One of the main goals I set early on in our homeschool was to give my children a love of learning. Creative homeschooling is the mode I’ve used to successfully do that. Don’t think that you can never put your child in front of a textbook or computer screen to homeschool creatively! Instead, think of it as offering your children curriculum and styles to meet their needs. Sometimes that will be a textbook or computer class. Other times, it may be a unit study, living literature, field trips, games, project-based learning, co-op classes, or interest-based studies. These articles show you how. Be inspired!
We love the State Fair! This year was our first time being more than spectators and we had a busy, but exciting blast. The big kids showed goats two nights in a row, which left two days full of exploring all the sights and sounds. Some kind friends hauled our two goats to the fair…
Our last night of hotel life in Virginia led us to Charlottesville, home to Monticello – Thomas Jefferson’s homestead. We got into town late and were led by our hotel clerk to Charlottesville’s historical downtown mall for dinner. We ate outdoors and enjoyed their weekly Friday night music – this place was hopping and quite…
As with every single aspect of our vacation, we were completely impressed with the quality and child-friendliness of the Yorktown Victory Center. Hands-on exhibits, actors, camps, films and indoor walk-through museums made this yet another wonderful stop. In the Revolutionary War camp, we watched as a cannon was fired… plotted our war strategy… wrote journal…
Hang in there, I only have six parts in this series. On our whirlwind tour of Virginia, we visited Jamestown and Yorktown in the same day. In order to share several pictures from each tour, I’m writing two posts. Jamestown, VA has two attractions (each requiring their own ticket), Historic Jamestown and the Jamestown Settlement. …
One entire day of our vacation was spent in Colonial Williamsburg. This is a WONDERFUL walk-through town of real and replica buildings that house in-costume craftsmen who are working their trades… and allow you to help sometimes. Actors gather in the streets to reenact Revolutionary events… and play various parts as you tour magnificent buildings….
Norfolk, Virginia houses the largest US Naval Base in the world – and it’s huge! Just about everything in Norfolk seems to revolve around the navy including shipyard after shipyard similar to the picture above. We only spent one afternoon in Norfolk, but easily could’ve stayed longer if we had the time. Our main purpose…
I LOVE 4-H! We have awesome extension agents and helpers who are very serious about helping kids learn! Mahayla was able to take a sewing class this semester where they made laundry bags, pillow cases, backpacks, garment hanging bags and a roll-up for accessories. We still have one more lesson where the girls will make…
I continue to be impressed by the materials Prufrock Press sends me for review. Believe me, if I didn’t like something, I wouldn’t post about it! And if I don’t actually use it in my homeschool, I won’t post about it either! Hands-On Geometry is a book we used in our school once a week…
I had mentioned in my WWII post about the Cincinnati Museum Center. Besides the Cincinnati History Museum, this historical building – Union Terminal – houses the Duke Energy Children’s Museum and the Museum of Natural History and Science. (Oh, yes, and an Omnimax Theater and Amtrak Terminal.) For a very fair price, you can choose…
Today is bittersweet for us. As you’ll see below, the boys and I have been having lots of fun celebrating Valentine’s Day. However, today is Mahayla’s 13th birthday and she’s sick. She and I were supposed to be going to CIY Believe together later this afternoon with the Jr. High youth group, too. Oh well,…
Lots of people over time have asked where I find ideas for the project choices I give my children. At this point, most of the ideas are dreamed up in my head, but it hasn’t always been that way. Some of the books I use include: Better Than Book Reports is book is full…
Here’s one more really good question that has come in regarding unit studies specifically relating to projects… “In regards to projects and presentations, how do you gently help improve the note taking, thoroughness of information and actual presentations? I know some of this will come with practice, but I’d like to improve on these things…