How To Create A Lapbook- YouTube video

Okay, here is the video I promised on how we do our lapbooking.
NyGirl and I were just finishing up a lapbook on Amelia Earhart that we began a month ago. I'm just beginning my YouTube journey, so bear with me...

I hope you find the video useful, helpful...or something of the sort. Leave me comments and let me know what you think. Also, if there is anything I can address in a future video, please LMK!

Homeschooling in the summer?

Today was a leisurely morning of learning and fun. We got started early so we could head outside and play.

We gathered around the kitchen table (something we haven't been able to do in nearly two years! ahh...it's a breath of fresh air to have BabyZ finally able to cooperate with that)...

I was a little surprised that she is starting to draw little noses, mouths, and eyes.

After a quick (15 minute) Saxon lesson and drill sheet, we brought out the Harcourt Complete Curriculum workbook.  This is a comprehensive book we use from time to time.  It is one grade level ahead of NyGirl's level, and I like to introduce her to advance concepts once in a while.  Amazingly, none of it has been excruciatingly difficult for her, although she does get stumped once in a while.  I like that, though, because it makes her think.  "Mom, what are the DETAILS of a paragraph?  What am I supposed to write?" 

I love when I offer suggestions and her brains starts churning, and she just takes off from there.  I am starting to learn how very little teach-y moments our kids need...just teach-able moments- and those are surprisingly VERY different.  Two totally different things.  When I find a teachable moment, I plug in and explain, then step right back out and let her explore it a bit.  But before, I was just a teach-y mama- explaining every detail for what seemed like an eternity until NyGirl's eyes rolled to the back of her head in pure boredom.

I am learning, okay?  :-)

And another thing...I have had more than one person ask me why we "do school" in the summer.  "It just doesn't seem right", they might add. "Kids need plenty of free time to just enjoy the outdoors and enjoy summer activities".  And they are right (about the outdoors and summer activities part).  As for the "school" part...as I said in an earlier post, I just can't fathom why my children would need to take large, 3 month gaps from learning things they enjoy anyway, or to brush up on math skills.

I mean, it's not as if they are pinned down to the kitchen table ALL DAY.  At the most, it is ONE hour.  One hour. (Can we honestly complain about one hour of academic skills brush up?  Seriously.  The public education system has proven that that is the one thing NEEDED in their schools- parents who will work with their kids over the summer).  That's one less hour of television.  One less hour of mindless activity where eventually someone ends up in a squabble due to utter boredom.

I'm not saying everyone should continue with year round schooling -- no way (that is, not unless you really want to).  I mean, we mama-teachers need a break too, you know.  I got my break from April to May.  But funny thing, my kids started BEGGING (not just asking) to have school.

"MOM!!!!  Can I PLEASE go in the home school pantry and find a math activity book?  Can I PLEASE work on the geography puzzle?"

How can you argue with that???

:-)

So, here we are in the middle of the summer, early July, doing school. At this rate, I imagine our schedule will look like 3 weeks on, 1 week off for the remaining of the year.

Fun, fun, and fun...okay, before the day is over I think I may have ONE MORE post...(*hint- it's about lapbooking, and there just MIGHT be a YouTube video to go along with it...)

Not quite unschooling, but relaxing up our school!

While many homeschoolers are gearing up for a new school year beginning in August or September, I kinda went a different direction this year and decided  we would have a year-round school with several sporadic breaks.  So...we "ended" our past academic year (2nd grade) in April, took a pretty long break in May, and started our official 3rd grade somewhere between May and June.  Our school days are short-- I don't even know if I can call them school days.  After all, it's the summer, and my kids are going to get out to the water parks and other fun summer activities...

Maybe what we're doing this summer is more of an "unschooling" method.  What's amazing is, although we are completely relaxed in our approach, the kids seem to be learning more, taking off and independently learning, and just taking it all in.

There's our science project (backyard garden), for example.

You can read my earlier posts to find out more about the girls are enjoying this.

We've also been hitting up the library a lot.  I've been learning to adapt her reading to easy, quick lessons on spelling or grammar.  I have an article on my homeschool info site on some quick and easy ideas for spelling lessons (no curriculum needed!)

NyGirl reads and reads and reads...and I smile and enjoy watching her "teach herself" about Abraham Lincoln or George Washington.  She decided a few weeks ago, "Mom, I want to learn about all the presidents-- in order!" What mama can't help but to do a little yippee dance on that??

Hey...makes my job easier, right?

Admit it...that's what we all want: for our kids to learn to become independent learners. Even the most structured of us "teacher types" eventually want our children to self explore into topics.

I am learning to let go, and it is FUN!

I haven't always been this way, okay?  Believe me...when I say "teacher type", I am known around my home as the rigid, structured schedule-maker mama, keeping everyone on task.  I have relaxed a bit over the past year (kind of have to when toddlers run the show!)  So...it has actually been good for me to have a toddler around these past 2 years of homeschooling.  Ive learned to relax and it's actually done NyGirl a whole lot of good.

Okay...so back to our relaxed homeschooling...

We have been using more and more of resources we have just lying around our house.  Reference books, card games, puzzles, and other materials...the girls just dig them out of our homeschool shelves/pantry, and go for it.  I've made it so they are allowed to go into the pantry at certain times during the day.  If the day leads us into checking on the garden outside our house, then we have science.  If the day leads us into a discussion on rabbits, we head to the library and check our library books and DVD's on rabbits.  If NyGirl is reading about George Washington, it helps to supplement what we are already covering in her history.

By the way, here is the history book we bought for $3 at a local used book fair:

We like the scope and sequence, because we were looking for an American history text to use as a "spine" (something that gives us a starter or jumping board for other history projects and ideas).  I won't be using every item in the book as is, but it definitely works for us.  The material is concise and to the point, not too lengthy for her grade level, but not too fluffy and 'sweet'. There is just the right amount of concrete material for her to chew on and actually learn factual information and true American history.  It is also from a Christian perspective, which sold me.

But like I said, we are being relaxed this school year.  We have the books, but we are not going to be slaves to the books anymore.  Somehow or other I hope to find a healthy balance between teaching most of the lessons  in the book and allowing NyGirl the creative freedom to explore other subtopics at her whim.  So, the way I would like to see our school go is, if NyGirl decides she has an urge to read about Thomas Jefferson, I want to feel the FREEDOM to place the BJU American Heritage texts on the shelf until NyGirl gets her fill of Thomas Jefferson-- then return to the text later on.

For me...that is a BIG step.  Like I said, I have been a stickler for schedules, routines, and structure.  But I think this creative energy is something needed in our home.  So , as much as I love pre-packaged curriculum, we'll have to free ourselves of the textbook mentality. :-)

I hit the local homeschool used book sale in our town (oh, and check out my article on tips to follow for finding good materials at used book sales). I found a BUNCH of good stuff - Saxon 5/4 math book, BJU Press History, and some maps puzzles.

I believe that puzzle cost me about $8.  And the Saxon math? $20 total.  I would have spent at least $60 or more for the Saxon if I had bought it brand new!

I think we'll be using a lot of these materials sporadically throughout our day.  Each school day, I think I'll plan initially to have an outline for our studies in mind...but not written down in stone.  Kind of a loose idea of what we need to cover each week ...and then just help facilitate or guide my kids in that direction.  So, if I know we would like to cover a few topics on plant life, we'll definitely plan to head out to the garden with notebooks and a camera.  We might come back in and read a book about plants, or visit a website to play a science game.  The whole point is, I don't want to set it all in stone.

I am SO grateful to be living in a state that doesn't require home educators to create lesson plans in advance of each academic semester.  I have tried this before-- for TWO years, in fact.  It drove me nuts!  I would much rather have an idea of what we need to cover (through a scope and sequence, or even a text curriculum), and just plug into it each day- and not being concerned about whether or not we actually finished the LAST PAGE of each textbook at the end of the school year.

It's not that I'm advocating jumping all around academically and not having a plan.  I believe in planning.  Without our plans, our children will lack a very important skill - following directions and taking guidance from those who know better.

But my point is: if we (parent-teachers) take complete control of our children's learning without showing them how to be self-learners and self-motivated, we are doing them a great disservice.  Every thing cannot be spoon-fed, and sometimes it is a good idea to set aside a lesson plan in order to watch our kids just simply ENJOY LEARNING.

And -- that is what I am doing this new 'school year' (I say school year loosely, because I am beginning to really see that 'school' is actually everywhere, and learning takes place no matter where we are).

I am starting to relax, and I have a feeling...school is going to get FUN!

Follow Me Friday

I am starting something new ...participating in  Follow Me Friday :-)

This is new, different, and exciting...and I can't wait to meet new friends and find new blogs to follow in the process.
Can't wait to meet you and have you meet each other!
So...here we go:

Summer Fun Around Town

Yesterday the girls and I took off for a long day out and about town.

First, we headed over to Panera Bread for a quick breakfast treat, then to Walmart to run a few errands and pick up a birthday gift from my little brother.

Next stop, the library.  There was a program for younger 2's and 3's and I thought I would try once again to bring BabyZ to storytime.  As is typical for her, she sort of froze up in public and would not participate much in the singing and dancing.

She did sit still and listen to the stories, though, and enjoyed bubble time - an improvement from our earlier 2's stage:

So...yay for BabyZ!

Then went to the park to meet up with some park friends-- the highlight of our day!

The older girls enjoyed bike riding, roller blading, and playing on scooters. The younger ones ran and climbed and enjoyed the park equipment.

No one could ever convince me that homeschoolers don't have P.E.!

As for me...I had SO much fun catching up with a friend and have some grown up chat for a change. As much as we love our kids, we mamas need a break now and then.

Afterward the girls and I had a snack and rest break then headed back over to the library for an afternoon event they were having for the older kids.  My oldest daughter participated in that (they did science experiment with red dye and celery and learned about water conservation).  While NyGirl enjoyed an hour science lesson and fun with other kids, BabyZ snoozed away in her stroller.  It had been a long day and she was due a nap.

And mama got a break too.  What do you think I did on my break?

Break out the laptop with free WIFI and blog of course! :-)

Garden follow-up

Whoo hoo!  Our little garden is growing, and growing and growing.

So we got started with planting officially on last week...and already, here we are.

This is about 2-3 inches of squash and peas growth.

We are so excited.  For our first garden I think it is doing well. But again, we have to figure out this whole process as we go.

And still more pics:

We stayed outside a while checking our garden and playing in the sun...then we came inside to rest. It was just way too hot.  We had lunch...and then we started talking about our garden.

The thought occurred to me that we had just received a free book about science topics from Barnes and Noble that might discuss plants, so I dug that up, plus a science journal I bought for her last year.

The discussion on how plants receive energy from the sun, which animals, in turn, gain from the plants led to ANOTHER discussion about healthy eating- mainly organic versus plants with pesticides.

Another freedom of not being bound to a curriculum is that we can be creative.  So...I thought about bringing out my two types of flour (whole wheat and white flour)...and this led to a discussion on the nutrients missing from white flour...plus, the benefits of eating organic wheat (no pesticides).

I placed the two types of flour on a plate...and we just talked and talked and talked.  Fun.

So, there you have our science for the week, in a nutshell. :-)

Natural parenting info list

Do you like natural parenting info?  There is so much out there already...really.  Just googling "natural parenting" will bring up a host of sites-anything from natural health care, natural recipes for kids, or babywearing.

Here is a small list of natural parenting sites and organizations you might find useful.  Start there, and then broaden or narrow your search.

Have fun!

• Mothering Magazine
• Natural Family Online
• Baby Reference
• The Natural Child Project
• Natural Family Online
• All Natural Parent