September 26, 2008

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Need a cool science and craft idea that is pretty simple but also has some great science instruction potential?  It only requires one special ingredient:  Borax, which can be found in the laundry section of most grocery stores as a whitening agent to add to the wash.

Flubber/Slime/Polymer Experiment

Bowl #1 – Mix thoroughly

• 1 cup white glue
• 3/4 c warm water
• food coloring (opt.)

Bowl #2 – mix thoroughly

• 1/2 c. warm water
• 2 t. Borax (20 Mule Team is one brand)

After mixing each bowl separately, mix them together.  It is amazingly cool as a polymer is formed.   Read about the science behind the reaction here. 

Stir with a spoon, or for the more adventurous, mix with your hands.  Don’t quit, the gluey slime will suddenly harden into a great cross between slime and silly putty.  Both kids and adults love playing with the stuff.  Just keep it away from fabrics and carpets, since it will slowly soak in and become very difficult to remove.  (This means I need to keep checking the seat of my 3-year-old who inevitably ends up with pieces in his lap that result in lovely dots of permanent rubber color stuck all over his pants.)

Make a couple of different colored batches for more fun.  Store in Ziploc baggies or plastic containers in the fridge for the longest life.  It will eventually go bad.

‘Make It a Lesson’ Ideas:

• Learn about the states of matter: solid, liquid, gas
• Practice color mixing with younger children:  what will 4 drops of blue and 1 drop of red make?  How about adding a drop of yellow?
• Scientific method practice:  Discuss a hypothesis of what each child thinks will happen when you mix the two bowls, write them down, then discuss the actual result and write it down.
• Why does it bounce:  Discuss the physics of elastic collisions & equal and opposite reactions.
• Creativity:  Pick a subject and then see what everyone can make or have children guess what the others have made.  Examples:  design a person, a fruit, a shape (more complex shapes for older children), mystery thing, etc.  Use 20 questions to help figure out what the mystery things are.

Posted under Science Curriculum

September 24, 2008

So, you’ve got the perfect day of homeschool planned out.  You jump from child to child, helping them with their work, just staying ahead of the, “Mom, I need help,” cries.  There are moments when it all seems to be working perfectly.

And then, your perfect teaching morning is completely disrupted by your toddler.  When he finds that he doesn’t have your attention, he does his best to get it.  What starts as “Mommy, play with me,” often escalates into tormenting the other kids doing their schoolwork, or the always reliable, flop on the floor, full-blown screaming tantrum.

I love talking to fellow homeschooling parent, because they have such good tips for moments like this.

Here is a favorite:

Edible Bracelets

Supplies

• A bowl of any loop cereal:  Fruit Loops, Apple Jacks, or Cheerios (though these are a bit small)
• An assortment of pipe cleaners
• scissors
• a bored toddler

Directions

• Measure and cut a pipe cleaner so it will fit around your toddlers wrist, with a little extra for twisting at the end.
• Bend one end of the pipe cleaner to keep the loops from sliding off the end
• Show your toddler how to thread the loop cereal onto the pipe cleaner. 
• When he/she is done, twist it closed around their wrist, and let them eat all the cereal off or save it to show Dad when he gets home.

Teaches

• This is a great fine motor practice skill, and it’s just challenging enough for most toddlers that they really have to focus . . . quietly! . . .  to do it right.
• For the more advanced, you can add some pattern skills by having them alternate colors of loop cereal if you have that kind, or sizes of loops, etc.  For more math skills, have them sort the loops by color, size, or shape, catagories before getting started.
• Charity:  Suggest they make bracelets for their sibling or friends.  If they get excited to do this, they are learning to share, and it will take them longer = more peace and quiet!
• Sense of accomplishment:  Make sure to mention that your toddler is ‘doing schoolwork’, or pop out the camera to take a few pictures when the bracelet is finished.  Your toddlers will beam at the idea that they are ’doing school’ like their older siblings.

Do you have some quick and easy ideas to keep the younger kids happy, busy, and learning during the school day?  Please share them in the comment section.

Posted under Toddler Tips

September 23, 2008

Probably the scariest part of homeschooling (besides the ‘science experiments’ you find growing under the couch) is figuring out what to teach and when to teach it.  Many potential homeschooling parents never take the plunge because they are sure that there are vital pieces of scholastic knowledge that would get left out if they took over teaching their kids - scarring them for life.  OK, maybe it isn’t so dramatic.

But, amazingly enough, it really is pretty simple to homeschool kids.  After all, what do they really need to know in elementary school?  Reading, writing, and ‘rithmatic cover most of it, and there are plenty of books and resources to teach those.

The rest of an education is also taught beautifully by homeschooling: 

• History during the trips you take when everyone else is in school
• Civics by going with mom to the voting booth
• Science by examining mold that grew on the forgotten cornbread on top of the fridge (we did that last night)
• Social skills by roleplaying how to handle the bully at the park next time.
• How to soothe a wild animal . . . when Mom has been up all night with the baby, finds a red crayon melted into the dryer load of laundry, and trips over the broom on the floor on her way to find the culprit.  (We all have those days)
• etc., etc.

If you’re still worried that you will miss a vital subject when trying to homeschool, here is a great resource to help you out:

A handy $10 paperback book found at the library or on Amazon.com called “Home Learning Year by Year” by Rebecca Rupp.

I love this book!  It is to-the-point and packed full of great resources.  Rupp includes:

• A detailed list of what your child should learn during each year of school, sorted and numbered by subject.
• Book sources
• Websites
• And more supplements, each with their own succinct review paragraph.

Here are a few examples:

• What age is appropriate to teach your child the upper- and lower-case letter of the alphabet, both in and out of sequence? 
• How about a list of ten great alphabet books to help with that? 
• What resources will help you teach inorganic chemistry to your 11th grader? 
• A list of texts, programs, and a compilation of internet chemistry resources, including games, quizzes, and a visual dictionary? 
• The secret to children who do what you ask, every time . . . and never fight, . . . and keep the house immaculate . . .  just kidding – let me know when you find that one! 

It’s a great aid for both the extreme planner who wants to itemize each task for the coming school year and the parent who just likes to read through it on occasion to make sure nothing important is being left out. 

For $10, how can you go wrong?

Posted under Books to Read, General Homeschool Curriculum

September 20, 2008

Scholastic has some great free online teacher tools, one of which is a whole list of math mysteries sorted by skill and difficulty levels called Math Maven Mysteries.  Each mystery includes a PDF printable and/or you can listen to the mystery with clickable audio buttons.  There is also a Teacher’s Guide to give you more ideas and instruction.  So, if you’re looking for a change of pace in your math lesson today, enjoy!

Posted under Math Websites

September 19, 2008

We loved the library version of Rosetta Stone and were very saddened when it was discontinued. So, after thinking it over for a quite a while we decided to take the plunge and buy the Rosetta Stone Homeschool German series. But, with a hefty over $500 price tag, I searched high and low for a deal.

Happily, I stumbled across a great site called Coupon Cactus. They have links to many major retailers with lots of coupon codes and percentage cashback offers. Get money back on purchases at Target, Overstock, Blockbuster, Shoebuy, T-Mobile, Verizon, and on and on.

Basically, you go to Coupon Cactus first, do a search for the store you want to shop at, like Rosetta Stone or Overstock. You click on the coupon link and you’ll find yourself at the regular website, only it will now have a code that tells the website to send a discount to your Coupon Cactus account.  They mail out checks or send the money to your Paypal account once a quarter.

Some of the deals:

• 12% back on our Rosetta Stone purchase.
• Small rebate when I bought a replacement for our stolen cell phone from T-mobile.
• If you’re looking to buy any computer software, you get an extra 1.5% rebate for purchases at The Academic Superstore.  (Most major software companies offer the much lower priced, full function, educational version of their software to homeschoolers.)
• 1.5% rebate for Gap purchases.
• 4% rebate from Books Online.
• 3% cash back from EBooks.
• Lots more!

It is really easy and free to register.  And finally, when your friends sign up for Coupon Cactus with your referral number, you get a bit of a kickback every time they buy something, too.

(If you’d decide to register, you can help me out by doing it through this link, or use my referral number #107632.  You’ll still earn the same amount of cash back, and I’ll earn some too. Thanks!)

Posted under Homeschool Bargains

September 18, 2008

Paying for schooling on our own means most homeschool parents are always looking out for a deal.

Here are some of my favorite sources when I’m looking for used curriculum:

www.HomeSchoolClassifieds.com

This is a great overall homeschool resource, but I especially love the classifieds section.  You’ll find TONS of curriculum listed for very reasonable rates, usually cheaper than ebay.  If you see ‘ppd’ next to the cost, that means shipping is included.  It is also free to post up to 7 of your own items at a time.  There is a tiny ($5) yearly charge if you’re going to post more than 7 at a time.  I have received all my items very quickly and in good shape.  I haven’t had a single bad experience buying through their site.

www.Ebay.com

You can find almost anything listed on ebay these days, and that includes used homeschool curriculum.  A helpful features you may not know about:

• Favorite searches:  If you search for something and can’t find one being sold right now on Ebay, you can click on “Save this Search” right next to the line that shows the number of items found in your search.  Then you can choose to get an email any time a new item that fits your search is posted on Ebay.  This helps a lot when you’re looking for a specific book or homeschool item that is hard to find.

Homeschool Co-op Curriculum Sales

Call your local homeschool co-ops to find out if they have an annual curriculum sale.  It is usually close to the beginning or end of the typical school year and provides a great chance to clear out your shelves while picking up on some bargains (with no shipping costs) yourself.

Your favorite source?

Do you have a favorite source for good deals on homeschool supplies?  Please share them with us in the comments section.  It would be helpful if you could post the link, pros and cons of the source, and your experience with using it.  Thanks!

Posted under Homeschool Bargains

September 10, 2008

Do you need a fun way for your kids to practice their math? 

Dojo Math is a great little online game with a Ninja Lizard who spins, kicks and punches workout bags with the answers to math questions on them.  If you click on the wrong one, the bag swings back and conks him in the head.  Move over flashcards!

There are a great number of choices for math problems:

• Counting: to 12 and skip counting 2′s, 5′s, and 10′s
• Addition: 1 digit, 2 digit, doubles
• Subtraction: 1 and 2 digit
• Mixed Addition and Subtraction: 1 and 2 digit, with 0′s, multiples of 10
• Multiplication: factor through 12, 2 digit x 1 digit, multiples of 10
• Division: to 12, to 12 with remainders

And there are great motivation elements:

• Levels are timed.
• You need meet the goal of problems answered correctly to move on to the next level.
• You score points for everything you get right.
• If you exceed the goal, you get bonus points.
• You get speed bonus points for the questions you answer quickly and correctly.
• You can also earn a perfect bonus.

And my and the kids’ favorite:

• There is an instant replay button to show the whole level in super fast play, including all the bonks your lizard got when the bag hit him after a wrong answer.

Whatever your math curriculum, this game makes for some fun practice and drill.  With all the emphasis on speed and getting the problem correct, kids begin to master the basic math tables in no time.

Posted under Math Websites

September 9, 2008

Here’s how to get the JoAnn’s 15% teacher’s discount card as a homeschool teacher:

• First, join PEAH (Parents Educating At Home) for free here, and get an ID number.
• (You can also check out PEAH’s discount partners here) 
• Go to JoAnn’s teacher reward sign-up page here.

You’re done!  In 6 – 8 weeks you should be getting a card in the mail that you can use for 15% off of your purchases.

Posted under Homeschool Bargains

September 4, 2008

My husband, a very patient man, gave me a bit of an incredulous look when I came home from Staples with 25 bottles of Elmer’s Glue. Even with our five kids, 25 bottles is a bit much. When he asked what on earth I was thinking, the only response I could come up with: “But, it was free at Staples!”

He doesn’t appreciate the allure of ‘free-ness’ anywhere near as much as I do. So, I had to come up with another rational reason to have 25 bottles of glue . . .and 25 free rulers . . . 25 packages of pencils . . . 25 erasers . . . Ok, what can I say? I can’t resist free. What frugal shopping mom can? And free school supplies?

So, after some searching, I found that our church humanitarian organization makes school kits to send to children in underprivileged countries, and we have almost all the supplies.

Tadah! We now have a service project and a lesson in charity on our homeschool schedule. (And my husband will be happy to see some of the glue go to a good home.)

How to get the deal:

Homeschool parents are finally being included in the classification as ‘teachers’ by national companies, and they’re giving us the same discounts.

Staples is very generous to teachers during the ‘Back-to-School’ shopping season. Each week during the latter half of the summer, they have a few rock-bottom items for pennies or even free. There is usually a limit of 2 or 3 of these items, but Staples generously lets teachers buy or have up to 25.

• All you need to do is show some kind of homeschool ID at checkout. One from a homeschool co-op works well. Or, in true homeschool tradition, you and your family can decide on a name for your homeschool, break out the artistic talent, and design and print your own. You can even include pictures and laminate them for a professional touch. A homeschool ID will come in handy for many discounts, as I’ll mention in future posts.

Read More…

Posted under Homeschool Bargains