Scheduling

I love that I can sync to my iCal so I always have the latest calendar, complete with alarm reminders (which I use a LOT). I also can plan chores (especially easy if you like FlyLady), menu planning and other things too. There’s also a planner app that looks like a real planner and syncs with your Google calendar, if you prefer. I can schedule reminders for all sorts of home maintenance tasks so don’t forget to change the air filter. All this helps me focus less on tasks and more on learning.

Recording

I can take notes and pictures, edit and post them to a ton of places. I can write & publish a blog post with my WordPress app. I can save things to remember in Evernote and remind myself of the great time we had in my gratitude journal.

Learning

YouTube has tons of videos that are terrific for school. I love to pull up video of things like beavers making dens or a working printing press. I can read books from my Kindle app and from other literature apps. I have things like math flash cards, games and other tools to reinforce skills. (I’ll get into these in another post.) Anything I need to make note of is just a click away. When we are learning on the go, I can look up anything we are curious about, like identifying birds or wildflowers.

Enriching

Drawing apps, cooking apps, just about anything to plan a field trip (with maps, phone numbers & forecasts) is right at my fingertips. Pandora and other sites have all the music we need. We can learn a foreign language or listen to an audio book or podcast, plan a garden or visit the Louvre.

Planning

When I need to, I can use PocketFlicks to add movies to my Netflix instant queue (or for delivery) for school, like documentaries and period movies. I can search for books at my library with a web browser and even print documents I need for lessons. I wish I could say I have found a great teacher planner app, but no such good fortune. That I still have to do on paper or in Homeschool Tracker Plus. But it does help me plan just about anything I need to do. And I can set goals with a little help from master planner Franklin Covey.

I know technology isn’t the answer to everything, even for home education. But technology, when it makes things easier, is a good thing. Thankfully, there’s no a app to replace me–yet.

What do you use your iPhone/iPad/iTouch for in your homeschool? What are your favorite apps?

• glue sticks
• stapler
• 3 hole punch
• reward stickers
• E-Z grader & red pen
• Dry Wipe markers, eraser & cleaner
• Sticky notes
• brads & paper clips
• tape
• hole reinforcements
• scissors
• small Bible

I also created a paper caddy with an accordion folder. In there I have all kinds of papers and handouts. It’s grab-and-go easy. These two little tools make homeschooling a little easier for us.

The Value of Collections

Bookmaking Fun with Kids

Getting the Most out of Your Art Museum Trip

15 Great Uses for a Digital Camera

Art Preservation Made Easy–and Fun

Family Newspaper

Finally! A Use for Junk Mail

I hope you’ll find a new idea here that you can use in your home education.

image courtesy jonathangarcia

First day of school is an exciting day for any kid who’s heading off to school in a building. New supplies, new clothes–it’s all so fresh and brimming with potential. There’s not reason home educators can’t make the day one to remember. Even if you educate your children year round, chances are there is a date on the calendar that you can point to as the start of the next school year. Here are some things I’ve done to mark the occasion with style.

• I make a special breakfast. My children love crepes so that’s usually the choice.
• There’s a new outfit. It’s fun to have something new to wear, even though we don’t invest in a whole wardrobe at one time.
• When it’s school time there’s fun music playing. I make it a big deal that it’s time for the new school year.
• I wrap all their new school supplies in wrapping paper so it looks like Christmas. After they open them they put their supplies where  they go. I love to start the year with new crayons, pencils and glue sticks. It makes it seem new and special.
• We take pictures of them all together and alone.
• We allow them to bring a friend to school–dolls, etc. Usually we don’t want these distractions, but the first day is special, after all.
• We don’t do a lot of schooly things on this day. We set up our notebooks, talk a bit about expectations for the new year and talk about how they want to grow in learning.
• We have started making time capsule books (will offer directions in the next post). In a few years we will also be able to open one each year. Right now we are only making them. They are so excited! You can make a time capsule from an oatmeal box or shoebox.

School days are fun. It’s one of the only “jobs’ you’ll ever have that has a start and a finish each year, that has such satisfation and a way to start fresh on a regular basis. I hope you’ll make the first day special and convey to your children the idea that learning is important and worthy of celebration.

The premise is simple:

1. take a sheet of paper and fold in half.
2. Fill the pages with all sorts of interesting things.
3. Give it to your kids to read.

I made a little title that fit our family and set about filling it with jokes, extended family trivia, menus, weather, encouraging words and something exciting that was coming up for each of  the kids that we could all get excited about (or maybe an acknowledgement of some success).

They love to read it while they eat their breakfast. They feel grown up and they love to read about themselves and their family. It has opened up some great conversations too.

I don’t make one every day because I don’t have the time for that. I probably make one every week or so. It’s not fancy. I make one and copy it on the copier so there’s not a lot of color. It’s hand drawn with love and they never complain that it’s too homemade.

Why do it? It’s another way to connect with your kids. And my kids write for the paper too, so it strengthens their writing skills. And I can add “don’t forget” things, so they don’t get another nag session from me. They learn things about their extended family with my trivia and I feed their souls with poetry and their spirits with Scripture.

You’ll be surprised how much you cna fit into this little newspaper. If you make one, please take a picture and share the response in the comments below.

1. Flash cards. That’s a no-brainer, right?
2. Matching games.
3. Making puzzles.
4. Making 3-D objects.
5. writing out lesson plans.
6. collecting ideas for a paper or a book. they can be shuffled in any order until you are happy
7. Phonics: putting parts of words on cards to match up together.
8. Mental math. Put answers on cards and scatter on the floor. Read problem aloud and when they solve it they pounce on the right answer.
9. Life size board game. Put directions on index cards and create a path through the house. Use big dice and the kids become the playing pieces, following the directions on the cards.
10. For preschoolers: pictures on the cards help them communicate their feelings. They can point to the face that matches how they feel.
11. Use them like soccer warnings. They get cards as discipline. Green, then yellow, then red. You can assign discipline as your family sees necessary.
12. Create a flip book.
13. Write chores to check off.
14. Cut a slit in the end and wind stray ribbon on it. The slit holds the end of the ribbon.
15. Keep a grocery list in your pocket.
16. Lay several out and draw a road on them. Now your boy has a portable road he can assemble anywhere he goes.
17. Make bookmarks for a friend.
18. Recipes. Put one on the quick bread you give to a friend.
19. punch holes and they become lace up cards.
20. Keep a card file organized by month. Use it for birthdays, seasonal chores and other monthly duties.
21. Use them as little canvases for mini fridge art.
22. Make a countdown calendar. Number and decorate the cards and put them in order. Fold one card to make an easel and lean the cards on it. Each day the kids can move the card to the back and see how many days are left.
23. Make a speech. Practice it and then give the speech in front of friends and family.
24. Write or draw your clothes on the cards–Bottoms, tops. Mix and match to create new fashions from your same old clothes.
25. Write your memory work on the cards so you can put them in your pocket for memory work on the fly.

What’s your idea?

The Science Mouse is a homeschooled kid with a penchant for all things scientific. With a little help from her mom she publishes The Science Mouse, a terrific monthly ezine for kids with a different theme each month.

Tell us about you/your family. (hobbies, stuff you like, stuff you can’t stand)

I have two sisters and two brothers. I like to swim and really like when my dad takes me out for a bike ride. I just started softball and my brother is in t-ball. I have my own dog named Copper. He is a beagle and he is named after the puppy in The Fox and the Hound. We also have gerbils and chickens.

One of my least favorite things is sitting next to my six year old brother in the car because he won’t leave me alone. He always wants my attention, but sometimes I like to do things he isn’t big enough to do or to just read.

What you do like best about homeschooling? What do you like least?

What I like about homeschooling is not having six hours of school. What I don’t like about homeschooling is that I don’t have many friends in my neighborhood.

Have you always like to write? What’s your favorite subject?

No, I haven’t always liked to write. It depends on what I am writing about. I like it more when it is something I thought of. My favorite subject is reading.

Is starting up an online magazine what you thought it would be? How is it the same/different?

It isn’t quite what I thought it would be. It is more work than I thought it would be and I was hoping that I would get more contributions from other children. Mom says to be patient. My favorite part of the e-zine is getting to stay up late to work on it when the deadline is close.

Where did you get the idea for The Science Mouse?

I wanted to start a blog and I like science. My mom talked to me about maybe an e-zine and I liked that idea.

What does “creative” mean to you?

Creative means to make up something and draw it or make a model or create something new.

Do you think you are creative? Why or why not?

I think I am very creative. I am always thinking of how to use things in new ways. For example, I made a stable for my horses out of things my parents were going to throw away.

What other creative dreams do you have?

I would like to write a book and have it published. I am writing a book right now called “The Horse Chronicles.”

What inspires you to be more creative?

The things I see.

What advice would you give to other kids who may want to start their own magazine? (How much time does it take to create an issue, what do you need, what’s the most important thing to know, etc.)

It takes a lot of time. Writing takes a lot of time, and so does typing. My mom helps me with that, but it still takes time. It takes time to let people know your magazine published. It takes time to answer emails and to learn about different things. Sometimes there are other things you want to do, but you have to work on your magazine if you want it to be successful. You also have to make sure you spell things right.

If other kids want to write for your magazine, how can they get in touch with you?

They can email me at thesciencemouse@gmail.com. Articles can be any length and it is OK for parents  to help like if a young child wants to dictate something. My mom helps me, too.

Please take a minute to visit The Science Mouse. She has videos, crafts, recipes and lots of articles that your kids will really enjoy, along with a FREE downloadable issue in PDF each month.

Why do I say a schedule is a tool? Because it gives you control of your time. Because it helps you. It helps you keep on task and lessens frustration. That’s one handy tool.

Why do I say it is powerful? Because it controls time. Well, your time anyway. It’s an amazing little tool with slots for all your tasks, big and small. A schedule seems to magically create time out of thin air, giving you time to create guilt free–time to think and explore and experiment.  And it can transform your day from chaos to calm and that is powerful.

Why do I say it is the most powerful? Because everything else rests on this. You don’t get enough rest without it. You don’t have all your supplies ready without it. You don’t have a clean workspace without it. You don’t have school without it.

A schedule is the single most important gift you can give your family. Maybe you call it a routine. Maybe yours is written or maybe it’s just in your head. However you do it, if you will commit to using a schedule you will see that your creative time is used more wisely, that you are more productive and less distracted when doing a creative project. Your materials and supplies will be ready. Your workspace will be ready. Your mind will be ready.

There are a thousand ways to do a schedule. Find one that worls for your family and try it out for 6 weeks and see if I’m not right. See if you aren’t more creative and less stressed.

photo courtesy rick

TED talks are very popular, and with good reason. If you aren’t aware of TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) then visit their archives for public speakers and topics that run the gamut. They are interesting to watch, especially when looking with a speaker’s eye. Older kids and high schoolers can glean a lot from a TED talk. Things to watch for: the choice and use of visuals, the length, the manner of speaking. YouTube is another place for tons of terrific videos of speakers on any subject you can think of.

To gain public experience, there are opportunities everywhere. Home, church, clubs, nursing homes, teams–there are lots of places to get in some speaking times. Maybe you could head over to the local retirement home or homeless shelter. Or create a video on a topic you enjoy and teach someone something. Create a need and fill it with a speech.

What do you want to talk about? Maybe a poetry reading, an original story or reciting memory work. Almost anything you can think of would make a good topic. Sermons and great speeches from the past are great practice for unsure speakers.

Even speaking at home can be helpful for shy speakers. An audience that is familiar, loving and supportive can go a long way to boosting the confidence of a kid who is apprehensive about public speaking. If it would help, practice with an audience of stuffed animals.

I hope you’ll give your kids many opportunities to speak publicly. It’s a necessary skill that will take them far in life.

photo courtesy Wooties!

Younger kids:

• play post office and use it for the mail.
• cut out words, pictures, numbers for learning and review as flash cards
• use the grocery ads to create a pretend shopping list. Cut out the pictures of the items and glue to index cards. Tape a piece of bent index card to the back like a picture frame so it will stand upright. Set up a little store and practice shopping.
• Use the same cards to sort items by color, shape, food group, etc.
• Cut up junk mail for collage.
• Cut out words for creating new sentences or poetry.
• Play “I spy.”
• Use the mail to learn your address.
• Create a mailbox for them and fill it with junk mail they can open.
• When you get mail with stickers or stamps, let them play with them.
• Catalogs are great for clipping pictures for picture books and flash cards.
• Cut pictures from catalogs and give them as pretend gifts to each other.

For older kids

• Open up those credit card offers and analyze them. Calculate fees and interest and compare them against one another. Practice filling out the forms. Use it as a teaching tool.
• Compare grocery store ads and find the better bargain.
• Create a menu from the ingredients in grocery ads.
• Use sales letters as a template and write one of your own. Dissect it–grammar, word choice, use of punctuation and even the layout.
• Practice sticking to a budget with grocery ads and catalogs.
• Research unfamiliar foods and where they come from.
• Count how many different countries the grocery items come from.
• Use catalog pictures as writing prompts.
• Catalog item descriptions are great examples of concise, descriptive writing. Try to write your own.