One Child Policy Homeschool

February 23, 2009 - A New Mini Office

Our last mini office was made about a year ago -- March of 2008. It got a lot of use, but as we transition into new curriculum, I felt it was time for a new, more thorough, and different mini office. So here is Sprite's 4th/5th grade mini office.

The cover.

Here is how it looks as you open it. There are American patriotic themed images just for fun.

It has three main sections -- language arts on the left, math/science in the middle, and history on the right.

Here are the three parts right after I used glue stick to affix the various charts and diagrams.

This is my procedure for making a laminated mini office. I shutterfold each section, unfold it and laminate each one individually. Then I refold the flaps of the laminated sheets and run the folded page back through the laminator to press the folds down. Last I affix the three pieces together with double sided tape on the flaps.

All the printables are linked on my Mini offices page.

The categories are loose -- not everything fit exactly according to topic. But this is what's in each section.

Language Arts

parts of speech
sign language alphabet
days of the week
months of the year
punctuation chart
cursive handwriting

Science/Math

multiplication chart
periodic table of elements
values of American coins (Sprite gets so little exposure to these!)
planets
state abbreviations
Roman numerals
liquid measurement equivalents (gallons to ounces)

History

presidents
list of major American wars
Morse code
nutrition pyramid

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December 19, 2008 - Magnets Lapbook

During our one week magnets marathon, we completed a very simple lapbook. (Click the photo to see more pictures.)

Visit Homeschool Share for a few magnet minibook templates.(Scroll to M for magnets.)

Rounding one end of the lapbook made it have the shape of a horseshoe magnet!

The most fun we had studying magnets was definitely playing with the iron filings. It's quite fascinating to watch how they react to a magnet's force. We never tired of those filings!

A fun craft idea with magnets that we have not yet done, but have plans to do are these adorable magnetic bookmarks.

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November 17, 2008 - Iroquois Lapbook is Finished

We've really enjoyed the Scholastic book If You Lived With the Iroquois. As we worked through this book over several weeks, I made some simple minibooks for Sprite to fill out after our reading. This activity served as her narration for the lessons.

(You can see the entire set of Iroquois lapbook pics at Flickr.)

Here she is with her finished project and our almost grown kitten. (You can see this kitten when we first adopted him at Sprite's blog.)

And the best news is that you can find the free templates at Homeschool Share. I offered them to Ami, and she fancied them up and is hosting them at her site.

Would you like to create your own lapbook? It's not difficult. It's much like planning a unit study. I've written some directions & a planning page for How to Plan a Lapbook to help you get started.

If you need some encouragement, visit the Homeschool Share Forum where there is special section devoted just to lapbooks. A lot of the ladies over there write their own lapbooks and share them at HSS.

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November 17, 2008 - Lewis & Clark Lapbook

We have completed a simple lapbook about the Lewis and Clark Expedition, mostly gathered from free sources at Homeschool Helper Online. We also found free coloring pages found here.

I had a hard time convincing Sprite to actually include Lewis and Clark on the cover of the lapbook. I reminded her that it's not called the Sacajewa Expedition! As you can see, the Shoshone guide made a huge impression on her. I have to agree. What an amazing girl. She was just a teen, sold as a slave then married by the man who won her in a card game! She gave birth to her son during the trip and carried him on her back throughout the thousand mile trip. Wow! What a woman!

Entire set of photos at Flickr is here.