Our Homeschool Week: March 8 - 13

One of my favorite things about homeschooling is how daily life provides opportunities to learn. I’m always seeking to teach practical skills and to show my kids the applications for math and other skills. For people young and old, it's a lot easier to be interested and care about learning something, if we understand how we might need to use that skill. I find the easiest way to weave in this kind of practice is by looking for those moments in our own lives.

For example, this Saturday, I wanted to order some compost. My son helped me measure out the garden beds, multiplied the length and widths of each bed and totaled the area of garden. He also helped us to pull out invasive blackberry canes. He liked getting to use big shears and it was a good lesson in safety. My daughter helped me repot some plants - mostly she watered them, but that was exciting for her. My son was looking for something else to do so I gave him a board and some nails and he practiced hammering - he has this kid-sized tool set. He was VERY careful which was amazing to see. Growing food, building things, and cooking food are all such amazing opportunities for children to learn skills that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.

Read on to hear more about last week's activities, reading, and other homeschool fun.

Magical Moments

We met friends for a playdate at the park. It was so heartwarming to see my kids exploring with new friends. As I saw them running far away from us down the hill, oddly enough, what I felt was a sense of fulfillment. For kids of this generation, there are so few moments where they get to practice independence and have real autonomy. I really hope to be able to provide this for my children so when I see them stretching their wings and being free, it makes me really happy.

Exploring

Light Table Play - My daughter was restless one morning so I pulled out this little light table for some sensory playtime. Both kids enjoyed playing with combining colors. I love this kind of science and art play because they really develop an intuitive understanding of the concepts on their own. My son could be heard chanting “red, red, can I make red?” My daughter “Oh you put these together and it’s purple!”

Podcasts:

We enjoyed listening to some history podcasts that are new to us. These were:

• History Storytime Podcast: Paleolithic Stone Age & Animals in History: The Horse

• Forever Ago: Cameras from Pinholes to Perfect Selfies

Reading

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Finished:

• Chandra's Magic Light by Theresa Heine - A moving story about a family that is trying to get a solar light for their home.

• One Day, The End by Rebecca Kai Dotlich - A fun and quick read that had my kids and I telling a lot of silly short stories to each other.

• Good Rosie by Kate DiCamillo- A short and sweet story that manages to entertain toddlers and bigger kids with lessons about friendship.

Still Reading:

• Chickenology by Barbara Sandri, Francesco Giubbilini, and Camilla Pintonato - This book is amazing. Chicken enthusiasts young and old will learn something new about these surprisingly fascinating birds.

• Curiousity Chronicles: Stone Age and Mesopotamia

• When on Earth: History as You've Never Seen It Before! by DK

Evening Read Aloud:

Kane Chronicles: Serpents Shadow by Rick Riordan

Read to Self:

• Highlights Magazine

• A Pizza the Size of the Sun by Jack Prelutsky

Playing

• Pizza Party

• Connect Four

Making

Minecraft - My son was very proud of an elaborate Minecraft build he did. I try very hard to listen but it's a bit lost on me since I don't play much myself. I can tell he worked very hard on it though.

Nature Weaving - We made a frame for weaving. My son really struggled with the knots. I think this activity has potential but it was a bit tricky for my kid still.

Practicing (Math & Literacy)

Times Tables - We spent time drilling and discussing the patterns of multiplication, starting with the twos and threes times tables. This may sound dry here, but it’s not for my kid. He seems to enjoy discussing math like it’s a fun puzzle to solve. We discussed different ways to make the same numbers. He noticed the pattern that when you add 9+9 there are two 9s. We also talked about why some numbers are shared between the two and three times tables since 3x3x2 can turn into (3x3) x 2 = 9x2 or (3x2) x3 = 6x3 and the answer is still 18. We squeeze conversations like this in to moments when my kid is bored and waiting. Like when I’m finishing up making dinner or when we are driving to his Tae Kwon Do class.

Typing - We tried out some typing practice using Education.com. I’m still figuring out what works for my kid here. He needs the right amount of structure and fun. We’ve been trying to gently help him build his frustration tolerance for when things are hard like this. He has gotten so much better about tolerating small imperfections in his handwriting but I see some of those struggles resurfacing when typing.

Backwards Writing - A fun poem inspired us to write words spelling them backwards. This one activity managed to combine handwriting, spelling, AND reading skills all in one!

Spelling - My son was trying to spell out a LOT of words in Minecraft one day. I love when we stumble on these learning moments through something fun he's doing on his own.

Discovery Journal - My son copied out his favorite fact from our reading about chickens. He was not in a great mood with the handwriting part today though and had trouble staying focused even though he selected the task and the fact. He was excited to do his drawing to go along with the fact though. In the end, despite some frustration he was proud of his writing. He LOVES looking back through his discovery journal.

Math Stories - We drew out math story problems for eachother to solve. This is a great way to approach story problems!

Thanks for reading about our homeschool week! I hope you found something interesting to read or explore with your children.

If our hands-on play-based homeschooling approach appeals to you, be sure to check out the curriculum in my store. It’s based on our daily homeschool experience with activities road-tested by my kids and their friends. We research and vet our studies thoroughly to ensure the science is accurate and all resources reflect values of environmental stewardship and social justice.

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