We’ve been doing a lot of nature walks lately. Thought I would share a few pics.
This year we are using Five in a Row and Galloping the Globe to travel around the world. Right now I’m working on our travel plans errr lesson plans. I’m making a passport for each of our little travelers, and they love the idea!
I found some beautiful free passport stamps to print and use from the Lutheran church website. They are absolutely wonderful!
They also have a downloadable newsletter called Mission Friends. Each one is about a different country and has stories, recipes and games as well as good country stats and information. These would be a great addition to any study.
If you would like to make some play passports you can find templates at the Galloping the Globe yahoo group. I also found this website you can buy the file for only 5.00 and make your own. Or for a little more she will make you one.
I’ve been finding a lot of great geography sites. This one Geographic guide has wonderful maps and country information.
Here is another good site for continent and ocean flashcards.
Your Child Learns has lots of helpful things, online atlas, maps and puzzles. If your looking for free clip art Clipart ETC has lots for countries and time periods.
Your Child Learns has lots of helpful things, online atlas, maps and puzzles. If your looking for free clip art Clipart ETC has lots for countries and time periods.
Aug 112009
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Many of us are busy organizing for the new school year. My little ones LOVE note/lapbooking. Notebooking Pages is having a wonderful sale right now. Don’t miss out!
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Aug 102009
Check out CurrClicks freebie this week, Dinosaurs Learn ‘N Folder. A awesome deal, normally 21.00!! Thank you CurrClick and Live & Learn Press!
Aug 092009
I’m so excited to have found a wonderful website! I found out about this from a homeschooling forum. The site is Lesson Pathways and it’s filled with wonderful lesson plans and resources. It is in the beta testing right now so the membership is FREE. So if your interested head on over and sign up for your free 12 month membership. I have already found a lot of useful plans for our family.
Aug 082009
Darcy over at Live with my 3 Boybarians is hosting a Not Back To School Blog Hop. Head on over and check out all the wonderful links!
I have been busy at planning our new school year. Our focus this year will be on geography and cultures. I’ve chosen Galloping the Globe (GTG) as our spine. I’ve really liked what I’ve read so far. Its a unit study approach and encourages notebooking. Many of the book suggestions are also Five in a Row (FIAR) books. Since we LOVE FIAR we will be using thoughts books when there is one for each country.
I will post soon a more detail plan for our year.
I have included a links carousel at the bottom of the post.
2nd Grade
Language Arts
First Language Lessons
Copy work
Natural Speller
Natural Speller
Readers (Christian Liberty Press Nature Readers, Pathways)
Language activities from Five in a Row
History
Story of the World 1 with activity guide (we are about half way through this already)
Geography/Social Studies
Map time
Galloping the Globe
Five in a Row
Science
Science selections from GTG and FIAR.
Considering Gods Creation
Nature studies
Extra studies on botany, weather, animal kingdom
other interests
Art
Drawing with Children
FIAR suggestions
Composer and artist study for countries studied in GTG
Math
Math U See Beta
Supplemented with MEP and Mammoth Math as needed
Bible
Leading Little Ones to God
5K
Language Arts
Teach Your Child to Read In 100 Easy Lessons (we have already started this)
Writing worksheets/copy work
Bob books
Math
Math U See Primer
Geography/Social Studies/Science/Art/Bible
Same as 2nd grade, adjusted for grade level
PreK
We will be making an ABC notebook (also for our K’er)
Also joins in for map time and Bible study
Lots of play and fun.
Toddler and Baby
Lots of play 
Jul 252009
We try to go for a nature walk at least once a week. I thought I’d share some photos of our last walk. It wasn’t to hot and we had a wonderful time!
Look closely at the frog. He has a bug sitting on his nose! I didn’t notice until I downloaded the photos. They were hard to get shots since we were up on the board walk.
Have you seen the Discovering the Continents series? These are a wonderful resource for geography! We’ll be using them with our unit study this year. They have them for Africa, Australia and South America. Each has lap/note book pages, mini books, games etc. A super fun way to learn about the animals and habitats of each continent!
This week ONLY they are on sale for 2.00 each!! What a wonderful deal!
Are you looking for something for the younger ones?
Check out Continental Little Hoppers.
Apr 022009
We’ve been learning about how maple syrup is made, how and why it was used. So we were really excited to be able to go to one of the many maple syrup festivals this year!
The only down sides was how very BUSY it was! There was at least a few thousand people there. The line ups for food were over half an hour long! So we decided to go some were else to eat at the end of the day. The kids were a little disappointed not to get a pancake supper there. But quickly cheered up when dh said we’d go out for pizza. Then I made a big pancake breakfast the next morning. Topped off with our own maple syrup of course!
Since it was so busy they have parking lots set up through out the town. You catch one of the many free busses running back and forth to the conservation park. The girls had a great time! It was there very first time on a bus. Once they got used to the bumpy ride and not needing seat belts they had a great time.
Once they got used to the bumpy ride and not needing seat belts they had a great time.
Once we got there we tried to watch the sheep shearing demonstration. Unfortunately it was so crowded we couldn’t get near it. So we headed down one of the trails away from the crowds. We found our way to the trappers camp. We had fun looking at the teepees. They also had lots of different furs set up to look at. The girls had fun comparing there softness and trying to guess what each one was.
We also talked to a gentleman who was making leather pouches. He was working with 3 different types of leather deer, moose and caribou (or elk?? I can’t remember). It was interesting to learn about the different types. He explained how they all stretched differently and were different strengths.
Then we talked with another gentleman that had a “trading camp” set up. It was very interesting looking at all the items fur traders bartered with the Native Americans for furs. He showed us some of the knives that the Natives would trade for. We learned that they often would have them cut in half, to make two tools. Some times they would have them added into the middle of their war clubs to make a more deadly weapon. We got talking about the older map makers and how reliable some of them were. We could have staid and talked with him all day!
After that we walked through some of the pioneer areas. They had lots of different camp kitchens set up.
We stopped at a rope making station. Each of the girls got make there own ropes!
Then we went for a horse drawn wagon ride. The kids loved that! They all thought it was a nicer ride then the bus LOL!
After that we stopped at a display were the kids could tap there own tree. The gentleman had a large maple log set up as the corner post of his tent area. He helped the little ones drill there own holes with an old fashion hand drill. Then clean out the hole and hammer in there tap, lastly hanging the bucket. After there hard work they were rewarded with a sucker from the sucker tree!
We also visited the sheep and alpaca pen. The kids could go in and feed and play with the animals. There was also another animal barn set up with different farm animals.
One of our last stops was a decorate your own maple syrup bucket. Unfortunately they were just about out of paint and decorations by the time we got there. But the girls still had fun. When we got home they added more drawings to there buckets.
When we got home they added more drawings to there buckets.Over all we had a great time!
I recently read a wonderful ebook from the Old Schoolhouse. HomeWork: Juggling Home, Work, and School Without Losing Your Balance.
If you have ever wondered how homeschool mom’s manage to keep home, school and run a business with out their lives turning into chaos. You need to read this book!
It’s a compiles the stories from 14 families that are so encouraging and insightful. Each story talks about how they began their business and the struggles they have had. They share how they have over come these problems and grown their business to be a blessing to their families.
I especially enjoyed reading about the differences in homeschool methods. As each family is unique we all will have different learning styles and curriculum preferences. Each story stresses flexibility and since our family has, had to deal with crazy shift work before I agree! It is so much easier to adjust your living hours by your husbands work schedule then it is to attempt to fit into another family’s mold.
Also included are chapters are chapters to help you get started in your business. Many suggestions for organization methods, record keeping and figuring out your talents.
If you are considering starting a home business I would highly recommend this book. It’s 95 pages packed with inspiration, advice and practical tips!
