|
Creative Homeschooling is...Thinking Out-of-the-Box!
Jun. 27, 2005
Grocery Sale Meals
One way to save money for groceries is to make meals out of grocery sale items in your area. I try to shop like this at least once a month. When the sales first come out I write down all the best markdowns from the 3 or 4 grocery stores. I go in and buy ONLY those items that are very discounted. You have to be willing to drive to all 3 or 4 stores with the sales and have restraint not to pick up too many other items (that aren't on sale). Then, when I get home with all my sale items (that I saved 40% -50%) I figure out what I am going to make with it. I make my meals according to what I have available. Dh is a chef, so I have lots of help if I get stumped. LOL You can see what kind of food HE cooks on his website www.VonsCateringCompany.com ....not the kind of food you can usually make from the sale items. 
Jennie von Eggers
www.TimesTales.com
|
• Comments
(3) • Post A Comment! •
Permanent Link
|
Jun. 21, 2005
How to Make a Chore Board for Cheap!
Last
week I was asked how to make a Chore Board that I referred to in one of
my articles. Once we incorporated this type of chore system in our
house, there was a significant decrease in episodes of wailing and
nashing of teeth.
Materials Needed:
- Peg Board (can be found at hardware store)
- Wooden Dowels (the size must fit snugly into peg board holes)
- Carpenters Glue
- Durable cardbord or plastic that can be cut (we used left over peel and stick vinyl floor tiles)
- Hole Punch
The
chore board is simply a row of dowels (one row for each child) that are
stuck into the peg board with the chores hanging from each dowel. The
very first dowel of each row, should have a chore peice with the
photograph (glued to it) of the child to indicate that is his row of
chores. You will need to cut the dowels to aproximately 1 inch peices.
Then, apply glue to the end of dowel, and stick the dowel peices into
the pegs making a horizontal row for each child (you may need to tap in
with a hammer); be sure to skip ever other hole to allow enough width
for each hanging chore peice. The chore peices need to be cut into
aprx. 2 in x 1 in. rectangles with a durable cardboard or vinyl
substance (see above). Punch a hole on top of rectangle that is large
enough to accomodate the dowel size. Each chore should be on one side
of the chore peice. This can be done by either writing it, drawing a
picture or both. For example, you can write "top dishes" and draw
a picture of a set of dishes to indicate the chore is to unload the top
dishwasher, the word "bed" with a picture of a bed to indicate making
their bed. Make as many chores as needed. When the day begins,
the chores are all exposed, hanging on the dowels. As the children
complete the chores, they simply flip them over to the back side
to indicate that chore was completed. This system will do away with
having to tell your children to do the same thing every day and the
parent can visually see what has been done.
For
pre-school aged children that can't read, pictures such as a dog dish,
bed or garbage can may be substituted for words. You can even cut
pictures out of a magezine and glue them on the chore peices. There are
certain weekly chores that get rotated between my boys at the beginning
of each week. For instance, one gets the dog chore peice and the other
gets the garbage chore peice to hang on his row for the week, When the
first day of the week comes around, they simply switch those peices. No
more confusion about who's turn it is to feed the dog this week!
Example of some chore peices that we use:
Bed,
Dishes, Feed Dog (picture of our dog glued on), top dishes, bottom
dishes, vacuum living room, bed, garbage, Extra Chore, dust, main
bathroom, etc.
Happy Helpers Help Make a Happy Family!
Jennie von Eggers
Co-Author of Times Tales
www.TimesTales.com
"Sign up for our FREE Creative Learning Newsletter!"
|
• Comments
(0) • Post A Comment! •
Permanent Link
|
Jun. 9, 2005
A Few Creative Ways to Motivate Children:
A Few Creative Ways to Motivate Children:
* Pick up 30!: Each child must pick up 30 items and put them away in there proper place before doing the next fun activity.
* Chore Board Chart: Once I made one of these pegged dreams, my life changed. Gone were the days of telling my kids to do the same chores each and every day.
* Sour Grapes for Sour Words: This form of motivation actually alerted me a medical condition my son has, called hyperactivity (see article called "How God Used Sugar to Answer my Prayers") The bases for this is, "If nothing SWEET comes out of your mouth, nothing SWEET will go in!" Cut off sweets of any kind for a day for unkind words.
* You Be the Teacher!: One day a week, let your children choose their own school work assigments. Inform them that it has to be something they will really learn from. You will be surprised to find that they will probably work on their "own" work for hours an they will love every minute of it.
* Beat the Buzzer Clean Up: This is especially fun when you have lots of kids involved (try it when the cousins are over!). When the house is really messy, which is a given if there are many children together, have a clean up race against the clock (or buzzer). Tell them if they get it clean before it goes off, there will be a treat afterwards. My sister and I found this method most effective when we are together with our 8 children. It is amazing how fast they can work and they have fun doing it too.
*Disappearing Smiley Face : This is a good way to visually show younger pre-school children consequences for those little bits of disobedience that usually go unpunished. You will need a magnet sheet with a peel off stick back and a picture of a smiley face drawn on a peice of paper. Simply peel off the back and stick the smiley face to it. Then, cut the excess magnet away around the face so you have a nice circle. Next, make 4 triangle cuts (like how you cut into a pie) so that you end up with a face that is actually a puzzle of 4 triangles. Assemble the magnet face on the refridgerator so that the face is back together. Inform your little one that each "small infractions" (you know, the ones that are too small for any real punishment but need to be dealt with) such as an unkind word, or a whiney voice, will result in a peice of the smiley face being taken away. If the smiley face completely dissappears (meaning; all 4 peices have been taken out) before the end of the day, THEY WILL BE GROUNDED from a privledge the next day, (such as videos, a special outing, etc).
Jennie von Eggers
www.TimesTales.com
Learn Upper Times Tables in Under an Hour!
|
• Comments
(5) • Post A Comment! •
Permanent Link
|
Jun. 2, 2005
12 Summer activities....your kids won't even know they are educational!
12 Weeks of Summer Fun Learning!
With summer fast approaching, the school year is coming to an end for
most students. Children are filled with thoughts of endless hours riding
bikes, trampoline jumping and water fun....but what about learning?
Does summer have to mean a complete halt to the 3 Rs; reading, writing and
arithmatic? Check out these learning activities that will keep those
educational embers burning the summer-fun
way!
Below are 12 summer learning activities, one for each week of summer
break. For extra fun, try writing all the activities on a pieces of
paper and have your children draw a new one each week.
1. Yard Sale Mapping
Summer is the time for yard sales. Have your children go through yard
sale section of the classified ads and plot out the locations on your
local city map. You can get a map at your local Chamber of Commerce, from
the phone book, or on the internet at Mapquest.com
2. Recipe Fun
Keep those reading skills sharpened by having your children make
something from a recipe. It can be very simple like playdough or for the more
advanced reader, cookies. My son loves to go through my Betty Crocker
Cookbook and find things that he can make.
3. Board Game Instructions
Have your children learn a new game completely on their own by reading
the instructions. Boards games can be purchased for only a few dollars
at secondhand stores. You can also do a search for card game
instructions on the internet. If only all reading assignments were that fun!
4. Nature's Color Wheel
Give your child a large, sturdy piece of paper such as poster board,
cut in half. First, discuss what kind of colors they see in nature during
the winter and why. Have them consider if there are more colors in the
summer and discuss why that is. Have your child go outside and take
samples of as many natural colors as they can. This can be done by rubbing
things such as a dandelion, a brick, or mud on the poster board paper.
See if mom can guess where the colors came from?
5. Measure the House
Give your child a tape measure. Have them measure the perimeter of your
home and any other building structures on your property such as a
garage. After this hands on activity they won't easily forget the meaning
of "perimeter" ever again.
6. Barbeque Cookout Helper
For the next summer barbeque have your child help with all the details
of preparing and planning a barbeque. They can help with meal planning,
writing the shopping list, meat safety in cooking (Ecoli dangers), cost
estimator, etc.
7. Bug Hunt
The bug hunt is especially fun with more than one child participating.
Armed with a bug collecting container (such as a glass jar), have
children see how many different bugs they can find. Older children can
research and identify the bugs they find.
8.Temperature Reading
For one week have the child record the highest temperature and the
lowest for each day. Make sure that the reading is done at the same two
times of the day. For older students, teach them to go online and find the
record highs and lows for the same date.
9. Summer Crops
Summer is the time for things to grow. Have your child research what
crops grow in your area and why they grow there as opposed to elsewhere.
10. Bouyancy
Set up the kiddie pool and let the kids loose with some bouyancy
experiments. Have them guess what will and will not float. Record their
results. Make boats out of sheets of tin foil and see how many pennies it
can hold before sinking. Who can make the boat that holds the most
pennies?
11. Concoct a "Family Favorite"
Take the opportunity to create a special family recipe. Summer is an
especially good time to create a one-of-a-kind dessert or smoothie
recipe. You could even let the kids make several items and determine which is
the "winner". Don't forget to give your creation a special,
one-of-a-kind name!
12. Farmer's Market
Take a visit to the local farmer's market. Compare market prices with
those in a local grocery store. Compare quality of fruit. Discuss what
qualifies as "organic" produce.
For More tips on Creative Learning Sign Up for our FREE Newsletter!
www.TimesTales.com
|
• Comments
(1) • Post A Comment! •
Permanent Link
|
May. 28, 2005
Learning to Read By Going on a Hunt!
|
Learn to Read By Going on a Hunt!
The Reader's Scavenger Hunt
By Jennie Von Eggers (Times Tales)
My homeschool adventure first began when I started teaching my first child to
read. I realized from the get go, that if I made learning fun and a form of
"play", he would have a foundational love for it. This theory has proven
true as he is now ten and an avid reader. He will commonly read through a
170 page Hardy Boys book in 2 days! I like to think that his love for
reading all started back when he, at the age of 4, went on his reading
scavenger hunts throughout the house.
Instructions for Home Scavenger Hunt :
This game can be played with all levels of readers. The instructions should be written according to the child's reading level. On a piece of paper, write the first place in the house the child should go.
For example: "Go to the oven and open the door". When the child follows the prompt, they will find a new piece of paper with the next place to go written on it. You can have as many places as you are willing to hide and write. At the end, I would always put a "treasure" such as a small toy from the dollar store or a piece of candy. This game can also be played the "pre-readers" as young as 2. Just replace the "words" with pictures of where they are to go. For a beginning reader, the first clue might simply say, "oven".
Here are some home hiding ideas:
Go to top bunk bed and look under pillow.
Open cookie jar and look inside.
Go to the bathtub.
Look under kitchen rug.
Look inside toy box.
What is under the welcome mat?
What would you use to call for help?
Look on the second shelf in the refrigerator, under the mayonnaise.
Well, you get the idea
|
• Comments
(1) • Post A Comment! •
Permanent Link
|
May. 28, 2005
Memory Tip of the Month: "Which "there" do I Use?"
Which "there" do I Use?
There, They're, Their.......which "there" to use???? My children and even my dear husband struggle with those confusing "theres" all too often. Unfortunately for many adults who rely on spell-check, a misuse of the word "there" won't be discovered when the word is spelled correctly but not used correctly in the sentence. Well fret no longer, here are a couple simple tricks to help remember which "there" to use. *These memory triggers are not accurate in all cases. They should simply serve as a quick reference to remember the "general" meanings of the word "there".
THEIR: This "their" is usually used when referring to people owning or possessing something (although it sometimes refers to animals or other types of nouns) .
For example: "They put their shoes next to the door." (The shoes belong to them.)
Memory Trigger: Do you see the hidden word "heir" in this their? An "heir" is a person that will inherit or possess something. For kids, they can remember that a prince is an "heir" to the throne. The throne will belong to him.
THERE: This "there" is *usually used when referring to location.
For example: "The team practiced over there."
Memory Trigger: Do you see the hidden word "here" in this there? "Here" is a reference to location just as "there" is.
THEY'RE: This "they're" is referring to people that are something. It is a short (contraction) way of saying, "they are".
For example: "They're not happy today."
Memory Trigger: This "they're" can be replaced with the word "they are". This doesn't work with the other "theres" mentioned above, only with this particular "they're". For example: " They put THEY ARE shoes next to the door" or "the team practiced over THEY ARE."
Notice how this "they're" has the hidden word THEY ARE if you replace the apostrophe with the letter "a'.
|
• Comments
(0) • Post A Comment! •
Permanent Link
|
May. 28, 2005
Acronyms, an Excellent Tool for Memorization!
|
Acronyms, an Excellent Tool for Memorization!
The use of acronyms is an excellent mnemonic method of memorization. It is especially effective when trying to remember groups of things. How many times have you heard from your kids, "I forgot!" when told to do something? Here is a fun excercise to teach them to remember so that they won't have any excuse for "forgetting" again. All you have to do is turn the first letter of your memory list into a cute or funny saying....the sillier the better. For example; Instead of having keys, our postal box had an letter combination for the lock. My son was the mail-getter and couldn't remember the groups of letters. We turned the letters GIHRG into a saying, "Gary is having rotten grapes." Now, that's easy to remember.
Fun Mnemonic Excercise to try with your kids:
Before you venture out to the local grocery store, challenge your children to remember part of the list. Break the list into groups of 5 or 6 items for each child to remember. Tell them to make up a memorable sentence using the acronyms of the items. Once at the store, see if they remember their list of items. Challenge them to make use of this tool regularly.
Yours Creatively,
Jennie von Eggers
|
• Comments
(1) • Post A Comment! •
Permanent Link
|
|
