tested this year with the Iowa Basic Skills Test (we're not in Iowa but that test is administered across the country). We don't do a lot of tests in our day to day schooling. She takes math tests and that's it. I want to do some prep work and teach her how to take tests so she can take the Iowa test at the end of the school year. That test will give us an idea of what she needs to work on for 3rd grade and also give her a practice run before she has to take the state test at the end of 3rd grade.<b> </b><br />
<br />
I hope getting a look inside our curriculum has given you some ideas for yours. If you're curious as to how we fit all of this in during one year, check out my post on our <a href="http://lioncubschool.blogspot.com/2015/08/how-to-plan-flexible-homeschool-schedule.html">Flexible Homeschool Schedule</a>.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<br />
What are you using this year for 2nd grade, or what have you used in the past for 2nd grade? Let us know in a comment below or on our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lioncubschool">Facebook page</a>.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<i><span class="spmc-e spmc-h">Online homeschooling reviews</span></i></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7292321872872216705.post-40049976014681074022015-08-08T17:03:00.000-07:002015-09-08T14:02:24.161-07:00How To Plan A Flexible Homeschool Schedule<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lY-mbioyvI0/VcaB3l7R9hI/AAAAAAAAD2U/MXUkgiZov7Y/s1600/How%2BTo%2BPlan%2BA%2BHome%2Bschool%2Bschedule%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BTutorial.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lY-mbioyvI0/VcaB3l7R9hI/AAAAAAAAD2U/MXUkgiZov7Y/s320/How%2BTo%2BPlan%2BA%2BHome%2Bschool%2Bschedule%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BTutorial.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Someone asked me recently if we use a schedule in our homeschool, and I thought this would be a good time to write about how to put together your own homeschool schedule. The answer is yes, we do use a schedule, but it's very flexible. In our first year of homeschool I had decided we were going to be just like the public and private schools. Lunch would be at a certain time. Math at a certain time. Play time at a certain time. That lasted for about a week before I realized that for our family it just wasn't going to work and wasn't necessary.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I try my hardest to plan school on days my husband works, and less school on days that we have to do things like go into the homeschool center for PE, or attend homeschool art classes. Even with that planning sometimes we get overwhelmed and the schedule gets thrown out the window for the day. Flexibility on my part is the key to my sanity though, and my daughter's happiness. For this reason I plan a flexible schedule.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>1) The first thing I do</b> when making a schedule is write down all 7 days of the week. I look at which days I want little to no schooling to occur (my husband's days off) because we keep those days for traveling or family time. For us those days are Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. When I do schedule school on those three days, it's going to be easier, quicker things, or things that are overflow from the rest of the week. I also look at which days are hectic for us (Friday) because we have to be somewhere, and on those days I plan less school.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gkF0MXMe3TI/VcaB0bavsQI/AAAAAAAAD10/rlRbj3XuQtE/s1600/How%2BTo%2BMake%2BA%2BDaily%2BSchedule%2BHome%2BSchool%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gkF0MXMe3TI/VcaB0bavsQI/AAAAAAAAD10/rlRbj3XuQtE/s200/How%2BTo%2BMake%2BA%2BDaily%2BSchedule%2BHome%2BSchool%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool.jpg" width="177" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>2) The second thing I do</b> is make a list of all of our subjects, the time it takes to do each one (I know because we homeschooled last year), and how many days per week we need to do those subjects to complete them within a school year. <i>See the end of the post if you need to know how to figure out how long a curriculum will take.</i> (If you need to see a photo click it to make it larger and then right click and view photo. You can click a second time to magnify again on computer).</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>3) After I have the basic week long calender laid out and my list of information,</b> I start drafting a schedule that we'll use every week. This is what ours currently looks like for 2nd grade. It will likely change and evolve over the course of the school year as we find that we are going faster or slower through some things or as other activities we get engaged in pop up. (Please excuse my abominable handwriting).</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D2NNVcse0cs/VcaB5a7fX4I/AAAAAAAAD2k/kYeoFOjOh3s/s1600/Lion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHow%2BTo%2BPlan%2BA%2BSchedule%2BTutorial%2BHomeschool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="531" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D2NNVcse0cs/VcaB5a7fX4I/AAAAAAAAD2k/kYeoFOjOh3s/s640/Lion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHow%2BTo%2BPlan%2BA%2BSchedule%2BTutorial%2BHomeschool.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The above shows our schedule. I put a little piece of tape (see picture below) on the right hand side of the schedule page and folded it over itself to the other side of the page. That tape gives me something to hold onto so I can open up directly to that page every day to see what we're doing. The main thing I use this schedule for
is to tell me what subjects we're going to do each day. We don't even
do them in the same order each day as I don't find that it's important.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
On the schedule it has approximate start and finish times at the bottom. If it says start at 9 am and we have to go out and do something and can't start until 10 am or 11 am, we don't stress about it. If other things come up in the middle of the day (like she wants to go play with kids outside on a Saturday and we're doing school), then I let her go for a while. We can always finish up in the evening before dinner. There are some days where I have to say no to things during school time, but I try to remain flexible.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I also marked approximate times it takes us to do each lesson and it's workbook pages. The times I marked are just so I can have an idea how long it will take. I don't make my daughter stick to them. If it says 60 minutes for math and we get done in 30 minutes because she's having a really good day, then it's ok. We move on to the next thing unless she's having fun with it and wants to do a second lesson (it happens occasionally). Or if I have 60 minutes written down and she's having a bad day and working slowly, and it takes her an hour and a half, that's ok too. This is where our schedule sometimes gets thrown off and we may not get to everything in one day. For 1st grade we ended up doing some curriculums into July because we couldn't get to everything every day, but it worked out because we ended up only doing about an hour of school each day during the summer. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qSEktEIJcJo/VcaB1QjGo3I/AAAAAAAAD2E/qWxZwpqxtF0/s1600/Home%2Bschool%2Bschedule%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qSEktEIJcJo/VcaB1QjGo3I/AAAAAAAAD2E/qWxZwpqxtF0/s200/Home%2Bschool%2Bschedule%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool.jpg" width="154" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I like to keep my schedule and calendar in a small notebook. I picked up this pink one at Wal-Mart for about $5 on clearance. I like it because it's small enough to carry with me to homeschool outings or to the homeschool center once a week. Last year I didn't have one of these and I was always writing people's phone numbers and e-mails, times and dates of events, and curriculums other people talked about that I wanted to look up on scraps of paper and trying to keep track of them later. This year I'm prepared with my handy little book. I only used about 20 pages for my calendar and schedule, so the rest are open for notes, phone numbers, etc. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Z2qmJVZIBc4/VcaB4NX_T-I/AAAAAAAAD2g/eC_BQCObZRM/s1600/Lion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHomeschool%2BPlanner%2BMonthly%2BMake%2BYour%2BOwn%2BTutorial%2BHome%2BSchool%2BTeacher.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="546" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Z2qmJVZIBc4/VcaB4NX_T-I/AAAAAAAAD2g/eC_BQCObZRM/s640/Lion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHomeschool%2BPlanner%2BMonthly%2BMake%2BYour%2BOwn%2BTutorial%2BHome%2BSchool%2BTeacher.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We do the bulk of our school year from September 1st to June 15th, but
we also don't mind doing a little school through the summer if we're
trying to finish one or two subjects up. With that being said, I do not plan out each week, each month, or each quarter or semester. When I am choosing curriculum I plan enough for the entire year (and maybe even a little extra to take us into summer). I don't stress myself or my student out by saying that we have to be to a certain page in a certain book by a specific day or month. We work steadily through our curriculum until it's all complete, and that sometimes takes us into the summer, and sometimes doesn't. I do plan the order of our science subjects and approximately how many weeks we are going to be on one subject, but that's flexible. If I had planned on doing the Human Body for 5 weeks and we took longer because we were having fun with it, then it's not a big deal.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D2NNVcse0cs/VcaB5a7fX4I/AAAAAAAAD2c/-FA8f9hfmNI/s1600/Lion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHow%2BTo%2BPlan%2BA%2BSchedule%2BTutorial%2BHomeschool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I hope this look into how I make our flexible homeschool schedule has helped someone. It's cheap and easy to make your own. You need paper, a ruler, a pencil, and some highlighters. I like to highlight our schedule in different colors as you may have noticed. <span style="background-color: #ea9999;">The pink highlights</span> are subjects that take my full attention and sometimes planning. Things like math and English are more intensive and got highlighted pink because it's not something she can do on her own and takes longer to complete. <span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">The things I highlighted blue</span> are work she does independently. I'm there if she needs help, but she does those things on her own most of the time without an issue. When she's doing independent work is when I have time for housework or work online. <span style="background-color: #ffe599;">Yellow highlights</span> are subjects that I teach her or do with her, but they go quickly and are not as intensive.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Let us know in the comments or on our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lioncubschool">Facebook</a> page how you do your schedule or if you even use one at all.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
------------------------------------------------------------------------------</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>HOW TO FIGURE OUT HOW LONG A CURRICULUM WILL TAKE TO COMPLETE</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Get out your curriculum. Let's use math as an example. Horizon Math has 160 lessons (that number includes tests). Most states have a 180 day school year (36 five day weeks). If you want to get done with all 160 lessons in 36 weeks, you need to do 4 and a half math lessons per week (or do 4 one week and 5 the next alternating through the year. Or do 5 lessons per week and finish 20 days early). You find that out by dividing the number of lessons (160) by the number of weeks you intend on schooling (36). 160/36= 4.4 lessons per week. Do this for each curriculum to see how many days per week you should do your curriculum.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When you're trying to figure out how much time each day it takes to complete a given curriculum, take into account the time you will be teaching, and the time your student will be completing activities or doing worksheets. Back to the Horizon Math example, there are 2 workbook pages per lesson. For us it takes about 1 hour to complete math on average. On a good day it could be 30 minutes, on a difficult day an hour and a half.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7292321872872216705.post-33622279765636535682015-08-08T09:35:00.000-07:002015-12-03T14:07:26.508-08:00Freebie Friday - Book Report Worksheet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4l4y5GpMIlU/UqjIu4b0VWI/AAAAAAAADJA/diT1JPw1EnY/s1600/Lion%2BCub%2BSchool%2Bfreebiefriday%2BFreebie%2BFriday%2BHomeschool.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="128" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4l4y5GpMIlU/UqjIu4b0VWI/AAAAAAAADJA/diT1JPw1EnY/s320/Lion%2BCub%2BSchool%2Bfreebiefriday%2BFreebie%2BFriday%2BHomeschool.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dtN9G0GcJIA/VcYrf7bId_I/AAAAAAAAD1A/cIEpTmcc6lI/s1600/Free%2BBook%2BReport%2BWorksheet%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHomeschool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dtN9G0GcJIA/VcYrf7bId_I/AAAAAAAAD1A/cIEpTmcc6lI/s320/Free%2BBook%2BReport%2BWorksheet%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHomeschool.jpg" width="263" /></a>My 2nd grader is going to be doing book reports for the first time on the novels she reads this year. For us a book report is a process. She'll read the book, fill out this handy worksheet I'm sharing with you, illustrate and color a book cover on a plain no-line index card and then put the card up on our reading board, then decorate half a poster board (where she'll tape or glue her book report form to). Finally she'll verbally tell us about the book she read and all of the artwork she made. I looked online and there were a lot of cute book report worksheets out there, but none that I really fell in love with, so last night I made one and decided to share. <i>I know I posted this on Saturday, but I made it on a Friday so it still counts for our Freebie Friday </i>;)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_43ykPUJyIMTnZjR3k1WWdrRHc/view?usp=sharing">Here is the PDF</a>. Simply open and click print (see below for location of print button). </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-q3GC2N4hj3g/VcYu9zvjtGI/AAAAAAAAD1c/LVC3dWP_o9k/s1600/Print%2BPDF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="61" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-q3GC2N4hj3g/VcYu9zvjtGI/AAAAAAAAD1c/LVC3dWP_o9k/s400/Print%2BPDF.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D0E5e3y2bgA/VcYrjv9Gd8I/AAAAAAAAD1U/EKnzInoSfNY/s1600/My%2BBook%2BReport%2BFreebie%2BFriday%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BWorksheet%2BHomeschool%2BGrade%2BSchool%2BPrimary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D0E5e3y2bgA/VcYrjv9Gd8I/AAAAAAAAD1U/EKnzInoSfNY/s200/My%2BBook%2BReport%2BFreebie%2BFriday%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BWorksheet%2BHomeschool%2BGrade%2BSchool%2BPrimary.jpg" width="161" /></a>If you save to your computer first then in the print options select 'actual size' instead of 'fill' in the print options so that it fills up a page (when printing directly from the browser it automatically fills up the page). Print it on white paper if you have an artistic child who will enjoy coloring in the bubble letters and drawing pictures. Or print it on colored paper for a child who is less inclined to color and draw so that it's still bright and colorful.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
There was only so much room on the page so there wasn't room for a summary or too many details about the book, which is ok for us because she'll be giving us the summary verbally when she gives her oral book report.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Tips for using this worksheet:</div>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li>Print an extra one so you can fill it out and show your student how it works the first time.</li>
<li>If you want them to write a summary or other details, they can do so on the back.</li>
<li>Tell students that it's ok to illustrate in the margins.</li>
<li>If students want to draw a larger picture, tell them to draw a line across the center of the back. They can draw their picture on one half of the back and write on the other half.</li>
<li>Have kids draw the main characters next to the main character names.</li>
<li>Explain what the different genre's are if children are younger and haven't learned about genre's yet. You may need to help them pick the correct genre.</li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_43ykPUJyIMTnZjR3k1WWdrRHc/view?usp=sharing">This worksheet</a> can be as lively and colorful as you or your students want, or as plain as you or your students want. It's up to you. I tried to design it in a way that would allow both options to work.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-baQJNTIQdCA/VcYriQ_vEMI/AAAAAAAAD1M/dxuZyPdIAhc/s1600/Free%2BBook%2BReport%2BForm%2BWorksheet%2BHome%2BSchool%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-baQJNTIQdCA/VcYriQ_vEMI/AAAAAAAAD1M/dxuZyPdIAhc/s200/Free%2BBook%2BReport%2BForm%2BWorksheet%2BHome%2BSchool%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool.jpg" width="200" /></a>If you like this worksheet, share this post with your friends or leave us a comment! </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>At home education resources.</i></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7292321872872216705.post-49456179755394745332015-05-29T13:42:00.000-07:002015-05-29T13:42:52.186-07:00Freebie Friday - Bubble Math: Learn To Add Fast<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4l4y5GpMIlU/UqjIu4b0VWI/AAAAAAAADJA/diT1JPw1EnY/s1600/Lion%2BCub%2BSchool%2Bfreebiefriday%2BFreebie%2BFriday%2BHomeschool.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4l4y5GpMIlU/UqjIu4b0VWI/AAAAAAAADJA/diT1JPw1EnY/s400/Lion%2BCub%2BSchool%2Bfreebiefriday%2BFreebie%2BFriday%2BHomeschool.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Being able to add quickly in your head is an essential skill not only for more advanced math but also in daily life. Think about going shopping and being able to add prices in your head quickly to make sure you don't go over budget. Or think about adding measurements together quickly when you're building something. Bubble math is an easy way to gain the skill of adding quickly. You can download the Bubble math packet as a PDF (numbers 1-12) <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_43ykPUJyIMckZFa3ozVnJHVDA/view?usp=sharing">HERE</a> for free and print it off. If you want to share this resource, please share the link to this blog post.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lHjCxGCDq8A/VWjJtmOwDKI/AAAAAAAADsc/dE74CKSX08Q/s1600/PDF1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lHjCxGCDq8A/VWjJtmOwDKI/AAAAAAAADsc/dE74CKSX08Q/s320/PDF1.jpg" width="247" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Inside the bubble math packet are instructions and tips for the teacher on how to do the exercises. When using these bubbles for addition practice, the student is trying to get to the number in the left bubble. In the example to the left the number the student is trying to get to is 10. They are given the number 4 in the top right bubble, and need to fill in the blank bubble with a number that when added to 4 equals 10. In our example the student fills in the number 6, because 6+4=10. The student asks himself, 4 plus what number equals 10?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
You can also use this packet for subtraction practice by reversing the above process. For subtraction practice the student would ask himself: 10 minus what number equals 4 and fill in the blank.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TdUF0I4UG1U/VWjN4ZN_srI/AAAAAAAADsw/aRDWFCeshO8/s1600/IMG_6071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TdUF0I4UG1U/VWjN4ZN_srI/AAAAAAAADsw/aRDWFCeshO8/s200/IMG_6071.JPG" width="150" /></a> What I did with this packet was print it out and put two pages back to back and run them through the laminator. This way we have double sided laminated sheets that my daughter can use over and over again if she uses a crayola dry erase marker. It wipes off with a napkin or cloth. When laminated these sheets are waterproof so you can also wash them if you need to in order to get dry erase marker residue off. We paired up number sets 1 and 2, 3 and 4, 5 and 6. Beyond 6 there are 2 pages for each number to 12, so 7 and 7 would go together and so on. This takes 10 lamination pages if you do it this way. I like laminating them because it saves paper in the long run if I intend on using the same number set over and over again, and I can also pass this packet on to someone else when we're done with it if it's been laminated and save them the trouble of printing it off again. The fact that my 6 year old think it's not really math if she gets to use dry erase makers is just a bonus.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lU6maigV4BQ/VWjN3uB23PI/AAAAAAAADso/irmP_QC3_WU/s1600/IMG_6072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lU6maigV4BQ/VWjN3uB23PI/AAAAAAAADso/irmP_QC3_WU/s200/IMG_6072.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" /></a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7292321872872216705.post-6338307918462171732015-05-21T09:39:00.000-07:002015-12-03T14:07:08.234-08:00Homeschool Math - Free Printable Graph Paper<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yTEOQcI6w60/VV4IsTGHsZI/AAAAAAAADro/auJ5W8OJFBg/s1600/Free%2BPrintable%2BGraph%2BPaper%2BFor%2BMath%2BPDF%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHomeschool%2BHome%2Bschool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yTEOQcI6w60/VV4IsTGHsZI/AAAAAAAADro/auJ5W8OJFBg/s400/Free%2BPrintable%2BGraph%2BPaper%2BFor%2BMath%2BPDF%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHomeschool%2BHome%2Bschool.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Need graph paper to demonstrate a concept? Or maybe your kids need graph paper for schoolwork. <a href="http://www.math-aids.com/Graph_Paper/">Math-Aids</a> has really nice free, printable PDF graph paper of all kinds, and the cool thing is that you can customize the size of the grids before printing. You can see some of the kinds of graph paper they offer below. They also have other math worksheets, but I'm most excited about the graph paper, which we've already used a number of times. I know we'll be back time and again to print more, and I really wanted to share this free resource with you.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.math-aids.com/Graph_Paper/"><img alt="http://www.math-aids.com/Graph_Paper/" border="0" height="304" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-deVLHQ3HjCE/VV4IsbRgdmI/AAAAAAAADrk/d5180-AxF7w/s640/free%2Bprintable%2Bgraph%2Bpaper%2Bhome%2Bschool%2Bhomework%2Bhomeschool%2Bmath.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.math-aids.com/Graph_Paper/"><img alt="http://www.math-aids.com/Graph_Paper/" border="0" height="304" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IV_RVFMfLXI/VV4IsQSCX_I/AAAAAAAADrs/JenktU4NAnQ/s640/free%2Bprintable%2Bgraph%2Bpaper%2Bhome%2Bschool%2Bhomework%2Bhomeschool%2Blion%2Bcub%2Bschool.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.math-aids.com/Graph_Paper/"><img alt="http://www.math-aids.com/Graph_Paper/" border="0" height="304" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SVa-MMBZhng/VV4Is2OMlvI/AAAAAAAADr8/7R5DcmLqbSs/s640/free%2Bprintable%2Bgraph%2Bpaper%2Bhome%2Bschool%2Bhomework%2Bhomeschool.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I hope you find this resource useful. If you know of other free math or homeschool resources, let us know in a comment below so we can share them with everyone.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>At home education resources for homeschoolers.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7292321872872216705.post-76622952249607112842015-04-29T13:29:00.000-07:002015-04-29T13:31:29.610-07:00Freebie Friday - Fun Addition and Multiplication Drills<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: normal;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4l4y5GpMIlU/UqjIu4b0VWI/AAAAAAAADJA/diT1JPw1EnY/s1600/Lion%2BCub%2BSchool%2Bfreebiefriday%2BFreebie%2BFriday%2BHomeschool.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4l4y5GpMIlU/UqjIu4b0VWI/AAAAAAAADJA/diT1JPw1EnY/s1600/Lion%2BCub%2BSchool%2Bfreebiefriday%2BFreebie%2BFriday%2BHomeschool.png" height="160" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: normal;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: normal;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: normal;">Who says math has to be boring? Today I have another freebie for you. This time it's addition and multiplication drills. You can print the PDF <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_43ykPUJyIMZk9VbUVwSDdpaTQ/view?usp=sharing">HERE</a>. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: normal;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: normal;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ksPiB1K1izk/VUE7eRg9iII/AAAAAAAADqo/Mw99NQmLLKQ/s1600/Example%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ksPiB1K1izk/VUE7eRg9iII/AAAAAAAADqo/Mw99NQmLLKQ/s1600/Example%2B2.jpg" height="320" width="247" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: normal;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: normal;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BG4G303Z8dY/VUE7ecw9DgI/AAAAAAAADqg/rNn3UUp_JlA/s1600/Example.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BG4G303Z8dY/VUE7ecw9DgI/AAAAAAAADqg/rNn3UUp_JlA/s1600/Example.jpg" /></a>The idea is simple, print the page you want to practice, write the operation being practiced in the square box in the center (addition or multiplication), and then have the child perform the operation on the number in the center of the flower with one of it's petals and write the answer in the outer petal.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: normal;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: normal;">In the <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_43ykPUJyIMZk9VbUVwSDdpaTQ/view?usp=sharing">PDF</a> there is a title page, an instructional page with examples and tips and tricks to make this exercise fun and interesting, and four pages of flower drills. In the center of the flowers the numbers go from 1-12 and there are two flowers per number. For each center number (1-12) there are the numbers 0-13 to practice with in the petals, with special emphasis on the numbers 7 and 9 which students often have trouble with.</span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: normal;">The great thing about these drills is that you can use them for addition and then re-visit them later for multiplication. You can also cut the papers in thirds horizontally to make drill time shorter and have the kids practice 2 flowers per day, or cut it vertically in half so that the kids practice 3 per day. This is great for younger kids (5-8) who may not like to sit for more than a few minutes writing.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: normal;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: normal;">Another idea would be to print these on bright colorful paper to make them more appealing to young children. If you print them on white paper, your student may have fun coloring the flowers after they're done with the drills.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: normal;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: normal;">There is plenty of room to hole punch these to keep in a three-ring binder, and they print double sided just fine.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: normal;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: normal;">Let us know in a comment below if you like these drills and are using them. Feel free to share the link with others who would find these useful.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: normal;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: normal;"><br /></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7292321872872216705.post-33729613145449863622015-04-22T11:23:00.000-07:002015-04-22T11:23:32.627-07:0010 Kid Friendly Activities For Earth Day<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YVE0qLXHH3U/VTfgCfOlkYI/AAAAAAAADpM/yx5MuqsnJ8U/s1600/10%2BActivites%2BFor%2BKids%2BOn%2BEarth%2BDay%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHome%2BSchool%2Bhomeschool%2B1st%2Bgrade%2B2nd%2B3rd%2B4th%2B5th%2B6th.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YVE0qLXHH3U/VTfgCfOlkYI/AAAAAAAADpM/yx5MuqsnJ8U/s1600/10%2BActivites%2BFor%2BKids%2BOn%2BEarth%2BDay%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHome%2BSchool%2Bhomeschool%2B1st%2Bgrade%2B2nd%2B3rd%2B4th%2B5th%2B6th.jpg" height="280" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
When is Earth Day? It falls on April 22nd every year. This can be a fun time to teach your kids about being environmentally friendly, recycling, pollution, conserving water, or growing your own food or other plants. Here are 10 easy activities to do with kids on Earth Day.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b>
<b>1) Do A Nature Scavenger Hunt</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ppqe6F1zfNQ/VTfiJtA5WPI/AAAAAAAADpo/L7UQjw8zfGU/s1600/Earth%2BDay%2BKids%2BActivities%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHomeschool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ppqe6F1zfNQ/VTfiJtA5WPI/AAAAAAAADpo/L7UQjw8zfGU/s1600/Earth%2BDay%2BKids%2BActivities%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHomeschool.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a>This can be done in any nearby park, wooded area, or even your yard. Write out or print a list of 10-30 things in nature for your kids to find. Give them a clipboard with the list and a pen and send them off on their hunt. Another variation of this would be to give them a camera and tell them to take pictures of everything on the list, or ask them to collect samples of 5 things on the list, so long as those samples aren't doing any damage to nature. <br />
<br />
What can you put on this scavenger hunt list? Here are a few ideas: A feather, an animal, a bug, a spider, an ant, a bird's nest, a tree with tree sap, a large pinecone (or other type of cone), a small cone, a budding flower, a flower in full bloom, animal tracks, compacted soil, non-compacted soil, a leaf, mushrooms, a butterfly, a trail of ants, dew (if it's a hunt in the morning), a grass hopper or praying mantis, a fern, an area where humans have changed nature, an area where nature has probably been the same for 20 or more years (a wild or overgrown area would also work), wild animal scat (poop). <br />
<br />
Modify this list to your local area. Are you doing this hunt on the beach? Add some beach items to your list. Are you doing this in a desert region? Add things from that region to your list.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
<b>2) Do A Litter Walk</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Go to a park or walk through your neighborhood with a trash bag wearing rubber gloves. Set a goal to fill the bag or to pick up 30 pieces of litter to clean up the area. Be sure to set down guidelines and educate kids (if they are going out on their own) about what is not safe to pick up (weapons, needles, etc). An adult should go with children on this activity to supervise. It might be a good idea to take a separate bag for recyclables and then take a trip to the nearest recycling center. This is a great opportunity to teach kids about recycling!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>3) Re-use Boxes, Cans, Jars, Egg cartons, or Other Household Items </b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Recycling is important, but re-using or upcycling is also important. Do an art project, make a toy, or find some other way to re-use what is already in the house. Another idea would be to take old t-shirts and sew them into pillow cases, or cut them up and sew them together into a picnic blanket and then have a picnic on it.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><a href="http://www.babble.com/home/20-totally-incredible-up-cycled-diys/">HERE</a> are 20 awesome ideas for upcycling</b> from household items and</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/sewstacie/39-ways-to-reuse-restyle-and-rewear-your-old-t-s-9gri?sub=2224535_1169366">HERE</a> are 39 ways to upcycle a t-shirt</b> into something amazing!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>4) Read Nature Themed Stories</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
There are a lot of kids books about nature and you can find hundreds of them at your local library. Here are some of our favorites to read on Earth Day:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li><b>The Berenstain Bears' Big Book of Science And Nature</b> (has a lot of different nature themed stories with real facts!)</li>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0486498344/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0486498344&linkCode=as2&tag=freetrad101-20&linkId=FC2E233GWEX5ZIBG"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0486498344&Format=_SL110_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=freetrad101-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=freetrad101-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0486498344" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li><b>By Pond And River -</b> A children's classic</li>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/159915272X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=159915272X&linkCode=as2&tag=freetrad101-20&linkId=S5KJPMEYPZ2EEUKC"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=159915272X&Format=_SL110_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=freetrad101-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=freetrad101-20&l=as2&o=1&a=159915272X" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li><b>Backyard Biology - </b>Let me just say that this book is awesome. It's not in story format, but it has so many activities you can do at home to teach about nature. It includes making your own mini green house, activities that help kids explore photosynthesis, observing micro organisms, learning about life cycles and ecosystems, and more.</li>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1619301512/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1619301512&linkCode=as2&tag=freetrad101-20&linkId=IYTBDGN5SFH6EJKZ"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1619301512&Format=_SL110_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=freetrad101-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=freetrad101-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1619301512" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li><b>Oh Say Can You Seed </b>- These educational Dr Seuss books read like a story, similar to the educational Berenstain Bears books, and are filled with facts that are easy to remember.</li>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375810951/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0375810951&linkCode=as2&tag=freetrad101-20&linkId=AY6SGI7KCNO6BYD3"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0375810951&Format=_SL110_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=freetrad101-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=freetrad101-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0375810951" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li><b>I Can Name 50 Trees Today - </b>Another fun but informational Dr Seuss Book.<b> </b></li>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375822771/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0375822771&linkCode=as2&tag=freetrad101-20&linkId=GTPMSASRHYS6FZBM"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0375822771&Format=_SL110_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=freetrad101-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=freetrad101-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0375822771" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
<li><b>The Secret Lives Of Backyard Bugs - </b>This book isn't in story format, but it's packed full of information about bugs and is filled with large colorful photos and easy to understand diagrams of bug life cycles and habitats.</li>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1603425632/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1603425632&linkCode=as2&tag=freetrad101-20&linkId=ANO5DZ4AA3NCQHPW"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1603425632&Format=_SL110_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=freetrad101-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=freetrad101-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1603425632" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
<li><b>Be A Friend To Trees - </b>I love love love the 'Lets Read And Find Out Science' series. On the outside these look like level readers, but they're not. It's jam packed with information about it's given subject and has well drawn, colorful pictures and diagrams. These books really make science fun for my daughter and I, and I would recommend them for first through third grade, though I think fourth graders might also enjoy them. It makes the information so easy to digest.
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0064451208/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0064451208&linkCode=as2&tag=freetrad101-20&linkId=ER75HDTEEP44KHQE"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0064451208&Format=_SL110_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=freetrad101-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=freetrad101-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0064451208" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
</li>
<li><b>Ant Cities - </b>Another 'Lets Read and Find Out Science' book. Love it.</li>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0064450791/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0064450791&linkCode=as2&tag=freetrad101-20&linkId=SMGTK6CV4AF5JUSZ"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0064450791&Format=_SL110_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=freetrad101-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=freetrad101-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0064450791" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
<li><b>Follow The Water From Brook To Ocean - </b>This 'Lets Read And Find Out Science' book is about the water cycle and is awesome.</li>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0064451151/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0064451151&linkCode=as2&tag=freetrad101-20&linkId=HJLMBKFPNP77CSER"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0064451151&Format=_SL110_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=freetrad101-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=freetrad101-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0064451151" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
<li><b>In The Rain Forest - </b>On Earth day children often learn about the area they live in, but this is a great book to help kids explore the rainforest and the role it plays for the entire earth. Another awesome 'Lets Read And Find Out Science' book.</li>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0064451976/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0064451976&linkCode=as2&tag=freetrad101-20&linkId=CIF7MKMJ4AWHO7QE"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0064451976&Format=_SL110_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=freetrad101-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=freetrad101-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0064451976" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
You can click on any of the book covers above to be taken to that book on Amazon. These can also be found on <a href="http://www.rainbowresource.com/">www.rainbowresource.com</a> . We own all of these books and love them.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>5) Take A Field Trip To A Local Refuge Or Wildlife Area</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X1VzDOIA0UA/VTfj_3s3A_I/AAAAAAAADqA/hpx4y9HAYNI/s1600/Homeschool%2BNature%2BEarth%2BDay%2BWildlife%2BRefuge%2BField%2BTrip%2Bfieldtrip%2Bhome%2Bschool%2BActivities%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X1VzDOIA0UA/VTfj_3s3A_I/AAAAAAAADqA/hpx4y9HAYNI/s1600/Homeschool%2BNature%2BEarth%2BDay%2BWildlife%2BRefuge%2BField%2BTrip%2Bfieldtrip%2Bhome%2Bschool%2BActivities%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a>Most states have areas that are designated as protected for birds and other wildlife. These areas are usually called refuges and can be a great place to visit. Many of them are free or only cost a couple of dollars for parking fees. <a href="http://www.fws.gov/refuges/profiles/bystate.cfm">HERE is a list</a> of National Wildlife Refuges by state. You may also want to search out Wildlife Areas in your state. These are similar to refuges but are protected on the state level instead of the national level. If you can't visit a wildlife area or refuge, consider heading out to a <a href="http://www.americasstateparks.org/">State Park</a> or <a href="http://parks.mapquest.com/national-parks/national-parks-by-state/">National Park</a>.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7woG7R2CI7M/VTfjOAWSi0I/AAAAAAAADp4/C8RTF8L5CSg/s1600/Lion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BEarth%2BDay%2BActivities%2BFor%2BKids%2BEasy%2BTeach%2BAbout%2BNature%2BHomeschool%2BHome%2Bschool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7woG7R2CI7M/VTfjOAWSi0I/AAAAAAAADp4/C8RTF8L5CSg/s1600/Lion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BEarth%2BDay%2BActivities%2BFor%2BKids%2BEasy%2BTeach%2BAbout%2BNature%2BHomeschool%2BHome%2Bschool.jpg" height="320" width="211" /></a><b>6) Take A Trip To See Local Waterfalls Or Natural Features</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Are there waterfalls within driving distance? What about caves? Or how about a spectacular lake or river, or a place to go rock hounding? What about the beach? Whatever your local area has to offer, take your kids out and wow them with nature. Sunset or sunrise is a great time to be out and be inspired. It's a great motivator to get them to keep our environment clean, to not litter, and to recycle or to reduce our carbon footprint.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b> </b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>7) Have Nature Quite Time</b><br />
<br />
When I was in 6th grade and went to outdoor school, one of the things they had us do each day that always stuck with me, was taking a half hour and just sitting alone in nature. We were told that we could draw, read, write, or just sit and reflect, so long as we were sitting quietly. They spaced us out about 20 feet apart from each other. At first kids may seem uncertain about why they are doing this, but once they are alone and quiet they can start to observe what's going on around them... they can hear the birds and bugs, feel the wind and hear it as it rustles leaves around them, observe small bugs as they pass by, and more. At the end of the set quiet time (try to make it more than 10 minutes), have them tell you, or write down 10 things that they observed about nature. Ask them what they saw that was cool or interesting. This can be done at a park, or even in the yard. If it's sunny out, be sure to take them to a shaded place to sit and give them a bottle of water. Also make sure they don't have to go to the bathroom before they start. The goal is to avoid distractions so they can enjoy nature.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>8) Draw/Write Nature</b><br />
<br />
Give kids a drawing pad, a pencil and an eraser (you could also give them crayons or colored pencils in a pencil case), take them outside to a park or the yard, and tell them to find one interesting thing in nature to draw. Tell them it doesn't have to be perfect, and it doesn't have to look exactly like it does in real life. Tell them to observe the object and to draw what it is about the object that is interesting or special. You could also tell them to sit and draw the object in two or even three different ways. Something else you could have them do is write a poem about an object in nature. Depending on where you are, this could be a poem or drawing of a mushroom, a pine cone, a feather, a birds nest, a river, a lake, trees, grass, flowers, bees, ants, or even the dirt! Let them choose something that's of interest to them and let them have fun with it!<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>9) Go On A Nature Hike</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oH5XM65tXmA/VTfiKhO_-dI/AAAAAAAADpw/B544pa5Jj6M/s1600/Earth%2BDay%2BKids%2BThings%2BTo%2BDo%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHomeschool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oH5XM65tXmA/VTfiKhO_-dI/AAAAAAAADpw/B544pa5Jj6M/s1600/Earth%2BDay%2BKids%2BThings%2BTo%2BDo%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHomeschool.jpg" height="320" width="239" /></a>Take your kids on a nature hike in a park or wild area. Tell them you're looking for interesting things like animal tracks, or cool plants or bugs. Point things out along the way that you find interesting. Take your time as you walk and spend at least a half hour really observing nature and stopping to look at things. The kids might have fun taking photos of different things they find, or keeping a list of things so they can go home and research more about them. If you have a field guide of plants and wildlife in your state or region it can be fun for the kids to look things up if they aren't sure what the names of plants or bugs are. There are hundreds of these guides for sale. Four of my favorites are:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Reader's Digest North American Wildlife</b> An Illustrated Guide To 2,000 Plants And Animals - This book has plants, birds, bugs, animals, trees, and other wildlife. This book does not say what is edible or medicinal.</li>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1606524917/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1606524917&linkCode=as2&tag=freetrad101-20&linkId=7ET6APKDIYL62TSX"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1606524917&Format=_SL110_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=freetrad101-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=freetrad101-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1606524917" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> </ul>
<ul>
<li><b>Field Guide To Edible Wild Plants</b></li>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0811734471/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0811734471&linkCode=as2&tag=freetrad101-20&linkId=XBENXJOW3W3GUGJ4"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0811734471&Format=_SL110_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=freetrad101-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=freetrad101-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0811734471" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> </ul>
<ul>
<li><b>Field Guide To Medicinal Wild Plants</b></li>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0811734935/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0811734935&linkCode=as2&tag=freetrad101-20&linkId=4T3WUCA2S5435PKP"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0811734935&Format=_SL110_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=freetrad101-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=freetrad101-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0811734935" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> </ul>
<ul>
<li><b>Field Guide To The Cascades And Olympics</b> (specific to to the Pacific Northwest, but does not tell you what plants are edible or medicinal) - This book also includes plants, trees, bugs, birds, fish, and a variety of animals. </li>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0898868084/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0898868084&linkCode=as2&tag=freetrad101-20&linkId=OMITAYD6KHPWANDL"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0898868084&Format=_SL110_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=freetrad101-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=freetrad101-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0898868084" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
</ul>
You can click the above book covers to be taken to these books on Amazon. Your local library should also have similar books.<br />
<br />
<b>10) Go Rock Hounding</b><br />
<br />
Each area of the world has their own special rocks and minerals. Do some research and find out where you can go nearby to find rocks like: agates, geodes, thundereggs, obsidian, gold, sunstones, opal, petrified wood, jade, jasper, pumice, and others. <a href="http://www.gatorgirlrocks.com/state-by-state/">HERE</a> is one site to get you started, but there are many many more.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Whichever of these activities you choose to go out and do, be sure to teach your kids about low impact hiking (staying on the trail to avoid compacting soil, taking out what you hike in with... trash etc, and trying not to disturb animals or ruin their habitats). You can also take the opportunity with any of the above activities to talk to your kids about protecting nature and animal habitats, as well as talking about how man manages nature in a positive way (talk about BLM and Forest Service), and how sometimes man has negative impacts on nature.<br />
<ul>
</ul>
<br />
Have other ideas for Earth Day? Let us know in a comment below.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7292321872872216705.post-66684470578036657412015-03-12T15:49:00.000-07:002016-01-06T19:35:00.787-08:00Homeschooling 101: Where Do I Start?<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sl-R3ZRbN-g/VQIPrmxiUmI/AAAAAAAADoM/eK316ICFGVY/s1600/Homeschooling%2B101%2BWhere%2BDo%2BI%2BStart%2BHow%2BDo%2BI%2BHomeschool%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sl-R3ZRbN-g/VQIPrmxiUmI/AAAAAAAADoM/eK316ICFGVY/s1600/Homeschooling%2B101%2BWhere%2BDo%2BI%2BStart%2BHow%2BDo%2BI%2BHomeschool%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Perhaps you're just thinking about homeschooling your child, or maybe you've already pulled your child out of public or private school. Who knows, maybe you're just a curious person who has no intention of teaching your child at home. Regardless, welcome!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
For those of us who weren't homeschooled as children, the process of starting a homeschool journey with your children can seem daunting. Because each state and country is different, I can't give you a detailed step by step of what to do, but I can give you a direction to go.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: center;">
<b>How To Homeschool Your Child</b></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fl0_OvrOM3Q/VQIUfHzOCoI/AAAAAAAADoo/GBgfEXZPBtk/s1600/1%2BHomeschool%2BLaw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fl0_OvrOM3Q/VQIUfHzOCoI/AAAAAAAADoo/GBgfEXZPBtk/s1600/1%2BHomeschool%2BLaw.jpg" width="200" /></a><b>1) Laws:</b> Search online to find out what the homeschool laws are in your state or country. Some countries don't allow homeschooling. Every state in the USA does allow
homeschooling, but some states can be very strict with rules and
regulations while other states don't care and have no rules for
homeschooling at all. Finding out what homeschool laws pertain to you
should be the first place you start. For instance, if you live in a
state that says you must write a letter of intent to the local school
district, and that your child must take a state test every three years,
then you know that to start in your state you have to write that letter
of intent.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-byqh6K_fURY/VQIUejHOx6I/AAAAAAAADoc/fq-YhrawgMU/s1600/1%2BHomeschool%2BGroups%2BOnline%2BSupport.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-byqh6K_fURY/VQIUejHOx6I/AAAAAAAADoc/fq-YhrawgMU/s1600/1%2BHomeschool%2BGroups%2BOnline%2BSupport.jpg" width="227" /></a><b>2) See What's Local: </b>Search online in local school and mom groups, look on Facebook and Craigslist, and talk to the local school district to see what kind of support is available in your area for homeschool families. We are fortunate to live in an area with a thriving community of homeschool families. We have a local group on Facebook that plans field trips, parties, get togethers, art classes, hikes, curriculum swaps and show and tells, and other things for the kids to do. If there are no groups like this in your area, then you should start one! Don't underestimate the power of having a positive and lively support group. If you have people around you that are also homeschooling, then you have people to talk to and ask questions to about local laws and regulations, curriculum, state testing, and to organize get togethers with.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>3) Figure Out How You're Going To Pay For Curriculum: </b>Some people do the free thing, and that's cool. Others want a set curriculum for each subject though, and that can be costly even if you buy used. If you want to pay for everything yourself that's awesome, but if not then speak to your local school district to see if there are any programs that will pay for the curriculum for you. We live in an area (the only county in our state that I know of that does this), where the county school district will buy all curriculum provided that it isn't religious, art or music related. The trade off? We go for one hour a week to their classroom with other homeschooler's my child's age so they can be sure we haven't absconded to another state or county with all of the nice curriculum they've purchased. It's not a bad trade off. We can still use what we want and my child gets an hour of play time. Other states have programs where you must use their curriculum if you enroll, and some states have programs like ours. Just see what's available and what their rules are.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>4) Learn How To Choose Curriculum:</b> I've already written a handy step by step post for choosing curriculum without pulling your hair out <a href="http://lioncubschool.blogspot.com/2015/03/how-do-i-choose-homeschool-without.html">HERE</a>.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DzOcLVf2V9s/VQIUenuRU4I/AAAAAAAADoY/kyYM2Di1nrE/s1600/1%2BGoals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DzOcLVf2V9s/VQIUenuRU4I/AAAAAAAADoY/kyYM2Di1nrE/s1600/1%2BGoals.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>5) Figure Out Your Goals:</b> You'll need to do this for step #4. Think about why you want to homeschool and write down 1-5 goals for what you want to accomplish by homeschooling. Looking at these goals every once in a while is a great way to stay focused and on track and to remind you when you get frustrated why you started this in the first place.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>6) Know That It Isn't Always Going To Be Easy.</b> There are going to be days when you struggle to find motivation to continue homeschooling. There are going to be days when you or your student are frustrated. There are going to be days when friends, family, or neighbors question your motivations and your ability to parent because of your choice to homeschool. There are going to be days where you doubt yourself. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Listen, homeschooling isn't for everyone, ok? It's a lot of work. You don't put your kids on a bus and send them to school, greet them when they come home and then help with homework before they go to bed. You have them all day long. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
You wake them up, feed them, teach them, help them with their work, grade the work, administer tests, grade the tests, do reviews, organize field trips and play dates, help them with projects, drive your child to sports, choir, or whatever other social and extracurricular activities they're involved in, you work hard to find new and interesting ways to keep your child motivated to do their work in a timely and correct manner, you plan curriculum, you buy curriculum, you organize your work space, you decorate your school space if you have a dedicated one, and if you're one of those lucky parents who is homeschooling more than one child, you get to do all of this for different age groups (I know of parents that homeschool more than 5 children at once). </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Did I scare you? I hope I didn't. It's doable. It's manageable. And at times it can be a whole lot of fun and can be very rewarding on top of that. We all have our reasons for homeschooling, we all have our goals. Whatever those reasons or goals are we have to remember why we're doing this and then try to do the best by our children that we can possibly do. Ignore the naysayers who say your child won't be socialized (they are ignorant and you will have the responsibility of <a href="http://lioncubschool.blogspot.com/p/about-home-schooling.html">educating them in as polite a way as possible)</a>. Ignore those who say you aren't the best teacher your child can have because you don't have a teaching degree (see previous link). Ignore the self doubt that you have and do the best you can do. Be the best you can be for your kids.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>7)</b> <b>Research The Different Methods Of Homeschooling.</b> What? There are different methods? Yes, a lot of them. You can run your school like a public school classroom, or not. Some methods you may wish to look up online and become familiar with are: Eclectic (a mixture of different methods), Classical, Charlotte Mason, Unschooling, Power Teaching (Whole Brain Teaching), Waldorf, Montessori, Internet Schooling, Unit Studies (Project Based Learning), and School at Home. There are more, but these are the main methods different families typically use. We actually use an eclectic method, meaning I use certain aspects of different methods that I like. In our house we march to the beat of our own drum. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Now you could just get or make curriculum and do your own thing. One of the joys of homeschooling is finding what works for you and your family and doing it that way. Not everybody has to do the same thing. Each child learns in a different way and responds to different approaches. One of the reasons many people pull their kids from traditional schools is because sitting at a desk all day doesn't work out for them and squashes down their creativity and natural curiosity and love of learning. Find the method that works best for you to bring those things back for your child.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>8)</b> <b>Get Family Involved. </b>If your family is supportive of you homeschooling your children, get them involved. Ask if grandpa would like to teach the kids practical math by building a bird house (or whatever he's into). Ask if that nifty aunt you have who works for the animal shelter will let the kids get involved there and volunteer a couple of times a month. What about your spouse? Homeschooling doesn't have to be just mom's responsibility. There are a lot of dads who homeschool, and even more families where both the mom and dad are involved. Figure out if your spouse wants to be involved, figure out how the responsibilities will be divided (choosing and ordering curriculum, dealing with state and government requirements, teaching certain subjects etc). Figure out which spouse wants to teach what and when.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Mb4BZ6d2fRM/VQIUenLbpeI/AAAAAAAADog/3nTTxPiY89c/s1600/1%2BHomeschool%2BDiscipline.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Mb4BZ6d2fRM/VQIUenLbpeI/AAAAAAAADog/3nTTxPiY89c/s1600/1%2BHomeschool%2BDiscipline.jpg" width="320" /></a><b>9) Discipline.</b> You obviously know what works best to discipline your child. The thing is, that might not work well during school time, especially with younger children who may not be accustomed to doing school. For example, some families threaten their children... "Johnny, if you don't clean your room up right now you're going to be grounded." Possibly this kind of motivation is what gets your child moving. Now equate that to a school setting, "Johnny, if you don't focus and finish your worksheet in the next five minutes you're going to be grounded." That is the fast track to burning out yourself and your child, and getting your child to hate everything that has to do with school or learning. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It helps to come up with rules as a family and have the kids participate in making the rules (you'd be surprised what they come up with), having the rules written down in bright bold colors and put on the wall where all can see and refer to. When the kids are involved in making the rules, they are more likely to abide by them.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It also helps to use positive reinforcement techniques instead of negative reinforcement techniques. In regular school the teachers don't have the ability to ground kids and in some schools time out is not even allowed. Teachers the world over have had to find ways to motivate students. You could use a token economy system (<a href="http://lioncubschool.blogspot.com/2015/08/6-back-to-homeschool-hacks-to-make-life.html">see #6 in this post</a>), use words of praise, or even break work up into smaller chunks and intersperse the work with a lot of breaks. Some people use a time for time system (something like... for every page in the workbook you complete, you earn 10 minutes of TV, video games, etc etc). You can also remind your student when they're unfocused of the positive thing that is waiting for them when they're done with their work. You don't have to bargain with them or 'bribe' them, that's not what I'm saying. But during 'school' time there are plenty of positive things you can do to keep kids on track and keep learning fun instead of a task to be dreaded.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I hope these nine points have helped give you a direction to go in if you're new to homeschooling, curious about it, or considering it. If you have questions about what's been written here, or comments, let us know in a comment below.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7292321872872216705.post-14692505757488282252015-03-11T14:17:00.001-07:002015-12-03T14:09:21.235-08:00How Do I Choose Homeschool Curriculum Without Pulling My Hair Out?<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b></b></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jT-tLq1GCPc/VQCm6Z1Wk5I/AAAAAAAADns/bSNMM4M22RA/s1600/How%2BDo%2BI%2BChoose%2BHomeschool%2BCurriculum%2BWithout%2BPulling%2BMy%2BHair%2BOut%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHome%2Bschool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jT-tLq1GCPc/VQCm6Z1Wk5I/AAAAAAAADns/bSNMM4M22RA/s1600/How%2BDo%2BI%2BChoose%2BHomeschool%2BCurriculum%2BWithout%2BPulling%2BMy%2BHair%2BOut%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHome%2Bschool.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<b>How Do I Choose Curriculum For Homeschool?</b> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I saw this question posed on a Facebook group, and I remember having the same question when I first started out homeschooling. The answer is going to be different for every homeschool family you ask because every family has a different style of schooling, different goals, and different likes/dislikes. I can show you my basic process for choosing curriculum though and give you reasons for why I choose what I do. Hopefully it will help someone who is new or considering homeschooling. If you've been afraid of choosing your own curriculum, take a big breath, because it's not that hard once you break it down into steps. It does take a few days, but when you do it once you're going to feel like a pro the next time you have to do it. Just remember, you have to figure out a way that works for you.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>1) The first thing I do</b> when choosing homeschool curriculum is to look at my goals for homeschooling my daughter, as well as look at our likes/dislikes for curriculum.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li>One of my goals is to give my daughter a well rounded education that is equal to or better than public/private schools in the state. This means that at a minimum I need to cover the same subjects that schools are covering, and within those subjects we need to meet the state benchmarks or go higher. I do this because starting in 3rd grade she has to take state tests every year, and if there is ever a time when she has to go back to public school, she'll at the very least be at the same level as her peers.</li>
<li>Another of my goals is to help my daughter become an independent learner. I will always be there to teach her when we do school, but I want her to be able to work independently on at least a few subjects each year.</li>
<li>I also have the goal of wanting her to love learning. In part this means not only choosing curriculum that I love, but that she loves as well. </li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Knowing our goals helps us to know our likes/dislikes for curriculum and helps me know what to look for in curriculum. <b> </b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Her Likes:</b> Colorful workbooks, interactive curriculum, online curriculum, video lessons, interesting textbooks with a lot of pictures and colors. <b> </b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>My Likes:</b> The things mentioned in 'her likes', in depth curriculum, curriculum that starts at her current level of ability, curriculum with work books, curriculum that is easy to use and teach, curriculum where a teacher's textbook is not necessary because the student textbook/workbook has all necessary information, curriculum with accurate information.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It's not always possible to find a curriculum that meets all of my likes and her likes, but we try to find something in each subject that works for us in as many ways as possible.<b> </b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>2) I look online</b> to find what subjects kids in her grade are learning, even if it's for another state. She'll be starting 2nd grade soon and so I was able to find a list of things 2nd grade students in California learn. The subjects include Math, English/Writing/Grammar, Science (specifically the human body, insects, plants, and animals), Spelling, History, Reading, and Social Studies. To those subjects we add Art, Bible, and Music. For PE we don't get a curriculum because she does it with a local home school group.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>3) I start with curriculum that I already know we love.</b> I know from 1st grade that we love Horizon Math, so it's a no brainer for us to go with <a href="http://lioncubschool.blogspot.com/2015/01/curriculum-review-horizon-math-grade-1_8.html">Horizon Math</a> again for 2nd grade. The same can be said for Mystery of History, Handwriting Without Tears, Daily Geography Practice, Voyages In English, and Fusion Science. When we find a curriculum that really works well for us, we keep ordering it and using it for the next level up until we no longer like it or it no longer works for us.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>4) I go in search of curriculum to fill the gaps.</b> We typically search for curriculum on <a href="http://www.rainbowresource.com/">www.rainbowresource.com</a> but also sometimes on Amazon or other sites. When I look for curriculum I look for our 'likes' mentioned above and try to read as many reviews as I can. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NUZZymC16A4/VQCrknMnuyI/AAAAAAAADn4/vf7rNAcwnSA/s1600/Rainbow%2BResource%2BWhere%2Bto%2Bbuy%2Bhomeschool%2Bcurriculum%2BLion%2BCub%2BArts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="96" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NUZZymC16A4/VQCrknMnuyI/AAAAAAAADn4/vf7rNAcwnSA/s1600/Rainbow%2BResource%2BWhere%2Bto%2Bbuy%2Bhomeschool%2Bcurriculum%2BLion%2BCub%2BArts.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Once I've found one or two curricula for a certain subject that I think we might order, I go online and ask on our local homeschool group on Facebook if anyone has had experience with these curricula, and what they like or don't like about them. In doing this I am sometimes able to get together with someone to look through their copy of the curriculum to get a better feel for it. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zEz8-UOeX5s/VQCjQkTpYJI/AAAAAAAADng/rO8L8uSnOGs/s1600/How%2Bto%2Bchoose%2Bcurriculum%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHome%2BSchool%2BHomeschool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zEz8-UOeX5s/VQCjQkTpYJI/AAAAAAAADng/rO8L8uSnOGs/s1600/How%2Bto%2Bchoose%2Bcurriculum%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHome%2BSchool%2BHomeschool.jpg" width="183" /></a> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Sometimes websites have preview pages of the textbooks, teacher books, and workbooks, and sometimes not. Occasionally when Rainbow Resource doesn't have a preview of the curriculum I'm looking at, I can find it on Amazon or Google search and see a preview. The publishers website for that curriculum will also sometimes have previews and occasionally let you look at a full chapter.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
About twice a year we get to go to a local curriculum swap or show and tell and I get to check out other curricula that I didn't know existed. We have sometimes found really good curriculum this way.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>5) We order the curriculum and try it out.</b> Sometimes no matter my best efforts at doing research, reading reviews, asking people online and looking at preview pages, we get a curriculum that stinks or just isn't what we expected it to be. It happens to all of us at some point. I usually try to make what we have work, but sometimes it just doesn't. I'll give you two examples of this:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TjrltR7_kRA/VQCibeALzxI/AAAAAAAADnY/kADXAJswGs4/s1600/Home%2BSchool%2BCurriculum%2BSpelling%2BWords%2BTheir%2BWay%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHow%2BDo%2BI%2BChoose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="169" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TjrltR7_kRA/VQCibeALzxI/AAAAAAAADnY/kADXAJswGs4/s1600/Home%2BSchool%2BCurriculum%2BSpelling%2BWords%2BTheir%2BWay%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHow%2BDo%2BI%2BChoose.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Example #1: We ordered Horizon Math and loved it, and also ordered Horizon Spelling. We hated the Horizon spelling program. It was rote memorization (a typical spelling program) and my daughter doesn't do well with that. She was failing all of the spelling tests despite studying very hard to learn the spelling words. This prompted me to ditch the Horizon Spelling (I showed it to a friend who has a child who does amazing with rote memorization of spelling words), and went in search of something new that would work for us. We ended up getting Words Their Way which my daughter loves and is doing great with.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LXL7H9ORw2c/VQCh-hULwFI/AAAAAAAADnQ/dgH76YsGcJA/s1600/Homeschool%2BHistory%2BCurriculum%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BMystery%2BOf%2BHistory%2BStory%2BOf%2BThe%2BWorld.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LXL7H9ORw2c/VQCh-hULwFI/AAAAAAAADnQ/dgH76YsGcJA/s1600/Homeschool%2BHistory%2BCurriculum%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BMystery%2BOf%2BHistory%2BStory%2BOf%2BThe%2BWorld.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Example #2: The county pays for any curriculum we want provided it's not religious, art, or music. For history this limited us to a secular curriculum (which I'm really fine with). A lot of people we knew raved about Story of the World, a secular history curriculum that our program would allow us to order. I thought since so many people liked it, that it would be great. We ordered it, and for almost two months we struggled to use it. I love history, but every time we went to do history, both my daughter and I would dread it. I found it to be inaccurate and written strangely and we just weren't enjoying it. So I went in search of another history curriculum and found Mystery of History. It's not exactly secular because it starts at Creation and then parallels biblical history with world history. We love it. It's in depth, accurate, and it has activities that my daughter and I love to do along with a continuous timeline we put together after every three lessons. Sometimes you just have to give up on a curriculum that isn't working for you and find something else.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>6) My advice:</b> Stay away from boxed curriculum. I notice that there's a trend that new homeschool parents are afraid of choosing their own curriculum so they go with a 'boxed' or 'all-in-one' curriculum. The thing is, I have known a lot of people who have done this, and have not yet heard of one that liked it. A lot of times I end up hearing how they struggled with it all year long and hated it, but couldn't afford to get anything else because of how expensive the boxed curricula is. A company may do one subject really well, but do others really bad. Refer to example 1 above. Horizon has an excellent math program that we love, but their spelling program just didn't work for us. It may work for other students but didn't do anything at all for us. If we were to shell out the big money for a Horizon boxed curriculum we'd be stuck with it. Boxed curricula usually plays off of each other and is integrated, so it's really hard to take out the spelling portion without messing up other portions of the curriculum like writing or grammar. There may be some families out there that like boxed curriculum, but I haven't met any yet. I think you'll be happier taking the steps to choose your own for each subject instead of struggling through a year of an all-in-one that you hate.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Please note, there is a difference between boxed/all-in-one curriculums and a curriculum kit. Boxed/all-in-one curriculums have all subjects... math, science, history, spelling, etc etc. A curriculum kit is typically everything you need to teach one subject, say math. For instance, a math curriculum kit may come with the student work book, teacher's book, flash cards, a ruler, pattern blocks, etc etc.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>But What If I Want To Make My Own Curriculum For A Subject?</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
You can do that so long as your state allows it. We do it for science. I have this thing with science in public and private schools... it's an annoyance really. I dislike how they teach the same exact subjects year after year all through grade and middle school and just add a little more information each year. I feel like students never really get a mastery of any science subject that way. So what we do for science is we use Fusion Science for one half of the year just to be sure we're meeting state benchmarks (it's great because it has interactive online lessons along with a workbook), and then we do our own thing for the other half of the year. Each year we choose 3-4 science subjects we can really sink our teeth into. For second grade I read that students in California learn about the human Body, insects, plants, and animals for science, so those are the subjects we'll make our own curriculum for. For each of these four subjects I think about what my goal is and how in depth we want to go. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zENkzzwnwpM/VQCgxxg4-fI/AAAAAAAADnI/p0C_CeThMUA/s1600/Human%2BBody%2BHomeschool%2BHow%2BTo%2BChoose%2BCurriculum%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zENkzzwnwpM/VQCgxxg4-fI/AAAAAAAADnI/p0C_CeThMUA/s1600/Human%2BBody%2BHomeschool%2BHow%2BTo%2BChoose%2BCurriculum%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool.jpg" width="125" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
For example, I know for the human body I want to go in depth and teach her as much as she can take in, so we actually found three really awesome human body curricula and will get those along with several supplemental books and two human body DVD's (one of which is Magic School Bus... she thinks she's just watching cartoons but she's actually learning). Keep in mind you can do things like using a video to introduce a subject and also use storybooks to introduce subjects.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
For animals I didn't want to go terribly in depth like a biology course,
but I did want to introduce my daughter to different concepts such as:
extinction, camouflage, mammals, the food chain, bird migration,
reptiles, amphibians, veterinarians, animal babies, and a few other
things. You must be thinking, "Whoa whoa whoa! Wait a minute, that's a
lot to teach a second grader!" It might be. But for the subject of
animals I decided not to do an actual curriculum. Instead I found a
number of level readers, Dr. Seuss books, and other kids science books
in story format that teach about these concepts. <i>(Click image to make larger)</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-j82BZ1PjD_U/VQCdDAVDHuI/AAAAAAAADm8/ve0RqTET7Bs/s1600/Animals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-j82BZ1PjD_U/VQCdDAVDHuI/AAAAAAAADm8/ve0RqTET7Bs/s1600/Animals.jpg" width="640" /></a> If we spend 1-3 days on each concept with these books and some videos and I can ask her questions or have her journal about these things, I know she'll have a better grasp on this subject than other kids who are just doing a tiny bit about animals year after year. Some kids learn really well through stories because they are auditory learners, some do well with videos because they are visual learners. You have to figure out what works best for you and your child. Remember, making a curriculum doesn't mean you have to make worksheets or give tests. You could order science lab kits, have kids journal, ask questions, have them give a report, go on a hunt for animals or signs of animals, go to the zoo, or have them do some other kind of project to get them involved and remembering information.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When deciding what to do to learn about plants we decided on a curriculum that wasn't as in depth and chose to supplement that with a lot of lab kits where she can grow her own snap dragons, tomatoes, and other plants and really see the different plant parts, and learn how pollination works etc.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>When all is said and done, what does your curriculum list look like?</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Ok, so maybe you didn't have this question, but I'll answer it anyway. I made up a Google Doc with our entire second grade curriculum and prices because I had several people ask to see what we were doing for 2nd grade. You can view it <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tuzipzKsXsEwHJoIWzt1KvygSGHL7dFZFJXutfJFbi0/edit?usp=sharing">HERE</a>, keeping in mind that the state pays for almost all of the things in that list. If I had to pay for things myself my list would probably look different because I would be using a lot more library books and free resources. Typically I don't do it in a spreadsheet but in a Word document. I keep track of subject, curriculum names, prices, and where I am going to purchase it from. I like lists if you can't tell already, because it helps me keep track of what I still need to research or find and I feel like I'm not done with something of this magnitude unless I can see it in a list.<b> </b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So how do you choose curriculum for a year without pulling your hair out? Take a breath, relax, grab a cup of coffee or tea (or several) and take your time over the course of a few days or even weeks (don't wait until the last minute). Work out what your goals are, what you know that you like and dislike for curriculum, figure out what your child needs to learn that year, and start doing research and keeping a list of things you want, prices, and where you are going to buy them. Don't forget to read reviews, ask questions, and look at previews. Also don't be afraid to change your mind about a curriculum before you order if you find something you think will be better, and don't be afraid to ditch something that's not working for you part way through the year. Also, don't feel like you have to use what everybody else is using (unless your state says you have to), and remember that it's ok to not like curriculum that a lot of other people love. We're all different and our students learn differently, and that's one of the joys of homeschooling to be able to do things your own way and find what works best for you.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
See, it's not so scary, is it?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Have questions or comments? Let us know in a comment below.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Best way to homeschool.</i> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" /></a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7292321872872216705.post-67398468688344040972015-01-08T16:28:00.001-08:002015-12-17T14:01:11.160-08:00Homeschool Curriculum Review: Horizon Math Grade 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L_cFX_rYAIk/VK8cHsK6ohI/AAAAAAAADlE/AqE4WVB2rPE/s1600/Math%2BCurriculum%2B1st%2BGrade%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHomeschool%2BHorizon%2BReview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L_cFX_rYAIk/VK8cHsK6ohI/AAAAAAAADlE/AqE4WVB2rPE/s1600/Math%2BCurriculum%2B1st%2BGrade%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHomeschool%2BHorizon%2BReview.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I love this math curriculum, and more importantly, my 6 year old loves it. This being her first year of school where she's really been expected to sit still and write a lot of things down, we've had our struggles when it's come to certain subjects, but luckily math has not been one of them. When I sat down and made a plan for what our year was going to look like in first grade, I had initially planned on buying Math U See Alpha, but was swayed last minute instead by over a dozen homeschooling parents in our area who use Horizon Math. Math U See may be a fine program, I don't know because we haven't used it, but I can say for certain that I am glad we are using Horizon for our homeschool math curriculum. We'll continue to use Horizon until it no longer suits my daughter's math needs.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So why did I switch to Horizon instead of buying Math U See? Everyone I talked to told me how much their kids liked Horizon math and how it held their interest because the workbooks are in full color and are illustrated.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>What</b> <b>I Really Like About Horizon Math</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>1) </b>As stated above, <b>the workbooks keep my daughter's attention</b> because they're colorful and illustrated. She has fun with the Horizon Math and that makes life a lot easier for both of us if I don't have to fight with her to sit and do her schoolwork.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9RjpXhG7VMk/VK8cTDs14oI/AAAAAAAADlQ/VOwQvyliQyI/s1600/Lion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHorizon%2BMath%2BGrade%2B1%2BReview%2BHomeschool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9RjpXhG7VMk/VK8cTDs14oI/AAAAAAAADlQ/VOwQvyliQyI/s1600/Lion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHorizon%2BMath%2BGrade%2B1%2BReview%2BHomeschool.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b> </b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>2) </b>Something nobody mentioned to me but that I love about this curriculum is that <b>it's circular</b>. When I was going to school as a child, we would learn a concept and then never come back to it. That meant that if I was struggling (which I often was in math) that I couldn't keep up. Horizon Math keeps circling back to topics that have already been covered, giving opportunities for more practice and if necessary more instruction. Each lesson in the workbook covers not only the current topic the student is learning about, but also previous topics. For instance, a lesson (the front and back of a workbook page) might have 10 problems about clocks, 5 addition problems, 3 problems where you measure with a ruler, a word problem, and a grouping/regrouping problem. This can get a little tedious, doing addition all the way through the school year, but if need be you can cross out the types of math problems that you know that your child has mastered. By the end of work book 1 we were crossing out most of the addition problems, which delighted my daughter because this meant that several minutes was being knocked off of each lesson.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wktkzvJO0ac/VK8cUanB8fI/AAAAAAAADlc/Q7JwtwkJCm4/s1600/Homeschool%2BMath%2BHorizon%2B1st%2BGrade%2BLion%2BCub%2BSChool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wktkzvJO0ac/VK8cUanB8fI/AAAAAAAADlc/Q7JwtwkJCm4/s1600/Homeschool%2BMath%2BHorizon%2B1st%2BGrade%2BLion%2BCub%2BSChool.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8DAMZjLs7R8/VK8cTAnFAEI/AAAAAAAADlM/oaji_zgBK3Y/s1600/Horizon%2BMath%2B1st%2BGrade%2BReview%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHomeschool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8DAMZjLs7R8/VK8cTAnFAEI/AAAAAAAADlM/oaji_zgBK3Y/s1600/Horizon%2BMath%2B1st%2BGrade%2BReview%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHomeschool.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>3)</b> <b>There are extra practice sheets</b> in the back of the teachers manual. If there's a subject your student is really struggling with, you can run off extra pages from the teachers manual for extra practice. While this may become necessary in later grades as the math becomes more difficult, we haven't had occasion to copy extra worksheets off yet. It's good to know that they're there if we need them though.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>4)</b> If you're not sure how to teach a math concept, <b>the teachers manual goes into depth</b> about the goal of each lesson, how to teach it, how to explain it, how to practice it, and what materials you need for the lesson. It goes step by step and can be helpful. I used the first grade Teacher's manual for the first month of school and after that found that I didn't need it because the math is very simple and I don't have trouble explaining it to her at this stage. The manual structures your math time like a normal public or private school classroom would, and will have the kids practicing with flash cards, singing math songs, and doing a number of other things before they get to the student workbook. The manual is very easy to use, even for a first time homeschool parent. Here's an example lesson plan from the 1st grade teacher's manual (click image to make larger and then right click then view image and click again to make large enough to read).</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PedK7--6Sio/VK8bYTqzY-I/AAAAAAAADk8/wdrFzl35vSE/s1600/Horizon%2BMath%2BGrade%2B1%2BTeachers%2BManual%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHomeschool%2BCurriculum%2BReview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PedK7--6Sio/VK8bYTqzY-I/AAAAAAAADk8/wdrFzl35vSE/s1600/Horizon%2BMath%2BGrade%2B1%2BTeachers%2BManual%2BLion%2BCub%2BSchool%2BHomeschool%2BCurriculum%2BReview.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>5)</b> <b>The student workbooks don't cost that much money.</b> They cost about $18 each on Rainbow Resource (and there are 2 student workbooks per grade level). It's the teacher's manual that costs a lot brand new, but I was pleased when a neighbor gave me the Horizon Math Grade 2 teacher's manual for free, meaning our cost for next year's curriculum is drastically reduced. I noticed a garage sale sticker on the cover of the manual indicating that my neighbor had bought it for $2, so I know you can probably find the teacher's manual used online for very cheap. I have also seen them at our local used bookstore for less than $5.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>6) There's a manipulative kit that you can buy that is very helpful. </b> I noticed that on Rainbow Resource they had a manipulative kit for each year of Horizon Math and that each year was almost the same as the previous year with a few new things added so you may want to compare and see what comes in each kit before you buy one. It's nice to have the kit, but not necessary if you're on a tight budget. We got the first grade <a href="http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/sku/HZN1MK">Horizon Math Manipulative Kit</a> and it came with some things that we didn't use, like flash cards, but also with things we've used over and over like play money, a yard stick, a scale, clocks, a number chart, and more which you can see in the picture below. The price is hefty at $68 but my first grader enjoys using these things and they have helped her to learn the concepts. I'm certain that you could assemble these things on your own if you buy some of them from your local dollar store and others online or used from other Homeschoolers.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CKc4kHeSd7w/VK8Z6KEIC2I/AAAAAAAADk0/9ewsyxlPKMA/s1600/Horizon%2BMath%2BGrade%2B1%2BManipulative%2BKit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CKc4kHeSd7w/VK8Z6KEIC2I/AAAAAAAADk0/9ewsyxlPKMA/s1600/Horizon%2BMath%2BGrade%2B1%2BManipulative%2BKit.jpg" width="280" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Something else that I want to mention but is not necessarily something I like or dislike about the curriculum is that the pages tear out of the student workbooks easily. I know that some families like to tear the sheets out of their consumables and put them in folders by day, week, etc, and it's easy to do so with the student workbooks. We always leave the pages in and just use the workbooks as is because it's easier for us that way.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>What I Don't Like About Horizon Math</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I really haven't come across anything that I dislike about this math curriculum. The only issue I've come across is that it's made by Alpha Omega, which is a Christian company. While this isn't personally a problem for us, it seems to be for our county school system, which is who we get the money from to buy our homeschool curriculum. While I have yet to see anything 'Christian' or Bible based in the math curriculum, there have been talks about not allowing us to order it in the future with county money just because of who the publisher is.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Have you used Horizon Math before? What did you like/dislike about it? Let us know in a comment. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzCWekJRQSo/Uo7CcuEWGNI/AAAAAAAAC-w/5qMU9oT6tVU/s1600/Give%2Bus%2Bsome%2Blove%2BPNG.png" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Notice:</b> I haven't been paid to write this review and have not received a free copy of this curriculum. This is an honest review.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Online homeschooling reviews</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0