5th Grade Math

Is it just me or has Christmas time come fast this year? Seems like the new school year just started and now we are already half through it. Speaking of schooling,  I am sure by now, you have realized that 5^th grade math, is much harder than 4^th grade math. The good news is, thankfully, there are tons of printable math worksheets, how-to videos, and math games that can help you teach and help your child learn. One of our favorite resources is a free game called “MatchItAlgebraic Terms”. It really helped my daughter learn those terms! ;)

     I hope everyone has a Happy Holiday & a Happy New Year!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I don’t think I mentioned it yet, but fall is definitely one of my favorite seasons. I love feeling the weather cool down and seeing all of those leaves start to change. Plus, I love Thanksgiving! Since, my kids were little I have always managed to incorporate this holiday into our homeschool lessons, even in Pre-K.  As always, we read about the first Thanksgiving and I always print out some themed printable worksheets for my child to do. However, my favorite part of this time of year is teaching my daughter home-ec. The older she gets the more she gets to help and learn. I mean what better day than Thanksgiving, to teach your child how to cook. I think learning how to cook is an important skill for your child to learn. Plus, one day you will be older and they will be the ones making that yummy Thanksgiving feast. You will want them to be able to make it taste good ;)

Halloween ideas to add to your Homeschool lessons

Halloween is a time for spooky things and lots of candy! So, why not mix those two things into your homeschool lessons. How? I always like to use this month to learn about the human anatomy. The skeletal system is my favorite for obvious reasons. Each year, I go a bit more advanced, in the different bones and the proper names. Of course, you can be creative with what you add to this. You can do some themed crafts, anatomy games, etc.

Another thing, which you can do for October, is learning how to make candy. It is not only educational & fun, but yummy too! There are so many recipes available to you on the internet and even some that may be too scary looking to eat!

Teaching Typing

Since we are living in the age of computers, I think learning the skill of typing is important. Besides the need to be able to type for school/college, one day when your kids grow up and are in the work place, they may need to type for their job.  Now, I know most of us can do the “one finger peck”((LOL)), but in most jobs, that will not be sufficient enough to finish a typing project in a reasonable amount of time. Learning the proper way to type, will definitely help to be able to increase ones speed, and reduce any typing errors.  So, you may be wondering, how do you teach this?  Besides showing your children how to type, or creating paragraphs for them to practice with, there are some awesome free resources that can help. There are free typing speed test that will time your child, while keeping track of their errors, as well as some free typing games that they can do. This really is a great age to start teaching your kids this valuable skill. Even if they never use it in their professional career, it will certainly serve a purpose when they are writing essays for school/college, or blogs for fun! ;)

Back to HomeSchool Time Again!

Whether you are new to homeschooling or not, this is the time of year when all of us are busy getting ready for the "official" new school year that is about to begin.

Even though, I consider myself a year-round homeschooler, I still have, to prepare as well. While others may be shopping for new curriculum to purchase, I too am going over what we use in our schooling, making any adjustments if needed.

We love our core curriculum that we use, and luckily have not found a reason to change it in years, but that doesn’t mean I don’t still love to browse the internet for anything new I can add to it. There are just so many free printables on the internet. Plus, I just love a good unit study! I also consider this time of year my “Spring Cleaning” for everything homeschool related. I go through everything, my book case, storage compartments, etc. I clean out anything I do not need, file last year’s work, and make a shopping list of what schooling supplies I will need for the following year. I do all my shopping for my supplies during this time of year for the savings. I just love our tax free weekend!

Summer Reading

There is nothing better to do on a hot, lazy, summer day then to relax with a good book. I have always loved to read and my fifth grader is no different. Ever since she learned how to read, you will now always find her with a book. As you can imagine, she had acquired quite a big library of books; on her bookshelf and on her Kindle. This past summer, some of her favorite books that she has been reading are books by homeschoolers. Currently, she is in the middle of the book called, “Friends With Boys by Faith Erin Hicks” (:

Summer School

Summer is here and just like public/private schools, for many homeschoolers, this is the time of year that they also take time off from their day to day studies. However, for “year-rounders” like me, we choose to continue lessons throughout the summer. Does this mean we never take a vacation?! No, we do. We just take our vacation time, throughout the year, when we choose to.

If you're interested in homeschooling during the summer. There are some fun online summer school programs available to use. Not wanting to jump on the “year-rounders” band wagon yet, but still would like something educational for your kiddos to do over the summer? You can always create a reading list for your child to complete over the summer or have them do some free learning games on the internet. 

A summer themed  unit study is always easy to do and fun! You can either buy one already put together or create one your self. Also, don't forget all those fun, sunny, educational field trips you can take to places like the beach, zoo, etc. ;)

The Subject of Music

When we decide that we want to homeschool, we all know that we will need to teach: language, art, math, science, and social studies. However, music is often forgotten.                                                

I suppose that for many of us, we don't look at music as being a subject, or at least one of the basics. Still, there is a lot of value that learning about music and playing an instrument provides to a child.

Growing up myself, I remember how much I enjoyed playing the guitar and recorder. It gave me a unique sense of accomplishment and self-confidence. This is why I knew that when my children were old enough I would include music, as part of our homeschool. If you have never considered including music before or maybe you have, but not sure where to begin, the first step is discussing with your child what instrument they may be interested in playing. Then once you and your child have decided on an instrument the next step is to seek out someone who can provide lessons. If private lessons are not an option for your family,  there are  still so many other options that are available. There are how-to books, videos, computer programs, fun music games, or you can just allow your child to play freely ;)

Easter Time is almost here!

Easter, is one of my favorite holidays; my kids too! No matter how young or old, there is just something about coloring Easter eggs, waiting for Easter morning to come, all the goodies, and of course dressing up in your best to go to church. Plus, there is the fun afternoon with family and friends, Easter egg hunts, and an Easter feast.

Easter of course brings with it fun learning opportunities. There are several ways to incorporate the holiday into your studies. Maybe you would like to teach how to make your own natural dye, so you can make natural Easter eggs this year.  Below is a chart on how to create those colors.

            Natural Easter Egg Dyes

Helmenstine, Ph.D., Anne Marie.  Natural Easter Egg Dyes-Colored Easter Eggs Using Natural Dyes. About.com-Chemistry, 2014. http://chemistry.about.com/od/holidayhowtos/a/eastereggdyes.htm. April 3, 2014.

Color	Ingredients
Lavender	Small Quantity of Purple Grape Juice Violet Blossoms plus 2 tsp Lemon Juice Red Zinger Tea
Violet Blue	Violet Blossoms Small Quantity of Red Onions Skins (boiled) Hibiscus Tea Red Wine
Blue	Canned Blueberries Red Cabbage Leaves (boiled) Purple Grape Juice
Green	Spinach Leaves (boiled) Liquid Chlorophyll
Greenish Yellow	Yellow Delicious Apple Peels (boiled)
Yellow	Orange or Lemon Peels (boiled) Carrot Tops (boiled) Celery Seed (boiled) Ground Cumin (boiled) Ground Turmeric (boiled) Chamomile Tea Green Tea
Golden Brown	Dill Seeds
Brown	Strong Coffee Instant Coffee Black Walnut Shells (boiled) Black Tea
Orange	Yellow Onion Skins (boiled) Cooked Carrots Chili Powder Paprika
Pink	Beets Cranberries or Juice Raspberries Red Grape Juice Juice from Pickled Beets
Red	Lots of Red Onions Skins (boiled) Canned Cherries with Juice Pomegranate Juice Raspberries

Or maybe an in depth look into the origin of Easter is something you rather do. Of course there are always themed Easter word lists, games, and of course fun Easter crafts.

Whatever you decided to do, I hope you have a Happy Easter!

Spring is Here!

It seems like just last week it was still winter... O' wait, it was!
Seriously, though, it is hard to believe that spring is already here. Since it is one of my favorite seasons, minus the allergies, I am delighted.  So, how are we planning to add some "spring" into our homeschool classroom?

                                      A Spring Unit Study of course!

Wondering what a unit study is? Well, don’t worry. They are super easy to do. The hardest part is deciding on a topic. Once you choose your topic, you just combine the different subjects, with the theme in mind. There is no set time line for a unit study. It can be long or short, done over a day or two or several weeks. You can do them alongside your regular curriculum or all by itself, with tons of activities or just a few. That is the fun thing about them, you get to decide.

We will be doing our unit study alongside our regular studies. Some of  the spring inspired activities will be to read,  One and Only Miss Violet Remy, The by Angie Renich, which also has some great spelling games that you can use from SpellingCity.com.
We are also taking a field trip to a butterfly garden. We love them and go every year :)