Monthly Archive: September 2014

Pre Algebra Resources We’re Using 2

Pre Algebra Resources We’re Using

This is just a quick post to update you on LD’s Pre Algebra work.  We are really very happy with the Art of Problem Solving: Pre Algebra. We set the timer for twenty minutes each day and LD and I read/go over the book together. I am really impressed with how clearly it explains (and proves) why various math properties work.  I suspect it will take us two years to...

2

Free Equivalent Fractions Packet

DD is just starting a new unit on fractions.  I used this packet with LD a couple of years ago and brought it back out to go over with DD. It’s 12 pages and you might only find a couple of pages relevant or useful, but I still thought I’d share them here. The picture collage below gives you an idea of what’s in the packet. You can download the Equivalent...

2

Fun Math Activities for Ages 2 1/2 to 3 1/2

Over the next few days, I’m going to focus on our math activities. I thought that before I share what my older kids are doing these days, I’d share some of the activities they did when they were younger.  This post highlights a few things I did with my kids for math in the 2 1/2-3 1/2 age range. Here are some activities I did with ED when she was 2...

1

Apple Grid Game: Free Math Printable for Ages 2-4

It’s apple season! The perfect time to do apple-themed activities with the kids. When my kids were little, we played Math Grid Games all the time.  I made an Apple-Themed Grid Board to share with you today. Here’s a picture of the game board: How to Use Math Grids with your Preschooler: Print 2 Grid Boards per player Gather two different sets of tokens and one die. For Younger Kids: Take...

How The Other Half Lives 0

Colorado Students Protest Sanitizing History and Removing Political Dissent

The very ink with which history is written is merely fluid prejudice. –Mark Twain History will be kind to me for I intend to write it. –Winston Churchill By now you’ve probably heard about the Colorado protests and walk outs by school students and their teachers this week. (See this Denver Post Article or this New York Times article). I’ve been quite caught up with the debates and protests out in...

8

Free Water and Water Cycle Resources

Last year we did a unit on water, the water cycle, and water pollution.  A lot of the time I make our own science notebook pages, but there were so many wonderful resources already available, we used what we found online instead for this portion of our Weather and Water unit.  I thought I would share some of these resources with you today. Our main activity for this portion of...

19

Creating Daily Homeschool Procedures and Routines

Goodness, that sounds so formal, doesn’t it? Let me say right off the bat that our homeschool is much (much, much) more flexible than a formal public school. In so many ways, our homeschool doesn’t resemble public school much at all… We have just 3 kids; we don’t always start school at the same time or with the same subject; we have the flexibility to dive into one particular subject...

2

Homeschool Planning and Schedules: From the Big Picture down to the Daily Schedule

A week or so ago,  a reader asked me if I had any other tips about homeschool planning. She had read the posts I had put together on short term and long term goals and planning, but wondered if I had any other thoughts.   She wondered how I make sure we keep tabs on the resources and books and planning things out in general. I spent a lot of the...

0

Multiplication & Division Pages with a Minecraft Theme

Are you looking for some Minecraft math worksheets for multiplication & division practice?  You’ll like these Minecraft themed practice sheets I made for the kids!!  The kids filled out these pages (along with their other math work) last week. There are 2 pages. These are free to download if anyone else has a Minecraft fan in their household! Multiplication Division Worksheets with a Minecraft Theme This year we’ve shared a number of Minecraft math...

2

Free Civics Materials

This fall, the kids are learning some of the basics about Civics… What is the Constitution? What are the Bill of Rights? What is an amendment and how many are there?  I found a series of flashcards put together by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services that suits our purposes perfectly. They put together a series of 100 questions for those seeking US citizenship.  I printed out the flashcard series and we’ve...

Simple Machines Worksheets 0

Simple Machine Packet – About 30 Pages

Last year, the kids were 5, 8 and 10. We all did this simple machines unit together. It was perfect for my younger two — quite easy for my oldest, but from here we’re going to go on to more complicated topics… inventions and electricity (see our STEM Electricity and Circuits Packet here) which are more suited to my older two.  It works best for our family to do these...

Minecraft Themed Addition Pages 1

Minecraft Themed Addition Pages

Are you looking for Minecraft themed addition or subtraction worksheets?  My daughter absolutely loves Minecraft so earlier this summer I spent some time doodling on the computer and made a few characters she would enjoy!  I thought I’d share these addition pages with you today. As always, they are free to download, just click on the link or picture below: Minecraft Addition Worksheets If you use these, ED would love...

6

What About the Social Aspects of Homeschooling?

For so many of us who grew up attending public schools and being educated among same-age peers, there are real questions about the socialization of homeschooled kids. We remember sitting in classrooms packed with other children and truly wonder how homeschoolers will fill in that “void” of being with other children so many hours of the day.  As a homeschooling family, though, I was quick to realize that socialization is...

0

What Are We Covering for Grade 4 and Grade 6 in our Homeschool This Fall?

We’re way overdue for a general post about what we are/will  be covering this fall.   Some things we cover together and other subjects the kids work on their own, at their own pace. I put the kids “grade level” in the title of the post, but remember that as homeschoolers that doesn’t mean terribly much. We work at whatever level and at whatever pace the kids need it. Sometimes...