Monthly Archive: April 2015

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Semicolon Rules and Practice Sheets (free)

We are reviewing some of the basic grammar rules (again) and I wanted to share this sheet I made for the kids about semicolons.  These sheets covered these 4 rules: Use a semicolon to join two or more closely related independent clauses that are not connected with a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so). Use a semicolon to join two closely related independent clauses that have a...

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Standardized Testing Options for Homeschoolers

Yesterday we ordered the standardized tests we’ll take to fulfill the homeschool requirements of our state.  We used Brewer Testing Service because of the ease of ordering.  Their customer service has been excellent. (I’ll tell you more about that below.) This year, all three of my kids will be testing.  They will be taking different tests: First Grade: I am having ED take the Terra Nova Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills....

Long A Sound - Activities and Word Sort 0

Long A Sounds /ay/ – a, ai, ay, a-e, ei, eigh, ey –Sorting Cards and Board Game!

Here are some fun activities to work on the long A sound. I made these sorting cards activities,  game board, and bingo cards to help ED with words spelled in these combinations: a, ai, ay a_e, ei, eigh and ey. She has had a lot of fun with this packet and begs me to play “just one more time”! That’s a win for me! She hasn’t yet worked on all...

Middle Ages Hands-On Projects 0

Middle Ages Projects and Books

Middle Ages Projects and Books for Kids! As with a lot of our homeschool curriculum, we’re patching together our Middle Ages Unit.  I thought I’d share some of the books, projects, and resources we’ve been using recently as we continue through our studies of the Middle Ages. Yesterday, we got to such an exciting part of our current Middle Ages novel, that we couldn’t stop! We read aloud for nearly...

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Contraction Worksheets and Activity – Cupcake Theme

I’d like to share some free Contraction Worksheets and Printables with you today!  ED is working on contractions such as I’m, she’s, we’re, can’t, doesn’t, won’t, wouldn’t, etc.  She definitely needs more practice with these so I made some cupcake themed activities for her to practice and polish up on this grammar skill! To use the cupcakes, you should print pages 2 and 3 out on cardstock and cut the cupcake...

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Monticello and Manassas National Battlefield Park

We have managed to fit in two more learning days on the go!  We visited Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello, in Virginia. We did the slavery tour and the tour of his home.  We had an amazing time… Not only because of the incredible weather, but also because of how much we learned. The Monticello plantation was about 5,000 acres. At any one time, Thomas Jefferson owned around 130 slaves.  One thing...

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Earth Day Math Games for Addition and Multiplication

This Wednesday is Earth Day. I made the kids some math game boards to practice their math facts.  I have made a number of different game boards options including basic addition and doubling as well as multiplication boards. They are all in the same file. Just print out the game board that works best for your child. 🙂 Normally I include a picture of the kids playing the game, but I made...

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15 Interviews with Other Homeschoolers

When I posted about the unschooling summit yesterday, I started thinking about how much I enjoy talking with other homeschoolers and learning how homeschooling works in their families. I thought back to the series of interviews I did with other homeschoolers and guest posts I’ve featured on the blog the past few years. I thought I would put those links together for you. I know there are quite a number...

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Free Unschooling Summit

Unschooling Summit (Free Online Interviews): As you can tell, we are not unschoolers, but I love reading/learning about homeschooling in its many facets. There are elements of unschooling that appeal to me. I know the kids learn enormous amounts when they are following their interests and passions. It’s fascinating to see how other families are pulling together their children’s education. I really enjoyed listening to the Unschooling Summit interviews last year....

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Human Body Worksheets: Cells, Tissues, Organs, and the Human Body Systems

We are beginning our human body unit and have started with a discussion of how the human body is organized… from cells, tissues, organs and systems.  As many of you know, we did a unit on cells where we studied the organelles and their function, how proteins are made, eukaryotic vs. prokaryotic cells, animal vs. plant cells, and we ended with a look at how some human body cells are...

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Some East Coast Historic Sites That Are Great for Families

We’ve been slowly trying to see many of the famous historical parks here in the U.S. This by no means a comprehensive list, but since not everyone is from the east coast, I thought I’d put together a list of some other well-known historic places we’ve visited and blogged about. These are mostly located in the mid-Atlantic states-NC, VA, PA, NY. We’ve been meaning to get up to New England...

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Valley Forge National Park – Great for Families!

Valley Forge National Park is a fabulous family park, not only because of the historic significance which I’ll go into below, but because of the miles of trails. Those trails are perfect for biking and walking. They have a fantastic guided trolley tour of the park as well.  We had a fantastic time there this past weekend and learned SO much!! Our first stop, of course was the Visitor Center...

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What a Great Week!

We’ve had such a great week!  In early March, the kids were often really testy with one another but ever since our lovely spring break (when my in-laws were here), things have been moving along well! This post actually has nothing to do with the featured image of Starbuck, though she does rule over our homeschool room. She spends a lot of time under the homeschool room couch, but once...

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American History Textbook/Curriculums We Use

Last week, I talked a lot about our civics and government unit.  Today, I thought I would briefly mention the American History books the kids have been reading this year. As many of you know, we started off the year with a unit on Native Americans (We shared a number of notebook pages that are free to download for that unit): Native Americans of the Northeast (Part I: Algonquins) Native...