So go check it out....you may just have a winning idea!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Contest!
I am a sucker for any contests. Anyway, when I found out from a blogging frind that Homeschoolshare was having a contest that involved none other than workboxes, well....GAME ON!!!!!!!!
So go check it out....you may just have a winning idea!
So go check it out....you may just have a winning idea!
A Day in the Life of a Workbox
This is going to be a pretty quick and visual post. This is just a sampling of some of a day in the life of our workboxes. The first set of photos is for my 8 year old.
Box #1 - Bible Copywork/Journaling
Box #2 - Review worksheet - yes, I know...twaddle
Box #3 - super cool Flip Over Math (I usually give her a couple of pages at a time)
Box #4 - I read her Grammar Land hence the "Work with Mom" tag. This was one of Homeschool Freebie of the Day's little jewels. You gotta love that site.
Box #5 This is Me Journal with prompts (that I printed off the computer, cut into strips, and put in a recycled plastic jar).
Box #6 - Spelling Power - another Work with Mom item
Box #7 - Times Tales - Yes, ANOTHER Work With Mom (trust me we usually don't have more than about 2/day)
Box #8 - A book for her to read silently/independently.
Box #9 - Write 2 Letters to 2 different people.
On to 6 year old's boxes...
Box #1 - Bible Copywork/Journaling
Box #2 - 10 minutes worth of Brain Quest deck
Box #3 - This is Me Journal entry
Box #4 - Math (Money) worksheets
Box #5 Food Logic...mmmm...eat your answers
Box #6 - Silent/Independent Reading
Box #7 - Sketch about what you just read
Box #8 - Spelling manipulative with bathtub letters
Box #9 - Letter writing time
Whew! And we're done! This works for us!
Box #1 - Bible Copywork/Journaling
Box #2 - Review worksheet - yes, I know...twaddle
Box #3 - super cool Flip Over Math (I usually give her a couple of pages at a time)
Box #4 - I read her Grammar Land hence the "Work with Mom" tag. This was one of Homeschool Freebie of the Day's little jewels. You gotta love that site.
Box #5 This is Me Journal with prompts (that I printed off the computer, cut into strips, and put in a recycled plastic jar).
Box #6 - Spelling Power - another Work with Mom item
Box #7 - Times Tales - Yes, ANOTHER Work With Mom (trust me we usually don't have more than about 2/day)
Box #8 - A book for her to read silently/independently.
Box #9 - Write 2 Letters to 2 different people.
On to 6 year old's boxes...
Box #1 - Bible Copywork/Journaling
Box #2 - 10 minutes worth of Brain Quest deck
Box #3 - This is Me Journal entry
Box #4 - Math (Money) worksheets
Box #5 Food Logic...mmmm...eat your answers
Box #6 - Silent/Independent Reading
Box #7 - Sketch about what you just read
Box #8 - Spelling manipulative with bathtub letters
Box #9 - Letter writing time
Whew! And we're done! This works for us!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
What do you do when you have the stomach flu...
...and the rest of your family is at the grandparents having an Easter egg hunt and lunch? You put together a book list, of course then update your blog with it.
Elementary Book List
I got these titles from a wonderful little book called The Book Tree by Elizabeth McCallum & Jane Scott. It is a Christian reference for Children's literature. It has four different categories, one for preschool, elementary, middle, and high school levels. I simply went through the elementary level and marked the ones that I really liked. I strayed away from too much magical, whimsical, and mythical books of which there were quite a few surprisingly listed.
Speaking of books, we are STILL reading Boy of the Pyramids. I don't know why it has taken us so long to get through this one because it really is a good and interesting book. Miss Priss is also simultaneously reading the Little House books and we are almost to the end of the series. My little reluctant reader has really taken off and now she doesn't even want her Daddy or me to read them to her which in a way makes me a little bit sad...be careful what you wish for... Anyway, back to Boy of the Pyramids. I decided to turn that little book into a fun little hands-on math time for the gals. I simply gave them the lucite pyramid shape (you can see it to the left in the last photo) and helped them a little to start construction and this is what they did.
Did you know a pyramid's bottom was in the shape of a square? I hadn't ever really thought about that and Little Bit said she thought it should only have 3 sides since it was like a triangle. I'd be willing to bet dollars to donuts if I asked her today she'd tell me the bottom is square shaped.
We also had our monthly homeschool group meeting this past week. Above all else the kids' favorite thing to do there is play the Yes/No/Maybe game. They love it. We could play it all day. You simply make 3 signs labeled "Yes", "No", and "Maybe". Put them on the floor in the room (the further away from each other the better) and simply make statements like, "I am wearing blue jeans", "I have a little sister", etc. and they have to run from one sign to the other depending on whether or not it is true for them. Its a nice little mixer even for adults. You can give the adults some time to talk with one another while "mixing up" the room. But for kids, it's best to keep them moving - and on task - we've found.
This game won out even over decorating cookies...hmmm...wonder HOW on earth I could ever have gotten a stomach bug?
For a little "Civics" lesson, we threw actual tea into our river here at a local Tea Party/Fair Tax rally. Miss Priss has been asking a lot of questions about it and I don't think she still fully understands it all. Do any of you have any good recommendations for books or resources on elementary civics? I found a couple of titles in The Book Tree and I also found this very interesting youtube. But I still feel like it is a little deep for an 8 year old and wasn't really answering some of the questions she had. Anyway, are YOU going to a tea party on Wednesday?
Do you own a copy of The Fair Tax? I HIGHLY recommend reading it. It simply validates everything I ever felt and knew with some VERY interesting history about taxes in this country. Did you know that before the 20th century Americans didn't really pay a federal income tax?!? Just remember one thing about taxes: WITHHOLDING is the devil!!!!
Elementary Book List
Publish at Scribd or explore others:
I got these titles from a wonderful little book called The Book Tree by Elizabeth McCallum & Jane Scott. It is a Christian reference for Children's literature. It has four different categories, one for preschool, elementary, middle, and high school levels. I simply went through the elementary level and marked the ones that I really liked. I strayed away from too much magical, whimsical, and mythical books of which there were quite a few surprisingly listed.
Speaking of books, we are STILL reading Boy of the Pyramids. I don't know why it has taken us so long to get through this one because it really is a good and interesting book. Miss Priss is also simultaneously reading the Little House books and we are almost to the end of the series. My little reluctant reader has really taken off and now she doesn't even want her Daddy or me to read them to her which in a way makes me a little bit sad...be careful what you wish for... Anyway, back to Boy of the Pyramids. I decided to turn that little book into a fun little hands-on math time for the gals. I simply gave them the lucite pyramid shape (you can see it to the left in the last photo) and helped them a little to start construction and this is what they did.
Did you know a pyramid's bottom was in the shape of a square? I hadn't ever really thought about that and Little Bit said she thought it should only have 3 sides since it was like a triangle. I'd be willing to bet dollars to donuts if I asked her today she'd tell me the bottom is square shaped.
We also had our monthly homeschool group meeting this past week. Above all else the kids' favorite thing to do there is play the Yes/No/Maybe game. They love it. We could play it all day. You simply make 3 signs labeled "Yes", "No", and "Maybe". Put them on the floor in the room (the further away from each other the better) and simply make statements like, "I am wearing blue jeans", "I have a little sister", etc. and they have to run from one sign to the other depending on whether or not it is true for them. Its a nice little mixer even for adults. You can give the adults some time to talk with one another while "mixing up" the room. But for kids, it's best to keep them moving - and on task - we've found.
This game won out even over decorating cookies...hmmm...wonder HOW on earth I could ever have gotten a stomach bug?
For a little "Civics" lesson, we threw actual tea into our river here at a local Tea Party/Fair Tax rally. Miss Priss has been asking a lot of questions about it and I don't think she still fully understands it all. Do any of you have any good recommendations for books or resources on elementary civics? I found a couple of titles in The Book Tree and I also found this very interesting youtube. But I still feel like it is a little deep for an 8 year old and wasn't really answering some of the questions she had. Anyway, are YOU going to a tea party on Wednesday?
Do you own a copy of The Fair Tax? I HIGHLY recommend reading it. It simply validates everything I ever felt and knew with some VERY interesting history about taxes in this country. Did you know that before the 20th century Americans didn't really pay a federal income tax?!? Just remember one thing about taxes: WITHHOLDING is the devil!!!!
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