Sunday, October 27, 2013

4 more Days till Halloween!



Yes! Halloween is almost here! So, of course we have been having tons more, Halloween Fun themed Homeschooling Lessons!!!!









This week our Craft was making our own "Trick-or-Treat" Halloween bags.
We used pillow cases and had the kids decorate them with Markers, glue &, glitter!

For more DIY Trick-or-Treat bag ideas, check out this Blog's 15 creative trick-or-treat bags and buckets ;)






In other Homeschooling news, we have been learning more about syllables, using "Hal·low·een "themed words.
The kids really enjoyed the syllable sort game!
Halloween Syllable Sort (1, 2 and 3 Syllables)Halloween Syllable Sort (1, 2 and 3 Syllables)Halloween Syllable Sort (1, 2 and 3 Syllables)

Halloween Syllable Sort (1, 2 and 3 Syllables)





















Until next time...



 

Sunday, October 20, 2013

This week we have a Guest Blogger!

In keeping with, my Fall/ Halloween theme this month, I have a real "Treat" for you.  
I would like to introduce,
my Very 1st Guest Blogger,                Joy!
A Homeschool Mom from,
 
 
 
 


                                     

Most parents know not to compare their children to one another as each child is an individual
with different challenges and different strengths. The same holds true with your own family's
homeschool. There is not one correct way to homeschool in my opinion. Each child most
likely has a different personality and learning style from their siblings and the parent/s that
teach that child also have things that they are good at and things that are more difficult for
them.
 
We have been homeschooling for 7+ years and I wish that I had known early on not to
compare how we do things with other families. I guess the exception would be when asking
input or advice of another family that may have gone through something similar. Both my
husband and I have had a few people over the years make comments like "I'm sure you do a
lot more with your children than we do." How would they know this? They don't. Somehow they
have gotten a preconceived notion from observing us.
 
I've also gotten the comment many times, "I could never homeschool a child with special
needs, I do not know how you do it." In reality, I think most people could do it if they thought
it was the only way their child could get an appropriate education, which was the case for
us. They usually do not see the occasional bad days we have where we are just doing our
best to deal with behaviors and doctor appointments. Honestly some days are survival mode,
LOL. We pretty much homeschool year round for this very reason. This allows a day off from
educational lessons when other special need issues arise, as they often can. It also allows for
a spontaneous trip when we all need a break, rather than when most people take a break.
(summer)
 
Yet, I have done the same thing comparing our homeschool to others! I will see a family with
many children (I just have two) and I will think silently, that the mom must possess extra super
powers that I do not have. I admit I have been a bit jealous of families that do not have to deal
with special needs challenges even though I wouldn't trade it for the world. I'm also sometimes
envious of some of my friends that are talented at teaching co-op classes, scout groups, and
group activities in their home, as that is not where my talent is.
 
All of this is what makes homeschooling so ideal! We learn our children's learning styles and
our own teaching styles. We are able to let our children actively pursue their own interests and
talents without being burdened by typical public school hours. After awhile we figure out what
works best for our own individual families and adapt when changes need to be made. When we
are involved in group activities with friends we can combine our talents with other families and
share our talents with them.
 
 
 Has there ever been a time you have compared your homeschool to another family and
not felt up to par?
 
 
 
 
* Until Next time... 
Don't forget to check out my Guest Post,  "Halloween Fun", on Joy's Blog, too! *
 
 

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Pumpkins, Skeletons, and Ghosts... O'MY!

Have I mentioned how much I Love this time of year? Besides the cooler, welcomed weather, I love how much Fun it is to celebrate the Holidays and incorporate them into our schooling.


This past weekend we went to a local Pumpkin Festival. They had Fall themed games for the kids, horse rides, and of course a Pumpkin patch! We all really enjoyed ourselves.

During our school lessons this week, we studied the Human Skeleton. I actually just took Anatomy & Physiology this past Spring and last Fall. So, it was really hard for me to not go into to much detail. With my children age differences, 6 and 11 year old, I had to make sure our lesson were age appropriate. 
For example, with my oldest I went into a bit more detail about the Spine. I explained that it was broken down into Cervical, Thoracic, Lumbar, etc. Now with my youngest, I mainly just explained to him that our "Back" is also called a "Spine". Then with both of them I explained that our Spine's play an important role in our bodies. The "Bones" also called "Vertebra" in or Spine protect our Spinal cord, which is what our Brains use to control are body. That when the Spinal cord has injury, that it can cause the Brain not to be able to send messages properly.

The kids thought it was very interesting and really enjoyed looking through some of the pictures in my text books.

We also did some fun Skeleton inspired games. I took some of the words and made an unscramble game online. Since it is Halloween this month, we took the Skeleton theme this week and went one step further and did a Fun ghost craft. Since it uses some of our Anatomy, to create. I thought it was a neat craft idea this week to do.



                                             Ghost Feet and Tree hand Art

What you need:
Construction paper in Black, yellow, and green/blue
Paint in white, black, and brown
Paint brushes
Scissors
Glue or tape
pencil

Directions:
1.Cut a yellow circle for a moon
2. Trace your hand and arm in the center of your black paper.
3. Using your paint colors, make your hand/arm into the color of a tree.*Let dry
4. Paint the bottom of each foot white.
5. Carefully, press them on the green/blue paper. You do not want to smudge them, etc. * Let dry
6. Cut out your Ghost feet
7. With your black paint, put two round circles on each ghost for eyes and a bigger circle for the mouth. * Let dry
8. Once all is dry, paste/tape the moon on your black paper
9. Paste/tape your Ghost feet on your black paper

                                          Voila! All Done


In addition, we also put together a Skeleton model that I purchased and read through the information booklet, which had a lot of interesting info. We also had them create a Halloween inspired story about a Skeleton ( Check out SAT essay writing help, if you need some writing tutoring ). I was very impressed in how creative my children's story were ;)











Until Next time...

Friday, October 4, 2013

It's October! ~> More Halloween/Fall themed projects

 
IT'S

One of the things, I enjoy most about Homeschooling my children, is getting to find and create fun lessons, projects, crafts, etc. During the month of October, we will be continuing to focus on Fall and Halloween projects. Each week, I will share with you, some of the things we have or will be doing. I hope you come check in each week! You may find some new ideas, you can do, with your children ;)

This week we made some yummy Witch Hat Cookies, kids loved making this easy to make recipe.
*You can make them w/with out Bows. Click the link above for the complete recipe.)
Witches' Hats

We made them with out the bows ( pic to the left). It was easier for my children as the bows were hard for them to make.


I also made some Fall/Halloween inspired printable flashcards and created a word list on
Spelling City, using Fall/Halloween themed words.
The kids thought some of the definitions for the words were funny. Example: when they seen the word "Vampire" and the definition said, " A Monster who likes to suck your blood."




So, what will we be doing next week? We will be learning about the Human Skeleton and doing Skeleton/Ghost crafts.

Until Next Time...