Category: Homeschool Den

0

Kindergarten Science: Activities for Ages 4-6 or so

Someone asked me what ED is doing for science this year. (She’s in Kindergarten.) I’ve touched on some of this, but thought I’d lay it all out in one post and also share what she did this past week. We have always done a lot of hands-on science. In the early years, I just want the kids to think science is cool!!  We’ve done a lot of science experiments and...

Fun in the Blue Ridge Mountains (VA) 0

Fun in the Blue Ridge Mountains (VA)

We had two weeks of school and then almost immediately put things on hold to go to a timeshare (thank you, Grams!!!!) with our homeschool friends.  We do lots with this wonderful, inspiring family. The kids all had fun together and I can’t tell you how amazing it is to spend countless hours talking about homeschooling, good books, our past, the news… and just about anything that comes to mind!...

0

Free Math Dice Game for ages 4-6 (to learn double digit numbers)

This week, ED is going to work on place value. She still needs work on her double digits (not reversing fourteen as 41 and so forth).There’s a game we haven’t played in ages called Sunny Side Up that is just perfect for reviewing those double digit numbers.  I made some new game sheets for her and will share it for anyone else who might be interested. First, here’s how to...

10

Free Daily Calendar Page + Math Lapbook Activities

Yesterday, I shared the free math lapbook I made for my daughter.  Depending on your child it may be appropriate for kids between 4 and 6 or so. Today I wanted to share a little bit about how I’m using the calendar pieces. She’s been taking the days of the week from the lapbook and putting them in order She’s then been using these in her daily calendar page. If...

Garden of the Gods – Manitou Cliff Dwellings (Colorado Springs) 0

Garden of the Gods – Manitou Cliff Dwellings (Colorado Springs)

We love traveling and really try to the make the most of any trip we take.  As I mentioned several posts ago, Hubby’s cousin got married up in the mountains near Crested Butte, Colorado.  After the wedding, we stayed with Hubby’s sister (husband and son) who live in Colorado Springs.  Joined by his other sister (husband and 2 kids) and Hubby’s parents, it made for a lot of kids, a...

Olympic Training Center and Ghost Town Museum — Colorado Springs 2

Olympic Training Center and Ghost Town Museum — Colorado Springs

I have been super busy since we returned from our trip, but I’m going to wrap up our trip in the next post or two.  Hubby’s sister and family lives in Colorado Springs and we spent about a week with them.  We had a lot of fun visiting some of the sites in that area. Olympic Training Center: One afternoon we visited the Olympic Training Center and took the tour of...

Daily Calendar Printable 8

What Does a Typical Homeschool Day Look Like? (K, 3rd, 5th)

Someone asked what our typical homeschool day looks like.  Actually, no day is really ever like another, but I’ll do my best to share the general rhythm of our day… that is, if we’re home all day. Kindergarten Day: ED (now in kindergarten) is still the first one up most days.  She and I sit down together to eat at the dining room table and I read her a book...

Renaissance Festival – Fun Family Day (Maryland Season Opens Soon) 1

Renaissance Festival – Fun Family Day (Maryland Season Opens Soon)

Have you ever been to a Renaissance Festival?  We went to one in Colorado a couple weeks ago and there’s one starting up in Maryland next weekend (details at the bottom of this post). I’ve always heard about Colorado’s Renaissance Festival, but never made it there. It was a lot of fun to go with the family!  Lots and lots of people were dressed up in costume and it was...

Back From Our Trip Out West! (Colorado at 10,000 Feet) 1

Back From Our Trip Out West! (Colorado at 10,000 Feet)

Some homeschoolers pack everything and travel around the country or around the world for a year or so.  We dream of doing that, but have to be content (for now?!!) with shorter trips.  We got back late Saturday night from an amazing two-week trip out to the Colorado area. It was such a fabulous trip! We headed out there because Hubby’s cousin was getting married up in the mountains near...

1

Our Homeschool Curriculum (Grades K, 3 and 5)

I had to submit our Notice of Intent to Homeschool and even though I don’t have to go into much detail about our curriculum, I use that as my deadline for roughly mapping out the school year. The kids are in Grades 5, 3 and Kindergarten this year.  I pulled out some (but not all) of the resources we’ll be using for a quick photo: Here are some of the...

Hands-On Homeschool Activities for Tots to Ten Year Olds! 4

Hands-On Homeschool Activities for Tots to Ten Year Olds!

Not too long ago the categories section of my blog was disabled. I’m trying to get that up and running, but in the meantime I wanted to be sure people could cruise through the various topics we’ve done while planning for the fall. I’m sure homeschoolers all around the country are gearing up for the new school year! Update: We have just moved to homeschoolden.com… I have not yet provided the...

6

Advice to New Homeschoolers

At some point soon I’ll be sharing some of my plans and the curriculum  choices for this next fall. But before I do that, I really wanted to write a post with advice to new homeschoolers.  I want to stress how different each and every homeschool family is! So without further ado, here’s some of my thoughts about homeschooling for those who are new to the adventure: *In many states,...

To Homeschool You Need… 12

To Homeschool You Need…

Love The most important ingredient of homeschooling is simply love. Homeschooling is about the relationships, not the curriculum we use.  Some days will be wonderful, other days… not as noteworthy, but at the end of the day did we connect wit the kids, snuggle with the kids, help them find their own voice and strengths. I help motivate them and support them. I try to keep in mind that at...

Homeschool socialization 6

Homeschool Questions Answered: What About Socialization?

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been asked by people “What about socialization?” or something to that effect. Depending on the tone of the person asking I’ve responded in different ways.  My answer has also changed as the kids have gotten older. These days in answering that question I often start with my own thoughts about socialization… “well, I want the kids to be good listeners, polite, well-rounded,...