Buying Gifts for Homeschool Families

Homeschooling is growing every year and the odds are increasing YOU know someone who homeschools! Let me help you select a gift they'll really appreciate.

1) Memberships! It is so wonderful to know you can go enjoy a special location in your area whenever you want. Most museums have standing installations but they also have special traveling
exhibits there for a limited time that homeschoolers love to take advantage of. In our city we have art, history, science, children's museums, and more. So museums that host exhibits are a great gift membership. Zoos and gardens are good too because they change over time. For example, we have a Japanese and a Chinese garden on our city and a state garden that features indigenous plants. But even places that don't change can be fun every once in awhile and a gift card for one-time admission can be a nice present, too. So, check into your local options or ask your homeschoolers what attractions they love.

2) Related to memberships is season passes. Many areas have arts programs that offer season passes - symphonies, children's theaters, ballets, etc.. So passes are great, or a gift cards for one performance is nice as well. Many more grown-up shows offer special performances for kids.



3) Subscriptions. This is a huge and growing category! I'm going to break it into subcategories:

• Websites. Homeschoolers use a lot of online resources! We love to show educational films and movies. So video websites subscriptions are welcome, like Netflix and Amazon Prime. Learning websites like ABCMouse, Clever Dragons (for boys), & Always Ice Cream (for girls) are popular as well.
• Magazines. There are magazines for adult home educators like Practical Homeschooling & Homeschooling Today, full of ideas, resources, and encouragement. I personally subscribe to a number of kids' magazines because I like to keep them in the car. I only let the kids read them there, so I think it helps keep them fresh so the kids enjoy reading them. Plus I feel like having something good to read in the car makes up a bit for time spent on the way to lessons or errands. Audio books are good for the car, too.
• Kits & lessons. People send a box to your home,
  
  usually once per month, with a new kit or lesson inside. These are a lot of fun because what kid doesn't love to get mail? I have personally used and like Little Passports, a geography lesson subscription. They come with website codes for each country too, to expand the lesson. I found some others that look promising like Young Scientists Club, Animal Trackers Club & Space Scouts. I'd love your feedback on those! Here's another place to look http://www.findsubscriptionboxes.com/, or you can just do a web search.

4) Outlets for physical play. Consistent physical activity can sometimes be a challenge for homeschooling families, especially in areas that have long stretches of bad weather. An option for helping with this can be rec center or YMCA family memberships! Our local rec center offers other types of classes too, like dance, art, cooking and more. So gift cards for rec centers are very useful.

Other places for exercise include skating rinks, bouncy house centers, trampoline centers, and bowling centers. Many offer both single and package admissions.

5) Babysitting. The parent that does most of the homeschool instruction (usually the mom) often has little time away from home. We get creative for carving out time for ourselves, but time out is a special blessing and since most homeschool families are in single-income homes, they sometimes put time out together in the luxury category. A good way to make sure your homeschool couple will use this option is to offer them a specific time (one that works for you both) not just say "I'll babysit for you." They will be a lot more likely to take you up on your offer.

6) A Rainbow Resources card. Every homeschooler can find something they want or need at Rainbow Resources!

7) Supplies. Homeschoolers use their printer A LOT and ink is expensive. If you know what kind of printer they have, you can buy ink or you can give them a gift card for office supplies. We use a lot of printer paper and of course all the other things kids use in school.




8) Science kits. Science is one of the more challenging subjects to teach, especially the hands-on experiments and demonstrations. Pre-made kits can be great for a quick activity or for rounding out a
science lesson. You can subscribe to kits (see #3) or just buy a few and give them either all at once or over time. That would be a great way to correspond with a grandchild - sending kits and then asking how it went and what the kids learned!

I hope this list is helpful and blesses you and the homeschoolers you love!

Updated 3/24/2020.

Thanksgiving Resources

Hi Homeschoolers! I am so thankful I am able to homeschool and I pray I am always able. That brings me to today's post - I'd like to make it a repository for all the cool resources I find related to Thanksgiving. I hope it will continue to grow over the years. So let's get started:

1) This is the proclamation in 1863 that became the basis for a Thanksgiving national holiday on the fourth Thursday in November. I like the background and context of it. The fact that the people felt a need to show their thanks even in the face of war is inspiring.

2) Here is a link to an episode of This is America Charlie Brown called The Mayflower Voyagers. It features the peanuts gang in the roles of children on the historic voyage and discusses their journey and the first Thanksgiving. I like they way it draws kids into the story, talking about how the children played an important role when the adults suffered illness.

3) This segment of Drive Thru History discusses the Mayflower Compact, considered a foundational document of our representative US government. And here is the text of the compact.

4)  This film made by New Dimension Media was well done, in my opinion. I like how we got some more insight into the lives of the Native Americans involved with the Pilgrims.

5) As a kid I always wondered why was that horn thing called a cornucopia? I think this Wikipedia page gives a concise and helpful discussion of it. And here are some pictures of horns of plenty to color.

6) These Thanksgiving poems would make nice copywork or cute entertainment at dinner when recited by the little ones. I like number nine.

7) I found this cute Thanksgiving-dinner-themed logic game where you have to arrange the guests around the table according to what (or whom!) they like or don't like. I just had to play it. It was fun and was a bit of a mental workout. See if you and your family can beat my score of 11,000!

8) We watched Monumental today and it was so good. I enjoyed the in-depth look at who the Pilgrims were and what motivated them. The number of obstacles they faced was daunting, even before they left for America. Most of their story in the film is before they landed here, which is something I don't think I've ever seen before. I also enjoyed the discussion of the monument in Plymouth about "the matrix of liberty." The role of faith in our country's history is such an integral and fascinating subject and the fact that the our forefathers felt it needed to be foundational is reason enough to look at it, IMHO.


That's it for now. May your Thanksgiving be full of many blessings to count!

Updated 3/24/2020.

A Good Film About the Outer Planets of Our Solar System

Today we added this film about the outer planets of our solar system to our work for the day. We
really enjoyed it. The kids were excited to see Van Allen interviewed in the film. My daughter (8) was very inspired by the segment on Saturn - she developed a theory about gaps in Saturn's ring and she drew a picture of Saturn. She asked to use some of our school books to study it more! The film aired in 1999 and mentioned hoping for results soon from the Cassini mission.

Updated 3/24/2020.

The Time Warp Trio Website

Today I discovered a nice history resource. It is the website for the show called Time Warp Trio.
Here's a quote:

The TIME WARP TRIO television series offers a wonderful opportunity to get kids excited about history. Its lively humor and irreverent attitude combine to make the programs refreshing and appealing, while providing solid historical facts. Based on the widely popular book series by Jon Scieszka, the television series will attract readers and non-readers alike.

To help you use the show in the classroom, we offer lesson plans, books and links, and other educational tools.

They have advice about teaching history and lists of books and links for each time period. So even if you don't want to watch the show, you might find another resource for your family.

• Here's the website: http://www.timewarptrio.com/teachers-parents/ 

• I have found many episodes on YouTube! Here is a playlist of them to get you started: 

• You can find the books here.

Updated 3/24/2020.

New Dimension Media Educational Films on Amazon

Updated on 3/24/2020.

Homeschoolers have discovered a line of educational films is being offered on Amazon Prime for FREE right now. They are from a publisher called New Dimension Media (NDM). This quote about NDM is from their website:

Providing Premier Media Content to K-12 Schools for Over 30 Years

Founded in 1978, New Dimension Media, a division of Questar, Inc., is the premier producer and distributor of original core curriculum media content created for K-12 classrooms. NDM programs have won over 100 of the industry's most prestigious honors, including the CINE Golden Eagle and the Golden Apple. NDM content is used in over 100,000 schools around the country. 

The problem is Amazon makes it hard to find NDM films that are relevant to our homeschool curricula, plus it doesn't offer information like subject or grade level. And the NDM website seems to just list DVDs schools can buy. So, I have started compiling a database of the NDM Amazon films for your convenience! The database contains:

Film Title - The title of the film. Some titles though don't convey what the film is about, so in those cases I have inserted more information in parentheses.

Subject - I made up these subject categories. There is History and American History. These subjects include biographies. Geography includes countries and their cultures. Modern Studies includes politics, careers, economics (unless they seemed more mathish) and issues teens face (like drunk driving, cutting, etc.).

Suggested Grade Level Range - This information comes from the NDM website. If a film does not have a range listed, I did not find it at their website. I used zero for kindergarten so the columns would sort correctly.

Link - This is a direct link to the film on Amazon. You have to click the first cell that contains the link (in column D).

I am still working on this database, but I wanted to share what I have already. It is in the form of a Google Spreadsheet and can be found here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PG2KL9CqqyiKBtx53d-eSX47ZkP284WCIBcYyJtPgkA/edit?usp=sharing

I can't vouch for the content of the videos. So, I suggest we leave reviews for other educators when we watch the films since many of them have too few or no reviews.

I hope my database is a blessing to your family! Please let me know if you find any errors.

Update 11/18/2014: This database is now finished. Enjoy! 

Update 12/5/2015: It has come to me attention that some of these are no longer part of Prime free instant streaming. I know Netflix rotates what it has on instant, so maybe the ones not on Prime right now will be again in a few months. I'm sorry for the inconvenience.

Read-Alouds for Younger Children

Updated 3/24/2020.

This list is courtesy of Powell's Books in Portland, OR.

But I have it here with convenient Amazon links. I like using Amazon because I'm a Prime member and get free shipping on many things. I have marked the ones I have read with @ and the ones I have read AND like with *. If any of these books are favorites, I marked those with #.
 

The Mouse and The Motorcycle
by Beverly Cleary
In this imaginative adventure from Newbery Medal-winning author Beverly Cleary, a young mouse named Ralph is thrown into a world of excitement when a boy and his shiny toy motorcycle check into the Mountain View Inn.

Kenny & The Dragon
by Tony DiTerlizzi
Kenny is a little rabbit with a very big problem. His two best friends are heading into a battle of legendary proportions—with each other! In one corner there’s Graeme, a well-read and cultured dragon with sophisticated tastes. In the other there’s George, a retired knight and dragon slayer who would be content to spend the rest of his days in his bookshop. Neither really wants to fight, but the village townsfolk are set on removing Graeme from their midst and calling George out of retirement. Can Kenny avert disaster?

Moomins Series
by Tove Jansson
The are a family of trolls who are white, round and smooth in appearance, with large snouts that make them vaguely resemble hippopotamuses.

Little House in the Big Woods
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The book that started it all! Little House in the Big Woods is the first book in Laura Ingalls Wilder's treasured Little House series, which was based on her life growing up as an American pioneer.

Betsy-Tacy
by Maud Hart Lovelace
There are lots of children on Hill Street, but no little girls Betsy's age. So when a new family moves into the house across the street, Betsy hopes they will have a little girl she can play with. Sure enough, they do—a little girl named Tacy. And from the moment they meet at Betsy's fifth birthday party, Betsy and Tacy becoms such good friends that everyone starts to think of them as one person—Betsy-Tacy.

The Borrowers
by Mary Norton
The Borrowers—the Clock family: Homily, Pod, and their fourteen-year-old daughter, Arrietty, to be precise—are tiny people who live underneath the kitchen floor of an old English country manor. All their minuscule home furnishings, from postage stamp paintings to champagne cork chairs, are “borrowed” from the “human beans” who tromp around loudly above them. All is well until Pod is spotted upstairs by a human boy! Can the Clocks stay nested safely in their beloved hidden home, or will they be forced to flee?

Mrs. Piggle Wiggle
by Betty McDonald
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle lives in an upside-down house ans smells like cookies. She was even married to a pirate once. Most of all, she knows everything about children. She can cure them of any ailment. Patsy hates baths. Hubert never puts anything away. Allen eats v-e-r-y slowly. Mrs Piggle-Wiggle has a treatment for all of them.

Winnie-the-Pooh
by A.A. Milne
For nearly seventy years, readers have been delighted by the adventures of Christopher Robin and his lovable friends.

*My Father's Dragon
by Ruth Stiles Gannett
My Father's Dragon is a children's novel by Ruth Stiles Gannett about a young boy, Elmer Elevator, who runs away to Wild Island to rescue a baby dragon.

*Pippi Longstocking
by Astrid Lindgren
Tommy and his sister Annika have a new neighbor, and her name is Pippi Longstocking. She has crazy red pigtails, no parents to tell her what to do, a horse that lives on her porch, and a flair for the outrageous that seems to lead to one adventure after another!

Mary Poppins
by P.L. Travers
From the moment Mary Poppins arrives at Number Seventeen Cherry-Tree Lane, everyday life at the Banks house is forever changed. It all starts when Mary Poppins is blown by the east wind onto the doorstep of the Banks house. She becomes a most unusual nanny to Jane, Michael, and the twins. Who else but Mary Poppins can slide up banisters, pull an entire armchair out of an empty carpetbag, and make a dose of medicine taste like delicious lime-juice cordial? A day with Mary Poppins is a day of magic and make-believe come to life!

Wind in the Willows
by  Kenneth Grahame
For more than a century, The Wind in the Willows and its endearing protagonists--Mole, Mr. Toad, Badger, and Ratty--have enchanted children of all ages. Whether the four friends are setting forth on an exciting adventure, engaging in a comic caper, or simply relaxing by the River Thames, their stories are among the most charming in all English literature.

*Catwings
by Ursula K. LeGuin
Mrs. Jane Tabby can't explain why her four precious kittens were born with wings, but she's grateful that they are able to use their flying skills to soar away from the dangerous city slums where they were born. However, once the kittens escape the big city, they learn that country life can be just as difficult!

Puberty Film

This film called Your Body During Adolescence is refreshingly simple, while still being helpful and thorough.

Updated 3/25/2020.

Video-Based, Online Writing Program

 

When I was at my local homeschool convention this June, I ran across the booth for Here to Help Learning. I met the founder and listened to her description of the program. I was pleased with the approach and the price. I have started using the program with my two learners. I am using both levels of the program - mastering paragraphs and mastering essays. So far, we have really been enjoying it!

It is a two-day-per-week program. On the first day, you watch the videos and do a little writing. The other day of the week, kids do an assignment (like homework).

I feel like I know what good writing looks like, but explaining it without a curriculum was daunting for me. I was also concerned about introducing literary concepts without structure or guidance. So, I knew I needed help, but my kids (especially my son) HATED everything I tried. This program has been more palatable to him. He likes how it is broken into digestible chunks. My younger daughter loves the fun videos and the doggie mascot.

The program is Christian, but the focus is definitely the writing! I had never encountered a video-based writing program before and I thought perhaps you had not either. I hope this post proves helpful to you. Enjoy!



Updated 3/24/2020.

Fall Travel

One of the best things about schooling on your own schedule is being able to take advantage of off-season prices and events! So many destinations offer lower prices, shorter lines, and better weather than you will find in the Summer. Plus, many schools are not doing field trips this early in the year. Here are some ideas for taking advantage of this great time of year to get out there and see things!

A growing number of parks and venues offer special days just for homeschool students. I encourage you to search for days like that for you favorite attractions. But here is a list to get you started:

• Homeschool Days at Conner Prairie Interactive History Park (IN)
• Homeschool Day at Disneyland (CA)
• Homeschool Day at the Biltmore Estate (NC)
• Homeschool Days at The High Museum of Art Atlanta (GA)
• Homeschool Page at The National Museum of the U.S. Airforce (OH)
• Homeschool Day at Space Center Houston (TX)
• Homeschool Days at Mount Vernon (VA)
• Homeschool Programs at the Oregon Coast Aquarium (OR)
• Homeschool Days at Legoland Florida (FL)

I hope you find something in your area that interests you. Enjoy your kids and this time you have together.

Updated 3/25/2020.

A World Reborn by New Dimensions Media

Theodore Rabb

Hi, All! We watched this 30 min. film today. It is currently FREE for Amazon Prime members (and on YouTube -see below). My kids are 8 & 11. I found it to be a good and quick overview of the Renaissance. It wasn't too biased in any one direction and there weren't bloody re-enactments of war. It was mostly illustrated by paintings. The historian narrating (Theodore Rabb) assumed familiarity with some things, like who were Luther and Copernicus, so I had to stop a few times and give just a little background information, but those stops would be a great jumping-off points for more in-depth study! I suggest watching it with your kids to see where they have interest or questions and then finding books or films to facilitate discussion. Enjoy!

I have found it on YouTube as well. It is broken into pieces, but there is an additional short introduction that wasn't in the Amazon version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9G91J2-F8o

Updated on 3/25/2020.

Facebook Woes

Hi, Homeschoolers. I have a confession - I have been discouraged. Right after I started this blog and its sister Facebook page, Facebook stopped showing most posts from pages to the people who had liked the page. Views went down to 5% of likers! Facebook started asking for pages to PAY to let their posts appear on the newsfeeds of likers! I got very discouraged. I can't afford to pay for all my posts to be put on your newsfeeds. So, I kind of stopped the blog.

But then I realized two things: 1) I still have stuff I WANT to share, even if only a few people see it. And 2) blogs did exist and flourish before Facebook. So please forgive me my panic attack and please subscribe via e-mail if you want to make sure you see new posts.

3/25/2020 - This is still true.

- The Homeschooler's Helper

Studying Neil Armstrong

We have been using Sonlight's science curriculum in which DK's Eye Wonder: Space is a resource. Space is a huge and fun topic, so I decided to take a few detours. One of the tangents we are on is the life of Neil Armstrong.

We started with an excellent little biography called Who Was Neil Armstrong? It had a lot about the man of course, but a lot about the space program, and the history of the US at the time, too. It was just right for kids - informative, straight-forward, and yet insightful, too. We ended up talking about the Korean War, JFK, the Cold War, and Communism.

After we finished the book, we watched When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions, Episode 3: Landing the Eagle. It is told by the actual people involved - astronauts, engineers, and their wives.

I'm so glad I went this route instead of just showing the kids a video of the moon landing. The historical, emotional, and cultural context made a huge difference in their interest level!

Updated 3/25/2020.

Let's Meetup!

Today, Homeschoolers, I want to remind you about a website that has been around long enough to start to be overlooked. Meetup.com helps people with common interests find each other and hang out! There are tons of groups for parents and homeschoolers, depending on your area. So, take a look at who you can find in your area!

Updated 3/25/2020.

Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool

Updated 3/25/2020.

Homeschoolers, today I want to bring to your attention a complete, FREE, online Christian homeschool curriculum for your family. Check out Easy Peasy here.

From their website:

In 2011, I (Lee Giles) began putting my children’s assignments online so that they could work independently and so that I had the assignments saved for their younger siblings. I also wrote it from the beginning to be able to be used by other families. EP grade levels and individual courses include 180 days of homeschool lessons and assignments. It covers reading, writing, grammar, spelling, vocabulary, math, history/social studies/geography, science, Spanish, Bible, computer, music, art, PE/health, and logic. It uses only free materials found on the internet.

Spring Round-Up

 

Happy Spring, Homeschoolers! Today I wanted to present resources for your Spring!

1) Let's kick it off with lapbooks. Lapbooks are so fun! Here are some Spring kits of pages to put in your folders. and a book that helps make great lapbooks. And here are some colorful file folders.


2) Here is a list of Spring printables, primarily for younger kids.

3) Here is a cute little game about planting and growing seeds. And here are a bunch of other online games and activities with a Spring theme.

 4) The Travel Channel has an article about Spring Festivals around the world. "Spring is in the air, and so are these lively festivals: From the White House Easter Egg Roll to a spring equinox party in Mexico, these celebrations of the season will put a spring in your step."







5) Here are 20 Spring writing prompts. "Yippee, spring is finally here! Here are some writing prompts to keep those young minds engaged!"







6) Here is a rather high-brow video about English country gardens. It would be great to put on at quiet time and shows some very pretty gardens.

7) Here is the History Channel's page on Easter. It has articles, videos, and more. "The exact origins of this religious feast day’s name are unknown. Some sources claim the word Easter is derived from Eostre, a Teutonic goddess of spring and fertility. Other accounts trace Easter to the Latin term hebdomada alba, or white week, an ancient reference to Easter week and the white clothing donned by people who were baptized during that time. Through a translation error, the term later appeared as esostarum in Old High German, which eventually became Easter in English. In Spanish, Easter is known as Pascua; in French, Paques. These words are derived from the Greek and Latin Pascha or Pasch, for Passover. Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection occurred after he went to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover (or Pesach in Hebrew), the Jewish festival commemorating the ancient Israelites’ exodus from slavery in Egypt. Pascha eventually came to mean Easter."


8) Here is a list of read aloud books for Spring from Scholastic. "Celebrate the season with these refreshing read-alouds."




9) This page offers a wealth of information on the science of plants. It includes ideas for experiments and science projects as well!



10) Here is a Spring walk scavenger hunt list I made. My kids love looking for things when we walk! We often do things like count things painted blue, butterflies, or birds on the walking path. Sometimes we look for silly stuff just to shake things up. Anyway, I made you a list to get you started. If you want you can offer prizes like, each kids gets a cookie or gumball if you find X number of things.


11) Finally, don't forget Spring kicks off conference season! I love going to conferences - I feel so "normal" and encouraged at them! Check out my list of conferences for one near you.

Update 3/25/2020.