Shoebox Diorama Literature Project

9 year old's  Wizard of Oz diorama

10 year old's Wizard of Oz  diorama

Skip Counting Worksheets For 2's and 5's {freebie}

Skip Counting By Two.pdf

Skip Counting By Five.pdf

Changing Focus

It seems that each year our homeschooling takes a particular focus. One year may be heavily influenced by our history studies. Another year everything revolves around what we are doing in geography. The next year we might do more science.  This year, our focus has been language arts.

When my three oldest children began their formal studies, their first year was spent solely in the study of phonics and reading.  The next two started out by sitting in on their older brothers and sister's lessons.  They got a great background in science, history, and such, but there never seemed to be much time to practice their phonics skills. At ages seven and eight, they were still sounding out every word and struggling with that. Meanwhile, my four-year-old had also begun learning her letter sounds and was anxious to start reading. I knew this year had to be different.

At the same time, I realized I needed to start focusing more on what the younger children were learning, I also began to realize that the older ones were needing a change. They had mostly outgrown the need for hands-on activities and were wanting to exercise more control over their own schedules.  The timing was perfect! 

I am pleased to report that my seven 1/2 and eight (almost nine) year old are now reading fluently, with little sister hot on their heels. Their older siblings have enjoyed having the ability to finish an entire week's worth of work by Tuesday, if they so desire, and not being tied to MY schedule. They also have learned what happens when they waste time and don't get their work done. Lots of great learning taking place!

Maybe next year we can focus on something a little more exciting . . . like math.

Hands-On Homeschooling

There is an ongoing debate in the homeschool community as to the value of projects to the learning process. Some feel these types of activities should be viewed as extras which can be done if their is time after the "regular" lessons are finished. Others view them as time and money wasters, to be avoided at all costs. And still others, such as myself, view them as absolutely indispensable for teaching important life skills and for cementing knowledge in young minds. This quote by Richard Maybury, author of the Uncle Eric Series, does an excellent job of summarizing my beliefs as to why hands-on education is so important:

Experience creates models automatically . . .This is why classroom instruction via lecture is the least effective way to teach and hands-on learning by doing is the most effective. We are made in such a way that we build models automatically by doing. Typically, classroom instruction is like teaching someone to play Monopoly just by making him memorize the rules and then giving him a test on those rules. . . Unfortunately, some models are impossible to learn using hands-on process, so one method humans use to substitute for real world experience is telling stories. Stories are used to demonstrate and illustrate ideas.

Book knowledge is necessary, but it is useless if a child cannot remember it or has not been taught how to apply it. Hands-on activities can be used to enhance lessons, but some hands-on activities ARE the lessons. Stories are a good substitute when we can't experience something for ourselves, but we really learn best by doing. Hands-on projects turn abstract facts into learning that is relevant to your child. Details of a particular project are usually remembered much longer than details learned through rote memorization because the child has something concrete to attach the facts to, a memory of an EVENT that they personally participated in. 

Hands-on projects not only reinforce lessons, but they also teach a child skills which can be used in other areas. Hands-on learning accesses a different area of the brain than classroom lectures, making it possible to teach things that otherwise might not be learned. Studies done on memory disorder patient Henry Molaison provide an interesting insight into the way that our brain stores different types of learning. For instance, though Molaison was unable to retain any short term memory or convert those experiences to long term memories, he was able to retain and improve upon motor skills he had practiced, even though he couldn't remember having practiced them. Hands-on learning takes advantage of the full learning capabilities of our wonderful brains and gives equal opportunity to students who are gifted in other types of learning.

Rediscovering Our Creative Sides
The idea of adding hands-on projects to our normal educational routines can sometimes seem overwhelming, especially for those who have convinced themselves that they aren't "creative." But humans were made in the image of a creative God, and each one of us reflects that creativity in a unique way. Hands-on education is just a matter of rediscovering our own personal form of creativity, while also allowing our children to express their own creativity. The most effective form of learning will be one that feels natural and is painless to implement. This doesn't mean that it won't be messy or time consuming, but the satisfaction we receive from it will be worth the sacrifice.

Creating is good theology.  In the beginning God created. ~Ann Voskamp

All these projects are a lot of work, but the kids remember and enjoy them so much more than all the book work. And in the words of Edith Schaffer, "time can be made to have double value by recognizing that what is done today will be tomorrow's memory." and "Many times you are not choosing what to do with the two or three hours for the immediate results, but you are choosing a memory (or not to have that memory) for a lifetime." (from What Is A Family)

How hands-on is you homeschool?

Please share your ideas, or feel free to ask questions.

Notgrass (Revised World History) Literature Selections In the Public Domain

First, the good news: The Notgrass company has revised their World History textbooks and brought them up to date. The new version is currently at the printer, and they expect to start shipping the first week of April. 

Now, the bad news: As might be expected with an update like this, several of the literature selections have been changed. This means, if you already own this program and decide to update, you will need to buy some additional literature books in addition to the new textbooks. Actually, it really isn't that bad. The new list consists of just four new books, and two of these are available in the public domain. Five books which were previously included have been dropped from the list, including: Mere Christianity (this is still recommended as additional reading), Pilgrim's Progress, Pride and Prejudice, Heart of Darkness (my daughter was very pleased with this as she HATED this book), and Eric Liddell: Pure Gold. 

4 new books and 5 removed

Exploring World History
By Ray Notgrass / Notgrass Company

Updated Literature Titles:

The Cat of Bubastes   Kindle   EPUB   Audio

The Art of War Kindle  EPUB  Audio

Julius Caesar   Kindle  EPUB  Audio

The Imitation of Christ   Kindle  EPUB   Audio

Here I Stand   Kindle  EPUB   

A Tale of Two Cities  Kindle   EPUB   Audio

North and South  Kindle  EPUB  Audio

The Hiding Place (not available for free online)

Animal Farm (not available for free online)

Bridge To The Sun (not available for free online)

Cry, the Beloved Country (not available for free online)

The Abolition of Man  Kindle  EPUB   

 

*This post contains affiliate links.

Remember to check your local library for print or audio versions of the books not available in the public domain. You can also purchase used versions of the literature books through sites like Amazon, Ebay, or Thriftbooks.

A Homeschool Co-op Lesson On Nutrition

A few years ago I was in charge of teaching an anatomy class for children ages 5-9 at our homeschool co-op. One of the topics we covered was nutrition. After searching for several months for some type of curriculum to use, I finally ended up doing some research and writing something myself. While I am not a nutrition expert, It is my hope that someone might still find something helpful here.

Drink Enough Water

Our bodies are mostly water, so drinking plenty of water is important if we want to keep our bodies healthy. Some symptoms of not drinking enough are fatigue, dry skin, headaches, and constipation. Over a long period of time, a shortage of water will cause your body functions to stop working properly. Drinking enough water will keep you healthier and may allow you to live longer.

What is enough water? You've may have heard that you should drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day, but a better rule to remember is to drink one quart for every 50 pounds of body weight. So, if you weigh 100 pounds, you need to drink two quarts, if you weigh 150 pounds, you need to drink three quarts, and so on.

You also want to make sure that the water you are drinking is good water. Most tap water should be avoided because it may contain chlorine and fluoride, toxic substances that are bad for your body. Distilled water should also be avoided because it can drain your body of necessary minerals. It is best to drink water at room temperature because ice-cold water can harm the lining of your stomach.

Can you give me some reasons why it is important to drink enough water?

Eat Lots of Fruits and Veggies

The National Cancer Institute and the Food Guide Pyramid recommend five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables per day to protect against cancer and other diseases. A serving of vegetables means 1/2 cup of cooked vegetables or 1 cup of raw salad vegetables. A serving of fruit is one medium piece, like apple or an orange.

You should eat fruits and vegetables at every meal. Make veggies the main course. Plan your meals around a "main" vegetable, instead of a meat or starch. When you fill your plate, vegetables should take up half the plate, with meat and starches filling smaller areas. And try to plan at least one vegetarian meal a week. But don't replace the meat with pasta and rice, instead use beans and whole grains.

Try something new. There are lots of different fruits and vegetables. If you try something and don't like it, move on to something different until you find a few you like. Or, try a different way of preparing the same old vegetables. If you don't like cooked peas, try them raw. If you don't like steamed zucchini, maybe you will like it grilled.

Use color to "please the eye and inspire the appetite". The most nutritious fruits and vegetables are the ones with the brightest and deepest colors, so paint your plate with color.

Choose fresh fruits and vegetables whenever possible. Because food looses vitamins and deteriorates in quality as it sits on store shelves, your produce will be more nutritious (and better tasting) if you grow it yourself or buy it locally. Eat vegetables that are in season. If something is not currently being harvested in your area, you know that it was either grown and shipped in from somewhere else, or it has been in storage. Either way, it isn't going to be fresh.

If you can't get something fresh, then buy frozen. Food that has been harvested and frozen quickly actually has more vitamins than most of the foods you will find in the produce section of the grocery store.

Veggie ABC's worksheet

Veggie ABC's for younger children

What are some things to remember that will help you to start eating more fruits and vegetables?

Eat Natural

Eat as few over-processed and over-cooked foods as possible. Once food is cut or processed, it begins to lose its nutritional value. The heat of cooking also depletes vitamins, damages proteins and fats, and destroys enzymes. The closer your foods are to their whole, natural state, the more vitamins, minerals, and fiber they will have, and the better they will be for you.

Eat as many raw foods as possible. Most raw foods contain enzymes which help us to digest our foods. Once enzymes are exposed to heat, they are no longer able to do what they were designed to do. When the natural enzymes in food are destroyed, our body must make its own enzymes to process the food. Eating enzyme-dead foods places an extra burden on your pancreas and other organs, causing them to wear out faster. Lack of digestive enzymes can also be a factor in food allergies. Symptoms of digestive enzymes depletion are bloating, belching, gas, bowel disorders, abdominal cramping, heartburn and food allergies. If you do cook your food, the best way is to lightly steam, stew, or use a slow cooker.

Can you give me some examples of whole, unprocessed foods?

Know What's In Your Food

Another problem with processed foods is that they don't taste or look as good as whole foods. Your body will have a very hard time digesting over-processed and over-cooked foods because of all the sugar, salt, fat, and chemicals which are added to them to improve their quality. These kinds of foods are usually found in boxes, bags, cans, or jars.

The worst offenders are those foods which have been refined (such as white flour and white rice), pasteurized (things that have been flash-heated to high temperatures to kill bacteria), homogenized (a process which is used to keep milk and other foods from separating), or preserved (chemicals are added to keep the food from going bad or to improve the texture or taste). Make sure to read the labels of any canned foods that you do purchase. Even things like tomato sauce, beef broth, or vegetable soup may have added sugar or other unhealthy ingredients. Also, if you don't recognize what is in the food you're eating, it probably isn't very good for you.

What are some over-processed foods that you should avoid?

A Homeschool Co-op Lesson On Muscles

A few years ago I was in charge of teaching an anatomy class for children ages 5-9 at our homeschool co-op. One of the topics we covered was muscles. Since most of the children in the class are boys, I thought this was a good opportunity to keep things active and burn off some energy while we went over our lesson. Below is the lesson written out as I gave it.

Did everyone bring their muscles today? Let me see them! Good job! Did you know that you have over 640 muscles in your bodies? They help you run, jump, and play, but they also do things like pump blood throughout your body and help you digest your food. You control some of your muscles, while others - like your heart - do their jobs all by themselves. Try telling your stomach to digest your food. Can you do that? No, it just does it on its own, right? Muscles are made up of cells called muscle fibers. These cells form a type of elastic tissue- sort of like a rubber band. Thousands of small fibers make up each muscle and, when you exercise, these muscle fibers grow. So even though everyone has the same amount of muscles, some people will have bigger muscles. Although exercise helps your muscles to become bigger and stronger, too much exercize can cause your muscles to get tired and start to slow down. Sometimes overworked muscles can suddenly tighten up and become painful. This is called a cramp. When your muscles get tired, they need time to rest so they can get more oxygen and food,and can get rid of wastes.

Let's Experiment! Hold your right arm straight out in front of you. Count how many times you can open and close your fist in thirty seconds. Now rest for fifteen seconds. Try it again. Open and close your fist as many times as you can in thirty seconds. How many times were you able to do it each time? The second number should be smaller because your muscles were tired out. Now, hold your arms straight up over your head. I want you to keep them there while I continue the lesson. Keep them there as long as you can, and we'll see who can keep them up the longest.

Maybe you've heard a story from the Bible where Moses was told to do what you are doing right now. The Israelites were fighting an important battle and God told Moses to stand on a hill above the battle and hold his hands up like this. As long as his hands stayed up, the Israelites would be winning. But if his hands came down, the enemy would start to win. Eventually Moses' muscles got tired and a couple of his friends had to use their muscles to help him. If you haven't ever heard that story, ask your mom or dad to read it to you tonight.

Three Types of Muscles

You have three different types of muscles in your body. Can anyone name them for me? Raise you hand if you know . . . Just kidding! There are three types of muscles in our body: smooth muscles, cardiac muscles, and skeletal muscles.

Smooth Muscles Smooth muscles usually form smooth layers, with one layer of muscle behind the other. Smooth muscles are sometimes called involuntary muscles because you can't control them. Your brain and body tell these muscles what to do without you even thinking about it. Smooth muscles are at work all over your body. In your stomach and intestines, they contract and relax to digest food and move it through the body. In your bladder, they allow you to hold in urine until you can get to the bathroom and they help you to push it out. Smooth muscles are also at work in your eyes, keeping them focused and causing you to blink.

Let's Experiment! OK, you're going to have to put your hands down now. Hold them in front of your face and hold the tips of your pointer fingers out so they are close but not touching. Try to keep your fingers perfectly still without moving them at all. Now, stare at your fingers and try not to blink. What happens? Does it look like your fingers are bouncing around? That is because the involuntary muscles in your eyes are trying to blink. Eye muscles are the busiest muscles in the body. Scientists estimate they may move more than 100,000 times a day!

Cardiac Muscle The kind of muscle that makes up your heart is called cardiac muscle. The thick muscles of the heart contract to pump blood out and then relax to let blood back in after it has circulated through the body. Just like smooth muscle, cardiac muscle works all by itself. You don't have to tell your heart to beat. It works even when you aren't thinking about it.

Skeletal Muscle Skeletal Muscles are the kind of muscle you think of when we say "muscle" - the ones that you all showed me when I asked you earlier. Skeletal muscles are voluntary muscles, which means you can control what they do. The skeletal muscles work with your bones to allow you to move. Most skeletal muscles are attached to one end of a bone. They stretch all the way across a joint (the place where two bones meet) and then attach again to another bone. Skeletal muscles are held to the bones by tendons. Tendons are cords made of tough tissue that connect bones and muscles. Did you know that the muscles that move our fingers are not in our fingers? Our fingers are very strong and yet are able to move around quickly and easily because of tendons which connect parts of our fingers to big muscles in our forearms. Watch the bottom of your wrist as you open and close your hand. Can you see the tendons and muscles moving in your arm? Muscles work by relaxing and contracting. When they contract, muscles pull on bones or tendons where they are attached. It is the pulling motion that allows you to move and do the function that you want. When they relax, muscles let you rest. Muscles ALWAYS pull. They NEVER push. Muscles often work in pairs so that they can pull in opposite directions.

Let's Experiment! Look at this MODEL OF A FINGER that I built. It shows how the tendons going to our fingers allow them to open and close. See how it curls like a real finger when I pull on this string? Doctors call this "flexion". Notice that when I release the string, the finger straightens part way because of gravity, but not all the way. To get it to straighten all the way, which is called "extension", I need to pull on another string. This works like a real hand. Tendons, connected to pairs of muscles which are pulling in opposite directions, work together to allow you to bend and straighten your fingers. Place your left hand on the top muscle of your right upper arm. You are touching a muscle called the biceps. Make a tight fist and bring the fist toward your shoulder. Your biceps will shorten and become harder as your arm is raised. Un-clench your fist, and stretch your arm out in front of you. Notice the change in size, shape, and hardness of your biceps? Now place your left hand under your upper arm. You are touching a muscle called the triceps. The triceps and biceps are paired muscles that pull in opposite directions. Biceps bend the arm while triceps straighten the arm. Make a tight fist, and move your arm toward and away from your shoulder. You can feel your triceps changing in size, shape, and hardness. Most of the movements of your body use at least two muscles working against each other. There are actually six muscles that work together to allow you to roll your eyes up, down, and sideways. 

More Muscle Facts

* About 1/2 of a man's body weight is muscle, and about 1/3 of a woman's. 

* The largest muscle in the body is the gluteus maximus in your buttocks. 

* There are about 200 muscles that work together when you walk. 

* The smallest muscle in the body is the stapedius, which is located in the middle ear. 

* Your tongue is actually made of a group of muscles that work together to allow you to talk and help you chew food. 

* The strongest muscle in your body is the one that allows you to close your jaw.

Projects To Do At Home

Brown Paper School book: Blood and Guts

by Linda Allison

This book includes several additional experiments which parents can do with their children at home to provide additional learning about the muscular system. The are directions for building a model arm, for dissecting a (beef) muscle, and for doing a muscle-tendon-joint dissection on a chicken wing, as well as some additional athletic activities the children can do to observe their muscles in action. While this book does contain some evolutionary references, the experiments are very good and it has wonderful drawings and step by step directions for dissections.

A Homeschool Co-op Lesson on the Nervous System

A few years ago I was in charge of teaching an anatomy class for children ages 5-9 at our homeschool co-op. The nervous system was one of our favorite lessons. Since most of the children in the class were boys, I tried to keep things active and so they could burn off some energy while we went over our lesson. Here are a few of the activities we did:

Is the Water Hot or Cold?

What you will need:

* three bowls of water, one filled with very warm or hot water (not burning), one filled with room temperature water, and one filled with ice water

* a clock to time yourself

What to do:

Place one hand in the hot water and one in the ice water. Keep them there for at least 60 seconds. Now place both hands in the bowl of room temperature water. Does the room temperature water feel hot or cold?

Your brain just received confusing messages from your hands about what the temperature of the third bowl was. The hand originally in the hot water told you the third bowl was cold, but the hand originally in the cold water told you the third bowl was hot. This is because our skin does not perceive the exact temperature of an object. Instead, it senses the difference in temperature of a new object in comparison to the temperature of an object the skin was already used to ("relative temperature"). This is why entering a body of water, such as a pool or lake, seems really cold at first (your body was used to the warmer air) but then gradually "warms up" after being in the water for a while (your body adjusts to the temperature of the water).

Protection For Your Brain

What you will need:

* raw eggs (at least 2)

* plastic container slightly larger than the egg, with lid
* water (to fill the container)

What to do:

Place a raw egg (brain) into the container (skull) and put the lid on. Shake the container. The shaking should result in damage to the egg. Clean up the mess. Put a new egg in the container, fill the container with water, and put the lid on. Shake the container again. This time the cerebrospinal fluid (water) should protect the brain from damage.

Neuroscience For Kids

• Synaptic Tag
• Message Transmission
• Simple Neuron Model
• Create a model of the brain
• Connect the Dots
• I've Been Working On My Neurons(sung to the tune of "I've Been Working On the Railroad" )

Kids' Health: How The Body Works
Look under the Brain activities for a worksheet for Labeling The Parts of The Brain

Q: What works even after it is fired?
A: a neuron