Homeschool Math in a Bucket...

Ahhhh!  The beauty of homeschooling...You don't have to sit at a desk all day!  Yay!  You can do school just about anywhere and at any time you choose.  This little scholar is very seriously working on his math lesson, as you can plainly see.  

(photo courtesy of a homeschooling acquaintance of mine - Thank you!)

A Great Science / Biology Lab for all grade levels!

"Squishy Human Body"  by: SmartLab

(purchased from Walmart)

The kit contains a large "text" booklet describing each body part shown and the function of each;  a 12 and a half inches tall human "body" with bones, muscles, and vital organs which can be removed;  forceps and tweezers for performing the "operations"; and an organizer chart to display the removed organs.  (This pic shows that the rib cage, stomach, and intestines have already been removed.  My just-turned four year old grandson absolutely LOVES this educational toy!  There is so much information in the booklet, that we will probably need 2 weeks to thoroughly study and dissect this human "body"!)

The Number "4" and Shapes...

This week week we are learning the number 4 - how to recognize it, write it, and count objects to 4.  We are also learning to recognize the shapes that have 4 sides and 4 corners / angles, as well as learning to draw them.  

The visual aids are hand-made from construction paper and laminated.  Self-stick magnets were attached to the back for display on my magnetic wipe-off white board.  The number 4 is a painted wooden magnet that I purchased.

Christopher Columbus (craft project)...

This "Christopher Columbus Character"  (with moveable arms and legs)  pattern can be obtained free from  www.superteacherworksheets.com .  I added the "Cc" for Christopher Columbus 1492.  I will be using this as a visual aid for our phonics lesson on Monday, Oct. 08, 2012, as well as for our history lesson.  My grandson will make one of his own as a craft project to reinforce the lessons.

Plato...

"...knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind.  Therefore, do not use compulsion, but let early education be a sort of amusement;  you will then be better able to discover the child's natural bent."

"A a" is for "antlers" (craft project)...

 

 

Theme of the lesson:  "A a" is for "antlers" (Phonics - short "a" sound)

 

Animals having antlers:  deer, caribou (and their habitats - forests, the Arctic tundra); differences between deer and caribou; the difference between antlers and horns - and some animals with horns such as the musk ox and bulls (Science)

 

The Appalachian Mountains, Alaska, Northern Canada - find on a globe and discuss the climate (Geography)

 

My almost 4 year old grandson observed that antlers "look like a tree" without leaves, so we went out to our back yard and found some branches to use for our deer craft project.  For the background, we used the cardboard tray from a 24 pk. case of bottled water (recycling).

 

This project is now hanging on our classroom wall.

 



Individualized Education...

"Instead of a national curriculum for education, what is really needed is an individual curriculum for every child." - Charles Handy (Irish author, philosopher, economist)

Yet another advantage of homeschooling...individualized education!  Parents have the freedom to choose the curriculum that best fits their child's learning style, ability, and interests.  Also, homeschooling enables the child to learn at his own pace.  The "one size fits all" approach used by the public schools just does not work.  It is impossible for a teacher to give individualized attention to all of  her students.   In every public school class, the more advanced students are bored out of their minds while they wait on the slower students to catch up, and the slower students are stressed and embarassed because they realize they are lagging behind everyone else.  Happily, this is not a problem for homeschooled students.  With homeschooling, a student may spend as much, or as little, time as needed on each lesson.   Typically, homeschoolers can get their lessons done in 3 or 4 hours or less, leaving more time for non-curricular interests such as  sports, music, volunteer work, part-time job, or visits to grandma!