The Story of the World Timeline-Homeschooling History

 

STORY OF THE WORLD

 

 

Love this HISTORY curriculum!

The stories are a mix of fiction and non-fiction and my 12 year old daughter really enjoyed it. I think it is perfect for ages 10-13 or grades 5-8th.

She would use the corresponding activity worksheets after reading each chapter to reinforce what she read. The worksheets are sometimes just plain coloring papers and then there were map pages which are very useful and educational. The activity book gives you a list of activities to do to each map, for instance to circle a city, draw a river or shade in a area that is important. She then would glue or tape her finished sheets on a timeline. ( I used a roll of art paper) I would draw on some straight lines using a ruler for her to copy some statements about the chapter ( some great ideas in the activity book).  Also she'd use the internet to find some pictures to print as well. This made for a GREAT history lesson and she looked forward to it everyday.

 

Colorful River

Make a colorful river using sidewalk chalk and water lightly running from your garden hose. The kids enjoy watching the colors mix and make a beautiful mural on the driveway.

Kadinsky Heart Tree

Kandinsky is perhaps most famous for his abstract circle paintings. I combined this idea with Valentine's Day. Using oil pastels which I absolutely love -these are the adult version of crayons; I just added rings of heart shapes (instead of circles). This is very calming activity for all ages. You end up with a nice vibrant piece of artwork. Kids will enjoy blending the colors together around the perimeter of the hearts.

Great Online Homeschool Website-Time4Learning

I am very impressed with Time4Learning online educational curriculum. You can find the site here:  Time4Learning

Time 4 Learning is a technology based program that teaches preschool through 8th grade using a combination of animated lessons, interactive activities and reinforcing worksheets.
It has made teaching and learning much more fun for my children. There are times when my 11 year old is giggling at the animated video clips while she is learning new concepts. The vocabulary videos are outstanding!
 I believe one of most difficult things in homeschooling is keeping organized as well as making sure we aren't missing anything. It really makes life easier while being very affordable. For a low monthly fee, you have access to Language Arts, Phonics, Grammar, Science, Social Studies and Math. (Science and Social Studies are available in 1st and 2nd grades respectively).Your child's progress is recorded immediately. As a parent you can view your child's progress in the reports section and observe the subject that may need a little more attention.
Another great aspect to this curriculum is the fact that kids can move at their own pace. Your child can move along to the next grade level as he/she advances.
My children really benefit from the various learning tools this curriculum provides.

I've been invited to try Time4Learning for one month in exchange for a candid review. My opinion will be entirely my own, so be sure to come back and read about my experience. Time4Learning is an online educational program that can be used in many ways including as a homeschooling curriculum or afterschool tutorial. Find out how to write your own curriculum review for Time4Learning.

Work From Home-Solavei

Hi all you stay at home moms! This is a great opportunity to work from home. All you need to do is the same thing you do everyday with posting on Facebook or Twitter.  A NEW social commerce business ready to launch in September 2012. If you like more information on how you can make your life better and help many others please send me a email at solaveidreams@nc.rr.com to get an invitation to become part of the pre-launch elite group called The Lane. You can view a the vision webinar and be inspired by the founders of this amazing company. Don’t miss out! No commitment required. No contracts!

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/solavei-introduces-the-first-social-commerce-network-for-mobile-services-distribution-2012-07-26

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Solavei-Dreams/125450097599010

Word Bubbles-High Frequency Words for First Grade

I had some large bubble wrap and wrote on the flat part of the bubbles some of my son's first grade high frequency words (sight words). He loves to pop those bubbles! His reward for correctly reading each word is to pop the bubble. :) Simple yet very effective!

I had some metallic permanent colored markers to make the display more colorful.

Color Matching with Art

I printed out these art cards through http:///www.montessoriforeveryone.com
and laminated them. I also used some paint samples that I've collected from various home stores. You can have a matching game with just the printed pictures or search for a particular color using the paint sample cards. You can then extend the activity to providing some art history. :)

Sensory Activity-Grinding Coffee Beans

My kids love the aroma of fresh whole coffee beans so I came up with idea of purchasing an old vintage coffee grinder for them to use. I really think the grinding is a great sensory activity providing some exercise for the upper body by using some good old "muscles" and coordination and the aroma of the beans provide a sense of comfort and a refreshing feeling. Holding the knob correctly helps with those fine motor skills.

Montessori Quote

“Little children, from the moment they are weaned, are making their way toward independence.”
- Maria Montessori

Arsenic in Apple Juice?

Really! As a stay-at-home homeschool mom I'm appalled at reading about this latest information regarding possible arsenic in apple juice..with a specific brand such as Motts Apple Juice.
Please see link below of the facts:

There's Arsenic in Apple Juice

I really can't imagine the health effects from long term consumption of apple juice especially for the growing bodies of toddlers and children. Please research more and stay up to date on the latest findings.

A great show on Dr. Oz and he has reports also:

Dr. Oz reports

Butterfly Spring

Well as this spring is well over and summer is full force I thought I'd finally get around to posting about our annual butterfly project. Every year our kids look forward to receiving caterpillar larvae from Insect Lore to watch them become full grown caterpillars then change to the pupa form (chrysallis) and become a beautiful monarch butterfly.
I love to supplement this hands on activity with a great classic book like The Very Hungry Caterpillar 
by Eric Carle. I also love to provide worksheets on labeling the body parts of the caterpillar as well as the buttefly.  This is a great activity from ages 3 and up! You can go more in depth with older children. They can do a science project (observing) along with this activity.

Natural Sea Sponge Painting

Materials: Natural Sea Sponge, Watercolor paper, Watercolor paint

Use natural sea sponge to make these fall or spring trees!

Quote-Maria Montessori

“Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed.” - Maria Montessori

Summer Activity- Ice Block full of toys

A great idea for a hot summer day! Take a large plastic bowl and fill with small toys and water. Let freeze overnight and dump out the block of ice on your driveway or porch. You can let those little curious fingers chisel the ice with their plastic tools to search for their treasures. Another idea would be to let the children poor water over the ice to see the ice become smooth and glossy.

Colored Water Fun

What an easy and fun activity for preschool and Kindergarten aged children. You just need 4 glasses of water, food coloring, dropper and some paper/crayons to extend your activity to a mixing color lesson.

Botany

Here is a great link to have a botany scavenger hunt, keeping in the theme of discovering botany and investigating nature! Spring is an awesome opportunity to introduce this.

Botany Scavenger Hunt

Dissecting a Flower

Dissection of an Iris

This is a wonderful activity for spring! Walking into the local grocery store I became overwhelmed with the beauty of the colors in the floral department. I decided I could not pass by this colorful display without purchasing a bundle of flowers. I realized I could enjoy these blooms and also create a lesson in botany for my kids. I found some wonderful worksheets on Enchanted Learning. I printed a flower anatomy chart and a label the flower worksheet for my 9 year old to use as reference.

She carefully pulled apart the flower with tweezers or her fingers and placed them onto a prelabeled paper provided for her, using the flower part diagram as reference.

The only tools I provided her with were some tweezers, tape, scissors and magniflying glass. She neatly taped the flower parts onto a large white piece of paper. The completed project looks like a piece of art!

Importance of Art Education

Wright's Stained Glass Art Activity

Stained Glass Art Activity

Materials: Self Adhesive Laminating Sheets (or contact paper), variety colors of tissue paper, scissors, black permanent marker

Instructions:

Cut out tissue paper into geometric shapes. Then cut one sheet of self adhesive laminating sheets in half (before removing backing) then I removed one backing on one half and laid out the different shapes into a unique pattern on the sticky side. Then I removed the backing of the other sheet and attached it (careful not to create bubbles) to the other sheet, enclosing the shapes within the clear sheets. Lastly, outline the shapes with the black permanent marker. Your faux stained glass sheet is ready to hang on a window with some transparent tape!

This art activity is based on Frank Lloyd Wright's famous stained glass. See samples of his work down below.

Montessori Penny Polishing Activity/ Dollar Bill Lesson

Montessori Practical Life and Science Experiment

Penny Polishing

President’s Day is a great time to introduce the Presidents to young children in a way that is sparks their curiosity. This hands-on experiment is wonderful for their development of a child’s fine motor skills. The photo shows the Montessori inspired experiment pennies, lemon juice, dropper, 1/8 teaspoon measuring spoon, salt and a cloth for polishing.

You can present this to the child by placing one penny in an empty flat dish and then spoon 1/8 teaspoon of salt onto the surface of the penny. Then squeeze 2 drops of lemon juice on top of the salt. The acidity of the lemon juice combined with the abrasiveness of the salt will naturally clean the penny’s surface. Then, using the cloth, show the child how to wipe off the polish.

This is a great Montessori practical life and science experiment. Have a good supply of pennies because young children will enjoy repeating this activity over and over again.

For the “Dollar Bill Activity,” you just need a tray containing a dollar bill and a magnifying glass. Have a small bowl with a penny, nickel, dime, quarter, and half dollar. Your child can study

the money with a magnifying glass and you can discuss which President's are on the currency.