On the Road

Grace-girl- she always wanted those eye thingies.  And no, she didn't actually sleep.

Our adventurous little family recently embarked on a 3000 mile road trip from Oregon to New Mexico and back again.  I could start a new blog for this topic, but I'll restrain myself. As you can imagine, we spent a lot of time in the car.  Here are a few things I learned, in a nutshell!

1.  Make a plan, but don't be afraid to change it.  I spent hours planning, organizing, and preparing for this trip.  Games, toys, educational activities, homeschool curriculum, daily snacks, music, and even some videos all took up space in our front seat area.  I planned for everything.  Every good place to stop and run around, every meal, every little detail.  Then I set it down and let it go.  Whew.  It's nice to be prepared (just in case) but not something I have to be controlling about.  It's always good to expect the unexpected; like a delicious burger joint in Central California (Eddie's Famous Cafe- Eddie even gave us free cinnamon rolls), or a truly interesting rest stop in New Mexico.  You just never know what you might find!

The first of 3 KOA cabins, all exactly the same!  Talk about easy...

2. Try to maintain your normal routine, at least to a certain extent, for the happiness of the whole crew.  We happen to use a curriculum that is heavy on memorization and auditory learning.  So you can now imagine us rocking out to such hits as, "The Timeline Song," "The US Presidents" and don't forget that amazing ditty, "The Preposition Song." Every morning we started our morning with breakfast at the campsite (we stayed at KOA campgrounds the whole way down for consistency and ease of travel- the cabins are the way to go when stopping for a quick overnight- we stayed with family and varied places on the way home), then mom or dad packed the car while the other ran the kids around at the playground (almost all KOAs have playgrounds).  After hopping in the car we did our Bible reading and prayer time then jumped into memory work.  By the time we finished all that the first hour was well behind us.  Grace-Girl also filled out a daily journal page each morning.  We spent time each evening to sit down and have dinner together, do our normal bed-time routine (as much as possible) and re-pack for the next day (snacks, car reorganization, etc.).  It was worth it.

The girls at Arches National Park

3. Enjoy the Road!  We were definitely on a schedule that didn't allow long stops, as we wanted lots of time with family at our destination, but we made a few exceptions: one morning at Arches National Park and one morning at The New Mexico Natural History Museum in Albuquerque.  We powered through the first two days (though we did make short stops to run around) and slowed down on the last two days.  Daddy and I also found time in the evenings to have fun- we played games, watched movies (all KOAs have free wi-fi) and took some time for "us" all while the girls were sleeping peacefully in the cabin.  

Many happy travels to you and yours this holiday season!  Don't forget to visit Pinterest for every idea of a car game you could possibly imagine. 

First Grade Common Core

One of the challenges of homeschooling is figuring out exactly what your kids "need" to know.  Here in Oregon we only have to face standardized testing a few times (3rd, 5th 8th and 10th grades) and otherwise it's really up to us how we choose to home educate.  There are several philosophies about this, some folks choose to make it up as they go along, or trust that the curriculum they are using is enough.  Some prefer to ignore the "requirements" and allow their children to learn at their own pace.  The rest of us just have to KNOW!  :)  Whatever your philosophy, here's a great resource that's worth a peek.  

This First Grade Common Core workbook is the largest collection of resources for teaching the Common Core State Standards. This workbook includes reams of worksheets, activities, and posters that cover Language Arts and Math.   They have the Common Core Standards Workbooks for Kindergarten through Grade 5 (though the Grades 3-5 aren't available just yet).

I took a peek at a sample (you can download it, here) and the worksheets seem easy to follow and read.  The directions are straightforward.  Even more exciting are the colorful activities and posters that could be used for homeschool-style folder games or even lapbooks.  Lots of fun ideas, here.  

It's always up to us as parent educators to decide what and how our kids should learn.  But sometimes it's nice to get a look at what our kids really need to know.  If my kids need to go back to public or private school, I want them to be ready to meet the standard.  

I was offered a free copy of the First Grade Common Core Workbook in exchange for this blog post.  Thanks to http://www.hipmamasplace.com/2012/05/summer-reading-programs-for-kids-2012.html for the cute pics of the babies reading, too.  :)

Small hands, big world

When I feel I've lost my way and am out of touch with what lives outside my window (which actually happens to me quite often- several times a day, usually), we all head outside.  Regardless of the weather.  Sometimes it's a walk around the neighborhood or a more organized activity like a hike, but most often we just hang out in our yard, enjoying the space we inhabit.  Sometimes we just stay in our pajamas.

Nature Journaling in dinosaur jammies

One of my favorite things to do with my five year old is Nature Journaling.  We started when she was four, loosely following Anna Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study (also available free in a digital format of your choice). 

I keep a backpack prepared for her with her binoculars, magnifying glass, colored pencils and journal.  The backpack usually lives in the car because it's the most common place I am when I wish I had it with me.  And yes, my Anna Comstock is actually in the car right now, too.

Journal, binoculars, magnifying glass, pencils and a subject to study

My Grace-Girl has drawn pine cones, butterflies, flowers, rocks, grasses, and, most recently, sunflowers.  I had her pick a specific flower to draw and study.  She went to work looking at it from all angles, examining it, understanding it.  First she drew the heads and leaves of the multi-headed sunflower, then she drew the entire plant as she saw it. We counted stems and leaves as well as flowers.  Here's the finished work.

Pages from the journal

Of course I had some books from the library on the topic in anticipation of the moment and we read them before we came out.  Back inside we finished our study of the sunflower with a nice craft I made up with cut out pictures of the plant's life cycle separated by arrows circling a sunflower we pasted together with bits of paper and actual sunflower seeds.  Fun.  

But back to Nature Study. Here is Baby Rain experiencing her natural world.  

Baby nature study

 It was warm this day and she had been playing in the hose water while sister worked on her journal. 

I'm mostly writing this to encourage myself not to forget to get outside, regardless of the weather or the incessantly needy state of my house (or my blog).  This is not what we do everyday, but it's what I strive to do most days.  :) Thanks for listening.  For more inspiration, check out this amazing blog with great Nature Journal challenges.

Workboxes!

Our work-boxes- a versatile rolling cart

I usually shun the word "work" when engaging my kinder-kid in home learning, but it's just so catchy: "Workboxes."  She absolutely loves the workbox method.  She asks for it.  Recently she asked if they use workboxes at NASA training camp (she's contemplating becoming an astronaut).

As a homeschooling parent, my top tools for teaching are books, hands-on activities, and real-life stuff.  But it's fun to add in these tools and tricks to help make learning fun and a well-rounded experience for the kids.  My Grace-girl (5) needed some help becoming more independent (i.e. let mom walk out of the room for two seconds to make sure the baby isn't eating the pet fish).  I think workboxes are a great way to do that.  Also, repetition is key with the grammar stage and where I lack in repetition, I know these games and activities will help pick up the slack.

We only use our boxes a few days a week when I'm busy with projects, planning or cleaning and she needs a few hours of review time (great for practicing new things we learn together on other days).  There are only six boxes, but that seems to keep my kid busy for hours.  She likes to take her time.  The pink box on top is her "tool box" where I put pencils, dry erase markers, or whatever else she will need for her activities.  She looks at the activity, decides if she needs a tool, then goes for it.  Yay for independent thinking and learning!

Practicing word-family recognition

After reviewing just about every blog that talks about workboxes, I decided to invest in some folder games (with the help of a friend's laminator) and wound up making my own number cards that detach by velcro and reattach to the "done" card (on top of the boxes in the above pic- though I later mounted it on the side of the rolling cart).  Couldn't find any I really liked online.

Here are some things I've put into her boxes:

• Domino math.  I laminated the worksheets (one for adding, one for subtracting) and include the dominoes in the box.  
• One game that uses clothespins (great for manual dexterity training).  
• Several write-on/wipe-off writing mats that I'll usually rotate through (just one at a time- I'm not crazy about them, but they seem fun for her). 
• A mini-book project that will become part of a larger lapbook (we love lapbooks, too- check out this post).  
• A movement oriented activity, like a series of our favorite Yoga Pretzel cards, for her to get some wiggle time, often accompanied by a snack.  
• Reading flashcards or a reading book with a little card that says, "with Mommy."
• A fun cut and paste project or puzzle book.  This one was fun, thought not terribly educational.  It's good, I think, to end with something fun.  

I usually space out the difficult items involving reading and writing between easier ones (or ones that utilize a different skill, like cutting and pasting).  The downside is that she is quickly outgrowing the folder games I made a few short months ago.  Perhaps it's time to think about swapping with a like-minded mama...

Share your experiences, fellow home-educators!  What systems do you use and why?

The cheapest, free-est way to organize your homeschool life EVER.

In a typical fit of organization that comes every September, I decided to get things sorted out at my house.  As is typical of me, I reviewed every possible way of doing calendars, chores, and everything else and then decided to come up with my own thing.  Everything I used I had on hand except printer ink, cardstock, and printer paper.  It was spurred on by an offer from a friend to use her laminator (thank you!).  I decided to use the calendar we have been using (the only thing here that really cost money), but to hang it in the kitchen on our laundry room/pantry door (it faces into the kitchen and is visible from the kitchen table).  I wanted to have this be our homeschool calendar-center where we also could check in about chores and daily activities.  If you look closely you can see our Bible verses we're currently working on (Psalm 100) above the schedule on the right side.  This is obviously for me, not for her, as she's not reading quite that well, yet.  It is nice for her to have the visual reminder, though.

I put together a laminated daily schedule sheet with laminated activities and velcro to put them all on the schedule.  I opted not to use pictures, mostly because I didn't want to spend time doing it, and it would have made the activity cards too long and too... well... cluttered.  I used an outline-style  font and colored them in myself and glued them onto black cardstock before laminating (cute, huh?)

I also organized a chore chart system that I thought would work best for us.  It's space-saving, flexible and easy to use.  My Grace-girl (5) and I both enjoy the mystery of drawing a stick and finding your chore rather than having it all laid out all the time.  Either way the fish gets fed, right?  Hers have pictures as well as chores.  Some of my favorites: "Tidy bedroom."  "Get dressed."  "Help mommy fold laundry."  "Be a cheerful helper."

I didn't have any popsicle sticks (we make our own popsicles) or I would have used that system.  I did have enough sticks for a system that I hung in the office to manage screen-time- similar to our chore envelopes.  I give her about 50 minutes a day to start with (in 10's and 20's), though it often disappears throughout the day as she chooses to spend time doing other things.  Like somersaults.  When we're trying to leave to go somewhere.  Now.

I know this will all stop working after a few months, but at least when we're ready to come back it will be there.  Taunting me.  Haunting me.  But ready for me.  Remember: the key is to do what will work for you and your family:  figuring this out seems to be the hard part.  What system works for you?  Why is it so darn important, anyway?  (my husband would probably like to know why I can spend hours on this little project but the kitchen remains a disaster)  Share your thoughts!