We've been putting together our own unit studies for quite a bit of our schooling this year which has been fun. I've tried to think of some different projects for the kids to do to use what we read about. Lately we've been studying different countries and cultures and thought I'd share the 2 ideas that have worked well for us.
One easy thing to do to help remember the basics of what has been learned is to make bingo cards for the unit you're working on. We print out 3 (for my 2 kids and I who are doing this schooling) blank bingo cards and then as we read, we write down words that have to do with what we've learned. Right now we're studying Japan so in reading about Japan we've written down, "sumo wrestlers, Mt. Fuji, Children's Day (a festival they celebrate), tatami mats etc....". Then by the end of the unit we have 3 bingo cards filled in and can make up the cards to read the words from and play bingo with to remember what we learned. Then I can store each of these bingo games and have a review day where we go back and play some of the old bingo games to remember what we learned about a while ago. It's a simple, great way to remember what we're learning!
The other thing my 9yo ds likes to do is to make power point presentations. He often uses the bingo cards we've made to remember what he's learned from the readings. Then we make an introductory slide with the title of the unit we're studying and then he makes cards for the different categories we've studied in that unit. He will often refer to the bingo cards to see what we've learned and see what categories are included in there. He makes a bulleted list of the items that fit in that category and I help him (supervise) as we find pictures and videos about these items on the web. I use google's image search (ALWAYS be sure to supervise if you do this as you could get some not so kid-friendly images), and youtube to search for videos (again, make sure to supervies!). In our Japan study we've found videos of volcanoes, earthquakes and typhoons in our natural disaster page to include. You can also add notes that the student would say aloud when giving the presentation. Then when the unit and the presentation is done, he can present it to his family and/or friends to tell them what he's learned.
I have yet to delve into lapbooking - that's another area I'd like to explore and start using. I doubt I'll get to it this year, but maybe by next year, I'll get that idea together for the kids to use in putting together what they've learned. Anyone have any great lapbooking resources to share? I'm hoping to learn over this next summer and maybe purchase a few things to use.
God bless as we continue this year of homeschooling!
We've been doing a lot of Bible study lately in homeschooling and have been reading through the Bible. So far we're almost to the stories about Joseph. I've been thankful to find the Holman Bible Dictionary online to use for background info and word definitions. I will often look up an important concept or place or word from the passage we're studying ahead of time and print it to read to the kids during our study time.
Tomorrow the passage is the list of Esau's descendants which in itself is kind of boring but I looked up the Edomites (the people who were Esau's descendants) to find out more about them and plan on relating more about these people and what happened with them in the future while we read this passage.
I may also have my 4yo twins listen for certain letter sounds while we read the names since reading the names in itself could be a bit boring. They can listen for the "f" sound (the letter of the week) in the names and also the previous letters we've studied while we read through the lesson and that way they'll get some phonics in while we read our Bible lesson. Anyways, here's the link to this dictionary online.
Here's an excerpt from the dictionary about Edom:
The Israelites regarded the Edomites as close relatives, even more closely related to them than the Ammonites or Moabites. Specifically, they identified the Ammonites and Moabites as descendants of Lot, Abraham's nephew, but the Edomites as descendants of Esau, Jacob's brother (Genesis 19:30-36; Genesis 36:1). Thus Edom occasionally is referred to as a “brother” to Israel (Amos 1:11-12). Edomites seem not to have been barred from worship in the Jerusalem Temple with the same strictness as the Ammonites and Moabites (Deuteronomy 23:3-8). Yet, as is often the case with personal relations, the closest relative can be a bitter enemy. According to the biblical writers, enmity between Israel and Edom began already with Jacob and Esau (when the former stole the latter's birthright) and was exacerbated at the time of the Israelite Exodus from Egypt (when the Edomites refused the Israelites passage through their land). Be that as it may, much of the conflict also had to do with the fact that Edom was a constant threat to Judah's frontier, and moreover blocked Judean access to the Gulf of Aqaba.
I also just found on this same site Wesley's commentary on the Bible in it's entirety! Here's an excerpt from his commentary on this same passage. It's really neat to read as I never would have thought about all of this and gotten this out of this passage of descendants of Esau!
Verse 31
By degrees the Edomites worked out the Horites, and got full possession of the country. 1. They were ruled by kings who governed the whole country, and seem to have come to the throne by election, and not by lineal descent: these kings reigned in Edom before there reigned any king over the children of Israel - That is, before Moses's time, for he was king in Jeshurun. God had lately promised Jacob that kings shall come out of his loins: yet Esau's blood becomes royal long before any of Jacob's did. Probably it was a trial to the faith of Israel, to hear of the power of the kings of Edom, while they were bond-slaves in Egypt: but those that look for great things from God must be content to wait for them. God's time is the best time. 2. They were afterward's governed by dukes again, here named, who, I suppose, ruled all at the same time in several places in the country. They set up this form of government, either in conformity to the Horites, who had used it, Genesis 36:29, or God's providence reduced them to it, as some conjecture, to correct them for their unkindness to Israel, in refusing them passage through their country, Numbers 20:18.
Verse 43
Mount Seir is called the land of their possession - While the Israelites dwelt in the house of bondage, and their Canaan was only the land of promise, the Edomites dwelt in their own habitations, and Seir was in their possession. The children of this world have their all in hand, and nothing in hope, while the children of God have often their all in hope, and next to nothing in hand. But, all things considered, it is better to have Canaan in promise than mount Seir in possession.
There are many other commentaries, dictionaries, Bible study tools etc. at this site as well but these I know I will be visiting frequently!
I usually don't post about our business but thought I'd send out a message about our business we have from home. We bought our ink business from another homeschool family back in January and my husband has been doing this full-time since. We're hoping to supplement our ink business income with my dh doing medical transcription from home although he has yet to find a job since completing his training.
Anyways, if you've never tried ink cartridge refilling, it's an AWESOME way to save tons of $ on ink and if you print lots as a homeschool family like we do, that's a huge savings! For example, if you buy our black ink refill kit with ink that is specific for your printer and directions etc, you spend about $25 + shipping. This is enough ink to refill your cartridges 10-20 times depending on which printer model you have. You will need to buy a replacement cartridge sometime in there as the print head wears out eventually but then you can refill that cartridge. This comes to only a couple of dollars to refill your ink instead of paying often $20-30 for a new cartridge. We've been doing this with 2 of our printers since Jan. and it's worked GREAT! We have a 100% satisfaction guarantee and provide technical support if needed so there's no risk involved. Our website answers other FAQ's about ink refilling.
We also sell remanufactured and "generic" cartridges which are also way cheaper than the typical manufacturer's cartridge, and toner supplies for laser printers and copiers.
I encourage you to check us out at www.encoreink.com . I also have a homeschool / family section of our website that I've put a few articles onto. If you're interested in getting your ink even cheaper, consider referring others to us. If you're interested in this we can give you a coupon code that you and others can use for additional savings and we can give you details on how you can earn your ink for even cheaper. We appreciate all the referrals we can get! Please be encouraged to link to this article for us on your site or ask for a referral code!
Everyone needs to buy printer ink eventually - I hope some of you can help support a fellow homeschool family by buying through us and encouraging other homeschoolers to do the same! It's much better than sending your $ to Office Max or wherever else it might go!
Anyways, hope you don't mind the commercial too much. It's just that I never realized how cheap ink really was and how much $ could be saved this way! God bless!
This year I'm changing a lot of my focus with homeschooling and using the Bible as the main focus of our school. We haven't "officially" started school, but then again we never "oficially" ended school in the spring either. We sort of homeschool year around though our summers are much more relaxed and we definitely don't do school every day or do as much school.
While I've been researching more of what I officially want to do this year, I've been trying a few things out with the kids to get a feel for how some things will work. One thing I've been doing is having a little more direct Bible time with them. Right now I've just picked random passages and read to them. Instead of just reading a passage to get done, I've been reading them and stopping to explain more difficult words and ideas as I go along. I feel like even my 2yo has been learning some during this time.
It's easy to think that kids need the Bible in an easy to listen to, story format, but I've found that that's just not true and instead it makes them think they need a watered down Bible story time. They really are ready and capable of learning the Bible as it is. The more we read to them from God's word as it is and explain the words to them, the more they will learn the vocabulary and learn God's ways.
Not only has it been good to read the Bible to them for the sake of their learning it, but it also helps me to stay focused on God as I have more frequent times with the Lord with my children. Without these times, it's easy to forget about the Lord throughout the day. I may read something great in the morning, but it seems like it goes "out the window" during the day without returning to time with the Lord.
So I encourage you to spend time reading God's word itself to your children. Pray for God's wisdom to teach them and train them as you read and you'll be grateful for all they learn from God's word.
I've been reading "What Your Child Needs to Know When" by Robin Sampson, also the author of the "Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach" and Heart of Wisdom unit studies. In both of these books she talks a lot about philosophies of education, worldviews, and the history of education starting from the Hebrews in Bible times up through the history of education in our country up until today. She focuses on how the Hebrews educated their children and how that is an important model for us to use and how we should reject education based on the Greek / Roman philosophies / styles.
One part of the book that has influenced me more than anything else has to do with the Hebrew perception of God and his relationship to us. In this book she talks about how the Hebrews saw God as the center of everything all day long. God was the center of school. God was the center of work. There was no compartmentalizing God to certain areas of life.
Things have changed where now God is separated for certain places in life. We take him out when we go to church on Sundays, but don't have him as a focus other times. I even take him out to "do devotions" in the morning, but seem to forget all about what I read within minutes of going into my day. It's not that I don't want God as part of my day, it's just that I've been influenced by Greek philosophies and don't have it as a habit to have God as the most important part influencing all aspects of my day.
My goal this year is to make God the center of our studies, the center of our days. To live with God in the center of my mind and in the ways we do things. I want to look at the things we do and see if they are in keeping with God being at the center of things. I want my children to see God as the most important thing in life. There is nothing more important than living life with God as the center. If God is in the center, I will have God's wisdom and guidance for the rest of the details of life. God will guide me in the other things I teach my children - things that they need to know to fulfill God's will for their lives. Our children don't need to know everything about everything. They need to know what God wants them to know and they need to know how to find the information they need to know. In putting God has the center, we trust God to guide us in all things instead of trusting in ourselves to learn everything that we think must be important. Who would we rather trust? Ourselves or God?
How do we do this? How do I get from doing my devotions and then forgetting what I read as I go into my day. One way is to frequently return to Bible reading throughout the day - to do this with the children. I'm hoping to make the Bible more of the center of our homeschooling. Robin has ideas for doing this as does the Student of the Word curriculum. I'm hoping to include God and seeking his will in planning how we spend our days both in pre-planning a schedule and in little decisions I make day by day. I'm hoping to focus on ways we can serve others in things we do and doing this with the Lord's guidance and wisdom, not just in a "I need to do this, what can I do" sort of way.
Mentally I want to change my mindset from seeing the housework we do, math we do, play the kids do as something separate from God. These can all be done to his glory in taking care of his world (doing housework), learning about his world (math and other studies), acting out living in God's world (play the kids do). We can guide these activities towards a focus on how God is involved in these areas of life as we do them. We can encourage taking care of God's world in diligently working, learning about God's world in seeing how he made it (math, science), and playing as a way of learning about God's world and how to live in it. Toys are tools for these goals, not things to make life fun for my own enjoyment. Too often toys become gods to our children instead of tools for this purpose.
So I pray that myself and my children will grow and learn that nothing in life truly matters except serving and loving God and seeking his will for us as he becomes the center of each day.
I've been a little on and off my blog lately since I've been working on some school planning more in my evenings. I recently bought a couple of books by Robin Sampson on the Heart of Wisdom approach to homeschooling and have been busy reading. I'm interested in have the Bible play a larger part in our homeschool day and ordering my day putting God first. I appreciate her book "What Your Child Needs to Know" on this topic and have also ordered the Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach to read as well.
So I've got quite a bit of reading to do and praying to do to determine the course of our schooling this year. I still have 1/2 year of "Exploring Countries & Cultures" from My Father's World that I will continue working through. I did that last year at a slower pace for my 2nd grader to work through over the course of 2 years with other things worked in as well. So if I'm not ready with all my plans and thoughts, I'll just keep on doing more of that program while I continue to think through and pray about things.
I also do some schooling throughout the summer. It don't school every day or for as long of a period of time during the days, but I have done some this summer. I won't have a specific, "today we start back to school" day, but just start becoming more consistent with it and sometime maybe have a date when we start doing more each day and start a new fall schedule.
So that's our homeschool plans so far for the year!
I've never gotten a chance to see a meteor shower but recently got notified from the spaceweather.com website of the coming meteor shower. It has begun but will peak on Sunday night / Monday morning. So I need to see if I'm up to staying up late at night or getting up early in the morning! Here's the full story if you're interested in getting all the details!
I'm starting to think about the new school year coming up more and more. I have some things planned out to use or do. In thinking about the next year, I decided that more and more I need to begin my planning time by spending some time in prayer about how God wants my schooling to look this year. I want to start with important goals and then work from there with the planning.
To do this, I'm planning on praying about each child and writing out specific goals for the coming year. I want to ask for God's wisdom on what is important to teach them - what they need to learn. I want to focus not entirely on academics, but on all areas of life that are important as they grow. Not only is it necessary from them to learn their math or improve in reading, but character issues, their relationship with God, their knowledge and love for the Bible, their love for others and serving are so important! Homeschooling isn't just teaching our children school, but teaching them good attitudes, knowledge, and character. It's about raising them to be the person God wants them to be.
As I determine what is important for each child to learn this year, I will then pray about the specifics on how to carry this out. Will I be teaching some kids individually or will they be working independently. What will all the other children be doing during these times? I have used Managers of Their Chores by Terri Maxwell for great help in figuring out how to carry out these goals. Ultimately God will suplly the wisdom for how to carry out what he calls us to do!
Then it's a matter of carrying it out. This can be the hardest part! Sometimes there are certain things that are importan, but easily forgotten or left out in laziness. I need to be dilligently in teaching and training all areas that the Lord guides me to teach. I'm hoping to ease into certain routines over the end of the summertime. For example, I'm thinking of having some school happen with all the kids in the same room together. To do this, I will need to train the preschoolers / toddler / baby in how to be occupied quietly for a period of time using different activities. In practicing this during the summer before we really "start school" it will be less frustrating when shool does start because they'll already be trained in how to behave at this time.
So, as we get ready for the next year, may we receive all wisdom and guidance from God who knows us and our children better than anyone else. He will guide us in his ways for our families!
I found a great website today with links to great free online or e-books for all subject matters of homeschooling. The website is called An Old-fashioned education and it has ideas for homeschooling for free using free public domain books. On the left of this site there's links to about every category of types of books you could want. When you click on the category you get links to many old-fashioned (primarily) books that were written on these topics. You can click and download most of the books or use them in various ways.
Here are some examples of books or types of books I found:
McGuffey Readers
Missionary Stories
Christian Classics: Andrew Murray, Edward M Bounds prayer books, John Bunyan (pilgrim's progress)
Poetry
Nature - I found Thornton Burgess books to download - one of my favorite nature authors!
Creation Science
History
Language arts...
There's tons more - I can't begin to list it all! Of course some of this may take a lot of printing if you were to print some of these books, or you could just use them online or copy and paste parts of the books to print. Just a friendly reminder, if you do a lot of printing, remember that you can save tons of $ by refilling your own ink cartridges or by buying compatible or remanufactured cartridges. For more info, check out our website at www.encoreink.com !
Anyways, I hope this info helps someone! Good luck!
I recently found this great website for seeing different events that happen in the night sky. It's called spaceweather.com . You can sign up for their spaceweather alerts and get e-mails when different events are going to happen. Yesterday there was an alert that the plane Venus was going to be 1 degree from the moon so if you went outside before bedtime last night to look at the moon, Venus would be very close to it.
I think it will be a great way to start seeing things in the sky and noticing things more. There is a map that shows where the auroras most likely are happening for those of us living in the northern regions. There is a lot more general information about solar flares, meteor showers and all those kinds of things.
One other interesting feature, especially if you were doing a unit study on the night sky, is they have a spaceweather Phone feature you can pay to have. Basically for $5 or $7 a month (depending on whether you want the aurora/solar flare type events or general night sky events), they will call you on your phone when events are happening or about to happen. If they know in advance, they will call you in advance and play a message about what type of event will be happening. If something starts to happen in the middle of the night, you can set it up to either get calls then or not with these unpredictable events. The general night sky events include alerting you when the space station is passing across the sky in your area, meteor showers, planetary alignments etc...
I'm excited to become more aware of the things going on in the sky and share these with my kids!
Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
