Posted by admin on Nov 1, 2008 in
Homeschooling 
Mikah is so proud of her new mini office. Using it, she has even been writing on her own some this week! (She loves to write songs. Guess Camp Rock and High School Musical have made an impact on her!) It was really easy to make and there are some great resources online. A good place to start is Mini-Office – A Tool For Any Homeschool. This article does a great job explaining how to use a mini office. At the end of the article there are some great links. Other links: Mini Offices Page at Teaching Heart, Mrs. Meacham’s Classroom Snapshots, Busy Teacher’s Cafe, Lapbook Lessons.
Tags: Language Arts
Posted by admin on Oct 24, 2008 in
Homeschooling 
In last night’s post I mentioned The Game of the Changing Paper that Albanesi Montessori sells. Today, I came up with my own version. (Probably similar to Albanesi’s, but different since I have never seen anything but the one page of the activity Albanesi has on the website.)
In my version there are 12 sheets of square 5.5 paper. You print & cut these out. (or use scrapbook paper in the place of the printed paper.) There are also 3 files that include article – adjective strips and noun lables that all say “paper” and a template that the strips fit onto. This provides somewhat an error of control since the lables are different sizes. You can download my version here. FILE 1 ——–FILE 2——–FILE 3——–FIle 4
Tags: Homeschooling, Language Arts, Montessori
Posted by admin on Oct 23, 2008 in
Homeschooling 
For grammar this year we are using the Montessori manuals from Montessori Research and Development. It’s an amazing way to teach grammar – very hands on – but, requires some work from the parent to make the cards. (Find a friend who is interested in using the manuals and share the work!) The teacher presents the lessons in the Montessori fashion and then the students use the materials (cards, solid and wooden grammar symbols, small objects) to make sentences etc. and then records them in a language notebook. (No fill in the blank activities, no worksheets) I was browsing though some Montessori websites and saw a really neat idea at Albanesi Montessori - Montessori Adjective Strip of Paper. They only show 1example – so, I took the idea and made my own. I only had room for 8 adjectives as opposed to the 10 spaces they have. Other than that I pretty much copied their format. So, it’s not an original idea, but since I haven’t seen their other 9 pages mine are probably somewhat different. I also like their Adjective Game of the Changing Paper and will probably try to recreate a version of that as well. Click here to download the zip file with all 11 Adjective Papers.
Tags: Homeschooling, Language Arts, Montessori
Posted by admin on Sep 30, 2008 in
Homeschooling It’s amazing how much there is out there FREE for homeschooling the high school student! Tonight I found some more goodies I wanted to share.
As I have stated before, Tyler is studying Economics this year. Inside the Global Economy is a free series of 13 videos online at learner.com. This site is a teacher resource and professional development site by Annenberg Media. From the site “Annenberg Media’s multimedia resources help teachers increase their expertise in their fields and assist them in improving their teaching methods. Many programs are also intended for students in the classroom and viewers at home. All Annenberg Media videos exemplify excellent teaching.” They offer a second series of 28 videos in Economics called Economics U$A. Another related series tited Rural Communities: Legacy and Change explores why national and global economic trends effect rural communities. In the area of civics / government they offer a 15 video series called Democracy in America as well as a The Constitution: That Delicate Balance. The video series they have that’s titled Ethics in America and Ethics in America II aslo look very interesting and with some additional reading would complete an indepth course in civics / government. In fact, these videos are a great way to round out a curriculum or provide a basis for a unit study approach for families who are more eclectic in their homeschooling.
Read more…
Tags: American History, American Literature, art, biology, civics, economics, government, high school, Homeschooling, Language Arts, music, science
Posted by admin on Sep 8, 2008 in
Homeschooling Last year Mikah studied Kaya and Felicity along with our history (Last year history was done mostly in our co-op. We did plan to use A New World of Adventure at home, but never seemed to have enough time to get everything in and did only a few weeks of it. I plan to re-visit that curriculum in the future- it’s the best literature-based full curriculum I have seen.) Our co-op mainly used materials from The Time Travelers History Series, another awesome hands-on curriculum.
As we studied the American Girls I had Mikah complete notebook pages. I wanted to share my pages in case anyone else might find them useful.
Read more…
Tags: American Girls, History, Homeschooling, Language Arts, notebooking
Posted by admin on Sep 8, 2008 in
Homeschooling This year we will be using the Beautiful Feet Guide “Geography Through Literature” to study some of the geography of the USA and Canada. They sell a beautiful map kit but it’s larger than I wanted (plus, I’d have to order and pay for it.) I like to be able to keep everything together in a notebook to be bound at a later date. Therefore, I created my own maps to go along with the lessons and wanted to post them for others to use. (I did an internet search and couldn’t find any….)
Read more…
Tags: geography, Homeschooling, Language Arts
Posted by admin on Aug 25, 2008 in
Homeschooling This year Tyler will be studying American Literature. We decided to do a unit study approach and create it as we go. So far he has decided to begin with Henry David Thoreau works. Therefore, I am gathering useful links and study guides to go along with this unit. Hopefully, this will save someone else some time! Read more…
Tags: American Literature, freebies, high school, Homeschooling, Language Arts
Posted by admin on Jul 15, 2008 in
Homeschooling Both of my kids are beyond the level of these, but they came to my attention from a Montessori email list I subscribe to. I use Montessori philosophies with both of my kids but as they get older less and less of the actual materials. At any rate, I wish these had been around about 5 years ago! These videos are well done and easy to understand. They make working with and understanding the materials easier. I will list them in sections with a link to each.
Preschool Language Activities in Montessori
Preschool Montessori Activities
Montessori Methods & Activities
Montessori Math Methods
Montessori Counting Methods
Montessori Language Activities
Montessori Sensory Activities
Montessori Visual Activities
Tags: Homeschooling, Language Arts, math, Montessori
Posted by admin on Jun 30, 2008 in
Homeschooling More free goodies from the interent! A friend sent this link today and I agree.. it looks awesome.
S.C.O.R.E. Language Arts Cyber Guides
From the site… “CyberGuides are supplementary, standards-based, web-delivered units of instruction centered on core works of literature.” They have sections for different age groups and I saw guides for many books we have read already or plan to read in the future. Sadly, some are no longer functioning because of the lack of funding for the program. So, get them while you can!
Tags: freebies, high school, Homeschooling, Language Arts
Posted by admin on Jun 21, 2008 in
Homeschooling 
A few days ago I found another great resource. As I was browsing the internet for resources to use for homeschooling a high schooler I found this publisher.
Read more…
Tags: freebies, high school, Homeschooling, Language Arts
Mikah is so proud of her new mini office. Using it, she has even been writing on her own some this week! (She loves to write songs. Guess Camp Rock and High School Musical have made an impact on her!) It was really easy to make and there are some great resources online. A good place to start is Mini-Office – A Tool For Any Homeschool. This article does a great job explaining how to use a mini office. At the end of the article there are some great links. Other links: Mini Offices Page at Teaching Heart, Mrs. Meacham’s Classroom Snapshots, Busy Teacher’s Cafe, Lapbook Lessons.
