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Okay, so sometimes teachers and homeschool moms are happy to see winding down of organized learning. I love that learning can happen anytime, anywhere -- without anyone supervising. But since I've been teaching two classes at a small high school, I also see the many students need direction for their work. Even those that are excellent readers...often will read only one type of book and never be exposed to other genres of literature. So, all my years of homeschooling have been pretty structured, and I think I'm glad they were. But I am looking forward to days without lessons or lesson plans or grades. Days to sit outside enjoying the sunshine, working in the yard, reading something I'd like to read, going camping -- even getting ready for the new grandbaby that is coming this summer -- our very first. And this one is supposed to be a girl...after five boys, I am going to enjoy this "pink" experience! Wendy |
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I am ready for November. I am ready for the election to be over. I feel saturated with phone calls and advertisements for candidates. I am ready to stop wondering who is telling the truth in those advertisements and who is lying. I am ready to stop hearing "I am XXXXXXXXXXXXXX and I approve this message." I am ready to think about family and holidays and being together. I am ready to see my boys who are away -- but that won't be in November. They can't get home until Christmas, but that's okay - I did get to see both of them in September and of course there are cell phones! I am so ready for November that I already have my November worksheets on my website. Hope you enjoy them. I'd love to hear from you if you've been able to use the worksheets in your homeschool or classroom. ENJOY! Wendy |
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Many missionaries have problems with funding. It seems that now a large percentage of money that supports missionaries comes from those in the "older" generation...the realization of the need for missionaries doesn't seem to have been passed along to the newer generations. Maybe it's just the problem of "Me-ism" that permeates our country. It's pretty hard to send money to missionaries when we look at all the "stuff" that invades our stores and our advertising -- and makes us think we NEED to buy it. Did you ever look at how many things are made just so people will continue to buy a new and improved version? Video games are one of the biggest culprit of this -- if you buy a sports game, it is named for the year -- such as "2008" -- of course, that means that you can no longer play the "2007" version which you paid $50 for a few months ago. Perspective -- some kids say, "But it's only $50." Have you ever looked at a catalog from Samaritan's Purse? Do you know how much you could help a family in another country with that $50 that someone thinks he/she must spend on ANOTHER sports game? (with very few differences except maybe the players!) Time to teach our children that some things are WORTH sacrificing for --like playing an old game so that the extra money can help a family can eat -- or buy a goat -- or warm clothes. Buying a coffee everyday at Starbucks or Wawa or Sheetz or wherever -- why not take a little extra time and get up in the morning and MAKE your own coffee? Adults need to become examples of being willing to give up a few of those unnecessary items -- then doing something constructive and helpful (not just buying other stuff for self) with that money. We have a long way to go in this country...but maybe with all that is going on, God is doing it for us. ~Wendy www.ToytownTreasures.com |
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I have an old friend that I haven't seen for many, many years. Her little boys were a part of my wedding, and their pictures as little ones at the wedding has been on my dresser for a long while. Today I received pics of those little boys -- one with a wife and two children and the other with his fiance. All grown up. But as I looked at the pictures, I could still see little boys in the faces of those grown up men. This just reminded me of how different life is now than I may have thought it would be those many years ago. But, God is good -- even when things don't seem to turn out like we thought they were going to. He always has a plan and is always in control, no matter how the world may portray life. His promises are true and we can trust them. ~Wendy |
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For the rest of October, Presidential Election 2008 is on SALE for just $2.99. It's an interesting project for your student to do that will help them find out more about the candidates and elections. It is probably best for upper elementary - high school...the younger ones might need more help with finding information for the various pages. The Civics class I'm teaching is using this as a project for the first trimester. My youngest is in the class and he has been researching the candidates, various parties, political symbols (well, he drew the elephant and the donkey...they sort of look like the animals  ) and he has been watching some of the ads on television for one of the pages. It's a good introduction to the world of elections -- he has labeled his US map with the state names, but the coloring them red/blue and electoral votes will wait till election night...or the next day!~ Wendy |
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I've finally completed a "new look" for Toytown Treasures. I was testing out the new Frontpage extensions... and something is not working right, but we'll get it fixed. (It is me, not the program!) You'll find a new ebook to use during the presidential election. It's 23 pages of a guided notebooking ebook...which means it has directions on each page vs. regular notebooking pages. (Everyone has different ways to homeschool.) You can see a preview on Currclick.com: Presidential Elections 2008 ebook Another new ebook is a Study Guide for the Cat of Bubastes by G.A. Henty. This study guide includes discussion/review questions for each chapter, plus there are guided notebooking pages and notebooking pages interspersed throughout the ebook. Includes a quiz at the end of the ebook. ~ Wendy www.ToytownTreasures.com |
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I've started a new blog for those who live in my state, Pennsylvania. It has links to information, sites, and even some curriculum for studying Pennsylvania. Check it out at Just About PA And soon...a class for PA homeschool 4/5th graders on Pennsylvania State Study. ~ Wendy |
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Honeysuckle...the terror of my backyard. Honest. Some people seem to love this vine that grows along the ground, then wraps itself around fences or bushes. It has a fragrant, sweet smell...some people even take the petals from the flower and put them in their mouths to get a sweet taste. And the white flower blossoms on the green leaves create a beautiful background. However, I must spend a lot of time each year cutting it out of my Rose of Sharon bushes and off of the fence. If it doesn't get cut out, it can choke the life out of a bush.This year, I waited a long time before I got around to cutting it out. The vine was wrapped around the branches of the bushes, it zig-zagged through the fence and curled around the posts. It took me hours and I still didn't get it all out. It kind of reminds me of how sin can get into our lives. Sometimes it can creep in and grow slowly, almost as if we don't notice. If it isn't cut out early, it can wrap its tendrils around our lives until it chokes our spiritual lives. I do like honeysuckle, guess I just have to remember to keep after it early, before it becomes such a burden to clear away! And I still have more to do! ~ Wendy |
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I just wrote an article called "Memorizing with Mnemonics"...you can read it on my site if you're interested. But I was hoping I'd get some more ideas about using mnemonics - what are some ways mnemonic devices have helped you or your children in the learning process? The ones I've come up with so far: For the Great Lakes: HOMES =Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior For the order of operations: PEMDAS or PLEASE EXCUSE MY DEAR AUNT SALLY = Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction For the Planets: MY VERY EDUCATED MOTHER JUST SERVED US NACHOS = Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune For classification in biology: KING PHILLIP CAME OVER FOR GREAT SPAGHETTI = Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species For colors in the spectrum: ROY G. BIV = Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet For Treble clef notes on the lines: EVERY GOOD BOY DESERVES FUDGE or EVERY GOOD BIRD DOES FLY = E - G - B - D - F If you have others you can add, please do so. You can add ones that you might have created yourself for your students to learn something. Wendy |
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What? The years... I agree that sometimes the days seem to go by slowly. Especially when you're up to your elbows in teaching, disciplining, cleaning, cooking...and having fun. But today I went shopping -- alone. I used to think that I couldn't wait to do that...and I do admit, it is easier to shop alone than with a five little boys all around. But today, I missed them being around. I missed them being young and talking and laughing and making me laugh with them. I miss their daily presence in my life. Our oldest is now on the other side of the country from us, one of our 18 year old twins is at this moment in Coast Guard boot camp. The other 18 year old is busy with college classes, working and running for the fire department. The other two are still at home, but they are no longer "little". And they're growing older every day! When people say, "enjoy them while they're young" -- they are so right! Be sure to take those precious moments just "being" and playing with your little ones. Hmmm....I sure am thankful for cell phones and email!! Wendy |
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I put up four new worksheets on www.ToytownTreasures.com They all have something to do with TREES: An Arbor Day worksheet A factor tree worksheet A family tree worksheet A notebooking type page on trees Hope you enjoy! Wendy |
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The worksheets for March are now up at ToytownTreasures This month you'll find some sheets for Easter, St. Patrick's Day -- plus a special rhyming lesson plan to use with your children that includes a template for a game. Also included this month is a spring notebooking page, months and seasons capitalization page, and a "write in sequence" worksheet. Note also that three of our ebooks are now available in softcover, if you like the books already made instead of in ebook form. ENJOY! Wendy ToytownTreasures |
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This amazing manifestation of children's abilities to discern between what tastes good at home and what tastes good at Grandma's house can be a frustrating dilemma for parents. Do you have it among your children? When I was young, for some reason, we loved to eat jelly bread at Grandma's house. It wasn't that Grandma had special bread or jelly. Sometimes, my mom would even take bread and jelly along to Grandma's house and we'd gobble it up. But at home, we almost never at it. When we go to my in-law's house at the beach, my kids LOVE to eat the Bar-b-cued ribs that Grandmom makes. If I try to make them at home (even using the same recipe)...they just don't seem to taste the same. (I've been told this many times!) While I don't know the cause of this strange behavior, I'm looking forward SOMEDAY to being on the receiving end of The Jelly Bread Syndrome. Wendy |
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When our boys were younger, I loved to throw in a "fun" educational day once in a while. We'd just "throw out" the normal things we were doing, (like studying math or grammar) and do a one day "unit study" of some type. Sometimes it was a long science project or a day when we'd just play various educational games. Sometimes I actually thought up some things to do under a "theme" -- like for Valentine's day when we did a bit of a study about hearts. There is one idea of a one day study now up on Toytown Treasures to go along with Valentine's Day. There are also some other worksheets for Valentine's Day -- and a couple of worksheets for the presidents. Enjoy! Wendy |
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Worksheets for the month of January are now up at www.Toytowntreasures.com I'm going to try doing the worksheets on a "monthly" basis -- and have them based on some theme from that month...I hope! For January, I've included a calendar with a few special days included, worksheets for MLK, a Ben Franklin quiz and puzzle, a birds worksheets and cover page -- so you can made a notebook if you'd like by just copying the "guided" notebooking page for each bird you'd like your child to study, and a "discovery" page -- which has questions about John James Audubon on it that your student will need to research to find answers. But I also have included links on the January page that will help your student find the answers! Enjoy January, Wendy www.ToytownTreasures.com |
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Fall goes by so quickly...and now here we are in December. I was able to put a up page with some Christmas worksheets including one that gives ideas for writing a letter to family or friends. There are also a few templates included for your student to use. On that Christmas page are also some links to other Christmas sites. www.Toytowntreasures.com Today we finally get the Christmas tree. We were hoping to get it last weekend when our oldest was able to be home for a short weekend, but alas...the van had to be repaired. It is now 15 years old and some of the parts are "obsolete" -- and hard to come by. But it was good to be able to see our son for a little while. I am so thankful for cell phones and email. It's great to be able to keep in touch even when friends and family live so far away. Off to get the room ready for the tree...and maybe even get a few cookies baked! |
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It's that time again for colorful leaves (especially if you live in the Northeast!) and cooler weather, although so far our fall has been rather warm. We live in a small borough very close (about a mile) from the city line. But we are blessed to have a nice sized backyard with lots of tall "acorn" trees. At this time of the year, the acorns tumble from the trees and cover the backyard. With all these acorns just lying around...guess what we have in abundance in our yard? Yep, squirrels. The other day, my son counted 22 squirrels -- all sitting around stuffing themselves with the bounty of the stately oak trees. Personally, I'd think they'd be able to live for many years with all the acorns that crunch under my feet when I walk in the backyard. Maybe I can all learn some lesson about getting prepared for the winter, or for the future, from those squirrels! Wendy www.Toytowntreasures.com
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There are now six worksheets up at www.ToytownTreasures.com to use during Fire Prevention Week. These include making a fire plan, creating a floorplan of your bedroom, a page to write an essay, a notebooking page, a poster to color and give away. There is also a card to decorate andwrite a thank you to a fireman when you visit the fire station. There are also some links to other places that have information, games and more about fire prevention. You can use this week to visit your local fire company and thank the firemen and women there for their difficult and risky work of protecting our communities. Wendy |
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Two of my sons are volunteer fire fighters and both hope to go into full-time firefighting in some capacity. They had to deal with the death this past week, of a firefighter they work with. He was only 19 and he died during a fire call. The community came together in many ways - to comfort and give to the family, to bring comfort and food and whatever else they could to the firefighters who lost a brother. I was amazed at the firefighting "family". Firefighters came from all over the county, the state, and even from other states. Many stations volunteered to "cover" the station of the fallen firefighter, so the men wouldn't have to go on calls during this time. I had never known of the type of funeral given to a fallen firefighter -- the men marched together, all wearing their uniforms and the firetrucks from every station in the county (and some others) came. They drove the casket, on top of one of the firetrucks, in a procession past the two stations where this young man had been a member. The siren went off as a salute when they drove past. Many people attended the funeral, with people standing along the street watching in quietness and respect, as the fire trucks rolled by in the slow procession. One of my boys helped with the rescue efforts. The other, who had been friends with this young man, had been on an ambulance call and arrived after three firefighters were extracted from the fallen garage. This is Fire Prevention Week. Can you try to take a few minutes out of your busy schedule to talk with your children about the importance of these men and women who risk their lives for others? Thank you, Wendy
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I finally finished two sets of worksheets for ToytownTreasures. The first is a short article/story about the sun followed by some questions. The next page has a writing activity. The second is a short article/story about the moon followed by some questions. The next page has illustrations and information about the stages of the moon with directions on how to fill in the empty month calendar on the third page. I've included a website that has all the phases of the moon for every month listed. I'm back to teaching in the small school I had taught at last year. Teaching English and World History -- and I admit, I'm learning a lot. Also trying to keep up with homeschooling a few classes for the two boys we still have at home. They take a couple of classes at the school too. Enjoy the worksheets! Wendy
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