Again more lesson plans for our Fall 2011-2012 school year...
Apparently, I am stuck on their vocabulary/spelling words and games and trying to incorporate it into all their subjects! But, I cannot help it. There are SO many great websites, games, pages, tidbits out there on the internet that I HAVE to incorporate it for all subjects.
This week, I am working on expanding their Math program to work over into their Vocab/Spelling program with some Math vocabulary words. I think to get a better understanding of Math, it doesn’t hurt to know the words. Kinda like going to the Dr. and he starts throwing Medical terms at you for your ailment.... NO, give it to me in layman's terms please! But, it doesn’t hurt to have a few basic Medical terms so you still can understand what he is saying..... YKWIM?!
So.... I think in terms of schooling, this applies to each subject and you can really expand your program by mixing each subject with Vocab/Spelling!
The homeschool internet is my oyster!LOL Hmmmm, Math this week.... maybe History next week or Science? Stay tuned to see!LOL
Thursday, July 28, 2011
More Lesson Planning...... the 2011-2012 year is approaching.
And yet more lesson plans for our Fall 2011-2012 school year...
I honestly wish my boys would put as much effort into their schooling as Mom puts into their lesson plans!LOL They would be A++++ students!
I am working this week on more vocabulary/spelling word games like word unscrambles. These seem to be one of the better choices for the boys because they do not seem easy and now that the boys are teenagers, it becomes a case of Mom needs to find stuff that is not babyish! UGH
This makes my homeschool chore WAY harder! I do not know if it is just ME or are there other homeschool Moms of teenagers out there that have trouble finding GOOD older educational games, online programs, etc.? I can find TONS, and I mean TONS of stuff geared for 6th grade or less and could be even used for 7-8th graders in a pinch but now that my older son is starting high school..... WOW. My fingers have been busy searching the internet for curriculum that works for ME and for HIM. Luckily I have stumbled onto some great sites and I am really good about saving anything remotely interesting into my favorites folders so that I can easily go back to it if needed. That is my tip to homeschool parents, if you stumble onto or find a site you like or slightly like... SAVE IT. You will be glad you did and regret if you didn’t because trying to remember the name of the site, how you found it, etc. just seems to elude us....... probably because our homeschool Mom brains work overtime with all that we do and accomplish on a daily basis!LOL
You can always go back later and trash it but if it is something you want to check more in depth at a later date....... saving it has kept me sane many a time!
So, where are you on your 2011-2012 Lesson planning for your kids?! Enquiring minds want to know!
I honestly wish my boys would put as much effort into their schooling as Mom puts into their lesson plans!LOL They would be A++++ students!
I am working this week on more vocabulary/spelling word games like word unscrambles. These seem to be one of the better choices for the boys because they do not seem easy and now that the boys are teenagers, it becomes a case of Mom needs to find stuff that is not babyish! UGH
This makes my homeschool chore WAY harder! I do not know if it is just ME or are there other homeschool Moms of teenagers out there that have trouble finding GOOD older educational games, online programs, etc.? I can find TONS, and I mean TONS of stuff geared for 6th grade or less and could be even used for 7-8th graders in a pinch but now that my older son is starting high school..... WOW. My fingers have been busy searching the internet for curriculum that works for ME and for HIM. Luckily I have stumbled onto some great sites and I am really good about saving anything remotely interesting into my favorites folders so that I can easily go back to it if needed. That is my tip to homeschool parents, if you stumble onto or find a site you like or slightly like... SAVE IT. You will be glad you did and regret if you didn’t because trying to remember the name of the site, how you found it, etc. just seems to elude us....... probably because our homeschool Mom brains work overtime with all that we do and accomplish on a daily basis!LOL
You can always go back later and trash it but if it is something you want to check more in depth at a later date....... saving it has kept me sane many a time!
So, where are you on your 2011-2012 Lesson planning for your kids?! Enquiring minds want to know!
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Monet, Manet, or Seurat..... which Artist is which?
When we start back to school in 5-6 weeks, I will have a 9th grader and an 8th grader. This creates a whole new batch of crazy for me to work through as the main homeschooling parent. Basically 2 different curriculums to plan for. I do know that there are several things I want to carry through for both boys so we have some cohesiveness to the day. Art is something we have touched on before here and there but I want to make it a weekly or bi-weekly thing starting this year. High school is where I really got into art, I was in the National Art Honor Society and was always very artistic. Both my boys are very creative in different ways but creative none the less! So, I am checking into art games, online art study programs and some really kid friendly art books that reach out and grab their attention. I do not expect them to know everything about art or to become artists but I do think that they need to have some idea what pointillism is versus graphic art. Or who Monet, Manet or Seurat is and why they are different.
I will let you know how it goes for the year..... And if you, my faithful readers have any input on some great programs for Art.... please let me know!
I will let you know how it goes for the year..... And if you, my faithful readers have any input on some great programs for Art.... please let me know!
Comparing an elephant to a vacuum....
Now that it is Summer break for us..... I am thinking ahead to our 2011-2012 school year while my boys practice not thinking!!LOL It is Summer ya know!
I am working on our Language Arts curriculum and figuring on how to add some analogy study along with similes and metaphors.
Nothing is harder than trying to remember which is which, who is who and what is what. If I compare an elephant to a vacuum.... is it a metaphor, simile or analogy or all 3 or both or none? And the hard part is.... it seems the more 2-3 people start to figure out what it is...the more confused we become!LOL
So, per our usual curriculum.... I am checking into online games. I am looking for mainly analogy games at this time because I know that once I start to really look and play with stuff.... I can easily go off on a tangent because I get sidetracked by all the cool things out there...... ohhhh, the woes of a homeschool Mom.... too many cool choices out there!LOL
So, does anyone know the answer.... when comparing an elephant to a vacuum..... is it a metaphor, an analogy or a simile?
I am working on our Language Arts curriculum and figuring on how to add some analogy study along with similes and metaphors.
Nothing is harder than trying to remember which is which, who is who and what is what. If I compare an elephant to a vacuum.... is it a metaphor, simile or analogy or all 3 or both or none? And the hard part is.... it seems the more 2-3 people start to figure out what it is...the more confused we become!LOL
So, per our usual curriculum.... I am checking into online games. I am looking for mainly analogy games at this time because I know that once I start to really look and play with stuff.... I can easily go off on a tangent because I get sidetracked by all the cool things out there...... ohhhh, the woes of a homeschool Mom.... too many cool choices out there!LOL
So, does anyone know the answer.... when comparing an elephant to a vacuum..... is it a metaphor, an analogy or a simile?
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Lesson Plans...... Part 2!
Well, now that we have explored writing options for Fall 2011 Lesson plans..... I am onto Social Studies. We have covered a lot in the past 3 years but from my standpoint.... history is only exciting if you MAKE it exciting. And most textbooks do not do history justice... in fact they seem to turn a lot of kids and adults off of it. I would prefer that my boys learn a good bit and learn that history is very cool.
I am exploring several homeschool social studies option including social studies games. Over the past 3 years we have used Time 4 Learning and while my younger son still has 1 more year of this... my older son is starting high school and I need to come up with options that work for him.
I have a whole folder on my computer of curriculum options that I have been researching. I have also been talking on my homeschool forums about options, opinions and ideas! Important business contacts!LOL
So..... that is 2 things down, writing and social studies.... many more to go.
Stay tuned for further lesson plan discussion!
I am exploring several homeschool social studies option including social studies games. Over the past 3 years we have used Time 4 Learning and while my younger son still has 1 more year of this... my older son is starting high school and I need to come up with options that work for him.
I have a whole folder on my computer of curriculum options that I have been researching. I have also been talking on my homeschool forums about options, opinions and ideas! Important business contacts!LOL
So..... that is 2 things down, writing and social studies.... many more to go.
Stay tuned for further lesson plan discussion!
Let the Lesson Plans begin...... Part 1
Well, school year has wound up. My oldest son has completed and PASSED his required homeschool standardized State Testing-YIPPEEEE! And now that our Summer Break is in full swing, Mom aka ME is working on the lesson plans for our next school year.
My Mom is in charge of their writing program and has decided that this year she is upping the program a bit in order to better prepare them for high school, college, life, etc! She is researching writing software programs to expand from cursive and workbooks into online programs. There are lots of choices out there and thankfully we have 6+ weeks to figure out which one is the best for us!
Over the past 2 years the boys have really improved their writing just by using their workbooks and practicing cursive via their spelling words on Spelling City but now that they are an upcoming 8th grader and 9th grader....both my Mom and I feel that their writing needs to be stepped up.
I want to know as a homeschooling Mom that I have done everything I could to prepare them completely for the outside world!
So.... let the lesson planning begin! Stay tuned for further adventures!
My Mom is in charge of their writing program and has decided that this year she is upping the program a bit in order to better prepare them for high school, college, life, etc! She is researching writing software programs to expand from cursive and workbooks into online programs. There are lots of choices out there and thankfully we have 6+ weeks to figure out which one is the best for us!
Over the past 2 years the boys have really improved their writing just by using their workbooks and practicing cursive via their spelling words on Spelling City but now that they are an upcoming 8th grader and 9th grader....both my Mom and I feel that their writing needs to be stepped up.
I want to know as a homeschooling Mom that I have done everything I could to prepare them completely for the outside world!
So.... let the lesson planning begin! Stay tuned for further adventures!
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