Nature's Classroom

It's nice to take a break now and then and get outdoors for some one-on-one with nature. This fall, we drove to a nearby state park for some "outdoor" education. We had time to...

do some fishing,

climb a tree,

see wildlife in their natural habitat,

see wildlife outside their natural habitat...

appreciate nature's beauty all around us,

observe seasonal changes, and

remember Him who created it all.

Glass-Blowing

We had a field trip opportunity to visit a traveling glass-blowing show by Corning at a local museum. It was very interesting. The kids were captivated, as I was. Looks a lot easier than it actually is!

New School Year

We started our new school year off with a new and improved school room. It is amazing what fresh paint, new shelving, a roomy desk and a wall-mounted TV have done to transform our basement space from crowded to spacious. We love it. Here's a peek.

Homeschool PE

Since I started my home school journey, one of my biggest dilemmas has been to provide a sound fitness program.  Oh, I had good intentions. I bought a homeschool fitness book, which still sits on the shelf, crisp and unused. I told myself that the kids would get plenty of exercise riding their bikes or taking a swim class.  I attempted a few “get outside and get some exercise” decrees but that didn’t fool any of us, either. I knew I had to come up with something better, but what? Working out has never been a strength of mine, and planning a PE program was no less a challenge.  On top of that, we live in Wisconsin, where the frozen winters often inspire me to drink hot chocolate and curl up in front of the fire, but don’t do much for my apathy enthusiasm for exercise.

Enter Fitness 4 Homeschool, my hero! An entire physical education curriculum created by  professionals (a PhD in Kinesiology,  a certified Trainer, and a certified Nutritionist).  Designed especially for homeschoolers ages K-8, this program does it all:

·         Little preparation (they email the PDF lesson plans to you each month!)

·         Easy to do

·         Requires only basic equipment ( i.e., balls, jump ropes, hula hoops, bean bags)

·         Provides “how to” video links for ALL the activities and exercises.

·         Geared for all ages and abilities

Fitness 4 Homeschool is for the whole family---not just the kids. The lessons (260 of them) are loaded with great games and activities that will have everyone moving and having fun together. Because it is geared for ages K-8 (most adults will work up a sweat, too), the whole family can enjoy moving and interacting.  Each lesson provides a warm up, activities/games,  and a cool down routine at the end.  These are not merely boring calisthenics, like I had when I was in school. They include fun and creative things, like the crab walk, the ankle alphabet exercise, jump the river, and the plank, to name just a few.  AND, it can be done indoors or out---so you’re covered no matter what the weather! Each lesson takes anywhere from a half-hour to an hour to complete---fits into our school day perfectly.

You also get cool, downloadable tools like an assessment test,  a tracking calendar, and more.  You get all this for a one-time cost of $99, less than what it costs to sign up two kids for YMCA swim lessons for one semester.  Remember, this is for the entire family and you can use it year after year. They will even send you a one week  FREE trial, to see if it’s right for your family. Now how nice is that? The curriculum is reusable, but the company does plan to offer a more advanced course for those who may want to add a higher level later on. I am so thankful  I came across this company. I definitely encourage you to check it out.

Gearing Up for a New School Year

It's almost August---our local Target and Walmart have had back-to-school supplies out on their shelves for a month, reminding us that summer is fleeting. We are in the process of getting ready for another school year, too. Our Sonlight curriculum arrived, we finished painting the school room, hubby has drawn up plans for a wall of bookshelves and a custom computer desk, we are shopping for laptops and a wall-mounted flatscreen TV (so glad to get rid of the current space-hogging tv and aquarium!), I have scheduled 9 or 10 field trips with our local homeschool support group, and I have finished writing in language arts into our years' lesson plans. The kids are very excited about getting laptops this year---we are switching to a new math program called Teaching Textbooks which includes CDs and books used concurrently. Will post pics of remodeled school room once we've finished! Am so looking forward to the bookshelves which we so badly need...

Chess Anyone?

My kids (ages 6 and 10) both learned to play chess quickly and easily with two great products. One is called No Stress Chess, a two-sided chess game with a deck of action cards. The first side shows them where to place the pieces to start the game. The action cards depict each chess piece and how it moves.  The child moves only this piece on his turn. This eliminates the need to memorize all the pieces and their moves in advance, which is what overwhelms most beginners. After a few turns, the child begins to instinctively know how to move and capture with the various pieces. Once the children become comfortable with the moves and powers of each chess piece, they can flip the board over and put aside the deck of action cards and play chess unaided---the second side is a standard chess board!  The second product my kids really enjoy is a computer software game called Learn to Play Chess with Fritz and Chesster. Kids play 7 arcade-style games to learn chess basics, then put what they've learned to the test in the Intelligym, a training ground for future chess pros. Finally they can play in a tournament and try to defeat King Black. This is one of their first choices of games to play when they are allowed free-choice for computer time. They have learned some great strategies with this that I've never seen. It's awesome!

Join a Homeschool Support Group

If you are homeschooling and have not joined a homeschool support group, I urge you to find one. Even if you are confident in your own abilites, there are so many benefits from belonging to a group of like-minded parents and kids: organized field trips, holiday parties, curriculum fairs, fun and educational classes, used book sales and swaps, educational seminars, clubs such as Lego Club, Chess Club, Sewing Club, etc., group discount tickets to amusement parks, zoos, museums, etc., group discounts on skating lessons, twirling lessons, hockey lessons, etc., monthly gatherings for moms to swap ideas, service projects for the kids to do, and the list goes on...  Here are some pics from some of our homeschool group's outings and classes.

                                         Observing a bat during a field trip to some local caves.

                                                             Group shot in the caves.

                                                  Construction class using various materials.

                                                            More construction class.

                                                      Cooking class at local church kitchen.

                                                            Making ice cream in a bag.

                                       Making ice cream in a bag (notice the gloves---it's cold!)

                                                             Construction creation.