28 November 2011

Day 26 / 101 - Presentations

Weekly presentations are part of the Classical Conversations Foundations program.  Each week my children have an opportunity to practice their oral presentation skills in front of others.  These presentations have ranged from book reports to presidents to martial arts displays to creative show-and-tells and much, much more.  As my children age their presentations become much more structured and prepared.  The goal of the presentation time is for my children to become comfortable standing, talking, presenting and fielding questions in front of their peers.

This fall, my ten-year-old son's presentations have been brought to you by a ten-year-old boy.  Bald eagles, the woods behind our house, his latest Taekwondo tournament, his Pinewood Derby car, tornadoes, etc.  However, most weeks, my daughter has taken a different approach.  She prefers to give her presentation in costume.  So, she usually begins with a costume she has created and then will work backwards in order to find presentation material to fit that costume.  It's a rather creative approach and greatly encompasses her learning style since she loves to dress-up and be in character.  She is so motivated to research and prepare for her presentation each week when there is a costume involved.  For instance, she wore her Hermoine Granger costume when she gave a book report on Harry Potter.  She had put together the Native American costume above (complete with child carrier and papoose - the baby is in costume, too), and then after brainstorming for a bit, settled on a presentation about Pocahontas and Jamestown.  Although she was a bit disappointed to discover that Pocahontas was living with the English colonists, and had converted to their ways, by the time she had a son and therefore would have never had a papoose.  The photo below is a combination of a couple old dance costumes, so that week she learned all she could, and presented on, the state of Hawaii.

18 November 2011

Day 25 / 101 - Art Class

On Wednesday my children ended a six week art class taught during a lunchtime break at our Classical Conversations campus.  We brought in an outside art instructor for a basic introductory class to 2D mediums for beginners.  The class covered basic drawing exercises including gesture drawing, contour and blind contour drawings, descriptive drawings and sketches.  The students also learned color theory and image creating with the color wheel.

My children loved the blind contour drawing and the image creating with the color wheel.  You can see several of the class' drawings of the color wheel posted above.  My daughter drew a few with Harry Potter images, mainly a lightning bolt.  And, my son drew many with tornadoes, because natural disasters are quite fascinating to ten-year-old boys.

15 November 2011

Day 24 / 101 - History Sentence Lapbooks


I'm not sure where the phrase 'lap book' came from, but if you are a homeschooler you've heard the term.  A lapbook is a learning manipulative that generally consists of a file folder (or two, or three) with small pieces of paper glued inside.  These folded papers inside contain facts, diagrams, maps, illustrations, photos, etc. related to the subject of study.  Lapbooks can be adapted for any subject and grade level.  I like to think of lapbooks as a smaller, more condensed version of any project I did as a child.  We liked things bigger in the '80s (think hair...clothes....cars), so the Dinosaur report consisted of three extra large pieces of poster board along with an additional large binder of dinosaur skeleton sketches.  I'm guessing that throughout the years some wise parent came along and thought, Let's condense this project into something that would fit on our 'laps'.  I enjoy lapbooks because in my former life (my life before homeschooling) I was an avid scrapbooker.  Creating a lapbook is much like making a scrapbook on a certain subject.  You can be as creative and/or detailed as you'd like.  You can see some great pictures of lapbooks here.

Over the weekend we quickly assembled these lapbooks for our History Sentences.  I mentioned in an earlier post that our curriculum this year has us memorizing U.S. History.  We'll memorize details, facts, and events that have shaped our nation beginning with Columbus and ending with 9/11.  I want my children to review these facts and events on their own, so they designed these lapbooks to assist them in this effort.  I stapled two file folders together.  I printed the coloring pictures from this website, and my children glued the top half of the illustrations to the folders.  Then they wrote the prompt (or event, i.e. Boston Tea Party, War of 1812), on the folder and the sentence that corresponds to the event underneath each picture.  They have their first 12 weeks of History sentences to review in this simple illustrated lapbook.

14 November 2011

Day 23 / 101 - Piano Lessons

It should probably come as no surprise that my children take piano lessons.  Most homeschooled children spend part of their week practicing some type of instrument and attending lessons.  Shortly after we began homeschooling, my children began taking piano lessons.  We wanted our children to learn the basic language of music and also develop a love of and appreciation for music.

One of the reasons I love homeschooling is that piano can be integrated into our school day.  It is not something that needs to be done in addition to an already full day.  In fact, I have discovered while schooling my son, that his concentration vastly improves if he begins each and every day with piano practice.  There are countless studies that show us one solid way to increase the speed at which people learn is with music. People learn through music and their minds develop because of it. Some music, when implemented properly, can have positive effects on learning and attitude. I see a drastic change not only in my son's ability to learn, but also in the way he processes information, when we start each day with piano and then move to mathematics, rather than reversing the two.

Our original plan was for our children to take two years of piano.  Because the piano is so child friendly, it was the instrument we wanted our children to begin with.  We said after two years, we could reevaluate, and they could either continue on with piano or switch to another instrument, since they would now understand the language of music.  We are approaching that two year mark.  I will keep you posted on their decisions...... 

11 November 2011

Day 22 / 101 - Lake Farmpark

Lake Farmpark is a delightful working farm on 235 acres that is located east of Cleveland in Kirtland, Ohio.  It provides multiple opportunities to understand farming and see how it has progressed over time.  USA Today named it one of the top 10 educational sites to learn about farming.  Along with many farm skill demonstrations and a science center, the park is home to dozens of breeds of livestock, which is the reason my children love to visit.  Wagon rides are the mode of transportation throughout the park.  The park also has an ambitious schedule of seasonal celebrations and events.

Obviously, throughout the past few years, we've made many visits to the Farmpark.  We visited last week and the high point was one-week-old piglets (pictured above).  My children also conquered the seasonal corn maze a couple of times, while their father tackled the Autumn Leaves 5 Mile Run (which was our whole reason for visiting the park in the first place).

If you are in this area of Ohio, the Farmpark is always worth a visit!

10 November 2011

Day 21 / 101 - BSF

For the past three years my children have been involved in the school-age program of Bible Study Fellowship.  If you are unfamiliar with BSF, it is a international, interdenominational Christian organization that offers a system of structured Bible study.  I could go on and on about the impact BSF has had in my own life, but honestly, what I want to focus on is their program for children.

We knew when we began homeschooling that we wanted to teach a Bible curriculum to our children.  BSF has not only made that possible, but has far exceeded our expectations.  My children have been actively studying the Bible and learning to apply it to their daily lives.  This year we've been studying the Acts of the Apostles.  Every Tuesday night we attend class where my children sing hymns, discuss their Acts lesson, discover more about the historical context of the time, learn truths from the passage, and memorize scripture.  Then, throughout the week, we complete another lesson so we can return the following Tuesday for another class night.  It has been part of our routine and part of our curriculum, and I couldn't be more pleased.

To clearly communicate the life changing impact of this study in their lives, I will briefly recount some recent conversations with my daughter, who's not quite 8.  First, she was able to tell me in detail, with quotes from the text, about when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead and how both Mary and Martha responded.  This came from a passage in the gospel of John, which she studied two years ago!  Then, after a few temper tantrums (remember...she's 7 1/2, and therefore she can throw some pretty good ones!), she said, 'Mom.  I know that I can ask God to change my attitude.  And, I know that He can change me, and that He wants to change me.  Something my BSF teacher said tonight helped me to see that!'  I am overly impressed that she can recognize and own this truth at such a young age.

You can locate the BSF class nearest you by clicking here.

07 November 2011

Day 20 / 101 - MindTrap

We play lots of games around our home.  And, once the time and weather changes for the winter, it is usually how we spend the bulk of most evenings.  Be prepared to read postings on some of our favorites.

MindTrap is a puzzle, mystery, and trick question game that my husband and I bought when we were in college.  The game is full of questions and riddles that will challenge your thinking and exercise your mind.  This game has been perfect for our children to learn lateral thinking.  In order to solve each riddle, it is necessary for them to think indirectly and creatively, using reasoning that is not immediately obvious.  Truth be told, we've never even used the game board or played the game as the instructions state.  We usually just sit around and ask each other the riddles.  Here are two of the kids' favorites from the other night:

There's a well documented story of a famous group of blue collar type, hard working guys who met at an inconspicuous inn for a celebration.  Several days later, their leader was brutally executed.  Who were they?

Jed Recluse climbed the castle stairs to his ultra private bathroom.  The windowless room was constructed of concrete blocks and stone.  As Jed closed the large wooden door he heard the outside latch fall shut, locking him in.  Without considering the possibilities, Jed turned on the taps to take a bath and ponder his escape.  When the bathtub was full, Jed went to turn the water off, but both taps were stripped and broken.  Jed was not only locked in, but he could not turn the water off.  Since the room was water tight, and the water was beginning to cover the floor, how would Jed keep from drowning?

Players are allowed to ask yes or no questions about the puzzle scenario in order to help deduct the answer.  I think one of the hardest parts of the game for my children is learning how to ask yes or no questions....: )

04 November 2011

Day 19 / 101 - Give Thanks

I swiped the idea of making a Give Thanks Calendar from my friend Katina.  It seemed like an appropriate way to spend the month...reminding ourselves what we are grateful for.  Hers is really amazing and quite a bit more crafty than mine.  You can read all about it here.

However, I wanted to get moving on ours, otherwise I knew it would remain an unfinished project with good intentions (Like a 500 piece Great Pumpkin puzzle that is incomplete and trashing our kitchen table right now.  I'm debating cleaning that up this afternoon.), so I modified her calendar a bit in order to use some supplies we already had on hand.

Each picture was glued onto the poster board as a pocket.  For every day this month, all four of us will write on a piece of paper something we are thankful for and tuck it into the pocket of the appropriate day.  I hope it will help to get us into the habit of being thankful for something every day of the year!

03 November 2011

Day 18 / 101 - Motivation

 
Don't think of yourself as the teacher, think of yourself as the leading learner.

Today I read this quote on Facebook from another homeschooler.  I found it inspirational, not only for homeschooling, but for so many other aspects of life.  I'm not an expert on any one thing, but I'm constantly developing and growing in order to become more of who I hope to be.  Wouldn't you agree....?