Homeschool.Estore

Discovered a new store, courtesy of a blogger that I can't find anymore. EEK.

Ah well, she was new to me.

Anyways, the store is called HomeschooleStore. ALl of their products are available only in E-format. They offer free books every week from what I remember from the bloggers' site. This weeks was on Menu plans and provided a whole whack of recipes.

Anyways, check it out if you are interested.

New Zealand Study Unit

This page comes from this site. I"m copying the information here in case this page gets lost over time. I got it free from the Homeschooling Minute which comes from The Old Schoolhouse magazine.

Unit Study:

1. READING SELECTIONS - Let's start with some extra reading. Listed below are some great books about New Zealand, or set in New Zealand, that will provide many hours of enjoyable reading. The links below will take you to Amazon.com for more information, but you can find these at your local library. Read for pleasure alone, or have your kids write a book report on one of these selections.

Use these books:
New Zealand Shake-Up (Ruby Slippers School Series , No 6)
Australia and New Zealand (True Books-Geography: Countries)
The Maori of New Zealand (First Peoples)
New Zealand ABC (Country ABCs)

2. HISTORY & TIMELINES - Learn more about New Zealand by compiling historical facts and events from New Zealand's exciting history and adding them to your timeline. If you do not have a timeline on the go, you can construct one by following these directions - How to Make a Timeline Easily. Here is a link to a wonderful resource for timeline entries about New Zealand - http://www.history-nz.org/timeline.html.

3. MAPWORK - A unit study would not be complete without taking a good look at the lay of the land. Click here for both a labeled and unlabeled map of New Zealand. Have your students mark some of the major cities, the southern mountain range and the seas, at the least. For older students, have them use your teacher's map and fill in the rest!

4. RECIPES - This is my favorite part - the food from the land! If you do the above activities on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, then take some time on either Thursday or Friday to whip up some authentic New Zealand cuisine in the kitchen.

New Zealand cuisine is characterized by its freshness and diversity and has been described as Pacific Rim, drawing inspiration from Europe, Asia, Polynesia and its indigenous people, the Maori. Freshness is owed to its surrounding ocean and fertile lands. Its distinctiveness is more in the way New Zealanders eat - generally preferring to be as relaxed and unaffected as possible.

A Maori specialty is the hangi (pronounced hung-ee), a pit in which meats or fish are cooked with vegetables. A deep hole is dug in the ground, lined with red-hot stones and covered with vegetation. The food is then placed on top. The whole oven is sprinkled with water and sealed with more vegetation. The hole is then filled with earth and left to steam for several hours. Traditionally, men dig and prepare the hole, and women prepare the food to go in it. All members of an extended family (whanau) help out for such a feast. The occasion is relaxed, friendly and fun, with people often eating the meal under a marquee.

It may be difficult to pull off the above, but here are three more recipes of local New Zealand food that can be attempted in your own kitchen. Enjoy!

ANZAC BISCUITS are a snack food most commonly made primarily from rolled oats, coconut, and golden syrup.

Many myths have grown around the Anzac biscuit. It has been reported that they were made by Australian and New Zealand women for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) soldiers of World War I and were reputedly first called "Soldiers' Biscuits" and then "Anzac Biscuits" after the Gallipoli landing. The recipe was reportedly created to ensure the biscuits would keep well during naval transportation to loved ones who were fighting abroad.
1 cup desiccated coconut
1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
1 level teaspoon baking soda
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons golden syrup
2 tablespoons boiling water

Mix dry ingredients, melt butter & syrup together in small saucepan. Dissolve soda in boiling water, add to dry ingredients. Cook until golden brown at 350 degrees.

PAVLOVA - New Zealand's national dessert

Pavlova is a light and fluffy meringue dessert named after the ballet dancer, Anna Pavlova. Both Wellington, New Zealand and Perth, Australia claim to be the home of the dish. The earliest record of the recipe is a cook book published in New Zealand in 1933, two years before claims made in Perth.

Pavlova is traditionally decorated with fresh fruit and whipped cream, and is especially popular in Australia and New Zealand. Factory-made pavlovas can be purchased at supermarkets in those countries and decorated as desired but rarely achieve home-baked quality.

Leftover pavlova can be stored in the fridge overnight, but will absorb moisture from the air and lose its crispness. Undecorated pavlova can safely be left overnight in the oven in which it was baked, to be decorated in the morning.

* 3 Egg whites
* 250g (9 oz.) superfine sugar
* pinch of Salt
* 5 ml or 1 tsp Vinegar
* 5 ml or 1 tsp. Vanilla extract

1. Beat the egg whites and salt to a very stiff consistency before folding in sugar, vanilla and vinegar. Beat until the mixture holds its shape and stands in sharp peaks.
2. Slow-bake the mixture at 150 degrees Celsius (300 degrees Fahrenheit) to dry all the moisture and create the meringue, approximately 45 minutes. This leaves the outside of the pavlova a crisp crunchy shell, while the interior remains soft and moist.
3. A top tip (but not traditional) is to turn the pavlova upside down before decorating with cream and fruit because the bottom is less crispy than the top after cooking and unless you serve it immediately after decorating the "top" absorbs moisture from the cream. Another tip is to leave the pavlova in the oven after turning off the heat - this helps to prevent the middle of the pavlova from collapsing (although if it does collapse, generous application of cream can hide any mistakes!)

FAIRY BREAD

Fairy bread is white bread lightly spread with margarine or butter, and then sprinkled with either sugar or more commonly Hundreds and Thousands (also known as sprinkles or nonpareils, a Masterfoods product consisting of small balls of coloured sugar intended to decorate cakes).

Fairy bread is served almost exclusively at children's parties in Australia and New Zealand. Slices of the bread are typically cut into triangles and stacked tastefully on the host's paper plate.

It was originally made using finely chopped rose petals for colour and scent instead of the sugary lollies that are used today.

5. CRAFTS - Finally, it's craft time!

This craft was chosen as a quick and simple one that represents New Zealand, its people and environment. The felt kiwi can be used as brooches or even fridge magnets.
Felt Kiwi

craft pics Materials:

* brown fur fabric (body - fig 1)
* dark brown felt (wings - fig 2)
* yellow vinyl (beak, feet - fig 3 & 4)
* pair wobbly eyes per kiwi
* stuffing
* needle and thread
* glue

Print off your kiwi pattern pieces here

Method:

1. Cut 2 body pieces out of fur fabric, 2 wings from brown felt, 1 feet piece and one beak from yellow vinyl.
2. Body and wings - with right sides together and wings tucked to the inside sew from base around top to base - leaving a space for turning the right way out. (fig 1)
3. Turn right side out and stuff the body, gathering in the base slightly to make it round before sewing it up.
4. Feet - position rounded base of body onto round area of feet piece and glue carefully.
5. Beak - glue only the top of the beak into fur, not the whole length of beak.
6. Eyes - add wobbly eyes just above top of beak. (White plastic with black pupils can be used as a good alternative to bought eyes).

Information:
The kiwi is a nocturnal flightless bird native to New Zealand. The kiwifruit (all one word) is a fuzzy fruit, also called the chinese gooseberry. To call the fruit a kiwi is offensive to a growing number of New Zealanders as the kiwi is our national bird and a strong symbol of our country. New Zealanders are also affectionately known as Kiwis.

Math Sheet Generator

Here is a site that gives math sheets for free.

Here are the types of sheets it will give you

Addition
Single Digit, Horizontal
Single Digit, Vertical
Multiple Digit
5 Minute Drill
Subtraction
Single Digit, Horizontal
Single Digit, Vertical
Multiple Digit
5 Minute Drill
Multiplication
Single Digit, Horizontal
Single Digit, Vertical
Multiple Digit
5 Minute Drill
Division
Single Digit, Horizontal
Long Division
5 Minute Drill
Mixed Problems
Mixed Problems
Fractions
Least Common Multiple
Reduce to Lowest Terms
Measurement
Reading a Tape Measure
Graphing
Number Lines
Coordinate Plane
Telling Time
Telling Time
One Hundred Chart

This will definitely save time!

Christmas Traditions

I like these Traditions of Steve and Sara.

I wonder sometimes about making Jesse Tree ornaments. I like the idea of having a magnetic board with felt pieces to attach them.

I want to make some "special to us" Christmas traditions that will not only teach our boy good Christian meanings to holidays, but will make different holidays fun and important and so forth. Need to think on this some more of course, and talk with my hubbie.

Mutliflyer

thanks to denise for pointing my way here. This might be something that our son will enjoy as he gets a bit older. Probably, i'm guessing, not until he's 7 or 8 though.

articles I like to look at further

Making your own Rock Tumbler.

Christmas, wisemen, DVD.

Working on financial freedom. My idea is to teach Justin what I do. 10 percent right off the top. 1-2 percent just for saving for NEVER touching unless really need to. 10 percent for just saving for whatever. and the rest for spending as desired.

Record keeping for homeschooling.

Might want to think on this a wee bit.

rhymes for doing math.

Things to consider when homeschooling. and knowing it's okay to have to process it all.

questions to consider if you are doing okay homeschooling.

Evaluating your homeschool program.

English type stuff.. reading and comprehension. What to consider.

For archives of the Carnival of homeschooling, go here.

an article to read

Make your own Playdough!
3 C. cold water
1 1/2 C. salt
1/4 C. oil
3 C. flour
2 T. cream of tartar
1 T. vanilla
food coloring and (if you really want it to smell yummy) a couple of packets of Kool-Aid

Place liquid ingredients in a large pan. Quickly add dry ingredients. Heat on low. Stir constantly until dough pulls away from sides of pan. Cool. Add food coloring.

You're good to go! Store in a tightly sealed container or baggie.

note to self

check out the links (geography) on this page soonest.

A Place to buy science stuff

Science kit is a place online to get science equipment.

Can also check out places such as Scholars Choice, Discovery Toys, teacher supply stores, or GeoSafari. Depends on the age of child and items required.

This post just made me smile...

This post just made me smile...I can somehow see myself in this woman(?) even though I haven't started (as in officially with a plan) homeschooling yet. It is from a blog called Mama Says.

Economics book

This is a recommended book for homeschoolers that talks about economics.

Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? A Fast, Clear, and Fun Explanation of the Economics You Need For Success in Your Career, Business, and Investments

Quick Study labs

Not entirely sure if I"ve posted on this site or not. If so, I can always delete this one.

Anyways, was at The Thinking Mother this morning, and she mentioned how her son did an independent study that he got from Quick Study Labs.

Something for later on with Justin.

The circle song

I thought this circle song could be useful as our boy gets abit bigger, and starts to learn some about math.

Doing up certificates for a job well done.

This idea comes from Teaching Diligently.

Apparently this site will let you print up certificates so that when your child does well at something you can print it off for them in celebration. It is called BillyBear4Kids.

a contest entry

These guys have done up a contest. I entered. I will let you know if I win. :)

mull over and comment on

this is an article I want to mull over.

Math site

here is a math site that might prove interesting. Living Math!

This is the place that gave me the information. Prairie Girl.

Tapestry of Grace

Thanks to Spunky for this curriculum place to check out further.

The curriculum is called Tapestry of Grace.

A brief overview looks interesting. We'll have to keep this and check it out at later date.

Learning for Pre-schoolers

credit goes to Home-Steeped Hope.

And in my opinion, the preschool years are the best for sparking that love of learning. Here are some of the ways I prepared my 3, 4’s and 5’s for Kindergarten.

Use that time in the car for word games and story problems:

* Play the syllable game. Give them words and have them break them into syllables, telling you how many syllables each one has. My girls loved this game, and being able to distinguish syllables is one of the first steps in being able to read and spell. If it helps, have your child “clap” the syllables out as they repeat the word. They’ll catch on in no time.
* Make up short poems; kids love to rhyme and this game will be full of hilarity. Everyone gets a turn thinking up a line.
* Glue and unglue three letter words. This is great exposure to the sounds that letters make. Say the word “cat” and then help your child sound it out (ungluing it) /c/-/a/-/t/.
* Explore homonyms. My middle child couldn’t get enough of this activity for some reason. (strange child!) She still likes to “collect homonyms”. (words that sound the same but are spelled different: reign, rain, rein)
* Play the “Minister’s Cat” (”the minister’s cat is an adorable, bratty, calico cat…and so on taking turns and repeating each adjective all the way through the alphabet) or the “ABC” game (take turns naming and claiming in order the alphabet letters seen on road signs, billboards and license plates)
* Use nature to come up with math story problems. This is great for the contextual learner. If there are 5 horses in that pasture, and 4 in the next, how many all together? What if 3 wandered off and got lost? How many then? (We used to count antelope on family vacations to Wyoming…hundreds and hundreds of antelope…)
* Quiz them about what numbers they should call in an emergency (Grandma, daddy’s cell, 911) (my girls at three years old could recite our bank account number!)
* Quiz them on their phone number and address.
* Give them paper and pencil and see how many times they can write their name in one minute.

At home:

* Dot to dots are really fun for three and four year olds, and it’s a great way for them to learn the coordination needed for writing. Most dot to dots are numbered or alphabetized which gives that added exposure/practice.
* Anything math is made more fun with small candies such as m&m’s. We’ve woven elaborate stories, illustrated even, of a bag of m&m’s and its trip around the neighborhood as it’s divvied up with all the children on the block. These candies are great for sorting and charting, and your preschoolers won’t even know they’re learning math! Until you proudly tell them and watch them beam from ear to ear!
* Teach them games like tic-tac-toe, and rock-paper- scissors. Talk about “critical thinking”. Especially when they ask questions with obvious answers.
* Put shaving cream on a cookie sheet and have fun “drawing” numbers and letters in it. (chocolate pudding works good for this too, but my dh forbids us from playing with food…yeah, no edible play-dough for our family)
* Give them a bucket of water and a paintbrush and have them paint their abc’s on the driveway or sidewalks.
* Use sidewalk chalk to draw a numbered clock face on the driveway and practice running “clockwise” and “counter clockwise”, telling them to stop on certain “times”
* All the science you need for this age is outdoors. Make bark rubbings, wormeries, collect two or three caterpillars and put them in a glass jar with a hole punched lid and a twig with leaves on it…a few months later you’ll have a moth or butterfly! Make sure you take advantage of the time nature-walking to talk about all that was created for our enjoyment.
* If you want to play science while indoors, experiment with the 5 senses. Blindfold your children, and have them guess what certain smells are (vinegar, lemon, banana, mom’s perfume), distinguish between the sours/sweets/salts of various foods (still blindfolded!), have them feel around in a bag of items and tell you what they’re touching.
* Sing. A lot.
* And don’t forget reading. Of all the above, reading is my favorite way to “teach”. Good books are good friends, and a great way to engage the mind. As are magazines like Your Big Backyard, Clubhouse Junior, and Highlights.



I wanted to stress that in addition to Biblical training, children need play time. Time to expand their imaginations, to pretend, to draw, to play outside and explore nature. Not time in front of the tv or computer, if that’s what they’re going to be doing, then by all means, enroll them in gymnastics or tee-ball or piano lessons. Yet, I think children come to depend upon being entertained, and they forget how to exist by themselves happily. Many adults cannot stand to be alone. They’ll leave the tv on, or music, anything to avoid a quiet house. So be alert and try to instill a sense of quiet into your child’s life.

The preschool years are magical. They shape your child’s personality, character, and interests. Don’t take them for granted.

Another Math Game

Found here.

Deck of cards : remove jacks, queens, kings, jokers.

Each player gets 10 cards.

Each player removes the cards that add up to 10.
I.e. has a 2 3 5 7 9 1 2 6 6 8 would remove 2 8, 3 7, 9 1 (puts them in pile in front), and be left with 2 6 5 6

This player would then ask the player on the left if they have a card. For instance in this case.. a 4 (because 6 + 4 = 10)

If player on left does not have card, the person asking picks up from the middle one card.

The aim of the game is to get rid of all 10 cards held in the hand.

Good way to reinforce adding to 10, and can easily to changed to doing 8's or 11's or whatever. Do addition, subtraction etc.

Playing "war" helps with math skills

The concept is found here.

The basic concept is simple.

Deck of cards.. remove all jacks, queens and kings.

One deck per player.

Simple number knowing: Play war : high card wins

Play addition/multiplication war: turn up two cards, multiply, high answer wins

Can also do for subtraction.. and make it so low card wins or whatever desired.

Quick way to reinforce math skills in a fun way.