15 Writing Prompts for Thanksgiving

This week we are exploring ways that we can blend Thanksgiving and homeschooling. We’ve already talked about 25 Books about Thanksgiving and today we are going to focus on writing. Just in case you don’t know what a writing prompt is. . .use any one of these questions or lines as an idea starter for your child’s journal. 1. Make a list of 25 things you are Thankful for. 2. Create a collection of family recipes for Thanksgiving. 3. Write a letter to another country where there is no Thanksgiving. Try to convince them that they should institute the holiday. … Continue reading →

Commemorating the Constitution – Attention Utah Residents!

As we all know, Constitution Day was last month. Okay, I have to make a confession here; I didn’t really know that. I wouldn’t have even noticed it were it not for a great article in my local newspaper, telling all about the Constitution and the men who brought it to pass. As a brief rundown of the history: 16th century Europe is responsible for planting the seeds of the American Revolution. It was a time of great upheaval of traditional knowledge. Copernicus shattered the illusion of the heavens and presented his theory, and Martin Luther broke from the Catholic … Continue reading →

Homeschooling Laws for Virginia–Option 3

This is not legal advice. As someone who lives in a state that is highly regulated, I cannot emphasize enough the need for you to advocate for yourself and make a point to know your state laws. While the school district will most likely provide you with a printed copy of the laws and regulations for home schooling, a local home schooling group can be a valuable asset when it comes to navigating your way through the system. I have been blogging on whole states together rather than blogging on each individual option in every state. However, the laws in … Continue reading →

Homeschooling Laws for Hawaii

This is not legal advice. As someone who lives in a state that is highly regulated, I cannot emphasize enough the need for you to advocate for yourself and make a point to know your state laws. While the school district will most likely provide you with a printed copy of the laws and regulations for home schooling, a local home schooling group can be a valuable asset when it comes to navigating your way through the system. In Hawaii, there are two laws that allow you to home school. The first is to establish your own home school. The … Continue reading →

Creative Celebrations: Homeschool Activities for August

It’s fun to add a little spice to your curriculum and daily routine by celebrating unusual events and holidays. In July we celebrated great things like National Blueberry Month, and National Ice cream Day. . .did you try any of the recipes? Here is now the second installment of my home schooling activity calendar. Peruse through to find interesting facts, unusual holidays to celebrate and even better: ideas, links and activities to go with these special days! I would also like to invite those of you who are adventurous souls, to post pictures on your site of you and your … Continue reading →

The Unschooling Dilemma

At the core of the unschooling philosophy is a fundamental belief that children will learn everything they need to know by being left unto themselves. Unschoolers would focus on the process more than the outcome, and would say that it is more important to fill a child’s environment with rich learning tools, rather than to purchase a good curriculum. True unschoolers would say that it’s about trusting their child’s innate ability to know what they need to learn and to learn it in the best way for them. For us, unschooling presents a variety of dilemmas the least of which … Continue reading →

Homeschooling for Free

Buying curriculum can take a big bite out of your budget, especially if you’re homeschooling more than one child. But here is a list of free or nearly free items that you can use to supplement your curriculum: The Homeschool Mom has created a variety of free planning pages. There are several variations including lesson planning pages, an unschooling planning page, and even weekly menu planning pages! Word2Word offers free foreign language courses in a variety of foreign languages. You can learn just about any language you could possible think of! The National Anti-Vivisection Society loans out replicas of animals … Continue reading →

Creative Celebrations: Home School Activities for July

Everyone knows that July 4th is American Independence Day, but did you know that the whole month of July is National Blueberry Month? Or that National Ice Cream Day is July 15th? It’s fun to add a little spice to your curriculum and daily routine by celebrating unusual events and holidays; and thus begins my Monthly Activity Calendar Blog. Peruse through to find interesting facts, unusual holidays to celebrate and even better: ideas, links and activities to go with these special days! July is National Blueberry Month!! Surely if blueberries get a whole month just to themselves they are worthy … Continue reading →

Teaching Your Visual Learner

Do you have a child who thinks in images? They seem not to be able to follow instructions unless they can “see” what they’re supposed to do. They will frequently take information you give them and either write it down or draw pictures for it. They would likely give directions by drawing a map rather than writing it down. If this sounds familiar, you probably have a visual learner. Recognizing that your child learns best from information presented visually, is the easy part. What’s difficult is trying to figure out how to present things in a way that your child … Continue reading →

Writing Activities and Ideas for the Reluctant Writer

Is getting your child to write impossible? Try using one of these creative ideas to get your child writing. . . 1. The Family Journal Buy a spiral or composition notebook and write to your child. Ask things about how his/her day was, what was special about something or their favorite part of a book. Correct spelling and grammatical errors by modeling correct writing, rather than with a red pen. For example, My daughter: “Do I have anuff alowence to get a poly pokit set?” My response: “I am not sure if you have enough allowance to get a polly … Continue reading →